Just Me

Crystal in Ponyville

Slowly, I opened the front door and stepped outside. My hazel eyes, which were already big enough, were wide as I took in everything around me. It seemed so surreal.

Was I really standing on the soil belonging to Equestria? Was I really not in Canada anymore? Not on Earth…anymore? Was I really here, smelling the grass, feeling the breeze, seeing the light from the sun that Princess Celestia herself rose every morning?

I looked around, trying to take in everything at once. Everything was like it was back on Earth, but had hints of “pony” in it. In the backyard, there was an old wagon that looked like it used to be pulled by a pony. And when I turned my head to look down the road, I could see the occasional hoofprint.

Curiosity overpowered my nervousness and fear, and I trotted up to the road in front of the house. I was quickly getting the hang of moving about like a pony, but I doubted I’d be able to go faster than a trot. I stopped by the edge of the road and looked at it. I followed it with my eyes as it lead into town. Should I go into town? Should I mingle with the ponies so soon after my transformation? I thought about it for a little bit, then decided I shouldn’t. I was in an emotional turmoil, even though I felt only a faint sense of nervousness.

It was to be expected though. I missed my parents – Mom hadn’t really spoken to me when she left, so I wasn’t sure if I missed her or felt relatively angry at her – and I was on my own. By myself. With no friends to keep me from feeling the effects of my monophobia. Though my phobia wasn’t all that bad, going without anyone I knew left me visibly vibrating.

My pony ears drooped in sadness when I thought about that. I only took a moment to dwell on how natural it seemed to express my emotion through my ears before I turned back to the house and hung my head. I went inside and curled up in my bed, slipping my DJ headphones on over my new ears. Clumsily, I figured out how to plug the headphones in without fingers, and turned on one of my favourite songs. I found that my favourite songs seemed to sooth me, and I needed to be soothed desperately.

I ended up falling asleep to “Just a Dream” by Carrie Underwood with tears on my furry cheeks. I slept from the rest of the day, and ended up waking up around three in the morning. And I couldn’t go back to sleep. That frustrated me, because I liked to sleep. And because I couldn’t get back to sleep, I got up and went outside.

The cool breeze hit me as soon as I stepped outside, and I shivered. My ears pinned as I shuffled out into the open, where I lowered myself onto my stomach. With a sigh, I rested my chin on the ground and stared out into the darkness.

My heart raced and I felt on the verge of crying. I squeezed my eyes shut in order to try to hold back the tears, but some still leaked out from the corners of my eyes. What was I supposed to do?

My name was Crystal, and I am seventeen years old. I wasn’t ready to be on my own. A shaky sigh escaped me before the howl of a predator sounded from the forest in the distance. I yelped and dashed back inside.

When morning rolled around, I hadn’t gathered another wink of sleep. I was mentally exhausted, so I went through breakfast in a daze. I was coherent enough, but I was a ball of nerves. I eventually figured that if I mingled with other ponies, I’d start to feel better. So with that, I adjusted my mahogany sweater, which I still wore, and trotted into town. My mane and tail bounced as I made my way onto one of the streets. I scanned my surroundings, making sure I knew where I’d be going. My hooves clopped against the ground, and for a second, I allowed myself to marvel over it.

Maybe…I could get used to this? Being a pony, I mean. I just wished I knew how to pick things up with magic from my horn.

I stopped when I came across a treehouse – a literal house-built-in-a-tree – and saw that it was the town’s library. My mood brightened considerably before I quickly trotted inside. There had to be books on how to use unicorn magic in here! Hopefully there was a book on basic magic 101. I needed to be able to pick things up or I’ll be struggling for a long time.

As soon as the door closed behind me, I heard footsteps from the floor above. I followed the footsteps with my eyes until a small creature came dashing down the stairs. He was covered in purple scales and had large green eyes. I smiled. It was Spike, the baby dragon, and Twilight Sparkle’s companion. “Hi,” I greeted.

“Uh…hi!” Spike said in a chipper tone. “Here to look at a book?”

“Yup,” I replied starting to feel more at ease now that I was in someone else’s presence. “I need to look at more than one book, though,” I added as I drifted over to a bookshelf. I turned my head to look over at the baby dragon. “I need to learn magic, the basics.”

Spike’s eyes widened. “But…but…you’re a unicorn! Unicorns know how to use magic since, like, day one!”

“That’s the thing,” I said, turning away from the bookshelf in order to walk over to him. I lowered my head in order to look him in the eyes. “I haven’t…always been a unicorn.”

Spike’s eyes couldn’t get any wider. “W-what do you mean?!” he gaped. “What were you before you were a unicorn?”

My face drooped as did my ears. How was I to explain this? He wouldn’t believe me, since it was apparent that humans had never existed in Equestria. He wouldn’t know what a human was! “Um…” I started quietly. “You wouldn’t understand. And…I’m afraid to explain. Maybe I’ll tell you another time, when I’m braver.”

“O-okay,” the baby dragon said.

I started to peruse the shelves, looking for a book that was about beginner’s magic. They probably didn’t have one, since Spike had said that unicorns knew how to manipulate magic since they were babies. When I had seen most of the books on the bottom shelf, and had turned up empty, I turned to the small dragon. “Do you know what the magic technique that allows a unicorn to manipulate things like you do with your hands is called?” I asked.

“My friend, Twilight Sparkle, calls that type of magic ‘levitation’,” Spike informed me. I watched as he quickly jogged over to a bookcase across the room. He pulled a book off the bottom shelf and I trotted over to join him in order to see what it was. “Here’s the book you’d probably want to read,” he said. “Twilight just finished reviewing it.”

He set the book down on the floor, and I read the cover. “The Art of Levitation: How to Pick Things Up, Turn Pages, and the Like,” by Starswirl the Bearded. I remembered the guy. He was in the last episode of the third season of the show. He had made an incomplete spell.

“Looks like the book,” I smiled. I was feeling better, not so alone. I looked at him. “Could you please help me turn the pages? At least until I learn how to turn them myself?”

“Sure thing!” I was starting to like the little guy.

“How about you turn to the section where it teaches how to turn the pages, just so I don’t bother you?”

“No problem.”

He took a quick look at the table of contents before he quickly turned to the right page. I grinned as I took in the words on those pages.

The trick to starting this form of magic is to start small and gradually build in difficulty like you would in any other form of magic. To start – turning a page is fairly easy. The first step is to take an unused notebook, and practice turning its pages in order to not damage this book.

How to wield your magic in order to turn the page… Most of you should already know how to manipulate simple things with your magic. Channel your magic into your horn and then imagine yourself turning a page of the notebook. It might take a bit of effort at first, but quickly it will become easier…

I continued to read, and once I read all of the instructions, I focused on following them in order to turn the page of a notebook, which Spike happily provided. It took a lot of effort, just like Starswirl had said, but eventually, I turned a page. I continued to practice and by the time I deemed it time to leave, I could turn pages quite easily.

“I would like to borrow this book, please,” I told him.

“Right,” he said. “I’ll leave a not for Twilight. I’m Spike, by the way.”

I smiled, grateful to hear him introduce himself. Now I would be able to address him by name. “Thanks, Spike. I’m Crystal.” The dragon handed me to book, which I balanced on my left fore-hoof. “I’m going to work really hard in order to master levitation. When I bring this book back in a week, I should be able to bring it back with my magic.”

“Good luck!” he said before I walked out the door.

All that week I stayed at home working on building my control over my magic. There were several different things I had to learn, and worked on perfecting several of them a day. But even by the end of the week I was unable to finish the book. But I was able to lift it, and flip through its pages quickly. I was able to write with my magic, and perform several things at once, but I didn’t complete the book.

But I was fine with that. I was able to return the book while using my magic, like I hoped I would, and when I had given it back, I felt lighter.

On my way home, I thought about how I was going to settle in into this new life. It was going to be hard, since I used to be human, and I wasn’t the best socializer. Maybe I should start a journal, in order to remember most of what I did here. Because if I could get back…I would like to remember what it was like here, even if I forget.

Though, all thoughts kinda stopped when I came upon my house and saw that there were three little ponies…foals…in my backyard. The first was an orange pegasus with a pink-purple mane and tail, the second one was a white unicorn with a pink and purple mane and tail, and the last one was a yellow pony with a red mane and tail. In her mane, there was a large pink bow. I was wondering what the trio was doing on my property, and it made me feel a little defensive even if they might be there for an innocent reason.

I walked up to them, hoping that I might not scare them. “Hey,” I called calmly, grabbing their attention. “What are you doing here?”

The three suddenly developed shocked looks on their faces, as if they had been caught with their hands (hooves?) in the cookie jar. “Um…” the unicorn began nervously.

“We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” the yellow pony exclaimed in what I could only guess was a Texan accent.

“We were looking for our talents!” the pegasus added just as loudly.

I hummed in curiosity. “So what were you doing…in my backyard…that might give you your cutie marks?” I asked nicely.

“We were being detectives!” the unicorn said.

“Yeah,” the pegasus said. “When we saw your house appear a week ago, we just had to figure out where it came from.”

“Did’ya come with the house?” the yellow pony asked.

I stared at them, it being my turn to be surprised. My jaw dropped slightly. “How…?” I gasped. “W-why didn’t you come and check me out right away?”

They shrugged in sync. “We thought somepony was just transporting their house magically,” the unicorn stated.

“But it’s rare, since not many ponies have the power to move whole houses!” the pony with the bow finished.

The pegasus narrowed her eyes. I could tell, she was slightly suspicious. “Did you move your house? Where did you come from?” she asked.

I smiled in order to cover how my soul seemed to squirm inside me. These were probing questions that threatened to force me to tell the truth, which they would probably not believe. “Ah, long story,” I replied. “But I’d be happy to teach you how to be real detectives. I’ve read enough books in order know the basics.”

“That’d be cool!” all three chimed.

“But first,” I said. “I need know your names.”

They grinned.

“I’m Scootaloo!” the pegasus exclaimed.

“I’m Sweetie Bell!” the unicorn proclaimed.

“The name’s Apple Bloom,” the yellow pony said, finishing the introductions.

I grinned. “Great. Now let’s be detectives!” I announced before pausing. “And my name’s Crystal.”