Chapters Enchantment Experiment #63
"Uh, this doesn't really fit me, Twilight," Rainbow said, struggling to tighten the armor around herself so that it wasn't hanging limply off to one side or another.
Twilight Sparkle waved a dismissive hoof. "It's fine, just make sure it's on you. How well it fits you won't be an issue after we start."
"So what's the deal with all this? Why me?" Rainbow asked, finally managing to balance the bodypiece on her wing joints and slipping her hooves into the hoofguards. Her tail had been tucked through the rear end of the platemail lying across her back, their rainbow colors completely hidden within blue decorative fringe.
"Well," Twilight said in a tone that immediately alerted Rainbow Dash to Twilight's 'lecture mode,' "when Starlight sent me through time, one of the possible futures I'd seen was one where Sombra had returned, re-enslaved the crystal ponies, and forced them to fight in a war against Equestria."
"And?"
Twilight shook her head. "The Imperial soldiers wore helmets that, from what I'd heard, made them surprisingly strong and skilled in battle. That kind of resource would be invaluable for Equestria. Can you imagine if you could just put on a set of armor and you'd automatically learn all you needed to know about being a guard? And that could expand to other occupations too. Just think, you could become an expert in something with a mere change of clothes! It would revolutionize entire industries!"
"Uh huh. And how does that affect me?"
"This is just a test run to see if I can tweak the normal EUP body armor enchantments. If it all works, then I can move to more extensive spellwork."
"I don't know Twilight," Rainbow mumbled as she shuffled around in hoofguards a couple sizes too loose for her. "Sounds like you're playing with a lot of unsafe stuff."
Twilight hesitated. "I know, it sounds dangerous, but as long as the use is benign, it should work out, right?"
Rainbow didn't know what "benign" meant, but she hadn't remained Twilight's friend this long without trusting her at least a couple times. "Whatever you say, Twilight. Just promise me if something goes wrong you'll fix it, okay?"
Twilight nodded. "You know I could never forgive myself if I didn't. Ready for the pièce de résistance? "
"As I'll ever be," Rainbow said as Twilight levitated the helmet piece over top of Rainbow Dash's head, sliding it over Rainbow Dash's ears and on top of her mane.
"Now, the first thing that'll happen is your body will fill out to fit the armor pieces," Twilight said as a chill ran through Rainbow Dash's body. "This isn't any new magic; the Royal Guard enchants all its armor this way."
"So I'll- eep!" Rainbow interrupted herself as she felt her hooves begin to swell. Resisting the urge to jump, Rainbow looked down and saw her muscles began to grow and ripple with new power. "This feels really weird, Twilight!"
Twilight nodded. "Don't worry Rainbow Dash, this is normal. I promise, if anything unusual goes on, I'll reverse the enchantment immediately."
"Still feels weird." Her leg muscles grew larger and denser, spreading at a rapid pace. Rainbow Dash shuffled her hooves, only to realize that the golden cups they were in fit perfectly. "Hey, these things fit now."
"What did I tell you?" Twilight smiled, flicking her eyes occasionally to a paper full of scribbles she had on a nearby table. "I wouldn't have even had a place to start if EUP armor hadn't been made like this. It's really been a huge help in my research."
Rainbow Dash did her best to concentrate on Twilight's words, but her stomach was doing flip-flops inside her as her torso barrelled out and gained muscle mass. She felt a twinge between her hindlegs, and such an enormous wave of embarrassment came over her that she shoved out of her mind the idea of even thinking about her new plumbing. Her wings twitched involuntarily, beefing up to handle Rainbow's new weight; the pegasus spread them, trying to get them to relax, only to realize she couldn't close them again. "Twilight, I can't close my wings!"
Twilight looked up, an expression of slight concern on her face. "Well, give them time to finish, then see. I didn't tamper with any of the magic in this stage except to remove the fur bleaching to white, so it's very unlikely for there to be problems."
Despite Twilight's reassurance, Rainbow's unease didn't fade as her wingspan lengthened by several inches and new feathers grew out to join those already there. Despite finally being able to pull her wings back to her sides, her body felt misshapen and wrong. "Twilight-"
"I know," Twilight interrupted. "It probably feels like you're in the wrong body, but don't worry, once the changes are done, that'll be fixed. Like I said, the parts of armor enchantments like that are how I managed to figure out a way to implement my idea in the first place."
Rainbow whimpered as her pectoral muscles bulged to fill the chestpiece perfectly. "It better finish soon."
"It's only been about a minute, Rainbow. It'll be over before you know it."
Rainbow stood, barely fending off the urge to whine through her nostrils as her neck thickened and lengthened. She realized that with her gains in height from her hooves and neck, she now stood about a half-head taller than Twilight. The only patch of fur that she could see on herself that hadn't changed shape was the small amount of blue on her muzzle in front of her vision, and she knew that with her neck altered, it was only a matter of time before her face changed too.
"Twilight, I-" Rainbow Dash's hoof jerked up to her mouth, the metal of her hoofguard smacking against her lips harder than she'd intended it to. However, the mild sting of hitting herself was dwarfed by the shock of her voice sounding deeper and huskier. "What happened to my voice?"
"That's normal too," Twilight said. "It's actually rather interesting; vocal chords have a special sub-enchantment to them to tweak them to suit the armor, but unlike everything else, there's no 'template' for it to work off. It actually modifies the vocal chords itself. I would guess it's probably to ensure that all guards don't sound alike."
Rainbow Dash quit paying attention, feeling the magic tingling in her mouth. The small patch of blue fur still visible in front of her began stretching forward, and she screwed her eyes shut, willing herself not to panic as she felt her jaw and muzzle shift into more chiseled features. Her eyes itched, and she reached up to rub at them with a hoof, careful not to hit herself with her hoof plating this time. She felt something flake off, and she opened her eyes to see several eyelashes on the cup of the hoofguard.
Something smooth and airy caressed her head, and she felt her mane grow and twist underneath her helmet.
Twilight nodded. "Okay, I think that should be it for physical changes. Now begins the mental parts."
A slight pressure built behind Rainbow's eyes, and she clenched them shut again, flinching away. It wasn't painful, but it was definitely unpleasant.
"Oh, here," Twilight said suddenly, telekinetically pulling a full-size mirror in front of Rainbow. "If you want it."
Rainbow Dash looked in the mirror; a well-built stallion looked back. Muscular frame, large wings, angular jaw, sharp eyebrows. With her cutie mark covered by the armor, she could have passed for an actual guard in the Royal Army if she dyed her coat white.
As Rainbow Dash took stock of herself, she realized she was feeling more at ease with her body. Her brawny girth felt natural to her now, and as she thought about it further, she could almost detect a foreign force inside of her working away to ease her dysphoria. The feeling faded, and Rainbow Dash realized that she felt as if she'd always had the body she now possessed.
"Wow," Rainbow Dash said. "This is surreal." Even her voice sounded right to her; despite knowing, without a shadow of a doubt, she'd only possessed her gravelly baritone for the last couple of minutes, it was undoubtedly hers, and hearing anything else would have sounded strange. "Everything just feels... normal." She flexed her wings, admiring how natural it all felt.
"Anything else?" Twilight asked. "Perhaps... anything about your identity?"
"Identity?" Rainbow Dash searched inside herself, trying to feel out where the magic twinge was like she had when it had made her feel comfortable in her new skin. She found... wait, there. She. Wasn't she a she? She stood there, unsure of how to feel as she realized that "she" might not be the best pronoun for her any more. Again, she knew that she had spent her entire life as a mare up until she had donned the armor, but now... now he just didn't feel like he identified as female any longer. It just... wasn't him. And his... parts. He wracked his brain, trying in vain to remember how his old equipment had felt, but he couldn't begin to grasp how it might feel. He was a stallion, inside and out.
"Yeah, I guess I'm a guy now," Rainbow Dash said, his head spinning with confusion. "I'm... what in the world is in this helmet? I should be ticked off at this, but it's like getting annoyed at having a nose. I should feel angry, but I don't."
Twilight lowered her head, a sheepish smile stretching across her face. "Sorry, that's how all the armor works. Celestia decided centuries ago that it would be easier for enlistment purposes if she could admit, er, scrawnier ponies, so she and a bunch of other unicorns drafted up a spell to give anypony who donned the enchanted armor the physique they needed to fight. It was so successful both in peacetime and in battle that it's been that way ever since. My only addition so far has been the gender identity enchantment; normally there are only adjustments to make sure ponies feel like they're in their own skin." Twilight's smile wavered. "Normally they have both male and female armor, but I felt that going across genders would make for a more measurable change."
"So is that it, then?" Rainbow asked, still trying to deal with the shock of knowing that his physical form had completely changed, yet he felt like nothing was different. I wonder if I could pull off a Sonic Rainboom in this body right now.
"Not quite," Twilight answered. "Give it a minute."
The pressure behind his eyes returned, but Rainbow didn't flinch away this time, trying his best to bear it. His mouth twitched into a smile; with how comfortable he felt now in his body, he could probably mimic the Guards' disposition if he applied the discipline of Wonderbolt Academy to himself at this point.
The magic poking around in his head felt much less refined than the near-flawlessly smooth movement of the armor's original enchantments, but he could tell that it was still quite graceful as it flitted here and there in his mindscape.
"Look at me for a second. How does it make you feel?"
Rainbow examined Twilight. After a moment, his eyes widened as he felt butterflies flit around in his stomach. "You... You turned me gay?"
"Well," Twilight said, "Since you're male, it's more that you're technically straight now."
Rainbow Dash blinked, unsure of how to process the information. Of course he liked mares. But... he was a mare not five minutes ago, and he liked stallions then. What? Why did looking at Twilight have to suddenly make him feel so funny?
"You can remove your armor now," Twilight said, looking back at the notes on her table. "Now that the enchantment's complete, you don't need to wear it any more... Rainbow Blitz."
Rainbow blinked. "Blitz?"
"That's your name, isn't it?" Twilight said, her tone carrying a sense of expectation.
Rainbow Blitz opened his mouth to object. Of course his name wasn't Rainbow Blitz! It was... wait... Rainbow looked down, wracking his brain to try to remember what his name was. A numb revelation came over him as he realized that as far back as he could remember, his name had always been Rainbow Blitz. He recalled signing weather duty slips with that name. He remembered the trophy he'd won for the Best Young Flier competition having had "Rainbow Blitz" etched on its inscription. Every single chant he thought back to in his life as he performed for a crowd had been for Rainbow Blitz.
"I... I guess it is." Rainbow Blitz slowly took off his helmet, hoofguards, chestpiece, and platemail, leaving them in a pile on the ground in front of him. His mane and tail had changed, too; his mane had grown even more unruly and spiky, and his tail had taken on a zigzagging pattern.
Twilight's face reddened slightly. "Oh my..."
"What?" Rainbow Blitz asked, doing his best not to think about his name or his new feelings of attraction.
Twilight audibly gulped. "I... I didn't know you'd be so handsome as a stallion."
Rainbow huffed. "Well, what did you expect from the most awesome pony in Ponyville?"
Twilight stepped around Rainbow, examining him. "It looks like this was a success. I removed the pigmentation changes and added the identity and orientation bits, and it seems like it's worked out pretty well. Wow, you look about as strong as Big Macintosh; you could probably give him a run for his money if you two hoof wrestled."
"Yeah," Rainbow Blitz said, flexing his hooves and taking a small amount in pride at how his muscles rippled. "It's really disturbing. I know I wasn't like this this morning, but I can't imagine myself being any different. I did a rainboom as a mare. I grew up as a mare. Now... Now I'm not one."
Twilight nodded. "Do you want to change back?"
"That's the thing." Rainbow swallowed down his growing anxiousness. "It wouldn't be changing me 'back,' because it feels like I've always been this way."
"Well, I didn't intend for you to stay this way. If you want to stay like this, I guess there's no reason you can't, but you'll have to do a lot of explaining to a lot of ponies."
Rainbow Blitz took a deep breath to steady himself. "I... Would that be okay then, if I was just a stallion for a little bit? I didn't know what it was going to feel like before I got into this, and I really didn't like how it felt being in the wrong body, even if it wouldn't last long the second time. I think I need a bit of time before I try that again."
Twilight blinked a couple of times, before nodding and looking back at her notes. "I guess, if you really feel that strongly. But in that case, I'd like a favor in return, if that's alright."
Rainbow's nervousness began stirring within him again. "What kind of favor?"
"I'd like to get regular updates on how you adjust to it," Twilight explained. "Since I assume you'll stay a stallion until you tell me you want to be otherwise, I could use the information to help further my research into this topic. It's a great opportunity for me, and all you'd need to do is come here every so often and answer some questions."
Wow, never noticed how cute she gets when she goes egghead on me. "Sure, Twilight, I can do that."
"Great!" Twilight levitated a piece of paper and a quill from off her table. "I'll go ahead and send some letters to ponies explaining the situation. Celestia, Wonderbolt HQ, your parents, Mayor Mare, our friends, just so that they know ahead of time. It would be pretty awkward if Spitfire called you up and didn't know what happened; the least I can do is make it less weird for everypony."
"Thanks." Rainbow Blitz turned towards the door and began walking. "Speaking of Spitfire, I'm probably going to have to practice my Wonderbolt routines for a bit to make sure I can nail them now, since I've always practiced them as a female." Rainbow shook his head, still trying to get over the fact that he had once been a girl. The idea alone was so alien!
"Good idea." Sounds of quilltip against paper filled the brief pause in the conversation. "I'll just get these letters signed off right away, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow twisted his neck to nod in Twilight's direction before blinking. "Dash? My name's Blitz, Twilight. As in, Rainbow Blitz?"
A stifled giggle came from the table. "Sorry... Rainbow Blitz."
Rainbow stared at Twilight a second longer before shaking his head, prepping his wings, and rocketing out the front door.
Author's Note
This chapter's premise is partly inspired by ocalhoun's story The Clothes Make the Mare . It's a really good story, I suggest you check it out if you haven't read it yet!
Enchantment Experiment #63
"So what's up with the costume?" Pinkie Pie asked, a white pinstripe suit draped over her head and eyes.
Twilight shook her head, stifling a laugh. "It's not a costume, Pinkie. It's enchanted clothing for my experiment."
"You mean the experiment that turned Rainbow Dash into a guy a week ago?" Pinkie turned her head in Twilight's general direction, but couldn't make eye contact with the garment obscuring her vision.
"Sort of like that. I'll be honest, I didn't expect Rainbow Blitz to decline to change back; I'd thought that the obstacle of explaining his choice to everypony would convince him to remain a mare, but he was firm in his wish to be male even a couple days after I changed him back. I've quadruple-checked my spells and there's no evidence that he was influenced by magic at the time he made that decision, so I've just sort of accepted that that's how he'll stay for the foreseeable future."
"Ooh, did you hear that Rainbow and Fluttershy are spending more time together?" Pinkie exclaimed, her head whipping around so fast that the article of clothing on her head dislodged and fell to the ground. "Some ponies even think they're... you know... the 'd-word'!"
"D-word?"
"Dating! Duh!"
"Oh," Twilight said. "Well, if Rainbow and Fluttershy want to do that, then I guess they're welcome to date whomever they like. Although I have to wonder how Discord feels about that."
"So are you going to turn me into a dude, too?" Pinkie asked.
"That's what I've been saying, Pinkie," Twilight replied again. "Rainbow Blitz's test used a lot of spells that were already a part of the Royal Armor enchantments. This set of clothing is enchanted from scratch, and I want to see if I've properly replicated the spells that made up the original. Not only will it confirm the previous results, but it'll also give me an idea for how to work with other clothing beyond just guard armor. The original goal of this was to provide knowledge for a given field of expertise, so if the gear makes the pony, it would save a lot of money in time and training for a lot of jobs."
"Okie dokie lokie! So can I put all this stuff on now?"
"Yes, Pinkie, put it all on. And please do so normally this time."
Pinkie giggled. "Silly Twilight, I was already putting it on normally! But I'll put it on the way you want me to if that's what you're saying!" Pinkie threw the pinstripe suit over her back, buttoning it up at lightning speed despite its sleeves being a little too loose and a little too long for her.
"One last thing: Just like with Rainbow, if you want to stop at any time, tell me and I'll reverse it, okay?"
"Okay!" Pinkie easily yanked the red overalls over her shoulders and secured a matching bowtie around her neck. "That's everything!"
Twilight levitated a clipboard and pencil in front of her. "Alright, you should-"
Twilight was interrupted by a giggle from Pinkie Pie. "It tickles!" Pinkie waved a hoof that was already growing longer, the sleeve tightening snugly around it.
"It does?" Twilight responded. "If you can describe it, that would be helpful."
"Well," Pinkie said as she grew to eye level with Twilight, "it's a bunch of tingly-tingles in my legs, like Pinkie Sense except slow and sorta crawly! It's like somepony's blowing a bunch of air inside me making me feel really big and bulky!" Her body buffed out slightly, the straps of the overalls growing taut over her shoulders; her frame had broadened, but it was less from muscle growth and more from the naturally larger size of a stallion's body.
Pinkie gasped, and twirled in place. "I feel it! I feel it! Pinkie Junior, where are yooooou?"
Twilight immediately flinched and averted her gaze. "Um, you don't have to tell me about that bit, Pinkie."
"Okay!" Pinkie stopped twirling. "Hey, woah, my voice sounds silly! Laaaaaaa!" As she held the note, it shifted into a bubbly tenor. "Hee hee, this is really freaky!"
Twilight nodded. "Pinkie, I recommend you not talk for the next part, it might make your face hurt."
"But I-" Pinkie jerked her head down. "Ow..."
"It'll be quick, Pinkie," Twilight said, watching as Pinkie's jawbones shifted and reset themselves. While it didn't come close to the angular cut of Rainbow Blitz's chin, Pinkie's mare-like features were now hard to spot.
Pinkie gasped again. "Hey! My, uh... This doesn't feel so weird anymore!" Pinkie trotted in place, looking down at her hooves and pulling at her sleeves slightly. "Yeah! This is cool! And the clothing fits great!"
Twilight glanced at her clipboard. "So you'd say your body feels comfortable to you now? The dimensions and sizes of everything feel right?" She looked up to see Pinkie doing cartwheels and whooping at every revolution. "I guess that would be a yes."
Pinkie stopped with a jubilant leap in the air, balancing on one hoof. "Wow! I even feel like a guy now! You're so good at magic, Twilight!"
Twilight smiled, still adjusting to Pinkie's new voice. "Thanks, Pinkie."
"Pinkie?!" The pink party pony flipped forwards and landed a couple steps away from Twilight. Even though his build was much less brawny than Rainbow Blitz, as a stallion he still stood slightly taller than Twilight. "My name's Bubble Berry now, Twilight! Silly willy!"
Oh," Twilight said, returning her attention to her clipboard and scribbling down a note. "I'll make sure to note that down."
Bubble Berry adjusted his bowtie, flashing a pearly white smile. "Oh em gee, this is so awesome! I can't wait to see everypony's reaction!"
Twilight did a double take. "Wait, you'd rather not change back immediately either?"
"Nope!" Berry clicked his hooves, spinning around and hopping towards the door. "I'll let you know when I change my mind, though! Wowee, I can't wait to show the Cakes! Pumpkin and Pound and Gummy are going to be so surprised!"
"Wait!" Twilight shouted after him, raising a hoof in protest. "Don't go! You haven't-"
"Oh, sorry!" Bubble Berry stopped and crouched down low before leaping out of his getup entirely, leaving the pinstripe suit, suspenders, and bowtie to collapse onto the floor near the entrance. Bounding outside wearing nothing but his pink coat, Berry called back, "There's all your stuff! I'll see you later Twiliiiiiiiiiiight!"
Twilight let her outstretched hoof fall back to the ground as she stared blankly where her newly male friend had just been. "...You haven't yet filled out the exit poll..." She glanced back at her clipboard.
"Maybe quadruple-checking my work isn't thorough enough... I must have accidentally added a 'self-admiration' spell in there somewhere."
Exhaling through her nose, Twilight furrowed her brow, returning to her table where she began to search through her papers once again, reluctantly leaving the 'subject respondent sheet' paper alone.
Enchantment Experiment #63
"Okay," Twilight said, a notecard hovering in front of her encased in a magenta aura. "Starlight, are you ready?"
"I guess so," Twilight's student replied, an expression of concern on her face. "Why do you keep researching this spell anyway? You've already turned two friends of yours into guys, and that one stallion already came and asked you to make him a girl."
"That was a favor... kind of," Twilight said hurriedly. "It's not important. My friends were part of an experiment, and I'm actually making really good progress on that. I'm about as far as I can get without more field tests though, so I'm putting myself up this time."
"Why you?" Starlight lifted a hoof as if to take a step forward, but didn't move. "Why can't you get somepony else to do it?"
"I'd rather ask a friend than a stranger," Twilight explained, "because asking some mare in the street feels like an abuse of my status as princess. I didn't think Applejack's family would take kindly to it if she'd decided to stay male afterwards, and I really didn't want to push it on Fluttershy. And I really, really didn't want to push it on Rarity." Twilight hesitated. "Plus, it would be helpful if I could understand myself why both Rainbow Blitz and Bubble Berry didn't seem all that interested in changing back, even if Berry did tell me he'll be willing to return to being a girl in a couple days. Even with the subspells intended to help with the body dysphoria and gender identity, I would have expected them to want to change back based on matching their memories and avoiding awkward reactions alone."
Starlight's look of worry didn't abate, but she put her hoof back down. "I still think this is unnecessary..."
"Well," Twilight said, "if I do in fact manage to succeed here, I'll have isolated the process necessary to transmute a pony body from any object, not just clothing. I ran into roadblocks trying to enchant material that wasn't conductive to the enchantments I was using, so I'm testing a workaround. I have a ton of failsafes in this that'll revert the enchantment if it fails a step, so the two most likely outcomes are that nothing will happen or it'll do everything right."
"And why is it a gender flip again?"
"Testing replacements for the section that changes body, identity and orientation won't require an actual field test, so I've saved that for last. Getting the transfiguration to work properly is the hard part; once the proof of concept is there, the rest is entirely theoretical."
Starlight pursed her lips, but didn't say anything, stepping back and grabbing a spherical black stone sitting in a small cup on the table where Twilight kept her notes.
Twilight nodded to her, and her student rolled the ball towards her. Twilight grabbed it with her front hooves, brought it up to her horn so that the two touched, and activated her magic. A tingle of static electricity shot down her spine, and Twilight quickly cut off her magic, rolling the ball back towards Starlight.
As Starlight returned the ball to its place, Twilight brought a hoof up to her face, rotating it as the cup expanded and thickened. Twilight felt her hooves swelling almost like an allergic reaction, but upon further examination discovered that it was really more about how it felt than how it looked.
Trying to ignore the mild disappointment she felt that she would not be gaining Rainbow Blitz's kind of muscle definition, she instead examined her flank as her haunch expanded in size, stretching her cutie mark against her side. She bobbed her tail, watching the hair segment into three separate strips that retracted, leaving her tail shorter. "Not as girly, I guess," Twilight muttered to herself. Feeling a shift between her hind legs, she decided not to dwell much on it for the moment.
Turning back to look at Starlight, Twilight felt her chest twinge as her bone structure widened. She realized that, considering that she was already taller than most of her friends, she'd probably end up gaining at least a few inches in height over all of them. Her spinal column cracked and popped at the thought, stretching her neck to do just that.
Twilight closed her eyes, trying to stay calm as her mouth stretched and her chin felt like it was getting pulled out. The skin around her eyes tingled as well, and she couldn't suppress a grimace at feeling her carefully-styled mane shift and split.
Feeling the magic pushes and pulls on her body subside, Twilight opened her eyes to see Starlight staring wide-eyed at her, cheeks flush and mouth hanging wide open.
"Something wrong?" Twilight asked, before putting a hoof to her throat. Wow, wasn't expecting a voice sounding so much like my brother. His is a little deeper, though.
Starlight didn't respond immediately, blinking before shaking herself. "Holy cow," she whispered. "You're... really hot."
Twilight blinked. "I am?" She could already feel the magic inside her easing her into her own body; her entire head of height over Starlight barely felt weird at all. I wonder if I'm as tall as Cadance now?
"Y-Yeah..." Starlight covered her eyes with a hoof, looking away. "I have to force myself not to stare at you, you're just so..." She trailed off.
"Well, that wasn't an intended side effect," Twilight assured. She reviewed the spell in her head; next was her gender identity. She had wondered how the process had differed between Bubble Berry and Rainbow Blitz.
Thinking about "girl things," Twilight acknowledged that she felt like she was feeling less interested in a number of activities; Spike's "guy's night" didn't sound like it would be as boring to her, even it if were without Discord. Maybe I should ask my brother for his old Ogres and Oubliettes books to see if they interest me now...?
Twilight cringed as the magic pinched briefly in a specific part of his brain. Hold on, his? Yeah, his. Twilight was less surprised about the change than he was at how suddenly the shift had come; calling himself female now felt wrong somehow, even though just a moment earlier it was the only way he'd describe himself.
Now I know why Blitz and Berry correct pronouns so quickly. Next is... orientation. That's why Starlight is here... hopefully. Twilight refocused her eyes on Starlight, who was sneaking peeks of Twilight over her raised leg and blushing madly.
Twilight kept her gaze on Starlight, waiting for something to happen. Twilight began to worry that something was wrong when he didn't notice anything different about how Starlight looked, or how her mane framed her face, or how her eyes glowed in the luminescence of the castle lights, or how her soft, supple flanks gave a nice curve to her backside... Oh.
He snorted, half in amusement and half in trying to rid himself of his more impure thoughts. "I see what you mean when you talk about attractiveness... You aren't half-bad looking either by the way, Starlight."
The object of Twilight's newfound affection eeped , and her face turned beet red. She sat down, covering her entire face with both hooves.
Twilight stepped forward, putting a hoof around Starlight's shoulders. Wow, she's absolutely adorable! How didn't I notice it before? "It's okay, Starlight. I'm not going to hurt you."
Starlight looked up, locking eyes with Twilight for a second before jerking her head back to where her eyes were protected by her forelegs. "I can't even look at you without going crazy, you're just... I can't help but want to kiss you or something..."
"Shhhhhh." Twilight sat down next to her and began rubbing her back. "It's okay."
One last flash of magic ran through the alicorn's head; in the back of his mind, he remembered that it was to change his name, but he couldn't remember it being anything other than Dusk Shine. I'll have to check the records to make sure that part of the spell worked...
"Twilight, really," Starlight said, earning a chuckle from Dusk. Or Starlight could confirm it for me. "We shouldn't play with temptations here. It wouldn't be right."
"What's not right about it?" Dusk Shine asked, genuinely curious. "I'm a stallion, and I'm straight. You're a mare, and as far as I know, you're straight. What's the problem?"
"B-Because!" Starlight squeaked.
Dusk resisted the urge to d'awwww. Still, he probably shouldn't tease too much. "Alright, I suppose it's less difficult for me to consider thanks to the magic at work." He dropped his hoof from Starlight's back, and got to his hooves, taking a respectful step back.
Starlight Glimmer took several slow, deep breaths before removing her hooves from her face, looking at Dusk Shine again. Her mouth wavered, and her blush returned. "So, h-how do you feel, Twilight?"
"It's Dusk Shine now," Dusk said nonchalantly, "and really, it feels normal. I understand what Rainbow Blitz meant when he said it feels like you've always been this way." Dusk ran a hoof across his chin, realizing that he'd probably have to start shaving; even though he felt like a stallion inside and out, there were still some things he'd have to learn about being the opposite gender.
"So... does this mean you're not going to change back either?"
Dusk shook his head. "I want to write down observations and emotional responses on the matter before I did anything else, so I knew I was going to be this way for a while regardless of whether I wanted to change back or not."
Starlight licked her lips. "So... I'm going to have to deal with an alicorn prince wandering around the castle... indefinitely?"
Dusk Shine chuckled again, a full-throated laugh that caused Starlight's hooves to plant themselves right back in front of her face in embarrassment. "I don't know about indefinitely. Like I said, I'd like to see how everypony's reactions affect my viewpoint in all this. Now that I know what it feels like, I'm also honestly interested in the results I might get if I were to remove the dysphoria and identity sections of the reversion spell. But all that's for later. Right now, I need to note down that the test run was a success and take the initial results."
Starlight nodded. "W-Well, I'm just going to go back to my room then. Lots of, um, studying."
"Wait," Dusk said. "Before you go... perhaps you'd like that quick kiss you said you wanted?"
A squeal escaped through Starlight's nostrils, and her horn flared, but not before a magenta aura encompassed the unicorn first.
"Hold on a second," Dusk Shine said, trotting over to Starlight, "I'm actually serious. If you want to, then go ahead. I don't mind."
Starlight's hooves flopped to the ground as her jaw swung open. "Wh-What?! I... I could never..."
Dusk raised a hoof, silencing her. "Shh... All I'm saying is, it's entirely up to you." Twilight's magic around Starlight faded. "If you don't want to, then go ahead and continue your studies."
Starlight's horn continued to hum with magic, but she didn't cast anything. Finally, it sputtered out, and Starlight slowly got to her hooves, her ears down and her head low. "I... I guess, mmmmmaybe just one..."
Dusk Shine put his hoof underneath Starlight's chin, bringing her gaze to his eyes. "Just one."
The two closed in, and their lips connected for a brief moment.
Pulling apart, Starlight Glimmer quickly activated her magic, teleporting away.
Dusk Shine licked his lips; for how short it was, Starlight's kiss was surprisingly gentle.
Smiling, the Prince of Friendship looked back at the black stone that had changed him into who he'd always been, and rolled his eyes before trotting over to the table to begin filling out his self-report.
Author's Note
I have no idea what I'm writing anymore... I should probably stop before someone gets hurt, lol.
Next chapter is the last, and it will be an epilogue.
Also, while it may have played a part in this chapter, the romantic feelings between Dusk Shine and Starlight will not be pursued by this fic, so I'm not going to change the tags to include romance.
Enchantment Experiment #63
"Come on, Starlight! Everypony else is at the picnic already! If you don't hurry, we're going to be late!"
"Sorry, sorry!" Starlight shouted back to Twilight Sparkle, grabbing one last newspaper clipping and carefully putting it in a set of saddlebags before rocketing out the doorway to her room. She blazed through the corridor, taking a running leap through the double doors to the foyer and clearing the balcony before activating her magic to slow her fall so that she didn't accidentally sprain a hoof jumping down an entire story. Sticking the landing, Starlight took a moment to catch her breath.
Spike whistled from where he'd been standing next to Twilight at the castle entrance. "You're pretty fast when you want to be, Starlight."
Starlight couldn't help but blush before turning to Twilight. "I apologize, I just wanted to grab a few things to share with the rest of the gang. Are we ready to go?"
The Princess of Friendship nodded. "Yep! Let's go!"
The two ponies and dragon exited the Castle of Friendship, trotting at a brisk pace towards the Ponyville Park.
"So, what is it you're planning to share with us?" Twilight asked.
"Just some stuff," Starlight said, trying to put on a poker face. "You'll see when we get there."
Twilight eyed the unicorn. "Hmmmmm... Something tells me you don't want me to know what it is."
"Mm, no, uh-uh," Starlight said, shaking her head. "It's just stuff. Barely even worth mentioning, really."
Twilight opened her mouth to say more, but she glanced in the direction they were trotting and sighed. "Well, we're here, so I guess I really will find out soon enough."
The three entered the park, surveying the ponies spending the day there for a moment until a waving white hoof caught their attention. They waved back to Rarity before approaching their friends, who had already laid down a blanket and set out several dishes of food.
"Hey, glad you could make it!" Rainbow Blitz said. "We were beginning to think you three were going to be no-shows."
"You know I'd never miss something like this, Rainbow," Twilight answered, sitting down at an empty spot on the blanket, "but somepony wanted to pack something to share at the last second."
"Share?!" Pinkie Pie jumped several feet in the air. "I like sharing!"
"I can haul all that stuff out later," Starlight said, taking her own seat. "Right now though, I'm starving."
"Of course, dear, we'll wait. Cucumber sandwich?" Rarity offered.
"Thanks, Rarity."
Spike took a load off beside Rarity and drew out a glittering sapphire stone. "Thanks for suggesting this, Fluttershy. Twilight's been cooping herself up too much with her research again."
Twilight huffed, but Fluttershy giggled, looking over from where she was doting on a small babbling foal cradled in her front hooves. "Thank you, Spike; I've been trying to get Rosary out of the house every so often anyway. I trust Discord, but sometimes he forgets that you have to be gentle with babies, especially ones only a few months old."
"Speaking of, how's she been doing?" Twilight asked.
"She's been doing great," Rainbow Blitz replied, a smile of pride on his face. "She's going to grow up to be big and strong, just like her daddy."
Fluttershy didn't comment, turning back to Rosary and tickling her chin, causing the foal to shriek in laughter.
Everypony at the picnic smiled sans Spike, who rolled his eyes. "Put a foal within ten feet of a pony and their brain will turn to mush, I swear."
As Twilight began scolding Spike for his snide comment, Pinkie Pie leaned in towards Starlight. "Pssst! What's that thing you were going to share? I wanna know!"
"Well, it really isn't much," Starlight said, magically opening her saddlebags and levitating out several newspaper articles. "We've gotten a lot of mail recently about Twilight's research, and I thought it would be interesting to share what's been going on, if none of you were really following the stories."
"Oh, believe me dearie, I've heard plenty about it already," Rarity replied, a small grimace on her face. "Hopefully you won't just be sharing the gossip columns and tabloids? If I've seen a 'Gender Change Scandal' headline once, I've seen it a thousand times."
"I was actually going to share some of the better news." Starlight picked out a particular cutout and pointed to the picture, showing a beaming stallion. "This is a professional model for full-body costumes in the acting industry. He's even been in Bridleway productions."
"And is he...?" Rarity asked poignantly.
"He acted in female roles previously, yes," Starlight finished, digging through her saddlebags again. "He also wrote a letter to Princess Twilight personally thanking her."
"Really, Starlight?" Twilight covered her face with a hoof, her cheeks turning red. "You really don't have to share what ponies have written me..."
"Don't worry, I specifically picked this one because his note is short and nice." Starlight cleared her throat, and read: "I know perhaps you've heard many similar stories from other ponies, but your spell is one of the most wonderful and soul-healing inventions ponykind has ever had the joy to receive. It has finally given me what I need to feel happy, and every new day has become a gift for me to live as who I have always wanted to be. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I wish you a happy and long life, with many friends!"
Everypony at the picnic "Aww"ed, and even Spike smiled at the model's heartfelt gratitude. Rosary babbled nonsense in Fluttershy's hooves.
"Twilight, you should be proud your magic has helped so many ponies," Rainbow Blitz said, leaning toward Fluttershy to look at Rosary and smile. "Of course, coming from yours truly, that should be obvious."
"I know," Twilight replied. "I'm a little frustrated my efforts wound up being too impractical for enchanting clothing, though. Everypony seems so much more interested in the gender aspects of my research than working knowledge applications."
"Yeah, 'cause it's fun!" Pinkie said. "I love being Bubble Berry! And I love being Pinkie Pie, too!"
"Which would you say you like better, darling?" Rarity asked. "I'm rather curious about which you... prefer."
"Ummmm..." Pinkie tapped a hoof to her chin. "I dunno! I wouldn't say being Bubble's better or worse than being Pinkie, just that they feel... differently nice?"
"I think that's a good way to put it, Pinkie," Twilight said. "I'd say the same thing about my experience with it."
"I'm just glad ponies have an opportunity to live as who they feel they are," Fluttershy said as she adjusted her grip on Rosary. "I know it's made me a very happy mare."
"And it's made me a very happy stallion," Rainbow added, curling a hoof around Fluttershy. "In a more literal sense."
Starlight nodded. "So, Twilight, would you say your experiment was a failure?"
"I suppose not," Twilight said. "I didn't expect it to turn out the way it did, but it is what it is, and it seems overall a positive thing for most. But, for better or worse, I already closed the book on Experiment number 63 a while ago."
"Oh? What are you on now, Twilight?" Rarity asked.
"Well, I've worked on a few since then, and I'll be moving on to Experiment number 69 next week."
"Oh, here we go again..." Spike muttered, slapping his hand to his forehead as everypony, including Rosary, laughed.
Author's Note
Aaaaaaaand here's some random resolution stuff that makes no sense and just ends the fic, establishing a pattern of such for my stories now apparently. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it!
