John Sampson's Story

Everypony else was asleep. Twilight and I have the library all to ourselves.

“Celestia took me to the old castle in the Everfree for my demonstration. Do you feel up to something like that or do you want to wait?”

“Ready?”

“Yes.”

‘pop’ Twilight and I are in the same courtyard except we’re under a full moon. I shift to my A-Pony and I can see and ‘see’. There’s no fireworks this time and I’m comfortable.

“How are we doing, John?”

“We are doing good and enjoying the new view of the world.”

“I can feel your strength. Apparently you are as strong as a Unicorn as you are as an Earth pony.”

“That would make perfect sense.”

“You see that bench over there? See if you can lift it. Be very sure to specify slowly and how high.”

I see it and ‘see’ it. It’s a simple stone plank on top of two stone blocks. I see the divisions. I touch the plank with my magic and will it to lift slowly to waist high. I lifts on one end and begins to slide. I reach out with my hands and steady it. No problems. Then I realize that it’s over there across the courtyard. But I can still feel it in my hands. So I pick it up with my hands, turn it over, swap ends, and set back exactly on the blocks.

“Twilight is staring at me, “How did you do that?”

I choose a flower from the bush behind the bench. Carefully cupping it in one hand, I squeeze the stem behind the flower with my other hand until it separates. I carry the flower over to Twilight and carefully insert it into her mane between her ears. Then I caress her cheek feeling every hair and loving it. She leans into my touch a little and purrs.

“I think I’ve got fine manipulation down. Can you come into me and watch how I do it?”

Twilight steps over to me and rests her horn lightly on my head. I feel her presence.

I reach over to the bush and cut another flower placing it next to the flower already in Twilight’s mane.

“You’re using your hands, John?”

“No, I’m using my magic. It’s like the memories. What you are seeing there is a common computer file browser. I’ve used many of them for years. I’ve even written a couple. Now how many digital computers are there in Equestria? One. My smart phone. But magic has no form. Your will gives it form, right?”

“Right, John.”

“So I come from Terra with all these forms that nopony has ever thought of. They shape my magic in ways previously unknown in Equestria. All that time you spent in Unicorn school wasn’t learning magic. It was learning fine motor skills. Being born human, I come with extreme fine motor skills.”

“That makes scary good sense."

I play around with the landscape for a while. There doesn't seem to be any limit on how much I can lift. I just make my magic hands bigger.

Twilight is bored, "Right now, I think we need to rest and digest. You may come up with some more wild ideas. Go ahead and change back.”

I did and ‘pop’ we are home. Creeping quietly, we merge into the pile and drift away.

“Zero four hundred, John”

Slide carefully out of the pile, hit the toilet. Thump my chest, and head for the kitchen. I’m annoyed but I have to learn.

“Spike, please put my tea in something Earth pony friendly. It’s my fault for not having a system to tell you what I am this morning.”

“John, I’m not sure anypony has ever had that problem.”

Twilight wanders in just then, “What problem?”

“Waking up in different bodies on different days.”

Swift joins in, “Sounds like a stallion problem to me.”

“Twilight, my subconscious has been busy with those new memories and experiences. I feel like something is missing right now. I’m tempted to just do it.”

“You might want to get some more experience first. There’s still some important things you haven’t tried.”

“My mind knows you are right but the rest of me is going nuts.”

Swift is looking from me to Twilight and back, “What in the hell are two gibbering about?”

I hadn’t thought about this part of it. “Swift, I’m turning into a Unicorn. I haven’t meant to hide it from you but most of it is happening inside my head.”

Swift just smiled, “About time.”

Spike says, “Cool.”

“Please help me keep this inside the band. It would trigger madness if it got out to Blueblood.

“And Twilight, I’ve been thinking. Handling information, making useful things, doing complex tasks, these are all basics of civilization. Humans and ponies developed parallel ways of doing these things. I was an elite top level technologist on Terra because of the skills you’ve been seeing me exercise. So why shouldn’t my pony self parallel that on Equestria?”

Twilight is agreeing, “The more you say, the more sense you make. But today we have to move your tech and start preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. If there’s time left over we’ll practice some more.”

I go back to human so we can eat breakfast and do PT. All went normally and we dropped by Steel’s office.

“You can have your room back after today. We’re going to move it all right now.”

“Where Twilight has said you were going with it?”

“Yes. And we need to have a head session some time soon. I’ve got some new internal tech for you.”

“That sounds extra interesting. Just pick a time and tell me.”

“Twilight and I open the locks with our keys and go in. I reassemble my weapons and kit. Then I leave with everything on my shoulder or carried just like I brought it in. It’s a quick trip down the hall, around the corner and up the stairs in the tower to our new safe storage.

“Mares, I’m going to leave you to party planning. I’m going to pay Luna a visit. I owe her an update and I want to offer her some of the new ‘wetware’.”

Twilight and Swift agreed so I set out for Luna’s private apartment. The Guard at the door waved me through. She’s in the main room relaxing.

“Hello and welcome, John Sampson.”

“Hello my good friend Luna.”

I walked over and rubbed cheeks with her.

“I have something to show you.”

I removed and folded my clothes then shifted to my inner pony.

“Mine Sister hath told me of this but not of the look. It suits thou, John.”

“I like it. There is more but I will not show it in Canterlot just yet.”

“Celestia hath disclosed that part also.”

“Celestia doesn’t know the whole story. Twilight and I have discovered that many of my talents from Terra transfer to Equestria. Would you like to see some of them?”

I showed her my file browser and memories of using my hands to pluck flowers for Twilight.

“If beginning magic students can simply download my standard systems, they can spend the next several years on advanced studies instead of what humans call ‘reinventing the wheel’. Graduate students can improve my systems or invent new systems for their thesis.”

We settle back to socialize and I preen her wings for a couple of hours. Luna is a very happy Alicorn so I take a break.

“Luna, I’m going to take a few Night Courts for you.”

“There be no need, Friend John.”

“I know that but Celestia has me taking Day Courts and I am Herd Stallion, not Celestia’s personal servant. I will not favor any of my mares. So if she gets a day off, so do you and Twilight. Besides, I intend to spend any extra time visiting.”

That got me a full wing hug.

“Swift and Twilight are planning the Sun Celebration. I will escort Celestia to the first half but you get me for the rest of it. I am thinking of changing clothes to match you when I do that. Is there anything special I need to know.

The hug got tighter and with some heavy cheek and nose added in.

We have lunch in Luna’s kitchen and she’s having the time of her life feeding the helpless Earth pony. This is going to be good for giggles forever.

“Luna, I really need to go somewhere secluded and practice with my horn. I want to be proficient enough to shock an attacker. I have this worry about the upcoming celebration. They’ve used one to slip in assassins before.”

“Thou went with Twilight to the main courtyard in the old castle. Will that suffice?”

“Yes.”

And before I could finish the word, we were there. I immediately shifted to A-Pony.

“That’s what I want to learn most. But for now, what comes after fine manipulation?”

“Didst Celestia play the old rooted block trick on thou?”

“She asked me to lift that statue over there and I told here it was part of the pavement and I didn’t want to trash the courtyard.”

“Thou hast passed the first half of thy test. Now thou must learn to make the statue ready for thy lifting. Watch with thy magic.”

I stood watching as she wrapped the statue in her magic then pulled the magic up to the middle of the column it is sitting on. Her magic rippled then I could ‘see’ that there is a division between the top and bottom halves of the column. Her magic rippled again and there is no division.

“I see the division come and go but I don’t see a cut or join happen.”

“This requires a faith in thyself. Just as thou may wrap the statue in thy magic and lift it, thou may wrap it and change it. I willed that the statue be with division and I willed that it be without. The trick be in knowing for the first time that thou canst alter the solid world by thy will.”

I reach out and wrap a hand around the statue. I decide that it should have a neat platform on top of the column and be standing loose on it. I will it so and lift the statue enough to see air under it. Then I grasp the head with my other hand and will a separation in the neck. I rotate the head half around and will the separation to be gone. Then I set it back on its platform and will that separation away.

“You forgot something. I already know that I can throw a spell that alters an entire world. Remember my Oath?”

“I would give much to witness Celestia’s countenance when next she visits this place. Very well done, Friend John. There remains one test between thy will and mine. Thou must learn the art of self levitation and thou must learn it unassisted. The method of thy learning will be used to learn teleportation.

Change thou back to thy ‘safe’ body and we will return to Canterlot. Spend thine time on this conundrum but do not expect immediate understanding.”

I shift and we ‘pop’ into her apartment. We spend a little more time rubbing and grooming but. . .

“I have to go. I thank you for the lesson and for being my friend. I wish you would come and spend time with the herd in the tower. You would be among friends. Cadance has been happy there.”

“I will consider it, Friend John.”

Human and dressed, I leave past the same Guard pony. Back in the tower, nopony is home but Swift. She’s in the library, reading. I plop down beside her and lift her on top of me.

“I remember this and haven’t done it recently enough. You, my perfect Swift, have been ignored far too much.”

“You aren’t ignoring me, John. I feel your heart every time you look at me. I know your love all day every day.”

“But I haven’t said it often enough. And it’s not just the feelings. You are the other half of the Royal Stallion. The half that makes me look good and right on top of everything. I will forever owe you for that.”

“Don’t be silly, John. You are Royal. I’m just your gofer.”

“You are the only pony that believes that. Steel and Shining have both notified me that they will challenge me for you if I ever give them half a chance.”

I haven’t seen that shade of red for a while, “And you just let me go play with Shining . . .”

“It made you happy. You spend too much of your life making me happy. You need some moments for yourself. If anything happens to me, I want you to go to him. Make him as happy as you have made me.”

“You’re the strongest stallion in Equestria. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

“Swift, there will be a time between when the Blueblood herd realizes that it is possible for me to ascend and when I can actually do it that I will be vulnerable. Nopony knows what will happen then. If I fail, I don’t want you to forget me but I also don’t want you ruin what is left of your life thinking I would consider that honor. Do we understand each other?”

She’s clinging hard now but no tears, “Yes, John, no matter what may happen I will always honor you including in this.”

“Good. Now that’s out of the way, I’ll need dress to match Celestia for the first half of the Sun Celebration and to match Luna for the second half. And since the biggest parts are outdoors in the Central Courtyard, I’ll wear my big sword. I’ll look good on the balcony anyway.”

“Yes, you will.”

From below, “Honey, I’m home.” I have to giggle. I taught Twilight that.

“Up here, Twilight.”

Twilight comes bouncing up the stairs followed by Spike. Spotting Swift on top of me, she bounces over and sits on my legs.

“We’ve got him now, Swift.”

I smiled, “Who has who? This has always been my goal, to be covered in warm furry love.”

Spike says, “Call me when the mush is over.”

I reply, “Not yet Spike. We were talking about the Summer Celebration. I’ll be starting with Celestia and ending with Luna but I will be with one of them. If Twilight gets too involved or has to run an errand, stick with Swift or me. I don’t want you to become a target.”

“Aw, John. I can take care of myself.”

“Spike, that’s not my concern. I know that a small Dragon is still a Dragon. But killing changes you, even in defence of those you love. I want to put that pain off for as long as possible for you. It’s the kind of thing that parents do.”

“But what am I supposed to do if they attack you?”

“You are supposed to do what all stallions do. Keep the mares safe. Get them away while I hold the attackers back. A serious battle with me is liable to destroy acreage. I don’t want to be worrying about them getting hurt so your job will be to get them out of the way.”

“I can do that. And now I can leave you to your mush.”

When Spike had gone Twilight said quietly, “You know that he has enough dragonfire to annoy two ponies at most then he’s out?”

“Of course. But he is a stud. A small, young stud but still a stud. He will do his best no matter what you say. I would prefer that he do it within my plan. And we owe him his pride.”

“Thank you, John.”

“You don’t get off that easy. Luna gave me an assignment. I have to figure out how to self levitate.”

“Then you know I can’t help you.”

“Yes but I need to be in a place where I can try it and you can help with that.”

“Let me get back to you on that. I have an idea.”

Dinner is both harder and easier as an Earth pony. Salad is all it takes but getting it for myself is tricky. We go quickly to our sleeping pile because we are going without the day after tomorrow. With Luna’s Celebration added on I will be going non-stop for about thirty hours.