//------------------------------// // What walks on four legs in the morning, two in the afternoon, and- oh, wait. // Story: To be or not to be... // by Suke //------------------------------// SWEET APPLE ACRES (OMNI) He was sure he caught a glimpse of something when he looked up. He turned to the princess ponies who stared back, faces pitying. “Did you hear anything just now? Or see anything above me?” They both shook their heads, Luna ever so slightly hesitating beforehand. He didn’t know whether to trust their answer, but either way, Omni knew what he heard was right. H-T was gone and he had a job to do; though he wasn’t so sure about making friends. Associates maybe, but the risks with having friends were evident in the recent turn of events. He overheard Luna’s sister, “Lulu, I must return to the castle to explain our absence to the guard. I shall bring in the day while there. Take Omni to the library soon to avoid the townsfolk.” Omni heard hoof-steps approach him, “Omni, might I advise wearing the bracelet H-T mentioned? Just in case a pony were to see you. And I’m terribly sorry for your loss. Here in Equestria friendship holds much power, and the sudden unexpected loss of a friend hurts that much more because of it.” Omni stepped out of the crater, replying, “An expression I seem to recall from Earth comes to mind: ‘Sod’s Law’.” “And what would that mean?” Luna enquired. “I don’t know, but my brain seems to think it’s appropriate. Probably something like ‘It had to happen’, but not in terms of need… I should hope.” Omni said as he took his rucksack off of his back once more. Getting out the bracelet and giving it a once over, he couldn’t understand how one could make a piece of gold painted jewellery alter another’s form. Then again, he’d got the impression this Thunder was well practised in the art of fucking with physics. Also, for all he knew, technology back home had been or become advanced enough for such feats. The former theory was more likely however. “By the way, Miss Sunshine?” he said, pulling the white princess from her thoughts. “I know your sister’s name, and you both know the one I go by, but I do not know yours.” “Oh, of course, how rude of me. I am Princess Celestia. I must be off now, as day must soon be upon us.” With that, Celestia’s horn glowed and she vanished in a flash of magic. Omni started but recovered quickly, assuming the princess had intended to do that. He looked back at the modified jewellery in his hand. “I don’t know what’s going to happen so give me a little space, ok?” he asked the remaining pony. Luna nodded, stepping a few paces back, watching with fascination and slight concern. Slipping it on, Omni felt comfortable with it wrapped around his left wrist. His last thought before changes began was that he never got to look at his real face or hair. (LUNA) Just as Omni had that last thought, Luna’s was similar. She’d never focused on his actual physical features other than the abnormal amount of clothing. H-T had said these humans were hairless (mostly) monkeys. She tried to take in his face as fast as possible but Omni’s right hand got in the way as he reached for his blonde mane for some reason, and then it was too late. With a flash similar to that which accompanied a teleportation, albeit less… magical looking, there stood in front her was an Earth Pony. His coat was the deepest black imaginable, like it was not only a lack of light, but it absorbed nearby light as well. As such, it didn’t even reflect light like the usual black coats ponies had. The main and tail were mismatched; short tail but long mane. Both were had a wild-ish look to them, and were electric blue with forest green tips, just like his undershirt, which was no longer present. The crimson over shirt was still there, if not a little strained. The hooves were a murky gold, and the right fore hoof and leg were bandaged. Not the buffest of stallions, he was taller than average, coming close to Luna’s height. Strangely, his flank bore no cutie mark. (OMNI) Omni the Stallion stared at his left hoof. He couldn’t believe it. In the blink of an eye, he went from scientifically acceptable biped to magical four legged equine.  He felt a bit like rubber, somehow being able to bend his limbs into semicircles in directions that didn’t seem right. His coat reminded him of the Everto he’d dealt with earlier. The fact he was wearing barely anything didn’t bother him much, probably with the knowledge that these ponies didn’t appear uncomfortable being naked around each other. ‘First thing: walking on all fours,’ he thought to himself. ‘Surprisingly easy.’ The rubber-like limbs were most likely the main reason for this. The best way to compare the feeling to walking bipedal would be crawling without lower legs and having feet on your knees. Luna interrupted his line of thought, “How do you feel?” “Not much different. Going to have to get used to being shorter. That and I’ll miss the opposable thumb.” Omni waved a hoof, its flat bottom sadly void of digits. “We can still pick things up with our hooves.” Omni stared at Luna in disbelief. “Don’t ask me how we do it. Celly- I mean Celestia- believes it is an ancient magic. Nopony dares look into it at risk of losing the gift altogether. Best if you don’t think about it; makes it easier.” “I’ll take your word on it.” Omni jogged- no, trotted- over to his rucksack. With a little bit of trouble, he managed to get it onto his back, only to discover it rubbed the shirt awkwardly into his coat and skin underneath. Sighing, he took off the rucksack, followed by the shirt. He stuffed the shirt into the bag and went back to step one. This time, there was no rubbing. ‘Gonna need to do something about that.’ Omni had grown fond of his few belongings, and he wasn’t going to give up on his last bit of clothing that easily. He still had those bits of sleeves too. ‘Later though. Onward into the unknown!’ “Lead the way Princess.” Luna had not heard him, as she seemed entranced by something off in the distance. Omni looked to see what was so fascinating. The sun had begun to peep over the horizon, as dawn broke across Equestria. A beautiful sight to say the least, but Omni felt there were more pressing matters. (LUNA) ‘To think, I wanted to stop this from ever happening again. I was such a stupid little filly.’ “Princess? Princess Luna?” Luna tore herself away from the sunrise. “Yes?” “I’m all ready to go here. Shall we be off?” “We shall. Come closer and I shall teleport us to our destination.” “If you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to walk; take in the scenery, get used to my surroundings.” “If that is what you wish?” And so, they began to walk side by side away from the rubble of Omni’s former home, and through the orchard. “I was wondering  Luna…” “What is it?” “Could you please tell be about your kind? I noticed there were blatant differences between you and the smaller ponies.” “Ah, yes. You see, ponies are split into four subspecies: Earth Ponies, Pegasi, Unicorns and Alicorns. You’re an Earth Pony, which means you have an affinity to plant life and are also naturally stronger than most. Pegasi are winged ponies who can interact with clouds and as such, control the weather. They generally have a knack for speed. Unicorns are horned ponies, said horns being used for channelling magic; that’s their specialty. Unicorns are often more studious. I say all this, but there are many cases for all three kinds of ponies where their special talents are different to the norm. Now, my sister and I are Alicorns. Our kind is quite rare and powerful. We excel in many places, and are royalty in Equestria. “One thing we all have in common is the Cutie Marks on our flanks. They represent our special talents, and appear on their own accord once said talent is discovered.” Omni looked at Luna as if to ask if that was it. There was more, but what remained to be said was more the history of Equestria, and Luna deemed it long and unnecessary for the moment being. “Is there anything else you would like to know?” “I suppose the next thing I’ll need to know about is these Elements of Harmony. Then, if there’s still time, any recent major events in Equestria.” And so Luna went on about the Elements. She explained their brief origin, and described their current bearers as best to her knowledge. She merged the topic of their uses in history with the recent events, feeling slightly embarrassed when telling of her stint as Nightmare Moon. Omni listened attentively, not missing a word, sometimes asking little questions here and there to clarify points, sometimes just commenting. She found it odd, how this pony didn’t react like most others at the mention of her darker self. Luna knew he was not originally from here and how he would not have witnessed, nor heard stories of, her activities during that time. She even saw genuine pity in his eyes upon hearing of her thousand year imprisonment. He had no memories of his past, yet seemed to understand her jealousy, her loneliness. Of course, she knew he’d understand the strangeness of knowing nothing of the world she returned to, to a limit. Omni seemed to just take everything in and analyse it. He made her feel oddly appreciated. She had grown to be accepted once more in Equestria, with the help of Celestia and the Element bearers, but this… this was different. She had not been given a chance to make first impressions for a very long time. “So what has happened to the changelings now?” the neutral pony enquired, Luna having finished talking about her niece’s wedding. “Well, within the past few months since then, many ponies encountered them strewn across the land. Through interrogations with the help of truth detecting magic, we have found that over half the changeling species were wiped out, most not surviving their landings once launched out of Canterlot, the Queen included. Apparently the Queen was using her magic to force the rest of her kind into their hive-mind state. “Now free and independent, they are capable of forming identities of their own without copying us. They quite like our culture and so mimic our Cutie Mark tradition. They leave their flanks bear until discovering their special talent then decide upon a cutie mark. I will admit there is still prejudice against them, but they are slowly earning their place in our society. Would you believe me if I said that some changelings decided upon being simple pets?” “I would,” Omni replied. “I suppose it’s ‘each to their own’ really.” “I suppose so. So nothing has happened since the wedding, other than the changeling integration?” “Surprisingly, and thankfully, no. Not that I have heard of; until you of course.” Omni chuckled. Luna had watched him as they had gone from the orchard to now part of the way through Ponyville, the Library Tree in view in the slight distance. While paying full attention to their conversation, he’d also been looking left to right, taking in the sights. The town was still empty, with sounds of early morning ponies in their houses, getting ready for their day. “This is a quaint little town isn’t it?” he asked. “It is, although this is my first time seeing it so quiet. My visits are usually a bit more… active.” Omni just nodded. The remaining distance was covered in silence, Luna deciding to take advantage and look around like Omni. They reached the Library door, and just before Omni knocked, they heard voices from inside. “I still wish we could hold the party now,” one cheerfully moaned. “We’ll have one later once we’ve had our meeting with the princesses,” said another. “I am sorry to make you wait Pinkie Pie,” said Celestia’s voice. “It’s ok,” replied the first. “I wonder what kind of pony he’ll be,” said a fourth voice. "He may not even be a pony. I think he'll be like a diamond dog, standing on two legs. He deserves as much trust as them too," said a fifth, Luna knowing it was the doctor's. ‘Celly must have told them that he would be disguised,’ she thought. Omni finally decided to knock. “Can we come in?” he asked through the door. The door magically opened. Omni and Luna entered. The door closed behind them. Everyone present stared at Omni, except for Celestia, who smiled at Luna. Luna went and sat next to her sister. Celly whispered to Luna, “Did you have a nice chat on your walk?” “Yes. Even though it was mainly me answering questions, it was nice talking to him. Quite the understanding gentlecolt when he’s not flying into you,” she whispered back. The seven ponies sat around the library continued their group stare. Omni was smiling awkwardly, throwing glances at Luna. His eyes screamed for help. Luna would have cleared her throat loudly, had her sister whispered something else in her ear. “Now don’t go falling for him just yet Lulu.” “What!?” Luna shouted, leaning back from Celestia. All stares turned to her, and it was her turn to smile awkwardly, as well as blush. Her brain sighed and said to her, ‘Well, you got their attention, didn’t you?’ A/N: Updates are gonna be ever-so-slightly slower, as may already be evident. This is because I've passed the whole 'new story buzz' stage and into the more carefully thought out 'don't fuck this up!' stage, writer's block included. That plus a friend and I had an idea involving characters by a group of authors, all set in the same universe. Waiting for confirmation from the main three currently. The first has said yes and suggested the other two be informed before anything goes ahead at all. Of these other two: one hasn't seen my message yet, and the last is being unresponsive. ...Oh, yeah! Hey look! I made up some plot devise for changelings to not be absolutely gut-hated. I've seen loads of 'changeling-phobia extravaganza' fics, many being good reads, and felt they'd had enough of it. Small Edit: A month is too short a time for changelings to be even the slightest bit accepted in Equestria. Heck! It took Luna almost a year or so.