An Out of Body Experience [Closed]

Mona would be silent for nearly the entire time Sulkah talked with the group, not even really responding to Zestari's earlier points. The closest she gave to an answer was simply a slight head movement as she turned to look down at the ground, like she was thinking hard on something...or trying to avoid letting Zestari see her face...

However, once Sulkah had left and the convosation had turned to whether she could be trusted, Mona did look up, as she spoke. The answer was surprisingly direct compaired to the amount she had spoken on the way...almost more reminicent of mona's normal way of speaking.

"She's offering to help put us back in our own bodies. If she can come through on that offer, I see little reason to question their good nature."

“Oh… Of course you have what you need, I shouldn’t have asked.” She stood amazed as Sulkah somehow added her location to the pipbucks. Zestari didn’t even know how that was possible!

“We will take care!” She called out the shaman as she left, “We’ll come and visit after dark as requested.”

“No Viol-Bakewell, we shouldn’t go there and wait, we might disturb Sulkah while she’s focusing on making the potion. We should only go to the location she requests after dark.”

Zestari tried to look outraged even if it was gobbled up in her head. “Don’t trust her? She’s a zebra shaman, of course we should trust her. Jasmine, Kestrel, I can’t believe you’d think there was a reason to not believe her. She’s clearly carrying amazing wisdom and foresight.” She nodded at Mona, “Exactly, Mona, offering such assistance hardly seems like the action of somepony distrustful."

“So we have two options, lie low as Bakewell suggested, or play games as Kes-Jasmine suggested. What would everypony like to do?” She went quiet as her eyes slowly went back to that horn that sat atop her head

Though Bakewell shared views with Kestrel and Jasmine to an extent and was about to add in that for all the group knew, this ‘helpful’ zebra had caused the bodyswap problem in the first place, the filly wisely shut her open mouth without any actual words coming out once Zestari reacted so negatively to the very idea that the fellow zebra might not be trustworthy. The unicorn body muted her house-mate’s emotions, but Bakewell was still able to tell that Zestari was upset at the idea.

“We could do both, couldn’t we?” Bakewell readily chimed in when given the chance to pull the topic away from one so horrible to the group zebra-now-unicorn. “We just have to play somewhere quiet. Though if we do that, we need to make sure whatever we do is fun for Kestrel and Mona. I don’t think the two normally do much in the way of fun, at least not by Jas's definition.”

Even in his new prison/body it was rather obvious that Kestrel was not exactly interested in having 'fun' with the others. He'd do it if he had to, but if he didn't he was going to stay quite a good safe distance from the 'fun'.

At the mention of finding some place quiet Kestrel immediately thought of going to his camp. It was always quiet there, nothing ever bothered him or came to visit. Even the local wildlife knew to stay away. It was a shame that if he went there alone to rest he'd have to leave Jasmine alone without his supervision. She seemed to have calmed down a bit compared to before...but that didn't mean a thing to Kes. He still didn't trust HER with HIS body.

The answer to all of this was obvious.

"We can use my camp if you need quiet. Nopony or griffon ever bothers me up there." Kestrel said, offering his home for the use of others. "Will help us slip out of town undetected later as well, just in case the one that did all of this is still around."

Jasmine turned to the lavender colored unicorn as she responded, nodding slowly as she thought this over. She was skeptical about relying on magic to fix a problem such as this, this probably wasn't something that science couldn't fix. But Zest was trustworthy enough of a Zebra, plus she probably interviewed the zebra elder and examined her skills with Mona before introducing her to the group. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to see what she can do. I've never actually seen a shaman in action before. BUT, don't you worry I'm already thinking about scientific avenues for us to pursue should she fail!" Already Jasmine's brilliant mind (personal opinion) was working on fixing their dilemma. If they could isolate the gland in their brains responsible for producing the conscious...Maybe they could surgically remove it and exchange it with the correct body... It would be best to test this theory before practicing it, should it be needed.

Jasmine preened her feathers, fluffing them out as she thought about their task. Her predatory eyes shifted over as Jestrel mentioned that they could go to his camp. Jasmine nodded in agreement at this, being outdoors would be a nice change in her body. Perhaps she could stretch her wings and work off her steam.

"OOH! Camp, I go with camp!" Jasmine nodded as she looked to the others awaiting their input.

Violet frowned as the topic was moved away from Sulkah, she still didn’t know how she knew about the taint in her, and that was reason to be suspicious enough. Not only that she was very convienant, where did she come from anyway?

However, she didn't have anything to support this really, and she wasn't willing to come out with her taint mutations, even though it would probably prove that something was up with the zebra. She could at least consult Bakewell later.

Shoving those thoughts aside for now, she put on a smile as the subjet of games came up to pass the time, that should at least be fun. She put on a smile, and 'Ooohed' at Kestrel's suggestion to use his camp.

"I've never seen your camp before Kestrel! Oh, we could have a bunch of fun there I bet! We could play hide and seek! Or tag! or something like that!"

“You’re going to find hide and seek a bit tricky, Vi.” Bakewell replied with a small smile. Kestrel’s camp seemed like as good a place as any to wait around, though she didn’t suspect the group would be doing any tag or hide and seek or anything in so noisy in it. It seemed a bit disrespectful to do such things when the host didn’t participate.

“I don’t really care where we go, as long as it works. I would be glad to stay at your camp today if you will have us, Kestrel. Hopefully we can get everything fixed before too long.”

Kestrel offered a rather feminine grunt and nodded to the others. Camp it was. "Well, come on then." The griffon-turned-pegasi said as he turned to leave. The trip to the campsite was rather uneventful, Kes moving at a brisk, but eaisly followed, pace; keeping to dark alleys and nooks between houses as he slowly lead the others onwards.

When finally Kestrel arrived, presumeably with group in tow, arrived the sight before them was surprisingly...humble. Aside from a tent and fire ring, there wasn't much around in camp. It was appropriotly empty, the silence there familiar to the pegasus.

"We're here." He said quietly and moved to sit next to the fire pit.

Jasmine followed in a manner that was quite a stark contrast to how she normally did. She was far too stuck in her mind contemplating todays events, namely her argument with Kestrel. She changed her focus to the landscape for the meantime. She never traveled this way out of town, having assumed that nothing was out here.

Soon on the horizon a small humble camp made its appearance. Consisting of nothing more than a tent and a campfire, it gave Jasmine mixed impressions somwhere quaint, cozy and lonely. Her sharp vision picked up on the minor details almost immediately, this camp was more than just a form of shelter. All the details about the camp gave small clues about the stoic bird. Namely how well it was kept. (In her own opinion).

Upon Kes stating that they were there, Jasmine finally broke her quiet streak, "Ughhhh thank Gallium!" Jasmine stretched out her wings and bounded into the air, flying around to work off some steam.

Zestari was fairly neutral on the camp idea. It meant they weren’t following Sulkah, and could get out of town and overly inquisitive eyes for those that had reputations possibly at stake; she eyed Kestrel and Jasmine, nodding slowly.

Zestari had never been to Kestrel’s camp so this was a good opportunity to see how the griffon lived. So following closely she followed quietly, a little confused at Kestrel’s odd weaving and dodging through Stableton, until she realised he was attempting to avoid meeting anypony.

Zestari wasn’t sure what she expected arriving at his camp. Perhaps a greater sense of permanency? This camp seemed like it might disappear at any time if Kestrel decided to move on.

Pulling Bakewell in Violet’s body aside for a quiet moment, she asked, “Have you worked out if you can tap into your magic?”

Kestrel didn't even blink as Jasmine flew off in his body, the once-griffon-now-pegasus working on starting up a fire. It wasn't too hard, though it could possibly be seen as amusing as kestrel fumbled with the awkward lumps one called hooves when first starting.

He/she eventually got the embers of last nights fire to start up again however and soon a small blaze was started. Kestrel stared into the flames and let his mind wander then.

"I didn't need this...not now." he thought to himself as he watched the flames begin to dance. And really it was the last thing he needed. Back in town, in the back room of a the local tavern, a sick griffon lay. Withering away.

And now his son was stuck in a pegasus form and unable to get the things he needed to make his father better. He had to get this situation resolved...quickly. The alternative was just not acceptable.

The camp was, like Bakewell had expected from the word “Camp”, sufficiently empty and out of the way. The mare herself was generally used to more crowded living accommodations having grown up in what essentially was a giant hole in the ground and was put ever so slightly out of ease by all of the empty space, but it wasn’t unbearable.

When Kestrel went about making a fire, Bakewell had actually been planning to walk up and assist him. She knew how to make a fire and didn’t want the griffon to have to embarrass himself with hooves. Before she could take more than a step towards the pit, however, Zestari had pulled her aside.

The filly frowned slightly as she listened, Mona’s voice still sounded unnatural when her cheerful roommate’s mind was in charge of the body.

“I didn’t even think about it.” Bakewell guiltily admitted, reaching up and touching the unfamiliar horn atop her head. “What about you? Can you use magic? If you can use Mona's horn, then I'm probably capable of using Violets. I can’t even think of where or how to start, though!”

Wait She After a few laps around the camp Jasmine returned to the ground, content with having seen all the details she had been missing out on of the wastes. She galloped back toward the others in her griffin form. She had already began adjusting to her new body, being this big really wasn't so bad. Also it would probably provide her the ability to snuggle more efficiently, should she choose to pick somepony up and do so. She noticed a rather unamused looking zebra and reflected that she hasn't had a chance to introduce herself. This was terrible, and Jas sought out to fix this as soon as possible. She bounded over and took in a deep breath.

"Hello there, I don't believe we've met before! Don't be confused, I'm referring to you inside there, not Zesti's body. Although I suppose you wouldn't know if I knew her previously because I haven't exactly BEEN myself today and said my normal warm greeting to her which I'm guessing is you. Come to think of it I'm not sure if YOU even know HER! I'm confused hold on a second..." Jasmine took a deep breath and decided to move on. "My names Jasmine, and I used to be that beautiful mare over there. And now I'm a beautiful big griffin instead, or should I say handsome? Incase you can't tell this is really creepy and awkward for me-What's your name by the way?"

Jasmine smiles at the Zebra feeling that whoever was inside Zesti's body was properly greeted.

Mona was completely silent as she simply followed the group, she clearly had a lot on her mind, and right now, her entire focus was on sorting things out.

Perhaps Zes was right, perhaps she should try to indulge in these emotions while she had them...but the fact that she was fated to lose them again before long made it a hard thing for her to bring herself to do. She wasn't happy in her original body, but she had at least become used to her problem, and able to live with it.

With a sigh, she would sit down, she needed some time to think on all of th-

"Hello there, I don't believe we've met before! Don't be confused, I'm referring to you inside there, not Zesti's body."

It didn't look like that quiet was going to come however, as Not-Kes bounded up to Mona, and began speaking at a speed that seemed absurdly alien for the body it was coming from. Once she was done talking though, Mona would respond to the question

"...Mona..."

Zestari looked down at filly unicorn Bakewell and shook her head, “Not yet. Mona seemed to think that tapping into such a thing might be a bit difficult for us in such a short time, but we have to try, right?” She looked about the camp for a moment as Kestrel lit the fire.

Turning back to Bake, Zestari continued in the unsettling humdrum voice of her current body, “Do you think it’d worth asking Violet for advice on how we might… tap into it? This seems like a pretty amazing opportunity and I know I’d regret it later if I didn’t do something about it.”

Zestari looked over towards Violet. “I think I’ll ask Violet.” She glanced at Bakewell and started making her way towards the former unicorn.

“Uh, Violet, do you have a moment?”

Violet looked around Kestrel’s camp as they arrived, taking it all in.

“You know Kessy...” she started. “This is...Exactly how I imagined your camp to be like. Small, sparse, practical. It’s very Kestrel.”

The filly in a mare’s body started to think about what games they could play.

‘Truth or dare? Nah, everypony seems to play that. And for some reason I have a feeling it’d descend into ‘Kiss X’ dares at some point, which are only amusing for a short while. Tag? Nah. Bakewell would beat everypony in my body. Except maybe Jasmine and Kestrel with their wings. Not sure what else there is though. If only I brought that Pin the Tail game with me.’

She was broken out of her thoughts by a voice, Mona’s...Or perhaps more accurately Zestari’s.

“Hmm? Oh, sure, whatcha need Zesty?” she asked as she turned towards the zebra-turned-unicorn.

Bakewell shrugged at Zestari’s suggestion. The mare had been without magic her entire life, and while she had at times envied the ability to pick things up without using her mouth it wasn’t an insurmountable obstacle in her life. She was actually slightly worried about getting accustomed to magic, to be honest. It wasn’t an ability the earth pony would be able to keep once she got out of Violet’s body. What if she discovered just what her hornless body had been missing out on and refused to give the filly her rightful form back?

She didn’t get time to state her doubts, as Zestari took off for Violet before really waiting for a response. Bakewell had to admit, now that Zestari had suggested it, she was curious about how magic felt. She quietly tailed behind her housemate and listened in.

Ugh, hearing these names and personalities associated with the wrong bodies was never going to get less confusing, was it? And it only got even more headache inducing when her own body was included.

Kestrel grunted in response to the comment given to him, not really paying attention to the words. He was too far lost in his/her thoughts at the moment.

Eventually the latent haze in his eyes faded a bit and the trapped griffon stood and moved towards his/her tent, disappearing into its confines for a bit before coming back out awkwardly balancing/carrying a pot, a canteen, and some kind of bag; using her wings and mouth to do so.

Not waiting for a comment the griffon-now-pegasus set the pot down on the fire, atop a small metallic grate that blocked the timbers from the food; a makeshift grill if ever there was one. From the canteen he poured some water, enough for what was needed and not a drop more, and then he/she began to wait.

Apparently Kestrel was brewing something.

Zestari nodded at Violet. “Good. Okay, so I – we,” she noticed the filly that followed her over, “were wondering if you might be able to give us some, uh… ideas on how to tap into this magic?” She reached up and touched the horn protruding from her brow.

“Anything you think that might help would be appreciated. As I said to Bakewell, I don’t want to let this opportunity pass if I can find out how this magic works.”

“Hmm...Sure, why not! I can probably help out. I’m not exactly an expert on magic, but I know enough that I’m sure I can at least show you and Bakey the basics!” she replied with a bright smile, before her face scrunched up in thought as she looked past Zestari and Bakewell, looking for a good spot to do this. She put a hoof to her chin as she ‘Hmmed’.

“...Ahah! That looks like a good spot. Follow me unicorns!” she called out, even though Zestari and Bakewell were right there, before trotting over to a spot outside the camp, a relatively clear area where the two unicorns could practice without getting in anypony’s way.

She turned and waited for the the two, once they were settled she would begin.

Inwardly Zestari was overjoyed at Violet offering to help herself and Bakewell try their hooves at magic, of course her exterior expression was fairly static, apart from a raised eyebrow and a slightly exaggerated nod of the head.

“The basics will be plenty, thank you, Violet.” Zestari felt she should bow her head, it felt like an honour to be taught something that seemed impossible to her only a day ago. And yet, here she was.

Like a filly ready for her first day of school, Zestari followed closely behind Violet in Bakewell’s body. Violet led them a short distance to a clearing and Zestari stood there attentively, wondering why Violet had led them here.

Bakewell blinked confusedly when Violet scrunched up her beige face. Being able to see internal organs made even the simplest actions seem so weird. The filly followed Zestari and Violet in silence, letting Zestari do the talking for both of them.

Bakewell briefly wondered why this area was any better for practicing magic than any other of the thousand similar looking areas, but decided that Violet probably knew what she was doing. She sat and looked up at Violet, though she was a bit less attentive than the slender unicorn beside her.

Violet put a hoof to her chin as she looked down at her two...Students? That sounded about right. She never had students before, so this was kinda new.

“Alrighty, if I’m going to teach you two the basics if magic we should start with the most basic spell that every unicorn knows. Telekinesis!”

She glanced around the area before spotting two small rocks nearby. She walked over to them and looked down at them, just staring at them for a few moments, as if she was considering how to pick them up without her magic. Finally shrugging to herself, she leaned down and picked them up with her mouth, before walking over and dropping the rocks down in front of the two unicorns.

“Blegh, rocks aren’t very tasty...” she said to herself before addressing the two. “Anyway, these should work just fine, they’re light enough that you shouldn’t have a problem lifting them up.”

She turned around and took a few steps back, before turning back towards them and plopping her rear down on the ground. “Now, to start, I want you two to...Sort of try to feel something on your head. It kind of feels like another limb, but one you can’t move or anything. It’s probably going to be hard since you two aren’t used to feeling something there, but concentrate and you should be able to feel something. Closing your eyes might help.” she added.

‘Although probably not for Bakey.’

“Once you can feel it, latch on to that feeling and focus on it, try to strengthen it and get a good feel for it. Once you’re at that stage tell me.” she finished, before waiting to see what happened.

As violet and her 'students' went to learn how to use their newly acquired appendages, the water for Kestrel's tea had reached a boil and, rather clumsily, the now-pegasus had pulled the pot off and was in the process of dropping some of the contents of the small bag into he steaming fluid.

At first, nothing happened, the leaves just began to sink and rest along the bottom of the pot. But after a moment or two the water began to change, growing dark. To those with sensitive noses, the various scents and subtleties of the brew would come alight and cause a sudden urge to just...relax to flow over one's synapses.

To Kestrel, in his new pony form, it caused only a frown. He could barely smell the brew, no telling now what it would taste like. It was...irksome, how numbed the senses of this form were. His sight, once powerful enough to use most weapons at long range with naught but irons, was limited to not even half that distance it seemed.

His ears, once sharp and sensitive enough to pick up on any sudden, unnatural sounds, now felt as if they were packed with water they were so lax in their duty.

At the moment however, the most tragic loss to Kestrel really was his sense of smell. This tea he'd just made, was designed to relax and sooth the senses. And right now, all it was doing was reminding him of what had happened earlier.

"Dammit" He mumbled under his breath, watched the tea steep in the pot. "I didn't need this...not today."

Jasmine's face light up in the most sincere smile she could muster as she extracted the desired information from the zebra turned unicorn. She nodded politely as she leaned in closer.

"Oh my goodness! Mona!? That's such a pretty name! Tho you used to be that unicorn over there I take it? Just wanted to make sure again, even us geniuses get confused from time to time." Jasmine gestured to Zestari in Mona's body with the back of her hoof.

"How's it feel being a zebra? I hope that all the zebra powers don't go to your head by the way..." Jasmine thought to herself for a moment- unsure if zebra actually had a specific talent of some sort. Surprisingly she began to reflect that her chattering may be confusing the poor mare and tried to slow down a bit. She ended up shrugging off that thought and tried to express her idea in a different way.

"Sorry Mona, I'm a little hyperactive." Jasmine thought to herself in her head as she tried to steady herself. Her thoughts sounded in her mind as she told herself to slow down multiple times, until a slightly quieter voice displaying their dislike of the word calm faded away. "I think what I might mean is, what's it like not having a horn to practice magic with? Honestly I couldn't imagine being limited in that way, I only got additions when I switched physical bodies."