//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Five Score Divided by Four - A Mother and Daughter's Paths // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Chapter 2 ___________________________________________________________ I stare down at the bubbles on my thigh. “What... the bloody hell? Where’d those come from?” My reaction causes Kelly’s accusing tone to turn to a slightly concerned one. “You mean... you don’t remember getting those?” I slowly nod, barely paying attention, my eyes never having left the markings. I slowly move a hand to them, feeling the skin the bubbles are imprinted on. There’s no signs of any of the things I’d heard mates at work talk about when you get a tattoo. It’s almost as if they were naturally there, though that idea is so impossible I’m not even going to bother explaining it. “I didn’t have these before we went to sleep, right?” I ask, just making sure, finally pulling my eyes away from the marks to meet her eyes. Kelly frowns, thinking, before they widen in shock. “No. No, you didn’t. I saw you both thighs before you turned out the lights as we really got into it. They were as blank as ever, no markings of any kind on either.” I groan, rubbing my head. “Okay, so, somehow, tattoos appeared on my thigh whilst we were asleep.” “... Maybe before then?” I glance at her, my expression asking the question. She gulps. “Well, during the part with the mail, I saw a flash that I didn’t understand. I thought for a second that maybe it was from outside, before I realized the curtains were blocking out everything, leaving the room dark for us.” I frown, a small amount of memory returning. “Yeah,” I nod. “I’m vaguely remembering something. I saw that flash too and, for a few seconds, felt that both my thighs were warmer than a second before that, but, since we were doing it, didn’t give it much thought.” Kelly scratches her chin. “So, it happened before we went to sleep. When was that?” “Um...” I said, scratching my neck. “I was pretty out of it by the end, but I think I saw the clock say 2:48AM. So, really early this morning.” We sit in silence for a while, both in thought of how I got tattoos on my thigh without the use of needles or anything. From what we could gather, the bubbles had just suddenly appeared for no reason. After some time I sigh. “Well, let’s figure it out later.” My stomach gives a loud growl. “I’m hungry.” She nods, though she still looks worried. I don’t blame her, I am too. How does a man just suddenly get a group of bubbles appearing on his thigh? It doesn’t make any logical sense. As we exit the bed and start to get dressed, we’re surprised to learn it isn’t just one thigh. My right thigh is also sporting a marking of six bubbles. I’ve a matching pair. As we dress, I can’t help feeling I’ve seen those bubbles somewhere before, but not sure where. We head downstairs to find Jenny’s in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. She glances at us as we sit at the table, a sly grin on her face. “Well, you two sure were having fun last night.” Both of us blush and try not to look at either her or each other. I know it’s rude to just have at it with your girlfriend in someone else’s house, but we couldn’t help it. Once we got a little in, there was no turning back. She chuckles at our blushes, coming over and placing three plates of bacon, eggs, a bit of chicken and beef steak in front of us (the third being hers) and a plate of plain three pieces of brown toast with butter in another spot. I couldn’t help but feel a little sorry for Damian. Jenny’s morning eggs, bacon, chicken and beef are only second best to Kelly’s. To have us eating them while he’s stuck with just toast was a harsh punishment for his wife to give. Putting those thoughts aside, I scoop up some eggs and start to eat, blocking out the girls as they start to bicker over how much Damian had messed up this time. Their bantering only stopped when I leaped out of my seat, hurried over to the bin and spat the beef out with disgust. Both stared at me as I quickly grabbed a glass, filled it with water and chugged it down. “What’s up?” Jenny asked, perplexed. “I thought you really liked beef.” “I do,” I say, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, still trying to get the taste off my lips. “I just... I dunno what happened there.” It was the most bizarre thing. Normally I really like beef, it’s not one of my favourite meats, but I still enjoy it, yet the moment I’d put some of that beef into my mouth my gag reflex went off like I’d shoved my fingers down my throat. I return to the table, trying to ignore the looks from the two girls as I take some of my chicken and bacon while pushing my beef to the side of my plate. The chicken tasted great. Not as good as I normally feel towards chicken, but still tasty. And the bacon was heavenly. Then again, it rarely isn’t, being one of my favourite meats and all. “Ben?” the concern in both their voices makes me look over my shoulder. They both look really worried. Probably about the beef. Kelly stands, her gaze fixed on me. “Is something wrong?” I shake my head, laying my cutlery on the table. “No bloody idea. I normally really like beef. Why would it make me gag now?” Jenny frowns. “But... ours are just fine.” I shrug. “Well, I didn’t gag on the chicken or bacon, so my body couldn’t have suddenly decided I’m vegetarian, could it? I’d have gagged on them too, if that was the case.” They both nod, though look unsure. Suddenly my mobile starts ringing. It's an unlisted number. I answer it, saying, "Hello?" "Happy twenty-fifth, man!" a voice shouts from the other end, causing me to hold the phone back a bit. I grin. "Thanks, Tom." Then I frown. "Isn't it almost midnight over there?" He chuckles. "Yeah, but then I knew you wouldn't be up for a while, so just decided I'd wish you happy birthday before I hit the sack." I was thankful for the call, it had lighted the mood that had settled after the strange no-longer-being-able-to-eat-beef thing. "Thanks, man," I say, sitting back. "Guessing you don't wanna talk much right now though, huh?" He chuckles as he yawns. "Yeah. Still got a few exams before I'll know if I get into uni. Been going flat out the last few days." I nod. "Well, good luck, man. I know you'll get through." "Yeah," he yawns, followed by the sound of someone talking in the background. "Alright, Jake, I'm almost done. Sorry, man. Gotta go. have a good day, right and say hi to Kelly for me." "Will do, Dinky," I say, ending the call and looking to Kelly. "Tom says hi." We finish breakfast, myself leaving my beef alone and just focusing on the eggs, bacon and chicken. Once breakfast is dealt with, I head over to the computer and continue with where I left off the other night. Since Kelly can’t legally leave her brother alone until tomorrow, we’ll just hang around the house. As the day passes I finalize our plans for the vacation. I’m really looking forward to visiting American Jewellery and Loan tomorrow. During day, Jenny made some muffins and passed them around. I blushed as I glanced at the two she’d left for me and saw they were blueberry, remembering what Kelly had told me I shouted last night. I turn my attention to the computer... only to find it drifting towards the two muffins sitting next to me. I lick my lips. They sure do look tasty. And Jenny did make them for me, even if she only went with blueberry as a joke in regards to last night. I take one and bite into it. “Mommy, are blueberry muffins really your favourite?” Dinky asks as she scuffs a hoof against the kitchen floor. I squint. I know that look. It’s the “I did something without your permission but hope you won’t get mad at me” look. However, I decide to play along, giving her a smile. “Yes, muffin. They’re my absolute favourite. Ever since my daddy gave me my first blueberry muffin, they’ve always been my favourite. Why do you ask?” She give that look again, before her horn glows, levitating a plate from the kitchen, which she is still trying to keep me from entering. On the plate is what kind of looks like a muffin, if a little flat and saggy looking. I can see a bunch of blueberries have just been thrown into it higgledy piggledy. I blink, all previous thoughts stopping as I take the plate in a forehoof. I look to Dinky, who is keeping her head down, her ears flat against her head. She... she’d made me a blueberry muffin. I lift it up and take a bite, chewing. Once I’ve swallowed, I look back to my daughter, who keeps her eyes from meeting mine. “So... how was it?” she asks in a very small voice. I move forward and pull her into a warm hug. “That was the best blueberry muffin I’ve ever had,” I say, nuzzling her. I feel her relax in my grip and she returns my hug. While most probably would’ve said it hadn’t tasted that good since the recipe clearly hadn’t been followed properly, I had loved it. Dinky made that muffin just for me. The kindness of that alone made it the best muffin I’d ever had and filled me with love and pride. “Ben? Be-en? Hey, snap out of it, will ya?” I blink, shaking my head vigorously. Jenny is standing next to me, confusion on her face. I rub my eyes. Man, that was weird. I look to Jenny. The confusion has suddenly turned into a sly grin. “Brace yourself.” Though I’m still a little groggy after recovering from... whatever that was, the words and tone she used register only a second before I’m bowled over by a pair of cheering voices. “Uncle Ben!” Sally and Mark cheer as they laugh on top of me. I roll my eyes. I’d given up two years ago on correcting them that, since Kelly and I weren’t actually married yet, I wasn’t their uncle and just ran with it. “And how are my favourite niece and nephew?” I asked, ruffling their hair. They pull off, grinning. Mark looks a lot like his dad, brown hair, green eyes and a childish face that reminds you of that guy who played Kevin in first two Home Alone movies. Sally, who is two years younger than her brother, who is nine, looks more like Kelly, oddly enough, the only real difference being their eyes. While Kelly has blue eyes, Sally has hazel. Sally is bouncing up and down, her smile wide as can be. “You won’t believe it! Look what Billy Johnson from school gave me for my birthday!” I should note Sally’s birthday was two days ago. She and I would be sort of sharing a party together, since mine was today. She reached into her bag and pulls out something that makes me pause. It’s a plush toy, like the ones those girls had been playing with on my flight here. It’s an orange one, with a blonde mane and tail, both tied back. Those things are everywhere. I grin. “I saw two girls on the plane with horses like that.” To my surprise, Sally frowns. “They’re not horses, they’re ponies.” I blink back at her. Ponies? Okay, so that’s the type of equine. But a pony Pegasus? I slowly nod. “I’ve seen those around, on the plane, even think I spotted a few in one of the stories in the airport while I waited for my plane. What’re they from?” Jenny isn’t the one who answers, but Sally, who starts off with a loud squeeing sound I wasn’t even sure humans could make. “Uncle Ben, are you thinking of being a Brony?” I cock my head. “Brony?” Jenny sighs and briefly explains to me about a revap of the show My Little Pony, which I’d heard a little bit about (that being the original) back when I was a kid. Being a boy, I’d avoided anything pony or really girlish, so the fact I knew nothing about this made sense to me. She explained how a woman by the name of Lauren Faust, I woman I knew for being involved in shows like Powerpuff Girls (a show I’d enjoyed despite it’s girliness because of the action), Foster’s Home For Imaginary Friends and even the movie The Iron Giant, which I still had the VHS copy of back home. What I did not expect was the talk about how the revap of the show had been designed so parents could watch it without pulling their hair out, and how it had gone so far that a fanbase had formed of guys and girls, well beyond seven and such ages. With each bit of info, I felt more confused. Thankfully, Kelly comes down and saves me when the two hurry to greet their favourite aunt. That night, as I lie in bed with Kelly, I can’t help but frown as I stare up at the ceiling. I had a nagging feeling in the back of my brain, but I couldn’t figure it out. It was there just enough for me to notice it, but every time I turned my attention to it, it disappeared. The sound of Kelly sighing in her sleep makes me shake it off as just my mind trying to wind down for my vacation as well as the confusing part of finding myself with tattoos I knew I hadn’t had before today. Pushing it aside, I close my eyes and go to sleep. ___________________________________________________________ I grunt as I wake. I’d had that dream again, the one I’d had back on the plane. I frown as I take note that it was the same. Like before, I don't remember everything that happened in it, but some pieces remained, different from last time though, like puzzle pieces. The same dream, yet I hadn’t really known about My Little Pony Friendship is Magic until yesterday. How did I have a dream about it before knowing about it? The dream last night was understandable, I’d been talking with Sally and Mark about it and it must have stuck in my mind. Though the context of my dream didn’t match anything else aside from the ponies. Shortly after we get up and have breakfast. I notice Mark and Sally are sitting in the living room watching something, when I ask what Sally tells me that Discovery Family is having a My Little Pony Marathon. I left them to it. Part of me was curious, but I was going to go by the rule “curiously killed the cat” and just focus on what Kelly and I planned for today. An hour later we’re walking into the place itself, American Jewellery and Loan. I grinned at Kelly, who just rolled her eyes, smiling. We walked inside and I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. Everything looked like in the show. Looking around, I saw Seth Gold standing behind a counter, his tall frame and near-bald shaved head the same as always. I was about to move towards him to say hi, when I noticed Les, his dad, walk out. He came over to Seth and murmured something into his ear. The worried expression I only just noticed Seth wearing grew more worried. I glanced at Kelly, who shrugged. Shrugging myself, I move towards them, intending to ask what was wrong, when I caught what they were saying. “... the doctor says he doesn’t know what’s happening,” Les was saying quietly, the worry of a man for someone close to him in his tone. “He’s even checked Ashley’s DNA. ” “And?” Seth asked, his voice tense. “It’s changing,” Les said, sounding at a loss. “Changing?” “He says she’s still got her own DNA, but that it’s changing into something he can’t identify.” “Is it cancer?” the tightness in his voice hurt to hear. Les shook his head. “He doesn’t think so, but he still has no idea what it is.” Seth growled. “Why is this happening to her? All of this after those stupid marks appeared on her thighs.” I stop, feet away as those words process through my mind. Marks appearing on her thighs? I hurried the rest of the way forward. Both of them seemed to notice me and put on their business men faces. They faded however when I stopped, pressing my palms on the counter. “When did they appear?” They both blink, looking confused. “The marks on Ashley’s thighs, when did they appear?” Whatever was happening to Ashley Gold, if it started after marks suddenly appeared on her thighs, it might happen to me too. At once, both of their postures changed. “Excuse me?” Les asked, his voice holding a firmness that annoyed me. It was the tone he’d use whenever a customer was basically being an idiot and not agreeing with the answers they got. Still, he stood tall, despite his old age. You'd think a guy with barely any hair couldn't be intimidating, especially when he's shorter than you, but I still felt small compared to him. I glanced around, thankful none of the security guards had noticed yet. I had a feeling this was something they shouldn’t hear. “The marks on her thighs, did they appear yesterday?” I asked. If they weren’t tense before, they were now. I sighed, noticing one of the guards, one of the big guys with a beard, I couldn’t remember his name, started coming towards us. “I think it’s happening to me too,” I said, lowering my voice. They both frowned as they glanced at each other. “Yesterday, when my girlfriend and I woke up, I had markings I knew hadn’t been there before on my thighs." "How can we tell you're telling the truth?" Seth asks, looking at me shrewdly. I roll my eyes. "Seth, please, why would a guy just come up to you and claim he has markings on his body he just woke up with if he wasn't serious? Please, I might be able to figure something out if I can confirm if your daughter’s going through the same as me.” They stood for a few moments, enough time for the security guy to reach us and stand behind me. Won’t lie, I felt a little nervous knowing he was behind me. Ya see people being taken out of this place by them on TV, but knowing it might happen to you can make you feel really uneasy, and the black hoodie he was wearing didn't make my any less nervous. After an agonizingly long time, Les nodded, saying, “Okay. Come back with us.” To my relief and surprise, Les opened the small gate separating the store from the back counter. I nod to Kelly, indicating for her to wait and follow him. I guess Seth remained on the floor so he could keep an eye on the store. I follow Les towards his office, but stop when I see his daughter at one of the Redeems windows and frown. Didn't they say Ashley had woken with markings? If so, why was she working and not trying to figure those markings out. My confusion grows when Les calls to her and she gets up, following me and her father to his office, where, once inside, Ashley closes the door. Les turns once it’s closed and folds his arms as he looks sternly at me. “So, what do you know?” I hesitate. Not quite how I wanted this to go. I wanted to first learn if Ashley was similar to me in finding markings on her, but it seemed I’d have to explain myself first. I quickly introduced myself, giving them a brief description of my life, then explained how I’d woken up the other morning with bubble marks (at this point I lowered my pants enough on either side for them to see both identical marks), after having strange dreams that didn’t make sense and that I couldn't quite remember and involved a white mist. Once I’d finished, they looked at each other, then back at me. “And you’ve no idea how this started?” Ashley asks, walking up from behind me and standing next to her dad. I shake my head. “I swear, I just woke up with them. But, how come Ashley's right here? With those markings causing so much worry, I'd have thought she'd be at home.” They both blink, before Ashley chuckles. "Wait. You thought I was the one with the marks? No, it's another of our employees who has them. Her name just happens to be named Ashley too, Ashley Wales. Since she's not in today, I was handling things at her window." I blink, before mentally slapping myself in the forehead. Oh, that Ashley. After the Golds had found out one of their employees working the windows had been pocketing stuff for herself, they'd had her fired and arrested. Ashley Wales had been her replacement. Jeez, the small things you forget when weird shit with random markings appearing on your body happens. "So, what exactly happened?" I ask once I've finished inwardly beating myself up for being so dense. They glance at each other again, before Les spills. “Three days ago we celebrated Ashley’s twenty-fifth birthday—” Wait. Twenty-fifth? On my Twenty-fifth this all started. Was there a connection? “—When she got up the next morning, she’d found odd marks on both her thighs.” “They both looked like a balloon animal, a dog, with streamers coming from behind it,” Ashley interjected. “Does that sound familiar to you?” In all honesty, no, it didn’t, so I shook my head after saying, “Aside from finding a mark suddenly on the thighs.” After a bit more discussion, we agreed to all go and see Ashley. If she really was going through something similar to whatever had started happening to me, maybe we could figure out a connection between the two of us, then find the way to fix this. Ashley agrees to take time off for the day and leads me out of the office towards the entrance. I tilt my head to tell Kelly to follow and she does so. We all get into Ashley’s car and she drives us towards Ashley’s place. It’s an apartment building painted white. We follow her to the ninth floor and head for one of the apartment, Apartment G4. She knocks on the door and I hear some movement from within. “Wh-who is it?” a voice calls. I blink. Her voice sounds like she’s been crying. I can tell Ashley is worried by this from the look on her face. “Ash, it’s Ashley,” she says, anxious, though I inwardly can't but chuckle at how that sounded. “I’ve brought someone who thinks they’re going through the same thing you are.” At once the sound of locks frantically being unlocked starts, before the door in flung open. What I see makes my eyes widen and Kelly gasp. The person in the doorway is clearly Ashley Wales, of that I have no doubt, but she’s changed so much that it would be hard for anyone that didn’t know her, personally or from Hardcore Pawn, to recognize her. Her hair is not the long, silky blonde I was accustomed to from the show. Instead it was blue, with a few stripes of a much lighter-blue through it and it was poofy. Her eyes had changed from their brown colour to purplish-blue that I’m fairly certain is not possible in the human genome for a human eye to be. However, it’s what atop her head and hanging from behind her that has my utmost attention. Hair the same colour as that on her head, and just as poofy, is hanging below her waist. Atop her head are what look like pony ear, covered in a very light-blue, almost teal, fur, and, on her forehead, a large bump, that could easily been mistaken for a horn, the same colour as her ears. Her eyes go from Ashley, who’s staying in shock at the woman’s appearance, to Kelly and me. They narrowed in anger. “Which of you did this to me?” The tone in her voice seems to snap Ashley out of her stupor and she quickly standing between her and us. “Whoa. Easy there. They didn’t do anything. This man overheard Dad an’ Seth talking about you and he thought it sounded like something he’d just started going through.” “Oh, really?!” she snaps, her glare burning me, even through the woman standing in front of her. “So he used to be female too, did he?” Wait. What? Ashley is clearly as confused by that question as I am, because she asks, “Ash, what the hell are you talking—?” Before I realize what’s happening, Ashley drops her pants right then and there. What the three of us see makes two of us (the one who’d known her since her started employment at American Jewelery and Loan and the one who’d watched the show) gape, not able to really process what we’re seeing. Where Ashley should’ve had the great dividing range that all women have, she instead had a man’s phallus, coloured the same as her pony ears. No, not a man's, it's too big for that. My eyes widen as my bio-classes resurface. It's a horse's cock! What the hell? For several long moments the four of us all stand in silence, none of us sure what to say. Finally, my senses catch up with me and I thought crosses my mind to either ease the tension, or at least make the air less hostile. “Have you been having dreams?” At once Ashley’s tough and anger exterior shows a crack. “Wh-what?” I sigh. “Last night, and the night before, I had dreams where I was a pony, right before I found markings on my thighs. I don't quite remember all of it, only bits and pieces, but I still remember them. Have you had any dreams like that in the last few days?” She crumples right then and there and it’s only mine and Ashley’s quick reflexes that stop her from hitting the floor. “Let’s get her inside,” Ashley grunts and we start moving her inside. “Kelly, close the door,” I say as we pass through the doorway. She follows us in, doing just that. When Ashley wakes up, we’ll hopefully be able to get some answers out of her.