//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Sixty-Third Rule // by Syke Jr //------------------------------// “So why did you take so long to show me a human movie anyway,” he asks with a small yawn. “I don’t know. Why did it take you so long to ask to see one?” We’re sitting on our beanbags, idly watching the credits roll. Snap ate most of the pizza. It had been funny to watch him inhale so much without even thinking about it. I’d suggested watching The Grand Budapest Hotel, since Wes Anderson—now Pastel Reel—is actually a really successful Equestrian filmmaker. Snap surprised me, though, by asking to see Fight Club. It’s one of the first books Gingersnap read when I first emigrated. “It’s just… weird to think of you as a human.” He grunts and sits up properly in the beanbag. “But it would have been weird to think of you as a mare before today, too, so…” he shrugs. “And I didn’t want you to ask you if it was going to be hard for you.” “Yeah.” I chew on a few of the last popcorn seeds. “I guess I have similar reasons. It would be showing you part of me that’s… gone forever. And I really was afraid you just wouldn’t like them. It’s not like reading human books; you can visualise those however you want, you know?” “Yeah.” He nods. “It took a little while to get used to what’s on screen. But it was good.” He pauses, tilting his head. “Really good. I can’t believe I’m saying it, but… better than the book?” “Yes! It is! And it’s the only time I’ve ever thought that! The book is always better, except in this case.” “The first time I read the book, I didn’t like it,” Snap admits. “You read it more than once?” “Yeah. Once I was more used to… human stuff.” “Hm.” The credits end and we’re thrown back to the streaming menu. “So, what, another film? Or should we… call it a night?” The subtext is there. Once we go to sleep, we wake up back in our own bodies. It’s not very late. Only just after nine o’clock. Snap sighs a little and stands to his full, freakish height, stretching. “Yeah, let’s go to bed. But not to sleep, yet. I know you want to cuddle some more while you’re still small and adorable.” If only I could argue. “Yeah. That sounds nice.” I turn off the television and follow Snap into the bedroom. He dives onto the bed and adjusts the covers to make a little nook for me. I smile despite myself and join him, settling into his embrace just as before, feeling him wrap around me like the big spoon he is. “You were really afraid I wouldn’t like seeing humans onscreen?” I turn off the lights. “Yeah. I guess I was.” He hums, low and rumbly. “Mental thing to think.” “Was it?” I just pause and listen to him for a moment. “Maybe. I am in the shard that shows human films at the theatre sometimes.” “Exactly.” He hugs me closer. “And now that we’re doing it? I can’t wait to see all your favourites you kept saying we’d watch ‘eventually’.” I smile, there in the darkness, and hug his foreleg back. “I am going to miss being this little of a spoon,” I say after a few minutes. “This is your last chance to call it off,” Snap says teasingly. “Stay a mare for a while. See how you like it long-term.” “No.” I shake my head. “It was… fun for the day. But I want my old body back.” I snort. “Which is never something I would say about my old old body.” He gives a rumbling chuckle. “Yeah. We can be glad that one’s really gone forever.” There’s a pause. “Dust in the wind.” I smile knowingly. Fine. If he wants it, I’ll oblige. It’s the last time he’ll hear this voice, after all. I clear my throat. I close my eyes~ only for a moment and the moment’s gone all my dreams pass before my eyes, a curiosity dust in the wind all they are is dust in the wind. *** I find myself at the gates to Dreamwalker Park, looking into the night of a full moon within. I look to my side and see Snap, towering above me as always. He looks down into my eyes. “In case you’re slow again, this is a dream, Star.” I blink a few times. Yes. He’s right. There isn’t even the rest of the town, just the park floating in a void. “Let’s… go in, then.” He grins. “Lead on.” I shake my head a little and oblige, passing through the gates and instinctively walking in the direction of the Selene statue. I’m not at all surprised to see it start glowing as we approach, and come to life in a small flash, revealing the real Princess Selene of the Night. Snap and I both bow as she steps down from the plinth wearing a soft smile. “Well met, my little ponies. I hope this day has not been too awful.” Snap and I look at each other. “No, actually,” I find the fortitude to say. “It wasn’t so bad.” Snap, for his part, just grins at me and nods at the princess, who smiles in turn. “Well then,” Selene says, “If you’re ready, I shall cast the counterspell. It will also end the dream, and you will wake up. No meaningful time will have passed in the waking world. Is this satisfactory?” “Yes, Princess, thank you,” Snaps says happily. This time I’m the one to simply nod. We can always just go back to sleep after. It seems Selene wants to waste no time, and she takes a step back as her horn begins to glow. The light becomes blinding after just a few moments, and I close my eyes: at that moment, a wave of magic washes over me, and I’m thrown once more into the void. *** I wake up with an urge to stretch, so I do, kicking the blankets into disarray. I feel Gingersnap behind me, still being the big spoon, but more importantly, I can feel my body is back to the way it was. No more long mane in the way. I put my hooves up to my face and feel my jaw again. I sigh in relief. I feel Gingernsap nibble my ear with her lips, and snort a little. “Hey. You don’t do that. I do that. Stop it.” “Maybe it’s a stallion thing,” comes the response, and it makes me freeze. That’s not Gingersnap. That’s just Snap. His low, honeyed voice is knowingly sly. Very slowly, I roll over to face him with a look of accusatory betrayal. “Why are you a stallion still.” He grins at me. “I wasn’t done having fun. You might not want to mess with White or Clover, but I do. And now you’re back to your old self, so you can come too without being… timid.” I frown at his unrelenting cheerfulness. “You’re really going to… stay like this? For how long?” His smile drops. “I dunno. At least until after our next roleplaying session. So, a week? Selene said she’d be happy to cast the spell whenever, I just have to call her in my dreams. I’m lucid, remember?” “Sure.” I blink. “So you planned this with her?” “I mean. Not planned. Just asked.” He tilts his head. “Do you… not like me being a stallion?” “I…” But I stop. I realise I don’t really know. It was nice when I was a mare; something about the swap made it seem… fair. Now that I’m a stallion again, too, is it weird? I look into what little I can see of his eyes in the darkness. I realise, no. It’s not. “I love you, Snap. Mare or stallion. You’re the best pony I could ask for either way.” I see him beam again, and I roll back over in an unspoken approval for him to embrace me once more. Humming happily, he obliges, tucking his legs and wing around me and pulling me close. He starts to nibble my ear again. “Do you actually feel like sleeping,” I say after a few minutes. “Not really.” “Want to go get drunk?” “Definitely.” *** As we walk into the Silver Sword, I know we’re about to run into a group of ponies we know. Don’t ask me how. I’m getting genre savvy, I guess. Sure enough, by the time we get to the bar we’ve been spotted by Clover, who makes her way over, smiling, and equally predictably slows to a shocked stop when she spots Snap. I look over and see White Mage and Cloudy Skies at the back, playing some sort of card game.  “You go on. I’ll get our drinks,” I say, hoping to avoid the initial questions. “Hm. Almost as timid, still.” I huff and continue past to the bar. “Okay, Snap.” I’m vaguely aware of Clover Leaf loudly expressing her bewilderment, and Snap laughing. I manage to catch the eye of Dusty Glass. “Hello, my friend. Having the usual?” “That’s right. And Snap’s usual too.” “A double?” I smile wryly. “Oh yes.” “Coming up.” I wait for the drinks and glance over. Snap is talking animatedly to Clover beside a stunned-looking White Mage and a highly amused Cloudy. Ice broken, I suppose. With a thanks to Dusty I take the drinks and head over. As I approach, White looks at me with an intensely questioning look, to which I can only offer a shrug. Clover points me out to Snap, and he turns around, taking his screwdriver out of my magic. “Where’s the bonering, Silver,” Clover asks with a sip of her own drink. “Still gone. Still don’t need it any more.” “Oh really?” she looks pointedly at Snap, who’s busy downing his drink in one. “Really,” I say firmly. I turn to White. “This, by the way?” I gesture up at Snap, who gives a small burp. “Your fault.” “I… do not accept the blame. For that.” “Tough shit.” “I,” Snap announces, “need another one of these. Or two, of these.” I look at him doubtfully. “You want two?” “Yeah. Speedrun.” Cloudy laughs loudly, and Clover giggles a little too. I smile, shaking my head and shrugging. “Okay.” I quickly down my neat rum, and chase it with a large gulp of cola. Then I take Snap’s empties to return to the bar. “Speedrun.” *** We leave the bar, both giggling. In a very masculine way, of course. Cloudy follows after us, taking wing and floating above us as we stumble along. “Don’t you two live here? Where are you going?” “Out,” Snap says. “ ‘S tradishion. Goin’ to park.” “Yeah,” I add. “Where we always go.” I laugh again. “Down-town.” “Thass your inside joke voice. Do I know that one?” “No. ‘S an old person one. My mom would geddit.” Cloudy sighs. “Okay, have fun. See you both at the next game.” “Byee Cloudyyyyy,” Snap says loudly, spinning around to wave at the airborne mare. “Later Vagrant,” I call, keeping my eyes ahead so as not to fall over. “Yeah, later,” she calls back, fying upward and disappearing into the night sky. Snap and I continue on our, indeed, traditional route to the park. He bumps against me, probably forgetting that I can’t offer much support to the much larger pony. I do my best anyway. “You happier now? Assa stallion ‘gain?” “Yeah,” I respond, focussing on the distant park gate. “Was kinda fun. Forra while today. Nice… cuddles. But now I feel. More like me again.” “Good. ‘M glad.” “An’ you know what I like to do now?” “What.” “THERE IS,” I shout into the night, “A HOUSE, IN NEW ORLEANS,” Snap laughs, and joins in. “THEY CALL, THE RIIIIISIN’ SUN!” We break into what could very generously be called a trot, if significantly more stumbly. “AN’ ISS BEEN! THE RUIN! OF MANY A POOR BOY! AND GOD, I KNOW, I’M ONE!” I keep singing. Snap doesn’t know the rest of the words, but he tries to keep up with ‘da da daa’s. Eventually we make it to the park, and amble along to our spot. I’m winding down, now, and Snap simply hums along to my words. I flop down onto the grass, and Snap falls on top of me, grunting and knocking the wind out of me. I groan, and wiggle out from under his laughing bulk with some difficulty. I realise he’s trying to let me be the big spoon. I try to comply. “You’re… you’re too big,” I say, unable to fully get myself wrapped around him. He hums and says, “You wanna switch?” “...Yeah.” So he rolls over, and we shift around until he envelops me once again, still humming deeply and sweetly. I close my eyes and sigh. “If you… wan’ me to be a mare again, I’ll do it tonight,” Snap says. “No, no. You do it whenever you want. I like you either way. I still think you’re… very very hannsome.”  He hugs me tight. “ ‘M glad.” A pause. “Jussa few days. Wanna do next session. Thassall.” I nod. Then I think for a second. “You wan’ me to be a mare again?” I ask it hesitantly. He laughs. “Nooo… you didn’ like it so much. I thought you were the… cutest mare ever in the history of… ever. But I like you like you are.” I smile to myself. “Thanks. But..." I take a deep breath. "Maybe... I could do it again sometime. You know, for another day." Snap doesn't respond in words. He just hums louder and pulls me so close I can't sense anything but him; his feathers, his breathing, his humming, his scent. I feel myself drifting off, there on the grass, surrounded in my soulmate’s limbs and wings. It’s nice. I have to admit I will miss this once Gingersnap is a mare again. I realise I actually really wouldn’t mind if he were male forever. They’re both pretty great. The humming slows and becomes a snore. I think of the bizarre set of circumstances that led me to here, in the grasp of another stallion, just as my awareness begins to fade into Selene’s gentle embrace. My last thought is that even CelestAI, it seems, follows the sixty-third rule. ⠀ ~end~ ⠀