Ada hadn’t left her room the entire day. The pancakes Twilight had made and left for her outside our bedroom door eventually having gone cold, I took them away, dumping them into the bin. I could hear her making various phone calls through our thin plasterboard walls; telling her work that she wouldn’t be in for a few days, calling her friends and family to tell them she was sick and would be out of commission for a while. I thought I may as well do the same, but checking my phone, I realised just how long it had been since my mother called me last. I supposed work would probably want to know if something was up, but as long as I still had my computer, I could still do my job. Probably. The hooves might become a problem, but at least I could just avoid turning my webcam on in meetings.
Twilight gave me a concerned look as I came back from disposing of Ada’s meal. I sat down next to her silently and closed my eyes. She and I had spent the meal talking, mostly about Ponyville, her life, her friends… It made me so jealous. I couldn’t help but fall into it, desiring the things she talked about, wanting so much to have that peace. Alas, I sighed. Eventually, Ada and I would be fixed and we’d return here.
My foot had advanced throughout the day, minty fur now covering almost the full circumference of my leg, the hoof at the bottom of my leg having also finished coming in just before it. I noticed that all over my body, small peach-fuzz-like hairs were beginning to spring up. It was difficult to notice without the right light and angle, but they were almost definitely the pastel green fur my leg and hand were covered in now.
My thoughts drifted to Ada. I had knocked on the door multiple times, trying desperately to reach out to her, to no avail. I wanted her to be safe and happy, but it was impossible to do when being pushed away so adamantly. Her changes had probably also advanced, though to what extent, I had no idea. Hopefully she would leave the room and talk to me, but she was showing no signs of exiting anytime soon.
Was she scared of me? I looked down at my hoof, inspecting it closely for the fiftieth time. Its smooth, rounded shape was a lovely beige, lightly lined with natural markings down the length of it. It faded into the slightly longer, shaggy green fur on my “fetlocks”, as Twilight had informed me. Learning names for various pony anatomical parts was interesting, if a little awkward when she went into the more sensitive areas without warning.
I shook my head, knowing Ada probably wouldn’t even bother trying to learn what I had just been taught. She was in full on denial mode. For me, however, this whole situation was becoming less and less unreal seeming over time. It may have been different, yes, but something about it felt so much more right than I had expected.
Thinking on how Ada might feel, however, made my chest sink. I didn’t mind if she couldn’t embrace it as I was, but the utter disgust she had shown when she looked at me- no, glared at me before, made me doubtful she could even accept that I might be okay with this, let alone accept that I was trans. I had probed her on the subject before and received nothing concrete that would let me guess how she felt about it.
“Poppy,” Twilight said, my heart skipping a beat happily at the use of my new name. “Is there anywhere I might possibly do some research? I’ve been thinking of trying to see if this world does in fact contain some sort of magic. If we can source it here, then I may be able to open a portal faster than I previously thought.”
“Really?” I perked up. “Ada will be excited to hear that.”
“I don’t think we should try to get her hopes up this early on; she’ll feel even worse if this turns out to be a dead end. Maybe once my research bears some fruit, but I’d rather just keep the possibility between us until then.”
I nodded, knowing she was right. “I have a laptop, if that suits you?”
“A laptop?”
“Oh, uh, it’s like… a powered book that does complex and fast maths equations to display images, store data, read information, all interactively.”
“Fascinating!” Twilight’s ears stood at attention. “I’d love to play with— I mean, I’d love to try doing some research with it.”
I pulled my work laptop out from under the desk where it was stored and placed it in front of Twilight. After a very short tutorial to an apparently incredibly fast learner, Twilight was happily typing away, using a levitating pencil to tap keys, run search terms through google, find scientific papers on archival websites, and last I saw, was going through old internet forums for mentions of magic. I had warned her that she would find her fair share of misinformation and lies out there, but she assured me that if she found anything, she’d be able to tell herself whether it was legitimate or not.
As I had suspected, the search was long and boring. I left Twilight tapping happily on the keyboard and walked over to my computer to start doing some work. I had neglected it during the daylight hours, but I picked my own hours for the most part, filling in for my lost time now. It was far more difficult than usual, using my left hand for most of my typing, and the right hoof for clicking and moving the mouse, but I could tell I was getting the hang of it by the time dinner came around.
Making dinner was similarly hard, but didn’t require anywhere near as much fine motor movement compared to computer work. I sliced some vegetables and fried them up with some delicious soy sauce and various spices, working in some freshly chopped cashews and parsley. It was simple, but it was more than enough to satisfy Twilight and I. Having left a plate for Ada, I smiled when I came back to see that it had been eaten. Another knock, followed by silence, confirmed that she still didn’t want to see me.
I sat and talked with Twilight for the rest of the night, her also having called it quits temporarily on the research. The more and more she described her home, Ponyville, the more enticing it sounded. They didn’t have a system of debt there; public funded programs having paid for nearly all if not every single basic need for everypony. Travel was free, food was plentiful and not thrown in the waste when needy ponies were there. I wished that Ada was here and would actually listen instead of reacting with fear. Twilight was clearly here to help us, and felt immense remorse for involving us in her affairs, but so far Ada had only pushed both of us away.
Night time came once more, and I tiptoed toward Ada’s room, listening carefully to hear light snores coming from inside. Happy that she was able to get to sleep, and not wanting to wake her up, I walked back down stairs and set myself up on the second couch next to Twilight.
“Not going to sleep next to your marefriend?”
I shook my head.
“She’s not taking this well and I’m just scared to do anything which might make this worse for her.”
“Surely your presence would help her?”
I shrugged.
“She never had issues sleeping alone. Always would complain that I would wake her up, accidentally moving in my sleep.”
Twilight stayed silent, gazing down at her hooves.
“Besides, I think she needs a break. She still works hard, and has lots of issues going on in her own head. The biggest problem is that she bottles it, storing it under the floorboards until it explodes in— well, you saw before. Slamming doors. Trying to avoid me. I’ve just learned to let her have space, but it hurts to avoid her when all I want to do is comfort her.”
“I know how you feel. It’s never nice to not know how to help somepony, or whether you can help at all. Sometimes, if that pony refuses to let you in, then there’s not a whole lot you can do. Plus, the feelings you have matter too. She might be shutting you out for her own health, but you’re your own mare, with needs and wants that should be respected.”
I smiled sadly at her and let out a single laugh. The word “mare”, something I recently learned meant a female pony, raised my spirits
“Th- thanks. Y’know, you’re good at this.” I shot her a grin. “You should get a job doing this kind of thing.”
She laughed with a snort, falling backward onto the couch that was currently her bed. We laughed together until my laugh turned into a yawn and I conceded that it was time to hit the hay. A phrase which was beginning to develop a newly ironic meaning, what with our ponifying condition.
I drifted off, thinking about the possibilities that the future held, and dreaming far more peacefully that night than I had in weeks.
I woke up to a quiet house, the sun only just beginning to peak over the horizon. It wasn’t the only light in the room either, I noticed, turning to see Twilight scrolling through webpages on my laptop, bags under her eyes.
“Twilight? What time is it” I said, lifting my right hoof and rubbing my eyes free of sleep.
“Four AM. You should get back to sleep.” She said, eyes transfixed on the screen. She sipped at a lukewarm looking coffee which she had made herself at some point earlier in the night.
“Sounds like you should get some sleep too, Twi.”
She sighed. Smiling at me, she closed the laptop and levitated her coffee over to the table.
“You’re right. I’ve hit a dead end, and I just don’t think there’s anything out there magical in your world.”
“I thought so.” I nodded, dejected, but expecting this outcome. Ada was just going to have to exist as a pony with me for a while. Who knew, maybe I could get her to accept it; or stop freaking out at the very least. Twilight had done all she could to assure us it could be reversed, and we’d be able to get back to our mundane lives. The banality of it was almost comedic in comparison to the described world of ponies, magic, friendship, and love that Twilight described. Unlike this world, with its rampant destruction and corruption, Equestria was nothing short of utopian.
I went to stand up, thinking that a coffee might be in order, only to trip slightly, falling further than I expected from the couch.
“Um… Twilight?”
She sleepily looked over to me, eyelids half way down her face.
“Mm?”
“Do I look… Shorter to you?” I looked myself up and down.
She forced her sleepy lids open and stared at me for a moment. “Oh dear. You do, don’t you?”
Pulling up my pant leg yet again, I observed that not only had the entirety of my right leg been covered in minty fur, but the bones in my leg looked almost broken again. On closer inspection however, I noticed that it wasn’t broken at all, and instead the various bones in my leg had begun to either shorten or lengthen to represent their pony counterpart. The heel of my foot no longer hit the floor; no longer needing to, since my toes– now my hoof, provided adequate support. Slightly less easy to balance with, but that was to be expected now that my toes couldn’t flex to support micro-adjustments in posture. Almost as if to prove a point, I tripped slightly attempting to put pressure on the adjacent leg.
I pulled up the other pant sleeve to see that the changes had begun to sprout from an all new spot, seemingly on the inner side of my legs that had been pressed together while sleeping. The left leg was ever so slightly longer than the hooved right one, explaining my loss of balance when trying to shift weight between the two.
“Uhh, this is fine, right?” I questioned her, trying again to stand up straight. “It’s— woops!” I stumbled again. “It’s much harder to move now. I wish the other side would hurry up already.”
“Hmmm…” Twilight stood up and trotted over. “Let me try this…
A concentrated glow of magic began to form on my left leg and the changes began to accelerate rapidly, continuing their spread until the left leg’s bones were at the same scale as the right. I watched in strange fascination as my toes disappeared for a second and last time, rounding out into the familiar beige hoof that was on my other toe.
“There! Just a teensy dose of raw magic, and this side should be growing at the same rate.” Twilight smiled. “It was going to happen sooner or later, so now you can at least balance.”
Almost as if to punctuate her words, I tripped again, this time fully falling back onto the couch. She and I both laughed at the timing of it, being careful to remain quiet in the still morning silence.
Smiling, my brain buzzing with the unexpected joy of this strange new experience, my mood dropped when my mind wandered to Ada. She was still asleep now, as could be heard from the loud snores leaking through the aforementioned thin walls.
She would wake up and most likely freak out at her changes, had she still not been able to reconcile with herself yet. To her, this could be a holiday; an excuse to get away from the job that she clearly despised, based on our many conversations about it. I could understand her apprehension, but we both knew that this condition was more than reversible. I sighed. Reversible. Twilight was going to reverse this after everything was said and done.
“Well, I was about to make myself a coffee. Would you like me to make you a cup? Since you’re currently still… adjusting.”
“That would be wonderful.”
I looked to my side, a barely noticeable creak having caught my attention. Walking down the stairs was Ada, hands under her armpits yet again.
“Make that two coffees, Twi.” I said, standing to go meet Ada at the bottom of the stairs. I held my hooves out for her to take as balance as she got to the bottom of the stairs, but she ignored my gesture and stepped around me, walking toward the couch.
“Ada, please.” I said, softening my voice as I clumsily walked over on my new hind-hooves and sat down next to her. “It’s going to be okay. Please, just trust me, I’m going to be here for you throughout this.”
She side eyed me, the expression on her face unreadable. Eventually she pulled her hooves out and placed them on my lap, reluctantly moving closer to me. It wasn’t the opening up that both of us needed, but it was a start.
I didn’t mention the obvious changes that had happened to Ada over the course of the last day and a bit, but I couldn’t help but take note of a blue tint spreading from the tip of her nose, outward to the rest of her face. She was still hiding it, but her front hooves had almost definitely finished forming, the blue fur now being noticeable quite far up her arms. It wasn’t the time to bring it up, especially now that Ada was at least not hiding from me anymore.
After a minute of quiet, Twilight trotted in from the kitchen, three steaming coffees floating just behind her, suspended in a purple glow. I never could get over how cool that was, smiling a little wider than I should have when the cup floated in between my front hooves. I giggled with an oddly cute snort, shocking even myself with the unabashed femininity of the action. Nopony else said anything, so I let it remain ignored, but anypony watching would have seen the light pink of a blush begin to dust my cheeks.
Plonking her rump down happily on the couch, Twilight lifted her own coffee to her lips and took a sip, some of the energy coming back to her face. If she was anything like me however, she’d sleep soundly after caffeine, despite its purported effects. She looked over to Ada and smiled.
“Good morning, Ada. I hope your sleep was restful.”
She nodded apprehensively. “I slept like… maybe half of yesterday and all of last night. Can’t sleep much more though, so I’m up now.” A slight smile and a laugh. I held her closer, even the tiniest improvement on her mood rubbing off on me. She sank closer into the hug, now embracing at least my touch, if not my changes. She noticeably still avoided touching my hooves, but I again said nothing. It was more important that she be comfortable than me, after all.
“So, you’ve been researching?” Ada broke the silence, motioning to the piles of paper and notes that Twilight had uncovered. “Any luck?”
Twilight, in the middle of yawning, shook her head sadly at Ada. “No, and I was up all night too.” She looked over to the open laptop begrudgingly.
“I’m sorry. I’m almost certain I’ll be able to reverse your conditions, in time, but it will be by the timeline I mentioned before.”
Ada sighed. “Well, it’s not bad news. Just an absence of good news.”
Twilight nodded, looking down at her hooves in guilt. “Unfortunately, most “magic” in your world is as you said. People with superstitions performing what they think will work; not the worst idea, since magic can only come with experimentation, but without knowing what could happen, they could potentially cause a catastrophe.” Twilight lifted the computer over to herself with a glimmer of purple magic, beginning to tap away. “At first I thought that these ”Furries” were magical creatures, but unfortunately I found out that it’s a fandom and not a grouping of species’.”
I blushed, childhood memories of time spent in particular Internet forums filling me with embarrassment. I decided not to mention it.
“Then there’s these “VTubers”.” Twilight began, only for a gasp to come from Ada. I smiled, knowing the rant that was about to come.
“I love VTubers! I follow so many! There’s Gawr Gura, and Korone, and Shimmer Code, who I really like. Then there’s—“
“Wait-wait-wait, go back.” Twilight held her hooves up. “Did you say “Shimmer Code”?” Her eyes grew wider.
“Uh, yeah? There’s this girl who has like, a really complex 3D pony character. Some very impressive rigging and animation setup too, much cleaner looking than any—“ She froze.
Twilight stared back at her. Her ear twitched.
“You don’t think…”
Not responding, the princess began slamming away at keys with her magic, and only a few seconds later, the screen shifted to a YouTube video compilation named “Shimmer Code Best Moments”. Hitting play, we immediately saw a short, golden yellow unicorn, a game controller floating in front of her with an incredibly distinct and familiar look, apart from the difference in colour.
“Oh my god.” Ada chuckled. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about Shimmer Code! I guess with all the confusion the other night, it never crossed my mind.”
“How do we get in contact with her?” Twilight said, bumping the screen with the tip of her hoof as she pointed out the red and yellow haired unicorn.
Hey, careful with my laptop…
“She has a Twitter, I suppose we can send her a DM?” I mentioned, using the touchpad to click on the link in her channel description. The webpage loaded, showing the profile of your typical Youtuber/streamer. Links to videos, funny moments, compilations of facial expressions captured at key moments.
“There’s no doubt about it, that’s Sunset Shimmer!” Twilight clapped her hooves excitedly as my scrolling came to a halt on a particularly funny image of Sunset falling back in her chair.
“Let’s send her a message.”
Twilight moved the mouse over to the DM button and began tapping at the keys.
“Dear Sunset Shimmer. I know who you are, and—“
“Woah, hey,” I said, taking the laptop out of her magical hold. “I think that might sound a little aggressive as a first message.”
Twilight blushed and chuckled.
“How about this…” I placed the laptop awkwardly on my lap and began typing using one hand, and the very tip of my right hoof.
“hey shimmer code! I know this might seem a little weird, but my name is twilight sparkle and I am a pony just like you. I come from another world and am familiar with an alternate universe version of you named sunset shimmer”. I dictated as I typed.
"There, that’s a better start.” I smiled, hoofing the laptop back to Twilight.
“If you wanted to contact me, it would be of great assistance. I am currently trying to help two humans who are dealing with a condition that is slowly changing them to be ponies like us, and I need a little magical helping hoof” Twilight read her message aloud, ending it with a small “:3c” emoticon at the end. She learned fast.
It was a few minutes before we received a reply, faster than I had expected.
“Okay, that’s creepy as hell. Alternate version of me? I haven’t told anypony my new name, so yea. It’s a bit much, but I guess I believe you. I am a pony, and I went through the exact thing that’s happening to your friends there, so I got no reason to believe you’re lying. To be honest, you’re the first ones like me I’ve ever met. I’ll help you guys out, but honestly, I don’t know what I can do.”
“I’m not too sure she can help us either. I mean, I can’t help but notice she’s still a pony, not a human…” Ada shrugged, pursing her lips in uncertainty.
Twilight efficiently typed a response a few moments after finishing reading Sunset’s.
“Wait, so you were a human and also became a pony? How interesting. How did that happen? Our issue is mainly due to the fact I magically burnt myself out getting to this universe in the first place. I’m an experienced magic user, but as you’ve probably noticed, the air in this world lacks magic.”
“I kinda just thought that was normal. For me, I was interested in the occult since I was a kid. I started messing around with some stuff and ended up blasting myself with a pure beam of magic. I had no idea it would have the effect it did.”
“So this world does have magic! That’s promising.” Twilight said aloud before returning to her conversation.
I looked to Ada with a smile, happy to see her own expression cheering up at this most recent development. I bounced excitedly on the couch, turning back to read more of Twilights conversation, which had continued while I wasn’t watching.
“…So yeah, I ended up just going with it. Now I stream games as a pony and make a killing. VTubers being a thing gave me the perfect cover; I’m friends with some 3d artists too, who appreciated being given “credit” for making my model ;) Anyway, getting back to it, I’m still not too sure what I can do for you.”
“I can think of a few.” Twilight responded. “I’d need to get you here though, to the house of the humans who are in need.”
“No problem. Send me the address and I’ll be there in… gimme like fifteen minutes, I gotta shower so bad.”
“Well, that’s that!” Twilight piped up, closing the laptop lid after sending through one last message. “Looks like I have some good news after all, Ada! If this world’s Sunset Shimmer is magically active, she might be able to help me cast the worldgate spell!”
Ada sighed in relief, a wide smile on her face. I couldn’t help but smile too, her happiness infectious, though Twilights words nagged the back of my mind, telling me to think more and consider my own feelings about this. How happy thinking about my possible future might‘ve been.
I pushed them down. That wasn’t important right now. Ada was happy, and that was all that mattered.
The sun had just begun to peek over the horizon, slowly filling the living room with the dim, soft morning light. I composed myself to get up, standing and slowly walking on my new hooves toward the kitchen to make breakfast for Twilight and my wife. I had gotten used to walking like this, for the most part, especially after Twilight had helped me balance out the rate of changes between legs.
Making up a simple breakfast of beans on toast with eggs, I hummed a simple tune to myself. I was feeling more perky than usual, and curiously, my hums sounded far more sonorous, and dare I say, on pitch this morning. I was never the worst singer, but it struck me as odd to hear the notes I did. I felt at my throat with my remaining hand, the five am shadow I was used to feeling far less rough than usual. I guessed it made sense, the rest of my skin being coated in the same velvety fuzz as my leg, that the same would happen with other body hair. Wait, did magical ponies grow facial hair? I sure hoped not.
“So she said she’d be here soon, right?” Ada said, arm leaning over the back of the couch to watch me as I carried our breakfasts into the living room on a tray.
"Wait, I thought she lived in Denmark or Finland or something, how would she be able to—“ Flash! A magical sparkle, followed by the form of a short buttery unicorn both materialised in the middle of the room, giving nearly everypony the scare of their lifetimes, and almost making me drop the already precariously balanced breakfasts. Before us stood Sunset Shimmer, who flicked her red and yellow mane stylishly on arrival, horn glow receding after her teleport spell had concluded.
“The mane mare is here.” She shot us a smirk.
“Sunset! It’s so good to see you!” Twilight shouted, hooves clopping as she ran up to the new arrival, wrapping her front legs around Sunset’s shocked looking form. Sunset chuckled and pushed Twilight away gently.
“Hehe, okay there tiger. I’m not the Sunset Shimmer you know, remember?”
“Oh.” Twilight blushed. “Right. Of course.”
“Not that I don’t appreciate it, heh.” Sunset chuckled, turning to look at the still stunned Ada and I at the other side of the room. “I take it you two are the…? Oh wow, yeah, those are hooves.”
Sunset trotted up to us, first inspecting my lower hooves, then shifting her attention to Ada, who was smiling wide, her face filled with joy and excitement.
“Um, Shimmer Code? I just wanted to say, I’m a huge fan!” Ada said excitedly, bouncing from toe to toe.
“Oh, a fan, eh?” She smirked, a mischievous smile gracing her lips. Uh oh. “I don’t really get to meet many, for… obvious reasons. Hey, want an autograph?”
With a playful waggle of Sunsets, eyebrows, Ada was in the kitchen and out again, carrying a pen and paper surprisingly effectively in her hooves. Sunset levitated the pen with a quick flourish, marking her signature with a tiny cartoon pony drawing. Heh, cute. Ada gasped, holding the signature to her chest.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you—!” She squealed, picking up Sunset in a hug, spinning around before placing her back down. “My friends are going to be so jealous.”
Sunset smiled as she regained her balance, this time a little blush showing up below her golden fur. “Oh it’s nothing. W- Well, anyway!” Sunset stammered, her initial confidence being clearly overridden somewhat by embarrassment. She turned, Twilight walking up to us, laughing at the display.
“So, how can I help?” Sunset smiled, her bravado returning. I decided to take a seat, realising finally that I was still holding breakfast. I placed it in front of everypony and we began eating as we spoke. Luckily I had made more than I expected us to need, so there was plenty for Sunset as well.
“So,” Twilight addressed Sunset, her voice swapping to that analytical tone I was so familiar with by now. “I noticed that you’ve developed quite the repertoire of spells! Impressive, what with there being no formal education resources on magic here.”
Sunset’s blush returned. For someone so confident, she sure did get flustered easily.
“Y- Yeah, well,” She chuckled, “I’ve been interested in magic my whole life, so becoming a pony was probably one of the best things that could happen to me!”
Ada raised an eyebrow.
“I get to stream still; something I was doing before I became a pony, and when I wanna see my friends, I invented a glamour spell that lets me appear to others as a human!”
Ada’s eyes shot open.
“WHAT.”
Sunset jumped back, the sudden intensity of Ada’s outburst almost physically pushing her back.
“YOU HAVE TO TEACH ME.”
Sunset gulped. “I— uh, sure! As long as you turn out to be a unicorn.” She punctuated with a tap on Ada’s forehead, doubling as a way to push away the over-zealous half-pony.
“S- Sorry,” Ada jumped backward, the breach of personal space suddenly registering in her brain.
“That gives me an idea,” Twilight trotted up to my wife. “Hold still for a moment, Ada— I’m going to scan you with my magic; it won’t hurt at all, you’ve already absorbed enough magic that it won’t cause you any pain, as Jo knows.”
Ada still stiffened awkwardly as the magic passed over her. I saw her pursed lips break their composure temporarily, letting out a small laugh as she no doubt was being tickled as I was from the magical glow.
“Good news!” Twilight smiled. “You’re not only going to be a unicorn, but I detected a fair amount of magical adaptability in you! That means that you’ll be more than capable of casting the types of spells that Sunset and I cast.”
“Woah, magic?” Ada’s eyes almost sparkled. The secondary joy I experienced made my heart soar and I hugged her closer. Maybe she was actually beginning to embrace these— “Maybe I can help you figure out how to change us back faster!”
And just like that, it was gone.
“That’s what I’m hoping for. In the meantime, once your horn grows in, Sunset and I can start teaching you the glamour spell, and some other simple spells to help you get used to the concept.”
I smiled at Ada, still happy that she was going to be able to change herself back faster
Us.
Change us back.
I sighed. What Ada wants is important. She deserves to be happy
Happier than me.
“As I was saying,” Twilight continued, “Luckily, I don’t think I actually need much from you, Sunset. I just need a dose of magical energy from you, and hopefully Ada as well. I burnt through my magical reserves, and you both should be building up magic within yourselves as we speak. By the time the week is up, and your transformations are complete, we should have enough combined magic to open a portal to our world; Equestria!”
Everypony in the room was chattering, happy that we finally had a plan, but I noticed quite oddly that Sunset and I were smiling wider than the others in the room.
We happily continued our breakfast now, conversing amongst ourselves. I smiled, the air in the room positively buzzing with energy. After such a depressing atmosphere hanging over us for the last few days, Sunsets appearance was a proverbial ray of sunshine. Even Ada seemed to be enjoying herself, now talking to Sunset about her favourite VTubers, and giggling with her at the time that she tripped and pulled down her green screen, almost revealing her identity.
“Oh hey, Ada, right?” Sunset turned to my wife. “You got a little blue on your nose.”
“Ugh, really?” She whipped out her phone and turned on the face camera, inspecting what was indeed a growing blue patch, starting from her nose and spreading outward. “I don’t suppose you could cast the glamour spell on me instead, right?”
“Actually, I can!” Sunset smiled, her horn glowing teal for a moment before enveloping Ada in a soft light. She flashed briefly, revealing a regular, every day Ada. No hooves, no blue, no fur.
“Oh my gosh, thank you!” She said, overzealously hugging Sunset once more and hopping to her feet. She flexed her fingers and pulled out her phone again, inspecting her normal seeming nose. “How long does this last? ‘Cos I got work today, and if I can show up despite telling my boss I was feeling nauseous, I’ll be back in their good books for sure!”
“Oh, it’ll last like the entire day, or until I turn it off. It’s basically a “second skin” spell. Your hands will work as normal, even though they’re basically just your magical field projected over your hooves. Just don’t let anypony pick you up once you’ve finished changing. Once you’re this size, you’re gonna weigh this much regardless of whether the glamour spell is on or not.”
“Seriously, I can’t thank you enough!” Ada spun around, looking down at herself again. She stopped suddenly, glancing up at the clock. “Oh crap, I got work in like, twenty minutes!” She said, tugging on her dirty pyjama shirt and turning to run up stairs to our bedroom.
I sighed, forcing a smile.
Good for her.
I heard sunsets hooves clopping as she walked up to me. “So you’re next, right?”
“Oh, um, no, I work from home, so I’m not-“
“It’s really no issue! You’re not a unicorn so it’s gotta be hard to use a PC.”
“Seriously, I’m fine, I think—“
“Its not like it takes much effort either, it’s one of the easier spells I’ve lear—“
“NO!” I grit my teeth, the strange puberty-esque voice crack shocking me almost as much as my outburst. I hadn’t had a break like that in years. “Er- what I mean is—“
“Hey, hey, it’s okay.” Sunset grinned knowingly at me raising one eyebrow as she looked me up and down. I felt my cheeks rush with blood. “I understand. Hey, why do you think I stay as a pony instead of casting such a simple spell on myself? I get you.” She placed a hoof on my chest, which was now beating more rapidly than it ever had before.
“Thanks, I just… I don’t know. I don’t know what I’m thinking.”
“I know that feeling all too well, and I didn’t have someone like Twilight or me to guide you through this, so don’t worry.” She placed a hoof on my shoulder and winked playfully. “I got ’yer back.”
I sighed, listening as I heard Ada get ready in the other room. I couldn’t say I was exactly jealous of her. She had the things that she enjoyed, and I had mine. I suppose this was just one of those things, but Ada had reacted so… violently to this. How could I possibly tell her how I felt? Her outbursts scared me, and to tell her that this might be something I actually wanted? That scared me even more. My throat sank even more, remembering that I had yet another gargantuan secret I was keeping from her.
I looked down at my hooves, my previously masculine hands not visible at all through the now transformed appendages. I flexed them, the muscles beginning to feel natural, despite their differences from my regular biology.
Ada came bursting out of the room, work clothes haphazardly thrown on, but neat enough to be presentable. I stood up, moving closer to her. “Okay, so this won’t just like, stop working, right?” She asked Sunset Shimmer, throwing on her shoes mid stride. “My boss would kill me if I had to call in sick again.”
“Nope! Even if any changes happen throughout the day, you won’t notice it until I turn the spell off tonight.”
“Great, thanks!” She said, grabbing her keys and stepping out the door.
“Bye, honey, I love—“
Slam. The door shut, leaving us in silence.
“—you.” I sat back down, staring at my lower hooves. Sunset and Twilight both walked over to me, concern in their eyes.
“J— Poppy, I’m sorry. I think she was just caught up in the excitement.” Twilight said, placing a wing around my shoulder in comfort. The feathers were soft and light, the comfort and warmth they radiated filling me with a similar warmth. Held back my sighs of relief, careful not to get carried away in the feeling and embarrass myself further. Being called Poppy again by Twilight, now that Ada was out of the room, sent similar pleasant feelings through me.
“Poppy?” Sunset asked, an ever so slightly noticeable smile beginning to creep onto her face.
“Y- Yeah. I haven’t told Ada yet, so don’t go blabbing or anything, but… I’m trans.”
“EEEEEE!” The high pitched squeal that Sunset let out forcing me to bring my hoof and hand to my ears in shock. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry, I didn’t- I mean,” An unbelievably wide smile was plastered across her face. “I’M TRANS TOO!”
My eyes widened, and what must have been the hundredth time in two days, all I could think was No way.
“Y-You—“ a smile was forcing itself onto my lips, Sunset now joyfully gripping my shoulders in her hooves. “You’re trans too!?”
Twilight said nothing, eyes sparkling as she glanced between the two of us, hooves clasped together.
“You bet! And proud of it.” She said, performing another stylish flourish with her mane, accompanied with a wink. “I transitioned like, three, maybe four years ago? Started my streaming career just after it too. Trust me, you’re gonna love this pony biz.”
“But, wait…” I stopped. “Your voice. You sound so… well, cis.”
“That’s what I was saying! You’re gonna love the whole being a pony thing, cos most likely?” She shouldered up to me, whispering in my ear.
“It’s gonna make you a mare.”
I came to with a splash of water on my face. Sitting up rapidly, I saw Sunset and Twilight giggling as they used their magic to clean up the spilled water off of me, drying my clothes and body.
“Wh- what happened?” I said, but head spinning still from having woken so suddenly. We were talking about being a pony, and—
I froze.
My vision slowly shifted over, until I was staring at Sunset in disbelief.
“You fainted, filly.”
“What you said before. You were serious, right?”
“I sure was.” She smirked, and my heart began to race even faster. “I was already on hormones, but when I got ponified, it kinda… finished the job, so to speak.” She laughed nervously.
“Wait, you mean…?” I tried not to look down to my crotch.
“I do. So if you got any last errands to run, I’d do it now.”
My cheeks flushed with red.
“N- no thank you.”
“Eh, suit yourself.”
“So wait, could you just like… I dunno, blast me with magic or something? Finish this up?”
“Hmm, probably not. Apart from the fact that it’s already dangerous to flood a pony’s body with magic, we have no idea what would happen if we did it to a half-pony.” Twilight interjected.
“Hey, don’t worry about it too much,” Sunset grinned, nudging me with an elbow. “It’s exciting! I mean, honestly, going through the process of transition is cool as hell! Both for gender and for being a pony.”
I felt my heart jump. She was right, wasn’t she? The last few days, I had been feeling strange. The weird fluttering in my heart when I looked at my hooves. The warmth in my belly when Twilight told me I was going to be turning into a Pegasus. The joy just now that I felt when Sunset mentioned it might turn me into a mare…
“Wait, how are you sure it’ll turn me into a mare? What about Ada? Is she going to be a— what did you call it? Stallion?”
“Probably not.” Sunset shrugged. “But hey, if it does happen, we can just change her back when we change her back into a human. Oh and based on that voice crack before?” She nudged me yet again. “I wouldn’t worry about not turning into a mare too much. That’s exactly what happened to me too.”
My heart leapt for joy and this time, with Ada out of the house, I couldn’t control my happiness any longer. I jumped up and down, not even stopping when I almost lost my balance on my less than nimble lower hooves. I was buzzing with pulses of intense happiness, hopping from hoof to hoof and squeeing uncontrollably.
It felt unbelievable. Unreal. All the things I had desired, every wish I pushed away for the sake of others happiness, were all coming true!
“I can’t believe it, I’m—“ I breathed in and shouted, my voice not breaking; this time unabashedly feminine, no longer forcing it lower than it had been changing into.
I’m gonna be a girl!
“I’m gonna be a mare!”