The covers wrinkled and bunched up in Mary's hooves as she drug them over Anna. The mare's smile was comforting and her eyes spoke of a softness and adoration that only a mother could truly have. But...there was a glimmer behind her wide, light green eyes—it was for an unconfirmed fear. She recalled her daughter's explanation of the recital and her impromptu improvisation... That she had simply looked out over the audience, and wanted to dance right away. Not only that, but she couldn't explain where she'd learned half of what she had done. It sounded as though she had in fact, improvised. Amazingly, the instructor had had to bow her out to even put a stop to it.
Mary leaned down and kissed Anna goodnight, her daughter giggled and hugged her neck lovingly in return. "Goodnight dear." The little girl mumbled her reply and rolled over, already undoing the blanket where Mary had tucked her in carefully. The orange mare backed up off the side of the bed, and walked on all fours out of the room into the dim hallway light. A worried look creased her face as her thoughts dug deeper over the night.
Earlier, just after the end of the eventful recital, Stan had called, and told Mary about something that had spooked him. At the time, Mary had thought; what could possibly have Stan upset? Immediately after the fate-tempting thought, he had told her of his day. That he had run a ten minute two-mile. That he had more than doubled his maximum of push-ups and sit-ups during his fitness examination.
He'd never run less than thirteen, even in his prime, Stan's a big guy... Of course, watching her own daughter, Annalise, and her performance (which was already on YouTube somehow) a growing suspicion entered Mary's mind. One that was undeniably warranted given the connection between Stan and Anna's increased...talents.
The orange mare paused, biting her lower lip in worry. She stood outside of her other child's room—outside of Bobby's. It could still be a coincidence...perhaps they're just extraordinary athletes? They are very fit and very active. Her head shook as she tried to dispel the worry that plagued her. "Well, if Bobby starts doing cartwheels around the house, I suppose then I'll worry."
A relieved breath escaped her, the concern she'd had momentarily lessened. But even if he hasn't done anything of the sort, what does it mean if it is connected somehow? Oh Lord, please don't let this happen to my whole family, please don't...Please, spare them. A single tear welled up in Mary's eye as she thumped her way down the stairs, eager to just move quickly, as if running away could solve the problem.
The harsh clip clop noise which Mary's hooves made on the home's old wooden floors still made her ears flinch. Not for the first time she reflected on her body's changes again, if there might be a time when they didn't bother her. She cringed at the thought, but the wiser part of her knew she couldn't hate herself like that if she hoped to keep her life together.
That she would have to adjust, somehow.
The bedroom door squeaked noisily as it opened, bringing about a wince as it did so.
Mary trod as sneakily as she could to her bed, then stood up on two hooves as she checked on her sleeping father-in-law. It hadn't been easy, but in his tipsy state she'd convinced Herbert to take the bed over the couch. After all, he was much too tall—like all of the males in his family—for a couch. Also like all of the men on Herbert's side of the family, he seemed to need constant looking after.
A sigh escaped Mary as she fell back onto the floor quietly. So you get the bed, and I'll relegate myself to one of our smaller sleeping arrangements. Just like a man.
While rolling her eyes, Mary bared her teeth and pulled the blanket—which Herbert had somehow managed to kick off of himself—back over his shoulders. Her hooves were well suited to most tasks true, but she was still forced to use her teeth occasionally, much to her dismay. In this case, she needed both her hooves on the bed to keep from falling over... She suppressed a couple angry thoughts over the lack of hands, then made to leave the room. Her own restful sleep was beckoning her incessantly.
The pale orange mare found her way downstairs and into the still air of the basement. It was easily the most relaxing part of the house, the feeling of being so far underground and surrounded by the earth yet still in the comfort of home...was nice.
Mary momentarily considered putting in a movie on the television, but a yawn interrupted the thought and decided her evening for her. She hopped up onto the couch, and plopped her behind down abruptly to sit there in idle thought. If I were a person right now, I'd lay down on my back, and stare up at the ceiling. Her eyes looked up for a moment, tracing her thoughts. Unfortunately, as she saw it, her body was shaped correctly and small enough to curl up onto the couch without any trouble, rather than lay in a normal fashion.
Mary grunted and pulled a blanket off of the couch's back angrily. She settled into lying on her back anyway, despite the comfort the other position might offer. A breath of relief escaped her as she nestled herself in between the cushions and looked across the couch and into the room's dark. "Actually, this isn't too uncomfortable at all." In the dark, she pictured Stan, sitting where he had been earlier that week. A grim smile formed as she recalled her man comforting her, despite...everything. "I can't believe it's almost been a week. It feels like I've been stuck like this for...months."
A silent tear leaked from her burning green eyes, a flare of anger coming up, then extinguishing under the veil of sleep taking her.
Mary had once again awoken a great deal earlier than normal for a weekend, not to mention already finished with a day's starting routine. Which included thanks to having clothes now, being dressed. Impressively, it hadn't taken too much longer than she thought it might have, despite having hooves.
Her blue and tan head of hair was in a simple pony tail, with a scrunchie again holding it all together at the end. In front of the mirror—and after frowning down at it for a time—she had placed one on her tail as well while getting dressed. It was simple, efficient, and best of all it made her feel like less of a horse, so all in all it seemed like the right thing to do for the mother. Still, she hadn't mastered the skills needed with her hooves to set up her trademark braid on her own.
A knock at the back door made Mary's head bolt upright over her bowl of cereal. Her eyes were immediately wide, because she was certain that Herbert and the kids were still asleep, and also that Stan wouldn't be home until late tonight... Who could it be? Her tongue licked nervously over her lip, picking some dribbled milk that hadn't made it off her spoon correctly.
Mary spoke to herself in a hushed voice. "Okay, keep calm..." The mare's emotions were already in flux though, just yesterday she had almost been abducted, and she had probably been discovered. "It's probably just the mail man...or maybe Bobby ordered pizza for breakfast again..." She gulped as she tried to come up with other reasons for why someone would be here.
Mary did her best to keep her hooves as quiet as possible as she approached the back door. I need to invest in rubber horse shoes. She snorted at the degrading thought, as if she would ever do such a thing. Her eyes also looked at the bizarre limbs that ended in what only barely fit the description of hooves to begin with. Mary's 'hooves' were soft, and covered in thin fur almost to their end, not to mention they were orange like the rest of her.
The mare's mind resettled on the task at hand with a shake of her head, tearing her eyes from the unexplainable anatomy. She ever so carefully pushed herself up, and with the momentum began standing with little effort. It had taken time, and practice, but after a week she had finally gotten the art of being upright as a pony down pat. It still hurt her sides after some time, but there wasn't anything she could do for that.
Mary's hooves gently rested on her side of the back door, she could just barely reach the peep-hole to look outside. What she saw made her gasp, and almost fall backwards, hooves flailing.
"Mary...?" An all too familiar, all too inquisitive and nosy voice called through the doorway. The sound of another woman talking behind Faith came clearly through the home's sealed portal to the outside world.
"Mary is that you dear? I hope you don't mind that we showed up unannounced, it's just that myself and the girl's at the guild and Father Conrade are...concerned." Faith grinned at having heard Mary's gasped surprised, it was certainly her, and the reaction spoke of some legitimacy to the rumors she herself had started. "Now, I don't presume to trouble you on such a fine day or stay long... Joyce and I were just hoping to give you a care basket and a get well card to show we care and miss you." She could hear the sounds of someone scrabbling about inside, but she resisted the urge to peek through the window. She stood and waited patiently.
Stars and differently colored lights danced in Mary's vision and she tried to calm her breathing, she leaned back on the dryer for support, still in a standing position, but no longer even remotely stable. She gulped as she listened to Faith continue to talk from the other side of the door. Just calm down, keep it together, the door's locked. You're perfectly safe, there's no way that she would be able to see you right now... Her panicked look shifted quickly to an aggressive one as she pictured what Faith might do if she did see her in her present state.
"We understand that you might be having some...problems is all, Mary, and we just wanted to let you know you aren't alone in this. We heard from Marge that you wouldn't be coming to the guild tonight Mary, nor Church, any longer. For the foreseeable future as well!" Faith held a hand up to her mouth while putting the appropriate emphasis on her speech. "Now, we don't know what could have happened to cause this, but whatever it is, whether it's Bobby, or the stress of things, you always have us and the town to look to for help."
Mary ground her teeth from behind the door and shut her eyes, a blush of red creeping up her orange complexion. You're the one who needs help, a helping kick right in the- She couldn't believe the gall this old bat had. And to bring up my son!? Annoyingly enough, one of her hooves had started scraping at the floor aggressively, which she quickly put an end to, despite her blood still boiling. Oh, you just wait Faith, when I have them again and I get my hands on you- Her thoughts stilled at the sound of another gentle knock on the door.
"We're going to go now, Mary. I certainly hope you consider getting the help you and your family needs, this will certainly get you on the right track!" The old woman turned, smiling contentedly on her side of the shut door, and motioned her friend to follow her.
The sound of heels clicking on her stone walking path lessened, until Mary heard the sound of a car crunch its way out of her driveway. Her head was almost throbbing with fury, and it took considerable effort from the mare to not pound her head on her home's wall. The back door flung open in her rage, and her eyes immediately settled on an obnoxiously decorated basket, the coast was clear.
Mary lunged at it...then stopped. Her breathing still rapid, she look at the topmost pamphlet, sitting beside a few pill bottles.
"..Detox numbers? Vitamins?" Teeth clenched into the basket's wicker handle. The entire thing was up in the air in a flash, and Mary's back hooves connected with it solidly, sending the container and its cargo flying a hundred feet across the backyard and the field. "YOU-! I OUGHTA!" Her head tossed and her expression contorted into several different faces of rage, cheeks puffed. "RRRRRGG!"
Finally, Mary reared back, and her hooves stomped powerfully on the back porch, bringing form to her anger. The sound of crunching wood brought her rage to a halt. She blinked, then looked down at the two hoof shaped indents in her property. A contemptuous sigh escaped her, and she sat down to stare at the damage tiredly.
"Mom, come on, I already told you that Stan said-" Mary bit her tongue as the old finger of a certain gardener stuck up under her pony-nose.
"Oh, I know what you told me dear, and I already told you, that I spoke with Stanly on the phone. He might not like it, but that's his problem. Now look, today is the one day out of the week when there won't be anyone over at the store, not that we get too many customers anyway... But, we don't want to let this opportunity slip past. Now, are you going to get in the car, or will I have to hog tie you and drag you along?" Agnes firmly planted her fists on her hips and raised one eyebrow challengingly at Mary, who had a weak, disbelieving smile on. She couldn't understand the lengths that Agnes seemed to be going to. The older woman was certainly trying her best in order to cheer the misfortuned mare up.
In truth, I'm just worried about a repeat of...yesterday, Mom. They hadn't had any clue as to how that had happened, and it had them worried. But it had turned out alright, despite being a close call... Mary remembered the feeling of knocking over that man, it had been easy. If it weren't for the odd new animalistic strength her body had... She suppressed a shudder at the thought.
Anna giggled from where she stood by the back door, already wearing her backpack filled with her game console, and raring to go. "Can I get the rope?" She leaned around the corner into the house, an eager grin adorning her face.
Mary's eyes widened at the implications of actually being dragged to her mom's house against her will. "Alright, alright I can see I'm not getting out of this, and I do want to go." A weak laugh bordered her words, and she gave Agnes a relieved, grateful smile—one that also spoke strongly of her desire to get out for a bit. "Should I bring anything? What about Bobby?"
"Staying." The target of mention strode out of the kitchen wielding a plate of hot pockets, and a flat expression. He looked blankly at his family members from across the dining room and paused at the door. "I'll be...here."
"Oh then why don't-" Mary cut off as her son stepped around the corner and went upstairs. Agnes and Mary sighed together looking at the empty doorway. "Well, let's get going then." The sound of Herbert beeping his car's horn supported the decision.
"Anything?" Herbert poked the pine tree absently.
"Sigh, no, Dad..." Mary frowned a moment, having actually said 'sigh' out loud. Am I really reaching that point of stress in my life...? I wonder if I can get gray hairs as a pony monster... Her dress had been exchanged for another outfit Agnes had put together, this one was obviously put together in a great hurry, but that was alright given its purpose. The retooled jean overalls fit a little snug on Mary's form, but they fit the bill as far as work clothes go. There was a t-shirt that went with them, but she had opted to not wear it.
"How about now!?" Her daughter beamed at her from not a foot away, as though if she blinked she'd miss something.
"Sigh, no Anna, still nothing, I promise!" Darnit, I did it again... Mary had to focus not to frown at her family, well meaning and simply just curious or not... Sweat was starting to form on her brow from concentration, despite the chilly autumn air.
The afternoon had progressed normally enough, the store was closed on Sundays, so that left Mary and her family enough space to casually walk about outside. Although, Herbert and Agnes had had to coax her out of their house at first. The part that made her the most uneasy was that the store was just off a busy highway exit, after all. Even though it was a great distance, she was somewhat exposed. Her father-in-law had made convincing arguments though, and plenty of assurances she would be alright.
Almost wish I'd stayed at home, I would have if I'd known I'd be subjected to this... The thought was only a little bitter though, Mary wore a smile while she concentrated on the three foot Christmas pine, which for some reason hadn't grown as it should for the past two years. She was still glad she came, despite Herbert and Anna being silly.
"Would you two leave her alone? Here, I brought-"
"SANDWICHES!" Anna leaped up from where she had taken to lying on the paved ground of the store's outdoor lot. She immediately bounded, spun once, and skillfully snatched a plate from her grandmother on one out stretched hand. Giggling uncontrollably, she continued to hop up in a single bound onto one of the stacks of bagged mulch and plopped down to sit, despite everyone's immediate shouts to be careful. Except for Herbert, who was clapping and nodding in an impressed fashion up at his granddaughter.
Anna grinned down at them from her perch, then made a face. "Icky, Mom, I think I got your sandwich." Her grimace continued and she held the plate down towards Agnes, who snatched it away from the manic acrobat with a frown.
"Anna, come on," Mary called up to her daughter, "could you do your poor mother a favor and not do stuff like that all the time?" She took the traded plate from Agnes—who was in the middle of sighing herself—and felt her stomach rumble at her hungrily.
The family settled down at a nearby porch set, and dug in. Except for Mary.
"Something wrong there Mary?" Herbert said around a mouthful of his turkey club.
The mare looked up doubtfully from the meal that sat before her, despite the rumbling of her stomach. "Oh...well, not really." She sighed and looked longingly at the sandwich. "I mean, I've eaten bacon like this before, and it seemed fine...but I had a steak once and I got...ridiculously sick later that night. I'm pretty sure it was connected, but I dunno."
Agnes gasped quietly and smacked her forehead gently. "Mary, I am so sorry I didn't even think about that, I just made your favorite out of habit..." She began to pick up the plate, but one of Mary's hooves stopped her.
"It's okay mom, I think I'd like to have it anyway... Even if just to be sure, maybe I won't get sick this time?" Mary smiled over her mother-in-law, who shrugged.
"Mooom, ponies aren't supposed to eat meat." Anna leaned on her hands and frowned across the table at her disapprovingly.
"Don't make yourself sick now girl," Herbert chimed in as well. "I need you to figure out how to grow giant plants and make me rich." He smirked, and winked at Anna, who giggled at him and his showiness.
Mary and Agnes for their part deadpanned at one another tiredly, and the BLT absently made its way between the mare's hooves.
Stan pulled open the door to his home with more strength than necessary. Ever since Saturday, it seemed like he needed to focus to keep himself in check, he hadn't been this strong two days ago. That much unsettled him to no end, he recalled his worries from earlier that week... "Nah, there's nothing like that going on, it's just your imagination, Stan."
The sound of hooves fast approaching made him set his things down on the floor preemptively.
"Schmoopy Doopy!" Mary's legs flung up around his shoulder's, impressive considering the jump she'd made to get up that high.
Stan grunted and laughed at the same time, catching his wife skillfully and returning the hug he was already receiving. "Haha, hey, did you miss me or something?" He leaned back and instinctively made to kiss Mary.
Both parties' eyes widened while on the brink of their lips meeting. They stayed that way a moment, stunned looks trading between them, Stan's eyes ran over her face and her hair during the pause. He began to mutter an apology.
Mary ducked her head up without warning and pecked him on the mouth, smiling. "You can forget what I said before, come on, dinner's waiting for you." She settled back on the floor and pulled him by his coat a few steps, a look of surprise still on Stan's face.
They made their way through the dining room in the dim glow that filled their home, looks of contentment on both their faces.
"Wait a sec," Stan stopped and looked disconcertingly after Mary. "Schmoopy Doopy?"
"...They what?" Stan had been sitting quietly, calmly, for a long time while Mary told him about the entire weekend. She had just past by the part about Animal Control, and Faith. He had been a little upset with her about going to Agnes', but hadn't said much about it. His mother must have said something convincing... Now though, his fist clenched around the mug he held so hard that she thought it might-
The sound of ceramic shattering and crunching in his grip made Mary jump in her seat.
"Oh geez, Stan are you alright!?" Mary took one frightened look at what had happened and dashed off to grab a towel. "Wait right there!" Her husband cursed and apologized all at once. Hooves beat against the floor as Mary returned hastily, then without wasting time used his knee to reach his hand. "Honestly, what was that for?" A cheerless look covered her face as she looked from him to the damage.
"I didn't mean to, I'm sorry Mar... That was a nice mug, too." He frowned at nothing while Mary wrapped up his nicked hand.
"Well..." Mary sighed and looked up at him. "I don't think you'll need stitches, just a band-aid... Stan...?" She gave her husband her best worried look, trying to get a response. It was true, she was still seething over Faith and yesterday herself, but she didn't want him to actually try and...and do anything about it. I mean, what could he do honestly? She didn't actually want to answer her own question at the thought.
Finally, without a response forthcoming, Mary spoke again. "Are you alright?"
The man's blank expression changed and glared angrily at the table. "Yeah, I'm fine, just wish we could get them for harassment." One of his big hands—the one that wasn't bleeding—came up and gently ran over her hair. "It isn't likely though, and we want less attention anyway, not more. In that regard, I'm doubly worried about those two men that you say saw you, and maybe heard you as well."
Mary's sad look deepened as he went on, she didn't want to think about having to be secretive. It was getting to be even less liked by her than the fact that she was in a strange body. Not that I have a choice about it... Her voice was weak, but steady. "I'm sure it'll be fine...come on love, let's go to bed." The day had been a pretty long one, all things considered, and yesterday's worries had bled over into it. She hopped off his knee and slowly made her way towards the doorway, exhaustion creeping up on her. "I just want to sleep, and with you close by."
Stan's eyes met hers, both of them looking twice their age in that moment, the stress of things was certainly weighing on them. He nodded, and smiled in an attempt to alleviate some of it. His thoughts were still on the issues at hand, though. His eyes, for instance, had shot open in surprise at finally seeing the recording of Anna's...performance. I need to ask Bobby if anything was out of sorts with him this weekend when I get the chance...
"Yeah...yeah, lets turn in. It's been a long week, I'll be right there just let me clean this." Stan kept up his weak, but reassuring smile while he spoke.
Mary was already under the sheet and dressed for bed in her safety pinned night gown. I gotta get Mom to adjust this thing for me... Stan was changing himself while she tried to get comfortable. Her eyes just so happened to spot something—just by chance—that was very new and peculiar about him, while he did so... Mary stopped and her thoughts came to a crashing halt as she began to watch her undressing husband intently, eyes locked with his body. Her eyes blinked slowly as she continued to take in the target of her attention in almost a daze, a small smile crept up at the sides of her lips.
Stan paused while in the middle of taking off his uniform's trousers. He looked back at Mary questioningly, a disconcerted look trying to meet the eyes of his spaced out wife. "Uh, Mary?"
Abruptly, Mary's gaze with his bottom broke and looked up at him, her Mary pressed a single hoof to her in order to suppress a sudden urge to giggle. "Stan..." The mare started slowly. "Why didn't you tell me you were getting a tattoo...?"
Stan turned his head to look over at his wife again, a confused look on his face. "Huh?"
Mary smirked, and crossed her front legs. "I mean, not to sound bossy, but you could've given me a heads up. Why pick something so silly, too?" Her eyes stayed locked with the colorful depiction of what looked like a green shield and a pair of handcuffs laid over it. She could only see the top of it, the rest was obscured by his briefs.
Stan—still not registering the claim—merely saw his wife staring surreptitiously at his bottom. "Hey, can a man have a little privacy in his own home?" He said in a coy tone, grinning. His body turned as he made his way around the bed.
"Okay, what's the deal Stan, one tattoo, fine, but two!?" Mary exclaimed loudly and leaned up off the bed, jutting one hoof at her husband's side. The man finally looked down.
Stan blinked down in disbelief at himself, and spoke simply, the positive demeanor he'd had melted away. "But I didn't get a tattoo..." His fingers poked at his sides, and then he traded confused looks with Mary before looking at his other side and cursing. "The hell? I sure didn't get two, either."
Mary smirked at her husband, but it became a little more worried given how serious he was being. Wouldn't he have felt a fresh tattoo? Those things hurt...not that I would know. She coughed, realizing she'd just defended an old mistake she'd made in her youth to herself. "Well," the mare asked aloud, "did you and the guys go out drinking? Maybe they did it...?" Mary looked doubtfully at the mark her husband now scrutinized. "Is it real?" The idea that it might be a fake seemed like a reasonable explanation, but Stan was already scraping at the mark, which seemed almost like a part of him.
"Yeah, it's real, and no, we didn't, we don't go out drinking anyway, it's not professional." Stan's eyes squinted, trying to puzzle out why on Earth a tattoo would just appear out of nowhere.
Mary was at a loss as well. "So, what is it?"
Unfortunately, no straight answer or reasonable explanation came, and the pair went to sleep that night, just a little bit more worried.