Author’s Note: Hey guys, I’ve got another chapter already out. My goal I set for myself is to type something everyday. That doesn’t necessarily mean a chapter everyday, but I just want to get some progress done everyday. I’m still looking for a cover if anyone is interested. (Applejack: Hint, hint.)

A Change

I wake up in a bed, which confuses me. I don’t exactly remember falling asleep, but I do remember screaming in my mind as my eyelids shut. I see that I’m not even under the covers, and that I’m laying perfectly straight. I guess that Twilight or Celestia had brought me here by magic. I sit up and look around the simple enough room. It reminded me a lot of the room that Rarity stayed in during her trip to Canterlot in “Sweet and Elite.” There’s a fancy bed, a simple enough bathroom, a desk with ink and quill, and the door. Nothing really special.

My first thought was to take a shower, but I really didn’t want to get all clean only to get back into these dirty clothes. I decide to fuck it, and not take a shower. Hopefully I didn’t smell too bad. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to wait in here for a summoning, so I decided it would probably be best to just wait a while and see what happens. I wander aimlessly about the room for a few minutes before boredom sets in. I enter the bathroom and find it looks completely normal. After finishing my business in there, I search briefly for a clock, and come up with nothing. After about half an hour, I’ve had enough, and I venture out of the room.

The hallways in the castle all seemed the same to me. My brief trip from the throne room to the dining hall didn’t give me any clues as to how to tell where I was going. Winging it, I turn left. I pass guards occasionally, sometimes getting looks of question, and sometimes looks of almost disgust. To say the least, I didn’t want to stop and ask for directions. After various random left and right turns, I find my way to the mess hall. This was immensely different from the dining hall. It seemed all of the guards and servants of the castle ate here. It was very simple compared to everything else I’ve seen in the castle. In fact, it looked pretty much like a high school lunchroom. Long rows of tables with ponies busy talking away. I jump at the sound of a voice from behind me.

“There you are!” Twilight said with a relieved tone. After she noticed she had scared me, her cheeks slightly turned red. “Oh, sorry.” she said sweetly. “I guess I should stop doing that.” I laugh awkwardly before I talk.

“It’s okay Twilight, my football buddies did that to me all the time.” Because Twilight was in her pony form, she was nearly two feet shorter than me, so it felt a little awkward staring at her from above.

“I’ve been looking for you for the past half hour,” she said regularly. “When I didn’t find you in your room, I wasn’t sure where to look.”

“Well I kind of just wandered around until I found you, or rather you found me.” I smiled dumbly as I spoke. I then realized what I was doing. I wasn’t feeling as awkward as usual when I was around girls. And my head felt a little bit lighter than usual. I try to push the thought in my mind away, but it kept coming back to me. Twilight was really cute. My mind was fucking with me. I also have to keep reminding myself that thinking to myself causes more awkward silences. Twilight cleared her throat before she spoke.

“Well the princess would like to finish the conversation we were having last night. Before you fell asleep, that is.” she added the last sentence mischievously.

“Yeah, sorry about that.” Now I’m feeling embarrassed too. “I was really tired.” I don’t say? Twilight giggles at my dumb answer.

“We’ll be meeting in the dining hall again.” Twilight said, starting to walk off towards her left. “This way, we can get some breakfast.”

“What time is it anyway?” I ask, now following her. “I haven’t seen a clock all day.”

“It’s only 9 o’clock or so.” she says flatly. Now, I’ve never been good at conversations, let alone with girls, but I was determined to not seem like a freak around Twilight. I didn’t really take into account that Twilight said she had been monitoring me for the last few weeks.

“How do you not get lost in all of these hallways?” I ask, trying to get a conversation going. “They all look the same to me.” Twilight looks around briefly, still trotting on.

“Hmm...” she ponders. “You know I’ve never really noticed it before. I’ve lived in the castle for most of my life up to a few months ago. I guess you kind just get used to it.” Thankfully, we arrive at the same door as last night before another silence set in. As we enter the room, we are again bombarded with waiters wanting to take our order. Twilight tells one of the waiters she wants her regular meal as she sits down in the same seat as last night. I look questionably at Twilight, hoping for some help. “Just order anything you’d order back on Earth.” Twilight says sweetly. “Without meet of course.” she added quickly.

“Uh... a ham- I mean a cheese omelet?” I request as I sit in my seat. The waiter simply nods and leaves without a word. Now it’s just me and Twilight in the room. Ugh... not another awkward silence. Thankfully, the food comes out only a minute after we order. I guessed that it was either because it was magic, or because we were apparently very important. I laughed at the thought of myself being anything like royalty.

Eating makes the silence more acceptable, so I munch on the eggs and cheese on the plate in front of me. I finish rather quickly, and sit there patiently as Twilight eats her food. Her plate consisted of an omelet with flowers sticking out in various places, and hash-browns. Now I was feeling weird just sitting here watching her eat.

“So... Twilight?” She looks up while shoving a fork full of hash-browns in her mouth. She was using her magic, so it made me wonder how would a non-unicorn use silverware. I realize that I just got Twilight’s attention and then started looking at her strangely. I guess my awkwardness around girls didn’t cease. STOP. FOCUS. USE YOUR WORDS. “Uh...” Now I forgot what I was going to say... FUCK M-. Twilight giggled. After swallowing her food, she spoke to me.

“You’re cute.” What? She seemed to notice what she said at the same time I comprehended the words. “I mean! I don’t think you’re... I mean I do! But I...” Now it was my turn to laugh. After another second she laughed too. Once we regained our composure, I responded.

“I think I know what you meant.” I said, still giggling. I was about to speak again, but I was interrupted by the double doors opening to reveal Princess Celestia. She dismissed the two guards behind her and took a seat at the head of the table.

“I’m sorry for my tardiness,” Celestia started. “I had several matters that I needed to attend.” The princess seemed very rushed and stressed as she spoke. “As for your matter, Hunter, I believe it would be best for you to get acquainted with the other Elements of Harmony as much as possible before your training begins. You will be leaving for Ponyville later today.” In a way, I was excited, but the way the princess was talking seemed very strange. She turned towards Twilight, who also seemed slightly confused at her mentor’s mood. “Twilight, if you would brief Hunter of the rest of our plans on the way to Ponyville, it would be much appreciated, my student.”

“Yes Princess... whatever you say.” Twilight’s voice was filled with uncertainty.

“Excellent.” Celestia remarked. “Thank you both for your help in this matter. I will see you both in one week’s time.” And with that, Celestia just got up and left. Leaving both me and Twilight very confused.

Because I was teleported to Equestria with literally nothing but the clothes on my back, I was ready to leave right away. Twilight on the other hand (hoof?) need to pack all of her notes and books. And she had a lot of both. I stood by the door of her room awkwardly, waiting for her to finish packing. Her room was more personalized than mine was. She had a few pictures hanging on the walls, a few awards here and there. I guessed that this might have been her room before she moved to Ponyville.

“Okay, now all I’m missing is my copy of...” she trailed off. “AHA! Here it is!” she said proudly, presenting a book called The Interesting Tale of Dr. Saddle and Mr. Hide. Twilight sighed. “Nothing beats the classics.” she said to no one in particular. She turned her attention towards me. “Hunter, before we go...” her voice was slow and unsure. “I think it would be best to turn you into a pony. This way, you won’t receive all of the strange looks I’m sure you’ve already seen. And this way, you’ll have more time to get used to being a pony” The words hung in the air. Of course, I had to make the moment more awkward.

“YES!” I yell, with a very, very, very, very, apparent voice crack. The immense change in tone in the word made it would like I hiccuped while saying it. I feel my cheeks burn up and I look at my shoes. “I mean; Sure, why not?” Twilight wouldn’t have that. She burst out laughing right then and there. She even fell on the floor with her hooves in the air. Very cliche, but still cute. Wait, now I just called her cute... Or did I? My inner-monologue was cut off by Twilight regaining composure and speaking to me.

“Well, I didn’t know you would be so... ecstatic.” She giggled softly. I did my best to play it off.

“Yes, well... I meant... Yesss...terday... YESTERDAY! Yeah, yesterday, I....” My mind drew a blank. “Okay, fine. It sounds really awesome okay?” I chuckle to myself quietly. “I think any brony would act the same way.” Twilight giggled softly, but then her expression turned serious.

“I must warn you, the process isn’t exactly... pleasant.” Twilight spoke, choosing her words carefully. “I’ll be blunt, it was the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my life.” Was it, THE. WORST. WORST. POSSIBLE? I was so lame. “The process is relatively short, but it seems like time slows down during it.” Her seriousness made me hesitate. But only for a second. I’m pretty sure most bronies would take the pain for the option to be a pony.

“I’ll do it Twilight,” I said, trying to reassure her and to reassure myself. “I don’t care what it’s going to be like. It’ll be worth it.”

“I’ll have to use a spell to soundproof the room before we start.” Twilight said emotionlessly. She walked towards the door and shut it. Her horn lit up briefly, and a purple glow materialized on the walls of the room. She reopened her eyes, and looked at me intently. “Last chance Hunter.” Her voice seemed different. Not in a bad way, but it seemed full of... worry. I swallow the lump in my throat, and nod.

Twilight closed her eyes again, and her horn lit up with the purple glow. For a few seconds, that’s all that happened. Then, her horn shot out the purple towards me, engulfing me in the luminous glow. I felt the pain immediately. It seemed to start on the most inward parts of my body. My heart, the lungs, etc. I could feel my heart pounding in my ears, and then it stopped. My heart literally stopped. and my lungs ceased to receive oxygen. I was having a heart attack while being suffocated. I would be screaming, but all of my internal organs seem to be shrinking, including my vocal chords. My muscles constricted and cramped up, and I was forced to my knees.

I felt the cracking more than I heard it. My arms start to violently spasm, the bones twisting, snapping, deforming. I feel each individual finger dislocate and eventually shrink into my hands, leaving two nubs. I feel as if someone clapped clamps onto my ears and hooked them up to a car and took off at full speed. My eyes felt as if they were being forced open by chopsticks. My jaw broke and tore my skin open. Now it felt like the bones in my legs were collapsing into each other, this pain the worse yet. My toes imitated what my fingers did, and shrunk back into my feet. Somehow, through all the pain, I still managed to make one thought through. I must look like a monster. My shoulders broke from my torso with a loud snap, and repositioned themselves. My two nubs of hands were in pain from what felt like a giant fingernail breaking through the skin. The same feeling went to my feet. My hip joints popped out of my pelvic bone and I felt them crack and change in shape. At the bottom of my spine, I felt the bone elongate and break the skin painfully. About halfway up the length of my back, I felt a vertebrae split off into two directions, both piercing the skin. They stretched out and cracked some more.

My heart started up again, and my lungs found precious oxygen. My bones settled in their places, and I felt my skin begin to tingle. My eyes were forced shut by the pain, so I had no idea what was going on. I felt like I was a newborn baby, or I guess foal would be a more accurate word. The tingling sensation didn’t cease for another few minutes, and then all pain stopped. I was lying on my side, my ears ringing. I was scared of what would happen if I opened my eyes. I told myself what a pussy I was being, and forced them open. I see a teary eyed Twilight staring down at me with relief in her eyes.

“I remember breaking my arm during gym class back in Magic Kindergarten.” Twilight remarked. “I thought that there was no greater pain in the world than breaking a bone until I first used the spell. Imagine breaking all of them. I’m sorry to say this, but it’s just as bad the first time you turn back into a human.” I’m still scared to even speak, so I just groan in my mind. My body didn’t even feel sore, but it felt... new. Almost like it could easily be broken. I blink uneasily, gauging my options. I gain enough courage to look at my hooves. Yeah, I said hooves.

I had grown actual hooves, sorta like Big Macintosh. I didn’t just have legs with fur all the way down the length of them. The fur on my legs was an auburn color. It was hard to explain what it felt like without fingers, but it didn’t feel... wrong either. I moved my joints and flexed my muscles. After I got the general feeling, I roll onto my stomach. I see a dark orange colored mane fall right above my eyes. I strain my leg muscles, both front and back. I manage to stand up fully, my head about six inches higher than Twilight’s. I breath slow and steadily. In through my nose and out through my mouth. I feel significantly shorter than before, and feel immensely lighter than before.

I see Twilight’s horn light up again, and a wheeled mirror rolls over in front of me. It feels surreal. My eyes were the same color, a dark, deep brown, but they were much bigger and ovaled. My ears were long and perked up. My mane was the same dark orange color I saw before. I looked like any other pony from the show. I was in heaven. I even notice that I have a pair of feathered wings on my back. It felt funny, having new appendages. But it felt very naturally moving as well. My mouth unknowingly turns upward into a smile. Then a grin. And then... whatever is bigger than a grin.

“Twilight,” I say, realizing my voice is exactly the same as before. “Thank you so much.”

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