Child of Mine

by Starscribe

Chapter 11: High Pressure

It didn't happen.

Fay seemed to enjoy the movie a great deal, or at least as much as anyone could. Kyle used the time she was distracted as best she could, practicing moving the garden tools around. The more she did it, the more it became almost like a second set of limbs, with its own strange restrictions. Even the old saddles were easy for her to lift, but picking up a pair of near-weightless trowels at the same time strained her concentration to the breaking point. High-dexterity tasks like typing on a keyboard were even worse, though that felt like it would be easier to master. At least that was only pushing in many different places close together, not actively moving several objects at the same time.

Her plan was to put on the second movie as soon as Nemo was over, hopefully winning over a few more hours of practice. Kara was probably right about how much their parents would accept—they were going to want to see her. If she didn't figure things out by tonight, she'd have to come clean for sure. There was probably already a text from the school waiting on Mom's phone.

Fay didn't care about her plans, shutting the laptop's lid with a resounding click. She turned, floating right past Kyle and grabbing the knob in her forelegs. She twisted, but of course it was locked, so nothing happened.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Kyle put her laptop back up on the shelf, then followed her to the door. "I know you want to go outside, but—"

The lock clicked, and Fay floated outside, giggling with satisfaction as she drifted further and further away.

We should be alone right now. This might be her only chance to be outside today. Besides, Kyle had her own appointment with a bush or something. "Okay, sweetie. Just... don't get too far away from me, okay? There aren't any neighbors close, but... if you start flying over the fence, that's going to make things hard for everyone."

Fay only giggled in response, but she did seem to be favoring a low flight over anything that could let her be seen, so that was something. Kyle stopped following so closely long enough to find a private corner and finally relieve herself, ignoring the physical details of that process as much as she could. The one time being naked was an advantage. I wonder if Fay could make clothes for me too. If she's wearing a diaper, then a grown-up version would probably be dressed too, right? But if she could ask for that, why not just go all the way and get the baby to change her back to normal? The odds didn't seem great on either option.

Eventually she was done, and she wandered off looking for her. The property was big enough that Fay could wander and explore for quite a distance in any direction without leaving by accident, though she would eventually run into the house on one side and the fence into the wilderness preserve on the other. She didn't seem to be anywhere near the overgrown garden, so Kyle turned to jog the other way. Or... trot? There was probably a horse word for it. At least she didn't fall over.

Fay floated on the side of the house, bobbing energetically up and down as she looked inside. Kyle caught up with her, snatching her out of the air with one foreleg. Her levitation seemed to follow the same rules as Kyle's, easily disrupted by any outside force. "Sorry Fay, we can't go there. But you already made a whole playroom, let's go there." Wouldn't want you to change our whole house the way you messed up the stable.

She didn't make it a dozen steps before she heard the scream. Piercing and shrill, cutting across the overgrown property with all the grace of an exploding bomb. Not a stranger's scream from another house over either, but her mother's voice, loud enough that it made her ears ring even from a distance. She jerked in the air, twisting around to look back, and winced as she saw exactly what she'd been afraid of. Her mother stood in the doorway, a gardening basket under one shoulder. Her face had gone stark white, though she didn't run. Mom went catatonic when something startled her, rather than fleeing or hitting it.

God what do I do what do I do? She spun all the way around, but she didn't run for the house. That was exactly the kind of thing that might make her mom think she was being attacked or something. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen Kara was supposed to be here I'm screwed what do I do—

She was freezing up exactly like her mom. "Hey!" she called, waving a wing towards her. "I know what this looks like... but I need you not to panic, okay?"

"Kara?" Her mother wobbled on her feet, then collapsed, dropping the gardening supplies as she fell face-first in the dirt, unconscious.

Kyle winced at the sound of impact. She settled Fay onto the ground, darting urgently forward to her mother's fallen form. This wasn't the first time she'd fainted after a shock, but... "Why the hell were you home?" Kyle muttered, pushing her gently over until she was on her back. She didn't have fingers to take any other vital signs, but at least the woman looked like she was breathing normally. Her nose wasn't bleeding either, so she'd done alright there.

Fay squeaked nervously from beside her. The baby had followed her all the way over, watching Kyle with nervous fear on her face.

"I'm just worried about my mom," Kyle explained, scooping her up again and settling Fay onto her back. Her hooves were muddy now, and that was getting her dirty, but she ignored that. She took a few deep breaths, practically hyperventilating as she paced back and forth.

Her mother had seen her. Now what the hell did she do? I could go back to the stable and hide. Maybe she'll wake up and think she was hallucinating. Or maybe she would wake up and call the police immediately. They'd search the property, and that would be that.

How long do I have before she wakes up? A few minutes, if it was anything like last time. Kyle took a few steps through the door, and sure enough his mom's purse was right there on the back table. She levitated her cell phone over, tapping on the screen—but unlike her keyboard, using "magic" on a touchscreen didn't seem to do anything. She floated it closer, and instead used the tip of her tongue to scroll to “recent” and pick her sister's name. At least she still knew that old trick.

The phone rang, just once, then Kara answered. "Mom? You don't usually call this early."

Kyle glanced at the clock on the oven, then back through the open door. His mother was still unconscious, but there was no telling for how much longer that would still be the case. "Kara, are you at lunch right now?"

There was silence from the other end for a second. She could hear distant voices in the background, then, "Kyle? Why are you calling me from this number? You don't sound better."

"I'm not better. Mom's home early, she saw me."

"And she gave you her phone?" Kara sounded skeptical. "She didn't have a heart attack, did she?"

"I don't think so. But she fainted... Look, can you get home? If I don't have you here, this is going to be a fucking disaster."

Much shorter pause this time. "Sure, Kyle. I'll head right there. How are you going to stall if she wakes up?"

"Hide her phone so she can't call the police," she answered weakly. "And... mainly hope that you get home before she wakes up. Hurry!"

Kara answered by hanging up. Kyle took the phone with her, backing out the way she'd come. But there were a few tracks on the wooden floor, tracks she wouldn't be able to do anything about. At least they were only a few feet into the house.

Her mom was still unconscious as she made her way back, occasionally urging Fay onto her back with the touch of a wing. The baby seemed to sense her fear, because she didn't fight as they made their way to the stable. Fay babbled for a few seconds, something Kyle guessed was concern. She imagined Fay was asking why they were leaving her mother behind. "We can't be here when she wakes up," she explained. "Hopefully she won't think we were real long enough for Kara to get back."

She shut the door behind her, locking it again. Her mom had a key, though it didn't seem likely that she'd come all the way out here to search for what she'd seen. Unless she figured that the horses would probably be hiding in the stable...

"Now would be a really great time to change me back," she said, settling Fay down on the couch, before sitting down on the floor right in front of it. It was as close to eye-level with the baby as she could manage. "Please... I don't know if you can understand me, but if you're even half as smart as I think... you made me this thing. I haven't learned your powers as fast as I hoped, but... you should be able to fix me. P-please." She sniffed, wiping away tears with one leg. It didn't matter how incredibly stupid it felt to cry like this. Thinking straight was for someone who hadn't had their life destroyed by a freaky alien baby. Someone who wasn't her.

Fay tilted her head slightly to the side. She reached out with a foreleg, touching Kyle's side for a few seconds. But the sounds she made weren't anything like words, or a magical spell to restore her to her proper shape.

"I don't even blame you," Kyle went on, glancing back at the front door with another wave of panic. "I-I... I know you weren't thinking straight. You were just a hungry kid. I'd be upset too. But it's time to fix it. It's time to put me back to normal and end this. We'll find you something real to eat, we'll... take care of everything. I promise I'll make sure you're safe even after you fix me. Just... please." She probably kept going after that, though whatever she was saying was so far from actual words that it wouldn't be understandable even if the baby could speak perfect English.

There were no flashes of light, or unexplainable magical force to reverse what had first happened to her. For all Kyle knew, it wasn't even possible. Maybe that post on her thread hadn't been roleplaying at all—maybe that really was a warning, and Fay was a bomb waiting to explode. Even staying near her was inviting disaster, and the next flash might turn her to dust.

But there were no attacks either. Just a few sympathetic sounds from Fay, who wrapped tiny legs around the single leg she could reach and made a few affectionate noises. Certainly the baby wasn't angry, or vindictive, or anything like that. But either she couldn't understand, or she wasn't able to change her back.

Kyle stayed like that for what felt like a long time. It couldn't be that long, since no police tried to knock the door to the stables over to get them out. Or... maybe Animal Control was more likely? But Fay's transformation had removed all the windows, so she couldn't even climb up on something and peek outside to see what was going on. She could only wait in silence beside the child, counting the seconds until the end of her world and crying until her eyes were dry.

This isn't the end, she thought, finally straightening. This isn't news. Not changing you back was always a possibility. That's why you've been practicing. Kara was going to help her. Kara, the perfect twin, who could make their mom and dad do almost anything they wanted. Kara, who cared about her and wanted to help when almost no one in the world would. The one who'd realized instantly that she was a horse, so she hadn't lost her place in the house within the first day.

Maybe that was why this was taking so long? Even assuming it took her a few minutes to talk her way out of school, it was only a ten-minute drive home. As for the police, they were less than a minute drive down the hill. So if either was coming, it probably should've come by now.

She resisted the urge to turn her mom's phone back on and call Kara for an update, pacing back and forth in front of the couch. Then she noticed Fay—the baby was dozing. Apparently the emotional turmoil of the day had been enough to finally put her out. Kyle took a few deep breaths, then levitated her gently up into the crib. Whatever storm was brewing outside, it was probably for the best for the baby to be asleep for it. If something freaked her out a little too badly, then Kyle might not be the only one who got hit with a "true transformation."

I can do this, Kyle thought, marching straight back to the front door, flicking off the lights and settling back on her haunches. It wouldn't be long now—a few minutes at most. Kyle was as ready as she could be.

A fist echoed on the door, a familiar three-and-two rhythm that Kara had used on his bedroom since they were kids. "Hey, Kyle?" said her voice from the other side. "We're ready for you to come out."

Kyle turned to look back over her shoulder, checking on Fay one last time. The baby was entirely secure in the crib, apparently sleeping soundly. She unlocked the door with her strange levitation powers, then twisted the knob with her mouth, and stepped out into the afternoon sun.

Comments

[TheKingIsDead]

Oh yeah, it's all coming together...

[Greenhorn]

She unlocked the door with her strange levitation powers, then twisted the knob with her mouth, and stepped out into the afternoon sun.

Err... why didn't she use the same strange levitation power to turn the door knob?

[Neece]

10044744
She's not thinking straight.

[ShadwSonic]

10044744
Unlocking is a push/pull motion, well within the abilities of one who can lift.
Turning a doorknob is a rotational motion, which requires a finer control that a new convert can't be expected to possess.

[minibox]

All things considered, things could've been far worse. At least the family will figure something out.

[Oberth Effect]

Welp, RIP plans. Seems Kara managed to keep things at least partially under control.

[toshibafox]

better tie her up so she can't freak out along with other stuff that wouldn't allow her to misunderstand the situation.

[FanOfMostEverything]

The plural of "We're ready for you to come out" is more than a little concerning. I suppose we'll see what Kara did soon enough.

[HoneyBadgerr]

rut roh.

[Viper Pit]

Old bad timing

[Greenhorn]

10044769
To me, 'rotation' is an application of 'lifting' on one side of the knob. (I used only the back of my hand to turn the door knob before, so I know it works.)

[minibox]

10044838
I wouldn't worry too much. It's probably Kara plus mom and dad. Cat's out of the bag, right? I guess if Kara's a bit mean, she actually invited some friends along for a little pony-themed get together but I don't think she's that heartless. Hopefully.

[Kichi]

So... Did s/he got a message from Sunset? Or is this another universe?

[Frazzle2Dazzle]

10044730
Kronk reference!

[Detsella Morningdew]

10045431
We don't know precisely how magic works. Most ponies in Equestria cover an entire object in the field. It might automatically coat an entire object, or at least have a tendency to do so. That might be a more advanced skill, if perhaps not by much.

[Yami Vizzini]

Aww, here it goes....

[RandomGuy101]

It didn't happen.

i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/007/666/_57c8a1a431a592af806925e57258202f.jpg

[MLG Hard]

Kyle then fell into a large blender and was promptly turned into Alicorn smoothie.

[Nyerguds]

"Kara?" Her mother wobbled on her feet, then collapsed, dropping the gardening supplies as she fell face-first in the dirt, unconscious.

Kyle winced at the sound of impact.

Ouch. You idiot. This is exactly what telekinesis is for. To prevent concussions!

[FOXTrot2]

It's time for the big reveal