The Magic of Musicby MoowellChaptersTransitionContactExplorationInteractionBathMagicTransition“Dude, great party! Kinda small, but I'm glad I came!” shouted Krys over the blaring music. “Glad you could make it, Sleight!” the host/DJ shouted back, using her stage name. “I wasn't sure you'd be able to come, especially since your grandad is such a strict guy!” Krys existed for the night life and was well known around the school as a gifted DJ. Her grandfather, however, is a practitioner of classical musical arts and is very assertive when it comes to training and recording the old style. “Snuck out, Digit! Wouldn't miss this for the world!” It had been a while since she got away from the studio, and a night with her very bohemian friends was just the thing she needed. “Hey DJ, crank up the bass! I've been workin' slow songs all week and I need to unwind!” “Why don't you step up here and strike a few beats, then? You're amazing at it, and it would be an honor!” “Come on, tonight's my break! I wanna be shakin' so bad there's like eight of you!” “You asked for it!” And when the bass drops, there are only two words to say: Aww Yeah! Krys downed the rest of her drink and danced till she dropped. Which was an unsurprisingly short time after she finished the drink. Upon seeing this, the DJ allowed the music to die down. “Damn, she's out cold, even after the bass drop. I thought she'd last longer, bein' a jockey herself, but behold, the modern day magic known as the sleeping pill!” A small group of people clustered around the unconscious party-goer. From beneath a case of beer, the host unlocked a compartment which held 6 hooded robes. “With the modern day magic aside...” She put one on before handing out the rest to the others, who then held hands and surrounded Kris, forming a five-pointed circle. “...it's time for some not-so-modern-day magic. Let's begin.” He raised his hands toward the group as they began swaying. “Oh, powerful nightmare,” they chanted in chorus as Digit began to play a dark, ethereal rhythm on the pads. “we call upon your might...” The night had a full moon, just like the book called for. Not only that, but it was also the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. Digit could only think this was the perfect chance to try out the new spell. Half an hour later the chant neared completion, but... “Ugh... What's going on?” Krys mumbled, still woozy from the drug administered in her drink. “She's metabolized the pill already?! It's too soon!” cried the host/overseer. Krys's body began to glow. “Hurry up! The magic is almost done!” The rhythm increased and the chanters sped on the flow of their words as she groggily rose to her feet, furious at being doped. “--Take this human away! This human, our rival!” “More magic?! I'm sick of your games, Digit! I'm gonna--” In a flash she disappeared, leaving only her clothes behind. The group stood silent, stunned at the sudden disappearance of the girl. After a moment of complete stillness, Digit smiled and let off a relieved sigh. “...It actually worked! Now, who wants to really party?!” He picked up the music right where it left off, ready to blow the ears off all the uneasy party-ers. ********************* Once up on a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there lived a Pegasus pony by the name of Fluttershy. This Pegasus was, as her name suggested, very shy. She preferred to live by herself on the edge of the Everfree Forest rather than in town with all the other ponies. She did have a few friends, but more often than not, one could find her tending to the many animals with which she lived. One day, while she was feeding the chickens, a small flock of colorful birds flew straight to her house with news of a creature they had never seen before in the forest. This was relatively common since the Everfree Forest was, for the most part, an unexplored jungle. There were just so many scary monsters that nopony dared to go inside, so Fluttershy had asked the birds to tell her all about the creatures that lived there. She took out a pad and quill and began to take notes on the description. This creature, the birds told her, was different from all the rest. It was fleshy, but had no fur, feathers, or scales to keep it warm, and no armor to protect its pale skin. Its legs were long, round, and slightly bulbous. A set of smaller appendages were at the ends of each leg instead of a hoof or claws. The bottom two legs were larger near the flank than the top two, but had smaller appendages at their ends. It was lying down, curled into a ball on the ground. It had a pure white mane but no tail. Its teeth were flat, and its snout turned down instead of up. Its eyes were small and round, but closed so their color was unknown. As Fluttershy added her notes to the sizable catalog of wildlife, several thoughts nagged in the back of her mind. First, it was curled up on the ground instead of standing up on its oddly shaped legs, and its eyes were closed. Second, this creature was in the Everfree Forest with no protection from weather and no claws or sharp teeth to defend itself. Third, it was alone. Fluttershy's care for wildlife instinctively awakened at the thoughts. “Birdies, go and fly over the creature's position in the forest. Don't lose it, okay?” The birds chirped in assent and flew off to find it again as Fluttershy ran to town to get help. ********************* Krys clutched her aching head. Ugh... Just woke up with a massive headache and no clothes. I can't believe those jerks! She mentally fumed. Let's go party at Camp Vinewood, they said. It'll be awesome, they said. Yeah, awesome, up until somebody gets her coke spiked. You know what? I can handle that. I guess I can handle being stripped, too (once I knock more than a few heads together). After all, there weren't any guys at the party except Digit, and he's got no balls anyway so it's not like I'm gonna be pregnant or anything. She looked around. But being moved from the campsite and left behind in the woods? That's taking a prank way to far! All for a stupid magic trick, that damn DJ! Ouch... Okay, Sleight, calm down. Raising your blood pressure does nothing for this headache, and being mad right now isn't going to change what happened or the situation you're in. Gotta focus on getting back to the road. Where ever that is. Funny though... I don't remember this part of the woods. No markers, no signs. No traces of a path either. Did they just drop me off somewhere in my sleep?! Agh... blood pressure... *crack* What was that? “Okay guys, joke's over! This isn't funny anymore!” ...Of course no responses. No sign of people at all. Just some eyes glowing like I'm in a ghost story. And this awful stench. Smells like somethin' died in a swamp... *ggrooooooowl* Aaaaand since that wasn't my stomach, that's my cue to RUN! ********************* “Twilight! Applejack! Oh, thank goodness!” Fluttershy huffed, exhausted from running all the way from her home to the library of Ponyville. “Fluttershy! Why are you so worked up? Is something wrong?” asked the purple mare. “It's awful, Twilight! There's something in the Everfree Forest that needs our help!” she replied hurriedly, unable to think of anything but rescuing the strange creature from the dangers of the woods. “Whoa there, sugar cube! Slow down a bit. Whaddaya mean 'something'?” asked the currently more level-headed Applejack. “The birds told me all about a creature that they've never seen before, and it isn't safe in there! We have to save it!” The canary yellow Fluttershy charged back to where she came. “Wait! Fluttershy! ...Well, we can't let her go alone, can we? Let's go, Applejack!” The two friends rushed after her. In a few minutes, the three sprinting ponies neared the edge of the Everfree. “There they are!” Fluttershy cried. Twilight and Applejack just looked at each other and tried to keep up with the unusually agitated Pegasus. “And they're coming this way!” “There what are, Fluttershy? All I see is a flock of birds, but they don't need our help!” Twilight groaned. “There THEY are!” she pointed, directing the mares' attention toward the most peculiar and equally unnerving sight of a strange and large bipedal creature being chased by timber wolves. ContactDigit yawned. It was a beautiful day. Sun shining, birds singing, etc. All displayed in full glory through the goggles of a hangover. Basically, it sucked. “What a night... But MAN, what a party! I haven't had that much fun since I last saw Sleight's crazy fingers on the pa-” That's when he remembered what he had done nearly a month ago. “Right... Not gonna hear those beats anymore... I can't believe that actually worked.” He removed the book hidden inside the chest of drawers next to his bed. “I wonder what else you can do...” ********************* What's with these wolves?! I've hit them with stones, whipped them with trees, and still they keep coming! They just shatter like block puppets, then reform! What is up with this hallucination?! Sleight pondered, desperately trying to escape the pack of wooden wolves. Is that...? Light! If I can get to that opening, maybe they'll give up the chase! Almost there...! She burst from the woods. In front of her were three tiny horse-like animals, rushing toward her. Not as threatening as the dogs behind her, but she didn't feel like risking antagonizing a second group of weird beasts. She darted to the left, avoiding them. That's when she discovered that the wolves did not give up. In fact, they were now gaining on her faster than before! Without the trees hindering their movements, she was now a much easier target. And both she and the wolves knew it. Sleight turned to face her pursuers and assumed a rather aggressive bestial stance, screaming her deepest, angriest metal growl as if she were at a karaoke party. If life at night had taught her anything, it's how to take care of herself when she's alone, especially when winning a fight is hopeless. Unsure what to make of the sudden change in their prey, the wolves paused. Both sides stalked around each other, the wolves waiting for an opening to pounce, and Sleight waiting for a chance to run back into the safety of the woods. But neither chance ever came. The wooden beasts were suddenly surrounded by an aura of purple light, and a moment later, they were flying over the jungle. “Well, that was unexpected,” She thought aloud. Then she plopped to the ground, weary from all the running, but glad to be safe. “Kab, uta bio imub?” She glanced at the rapidly approaching equines. They looked worried, if their expressions were meant to portray anything like human emotion. Odd how these tiny horses have facial expressions. I'm probably still under the effects of whatever my 'pals' put in my soda. "Uta bio kotv?" Wait a sec... It just talked. Yep, I am DEFINITELY still doped. “Are you talking to me, yellow horse... thing?” Interesting. The yellow one has wings, the orange one has a cowboy hat, and the purple one has both a horn and wings. Whatever they drugged me with, it's some good stuff. ...Grandpa's going to kill me... “Hnowwatkb, ew yuv lovw uwwufmag db wepdat yinxav... Kiy ev wkuw kotv?” The purple one shook its head. Suddenly its ears perked up and its eyes went wide. “Yuew u vaf... Ew lovw wunmag!” “Look, I have no idea what you're trying to say, and I have no idea what you're trying to do, so I'd appreciate it if you left me alone,” said Sleight, trying to get up and away from the now excited winged-unicorn, but her body was in a state of post-adrenal crash and refused to do anything more than jitter when she tried to move. It was then that she realized she was also very cold. Last night was the winter solstice, and she just spent half of it butt-naked out in the open air. Instinctively, she balled up in an attempt to conserve whatever heat she had left. “Ik, bio riit wkeqj! Bio povw da htaaceqj yewkiow uqb hot!” said the Pegasus. Well, it has wings, and it looks like a horse, kinda. May as well call it a Pegasus. “Naw'v jaw ew wi biot kiova hit vipa yutpwk,” said the winged-unicorn. Ok, I just heard 'Jaw' and 'Hit'. I don't know what they're trying to do, but Screw That! Sleight struggled against her shivering and weary body, causing it to twitch violently. The three horses became alarmed. “Vwir! Ya'ta wtbeqj wi kanr!” She fought their advances, trying desperately to escape this new threat. “E giq'w wkeqm ew oqgatvwuqgv...” Without warning, she rose into the air, surrounded by the same purple aura which had flung the timber wolves. A small glow of the same color emanated from the winged-unicorn's horn. Is that horse the one controlling me right now? “Let me go!” Sleight yelled, scaring the little yellow Pegasus, but trying to break free was futile. Gah... I can't do a thing like this, cold and trapped inside this weird bubble. Tch. Getting beat by some deformed horses. I wonder what grandpa would say if he saw me right now, captive to midget mythical beasts. She stopped struggling and closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate. ********************* “I'm sorry, Angel bunny. You're going to have to share with this big fella for a little while. At least until I can find a home for her.” The strange creature, which Fluttershy decided to call Littlefur, was currently wrapped tightly in a blanket and sleeping on the couch, much to the little white rabbit's ire. Angel jumped up and kicked the invader in the flank. That got its attention, and it did not look pleased. “Vworeg tuddev...” it said sourly. “Giq'w puma pa auw bio.” The beast licked its lips and clacked its teeth, sending a very clear signal to the now terrified bunny. “Now, now. You two shouldn't fight. And please, Littlefur, don't try to eat Angel.” It grunted and lay back down, but by now it was far too roused to be getting any sleep, indicated by its empty stare. Fluttershy sighed. “Oh dear... My usual way with animals just doesn't work with this one. This may be harder than I hoped...” Her thoughts drifted back to Discord and how he was also immune to her usual methods of gaining trust and obedience. The only way to tame him was to become his friend. But taming Littlefur wasn't the issue; it was the language barrier. If they couldn't communicate, how would they gain each other's trust? “Fluttershy, are you home?” called a cyan, rainbow-maned Pegasus from the window. “Yes, Rainbow Dash. Please, come inside.” The mare entered Fluttershy's cottage a moment later. “This is Littlefur. Have Twilight or Applejack already told you about her?” “Applejack told me that you were taking care of something weird. Uh, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash looked at the now sitting creature. “What is it?” “Why is it looking at me like that?” The creature was highly alert, its pink eyes staring at Rainbow Dash's face intently. “It's kinda creeping me out.” “I'm not sure for certain, but I think it likes your mane,” Fluttershy pointed out. The cyan pony grinned wide and flipped her rainbow-colored mane in display, closing her eyes in pride. “Well, it IS a pretty awesome mane. I mean, who else has the coloration and cool factor that I-- whoa, hey!” Littlefur had reached out and begun a thorough examination, picking up the hair in single color sections and rubbing the hair with its unpointed claws for several moments before moving on to the next section. “E fuq'w daneaxa wkev ev ew'v quwotun finit,” it said when it finished with every section. Then she moved on to the tail. “Aww, it's curiosity is adorable,” smiled Fluttershy as she watched Rainbow repeatedly swat away the creature's paw. “Yeah, adorable. Anyways, I just came by to see how you were-- YIPE!!” The Pegasus found her tail in Littlefur's clutches. “Let me go, you creepy monster! Hee-yah!” She bucked, her hoof finding the snoot of a certain strange creature. A bloody nosed creature who was now highly upset with a certain Pegasus. “Mefm pa, yenn bio?” Its red eyes became slits. “Uh-oh...” With a grip like a rockslide, it grabbed her by the hindleg and dragged her toward the door. “I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I swear!” Rainbow Dash cried, trying to slow the relentless march of doom unsuccessfully. “Fluttershy, help me!!” Exploration“Newwnahot! Row kat giyq tejkw qiy!” The door opened, with Sleight dragging the horse outside by the leg. “Kick me, will you?! Hee-yaah!!” In a high, wide arc, it spun away from the house. Hmm... Did it just right itself mid-air? “Dumb animal...” When she turned around, there was an angry yellow Pegasus hovering next to her face. “What? It kicked me!” “Bio gi QIW kotw pb hteaqv!” It's eyes became piercing orbs, staring straight through to her soul. They were the eyes of one that commanded respect, obedience, and authority. You've gotta be kidding me... Sleight deadpanned, much to the surprise of the hovering beast. She had received expert training on how to resist 'The Stare' from the true Staremaster: her grandfather. It tried several more times but was resisted each time “Ew'v qiw yitmeqj... Ykuw vkiong E gi?” said the nervous Pegasus. I don't have time for this. If I'm gonna hallucinate, I'm gonna enjoy it, not spend all my time inside a house full of animals. “I'm going to explore. Later, Pegasus!” Sleight walked down the steps, taking the blanket and using it as a cloak to protect her skin. The four-legged beast was pacing and didn't seem to hear a word she said, but she wasn't going to repeat herself. In a few moments, she crossed the nearby bridge and followed the path away from the cottage. It wasn't long before she came to a village. The place wasn't very technologically advanced. In fact, Most of the buildings hatch straw-thatched roofing, but in the distance there were a few buildings that were just flat ridiculous. One looked like it was a carnival tent, another looked like a gingerbread house, and there was even a windowed tree. The largest building was in the center and appeared to be a merry-go-round type structure. As she approached, her presence did not go unnoticed. The population was teeming with horses like the ones she had met earlier: Pegasi, Unicorns, and 'Regulars' as Krys liked to call them, since they had no special attachments. There weren't any other winged-unicorns like that one purple one, she noticed. Perhaps she was a special case? And then the population disappeared. One moment they were there, and the next the houses were all but boarded up. Krys could almost hear the tumbleweeds roll by in the center of town. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they've never seen me before, even though it's my dream. And this is too weird to be anything but a dream... Isn't it...? She couldn't be sure. While everything that was going on was too weird to be considered normal, she had fallen asleep back at that cottage and woken up in the same spot. The kick from the bunny sure felt real, and throwing the Pegasus felt real too. Was it even possible that Digit's trick wasn't really a trick? That this wasn't a dream concocted by chemicals and that his pretend magic actually worked? She walked into the ghost town, robed in her blanket to protect her pale skin from the sunlight. She could feel the stares of the equines following her as she traveled down the road, but the eyes disappeared wherever she looked. Except for three little pairs of eyes that weren't quite sneaky enough to avoid detection. They belonged to smaller versions of the equines, probably foals. "Don't be afraid," Krys cooed, dropping to her knees in their direction. "I'm not going to hurt you." She could hear them whispering in their strange language, but couldn't make out what they were saying. A few moments later, they were poking their heads out, one by one. They seemed too timid to approach her, so she decided to take the initiative. She didn't make it more than 3 steps before she was flat on her back with a pain in her gut and a certain cyan Pegasus standing in front of her. "Nauxa wkap uniqa!" She looked back at the foals behind her. "Ykuw uta bio yueweqj hit? Taq! E'nn king ew ihh kata oqwen bio uta vuha!" The three wide-eyed foals nodded, then ran like their lives depended on it. Once they had rounded the building, the rainbow-maned Pegasus gulped and turned back to Krys, not entirely sure it wanted to tangle with her a second time. "Tueqdiy Guvk! Uta bu u'tejkw?" shouted an unfamiliar voice with an unusually thick country accent. "E'p heqa, Urrnalufm!" Krys turned back to find the orange fedora-clad Regular from earlier. It seemed the two horses know each other. And now she was caught between the two of them. The Regular pulled a rope from off its back and began twirling it expertly. She couldn't help but be impressed by the dexterity it used to wield the rope. Horses back home usually don't suddenly use lassos like a wrangler. In a flash, the rope launched forward and wrapped around her torso, catching her off guard. The orange horse yanked back hard, pulling her off her feet and down to the ground with a thump. Before she could react, the Pegasus was sitting on her chest and pinning her down. "Kuk! Vatxav bio tehkw hit wktiyeqj pa!" it smirked, if the look on its face was anything to judge by. "Get off me!" Sleight brought her legs up and wrapped them around the Pegasus, then threw it off to the side and propped herself on her knees toward the Regular. It yanked again, but this time she jerked back hard, bringing the rope and the horse along with it straight toward her. The lasso loosened, allowing her to free her arms and catch the beast mid-air. It was much heavier than the Pegasus, even though they were about the same size, and knocked her backward on impact. The Pegasus was shaking its head to regain its orientation when it finally saw its friend in Krys' clutches. "Urrnalufm!" The orange horse suddenly disappeared in a purple flash, reappearing a short distance away. "What the heck?!" And then Sleight was trapped inside another purple bubble. "Not again... Let me go, stupid horse!" "Wyenejkw!" exclaimed the two horses in chorus. "E'p vittb E wiim vi niqj, jetnv," said the winged-unicorn as it walked up to the group. "E yuv yitmeqj iq u qay vrann. Wepa wi wavw ew iow..." The purple glow around its horn grew brighter, gaining another layer of aura around the first. The glow condensed, becoming a bright ball at the tip of its horn. At once, the ball blasted toward Sleight, becoming a beam of purple light that surrounded her, then disappearing as quickly as it appeared. "Geg ew yitm?" "Ykuw yuv et supposed to do?" asked the cyan Pegasus as it joined the orange and purple equines. "It doesn't look like anything changed. Krys' eyes went wide as she realized: I can understand them! They aren't speaking jibberish anymore! "It was supposed to break the language barrier between us. Now we just have to wait until it talks again." "That's amazing! How did you do that?" Krys cried from her prison. The group collectively drooped their shoulders. "I don't understand... I thought for sure it would work." sniffed the purple one. Huh? But it DID work! The other two wrapped a leg around her in consolation. "It's a'right, Twilight," assured the orange one. "Nopony expects ya ta be perfect. Yer jes gonna have ta work on yer spell a li'l more, that's all." "Littlefur! Where have you been?" I looked over my shoulder to find a not-so-happy little yellow Pegasus behind me. Oh boy... InteractionLittlefur? Is that what they call me? "Fluttershy, are you alright?!" asked the rainbow-maned Pegasus. "I was afraid that beast would hurt you," it said, pointing at Krys, "so I grabbed Applejack. We were on our way back to your cottage when I saw it here in Ponyville! What happened?" Fluttershy looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "I tried to give it the Stare, but it didn't work. I started pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what I was going to do to get through to Littlefur, but she was gone when I looked up. She hasn't been giving you trouble, has she?" "Yes, it was!" You started it, you four-legged bohemian! "It was trying to attack some fillies, so I swooped down and saved them!" "Hey, that's not what happened at all!" Sleight fumed. "I was just trying to say hi when you swooped down and tackled me!" "Oh my!" Fluttershy gasped. "Twilight, your spell worked!" Everyone stared at the canary yellow Pegasus in disbelief. "Wait, can y'all understand it, Fluttershy?" asked the orange mare which the cyan one called 'Applejack'. "Her, not it, and yes I can," she said resolutely. "It isn't like talking to you... More like when I listen to Angel Bunny, I just know what she's saying." "Then I guess it did work, just not in the way I had hoped," proclaimed Twilight. "Not a total success, but not a total failure either. I'm going to find where I made the mistake and fix it so the rest of us can talk with it- her, directly, but first..." Twilight approached Krys with a powerful glare. "Why were you attacking fillies?! Even after we rescued you from the timber wolves?" Timber... wolves...? Krys facepalmed. "And why are you groaning?!" "Egregious puns are egregious." They glanced at Fluttershy for a translation, but she just shook her head. "I don't know what she meant by that." A collective sigh sounded from the crew of horses. "Are you sure it worked, Fluttershy? You just said-" "I CAN understand her, Rainbow Dash! She said earlier you attacked her!" asserted Fluttershy in as meek a voice as Krys had ever heard. "That is totally not true! She was trying to foalnap three fillies!" "I was trying to say hi! Not 'foalnap' them or whatever! I saw them spying on me as I walked through town, so I tried to make contact. Nobody else would." Fluttershy relayed Sleight's message. "That's not what I saw! I saw them hiding behind a barrel as you menaced your way closer." "That's a lie! Don't make me throw you again!" Sleight snarled menacingly. "Throw me? Hah! You couldn't even catch me out here if you tried!" "Girls, settle down!" interjected Twilight. "Now, what's this about throwing Rainbow Dash?" "This monster grabbed me by the leg and threw me like a ball!" Rainbow Dash raged, pointing at Krys. "This pony kicked me in the nose!" Fluttershy translated as a raging Sleight pointed at Rainbow Dash. "You were trying to feel my tail!" By now, the Pegasus was in Krys' face, trying to be intimidating. Krys reached out and grabbed Dash's hindleg and grinned a cheshire grin. "Caught you again." It's magenta eyes grew wide, even without Fluttershy's translation. "GIRLS!!" The two looked at an entirely frustrated Twilight, then back at each other. Grudgingly, they turned away and simultaneously Hmph'd. "Rainbow Dash, don't pick a fight with a creature that we know very little about." "But she-" "No Buts!" The rainbow-maned Pegasus hung her head. "And you! You will either promise to behave, or I'm going to lock you in Princess Celestia's dungeon! Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Not really, but... Krys nodded. "Good. Now, since you're a new species, I'd like to take some time to study you. Do you mind?" "What do you mean, 'study'?" Krys asked nervously through Fluttershy. "Eating habits, sleep cycles, what you do to keep warm without any fur, your background, whether you're social or not, what you do for fun, how you relie--" "So basically everything?" "Of course. What good is learning about something new if you aren't thorough?" Krys sighed. ********************* Finally, it's over... six eternity-long hours of questions and probing is worse than working slow songs at the studio. At least when I'm working, I have music around. but here? There's nothing. Not even a cello. At least I can walk freely, now. Twilight made me promise not to bother anypon- anybody. Wow, Krys... Just wow. But yea, no bothering the ponies. Ponies, not horses. They don't seem to like being called the 'h' word. And here I am, thinking about the things that pester them. I really need to find something to do. *ggroooooooowl* And food. Ugh, with everything that's been going on, I haven't had time to get food. I've gotta find something to... The scent of a tantalizingly warm, apple-cinnamon pie wafted through Krys' nostrils. Sweet mother of god, that smells wonderful! *Ggrooooooowl!* I know, belly. Tongue wants it too. Krys followed her nose to a small (by her standards) bakery. Inside, she found a counter full of baked goods. Pies, cakes, cupcakes, muffins... Nobody was at the counter, defending the wares, either. It would be easy to just- *smack!* Don't go thinking about stealing, Krys! You made a promise not to bother them, and I always keep my promises! *ggroooooooooowl...* Krys sighed. Then she saw the little bell on the tiny counter's top, and hope was restored. *ding* "H-hello?" A little blue head with a pink splotch of whipped cream on it poked out from the door behind the counter. "C-can I help you?" "Yea. Can I get a cake?" Krys asked, hoping they would just be nice enough to give her one since she obviously didn't have any money on her. The blue pony just stared at her. "A cake? You know, the- Gah, Fluttershy isn't here to translate..." "Let me handle this, Mrs. Cake." Up popped a very pink pony with a very poofy mane from immediately behind the counter. It looked like it had been baking recently, due to large patches of flour covering the apron it was wearing. "Hi! How can I help you, strange and large bipedal creature? We have everything sweet from muffins to cakes!" "Since you probably can't understand a word I'm saying, you can't help me. And even if you could, I have no money to buy a cake." Krys began to walk out. "Where do you think you're going?!" She jumped in fright, pounding her head against the ceiling as the mug of the pink pony appeared in front of her from above the door, outside the building. "Didn't you come here to eat something? I can't let you leave hungry!" "Weren't you just... How did you... Wha?" She clutched her aching head as she glanced back and forth between the counter and the now grounded pony. As the pony walked back inside, it gasped a gasp of comprehension that anywhere else could only have meant complete and utter sarcasm. "This is the first time we've met, isn't it?! Are you new in town?" it asked, bubbling over with energy at the idea. "I guess... I've only been here for about a day or so." "Really?!" *thump* That's a cannon. "You know what this calls for, right?" Wait, that's a cannon! "A PARTY!!" *BOOM!!* Bath"Oh dear, I'm late! And I still have to visit Pinkie Pie!" Rarity packed her sewing materials away, then locked up the Carousel Boutique and set out for the Cake's Bakery. "I hope she isn't too upset with me." In a few minutes, she reached the street which claimed the bakery in which Pinkie worked. *BOOM!!* Suddenly a large, hideous creature flew backward from inside the shop, along with cake batter, confetti, and countless streamers, much of which covered the creature from head to hoof. If those things on the ends of its legs could even be called hooves. "Wow! I didn't expect you to stand right in the way! You have a weird way of enjoying parties, strange bipedal creature." "Pinkie! What in Equestria is that?" shouted Rarity as she approached the poofy-maned pony and the squirming lump of cake. "And why would you ever think it was a good idea to shoot anypony with your party cannon?" "Ik... E haan nema E'xa lovw daaq mefmag eq wka jow," the... something... groaned from beneath the layer of cake. "Silly creature! You weren't kicked, you were shot with a cannon!" It tried to get up, but the effort was fruitless. Then its eyes widened at something. "Yuew u vaf... fuq bio oqgatvwuqg pa? E wkiojkw wka vrann iqnb yitmag hit-" "Spell? I don't need a spell to understand you. It's just a simple matter of transposing all of your consonants two consonants backward and all your vowels one vowel forward. Easy Peasy!" Pinkie Pie said, as if something like that were as obvious as cupcakes were delicious. Rarity shook her head. Pinkie was being Pinkie again. "Ykuw uta bio wunmeqj udiow? Wkuw giavq'w puma uqbva!" it cried, quite flustered. "It doesn't have to make sense to work, now does it?" The creature brought its fore...hoof(?) to its head and groaned, then realized it just smacked itself with a great glob of cake and groaned even louder. Rarity suppressed her laughter and tried to be nice. "Oh, you poor thing! We simply must get you to a bath this instant! As delicious as you look covered in cake, I can't image the sugar is doing anything good for your skin. Come along!" she ordered. "But it hasn't eaten yet!" "It can eat later, once it's presentable," Rarity replied coolly. "But it cannot stay another minute in public looking like that!" The thing apparently agreed, because it immediately got up and followed Rarity. "Just remember to bring it back in time for supper!" Pinkie yelled after them as they disappeared toward the spa. "Now then, you're going to need the royal treatment. After being Pinkie Pie'd, anypony deserves the best that bits can buy! I have excellent connections at the spa, so I will make sure you are well set. Ah, here we are!" The two arrived at and entered a large, multi-tiered tent. In the center was a large barrel-tub with a stairwell leading up to the top. Around the outside of the tub were several pony-sized beds, perfect for hooficures and massages. "Lotus! Aloe!" "Oh, Mademoiselle Rarity!" A blue pony with a pink mane and white headband appeared from behind the tub, followed by a pink pony with a blue mane and a matching headband. "It has been a while since- Oh my!" The two looked in horror at the mess that was the strange, bipedal creature. "What has happened to this poor thing?!" "Pinkie Pie shot it with her party cannon! Would you girls be willing to help it?" "But of course! Anything for you, Mademoiselle Rarity!" They took it to the bath and began to scrub the caked cake away. "You will have to excuse me, girls. I have a dress that I must finish by this evening, but I will be back shortly." The spa ponies waved goodbye before grabbing a pair of brushes. Rarity walked out, confident they would be finished by the time she got back. ********************* Dear Princess Celestia, I must speak with you about the presence of a strange new creature that Fluttershy found in the Everfree Forest. There is something about it which bothers me, but I can't place my hoof on what the problem is. I need your help. Please let me know when you are next available. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle ********************* *Beep* "Hey Digit. Have you heard from Sleight yet? It's been like, a week since school started, and she still hasn't shown up! I wanna hear those beats again, so if you could give her a call and bring her back, that would-" *Beep* "Yo Didge! Heard ya pulled some kinda stunt with Sleight! Hope you didn't do anythin' ya might regret later, man." *Beep* "Good job on losing of the best DJ around. Now I'm gonna have to find someone else to replace her, and you know how hard THAT'S going to be." *Beep* "Good evening. My name is Horace Lingerson, Krys' grandfather. I understand she attended a party which you hosted recently. I had been pushing her too hard, so I let her go. I thought it would do her good to see her friends again, but she hasn't returned. If you know anything about where she could be, please-" *Beep* "Sleight, Sleight, Sleight... It's always about her. It's like they have to have her or no one at all. And now everyone's looking at me to bring her back, as though I even knew how!" Do you want her back? "Hell no! She always got the best gigs, always had the most listeners. Now I'm on top, and I love it! No one's gonna bring me down!" You sound like you're still jealous of her. "Psh, as if. Why be jealous of someone who isn't a threat?" Because she was better than you are, and people still want what she could do more than they want you. "Shut up!" Digit threw his phone against the wall in anger. "I'm the best now! I'm the guy getting all the gigs! People want MY music, not hers!" Hm hm hm. You sound very much like somepony I knew a very long time ago. I gave her the power she needed to face her rival, and I can give you what you need to wipe your rival's memory away forever. "...How?" With the same magic you used to wipe her from this existence. But I will need something from you. "......What do I have to do?" ********************* The spa ponies truly new their craft, and this sort of bath, she realized, was a luxury that would never have happened at home. A bath with lotions and oils, designed for the deep, thorough cleaning of fur was perfect for revitalizing her skin, which had collected all sorts of grime, dirt, and sugary goodness. Food brought to the edge of the tub for nibbling while the ponies massaged all the tension out of her stiff shoulders. It was odd, being tended to by a pair of colorful animals, but by no means was it unpleasant. In fact, Krys felt better than she had since arriving in this strange new land. There was only one thing missing: Music. Since she had come here, she hadn't heard a single instrument played, a single rhythm other than the cadence of hooves against the ground. Having come from a background saturated with music of all sorts, the relative silence was both tense and heartbreaking. How could they live like this? She couldn't imagine such a lifestyle. "Do you have any music?" she asked. The two simply glanced at her and continued working. Right... they can't understand me... So she did the next best thing. She closed her eyes and sang. Quietly to herself, but it was enough to act as a bandage for her slightly wounded soul. As she sang, she imagined her voice becoming a violin. The tune began slowly, lilting like a small child in a field. As it swayed back and forth across her tongue, the pace began to quicken slightly. In the back of her mind, Krys could hear a guitar join her as a set of drums beat a soft cadence to the song. Her fingers strummed the air, matching what she heard in the background. She leaned backward, lifting her feet slightly above the waterline to place her toes on the opposite lip of the tub. Without warning, the song took off, refusing to be restrained. Her fingers held the imaginary guitar in place as her feet drummed against the water like a pair of spoons against someone's knee. In a moment, she resumed the guitar, accompanied by a soft piano to act as a steady foil to the now dancing melody. The song paused for a brief moment, then redoubled its vigor as Krys' hands took control of the fiddle. She could hear every instrument as clearly as if they were being played around her. The pulse of the drums. The piano and guitar working in tandem harmony to carry the song. And Krys playing the fiddle almost tangibly, racing with its carefree melody as though she clutched her grandfather's Stradi. All at once, the music of the fiddle, guitar, piano and drums leapt into the air and vanished, leaving just a trace echo to remind all who witnessed what had transpired. Krys held her imaginary bow high, proud and tired after her vigorous performance. *thunk* *clack* Two little brushes struck the tub and fell into the water beside her. Then she remembered where she was. She wasn't in a concert hall. She wasn't in her grandfather's studio. Her head turned slowly behind her, where she saw two ponies in white headbands with their mouths agape and their eyes transfixed on her. She lowered her arm sheepishly, embarrassed by her outburst. "That was..." muttered the pink spa pony. "You were..." mumbled the blue spa pony. Krys hung her head. She knew she must've looked really foolish to them. "INCREDIBLE!" they shouted in chorus. She lifted her head and stared, unsure what to think of the unexpected response. "At first we thought you were just something that Mademoiselle Rarity was pitying, but you have an amazing magic!" Magic? What on earth are these ponies talking about? "Your voice was beautiful on its own, but then your claws began to move and glow and the music became even more! And the way you used your hooves to create the rhythm was exceptional! And then at the end, such flair! It was like listening to the Canterlot symphony!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a sec. You mean to tell me that you actually heard what I was pretending to play?" "Ah, please accept our apologies." The two ponies bowed their heads. "We had forgotten you cannot speak." Krys' gaze turned to her own hands. They said my hands glowed, probably like a Unicorn's horn. Is it possible that here I have magic? The blue pony pointed into the tub. "Would you return those brushes, please?" Krys looked down and grabbed the brushes which Lotus and Aloe had dropped earlier. She mechanically returned them to the ponies who then resumed their work, but her mind was elsewhere, forming a single thought that was both frightening and fantastic. Could I do that again...? MagicIn a little town in Washington, not far from Seattle, a young man drove down the road. He traveled to the outskirts of that little town, searching for a little shop tucked away from normal society. It wasn't a shop where one could find the latest clothing trends. Or even an organic produce store. No, this shop was special. This shop in a little town not far from Seattle was a place of magic. Everything found there was related to some form of magic. From wands and tomes to amulets and potions, the shop was a place which collected objects of mysticism and the supernatural and sold them to any who dared test their power. At such a place as this, the young man had bought a little black book. A little black book whose magic had been used to disappear a certain high school classmate of whom this young man was jealous. The young man finally arrived and entered Artemis and Diana's Shop of Lunar Magic. A little bell rang as he stepped through the door, alerting the keeper sitting in the back to his presence "Welcome to my store! We have all sorts of-" "Yes, I've been here before," he interrupted, not wanting to go through a tour of the place a third time. "When I was last here, I bought this book." "Oh... Y-you're not here to..." her voice went to barely a whisper. "...return it, are you?" Tears began to well in her eyes. "No, I'm not. I want to buy the rest of the set. It's supposed to come with an amulet matching the symbol on the cover. Do you still have it?" The shop keeper's head perked up and her cheerful smile returned in a flash as she looked at the book. "Of course! I figured you'd be back so I saved it for you!" She rummaged behind her desk. "I know it's in here somewhere... Aha! Here it is!" The shopkeeper held up a necklace with a carved block of obsidian attached. In its center was an ivory crescent moon and beneath it, connected by nearly invisible threads, were three little obsidian islands. "Is this what you were looking for?" Digit slowly grinned. ********************* "Littlefur!" The tall creature jumped, startled by the shout. The she looked down at her escort. Rarity was looking up at her worriedly. "I've been calling you for several minutes. You've been very quiet since you left the spa. Did anything... happen?" She simply shook her head. "Is something else the matter? You seemed... distracted at Pinkie's party." Littlefur looked away from Rarity's gaze. After a few moments, she looked back at the purple-maned pony with a glint in her eye that Rarity knew all too well. She had gotten this feeling many times from her sister; it was a look of deep thought and perhaps more than a little mischief. "Littlefur, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked nervously, backing away slowly. Littlefur grinned and cracked her knuckles and waggled them as she turned her body to face the white pony. "Stop that! You are making me quite uncomfortable." She picked up a large handful of dirt and massaged it between her fingers. Then she slowly crept, hands outstretched, toward the now pinprick-eyed Rarity. "Y-you wouldn't dare..!" Rarity leaped backward, narrowly avoiding Littlefur's pounce. She shrieked and bolted, Littlefur hot on her hooves with soil-covered hands groping just close enough behind to put the fear of filth in her. She ran and ran, practically screaming down the road. She ran all the way to Fluttershy's house, hoping that the canary yellow Pegasus would be able to stop the creature before the shine on her coat was ruined. "Fluttershyyyyyyyy!" The door to the cottage flew open as the Pegasus rushed outside to see what was wrong. "Rarity! What's wrong? Did something happen?" the mare asked worriedly. "Yes! You have to save me from... from..." That's when she realized Littlefur was nowhere in sight. "Oh no..." ********************* Worked like a charm, Krys thought as she washed her hands in the stream. I had no idea she could run that fast! She shook her hands and wiped them on the grass to dry them. Then she stood up and stretched, glancing around for an ideal spot to be alone for a while. It wasn't long before she spied the perfect place; not far from her position was what appeared to be an apple orchard. Perfect. There shouldn't be many ponies around in there, and if one does show up, I can hide among the trees. Krys ran toward her chosen destination, eager to test the magic discovered at the bath. ********************* "I'm bored," groaned an orange Pegasus filly. "Me too," groaned a yellow filly with a big red ribbon. "Me three," groaned a younger version of Rarity. The three sighed in unison. "Checker champions was a total bust. We only have a little time before sunset, so we've gotta think of something fast!" "How about..." Applebloom said, until the wind carried something through the window of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. "Can you hear that?" "Hear what, Applebloom?" asked Scoot. "Listen. It's like a... um... a flute!" There it was again, this time like a penny whistle. "It's probably just the wind," said Sweetie Belle. "Nothing spec--" Another, entirely different sound floated through. "THAT wasn't the wind! It sounded like Pinkie Pie's harmonica when she led the parasprites away from Ponyville!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "Do you think there's a band nearby?" The three exchanged several glances. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MUSIC FINDERS!" The fillies rushed outside to follow the music that periodically played. ********************* Krys continued trying out different instruments, with each slightly larger than the last. She had gone through a couple woodwinds and reeds and was now working with strings. The spa ponies were right about her hands glowing every time she held a different imaginary instrument. By now, the sun had already dipped below the horizon, so she could see the glow much more clearly. The largest glow surrounded her hands, but there was also a slight outline of the instrument she was holding, which helped her see when she moved it around. She took the cello she currently held and plucked a few notes. She wondered how the sound was coming from a string which didn't exist, but it was definitely there, not just in her head. A few more plucks, then a bow formed in her right hand, and she drew it across the nearly invisible lines that ran up the instrument. The tone quality was just what she would expect in the studio: not quite the best, but by no means bad. Then it faltered. She was becoming very tired, and her fingers were beginning to cramp. It was easy to create familiar instruments, but more complex ones like the cello or flute were exhausting, especially when making the actual sounds. The outline flickered before disappearing entirely, followed closely by the glow of her hands. So she tried to form something else: a kazoo. Its simple construction made the formation easier to bear. A tiny tone eked out when she blew through it, but then the glow of her hands flashed brightly before flicking out completely. She tried to reconstruct it, but she was just too drained to manage even a guitar pick. She moved to get up, but she felt as she had on that first night, cold and exhausted. It was a struggle to move. Still, at least she wasn't jittering like she had before. Then she saw three pairs of eyes staring at her in the moonlight. Her mind instantly flashed back to the timber wolves, and a burst of adrenaline flooded her system. She sprang up to flee. Then fell to the ground unconscious as she spent the last of her energy.
Transition“Dude, great party! Kinda small, but I'm glad I came!” shouted Krys over the blaring music. “Glad you could make it, Sleight!” the host/DJ shouted back, using her stage name. “I wasn't sure you'd be able to come, especially since your grandad is such a strict guy!” Krys existed for the night life and was well known around the school as a gifted DJ. Her grandfather, however, is a practitioner of classical musical arts and is very assertive when it comes to training and recording the old style. “Snuck out, Digit! Wouldn't miss this for the world!” It had been a while since she got away from the studio, and a night with her very bohemian friends was just the thing she needed. “Hey DJ, crank up the bass! I've been workin' slow songs all week and I need to unwind!” “Why don't you step up here and strike a few beats, then? You're amazing at it, and it would be an honor!” “Come on, tonight's my break! I wanna be shakin' so bad there's like eight of you!” “You asked for it!” And when the bass drops, there are only two words to say: Aww Yeah! Krys downed the rest of her drink and danced till she dropped. Which was an unsurprisingly short time after she finished the drink. Upon seeing this, the DJ allowed the music to die down. “Damn, she's out cold, even after the bass drop. I thought she'd last longer, bein' a jockey herself, but behold, the modern day magic known as the sleeping pill!” A small group of people clustered around the unconscious party-goer. From beneath a case of beer, the host unlocked a compartment which held 6 hooded robes. “With the modern day magic aside...” She put one on before handing out the rest to the others, who then held hands and surrounded Kris, forming a five-pointed circle. “...it's time for some not-so-modern-day magic. Let's begin.” He raised his hands toward the group as they began swaying. “Oh, powerful nightmare,” they chanted in chorus as Digit began to play a dark, ethereal rhythm on the pads. “we call upon your might...” The night had a full moon, just like the book called for. Not only that, but it was also the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year. Digit could only think this was the perfect chance to try out the new spell. Half an hour later the chant neared completion, but... “Ugh... What's going on?” Krys mumbled, still woozy from the drug administered in her drink. “She's metabolized the pill already?! It's too soon!” cried the host/overseer. Krys's body began to glow. “Hurry up! The magic is almost done!” The rhythm increased and the chanters sped on the flow of their words as she groggily rose to her feet, furious at being doped. “--Take this human away! This human, our rival!” “More magic?! I'm sick of your games, Digit! I'm gonna--” In a flash she disappeared, leaving only her clothes behind. The group stood silent, stunned at the sudden disappearance of the girl. After a moment of complete stillness, Digit smiled and let off a relieved sigh. “...It actually worked! Now, who wants to really party?!” He picked up the music right where it left off, ready to blow the ears off all the uneasy party-ers. ********************* Once up on a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there lived a Pegasus pony by the name of Fluttershy. This Pegasus was, as her name suggested, very shy. She preferred to live by herself on the edge of the Everfree Forest rather than in town with all the other ponies. She did have a few friends, but more often than not, one could find her tending to the many animals with which she lived. One day, while she was feeding the chickens, a small flock of colorful birds flew straight to her house with news of a creature they had never seen before in the forest. This was relatively common since the Everfree Forest was, for the most part, an unexplored jungle. There were just so many scary monsters that nopony dared to go inside, so Fluttershy had asked the birds to tell her all about the creatures that lived there. She took out a pad and quill and began to take notes on the description. This creature, the birds told her, was different from all the rest. It was fleshy, but had no fur, feathers, or scales to keep it warm, and no armor to protect its pale skin. Its legs were long, round, and slightly bulbous. A set of smaller appendages were at the ends of each leg instead of a hoof or claws. The bottom two legs were larger near the flank than the top two, but had smaller appendages at their ends. It was lying down, curled into a ball on the ground. It had a pure white mane but no tail. Its teeth were flat, and its snout turned down instead of up. Its eyes were small and round, but closed so their color was unknown. As Fluttershy added her notes to the sizable catalog of wildlife, several thoughts nagged in the back of her mind. First, it was curled up on the ground instead of standing up on its oddly shaped legs, and its eyes were closed. Second, this creature was in the Everfree Forest with no protection from weather and no claws or sharp teeth to defend itself. Third, it was alone. Fluttershy's care for wildlife instinctively awakened at the thoughts. “Birdies, go and fly over the creature's position in the forest. Don't lose it, okay?” The birds chirped in assent and flew off to find it again as Fluttershy ran to town to get help. ********************* Krys clutched her aching head. Ugh... Just woke up with a massive headache and no clothes. I can't believe those jerks! She mentally fumed. Let's go party at Camp Vinewood, they said. It'll be awesome, they said. Yeah, awesome, up until somebody gets her coke spiked. You know what? I can handle that. I guess I can handle being stripped, too (once I knock more than a few heads together). After all, there weren't any guys at the party except Digit, and he's got no balls anyway so it's not like I'm gonna be pregnant or anything. She looked around. But being moved from the campsite and left behind in the woods? That's taking a prank way to far! All for a stupid magic trick, that damn DJ! Ouch... Okay, Sleight, calm down. Raising your blood pressure does nothing for this headache, and being mad right now isn't going to change what happened or the situation you're in. Gotta focus on getting back to the road. Where ever that is. Funny though... I don't remember this part of the woods. No markers, no signs. No traces of a path either. Did they just drop me off somewhere in my sleep?! Agh... blood pressure... *crack* What was that? “Okay guys, joke's over! This isn't funny anymore!” ...Of course no responses. No sign of people at all. Just some eyes glowing like I'm in a ghost story. And this awful stench. Smells like somethin' died in a swamp... *ggrooooooowl* Aaaaand since that wasn't my stomach, that's my cue to RUN! ********************* “Twilight! Applejack! Oh, thank goodness!” Fluttershy huffed, exhausted from running all the way from her home to the library of Ponyville. “Fluttershy! Why are you so worked up? Is something wrong?” asked the purple mare. “It's awful, Twilight! There's something in the Everfree Forest that needs our help!” she replied hurriedly, unable to think of anything but rescuing the strange creature from the dangers of the woods. “Whoa there, sugar cube! Slow down a bit. Whaddaya mean 'something'?” asked the currently more level-headed Applejack. “The birds told me all about a creature that they've never seen before, and it isn't safe in there! We have to save it!” The canary yellow Fluttershy charged back to where she came. “Wait! Fluttershy! ...Well, we can't let her go alone, can we? Let's go, Applejack!” The two friends rushed after her. In a few minutes, the three sprinting ponies neared the edge of the Everfree. “There they are!” Fluttershy cried. Twilight and Applejack just looked at each other and tried to keep up with the unusually agitated Pegasus. “And they're coming this way!” “There what are, Fluttershy? All I see is a flock of birds, but they don't need our help!” Twilight groaned. “There THEY are!” she pointed, directing the mares' attention toward the most peculiar and equally unnerving sight of a strange and large bipedal creature being chased by timber wolves.
ContactDigit yawned. It was a beautiful day. Sun shining, birds singing, etc. All displayed in full glory through the goggles of a hangover. Basically, it sucked. “What a night... But MAN, what a party! I haven't had that much fun since I last saw Sleight's crazy fingers on the pa-” That's when he remembered what he had done nearly a month ago. “Right... Not gonna hear those beats anymore... I can't believe that actually worked.” He removed the book hidden inside the chest of drawers next to his bed. “I wonder what else you can do...” ********************* What's with these wolves?! I've hit them with stones, whipped them with trees, and still they keep coming! They just shatter like block puppets, then reform! What is up with this hallucination?! Sleight pondered, desperately trying to escape the pack of wooden wolves. Is that...? Light! If I can get to that opening, maybe they'll give up the chase! Almost there...! She burst from the woods. In front of her were three tiny horse-like animals, rushing toward her. Not as threatening as the dogs behind her, but she didn't feel like risking antagonizing a second group of weird beasts. She darted to the left, avoiding them. That's when she discovered that the wolves did not give up. In fact, they were now gaining on her faster than before! Without the trees hindering their movements, she was now a much easier target. And both she and the wolves knew it. Sleight turned to face her pursuers and assumed a rather aggressive bestial stance, screaming her deepest, angriest metal growl as if she were at a karaoke party. If life at night had taught her anything, it's how to take care of herself when she's alone, especially when winning a fight is hopeless. Unsure what to make of the sudden change in their prey, the wolves paused. Both sides stalked around each other, the wolves waiting for an opening to pounce, and Sleight waiting for a chance to run back into the safety of the woods. But neither chance ever came. The wooden beasts were suddenly surrounded by an aura of purple light, and a moment later, they were flying over the jungle. “Well, that was unexpected,” She thought aloud. Then she plopped to the ground, weary from all the running, but glad to be safe. “Kab, uta bio imub?” She glanced at the rapidly approaching equines. They looked worried, if their expressions were meant to portray anything like human emotion. Odd how these tiny horses have facial expressions. I'm probably still under the effects of whatever my 'pals' put in my soda. "Uta bio kotv?" Wait a sec... It just talked. Yep, I am DEFINITELY still doped. “Are you talking to me, yellow horse... thing?” Interesting. The yellow one has wings, the orange one has a cowboy hat, and the purple one has both a horn and wings. Whatever they drugged me with, it's some good stuff. ...Grandpa's going to kill me... “Hnowwatkb, ew yuv lovw uwwufmag db wepdat yinxav... Kiy ev wkuw kotv?” The purple one shook its head. Suddenly its ears perked up and its eyes went wide. “Yuew u vaf... Ew lovw wunmag!” “Look, I have no idea what you're trying to say, and I have no idea what you're trying to do, so I'd appreciate it if you left me alone,” said Sleight, trying to get up and away from the now excited winged-unicorn, but her body was in a state of post-adrenal crash and refused to do anything more than jitter when she tried to move. It was then that she realized she was also very cold. Last night was the winter solstice, and she just spent half of it butt-naked out in the open air. Instinctively, she balled up in an attempt to conserve whatever heat she had left. “Ik, bio riit wkeqj! Bio povw da htaaceqj yewkiow uqb hot!” said the Pegasus. Well, it has wings, and it looks like a horse, kinda. May as well call it a Pegasus. “Naw'v jaw ew wi biot kiova hit vipa yutpwk,” said the winged-unicorn. Ok, I just heard 'Jaw' and 'Hit'. I don't know what they're trying to do, but Screw That! Sleight struggled against her shivering and weary body, causing it to twitch violently. The three horses became alarmed. “Vwir! Ya'ta wtbeqj wi kanr!” She fought their advances, trying desperately to escape this new threat. “E giq'w wkeqm ew oqgatvwuqgv...” Without warning, she rose into the air, surrounded by the same purple aura which had flung the timber wolves. A small glow of the same color emanated from the winged-unicorn's horn. Is that horse the one controlling me right now? “Let me go!” Sleight yelled, scaring the little yellow Pegasus, but trying to break free was futile. Gah... I can't do a thing like this, cold and trapped inside this weird bubble. Tch. Getting beat by some deformed horses. I wonder what grandpa would say if he saw me right now, captive to midget mythical beasts. She stopped struggling and closed her eyes in acceptance of her fate. ********************* “I'm sorry, Angel bunny. You're going to have to share with this big fella for a little while. At least until I can find a home for her.” The strange creature, which Fluttershy decided to call Littlefur, was currently wrapped tightly in a blanket and sleeping on the couch, much to the little white rabbit's ire. Angel jumped up and kicked the invader in the flank. That got its attention, and it did not look pleased. “Vworeg tuddev...” it said sourly. “Giq'w puma pa auw bio.” The beast licked its lips and clacked its teeth, sending a very clear signal to the now terrified bunny. “Now, now. You two shouldn't fight. And please, Littlefur, don't try to eat Angel.” It grunted and lay back down, but by now it was far too roused to be getting any sleep, indicated by its empty stare. Fluttershy sighed. “Oh dear... My usual way with animals just doesn't work with this one. This may be harder than I hoped...” Her thoughts drifted back to Discord and how he was also immune to her usual methods of gaining trust and obedience. The only way to tame him was to become his friend. But taming Littlefur wasn't the issue; it was the language barrier. If they couldn't communicate, how would they gain each other's trust? “Fluttershy, are you home?” called a cyan, rainbow-maned Pegasus from the window. “Yes, Rainbow Dash. Please, come inside.” The mare entered Fluttershy's cottage a moment later. “This is Littlefur. Have Twilight or Applejack already told you about her?” “Applejack told me that you were taking care of something weird. Uh, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash looked at the now sitting creature. “What is it?” “Why is it looking at me like that?” The creature was highly alert, its pink eyes staring at Rainbow Dash's face intently. “It's kinda creeping me out.” “I'm not sure for certain, but I think it likes your mane,” Fluttershy pointed out. The cyan pony grinned wide and flipped her rainbow-colored mane in display, closing her eyes in pride. “Well, it IS a pretty awesome mane. I mean, who else has the coloration and cool factor that I-- whoa, hey!” Littlefur had reached out and begun a thorough examination, picking up the hair in single color sections and rubbing the hair with its unpointed claws for several moments before moving on to the next section. “E fuq'w daneaxa wkev ev ew'v quwotun finit,” it said when it finished with every section. Then she moved on to the tail. “Aww, it's curiosity is adorable,” smiled Fluttershy as she watched Rainbow repeatedly swat away the creature's paw. “Yeah, adorable. Anyways, I just came by to see how you were-- YIPE!!” The Pegasus found her tail in Littlefur's clutches. “Let me go, you creepy monster! Hee-yah!” She bucked, her hoof finding the snoot of a certain strange creature. A bloody nosed creature who was now highly upset with a certain Pegasus. “Mefm pa, yenn bio?” Its red eyes became slits. “Uh-oh...” With a grip like a rockslide, it grabbed her by the hindleg and dragged her toward the door. “I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I swear!” Rainbow Dash cried, trying to slow the relentless march of doom unsuccessfully. “Fluttershy, help me!!”
Exploration“Newwnahot! Row kat giyq tejkw qiy!” The door opened, with Sleight dragging the horse outside by the leg. “Kick me, will you?! Hee-yaah!!” In a high, wide arc, it spun away from the house. Hmm... Did it just right itself mid-air? “Dumb animal...” When she turned around, there was an angry yellow Pegasus hovering next to her face. “What? It kicked me!” “Bio gi QIW kotw pb hteaqv!” It's eyes became piercing orbs, staring straight through to her soul. They were the eyes of one that commanded respect, obedience, and authority. You've gotta be kidding me... Sleight deadpanned, much to the surprise of the hovering beast. She had received expert training on how to resist 'The Stare' from the true Staremaster: her grandfather. It tried several more times but was resisted each time “Ew'v qiw yitmeqj... Ykuw vkiong E gi?” said the nervous Pegasus. I don't have time for this. If I'm gonna hallucinate, I'm gonna enjoy it, not spend all my time inside a house full of animals. “I'm going to explore. Later, Pegasus!” Sleight walked down the steps, taking the blanket and using it as a cloak to protect her skin. The four-legged beast was pacing and didn't seem to hear a word she said, but she wasn't going to repeat herself. In a few moments, she crossed the nearby bridge and followed the path away from the cottage. It wasn't long before she came to a village. The place wasn't very technologically advanced. In fact, Most of the buildings hatch straw-thatched roofing, but in the distance there were a few buildings that were just flat ridiculous. One looked like it was a carnival tent, another looked like a gingerbread house, and there was even a windowed tree. The largest building was in the center and appeared to be a merry-go-round type structure. As she approached, her presence did not go unnoticed. The population was teeming with horses like the ones she had met earlier: Pegasi, Unicorns, and 'Regulars' as Krys liked to call them, since they had no special attachments. There weren't any other winged-unicorns like that one purple one, she noticed. Perhaps she was a special case? And then the population disappeared. One moment they were there, and the next the houses were all but boarded up. Krys could almost hear the tumbleweeds roll by in the center of town. If I didn't know any better, I'd say they've never seen me before, even though it's my dream. And this is too weird to be anything but a dream... Isn't it...? She couldn't be sure. While everything that was going on was too weird to be considered normal, she had fallen asleep back at that cottage and woken up in the same spot. The kick from the bunny sure felt real, and throwing the Pegasus felt real too. Was it even possible that Digit's trick wasn't really a trick? That this wasn't a dream concocted by chemicals and that his pretend magic actually worked? She walked into the ghost town, robed in her blanket to protect her pale skin from the sunlight. She could feel the stares of the equines following her as she traveled down the road, but the eyes disappeared wherever she looked. Except for three little pairs of eyes that weren't quite sneaky enough to avoid detection. They belonged to smaller versions of the equines, probably foals. "Don't be afraid," Krys cooed, dropping to her knees in their direction. "I'm not going to hurt you." She could hear them whispering in their strange language, but couldn't make out what they were saying. A few moments later, they were poking their heads out, one by one. They seemed too timid to approach her, so she decided to take the initiative. She didn't make it more than 3 steps before she was flat on her back with a pain in her gut and a certain cyan Pegasus standing in front of her. "Nauxa wkap uniqa!" She looked back at the foals behind her. "Ykuw uta bio yueweqj hit? Taq! E'nn king ew ihh kata oqwen bio uta vuha!" The three wide-eyed foals nodded, then ran like their lives depended on it. Once they had rounded the building, the rainbow-maned Pegasus gulped and turned back to Krys, not entirely sure it wanted to tangle with her a second time. "Tueqdiy Guvk! Uta bu u'tejkw?" shouted an unfamiliar voice with an unusually thick country accent. "E'p heqa, Urrnalufm!" Krys turned back to find the orange fedora-clad Regular from earlier. It seemed the two horses know each other. And now she was caught between the two of them. The Regular pulled a rope from off its back and began twirling it expertly. She couldn't help but be impressed by the dexterity it used to wield the rope. Horses back home usually don't suddenly use lassos like a wrangler. In a flash, the rope launched forward and wrapped around her torso, catching her off guard. The orange horse yanked back hard, pulling her off her feet and down to the ground with a thump. Before she could react, the Pegasus was sitting on her chest and pinning her down. "Kuk! Vatxav bio tehkw hit wktiyeqj pa!" it smirked, if the look on its face was anything to judge by. "Get off me!" Sleight brought her legs up and wrapped them around the Pegasus, then threw it off to the side and propped herself on her knees toward the Regular. It yanked again, but this time she jerked back hard, bringing the rope and the horse along with it straight toward her. The lasso loosened, allowing her to free her arms and catch the beast mid-air. It was much heavier than the Pegasus, even though they were about the same size, and knocked her backward on impact. The Pegasus was shaking its head to regain its orientation when it finally saw its friend in Krys' clutches. "Urrnalufm!" The orange horse suddenly disappeared in a purple flash, reappearing a short distance away. "What the heck?!" And then Sleight was trapped inside another purple bubble. "Not again... Let me go, stupid horse!" "Wyenejkw!" exclaimed the two horses in chorus. "E'p vittb E wiim vi niqj, jetnv," said the winged-unicorn as it walked up to the group. "E yuv yitmeqj iq u qay vrann. Wepa wi wavw ew iow..." The purple glow around its horn grew brighter, gaining another layer of aura around the first. The glow condensed, becoming a bright ball at the tip of its horn. At once, the ball blasted toward Sleight, becoming a beam of purple light that surrounded her, then disappearing as quickly as it appeared. "Geg ew yitm?" "Ykuw yuv et supposed to do?" asked the cyan Pegasus as it joined the orange and purple equines. "It doesn't look like anything changed. Krys' eyes went wide as she realized: I can understand them! They aren't speaking jibberish anymore! "It was supposed to break the language barrier between us. Now we just have to wait until it talks again." "That's amazing! How did you do that?" Krys cried from her prison. The group collectively drooped their shoulders. "I don't understand... I thought for sure it would work." sniffed the purple one. Huh? But it DID work! The other two wrapped a leg around her in consolation. "It's a'right, Twilight," assured the orange one. "Nopony expects ya ta be perfect. Yer jes gonna have ta work on yer spell a li'l more, that's all." "Littlefur! Where have you been?" I looked over my shoulder to find a not-so-happy little yellow Pegasus behind me. Oh boy...
InteractionLittlefur? Is that what they call me? "Fluttershy, are you alright?!" asked the rainbow-maned Pegasus. "I was afraid that beast would hurt you," it said, pointing at Krys, "so I grabbed Applejack. We were on our way back to your cottage when I saw it here in Ponyville! What happened?" Fluttershy looked down at the ground in embarrassment. "I tried to give it the Stare, but it didn't work. I started pacing back and forth, trying to figure out what I was going to do to get through to Littlefur, but she was gone when I looked up. She hasn't been giving you trouble, has she?" "Yes, it was!" You started it, you four-legged bohemian! "It was trying to attack some fillies, so I swooped down and saved them!" "Hey, that's not what happened at all!" Sleight fumed. "I was just trying to say hi when you swooped down and tackled me!" "Oh my!" Fluttershy gasped. "Twilight, your spell worked!" Everyone stared at the canary yellow Pegasus in disbelief. "Wait, can y'all understand it, Fluttershy?" asked the orange mare which the cyan one called 'Applejack'. "Her, not it, and yes I can," she said resolutely. "It isn't like talking to you... More like when I listen to Angel Bunny, I just know what she's saying." "Then I guess it did work, just not in the way I had hoped," proclaimed Twilight. "Not a total success, but not a total failure either. I'm going to find where I made the mistake and fix it so the rest of us can talk with it- her, directly, but first..." Twilight approached Krys with a powerful glare. "Why were you attacking fillies?! Even after we rescued you from the timber wolves?" Timber... wolves...? Krys facepalmed. "And why are you groaning?!" "Egregious puns are egregious." They glanced at Fluttershy for a translation, but she just shook her head. "I don't know what she meant by that." A collective sigh sounded from the crew of horses. "Are you sure it worked, Fluttershy? You just said-" "I CAN understand her, Rainbow Dash! She said earlier you attacked her!" asserted Fluttershy in as meek a voice as Krys had ever heard. "That is totally not true! She was trying to foalnap three fillies!" "I was trying to say hi! Not 'foalnap' them or whatever! I saw them spying on me as I walked through town, so I tried to make contact. Nobody else would." Fluttershy relayed Sleight's message. "That's not what I saw! I saw them hiding behind a barrel as you menaced your way closer." "That's a lie! Don't make me throw you again!" Sleight snarled menacingly. "Throw me? Hah! You couldn't even catch me out here if you tried!" "Girls, settle down!" interjected Twilight. "Now, what's this about throwing Rainbow Dash?" "This monster grabbed me by the leg and threw me like a ball!" Rainbow Dash raged, pointing at Krys. "This pony kicked me in the nose!" Fluttershy translated as a raging Sleight pointed at Rainbow Dash. "You were trying to feel my tail!" By now, the Pegasus was in Krys' face, trying to be intimidating. Krys reached out and grabbed Dash's hindleg and grinned a cheshire grin. "Caught you again." It's magenta eyes grew wide, even without Fluttershy's translation. "GIRLS!!" The two looked at an entirely frustrated Twilight, then back at each other. Grudgingly, they turned away and simultaneously Hmph'd. "Rainbow Dash, don't pick a fight with a creature that we know very little about." "But she-" "No Buts!" The rainbow-maned Pegasus hung her head. "And you! You will either promise to behave, or I'm going to lock you in Princess Celestia's dungeon! Do I make myself perfectly clear?" Not really, but... Krys nodded. "Good. Now, since you're a new species, I'd like to take some time to study you. Do you mind?" "What do you mean, 'study'?" Krys asked nervously through Fluttershy. "Eating habits, sleep cycles, what you do to keep warm without any fur, your background, whether you're social or not, what you do for fun, how you relie--" "So basically everything?" "Of course. What good is learning about something new if you aren't thorough?" Krys sighed. ********************* Finally, it's over... six eternity-long hours of questions and probing is worse than working slow songs at the studio. At least when I'm working, I have music around. but here? There's nothing. Not even a cello. At least I can walk freely, now. Twilight made me promise not to bother anypon- anybody. Wow, Krys... Just wow. But yea, no bothering the ponies. Ponies, not horses. They don't seem to like being called the 'h' word. And here I am, thinking about the things that pester them. I really need to find something to do. *ggroooooooowl* And food. Ugh, with everything that's been going on, I haven't had time to get food. I've gotta find something to... The scent of a tantalizingly warm, apple-cinnamon pie wafted through Krys' nostrils. Sweet mother of god, that smells wonderful! *Ggrooooooowl!* I know, belly. Tongue wants it too. Krys followed her nose to a small (by her standards) bakery. Inside, she found a counter full of baked goods. Pies, cakes, cupcakes, muffins... Nobody was at the counter, defending the wares, either. It would be easy to just- *smack!* Don't go thinking about stealing, Krys! You made a promise not to bother them, and I always keep my promises! *ggroooooooooowl...* Krys sighed. Then she saw the little bell on the tiny counter's top, and hope was restored. *ding* "H-hello?" A little blue head with a pink splotch of whipped cream on it poked out from the door behind the counter. "C-can I help you?" "Yea. Can I get a cake?" Krys asked, hoping they would just be nice enough to give her one since she obviously didn't have any money on her. The blue pony just stared at her. "A cake? You know, the- Gah, Fluttershy isn't here to translate..." "Let me handle this, Mrs. Cake." Up popped a very pink pony with a very poofy mane from immediately behind the counter. It looked like it had been baking recently, due to large patches of flour covering the apron it was wearing. "Hi! How can I help you, strange and large bipedal creature? We have everything sweet from muffins to cakes!" "Since you probably can't understand a word I'm saying, you can't help me. And even if you could, I have no money to buy a cake." Krys began to walk out. "Where do you think you're going?!" She jumped in fright, pounding her head against the ceiling as the mug of the pink pony appeared in front of her from above the door, outside the building. "Didn't you come here to eat something? I can't let you leave hungry!" "Weren't you just... How did you... Wha?" She clutched her aching head as she glanced back and forth between the counter and the now grounded pony. As the pony walked back inside, it gasped a gasp of comprehension that anywhere else could only have meant complete and utter sarcasm. "This is the first time we've met, isn't it?! Are you new in town?" it asked, bubbling over with energy at the idea. "I guess... I've only been here for about a day or so." "Really?!" *thump* That's a cannon. "You know what this calls for, right?" Wait, that's a cannon! "A PARTY!!" *BOOM!!*
Bath"Oh dear, I'm late! And I still have to visit Pinkie Pie!" Rarity packed her sewing materials away, then locked up the Carousel Boutique and set out for the Cake's Bakery. "I hope she isn't too upset with me." In a few minutes, she reached the street which claimed the bakery in which Pinkie worked. *BOOM!!* Suddenly a large, hideous creature flew backward from inside the shop, along with cake batter, confetti, and countless streamers, much of which covered the creature from head to hoof. If those things on the ends of its legs could even be called hooves. "Wow! I didn't expect you to stand right in the way! You have a weird way of enjoying parties, strange bipedal creature." "Pinkie! What in Equestria is that?" shouted Rarity as she approached the poofy-maned pony and the squirming lump of cake. "And why would you ever think it was a good idea to shoot anypony with your party cannon?" "Ik... E haan nema E'xa lovw daaq mefmag eq wka jow," the... something... groaned from beneath the layer of cake. "Silly creature! You weren't kicked, you were shot with a cannon!" It tried to get up, but the effort was fruitless. Then its eyes widened at something. "Yuew u vaf... fuq bio oqgatvwuqg pa? E wkiojkw wka vrann iqnb yitmag hit-" "Spell? I don't need a spell to understand you. It's just a simple matter of transposing all of your consonants two consonants backward and all your vowels one vowel forward. Easy Peasy!" Pinkie Pie said, as if something like that were as obvious as cupcakes were delicious. Rarity shook her head. Pinkie was being Pinkie again. "Ykuw uta bio wunmeqj udiow? Wkuw giavq'w puma uqbva!" it cried, quite flustered. "It doesn't have to make sense to work, now does it?" The creature brought its fore...hoof(?) to its head and groaned, then realized it just smacked itself with a great glob of cake and groaned even louder. Rarity suppressed her laughter and tried to be nice. "Oh, you poor thing! We simply must get you to a bath this instant! As delicious as you look covered in cake, I can't image the sugar is doing anything good for your skin. Come along!" she ordered. "But it hasn't eaten yet!" "It can eat later, once it's presentable," Rarity replied coolly. "But it cannot stay another minute in public looking like that!" The thing apparently agreed, because it immediately got up and followed Rarity. "Just remember to bring it back in time for supper!" Pinkie yelled after them as they disappeared toward the spa. "Now then, you're going to need the royal treatment. After being Pinkie Pie'd, anypony deserves the best that bits can buy! I have excellent connections at the spa, so I will make sure you are well set. Ah, here we are!" The two arrived at and entered a large, multi-tiered tent. In the center was a large barrel-tub with a stairwell leading up to the top. Around the outside of the tub were several pony-sized beds, perfect for hooficures and massages. "Lotus! Aloe!" "Oh, Mademoiselle Rarity!" A blue pony with a pink mane and white headband appeared from behind the tub, followed by a pink pony with a blue mane and a matching headband. "It has been a while since- Oh my!" The two looked in horror at the mess that was the strange, bipedal creature. "What has happened to this poor thing?!" "Pinkie Pie shot it with her party cannon! Would you girls be willing to help it?" "But of course! Anything for you, Mademoiselle Rarity!" They took it to the bath and began to scrub the caked cake away. "You will have to excuse me, girls. I have a dress that I must finish by this evening, but I will be back shortly." The spa ponies waved goodbye before grabbing a pair of brushes. Rarity walked out, confident they would be finished by the time she got back. ********************* Dear Princess Celestia, I must speak with you about the presence of a strange new creature that Fluttershy found in the Everfree Forest. There is something about it which bothers me, but I can't place my hoof on what the problem is. I need your help. Please let me know when you are next available. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle ********************* *Beep* "Hey Digit. Have you heard from Sleight yet? It's been like, a week since school started, and she still hasn't shown up! I wanna hear those beats again, so if you could give her a call and bring her back, that would-" *Beep* "Yo Didge! Heard ya pulled some kinda stunt with Sleight! Hope you didn't do anythin' ya might regret later, man." *Beep* "Good job on losing of the best DJ around. Now I'm gonna have to find someone else to replace her, and you know how hard THAT'S going to be." *Beep* "Good evening. My name is Horace Lingerson, Krys' grandfather. I understand she attended a party which you hosted recently. I had been pushing her too hard, so I let her go. I thought it would do her good to see her friends again, but she hasn't returned. If you know anything about where she could be, please-" *Beep* "Sleight, Sleight, Sleight... It's always about her. It's like they have to have her or no one at all. And now everyone's looking at me to bring her back, as though I even knew how!" Do you want her back? "Hell no! She always got the best gigs, always had the most listeners. Now I'm on top, and I love it! No one's gonna bring me down!" You sound like you're still jealous of her. "Psh, as if. Why be jealous of someone who isn't a threat?" Because she was better than you are, and people still want what she could do more than they want you. "Shut up!" Digit threw his phone against the wall in anger. "I'm the best now! I'm the guy getting all the gigs! People want MY music, not hers!" Hm hm hm. You sound very much like somepony I knew a very long time ago. I gave her the power she needed to face her rival, and I can give you what you need to wipe your rival's memory away forever. "...How?" With the same magic you used to wipe her from this existence. But I will need something from you. "......What do I have to do?" ********************* The spa ponies truly new their craft, and this sort of bath, she realized, was a luxury that would never have happened at home. A bath with lotions and oils, designed for the deep, thorough cleaning of fur was perfect for revitalizing her skin, which had collected all sorts of grime, dirt, and sugary goodness. Food brought to the edge of the tub for nibbling while the ponies massaged all the tension out of her stiff shoulders. It was odd, being tended to by a pair of colorful animals, but by no means was it unpleasant. In fact, Krys felt better than she had since arriving in this strange new land. There was only one thing missing: Music. Since she had come here, she hadn't heard a single instrument played, a single rhythm other than the cadence of hooves against the ground. Having come from a background saturated with music of all sorts, the relative silence was both tense and heartbreaking. How could they live like this? She couldn't imagine such a lifestyle. "Do you have any music?" she asked. The two simply glanced at her and continued working. Right... they can't understand me... So she did the next best thing. She closed her eyes and sang. Quietly to herself, but it was enough to act as a bandage for her slightly wounded soul. As she sang, she imagined her voice becoming a violin. The tune began slowly, lilting like a small child in a field. As it swayed back and forth across her tongue, the pace began to quicken slightly. In the back of her mind, Krys could hear a guitar join her as a set of drums beat a soft cadence to the song. Her fingers strummed the air, matching what she heard in the background. She leaned backward, lifting her feet slightly above the waterline to place her toes on the opposite lip of the tub. Without warning, the song took off, refusing to be restrained. Her fingers held the imaginary guitar in place as her feet drummed against the water like a pair of spoons against someone's knee. In a moment, she resumed the guitar, accompanied by a soft piano to act as a steady foil to the now dancing melody. The song paused for a brief moment, then redoubled its vigor as Krys' hands took control of the fiddle. She could hear every instrument as clearly as if they were being played around her. The pulse of the drums. The piano and guitar working in tandem harmony to carry the song. And Krys playing the fiddle almost tangibly, racing with its carefree melody as though she clutched her grandfather's Stradi. All at once, the music of the fiddle, guitar, piano and drums leapt into the air and vanished, leaving just a trace echo to remind all who witnessed what had transpired. Krys held her imaginary bow high, proud and tired after her vigorous performance. *thunk* *clack* Two little brushes struck the tub and fell into the water beside her. Then she remembered where she was. She wasn't in a concert hall. She wasn't in her grandfather's studio. Her head turned slowly behind her, where she saw two ponies in white headbands with their mouths agape and their eyes transfixed on her. She lowered her arm sheepishly, embarrassed by her outburst. "That was..." muttered the pink spa pony. "You were..." mumbled the blue spa pony. Krys hung her head. She knew she must've looked really foolish to them. "INCREDIBLE!" they shouted in chorus. She lifted her head and stared, unsure what to think of the unexpected response. "At first we thought you were just something that Mademoiselle Rarity was pitying, but you have an amazing magic!" Magic? What on earth are these ponies talking about? "Your voice was beautiful on its own, but then your claws began to move and glow and the music became even more! And the way you used your hooves to create the rhythm was exceptional! And then at the end, such flair! It was like listening to the Canterlot symphony!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on a sec. You mean to tell me that you actually heard what I was pretending to play?" "Ah, please accept our apologies." The two ponies bowed their heads. "We had forgotten you cannot speak." Krys' gaze turned to her own hands. They said my hands glowed, probably like a Unicorn's horn. Is it possible that here I have magic? The blue pony pointed into the tub. "Would you return those brushes, please?" Krys looked down and grabbed the brushes which Lotus and Aloe had dropped earlier. She mechanically returned them to the ponies who then resumed their work, but her mind was elsewhere, forming a single thought that was both frightening and fantastic. Could I do that again...?
MagicIn a little town in Washington, not far from Seattle, a young man drove down the road. He traveled to the outskirts of that little town, searching for a little shop tucked away from normal society. It wasn't a shop where one could find the latest clothing trends. Or even an organic produce store. No, this shop was special. This shop in a little town not far from Seattle was a place of magic. Everything found there was related to some form of magic. From wands and tomes to amulets and potions, the shop was a place which collected objects of mysticism and the supernatural and sold them to any who dared test their power. At such a place as this, the young man had bought a little black book. A little black book whose magic had been used to disappear a certain high school classmate of whom this young man was jealous. The young man finally arrived and entered Artemis and Diana's Shop of Lunar Magic. A little bell rang as he stepped through the door, alerting the keeper sitting in the back to his presence "Welcome to my store! We have all sorts of-" "Yes, I've been here before," he interrupted, not wanting to go through a tour of the place a third time. "When I was last here, I bought this book." "Oh... Y-you're not here to..." her voice went to barely a whisper. "...return it, are you?" Tears began to well in her eyes. "No, I'm not. I want to buy the rest of the set. It's supposed to come with an amulet matching the symbol on the cover. Do you still have it?" The shop keeper's head perked up and her cheerful smile returned in a flash as she looked at the book. "Of course! I figured you'd be back so I saved it for you!" She rummaged behind her desk. "I know it's in here somewhere... Aha! Here it is!" The shopkeeper held up a necklace with a carved block of obsidian attached. In its center was an ivory crescent moon and beneath it, connected by nearly invisible threads, were three little obsidian islands. "Is this what you were looking for?" Digit slowly grinned. ********************* "Littlefur!" The tall creature jumped, startled by the shout. The she looked down at her escort. Rarity was looking up at her worriedly. "I've been calling you for several minutes. You've been very quiet since you left the spa. Did anything... happen?" She simply shook her head. "Is something else the matter? You seemed... distracted at Pinkie's party." Littlefur looked away from Rarity's gaze. After a few moments, she looked back at the purple-maned pony with a glint in her eye that Rarity knew all too well. She had gotten this feeling many times from her sister; it was a look of deep thought and perhaps more than a little mischief. "Littlefur, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked nervously, backing away slowly. Littlefur grinned and cracked her knuckles and waggled them as she turned her body to face the white pony. "Stop that! You are making me quite uncomfortable." She picked up a large handful of dirt and massaged it between her fingers. Then she slowly crept, hands outstretched, toward the now pinprick-eyed Rarity. "Y-you wouldn't dare..!" Rarity leaped backward, narrowly avoiding Littlefur's pounce. She shrieked and bolted, Littlefur hot on her hooves with soil-covered hands groping just close enough behind to put the fear of filth in her. She ran and ran, practically screaming down the road. She ran all the way to Fluttershy's house, hoping that the canary yellow Pegasus would be able to stop the creature before the shine on her coat was ruined. "Fluttershyyyyyyyy!" The door to the cottage flew open as the Pegasus rushed outside to see what was wrong. "Rarity! What's wrong? Did something happen?" the mare asked worriedly. "Yes! You have to save me from... from..." That's when she realized Littlefur was nowhere in sight. "Oh no..." ********************* Worked like a charm, Krys thought as she washed her hands in the stream. I had no idea she could run that fast! She shook her hands and wiped them on the grass to dry them. Then she stood up and stretched, glancing around for an ideal spot to be alone for a while. It wasn't long before she spied the perfect place; not far from her position was what appeared to be an apple orchard. Perfect. There shouldn't be many ponies around in there, and if one does show up, I can hide among the trees. Krys ran toward her chosen destination, eager to test the magic discovered at the bath. ********************* "I'm bored," groaned an orange Pegasus filly. "Me too," groaned a yellow filly with a big red ribbon. "Me three," groaned a younger version of Rarity. The three sighed in unison. "Checker champions was a total bust. We only have a little time before sunset, so we've gotta think of something fast!" "How about..." Applebloom said, until the wind carried something through the window of the Cutie Mark Crusaders' clubhouse. "Can you hear that?" "Hear what, Applebloom?" asked Scoot. "Listen. It's like a... um... a flute!" There it was again, this time like a penny whistle. "It's probably just the wind," said Sweetie Belle. "Nothing spec--" Another, entirely different sound floated through. "THAT wasn't the wind! It sounded like Pinkie Pie's harmonica when she led the parasprites away from Ponyville!" exclaimed Scootaloo. "Do you think there's a band nearby?" The three exchanged several glances. "CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS MUSIC FINDERS!" The fillies rushed outside to follow the music that periodically played. ********************* Krys continued trying out different instruments, with each slightly larger than the last. She had gone through a couple woodwinds and reeds and was now working with strings. The spa ponies were right about her hands glowing every time she held a different imaginary instrument. By now, the sun had already dipped below the horizon, so she could see the glow much more clearly. The largest glow surrounded her hands, but there was also a slight outline of the instrument she was holding, which helped her see when she moved it around. She took the cello she currently held and plucked a few notes. She wondered how the sound was coming from a string which didn't exist, but it was definitely there, not just in her head. A few more plucks, then a bow formed in her right hand, and she drew it across the nearly invisible lines that ran up the instrument. The tone quality was just what she would expect in the studio: not quite the best, but by no means bad. Then it faltered. She was becoming very tired, and her fingers were beginning to cramp. It was easy to create familiar instruments, but more complex ones like the cello or flute were exhausting, especially when making the actual sounds. The outline flickered before disappearing entirely, followed closely by the glow of her hands. So she tried to form something else: a kazoo. Its simple construction made the formation easier to bear. A tiny tone eked out when she blew through it, but then the glow of her hands flashed brightly before flicking out completely. She tried to reconstruct it, but she was just too drained to manage even a guitar pick. She moved to get up, but she felt as she had on that first night, cold and exhausted. It was a struggle to move. Still, at least she wasn't jittering like she had before. Then she saw three pairs of eyes staring at her in the moonlight. Her mind instantly flashed back to the timber wolves, and a burst of adrenaline flooded her system. She sprang up to flee. Then fell to the ground unconscious as she spent the last of her energy.
