1 - A Dream Come True
“Well, I suppose it’s that time of night.” I yawn and stretch my arms out over my head before shutting the lid on my laptop. When the light of the screen goes out, I’m left alone in the complete darkness of the late-night hours. It’s become a nightly ritual for me to watch a few episodes of My Little Pony before bed. They say that a nighttime routine helps you fall asleep. Well, I’ve been doing this for years and never noticed a difference, but hey, I’ll take whatever help I can get. Particularly if that help involves ponies. Tonight, I made it through the last of the current episodes once again, which would be the Season 6 finale. Tomorrow night I’ll watch Legend of Everfree then start back at Season 1.
I set my laptop on my nightstand and try to get cozy in my bed, hugging my Rarity and Twilight plushies close to my chest. I lie in silence and slowly drift off to sleep.
Sweet, peaceful silence.
“I wonder what they’ll do with Starlight next season.” Well that didn’t last long. I have this nasty habit of thinking about practically anything for hours on end when I should be sleeping. I’ve tried everything I can think of to help me fall asleep faster, but anything that works only lasts for a week or so until I adjust to it. Then I’m right back where I started. That’s how I started my habit of sleeping surrounded by adorable plushies. It’s definitely just to help me fall asleep better, not for any other reason. I promise I’m an adult. I can drink alcohol and everything! Not that I ever actually drink alcohol; I don’t really like the taste. Maybe my perfect drink is out there somewhere, but I haven’t found it yet. Until then it’s all sparkling water for me.
See, like that. This what I deal with on a nightly basis. It’s not even limited to normal types of thinking. I’ll have conversations with myself, or pretend I’m talking to someone else. Sometimes I even start thinking as if I’m narrating to some audience; like my thoughts and actions are being constantly watched. Ugh, I’m doing it right now, aren’t I? I’m such a mess.
I decide to try focusing my thoughts on Starlight. I’ve really come to like her character since her introduction. She was my favorite villain and I find that I like her even more as a struggling pupil of friendship. She’s nowhere close to stealing the coveted title of Best Pony from the ever-majestic Rarity, but she’s new and exciting so I find myself drawn to Starlight regardless. Rarity, then Twilight, then Starlight, such is the sacred order of my world.
It feels like I’m lying in darkness forever; just thinking about Starlight and occasionally nuzzling my little plush toys. It’s the usual routine and I’m unfortunately used to it at this point. At least my mind and body are accustomed to being fully functional with hardly any sleep. Hooray for adaptation!
Eventually – I’d guess about an hour later – I realize that I feel kind of uncomfortable. Tossing and turning is nothing new to me, but this is different. My whole body feels sore and achy, like I just finished running a marathon as opposed to spending a whole day sitting on the couch playing video games. The soreness starts in my muscles and somehow manages to move deep into my bones, spreading all over my body as it gets increasingly intense. I try to adjust myself in my covers, but I the pain is so intense that I can’t move. It’s so much that even opening my eyes is beyond me. And so, I lie in blackness, as my entire body feels like it’s being pulled apart while simultaneously compressed into itself. But hey, at least my mind stopped wandering all over the place! Yeah, I tend to respond to negative situations with bad humor.
My mind feels like it’s about to hit its limit when I’m surrounded by an incredibly bright, turquoise light; bright enough that its uncomfortable to look at even through my closed eyelids. Fortunately, I don’t have to for long, as I feel myself slipping out of consciousness as the pain becomes too much to bear.
My mind is the first thing to start working. None of my other senses activate, which thankfully means I’m free from that horrible pain. Unfortunately, that also means I have no idea what happened or if I’m still alive.
I have this really irrational fear of developing amnesia anytime I take a slight injury to the head. While I wouldn’t categorize what I just went through as a concussion, it certainly warrants some quick questions to make sure my brain wasn’t fried or anything. Let’s see my name is… wait… shoot. Maybe that wasn’t as irrational a fear as I thought. No matter how hard I think, I can’t seem to remember my name. Okay, no problem. Let’s just breathe and see if there’s anything else I don’t remember.
Come to think of it, I can’t even feel myself breathing. Maybe I really am dead. Focus! One thing at a time, I need to start by going over some memories.
Let’s see. I remember pretty much all of college, at least I think I do. I went to a local college because I had some friends that decided to go there; plus, it had a good music program. I started off trying to double major in music and business, but decided after two years that I really didn’t like the business classes and focused entirely on music. I graduated a year ago, with a music composition degree, only to realize after graduation that I wasn’t actually that passionate about music either. I had just convinced myself that I wanted the same thing that my friends did. Friends that have now moved away and pretty much cut off contact. Okay, maybe cut off contact isn’t the right term, I just haven’t really put in the effort to text them.
Alright, that got depressing. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts. I still seem to remember ponies, that’s good! Let’s see, I remember high school and middle school and even most of elementary school. I remember my family and my home town. It really seems like the only thing that’s gone is my name. Is that something that happens? I guess I could be forgetting more and not realizing it. Why does this have to be so confusing?
So, is this what death is? An eternity of endless, rambling thoughts? I realize I wasn’t exactly a paragon of morality but I didn’t think I deserved this much torture.
As my head swims around for a while, I gradually feel something against the side of my body. It’s… cold? Yes, this is definitely cold. Judging from how my weight seems to be oriented, I would guess that I’m lying on my side. But wait, this isn’t my bed, and I don’t feel my sheets either. Wait, where are Rarity and Twilight! No, no, focus. I can worry about the safety of my plushies later. I’m definitely not in my room, that’s more pressing at the moment. Not to mention I can’t remember my name.
“…bad… This is… going to freak…”
Hey wait, that wasn’t me. Someone else is nearby. Oh, and my hearing’s coming back! So, I guess I can cross “being dead” off the list.
“Alright, breathe. Breathe! You can figure this out. Ohhh, Twilight is not going to be happy.”
Wait, did she just say “Twilight”? I’m sure it’s just a coincidence. It can’t be THAT Twilight, right? Hold on though, that voice does sound familiar.
Alright I need to get my vision working, now! I focus all of my strength into moving. It’s slow, but I eventually feel that my efforts are working. But something about it feels off, like my body isn’t quite moving the way it’s supposed to. I’m still too disoriented to figure out more than that though.
“Oh… you’re moving! Well, at least you aren’t dead. Can you speak?” Oh boy, confirmation from the disembodied voice! I suppose that means I am, in fact, moving. Oh wait, she asked me if I can speak. I guess I haven’t tried that yet; let’s see what I’ve got!
“Uhhh…”
Beautiful! Good to know I’m still just as articulate as always. I notice something strange in my vision. After a bit of thinking, I realize that it’s light breaking through my eyelid. Wait, that means I can see now! I try opening my eyes, but am rewarded with an incredibly blurry image. It looks blue; very, very blue. Or maybe purple, it’s somewhere in between the two. Whatever color it is, it’s filling my vision and it seems flat. I guess I’m looking at the floor. I can’t make out the texture yet, but based on how cold and hard it is I’d say its stone.
“Oh, of course, you must be disoriented. You did just get pulled into another dimension.” She laughs uncomfortably at that. “Let me see, I think a little Expergis should do the trick!”
I barely have time to register how familiar that voice is when my head feels like it’s being massaged. Not by hands though, it’s kind of like water. I can feel whatever this is flowing inside of me and easing all of the tension out of my mind. All of the cloudiness that was surrounding my senses goes away and I can finally start to accurately assess the situation.
I am, in fact, lying on my side on a cold, stone floor. Something is definitely wrong with my body; it feels like my bones have been rearranged, especially in my arms and legs. When the gentle feeling around my head stops, my eyes blink open and let me look at my surroundings.
Yup, this is definitely Twilight’s Castle. The library to be precise. Those massive purple crystal pillars in the walls are pretty easy to identify. Besides those, bookshelves cover almost all the remaining wall space, leaving just enough space for some windows beneath the rounded ceiling. About all I can see out the windows is a dark and cloudy sky, so apparently, it’s nighttime. Huh, the ceiling has Twilight’s cutie mark on it. I suppose they’ve never shown the roof of the library in the show; that’s pretty cool!
“Umm… does that feel any better?”
Ah yes, my good friend the voice. Let’s take a look and see who I pleasure of addre– yup, that’s a pony. And not just any pony either; that’s most definitely Starlight Glimmer, subject of my thoughts until I was so rudely interrupted by that mind splitting pain. I just sort of stare at her for a while. How could I not? The detail is insane!
She’s standing pretty close, maybe 2 feet away, which means I can see the individual hairs that make up her fur coat. It looks very well kept; there aren’t any signs of dirt or anything else out of place. Her mane is equally fascinating. It’s so shiny and thick, like the models in shampoo commercials. I wonder if her mane and fur are naturally like that or if she needs to work to keep them this immaculate?
Moving on, her eyes are probably the most entrancing thing about her. They’re huge! The proportions are just what you’d see in the show, but it’s all enlarged to be life-sized. I feel like they show so much emotion. Like right now she’s– pretty nervous actually; like she’s struggling to get over a freak out. I see, I think I have a solid picture of what happened now.
“You… can talk now, right?” She tilts her head a bit as she asks and I nearly die of cuteness overload. Alright, breathe. She already looks stressed; we don’t need two people freaking out. I should probably answer her this time.
“Sorry, I… guess I’m a bit distracted. Thank you, I do feel quite a bit better after… whatever that was you just did.”
“Oh, it wasn’t anything big. Just a little spell for dealing with headaches and drowsiness.” She turns away awkwardly; I think she’s avoiding eye contact for some reason. I suppose I should get up and help assure her that I’m not hurt.
I attempt to stand up, but something hard on my hand slides across the ground, causing me to smack my chin on the floor. Right, my body. That was messed up. I decide its finally time to take a look at myself. I look over my shoulder and am greeted by a whole lot of pink fur, along with a body that definitely isn’t human. I had my suspicions, but this confirms it: I am now a pony.
I’m a pony, this is fantastic! Alright, let’s look and see what I’m working with here. I’d say it’s a solid guess that I’m a mare, if my pink coat is any indication; I can’t recall many pink stallions. I guess there was that cotton candy Pony, wasn’t he pink? Now that I think about it, my voice earlier was pretty feminine too. So yes, I am a mare.
But wait, now that I think about it, I don’t remember what gender I was as a human. How can’t I remember that! Actually, I can’t remember anything about my physical appearance at all. Weight, hair color, ethnicity, it’s all gone! I suppose this body feels unfamiliar, so maybe I was male? But, I mean, it is a pony body; that’s already going to be awfully unfamiliar. That’s so strange, I didn’t realize memory loss could work like that. I suppose I’ve never heard of a case where someone lost their memory and totally transformed at the same time, so what do I know?
Oh right, I was describing myself. My coat is a pale pink; going from memory, I’d place it somewhere between Cadance and Pinkie Pie. It doesn’t look like I have a cutie mark. That’s a shame, I was always curious what mine would be. I can see my tail and a bit of my mane; they seem to be made of a few different shades of a rosy red. They’re also very wavy, and just as healthy looking as Starlight’s mane. I’m almost entirely captivated by their shine when I’m pulled back to reality by some awkward rambling.
“Umm, about that. I may have summoned you here with a spell that apparently had the side effect of turning you into a pony. Sorry about that.”
“Oh umm, no worries!” I try getting up again, this time keeping my new hooves in mind. And what do you know, I actually make it to my feet! All four of them! It’s not as strange as I thought it might be. The four-leg thing is surprisingly comfortable; I suppose this body was built for it after all. The hooves aren’t totally numb like I thought they’d be either. There’s a little bit of skin in the center that gives me some feeling of connection with the ground.
Once I’m convinced my legs aren’t going to fall out from under me, I flash Starlight my best smile. I was never that confident in my smile before, but I figure I’m an adorable pony now; I should take advantage of it! I’m one of those bronies that always dreamed of being a pony in Equestria, so there’s no reason for her to feel upset about bringing me here. I don’t exactly want to explain how I’ve been watching her since she met Twilight and have been obsessed with her kind for years, but I also don’t want her thinking that I’m mad at her.
“Trust me, it’s no problem. I’m… quick to adapt!” I say, trying to sound as calming as possible. She does seem to ease up a little bit at my words. “But I am pretty curious about that happened. You said you… summoned me?”
She jumps a little bit and her eyes widen. “Oh, sorry about that. I was testing some new magic and didn’t really expect… well you to show up. I suppose I did sort of ramble that last explanation out. I’m still a little in shock about all of this.” I just smile again, not wanting to interrupt her. “There’s this… magic mirror here that connects this world to another one. I was studying how it worked when I got an idea for a new type of magic. I was a little overwhelmed with how much work I’ve had to do lately, and thought that maybe I could summon something that would help. I figured why stop at just basic summoning when I make a huge magical breakthrough in the process!
“You see, summoning magic has been around for thousands of moons, but its only ever been used to summon things from this world. After studying that mirror, I realized I might be able to copy and modify the spell that created that portal and use it to enhance a summoning spell and allow it to access another dimension.”
Huh, she must be talking about the mirror from Equestria Girls. Does that mean that those movies took place in the real world? Well, I guess I need a new perception of “real world” after today’s events. But still, how did that get covered up? I can wave away the purple-skinned people as Hasbro trying to be marketable to children, but you’d think demons terrorizing a high school would make the news. Well played government. Oh, wait, Starlight’s still talking!
“The spell shouldn’t have worked though, I realized my mistake as I was casting it. You can only summon a living being if that being is thinking of you as you cast the spell. The spell should’ve failed, since nopony would be thinking about me in another world, and yet I summoned you. That shouldn’t be possible, there’s no way you could know about me, right?”
Well there goes the option of pretending I don’t know her. I suppose I could try and lie my way out of this, but that’ll probably come back to bite me. Probably easiest just to explain this now so I don’t have to worry about slipups later. So let’s see, how to explain this in a way that doesn’t make me sound like a stalker, while also avoiding crushing her sense of reality.
“Umm, well you see we have this… this screen thing. It’s kind of like a crystal ball. It shows moving images that were, theoretically, created by other people from my world. One of the things it shows is, well, your world. It shows a lot of the adventures that go on here, mostly the ones revolving around Twilight and her friends.” She looks a little shocked when I mention Twilight. I’m really treading on thin ice here.
“We don’t really understand how it works; we always thought that the images were just stories that other people made up. We didn’t think that they showed real places.”
That’s the best I’ve got! I watch her eyes and try to read her reaction, but she just sits in silence absorbing the information. “I think I should probably go get Twilight.” Yeah, she still looks pretty confused. I suppose that’s fair, I’d be pretty freaked out to learn that some otherworldly being had been watching me. “Can you just… wait here for a bit? I’ll be right back.”
Starlight walks out of the library, still trying to process everything I said. She closes the door behind her (with magic!) and then I’m alone with my new pony body. I look around and try to find a mirror or something so I can properly observe my new, adorable form. I suppose I haven’t really seen if I’m adorable or not yet, but I’m a pony now, I must be! Right? Shoot, I may have just jinxed myself. Let’s just focus on finding a mirror. And it just so happens that a full body one is propped up against a wall! That’s convenient! Except it’s on the wall farthest from me. Less convenient. I suppose now is as good a time as any to figure out this whole walking thing.
I actually grew up owning horses, although I was far too indoors-y to go out and do anything with them. But I have seen a lot of them; between that and my years of brony knowledge I should be able to remember a basic walk cycle. Let’s see, I’m pretty sure I start with a front hoof; let’s go with front left. I lift my leg up and place it down in front of me. Nothing blows up; one down! Next is… back right? I repeat the process very carefully and achieve another success. This is working, I can do this. Now front right! I lift my leg and suddenly my entire body collapses, leaving me with my face to the floor yet again.
Now that I think about it, that doesn’t hurt quite as much as I think it should. I give my face and arm –err– front leg an experimental poke and realize that they do seem a little squishier than they should. It doesn’t feel like fat; it’s more like the muscle itself is soft. It actually kind of has the same sort of density as stuffing. Wait, ponies aren’t animated stuffed animals, right? This is definitely going to require some research later.
Right now, I need to try and remember what caused me to fall in the first place. I’m pretty sure that was the correct hoof; I think I just forgot to take my weight off of it first. Maybe I need to sway a bit more as I move, to help shift my weight around. Let’s try this again!
I actually manage to make a full cycle this time! It doesn’t take too long before I get into the pattern and it starts feeling more natural. My swaying back and forth causes my tail to swing behind me as I walk; it’s kind of hypnotic. Every so often it brushes up against my back legs and reminds me of how silky it feels.
I wonder if I can move it? I pause my walking and look over my –still adorable– pink backside to observe my tail. It’s kind of weird seeing your body extending behind you like this; I give my butt a little wiggle to confirm that it’s attached and end up giggling to myself. I am definitely cute, it would take a pretty crazy face to ruin this body.
Wow, I’m really asking for it now, I seriously hope there’s nothing wrong with my face.
I return my focus to my tail and try to feel where it connects to my body. I recall a meditation exercise that I used to do where you close your eyes and focus the energy within your body into a specific part of yourself. Yes, I do know some basics of meditation. It’s about the only way I can make my head shut up. I focus as best as I can and imagine where I think my tail connects to my body. I believe I can sense it right at the end of my spine, or rather, where my spine would’ve ended as a human. Now I think it just continues into my tail.
I imagine my tail flicking upwards and try to emulate that with my muscles. Before I know it, I’m feeling air rush past my tail as it springs into the air and falls back into place. I did it; it actually worked! Next I flick my tail left and right, just to make sure I have all of the basic movements down. It feels so cool; I can feel every bit of it against the wind, even though I only have direct control of a small part of it. Part of me is really tempted to try reaching back to pet it, but I resist the urge and return my focus to the mirror. I’m pretty much there, but the mirror isn’t facing towards me so I need to walk around it before I can see myself. When I do, I’m relieved to see that my face is perfectly normal.
I kind of expected myself to lose it when I saw my face, but I think more than anything I’m entranced. Staring back at me in the mirror is an adorable pink and red pony with an equally adorable face. I tilt my head, blink my eyes, brush a hoof through my mane. Seeing that pony move with me is surreal. Up until now I was caught up in all the excitement, but watching this really makes me feel how real this is. I am actually a pony; hooves, tail and everything. It really is amazing.
Oh… right, I should probably pay attention to the details. I seem to have the average body and head shape that you see in the show; I might be just a tad thinner, but it’s hard to tell if that’s accurate having only seen one other real pony. My eyes are huge, but not quite as large as Starlight’s; I think it’s because my eyelids naturally sit a tad lower than hers. They make me look somewhat tired, which I suppose makes sense with my personality. It’d be hard to pick up just based on my thoughts, but the whole “hyperactive” thing doesn’t really make it out of my head. I’m normally pretty lethargic; I don’t speak very often and I act even less. I suppose that’s just because I burn so much of my energy with my relentless stream of thoughts that I don’t have any left to actually act.
Even with my droopy eyelids, my eyes still seem surreally large and emotive. I have so much more control over them than I’m used to; it’ll be hard to hide emotions with eyes this big. The color is incredibly beautiful too. They’re a deep blue, like sapphires; it really stands out in contrast to my largely pink and red color scheme.
I sit there in front of the mirror for a while, entranced by my own eyes. I feel like Flutterbat using the stare on herself. Eventually though I pull my eyes away and move around to the rest of my face. I can’t quite decide if my muzzle is small or large. It certainly seems big, especially looking down at it from the bottom of my vision, but it isn’t that large compared to the rest of my head.
My mane is gorgeous; it has the same quality that Starlight’s did that makes it look almost unrealistically full. I can just imagine it blowing dramatically in the wind in some fancy romance movie. Its parted to my right and freely falls over both of my shoulders. Its straight until it nears the end, where it starts to wave back and forth. Some parts almost look like they’re about to curl into full circles but they never quite make it, at least as far as my initial observation gets. It’s just… so beautiful. I wonder how I rank by pony standards? I’m probably going to think that every pony is beautiful and adorable, but I’m curious what pony standards of beauty are like.
Oh! Pushing through my mane from my forehead is a little spiral horn, the same shade of pink as my fur. So, I’m a unicorn! I even get to be my favorite of the pony tribes, could this day get any better? Okay, I suppose losing all knowledge of my old appearance isn’t exactly “best day ever” material. Still though, if we’re ranking days on a point system, forgetting my appearance is like negative fifty points, and traveling to Equestria and becoming a Unicorn is easily a thousand, so I’m still netting positive.
I barely manage to turn to my side to observe myself further when I notice the door swing open (its magic again!) and Starlight returns, followed by the star of the show herself, Twilight Sparkle. She’s a little bit taller than Starlight, which makes sense, what with the whole alicorn thing. I think Twilight’s face is a little rounder too. I want to say Twilight’s face looks younger than Starlight’s, but I don’t know enough about the fine details of pony anatomy to say for sure if that’s what it is. She’s walking directly towards me, so I can’t really see the details on her wings.
“So, you’re Starlight’s… guest. She said she summoned you from another world?” Oh wow, she sounds just like she does in the show! This is so surreal. I am officially back to overloading on excitement.
“Umm… yeah. I mean, I think so. I don’t really understand it much.”
“Right. So, you’ve heard of Starlight in your world then? She told me about your… magic screen.” Ouch, straight to the point; she sounds very suspicious. It just dawned on me that I’m standing in front two of the most powerful unicorns in this world, easily capable of blasting me into dust, and they currently think I’m some sort of alien voyeur. This may not be the best situation. “How does it work exactly?”
Alright, here we go. Time to convince them I’m a decent human being! Er… pony being. “Well, I always thought that it was kind of like a novel, expect with moving pictures and sound. In theory, somebody creates these images and then mass produces them. Most people have these screens that we can watch these images on.”
“And these images are of Starlight? Or is it all of us?”
“Well, there’s a lot of images. The images that are of you are a really small amount of the grand total; a lot of people have probably never heard of your images.” I really want to avoid mentioning the whole, obsessive fandom thing for as long as I can here. “But the images that do involve ponies mostly revolve around… well, you.” I say, nodding to Twilight. “You and your friends to be specific. They started with you moving to Ponyville and defeating Nightmare Moon. They didn’t show Starlight until you met her.”
Twilight definitely seems shocked at that. It takes a bit for her to gather her thoughts into her next question. I notice that Starlight doesn’t really seem to be speaking; she’s looking at the ground. I think she’s listening but doesn’t seem up for talking. I wonder if Twilight was mad at her? It seems like Twilight was usually pretty gentle whenever Starlight did something wrong, so it can’t be too bad.
“How much do they show? You said it started with me coming to Ponyville, but that was over two years ago. Have you seen all of that?” Oh no, she looks scared now. Poor thing probably thinks she has an entire planet watching her when she sleeps!
“No, the images aren’t nearly that long. They tend to focus on the more exciting moments, usually leading up to someone learning a lesson in friendship. If it doesn’t relate to anything like that, then it doesn’t show up. I think if you stuck all of the images together they would only make up maybe… 2 days total?” She relaxes her shoulder a little bit, but I can still see a suspicious look in her eye.
“I see. That’s certainly interesting, and quite concerning. I’ll have to mention it to Princess Celestia and see what she thinks.” She looks me in the eyes and smiles a bit. It looks a little forced, but she’s putting on the effort to at least appear comfortable, it’s a good sign! “It doesn’t sound like you were intentionally watching us, so I think I can trust you.” I suppose given the circumstances, this is about the most I could expect.
“Well, now that that’s out of the way, you’d probably like to know more about your situation. Am I correct in guessing that you weren’t a pony before?”
“Yes, that’s right, I was a human.”
Twilight turns her head to the side, the gears visibly turning in her head. “Human… I think that’s what the creatures from Canterlot High are called.” She turns back to me. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to try and determine where you came from. I’ve been to a world with Humans before; I believe I can identify whether you come from that same world or not with a simple spell.”
What do you know; asking permission before casting a spell on someone. Hopefully Starlight is taking notes. “Of course, cast any spells you need! I’m at your service!” I give a little salute, or rather I attempt to until I’m reminded that I’m standing on four legs and stumble a bit. Twilight gives a bit of a smile, while Starlight audibly giggles.
“Just try to relax, you won’t feel a thing,” Twilight says with a smile. She walks forward and I see her horn light up with that familiar pink glow; even the sound effect is the same! Not much else happens though. Her horn glows and then she uses it to inspect all around me. I actually notice that I can feel a little bit of her… energy, I guess… coming off of her horn. The air around it seems warm and energizing, it actually tickles a little bit.
Once Twilight makes a complete circle around me, she ends her spell. “Interesting, you don’t seem to be from the place I was thinking of. You have a similar feeling to you, but it’s definitely different.” She stands next to me and turns towards Starlight. “You said you used the mirror for your spell, didn’t you Starlight?”
“Oh! Well, I didn’t use it directly. I just figured out how it connected to the other world and imitated the technique. It could’ve led anywhere.”
Twilight sighs and shakes her head. “You really need to make sure to study your spells more before you cast them. If you aren’t careful you could really hurt somepony.”
Starlight sighs too, but in a much more annoyed sort of way. She even rolls her eyes a little bit. “I know, I know. No more spontaneous magic experiments without careful research first.”
Twilight walks towards Starlight a bit so we’re standing in a circle and then turns back to me. “I’m really sorry you got roped into this… umm, oh! I never asked for your name!”
“Oh, well no harm done. I actually, uh… don’t remember it!”
It’s surprisingly Starlight who speaks up this time. “Wait, really? That’s not right; summoning spells are usually very safe. Even when you take into account the added dimensional travel, any extra danger would’ve been to your body, not your mind. That doesn’t make any sense.”
Twilight brings her hoof to her chin. “Well, you based the spell on the mirror’s portal. The mirror transforms anypony who enters it to match the dominant species of the destination world. If we assume your spell had the same effect, it explains why she transformed into a pony. But, you’re right. I can’t think of why that would have any effect on her mind. Spike and I have been through the mirror plenty of times and never noticed any mental changes.” They both go silent for a while as they focus their efforts on thinking. Eventually, Twilight breaks the silence.
“I’m sorry, I really don’t know why that would’ve happened. It’s possible you’re just experiencing some shock from the summoning. In the meantime, do you have something in mind that we could call you?”
“How about Clear Heart?” Wow, that was surprisingly fast. It just sort of jumped into my head and out my mouth. Clear Heart… it sounds cute! And the “heart” kind of matches my color scheme, so it definitely fits. Yeah, I like it! Clear Heart.
“Well, nice to meet you Clear Heart! I suppose you already know, but I’m Twilight Sparkle, and this is my student, Starlight Glimmer.” There’s something about being officially introduced to Twilight Sparkle that just makes your insides melt.
“You can call me Clear, it’s easier that way.” I throw in a smile for good measure. Hey, I just got introduced to Twilight, I just got my own pony name, I’m feeling pretty good right now. Smiles everywhere!
“Well Clear, from what I could tell, it feels like the spell Starlight cast is only temporary. Some of her magic is still inside of you, keeping you rooted to our world. Once that fades away you should go back to your old world and body; I would guess you have about a week.”
Twilight continues to talk, but I lose focus; my mood totally drops. This isn’t permanent? I only get to be a Pony for a week? I… I don’t want to give this up though. I didn’t have anything in my world, I was just so lost. This is my chance to start fresh. And as a pony! I always hate doing this, but I interrupt Twilight, “Umm, this may sound strange, but is it possible to make the spell permanent?”
“Permanent? But that would mean you’d be stuck here forever; you wouldn’t be able to go back home!” Twilight seems pretty taken aback by that suggestion. I suppose it makes sense; Equestria is almost perfect. I’m sure nothing could ever keep Twilight from her home.
“I just… well, my home is… lonely.” Should I do it? I always hate talking about this kind of stuff; either they don’t take it seriously, which hurts me, or they do and it only makes them sad. Neither is a good option. But still, I want to make a fresh start, maybe I should start by being open?
“I… didn’t really have much direction back home. I spent most of my life living for my friends and doing what made them happy. But we all ended up going our separate ways once we finished school, and now it’s been so long since I’ve even heard from them. I’ve just felt lost ever since I got off on my own. I don’t really want to go back there back to that loneliness.”
“That doesn’t just mean you should give up on it. You have to keep trying, and eventually things will work out.” Twilight almost sounds a little angry. But I know I’m right on this, there’s nothing for me back home. Nothing goes well for me there, I’ll just end up all alone.
“That’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve spent a long time trying to make things work and it just… doesn’t. I don’t want to go back there.” I think I may have shouted that. I don’t really care; how could she not want me to stay?
Twilight sighs. “That doesn’t mean you can give up hope. I may not know much about your world, but I know about friendship. If your bond with your friends is as strong as you say then they’ll be able to help you, even if they’re far away. If you leave your world those bonds will be broken forever.”
Why is she being so stubborn about this? Fine, I suppose arguing with her isn’t going to get anywhere. Sometimes bonds just fade away with time, but Twilight wouldn’t understand that. I guess I’ll have to find a way to stay here on my own.
“Anyway, Starlight and I are leaving Ponyville very early tomorrow morning for a few days, so I’ll need to find someplace else for you to stay. The spell Starlight cast could still be unstable, you’ll need to stay with somepony who can monitor that. It’s getting very late so I need to get leaving now if I want to find somewhere for you, we don’t have time to discuss this now.”
“You and Starlight are leaving? There isn’t some threat on Equestria is there?” If the spell is as dangerous as Twilight said, it seems strange that she wouldn’t leave Starlight here. Is it something that requires her specifically?
“I’m not supposed to say too much, but we’ve been contacted by a foreign kingdom. They were… impressed with the defeat of Queen Chrysalis and requested a meeting with the four Princesses. They also asked for Starlight by name, since she played such a key part in reforming the changelings. As much as I don’t want to leave you here, I certainly can’t bring any uninvited guests along.”
Huh, I suppose that actually makes a lot of sense. “We’ll be back in about 3 days. I’ll consult with Princess Celestia about everything you’ve told me and see what she thinks. While we’re gone, would you mind writing out everything you remember from the images of our world? It could prove very helpful.”
“Of course, that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Good. I’ll go see if I can find a place for you to stay. It’s starting to get late, so it might be tricky, but I’ll do what I can.” Twilight starts walking towards the door, turning to Starlight as she walks past. “Can you stay here with Clear while I’m out?”
Starlight looks a little surprised at that. Actually, I wasn’t really paying attention to Starlight during that whole argument; was she still thinking about that? “Oh, right! Of course, no problem!”
“Thanks. Help her with whatever she needs to adjust to her new body. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” And with that, Twilight has left the library. Wow, I just got in an argument with Twilight. I can’t believe she thinks I should go back there; my world is terrible. How could she ask me to give up on this paradise? Well, I guess I can believe it. It isn’t her fault she hasn’t been through what I have. Ugh, I feel terrible after that. I wonder if we can talk it out. I really hate this feeling.
My thoughts are interrupted when Starlight speaks up. “Hey… Twilight isn’t always like that. She’s really nervous about this meeting, and my mistake didn’t make things any better. She’ll come around.”
I look Starlight in the eye and give a weak smile. “I hope so, I’d like to try and be friends with her. Especially if I’m only going to be here for a short time.”
“Well… about that. I think I might know how you can stay longer.”
My eyes light up. “Wait, really? But what about what Twilight said?”
“I can kind of understand where you’re coming from. You want a fresh start; if Twilight hadn’t offered that to me then who knows where I’d be right now. I’ll try to change her mind during our trip; you should also probably talk to her again once we’re back. Although, really, I’m not sure if it’s even going to be possible to make the spell permanent, so it may not matter. It’ll be tricky.”
“What do you mean?” Hey, I suppose it’d be too much to expect this to be easy. I’m willing to work for it though; I’ll probably end up going on some epic adventure across Equestria to find a magic relic or something! I could think of worse things.
“Well right now the only thing keeping you in the world is my magic; the magic I used to cast the spell that brought you here. What you need is another source of magic to enter you, something permanent and that comes from the world, not from another pony.”
Something permanent that comes from the world? I don’t think we’re talking about some relic. Wait, it couldn’t be.
“Like a cutie mark?”
Starlight’s eyes light up. “Yes, exactly! Cutie marks fill ponies with a very special kind of magic. We don’t really understand it that well, even Starswirl the Bearded struggled to comprehend their magic. It’s different from the magic that unicorns, pegasi, or earth ponies use, but I think it would be more than powerful enough to ground you in this world.”
“But aren’t cutie marks kind of hard to get? From what I’ve seen you can’t make them appear, they just sort of… happen.” I mean, it took the CMC four years to get their marks. Although Twilight said she moved to Ponyville 2 years ago, I guess it was more like a year and a half? Point being: I have a week.
“That’s right, that’s why I wanted to tell you now; you’ll need all the time you can get. It’s the only option I can think of though. Any other magic ultimately originates from ponies and isn’t permanent. Not to mentioning that putting another powerful enchantment on you while you still have some of my magic in you could be… volatile.”
“Well, it’s not like I have to find it while I’m here now, right? Say my week runs out and I go back to my world; couldn’t you summon me again and I can keep trying?”
“Well I definitely won’t want to cast a spell that powerful for some time; that took more out of me than I thought it would. The bigger problem though is that… Well, I don’t really know how that spell I cast worked; it was a lucky accident. I could potentially figure it out with a few years of study; but even then, to pull from your world again and not one of the countless others out there would be almost impossible. I just don’t think there’s anything I can do.”
Starlight’s eyes dip and her ears flick down. Great, she’s getting upset again. These pony faces sure are easy to read. She probably still blames herself for this. “Hey, even if I don’t end up able to stay here, it’ll still be one heck of a vacation. I mean, I never dreamed that I’d actually be able to come to Equestria. So even if it’s only for a short time it’s a good thing! I owe you a lot!”
Ah ha! I got her to blush! Now she’s looking a bit happier; hopefully that’ll put a stop to any other fears she has on that topic. There’s no way I could be mad at her for this, she brought me to Equestria! I owe this pony a life debt!
“Oh, well it really wasn’t much. I mean, I didn’t even know what I was doing. Oh, right! Twilight told me to help you adjust to your body! You… seem to have walking down alright.”
“Yeah, it’s kind of surprising; I would’ve thought it would take longer. Moving around seems to be pretty easy though.”
“Hmm, maybe the magic that transformed you is helping to translate your muscle memory to what would be appropriate for a pony. Well, is there anything I can help with?”
Hmm, if I got walking down as fast as I did, I’m sure running or walking backwards can’t be that hard. I can probably figure out most basic pony things on my own. Oh, but I’m not just a pony! “Actually, do you think you could teach me to use this?” I gesture to my horn. It’s easy to forget about it up there where you can’t see it.
“Oh, you mean magic? Of course, that’s my specialty! What do you need to know? Teleportation? Transfiguration? Shield Spells?”
“Actually, I was thinking just basic telekinesis. That seems to be a pretty universal spell; convenient too.”
“Telekinesis? Well that’ll be easy! I suppose we don’t have very much time, but I can at least show you the basics so you can practice. Have you figured out how to channel magic yet?”
Channel magic, I guess that’s just lighting up your horn, right? “I haven’t had much of a chance to practice anything. I was a little distracted by well, being a pony.”
“Alright well, first you’ll need to close your eyes. If you focus, you should be able to feel a sort of energy inside you; it’ll be centered in your chest.” She points a hoof at the point between her front legs where her chest starts curving backwards. “That’s your pool of magic, you’ll need to become very familiar with it to cast spells.”
I close my eyes and focus like she says. It takes a bit, but I do feel a strong warmth in my chest. It’s a lot like that warmth that spreads through you when you meditate, but more focused and almost tangible.
“Once you find it, try and draw a little bit of it to your horn. It’s a common beginner’s mistake to take more magic than necessary; that’s why a newborn foal’s magic can be so unpredictable. Levitating objects doesn’t take much magic at all, and using more than is necessary will exhaust you, so just take a pinch.” I imagine the smallest bit of that warmth as I can and I pull it to my horn. Once it gets there, the little of bit of energy amplifies to fill the space of my horn; I can actually hear that little sound effect again! I’m doing it, I’m using magic!
“Great, you’re getting this really fast! Now hold that energy there, let me find something to practice on.” She looks around the room before levitating a quill off a desk and onto the floor in front of us. “Now then, with the magic in your horn, focus on that quill. Imagine that warmth in your horn wrapping around the quill and then moving it off the floor.”
Did she have to use a quill? Now all I can think of is “It’s Levioosa, not Leviosaa.” But back to focusing. I can still feel the magic in my horn; I haven’t lost it yet. I focus hard on the quill and try to imagine my magic surrounding and lifting it. I don’t expect much, but I actually see a rose-colored light surround the quill! That’s it, my magic!
Before I can make it any further, I’m interrupted by the door opening to reveal one Twilight Sparkle. The magic aura fades away as I lose my focus. Darn, I think I had it too!
“Oh, Twilight! You’re back! Take a look at this; Ms. Clear here is already on levitation!” Starlight has a little bit of smugness in her voice there. Aww, is she proud of me?
“Oh! Were you doing magic?” Twilight looks intrigued. “Do you mind showing me what you’ve got so far?”
I repeat all the steps and get my magic around the quill. I can almost feel the quill through the energy, as if that light were just another hoof; I suppose in a way it kind of is. Once I get that feeling down I imagine the magic lifting like I would hold up a hand, and it actually rises into the air! I’m doing it! This is actual magic, just like from the show! Unfortunately, the excitement of my success interrupts my focus and causes the quill to drop back to the floor, but I did it!
“That’s… quite impressive!” Twilight says, her eyes wide with surprise. “I wonder if that’s part of the spell you cast on her?”
“It’s possible. She did mention that she picked up walking very quickly too. I suppose it could also mean that her special talent has something to do with magic.” Starlight briefly looks towards me with the faintest of smiles. Wow, a magic cutie mark would be awesome! I suppose I can’t discount Twilight’s theory though, that does make a lot of sense too. But still, if I can get half as good at magic as Starlight or Twilight…
“Did you manage to get somewhere for Clear to stay?” Ah yes, Twilight’s original goal.
“I did. You’ll be staying with my friend Rarity while we’re gone. She keeps a guest room ready for her little sister. Plus, she’s a Unicorn, so she’ll be able to keep an eye on Starlight’s spell and make sure everything stays normal.”
No… way… out of all the things that could possibly happen… this is the… best… possible thing. Yes, that was intentional, and no, I’m not sorry. Not only will I get to meet the best of ponies, but I’ll be rooming with her for three days! Maybe I can make up for the blunder with Twilight by befriending Rarity.
Starlight lifts her eyebrow a little. “Do you think Rarity will be able to watch over the spell?”
“I told her what to watch for; I wouldn’t underestimate her. Rarity’s eye for detail will be perfect for this, and if anything goes wrong she can have Spike send a letter and we’ll be back in an instant.”
“True. That sounds good then.”
Twilight turns back to me. “I’ve explained everything to Rarity already. Try not to go off on your own without her or another unicorn. I don’t think you’ll run into any problems, but that spell was very powerful; anything could happen. Every so often she’ll need to check your aura, that’s what I did earlier, and make sure nothing is out of the ordinary.” Oh no, you mean I have to stay around Rarity the entire time! How ever will I survive!
“That actually reminds me,” Starlight interjects, “if you’re going to keep practicing your magic, you need to be certain that you only draw from your own pool of magic. Once you get a little better, you’ll feel my magic inside of you. It’s very important that you don’t try to use it. Like Twilight said, that spell could be dangerous, we don’t want to risk setting off a chain reaction. Try and become familiar with where your magic is positioned and what it feels like so you don’t end up using my magic by mistake.”
“I understand. I’ll make sure to stay with Rarity and be careful with my magic. And I’ll get started on that report on the images from my world as soon as I can, Twilight!”
“Good, we’ll talk more about it once we’re back.” Hopefully we can sort things out by then. I’ll write the best report she’s ever seen, then she’ll definitely like me!
“Since it’s so late, do you mind if we teleport to Rarity’s. She was just about to go to bed when I visited, I don’t want to keep her waiting.”
“Oh, not at all!” The sooner I meet Rarity, the better!
“Great, then let’s go!” Without much warning, Twilight’s horn lights up. I notice Starlight waving farewell, so I return the gesture, somewhat awkwardly since I’m still trying to figure out my new hooves. I’ll see her again before the spell wears off, so this isn’t a final goodbye. And I’m determined to get that cutie mark so we won’t need to have a final goodbye at all.
Before I know it, I’m surrounded by a blinding light as Twilight and I leave the castle.
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Just found this story, let's read.
Edit:
Alright, an great start I like to say. No grammatical errors, then again, I'm not an Editor.
The first chapter has the right amount of length, not long but not short, like 500 words or just 1,000 words.
No run on sentences, no other things like that.
The description of things is around the right side, not too long but not too short. The right size.
Story and other things
The first
The main character sounds interesting, you explain how She can walk and use basic magic, too. Which is good.Always hated how other writers never explain things like that.
How each character talks, how they act to each other, react, things like seems natural. Good job on that. But, how long can you keep it up, hmmmm?
Let's see...your OC does seem to OP, well, right now, that is. Let's see how that then out. But I can give one little advice, maybe for the first 3 says she is with Rarity, have her only use basic magic, don't need other ponies on this site calling you OC OP, huh?
What else...what else...can think of anything right now, maybe the second chapter...
Nope, I'll let somepony else tell you about any misspellings and such.
Now, going to leave an like and an favorite, good luck in your story! And may the Moon bliss you in your dreams...or something like that...
Your friendly pirate captain, Captain Absolution, signing out, for now.
In just 7 days,
I can make you a
S T A L L I O N!
i took a chance on this and was happy with what i read.
word of advice: consider deleting the whole human prologue, i reread the chapter starting from the end of prologue page break and it flowed better.
7850919 That may not be a bad idea, I do feel like the intro is a bit slow. I'll look it over and see what I think! Thanks for the advice!
Yo, this is so cool! Are you sure this is your first story? Because this is done just as well as a professional. This is definitely an original concept for a human turned pony story. Can't wait for the next chapter! (And I can relate to that opening bit. You speak from experience?)
This is a promising start! Reminds me of my mumblegrumbleneedtopublishgrumble though it's a lot less contrived and gimmicky. I'll be happy to see what Clear Heart gets up to, and if she earns her mark or not!
This... Is... Awesome!!! Can't wait to read more!
I think this is an interesting story idea so far. I hope you well keep up writing this story
Needs to be 20% cooler. Also MORE
"Let's not cast any speel around you, it migth be volatile"
"Let's use a powerfull spell that will break down our body so we can move faster then light, it's harmless!"
7859726 I can see how that might be a bit confusing. I did choose my wording very carefully when I said that adding "powerful enchantments" would be dangerous. The only concern is that casting another spell that has any extended effect on Clear could cause the two effects to interact in unpredictable ways. Instantaneous spells on Clear are okay, as is casting magic around her as long as it doesn't actually linger. Teleportation would qualify as an instant effect. Also my head canon for teleportation is also a little bit different. I imagine the spell bends space around you to create a gap connecting your current point and your destination that only lasts for an instant; kind of like a more powerful portal gun. So the spell doesn't actually affect the person being teleported, it affects the space around them. Maybe at some point I'll see if I can work that description into some dialogue in the story. Gotta love the complexities of magic XD
Who are you THEMagic Missle? Your description at the begging of the story, is basically me. (Granted Twilight and Rarity are the other way around) I'm not kidding, the fact about contemplating things for hours and not sleeping like I should, me. Not liking Alcohol and just sticking to water, me. Likes Starlight, Loves both Twilight and Rarity, all me too. I just found it incredibly weird, yet cool too. Anyway, interesting story
The mirror being on the farthest FALL. Intentional or not, funny as Hell!