Taste of Change

Chap 4

Cue Insanity

I raised my eyelids, which seemed heavier than normal for whatever reason. Must be my imagination. I thought, slowly trying to reload the memories from the previous days in my brain. Pony transformation and incredible strength were two things that tried to reload, but were blocked due to the silliness of the situation.

With a strong will I raised my lazy skin up from my comfy mattress and pulled it towards the bathroom. I really should get myself a cup with ‘I hate mornings’ written on it. Slowly, but surely, I managed to make my way to the holy grail of ‘wake-up’ therapy; the shower.

Before even testing the water, I removed any tissue on my body and jumped in the bathtub, causing a loud BANG! My mind didn’t register it correctly, analyzing it as an over exaggeration of my tympans inside my ears. I opened the valve, liberating the sweet feeling of hot water pouring over my skin. Unfortunately, the water was a bit too hot for my fragile human flesh, causing a bigger shock, and more pain, than expected.

“Oh tabarnak, ça c’est mon ostie de chance.” (Oh sh**, that’s my f***cking luck.) I swore as my mind was finally booting up properly. That’s when my senses loaded tail.nerve through brain.exe, and my mind finally let the transformation sink in. All of this input only caused a small headache. Hurray, just my luck.

I started moving underwater, trying to get the waking fluid everywhere. Still, something didn’t feel right. When I looked at my feet, however, the thing that felt wrong was in front of my eyes... well, not there. The fact that I can see my new hooves was one thing, but being able to see them without any ‘obstacle’ was another. The only thing that I could see was... a blatant hole.

My mind literally ceased to function. Think of it as a mix of the blue screen of death, the spinning beach ball of death, the red ring of death and every other death error, except all throughout my brain. My mouth was so opened that bees could build their nest attached to one of my teeth. Ironically my body was frozen in place, despite being under hot water.

“But... but... but...” Those were the only words being able to process. My vocal chords acted like an airport after 9/11, only allowing important people to go. Thinking about this made me wonder something. ‘But’ is the most important word I can think of!?

When I finally regained control of my motor skills, I slowly grabbed the soap, still staring at the... thing that mocked my masculinity. I swear to god... WHAT THE F*CK IS HAPPENING?! I started rubbing the soap over my body, still staring at the same place. That thing that I’m not going to name is like a light, and my eyes are like bugs.

I wanted to keep my hand away from it, but I knew that I would need to clean it one day. I tried to remember what I learned in my sex class, which I totally didn’t sleep during. I knew that I need to clean the outside, a bit inside and, for my personal sake, not touch the ‘love button’.

I closed my eyes and let my mind do the job. Let’s... just spare the details. I finally got out of the shower, still shocked from the sight I had gotten inside. Screw my new hooves, that va- NO, that thing is the worst possible... thing. I dressed up, feeling the lack of something in my pants. I knew that I would need to refresh my wardrobe, but if the transformation turns me into a pony, that wardrobe will be useless.

I walked in the kitchen, still mentally rebooting. I hoped that the surprises were over after everything that happened. Hearing the clip clop of my hooves reminded me that it wasn’t the end of this. I knew that I had to find a way to know everything that happened, so the surprise of discovering it would not cause me a mental reboot. Before doing this, however, I had to fill my belly.

I was starting to lick my lips at the sight of food, but even that simple task came with another sign that I was not myself anymore. My teeth were completely flat. I lost my incisive and canines, leaving me with molars. I sighed loudly. Well, there goes anything related to meat. I wonder if eggs count as meat. I thought as I searched around for veggies to eat.

“Quesque je ferais pour bouffer du foin ou d’la luzerne.” (What would I do to eat hay or alfalfa.) I said to myself. I didn’t realize what I said, however, because I was too busy looking throughout my food closet for said food. Finding nothing, I suddenly drew a blank. What was I searching for again? I looked and saw some breakfast sausages. Looking at them woke up some memories hidden deep in my brain.

I was standing in Sugar Cube Corner, preparing some cupcakes batter for... cupcakes! I was mixing the mix after pouring the milk when I heard a sound behind me. “Hey Berry!” Said the voice behind me. I turned around and saw a little pegasus filly behind the window. I stopped mixing and waved at her.

“Hello Breezy! How are you doing? Wait, aren’t you supposed to be at school?” I asked her. She giggle and stuck her head in the shop.

“Cheerilee got sick after staying outside too long under the rain yesterday. There are rumors that a stallion was supposed to show up for a date and never appeared.” She started to laugh, but my stare made her stop quickly.

“You know that it’s not polite to laugh at others sicknesses.” I scolded her. She laughed awkwardly and scratched behind her head. “Don’t worry, anyway, you might want to go see your friends. I have to work.” I told her.

She nodded, but was looking beside my head. I turned around, but saw nothing. She started running away, quickly saying ‘Yeah, okay, bye.’ I shook my head with a smile. Fillies these days. I thought. I trotted back at my bowl and saw that I talked so much that some of the ingredients were already starting to show up as brown spots in the mix. I shook my head and blamed my imagination. I mixed the batter, placed it in some mold and started the cooking part.

After the cooking process was over, I took the now hot cupcakes out of the oven. I looked at them and, again, saw that they looked delicious. I grabbed one of them and, seeing that they were right at the correct temperature, I took a bite of one. There was a weird aftertaste, but overall it tasted really good. I ate the whole thing before the door behind me opened in a loud bang.

“BERRY, DO NOT EAT ANY OF YOUr cup... cakes.” My boss, Mrs. Cake, was standing in the doorway, gasping her lungs out. I was licking my hoof for any trace of cupcakes while she shouted. She ran toward me and grabbed me away from my cupcake tray.

“Hey, I never thought you hated my cupcakes that much. You just have to tell me and I leave my job. Sheesh.” I said with a smile to the alarmed mare. She shook his head and, while walking on two legs, dropped every cupcakes in the trash can.

“Uhh... Berry... It’s kind of my fault... Please don’t hate me!” I heard from the doorway. I could see a yellow pegasus hiding her face, trying to take less place possible. I, however, was confused.

“Why do you say that, Fluttershy? I don’t think that my ‘horrible’ cupcakes were your fault.” I told her, staring at Miss. Cake. They both shook their heads.

“While you were talking to Peachy Breeze, Rainbow Dash flew in and dropped something in your mixing bowl.” My boss said. I turned my head and looked at the shy pony.

“Rainbow came to my house and took the nearest bag of animal food. It contained some meat sausages for Mr. Bear.” After doing 1 + 1 in my head, my eyes grew wide and I started feeling sick.

“Don’t tell me you ate one...?” Mrs. Cake asked. I nodded slowly, trying to get a grip on the table. My face started to turn green in a more cartoon like fashion. Both mares ran to help me walk.

“We need to get her at the hospital. She’s going to get really sick with that meat in her system.” Wait, I ate... ANIMAL MEAT. I still don’t know how I missed this info, but it was the thing that made me faint.

I grabbed the perfectly fine sausages and dropped them into my garbage can. Just the sight made me sick. It doesn’t make sense. It was only an hallucination. Not... a... memory. My head started to hurt from all these mindf*cks.

Seeing that there was nothing tasty and vegetarian laying around my house, I’ve decided to go eat at a restaurant. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that, with a bit of work, I could look like a normal human being. Sure, I had to hide my tail, which was pretty uncomfortable, but it was nothing like hiding my head. If I looked closely, the side of my head was only bare skin, due to them moving up.

I grabbed a classic Canadian fur hat. Lucky for me, it was cold outside so there was a good reason to wear this hot hat. I looked at my wallet and saw that I had just enough money in it for a breakfast. I wish I still have some cash in my bank account.

I grabbed my keys and went to my car. I let my body control my movement while my mind was busy choosing where to eat. Screw McDonald’s, even their salads have meat in it. Wait, can I eat eggs? Yeah, I think. Anyway, let’s just remove any fast-food, they don’t have good breakfast. Why not go to a classic, Subway. I’m sure there is some veggie and egg subs. After tracing the way in my mental GPS, I pressed on the pedal and drove toward the nearest Subway.

On my way there, however, I saw something really weird. A woman wearing a hood was going to a gas stop. What was weird, however, was her appearance. Even though I shouldn’t be the one to judge people by the looks, her peculiar appearance was quite special. Her mane was light blue and she had some bumps on her lower back. Is that another transformer? The image of a robot appeared in my mind. Arg, pony transformer.

Anyway, the sight only lasted for a few seconds. I’ve decided to continue driving and shrug what I saw. I would have stopped and asked the girl about these signs, but I hated talking to strangers. Think of it like a small case of agoraphobia. Also, if it was all a coincidence, I would look like a dumb*ss asking her if she had a tail.

After this, nothing really happened during my ‘trip’ to Subway. I got out of my car and, keeping my hat as tight as possible, and entered the small restaurant. Luckily for me, the line was short and I was not attracting any attention. After ordering the most vegetarian meal they have, shit had to hit the fan.

“Hey Berry! How are you doing?” A man asked beside me. I turned only to see one of my co workers from the lab wearing a cloak. Ooh, mysterious.

“What did you call me?” I asked, trying to sound as masculine as possible, unluckily having a hard time with it. He looked at me with confusion.

“I called you Be... uhh, I mean Anthony. Don’t you recognize me?” I tried to remember his face, but I never had a good memory for faces. “It’s me, Peter, from the lab. We’ve been working on cancer research together.” The light on top of my head lighted. Oh, that guy.

“Oh, yeah, North. I remember you... well, I do now. So, what’s up these past days?” I said with annoyance in my female voice. I had wanted the simple task of ordering a sandwich to take as less time as possible, but I had to bump into somebody I know. Oh Murphy, I f*cking hate you.

“Well, since your b-day, I’ve been feeling strange, but except that... Wait, how did you called me... whatever. Hey, you really were wasted back there.” He said in a slightly hyperactive manner. I slowly nodded, grabbing the plastic bag containing the sub and paid the cashier.

“So, what are you doing tonight, Berry?” He asked. I’ve decided to ignore that silly nickname he gave me. I sighed out loud. I had one chance to get rid of him, and I had to take a courageous step to say it.

I approached his ear and whispered something. “Look, I know what is happening and why you’re wearing a cloak. If you leave me alone while I’m going through this, I will not gossip on how ‘eau de cheval’ (Odor of Horse) is your new fragrance.” When he heard that I knew his secret, his eyes grew wide. To prove to him that I was on his side, even if I almost told him that I would shout his... our secret, I raised my hat to show him my ears. I could see his muscles go loose.

“Look, even if you don’t want it, we’re stuck with the same... thing. How about we go to my house or to your's and we could look more into this.” He started following me while I walked towards my car. When I opened the car door, he stopped me. “Look, I know you’re the kind of guy... girl that likes to do stuff alone, but you can’t survive like this without help. ”

I closed my eyes and tried to get rid of my anger. “Look, I need to think, to sort all of this out. I could use your help, but later. I got your phone number, I’ll call you later. I promise.” I said calmly, hiding my face behind my hair. Wow, these are useful to hide emotions. Finally a use for my hair.

I waved him goodbye and entered my car. D*mn, that took way longer than intended. Now, let’s go back and eat. I started my car and returned back to my house, leaving Peter behind, hoping that nothing would happen. Luckily for me, Murphy was out of juice and I managed to get to my destination.

When I entered my house, I set the sub on my table and prepared myself to eat. Suddenly, the top of my hooves started feeling itchy. I can’t believe I’m actually referring to my feet as hooves. I’m starting to become insane. I raised my pant leg and saw that there was pink fur going up over my keratin . I started to scratch it so hard that some of it fell off. I’m gonna clean this… fur after eating.

Right when I sat down, however, somebody knocked at the door. I sighed, stood up, and walked to the door. I looked through the door eye and saw that it was Reginald and Mark. I was about to open it, but realized that I looked like a freak with my animal ears and hooves. Much to my surprise, Regi impatiently turned the knob. I ran at full speed toward my food closet, slightly opening the door to see what would be happening.

Both men entered my house, looking around. They must be looking for me. “Anthony, where are you?” That’s what I thought. I looked at them searching around for me. They looked high and low, but never thought that I was hiding with the food.

Reginald, after five minute of fruitless search, stopped at my little pile of fur. He grabbed some of it and looked at it under the light. “What’s wrong, Regi?” Mark asked. My boss took a Ziploc from his pocket, emptied the bread crumbs from it and grabbed few samples of pink fur.

“I found some hair on the floor. It’s weird, but it’s the same color as Berry’s hair.” He said while placing the bag in his pocket carefully. Mark, confused, stared at him.

“What about her, she seemed like a kind woman.” I giggled at the statement. Oh boy, Mark, if you knew the truth, you wouldn’t say stuff like that. Reginald, however, shook his head.

“Mark, what I’m gonna say is only an idea. Remember the day we went to the resto with her?” He asked him, who nodded in answer. “In the car, SHE had a hood on. We might have mistaken her for Anthony. Since that day, Anthony is nowhere to be found. He doesn’t show up at work and the only thing in his house that is weird is a pile of pink hair.” Mark’s eyes grew wide. Don’t tell me…

“Don’t tell me…” Mark said, following my thoughts. Reginald nodded with a sad emotion on his face.

“That cute and kind woman did something to Anthony. The only thing I need to do is decode the DNA on these and compare it to the national database and bam, we find whom to blame.” He said. I facepalmed silently. Again, my friend, you’re over thinking it. Well, I can’t blame him. Sti- wait, if he decodes the DNA, he might know what happened to me. Still, I don't want to show him my mane... hair.

They both left, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I cleaned what was left of the fur on the floor and took my laptop. While eating, I browsed the internet, trying to find anything related to what was happening to me. The only thing that came up in Google that looked serious was a message sent by a mysterious man called We Are The Meta.

“To any whom it may concern,

So, have any of you who are reading this post have a cutie mark appear on the side of your legs recently? I could definitely use some as I appear to be turning into a pony. Any help is appreciated.

Sincerely Needing Help,

We are the Meta”

Wow, this is exactly what I was looking for. I am not the only one! Wait… obviously that I’m not the only one, Peter is one too. I wanted to type a small message to that Meta guy, but I had to create an account. After typing random info, I was finally able to write messages as ‘BerryFrost’. Even my online names are getting corrupted by this transformation.

“Dear We are the Meta,

As I can see from your post, you have those weird tattoo thingies on your sides. I’ve been lucky because it took me at least a day to know what those were; even finding the proper name was a pain in the butt.

Anyway, we should really get in contact. Let’s just say that, as a man, I don’t like to boast my new pink mane, if you know what I mean.

Hope you answer soon.

~BerryFrost

P.S: If you speak French, everything will be easier :3”

I sent this as a private message to this guy, hoping that he has answers to my nine thousand and one questions. If he has only questions, I’m sure this number will grow up exponentially. Who am I kidding; I’m sure he’s in the dark as much as me.

I finished my Subway and cleaned the mess of lettuce and green pepper I made around the wrapping paper. At least, I always ate like an animal. Nothing is gonna change there. After cleaning the whole thing, I placed my laptop back at its place. I looked at the clock and saw that it was few minutes after noon.

What should I do this afternoon? That’s when I remembered Reginald’s visit. I had to stop him from analyzing my new DNA. That could really place us in a dangerous situation... well, mostly me. If I remembered correctly, it took around four hours to decode and at least an hour to browse through the world database to compare the results last time.

I looked at the clock again and grinned. Their lunchtime is in about 30 minutes. I’ll just have to sneak in during that time and steal everything related to this. This was a foolproof plan… not really. I was going to raid alone a lab full of scientist in broad daylight. Well, maybe not alone. I thought while looking at my phone.

Let me jinx it,

What could go wrong?