Finding a Voice

by Discordia5

3. Strange Magic

Strange Magic

We stood there for a while just staring at each other, waiting for someone to volunteer. "Well, it seems clear to me what we have to do," Dusk Shine said and strolled to the middle of the circle.

"Of course," Elusive agreed.

"Mm-hm," Butterscotch hummed.

"Eeyup," Applejack said.

"Yes, yes, yes!" Berry bounced.

"Duh!" Rainbow Blitz said.

"She should stay," Dusk Shine started.

"With me!" the group chorused.

They all looked at each other and I looked at each of them before I slowly shrank down in my seat. It wasn’t long before a small argument broke out among the colts on why I should stay at someone’s particular home. "Please, Dusk, in your home?" Blitz interjected. "It's barely a home, it's a musty, boring library!"

"And she'll fair better in a damp, cold cloud?" Dusk asked.

"She should live with me, she is in desperate need of some fashion advice," Elusive said.

I looked down at my clothes dejectedly. What was wrong with the way I looked? "But she hasn't had a 'Welcome to Ponyville' party yet, she should come with me first!" Berry said.

"But she just went through an ordeal, she should have some peace and quiet for a while," Applejack pointed out.

"Yeah and she could get it at my cottage," Butterscotch added.

"Or at my farm house," Applejack protested.

I couldn’t get a word in edgewise with all the voices trying to talk above each other. Turns out boys will argue over just about anything if it's minimally related to the topic at hand, until Dusk shouted above them all. "QUIET!!"

The colts settled down and we all looked at Dusk curiously. "I have a solution," he said. "Instead of fighting over who she'll get to stay with we should let her decide."

"Thank you, Dusk Shine," I said with some exaggeration.

"However, she can't get much of an educated decision without trying everything," he started and I didn't like where his proposal was going. "So, I propose that she stay at each of our homes for one day and one night until she is certain about where to stay."

I knew I wouldn't like it. The rest of the stallions nodded their heads and mumbled their approval before turning back to the next issue at hand. "But who does she stay with first?" Berry asked.

"Well, since she's here now, I think I should take her for tonight," Dusk Shine said.

The other ponies mumbled agreements. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense," Rainbow Blitz relented.

"It's only fair," Elusive said.

“Alrigh’ then,” Applejack said and tipped his hat again. “Ah think we oughtta go about our business then.”

He walked to the door with Elusive and Butterscotch following behind him. “It was a pleasure meetin’ you, Miss Elara,” Applejack said and nodded a farewell.

“Yes, it was quite a charming experience,” Elusive said and bowed out the door as well.

Apparently not knowing what to say, Butterscotch shifted from hoof to hoof before he looked up and blushed lightly. “Ummmmm… bye,” he whispered and trotted out the door.

Say what you will, but the male Fluttershy is still cute as get out! Berry hopped in front of me and shook my hand furiously. “It was great to meet you, Elara!” he chimed. “Maybe tomorrow we can have your “Welcome to Ponyville Party”!”

With that he hopped out the door with a giant smile on his face. I rubbed my hand in instinct after he left, it felt like he had shaken it to pieces or that he had left some kind of burn. “Well, if you get tired of sleeping around with books,” Rainbow Blitz started. “I have a nice, soft cloud bed for twoooowww! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!”

Unbeknownst to most of us, Butterscotch had snuck back in, bit down on Blitz’s tail, and started to drag him out the door with Blitz protesting in pain the whole way. Apparently Butterscotch was more assertive than Fluttershy. The door closed softly behind them and I was left with Dusk Shine and Barbara. “Well, now that that’s out of the way how about we get you settled in?” Dusk Shine inquired as she started to look for supplies for me. Obviously, an answer was not what she was looking for. “Barbara could you give our new guest the grand tour.”

Barbara watched Dusk Shine for a while before she looked up at me and smiled. “Follow me then,” she said and started leading the way.

I followed behind the small dragon who was at least one-fourth my size. I also wondered if some human biology at all applied to dragons, because Barb seemed a little bit taller than Spike would’ve been, at least by my memory. “I don’t think I was introduced to you with all the excitement,” I said. “I’m Elara.”

“Barbara Spines,” she said and turned to me with an outstretched hand, or rather, claw. “Dusk Shine’s number one assistant and you can call me Barb.”

I smiled and shook hands with her. When watching Spike on MLP I always liked his grounded personality. Barbara seemed much like her male version, but maybe more logical. “I gotta warn you though,” Barb started. “Living with Dusk isn’t exactly a walk in the park, he can be quite the claw-ful.”

“You don’t have to tell me,” I said.

“But he means well, I do apologize in advance for his behavior, sometimes he doesn’t really think things through,” she continued.

“Or thinks too much?” I asked, remembering Twilight’s behavior in the show and how anxious she could get.

“Yeah…” Barb looked around at me with surprise and confusion. “How did you know that?”

Speaking of not thinking things through, I blanked for a second before thinking of an excuse. “I know a few people like him back in my own world, so it’s not really a surprise to me,” I said.

“I see,” Barb said before opening a door. “Well, this is the bathroom with all the necessary appliances, tub, shower, sink, toilet.”

At least they have those modern conveniences, I thought with relief. Barb closed the door and led me to another room. “And this is the kitchen which Dusk Shine rarely uses,” she said.

That fact wouldn’t change. She led me back to the main room and waved her arms above her head. “This is the main library for all your research and reading needs,” she said and went up to a staircase. When we reached the top she waved me into another room. “And this is the bedroom, good thing we already had the guest bed,” she said and smiled happily.

I smiled back at her and sat down on the mattress. It was a small bed, but not so small that I wouldn’t be able to fit in comfortably. Apparently I got lucky, falling into this world. “It’s also a good thing that I still have extra blankets,” Dusk Shine said as he came into the room carrying a good stack of sheets and blankets for the bed.

He smiled at me as he walked over to the bed and started to unload. “I’ll make the bed for you, I’m sure you’ll want some time to freshen up,” he said.

He was right about me wanting to wash up, but I did have a few reservations about doing so. For one thing, I didn’t have any extra clothes, what was I going to do about that? “One question,” I spoke up. “Ummm, what do I do about the clothes situation?”

Dusk and Barb looked at me with blank confusion, obviously they had no idea what I was talking about. Of course they wouldn’t, they didn’t wear clothes all the time. They found it quite natural to walk around in the nude. I wasn’t so accustomed. “What do you mean?” Dusk asked. “Are your clothes not sufficient?”

I looked down at what I was already wearing: jeans, a t-shirt, and my sneakers and while they would be ‘sufficient’ for daytime they weren’t so comfortable to sleep in. “Well, see they are, but I require more,” I tried to explain. “I’m a human and in my world, humans don’t just walk around without clothes like you do, we require them to protect us from the elements and to… uummm, cover up our private parts.”

Dusk cocked his head in confusion, but I could see the cogs slowly working in his head before he blushed a bit and looked away. “Oh, I see,” he said. “Hmmmm, well, we’ll have to fix that then. Wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable here.”

Dusk walked back to the stairs and then slowly went back down. “I’ll try to find something suitable for you to change in and have Barb bring it into you,” he said. “We’ll have to get Elusive to make you a new wardrobe tomorrow as well.”

I watched him go down and looked at Barb who shrugged and followed after her guardian. With that business settled I got up and went back to the bathroom. I wasn’t sure if I actually wanted to bathe, but I did need a moment to myself. I needed to get some bearing on the situation. I went into the bathroom and locked the door. I looked around and was a little impressed that Dusk Shine kept such a pristine bathroom, it was actually pretty clean and well kept especially for someone as scattered as Dusk Shine. It was also a miracle for anything to be clean since he was a boy. I sat down on the toilet and sighed into my hands. So I had landed in gender-bent Equestria and was going live with one of the main six until I decided who would be my permanent residence, until such time as I could be sent home… All in all, it could’ve been worse. Compared to what I had left behind it was a major step up. I had landed in a world where all bronies would kill to be in! However, some worry did set in. I had family and some friends back in my own world that would worry considerably if I didn’t contact them or if they didn’t see me within a few weeks. What was I going to do if and when I was faced with the choice of staying here or going back?

I stood back up and turned on the sink. I splashed water on my face and patted it dry. I could still feel the salt crusted on my cheeks and I was pretty sure I would get a cold after crying like that. I looked up and saw the face in the mirror. For some reason my reflection was very fascinating. I couldn’t believe that it was my face looking back at me. The same blue-grey eyes, the same golden blond hair that refused to lie straight or still, the same blotchy white skin that still had lingering effects of teenaged acne, it was all the same just in a different world. I sighed and looked over when I heard the door open and close quietly. Barb had set an oversized garment on the floor where I could easily see it. It looked more like an old Halloween costume or Nightmare Night costume. I took off my old clothes and slipped on the… sheet? It was more like a loose fitting tunic. Had he tried to be a pirate one time or what?

I stepped out of the bathroom and went back up the stairs to find Barb and Dusk Shine waiting for me. They sat next to the bed and gave me very suspicious and creepy smiles. I wondered what they had been talking about before. “Hi,” I said and waved to them.

Dusk Shine stopped smiling and cleared his throat. “The bed is all ready,” he said and waved his hoof to the made up bed.

He looked me up and down before he nodded with approval and walked over to stand behind me. I walked over to the bed and touched it gingerly. It seemed to be very soft, not like a regular box spring bed, but it wasn’t like a memory foam mattress either. I wondered vaguely what they made their mattresses out of and the pillows too for that matter. I turned back the covers and sat down on the bed before looking at my two hosts. “Thank you guys, this is really awesome of you,” I said.

Dusk Shine smiled and so did Barb. “No problem, we’ve been needing some excuse to use that bed,” Barb said.

I smiled back at her and then looked to Dusk who just looked really nervous and awkward. Still the same pony on the inside I guess. “Well, I think we’ve overstayed our welcome long enough,” Dusk said and started to scoot Barb out the of the room. “You probably want to rest up, if you need anything we’ll be right downstairs.”

I waved good-bye to the two as they walked back down the stairs and then I looked out the window. I had to admit my hosts did give me a pretty good view. I could see out into a sunlit meadow, though it looked ablaze as the sun started to fall. It had only been a few hours since I woke up, but night was indeed falling and even though I had just woken up I was very tired. A lot had happened and I did need more sleep. I yawned at the thought and laid down on the supernaturally soft bed and pillow. It amazed me that a society who wouldn’t even think about eating meat or plucking feathers from birds would make such abnormally soft pillows. When I tried to fall asleep my mind tended to wander in every direction it could before finally shutting down. I also thought about how I would fit in here. I wasn’t much for Human in Equestria fanfics, so I didn’t really know how this kind of thing worked. As far as I knew I was the only human to have ever been in Equestria and for what it was worth, it was a pretty good start.

I thought about the other ponies as well and how it would feel to live with each one of them. Berry and Blitz I wasn’t exactly looking forward to. I liked Pinkie Pie as a character, but the thought of living with her male counterpart wasn’t exactly ideal. Having to deal with all that happy and hyperness was going to wear me thin. I vaguely wondered how Dusk Shine hadn’t pelted me with questions as soon as everyone left. I had a feeling that it was Barb’s doing, which surprised me. Barb seemed much more outspoken than her male version. Then again shy girls also tended to have big voices when they put them to use. I smiled at that thought. I don’t remember what else I thought about before I drifted off, but I knew I was still on the subject of Dusk Shine. Dusk Shine and pie…

It didn’t feel like it had been a long time, in fact it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds when a loud BANG and CRASH, literally jolted me out of bed and onto the floor. I groaned and rubbed at my eyes before hearing the aftershock of the supposed explosion. I stood up and slowly crept downstairs. “Something tells me that was the wrong incantation,” I heard Dusk Shine say.

I poked my head around a corner and saw that the library was in near shambles. Books, quills, paper, and an assortment of debris were scattered all over. There was a giant scorch mark in the middle of the floor where I guessed that Dusk had tried to cast his spell. He was currently sitting next to it, but he had his nose stuck in a book. Barb was rubbing her own eyes as well, but it didn’t look like she had gotten any sleep yet. “What in the blue Hell?” I asked as I looked at the destruction around me.

Barb yawned and looked over at a clock on the wall before turning back to Dusk Shine. “Dusky, it's four, twenty-six in the morning,” she groaned.

I looked over at Dusk Shine who looked over his book at me and I shook my head in disbelief. “What the Hell is your problem?” I asked and rubbed my eyes again.

“What is Hell?” Dusk asked.

Here came the questions and of course he had to ask the religious question. “It’s a place where bad people go when they die,” I said.

“Uh-huh,” he said, but it was obvious that he needed more.

“It’s where they endure eternal punishment for the bad things they did in life,” I continued.

“Oh, so it’s Tartarus?” he asked.

“Yeah I guess.”

“Is it usually blue in color.”

“Not exactly it’s just a figure of speech.”

“Ah!”

“But it does mean 'what is going on',” I said waving to the mess.

Dusk Shine gave a lopsided grin of embarrassment. “Yeah, sorry about that,” he said. “I was trying a teleportation spell, but I was trying to improve it so that we could jump between dimensions, obviously it didn’t work out.”

“I can see that,” I said. “Maybe you shouldn’t try out spells in your living space though?”

“It’s more contained if I do, I am sorry for waking you,” he said.

“Yeah, sure, I’m going back to bed and if you’re going to try out more spells, please keep the volume down,” I said and started back up the stairs.

“Will do!” Dusk Shine called.

“Told you it was bad idea,” I heard Barb whine before I slumped back into bed and fell back to sleep almost instantly.

The next few hours left of sleep were rather peaceful and were uninterrupted until I woke up again and felt a strange sensation around me. I sighed and opened my eyes to see the room spinning. Literally the ceiling was spinning. I sat up quickly and looked around to find that my bed was floating and spinning around like a top. “What the Hell!” I cried and flipped off the side of the bed.

“So sorry, Elara,” Dusk Shine said as he floated by my head… upside down.

“Ok, I found it!” Barb said and tried to pass off a page to him.

Almost every bit of furniture was up in the air and Barb and Dusk Shine were up in the air as well, turning and spinning endlessly. “Ah, perfect,” Dusk Shine said and his horn glowed a light shade of purple.

Everything floating took on the same aura and dropped back to the ground. Dusk Shine did a belly-flop to the floor while Barb bounced off the bed and landed on both feet. “What were you trying to do now?” I asked.

“Small alteration on a levitation spell,” he said. “I was trying more along the lines of a ‘flying’ spell, but I guess it stretched a little too far.”

“A little?” I asked.

Dusk Shine blushed and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry about that again," he said. I sighed with relief, but looked at Dusk Shine with irritation. “I think you need a break,” I said.

“Yeah, probably,” he said and shuffled with his hooves.

“Well, you’re awake now, I suppose I should make you some breakfast,” Dusk said and started down the stairs. “Oh, what would you like? Um, oatmeal, pancakes, eggs?”

That was a relief to me. I had completely forgotten that ponies were herbivores, I won’t be finding any meat here… This would be harder than I thought, but at least they still ate eggs. “Poached eggs sound good,” I said.

Dusk Shine nodded and walked into the kitchen, Barb went in after him. I looked around to see if they had anything else for me to wear, but I saw they had folded my old clothes neatly and set them at the foot of my bed. Well, at least that was something. I quickly changed and went into the kitchen as well. Barb was standing on a step ladder and helping Dusk Shine through the steps. “Ok, now slowly slip the eggs into the pot,” she said and watched as Dusk levitated a spoon and slid the eggs into a pot of boiling water.

“Never made poached eggs before,” Dusk said and started to read the cookbook with Barb.

“How’s it going, guys?” I asked and leaned against the counter.

“Very well, I think,” Dusk Shine said.

“Yeah, he hasn’t burned down the library yet,” Barb said and giggled.

Dusk Shine rolled his eyes and laughed sarcastically before he checked the eggs again. “Hmmm, I wonder if I could make this go faster?” he mused.

My eyes widened. "NO!" I cried and so did Barb.

We looked at each other and coughed politely. "No, no, it's fine the way it is," Barb said. "You should try doing something the natural way anyway."

Dusk’s ears turned down in what I supposed were discomfort or maybe irritation. Dusk seemed like one of those types that always wanted to improve something when in fact it didn’t need to be improved. However, he sucked it up and waited like us non-magical creatures. I sat at the table and waited politely. Much to my surprise, most of the things there were human-sized or at least they were my size. I could reach everything and not experience any discomfort. When I sat at the table, my knees didn’t come up to my ears nor did they dangle awkwardly over the side. It was a little comforting to know that I wasn’t completely out of my element here. “There, I think they’re done!” Dusk said and slid the eggs onto a plate and set them in front of me.

“Want anything with them?” he asked. “Ketchup? Salt? Pepper?”

“Salt and pepper will be fine, thank you,” I replied, and Dusk floated the shakers over toward me.

While I ate my eggs Barb and Dusk prepared their own breakfasts. Barb made her own eggs and Dusk helped himself to some oats and milk. “Well now, we have a lot to do today,” Dusk said as he pulled out a piece of paper almost from nowhere. “We have to get groceries in town, check the post office for that new spell book I ordered, get a few ingredients from Zicoro, and visit Elusive for some help with your clothing.”

I nodded with Dusk’s instructions and wondered how errands would go. As far as living with Dusk I was still on the fence about it. After the whole rude awakening, I was a little leery about remaining with the purple pony and he didn’t even get to the questioning bit yet. Hopefully the trip into Ponyville would be a little less exciting and a little more hopeful...

Author's Note:

So Elara's life in Equestria begins. Dusk is going to take up more than one chapter, but hopefully not too much. Oh well, enjoy!

(Newly edited.)

Comments

[TheGreatPandaKing]

Still a boutique. Just because things are gender swapped doesn't mean things are too different. Elusive and Butterscotch still go to the spa and such. Liking the story a lot and am liking the development of the stallions. Just please remember, they are stallions, not colts. Just as the girls are not fillies anymore but mares.