0"Come in," called a somewhat familiar voice.

I got the door open on the first try. I sang out the electronic beeps of a victory fanfare as I stepped inside.

A mare was there, smiling at me. "Hello there," she greeted. "What brings you here? Close the door, no need to share your business."

I closed that door and kept turning back to Starlight. "Nice to meet you, Star."

Starlight inclined her head. "Did somepony else give away my name? Curse them." She snickered as she waved to an open chair across from her. "Who do I have the pleasure of talking to? New student?"

"Yes." I took the offered seat, even if I fidgeted in it. Given the option, satanding was fine while talking. I didn't bring that up. "Gentle Heart said I should come here."

As if timed, a letter popped into being. "I'm going to bed." She grabbed it with her magic and read over it with quick sweeps of her eyes. "Yep, and... Looks like you were looking uncomfortable." She put the letter down, hooves together. "We can't have that. What's wrong? You can be honest with me. I'm here to help, promise."

It was Starlight. The Starlight Glimmer. I wasn't big on stars, human ones. She wasn't a human one. She wasn't some voice actor that got paid to say Starlight's lines. It was the Starlight, in the pony flesh. A thousand thoughts ran through my mind, but no words came out. It was the first time I felt star struck, and I wasn't sure what to do about it.

"Are you alright?" She reached, placing a hoof on one of mine.

I jerked my hoof back, feeling awful a moment later. "Sorry. You, sorry. That was me. I shouldn't do that." Freaking out at such mild touch? Some adult... "It was my first day of class."

"Congratulations." Starlight clapped gently. "First day of any class, or just class here?"

"Here." I had more words, but they didn't come out.

"I... would like to cast a spell on you." She leaned forward with a smirk. "But the dean made me promise to never cast it, so... I won't cast it unless you first let me, then promise never to tell them. How's that sound?"

I hesitated, surprised by Starlight's abrupt suggestion to secretly cast an undisclosed spell on me. As eager as I was to witness more real magic, the unexplained nature of this proposal stirred unease. Still, Starlight had proven herself reformed from past missteps - perhaps this spell acted akin to a magical counseling aid? Curiosity warred with caution in my unsettled mind.

"I, uh...before agreeing, could I ask what exactly this spell does?" I ventured carefully. "Not that I assume anything untoward!" I added hastily, seeing her start. "It's just, you know, informed consent and all..."

I gave a feeble chuckle. Seeing Starlight's inquisitive gaze, I blew out a short breath and tried a different tack. "I really do appreciate you offering to use your magic to help me somehow. Magic still blows my mind after the world I knew." I met her eyes. "I'd just like to better understand what I'm getting into."

I attempted a comforting smile, hoping I hadn't offended her sincerity. Starlight possessed enviable abilities, true, but ethical questions lingered on misapplying such gifts without transparency. However anxiety stirred uncertainty in me, I desired building trust most.

Starlight perked right up. "World you knew? Oh! You're that thing Professor Twilight mentioned." She clapped her hooves with a bright smile. "She said she returned with a living creature. Look at you." She scanned over my body with her eyes. "What were you to start?"

I felt more relaxed as she became the fangirl in the situation. "Bipedal simian, now quadraped equine." I waved a hoof at her. "And okay with that. Was middle aged, now not even fully an adult."

Starlight blinked at that second part. "Really?! Wow." She turned a hoof on herself. "Almost that old myself. Almost." She glared with a friendly smirk. "If you ask me how old I am exactly, I will turn your organs inside out."

Part of me felt she might do that if angered enough. I didn't plan on doing that. "I'm 43 earth years, which means nothing around here."

"Yep... No way to know if your years and our years are even kinda close." She shrugged at that. "But you are talking now, so maybe no spells are needed. Wonderful! Now... Let's meet."

I chuckled along with Starlight's playful organ-inversion threat, the humor putting me further at ease. Still, her casual interest in my unique situation pleasantly surprised me. I had half expected disbelief or dismissiveness regarding my improbable interdimensional metamorphosis.

"Yeah, from middle-aged human to teenage pony overnight does take some mental rewiring," I acknowledged with a self-conscious hoof rub to my neck. "Like you noticed though, I'm getting more used to things bit by bit. Ponies are quite welcoming overall, really."

I cleared my throat, realizing we had rather skipped formalities in our curiosity. "But I should actually introduce myself properly. I'm David. Recent transplant here from, well, Earth we call it." I extended a hoof her way.

Starlight took my hoof and gave it a firm pump and release. "Well, David was it?" She waited for my nodding confirmation. "I'm the pony that brought a whole village back in time to try to force them not to change cutie marks. Mockery is something I'm not unfamiliar with."

She smirked at that. "I learned better. Changed my whole world, really." She rested back in her seat, looking me over appraisingly. "So, you have two choices I can see." She lifted a hoof, counting off points. "One, awkardly try to force who you were to fit who you are now." A second hoof went up. "Two, embrace who you are now, without limitations your old form had."

I colored at that. One problem I had, I imagined things. They were good things, and bad things. Looking at Starlight, a thousand potential options came and left. Lewd things, violent things, and just strange things. The same imagination that let me write stories also played out in my mind, and my mind had all my sensations in it.

"Well... I am a pony now. I'm okay with that... That's the first step, right?" I casually didn't mention the many improper thoughts.

Starlight nodded approvingly. "That's right, realizing you're okay with your new form is key! Much better mindset for tackling all the changes when you fully embrace it rather than wrestle."

Her expression turned thoughtful. "Which isn't to say it's effortless adjusting to a quadrupedal body of course. Even the simplest muscle memory actions must be re-choreographed after bipedal starts." She gave a playful wiggle attempting to scratch under her own chin with a hind hoof. "Why, something as normal as casual touch could be disorienting with mismatched intimacy scripts!"

My face heated slightly at how swiftly she had pinpointed one subtle area of uneasy transition. But that one was my fault. "I have intimacy issues... I never had a girlfriend, boyfriend, or any other romantic partner." I rubbed nervously along one arm with the opposing hoof. "Sorry." Was it her fault? No, but I felt bad.

Starlight waved a hoof dismissively. "No apologies needed - navigating intimate connections can be complicated territory regardless of backgrounds or burdens." She tilted her head consideringly. "Although, if you've never had relationships before, suddenly becoming a different species with very tactile physical modes of interaction could stir up extra vulnerability..."

Starlight smiled compassionately. "Well, just know there's no shame if it catches you unexpectedly off-guard. Pony contact habits can overwhelm those more used to personal space bubbles." Her expression grew impish. "Why, I still sometimes get self-conscious when Pinkie Pie goes full snuggle mode out of nowhere!"

I had to chuckle, envisioning the effusive pony glomming onto a stiffly tolerant Starlight. Just imagining that vibrant mare could lighten moods. Part of me wondered if I should look for Pinkie and see if...

"Thanks for the reassuring perspective," I acknowledged sincerely. "You definitely peg how suddenly being a snuggly race can stir mixed signals for me, not raised that way." I lifted a hoof in twitchy evidence. "Probably part of why everything feels so emotionally turned on its head, really..." I coughed, feeling unexpectedly lighter having voiced those vulnerable hindrances hampering things.

Starlight smiled warmly back. "Indeed they do. And remember, you've already shown more openness to change in a day than some do in a lifetime. That courage deserves applause regardless of any lingering bumps ahead." She mimed clapping proudly. "So kudos to you, good sir! That special spark will see you through, I have no doubt."

"So, about class." I smiled, brightly I thought, it probably wasn't much of a smile. "I'll admit it. I hate writing."

"Hm?" Starlight raised a brow. "Are you still learning your alphabet?"

That teen ponies could potentially have that problem felt amazing. "No. I love the idea of writing, but I hate holding a pencil and actually writing. Back home, I could write without it, and I did, a lot. I'm a writer even, as a job, back home."

Starlight tapped her chin thoughtfully. "A writer who hates the physical act of writing by hoof - that does present an intriguing conundrum. Yet clearly the creative passion remains strong if you pursued publishing."

She brightened, sitting up. "Well, there may be solutions if we get imaginative. For one - dictation spells!" She lit her horn, swirling magical energies gathering as she gestured dramatically towards a quill waiting on her desk. It promptly sprang upright, hovering expectantly.

"Behold! Now you can simply speak your compositions aloud while magic captures your words in written form." The quill danced an eager jig as Starlight withdrew her glow with a satisfied nod. "Admittedly such enchantments only create rough drafts, but having me, Twilight, or another skilled unicorn proofread and polish things up afterward is certainly doable."

That was... very neat, but there was an obvious problem... "I can't talk in the middle of class. I'd annoy everyone around me, and the teacher."

"True," Starlight admitted, waving the magic away. "A quick fix isn't going to do this... Hm. Well, what did your creatures back home use? Maybe we have something like it?"

I doubted that, but tried. "Like a typewriter?"

Starlight jerked at that. "Really? Wow. Those are expensive. Hmm... I'll... have to talk to the dean, but I'll try my best." She reached for me, just to hesitate. "Permission to touch?" When I nodded, she patted me on the shoulder. "Have faith, I'm on the case! go on home for now, if you're done with classes. I'll try to have an answer tomorrow."

I blinked in surprise as Starlight made her bold pledge, wondering if that dean would be willing to go so far just for me. Also who was that dean?

"I really appreciate you bringing up my situation to the higher-ups," I said earnestly, shoulder tingling slightly from her gentle contact. "I should have known Starlight would come through."

I returned her pat with an awkward but sincere one of my own. "And here I was just hoping for some counseling coping strategies or self-advocacy scripts, maybe." I gave a self-deprecating chuckle. "Should've known better than underestimating Starlight's creative problem-solving moxie."

I made my way over to the door, smile lingering. "Anyhow, I'm happy to leave you to pull your mentor magic leveraging whatever resources around here can adapt."

With a grateful swish of my tail, I pulled open her door with my teeth - still easier than manually. "Good luck with the Powers That Be! However it pans out." Humming softly to myself, I felt ready to patiently tackle more mundane matters back at the library while awaiting what news came the next day.

But, before that, I had to check in on the online world I hadn't given up on yet.

Author's Note

Accessibility! Students need such tools at times.

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