//------------------------------//
// Except For Last Chapter. That's Kind of a Downer 
// Story: Metamorphosis? The Story of Another Human Turned Pony. 
// by Daaberlicious 
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	By all rights, night-time in Ponyville should have been nice.

Sure, the rain kinda goes against the traditional definition of nice night, but it was the sort of rain that fell down warm and quietly, seemingly coming from invisible clouds for how shiny the moon and stars were.

Bear this in mind, however: While I had gotten a simple job cleaning the roads after market, I soon found out that the amount of bits I received in pay was not sufficient for any one day stay at a local hotel. My long walk in the rain, jumping from lobby to lobby in search of one cheap enough for my meager quantity of bits had gotten me totally soaked, and the last dregs of energy from the cinnamon loaf had long since disappeared from broom pushing... Not to mention that walking all evening when one is running on fumes got tiring very quickly.

I was tired, sopping wet, cold from being wet, hungry and about to beg somepony for shelter, and I did not find this night pleasant.

Simply sitting on a bench instead of knocking on a door, I cursed my pride for each droplet of rain that fell on my prominent nose and ears, and hoped somepony would simply come along and offer a place to stay for each raindrop that fell on my miserable green toosh.

"Hmm. Saw you walking by some odd 10 times, I did. You giving up on something now?"

My head pivoted towards the unicorn I did not know I shared the bench with. He looked as though he had been out on the street for a long time. He had sort of washed out yellow fur, long, black facial hair and mane, and a thin, worn, and patched blue coat which matched well with his dark blue beanie.

"No. Uh... Just taking a break."

"Makes sense to me. ...So, what's your story then? Can't have been out on the streets for long."

"Just since this afternoon."

"Ooh. First night's always the roughest, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Hmm. ...So, you care to share, then?"

I sighed. "Wouldn't make a lick of sense anyway," I said, curling up on the the bench in my, impressively enough, still comfortable hoodie.

"Aw, heck! You see me? I'm a blank-flank! Wouldn't be a problem, except my mark just up and disappeared after 15 years of having it. Used to be an electrician, I was."
"And now-" He said, adding emphasis with tone of voice and a single tap of his hoof, "Couldn't tell you how a light bulb works."

"... There are no light bulbs in Equestria." I threw a look of confusion at him from over my shoulder.

In response, he pulled out one from his pocket. "They do exist, see? Just never managed to figure out power lines before my mark went ker-poot. No biggie. Torchlight and magic seems to work anyway. So go on and tell me about you. I'll be able to believe it, I think." He pocketed his treasure and looked at me with an encouraging smile.

"... I'm not a pony. I jumped dimensions for some reason and ended up-" I swallowed back the grief, still rather new. "... I ended up here. Didn't even have anything."

"Aw heck! You are a pony, that I won't lie about, but that dimension hop story doesn't seem much farther fetched than my cutie-mark disappearing!"

"No! I-I mean I wasn't a pony, but I am now. I shouldn't be a pony."

"Hmm! So you're saying you were something else?"

"Yeah..."

"Darn shame... Well, I'd be sweeping streets like you probably did, but I found this humble life of mine much better! Sure, I'm starving, but I'm my own stalion!" He put a hoof to his chest, saluting his low-income lifestyle in a way.

Suddenly, his ears pricked and I noticed whistling.

"Ooh! Better lickity-split! That there's Miss Morning Glitter! She won't let me sleep in my alley! Drags me to her place if she sees me!"

The middle-aged hobo-stallion jumped off the bench and saluted me. "Best of luck to you, youngster! In fact, you might just get shelter forced upon you tonight! Heh heh heh!" With that, he galloped full tilt into an alley way.

"...Bit of an eccentric, but nice man, I guess."

... Stalion. Not man.

I nestled into my hoodie and contemplated attempting to sleep, when I remembered the whistling.

It was a merry tune that was performed skillfully, each and every note in time with their owner's hoof-beats as they advanced towards the plaza. A small light hovered just above their head, proving that they in fact had magic ability within them.

Of course, this stranger was of great interest to me. I was in Equestria. The real thing! How could my O.C. possibly be living here too?



I immediately recognized her, but the chances are that you don't have a flipping idea what she looks like. For those of you who do not know, she is a pegasus mare with light green fur, light blue mane, and dark blue eyes. Her mane and tail fur are quite thick, somewhat resemble teardrop shapes and have two white lines in the mane, and two in the tail, giving her a bubbly sort of appearance. Her wings are just a bit larger than those of other pegasi, of which when combined with the masses of fur on her mane and tail, make her look somewhat bigger than she actually is. She has a sweet, young voice that is perfect for singing, which is usually accompanied by mounds of good humor and a touch of innocence.

But wait... How does she manage light magic then? Truth be told, she only works with light magic, but her skill and cleverness with this frequently tricks other ponies into thinking she can do more.

The origin of this magic has something to do with her spine, but doctors cannot figure out the exacts of how that works any more than how the brain or the unicorn horn does. Several theories regarding recessive traits and fully-magical skeletons exist, but those are just that. Theories.

Anyway, back to my mental breakdown, already in progress.



NO. NO. NO!

NO NO NO NO NO!

She stopped whistling and trotted up when she saw me, light ball in tow. "Hey. Are you okay?"

Yes. It's true.

"Yes. I Mean NO! No I'm not! I've been out in the rain all night and I don't have a house and I'm hungry and cold and no I'm not alright!"

She stared at me with surprise, but thankfully remained where she was after the outburst. I shivered and curled up tighter.

"...Please help me..." I said, in perhaps the most humble, depressing, and soft way I ever did within my recent history.

I must have done something right, like throw in puppy eyes, or whimper, or move my ears in such a way as to amplify my sad expression, because instead of just helping me up, she picked me up in an orb of light, deposited me lengthwise on her back, and began to trot briskly back the way she came.

In retrospect, however, her determined demeanor probably wouldn't have let her leave me be even if I had taken to running away... Although to run away, I'd probably be very, very stupid.

"Poor guy... I don't want you to think I'm not going to help you, because I help everypony I can... It's just that you were so passionate about your depressing state of affairs that I was startled! ...Did you catch all that? Some ponies say I speak with too many big words."

"... I like big words..." I said quietly, extremely thankful for the little light-umbrella she had conjured up. 5 hours in the rain up till, I'll guess 11:00 p.m, is not enjoyable... Especially since the news I got in the morning was so soul-crushing.

She gave a little laugh. "Well, I infer that you and I shall find many diversions together while you recover from the effects of a lack of permanent housing... Hypothermia, malnourishment and whatnot. Would you infer likewise... ?" She drifted off, uncertain of my name.

"Scribblescratch."

"I love that name! It is so you! I can tell!" Wincing suddenly, she ruffled her feathers, never once loosing footing or balance as she continued. "Sweet Celestia, you're completely soaked! I'd better get you home soon into a nice, warm bed by a cozy fire. Does that sound nice?"

"...Food too. I'd like that... Please?"

She threw me a big grin. "You betcha! Something warm and tasty- I plan on warming you up a lot! No matter that it's 11:27, a pony who hasn't eaten all day needs to eat!"

Oh... Later than I thought.

"...I had a loaf of cinnamon bread from Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie gave it to me."

"Wow. I'm amazed you ran all day on that. Pinkie does it, sure, but I haven't seen anypony else manage it!"

"...I've got a suicidal independent streak. I didn't run on it. Just on my poor pony legs... And sheer pride."

"Oh. Well, I don't mean to tell you that you did anything wrong, but pride goes before the fall, right? ...The fall into poverty, in this case." She threw me a pitying look.

"...I can see that..." It made sense to me, for a non-traditional use of the saying.

My mount jumped deftly over a large puddle in the cobblestone, and I could tell we were getting off the town path now... But all that concerned me was the steady swaying motion of her trot that was lulling me into a peaceful stupor.

"Hey. Wake up back there! I kinda need to tell you about myself, don't I?" She chirped, giving a little jump to snap me out of my stupor.

"...I don't think this is formal enough for that..." I said, settling back into her fur. I didn't want to hear what I already knew. Mmm. Minty.

"Who cares?" She flung her head upwards, then started telling me the brief version of her life story.



Once again, I would skip this, but you know almost nothing about her compared to me. Basically, as quoted:
"I'm kinda the black sheep in the family, with both my parents and all 3 of my sisters being unicorns, while I was the only pegasus.
I grew up in kind of a crazy-yet-fun sort of family, you know, the kind you never know that you want unless you don't have it! But I was probably the weirdest: I got my cutie-mark saving my sister from Froggy-Bottom Bog when I was like, 8, and none of us could figure it out until I used my talent again during a camping trip.
It didn't seem like anything special, just a ball of light to read the books I brought... Except it seemed to come from my spine, or something! That confused the doctors, let me tell you!
Before I knew it, I was in magic school alongside other unicorn fillies and colts, which slowly progressed to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, and now I have a plaque in my room that says I'm the foremost expert on all things light magic."



She threw a smile over her shoulder at me. "Didn't even get a job with magic. I'm just a mediocre member of the Ponyville weather team. You know, where all Ponyville pegasi end up! Couldn't have asked for better!"

I got propped myself up on Morning's back and let a sneeze fly over my shoulder. "*AA-SHOOOO!* Unngh. Darn allergies..."

"Woah! You've got some lungs in you! Ever tried singing with them?"

"...Middle school choir. Didn't like it... I mean... I sang... Okay, but..."

"Too easy? I hope that's what you mean!"

"Yeah..."

"*Keh-choo!* Wow. Now you got me doing it too! Anyway, home sweet home! Please take this opportunity to disembark and proceed into the building,"

Morning's house did not look different from most the others in Ponyville: Same thatch roof, white painted wood, brown scaffolding showing decoratively, and a grey-white brick chimney sticking out the top. It also had the traditional (so I presumed) four stories with ground-level, higher level, attic, and a very likely basement.

But the similarities stopped there as the brown door turned into brownish vapor, allowing us passage, and then re-forming once we were in. I had been floated into the living room along with my new suitcase that I had forgotten about. I must have been carrying it all day, but I don't remember...

"I take it that is yours? It was by your place at the bench, and I saw your name on it."

"...It's mine."

She peeked into the living room. "What's in it? ...Take off your hoodie and sit by the fire, by the way."

I did as suggested, leaving the hoodie close to the fireplace. "...Blankets and stuff. Wouldn't have worked well in the rain."

"Oh, you know... There might not be anything in there anymore..." Morning said with contemplation, popping open the brass snaps of the suitcase. "Yeah. Empty."

"Oh no... Now I'm getting my only things stollen."

"Don't blame anyone! I overheard Pinkie talking about you to Twilight this afternoon, and if what she says about being a lost soul is true, then this was going to happen too. ...Have you met Pinkie? I forget."

"Yeah. I already told you about what she gave me..." I moped, laying on my right side to warm my now bare back against the fire.

"Oh, sorry! Let me set up your bed..." She trotted away around the corner, and I heard noises in the kitchen/dining room, and later, the sound of another door shimmering away.

While Morning busied herself, I absorbed the look and feel of the living room. The rain pitter-pattered against the glass of the two small windows, one right of the fireplace, and one on the side wall to the left of it. The living-room had a golden-red theme, with it's red walls and golden-trimmed red loveseat. A light brown-gold coffee table sat by the loveseat, and an ottoman was situated next to an easy-chair. The ottoman and chair matched the loveseat and were situated on it's right end.
A simple flower-pot filled to the brim with golden flowers sat on top of the fireplace, while floating shelves next to the fireplace and along the right wall contained various forms of fiction, from what I could tell based on titles.
To top it all off, an intricately patterned tapestry of brown, yellow and white hung above the loveseat, and I was laying on a plush gold area-rug, simply patterned with square stitching along the edges.

I briefly wondered something: If the door could do that, and this is Morning Glitter's house... Could it be made of light? If so, could everything else be light too? I'd expect no less if it were possible...

Looking at the flame in the fireplace, I noticed that the logs did not seem to pop, snap, or crumble as time went by. So I did something that would normally have been stupid by sticking my hoof in the flame. It was quite warm, but my dangerous experiment revealed very cool results. By which, I mean not a single hair on my foreleg was even singed.

"Hey Scribbles! Heads up!"

I looked just in time to be completely covered by the best blanket ever. Morning lifted me onto an equally comfortable mattress and presented me with a bowl of something warm and very good smelling to a starved pony.

"This is a little get-well-quick recipe I made up. It's got mashed fruit, eggs, oats, milk and sugar all mixed together, and it's made to combat malnutrition as well as an empty stomach."

Fruit? I never liked fruit all that much... I guess I shouldn't be picky, though... I thought, staring at the bowl with distrust.

She laid down next to me on the mattress and whispered conspiratorially in my ear: "I was told not to tell anypony about this, but food is eaten by sticking it in the mouth and swallowing!" Then she giggled mischievously and encouraged me to take my time.

I didn't, and had the whole thing downed in less than a minute, very definitely not savoring the flavor. ...I think it was yummy, but I'm not sure.

"...That stuff has taste to it too, you know!" She let out a little laugh. "Were you hungry, or something?"

"Yeah." I replied simply. It came out sorta like a puff of air... Apparently I didn't stop to breathe once that whole time.

She gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Awesome! My recipe is a winner as always! Anyway, it's almost 12:00, so that makes it your bed-time by default." This new declaration was punctuated by the forceful placement of my head onto the mattress.

"Oh, come on..." I said with a yawn. "I was just now thinking about hurting myself by loosing sleep! You're no fun."

I must be feeling better. I can joke now.

She gave a brief, amused laugh at this. "Well, my house, my rules. Nopony who's my guest is going to starve or lose sleep, so let's hear some Z's!" She proclaimed, jumping off the incredibly soft mattress.

I gave out a sad sigh. At this, she lowered her head and looked me in the eyes. "Hey... We'll talk more tomorrow, okay?"

I nodded. Satisfied, Morning left the room, dimming the general light in the place and leaving another gust of minty smell in her wake.

As I settled into my bed, back facing the sorta-flame, I realized why I had thought of it as the best bed ever. The very well padded huge green mattress could have better been described as a giant pillow, and paired with the equally huge darker purple blanket, the whole thing felt softer than anything I had ever slept in.
As I drifted off, I noticed that the whole set retained the not-fire's heat well, if it didn't produce a little of it's own.

Morning... You perfect sweet wonderful soul...

My eyes popped open from that sudden thought. Woah. Where'd that come from?