Fall of the Rightful King

Chapter Eight

Nick

Erin had gone downstairs with Brittney after we'd taken care of Alan. They hadn't always gotten along well, so I understood that. It gave me a moment to think.

Well. My girlfriend's turning into a pony, my best friend's a mare now, and I'm no closer to figuring out what's going on. I know it wasn't funy not funny - and it wasn't not - but Alan? Of all people, he's the one who gets turned into a pony? And a girl no less. I mean, yeah, this was hell on him and he'd need a lot of help. But I couldn't help but find it a little bit funny. Mostly, though, I was worried about him. Alan never had the greatest track record when it came to girls. This'd be tough.

I went downstairs and saw Brittney and Erin on the couch. Seeing Alan only reinforced how much I needed to figure out what was going on. I had to save her. The weird thing for me was how I felt about Erin changing. I didn't care. I mean, sure, that sounds like I'm patting myself on the back and saying "oh, I'm the perfect boyfriend," but I really was ok with it. Seeing her with a tail was weird, yeah, but it didn't make me like her less. Shit, did that mean I was attracted to ponies?

But wasn't I supposed to feel this way about Erin? I'd made promises to her and I really wanted to fulfill those promises. I wanted to be with her forever. I mean, what if she'd been in a car accident? What if she'd gotten burned? Wouldn't she still be the same girl I loved? How was this any different? No, I loved her and that was more important than anything else. No matter what she looked like.

Besides, I would save her. We'd get her fixed. Alan, too. Brittney... seemed ok with this. Which seemed weird. I still wasn't sure if she was actually ok with this or just riding a high that was going to come down hard. Either way, she was managing for now. When we got this fixed, she'd want to be human again. No one really wanted to be a pony forever. Probably.

I wondered when I was going to change. Sure, it didn't affect everyone right away; there were a lot of us at the hospital that hadn't changed at all. We'd get there, probably. Unless this only affected a few people. Yeah, that could be it. I could be part of the group that doesn't change right away. Because I wasn't going to change, I didn't want to change, and it wasn't going to happen. I had nothing to worry about.

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

I suppose the one good thing that might come out of changing would be that being attracted to pony Erin wouldn't be weird anymore. Assuming I didn't turn into a girl.

What the hell had happened to my life?

My phone buzzed. I didn't have to glance at it to know it was a reminder about the meeting with the Order. I said goodbye to Erin and Brittney and headed out.

The Langan center was across town. It wasn't nearly as full as I expected. I guess people didn’t trust Manuel as much as I thought. The main room of the building was a huge lecture hall, and only about two hundred people were there. I slipped in the back and took a seat. There were cameras getting set up and a few reporters starting to do their introductions. Everyone else was whispering among themselves or staring at their phone. More than a few people hadn't taken their jackets off and kept their heads hooded. I tried not to stare, but I couldn’t help looking for anything that suggested that they weren't human.

The noise quieted down as Manuel walked into the room and up to the podium. He started speaking into the microphone.

"Thank you for being here today. We do not have much time, so let's get down to business. I am Manuel Garcia, leader of the Order of Saint Augustine. We were founded to defend against superstition and magic, but we are not a part of the Catholic Church. We do use magic, but only to defeat those who use it for their own gain."

He took a drink from a nearby bottle of water. "Those seem to be the questions everyone asks first." He smiled, but no one in the crowd responded. "Good. There is a man named Alexander. He is a rather powerful person who possesses great knowledge of magic. We believe he cast the spell which manifested as a storm last night. I know-"

"Excuse me!" one of the reporters yelled. "Mark Hansen, Channel 7 News. Where's the proof of anything you've said? Do you have any proof, or are you just here to recruit us into your order?"

Manuel looked uncomfortable, and glanced at the crowd. "There are many who have been affected, but it is not my wish to put them in the spotlight."

"So you don't actually have answers for us?" someone in the crowd yelled.

"What is this bullshit?" someone nearer me yelled.

"I... we have proof," Manuel said, "and it is my wish to give you answers, but I must be careful how quickly I inform you,"

"There you have it," Mark said to his camera, much louder than was necessary. "A crackpot cult leader taking advantage of a natural disaster for-"

Whispers suddenly blossomed in the center of the room as a man stood up.

"I've got your proof!" he yelled. He took off his jacket and, with a quick motion, pulled a scarf off his face. He had feathers and a sizable beak. "Can you even help us?"

"Yes!" Manuel yelled, but it was too late. People had started to shout and stand up as soon as they saw the bird-headed guy. I heard chairs move and even punches being thrown as the crowd got more violent. Time for my exit.

I got outside the building and was walking toward my car when I heard a rumbling voice behind me.

"Hold on, please. I am most interested in speaking with you."

I turned. It was Manuel, along with two bodyguard-looking men who were looking over the area.

"I will not hold you here," he said, "but I can see strong magic in you. I can answer your questions. That's all I wanted to do tonight, but the people felt differently."

I looked at my car, then back at him. The bodyguards were making no threatening moves.

"I've got a few minutes," I said.

People weren't rioting, but the area was more dangerous than he was comfortable with. We ended up going to a park near to the complex and sitting on some benches.

"What is your name?"

"Nick," I said.

"Nick, then. My boy, magic is real," Manuel said, "and proof is-"

"I know," I said. "My - I know a girl who's turning into something."

Manuel nodded. "A small horse with large eyes." It wasn't a question, and he kept going. "Magic is... strange. At its core, it is simply wanting, with power behind it. I do not understand the motivations of Alexander, but he is the only one alive who has the power to do this."

“How can this be real?” I asked. “It’s from a TV show.”

Manuel shrugged and made expansive gestures with his hands. “Perhaps Alexander is mimicking the show. Perhaps our worlds are connected in deep, unfathomable ways. Perhaps, in their world, they tell tales of the humans and our strange machines.”

"Ok, that's great," I said, "but what's the plan? Can you fix what's going on?"

His eyes pierced me, and he said "That is not the question you really meant to ask."

Come on, man, cut me some slack. Here he is being all mystic and vague when there are real problems and people really suffering. I think he could see me getting frustrated.

"Oh, no, please don't misunderstand. I have certain abilities, and I can see that you are dying."

I felt cold in my stomach and a slight glimmer of hope.

"Can you... do anything about that?"

"My boy, I am sorry, but healing of that sort is beyond any member of the Order. We have the power to enhance your body's healing processes, but in this case that would only hurt you more."

My shoulders felt heavier than they had in weeks.

"Fine. Is there anything you can do for the people who are changing?"

"This is complicated. We are still trying to understand Alexander and why he is doing this. Many of the Order are affected by the spell he has created, and even those of us with strong defenses do not anticipate that we can hold him off forever."

"All right, fine. I have to get going."

"Nick, please, let me explain these things in detail. You have power within yourself. Not like our symbols and circles, which draw power from elsewhere, but true power from your core. This is something we have not ever seen in our time watching over the world. It is beyond significant-"

I was already walking towards the car. The moment he wanted to give me straight answers and actually help us out, I'd listen. But I didn't have time for this vague shit.

God damn. This night couldn't have gone a lot worse.

When I got home, Erin was sleeping on the couch with the light on. Had she been waiting up for me? I brushed hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. The couch wasn’t really comfortable enough to sleep on. I’d passed out on it the first ill-advised night I’d tried tequila. Turns out I liked it. A lot. I’d woken up at noon the next day with my back almost as sore as my head.

Erin stirred, and her eyes fluttered open for a second.

“Hey, let me take you to bed,” I said. I picked her up and carried her upstairs. I immediately realized I was faced with a decision. My bed, or Britt’s? Brittney was doing fine, now. Hell, she was doing the best out of all of us. Now that might just be because she’s crazy. But anyway, there wasn’t any worry about her waking up and being freaked out. No, if anyone, that’d be Erin, especially if she changed during the night. I wanted to be there for her if it happened.

I laid her down in our bed, changed clothes, and joined her.

Erin shook me awake. I was bleary eyed and confused.

"Nick, it's storming again!"

"Cool," I muttered, and rolled over. It was too early, and I didn't want to face the world again.

"Nick, did you hear me? It's storming!"

Oh. Wait. That was a bad thing. A really bad thing. I tried to roll out of bed and got tangled up in the sheets. I hit my head against the floor.

"Ow!"

"Oh, Nick..." Erin said as she started to untangle me. "You're such a dork."

I stood up, face red, and looked her over. She shook her head.

"Nothing's happened yet, but the lightning's gold..."

"Ok, ok, let's get to the car. It's metal. Maybe the lightning will go around it?"

"Yeah, let's do that," she said. We went downstairs. We made it to the bottom of the stairs. Brittney was down there. She had her front hooves on the windowsill and was staring out at the storm, tail twitching back and forth.

The light outside flared brightly, and Brittney fell over backwards.

"Ow!" she said.

“Oh my God… Nick, is… NICK!” Erin said. Her voice got louder and higher as we felt the ground start to shake. The light outside the window started to get closer and closer to gold. I grabbed on to Erin just a wave of light passed through the house. Brittney sneezed and shook her head.

“That was weird,” she said, looking over her legs and tail.

“Erin,” I said, looking at her. “Are you ok?”

“I… ow! Ow ow ow!” She curled up into a ball. I saw her fingers start to bend and melt with a very disconcerting hissing noise. They were actually melting together. Her petite fingers gave way to a clumsy, hard nail and a fleshy underside. Erin fell forward, and I saw her wrist moving up her arm as pink fur grew across it, moving in a way that looked so wrong it made me sick to my stomach. It only took a few seconds, but my girlfriend now had pony legs instead of arms. She gasped in pain.

“Nick… please help… ah! That… ah… hurts…”

I picked her up and lay her down on the couch. She felt feverishly hot. I grabbed a cold pack out of the freezer, wrapped it in a towel, and came back to put it on her head. Blood dripped out of her nose, which I caught with a tissue. It took her a few minutes to come back. Her eyes drifted open. She lifted a hoof in front of her face. She had to squint to see it, and she brought her hoof closer before she focused on it. I saw her face contort like she was crying, but no tears came out, just soft dry sobs. She sat up and hugged me.

“Help me stand up,” she said. I looked down at her legs. Her knees were so high up that they almost reached her waist. There was a new joint a bit below it that bent backwards. I think that used to be her ankle. Then the rest of her leg sloped down to her hoof. I stood up and she leaned on me, her new legs shaking badly. Still squinting hard, she reached for the couch and, holding on to the wall, made her way to the stairs.

“I need to do this on my own,” she said when she saw me coming to help. “Just let me figure this out. Damn, everything’s blurry.” I stood back and let her. I watched her legs move as she went up the stairs. It was a weird feeling, seeing those joints work. I wondered if mine would work like that when I changed.

No, let’s make that “if” I changed. This was storm number two and nothing had happened. I had really expected to start changing and it was almost… I don’t know, aggravating that it hadn’t. I was in a mental brace position waiting for a crash that just wasn’t coming. Did she not want me to be with her? Did I really want to be with her?

Yes. Yes I did. That part wasn’t up for debate. I loved her as a human and I'd love her as a pony.

Oh God… “as a pony.” This was really going to happen. What the hell? I wanted to help her. I wish I could have helped her more. I didn’t know how long I could keep helping her as long as I didn’t change.

And what did this mean for Erin? She was turning into a pony, and it was ripping her up inside. No. That couldn’t be allowed to happen. I had to find a way to stop that somehow.

So I thought about Alan instead. Where was he? Erin had tried to wake him up. This seemed like the kind of thing he’d be interested in. Maybe he was mad at us for what happened to him.

Brittney passed me on her way up the stairs. “Sis?” she called. I let out a deep breath, headed up, and knocked on Alan’s door.