Chapter 5

Jim and Sherry come charging into my bathroom after hearing me scream, and I instinctually turn towards them, still screaming obscenities. They come to a screeching halt and cover their mouths with their hands as they stare at my condition.

"My DICK is GONE! My BALLS are GONE! Jim, I'm a FUCKING GIRL!" I can't seem to stop yelling at the top of my lungs. Safe to say I am not handling this well...

"Henry, calm down! Pull your pants up! You're going to be alright!" says Jim, trying to stop me from screaming.

"Everything is NOT going to be alright! I'm turning into a fucking pony! And I've just lost my Goddamned DICK! This is as far from alright as I think I've ever been!" I reply, still yelling.

Sherry walks over to me and pulls me into a hug, thankfully ignoring the fact that my pants and underwear were around my ankles. I wrap my arms around her, squeezing her tightly as I begin to sob.

"Shh...we're here with you. We'll take care of you, I promise," she whispered into my ear as she stroked my back and just let me cry.

After a few minutes, Sherry takes me by the hand and leads me out of the bathroom and into my bedroom. My sobbing has quieted down quite a bit, but tears are still running down my cheeks and I'm hiccoughing every few moments. She helps me pull my pants up and then sits me down on my bed then sits next to me and holds my hands in both of hers.

"I'm okay now," I say, though it is an obvious lie because I'm still in shock, but I have to say something.

"Not yet you aren't, but you will be," Sherry says to me in a firm yet gentle tone. I can only nod back to her. Sherry turns to Jim and says, "Jim, would you please order us a pizza or something? We're all going to need to eat soon."

Jim finally comes out of his own stupor when Sherry repeats herself for the third time. He can't seem to speak yet and just nods his head a bit too quickly before leaving the room.

After Jim has gone Sherry scoots closer to me and pulls me into another hug and I hold onto her like she is my only lifeline to sanity. After a few more minutes I am able to pull myself together a little bit and I lean back, releasing Sherry.

"I think I'll be okay now," I say softly. Sherry gives me a reassuring smile and squeezes my hands in comfort. "I'm sorry for freaking out so badly. I was pretty sure this was coming, but it was still too much for me when I saw."

"It's a pretty crazy thing to have happen to you. I don't think I would take it very well if I suddenly grew a penis," she tries to comfort me.

"That's true, but I'm supposed to be made of sterner stuff than this. I'm a Marine! I've lived through actual combat! Hell, I jumped on a grenade and I didn't freak out like that!" I lament loudly, working myself up a little bit.

"Henry, this is way different from fighting. Plus, you were trained for combat before you ever saw battle, right?" Sherry says, taking my hands again.

I nod slowly, "I guess you've got a point. It's not like they have classes about suddenly changing species and genders. But I know I can do better than this. These changes aren't done yet, I know they aren't. I need to keep better control of myself."

"I think you'll be fine, after all, this is probably the hardest part of the change for you. In our society men value their organs highly, and you served in the military which actually increases the importance you put on your penises. Frankly, I'm amazed that you aren't curled up in the corner rocking back and forth in the fetal position bawling. I would say that was a minor freak out compared to what you could have had," Sherry points out.

"Thank you, Sherry. I'm so glad you are here for this. I don't know what would have happened if it had been just Jim and I," I say.

"You would still be screaming, and I'd be passed out on the bathroom floor from the shock, without her," says Jim from the bedroom doorway. "Thank you for being here with us. I know I couldn't have handled this nearly as well without you here. We both owe you so much."

"Neither of you owe me anything; I know that if it were me going through this that you would be there for me," Sherry states, to which Jim and I nod our heads.

She's right; we would do the same for her. We've known each other for quite a while, even though we really only became this close as of yesterday there is still history there, I realize.

"Even though we've only really been this close since yesterday, it feels like we have been this close for a long time," I say, giving voice to my thoughts.

"It kind of feels like we wasted a lot of time...I wish we had become this close a long time ago," says Jim, walking over and pulling Sherry into his arms. She lays her head on his shoulder and nods, looking over at me and mouthing the words 'thank you'.

Wow...if I didn't know better I would think they'd been a couple for years, instead of just now becoming one. This is so crazy... I think to myself.

"I--," I'm cut off by my phone ringing. I pull it out of my pocket and glance at the number that comes up and groan. "It's Kaitlyn," I tell Jim, and his eyes widen at her, as usual, horrific timing.

I answer the phone, "Hey sis."

"You know I hate it when you call me that," comes the reply from the other end of the line.

"Yeah, I know you do, that's why I do it," I reply.

"You're a regular riot. Do you have a cold? You sound kind of funny," she asks me.

"No, I'm fine, maybe it's our connection," I say.

"Maybe that's it. Sooo...what are you up to?" she asks me, rather coyly.

"Umm...not too much," I reply, lying through my teeth. Oh only in the middle of the freakiest thing to ever happen to me, but it's not much!

"Good...I kind of need a favor," she says.

"What kind of favor?" I ask with caution.

"I need you to pick me up," comes her reply.

"Pick you up? When did you get back to town?" I ask, bewildered.

"Actually, that's why I need you to pick me up...I'm at the airport," she says a little sheepishly.

"You're at the airport? What are you doing here? Why didn't you call?!" I ask, almost shouting by the end of the last sentence.

"Henry, relax, I'm calling now, okay? I didn't exactly think this through when I bought my ticket and got on the plane...I just felt like it was time for me to come back. I've missed you a lot. And I want to try again..." she sounds like she might be crying a little bit, so I start to feel bad for yelling.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you...this is just really unexpected, that's all. I...I can't come right now, but I can send Jim," I say, trying to soothe her hurt feelings.

"Please, Henry, I need it to be you. I...I really messed things up between us before, and I need you to be the first one I see," she pleads.

Shit! Shit, shit, shit! I yell at myself silently, already knowing I'll do it. I'm now just trying to figure out how I can go out without being seen too much.

"Okay Kate, I'll be there in about half an hour or so...you remember my car, right? Just watch for it out front of the airport and I'll pick you up."

"Thank you Henry. I'm at concourse 'A'. I'll come out when I see you," she says before hanging up.

"Dude...I mean...oh never mind that; dude, did you really just agree to go pick her up at the airport? Are you crazy?! You remember what you look like, right?" Jim asks me, looking at me as if I have grown a second head, and it's an ugly one.

"It's fine, I'll just wear a hoody, and that'll cover the hair and ears. No one will see my feet, er, hooves. I won't be getting out of the car," I say to Jim, trying to placate him.

"But what if--" he starts to speak, but I cut him off.

"No, it doesn't matter. I've already said I'll go, it's my decision," I say.

"We'll grab our jackets and go with you," he says, but I shake my head.

"No, I need to do this alone. We have some things we need to discuss alone," I say. He starts to speak, but I cut him off with a motion of my hand. "That's final. You two stay here, I'll be back soon."

"Henry, I didn't know you had a sister," says Sherry, confused.

"We don't," says Jim flatly.

"What do you mean? He called her 'sis' on the phone!" she says.

"She's not our sister," I reply. "We just always called her that because she was almost like a sister to us. We've known her since we were little; she used to tag along with us when we would go on adventures. Then we all grew up..." I trail off, a faraway look on my face, thinking about the past.

"What happened then? Why did she leave? And why don't you seem happier to have her come back?" Sherry asks me pointedly.

"She--"

"She had a major crush on him," Jim interrupts me; looking at me while he speaks of things I didn't know he knew, "she hated that he saw her as a little sister. So she got him drunk one night and tricked him into her bed. Henry didn't react very well the next morning. He kind of freaked out at what she'd done, not that I blame him. What she did was tantamount to rape. So, anyway, Henry yelled at her and called her a few choice names, none of which I'll repeat here. She ran away crying and then left town."

I just stare at Jim, my jaw practically hanging down to the floor, "H...How did you know?"

"Because, you schmuck, she came crying to me about it. She spilled the whole story to me and admitted how stupid she was. And told me how much your rejection hurt her. But I knew long before that how she felt about you, it was obvious to everyone! You should have known! But you were blind to her feelings, which is why she finally resorted to something so drastic. What she did was wrong, but I was angry with you for a long time because you had hurt her so badly," Jim admitted.

"I...I...wish you had talked to me about this a long time ago. I never had any idea you knew what happened. You weren't the only one angry with me. I hated myself for a long time because of the way I overreacted. I reacted so poorly because I was scared. Part of me was afraid I had done something to her, at least until she admitted the truth, then I was enraged that she would do that to me. I never should have talked to her the way I did, but by the time I'd calmed down and went to find her, she was gone," I respond, my head hanging in shame.

"Yeah...you kind of have me to blame for that," Jim says sheepishly.

"What do you mean? What did you do?" I ask.

"Well, she was heartbroken, and didn't have any money. I suggested she go see some relatives or something and gave her money to get a flight out of town. Now I feel kind of bad about that, but at the time I thought it was the right thing to do," he says.

"I understand bro, I probably would have done the same thing," I reply.

He nods to me in confirmation as I pull a dark hoody out of the closet and slip it on, pulling the hood up over my head and securing it tightly with the drawstring.

"I don't know how long I'll be, so could you guys make up the guest bed while I'm gone? I know you don't live far away, but would you guys please stay here tonight with me? I'll feel better knowing that you're here for me," I ask them.

"Of course we will, you didn't even need to ask. We aren't leaving you until everything is fixed," answered Sherry for both of them.

"Thank you. I'll be back," I say, grabbing my keys and wallet and heading out the door.

I climb into my car and put the key in the ignition. I hit the kill switch under the dash and turn the key, the engine roars to life and I back down the drive out of the garage. I turn out onto the road and put the hammer down, roaring away from the house.

As I'm driving I start thinking. What am I going to do about Kaitlyn? What am I going to tell her about what's happening to me? And probably most importantly of all: What are my feelings about Kate?

I ponder that last point most of the way to the airport. At first I think I feel conflicted, thinking about the anger I felt at how things were left, but then I realize that I'm scared, not angry. I'm scared that this won't work. I hurt so badly when she left. What if she's angry? What if my condition freaks her out and she leaves again? I think back to when I couldn't find her to apologize. I felt like a hole opened up in my chest, and that hole was still there. I haven't had any real relationships since, not being able to convince myself to really try. It wasn't until after she was gone that I realized my feelings for her went beyond her being my 'little sister'.

Maybe this will be a second chance... I think to myself hopefully, although I know that it is more likely to end up in disaster, especially with the current situation.

Before I know it, I see the signs for the airport, and pull off the freeway and make my way to the terminal. I pull up into the waiting zone right outside the 'A' concourse area. I see Kaitlyn's familiar form come out from the building, pulling a suitcase behind her. I pop the trunk so she can load her bag into it. Soon she is opening the door and sliding into the passenger seat.

"Hi," she says, a little bit shyly.

"Hi," I barely manage to whisper as I look at her. I feel the blood rush to my face in a blush, which I hope the darkness hides from her.

"Thank you for coming," she says.

"You're welcome," I say. "I'm glad you came."

"Me too. It just feels right," she answers.

Out of the corner of my eye I see a police officer walking toward my vehicle and realize I've overstayed my welcome. I nod to the officer and put the car in gear, slowly merging with the light traffic as we head away from the airport.

Rather than take the freeway, I decide to take the back roads as we aren't in a hurry to get home. Or at least I'm not.

"So...it's been a while," I say, finally breaking the silence that has arisen between us.

She laughs lightly and says, "That's the understatement of the week. It's been almost three years. Speaking of which, how have you been?"

"Well, mostly I've been doing okay. Been trying to keep busy. Finished building my forge and finally finished restoring this baby," I say, patting the dash lovingly.

"I see that, and she looks beautiful!" Kaitlyn says with true excitement in her voice. She knows just how important this project was to me.

"How about you? What's new in your life?" I ask her.

"Not much new. I've been kind of mooching off my aunt and uncle for the last couple of years. They don't seem to mind, but I still feel bad about it, but I haven't been able to find and keep a good job. Never should have dropped out of college, I guess," she shrugs.

"You're welcome to stay with me as long as you like, though it may be a bit crowded for a few days. Jim and Sherry are staying with me, at least tonight," I tell her.

"I'd like that, as long as they don't mind. Isn't Sherry that waitress that Jim had a crush on?" she asks.

I nod, "Oh yeah, I finally got them together. Only recently, actually."

"Why are they staying at your place?" she asks quizzically.

"It's kind of a long story, I'll explain it later," I say, not looking forward to when we have that particular conversation.

"Henry...I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I did. It wasn't right. I knew you saw me as a sister, but I couldn't control myself. I treated you horribly, and then I ran away. I've spent the last three years trying to build up the courage to face you again. I've been afraid that you would hate me... Do you?" she looks so sad sitting there; I know exactly how she feels.

"Kate, I don't hate you. I never did. I feel that I'm just as much to blame as you were for that whole situation. I was completely blind to how you felt about me, even though you weren't hiding it. I think I was in denial about my feelings for you, so I couldn't see what you felt. I had locked you into being my 'little sister' and was afraid of how my feelings toward you were changing. Yes, what you did was wrong, but it was also an act of desperation. I'm so sorry that I reacted the way I did. I was horrible to you. I went to find you later, but you were already gone..." I respond to her, my hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

She reaches over and takes my right hand in both of hers and says the words I hoped she would say, "Henry...I don't know how you feel about me, but I know I need to be straightforward with you. I love you. I loved you then, and I still love you now. And not like a sister would."

I quietly pull off the side of the road and stop the car. I turn to her and say, "Kaitlyn, I've loved you longer than I was ever willing to admit to myself. I don't know what's going to happen, but now, but I love you too. And most definitely not the way a brother loves a sister."

She smiles the most beautiful smile I have ever seen, and ever so briefly my heart is bursting with joy. But then reality intrudes its ugly head as I think about what else I have to tell her. I can't pretend this isn't happening to me, and I can't hide it from her...or at least, I won't hide it.

"What's wrong Henry? You looked so happy for a moment, but now you look sadder than I felt when I ran away," she asks me, her smile slipping off her face.

"I have to tell you something, and I'm not really sure how," I say.

"Oh shit, you've got a girlfriend don't you?! I knew it was too good to be true!" she started.

"No, no! Nothing like that!" I try to reassure her.

"Then what? What's wrong?"

"I...have to show you, but it's freaky, okay? It's going to shock the hell out of you, so please try really hard to remain calm, okay?" I say to her, pleading with my eyes for her to understand.

"Okay, I promise not to freak out...too much," she says, with a small smile, probably thinking that I'm being overly dramatic. She should really know better, that's not my style.

"Alright, here goes the neighborhood," I say, pulling my hood back and facing Kate. She gasps.

"What did you do to your hair? When did you grow it out? Why would you dye it like that?" she asks me, evidently not noticing the ears yet.

"It's not dye. And yesterday I still had it buzzed short like I always do. Feel it," I say in answer.

She reaches up and runs her fingers through my mane and says, "It's really soft...it's not a wig is it?"

I shake my head in response and say, "Pull on it." So she does, gently at first, then a little bit firmer. Finally she gave it a great yank. "Ow! Holy shit! I told you it's real, and it's attached! And I'd like it to stay that way!"

"I'm sorry; I just couldn't believe that it's real. I didn't mean to hurt you," she says.

"Oh my god, what is that?" I hear her say as her hand suddenly shoots out and touches one of my ears. Then she pulls on it too!

I holler in pain and tears start streaming from my eyes. Kate yanks her hand back and covers her mouth. "I'm sooo sorry!"

I reach up and gently rub my ear and say, "Yeah, that's attached too...and evidently VERY sensitive."

"But...what the fuck is it?" she asks, stunned.

I turn my head to the side and lift my hair back so she can see that I no longer have an ear on the side of my head. "They're my ears. They moved, and changed."

"What kind of surgery did you have? Why would you do this to yourself?" she asks, not understanding.

"I didn't. I would never do this to myself. Maybe we should continue home. Jim and Sherry are there, they'll help me explain it to you," I say, trying not to have my feelings hurt that she thinks I would choose to do this to my body. I pull the car back out onto the road and resume our journey to my house.

After a few moments of silence she says, "I'm sorry I thought you would have surgery to have that done. I just don't understand what's happened to you. Can you help me to understand?"

"Well, I don't really understand it myself. Yesterday I was normal, or at least as normal as I usually am," she laughs a little bit at that, which makes me smile. "I seem to be turning into an equine. A pony to be more specific..."

"But...isn't that impossible?" she asks.

"Well, yesterday I would have said so, yes. But as it is happening to me, I have become a believer in impossibilities. The hair and ears aren't the worst parts," I say, shuddering a tiny bit.

"What could be worse?" she asks.

"Well, like I have a tail too, for starters. Oh, and I have hooves instead of feet now..." I trail off as her eyes get round as saucers. Then I quickly finish by saying rather quietly, "And I'm not male anymore."

"Come again?" she says, seeming to not want to believe her ears.

I give her a hard look, "You heard me. My penis is gone. It actually happened not too long before you called me to say you were in town. I had just finished freaking out about it and managed to calm down. I'm still not comfortable with it, either."

"But, but...but..." she is completely at a loss for words. It's almost enough to make me laugh, if the situation wasn't so far from funny I probably would.

"Yeah, I know, that should be impossible, but trust me, it's not. Poor Jim and Sherry got an eyeful when I started screaming in the bathroom. They ran in to see what was wrong and literally caught me with my pants down. I'm not sure I'll ever live that down," I say, trying to see the funny side of all this. It's hard for me to do right now, though I can kind of see a point down the road when I might be able to laugh about it all.

Kaitlyn throws her arms around me and sobs into my shoulder, "Oh Henry, you poor thing! Why does this have to happen to you? You've never done anything to deserve something like this to happen to you!"

I'm just glad she believed me, I was afraid she wouldn't, and that she'd hate me because she was sure I was lying to her. Thank you Lord! This could have gone soooo much more poorly. I give a silent prayer of thanks for that rather large miracle.

I wrap my arm around Kate and hold her to me as we get close to home. After a few more minutes she calms down a little and dries her tears. Then she looks up at me and says, "I love you. Whatever you are going through, we will go through it together, okay?"

I pull her tighter and say, "You have no idea how much that means to me. I love you too, Kaitlyn."

We finish the drive in relative silence. Pulling into the driveway, I hit the garage door opener button, and then pull into the garage once it's open enough. Once inside I hit the button again to close the door, then climb out of the car and go around to the passenger side to help her out of the car. I pop the trunk and pull her suitcase out and carry it inside, while I have my arm wrapped around her.

Inside we are greeted by Jim and Sherry, who give Kaitlyn and I each a hug. Then we kind of just stand there for a moment, Jim and Sherry holding hands, and Kate and I holding hands.

Jim looks at our hands pointedly and says, "So...I take it you two worked things out?"

I chuckle and pull Kate to me and wrap my arm around her shoulders and say, "I think so." She looks up to me and, smiling, nods. I lean down and kiss the top of her head.

"I'm glad to hear it. Welcome home Kate," Jim says.

"Thank you Jim...I've missed you guys," Kaitlyn replies.

Now that we're home, my mind finally acknowledges an ache I've been living with for a little while now, and I reach back to my tail. I massage the base of it, and then pull it out of my pants, "Oh man, that feels soooo much better! I've been sitting on it for like an hour."

Sherry covers a giggle at my reaction and Jim says, "So, I take it Henry filled you in on what's going on?"

"Not all of it yet, but we can do the rest over some dinner," I say. "Speaking of which, what did you two decide we are having?"

"We ordered a couple of pizzas to be delivered, they should actually get here pretty soon," says Jim.

"Sounds good, I'll get Kate settled in while we wait for it to arrive," I say, taking Kate's hand again and leading the way down the hall.

I'm about to lead her into the guest room when she stops me and asks, "Do you mind if I sleep in your room, at least for tonight? I really don't feel like being alone. I can sleep on the floor."

"That'd be great. I don't really want to be alone, either. But if anyone is going to sleep on the floor, it'll be me," I reply, leading her further down the hall to the master suite. I lay her suitcase on the bed. Kate closes the door to the bedroom and the walks up to me, suddenly seeming shy.

"Hold me, please?" she asks quietly.

"Of course," I say and wrap my arms around her. I look down at her, realizing just how much I tower over her. She's only about 5' 4", and probably no more than 115 lbs. soaking wet.

She leans her head back to look up at me and then rises up on her tiptoes, realizing what she wants, I lean down and kiss her thoroughly. I kiss her the way I've wanted to for a long time. The way I'm pretty sure she's wanted to for a long time too.

While we're kissing she reaches behind me and starts running her fingers through my tail. It's a little unsettling at first, but feels really good. I groan my approval into her mouth. She then reaches her other hand up and very gently starts touching my ears, running the tips of her fingers over the fine fur and up the outside of them.

I back up until my knees hit the edge of the bed, and then I sit down and pull her up into my lap as we continue to make out. Now she's running the fingers of both hands through my mane and I return the favor with one hand while I'm holding her in my lap with the other.

After a few more minutes of this we finally come up for air. She smiles up at me and says, "I have wanted to do that for so long. I can't believe I finally got to, I thought this day would never come."

I smile down at her and tweak her nose and say, "I'm just glad that the day has come. I'm so glad you've come back."

"Hey, I just remembered you had a birthday yesterday! Guess I can give you this then," she says, unzipping her suitcase and reaching inside.

"Give me what?" I ask.

"This!" she says as she pulls out a purple pony plushie from her bag with a flourish. She presents me with the Twilight Sparkle Alicorn plushie.

"Hey, you remembered! Thank you so much! Where did you get it? I haven't been able to find any for a reasonable price," I say in great appreciation, hugging her tight again.

"Of course I remembered. How could I forget? I may not have been into the show all that much, but I paid attention to what you liked. As to how I got one, let's just say I have my sources," she grins at my excitement.

I'm still holding the plushie and staring at it when we hear a knock on the bedroom door, to which Kate replies, "Come in."

Sherry opens the door and sticks her head in, "The pizzas are here. Come on down whenever you're ready."

Kate jumps off my lap and says, "Yum, I'm starving!"

I stand up and, tucking the plushie under my arm, follow Kaitlyn and Sherry down the hall and into the dining room. Jim is setting out plates and cups for us as we walk in. We all sit down at the table and start dishing out the pizza.

Everyone digs into their first slice, and I immediately spit my bite out, saying, "Gross, I think something's wrong with this sausage."

The other three look at each other and shake their heads, Jim saying, "It tastes okay to me. Are you sure there's something wrong with it?"

I take another bite to be sure and immediately spit it out too, "Yeah, it tastes bad!"

I offer the piece to Kaitlyn to try; she takes a bite and shrugs, "Tastes okay to me."

Okay, what the hell? Why does it taste weird to me? I think, looking around the table. Then it hits me, Oh...well, I guess that makes sense. But it sucks! I love sausage on my pizza!

"I think it's because of my...changes..." I say, giving voice to my realization. "Dammit, I hadn't thought about missing out on meat...I love meat!"

I sigh and start picking the sausage off the pizza, as well as the pepperoni. In the end I'm left with black olive pizza, which is okay. "Good thing I like black olives."

Kaitlyn rubs my shoulder in condolence, "That sucks...I know how much you always loved good meat, especially bacon and sausage."

"Oh dude, no bacon? That REALLY sucks!" chimes in Jim. Sherry smacks his arm lightly, but is chuckling too.

I shake my head sadly, "I hadn't even thought about bacon...man, what the hell?"