One Lucky Pet part 2

>It's a couple days later
>You've settled into a routine
>Steph will wake you up as she gets ready for work
>She'll feed you and play with you a little, then let you outside to do..you know...
>She'll leave the house about 8am and get home about 6pm, leaving you to watch tv and sleep, mostly
>Steph started putting the laptop out of reach in case you "break it"
>Hey, you only used your hooves that one time!
>So there goes that plan
>Eh, to be honest, you'd gotten over it
>You suspect that you are sinking into the "acceptance" stage
>If something comes up, you'll try again. Until then? You get cuddles, treats and hugs from Steph. Not bad.
>No boops though
>She must think you don't like that.
>She's also put the princess dress away for now. You've not seen it since that day.
>Not that you miss it.
>Haha. Wouldn't that be wild.
>You're currently watching some inbred looking family shout at each over on television when you hear Steph's car pull up
>She comes in and it's business as usual
>"Hey Lucky! Heya girl!"
>Steph coming home is honestly a highlight of your day
>You circle around her, smiling up, and follow her upstairs as she gets changed out of her work clothes
>There would be a time where this would elicit some sort of excitement in you, watching her undress
>You feel nothing
>You barely even think about sex at all, actually
>You'd, uh, experiment a bit, in the long hours alone
>Nada. Zilch. It was just a bit weird, really
>Oh well. It's not like you were getting laid a whole lot anyway, back when you were human
>You think
>Did you have a girlfriend? Was...no, she wasn't...what was her name again?
>Your memory is terrible
>You can still recall feeling and emotions that inform your past, but putting names and faces to things was difficult
>Sometimes you'd worry about this. But again, you feel a certain passiveness
>You have no power. You cannot change anything
>You are just a pet.
>You are-
>"Din-dins? Come get din-dins, Lucky-Loo!"
>Your stomach rumbles
>Aww yeah, motherfliping salad
>You trot away with your owner

>Later on
>You notice that Steph is acting nervous
>And she's all dolled up
>Well, kind of
>She has make-up on and fancier clothes than her usual pajamas
>Still pretty casual
>But you have an inkling why
>The doorbell goes
>"Oh, hello!"
>"Hello, Steph. You're looking very nice tonight. Uh, as usual, I mean."
>Come on dude, that's the worst game you've ever heard
>There's no mistaking his accent
>You pop your head around the corner
>Yup. it's the guy from the park
>Crammed into an old looking suit, looking very nervous
>Sweat is pouring off his forehead
>Poor bastard
>Steph is laughing and obviously pleased to see him, though
>His name is Jerome
>She ushers you into the hallway to join in the awkwardness
>You think you accidently mouth the word "hello"
>No one sees this
>Hang on a minute, Lucky you genius you
>Why didn't you think of this sooner?!
>You look up at Jerome and prepare to mouth it again, clear as day
>But he bends down and pets you
>Haaaaaard
>He could crush your skull with his bearpaw hand, you reckon
>It leaves you a bit dizzy
>By the time you recover, they're leaving
>You try desperately to verbalise, or at least move your lips like a human would
>But you can't even think of words that you should pretend to say
>So you just end up blowing a raspberry
>They laugh their butts off at this
>"I'll be back tonight, Lucky. Love yoouuu! Byyyee, haha!"
>They're away
>Fudge
>Ya blew it!
>You stamp your little hoovsies in frustration
>Man, you hope there's a good film on or something tonight...

>You must have fallen asleep or something. Woops.
>That’s what you get for watching some crummy sci-fi film
>What was it called again? You just remember lots of spaceships. It doesn’t really matter.
>You can hear something
>Voices and laughter. One deep and booming, like a drum. The other shrill.
>Steph! And by extension, Jerome
>You’re excited, initially. Then you think about the implications here.
>She’s taken him home.
>Oh god.
>The sound of keys rattling in the doorlock pierces through you
>After a bit of fumbling, the door opens
>You’ve scooted out of the living room to greet your owner
>There she is, with a flushed face. She sees you and squats down, opening her arms.
>“Lucky! Hiya girl! Miss me?”
>Well…you kinda did, yeah. She’s got you there.
>You go over and say hi, which is to say you nuzzle her.
>Jerome smiles down awkwardly at you as Steph plays with you for a few seconds, before she gets up again.
>”So…coffee? Oui?” she says, giggling.
>“Oui” he confirms, bushy eyebrows wiggling.
>Awwww they gonna be hugging tonight
>Steph leads you both into the living room before skipping away into the kitchen
>He picks up a remote and relaxes into the sofa, skipping through channels at random
>Never settling on a channel. Always on the move.
>He’s sweating like Niagra
>You sit in front of him and do your best impression of a clueless pet, staring up at him
>He waves at you and says hi.
>You wave at him and mouth “Hi”.
>He stares at you
>”Sorry, Jerome, you said you like your coffee black, didn’t you?”
>“Erm…” he says, turning his head between you and the kitchen a few times. “Yes, Stephanie. Please.”
“Coming up, haha!”
>He looks back at you. You continue to sit and stare.
>You could probably do more. Mouth out more complex words and phrases. Anything, really. You’ve got his attention.
>But…
>”Here we are!”
>Steph comes back into the room carrying two big steaming mugs. She hands one to Jerome.
>She sits next to him, looking at him with a big goofy smile on her face.
>”Are you both making friends? She’s the best, isn’t she?” she says.
>“Um…yes” says the big Frenchman, uncertainly. Then he turns around. “But you’re better…?”
>You curl up in a ball and wish for death.
>You do hear Steph laugh though. Not a belly laugh. A kind of fluttery, whispy laugh.
>Awwww they’re definitely gonna hug.
>Good for them. You decide not to get in the way of this.
>Finding out your pet is actually an adult man might put them off.
>For their sake, you’ll at least wait until tomorrow or something.
>Yeah, tomorrow. You’ll tell them all tomorrow. Somehow.

>A few hours later
>You regret your decision
>”Yes! Yes! Yes! Oh! Oh, yes, you animal! Yes!”
>”Oh hon hon! Stephanie! Je t’aime! Je t’aime!”
>You put your hooves over your ears
>At least she had the decency to put your bed down in the living room…

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>Breakfast
>You feel very tired. You kept getting woken up last night.
>Steph and Jerome are eating French toast.
>It makes sense, you guess.
>Smells good, too, but not as good as your sliced apples
>You munch away, nuzzle deep in your bowl, as the two love birds stare at each other from across the table
>You see Steph with her chin in her hands, doe-eyed
>Awww
>You finish your meal and sit by her legs
>She reaches a hand down and scratches your ears, causing you to whinny softly in appreciation
>You catch Jerome’s eye for a moment. He’s still smiling in a vacant, happy sort of way. You wonder if he remember your little moment last night.
>Maybe Steph knocked that memory out of him though. Girl was fire last night
>You ponder saying something, or trying to, as Steph  tickles the fur behind your ears
>Then his phone goes off
>He politely excuses himself from the table, explaining that it was from his mother.
>He walks off to the living room, talking in French
>Steph diverts her attention fully to you, holding your face and speaking funny nonsense words to you
>She was always a cheery sort, but she seems to be almost glowing with happiness this morning
>Good for her. You kinda like her.
>Jerome comes back in, explaining that he should be getting back home soon, as he’s having his mother over for lunch.
>He bends down and kisses Steph, whispering something in her ear and turns her cheeks a strong shade of pink
>Then he bends down and rubs your mane.
>”Goodbye, Lucky. Next time I’ll bring Joie over. She liked you, no?”
>Oh yeah, Joie De Vie. She was a friendly little poner alright.
>You like to consider yourself to be “enigmatically aloof”, as far as pets go. Like a cat with hooves.
>After Jerome leaves, Steph paces the house for a bit, before coming up with an idea.
>”Wanna come walkies, Lucky Loo? Walky walkies! Come on girl!”
>Steph dangles a leash in front of you.
>Well, at least you get to go outside for a bit.

>You’re at the park. It’s sunny as heck.
>Someone’s brought an actual dog to the park. Good to see their still in fashion.
>It’s a little terrier of some sort. You were never good with learning all the names.
>It reacts to you with a pattern of aggressive yapping, followed by quick retreats. Like guerrilla warfare or something.
>You mostly just ignore it. Other ponies are interesting because you feel like they might be like you. A person, trapped in the body of an animal.
>This is just a dog though. That’s fine and all, but you’re not going to get any sort of connection with them.
>Especially when they’re barking up at you and then hareing away whenever you move towards them.
>It’s owner looks like a teenaged girl in sunglasses, dividing her attention between it and her phone, chewing gum.
>Steph is sat on a bench, doing much the same. You wonder if she’s texting Jerome. Looks like it to you.
>You scan the park. There’s some joggers, some smokers, some kids playing soccer on the other side.
>A woman is putting a poster or something on a lamppost nearby. You look up at it.
>It’s a missing person poster. You look up at the face
>Nobody you recognize
>The woman, though…
>???
>”Lucky, come here girl! Over here! Luckyyyy!”
>You trot back to your owner, looking back at the woman as she moves on to the next lamppost
>What an odd feeling. What was it? You can’t quite articulate it to yourself.
>You reach Stephanie, who produces a ball
>She waves it in front of your face before throwing it
>You half-heartedly walk after it, feeling a little out of it. What’s come over you all of a sudden?
>Steph seems to catch up on this.
>”Aww, you all tired out, my little pony? Wanna go homesies?”
>Yes, you wanna go homesies
>Steph puts the leash back on and you both head home
>As you leave, you turn back one more time
>The woman from before is staring at you from afar
>You can’t quite make out her face, but you feel a chill go up your spine
>What a creepy lady.

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>For the rest of the day, you can’t quite shake the creeped out feeling
>Steph notices
>She gives you extra portions for your dinner that night
>You feel self-conscious as you quietly much on some salad as she watches from her seat
>It just makes it worse. Now you’re making HER feel weirded out, which makes you feel weirded out, which makes Steph weirded out, which makes you weirded out…
>And so on
>You’re sitting on her lap now, watching the TV as you always do on a late night
>Always do? You feel like you’ve been doing this forever
>How long has it been? Like, a week? Two weeks, tops?
>Right? Maybe longer. It’s not important.
>But tv time with Steph felt like an institution.
>The sensations all seem so familiar to you.
>The white noise of a show you’re not really paying attention to, mixed in with the steady clockwork crunch of whatever snack Steph had chosen
>Thankfully not Doritos. Pink fur with orange highlights wouldn’t look good on you.
>You feel her body heat as you snuggle closer into her, your head dropping to one side
>You try to wring every bit of comfort you can out of this
>And it does feel good. It feels so, so good
>Her fingers trace through your fur, gentle as can be
>Your eyes are on the screen, but all you can think of is the woman from before
>Her face in your mind is blurred out, like what they do on tv when somebody doesn’t want their identity known
>It wasn’t that she did anything weird. Or said anything.
>It was just a feeling. You’ve been so spaced out because you’ve been trying to put your finger on it
>So to speak.
>You become aware of increased pressure from Steph’s hands on your back
>She’s speaking to you. In actual words no less.
>”Such a good girl.”
>She says this a few times, repeating it like a mantra in a soft voice
>”No one’s gonna hurt you again, ok?”
>Huh?
>Oh yeah. She thought you were, like, an abused animal or something
>She’s looking down at you
>Oh god she’s got tears in her eyes
>She keeps telling you what a good girl you are
>You don’t know where to look
>A pet would lick her face or something. Maybe you should.
>No, that’s not right. That’s gross.
>”Such a good girl. My little princess.”
>You’re torn between being profoundly uncomfortable and yet being kinda moved
>The word “grateful” flashes across your mind. Followed shortly after by words like “wrong” and “fight this”
>Her love is paralysing
>So you just lie there, limply accepting it all.
>”Let’s go see your friend tomorrow. You liked her, right?”
>You did like her.
>”If you’re lucky, you’ll get to see a lot more of her. I’d like that.”
>She blushes as she speaks. How sweet of her. Like a kid with a crush.
>As if you hadn’t heard her banging a hole through the floor all last night.
>But still, it’s kinda cute.
“And you are lucky, right Lucky? Lucky lucky lucky loo? Lucky ducky woo?”
>Yes, you are lucky duck woo woo.
>Steph descendes into baby talk again.
>It seems to cheer her up at least.

>You sleep with Steph that night
>No, not like that
>Honestly you’ve not thought about that stuff in ages
>And after what you heard last night, she would probably end up killing you in the process
>ANYWAY
>She had put you to bed as normal, but you had bounced straight out
>And silently demanded upsies
>She swear she had almost melted, before hauling your short furry but into bed
>You had slept by her legs, curled up into a fuzzy ball of pony
>It felt nice
>It wasn’t quite a show of respect from your owner, but it felt as close to that as you could reasonably expect until you finally got round to filling her in on the whole “actually a human thing”
>Which you’d do tomorrow, of course
>Oh wait, she’s taking you over to Jerome and Joie’s house
>You’ll try to fit it into your schedule…

======================================================================
>You’re trotting up to Jerome’s doorway with Steph
>It’s a much bigger house than you expected. He’s done well for himself
>Steph hums happily to herself as she walks
>”Now play nice with your little pony friend today, okay Lucky? I bet she’ll be so happy to see you!”
>You’re strangely looking forward to it. She’s not like you, you know that. But…well, you still think of her that way
>You can’t help but project
>Jerome answers the door. He’s shaved and looks in a good mood. Much more relaxed than before.
>He gives Steph a big wet kiss that goes on way longer than you’d like
>And behind him you see a brown snoot poking between his legs
>You squeeze between the lovebirds and go to greet your pony peer.
>Joie De Vie. Or Joie as you call her. Because you’re such good friends.
>She nuzzles you, and you awkwardly return it.
>”Awwww, look! They DID miss each other!” croons Steph. “Oh my gosh that’s so cute!”
>The two humans chuckle as they step inside.
>Wow this place is a palace. It seems…too big, in a way. Echoey.
>Maybe it just seems that way to you. You’re pretty small now.
>Jerome leads you all to the living room. It’s much more tasteful than Steph’s place. Hardly any pink. It’s a bit of a shock adjusting to it, really.
>There’s lots and lots of blue, with some gold and silver scattered around. Pictures of flowers and stuff.
>There’s photos of people but you can’t really tell who anyone is, other than Jerome. Family, presumably.
>You notice one or two picture frames lying face down on a few tables.
>Jerome offers a tour of the house to Steph, who accepts.
>”Go play with…Joy, Lucky!” she says, before giggling. “Um, I’m saying that right, right?”
>“Close enough” smiles Jerome, as he leads Steph off by the arm.
>You’re alone with Joie
>She looks like happy horse. Smiling vacantly at you.
>You can hear the voices of the humans moving away from you.
>You mouth a “hello” at Joie
>She stares at you
>And does not react at all.
>You do it again. Nothing.
>It’s like talking to a brick wall, only you’re not even talking
>It’s kind of upsetting. But then again, what where you expecting?
>That all ponies were like you, secretly? That Joie would tell you about the big conspiracy that was turning people into pets? That you two would take it down and get turned back into humans somehow?
>Fantasy.
>Ponies have been around for years now. There’s nothing weird about them. There’s no conspiracy.
>You’re an anomaly. A freak.
>Or are you just a pony who dreamed once of being a human? How would you know?
>No, that’s not…
>Joie watches your internal mini-freakout without comment
>Then goes off somewhere behind the couch as you continue to think
>You’ve been putting off telling Steph
>You could have, if you really wanted to. But you didn’t.
>The time just never felt right. You’re not sure what the ideal moment will be exactly.
>A dramatic moonlit midnight, maybe. Assuming she wasn’t busy giving Jerome special hugs.
>Speaking of Jerome, you hear the two adults start to come down the stairs
>At the same time, a small red ball lands at your hooves
>Ok, you need to get it together, otherwise your cover might get blown
>Which…I mean, that’s what you want, ultimately. Just not right now, it’d be weird. It’s not the right moment yet.
>You get in character and roll it back to Joie with your muzzle just as the two of them walk in
>”They’re such good friends!” laughs Steph.
>Yes, look at us. The best of buddies.
>Your owner kneels downs and coddles you for a bit.
>Yeah, this is better. Being in character is so much less stressful…
>On the car ride home, Steph decides to get treats
>For you and for herself, of course. Girl’s always eating, it’s amazing she’s not a balloon really.
>You expect to be left in the car or something, but instead she takes you to the entrance and ties your leash to a railing.
>”I’ll just be five minutes sweetheart, the store’s closing soon anyway. Be a good pony for mommy! Love yooouuuuu…”
>Steph blows kissed as she walks backwards into the stop, nearly bowling over an old lady carrying a basket of catfood.
>You’re left standing outside in the cool evening air. Your ears flatten against your head.
>It’s late and there’s no one around, but you’re a little…
>You don’t wanna say scared, but it’s true.
>You whimper a little, already looking for Steph to emerge for the shop, although you now it’s only been like thirty seconds.
>The seconds drag like chains
>You become aware of someone approaching from behind
>You spin around, hair standing up, ears standing to attention
>It’s the woman from the other day. The one from the park.
>She’s slowly walking up to you. Trying to act casual, but not quite succeeding.
>You neigh in her general direction. She raises her hands in front of her
>”Shhh….good pony…” she says, as she draws closer
>The weird feeling you got the first time is back, made worse by her face
>It’s still blurred out
>Even now, as she stands next to you in a half crouch, looking down at you
>Her face just isn’t there, as far as you can tell
>It hurts your eyes to look, but you’re paralysed as the stranger looms above you
>A voice in your head is yelling “Run! Run! Bad! No!”
>All you do is cower and whine.
>She’s not even doing anything, observes the small part of you that’s still thinking rationally.
>No hand contact. Just watching you. Studying your quivering pink form.
>For what feels like an eternity, she stands next to you. As if waiting.
>Eventually, Steph comes out, with a bag of goodies twirling lazily in her right hand
>She notices your distress immediately, then looks over at the newcomer.
>”Um…” says Stephanie.
>”Has your pet been the vet recently?” asks the newcomer, bold as brass. “She looks unwell.”
>Steph comes over to check on you, placing her hand to your forehead.
>You’re sure that your perfectly healthy, if a little panicky, but Steph seems to consider the possibility.
“Oh, I had no idea! Although she has been a little down lately…is this why? Oh I’m sorry, princess, I didn’t know!” says Steph, nuzzling you with her face.
>The stranger with the blurry face kneels down next to you. The blurriness starts to recede.
>Tired, green eyes stare at you sadly.
>She goes to touch you, but Steph stops her.
>”Oh, don’t touch her muzzle. She can…I mean, the shelter guys said she might have been…she can bite, but she almost never does-“
>”It’s ok.” Says the woman, gently. “You said she was from a shelter? Which one? How long have you had her?” she asks.
>You detect a slight quivering in her voice as she unloaded those questions onto Steph.
>Steph answers them as best as she can. The stranger is silent, before nodding and standing up
>”Hmm…thank you.” She says.
>”Is everything ok?” asks your owner, her hands rubbing your shoulders and back as you sit perfectly still, content to simply listen.
>”Yes, thank you. I hope your pet is fine. Has she got a name?”
>”Oh, Lucky. See, she has a four leaf clover cutie mark! Say bye bye to the nice lady, Lucky!”
>Steph holds your front hood and makes it wave as she continues to say “Bye bye!” in a cutsie voice.
>The stranger leaves, and the panicky feeling that was lurking in the back of your mind starts to dissipate.
>Steph unties your leash from the rail and leads you back to the car.
>”What a nice lady!” she says, either to you or just to the world in general.
>You’d be happy if you never bumped into her again
>Twice in two days. What a coincidence
>Could she be…nah, that made no sense.
>You wonder why you have such a hard time remembering her face. Were some people just like that? “One of those faces”, was it?
>You’ll google it next time Steph forgets to secure her laptop
>”We’ll have to get you checked up though, Lucky. I hope you’re not sick. Oh, have I been walking you too much? Or not enough?” says Steph
>She’s trying to take your temperature, stroke your mane and open the car door all at once.
>Silly human.
>You’re in perfect health
>Still. A trip to the vet, huh?
>You’re not exactly thrilled at the prospect
>Then again, maybe she’ll notice that you’re not a normal pony
>Which you’re not, right? That “butterfly dreaming of being a man” thing is a load of bullpoop.
>You’re a man. And one day you’ll show them all
>”Does my brave wittle princess want an apple slice?”
>…one day…