//------------------------------// // 20 - Star Appearance // Story: Clueless in Equestria // by David Silver //------------------------------// When they arrived at the hotel, Twilight Sparkle was heading out, but stopped. She fixed her eyes on David with a puzzled appearance, then glanced at his companions and then back at David. "Hi Twilight," said David, raising a hoof to give a wave. "What's up?" Twilight blinked softly, "Have we met before? I mean... Nopony else recognized me in this city." Rough shook his head, "That's not true. We both recognized you before, Princess." Twilight peered at Rough, then back at David, "I... what happened? He was biped, and tall, and mostly furless, and now he's a pony." Lyra advanced with a sheepish smile, "That was my fault. Sorry." Twilight raised a brow before closing her eyes. After a moment she opened them again, "David, stay calm, but your aetheric web is a total mess. How many times have you been changed?" Rough spoke up, "Twice, as far as I know." Twilight sank to her haunches, "Twice, by practitioners without enough raw power, or a heart crystal, by the look of it." Lyra levitated the heart crystal they had just purchased into Twilight's vision. Twilight pointed at it, "Yes, like that!" She grunted softly, "But it's already such a mess. What were you thinking?" She was shouting at David in the last, making him shrink in place sheepishly under her glare. Bon Bon sighed softly, "He didn't ask for it, he is just a magnet for trouble. Don't be angry at David, Miss Sparkle, Your Highness." Twilight's wings flared out, "Who should I be angry at? He's disfigured to the point even I don't think I could put it all back in order, and I never saw it the right way to do it properly. Does anyone know what his aetheric web should look like, besides..." She waved a hoof at the shocked David, "This mess?" Lyra swallowed heavily before shaking her head, "Uh, no... I'm going to fix it, honest." Twilight jabbed a hoof at Lyra, "You should be going back to jail, or magic kindergarten, maybe both." When Lyra collapsed with a whimper, Twilight let out her breath in a sigh, "Alright. First thing's first. Every minute we waste, his net is getting more tangled in these clumsy spells. We need to get him someplace quiet to work." Rough raised a hoof, "Follow us, Your Majesty. I'll show you to our room and you can work there." Twilight nodded at Rough Draft before moving at a quick trot to the front desk, "Tell my friends that I've been called away in a magic emergency, but I'll be right back." She pointed at Rough Draft, "I'll be in his room if they need me really badly." Soon the group was crowded into the elevator as it smoothly raised. "Uh, thanks Twilight," said David. "If anyone can fix this, I'm sure you can. You were always my favorite." "Favorite what?" asked Twilight quizzically before stepping from the elevator on the correct floor. "Thank you for the confidence though. I'll do my best." Bon Bon stepped up to be beside Twilight as they approached the room, "Twilight, your majesty, please don't throw the book too hard at Lyra. She may be a numbskull, but she's learned her lesson. I'll keep a close eye on her." Twilight glanced sidelong at Bon Bon, "Sweetie Drops, this is serious. Body alteration magic is illegal without a sufficient magic grade, and for good reason! You can kill somepony with it, or arguably worse." "Worse?" asked David, "Like?" Twilight shrugged, "What if I made you into a biped but you had hooves instead of hands and your feet remained hoof sized so you always fell over? Is that how you want to live the rest of your life?" David quickly shook his head, "I'd rather be a pony than that." Rough chuckled, "Being a pony isn't so bad. I may be a bit biased." The door was opened and they entered the hotel room. Twilight nudged David to the floor and swept her horn back and forth over him. She said nothing, but her expression did little to calm David as he watched her. "Alright! Clothes, off." David looked like he was about to object, but it made sense. He grunted instead and began wriggling, trying to work free of the clothes. Suddenly he felt his clothing being tugged on gently and went still to let whatever unicorn was doing it strip him to his fur. "I miss being able to see magic." Twilight's ears shot up, "See magic? You have a spell for that? I didn't know you were a spellcaster." Rough Draft answered first, "He can see magic, as a human. He said every unicorn has their own color. He could spot a lot of things that the rest of us couldn't." "Fascinating, " said Twilight as she looked over David's prone form. David began to grow self-conscious, being naked and at the mercy of Twilight Sparkle. "Do your best," he awkwardly muttered, forcing a hopeful smile and trying to be a good patient for her. Twilight smiled, "You are a brave pony. I'm pretty sure most would be panicking if they were told what you were told." She placed a hoof on his chest, then poked him in the belly, then once more on the flank. "Tell me, do you want to be a pony?" "Um..." David began blushing brightly through his fur, "Not forever... I miss my fingers for one, and seeing magic. Being bipedal has also grown on me a little." "That lined up with what I'm seeing," She took a slow breath. "Alright. This is going to be serious magic. It's going to be bright, and maybe loud, but stay calm. You're in good hooves." "I know I am," replied David with a more genuine smile, "Go ahead. I'm ready." Lyra levitated the heartstone over, "Did you want this?" Twilight paused and looked at it, "I don't need that, but it might help." She took hold of it in her own magic, not that David could see it anymore. It descended on David, the silver chain coming undone and then rebinding when it was around his thick equine neck. "Very high quality, this should make it easier." She adopted an expression of concentration. At first, gentle ticklish warmth began in his core, making David squirm just a little despite his attempts to remain still. Twilight's horn began to glow, even to his pony eyes. The glowing became brighter and brighter, sheathing her horn in a bright pink glow along with a slowly building buzzing and sparking. The ticklish warmth grew into a deep thrumming vibration. Breathing became difficult, turning into little gasps as he flopped there and closed his eyes, concentrating on remaining still and getting what air he could. He could feel the ground being lifted away from him as he was borne in the magic. Cracking his eyes, he could see that the magic was thick enough to see even as a pony, and the others were gawking at him as Twilight worked. "This is going to hurt," warned Twilight just seconds before the pain flared through David, concentrating in his face. He grit his teeth even as they changed against his tongue, slowly regaining his human teeth, though they were lacking the subtle changes that several fillings had endowed them. He tried to open his eyes but found he couldn't as the aching change continued there. Focusing on the feeling, he could tell his snout was receding back into the flat shape of a human's, and soon his ears stopped twitching as they too rapidly returned to their birth form. The pain moved slowly downwards. "You're doing great, just a little longer," urged Rough Draft in his friendly tone. "She's doing it." As the pain swept through his throat, the necklace became looser, hanging from his less stout human neck. Though it hurt like the dickens, David was quietly glad to be able to experience it all this time. He marveled as his shoulders and arms began to shuffle and warp. Bones snapped with a sudden sharp agony and he grunted, biting back a yell that could distract Twilight. Suddenly the pain he had forgotten was released as his fingers slipped free of their hoof shaped prisons. He wriggled the returned digits with pleasure as the magic continued down, reaching around his belly before Twilight began to huff and puff for breath. "I think... I've gone as far as I can," admitted Twilight, "The tangles are getting too dense and I'm running out of energy." Lyra pointed at David, "His legs are still pony. How can he walk upright like he's supposed to?" Twilight turned her attention, and the pain, to David's hips. With a disturbingly loud crack, his hips were forced into a bipedal configuration. His legs kicked weakly as the pain quickly traveled down to his hooves. They swelled under her magic before she released him with a tired sigh. David flopped to the ground gracelessly, but was quickly righting himself, pushing up to a seated position. He snapped his eyes open to look down at himself to find he was... "A pony satyr." Rough Draft tilted his head, "Huh, yea, it is a satyr." Twilight perked an ear, "What's a satyr?" A question agreed on by Bon Bon, but Lyra looked like she knew, grinning and clapping her hooves together. David took a shuddering breath, working out the last of the aches from his altered form, "It's a half human, half pony, which... Well?" He gestured down at himself. Twilight looked embarrassed, but David reached for her. She flinched away, but not far enough to avoid a soft scratching behind the ear, "Thanks for helping. I can deal with being half pony, I think." Bon Bon raised a brow, "Really? Just like that? You're a strange human." Lyra leaned forward, "So I'm forgiven?" Having a second hand, Lyra was soon being ear scratched as well, "You still owe me, but I can't stay angry at you." Rough poked David in the side, "You should be. I mean, look at you. You're not... you." "The hell I'm not," huffed David. "It's still the same me inside, now with an extra tail attachment." He drew his hands back and pushed off the floor, rising to his hooves unsteadily. He was glad they were made a bit bigger, making it easier to balance on just the two of them. "This'll take some practice, but I'll get used to it." Twilight perked an ear, "You have admirable adaptability, but your friend is right. It can't be healthy to just... be OK with all of this? You may want to see a therapist. The magic could be affecting the way you think. Also." She pointed a hoof at the softly purple glowing heart crystal around David's neck, "Don't take that off. It's yours now, forever." She rose to her hooves and moved for the door, "I live in Ponyville, which I get the feeling you already know. Feel free to stop by." Soon Twilight had departed. Lyra bounced in place, "At least she didn't arrest me." Bon Bon clonked her on the head, "You would have deserved it! Don't do that ever again." Lyra rubbed her head before pointing at David, "But now he has the crystal! I can make him a pony whenever we want and it won't hurt him." David held up his newly returned hands, "Which is not right now. I want to be a human, or as close to it, for now." Rough Draft looked David over before pointing out, "You're naked." It was true! David blushed as he quickly scooped up his pants and fled to the bathroom to get into them. With him out of the room, Rough looked at the two mares, "So?" "So?" returned Bon Bon, looking confused. Lyra was much less confused, "So he has the best of everything now!" She leaned towards Rough Draft, "You don't mind, do you? You guys are, like, buds, not that kind of buds, right?" Rough Draft shook his head, "Buds, partners in crime, that kind of thing. So long as you don't force him, you can do what you want with him." Bon Bon frowned as it became clear to her, "Lyra Heartstrings! Get your head out of the gutter this instant and don't even dream of chasing him. He's been through quite enough, and it was your fault!" Lyra pouted at the dressing down, "But... it'll make up for it... Besides, he's not even angry." Rough shrugged gently, "I'm not sure he knows how to get angry properly." Speaking low, lest the dressing David hear him, he spoke, "Or, rather, I think he's not good at showing his anger. I'm worried about him." Bon Bon nodded slowly before smiling at Rough, "You're a good friend. Now... we have a convention we're supposed to be enjoying. There are still a few hours left in the day." She poked Lyra, "The drawing your OC panel is in fifteen minutes." Lyra perked and hopped to her hooves, "Oh yea! Thanks for reminding me." She was off in a flash, with Bon Bon following patiently behind.