-The Get Chapter 4-

- The Get Chapter 4 -

At Twilight's words you slump back onto the wooden floor, lying flat. Outstretching your arms, you stare up at the library's ceiling not knowing what to feel right now. Dash who is sitting beside you casts a rather concerned look, before Rarity pipes up

"But Twilight, how can you know that for certain? This digestion what-not."

Twilight is silent for a moment, in which only the soft sleeping hoots of Owlicious are audible.

"Well it's just a theory I suppose, but I believe there's a rather large element of truth in there too. I mean, Mr. Poster's mane looks slightly different then when he first arrived."

Rarity quickly interjects "But that could just be related to what he eats! Or how he dries his hair. Have you seen how these Posters live?"

"But that doesn't explain the odd coloration, Rarity." Twilight adds in an impatient voice "Unless you've been slipping dye into the food it just doesn't add up."

"But how can he become a female, Twi? He's a boy!" Dash adds in, looking lost. "Even if he was changing, why would it be to into something he's not?"

"Haven't you been listening, Dash?" Twilight accuses, her tone becoming impatient. "I said that our world is breaking him down into something that can -logically exist here-."

There was something in that line of reasoning that didn't click with you. Why would becoming female be more logical for this world? Unless...

Sitting up again, you hesitantly address Twilight.

"Am I going to become a... mare?"

-

Losing your gender was scary enough, but your species as well?

"Correct!" announces an excited Twilight, like you'd just answered a simple quiz question.

At this revelation, all eyes in the room slowly look towards to you. Dash looks half-freaked out, half-disgusted. Rarity just looks stunned.

"Him? Become one of US? That's just so... WRONG!" Dash blurts out, your feelings be damned. You hastily shuffle away from her. "I mean, why not a stallion? That'd make some sense at least!"

"She has a point" you think to yourself, not wanting to open your mouth right now. Who knows what might come out.

"That's easily answered" Twilight says sagely. "It likely correlates to the amount of Earth-based particles available at the time of entering our world. If I recall Mr. Poster, you arrived naked?"

"N-not... naked" you mumble finally. "I had my PJ shorts on..."

"Exactly!" Twilight excitedly exclaims, clapping her fore-hooves. "I think you were the first Poster to be nearly devoid of clothes, meaning there are much less Earth-based particles available during the digesting progress. This lack of extra particles will need to be compensated by a smaller form, and likely as a result, a mare's form."

This doesn't make any sense.

"So he's being digested RIGHT now?" Rarity speaks up, "What if we go get him some more of these Earth particles? Would that change anything?"

"Oh Rarity, that'd be impossible. There's absolutely no way to get more as we're not on Earth."

-

"When I was brought to Equestria..." you voice up, "I went through this terrifying crushing darkness, then what felt like a dense spongy wall. Is that related to this?"

"Ooh that sounds like inter-dimensional travel! That has EVERYTHING to do with this!" Twilight practically squees. Her interest in the science/magic of this whole affair instead of the detrimental affect it was going to have on your life was rather irksome.

You spend the rest of the afternoon in silence as Twilight rambles on about inter-dimensional travel, magic-based life and how books always had the answer. Dash had left shortly after the revelations of your fate. Rarity was helping Spike clean up the piles of books because her 'intrusion' was to blame. You could tell she wanted to leave you alone though, and for that you were thankful.

Twilight eventually stops talking as evening falls. It's pretty late, and she offers for both you and Rarity to join her at dinner. Thankfully Rarity politely declines.

"I appreciate the offer dear, but we should be heading back. We need to feed Opalescence."

You didn't want to stay any longer, and before you know it Twilight and Spike are seeing you out the door.

"Good luck Mr. Poster! If you have any worries, you know where I am" Twilight calls. Next to her, you see Spike chuckling to himself. Smug wee prick was happy at the news his "opponent" for Rarity would no longer be a problem. As Twilight turns round, you quickly flip Spike the bird. He gets the message.

-

The atmosphere in Rarity's kitchen that night was intoxicating. It was clear that your new fate was still fresh in both minds, but neither one wanted to discuss it; at least not now. You felt dirty. The reaction from Rainbow Dash earlier kept replaying in your head, making you feel like some weird pervert. No way in hell did you want to become a girl! Yet she acted like you had done it on purpose. Sighing, you stand up from the table leaving half your food.

Waving bye to Rarity, you slowly slink up the stairs into your room. It's not that late, but you want to be alone. Lying on your futon - the one thing that was quickly becoming a source of comfort in this weird world - you glance at the broken pony mannequin. You stare, unable to tear your eyes away.

Will you really become that size? It's impossible to imagine what it'd be like to have the body you've lived in for over two decades be completely changed. Rising and placing hands on the mannequin, you feel just how frail and dinky it was. Sure, it was broken, but it was still an accurate representation of size. Was this really going to happen? Tears begin to well up in your eyes.

This rather unprecedented influx of emotion begged another question - Were you changing mentally too? You regret not asking Twilight earlier, but then again, you're sure the answer wouldn't be welcome.

Leaving the mannequin alone and flopping back into the futon, you lay awake for hours. Silent tears fall for who knows how long.

-

Another rooster call, another morning. You raise your face off the pillow which seems to be slightly stuck with congealed tears. Gross.

What were the plans for today? Heck, what were the plans period? Continue sewing forever? It was way too boring to consider. What kind of jobs do ponies do, anyway?

Lost in thought about pony economics and hierarchy, you go for a shower. It's always best to beat Rarity to the bathroom in the morning; it gave her less time to frown upon your poor waking form. Reluctantly checking the mirror, you were surprised by the lack of new visual changes. Maybe now that you were aware of what was happening, the world-digesting was going slower. Well, you hoped anyway.

Putting all your effort into a "speed-shower" and throwing on some homemade clothes, you start hastily preparing breakfast. It's just another big bowl of poorly chopped fruit, reflecting your enthusiasm for the day. There was just no patience in you at all, and making something like an omelette didn't seem worth it. Sitting down, just as you start to munch on a particularly big bit of chopped apple, there's a shrill scream from upstairs. Feeling like you should probably check it out, you hurry upstairs.

"What's up, Rarity? Did you find a spider?" you say upon greeting a dripping Rarity outside the bathroom, towel on her head and dressing gown secured.

"YOU!" she shouts.

Not this shit again.

"What's the matter now?" you sigh. It's way too early to start bickering.

-

"I'll show you the matter!" Rarity retorts indignantly, trotting into the bathroom. You follow, trying to recall if you forgot to flush.

"This!" she whines, brandishing a floating pile of goop right in front of your face with her magic.

"Eww! ...is that hair?" Sure enough, it was a clump of tangled, dark hair. Quickly catching on to the fact it wasn't purple...

"My hair?"

"YOURS!" Rarity shrieks again "Clogging up my drains with your filth!"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I don't need my old body hair anymore anyway" you snidely reply, trying your best to guilt-trip. It works, Rarity's face slackens as she deposits the mess neatly into a small waste bin.

"Oh. Well, I suppose... Er, I mean... d'oh, forget it." The awkwardness of the topic seems to derail her rage.

Shrugging at her sudden backing-down, you leave the bathroom promptly before more questions arise. Arriving back at the table with your fruity breakfast, it doesn't take long before you're full up. Strange, you've only eaten about half the bowl, usually you were still hungry even after breakfast. Regardless, you stand up just as Rarity enters the kitchen.

"What are your plans for today then?" you ask rather reluctantly, still sore from being told off.

"Hmph. Today I will be dress designing, perhaps taking a fabric stock-check. I also need to take Opalescence to Fluttershy's..." she tails off slightly, "...and I'll also be discussing with you what Twilight told us yesterday."

"No." you say flatly.

-

"Yes" she asserts, "We need to discuss this... digestion business. Sooner the better."

"No." you repeat. You didn't care what Rarity wanted, it was your choice if you discussed it or not. Frankly you were happy living in semi-denial. Impatiently scrunching your toes in the pink slippers, you try staring Rarity out.

Rarity's face begins to contort, and just before she starts arguing again you announce: "I'm leaving."

Before you know it, you've walked out of the Carousel Boutique. The bell of the shop tinkling behind you, you decide to make a run for it before Rarity tries to stop you. This was insane, but you just need to get away.

Dashing along in your pink slippers wasn't massively comfortable, and the by-standing ponies looked at you with surprise. Still, you'd started, and now you couldn't stop. Why were you being this fucking dramatic? Being around Rarity was rubbing off on you badly.

After a good solid 10 minutes of aimlessly running, you reach the edge of Ponyville. Gasping for breath, you finally become aware of where you are. Horrible realization sets in. Just across the small water bridge in front is the mouth of the Everfree forest. You stop for a minute, looking at the path onwards. Despite it being early morning, the forest was eerily dark. Should you continue on?

Part of you says yes - you're in the universe of a show for little girls, what's the worst that could happen? And yet...

-

Heart pumping wildly, adrenaline coursing through veins, you stand there shaking. One final, dangerous thought goes through your mind: "Fuck it". Just escape Ponyville. Get away from this damned place. Away from Rarity. Away from Twilight and her preposterous theories. This was surely the answer to ending this madness. Emotions were violently going out of control. You need to do -something-. Sprinting over the tiny bridge, you lunge into the forest.

After about 30 minutes of jogging, you exit your trance. Only then do you realize you're completely lost. The sky has been swallowed by towering trees filtering out most daylight. You turn around and try to backtrack, though every direction now leads to an impenetrable wall of tree trunks. Now back in the land of rationality, it was becoming obvious that slippers were an awful choice of footwear, drenched from mud and utterly ruined.

Okay, you admit it to yourself - you've dun goofed. Panic begins to rise in your chest. A world for little girls or not, this forest was foreboding. It's time to get out, and fast.

You search for an exit, ducking under sharp branches and avoiding low-lying roots. You roughly try to follow the path you think you came. It was too dark to see previous footprints, and your feet were beginning to throb from crunching forest debris.

A few hours must have passed before you began to get really desperate. Shouting into the thick darkness won't make a difference, but it didn't stop you trying.

-

Shouting into the darkness did nothing, as you feared. There was absolutely nothing in the forest except exuberant plant life. Fantastic vines coiled around trees like jewelry, abnormally large branches from trees that supported a strange array of leaves.

Deciding to take a break, you sit on what looks like a fallen log in this darkness. It's a bit lumpy and disfigured, but enough to support a 5-minute break. Panting slightly, you take off a rather brown slipper and massage your foot. You can see some blisters forming, accompanied with bits of twig splintered in the skin. What an idiot, flying off the handle like this is not what you're usually like at all. Though you have been through a lot recently...

Home removal, impending change of gender and person... You're still confident this will end though, surely this is just some weird-ass joke. Then again, since arriving here everyone has been so supportive. Celestia, Twilight, Pinkie, Rarity to a degree. Wonder if Rarity is even bothered where you are at the moment?

A sudden twitch underneath your backside breaks your train of thought. Heart and body leaping, you instantly snap out of the self-sorrow reverie, frantically scanning to identify what moved. As you look down, the log happily used for the 5-minute break was looking back. Your heart sinks. That ain't no log, but... Oh God. Why is it here? Is it alone?

You have two second choice - Fight, or flight. Flight it was. You had just pissed off a Timberwolf.

-

Run. Run run fucking run. All drained energy came rushing back as your old ally adrenaline once again came to your aid. Your previous running could best be described as a casual jog compared to this new speed. With hands positioned like you were doing intense karate chops your legs stretched further than you thought possible, damned be your lungs. Escaping is all you can think about.

The confused howls and snarls coming from behind only add fuel to the internal raging fire of fear taking a hold of your chest. It's clear your sudden movements have made the Timberwolf take chase. Shit. How were you going to get out of this situation? Two things were eternally looping in your mind: Don't stop; Don't trip.

Frantically trying to keep your mind on both footwork and branching-dodging, a burning stitch develops in your side. You can't keep keep this running forever, and the Timberwolf is now appearing relentlessness. Oh God. It's much faster than you are, and with the adrenaline being pumped dry from your body your motions slow. You're running out of steam.

In any other circumstance, the amount of ground you've covered in these past 5 minutes would a phenomenal achievement to you. Right now though, you were eternally cursing not working out more. You can't keep going further, the stitch in your chest feels like it might burst and your feet feel like raw meat attached to lead. Soon enough, you fall.

Landing in the dirt, you swivel round to meet glowing green eyes.

-

The rancid breath of the Timberwolf fills your nostrils, the stench of tree bark mixed with severe dog breath. It was absolutely revolting, but you can't turn away. Looking into those empty eye sockets filled with what can only be green glowing spirits, fear reaches critical point. Yelling only seems to anger the Timberwolf, which now has paws on your chest pinning you down.

Swiftly putting your arms under the foul creatures wooden forelegs, you give a huge heave to push it off. It's impossible. What the hell? It feels like there's no strength in your arms, but you've never had this problem before! This is one thing you didn't anticipate with a constantly shrinking physique - the lack of strength you took for granted.

You feel your puny arms bending in, barely able to shift the Timberwolf's weight. Thick, tree sap-like drool begins to leak from the hungry beast's mouth. With a jolt of horror, you see 2 more Timberwolves appear behind your assailant, looking just as menacing.

Pains begin to itch from the skin clamped under the Timberwolf's prickly claws. All 3 glowing, evil faces were closing in, and for the first time in your life you actually believed you could wet yourself from sheer terror. In one last futile attempt to dislodge the Timberwolf, you only manage to get fresh tree sap drooled onto your face and hair. The furthest wolf begins chewing down on one of the deformed slippers.

Giving up the struggle, you lie there. Was this your new fate now?

-

As the lifeless wooden faces met your colorless one, visions of how you'd spent your life came and went. It wasn't glamorous. A life of video games, School, watching TV, doing stupid things at parties, posting hateful things online. Maybe this was for the best. You're useless to everyone. The rollercoaster of emotions was stopping, and you wanted off the ride. The only comfort was closing your eyes.

There's a scrabbling noise, and before you know it, rough-textured teeth sink into your right arm. The following pain doesn't hurt as much as one would expect, barely breaking skin. You yell, not wanting to find out if this was just a testing nibble.

As the surrounding birds flock away from the sudden shout, a new noise is audible. A clanging. What is that? Even the Timberwolves seem distracted, releasing your arm. It only grows louder, and panic rises again. If this strange racket upsets these beasts, what horror awaits? Before you get much time to dwell on it, the source of the clanging is right behind you.

Opening an eye, an orange blur gallops over your head before launching an assault on the Timberwolf holding you captive. Being pushed onto its side makes the Timberwolf snarl, but more clanging makes the pack of wolves decide it's best to scarper.

Sitting up off the ground, you recognize the orange rump in front of you. With pots and pans strapped round her neck, cowgirl hat to boot.

"A-Applejack?" you stammer, before being bucked squarely in the chest.

-

This new assault - while not particularly forceful - still manages to wind you. As you gasp for air, Applejack quickly begins to hogtie you with her lasso.

"You've made a fine mess here, ain't ya?" she says through the rope in her mouth, sounding rather irritated. You stay there in the mud getting your breath back, not bothering to fight.

As AJ finishes tying up the rope, she gives you a quick look. "How badly are ya hurt?"

Your feet were ruined, you had a nice collection of scrapes and cuts from wild branches, not to mention a slight bite mark from a Timberwolf on your arm. Something may or may not have escaped into your underwear too...

"...I'll live." you sulkily reply. "Why did you tie me up?"

"To stop ya'll running away again. You've put everypony into a right panic." AJ's tone was filled with disappointment.

"And how's that your business? You didn't even come to my welcoming party" you retort, squirming against the hogtie.

"It's not. If I'm honest, I don't give a buck about you. However, I care for my friends and I don't like seeing 'em upset, even over something as troublesome as you. Can ya stand up? Flop onto my back and I'll carry y'all."

In half a mind to say "No" and lie in the forest forever, you really wanted to get out. Despite AJ's coldness, you were damn thankful she arrived when she did. Awkwardly sitting up, AJ steps over your legs and you grab hold of her torso. This isn't going to work, you're much heavier than her pony body can carry.

-

After some kerfuffle, you are secured onto the back of Big Mac who was helping AJ search until she dashed off to save you. Proceeding to take you back to Apple Acres, you lie uncomfortably on your front on Big Mac's back. Not only were the ropes digging into your chest, but it was a rather humiliating situation. Trying to take your mind off it, you spring up conversation with Applejack.

"How did you guys find me? I... I was so lost in there. How did you get those beasts to leave?"

Not looking at you, AJ answers the questions rather briskly.

"Rarity raised the alarm early this morning, we said we'd keep an eye out. Out back of our farm is part of the Everfree forest, 'bout 5 minutes ago we saw birds and critters escaping from the tree tops. On investigation, we heard your sorry hide yellin' and bawlin'. You can thank Big Mac for his idea of borrowing the Timberwolf-repelling pots from Granny Smith, by the way."

"T-thanks then Big Mac," you say rather lamely. He just replies with an "Eyup".

Apple Acres is now in sight.

Another mess you've gotten into. Why did you even run off again? Oh right...

"How's Rarity?" you ask tenderly.

"She's been better." AJ replies stiffly. "She doesn't know we've got you yet."

You begin to feel guilt. Rarity was just trying to help you come to terms of what Twilight was talking about, and you flew off the handle. Though the way she treats you...

"Rarity hates me."

-

This bold statement seems to catch AJ's attention. She turns to face you raising an eyebrow.

"And how do ya'll figure that?" she questions, seemingly interested.

Where to begin? You take a deep breath.

"She's constantly telling me off for trivial things, it's like nothing I do pleases her. I realize that I'm just an inconvenience to her, but I don't like being spoken down to all the time. I want my space, and I wish she'd respect that. This has been a rough week for both of us, but it's not fair that she just yells it all out on me!"

AJ lets out a short, harsh laugh.

"Have you seen yerself? You're a mess. You're like a little misbehaving puppy, so no wonder she's ain't happy with ya. If you're always this high-strung, you'll never get on."

As you begin to form a rather irate reply, AJ shushes you. You've now arrived at Apple Acres, and it's certainly quite a big stretch of land. AJ trots ahead, opening the doors to the barn allowing Big Mac to enter. Once inside, you're deposited rather heavily into a pile of hay, still tied up.

"Now just stay there, I'll get the first aid kit. Big Mac - keep an eye on him." AJ orders before exiting he barn.

You turn your eyes to Big Mac. He doesn't seem particularly bothered or upset like his sister, seemingly a pretty chill guy.

"Is there any reason that Applejack is acting so rash towards me?" you pipe up.

Big Mac pauses for a minute, and you're not sure he heard you until finally:

"You probably remind her of Sam."