It was a bad idea, but she was doing it anyway. She had been shot less than a day ago and her wing still ached, but she saw it. She saw the glaze as it filled his vision almost instantly, every muscle in his body suddenly go slack, and knew his collapse would follow soon after. It was possible he would die. It was even possible that he would die no matter what she did, but she was the last to come through, the last to say good bye. The closest to the portal. Her friends called out to her as she began to move, but their cries fell on deaf ears. Time was short, the portal was closing, but she made it, however barely. For better, or for worse, Rainbow Dash had leapt back into the human world and now stood above an unconscious Pete Powell. For a moment her heart was racing faster than ever before, this was a huge decision, and possibly irreversible. Her attention quickly turned back to her comatose crush after the initial adrenaline rush.

“Okay, whoa. Maybe should have thought this through a bit,” she chuckled nervously, “How am I even supposed to take care of you? ...okay, that doesn't matter. You helped us, so now it's my turn to help you. I guess maybe getting you off the floor wouldn't be a bad idea.”

With extreme difficulty, thanks to her currently useless wings, Rainbow Dash managed to get Pete onto the nearby couch. Feeling slight pain in her recent wounds, and having no idea of what to do next, the pegasus laid down on the floor next to the couch. His faint breathing told her that he was alive, but it was possible he would never wake up. She knew why he had done it, but the idea of her and her friends getting to go back to their lives at the cost of another's didn't sit well with the Element of Loyalty.

As she closed her eyes and tried to sleep, these thoughts and more filled the pony's mind. She may never get home, she may never fly again. She might never see her friends again. This thought, above all others, brought tears to the young mare's eyes. Her decision had left her torn, and alone. The only thing she could really do now was wait, and pray to a goddess that was in another dimension.

It was night, Pete was sure of it, the news just signed off to the after hours programming. Then it hit him. Why was the television on? Reaching deep inside himself, Pete tensed every muscle in his body silently, prepared his eyes to be opened without his glasses, and sat upright as fast as possible. Squinting into the dark, since he lacked eye aid, he saw nothing. Not a single person was in the room. Calming down, he climbed off the couch and went into the kitchen to get something to drink, his throat exceedingly dry. If the news was right he had been out for three days now, which explained his protesting muscles. Filling a large glass, more things began to strike Pete as strange. Why had he woken up on the couch, when he distinctly remembered passing out on the floor? Also, there were fresh dishes in the sink, as if someone else was living here.

“Pete!” a too familiar voice gasped from behind him.

Setting his, now empty, glass down, Pete turned, and in the dim light, saw a light blue blob.

“DASH?! What are you doing here?!”

“I-I jumped back through the portal when you collapsed. You helped us so much ever since we shown up, and you didn't have to. It wasn't right for us to let you sacrifice yourself just so we could go home.”

“Dash, I did that so you could get medical attention. Help you can't get here! What if you've got a serious problem, and you're dying? Or what if your wing never works again?”

Dash looked at the floor, “I know. I've been thinking about that for the past two days. It's all my fault though, if I hadn't ran out I wouldn't have gotten hurt, and you wouldn't have done this.”

Pete lowered his voice, “That may be so, but it was still my decision, my choice. I don't like this place Dash. I really don't. You girls shown me that maybe I haven't tried as hard as I could have, but that doesn't mean there aren't things I NEVER wanted any of you to see. Some of those things you all found on your own, and it was a huge culture shock, but there's a lot more. I wanted you all to go home as soon as possible to spare you from those things.”

“We aren't as soft as you think we are!” Rainbow Dash stomped her forehoof, “There were wars, and all this stuff that your cartoon didn't have! We-”

“I know,” Pete cut her off, “I've talked with Celestia enough, but a lot of those things are done with in your world. They still happen everyday here, and there's NOTHING the general population can do about them. Somethings it's illegal for us to do, even if it would help everyone, and others we're just not capable of doing without training. I'm not saying you're weak, I'm just saying that being here is a much bigger adjustment than you think.” Pete sighed, and rubbed his temples, he was filled with a torrent of emotions. Annoyingly highest among them was elation, “Well, at least it'll be easier to hide one pony that it was eight.”

The rainbow maned pegasus gave a weak smile, “It'll feel less crowded at least. This place DEFINITELY wasn't meant to hold more than a couple of people, let alone eight ponies.”

“Get some sleep Dash, I've gotta get cleaned up and back to editing some stuff before they fire me.”

Rainbow wanted to protest, but thought better of it. Now that Pete was awake, however, her mind turned back to the very real consequences of her actions. She had no way back to Equestria, and was living in a world populated with creatures that might try to harm her, in the middle of a city filled with said creatures. Suddenly, she realized how horrible her asking Pete to come to Equestria was. It was a terrible feeling knowing that you've been cut off from everything you know. But she was brave, she would do her best to adapt. This had been HER choice.

After stepping out of the shower, and making sure Rainbow was actually asleep on the couch, Pete grabbed his cell phone from his night stand and make a massive judgment call. The line rang once, twice, thrice, four times before being picked up, a surprisingly short record.

“I'm working, dick,” the voice of Clarissa, his sister, sounded on the other end.

“Oh, so hype,” he replied sarcastically, “You still a vet?”

“Didn't go into debt to bag groceries.”

“So, when's your next day off?”

“What's with the questions?”

“I think you might need to make a trip to see your big brother, and maybe bring some veterinary tools with you.”

“I'm not a carpenter, I don't have a toolbox filled with shit that I can just lug around.”

“I've got something with an injured wing, been shot. The pellets I pulled out were small, and I'm not even sure if I got them all. I'm worried she might not fly again.”

There was a long silence on the other end before, “And you can't take her to a vet near you because...?”

“You have to see it to believe it, and even then you'll accuse me of putting LSD in whatever you just had. Even if I was nowhere near when you had it.”

“...You're paying for the plane.”

“I figured. You book a flight and I'll hand you cash when you get in.”

“Well how else would you pay for it, bro? You refuse to get a credit card like some kind of conspiracy theorist,” Clarissa mocked.

“Oh trust me, you'll lose your mind when you get here.”

“Fine, I can close up for the weekend, be in Saturday afternoon. Make sure you have that meat locker you live in warmed up, I don't want to be cold when I get there.”

“You live in New York, and it's the end of fucking August. I'm betting you're wrapped up in a blanket in front of a heater, even though you're at the office.”

“And you've got those stupid doors wide open letting snow fly into your apartment, and you probably aren't wearing pants because of how hot you think it is!”

“See you Saturday poser,” Pete said, chuckling.

The sibling's relationship had always been a bit strange. Civility was possible, usually when in public, but in private the two would sling insults bad enough that their parents often had had difficulties telling when they were fighting and when they were messing around. She would be there, no way she wouldn't. Still, two days was a long time more to wait to see if Dash would be okay.

Trying his best to shake the melancholy from his mind Pete tossed his phone on the bed and grabbed his laptop. It had been two days since he last did any work, and folks were sure to have noticed. Exactly as expected, almost all of his correspondents were upset, save a couple that were, or seemed, concerned about his sudden disappearance. He set about sending out apology emails, give a vague explanation about being hospitalized and completely incapable of even taking care of himself suddenly, and without warning, hence his lack of warning to them. He also wrapped up a couple of his long term editing jobs, his general time scale being a few short term edits with two, three to four day jobs mixed in so he didn't get overwhelmed.

“At least they won't be completely pissed,” Pete muttered to himself, in the dark.

With a sigh, Pete closed his laptop and made his way back to the kitchen. As he passed through the living area he saw Dash curled up on the couch asleep. Knowing that Celestia planed to bring humans to Equestria, he began to wonder how long she would really be here. No longer than it would take Celestia to master the spell surely, at least a few days, at most a week. His inner voice had told him to enjoy the moment, but it was hard when such things loomed so close on the horizon. Pete contemplated heavily, for a while, sitting on the couch with Rainbow Dash, perhaps even finding someway for them to both lay there. As close to each other as possible. Ultimately he decided not to disturb her, she was still the more injured of the two by far, and needed all the rest she could get.

Utilizing every ounce of control he had, Pete forced himself into the kitchen and had some of Pinkie's leftover sweets. Before realizing that someone needed to shut down the, now absent, party pony's online bakery, and dashing back across the apartment for his computer. With that dealt with, Pete sat at the kitchen table picking at a piece of cake in silence as he tried to remember what other issues may need handled in the absence of the ponies. Twilight's books and the remainder of Pinkie Pie's baking stuffs were all he could come up with, though he was sure more would surprise him later. Around this time, Pete being amazed at the late hour of the morning, Dash trotted slowly into the dining area and pulled up her own seat.

After asking how the pegasus was doing, an aching, stiff wing being all, and letting her wake up a little, Pete steeled himself and told Dash about his plan to have his sister check her out. Rather than being cautious or worried, Dash was exceptionally complacent about the idea. As he asked her about his perceived strangeness of her reaction, Pete realized something. Rainbow Dash trusted him implicitly, and without hesitation. A new burden on his conscious.

The two days that followed were nerve wracking and almost painful. Despite the two being together, and alone for the first time ever, the various ways everything could go wrong still hoovered over head. On top of those worries, both were insecure and first timers in a serious relationship. This was made worse by the fact that said relationship was with another species altogether. There was a mutual, unstated agreement between the two, however, that this was only temporary anxiety caused by the imminent arrival of Clarissa, and the possibility of life changing news she would herald.

The two on the couch practically leapt into the air when the knock came from the door. Pete had been in contact with his sister since she landed, and they both knew she was near. Fear, however, was a very powerful and often uncontrollable emotion.

Shakily, Pete nodded to Rainbow, who hopped off the couch and stepped over to the TV, as the slim human walked over and opened the door. Clarissa wasted no time simply pushing past her older brother and tossing her stuff on the ground. The young woman was roughly a foot shorter than Pete, with short, light brown hair and glasses. Dressed in everyday wear of black jeans, a blue hoodie, sneakers, and a plain t-shirt she looked less like a vet and more like a college student.

“Alright, first up where's this bird that's so special you can't leave your house,” she stated, opening a bag and double checking the contents.

“Well, that's the thing,” Pete said, locking the door as he shut it, “She's right over there.”

Clarissa followed her brother's extended finger all the way to the cyan impossibility that stood in the middle of the room. The vet took a second, placed her head in her palm, scrunched her face a bit, then looked again.

“Oh, that can't be real.”

Rainbow Dash took a step forward, “H-hi,” she started, nervousness oozing from her core. Not only over being introduced to her first human that wasn't Pete, but also because this was the only family member he had never bad mouthed. The only one he seemed to show respect to. She was, essentially, meeting the family.

“Oh, fucking hell, it talked. You're right, how much LSD am I on right now?” Clarissa asked, looking up at her brother.

“More than you should be, but less than you'd expect,” he replied with a smile.

Dash was confused until Clarissa said, “So, those midnight texts about Twilight Sparkle weren't just drunken bullshit were they? Where's the others?”

“They went home. Dash was supposed to go with them to get that wing looked at, but … well some stuff happened and she made the decision to jump back through. I'm pretty okay with it, except for the part where she might still be in need of critical care. So I called you.”

There was a long pause as Clarissa, still crouched on the ground, thought.

“Alright, get up on the couch Rainbow Dash. I'll see what I can do.”

The blue pegasus complied, and stood on the cushions with her injured side facing out. Clarissa brought over her bag and began to undo the bandages.

“How long ago did this happen?”

“Almost a week,” Dash responded, still nervous.

“...Wow, I'm not used to patients talking back. Okay, well then, how does it feel right now?”

“It's a little sore.”

“Have you stretched it any?”

“Just a bit, nothing too big.”

Clarissa grunted as she saw the wound, and Pete sucked air audibly through his teeth when he saw it.

“What?” Dash exclaimed, panic welling up in her chest.

“Even for a magical pony I guess a gunshot wouldn't heal without scarring, but it's only been a week. This is still fresh. I think it'll look better after it's healed more, but I don't think it'll be invisible.”

It didn't look horrible, most of the smaller wounds had even started to regrow fur. But there was a bald patch a bit under where the wing connected that was, at the moment, a very angry red. Most likely a soon to be scar.

Pete clenched his fist, “Dammit.”

“I guess not having magic is a bit worse than I thought,” Dash mumbled, “On the other hoof, since I'm stuck here, you two are the only ones who'll ever see me.”

Next, Clarissa reached down and pulled a metal detecting wand out.

“Whoa, why the hell do you have one of those?” Pete said, genuinely stunned.

“Remember when I did that little stint with airport security?”

“No,” he replied flatly.

Pete's sister shot him a look, “I spent six months being gone all night, and coming home early in the morning. We were basically on the same schedule, in the same house, for half a year.”

“I'm really oblivious?”

“Obviously,” she rolled her eyes, “The point is, even if it lacks finesse, I should still be able to tell if there's any shot still inside her. If not, she'll be in the clear. Alternatively... well I really don't want to operate on the kitchen table.”

The wand didn't go off and the group settled a bit. The rest was mostly a routine check up. Clarissa felt around the wound gently, and concluded that other than the already stated scars nothing would be wrong. Apparently, Dash's altitude had been enough to keep most of the wounds shallow, and was mostly hit in the side below the wing. A few more days of recovery and she would be fine. Hopefully.

“I'm not a Cryptozooligist, so I have very little idea about how a pegasus wing works. But, if it's anything close to a bird wing, she should be alright. It might ache from time to time, but nothing huge,” the short haired woman said, almost twenty minutes later as she threw herself on the couch.

“I'm just relieved to know there's no bullet spray left in her,” Pete said, sitting cross legged on the floor, “The rest can be dealt with as it comes.”

“Yeah, about her,” Clarissa looked towards the bathroom where Rainbow Dash was currently cleaning her wound for the first time. Feeling secure that the pegasus was in the shower, the younger Powell looked at her brother, “How do you really feel?”

“What are talking about?”

Clarissa rolled her eyes and sat up, “You can TRY and bullshit me if you want, but I've seen you before in this kinda situation. You're not just at the part where you think you like a girl, you're completely over the deep end in love. It's not the first time I've seen you like this, but I'm wondering if it will be the last. ...You can't run away from her like you did the others, even with a fantastic excuse you're still responsible for her.”

“...I don't want to be done with her. I can't imagine how different things would be right now if I hadn't been such a moron a week ago. I know it sounds crazy, and down right weird, but I could actually see living with Dash forever. I'm not saying we're perfect or any of that usual BS, we need a lot of work, me especially.”

“...you know she can't stay in the city. Ignoring how unhealthy it is for people to live here, she's an active …pony, not one for sitting in doors for the rest of her life.”

“I know,” Pete sighed, “I have a plan, it's going to take a little time though. All I can do is hope that things don't go downhill before then.”

“...Well, I honestly can't think of a better guy for the job. You are the most stubborn guy I know, but you're also weirdly blunt and honest. Remember that time I broke up with a guy and was all depressed and shit, and you told me that it wasn't a big deal and that life just got harder after high school? As big as an ass that makes you, it's also the same kind of down to Earth thought process that can really make a relationship.” Clarissa laid back on the couch, hands behind her head, “Anyway, this serious talk stuff is YOUR department, not mine.”

“Yeah, I appreciate the attempt though.”

The rest of the day, and night, followed smoothly. After rebandaging Dash, the pegasus and vet got along like wildfire. Of course both of them being easily excitable tomboys helped out tremendously. By the next day Dash was a little sad to see her new friend go, but the prospect of things getting along better with her current love interest held her back from any hasty ideas.

Over time the two love birds did become closer, things never got easier, but they did soften a bit. Eventually, Rainbow Dash found an interest in human fantasy novels, courtesy of Pete's book stash, and the two would spend hours talking about their favorites of the bunch. Though there was always a glint in her eyes whenever she looked out the doors at the sky, and it wasn't a look that Pete could ignore.

Pete pulled the Sedan up what felt like the worlds longest driveway, and stopped in front of a two story house in the middle of a field. Throwing the vehicle into park, he killed the ignition, yanked the keys out, and opened the driver door. He stretched for just a moment before leaning over and opening the rear driver side door, letting an even more sore Rainbow Dash wiggle out of the back floorboard.

“Sweet Celestia, that felt like FOREVER!” the cyan pegasus exclaimed, stretching out even more thoroughly than the human had.

“Yeah, well it's all worth it,” Pete said, as he circled the car and popped the trunk.

“Okay, so I get that we're moving, but what's the big deal here? It's not like I can just be outside whenever I want, even if we are a ways away from any other people.”

Pete pulled some boxes out of the trunk and sat them on the ground, “Dash... not only did I buy this place, but I bought everything around it too. It's something like two miles. I've got some guys coming by in a few days to put up a fence all around it, and I'm going to let it be known that I don't want anyone hunting in, or over, my property. The closest neighbors we've got are ten miles out either direction, and I hear that hunting is really weak in these parts anyway because there's no natural water source anywhere nearby.”

The pegasus' eyes widened at each new remark, “Wait, what are you saying?”

“I'm saying, I'm still going to want to be there to keep an eye on you, but I don't think there's any reason we can't be outside here. I wish there were more trees around, but I guess being able to see cars, and people, coming from a mile away is a good thing.”

The couple moved the boxes into their new home, and Pete went over the general plan for the next few weeks. It would be more of having to hide Dash, with guys coming to move stuff in, check the electricity, set up internet so Pete still had a job, building that fence, but after all that was done the two would be alone.

“Where did you get the money for this?” Dash asked, the two snuggled together under a blanket on the front porch later that night.

“You remember that book I wrote?”

“The one I read on your computer?”

“Yep, I got it published. It did really well, the publisher asked me for more, and I had the second book already made up. They asked me about making it a trilogy, and I told them I already had book three written too. I bought this with just the initial rights of the books, the royalties will cover more, and, should I indulge my hubris for a moment, if the chance presents itself, I could sell the right for a film.”

“...You're talking about becoming a sell out, you know that right?”

Pete chuckled, “Yes, you should have seen the edits I allowed to my manuscript for the books. Technically, I've already sold out, and I don't care. I needed to get you out of that city, and I needed money to do that.” Pete looked away from the sky and down at the mare in his arms, “I would have sold my kidney on the black market to do this. I wasn't kidding when I said that I would do anything for you, love.

“The books have always been about making money, but the money doesn't mean a thing if you don't have something to spend it on. Most girls would ask for fancy jewels, or a mansion. That's not what you want though, I know it. You wanted to fly free again, and I can't get you back home to that. What I can do, however, is my damnedest to let you in the sky. You can't do that in city, and elsewhere there's too much threat of you being mistaken for a bird again. So, I'll spend every last dime I can get my hands on to keep you safe, and happy, even if the two means contradict each other.”

“Have I ever told you how much I love you,” Rainbow Dash asked, pulling herself closer to Pete, who simply nodded in response. “Well, let me tell you again. I love you more than anything, and anyone, and not a day goes by that I regret ever thinking about going back to Equestria without you.”

“Are you sure this is the place Princess?”

“Luna and I are sure Twilight. We've spent months searching for them. We are not wrong.”

“It ain't like you to doubt the Princesses, Twi.”

“I know Applejack, but look at this place! It's a house, not an apartment, and we're not in a city! Why would Pete move?”

“Because it's been five years for us Twilight,” a voice called from the darkness. Immediately four different horns lit up the room, illuminating the Elements of Harmony, their princesses, and the couple on the couch.

“Five years? That's impossible, it's only been four months,” the purple unicorn exclaimed.

“Five, actually, as of today,” Luna corrected, “I suppose that's close to how the time flows between our worlds, though it doesn't really add up.”

“So, you've been here for five years?” Fluttershy asked, looking cautiously out the window.

“Yeah, moved here about six months after you girls left. Took a lot of money, but I bought up a huge amount of land, fenced it in, and told everyone to stay away from it if they mean to hunt.”

“All for Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said, a catch in her throat.

Pete nodded, and ran his hand through the mane of said pegasus, still asleep on his chest. The others looked over their old friends. Rainbow was the same as ever, Pete on the other hand had changed tremendously. Before he had been pale, and skinny, now he was more lean with obvious muscle, and slightly tanned. His hair was longer, below his shoulders, and uncombed, but obviously clean. It seemed that living with the athletic pegasus had motivated the young man.

With a contented sigh he leaned towards his sleeping love and began whispering in her ear. For a moment she grumbled, and tossed, but then his words sunk into her consciousness and she looked around. Quickly waking up, Rainbow darted around the room, flicking on the lights and revealing the surroundings in full. The living room was slightly smaller than the designated area from the apartment, but the overall house was much bigger. There was little time for such small details, however, as the six friends began catching up immediately. During this time two things became apparent. First was Rainbow's scar, the others were sympathetic, but told her that it wasn't anything that couldn't be handled with magic in moments. The second thing was only noticed by Celestia, but brought quickly to the groups attention as the bigger problem.

“Pete,” she asked softly, looking over the human, “Why don't you open your eyes?”

Pete continued to smile at her, “What good would that do?”

“What do you mean?” Luna asked, stepping to her sister's side.

“...Pete's blind,” Dash explained, quietly, “It happened about two years ago. I was kinda suspicious of him, so I moved a few things. He had been walking around like normal for a while, but he hadn't seen anything for weeks.”

Celestia looked at Pete, “Didn't you see a physician?”

Pete nodded, still smiling, “Of course, he told me the same thing I learned a long time ago. It's hereditary, most of my family went blind, or very close to it, in old age. Usually around their forties, I'm pretty close.”

“You're thirty two!” Dash shouted.

“Close,” Pete waved her off with a hand.

“May I see?” Celestia asked, stepping closer.

Pete nodded, and opened his eyes. Celestia sighed, she had seen this before. He wasn't entirely blind yet, he could see blobs of motion, but his vision would be a cone now, and he probably couldn't make out even the brightest of colors. Within the next couple of years that would fade entirely. It could be reversed magically, but for how long was subject. As Pete closed his eyes once again, Celestia stepped back.

“Oh, Pete,” she mourned.

“It's fine, I'm much less distracted now. I can't believe how in the way things were when I could see. Though I do miss reading sometimes.”

Rainbow trotted over to her lover, “I don't know how you can be so calm about this.”

Pete reached out and ran a hand down her side, “I've known it would happen for a long time, I've just accepted it.”

“I must admit,” Luna interrupted, “You seem much more calm in general now.”

“I've had time to look back on where I was, and who I was. I was a terrible person, I accept that, and I've spent every day since trying to be better. Enjoying the moments I have.”

“Pete” Applejack said, stepping forward, “You know we're here to take Rainbow back to Equestria, right?”

“Yes, I know. She can't stay here, I'm lucky she got to stay as long as she did. She needs to go back the ones that need her most.”

Dash pulled away and started floating, “I'll go pack our things. Better not to leave that to the blind guy.”

“What do you mean 'our?'” Luna asked.

“Pete's coming too, and don't tell me otherwise! I know Celestia was planning on bringing humans into Equestria, we could have brought him with us, even if it was just to make sure he didn't DIE. We could have sent him back easily!”

The princesses considered that for a moment, indeed the whole situation could have been solved that easily, and maybe more.

“Rainbow, there's something you don't know,” Twilight said, hanging her head.

“The humans we brought over became violent,” Celestia said, and Pete, for the first time since the reunion frowned. “At first they were merely distrustful, and refused to see our ambassadors. Over the space of a month they became angry, and lashed out at the nearest settlement. Ponyville.”

Rainbow Dash gasped.

“No pony was hurt,” Celestia continued, “the humans didn't know about magic, and the unicorns in town disabled them harmlessly. The action caused a rage amongst the citizens, however. There were talks for a time of deposing me for putting them in such a horrible situation. ...I promised I wouldn't allow another human into Equestria.”

Dash landed, “I'm not leaving without him,” she stated flatly.

“You do not have a choice, Rainbow Dash,” Luna began, her tone dark.

Pete threw the blanket off himself and rose, his fists clenched, “I don't think you want to finish that Luna,” he growled, causing both princesses to back up.

“Pete, be reasonable,” Celestia started slowly.

“I am,” he relaxed his stance and waved the primary ruler into another room, once they were alone he faced her with his half blind eyes open. “That spell,” he whispered, “The one you used to be a human. Could you cast that on anther being, in reverse?”

Celestia exhaled, “What are you saying?”

“They won't accept a human, but what if I were a pony?”

“The spell I used was much more simple than what you're asking, and what you want would cause you more pain than you've ever felt. You're very being will be contorted into the shape of a pony. It will be, and after a time feel, natural, but the process is still painful. Your very existence will have to change.”

“And the same will happen if I never see Rainbow again. One of those is temporary.”

“You're sure about this? There won't be any coming back.”

“I can think of a bunch of reasons to stay, but the one reason to go is the most powerful reason of all. You couldn't keep me away if you tried.”

“...then let's go rejoin the others. I will need Luna's help for this.”

The two returned to the room to find an argument brewing, Celestia quickly cut that off with her announcement. There was a slight shock among the group, and a new batch of opinions were formed, all of which were swept away by Celestia.

“He has made this decision, and I have agreed. The only other I need for this is Luna. I understand what you are all thinking, I assure you, but Pete and Rainbow Dash will not let this stand. Pete has offered the most amicable solution, and I agree.”

Luna looked her sister in the eyes, “You're not nearly as sure as you want to be.”

“No, but I'm as sure as I need to be.”

“...Very well, let us begin.”

The Elements of Harmony sat in a forced silence as the alicorns prepared the spell. Following its release, they were all greeted with the most terrifying sounds they had ever heard. Pete howled in agony as his bones, skin, organs, and mind began changing. The cacophony of disgusting sounds caused Rarity and Fluttershy to faint before the process was even half over. By the mid way point Pete was no longer screaming, his vocal cords too strained to continue, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie were no longer watching. Only Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and the Princesses watched till the end. One for science, two to make sure nothing went wrong, and one for love.

When the process was complete a pony was deposited on the floor, panting and moaning in pain. Celestia checked him over with magic, while Luna tended to the others. When all were deemed well, the girls gathered over their friend's new form.

“A unicorn!” Twilight remarked with surprise.

“Indeed,” Luna commented, “Perhaps we were lucky that we landed in his apartment. It just might be that the magical energies we obtained were specific to him, and him alone.”

“Well, his coat is a rather majestic shade of blue, but that mane! Ew, hideous! Why is it tan?!”

“It ain't tan, Rarity, it's kinda light brown. Like a caramel color.”

“That would be tan, Applejack, or very close to it. Either way, it clashes horribly.”

“Is he... alive?”

“Of course he's alive, Rainbow Dash. I wouldn't let him die, but we should get him out of here now. Luna, could you open the portal?”

“Yes.”

Celestia lifted Pete's new body in her magic and set him on her back. Without a second thought, the group walked through the portal to Equestria. Celestia took Pete to the infirmary, with Rainbow in tow, as the others returned to their rooms. It would be two days before Pete woke up, and even longer before he would get the hang of his new body, but there were things awaiting him that he could never have dreamed of. A life of adventure, and discovery, would finally be his.

Author's Notes:

An idea that came to me, and forced itself into the center of my mind until I finished it. I've been debating uploading it or not for a while now. I SWEAR I'm done with this fic now. No more, no matter how great an idea I think I have. Sorry to have disturbed those that thought the ride over with. I promise it is now.