//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: Perspective Shift 
// Story: Child of Mine 
// by Starscribe 
//------------------------------//

Fay might be a horrifying creature from beyond time and space, but she was still a baby. After transforming the reality inside the old stable, she didn't stay awake long. Or maybe it was just having somewhere familiar to sleep. Either way, Kyle was soon left with a little time to herself to try and work things out.

The stable still had a single electrical outlet, right beside the door. She plugged in the laptop, sitting around the corner so she wouldn't disturb the baby. Using it would make for good practice of her "magic." Somehow I've got to use these powers to change back. My whole life is basically over until I figure them out.

In fiction, magic was generally something that could only be mastered through long study and sometimes years of practice. There's no way I could hide that long. Even if Mom and Dad do believe who I am, sooner or later I'll miss enough school and CPS is going to come looking for me. The further she considered that little thought-experiment, the worse it got. So she'd try to think about it as little as possible. It must be easier than that. If a baby can change me, then I can change myself back. I'm smarter than a baby.

At least her parents didn't have the technical skill to check and realize that her laptop was actively using the home Wi-Fi while she was supposed to be gone. That would've put an end to their little illusion even faster. She couldn't give up on the chance that someone might've contributed useful information in her thread.

There were some replies this time. Most just called her "fake and gay" in various levels of derogatory language. But that was what she'd been expecting, so it didn't bother her. She'd put up with endless insults if it meant there might be something useful in there. Plenty more replies asked for more proof, other angles or even a video. She considered whether or not to reject the requests outright—but staying active might make her more likely to attract the attention of Fay's original creators. Whoever they were... mad scientists, wizards, or something even stranger—they were probably the ones most likely to get her the help she really needed.

Or maybe just count themselves lucky they had an adult version of whatever they were breeding without going to any effort. There was no guarantee they were good. It was possible they'd just abandoned the baby to get rid of her, after all.

She didn't want to show the transformed environment—that would make her video look even faker. So she paced back and forth in front of the camera a bit, with the shelf of old equestrian supplies behind her. "This is me," she said to her webcam, as quietly as she could. "But only since yesterday. I'm supposed to be human, please help."

Even at the dismal quality her camera provided, the file would take the better part of several hours to upload. So she opened a new tab to read through the rest of the responses while that ran, occasionally glancing into the nursery to check on Fay.

One response seemed more interesting than most of the others, a message that might be from someone role-playing, or might be from someone real. Any ideas about who it could've been broke down after her transformation.

"Listen very carefully, OP.

You have a natural pattern, one that wants to maintain its nature and will resist changes. Transformation magic doesn't typically survive longer than a day. Your best hope is that whoever did this was still performing basic transformation. By the time you're reading this, you should be seeing signs of the spell unraveling. Look for numbness in your limbs, sudden loss of hair or your size returning to normal first. Eye color, other little details.

If you do not see these things after three days, then it probably means you're the victim of a true transformation, one that alters your pattern directly rather than your body. The beings who can perform magic like this are extremely powerful, and should be avoided. Do not confront whoever did this, just count yourself lucky you're still alive. You've been used as a pawn in one of their games—tough shit, I guess. Only another Hidden Master could reverse it, and they're probably not willing to piss off whoever did it in the first place.

Sorry I don't have better news. If there's any consolation I can give you, it's that the magic they used was fucking expensive, so they probably won't kill you. If they just wanted unicorn horn, they could've changed an animal and butchered it before it reverted. So at least they want you alive? :shrug:"

It was probably just someone playing along. There were plenty of others doing the same thing, though each of them referenced existing copypastas or memes, so she discounted those outright. Even in a world where she'd been magically changed into a horse babysitter, she refused to accept that there might be a real "SCP" out there. She couldn't do it.

She spent a few minutes typing out a direct reply to that message, though there was no telling if the poster would check back to see it. If they'd just been roleplaying, they might not bother. And it would probably be better for Kyle if they didn't. Typing was a little easier when she could levitate a pen to touch the keys, though it was still infuriatingly slow compared to her normal speed. She explained the creature she'd found in the wilderness, and that she'd been trying to take care of it when it changed her, apparently by accident.

She left out what it had done to the stable, but she did say she was uploading a video with more proof, and that it would be up in a few hours.

That was about the energy she had. Kyle packed things up, then fiddled with the wall until she found the light switch. The transformed room still had them, even if it had lost lots of other features. Curiously it didn't seem to actually turn off the glowing things, but somehow connected to a few metal irises. When she pushed the button, they closed like a camera's aperture, blocking out the light.

She hadn't been looking forward to sleeping on an inflatable mattress. Now the camping supplies were gone without a trace, and in their place was the oversized... nursing couch? At least it actually seemed like her size.

Kyle's second night didn't go much better than her first. By all accounts, it should've been simple to get the rest she needed: she was entirely safe in an environment specifically designed to fit a creature like her. She had some comfortable cushions to sleep on, and Fay had a crib that would keep her out of trouble. It was perfect.

The problem was that none of it should've existed. Kara's reaction had been evidence enough of what she should be ready to expect from her parents when the time came. Fay's power was terrifying. It didn't frighten her, but that might just be because she'd been somehow mind-controlled into it. For all she knew, that was the most horrific part. Like some part of her true identity had been destroyed.

There were no longer any windows to the little space, so no obvious way to tell when the morning had come. But Fay didn't seem to care about that, she woke when she woke, crying for attention until Kyle finally got up.

There was no sign of her old body returning, nothing like the anonymous message online had described. So there'd be no simple getting everything back to normal. Because of course that would've been too easy. It couldn't just all fix itself. There weren't even any little signs of the “spell” reverting itself.

If there were any little mercies that came with the world-bending nightmare magic, at least Fay had summoned diapers. Kyle held her down with her forelegs, then used her own "magic" to remove and carefully replace it. "Look on the bright side, Kyle. You could be using your mouth for this." Her world could always be worse.

Once she'd been changed, Fay demanded food next, which was fine by her. The biological timing on that always made it seem like she was going to explode or something if she didn't eat, so that was fine.

"You're mind-controlling me," she muttered, as she lay sideways on the couch. "I wouldn't even have words to describe how awful this is. But it never feels as bad as it should." She glared down at Fay, trying to muster the hate and anger she knew she should feel. "You stole my life, and you won't give it back."

Nothing. She'd already read about this, though. It was something about the chemicals in her brain. At least assuming that magic horse-things were anything like humans.

Finally Fay finished. She looked up, grinning childishly at her, before hopping off the couch. Even before she'd made it three steps her target was obvious: the door.

"Nuh-uh." Kyle followed, making it a few steps before she could pick her up. Her weird levitation was harder to use on something actively trying to get away from her. "I'm not 100% on what time it is, but... Dad doesn't leave for work until ten. We can't go out before that." She turned Fay around, holding her right at eye level. "It hurts me more than it hurts you, believe me. You got to use a diaper. But I need to piss like a racehorse."

Fay squirmed, though being levitated didn't seem to bother her nearly as much as being turned away. Kyle walked her back across the room, settling her onto the carpeted floor.

"Look, I've got something I think you'll like. Watch this." She was never sure if the baby could understand her, or maybe just read her feelings and what she was looking at. Either way, Kyle actually moving and doing things was enough to stop her from going for the door again.

Kyle brought the laptop over, then opened up Netflix. This would be a lot easier if you were a kid instead of a baby. What does a baby even want to watch? She selected the first kids movie she saw: Finding Nemo. He'd liked that one when he was small, maybe Fay would too?

At first Fay started fighting as she used the laptop, expression shifting into various stages of annoyance. But then the movie started, and she was entirely transfixed. She moved up close to the screen, staring in wonder and squeaking back in response to the various things characters said.

Kyle backed away, watching carefully to make sure that Fay wasn't about to attack the screen. But no, she was just watching.

Thank god. So Kyle had one tool she could use to keep the child entertained. So she could keep her distracted while Kyle worked on mastering... magic? At least if that one commenter was to be believed. First things first, she ripped the top off the 25-pound bucket of granola Kara had brought her from the disaster shelf, then broke the mylar seal with a hoof. The "food" underneath was the definition of bland, smelling about as appetizing as the break room of his movie theater where he worked summers. But it was food, and she was eating for two. It would have to do.

Maybe Fay will be so happy when the movie's over that she'll spontaneously change me back. It could happen!