November 22
To think, it’s already been almost six months since I found myself dropped into this world from some weird, freak event. Calling life eventful would be a gross understatement, as going from man to mare by itself was nuts, let alone becoming a ‘blank-flank’ (as the self-proclaimed Cutie Mark Crusaders dubbed it) alicorn who could be surpassed by any foal ability-wise.
Still, Twilight and her friends have helped me progress a fair amount, even if I’m certain that I’ve shaved years off their lives from stress. I’m still extremely slow at learning magic; anything beyond basic levitation is a chore. Rarity’s claims are outlandish, like most of her words, but Twilight’s explanation makes sense. My mind just doesn’t quite think in the most conductive manner for spellcasting, so I can expect everything to be a pain.
Flight has been a different story at least, thank goodness for the small things I suppose. I can hold a sedate pace for a few hours in any given day, although Dash still flies circles around me. She’s only nabbed me once and given me an intimate experience with corkscrews; Twilight had a nice chat with her after that. I still don’t know what was said, but Dash seems to turn green when I ask her if she plans to do it to me again.
Life has been somewhat of a pain though. Anytime I go out into Canterlot, a bunch of ponies do the whole bow and scrape routine simply because I’m an alicorn. They don’t care that I have no part in their government, that I have no power period, and that their children are more of a threat than I am. They simply see an alicorn and react. Annoying as hell, and honestly it’s already beyond old.
The nobles too, what a pain in the ass they are. Again, all because I’m an alicorn. I’d gladly give up the horn and magic just to be normal, but sadly that’s not an option. They’re all tripping over themselves to try and ‘nab me’ as their own for their silly power games. Even Blueblood has been hounding me, and he’s the most annoying of them all, if only because he has access to most of the castle. He tried sneaking into my room once, and only once. Dream repaid him by taking another run at his showering products. Celestia even got in on it and claimed that the poison joke antidote was out of stock, and it would be a few days before they got any in. I have to say, Blueblood as a mare is pretty hot in his own way.
Incidentally enough, today is also •
I let the quill drop from my magic to the table’s surface, a long sigh escaping from my lips. I blew one last puff of air on the bit of wet ink before closing the journal and stowing it back in the small cubby underneath the bed. It had kept it safe from Dream’s prying hooves so far; she had an aversion to going underneath the bed, so it served its purpose well. I really didn’t feel like writing the next part down, instead I felt that it called for a nice late night flight to try and sort through the thoughts running rampant in my mind.
On my way to the balcony, I paused in front of the mirror, taking a moment to glance over myself. Sky blue eyes framed by a shade of lavender peered back, the large eyes showing an underlying weariness beneath the deceiving inquisitive look they always seemed to hold. A spiral horn, much like Twilight’s, jutted from my forehead, parting through the pink mane with its lone blue stripe running down its middle. At my side, large wings were folded, the edges of the feathers tinged in pink. This was me, and had been for the last six months. With one last glance at my reflection, I turned towards the balcony again.
It was a small one, overlooking a few private gardens nestled in the back corners of the castle furthest away from the city. I was thankful for that, as it allowed me to come and go from this point without any prying eyes, without the reminder of who and what I was. I mean, I was secure with the new me, Aurora the alicorn rather than Elam the human, but beyond that my mind was a giant, jumbled mess most times, even if I did a decent job at fooling most everypony about it.
Spreading my wings wide, I launched myself into the expansive night sky. I was hoping that if a late flight didn’t bring clarity, it would at least let me push off my problems until another day. I smiled as I felt the wind running through my feathers, and couldn’t help but chuckle at just how angst-ridden I sounded. Introspection is definitely not a strong suite of mine.
I ignored the silhouettes of the patrolling guards, dark forms against an equally dark night, and made my way to a cloud high above the castle. The first snow was scheduled in just two days, and as such there were plenty of the fluffy cushions to pick from during this staging period. Nearly stumbling as I touched my hooves down onto one, I rolled onto my back and looked at the star-filled expanse above me.
Something about the stars calmed me, bringing order into the chaos of my mind. Even as my vision jumped between the many bright specks of various colors, my thoughts began to fall in line. I sighed and let my wings splay outwards as I sank into the cushion of the cloud.
Lazily, I reached up with a hoof and reached towards the stars, as if I hoped to grasp one within my hold. Since there was nothing to actually close around them now, I simply pretended to hold them on the edge of my hoof, chuckling as I did so. The steady beat of wings in the relatively quiet night drew attention towards the sky below me, and I rolled to my side in time to catch the visitor.
“Good evening, Aurora. Mind if I join you?” Celestia politely asked, landing on the edge of the rather large cloud. I nodded and she walked closer, folding those massive wings of hers to her side.
“So, what brings you up to my cloud tonight, Celestia? I doubt you just ‘happened by’ at this time of night,” I curiously asked, knowing full well that around this time is when she would usually be wrapping up the last bit of her day while eyeing her bed. I knew that she had purposely come here, but for what reason was unclear.
Celestia took a seat next to me as I finished rolling over, with my stomach now to the cloud. I looked at her with a raised brow and received a smile in return, one that was warming and reassuring. “How are you doing tonight, Aurora?” she quietly asked me, and I just sighed in reply after a few seconds. She patiently waited for me to speak as I pondered.
She was a deceiving perceptive pony, which only made sense given her position and age. Even though I spent very little time with her compared to everypony else, she was the first to catch on to my ever-growing dilemma. “Not too great, I suppose,” I finally muttered, moving my gaze from her to the town below, studying it. Lamps illuminated the mostly empty streets, and the only real activity was centered around the aptly named Night District.
A warmth covered my back, and I tore my sight back to her, noticing the lone wing draped over me. I smiled a little bit at the friendly gesture before elaborating for her. “I mean, everything here is nice, some might even say it’s a utopia compared to Earth, really. But I miss a lot of things, and I’m starting to realize just how much more is ahead of me here still.”
The muscles in her wings tightened slightly in reassurance as she met my eyes. “Such is life though, is it not, Aurora?” She wryly smiled, and I noted a glint of humor hidden in her eyes. “I can say from experience that there are many things in one’s past that we come to miss, regardless of whether it was a day ago, six months, or even a thousand years. Rather than lament over it though, I’ve found it’s much better to simply enjoy the memories. Saves a lot of stress.”
I couldn’t help myself and began laughing. The notion of enjoying the memory of annoying commercials when thinking of a television was just a bit too much for me to handle. I knew that she was right, the only real thing I truly missed was visiting my parents’ graves, everything else back home was more a convenience than anything else.
“As for the latter, it’s also a fact of life. I’ll admit that things are decidedly more complicated because of,” she waved a hoof at me, and I chuckled, “but even then, it’s only slightly more complicated than moving is, right?”
“I don’t think people considered crossing dimensions and changing bodies as part of the moving process when deciding how complicated it’d be.” I rolled my eyes, eliciting a small chortle from Celestia.
She removed her wing and stood up, a smile on her face. “Very true. Still, it’s food for thought, hopefully you find some use of it.” Celestia faced the night sky, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath before turning back to me. “Would you like to go for a quick flight? I wouldn’t mind the company before I turn in for the day.”
Springing to my hooves in nearly record time, I filed away her words to think on them later. Sure, life was challenging here, but she made a good point. Plus, when faced with flying, there was always tomorrow to worry about everything else. I watched her drop from the cloud, spreading her wings into an easy glide, waiting for me to join her. With a small rush of adrenaline, I jumped off the cloud, allowing myself to momentarily freefall before snapping my wings open and arresting my fall.
We calmly flew through the sky, keeping over the castle as we did so. It was enjoyable, the cool winter air gave just the smallest chill as we soared along. I stayed just to the side of Celestia, her large white form extremely visible in the pale light cast by Luna’s moon.
Celestia closed the distance between us, a grin on her face as she somehow bopped me on the nose. While flying upside down I should add, it was pretty impressive, broken only by the words she spoke next. “You’re it, Aurora. Catch me, if you can,” she laughed and darted off, going at a speed that at least allowed me a chance to catch up with her.
I followed her form with my eyes as I dashed off as quickly as I could, barely overtaking her. All thoughts blanked from my mind as the distance between us began to close, following her and mirroring almost every move she made. Although I lacked her finesse, taking turns much wider than she did and just generally looking like a drunken fool at the speed I was flying at, she kept the same speed.
As the minutes passed, I finally came within reaching distance, stretching out a forehoof to tag her on the rear. Instead, I bowled her over in midair, briefly becoming entangled with her as she just laughed. I found myself floating within her magic as she smugly smiled at me, a twinkle in her eyes.
A groan passed from my lips as she smirked before cutting off her magic, and I fell for a few moments before I caught myself, white filling my vision as I leveled out. I glared at her for a moment before joining her in laughter, thankful for the nice distraction she provided.
We flew down towards her balcony as fatigue finally began to set in, the day’s toll finally coming to hit me. In order to catch up to Celestia I had to really kick it up to a speed that I couldn’t hold for too long, so I was more than ready for sleep now. She landed first, and then I touched down, nearly stumbling as I did so.
“Aurora, just think on what I said, and sleep well tonight,” Celestia quietly spoke before walking into her room. As the doors to her balcony closed, I took to the air and swung around to my own room, completely missing the balcony and landing inside my room. With a careful amount of concentration I closed and latched the double doors that led outside with my magic.
Sighing, I took the ties out of my mane and tail before climbing into bed, sprawling myself out on top of the covers. Limbs and hair everywhere, I sank into the soft cloud mattress, my consciousness slowly drifting into the sweet embrace of sleep. A final thought made its way into my mind before being replaced by gentle snores.
Somehow, someway, I’ll find where I belong here…
Ohmygosh it's out. Commence read!
And away we go again!
Loved the last, this one promises to be just as good.
~Skeeter The Lurker
This fuckin' guy.
3493497
Mah man!
3493462
Thanks Skeeter, lemme know how ya like it
3493459
Hope ya enjoy it!
Looks like this is an excellent start to yet another promising story Space.
3493599
Thanks much, I hope I don't disappoint. I've actually got a focus and direction for this one.
3493533 I still gotta read the first one... Guess now I know what I'll be doing for at least a part of my evening.
3493633
Lol, have fun. I'll be putzing with my PS4 some more around that time. Luckily, I'm writing it as a sort of stand-alone story too, nothing more annoying than a sequel that requires intimate knowledge of the prior story sometimes.
I like the idea you have for this story. I can understand the idea most have about alicorn OCs being a Mary Stu/ Gary Stu sort. But I hope you can help change this idea. After all my main OC is an alicorn too. But he is far from being "the perfect character". Weak in the magic, flight, and common sense department. but damn can he run at hypersonic speeds and create some of the most advanced technology you have never seen.
Hopefully the idea that those of us with alicorn OCs are all Mary Stu/ Gary Stu will be wiped away if they can see that we're not "the perfect being". We just have a few more abilities than the average pony. Nothing big either.
So don't look at Aurora or even my OC, Chaotic Mind, as being perfect. They're far from it. Chances are that your OC (if you have one) is better off than me and/ or Aurora in the abilities department.
3493533
Enjoy it, I did.
With Aurora no longer part of Luna's and Twilight's herd, I'm curious to see who the next love interest will be.
To be honest, a part of me hopes that it'll be Celestia.
Angst is actually to be fearful. While I did see uncertainty I don't know if that qualifies. Anyway, Liked and faved.
I was waiting for the kiss! Why was there no kiss when they were flying.
Ah well, I hope it is Celestia though.
3493717
It was also somewhat of an inside joke between myself and Shadowflash. He loves quoting sections of my story when he's approving it and spamming the word angst over Skype. Still, apprehension does work, I'll admit I felt clumsy either way though. Glad to have you on board.
3493686
Honestly, as even stated in this story, if she could Aurora would just be a pegasus and throw away all the trappings that come with being an alicorn. It's a curse in her eyes, not to mention she's slower than molasses at learning magic. Alicorns definitely are not instantly 'OP' characters. I'm sure I know a few of my friends who might disagree though, lol!
3493694
It's all a part of the story, time shall tell all. : )
3493731
Lol, they're just friends, and Celestia was working to ease her worries. After all, she's got a fair amount of them right now. Hope you enjoy what I have in store.
I don't mind the idea of humans turning into alicorns nor if they're overpowered or not. I just don't know why so many want them to change genders too... why is everyone so into changing the guy's gender as well? a male alicorn is the rarest thing i've seen. and so far none of them are any good.
3493849
It was a decision made on a whim back in June. Now, I'm just rolling with it. It was good for some amazing comedy, now it's just a fact for this story.
3493860
alrighty then. let's see how this goes :D
yes
YAY SEQUEL!!!
So... I know we already discussed this, and I'm more amused than irritated, but...
Your human OC comes to Earth, punches a princess, then gets turned into a princess himself?
Are you sure you've never read any TD?
I thought the title was an odd joke about Iron.
This is a really cool concept! An inept Alicorn princess? AND they're adjusting to being not only an entirely different species but also to being Female! Looks incredibly promising Keep up the good work!
That is not what the Human tag is for. It's for any sort of human content whatsoever.
Getting a little tired of people "creatively" redefining tags with clearly established meanings.
Also, human becomes alicorn OC, aiyiyi...
3493736 I already see a downvote on my comment so SOMEONE here disagrees. They need to open their eyes and not be so "closed minded" about it. LOL!
I was hoping that this was going to be a Mature Sex story as well I enjoyed the first one a lot it does not have to be crazy clop just some would be nice.
i'm calling it now, AuroraXCelestia. I really hope that happens personally.
I guess I'll favorite this one too. Y'know, just for posterity's-sake.
No sex is a bit of a turn off though.
3494116
It's not "having flaws" that makes a character not a Gary Stu/Mary Sue, it's about how they interact with the story world around them. Does your character's lack of ability in some areas really make that much of an impact when counted against what he's good at? Does his lack of magic actually impact how he gets things done, or does his ability with technology cover for his lack of magic? Also, why/how did he come across the abilities to run fast and create advanced technology? (A blanket ability in advanced technology can easily be a horribly overpowered ability, by the way.) Unfortunately simply saying things isn't very convincing, I'd have to read your stories (if you have them).
I will say that if your avatar is your OC, then it already sends up red flags. He looks black-and-white striped, which is a completely alien look from all the other ponies in the show and points to him being "too different". Unless of course there's a very good explanation. (Like why Aurora looks so close to Twilight.)
3493989
Psh, I totally had first dibs on that. 30 June trumps 10 August.
I did finally read it, and it's a nice blend of stuff between comedy and seriousness.
3494047
nah, continuing the joke from the prior story, where the protag started out male. Thus [Fe]Male. Not the first time I've heard that one though.
3494105
Eh, I think it doesn't contribute anything to the story at this point, and already had a nice chunk of tags. If'n you don't agree with my choice, report it for lack of a tag, and if I get notified by a moderator, I'll gladly add it on.
And where were you with the prior story of this? Same thing, I love how folks jump to 'oh my, OC alicorn, must be Gary/Mary Sue!' /shrug. I've learned, sadly, that this argument typically can never be had with any sort of resolution, as folks with that outlook generally will not budge from that view.
3494160
Like it says in the description, when the time comes, I'll have a note in the author's note to check back in the first story for any explicit sexual scenes.
3494253
Time will tell!
3494259
Hope you enjoy it as well, then. : )
3494082
Whoops, missed one.
Yup, it's a continuation of the prior listed story, I'm just actually focusing on something plot wise this time. Hopefully I can deliver an enjoyable product, and I hope you enjoy this story.
3494266 I see. Still beat you to the Alicorn one.
3494283
Pft, sure.
Hopefully folks don't go to each of our stories as I progress through the more serious aspects and try and compare our stories. That'd be annoying, to say the least. There is that one point of potential overlap I mentioned to you via PM, but everything else is basically a different path.
Also, I love these downvotes from 'OC alicorn, must be too OP / Mary Sue.' Tried having the discussion that being an alicorn can be a curse, and my friend wouldn't hear a word of it.
3494297 Yeah, I know I have downvotes from people assuming.
BTW, I still beat you to "human punches princess." Elam was written June 30 2013. TD was written August 10 2012. Nearly a whole year before.
3494259 Perhaps before judging you should ask about it. He's different because he's a zebra. He isn't even a real alicorn. It's the result of genetic experimentation. He's not immortal. He's not powerful. The only thing he has going for him that makes him any different from a scientist is the wings and horn. They aren't even useful as I already said. His interactions with other ponies shows his lack of common sense and that is a big problem. sure he can make advanced stuff for the pony world but if you compare it to what us as humans already know it isn't anything special already. It may not even be special by pony standards. The fast running is also from the genetic modifications and can be a problem too. Don't want to hit an immovable object when running.
If you were to compare all the good things and bad things about his form they will probably equal out pretty close with the benefits maybe being slightly better than the detriments. I don't have a story with him but one is in the works with all this in mind. I don't want a Gary Stu character. I agree they are too perfect and overpowered. That's why I created my character to have as many flaws as he has. I did it to challenge the idea that the way a character looks dictates if it is a Mary Sue/ Gary Stu or not. I've seen stories with simple ponies that are unicorn, pegasus, and earthen that could be considered Mary Sue/ Gary Stu.
I made my character to show that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. While you can at times that idea doesn't always work. My character is far from perfect despite looking like a zebra alicorn, being smart, and running fast on hoof. That's pretty much all he has going for him. I've seen other characters with more and even better abilities than these. Are they Mary Sue/ Gary Stu too or not since they aren't alicorns?
3494326
Oh, the punching bit. Yeah, you can totally have that one, especially seeing how I didn't even start writing until mid Dec 2012. Damn. Nearly a year of writing now, wow.
>>Spacecowboy
.....
*stereotypical Gold Prospector Accent* YEEEEEEEEE-HOOOOOO-AHH!! BOYS, BRING OUT THE SCHNAPPS, WE JUST FOUND ARESELVES ANOTHER NEU STORY T'AH FOLLOU! WE'VE HIT T'AH GOLD MOTHERLOAD! YYYYEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAA-OOORAH!!!!
....
*VALVe-based stereotypical French Accent* Hr-hrm. Now that the moment is over, back to work.
*bursts into flames from amount of stereotypical accents used in post*
*stays in aforementioned French Accent; runs around spasmodically* I do believe I am on fire.
3494327
I never called your OC a Gary Stu, but that your avatar makes me wonder.
And my main story features an OC Alicorn, and one whom I've worked very hard to make into pretty much "just another pony," so I'd like to think I know about balancing what they are versus how they impact the story. It can be a fine line to walk. All I was doing was pointing out that a list of abilities/flaws doesn't actually show whether the character is overpowered.
By itself "human teleports to Equestria, punches Twilight, gets turned into a female alicorn" sounds like a wonderful setup for a Mary Sue. Instead, it's all in how the author actually uses the character.
I hate the stigma surrounding certain types of oc's...
Magic is neat but flying, now that's something almost every human would enjoy. The ultimate freedom. But if to gain the ability I was also told I'd have to be a pretty princess pony? And then all the trappings that go with such a station? Eh... I dunno. I'd have to think hard on that choice.
I'm still envious of Aurura's/Elam's flying around at will however.
3494487
Etherea is awesome though.
Nothing wrong with punching a princess... it's more in the lame writing I utilized in those first few chapters... Oh man, that front end of FeMale is pretty bad. One does think 'Mary Sue, incoming' at first, don't they?
3494466
Thanks a lot, I hope you enjoy it.
3494520
Agreed. xD It's all in the execution
3494521
Lol, it's why I have her relying on it. Flight in a sense is the ultimate symbol of freedom. To quote Firefly....
"Take my love, take my land, take me where I cannot stand. I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me."
3494487 Good point. I try to walk that fine line but others here don't seem to care. Look at my previous comments. All of them getting downvoted because every seems to go by the "OMG! An alicorn OC avatar! Instant Gary Stu! DOWNVOTE COMMENT!" or else they don't like my explanations.
Sorry for taking your explanation wrong. I just don't like the type who hate an alicorn OC because they think it means they are automatic Mary Sue/ Gary Stu. That's just like being racist.
I loved the concept of the first story and indeed had many questions during the ending of the story, most notably the time skip. Making the sequel take a more introspective route wasn't a necessity but it feels good to understand how Aurora feels deep inside about being an alicorn. Yeah, the beginning when Aurora was having those conflicting thoughts about being a leader of a minority of ponies was great and I think you're off to a hot start right now.
Jesus titty fucking Christ, what is with the massive amount of stories where the main character is gender swapped for no goddamn reason? Does, like, every brony just sit down and fantasize about waking up one morning and having a vagina? It confuses the living shit out of me! Why would you start with a male character, then immediately turn them female when you could have just made them female in the first place!? What the fuck is up with this trend!?
Uhg, sorry, this is directed towards the entire trend of pointless gender swapping, not your story specifically. I'm frustrated because everywhere I look there's another story with the exact same "I was a human dude now I'm a pony lady" premise. Whether your story is good or bad, I don't know, and I'm too pissed off right now at the trend to find out. Right now I'm just venting.
I'll probably come back later and give this story an actual once-over to see if it's any good. Until then, don't be discouraged. Pissed off at the trend. Not your story. Or you. So... yeah.
Huh. Seems like Elam would've been a pegasus had he not 'Murica-punched Twilight moments after crossing over. Well, not everyone can be the spell-flingy type. Now if only those poor tutors of hers could accept that...
In any case, looking forward to more as our heroine integrates herself and earns her ass tattoo.
I saw the title and thought it was going to be and Iron Man crossover....
Damn chemistry class....
the story has gotten interesting since the first book, you have my attention now
3494787
The time skip was a bit rough, and I tried to do my best to look inwards during it to show a deeper characterization as well as Aurora's ability levels and other potentially useful information. I'm sure if any questions were raised, or premises brought up, I'll be covering it in this story at some point. Also, being an alicorn ain't all it's chalked up to be.
3494797
Let me take a moment to laugh here. ... Okay, now that I'm done, the first story was a 'everything I wouldn't be caught dead putting into a story' when I first started it. I changed directions about halfway through, but till that point it truly was no holds barred. I'd just finished reading a rash of genderswap stories, primarily Shining Armor and Cadance, and thought 'why the fuck not.' So, I ran with it. Now, I have to deal with it, not like I can just do that. Truthfully though, yeah. If I had taken a different approach, genders would've remained the same.
When you come back to this, let me know how you like it.
3494863
Yup, even now she wishes she were just a plain ole pegasus. Poor her.
3494947
Dat Fe.
3495028
Glad to hear it, the first part of the first story was waaaaay out there. Glad ya stuck around for things to level out.
Someone's trying to appeal to a wider demographic.
3495162
More a change of direction. I got tired with the writing of how FeMale Perspective started really quick, which is why it changes a fair amount a few chapters in. Sides, writing sex is something that I have to want to do, and I haven't felt a want to do so for some time. Better to just keep it on the side completely. Plus, I really did want to examine the alicorn in equestria bit, and how one would have to try and fit in.
3495053 of course i did, this stuff is great, tbh i wonder if Aurorua will get her cuite mark (i cant seem to spell the Character's name of the story)