Chapter 14: Sight Unseen
Kyle didn’t actually know she’d be able to reverse her transformation—she didn’t know much of anything anymore. Even what she thought she’d known about the basic rules of the universe were clearly wrong, which left her with very little to go on. What did she have left? Kara was convinced, and her mom still loved her. The jury was still out on Dad.
That wasn’t a lot to go on.
She didn’t hear from them again that night, though at least Kara did bring her the remaining contents of the crisper drawer. “I’m going to need more than this,” she said. “Look, Dad doesn’t want to talk to me, that blows… but I still need to eat.” She twisted slightly to the side, showing off just how massive she’d become. “Just look at this thing. I must weigh five hundred pounds.”
“That’s not something to brag about,” Kara said, though even her sarcasm sounded a bit forced this time. “I’ll tell Mom. She won’t want to let you starve. And the baby…”
“Fay,” she corrected. “She’s a person with a name. Even if she’s… caused all these problems. She doesn’t understand.”
“Oh, sure.” Kara rolled her eyes. “Make excuses. That doesn’t seem healthy, but what do I know?”
I never thought I would. Fay wasn’t even hers biologically, but it still felt like she was. Probably just some alien mental reprogramming, but she couldn’t just tell herself that and make the pressure go away.
Kara left her alone, and she finally put Fay down in the crib. As terrifying as the stable’s transformation had been, she couldn’t really feel that upset with the baby about it anymore. It wasn’t like her family was using the space, and having somewhere that didn’t feel like camping in a dirty shed was nice. It would be nicer to just go inside, but maybe that’s not such a good idea. If Fay keeps changing things, there won’t be much of our house left.
She checked her thread one last time before heading off to bed, hoping for some miraculous new wave of responses. There were several new messages, and few of them seemed that interesting. Most of it looked like more roleplaying, or at least indulging the more interesting posts. Some stupid references to Sonichu and the dimensional merge, more Internet garbage and lots of racial slurs.
But there was one message that stood out, and she could see instantly why. It had the same ID as the first reply that had caught her attention. She leaned in close, biting her lip as she read.
“Back again, and I’m a little sick of these people fucking with you. But there’s an element of truth to some of the mockery. Creatures like that one, and perhaps you as well, are not natives of our world. There’s nothing inherently dangerous about magic, but most people won’t be willing to accept it. There are no organizations of any size that can help you. Each of us gets our power from somewhere outside too, and what we can do with it is limited as a result.
“You might be the most powerful spellcaster in the world, OP. If you’re not, then that baby is for sure. Just stay alive and figure your shit out. Don’t swear any contracts with people you don’t trust. Never trust a fairy.
“If this isn’t the most elaborate joke in forum history, send a message to this disposable email address with some proof. I’ll share what I can about magic with you—but there’s not really anything left. Like I said, all the old mystery schools are gone now. Nobody believes in this shit anymore, and we’re basically on our own. I’ll do my best to help if I can.”
Then was the email address. That address was probably getting bombarded by dick pics and worse by now, maybe some garbage photoshop of her original image.
If she’d been a little less savvy, she probably would’ve left the message and forgotten about whatever it asked. But Fay was never going to change her back. Whatever instinct had made her transform her in the first place wasn’t going to go backwards. If she wanted to be herself again, she’d have to do it manually.
Kyle whipped up her own disposable account, and used it to send a few new photos. She put the thread on her screen behind her and posed in front of it, the same way many “proof” posts were made all across the board.
It was a foolish hope. Obviously it was just an elaborate joke, or someone who thought this was another Cicada-style ARG. But even a vanishingly small chance that she might learn something useful was much too alluring to pass up. She sent out the pictures as before, then finally shut the screen and fumbled with the bed. At least now that Mom and Dad know about this I can get my blankets from the house. If I’m going to be an animal anyway, at least I don’t have to be miserable.
She woke bright and early the next morning, to an abrupt pounding on the door. Loud enough that Fay stirred in her crib, moaning with annoyance at the interruption. She’d heard that angry knock before a few times, and there was no mystery about the source.
“Yeah?” She sat up, tucking her tail to cover up what she could. At least she didn’t spend several minutes not understanding what her body was or how it worked, so there was some improvement there. I guess I’m adapting, but is that a good thing? It didn’t really feel that way.
She hadn’t locked the door the night before, so there was nothing to stop him from coming in. The door banged open, and there was her father on the other side, along with Mom. Kara wasn’t there, though it was early enough that she was probably still asleep. Like I should be. I’m already a petting zoo, you could’ve at least given me until eight.
She rose into an awkward standing position, wings splayed to either side. “Decided to come in?”
“Wanted to confront the evidence directly,” Dad said. His eyes skimmed across the room, lingering on the strange light-fixtures and the oversized furniture. He reached cautiously towards the switch, watching the metal shutters open around it.
“Insane,” he muttered, staring at Kyle. “You’re… you’re Kyle? My son?”
She nodded weakly. “I was. I’m not sure what I am right now. But I still have… all the same stuff in my head. The same memories. I’m the same person, just…”
Fay began to fuss in the crib behind her. Those upset sounds would turn into sobbing if she waited much longer. But she resisted, holding still and meeting her father’s eyes. If she couldn’t win her family’s support now, then she was utterly doomed.
“They both believe it,” Dad said. His voice was somewhere between surprise and disappointment. “I wouldn’t if they… but what else am I supposed to think?”
“No idea,” she said awkwardly. “I don’t want it to be true either, Dad. I was just fucking hiking. I found a little baby animal and it looked weird enough I thought I would bring it to animal control.”
Fay squeaked, then started to cry. She couldn’t wait any longer—not just because of how painful that crying was, but there was very real fear as well. Last time she’d changed the stable, what would she ruin next?
She turned away, hurrying to the crib and lifting the baby out. Now that she was focused on the child, her “magic” came almost effortlessly. Just a little focus and the baby was out. She held Fay up against her front, rocking back and forth. “Hey, sweetie. It’s okay, this is just my family. They’re not going to hurt you…” I hope.
She turned, carrying Fay back with her horn glowing. At least her words were having an effect on the child—Fay stopped crying, watching everything with wide, intense eyes. You didn’t flip out for Kara, don’t freak out for them either.
“That’s it,” Mom whispered, retreating slightly behind Dad’s shoulder. “The creature you found. The one that… mutilated you.”
She nodded weakly. “I don’t think she meant it. But yeah. This is her. I’m calling her Fay. She didn’t have a collar or anything when I found her.”
“It’s wearing a diaper,” Dad said flatly. “Why?”
How could she explain that? “I found her that way,” she said. “I think… well, I’m still smart, I can still talk, right? Right now my working theory is that wherever she comes from, this is what life looks like. Horse… things. Either that, or the ones who made her didn’t want her to pee on the carpet. I don’t want her to do that either, so… diapers it is.” She nodded towards the shelf. “When she changed the stable here, she gave us plenty to work with for awhile. But obviously the size and shape are pretty different from anything that normal people would use.”
For another minute the two of them were silent, watching her care for the baby. Eventually Alan broke the silence. “What do we do about this, son? What are we supposed to do to help you?”
She chuckled. “I have no fucking idea, Dad. I’m hoping—maybe Kara told you this already—but I’m hoping that I’ll be able to copy her powers with enough practice. I look just like her, see? Wings, horn… everything checks out. If I practice, maybe I can change myself back.”
Mom made a dissatisfied sound, before Dad nodded weakly. “That’s a poor plan, Kyle. But I’m not sure… This shouldn’t be possible. We want to help you, but there aren’t a lot of options. You’re… a horse. There’s only so much we can do.”
“Food,” she added hastily. “And making it so I don’t fail all my classes would be good too. Kara said something about homeschool? That sounds like a good idea. While I…”
Fay was moving her lips, squirming towards her. She was hungry, but somehow she didn’t think that letting her parents see that was a good idea. “While I keep this baby from wrecking anything else.”
“We can do that,” Mom said. “That’s something, isn’t it Alan? We can… do something.”
“We might do more,” Dad said awkwardly. “There are… people, we could call. Get a doctor to look at you. Your mother’s family has… people. Discrete people. We don’t even have to tell them who you are.”
“Sure.” She didn’t hesitate. “Just don’t…” Fay started moaning. If she wasn’t seen to soon, she’d be crying again. “Don’t try to take the baby away. I don’t want anyone else to go through what I am.”
Stats
Page generated in 0.023 seconds
Total duration
1,050 users online
1,897,727 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
"Make excuses for the infant."
"The infant reality warper who turned you into a horse."
"She's still a baby."
"She's still an insult to everything sane and rational."
Generally good advice. I just hope it doesn't inspire any needless hostility towards the Equestrians.
And the interaction with Kyle's father went better than expected. Now to see what the family tries to do about this.
10079812
'an insult to everything sane and rational'? I believe that description is reserved to one other pink pony, not Flurry.
So his family is on his side, and that internet dude seems to at least lean toward wanting to help (maybe he’s planning something nefarious, but we don’t know). But I fear his list of potential allies is rapidly approaching it’s end.
Nice chapter. So the mom has people in the family that knows how to keep secrets now aint that interesting.
Well the dad is gonna sell his son
a poor plan is better than no plan, besides its something to do while the misunderstanding involving Flurry heart's family comes up.
Anyone they trust could sell them out. The internet person could be a fey. The doctor could report them to the government. The internet person could even be a siren.
10079947
Doubtful. He'd have to explain what happened, and even the most probable sounding lies would reflect badly on him. What I can see him doing is going after Flurry.
Magic school? Where do I apply?
Glad to see that dad came around, I was a little worried for a bit.
Keep up the good work!
Interesting tidbit in the internet wizard calling Kyle the most powerful caster in the world, second at least with Flurry being there. I wonder when will he realize that means he could bring magic "back" to the world, with enough time and effort.
10079812
I actually expected this exact reaction from the father. I mean, it could have been done as a complete rejection for the sake of additional conflict, but if I were to be perfectly honest, I would have a very similar reaction. I'd probably not be able to handle the information, and rather than blowing up immediately, I'd remove myself from the situation and approach it later.
Took some time but looks like dad's on board. Seriously, it was the best case scenario. Now to get some help. Both from the family and possibly someone who may or may not be Sunset Shimmer.
10079822
You're forgetting our resident chimeric avatar of chaos.
10079924
We honestly don't know how they'll react to a boy-turned-princess-pony. Panic might override any sort of promised confidentiality. Something like this can easily be seen as incredibly dangerous and the rational option to them is to bring the authorities into the picture regardless of how useful or useless it is.
10079845
The way I see it, this mysterious Internet guy is a true believer that genuinely wants to help... but is assuming Horse Magic is the same one he's familiar with. Which I seriously doubt.
If the guy talking to them on the thread isn't reveled In just going to headcanon him as John Constantine
10080512
I would disagree. The super wealthy live in entirely different sort of world than the rest of us, and more so if it's a family with old money.
There's an entire network of professionals whose entire careers are about absolute discretion, and wealthy families trade those names like magic the Gathering cards.
In this story it looks like Kyle's mom, and dad are kind of like the black sheep of the family that rejected that life.
10081011
Considering what the baby did to a human (and a horse stable) at a whim, Flurry Heart would be considered a ticking time bomb at best and at worst, an incredibly dangerous reality warper that maybe a threat to humanity. Without precise knowledge of the full extent of Flurry's (and now possibly Kyle's) powers, it would be quite hard to keep patient confidentiality if doing so may or may not result in the end of the world.
The tone of this story honestly reminds me a little of The Metamorphosis. You've got a protagonist who isn't the most popular person around, and a grieving family in various states of reaction, just toss a magic reality-warping baby into the mix.
Poor MC though. Here's hoping he doesn't die with a rotten apple stuck in his back
It’s super risky that he’s interacting so openly with some random on the internet. It could be a gov that was browsing forums and decided to “play along”, like people sometimes do. By proving himself real, he turns it from “play along” into “investigate NOW”.
It could also be genuine, but that opens up a completely different can of worms. It’s either a nerd like me who likes magical lore a tad too much, or it’s an honest-to-god Wizard/Witch, in which case it could either be good (I’ll try to help) or bad (I need to harvest you for magic)
haha cicada...
I guess a image or a video could be called photoshop
10081173
I was thinking the exact same, something is to suspicious about the person.
10085069
That's mostly just paranoia rather than the person being suspicious. But in this situation, it's too convenient. The paranoia is justified because the MC is in a highly dangerous situation, where everyone that isn't vouched for should be dealt with as if they're planning something.
Don't reveal too much, be safe and cautious, make sure you have a backup plan if things go wrong, so on so forth.
It's only paranoia if you're wrong, after all.
10085615
Which is fair in this situation, and actually a pretty clever addition to this story if it is just paranoia, like anyone in this situation would be paranoid as heck.
10085622
That's the thing though, the MC shows a complete lack of the justifiable paranoia. She's taking far, far too many risks to the point she's publicly revealing herself and saying "here I am, come get me" to anyone who knows how to track an IP (which isn't hard, literally just google it and you'll get a website. Though they tend to point to VPN locations or ISP locations, there's such a thing as hacking.)
10085625
Yeah if a hacker wants to find something then it's pretty easy depending on the information, and the picture of the cartoon pony in a real world would definitely draw attention.
I'm assuming there might be mental alterations to the character besides the obvious ones such as the parental instincts.
10085631
I'm pretty sure there are no mental alterations. It's all just his brain suddenly being flooded with hormones. The brain is quite smart, and the hormones wouldn't be too different from human ones. Maternal instincts would kick in, signals would be sent to the body, and the only thing different in that part would be where the body is carrying the signals - in this case the crotch instead of the chest.
10085662
Hm good point, I assumed it was either hormones or mental alterations, I do hope to see the character suddenly have the world crushing realization of their situation, like currently they could just be dealing with the immense shock of the situation and when that wears off they could just break.
10085666
I mean, it might not happen. Some people don't "break" like that, but rather release their emotions slowly over time. Y'know, being able to deal with it better.
10085952
True but with this situation you think that's the same?
10085955
The thing that convinces me otherwise is the fact that there's no lack of reaction. The MC is still worrying, still panicking, still harboring hate towards Flurry despite the hormones convincing her otherwise. So on so forth.
If there was none of that, if she accepted what was happening, or otherwise lacked major reaction or emotion, then it'd bring up red flags to me.
But there's the fact that she's had a lot of time to process the entire situation. She literally cannot do anything but care for Flurry and check the internet or talk to fam whenever Flurry is asleep or doing her own thing. At any moment when she was up in bed, unable to sleep, or otherwise during her downtime she could've broken down, but she didn't. It implies she's either coping or dealing with it in her own way.
10085997
Hm true.
I do hope to see more of a reaction as more pressure is dumped onto the MC.
Need more of this wonderful story.
I don’t think even Kyle thinks it’s a great plan, but it’s their only plan besides just sitting there. And unlike with certain spacefaring equines, it doesn’t lock them out of trying something else later.
I love this
Haha, denial phase. What possible people could be called for this?
A healthy person would respond with something akin to: “Its an explanation. Not an excuse.“
The power to reshape the universe at the tip of your horn!
Too bad it's supposed to come with a few millennia of magical research that was very kindly not provided to you alongside the damn thing
I can't tell if that's a "please don't take my baby away" or a "I need to keep everyone safe"
10856826
Neither can Kyle at this point.