//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: Fighting back // Story: No spell for that // by Jeweled Pen //------------------------------// Drifting looked between them, holding her breath. “So, what's with the dress?” one of them asked. “I… I bought it...” she said weakly. She supposed that was sorta true. She hugged the bag holding her other dress to her chest, looking at them helplessly as they came closer. “I-I should go.” She wanted to stand, but her legs didn't let her. “What's the rush? You came all the way down here, why not enjoy the night? So, tell me, tranny, did you cut your dick off? Rumors say you did.” The others were sent into a laughing fit for that one. “N-no,” she said weakly, the tears welling into her eyes. She prayed to the heavens that they'd stop there. Insults, name calling, she could handle that. If that was all they did, she'd be fine. “Then why do you keep playing pretend?” “I… I'm not pretending. I am a mare, I'm—” The first blow hit her in the side of the head, knocking her off the seat and sending her to the ground. The second blow hit her in the chest. She whimpered, collapsing into the fetal position as the blows rained down on her. One swift strike between her legs made her cry out, knocking the wind from her. They were saying things, though she could barely hear them. Telling her to apologize. “I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry,” she pleaded, trembling. There were three of them and they were all bigger than her, she held no thoughts of winning this fight. Instead she covered her face with her hooves and tried to protect her lower regions, hoping they'd tire out or get bored before they really hurt her. She'd been so, so stupid. She was smarter than this. Sneaking out after hours, when there wasn't any staff around. She knew better. She wasn't safe. She deserved this. She-- She heard a tear. "Where'd you get such a fancy dress?" Another tear. Through her hooves she could see one of them had grabbed the edge and started tearing it off. The other had picked up the bag holding the princess dress and let out a low whistle as they pulled it out. "N-no, stop, stop!" she shrieked and tried to get up, but another blow knocked her right back to the ground. "You think you're a real mare, prancing around in this?" Another tear. They were ruining her dresses. The special dresses that miss Rarity had made for her. "Stop!" she screamed, reaching out with her hooves and grabbing the hoof. All she got was another blow to the side of the head, that sent her ears ringing as she fell back to the ground. She laid there, dazed, as the pony tore at it. She felt anger and rage building up in her. How could they? WHY?! I-it wasn't fair. They were bigger than her. Stronger than her. They were... Not for long. She glared up at them, her horn beginning to glow. They were bigger. But they wouldn't be for long. Tears clouded her eyes as her horn flashed a brilliant red. ------ Drifting rocked back and forth, clutching the princess dress to her chest as she kept her eyes lowered to the ground. She was covered in bruises and her right eye was slightly swollen. Principal Learning just stared across his desk at her, shaking his head. “You know what you did.” “I'm sorry,” she said softly, not looking up at him. “You know casting magic like that on other students is forbidden. You could have done some real, serious damage.” “I'm sorry,” she repeated, rocking back and forth. “Where did you even learn how to turn a pony into a rabbit? Let alone three of them?” “I'm sorry,” she said once again. “Are you even listening to me?” “Y-yes.” “Good. Now, normally in this kind of situation you'd be expelled. However...” “E-expelled?” she squeaked, looking up. “B-but they… they attacked me. I-I was just… I-I was defending myself, I-I was--” He lifted a hoof and she fell silent. “I said normally. Fortunately, for you, the teacher arrived before you could do any lasting damage. Bad enough you turned them into bunnies, but then punting one of them?” She knew she shouldn't smile at that, no matter how badly she wanted to. She was in trouble and egging the principal on would not end well for her. “And the student who fetched the teacher collaborated your story about the three ambushing you.” “W-wait, there was another student?” “Yes, she wishes to remain anonymous, though,” he said as he flipped through the papers on his desk. “However, that magic is forbidden to be used in such a way. While the circumstances are… poor, something has to be done. As such, you're being suspended for two weeks. Your parents will be here in the morning to pick you up, they've already been notified.” Drifting wilted. “T-they're on the way here? Two weeks? T-they're already coming?” she asked, fresh horror going through her. It was late, if they were already coming, that was bad. “Yes. I talked to your mother personally.” He sighed. “Snowy, you--” “M-my name's not Snowy,” she said instinctively, before cringing at the glare she got. “S-sorry, sir.” “Scowy, I can't forbid you from… indulging in your… fetish. But I would strongly suggest that you give up on this little… act of yours. You're doing nothing but causing trouble.” She nodded slowly. “I'll think about it.” It wasn't a fetish, it wasn't an act and she'd be bucked if she'd let some bullies make her stop. But she'd definitely be bucked if she kept talking back to him. “Can… I go pack?” “Yes, you may. Do try not to get in any more fights.” Drifting nodded and got to her hooves, throwing the princess dress over her back and trotting out of the room. She took a slow, deep breath. Once again the halls were filled with ponies and staff, though she wasn't surprised. Practically half the school had been woken up by her little stunt. Within a week everypony would know what she did. On the up side, she got to her room without being harassed. In fact, some ponies even looked scared of her. That was safer, at least. She moved in front of the mirror and sat down, looking at herself. She looked horrible, little bruises peeking through her white coat. When her mom got here, she'd be furious. There was only one thing to do. She slowly got out her hoofkerchief and began cleaning up her face and undressing. The entire time all she could do was mentally kick herself for her stupidity. She knew better. She KNEW not to go out alone like that, where there weren't any teachers. She'd learned that in elementary. Yet here she went, practically serving herself up on a silver platter to them. Why was she so stupid? By the time she was cleaned up and naked, the tears flowed down her face in a steady stream. Her dresses were torn. Her mother was coming and was going to be furious. Her only option was to play on her pity, making her see how badly she'd gotten beaten up. She rested her head against the mirror. They were already against all this. What if they tried to take ALL of it away now? ------ Drifting rocked back and forth on her bed, chewing on her lower lip as she waited in her room, occasionally looking at her bags. She was leaving most of her stuff here, since she really didn't care about it. But all of her dresses and make up were coming home with her. If they decided to do any cleaning while she was gone, she'd be bucked if they thought she'd let them throw those out. But she'd woken up hours ago, double checked everything was packed a few dozen times and now had no idea what to do. The anxiety was getting to her and there was nothing she could do. If she kept pacing, she was bound to eventually drill a hole in the ground. Then there was a knock on the door. She froze. “Who… who is it?” “Hey lil sis, guess who?” Drifting's heart almost exploded. She raced to the door, pulled it open and stared at the pony on the other side. A white unicorn with a yellow mane. She got hugged so tight. “Sunny!” The pony chuckled and patted her on the back. “Hey. Hear you got in a bit of trouble?” “Y-yeah. Is… mom with you?” “Nope,” the mare said with a shake of her head. “Me and her had a long talk. Convinced her she had to work in the morning anyway, so it was best she let me do it. Told her I had the day off.” “Did you?” “No. But you know I've always got time for my lil sis,” the mare said before patting her on the head. “I just called my supervisor and let her know there was a family emergency. So uhhh...” She looked the younger mare up and down. “Is this one of those 'I should have seen the other guy' things?” “There were three of them...” Drifting said softly, lowering her eyes. “Right. How are you holding up?” “How… mad is mom?” “Furious. Don't worry, I'll be there for you. We've got a few hours until the train leaves back to Fillydelphia, wanna catch a bite?” “Kinda...” “Okay.” She then glanced towards the mirror. “Wanna get dressed, first?” “Yes!” “I'll wait outside, enjoy.” Drifting nodded and quickly got to work. Well, it looked like it wouldn't be so bad after all. If her sister was here, that bought her time. At least she wouldn't have to face their mother alone. Sunny was the only one in her family really supportive of her decision, though she still didn't completely understand it and sometimes slipped up, calling her Snowy or lil bro. But she tried, which was more than she could say for most ponies. She quickly went through her dresses, staring at the tears in the princess and date dress. She finally chose the red one she'd worn the first time she met Rarity. It was the only one that fit her right now. She smiled happily as she put her make up on and put the ribbon in her hair, before looking in the mirror. Her anxiety and fear began to melt away as she stared at herself. A few of the bruises were still visible, but the make up and dress hid most of them. She felt right, now, dressed like this. Like herself. She gave a soft, content sigh before trotting to the door and pulling it open. “Hey. How do I look?” Sunny turned back and froze, her eyes widening. “Oh. Wow. You look… wow. When did you learn to do that?” “It's… a long story.” She grabbed her bags in her magic, pulling them onto her back. “You're never going to guess who I met and spent the other day hanging out with.” “Who?” “The new princess,” she said before she started walking down the hall. “No way! You've got to tell me everything.” ------ “That's horrible,” Sunny said softly as she chewed on one of her fries. “So the note was just a set up?” “Yeah,” Drifting muttered. “I have to admit, I didn't even think of that. I should have, though. It's so obvious, I--” “Oh, don't even start that. You're a pretty mare, Drifting,” Sunny said with a grin. “You look great, you're bound to have stallions, or mares, pounding on your door before long.” “Yeah, so they can drag me out of it and pound me into the dirt.” Sunny sighed, before grinning. “So, turned them all into bunnies?” “Yeah. It was pretty awesome. Even managed to punt one of them.” She cringed. “Was that… too… stalliony?” “Nah, I'd have done the same thing.” “How's mom? I mean, has she… changed… much?” Sunny sighed and shook her head. “Not… really. I don't think she likes any of this. She's putting up with it, but I think she's looking for another one of those camps. I've been trying to talk her out of it, but… well… you know mom.” Drifting nodded. “Yeah. How's… work?” “Oh, you know. Work is work. I got a new place, actually. Me and my colt friend moved in together. I think you'll like him.” “He's… not like the last one, is he?” “Nope! Doesn't drink or anything.” Drifting nodded, though she kept her eyes down. She adored her sister, but she always chose the worst ponies to date. “So, is he going to be the one?” “Maybe, he's amazing. Kind, charming, sweet. Honest, too.” It didn't help that she always seemed to fall head over hooves fast, then fall out of love just as quickly. “How long you two been dating?” “Two months, why?” “Just curious. What happened to uhhh… Sorewing?” “Soaringwing. She just… wasn't my type. I think she just wanted someone to help raise her kids. It was a massive pain in the flank, every time they'd get out of control she'd just let it slide or cave to their demands, then I'd have to step in. I swear the only reason she wanted to date me was so I could help pay for things and could be the bad guy.” Drifting nodded and took another nibble of her fry, listening to her sister rant, a grin on her lips. Once she stopped for breath, Drifting cut in. “How long will you be around?” “I… won't be the full two weeks. I'm sorry, I just can't miss that many days of work. But I'll come by after work for a bit each day, I swear. And we can spend some time during the weekend. We can swing by my place on the way too, okay? So you can prepare?” “Thank you,” Drifting mumbled. “Three more years. Just three more years and I'm out.” “It'll be okay, Drifting. Mom'll come around. Dad… well, dad's dad. He'll at least pretend he doesn't care.” “Maybe...” Drifting mumbled. “Come on, don't be like that. You met a princess, remember? That's pretty awesome. And it sounds like she owes you big. Or at least, feels she does. And those new dresses of yours look amazing. A Rarity original isn't cheap. If I liked dresses, I'd be jealous.” “Y-yeah. I've… I've got to take them back to the boutique and get them fixed.” “Do you wanna stop there now?” “N-no. I… I wanna wait. She just finished them yesterday. I don't want her thinking I didn't love them. When… I come back, I'll do it.” “Okay, if you're sure.” Drifting took a slow, deep breath before smiling. “So… ummm… do I pass?” Sunny sighed. “Drifting, you don't need to worry so much about that.” “I… I know I shouldn't… I just...” “Yes, you do. But you need to stop worrying what other ponies think.” “I know, it's just… hard.” “You look fine. Don't care if other ponies care. Just relax.” “Okay,” Drifting muttered as he looked over at his sister. She wasn't wearing anything. But then, she didn't have to in order to feel feminine. She wasn't like… her. Her femininity was natural. Even when she acted masculine, ponies didn't automatically assume she was a guy. “Sis? Are you okay?” “Yeah. Just… thinking. Sorry...” “Come on, we'd best go get to the station. Don't worry, sis. I'll be with you the whole time. We'll deal with mom together.” Drifting smiled and gave a nod. At least she wouldn't have to be alone for this. ------ “Can I just hide here for the two weeks?” Drifting asked the moment they stepped into the small two bedroom apartment of Sunny's. The trip had been slow, but uneventful. She'd been able to wear her dress and stay all prettied up, but she had been dreading this part. Now she had to take it all off. She looked at herself in the mirror, only a few hairs out of place. “I wish, but you know mom wouldn't let that happen,” Sunny said with a shake of her head. “Come on, it'll be fine. I'll be with you the whole time.” “Do… you think I can go… like this?” She cocked her head to the side and smiled at her reflection. “Do you think mom'll...” “Yes,” Sunny said firmly. “R-really?” “Of course,” the elder mare said before walking up to her and patting her back. “This is who you are, Drifting. Mom has to learn to accept it. To accept you. Besides, you'll always be her little baby no matter what.” She gave her a hug. “So… if you want to do that, I'll be there the whole time.” Drifting looked in the mirror. She felt a little confidence surge inside her. She looked like a mare, a real mare, now. This would be it. This would work. She gave a slow nod. “Lets. Please. I… have to do this eventually, right? Now's as… good a time as any.” ------ “Snowy, wipe that gunk off your face this instant and get out of those ridiculous clothes,” her mother said the moment she opened the door. The unicorn shared the family's white coat, though her mane was a soft green. “Mom, I--” Drifting said quickly, but lowered her eyes as the other mare just glared. “Bathroom. Now,” she said, pointing a hoof down the hall. Drifting sighed and stepped inside, keeping her head lowered. “Why are you encouraging this behavior? Is this why you wanted to go pick him up?” his mother asked his sister. “So you wouldn't flip out on her the moment you saw her? Yeah, it was. A shame it didn't stop you.” “Him,” she said coldly. “Did that look like a him to you?” “A stallion in drag does not make a mare,” she said back, her voice rising. Drifting made her way to the bathroom, quickly peeling off the dress and folding it up before putting it in the bag. She could hear the two fighting down the hall, again. She'd have felt bad about causing a fight, but those two always fought about something. At least this time it was about something she felt important. She pulled the ribbon out of her hair and let her mane flow freely, before wiping the make up off and looking in the mirror. Just like that, she was Snowy again. The awkward little stallion who nopony really liked. Stupid, neurotic, annoying. Not good with other ponies at all. A stallion nopony wanted, not even him. He rested his head against the mirror and tried not to cry, even though he wanted to. After all, stallions didn't cry. ------ Snowy nudged the lasagna around on his plate, the pre-cooked glob not looking appetizing at all. He couldn't imagine why somepony would put that nasty white cheese on it anyway. “Snowy, honey? You should eat,” his mother said. “Not really hungry. Can I be excused? I just… want to sleep.” “If you think you're going to spend your suspension just sleeping around the house, you've got another thing coming,” she snapped. “You're in big trouble, young man.” “For what, defending herself?” Sunny asked with annoyance. “They picked a fight, they got what they deserved.” “If he wouldn't dress in such a way, then there wouldn't have been any fight at all.” “It's not his fault he's like this!” “Well it's certainly not mine! Snowy, you're a smart kid, if you'd just stop acting so stupid and dressing up, you could have a bright future ahead of you.” “There you go again, calling us stupid,” Sunny said with a glare. “I'm not calling him stupid, I'm saying he's acting stupid, and he is. He needs to give up on this little perversion of his, it's not natural.” “It's who he is, if you'd just try to understand it--” “There's nothing to understand. Stallions are stallions and mares are mares! Putting on a bit of make up won't change anything!” Snowy sighed as the screaming match started. He wished he could say something, but nothing he said ever made any difference. All it did was get him in more and more trouble. He nudged the food around and glanced to his dad. The other stallion barely seemed to be paying attention, just eating his meal. It was the closest thing Snowy got to support from his parents. If his dad minded, he didn't make any real mention of it. Granted, since he'd come out, they'd barely said two words to each other. Then again, before he'd come out they had hardly talked either. “I swear, your mother,” Sunny said, glancing to Snowy. “I'm not claiming her,” Snowy said instinctively, before glancing across the table at the angry mare. “Snowy, you need to stop acting out.” She put a hoof to her head. “Maybe this was a mistake, sending you to that school. It was better when you were here, being our boy. Maybe--” Alarms went off in Snowy's head. “B-but my grades are up! They're good! Y-you promised if I kept them up, I could do what I want!” “Yes, but you never got suspended when you were living here. Before all of… this.” “She was also failing half her classes,” Sunny snapped. “She's in Celestia's school! You couldn't ask for a better place for her to be, so what if she's a mare now? You should be happy she's doing so well.” “But she's not doing well, she's suspended!” “Because a few other ponies couldn't keep their hooves to themselves.” Snowy lowered his eyes as, once again, the shouting match began. He wished he could have been anywhere else. Maybe he was lucky and this was all just a nightmare and those stallions had put him in a coma. That bought a bitter smile to his face. His mom probably wouldn't yell at a coma patient. ------ Snowy laid in bed, staring at the roof. His room was just the way he'd left it, cluttered. So much junk he didn't even care about. Books, games, a bed. The only thing added were a ton of pictures his mom had put throughout the room. Pictures of a younger him, with his stupid blue mane. He hated blue hair, it was why he dyed his red. Blue was a stupid color for a mare, it made him look like a stallion. He curled up into a little ball, pulling the blanket closer to himself. He slowly looked across the room at his bags. His horn glowed and he slowly drew out the princess dress, gliding it over to himself and hugging it tightly to his chest. He was a mare. He was was he was he was he was he was…