//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Shining, Glimmering, Splendid! // Story: Starlight Glimmer's First Student: A "Human"?! // by Clockwork2003 //------------------------------// I’m an alicorn…I’m an alicorn! I don’t want to be an alicorn! This is the thought that is running through my head as I am turbulently flying home, with my adorable friend Noah on my back. I obviously don’t know how to fly, since I just got these wings today, and my human companion is almost choking me with how hard he is embracing my neck. I feel like our altitude is fluctuating by dozens of feet every second, and I am quite pleased Noah is not vomiting all over me. Time is like a blur, and when I finally make it home, I basically crash through my front door! My impromptu landing knocks Noah off me, sending both of us flying into the bookshelf! We’re both a bit dazzled by this, and I could have sworn Noah has stars in his eyes from being so dizzy. “Woah. Don't take me flying again until you get a lesson, Glimmer…” Noah says, chuckling as he slowly gets up and tries using magic to put all of the books back. In two days, his magic has improved steadily. I think being in Equestria, combined with my recent promotion, could have expedited the process! I also slowly get up, and I take a minute to gain a feel for my two new feathered appendages. They feel alien to me, but they will now be part of my body forever “Noah, I want you to do something new,” I say, a bit boldly pulling him closer to me with magic. He is stoic, and looks me in the eyes, wondering what I am going to ask him. “Sure, as long as it’s not something weird!” He says, helping me remove my bridle. I have to admit, having such an intimate friendship with Noah is rather cute. Ponies obviously don’t mount other ponies, because we’re all the same size; but having a human atop me, muscle relaxant aside, feels right. As he unbuckles the saddle from my body, hanging it up on the coat rack, I try and take a minute to determine the best way of phrasing my question “It’s not weird, my friend, it’s not weird. I just want you to, uh. Feel my wings again. They’re a new part of my body, and I can’t really feel them. It’s like phantom limb syndrome in reverse! I’m going to have these for a long time, so it would help if you could make it easier for me to feel them!” I say, with a playful giggle.  We both walk into my bedroom, and I plop rather lazily onto my bed. I am both tired and relieved that I made it home in one piece, with my human friend in tow! Noah carefully takes off his shoes and socks. He gets into the opposite side of the bed, and he almost falls asleep on the spot! Today must have been Tartarus on wheels for him; as it was for me! “Don’t go to LunaLand just yet, my faithful student!” I say in a faux-regal voice, using my magic to slowly pull him closer to me. He is unfazed by this rather audacious action and waits for my next reply. “Don’t worry, I am not going to smooch you or anything. I just want you to put those fingers of yours onto my wings and make sure they are a real part of my body. I want to feel the bones, the muscles, the tendons, everything! I need to make sure this is real!” I playfully demand, as Noah hesitantly puts his fingers in between my new feathers. I feel his fingers touching them, so I take it that there are real wings and bones there! “Hey kiddo, I feel your fingers! There are bones here, and muscles, and…” I also didn’t know how many nerve endings there would be in my wings! I feel like he’s kissing me! “S…stop!” I say, blushing a bit from it. Noah abruptly pulls his hands away from my wings and wonders what’s going on. “Did I hurt you? I wouldn’t want to hurt you in a million years!” He says, worried that he hurt me. “No, Noah, you didn’t hurt me. Apparently, my wings are quite sensitive. Try not to touch them again unless I ask you, okay?” I say, to which my student grins. “So, it’s like I kissed you, huh? I thought you were the passionate one!” He says, rolling over onto his side, laughing as if he was the most popular comedian in all of Equestria! Now’s my chance! I got wings, I got immortality (as much as I didn’t want either), and he technically made the first move by massaging my wings, it's go time. Being a bit brash, I go in for the kiss, wings embracing him. For a few moments, he was stunned, wondering why in Celestia’s name a pony would kiss him! He looks like he’s seen a ghost. Quickly pulling away from him, I realize that I might have stepped too far, too quickly. Noah looks at me for a moment and then smiles. “I am not good with subtlety, Princess of Justice. If you wanted me to kiss you, you could have asked! Besides, I don’t care that it’s been three days. You are the nicest mare, or even creature, that I have ever laid my eyes on, and you taught me so much in only three days. If I am to learn the Magic of Friendship, why not also learn the Magic of Love?” That. Darn. Cute. Ugh! We both immediately kiss each other, Noah putting his hands around me, and me putting my hooves around him. Since our souls are linked, I can read his mind. I sense that kissing is as far as he wants to go right now, and I will respect that decision. I think I might be enjoying this a bit too much because I am getting a rush of blood to my face! I feel my body getting warmer, too, and Noah’s body gets warmer as well.  “Can we cuddle, Princess of Justice?” He asks me playfully. I take it he’s quite tired, too! I stop kissing him and prop him up comfortably on my bed, his head and neck supported with two pillows. “Sure, Noah. Tomorrow is Friendship Lesson #3. We’re going to learn all about common interests but I don’t think that will be too hard for you. It’s just protocol!” I say, laying my head on his chest, eager to hear my student’s breathing. I feel his chest rising up and down, and I feel calm. “Good night, my special someone.” I say, closing my eyes, thankful that I remembered the correct suffix, since Noah isn’t a pony. “Good night, Starlight-er…Your Grace.” He chuckles, caressing my head gently as we both fall asleep in each other’s hooves and arms. THE NEXT MORNING. Was this whole alicorn thing a dream? Am I still regular old me, with a power fantasy? I guess not, because I just woke up, and I moved my wings up and down, accidentally rubbing my feathers in my friend’s face. He sneezes, which wakes him up, as well. “Ack! Don’t do that again, Starlight. Wait, you’re actually an alicorn? Awesome. Can I fly with you again? I found it to be quite magic-.” I put a hoof on his chest playfully to grab his attention.  “Nopony will be riding this mare until I learn how to use my wings properly. We could have gotten hurt, or worse!” I say quite seriously. Noah seems understanding, and I take my hoof back. Feeling a bit bold, I go in for another hug, and Noah happily reciprocates. “This, this is nice.” He says, clearly enjoying the fact that my body is much fluffier, now that I am an alicorn. Do autistic humans like soft things? Maybe it’s just Noah? All I know for sure is that this stud is the only human I am going to get, and I am sure as hay going to keep him! I give him a small kiss on his forehead, and we both get out of bed, making our way into the kitchen to eat breakfast. I am surprised that it only took one short night for me to get some feeling in my new wings. I would have thought that it would take more time! All I know for sure is that I am not flying anywhere until Rainbow Dash gives me a quick lesson! “I’ll make pancakes!” Noah says, using his newly learned magic to rummage through my kitchenette, putting together the ingredients needed to make pancakes! I take it my special someone likes his with blueberries. Not bad!  “I’d recommend flipping those pancakes manually, Noah. I don’t want you to get burned like Trixie did last night!” I point out, to which Noah deactivates his magic, and turns on the griddle manually. He pours four small portions of batter onto the griddle when I hear a knock on my door. “Is my student a goddess now? What did I miss?!” The shrill voice of Twilight Sparkle makes its way towards my ears. I sigh, opening the door telekinetically. I see my former teacher, mane still frizzy from just waking up, with a genuine smile on her face. “Morning, Noah the Human. I take it your friend over here let you fly home? Surprised that you’re not broken and bruised. It took me a whole week to learn how to fly, but I have a feeling Starlight will figure it out in one day or less! I know you two like to be one pony, with him sitting on you and you taking him places, but until you can use those wings-.” “I know, Ma’am, I know. Starlight said the same thing to me this morning. It’s fine.” He replies, flipping the first two pancakes, now that the front sides are golden brown.  “Now, to more important matters. After the show, I went back to my castle, and at around midnight I saw your Cutie Mark in the sky. I assumed that was you becoming an alicorn. At least I have the decency to wait until morning to tell you about your coronation. Oh, your human friend can come, too! It’s tomorrow!” A coronation? Why? “Wait, my girlfriend is getting crowned as a princess?” Noah asks as I blush at the affectionate comment. “Wait…you two are an item?! I give up; Celestia help me…THREE BUCKING DAYS AND YOU TWO ARE-.” Noah smiles as the first two pancakes are ready. He flips them off the griddle, before flipping the next two onto their other side. He then pours two more portions of batter, and begins to reply, quite casually at that! “Starlight over here fused souls with me when I asked to learn magic. We are literally soulmates, Princess. I also thought it was crazy, but she made the first move last night, giving me a kiss.” I want to strangle him! He was the one who massaged my wings. But then again, I was the pony who asked him to do so in the first place! “It’s true, Twilight. We did fuse souls, and I guess that means we are more than friends. It doesn’t matter, because I will still teach him Friendship! He’s still going to live with me when the course is over, and I have a feeling my new wings gave him immortality, too!” Twilight looks like she is about to vomit, but she clears her throat and scans my human lover with her magic. Magic scanning him from head to “toe”, her face turns white. “Noah…you can’t die!”  He almost drops the spatula on the floor, but he catches it with his magic. “I can’t die? Bullcrap, Princess. Of course, I can.” Twilight does something crazy. She sends a massive blast of pure magic directly at Noah, and it hits him point-blank. Nothing happens! “That hurt a lot, Twilight, but HOLY CRAP, I CAN’T DIE!” “I guess that means I have no excuse not to make you my royal consort.” I say, with a hearty laugh. “Save the love semantics for Cadance. In the meantime, I need to tell you about the coronation! Celestia told me this morning that tomorrow you will become the “Princess of Justice”. I don’t know what your mandate will be with this position, but I know that the mandate involves both of you! Noah, you are going to be the “Rider of Justice”!” Noah finishes making the pancakes for the both of us, and he gets out not two, but three plates! “Pancake, Twilight?” He asks, to which my teacher declines. “Rider of Justice, huh. What does that mean?” He asks Twilight, who pulls up a chair for herself and sits down. “Well, you are a political person, and your…marefriend is political. Since you ride her around all the time like a common workpony, Celestia thinks giving you a title as Starlight’s equal would make sense! You like law, so you can bring justice to Equestria with Starlight, once you've done that Friendship Course of yours!” “Wait, we both need to be getting to Canterlot for tomorrow, and Noah still has to take his Friendship Lessons? How are we going to do both at the same time?! Canterlot is a three-day train ride away, and-.” “You can fly, Starlight. Rainbow Dash is giving you the flying intensive in twenty minutes, and your friend over there will enjoy the view on your fancy saddle. Noah, don’t ride your friend over there until the intensive is over. I will be foalsitting you and giving you your first Friendship Test. Starlight, eat your breakfast, and bring your sorry flank to the Cutie Map posthaste!” I don’t usually rush with my food, but if I’m getting coronated, and Noah is getting tested, I need to hurry up! Eating my pancakes in a very un-princess-like manner, I teleport my saddlebag to the kitchen via “Want it, Need it.”, and bolt out the door, galloping towards the Castle of Friendship! Oh, I have a feeling my special someone will enjoy riding me a heck of a lot more once I can get the hang of flying! *** Friendship Test? Eh, I am not worried. Twilight seems to be quite happy with herself. Is it because her student became a goddess? Is it because I became immortal? I don’t want to ask, I don’t want to get into a hot mess! “Okay, Noah. Now that you’ve finished your pancakes. I will issue your Friendship Test. It’s easy! Just listen to five things about me, and then tell them back in your own words!” Oh, this is fun! I just did this with Starlight and Trixie. I think this will be a rather simple exam! “Ready when you are, Princess Twilight!” I say, sitting upright and ready to hear Twilight’s five points about herself. “Okay! So, my name is Twilight Sparkle. I am an alicorn, the Princess of Friendship, and I like to read. In fact, I like to read so much that I have over two hundred and fifty thousand books in my library; in over fifteen languages! I have always loved to learn, and I wanted to open a School of Friendship, which is why I brought you here as a test student! Now that your world can’t be accessed anymore, I’ll bring in the non-ponies of Equestria, and you can hang out with Starlight! Now, what did I say?” Woah, Twilight talks fast, this shouldn’t be too hard, right? “Well, your name is Twilight Sparkle, and you are the Princess of Friendship. You love to read, to the point that you have over two hundred and fifty thousand books, in fifteen distinct languages. Due to your love of education, you want to open a School of Friendship, and I was the test dummy. Sadly, you can’t access Earth anymore, so you are going to teach “non-pony species” Friendship instead. How did I do on this oral exam? Also, what are “non-pony species?”” Twilight smiles at me and writes something down in her journal. When she’s done with that, she gives me her undivided attention. “You passed with flying colors! I am glad you got the hang of listening, and you finished the first unit of the Friendship Course. Feel free to thank Trixie for that. I know you two are friends now, too! To answer your other question, there are several other species of sapient creatures that call Equestria home.” Other sapient creatures? Like what? Would it be rude to ask? Ah, screw it, I can’t die, and I am going to live here forever, so I might as well ask. “So, what other sapient things live here besides ponies?” I ask Twilight, who eagerly nods and teleports a book into her hooves. “How’s your common Ponish?” She asks me, as she tosses the book over to me. I open it, and I can understand what it says. “I guess the soul merging did more than make me have the hots for Starlight?” I say, reading through the entire 500-page book in a matter of seconds. I think my normal autistic speedreading is enhanced with magic! “Not bad, kid. Not bad. I read at that pace, too. If you want, you can come to my personal library and go through some stuff. If you want to learn magic, you need to catch up! Now, for non-ponies, there are changelings, yaks, dragons, seaponies, and kirin on this continent. There are also sapient birds, cat humanoids, and zebras, too!” Twilight quickly responds, answering my question with erudition. “Well, thanks for invigilating my Friendship Test. I wonder what Starlight is up to right now with flying lessons?” I just hope she’s not going through the pony gauntlet or anything! *** I don’t think I have galloped this fast in my entire life! Even when Noah was riding me around for these past few days, I never broke 35 miles an hour. I know Rainbow Dash is very serious when it comes to flying, so I don’t want to aggravate her! I feel my heart beating out of my chest, and after ten painful minutes, I arrive at the Castle of Friendship. I was half expecting for the drawbridge to come down, but instead, a blue pegasus with a familiar rainbow trail bolted out the window and landed next to me. She eyes me carefully, examining my new wings, before writing something down in a notebook. I didn’t even know Rainbow Dash knew how to read, let alone write. I guess when it has to do with flying, she can pull it through. Once she’s done writing everything down, she sits on her haunches and looks me in the eye. “So, the commiepony got wings. How ironic!” She says, laughing at herself. I am really not in the mood for politics! I want to punch her in the muzzle for the snide comment she just made, but princesses don’t behave like that; at least I don’t think they do. “Har har, very funny. Are you going to teach me how to use these wings or not?” I say, stomping a hoof on the ground to get Rainbow’s attention. The pegasus mare is startled but doesn’t comment further on my “get to the darn point” attitude. “Okay. The first thing I want you to do is spread your wings. I want to measure your wingspan.” I listen to my flying instructor and spread my wings out to full width. Since Noah gave me that awkward massage, I can feel the muscles and nerve endings in my wings, so I know they are a real part of my body. Rainbow Dash pulls out a ruler from her saddlebag, and she measures my wings accordingly, before writing down her findings on a Wonderbolts notepad. “Alright, Starlight. You have a wingspan of around nine feet and change. That’s quite normal for a pony your size. You're a medium-sized mare, so you are in the normal wingspan bracket for a pony like you. Now, stats aside, I want to see what you can do before I teach you anything. Can you move those wings? Can you take off?” Hmm, I was able to take off last night, although I think it was an adrenaline thing. Quickly flapping my wings, I am able to hover a few feet in the air, as Rainbow Dash does the same. Rainbow cracks a grin, before pointing to a giant obstacle course that is being set up in the clouds by the Wonderbolts! It looks quite daunting! “Everypony I have put through this thing can fly on their own within one single attempt. It’s foalproof! Come on, Starlight. I think you can do it. Just fly up to the first cumulus over there, and give it a shot!” She grins and slaps me on the back in a rather cordial manner. I take a deep breath and flap my wings rhythmically as I ascend to the aforementioned cloud. When I finally make my way to it, I stop flying and am surprised to see that I can stand on the cloud; without any magic, at that! Dashie looks up and sticks her tongue out. “Welcome to pegasus magic 101. No need for spells or anything to cloud walk. You just naturally stand on it and don’t fall. Take your time, and make your way through the obstacle course. The average completion time is five and a half minutes! One more thing: Flying isn’t about flapping your wings, or trying to be fast. It’s about breathing! You need to get as much oxygen into your blood as possible to fly with ease!” Getting oxygen into my blood, huh? This could be done in two ways. I can either hyperventilate, getting air in short bursts, or I can inhale slowly, fill up my lungs, and exhale slowly. This could increase my lung capacity, and make flying a lot easier! I take a deep breath, and I pay attention to the air entering my body. I feel a cool flow of oxygen enter my lungs, and my wings feel lighter and loftier than before. “Alright, ready?” Rainbow Dash says, quickly coming up to my cloud, and checks her stopwatch. I’ll give the Wonderbolts credit: they are always at the cutting edge of science and technology, and their tech is often decades ahead of the rest of Equestria’s! I wonder what Twilight thinks about all their tech? “I’m ready, Rainbow,” I say, spreading my wings once more in anticipation for the flying gauntlet to come. “Three…two…one…GO!” She blows a whistle, and I am off!  Five and a half minutes later Ugh…that was Tartarus incarnate, but I can use these wings now! I don’t feel like a foal when I am flying, and Rainbow Dash doesn’t seem to be worried about me anymore. “You did great, Starlight. Now, go find that human friend of yours and show him your stuff!” She says, quickly flying away. I guess she only wanted to see me for the basic flying lesson? It doesn’t matter, anyways. Trying to conserve my energy, I teleport back home, and I find my student reading dozens of books all at once! I am actually a bit horrified by this! “Noah, what the hay are you doing?” I ask him, flabbergasted by the ludicrous speed my pupil is reading. “Reading some magic books. That’s all. Twilight told me that your alicorn ascension gave me a boost. I can read 25 books all at once! I can hold my own in magic now, but I don’t expect to be good! I still need years of practice. How was flying?” He asks me, quickly snapping his fingers and putting all of the books back where he found them. “Well, I can fly now, and I don’t like to be late. Pack your bags, we’re going to Canterlot. You are going to fly on your pony girlfriend there!” He blushes, trying to find a suitable backpack or saddlebag to use for his travels. “How long are we going to be there, Glimmer?” He asks me, finding a spare saddlebag in the closet. He throws in some clothes and his medicine. “Not sure. Pack for a long weekend. I can carry you and a backpack, silly!” I chuckle, as Noah finally finishes packing. To make sure he didn’t forget anything, I drag his bag over with my magic and analyze the contents. It’s all good! For a human who’s deficient in executive functioning, he sure can pack! Maybe it’s a skill he learned over time? “Starlight, I have a question before we go. Do you know if Trixie is going to be at your coronation? She’s one of my friends, too!” Aw, he’s thinking of others before himself! I love that. “I think she’s coming, but I have a feeling she’ll take the train, or ask Twilight to zap her there. I wouldn’t want anypony to miss my big day, now, saddle me up so I can show you my new skills!” I playfully order as Noah gives me a rather sly look. “As you wish, milady.” He drly says, grabbing my saddle and bridle from the coat rack. He takes an extra minute to help me with my equipment, so he doesn’t accidentally clip one of my wings! I take it that saddles weren’t designed for winged ponies, but Noah seems to know what he’s doing. I gently open my mouth as he inserts the cold metal bit, firmly closing my maw and adjusting the straps. I am impressed that I can talk through this thing! I guess magic helps a little? Once I am all set and ready, I teleport the two of us outside, and I look directly at my human paramour. “Now that I am a princess, Noah, there are a few ground rules. You need to ask my permission before climbing onto me.” I am trying not to laugh, but I enjoy messing with Noah. He knows I am joking, and he likes spending time with me, anyways. “Very well, Starlight.” He clears his throat and asks: “Princess of Justice. I am a meager human with no means of flying on my own. I beseech you in your infinite kindness to allow me to mount Her Grace for means of transport.” He says in what I assume would be his world’s version of the Royal Canterlot dialect? I drag him closer to me with my magic and plant a big kiss on his cheek, which is a bit weird with a bridle in my mouth. “The Princess eagerly consents to having a passenger. Climb aboard and secure yourself atop the regal mare. I don’t want you to get hurt!” I reply as Noah does just that; he grabs my saddle and hoists himself atop me, securing his legs in the stirrups. Remembering that he needs the bridle to balance, I cast a quick spell putting the reins into the young man’s hand. “Next step, my love. Entice me to take off!” I say with much chagrin. My friend is more than eager to oblige, and he firmly presses his legs into my sides. I am quite relieved that he’s not pressing against my wings! They are a sensitive area, indeed! “Princess of Justice, I have but one request: giddy up!” He says with a bit of mischief in his voice. I raise my front hooves to build up potential energy and speed and quickly enter a full gallop. I remember to cast my odometer/speed spell, now updated with altitude, so my rider knows all of my stats! “Hooves up in three…two…one!” I exclaim, contracting my supracoracoideus muscles to raise my body, along with Noah’s, into the air. I am more steady this time, and with a few quick flaps, we’re already above the clouds! My rider whoops for joy, and I can’t help but laugh. Even though this is my second time flying, I feel as if this is more special for him than it is for me. I’d kiss him right here and now, but we’re flying, so it’s not the best idea! “THIS IS AWESOME! I LOVE YOU STARLIGHT!” He exclaims, urging me with those fancy ropes of his to go faster and faster: STARLIGHT GLIMMER THE ALICORN: PRINCESS OF JUSTICE 200 HORSEPOWER One adorable human passenger Current Speed: 100 miles per hour Altitude: 5’750 feet above sea level Odometer: 65,003 miles “Hey, Glimmy, did you know your stats are exponentially higher, now that you’re an alicorn? We’re going crazy fast, and I don’t even feel dizzy!” He exclaims, enjoying the view that I am giving him of Equestria from above. “Not surprised. Trixie did say I am thousands of times more powerful. Now. I have a question for you. Want to go even higher?” I think I can go to around 15,000 feet without the air thinning out. I’m fine going to a vacuum, but Noah needs his air! “Of course, I do, honey!” He says, giving me a hug. “Well, you know the drill, stimulate my sides and-.” “This is going to be fun, Glimmer! Let’s roll!” The boy’s got style! I am glad he doesn’t hurt me when he does this. My muscles contract even more, and we rise higher and higher into Celestia’s sky. We finally level out after a good minute or so of ascending, and I level out my wings to glide. We continue to fly like this for a while, spotting a few pegasi flying beneath the cloud line. I think I am flying high enough to avoid detection, and I don’t want the pegasi to knock my boyfriend off me! “Noah, want to know a fun alicorn fact?” I ask him as he takes in the view. I have a good idea where I am going with this, but I am not sure if Noah will follow. Only time will tell! “Sure. I think that ties into Friendship Lesson #3: Common Interests. I like science, and you like science!” He says, laughing at himself. “Okay, sure thing. Alicorns, like pegasi, can stand on and manipulate clouds.” I say, spotting a large cumulonimbus up ahead. I slow down my flapping pattern and glide towards it. Gently placing my four hooves onto the cloud, Noah is confused. “Why did we stop, Starlight?” He asks me, wondering if it’s safe for him to dismount me, “You can dismount, Noah. You’re with me, and your magic is linked to mine.” Hesitantly letting go of my reins, he climbs down and removes my bridle, awestruck at the fact he’s standing on a cloud! I take it that this is not a possible feat in Noah’s homeworld? “Why did we stop? You didn’t answer my question, Glimmy. I am confused!” He says before I put a hoof on his shoulder and caress it. “Because you’re going to make me a real princess now.” I grin at this fun revelation. Noah looks uncomfortable, and I get it. He’s probably not used to having intimate relations with talking goddess ponies. “I don’t want to, Starlight. It’s too soon and-.” Deeply kissing him, thanks to my bridle being removed, I stroke his hair and reassure him. “We have our souls linked. You have all my memories, and I have all of yours. I know how to make you happy, and you know how to make me happy. Do me this one favor before I become a princess and we have no private time? I promise it won’t hurt.” Feeling less stressed, he sighs. “I…I’ve never done this before. I am scared.” He says, before I gently lower myself onto my barrel, laying on the cloud. “I will be with you. Nopony is doing anything they don’t want to. I can read your mind. I know you want this, just as much as I do. We’ll go nice and slow, Noah.” He gently lies down onto the cloud and shudders. I turn over onto my back and open my hooves in an open embrace, wings spread as well. “Let’s start by massaging my wings. Then I will give you a reward!” I have a feeling I will be making Noah a stallion, and he’ll be making me a princess! I am not worried one bit. We have each other, and we’ll be just fine!