Augmented Realities

Fractal yawned and stretched his limbs, shoving his blankets off of him. He stood, stretching more, and rubbed his face. He felt strangely groggy, which was unusual for him. Usually, he would be alert immediately after he woke up. As such, he failed to notice a crucial piece of information until he opened his wardrobe to don his armor. He paused, staring at the strange appendage on the end of his leg, and jumped backward, standing straight on his back legs.

“Celestia’s Light! What happened?” He studied himself as best he could without a proper mirror, using his armor’s reflective plating as one. His face, legs and body had assumed a form not unfamiliar to him. “Human? But…why?” He grabbed his armor off of the stand, strapped it on, and grabbed Hope before he dashed out the door.

In the town, it was no different than the day before. Ponies went about on their daily business, not stopping to notice the anxious Guard approaching at a rapid pace. Fractal slowed upon reaching the edge of town. Not only had he roused later than usual with a numb head, but the ponies that had previously been ponies were now also human.

He could still tell who was who, as each one looked similar to themselves in their original form. Another observation he made quickly was that the townsfolk acted as if they had been bipeds their entire lives, not once tripping over their feet. "What is going on?" He felt some unusual magic, but was interrupted before he could concentrate on it further.

“Hey, look! A Royal Guard!” Somepony shouted. A few gasps of surprise and awe reached Fractal’s ears, and everypony turned to stare at him.

Fractal was surprised, “I’ve been living here for a few months now, and you are surprised now that I am a Royal Guard?” He smiled, but frowned inwardly, thinking. Something is off here. Not only are we all human, but they all act as if they don’t know me.

“Lived her for a few months? I don’t remember you. You must be awfully reclusive for that to be the case.” One of the crowd stepped out, looking him over critically. Fractal recognized her as Cheerilee.

“No, I'm not...” Fractal stopped smiling and crossed his arms. A thought had come to him. “Where is Pinkie Pie? If I was truly new here, she would be one of the first to greet me.” The townsfolk turned to each other, speaking softly. He heard some say something about Pinkie not being there, and wondering about whether they should tell him or not.

"And now they think I'm deaf." Fractal muttered, walking on through the crowd.

“A letter here for a ‘Fractal Blade’”. A voice behind him called out.

“That’s me.” Fractal turned to see the mail carrier. She ran up to him, handing him the white envelope. “Thanks, Derpy.” The mail mare gave him a strange look, spread her wings, and flew away.

“Huh. Guess racial features still exist.” He turned to face the crowd once again, Cheerilee again stood in front, ready to speak.

“Pinkie is not here. She is assisting at a wedding.”

“Wedding? I didn’t hear of a wedding.”

Cheerilee scoffed as she would have at one of her students, and waved dismissively as she turned around. “Evidently, you were not invited.” The crowd dispersed, leaving Fractal standing alone.

“Somepony, uh, someone would have told me. It’s not like…” He stopped, and opened the letter in his hand. His eyes narrowed in confusion, then widened as he read.

To Lieutenant Fractal Blade (alias Silver Requiem),

You have are hereby charged to deliver yourself up to your commanding officer, me, by noon today, or force will deliver you. You are to be imprisoned as a suspect in a threat made against the bride and groom of the approaching wedding in Canterlot. Your trial will be held after the wedding is over. This is your only warning.

-Captain Shining Armor

Fractal crumpled up the letter in his hands, and cast a simple fire spell, burning it up. His hands dropped to his sides, fists clenched tight. “Threat against whom? I don’t even know who’s getting married." He shook his head, then jumped slightly in alarm. He started running, his head piecing together information as he ran. “For Luna’s sake, please don’t be right this time.”

He rushed through the town, checking five significant locations. All were empty, and he as he raced toward the sixth, he hoped that he hadn’t made the connection correctly. It was quiet, dark and the magical aura normally penetrating the building was dulled.