//------------------------------// // A Royal Meeting // Story: Burnt Orange Juice // by Mike the Red //------------------------------// "So, do you have another name? I must admit, I'm quite curious to know more about you if you specify a pony name -- what other sort of name do you have?" asked the alicorn, her smile never faltering. I was about to explain, but Twilight cut me off first, earning a bit of a glare from me. "Aurora told me she used to be a male human named Michael before he came here -- and woke up in a copy of Sweetie Belle's body a few days ago," Twilight declared, drawing a gasp of surprise from Rarity and Rainbow Dash and a raised eyebrow from Celestia. "A human, you say? So how did you get here?" she asked, turning her gaze to me. Her smile never faltered in the least, though I saw the corners of her mouth turn upward ever so slightly, a hint of a twinkle in her eyes. I proceeded to tell her my story and this time Rainbow paid serious attention to my words. My "sisters" seemed intent on paying close attention as well, though I could have sworn I'd already told my tale to them twice over. Discord decided to show up and munch on some popcorn upon my mentioning his name, though I scowled at him as well. "What's the matter, Aurora? Are you not pleased by your new appearance?" he chortled. I softened my expression a little, but still maintained an expression of seriousness before addressing the draconequus. "Well -- I like the look -- and trotting around with a belly full of ice cream would be troublesome enough -- but if you're going to transform me, why not finish the job? Am I not supposed to be a stallion?" I queried, now sporting a mischievous grin. "I'm just curious to see how you'll handle this little challenge, Aurora," he quipped before disappearing once again. "Aurora, do you really wish to be a stallion?" asked the solar princess, her smile widening ever so slightly. "You mean -- you can do that for me?" I asked, surprised by her candor. I turned to look at Twilight, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Dash, whose expressions ranged from open curiosity to keen interest to what appeared to be hopefulness on Rarity's face. The thought of another transformation, this time into a stallion intrigued me as well as filling me with anticipation. Said optimism had crept into my voice, seemingly infectious to the other ponies present. "Of course I can, my little pony," Celestia noted softly, still smiling warmly at me. "But I'd like to know more about you before I proceed." "What would you like to know? Didn't I cover all the details in what I've told you already?" "That may be true, but there is more to you than meets the eye -- there is much more I would like to discuss with you -- and as of yet, I don't know if you would prefer to be called by your pony name or your human one," the alicorn answered. "And before I transform you, I will need to know everything about you." "I'll do my best, Princess," I said before finding myself enveloped in a golden glow. Celestia was using her magic on me, which tingled a bit, and then I felt my body changing yet again. I wasn't sure what she was doing, but felt certain changes taking place. When she finished, I took note of the fact that I was now looking down a little instead of being at eye-level with Rarity and Twilight -- though I still had to look up a little towards the alicorn. "You need not tell me more, Aurora, as I have taken the opportunity to delve into your mind. You are welcome to stay here in Equestria as long as you like," she stated warmly, smiling serenely at me. I took a moment to trot around to test my new size yet again. "May I have a mirror so I may see what you've done for me?" I asked. "Why did my colors not change?" "You did say you wanted to be a stallion," the alicorn offered, a hint of mirthfulness in her voice. Discord flashed a wicked grin at that. The others stood in stunned silence at my new form, amazed by yet another transformation. As with the previous one, my cutie mark had changed once more, but what astonished me was that I now looked like a male version of a grown-up Sweetie Belle. My cutie mark still contained the three elements of a red heart with a fuchsia-colored six-pointed star superimposed on the heart, and a gold five-pointed star superimposed on the six-pointed star. The gold star was fairly large now, but its significance escaped me. "Thank you, Princess, but I would have liked a different color," I complained. If nothing else, my voice now had a masculine tone to it, though it sounded like my normal human voice. "Perhaps Twilight can teach me how to improve my magic," I mumbled as I continued to trot around in circles. I saw the librarian's face light up when she heard me say that. Sweetie Belle gave me a curious look before trotting up to me and checking me out. Rarity called her back to her side. "Darling, are you going to change your name now that you're a stallion? I must say, your colors may cause some confusion," Rarity noted. "I think I'll keep the name of Aurora, no sense in causing even more confusion," I replied as I trotted back over to the mirror to continue to examine my new form. "I think he looks pretty cool like that," Rainbow offered, though I sensed a bit of sarcasm from her words. Discord snickered a little, earning another glare from me. "I'm afraid that is all I can do for you now, Aurora -- I have other matters of state to return to, and must make my way back to Canterlot. Please keep me informed of events around here while you explore. Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash -- look after him and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble," the alicorn added, chuckling softly as she left the library. "We will, Princess," the three nearly replied in unison. "What does she mean by that? I'm not looking to cause trouble or create it, or -- or -- something like that. I try to avoid trouble as much as possible!" I protested almost stridently. "Well, darling, what about Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?" Rarity asked, grinning. "I never intended for that to happen! It was an accident! But I need to check on them and see if they're okay," I replied sullenly, my ears laying flat against my head. "I'll admit, I wanted to give Diamond Tiara a taste of her own medicine, which was wrong of me. I never wanted to see them get hurt like that -- okay, maybe just a little," I mumbled as I saw the mares glare at me a little. "Sorry," I added, hanging my head. "Well, Aurora, I guess we should accompany you to the hospital," Twilight offered.