The Black Catby AliceA020ChaptersChapter I: SapphireChapter II: DiscoveriesChapter III: Reminisce Chapter I: SapphireMy name is Victoria Hill. Tory, for short. Seven months ago, I met the current members of the band I’m in. Cory, River, and Rory. We all discovered we had a love for music, the same genre nonetheless. Then we all discovered we all had some sort of talent when it comes to music. Cory’s on the guitar, River plays the piano, Rory pounds his drums, and I sing. We decided to put our talents together and form a band. Five months ago, we made our debut single. And it was a success. At our first concert, we got over 7,000 people. I was truly impressed. I didn’t think we were THAT good. Now I sit in my chair, readying myself for a concert. I know usually staff members prepare the band members, but I prefer to do it myself. They were kind enough to let me. I’m your average girl, as average as a singer could be. I have cherry-colored hair that just brushes my shoulders. Emerald green marks my eyes. I’m a bit on the shorter side for my age, just a few inches above five feet. I got my height and hair from my mom, whereas my eyes and personality were gained from my dad. I stare at myself in the mirror as I brush my hair. I must make sure it is to its utmost perfection. I suppose it shouldn’t matter much; it’ll most likely just get ruined again. However, my fans are expecting a form of beauty, not a disheveled mess. A knock at my door. “One minute!” I say. I finish up my hair, give one last glance in the mirror, and rush over and open the door to reveal Cory. Cory is a rather tall man—six feet and four inches to be exact. He has black hair that’s long enough to be pulled into a ponytail, which he chose to do for this concert. His eyes are quite beautiful—a deep blue. His black hair and blue eyes is a match made in heaven. Cory also happens to be the most popular member in our band. I suppose girls just happen to have a thing for guitarists. “Hey, we start in five minutes,” he notifies me. I nod. Then I attempt to close the door. He pushes it back open with ease. “Trying to get rid of me so soon?” He chuckles. I shrug. Did I mention I’m a bit on the quiet side? “Quiet as always, I see.” He then puts a hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes. “I must say that you look absolutely beautiful.” I can feel my cheeks warm up at that comment. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have small crush on the guy. “T-Thanks…” I stutter. “Now can you please go? I have to finish up.” He frowns and removes his hand from my shoulder. “Finish up? What for? You look completely fine.” “J-Just go!” I say and shut the door. This time he lets me. With a sigh, I slump against the door. Then I stand back up, carefully making my way around all the outfits that lay scattered on my floor. Yeah, my dressing room is a bit of a mess right now. I had trouble finding the right outfit. I walk towards my mirror to give a final look at myself. My cheeks are still slightly pink, but it fades after a few seconds. Just as I’m about to exit and make my way towards the stage, something catches my eye. I’m still looking in the mirror, but there’s a sparkle somewhere in the mess. It’s barely noticeable. Memorizing the location, I turn around and walk to the area. Whatever it is, it’s buried under all these clothes. I pick up each article of clothing, shaking it in case it happens to fall out. It’s not until I reach the bottom—which wasn’t long, mind you—that I find it. It’s a necklace. It has a teardrop shaped sapphire gemstone. Quite pretty, if I do say so myself. I observe it for a few seconds longer and stand up. When I stand up, however, things start getting weird. The sapphire started…glowing. That probably wasn’t the best way to describe it, but I couldn’t find a better word due to my shock. Then I notice that I’m disappearing. Naturally, I start to freak out, but no sounds come out. I’m guessing it either has to do with my fear or that this weird gemstone thing had something to do with it. I squeeze my eyes shut and reopen them constantly. This is all a dream, and all I have to do is wake up. I’m not disappearing right now. I’m back in my bed, sleeping soundly. But I don’t wake up. Instead, I continue fading away until I’m completely gone. I can feel a cool breeze, and I can tell I’m lying on something hard that I can recognize as grass due to the blades brushing up against me. I’m outside? I open my eyes and sure enough, I’m greeted with green grass and a blue sky with little clouds. But I’m also greeted with a black leg with a paw at the end. I try to move to get up, and notice the leg and paw follow. It’s harder to get up as well. After a few minutes, I finally manage to stand up. I turn my head around to observe the landscape and possibly figure out where I am. A forest that seems pretty dark is off to my left, while what seems to be a village is off to my right. A pond rests beside me which I turn around to look at myself in. It’s a difficult feat. Once I manage to do so, I stare at the pond. Staring back at me is a black cat face with green eyes. My back arches and I can feel my tail straighten as I scream. This definitely has to be a dream. I splash myself with the water to try and wake myself up. Nothing. Now I’m cold as the wind blows with my wet fur. Slowly, as I’m still adjusting to these new joints, I walk to the village. I should at least pass time while waiting to wake up. Or, on the off chance this is all real, get some help to figure out where I am and get back home. As I get closer and closer, I can see colorful shapes moving around. That’s odd. Not only a village in this time period as well, but pastel colors? I eventually get close enough to see that the shapes are none other than ponies. This definitely has to be a dream. It has to be. I lift my paw up to my mouth and bite it, hoping the pain will wake me up. But nothing happens. I continue biting until I start to bleed a bit. It only dishevels the fur. I’m breathing heavily out of shock, fear, and tiredness. I see my world start to fade to black and assume it’s because of the anxiety I’m feeling. Within a few seconds, I topple over and my whole world is black. ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ When I wake up, I find warmth and coziness. I simply want nothing more than to curl back up and fall back asleep, but remembering the previous events, my eyes open and dart around. I notice that the paw that was bleeding earlier is bandaged up. My eyes still move around, wanting to know where I am. I seem to be in some sort of cottage. Many animals—bunnies, birds, ferrets, mice, even a bear—are all currently feeding. I gulp at the sight of the bear. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” a voice says. Turning my head to the source, I see a yellow pastel pony with pink hair and wings. I lift my paw up and rub my eye in one final desperate attempt to wake up. But I remain here. “I bet you’re hungry,” she says. Then she pulled out a basket that appeared to be full of vegetables. “I hope you don’t mind the vegetables, but they’re all I have at the moment.” She then dumps a few in front of me. I sniff them, searching for any kind of poison or another dangerous thing they could be. After finding nothing, I reluctantly pick up a slice of carrot up between my teeth (It’s harder since I’m not used to these cat teeth) and chew it. I swallow not long after. I do the same with a few more vegetables. Then I lay my head down again. A white bunny comes over, takes the remaining vegetables, and scurries off into a hole. “Sorry about Angel,” the pony says. “I’m Fluttershy, by the way,” she adds. I finally decide to try speaking. “It’s all right,” I say, but by the look on her face, she doesn’t seem to understand me. She brushes it off though. I then try to tell her that I need help, but she gives the same look. I remember I’m a cat. All she’s probably hearing are meows. I sigh (Can a cat sigh?). This is going to be harder than I thought. Author's Note Future chapters will be longer. Chapter II: DiscoveriesAll of the animals are observing me. Fluttershy had said she had an errand or two to run and she’d be back as soon as she could be. I had decided to walk around the cottage. As I stand up, all of the animals’ eyes drift to me as they watch with curiosity, wanting to know what I’m doing. I grimace at the pain of walking on my injured paw and limp along, but it isn’t that hard. I keep a fearful eye on the bear while I’m moving around. He just watches me with as much curiosity as the others, possibly a little more. Looking around, it’s a pretty simple place; a rug, cupboards, a table and couch, even some stairs that lead to the second floor (Though I probably won’t be going up there. I’m still getting used to these new joints). While some are too shy to do anything, some of the animals come closer to me and sniff. I shrink away a bit, but that just makes them tilt their head. I finally give in and let them do as they please; might as well get on friendly terms, especially with the bear. After around twenty or thirty minutes later, the door opens and a soft voice resounds throughout the cottage. “Oh, Twilight, I just don’t understand. I can usually understand animals so well, but I don’t know a thing this one is saying.” “I’ll take a look at her.” I knew immediately they were talking about me. With that look Fluttershy had given me earlier, it’s no surprise that they would be. But I didn’t know Fluttershy actually understood animals. I sigh. This world is going to take some getting used to. Turning around so I can see who the other voice belongs to, I see a purple unicorn. Pegasi and unicorns, huh? Some girls would really enjoy this place. The purple unicorn, who I assumed was named Twilight, eyes me as she gets closer. I watch her as well and I’m tempted to run somewhere and hide, but I stand my ground. I don’t know what they could do to me. “Hmm,” she says as she gets closer to me, scrunching her face up in concentration. A few moments later, her face returns to normal and she stands back up. “I don’t see anything wrong with her. She looks like any other animal to me.” “Oh, I know, but earlier today she tried talking to me and I couldn’t understand a word she was saying.” “Have you ever dealt with cats before?” “Only a few, but I know them well enough to know what they say.” “I see.” She lifts a hoof up to her face as she thinks. “I could take her back to the library with me and perform some experiments on her—” Fluttershy’s subtle face turns into horror as the word “experiments” escape her lips. “Nothing that will hurt her. I promise.” Fluttershy now looks like she’s considering the decision. After a few moments, she sighs. “Alright, Twilight. But please be careful with her!” Twilight smiles. “Of course.” With that said, her horn starts glowing and I find myself in the same aura as I’m lifted off the ground. She proceeds out the door. I have no choice but to follow. She stops and turns to Fluttershy. “I’ll have her back soon, Fluttershy.” She gave a reassuring smile. “I-I know.” Twilight gave a nod of acknowledgement. Then she continued on her merry way. ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ I’m now lying down, flicking my tail as I observe Twilight (since I have nothing better to do). The “experiments” weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. All she did was attach some cords to me, cast some spells, and write some things down. Now, it appears that she’s getting some readings from her machine. I can’t help but give a small smile at the sight. I may not know Twilight very well, and she sure as hell doesn’t know me, but I’ve never seen someone so focused before on something… scientific. Her brows are furrowed and she’s sticking her tongue out as she reads and writes at the same time. It’s quiet, save for the beeping of her machine and pencil against paper. I’m quite relaxed, and I lay my head down on my forepaws and close my eyes, deciding to get some sleep. However, a few moments later, Twilight breaks the silence with a loud gasp. My eyes shoot open and I see that Twilight’s eyes are wide. “Spike!” she yells it what seems to be a concern in her voice. I can hear pounding and it gets louder as it draws nearer. Eventually it stops and I turn my head towards the steps to see a purple dragon with green eyes and scales running along his back. If I wasn’t taught to remain calm, I probably would’ve ended up going insane with all the mythical things suddenly becoming real. “What is it, Twilight?” Spike asks groggily. Lucky. It seems he was able to get some sleep. “Take a look at this,” she says. She moves out of the way as he moves closer to let him see. While reading, he squints his eyes, as if he’s making sure the paper is saying what he thought it did. “Whoa! That’s weird,” he says after a minute or so. “I know,” Twilight replies. “So,” Spike turns to me, “what’s wrong? Why can’t Fluttershy understand her?” “I don’t know, but one thing’s for sure,” Twilight looks like she’s shaking slightly and she even takes a small gulp before continuing, “she’s not from our world.” ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ So they figured it out. Most certainly faster than I expected. At the moment, Twilight is pacing back and forth as she ponders what to do next. I hope she’s thinking or at least eventually thinks about a spell that will allow me to speak and for her and other ponies to understand me. Maybe even a spell that will allow her to figure out where I’m from and she can send me back home. Eventually, Twilight stops and turns to Spike. “Spike, I want you to go get Fluttershy and being her over her immediately.” The purple dragon nods and exits the library, leaving me alone with the purple unicorn. She looks at me and sighs. “If only you could talk…” Then her eyes spark, as if she was suddenly hit with an idea. “That’s it!” Using her magic, she takes some of the books of the shelf and reads the title. Once she finds the right one (at least I think it’s the right one), her face lights up with glee and she lets all the other books drop to the floor. She then trots out of the pile with an accomplished smile on her face as she carries only one book. She then flips through the book, squinting her eyes to catch the right details she needs. A few minutes pass before she finally puts the book down and takes a deep breath. She then approaches me and leans down to my level. “Okay, this should do the trick.” Her face scrunches up in concentration. Sweat forms on her brow and her tongue sticks out, but her horn is glowing. Then she presses her horn against my head. There’s some pressure, but not so much that it hurts. I get a tingling sensation that courses through my veins as she does so, but it disperses as she pulls away. “There. Now try saying something.” “Um…hello?” I say it a bit quieter than I intended to, but it’s still audible. The corners of her lips turn upward as a big grin spreads across her face. Her eyes are filled with joy and she starts bouncing around in a small circle chanting, “It worked! It worked!” I’m amazed myself. Also, overjoyed. I can ask to go home now! Before I can say anything though, she stops and turns to me. “So, can you tell me a bit about yourself?” “What do you want to know?” I ask in a monotone voice. “Everything!” she exclaims. I sigh. Then I open my mouth to speak, but before I can get any words out, she holds out a hoof to stop me. “Hang on just one moment,” she says. Using her magic, she floats over a pencil and a notepad. “Okay, go!” She grins. “Well, for beginners, I’m from the planet called Earth. More specifically, a country dubbed United States of America.” I pause to let her write it all down. She looks at me after a few seconds, signaling me to continue. “Oh! I should tell you that I’m not really a cat. I’m a—” “Twilight!” The front door slams open to reveal a purple dragon who is breathing heavily and a yellow pegasus who is trying to catch her breath, but she is doing so quieter. “We got here as fast as we could!” “Twilight!” Fluttershy says. “I heard you discovered something—something important.” Twilight nods and uses her horn to lift up the piece of paper and drift it over. The yellow pegasus’s eyes scan over it and in a few seconds, she looks back up. “Twilight, what does it mean?” Twilight quickly rolls up the parchment like a scroll. “It means that she isn’t from our world.” “Isn’t from our world? Is that why I couldn’t talk to her?” “It’s definitely part of the reason, but I don’t think that’s all of it.” “I see.” “But she can talk now. I performed a spell on her that allows her to speak. Everypony can understand her now.” Twilight turns and nods at me, telling me to say something. I turn my head from her to Fluttershy a few times and finally sigh. “Hello,” I say calmly. “Oh my, she really can speak now!” Twilight nods at the statement. “For now, I think we should keep her a secret.” Fluttershy turns to Twilight. “A secret? Why?” “We don’t know what we’ll happen if things get out about her. I think we could tell the rest of our friends, and we’ll definitely report it to the Princess, but nopony else knows.” “Can I at least go outside?” I insert myself into the conversation. Both Fluttershy and Twilight turn to me, but Twilight is the one to speak. “I think you can go outside, but no talking.” I nod. “Understandable.” “So, Twilight,” Fluttershy starts. “What now?” The purple unicorn sighs. “I don’t know, Fluttershy.” I use this as a chance to ask my question. “What about sending me home?” Twilight looks at me, a saddened expression on her face. “I don’t think I can. I’m sorry, but I don’t know enough where you come from. I don’t think there’s a book on it and even the Princesses might not even know.” My heart sinks at her words. I sigh and lower my gaze to the ground with my head resting on the hardwood floor. “Okay…” “Don’t worry,” Fluttershy says. I turn to her and see she has a soft smile on her face. “We’ll get you home. We promise.” Twilight speaks up. “That’s right. We’ll always come through for a friend.” Friends? They’d be friends with an oddball they know nothing about? They sure are kind. “By the way,” Twilight adds, “I don’t think we ever learned your name.” I smile. “Victoria Hill. You can call me Tory.” “That’s a strange name,” Fluttershy points out. I laugh. “Your names are strange to me.” We all share a small laugh, but it dies down after a few seconds. I’ll definitely be able to get home with the help of my friends. Chapter III: Reminisce Chapter III: Reminisce It wasn’t smart of me to enter the Everfree forest, especially when I had been warned many times to stay away. But something caught my eye, and my adventurous and curious side took over. And right now, I really hate the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat”. If I hadn’t been running for my life, I’d probably have taken some time to enjoy the breeze and nature. Today started off right—I woke up, ate breakfast, and was bored for a while. And then I peered out the window. A simple sparkle, like light reflecting off broken glass. It drew me in somehow. I pushed it to the back of my mind but it kept finding its way to the front again. So, with a glance to Twilight and Spike to make sure they weren’t looking, I slipped out the doorway. And then everything went wrong. Through the corners of my eyes, I can see the glowing eyes of the creatures that hide away, perhaps waiting for the right prey to pass by. I hope I’m not on the menu. I might be for the one chasing me, but I don’t want to add any more to the list. Up ahead, a place where I can possibly hide enters my vision. Of course, I won’t be able to wait there until the creature gives up—chances are he probably won’t. But at least it’d buy me some time. I make a mad dash for the area, running faster than I ever have before. In around a minute or so, I reach the place and whip around, leaning against the tall rock. I’m breathing heavily, and I try to keep it unnoticeable, but it proves to be mission impossible. I see the creature’s shadow, but I hear no footsteps. The creature floats, not walks. I see it continue to move forward and I can eventually see its entire body, which is a mix of a bunch of different animal parts. But I don’t see its face. It’s facing away from me. I decide to take this as my chance to run away, but just as I turn and take a step, the creature says something. “Where are you going, my dear?” I freeze in my tracks, not daring to take another step. It chuckles. “You’re not gonna eat me, are you?” I say after a few moments. I face the creature now. His irises are red. The creature blinks a few times before bursting out laughing. “Eat you? Now why would I wanna do that?” I sigh. “Okay, then who are you? And why are you following me?” “The name is Discord, and I’m following you because I’d like to make a contract.” ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ The second I enter the house, Twilight rushes over to me. “Where have you been?!” she yells. “Sorry,” I say. “I decided to take a stroll.” “Why didn’t you tell me?! You could’ve been hurt! Or somepony might’ve found out about you!” “No secrets were told, nor is there a scratch on me. Calm down now.” Twilight still has the anger and worry in her eyes, so I continue. “I’ll tell you next time, alright?” With a sigh, she nods. “Alright.” She trots over to where it seems she has some notes stashed. “Now, I tried to do a little research about your world and how to return you to it. “And…?” She sighed. “Nothing. I’m thinking about sending word to the Princess about you. She might know what to do.” “A princess rules this world?” “Two, actually. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Princess Celestia is responsible for raising the sun, whereas Princess Luna is responsible for the moon.” “Hmm, interesting. In my world, no one is responsible for the sun and moon.” “Care to tell me about it?” Twilight says, igniting her horn and floating over a notepad and a pencil. I shrug. “Sure. Our day and night is brought because of the Earth’s rotation. It rotates over a twenty-four hour period.” Twilight jots it all down, and I can’t help but give a slight chuckle. “You love learning, huh?” I say. She finishes before looking up and nodding. “I’ve loved it ever since I was a little filly. I remember when I first came to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship.” “And how was that?” I smile. She returns the smile. “Great. At first, I was pretty reluctant. I didn’t want to make any friends. I always wanted to bury my nose in a book. But now I have six wonderful friends, including Spike.” “Oh? Care to tell me about them?” She smiles. “Sure. There’s Applejack. She runs a farm just outside of Ponyville with her family. She’s competitive, and loves the applebucking season. She once lost a lot of sleep since she had to do it all on her own.” She chuckles. “But Applejack is honest and pretty stubborn. “Then there’s Rainbow Dash. Now she’s very competitive. And she hates losing. But she’s the first and only pony to ever perform the Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow is a loyal friend, though. Whenever she is put in a tough spot, we can always count on her to make the right decision. “Rarity’s next. She’s a bit of a drama queen, but she is the best at fashion. She always creates the best outfits for anypony. There was one time where she was creating dresses for a fashion show, and all six of us kept insisting on improving the dresses, but they were already perfect. They ended up being horrible,” she says, chuckling at the memory. “But she’s a generous pony. She once cut off her tail! I don’t think even I could do that. “Fluttershy’s name suits her; she’s very shy. I couldn’t hear her at all when she was telling me her name. Fluttershy owns a cottage a bit near the Everfree forest, where she cares for all these animals. She might be shy, but I she’s too kind for her own good. She once stole the Princess’s pet thinking he was sick. “There’s no way to explain Pinkie Pie. She’s so random. But that’s part of what makes her so great. She can always make anypony smile, no matter how down they are. I don’t know how she does it, but she does it. There was a time where she thought we weren’t her friends anymore, and she went crazy. I don’t think anypony could ever stop being her friend, though. She makes anyone laugh. “And then there’s Spike—well, you know Spike.” “Yeah. Speaking of Spike, where is he?” “At Rarity’s. He has a bit of a crush on her.” “Aw,” I say with a chuckle. “That’s kinda cute.” “I suppose it is.” She smiles. I stretch. “I remember when I dropped outta school.” Her mouth hangs open. “You dropped out of school?!” I nod. “Why?!” “For music.” She gives me a curious look. “Ever since that day in freshmen year, I always knew music was my passion and the way I wanted to go.” “May I know about that day?” I hesitate for a few moments, then answer. “Perhaps another day.” She nods in understanding. “Oh, weren’t you gonna write that letter to the Princess?” I ask. “I’ll do it later. I can’t send it till Spike gets back anyway.” “Ah, I see.” It’s quiet for a few moments until Fluttershy quickly opens the door, breaking the silence. She’s breathing heavily, proving she most likely ran here at top speed. “Fluttershy? What is it?” Twilight asks. “Oh, Twilight! It’s just awful!” She says worriedly. I can tell by her voice she’s fighting back tears. “What?” “Angel is gone!” Author's Note I apologize if any characters are out of character. This is supposed to be a darker setting, and thus Discord won't be playing around as much. Anywho, I also apologize for the short chapter. I'll try and lengthen the next one.
Chapter I: SapphireMy name is Victoria Hill. Tory, for short. Seven months ago, I met the current members of the band I’m in. Cory, River, and Rory. We all discovered we had a love for music, the same genre nonetheless. Then we all discovered we all had some sort of talent when it comes to music. Cory’s on the guitar, River plays the piano, Rory pounds his drums, and I sing. We decided to put our talents together and form a band. Five months ago, we made our debut single. And it was a success. At our first concert, we got over 7,000 people. I was truly impressed. I didn’t think we were THAT good. Now I sit in my chair, readying myself for a concert. I know usually staff members prepare the band members, but I prefer to do it myself. They were kind enough to let me. I’m your average girl, as average as a singer could be. I have cherry-colored hair that just brushes my shoulders. Emerald green marks my eyes. I’m a bit on the shorter side for my age, just a few inches above five feet. I got my height and hair from my mom, whereas my eyes and personality were gained from my dad. I stare at myself in the mirror as I brush my hair. I must make sure it is to its utmost perfection. I suppose it shouldn’t matter much; it’ll most likely just get ruined again. However, my fans are expecting a form of beauty, not a disheveled mess. A knock at my door. “One minute!” I say. I finish up my hair, give one last glance in the mirror, and rush over and open the door to reveal Cory. Cory is a rather tall man—six feet and four inches to be exact. He has black hair that’s long enough to be pulled into a ponytail, which he chose to do for this concert. His eyes are quite beautiful—a deep blue. His black hair and blue eyes is a match made in heaven. Cory also happens to be the most popular member in our band. I suppose girls just happen to have a thing for guitarists. “Hey, we start in five minutes,” he notifies me. I nod. Then I attempt to close the door. He pushes it back open with ease. “Trying to get rid of me so soon?” He chuckles. I shrug. Did I mention I’m a bit on the quiet side? “Quiet as always, I see.” He then puts a hand on my shoulder and looks into my eyes. “I must say that you look absolutely beautiful.” I can feel my cheeks warm up at that comment. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have small crush on the guy. “T-Thanks…” I stutter. “Now can you please go? I have to finish up.” He frowns and removes his hand from my shoulder. “Finish up? What for? You look completely fine.” “J-Just go!” I say and shut the door. This time he lets me. With a sigh, I slump against the door. Then I stand back up, carefully making my way around all the outfits that lay scattered on my floor. Yeah, my dressing room is a bit of a mess right now. I had trouble finding the right outfit. I walk towards my mirror to give a final look at myself. My cheeks are still slightly pink, but it fades after a few seconds. Just as I’m about to exit and make my way towards the stage, something catches my eye. I’m still looking in the mirror, but there’s a sparkle somewhere in the mess. It’s barely noticeable. Memorizing the location, I turn around and walk to the area. Whatever it is, it’s buried under all these clothes. I pick up each article of clothing, shaking it in case it happens to fall out. It’s not until I reach the bottom—which wasn’t long, mind you—that I find it. It’s a necklace. It has a teardrop shaped sapphire gemstone. Quite pretty, if I do say so myself. I observe it for a few seconds longer and stand up. When I stand up, however, things start getting weird. The sapphire started…glowing. That probably wasn’t the best way to describe it, but I couldn’t find a better word due to my shock. Then I notice that I’m disappearing. Naturally, I start to freak out, but no sounds come out. I’m guessing it either has to do with my fear or that this weird gemstone thing had something to do with it. I squeeze my eyes shut and reopen them constantly. This is all a dream, and all I have to do is wake up. I’m not disappearing right now. I’m back in my bed, sleeping soundly. But I don’t wake up. Instead, I continue fading away until I’m completely gone. I can feel a cool breeze, and I can tell I’m lying on something hard that I can recognize as grass due to the blades brushing up against me. I’m outside? I open my eyes and sure enough, I’m greeted with green grass and a blue sky with little clouds. But I’m also greeted with a black leg with a paw at the end. I try to move to get up, and notice the leg and paw follow. It’s harder to get up as well. After a few minutes, I finally manage to stand up. I turn my head around to observe the landscape and possibly figure out where I am. A forest that seems pretty dark is off to my left, while what seems to be a village is off to my right. A pond rests beside me which I turn around to look at myself in. It’s a difficult feat. Once I manage to do so, I stare at the pond. Staring back at me is a black cat face with green eyes. My back arches and I can feel my tail straighten as I scream. This definitely has to be a dream. I splash myself with the water to try and wake myself up. Nothing. Now I’m cold as the wind blows with my wet fur. Slowly, as I’m still adjusting to these new joints, I walk to the village. I should at least pass time while waiting to wake up. Or, on the off chance this is all real, get some help to figure out where I am and get back home. As I get closer and closer, I can see colorful shapes moving around. That’s odd. Not only a village in this time period as well, but pastel colors? I eventually get close enough to see that the shapes are none other than ponies. This definitely has to be a dream. It has to be. I lift my paw up to my mouth and bite it, hoping the pain will wake me up. But nothing happens. I continue biting until I start to bleed a bit. It only dishevels the fur. I’m breathing heavily out of shock, fear, and tiredness. I see my world start to fade to black and assume it’s because of the anxiety I’m feeling. Within a few seconds, I topple over and my whole world is black. ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ When I wake up, I find warmth and coziness. I simply want nothing more than to curl back up and fall back asleep, but remembering the previous events, my eyes open and dart around. I notice that the paw that was bleeding earlier is bandaged up. My eyes still move around, wanting to know where I am. I seem to be in some sort of cottage. Many animals—bunnies, birds, ferrets, mice, even a bear—are all currently feeding. I gulp at the sight of the bear. “Oh, good, you’re awake,” a voice says. Turning my head to the source, I see a yellow pastel pony with pink hair and wings. I lift my paw up and rub my eye in one final desperate attempt to wake up. But I remain here. “I bet you’re hungry,” she says. Then she pulled out a basket that appeared to be full of vegetables. “I hope you don’t mind the vegetables, but they’re all I have at the moment.” She then dumps a few in front of me. I sniff them, searching for any kind of poison or another dangerous thing they could be. After finding nothing, I reluctantly pick up a slice of carrot up between my teeth (It’s harder since I’m not used to these cat teeth) and chew it. I swallow not long after. I do the same with a few more vegetables. Then I lay my head down again. A white bunny comes over, takes the remaining vegetables, and scurries off into a hole. “Sorry about Angel,” the pony says. “I’m Fluttershy, by the way,” she adds. I finally decide to try speaking. “It’s all right,” I say, but by the look on her face, she doesn’t seem to understand me. She brushes it off though. I then try to tell her that I need help, but she gives the same look. I remember I’m a cat. All she’s probably hearing are meows. I sigh (Can a cat sigh?). This is going to be harder than I thought. Author's Note Future chapters will be longer.
Chapter II: DiscoveriesAll of the animals are observing me. Fluttershy had said she had an errand or two to run and she’d be back as soon as she could be. I had decided to walk around the cottage. As I stand up, all of the animals’ eyes drift to me as they watch with curiosity, wanting to know what I’m doing. I grimace at the pain of walking on my injured paw and limp along, but it isn’t that hard. I keep a fearful eye on the bear while I’m moving around. He just watches me with as much curiosity as the others, possibly a little more. Looking around, it’s a pretty simple place; a rug, cupboards, a table and couch, even some stairs that lead to the second floor (Though I probably won’t be going up there. I’m still getting used to these new joints). While some are too shy to do anything, some of the animals come closer to me and sniff. I shrink away a bit, but that just makes them tilt their head. I finally give in and let them do as they please; might as well get on friendly terms, especially with the bear. After around twenty or thirty minutes later, the door opens and a soft voice resounds throughout the cottage. “Oh, Twilight, I just don’t understand. I can usually understand animals so well, but I don’t know a thing this one is saying.” “I’ll take a look at her.” I knew immediately they were talking about me. With that look Fluttershy had given me earlier, it’s no surprise that they would be. But I didn’t know Fluttershy actually understood animals. I sigh. This world is going to take some getting used to. Turning around so I can see who the other voice belongs to, I see a purple unicorn. Pegasi and unicorns, huh? Some girls would really enjoy this place. The purple unicorn, who I assumed was named Twilight, eyes me as she gets closer. I watch her as well and I’m tempted to run somewhere and hide, but I stand my ground. I don’t know what they could do to me. “Hmm,” she says as she gets closer to me, scrunching her face up in concentration. A few moments later, her face returns to normal and she stands back up. “I don’t see anything wrong with her. She looks like any other animal to me.” “Oh, I know, but earlier today she tried talking to me and I couldn’t understand a word she was saying.” “Have you ever dealt with cats before?” “Only a few, but I know them well enough to know what they say.” “I see.” She lifts a hoof up to her face as she thinks. “I could take her back to the library with me and perform some experiments on her—” Fluttershy’s subtle face turns into horror as the word “experiments” escape her lips. “Nothing that will hurt her. I promise.” Fluttershy now looks like she’s considering the decision. After a few moments, she sighs. “Alright, Twilight. But please be careful with her!” Twilight smiles. “Of course.” With that said, her horn starts glowing and I find myself in the same aura as I’m lifted off the ground. She proceeds out the door. I have no choice but to follow. She stops and turns to Fluttershy. “I’ll have her back soon, Fluttershy.” She gave a reassuring smile. “I-I know.” Twilight gave a nod of acknowledgement. Then she continued on her merry way. ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ I’m now lying down, flicking my tail as I observe Twilight (since I have nothing better to do). The “experiments” weren’t as bad as I thought they’d be. All she did was attach some cords to me, cast some spells, and write some things down. Now, it appears that she’s getting some readings from her machine. I can’t help but give a small smile at the sight. I may not know Twilight very well, and she sure as hell doesn’t know me, but I’ve never seen someone so focused before on something… scientific. Her brows are furrowed and she’s sticking her tongue out as she reads and writes at the same time. It’s quiet, save for the beeping of her machine and pencil against paper. I’m quite relaxed, and I lay my head down on my forepaws and close my eyes, deciding to get some sleep. However, a few moments later, Twilight breaks the silence with a loud gasp. My eyes shoot open and I see that Twilight’s eyes are wide. “Spike!” she yells it what seems to be a concern in her voice. I can hear pounding and it gets louder as it draws nearer. Eventually it stops and I turn my head towards the steps to see a purple dragon with green eyes and scales running along his back. If I wasn’t taught to remain calm, I probably would’ve ended up going insane with all the mythical things suddenly becoming real. “What is it, Twilight?” Spike asks groggily. Lucky. It seems he was able to get some sleep. “Take a look at this,” she says. She moves out of the way as he moves closer to let him see. While reading, he squints his eyes, as if he’s making sure the paper is saying what he thought it did. “Whoa! That’s weird,” he says after a minute or so. “I know,” Twilight replies. “So,” Spike turns to me, “what’s wrong? Why can’t Fluttershy understand her?” “I don’t know, but one thing’s for sure,” Twilight looks like she’s shaking slightly and she even takes a small gulp before continuing, “she’s not from our world.” ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ So they figured it out. Most certainly faster than I expected. At the moment, Twilight is pacing back and forth as she ponders what to do next. I hope she’s thinking or at least eventually thinks about a spell that will allow me to speak and for her and other ponies to understand me. Maybe even a spell that will allow her to figure out where I’m from and she can send me back home. Eventually, Twilight stops and turns to Spike. “Spike, I want you to go get Fluttershy and being her over her immediately.” The purple dragon nods and exits the library, leaving me alone with the purple unicorn. She looks at me and sighs. “If only you could talk…” Then her eyes spark, as if she was suddenly hit with an idea. “That’s it!” Using her magic, she takes some of the books of the shelf and reads the title. Once she finds the right one (at least I think it’s the right one), her face lights up with glee and she lets all the other books drop to the floor. She then trots out of the pile with an accomplished smile on her face as she carries only one book. She then flips through the book, squinting her eyes to catch the right details she needs. A few minutes pass before she finally puts the book down and takes a deep breath. She then approaches me and leans down to my level. “Okay, this should do the trick.” Her face scrunches up in concentration. Sweat forms on her brow and her tongue sticks out, but her horn is glowing. Then she presses her horn against my head. There’s some pressure, but not so much that it hurts. I get a tingling sensation that courses through my veins as she does so, but it disperses as she pulls away. “There. Now try saying something.” “Um…hello?” I say it a bit quieter than I intended to, but it’s still audible. The corners of her lips turn upward as a big grin spreads across her face. Her eyes are filled with joy and she starts bouncing around in a small circle chanting, “It worked! It worked!” I’m amazed myself. Also, overjoyed. I can ask to go home now! Before I can say anything though, she stops and turns to me. “So, can you tell me a bit about yourself?” “What do you want to know?” I ask in a monotone voice. “Everything!” she exclaims. I sigh. Then I open my mouth to speak, but before I can get any words out, she holds out a hoof to stop me. “Hang on just one moment,” she says. Using her magic, she floats over a pencil and a notepad. “Okay, go!” She grins. “Well, for beginners, I’m from the planet called Earth. More specifically, a country dubbed United States of America.” I pause to let her write it all down. She looks at me after a few seconds, signaling me to continue. “Oh! I should tell you that I’m not really a cat. I’m a—” “Twilight!” The front door slams open to reveal a purple dragon who is breathing heavily and a yellow pegasus who is trying to catch her breath, but she is doing so quieter. “We got here as fast as we could!” “Twilight!” Fluttershy says. “I heard you discovered something—something important.” Twilight nods and uses her horn to lift up the piece of paper and drift it over. The yellow pegasus’s eyes scan over it and in a few seconds, she looks back up. “Twilight, what does it mean?” Twilight quickly rolls up the parchment like a scroll. “It means that she isn’t from our world.” “Isn’t from our world? Is that why I couldn’t talk to her?” “It’s definitely part of the reason, but I don’t think that’s all of it.” “I see.” “But she can talk now. I performed a spell on her that allows her to speak. Everypony can understand her now.” Twilight turns and nods at me, telling me to say something. I turn my head from her to Fluttershy a few times and finally sigh. “Hello,” I say calmly. “Oh my, she really can speak now!” Twilight nods at the statement. “For now, I think we should keep her a secret.” Fluttershy turns to Twilight. “A secret? Why?” “We don’t know what we’ll happen if things get out about her. I think we could tell the rest of our friends, and we’ll definitely report it to the Princess, but nopony else knows.” “Can I at least go outside?” I insert myself into the conversation. Both Fluttershy and Twilight turn to me, but Twilight is the one to speak. “I think you can go outside, but no talking.” I nod. “Understandable.” “So, Twilight,” Fluttershy starts. “What now?” The purple unicorn sighs. “I don’t know, Fluttershy.” I use this as a chance to ask my question. “What about sending me home?” Twilight looks at me, a saddened expression on her face. “I don’t think I can. I’m sorry, but I don’t know enough where you come from. I don’t think there’s a book on it and even the Princesses might not even know.” My heart sinks at her words. I sigh and lower my gaze to the ground with my head resting on the hardwood floor. “Okay…” “Don’t worry,” Fluttershy says. I turn to her and see she has a soft smile on her face. “We’ll get you home. We promise.” Twilight speaks up. “That’s right. We’ll always come through for a friend.” Friends? They’d be friends with an oddball they know nothing about? They sure are kind. “By the way,” Twilight adds, “I don’t think we ever learned your name.” I smile. “Victoria Hill. You can call me Tory.” “That’s a strange name,” Fluttershy points out. I laugh. “Your names are strange to me.” We all share a small laugh, but it dies down after a few seconds. I’ll definitely be able to get home with the help of my friends.
Chapter III: Reminisce Chapter III: Reminisce It wasn’t smart of me to enter the Everfree forest, especially when I had been warned many times to stay away. But something caught my eye, and my adventurous and curious side took over. And right now, I really hate the phrase “Curiosity killed the cat”. If I hadn’t been running for my life, I’d probably have taken some time to enjoy the breeze and nature. Today started off right—I woke up, ate breakfast, and was bored for a while. And then I peered out the window. A simple sparkle, like light reflecting off broken glass. It drew me in somehow. I pushed it to the back of my mind but it kept finding its way to the front again. So, with a glance to Twilight and Spike to make sure they weren’t looking, I slipped out the doorway. And then everything went wrong. Through the corners of my eyes, I can see the glowing eyes of the creatures that hide away, perhaps waiting for the right prey to pass by. I hope I’m not on the menu. I might be for the one chasing me, but I don’t want to add any more to the list. Up ahead, a place where I can possibly hide enters my vision. Of course, I won’t be able to wait there until the creature gives up—chances are he probably won’t. But at least it’d buy me some time. I make a mad dash for the area, running faster than I ever have before. In around a minute or so, I reach the place and whip around, leaning against the tall rock. I’m breathing heavily, and I try to keep it unnoticeable, but it proves to be mission impossible. I see the creature’s shadow, but I hear no footsteps. The creature floats, not walks. I see it continue to move forward and I can eventually see its entire body, which is a mix of a bunch of different animal parts. But I don’t see its face. It’s facing away from me. I decide to take this as my chance to run away, but just as I turn and take a step, the creature says something. “Where are you going, my dear?” I freeze in my tracks, not daring to take another step. It chuckles. “You’re not gonna eat me, are you?” I say after a few moments. I face the creature now. His irises are red. The creature blinks a few times before bursting out laughing. “Eat you? Now why would I wanna do that?” I sigh. “Okay, then who are you? And why are you following me?” “The name is Discord, and I’m following you because I’d like to make a contract.” ~*O*~*O*~*O*~ The second I enter the house, Twilight rushes over to me. “Where have you been?!” she yells. “Sorry,” I say. “I decided to take a stroll.” “Why didn’t you tell me?! You could’ve been hurt! Or somepony might’ve found out about you!” “No secrets were told, nor is there a scratch on me. Calm down now.” Twilight still has the anger and worry in her eyes, so I continue. “I’ll tell you next time, alright?” With a sigh, she nods. “Alright.” She trots over to where it seems she has some notes stashed. “Now, I tried to do a little research about your world and how to return you to it. “And…?” She sighed. “Nothing. I’m thinking about sending word to the Princess about you. She might know what to do.” “A princess rules this world?” “Two, actually. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Princess Celestia is responsible for raising the sun, whereas Princess Luna is responsible for the moon.” “Hmm, interesting. In my world, no one is responsible for the sun and moon.” “Care to tell me about it?” Twilight says, igniting her horn and floating over a notepad and a pencil. I shrug. “Sure. Our day and night is brought because of the Earth’s rotation. It rotates over a twenty-four hour period.” Twilight jots it all down, and I can’t help but give a slight chuckle. “You love learning, huh?” I say. She finishes before looking up and nodding. “I’ve loved it ever since I was a little filly. I remember when I first came to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship.” “And how was that?” I smile. She returns the smile. “Great. At first, I was pretty reluctant. I didn’t want to make any friends. I always wanted to bury my nose in a book. But now I have six wonderful friends, including Spike.” “Oh? Care to tell me about them?” She smiles. “Sure. There’s Applejack. She runs a farm just outside of Ponyville with her family. She’s competitive, and loves the applebucking season. She once lost a lot of sleep since she had to do it all on her own.” She chuckles. “But Applejack is honest and pretty stubborn. “Then there’s Rainbow Dash. Now she’s very competitive. And she hates losing. But she’s the first and only pony to ever perform the Sonic Rainboom. Rainbow is a loyal friend, though. Whenever she is put in a tough spot, we can always count on her to make the right decision. “Rarity’s next. She’s a bit of a drama queen, but she is the best at fashion. She always creates the best outfits for anypony. There was one time where she was creating dresses for a fashion show, and all six of us kept insisting on improving the dresses, but they were already perfect. They ended up being horrible,” she says, chuckling at the memory. “But she’s a generous pony. She once cut off her tail! I don’t think even I could do that. “Fluttershy’s name suits her; she’s very shy. I couldn’t hear her at all when she was telling me her name. Fluttershy owns a cottage a bit near the Everfree forest, where she cares for all these animals. She might be shy, but I she’s too kind for her own good. She once stole the Princess’s pet thinking he was sick. “There’s no way to explain Pinkie Pie. She’s so random. But that’s part of what makes her so great. She can always make anypony smile, no matter how down they are. I don’t know how she does it, but she does it. There was a time where she thought we weren’t her friends anymore, and she went crazy. I don’t think anypony could ever stop being her friend, though. She makes anyone laugh. “And then there’s Spike—well, you know Spike.” “Yeah. Speaking of Spike, where is he?” “At Rarity’s. He has a bit of a crush on her.” “Aw,” I say with a chuckle. “That’s kinda cute.” “I suppose it is.” She smiles. I stretch. “I remember when I dropped outta school.” Her mouth hangs open. “You dropped out of school?!” I nod. “Why?!” “For music.” She gives me a curious look. “Ever since that day in freshmen year, I always knew music was my passion and the way I wanted to go.” “May I know about that day?” I hesitate for a few moments, then answer. “Perhaps another day.” She nods in understanding. “Oh, weren’t you gonna write that letter to the Princess?” I ask. “I’ll do it later. I can’t send it till Spike gets back anyway.” “Ah, I see.” It’s quiet for a few moments until Fluttershy quickly opens the door, breaking the silence. She’s breathing heavily, proving she most likely ran here at top speed. “Fluttershy? What is it?” Twilight asks. “Oh, Twilight! It’s just awful!” She says worriedly. I can tell by her voice she’s fighting back tears. “What?” “Angel is gone!” Author's Note I apologize if any characters are out of character. This is supposed to be a darker setting, and thus Discord won't be playing around as much. Anywho, I also apologize for the short chapter. I'll try and lengthen the next one.
