Chapter 13

I wake slowly, feeling amazingly refreshed and at peace. My head is free of pain. I glance around and find that I am still lying on the bathroom floor, with moon Shadow leaning against me, asleep. I smile at how cute she looks, then lean over and kiss her forehead. She begins to stir, slowly opening her eyes.

"Hi," she says softly, "how are you feeling?"

In response I kiss her again, on the lips this time. She grins and kisses me back, her hand reaching up to cup my muzzle.

"So, I take that to mean you feel better?" she teases me.

"Very much so," I reply, nuzzling into her neck and shoulder.

"I know you didn't have a hangover, as I've never known you to have one before. What caused your migraine?" she asks, seriousness showing on her face now.

I explain to her about Trixie finding me in my two-legged form, how I went back to four legs when I realized it, and how that led to me trying to change consciously.

"I take it you didn't meet with success?" she says with a lilt in her voice, making it a question.

"Trixie said she thought something almost happened, but no, I didn't change then," I say, barely concealing a grin.

"And that led to you getting a migraine?"

I nod softly.

"I'm so sorry baby, I know how much you hate to fail," she sighs as she lays her head against me, closing her eyes.

I concentrate on my magic, as I learned from my memory, summoning it to transform myself. Where I had gone wrong before was concentrating on my body. It was like trying to push a cantaloupe through a knothole, or using a sledgehammer instead of a flyswatter. It is possible to do, but will end up messy and is going to hurt like a bitch.

This magic, which I can feel now that I know it is there, has only one purpose. Unfortunately, it is also unique to me. I feel the flow of power engulf my entire body. Calling upon it is easier than I expected, my body flows like water. It is a seamless transformation, making no noise and leaving nothing extraneous behind.

I run my fingers through Shadow's hair, massaging her temples, before moving down to rub her shoulders.

"Mmmm...Irony, that feels so nice. Your fingers are like magic," she purrs, her eyes remaining closed.

"I'm glad you like them," I whisper into her ear, grinning as I kiss the top of her head.

I rub her shoulders, then around her throat and down her chest. I caress her breasts, then squeeze them and massage them before gently pinching her nipples through her shirt. She moans softly as I tug on them.

Suddenly her eyes spring open and she leans her head further back, looking up at me. I grin at her and wiggle my fingers in front of her face. She gasps, then grasps my hand in both of hers. Her mouth is opening and closing silently, like a fish. I kiss the top of her head again.

"Close your mouth honey, you're starting to draw flies," I rib her. It is several more seconds before she regains her composure.

"I thought you said it didn't work!" she chastises me.

"It didn't."

"Then how are you doing it now?"

"It's kind of hard to explain, but basically I talked to myself while I was asleep, and remembered a few things," I say, wrapping my arms around her in a full body hug.

"Will you be able to teach me how to do it? I'd really like to keep my hands," Shadow asks me, smiling. Her smile fades a bit as I shake my head.

"I'm sorry, it's not something that I can teach you. It's inherent to me and, as far as I can tell from what I remember, completely unique to me as well," I tell her, my ears drooping a bit at having to give her bad news.

"You mean you were born with it?" she asks.

"Not exactly," I say, shaking my head. "Though I think it has been part of me since I first arrived in Equestria."

"Now you're just being cryptic. I know you're trying to tell me something, but I'm not getting it. Don't beat around the bush, tell me straight out, if you're going to tell me!" she says, her green eyes darkening in anger.

I sigh lightly, then launch, as best as I can, into an explanation of my past. At first I plan to gloss over the details of my past, but soon realize that I want to share them with her. Moon Shadow is my heart, and I need her to know me. I decide to trust her with information nopony else knows about me.

By the end of my telling I am crying freely, and our positions have been reversed, now she is holding me. I swipe at my tears with my hand, but she pushes it away and kisses them from my face.

"You have a lot of sadness in your past. I'm really sorry I made you relive it like that," she apologizes, squeezing me tight.

"It's not your fault, I chose to share it with you. I love you, and don't want any secrets between us, not even by omission," I say, looking into her beautiful eyes.

"I love you too, Irony. Thank you for entrusting your past to me. I will do my absolute best to always be worthy of your trust," she vows.

"I know you always will," I reply, kissing her gently.

"Well, it sucks I won't have hands, but at least you will. That way you can scratch me where I can't reach," she teases me.

I lean in to kiss her again when I'm interrupted by a knock on the bedroom door, then I hear Trixie enter and call out, "Irony, Shadow, you two in here?"

"In the bathroom," Moon calls back.

"There you two are," Trixie says, sticking her head in the doorway. "I was beginning to think you guys had left or something. Oh hey, you're on two legs again!"

"Yeah, once I got over my headache I got it figured out," I reply, not wanting to get into the details.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie insists you teach her how to do it!" Trixie commands pompously, then slaps her hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to issue an order! I was just hoping you could teach me how you do it."

"It's okay, no harm no foul. I wish I could teach you, but I can't, I'm sorry. It's not a learned ability, just something different about me," I say.

"Well, damn. Trixie hates it when she can't do something!" she stomps her foot, making me laugh.

Realizing our alone time is over, Moon Shadow and I help each other up and I ask Trixie, "So, what's going on?"

"Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie has come to the conclusion that we need to get supplies, before we can't go to the store anymore," she replies, much less pompously than before.

"Okay, I know you're turning into Trixie, but do you really have to talk about yourself in the third person?" I ask, cocking an eyebrow at her.

"I'll try to tone it down, but Trixie isn't doing it on purpose, she promises," she answers, sighing as she realizes she did it again.

"So apparently you really did talk like that. I hoped it was just an affectation from the show," I tell her. She simply nods, blushing slightly.

"You know, I think maybe I need to see some of this show. I never got into it when it was on, although I made sure I knew what you liked," Shadow says, looking thoughtful.

"That's a great idea, though Trixie is right, we need to buy supplies. And it has occurred to me that I need shoes," I say, smiling.

"Shoes? You want to get shoed? Like a horse?" Shadow asks me incredulously.

My smile widens, "Nope, not at all. I want boots. And I know just where to get them."

"Where are you going to get boots to fit your hooves?" Trixie asks. My smile changes to a wolfish grin.

"White's boots," I answer.

"Never heard of them," Trixie returns.

"They're the best custom boot maker I know of, though they're in the city. If I get measured today, I'll bet they can have them ready by the end of the week," I say.

"Isn't that awfully risky? Are you sure you want to go into the city just to have boots made?" Shadow asks me. "Aren't you worried about being seen?"

"Not really. I was before, but that was when I thought I might be the only pony. Now I know I'm not. I think the world is going to have to get used to ponies being here. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to cause a riot or anything, but I won't remain trapped in my own home any longer," I tell them.

"We'll still have to keep it low-key. Hoodies should help. Thank Celestia it's been a cool spring so far, so we won't look ridiculous," Moon Shadow suggests.

"When do you want to leave?" asks Trixie.

"The sooner the better," I reply.

"Okay, what about the Doc?" she asks.

"Let's see if he wants to come along. Maybe he's feeling as cooped up as I am," I suggest.

Trixie leaves to ask Dr. Ray if he wants to join us, leaving Shadow and I alone again. I pull her into my arms and, holding her tightly, kiss her like I wanted to earlier. Finally we have to come up for air, but I don't let her go just yet.

"I thought you wanted to go?" she says, smiling up at me.

"Kissing you makes me want to stay in instead," I reply, wiggling my eyebrows.

She giggles and smacks my upper arm lightly, "You should have thought of that before insisting we go."

"That was rather short-sighted of me, wasn't it?"

"Very much so."

"Well, I guess we'll have to make up for lost time when we get back," I grin.

She snuggles her head under my jaw and almost whispers, "That would be lovely."

She pulls lightly against me, and I reluctantly let her go. She heads to the closet and pulls out a hoodie and a pair of jeans for me, then tosses them to me.

"What about underwear?" I ask her.

"We'll have to buy you some while we're out, your old ones won't do, and mine won't fit you," Shadow replies, snickering.

"Are you sure I can't just go without clothes? I've got fur covering my whole body already!" I whine teasingly.

"You could on four legs, but on two you show too much. Your breasts are totally on display, especially your nipples, and anyone who looks closely could probably see your slit," she chides me.

"Dang, well, commando it is then. Can't get the normals too excited, I guess," I say.

"Yeah. Of course, anyone who looks even halfway closely will know something is way off about us," she replies.

"Eeyup. Wonder if we'll make the six o'clock news," I joke, chuckling.

Shadow just shakes her head at me as I pull on the clothes she's tossed me. Once they're on I do bodybuilder poses for her, which brings the smile back to her face.

"Oh, stop it you, I already know you're built like a brick shithouse, you don't have to pose for me," she starts laughing when I make a face in response to her comment.

Trixie walks in while I'm posing and laughs at me too, "Dr. Ray says he'd like to come with us. He said he's feeling useless around here."

I pick up my old wristwatch off of the dresser and strap it on, then say as I glance at the time, "Well, then let's roll. It's already 1300 and we have a bit of shopping to do."

We gather up Dr. Ray on the way to the car. When I see the 442, I stop for a moment, remembering the last time I was in it several days before, "I completely forgot that I bled all over the driver's side. I'd better get something to clean it up."

Trixie stops me, "Flash cleaned it all up while you were unconscious. He said this was your baby and you'd insist on it being neat as a pin. It took him most of an entire day to get all the blood out."

I can see her eyes tear up as she mentions Flash. She puts on a brave face, but she's worried about him, I realize.

I take her hand and squeeze it, and smiling at her say, "He'll be okay, he's stronger than he thinks."

She puts a brave smile on her face in response. Moon pulls her into a tight hug and whispers something softly into her ear.

I watch them for a moment, then open and hold the door for them as they get into the car. After thinking for a moment I stick my head in the door and looking at them say, "Shadow, you've got a hoodie, but you don't Trixie. Maybe we should grab you one."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie needs no hooded sweatshirt!" Trixie frowns at me.

I frown right back, "So you just want to scare the hell out of the humans when your ears reposition from the side of your head to the top of it? I'm going to draw enough attention, we don't need them to see ears actually move."

She flushes bright red, "The Greatly Humbled Trixie thinks she will reconsider. And is sorry for being so rude."

I smile at her to show no hard feelings, "It's not your fault, I'm pretty sure it's in your nature. I'll get you one, be right back."

I run back into the house and get a hoodie for her, and then an idea strikes me, so I dig in my closet for a moment and come up with a balaclava. Perfect. Should help me be a little less conspicuous, I think.

Returning to the car, I toss Trixie the blue hoodie I found for her and, climbing in, pull the balaclava over my head to cover my face.

"What's that?" I hear Trixie ask from the backseat.

"It's a balaclava. I wear it sometimes when it gets really cold in the winter, but now I figure it might help hide my face a bit. My muzzle still sticks out, but at least it's covered," I answer as I turn the key, the engine roaring to life.

As we back out of the garage and down the driveway, Dr. Ray looks at all of us from the passenger seat. He shakes his head, "Well, you two," he points to Shadow and Trixie, "can mostly pass for humans with dyed hair, but you," he points at me, "I don't know how you think you can pull this off."

I laugh for a moment, "Well, Doc, you should remember that people mostly see what they expect to see, at a distance anyway. Up close, nope, no way will I pass for anything other than a freak, but I don't really care anymore. I guess you could say I accept that I'm a freak, and am ready to deal with it. Besides, who knows, we may even run into other people turning into ponies out there."

Everyone is quiet for a while after that, just enjoying the ride. I maneuver us onto the freeway and point us toward town. The freeway is mostly deserted, so I decide to punch it a bit and go roaring down the road at almost 90 for a couple miles.

"This sure is a sweet ride," the Doc says, "I haven't seen one of these in quite some time. Where'd you get her?"

"I picked up the body from a Spaulding's junkyard and started putting her together one piece at a time," I reply, smiling at his compliment.

"That took a lot of effort, I'm sure. Reminds me of my brother," he says, trailing off to a bare whisper I wouldn't have heard when I was human. Noticing the look of deep pain that crosses his face, I decide not to comment or question.

After a few more minutes, I slow as we enter the city, not wanting to draw undue attention. Traffic in the city is a bit heavier, but still pretty light, and we remain unnoticed for the rest of our journey. I pull into the unassuming parking lot and claim a space near the door.

Shutting down the engine, I open my door and slide out, then help Moon Shadow and Trixie out of the back seat. Dr. Ray climbs out the passenger side, steps to the boot builder's door, and holds it open for the rest of us as we troop inside.

I'm about to step to the counter and ask for some help when Dr. Ray holds up his hand to stop me. I look at him for a moment, then he says, "Let me handle this, I've got an idea."

I nod and step back as he walks to the counter and rings a bell there for service. In a few moments a young lady comes out and asks how she can help him. I hear him reply, "I need someone to fit my friend here for a custom pair of boots."

"I'll get you some help right away, sir," she tells him, then scurries to the back. A moment later a young man, appearing to be in his middle twenties, comes forward.

"Hi, I'm Burdy, I hear you'd like a fitting for some boots," he says shaking the vet's hand.

"Actually, it's my friend here who needs to be fitted," he says, pointing to me. Then he leans in and, speaking softly, says, "She has, umm, special feet."

The young man smiles, "I wouldn't worry about it, we've fitted all kinds of oddly shaped feet here, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Dr. Ray chuckles sardonically in reply, then ushers him toward us with a slight bow. Burdy smiles at us as he walks past and leads us over to a fitting station. He gestures chivalrously for me to have a seat, which makes me giggle lightly as I sit.

"Well let's see your foot," he says as he pulls a pen out from behind his ear and lays out a piece of paper to trace feet on.

I hesitate, suddenly feeling shy about letting him measure my hooves. Seeing my hesitation, he looks up at me and says softly, "Don't be afraid, I won't bite, I promise."

I finally relent and let him take my leg. He starts rolling up my pant leg and then suddenly stops, gasping. He looks up into my eyes, and notices the magenta color. His own eyes get really big as he puts two and two together to get 'what the fuck'. "Wh--what are you?" he stammers out.

I pull my hood back and lift the balaclava off my face. Then I say, "My name is Irony Smith, and I'm a pony. Please don't freak out. I really just want some boots, okay?"

"I...I...I...holy shit!" he says, whispering.

"Shhhh...we're not going to hurt you," I say, staring into his still-wide eyes.

"Are you really a pony?" he asks me, I nod. "Then why are you standing on two legs? And how can you talk?"

I sigh. "It's a long story, Burdy. I don't have time to go into it right now. We have places to go, stuff to buy. Will you fit me for some boots, please?" I plead with my eyes.

He shakes his head a couple times, then nods and says, "Of course. I'd be glad to measure you for a pair of boots."

He traces my hooves and measures them with a little tape measure. After several minutes he finishes his measuring and says, looking up at me, "Are you from Equestria?"

I laugh lightly and nod my head, smiling down at him. Oh yes, we have a fellow brony here.

"How did you get here?" he asks.

I lean down and quietly tell him, "Discord banished me here 25 years ago. Until a week ago I was a human, just like you."

He gasps again, "Really? It's all real?"

I simply nod.

"Oh my god! Is there anything I can do to help? I mean, besides your boots?"

"Well, you can keep your eyes out for other ponies and let me know if you see any. Here, take my number," I say, writing my phone number down on his business card for him.

"Of course! I'd do anything for you ponies!" he gushes. I lean forward and plant a kiss on his forehead in thanks. He starts blushing.

"How long until my boots will be ready?" I ask him.

"Oh, um...usually it'd be a couple of weeks, but I'll put a rush on them for you, you should have them in four or five days," he replies.

I smile at him and say, "Thank you so much, Burdy. You're amazing." He blushes even deeper at that.

I ask him how much it's going to be, he replies, "About 600 bucks. I wish I could give them to you, but then I'd get fired."

"I wouldn't accept them as a gift, I figured they'd be about that much. Don't worry about it," I tell him, smiling.

"Okay. You don't pay for them until you pick them up. We'll call you when they're ready."

"Thanks again, Burdy. I can't wait to get them," I say.

"You're more than welcome, Miss Irony. Thank you for coming in," he replies.

I start to cover my face and head back up, but then Burdy speaks up, "Um, Miss Irony, can I take your picture?" Then he starts blushing furiously.

I smile at him, "You're not going to put it on the internet, are you?"

"Oh, no Ma'am! I've just been a fan of ponies for a long time, and never thought I'd actually get to see one. It's for myself. If you want, I won't ever even show it to anyone else," he rushes out.

I put my hand on his chest, "Calm down, Burdy. Of course you can take a picture. Or better yet, how about Dr. Ray here takes a picture of us?" I turn to Shadow and Trixie, "You girls want to be in it too?"

They both shrug, reply in the affirmative, then drop their hoods as well. Burdy covers his mouth and gasps, and I can see tears trying to form in his eyes. Wow, he must really be a big fan, I think to myself. He's still standing there speechless as he stares at the other two ponies who are only beginning their transformations.

While he's stuck like that, I gesture for the girls to come stand in front, with Burdy and I in back. Burdy is well over six feet, and even though I'm not quite 6' 5" anymore, I'm not much shorter, either, so we tower over Shadow and Trixie. I put a hand on his shoulder, snapping him out of his trance.

"They're ponies too?" he whispers to me, causing me to grin widely.

I whisper back, "Yes. They're transforming still."

I see him mouth 'wow' silently. I clap a hand on his shoulder and signal the Doc to take the picture.

"Say cheese everypony," I say. Dr. Ray takes the picture using Burdy's phone.

"Okay, we should really get going, we have a lot more to do," Shadow reminds us. I nod, and we all cover up again. We wave goodbye to Burdy as we exit the store.

I turn back for one last look at the brony before I let the door close and see him looking at his phone, and I swear I can see tears slipping silently from his eyes. He looks like his whole life has just been validated, I realize, and it makes me want to tear up a little, too.

Once we're back in the car and pulling out of the parking lot, Trixie speaks up, "Okay, we can't risk that again, if somepony else sees you and freaks out instead, we'd be in big trouble. The Great and Powerful Trixie says that she and Dr. Ray will get the supplies, while you two remain in the car."

I'm about to say something snappish in retort when Shadow stops me, saying, "You're right, Trixie, but could you please, please be less commanding when you suggest something?" Shadow looks at me, pointedly, and continues. "You should know that Irony has a low threshold for pomposity, okay?"

Trixie actually gulps, then looks at me and, her ears drooping, whispers, "Trixie is very sorry, Irony. She didn't mean anything by it."

I shake my head, then glare at Moon Shadow, "It's okay, Trixie. While Shadow is right, I don't like ponies being pompous, I also know you can't help it, it's part of your nature. I promise to do my best to be patient with you."

"Thank you," she says quietly.

I nod, "No problem. And you're right. I may not care if the world knows about me, but today, at least, we don't need the extra attention. Shadow and I will stay with the car."

With that settled, we continued on to our other stops, where we follow the pattern of Trixie and Dr. Ray going in and buying our supplies. Moon Shadow and I sit in the car, parked away from everypony else, and listen to music as we wait. This pattern works well for us until our last stop, at the farm supply store. At that store, Trixie and Dr. Ray exit rather quickly, almost running to get to the car.

Once the bags are stowed in the trunk and they're in the car, the Doc tells me we should probably leave post haste. I get us moving and ask, "What happened?"

The good Doctor turns and glares at Trixie, "Somebody couldn't keep their trap shut and let me do the talking."

Trixie sinks lower into her seat, and I see that she's crying and trying not to sob, "Trixie is so very sorry."

I look at Dr. Ray, "So what happened?"

"She kept talking in the third person, then started ordering the clerks around like she was their boss, and then she started yelling about what she would do if 'somepony' didn't work harder!"

Glancing at Trixie again, I see that she wishes she could sink into the seat and disappear. I look back at Dr. Ray and say, "We need to cut her some slack, she really can't help herself. Not to mention this is all new to her again. Nopony is chasing us, so we'll just count our blessings and go home, okay?"

Everypony in the car nods, and I take us home, thankfully without further incident.