Brought Down to "Normal?" [Endplot, backdated to before Rebellion]

[meat_mooks]

The crew that returned from Hendersus Villae following their rescue mission was not the same crew that had been sent there in the first place.

Well, they were. They just wouldn't look like they were for a few more hours.

Goliath, Kang, Rainbow Dash, and Crematia were all still stuck as humans, and the reassurance they'd gotten from Zarom Ghartha that their transformation would expire in roughly one day's time was surely enough to allay some of their lingering discomfort with finding themselves still in the wrong bodies, but unfortunately, no amount of reassurance could completely relieve their situation of awkwardness.

Awkward or not, though, they all needed rest and medical attention, so there was no hiding out while the curse wore off. Not unless they wanted to spend the next 12 hours still hungry, tired, and injured to various degrees.

[ooc: setting up subthreads for individual character reactions is a-go!]

Comments

Rainbow Dash always dresses in plantsuits [Open to anyone]

[elementofloyalty]

Battered? Tired? Hungry? Sure, these words all described the rainbow-haired girl that stepped back onto the ship, but also "triumphant" and "exuberant" as she punched a fist into the air.

"Another mission handled in perfect style!" she called out. It certainly hadn't taken her long to adapt.

[appletastic]

Applejack was startled out of her usual supply runs by her friend's voice. She spun quickly enough for her saddle bag to flap against her flank, hard.

"Rainbow? Where are you?" Her mind didn't think to register the human shape still halfway across the room as anything important.

[elementofloyalty]

"Uh." She raised her hand a little as she stepped closer. Sure, the shape was all wrong, but was there any mistaking that hair?

"Hi, Applejack. It was... kind of an interesting trip," she said, rubbing the back of her head with an awkward grin.

[appletastic]

That was odd. Applejack had addressed her question to Rainbow Dash, and a human was talking to her. A human with...hair that looked quite like a mane she was familiar with. In that voice.

"Rainbow Dash? What in the hay happened to you?"

[elementofloyalty]

She laughed nervously, fingers running through her rainbow mane. Everyone else on the mission had been turned human too; it hadn't seemed so odd, then. But facing Applejack, and hearing her surprise, drove home a lot more clearly what had happened.

"We all got turned into... humans. It's not permanent, it'll wear off! I just have to wait till then."

[appletastic]

Applejack couldn't help but stare. That human was Rainbow? If she looked closer, she could see it---the wild look was still in her eyes.

"You sure? How long is this going to be? And are you feeling all right?"

[elementofloyalty]

"Stop giving me that look. It IS me!" Applejack's scrutiny kept making her more and more self-conscious, and the ease with which she moved in this weird new form was evaporating the more she thought of it. "I'm pretty banged up but THAT's nothing new for me, right? This'll only last like half a day!"

[appletastic]

Applejack tried to raise a placating hoof. "I know it is. It's just...awfully weird. But it'll pass. You're healthy enough."

Her vocal cords were as healthy as ever, that was what was up.

"So...it'll be okay soon! Right?"

[elementofloyalty]

"Yeah, I'll be back to normal in no time flat!" She looked down at herself -- not that she hadn't seen her human body before, but with Applejack to compare it to, it seemed substantially more different. "In the meantime, this isn't so bad, actually. I wouldn't want to STAY like this, but it's kinda fun!"

[appletastic]

"How do you figure?" Applejack sat back on her hind legs, looking up at her friend's new form. What could be so fun about that? She knew the other humans did it because they always did, but she couldn't imagine walking like that.

[elementofloyalty]

"Well, standing on two legs all the time leaves the hooves -- I mean -- hands free, and it makes it a lot easier to move in some ways." She hopped up and down a little just to make the point. "Ruins kicking, though. You can't plant and buck the same way. On the other hand, there's a lot more power in the forelegs. Arms. Whatever." She balled up a fist, turned, and threw a hard punch at midair to demonstrate.

[appletastic]

Applejack could see the merit in that. Almost. Wasn't her style, but...

"So you can't buck anymore. That would ruin me! But you'd hit things some other way. And carry stuff with those instead of a saddlebag or your teeth."

That did sound nice, but she wouldn't give up bucking for anything.

[elementofloyalty]

"Yeah. Too bad there's no way for you to try it for a little while. Not permanent or anything, but it's fun now that I know it'll wear off. Besides, it's not like the kicks are THAT weak."

She spun to deliver a snap kick high into the air, about the height of her head. Sure, she was no pony any more, but the human body had all of Rainbow's athletic energy, and so did the kick.

"See?" she said. "You shoulda seen me fighting down there."

[appletastic]

Applejack breathed, the equivalent of a low whistle. Wow, that really was something.

"Yeah, maybe I should've. Think you're any better than you are as a pegasus?"

Cool, yes. But she liked her friend just the way she was---not that she'd like her as a human any less, but she hoped for both their sakes that the weirdness really was going away.

[elementofloyalty]

Rainbow stopped her showing off to give Applejack a wry look. "You see any wings?" she said, jerking a thumb at her back. No question which form she preferred and why.

"It might be easier to get around the ship and do stuff that people expect you to have hands for, but so what?"

[appletastic]

Ah, wings. Rainbow Dash was as attached to those as Applejack was to her hind legs, and for good reason.

"You never know. Maybe you'd sprout wings if you stayed in that form long enough. I've seen a few human-types flying around," she teased.

[elementofloyalty]

"The one I met had, I dunno, machines in her body. Don't ask me how that works, but all she could do was fly using the WIND."

Rainbow's contempt couldn't be clearer. Compared to her usual speed, wind was practically crawling!

[appletastic]

"That's funny. More than I can do, but...wouldn't all that get heavy and weigh 'em down?"

She still didn't entirely understand machines. Unicorn magic was enough of a puzzle for her!

"Anyways, you'll be better soon. Let's just be thankful for that."

[elementofloyalty]

"They were really small machines." She shrugged. "Hey, she was flying so I know it worked."

She looked over her body again, now that she had a pony here to compare it to. "Not just me either. We all turned into humans!"

[appletastic]

"How can they make 'em so small? Must be those tiny little fingers." Applejack sighed. Hooves were awesome! Hooves had all the power she needed. But without magic, she couldn't really do any delicate operations.

[elementofloyalty]

Rainbow shrugged. "I dunno. But don't get me started about fingers! These things are weak!" She shook a hand demonstratively. "You'd go crazy, AJ. You'd end up hurting yourself just bucking apples!"

[appletastic]

"I don't want to think about it," Applejack shuddered. "But you can still pick up stuff and swing it, can't you? Everything around here's built for fingers. It can't be that awful, can it?"

[elementofloyalty]

"Naw, it's really not. It's kinda fun!" She down at Applejack. "Maybe we can get someone to turn YOU into a human for a little while!"

[appletastic]

"Er...no thank you," Applejack rushed out, backing up a few steps. "I didn't say it was that fun. And what happens if they mess up and keep me like that forever?"

[elementofloyalty]

"They wouldn't," Rainbow Dash said with completely unjustified confidence. "I bet Twilight would love to learn how to do that, though... Too bad she's not awake!"