This Isn't What I Wanted

     Today was going to be a perfectly normal day. Eli yawned and stretched out, trying to lessen the stiffness in his sore limbs. He didn't know why he was so sore. Maybe it was because he  had worked out the night before. While he wasn't a very active person, he wasn't lazy. Of course, if he worked out a bit more than once or twice a week, maybe he wouldn't end up so sore.

     The light of the sun hit him in the face as he pulled the covers off of his head. He grimaced and turned over. He didn't really want to get up, but once he awoke, he couldn't go back to sleep. Besides, he had the whole day to look forward to. It was Saturday!

     He rolled off of his bed and hit the ground. He didn't care. In fact, it almost felt good, for some weird reason. Jolting his sore muscles. He stood up and stretched again. He just felt so sore. Maybe he should start working out more.

     With ease, he changed into his day clothes then shuffled down the hall to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He finished up, having only splashed his face a bit and gone to the bathroom. He never paid any attention to his hair. He didn't need to, of course. Who cared what it looked like, that unruly mop of his?

     Eli could hear his siblings in the living room playing some game on the Xbox. He walked to the kitchen and grabbed some food. A half-eaten box of cereal and a similar amount of milk. He poured himself some food and ate it up. A scream came from the living room, but he payed no head to it. Just his little sisters being stupid, again.

     He put his bowl in the sink and walked away. It wasn't his job to clean up, so he didn't even bother. His sisters would do it. Tomorrow, it would be his job, but today, he was free from chores.

     Not having much else to do for now, he decided to check for a newspaper. His trip took him though the living room, where he saw his youngest sister attempt to strangle one of the others over who should get the diamonds in minecraft. The one being choked retaliated with a punch to the stomach, which escalated the whole thing into an all out fist fight. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

     He opened the front door, but the newspaper was nowhere to be found. Maybe someone had already grabbed it? A quick look around the living room confirmed his thoughts. There it lay, underneath one of his sisters, who was sitting on the coffee table.

     He pulled it out from beneath her. She turned to him, obviously annoyed. She was about to shout at him, when one of his sisters called to her.

     “You're getting killed!”

     She turned back to see a zombie shove her into a pool of lava, burning up all of her possessions. At first, she sat there, dumbstruck. Then she cried. Then she turned around and screamed at Eli.

     “YOU STUPID IDIOT!”

     Eli turned to leave but felt something hit him, then again and again. He turned to see his little sister pounding on his back. It shouldn't have hurt, but his sore muscles ached at the impacts. He tried to ignore her as he walked back to his room. He didn't dare lift a finger against her or he would get grounded by his mom. For some stupid reason, his sisters could act however they wanted,  yet he couldn't even do so much as yell at them because he was 'supposed to care for his siblings'. Care for them his ass, he wanted to slug her.

     He sped up his walk to his room, his little sister in tow the whole way. He turned around once he reached the door frame of his room. With a little shove, he slammed the door in her face and locked it shut. She pounded on the door, never letting up.

     “I HATE YOU!”

     He did his best to ignore her. She finally gave up and left him in peace. He checked his watch. While she had been pounding, he had sat on his bed doing nothing. It was now 1:13, Pm. It had taken her a whole half an hour to give up. Geez.

     Eli looked around his room, finally feeling a little better. He had the whole day to himself. His mom was out of town, his oldest and still sane sister was gone with some friends, his little sisters would be playing the game, and his brother would probably sleep in until around four in the afternoon. He had his PC, his Xbox, and lots of snacks he stored for just such a time as this. The only reason he would have to leave his room would be to use the bathroom.

     He plopped down in his chair in front of his PC and decided to watch some YTPs. They always helped him calm down and relive stress. He cracked up at the jokes made and all the different references and everything.

     Once he was done, he decided to finish working on the remix he was doing. It took him longer than he thought, because his tense muscles caused him to misplace several sound clips. He managed to finish, albeit with many swear words and some throwing of pencils. He saved the file, uploaded it to YouTube, then lay down on his bed. Now what? The newest episode of MLP wasn't on YouTube yet, and he didn't feel like watching anything else.

     He sighed and held a hand to his stomach. It clenched slightly. He was probably hungry. He grabbed a bag of chips and a can of soda, then sat down and decided to watch another episode of The Mentally Advanced Series. He chowed down on the food, and chased it with the soda. The show made him laugh until his sides hurt. Call him immature, but it was pretty damn funny.

     Eli finished the show and checked his watch. 3:42, PM. Maybe someone on Skype would want to talk. He checked, but was surprised to see that no one was on. Where was everyone? It was Saturday! They should all be home, hanging out. He turned on his music, letting the wubs wash over him.

     His stomach clenched up again, this time more tightly. Must have been the chips and soda. Maybe a trip to the bathroom would be a good idea. After all, he did have to go.

     When he got there, he finished his business quickly and turned to look at himself in the mirror. He wasn't ugly or anything, but he wouldn't call himself hot. He was about six foot, three inches. His hair was a tangled mess of brown strands, which draped down his head, almost to his chin, partially covering his eyes. His eyes were blue, though more of a dull blue color, like they had been washed out. His complexion was smooth, and he had rosy cheeks. All in all, he would consider himself plain.

     He squinted at his reflection. He looked... smaller, and pale. Like he was getting really sick and smaller. Hmm. He must be really sick. Maybe a nap would be good. It did sound inviting. The night before, he had stayed up until around three in the morning playing Black Ops 2 Zombies with his brother. While he didn't feel tired, his body said otherwise.

     Luckily, he made it to his room without having to come in contact with his sisters. Eli flopped down onto the bed, letting himself sink into its warmth. His stomach clenched once more, causing him to grimace. He had never felt this bad before. It hurt pretty bad, but he ignored it. He could have taken medicine, but he never liked that stuff. He only took when absolutely necessary.

     He curled up in a ball as his insides twisted up and his muscles seemed to only get tighter and tighter. He groaned in pain. How could he have gotten this sick so quickly? The wubs shook him, in and out, but he barely noticed. He tried to block his pain with thoughts of MLP. Applejack, bucking apples, Fluttershy, taking care of animals, and Pinkie Pie, throwing parties. If only he could be there. These thoughts, and the wubs of his music, accompanied him as he fell asleep.

     His dreams were tortured. Blackness, then fire, then the pain of being burned alive. He writhed around, but nothing could ease his suffering. His limbs seems to stretch and shrink, though he couldn't see them.

     He felt like his guts were being torn out of him, then stuffed back in. His whole body spasmed with pain. He felt like he was going to die, the pain was so strong.

     Then his face felt like it was having the flesh ripped off. It seemed to morph, though once again, he couldn't see anything. He could only feel pain, then an odd sensation of relief as something began to cover his head. It spread down his body, and soon, he was encased in whatever it was.

     He tried to look around, but all he saw were flames. Maybe he had died and gone to hell? Maybe this was all just a horrible nightmare?

     He threw his head back and screamed as he seemed to be dipped in the flames, those red, burning fingers, grasping at his legs.

     Then, it felt as if every bone in his body broke, viciously snapped, only to be repaired, though it didn't feel right. It felt like all of his bones were off, not quite the right shape.

     As if he had been released from a giant's grasp, he fell. He fell fast, down, until he could see the ground rushing up to him. He heard a voice, drifting through the dark.

     “Eli...”

     He closed his eyes as he hit the ground.

     Eli moaned. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt heavy. He heard something, calling through the covers that lay over his head.

     “Eli? Are you okay?”

     It sounded familiar... hmm...

     Oh, yeah, his oldest sister, Sophia. She was knocking at his door and calling his name. “Eli? Are you okay? Answer me.”

     She was strict, yet concerned. He had to answer. But when he opened his mouth, it felt all weird and all he could force out was a grunt of acknowledgment.

     “Do you need something? I heard thrashing.”

     He moaned a sound that seemed to resemble a 'no'.

     “Okay, if you do, just call me.”

     Eli could hear her walking away. That was her, always kind, always trying to make sure everyone was happy. He wondered what time it was. He tried to check his watch, but couldn't see it. He was tangled up in a mess of bed sheets. He turned over, only further ensnaring himself.  With a grunt, he managed to roll himself off the bed, but it was weird. It almost felt like he didn't know how to use his body.

     He hit the ground with a thud. He tried to remember his dream, but nothing came to mind. Judging from the way the bedsheets ensnared him, it must have been something akin to a nightmare. It was odd he didn't remember any of it. Well, all the better, probably.

     He tried to pull the sheets away from his face, but his fingers didn't seem to be working. He paused a minute as he noticed that despite his fingers begin incredibly stiff, the rest of his body felt fine. No aches, no sore muscles, nothing.

     Actually, his body did feel a little weird, but nothing to bad. Just the same sensation you get when you're in a dream and you know you are you, but you can't seem to control your body. It was hard to explain.

     He shook his head around and tried to bring his hand up again. This time it worked, but he still couldn't move his fingers. He decided to just push the sheets away from his body. Surprisingly, they slid right off of him, without any struggle. He would have thought they would be harder to move, but oh well.

     Eli sighed and tried to stand up, only to find his body wouldn't cooperate. He tried again, but once again, failed. He looked down at himself. He still looked fine, like nothing was broken or anything. His legs were okay, his arms were okay, and so where his hooves. His whole body was covered in white fur...

     Wait...

     What?!

     He did a double take. He was indeed covered in white fur, and had hooves. He squirmed around to see if he... yep. There it was, a tail. Red and yellow. He almost screamed, but managed to keep it in. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. He tried again to stand up, knowing a bit more about himself. He succeeded on his fifth try, but was shaky and didn't dare try to walk.

     He looked at himself again. What the hell was going on? What was he? Was he a...

     The thought hit him like a train going a thousand miles an hour, and he fell back down onto the ground. It made sense, of course. But... how? What had happened? He was a... a pony? From MLP? How? And who was he?

     He turned around to look at the mirror in his room, but was blocked by his bed. It now stood taller than him. Judging from the size of everything in room, he was about two feet tall. Then the realization hit him.

     Everything was so big! Even his PC, which had seemed so small before, was now almost big enough to be a bed for him. The doors seemed like they were made for giants. The pencils he had thrown out of anger were now the size of daggers to him. He gawked a bit before remembering his task.

     Slowly and carefully, he attempted to walk around his bed to his mirror. He took one step then fell flat on his face. He got up with a little more grace than last time and managed to take a few more steps. Then he fell down again. He growled in frustration, but it sounded kind of... high, compared to his normal voice.

     He shrugged it off as a part of his transformation and attempted again to walk. Each try he made it farther until he finally managed to make it to his destination. The whole time, it felt like he was missing something important. Then he sighed again.

     The mirror was, of course, two feet off of the ground. He couldn't see anything. Who the hell hangs a mirror two feet off the ground? He turned around. If he could get on his bed, then he would be able to see himself. But how would he be able to get up on the bed? It was at least three feet to the top. He looked around, still a bit shaky as he adjusted to walking on four legs instead of two. Maybe there was something he could use as a kind of stairs.

     To his delight, he found that he had left his chair pretty close to his bed. The chair came up to just below the top of his head, but it was the best he could find.

     He looked around at it, trying to find the best way to climb up. He sighed, seeing only one option. He readied himself then leaped up into the air, reaching to grab the chair. He grabbed it, but slipped down and hit the ground with a soft thump. A small string of curses left his mouth as he righted himself, but they sounded more like painful grunts.

     Then he spotted one of his books. Well, more like an encyclopedia of everything known to man. It was massive, and he wasn't even sure what was in it. But it would make climbing up onto the chair a hell of a lot easier. He pushed the book into potion, using his head. The whole time, he felt like the book was hitting something on his head, but he ignored it. Right now, he had to focus on getting a look in that mirror.

     He climbed onto the book, which was almost a foot high, then easily finished the climb into the chair. Now he had to only leap onto his bed. Simple, right?

     He felt butterflies in his stomach. What if he fell. It was only three feet, but now it seemed so high. Maybe there was another way.

     Something inside him made him push that thought away. With a deep breath, he took the leap. He flew through the air, flying gracefully through the sky... and hit the bed head first. He tumbled down and once again landed on the ground.

     “Gah!” He exclaimed. Once again, his voice, while rumbling, was higher than normal. He didn't pay any heed to it, and instead, repeated the climb to the chair and the jump, only to fail again, He tried again, and failed again. He was growing frustrated when he finally was able to get a good way onto the bed.

     He began to slip down, and on instinct he grabbed anything he could in his mouth. His descent stopped, and he slowly managed to pull himself up, until he stood on the bed. He let out a cheer for victory. Now he new something was wrong with his voice... it sounded... feminine...

     He hurried so he could see himself in the mirror. He stood, stone still, shocked at what he saw. There was no way it could be, yet it was. That face staring back at him... he knew it all to well... but he really wished he didn't...