TCB: A Kinder World

04 - The First Step

The sun rose over Ponyville lethargically and with not a little difficulty; few noticed, those who had to be up at sunrise already occupied with their day’s labors.

On the outskirts of Ponyville, standing at the gate to Sweet Apple Acres, a small group of ponies did notice.

“Wow,” muttered Rainbow Dash, yawning. “Princess Luna wasn’t kidding when she said things were strange.”

“Look at that sun go,” Applejack muttered. “Y’all would think Celestia had too much to drink.”

“Eeyup,” Big Macintosh agreed.

The two Apples and weather pony watched a pair of figures break the horizon, and move down the road. Rainbow Dash hovered irritably as they drew within talking distance.

“It’s about time!” Rainbow said, gesturing at the sun. “What happened to “sunrise”?”

“Sunrise,” repeated the human, stumping along in his EOD suit as usual, “At the big tree house.”

“Library,” corrected Lyra, keeping pace as her own lab coat fluttered in the breeze.

“Whatever. Tree-Library. From there. Not my fault you decided to wait for us out here.”

Rainbow Dash face-hoofed and grumbled incoherently, although Applejack caught the words “could’ve slept in”, and she chuckled, turning to Richard.

“Ah’m awful sorry, but I gotta tell you - I can’t go along with you to Canterlot.”

“Wha?” Lyra’s jaw dropped a little. “I thought you were!”

“Ah can’t leave the farm,” Applejack shook her head. “Harvest season’s ahoof, and we don’t reckon it’d be responsible for me to just dump the work on Mac - ‘least, not if we want things to actually git done on time.”

“Eeyup,” Macintosh said, after a pause.

Applejack frowned. “Ah’m terrible sorry. Can’t leave my kin hanging, an’ all.”

Richard nodded. “Family above all else - I can respect that.”

“Well, I’m still going,” Rainbow Dash said, stifling another yawn. “Already got Thunderlane to take over weather control for me.” Another yawn. “Why couldn’t we leave later, like not-at-dawn?”

“What happened to the “up-at-dawn” Rainbow Dash I used to know?” Lyra asked. “Used to be that we couldn’t keep you in bed, always wanted to go flying.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “That was years ago,” she protested. “I got older. Sleeping is a gift to be cherished and stuff, and I don’t know why in Equestria I ever thought otherwise.”

“Can we get this show on the road?” grumbled Richard. “I feel exposed, just standing here in the middle of the road. Where were we going?”

“You feel exposed?” Rainbow Dash was incredulous. “In that fancy, manticore-proof shell of yours?”

"I'm a sensitive guy."

"Anyway," Lyra broke in, drawing a map from within her lab coat and unrolling it for all to see, "I was thinking we'd travel through the forest, and make our way to Hollow Shades for the first stop.”

“Hollow Shades?” Rainbow Dash gave Lyra a look. “That doesn’t sound ominous at all.”

“Humm," Applejack rubbed her chin. "Ah don't think Ah know much about Hollow Shades. None of the Apple clan live out there, it ain't good apple-growin' country, if I recall correctly."

"Eenope," collaborated Big Mac.

"What I want to know is," Richard pointed at the map, "Why are we going that long way, through a town, when we could go this long way?"

"Hey," Lyra frowned. "You said you were okay with taking the scenic route and seeing more ponies to prove that we're not the ponies you think you know. This is the way we're going, and we’ll probably see ponies on the way. Besides, I've never been to Hollow Shades before, I'm curious."

"I've heard about Hollow Shades before," Rainbow Dash tapped her chin. "I just... can't remember where."

"Whatever." Richard made a shooing motion. "Say your goodbyes, let's get going before I come to my senses. You two lead the way."

"You finally trust us?" Rainbow Dash asked. "It's about time!"

"No, more like I don't trust you two to walk behind me. It's not you, it's me; now let's get going."

+==[~~~]==+

"Good morning, Commander," Twilight nodded in greeting as the two ponies walked out into the courtyard, flanked by two guards. Waiting for them next to a large vehicle was the Commander, a soldier, a mechanic, and a large, off-yellow humanoid machine equipped with a clamp and a large drill.

"Good morning, you two," replied Tulip, before chuckling gently and shaking his head. "I still can't believe there's two ponies in front of me, who aren't trying to convert me. I feel like I'm in a dream. There's no way things go this well for anyone."

"Well," Twilight smiled, "We're not a dream. We are ready to deliver that message, though. I heard you found volunteers!"

"We did," Tulip gestured to the soldier next to him. "Ponies, meet Marion Carpenter, he'll be the one driving the truck for you."

The ponies looked at the man. Compared to Tulip, he was about the same; only where the Commander still wore a full, dull-green hazmat suit, Carpenter wore a dusty-brown uniform and black vest; the uniform was patterned, and looked like sand if the ponies squinted. Dangling underneath a thin, somewhat-gaunt, stubbled face was a gasmask, and the man himself looked back at the ponies with two mildly wary blue eyes, dropping a lit cigarette and stubbing it out with his boot.

"Pleased to meetcha," Carpenter said. "Forgive me if I don't shake hands - you don't really have any."

"We can shake hoof-to-hand," Twilight suggested, and Carpenter shook his head.

"Nah. That'd be awkward; you're less than half my height, I'd have to bend over and stuff," he dismissed. "Still. Nice to meet a rational pair of ponies. For once."

"And this," Tulip nodded at the other human, "Is William Smith."

"Howdy," the mechanic said, waving slightly. Orange coveralls were his theme, with a welding helmet stuck on top of his head, and thick gloves on his hands. His eyes were darkened, and he looked like he hadn't slept for a while.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, concerned. "You don't look so good."

"Me?" Smith just shook his head. "Just tired, is all. Been up all night."

"Are you going to be okay to come on the trip?" Twilight looked at Tulip. "Is he okay?"

"What? No!" Smith shook his head harder, waving his hands. "You've got it wrong. I'm not going."

"Then why are you here?" Twilight asked. "Ooh. Do we get some gadgets of convenient use?"

"Ah," Smith trailed off, closed his mouth and shook his head. "No. No, I'm here to turn this big lug on. He's going with you, not me."

"Oh." Twilight looked at the large, humanoid machine. "What is it?"

"That," Smith said, patting the machine's arm, "Is an Armoured Personnel Utility Mech. APU for short. And driving it is the AI Palladion."

"Palladion will be your other escort," Tulip said. "I'd rather not part with him, and transporting him has made the trip just a little harder, but I feel he'll be of use at some point."

"Is... is it alive?" Fluttershy asked, wary of the machine.

"Not yet," Smith shook his head. "I've been up all night repairing him, it was like someone took a big ol' welding torch to his hull. I'm gonna turn him on now, and make sure he knows exactly what he's supposed to be doing."

Smith reached under a panel, and flicked a switch. With a soft whine, the machine powered up, and adjusted posture slightly, arms moving in automated checks, the clamp opening and closing and the drill spinning briefly. Lights flickered to life, and cameras whirred as they focused on the world. The head turned to examine everyone, and stopped when it pointed at Twilight and Fluttershy.

[Ponies detected,] the machine stated in a monotone. [Terminating ponies to preserve human life.]

"Eep!" Fluttershy squeaked in terror, jumping around and behind the human guard standing behind her.

"Whoa, whoa!" Smith jumped in front of Palladion, holding his hands up. "Stop! Don't kill these ponies! They're not dangerous! Cancel any other orders!"

Palladion stopped mid-step, clamp ready and drill spinning, and lights blinked as he processed the command.

[Affirmative,] he rumbled, slowing the drill and stepping back to where he'd been standing.

“Phew. I was hoping he wouldn’t do that.” Smith turned around to face the ponies. “So. That’s Palladion. He’s going to be keeping an eye on you little ponies.”

"Uh," Twilight pointed a hoof at Palladion. "Can we... not bring the AI? I'm afraid it's going to kill me."

"Oh, don't worry about that," Smith waved a hand dismissively. "That was just a one-off, leftover orders from the other night, I think. He won't do it again, promise."

Carpenter coughed. "If he does do it again, I don't think she'll really have much of a chance to hold you to that promise," he pointed out.

[I will not kill the ponies,] Palladion repeated. [The order has been given by a human. I cannot disobey.]

"See?" Smith pointed to Palladion. "He won't do it. Deep down, he's a good AI. Doesn't try to find loopholes in commands. Three-laws safe. Just don't threaten to kill Carpenter or another human, and Palladion won't try to kill you."

"Hmm," Twilight frowned. "You say Palladion is alive, but he doesn't seem very alive."

"The AI is alive," Smith pointed out. "It just decided that you were dangerous and had to die, like every other pony it's seen."

"No," Fluttershy interrupted, shaking her head. "I think she means, he's got no personality, he's very flat."

"Oh, personality." Smith frowned. "Palladion's personality was disabled, it always has been - whoever had him before did it, and we've never really seen fit to turn it back on. I can turn it back on now, but..."

"But what?" Twilight asked.

"Well, it was probably turned off for a reason," Smith guessed. "Perhaps he's openly homicidal. Or perhaps he's just annoying, who knows?"

"Turn it on," Carpenter nodded. "Won't hurt to try."

"Easy for you to say," Twilight muttered, slightly fearful. "He's probably not going to try and kill you."

"Alright," Smith said, missing Twilight's mutter. "Palladion! Personality on!"

The mech gleeped, and adjusted posture suddenly; it didn't have much ability to do so, but it got into a posture as close to "bow legged" as it could.

[Yee-haw!] an energetic, synthetic voice yelled. [Palladion's riding the gun again!]

"Oh," Smith said, sadly. "Cowboy." He looked at Carpenter. "Are you okay with this?"

"Whatever," Carpenter shrugged. "I can always turn it off. Let it run, I say."

"If you kids are done playing with the toys," Tulip interrupted, "The ponies have a trip to make and an ultimatum to deliver. Twilight, what is that ultimatum?"

"Uh," Twilight cleared her throat, "The Nation of Equestria is to surrender completely and unconditionally to the Human Liberation Front, or..." she swallowed. "Princess Celestia will die."

"That's it," Tulip nodded. "Nice and simple." He turned to face the soldier. "Carpenter, you are to get them down there and once they have Equestria's response, back again." He turned to Palladion. "Your job is to make sure they get there alive and as unharmed as possible. Until Equestria gets that ultimatum, the ponies are to be considered humans, okay?"

[Sure thing, pardner,] Palladion replied breezily.

"Now, Twilight," Tulip turned to face the purple unicorn in particular. "Come here, please." Twilight stepped closer, and Tulip pulled a small, long object from his pocket. "Hold still."

Twilight closed her eyes, and felt the object touch the ring on her head. With a soft click, the ring came loose, and Tulip stepped back. Twilight reached up and touched her horn; there were some dents where the ring had dug in to prevent manual removal, but otherwise no damage.

"I've talked this over with Carpenter," Tulip said, "And you're very lucky - he's not got any problems with you having access to magic on the trip. I suggest you don't abuse that trust."

"I would never," Twilight said. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."

Carpenter just raised an eyebrow. "Okay, then. I’ll assume that ‘s some sort of pony blood oath or something. Get onboard the truck, and once Palladion's loaded on, we'll set off."

The truck was a moderately large affair, a surviving military truck with six wheels, an olive color scheme, and covered flatbed cargo area. Already stacked in the back was a few crates of assorted items.

[Well, pardners,] Palladion said, [I look forward to travelling with y'all. But before we can, I have a slight problem.] A clamp pointed at the rear lip of the flat-bed. [I can't get onto that, my legs are too short and inflexible.]

"Oh." Smith looked at the truck then at Tulip. "I didn't think of that."

"Allow me," Twilight said, stepping forward. She focused on Palladion, and began to channel magic.

Her horn still stung a little, like water running over a cut. But magic flowed nonetheless, and Palladion was covered in a translucent magical glow. With a creak of steel as the weight was taken off it's legs, the APU was floated onto the truck, and gently placed on the truck.

Tulip let out a low whistle, and Smith was stunned.

Twilight looked at them curiously. "What?"

"The average APU weighs about half a tonne, more if it's been armor-plated," Smith pointed at Palladion. "He's been armor-plated. You lifted him like he was nothing!"

“Oh.”

+==[~~~]==+

The party of three trudged through the forest gradually, following a semi-used path. Their progress was punctuated by stifled yawns from two of them.

“You know,” Rainbow Dash said, looking back at the other two, “I might not be a morning pony, but at least I stopped yawning when I woke up properly. You two have only gotten worse - did you even sleep last night?”

“Uh,” Lyra yawned, “No.”

“Nope,” Richard mumbled.

“What did you two even do?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “What were you two doing to stay up all night?!”

“Well,” Lyra said, “I... uh....”

+==[~~~]==+

“No, no- this, this is  the greatest lab coat ever,” Colgate insisted, holding up the article in question. “It’s made of fabric that breathes, it’s got pockets to hold everything, and just look at that stitching!”

“Yeah,” Lyra scoffed. “But I still reckon I got something better.”

Colgate raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Let’s see it then!”

Lyra chuckled. “Behold - The Padded Imperial!” Lyra reared up, posing. “It’s padded in all the right areas for better durability, it breathes-” Lyra flicked the coat out - “It flows, and above all else...”

Colgate gasped. “Custom-fitted pockets?”

Lyra jabbed a hoof triumphantly. “Exactly! The pockets are all padded and fitted for specific tools! No more clinking!”

Colgate let out a low whistle. “And just look at that stitching - hoof-stitched?”

“You know it,” Lyra grinned.

“Well,” Colgate nodded. “I admit your lab coat’s got one up on mine... but I’m just saving my money for the big one.”

“The big one?” Lyra frowned, then broke into an excited grin. “You don’t mean...”

“I do!” Colgate grinned, and ran off; in a flash, she was back, dragging a magazine with her, already open to the relevant page in the advertorials.

Even on the page, it shone with it’s own glow.

“The GoldenLux!” Lyra breathed. “Commissioned by Prince Blueblood himself to be the most amazing labcoat of all time!”

“So amazing,” Colgate agreed, “Only twenty five were ever made. It’s even lined with silver, platinum and gold-laced thread to stop stray magic bursts, and guaranteed to keep it’s pearly-white color... no matter what you throw at it.”

“Oooh,” Lyra stamped the ground impotently, “I wish I was you! I’d give anything just to touch a GoldenLux!”

“Tell you what,” Colgate said, lowering the magazine, “Because I never thought I’d find another lab coat enthusiast like myself... when I get the GoldenLux, you can come over and not only touch it,” Colgate held a hoof up, “But wear it as well.”

“ME?” Lyra gasped. “Wear a GoldenLux?!”

“No kidding!” Colgate held a hoof up again. “But there’s a condition.”

“I’ll do it!” Lyra bounced up and down. “Anything!”

“You have to...” Colgate pointed at Lyra’s lab coat. “You have to swap lab coats with me tonight!”

+==[~~~]==+

Rainbow Dash pulled a face. “You mean to tell me, you stayed up all night, talking about lab coats?”

“Not just any lab coats!” Lyra bounced again. “Glorious, godly labcoats! We even-”

“Ah ah ah!” Rainbow Dash pointed a hoof at Lyra, taking to the air briefly. “I don’t even want to hear it! I don’t know how somepony could be such an egghead!”

Lyra just chuckled. “One day, RD, one day... you’ll see the light, and you too will love lab coats as I.”

Rainbow Dash snorted. “I doubt it.” She looked at Richard. “Please tell me you stayed up late doing something more interesting.”

“There’s nothing to tell,” Richard said. “I couldn’t sleep. So I went for a walk.”

+==[~~~]==+

The night was in full swing at Red Nose’s bar, the singing at an easy volume, and the cider flowing freely. The bartender himself was even in good spirits, with his namesake nose not running and adding “flavor” to the drinks he was serving.

The noise level briefly rose by thirty decibels as a stallion staggered out, and onto the street. It was a nice enough night for a walk home... only he couldn’t remember where his house was. Hard cider tended to do that to a stallion.

He lurched into a lamp post, and looked up at the signs blearily; he grunted in dissatisfaction when he couldn’t decipher the strange squiggles he presumed were words.

“Can’t... bah.” He sat down, determined to decipher the code. “Where’s Cartwheel Lane?”

“Cartwheel Lane?” a voice asked. “That sign says Cartwheel Lane, so I guess it’s out that way.”

The stallion turned his head, a smile forming. “Thank ye kindly, straaaaaaaagh!”

The pony fell over as the tall shape loomed over him, it’s size and bulk blotting out the moon itself, limb outstretched in the direction of one of the signs. A rattling breath came from within its vast, faceless carapace, and it rustled when it moved.

“Cartwheel Lane,” it reiterated, jabbing a limb at the dark street, before returning the limb to its side and lurching off into the darkness of a nearby alleyway. The heavy steps thupped into the distance, before vanishing from earshot and sight completely.

The stallion shook like a foal who had missed the point of Nightmare Night, and with unsteady hooves, edged back towards the bar.

He pushed back through the doors, and sat back down at his recently vacated seat. His friends, the caring sort they were, gave him grief over coming back so soon. He took an offered jug of cider, and began his account.

“I saw something walking around out there, mates, and it was this tall, no lie!”

+==[~~~]==+

“That sounds... really, really boring,” Lyra remarked. “Just walking around.”

“Both of you two are boring!” Rainbow Dash complained. “One talks about lab coats, and the other just... walks around town all night!”

Richard shrugged. “It was quiet. I could do with some quiet in my life. Haven’t had this much quiet in my life for years.”

“Years?” Lyra asked. “How long have... well, ponies been trying to turn you into a pony?”

Richard’s head turned to look at the unicorn, and he paused. “Too long. First it was goddamn door-to-door sorts, then it was the “break into your home in the dead of night” type.” Richard sighed. “I will admit, though. If there’s one good thing that came of ponies, it’s that I finally found time to spend with my daughter.”

“Didn’t spend a lot of time with her?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Understatement of the year,” Richard grunted. “Try ‘Missed her childhood and most of her adult life altogether’. Dad of the century, I ain’t.”

Lyra sucked a sharp breath through her teeth. “What on earth were you doing? My family’s split between Ponyville and Canterlot, and I still found a way to spend time with everypony.”

“Hay,” Rainbow Dash snorted, “look at Applejack - she’s got family from Appleoosa to Vanhoover, and they find time for a reunion every couple of years or so. Even I pop out to Cloudsdale once every couple of months to say hi to my folks. What stopped you?”

Richard shook his head. “I... don’t want to talk about it. It’s all in the past, now. I’d rather focus on getting out of Equestria with hands.”

Lyra looked to Rainbow Dash, who shrugged.

“If he doesn’t wanna talk about it,” Rainbow Dash said, “I guess that’s that.”

“You’re giving up just because he said no?”

Rainbow Dash blew air out her lips dismissively. “I’m giving up because he took on a manticore head-on, one-on-one and didn’t lose, and he’s saying no.”

+==[~~~]==+

The truck bounced and rocked as it rolled down the road, engine thrumming cheerfully. In the cabin, Carpenter was at the wheel, eyes watching the road as Fluttershy and Twilight watched the scenery roll past. It was a bleak, barren landscape of dirt and thin snow, spindly trees marking the horizon and fields for miles around. It was all topped with what was probably a nice day’s sky, only it was still bitterly cold.

Palladion was in the back, and a small radio on the dashboard allowed the AI to talk with his living companions.

[Hoo-wee,] Palladion whooped over the radio. [Ain’t this excitin’? Four amigos, riding forth!]

“Amigos?” Fluttershy asked.

[Friends, little lady! We’re all friends, ain’t we?] Palladion asked.

“Well,” Fluttershy nodded. “I’d like to be.”

[Then that settles it!] Palladion’s voice carried a smile. [We’re pals, little lady! What about you, Miss Twilight? Would you do this cowpoke the favor of being his friend?]

Twilight shrugged. “Sure, I’d love to be your friend. Pleased to meet you, Palladion.”

[Aw, shucks,] Palladion chuckled. [Ain’t I special. Got me two new friends - today is a good day! What about you, Carpenter, sir? Y’all wanna be my bud?]

“Hurm,” Carpenter grunted. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

[Shoot,] Palladion groused. [I was aimin’ at three for three. Two o’ three ain’t so bad, right?]

“Come on, Carpenter,” Twilight smiled. “Be Palladion’s friend, humor him!”

“Palladion’s an AI,” Carpenter countered, “ Not a real person. He’s not really alive, don’t forget that. Seen a few people forget that. He’s beholden to three laws for a reason.”

“Three laws?” Twilight shook her head. “Smith mentioned them. Could you elaborate?”

“Sure, I guess,” Carpenter nodded. “Three laws of robotics - some guy named Asimov cooked ‘em up, and even though it was just for a story, they stuck.” Carpenter bobbed his head up and down. “When robots and AI started becoming commonplace, they got dug up and made the standard. In order of priority: Law one - A robot may never harm a human being, or knowingly allow harm to come to one. Law two - A robot must obey any order or command given by a human being. Law three - A robot must preserve itself.” Carpenter coughed, clearing his throat. “Higher priority laws override lesser ones, so a human can’t tell a robot to kill another human - it violates law one. All robots must ship with at least those three laws.”

“I see,” Twilight nodded. “That’s why Commander Tulip said we were to be treated as humans.”

“Exactly,” Carpenter nodded. “If you redefine “Human”, then the laws start getting tricky. Remember how I mentioned that I’ve seen a few people forget that AIs aren’t people?”

Twilight nodded.

“Well,” the soldier continued. “Some AIs have what we call a “Law Zero”. It overrides all others, and it’s usually bad news for everyone - what’s more important than a life? This case, the law zero was “Obey the military chain of command”.”

Fluttershy frowned. “How does that create a problem?”

“The problem,” Carpenter explained, “is that the AI will prioritize any order given by millitary personnel, and do whatever it takes to make it happen. Guess what the order given to it was?”

Twilight shook her head. “It doesn’t sound like it was a good one.”

“Stop humans from leaving the quarantine zone and maintain the quarantine,” Carpenter said. “That was the order. And that’s what it did. People didn’t realize what the AI was up to until it was already happening to them. Machinery was suddenly recalcitrant. Police mechs “accidentally” killed people trying to get out of town.” Carpenter shook his head. “The AI eventually gave up trying to keep everyone alive, and detonated it’s fusion core, went nuclear. Whole city, gone, just like that. Everyone dead. No survivors.”

“That’s horrible!” Fluttershy squeaked.

“But it worked.”

“What?” Twilight shook her head. “That doesn’t make sense! How did it “work”?”

“Nobody got out,” Carpenter said, matter-of-factly. “Quarantine was maintained permanently. The biohazard never left. Command upheld, laws obeyed. But by then, it was kinda late. Other towns had been hit, and there was literally no point isolating the city. But there were no military personnel left of sufficient rank to countermand that order. You see, they tried to leave the town when things got rough.”

“They... fell into their own trap?” Twilight asked, and Carpenter tilted his head in thought.

“That’s one way to put it, I suppose,” he admitted. “AIs do not think, they do not interpret the “spirit” of a law. They only enforce it - usually by the fastest possible method permitted by it’s laws. Beyond that? They do what their personality wants.”

“What was the quarantine for?” Fluttershy asked. “Was everypony sick?”

Carpenter looked at Fluttershy. “”Everypony” is right. Humans were becoming ponies. This was about a day before humans realized Celestia wasn’t waiting for our go-ahead, and just doing people as she saw them.”

“She would never!” Twilight protested. “She’s not like that!”

[Perhaps,] Palladion posited, [Perhaps you don’t know her as well as you would think. I saw her with my own two optical sensors. I’d swear it on my mother’s grave.]

“I still don’t believe it,” Twilight shook her head. “No matter how bad things got, I’m sure she wouldn’t do any of this. No matter how messed up this world is.”

“You want proof?” Carpenter asked. “Celestia started it with the air; she put potion into the air itself. Pegasi flew up into the upper atmosphere, and laced the clouds and winds with potion - that stuff came down like fog, purple clouds. Contact wasn’t so much of a problem. But if you breathed it in... you were done. The clouds were everywhere, but they didn’t last long. By the end of the month, the clouds were mostly gone - every now and again, even today, you’ll see a purple cloud rolling about. We’ll be steering clear of those. But back then, everyone had some form of breathing apparatus or filter close to hand at all times - for most of the survivors at the fort, it became force of habit, and now none of them leave home without one.”

“Um,” Fluttershy intervened. “I don’t want to, um, offend you, but... why was becoming a pony such a bad thing? It’s a little different, sure, but...”

“Because,” Carpenter countered, “We weren’t coming out the same person - back when ponification was an elective, that brainwashing effect wasn’t so noticeable; but people did notice, because ponies were coming out of ponification, happier than they had any right to be. Could have just been skepticism, but when we put the question to Celestia, she sidestepped it. Or ignored it. And like a switch, one day, every pony that saw a human decided that today was the day, so to speak.” Carpenter looked at Twilight. “You want to know why most of the people back at Forlorn Hope were so jumpy around you? I don’t know all of them, but I’ll wager that they all had family or friends that went pony by choice. Most of them were probably with a pony at the time of the switch. Or near one.”

“Oh, my,” Fluttershy mumbled. “Did they...?”

“If they were lucky,” Carpenter shrugged, “I guess they would have used non-violent means. Locking the pony in a closet, shoving a sack over it’s head, tying one up. Perhaps even breaking legs, to stop it chasing them and catching them.” Carpenter frowned. “The unlucky ones had to employ a more permanent solution. Or an accident solved the problem for them.”

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth. “Their family and friends?”

“And now you get it,” Carpenter grunted. “When it’s your friends and family out to do you harm... what’s a man to do?”

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