Little Tales

Chapter 7
Little Tales: Trim it Down

Chapter Description: No one is superior to anyone else, no one is inferior to anyone else. Not that the hateful ever listen

Don't look down on those who are trying as you did
You might find yourself looking up at them

Oh why must thou be so arrogant when you were in their place not so long ago? Humans have a knack for such an attitude I've found, hypocrisy is a nasty trait that one too many tend to develop in quick order once they have what they've sought after.

One such woman and a man found out the just desserts for having such an attitude.

Don't be the bully you've had to deal with.

Trim It Down

Achieving a goal in life is a good thing and worthwhile, giving yourself a target to work towards and meeting it is something that many should aspire to since it can encourage them to meet other goals.
However there needs to be an understanding that just because you made it doesn't mean that others will no matter how hard they try, one person's journey is not another's and the path they take will be different from your own.

Unfortunately few heed that fact and all too often look down on those who are doing the best they can do.

Once bullied may become the new bully.

~~

Grip, tense for a second before relaxing your muscles just enough, lift. Keep lifting and find a rhythm, keep the rhythm going. Repeat this process until either exhausted or satisfied with the workout. Do this every day and don't skimp on it.

Easier said than done for many.

“I think...I'm going to die...If I die then...make sure they're all...naked at my funeral. Should be good...for some ghostly laughs” She needed to do this and she was determined to, she was willing to, but why did it have to be so hard? Why couldn't humans come with multiple layers where one can be peeled off to reveal someone in better shape, it would save on the pain.

“No pain...no gain...Repeat after me...ow this fucking hurts!” Rita Peters and Henrietta Pietas have been friends for coming on twenty years now ever since their college years, they've laughed, loved and lived with a particular zeal for the living part and recently they've been ordered to try and keep their weight down upon entering their forties.

Until their thirties they had been slim in the price of their youth but as is all often the case the thirties brought about a slower metabolism and the weight became harder to shift, youth is fleeting. Now in their forties they've been told that they are both obese and in need of losing a good deal of weight which they have been both quite happy to do.

Only it's not as easy as nonsense like TV and the internet would have you believe.

“I think...I can see...a light”

“That's...because you're looking up...at the ceiling into one...of the lights...oooow”

“Oh yeah” Why did nature have to slow down the metabolism after barely a short time in the prime of their youth? Surely it could wait until much later, like the back end of never.

“Alright ladies, take five. You're doing well” Their training instructor, a woman called Victoria Battersea, helps them to sit up and put the weights to the side. “I know you're both hurting but you really are doing well” Both women smiles tiredly, and painfully, from the praise. They were doing the best they could as they both wanted to get their weight down. It was just hard going.

“Those whales will never lose that blubber” Her. “Seriously look at them, land whales who let themselves bloat” Tonya Weir, not so long ago she had been struggling with her weight and had managed to lose it all after years of a gruelling weight loss regime. She was now bulked up with a considerable amount of muscle and, unfortunately, a nasty attitude towards those who were trying their best to keep in shape.

“I've warned you about your attitude, Tonya, they are doing their best. Not every one has your genetics” Victoria remarks with a slight bite top her tone, she was tired of Tonya's attitude towards others in the centre.

Many of the members here have complained about her and she has been given multiple warnings which she ignores.

“They're lazy, simple as that. Lazy, fat and stupid” Rita glares at this rude woman with as much hatred as she muster, not easy to do when winded.

“Enough, Tonya, Nick's probably waiting for you so that he can do another workout with you” Nick, or Nicolas, Yani was one of Tonya's oldest friends who had encouraged her to get into shape and often worked out with her. His attitude towards others trying was as bad as her own so they were given a room of their own to exercise in.

Some believed that they were doing more than a mere workout in there.

“See you later, whales, watch out for hunters. Whale hunting is still a thing and I'm sure they would just love to get the land variety” Tonya laughs cruelly and stalks off to her and Nick's private workout room, Rita and Henrietta managing to stick up two fingers each to her.

“She seriously needs to be brought down a few pegs” Henrietta remarks as more feeling returns to her arms and legs. She never took kindly to bullies which as her dear old great grandmother would say 'Don't be an ass if you don't want yours kicked'.

“She is fairly pushing her chances here, she might be a success story but she's changed from that woman who was unsure of herself and if she could manage to lose the weight she had struggled with since she was a teenager. Either Nick's arrogance has rubbed off on her or it's something she's developed in recent years.
Anyways, ladies, up for doing a little more?” Despite the pain they both nod, they were up for doing more. No pain, no gain. If only the pain would be less painful.

~~

An audible click confirms that the door is closed and that no one outside the private workout room can hear anything within the room, it was soundproofed but she still preferred to be certain.

Nick, a man in his late 30s and a few years older than her, is waiting to get started. At 39 with rugged features, genetics had been kind to him in that regard, and a toned figure he was eyed up by a lot of women and it was always a surprise to people that he wasn't married.
He didn't care about getting married though since he believed in being wild and free instead of tied down. In translation it really meant that he loved to sleep around and wasn't looking to settle down, he was more the type to poke and run. He has a lot of children that he doesn't even know about due to this behaviour.
He pushed himself to be as hyper masculine as possible so that no one would question why he didn't actually enjoy being like that. He only did it because it was expected of him, the ever enforced 'BE A MAN!' rhetoric.

Tonya is nothing like him, she's 36 and does wish to settle down if she can meet the right man but years of being derided for her weight before Nick and a health scare nine years earlier had pushed her to try and get her weight down. Most men she's met have either mocked her for her weight or only wanted to have a poke and run, few men in the area wanted to settle down. They still held onto the 'Wild Rider' mentality that never seemed to die even in their middle age.

She didn't want to have children but sometimes she would feel broody which she hated feeling. It wasn't like she had any parents who were expecting grandchildren, she had been abandoned shortly after birth and there wasn't anything to be found on them.

Nick was the closest thing she had to family what with them both having been abandoned, his own parents had been forced to abandon him because they were deported while he was at school. He never saw his parents again nor had he had any luck in being able to track them down.

Tonya and Nick would become fast friends in the orphanage they had been sent to together, he was protective of her while she saw him as a big brother of sorts. Neither of them had gotten adopted and once they had aged out of the orphanage they continued to support one another, all they had was one another.

“Too many land whales in this place” Tonya remarks coldly as she slips her coat and top off until she's just wearing her exercise gear which she had on underneath.

“People got to try” Nick replies as he does some warm up stretches, Tonya doing the same once she's finished putting her casual clothes to the side.

“They're not trying hard enough, I doubt any of them have lost any weight at all. They just sit around gabbing instead of working out” They both grab a pair of dumbbells each, steppers in front of them as the first step of their exercise regime.

“Music?” Nick rolls his eyes as he forgot about it, sets his dumbbells down and goes over to his workout bag where he has a tablet with it's charger. A minute later and he's back, the tablet plugged in and music playing.

“Sorry” He's a man of few words unless he's wooing a woman into a one night affair. “Forgot” Shaking her head at his forgetfulness, she begins exercising with Nick keeping in sync beside her. They did this almost every day together unless they were both too busy or had other engagements at the time.

“Too many lazy people who never do hard enough, never face the pain for long enough” She ignores the fact that she used to be the same way until her health scare, she hadn't seen the point to try before then because she didn't see any point to bothering due to how belittled she was by bullies since childhood.

Nick would always be worried about her and would deal with any bullies who hurt her, but the health scare had been the push when Tonya had almost died from a cardiac arrest. He urged her to take care of herself and she had been receptive, if doubtful.

Now almost a decade later she has come a long way but in the process become as hateful and cruel to others also trying as the bullies were to her, Nick wasn't happy to see this change in her personality and he would remark on it but she never listened.

“Guess so” He says quietly so to avoid getting an argument. He was glad to see so many people trying to get into shape, he didn't say much to them which made him come across as aloof and disdainful but he was proud of them for trying. He felt that Tonya needed to ease up on them though, the bullies had been bad enough without her becoming like them as well.

He didn't want to become her target if she knew about his own longing to be like her in regards of her body, he hated being a man but was too scared to admit that. She was pretty transphobic so he kept pushing himself to be as manly as possible when in reality he was already seeking guidance towards being himself, or rather herself. But he's not ready to use those pronouns yet, not until he's certain of this path so he continues to use male pronouns.

After about fifteen minutes they come off from the stepper and move to the mats for an assortment of stretches, bends and other exercises. While Tonya talks, well insults would be more the term, about the others in the centre, Nick wonders about how his transition might go. He wanted to begin soon but he needed to muster the courage to begin, he wanted to talk to Tonya about it but her attitudes about trans people always put him off.

“Something on your mind?” Tonya asks, they've been friends for so long that she can tell when he's troubled.

“Nothing” He lies, he had seen how she was towards the trans people who were members here. Yesterday she had called a trans woman by male pronouns and refused to let her use the female assigned bathroom, Nick had wanted to step in and stop Tonya but he had been too scared to his secret coming out.
He had derided himself for his cowardice last night, he was already ashamed of his behaviour with women and secretly sent child support payments. He knew he needed to change himself around but he was scared of people finding out why he was so hyper masculine and the reasons behind it.

“Uh huh. Talk” He needed to distract her, she was a hateful woman but she was also his oldest friend, his only friend.

“Nothing. Weights?” Tonya looks right at him as if she's trying to look into his mind, then shrugs and goes over to the weights. He breathes a sign of relief internally, he wanted to talk but she was so filled with bitterness and hatred towards others. Almost a decade of keeping in shape had only made her worse, she used to be so reserved and shy but now she was cruel and resentful.

Things needed to change or she would anger the wrong person, he couldn't protect her forever. Not when he couldn't protect himself.

~~

Almost two hours later they finish their exercises, have a shower in the private showers that high paying gym members were allowed to use and head out into the main exercise area of the gym after they've dried off and dressed in fresh clothes that they had packed hours ago before coming here as they have done for almost a decade of coming to this gym.

Nick hopes that they can leave without Tonya starting a scene but that ends up not being the case, Tonya takes a look around at all of the people there exercising and doing their best to lose the weight they were so desperate to lose.

“Tonya, let's just go, I'm hungry. Aren't you? We did a lot of hard exercising” She ignores him which means she's about to go into hate mode, which these days is the most common behaviour for her.
Nick looks around for Victoria and sees her close by, she is helping a couple of men with their breathing as they get ready to use two of the gym's treadmills.

“Disgusting balls of fat, the lot of you” Her voice is filled with venom and malice as she says that. “Lard with legs, land whales, blubber balls, fat fucking freaks! Not a single one of you has a chance of losing your weight because you're all too fucking lazy! You did this to yourselves and you have the nerve to think you can fix it with some cheap hope and minimal effort!
Why don't you all do the world a big favour and drop dead! Maybe you'll just die with your pathetic attempts, that would be well hilarious to see. What about you, tubby, going to have a heart attack and die on that bench? Please do, let's watch the fat fucks all die and celebrate!” Nick pales in horror at Tonya's words, why was she being like this? She should be supportive of them, he was, but she was being the complete opposite of supportive with her words.

“Come on, fatties! Save the world, die! Not a single one of you has any chance of losing that weight, you may as well just accept it and die” This had to stop.

“TONYA!” Victoria has heard everything and she is pushing her way through to her and Nick who is feeling ashamed and disgusted of his friend's behaviour.

“Last warning this time” Tonya just smirks as she turns to face Victoria.

“I'm a figurehead of this gym, you can't throw me out” Nick can see Victoria clenching her fists because Tonya's right, Tonya's success has helped this gym to be highly rated and they need the publicly but Tonya's behaviour is threatening that publicly. Victoria and her bosses weren't willing to risk losing that.

“Get out, when you come back I expect you to just walk past the others, I will not tolerate such abuse towards other members”

“Fuck you and fuck them” Nick can see Victoria fighting the urge to slap Tonya for her remark, her left hand is clenched tightly and her eyes show considerable anger.

“But then I probably wouldn't be able to find their genitals under all that blubber”

“GET OUT!” Nick grabs Tonya's nearest arm and tries to drag her out, Tonya smirking all the way until he pushes her out of the door and asks her to wait for him. Thankfully she doesn't argue with him and walks off, although not without yelling out an insult at everyone else inside.

“I mean it, Nick, she does this again and she is out one way or another” Signing heavily, he turns to Victoria and musters all the courage he can to do something that he's needed to do for years.

“I know and I agree, her behaviour just now was unacceptable. Can I talk to you, in private?”

“I'm not interested in you if you're looking to have sex with me” Nick blushes, she knows of his womanising.

“It isn't about that, it's about something else. In private, please?” Indicating over to her office she walks in with Nick who waits until the door is closed before saying what he needs to say.

“I'm not sure how to say this so I'll just do my best, I'm not male. I look male but I'm not” Victoria just shrugs.

“So you're a trans woman, that's fine. We do have trans members here, are you thinking of transitioning or are you unsure about taking that step? Nick, or whatever name you prefer, I'm not going to judge you but you need to do something about Tonya”

“I know! I've been trying for years but she doesn't listen to me, I don't know why she's become so hateful but I didn't put her up to it. She's been like this for the past six years and has only been getting worse, she's likely always been like this but has kept that side of herself so well hidden until her efforts were successful or whatever reason that's made her into the monster she is.
I can't even be myself around her due to her hatred of trans people, I'm terrified of losing the only friend I've got. I need help!” Victoria doesn't say anything for a few moments, she just looks at her certificates and her reflection in the glass.

“I don't know what to do, I need help in finding some way to get her to stop this behaviour”

“I know someone who would be able to help, I'll ask them. But it will come at a price” Nick allows a little hope to fill his heart.

“What kind of price?” He asks.

“A sacrifice, the person I can will be able to help you as well at the same time but you'll have to lose something to gain something. If you want the help that is because this is the only way I can think of to help in regards of Tonya, would you be willing to pay the price for the help?” A cold dread runs down his spine as he wonders what the price could be, how steep of a price would be asked for this help? Was he willing to take that risk?

He was.

“Yes”

“Then I'll let you know if they agree to help, I have your contact number and email address. I must warn you that if they agree to this then there's no going back once you take that path, it's an all or nothing deal. I won't put up with Tonya's behaviour any longer” A quick nod confirms that he understands what this could entail.

“I'll let you know, now go after Tonya and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone else”

~~

Later that day after supper Nick tries again to talk sense into Tonya, not that it works.

“Why are you being like this? Considering that you were in the same boat as them not so long ago I would have hoped that you would be supportive instead of hateful” It's the same old song as it has been for years, he tries his best to talk sense into her and she never listens, never heeds his words.

Except this one time, which is a surprise.

“Because they need the push, what's the point in being all nice and sweet to them when they need a firm push instead? Instead of sweet lies telling them how well they're doing and stroking their egos into existence, which won't do them any good, then bitter honest truth to make them think and force themselves into trying harder would be more effective.

Sugar coating everything never helps, it only results in unrealistic expectations when what you need is to face reality” After these years she finally answers him.

“But what you're doing is hurtful”

“Well life isn't fair, why should I be? I had to use every insult that was ever thrown at me to push myself to get this far, they need to have the same thing done to them if they ever want to reach their goal in losing weight. If that means bruising their psyche then so be it, they'll thank me for it eventually” But they won't, not everyone can push themselves in the same way and Nick says just that.

“Then that's their problem, not mine. The only silver platter in life is the one the rich have, the rest of us have to do things the hard way” She doesn't say anything more on the matter and Nick doesn't push, she wasn't willing to see the flaw to her flawed supportive approach.

He couldn't save her from the damage of the past, she was too lost to it.

~~

Two days later a few hours before he and Tonya return to the gym for another gruelling workout he received an email from Victoria, it doesn't say much but it's enough to give him a little hope that maybe Tonya can be helped.

'They've agreed, I've got what you'll need to help Tonya and yourself. Meet me when you arrive and I'll hand them to you. Last chance to back out if you're unsure, the sacrifice is costly'

To help Tonya he was willing to take the chance, she couldn't keep going like this. She was going to harm herself if she kept down this path and he would be harming himself by letting her do that.

This was the only way, whatever it entailed.

~~

Once at the gym Nick asks Tonya to go on ahead before meeting with Victoria, Tonya thankfully doesn't start a scene.

Once Tonya has gone through to the private exercise room Victoria beckons him over to her office and hands him two small items which look like metallic strips.

“Here. Apply them to the dumbbells that you'll be using, apply the one with the light yellow to one of Tonya's dumbbells and the one with the light pink strip to one of your dumbbells. They'll sink into the skin painlessly once the dumbbells are grabbed and the effect will be gradual, there's no refusing it once it kicks in nor once it's finished.
There will be some considerable changes and only I'll know about them in full, you'll have some memories but the older memories will become hazy over time. Last chance to back out if you're unsure about this, it can't be undone once the changes are made. Want to back out?” Nick shakes his head as he pockets the metallic strips.

“No, this needs to be done. Tonya's too far gone and only getting worse, she's on a self destructive path which will destroy her life and mine if she doesn't stop. I need to be able to live my life, I don't want to be dragged down with her” A soft smile from Victoria who gives him a soft pat on the arms.

“Go on then, get it done” Thanking her for her help, Nick goes through to the private exercise room where Tonya is getting warmed up.

“What did she want?” Tonya asks as she stretches.

“Nothing” While Tonya isn't looking Nick applies the strips to the dumbbells, being sure to place the right ones where needed. The strips change colour to blend in with the dumbbells and he does some warm up stretches.

“Dumbbells and steppers first?” He asks between stretches.

“Sure, need music as well” Music starts playing from the worn but still faithful stereo that they have been using for their exercise routine for years once Nick switches it on. Picking up their dumbbells they begin the first of their exercise routines, they don't feel the strips detach and sink into their palms.

No turning back now.

The effect kicks in seconds later as Nick feels a building warmth throughout his body and a spreading tingling, Tonya is feeling the same thing and she dismisses it as just part of her exercise routine. She doesn't notice the start of the changes as her features start to look more youthful, the developing lines melting away.

Nick, however, is feeling the tingling become painful. Not painful enough to throw him off his exercise but enough to be noticeable. His chest begins to itch while he can feel a sharp pain between his legs, he does his best to not show how much it's hurting. His hair starts to grow and soften, his features soften as well while muscle mass begins to decrease. Body hairs softens with much of it falling away.

“No pain, no gain” Nick says internally to himself. Well herself more like. Tonya, on the other hand, is looking younger as she slips back to her twenties. She doesn't notice this of course since she's too focused on her exercising.

“So this is me, this is who I truly am. Not Nick any more but Nicole, I can feel myself actually singing with joy. I'm finally myself!” The pain increases and Nicole can feel her breasts develop while her external organs melt inwards to become new internal organs, she grits her teeth and keeps going so that Tonya doesn't hear and doesn't see her changing into the woman she was always meant to be.

As this is happening to Nicole, Tonya is beginning to realise that something's happening as she starts to shrink upon entering her late teens. Her clothes remain mostly the same but adjust to fit her gradually diminishing frame, her strength was decreasing.

“Nick, what's going on?” She looks over to Nick but instead of Nick she sees a dark haired woman in her early to mid twenties in his place, a stunningly beautiful one at that.

“Nick?” She squeaks as her voice softens to a more childlike tone, she wasn't a teen any more but a pre-teen and getting younger.

“No, my name's Nicole. It's always been Nicole, it's almost done I think” Tonya tries to let go of the dumbbells but they feels like they're glued to her hands.

“What's happening to me?” Tonya asks as she slips into single digits.

“The only way to help you I guess, I'm sorry but I had no choice. You were destroying your life and mine at the same time, I had to ask for help” Tonya feels thick padding begin to develop between her legs as a thick nappy appears, she was still just above five years old.

“I'll take care of you, it's the least I can do”

“Me no baby!” Tonya blurts out as words become hard to speak, her age now under five and still dropping as she finally manages to let go of a dumbbell.

“You are now” Nicole feels her grip loosen on the dumbbells and she sets them down as Tonya does the same, her tiny hands unable to hold onto the remaining dumbbell. The toddler falls backwards onto the ground, her thickly padded backside cushioning the fall. The last few months melt away leaving behind a baby girl of just over a year old.

Nicole feels her own changes end, she was now about twenty two years old or near about that age. She can feel how different her body is now while the internal joy of having estrogen flowing through her veins is a song of sheer harmony and bliss. She was finally, truly, herself after so long.

Bending down to the crying infant, Nicole scoops her up and cradles her in her arms. The last of Tonya's adult mind melts away to leave behind an almost blank slate ready to grow into a new life, her innocence restored.

“I'm sorry that it had to come to this, you left me with no choice. I'll make sure that you hopefully become a much better person than you were” Walking over to the door and unlocking it, Nicole opens the door and looks for Victoria who sees her and walks over to her.

“I see that it worked well then, Nicole, you look quite beautiful and happy. Tonya fairly became an adorable baby girl, hopefully she'll not turn out like she was before when she's an adult again. Was the sacrifice of your friendship with her worth it you feel?” Nicole nods, it was. If Tonya had kept going down the path she was on then it all too likely wouldn't have ended well for neither herself nor for her prior self.

“She sounds hungry and you're lactating, you must feel incredible at being yourself at last”

“I do. Thank you”

“Happy to help, it helps to know a technomancer”

~~

That night after Tonya is put to bed, Nicole finally takes the time to see herself in full. It had been hard to find the time after leaving the gym.

Tears of joy are her music that night.

While for Tonya there is simply the sleep of innocence.

Don't be a bully for there's always a price to be paid for your actions.