I went back to Applejack's farm every day. I spent less of the day there then last time and hung out with Pinkie Pie a lot. She was such a cutie.
I had a goal in mind at the moment. Vinyl said she'd sell me something, so I had to get more money. She was awesome. They're all awesome.
After a while, I went to her house. It wasn't that hard to find. It had a record on the door, and was blaring loud music. I tried knocking, but she obviously couldn't hear it. I waited until the song finished, and knocked again.
"One minute! I'll be right there!" she called. The door opened. "Oh hey, man. What's up?"
"Some stuff. Whoa... you got awesome eyes."
"Thanks. I guess."
"I didn't see them last time we... so anyways, I was wondering you were still selling that music thing,"
"Yeah, sure. Come on in."
I walked in her house. It was kinda cluttered, but otherwise pretty normal. An open door led to a lit up basement.
"So what did you have in mind?"
"I wanted a mobile music player with at the minimum 250 songs worth of storage with a headphone jack. And I'll also need either in-ear buds or closed-back circumaural headphones."
"That last one was pretty specific."
"I just wanted to sound smart. I very recently started looking into them."
"Alright, I can do that. Stay here, I'll get you something that I'm sure you'll like."
She went downstairs, and came back up with a pair of headphones around her neck and the device on her back.
"Here ya go. This one's a newer model, and these headphones are really great."
I tried them out, listening to some of the songs on it already. It had a nice sized screen, but wasn't a touch screen. It was a little like an iPod, but geared more toward music. Also... ponies had this kind of technology? When did this happen? Do they have computers, too? Could I use them? "Awesome."
"Thanks, I made those songs myself."
"Back home I had over 2000 songs on mine, and a lot of other stuff, and it still wasn't empty."
"Other stuff? Like what?"
"There was a lot of porn on it. Around 5000 pictures." For scientific purposes, of course.
"Holy crap! That's more than I have! Uh... I mean... that's a lot."
"So this can hold a lot of songs?" I asked, ignoring her comment. No shit it was more than she had. What do you think this is, amateur hour?
'Never say that again. It was entirely inappropriate.'
'Don't worry about it.'
"There's already a bunch on there. I used that for my own music, but I upgraded to something else."
"Sweet."
I paid her what she wanted for it. My bag was just about emptied. I would've happily paid double what she said. I love music so much.
I checked how many songs were already on it. 673. Nice. It was about 80% full.
"You ever make any songs with vocals?"
"Nope."
I shrugged. "Alright."
"Want me to?"
"If you want. I'm sure that if you make one, it'll be great. You're awesome." I looked through the songs. "I wish I could make music."
"It's easier once you get the hang of it. Wanna try it with my equipment?"
"Nah. I'd prefer learning how to use a violin or something."
"I have a friend who plays the cello. Her name's Octavia. She got to play at the Grand Galloping Gala, but I got the royal wedding."
"What's the Grand Galloping Gala?"
"It's this really prestigious annual ball that all the high-class ponies go to in Canterlot. Princess Celestia herself hosts it."
"Sounds fun."
"It's not. It's really boring. Rainbow and her friends trashed it last year. It was all over the news."
"When does it go on?"
"4 months ago."
I shrugged. "So you got a system down there?"
"Yeah. Wanna see it?"
"Oh yeah."
We both went downstairs. There was a lot more space down there than I thought there would be.
"Holy crap! That's a lot of speakers."
I looked at her sound system. Definitely the biggest I've ever seen.
"You like it?"
"This is amazing. Man, my dad would love being down here. Your system makes his look tiny. He loves music, man. He was the lead singer for the top rock band in our county."
"That's pretty cool."
"Yeah. His favorite type of music is dubstep. He loves all the bass. I do too."
"Are you a singer, too?"
"Not really. I only sing along to songs. And I usually mix a few words up even after I've listened to the same song over and over."
"Wanna try right now?"
"Not really. Man, I seriously wish I could show you some of our music."
"Same here. I feel like I'm missing out."
"Ah well. Nothin' we can do about that. Play something awesome."
"With pleasure."
She played a few songs, and they were fantastic.
I poked her near the end of a song. She stopped it and said, "What's up?"
"I gotta take off."
"Really? See ya later, then."
I put the headphones on. "You sure will. Danke. These will really come in handy."
I cranked up the volume so loud that other ponies could hear it. I just didn't care. I finally had music!
This was awesome. She was awesome. Everything's awesome. It's like I'm on something.
It wasn't late, but it wasn't early. I headed to Sugercube Corner. Pinkie always had something for me to do, be it delivering drugs or trafficking weapons. Normal friend stuff. Wouldn't it be hilarious if Pinkie was a mob boss? I'm pretty sure she already is. Solved that mystery.
Either Pinkie or Big Mac in my opinion. Big Mac would probably know how to run a mafia, though. I'd prefer him controlling the Equestrian mafia to Pinkie. She'd probably go crazy with power. That would be so funny. Probably.
"Hey Pinkie."
"Hello!"
"How you doing?"
"Pretty good. What about you?"
"I'm awesome." I gave her some money and she gave me a cupcake. I loved these cupcakes. Could I get these in powder form? Or maybe as an injection? "You're the best cook ever."
"No I'm not. The Cakes are the best cooks ever."
"Yeah, but you're Pinkie Pie, so you win by default."
"How does that work?"
"Magic." I waved my fingers at her.
"I guess you have a point there."
"What're ya up to?"
"Just normal stuff."
"That's normal."
"Hey, I was gonna plan a camping trip with some of our friends. We're gonna be away for three days. You wanna come with?"
"Sure. Where we goin'?"
"Rainbow said she had fun at Winsome Falls, but I wanted to go somewhere else."
"What about the Everfree? I've seen a few good places to camp in there."
"I don't know about that."
"Why so?"
"I'm bringing some little fillies with us, and we don't want them to get too scared."
"The Everfree's not scary."
"To you, it's not. You're a lot bigger than us."
"Yeah, I guess."
"Wait... What am I saying? Nightmare Night's coming up! The Everfree's a perfect place to camp. We can tell spooky stories around a campfire all night."
"Nightmare Night? That anything like Halloween? We get free candy and try to scare everyone."
"Sounds pretty much the same."
"Last year I put on my horse head mask and walked around with an open trench coat. I swear, my nipples got frostbite."
"If it was that cold out, you should've put on something else."
"Too late. Where can I get a sleeping bag?"
"Don't worry about any of that. I'll bring supplies for you."
"Really? Thanks! Alright, I gotta go."
"Hey, do me a favor. Tell Rainbow that we're camping in the Everfree tomorrow if you see her."
"Alright. See ya."
"Bye-bye!"
I looked to the skies for her, but didn't see her. It was late. She was probably already back home.
"Looking for somepony?"
"Oh, hey Rainbow! Pinkie told me to find you."
"What's up?"
"She's bringing a few friends to go camping tomorrow in the Everfree."
"Really? That sounds pretty cool. I'll be there."
"Sweet."
"How long are we gonna be out?"
"Three days."
She nodded. "Meet ya at Pinkie's tomorrow."
"See ya then."
I went back to the library. Pinkie said she'd take care of my stuff for me. She's such a little sweetie.
I grabbed a book on the Everfree. It was pretty short. Not a lot was known about it. I didn't learn anything new.
The words started getting fuzzy. I blinked a few times, but it didn't help.
'I must be sleepy. Guess I'll go in early.'
I went to bed, and woke up feeling a lot better. I went to Sugarcube Corner at about three. A huge tower of luggage was on a cart outside. Rarity was definitely here. Applejack, along with the CMC and Rainbow were here already.
"Hello, everypony."
"Hello!"
"Took ya long enough."
"And a fine how do you do to you too, Rainbow." I looked at Scootaloo. "Now, I've met Sweetie Belle and Applebloom, but I haven't seen you around."
"Name's Scootaloo."
"I'm Phil. I'm a human, if you were wondering."
"This guy's tough, Scootaloo. He took down a manticore with his bare hands."
"Whoa!"
"Hearing it out loud like that makes it seem so much cooler." I said.
"Alright, are we all ready to go?"
"I am."
"Same here."
Pinkie gave me a backpack full of supplies. "Alright, Phil. Lead the way."
"Huh?"
"You said you saw some great camping spots."
"Oh yeah. C'mon. You mares wanna go deep into the forest or stay near Ponyville?"
"Lets just keep near the town for now."
"Alright."
"Hey Phil, is the Everfree actually safe?"
"I'd like to know as well. I can't have my darling little sister being put into danger."
"It's pretty safe. There's a few things that could spring out at us, though, but it'll be easy to keep them away from you all."
I led them to the forest. We paused before we walked in. There was a nice clearing that we could stay that was fairly close to here, so I brought everypony there.
"Is this place good? There's a better one further in by a river, and a few more elsewhere."
"Lets make it to the next one and set up camp. Sound good, everypony?"
They all agreed. Except Rarity, of course.
We trudged through the forest some more. Eventually, we made it to the clearing I was talking about.
"Is this part of the Everfree safe?"
"I didn't see anything around here." I replied.
"This is a great place. Good job."
"Alright everypony, lets get to work. These tents aren't setting themselves up."
"Au contraire, Applejack." said Rarity as her enormous tent unfolded itself.
I looked up at it. "Cool."
"Well, our tents won't set themselves up."
I dropped my pack. "I'll get some firewood."
"I'll set up the other stuff." said Rainbow.
I went into the woods to gather loose branches and stuff. I came back a while later, arms full. I went back for another load, and put it on the pile. Applejack started the fire.
The tents were already set up, and there were a few log seats set around the fire.
"Man, this is awesome." I said.
"Just wait until it gets darker out. That's when the real fun starts." said Rainbow.
"Who wants marshmallows?" Pinkie asked excitedly.
"Was that a rhetorical question? Pass 'em around!"
We started cooking the little delicious snacks on sticks. Pinkie got out some graham crackers and chocolate.
A while later, after it got dark, Rainbow started telling a scary story. It was about a few campers in the Everfree Forest that were never seen again.
I listened to every word, but it was hard getting scared when you're dealing with the weak sauce these ponies served.
The fillies screamed when she finished.
"What?" she asked me.
"Huh?"
"No reaction? Wasn't that scary?"
"Not really, no."
"Well then you tell a story."
"Hmm..." I quickly thought of one. "Alright." I changed my voice to sound more serious. "A pony visits a hotel for the weekend. He's told where his room is, and walks to it. No biggie, right? That's what he thought. That was until he saw the room next to his own. It had planks nailed to it, and caution tape all across it. It had a blank space where the number should be. It's like that room was skipped over entirely. He thinks little of it. During the night, he hears loud moans coming from the room, and is unable to sleep. He pounds on the wall until finally, the noise is silenced."
They were getting interested in the story.
"The next day he asks about the room. The receptionist tells him that the noises had always come from the room, but nopony knows exactly what it is. She tells him stay away from it, and to never try to look through the keyhole. He follows her instructions and goes back to his room. The moaning comes back, louder this time. Again, he pounds on the wall, and it stops."
I was pretty good at this.
"The next morning, against the wishes of the receptionist, he gives into his curiosity and looked inside. It was a completely normal room. It looked exactly like his. There was one difference, though. In the corner, there was a mare whose coat was completely white. She was sitting on the ground, leaning her head against the wall, facing away from the door. He stared in confusion for a while. He almost knocked, but decided that it was best not to. He crept away from the door and walked back to his room. The next day, he returned to the door and looked through the keyhole again. This time, all he saw was red. He couldn't make anything out besides the bright red color. At this point he decided to consult the mare at the front desk for more information. She sighed and asked if he had looked. The man told her that he had and she said that a long time ago, a mare had died in that room, and some ponies say that she still haunts it today. This mare was very strange. She was white all over, except for her eyes, which were bright red. His heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, and he rushed back to his room for his things."
They were pretty scared.
"The door slammed shut behind him, and he slowly turned around. The last thing he saw... was a bright red light."
I ended the story with a very dramatic tone.
The fillies screamed loudly and clung onto the ponies next to them.
"Now that's a scary story." said Rainbow.
It was the best I could think of that was still pony friendly. Most things that scare me deal with a lot of death or something like that.
"Well... I think that's enough for tonight. I'm gonna hit the hay."
"Yeah, me too."
I kicked some dirt over the fire and put it out.
"In here, Phil." said Pinkie.
"Alright." I joined her in her tent. "Camping is fun."
"You got that right."
I laid in the bag Pinkie got for me. It was a little short, but it did the job.
I waited for a while in case she wanted to say anything, then I put on my headphones.
When I woke up, I felt really weird. I rubbed my eyes with my... hooves.
"Ahh!" I yelled out in surprise.
Pinkie woke up with a startled yelp. She looked at me, then screamed.
I panicked and bolted from the tent, tripping over myself in the process. I looked at myself. I was a pony!
"What's going on here? Why'd Pinkie scream? Who are you?"
"Uh... I-I... I'm Phil."
"What? You can't be Phil. Phil's a human."
Everypony had walked out of their tents and were staring at me.
"But... I am Phil."
"He sure sounds like him." said Applejack.
"I think it's really him." said Pinkie.
"Well, if you're Phil, then prove it." said Rainbow.
"How am I supposed to do that? Tell you another scary story? You know it's me, Rainbow."
"Yeah, you're Phil."
"What happened to you?"
"I don't know. It's not like I was planning on becoming a pony. This feels weird. Hey Rarity, can I get a mirror?"
She gave me one, and I looked at myself.
Tan coat. Messy brown mane. I looked at my now gigantic eyes. They were still blue, but had a brighter color to them, closer to Nightmare's eyes than my own. A horn protruded from my forehead. I was a unicorn. Cool.
"I look exactly how I pictured myself as a pony."
I looked at my new flanks to see my cutie mark. I didn't even know what my talent was, so I didn't know what to expect. "A moon? Crescent moon. Weird."
I liked astronomy, but I certainly wouldn't call it my special talent. If anything, it'd be about video games or something. Really, it wasn't even that important. I wasn't gonna go on a soul-searching quest to find out there was a moon on my ass. Probably had to do with Nightmare again.
I practiced walking around on all fours. It was pretty easy to get down. I felt incredibly light and full of energy.
"Should we go back to Ponyville?"
"We don't need to." I replied, "Who cares why or how this happened, huh? Lets get packed up. There's a cave in that direction we could stay in, or there's another big clearing over there. I haven't been to the cave yet, so it's probably got a dragon in it or something."
"Wait, so you don't care that you're a pony?"
"No. I'll care later. We're camping. Camping isn't a time for caring. It's a time for fun. I'm gonna go make sure it's safe. You all get stuff ready."
I walked ahead of them. The trail got a little tight up ahead. Rarity's stuff might not fit through. I decided to match the episode and walked to the cave.
"Anypony in there?!" I called. Nothing. Cool. I looked around again. There was a pond nearby, and a whole lot of trees. Gee, I wonder why.
'Why have you been changed into a pony?'
'No idea. Maybe it was that sphere thing. Now that I'm a pony, I can use magic without that potion. If you could somehow channel your power into my spells, it'd be a lot easier to get stronger. Later, though. I'm camping right now.'
"Are you alright, Phil?" asked Pinkie.
"I'm fine. Why did you follow me?"
"I was worried. This kind of thing doesn't happen every day, you know."
"I believe you. I'm a pony now. I kinda wanted to be a pony. At least so I could know what it's like. It feels so weird. I don't have any fingers any more. There just gone. Oh well. Nothin' I can do about that. Seems safe over here. Lets go check out the other place."
We both walked over to the next clearing. Pinkie gasped. There were black scorch marks all along the ground.
"You think there's a dragon nearby?" she whispered.
"Maybe. Go back to camp and warn everypony. I'm gonna make sure it's safe.'
"Be careful."
I stepped out into the clearing. It smelled weird.
'This is from dragon's breath. A young one by the looks of it.'
I saw some dragon tracks nearby, and examined them.
'These are quite fresh. It may still be nearby. Follow them. It may lead us to a dragon's cave.'
I looked back to see if I was alone, then followed them. It led to another clearing. I could hear voices coming from it. I hid behind a tree and looked at them.
Those teenage dragons that picked on Spike were there, talking to each other. Two of them. Wait, wasn't there three?
I glanced behind me. Nothing. I turned back to look at them.
'What are they doing out there?'
'Wasting our time.' she replied, 'Only adult dragon scales will work. They haven't led us anywhere useful.'
'Alright. Lets go back.'
I went back to the campsite.
"Ya'll alright? What'd ya find?"
"Yeah, I'm good. There are a few dragons over there, so we're not going that way."
"I'm not afraid of a couple of dragons."
"Should we go back home?"
"Aw, I don't want to go!"
"Well, if we can get rid of them or at least make sure they won't bother us, then I guess we could keep going." I said.
"And just how are you gonna do that, little pony?" I heard.
"They followed you?"
I turned to them. All three of them were there this time. "C'mon, man. We didn't do anything." I said, "Could you please leave us alone?"
"Or what? You'll hug us?" They surrounded us. "Give us your things, and we'll let you leave."
"Thievery? Well that's not polite at all." I said, "Applejack, Rainbow Dash, you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Sure am."
"Lets do this."
"So it's a fight, then? Bring it on!"
The other two were facing their own dragon, with everypony else huddled together in the middle. I wasn't very skilled with fighting yet, and I was in a completely new body.
'Nightmare? You wanna take over? I might be able to do this myself, but it'll take a while.'
'I'll take care of this.'
My body went numb again. She cracked my neck, then jumped at him, delivering a series of brutal punches to his stomach. In just a few seconds, he was on the ground, holding his stomach in pain.
She grabbed his tail and hurled him at his friend, then jumped at the third and took him down.
The one that had been knocked down second got back on his feet. We stared at each other.
"Don't hurt me!"
He ran off. Nightmare looked at the two on the ground. They stared at us in fear.
"Leave!" she shouted. They both scrambled to their feet and ran after their friend.
I got my body back. 'That was awesome.'
'It was exhilarating getting to fight again.'
I looked at my friends.
"That... was pretty cool." said Rainbow.
"You think there's any more?" I asked.
"There might be. We should go back. It's too dangerous to stay here."
"Yeah, I guess this was a bad idea to begin with." I said.
"Aw, we were having fun."
"Sorry, Pinks. Oh well. We're decided, then?" I picked up my bag.
"Yeah. We'll try this out some other time."
We went back to Ponyville and went our separate ways.
I went back to Twilight's place.
"Uh... can I help you?" Twilight politely asked me.
"It's me, Phil."
"Wha... Huh?"
"Yeah. I got turned into a pony. Cool, huh?"
"How did this happen?"
"I dunno. Can you teach me how to use magic?"
"I... I guess I... don't you want to know why this happened, first?"
"Not really."
"Well... Ok. Start with these." She pulled out a stack of books. It was almost as tall as I was!
"Start..." I said, "This is a start?"
"That's right. If you study those, you should have the basics down."
'Hey Nightmare, I think I'll get more progress if you train me.'
'As you wish.'
"Alright. I'll get this down." I said.
"Good. Tell me when you've finished."
"I'd prefer doing this in silence. Can I use your basement?"
"Of course."
"Can you..." I gestured to the stack.
"Alright."
She picked the books up, and brought them downstairs for me.
"Thanks, Twilight."
"You're welcome. I'm going to inform the Princess about this."
"Alright. See ya."
She went back up and closed the door.
'Alright. Lets do this.'