Zephyr Part 20

 

Making anything but a dry breakfast is out from the word go, and even then you'd be hard pressed to carry it down to him if you did. As happy as you are with the life he's given you, hands were so goddamned convenient to have had. Still, the motivation to do something nice for him is there if you can just find an application for your clumsy hooves and mouth.

 

A solid fifteen minutes of climbing, leaning, straining and nearly dousing yourself in hot water later and you've managed to put on a pot of coffee without making a mess. Well, you did make a mess, but wiping up spills is the only housechore that comes naturally with this body, so Master should be none the wiser. From your seat on the kitchen counter you're able to pull a thermos out of a cabinet, and once it's been filled and securely closed you make your way to the basement stairs, occasionally stopping to rest your poor neck. This thermos is heavy!

 

It takes some doing to work the door to the playroom open with your hooves, but the look on Master's face as you trot in and set the coffee down in front of him is absolutely worth your while. He's sitting against the far wall of the playroom, looking totally wiped out and surrounded by a small pile of medical refuse. Used needles, an IV setup... he wasn't kidding when he said last night was going to be difficult. Still, he looks happy despite being so worn out, and that gives you hope that maybe this will all turn out okay.

 

"You made me coffee? That might have been a mistake."

 

"What?! Why? I didn't mean to mess up- I'm sorry!"

 

"Zephyr, shush. I mean that now I know you can make me coffee, so expect me to ask for more."

 

"Oh! Of course, anything you want!"

 

"Good pony. You'll be my number one assistant, if you will."

 

Hah! Show reference aside the idea of having a specific task from time to time wasn't totally objectionable. No videogames and no reading material as of yet will eventually make Zephyr a dull girl. TV is just a time-killer, you're not airborne again yet, and Master can't pet you all the time. Autumn most certainly could play with you all the time, but you don't quite have her energy level. You could probably do some other stuff to be helpful, too. It feels nice to be valuable to him in day-to-day ways, too. The look of satisfaction as he sips the thermos gives you a real sense of accomplishment, one that's enhanced when he looks to you again with a smile and changes the topic.

 

"So I'd imagine you'd like to see what all this was for, eh? Well, I laid her down in those blankets over there about an hour ago. I think she's still sleeping."

 

"You're calling him 'she' now... so it worked?"

 

"Better than I'd hoped once the complications proved manageable and temporary. Don't know if I'll ever try that again, but damn am I good at this. Go take a look."

 

He doesn't need to tell you twice, though a sense of trepidation about whatever is in that bundle of blankets causes you to move more slowly or carefully than made sense. Even if it's still Charlie stuck in there, what's a little filly going to do to you? Unless you can actually die from something being cute, that is. There's occasional movement under one part of the bundle, the rhythmic fashion of steady breathing letting you know where he... ah, she is and that she's probably still asleep. You're a little worried you might disturb her slumber and start the 'Oh god, what the fuck' party a little early, but curiosity gets the better of you. You've gotta know what a real live filly looks like, especially if it's Charlie getting his comeuppance. You rest a hoof on the edge of the blanket and slowly pull back.

 

Oh.

 

This...

 

You were not prepared for the likes of this.

 

She's... small. tiny. Her proportions are all appropriate and everything seems to be in working order. But to have taken the bulbous, flabby enormity of Charlie and produced this little thing... it's just beyond comprehension. Curled up in a blanket that positively dwarfs her is a little yellow filly, with a wavy brown mane. Yellow is not usually a color you liked, especially on OC ponies, but here in front of you it kinda works. Both fur and mane are matted with dried sweat, the ongoing humidity in the room attesting to exactly how much bulk the nanomachines had stripped from Charlie-boy to get to this agonizingly cute center.

 

On her flank is an appropriate pictogram for a pony named Sunflower, and you're suddenly fixated on the idea of this little thing gardening flowers several times her own height. Oh god, if you don't focus on who this used to be you're going to die of a heart attack. At first you're a little disappointed that she's already got her mark, until you force yourself to remember that magic isn't real and the thing on your flank, like hers, is the super-science equivalent of a branding. Still, all things told she's about as adorable as you'd imagined, and holding a hoof over one of hers you really develop a sense of how much bigger your are compared to her.

 

HA! Try pushing you around now, will she? Even if the scary talk about breaking you in sticks around, it's all a useless gesture coming from something scarcely two feet tall. A fit of the giggles overtakes you when you think of how those frightful heavy footfalls coming toward you will have been reduced to barely audible little hoofsteps. From her teensy little hoovsies! Oh, this is rich!

 

"So, how does she look?"

 

"Master, she's absolutely adorable. To have sculpted this from such poor clay... You, my beloved Master, are an artist of unsurpassed skill."

 

"Flattery isn't going to earn you much from me, but I appreciate it."

 

Drat.

 

Even while you're trying to come up with a better line to make him happy, because happy Master rewards the good pony, the noise of your brief exchange seems to be stirring the poor little thing. You can feel excitement oozing from yourself as a pair of lovely, deep green eyes flutter open, complementing her color theme nicely. For a moment she looks around the room in wild-eyed confusion, before settling on your face, now barely a few inches from her.

 

"Hey there sleepyhead. How're you feeling?"

 

You didn't mean to sound so jovial. This is still someone you despise, but the face she's wearing is so cute that treating her like a actual child comes naturally. For a second the filly stares at you with a totally blank expression, before straining a bit as though she can't quite place you. You wait as patiently as possible for her to come around fully to the land of the waking, or at least until she starts speaking, until finally an expression of horrified realization comes over her face.

 

"Well, there you go. Remember me now, dont'cha? Well I ho-"

 

That expression of horror barely had time to contort into anger before she lunged at your too-close face. The next few seconds are a mire of confusion, loud noises, and pain on your part, as Master shoots to his feet to intervene you find yourself holding your neck and head low to the ground, with -sweet- little sunflower biting down hard on one of your ears and otherwise going limp save for the odd, painful tug.

 

"Getheroffme! Getteroffame!"

 

"Calm down and try not to move. Sunflower, you stop that this instant."

 

The filly shakes her head no rather emphatically, eliciting another whine of pain from you.

 

No amount of vocal commands from Master can convince the little bundle of hatred to let go, and in the end Master ended up having to pull her jaw open with his hands in a gentle grip around her muzzle. With the pressure on your delicate little ear gone you waste no time in putting more distance between you and her, rubbing your sore spot with a hoof while Master begins to scold.

 

"Bad! Bad pony! You don't ever bite, least of all do you bite her, understand?"

 

Sunflower, for her part, remains defiantly silent.

 

"Fine, if you wanna be that way."

 

What follows is perhaps the single funniest moment of your entire day, as the once frightful Charlie, struggling and whining all the way as tiny little Sunflower gets shoved into a cat carrier and hauled upstairs.

 

Well, that wasn't an inspiring start at all, now was it?

 

You're hot on Master's heels up the stairs, expecting him to do more punishing or at least make a big show of it, but he keeps quiet and still save for his strides up the stairs and down the short hallway. To your immense disappointment he just drops the cat carrier down on the kitchen table, works a lock into the latch, grabs something from the fridge and orders you and Autumn to stay out of the kitchen and leave her be. As much as you want to observe her, direct disobedience is simply not an option, so you only catch a glimpse of her face, focused on you, as you turn to follow him into the yard.

 

Those pretty green eyes look awfully confused.

 

Maybe she's still not fully awake? Lord knows you swam through a few layers of confusion on your way out of the process, and Opal seemed groggier than you. Of course, if she knew enough to want to inflict harm on you, she must have been fully awake, right? There's no way Charlie would do that on instinct... Right?

 

As unhappy as you are to see Master contain himself so while your ear is still hurting, you realize that's mostly a desire for childish revenge on your part. More importantly, you've seen, heard, and been through enough around here to know why he's not being harsher. His ethics are fucked sideways, but by now you've come to an understanding on them and the manner in which he handles himself. He simply will not harm one of his ponies. The worst he did to you, by far the second worst you know he's ever done, was solitary confinement and a splash of a hose to snap you out of a screaming fit. Autumn had it worse, but you know he didn't meant to do her any harm. Even then, he took responsibility for his mistake and seems resolved to look after her always and forever. Looking back on it now, in light of his little note under that picture of you, it would appear he's done the same for you after nearly dooming you to a horror-movie ending. His odd sense of responsibility will overcrowd this house quickly if he doesn't stop screwing up.

 

Even Opal's attempted escape was only met with a light swat on the nose, which was more of an insult to her pride than any real punishment. How very strange that kidnapping people, mutating them, and taking active steps to break their will to resist are all on the table, but apparently once someone's become a little pony he can't bring himself to hit them. And to think, in the beginning you'd been afraid of painful reprisal should you have defied him!

 

Funny thing, that. if you'd known that physically hurting you was anathema to him from the beginning you probably would have tried a little harder to escape. Now it just makes your world a little brighter to know that there's a little bit of love and compassion for every abductee he sells, even if it is a little warped. Maybe it helps him sleep at night, or maybe he really thinks he's doing the right thing and you're hopelessly in love with a crazy person. That would make you crazy too, but for all you know that might be why he's taken you for his own.

 

Your favorite crazy person scratches your ears a bit as the three of you munch on some pears he thought to grab as he left the kitchen. And a good thing he did, too! None of you had eaten yet today, and punishing Char- er, Sunflower meant staying out of the kitchen then he very nearly punished the lot of you for her misbehavior.

 

Today's walk is more of a loose amble around the yard, and even some of the woods surrounding it as Autumn makes a game out of pulling your tail if she can get close enough for it. You run laps around trees and Master's feet in your effort to keep away, but on uneven ground your dainty pegasus build isn't much against Autumn's sturdy muscles and she's getting closer every time you turn.

 

You go for broke and dash out from the treeline into the yard at a dead sprint. Autumn's laughter means she thinks she's won, but you've still got one ace left to play. A few experimental wing flaps is enough to let you know the plan should work, and before Autumn knows what you're doing her triumphant cries are washed out amid the sound of racing wind and your own triumphant laughter. Oh, how you've missed this weightless feeling in your chest, and the wind blowing your mane as you turn. By the time you complete a long loop around the yard the game's clearly over and won, and the icing on the cake is that you've remembered how to stick the landing in spite of yourself. A few frenzied wingflaps and a sudden drop onto your hooves complete the act, and Autumn's on top of you in seconds, thrilled to have lost in such spectacular fashion. You're happy for her affection, as always, but you look to Master at once as he saunters over, a smile on his face almost as big as yours.

 

"I'll never really believe I made something that can do that. You really are a special one, you know that?"

 

"Of course Zephyr's special! She's yours, isn't she?"

 

Master does murmur out agreement with Autumn, but all while picking you up of the grass with that mischievous spark in his eyes. You've been deprived of the sky far too long, and your usual reward for an impressive airborne display is something you're very eager to get.

 

You very willingly melt into his embrace as you're pulled in close, his head leaning down to close the distance between you. They can tell you that you're special as much as they want, but you'll never feel it the way you do in this one moment, lips mere centimeters apart with his breath tickling you. That electric tingle floods your body when he finally closes the gap, and once again you're the warm little center of the universe. Your bliss is interrupted by a pressure on your puckered lips, and you're all too eager to yield when you belatedly realize that he's trying to slip you the tongue. The sensation of a french kiss is nothing new to you, but he's never kissed you like this before and it's just... so...

 

Your tongues dance along one another for a few glorious moments as he explores your mouth to the best of his ability, and the prolonged intimacy heralds the return of a familiar itch in your nethers. Oh yes, Master, yes!

 

Desire nearly overwhelms you as he pulls back, but his smile is one meant to tease you even as you try your best to smolder at him enough to earn more. The disappointment when you're set back down on the grass is crushing, even as he lifts Autumn up and gives her much the same treatment. Damn! You know he's just being fair and Autumn was his pet long before you were here, but flying and then th-that kiss... It's too much for you to take any more! You don't want to be fair! You want him to lay you down right here on the grass ride you like it's a fucking rodeo!

 

You reluctantly follow Master inside, though not without getting ahead of him and raising your tail as conspicuously as possible. Come on, man! Take a hint!

 

Master settling himself on the couch with a book and presenting Autumn with the remote was not the result you were looking for, and you let yourself sulk in the hallway for a moment before he calls you over. Before you obey, though, you do catch a glimpse of green eyes fixed on you from behind a set of bars.

 

They look... sad?

 

Those eyes just stick in your head the whole time you sit in the living room, cuddled up with Autumn while Master enjoys his reading. The first thing she did was bite you, and that seemed in-character enough, but where's the yelling? Where's the panic and the horror and what she's become? Charlie didn't make much sense to you before, but now it's just throwing you for a loop. Is this some kind of plan she's come up with? Why did she look so confused when you left earlier? What was with those sad eyes just now? You're trying to watch whatever it is Autumn put on, but it's not distracting enough to get Sunflower out of your mind for more than a few minutes at a time.

 

Oh, the hell with it. Autumn doesn't even look away from the screen as you untangle yourself from her, though she does give you a quick peck on the cheek, eyes still fixed on the screen. Master seems rather engrossed in his book, and his ability to simply not worry about things once again has you in awe. There's nothing quite like being able to kick back and relax while you've got a sadist-turned-filly in your kitchen. Of course, this is a guy who usually keeps kidnapped nerds in the basement, so you suppose tuning things out must be part of the job. He's really good at it too, considering that you've got to nudge him rather insistently with a forehoof before he looks at you over the top of the still-open book.

 

"Hungry?"

 

"No, Master."

 

"Wanna cuddle?"

 

"Always, but no, Master."

 

"Horny?"

 

"What? No. Well, I was earlier, but my Master seems to like books more than poor, pent-up little ponies. Can I go talk to Sunflower? I promise not to let her out or anything like that."

 

"Not like you could without the key to the lock. Why?"

 

"She's not taking this like I expected her to. I wanna know why."

 

"Alright, don't get her too riled up before lunch."

 

"Yes, Master."

 

You decide to move in as quietly as possible and maybe see if she's putting on an act when she knows she's not alone. It doesn't take much to keep the bell on your collar silent, it would appear that your sneaking game with Autumn was useful after all. You enter the kitchen crawling on the floor, and are rather displeased to find that the fur on your chest does a pretty good job of dusting the floor. Well, Master did promise you a bath soon, right? Your low shimmy has kept you out of her limited field of vision from the top of the table, compounded by the plastic walls on all but the front of her little cage. It's odd to you that such a light cage can hold her. A few bucks from within would probably put it over the edge of the table, maybe break the whole thing open and give her a shot at escape. Maybe you built Charlie up too much in your head and she's not actually that clever?

 

You're at the table now, and your ears perk up at small... squeaking sounds? At a loss to explain them at at wit's end with trying to figure this out, you rear up an lean on the table to get a look at what she's up to. She's huddled in the back of her tiny prison, and for a moment you suspect some kind of escape plan...

 

But that's not it at all. From under the table all you heard were small squeaks, but from up here that's just the high notes of soft but wracking sobs. She's not planning an escape back there, she's huddled up and crying. As much as you want to sneer and leave her to it, because you know that's really Charlie in there... She sounds like a child. Something deep down refuses to let you ignore a crying child.

 

God. Dammit.

 

"H-hey. Why're you crying?"

 

The reaction you get would be funny if it didn't raise so many questions or challenge nearly all of your assumptions about how this was going to be. The tiny little pony's reaction to suddenly hearing your voice was to panic and bolt directly into the side of her cage. From there she just starts crying all over again.

 

"Wait, c'mon, stop crying. I didn't mean to startle you. Jeez, I didn't really take you for the scaredy-type before this."

 

She looks up at you through those big green eyes of hers without any malice or even annoyance, and when you finally do hear her voice you think the sweetness of it is going to kill you dead on the spot. What she says, on the other hand, only adds to your considerable confusion.

 

"Help-" she squeaks out, sniffling on the edge of tears. "I can't get out."

 

"Well of course you can't get out. It's a cage."

 

"B-but why am I in here? I don't remember what I did!"

 

Uh-oh.

 

"Hang on. What's the first thing you remember?"

 

"I don't know! I was in here!"

 

"You don't remember me at all?"

 

"No! Something's wrong!"

 

"It's okay, just calm down. My name is Zephyr, what's yours?"

 

"Sunflower."

 

"Okay Sunflower. Take a really good look at me. See my mane, it's green!"

 

You're giving her the gentlest tone of voice possible, because unless this is a convincing act you might actually be dealing with a child of sorts here. But you've got to be sure. The filly in the cage laughs as you shake your mane around a bit for her benefit.

 

"Okay, now take a good look. See my wings flapping?"

 

"Wow lady, they're really pretty!"

 

Having a child call you 'lady' is actually a stranger feeling than you thought it would be. You might be getting somewhere here, though.

 

"You don't remember these? Nothing at all?"

 

"Kinda. I feel like I saw them before."

 

"Do you know where?"

 

"I dunno. Just before."

 

"Were you and I together?"

 

"It's... really hazy"

 

The poor thing puts both hooves to her head, a pained expression crossing her features.

 

"My head hurts!"

 

"It's okay, Sunflower, just calm dow-"

 

"That's not... not my name. You took it from me!"

 

Suddenly the crying child is gone, and the face behind the bars takes on a sullen expression.

 

"What... what did you do to me? I was in here waiting for your idiot owner to screw up so I could get loose and... and I... I don't remember any of it. How long have you been here? How long was I out?"

 

"We were just talking."

 

"No we weren't!"

 

"Yes, we were. You didn't remember me at all."

 

"This is another way to mess with me, isn't it? How did you make me black out?"

 

"I don't know!"

 

"Tell me, you lying bitch!"

 

The freak out you expected just came on full force, as the little thing proceeds to hurl herself at you repeatedly, bouncing off the bars each time but still nudging the little cage further forward. You know she might get loose if it falls, but that's not what sends you running back to Master for help. Your conversation was enlightening, to say the least:

 

You don't know what's happening in there, but it can't be good.

 

The look Master gives you as you come barreling back into the living room, with the sounds of a screaming filly wafting in from the other room, is one of supreme annoyance. Your ears droop reflexively when faced with his scorn, but he needs to know how important this is, so you put off grovelling for forgiveness for a few minutes.

 

"You riled her up, didn't you?"

 

"No! Well, Yes! But not how you think! Something's gone wrong!"

 

You've seen him do it before, but there's just something so odd about the transition between the relaxed Master you spend so much time with and the serious professional who turns up when there's kidnapping or mad science to be done. His book flops onto the sofa unceremoniously and he's on his feet before another word can be exchanged. The neutral face that asks you to elaborate used to scare you because you couldn't read his intentions from it. Now, after spending nearly all your time in his company you've learned to mimic his grim sort of determination when times like this come.

 

"When I first spoke with her she didn't remember me! She didn't even remember how she got in that cage to start."

 

"Odd, but I wonder Why that isn't a good thing?"

 

"Because it didn't last! I tried to jog her memory and suddenly she said her head was hurting... Then she remembered me. But then she didn't remember any of what just happened!"

 

"I'm sorry, I really don't follow you."

 

"It was... Like someone flipped a switch. There was someone who didn't know me, and then there was someone who did."

 

He seems far less concerned than you thought he'd be, but the curious look on his face as he heads for the kitchen is enough to calm you down. If he's intrigued, he'll at least be able to make sense of this for you. You're a few seconds behind him in turning the corner, and as you thought the little ball of hate has managed to bump her cage to the edge of the table. For a brief moment fright takes you when it begins to topple over the edge, but Master catches it before it travels more than an inch or two. A good thing he did, too! You think you're a full-grown adult... pony, at least as much of an adult as a thing who doesn't provide for herself in any way shape or form can be, and you're still pretty fragile! Who knows how bad that kind of fall would hurt her.

 

Autumn has a seat on the floor next to you as Master opens the cage and pulls out the squirming, struggling filly with both hands. You're not that big yourself, and Master can certainly pick you up easily, but his hands seem to wrap around the whole of her abdomen between her flailing little legs, and Sunflower seems to realize this herself as her cries of protest end along with her physical resistance. Her face seems to be caught somewhere between fear and astonishment, and it's plain that up until now she hadn't come to terms with the scope of her changes, or her greatly diminished size. Aside from the noises of barely contained adoration coming from Autumn as she gets her first good look at Master's latest product the room has gone totally silent, until Master decides to fill the void.

 

"Are you done trying to headbutt through metal or should I let you keep trying to give yourself brain damage?"

 

"Don't mock me! Change me back right now!"

 

"I'm afraid I can't do either, shortstack. You barely survived last night. Another go-round would probably kill you, and painfully."

 

"Fine! I'd rather die!"

 

"Well that's just not gonna happen, little miss."

 

Sunflower still firmly in his grasp, your Master kneels to the floor and turns her to face you and Autumn.

 

"Come closer, you two. See these two, Sunflower? You know them because you tried to take them away and do awful things to them, but it's important that you get a good look. See how they obeyed without a second thought? See how much bigger than you they are? You're gonna grow up to be just like them."

 

"Like hell I am! I'm already grown up you idiot!"

 

You know she's trying to be serious, but you can't help but giggle when she says it. There might be an adult mind in there, but a little girl's voice can't quite convey the tone the mind would like. In contrast, Autumn doesn't take it very lightly at all, closing what little distance there is between them and taking an authoritative tone you've never heard from her before.

 

"You will watch your language missy, or I'll wash that dirty mouth out!"

 

Woooah. Where's this coming from all of a sudden? She does know that isn't really a kid in there, right? You're about to correct her assumption on the matter, but Sunflower cuts that short by biting at Autumn's nose. She doesn't quite connect, but it's aggressive enough that Master pulls her away in a hurry while Autumn recoils just as quickly. Master starts scolding the little hate-thing, but you're already busy with Autumn.

 

Sure enough her eyes have begun to water in mere moments, a wounded look on her face and ears drooping as little Sunflower's attitude blasts her earlier hopes for playtime with a little filly clear out of the water. You throw yourself into damage control mode at once, putting yourself between Autumn and the object of her dashed aspirations.

 

"Hey, don't be sad. This is all new and she hasn't come around yet."

 

"K-kids shouldn't say things like that, Zephy..."

 

"I know, honey, I know. Just give her some time."

 

A loud cry of indignation comes from somewhere behind you, and you've both stopped short to refocus on it in time to see the little thing kicking like mad as Master holds her one handed and wraps a wide rubber band around her muzzle with the other. Her struggling doesn't stop, but all vocalizations beyond murmurs cease as she finds her mouth held shut like a lobster's claw.

 

"That'll come off for food and water only until you're ready to behave yourself, you little wretch."

 

Her eyes cross a bit as she focuses on the offending rubber band, and her forehooves rub uselessly on it as she tries and fails to free herself and resume insulting the three of you. Autumn seems a little disturbed by all this, but you think it's still pretty damned funny watching someone so obsessed with power, or at least the power to hurt, find themselves helpless. The poor little thing is going to have one hell of a time coping with all this, but you're still at something of a loss as to what Master plans on doing to make her worth adopting. And what the hell was happening earlier, when she didn't remember you? Before Charlie came back, she seemed... nice.

 

Master tucks Sunflower in one arm like a football and strides back into the living room, and as soon as he's down on the couch you know where this is going. Sunflowers muted but audible cries lose their angry edge as she finds herself held in his lap while his free hand begins to slowly pet her. The look of disgust on her face says it all, and you can't help but relish the first moments of awkward pleasure she feels at being treated like a housepet. Soon her plaintive mewling is drowned out by the sounds of you and Autumn play-wrestling on the floor. It's enough just to brighten Autumn's mood with a little play, but the occasional glance at Sunflower makes it all the more satisfying. You've dealt the former monster's ego the worst possible blow: Being ignored.

 

Finally, after a few hours of lighthearted play with Autumn you look back over to the sofa to find your Master reading his book again, and Sunflower asleep in his lap. Now Autumn moves in for a closer look, and for a little while you both just marvel at how cute the little thing is when she's not actively hating you. Eventually hunger gets the better of all three of you, though, and Master looks unhappy as he contemplates waking her up again.

 

Bratty, violent little shit or no, the filly's gotta eat.