//------------------------------// // The journey begins... Finally // Story: Growing A Shell // by bluemoon1996 //------------------------------// The sound of a horn blaring returned me to the land of the living. Yawning, I glanced up at the clock and let out a groan. Who in Celestia's fat flank is here at seven in the damn morning honking their horn! Using pony terms again. Shut up brain, I just woke up. Groaning, I sat up in bed and rubbed my eyes. I looked at my arms for a bit, the holes were still there but that's not what I was looking at. My skin looked... Blacker. I wasn't the most tan of people to begin with; hell, I've been told I have the complexion of a Scandinavian on multiple occasions. But my skin was most definitely darker than it was 24 hours ago. As I stared out across my room, waiting for the sleepiness clouding my mind to dissipate, I looked over at the still sleeping Dalton. He was currently facing me and had apparently cleaned his dad's blood from his mouth before he went to sleep. His hair seemed to have grayed while sleeping and he looked... pudgier? Yeah, he was most definitely a bit fatter. I let out a giggle as he snorted in his sleep, rolling over. He looked so cute! WAIT, STOP THE PRESSES! Did we just call our best friend cute!?! Any sleepiness left evaporated in an instant as I nearly gagged. I just thought of my male best friend as cute! I'm straight goddamn it, I've had girlfriends! Abandon ship! Pun not intentional! A banging on my door shaked me from my internal panic, "your friend Sage and her dad are here with their RV!" Mom hollered. "I'll be down in a bit ma!" I replied, "just gonna take a shower!" Lazily I stood up and stretched my hole filled limbs as I made my way to my bathroom and as I turned to face the mirror I jumped a little at my reflection. Gone was my fair skin, brown hair and blue eyes; and in its place, a almost human face looked back. My skin was most defiantly darker as I had learned earlier and my eyes were still the all encompassing teal. My face also seemed to be more gaunt; but my hair, oh sweet merciful Celestia my hair! My luscious head of hair had started falling out! A large clump the size of my fist was missing and it also appeared to be thinner. My hair looks it should be on a fifty year old! Male pattern baldness is a bitch! Sighing, I stripped out of my nightclothes and turned on the water, putting a hand in the water. After a minute or so, the water temperature was nice and warm and I hopped in. I let out a pleasured groan as the water ran over me. Damn, that feels good! There was more banging on the door. Damn, this was going to have to be short shower. ----- I came downstairs a few minutes later with a just woken up Dalton staggering behind me, grumbling and rubbing his eyes. I saw Sage's old man and Mom talking about something, probibally just old people stuff. "Morning Mr. Campbell, where's Sage?" "Mornin' Johnny," he said politely, laughing lightly, "your mom wasn't kidding was she?" I rolled my eyes. Well, you're not the one who's turning into a love-sucking roach. "No she wasn't," I laughed a little, "so where is Sage?" "She's out back with niece on the trampoline," he stated. Nodding, I made my way outside. The trampoline was a recent addition Mom bought back during the summer after a lot of pestering from Kylie. And she sure did use it whenever she was over. As I turned the corner, I saw the two of 'em bouncing, giggling like two school fillies. Do I even need to say it? Ignoring my brain, I watched the two of them as they jumped. Sage's hair seemed to have gotten longer and there was indeed a small horn sticking out of her hair just above her forehead. Kylie's changes were a lot more obvious; her hair had developed the stripes now and her skin seemed duller. The two of them noticed me and stopped bouncing. Kylie hopped off the trampoline and practically flew over to me, hugging me tightly, "Good morning Unkee!" Smiling, I rubbed her hair. Her enthusiasm was just downright infectious! I couldn't hep but giggle too, "Morning Kylie, morning Sage." "Dang Johnny," Sage stated as she hopped off the trampoline, "your mom wasn't kidding." "Your dad said the same thing," I scoffed, "you should see Dalton. He's got damn bat wings..." I facepalmed, "Wow, I am an idiot." He's a goddamn bat pony, how didn't I notice this earlier! Sage and Kylie gave me a look that screamed we're waiting. "Dalton's turning into a batpony," I explained. "Well duh," Kylie giggled, "bat wings means bat pony, silly." Sage just giggled as I felt my cheeks heat up in embarrisment. Great, my six year old niece is showing me up. "So... Why don't I show you the RV?" Sage asked and I nodded. Sage led me and Kylie around to the driveway and my jaw dropped. How in the Sam Hill didn't I see this coming outside?! The RV was downright massive. I didn't know much about them but this one was definitely on the high end. Thank god, Sage's folks were swimming in cash. "If you think this is nice you should see the inside," Sage grinned ear to ear as she opened the door. As soon as I stepped inside my jaw stopped being in the floor and was in China. The inside of the RV as downright luxurious! The main area was around ten feet wide and fifteen feet long. The kitchen took up most of the majority of the left wall; it had a small stove, fridge, microwave, and cabinets. The right side of camper was split about fifty fifty between a small kitchen table and little love-seat. A TV sat on the wall separating the driver from the rest of the living area. A small hall led into a main bedroom and two doors in the hall led to a small bathroom and rather cramped little bedroom. I couldn't help but whistle as Sage gave us the grand tour, "swanky." Once again, thank god for rich people! "And Dad went and stocked it for the drive up to Chicago," she stated, opening a drawer to show that it was full of cereal and other foodstuffs. My stomach let out a grumble at the sight. Damn, I needed some food in my gut. "So... When are we gonna leave?" The sound of the door opening caused us all to turn to see Sage's dad stepping inside, "As soon y'all can." Well, that answers my question. My stomach grumbled again, "can I grab a bite to eat first? I haven't got to eat anything." Sage nodded and I slinked past Sage's old man and hurried back inside the house. I found Dalton quietly eating a bowl of cereal at the kitchen table. Grabbing a green apple from the fruit basket, I took a bite out of it and I blinked in surprise. The apple was juicy but... blander. Great, now these changes are affecting my tastebuds too! As I munched down on the apple, mom came into the kitchen carrying mine and Kylie's backpacks. She placed them on the counter next to me, "I packed you and Kylie some essentials." I nodded, my mouth still full of food. She returned the nod with a smile and made her way outside. I quickly scarfed down the rest of the apple and looked over at Dalton, who was still eating, "so you feeling any better man?" He nodded, "eeyup." "You wanna talk about it?" "Nope" Damn it, I'm trying to talk with Big Mac. I sighed, "you gonna say anything else?" Please fall for it, please fall for it... "Eeyup," he remained silent for a few seconds, "damn it." I gave him a shit-eating grin, "you fell for the oldest trick in the book." He laughed a little and nodded, "you got me there." Now there's the Dalton I know and love. I couldn't help but let out a relieved sigh. After last night, it was good to see him laughing. "So you sure you don't want to talk about it?" He nodded and stood up, taking his bowel to the sink, "I'll talk about it when I want to talk about it, okay?" I nodded, sighing; this was a personal matter to him and I wasn't gonna push it if he didn't want to. I put a hand on his shoulder, "I'll still be here when you do wanna." He shook my hand off his shoulder, "don't go getting all gay on me," he laughed at his little joke before turning about and went outside. My heart fluttered as my gaze fell on his backside as he left. Dude... You just looked at your Dalton's ass and liked it! Oh my god I just did! This time I did gag as I almost threw up my apple. I am straight! I like women! Not dudes, especially not Dalton! Who totally does have a cute butt... Oh god it's infecting me too! ... ... We need to fix this now! Agreed. After reaching this silent agreement with myself, I went back out to the RV. Mom was giving Kylie a hug and Sage's dad was giving her one too. Once finished, Kylie zoomed up into the camper and mom turned to face me. She pulled me into her typical bear hug and squeezed me tight, "You stay safe." "I will mom," I squeezed her back. She looked up at me, the usual authoritative look in her eyes gone and in its place was, well, the warm look only a mother could give, "and come back a hundred precent you, okay?" "I will mom," I hugged her tightly before letting her go and giving her a kiss on the cheek. As I climbed into the camper, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was the last time I might see her. Hungry. I was so hungry. The gnawing in my stomach was unbearable as I rooted through the rotten refuse in the garbage can. I must eat, I need to eat. "Hello, is anypony there?" Somepony found me! I let out a terrified shriek as I tried burying myself beneath the garbage, only managing to bury my upper half in the waste. Something began tugging at my tail and I started shrieking as I was pulled out of trash into the air. Only to find myself face to face with a creme color unicorn mare in striped pajamas. She let out a gasp at the sight of me, "a changeling!" But the look on her face turned to one of confusion as I let out a terrified whimper. "A baby changing? Where did you come from little guy?" I gave cocked my head and gave her a curious chirp. Something dawned on the mare holding me and the look on her face turned sad as she glanced at her trashcan I had been rooting in. "You poor thing you must be starving!" My stomach grumbled, "HUNGEE! HUNGEE!" I suddenly wailed, my voice high and squeaky. She let out a surprised gasp at my outburst and brought me close to her. I nuzzled the mare's neck affectionately, she was making the pain go away. She got a sniff of me and let out a gag, "you need a bath." I didn't care, she was making the pain go away. I kept my head in nape of the mares neck as she began to head somewhere. I didn't care where she was taking me, she was making the pain go away. When she stopped, I let out a squeal of protest, attempting to hold onto her neck. "It's alright little guy," she cooed comfortingly, "I'm not going to leave you." It took a bit more comforting but I finally let go of the mares neck. The two of were now in a bathroom and I finally got a look at myself in the mirror. I was tiny changling, my soft body covered in enough filth and grime that I was practially brown, and my tiny legs were so full of holes that they were worse than Swiss cheese. "HUNGEE! HUNGEE!" "It's alright," she cooed softly, "I'm just going to get you clean." The tub began filling up with warm water and the mare grabbed a bottle of something with her telekinesis. I let out a squeal of delight as she squirted its contents and bubbles appeared in the water. She let out an giggle as I played the suds, "what's your name? Do you have a name?" I looked up at her and chirped curiously. "You don't have a have a name do you?" I just kept looking at her in confusion. She was silent for a minute, "how about Enigma?" I shook my head "Clandestine?" Nope. "Atlas?" Nada. "Etherial?" I cocked my head "Yeah, that one was kinda dumb," She was silent for good long while, "how about Doppel... Doppelgänger?" I chirped happily, my tiny wings fluttering in excitement. She gave me a smile, "you like that name?" I nodded happily, splashing in the suds. "That's it, your name is Doppel!" She gave me a kiss on the forehead and I giggled happily.