//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Miranda, the Human // by Kaity-Kat //------------------------------// By the time we'd gotten out of the woods, I'd pretty much gotten used to my new legs, and I could walk on my own. She'd also informed me —amidst confusion— that my front legs were actually "arms" and my claws were "hands". "So" I inquired "Where are we going...." I paused "What is your name, anyway?" I asked "Oh. I'm sorry." She said "Name's Miranda." she held out her hand "Nice to meet you, Miranda" I said "I'm Flower Love." I held my hand out the same way she did, unsure what this was about. She gave me a quizzical look "....interesting name." she finally said grabbing my hand and shaking it slowly. She looked down at my still unclothed legs "Come on. We've gotta get you out of public." We kept walking and we came out of the woods. The streets here reminded me vaguely of Manehattan, the houses on the side opposite the street were medium sized with tiled roofs and brick walls. Much like Manehattan's houses. Nothing like Ponyville's straw roofs and plaster walls. "My house is just down the street, over there" she pointed with her hand I was wondering about the street and if these people pulled carriages down it. For some reason, the thought seemed silly with the upright bipedal body structure. I stifled a giggle at the thought. Then, I heard a noise coming from behind us. I turned to see a strange-looking metal carriage thing with nothing in front pulling itself down the street. It passed us really quite fast. I almost shit myself. "What in Celestia-" I let out Miranda let out a chuckle "Not sure what that means" she said "but have you not seen a car before?" "Can't say I have." I replied "Is it pulled by magic?" She laughed "Not hardly. We'll talk about it when we get home." Down the street a little way, she turned us in toward a house on our side of the street. It was slightly smaller than the others, and a little older looking. The green door seemed cracked with age and the paint was beginning to peel off. The steps were crumbling cement and the walls were covered in dented metal siding, a seam open exposing the brick beneath. "Well" she offered "Here we are. Home sweet home." She pulled a ring of keys out her pocket and unlocked her door. Then she grabbed it and pushed it with her body and it reluctantly gave way. The door opened into a living room with worn carpet, a sagging couch, a dirty coffee table and a wide flat black box on a table in front of it all. "Excuse the mess" Miranda apologized "I don't get visitors very often." She quickly picked up a dirty plate from her coffee table, and took it to another room. "Make yourself at home, I'll grab you something to wear." she called out I walked over to the box, and began feeling around it "What is this for?" I quietly questioned the air. My fingers ran over what felt like buttons. I pressed the largest one, and the front of the box lit up. I stepped back to look at it flahsed the word "Faux-shiba" for a few seconds before it glowed with a moving image and started making noise very suddenly and loudly. I started, and nearly fell over, letting out a little yelp. I scrambled to find the button I'd pressed, and pressed it again. The box went black and quiet. "What happened? Are you okay?" Miranda stood in the doorway looking concerned. "That" I said, gesturing at the box "has to be magic." "I'm afraid it's not, hon." she chuckled "It's just a TV. It's electrical." She walked in and grabbed a much smaller box from the couch, pointed it at the TV, and pressed a button. The TV lit up again and this time I realised "It's like a theater in a box." I marveled. "are you sure that's not magic?" I asked pointing at the box in her hand that seemed to control the TV. "No, I'm pretty sure it's not." she assured me "There's no such thing as magic. Unless you believe the movies." I gave her a look "Sweetie." I said "I happen to know there is. It's kinda how I got here." I explained. "Yeah, that's a good question." she responded "How did you get here?" I held up the ribbon I'd been carrying "Magic." I explained "Where I come from, magic is about as common as your TVs and your cars." Miranda gave me a quizzical look "and that ribbon is magic?" "Well, it hasn't done anything since I got here" I continued "but it randomly started doing magic just a couple hours ago, and ended up teleporting me to the woods where you found me. I just hope tearing it didn't ruin the magic, or I'll be stuck here." "Wait." Miranda looked a little freaked out "Do you mean you're from another world?" "Well, that would explain the lack of magic, I suppose" I guessed "And the new body." "Yeah, that's another thing." she said "Is it normal to be naked where you come from?" "We usually only wear clothes for special occasions." I explained "Do you usually wear clothes all the time?" "It's considered improper not to. Vulgar even." she replied. I blushed "oh" "What about this 'new body', tho, what are you used to?" she inquired "Well, I'm a pony. A unicorn." I started "Well... I was...." "A unicorn?" she questioned "like this?" she pointed at a poster on her wall with a white unicorn. Except this unicorn had tall legs and his head was shaped strangely. He looked more like a Saddle Arabian pony than an Equestrian one, but bigger and more animal. "Well... it's closer, I suppose...." I answered "but not quite right." "Ok." she started "So you're a unicorn from another planet where there's magic an-" she stopped "Umm... I think your ribbon might still have some magic left..." she said, her eyes wide as she pointed to my hand. I looked down at my hand and saw my ribbon glowing. My shoulders loosened as I felt a weight lift off them and I let out a sigh of relief. "Hello?" came a voice from the ribbon "Is it working?"