> Different > by skysthelimit > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Shimmer Out > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello. My name? To me, that's not important. But I suppose I'll tell you anyway. I am Shimmer In. Quite odd, don't you think? My mother, Sparkle Shimmer, told me it was because of my oddly sparkly coat. I am a unicorn, by the way. But I think she some how knew what lay in wait for me. When I think about it, she did seem to fuss over me a lot. I always thought it was just her grieving the loss of my father, Starlight Sparkle. I won't explain what happened to him. That's a story for another time, another place. But Sparkle seemed to be preparing me for the times ahead. You're probably wondering why my life was so rough. Well, as I told you before, my father died when I was three. The fillies and colts at school teased me constantly, just because I was different! Then, one day, I found another filly who was different. Her name was Bloom, and she was a Pegasus. Bloomie and I were instant BPFFAEAEs(best pony friends forever and ever and ever). We even got our cutie marks at the same time! Hers was a field of wildflowers. Mine was a paintbrush and a pencil crossing over each other. I always have been good at art and writing. But enough of my past life. It was hard, I agree. But sometimes, it's better to move on. So that's what I will do. . . . Bloomie and I were 16. We were on a blissfully parent free vacation to Cloudsdale. I had Bloomie's mother, a distinct purple coated alicorn I think we all know, cast the cloudwalking spell on me. Bloomie, a Pegasus thanks to her father, could already walk on clouds. Our parents wished us a teary goodbye and off we went. When we arrived at Cloudsdale, I winced at all the eyes staring at my coat, my sparkly white coat. "It's okay, Shimmer. Ignore them." Despite Bloomie's comforting words, I still flinched every time a new pair of eyes landed on me and my hide. We stayed in Cloudsdale a couple more days, visiting all the places Bloomie remembered from before she moved to Ponyville and met me. When the cloudwalking spell started to were off, we headed back down. But we judged the time wrong. I was suddenly falling through the air. I screamed for help. Then I was floating. I opened my eyes slowly before realizing that I was flying! I looked behind me and gasped. I had wings! I felt my forehead, and realized my horn was missing! Bloomie caught up to me. "How is this possible? One minute you were falling, the next you were gone! Then you reappeared, but with wings but no horn!" I gaped at her, flabbergasted. "But the weird thing is, you didn't just disappear. You kind of, well, I guess you shimmered out, then shimmers back in!" "By Celestia!" I gasped. We decided we needed professional help. As soon as my hooves touched the ground, I felt my wings shrink in and my horn grow back. Bloomie took one look and said," you are going to the doctors right now." I agreed and off we went. I had a little souvenir from Cloudsdale- a tiny, flying pet phoenix. It was a mail sender, much like Bloomie's mom's assistant. I used Philla, as I called her, to send a letter to our parents saying we might be a little longer. With a burst of Philla's flame, the message was sent. We headed for the doctor's. We were called in and explained what had happened. I thought maybe I could change into an Earth Pony, so I tried, and sure enough, my horn disappeared. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with me. I was just... different. Sigh. There's that word again. > Sudden > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- We were home! Oh, home. My day kept surprising me. It was all so sudden! The vacation, me falling, and finally, the transformations. We were welcomed homes into open hooves, but me and Bloomie decided that this was going to be our secret. So I made sure I was a unicorn and we were totally cool. Totally cool. With everything. so now, I'm sitting in bed, thinking, what will I do with these strange new powers I seemed to posses? I thought about this long and hard before deciding, I want to help ponies. I changed into an alicorn, so I could have more advanced magical powers. With a burst of starlight, I made a costume appear. It wasn't much, just a black mask and bodysuit to hide my sparkling coat. I stored them under my bed and with a deep sigh, I fell asleep and dreamt nothing. > The great Sparkling Star! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I groggily opened my eyes before remembering the events of the day before. My eyes snapped open with excitement. I threw on my cape and mask, morphed into a Pegasus, and flew out my window. It wasn't long before a cry of help reached my ears. I flew toward it as fast as I could. Then I spotted the trouble. It was a Earth pony. The boat she had been riding in had sunk, and by the looks of it, she couldn't swim. I swooped in, picked her up and flew towards the shore. "Who are you?" She questioned me. I thought for a half a second before replying, "Sparkling Star". I figured no one would be able to trace this back to me. I set her down on the shore and flew away. She called after me, "Thank you!" before trotting away to dry off and spread the news of the Great Sparkling Star. . . . It wasn't long before a town meeting was called. I followed along Bloomie as we trotted to the town square. The mayor, Ivory Scroll, stood at the podium. "A new hero is among us today. Somepony named Sparkling Star has saved dear Berry Punch here." She announced. "I just want to thank this brave pony for saving the town drunk." Berry Punch nodded woozily as if to agree. "This brave pony will be honored among many other heros. Thank you for saving our citizens." Well, that's my story. I went on to save many, many more ponies from peril before I retired to write this story. Thank you for your time.