Chapter One: Through the Portal
“Wakey wakey Sky Breeze. Wake up and meet your death.” The singsong voice drifted into my unconscious mind as I lay passed out on the floor. They stirred my mind slightly, but the danger didn’t kick in. The kick to my side on the other hand, woke me up.
“Wha?” The room was almost pitch black except for a slight reflection over in the corner. A black-robed figure stood over me and in the lighting, I couldn’t make out any details. My vision was still blurry and my brain hadn’t fully awoken yet to see where I was. A kick hit me in the side again and I awkwardly rolled over. I tried to stand up on my legs and promptly fell over.
“Try using all four limbs so you can get moving. And thank you by the way. I was about to go through that portal and encounter who knows what.”
“Portal?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just come on.”
I did as he suggested and it seemed much more natural, not unusual like I was expecting. I looked down at my hands and stood in utter shock. Where my hands were supposed to be, there were hooves. This must be a dream. When the bullies at school knocked me into the statue for the thousandth time, I must have hit my head and fallen unconscious. All right then. This is a dream. No harm in doing what this other mysterious figure wants me to. I got up and complacently followed him.
“Finally. So you finally figured out that this was a dream?”
It only confirmed my suspicions. “Yes” I said.
“Well, you’re wrong. This is all real.”
“Which is exactly what you would say if this was a dream. Lead on.”
“Are you that hasty to get to your death?”
“When I die, I’ll wake up.”
We meandered through a twisting dark corridor, but there wasn’t any turnoffs so it was pretty easy to follow. The floor was smooth, which was good for me as I was still unsteady on my feet, or rather, hooves. I bumped into the pony in front of me when he stopped suddenly in front a large wooden door. Removing a key from his neck by use of an odd greenish aura, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. “This way to your doom Sky Breeze.”
The room beyond was much brighter, yet lit by eerie green torches that floated next to the walls in one place, unsupported by anything. In the middle of the room was a large stone table that looked like a brick, except for the glowing purple lines running across it in various geometric patterns. “Wait here.”
The cloaked pony went over to the side of the room to an alcove I hadn’t noticed previously. He whispered something into it and came back over to me. “My master will be down in a few minutes. Please enjoy the last few minutes of your life.”
“Last few minutes of my dream” I corrected. “But why do you plan on killing me?”
“We need the spirit of someone from the other world.”
“Other world?”
“The world you came from. The human world.”
The doubt in my mind began to grow that this wasn’t a dream and in fact, was reality, meaning I would die in mere minutes. The day had started out normally enough though. The usual, get to school early in the morning to avoid, do homework while I was waiting in the library, classes, then lunch. As if on cue, my belly growled, further increasing my doubt. Lunch usually involved scarfing down whatever I could before hiding for the thirty minute period each day. This morning I had hid in the bushes outside of my school, Canterlot High. Unfortunately for me, they found out my hiding place. Someone must have tipped them off that day. There were about five of them and after they flushed me out and I gave them what money I had, they corned me at the statue in the front of the school. I hoped in vain that a teacher would see and come help, but they were all eating lunch as well. They started pushing me around and I got pushed hard into the statue. My head hit rock and everything went black, then I woke up here. As a pony. This makes no sense.
“Is this the specimen?” A raspy voice hissed through the air, making my blood run cold and sending more shivers down my spine than any other voice had. If this was his voice, I didn’t want to see its owner. A shape moved from across the room and glided towards me. “If you would be so kind to get onto the table here, we can begin. If you are unwilling, my assistant here could help you over. But I would prefer non-damaged merchandise.”
Shaking with every wobbly step, I made my way over to the table, knowing that my end was coming at the hands of this villain. My brain had already made the realization that this was not a dream, though I was hoping against hope that it was. It was all I had left. I unsteadily climbed up to the top of the stone and lay down as best as I could.
“Ah, a Pegasus. I was curious as to what species I would get to end.”
“What do you have against me?” My voice squeaked. There was nothing I could do. I was filled with the terror that comes from seeing your death only a short while away. And this would be by no means a peaceful death.
“Against you? Nothing. You were simply the unlucky soul who came through the portal. Against Equestria? Everything.” The last word was said with such venom that I was half-surprised that he didn’t turn into a snake. He drew a knife from the depths of the cloak that masked his entire body, even from this close. I thought I could make out the glint of a piece of metal from under the hood, but I was uncertain. In a swift movement, he sliced my left wrist, or rather, leg. I was laying on my back, limbs outstretched so it was an easy target. I winced at the pain, but was surprised by how little blood came out. It was an extremely sharp knife and made a sharp and clean cut. “Mmm, yes. Such power. My master will be well pleased.”
He raised the knife above my chest now. I gulped, seeing how close the end was. He started chanting something in a strange sounding language, but before he finished, the earth began to shake and I heard a rumbling sound.
“Earthquake?” I got out in my fearful state.
“Worse.”
What could be worse than an earthquake in an underground base?
“Luna’s Crusaders.”
And that was when the wall exploded. After the smoke cleared, I could see it wasn’t a very big hole, hence the lack of anyone getting hit by debris. Pity. But luckily for me, while these two psychos looked pure evil, the newcomers appeared to be the good guys. I started to try to break free when I felt the knife point at my throat.
“If anypony moves, I’ll kill him without a second thought.”
“Pestilence, your reign of evil has gone on long enough. You won’t make it out of here alive.” I had pressed my head back on the stone to try and avoid the knife for as long as possible, so I didn’t risk moving to see who spoke. But Pestilence is definitely a good name for someone holding me at knifepoint.
“Perhaps not. But then he won’t either.”
“We didn’t come for him. We came for you. Now put the knife down.”
I could feel Pestilence shift slightly, as if in preparation for something. “As you wish.” The knife came down, but as his attention had been on the other pony the entire time, he missed slightly. He was also somewhat shaky, so that also helped. The blade entered just above my collarbone, dangerously close to my jugular. It felt like fire was coursing through my veins, hot and burning. The blade must have been enchanted, as blood started coming out in much greater quantities than should have been possible if it hadn’t severed a vein. Pestilence didn’t get another chance though, he was dead in seconds and I felt his body fell partially on top of me, but what he died from, I’m not sure.
I heard my mysterious rescuer shout for a medic before I passed out from blood loss.
Chapter Two: Hospital Explanations
I slowly opened my eyes, the harsh white light burning my retinas after so long seeing darkness. When my eyes finally dilated, I opened them fully and took a look around as best as I could. Plain white walls with a steel door set in the side with a window. A softly beeping monitor that I was hooked up to next to my bed. Plain white sheets on a soft and comfy mattress. And yes, still a pony. I guess pony hospitals are better than human ones, as this one smelled... nice. That was a horribly inadequate word to describe the smells assaulting my senses with their new heightened awareness, but it was the best my brain could do in its current uncomprehending state. I shifted slightly to sit up more and the monitor started chirping loudly. Oh great. The door silently swung open and a light brown horse head poked in. His eyes widened in surprise at seeing me awake, albeit in a barely conscious state. The door closed and the loud chirping was replaced by the soft beeping every ten seconds or so. I could now hear voices on the other side of the door. The door reopened and the pony I had seen moments before walked in.
"I am guessing that this must be very confusing for you."
"Ya think?" was my sarcastic reply.
"Well, since nopony decides to tell the doctors anything, I'll tell you what I can to hopefully make this make a little bit more sense."
"Sounds reasonable."
"Six days ago-"
"SIX DAYS!" I yelled and sat straight up in the bed before collapsing back down from the flash of pain that shot through my chest. The doctor hurried over to check the bandages that I didn't realize were there before continuing.
"Yes, six days. You had lost a lot of blood. Princess Luna brought you here and told us to take care of you until you got better. You were stabbed about an inch away from your jugular, but even so you had lost a lot of blood. For a while we weren't sure if you would make it." All that had happened came flooding back. Turning into a pony, walking down into Pestilence's lair, almost being sacrificed, and getting stabbed and rescued.
"Is that it?"
"That's all I know. Because NO ONE seems to tell the DOCTORS ANYTHING!" He was shouting at the people, or rather, ponies, outside of my room. I'm guessing it's a sore topic for him. A knocking sound came from the door before it opened up to reveal a light purple pony wearing a tiara with a six pointed star on it and having a horn on her head. So they have unicorns here. Good to know. Her mane was of a darker shade than her coat, with redish highlights running through it. On her back on both sides of her flank were what appeared to be somewhat bulging saddle bags. They were a silvery-gray color and also had the six pointed star on it, but surrounded by five little ones. I could make out what appeared to be wings on her back as well.
"Ah, Princess Twilight, you're here. I'll leave you two here and maybe you can explain some more." The doctor lowered his head out of respect and left the room. What's with all these freaking princesses taking an interest in me?
"So, I'm guessing you're dying to know what happened. Luna explained it to me, or at least as best she could."
"No, I'm more like living to know what happened Princess Twilight."
"Oh," she gave a little laugh at my sarcastic remark before continuing, "And you can just call me Twilight. I’m not big on the whole princess title calling. A few months ago, a mirror was stolen from the Crystal Empire. It was the Equestrian end of the portal that connects this world to the other world. We had an idea of who stole it, but couldn't track it down until the portal was used due to the amount of magic protecting it by whoever stole it. Luckily, it was close by Canterlot and the Crusaders were able to stop Pestilence in time and save you. So, you came from the human world?"
"Yes. I fell through a statue at Canterlot High."
She got excited at that. "Really? Do you know anyone named Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, or Sunset Shimmer?"
"I know of Rainbow Dash more since she's the captain of the soccer team, and the other's I've heard of, but they're juniors and I'm a freshman."
"Huh?"
"They're older than me by two years." I guess they don't have high school here in the same way. Thank goodness.
"Oh. But is there anything else you'd like to know? We still don't know your name."
"It's Sky. Sky Breeze. I have a few. When can I go back home, where am I, and who are the Crusaders?"
"You are in the hospital in Ponyville, to answer the second. The Crusaders are Luna's elite task force sent out to protect the kingdom of Equestria. Most of what they do is secret, but someponies have heard about them, so it's no huge secret. As for getting back, the portal closed three days ago."
"WHAT?!" I leapt up, only to fall back weakly on the bed again after a spasm of pain shot through my body. The monitor didn't go off though. I guess they stopped that since I'm awake or because Twilight is with me.
"Are you alright?"
"No, I'm not. I've been turned into a pony in a place that I know nothing about and have possibly no chance of seeing my family again. Not that they were that great, but still. They were all I had."
Twilight laid a comforting hoof on my shoulder before continuing in a more friendly manner than the already kind manner she had been using. "The portal does open again, but not for another thirty moons."
I did the math. Roughly about two and a half years. Two and a half years to learn about this world I stepped in and become more familiar with my new body. Two and a half years to change how my life would be.
“Can I ask another question?”
“Certainly.”
“Is there a mirror so I can see what exactly I look like now?”
“Of course. I actually have a mirror here in my bags. I also have a few books, some paper and a quill, one of Rarity’s new dresses, a flashlight, glasses, some snacks, and the kitchen sink.” Each object was pulled out of her bags and started floating in the room, suspended only by a soft pinkish purple glow that matched the glow that appeared on her horn.
“Why do you have a kitchen sink?”
“For water of course.” She turned the faucet and somehow water started coming out even though it wasn’t connected to anything. I sighed, not wanting to get into how that was not physically possible.
“The mirror will be fine. But could you leave the book by here just in case I’d like to read it later?”
“Of course! I have the entire series at the library. Here you are.”
I grabbed the mirror with my hand, err, hoof and held it up to face height. No more pale skin staring back at me, which was a relief. Instead, my face and the rest of my body of a pleasant shade of light green. My mane, which extended over my head to act like hair, was four different colors that went from a somewhat darker green than my body to a yellow green, then a turquoise, and then to a darker blue, similar to that of the sky in the afternoon when clouds are overhead. My eyes were a dark royal purple. I liked them better than my plain boring brown eyes that I used to have. I tried not to notice the large white bandage covering part of my neck, even though it was hard not to. My gaze and the mirror traveled down to my chest, where I was somewhat surprised to see two wings poking out from under my body. I wiggled them slightly, feeling the strange new experience of having an extra body part. It felt extremely odd. There isn’t really a way I can describe having wings. It felt strange, but natural at the same time. I recall Pestilence saying something about me being a Pegasus, but I didn’t think that would have transferred over to having wings. Well if we have magic unicorns, why not winged ponies? “Well I look… different. Can I actually fly with these?”
She gave a small chuckle. “Yes, you can. I’ll get my friend Rainbow Dash to give you a few lessons when you’re strong enough. She helped me plenty of times when I was first learning to fly.” I then gave a big yawn and started to feel sleepy as my eyes began to droop slightly.
"I live right here in Ponyville, so the doctors can contact me if you need anything. Your case is an intriguing one that we'll have to proceed carefully with. Just call the doctors if you need anything. I’ve been appointed to be your guardian for the time being until things are settled better." With a departing smile, she left the room. The activities, short but taxing on my weakened body as they were, caught up with me and sleep quickly caught me in its arms, but this time, it was a natural rest.
