//------------------------------//
// (19) Move Along 
// Story: Coming Out Of My Cage 
// by Boopy Doopy 
//------------------------------//

“I didn’t realize humans cared so much about their team’s sports,” Twilight commented as the three of them sat on the couch. Jase was looking at his phone as Katrina stared at the TV with a scowl. 
“Well, normally the Chiefs play better than this,” she replied, not turning away. “Maybe if they wouldn’t drop passes that hit them right in the freaking hands…”
“Mark- err, Katrina- really likes football, if you can’t tell,” Jase said. “They’re probably the only one in our family who does, other than our dad. You wouldn’t believe how many Sundays they spent just yelling at the TV all day.”
“I can tell she’s deeply invested,” Twilight said, writing things in her notebook as she watched along with her. “It does look like it takes a great deal of hand-eye coordination to play, and looks quite dangerous. How many people do you think are watching along with us?”
“I don’t know. It’s Monday Night Football… probably twenty million people? Maybe only a third are actual fans of either team. Most just have it on to watch because they’re interested.”
“Huh, now that’s something. I’d be curious to know why that-”
“Aaaaaaand it’s over,” she said, quickly grabbing the remote and turning off the television. “I’m done for the night.”
“Oh? You didn’t want to watch the rest of it? I thought this was your favorite game.”
“I don’t normally stop watching three quarters of the way through, but that pick six was just completely awful. I don’t think we’re coming back from twenty nine to three with under twenty minutes left.”
“Oh, well, okay. If that’s it, I do have to get back home now, although I’d love to come back tomorrow, if that’s okay.”
“Uhh…” Katrina looked to her brother, who was paying very little attention to the two of them. “Are you sure? I know you said, um… but…”
“It doesn’t matter to me. I said before that we need to do more testing and see how other creatures would react. I have no issues with him coming over.”
“What are you two talking about?” he asked, suddenly looking up from his phone. “Are we going over to her house now?”
It was a scary thought to bring her little brother to Equestria, but not nearly as terrifying as it was before. He already knew what she was, so all that was left was… breaking the laws of physics and reality as science knew it and showing him another dimension. She suddenly realized that up to that point she hadn’t thought much about the fact that it was a marvel of science that such a thing was even possible. However, she chalked it up to being distracted by other things.
She took a breath as she said, “Jase, I want to show you something. It’s- it’s completely unbelievable. But you have to be… you can’t freak out, okay?”
“I mean, you already told me you’re a girl who’s been pranking me for all these years,” he joked. “I don’t think you can surprise me more than that, unless you’re about to show me a collection of dead bodies. I will be very surprised if that’s the case and will immediately freak out. But other than that, I should be fine. What is it?”
“We’re going to show you,” Katrina said a bit nervously as she got up, Twilight and Jase getting up after her. “Follow me.”
“If you’re gonna show me the dress, I already saw that, remember?” Jase said as they made their way toward the closet. Katrina took a few seconds to unlock the door as he continued, “I pointed it out to you actually.”
“It’s not that,” she said as she bent down to lift up the trapdoor, exposing the ladder leading down to a familiar place. Twilight didn’t waste any time heading down, moving slowly and carefully as she did. Katrina, however, looked at her brother to see what he was thinking.
“Well, you know what they say,” he told her after a moment. “Ladies first.”
With that, Katrina climbed down, Jase following after her. By the time they made it to the bottom, Twilight had already stepped through the portal, leaving the two of them alone.
“Are you two trying to prank me?” he asked as he looked around the small room, his eyes settling on the door. “What’s going on here?”
“I’m gonna be completely serious here,” she said as she looked him in the eye. “You’re gonna walk through that door and be taken to another world and be turned into a horse. I need you to not freak out when that happens, okay?”
“I want you to know that you’re getting my hopes up. If I don’t turn into a horse now, I’m gonna be very disappointed.” There was a pause between them before he continued, “Once again, ladies first.”
“I- I want you to go first,” she told him, looking at the floor. “I know you already know… certain things about me… but I still think it’d be better if you went first.”
He shrugged at that, replying, “Okay. If you say so.” He didn’t waste another second, immediately opening the door and stepping right through. She took a breath during the moment of silence after he left before she heard him calling her name.
“Mark? Hey, Mark!” he yelled from Equestria. “I know you said that this would happen and not to freak out, but I really didn’t think this would happen!”
Katrina closed her eyes and took a breath, pushing down her nervousness as she stepped through. The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Jase looking at his new hooves, moving the limbs to test them out. As strange as it was, she thought he looked largely the same, now a pony with a white coat and a short blonde mane, sporting a picture of a chef’s hat on his flank. She watched him pick his head up to look around silently at the room they were in, doing his best to process what was going on.
“Okay Mark,” he started as he turned around. “I will admit that I’m more than a little freaked out, but… you… you’re a girl!”
“Yes I am,” she said simply, quietly, with a serious tone in her voice as her brother hung his mouth open. She thought she’d feel embarrassed or awkward by what she was here, but those feelings didn’t come. All she had was that same sense of peace and wellbeing that always accompanied her when she entered Equestria.
“You… you really are trans?” Jase asked, blinking at her as he ignored the world around him. She nodded and he continued, “I don’t know why, but I honestly thought you and that other girl were joking about that! And we’re horses in another world, and what the hell is going on?”
“I told you to not freak out, remember?” she told him, giving a little smile. “What happened to being disappointed if this didn’t happen?”
“I’m not freaking out! This is me not freaking out! What do I have to be freaked out about? Nothing, because I’m not! Tell me what’s going on!” As he said it, he looked around the room again before down at his shaking hooves, doing his best to keep calm.
“It’s okay,” she said slowly, putting a hoof on his shoulder, doing her best to not fall over as she did. “We’re fine, okay? I know it’s weird, but you can’t freak out, okay?”
“Okay, okay…” he trailed off breathlessly, trying to gather himself. “I’m trusting you that this… whatever this is… isn’t dangerous. What the heck is going on?”
“It’s exactly what I said,” she replied simply. “We were going to another universe and were going to be turned into horses. You said you’d be disappointed if this didn’t happen, so I’m surprised you’re so freaked out.”
“I was prepared to be disappointed,” he argued. “How did this happen? How is this possible?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I do know that Twilight, that girl who was with me, said she used magic to build this all. I got a private message on Discord about some agency taking over my house, and then there was an earthquake, and now… well, this exists.”
“That seems unbelievable. There has to be something more to this story,” he answered, looking around the room and back at himself again. Katrina only shrugged as he asked, “How does all of this work? This doesn’t seem like it should be possible.”
“I have no idea. You have to ask Twilight about that one. I’m pretty sure it breaks the laws of physics somehow.”
“I should ask the alien in an alien world that built a portal to turn me into an alien, is that what you’re saying?”
“Uh, yeah, pretty much,” she answered nonchalantly. “That’s probably the best way to describe it. I’ve been coming here practically every day though, so I can say it’s not as bad as you probably think it is.”
“I can only hope you’re telling the truth after hearing so many lies,” Jase tried to joke. “And you. Are you- I really, truly thought you were trying to be funny and prank me. Are you sure that horse is what you are?”
“Um, yeah,” she answered flatly. “I mean, I’m not a horse, but yes, I am a girl. I kind of wish I wasn’t though. The dysphoria I have is… really bad.” She looked away shyly as she added, “I can’t see how you thought I was joking though. I cried right in front of you…”
“So wait, did you just figure out you were trans by coming to this place?” he asked as he stepped carefully up to her. “How long have you known? How long has this door existed?”
“It’s been here since, like, the first week of June,” she explained, “but I’ve known since well before then. As for the other question, I… I don’t know. I was probably seventeen or twenty or somewhere around that age when I realized? I don’t know, but I was definitely living away from Dad at the time, or I was just about to move out.”
He didn’t respond right away, looking around the room and at himself for a moment before asking, “Are you sure? This isn’t, like, some gigantic elaborate prank, is it? I know you’re being serious, but I need you to tell me that you definitely aren’t joking and that this is all real life. I was joking before because I really, truly thought you were joking, too, with how obvious you were making it.”
She made a face at that as she said, “I’m not joking, but I wish I were. If I was, then it’s a prank that’s been in the works for years. I’m pretty sure you remember that time when I was fifteen and I cried in front of everyone when Dad forced me to cut my hair. God, I felt so bad when that happened...” She silently cringed at that memory before continuing, “Or here’s something else. The voice I have here? This is what the voice in my head sounds like on Earth. It’s sounded like this for as long as I can remember.”
“Wow, this… this is so strange. I lied when I said it makes things make more sense. It really doesn’t. You- this might be weird or insensitive or something, but you really don’t seem like you would be trans. I honestly thought you were messing with me because of that dress and me messing with you about it. And you’re a horse, and I’m a horse, and- and… are you sure there’s not a gas leak in here or something that’s messing with our heads? This cannot possibly be real life.”
“He’s not joking around anymore, so at least it’s sinking in for him,” Katrina thought, ignoring his question. She stepped up to the door that led to the library and opened it, pausing for a second to take in the view before turning back to her brother. His mouth was still hanging open as he looked into the room, able to see the crystal walls and the pony that was Twilight sitting at a table from his position.
“Are you sure we should be going in there?” Jase asked as she looked back at him. “It could be dangerous or something.”
“I’ve been through here probably several dozen times. It’s not dangerous in the slightest. Also, remember how I told you to not freak out? The Jase I know wouldn’t hesitate to explore more.”
“Yeah, well, the Mark I know... I’m gonna keep the joke I wanna make to myself because it’s probably very rude. And I didn’t say I didn’t want to explore. I was just gonna say you’re a girl so that makes you weak, and I’m a big strong man, so I should go in first.”
“Ah, of course. How thoughtless of me. After you then.”
He hesitated for only a moment before carefully stepping through, Katrina following behind him. She couldn’t help but notice how easily he moved, lacking any of the awkwardness and incoordination she had. She felt jealous looking at it, but put that thought out of her head as Twilight waved a hoof, smiling and directing them over to her. 
“Hello again Katrina, Jase,” she greeted. “I was gonna ask what was taking you so long but I didn’t want to interrupt your conversation.”
“I was just asking him if there was a gas leak in here and if we needed to call Poison Control, but it turns out it was a false alarm and it’s just me coming to grips with the fact that aliens exist and that my brother’s been lying to me for years.” Jase paused for a second at the look Twilight gave him and added, “He told me he didn’t even want to watch the Chiefs, and yet he did. All I can do is shake my head at that.”
“I can understand that you’d find it a bit surprising,” Twilight smiled at the joke. “As far as I understand, Earth doesn’t have anything like this. Do you mind if I interview you? The more creatures I have in my report, the better.”
“Sure, I’ll let you interview me and experiment on me,” he responded as he sat down in front of her. “What the heck could go wrong? I’m just an alien who managed to jump to another universe.”
“Haha, well I won’t experiment on you, but why don’t I start off by asking what…” Katrina largely tuned out the conversation as she walked around the library. It was the third time she’d come out, the first that it was to someone who actually knew her. 
It went much differently than she imagined it would go. She expected more resistance, more tears maybe, something. Not that she was upset with what she received. It was just strange to her. But it did give her more confidence that she could come out and be herself. She closed her eyes and took a breath, somehow letting even more weight slip off her shoulders with that thought. It felt so, so nice to be able to be herself.
“Hey, Mark! Errr, Katrina!” Jase suddenly called after a while as he and Twilight stood up from the table. “I wanna go exploring.”