> Just a Dream... > by Voldine > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Family Matters - Big Macintosh > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- A kick to the stomach wakes Big Mac up from his rest, making him groan despite the lightness of the blow. He must have slept in and Applebloom was sent to get his lazy rear up. He gives a single grunt to acknowledge the blow before rolling out of bed and onto all four hooves. Something is wrong. He can't place it, but nothing feels right. His hooves clop heavily against the floor as he makes his way over to the... His door is closed, and he didn't hear any hooves on the floor other than his own, or the door shut after that kick. He turns his head to look back over to his bed and frowns at two things that quickly make themselves known to him. First, there's nopony else in his bed, or the room. The second thing he notices is that he appears a little pudgier than usual in the middle. 'Time to stop eating that extra slice of pie at din-' His train of thought is derailed as another kick comes, followed by a spike of pure panic at the implication. A scream of fear is choked back, barely, as he quickly trots to the door, opens it, and moves to the bathroom where there's a mirror. "No..." The declaration of denial is flat and emotionless as he looks in the mirror and sees his old face, from before he had been given hormones to take. His muzzle is short and curved rather than being the angular shape he'd gained and grown used to over the last dozen years since his first, and only, heat. His mane and tail are longer and disturbingly shiny in comparison to his normal style. His body is still lined with hard muscle, but lacks the bulk he'd developed from the extra growth. Instead, all the extra bulk is centered in his abdomen, a sight that has bile rising in his throat. "Nope...dreaming. Never been with another stallion." His voice is softer, but still a deep tone. Nevertheless, it makes him cringe to hear that old voice coming from his mouth. The bile in the back of his throat rises again and almost chokes him. Everything is wrong, and it hurts despite knowing this can't be anything but a dream. Another kick jolts through his belly, and this time he does throw up at the alien, and entirely unwanted, sensation of an imaginary foal moving inside of his body. A quick way to end a dream; he needs to get out now before something even more disturbing happens. He runs back to his room as fast as this hindered form is able, and quickly bucks the window as hard as he can to shatter most of the panes as well as break much of the wooden structure. With that out of the way, he backs up to the door and makes a running leap out the second-floor window. He feels glass catch on his abdomen, followed by falling and tumbling as the loss of momentum doesn't give him a clean exit. The ground rushes up at his face, and everything goes black. He wakes up in a tangled mass of limbs and sheets on the floor with his head aching after falling out of bed. That dream again, that damned girly dream that seems to kick him whenever he has a nice time with Cheerilee. He closes his eyes and concentrates on untangling his legs from the thin sheet without tearing it. He doesn't manage to get it done without tugging the sheet out from under the end of the mattress, and gives a small snort of irritation at the extra work he just made for himself later. A quick glance out the window he'd broken in his nightmare confirms that it's almost dawn, time for the morning dose as well as getting ready for the day. Five days worth of medicine left, three days until the procedure he'd been saving for a decade to afford. He looks at the calendar on his wall quickly, and smiles at the circled date. Three days until his body finally matched his mind. Saturday, so Cheerilee could come to offer her support. A knock at his door startles him out of those thoughts. "Big Mac, getcher butt movin'. It's mah day t' take the cart inta town, so no need to wear that contraption o'yers." The door swings open at Applejack's knocking, the latch having broken a few months ago. His sister peeks in and chuckles softly as she sees where he is and how close his big day is. "Forgot that was comin' up so soon. Anythin' planned after you finally feel complete?" "Eyup." He shifts in place a little bit, thinking about the other purchase he'd made recently. He isn't a great judge of jewelry or ornamentation in general, but he had taken the time to get a subtle necklace made; one that has a silver apple with a gold stem attached to it. "With a certain teacher?" "Eyup." He can't hold back a smile at the memory of Cheerilee being informed of his current condition, and her response that had taken a few minutes to form. "Gonna make Applebloom an aunt?" Applejack has a grin on her face that would be right at home on Discord as she asks this question. He can't stop himself from blushing a little at the thought, but it does make him smile. "Nope. Gonna propose and take it slow." Applejack walks over and nuzzles against her big brother's shoulder. "No matter what happens; you'll always be my brother, and you'll always have family." BIg Mac thinks for a moment about this. There's no guarantee the first attempt works properly, so a different method would have to be tried at a later date. Thankfully, such conditions are included in the initial fee, and rebates are given for money allocated to unused methods. A wide smile graces his chisled features before he gives Applejack a brotherly nuzzle in return. "Eyup."