Chapters "Nathan... Nathan!"
"...yeah?", I said, shaking my head a tad.
"You were doing it again.", my best friend Sam informs me from across the cafeteria table.
"Oh, sorry.", I hastily apologize for being distracted. It had been happening a lot lately. Though I'm sitting right in front of him as we're eating lunch, Sam and I might as well've been miles apart. It was like I was on another planet entirely. A very specific planet, definitely not Earth.
Sam looks at me and asks, "You were thinking about ponies again weren't you?". How did he know?
"Yeah...", I admit.
"Dude, seriously you gotta sort your fucking life out man.", Sam tells me. 'Bucking', my mind corrects him.
"I know, it's just I've been under a lot of pressure lately." Lying. I'm not under any pressure. Unless you count pressure as being stuck in a town without another brony for miles, swimming in a sea of bucking parasprites, not even being able to buy a damn t-shirt or a plushie to help me express how I feel about this AMAZING show and fandom. Oh wait, keeping your feelings bottled up with no way to express them? Isn't that the definition of pressure? Okie dokie motherbucking lokie then, I GUESS I AM UNDER A LOT OF PRESSURE!
"I'll be all right.", I tell him. Inside, my mind is raging. Can you get addicted to pony cartoons? I'm past the point that I care. For Luna's sake, if this cafeteria gets any colder, it's going to need a winter wrap-up. Something else Sam wouldn't know anything about.
"I worry about you sometimes man.", Sam says and goes back to eating. Yeah, I worry about me too. I worry that if my internet connection dies, I won't be able to watch MLP and then I'll be as bored as you and the rest of our friends. Reminder: need to download new episode song remix on Iphone. We went back to eating. The day went by normally, barely noticed it until it was over. Dad picked me up, took me home. Got home, hugged parents, loved parents, had dinner, went upstairs to bedroom. Sister is staying at friend's house, might have peace and quiet tonight. Watched MLP videos on youtube, had lullz. Tomorrow's Friday. That means day after tomorrow, new episode!! Sam will probably want to do something considering it's the weekend. Might do something with him so long as it's not in the middle of the new episode.
"Nathan! Light's out.", mom calls from downstairs. That's when I clicked on the link and saw the video. It was in my 'recommended for you' section. Is youtube profiling me now? You scare me sometimes internet. The video was only about a minute and a half long. It was about Rainbow Dash... my favorite pony. I don't know, just something about her being AWESOME struck a chord with me. In the video though, she was mauled by timberwolves. She'd been "invited to the Everfree Forest by Gilda in the middle of the night only to be ripped to shreds by timberwolves". She was left lying there in the middle of the forest as the camera zoomed out. Not bad animation all things considered. Why does the brony community do this sometimes? I know there's some sort of weird fascination with seeing the ponies mutilated but OH COME ON! I didn't like seeing that happen to my favorite pony. To anypony, really. I know they're just cartoons and it was just a fan-made video but... why? I replay the video again and again, watching every gorey detail. Why am I torturing myself with this? I want to save her, I want to LITERALLY jump into the computer screen and save her.
"Nathan! Lights out!!", mom calls again. I find myself crying. I turn off my computer and go to bed but I know there won't be any sleep for me tonight.
Alarm clock wakes me up at eight. Did I sleep last night? Doesn't feel like it. Those images still played in my head... I can tell it's going to be a while before I sort them out. I walk to the bathroom still half-dressed from last night. I scratch the back of my neck, it feels like this shirt I'm wearing is itching me or something.
I look at myself in the mirror. Hair's messed up, bags under my eyes. Yep, I look just how I feel. Fantastic. The back of my neck keeps itching. I take off my shirt to scratch it and that's when I see it: hair. Hair traveling down my back in a narrow line stopping just past my shoulders. Like a... mane? Am I seeing things? What's happening to me? I touched the hairs... they feel real. They're the same color as the hairs on my head, only on my back. What's wrong with me? Is this puberty? I've already gone through that. Or have I? I'm a guy, I don't think about these things. I decide to ignore it, shower, get dressed and head down for breakfast.
"Sleep well?", dad asks as he reads the newspaper.
"No, not really.", I tell him as I fix myself some cereal.
"What time did you hit the hay last night?", he asks. Hay. As he utters the word, the back of my neck starts itching again. I feel the hairs, they're slightly thicker now!
Dad looks up from the paper. "You need a haircut?", he asks.
"Yeah, uh, I think I'll get one this weekend.", I say, my voice shaking slightly.
"You ready for school?", he asks.
I get up from the table. "You know, I think I'll take the bus today."
"All right, you still want me to pick you up?", dad asks, his voice very slightly confused but still acceptant.
"Uh, no thanks, I think I'll just take the bus home too.", I say to dad as I quickly wash out my bowl, grab my bag and head outside.
"Hey, where's my hug?", he asks.
"Oh, sorry.", I hug the old man. "Love you dad.", I say, letting go and then leaving the house.
"Love you too.", he says back. I try not to think about my hair, instead focusing on the ground in front of me. The bus arrives soon and I get on. It's loud in the bus, I pass by the other kids quickly and sit down next to Sam.
"Hey, doesn't your dad normally drive you?", he asks as I sit down next to him.
"I felt like taking the bus today.", I say in defense.
"Don't know why you'd want to do that but whatever.", he says and then we're both silent. The bus gets started and soon we're on our way to school.
"Hey look. Double rainbow.", Sam says, pointing out the window. Rainbow. I glance out the window as the word hits me. My right hand goes numb, completely numb. Like, painfully numb. I flex it slowly and look down at it. It's almost pale and flexing is difficult, almost hurts. I stick my hand into my open bag. Thankfully, Sam doesn't notice. The bus gets to school and I get up and leave in a hurry, walking ahead of Sam and bumping into to people as rush to exit the bus.
"Nathan! Where you going?", Sam calls out as I walk at towards school at a fast pace.
"I'm heading to class early.", I say back without looking over my shoulder, my arm still stuffed in my bag. I try to get my mind off things, try to think about something else, anything else. Slowly, the feeling in my hand returns. I remove it from the bag and flex it as I walk. It looks and feels normal. That still doesn't explain the hair or what had happened but it was a start at least. I continued walking to class, went in and took a seat at my desk.
First period, English. I'm tired but I try to pay attention anyway. My hand feels fine, I check the back of my neck. The hairs are still there but they're not itching. Maybe I'm just imagining things... and need a haircut really badly? Okay, what are we learning today? Oh what does it matter? I haven't learned anything new in English since I was taught the alphabet. Since then, it's just been the same old stuff. Still, I need a good grade so I try to pay attention. Might as well take an easy "A".
Everything's going well as we start taking notes on the topic of today's lesson, until pony references start appearing in my notes. Not that they were there intentionally, just that my mind couldn't stop making connections. Oh sweet Celestia, they're everywhere! My hand starts burning as I try to write. My fingers go numb and I can't seem to hold a pencil. Class ends before I can finish writing everything down. Maybe I can get the notes from somepony else? SOMEONE ELSE, SOMEONE ELSE, damn it, I'm doing it again!! Every time my mind makes a connection to My Little Pony, a reference, something, anything, some kind of sensation hits me. And what is with the hair on my back? I ask myself these things as I exit English and head into the hallway.
History class is next. I take my seat in the back and open my text book. What's the subject for today? Oh good, the industrial revolution. I let out a sigh of relief. It would've been just my luck for us to be going over the history of horseback riding or something. I think I'm going to be okay, that is, until we get to... trains. And both the instructor and the book keep refering to it as... the iron horse. I cringe in my desk, it feels like I've been punched in the stomach. Both of my hands go completely numb. Somehow, I get through the class but I haven't written anything down. The bell rings, I get up and leave for third period.
Okay, math. They're can't possibly be anything pony-related to math could there? No, there can't be. Unless we start counting ponies. I try to relax and just work on the assignments. I get stuck on one problem, division. I always have trouble figuring out the remainder. The hairs on the back of my neck start itching again. I sigh heavily, what is this remainder? Remainder... remaneder... re-mane-der... oh no. I cringe again, almost doubling over.
My right hand feels like it's breaking from the inside. I ball it into a fist and grab it with my left hand. Suddenly, the feeling stops. The pain is just gone, strangely enough. I pull back my hand and realize why: I don't have a hand any more. Oh, well that's a relief, for a minute I thought that WAIT WHAT?! I look at my hand... it's just a flat appendage, a stump! Wait, not a stump, a hoof! What the hay is happening to me?! No, wait, I mean,-aaaaaaaahh!! I'm turning into a pony!!
I grab my bag with my left hand, sling it over my shoulder and cup my right hand as I walk out. The teacher trys to stop me for my disruption but I'm already out the door.
The question where do I go keeps repeating in my mind. I decide to head to the nurse's office, where else could I go? I keep my hoof in my jacket pocket and even grab it with my left hand. It feels strange but somehow natural.
"Hey! Nathan, what are you doing?" Sam shouts from behind. He must've gotten up after me. I don't turn to answer him, I just keep walking faster down the hallway. "Hey... Hey!!" he keeps shouting after me.
The word "hey" echoes in the hallway and in my head. My feet go completely cold and suddenly it becomes harder to walk. My other hand goes numb as I try walking faster. I turn left into an adjacent hallway heading towards the cafeteria. This isn't the way to the nurse's office but I had to get away from Sam. The feelings in my limbs begin to climb up my torso and my shoes begin to feel weird and uncomfortable. I almost break into a run as I start to panic and one of my shoes slips off, soon followed by the other one. I don't look down but I hear a strange clip-clop sound coming from my feet as I run. The sound echoes off the walls.
I turn around to see Sam still following me. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck start itching again and I put my left hand, or at least what I thought, what I hoped was still my left hand to check. I feel only the flat surface of a hoof brushing the mane-like hairs on my back. I pull back my hand as I turn around, still running/two-legged trotting. A look of sheer horror spreads over my face to see that my my left hand is a hoof too. I almost stumble in surprise and something happens. I begin running on all fours. I'm now galloping down the corridor on four hooves terrified of what's happened to me, running from my best friend.
The sensation's now spread to my entire body. My clothes feel different, everything feels different. I pass the cafeteria and turn another corner. I don't know if Sam's still behind me, I go to the only place I think I can hide, some place nopony, err, no one would think to look: the girl's bathroom. I pull the door open with my hoof and enter quickly letting the door close behind me.
It's empty, thank Celestia. I mean, thank heavens. Or whatever... too tired to think. I catch my breath. It's quiet now and I slowly walk inside, taking in my new form, trying to relax, trying to think, don't know what to do next. I turn to the sinks, carefully I move over to one hearing the sound of my hooves on the tiles. Carefully, I turn the nobs of one of the faucets with my hoof and try to spash water on my face but all I wind up doing is getting my hooves dripping wet.
The mirror above the seat in front of me is foggy and I can't make out my reflection. Taking somewhat of a quick deep breath, I rub my hoof on the mirror to wipe away the condensation. As I brush away the moisture, I see a light brown stallion with a slightly darker brown mane. Me. My eyes are the same color, my mane is the same color as my hair was. I'm still wearing my shirt, pants, jacket. But there's nothing left to indicate I ever was a human. I'm now a pony standing in the girl's bathroom at my school.
I let go of the sinik and walk into a stall in the back with my head hung low in thought. This feels too real to be a dream or hallucination. I open the stall and try to lock it behind me with my hooves. I manage to after a few seconds of fumbling. I take a seat on the toilet and try to think. Maybe I should call somepony. Somepony...
I try to pull the phone out of my pants pocket but it's too hard. I take my pants off and slowly work the phone out of my pocket. Maneuvering it on the floor, I try to push the buttons with my hooves but the buttons are too small and my hooves are too big and flat. I try to push one of the numbers with the round edge of my right hoof, to no avail. The bell rings indicating class is over. It's now lunch period. The odds of nopony using the bathroom were not good.
I scramble, trying to put the phone back into my pants when I feel another strange sensation overcome me. A strange numbness fills my entire body. Instantly, everything is back to normal. My hands, feet, legs, everything is the way it was. Even the hair on the back of my neck is gone. I was ecstatic. I ran out of the stall to look at myself in the mirror. I'm human again. The door to the bathroom opens and I turn to see a girl enter.
"Um, what are you doing? This is the girl's room." she stated, her tone somewhere between condescending disgust and irritated disdain. It's just then I realize I'm not wearing pants.
I speak without really thinking. "I'm sorry, it's my first time."
"It's your first time using the bathroom?"
What I'd meant to say and had almost revealed was that it was my first time turning into a pony. I didn't know what else to say.
"No, I mean, um-"
"Are you high?" she asked in contempt.
"No, I was uh, I was just changing in a hurry and must've went in the wrong room by mistake." I ran into the stall and quickly pulled on my pants.
"Really, sorry about this." I say as I push past her and make my way out. I turn the corner and wonder about what just happened, turning into a pony and then turning back. What had caused it? What was going on? I lose myself in thought as I join the sea of students walking through the halls.
I reach the spot where my shoes had fallen off. They're nowhere to be found tough.They must've been knocked over to the side of the wall by people just passing by. Other students rushed past me, past each other, always moving. Barely noticing the things that get trampled underneath their feet. Since it's lunch time and I appear to be human again, I decide to head into the cafeteria. Sam's over at the table we sat at yesterday. He sees me as I come in and walk over to him.
"Are you all right? Where the hell did you go?" he asks as I sit down.
"I wasn't feeling well, I was heading towards the nurse's office." I explain to him. It was true anyway, I just left out the turning-into-a-pony part.
"Here's your shoes by the way." he pulled up my shoes from the seat next to him.
"Thanks Sam, they must've just slipped off my hooves... uh, I mean feet." I say as I grab the shoes. Fortunately, he ignores my pony slip-up. He goes back to eating.
"Hey, you mind if I come over tonight? My parents are out of town and it's just me and Dave at home."
"Uh, sure. We can hang out while your folks are out of town. I'm sure my parents will be all right with it." I tell him.
"Cool, Thanks. You going to tell them you're not feeling well?" he asked.
"Nah, I'm all right now. I just didn't sleep well last night, saw some weird video on the internet."
"Was it about ponies?" he asks without looking up.
"Yeah..." I admit. He just shakes his head at me, eyes down at the sandwich in his hands. Sam had always been somewhat of a mellow guy, level-headed. Nothing seemed to phase him. He was a nice guy and a good friend but I knew he was concerned about me. I just didn't know how concerned. I thought about telling him about what had happened as we ate, then decided not to. I didn't think anyone would understand what happened to me. Maybe I should just forget about it all together? Maybe I'll tell him tonight after getting home. At least for now, it was over.