Closet Pony

by DouglasTrotter

September 20th

They say your life flashes before your eyes when the time comes. Almost two months ago from today, two days after I received my new watch, it felt like the time had come. All it took was a simple thought, a quick laugh, and a little snap of the fingers before that undeniable chill raced down my spine and shook me to the core. I'm not the only one who freaked out.

Princess Celestia, Sanctuary, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were relaxing in the main garden when I splashed down in the pond, the water stinging like no tomorrow. The princess had the bright idea, perhaps a bit of foresight, when she made that pond a good twenty to thirty feet deep. It boiled down to dumb luck, pure and simple dumb luck.

Cold and missing my clothes, dragged from that frigid pond, I shivered on the grass. Princess Celestia disappeared then reappeared a few moments later, towel in front of her. It must have been a rare treat for a princess like her to see a naked, hairless creature shaking in fear in front of her, however, Princess Celestia never laughed. Not once did she laugh, nor did she scold me. She looked at me with those same kind, calm eyes of hers before draping the towel over me, which prevented me from ripping the watch off my wrist.

The princess walked me to my room.

Out of the shower, some fresh, clean, dry clothes on, my wet clothes in the basket, I was asked to return to the garden, and, when the two of us returned to the garden, Princess Celestia assured the others everything was alright. The night that followed wasn't alright since I spent three-quarters of it quivering in my bed, despite the watch resting on the nightstand near the bed. If I had to guess, I got two, maybe four hours worth of sleep.

"Are you ready?" Princess Celestia nudged me the following morning, three days after receiving my new watch.

"For?" I said, having yet to clear my throat.

"Please follow me, and I will show you." Princess Celestia said. She levitated the watch off the nightstand and placed it on my wrist. The princess gave a melancholic look whenever I tried to return the watch. Soon, the both of us came to the garden used for my "lessons," if they could be called lessons. The princess sat me down in front of a small, dark grey plate that rested on top of a brilliant white stone. Her right wing outstretched, its tip pointed at the plate, Princess Celestia said, in a calm voice, "I want you to focus on that small grain of rice."

Yup, two months have passed, and that stupid grain is the bane of my existence. Day-in and day-out I've focused on that worthless white speck. I don't know if I'm jealous or envious, but I am one of those right now. Sweetie Belle and Princess Celestia don't seem to have my problem. They can just think about something, their horns light up, and they almost command that something to happen. I can't move a small grain of rice but, no exaggeration, Sweetie Belle can lift a fifty-pound bucket. Princess Celestia could move a mountain without breaking a sweat. I know Apple Bloom can't use magic like Sweetie Belle, yet she has raw, powerful talents no human cold ever match. Though I say all that, not everything is good news as of late.

Scootaloo, she's, she's... it's heartbreaking. I remember how the pegasus filly had no problem flying when she first came here. She flew, buzzed about, and raced through the air to her heart's content. It filled her with so much joy.

Things took a turn for the worst about three weeks ago. Scootaloo fell out of the air during one of her sessions with the princess. After she fell out of the air, the little filly couldn't get airborne again. Princess Celestia grounded her till she can understand what happened. Of course, that hasn't stopped Sanctuary from giving Scootaloo free rides around the garden, in secret of course.

"Scootaloo, my little pony, please remember that be it an ant rolling a stone up its mound or a baby learning to walk, all efforts will be rewarded in time." Princess Celestia said to the disheartened filly about four days ago. She patted Scootaloo on the head with her wing. The princess glanced at me. She smirked, and then walked off.

Princess Celestia's pearls of wisdom reminded me of my mother's own insight when I started cooking for the first time.

"No one starts out an expert. We all start at the beginning."

At this point, I just hope Scootaloo's efforts "will" be rewarded. It's starting to make me wonder if Scootaloo will ever realize her dream. It's sad to say not every human, not every individual gets to realize their dreams. As bitter as it might be to swallow, we all have to face a cruel reality. All of it is made even sadder when a child has to face such a thing.

I guess that's my break time. Thirty minutes just flies by -- o, bad choice in words.

Anyways, maybe I just need to focus more to move that grain of rice without using my hands. Another thing I'm wondering is it'd be appropriate to pop that question today or not. Might be best to wait a bit.

---End Entry---

Nope. The grain of rice didn't move. There's not a hole deep enough in the world for me to hide in after that incident. Grain of rice +1. My level of embarrassment +11. I'm also embarrassed to say Princess Celestia has given me the rundown, no exaggerating, fifteen times on magic kindergarten lessons. Lessons. That. Tiny unicorns learn. Tiny unicorns, like children who are three and four years old.

GAH!

"I apologize if my instructions seemed vague. I just wanted you to focus on the grain of rice, not try to move it with magic." Princess Celestia said. She gave a quick smile at the defeated human who looked up to her, my face reflecting off her eyes. The princess came in close and said, "Focus on what you have obtained, instead of what you have yet to obtain, and, for now, just focus on the grain of rice. That's all that I am truly asking of you."

I have to remind myself, begrudgingly, that Princess Celestia is right. Effort will be rewarded in time, and it's good to say things are beginning to feel more natural. I must admit, there were times I failed to teleport to Sanctuary with my old watch. There's no doubt I looked like an idiot standing in that closet. Not to mention I was bound to said closet near the water heater when I wanted to go to Sanctuary. Now I just think about Sanctuary, snap my fingers, and I'm there in a flash.

To give an updated report in these notes, all of us have improved.

Apple Bloom's talents have really blossomed . That filly has raw, powerful talent no human could ever hope to match. Now that talent is being honed to a fine razor edge since she's strengthened her body and mind. Thanks to Apple Bloom working her proverbial tail off, Sanctuary has a flourishing garden of various fruits and vegetables. Sweetie Belle is no slouch either. When the unicorn filly first arrived, she struggled to lift a broom when it came time to do chores. Her magic has flourished to the point she can utilize her power in conjunction with Apple Bloom's skills to maintain the garden. Sanctuary is another success story where she's gained control over her talents with each passing day. All of us once feared the idea of just brushing up against her lest we be rendered unconscious, well, all of us except Princess Celestia. I'm glad to say Sanctuary has reached a point she can us a hug without putting us to sleep, or worse.

As for Scootaloo, I'm not sure, however, what I am sure of is that I'm making a special note to watch my words around Princess Celestia. I do not want to spoil the little project I've been researching for the past week. If everything goes right, I hope to reveal my idea to Scootaloo later tonight. The whole concept of magic still baffles me, making the project tricky at best. I've tried asking Sweetie Belle about how she learned magic, how to levitate the grain of rice, and other questions. Those questions led nowhere. Sweetie Belle just said "magic is magic" to me before levitating a playing card off the table she, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sanctuary were sitting at in the garden.

When the Ace of Spades landed in my open hands, I just felt defeated.

I placed the card back on the table then snapped my fingers.

I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I just don't know anymore. What if my line of thinking is wrong. Perhaps magic isn't magic but an advanced form of science.

There is a rule, maybe in story writing or whatever, stipulating advanced science, really advanced science, cannot be distinguished from magic. It can be considered true, albeit to a limited extent. One such example would be a laser. Take any high-powered laser back to the middle ages, and those people would call anyone who used it a sorcerer, a witch, a warlock, or anything else under the sun to call a magic user. I'm probably barking up the wrong tree, again. As Sweetie Belle said, "magic is magic."

Whatever. If things go well, Scootaloo will never need my project. To be blunt, I hope she realizes her dream and never needs it. It'll be beyond heartbreaking to see someone like her having to deal with the cruel truth of reality where not everyone gets to realize their dreams.

---End Entry---

"Just hold on one second," Scootaloo said. She darted to her room, and then returned. "Ok, ready."

"Look, I can do this in the other garden. There's no need for the Macguyvere'd gas mask." I said.

"Hey, I'm not taking any chances. Swear you killed the grass where you --" She said.

"Scootaloo," Princess Celestia said. She looked towards the ceiling of Sanctuary and sighed. "Let's try to forget that incident, for all our sakes."

"You're holding your breath." I said.

Princess Celestia gave a sheepish grin. "Ahem."

"Hmm?" I said.

"You've peaked my curiosity a bit. If I might inquire, how have you thought about using your magic?" Princess Celestia said.

I gazed at the grain, and then back towards the princess, my right eyebrow raised.

"Do you not remember what I said about your first watch? It, just like the crystals around the necks of those three, taps into the magic that already exists inside of you, acting as a mere focal point. Just as there are numerous colors to a rainbow, so can the same be said of magic." Princess Celestia said. The princess extended her wings. Her horn began to glow in a soft golden aura. The grain of rice rose into the air before it zipped around the princess. It flew around so faced it couldn't be seen, just heard. Princess Celestia slowed the grain of rice down, and then floated it back onto the plate. She walked towards the pond, turned, faced all of us, and said, "All that a teacher, all that a mentor can do is give you the key. You must be the one to know where and how to use it."

"Thanks Morpheus," I said.

"Hmm?" Princess Celestia said.

"Never Mind." I said. The world went still. I extended my hand. I focused, and then I stopped. After I retracted my hand, I looked at the grain in front of me. "I just... don't understand."

"You'll get it, I know it." Sanctuary said. She sat down on the grass beside me. "Mother is still teaching me how to use magic. Not to mention," Sanctuary looked towards Princess Celestia then back towards me, "I'm still practicing how to control my abilities."

I laid back on the soft grass. The crystals, embedded in the ceiling, emitted a soft light, reminiscent of the sunlight on Earth; they seemed to store the sunlight, and then emit it when needed to keep the plants alive.

"Can I ask a favor of you?" Sanctuary said. Her wings twitched. "Would you let me practice a bit?"

"Just don't make me pass out." I said, giving a quick shrug.

The pony smiled. She exhaled a calm breath. Her wing tip touched my forehead.

"Though you seem calm, something has been gnawing at you for some time." Sanctuary said. She closed her eyes, and then opened them. "You've got a. Question?"

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo came closer.

I placed my hands behind my head.

Sanctuary maintained her calmed breathing. The pony said, "You want to know if my mother would take you away."

"Take you away?" Princess Celestia said. She came closer. "Take you away to where?"

"Ah ain't psychic, but ah think our friend means take 'em with us back to Equestria." Apple Bloom said.

I pointed to my nose. In a calm voice I said, "Nice job, Sanctuary. You did well, and I didn't pass out, heh."

"I hoped this would be a place for you to stay, in your world. Is there something wrong?" Princess Celestia said.

"No. Sanctuary, it's wonderful." I said. The princess gazed at me. My right hand rubbed against my left arm. "Sorry. I'm just being selfish. Forget it."

"Why do you want to leave Sanctuary? This place is awesome." Scootaloo said.

"Scootaloo, there's more to it than you might think." I said. Sanctuary removed the tip of her wing from my forehead. "I hope you didn't feel that one."

Sanctuary stood up, and then moved behind her mother. She looked towards me. "You felt so cold, so afraid. Do you hate being alone that much?"

"I do." I said. I sat up. "As the saying goes, you don't know what you have until it is lost. I realize now what I had I'll never have again, ever. Not to mention, there's a fear many humans hold of passing away by themselves, and I'm one of them."

Apple Bloom placed a soft hoof on my arm. I patted the filly on the head.

"I mean, it sounds selfish when you first think about it, but, then again, things could be kinda lonely here when we leave." Sweetie Belle said. She and Apple Bloom sat down beside me. "It's not hard to imagine this place being lonely if you were the only pony, I mean, the only one here."

"I'm sorry if it's selfish, but, but please, could you give me an answer." I said.

"If I were to flip a coin a thousand times, how many times would it come up heads?" Princess Celestia said. I clenched my fists. The princess crept forward. Her eyes locked onto mine. I relaxed my hands. In a calm voice, Princess Celestia said, "Though we can survive in your world, I do not know if you can survive in ours. It would be devastating to take you to Equestria and have it be toxic to your health."

I sighed. Princess Celestia removed her soft wing from my shoulder. I stood up, apologized for being selfish, and I snapped my fingers, soon finding myself inside the bathroom of my house on Earth.

Right now, I'm not angry at Princess Celestia's choice. I'm more afraid than anything else. These five have given me something special. I just. Don't want to lose this happiness, not again.

---End Entry---

I'm terrified, and, to be honest, I'm kind of excited, which, heh, might be a first. It's conflicting to say the least.

After we finished our dinner, I approached Scootaloo. She just cocked her head at me when I smiled at her.

I stopped her before she could go to the main garden and said, "Hey, you got a second."

"Yea, what's up?" Scootaloo said.

"I had a question about pegasi." I said.

"Ok... what's the question?" She said.

"Follow me." I said.

"Hey, you gotta warn a filly before you're going to teleport them." She said.

"Sorry," I said before I walked down the heavily trodden path, "I wanted to come to the other garden to test a theory of mine." Scootaloo scratched her head, and then followed me. We came to a stop at the tranquil waterfall. "If you're willing -- well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so, here, I kinda printed something up. Just a little idea I thought about for some time. It's something I thought might help you out."

"What is this? I don't know what you're talking -- O. My. Gosh. Are you serious?!" She said.

"Only way we'll know is to give it a shot. I figure it won't work for me, but it should work for you." I said. The filly snatched the paper from my hand. She grinned at me. Scootaloo pressed her hooves together. I rolled my eyes then snapped my fingers. Some art supplies retrieved, I snapped my fingers again and returned to the garden. Two feverish moments later, Scootaloo's wings buzzed. She hovered a few inches off the ground before touching back down. "Heh, I'm glad you like it. I hope this works out for you."

"Only way we'll know is if we try it out." Scootaloo said. The filly licked her upper lip. Her gaze narrowed. She squinted towards the distance. Scootaloo picked up speed. She raced forward, and then, take off. The pegasus filly flew into the air on a scooter made from cloud vapor. I guess it never dawned on her to make a cloud scooter.

I placed my watch on a nearby rock and watched Scootaloo fly about on her cloud scooter. Each time she whizzed by, I couldn't help but crack a slight smile. She may not be able to fly like others, but that doesn't mean she couldn't fly at all.

"Scootaloo, careful. It's still a prototype idea." I said. My eyes widened. My jaw dropped. Scootaloo lost control. She flew towards the ceiling. The scooter vaporized as it hit the rocky surface. I bolted forward, "I gotcha!"

"How? How did you get up here? How are we flying?" Scootaloo said.

"I, I don't. Know. I need to focus." I said. The princess had impeccable timing. She must have caught wind to our plan and appeared in the garden. "Please. Can you help get us down?"

Two seconds later, we found ourselves on terra-firma, well maybe it should be called moon-firma.

"What were you thinking?!" Princess Celestia said.

I dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

"That. Was. Awesome. Our friend helped me make a scooter out of clouds. Rainbow Dash is gonna find it so awesome!" Scootaloo said.

"Quite." Princess Celestia said. I sat up. The princess raised an eyebrow. It almost sounded like she growled at me under her breath. She relaxed then turned her attention towards the little filly. "I think that's enough for today, don't you?"

"Aww..." Scootaloo said.

"It's close to bed time anyways." Princess Celestia said. She turned Scootaloo away from me. The princess pointed a stern hoof at me, and then pointed at the ground. Princess Celestia disappeared with Scootaloo then reappeared by herself. "And here I thought your foalishness with Nightmare Sepulcher would be most ridiculous stunt you've ever pulled. What you did was unbelievably reckless. Both of you could have been gravely injured, if not worse. You didn't hurt yourself did you?"

The longer I looked at Princess Celestia, the more unnerved I became.

"Are you sick? Why are you so pale?" She said.

"B-Be-Because..." I pointed towards the black stone. I looked at Princess Celestia and rubbed my left wrist. "How? How did I just do that?"

"Is that your watch? You didn't have it on the whole time you were floating there?" Princess Celestia said. She walked towards the watch, and then looked at me. "Unbelievable."

"Please, Princess Celestia. Answer me. How did I just do those things without my watch?" I said.

When I asked her that second time, she crept towards me, watch levitating in front of her. Princess Celestia said, in a nervous tone, "I, I don't know. I don't have an answer to what happened, and, what happened is beyond me. If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I would have said it was impossible."

As said, I'm both terrified and excited, yet that excitement has started to wear off real dang quick. Though I'm happy for Scootaloo, I'm frightened beyond belief. Somehow, I either teleported to her and levitated the both of us in the air without my watch, or moved towards her so quick it felt like I teleported and levitated us in the air.

What in blue-blazes have these ponies done to me?!

---End Entry---

Ok. Ok. Focus. I've. I've got to focus.

Things just got a whole lot worse. It's taken two hours to calm down. There's no mistaking it though. It's gone. It's really, really gone, and yet, somehow, it isn't gone. Up to and past the elbow is gone, almost to the shoulder, and yet, I can still feel it. I'm still trying my best to calm down. These words don't make sense, probably won't make sense to me down the road, but what just happened defies all logic. I'll have to hide things till I figure this out.

I just have calm down.

If there's a bright side to all of this, I'm set for Halloween. I just need to sacrifice my leg and I can go as Edward Elric, or, worse costume choice, dressed as Buzz Lightyear who's dressed as Mrs. Nesbitt.

---End Entry---