The Sixty-Third Rule

by Syke Jr

Chapter 2

I look down at Silver Star’s little form, curled up under the blankets and undoubtedly trying to vanish entirely. Little. It’s true. He is. Or, I remind myself, grinning as I remember my short inspection of my favourite unicorn earlier that morning, she is.

I wait a few moments for her to emerge, but I get impatient quickly. Bending down—much further down than I would have needed to yesterday—and taking the bundle of blankets in my teeth, I slowly start to pull Silver Star free of her cocoon. She resists, whining and clinging to the blankets fruitlessly.

I tug, hard, and the little mare yelps as she’s made to roll over by the blankets being pulled out from under her. As I drop the bundle to the floor, she clamps her eyes shut again and curls up with her back to me.

“This isn’t happening, it can’t be, whhyyyyyyyy~” comes the adorable, plaintive cry. The voice is music to my ears. I grin even wider, and slowly ease myself onto the bed with my soulmate. She tenses as I brush up against her back, and I take a deep breath through my nose. Mmmm. She almost smells the same. But where before there was a sharp, musky tone, now there’s a pleasantly soft aroma mixed into her familiar scent.

I curl myself around the mare-in-denial, unable to stop grinning. “Like you said,” I say into Silver Star’s ear, “the bigger pony should always get big spoon privileges.” She whimpers again as I wrap all four legs and a wing around her little body, encompassing her form almost entirely. “Isn’t that right?”

“This isn’t funny, Gingersnap.” Her body shifts against mine and she shivers a little despite the intense warmth. “I do not want to be a mare.”

“I think you should just call me ‘Snap’,” I say playfully. “And I think I’ll call you… Star. Silver is a little too masculine, you know?”

I hear her teeth grind a little, but she doesn’t respond.

“Look, it’s not so bad, yeah? It’s just another funny story about your manashock.” I caress Star with a comparatively huge wing. “You’re not going to tell me mares are inferior, are you? Because I just might take offense to your indignance at being one if you keep it up.”

She huffs, annoyed. “...No. I don’t think mares are inferior.” A pause. “But I’m not one. I like being a stallion. This is just too weird, Snap, it’s weird it’s weird it’s weeeiiiiird~”

And with that she buries her face in my foreleg. I let her lie there, smiling at her use of my name. Long minutes pass as we just breathe there together.

“I blame you for this,” Star says suddenly.

I give a gleeful chuckle. “How d’you reckon? You took off the bonering too early.”

“You came up with that stupid book in the dream.”

“White Mage put the idea in our heads in the first place.”

“Buck, your right. It’s both of your faults.” She sighs in resignation, finally relaxing against me. I even hear a little hum of what can only be contentment.

“You done being angry?”

She answers with a shrug.

“Are you going to get up and read Selene’s letter?”

“No. I’m going to lie here and be the little spoon forever. It turns out it’s kind of nice when you’re not the same size.”

“Mmmm,” I say with a squeeze, enjoying my rumbling voice, “is someone enjoying this a little?”

“Hnnn.” It’s a noncommittal noise, but I’d bet anything that Star is blushing under my wing. “I’m starting to wish I drowned in that lake.”

“It would have nipped this in the bud,” I say. “But I’ve got to admit, I’m enjoying this more than I’d have ever thought possible.”

“So that’s why Celestia did this,” Star says. “As long as you’re having fun, I guess.”

“Actually,” a kind, playful voice interjects, “I don’t think you can blame me for this.”

I look up and see Celestia in the doorway. Star finally pushes herself into a sitting position, shrugging off my wing and glaring in the direction of the celestial mistress of our reality. “Of course we can,” Star says angrily, “You’re to blame for everything.”

“Oh? I’m to blame for your visiting the Thaumic Caves in Shetland without the recommended horn protection, and catching the manashock malady? I’m to blame for your not actually reading the letter given to you by Doctor Song, telling you to wear the inhibitor while sleeping for at least another three days?”

I laugh quietly. Star elbows me in the ribs.

“So I take it you’re not going to fix this for me?”

Celestia gives a small, soft giggle. “I rather think you need to sort it out for yourself.”

Star groans and retreats back into my embrace, and I faithfully wrap her in my wing once more, hugging her softly as she grumbles what are probably obscenities to herself.

Celestia raises an eyebrow. “That’s hardly fair.” I grin and shake my head. Clearly, Star is giving our god some choice ridicule in the safety of her own head. Celestia winks at me. “Enjoy your time with Star.”

“Don’t call me Star,” my little mare half-shouts, muffled through my wing.

Celestia simply smiles again, and disappears in a flash.

A few long moments pass. “Is she gone,” Star says tiredly.

“Yup.”

“Ugh. Fine.” And she once again crawls out from underneath my wing, shaking herself free of my legs and sighing as she slowly slides herself to the edge of the bed and steps down onto the floor.

I stretch, and sit up myself, there on the bed. Silver Star walks hesitantly over to the mirror, muttering something about ‘getting it over with’. My eyes run over her as she stares into her reflection, expression blank.

She’s probably around the height I had been. Maybe a little shorter. It’s hard to tell from my new point of view. Her body is lithe and slight. Her mane is just as unkempt as before, but also long and flowing past her shoulder. “Magic,” Star says with a small sigh, “is such bullshit.”

I chuckle, and with a strong flap of my wings I’m off the bed. Star jumps a little at the thud my hooves make on the floor, but doesn’t take her eyes off the mirror. I take the couple of steps necessary to stand beside her, and stare into the mirror too. I’d already done that, of course; earlier that morning while my unicorn was still out cold. But now I could really see the differences in both of us.

The tip of Star’s horn is just about level with my chin. I’m really tall for a pegasus, but she’s definitely shorter than average. Her eyes are slightly more softly rounded, eyelashes framing those beautiful green irises. That square jaw is gone, now; all I can think of when I look at her face, her little snout, is: cute.

She is so cute.

I wrap my wing around her again. She sighs, closes her eyes and leans into me, resting her cheek on my chest. “Such bullshit,” she whispers again.

I can only grin. “Come on. Try to enjoy it while it lasts. It’s a new experience, yeah?”

“It’s… something.”

“I’m enjoying it.”

“Yeah, you mentioned.” She frowns, opening her eyes and looking at me in the mirror accusingly. “It’s almost like you planned this.”

I give her a sly look right back. “Maybe I did.”

She snorts, and backs away, slipping out from under my wing and turning around. “Where’s that letter?”

“Kitchen table.”

Star walks through the door into the sitting room, then disappears into the kitchen. I sigh and give myself one more look in the mirror. I know Star will want to go back to being Silver as soon as possible, and I’ll have to go back to being Gingersnap along with him.

Assuming we use the same spell as in the dream, at least.

I turn and trot through the apartment to join Star in the kitchen, where I find her already scribbling a letter, presumably to Princess Selene. The princess’ letter had basically said she’d noticed the magical surge that happened during our shared dream, and wanted to know everything was okay.

As I approach, Star rolls up her response in her magic and sends it with a flash. Then she sighs.

“What did you say?”

“I told her about the shock and asked if there was an easy way to reverse it.”

“Hm.” I know it’s unfair, but I sort of hope it takes Selene a long time to respond. I don’t know why I’m having so much fun. I suppose it’s just exciting to have the fantasy we’d roleplayed come to life.

“Well, nothing to do but wait.” Silver Star finally looks at me, looks at me properly, and cracks a small smile despite herself. “I have to admit, it suits you. In a weird way.”

I beam and hum deeply, stepping up to her and looking down. She almost takes a step back at how I tower over her. “It suits me, huh,” I say softly.

“...Yeah.” Star blushes. “Please stop making it weird.”

“Nah,” I smile back at her. “Nothing you can do about it. You’re too cute.”

She snorts a little and rolls her eyes. “Stop.”

“Then stop being so cute.”

Star huffs and steps around me, fleeing the kitchen as I slowly turn and follow. As I step into the sitting room she’s opening the portal door and stepping through into the office. She leaves the door open, so again, I follow.

“What, you’re just gonna pretend this isn’t real? Sit at your desk like normal?”

She snorts again, indeed sitting down at her desk. “It’s not real. Not for long, at least. What else do you want me to do?”

“I want you to try to enjoy it,” I say again. She’s kind of getting me down now; a rumble of irritation has sunk into my voice.

“Nothing to enjoy,” she says shortly, staring at the computer screen. She pauses. “...Maybe the cuddling was nice.”

“Come on. Let’s go for a walk. Or! You could go to the range. See if you can make Bullseye blush.”

She blushes instead. “Please stop messing with me.”

I sigh. “I’m not messing with you, Star.” She gives an exasperated blink at my use of the name. “This is just a funny accident. And it could be fun if you let it. What exactly are you so freaked out about?”

“How could I not be freaked out? I’m not a mare! You’re not a stallion!”

“Well I’m not freaked out.”

She looks at me. “I don’t have an explanation for that.”

“The explanation is that you need to chill.” I walk over and stand over her. “You’re gonna change back. So stop stressing. Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like?”

“What, to be female? No. Have you ever wondered what it would like to be male?”

I shrug. “Yeah, once in a while.”

“Hm. Well I’m glad you’re having a good time,” she grouches. I can’t take the sullen tone seriously. It’s too adorable.

“Come on. Let’s go do something.”

“Why don’t you go do something? Take some photos. Spread your wings.” She glances at me. “They’re certainly impressive.”

For the first time, I feel like blushing. My wings shift a little against my back. “Heh.”

“Go on. You know you want to.”

It’s true. I do feel like going flying. And Star’s attitude isn’t likely to improve if I keep bothering her. “Okay, but later you have to go for a walk with me.”

“Not happening. Ponies will see me.”

I put a hoof on her shoulder. “Remember what I said about taking offense?”

She gulps and looks away. “Yeah.”

“Mhm. Reflect.” And with that, I take my camera bag from its place beside my own desk and head downstairs into my studio, leaving the unicorn mare to a little bit of personal time that I have to admit she probably deserves.

Comments

[TheUrbanMoose]

I look down at Silver Star’s little form, curled up under the blankets and undoubtedly trying to vanish entirely. Little . It’s true. He is. Or, I remind myself, grinning as I remember my short inspection of my favourite unicorn earlier that morning, she is.

I immediately love this perspective change. I have a soft spot for FiO moments where the perspective comes from one of Celestia's created ponies. It implies they really do have feelings and goals of their own, contrary to the suspicions of some. But I digress.

I curl myself around the mare-in-denial, unable to stop grinning. “Like you said,” I say into Silver Star’s ear, “the bigger pony should always get big spoon privileges.” She whimpers again as I wrap all four legs and a wing around her little body, encompassing her form almost entirely. “Isn’t that right?”

I just smile every time I picture Snaps speaking with a deep voice. It's just so great.

“Actually,” a kind, playful voice interjects, “I don’t think you can blame me for this.”

And there she is. I was wondering if she would actually show up to take responsibility.

--

The artwork seems... familiar...

I really like how the pronouns are changed from 'he' to 'she', and the fact that there is now a huge size difference between them where there wasn't before. It really drives home the "reality" of the situation.

[Darkness-Dreamt]

Mmmmm as a trans man who would die from becoming a woman again i really feel silvers distress

[Raine_Lionheart]

“Don’t call me Star,” my little mare half-shouts, muffled through my wing.

Celestia simply smiles again, and disappears in a flash.

A few long moments pass. “Is she gone,” Star says tiredly.

“Yup.”

Suddenly, with a flash, appeared a white alicorn stallion with a wavy, multicolored mane and moustache.

"It is I: CelestiOS!"

[Syke Jr]

11150167