Four
With shoulders shaking and stomach roiling Alpha screwed his eyes shut and panted. His breath dampened the pillows around his chin and his hooves dug deep into the sheets. “You were supposed to be asleep!” he groaned, pawing at the mattress in frustration. One forehoof dug into a larger pillow and pulled it out from beneath the smaller ones, sending many of them cascading to the floor. He curled his shaking limbs around it. “Why weren't you sleeping? You have a test tomorrow!”
He had to fix this. He had to go back to his dorm and... And what? he asked himself, unable to lift himself from the mattress for the weight of the pessimism flowing through his veins. Wake her up and tell her that I stole her body?
He rolled onto his back and stared at nothing. Maybe I can lie, he thought, stirring up the last of his confidence. A burst of magic lit one of the room's candelabras in the vain hope of chasing the darkness inside away. I could tell her it was somepony else. It was just a practical joke! Nopony could know for sure that I was lying...
Sure, or maybe I made a wish on a falling star and the Mare in the Moon saw fit to grant it...
He bit down on the pillow as hard as he could to stifle the sobs that threatened to break loose. “I've ruined my life." His mouth twisted into a shamed and anxious grimace. “Everything's gone wrong,” he told the pillow in a muted whisper. “This was supposed to be the greatest night of my life. Why did you have to pick tonight to go against your routine?” He punched it halfheartedly and sighed. “Why didn't I just ask you in the first place?” The pillow didn't answer; he pulled it close in a tight, shivering, full-body hug. His hindlegs wrapped around it, shifting to keep from pinching anything between his thighs or...
The tears dried in his eyes as he lifted his head from the pillow. He stared down at his borrowed body and cooed softly.
There was nothing to pinch.
In a flash the haze of despair was gone. Just for tonight, I get to know how it feels to be like her. Just for tonight...
I get to be me.
The rest of the candles around the room lit one by one. Alpha rolled onto his right side and lifted his left leg. Finally, after years of dreams and fantasies, that unsightly flap had disappeared and taken Equestria's most inconveniently-placed pouch with it. All that remained were two nearly-invisible bumps beneath the smooth coat on his belly. He let out a little giggle at the absurdity of it. How do you like that, Fae? Want to see what I'm hiding now?
His horn lit up with an orange glow and sent a wave of tactile magic to explore his new surface. His magic touch traced along the sagittal line where the fur of one side of his coat clashed with that of the other, starting just below the rib cage and trailing slowly downward into the dip of flesh behind it. Smooth. Sleek, he thought. Just as it should be. His touch roamed across the surface and he played for a moment with the fur where that awful spire had once stood. No more awkwardness, no more messes...
The magic crawled upward until it reached the pair of tiny slopes. And these... His magic wasn't enough for those. Alpha crawled backward on his shoulders, forcing the pillows against the foot of the bed, and curled up atop them with his weight on his croup. He stretched a forehoof between his legs and poked delicately the bumps there. They didn't disappear or explode as part of him had feared they would; they merely squished playfully under his hoof. Emboldened, he sent the other hoof to investigate as well.
The hooves traced softly along the outer edges of his new slopes. They tugged alternately at the skin in front of each teat, first the left and then the right. His teats responded in kind, sliding against each other, forward and back. His hooves picked up the pace; Alpha giggled excitedly as he watched them wave like treetops on an autumn afternoon. Wiggle wiggle wiggle...
Alpha breathed a sigh of contentment and let himself slide down the pillows to lay flat on his back with his forehooves on his belly and his hindlegs crossed. As he stared unseeing at the ceiling he slid his hindlegs across each other, reveling in the freedom of movement his new form allowed... And that wasn't the only new freedom. “I can do anything,” he sighed. His forehooves touched delicately along the curves of his muzzle, wonderfully soft and round compared to the angles and lines of his old stallion's muzzle. “I can... I can wear a dress. I don't have to shower with the stallions anymore...”
But he might not be able to enjoy even one night of freedom. When Fae woke up in the morning she would remember drifting off while she was talking to Brie and she would want to know why. Considering the conversation Alpha and Fae had had just prior, Alpha knew she would be suspicious. Could I blame it on stress? he wondered. Was she really that worked up about our argument? Brie seemed to think so, but I don't know...
He rolled out of bed and walked to the floor-length mirror; a cream-coated mare approached from its other side to meet him there. She was a tired young thing with strands of her thick dark mane standing up from her scalp at odd angles. She looks exhausted, he realized. I could just say she must have passed out on the couch... He sighed and stared at Fae's hooves. But how would I know that? Besides, Brie had to walk me to her bedroom and I know she's going to ask Fae about it in the morning. Fae's going to know that she was still awake.
Alpha met Fae's slanted, almost pointed eyes with his own. Her brow was creased with worry and her muzzle twisted in uncertainty, her complexion even paler than usual. To his surprise, that sparked an idea. Could I fake an illness? he wondered. Maybe if I make sure her body is on the bathroom floor when she wakes up—
That's it! he decided jubilantly. It was a reaction to the soda! We ended up with a bad bottle that gave both of us food poisoning. He flashed his perfect teeth in the mirror. Sure, I can fake that! Soon, though, his eyes were drawn upward. Especially with a mane in such a state... Without a second thought he sent a tendril of magic to grasp one of the three brushes upon Fae's vanity desk and went to work.
This, at least, he was used to; his own mane wasn't much shorter than Fae's, after all, and hers was much easier to work with in comparison. The brush slid firmly but carefully through his new waves, lifting his mane from underneath just to smooth it back down. He watched with a determined gaze as bent hairs were straightened and tangles quietly popped under his ministrations.
Soon the smallest of the three brushes floated past to smooth the ruffled fur on his forearm and travel down the limb, straightening any errant hairs he might not see. The brush worked in a ring around one foreleg and then the other, then his hindhooves... It moved upward to his cheeks and the third and largest brush joined in to start on his back. The thick bristles massaged his flesh as they worked his mussed coat into order and tossed to the floor the few stray blades of grass that remained stuck to him from the night's stargazing. The three brushes danced around him as he tossed his head this way and that, his leftover uncertainty melting under their petting.
In no time at all, it seemed, he was finished. Fae's mane and tail were back to their usual bouncy, full-bodied selves and not a single bent hair mussed her sleek lines and curves. She watched him happily from the mirror as he looked over his coat, marveling at the glint of candlelight from its surface. “I'm...” Alpha took a deep breath and leaned into one forehoof; the other met that of his reflection. “I'm beautiful!” He swiveled his back half into view and stared at his new hips, just wide enough to attract attention if the golden eye breaking through the clouds on his flank didn't do the trick. He tossed his tail to watch it bounce and shake, each hair shining in its right place. After a nervous glance toward the door he turned back to the mirror and waggled his rump; the muscles flexed in his flanks, making his tail dance and writhe. “I'm a beautiful mare...”
Finally, I can live the life I've always wanted to live. Memories streamed past his mind's eye: A day at the babysitter's house, playing a dress-up board game with plastic jewels and tin tiaras... I can be myself. A sympathetic shudder and a surge of jealousy as an old friend's hoof brushed against his fiancée's backside... I can have...
He inhaled sharply and looked away, suddenly unable to meet Fae's eyes. It's only for one night, he reminded himself. Don't get carried away.
But there were certain things he could do.
He looked at himself once more in the mirror, took a deep breath, and cantered toward the thick purple cushion placed in front of Fae's vanity desk. His magic cleared the desk's surface and propped open its lid, revealing the smaller mirror within, but nothing of note lay within but a few mementos he didn't recognize. He delved into the drawers, scattering papers and items carelessly as his aura pawed through them. “Come on,” he whispered as he slid the third drawer down on the left side closed and moved on to the right. “Come on...”
His breath caught. Slowly, with reverence, a cloud of orange motes lifted a short plastic rod from the top-right drawer. He stared at it with mixed emotions. An age-old fear of the forbidden made his hooves shake between his thighs, but the heat of the moment and the desire to feel tipped the balance. She had already made one mistake, one that might be difficult to explain away in the morning. What was one more? “Okay, Alpha,” he whispered, staring intently at Fae's reflection. “You've done this before.” The base of the rod twisted in his aura and pulled free, revealing a little wire brush coated heavily in a thin black oil. “Slowly–” he eyed the brush nervously as it floated closer – “and carefully...”
The touch of the bristles to the underside of his lashes made his left eye twitch. “Oh my stars,” he breathed. The brush caught a few dozen of his eyelashes, pulled them into formation and left them shining under the fluorescent light of his magic. “Is this really happening?” Alpha asked his friend in the mirror. Fae smiled and brought the brush back to his eyes. “This is really happening!”
One eye done, it was easy to see what a difference a simple mixture of ash, flax and beeswax could make. His right eye stared back from between lids that looked nervous and excited, but the left... The left eye was confident, innocent... sultry. That was a mare's eye.
Alpha fought down the urge to giggle and brought the brush to her other eye.
Into the drawer she delved time and time again, unburying bottles that had gone unused for weeks or months at a time, discarding nearly-empty containers, tossing lipsticks and hairsprays aside. His heart was set on a few choice items he just knew Fae would have stashed away somewhere, and with patience and determination he found them: powders, blushes, lotions... All were of tints and tones that worked perfectly with his new colors and all were applied with unpracticed but stubborn care. With each new product his grin grew wider and wider.
He was in the midst of brushing creamy-white foundation into the fur of his cheeks when his eyes were suddenly drawn away from the little details he had altered and caught sight of the whole. A beautiful young mare stared back at him from the mirror with large and soulful doe-eyes like molten gold. Her coat complexion was perfectly smooth save for the faint hint of a blush atop the cheekbones and across the bridge of her muzzle.
The mare in the mirror clapped her hooves to her muzzle and squealed with delight. “Oh my stars!” she exclaimed breathlessly.
A loud thump from the other side of the wall dragged her attention away from the mirror. Alpha sat perfectly still, waiting for some sign of suspicion from Brie. Instead she could have sworn she heard muffled laughter!
Alpha laughed with her, leaped from the bench and pranced across the room to the floor-length mirror standing in the corner.
The mare that greeted her there was a perfect specimen of unicorn femininity. The curves and lines of her long, thin legs; the luxurious waves of her gorgeous inky-purple mane that danced around her shoulders with each shake of her head; a fit but full-bodied plot, intimidating and inviting; Alpha was marehood ponified. Alpha was a goddess. She twisted her body, her eyes caressing the gradual curve of the smooth, uninterrupted lines her body followed between her legs and up to her tail, the dainty dip from forehead to muzzle, the softness between her ribs and hips that just begged to be held...
A surge of emotion washed through her. She stood on two with her forehooves on either side of the mirror. “Whatever happens tomorrow,” she whispered with tears of joy beading at the corners of her eyes, “at least I'll have these memories.” She closed her eyes and gave herself a quick peck on the lips, leaving a glossy print on the glass. Alpha looked over at her body from chest to teats and smiled; she pushed away from the wall, fell to all four, and slid the door beside the mirror open.
His mouth dropped open and she squeaked in excitement. Six outfits hung in the closet and more surely awaited her in the bins and boxes stacked neatly to one side. She pulled each of them free from their hangers and held them upright in a ring around her. She spun in the center with wide eyes and hooves tapping in anticipation, drinking in each outfit in turn: a long yellow maxi dress with a low-cut back and intricate embroidery along each seam; a practical but elegant grayish-magenta cloak of what looked like rubberized silk, which would be just perfect for a drizzly spring morning; a cute white number made up of a short cotton jacket and a matching skirt that would barely have covered her dock...
The first two were returned to their hangers and the third floated toward her. She stepped into the skirt carefully. Her magic slid it upward along her legs, over the expanse of her thighs... The elastic sealed snugly around her waist, pinching the top of the skirt here and there to match the ruffles along its bottom. The jacket gave her some trouble, but soon she found herself standing once more in front of the wall mirror with an appreciative eye. Sassy, she grinned as she angled her shoulders and arched her back. Her smile collapsed. But I'm not looking for sassy.
When she finally managed to peel the tiny jacket from her shoulders she returned that outfit to the closet as well, and two more with it. She knew what she wanted. She opened wide her shining eyes and turned her head back to the dress she'd left floating behind her.
It was the dress. You know the one, said the voice of memory. The red one-shoulder evening dress with the sweetheart neckline? He'd only seen her in it once, during a faux ball at the Princess's palace the autumn before. She'd looked gorgeous in it then, enough so that Alpha, stuck in her cobalt dress jacket, had been unable to speak to her all night for the burn of envious bile in her throat. Now... Now she could be that gorgeous. She could be the belle of the ball, the talk of the town...
She could be beautiful.
Alpha pushed off of the mirror and raised her forehooves to the ceiling. The skirt billowed outward as it fell over her face; she closed her eyes as the crisp, smooth taffeta slid over her cheeks, her shoulders. She held her hooves together and squeezed through a waistline narrow enough to pinch her rib cage and broke out the other side, through the open zipper that ran down the back of the dress's bodice. She slid her right forehoof through the shoulder strap and flattened the chest piece to her body with it. A glance in the mirror showed her that the dress still fit just as well as it had six months before, just as Alpha had known it would. She let the air from her lungs and slowly pulled the zipper shut, bending her back away from the material to avoid getting her coat caught in its teeth. The dress constricted her next breath noticeably, but her reflection was worth any amount of shortness of breath.
The gown clung to her like a second skin, following the curves of her chest and hips almost perfectly. It accentuated here and drew the eye away from there, making sure everypony would notice her finest aspects. The blood-red color made her dark mane and pale coat pop, clashing with both but detracting from neither. The curves of her heart-shaped neckline caressed the fur between her shoulders as Alpha skipped toward her reflection and her eyes darted up and down, tracing along her form and drinking in as much of the sight as she could. She drew her hooves up to her chin in excitement.
She couldn't hold it back. Alpha squealed with glee and pranced in exultation. It wasn't just perfect. Her reflection was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. She was gorgeous, confident... feminine. Nopony would ever call her 'stallion' again. Everypony would know just who Alpha truly was.
Everypony needed to see this...
She had to show everypony! She spun on her hindlegs, tore open the door, and dashed like a madpony through the dormitory.
She paid no mind to Brie, who watched from the kitchen first in shock, then awe, then joy. “Woohoo!” she cried, pumping a hoof in the air as the front door slammed against the wall. “Go get him!”
As she sped through brick halls painted chocolate brown she passed stray ponies here and there – a pair of colts leaning together outside a doorway, an out-of-breath filly in search of something lost, so many ponies – and one by one, they all turned to stare. Every one of them looked at her. Every one saw her beauty.
Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she darted through the halls toward the courtyard. Look at me, she cried internally as their gazes followed her through doorways and around corners. Look at the most beautiful mare in Canterlot!
The night air was cool on her fur, the grass soft beneath her hooves. A few ponies whistled, a couple made jokes; she paid them no mind. She had somewhere to be. Alpha's laughter bounced from the sidewalks and fountains.
Look at me!
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4605159
4602488
How's this for a chapter?
I think the PC term is "gender-incongruent" at the moment, but it honestly feels like it gets changed every six months.
4609582
I think you're right. Somepony's always getting mad about something! I know it's just petty personal preference, but 'incongruence' is an ugly word to my ears and even many transgender individuals are unfamiliar with the term, so I'll keep using 'dysphoria' until I find a good reason not to.
However, if the term offends you and you were just trying to be polite about it, let me know via comment or PM.
4609643 It's quite a bit more difficult than that to offend me :P I was just informing you. Besides, I like the sound of "dysphoric" more than "incongruent."
4609652
Glad to hear it!
'Dysphoric' sounds mystical or philosophical... 'Incongruent' is the sound of a chintzy Elvis Presley alarm clock getting smashed with an aluminum baseball bat on a rotting tree trunk.
4609444
Don't get me wrong, I wasn't complaining per se about how short it was. It's just hard to form a full opinion when that first chapter is as short and unclear as it was.
You did have a good reason for that though, and I'd say it's paid off already.
Very much interested to see where you go from here.
4611432
I wasn't offended. I hope the rest of the story is to your liking! I'm about to finish part five.
No worries, hon.
(inside Fae's head)
"This dress is working amazingly. He's totally dumbstruck at my beauty right now. He can't even take his eyes off me. If only he had the courage to speak, he could shower me with adoration! That fiery look in his eyes, it must be the kindling of true love."
This chapter...
i1215.photobucket.com/albums/cc514/yharbo/GIF/th_slap.gif
Your descriptions give me the impression of very furry little ponies. Alpha is so cute in this chapter!
A bit delirious with joy, though. Worryingly so.
Mascara. She was putting on mascara...
I totally thought that was going to be something else.
I want to read more, but I'm waaaay too tired. I'll read more tomorrow while you're at work.
4609444 Well, the stallion is even more of an idiot than I thought. Still, I can't blame him too harshly. I also sometimes had a passing thought of if my life would be better if I were female... It seems like he wants it with his every being though, even the boring and annoying bits, like makeup and fashion.
I just can't get into this. I'm too stuck on how callously selfish the main character is being and imagining the aftermath of such a horrendous betrayal of his friend's trust.
Body-swapping that's neither party's fault, or an unanticipated consequence is fine. It'd potentially be traumatic, but I can overlook that for a well-written story. ...but doing something like this intentionally? The only thing I can think of that's worse would be to use mental magic without consent.
I can't help but think of this character as a dangerous sociopath. Either he can't understand the potential for traumatizing a close friend who trusts him, or he doesn't care.
4609668
It reminds me of high-school geometry class.
Not too quick on the old uptake, are ya.