A new start
“BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!” Went the alarm before I slammed my palm down upon it’s snooze button. I tried to waste no time in getting out of bed and getting dressed. Canterlot high was counting on me being on time and ready to teach my class. Now a days it was all I really had to look forward to.
I gave my ‘suit’ (which was really just a pair of grey dress pants and a grey golf jacket over my one white dress shirt) a quick look over before heading to the bathroom for my shower. If I was fast I’d have enough time to give it a quick ironing before I had to catch the bus to work. A sigh escaped me as I stripped my sleeping garments off, which really only consisted of an old t-shirt and sweat pants. I can’t believe I still had to resort to the bus for transportation. I was never a very big fan of it, but given the circumstances, what choice did I have?
It had only been a month since I was given the job of English teacher for Canterlot high, giving some relief to fellow teacher Cheerilee who had been trying to juggle both it and Literature. While I was extremely grateful for the job, I’m surprised I was hired. I barely had any credentials to my name, and had been turned down from the last three schools I had applied for. I didn’t even have a car that could be used to get there, putting me at the mercy of any delays caused by public transportation.
That was why I was going to try very hard to fulfill any expectations Principal Celestia had for me. This was a chance to build myself a life, one where I wasn’t just working a pointless dead end job at some chicken restaurant. Drying myself off, I took at look at my reflection. Thankfully my black hair was short, so it didn’t require any combing. Taking a quick glance at my purple eyes I could just barely see the bags beginning to form. Just great, at this rate it wouldn’t be long before they were noticeable to anyone. I really hoped I managed to overcome this stupid insomnia. Guess I wasn’t over how lonely this place felt now.
Ugh, I didn’t have time for this, running a hand under my chin I took notice of the thickening line of stubble. It’d certainly make a better impression if I shaved that, but could I do it and still manage to catch the bus on time? I’d already wasted enough of it staring into this stupid mirror.
Well, much as I didn’t like looking like this I’ll have to put up with it. It’s not that big a deal if I have stubble, not like teachers can’t have beards. A wrinkled suit on the other hand would certainly stand out as sloppy. Guess I was spending my time with my suit. I began to set up the ironing board with a scowl. What I should have done was shaved last night. Then I wouldn’t have this problem. Why did facial hair have to grow in so quickly anyway? What I wouldn’t give to be rid of it for good.
The rest of the morning was spent in a rush. Ironing took way longer than I had hoped, and while I probably wasn’t late, it didn’t leave me much time for anything else, including breakfast. Still I made darn certain I brushed my teeth. Bad breath was not acceptable. While rushing out the door and checking my messenger bag for all my stuff, I grabbed a couple of bananas off the top of my fridge. They weren’t much, but it was something. With everything seemingly in order I was weaving around boxes in my living room and out the door, pausing only long enough to lock it behind me. It was a good two block sprint to the bus stop and if I missed it, it was a good hour wait. Well, time to see if I can eat and run in the literal sense.
* *
“Morning Mr. Evening!” Two students called as I strolled up the steps to make it to home room, one of my bananas still in my carry bag untouched. It would figure that I’d nearly choke on the first one as I tried to sprint to the bus stop. The experience hadn’t been pleasant, and it rather sullied my desire to have a second one. Maybe I had enough time to hit the teacher’s lounge and see if anyone brought doughnuts. Er, maybe I should give a greeting back first though.
“Good Morning Sunset, Rainbow Dash, ready for the pop quiz today?” It was a good thing they were students I actually learned the names to. It’s strange to think I’ve heard rumors of Sunset being a problem student. She was rather well behaved from what I saw. As I suspected, she wasn’t even batting an eye at my mention of a pop quiz. Rainbow Dash however.
“W-what!?” She screeched, dropping the soccer ball she had been bouncing off her knee. “You can’t be serious! The school year has barely started!” Keeping my face as straight as I could muster, I gave her a very small smile.
“Perhaps, but regardless you must understand that I was joking anyway.” Sunset grinned instantly at my words, though it took a few seconds for Rainbow to process it. When she finally caught on her eyes narrowed.
“That’s not funny Mr. E.” I almost began to laugh.
“You’re lucky this time Rainbow,” I said with shining eyes, “but there will be a pop quiz eventually, as well as actual tests. I do hope you’ll take some time from your physical activities to do some studying.” She rolled her eyes in response.
“Well duh, we both know I can’t stay on the soccer team with bad grades.” As she spoke, she turned away to go fetch the escaped ball. Turning my attention to Sunset I gave her a small nod, which she returned.
“You didn’t seem all that worried about a pop quiz.” I said, she shrugged her shoulders.
“It’s only been a month since you started teaching. I’m sure I can remember that far back.” I gave another nod. I definitely couldn’t see where anyone got that she was a problem student. Then again I had also heard that she had somehow been responsible for breaking the entrance way wall. As if a student of her size and stature could pull that off.
“You certainly haven’t wasted any time in becoming another boring teacher.” Rainbow commented as she rejoined us. Though this time she held on to the ball with her hands instead of bouncing around again.
“Rainbow!” Sunset hissed, but I waved it off. I was still learning the faces and personalities of my students, but when it came to Rainbow she was an open book. I knew she was just teasing me.
“Hey just doing my job.”
“Yeah yeah, can’t you at least wait until the bell rings?” I shrugged.
“Fair enough.” Getting a random thought, I reached into my bag. “Just to show there are no hard feelings, I couldn’t finish this. You want it?” Supriningly, her eyes lit up when she saw the banana.
“For reals? Sure!” She said as I tossed it over. Even with my crappy aim, she managed to snatch it out of the air. Before I knew it, she had the thing peeled and half eaten as she made her way to the entrance way. Geez, she didn’t do anything slow did she?
“She eats nearly as much as my friend Pinkie.” Sunset commented with a slight chuckle.
“I’ve heard of Pinkie.” I said with a bit of a shudder. “Rainbow I can understand with how active she always is, but what I’ve heard of Pinkie… I’m not sure if it’s an exaggeration, or just another one of those silly rumors floating around.” The moment I mentioned the rumors, I saw Sunset frown. Probably wasn’t too happy about the ones aimed at her. Poor girl, I wonder how those nasty things got started?
“What… sort of rumors?” Yep she was definitely troubled by them, I could see it on her face.
“Really silly ones. Stuff like mind controlling pop stars, and zombified students. There’s been one or two about you, but I know better than to believe them.” I gave Sunset a reassuring smile, yet oddly it didn’t seem to make her feel any better. If anything I swear she looked spooked.
“Sunset? Something wrong?” I wanted to do more to reassure her, but as an adult male teacher, talking to a teenage student, I figured the best thing I could do was to just give her space. She looked up at me with confliction, struggling with something in her mind. After a few minutes, she opened her mouth.
“It’s just-”
BRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! Damn it. Upon hearing the bell, Sunset quickly excused herself and ran for the door, me trailing behind her. I was a little worried, were their students who were bullying her? I had heard something about that from Cheerilee once. Maybe if there was time I could pull her aside to finish our talk.
A loud growl from my stomach brought me back to the present. Bleh, I hoped I survived that long. Why couldn’t I have grabbed toast to eat before leaving? I mean it worked for anime protagonists.
* *
“Finally! Lunch time! Note to self, remember to stock snacks in your bag next time!” I mumbled while trying to weave my way through a sea of students. Classes hadn’t been too bad, despite my hunger. I had even managed to snag some cheese and crackers from one of the vending machines earlier to take the edge off. It’s a shame all the peanut butter ones were gone. I could understand just one machine, but all of them? Well regardless the crackers were good, but certainly not enough. I was looking forward to a real lunch.
So of course I’d see a flustered student in an empty classroom as I darted past. I only got a glimpse before the door shut but she certainly looked troubled. Taking one last look in the direction of the cafeteria, I turned left and pushed open the door. The room was empty for the exception of one purple haired girl, frantically scribbling at a piece of paper. Whatever she was working on must not like her, as there were several crumpled pages all around.
Whatever she was doing seemed to be her only world right now, she didn’t even notice me when I walked in. Didn’t I know her? I think this was a friend of Sunset’s and Rainbow’s. It made me happy that regardless of what may be happening with Sunset, it looked like she had a great group of friends to help her through it. Perhaps this young lady could shed some light on that topic? Well, that could wait until after I was certain that this dilemma of hers was solved.
“Ah, miss Rarity I believe?” She jumped at my voice, looking frantically around till her eyes spotted me. Surprised at having company, she quickly bundled up the few un-crushed papers and began to try to clean up the area.
“Oh, forgive me, Mr. Evening. Is it time for the next class?” I raised my eyebrow.
“Next class?” I waved my hand at the wall clock. “It’s lunch time. Aren’t you hungry?” She let out a small gasp as she saw the time.
“Oh my! Is it really that late already! Oh I can’t believe I wasted my entire free period on this and have nothing to show for it!” She gave a frustrated stomp before sighing. Taking a few moments to collect herself, she turned to me again.
“Thank you for snapping me out of my trance sir. I’ll clean this up and get going.” She began to stuff the papers into a type of purse before I held up my hand.
“Hold on a moment, you looked rather frustrated. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Oh really that won’t be necessary. I’m sure you have enough of a workload already.” I shook my head. It wasn’t just the fact I wanted to talk to her about Sunset, I really didn’t want to leave her upset like this.
“Rarity I know I’m new here, but I’m still a teacher. If there is anything I can help you with, I would like you to ask. I know it sounds corny, but my top priority is to help my students.” I flashed her the most genuine smile I could. She stopped, seeming to consider it for a moment, her hand fiddling with the papers in her purse.
“If you really don’t want to, I can respect that, just give it some thought okay?” I don’t know how silly it looked, but I actually gave her a slight bow. Whatever she thought of it, I guess it broke the ice enough as she pulled the pages back out.
“Well, I suppose asking the English teacher would make sense.” With a breath she lifted her head up to look me in the eyes. “You see-”
Grooooooooowl!! Went my still empty stomach, cutting her off. She stood there stunned before her own tummy made a much similar noise. It had to be my imagination, but I swear it was somehow soft and feminine coming from her. We stood there staring at each other in embarrassment, before I managed to find my voice.
“Perhaps we should continue this after acquiring something to eat?” She nodded in response.
* *
“So what has you down? You looked really troubled when I caught a glance of you in the classroom.” We had since hit up the school canteen for a couple of sandwiches and sodas and had retired to my classroom, as it was the most private place I could think of for a talk.
When we had gone to order our food, I had offered to buy Rarity her meal as a means to cheer her up. She tried to protest, but I told her it was a teacher's duty to look after their students. She still hesitated a moment, but decided to give in. Sadly being a teacher didn’t net me any sort of discount, so it’s a good thing I had a spare twenty for just such an emergency. Ugh, I had only gotten one pay check so far, and it had all been spent on moving in to my mother’s old home. I hoped I still had enough to buy groceries till my next pay check.
“Well you see, as you may know I’m part of the Rainbooms band that plays during certain events.” Rarity was saying as she laid out the papers. Having them up close like this, I could now see they were music sheets. I could still see some of the marks from previous erasings. She was certainly putting a lot of work into this.
“Cheerilee mentioned your band once.” I said looking the pages over. “So what’s the issue? Are some of your songs being rejected for performance?” Rarity shook her head.
“Oh it’s not that, these aren’t actually songs. That’s sort of the problem…” Taking a bite of my cuban, I tried to decipher what she was saying. Since I wasn’t a music teacher the notes didn’t really mean much to me, but I did get the odd feeling something was off about them. She said asking the English teacher on this problem would make sense right? So how did that fit into all this? With a sudden jolt, I got an idea of what might be wrong.
“You’re having problems coming up with lyrics aren’t you?” She actually looked relieved I had figured it out.
“Yes! That’s exactly it!” She said with excitement as she nibbled away on her own tuna sandwich. I found it amusing how she was so careful not to drip any excess tuna anywhere. “I really wanted to write at least one song for the band, but it appears I’m just abysmal at coming up with rhymes! I mean look at this line! I love wearing this snuggly coat, so please come join me for a rootbeer float? It’s terrible! I’m just so terrible at this!”
Her voice raised to an odd pitch as she screamed that. I was half tempted to ask her if she had ever considered joining the drama club.
“Well what kind of song are you trying to write?” She shuffled in her seat.
“Oh I don’t know, just a song we can have fun playing really! Oh Sweetie Belle made this look so easy! Why can’t I do this?!”
“Who?”
“My younger sister, she makes up song lyrics all the time.”
“Oh, well somethings are easier for others. Like Rainbow Dash and soccer.”
“Hmm, I suppose you’re right, still I really want to do this by myself…”
“Well, how about this? Perhaps if you focused on something you liked?” I racked my brain trying to see if I could recall anything about her as a person. It’s not like I was very close to any of my students, being their teacher it was just kind of accepted that I did my thing, and they theirs.
“I’d love to deary, really I would, but I’ve seen what happens when Rainbow Dash does that, and her song is… let’s just say it really highlights her and no one else.” I grimaced.
“Ouch, okay but that’s Rainbow, and I know enough about her to know that she can become a bit…”
“Full of herself?” Rarity added helpfully. I let out a small cough.
“I was going to say overzealous, but I think you see the point I’m trying to make. You aren’t Rainbow Dash. I’d say trying to come up with a song that makes you happy could be a good step to take. Who knows? Maybe after it’s done you can show it to your band mates and they can help you improve it?”
I guess she was taking that into consideration, because she got really quiet right now. Oh well, it allowed me to finish my own sandwich. As I watched her sit there I couldn’t help but be impressed by the amount of time and effort she had to have gone into for her hair and outfit. She was going to be quite the heartbreaker when she grew up. Then again, for high school boys, perhaps she already was. It almost made me wish I was a good fifteen years younger. Bleh, probably best to stop thinking like that, it’s probably considered creepy. Still, she was rather elegantly dressed for a girl her age. Maybe that was the key to this problem?
“Perhaps something about fashion? You certainly seem to have a flair for it.” She blushed.
“Well it is something I’m rather fond of.” She adjusted the hem of her skirt. “I must say that you-” she looked over my outfit, most likely really seeing it for the first time, trying to suppress a scowl, “-are um, rather creative.” I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Trust me I know how I look, but it’s the best I can do at the moment.” Her expression softened.
“Well I didn’t want to say anything, but it could use a bit of work. Perhaps replace…”
“Everything?” I grinned, that got her to smile as well.
“Was I really so obvious with my reaction?” I nodded.
“Don’t feel bad. I’m honestly surprised I haven’t been called out on it by a fellow teacher.”
“Well you did take the time to iron it, that certainly stands for something.” Mentally I patted myself on the back. Score one for deciding to iron!
“Though please don’t take this the wrong way, but it’d work a lot better if you were um, clean shaven.” And we are back down to zero. Seriously I’m going to have to shave before bed from now on.
“Y-yeah, I’ll work on that.” Rubbing a hand absently on my chin I cursed just how fast growing this stuff was. I swear it felt twice as thick as it did this morning.
“Oh my, forgive me Mr. Evening I didn’t mean to sound insulting.” Her demeanor slipped back into a more professional state after I had gotten her to open up a little. Well we were teacher and student. Hopefully one of her friends might take notice and be able to help her more closely than I could.
“It’s fine, I’m just glad I could help you Miss Rarity. I wish you luck in coming up with a song that’s not only fun to play, but makes you happy personally.” She gave me another smile as she began to pack up her stuff, preparing to get to her next period before the end of lunch bell rang.
“I’m sure I’ll come up with something eventually now that I have a better handle on what to focus on. Thank you very much Mr. Evening.” I waved my hand.
“Just being a teacher.”
“Well if it’s any consolation, I believe you are a fine one.” I couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride at that comment. Maybe I could pull this job off after all. I just hoped Principal Celestia thought so.
“Still it’ll likely take a lot more work.” She sighed. “Writing music certainly isn’t as easy as making outfits.”
“Can’t say I know a vast amount of fashion.” I said tugging at my jacket, and earning a flustered look from her, “I’ll take your word for it though. I’m guessing there is more to it than just looking pretty and walking down a catwalk.”
“I prefer the term runway myself, but yes there is actually quite a bit of work that goes into it. The outfits have to be fresh, and designed to impress and awe the crowd. As for the model he or she has to make sure they step with just the right amount of speed and grace, all while dozens of eyes judge their every move. Watching like vultures for any slip up!”
“Ouch, sounds like high school.” That earned a laugh.
“I suppose it does sometimes. I swear it almost seems life is like one big-” She stopped suddenly, her eyes staring into nothingness before they lit up like a Christmas tree. “IDEAAAAA!”
“What now?” I said completely confused. She didn’t stop to explain.
“Oh it’s perfect! Why didn’t I think of it before! I must get to work right away! Thank you Mr. Evening! Thank you!” She screamed before bolting out the door and down the hall.
“Um, you’re welcome?” I said to the empty classroom. Sunset sure had a colorful set of friends. I nearly facepalmed when I thought that. Sunset! Bah, I had completely forgotten to ask Rarity about those stupid rumors. Oh well, while I’m not sure what I did, it looked like it helped Rarity out of her funk. At least it was time well spent.
* *
I stretched my arms while walking down the hall. What a day that had been! It figures I’d have a couple of jokers in my last two classes trying to start trouble. Oh well, who had ever heard of a perfect class of students? The only thing that really bothered me, was I still hadn’t had a chance to talk to Sunset. Well if her friends were like Rarity, I’m sure she’d be just fine. They could probably help her better than I ever could.
As I exited the building, I could see Rainbow Dash and the rest of her friends hanging out by the front statue. I think it was their hang out spot, why there of all places? I was still learning all the students names, so I only recognized a few faces. Besides Rainbow Dash I knew Applejack and Sunset Shimmer. There was a pinked haired girl with them who I remember being rather shy the one other time I saw her. The only other girl with them was another pink haired girl, though hers was a much darker pink, who was seemingly eating an entire box of cupcakes by herself. I wonder if this was the infamous Pinkie I kept hearing about?
I wonder why I didn’t see Rarity with them? Guess she had gotten too caught up in that song. Man, Sunset was right there. I could easily just walk right up and pull her aside to talk, except I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. Seeing her standing there talking and laughing, I just didn’t want to ruin that moment. I could always try again tomorrow.
Without realizing it, I found I had been staring at them for a lot longer than I had really meant to. Even when I was in high school I had never gotten that. Sure I had the occasional friend here and there, but never a nice group like this. It must be nice, heck I didn’t doubt for a moment they had something fun planned for later. What I wouldn’t give to have that now. Unfortunately I was still the new guy in a sense, and only really talked to Cheerilee from time to time. I tried asking her out as a friend, but she had to decline.
Well no sense in mulling over it, I had tons of boxes at home that needed unpacking. Perhaps I’d put on a movie while I worked? No, I’d probably end up just watching it again like I had the last two nights.
“Mr. Evening?” A familiar voice called from behind me. Turning around I was rather surprised to see Principal Celestia walking straight toward me. Aw crap,I hadn’t screwed something up had I?
“Y-Yes Principal?” I squeaked, mentally scolding myself for that. She was kind enough to give me the job. Surely she wouldn’t just outright fire me without at least a warning first right?
“I’m glad I caught you!” She said with a smile. Well that put me a bit more at ease. She wasn’t the easiest person to read, but she was usually rather straightforward with her intentions.
“Are you free for the next hour? I was hoping I could invite you for a drink so we could talk.” My heart actually skipped a beat. S-she wanted to invite me to a drink? Me!? How could I turn that down!
“I-I was just on my way home, but I don’t have any plans.” I managed to stumble out. The relief I saw on her face made my breath catch.
“Excellent! I’ve been hoping to set something up like this all week! Come I know the perfect place. It’s not too far, so we can walk.” Nodding I simply followed along like a lost puppy. I couldn’t believe this! I’d get to spend the afternoon with such a beautiful woman like her? What luck!
Again I had to mentally scold myself. As amazing as she looked, I had to remember this was my boss. Besides, she only said she wanted to talk. This could mean anything really, though it didn’t hurt to dream right?
Twenty minutes later found me tenderly sipping a cup of cocoa in a cake house, a small piece of chocolate fudge upon my plate. I was beginning to get nervous, was this the sort of place you went to just to talk? More and more this was feeling like a date! Then again…
I could only stare in amazement at the several different types of cake in front of Celestia. Did she just grab one of everything? She couldn’t possible eat all that could she? Or was she related to Pinkie Pie in someway? I’m pretty sure she didn’t have a daughter.
“Mmmm, that’s wonderful! Are you sure you don’t want to try a cup?” She asked sipping a cup of what I believe she called Lemon earl grey.
“N-No thanks, I’m enjoying my coco.” I blew on my own beverage some more, waiting for it to cool down. Truth was I hated tea, but I was terrified of telling her that. While waiting to see if she’d start the conversation, my eyes wandered around the shop. Huh, the place was oddly empty with only the occasional couple tucked away in a corner. As for us, we were more near the center, though far enough away that people wouldn’t hear our conversation. Guess this was just a business chat after all.
“So, Mr. Evening. Tell me. What rumors have you heard?” I spit out my drink, having finally been able to cool it enough. That was rather out of the blue. I wonder why she was bringing this up now? Was it really just because I was trying to talk to Sunset today? She certainly didn’t look like she was joking with me. I better not lie.
“Nothing much. Just that ‘spooky things tend to happy around here’ Stuff like zombie students and soul sucking music. Your basic nonsense.” I took a bite of my fudge. Wow! That was good! “The only rumors that really concern me are the ones about Sunset.”
“I see.” She said placing her cup back upon its saucer. For some reason that response concerned me. I mean, I figured she’d laugh off the first two. Instead she looked even more serious than before. It had to be about Sunset. Most of the rumors always came back to her. Why?
Without warning, her eyes bore into my own, catching me off guard. All I could do was stare back at her, shivers running down my spine. I felt whatever she said next would be something heavy.
“Evening do you believe in magic?”
The entire world seemed to stop as those words sunk into my mind. I stared at her, my mouth hung open, but no she didn’t appear to be joking. Either she was seriously asking me that, or she had the best poker face I’d ever seen.
“Magic? As in abracadabra and all that? Rabbits out of hats?” She shook her head.
“No I mean real magic. Spells, mystical creatures. Would you say any of that could be real?” I must have sat there for a good ten minutes before I rolled my eyes.
“...Am I on candid camera?” I asked looking around. “You’re not going to tell me I’ll always have a friend wearing big red shoes are you?” I smiled, but it quickly faded when I saw that Celestia’s own expression remained stone set. She really wasn’t joking around.
“I… are you serious?” Again she nodded.
“Very, and I expect an honest answer if you would.” She sipped her drink again, her posture reminding me of mafia bosses from the movies. Now I was definitely confused, and a little worried.
“Well, it’s not that I don’t believe in it, but come on! Magic? If it does exist, it has got to be one of the rarest, most elusive things out there.”
“You would think so.” She replied, finishing her cup of tea. “And what if you saw it with your own eyes? What would you do?” I threw my hands up in the air, I couldn’t believe this line of questioning.
“I don’t know! Freak out? I’d like to know what this is all about please. If this is some elaborate way of saying I’m not working out-”
“Oh it’s not that! In fact, I feel you’re working out perfectly!” She said with a sudden smile. It was like a switch was flipped and she had gone from serious interrogator, to a kind mother.
“R-really?” Honestly I was stunned. I wasn’t use to being praised like this, and twice in one day.
“Very, I saw you helping Rarity earlier with some project during lunch break. You’re just the kind of person I want to see working here.” I shuffled in my seat. None of this was making any sense. She was apparently happy with the job I was doing, but takes me out to ask about magic?
“How has your move been?” She asked suddenly, once more catching me off guard.
“Oh… I’ve managed to get it all to the house.” My expression immediately sullened. There was no way Celestia didn’t notice.
“Having trouble unpacking? I can see if any of the teachers can aid you in that.” I quickly shook my head.
“No, no! I’ll be fine, it’s nothing I can’t handle I just…”
“I understand. It’s a difficult situation that you’re in. That’s why we’re here Evening Storm. I want to make sure you fit in, and by extension of that I need to know you can handle the special… requirements of this job.” I almost scoffed.
“Like believing in magic?” That was probably said a bit more sarcastically then I meant, but if she noticed she paid it no mind. Wait a minute didn’t she have a lot more cake than that just a few minutes ago? Maybe that’s the magic she was talking about. The fact so many could eat enough to feed an entire swim team and not gain a pound.
“Mr. Evening, please understand that I am most sincere when I say that the circumstances involved with some incidents you’ve heard in the past are a lot stranger than the ‘official’ reports say.” Once more she became the strict business woman from earlier. Tired of being led on like this, I decided it was time to get to the point.
“Like...what?” A sigh escaped her lips as she placed her fork down upon her plate, the last of her cakes now gone. Seriously how did she do that?
“It’s a bit hard to explain. I might be able to arrange something with the girls, though I’d hate to use them in such a way.”
“Girls? What girls?” My mind immediately thought of Sunset and her friends. The reason for the rumors had to be connected, I just needed to know how and why.
“Let’s just say some of our students would be ideal in helping me get my point across, it’s just I don’t really enjoy having to make such a request. If only-” She paused mid sentence, her gaze turning toward the door. Whatever it was she noticed, I did not. A grin once more crept upon her face.
“Well,, it looks like an opportunity just popped up. Would you mind accompanying me outside?” Stunned I simply nodded my head and followed her out. For a moment I worried about our bill, but the owners simply nodded at Celestia. What did she have a tab here?
Stepping out onto the road, I could see a few students from our school milling about. Far off to my right on the other side of the road was a student named Derpy happily eating a muffin by a muffin stand. (This town had muffin stands?) Elsewhere were a few other students I recognized but didn’t know the names of. I did know the couple near Derpy were really good friends. I think one was called Sweetie Drops? Heck the only reason I knew Derpy’s name was because she kinda stood out, though I wouldn’t say in a bad way, she was just a little clumsy.
“So uh… what am I looking for?” I asked scanning the road. Seriously everything looked normal. Celestia just smiled and pointed to the end of the street where a teenage girl with purple hair was just coming into view, singing and dancing as she walked. How in the world did Celestia notice her while still in the shop? Squinting, I could just make out the fuschia dress she was wearing. It was decorated with diamond and musical note patterns. Given her style, and hair color, I quickly figure out who it was.
“Rarity?” Celestia nodded.
“Seems the talk you two had really inspired her. However I want you to take a closer look at her. Notice anything different?”
“You mean besides the dress?” With a smile she just waved her arm in Rarity's direction. With a sigh I turned my attention back to the songstress. She had a pretty nice voice for it actually, but what was different? Okay yeah the dress was rather wild, but it kinda seemed to fit her. Her hair wasn’t much different. I really couldn’t see… wait was that music? How was she doing that? I couldn’t see anything on her that could be making it, especially not that loudly. Trying to listen I was just able to hear the lyrics.
“Life is a runway! Listen here’s what it’s all about! I’ll tell you life is a runway!” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. So that’s what she meant by ‘idea’ earlier. Well I I’m glad I could help. I still didn’t get what Celestia was talking about tho-
I blinked. Then I blinked again and rubbed my eyes. I couldn't’ have just seen that. It’s impossible right?
Rarity was still walking toward us down the road like nothing had happened, except now her hair extended out into some sort of pony tail, and even weirder, a pair of pony ears adorned her head. One moment she was normal, and then these weird white sparkles flashed, and behold, ears and a tail.
“W-what?” I managed to stammer, turning back to Celestia. Her grin just widened.
“These would be some of those special requirements I was talking about.”
“I-It’s a trick right? It’s got to be!”
“Just keep watching, I have a feeling this isn’t over.” Shaking my head in disbelief I went back to watching the show of Rarity happily singing her new song as a few of the other students took notice. To my confusion I didn’t see them reacting to her new found ears or tail in the slightest. It was like they saw this kind of stuff every other tuesday! What kind of place was this? Maybe my tea had been spiked. I didn’t really peg Celestia to be that kind of woman, but how else could I explain this?
Just as I was coming to accept that I had probably been drugged, Rarity switched things up, thrusting her hands toward Derpy while firing a wave of the white sparkles at her. In a flash Derpy’s entire outfit and hair style had changed. In addition to her hair looking a lot more wild, red highlights adorned it, giving it this firely look. The outfit was even stranger. Red gloves, white black striped pants, and a black shirt with white arrows on it. One pointing up, the other down. I think even her footwear had changed, at least I don’t remember her having boots on.
Rarity seemed just as surprised as both Derpy and I at the transformation. Though unlike myself, who was feeling a bit faint from all this, Derpy simply smiled and started to follow Rarity as they walked. As for the singer herself, she looked in amazement at her own two hands before grinning even more and thrusting them at who I think was Cheerilee.
I was hard to tell as I only saw her for a moment before a teenage girl with her hair in two ponytails began to follow Rarity as well. What was once a brown dress vest and large green skirt with flower patterns, was now a cute white blouse along with a much shorter green skirt that was now only patterned with small bubbles.
As they got closer, Rarity shot her sparkle wave at two more girls, changing their outfits and hair as well, the two friends I recognized from earlier. The one I believe was Sweetie Drops, or was it Bon Bon? She now supported a purple dress with a blue frill over the skirt part. Her hair had gone from being modestly combed, to being a masterpiece of curls. She looked simply amazing. As for the friend with green hair, her’s had gone from being wild to perfectly combed, which oddly added something nice to her image. Her top was similar to her friends, though her skirt was orange and a lot less poofy.
“I’m...I’m not drugged am I?” That actually earned me a giggle from Celestia. It was an amazing sound to hear. I only wish I wasn’t having the foundations of my world shaken so I might actually enjoy it.
“No I’m afraid not. What you see is very real. I’ll tell you more about it in my office if you’d like. It’s… a bit of a long story.”
“I-I think that might be best.” I felt a pat on the back as Celestia stepped away from me.
“You’re handling it a lot better than I thought if it’s any consolation. Please try and relax. The occurrences around here are a bit odd yes, but I assure you, there’s nothing to worry about Rarity’s little show here.”
I could barely nod my head as I watched Rarity leading the group of girls down the street, singing all the while. She finally caught notice of me and gave a short wave. Too stunned to stop myself I gave one back, as another student from one of my classes began to walk between us. Roseluck I think was her name? With a bit of a smirk I saw Rarity zero in on her.
“You can be the girl that you want to be! With a little love and some accessories!” She sang, thrusting her hands out once more, the white sparkles flew toward Roseluck who at that very moment, saw a penny and ducked to pick it up. Because of the slight elevation on Rarity’s side of the street, the sparkles went right over Roseluck, impacting me directly in the face. I had just enough time to see the look of horror on Rarity’s face before my world went white.
It felt like I was in a void, my body non existent. I couldn’t even turn my head or hear any sort of sound. About the only thing I could feel was a strange warmth all over. It actually felt kinda nice. I’m not sure how long I was like that, but just as suddenly as I was there, did I realize I was once again standing on the side of the road, everyone looking at me as if I’d grown a second head.
“Oh no! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Rarity was screaming as she ran up to me. “I didn’t, I never thought. Oh darling are you alright?” She and Celestia were both by my side, looking me over with worry. Trying to ignore how magic was real aside, what was the problem? Whatever that was just changed your outfit and hair style right? Even Celestia said it was harmless. I tried to wave them away.
“Rarity I’m-” I immediately shut my mouth. That wasn’t my voice. That was no where near what my voice was suppose to sound like. It was like I had swallowed helium almost. Was that a side effect of the dust? The second thing I noticed was my arm and hand. For one, I no longer had a sleeve, but for two, there was something really off about my arm. Wait was I wearing nail polish? Ugh, I’m in a dress aren’t I? Well it’s no wonder everyone was looking at me weird- Wait, when did Rarity get as tall as me?
Looking over to Celestia I nearly gasped. Where I was once eye level with her, she now stood at least a foot and a half taller! How could I have shrunk!? Slowly the memory of Cheerilee looking like a teen after the sparkles floated back into my mind. I was getting a real bad feeling about all this.
“W-what happened?” I winced at my new voice. It sounded almost like Rarity’s. That only made me feel worse. “Why am I so small? Why does my voice sound so weird!?”
“Now Mr. Evening, please calm down.” Celestia said, her voice once more stren and commanding. “We’ll head to my office to discuss this recent turn of events.” While I could tell Celestia was used to having to take control of situations with her voice, I could still hear the slight shakiness of her tone, which didn’t help my rising panic.
“What event? What are you talking about?” The longer I stood there, the more I began to notice just how off everything felt. First of all my suit had not only lost its sleeves, but suddenly felt a lot smaller on my body. Second of all, my pants had vanished if the cold air against my legs meant anything. There was also an added weight upon my head, though I wasn’t wearing any sort of hat. Something long and silky brushed against my back and shoulders in the breeze. Lastly my entire center of gravity felt weird, including a rather strange weight in my chest area.
“I-It’s nothing to get worked up over deary, just, don’t look down, or in the window at your reflection.”
“W-what do you mean?” With each passing moment I felt a knot forming in my stomach. There was also something about the way she was addressing me. “Why are you talking to me so casually now? What am I going to see in my-” Unable to help myself I turned toward the window, the light conveniently just right to show a clear reflection.
For the second time that day, I felt my world grind to a halt.
Standing there, looking very scared and confused was a teenage girl with long black hair and rather striking purple eyes. She wore a long black dress that looked a bit like one of my tank tops for the top, except it turned into a frilly skirt as it reached her hips. Long purple stockings ran up each one of her legs, which both set into a pair of black shoes with a single purple flower decoration set in their centers. Finally, one of the same purple flowers, what I finally recognized as a lily, adorned a single hair clip in her hair.
“I-Is that?” I asked, already knowing the answer as the girl in the reflection mirrored me exactly.
“I-I’m afraid so darling…” Rarity said placing her hands on my shaking shoulders. “When the spell hit you, it sorta… turned you into a teenage girl…”
“O-Oh…” I said, before my body slumped backward, the world going dark.
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Ideas Huh, well How about Rarity using him as a fashion model to try on different outfits and give make overs, or seeing all of rarity's friends try to make her look in their own image.
Maybe attempting to teach a class while being the subject of constant distraction by the students?
I think this would be awesome if the effects were permanent and he/she was drafted into the rainbooms as their sound girl or fashion assistant or something
How about she befriends the others, and gets a second chance at life as a teenage girl? Oh, and Rarity takes her on a shopping montage!
Pretty good so far. I look forward to more.
Well, wonder if the spell could end up causing something Rarity didn't expect. The spell is supposed to turn them into the 'girl that you want to be'. Well, for girls, that's fine. But for guys, that could be considered as the type of girl that they'd want to date. And that could have a number of effects on her psyche, including the liking of boys.
Though, unsure what Evening Storm's skin color is. Then again, I mostly skimmed this to see if it'd look interesting, which it does.
Oh, and perhaps another side effect from the spell is as he saw, Cheerilee becoming younger, despite still dating Big Mac. Likely not noticing she got younger, despite re-invigorating her hormones via puberty.
Oh, and if it did turn her into her 'ideal girl to date'... that can be a big problem, considering how male fantasies can be. And she could really be brought to tears with some of the things she can't help thinking on. Perhaps Pinkie's optimism can help her adjust and get used to it, enjoying the bright sides that come with the bad.
With this in mind, since Evening Storm is your character, what do you think would be some of his fantasies for girls to love? Such stereotypes would likely have massive downsides. Perhaps even having larger than NORMAL breasts or something could be one, since she only saw a brief glimpse. However, such stereotypes do come with good sides. But, the bad sides are often looked at so heavily that the good aspects are often ignored. Pinkie, with her creative nature, would likely be just the one to help her find such. Fluttershy as well too. That is, if you do such. (I'm fairly creative in mind myself, as my blogs all show with the ideas posted in them. I wouldn't mind helping brainstorm the good sides to things for the very terrible stereotypes such a transformation could inflict, if that is something you consider happening. You did say this wouldn't have clop. But, doesn't mean there can't be moments where the girls help prevent her from making big mistakes.)
Well that's going to make teaching awkward, let alone accessing his/her bank accounts without being accused of identity theft @_@
And wait, what about Cheerilee? She got turned into a teen as well.
Dealing with that could make for some interesting chapters.
Oh, and for the suggestions I made... well, if the spell made him into the 'girl that you want to be' and it chose such based off of fantasies... well the girls would likely be mad at some of the stereotypes he gets applies to herself, only for her to say: "Sure, I had fantasies, but I couldn't morally treat others like that. It's one thing to enjoy such things. It's another entirely to just ignore the fact that even such stereotypes are people too. I couldn't forgive myself if I ignored the feelings and dreams of others in real life." Though, perhaps not as complex of words, depending on the fantasies mentioned. But, being so morally caring and putting the thoughts of others above his own fantasies would likely ease any bad feelings if that occurred. Doesn't mean it wouldn't be any easier for her though, becoming such stereotypes.
As someone who absolutely adores stories with gender switching (MtF or FtM, I don't mind either way), I'm eagerly looking forward to move!
I really just want to see the young miss Evening learn friendship that Mr. Evening never had the chance to experience. With a little help from Rarity and Sunset, that is.
Oh, and noticed something. It's 'principal', not 'principle', for Celestia. The two words are similar, so I can see why the mistake. Kinda like 'there' and 'their'.
Oh, and I do hope one of the problems she has is finding out she's quite attracted to boys now that she's a girl.
Another grammar error I noticed. You put 'were their' when you mean 'were there'. Common mistake with those words. 'their', 'they're', and 'there' are commonly misused. XD 'their' is possessive, as if something was 'theirs'.
She stopping, seeming to consider it for a moment, her hand fiddling with the papers in her purse.
I think you mean 'She stopped,'
...yeah, I tend to be a nitpicky proofreader. XD
6278124
Since this is just meant to let me write a silly story, it doesn't actually have an editor. (Nor do I really want to find one for anyone about to ask) So feel free to point those out so I can fix em.
6278206 Sure.^^ I do my best to proofread friends' works and whatnot.
I have now adopted the headcanon of roseluck being a penny pincher
Oh, and in a way, at least Evening Storm(Or would that now be something like Evening Star or Evening Gale?) doesn't have to go through this alone, eh? Cheerilee was also returned to being a teen. And that means they both get to enjoy the good and bad of puberty again.
I wonder how long it will take Rarity to find out a way to reverse the spell. I wonder if the romance is going to be rarity and the teacher. Can't wait for the next update.
The idea is definitely nice, I'd love to read more of this
i really need to start looking at the authors names. hell i didn't notice this guy wrote inheritance 'til he put it into the authors note. which is sad because these guys deserve recognition and i only know four authors usernames off the top of my head. whatmustido,kudzuhaiku,okalhoun, and istaran. oh! and twistedspectrum. so sorry guy. all you authors out there please forgive me? please?
Good first chapter! Poor guy didn't even see this coming...
I had just enough time to see the look of horror on Rarity’s face before my world went white.
It felt like I was in a void, my body non existent.
Starting at 0:38 made me think of that scene.
Referring to the game gender bender...have in this case her keep falling forward cause of the added weight.
How is this lighthearted? If this last any more than a few weeks, he'll get his first period. That is dark material