//------------------------------// // Phones and Apples // Story: Planes, Plans and Pony Music // by River Road //------------------------------// I stare intently at the object on the nightstand, waiting for it to make any kind of movement. This time I will be prepared for its tricks. I will avoid the unavoidable fate that I know this object undoubtedly holds for me. Its innocent act won’t fool me another time. The rest of lunch was… less hectic than expected. I still had to eat my way around dozens of questions, mind you, but they were polite enough to let me be polite and eat swallow my food before I talked. I told them what I assumed about the transformation and what I knew about the things I assumed; Equestria, ponies and basic magic. I even tried my hoof at some more magic, though I’ll admit that it didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped. Now I didn’t have any problems sparking my magic again… Once I knew what it felt like, simple levitation was almost laughingly easy to recreate. Alas, levitation is not the same as holding something in your hands – and don’t believe anyone telling you otherwise, because either they never had magic or they never had hands. It isn’t all that difficult to grasp, really, but it’s still something you need to practice. At the level I was, using knife and fork was pretty much impossible – I accepted that fact before I could make too much of a mess. Drinking was definitely possible, after a few painful attempts in which I almost chipped some teeth with the glass bottle. However, the real treat came at the end of the meal. I had saved the apple for dessert while I dug into my pasta and a surprisingly tasty salad. It wasn’t anything special. Just a normal, boring apple. Not too small, but not exactly large either. Apparently I was now able to devour a normal, boring apple in two bites. And the first bite wasn’t very big. Celestia, what a taste. I don’t know how I lived all my life without it, but I pity every one of you omnivorous humans. In hindsight my reaction was probably slightly exaggerated, but I had gotten a delicious treat when I was expecting… an apple. I realized that ponies being herbivores didn’t mean that they missed out on anything. If my new body was actively motivating a vegetarian lifestyle like that, I couldn’t care less about meat. A little later I even got to use my new magic for a prank. One of the assistants from the canteen’s kitchen had apparently missed out on my magic shenanigans and I decided to try out the infamous three-step-plan: Go up to counter -> ??? -> Profit In this case “???” stood for persuading the guy to give me six apples for free, if I could juggle them all at the same time. If they fell down I’d have to buy and pay for them, obviously. The others in the canteen probably figured out what I was planning, because they kept quiet long enough for me to take the six apples and float them in a circle around my outstretched hands. He took it pretty well, all things considered. I suppose he had heard of my case already, like every other worker in the hospital had by now. It probably helped that no one else seemed surprised and some where even laughing and giving applause. Either way, I got half a dozen apples for free to take to my room while I would wait for whatever the doctors had planned for me. I snap out of the short flashback and shake my head to clear it. Looking back at the nightstand I realize that the round object is gone. All that is left is a sweet, slightly sour aftertaste in my mouth. I blink as my eyes lose focus again. Then I fall sideways onto the bed. “Uuugh…” I groan, holding my stomach. “Seven apples are too many apples…” A few hours later I’m sitting on my bed again, looking down at my hooves. The fur has made its way up my legs and they look a lot more equine now. It’s gotten harder to walk, since my knees seem to be wandering upwards, too – that’s what the doctors told me. They made a few tests on my magic, but didn’t get any results aside from the obvious observations. I’m not surprised, really. I don’t think they’ll find any scientific explanation for telekinesis soon. I pick up my phone and unlock the touchscreen, staring at the back of my hand in the process. The nails on my middle fingers are larger and thicker than before and are starting to turn red... It’s not exactly hard to figure out what is happening. I should try to find out if I can use a touchscreen with my magic. I scroll through the list of contacts. Should I tell my parents about this? Well, obviously I should, but I don’t want to do that over the phone. The doctors told me that my voice has changed over the day; not too much, but enough to sound noticeably different. I hadn’t even noticed, and even after they told me I can’t tell the difference. Besides, it might be a better idea to wait and see how far these changes go. It seems that I’m going all the way, and judging from the last hours it can’t be too long until that happens. Another name on the list catches my attention. I dial the number and wait, holding it to my ear. “Schütze!” a voice announces happily. I yelp and quickly pull the phone away from my ear. Improved hearing and Jan don’t mix. I should have expected that. I compose I rub my ear and make sure to hold it a bit farther away this time. “Hey, Jan, how’s it going?” “Dave, is that you? What’s up, man? You sound strange.” Right, new voice… I let out a badly faked cough and try to cover up. “Uhm, yeah. I got a bit of a –” I do another, more believable cough “– sore throat. Nothing serious.” “Okay… So, what’s up?” Jan asks. “Right.” I decide to get back to the matter on hand as fast as possible. “Say, do you have time? There’s something I need to show you.” If there’s anyone I can show this to, it’s a fellow brony. Maybe bounce some ideas off him as to what is happening. “Sorry, brony,” Jan replies. “I’m at my cousin’s, helping him sort the junk in his storage. I don’t think I’ll get out of here in the near future.” “I have yet to see you actually helping!” I hear a voice in the background quip. “Anyway, I don’t think I’ll make it today. I’ll just see you tomorrow.” He pauses for a second. “We’re still doing that right? As if a sore throat would keep you from singing. I don’t think anything short of short of spontaneous combustion would,” he adds jokingly. Karaoke… I almost forgot about that. “Yeah, we’re still doing that.” I reply absentmindedly. I hesitate as an idea starts to take form in my head. It’s either a great idea or a really bad one. “Actually… Why don’t you invite a few more of your brony friends?” “Are you sure?” There’s a short pause. “Well, okay. I think I know a few guys in the area I can ask. Any particular reason for that change of plans?” “You could say that… Not going to tell ya though.” I stick my tongue out at the phone. “Spoilsport…” Jan mutters. “Oh well, I’ll just see you tomorrow then,” I say. “Give my regards to your cousin.” “Dave sends his regards!” Jan shouts to someone. “Ask him to send me some actual help instead!” comes the muffled reply. I chuckle and end the call. Tomorrow should be interesting. I take an apple from the nightstand and give the remaining two a scrutinizing stare. I’m sure that I had five of them. I look down at my empty hands in frustration and poke at a last remaining seed in my mouth with my tongue. When I see Discord starting to cast his spell on the poor earth pony I do my best to keep it together. There’s nothing I can do for her. I have to stick to the plan if we want to have any chance at winning. The mare was aware of the risks and she was still one of the first to charge, putting herself in the front line. I cast my spell and in a second the mental turmoil falls away, becoming a faint background static. My eyes glow with magic, the same light blue color as the magic beaming from my horn. My mind is completely focused on my surroundings, taking in every last detail and analyzing it. This is the last of the three spells I know. Clearing my mind and boosting the analytical part of my talent. “No!” A pegasus mare slams into Discord just before he can cast his spell, interrupting him and tackling him away from his victim. They roll over the ground and end up in a heap. Discord has the mare pinned down and I recognize her as the meek Wonderbolt. “So you want to be the first instead? Very well…” Discord raises a claw that glows bright with magic. He touches the mare’s forehead with it and begins to chant. My brain automatically focuses on his spell to find out as much as I can. “For Five Score! Divided by Four!” “Score”… I’m sure I’ve heard that before, but I can’t remember what it is. Some form of measurement, most likely. “Your memories removed, your body confused!” “Memories removed”… Does the spell have some kind of amnesia effect? But the ponies disappear, don’t they? Maybe it’s a metaphor for removing the memories about the pony, by removing the pony itself. Or maybe it is directly related to the “bodies confused” part… whatever that might mean. “For your mistakes you must pay” That one seems pretty self-explanatory. We lowered our guard to Discord and he took the opportunity to attack when we didn’t expect it. “Cast off to a land far far away!” Is that what happens to the ponies? But what good would it do Discord to just send them somewhere else. It’s only a short-term solution, and it doesn’t fit with the rest of the spell. “They broke through the Gate, Fear, Anger and Hate!” A gate… The gate of Tartarus maybe. Didn’t Celestia and Discord go to fight a creature from Tartarus? Did Discord break down the gate to release the creatures of Tartarus? “Your mind will be weak, your outlooks bleak!” That doesn’t sound good at all. This curse gets worse and worse. Are the weak minds literal or metaphorical? “Forgetting everything and living like a fool,” So definitely amnesia. Discord sends ponies away and takes their memories. It still seems an overly complicated solution and prone to backfiring. “Equestria is lost, now darkness will rule!” With a last flash of light the pegasus’ fading silhouette completely disappears and her screams die down. Discord stands in the middle of the plaza, brushing some dust of his nonexistent sleeve while dozens of ponies watch him fearfully from their hiding spots. I file the last of the information away. Discord’s spell is apparently quite painful. It must be a powerful and difficult spell if even Discord needs a mantra to keep it up, though it might just be that he is casting it on hundreds of ponies. And that’s all the information I’ve gathered when I feel my own spell slowly falter. Keeping it up for any longer would be an unnecessary strain. A small part of me voices a concern, but it is already too late. The spell fizzles out, my eyes lose their magic glow and I feel the familiar moment of disorientation as my brain slows down to normal speeds. Then I’m hit by the wave. All the emotion comes back to the front of my mind at once; Fear of Discord’s spell, disappointment that I wasn’t able to figure out more about the spell, but most of all rage. Discord used his spell on her of all ponies! The Wonderbolt who flew all the way from Ponyville as fast as she could… Who was there to encourage everypony right after seeing her own teammates disappear… Who stood up to the very thing she was utterly afraid of and sacrificed herself to save another pony from Discord. I’m halfway across the plaza before I realize that I’m galloping full charge at the draconequus. Discord raises an eyebrow at me as I jump at him with a battlecry, my horn flaring with all the magic I have. I open my eyes, blinking against the rays of morning light coming through the windows. I remember the whole dream this time. Discord had turned and was attacking Canterlot. The rest is still a little blurred, but that’s more because I’m still half-asleep. I yawn and shake my head to get through the sleepy fog inside my brain. I roll over to sit at the edge and brace myself for the morning. A glance at the clock on the wall tells me that it’s… something. I blink and try to focus. Half past ten. That explains why I’m so tired. I don’t know how I managed to sleep for more than eleven hours straight, but sleeping in never helped me get into my morning routine. I groan and stand up. Time to check for overnight changes. I take a step towards the bathroom. The floor rushes up to greet me and I find myself lying flatly on the ground, my forelegs spread out in front of me. “Owww…” I let out a whine, slightly muffled by the fact that my muzzle is comically pressed against the ground.