The Fourth Day (AM)
Firecracker looked out through the window at the indigo sky. Celestia’s… no. Earth’s sun had yet to rise above the horizon, yet the stallion was restless and could not stand to share the bed with her any longer. She was still snoozing away underneath the covers, her turquoise mane poking out in a few places, her pink coat with it. Her mane was a mess; it was matted and tangled, parts of it stuck to her back.
Firecracker felt dirty, in more than a few ways. He was covered in dried sweat from the night before, or what he hoped was simply sweat. He didn’t care to make so much of a racket by leaving and trying to take a shower; Jasmine would wake up, and be waiting for him when he got back.
The very name sent tendrils of anger through his body. She manipulated him into this. While he wished the night before was a blur, he remembered it clear as day. He was standing in the library, about to go to dinner, when he smelled it: the heavy, spicy scent of a mare in heat. Or, more specifically, Jasmine in heat. But it couldn’t have been natural; most likely one of those hormone pills the human drug companies make. Once he smelled that intoxicating scent, he was trapped. As much as it pained him to admit, he didn’t have the fortitude to resist the lust he was put into.
And now… in his bed was a mare from his troubled past, who stole him away from the mare he wanted to be his better future. He was ready and willing to change; Peach was the mare he wanted. Wasn’t she?
“Good morning, my handsome stallion. Care for another go?” a sultry voice whispered from behind him. Firecracker stood rigid, his eyes fixed outside the window to the steadily brightening sky. He heard the rustling of sheets, and the sound of hooves approaching him. With them, though, was the phantom of that despicable scent from the night before. “Aww, what’s the matter? Was I not good enough for you? I’ve been trying to get more flexible, so we could do it like humans do. Why don’t we try that out right now? I hear it’s supposed to be quite romantic,” Jasmine purred in his ear.
Firecracker spun around so fast, he almost hit Jasmine’s muzzle with his horn. She pulled away and watched as he walked over to the door and left the room. He trotted down the bleached hallway to the bathroom. He needed a shower. Now.
It was unsurprisingly quiet in the bathroom at such an early hour, and the lights weren’t even turned on. Firecracker grabbed a towel and headed for the shower floor, his eyes still sagging from his lack of proper rest. He twisted the knob to a lukewarm and comfortable temperature and let the water run over his coat and down his legs.
“Walking away from a lady like that is quite rude, I’ll have you know.”
Firecracker hung his head. “Why did you follow me in here? This is the stallion’s room, after all. The mare’s room is just next door.”
“Oh, but that’s no fun! And I’d be all alone…” Jasmine said as she sidled up next to Firecracker under the cascade of water. She began kissing his neck along the length of it, moving steadily upwards. She kissed his cheek a few times before trying to kiss him on the lips, and met them unmoving. He glared down at her and scoffed. He rinsed his mane under the water once more, feeling the sweat draining out of it as well as the rest of his coat.
“You know, it’s no fun coming onto you if you’re taking this ‘hard-to-get’ thing too far.” She turned around and swished her tail from side to side, revealing more of herself than Firecracker cared to be aware of. “I’m waiting for you to ravish me like you did last night… And I always wanted to do it in a shower. The warmth, the vapor, easy to clean up too-“
“Just. Stop.” Firecracker growled.
“Oh, I like it when you take me rough! Just like old days, am I right?” She wore a sly grin as she licked her lips.
“No. Just leave. I’m not going to ‘ravish’, ‘take you’, or any variation thereof. I know what you did to me last night.”
“You mean loosen up a stubborn stallion? I don’t know about you, but he sure seemed glad to see me.”
Firecracker slumped forward. “I give up,” he mouthed to himself. He left the shower running with Jasmine under it while he toweled off and dropped the soaked towel into the hamper by the door. Jasmine stood under the water and watched as Firecracker left.
“May as well clean up while I’m here.” She began to run the water down her back, as she whispered “I will have him. All of him. All for myself.”
---
Jay turned over in his sheets and heaved a deep breath. His ears were greeted with the sweet songs of birds from outside the window in the bureaus inside garden. The sounds brought a weak smile to his face as he cracked his eyes open. Sunlight was filling the room, a welcome change from the storm the day before. The light still held a yellow hue, meaning the morning was still young. Jay squirmed out from his bed and landed onto his four hooves. He reared up onto his hind legs and attempted to make his bed, but the lack of fingers and opposable thumbs made the process exceedingly difficult. Remembering his lessons from yesterday, he lit up his horn and neatly set the sheet on the mattress as carefully as he could.
"Oh, now you're just showing off."
"Good morning to you too, sunshine."
Austin crawled out of his bed and began fixing his sheets as well. "I'm sorry about what happened last night, with you and Chloe. I told you to wait until you knew she would say yes, after all." Austin's words brought back the painful memories of the night before.
The gap in the clouds.
The starry sky.
The beautiful mare.
Her rejection.
Jay's heart grew heavy with his remembrance of the events. He was embarrassed that he let his mouth slip like it did, and it ended up ruining what connection he had with her. Now he scared her off, or worse, made her resent her for making a move so soon after Andrew left her. Jay gritted his teeth.
"Well let's go get cleaned up and to breakfast, okay?" Austin offered. Jay nodded wordlessly and followed his friend from the room. They walked down the hallway toward the men's bathroom and to the showers.
Jay recognized the mare in the shower. She was Jasmine, Firecracker's ex-marefriend. She turned the shower off and trotted to her towel and dried herself off, but not before Jay got a look at her body. While he saw the same body yesterday in the library with the same amount of clothing on, which is to say none at all, he never expected to see her in the men's bathroom, using their showers.
"Good morning, boys," she said as she strutted past. Jay couldn't take his eyes off her. She dropped her towel into the hamper before leaving the pair of them alone in the bathroom.
Austin dropped his towel onto Jay's head, covering his face. The surprise shocked Jay, who backed up instinctively, dropping his head and trying to pull it off with his hooves. He glared at Austin, but he already disappeared behind the curtain to the shower stall. His shower head burst to life with a hiss.
The shower stalls were far too small for his new body, and it seemed he was resigned to have to use the gang shower instead. Jay placed his towel on the plastic bench that rose in the middle of the tiled room and walked up to the wall right underneath the shower head Jasmine was just using. The controller for the water seemed to be covered with rubber, and had a label on it.
Turn right with mouth for HOT.
Jay followed the instructions and grasped the knob with his mouth. His teeth dug into the springy material with no problem and it tasted like nothing. He slowly twisted his head to the right, feeling the resistance behind the knob give away all of a sudden.
Icy claws raked at his back and dripped down his belly. He yelped in shock, jerking the knob further to the right. The icy water warmed up to a comfortable level, but passed it to become scorching hot, burning the same spots that just froze moments before. He bounced out from, under the water and gasped for air. His back stung from the hot water, and he wasn't eager to get back under it too soon. He reached in with his head once more and turned it slowly back to the left, injecting some colder water into the stream.
Finally reaching a steady temperature that neither burned him nor froze him, Jay finally was ale to relax. The water felt nice under his coat and in his mane. The long brown hairs of his mane and tail grew darker, almost black, with the water in them. Jay hung his head in the stream and gritted his teeth.
Chloe was right. It was too soon for him to ask her, but Jay didn't care. He was frustrated and angry, and it made it worse with the fact that he knew she was right.
"Dammit," he muttered to himself as he stomped his hoof down onto the hard tile floor. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!"
"You okay out there?" Austin yelled over the water.
"I'm fine!" Jay yelled back, louder than he needed to be.
Austin didn't respond. His shower head tapered off to a drip then stopped. Jay grasped the knob with his mouth for his shower and twisted it forcibly off. He felt a seething anger in him towards Chloe, but he didn't know why it was so severe. All he knew was that as long as he embraced the anger, it made him feel better about himself.
Austin came out of his shower stall in his clothes, his towel draped back over his shoulder. He looked at Jay with a disapproving stare and walked out towards the door. Jay trotted over to his towel and began to dry himself off. His magic proved to be invaluable for this task, as he doubted he would be able to reach some spots with his hooves.
He dropped his towel into the hamper by the door and walked out towards the cafeteria. When he got there, Peach waved and gave him a bright smile. Jay saw Malt and the other new cook in the back at the ovens, cooking away.
"Good morning, Jay. I wanted to apologize again about last night, I-"
"It's okay, Peach. You can stop apologizing." She was about to say something back, but stopped herself. Instead, she levitated a tray out for Jay, who took it in his own levitation field. She wordlessly placed his breakfast onto his tray, only smiling at him. It was subtle, but Jay could see she was blushing.
The more he looked at the yellow-pink mare, the more he noticed things about her. Her eyes were a bright orange, so different from any eye color Jay was familiar with. He caught a glance at her cutie mark: two peaches, side by side, one in front of the other a small bit. Her mane was a bright, shining pink, reflecting the morning sun brilliantly. it was the first time he really. Noticed it; her mane was usually hidden in a mane-net to keep it out of the food. She was gorgeous, and he never realized this before. Before he knew it, he was blushing too.
He took his tray with a smile and simple "Thank you", and trotted over to the table where Austin was sitting. He watched as Jay took his seat, and then looked him squarely in the eyes. "Jay, listen."
"What?" Jay knew what was coming.
"I wanted to say I'm sorry again for the night before, but also to say you are an idiot. You need to learn to control your mouth if you are to get another chance with her."
Jay levitated his fork and took a bite of his pancake, the sweetness of the syrup a distinct opposition to his current mood. "What are you talking about? What other chance?" Jay felt the anger rising again in his body as the conversation continued about her.
"Did she say no?"
"Yeah. Why do you think I'm so... Like this?" Jay gestured to his scowl with his hoof.
"But did she explicitly say no?"
"I... um, more or less."
"What did she say? The exact words."
"I think it was something like "it's too soon," and "I'm sorry but I can't"."
Jay didn't care about the technicalities regarding his rejection. It was bad enough that he made a fool of himself, but it wasn't worth trying again offs she was going to just keep saying no.
"Well, I-"
"Austin Richmond?" a voice asked from behind Austin. He turned around and saw Garnet standing there, a smile on her face. "It's your turn, honey." his eyes went wide with surprise. He silently stood up and followed the red unicorn out of the cafeteria, giving Jay a wave before he disappeared behind the doors.
Jay picked at his food for the entire time Austin was getting converted, occasionally looking around the cafeteria. Leah and Chloe sat with each other, talking with themselves. Jay turned his gaze away from Chloe; even looking at her bothered him. He glanced over to the kitchen, and saw Peach jerk her head down to the counter when he saw her. Jay smiled and chuckled at himself.
Andrea and Murphy trotted over to Jay’s table and sat opposite of him. “So, how are you holding up? We never really talked to you yesterday,” Murphy said.
“Isn’t it so much fun?” Andrea chimed in.
“I, uh, yeah. It’s nice.” Jay smiled shyly, not used to people coming over to talk to him for the sake of talking to him.
“Have you used your horn at all?” Murphy asked.
“Yeah, it’s really handy,” Jay said as he floated his fork up, taking a bite from his cold pancakes. Not the best decision, he thought to himself.
“That’s so cool…” Andrea whispered. “What else can you do?”
“Nothing else yet. I’m… not comfortable experimenting too much. Firecracker hammered this little bit into me yesterday, and I was exhausted.”
“I can’t wait to learn to fly! Fleet Feather is having our first class today! You should come outside and watch!” Andrea asked, her giddiness almost overflowing.
Jay considered her offer. With the whole deal with Peach Cobbler the night before, he wasn’t sure he wanted to pester Firecracker with more magic lessons. He was going to simply teach him some smaller-scale telekinesis, and as far as Jay knew, it was something he could handle himself.
“Sure, sounds like fun. Plus it’s a nice day compared to yesterday, what with the rain and wind. When is your lesson?”
“It’ll be in about an hour, outside the common room,” Murphy answered.
A loud crash rang out through the cafeteria, from the doors to the conversion room, leaving the cafeteria in an anticipatory silence. Austin must be on his way back. A few apprehensive clip-clops came from the door, and then paused. The door was nudged open by a sky-blue pegasus with a light blond mane. He shakily walked over to Jay, Murphy, and Andrea. He stood at the table and smiled.
“Hey guys.”
“Another pegasus!” Andrea cheered. Murphy smiled as well, patting Austin on the shoulder with his hoof.
“You’ll learn to use those babies today, if you’d like. Fleet Feather’s class is in a bit.”
“I’d like to learn how to walk a bit first, if you’d mind.” Austin awkwardly planted his rump onto the seat next to Jay and sighed. “That was… an experience.”
Jay smiled for his friend. Without another thought, he lunged out and hugged his friend. Stunned, Austin took a moment before he returned it.
“Wow, way to look so gay, Austin.” Jay pulled back and glared at Leah. She wore a smirk as she looked down on the group.
“Oh, thank you.”
“What?”
“I am.”
“You’re what?”
“Gay.”
The group stood wordless. Jay already knew; Austin told him a few nights before. But the fact that he was saying it out loud now… he must have been much more comfortable about it after his conversion.
“And even though I like men- stallions, I meant every little thing I said about you. Now run along now, the adult ponies are talking right now.”
Leah steamed and tromped off, storming out of the cafeteria. Chloe glanced back before walking off with her.
The entire table burst into laughs. Jay pounded his hoof against the tabletop, rattling his dish and silverware. As the four of them wiped the tears from their eyes, Austin brought his hoof to his chin. “You know what? I’d love to learn to use these bad boys. Count me in.”
“I had no idea you were… gay, Austin. When did you find out for yourself?” Murphy asked.
“Oh, a long time ago. I just never wanted to say anything about it, you know, since it’s… looked down on. Most often on the ground, in a bloody heap.”
Murphy cringed. “Right… Well you never really came off as gay to anyone as far as I could tell.”
“Well, I’m just like everyone- everypony- else. I act the same, I like the same things, but I happen to like guys rather than girls. That’s the only difference.” Austin stood up from his seat onto his shaky legs. “Well, let’s head outside. At least if I trip the ground is softer out there.”
The group agreed and headed out from the cafeteria. Jay handed off his tray to Peach Cobbler as he passed her by. He felt his heart jump as he smiled at her and received a smile back. She was very pretty, and very nice… Maybe I could ask her for another dinner tonight? Just the two of us, Jay thought.
“I’ll meet you guys outside. I need to grab a few things first.” Jay rushed off in the opposite direction to the empty labs. When he got there, he took an empty box and levitated a large ball of nuts and bolts into it. He took the box with him as he cantered to the other side of the bureau.
He pushed his way out through the doors to the grassy field under the bright sun and saw Austin trying to walk across the grass, much steadier than he was handling before. Jay sat on the warm grass with his box and watched as Austin fell flat onto his face as he attempted a full gallop.
Jay chuckled as he turned his attention back down to the contents of the box before him. He levitated out a bolt the size of one of his old fingers. It was maybe three inches long and half an inch thick and still weighed a bit even with his magic. He placed it down in the grass and pulled out one of the nuts. It seemed to be the right size for the bolt, but when he tried to lift the bolt up, he encountered much more trouble than he initially thought he would.
“Levitating two things must be much harder than one thing…” Jay said to himself. Thinking back to the day before with the books, all he ever did was levitate the single book on the bottom, lifting the stack while trying to keep the stack balanced. When he failed and the stack toppled over (which it did quite often), Firecracker levitated all of the books back into position. With Jay’s new insight to the true difficulties of levitation, he was astonished with Firecracker’s level of skill with magic.
“Um, can I sit here?” Jay’s concentration broke and the bold fell to the grass. Sighing, he looked up and saw Chloe standing next to him.
“Sure.”
Chloe sat down on the grass, folding her legs under her body as she looked around the field as she watched Austin trip and fall again. She chuckled a bit, but Jay was focusing on his own task of threading the nut on the bolt in individual levitation fields.
Chloe looked down at Jay’s work, and watched intently. Jay could feel this, but he tried his best to ignore the feeling. Unfortunately, it broke his concentration once again.
“Do you mind?” he grumbled.
“Oh,” Chloe said, looking back down at the grass. “I’m sorry.”
Jay snorted and went back to his nuts and bolts. He managed to get them both stationary in the air, but anything else taxed his concentration. Or, more accurately, Chloe was taxing his concentration. Her very presence was bothering him. He didn’t remember ever being so bothered by someone’s presence before.
“Um, Jay?”
“Mhm?”
“I wanted to apologize… about last night… it was insensitive of me.”
“Mhm.”
“And I…” Chloe felt her words die in her throat. “Nevermind. I’ll leave you be.” She stood up and walked away from Jay to another part of the field and sat down with Leah. Jay glanced at her as she left, then returned to his practice.
Chloe hung her head and sighed, her rosy mane hanging in front of her eyes. She looked back over at Jay, who was still focusing on his box of jus and bolts. He was unusually aggressive today, and Chloe had a feeling that she knew why.
"I'll wait for him to calm down before I talk to him again."
Leah scoffed. "Why bother? The kid's a jerk."
"No he isn't, he's just upset with me is all. It'll pass," Chloe said. Even though she said it, she wasn't sure she believed her own words. "I... I think I'll give Jay a shot. I'll ask him when he cools off. He is really kind..."
"Yeah, we'll, what about that chef pony girl? Their little tongue tango last night. What about that?" Leah asked, condescendingly.
"He told me it was an accident, that he was just trying to make her feel better, and she did it herself. He promised me there was nothing between them."
"'He said.' there's your problem right there. Men lie to cover their tracks. They all do."
Chloe rested her head on her forelegs. Maybe around lunchtime would be good to talk to Jay. Whenever they talked, it always seemed natural. Enjoyable. And never forced. He was always kind to her, and she never really payed him any heed in the past.
She remembered the dance the two of them went to a few years ago. Eighth grade seemed like so long ago, but she could remember the dance very clearly. Everyone she knew was going to the dance, but the requirement to get in was that you needed to have a date. Leah had introduced a bunch of guys to her, in hopes of one catching her interest, but none of them did.
She sat in the hallway of the school the day of the dance. Jay had been walking by and saw her upset about it, and offered to go with her so she could get in. He promised it would only be as friends, so she wouldn't have to worry about him when they got there. Chloe took him up on the offer, since they had been good friends for a few years before that.
The dance itself was a bust. It was just loud music, and sweaty dancing, and after a few songs, she had to sit out for the rest of the night. Leah, on the other hand, was having a blast, dancing in the middle of a throng of sweaty boys from their grade, their hands all over her.
Jay sat with Chloe for the balance of the night, the two of them just talking like they usually did. They ended up having a good time with each other, but when the slow songs came, he said nothing. Chloe was expecting him to ask her to dance, but he sat in silence.
Then it dawned on Chloe. The night before, at dinner. Jay did the same thing with Peach Cobbler that he did with her. Peach was upset, and Jay just wanted to cheer her up, but he never expected the kiss. Chloe smiled to herself. She really hoped Jay would cool off soon.
Fleet Feather had finally showed up. His white coat and black mane seemed intimidating, almost as much as his bellow. "Line up!"
Chloe watched as the three Pegasi lined up on the grass in front of the stern Pegasus. He marched down the line, inspecting each one. Chloe felt a tap on her shoulder and looked back to see the green mare, Honeybell, standing behind her.
"Chloe is it?"
"Yes?"
"We're about to start gardening class in the central garden. Caleb and Annie are waiting."
"Oh!" Chloe gasped. She completely forgot about her class today. She was an earth pony, so she was going to learn how to grow plants like Honeybell does. "I'm so sorry, I forgot!"
The green mare smiled as her golden mane blew in the breeze under her sun hat. She led Chloe through the common room and to the central garden, where Caleb, Annie, and another mare stood waiting for her.
"Hi!" Annie chirped as Chloe joined the group.
"Okay, everyone! My name is Honeybell, and this is my good friend Clementine." Honebell gestured to the orange mare who smiled and waved. "We are going to teach you three how to grow plants like how we do in Equestria. It won't be as effective, but we manage to get by."
Clementine reached back to her saddlebag and pulled out three packets of flower seeds in her mouth. She gave one to each of the newfoals and trotted back to Honeybell.
"Your goal is to make the flower bloom before lunchtime. Find a nice patch of soil to plant in, and Clementine and I will be around to help."
Chloe reached down and grabbed her packet of seeds in her mouth, trying her best not to get any dirt with it. She managed to latch her teeth onto a section of the wrapper that was pointed up, avoiding the dirt all together. Caleb and Annie trotted off together to a small spot, where they settled down and began digging holes for their seeds.
Chloe trotted around, looking for her own spot. She spied a bare patch of dirt maybe two feet wide by some of the vegetables, and walked over. She dug at the ground with her hoof and made a small, five inch deep hole for her seeds.
"You don't need to dig that deep," Clementine said, walking up to Chloe from behind. "Just an inch, like this." she scratched at the loose soil with her hoof, clearing out a small divot of dark earth.
Chloe sat on her rump and tore the packet open with her teeth, revealing the three small seeds inside. She poured them out into Clementine's hole, and covered them up with the dirt. She felt an odd warmth come from the soil as her hoof patted down on the spot right above the seeds.
"Now what you need to know is that plants aren't just objects. They have feelings and enjoy company like ponies do. Try introducing yourself to them, like this." Clementine cleared her throat and knelt down next to the soil. "Hello there, little guys!" she said Ina hushed, cheerful tone. "My name is Clementine, and this is my friend Chloe! Say hi Chloe!"
"Um, hi?"
"Now tell them about yourself. They love meeting new ponies, flowers do. Other plants like other things. That cherry tree back there?" she said, pointing at a dark green tree across the garden. "She likes sweet, upbeat songs. The lettuce? They like gossip. Every plant has a different personality that when you appeal to it, they grow much faster and stronger."
Chloe nodded, but she was still confused. Plants having personalities? It was even stranger than talking ponies! But seeing as how she was one of those ponies now, she decided to give it a shot. "Uh, hi. I'm Chloe. It's nice to meet you... Flowers." She paused. "I don't know what to say next!" she whispered to Clementine.
"Tell them about something that made you happy, a story or something," Clementine replied. “They love stories!”
Chloe immediately recalled the dance Jay took her to. "Okay, I got one. A few years ago, I wanted to go to this dance at my school," she said to the mound of earth. "But I didn't have a date to go, so I was sad. But my friend asked to go with me as friends so that I could go. He was really nice, and he knew he wasn't going to have a good time, since it wasn't something that really appealed to him."
A green shoot poked its head out from the soil. Chloe froze at the sight of it, confused. Clementine grinned. "Keep going!"
"So we get to the dance, and it's nothing like how I imagined it to be. I sat at a table the entire time, not wanting to have to deal with guys trying to grope me," Chloe said, blushing. "Jay came over and sat with me. He must have seen how miserable I was and wanted to help cheer me up. We talked over the music and had so much fun together!"
The sprout began to grow leaves and a bud at the end of the stalk. "We talked and talked, it was just so easy to talk to him. But when the slow songs started playing, he fell silent, because we only agreed to go as friends... But now I kind of wish we went as something... more."
The flower bud was swelling up fatter and fatter, until it burst open, bright violet and red petals spreading out from the center. Chloe smiled, but she felt a thick lump in her throat. She felt a tear forming in her eye.
"Way to go!" Clementine cheered. The other two stalks were starting to grow bulbs of their own, just not as fast as the one that already bloomed. Clementine put a hoof on Chloe's shoulder. "You okay?" she asked, when she saw the tear drip down her dark blue cheek.
"I will be. I just made some dumb mistakes is all."
---
Jay heard the grass crunching under his feet, but tried to tune it out. He was almost there. Just another twist or two...
Fwump.
The bolt fell to the grass, the nut halfway up the threading as Jay's focus broke. He gritted his teeth in frustration and turned his head to see who ruined his work for him.
It was that guy Austin introduced him to the other day... Rob. Jay didn't remember seeing Rob at all yesterday after breakfast, but here he was, sitting in the grass right next to Jay. His brown hair was dirty and matted to his forehead, dirt and sweat staining parts of his skin. One of his arms was hidden in his jacket, and he seemed to be cradling it as if it was hurt.
"Hey, you're that Jay fellow, right?" Rob asked. A pungent scent hung on his breath that assaulted Jay's nose. His speech was slurred and awkward.
"Yes... Are you okay?" he asked.
"Nnnnope. I need your help. Can you help me out? It's... Pretty important. Really important."
"Uh, sure. What did you need?"
"Follow me, can't explain out here. We need to go inside. To my room. By ourselves."
A part of Jay's mind told him to leave him be, but another part was intrigued by what was bothering him so much. Rob stood up and walked back to the door, almost falling over on his way there. He propped himself up on the wall as he pulled the door open and flung himself inside. Jay opened the door with his horn and followed.
Rob led Jay down the hallway towards the lobby, stopping about halfway down. He flung open another door, this time to a dark room with only one light turned on. The curtains were obscuring the window, and the entire situation was giving Jay a very bad feeling.
Rob threw himself onto the bed and growled in pain. On his bedside table was a bottle of a sickly yellow liquid, half filled. Rob sat up and pulled his coat off, revealing a bloody bandage covering his right arm. The stench of blood never really used to get to Jay, but now it made him dizzy and almost pass out.
Rob pulled two tools from the table and placed them on the bed next to him. One was a blood caked exacto knife, and the other was a pair of pliers. Both were stained with the dark brown crust of dried blood, and what they pointed to wasn't looking too good.
"I need you... To help me get something out of my arm for me."
"What?!" Jay yelled. "Go see the doctor or something! Doing this yourself will kill you!"
"Not for a while, though. But I need this thing out now. Can't wait for conversion to do it. The whiskey there is for the pain, but... It makes the fine workings rather... Challenging. That's why I need you and your magic. All you gotta do is cut a wire or two and pluck the tracker from the bone. Nothin’ to it."
"This is crazy! I... I..."
Ron was already peeling the bandage off of his arm. There was a nine inch cut down the length of the top of his arm that spread open as the bandage was removed. The white bone was very much visible, and Jay had to do all he could from vomiting as well as passing out. But what got him the worst was the smell... It was unlike anything he had to face before. The skin was darkening and discolored around the wound, the stench of infection clear as day.
Rob grabbed the bottle and used his teeth to twist the cap off, sending it clattering across the floor. He brought the bottle to his lips and swung it upward, draining the vile fluid in one go.
He grunted and shook his head around as the alcohol seeped into his system, blocking out more of the pain. He reached with his free hand and pulled the skin apart, holding his sleeve up with his teeth.
"Shee daht?" he said through his teeth. Jay looked in and saw a grey box, latched to the bone of Rob's arm. From it ran three wires up his arm and towards his chest. "Cut dose and pry dah fucker out!"
Jay bit his lip. He was no doctor, and had absolutely no confidence in what he was doing. Why the hell did he agree to do something so obviously dangerous? He smell was sending his head into a swirl, the colors of the dark room bleeding together.
"COME OHN!" Rob screamed through the shirt in his teeth.
"Fine, fine! Just... Keep quiet! I need to focus!"
Jay lifted the blade of the knife from the bed in his gold aura. The handle was useless to him. He brought it down slowly into the opening and underneath the first wire. He pulled it up slowly, bringing the wire taught. With one jerk upward, Jay severed the first cable. He repeated the agonizingly slow process with the other two, almost dropping the blade inside Rob's arm when he cried out in pain after the second cut.
With the three wires severed, Jay looked down at the small object. There was something engraved on the surface of it, and as he leaned in closer, he was able to read it.
R. Telios
Telios? Wasn't that the name of the company that everypony's parents worked at? Then this must be...
"Hfurry!" Rob grunted. Jay wrapped his aura around the four claws that dug into the bone and pulled them out, releasing the object's grip. He lifted it out of Rob's arm and set it on the bed. Rob spat his sleeve from his mouth and threw the object onto the ground. He stormed on it three times, dissolving it into a powder under his heel.
"That's right, fuck you, dad!" he yelled at the remains on the ground. He fell back onto the bed and sighed. He looked back down at the gaping wound on his arm and grunted. He reached into the drawer online his bedside table and pulled out a tube of some sort of gel and squeezed out a glob of the blue, glittering gel and spread it along the cut as he held it closed with two of his fingers. After a few moments, the cut was already healing, but the discoloration was still there.
"MiraGel. Heals most flesh wounds instantly," Rob told Jay. "Won't do a thing for the infection, though. I can wait for conversion for that to be fixed."
"Who are you? And what was that thing?" Jay asked.
"Robert Eugene Telios, son of trillionare energy tyrant, Gerald Heinrich Telios. President of the company that killed your parents and the parents of everyone else here," Rob said, leaning back on the bed. "And that little device you removed from my arm? A GPS locator. My dad's been having some folks trying to hack my neural augments to locate me after I released his memos about the factory explosion."
"What was he going to do if he found you?"
"Oh, just kill everyone in the building, probably with high explosives."
Jay started at Rob, speechless.
"I sent him to fucking jail! Of course he'll want me dead. That's why I came here, so I could get these damn neural augments knocked out. Just didn't know it would take so long to get converted."
"Why not go to one of the city bureaus? Aren't they faster?"
"Yeah, but I'd be recognized. Out here in the middle of goddamn nowhere, I'm just another monkey ready for the pony farm."
Jay was starting to feel dizzy again. Too much information was trying to fill his head at once.
"Oh, don't worry. My pops won't find me now. So we're all safe." Rob rolled his head along his shoulders, his mind still cloudy from the whiskey.
"Oh, we'll that's good," Jay muttered. "Can I go now? I think I need to lay down for a bit..."
"Yeah, we're all set. Thanks again, JayJay. I owe you one." He shooed Jay off with a wiggle of his hand as he lay on his back on his bed.
Jay stumbled out the door and leaned against the wall in the hallway. His head was still spinning and turning, threatening to rip him from his hooves and send him to the ground.
Jay never really interacted with Rib past watching Austin telling at him yesterday. Recalling the argument, Jay understood why Rob was hesitant to go into his reasons being at the Bureau. It also explained a few other things, such as the comment when he saw the newscast about the investigation into the chemical plant explosion; he had already leaked the memo by then.
But that begged another question: why did he tell Jay? Why tell him about his name and his father? Granted, Rob was very drunk from the whiskey, but it’s still something that one wouldn’t let out too anyone too easily. Jay decided he’d bring it up with Austin later today in private.
"Hello there, Jay!" a sweetly familiar voice called from behind him. Jay turned his head around and saw Peach Cobbler bouncing down the hallway towards him. "What's going on?"
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all." Jay didn't want to spoil anypony else's good mood. "Oh! Hey, di-"
"Let's head to the cafeteria first. I need to get started on the dessert for lunch!" Peach said. Jay beamed and followed her down the hallway. I was a much better feeling than what he felt helping Rob out in his room.
When the pair reached the cafeteria, Jay stopped Peach by the window looking out to the garden. "Uh, Peach? Can I ask you something?"
"Surely!"
"Did... You enjoy the other night when we had dinner?"
"Yeah! Why do you ask?"
"I was thinking... Maybe... If you wanted to... Did you want to... Have dinner again? Together?" Jay was unable to form any words after that, his tongue tangled up in knots from his nerves.
"Oh, I thought you said that we weren't..."
"I know, I know, but... After thinking about it... I... Maybe... We could be...?"
Peach Cobbler leaped forward and wrapped her hooves around Jay in a hug. "Why don't we give it a shot?" she said before leading in and kissing him again on the lips. After a moment of shock, Jay closed his eyes and returned the kiss.
Outside that very window stood Chloe, tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She ran off to the other side of the bureau and into her room, slamming the door shut.
---
"Mister Telios, you have a call." The guard handed the aging man a sleek black phone handset, who took it and held it to his ear.
"We found him. Bureau out in the middle of nowhere in West Virginia. Satellite imagery shows a building there; likely a bureau," the voice buzzed over the earpiece. Mr. Telios's features hardened as he held his fingers to his forehead.
"You know exactly what I want done. Make the damn place a burning hole in the ground," he whispered, his voice still as sharp as a blade.
"But sir, we've come up with a more... elegant... solution. Word is spreading among the county residents of a pro-human demonstration to be held outside the bureau tomorrow." the man on the other line paused for a moment. "We could have someone slip in tonight and plant some incindeary charges around the perimeter and activate them mourning the riot. That way, it can be brushed off as another HLF riot that got out of control."
"Just do it. I never want to see that sniveling little wretch's face again. Burn Robert and everyone around him." Mr. Telios jammed his fat finger on the end button on the phone, disconnecting the call. He knocked on the cell door and handed it to the guard and sat on his bed, his hands on his knees.
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DUNDUNDAAA
294943 IKR?
anyway I must say, I really like this chapter. and this story in general.
And there we go, another great chapter and I think we´re nearly at the climax of the whole story, and at the climax for the Jay/Chloe-part. I can´t wait to see the reaction of Firecracker.
Oh Jay, you so silly
Awww, now i feel bad for Chloe...
I would re-read the chapter, as in every single word in the chapter. When reading I spotted three typos, chances are there's more. (Not the kind a spellchecker would pick up, the kind where the software replaces the misspelled word with an incorrect word)
Other than that, it was an interesting twist. I kept picturing Rob as a possible antagonist. On some other note I can't help but feel angry at Jay.
Thanks for the update!
Another amazing chapter. Please continue!
I found a grammar typo : morning sun brilliantly. it was the first time he really. Noticed it; her mane was usually hidden in a mane-net to keep it out of. The food. She was gorgeous
But yeah, this story's looking great at the moment. Can't wait to see what happens next!
I am on Jay's side with this one. I think he and Peach would be way better than he and Chloe. Though I really hope they can even get into a relationship before Rob has them all blown up!
Oh... Noes! Just when I am happily enjoying my Teen Pony Soap Opera, suddenly it's all bombs and trackers and intrigue! WOE! And all I want is for the happy shipping to start! I want Austin to get a coltfriend! I want Jay to Eat A Peach. I want Chloe to realize that going lesbians is the shortest path to heaven, and above all, I DON'T WANT ANYPONY BLOWED UP!
Hah... hah.... breath, breath.... hah... hah....
The suspense!!! The hoof-gripping suspense! It's tied my tail into a knot!
Another splendid chapter!
Why must you leave it on cliff hangers!? Oh well another good chapter.
Excellent work Windchaser. Can't wait for the next. Really, it does come to life.
Chloe going lesbian? Hmmm...
troll.me/images/futurama-fry/not-sure-if-want-or-not-want.jpg
damn shit is gonna get real
"Leah steamed and tromped off, grasping Chloe by the shoulder of her shirt and storming out of the cafeteria. Chloe glanced back before walking off with Leah."
So pony!Chloe is wearing a shirt.
Ooooo. Nice story. Some intrigue thanks to Robert Telios screwing everyone over. Not too mention all the drama occurring around the Bureau. Peach and Jay? Interesting? Austin is an interesting character and I really liked how casual Jay was about accepting his orientation. I hope Firestreak can find some way to get Jasmine to unhook her claws in him. Who knew a pony could be a harpy? Hope to see some more of the background ponies step up to the spotlight.
340650
Fixed. Because I don't necessarily focus on them being ponies, it sometimes slips my mind that they got converted.
fc09.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/320/d/9/shit_just_got_real_by_dbzsgtjustin-d4ge0j2.jpg
BAD JAY! KEEP YO' DIRTY HOOVES AWAY FROM PEACH!
In other news, great story so far dude, had me up all night, early morning, and just now reading this!
Sorry for the pretty unoriginal comment, but it's all i've got right now, but anyways, keep up the awesome work!
Siiigh
There's never a good reason to include something like this.
This isn't a massive negative stereotype or anything.
But he's not a man, he's a stallion.