With a bright flash, we popped back into my living room, my hooves appearing just a little off the ground before I dropped down with a thud. I wasn’t sure if I would ever get used to the strange feeling of teleporting from one place to another, but I couldn’t deny how cool it was being in Sweden one second, and home the next.
The morning was still, most of the neighbourhood asleep soundly, not knowing that three and a half magical beings were teleporting around in the crappy rental next door. Nothing seemed out of place, looking exactly as it had when we left the day before.
It was almost dead silent if it weren’t for the sounds of someone crying softly through the drywall. My heart clenched, knowing who it was and exactly why she was crying. I wanted to hit myself, the guilt of having caused this whole situation overwhelming me. I turned to Sunny and Twilight, who nodded to me knowingly, and I made my way quietly up the stairs to the bedroom.
Just as I reached the top step, I heard it creak loudly, and the sobbing inside the room stopped. I raised a hoof up and knocked twice. After a few seconds, and still silence, I knocked again.
“Ada?” I said, my newly feminine rasp catching as I said her name. “I’m coming in.”
I pushed the door open, walking in on a lump hidden below a duvet on our bed, trying to remain still and quiet. Based on the size of the lump compared to before, I could only assume that what was below the sheets was an almost completely pony Ada.
“I- I can leave, if you want?”
“N- no.” She replied, voice rough from crying. “I’m sorry, Poppy.”
“Oh Ada, you don’t have to be sorry. I do.”
“No, Poppy!” She pulled the sheets off her head, revealing a beautiful sky blue and pink gradiented mane, almost sparkling in the morning light. Her fur covered her entire upper body now and was a deep midnight blue, snout poking out from her face distinctly. Her amber eyes were glossy with tears, the whites tinted red from incessant rubbing. Atop her head, a very short blue nub of unicorn horn was visible, just peeking from the strands of her mane. I could tell she was trying to hide the less changed lower half of her body underneath the sheets in shame.
“I didn’t want you to see me like this.”
“Oh my, you’re…”
“Disgusting.”
“Gorgeous!” I trotted forward, closing the distance between us.
“What?” She laughed in shock, wiping a tear from her eye. “H- how could you possibly think that?”
“Your mane! And your snout, your cheeks! They’re really cute!” I complimented her genuinely, slowly seeing a smile creep its way back onto her face.
“Th- thanks, J— Poppy. I’m… sorry. About everything.”
“It’s okay, Ada.” I said warmly, her letting my hoof brush a strand of her mane from her eyes. “I had a big talk with Sunset, and I’m more sure of my decision than ever.”
“I know.” She nodded, resigned to our situation. “I know that I messed up.”
“I’m assuming you still want to separate…”
“Yeah. I’m sorry, I still can’t be with a girl. You’re wonderful, and smart, and you look so cute like that.” She laughed nervously with a sob. “But… I know you don’t want to change back. I need to change back. I need to get back to my life. My friends. I’m sorry.”
I leaned in and nuzzled her, letting tears flow, trying my hardest to keep my composure despite how close I was to falling apart. She flinched before slowly accepting my affection and nuzzling me back. It was strange, showing a much more platonic affection toward somepony I had been with romantically a day prior, but I knew that I would regret holding back more. I also knew that I would regret it if I didn’t use this chance to let go.
“I just want you to know Poppy, I still love you. That hasn’t changed, just because we can’t be married anymore. You’re amazing, and honestly, maybe we can be better friends than we ever were as spouses.”
“Y- yeah,” I smiled somberly, unsure of how confident I was in that, but her positivity was infectious, as her mood always was with me. “I still love you too, Ada. I’m… sorry. I didn’t tell you about this, about being trans, I–”
“No, Poppy. I was wrong, what I said before. I was… scared. You didn’t lie to me, I just didn’t listen to you until it was too late.” She said, lifting a hoof up to my face and touching it softly. “Gosh, you really are cute. I feel bad for all those times I called you such masculine things…”
“That’s nothing to be sorry about, you thought you were complimenting a regular cis guy, not a… trans m- mare.” I said, a shy giggle accompanying sparkles of joy at the words I chose to use.
She laughed along, mane bobbing along with her chuckles. I felt the tension held deep in my chest throughout this confrontation finally release, my heart slowing itself as laughter filled the room. I heard a knock behind us, the sound of hooves clopping on the floor outside our room, and I called out.
“Come in!”
“Hey, uh, it’s all okay for us to enter?” Sunny said as she slowly opened the door to the room with a twinkle of magic.
“Yep, come on in.” Ada sniffed, wiping her eyes free with a hoof as the two mares walked in.
“Hey Ada, how are you holding up?” Sunset asked, worry in her eyes and a nervous expression across her face.
“I’m okay, all things considered.”
“We talked about stuff.” I nodded, silently thanking Sunset for her caring words. “Things are okay now. I- I hope.”
“Yeah.” Ada smiled, leaning forward and nuzzling against my neck. “I’m sorry for how I acted before, you two. Especially you, Twilight.”
“It’s alright, Ada, you were scared and worried.” Twilight said as she approached from behind Sunset. “Sometimes fear makes us act in ways we don’t like. We say things we don’t mean, and make decisions we regret.”
“Thanks, Twilight.” She smiled, genuine appreciation in her voice. “I really do regret what I said, it wasn’t fair on any of you. You’re trying your hardest to help me get back to my old life, and I’ve just been rude and cruel.”
“It takes a lot of maturity to admit that, Ada.” Twilight smiled sagely at my now separated wife.
“I was actually wondering, uh…” She lifted a hoof up and nervously played with an ear. “I have work in half an hour, would it be okay to…?”
“Oh, yes, of course!” Sunset trotted over to her, a teal glow growing from her horn and spreading forth to cover her again, a familiar flash preceding the appearance of human-mode Ada.
“Thank you so much, Sunset!” She said, her regular perk returning somewhat. “And Poppy, I’m sorry again for all that I said and did—“
“Hey, now it’s your turn to stop being sorry. I forgive you. For everything. I’ll let you get ready.” I smiled up at her, our height differences now more exaggerated than ever. I turned around and walked out of the room with the other two mares in tow to let Ada change in privacy before closing the door behind us.
After Ada left, I had some breakfast with the girls; some waffles with banana that Sunset made for us, and shockingly delicious. Not too long after, I got to work, booting up my laptop and switching over to our internal messenger. I had to tell them I had lost my voice from the flu just to avoid questions about my new and overwhelmingly feminine sounding tone.
I hung my head in my hooves, brain still a mess from this morning. I was feeling fuzzy, stressed, and tired, and it definitely wasn’t going to get any better during work hours. I eyed the clock, groaning when I realised I still had four hours left of work.
“Gosh, I just wanna quit.” I stopped. Wait a second. I could just quit! Remembering our previously discussed plans around moving to Equestria, immediately my hooves went into action, writing up a long letter explaining my departure; some made up excuse about finding a better paying job in another country. It didn’t matter where I picked, it just needed to be far away enough that they wouldn’t be shocked to never see me again.
I finished off the letter, calling over Twilight, and we worked on collecting the required documents together for my departure. She helped me cancel all my bank accounts, transferring the tiny amount of remaining money to Ada and making sure that all my various subscriptions and ongoing payments had been canceled too.
It felt almost cathartic, going through and destroying all of the structures that held together my old life. A burn off, removing the leaf litter for life to sprout anew from the ashes. A canceled account there, a deleted archive here, and slowly all trace of my past self was disappearing.
Twilight worked efficiently, almost scaring me with how fast we managed to get through everything on our list. She had either some crazy transferable skills, or she’s done this kind of thing before. I was almost too scared to ask.
“Okay, so your car registration has been transferred, your addresses have been scrubbed, and nearly everyone online who comes looking will see that you’ve moved to this “Cuba” place.”
There was only one thing left to do, and it would be to quit my job. Luckily for me, my contract didn’t include anything about giving prior notice to resigning, and with a simple email, the deed was done. I sighed in relief, leaning back in the office chair, glad to have finally gotten through it all.
Sunset had been idly drinking a bottle of Pepsi and playing some MMO all day until we finally finished our tasks, closing the game and jumping up from the couch when she heard my exhausted cheers of relief.
“So, Poppy, what now? You’re a free mare.” Sunset grinned widely at me. “Gotta feel pretty good, right?”
“Yeah, it kinda does,” I nodded, “I’m mostly glad I don't have to worry about my old job anymore. That place sucked.”
“What did you even do?”
“Copywriting, mostly. Transcribing speech into subtitles, or filling out text in app menus, or signage… stars, it was a drag.” I groaned, remembering all my late nights spent finishing off a massive project just before deadline, only for my effort to mean nothing in the end. No one cared if I did a good job or not, they just cared that I didn’t screw it up completely.
“Gosh, I can only imagine. I mean, I can hardly complain. My job is hard, I put a lot of work into what I do, but it’s cushy. I don’t answer to anyone except my fans, and push comes to shove, I can ignore them. It’s still not what I want to be doing though, it’s just something I fell into because I liked playing games, and it’s a way I could earn money.” Sunset shrugged, walking back to the couch with me as we spoke, Twilight remaining behind to finish off a few more loose ends.
I jumped up onto the couch with a high pitched ‘hup!’ and found a comfy space next to Sunset, now also having hopped up a few seconds after me. I smiled again, appreciative of her presence. My head was still rushing with thoughts, but Sunset was a regular anchor for me, helping piece together the scattered pieces of my messy brain.
I lay my head down on my forehooves, eyes closing in relaxation as I slowly let myself lean up against Sunny more and more. Being able to be this close with a friend was something I had never really been able to do, and she really was the best friend I had. Twilight was obviously a close second, but the yellow mare and I had more in common than anyone else I had ever met; both of us were trans. Both of us felt that same incongruence with our bodies that made being a pony feel so much more correct than being a human.
My curled up position let my eyes drift to my flank, another pang of that strange incongruence hitting me, at least this time knowing what it was I was thinking. It was that mark, the unique pattern that grew on both sides of Twilight and Sunsets rumps.
“H-hey, Sunny?”
“Mm?”
“What are these things on your flank? The sun shaped thing.”
“Oh, that’s… honestly I don’t really know what it is. It showed up one day a couple months into me being a pony, after I invented that glamour spell.”
“That’s your cutie mark!” Twilight piped up, having finished up with the paperwork and now slowly trotting toward us. “It’s an embodiment of your special talent. Sunset from the other human world had a cutie mark representing her talents with magic; sounds like you have the same special talent!”
“Damn!” Sunset grinned ear to ear. “I mentioned before that I was always interested in magic, so knowing that’s my special talent? That’s pretty rad.”
I glanced back to my blank rump, feeling the anxiety hit once more.
“S- so what does that mean for me?” I gulped down the lump in my throat. “I- I don’t have a special talent?”
“No no no, it just means that you haven’t discovered it yet.” Twilight smiled, approaching us and taking a seat next to both Sunset and I on the same couch. “Sometimes it takes a pony to adulthood to discover their special talent, but it’s always there, just waiting to be found.”
I smiled back weakly. I’d never given it thought, what I would do with myself if I wasn’t stuck doing this job that I hated. The chance to imagine a version of myself where I did something that I truly liked, that I was really good at, never presented itself to me. It never was a reality I could pursue.
“I dunno, I just never got the chance before.”
“Uh, yeah, before. Poppy, you just quit your job! You’re going to Equestria!” Sunset threw a hoof around my withers, pulling me closer.
“She’s right. You have the chance to figure out exactly what you want to do with your life in Equestria. We’ll give you a house in Ponyville, and a stipend of bits for food and essentials.”
“R-really? You don’t have to do all of that for me…”
“Nonsense, Poppy! It’s not just for you, anypony who needs housing is provided for. You’re a pony, important just like everypony else.”
“Me?” My chest began to flutter a little. “I-I’m not important.”
“Everypony is. Me, you, Sunset, all the little ponies and creatures in all of Equestria and beyond.” Twilight said, nuzzling both of us softly. It wasn’t just me who was beginning to feel flustered, a hopeful but nervous expression clearly visible on Sunset's face. “Nopony is unimportant enough to let them go without care and help that they need.”
I felt the tears threaten to come forth again and I leant into Sunset, hiding my face in the softness of her coat. I felt her do the same, my wing pressed up against my two friend’s on each side. I sobbed freely now, feeling guilt at wetting Sunset’s coat, but not pulling away.
“You’ll have every chance in the world to figure out what you want to do with your life.” Twilight said, a large wing draped over both Sunset and I. “You too, Sunset.” Twilight winked, smiling warmly at the unicorn.
“W- wait, me?”
“Yes. There’s space for everypony. Ever since you started talking about your interest in magic, I’ve been excited to introduce you to my friends, Starlight and Trixie. They’re talented magicians in their own right, and I’m sure they’d love to meet you and share their knowledge with you. Plus, I’m the princess of magic, Sunset, I’m so excited to have reading sessions with you and the girls!”
“I- I dunno,” she shied away, “I have my streaming career here, and I love doing that, but…”
“But?”
“… But I do want to explore my magic. I was interested in that far before I got into gaming, and it still interests me more. This world feels so… limiting.”
“Well, we did discuss before that this world has no ambient magic. Your reserves are never at their full potential, and the effectiveness is far lower.”
“Oh yeah.” Sunset blanked. “So wait, I’ve been hamstringing myself this entire time?”
“Before I showed up, you didn’t really know there was another option.”
“But now there is…” she ruminated, a hoof on her chin. “I- I think… you’re right, Twilight.”
“So does that mean…?” I perked up, my tears having stopped a short while ago. “A- are you coming to Equestria with me!?”
“I guess so?” She smiled nervously and I launched myself forward, grabbing her tightly in my hooves.
“W- woah!” She yelped as we fell backward into the couch further, laughing as we hugged closely. “Okay now, down, Poppy!”
“Never! I can’t believe I get to have my best friend come with me to Equestria!” I smiled, my head filling with bubbles of happiness.
“Alright, fine.” She said, resigning herself to my nuzzles of joy.
I sighed, relaxing my grip a little and lying with her on the couch. The way I behaved right now felt new and different, being so affectionate and close with a friend, but being in this body made it feel right. Even just a few days ago, this was something I had never imagined I could possibly experience.
Eventually I released her from my grasp, an embarrassed blush on my face as we sat up again, still close to Sunset and feeling her coat against mine.
“So what will you do with your time, Poppy?” Twilight asked.
“Hmm,” I raised a hoof to my chin. “Well, I know I wanna go for lots of runs! Like we did before; that was incredible!”
“Me too!” Sunset smiled happily.
“I might try starting a garden.” I said, eyes wandering off as I daydreamed. “I want… a flower patch.”
Giggling, Sunset and I nuzzled again.
“I’ve always wanted to do stuff like that, but… being a m- man, it was always something that was seen as feminine. I know how stupid it is, but our world has some pretty whack views on what stuff is assigned to what gender.”
“That is strange.” Twilight interjected. “The best flower gardener I know is Green Hooves, a stallion from Appleoosa, but there’s ponies of all walks of life with all kinds of special talents.”
I nodded along. “I- I think I’d love to get into art. I was always doing various kinds of things like that as a kid, music and such, but the school I went to stopped offering classes for it, so I just kinda… stopped.”
“That’s preposterous, why would a school take away the ability for their students to thrive?” Twilight baulked and I shrugged in response.
“It’s just how our world works. Some ponies— people get forgotten. If you don’t make a big enough impact, or don’t make enough money, you just kinda… fade into the background, I guess.” I sighed, ruminating on my past. I did want to create, to make art, it was something I’d always dreamed of doing, having the energy and time and mental space to create beautiful work. I resented my past experiences, knowing that if I had been given the chance, I might already know what I wanted to do with my life.
“Well trust me, there’s no such thing as a lonely pony in Equestria. With the proper support, both you and Sunset will be able to explore your full potential.” The princess said softly, earning an appreciative smile from both Sunny and I.
Behind us, a familiar click, and Ada walked in, smiling at us as she shut the door behind her.
“Evening, girls.” She said, throwing her work bag down on the floor before sitting on the couch next to us. “How was the day?”
“Great! Poppy quit her job and sorted out the last of the paperwork for moving to Equestria!” Twilight beamed, “I helped too, of course. Just a little.”
Ada froze for a moment but smiled and nodded along. I could tell this was still getting to her, but she was trying her best, and that’s all I could ask for.
“And I decided that I’m going to be moving to Equestria with Poppy and Twilight!” Sunset interjected, throwing a hoof up for attention.
“Aww, I’ll miss your streams, but I get it.” Ada laughed, smiling at us. Her expression shifted slightly and she gripped an arm anxiously. “I was thinking… I kinda want to try hanging out tonight, with you all. As a pony.”
My eyes shot open wide and I jumped to my hooves, shocking Sunset a little who was still pressed against me when I hopped. A wide grin on my face, I stepped back and forth rapidly, shaking the couch and the two mares next to me.
“Really!? You mean it!?”
“Hey, don’t get too excited!” She laughed playfully, smiling at my reaction. “I-it’s just for tonight, okay? I just wanna… see what it’s like.”
“Hell yeah!” Sunset shot up as well, stepping down off the couch and approaching Ada. “I’ll pull the glamour when you’re ready, okay?”
“Okay.” She nodded resolutely. “Make me a horse.”
A teal glow from both Ada and Sunny’s horn, and the previously human Ada slowly faded away, revealing the currently true form of my now-ex-wife. Unlike this morning, her changes were now completely finished, her body completely covered in dark blue fur. Her mane was straight and shiny, fading from a lovely soft blue to a bright pink near the ends. Her lower half had completely transformed now, and alongside her rear hooves was a short but silky tail, trimmed to shape as her regular haircut was.
I blinked in amazement, watching as the pony form of Ada settled down on the floor once her changes were done. She tripped as she landed, clearly not having gotten used to standing on all fours yet, and I rushed forward to catch her with a foreleg.
“Thanks.” She smiled up at me nervously, glancing down at her new equine body. “Th-this is surreal. It doesn’t feel like I’m even me anymore.”
“Y- you are, Ada.” I said, a lump forming in my throat. I was happy to see her trying out these new things alongside me, but this solidified how different our perception of this situation was. “You just look different for a bit. It won’t be forever.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She muttered in an apologetic tone. “Sorry, I- I’m still adjusting to it.”
I smiled understandingly at her, helping her to remain balanced with my withers pressed against hers. She stumbled a bit more and I chuckled lightly as I helped her once more. With an appreciative look, she took a tentative step forward.
“Okay, I think… woop!” She stumbled once more. “I think I got this. One leg at a time…”
We made our way over to the couch and she hopped up, pulling her tail in close as she scrambled nervously onto the seat. I let Twilight jump onto the cushion next to her and made my way to the other couch with Sunset.
“So,” Ada chuckled nervously, “what now? We just hang out?”
“Yep!” Sunset grinned ear to ear while a game controller floated through the air. “We just chill. Ooh, hey, I got an idea! Do you have a barbecue?”
“I think so; might need a clean.”
“Perfect!” With a squint of her eyes and a teal flash, a simple plastic box appeared in Sunsets aura. “After going pony, I all but gave up on meat. I do still love to grill however, so I couldn’t help but figure out how to make these!”
She opened the box, a wonderful spiced smell wafting forward. Inside was a collection of carrots and sliced potato, marinating in a sweet but rich sauce. We all gazed inward, transfixed by the delicious smell and prospect of some really well made vegetarian food.
“I know, right? Tastes amazing once they’re cooked too; let’s get to it!”
I pushed open the door to the back yard with my forehoof, the old door creaking as it swung. On my back was a pile of plates, lightly clacking together as I held them there in between my wings. It was surprisingly handy, being able to lift such a weight using my sturdy legs and hooves, and allowed me to carry almost the same weight that I used to be able to as a human.
I hummed a tune to myself, enjoying greatly my increased vocal range and pitch. It was wonderful, finally having my voice actually hit the notes I wanted to when I hummed, finding things like tremolo and falsetto substantially easier than I had pre-horse.
Ada and Sunset were chatting happily together as a sizzle could be heard from the barbecue they were standing around. A wonderful smell permeated the air and I breathed in again, appreciating once more my changed sense of smell; it certainly was stronger than before, and I picked up on notes that were far more subtle than I was used to as well.
Twilight trotted the perimeter of the yard, a light purple glow coming from her horn as she scanned the perception field she had set up for us; apparently it was the same spell she had used in the park as to not cause a panic from the sound of her portal ripping open. I had only heard it because a small flaw in her spell had let the sound leak through, and I just happened to be the one that heard it. I silently thanked her for her mistake now, but also thanked her for setting up this spell to keep our backyard shenanigans private.
“Gosh that smells good!” I salivated, reaching the backyard table and placing the cutlery on it carefully. A soft amber glow lit up a plate as I was placing it down and I gasped, glancing over to Ada, whose horn was glowing that same pastel orange.
“Woah, Ada!” I beamed at her, eyes sparkling wide. “You learned how to levitate? That’s so awesome!” I punctuated my joy with a little hop, a blush tinting Ada’s cheeks.
“I-It’s not a whole lot, Sunset just showed me while you were inside.”
“Of course it is, Ada! That’s so impressive! Some foals take years to find a connection with their magic and you just picked it up in five minutes.” Twilight strode over to her, smile as wide as mine. “I could teach you so much! You have a natural talent, you know?”
“D’aww you flatter me.” She said, a sly grin on her face. “I didn’t say stop.”
Our laughs echoed throughout the yard, eating and joking with eachother loudly, luckily not audible to outside ears due to Twilight’s spell, and our merriment continued into the night. I was more than just happy to see a smile on Ada’s face, and was even more sure that I had made the right choice for both of us. Somehow, the distance between us by not being married meant that we were able to be even closer than before, and she chatted with me in a way that I had never experienced with her. Not as a husband, not even as a wife, but as a friend.
Sunset had kept by my side the entire night, a gesture that I greatly appreciated. I was still feeling nervous, so her unspoken acknowledgment and support was more helpful than I imagined. I found myself gravitating toward her as well, hanging close to her and talking about our interests with each other. Twilight and I were close now, no doubt about it, but last night's conversation with her had strengthened our bond further and I couldn’t help but relate to the mare on a deep level. It felt strange, in stark contrast to the way I had felt when married to Ada.
We started a small pit fire later in the night, the bright yellow flames lapping softly against the crackling wood. I gasped after a log dropped and I giggled, a spray of sparks being sent up into the air. I lay my head down as Sunset and I rested together, laughing to myself as I realised just how close the colour of the flames were to Sunset's gorgeous mane. She snored softly, her nostrils flaring slightly with each quiet breath.
“Y’know, she’s good for you.” Ada said and my ears perked up, looking over to her. “I can see how happy she makes you.”
“Eh-what?” I stammered.
“You know what I mean. I can see it in your face, Poppy. It's the way you look at me too. I can see how much love you have going on behind those eyes.”
“L-Love!?” I jumped, lowering my voice when I heard a snore from Sunset. “What are you talking about?"
“Do you think I'm blind?" She laughed, my face beginning to heat up even more under the warmth of the fire. “If not you, then Sunset here has definitely been sizing you up.”
“It doesn’t sound so nice when you phrase it like that,” I said with a blow of air from my nose. Ada giggled at the decidedly horse-like sound and I couldn’t help but laugh a little myself. “For real though, you’re just messing with me, right?”
“Nope.” She said, her satisfied grin eliciting an even stronger blush, my face heating up even more under the fire pit’s warmth. “I’ve been watching you two. Particularly her I guess.”
I planted my face into my hooves, keeping my embarrassed expression from my ex wife, causing her to laugh yet again. I sank further into my forelegs.
“I don’t want you to be alone, Poppy.” She said, her voice softening and losing its sarcastic edge. “I’m serious. I care lots about you, and I… I know how much you need support from others. Sunset seems to really make you happy, otherwise you wouldn’t have spent the entire night cuddling with her.”
“I- it’s not cuddling!” I huffed indignantly and she laughed at me again. “It’s just a cold night, and her fur is soft, so I just didn’t…”
“You’re so obvious.”
I planted my face into my hooves yet again.
“No.” I said, a muffled defiance only just audible.
“Yes you are. We were married for like, three years, Poppy, and dating long before that. I know I might have been a shit wife, but I still notice those things.”
I looked up at her, a regretful smile on my face. I felt guilty still, for all I’d done to her, but the others were right. I couldn’t look back and resent the past now. The only way to move was forward.
“You weren’t shit, Ada.” I gave her a warm look, trying my hardest to let her know I had forgiven her. “I mean, I don’t know what I want now. After e- everything, I don’t know if I want a… m- marefriend. At least for a while.”
I felt my heart soar, the word marefriend sending sparkles throughout my body.
“You’re not a very good liar.”
“Sh- shoosh!” I said with an embarrassed blush. “I- I won’t say I haven’t had thoughts about it, and it’s not like I mind the idea, but…”
“Well, you might not have a choice for very long. Just don’t be surprised if a certain unicorn starts to proposition you.”
Again I felt my face full with warmth, slamming my face into my fetlocks in shame. Ada’s laughs couldn’t help but make me heat up all the ways to my ears and I covered them with my hooves.
“Y’know, you really are adorable.”
“No…” I muttered in weak defiance.
“You are. You make a good girl.”
“M- mare.”
“Huh?”
“A g- girl pony. A mare.” I said, voice faltering as I nervously corrected her. “Sorry, Twilight just told me the word the other day and— sorry, I’ll stop.”
“Mare it is, then.” She said with a chuckle. “And seriously Poppy, it’s okay. I know that this might be a bit too much for me to commit to, and being in a pony body still feels wrong, but seeing the happiness this brings you? Why would I ever try to take that away?”
I smiled at her, looking down at her form. She did seem to be sitting quite uncomfortably, propped up with her legs hanging over the edge.
“You know, it might be better for you if you didn’t keep trying to sit like that.” I chuckled, Ada raising an eyebrow at me.
“What do you mean?” She looked down, forelegs shifting to glance at her awkwardly positioned rear hooves.
“Like a human. Go with the flow, remember? You’re a pony right now, maybe give sitting like us a try.”
“I dunno, it already feels so weird…” She began to shift downward, tucking her legs in close and glancing at me and a still sleeping Sunset. She looked at herself nervously as she adjusted, her expression softening as she placed her forelegs close to her barrel and used the full length of her body to sit on her chair. “Oh. Okay, wow, that’s…”
“Far less uncomfortable?”
“Yeah.” She chuckled, her expression relaxing even more as she settled into her new position. Her tail flicked closer to her and she cautiously lowered her head until it was at a comfortable height, body curling inward on itself for warmth as I was. “Yeah, okay. I should have tried this before, my back has been killing me all night.”
I giggled, eliciting laughter from Ada as well. “See what I mean? I know this stuff is hard, and I’m sorry you have to go through it, but you should just embrace it. Hating yourself for it right now won’t make it easier to deal with.”
“Y- yeah, I know. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you about this before. Tonight has been… really fun. It really is silly, but I feel like I can get to know you far better now that you’re living as your genuine self.”
“Th- thanks, Ada. It feels good to talk with you again. Properly. Without this… I dunno, barrier between us. I really do feel like I’m being my genuine self. Before, I locked myself away, not having the confidence to even leave the house for exercise, but now? I want to run. I want to jump, and flap my wings all around!” I beamed, my wings instinctively flicking and ruffling as I talked about them. “I… I’m me now. It’s so bizarre to think about, but I’m me. I’m not a fake version of myself, hiding behind layers and layers of wax. I can walk as myself, talk as myself, shout as myself, sing as myself!”
“Hmba?” A voice came from beside me and I gasped, looking over to see Sunset’s head rising up sleepily. “Whas tups? Hmm?”
I giggled at her babbling and nuzzled her softly. “Go back to sleep, Sunny. Sorry for shouting.”
She looked at me, a sleepy smile on her face before her head lowered once more and her cute, light snores began anew. She shifted over slightly, the velvet of her fur brushing up against mine again.
“My god.” Ada said quietly, rolling her eyes in the most exaggerated way possible. “You really are hopeless, you know that?”
“What?” I raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”
“Never mind, Poppy. You should get to sleep too, it’s almost midnight.” She said, laying her own head down on her forelegs. I shook my head and did the same, never knowing what she meant when she said things like this.
With the warm fire heating up one side of my body, and a unicorn heating up the other, I felt my eyes flutter closed, mind filling with thoughts of the future. Hope and nervous excitement that I could finally find a place I belonged after years of the opposite. I sighed, a feeling of utter peace taking over me, and I drifted off to sleep.