As the day drew to a close in my Equestria dreamscape Carousel and I gathered once again at the temporary pavilion that had been erected so Marble Vein could conduct her testing, and observations on Petina throughout the day. Petina had agreed to let Marble transform her into a marble statue so Marble could further research into her developing experimental use of petrification for patient stabilization.

A crowd of about dozen of the Silver Mirror guests had gathered to watch the transformation of the Petina into a living breathing mare. Marble had apparently ended her questions and tests for petrified mare and was now chatting with ponies assembled to observe the white unicorn mare be reborn. As Carousel and I arrived Marble noticed us and smiled.

"Good evening Sky Brush. Hello Carousel." The dove grey unicorn said with her silky voice. "I assume you're here to watch your revert back to normal?"

"Yep!" Carousel said. "We missed the first part this morning, but figured we'd be here for the end. How has she been doing today?"

Marble smiled and looked down at numerous sheets of paper covered with notes. "Oh. She's been a very useful test subject. For a first time test subject she's adapted very well to her altered state. That's not always true. In fact it's more the exception than the norm. In fact she's expressed some interest in further aiding my research in the future."

I walked up and looked at the immobile smiling face of Petina. I smiled at her. "Hope you've had a good day dear." I looked back at Marble. "So how long will it take for her transform from being stone to being pony?"

It was Brilliant Flower who answered the question since Marble was stowing her notes in a pannier. "Oh it only take a second or less! One moment you're a living, breathing pony. Then in the blink of an eye. Poof! Suddenly you're an inanimate object. Same when you revert back. If you blink you can miss it!"

Marble Vein having stowed her notes spoke up. "Yes. The transition between states is very quick. It has to be to avoid potent damage to the test subject. It's been tricky for me to accurately record the duration of time it takes for the complete transformation to take effect, but it's less than a 0.5 second in length."

I circled Petina's now marble form and wandered back to Marble and Brilliant Flower. "So when is the main event going to happen?"

Marble removed a pocket watch and consulted it. "Oh, it'll be in the next 20 minutes."

So Carousel and I sat down and spent the time chatting Marble and her friend. As the time approached more and more ponies gathered. Soon more than 2 dozen ponies were gathered around the statue. Marble rose from the lounge she'd been resting on and sauntered up to the statue. She addressed the audience.

"If I can have everypony step back. When a pony reverts back they will occasionally have rapid uncontrolled movement of their limbs." She levitated the watch to eye level and started counting down.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1.. Now."

A shimmering light starting at her muzzle raced across Petina form and once again she was a living mare. She staggered a little then righted herself. After a moment she spoke.

"Whoa! Whoa!" She lowered her head and shook it a couple of times. Looking up at Marble she smiled. "That was intense! Thanks for letting me experience that!"

Marble smiled and stepped forward and nuzzled Petina. "And thank you for helping me with my research and trusting me. You're a very special pony. How can I repay you for your efforts?"

Petina smiled and leaned forward and gave the mare a deep kiss and then whispered in Marble's ear. The ears of the dove grey mare suddenly went straight up then relaxes. She looked the white mare in the eyes and her smile grew larger. "Yes. Yes I think that can be arranged. I'm busy tonight but seek me out tomorrow. We'll see what happens then. Sound good?"

The white unicorn grinned. "Yeah that sounds awesome." Then Petina trotted over and gave me and Carousel a kiss. With that accomplished addressed us. "Alright! I don't know about you two but being a statue is hungry work! Let's see when dinner is going to be served!" With that she trotted toward the main mansion.

To be continued.