I approached the counter of the inn. There was a female earth pony behind there. She had blue fur and sea green mane and tail. Her cutie mark was that of a pillow. "Hi there! Are you traveling through? I don't get much business."

Unable to restrain my curiosity, I asked. "How do you stay open?"

She shrugged softly. "Want a room? Oh! My name's Bed Time. Who are you?"

I considered giving my real name again but thought better of it. As the pegasus had said, it was odd for a pony name. "Cloud Kicker." It was my character's name, who... I kind of was now? It was very confusing.

"Cloud Kicker? I'm pretty sure I met another pony with that name. What are the odds?" She picked up a key off the rack behind her and set it on the counter. "Three bits please."

Joe approached from behind me and set three gold coins down. She tilted her head. "Oh, uh, this is too much."

Joe picked up the gold coins and tried replacing them with silver ones. "More please." He settled on ten silver coins and she accepted it. "You must be really new in town! Have fun with your stay! Room's good for a week." Joe picked up the key in his magic as Bed Time smiled. "Is this a honeymoon? You two look like an adorable couple."

My cheeks went hot instantly. I don't know how ponies can blush through all that fur, but I was doing a fine job of it. "Thanks, but no, we're just friends."

Joe stiffly nodded in agreement. "Thanks."

We retreated up the stairs and found the door with the same number as the key. Inside was a single king-sized bed, a cabinet, a bathtub and... facilities... It was all made with pony size and anatomy in mind. I closed the door behind us and sagged against the wall. "Oh man this is so freaky."

Joe started pulling himself free of his armor. "It could be worse, right? I mean... We're cute at least? We could have become something hideous and gross."

I snorted out a laugh. "I'm very adorable, and that bothers me. Look at me! I'm a girl!"

He looked over at me. "Can't tell much besides the voice. You're pretty well dressed, unlike the girl downstairs. You could see everything when she turned around."

I began to warm again. "Oh, yeah... I was trying not to look."

He shrugged off his chain armoring to the floor at last and shook out, exposed to the air. My eyes were drawn to the movement and saw that he was hung like a horse, or pony, as the case may be. He stretched out in place, then flopped onto the bed. "Comfy. So what's the plan? Are we stuck here? I don't want to be a pony forever."

"As Joe relaxed on the bed, he began to wonder if he was indeed stuck."

"That's what I said, Paul." Joe raised a brow, looking towards the ceiling.

"As the thought sank in, a little panic built in his chest. Would he be forever alone?"

"Not funny!" Joe began to squirm in place. "Oh man... are we really stuck?"

"At least there was one friendly face here. Cloud Kicker would keep him company, unlike the traitorous Brad."

I wandered over towards Joe who looked more and more upset. Following some strange new urging, I clambered up onto the bed and hooked a leg around Joe's neck. "We'll make it through this, together." Suddenly the impulse faded and I frowned. "Fuck! Paul! Not cool! We're supposed to be friends."

"Sorry. I was testing what I could do. Controlling people seems to be 'in'. I wonder what else I can announce."

I pulled away from Joe and slid to the floor. The armor was becoming heavy and hot. I wanted to take it off, but I could see Joe watching me and had no desire to show off for him. "Joe, turn around?"

Joe tilted his head. "If you want, but the people here are nudists anyway." He shuffled around away from me and I got to work pulling at straps and trying to tug off my clothes. That was a lot harder with a mouth to work with! After five minutes of struggle, I gave up. "Joe... Can you help?"

Joe peeked over his shoulder, then turned back around. "Jeeze, still working on that? Stand still." He lowered his horn at me and practically pulled me free of the armor as easily as a T-shirt and jeans. "There you go. And you look fine."

I flushed. "Dude..."

Joe blinked then shook his head. "I meant you look alright. I was worried the armor would snag on your wings or something."

Reminded of those wings, I began to flap and stretch them. They felt just a little less alien. They were powerful and huge, easily lifting me from the ground.

Joe snorted softly. "You're showing."

I went stiff and fell to the ground, ceasing the show. "God damn it. So where's Brad?"

"Excellent question. I'll go check on him."

Brad fluttered her new lashes at Vinyl. He had found her just coming out of a music store with a new speaker. "Need help carrying that?"

Vinyl regarded Brad curiously. "Huh? Yeah, sure, thanks!"

Brad's huge form easily shouldered the speaker and they began to walk side-by-side. "So, you busy tonight?"

Vinyl nodded. "Buck yeah. I got a sweet gig lined up. You going to be there? I figure you must be a fan."

Brad's eyes shamelessly wandered over Vinyl, enjoying the peeks at her nethers whenever her tail swayed away. "I'm a huge fan, but let's say I'm more interested in the after-party. What would it take to get you and me alone together."

"As Brad made his move, Vinyl considered her actions carefully. Did she know? She couldn't! But this huge pony might be a useful convert. She licked her fangs discretely while agreeing."

Vinyl ran her tongue over elongated fangs. "Oh, I'm sure we could work something out... Come with me, you righteous mare. I'll show you how to really party."

Brad stepped away, hearing Paul's dictation. "Oh, uh, I really shouldn't right away. I was just checking for the possibility."

Vinyl turned to face Brad directly. "I don't bite... usually." She smiled with closed lips. "Don't be scared. Vinyl knows how to treat a mare right."

Brad inched a little further away. Vinyl tipped her glasses down, looking into Brad's eyes with dark red irises. She flashed a fanged smile and spoke deeply. "Come to me."

Brad stepped forward towards Vinyl, ensnared in her command. "Good. Follow."

"Would Brad escape intact from the elder vampire, or would she become her newest toy? Would she mind either way? Probably not."

"Brad's getting herself into trouble."

I shrugged softly. "I'm not surprised. Is she arrested yet?"

"Nah. She's enjoying the company of Vinyl Scratch."

"Who?" Joe looked up towards the voice. "Hey, Paul?"

"Yeah?"

"You're still in charge, right, like the game?"

"I think so, except making you all human again."

"Are we safe? I mean, we're friends, right?" Joe smiled with uncertainty. "I always spring for pizza."

"We're cool, man. If you act well, I'll reward that."

I raised a brow. "That sounds kind of fishy man. This is kinda real. I don't... I mean really?"

"Near as I can tell, my job hasn't changed. If you're a jerk, I'll make sure you know it. If you do good things, I'll try to reward it. If things are boring, I'll spruce it up. Speaking of which, go to sleep or do something. It's getting boring in here."

Joe wobbled a hoof. "Aren't you freaking out at all? You said you don't have a body, right?"

"Nope, just a voice."

I shook my head with disbelief. "That has to be freaky. Why not just... make up something?"

"Make up something?"

"I mean..." I scuffed the ground with a hoof. "Make up a pony, play it? You do that in the story right?"

"Well, it's kind of weird. I can control ponies, but I'm not actually them. Watch. Suddenly, the door kicked open!" The door bashed inwards. "It was Daring Do! But she had the wrong room. She looked abashed."

"Oh, sorry." Daring Do quietly closed the door.

Joe flopped onto the bed. "This is too weird..."

I waved at the bed. "This will sound stupid, but could you make two beds?"

"It has to be plot related. There's not a lot of reason for a second bed to be involved in the story."

I rolled my eyes. "But Daring Do getting the wrong door is alright?"

"Yep."

I plodded over beside Joe and pointed. "You stick to your side." Then I hopped up and prepared for sleep, but a familiar and alien sensation kept distracting. Nature was calling. Learning to be female wouldn't be as easy as getting used to the voice.

I stepped off the toilet which doubled as a bidet. The sensation of being washed down there had brought the color back into furious force as I stiffly walked back to bed, trying to put it all behind me. But there he was. Joe had watched the whole thing, and the evidence of it was pulsing underneath him as he squirmed a little, looking at once guilty and turned on. Anger quickly replaced whatever else I was feeling. "Keep your eyes to yourself, damn!"

Joe's ears fell. "I wasn't trying to be a creep. There aren't a lot of other things to look at... God, sorry... Don't be angry."

"Well I am angry." I flopped onto the bed and curled up. "Turn off the light."

Joe's horn glowed as he snuffed the candles. "Good Night. We'll figure this out tomorrow, OK?"

"Ok..." Joe really did sound sorry. I made a quiet resolution to not hold the incident against him. We were stuck in this together. "Good night."

Author's Note

More words? Yes more words!

Brad got herself into trouble, but does she really mind it ended up this way? I'm not sure.

Joe and Ian stick together, even through the awkward bits. Paul seems to be getting a little... comfy with being the disembodied GM.

What will happen next? Typos, probably.