I was mildly surprised to find myself waking up of my own volition. I looked around and saw that the sunbeam was only inches away from my face. I also didn’t see Opal, but I could hear her. She was very close to me. It felt like she was right next to me, based on the small warm breaths I was feeling on my face. I looked over in that direction.

Opal had made a nest out of my hair and had curled up next to my face while I was asleep. She was using her cat powers to keep me from getting up by pinning down my hair. Part of me wanted to be upset at Opal for messing up and sleeping in my hair, but since she was a cat, it was also very difficult to really get upset at her.

I made a mental note to brush my hair once Opal was off it. Maybe during my shower. Maybe I could try brushing it while I had shampoo and conditioner in my hair at the same time. That could decrease how much of both I used. But Opal had to get off first.

It was at least another half hour before Opal woke up. By then, the sunbeam had passed over my face entirely. She spent some time walking on me before getting off the bed, finally allowing me to get up. I stretched as I left my room, making a right to go to the bathroom. To my dismay, the door was closed. I could tell it was Rarity in the shower though by the voice and running water.

With a sigh, I went the other way down the hall and downstairs. Sweetie Belle was at the dining table eating a bowl of cereal. “Good morning” I said.

“Good morning, Yang” Sweetie responded. “Don’t forget that Twilight wants you to visit her today.”

“Thanks for the reminder.” I found a grassless cereal, grabbed a bowl and spoon, and joined Sweetie Belle at the table. “Say, what is today anyways? I haven’t been keeping track.”

“Today’s Sunday.”

“Thanks.” I started on my cereal, making small talk with Sweetie Belle. Well, she was doing most of the talking. I listened.

Probably twenty minutes later, Rarity came downstairs. “Oh, good morning, Yang. I didn’t know you were up.”

“Neither did I” I said. “I suppose the shower’s available?”

“Yes, but the hot water pipes will need a few more minutes to recharge.”

Huh? “The pipes need to recharge?”

“Is it different where you’re from? The hot water pipes here have enchantments in them that heat the water as it flows through them.”

“That’s. . . actually kind of cool. I’m not entirely sure how it works back home, but it’s not like that. Anyways, I’m going to take a shower, brush out the remains of the nest Opal made of my hair, and go to Twilight’s.”

“I was meaning to ask you about that, Yang” Sweetie said. “Opal usually likes to claw my mane apart for some reason.”

“I think she might have known that destroying my hair would likely mean no more scratches from me.” I went upstairs and into my room, collected a set of my regular clothes, and went to the bathroom. I figured there were still a few minutes to wait on the pipes, so I thought about what Twilight might have wanted with me. I was sure she’d ask how my reading skills were coming along, since she did help me get started on that.

After I was certain the pipes were warmed up, I disrobed and got into the shower. I tried my idea of brushing with the shampoo and conditioner in my hair to see if I could use less of it. To my delight, Opal’s nest was cleaned up with no fuss. Still to my delight, but less so, my idea didn’t work as well as I’d hoped. It did help spread the cleaning materials through my hair more evenly, though, so that’s a plus.

Once I was done washing, I turned off the water, squeezed a fair amount of dihydrogen monoxide out of my hair, got out, dried off, and got dressed. Once I was ready, I collected my robe, stopped by my room to put it away, and left the boutique.

I’ve already learned a few of the important locations around town. Normally, it would take longer, but because almost every building was a piece of art, it was fairly easy to identify where I was, and Twilight’s castle certainly stood out. Aside from being a giant thing in a town full of two story houses, it was also apparently made of crystal.

I knocked on the front door and it quickly opened with a purple glow. The glow soon encompassed me and I was pulled inside at high speed, down a couple corridors and out through another door, finally being let go. I still had my momentum though, and I found myself rolling across the ground, bouncing a bit along the way. I finally came to a stop when my face found purchase on the side of a rock sticking out of the ground.

I thanked my aura for being there to preserve my face. It also reduced the impact from what would be crushing pain to a brief stinging sensation.

“Yang! Are you okay? I’m so sorry about that!” Twilight said. There was no way to hide the panic in her voice.

“Yeah, yeah I’m fine” I assured her. “What happened?”

“Well, when you knocked, I opened the door and pulled you through the castle back to here with telekinesis, and I guess my excitement got the better of me.”

“I see. So, what did you want to see me for?”

“To test your physical limits. I want to see how strong you are, how fast you are, your reaction speed, your agility, and whatever else I can think of along the way.”

“Alright, but your results will be a bit off.”

“What? How?”

“I have a semblance, and when I get hit, it makes me stronger.”

“Is there any way to reset it?”

I thought for a moment. “Well, if I get knocked out, it will reset.”

“Hello, Yang. I didn’t expect you to be asleep at this time of day” Luna said.

“Wait, what?” I was confused. “When did I fall asleep?” A quick look around the area showed that we were sitting on a cloud in a vague art gallery. The cloud was very soft.

“Just a moment ago.”

“But I was just talking with Twilight a moment ago.”

“What were you talking about with her?”

“Twilight wants to know how strong I am and a bunch of other stuff. I told her about how my semblance makes me stronger with each hit I take, and that being knocked out resets the boosts I would get.”

“I will go out on a limb and guess you got hit at some point.”

“My face met a rock at high speed before the discussion.”

Luna was quiet for a bit. “I believe you got hit with a sleep spell.”

“What?”

“Twilight is a mare of science, so she tends to correct anything that will mess up an experiment. Whether the sleep spell was deliberate or a reflex, I am uncertain. At least you’ll be rested up, right?”

“I guess so. How long will the spell last? I don’t want to be the next Rip Van Winkle.”

“I do not know of this Rip Van Winkle of which you speak.”

“He took a 20 year nap. It’s an old story from home.”

“Ah. As for your question, you might be asleep for the length of a Twilight Sparkle Panic Attack, and that depends on young Spike’s proximity. If he is close, then it shouldn’t be too long.” Note to self: find out what can make Twilight panic and don’t do those things. “I’ll go ahead and take my leave, Yang. I’ll bless you with a dreamless sleep.”

The gallery of vague art began to dissolve after Luna left, revealing a peaceful beige void.

I slowly opened my eyes. I was laying down on my back on the grass. I saw a blue sky above me, without a single cloud in it. It was a beautiful sky.

I sat up and quickly found Twilight, sitting off a distance from me, looking somewhat ashamed of herself. I recalled my discussion with Luna. “How long did you put me to sleep for?”

“Five minutes” Twilight said. “I really shouldn’t have, but I kind of just acted on my own.”

“Obsessed with the scientific processes a bit much?”

“Yeah, I am.”

I shrugged. “What happened while I was out?”

Spike joined us right at that moment, carrying a fair amount of water and a few books. “Twilight went into her panic mode a few seconds after she realized what she did. Before she could do anything that would normally be on a Tuesday, I got her to calm down.”

“Tuesday? What’s so special about Tuesdays?”

“Things usually happen in Ponyville on Tuesdays. Last Tuesday was when everypony got abducted by the Diamond Dogs and you saved us.”

“I don’t like that day.”

“I know.” Spike turned to Twilight. “I’ve got everything you asked for, Twilight.”

“Thanks, Spike” Twilight said. “Even the journal to contact Sunset?”

“And three new thought journals.”

“You’re the best, Spike.” Twilight took all the items in her magic and floated them over to a picnic table before addressing me and opening the book with what looked like a sun partially combined with a yin-yang symbol. “According to Sunset, human women often wear specialized athletic clothes when practicing or doing any kind of athletic activity.”

If the promotional pictures I’ve seen at various sporting goods stores were any indication, I think I knew what was coming up. I had to ask anyways. “What are you thinking, Twilight?”

“I dare say you are not dressed for the occasion. This simply will not do” Twilight said in a fairly good, if slightly exaggerated imitation of Rarity. 9.5 out of 10. She quickly went back to her regular voice. “For a few days, I’ve been talking with Sunset Shimmer, a friend who lives in a different world, and she’s sent me lots of information on humans. We even figured out how to send magazines through the journals we use to stay in touch.”

I wanted to know more, but I figured magic was the answer, so I decided not to ask. “What did you learn, and how is it relevant now?”

“Weird fashions aside,-” No argument from me on that point. “-I found many pictures of female athletes wearing sports bras and shorts or pants that fit them rather well.”

“Uh, are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?”

“I don’t know. What do you think I’m thinking?”

“I think you want to hit me with a spell to replace my clothes with the athletic wear you’ve described. I don’t want any part of that.”

“Well, you’re not wrong” Twilight admitted. “Why don’t you want to wear those kinds of clothes though?”

“As a former guy, I still have my thoughts of what’s normal and not normal for me. I’ve gotten used to the size and shape of my clothes here out of necessity, but I don’t want more to get used to.”

“You do know Rarity will try to get you to wear a dress, right?”

All of a sudden, I felt really motivated to find a job. One that would be an all day, everyday job, at least three miles away from the boutique. “Thanks, Twilight” I deadpanned.

“You’re welcome? But really, I think the athletic clothes will help you out. And I promise your clothes will be just fine.”

For a few minutes, Twilight and I went back and forth on the matter. She wanted me to wear the athletic clothes, which would be made out of her magic, but feel and work like the real deal. I simply did not want to wear something that revealed that much of my, admittedly great, body.

Spike was the one to come up with a solution. “What if you just try them on for a few minutes, Yang?”

“Hm?” Twilight and I said at the same time.

“Twilight can modify the spell so the clothes look however you want them to, Yang. If you really don’t like them, you can go inside, Twilight can dispel the clothes, you can put your normal ones back on, and then we can get on with this test.”

We were quiet for a bit. “That sounds reasonable” I admitted. “Is it an instant change?”

“No” Twilight said. “If you need some privacy, I can make a barrier for you.”

“I’d appreciate that. Oh, where will these clothes go?”

“I can make a box for them.”

“Alright. Privacy, box, clothes. Please make it fast.”

Twilight fired a spell in my direction, making a hexagonal privacy barrier with walls thin enough to let in light, but deny sight of anything that wasn’t a shadow. I looked around and saw that it had a nice domed ceiling. I questioned that for a moment before remembering that pegasi existed here, and I appreciated the thought.

It was a few seconds before I got hit with two spells in rapid succession. The first one removed almost everything I was wearing, though it didn’t get the Ember Celica for some reason. The next spell, less than a second later, turned into a sports bra, tight spandex pants, thin socks, and softly padded shoes.

“How is it?” Twilight asked.

I took in the outfit. I will admit, it didn’t feel all bad, but something was missing. “I think you might have overlooked something, Twilight.”

“Hm? I shouldn’t have. I studied the ensemble and others like it. I double and quadruple checked everything.”

I decided to be direct. “Lower undergarment. You wouldn’t see it in the pictures.” Direct, though I was, I didn’t want to say the real name of the garment out loud yet. “Could you teleport the box with my clothes in it in here and dispel the sports clothes?”

“And once you say so, reconjure the outfit?” Twilight said as she did what I suggested.

“Exactly.” I found the panties in the box of my clothes, which were very neatly folded, and put them on. “Ready!” a moment later, the outfit was put back on me. With my mind more at ease, I was able to think more clearly about how I felt about it.

“Better?”

“Yeah. Would you agree that it’s hard to do an experiment when you’re uncomfortable with what you’re wearing?”

“Oh yeah. After I ascended, I needed to get wing holes in my lab coats. I did my own modification, and it let my wings through. Oh, are you ready for the privacy barrier to go away?”

“Might as well get it over with. Is there more to the story?”

Twilight dispelled the privacy barrier. She and Spike looked me over for a moment before she continued. “There is. Rarity, somehow, got all my lab coats while I was asleep-”

“Passed out on the floor” Spike interjected.

“-she took all my lab coats and adjusted all of them. She made the wing holes properly sized and lined, and even reworked them so they fit me better. She presented her work as a birthday present the next day, and after I told her that I really liked it, she fell asleep right there with a smile on her face. It was a quiet party after that.”

“And as for the lab coats?”

“Since they fit better and the wing holes were properly fixed, I found myself less distracted and able to work on my experiments longer.

“But enough of us standing around and talking. How do you like the athletic outfit?”

“I’m actually okay with it. I don’t really mind my midsection showing.”

“That might just be the context of the situation. You wouldn’t wear that around Ponyville everyday, right?”

I thought about Twilight’s question for a bit. “No, I wouldn’t.” I’m too modest for that.

“Of course. Now then, on to the tests! The first one I’ve got actually serves two purposes. You will stretch to your limits, and I will record how flexible you are. This will also help get you warmed up for the next exercises.”

I started by stretching an arm across my body and holding it in place with my other arm. There was a bit of tension in my arm, specifically the elbow, and I kept at the stretch until I felt the joint pop. It felt good, though the way I saw Twilight writing in the book with the sun on it seemed to concern me a bit.

After I finished stretching my arms, I started on my body. I will admit that watching Twilight’s reactions to every pop of a joint was rather satisfying. That, or it was the actual sensation of my joints making those sounds that I liked. Probably the latter.

While I was finishing up the leg stretches, Twilight reopened the sun marked book, read something, and appeared to relax a bit.

“Yang, can I ask you a question?” Twilight asked.

“You just did, but go ahead” I said as I went through some stretches again.

“Why did you crack your joints like that?”

“It felt good. Besides, it’s good to get the pops out of your joints while you can. There was one time in Junior High where I was running from some bullies, my ankle popped, and that tripped me up. Then they got me. Then I was saved by some friends.”

“Hmm. I’ll have to look into this later.

“Now then, on to the next test: weight lifting. Here’s a density bar.” Twilight teleported a weight bar and bench for it out. When I picked up the bar, I found it to be quite light.

“Density bar?”

“I can change the weight of the bar by magically altering its density. It’s currently at ten pounds. I want you to bench press it five times, then I’ll increase the weight, and we’ll repeat the process until you can’t lift the weight.”

“Really? You want me to bench press something this light?” I lay down on the bench as I’ve seen others do before and set the bar in its place.

“Of course not. I’m going to start you at 100 pounds.” The bar glowed a bit with Twilight’s magic, but otherwise showed no signs of change. “Start when you’re ready.”

I took a breath, grabbed the bar, and lifted it up. It was actually easier than I thought it was going to be. As I went through the repetitions, I came to the conclusion that the beams from building the barn were way heavier. “Could I get 225 pounds, Twilight?”

“225? You want to go at that rate?”

“100 was too easy. Once it starts getting more difficult for me to lift, then you slow the weight increase.”

“225 it is then.” One zap later, and the bar was heavier.

I still was lifting it with ease, though this was closer to the weight of the beams. Probably a bit heavier.

I started to feel something like a challenge at 650 pounds. That took a bit of effort. More weight in the bar meant more effort to lift, obviously. The final weight I pressed a full five reps was 1000 pounds. The last weight I was able to fully lift was 1450 pounds. I tried 1500, just for a nice round number, but I couldn’t get a full lift out of it.

After the 1500 attempt, I got off the bench, carefully so as not to mess up whatever tests were coming up, and accepted some water from Spike. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, Yang” Spike said. “Need anything else?”

“No, not now. What’s next, Twilight?”

“Two one mile runs. One out, one back. Four minutes is your benchmark. Rest up a bit and I’ll get us set up. We’ll be teleporting to a nice place I know of. Here we go!”

In a flash of purple light, the scenery changed. We were now at a wide open plain. One that I had to brace myself against on my hands and knees from a sudden bout of dizziness. I also noticed something missing. “Twilight?”

“Yes, dizziness is common when you teleport the first few times. And I’m sorry for not warning you about that.”

“Thanks, but where are the Ember Celica?” I held up an arm, compact weapon clearly missing, to show her what I meant.

“Hmm. I’ll be right back.” Twilight teleported away, leaving me with Spike.

Silence reigned between us for a moment. Spike broke it after sitting down next to me. “So, do you like Ponyville?”

“I don’t know” I answered. “I broke through a castle, but everyone was more concerned about me, even though I was a total stranger. Rarity was nice enough to let me live with her, even if she does have an ulterior motive. Then there was Pinkie’s surprise welcome party for me. At least she gave me some delicious cookies. Last Tuesday is something I don’t want to remember. Helping Applejack with the barn was rewarding, and I made a friend as well.

“I’d say it’s been a mixed barrel of experiences, but overall not bad.”

“Is there anything you miss from home?” Spike asked, just before Twilight teleported in, looked around, and teleported out.

“Aside from everything I owned, I miss my friends. I miss the conveniences that were there, I miss, well, I can’t actually think of much else. Really, the day to day life here is a lot calmer. I’m not being hit with ads or promotions at every turn, the air is clean, and everything is just more colorful. Also, everyone’s friendly, at least once they warm up to you.”

“I kind of want to go to your world. It would be an interesting trip.”

I chose not to tell him about the potential brought up in speculative fiction about the government, any government, snagging him, locking him up, and studying him. Though considering the stories of what’s happened to individuals, it wouldn’t be too farfetched to think they would do that.

Before I could voice those thoughts, Twilight landed, the Ember Celica in tow on a string she was levitating. “Alright, I’ve figured it out.”

“Figured what out, Twi?” Spike asked.

“These are immune to all forms of magic. I can’t levitate them, I can’t teleport them, and spells that affect the properties of objects do nothing to them. Not even kinetic application spells work.”

“Can I have them, Twilight?” I asked. “I’d like to keep them close.”

“Oh, sure.” Twilight floated the line with the Ember Celica on it over to me, and I put them on.

“So, the mile runs?”

“Of course.” With a flash of her horn, Twilight made a parallel set of glowing white lines appear on the ground, the space between filled in with red. “Just go as fast as you can, take a few seconds to rest, and run back.”

“Alright.” I did some brief stretches, went to the start of the line, and got ready. Once Twilight gave the signal, I took off.

Back on Earth, I was a decent runner, considering all the times I had to run away from things. I even ran track in high school, but didn’t actually compete, despite my impressive times. I was going way faster than that now. Before I knew it, I had passed the end of the lines, and I had to use a good amount of distance to stop. After catching my breath, which didn’t take long, I returned to and ran back down the lines.

After I passed Twilight, I had to stop myself again, but that wasn’t as easy since there was a very quiet creek running through the area behind where I started. In order to stay dry, I jumped over the creek, which was probably ten feet wide, and safely landed on the other side, which also helped slow me to a stop, inches before I would have hit a branch with my face.

“So, how’d I do?” I asked after making it back to Twilight and Spike.

“Your average for the two runs was three minutes, which puts your running speed at approximately twenty miles per hour” Twilight reported. “You’re not as fast as most ponies are, but for a human, that is spectacular.”

“And I’m not even winded.”

“I will add Endurance to your list of traits. How about a cool down walk back to Ponyville?”

“Sure. Lead the way.”

Twilight cast a spell, and a glowing white line appeared three feet off the ground. After Spike jumped onto her back, she started following the line, and I followed her. “Is there anything about Equestria you’d like to know?”

I gave it some thought, looked to Twilight and Spike, then got a question. “How many sentient species are there?”

“There are a lot of sentient species in Equestria. However, I have a feeling that you meant to ask how many sapient species there are, and the answer to that is nine: there are ponies, griffons, minotaurs, changelings, diamond dogs, breezies, dragons, some breeds of cattle, and Discord.”

“And Discord is?”

“He is the spirit of chaos. He lives with Fluttershy, and we have asked him to come up with a different way to greet you than he usually would. Especially considering how you reacted to Pinkie’s party and that time Rainbow sneaked up on you.”

That made sense, though I had no idea what his usual greeting was like. Considering the examples of Rainbow and Pinkie’s surprises, I could only conclude that it would really startle me.

We continued on with our walk through the woods, eventually coming upon a wide trail. The line turned right on the trail, and once we were on it, Twilight dispelled the line. She seemed to know where we were now, and so we continued our walk in silence.

Our walk ended at an outer wall of Twilight’s castle.

“Alright Yang, it’s time for the next test: the vertical jump” Twilight said. “Just jump up three times as high as you can go.”

I looked and saw a balcony partway up the building. I briefly thought that such a jump was out of my range, then I remembered all the times I went into my room at Rarity’s with no problem, and when I jumped into an apple tree.

I think I was lost in my thoughts and started to tune out the world after a bit because the next thing I was aware of was a tap on my shoulder with no warning. I gave a yelp befitting my form and jumped up. Way up.

I caught myself on the balcony rail by one hand, and I was easily holding myself up. I looked down and saw an. . . Odd looking creature.

“Discord!” Twilight firmly said. “Why did you scare Yang like that?”

“So you could see how high she can jump” Discord said before stretching his body up so he was eye level with me, then picked a banana from his antler, and used it like a calculator. “It looks like she jumped up about sixty feet. Impressive.”

“That may be true, Discord, and it may be an interesting fact, but it’s not good data.”

“I’m sorry, Twilight, I couldn’t quite hear you from up here. Let me help you with that.” With a snap of his Talons, Discord produced two cans on a very long string, and dropped one of them down to Twilight.

While they talked, I could feel my grip starting to slip. I tried to get my free hand on the rail, but the mere movement from that alone caused me to fully lose my grip, and I failed to grab the rail, thus starting a sixty foot fall.

Normally, if someone fell from that height, they would be at least a bit terrified, and I did feel a bit of that. However, I was mostly calm about it for some reason.

My landing strategy left a bit to be desired, though. During my fall, I somehow turned upside down and I landed on my head. A few seconds after impact, I fully collapsed on the ground. Twilight was quick to come to my side, checking me for injuries before getting back on the soup can phone and blaming Discord for my fall.

Once the conversation was over, on account of Twilight teleporting Discord somewhere else, she returned to me. “Sorry about that. Discord is reformed, so he won’t be trying to take over the world again. He’s learned the value of friendship.

“So, how about we move on to the next thing on the agenda? Throwing a 10 pound ball.”

“Hold out your dominant hand.” I held out my right hand and an iron ball was teleported just above it, leaving me to catch it. I had no problem holding it. In fact, it felt lighter than it should.
“Feel free to throw it in any direction you want. I’ve enchanted it so it will vanish before it damages anything in Ponyville, and I’ll still be able to calculate how far it would have gone.”

“Really? Well, here goes nothing.” I rolled my shoulder in preparation, took a few steps forward, and a question crossed my mind. “How do you want me to throw it?”

“However you want.”

I settled for a normal overhand throw, putting all my strength into it. The ball went soaring over Ponyville, and out over the forest. I looked at my arm, thinking about the throw. Come to think of it, my aura felt weaker. “Um. I think we might have messed this one up.”

“What? How? Wait a minute. . .” Twilight seemed to be reaching the same conclusion I was. “You said you get stronger when you take damage, and you fell on your head when Discord was here.”

I continued for her. “And a hit to the head like that would use up more aura for protection, which would activate my semblance to make me stronger.

“Well then, in that case, should we call it a day?”

“Sure. Just let me get you your clothes and the privacy barrier.” Twilight teleported everything into place around me before dispelling the athletic clothes she had made.

While I was changing back to my regular clothes, I exercised extra caution. I did not want to damage these clothes simply because of my enhanced strength. “Do you know where the ball went?”

“No. Just that it went out into the Everfree. How about we go get some lunch?”

“Sounds good.” I finished dressing and had Twilight before she, Spike, and I started discussing what to do for lunch.

The iron ball did not simply land on the floor of the Everfree forest. It bounced, first off of a fallen log and over a river, the serpentine dragon in it completely oblivious. Next, it bounced off an angled rock, going back up over the treetops.

The ball went past Cerberus, none of his three heads noticing it. It went through a wide, artistic gap in the gates to Tartarus, and started falling down the stairwell, still bouncing, though not as much as before.

In a small cell sat a small centaur named Tirek. As he had been for a long time, he was bored. Bored and chained up. Bored, until he heard something rolling his way. He looked towards it, and saw an iron ball rolling towards his cage. Due to numerous layered spells, he was unable to stick even a finger out through the bars, but those spells did nothing to keep the iron ball from rolling in and coming to a rest at his forehooves.

With a bit of effort, he picked up the ball. “Today, I will escape” Tirek said to nobody but himself. “Today, I will start my revenge.”

Author's Notes:

And so begins another part of the story.

I was going to include a game of whack-a-mole to test Yang's reaction speed, but chose not to.