"Come in!" I called out. A light faded pink unicorn with a long faded brown mane peeked in.
"Hey," She said softly.
"Hi." I said to her.
"Oh good, you're awake." She sighed, relieved. "I'm Gem Stone, I will be your host mother this summer." She said... still in a soft voice. It wasn't quiet... just soft. Her mark was a perfectly cut crystal. I swore I saw it shimmer in the light from the open window.
"I'm Alton." I smiled at her. She smiled.
"That's a nice name... But I think you're gonna need a better name than that to be a pony." She said, a bit of timidity in her voice. I thought about it for a second. The point of camp was to become a pony temporarily, so it only made sense to have a pony name. I nodded.
"What could it be though?" I asked absently, thinking of names. Arcing Stream? Na.
"Snowy Fog?" She asked, I stopped thinking, and looked in the mirror. It did kinda fit my appearance, didn't it.
"Yeah... I like it! Kinda peaceful, and a little intimidating!"
"I'm glad you like it, my son came up with it. So, why don't you come meet the rest of us." She said, nodding toward the hall. I took a few steps... and fell on my face. "Oh my! Are you OK?" She asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. But I could use a ha- a hoof." I corrected myself. She walked over, and levitated me up onto my hooves. "Thanks." I said, a bit embarrassed. I took a few more steps, more slowly and carefully this time, and this time, I didn't fall on my new muzzle. We stepped out into a short hallway, with doors on either side, which we started to walk down to some stairs.
"Hey... where am I? Ponyville... right?" I asked her. She nodded. We made it to the staircase, and I looked down it nervously. It was a long way down, longer now that I was smaller. I gulped, turning sideways, and walking down the stairs that way. It was slower, but hey: at least I didn't fall! After my slow descent down the stairs, I followed my host mother into a lobby. There (waiting for us) was a small faded blue pegasus colt (who looked like he could barely contain his excitement for something).
“Is he here? Is he here?” He shouted. Gem nodded, and stepped aside.
He smiled (as impossible as this sounds) even wider when he saw me. He sped over to me in an instant.
"Hi I'm Flit wick!" He exclaimed. Then the on-slot came... "So you're a human right? What's it like? Are hands cool? I can't believe you eat meat! Is it good? I can't imagine eating meat, it would taste so bad to me! Can you imagine? A meat eating pony? But anyways, I'm glad you're finally awake! You were asleep for forever! I was starting to think you'd never wake up! Thank Celestia you finally did, I was getting tired of waiting!"
... Once my highly sensitive new ears stopped ringing, I responded to him.
"Flit wick?" I asked, making sure I heard him correctly.
"Yup! That's me!" He smiled... loudly, causing me to wince.
"Calm down will ya? I'm not used to how loud everything is yet." I joked. "I'm Al-... Snowy Fog." I corrected myself. He looked at me funny.
"That's not a human name." He said, confused.
"That's why I have it, because I'm not human right now." I explained. He nodded, but I could tell he didn't get it. I was guessing he was about 9 or 10 years old, judging by the way he was acting.
"But what's your real name?" He asked. I grinned at him.
"Just because I wasn't born with that name doesn't make it any less real." I said to him. He was getting impatient, I could tell.
"But what's your human name?"
"Alton."
"Alton... I like it! Human names are soooooo much cooler than pony names." Flit wick said.
"You like to talk... don't you?" I asked.
"Yeah! Talking is fun! Ponies say I talk a lot, but my teacher says that's a good thing."
"Well it is," I began. "You can get good jobs where you get to talk a lot. Like you can be a news anchor, or you can give speeches, or an actor... there are lots of jobs for people who love to talk." His eyes lit up when I said that.
"Really? You think I could be an actor???" Flit wick gasped, awe-struck.
"Maybe, we'll have to see if you're a true, thespian." I said, making a mock theatrical voice. Flit wick and Gem Stone giggled at my joke.
"I think we better get along now, you need to be at the mess-hall for introductions and lessons." Gem said.
“Awww… Do we have to?” Flit asked saddly.
“Yes my child, Snow here has to learn how to fly.” Gem laughed softly.
“Ok… see you later…” Flit said, not looking up from the floor. Gem walked over to me, and tucked a little slip of paper in my mane.
“That’s our address, come by when you’re done.” She instructed.
“Yes ma’am.” I nodded. She waved goodbye, and then she and Flit Wick cantered away. I then, went to go find where I was supposed to get introductions.