(Not) Black and White: A Displaced Fic

by Masterweaver


Observation

No, I'm NOT going to tell you what happened next. It was awkward enough living it once. Yeesh, you're almost as bad as Twilight...

Well, okay, Twilight's really not that bad. Well, usually. At her worst I wondered whether she would kidnap me and strap me to a table--Spike assures me that she doesn't do that sort of thing anymore, but the fact that she used to is pretty telling. Thankfully, there are some warning signs when she's slipping into super-science mode, and thanks to Blake's training I'm good enough to get out of there before she absolutely snaps.

And aside from her obsessive tendencies, and her absolute panic at even the possibility of failure, Twilight's actually a pretty decent person. Well educated and intelligent, not necessarily a mandatory combination, as well as genuinely caring for the people around her. Even if she hadn't become a princess, I wouldn't have been surprised to find her in charge of something important. Maybe a magical laboratory of some sort. I suspect that was what she was aiming for, before she came to Ponyville and... ended up becoming a national hero somehow.

That sort of thing just sort of happens in Ponyville...

The thing about Twilight is that she has a lust for knowledge. Like I wouldn't be surprised if her perfect pony was a professor that lectured on quantum physics in the bedroom. I would seriously not be surprised at all. In fact, scratch the pony, for all I know she doesn't have any hangups on interspecies relationships. Give her a shoggoth with an IQ of two hundred something and WOW this is going places I don't want to be. My point is, Twilight's main strength and her main flaw is the urge to figure things out, be they the mysteries of magic or, you know, just why the new friend is in a weird semi-panicked state.


Twilight rubbed the back of her head as I returned to the throne room. "So, I don't want to make this awkward, but you were in there for a while, and given that this happened right after the whole thing with the map, I was just sort of wondering--"

"How much did Zecora tell you?"

"She mentioned that you came from another universe and had apparently been transformed."

"Yeah, into... let's just say this is the first time since arriving I had to notice... details about my new body, and leave it at that."

Can we please not talk about this...

"SO." I cleared my throat. "Anyway, I'm sorry about the poor introduction. It's a pleasure to meet you, your highness."

"It's... just Twilight." The purple pony gave me a sheepish smile. "I don't really use the princess title all that often."

That kicked my opinion of her up a few notches. "Well, good. I mean, having power and knowing when to use it, two different things, right?"

"Right." Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, now that you're awake, I can do a proper analysis of your ethereal structure to if there are any unusual manifestations."

"...How much would I have to study to understand anything you just said?"

Really, Briar? Really?

"I mean magic is still basically entirely new to me," I explained to the confused pony. "Like, I get that it exists and you can do things with it that are otherwise impossible through sheer willpower, and beyond that I don't know any of the mechanics at all."

"She's going to check your innate magic and see if there's anything weird."

I turned to the throne room doors, blinking in surprise. "Oh. Thanks, uh...?"

"Spike." The purple bipedal lizard thing held out a hand. "I'm a dragon."

A DRAGON?!

"A dragon, huh?" I leaned down and took the hand. "First one I've ever met."

Wait, she can't be a dragon. She's too small and... not a Grimm.

"I mean, I've heard stories... No offense, but aren't you guys supposed to be a bit bigger and more, you know, aggressive?"

Spike sagged a bit. "Yeah, well, I'm still pretty young."

"I hatched Spike when I was just a filly," Twilight informed me. "And we've been together basically ever since."

"You hatched a dragon... as a child."

"It was my entry exam into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns," she explained. "You see, during the summer sun celebration I--"

"Twilight," Spike interjected, "your cutie mark story is pretty amazing--I'm in it, after all--but maybe you should do the magic scan before you get caught up in reminiscing?"

"Oh! Right." Twilight cleared her throat. "Well, if you'll just hold still for a bit, I'll be able to give you a once over."

I took a deep breath, steadying myself. "Well, I should start believing in this... magic stuff anyway."

"Relax. I've done this.... well, I've done something like this loads of times. Scanning ancient artifacts can't be too different from scanning living creatures."

Her horn lit up even as my eyes snapped wide, and before I could protest a wave of violet light enveloped me. I couldn't help but hold absolutely still, even as some kind of energy radiated up and down the field that wrapped tightly around my form.

Huh. This... actually feels familiar for some reason. Is she reading our aura?

I managed a very, very minute shrug.

Twilight frowned for a moment, letting the light on her horn die. "Hmm. Well, that's... pretty interesting. I don't know if it's a side effect of the map, but... are you absolutely sure that nothing happened after it hit you? Nothing changed, nothing new?"

"Well." I took a breath. "I, uh. I technically never said there was no effect--"

Weren't you the one paranoid that these ponies would think you were crazy?

"I'm really, really not comfortable talking about it."

Twilight frowned. "I can't help you if I don't know what the problem is."

"I don't think I need help with this. And I'm not sure it's exactly a problem anyway."

'Not exactly a problem.' Thank you.

"The map is meant to help spread the magic of friendship and harmony throughout Equestria," Twilight said in what she probably thought was a gentle tone. "I'm sure whatever vision you saw is only the first step on a journey that--"

I held up my hands. "Look. There are so many things about this situation that I find strange that are overwhelming me. I just want to take it one step at a time right now. Is there anything magically 'wrong' with me, any curse or sickness that I will need to deal with?"

"You're... stable, mostly." She bit her lip. "There's an unusual vacillation in your core ethereal structure, but it seems to be remarkably coherent--it's not threatening to deconstruct your essence, if anything it's like a second essence is present. Apart from that, you have a deeply integrated self-consistency, which probably means you can deflect most damage to your physical form, and an integrated extension manifestation--sort of like a highly specialized unicorn horn, you can probably do only one spell but you can do it instinctively."

"Oh. What spell?"

"I have no idea."

That sounds like my semblance. I'll... tell you about that later.

"As for your transformation..." Twilight shrugged with her wings. "I can't tell you much. Maybe with a deeper scan and some time I could trace the restructuring of your manifestation, but somehow I don't think spending the day strapped to the table is really something you'd appreciate."

"Yeah... no." I shook my head. "No, I am not in the mood to go to the science lab and be prodded."

"I figured as much. So... do you have any other plans?"

I shrugged helplessly. "At the moment I just want to figure out how I'm supposed to get by. What with not being a citizen, or having any references... or anywhere to go..."

My breath hitched for a moment. "Sorry, I---like I said, I'm kind of overwhelmed right now. I mean I guess I could handle all that on my own, if--"

Twilight shook her head. "Nonsense. I might not be able to send you back yet, but I'm not the princess of friendship for nothing."

Princess of friendship?

"Princess of friendship?"

"Yes. The princess of friendship, researcher into the magic of friendship, general solver of friendship problems--"

"So you're speaking about friendship in the abstract sense as the positive nonromantic relationship between two or more individuals?" I asked.

"...yes?"

"Is there a kingdom of friendship I should know about?"

"No." Twilight rolled her eyes. "I'm not that kind of princess."

"So you're not a ruler."

"Not... directly. I am in the line for the throne, in the event that princess Celestia and princess Luna go missing, but otherwise my duties essentially boil down to helping ponies with their problems. Such as, you know, jumpstarting a new friend's acceptance as a citizen of the nation."

I held up a finger, paused, and lowered it. "I have a feeling that asking about this any more would just lead to an infinite stream of questions, and right now I'm not in the mood for that. I guess I'll study all that on my own time."

"I have a library right here in the castle. I'd be happy to lend you some books--"

"After I become a citizen," I stressed.