From the moment Ethan gained consciousness, there was noise. The sights were calming, from the sun beating down on his bed from the nearby window, to the warm spring wind blowing lazily into his open window. The sounds, however, were anything but peaceful. Raucous cheering and shouting were heard immediately outside his dorm room, the kind he had heard the day before when Jimmy was being ponified. After finally realizing what he was about to miss, Ethan shot out of his bed, bolted to the door, and yanked it open.

    Whomever was being ponified had already walked down the hallway, so people began quieting down. Ethan sat on the hallway floor, curious as to who was being ponified, and if he knew them.

    But suddenly, Ethan noticed something. The door adjacent to his was wide open, with it's bed and doorway unoccupied, Ethan could have sworn the loud footsteps he heard were much louder than when it was Jimmy's turn, and he hadn't gotten a tap on the shoulder, or a silly remark yet today from a certain friend of his...

    "Oh, no." Ethan said out loud to himself. No one heard him, but it was the only way he could vent his anger towards himself. He just missed seeing Barry as a human for the last time. While this may not be a big deal, considering at least he'd still see him, this was still a life changing event for Barry, and Ethan felt horrible for missing the beginning of it. All he could do was sit and wait for his friend to return.

    The inevitable cheering commenced again, after what seemed like centuries for Ethan, as pony Barry trotted down the hallway. His coat was an odd mixture of orange and yellow, making it seem like he might have had a scent like an air freshener. His brown hair had been almost directly transferred to his mane, even keeping his perpetual bedhead intact. The next thing Ethan noticed was that Barry was a unicorn, and thus would receive training from Twilight sometime today. Ethan pictured Barry attempting magic, and failing horribly, which made him laugh a bit.

    "What's so funny? Never seen an attractive pony before?" Barry had just reached his dorm room door, and was sitting next to Ethan.

    Ethan hadn't noticed Barry's presence, and jumped a bit at the sight of him, "No, and I still haven't." They both laughed, then Ethan asked for what seemed like the umpteenth time this week, "How does it feel?"

    "I knew you were going to ask me this." Barry said. Ethan still had trouble putting Barry's voice into the pony's mouth, but it seemed to fit the look nicely, "It's...new, I'll give ya that. Walking is easier than it looks, but still takes some getting used to. I feel like I'm a midget with four legs, with how short I am now."

    "A midget with four legs, and a horn." Ethan corrected Barry. "Have you used it yet?"

    Barry looked straight up at his forehead, where the orange appendage stared right back at him. "Not yet. I'd like to, though."

    "Try opening that guy's door." Ethan suggested, pointing to a door across the room.

    Barry concentrated. Much more than Ethan had ever seen him concentrate on anything, really. His horn began to glow a little, lighting up the area around him. The doorknob of the door Ethan suggested began turning slowly, as if it was struggling to open. Suddenly, the door thrust itself open, and slammed against the adjacent wall as it opened. Barry panted heavily, and numerous people clapped and cheered and patted him on the back in congratulations.

*******

    "Are you sure you want to commit to this?"

    "Yes, I'm absolutely sure. I'm confident in his abilities."

    Twilight Sparkle looked confidently into the princess's eyes. In all of her years following Celestia, she had never been this willing in her life. She stood her ground before her teacher, who was sitting sternly in her massive throne. While Twilight was almost like a daughter to her, this was a serious discussion, and they treated it as such. Celestia fidgeted in her chair as she thought the plan over.

    "This is not normal for a ponification camp, you know. Normally they have to spend another week there to learn how to be a pony, even after the transformation. Why do you want to pull this unicorn out so soon?"

    "I think he's much more in touch with his magic than most unicorns I've seen go through this camp. He can already move objects, and control the strength of the magic used, to an extent. I think I should take him...for lack of better saying, under my wing...because we could use him to our advantage."

    Princess Celestia thought for a minute, then surrendered, "Alright. You can bring him. But...what about the other one? Surely you don't want him to come here as a human, do you?"

    "Oh, no. I have plans for him. You'll see." Twilight responded.

    "I hope you know, I don't like it when you hide things from me." Celestia replied sternly.

    "Don't worry, Princess. My intentions are anything but bad. It's just I...haven't really planned what to do with him yet." Twilight said, embarrassed at her lack of organization.

    "Well, be sure to get him here safely. We don't want any humans running around Equestria willy-nilly like this. Make sure he's a pony when the time comes for him to be."

    "Of course."

*******

    Ethan couldn't help but be a little sad. He knew this was a good thing for Barry, and to an extent, Earth, but he couldn't shake the fact he'll never see human Barry again. There were certain things in his mind that made human Barry unique that they can't replicate in a pony. Barry's choice in clothing, for instance. Last year, Barry was infamous for going to the prom in nothing but gym shorts and a Led Zeppelin T-shirt. His girlfriend was mortified, to say the least. However, Ethan had to embrace this new look for Barry, and he was glad that at least he kept his personality.

    At dinner that afternoon, Barry sat next to Ethan at their usual table closest to the garbage can. Barry visibly had some difficulty sitting in his new quadrupedal form, but an Earth pony next to him helped him to sit up straight. It looked awkward a first, but Barry seemed to get more comfortable as time went on.

    "First pony meal. You ready?" Ethan teased Barry, who was staring nervously at the hay fries before him.

    Barry gulped loudly, and silently lifted the bundle of hay with his magic. Moving it towards his mouth, Barry took a small nibble, just enough to get the taste out of it. Suddenly, Barry's eyes widened.

    "...Why..." Barry said, shaking in his seat.

    "Barry? You alright?"

    "Why...do I like this so much?!" And Barry kept eating the hay, visibly enjoying it.

    Ethan gagged a bit, and resumed eating his beef jerky.

    The loudspeaker turned on with a start and caught the attention of the entire lunchroom. Humans and ponies stared up at the speaker near the doorway to wait for it's message.

    "Err, howdy there, ev'ryone." The speaker began in a noticeable southern drawl, "Now how does Pinkie do this again? Oh, right. Can Ethan Mc...McCullugg, please come to the pony-transformification room? I think it's yer turn, or somethin'. Thanks."

    Barry elbowed Ethan as hard as he could with his front hoof. Ethan was frozen for at least thirty seconds before slowly getting up. Every single thing with eyes was using them to stare right at Ethan at that moment. It was as if Ethan were naked right now. It was his worst nightmare.

    There was no cheering. Usually these announcements are made in the mornings, and for one to happen this late is very odd. Ethan walked quickly out of the room, so as to avoid anymore unnecessary attention. The lunchroom's conversations started up again as soon as he left.

    Everyone (and everypony) was staring at Ethan as he walked down the empty hallways and into the atrium, where the small, unnoticeable door to the ponification room was visible next to the receptionist's desk. The door was labeled "AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY". Ethan could only assume he was 'authorized' enough to go in, so he did.

    On the immediate other side of the door was a bright pink earth pony with an equally pink curly mane. She seemed to have a perpetual smile on her face.

    "SHHH! This way!" She whispered. Ethan could recognize the voice from somewhere, but he couldn't put his finger on it. As they walked down the dark, claustrophobic hallway, Ethan got more and more curious as to what was going to happen. He had already come to terms with the fact that these will be his last moments as a human, but he still needed some reassurance that he'll be safe, and it won't be a risky procedure.

    "Um..." he began, almost sounding like Fluttershy.

    "I said "SHH"! We have to be quiiieeet!" The pink pony replied immediately, startling Ethan.

    "Can you at least tell me where we're going?" Ethan persisted.

    "To the pony room, silly! Where else would we be going?"

    Ethan soon realized she was right. The pony pushed open the knob-less door to reveal what looked eerily like a doctor's office. There was a small, cushioned bench with sterile paper on it, and a desk opposite the bench with numerous doctor's accoutrements laid out in a very neat fashion. A pony-sized, clean doctor's robe was draped on the hanger on the door. The silence in the room was ominous.

    "Wait here." The pony said, sounding like she was in some sort of infiltration mission. Ethan obeyed, and sat quietly on the bench. Thankfully, it wasn't long before the doctor came from the door next to the desk. The doctor was a unicorn mare with flowing violet-blue hair and a light-gray coat. She looked very well-groomed and clean.

    "Right. Let's get this over with. I have a salon appointment at 7 that I simply cannot miss." Before Ethan could speak, the pony continued, "I'm Rarity, and I will be your ponificator today. Are you feeling any stress at this moment?"

    Ethan, taking the cue, started talking, "Err, no. I'm a little nervous, but..."

    "Oh, darling, that's normal. There's nothing to worry about. This will be quick and painless, and it'll be over before you can say 'fabulous'!" Rarity laughed at her own joke, then began to use her magic to summon some doctors tools to her side. She began looking into Ethan's eyes, ears, mouth, and (oddly enough) his nose with a light, and started making awkward small talk.

    "So, you are being ponificated awfully late. Any idea why, Ethan?"

    "Uh, well, no. I was just called down here during dinner. I thought these things usually happen in the mornings."

    "They do. I'm not even sure myself why you are here. But, alas, here you are." Rarity put the tools down and retrieved a paper cup filled with a purple, viscous liquid, and a syringe. Ethan cringed at the sight of the needle, as he was deathly afraid of them.

    Rarity got uncomfortably close to Ethan. "All right, now lay down on the bench, and drink this." She said, handing him the cup gently.

    "What is it?"

    "It's a sedative to help you sleep. Think of it as anesthesia in a cup. It will make this whole process so much easier for both of us, trust me."

    Ethan nervously took a gulp of the liquid. It tasted like grape jelly, and was about as goopy, but he soon emptied the cup. He could already feel the sedative kicking in as he set the cup down on the table nearby and laid his head on the bench. Rarity walked up to him and lightly prodded the needle into his upper arm. Ethan didn't feel a thing, and a few seconds later, he was unconscious. Next Chapter: In Which Something Else Happens Estimated time remaining: 56 Minutes