Nick, or as he was calling himself for now, Nickel Ingot, was having one of the worst mornings he'd had in ages. These four hooves were hard to control even with a decent amount of muscle memory built in, so he had to very carefully judge each step he took lest he collapse, fall over, or crash into something.
Still, he perserved, slowly but surely judging each step he took as to not humiliate himself via faceplant in the hallway. He had to admit this new body came with a fair amount of built-in muscle, clearly designed for taking a beating and moving heavy loads, so it might have been for the best that he had that to back him up if he fell.
That was, at least, until he pushed open the door leading from the royal guest wing to the main hallway that led to the dining hall. Several guardsmares were staring right at him.
Oh, crud! He thought to himself. They are probably gonna ask for identification, and I don't have any! He froze up for a moment, but then decided to just keep going. With what he thought were shaky, uncoordinated steps, he walked towards the dining hall. Maybe Celestia already told them what to expect? None of them are reacting, so-
“Hello sir, how may I help you?”
CRUD!
Nick responded before he could think, months of dealing with new guards thinking he was lost taking control. “It's quite alright, miss. I know where I am going,” he replied. Sweet nibletts, was that my voice? Why is it so deep? Quick, act natural, Nick! “Thank you, though. The work you all do for the good of Equestria deserves more appreciation than you get.” He kept walking, step after careful step, praying that nopony would call him out. Thankfully, none did, and he let out a sigh as as he returned to a slightly faster, yet more sloppy, way of trotting along.
It was a little while before Nick reached the dining hall, having learned a bit more about how to pony correctly on the way. He had managed go keep his light trot going while becoming far more graceful in his strides. Still, he slowed down as he approached the great door that lead to his precious morning nom noms, he hesitated. What could possibly await him on the other side of the door?
Nick pushed the door open, and was greeted by the wonderful sounds and smells of the royal dining hall. Various species of creatures in uniforms of different castle staff positions chowed down on their meals with gusto, but one by one a few ponies stared at him as he cantered over to a chair and sat down.
“Sir, do you need anything?” One of the maids asked as she walked over.
Ah, crud! I can't ask for the food I normally get! I have to make an excuse! Nick allowed himself a moment to breathe, then replied. “As much as I would love some food, take your time. I know you're busy, and I don't want to overwork you.”
“Oh, it's no problem, sir. What can I get you?”
Dang it! Now I have to think of something. What do horses eat? “Just some oatmeal, maybe an apple. And some tea, too. And please, call me Nick...el. Nickel Ingot. There's no need for formalities.”
“Oh! O-of course, Nickel. My apologies.”
Nick let out a sigh of relief as the maid trotted away. He hated oatmeal, but it was the first thing that came to mind, so he had to take it. When his food was brought to him, he begrudgingly took up his spoon and had a bite, actually finding that his transformation had altered his tastes. It was a phenomenal sensation, and he took his time savoring every bite.
“Good morning, peasants! Where is my breakfast?” Blueblood demanded, trotting over to the table Nickel was at and sat next to him. “Just look at this terrible service, am I right?” He asked Nickel. “Nobility such as us shouldn't have to be kept waiting. I'm surprised Auntie Celestia hasn't fired every last one of them.”
Nickel stared slack-jawed at Blueblood. Wow, what a jerk! And I thought being in the receiving end of his rants was bad. Maybe I can use this to teach him some manners, though. “You dorealize you came in unannounced, right? Nopony could cook that fast, not even you.”
“Hmph! You're just as annoying as that pesky ape that roams around this castle,” he replied. “Fine, I'll make you a bet! I'll go make my own breakfast, and if I can't have it done in the five minutes I expect my incompetent staff to have it done by, which I certainly will, I'll give you some of my stocks in a few wealthy businesses!”
“Hm… deal.”
Blueblood nodded and stormed off into the kitchens. Nick sat and finished off his breakfast, waiting. Five minute passed, then ten, then twenty…
And then Blueblood stomped back out of the kitchen, which was currently on fire, summoned a few papers of stock ownership in his magic, and indignantly tossed them to Nick before trotting off. Nick spent the next hour helping clean up, until he got called to meet with the sisters…
“And that's been my day so far. At least I got these,” Nick concluded, holding out the aforementioned stock papers to Celestia. “Think you can lend me a ha-hoof with these?”
“Certainly, my little pony.”
“Don't you start, too.”
Can't imagine sticks being worth that much unless its a typo and you mean stock
"And then Blueblood stomped back out of the kitchen, which was currently on fire, summoned a few papers of stick ownership in his magic, amd indignantly tossed them to Nick before trotting off."
Soooo....Nick has some Stock in a few businesses wonder what he'll do with it.
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Fixed... ugh.
How many more chapters will there be?
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As many as the readers want
Yay! Nick now has a source of income and he can use it to fund bigger pranks than normal maybe?
Yep, definitely nat 20 luck.
Nice
Still, he preserved, slowly but surely judging each step he took as to not humiliate
hmm,. he preserved to persevere.?
he was lost takijg control.
i got nothing on this
p.s. there's one more
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I'm not sure who would be better fit for Nick: Taliesin Jaffe or Sam Riegel.
Interesting chapter, I do hope there is a few more before things go back to relatively normal.
Just speculating here but if neither Celestia or Luna made the ‘Human-to-Pony’ Potion. Then the only logical suspect left is Arca. And with his track record when it come to inventing new potions I wouldn’t be surprised if their are side effects. Example, Nick won’t turn into a human again until he drinks a ‘Pony-to-Human’ potion, because the potion was a one way transformation. Or maybe his skin turns green for a few days when it wears off.
If there aren’t then that would mean he thoroughly tested it to insure there wouldn’t be. Which I can only imagine how wrong that went.
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Oh make no mistake, Arca did it. But when celestia herself arrives and asks for a personal favor, he pulls out all the stops and gets it right first try.
The only potion he will always screw up is... THAT potion. You know the one.
That is actually quite interesting to see how things look from Nick's POV, compared to everyone else's. Shame he doesn't realize just how amazing he looked to everyone!
Perspective is important...
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I bet flaming pants that Nick will inevitably destroy some, crash the value of another, and shut down the stock market.
Celestia you need to troll this Nick pony fast! Before he turns back!!
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You know now that Nick's a pony he could bring his pranking shenanigans to a certain potion shop
and Imagine if nick help Arca with THAT potion
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Why do you think I did this?
Now Nick can cameo in Potion shop sometime
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As many more chapters of at least average length as the count of your comment.
9,441,972 chapters. Bwahahaha!
Oh and I really like seeing Nick temporarily as a pony. He should get some of this potion for himself and make "occasional visits" as Nickel Ingot, and eventually have his alter ego leading normal life as appearing to all-but Celestia, Luna, Discord, and The Mane 6.
I wonder how blueballs would react if he found that was nick he just lost that bet to...
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You do realize what arca’s mane growth potion does right
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Everything but that.
Arca never seems to mind trying again, though.
Amazing how a change of view can make a difference. I have used that idea as well in one of my story's.
It's not as easy to keep the same content and create different view angles to it. Very well done.