The Mare in the Mirror


                                            [Originally at https://pastebin.com/WNkQDEc9, story by https://pastebin.com/u/WallMixer ]


                                            >Be anon

                                            >Just finished taking a shower

                                            >Now to the sink to shave, because fuck beards

                                            >Clear the fog off the mirror so I don't cut the shit out of my face

                                            >as I clear the mirror I notice that it's not me

                                            >It's a pink unicorn with a blue mane

                                            >At first I look down at my arms, expecting to see hooves

                                            >Nope still hands, but I notice that the mare is not copping me like a reflection

                                            >She moves on her own, blue light dancing off her horn

                                            >She seems rather excited, grinning wildly and probably doing a little happy dance on her back hooves

                                            >She starts to wave to get my attention, then points to her mouth

                                            >I nod to show I'm watching her lips

                                            >She begins to mouth a message to me

                                            >I'm shit at reading lips

                                            >it's either 'want to switch' or 'dig a ditch'

                                            >the risk of manual labor is well worth the chance to become the little mare

                                            >I nod eagerly ans she throws her head back in exaltation

                                            >Her horn glows even brighter and I feel a strange aura wash over me

                                            >My world starts to spin and I have to lean against the counter top to stay up right

                                            >I feel a sense of incorporealality, like I'm somehow separated from my body

                                            >Then a feeling of being to places at once, two sides of the mirror

                                            >An alien consciousness enters my mind, or am I in its mind

                                            >Maybe our minds are one for a moment

                                            >The novel experiences is not as freighting as it would seem

                                            >The one I now share thoughts with has little in the way of malice, and an exuberance of excitement

                                            >I can feel our memories intermingle, and then finally separate with neither of us being entirely the same

                                            >Our mind splits it's self once more, the part which is mostly me enters the frame that was not me

                                            >Once again I am disoriented as a bath room comes into focus around me

                                            >Acclimating to this body proves trying, especially when changeling such a high level spell

                                            >As quickly as it came into focus the world begins to grey out

                                            >The light of my horn dims

                                            >I slump forward and pass out

                                            >I begin to stir

                                            >Fuck, this is the worst hangover of my life

                                            >What kind of drugs did I take?

                                            >I open my eyes

                                            >A long pink snoot protrudes into my field of view

                                            >It wasn’t a drug trip?

                                            >Am I really a pony now?

                                            >I almost black out as I stand up

                                            >My head feels like a demo crew is taking a jackhammer to it, and my side hurts from falling on the floor and laying there for Celestia knows how long

                                            >I prop myself against the sink and stare at my hooves

                                            >So I really am the little mare

                                            >I turn my head and look over my new body

                                            >It’s covered in a coat of light pink fur and surprisingly stocky for a unicorn

                                            >I always figured unicorns would be rather petite, but this one has broad shoulders and wide hips

                                            >Not to mention a little bit of pudge, not a whole lot, but enough to give me a bit of jiggle when I move vigorously

                                            >A straight baby blue tail hangs from my rump, done up in braids and tied of with a pink bow

                                            >I almost lose my balance as I shift my head further out to get a look at my cutie mark

                                            >I wonder if this bodies original owner is having this much trouble

                                            >Well she wasn’t channeling a spell so that would help, but a human would probably be ill equipped for the transfer of magical energy, on top of that there would still be the basic dysphoria caused by switching minds with a different species altogether, exasperated by the complete lack of familiarity of the two individuals as predicted by Mind Melds theorem of…

                                            >What the fuck am I thinking about?

                                            >I close my eyes and concentrate, trying to sift through my memories

                                            >I can remember my life as a human, but I also remember most of my life as a pony

                                            >This pony

                                            >The memories are different though, the pony ones play like a movie, sounds and images without emotion attached to them

                                            >Interesting

                                            >This mare was a student of Celestia's school for gifted unicorns, now continuing her research on mind swapping spells, specifically their use in interdimensional travel

                                            >It would also seem that this little mare has an obsession with humans

                                            >Those rugged and industrious prime apes from legend

                                            >Secretly her goal was to do what she has just done, switch bodies with a human

                                            >Preferably a man

                                            >She does not intend to return

                                            >All in all it is to my advantage, she gets to be the big guy on earth and I get to be the little mare in Equestria, everyone wins

                                            >Now if I can just dispel this bloody headache

                                            >Do pones have Ibuprofen?

                                            >No, but they have something like it

                                            >I open the mirror to reveal a small medicine cabinet

                                            >Looking through the bottles, creams and bandages I quickly find what I’m looking for

                                            >A midnight blue bottle labeled ‘numbing potion’ below that it read ‘For all pains, headaches and migraines, take one cap full every eight houres for minor pains, two capfuls for severe pain. Do not exceed recommended dosage, seek immediate medical help if pain worsens’

                                            >This is definitely a two cap pain

                                            >I fill the cap and slug it down

                                            >It tastes slightly bitter with undertones of berry

                                            >My head feels noticeably better already, now just a normal headache

                                            >I throw back a second shot of the stuff and the pain is completely gone

                                            >I return the bottle to its place on the shelf and close the mirror

                                            >Now is time for food, I’m hungry

                                            >As I walk to the kitchen a quick glance out the window confirms my suspicion

                                            >It’s now morning, I have slept on the bathroom floor all night

                                            >Let’s see what does this mare have to eat

                                            >I look through the insulated cabinet, chilled by a cooling spell

                                            >Apparently in place of an understanding of thermodynamics ponies use magic to ignore the concept altogether

                                            >Explains why they still use coal powered trains

                                            >Looking through I see some milk and butter, as well as yogurt and orange juice

                                            >Biscuits sounds nice, I take the milk and butter and move to the other cabinet for the flower

                                            >I add a little bit of daisy to the mixture for a little extra flavor

                                            >With the mixture mixed, the biscuits formed and baking I start to wash up

                                            >What am I going to do now?

                                            >She has succeeded in her work, should I talk about that, let everyone know I’m not actually her.

                                            >That could get awkward, but can I really just pretend that I’m the same pony?

                                            >I mull over this as the biscuits bake

                                            >By the time the alarm on the oven goes off I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do

                                            >Oculus, the mare who switched bodies with you, has a friend in the mythology department

                                            >His name is Fable, moreover his specialty is Anthropology, how these go to know each other

                                            >If anyone will react well to this situation he will

                                            >I smear some butter on the biscuits and make a plate for my self

                                            >Two biscuits with an apple and some orange juice, not a bad breakfast

                                            >I wrap the remaining biscuits in a towel and take them with me, a little gift to blunt the news

                                            >With that I head off to meet him at his apartment

                                            >The walk there is uneventful, it’s still early in the morning and this side of town is mostly college students

                                            >Even in Equestria most students will sleep in until noon unless they have no other option

                                            >Fable was no exception; I just hope he wakes up when I knock

                                            >I arrive at his door step

                                            >Ok Oculus, You can do this; just knock, ask to be let in, and calmly explain that his friend is in a different universe and will probably never return

                                            >Also offer him a biscuit

                                            >Biscuits make everything better

                                            >I rap my hoof against the door

                                            >After a minute no response

                                            >I knock again

                                            “Fable! Open up, it’s Oculus”

                                            >A few seconds later I can hear the slow thuds of a sleepy stallion walking to the door

                                            >The door swings open to reveal a turquoise and grey unicorn

                                            >He takes a deep breath

                                            >”Hey Lus, you’re up early. Did you open another gateway to Taurus in your mirror again?”

                                            >I giggle as I recall that particular mishap

                                            “No not quite that. I’ve had a breakthrough in my research, can I come in? I have biscuits!~”

                                            >Fable would never turn down free food

                                            >”Yeah sure, what did you do?

                                            >I step in and close the door behind me

                                            >How should I tell him?

                                            >Should I beat around the bush or…

                                            “So I’m not entirely Oculus…”

                                            >Or just say that, yeah that works too

                                            >He’s confused by the extremely odd and cryptic confession

                                            >”What do you mean you’re not Oculus?”

                                            >I idly draw on the ground with my hoof

                                            “Well… She, um… Succeeded in her research, And now she’s on Earth in my body, and I’m here in her body.”

                                            >Fable looks surprisingly disappointed

                                            >He sighs

                                            >”Lus, as much as I appreciate a good joke it’s too early for this shit”

                                            “Fable I’m not joking; Oculus is gone”

                                            >He looks unconvinced

                                            “I can prove it, let me use your mirror”

                                            >”The last time I let you use my mirror I almost go evicted”

                                            >That was when I opened a portal to Discords realm in *his* bathroom

                                            “No seriously look”

                                            >I walk up to a large mirror he has hanging from his wall

                                            >Here goes nothing

                                            >I recall the spell she cast, and how she cast it, and how to do magic

                                            >What could possibly go wrong now?

                                            >I focused on the mirror and channeled the spell into it

                                            >Our reflection shifts for a second, slowly morphing into a vison of Earth

                                            >I see Jaspers apartment, In Jasper stands in place of Fable and I in place of Oculus, or is it the other way around?

                                            >Existential questions aside both Jasper and Fable seem utterly surprised

                                            “Told you so”

                                            >Fable seems utterly dumfounded

                                            >”Bu-Bu tha, I, ahh”

                                            “Use your words”

                                            >I exchange smug glances with my friend on the other side and cancel the spell

                                            >Fable continues to stand there, mouth agape, uttering gibberish

                                            >With a smile I levitate one of the biscuits and stick it in his mouth


                                            >Fables mouth closes on the piece of round bread

                                            >He doesn’t chew, instead he just stares at me with his mouth full

                                            >I smile at him for a moment before finally speaking

                                            “This is the part where we chew”

                                            >I moved his jaw up and down with my magic for a moment before he finally snapped out of it

                                            >He shook his head and swallowed the partially chewed biscuit

                                            >”What do you mean you’re not Oculus?”

                                            “I mean I’m not Oculus, she switched bodies with me and is now in another dimension. Haven’t you been listening?”

                                            >He gives me a deadpan look

                                            >”So she did it, she really did it?”

                                            “Yeah, and now she’s on earth”

                                            >He nods, clearly trying to process this development

                                            >”When will she be coming back?”

                                            >I shrug

                                            “I don’t think she plans to”

                                            >”I’m not surprised, but don’t you want your body back?”

                                            >I shake my head

                                            “Nah, I’m good. She wanted to be a human and I wanted to be a pony, everyone wins”

                                            >He thinks for a moment, then sighs

                                            >”I guess you’re right, she always did talk about doing this I just never thought she’d go through with it”

                                            “you miss her, don’t you?”

                                            >”Of course I’ll miss her, she’s one of my best friends. Still I’m glad that she’s reached her dreams”

                                            >I nod

                                            “You know, she could always come back to visit. I’d like to live here, but I wouldn’t mind swapping back every now and then.”

                                            >”Realy?”

                                            “Yeah, I mean it’s her body so if she wants to swap back I’m not going to keep her from it. Besides I kind of think she should be the one to explain this to her family”

                                            >”And you yours”

                                            “Yeah…”

                                            >That is not a conversation I’m looking forward to

                                            >Still better for them to hear it from the horse’s mouth than have her explain it, and vice versa.

                                            >It’s a gamble, I’ve come so far

                                            >I’m actually here in Equestria as the little mare