Turned Out - Part 1

 

"Merry Christmas Anne!"

 

"Oh my god a pony" the woman holding you up by your torso squeals, "he's adorable!" Who me? Yes you. The first thing your eyes can resolve is this young lady's face. She's definitely some kind of Asian, but you're not really sure from where. Her hair is about what you'd expect, straight, black, and she parts it down the middle. You on the other hand are a far less ordinary sight. Your body, as far as you can see, is that of a tin-grey pony, right down to the little grey muzzle that blocks your field of view noticeably more than your human nose did.

 

The girl, you can only assume is named Anne, pulls you tight into a hug that just about squeezes the life out of you. She looks to a man in black brimmed glasses, "what's his name?"

 

The man, seemingly pleased with his gift, answers chipperly, "up to you, he doesn't have one."

 

My name is "neigh!"

Uh, I mean my name is "neeigh."

Rats.

 

"Hello to you too, little guy! You're so chatty!" At least your neighing prompted her to unsqueeze you just a little. "I think your name is... Jet."

 

Well, that's not the worst name you've ever heard. I guess you're Jet now. Anne sets you down on the carpet, and you turn to face the three sets of eyes beaming at you. Uh, I guess you're free to roam around. There's a pile of presents under the tree, but it looks like the only one that's been opened is the one you were pulled from; one of them smells... delicious! You nibble at the package a little before Anne stops you. "Nono Jet, don't eat that," Anne says as she abducts you back into her lap.

 

"You had better open that one before he does," chimes an older woman, who passes the present to Anne. Anne holds the present at arms length as she unwraps it, and you look on with great interest. Its... A bag of... of... something. There are words on the bag but, you can't read them, you can't read. It's dawning on you that your transformation might be more than just skin-deep.

 

With the more palatable gifts removed from your reach, Anne lets you roam around again. You collect a petting from each parent as you make your way around to them. The mother, smells of scented candles and wears a cinched, floral dress. She pets you like she's smoothing out a crumpled note- a little rough, but not unpleasant. The dad however is a thorough backscratcher, he's not afraid to get his nails right up into your fur, which really hits the spot. You wish it would last forever, but eventually Anne's dad gets tired, and you have to find someone else to scratch your butt.

 

You decide to venture out of the den and check out the living room, hopefully there's a window that can tell you where the blazes you are. Anne hovers behind you, spectating your expedition. You find a couch, a TV, and a huge window, but annoyingly the curtains are drawn. You plod over and see if you can reach your head under the curtains, but you only manage to brush them with your nose. You fling your head around trying to move the curtains, but it doesn't get you very far before Anne grabs you by the barrel. You make a small squeal in protest as Anne lifts you up to her chest.

 

"Here you go little guy, you wanna see outside?" Anne peels back the curtain, and you stick your snoot straight into the opening. The sun is rising over what looks like several grassy acres of land divided into paddocks and dotted with the occasional gum tree. The paddocks are mostly empty, save for an occasional horse or llama. You try to neigh at the two horses closest to the house, but they can't hear you through the glass window, you're not really sure why you thought they could. "That's TJ and Stranger, mum and dad's pasture pets. They might be a bit too big for you to play with," she says with a goofy grin, seemingly amused by the thought.

 

Anne puts you back down. You already kind of miss the warmth of being held, but at least you've learned something about where you are. You have no idea how you'd get home from here, but to be honest, you can think of worse places to be than here. You're not even sure you have a home. Maybe this is home now.

 

Anne goes back to the den, leaving you unsupervised. Guess the excitement of the new pony must've worn off. What could be more important than you? You resolve to follow Anne to the den.

 

Anne's mum notices your arrival, "aww look Anne, Jet's already following you around!" What? No! You were just seeing where she went, you're not some kind of lost puppy.

 

Anne turns around holding a collar and leash, still twist-tied to their cardboard packaging. "Aww, I wasn't going far, Jet," she coos. Anne frees a hand to comfort you with gentle petting, not that you needed comforting... Maybe just a little.

 

Anne sits down next to you and unpacks the collar first. It's a simple, black, polyester design with a plastic buckle, you've probably seen ones like it a million times before, but this one is for you. Anne reaches over to you and wraps the collar around your neck, she adjusts it a little before closing the buckle with a soft click. You hoof at it a few times, but it doesn't come off. Anne. Anne help. It's on me. You're making just about the most helpless expression of all time at Anne.

 

"Aww Jet, you're okay it's just a collar, we can take it off when we come back inside." Anne gives you a comforting stroke down your mane, but you still feel a little uneasy. You sit close to Anne while she unpacks the leash, which is soon clipped to your collar, and you find yourself heading outside.

 

As you step out onto the verandah, TJ and Stranger take notice of you almost immediately. They briskly trot up to the fence and neigh their hellos at you, and you reply with a much smaller neigh of your own; you much prefer this exchange to the unanswered call from the window. You beeline at top speed for the fence to meet your new friends-- *ACK* ...right, the collar, duh. You wait for Anne to catch up, she's in no rush, but she seems more than willing to let you go where you want to. You drag Anne over to the paddock where TJ and Stranger are waiting, and they crane their necks down to you. You touch noses through the fence, and with a little hoof stomping and neighing, you consider yourselves properly introduced. Anne seems thankful for the fence, since a stomp from either horse on top of you would turn you into a little grey pancake.

 

Your attention shifts from your new friends to the hay nets hanging on the wooden wall that makes up a small part of the pasture fence. You wander over to the wall and push on it with your forehooves, but the nets are on the other side, you're not really sure why you thought that would help. You do however notice your shadow cast clearly on the wall, a thin black line connects Anne's shadow to yours. Your shadow is definitely one of a small horse, but... something is protruding from your mane. You cross your eyes in a futile effort to see what it is, but you're pretty sure you just discovered that you are in fact a unicorn. You rub your head on Anne's leg, trying to get a feel for where your horn is. Ah-ha! You definitely have a horn, it's not particularly long or sharp, but you can feel it when you push it against something.

 

Anne notices your rubbing and squats down to you, "such an affectionate little guy Jet, are you an affectionate little guy?" No. But your tail betrays you with its involuntary wagging. "I think you are, yes you are, yes you are." You can't help but concede the point by rubbing your face into her incoming petting hand, you suppose being misunderstood is just part of being a pet.

 

Anne eventually relents on her petting onslaught, and you resume exploring the ranch with her in tow. Past the paddocks, you find a green sprawl of seemingly unused land that leads up to the front fence. You've been craving something to eat all morning, and finally snout meets grass. The blades are crisp and sweet with an almost savoury aftertaste, you nip away at them for long enough that Anne makes herself comfortable in a soft patch nearby. With your hunger finally sated, you can't help but do the same, pulling your legs in and rolling over in the soft grass.

 

The sun warms you like a little grey baked potato. Life is pretty good right now, even if you've lost track of your humanity, maybe it's a worthwhile trade for this moment, a moment you gladly fall asleep in.