Brooke softly brushed the coat of the powerful mere in the silence. She had come right out to the stable after the school bus dropped her off wanting to avoid her parents but the solid footsteps that approached warned her that her father had located his daughter.

"Just got off'ta phone with the school Brooke. Ya want ta tell me yerself what is goin' on in that head of yers?" the silver haired man asked his youngest child. Brooke didn't raise her eyes from the horse she was caring for and waited for her father to carry on with his monologue. "Okay, silent treatment. Ya know, I never had to put up with this crap with any of yer brothers, yeah they did stupid shit but they were not bullying other kids being little brats at school - they feared repercussions. Yeur behaviour is unacceptable - ya know better!" he raised his voice a little before he took a deep breath and reeled in his emotions.

He took a seat on a weathered stool and waited for his girl to talk. "I want to go on the run with you. You said 'no'!" she snapped at him.

He looked her up and down still struggling not to see his little girl but the young woman she was becoming but who needed a serious life lesson now "Oh, so someone told Brooke 'no' and that gives ya the excuse to be a little hellion at school and a disrespectful brat at home. I don't think so Missy! Yes, yer are to young to go along as a rider and that is my belief."

"It's because I'm a girl!" Brooke shouted startling the mere a little.

Her Dad looked at her "No, Brooke, y're 14 and I didn't take any of yeur brothers until they were at least 16, don't give me that sexist bullshit. I've taught ya to rope, ride, fight and drive a tractor - all to the freakin' delight of your mother - and ya used to love it but lately...You've changed and honestly I think y're just afraid to miss something because the run - it is work - hard work! - you might mess up your perfect hair or break a nail!" the girl flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder with a huff.

"That being said, yer Ma and I have discussed ya going in a different way..." the man stood up, took a package from his shirt pocket and carefully opened the top flap "Blow in there..." he told Brooke who looked at him like he had lost his mind "Just do it - ya want to go on the ride don't ya?" he taunted.

Brooke took a deep breath and blew into the small envelope, causing a back draft of purple, sparkling dust to blow back in her face as her father distanced himself from it quickly. The girl coughed and sputtered on the floral smelling powder and started to sneeze. "What the hell was that!" she demanded.

"Well, yer Ma and I had a long talk last week, and we agreed if ya were gonna keep actin' like a horses arse then you might as well have one - so to speak. Ya see Brooke, the ride is gonna be to be a learnin' experience for ya. Yer are gonna go as my horse and if you do as yer told and learn to respect me and others around ya, then when we get back, yeu'll get to be human again. If not well yeu'll have to keep working on that attitude of yours to be able to fit into all those pretty little clothes I keep gettin' hit up for money for." he explained "I see now I let ya become too spoiled and we think this will help break you of that attitude."

Brooke shook her head in disbelief "Man, do you even hear yourself...I'm going to turn into your horse...yeah whatever Dad. Maybe you should cut back the moonshine..." she laughed when she felt something tickle the back of her legs. Brooke turned to see what had rubbed against her to see long brown hair hanging down behind her coming from...her tail.

Brooke turned to her dad in shock at her new appendage "Are you insane!? What was that powder?" she demanded.

The man bent down picking up the chrome water bowl he kept in the stable for the dogs and pored it out on the floor before handing it to the girl "Never ya mind that. What that was is what yer Ma and I think is the best for ya right now to break ya of this poor excuse for behaviour."

Brook snatched the bowl and looked at her face like she was looking for a zit but what she saw made her drop the bowl in shock. Her small nose had somehow expanded to the width of her face and her perfect teeth had shifted into a monstrous bucktooth overbite. She slapped her hands over her hideous face but as she did she noticed her dark finger nails. Brooke lowered her hands to see that it wasn't just her nail becoming dark but the entire tips of her ring and middle fingers and they were becoming hard and solidifying just as quickly as they were fusing together into one solid digit.

"Daddy!" Brooke screeched in fright as she collapsed to the floor, now seeing the fur sprout from around her wrists. Her father just stood there shaking his head as he watched her ears push out and start to flicker uncontrollably to the noises around the stable.

"No Brooke, don't ya 'Daddy' me! Ya wanted to be all tough and ya have done some very rude things to kids at yeur school and I'm sure as hell gonna break ya of that and if this is what it takes then, so be it. It's your turn to get off yer high horse...uh...sorry about that one, it just kinda slipped out." he chuckled thinking of a better explanation "Ya will just have to think about stuff and get yer stuff together..." he affirmed as her feet lengthened and her toes followed suit with what had just happened to her hands. The girl struggled to get her feet under neath herself as fur spread across her shin like wild fire.

As her limbs finished up changing and her face drew into a long muzzle Brooke managed to stand up on her new hooves, whinnying in fright. Her father quickly, with expert skills secured a bridle onto her and started to tell her to calm down. "Now Look! That is enough of that! I leave in two days and ya need to see the farrier and to be fitted for a saddle and I don't have time for this 'Poor me" crap...you made yeur bed and ya can fix this with a little hard work and determination, and so help me Brooke, if you buck or throw me I'll make sure you get no apples during the entire run. Do ya understand me young lady!?"

The horse stomped a foot in protest but then seemed to sigh and nodded as if to say she understood.

Well, it was a start.