//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3: Epiphany 
// Story: Life on Bridleway 
// by SparklingVynegar 
//------------------------------//

“What are you thinking about?”

“Wha-huh?” you startle out of your trance.

“I asked you what you were thinking about.” Octavia re-stated from her position next to you as first cellist.

“Oh, um,” you wrack your brain for an answer, “I was just, you know, looking at the Solo...thing with Lyra…yeah.”

“Oh my that really is amazing,” Octavia sounded impressed, “Especially when you have to read the music through the cover and the several sheets before it. Astounding…”

You sigh and roll your eyes, “Alright, you caught me.”

“So? What is it then? You’ve obviously got something on your mind.”

You stare blankly in some random direction for a brief period, your mouth opening slightly-

Then you shake your head, releasing you from your trance.

“Nah, it’s nothing.”

“Oh no it isn’t,” the cellist leans in closer, a gleam in her eye that troubles you, “Come on now. Tell Tavi’ your problems.”

“Sorry,” you reply, smirking, “That might work on Vinyl, but my shells a bit harder to melt.”

“Very well,” she says, her face getting serious, “Perhaps I should imply a more, target specific, approach.” You watched as she ever so gracefully lifted her bow. Ever so gently placing the tip of it against your side, touching your wings. Your face now had a look of sheer terror.

“O-oct-t-tavia-a, l-l-let’s n-not do anyth-thing r-r-rash, now.”

“Tell meee~”

“I-it’s nothing, I swear…”

“Alright,” a wicked smile crossed the Cellist's face, her eyes gleamed with pure demonic fire, “You asked for it.”
With that the Cellest viciously began to poke and prod your wings with her bow.

Many ponies are very aware that Pegasus wings are extremely sensitive. What most of them seem to neglect is what is meant by “Sensitive”. No, it doesn’t mean sensitive in that way, get your mind out of the gutter. You feel your face twisting up as you try to hold back your instinctive reaction.

“O-O-Oc-c-c-t-t-a-a-vi-aa, S-s-s-s-s-s-t-t-t-op,” you feel the corners of your mouth begin to curve upwards.

“Tell me and it all ends,” The Cellist’s evil smirk never left her.

You can’t hold it back any more. You burst out laughing.

“Octa-*gasp*-tavia, stop it that-haha-that TICKLES!”

“All you have to do is talk~”

“Alright! I-hahahaha-I giv-HAHAHA!- I give up!”

Octavia pulled her bow away from your side, allowing you time to breath.

“Good little pony. Now, what is it?”

“It really is nothing,” you flinch as her bow is raised a second time, dissatisfied with your answer “It’s just something stupid Lyra said!”

“Hm?” Octavia tilted her head, looking intrigued, “And what would that happen to be?”

“She said…something, about me and Coco. It was probably just an off-handed jab at me.”

“Ohh,” Octavia said, her eyes shifting to the bottom right, a sly grin on her face, “I see~”

“You see nothing!” You fired back, “Nothing Lyra says is ever predictable or true!”

“Come now, you have to give her some credit,” Octavia said, “Sometimes Lyra’s insane theories have proven to hold more ground than normal. Remember two years ago when she claimed my and Vinyl were destined for each other? At the time everypony thought she was wrong, but now we're the closest of friends, and of course I...” The gray mare smiled and blushed at the thought of her crush.

You raise your hoof to point to some random space, much like a teacher would a blackboard. “A) YOU thought Lyra was wrong, everypony else completely agreed B) You had that revelation like two weeks ago so there’s no proof that you’re ‘destined for each other', and C) You two still aren't together.”

“What about when Beauty Brass returned from her time in the Ponyville Marching Band, the second Lyra saw that yellow filly with her, she insisted the two were going to be together.”

“That’s because those two were already together. Lyra didn’t prophesise anything!”

“Come to think of it now,” Octavia put a chin to her hoof in thought, “Every time Lyra claimed two ponies were to be together, she’s always been right.”

You turned back to face your piano. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” you muttered.

“Sorry, what was that?” Octavia leaned in closer aiming her ear toward you.

You turn around, “Nothing!” you replied in a chipper tone. However, your smile was just a little too wide to be genuine.

“Alright everypony,” Story Time called to the group, “That it is it for today. Please make sure that you take your music home and practice. See you on Lunday.”

The music room was suddenly animated by all the ponies standing up, opening cases, putting various sheets of music away, racking stands, etc. You, lucking out, had to deal with almost none of that, you simply needed to collect your music and leave. Done.

“Hey,” you hear Octavia’s voice and a hoof on your shoulder, you turn to see her eyes gazing at you and her face showing genuine concern, “are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

You smile, grateful to know you have a friend who cares for your well-being. “I’m fine Octavia, really,” you reassure her.

“Well, if it’s ever a problem, don’t be afraid to tell me.”

“Sure thing, Tavi!” you nod.

“Hmmp,” she pouts, “There is only one pony who is allowed to call me that name.”

“Tell her I said hi, I might drop by to see her over the weekend, got a bit of a thing to work on with her.”

“Well that isn’t vague at all.”

“See you.” You call, waving a hoof, which she returns.

You wander past a group of actors, easily recognizing the star of the show.

“But it’s what I want, mom!” The mint green unicorn shouted at the actress playing her mother, a script levitating in front of her face.

“Lyra Heartstrings.” The “mother” responded, (it was kind of difficult to change the names of actors and actresses for the roles, so it was more common for them to keep their names, it just makes things easier)  “You will not research this ridiculous myth while you are under my roof.”

“CUT!” Hamlet called from his simple director’s chair, holding a large funnel in front of his muzzle with a hoof. “Alright you two that’s looking good. Lyra, you’re doing really well for your first time, keep it up. Sunny, I’m gonna need a little more emotion out of you. RESET!”

The actors shuffled around to the beginning of the scene. You locked eyes with Lyra and waved a hoof at her. Her response was to roll her eyes in an annoyed fashion, though she wore an obviously happy smile.

You continued walking toward Coco’s office. You noticed a yellow unicorn mare following behind you, but thought nothing of it. That is, until you reached Coco’s door, and the mare also stopped. Raising a hoof, you gave the door a knock.

“Come in.”

You opened the door, the strange mare in tow.

“Oh, hi Lemon Hearts,” Coco greeted the unicorn, “Have you completed the spell yet?”

“I have,” the unicorn smiled, “I wanted for you to see it and make sure that it was working correctly.”

“Well, your outfit is ready for you. Thanks to this helpful stallion,” she smiled and gestured toward you.

You look down at your hooves, feeling your face grow a little warm. “It was nothing really. I only know basic stitching.”

“Uh, do you have a…place for me to transform,” Lemon Heart’s eyes shifted around nervously “It’s a bit…embarrassing to be naked in this form.”

“Really?” you ask surprised, “Ponies don’t wear clothes, you know.”

“Yes,” the unicorn responded, “but, something about the human form is just, strange to be without clothes.”

“I understand,” Coco smiled, she gestured with a hoof toward the corner of the room, “There’s a changing curtain over there, just stand behind it. Here’s your dress.”

“Thanks,” Lemon’s horn and the dress were both illuminated by a light blue aura as she levitated the dress behind the curtain.

“Watch this,” Coco said to you, a look of great excitement and anticipation on her face.

She looks so adora-

You shake your head vigorously.

Stupid Lyra!

A bright light shone from behind the curtain.

“Okay,” Lemon’s voice came from behind the curtain, “I’m ready.”

From behind the curtain walked a mare that was well, frankly, no longer a mare. The-what’s the term?-girl in front of you was an exotic creature that you had never truly seen before. She stood upright on two long legs. The front of her body had a pair of large curves, with a pair of appendages that sprouted from the top of her body, at the end of each were a set of five digits. Her neck and head sat atop her shoulders, with a small muzzle on her face and short ears. Her horn was no longer present.

She wore a pretty blue dress that covered the majority of her body, by her lower hooves-excuse me, feet- were a pair of large blue boots with white laces.

“Wow,” your eyes widened in amazement, “Lemon, this…this is incredible. You look just like a human, and the dress looks amazing on you.”

“Thank you,” she bowed, her balance on her new legs faltering a bit, “Though it may get some getting used to.”

“Well I am really glad you like the dress,” Coco bowed her head in gratitude, “And I must say the human form is very convincing.”

“You know if you really like it…” a wry smile spread across the unicorns face, “You could try it out for yourselves.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Coco said worriedly.

“Aw, come on Coco,” you try to encourage her, “It’ll be fun. Aren’t you curious to see your human form?”

“I-I guess, maybe, I don’t know.” She was still being cautious.

“How about if I go first,” you offer “Would that make you feel better?”

“I-i guess so…”

“Alright, let’s see here…” you locate an outfit that suits you, a simple shirt with a pair of denim pants and a suit vest. Grabbing the hanger the outfit was hanging from, you walk back behind the curtain.

“I’m ready for it Lemon,” you call out.

“Alright,” the unicorn says, “Hold still.”

A deep blue light enveloped you as you suddenly felt weightless. A peculiar, stretching sensation over took you as you felt your body stretch and mold into the form of the strange being. When the transformation was complete, you once again felt your weight settle back down on you. You reach down to grab the outfit you laid on the ground and began to don the clothing.

You step out from behind the curtain, the two mares- well the one mare and the human girl- were staring at you with wide eyes.

“Wow,” said Lemon, “That all looks nice on you.”

“Really?” You ask, “I mean I guess so, it was really just designed to be simple 'street clothes' as humans called it.”

“You look very handsome as a human,” Coco says, her eyes off somewhere else and a thin, red blush spreading across her muzzle.

“Uh…thank you Coco,” You also look down, feeling a warmth on your human cheeks.

“So, that just leaves one,” Lemon said, “are you ready Coco?”

“Alright,” the mare nods, a confident smile on her lips.

“Here, take this,” Lemon levitated a white dress to the designer.

Coco takes the dress behind the curtain with her.

“Ready,” she announces. You watch Lemon Heart’s horn glow blue for a brief second, combined with the bright flash from behind the curtain.

When Coco walked out, you couldn’t help but keep your mouth from dropping. She looked beautiful in her simple white dress, her trademark collar and tie hung around her neck, with her standard flower woven into her hair. She looked up at you and a small smile came to her lips as a faint blush spread across her cheeks.

“Wow.” That was all you could say.

“Oh, this probably looks ridiculous,” she says, seeming embarrassed.

“Nonsense,” Lemon waved a hoof as if to sweep the Coco’s worries away, “You look great.” Lemon turned to face you, “Don’t you agree.”

“Yeah. You look very beautiful as a human, Coco.”

“Oh, thank you,” she smiles wide, tilting her head slightly with her eyes closed.

She looks so cute.

You shake your head.

No that isn’t true. I mean it IS, but it’s not like- I don’t- I’ve never…

“Well, I’ve got to get going.” Lemon Heart announced, breaking you from your thoughts. “Everybody hold still.”

Her horn once again shone with blue light. You went weightless one more time, your body re-molding itself to the form of a pony. When the spell is released you all stand on the ground, waiting for the dizziness to leave you.

“See you guys around.” Lemon smiled as she departed, leaving you alone with Coco.

“Well, I suppose there isn’t much time to do anything now, huh?” You ask the earth pony mare.

“D-do you really think I looked good as a human?”

“Hm?” you turn to see Coco rubbing one of her legs with a forehoof, the blush still hasn’t left her face, “Y-yeah. You looked very pretty. Though, I think you look prettier as a pony.”

You watch Coco’s blush grow darker as you realize what you had said.

“I-I mean…well, uh, you’re always pretty, er, uh, I guess,” you stumble clumsily over your words. You were certain you were sporting your own blush at this point.

What the hell is wrong with me today? It’s not that…no! Stupid Lyra, it’s not true!

“I-I’ve gotta go,” you blurt out, “See you later Coco!”

With that you swiftly run out of the door, grabbing your coat from the nearby rack.





That night, while you attempted to fall asleep under your blanket, you couldn’t stop thinking about Lyra’s words, about Coco. She really was very cute, the way she looked, her beautiful eyes, her adorable haircut, her modesty.

Come on, though. You argue against yourself. As true as all that may be. It’s not like I- I mean, there’s no way I-

You give a tired sigh. What’s the point in fighting it anymore.

“I-I l-like Coco Pommel,” you slowly croak out, finding the words very heavy and difficult. A very strong warmth spreads across your cheeks.

In fact, I think I more than like her…