Two Sides of the Same Coin

by Minute Trapping

Chapter 0 (Prolog)

Caramelle stood tensed for action as the clock struck twelve. The buffalo stood at attention at the top of the mesa overlooking her temporary residence in Appleoosa.

She waited for the inevitable stampede for what seemed like hours, but was most likely only a few seconds. She waited some more, and squinted up at one buffalo who appeared to be their leader.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed his stiff posture loosen. Maybe there was a chance that their differences could be solved peacefully. While she had worked with the Appleoosans all day on the barricade, she doubte–

♫You gotta share. You gotta care. It's the right thi–♫

"CHAAARGE!"

Well, crap.

Caramelle immediately spun on her hooves and took off galloping. While she ran, she snatched apple pies from whatever piles she passed, flinging them over her shoulder with a flick of her neck. She didn't need to look back to hear them hitting their targets. In fact, she didn't expect any other result, as she had a knack for aim. If asked, however, she would tell you the three blue horseshoes on her flank represented the good luck she relied upon for her special assignments from the Royal Guard, a fib born more out of necessity than conceit.

Caramelle took cover behind the door of a local flower shop just as the clock tower fell. As she emerged to see the damage, she saw the Sheriff cowering behind a bale of hay, the head buffalo headed straight toward him.

She grabbed the nearest pie, her mind working at a billion miles an hour as she instinctually calculated the buffalo's speed, the wind direction, the pie's weight and air resistance, and a thousand other variables before throwing the pie with all her might. The pie sailed through the air in a perfect arc, connecting with the face of the buffalo.

Caramelle did not see what happened next, as she was immediately swallowed in an ecstatic crowd congratulating her on her saving throw.

Grape Vine was the first to congratulate her. "Wow, Toffee! That was some fast action. You're a real pro!" he exclaimed, referring to her by the alias set up by her parents.

Caramelle blushed. "Please, I was in the right place at the right time."

This time, a rather handsome young stallion named Thistle spoke up, smiling flirtatiously. "'Right place'? That throw was dead-on from who knows how far away. Appleoosa is indebted to you."

Caramelle smiled politely, but wasn't interested in his advances. "Thank you, but it…" Caramelle let out a heavy cough. "It's nothing, really. I have to go." said Caramelle with a deepening voice.

No, not now! thought the brown-maned mare as she turned and fled as quickly as she could. She'd been in Appleoosa for only a day and had not yet given her standard alibi for sudden disappearances, but she had to leave, and now. As the uneven ground flew past beneath her, she felt the telltale tingle spread throughout her body, most intensely felt in her back half, and she skidded to a stop. The light amber pony panted for breath, watching the ground beneath draw away. This transformation was not excruciating, but it was certainly uncomfortable as organs shifted, some decaying away and new ones growing in their place.

Though he didn't need to, Caramel looked over his body when his heart rate returned to normal. What were once slender legs were now thick and muscular, supporting a frame at least half a head taller. Running his hoof across his face revealed a strong, angular jawline had replaced the smooth curves of before. Then, of course, there was the penis. Yes, Caramel was a stallion, at least for now.

Tears started to fall down Caramel's cheeks, soaking into the cracked desert earth. It had been like this for as long as he could remember. His parents had explained to him (or was it her?) at a young age the cause. Their family home was located on the border of the Everfree Forest. As chance would have it, Caramel was conceived when his father was unwittingly under the curse of Poison Joak. Because of this, his sixty-fourth chromosome was magically unstable, flipping back and forth seemingly at random, with no discernible default.

At the moment, though, none of that mattered. All the science in the world wouldn't help him. What he needed somepony to blame, but knew nopony was at fault. Still, he was a freak of magic, and could never fit in anywhere.

When as a young colt (and as a young filly), his parents always helped him hide his secret. Officially, his parents had a son and a daughter, one of whom was always conveniently unavailable at any given time, in addition to his real brother. Things had been more or less manageable at the time, even through puberty.

However, as a full-grown stallion, he has to fend for himself, even as new challenges presented themselves. He could not, for instance, maintain a romance, with his interests determined by his hormones and his hormones controlled by his body.

If Caramel had learned three things, they were these:
1. Never become complacent. Whether it lasts minutes or months, gender is temporary.
2. Never form romantic attachments; they end in heartbreak at worst, and disgust at best.
3. True love's kiss does not work against curses.

He was cursed, and he hated it. But this time, he wasn't just going to wallow in self pity. He picked himself up and dusted himself off.

"Every curse has a cure, and by Celestia I'll find one!"