When everyone was awake, I gathered the others in the kitchen and told them about the 'meeting' I'd had with the strange Luna impersonator. They took it about as well as could be expected. They were both dubious, of course, and I could scarcely blame them; under ordinary circumstances, visions would have strained credulity. A quick reminder that we had been transformed into magical talking technicolor ponies, however, put things into perspective and they fell back in line.
“Soooo... That's it, then? Some delusional person is going to try to contact us in our sleep? You don't know anything else” Luke asked dubiously.
“Yes – a delusional person who is apparently stronger than the psychopath that transformed us,” I said, annoyed that he would dismiss my reconnaissance so quickly. “She did boot him out pretty easily, after all. If we can get some leverage over her, we might solve this whole thing quickly and easily.”
Luke frowned, raising an eyebrow and looking as if he was about to speak, but Mary smiled placatingly and broke in. “I'm sure she's in the same boat as us, James – she'd probably be delighted to help us, just as we'd be delighted to help her.” I shrugged noncommittally – whatever got it done, I didn't much care.
We kept tossing ideas back and forth, brainstorming and mulling over what we knew as we tried to put the information to use. In the end, though, we realized we didn't have enough information to act on anything; we couldn't contact her, and what we did next hinged upon further meetings with her. While we did have confirmation that others were in fact turning into ponies, we couldn't do anything about that, either; any online search would most likely put up some red flags on some government server, ad we could have 'men in black' arriving at our front door with tranquilizers and body bags. It just wasn't worth the risk, I decided, and quickly shot down any ideas to the contrary.
Still, we couldn't sit there and do nothing; things needed doing. I'll spare you the details, but turning into ponies required a good deal of financial re-organization. I helped Mary get her expenses set up for online payment, as well as budget things out. That didn't take long, though, and we were done before noon. Online jobs were a whole different beast, though, and while there were ostensibly plenty to be had, we couldn't find anything reputable – they were mostly scams and one-off jobs with shady companies. Even as I searched, however, I couldn't help but think I'd forgotten something important... like something was looming closer that we'd completely forgotten about...
And then my pocket buzzed.
By silent and mutual assent, we all had kept our pants on for the sake of modesty and convenience. While the ponies in the show didn't seem to need clothing, we were... Well, we were built along similar lines as real ponies – and that meant that we had precious little except fur to cover our modesty. Fortunately for Mary, there was no need for coverings over her chest; unlike human girls, fillies didn't seem to have any obvious breasts. Or was it udders? In any case, they weren't noticeable and I wasn't going to be rude and ask where she kept her mammary glands. They were out of sight, and all we needed was pants to protect our modesty and carry around our stuff.
In any case, I still kept my phone on me, and a moment later I awkwardly levitated it out and flipped it open. On the screen was a new text message. From mom and dad. Who had apparently just come home, and were wondering where the heck we were.
I groaned and held my cell phone in my telekinetic grip, wondering what to do. 'We're at Mary's, sorry we didn't tell u earlier', I typed back, stalling for time, and called out for Luke. Great... Another wrench in the works.
Unfortunately, Luke didn't answer. I cursed and started checking every room in the house. It was only when I looked in the garage that I found him, rhythmically lifting and lowering buckets of water with his wings. He was... Working out? I knew he had trouble just waiting around idly, but it seemed he was becoming more and more like Soarin, even in personality. That... was a good thing, right? I suppose that working out was better than just sitting around and getting frustrated. Still, he was out of earshot and was wasting my time – didn't he realize we were making important plans, and that his workout regimen would impede our progress? Idiot.
“We've got a problem,” I said curtly, not bothering to hide my annoyance.
He frowned at me, raising an eyebrow. “Dude, chill,” he panted, setting the buckets down and cocking his head. “What's got your panties in a twist?” he asked, giving a playful smirk. I growled, annoyed that he wasn't taking me seriously, and didn't say a word. I let my phone do the talking for me; I levitated it right in front of his face, perhaps rudely close, but there was no way he could miss the message. It got his attention, at least. “Oh fuck!” he shouted, wings fluttering in agitation. “I completely forgot!”
“I'm glad you finally understand the gravity of the situation,” I remarked dryly. “Now, I have a plan, and if we're careful then neither of them have to know anything-”
“We've gotta tell them,” he spoke over me, heedless of what I was saying. I stared at him, mouth agape as he strode past me. He... He ignored me? How could he IGNORE me?! And he was going to disobey me, too – completely reveal everything, even the stuff about me! It took me several moments to find my tongue, but when I did I was furious.
“We don't have to tell them a thing!” I shouted after him, trying to catch up.
He finally took notice of that. “Excuse me?!” he shouted back, rounding on me and glaring indignantly. “They're our PARENTS! This is a pretty big fucking deal, and they have a right to know!” He huffed and scuffed his hoof on the carpet. “And here I thought you were the rule stickler, the 'responsible' one... What's gotten into you?!”
I snorted. “I take it back; you clearly don't understand the gravity of the situation. You don't, in fact, understand a damn thing!” I hissed, glowering. “We can't trust anyone!”
He shook his head, at a loss for words. He looked at me as he would a stranger. “Are you even listening to yourself?” he asked softly, warily. “Just yesterday you had no qualms giving the pastor an eyeful of us – what's happening to you?”
“I... That was different!” I floundered, even as I realized, with shock, how easily I'd let others in on our secret. It was time for damage control – how hadn't I realized what a blunder it was to tell him the secret? I chalked it up to panic, but the problem remained. He had to be silenced, somehow. Either by holding some sort of blackmail over him, or... “You're... you're right,” I muttered, and saw him sigh with relief. It was short lived. “I have to fix this. I'm going to go find the pastor and... And make sure he doesn't say anything. One way or another, I'm going to ensure his silence.” I felt myself grow cold and analytical and ruthless, but I welcomed it. I had to do what needed to be done, and squeamishness was an unacceptable weakness. “Maybe if we kidnapped his wife and held her hostage? No, that wouldn't work, we'd have to keep her fed. Does he have any pets? It may be macabre, but I'm sure I could find a way to-”
I did not see the hoof coming. I only felt a searing pain in the side of my head, saw a flash of white, and knew no more.
***
“-never been like this – at least, not this bad. I don't know what's going on.”
The words washed over me, and though my ears could hear it my mind couldn't hold it. I drifted in and out, only catching a few words and phrases.
“-should we do? We can't just keep him locked up!”
“I know, but what choice do we have? You saw how he was!”
“Even if we do keep him tied up, he still has magic – and we can't keep him unconscious forever.”
“I don't know – maybe we can drug him! That'll fuck with his focus, right? And worst case, I can just buck 'im again-”
“EXCUSE me?! You're not drugging your own brother, and you're certainly not going to keep bucking him! Look, we just need to talk this out-”
I groaned, slowly coming back to the waking world – and thoroughly regretting it. “Shut uuuuuuup,” I whined, their voices pounding on my head like hammers on a cracked anvil. Even if I could have understood what they were saying – and at the time I had the mental acuity of a rum-soaked pudding – the throbbing pain took precedence.
'Sleep,' I thought. I needed to sleep more. Sleep good.
I pushed the world away again, trying to let my mind drift off, but an annoying pink blob filled my vision. “Are you okay?” it asked, concerned.
“Bleargh,” I managed to reply – a far cry from the “No, go away pink blob thing,” I was trying for, but given the circumstances it was a valiant effort.
“Do you need some water? Food? Are you – PUT DOWN THAT BAT!” Pink Blob shrieked, the sound sending a fresh bolt of agony through my skull.
I groaned, lolling my head to the side to try to get away from the painful pink noisemaker. Doing so brought something new into my field of vision: a blue blob with a smaller brown blob protruding from it. The brown blob fell and clattered abominably.
“Fine, but I'll buck him if he tries anything!” the blue blob promised, its volume annoying but tolerable.
“Out! Get out!” the pink blob yelled again. I tried to cover my ears to block out the terrible sound, but my hooves weren't cooperating.
There was soft grumbling, but the blue blob finally disappeared. Now if only the annoying pink one would go away, too.
“How are you feeling?” it asked, refusing to leave me to my misery.
“Narghhh,” I replied, clearly and concisely conveying my feelings about the whole situation.
“I have some ice here,” the pink blob said, mercifully softer than before, lifting an oddly colorless blob and pressing it against my face. I yelped with shock at the sheer iciness of it, but as the cold seeped in the pain faded away. It also started to clear my head, and the pink blob finally resolved itself into the form of Princess Cadence – or, rather, Mary wearing Cadence's body. Unfortunately, the same cold that eased the pain also left me too awake to slip back into blessed unconsciousness, and I was fully aware of the deep ache in my temple. There was only one thing for it.
“Got anything to drink? Something hard?” I rasped, hoping to dull my awareness of the pain at the very least.
She gave a surprised giggle and carefully tipped a bottle of pills against my mouth. A few of them rolled in, and were soon followed by a cool glass of water. I grumbled but swallowed the pills obediently, figuring they couldn't make me feel any worse.
“These should help with the pain,” she said kindly, awkwardly re-stoppering the bottle and setting the glass aside.
I tried to think back to what happened. It was still fuzzy, but I remembered something bad had happened, and I needed to stop it... Something about our parents... No, no, it was after that... Something about the pastor? Yes. Right! The pastor! I had to find him and make sure he wouldn't talk! But... Something else happened. I had started to tell my brother what was wrong and how I was going to fix it, and then... Oh that little bastard.
“I'm going to pluck his feathers,” I half growled, half groaned. Finally remembering the sickening crack of a hoof against bone, I tried to reach up and feel how much damage had been done. Something was stopping me, however. Something that felt like a thick coil of hemp fibers, wrapped tightly around my hooves and barrel.
“Bwuh?” I stammered, the reality settling in. “Oh hell no... Untie me!” I shouted, and immediately regretted it as fresh pain blossomed in my temple.
“Just – just relax,” Mary said, trying to stay calm and hold the ice pack in place. “You went a little crazy back there, and you said some stuff you didn't mean.”
“Like hell,” I muttered darkly, but didn't try to get up again. I didn't think my head could handle it.
She pursed her lips but didn't reply. Instead, she forced a motherly smile and, in as pleasant a tone as she could muster, asked, “If you promise to sit down and talk – and NOT try to go kill your brother or threaten the pastor – I'll untie you. And... Maybe get you something harder,” she mumbled as an afterthought, wincing as she lifted the ice pack and surveyed the damage underneath.
I didn't have many options. “Fine,” I muttered. “Not like I'm in any state to kick his plot right now, anyway... Wait, what'd you give me? Alcohol might not be the best idea if that was a powerful painkiller...”
“Something called 'bute',” she said lightly, abruptly looking away. At my nonplussed look, she sighed. “Anti-inflammatory medication for horses. And, well, ponies.” She kept her face carefully guarded.
I frowned. Something was missing from this picture. “Why would you have that lying around?” I asked slowly, my brain still foggy.
“I didn't,” she replied lightly, fidgeting and adjusting the ice pack.
That didn't make sense – how would she have it if she didn't own any? I was clearly missing something, and from the way she was acting it was clearly something important, and probably something I wouldn't like. “...Alright, I'll bite,” I grumbled, gritting my teeth as my head throbbed. “Where'd you get it?”
“I didn't,” she said, busying herself with preparing a fresh ice pack. “Your parents did.”
My brain froze for a moment as it tried to process the information. When it finally got out of the 'oh-fuck my life' loop, I could only find one coherent response. “WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY DOING HERE?!” I shouted, and immediately regretted it. “Ow ow ow fuuuuck,” I groaned, clenching my eyes shut as my head throbbed with pain. 'Alright, got it,' I thought sardonically. 'No more yelling. Yelling equals pain, yelling bad.'
“Why,” I hissed through clenched teeth, “are my parents here?”
“Because your brother told them what happened, of course. Don't worry,” she added, her face impassive, “they don't know why you were hurt, and they haven't seen you tied up. I told them that it was an accident when Luke tried to fly, and he backed me up on that.” I frowned, wondering if the saw eye-to-eye on that, but let it go – I found that I really didn't care about their little snits as much as I cared about the massive fuckup they planted right in my lap.
“When did they get here?” I asked tiredly, trying to stay calm so my head wouldn't hurt so much. By the light from the window, it was either dusk or morning. I felt a moment of panic. “How long was I out?!”
“Take it easy, now,” she said, holding me down with a hoof as if I might suddenly leap up and run out the door, “they just got here this afternoon – they're out getting some more supplies now.” She gave me a placating smile and pressed the fresh ice pack against my brow.
That didn't bode well at all. “What did they say?” I finally managed to ask, trying to keep my temper in check.
“Well, they saw Luke first – they almost panicked, but I guess he can think fast when he needs to. He told them some private things so they'd know it was really him.” She paused and giggled at that. “Did you really dress up like the blue power ranger for a week when you were in elementary school?” she asked, her eyes glittering with suppressed mirth.
“It wasn't for a week! It was just around Halloween, I got the costume early,” I protested, grumbling. It didn't help my case, apparently, as she stuffed a hoof in her mouth to keep herself from laughing. “And... And... Shut up!” I grumbled petulantly, and perhaps even pouted a bit.
That opened the floodgates; she snorted and openly laughed, unable to contain herself any longer. “That must have been adorable!” she giggled, looking down at me with fondness in her eyes. “You must have been such a cutie when you were little!” A moment later, though, her mirth faded to contemplation, and that to wary concern. “I've known you for years,” she said slowly, as if struggling to find the words, “and I've never seen you talk like that. I know that these past few days haven't exactly been pleasant for any of us, but... Is there something you want to talk about? Maybe something's been bothering you, and you just had a breakdown? I promise I won't tell anyone.” She padded softly to the door and pushed it shut with a hoof, ensuring a semi-privacy.
'Other than you two looking down on me like some monster, nothing,' I thought bitterly. It wasn't a fair thought, I knew, but I clung to it like a life-raft. Being angry was just easier. “I'm fine,” I said, forcing calmness on my voice. “I guess I did panic a little back there. It's nothing, really.” I gave a weak, fake chuckle, and hoped she'd be fooled by it. “I only want to hurt my brother a little, now – we're back to baseline levels!”
She didn't share my mirth, and I realized my error – while an easy lie and offhand humor might work on others, Mary had a knack in seeing through to the heart of a person. She always seemed to know what others were feeling, even if they gave no outward signs of it. And now she knew I was hiding something, and that something was bothering me – something I wouldn't share with her.
“...Alright,” she finally replied after a very pregnant silence. “If you want to talk about it, I'm always available.” Without another word or a backwards glance, she strode out of the room and shut it firmly behind her.
“That could have gone better,” I grumbled to myself, sighing and getting comfortable. 'They're probably going to talk about me behind my back some more,' I thought bitterly. Well, fuck 'em. What they thought didn't matter, anyway. I shifted onto my side and closed my eyes. Floors seemed more comfortable in my equine form, at least when they were padded with carpeting. Sleep didn't come easily, though; the ice melted quickly, and I hadn't the wherewithal to get up and get more myself or to ask for help. It was a long while before I drifted back into a fitful, restless sleep.