Growing A Shell

by bluemoon1996

Late-night Pitstop

I awoke with a groan.

Jesus, what the hell happened.

I don't know brain but... but I'm hugging someone? Opening my eyes, I found myself looking down at Kylie who was currently asleep in my arms. I couldn't help but d'aww a bit at her cuteness. Her ears were flicking in her sleep and she was holding her tail like a blanket.

Wait Tail? When the hell did she get that!? Jeeze, how long was I out? I cocked my head as I kept staring at her; she looked smaller? Yeah, she had definitely shrunken in size. I laughed to myself, that makes sense, the show wasn't called My Little Pony for a reason.

I laid there silently cuddling her in my arms like a stuffed animal. Something about having her close just made me feel good. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but the feeling made me want to hold onto her forever. But then my ears turned to follow the sound of a car passing.

I reached up a hand to the side of head and let out a sigh as my suspicions were confirmed; My ears were gone and a new set had grown on the top of my now bald head. I sighed; bye bye hair, I will miss your luscious locks so. The new appendages were leathery like Dalton's wings; infact, all my skin had turned black and leathery. Well look at me now! I've gone from human to full-blown furry in under 48 hours!

My hand hit a hard large thing on my forehead. "What the?" I mumbled to myself as I began running my hand up the mass. It was smooth, hard, and tapered off; ending in a point; I had horn.

Hehe, We're horny!

The mental facehoof could be heard 'round the world. Really brain, really? It was just a bad joke when Sage did it but now, it's just plain perverted.

Carefully, I let Kylie go and sat on the edge of the bed. Yawning, I got to my feet and began to make my way to the front of the RV. It was dark outside, the only light being from the cars on the interstate and a few ambient sources. Once again, how long was the hell out?

About ten hours.

Where the hell did you get that?

The microwave says it eleven p.m.

And the award for least awareness goes to me! I could almost hear the canned clapping as a cough set in. When I pulled my hand away, there was a small splatter of viscous green goop on my palm. Goop, Where the hell did that come from?

You're telling me you don't remember?

No?

We nearly flippin' died choking on this turbuclosis wannabe and you don't remember!?

My eyes widened as the memories came rushing back and my ears fell flat against my head. I almost choked to death on this shit! Sweet Celestia, this crap has officially crossed the line!

Another cough splattered some more goop on my hand. I rubbed it off on my pants leg as I heard a quiet sigh coming from the couch. Turning about, I saw Sage asleep on the couch snuggled up inside a blanket. She had changed since I last saw her too; her skin seemed browner and her horn had grown a couple of inches.

Oh my Celestia, she's nomming on the blanket!

I couldn't help but giggle at the sheer adorableness. If we could weaponize cuteness, Kylie and Sage could supply half the free world alone. I just wanted to pinch her cheeks but that would probably result in me on the floor holding my cajones.

Regretibly, I turned away from the cuteness of my sleeping friend and made my way over to the door separating the driver from the rest of the camper. As I neared, my ears turned towards the door, picking up the radio.

"~rgeon General has asked for all those affected by the recent changes to report to their local hospitals~"

"You're about three states too late," Dalton laughed dryly as I peeked around the doorway. He was sitting in the drivers seat with his wings hanging over the ba-

"Might as well get in here Johnny," he said without even looking back, "I could use the company."

Wait? How the Tartarus did he notice me; I didn't even make a sound? Quietly, I slipped past his wings and sat in the passenger seat. My heart fluttered when I saw that Dalton wasn't wearing a shirt.

Damn it, I like women! I like huge tracts of land and a nice butt just like his! Gah! Buck no, damn it, I'm not gay!

"Umm... You alright Johnny?" Dalton gave me an odd look.

"Yeah, totally alright," I nodded. I'm totally not having a moral crisis about suddenly finding you attractive. "So how did you notice me?"

"I'm a bleedin' vampire ya git," he said in a mock British accent and bared his fangs at me. I felt my cheeks heat up as I laughed, he looked so cute! Wait... No... Damn it, not gay!

As I looked at him, I noticed he had a pair of blue grey ears with little tufts sat sticking out of the top of his grey hair. Not only that, but he also seemed smaller; the two of us were about the same height within but now he was clearly several inches shorter. Jeeze, what the heck happened?

"So... What else happened?" I asked, trying to avoid looking at him anymore than necessary, fearing the awkward possibilities. Instead, I just focused looking at the highway signs we passed. Which if my memory of state shapes was correct, was telling me that we were in Illinois already.

"Well, we left St. Louis an hour ago; I grew pony ears, Sage started growing fur and a tail, k-"

"Wait, Sage has fur? She just looks browner."

"Yeah she does," he stated, "took us a sec to realize it too but she has fur. It's just really fine and short hairs at the moment kinda like felt. And to continue: Kylie grew a tail and pony legs and the three of us are all smaller."

My eyes widened in surprise; Kylie grew pony legs?! How the heck didn't I notice that when I looked at her earlier, "Kylie's a satyr now!?"

He nodded, "yep, we didn't even realize till she did till Sage talked her into getting some food; she wouldn't leave your side for a second."

I felt my heart twinge at this revelation; she wouldn't leave me? "Did she say why?"

"All she would say is your Ma asked her to keep you safe," he sighed, "and I guess your sudden decision to develop turbuclosis made her believe she failed."

My ears flattened against my head; now I felt really bad for leaving her all alone in the back of the camper. What if she woke up right now; would she think I left her or worse, she failed again?

Sighing, I decided to change the subjec. "So how far are we from Chicago now?"

"About four hours according to the GPS," he replied, "we may have to stop for gas soon though. The tank is at quarter."

---

"~the next thing I know I have five little kids jumping on me; all of them hollering like banshees, all wanting the ball that I had. But I couldn't exactly toss 'em off 'cause, well, the oldest of the lot was maybe seven so I did the one thing I knew I could; I just went limp. Let's just say: having a horde of munchkins drag you across a grassy field is not what you expect when you wake up in the morning."

Dalton laughed and I couldn't help but join in. I don't care if it was gay or not but I always liked his laugh. He had one of those deep hearty ones that you'd expect to hear on some jolly fat man instead of a 180 pound high schooler from Texas at it was downright infectious.

After nearly a minute, we both stopped, "hey Johnny, I've been meaning to ask you about something?"

"Yes?"

"While you were asleep, did your Changeling visit you?"

I nodded, "twice actually." Well, at least that part of this whole ordeal wasn't just unique to me, "the first time was with the initial blast and the second was right before I woke up with the spontaneous case of Ebola. Me and Dop had a chat at a lunch table back at school both times."

He nodded, "mine was in a big cave system and Goodnight popped up when I found a stream. When I tried to ask him what was going on he just kept saying He'd have to kill me if he said anything."

I couldn't help but snicker; even his mind was being a snarky ass to him.

He just rolled his unnaturally big eyes before continuing. "All he did tell me was not to try flying till I fully changed. Said I'd just be a splat on the pavement if I tried."

That makes sense; birds had hollow bones so pegasi and thestrals ought to as well. "He was gonna say more but Kylie screaming woke me up... And I don't think I need to explain anymore."

I nodded. "Can I ask something too: this has been nagging at me but you told me you tried the show but didn't like it; Why didn't you tell me the truth?" Seriously, Dalton was my best friend and he kept me in the dark about something that was quite literally a life changing experience at the moment. Heck, I told him when he got me into Warhammer 40k, but he wouldn't tell me he was a closet brony?

He frowned, "with the amount of gushing yo-"

"I don't gush!" I said with a mock gasp and pout.

"As I was saying: with the amount of gushing that you do, it was inevitable that I'd give it a look-see. So I decided to watch the pilot and-"

"And you just kept on going because you loved it so much?" Seriously, this was like how 95% of bronies got into the show. It's so frequent, it probably was its own cliche by season three.

He shook his head, "buck no! I couldn't even make it past the theme song! It was the fanfics that drew me in; I read Fallout Equestria in three days!"

"Bullshit, that girl is about as long as the bible!" Heck, it took me a month to read it the first time around. He nodded, "nope, I pulled an all-nighter and just kept on reading." He laughed to himself, "by the end, I had practically gone crosseyed."

"But that still doesn't answer the question: why didn't you tell me?"

He sighed, "beca- look there's a truck stop!" He pointed off to a large building on my side of the road.

I rolled my eyes as he put on the blinker to turn into the parking lot; now he was just avoiding the question, and doing a very poor job at it too.

Thankfully, the station was practically deserted as I got out of the camper. Sadly, I had lost our little rock-paper-scissors battle and was the one to go in and buy gas and some snacks. According to Dalton, all the food in the camper required us to actually stop and hook up to an electrical source to cook.

There was no way to pull the hood up on my trusty gray jacket thanks to my new horn; so I would have to go inside fully exposed and hope for the best. Gulping, I calmly made my way across the pumps and towards the store.

A little bell above the door gave a soft tinkle as I entered and looked about. The place was built like your typical fancy gas station that actually got a lot of business; and most importantly, it's was basically deserted.

Sighing with relief, I made my way over to the drinks area. Okay, I'll get myself a one liter coke; Dalton wanted a Mountain Dew; Kylie likes Sprite and Sage likes Dr. Pepper. With one arm carrying all the drinks, I went over to the junk food and grabbed a few bags of chips.

All the food grabbed, I went up to the counter. The counter was deserted but I could hear the sounds of a TV from somewhere in the back area.

"~With scientists baffled by the bizarre transformations and news still pouring in. We are surprised to report that someone is actually claiming responsibility for this, and that somebody is teenager! And there’s even a convention being held last minute by the one claiming to be the cause of all the drama, to be held in Chicago, Illinois~"

"Is somebody alive back there," I dinged the bell. The sound of a chair scooting across linoleum tiles could be heard and soon after, a very sleepy teenager came out grumbling to himself.

When he saw me, he stopped and blinked in surprise as his brain tried to comprehend me, "and I thought that was just a load of crap..."

"Tell me about it," I laughed dryly as I pulled out my wallet, pulling out two hundred dollars, "could you put the rest on the RV out there?" Sage's dad better repay me for this when we get back home.

He nodded, taking the money as he rang up the price on the food, "pardon if this is a sensitive issue, but what exactly are you... You know?"

"A shapeshifting bug that feeds off emotional energy."

He just gave me a confused look as I grabbed the chips and drinks.

---

A blue Toyota pulled up next to us as I manned the gas pump and my jaw hit the floor as the driver got out.

He was turning Into a freaking dragon! The dude's skin was mostly covered in gray scales and several spines stuck out from his back. When he turned about to see me, his eyes had were a magenta color with lizard pupils and he had fangs stick out from his lips. This guy could pass off as a real life Argonian!

He gave me a look-over once he noticed me. I let out a small eep; I was never the most bravest of ponies but when getting looked at by a guy who looked like he snap me like a twig. Who wouldn't get frightened?

He laughed, "Changeling eh?"

I nodded; why the hell was he laughing? That just makes him more scary! Doesn't this guy realize he's got big sharp pointy teeth!

"The two of us got the short end by a long shot," he said warmly, "names Drake."

Well, that name fits him just perfectly doesn't it.

"Johnny," I replied, "so where are you from?"

"Down around Brownsville," he said simply, "you?"

Huh, of all the people to meet on the road it just happens to be a fellow Texan. "A small town up around Dallas," I stated, "never expected to run into another Texan in Illinois of all places. Even if the entire bronydom of the US is descending on Chicago like it's a free chance to beat up Flash Sentry."

He laughed and I cringed slightly; damn, his teeth were scary.

He nodded in agreement, "so are traveling alone in that thing or is there more inside?"

"Four of us, two friends and my niece." I checked the pump and it said I had reached my limit. Frowning, I pulled the pump out of the gas tank, "sorry Drake, but I gotta go. It was nice meeting you; see ya in Chicago man!"

"You too, just look for the big grey dragon if you wanna find me."

---

I took in a deep breath of the cool air and sighed happily as the snow crunched underneath my hooves. I always loved winter; I never understood why mommy hated it so much but I positively love the snow!

Trudging along, I made my way to the park. A lot of the school fillies and colts were going to have a big snow ball fight here and I was gonna be part!

When I got there, I was greeted immediately by a snowball to the face and a familiar giggling. "Come on Dop, we need some support," Click Clack's voice called out from the other side of my whiteout. That little unicorn ambushed me!

Shaking the snow off my face, I was greeted by the sight of a pudgy blue unicorn with a grey mane wearing a scarf. "You're gonna pay for that," and with that I pounced.

The two of us tumbled down the hill, landing in a laughing, snow covered heap.

"What the matter new colt, gonna cry to your mommy?"

My ears perked up as I turned to see Axel, the school bully, and his cronies picking on the new colt, who they had cornered against a shed. I didn't know his name but he was a grey unicorn with a two tone black and silver mane.

Clack followed my gaze before sighing, "Dop, I know what you're thinking. But you already get teased enough by them for being... different. There's no need for giving them more fuel for the fire."

I shook my head as a plan formulated in my head. "We can't let him keep pushing us all around." I smiled as I noticed the large snow pile on the roof of the shed.

Quickly, I took to the skies and landed silently on the roof of the shed. Thankfully, the numbskulls hadn't notice me. I quietly began pushing at the cold mass.

It took a bit of effort but soon the wall of snow slid off the roof and I heard yelling from Axel and his goons, "who the buck did that!" I saw the new colt scamper off towards the tree line.

Quickly, I glided off the roof and scampered after the new colt before Axel dug himself out. He was hiding behind a tree when I found him.

"Y-you here to bully me too?"

I shook my head, "nope, I was the one who knocked off the snow on Axel and his gang."

He smiled weakly, "t-thank you."

I nodded, "no problem; the names Doppel."

"L-Lance."

Author's Note:

Edited by Greycait!

Read his shit!

Comments

[Spider]

Very awesome dude. Can't wait for more because this is awesome.

[bluemoon1996]

5512130

Thank you

[Perteks]

Im not sure if I want to read shit, shit belong to toilets ;p

[bluemoon1996]

5512153

His OC tales fic is pretty dang good

And he has a changeling too and a sea pony!

[Perteks]

5512165
And that was irony ;p

[bluemoon1996]

5512168

Still read it!

[Mistress Molly]

I laughed to myself, that makes sense, the show wasn't called My Little Pony for a reason.

Once again, how long was the hell out?

He nodded, "yep, we didn't even realize till she did till Sage talked her into getting some food; she wouldn't leave your side for a second."

Sighing, I decided to change the subjec.

Interesting story so far, nice to see one thats frequently updated.

[Perteks]

5512178
I readed it already, you two have nearly same fics, should do some clash of them at some point

[bluemoon1996]

5512184

Thank you! My ego is being sufficiently fluffed

[Slayerseba]

next phleaseeee.

[PiMan]

5481932
Evidence!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ibw7goououqtbtn/2015-01-16%2016.47.45.png?dl=0

Hopefully this link works; Dropbox can be touchy sometimes.

[bluemoon1996]

5512199

Patience!

5512200

[Princess Skitzy]

I don't like to spam but jeez... I love this story.. I live and breath to see the transform complete :)

[bluemoon1996]

5512612

Should be in the next two chapters

[Princess Skitzy]

5512631
AHHHHHH XD

http://weknowmemes.com/generator/meme/403150/

[bluemoon1996]

5512652

I can't stand doge but XD

[FrostTheWolf]

Awesome job with this chapter mate. Well done!

[bluemoon1996]

5514098

Thank you

And I will say the working title for the next chapter is the revenge of Murphy's law

[FrostTheWolf]

5521736 Sounds awesome. Oh and would it be okay if I have you proofread the first chapter of the OTverse story I finished. Wanted to see if I got everything I needed right

[bluemoon1996]

5522022

I'd be delighted, and see if grey can read too... He's darn good as my editor/prereader

[Meep the Changeling]

Awww man... There isn't any more yet. :c

[bluemoon1996]

5570681

I'm working on it don't worry

[Super57]

Nice work.

Time for the plot to thicken I guess XD

[Lexiebommel10]

Well, we left St. Louis an hour ago;

WOOOO ST. LOUIS xD :)

[Chrome Masquerade]

My hand hit a hard large thing on my forehead. "What the?" I mumbled to myself as I began running my hand up the mass. It was smooth, hard, and tapered off; ending in a point; I had horn.

Hehe, We're horny!

The mental facehoof could be heard 'round the world