The Human, The Fashionista, and The Milkmare

The Human, The Fashionista, and The Milkmare

Chapter 7

We had laid down to get some more sleep, even though it was now mid-morning. The milkmare breathed softly as I held her in my arms, a soft smile on her face. It felt nice to hold her as I drifted off to sleep again. Normally, the sun's light would keep me awake, but all the previous day's activities had made me quite tired. We slept for a few more hours before Lyra entered and woke us up to have lunch.

"Wakey-wakey, you two -- lunch is ready," Lyra stated in a sing-song voice.

I groaned in protest and tried to rub sleep from my eyes. I ended up hitting myself in the face with something hard. "Oww! What the fuck?" I asked as I opened my eyes, waving the offending hoof and shaking it in frustration. "What the fuck is this?" I shrieked in a very unnaturally high-pitched voice as I brought the hoof closer to examine it. It was a deep purple, which ran the length of my arm. Milky Way woke up with a start upon hearing my shriek and gasped audibly when she saw me.

"Who -- who are you?" she asked as she roughly pulled herself away from me.

"Milky, I'm Michael, remember?" I asked, my voice sounding somewhat normal. "Um, I think your milk may have done this to me," I opined, grinning sheepishly. "I had no idea."

"Well -- looks like you're a stallion for real, now," she mused. "A unicorn stallion at that -- is that what you wanted, Michael?"

"Um, not really, no -- well, kinda -- I dunno! I -- I -- didn't expect something like -- like -- THIS!" I exclaimed as I tried to rise to my hooves, falling on my face as I hit the floor. "OWW!"

"What's going on here? Cousin, who -- who -- IS that stallion? He's kinda cute," Bon-Bon giggled.

"Bon-Bon, it's Michael -- MY stallion, remember?" the milkmare answered, glaring at her cousin.

"The police aren't going to believe this," I muttered. "How am I supposed to be a material witness if my appearance has changed so radically? They're expecting a human, not a unicorn stallion. What does the rest of me look like? What color is my mane and tail? How about my eyes? Do I have a cutie mark?" I asked as I craned my neck around to check my flanks, which unfortunately did not have a cutie mark. My tail was a mix of gold and orange with a hint of red.

"Your mane matches your tail, Michael -- and your eyes are a bright orange -- they match mine!" Lyra giggled. "No cutie mark, though."

"What was your special talent as a human, Michael?" asked Milky Way. She grinned at me.

"I fancied myself a jack-of-all-trades -- but my specialty was delivering things, be it newspapers, pizza, or packages. My combined experience with delivery is more than 44 years," I noted.

"That's amazing!" Lyra chirped. "How old are you?"

"I'm 50, but -- I wonder if milk played a role in de-aging me as well as transforming me," I mused. The milkmare blushed and giggled nervously.

"Um, I think I need to be milked again, Michael," she offered, smiling at me again. Once again, I assumed the position as she straddled my head without a second thought. I brought my muzzle to her teats and began trying to squeeze one of her teats, though my attempt proved to be quite clumsy.

"Michael, please be careful!" she admonished as I made another attempt at it. My mouth didn't fit right on her teat and her milk splashed on my muzzle. My hooves didn't have enough pliability to wrap around her teat and my attempt to squeeze applied too much pressure, forcing the milk out randomly. My groan of frustration was matched by hers as she wasn't experiencing the level of pleasure I had previously been able to provide her. She strode forward, leaving me laying on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

"You're no longer a human -- you're a stallion now -- ugh! Why -- why did you have to change?" she groaned.

"Discord! Discord! Discord! Discord!" I shouted at the ceiling. The other mares gasped in horror as I repeatedly called out the name of the chaos entity, who chose that moment to teleport into the room.

"Michael, you only have to call my name but once," he grumbled. "What -- oh! You've been transformed! Do you like your new form?" he grinned.

"Is this your doing, Discord?" I asked, glaring at him almost angrily. He rolled his eyes at me.

"I wish I could take credit for doing that -- but I can't. I'm not responsible for your transformation, even though I am the one who brought you over here -- what? You WANT to stay as a human?"

"He has given me so much pleasure as a human, Mr. Discord -- if you could change him back, I would be deeply grateful," Milky Way offered. The draconequus stared at her teats and grinned.

"Hmmm. If you let me sample your milk directly from the source, I might be able to change him back for you," he offered, a sly grin on his face. Without waiting for her to answer, he used his magic to create a milking machine and attached it to her teats, practically emptying her in a matter of seconds.

"Oooooooooohhhhh!" she moaned at the sensation. "How -- how did you DO that?"

"Magic, of course," he replied nonchalantly as he sipped loudly on a cup of her milk he had poured for himself. "Quite tasty, my dear -- you would make quite a bit of money selling this nectar to other ponies," he mused.

"I have a shop in Trottingham, where I do sell it -- oh my gosh! I've got to get back there! I was only supposed to stay one day! Michael, I need you to come with me back to Trottingham!"

"I'll save you the trouble, my dear," the chaos entity stated warmly. "Michael, care to join us?"

"Yeah, I know I'm needed as a material witness here, but -- I need her as much as she needs me," I replied sullenly. Discord carried both of us under his arms and teleported us to Trottingham, depositing us in front of the milkmare's shop. There was a line of ponies waiting at the door, and upon spotting us, they rushed over.

"Milky Way! I need five quarts!" one of the mares shouted.

"I need six!" another mare shouted.

"Wait until she opens her shop," I stated firmly, making my way to stand between the crowd and the milkmare, who finally managed to open the front door. The crowd advanced on the door, backing me towards it. "Stop! She's not ready yet!" I shouted as I had reached the front door. I retreated one step inside, noticing she had readied herself at the register. She nodded her head to me as I turned to face the crowd. "One at a time, please," I stated loudly as I stood beside the front door, allowing a single pony to enter the shop and make his or her purchase. It took a couple of hours for the last of the ponies in line to make her purchase before I went back inside and closed the door.

"That was crazy," I commented.

"Thanks for spacing them out like that -- usually they rush in all at once, making it really difficult for me," she smiled. "Discord hasn't changed you back yet?"

"I dunno, Milky -- I guess I might be stuck like this," I noted glumly. "I'm sorry I can't give you the same feeling as earlier. Um, you still love me, yes?"

She trotted over to me, smiling warmly and embraced me. "Of course I love you, Michael! Don't be silly! I'll always love you, even if you can't milk me the same way as before -- it's just that I got frustrated that you weren't able to do like you did before. I don't want you to think I don't love you, Michael."

I rubbed my muzzle against hers, side to side before kissing her. "I love you, Milky Way -- I don't wanna lose you -- I've never felt happier in my entire life than when I'm with you," I cooed softly. Her cheeks turned a lovely shade of rouge as she blushed upon hearing my words.

"Oooh, Michael! You -- you -- I love you so much!" she cooed in return as she kissed me passionately again, wrapping herself around me. Seeing her smile like that made me feel like I had butterflies in my stomach, my heart feeling like it wanted to pound out of my chest for her as I held her close to me.

"Hey, I haven't seen your house yet -- what's it look like?" I asked.

"I don't live very far at all from my shop -- I'd be thrilled to show it to you, Michael!" she chirped. I followed her as she led the way out of her shop, flipping the sign back over to closed, then she closed the door and locked it behind her. She led the way down the street as I trotted leisurely behind her, taking in the sights and sounds of Trottingham. The city was considerably larger than Ponyville and the streets seemed to be a little more crowded. Shops were more orderly and houses were laid out on a grid pattern, unlike the seeming randomness of Ponyville. After about ten more minutes of trotting, we turned down her street and went a couple more blocks before she trotted up the walkway to her apartment building.

"Home sweet home," she chirped as she opened the front door of the building. She trotted to the staircase and took the first step up. "I live on the eighth floor, Michael -- hope you're okay with stairs."

"Um, is there no elevator?" I asked.

"What's an elevator?" she asked. My eyes went wide with fear when she asked that.

"An elevator carries ponies up and down along a shaft, letting them out at their desired floor when the elevator reaches it. The desired floor is selected by pushing a button on the inside of the elevator car. A series of motorized cables and pulleys lifts the elevator and lowers it gently, depending on where a pony gets on and decides to get off. Some elevators use hydraulic power to raise and lower the platform," I explained. "Where I come from, any building with five floors or more requires an elevator so the physically handicapped can go where they need to."

"That sounds like a very useful invention, Michael -- why not see if you can build something like that for us?"

"This building probably doesn't even have an elevator shaft -- I'll try to go upstairs," I replied sullenly. The milkmare began her trek up each flight of stairs, waiting for me at each landing. The going was painfully slow, but after about six flights, I was getting the hang of it. We reached the eighth floor after about a half-hour of very slow progress up the stairs, then she went to her apartment and opened it for me.

"You keep it very clean, don't you?" I asked. My voice echoed off the walls as I noticed how empty the place was.

"WAAAAH!! ALL MY STUFF IS GONE!!" she wailed as she fell to her hocks and cradled her head in her forehooves, shaking it from side to side.

"Did you have renter's insurance?" I asked softly. She turned to look at me, tears trickling from her eyes.

"Where did you come from? Renter's insurance? What's that?"

"Insurance agents offer coverage for your belongings if you rent an apartment from somepony -- you keep an inventory of your belongings, and if something like -- this -- happens, you can file a claim with the insurance company, hopefully getting full replacement for your loss," I explained.

"No, no, no! I -- I --" she cried. I hugged her close to me and whispered in her ear.

"Sssh, it's gonna be okay -- you've got me, I'm here for you," I offered softly. "We'll get your stuff back, I'll find a way."

"But -- who are we going to talk to? I don't know --"

"We ask your neighbors if they've seen any suspicious activity. We ask the police to investigate. Maybe we might catch the crooks if they come back," I offered. "How long were you gone for?"

"Just a couple of days -- but -- do you know how big Trottingham is?"

"No, I've never been here before -- how big is this town?"

"It's three times bigger than Ponyville, Michael! I've lived here all my life, and there are areas I still haven't been to," she replied sullenly. We trotted around the apartment, noting her bed was still there, though her vanity had been ransacked, various items scattered on the floor. She went to the kitchen to get a broom and dustpan and returned with them only to see me levitating various objects with my horn glowing a pale yellow, depositing the items as orderly as I could in the vanity.

"You were a human less than four hours ago, and yet you're already using telekinesis? How?"

"I've read stories -- some explaining how to focus my magic in such a way as to grab the item and move it where I picture it going," I stated. "But wrapping my aura around each object doesn't seem to make sense to me -- let me see if I can shape my aura into something a little more useful," I mused. I focused on my aura, attempting to shape it into a pair of human hands, then shaping the hands into flat-blade shovels. I used my telekinesis to take the broom and sweep the floor, moving the items into one of the flat-blade shovels, lifting it and depositing a large number of items into the vanity.

"Wow! That's amazing!" she exclaimed.

"I wonder if I can milk your teats using my aura shaped like hands," I mused.

"Um, I'm not ready to be milked just yet, Michael -- but when I am, I'll let you know!" she giggled. "Can you use your magic to trace any magical residue if somepony used magic to take my stuff?"

"That's Twilight's specialty -- we'd need her help on this -- but how would we contact her right now?"

"Leave that to me," quipped Discord as he teleported into the room.

"Perhaps you could track down her stuff and return it to her?" I asked him.

"Let me have some more milk, and I'll do that for you," he chuckled.

"I'd be so grateful if you could do that for me," the milkmare declared, smiling warmly at the draconequus.

"But of course -- your milk is the finest I've ever tasted -- or at least any since about three millennia ago," he chuckled. Milky Way blushed at his statement.

"Um, are you going to do this the same way as last time?" she asked hesitantly.

"It was quite quick, wasn't it? Did it feel good for you?"

"Yes, it did!" she chirped.

"Happy to oblige, my dear," he chuckled as he magically milked her again. "Michael, how are you liking your new form?"

"I'm adjusting to it rather well, Discord. Thanks for your, uhh, kindness," I offered sheepishly.

"Fluttershy is giving me lessons in kindness, so I appreciate your compliment," he said. "It makes me feel good to know I'm doing something to benefit the ponies."

"It pleases me to know you feel the way you do -- for too long, you've been portrayed as a villain -- and I am happy to see you having changed your past ways," I noted almost reverently. "By the way, have you checked on Rarity? Is there something that can be done to help her?"

"Right now, she's being interrogated by Celestia -- I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done, considering what she's done in the past. Celly's not too happy about this -- but I'll let her know you asked about Rarity. I'll also let her know you're over here in Trottingham -- she told me she was interested in seeing you again. I think she'll be amused to see you in your new form," he chuckled before disappearing again.

"But -- but -- my stuff!" Milky Way protested. "I thought he was going to --"

Some loud noises interrupted her thought. We trotted into the entry way to see various objects materializing in different places as her stuff was being magically returned to her. She gasped in astonishment as she saw chairs, tables, her refrigerator and stove, plates and silverware, and quite a lot of other objects too mundane to list seemingly return to their original places. We were dumbstruck as we watched this happen.

"He drained you of all your milk again, didn't he?" I asked.

"Uh, yeah, but -- I keep some in the fridge," she replied. Upon opening the fridge, she gasped.

"What's wrong?"

"He took all the milk out of here, too! Um, shall we return to my shop? Or did you want something besides milk?"

"What have you got? Perhaps we need to go to the market and get some food?"

"Let me check the cabinets." She closed the refrigerator and started examining the cabinets. She got a box of pancake mix, holding it in her right fore-hoof. I couldn't see how she managed to do that, so I asked.

"Milky, how can you hold a box like that when you don't have any fingers?" I asked facetiously. She trotted over to me and placed her left forehoof on my mane and squeezed it. The frog of her hoof seemed to materialize around the strands of my mane, clamping them against the inside part of her hoof, which amazed me. "That's very interesting," I commented.

"You should be able to do that as well, Michael! Or are you going to rely on your magic to do that?"

"I'm kinda surprised that I'm able to use magic this easily -- perhaps it seems to be something innate, that I can wield magic almost effortlessly -- I remember reading that some humans when they become unicorns find it difficult to focus and use their magic -- but -- maybe it has something to do with how the brain is wired, or something," I mused.

"Where did you read about that?" she asked as she fetched a bowl and poured some mix into it, then poured some water into the bowl. She turned on her mixmaster and blended the batter.

"Back on my homeworld, we had this thing called the internet -- it allowed us to do lots of different things, but I used it for reading stories some times," I replied casually.

"Oooh, what sorts of stories? I'd like to know," she mused as she fetched a griddle from another cabinet, then turned on the stove.

"You have electricity here? Or is that a gas stove?" I asked as I saw her turn one of the knobs.

"It's a magic stove -- you have no idea how much this thing cost the landlord -- that's why I freaked when I saw it missing. All the furniture in here is owned by the landlord, and if any of it comes up missing or damaged, I have to pay to replace it -- my security deposit --"

"How much is your rent?"

"Trottingham is not cheap -- this apartment costs 500 bits per month," she replied. "I make that much each week running my shop, but the rent on the shop is 500 bits per month as well."

"And if Discord takes too much milk from you, you won't have enough to sell to the ponies who want it. Have you thought about raising the price of your milk?"

"I -- I couldn't do that! I'd lose my customers," she replied, aghast at my question.

"When did you last raise your prices?"

"Uhhhh..."

"You haven't, have you? I noticed how much each customer was buying -- they cleaned you out in less than two hours," I noted. "If you raise your prices, maybe just a little at first, you might make more money."

"But isn't ten bits per quart a little high?"

"How many quarts do you produce each day?"

"Ten -- but I dilute it a little, as the raw milk is too strong. Even a half and half mix of milk and water is too strong for some ponies," she replied as she flipped the pancakes over.

"Raise the price to fifteen bits per quart -- let your customers know that they've been getting a very good deal on it, but you need to cover operating expenses and that at fifteen bits per quart, it's still a steal," I stated. "If you still sell out in less than two hours, you'll need to raise it to twenty bits per quart. If the ponies of Trottingham are that wealthy, then they can pay Canterlot prices for high quality items."

"But -- my regulars would get upset with me! I -- I couldn't do that to them!" she protested.

"Well, let's give it a try tomorrow. Do you have any milk left to sell?"

"I do, but I only have about twenty quarts left. I can't let you take any more of my milk right now, as I need to save it for sales," she replied. She checked the pancakes for doneness and removed them, then poured more batter for another batch. She placed the plate with three pancakes on it in front of me.

"Are these mine or yours?" I asked.

"Yours, Michael -- I can't help but thank you for such good advice! Now I'm really glad I have you as my stallion!"

"Thank you so much, Milky Way -- you spoil me like this. You have any syrup?"

"Sure, let me get it for you," she replied as she went to another cabinet, opening it and fetching a bottle of syrup, placing it on the table for me.

"Ribbon Cane Syrup? Miss Milky Way, you are too kind!" I exclaimed. "I haven't had any of this in years!"

"Oh, so you know about that stuff? I have a friend who works in a specialty market and orders that stuff from Neigh Orleans," she commented as she flipped her pancakes over. She brought me a knife and fork so I could begin eating.

"What do you have to drink?" I asked.

"Let me check the fridge again," she replied as she trotted over to it, opening the door. She gasped again and brought me a bottle of milk, setting it on the table, grinning broadly. "It's full of my milk again," she giggled. "Enjoy!"

I shook my head in disbelief as I opened the bottle telekinetically and levitated it to me. "You want me to drink straight from the bottle, or should I pour some into a glass?"

"You can drink from the bottle, Michael, I have no problem with that," she replied as she took her pancakes off the griddle and turned off the stove. She took a chair across from me and began cutting her cakes into squares. "I'll share that one with you."

"These are really good, Milky -- you really know how to cook!" I said through a mouthful of food.

"Don't talk while you're eating, Michael -- that's bad manners. Thanks for the compliment, though."

"Sorry -- I didn't know," I offered, my ears lowered a little. I took a swig from the milk bottle, then a slightly larger swallow before setting the bottle back on the table. "So, what else are we doing today?"

"Would you like to take a tour of Trottingham?"

"I'd love to do that, Miss Milky Way," I replied, grinning at her.

"Help me clean up after you're done eating and I'll show you around," she offered after finishing another bite of her pancakes. She drank heavily from her bottle.

"You drink your own milk?" I asked, my eyes wide with surprise.

"Of course I do, silly!" she giggled. "It helps me produce more of it."

"Ah," I commented. I finished eating my food and drank what was left in the milk bottle -- a couple of swallows and that was it. "Perhaps a little more milk?"

"Maybe later, Michael. Have some water instead," she offered as she took a pitcher of water from out of the fridge and poured it into a glass for me. I sipped on it, finding the taste somewhat disagreeable. The frown on my face showed her my distaste for the water.

"Something wrong with the water?"

"Doesn't taste very good -- there's a metallic taste to it, something bad," I noted. The words weren't even five seconds out of my mouth before I fell to the floor, clutching my belly with my forehooves and writhing in pain. I moaned in agony as my stomach felt like it was on fire.

"Michael! Oh my gosh! I'll go get some help!"

I felt a wave of fear wash over me, my body going cold, my vision darkening. I lost consciousness after that, oblivious to anything going on around me. Milky Way dashed out of her apartment and knocked on each of her neighbors' doors, frantically searching for anypony who could help me. She managed to find a pale-blue pegasus mare a few years older than her who accompanied her back to the apartment and found me laying motionless.

"MICHAEL!" the milkmare shrieked. She laid close to me, her head on my chest. The other mare approached and placed a hoof where my heartbeat could be felt. She felt my chest rise and fall gently. My coat was very warm to the touch.

"I'm not sure what's wrong with him," she declared as she stared at me. Her eyes went wide with fear when she saw me start shaking, then saw my hind legs begin to lengthen and my forelegs shorten as my body began to change slowly in front of their eyes. My coat of fur seemed to disappear, revealing pale peach-colored skin, sparsely bedecked with short black or dark brown hair. My face changed its shape to reveal somewhat humanoid features and my hooves disappeared, only to be replaced by hands and feet.

"He's changing back!" Milky Way cried, half jubilantly, half in shock. "HE'S CHANGING BACK!!" she exclaimed joyfully. "MICHAEL!!"

"What -- what -- IS HE?" asked the other mare in shock.

"He's a human, Sky Bolt! He's MY human!" she chirped. The transformation lasted only a few minutes and I regained consciousness, holding my head with my hands.

"Owwww, did somepony get the number of the truck that just hit me?" I asked in confusion. "Who are you?" I asked the pale-blue mare.

"I'm one of Milky's neighbors -- I'm Sky Bolt," she offered. "I can't believe what I just witnessed! You were a unicorn stallion -- a rather handsome one at that -- but -- you -- uhhhh," she noted as she lost her train of thought.

"Sky, he's my human stallion -- go get one of your own! Thanks for your help, but I'm okay now -- in fact, I'm better than okay! I've got my human back!" she cooed as she hugged me tightly.

"Uhhh, okay," the pale-blue mare said sheepishly. "I guess I'll go back home now. Seeya around, Milky." She then left, closing the door behind her. "That mare is so damned weird..." she muttered to herself as she re-entered her apartment.

"So what you're saying is -- my milk turned you into a stallion and that water changed you back into a human?" the mare asked incredulously. I simply nodded my head in affirmation, a sardonic smile on my face. She pondered this information for a few moments before grinning broadly at me.

"You know what this means? It means you can trot by my side when we go anywhere, and you can milk me properly when we're in the privacy of my apartment! This is wonderful!" she chirped.

"Great, but you forget one minor detail -- the reverse transformation from pony to human is excruciatingly painful for me -- and I halfway wonder how much internal bleeding I suffered as a result of that -- that -- tainted water," I stated matter-of-factly, though I practically spat out the last two words.

"How badly did it hurt?" she asked, giving me a worried look.

"Bad enough that I don't wanna do it again," I replied firmly.

"Does it still hurt?"

"Yes, a little -- I may need a few minutes to recover." She sidled over to me and leaned against me as I sat up, propping myself up with my left hand against the floor. She gave me a soft kiss on the lips and an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry for doing that to you, Michael," she offered softly, then flashed me a big smile. "But I'm so happy to have you back as a human! I've been wanting a stallion for a long time -- but -- you're even better than that!"

"Thanks, Milky -- thanks for understanding. Thanks for being so generous and kind," I replied warmly, smiling in return.

"Now how about that tour of Trottingham I promised you?" she grinned. I looked down at myself and noticed I didn't even have my skivvies to cover my modesty.

"I can't go anywhere looking like this -- I need -- what happened to my skivvies?"

"What are those?"

"Do you remember when I had this piece of white cloth around my midsection before I became a pony? I think they might still be at your cousin's house," I mused. "I'm too self-conscious about my nudity to walk around in public with my dick hanging out."

She giggled, blushing lightly. "But the stallions do it all the time!"

"That's because they're ponies, and not human. Where I come from, humans have a very strong nudity taboo -- and since I've spent so much of my life a human, I simply can't go running around butt-naked."

"Well -- I don't have anything --"

"How about a towel? You have a bath towel I can wrap around my waist?"

"I'll go get you one," she offered as she trotted to another closet, returning with a large white towel in her mouth. I took it gently.

"Thanks, Milky," I smiled as I stood up and wrapped it around me, finding it to be just large enough to do the job. I was still feeling a little light-headed and my stomach still ached pretty badly, so I found a chair and sat down. I was surprised to see she had some furniture in my size, though I figured Discord had probably done that for her. The mare trotted to me, a look of concern on her face.

"Are you all right? How are you feeling?"

"I think I need a little more time to recover," I replied softly. "Maybe that tour can wait a little bit longer."

"Trottingham will still be there whenever you feel ready, Michael! If you want, you can lay down on my bed," she offered, flashing me a grin. I stood up again and walked to her bedroom, gently laying down on her bed. She followed me in and climbed into her bed and laid down next to me, planting a soft kiss on my lips. "Mmmh, I love you, Michael," she cooed softly to me.

"I love you too, baby girl," I grinned as I returned her kiss and wrapped my left arm around her. The feeling of holding her close lulled me to sleep, even though it was only mid-day. She fell asleep soon after I did, the two of us wrapped in a lovers' embrace.