BRING!!!!!!!!

Leela sat up with a shock at the ringing of her alarm clock. "Man, what a crazy dream", she muttered to herself as she rose from her bed. Petting Nibbler, curled up on the foot of her bed, she figured that she had one to many servings of Bender's new dish last night. It probably didn't agree with her stomach, and some how caused her to think of, all animals.....unicorns?

            Leela scoffed at her dream as she stripped herself of her nightgown, reaching for her change of clothing. "They're not even real", she said to herself as she pulled her muscle shirt on. "I mean, I don't even understand why I would have thought of that animal, out of all I could have chosen from. Aw well, it was just a dream" she sighed as she finished with her jumpsuit pants. 'The funny thing is though.....it felt really wierd...like I was really doing it....and the fact that I think -I- was the unicorn in that dream..."

            She paused for a minute as she strapped up her boots and snapped on her wrist communicator, but dismissed it. She was on vacation, and she wanted to enjoy it, not spend her time wondering about idiotic fantasies. First things first, she was going to spend her day at a secluded forest north of NNY, one that she was suprised to find out didn't exist on any maps. No matter, is was a great place for the picnic and nature obsevring she wanted to do today. She use to do bird watching while she was a teenager, and besides, she loved all living things. And so, she gave Nibbler a kiss, brought him over to a kennel for safe keeping (since she didn't trust Fry and Bender), and drove off for the forest.

            The sky was clear, a deep crystal blue as Leela sat, leaning against a tree, nibbling on a ham and cheese sandwich. The forest reached on around the clearing she sat in, a darker eternity ringing with the sound of life. She had always felt at peace in the forest, away from human heartache and misery, but today she could have SWORN she was even more so. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was definitly different with her today....

            Opening a water bottle, she though she glimpsed a flash of white.  Her eye scanned the area of where she thought it was, but she saw nothing. Shrugging, she took a swig of water. But AGAIN, she saw the blur, this time even closer. And she could have SWORN she heard hooves clattering against the groung. "This is crazy" she thought. "I'm still thinking of my dream from this morning." Shaking her head, she drank again......and spit it out in shock with a gasp.

            There, emerging from the forest, was a great creature. At first she thought it was a white horse that had broken free from a ranch, but then she took a closer look. It's hooves were split,  it's mane and tail long and graceful. An aura seemed to surround it as it stood there.

            And it had a long, white horn.

            Leela rubbed her eye and blinked. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. "There's a freakin' UNICORN standing in front of you, Toronga!" her mind screamed at her. She was a bit nervous to be in the area of such a great animal....especially when it had been looking at her this whole time.

            She gasped when she realizied it was coming towards her. She didn't know what to think until she realized the equine had its horn pointed RIGHT AT HER. "Oh, my God, it's going to impale me!!" she thought, scooting away from it against the tree. When that didn't work, she stood up and leaned as far as she could against the trunk. "Please", she pleaded, holding her arms, "don't kill me! I'll leave! I didn't mean to disturb your forest!" But the unicorn didn't seem to listen, it just came closer. Leela clenched her eye and muscles, bracing for death.

            Suddenly, she felt warm in the middle of her chest. When she opened her eye, she realized she had the horn of the unicorn imbedded deep within her body. The warmth spread throughout her body, disapating as it reached her head and toes. The unicorn then withdrew its bloodless horn, Leela's wound healing as it did so. The creature seemingly smiled lovingly at her, and trotted away.

            Leela barely caught herself as she collapsed. "OK......I just saw and got impaled by a unicorn, but I'm perfectly fine. That's just wierd." She rubbed the spot on her chest, the only sign of what happened was a clean, slighly singed hole in her shirt. She felt funny, it was a feeling she had never experinced.

            To spooked to continue her stay, she packed up and drove home.

            The next morning, Leela streched and yawned, like she always did. Noticing there was no small furry lump at her feet, she mentally slapped herself in the head, remembering she forgot to pick up Nibbler. Oh well, no biggie, she'd just get him later.

            After a nice, warm shower, Leela dressed for the day and got her favorite brush from its holder on the wall. Undoing her hair, she stroked through it, watching as she untangled the snarls.....combed back some rough spots...... made sure the hair was uncurled from her small horn.......

            The brush clattered to the floor.

            Leela leaned right into the mirror, gasping. There was a small, white bump just at the top  of her forehead. It was only about 2-3 inches high, but quite noticable. She was wondering how she could have missed it when she suddenly felt itchy on her chest. Whipping up her shirt, she found a small, light film of white in the area of the horn's entry. Leela stuttered, and then shook her head.

            "No, that's foolish.....I couldn't be.....it's impossible.....isn't it?"

            Leela scanned her body for any other changes, but didn't see any. Since she had a horn, she didn't feel too much like going out. Fortunatly, Planet Express was closed to rid the bulding of owls, so she wouldn't be needed there for a while yet. "Fine with me", she thought.. Not knowing what else to do, she resumed her normal day's schedule, and went to bed for the night.

            Waking up the next day, Leela immediatly bolted for the bathroom mirror as she switched clothing. The horn had grown in height, and the light covering on her belly had grown and thickened. She had no explination as to what was happening to her. Well, one she was willing to accept. She wasn't sick, she knew that much. She wasn't dreaming, she had already pinched herself several times. And she wasn't going mad. There was only one thought left, and she didn't like the sound of it....

            "Am I turning into a unicorn?" she muttered to herself, in disbelief.

            As if in answer, Leela heard a loud ripping sound from her backside. Whipping her head around, she watched a long, lion-like white tail snake out of a hole in her pants. Grabbing a hold of it, she looked at, not wanting to believe the fact SHE WAS transforming.....

            She walked over to an arm chair in her living room. She thought for a minute, and buried her head in her hands, crying from sorrow and fear. She knew it could be worse.....she could have been bitten by radioactive skunk or pig, or she could have really died when she was 'attacked' two days ago. But she didn't want to lose her life here, in the human world. Sure, it was at times rough, and even misrable, but she had good friends, a loving pet, and a warm roof over her head. She was quite happy with they way she was.

            She was scared, because she didn't know what happen to her if this kept up. If she tranformed completely, she would be trapped in her apartment, or caught and kept locked up for gawkers to take a look at you. Or maybe dissceted. Yessir, not pretty fates.

            Well, no use crying about it, Leela reasoned, wiping away her tears.If this was fate dealing the cards to her, she'd just have to roll with the punches. She'd just hopefully drive out to that forest again just in the nick of time. But she wanted to hang on here, in New New York, as long as possible. Maybe she would just be slightly deformed, like 'The Elephant Man' or something simliar. 'I mean, I could shave off the horse hair, and I could roll the tail up in my pants and wear my blernsball cap 24/7 while I'm out in public...." She was sure she could adapt.

            A gurgle from her stomach told her she was hungry. She walked around, and found something that looked very interesting for a meal. She leaned over, and started nibbling on a cropping of flowers she had against her window. When she realized what she was doing, she brought up her head, part suprised, part shocked......and part comfortable.....

            The NEXT day, Leela went over to her mirror and nearly fainted from shock. White hair was sprouting all over her body, and her horn was now 10 inches long! Her hands were starting to get hard to flex, and as she rubbed her sleep-blurred eye, she realized she now had two, larger, dark blue eyes. Seeing that, Leela let out a belting whinny...and clamped her hands over her mouth.

            The video phone was ringing  She slapped herself on the head, realizing she had promised Fry that she would help move furniture last night, and was probably trying to check on her. But what could she do? She was 1/4 animal, let alone the fact she was starting to act like one! Quickly she grabbed a sheet, wrapped around her, and threw on some dark glass she had, while she.....uh....thought of something to say about her horn.

            Pressing the recieve button, she was met by Fry's face.

            "Hey Leela! I was wondering why...you...didn't........"

            "What's wrong, Fry?"

            "Um, I dunno if you noticed.....but you have a long white horn on your head."

            "What? Oh, that? That's nothing...It's....uh...a headache reliever. Yeah! You stick it on, and messages your brain" (God, was THAT stupid!! I hope Fry buys it.....)

            "Oh, OK."

            (Phew!!) "Sorry, Fry....I gotta run, see ya."

            "Oh. Well, um, see you la-"

            Leela hung up the phone before Fry could finish.

            As lunch time rolled around, Leela rumaged around in her refridgerator for something to eat. She found some cold cuts she gotten for her 'fatal' picnic, and some leftover bread. She slapped it together into a sandwich, and took a nice, large bite. The minute the meat hit her taste buds, Leela nearly vomited. She managed to spit out the bit of sandwich, muttering "What, is this stuff bad already?" Taking a whiff, she was instantly repulsed by the horrible odor. Looking at the package's label, she was amazed to find that it was supposed to be good for several more days. Then she remembered something she read in fantasy book she once read: The fact that unicorns can not eat any sort of meat; they only like vegetation.

            Leela opened her vegetable drawer. Sure enough, there were still some carrots from a few days ago. She picked one up and began to nonchalontly nbble on it. Suddenly, her feet felt extremely cramped. Stripping off her boots and socks, she found her feet had grown several inches, and her toes were stuck in a fused postion of two to each side of a 'V'-like-shape formed by the apendages. Seeing as the skin around them was turning black, Leela figured it was a set of hooves taking form. At the same time, her stomach churned slightly. Like the rest of her transformation, it didn't hurt, but Leela was still upset.

            'Aw man, how much further is this going to go?!"

            By the time Leela prepared for bed, most of her body was cloaked in bright white hair. Her face was staring to strech out, her teeth becoming long and flat as they followed it. Her ears were tapered to a point, and were progresing up the side of her head. And she could no longer reach behind her with her arms.  And she could have sworn her neck was longer, her body had ganed mass...

            No matter, she was too tired to cotemplate a fate she already knew. "Why should I care anymore; I'm going to be a unicorn, why fight it?", Leela figured. Since she couldn't take off her clothes, she just wanted to use them as sleepwear.

            There was some sort of soft, rectangular shape sitting in a room, but she didn't know how to use it. Part of her mind said she was to lie on it, under something called 'sheets', but she didn't feel comfortable. She was too uneasy, too nervous to want to lie down. So, Leela trotted to a larger room, and slept standng on all fours.

            Waking up, Leela shook her head. She felt taller, stronger. Looking down, she saw her limbs had lengthened. Her hind quaters had altered, and she was starting to have trouble walking as a biped. Walking to the mirror, she grimaced at her reflection.

            Her body was now totally coated in hair, her eyes now on the sides of her head. Her ears had moved fully to their new postion, and her muzzle had streched out several inches more. Her hands were darker, she was starting to have diffculty seperating her fingers. Looking at her legs, past her shifted thighs, her feet had streched out longer, where her toes should be now cloven hooves. Frustrated and scared, Leela ran a trembling hand through her purple/white hair, taking a swath of it with it.

            Leela knew by the end of today there'd be nothing pyshical to link to herself, she'd probably be a full fledged unicorn by sundown. Looking down at her hands, she sighed to herself, and rushed down through her apartment building towards her car.

            Fortunatly, it was still kind of late for a weekend day, so not many people were about. Leela sneaked around corners, walls, and other structures to reach the lobby. After making a full sprint to the garage, she jammed her keys into the ignition, and gunned the car as fast as she could within normal limits.

            As she zoomed towards the forest, Leela shifted uncomfortably in her car seat. It was getting really painful to be sitting like this. Her hands were starting to fuse into hooves, and she had difficulty trying to steer. Her clothing began to creak and tear under the increasing pressure of her swelling body. Finally, she got the forest, set down her car, and jumped out of the seat, barely remembering to unbuckle her seat belt.

            The minute she escaped her car, her back cracked. Leela gave a startled cry as she fell on all fours. Her body rapidly gained mass, as her neck and muzzle streched forward. Her clothing tore away, and her hair fell away, the remainder turning white and forming a mane. Finally, the churning in her chest and abdomen from the re-arrangement/addtion/altering of organs ceased, and it was finally over.

            Leela stood in the clearing, a full unicorn,  still standing amidst a shredded pile of clothing. Shaking the last shreds off her back, she trotted a bit away. The air was full of different odors and scents, including her own heavy equistrian scent. Breathing a bid timidly, drawing large amounts of air into her now massive lungs, Leela looked nervously about, various voices ringing in her head:

            "Great. I'm screwed."

            "Is this permanent? Or am I just dreaming?"

            "How can I live like this?!?"

            "(sigh) Now I feel at home...."

            Leela paused at that last voice. She certainly didn't feel right here. She doubted anyone who had swapped classifications of life suddenly, without will, wouldn't be at home in a new enviorment.

            The funny thing was, being on all fours wasn't at all hard to get used to. It almost felt....natural.......

            Her enhanced hearing picked up a rustling in the distance. Perking her head (which she swore would have been heavy at first), she saw a shape emerging from the forest. To her suprise, it was the exact same unicorn that had impaled her four or five days ago, causing her to transform into her new form. In a mixture of anger, frustration (and JOY?), she looked at her.

            "Why have you done this to me!?!? What did I -DO-?!?!?" she screamed, partly suprised she could still talk....

            "Hush, little one. You're back where you belong...." the unicorn answered her.

            "What the Hell do you mean!?! I'm..well WAS...a human! Well, technically, I wasn't that either, but I certainly don't belong here! Now, please...just change me back. I don't want to remain like this....!!" she cried, tears brimming in her crystal eyes.

            "Don't cry", the creature cooed, nuzzling Leela's tears away. "You are back where you belong. You are as you should be."

            "Wha-what?"

            "Think hard, little one.....you should know....."

            Leela raised an eyebrow best as she could...when thoughts flashed into her mind. Grazing....standing with her own kind...running free along large, open fields. Leela's mind froze on a certain aspect of the creature in front of her. It seemed...had to be.....IMPOSSIBLE!! But she said it, in a craking, dibelieving voice....

            "M-m-mom?!?"

            The unicorn smiled and nodded.

            "Bu-but how?!? We're not even the same species!"

            The unicorn looked at her, tears filling her large, misty chesnut eyes. "Oh, my poor dear. You have no idea, do you?"

            "What do you mean?"

            "You don't know of the truth about you."

            "What truth? That I'm not an alien?"

            "No.....you're a unicorn. You always have been."

            Leela reeled her head back, shocked. "You-bu-guh....."

            "This may take a few minutes to expalin. Sit down, my child", the unicorn suggested, folowing her own advice. Leela carefully settled back onto her haunches, still trying to get used to muscles she somehow felt she had always known to use.

            "You see, a hundred years ago, I gave birth to you. You were such an equitstive little thing, always wandering off when I wasn't looking, always wanting to learn about the world around you...we always thought it was adorable..."

            "WE?"

            "Yes, there were others..."

            "Were?"

            "They were all killed quite some time ago. I don't know how. But you...Leela, was it?....and I are the last of our kind."

            "Then that means I -STILL- belong to a dead species..."

            "No, not exactly. I should have explained we are last of our kind HERE. There are others on this planet, on this continent. I'm sorry I scared you."

            "It's OK...continue, I guess."

            "Twenty six of your years ago, your wanderings proved fatal. You were captured by a deranged scientist, of some sort.....I believe he was named 'Farns-something'. I can't quite remember. Nor do I want to."

            "Bu-but I worked for him....how...?"

            "When he captured you, he performed all sorts of experiments on you. Eventually, he figured it was too difficult to bring you back, so he devised a way to hide you. He transfomed you into an human egg, and implanted you into a woman living a ways away. Nine months later, you born into this world in the form you just came from, a human. Because of the incompatabilty between humans and unicorns, you were born with one eye, purple hair, and a slightly different skin tone."

            "Well, I guess that explains everything....in a strange, freaky sort of way...."

            "I searched long, far, and hard for you. I found you earlier this year. But I could not go to a city of humans. I needed you in an open place. I had given all hope of getting you back, until five of your days ago, when you came for a visit. I'm sorry if I scared you, but piercing you was the only way to re-activate your hidden, old DNA to revert you back to normal."

            "But one thing still doesn't make sense", Leela said, shaking her head. "How could the Prof. have done this to me without remembering?" Leela's mother eyed her with a smile in her eyes, and Leela laughed. "Oh yeah, he always was a forgetful person..."

            After she looked her parent in the eyes for a few minutes, she asked a big question:

            "What's going to happen to me now?"

            "You'll remain a unicorn. I'm afraid I can't reverse it. In a few minutes, your human mind will be erased, and will be as if you never existed as you did."

            "So, I won't remember anything about my past....?"

            "No, I'm afraid not."

            Leela sighed. So many things she wanted to do...so many things she wanted...and at the same time, so many regrets. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad if she never remembered those events....

            "Well, I guess it's just as well....."

            "I thought so. I'll warn you now, it will be a bit painful, I'm sorry...."

            Leela never heard her. She reflected on her life. She had some many regrets....her orphange....her stand up at the prom....her mistake with Zapp and its constant reminders, and the fact she never could tell Fry her true feelings. Now she never could.

            At the same time, she was elated she was back home with her family...her home....her kind. There would be no more hatred...no more problems...no more sadness or lonliness.....

            Suddenly, her mind felt like it was on fire. Toronga Leela's life was vaporzing right before her synapeses. She tried to think of the friends she was leaving, but she couldn't recall any of their names. The large, shiny thing that got her here disappeared, along with the shredded things that covered her old body.....soon, she couldn't even remember her own name.....

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            The young unicorn shook her head as the last of the pain assulting her brain fell away. She saw her mother standing in front of her, and happily nuzzled her muzzle to muzzle. Her mother smiled, at nodded towards a large field. The creature trotted carefully towards it, her eyes finding a tree near the edge of it. It was the tree she loved to lie under for shade when she was relaxed. The wind blew cool against her, sending a wave of joy through her. There was no trouble in sight, and being a bit hot from the Sun's rays, she trotted under it.

            Tired and happy, the young mare curled up under it, and feel asleep.

END.