Chapter 18
“You sure you want to come?” Silverstream asked, her voice a little tentative. “I mean, it is gonna be late, and those legs are so short! If you want to stay here and sleep with the others…”
“No, I wanna come.” She could tell her answer was a disappointment to the only other one of the mythical creatures who intended on making the trip—the griffon named Gallus. But he did his best to hide it, looking away and pawing at the ground so that whenever Silverstream glanced in his direction, he was distracted with something else.
She knew that look from a hundred kilometers, since she saw it so often from David. The bird’s beak didn’t really make him any harder to read. But she pretended she didn’t notice. “Ocellus told me that you were the only other one with transformation magic. That you might be able to… use it on me? And then I’d know how to use it myself?” She frowned, folding her arms. “Honestly I don’t really get what she means by that. But she’s the one who made me like this, so…”
“Yeah…” Silverstream paced around her, having to shove past the edge of the counter to fit. This space had not been built for such massive creatures. Cooking dinner had made an absolute wreck of the kitchen, with dirty dishes in places and bits of broken furniture everywhere. “I don’t know that I’ve done it very often. I… haven’t done it with you, have I Gallus?”
“No.” He blushed, shaking his head vigorously. “Not that I’m asking or anything! I just… yeah, you haven’t. We didn’t spend much time by the ocean. Until that final.”
“I guess there shouldn’t be a problem.” She glanced down at the necklace she was wearing, adjusting it around her neck with one claw. “But this is only a fragment of the Pearl of Transformation, so I can’t control it. It only does two things—into the sea, and back. Is that okay?”
Marie shivered, adjusting her jacket over her wings. She’d found an oversized toque tucked away in a drawer, and was wearing that over her head and horn. She was pretty sure that someone in the dark wouldn’t be able to see how strange she was. Except that she’d be wandering through some village with two giant mythical creatures with her, all sharp claws and glittering beaks. And if anyone got close enough to see her eyes…
But they shouldn’t, not now. It was so late that Marie should’ve felt exhausted, late enough that her mother would’ve had her in bed for hours already. But maybe it was just how disrupted her schedule had been, because she didn’t feel very tired.
At least when they stepped outside, the storms had finally ended. Only a light smattering of rain fell from overhead. Enough that she would still be soaked by the time they got to the lake. Who cares. I’m going underwater, aren’t I? She just had to look on the bright side of all this. She was about to experience magic, with a pair of talking magical creatures in an adorable crush.
Marie had stolen one of the bath towels from the house—probably the least that had been done in terms of the damage to it, and tossed it into the empty backpack she’d worn full of food.
“This is too slow,” Gallus said, after ten minutes or so of walking through the dark. “One of us could probably carry you. How heavy are you, Marie?”
“Uh…” She blushed. “A little over six stone?”
“That means nothing to me.” He stopped beside her. “Climb up. If I can carry Smolder, I can carry you.”
She had to resist the urge to jump up and squeal with delight. Helen’s gonna be so jealous! It had been only a matter of time—sooner or later she was going to get the chance to ride one of them. Marie hopped up, like Gallus was the pony ride at the fair.
But he wasn’t. His coat of rich blue feathers was slippery in the night air, and there was nothing like a saddle. She couldn’t let her legs lean over his sides too far back, or else get in the way of his wings. Which were always moving.
“You said you were as heavy as six rocks? Must not have been very big rocks.” He bounded forward, spreading his wings. “Come on, Silverstream! Last one to the pond carries her back!”
Marie squeaked in surprise, feeling her own wings twitch and struggle madly under her shirt as Gallus shot upward into the air. All thoughts of what might be easier for him to deal with were abandoned, and instead she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung there for dear life. If the griffon even noticed what she was doing, he didn’t show it, just kept on rising into the air. Rose so high that she couldn’t even make out the dirt lane anymore, and the light of their stolen house was a faint speck on the right. But there was the reflection of moonlight on water from down below, surrounded by more trees for a bit before transitioning back to streets and lit buildings. But the lake itself was dark, only a few faint amber lights from some kind of structure, with no people in sight.
“Slow down!” she whimpered, but it didn’t seem like Gallus had heard. He tucked in his wings a bit, and shot almost straight down. Christ how can you move so fast? You’re gigantic!
She screamed in fear, but the chill air sucked that away too. It nearly ripped the backpack right off her back, and she certainly wasn’t going to do anything to try and hold onto it.
Only when she felt like she was about to make a colorful stain on the ground did Gallus finally level out, and somehow she was still clinging to him. A layer of water blurred by underneath, and he reached his claws in.
“I probably should’ve asked if humans are afraid of heights. Oops.”
“I’m not… I didn’t think I was,” she panted, trying to sit up. “That was… blimey. I thought I was dead.”
“Don’t be a fledgling, we barely even went that fast! Actually, I’m a little worried that…”
Silverstream had landed on a patch of sand near the shore, and was waving enthusiastically at them as they approached.
“Dangit. Not fast enough to win.”
Marie wanted to scream at him—but her throat felt like it had already been torn up by the trip, and so she only managed a glare at the back of his head.
A few seconds later they’d landed, and she rolled off his back and onto the ground. She practically smashed her face into the dirt, embracing it like it was her best friend. The creatures were still talking, but she ignored them for a bit, just lying there and appreciating that she was still alive.
This is what you wanted, isn’t it Marie? You wanted to be part of their world, now here you are. Flying with them. Learning their magic.
Seen through that lens, the flight wasn’t so bad. She was soaking wet and there were some dead bugs squished against her skin, but she had made it. I wonder if I can fly like that. Would she look like a monster long enough that she’d be able to learn to use them? Or were her wings even big enough?
“Uh… Merry?” Silverstream asked, and a claw nudged her in the shoulder. “Are you alright? Gallus didn’t make you sick, did he?”
“No.” She rolled over, looking up at the pink-feathered creature. She stumbled to her feet, brushing off the sand. “I’ve never been flying. It was just… a little new for me.”
“Just wait until you swim like a seapony,” Silverstream urged, rubbing past her as she approached the water. “It’s amazing! I almost like it more than flying, but… something tells me it won’t be quite so nice here. Water looks cold and muddy. We’ll probably just stay down long enough to get a few fish for tomorrow.”
Marie followed the creature to the edge of the water, at least until she got close. Then she jerked, squeaking quietly as she realized she hadn’t so much as turned on a torch in the entire flight over. The only light even remotely nearby was a tiny amber floodlight on the docks across the pond.
Is that why I don’t feel tired? Because it’s so bright outside? But why would it be any brighter?
“You probably shouldn’t wear so much when we go in,” Silverstream called, splashing at the edge of the water. “Gallus will stay up here to watch it, won’t you Gallus?”
“I, uh… yeah, of course! That’s… why I came. Watch the… human’s clothes. Exciting.”
Sorry. Marie winced, but she didn’t suggest they should do it any other way. She removed her boots one at a time, then her jacket, but the rest was harder. Even if she couldn’t see anyone but these creatures, what if somebody showed up? And Gallus was a boy!
“Tell him to look the other way,” she said. “I don’t want a boy to see me.”
“Why?” Silverstream tilted her head to one side, bounding up to Marie and making her feel even more embarrassed. “I’ve never tried the magic on a… human… before… but it won’t be different if he’s close. It’s safe! It’ll either be really easy or not work at all!”
Why don’t they— Then she realized, and felt even stupider for it. The aliens weren’t wearing anything. Not even Smolder, who walked around on two legs all the time. Their group had boys and girls, and none of them even noticed. I guess everybody in animal-land is a nudist. Maybe they just couldn’t get the clasps on underwear to tighten without any fingers?
“Please?” she asked, turning to the griffon. “It’s too complicated to explain. Just… please don’t watch.”
“Whatever.” He turned away with a sigh, stretching out on his belly and resting his head on his claws. “I’ll guard the pond while you’re in there.”
That was enough, and a few minutes later she was standing up to her knees in the freezing water.
The instant Marie had touched it, she wanted to turn and run back to shore—but she didn’t. “Now you need to stand close for this…” Silverstream said, holding out one claw. “Hold on and don’t let go until the magic stops, okay?”
“How will I know when it—” Then she felt the magic, and she didn’t wonder about anything anymore. It reminded her of her recent dream, when she’d been floating near the edge of death in a dark and lonely corner. But where that had taken hours, this was only a few seconds. A flash of light, a burning from her toes to her fingertips, and suddenly she couldn’t stand up.
Marie flopped to one side as her legs stopped being there anymore, vanishing into the murky water.
As her neck hit the water, Marie’s head stopped throbbing. It was so muddy, she could barely see anything—but there was another shape, moving up close and practically singing to her in Silverstream’s voice.
“It worked!” said the creature, her bright scales briefly visible through the muddy gloom. “I wasn’t even sure if it would—you humans are so strange. But look, you’ve got a tail and everything! Guess I shouldn’t have underestimated the Pearl.”
Marie looked down through the water, and found that Silverstream was right. Her legs were gone, but in their place was a single, powerful organ that seemed to know how to move without much effort on her part.
Oh my god. I’m a mermaid. How many old stories and myths could be explained with magic like this? And how many of the old stories must be true?
Now they just needed a real beach, a swimsuit, and Helen with the camera. “This is freshwater,” she said. Her voice still worked, though it didn’t sound quite the same. Like a whole new set of organs was producing it. “Would it work in the ocean too? If we went down to Brighton and into the water, we could…”
“Yep!” Silverstream circled around her, stirring up the mud and sleeping fish at the same time. That seemed to be her intention, because whenever they got too close she’d spear them or slice them with her beak, and add them to a growing collection.
“That’s where all the hippogriffs used to live, in a city under the ocean. There was this evil king, and a war, and…” She sighed, settling onto the mud beside Marie. “You probably don’t want to hear about that. Delicate little creatures like you. I don’t want to ruin your night.”
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The less she thought about the dead bugs squished against the back of her throat, the better.
In any case, hopefully this is enough for Marie to disguise herself as herself. If not, this will only get more complicated.
Also, poor Gallus. Still, not exactly the top priority right now.
Oh dear, theres going to be some real complaints from The Anglers Association for illicit poaching.
:P
Silverstream (and all other hippogriffs) doesn't keep her beak when she transforms.
Oh yeah, just imagine all of Little Mermaid reenactments you could do now! Don't tell me you weren't thinking about it!
Poor Gallus, stuck being the third wheel...though I do have to wonder just what, going off some of his reactions, he hoped to do assuming he did have Silverstream all to himself...
Also, I'm wondering if Silverstream has caught on yet herself. Everybody else seems to have, but to me, it strikes me like it'd be just like Silverstream to be completely oblivious to it.
A nice character bonding chapter--I almost wish it ran on for longer!
Perhaps silverstream and Marie should talk about it with a nice warm tea or hot chocolate.
All the hippogryphs know about the storm king because he was so benign that the did not even need to censor him for their foals.
You really should show the students how wrong they were about humans. The changelings had it the hardest and they were basicly just living in an abusive home.
9404101
Don't you worry about that.
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/0/00/Trixie_laughing_maniacally_EG2.png/revision/latest?cb=20141029105848
9403328
Poor Silver, she gonna go back pale white like was in the leaked early episodes *hugs protectively the birb, hanging off of her neck* protect the birb
And yes, we might be 'small' and 'delicate' but push over not, and downright terrifying if the situation is such.
9404101
And Equestria was dropped in the middle of human world, middle of Europe in a way, human nations on every corner around it. They def wanna spin things smartly regarding everything in the near future.
About that....
Later on she shows them an old game list in the house they are in...
quartzcity.net/ilx/wopr-game-list_design.png
Oh those? They are from like 40 years ago, really outdated. Games have gotten much better!
I’m not the kind of guy who usually goes on binges. When reading a book or watching a show, I tend to space things out and make the experience last.
I just binged this whole thing in two nights.
I’m also not usually a fan of ponyfics involving humans, but here I am. This story has me acting strange.
Maybe it’s just the fact that I love the student six that has me here, or maybe it’s that you’re just that outstanding of a writer. Every step of the way so far, I’ve been fully immersed. Every chapter flies by and i’m usually not even aware that I’m reading. Your characterizations are spot on, your plot is intriguing, gosh, I could go on and on about this.
To keep from spilling all of my guts here, i’ll just leave off by saying that i’m very glad I decided to crack this baby open. But now I have to wait until Monday to get my next fix, and that’s gonna be a painful wait.
Oh, and bless you for including Gallus x Silverstream. They are the cutest thing ever and I love it!
This is such a fun story! I’m in love with it! Please don’t stop writing! 😍
Meanwhile, Ocellus learns about World War II.
9403717
Naw, go even older! "Splash" with Darryl Hannah.
Humans are not nearly as delicate as Gallus thinks otherwise Smolder wouldn't have been hurt by firearms. Of course Gallus knows hardly anything about humans so it's no surprise.