//------------------------------// // Meet the Magic Man // Story: The Magic Man in Equestria // by iDeltaVelocity //------------------------------// The Magic Man in Equestria Chapter 1 The Annual Butterfly Migration was undoubtedly Fluttershy’s favourite time of the year, and what made this particular event even more special was the fact that she had Rainbow Dash beside her to enjoy it with. Normally the rainbow-maned pegasus would be bored out of her mind. Watching a bunch of butterflies flying through the air was not a very exciting way to spend her day. She and Fluttershy were hiding behind a bush as the thousands of tiny critters flew by, their colourful wings gliding in the sunlight. The butter-yellow pegasus, wearing a camouflaged hat, looked up at the insects with binoculars. She was awestruck. “Isn’t it beautiful, Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow looked up at the trail of butterflies passing by. To her, it seemed like it was a never-ending swarm. “How many are there? This is so boring.” “Oh, come on, Dashie. You’re not even giving this a chance,” said Fluttershy. “I gave it a chance last time, remember?” Rainbow glanced up at the butterflies still passing overhead. “Nothing exciting ever happens at these things. I would be cool if they could breathe fire like the dragons.” Fluttershy shuttered at the mention. The last thing she wanted on her mind was a scary dragon flying. Her thoughts, however, were trailed off as the raspy sound of coughing nearby caught her and Rainbow’s attention. The coughing was like someone regurgitating a wad of gum stuck in their throat. Whoever it was, they must have been sick. It wouldn’t hurt to take them to the Ponyville Hospital to get them checked on. They left the bush to see who it was, but they found not a pony, but a different creature all together. It had a pair of legs, as well as arms. It stood upright, their size somewhat trumping the two pegasi. A bulky fur coat covered its body, and a pale-yellow pointed hat on his head. They could not determine what species he was. They were way too small to be a dragon, and to scrawny for a Minotaur, so that left a Diamond Dog. Though, it was still difficult to determine because his voice wasn’t as scratchy as the ones they encountered when they kidnapped Rarity. He coughed again after seeing Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. He looked almost too weak to stand on his own two legs. “Food…” he muttered, breathlessly as he staggered, “Would you be so kind to give food to a wary old beggar?” Being the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy couldn’t help but feel sorry for the… whatever this creature was, though she was still certain that it must have been a Diamond Dog. Nevertheless, her instincts instructed her to do what was right. “Oh, you poor thing.” She went over to her saddle bag and grabbed a dandelion sandwich to give to the beggar. “Here you go.” It was snatched out of her mouth. The beggar greedily ate the sandwich and the immediate, and slightly bitter, taste of grass hit his tongue. He was done eating in minutes, finishing with a burp. “Oh, thank you, kind one. Uh, just one thing. I’m not really a beggar. I’m actually a magic man!” He sang his name as his hat brightened in colour. He threw the fur coat to the ground, revealing a set of tattered yellow clothing. The Magic Man was green, literally. He stood with a somewhat mischievous grin on his face as he looked down at the ponies. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash looked up at him in awe and disbelief. Sure, there was plenty of magic in Equestria, but they’d always thought that magic was held exclusively for unicorns and alicorns. Seeing another being, especially one that they never encountered before, was bewildering. They watched on as he got down onto one knee and held a finger out. A butterfly landed on it. “Aw…” Fluttershy cooed. It was kind of cute to her. The Magic Man then balled up his other hand before holding out in front of the butterfly. Suddenly the insect roiled. Its body imploded, turning inside-out into a slimy, green ball of winged bug guts. It flapped its wings furiously, struggling to lift itself off the Magic Man’s finger before finally managing to do so. The sight of what just happened particularly scarred Fluttershy. She was holding onto Rainbow Dash, eyes shut tight as she tried to force the image from out of her mind. “I didn’t see a thing,” she stammered, “Did not see a thing. Just try to think happy thoughts.” “Why’d you do that?” Rainbow Dash glared at the Magic Man, who simply cast a gleeful smile in their direction. “You gave me that food, even though it did taste like complete junk,” he replied, “so I’ll do you a favour in return. A magic favour.” He sprinkled a strange bluish-violet powder over them: “A mystical, magical favour!” Suddenly, the worst happened. Fluttershy’s mane contorted before turning into a vomit green colour. The feathers on Rainbow Dash’s wings, as well as patches of her coat, fell to the ground at once. And finally, as if to add insult to injury for the situation, the pegasi were being sucked into a small vortex-like hole, before finding themselves stuck together in one body. The Magic Man finished, singing, “…For you~!” in a mocking tune. “Oh, my…” was Fluttershy’s only response to seeing the mess she and Rainbow Dash were in. The cyan pegasus, on the other hand, was not amused. “What the hay did you do to us?” “Isn’t it wonderful, ponies?” The Magic Man responded, skipping around the two terrified pegasi. He didn’t seem too fazed from the matter, seeing as he just mutated them, obviously on purpose. In fact, they could tell he was laughing on the inside. “Today, you get to learn a magical life lesson!” Rainbow Dash’s mouth was agape. She couldn’t believe her ears. They gave him food out of kindness, and he expects them to learn some type of lesson? Where was the logic in that? “No, change us back! NOW!” She would’ve been in his face if she wasn’t connected to Fluttershy. The Magic Man clapped his hands above his head and replied, “Not until you appreciate what a jerk I am!” With a gleeful and satisfied cheer at his work, Magic Man took off into the sky like a rocket. In a sudden flash of fireworks and pyrotechnics, that came together to spell ‘EAT IT’, he disappeared. Rainbow growled. “When I get my hooves on him…” Fluttershy looked around. There were no ponies around that witnessed what’d just occurred. They couldn’t stay out here forever, nor could they stay stuck in a single body. “What are we going to do?” she asked. “We obviously can’t do into town looking like this,” replied Rainbow,” We need a disguise.” Twilight answered the knock on her door. She opened it to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. They were standing in the doorway awkwardly. Fluttershy had an oversized hat on her head with her mane done up in a bun and both were wearing a large trench coat over them. The way they looked had garnered some attention from ponies passing by. “Twilight,” Rainbow Dash started, “We need to talk.”