[BOND]

[luckyheart]

Who: lucky + unfortunate bystanders
When: day 43, afternoon
Where: the dining area

[SO TRAINGOERS. You may still be having water gun fights or you may have gotten bored of it, but if you're heading into the lounge to relax (or the kitchen to refill your water gun), you'll have to get past Lucky! He's taken over the table nearest the entrance to the car, dangling fairy lights from the ceiling and sprinkling silk rose petals on the table and the floor around it. There's a hand-scrawled posterboard hanging from the table's edge:

KISSING BOOTH
FREE
for good luck!!

If you try to pass he'll call out, so good luck trying to escape. But hey, if you play along you'll get sparks...

Or, y'know, you could be doing something totally unrelated in this post.]

Comments

[daydreamshimmer]

That has its own issues. Lot harder to get things that get stuck or tangled in a coat out without it hurting. At least a mane is easier to avoid pain and keeps things from hitting the shorter hairs.

[bowtiedbones]

What shorter hairs?

[daydreamshimmer]

For the coa- [Looking down at her own arm.]

Right. No protection from the elements. [SIGH]

[bowtiedbones]

Um.

Do you turn into a horse?

[daydreamshimmer]

No.

I'm a unicorn whose been changed into this.

[bowtiedbones]

Oh! Okay. Can I feel your hair to check something real quick? Just on how fine or coarse it is.

[daydreamshimmer]

I guess....?

[It's actually very nice and soft. Rarity would absolutely make sure this girl had nice product.]

[bowtiedbones]

[but does it feel like human hair or horsehair?]

[daydreamshimmer]

[Does indeed feel like human hair. If surprisingly good at keeping it's shape. It's like body of super anime hair.]

[Magical portal between dimensions has good camo spells on it.]

[bowtiedbones]

Okay, good. Your hair's in good health, so that's great, we can just do the conditioner. But it might be finer than you're used to, which can lead to frizzing, oiliness, or tangling if we don't take good care of it.

[daydreamshimmer]

What are you talking about? [Actually reaching up to touch her hair.]

[And pause.]

[Suddenly a lot of tension in her body. Taking a deep breath. Letting it out slowly.] I'll worry about if I have to, but if all goes to plan, then I won't have to worry about fine.

[Don't freak out, this is not a freak out point, she can get her body BACK, darn it.]

[bowtiedbones]

May I ask how much you remember? Or actually, how many sparks do you have right now?

[daydreamshimmer]

Just general knowledge for the most part. Cultural things, world history, and magical knowledge. Nothing personal beyond the fact I should be a unicorn, since humans don't exist in Equestria.

[She doesn't answer about sparks.]

[bowtiedbones]

And sparks?

[daydreamshimmer]

I was busy in the library.

[She has zero.]

[bowtiedbones]

Well now you can get busy earning! I'm on Thyme, so I can get you sparks for teaching you things or answering questions.

[daydreamshimmer]

Doesn't that just get sparks for you? [Because why would it be both ways.]

[She is a very cynical unicorn.]

[bowtiedbones]

No? Who told you that? The bond system has always had mutual payouts.

[daydreamshimmer]

No one told me anything, all the information I got about this place came from the phone.

[bowtiedbones]

[raises an eyebrow]

Mm, well, if you have questions, I’m the person to ask. I’ve been here since the first day and you do get sparks for learning from me.

[daydreamshimmer]

My teammate was very insistent I just use the phone to learn about my circumstance. [Flatly.]

...you said you were Eliza?

[bowtiedbones]

[nods, yep that’s her]

The phone is an excellent source of information. The Construct in particular is very useful, especially for questions about sparks or the shop.

[daydreamshimmer]

Hm. [She's still highly skeptical on all this.]

[But skeptical or not, she still wants to Know A thing.]

I was told you'd be the one to remember the trial runner who gave you the ability to shape change?

[bowtiedbones]

I do, but I don’t know how to contact them and I doubt they will be able to provide what you’re looking for as this was a change induced within a very specific framework.

It’s not the nature of the Aurora’s initial summonings to alter our physical forms. If your body is different, the cause of that is going to be something you have yet to remember from your place of origin.

[daydreamshimmer]

Even if it was a specific framework, understanding how it happened means it can be a basis to figure out how to do it some other way. The more you understand how a thing works sometimes, the easier to make it do what you want anytime.

I highly doubt that since I didn't even know what a human was. Ponies, griffins, dragons, hippogrifs, horses, deer, yaks, cat people, parrotskind, storm creatures, I know plenty of sentient races, but nothing about what a human is.