I don’t know what happened. First I’m just sitting there, now I’m all hollow and rubbery.
Why? I don’t even like balloons.
Can anypony hear me? Please? I think I closed my eyes, but I’m not sure how to open them.
It’s so dark. I can’t feel my skin. Where’s my skin? Where’s my hair?
Can anypony hear me? I’d like to turn back now.
Anypony? Please?
Sweetie Belle stared at the symbol, keeping her breath calm and even. With the book propped up against the front edge of her bed, she could keep her neck straight to do the magic. Well, attempt to do the magic, that is.
It couldn’t be that hard to do, she’d thought. After all, she was a unicorn, and a filly, and everypony knew unicorn fillies were good at magic, better than the colts. Even so, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon just had to bring up Sweetie’s lack of spellcraft the other day, when even Pumpkin Cake, a mere baby, could levitate herself and go through walls.
Sweetie Belle couldn’t let that go, especially after Snips and Snails started showing off by levitating rocks and branches, saying boys made better wizards than girls. So there she was, doing the basic exercise of fixing her gaze on some symbol or another and focusing on her breath. That’s what Twilight had recommended, that’s what she had to do. Sweetie Belle had even gone the extra mile and read the book all the way before trying the staring exercise. No potions turning out to be poisons, not this time. She had a full ritual all planned and ready to go.
She took another deep breath and focused on the page again.
Just have to keep focused. Just need to keep my mind empty, empty and light, empty and light and full of magic. I’ll get to cast my first spell soon.
The symbol itself had gone blurry a long time ago, but that didn’t matter. As far as she knew, that sort of thing just happened when you stare at something for long enough, and the symbol itself didn’t mean anything, only her focus did. Her eyes didn’t hurt too much, the shadows in her room falling away and just blending into one big grey area in the background didn’t bother her in the slightest. She had to keep staring, that was the exercise. That’s where the legend of the Evil Eye came from.
I wonder if I’ll get the Stare, like Fluttershy. Maybe I’ll be able to make ponies freeze or turn into statues by looking at them. Focus, Sweetie Belle, focus. Okay, now everything’s blurry. Concentrate on sounds now. Go. Aaummm…
She could feel her own voice resonating throughout her mind and body. A tingle started in her horn, then became a fizzy sensation, like soda being poured right into her soul.
And now you just have to let go. Stop thinking. Be empty. Empty and light. Empty and light and away from your body. Empty and light and away from everything. Empty and light and only full of magic.
Sweetie Belle focused with all her might. Her voice only sounded the mantra, her eyes only saw the blur on the page, her body was kept still with sheer force of will. It hurt at first, but she ignored it. Mastering magic was more important than a little tingle in the tips of her hooves, or a mild headrush. She didn’t think Twilight Sparkle ever let that stop her, why should Sweetie be any different? All over, mild discomforts rose up, only to be shunted aside by Sweetie Belle’s will.
Her fur crawled. She stayed still.
Her ears rang. She stayed still.
A horrible itch started in between her shoulderblades, meeting with the tingle in her horn to run around her body. The tingle ran circles around her shoulders, her hips, her horn, and along the sides of her body. She ignored it. All she could think of was how Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon had to be proven wrong. I’ve got to get my magic to work, to do anything.
She pushed that thought aside, too. No point in thinking about them now. Everything they say is just hollow, anyway. It’s hollow and… empty and… stuff. It’s just hollow, focus, Sweetie Belle.
She took another deep breath and went into the final stage of the exercise: the magical breath.
She imagined breathing in through her horn, sucking up pure energy to fuel her magic. The tingling in her body intensified, to the point that she couldn’t even feel anything else. Still she went on. After a while, her horn throbbed painfully, and she was sure she heard it hissing, a cue to stop before she overdid it.
She didn’t know when she’d gone from sitting up on her bed to standing on all fours, but trying to snap out of it and move made her aware she wasn’t in the position she'd started out as.
She tried to look away from the book. Her eyes were still fixed on the page.
She tried to blink. Nothing moved. She couldn't even feel a burning in her eyes.
She tried to walk. She was still standing.
Something finally snapped in her consciousness, letting her feel out her body again. She tried to move a front hoof, only to find it felt distinctly lighter than before. Her legs gave way, just collapsing under her weight. She fell on her side, feeling the soft fabric of the covers against her fur. Yet, as her muscles started going more limp by the second, so too did her fur begin to feel off.
Sweetie Belle’s face had gone slack and numb, but she could still move a part of her arms. She curled up her hoof to check it, and to her horror, found it was shiny and see-through. The nail and fur had made way for what looked like a balloon’s rubber, and it was moving upwards. Even more worryingly, Sweetie Belle’s body was succumbing to a pressure from the inside, the hollow shell simply bending to accommodate air.
She tried to gasp. She tried to scream. A final thought occurred to her.
When did I stop breathing?
Air was rushing into her from the tingling spot on her back. Her muscles vanished with a vague hiss. Her flesh dissolved into a numb, hollow shell. Before long, all she was was unfeeling rubber skin and lifeless air. Her eyes still stared unblinkingly at the page. The symbol was still blurred, along with everything else.
Sweetie Belle panicked. Her mind flailed out in its prison, desperate for anything to move, anything to feel normal again.
This isn’t supposed to happen.
I didn’t do this.
Please change me back? Somepony? Anypony?
It’s too much.
Help.
It’s so dark. I can’t feel my skin. Where’s my skin? Where’s my hair?
Can anypony hear me? I’d like to turn back now.
Anypony? Please?
“Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie Belle tried to flail in the dark, to no avail. Twilight? Is that you? What happened to me? Where are you?
“Good, we can hear each other. I’m in Ponyville Hospital, and so are you. Your mom found you on your bed and… well, there’s no easy way to say this, but you managed to turn yourself into a balloon, or a pooltoy. You’re in quarantine for now, so it’s just you and me here. Your mom had a bit of a shock, but she’s fine. She also brought me the book on magic you were reading. I take it you were doing an exercise when it happened?”
I’m sorry, Twilight. I thought it was just something basic. I just wanted to try magic.
“I know, Sweetie, I know. Don’t worry, we’ll get you through this one step at a time. Now, think very carefully: did you use any scrolls, any potions, or gems? Was there anything with magic of its own?”
No. I just stared at this symbol, did the inner voice thing, then did the magic breath thing. I followed what the book said, honest.
“And you were alone the whole time?”
Yeah, I was alone in my room.
“Good. That’s very good. Then there’s nothing going against your ontological inertia.”
Umm, Twilight, I’m pretty sure my head’s hollow right now, so I might not understand what you’re saying.
“Right, sorry. I mean you accidentally turned yourself into a balloon, Sweetie Belle. Doing that permanently takes power you don’t have access to. I mean we can just wait for this to wear off, and not have to risk damaging you with more magic.”
Relief washed over the girl, though in her disembodied state that didn’t mean much. So I’m okay?
“You will be. Given your current state, I’d give it about a week. Cheerilee’s been notified, you can recover in peace. If anypony asks, you just have a bad case of hoof rot and can’t see anypony right now.”
What? Hoof rot? But everypony’ll laugh at me in school!
“Laugh at you? You’re a balloon, your organs have been replaced by air and magic, and that’s what you’re worried about right now? You… Oh, now I see what happened. You went too far with your practice because you wanted to prove something, didn’t you?”
Um, maybe.
Sweetie Belle felt a sigh go through her membrane, but didn’t come from anything she was doing. She guessed it was Twilight just breathing loudly enough for the balloon form to feel it. “Listen, Sweetie Belle, I know sometimes magic can look like it’s, well, the magic fix for everything, but it’s not. Unicorn magic takes a different kind of discipline. It takes the ability to let go. Obsessing over a spell, or over any kind of magic, doesn’t make it work any better. It can make a spell take on life of its own, and go out of control.”
Like it did when you gave us that doll?
Silence fell for a moment. “Yes, like that. It’s more common than you might think, actually, and it’s the main reason unicorns are told faerie tales and warnings about these kinds of accidents before they start their practice.”
Fine, I get it. No more magic for me.
“Oh, I wouldn’t go that far. Even if you didn’t mean to do this, it’s pretty impressive. You managed to imprint a powerful spell on your mind, a shapeshifting one at that. Take it from me, that’s a big accomplishment, especially for a filly your age."
Wait, did I get my cutie mark?
Twilight chuckled. “Sorry, no. You did manage to tap into some powerful magic, though, that’s a good start. But when it comes to magic, you need to understand when enough is enough, and learn to use relaxed effort. Ease into what you want to do, and then do it. Don’t try to use force, like you did.”
Okay. I’ll try that next time.
“You could try now, if you like. Think you could open your eyes for me?”
Sweetie Belle reached out for her eyelids. No response came. I can’t.
“Ease into it, Sweetie. Just try to relax.”
At those words, something clicked. Sweetie Belle found the bits of rubber over her eyes and moved them. Light flooded into her consciousness, a blur that finally settled into the image of a hospital room with a purple alicorn standing next to her bed. “See? Looks like you’re a natural.”
Sweetie Belle became aware of her surroundings, and her body. Her face was frozen, and she could only guess what her eyes looked like. From the pressure against the pillow, it felt like her mane had turned into a balloon, too. There was a little hardness on her back, which she guessed was where air could go in and out. Her chest and belly were flattened slightly by the covers, and her arms and legs were bent in an unnatural pose, just pushed down and folded in whatever place was convenient. I still can’t move my mouth. I still can’t breathe. I can feel my chest moving, but I’m not breathing. Why can’t I breathe?
“In this shape, you don’t have to, your body is just doing certain things on memory. Don’t worry about a thing, it’ll fade. In the meantime, since you’re not contagious now, I could go get your family, if you like.”
No, please don’t. I don’t want anypony to see me like this. It’s embarrassing; I look like a pooltoy. I’m still not sure how it happened.
Sweetie Belle was relieved to finally be able to see Twilight smile. “From what I can tell, you entered a magical trance, and you deepened it to the point that any little thing would set off your magic. If I had to guess, the image of a balloon got stuck in your subconscious when you focused on emptiness, that formed the spell. Your feeling of what emptiness or lightness is like, that link with balloons, it got imprinted on the part of you that can do magic. Then, when you wouldn’t stop energising your magic with your breath, you wound up casting the spell instead of clearing it from your mind, like you’re supposed to. It happens all the time, really, it just doesn’t usually end with something this drastic.”
I feel so weird. My head feels really tense, and so does my horn. There’s this itch on my… my seams, too.
Twilight loosened up the covers, letting the balloon shape underneath rise up to assume more of its natural shape. Sweetie Belle could feel the pressure in her head recede when her arms and legs pointed up again, though it did make an awkward tent on the bed.
“Better?”
Lots, but I’m still scared. I can’t even feel my heart beat. I don’t even have a heart anymore. How am I still alive?
Twilight came closer and petted Sweetie Belle’s forehead. The skin just parted under the petting, pushing inward where there should have been a skull before slipping off and popping back into shape. “Look, I know I keep saying this, but don’t worry. It’s just magic, it will fade in a few days.”
I know, but could you say it again?
Twilight nodded. “Don’t worry. This is all your own doing, so there’s nothing holding you back except you. We’ll help you ease back into your old self, it’ll be fine. By tomorrow, you’ll be able to move a little. The day after that, you’ll be breathing again. The day after that, you’ll be drinking liquids in the morning and eating solids in the evening. Once you’re that far, going back to normal will be just an afterthought. You just rest up and relax, you’re safe now and you won’t get any worse. I’ll tell your parents you’re okay, but you might still be contagious. Wouldn’t want the embarrassment to slow your recovery.”
Thanks, Twilight. Sweetie Belle felt a wave of relaxation wash over her, along with a sudden inflation followed by a deflation. Whoa, what was that? I feel so tired all of a sudden.
Twilight rolled her eyes. “That would be a balloon pony yawn. Maybe you should go back to sleep, it’s actually pretty late.”
But I started in the afternoon. Was I really out for that long?
“Imprinting that spell you cast took a lot out of you, so yes, your consciousness was undetectable for a few hours. You really wore yourself out doing this. But now that you’re conscious again, magical fatigue won’t be an issue. You can sleep, dream, and wake up normally, you won’t get stuck.”
Will you be there when I wake up?
Twilight looked to the door. “I think that’ll be nurse Redheart, most likely, but I will make sure to check up on you, since I’ve already got the mental link up and all.” Twilight tapped her horn to illustrate. “Besides, you might need some friendly advice. You know, one overzealous wizard to another.” She winked at the balloon girl. “I’ll have someone come fetch me when you start walking, just in case.”
Thanks. Another swell on every square inch of her rubber skin, another sigh as it let go through the tiny hole on her back, and Sweetie’s eyes drifted shut again.
Sweetie Belle stood, and that’s about all she had in her. Her legs were still mere shells made up of a thin rubber -- though Twilight insisted it was, in fact, plastic -- filled with air, but that didn’t matter much when the same could be said of the rest of her body.
She felt weightless, in the truest sense of the word. Anything tapping her could knock her over, she feared, and a strong gust of wind might pick her up and drop her into the great unknown if she wasn’t still in her hospital room. Twilight had assured her this was not the case, as the stuff Sweetie was made of was far sturdier and heavier, more like a pooltoy than a party balloon. Oddly, that didn’t make the girl feel any better about her predicament.
“Whenever you’re ready, Sweetie Belle,” Twilight said.
Nurse Redheart stood right next to Twilight, both keeping their eyes on the inflated filly.
Sweetie Belle’s body rocked back and forth ever so slightly. I moved. I really moved!
Redheart went to Sweetie’s front. “Okay, now try to move towards me.”
Again, Sweetie Belle reached out and rocked her body back and forth, inching her forward one shuffle at a time. She stopped about halfway. This is a lot harder than it looks, Twilight.
Twilight nodded. “This isn’t working, Redheart. She’s going to get exhausted at this rate.”
Nurse Redheart patted the girl’s head, another reminder that even Sweetie’s mane was a balloon now. “You’ve got rocking down, at least. Think you can paddle with your arms and legs?”
Sweetie Belle gulped, or at least she would have if she’d had the capacity. She sought out the air in her arms and legs and willed it to move.
“Remember, don’t force it. Ease into it, like a casual walk. Tell it to happen, and let it happen,” Twilight said.
Sweetie’s left arm took off from the ground and landed a few inches forward, then her right arm. Her left leg moved to correct the wrinkling on her seams, then her right leg. It took her a moment to get used to the air moving around inside her, the little shifts of her hooves rounding and flattening against the floor. Her belly bobbed up and down, but she still wasn’t breathing.
Redheart smiled. “Very good, Sweetie Belle.” She took two steps back. “Think you can make it this far?”
Sweetie Belle didn’t reply. She just kept on moving forward, one paddle of a step at a time. Eventually, her hoof touched Redheart’s. The rubber skin gave way against the hoof, almost sending a wave of nausea through the girl. She withdrew and stood, still expressionless. Redheart looked to Twilight. “Is she okay? Not too tired?”
I did it. I can walk. Well, I can move.
Twilight nodded. “She’s doing just fine.”
They both looked to the balloon girl when they heard a ‘squeak’. Sweetie Belle had forced her head to look down at herself. A ripple started along the length of her left arm, almost like it was trying to make a fold somewhere.
Twilight sighed. “Don’t rush it, Sweetie Belle. You can try bending your joints tomorrow. For now, you should just focus on moving anything.”
Hmph, fine. I’ll wait.
Sweetie Belle had never thought applesauce could taste this good. Then again, she’d never considered the possibility of the entire inside of her body being able to register taste. Her arms and legs could bend at will again, and it was getting harder to bend them in places that didn’t normally have joints, so she was eating like a normal pony. A normal pony with no insides, but a normal pony nonetheless.
The loss of her voice still bothered her somewhat, though. When will I be able to talk?
Twilight shrugged and put a hoof in front of Sweetie Belle’s nose to check for respiration. “Well, your breathing’s picked up and you’re eating again, but talking will require everything to get back to normal. I’d give it another day or two.”
Sweetie Belle swallowed the last bite of her lunch, then looked down at her belly, still slightly apprehensive of the wrinkles it made in her rubbery skin. The mass of food swirled around inside her, only to disappear right around where her bellybutton would have been. The white of her plastic skin had become more solid the past few days, leaving less of a see-through effect, but it was still enough to see her food go down. It was odd, yet strangely captivating, like a lavalamp, or an applesaucelamp. She made a mental note to ask Apple Bloom about making one of those sometime.
Twilight grimaced at the sight of disappearing food. “Are you sure you don’t want your parents here, or Rarity?”
I’m sure. It’s bad enough mom found me. She’ll never let me use magic again. Not like it matters. I still can’t do anything.
Twilight looked away nervously. “Actually, that’s not strictly true. You accidentally cast that spell because you imprinted it on your mind. I haven’t removed it from your memory and neither has anypony else, so theoretically you can still cast that.”
Sweetie Belle would have shuddered if she’d had the muscles for it. Why would I want to do that? It’s basically a curse, the only thing worse would be a cockatrice.
“That’s one way of looking at it. But, theoretically, if this sort of thing happens to somepony else, you should be able to reverse the effects yourself. Your body is experiencing the reverse transformation already, like building up immunity, so it shouldn’t be that hard to undo next time.”
But that’s only good if other ponies turn into balloons. What are the odds of that?
“In Ponyville? You never know.” Twilight looked away.
Sweetie Belle groaned.
Twilight perked her ears. “Sweetie Belle, did you just groan?”
Yeah, sorry. I do appreciate you being here, Twilight, I’m just bored.
“No, I get that. I mean you just physically groaned.”
Did I?
“Guess you should be back to your old self sooner than I thought.” Twilight flashed the girl a bright smile.
I guess.
Twilight tilted her head at the girl. “What’s the matter?”
Sweetie Belle looked up. Even though there weren’t any mirrors around - apparently it might cause her too big a shock - she knew she was staring with dead eyes, a mouth that could only make rudimentary motions, and all things considered a body that just wasn’t a proper body. Twilight was looking at an inflated doll of a pony, and Sweetie Belle knew it.
It’s nothing. I guess I just kinda wanted my first spell to be a little more useful, you know?
Twilight cleared her throat. “Well, your first spell can be a stepping stone to other, greater things. I’m sure this experience will make you a natural at levitation. And even if you don’t think that spell is useful, it might come in handy one day.”
How?
“I don’t know, but you will, when it counts. That’s just how magic works.”
Sweetie Belle felt the air inside jolt around. Thanks, Twilight. I guess it doesn’t really matter. I’ll be back to normal soon.
“Exactly. You can figure out what to do then, one step at a time.”
Sweetie Belle shuddered when she hugged her mother.
Cookie Crumbles backed away. “What’s the matter, Sweetie Belle? Still feeling a little under the weather?”
Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Um, no, mom. It’s just that, you know, when you hug, everything inside kinda gets squished. It feels really weird now.”
“Oh, don’t worry about a thing, eh, Sweetie Belle,” Hondo Flanks said, “now that you’re flesh and blood again you can rest up at home. And nopony knows about the thingamajigger, either, they just think it was hoof rot.”
“I’ll make sure to fake a limp, then. Ugh, ow, ooh.” Sweetie Belle pretended to wince in pain with every step she took out of the room. She’d learned drama from the best, after all.
“Sweetie Belle!”
Sweetie Belle found herself scooped up and tackled, before being hugged by one Earth pony filly who didn’t know her own strength and one pegasus filly who was so strong she might as well have been an Earth pony.
Scootaloo, never big on hugging, broke away first. “How are your hooves?”
Sweetie Belle was still busy recuperating from the shock of feeling ponies press into her fur and skin instead of her hollow plastic shell. “Umm, they’re fine now, thanks. How’s school been?”
Apple Bloom back away and shrugged. “Kind of a drag. Diamond Tiara’s been makin’ jokes about you, well, more than usual.”
“We should do something about it.” Scootaloo frowned, before smiling sheepishly at Sweetie’s parents. They did not look amused.
Sweetie Belle sighed. “No, we shouldn’t. Just let it go, she can’t keep it up forever.”
“That’s a good girl. Now, if you don’t mind, young ladies, we need to get Sweetie Belle home. I’ve asked Twilight to come over to help you catch up with school.” Cookie nudged her daughter forward, again giving Sweetie Belle more flashbacks to when her backside was hollow.
Sweetie Belle nodded. And to make sure I’m not still hooked up to her, probably. Oh, maybe she can teach me a new spell, too. One I can use.
As the two girls flanked Sweetie Belle on her way out, Scootaloo leaned in to whisper in her ear. She looked left and right to make sure Hondo and Cookie were busy at the front desk. “You know, Sweetie Belle, it’s okay if your parents don’t want you to fight, but sometimes it’s almost like you’re too nice.”
“I am not too nice. I can argue just fine.”
Apple Bloom shrugged. “With us or Rarity, maybe, but you really gotta learn to stick up for yourself. We all do. If one of us looks weak, Diamond Tiara’s gonna keep pickin’ on all of us.”
Sweetie Belle groaned.
Sweetie Belle groaned as she left the school. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo flanked her.
“Aw, don’t feel bad about it, Sweetie Belle. Hoof rot could happen to anypony,” Apple Bloom said.
“I know. I just wish we didn’t have to spend a whole afternoon hearing a class about it. It’s so embarrassing,” Sweetie Belle replied. The sound of a squeak in her voice gave her mixed feelings now, both a pleasant reminder she could talk again and a grim reminder of the sounds she was making as a balloon creature.
Scootaloo shrugged and donned her helmet, her friends following suit. “It could have been worse: you could have had the trots. Can you imagine that class?”
“Hey, blank flanks!”
Sweetie Belle groaned again. “What now, Diamond Tiara?”
“Are you two sure you want to hang around a filly like her? Careful she doesn’t touch you; she might get her ick on you.”
Silver Spoon snickered. “Yeah, wouldn’t want your hooves to melt off.”
“Leave her alone!” Scootaloo’s wings flared up. “Sweetie Belle’s not icky, she’s cleaner than I am!”
Apple Bloom pressed a hoof to her forehead. “Not helping, Scootaloo.”
Sweetie Belle shrugged. “It’s okay, you guys. Just ignore them, they’ll go away. They’re all talk, anyway, it’s not like they can do anything.”
Diamond Tiara huffed. “Oh? Like you’re so special. How’s the magic coming along, huh? Oh wait, that’s right, you don’t have any magic.”
Apple Bloom bit her lip. “That’s enough, Diamond Tiara. Sweetie Belle doesn’t have to take that from you. You only get to say that because she’s nice enough to let you. Even if she doesn’t have magic now, she will someday, and then she’ll make you regret sayin’ all those nasty things.”
Scootaloo looked back at the white filly. Sweetie saw the raised eyebrow, and she knew exactly what it meant.
Am I too nice?
Sometimes?
Maybe?
Just to them?
Well, okay, then.
Sweetie Belle hopped off the cart and trotted towards the two bullies. “Actually, Apple Bloom, I don’t need to. If you two really think I need to prove I’m a proper unicorn by casting a spell, I could. But why should I stoop to your level? I could really hurt you if I wanted to. I don’t want to get in trouble.”
Diamond Tiara snorted, barely holding back her laugh at the attempt at sounding noble. “Psh, yeah, right. What are you gonna do, blow us up?”
Sweetie Belle could feel the corner of her mouth rising up even as the memories of lightness, emptiness, and a rubbery plastic shell came flooding back into her mind. She took the memory, focused it into her horn, and took aim.
“Well, now that you mention it…”