Diverted to a Different Destiny

by Amethyst Dragonfly

2 She got the point.

She woke up suddenly, and sat up in bed. A sheet that had been put over her slid down halfway. Self conscious about her lack of clothes, she managed to use her mouth to take the sheet and drape it to cover herself back up. Only then did she look around.

She was in a small, rectangular room that had the bed she was on, a small table with a pitcher sitting in a basin with some towels beside the basin on it, a chest, and two doors, one in the wall at the end of the room furthest from the bed and the other one across from the head of the bed.

The door at the far end opened, and Bon-Bon stuck her head in. "You're awake, good. I was worried until they told me not to be. How are you Dee? Are you up for a talk with Fore and Under? Because if you are, then I'm supposed to lead you back to Fore's office."

There was a long moment of silence then Bon-Bon raised her voice a little and knocked a hoof against the door frame. "Hay, snap out of it! I asked you some questions."

She startled, then nodded uncertainly. "Uhh, other than being really confused and scared, I think that I am okay. I can try going back there, but I don't know how good I'll be at walking on four legs instead of two? Also, I don't think that dragging this sheet with me would be the best idea, but I would really rather not go around naked."

"Yeah, about that, they said that I should even get some clothes on." Bon-Bon walked into the room, over to the other door, and opened it, revealing a closet. "They said there were some robes in here for us to wear for now." She took two plain, undyed robes out and put one on the bed. "It would be great if you could help me get one on, and then I'll help you."

They got the robes on each other, one using her hooves, the other her mouth. "I don't like having to do things that way." she said curling her top lip.

"Well, since you're a unicorn now, maybe you have horn magic that you can learn in order to handle stuff." Bon-Bon walked to the door out of the room. "And as far as walking, just try to not think about it too much?"

Bon-Bon led the way to the office."Odd thing, after you passed out, it was almost like they suddenly realized that I was there."

She had found getting out of the bed and standing easy. And so was walking as long as she really didn't think about it. In fact, it was only a little bit more difficult even when her thoughts drifted back to it. The only answer Bon-Bon got was a distracted, "Huh, yeah odd.

"…You know, it's not easy to not think about walking after you're told not to think about it. Sort of like if I told you not to think about a green bear."

"Why would I think about a green bear? Oh, wait… I see your point. Well, maybe think about all of the books around you?" Bon-Bon found herself thinking about a green bear the rest of the short distance.

When they entered the office, Fore was sitting behind her desk while Under was sitting in the chair near it. Fore spoke up first, “I’m glad you were feeling well enough to come back to my office. There are things we need to discuss. And the first isn’t the one that is visibly obvious.”

Under nodded. “You told me your full name when we first met. Would you say it again?”

“I don’t see the point, but sure. My name is Dawn Star. Wait, what?!” She felt that saying that name had let something finish anchoring firmly and deeply into her being.

Fore sighed. “Please don’t panic. Now try saying what your name was.”

Dawn did look ready to panic, but did as Fore said. “My name was Deeann Rhiannon Ahearn, and I asked to be called Dee.” After being able to say that, she relaxed a little bit.

“Just as I suspected.” Fore looked at Under. “My using magic native to here on a being who wasn’t, and who was already somewhat unusual, was used as a plot device to change her physically completely, and some mentally. It also explains why I kept getting mixed information from the arcane spells. It took me directly asking Princess Luminace for insight as to what was happening for me to get any straight answer at all.”

Under took a deep breath. “You mean the Author took a direct hand again? There are no words!"

Bon-Bon spoke up. "Whoa, wait a minute. Who are those ponies you mentioned? What do you mean 'plot device'?”

Under laughed. “They’re gods, and only one was ever a pony, Princess Luminace. The Author is, and has always been human in form.”

Fore nodded solemnly. “Yes, and The Author likes a good story. She usually doesn’t take direct action, but it isn’t completely unknown. There are a few old stories, and one recent one, about her doing so. But even then, for her to do two direct actions on the same being so close together in time? Very unusual.

“As far as my using the term ‘plot device’, the Author treats everything as if it is a story. So when apparent circumstances created a combination of events that it was even remotely conceivable could cause such a change from Dee to Dawn, she took the opportunity to cause them to do it.”

Under looked at Fore in surprise. “You say that The Author did two direct actions on Dawn?”

Fore looked at Dawn with an ambiguous expression. “Yes, it’s true. The first one was that she caused you to be brought here from Equestria. We have had visitors from that world who came here without changing to fit in here before, and I recognized the lines of your unwitting companion, Bon-Bon, as such. Which means, actually, that she had you appear in Everglow in such a way that you would be brought to my attention, and I would cast analyzing spells on you.

“To be under the direct view of The Author means that you will be the subject of a good story. Tragedies can be good stories. But so can tales of high adventure.”

Under chuckled. "Along with comedies, and also romances. There are so many different ways that a good story can go that we can't even hazard the wildest guess as to why you caught her attention."

Dawn groaned."Just great, I'm the plaything of a god."

Fore shook her head. "No, it shouldn’t be quite that bad. The Author will probably just let events proceed from this point in general. Normally she doesn't make direct demands for specific actions, but that also means that she very probably won’t intervene directly on your behalf. But she's not above a nudge if she feels one is really needed.”

Bon-Bon looked from Fore to Under to Dawn and then back to Fore . “So, uh, since Dee… Dawn’s body has changed, and her name has changed, what else has changed in her?”

Fore looked thoughtful. “I would think that enough has changed so that she fits in Everglow, and specifically fits as a unicorn. I’m not going to even guess as to why she was transformed into a unicorn though. Especially since humans exist here.

"Such physical changes are not common. But when they do occur, it is due to things like magic meant to do just that, unexpressed heritages, gaining a new spirit tribe, or maybe, in a few very rare cases, even a long term intense desire to be the new form. So this change was even more rare than ‘normal’.”

Dawn fervently hoped that the dark color of her coat hid the blush that she felt warming her cheeks.

Fore gave Dawn a curious look. “Hmm, Dawn, if you were wanting to say that something affected all those that were in a room, what one word would you use to refer to those it affected?”

“Why, I would say everypony …Huh. Let me see… nopony, anypony, somepony…” Dawn shook her head, distressed even more. “I know other words for those uses, but those are the ones that come naturally to me now?”

Under placed a calming hoof on Dawn’s shoulder. “There are probably other changes also. But think about this, have any of your memories changed at all?”

Dawn closed her eyes and took slow, even breaths for a few moments. She visibly calmed down as she did so. Then she gave Under a thankful look. “No, they don’t seem to have. Thank you for that suggestion. I guess that as long as my memories haven’t changed, I’m still me.”

Under gave a nod back. “Just think about that fact anytime that you notice a change in yourself that you hadn’t before. It might also help to think of the changes as all having happened at the same time, instead of thinking of newly realized ones as new changes.”

“There will be some changes that you like. For example,” Fore’s horn glowed, as did a book on her desk as it lifted, opened, some pages turned, closed, and was set back down. “you can do that now.”

Bon-Bon tilted her head quizzically. “I know that unicorns where I come from can do that, but they have to learn how. That’s not true here?”

“No, we can do that bit of magic without learning how.” Fore’s horn lit up with a glow that was dimly visible in the already lighted office. “Just like we can make a source of light without needing to learn how.”

Dawn rolled her eyes up to stare at her horn. “I can?” She frowned in concentration, and some sparks spat from her horn.

Fore chuckled. “You’re trying too hard. For light just will it, for moving something just imagine reaching out and doing it. Other spells will not come as easy, you will need to learn them.”

Dawn looked around. “What can I practice moving? I don’t want to disarrange how you have things in here.”

Fore smiled and indicated a small stone paperweight on her desk. “That is a common type of stone, worn smooth by a river. It isn’t heavy enough to damage much if dropped, and won’t be damaged itself.”

As she looked at the stone, Dawn imagined reaching out with a hand she no longer had and picking it up. A glow with the same colors as the stars in the question mark part of her Brand of Destiny appeared around both her horn and the stone as the latter lifted into the air.

Bon–Bon cheered Dawn on. “You did it! Too bad I don’t have a horn for such a useful trick.”

Under gave a soft laugh. “Not only unicorns possess magic.” He muttered something too softly to be heard, and a book slid out of a shelf, flipped through some pages, and was then returned to where it started.

Bon-Bon’s eyes got big. “Can I also learn magic? I heard some talk that Applejack and some others in Ponyville had been doing so, but I put that down to wild rumors.”

“You would need to find what sort of magic calls to you. Though that is true for all that want to cast spells, even the unicorns.” Under glanced at where Dawn was moving the stone around in loops in the air while she smiled broadly, and then looked back at Bon-Bon’s hopeful expression. “There are several different ways that may be used to access your magic. Some gain their spells from gods, or very powerful beings, or nature itself. There are those who combine certain things together in specific ways to achieve the desired effects. Still others need to learn spells from written sources. And then the spells just come to some.”

Bon-Bon nodded at Dawn. "Well you at least already have a Cutie Mark. Now you just need to figure out your special talent."

Fore held up a hoof. "That's not what those are here. That is Dawn's Brand of Destiny. They are given by The Author, and are tied to a pony's destiny."

Dawn bent her head around to look at where her Brand of Destiny was. "The Author again? ...Well, what does mine mean?"

Under answered in a solemn tone, "That's something that you will need to discover on your own."

“In any case, you will both need some training.” Fore looked to Under. “Do you think that the Seekers would teach them ? I know that the local chapter of the Seekers has recovered greatly, especially since Fast Shadow joined it as a combat instructor.”

Under nodded. “I feel that I can convince them to let them join. Especially since it would be better for Dawn to seek out adventure than to tempt a nudge from The Author.

"I will attempt to help both of you determine what sort of magic suits you best myself. But first, let’s go get you more proper clothes than borrowed initiate robes.”

Bon-Bon shuffled her hooves. “I don’t have many bits on me, if they’re even any good here.”

Dawn set the stone down, and shook her head. "The world that I came from used paper money as a medium of exchange, or, more often, credit cards, which I'm not going to even start to try to explain."

Fore sighed. “The Temple of Luminace will pay for your clothing. Go now, I am tired and must rest.”

As they made their way through the library, Dawn looked around. She sighed as they went out the front doors. “I have the distinct feeling that it will probably be some time before I get a chance to read for just my own enjoyment.”

“But that will just make it all the sweeter when you do.” Under briefly chuckled. “I speak from experience."

Under mused out loud as he led them down the street to a tailor’s shop. “I knew another pony with the name of Dawn, Dawn Event. He was a cleric of all the gods, so I don’t know which one he went to after his last adventure. I wonder what he would think about you sharing his first name?”

He knocked on the side of the door frame with a hoof as they entered the shop. “Bright! Bright Weave! Come on out, I’ve brought you two customers, and the temple is paying.”

“Bah! You say that last like it’s a good thing. You clerics usually hold on to a copper tighter than the sea does her secrets.” A pony dressed in well made, colorful garb walked out from the back of the shop with a scowl on his face.

Dawn looked Bright over. His clothes fit very well, and they show that he keeps in shape. And he doesn’t look that old. But I really don't care for that attitude.

Instead of being angry, Under just laughed. “You old sea horse, you know that you’ll tack another quarter of the price on if we’re paying for it.”

Bright stopped scowling and laughed also. “And you know that you’ll talk me down to ten percent below the street price. How have you been, Under? You don’t come by that often anymore.”

“I’ve been well, but busier than normal, and you know how busy that is.” Under knocked hooves with Bright. “Now, why don’t you show these two that you aren’t the dour pony that you greeted us as?”

“For new customers? Gladly.” He walked over to them and greeted Bon-Bon first. “You’re not a mare from a tribe I recognise, but welcome to my shop. I think that you’ll want something that you can move well in, maybe fight in?”

Bon-Bon knocked hooves with him. “You’re right, that would suit me best. My name's Bon-Bon."

He then walked over to Dawn, lifted one of her hooves, and kissed the back of it. “Any you, young beauty, seem like the spell using type. So I know just what to garb you in.”

Dawn felt her cheeks flaming, and she was certain that her blush was visible. “Uh, t.thank you, mister Weave. And yes, I will be using spells, but I don’t know what type yet. O.oh, and my name's Dawn Star."

Bright blinked and looked towards Under. "First she puts me in my place with a polite 'mister Weave', and then she says that? I am sure that there's a tale behind how she doesn't know what magic she has. And I expect to hear it over some beer later."

Under frowned slightly. "It's not my tale to tell. I consider it Dawn's private business."

Bright sighed. "Of course it is, the best tales are always 'private business'. Ah well, let's get you both properly clothed."

After they both had their new clothes on, and farewells had been exchanged with Bright, Bon-Bon, and Dawn followed Under out of the shop and down the street. Some distance, and four turns later, they saw a four story building that showed signs of recent repairs, with gardens in its lawn, some of which were overgrown, while others were being tended to by ponies. Under led them through a thick door and down a narrow corridor.

“I’m going to introduce you both to out best combat trainer. She can seem a bit rough, but you’ll be able to fight and defend yourself by the time that she says that you are ready to begin accepting Seeker tasks. I recommend that you stay in the practice yard and train with her first, Bon-Bon, while I help Dawn find her magic.”

He led them through a door and out into an enclosed courtyard. There were ponies practicing in different areas at different types of combat. Some bore close-in weapons, some used bows, a few employed magic, and still others preferred weaponless hoof-to-hoof combat. He headed over to an earth-bound pony using a lance against a pegasus with a spiked mace. “Fast, I have some new recruits that need training. Quit playing with Sudden Gale, and do some work.”

Fast and Sudden stopped their practice, and Fast walked over. “I see that one is from the same place that Maud came from, so it’s clear why they might need training. I take it that there is a story behind the unicorn, but I don’t need to know it.” She nodded to them. “My name is Fast Shadow, and I will be making you learn… and hurt. But the more that you learn the less that I’ll have to hurt you.”

Bon-Bon knocked hooves with Fast. “I’m Bon-Bon, and Under said that I’m to train with you first.”

Dawn nodded. “My name is Dawn Star, and I need to find and learn my magic before training with you.”

Fast raised an eyebrow, and then looked at Under. “I know that I said that I don’t need to know Dawn’s story, but…”

Under gave a short laugh. “As I told Bright Weave, it’s her story to tell or not. Maybe you can get her to share it later. For now, I’m going to take her down to the magic users area. Don’t leave Bon-Bon in too many pieces.”

He then led Dawn back inside.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Are there going to be nightmares in it?

[Amethyst Dragonfly]

11459521
That depends on how you define nightmare.

There is a member of the Pony Pantheon (that David Silver, the originator of Everglow, developed) who is known as the Night Mare. If you mean her, I don't think that she is going to show up in the story.

If you mean nightmare, the Fiends in the shape of horses, let's hope not.

If you mean nightmare, as in bad dreams, those can happen to anyone.