Unlucky seven

by Pinklestia

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Adventure
Length: 84467

Waking up as a pony is not as fun as you might think.

NOTICE: Yes, we are still looking for an Editor and or Beta Readers for this story. Any help will be apreciated!

You ever wondered what it'd be like to be a pony? Yeah, well good for you. Unfortunately thinking about it and actually living it are two entirely different things.

Seven unlucky humans find themselves thrust into the bodies of seven very special ponies. Though they are special, they are not who one would expect. They are:

Twilight the Wish Granter.

Moondancer the Dream Weaver.

Firefly the Dancing Daredevil.

Posey the Gentle Gardener.

Sparkler the Diamond Diva.

Silly 'ol Surprise.

And of course the clumsy but well-meaning Applejack.

Join these seven unlucky souls on their journey as they are thrust into a struggle for survival in a rapidly changing world. Will they manage to survive? Or will the challenges presented be too great for them?

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

Published 2014-07-14 06:00:05 UTC
Last updated 2020-09-02 17:24:51 UTC

01 Wish

~~*Twilight The Wish Granter*~~

So I was watching the calm sea at night, under the star filled sky, it was beautiful. I could see the full moon, and we were in the spring and the soft breeze danced with my mane. There was only one thing that could have made that moment perfect…….friends.

I was alone, and that made me sad. I wanted friends. Then something nagged me in the back of my mind, names of friends I missed.

Moondancer, Firefly, Posey, Sparkler, Surprise and Applejack.

Oh, how I missed them. Yet at the same time I was smart enough to know that the friends I was missing weren't my own. You see, I woke up naked, without any belongings, and in the form of a unicorn. But strangely, I didn't feel perturbed by that fact, maybe because I was in denial, maybe because everything else was so perfect it was easy to convince myself I was just having a pleasant dream.

It's like I have my own memories of being a human, as well as those of the unicorn I've become. I couldn't help but find it all very confusing. Equally confusing was that I'm a bit smaller than a unicorn should be. You might even say I'm 'pony-sized'... sorry, that was an awful pun. Granted, the unicorn I turned into happens to share the name of a series of books I hate with all my passion but... Hey. Is it so bad to be a unicorn that can grant wishes?

I am Twilight, the unicorn astronomer, the lover of the night sky. My magic is even strong enough to grant wishes as long as I do it at night under the full moon. Maybe, if I wished it hard enough, I would find some company, that was what I was thinking. After all, the sky was honestly beautiful that night. So I let myself be surrounded by a strange purple mist and I made my wish, now that I think about it, maybe it was a selfish wish.

"I am Twilight the unicorn astronomer, the wish granter, and I have but one wish," I whispered then took a breath.

"I wish to meet my friends once more." There was a surge, my coat suddenly stood on end. My horn tingled and sparks danced before my eyes. A moment later my vision blurred and suddenly went black as unconsciousness claimed me. I'm still not entirely sure if my wish was what started this. That caused the others to change as well. What I am sure of however, is that it was what brought us together.

So, what do you think, was I selfish? Should I have wished to become human again? Oh, right, you don't talk. I think that it was kind of selfish, and I really should have wished to be human again. But hey! In my defense, I didn't think anything of that was real, I thought it was some kind of dream, alright? But...If I had wished to be human again, if I didn't bring all of us together... Maybe we wouldn't be locked up right now. So yes, they have the right to be angry with me, I deserve their hate.

Because I was selfish, I could have wished for everypony to change back during the next full moon, but I didn't want to, know why? Because, as a human, I was stuck in a wheelchair after being stupid and driving while drunk. Because I was told, being only a sixteen year old girl…that I might never walk again. And then I found myself being able to walk again, having magic, being a unicorn. Having the power to grant wishes, knowing so much about the night sky I have always loved. Do you honestly think I wanted to lose that?

But, besides all that, I was scared, scared that if we became humans again, I would lose my new friends. I should have been more honest with them. honesty is one of the six elements, right? Not that I knew anything about that back then, I never watched the new show. Heck, all I knew about the old show was that Midnight Castle special and only because I watched it on a dare.

And despite all that, I don't want to give up my hope. I want to fix things, to mend our friendship, to make our small team stronger than the parts that make it. I don't know how, but I have to try.

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

You know, I'm not really sure how all this started. I just remember waking up in the middle of the night feeling unbearably hot. Now this normally isn't too unusual, I hate the heat and especially during summer. I much prefer winter and fall to be honest. But it felt strange this time because as I got up I couldn't help but feel as if something is... Off.

My first clue was that my pillow was lifted up by my head. I know this for the odd pressure / weight on my forehead. 'Who?' unfortunately my sleep addled mind obviously wasn't alert enough to figure that out. Instead, I shook my head, my pillow falling from the bed to the floor below. With that and a yawn, I looked around my darkened bedroom.

It was night, obviously, so everything was dark. The admittedly small room, I have is filled to the brim with three things. Video-Games would be the most prominent, PS1, PS2, PSP, Gamecube, DS, 3DS, PC, and even some on my Tablet, I have them all situated in my room with plenty of games for them.

I also have an Xbox 360 in the living room, but that is beside the point.

The second most numerous thing in my room has got to be DVDs, I have entire shelves stocked full with them. The DVD's include movies such as The Godfather trilogy to other less known movies and the like. I also have a number of TV shows on DVD such as Gargoyles, an old favorite to this day, Batman TAS, Doctor Who, and a plethora of others.

The third most numerous thing in my room is definitely books. Aside from the numerous Manga lining a little cabinet I got from my mom I also have several hard-back copies of the Harry Potter series. I even have some comics here and there. Last are two rows of books situated in a little alcove at the head of my bed, which I sleep on upside down...

What? So I like to sleep on my bed in a weird way! Don't judge me!

Anyways...

My alarm clock is on, thus I see that it is some time passed midnight. My sleep addled mind is still too foggy to really tell the exact time and I honestly don't care. Normally I'd snuggle back into my covers and sleep all morning. 'Do I have work today?' I briefly wonder then shake my head. No, I'm off for the next few days, my brain responds.

The reason I'm not slipping back into the land of slumber is actually what started my decent into panic. Now given that I'm looking around my room I can't help but notice something that just feels off. That one thing sticks with me, and causes me no small amount of confusion for sure. Really it's more like a nagging feeling of something being abnormal.

It is such a small thing that I probably shouldn't even notice it. But I do...

That one thing is that everything looks a little bit bigger.

"Huh?" and just like that the 'everything is bigger' thing goes right out the window. "Wait, what?" The voice that I just heard came from me, but is not my own. I make to reach for my throat and, wouldn't you know it, I feel something flat and hard on my neck instead.

I immediately look to the source of this feeling and, there we are, a hoof. White in color attached to an equally white leg. I follow the leg to the whither of a horse, a very small horse. I blink and then feel my eye twitch as I follow the whither into a barrel and then the flank of a horse. On that flank is a purple moon surrounded by purple stars greets, while a tail of red hair with a single purple streak flicks behind me.

I took only one moment to glance beneath my legs and well...

At some point I started breathing hard, my eyes probably dilated and then it occurred to me that I'm about to freak out. At that point I looked around, grabbed a pillow, then added another to be safe, and screamed my lungs out. I was lucky my step-father is a heavy sleeper or he might've woken up from the shriek that followed.

I was so lucky I had the presence of mind to grab those pillows before I shrieked. Once I finished my little freak out, I fell back and breathed heavily. I internally tried to reason out what was going on, the thing I hoped for was that I'd finally gone completely mad. That was preferable to whatever insanity had become my reality.

'I can't be a pony, I can't be! That doesn't happen in real life! That seriously doesn't happen in real life! You're dreaming, yeah, you have to be dreaming! I'll prove it too, you can't read in a dream.' I told myself. With that I looked around and spotted an open box for one of my PSP games was on the floor and narrowed my eyes.

"Metal Gear Solid, Peace..." I stopped and felt my eye twitch. 'No no no no! You're dreaming dammit! You can't read that in a dream!' I mentally shouted at my brain, but it wasn't cooperating with me. Now with a feeling of dread I slowly wiggled to the side of my bed and looked down.

'I have to do something, I've got to wake up,' I really seem to have a problem coming to terms with all this huh? Though in my defense, just because I like MLP, the new one, doesn't mean I want to randomly become a pony. Especially not a girl pony. That is just wrong on so many levels I can't even begin to count 'em all.

That thought firmly in mind I slowly moved my legs down and slid to the floor. Quietly so as not to wake the folks, or my sister... Wait, was she even home right now? 'Is it Wednesday or the weekend?' I briefly wondered then shook my head. That could wait until after I managed to liberate myself from this crazy dream.

At least that's what I wanted to do.

Unfortunately for me, as I landed I came to a startling realization. I am no longer plantigrade, and my back legs are essentially reverse jointed. It is with that thought that I instantly noticed how odd my back legs felt as I stood up.

'How do I walk with these?' I wondered to myself. I pawed at my carpeted floor for a moment. Unease was starting to grow and fester in my mind. If I couldn't walk I could be found looking like this come morning.

'Eh, actually no one really ever comes in here,' I admit to myself. Thank the lord for small blessings I suppose. With the threat of being found gone I instead try to move my new limbs. 'Strange thing is that they don't feel new,' I admit to myself. That in and of itself feels rather strange to be honest.

Regardless I move my front leg forward. I then look to my back leg only to frown. 'Reverse jointed, how do I move it?' I wondered to myself and rubbed my chin with a hoof. That caused me to blink and stare at my front limb with a lowered jaw. 'A horse's forelimbs do not move like that in reality!' I told myself.

Well apparently reality just became a little bit stranger than normal.

'That doesn't even make any sense!'

Would you rather reality hinder you?

'Well no but,'

Then shut up and work with it!

'Fine!'

Aside from the fact I just had an argument with my brain, and lost, I returned to the problem at hoof. 'Oh dear lord I'm already slipping into that crazy pony lingo,' I bemoan mentally. Regardless I return to the problem at... no, not going there. I simply let out a snort through my nose and try to move forward.

Strangely enough my back legs move forward.

'Huh? It doesn't even feel like I'm doing anything different,' I can't help but note incredulously.

Maybe it's just that easy, it my just be pony instincts or muscle memory.

'Shut up brain, if I want your input I'll ask for it,' I tell my think muscle with a frown. With the voice in my head no silent I return to my walk through my room. I nose my door open, literally I might add, and slowly creep out into the hall. At the end of the hall is the bathroom, opposite it is the living room. We live in a trailer, small, but it's paid for so who cares.

Entering into the bathroom I slowly place my hooves onto the sink and pull myself into a standing position. I look at my face and feel my eyes slowly widen at what I see. My head is too round for a pony, with short muzzle and ears perched on the sides of my head. My messy / wavy mane is bright crimson red with a single purple streak.

My eyes are also purple, and I have a beauty mark beneath my right eye. Strangely that beauty mark was there even as a boy...

It is then I take time to note the fluted horn perched at the center of my brow. I lift a hoof to tap it and frown slightly to myself. I feel a strange sensation of pressure when I touch it. I then lean on the sink and place both my hooves on the sides of my horn. The pressure is still there but that is it, no other sensation whatsoever.

'I see, so my horn isn't sensitive but it does have a dulled sense. Maybe that is to warn a pony before they smash it into something. Or so that they don't walk into something and break it,' I reason internally. I then shake such thoughts from my head and bite my hoof. 'It has the same feeling of pressure, no pain,' I note and frown.

'So my horn is made of the same material as my hooves? That could explain why a Pegasi can walk on clouds in MLP, if it's made of the same thing as a unicorn's horn, they could theoretically channel magic. The same would also be true of an Earth-Pony, with their own brand of most likely plant and earth based magic,' I decide with a nod.

I then shake my head and focus on more important matters. 'Like waking up from this crazy ass dream,' I remark to myself. That in mind I look to the sink and find myself frowning. 'How do I even turn on the water with hooves?' I wonder to myself.

'Magic?' I consider and frown in thought. 'How would I even use magic?' I wonder to myself. In MLP the most they showed was that levitation took little to no effort. However I'm not sure how that works or what they do to activate their magic. Added to that I don't want to make any unnecessary light or I'll probably be discovered.

'No, I'll just stick to what I know for now,' I decide with a nod of my head. That decided I quickly come to the conclusion that I most likely cannot turn on the sinks faucet.

But ponies in MLP can turn things with hooves.

'I don't care, I'm feeling insane enough as is, without trying to turn things with my hooves!'

Then how do you purpose to wake yourself up?

'I'll just use the faucet in the bathtub, the faucet is low enough for me to turn the knobs with my mouth,'

Okay, then why didn't you go for the bathtub first?

'Because I wanted to get a look at myself!'

Why? I thought this was all just a crazy dream.

'Oh shut up!'

Temper temper.

Ignoring my smart-alack brain I move to the bathtub. Slipping inside I quickly grab a towel and pull it into the tub with me. That done I set it below the faucet and turn the cold knob. I allow the water to pour out onto the towel and turn it off as soon as it's soaked through. That done I lift it up and fling it onto my face.

The sudden cold strikes me like a bolt of lightning. I feel infinitely more aware now than I had before. I shake my head and fling the towel to the side. With a blink of my eyes I take a breath and look down...

I'm still a pony...

'No! This isn't happening, this can't be happening!'

I could've told you that wouldn't work.

'What! Then why didn't you!'

Because you're being difficult.

'Then how did you know it wouldn't work?'

We're too aware, we can't read in a dream, you were groggy before you started to notice things. I could go on but I think you've got the jist of it.

'B-But that means,'

It means get used to being a tiny horse, we're awake.

'No, this can't be happening! It's got to be a dream!'

Denial isn't just a river in Egypt.

'Shut up,' I weakly told my brain. That aside I took a breath and then slipped back out of the tub. The thoughts swimming through my head were mostly questions of what was happening. How did I become a pony? Why this specific pony? What was I going to do now? Those were just the few thoughts I could make sense of out of the chaos that was my mind.

I slunk back into my room and fell to the floor with a quiet thump. I brought my hooves over my head and tried to reason out what I could do from here. 'I can't stay here. Even if mom or Brad don't come into my room they'll notice if they don't see me all day. They'll find me and I sincerely doubt they'd believe I'm me,' I decided with a soft exhale.

Obviously.

'What part of shut up don't you understand?' With the irritating logical side to my brain silent, I set about my plan.

What plan?

'Quiet you!' Okay so maybe that logical part of my brain was actually the witty part of my brain. I'm not really sure which but I don't think it likes me either way. Shaking those thoughts from my mind I move around my room to collect a few things I'll need.

First is a messenger bag, it's olive drab in color and I got it from the Smithsonian when I was a kid. I thought of it as an adventurers bag or something. What? I liked Indiana Jones as a kid, still do actually. Cut me some slack here...

That found I opened it and started to root around through it. Pulling a utility belt from it, a useless one, I toss it to the side and make some room for the essentials. I also remove a few more things I'll have no use for and lay them to the side. All that remains is a leather journal I've never had to use, some tarot cards I got from Dishonored, and a flask.

My tablet is the first thing I grab and add to the bag, along with a stylus, keyboard, and the charger. With it I could use the WIFI to hopefully use the internet and figure out my next move. I'd have to get close to the house to use it of course, but that was the only downside. If nothing else I can maybe send out a call for help or something if things get too bad.

Second I grabbed my LC-2 belt, I bought it and a couple pouches for a Naked Snake cos-play a while back. Unfortunately it never really panned out since my sister forgot to tell me when the con at her school was going to happen. The olive drab belt is made for a human waist, but I'd say it'll still fit on me even like this.

From one of the pouches I nose a familiar olive drab bandanna and start to tie it around my head. As I do a familiar and increasingly annoying voice chooses to but in yet again.

The bandanna and equipment belt are pointless. If you're going to leave you should pack light and take only the bare essentials.

'The belt could be useful, it has a bunch of room in case I need to carry stuff. You never know when you'll need to carry a bunch of stuff when you're basically on the run.'

Point.

'Ha!'

The bandanna is still useless though.

'Shut up!' If nothing else that voice at least distracted me enough to tie the bandanna around my head. I ended up having to use my teeth to hold some of it and work my hooves around to get it to tighten. It was thus tied at the side of my head, but it worked. That done I looked around for anything else I could use.

'Maybe I should also take that harness I bought for the Solid Snake costume,' I considered.

What possible use could that be?

'It's a hoisting harness, use it with a rope and you tell me...'

Okay that could be useful... It also doesn't weigh too much. Wait, can you even wear that thing in a pony body?

'Uh... I can try,' I reply. That in mind I look to the harness in question and pull it out with my mouth. Looking it over for a moment I slip into it and then pull on some straps to tighten it. Once it's sufficiently snug I felt a slight smirk cross my lips.

'Yep, it fits.'

Fine, I suppose that works.

'Thanks!'

Just remember not to bring the whole of our room with us...

'Oh alright then smart guy, what should I take then?'

Bandages.

'Already in the IFAK pouches on my belt.'

Hmm... Antiseptic?

'Uh... I don't think we have any here.'

Mom was a nurse, how does she not have antiseptic?

'She does, but I'd have to sneak passed her to get it. She's a light sleeper and I really don't want to know what she'd do if she saw a unicorn sneaking around her room.'

Right, that makes sense. Never mind that then, how about a flashlight.

'In one of my the mag pouches.'

Color me impressed. A rope?

'I think we have one outside for the dogs, I'll grab it before I leave.'

Wait, dogs, how do we get by them without 'em making a racket?

'They're asleep right now,'

Good. Then how about a compass?

'Uh... I actually don't have one.'

Wonderful, so you have three compass pouches but you don't even have one compass to your name.

'What! It's not like I really anticipated a situation like this. Besides I know all the fields and back roads around here like the back of my hand... Err... Hoof.'

Point to you.

'Thank you.'

Still stupid though.

'If I still had fingers I'd so flip you the bird...'

Since I'm you, you'd just be flipping yourself off.

'Quiet!' I grumbled internally while feeling an urge to glare at myself. With a shake of my head I went about the task of getting my belt on, and then fastened it. I was never so thankful for it having one of those heavy duty buckles that you pressed to release. Snapping it closed around my waist was easier than a metal buckle would've been.

With a quick breath I sling my messenger bag on over my right whither and used the carabiner on my harness to hold it out of the way. Now that I feel like I'm properly prepared for my trip. I start to leave only to stop and quickly grab my cloak then stuff it into the large pack on the back of my belt.

We don't need that.

'No, but since I don't have a way to carry a blanket I'd like to have some way to stay warm. The cloak is small enough to stuff in my pack and also to wear, and I can use it as a blanket for when it gets too cold out there, thank you very much,' I deadpan.

Oh... well point to you then.

Smiling smugly at my victory, I trot out of my room. I then halt and look around for a moment. My step father sleeps on the couch most nights, my mom and he have had a lot of arguments about this too. Though that is neither here no nor now, as I slink to the door. I glance up to see one of our dogs, a miniature Schnauzer named Fifi.

Well technically she's named Lacey, we just call her Fifi for some reason.

Slowly I moved up and balanced myself on the door before grabbing the handle in my mouth. I grimaced at the taste before glancing at Fifi from the corner of my eye. She was still asleep and I was thankful for small miracles. Slowly turning the door handle I halted when one of her ears gave a sudden twitch.

I stilled for several moments before continuing and opening the door. Slipping outside I bit down into the door and pulled it. Once it was almost closed I used the railing on the porch to heft myself up and grab the handle to close it completely. 'Good, no barking dogs,' I thought and exhaled a relieved breath.

Once that was done I slowly crept down the old steps of our porch. Once my hooves hit the ground I trotted to the side of the porch and frowned. 'Wasn't the rope here?' I wondered to myself. 'Brad probably put it up,' I decided with a frown. Given my step fathers OCD nature I had an idea where it would be.

Trotting around to the side of the trailer I came to our shed and hoofed the doors open. I grimaced at the noise they made and glanced to the house. No sounds of dogs barking at me, so hopefully no one heard the creaky old door open. I took a quick look inside the cluttered shed and then spotted the rope laying nearby.

'Good,' I thought and grabbed the rope with my mouth. I grimaced and shivered from the taste. 'There seriously needs to be an easier way to do this,' I decide with a frown. With a shake of my head I toss that thought aside. I had no idea how to use magic and I probably wasn't going to learn anytime soon. I could handle the taste for now.

That in mind I slip the rope into the back on the back of my belt with the cloak. With my gear complete, or at least feeling as complete as I can make it. I look around for a moment and then trot away from the house. I also take a note not to stick too close to home, the chickens mom had out back would make a racket if I did.

'Not that they don't make a racket on a normal day,' I admit to myself. Still it was better to be safe than sorry. As such I took the long way around the pool out back and slipped into our neighbors yard. Once there I could see all the way to the graveyard a distance from our house and the forest beyond that.

My destination was neither, it was instead an abandoned barn. With my destination set I trotted that way at a brisk pace. I only hoped that I wouldn't be like this for long. Barring that, I hoped I could figure out what was going on with me. Mostly how I became a pony and how I could change back to normal.

'I swear if I find out that Discord had something to do with this I'm gonna buck him in the face!' I mentally declared as I entered the abandoned barn. Looking around I found it full of old burnt junk and creepy newspaper clippings.

'Just like the last time I saw it.'

Feeling somewhat safe I found a corner and pulled my cloak from my pack. Snuggling into it I lay my head against my hooves and close my eyes tiredly. 'Maybe I'll wake up and all this really will have been nothing but a dream,' I can't help but hope. Though to be honest, I'm almost certain that my hope is in vain...

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

02 Imagine

~~*Firefly the Dancing Daredevil*~~

After logging in my Facebook account, I took a picture with the laptop camera and uploaded it. I knew Pegasus wings could be flexible, and I had memories of using them somewhat like hands, but they were just memories, when I tried to use them for real to do that... I was pathetic. The laptop didn't have one of those expensive speech recognition programs. So I was forced to do it all using my mouth and a pen.

And here is what I posted for everypony to see:

'I can't believe this happened to me.

Why did this happen to me? Is this even really happening, or am I insane?

I feel so useless like this, yet part of me, won't agree.

After all I got a pair of wings, shouldn't I use them?

Flying is awesome, at least I think it will be. But, I am not in the new show, not even as a background pony.

Okay, I know, this is confusing, I get it. But I am not the kind of pony who likes to talk and talk about herself. Yes, I like to brag, but I prefer actions to do the bragging for me.

You see, I woke up as Firefly.

Yes, that Firefly, ya know the pony that started it all?

I mean, of course you know that, you saw my new picture, right?

If you believe is just a clever Photoshop, fine. I am not gonna dress like a French maid just to prove that what happened to me is real, thank you.

Maybe... maybe I was never a human to start with, maybe I just got the power to travel dimensions.

Okay, that sounded lame, yes I was a human before. How else I would know so many things about Earth? Oh and I also got a human Facebook account, duh.

Wanna know something scary?

I woke up like a pony in some junkyard then had to run away from a scary dog. I don't know how I didn't get hurt.

Yes, run! Is like, I have memories of flying but I forgot how.

I tried to go back home, but I didn't have the keys and I don't want my family to see me like this. You see, my dad does have a gun, and he believes in aliens and that. A pink talking Pegasus that tried to say that was his daughter would surely get shot, specially when I don't sound like myself anymore.

Yes, In case is not evident, I became a pinktastic girly pony, Yay! (That Yay was sarcastic by the way)

So this isn't even my computer, is from a nice woman who happens to be this massive My Little Pony fan, and it seems I am her favorite pony.

She might or not be crazy, but hey, free food and a place to stay, she can be all the crazy she wants as long as it doesn't hurt me!

So the big question is, what do I do now?

I mean, I do kind of look like the new show style, Friendship is Magic. That's cool, I mean the G1 look was not that ugly, but I greatly prefer looking this way.

Yes, I am aware I look like a Rainbow Dash recolor.

Did someone else wake up as a pony today? Without any belongings or Id? And in the middle of nowhere?

I would like to know.

-Firefly'

OK, I admit that... I could have written something better, but that basically summed up what I was thinking at the moment. After that I took some more pictures of myself and uploaded it to my Facebook account.

Then my stomach grumbled, I got off the chair and walked to the kitchen. That nice woman? She was like sixty. I didn't want to wake her up, so I opened the fridge, I grabbed an orange with my mouth then closed the fridge with a soft tap of my hoof.

Hmm, tasty, tasty orange, way better than an apple. Maybe if I had been born an earth pony my cutie mark would sure be about oranges. Even since I was a little filly...

'Slipping up, saying filly instead of girl, just great. Is still me inside? Let's see... mental checklist! (No, I don't care if that's an egghead thing, thank you)'

*) Do I still like human girls?

I tried to imagine my former human self hugging a sexy naked girl... it works and I like it.

*) Do I like mares?

I pictured myself doing some nasty things with a G4 style Surprise and my face felt warm, 'I am blushing or something?' of course I am.

*) Do I like stallions now?

I quickly go to Derpibooru and searched for male FiM ponies pics, then I was forced to close Firefox, stupid hormonal pony brain!

'Great, that makes me bisexual. Oh joy! Like being a closet lesbian wasn't bad enough.'

*) Is there a pony talking in my head?

I closed my eyes and thought 'Hello, Is anypony new there?'

I then heard a familiar little girl voice that said 'No Firefly, no pink Pegasus around here besides yourself.'

Who was that voice? She is Little Eris, female child version of Discord, because I have babysat small girls and the idea of one of those little monsters having Discord or Q like powers is amusing. I used her for role playing for years, and sometimes I even heard her in my head. Deep down, she was scared and depressed, because she knew that one day, when she grew up, she was gonna end being the Discord of the gender reversed FiM universe.

By the way, did I mention that I think I read a fanfic about this?

Actually, I went to fimfiction.net Oh boy, there are sure where lot of fics of humans waking up as ponies. Yay for originality, not that waking up as a changeling would have been better, those creatures are gross and icky, FiM ponies are only second bests to humans so is not THAT bad. Well save for the whole "Pony in a world of humans" stuff.

'Okay, back to the checklist.'

*) Any new abilities?

Okay, I couldn't fly, I also looked cute, cute enough to get free stuff. But I can't fly! I feel like I am crippled, well, more than I would if I was a Pegasus that could fly, because ya know, hands?'

*) Does my English still suck?

'Yes it does, next?'

*) Do you still have imagination?

'Yes, I do.' I imagined Little Eris hugging my new pony body until I am almost out of breath.

'Is not fair, you got to be a pony, why I don't get to be real?' Little Eris protests and pouts, even as a pony, I still think she is freaking adorable.

'Because if you did, you would spread adorable chaos all over the world?'

She winked at me 'True, but hey, it would still be fun!'

Then I tried that 'See if Firefly is inside me' thing again.

I closed my eyes and started to think 'Firefly, are you there?'

Nothing.

'Ah well, is not really that important. I am not an element bearer or one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. There isn't any news about Tirek, the Smooze or whatever. Eeyup, just me being stuck as a pony, nothing else going here.'

'Firefly! Did you just tried to invoke Murphy law? I am so proud of you!' Little Eris said excitedly and gave me a mental hug.

'I did? Oh crap.' I mentally pushed the young draconequus away

'Tomorrow, tomorrow I will be the brave and courageous Firefly...' I am curled up in a ball scared because I might just had summoned the end of the world as we know it. 'Hey, don't look at me like that Eris! I am not really Firefly, I jusg woke up like this! A dog almost ate me and I can't go back home. I have the RIGHT to freak out! Oh, and don't forget the fact I can't fly, this really sucks!'

Yes, I was freaking out, no problem, it wasn't a big deal!

'Don't get sad Eris, tomorrow I will go on an awesome adventure! Because I'm bucking Firefly, the coolest Pegasus ever, even if I am pink, and that's just how I roll.'

Yes, I wasn't making a lot of sense, I know.

'Okay, Is not like I wasn't brave when I was a human. But this... this is just... so insane.'

'Firefly, please, calm down... and you are afraid of heights, remember?' Little Eris tried to comfort me, oh how I wished her hugs could be real, but they were not.

'I... what do I do now?' I asked confused

'Try to find more like you, and then you can take over the world, with the magic of friendship!' Little Eris let out a childish maniacal laugh, why I still find her so cute when she acts evil? Maybe even back then I knew deep down she wasn't being serious.

'Eris, finding more like me sounds good. But I don't want to take over the world with ponies. Not only is the idea ridiculous, it would also never work. Humanity would use nuclear weapons before letting another species dominate Earth.'

And... I was talking with a figment of my imagination, as a pony, not one of my best moments.

"Maybe, just maybe I am not really a pony, just insane. Yes, that would be good, nice paddled walls, a straitjacket, three meals a day, all the drugs I could ever want."

'No, that won't work, they won't even let me use a pen because I could hurt myself, and if I was not allowed to write my stories I would go even more crazy.'

So, it was being insane or a pony, pony won for the moment.

'Okay, enough about being depressed.' I thought, if a silly pony like G1 Applejack could save the crystal ponies on her own, then I would be fine since I was 40% more awesome!

I then felt like kicking myself, I was insulting MY Applejack? Sure, she preferred apples but...

"Wait, wait, a minute there!" I said out loud, then covered in mouth, I didn't want to wake the nice woman, did I?

'A person doesn't break out of depression just like that! It's not possible!'

'Silly filly, you are not a person, you are a Pegasus!' Little Eris gave me thumbs up with her lion paw.

'Ah right, that makes everything make so much more sense, thank you Eris.' Well, at least my sarcasm was still intact.

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

My first thought as I woke up, 'I'm hungry'. Not profound, true, but it's honest, and I like honesty more than I like being profound. My second thought was, 'please don't let me still be a pony'. One quick glance down at my body shattered that hope to a million pieces.

Regardless I breathed a sigh and got up with a yawn. I took a moment to look around the barn and then shook off my cloak. Bundling it up I shoved it into the pack on my belt and trotted to the door. 'I need some food,' I decided. With a click of my tongue I considered my options.

Option one; I could graze on the nearby grass... I honestly don't like that idea. Ponies could do it true, but I have a feeling I won’t like the taste much.

Option two; I can go looking for some wild berries or something. That… was probably not a good idea. They could be poisonous as I’m not a survival expert or know the exact flora or fauna a pony was able to safely eat. Although honestly I’d probably have to look into what all I can or cannot eat at some point. I feel a bit lazy so I’ll put it off for the time being.

Option three; I could try to steal some food. Right now that really seems like the best option I've got. Not only do I know that someone up the street has horses, but it’d get me out of the barn and moving. Once I get moving maybe I’ll be more motivated to actually do something aside from lay around all day and mope. Then again it would mean stealing from my neighbors…

Stealing is wrong you know.

'Not when you're hungry.'

Since when?

'Since just now.'

So it's fine when you're hungry.

'Not just me, if someone is hungry and steal I say let 'em keep it.'

I think your morality is starting to go.

'Nope, just my sanity.'

What sanity?

'Exactly!' With my conversation with myself complete I remove my messenger bag and hide it in the barn. 'Not letting it get in my way,' I state with a nod of my head. While it allows me to carry my tablet and a few other things, I won't need them or my tablet where I'm going.

We might need the flask, especially if you try to get some water though.

'Oh right, thanks.'

No problem.

Ignoring how my brain was briefly helpful I opened my messenger bag and pulled my flask out. It was empty; I actually don't drink alcohol and simply got it for other reasons. All right so I’m kind of a packrat, you’ve probably figured that out by this point so I won’t bother trying to hide it. Anyways I’ve never used the flask before, but now it'll serve a useful purpose. So with my flask in my mouth I put it into the large pack at the back of my waist.

'That seems to be my most useful pouch,' I note to myself. Which was honestly true since it seemed to have enough space for anything I might need. My rope and cloak especially. Though speaking of which I wouldn’t need them with me on my short trip and they would just take up space. That in mind I pulled the rope out of my bag, rolled up my cloak, and tied the rope around it. I quickly hid them along with my messenger bag.

Now that they were all hidden, I trotted out of the barn and winced as the bright sunlight hit my eyes. 'I hate the sun,' I decided with a scowl. Though to be honest that probably wasn't fair to Celestia... if she really existed that is... aw screw it, Luna is best princess! 'After Twilight, because Twilight is awesome,' I mentally amended with a smirk. The lavender pony was my favorite of them all, mostly cause she reminded me of myself a long time ago.

However that is a story for another day.

Snickering at my somewhat immature thoughts I made certain no one was out and about. While I don't live in the city, my older cousin lives next door would often be doing yard work if he were home. Thankfully it looked like he wasn't home today. 'That's good, I don't think I could stand being spotted by him… or anyone else for that matter,' I admit to myself. With that thought in mind I let out a breath and set out to find something to eat.

There are some people up the street who own some horses.

'I know, that's where I'm going.'

Just making sure.

'Paranoid much?'

Someone has to be.

'Point to you.' My destination now set I take a breath and mosey on my way. I stick to the fields behind the houses on my road as it lessens the chance of being spotted. It also gives me a reason to just stop and look around my street. I live in the country, but from my new perspective it all seems so much more. The hills and mountains are no closer, yet somehow seem grander, the sound of the creek is no louder, but it feels more calming, the sky is no different, yet somehow seems so much clearer and bluer…

It all just seems so much better now than it ever did before.

'You know, I've never really just stopped to look at things before,' I admit to myself.

We did when we were kids, but we were too busy to appreciate it as we got older.

‘So it’s always looked like this?’

Pretty much, we live in a nice part of the country after all. We barely have any crime, the forest is in walking distance, and the mountains look gorgeous in fall.

‘Yeah…’

Ignoring my brain's comment I carry on. Soon I'm able to see some horses grazing in a fenced off field. One of them is brown with a white diamond on it's nose and a black mane, the other is a sort of spotted white / tan color with a blond mane. I honestly can’t tell if they are stallions or mares, but given my current state I don’t plan on checking either. 'Huh, that’s weird. They don't look any different,' I note with a frown.

What did you expect?

'I don't know, considering I've been turned into a pony I guess I was expecting something a little more impressive.'

I can see that.

I slowly approached the home and crouched low. My eyes scanned the area and I soon spotted the horses’ owner. It was a man I’d seen riding them up and down the street on occasion. He didn’t do so very often, but I always noticed when they came down the street. ‘Mostly because the dogs tend to bark when they come down the road,’ I admit to myself.

Of course they do, they’re dogs.

‘I still think they shouldn’t bark at everyone who walks down the street,’ I retort.

Just drop it; they can’t help their instincts.

‘Whatever.’

That minor argument done I slowly approach the home while keeping my eyes on the rider. He merely pats the horses, says something I can’t here and walks into a shed. He shifts around for a time and then comes out with feedbags. ‘Probably filled with oats,’ I internally deduce. Which was good since I liked oatmeal, and while not the same as raw oats it’d hopefully be better than grazing on grass.

That in mind I watched the man as he briefly patted one of the horses. I can’t tell if they’re mares or stallions, and I don’t want to check. ‘That would just be creepy,’ I note with a shiver. Shaking such thoughts from my head I continue to watch the rider as he heads back inside his house. Once I’m sure he’s gone I slowly sneak towards the place. Making sure not to alert the horses to my presence I approach the shed.

The shed is fairly small, clearly it was only supposed to hold tools and the like. I’m lucky that this time it’s just a simple push door and so nudge it open with my head. As I entered I noted a garbage can to the side and steered clear of it. I honestly don’t want to know what the rider typically throws in there. Aside from that I was mostly correct about the shed only having tools and the like, with a few additions here and there for the horses.

Among the things I find for the horses are two burlap bags. I slip inside the shed and open the bags to see that they are both filled with oats. Since I’m still hungry I decide to do a taste test and nudge my head into one and eat a mouthful of oats. ‘Strangely not bad,’ I note to myself.

Of course not, you’re a pony now, you have pony taste buds.

‘But I’m a magical talking pony, who knows what we eat,’ I remind flatly.

Point.

With my brain put back into it’s place, and my small snack devoured I pull my head out and look at the burlap sacks. One is almost empty and so I quickly grab it up in my mouth. Ignoring the taste I glance outside and internally curse as the rider comes out of his house. I simply hang back as he proceeds to look at the horses’ hooves and clean them with a knife from his pocket.

Well I’d say it’d be difficult for us to do that ourselves. At least without hands or a way to hold the knife steady.

‘I doubt my hooves are in desperate need of being cleaned right now,’ I remind.

True for now, but at some point we’ll need to address that situation.

‘If that time comes I’ll try to learn how to make shit levitate or something.’

I somehow doubt that’d be as easy as you’re implying.

‘Galaxy could do it in the gen-one show and every pony in gen-four does it,’ I reply.

Ah yes, but I’d say the gen-four ponies have learned how since early childhood.

‘Point.’

Not only that but they at least have a connection to their magic. We, on the other hand, have never had any such connection to magic before. We are, or rather we were, a human, a distinctly non-magical race I might add, that has somehow been transplanted into the body of a magical talking pony. We also have no idea how to even channel magic, which I’d assume is a necessary part of levitation. Furthermore we’re not the sharpest tool in the shed…

‘Hey!’

Oh shut up you know it’s true! Higher base IQ than others or not, we’re often missing simple things because we’re easily distracted. As such it will take a significant effort for us to learn how to levitate anything. Well… that or a teacher, but I doubt a teacher will be available to us anytime soon. Oh and by the by, while we’ve been having this lovely little conversation you’ve forgotten about that human… I believe he’s heading right for this shed now.

I blinked and quickly glanced outside to see my brain was right. ‘Oh pony feathers,’ I thought with wide eyes.

You can curse later, find a hiding spot now!

For once I needed no further coaxing from my smart-alick brain. Instead I looked all around before finding the trashcan and grimacing. Acting quickly I slipped inside and closed the lid over myself. ‘I am so lucky he emptied this thing recently,’ I decided with a grimace. The smell was bad enough; I don’t want to know what kind of foulness is usually in this thing. Unfortunately I found out as something was dropped on my head not a few second after.

‘Oh dear sweet Luna this is sooooo gross!’ I cried internally.

Get over it! Listen for when that guy leaves!

‘Fine,’ I muttered with a pout.

Ignoring the feeling of disgust that my body was covered in some form of slimy foulness I listened for the rider. I head confused muttering, then the sound of footsteps as he left. As the steps softened I peered out of the trashcan and watched him enter his house once more.

Don’t just sit there you idiot move!

‘Fine!’ I grumble and climb out of the trashcan. ‘Note to self, find a place to take a bath,’ I decide with a firm nod. Quickly slipping out of the shed I stealthily made my way out of the rider’s yard. Once I was far enough away I shuddered and then shook my entire body. A wave of foulness was sent from my person and covering anything around me. I wasn’t perfectly clean yet, but it was certainly a step up from being covered in muck.

‘Water, I need a hose or something,’ I decide. I’m not hopping into my stepfather’s pool, that’s just asking for trouble, as I don’t know how to swim as a pony. That in mind I start looking around the houses for a hose I can use. ‘It needs to be a fair distance from their homes, and,’ I start before blinking as a drop of water hits my nose. I blink and then feel my face go into a flat expression as a downpour starts seconds later.

‘Yeah, that’s just my luck,’ I grumble to myself. Though I have to admit it is certainly refreshing, I wasn’t exactly happy to be soaked. ‘I better get back to the barn, these oats probably won’t be too good if they’re soaked,’ I decide. That in mind I gallop back to my hiding place. I stumble and fall a time or two. However soon I’m able to competently move down the street without worry of tripping on my own hooves.

Once I finally reached the barn I quickly went inside and stashed the oats away. That done and took my flask from my back pouch and frowned down at the screw on cap. ‘Now how do I manage to get you open without fingers,’ I wonder to myself.

You could use your mouth.

‘How would that work?’

Don’t you remember that Brad used to have a horse that could undo bolt locks with its mouth.

‘Wait… oh right, he mentioned it undid its stall door and that of the other horses once,’ I recall.

Yeah so use your mouth to open the stupid cap before the rain stops!

‘Fine!’ I declare and hold the flask up. Frowning as I wrap my lips around the lid I twitch and try to turn it around. It’s not screwed on too tightly, thankfully, but it’s still difficult to get loose. ‘Learning to levitate is a priority,’ I decide as I continue to fuss with it.

When wasn’t it?

‘Shut up!’

Ignoring my brain I finally manage to unscrew the cap of the flask. With it now open I quickly use it to catch some of the rain. It wasn’t much but I was only slightly thirsty at the moment. With that in mind I went about the task of screwing the top of the flask shut. Once it was I put it off to the side and let out a huff. I also couldn’t help but notice I was annoyingly wet and so shook the water off of my body…

‘I can’t believe how much I’m acting like a dog,’ I note sourly.

Dogs aren’t so bad you know.

‘I know but it feels degrading,’ I respond.

Only if you choose to look at it so negatively.

Ignoring my brain, again and I seem to be doing so quite often now, I trot over to my rolled up cloak and lay my head on it. I don’t feel particularly hungry right now, and I certainly don’t feel like trotting around in the rain. Tartarus I don’t even feel like messing with my Tablet! ‘Oh great, more pony lingo,’ I note with a groan. ‘Why the buck did I have to turn into a pony of all things? I mean aren’t there other humans or bronies who would actually want this to happen?’ I note with a sigh.

We don’t always get to choose our lot in life, merely what we do with the lot we’re given.

‘Did you get that out of a fortune cookie?’

No, we can be pretty wise when we want to be.

‘Not to mention cryptic.’

We should really be more productive than this you know.

‘Meh, I’m not doing anything.’

You are so immature sometimes.

‘No point to growing up if you can’t be childish sometimes.’

You got that from Doctor Who, yet it’s oddly wise.

‘Hey, the Doctor is wise and I don’t care what anyone says, and the fourth was awesome.’

Yet our first was the Tenth.

‘Whatever,’ I internally grumble.

Someone is in a foul mood.

‘Considering my day thus far I’m not surprised.’

True, but you could at least try and look at the positives.

‘You go ahead and do that, I feel like sleeping.’

That seems strange, we’ve been asleep all night and yet you’re still tired…

‘Yeah so what?’

Moondancer was a pony known for being lazy…

‘Are you even listening to me?’

But what if she wasn’t being lazy. Perhaps Moondancer was simply a nocturnal pony rather than diurnal. If that’s the case then the reason you’re still sleepy is because your not supposed to be awake right now.

‘Oi, of course you’re not listening to me. Luna forbid someone actually listen to me for once in my life.’

If that’s the case then we should try and get our sleep schedule back on track. If for no other reason then so we don’t have to worry so much. We might also want to look for a new place to stay during the day. While this shed is somewhat abandoned I highly doubt no one uses it. I’d hate to wake up and be in a circus or something, or worse, on a dissection table.

‘Fine I’ll look for someplace new to stay, just let me get some sleep here!’ I plead with my inner voice.

Err, yes, of course.

‘Thank you.’ With that out of the way I yawned and allowed myself to fall to sleep once more. Hopefully things would be better at night, because nothing worked out for me in the day.

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

03 Kind

~~*Posey the Gentle Gardener*~~

Dear Diary…

(:}: No! Don’t write that, it’s not a diary!

<3: But it looks like a Diary…

(:}: It’s called a journal, Twerp.

<3: Isn’t that just another word for Diary?

(:}: … Shut up…

The past few days have really not gone my way. Among other irritants I’m forced to rely on the twe, (bestest little sister ever!) to write this entry for me! I woke up on a normal enough day, I figured it’d just be a write off as usual. But no, I ended up waking to the strangest situation I could ever imagine myself in.

I woke up as a pony. Yes, I woke up as a tiny, scrawny, weak little…

<3: Hey, don’t be so mean to yourself! I think you’re adorable.

(:}: I’m not supposed to be adorable twerp!

<3: But you’re oh so soft and cuddly now. You used to be mean and prickly like a cactus.

(:}: I liked myself the way I was twerp… wait, are you writing all this down as well?

<3: Yeppers!

(:}: Twerp quite wasting paper like that!

<3: Why? This is so much fun and you’re just so cute like this!

(:}: I’m not cute…

<3: Even your pout is cute!<3

(:}: Please tell me you did not just add a heart to that sentence…

<3: Of course I did, you’re adorable!

(:}: … I hate you so much…

<3: Aw you don’t mean that.

(:}: What are those symbols supposed to be?

<3: Hearts for me and skulls for you miss grumpy.

(:}: I… actually like that idea… ANYWAYS!

After I woke up as a pony, I did what any rationally thinking human would do.

<3: She screamed like a little filly! We were lucky mommy and daddy were at work.

(:}: I did not scream… and certainly not like a filly. What is a filly anyways?

<3: Little pony.

(:}: Ponies don’t scream twerp they whinny.

<3: Yeah, but you still screamed.

(:}: (Mumbles to herself.)

<3: So cute!<3

(:}: Stop with the hearts already!

<3: But it makes it easier to see which are my sentences and which are yours.

(:}: I meant the extra hearts twerp!

After that debacle the twerp found me and proceeded to do what little sisters do best in these situations and made my day worse.

<3: I just gave you hug, how did that make your day worse?

(:}: Because it confirmed that I was awake since you nearly strangled me…

<3: Huh?

(:}: Never mind twerp, just keep writing.

<3: Kay!

Now then, after that I tried to figure out what happened to me. I’m fairly certain I’ve been hexed like those shaggy dog movies or that one show where the kid was turned into a dog and had to do 101 good deeds or something. Point is I couldn’t think of any reality changing beings telling me to do good deeds, or kicking a pony recently. Unless you count the twerps random pony dolls…

<3: Hey they are not random! I have Fluttershy and Applejack and Twilight and Rainbow Dash and…

(:}: I don’t care Twerp!

<3: But they aren’t random.

(:}: I seriously don’t care, now please let me finish… wait… did I just say please? Ugh it’s happening again.

<3: Oh you mean the impulse to be nice? I love it when you get those impulses!

(:}: Now look here twerp, we are finishing this entry if it kills one of us, preferably you, so stop messing around already! If… if you don’t mind.

Ugh! I did it again!

<3: It’s funny when you do that, you sound just like Fluttershy!

(:}: Why out of all those little monstrosities did I have to end up like her?

<3: Maybe someone thinks you should be nicer to your sister and give her a pony ride!

(:}: Twerp you’re seriously pushing it…

Now after I calmed down, I thanked whatever deity was watching that it wasn’t a school day. Being a pony is bad enough, but there is no way I’d go out in public like this!

<3: Why not? You’re adorable!

(:}: Maybe because pink and yellow aren’t natural hair and or fur colors…

<3: Oooohhhh… yeah I can see that would be weird.

So since that was the case I decided I would do the only natural thing. Hide myself away in the mountain of dollies my sister keeps in her closet.

<3: It isn’t a mountain, I just don’t sort ‘em out too often.

(:}: Twerp, mom and dad didn’t even notice me among mount dolly.

<3: Well yeah, they just thought you were an extra adorable pony doll.

(:}: Ugh… why me?

Now living in my sisters closest hasn’t been the easiest thing to do. I’ve actually had to rely on my sister to do even the most mundane of things for me. From helping me bathe to feeding me to using the bathroom and even writing this entry.

<3: Say, why didn’t we just type this on a computer?

(:}: Because I don’t trust you on my computer twerp…

<3: I meant mine. And we could put you on Facebook or let you do one of those vlog thingies.

(:}: What part of not let anyone see me like this didn’t you comprehend?

<3: Oh… okay!

Now prior to becoming one I was of the mind that ponies were stupid. Still am if I’m perfectly honest. I am not a fan of My Little Pony of any generation and didn’t want to turn into one of them. My sister probably wished really really hard to get this to happen and it’s currently my best theory on what’s happened to me.

<3: Hey! I didn’t wish for you to be a pony!

(:}: I said it was my best theory, not that it was true.

<3: Why would I wish for you to be a pony when I could be a pony!

(:}: Seriously… that’s what you’re annoyed about? If you haven’t noticed twerp it’s not easy being a pony!

<3: Well yeah, but that’s probably because you’re an Earth Pony. Being a Unicorn would be a lot easier with all the magic and stuff.

(:}: My sister wants to turn into a magical talking unicorn… somehow I’m not surprised.

Aside from that avoiding my parents has been… actually it’s been a cakewalk. Before the transformation I would constantly hang out with my friends. Me not being home is such a normal occurrence that they still haven’t noticed anything. All I’ve had to do is get the twerp to tell ‘em I’m at a friends place and they don’t even bat an eye.

<3: Umm, isn’t that kind of bad? What if you were really missing or something?

(:}: …

<3: Sis… are you crying?

(:}: No… it’s this stupid pony body… it makes me all emotional for some reason…

<3: Oh… wait, but that means you are crying.

(:}: Just skip it!

So for the passed few days I’ve literally been hidden away in my sisters room. I don’t know what happened to me or how I’m going to fix this. I’m not even sure what my name is since my sister never saw this pony in her stupid show.

<3: Nope, but I found her on the internet!

(:}: Really? Why didn’t you tell me that before?

<3: Because you didn’t ask silly.

(:}: Twerp you are seriously asking for a buck to the face…

<3: Umm, wouldn’t that really really hurt?

(:}: What do you think?

<3: Heh… right, well your name is Posey! You’re basically the prototype Fluttershy from Generation 1! Isn’t that amazing?

(:}: That certainly explains the resemblance…

So I’m named Posey, wonderful, a flowery name for a flowery pony. Why couldn’t I end up as a pony with some freaking grit? It’s bad enough I’m a pony but c’mon! I could’ve at least been one of those bat ponies or a vampire pony or…

<3: Ooh! Fluttershy once turned into a vampire pony!

(:}: Wait… she did? When did that little pushover become something cool? No, did she sparkle? Please tell me she wasn’t one of those sparkling monstrosities.

<3: Why would she sparkle? Twilight is named Sparkle but I don’t see a connection. Fluttershy turned into a vampony with wings that drained apples and such… didn’t talk much and was kind of scary. Though thankfully Twilight managed to fix her. It would’ve been weird to have a scary Fluttershy for more than one episode.

(:}: Huh, so apparently the weak one was cool for at least one episode. Whatever, still prefer to be something better than the yellow ball of fluff.

<3: Aww, but you’re so cute!

Anyways, as it seems I’m going to be like this for a while I’ll make sure to keep you up to date on how my life is going. Hopefully I’ll figure out a way to fix this and get back to being me. Until then I guess I’ll just try to make do with the Twerp.

<3: What’s that supposed to mean?

(:}: Thank you for helping me, you are very kind... ARG! I did it again!

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

When next I awoke I found that it was nighttime. I also noticed I felt far more alert than I had earlier. ‘That Nocturnal thing is looking more and more likely,’ I admit to myself. I also frown and consider what I should do next. I also grab a bite to eat from my bag of oats as I consider what I’ll be doing next.

Maybe start looking for a new place since this one is dangerous.

‘But it’s close to my home, if I want to use the internet I’ll have to get close to there,’ I remind.

True, but you have to admit it’d be easier to sleep if we know no one will find us.

‘Yeah…’

That is, unless you want to end up in a circus, or a dissection table, or some other cliché.

‘Ha ha, you are so funny I forgot to laugh,’ I deadpanned.

Thank you, I try.

‘Ugh, fine! But first I’m going to go and use the Internet.’

Why?

‘I’m going to send a message to my sister that says I was called out of town.’

You have no friends to call you out of town.

‘Err, right… I’ll say I was called by work for a trip.’

At your position no one would buy that.

‘Shut up! Okay… hmm… this could be harder than I thought. Oh! I’ll just tell her I’m going to a convention for a few days. She does that all the time and it’s not like she can confirm or deny it. That and the fact I had a cosplay that’ll be mostly missing…’ I leave hanging.

Hmm, still holes in your plan but it’s acceptable for the moment.

With that decided and a smirk on my face I quickly rise up and grab my messenger bag and the rope wrapped cloak. I place my cloak into my butt-pack and throw the messenger back on. Making sure the bag is secured I pulled my flashlight from my belt and clicked it on. Once I did I looked around the barn for a moment to check how bright it was.

‘More than good enough for me to find my way back home,’ I decided with a nod. I then bit the body of the flashlight and held it between my teeth. That done I left the old barn and trotted out into the night. ‘Ahh, it’s such a peaceful night,’ I can’t help but note with a slim smile. The stars are oddly bright and the sky is clear. If it were any other night this would be perfect to simply look at the heavens.

Unfortunately I have things I need to do and can’t afford to waste my time.

That in mind I continue on my journey. I use my flashlight to keep an eye on the path past the graveyard as I do so. Not that I don’t know the path fairly well, but at night things could look different than they do in the morning. As I do I notice something that gives me cause to pause. The fences around the nearby fields are usually covered in vines. But that isn’t what causes me to stop and approach.

On the vines are masses of blue plants. The plants seem odd for the fact they are totally blue, not only the petals but the entire plant. The flowers also have odd little things coming off of them. As I look at the flowers I can’t help but think they look familiar. A memory prickles at my mind for a moment before it finally settles. It is as my muzzle comes dangerously close to them that I realize why they seem so familiar. My eyes bolt open and I stumble back and away from the flowers.

‘Poison Joke! What the buck is that doing here?’ I internally demand.

Are… are you sure that’s Poison Joke?

‘Yes! I’d recognize those bucking flowers anywhere! No other flower is totally blue like that! Especially not around here! Buck, we don’t even have wild blue flowers around here that are that big!’

Oh that is so not good.

‘Well sure it’s not good, but it’s not totally bad. I could just walk around it you know,’ I remind. I also try to calm my rapidly beating heart. While I hadn’t touched the blue plant, I was absolutely terrified of finding out what it might do to me if I did. The jokes on the ponies in the show weren’t especially mean, but there was no telling what would happen if I did.

No! Think for a moment. First we change into an adorable magical talking female unicorn.

‘Thanks for reminding me of that, I had totally forgotten,’ I quip sarcastically.

Focus! First we become a unicorn, now we have Poison Joke popping up. What does that mean?

‘Err, that we should really avoid large batches of blue flowers,’ I suggested.

No! It means that whatever changed us isn’t done yet!

‘Wait, what?’

Ugh… you really need to get on page. Think about it, first we turn into a pony, now we have plants from Equestria showing up.

‘Just Poison Joke,’ I remind worriedly.

For now, but how long until something else from Equestria shows up, and if plants are popping up then how long until more creatures from Equestria start showing up! Dear sweet Luna the pandemonium that could occur from this! For all we know our entire world might eventually change into a new version of Equestria!

‘Um… aren’t you being just a bit over-dramatic, it’s just a plant.’

Yes, sorry, but now I’m getting worried. This entire situation has been nothing but irritating.

‘Tell me about it,’ I reply.

Further we now have to worry about further changes popping up and surprising us. In any case you should hurry and send that message to Lyssa, it’s best if she not worry about us for the time being.

‘Yeah, I’ll do that,’ I agree and turn my light back to the path. I shine it forward and look around for more Poison Joke. I keep my eyes peeled for the damnable plant so that I don’t end up with a nasty joke on me. Poison Oak is bad, Poison Ivy too, but Poison Joke is worse than both of them. I am not in the mood for my physiology to be altered again. Especially not without having some kind of cure readily available.

‘I wonder what the cure is actually made of in Equestria?’

If we knew that we wouldn’t be so worried about walking into that stuff.

‘I know, at this point I’m just trying to pass the time with idle chatter.’

Seems pointless, especially since you’re talking to yourself.

‘Meh, I’ve done worse,’ I replied casually. It was the honest truth. I had, over my years of life, had moments where I ended up talking to myself. For the most part it happened when I had a problem that I needed to solve. The number of times this had happened over the years was nothing short of impressive. Regardless I moved cautiously towards my, now former, home.

I didn’t dare go inside, getting out the first time was hard enough. However, slipping close to the trailer I pulled my tablet and stylus from my pack. I looked around then turned the tablet on with my hoof. Thankfully it turns on by pressing down on a single button. My hoof was easily able to do that much. Once it turned on I had to wait for it to boot up.

So you know what you’ll tell her, right?

‘Eeyep, something simple,’ I replied.

Will she notice it? She’s on Facebook and Skype so much I doubt she really checks her…

‘She checks her email almost as much as she checks every thing else, and if push comes to shove I can use Steam to send a message her,’ I replied.

I suppose that works, I’m just worried.

‘I know the feeling; I’ve been worried since this whole situation began. But we have to do what we can to make the best of this,’ I stated.

Maybe we should also be looking for what caused this change…

‘Yeah, how? I don’t know the first thing about magical transformations,’ I remind with a frown.

True.

‘Now be quiet, I have work to do,’ I state as my tablet comes on. I quickly use my stylus to activate chrome on my tablet. Once I do I go to my email address and then start looking for my sister in my contacts list. It is a moment later that I groan and bring my hoof to my face. ‘First of all, ow… second, I can’t believe I never added her,’ I think to myself.

In our defense we never saw a reason since we see her all the time.

‘True,’ I admit. With that out of the way I let out a sigh and pull up my old messages. I eventually find an email from my sister, and then use the address from that. I write out a simple enough message for her that went like this…

To: -------@-------

Hey Aly, sorry I haven’t called or anything. Someone from work told me about this convention out of town and convinced me to go with them. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here, anywhere from a few days to a week it looks like. Work shouldn’t call for me, but if they do please tell them I’m out of town at the moment. In any case, have fun at work, talk to you later.

From: --------@---------

Seems normal enough.

‘Eeyep,’ I reply and send the message.

Now what about work?

‘I’ll send a message to my boss,’ I reply with a frown. Finding his email address would be fairly difficult, so instead I start looking for my supervisor and human-resources rep.

It’s a shame we can’t just call them.

‘You want to explain the three foot tall talking unicorn pony to them,’ I retort.

Err I think you're four feet tall, but no… I meant call them and pretend we’re our sister or mother and say that there was a recent family emergency. Maybe a dead aunt, uncle, or cousin who lived out of town and we need to go to his or her funeral. If we played our cards right we’d have at least a week before anyone even noticed we were gone.

‘That’s… actually not a bad idea,’ I admit. ‘The only problem is that I don’t have a bucking phone,’ I remind pointedly. My brain grunts in affirmation and we both consider our current options. The options aren’t too numerous to be honest, aside from looking up the email addresses for some of my bosses, possibly attempting to call work and pretend I’m my sister and there was a family emergency… not surprisingly the later was looking to be our best option.

We’d also have the problem of what happens after that time is up and they wonder where we actually were…

‘Nothing particularly good given my voice is radically different from Aly’s. Once work calls mom and she would end up worried, maybe suspicious of fowl play. Once they alert the police they will probably start sending out search parties,’ I noted to myself with a frown.

Yes, things would become much more difficult.

‘But overall it’s our best bet to remain hidden,’ I reply.

Yes it is… so, break into someone’s house to use their phone?

‘Best Idea I’ve heard,’ I respond.

So which home should we break into?

‘Duh, this one…’ I replied flatly.

I thought you didn’t want to do that.

‘I don’t, but it’d be the best possible way for us to get a message to work without suspicion. We could also grab a couple of things that would help us from my room. Not to mention if more of my stuff is gone it’ll look like I actually planned on leaving rather than just up and left on a whim,’ I add as more of an afterthought.

Like?

‘Something to read so I’m not ungodly bored all night, batteries for my flashlight, my knee and elbow-pads since they are adjustable, my headphones, maybe some…’ I start to list only for my brain to interrupt me.

Alright alright I get it! Seems pointless but I guess there are worse ideas… but how do we get in, collect those things, get to the phone by seven in the morning, then leave shortly after without being caught?

‘I’ll hide out in my room, hopefully no one will come in,’ I reply.

We should grab a suitcase then.

‘I have a duffle bag in my closet we can use.’

Empty?

‘No, but hopefully I can empty it easy enough.’

Certainly not a perfect plan, but it’s better than anything I can think of.

‘We’re the same person…’

I know it’s the best we can come up with dingus.

‘Yeah, point, now be quiet and let me work,’ with that I turn off my tablet. Once that is done I make my way to the front of the trailer. The old tree and sheds along the way creak and groan as I pass due to the wind. If it were possible for my hoof steps to be heard, those saw to it that they weren’t. I cautiously creep towards the front porch and internally groan as I approach the wooden steps. ‘This is so not going to be fun,’ I decided.

I slowly approached the first stair, and then slowly placed my forward hooves onto it. Once my weight was on them I slowly slid my back hooves onto the step. I then continued with the next step, and the next step, and the next step, until I was finally on the porch. The carpet there made my hoof steps muffled and allowed me to approach the door. Slowly approaching I then opened it just as carefully as I did when I first left.

Soon I had it open a crack and looked inside. My stepfather was fast asleep, his mouth wide open and his snores loud and jarring. Shoving down a bit of disgust I nosed open the door and slowly padded my way inside. I didn’t see any of the dogs so I assumed that they were all either asleep, or they had gone to hide under one of the beds in the house. I sincerely hoped for the later for obvious reasons.

Regardless I padded my way to my old room and smirked despite myself. It was literally just the way I had left it when I left a few days ago. Trotting inside I approached my closet and started to shift a few things out of my way. First I collected my knee and elbow pads and placed them on my bed. Then I tossed my hat and faux-leather waistcoat onto the bed as well. Next I moved anything that might get in the way as I opened the door to my closet.

‘There she is,’ I note as I bite into the side of my duffle bag. I also have to be careful that nothing on top of it falls. Soon I pull the blue duffle free and start to pull out clothes from it, which I then toss into my closet haphazardly. I’m soon able to fully empty the duffle and start looking for anything else I want to bring. I collect my headphones, and several books and they are the first things I put into the bag. Once they have filled it I look around and let out a ‘hum’ in thought.

Unfortunately nothing comes to mind, so instead I move my duffle in front of the closet and then hop up onto the bed. It’s rather comfortable, more so that I can recall, and I wait for time to move so I can call work then leave.

This is going to take forever.

‘Yeah, I’m not looking forward to it either,’ I reply. I then pull out my Tablet’s charger and plug it up while turning it on. Slipping my headphones on I start to play around with a few apps, delete others, and download ones that seem more fun. I also check to see what books I have on it and I’m delightfully reminded of how much of the MLP comics I have available to me.

It’s unlikely any of those have anything of use to us.

‘Yeah well unless you have a better idea for how to pass the time then shut up!’

You know you’re being rather grumpy.

‘Shush!’ I internally reply as I start to play around on my tablet. Finding games I can actually play takes a bit of work. Thankfully one-finger games aren’t that hard to find. Though the ones I found were unfortunately sub-par for the most part. I did find a few interesting ones to pass the time, but overall I was just waiting for the right time to call work. As I do I also recall that I have a few books in a cubby at the head of my bed.

‘Let’s see now,’ I mumble to myself. I look at the titles for a moment to find any I haven’t read yet. I find a few of those, as well as others I want to finish and pull them out of the cubby. ‘Junk, junk, junk, ooh that’s good,’ I note to myself. I then slip off of the bed and then put the books into my duffel bag. Once they are secure I hop back onto my bed and return to playing games on my tablet until I can finally call work.

We better hope we don’t fall asleep because of this.

‘I won’t,’ I reply as I return to playing some games on my tablet. King of Dragon Pass, Angry Birds, and a few others were excellent time wasters. It is an undetermined amount of time later that I finally glance up. ‘Finally!’ I think with a grin and grab the phone. Quickly dialing the number for work with my stylus I impatiently wait for someone to pick up. ‘C’mon, c’mon hurry up over there,’ I grumble to myself irritably. ‘Aha!’ I think and then clear my throat.

“Yes hello, I’m calling to report a family emergency for my older brother…” I offered my old name, and of course a few apologize for being such short notice. “Thank you for being so understanding. My family was quite shocked when our uncle passed. To be honest we thought he’d live longer than the rest of us,” I replied with a sullen tone. ‘Heh, who needs acting lessons,’ I thought with a smirk.

“Yes, I’m sorry he couldn’t call you himself, but he had to take our mother ahead of my father and I. Of course, yes I’ll give him your condolences. Hmmm… I’d say we’d all be gone for at least a week. Yes, I’ll make sure he calls you when we get back, thank you again, bye,” I replied and hung up the phone. I then did a fist, err, hoof-pump and slid off of my bed.

I honestly cannot believe that that actually worked.

‘Well it’s not like anyone at work really knows my family that well, even my sister,’ I replied.

True, but did you have to give a time-limit?

‘If I didn’t it’d be suspicious. You also have to admit that we should be fine and in a new place by then,’ I remind my brain plainly.

Point. But what if someone tries to visit us?

‘No one at work really knows where I live,’ I replied.

Man, this is almost too perfect…

‘Don’t jinx us!’ I snap. With that done I start packing my duffle up. Once it’s filled I slip it around so it rests on my back, the strap over my chest. Once it’s secured I quietly stalk out of my room and look around. ‘Lyssie is up,’ I note with a frown. My sister very rarely gets up this early, I think the only reason she does is for work or to go to a con. Thankfully my stepfather never does so despite his place in the living room I’m fine. As for my mother, well she is typically in her room on the other side of the house.

She’s in the shower; hopefully we’ll have time to escape while she gets ready for work.

‘Don’t need to tell me twice,’ I reply. I close my door and slowly move down the hall towards the front door. I look around and frown when I notice the dogs are nowhere to be seen. ‘Strange, they should be up by now,’ I note to myself.

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth!

‘Ugh, we need new metaphors,’ I decided with a frown. Shaking that from my head I continue to the door. Once there I rise up and quietly place my hooves forward to stand on my hind-legs. Glancing back to my stepfather, I let out a breath seeing that he’s still fast asleep. However the sound of water has turned off. Eye’s wide I quickly open the door with my mouth, resisting the urge to grimace I slip out of the trailer as my sister opens the bathroom door.

Letting out a breath of relief I then yawn for a moment then trot down the steps. Glancing back to the trailer door every now and again I then scurry to the backyard. The sun is starting to come up, and I know I have time before mom comes to get her chickens. Using that to my advantage I slip around the back, then gallop back to the barn while staying away from the Bucking Blue Plants. Once there I lay down and let out a deep breath of air while my eyes close.

We still need to find a new place…

‘Tonight, I’m too tired to do anything else right now,’ I tell my brain and allow myself to fall into the bliss of slumber once more.

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

04 Creature

~~*Clumsy but well-meaning Applejack*~~

The sun shined brightly that day. The park teemed with all manner of life. Yet one in particular was not so simply. Every other creature within that park belonged there. Yet one did not. It was an orange colored creature with a blond mane. It lay on its side passed out. It groaned and shifted subtly. Soon, green eyes opened and it blearily tried to make sense of where it was.

Thoughts of the night before came back. Memories of a simple midnight jog. Then there was only blackness. Had something happened? Why was it here? What had it done the night before? These and a great many other questions marched onward in its mind before they came to a sudden screeching halt at the sight of her forelegs. It saw bright orange fur and hooves a slightly darker color.

It did what it felt was a perfectly reasonable response…

It screamed.

The scream alerted a nearby man of trouble. He was a simple man, but he was also a good man. The scream drew him for he thought someone was in trouble. While he was a good man his eyes were not the best so when he saw it he thought he saw a large dog. He called after it and quickly ran its way. Had the animal attacked someone? No. He decided that was unlikely, as he could see no one nearby.

The creature did not know this. It knew only that something was wrong with it. It knew that it did not belong. It knew that it could not be captured. So it tried to run. However it tripped at first. It’s hooves unsteady and legs unwieldy. It soon tripped and fell down into a small stream from a hill. The man followed unsure of what to think. It saw a dark shape lunge away and followed. He walked across a bridge slowly to try and find the dog.

He did not know that the creature was under that very bridge.

It sat there and panted. It tried to think, to reason with itself. It then caught sight of itself in the water. Orange fur, green eyes, a messy blond mane, blue bow in its tail, and several apple marks on its flanks. It saw a… pony? Yes! It was a pony! It was one from that crazy pony show. It grimaced and lifted a hind leg then looked down. It raised its head with a blush. A female pony no less. Well, that certainly made things awkward for her…

He… well it would be a she now, right? She... sat and tried to recall what had happened the night before. She tried to think of anything that could’ve caused this. One incident came to mind. The day before she had been at school. She was a member of the football team. She had also been male at the time. She and the others had just finished practice. That was when some of her teammates had decided to pick on that kid.

He wasn’t a bad kid. She had never really paid much attention to him, or others, to be honest. She wanted to play sports and eventually maybe get a scholarship to continue to play sports in college. She was barely concerned about the future to be perfectly honest. But something about that incident stuck out in her mind. It made her internally cringe and soon she understood why.

When her fellows picked on the kid she had been cajoled into it. The idea that ‘peer pressure sucks’ suddenly struck her. Yes it did. She had joined in on picking on the kid and why it stuck so firmly came to her. He was a ‘brony’, one of those guys that liked that stupid pony show. Her teammates had only targeted him for that reason. She had only been forced to pick on him for that reason…

And now she was a pony herself.

Well, this certainly felt like something straight out of ‘100 Deeds of Eddie McDowd’.

She hadn’t been too cruel to him… right? Her memory was a bit fuzzy but she didn’t think she would’ve hurt him. No, she wouldn’t. She might tease him a bit to get his teammates off his back, but that was it. Then again some of her teammates didn’t have that same restraint. She hadn’t tried to stop them either. Perhaps that was reason enough to punish her like this…
Though she sincerely hoped not.

She remembered after though. Her teammates all went out. She’d decided to go home. She wasn’t much of a drinker to be honest. She also had a few things to get done for her mom. So she had, then that night she had gone out on a simple jog. Then things got fuzzy and she blacked out. The next thing she knew she had woken up in the park. Then she screamed, and then she hid under this bridge…

She had only been lucky that big dog was scared when she fell into it. Otherwise that might’ve kept looking around for her. That wouldn’t have been a good thing. In her present form she wasn’t even sure if she could walk properly… or was it called something else for a pony? She grimaced and brought her hooves to her head. She felt such a headache coming on…

She shook her head and took in a shaky breath.

She had been changed into a… a pony. Why!? Of course her only thoughts were that someone had hexed her. But who? Better than who however, why? Sure she had made fun of that kid, but hadn’t her teammates done so as well? Maybe she had been targeted because she hadn’t tried to stop them? Was someone trying to teach her a lesson about being true to herself?

Well message received then! Don’t pick on kids to please your teammates or you might wind up hexed into a pony!

She shook her head again.

Now was not the time for her to face a crisis of self. She needed to figure out if anyone else had been affected. The only way to do that was to check her school. The only way to do that was if she learned how to walk.

Which meant she had her work cut out for her.

But she was nothing if not stubborn. She would figure this out or she would… well hopefully not die. To be honest walking wasn’t that important to her. But still, it was something to do. So she started to get up. Then tripped and landed flat on her face. She groaned and rubbed her sore jaw.

She tried again.

Again she fell.

She tried again.

This time her head bashed into the low part of the bridge above her.

She tried again.

Somehow she managed a single step, and then tripped on a pebble of all things!

She tried again.

The water was her downfall, a smooth rock in it and she fell into the water and got wet.

She tried again.

She almost expected it this time; she stumbled into her own hooves and fell down.

Today really wasn’t her day.

But still, she tried again.

Finally she managed to just stand without falling. She was on unsteady legs, but at least she was standing. However, she felt horribly exposed and embarrassed to be naked in broad daylight. She wondered how ponies could do this as the wind brushed against an exposed portion of her body. She then yelped and fell forward when something touched her back there.

She glanced back and grimaced. She could see that it had just been her tail.

She grimaced and brought her hooves to her face. If being naked in broad daylight wasn’t embarrassing enough, that her own tail had scared her was. However she didn’t let that stop her. She got back up and tried to stand once more. It was easier this time. But that wasn’t saying much. She still fell a couple times before she finally managed. Again the wind brushed against her nethers and she shivered as her tail moved to block it.

That would take some getting used to. She hoped it wasn’t permanent.

She looked around for a moment and then tried to walk.

Her first attempt ended with her face in the dirt… again.

She felt her eye twitch and glared at her body. What was it with this pony body and falling down? Was it just her or was it the body? She didn’t know but it was really annoying.

Either way, she got up and tried again.

It was getting easier to stand, but walking felt awkward. Her front hooves moved forward but she forgot about her back legs and so she fell face forward again. She idly blew a breath into her bangs and tapped her hoof on the ground. This wasn’t fun, funny, or even silly, this was just annoying.

But she still got back up, and she tried again.

Call her stubborn, but she was not letting this body get the better of her!

She recalled her back legs and tried to walk. Unfortunately she moved her back legs wrong and they got tangled with her forelimbs. Thus she fell to the side and back into the water of the small stream that ran though the park. She sat up in the stream, all dirt washed from her face and undercarriage. She then huffed and tried hard not to scream in frustration.

She settled for simply grinding her teeth. Given the last time she screamed she doubted it’d be a good idea anyways.

She then got back up and tried to walk yet again.

Finally she managed a few steps. She was unsteady and doubted she could ever walk very fast. But she would at least manage to get somewhere now. So she made her way along the bank. She knew the way to her school and yet a thought suddenly occurred to her. How could she get into the school looking as she did? The thought gave her pause and she brought a hoof to her face.

Yeah… she had totally forgotten about that. However at least it’d motivated her to learn how to walk. Which ended as she was only on three unsteady legs and she landed in the dirt once more. The orange pony had a flat and very irritated look on her face. She stared at nothing in particular. She just felt like she needed to glare at something.

She then snorted and got back onto her hooves. She continued her slow trot so she could get used to the sensation. Hopefully if she walked enough her body and mind would get used to it. Then maybe she could walk without having to keep track of all of her crazy limbs… like her tail… that she stepped on by accident and which sent her sprawling.

She lay there for a moment. She just allowed herself to lay there and not start swearing as loud as she could. How was it that she was so bad at this? Her tail had tripped her! How did that even work!? She found this whole thing to be annoying enough before. But this! This was just…
She sucked in a breath and exhaled slowly. Now was not the time to get excited or angry. She had better things to do, like learn to walk, than rage at the world. So she did just that and got back onto her hooves once again. Again she got up. Again she walked. Now she just needed to get somewhere safe.

She wasn’t a fool. Just because she was a jock didn’t mean she was stupid. She knew that a walking, most likely talking, pony would be very strange. Especially with her bright coloration, short muzzle, and huge eyes. So she stayed out of the way as she walked. She kept to places where people were most unlikely to go. She soon found the gate out of the park but grimaced.

How could she walk on a crowded city street looking like this?

She could think of nothing. She was bright orange. She was a small horse with stubby little limbs and bulbous eyes. If a little girl didn’t strangle her with hugs then a dogcatcher might try to chase and catch her.

So what could she do?

She couldn’t stay in the park indefinitely. She needed food… although she could probably eat grass. She shivered at the thought as she looked down at the grass. She couldn’t just walk out of the park onto a busy city street. That was as close to suicide as possible. Well in her form anyways.

So she sat and she thought about what she could do.

People came into the park all the time. They came with picnics… maybe she could swipe something. It was a good thought at least. Plus it’d be something to keep her busy. She nodded her head. She would have to be careful however. She had dubbed herself a clutz due to her earlier trials. If that were to be the case she would have to overcome it.

She liked a challenge.

She returned to the park and watched the patrons. She kept an eye out for anyone nearby. Soon she spotted a picnic with a salad and licked her lips. She wasn’t stupid, as said before. Even she knew that ponies didn’t eat meat. Though that chicken looked oh so tempting. But she didn’t take the bait.

She made her way closer to the people. She decided she needed to stay out of sight for the most part. It seemed most assumed she was an orange dog at a passing glance. She would be a large dog, sure, but still just a dog. She wasn’t sure if she was insulted or not. At least it kept them from being freaked out.

She snuck close to the picnic while the people were away. The city was a nice one. You rarely saw bad things happen. It was a small city as well. Not like New York or Hollywood. So crime wasn’t as bad as it was in those places. Still, she was stealing a salad of all things. She felt so bad about it…

Then her stomach started to growl at her.

Right, time to feed the beast then.

However maybe she didn’t need all of it.

She managed to grab a plate with her mouth. It felt very strange. Then put it on the ground and used some tongues, again with her mouth, to get a bit of salad for herself. She hoped that they either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, that the bit of salad disappeared. With her food ready she pulled it and the plate into a nearby bush to hide.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she was finished. She began to scarf down on the salad with gusto. She wasn’t ‘starving’ but she had done quite a bit of work today. Now she just had to figure out what to do about her body issues. She couldn’t just stay in this park for the rest of time. It’d get suspicious if salads just up and vanished too often after all.

She could maybe slip out of the park at night, but even that would be pushing it. While her city wasn’t big, it was still a city. But it’d be dark and fewer people would be likely to see her. So yes, that would have to be what she did. The back alleys and such would be hard to maneuver around however. Especially since she’d be on her own.

But if she wanted to be able to stay up at night she’d have to get some rest now. That way she could get out of the park and maybe look for help. She nodded her head. Yes, that would have to be what she did. She’d wait till cover of darkness then slip out into the city. What she would do then… well… she’d figure that out later…

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

Honestly, waking up at night is quickly becoming easier. Although I grimace slightly since I’d used my duffle bag as a pillow. Given it’s mostly filled with books this wasn’t the best of ideas. My neck hurts like I can’t possibly describe and I feel stiff. ‘Ugh, I wish I had a pillow or something,’ I admit to myself. Needless to say, my brain decides that that is the perfect time to bug me.

Maybe you should’ve thought of that before leaving yesterday.

‘Shut up brain, it’s too early for me to deal with you right now,’ I internally grumbled. With a yawn I sit up and shake my head as I fully wake up. I glance around and then set about trying to remember what I need to do tonight. ‘I need to find a new place to stay,’ I reminded myself. With that in mind and a nod of my head I set about collecting my things. It is a quick task since I hadn’t emptied my duffle bag the night before.

However with that done I worried about where I could stake my claim. Despite the forest I have no idea where I could live relatively comfortably. Not only are there very few abandoned homes or barns, but the majority of them are so run down as to be unusable. Not only that but I still want to remain somewhat close to my family.

There is that little stone house down the street.

‘Cramped, run down, filled with junk, and I swear the door is busted,’ I replied.

The abandoned Apple Orchard down the road has that one building.

‘I don’t know if it’s locked or not, never had any reason to go there before,’ I remind.

One of the other abandoned barns.

‘Most barns, including this one, aren’t technically abandoned, just rarely used,’ I reply flatly. I could recall a time or two when my cousin used this barn. It wasn’t for much but I suppose that means it isn’t abandoned.

True, well the barn is obviously a no go… so why not cut our losses and head to the next street over? I mean what about Maw’s old place? If we head over there we should have a few added creature comforts at the least.

‘She’s dead, the place has no water or power, and mom has the only key to her house,’ I replied hotly. Aside from that I was not going to break into my dead great grandmothers home. She had only died this passed summer after all.
She had a barn, and that old trailer out in front of the barn, and that one building down in the field by it.

‘The trailer is full of snakes so I wouldn’t doubt the barn is as well, and that building has been locked longer than Maw has been dead,’ I replied flatly. My great grandmother had had a great many places on her property; sadly, most of them were closed off to me.

Want to rough it in the forest then?
‘I don’t even have a tent unless I want to go digging for that old pup tent in the shed. But that would make too much noise and I might get caught,’ I reply evenly. Well there was that and the fact I hate sleeping in a tent. I hate sleeping outside in general but that was beside the point.

Right… hmmm, so how about that old cave where the wild dogs lived?

‘That might actually work,’ I admit and rub my chin with a frown. The old cave in question isn’t too far out of my way. Closer than Maw’s place at any rate, but farther than the little stone house or some of the barns I knew of. Added to that I don’t know exactly where it is. However I could spare some time to go looking for it, and once I do I wouldn’t have to worry about someone finding me. No one went back there!

Sounds like we have a plan.

‘Finally,’ I reply. That in mind I set out to find the old cave. I also make sure to have my flashlight out and ready so I won’t run into any of those little blue nightmares. I am fairly certain that my desire to avoid these plants would almost seem crazy. After all, I can’t be sure that they are really Poison Joke, but even if the chance is slim I’m a pony and that alone makes me worry.
So I’m going to avoid those little blue plants like the plague and not care what anyone else thinks…

That seems a bit insane you know.

‘You want to end up getting transformed by a magical plant with no way of changing back?’

Well… no, of course not.

‘Then shut the buck up, I’m feeling really grumpy right now,’ I inform my annoying brain plainly.

When aren’t you grumpy?

‘When you aren’t around,’ I fire back. Somehow this back and forth I constantly have going with myself seems to be getting more and more annoying. I think it’s mostly because I know that I win no matter if it’s my brain or me… actually that’s the majority reason. What point is there in fighting with my brain if I technically win regardless of who loses?

Oh, so that means never?

‘Ugh, can we skip the back and forth, I’m feeling irritable,’ I grumble in his direction.

Yeah this is kind of pointless and… is that Hearts desire?

The question catches me momentarily off guard as I stop and look around. I soon spot the plant in question and mentally frown upon seeing it. ‘Another plant from Equestria that doesn’t exist in real life,’ I note to myself worriedly.

Worse still, this one has magical properties.

‘So does Poison Joke,’ I remind with a frown.

Unlike Poison Joke this one has as of yet undetermined magical properties.

I idly nodded my head in agreement with my brain. The amended sentence made more sense than it simply having magic properties. I know what Poison Joke would do if I touched it, I also know Hearts Desire won’t do anything when touched. However, I have no idea what either does when ingested.

‘Not like I was planning to find out either,’ I remind myself.
Doesn’t Hearts Desire have something to do with that ‘Cutie Pox’ or was it the Love Poison?

‘Probably both when you think about it,’ I reply with a shrug.

That could be really really bad if it fell in the wrong hooves.

‘You just said hooves,’ I note with a blink.

Oh great now we’re using the pony lingo in our head too!

‘That’s been happening for a while now…’ I remind.

Yes, but now it’s getting worse.

‘Point,’ I reply. With that I take to studying my surroundings with much more scrutiny. If Poison Joke and Hearts Desire are lying around then I really need to keep an eye out for more unusual flora to show up.

Might also want to watch out for unusual fauna as well.

‘Agreed,’ I noted with a frown. That was probably the most prudent course of action to take. Equestria had, for the most part, normal enough Flora with an abundance of unusual Fauna that could appear. If any unusual animals started showing up I was going to be sure to be aware of them. Not only would it save my skin but it’d also confirm my ever-growing suspicions about why I had changed.

Aside from my now heightened awareness of my surroundings I continued on towards the forest. I needed to locate that old cave the wild dogs once lived. It would be a perfect place for me to stake my claim. Not only was it relatively out of the way, but thankfully, the wild dogs were long dead. I wasn’t sure what killed them, or if they just died out there, either way I wasn’t looking a gift horse in the…

‘Ugh, no horse puns!’ I remind myself with a frown. With that thought in mind I wander towards the forest and suppress a shiver of fear. The forest is large and ominous, looking every bit like the one from that blasted Slender game… my having only a flashlight to light my way certainly doesn’t help things. ‘Maybe I should wait until morning,’ I think with my ears folded back.

Oh c’mon, you’ve never been scared of Slenderman before.

‘Says you! That game freaked me out when I first played it,’ I remind with a shiver.

This is coming from the guy who watched every episode of Marble Hornets.
‘Hey, just because I liked those vids doesn’t mean that game wasn’t scary,’ I replied.

Yeah it was kind of scary, but only because the music was bucking creepy.

‘True,’ I admit to myself. Of all the things in that game that freaked me out, the music had to be the worst part. I know it was literally designed to freak people out, but it didn’t have to do its job so well!

Besides, Slenderman isn’t real.

‘Neither are talking magical unicorns…’

Well… you have a point there. But my point of Slenderman not being real still stands.

‘I honestly hate you right now,’ I think while slowly walking into the forest.

Technically that means you hate yourself…

‘I know, and I’m sticking by what I said,’ I reply stiffly. That does little to comfort me as I wonder into the cold dark forest in the middle of the night. ‘I really hate myself right now. I hate wandering through cold dark lonely forests, I hate looking for an old bucking cave in the middle of the night with nothing but a flashlight,’ I think to myself with a slight whimper as the sounds around me start to match with that stupid bucking game!

Would you stop that! You’re just working yourself into a frenzy!

‘I know but I can’t help it!’ I reply while nearly shaking. The sounds are getting louder I swear. Worse is that my hooves softly crunch the twigs and leaves on the ground. It sounds exactly like that bucking game and it’s already starting to freak me out! Added to all that is my limited vision and the fact I know there are bears and other dangerous things in the forest.

Imagining that there are more terrible things out there is easier as a result! It doesn’t help that with everything seemingly turning into Equestria I could run into a Cockatrice or a Manticore or a dragon or…!

Get a hold of yourself! Jeez, and here I thought you were working yourself into a frenzy before. I think I preferred it when you were only worried about Slender popping out at you. Yes there are bears and such but you know they are most likely too afraid of people to come this close. Also stop worrying; I sincerely doubt any Equestrian monsters are around just yet. So take a breath, calm down, and just remember not to…

The sudden hooting of an owl made me yelp and leap back. My head darts around with the flashlight before looking up into the trees. Eventually I spot an owl, its brown and cream colored with large yellow eyes looking down at me. It hoots once more and then flies off into the night. I take a moment to calm my breathing and then growl. ‘Buck you too, Olly,’ I grumble darkly.

… panic. Ugh, this is so embarrassing.

‘To who? We’re the only pony out here,’ I remind my annoying brain.

Me, because I actually had to see all that!

‘Oh quiet you!’ I reply with a internal scowl. It’s a bit hard to scowl with the flashlight in my mouth after all. Aside from that I turned and went to the edge of the forest and followed it for a time. I was clearly too freaked out by videogames to wander through the forest proper anyways.

Whose fault is that?

‘Shut up!’ This is starting to get really old. Continuing on my way I stop at an old wagon that has broken wheels. ‘I actually forgot that this was here,’ I admit while circling the old broken down wagon. It had no roof, age having destroyed it, but the base seemed sturdy enough. Though that was probably because it was made of some kind of plastic or something. It wasn’t an ‘ancient’ wagon, but it was fairly old.

It has no use to us right now.

‘No, but if we had more ponies we could probably carry a lot of stuff with it,’ I replied.

Broken wheels, hooves don’t make for good tools for fixing those.

‘True,’ I admitted. With that I ignored the wagon and continued on my way looking for the old cave. I went down the forest for a ways before I coming to a halt and looking around. ‘I think our old house is down that way,’ I note to myself and then turn back to the forest.

‘So the cave would have to be around this way,’ I decided with a nod. With my destination set I wander into the forest once more.

Much like before the forest quickly put me ill at ease. However I was starting to wonder if there was something else causing this. Aside from the obvious, and the videogame, I think maybe the forest is taking on qualities similar to the Everfree. In MLP, I recall that ponies just consider the Everfree to be ‘unnatural’ in the beginning. I recall that they were all terrified of it, even Twilight who had never been there before in her life.She was just naturally freaked out by the place, could this forest be similar?

Possibly, it would explain why you’re over reacting to every little thing in there.

‘Shut up brain!’ I growl and continue into the forest. If it is taking on qualities of the Everfree then I’m probably in for a rough time. Not only will this place freak me out worse and worse the farther in I go, but also equestrian beasts will eventually start showing up here. I can handle a few things, but Manticores are not in that bucking number! I am not Kratos darn it!

Calm down, those kind of creatures will probably take longer to start showing up.

‘I know, I’m just not liking this situation. I’m basically a unicorn in the everfree forest at night. I bet there are bucking ghost stories about that kind of thing in MLP!’ I reply with an internal shiver.

Well clearly the unease has set back in. I wonder if there is a way to test out if it’s just you or really has something to do with the forest? Maybe we could find someone else who played Slender, and someone who didn’t, someone who knows what Everfree is and someone who doesn’t, and then see how each person reacts. That would probably tell us if it’s just you or the forest in general due to a change caused by magic or something.

‘Magic?’

What else could turn us into an adorable talking magical unicorn?

‘Point,’ I reply. I then shake my head and continue through the forest. I look here and there for a time before slowing as I see the cave. Old moss covered, and bones lying around it, it’s definitely the right place. ‘I feel strangely ill at ease here,’ I note with a look to some of the bones. I’m also able to take note that the bones are from dogs, not other animals, so they likely belonged to the wild dogs that once made this their home.

Shaking my unease from my head I trot into the cave and look around. The cave is rather empty save for the bones. Small is the best way to describe it, only slightly wider than my old room and only a bit taller too. It is perfect for me however as it is, at least, dry. That in mind I put my duffle bag to the side and place my flashlight down. I point it in the direction of some bones and begin to collect them.

Gathering the old bones I then take them out of the cave and start to pile them together. ‘I’ll figure out something to do with them later,’ I inwardly decide. I also take the time to move some rocks out of the cave and put them into piles as well. Not for any reason than so I can use them as decoration when I have more light. ‘Ugh, that means I’ll actually have to be awake come morning,’ I realize with a frown.

‘Or at least some point in the afternoon,’ I amend. With that in mind I nod and continue to move rocks and bones into piles outside of the cave. Once that is done I take a moment to explore the cave and consider what I could do with the place.

The best idea I have for the moment is to carve some bookshelves out of the walls at some point. Although I don’t think I can right now, having only hooves and no access to magic…

‘Unless I use those rocks as hammers and chisels,’ I admit to myself.

Do you really want to live in a library like Twilight or something?

‘No, but it’d be nice to have a place for all of my books,’ I replied.

Just leave them in your duffle bag then; they’re safe there.

‘But what if I want to have a place for them that is not only safe but easily accessible and unlikely to get wet,’ I counter with a frown.

So you want to live in a library in the forest then…

‘No! These are my books, only my books,’ I state with a stomp.

Quit being so defensive, anyways it’s not like that’s an immediate concern.

‘I know, my first concern should be food,’ I note with a frown.

Yeah, our bag of oats can only last so long. Stealing more would be difficult, not to mention we’ll probably need to diversify our diet. We should probably check around for berries and the like. Maybe look up what a horse can actually eat and go checking around for flowers. If nothing else it’ll give us a steady food source so we don’t die from hunger.

‘Speaking of I’m starving,’ I admit and set about getting my bag of oats out. Once I have it I start munching on the oats while considering what else I can do with the cave. Not to mention all the rocks and bones I have outside. ‘The bones would look so creepy if I set them up as some kind of ward,’ I note to myself.

But that would just make people want to explore even more.

‘True, what is it with people and wandering head first where there is possible danger?’ I wonder with a frown.

Curiosity killed the cat for a reason.

‘But satisfaction brought it back,’ I returned with a smirk.

That rejoinder isn’t even official.

‘It is kind of official, just not seen as often. Plus you’re just mad because I said it,’ I reply. I hear grumbling in my head, which I promptly ignore and continue with my impromptu meal. My flashlight shines more than enough light for me to see, however I feel a frown tug at my lips. ‘I really do wish I’d taken the time to grab a few creature comforts for this,’ I admit to myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I have my tablet and books, but I would kill for a pillow and blanket right now. ‘And a rug,’ I note with a nod of my head. ‘A rug would make this place look a lot less dreary,’ I decide. Then again, when doesn’t a cave look dreary? ‘I suppose when it’s not a cave,’ I admit to myself. I also stop as I see something crawling in the distance. I look towards it for a while before shaking my head and ignoring it.

Whatever it is doesn’t matter. Right now all I want to do is finish eating and then get to sleep. I’ll worry about renovating my new home after getting to sleep early and hopefully waking when it’s still daylight. That way I could at least see what I had to work with. I’d also have to take the time to look for more food. My supply of oats was starting to run depressingly low.

Well in any case, that was Future Moondancer’s problem…

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

05 Purity

~~*Sparkler the Diamond Diva*~~

I am not a morning person, however, I still found strange to wake up in the middle of the night. I felt warmer for some reason, like I was wearing some comfortable and warm sleepwear, only it covered my whole body... yeah lets stop here cause its starting to sound... kinky. And despite what others might think, I am not that kind of girl.

Anyway, I woke in the middle of the night, feeling warm, maybe a bit too warm, there was also an unfamiliar weight on my forehead, maybe I had a headache? Unfortunately my sleep addled mind was too lazy to even care to touch my head, I yawned and looked around my darkened bedroom.

Only to find out... it wasn't my bedroom.

For some reason, I was outside, in our backyard. The backyard is paved with cement, that would explain why I didn't notice before but... the ground looks closer than it ever did before.

Then, I looked myself over and noticed that I wasn't wearing a nightgown, or even the tight leotard I use for my gymnastic practice. No I was covered in... whitish silver fur, more white than silver. I would have screamed, if It wasn't because I could not believe it.

And then there was another detail that I should have noticed earlier, I was down, walking on all fours, and... my hands... and my feet... were now strange cartoon like horse legs.

This... this has to be a dream, right?

I mean sure, I am not a nice person, I am a cheerleader, what in High School is called an Alpha bitch, and all my dates so far have been more looking at the boys wallets that any liking I had for them. But I had been raised in money, then after the divorce my bitch of a mother dumped us with father and I had to be middle class? Screw that! I would do anything to regain my former status and money.

Despite wanting really hard for this to be just a bad dream, I examined myself, four equine legs, a purple horse tail with a streak of red in the middle and ... I guessed my hair had the same color. I should not be able to see that well at night, if it wasn't because of the full moon.

So I went from cheerleader and gymnast with a bright future, as long as I married a rich man, to a cartoon looking horse. Mmm, I am too small for a horse, maybe I am some kind of pony? Sure I love ponies, but when I said I wanted a pony for my birthday, even if I knew we were too poor for that, this isn't what I meant dammit!

Then I feel like a tug in my head, like something or someone wants me to go near the pine tree, one of a few places of the backward that still has grass and junk.

I go there near the tree, then I remember something I did ages ago, when I first hear that my bitch of my mother yelling that she was gonna left me and that. I took my mother diamond earrings and dig them near the tree, then never told her. I felt that tug in my head again, at to my surprise, it seems a ray of pink light shots from my forehead near the tree, and to me came floating those beautiful diamond earrings.

"Wow!" When I say that the earrings drop on the ground, what was that? Some kind of power to find things? Maybe the ability to find valuable stuff that's buried around? If I wasn't stuck as a equine that would be useful. Stuck? Oh come on Sparkler, think positive!

"What the hay I just called myself?" Hay? Why I am using such a stupid expression? It sounds just like… oh please for the love of God don't tell me I got turned into one of those ponies in that cartoon my stupid brother loves!

'No, don't go there girl, is a stupid idea.' Despite how stupid the idea is, I end using my hoof to touch around my forehead and unfortunately find what I was fearing, I am not just some dumb cartoon pony, I am a UNICORN cartoon pony. That explains the magic, if it wasn't because I called myself Sparkler I would swear I am that gem and fashion obsessed unicorn named Rarity. What? I watched the show sometimes, just a few episodes like the one where they got the butt marks and one focused on Rarity where she sang and made dresses for her ungrateful friends.

Granted, is just a stupid cartoon for little girls, I should not have let that episode affect me so much... anyway... what the hell I do now?

Food, food sounds good, better eat food now before my stomach grumbles and I am forced to eat grass or something yucky.

So that's how I end inside, eating veggies I took out the fridge. It was hard to do using hooves, as the magical stick in my forehead kinda refused to work after the whole jewelry stuff, but not before I put the earrings in my ears, it did not hurt, not because I already had my pony ears pierced, but because they were clip ons.

Okay, try to think positive.

Good points... I got magic that let me find jewels, like that Rarity pony. And my brother is a Brony so he would probably take care of me, he also doesn't seem sexually interested in ponies, at least not female ones, thank God for my brother being gay.

Yeah a gay guy who loves a little girls cartoon don't you dare mock him! Also vegetables taste better, before, I hated them yet ate them anyway cause a cheerleader has to stay fit and slim.

Now the negative...

Oh wow, so many things that can and will go wrong. For one, I am no longer human, that means I am not a US citizen and they can capture me and cut me up like in those fake aliens videos, or experiment on me or...

I almost threw up thinking about that, I am not a pet, I am not somepony... err someone slave!

Why... why I am crying? I am made of tougher stuff than that I am...

Oh, who I am kidding? My life ended, my bro might be willing to take care of me but my dad will call the police or something worse. Mm... maybe I could hide in his room? I am about the size of one of those really big plushies... hehe... no.

I will just hide in... no.

I will just wait and see what happens, running away? I live in the middle of the city, plus maybe my brother, who is so good at giving me make up by the way, will save me.

My gay brother, who I have been pretending doesn't exist unless I am at home... yeah quite hypocritical of me, well, no more. He might be socially unacceptable for those racist jerks who pretend to be my friends, but this is an emergency, and unlike my bitch of my mother, me and my brother promised each other that we would help each other when we could.

I... I just hope he still thinks that.

Now then, I wonder who should get the blame for this fiasco?

I know I certainly didn't wish to become a unicorn of all things. I certainly shouldn't receive undue punishment for the actions of others. It's not like I was ever a truly terrible person either, maybe a bit selfish, but who isn't? If its some magical hex then its an odd one. Typically I think those make you a frog or something else ugly... like that one old hag down the street. Certainly it wouldn't make me into such a lovely mare. The sparkly mane and tail, the smooth silky coat, even those precious diamonds on my rump are simply fabulous!

Wait... why do I think I'm so beautiful? I mean of course I am, it's so plain to see it would be painfully obvious to anyone with even half a brain. Hmmm... perhaps I should take a gander at a mirror, just to be on the safe side. Though while the Kitchen has a door that leads directly to the backyard, my room has no direct exits outside, save for the window, and the window is closed and leads to the front yard, were people will see me. Is just too dangerous, can you imagine what someone might do if they saw me? Adults would try to sell me I'm sure. Little girls would try to put their filthy hands all over me! Ugh! I am not some attraction at a zoo!

Oh dear, I really must calm down. This just can't be good for my skin... coat... fur... whatever it is...

Anyways, lets move on from that for a moment.

What enemies do I have? Hmmm... can't really think of any 'enemies' more like 'jealous peons'. So lets start with that instead. My ex-boyfriends of course, they really should grow up. Just because they went and thought I actually liked them doesn't mean I belong to them, really. Girls whose lives I 'ruined', but please... their lives were ruined long before I came into the picture. They were all so silly and pretty and kind, bah, they could never make it in the real world. I'd be surprised if they even lasted a few seconds outside of school.

Like that one cheerleader... what was her name? Lindsey or something... something with an L... or maybe an H. Can't recall, don't really care all that much. I do remember how I joined the cheer-squad. She was a member but for the life of me I don't know how anyone could stand her. You know that 'valley girl' thing you hear of so often. She had it down to a T! Not only that but she was a complete and utter imbecile! She was all 'like' this and 'like' that every few words! Finally I just got sick of it and maneuvered a few incidents and she was finally out of my hair.

Clearly this unicorn thing is outside the scope of her limited abilities, so it must be someone else.

Hmmm... maybe her. I recall a long time ago I used to borrow clothes from this one girl. A bit uptight and far too serious if you ask me. I remember she let me borrow this one sweater when it was cold out. I had needed it, then went out on the town with a few friends. Unfortunately I might've ended up staining the thing. I... oh dear, she did tell me it belonged to her grandmother... who died... my... hmmm... Well, whatever. Perhaps I'm not the most decent person, but its not like anyone got anywhere by being a doormat. I know I certainly wouldn't.

Then again I'm a unicorn now, a tiny one too, I could do with a bit of good will now.

So former friends maybe, hmm... quite a few of those. Most of them simply due to the fact I no longer needed them. I mean it was nothing really personal, just that they were in my way. Or like Kim, she was such a dear and loyal friend, then she started hanging around those... ugh... nerds. A lady of my stature simply couldn't be dragged down to such a base level. So I simply had to let her go. Then there was Claire, she was a stuck up queen B, yes capitalize the B darling, till I got done with her that is... I think she had to move because of that. Well broken eggs and all that.

Hmm. Who else, maybe one of my former beaus then. Perhaps Charles, I recall he was rather unusual, from a family of gypsies too. But I doubt the whole Gypsy curse thing is real. Nor do I particularly think we parted on such monstrous terms. Yes I dumped him. Yes he tried to win me back in his own pathetic way. But its not like I ever said I loved him. Nor any of my boyfriends actually. I certainly appreciated all their gifts and affection, but aside from those things, I could do without the lot of them.

Though I had been eying a particularly dashing rogue recently. He was charming, though I suspected it hid a much more sleazy persona. I'm not a complete idiot unlike some girls. A charming smile or fancy clothes wont win me over. The money certainly helps, yes, but that is hardly the only thing I look for. Looks matter. As does patience. While I might stomach some beastly behavior I am as pure as the driven snow and shall remain as such. Till, that is, I find someone worthy of such a gift and...

Oh dear... I hadn't considered all of that before actually. I really do have quite a lot of enemies. That makes the list of candidates unfortunately long. And thinking about it now, I'd actually have an easier time thinking of people who wouldn't want to do something awful to me. In fact, becoming such a lovely unicorn mare seems more like a stroke of pure luck than an intentional action. Though maybe my purity had something to do with that. Despite being a cheerleader, I am neither a bimbo nor a tart.

Hard to believe from someone of my dubious character, no? Well sorry, but not all Queen B's are... well you know. A few of us actually manage to get by just fine with that firmly intact.

Regardless, I'm no closer to figuring out who did this to me. As much as I hate to admit it I might require some form of help to deal with this problem. My only dilemma, is to whom I can turn to for advice? I am not foolish enough to seek out the aid of my peers. Many would gladly sell me to the highest bidder after the things I've done. The few who would not would... well... those freaks are better left avoided completely. Ugh. So that leaves me with few, if any, options to turn too.

Oh why must this all be so complicated? Perhaps if I'd been turned into a frog this would be easier...

But then frogs are hideous creatures, and they also get eaten in France and used for dissection in schools. Anyway where was I? Ah yes, I need help, I guess my brother will have to do.

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

Somehow, hope beyond hope prevailed. I woke up at some point in the afternoon. While it was clear the sun wouldn’t be up long, it’d hopefully be long enough to suit my needs. So getting up I stretched for a moment and then yawned and smacked my lips. Shaking my head my crimson and purple mane flew all about and got in my face.

‘Well that’s irritating,’ I noted with a breath. It didn’t quite rid me of my bangs, but a quick hoof solved that issue. That done I set about checking on my surroundings and hummed. I had two goals right now. One, I needed to go and find some food before I ran out. A very pressing concern to be sure. Second, figure out what to do with all these rocks and bones, which wasn’t really much of a concern.

Not unless you want decoration.

I ignored my brain and instead gathered what I’d need for the day. I left anything of value behind and took only the essentials. Which today included a knife; on the off chance I needed it of course. ‘Better to be prepared,’ I decided with a nod of my head. That in mind I cantered out of the cave and set out into the forest.

Might want to stick close to the edge so you know how to get back. Or like, make some kind of markers you know.

I thus stopped and turned back to the cave with a quiet grumble. I hate to admit it but being able to relocate my current abode was priority. If Minecraft was anything to go on I was horrible with mapping directions unless I’d been there for months or years. Point being I didn’t want to lose my new abode so soon after locating it.

So with that in mind I started to move the largest rocks I could find around. I moved them into a triangle outside of my cave and then started to move slightly smaller rocks on top of them. Then I repeated that with smaller rocks, and finished with a few dog skulls to make them easily noticeable.

‘Should I do anymore?’ I wondered. I rubbed my chin and hummed as I looked around for a moment. I then smiled as an idea came to mind and I galloped into my cave. I looked around and grabbed up an old blanket from my duffle bag. The thing was extremely worn with age to be comfortable. It also had easily available thread / yarn I could use for my latest idea.

I carefully pulled out some of the yarn and then made my way back outside. I gathered some fairly sturdy sticks and wrapped some of the bones to the sticks. I couldn’t really tie them, but hopefully this would still get the job done. Once that was done I put the sticks up outside of the tower triangle to more easily locate my cave. It wasn’t exactly the most cheerful look, but it would certainly grab my attention.

‘That’s all that matters for right now,’ I decided with a nod. That in mind I turned and made my way back into the forest. My next mission was simply to locate some berries and then head home and look ‘em up on the Internet. ‘I’m worthless without the Internet,’ I note to myself with a sigh.

Well… yeah, but it’s not like that’s horrible for the moment. Right now we still have at least limited access to the Internet. With that you can figure out what local flora you can eat at the very least. Which also means you won’t have to guess or even make wild guesses on what you can and can’t eat.

‘True,’ I admit. I also recall that ponies can eat flowers. At least in Equestria they could. So I could maybe head back towards the people to grab a bite to eat if I was ever truly close to starving.

When did our family become ‘the people’?

‘The same time I became ‘the unicorn living in the woods’,’ I replied.

That makes it sound like someone knows we’re out here.

‘They might figure out there’s something odd out here,’ I remind.

True enough. Still, we should focus on food and worry about being discovered at a later date.

‘Agreed, for once,’ I replied. That done I let out a breath and wondered the edge of the forest. I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of berries. Barring that I might just grab some hay from down the street. The errant thought causes me to halt and then blink. ‘Why didn’t I think of that before?’ I wondered with a frown. ‘I mean I am genuinely confused here, and we have a bucking field out behind our house!’ I internally exclaim.

Actually… I don’t know, and there’s also the field down the street where they have those huge hay bales we could nibble on for months without getting noticed.

‘Oy, we’ve been over thinking everything haven’t we?’ I questioned with a grimace.

Not really, but that one thing we kind of did. Although I doubt hay tastes all that great by itself, for days or even weeks or months at a time.

‘Point made, look for berries, barring that we gather some hay,’ I decide with a nod of my head. That in mind I continue looking around for berries, though now it’s less of a priority than it might’ve been. ‘I’ve really got to consider my environment more. I mean for bucks sake, I lived in front of a field for years,’ I note with a shake of my head.

That’s the problem! It blended in with the background, we’re so used to it we just didn’t consider it! Just like how Derpy appears in many episodes, her unusual appearance makes her stand out. A more mundane pony that did the same thing would literally blend in with the background and no one would notice!

‘Well that makes a certain amount of sense,’ Though it begged the question of what else wasn’t I considering from my surroundings. I idly look around while also thinking on that for a bit. ‘The people up the street might notice if I stole more oats, flowers going missing might not be noticed,’

Ponies in the show can eat eggs and we have the chickens behind our house.

‘Are we sure of that?’

We can check on the Internet if nothing else. But I think I remember them using eggs for baking in at least one episode-

‘True,’ With another option sorted I continued to think about my surroundings.

STOP!

I immediately halted and looked around. However strangely I couldn’t see anything that would warrant the sudden stop. I was about to continue on my way when my brain decided to clarify what it wanted me to avoid.

Look down you moron…

I glance down and grimace. Poison Joke dead ahead and I almost stepped in some. ‘Well that would’ve been horrible,’ I shivered.

No duh, that’s why I warned you! Now stop spacing out, we can further consider our options back at the cave. Right now you need to keep an eye out for berries and especially Poison Joke!

I nodded my head in agreement. With that firmly in mind I skirted around the Poison Joke and continued on my way. I also took a moment to glance up and frowned. It was quickly starting to turn dark. While I had options for food I wasn’t about to give up until I was sure that there were no berries nearby.

Unless it gets too dark to see, that would just be asking for trouble.

I winced and nodded my head in full agreement. It would be pretty bad to end up with poison joke because I was being stubborn. Stubbornness wasn’t exactly what I was known for anyways. Not that I was known for much. Actually now that I think about it I have very few friends… bordering on complete social non-existence really.

‘Wow, now I feel better about myself,’ I note dryly.

Strangely works out for us in this situation though.

‘True, but that doesn’t make it any less sad,’

With a breath I continue to look around for a few wild berries. Luck seems to be on my side too when I spy a single bush nearby.

‘Finally!’ I quickly trotted over to the bush and then went about snapping a significant branch free. That way I wouldn’t have to pick all the berries and could just pull them off at my leisure.

Won’t keep for too long.

‘No, but this bush should last for at least a little while.’

I then looked around and hummed. I shifted the branch onto my back and pulled my knife from my belt. With it I walked over to a tree and marked it with a circle, then put an X inside of it. The scratchy symbol was from Marble Hornets and given the slender mythos few would question why someone put it in the forest. Or they will just blame it to kids being kids, a X is something generic after all.

‘I’ll make a few more so I can find this place again.’ I then made my way back to the cave. I carved the "Operator Symbol" into different trees on my way. Spaced apart but easily visible so I wouldn’t have much trouble following them later. I soon returned home to my cave and put my knife away then trotted inside. I put the berry branch down and then covered it with my cloak and hid that with my duffle.

I took a single berry and put it into my belt. I’d need it to check on whether I could eat them or not. So with that in mind I picked up my tablet and stylus and then set out for my former home once more. ‘I swear I come back to this place more and more often.’

Not like it’s exceedingly hard to get close to the house.

‘Unless the dogs are out and about,’ I retorted.

How often is that?

‘Quite often both day and night,’ I replied flatly.

Right… forgot about that. Then again, all they could do is bark and we’re so used to ‘em barking at skunks and the like that no one would really notice.

I rolled my eyes at that and continued on my way. Much like the last time it wasn’t terribly hard to find the trailer. I pulled my Tablet free and started it up. I was currently hidden beneath the back porch for safeties sake. Although I grimaced at the fact it was so wet down there.

‘Rain water always collects here.’ .

Unfortunately it happened to still be water too.

As I searched for what ponies could eat I actually noticed that eggs wasn’t on the list. ‘Better cross that off, just on the safe side,’ I decided.

Look for episodes you idiot, I am quite sure it was mentioned ponies can eat eggs in that overworked Applejack episode!

Right, I looked for a summary of that episode, it mentioned Applejack using the wrong ingredients, and Fluttershy had chickens, so ponies must use the eggs. It made me wonder why Applejack had pigs, maybe it was for trade?

Griffons eat meat! Dogs too. So, how about some eggs?

"Do you want me to get literally ‘henpecked’ while trying to get some eggs?’

Noted, and please no…

I merely rolled my eyes and continued to look down the list. As I looked over the list I also noted a bit of an addendum that said that oats technically weren’t good for some ponies. ‘Wait, I haven’t had any problems unless that’s why I’m talking to myself… but I already did that before I even became a pony,’ I note with a frown.

We’re magical extraterritorial pony, of couirse some things don’t affect us like they would normal equines. Didn't' we agree that about eggs? Also chocolate would kill real ponies, but ponies in the show are okay with it.

‘Perhaps, but I’d hate to explain it away with ‘it’s magic’ that would really stick in my craw,’ I grumbled.

Not as bad as ‘I don’t know’. Also being an alien works for this.

‘Actually I don’t know is better since I’m honestly unsure about my biology at the moment, alien or not.’ I retorted. My brain no comment so I continued to look over the list and arched a brow. ‘No potatoes not such a big surprise, but also no tomatoes… huh, so that’s why you never see a pizza or anything similar in Equestria,’ I muse to myself. Although I had to wonder if tomatoes would affect me like they did a terrestrial pony.

Best not to test it, but i still want chocolate.

‘Agreed,’ Though honestly I liked pizza and pasta and such, going without would be annoying. I was mostly sure chocolate would not kill me, but better not risk it.

We can probably still have alfredo.

‘True, I suppose cheese isn’t prohibited considering I’m a magical pony. Though honestly I’m getting curious about my digestive tract and what I can and can’t eat when compared to a terrestrial pony. Not to mention how it affects me in general,’ I admitted to myself. ‘Aha, finally found the berries, looks like they should be fine,’ I declared happily.

Good, that means we can leave now. Also I remember ponies in the show being vegetarians, so that includes cheese, milk products and eggs, but I am not sure is something official.

‘True, wasn't that in one of Pinkie Pie songs? Oh and it looks like a few types of greens aren’t the best for me. At least if you base it all on terrestrial ponies,’ Although looking at what wasn’t good for me, the list was long but a lot of it was stuff I avoided as a human anyways. Still, I was getting more and more temped to just go with what ponies in the show could eat. What stopped me was not being sure my digestive track was was exactly like the ponies in the cartoon. Oh, found the episode that mentions ponies being vegetarians, it was the one with the buffaloes!

We’re in luck for the most part. Now get back to the cave already! We can’t stay here all night!

‘Yeah yeah, hold your…’ I stopped and let out a breath. ‘Nearly walked right into that one,’ I grumbled and turned off my tablet. I then stowed it away and quietly crept out from under the back porch and made my way back to the cave. If nothing else it was nice that I finally had at least a guideline for what I could eat. Of course it probably wasn’t one hundred percent reliable, but it was better than nothing. And to be honest, I would probably risk chocolate eventually.

‘Oy, I wish this was as easily as looking for a terrestrial ponies diet,’ I admitted to myself.

No risk no gain, but I admit I am a tad nervous of dying from food poisoning. Also, how come you are okay with being an alien?

‘Well, I’m not of this world.’

But you were born on this world.

‘In a human body, I was altered into a body not of this earth.’ I reminded.

True, but you have to admit considering yourself an alien is kind of out there unlss you are joking.

‘I’m not an alien per-say, more like a… a cryptid maybe? Maybe I’m a mythical creature or even just a random drop off from another reality. Don’t really know, but what I do know is that I’m not of this earth so I’m extraterrestrial.’ I replied to my inner voice.

Sure, whatever can we please get back to the cave already?

‘Yeah,’ I replied curtly. With that I left my hiding place and made my way back to the forest. I kept my flashlight on and watched out for any Poison Joke on the way. Though I also made certain to keep an eye out for anything else that might be strange. ‘Mostly any kind of strange plants that might’ve cropped up.’

The chances of magical plants randomly spawning in the time we’ve been gone from home are slim to none.

‘Is Magical plants, I’m not taking any chances.’ I stated flatly. My brain seemed to agree with that decision and I kept my eyes peeled for anything strange. Thankfully nothing popped up, so I made it back home without further incident. I glanced around for a moment to make sure nothing had invaded my little home.

Once satisfied that everything was fine I set about pulling off some of the stuff I was wearing and put it away. I also stored away some of the berries by putting them into one of the darker dryer corners. ‘I wish I had like a cooler and some ice or something,’ I sighed.

Shaking such thoughts from my head I started to eat some of the berries to satiate my hunger. Once I didn’t feel hungry anymore I went back to work sorting things out just a bit. I didn’t have much I needed to do afterwards so went to my little sleep area and let out a sigh as I laid down. Even as I did I had a few ideas come to mind.

‘Tomorrow I should probably start work on some kind of alarm system or something,’ I thought to himself with a frown.

Why?

‘In case of wild animals trying to get at me. I am not worried about birds, but anything on the ground could be horrible. Especially if any bears decided to try and claim the cave. Or reclaim it.’ Though the cave didn’t look like anything had made a residence in it in a long time. Likely due to how close it was to civilization.

That… actually sounds like a good idea. But how are you going to make an alarm? This isn’t minecraft, we don’t have Redstone to play with, it isn’t Don’t Starve so we don’t have access to magic… yet… and it definitely isn’t like any other Survival game we’ve played before. It’s real life and we need to be realistic with what we can build.

‘Chains and rope, the rope ’ll be a bit elevated so if anything steps or trips on it it’ll pull and cause the chains to rattle.’

Hmmm… do we still have all those chains?

‘Fairly certain, I wouldn’t leave chains behind since I could easily find other uses for ‘em. But for now the warning system feels like the best use of my time.’ My brain concurred with my assessment. Metal Chains would be stronger than rope, though maybe not the small ones I had. Thankfully they would definitely work for what I needed them for.

Good, well I think we need to get to sleep. No telling what will happen next.

‘Agreed.’ I then yawned and laid my head down and pulled my makeshift covers over myself. I just hoped that tomorrow was easier to deal with…

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

07 Reunion

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

As usual, I awoke late in the afternoon. I yawned a moment, cracked my neck, and then stretched out like a cat. That was quickly becoming my routine for when I wake up. I blinked my eyes blearily for a moment and then sighed. I rubbed at my mane with a hoof and then frowned. I noticed the spots and splotches of discolored fur on my forelimb and most likely the rest of my coat.

‘I need a bath today,’ I recalled. Mostly because the feel of dirt grime and muck in my fur was disgusting. So with that in mind I removed my equipment and put them off to the side. I also removed my pendant. All that remained was the odd bow I’d had around the base of my tail when I first transformed. I honestly didn’t care enough to undo that however. So instead I set out on my way.

I was happy to see that the sun was still relatively high up. That meant that I’d have quite a while to clean myself off. Further, the patches of random Poison Joke were barely in my way. So I didn’t have to keep as close an eye on where I trotted as I usually did. ‘Things are getting a bit easier,’ I mused to myself.

Only feels like it is because you’re getting used to this.

‘Still, at least I’m doing relatively well for myself,’ I retorted.

True enough. Though if we had hands this would be easier…

‘If I had hands yeah, but then I’d be a human and the point of me living out here would be moot,’ I reminded.

Yeah, unless you became an anthro pony or, heaven forbid, some kind of cheap knockoff of Mojo-Jojo.

‘That would certainly be an experience,’ I noted mostly to myself. I wondered if I’d get his intelligence along with the body… 'Though I hope I wouldn’t get the crazy way he tends to talk.'

You dare to demean the linguistic skills of Mojo! Mojo-Jojo is the most learned simian to ever speak! His speaking is the most wonderful Mo-Linguish! It is Mo-Linguish for it is quick, concise, and detailed! Mo-Linguish is the way of the future! It is by use of Mo-Linguish that all shall be able to…

‘Please stop,’ I pleaded with a slight smirk.

Yeah okay, I can only barely talk like Mojo.

‘Yeah, it’s hard trying to get the way he talks correct,’ I admitted with a frown. However that thought was derailed as I came to a stream. ‘Finally time to clean myself off,’ I thought happily. So I trotted over and hopped into the stream. I quickly set about trying to cover myself in the water. Mostly to get as much grime out of my fur as I possibly could but also because it felt oddly nice.

As I set about washing off, I idly started to hum to myself. My ears flicked back and forth while I closed my eyes. I idly slow and then laid down in the stream with my legs tucked beneath me. My tail flicked from side to side and my head lowered to rest over my now crossed forelimbs. The sun shined down on me, warming what isn’t submerged beneath the water in the stream.

Am I the only one who hears that music? Cause that seriously sounds like music… is there a band somewhere around here or something…

I ignore my brain, finding no reason to acknowledge that it had even spoke. Instead I find my mind is totally focused on the tune I’m humming. My head idly swayed from side to side as the water gently washed the dirt and grime from my fur. I slowly opened my eyes to see most of my fur had turned pure white once more. I then quickly dunk my head and use my forelimbs to push the water over my back.

Seriously, don’t you hear that, there’s music coming from somewhere!

Again I ignored my brain and whatever it was trying to tell me. Instead I lifted my head from the stream and shook the water away from my mane. I took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. I opened my eyes and stared at the sky. In the distance I spotted a hawk or some other bird as it flew towards a nearby mountain. I tilted my head and my humming slowly transformed into actual singing.

“When the last eagle flies over the last crumbling mountain,

And the last lion roars at the last dusty fountain,

In the shadow of the forest, though she may be old and worn,

They will stare, unbelieving, at the last unicorn,”

Are… are you actually singing!? Why… how… that music even fits! Wait, that really is the music from that song! How did that start playing, and where is it coming from!? This doesn’t make any sense!

Again I ignore the voice, a little chuckle passed my lips as I continued to wash the grime from my fur. All the while I hummed and continued to sing the song to myself. Though at the time, I had no idea that someone else was also listening to my little performance…

“When the first breath of winter, through the flowers is icing,

And you look to the north, and the pale moon is rising,

And it seems like all is dying, and will leave the world to mourn,

In the distance hear the laughter, of the last unicorn,

I’m alive,

I’m alive,”

Okay think rationally, this kind of thing happens in Equestria all the time. My best guess is that it is a magical anomaly similar to what some fics refer to as a ‘Heart Song’. If that’s the case then it also stands to reason we’d be affected due in part to our equine nature and the fact we’re now a unicorn. Likely the song in question is affecting us because we don’t know if any other unicorns exist, thereby like Amalthia, we are basically the ‘last unicorn’… Oh thank you logic for preserving what little sanity I have left.

Despite my brain going through a minor panic attack to explain what was happening, I still ignored it. Instead I rolled in the stream to try and rid myself of any further grime that might be clinging to my fur. Once I did so for a few times I stood up and started to shake the water from my body. I continued to hum and idly reached a hoof up to brush my mane from my face.

I then giggled and started to hop through the water. I felt oddly free for the moment, so just tried to enjoy myself. I almost skated across the water and turned into a spinning jump, then landed on my hooves with a splash. I shook my body for a moment and then looked down to see my reflection as it stared back at me. I swayed idly to the tune of the song and continued to hum.

Meanwhile my brain was still having a slight panic attack.

Okay so I have a reasonable explanation for how and why this happened. Now I need to figure out what the trigger is and convince the conscious mind not to ever trigger it ever again! Random singing is just bound to get us into some kind of trouble if it happens too often. I need to nip this in the bud while I still can… although I have to admit our voice is rather pretty.

Though I could sort of hear my brain, I was a bit too involved with my song. I idly shook a hoof of water and climbed out of the creek and onto the bank. I still swayed to the tune, my hind limbs idly being shook of water as well. I raised a hoof to my mane even as I shook my head one final time and brushed it from my face to look to the sky.

For some reason I had a sad smile cross my lips as I finished the song.

“I’m alive,

I’m alive…”

I whispered the last line out slowly. I sighed and then sat back on my haunches so I could stare at the clouds in the sky. Everything felt oddly calm now. My heart and body felt as if they were completely at ease. I wonder if singing had that kind of effect on me.

I don’t know, but that was probably a ‘Heart Song’ or something similar.

‘Huh, really? So does that mean that kind of stuff really happens in Equestria? If so was the dancing part of it too?’ I questioned curiously.

I honestly don’t know, it could be… but wait. Didn’t we tend to dance and just generally move around a lot before we became a pony? We were really hyper as a kid…

‘Oh yeah, that did happen a lot, didn’t it,’ I nodded calmly. It feels so weird how everything feels less stressful now. Is that why the ponies sing in the show? If so then they seriously have the right idea of it. It’s so calming I could go for a nap if I wasn’t still a little worried about being found.

You’re so mellow now, it’s kind of weird since I’m used to you being grumpy all the time. Not that I’m complaining, stay mellow for as long as you like. You’re a lot easier to deal with like this.

‘Ignoring that thinly veiled insult, it’s the song what calmed me down. I feels almost like some huge weight just got taken from my shoulders… it’s so nice I could take a nap,’ I noted with a smile. My brain didn’t comment, beyond muttering about what it wanted to do when it figured out the trigger for that song thing. I think it half wanted it to happen more often just so I’d be calm more often.

“PONY!” a voice declared. I blinked for a moment then grunted as I was bowled over by a ball of energy that was roughly as tall as me, only on two legs. I looked down to see a little girl was happily hugging my neck. I then groaned and brought a hoof to my face. ‘Oh great, I should’ve known this would happen,’ I thought to myself with a grimace.

A little girl just found us, probably after hearing you singing… yeah that just figures…

‘Shut up you,’ I ordered with a frown. I then looked to see a pair of brown eyes staring up at me innocently. I idly noticed she also had messy black hair and pale skin. ‘Oh well, at least she isn’t the stereotypical blue eyed blond haired little girl,’ I noted to myself. That would just be too much of a coincidence given my week thus far. So I’m happy for the break from the norm.

“Err, hello,” I offer softly. I frowned as the voice still felt weird to my ears. Mostly because I still feel like I should be a guy instead of a girl. This whole mare thing was probably going to get to me. What follows is a rapid-fire stream of words I am unable to translate as it sounds more like babble than anything else to me…

‘Did you catch any of that?’

No… I think she speaks another language, the language of a little girl in the presence of a pony.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

It means she’s so excited every word she’s speaking is coming out too fast for us to make out. Add onto that our ADHD and you can imagine why we’re barely able to understand her. Oh, and she’s refused to stop rubbing her face against your chest the entire time so it’s kind of muffled too. My guess is that our fur is really soft now.

‘Yeah, that would explain it I guess,’ I noted with a nod of my head. I then sighed and looked down at the little girl. She smiled up at me brightly and I arched a brow. I then blew a breath into my bangs and smiled at the girl.

“Sweetie, would you please let me go now,” I pleaded softly. However the little girl shook her head and I mentally groaned.

‘This could be difficult,’ I noted to myself. Not that I could really blame the little girl for not wanting to let go. If I were a little girl and found myself hugging a unicorn, I probably wouldn’t let go either.

“Um, you do know that I have to go home,” I tell the girl. She merely shakes her head in response. I feel a headache quickly coming on and wonder how I’m in this mess.

The Heart Song caused you to start singing; she probably heard it from nearby and found you.

‘Thank you for that, captain obvious,’ I grumble at my brain. I then let out a breath and look at the girl. I don’t want to hurt her, but I can’t let her keep hugging me like this or her parents will probably get worried. It’s close to dark after all, and she probably shouldn’t be out and about right now…

“Um, how about I give you a pony ride home,” I offer with a nervous grin. The girl’s face lit up and her eyes shined.

“Really?” she questioned happily. I felt my eye twitch slightly, but nodded my head. She quickly released me and zipped to my side. She tried to climb on my back unsuccessfully so I sighed and laid myself down for her. She grinned at me and then climbed on my back and I glanced back at her.

She was a bit too far back on my haunches. It wasn’t uncomfortable but it was unsafe for the girl. I’d rode horses when I was little. I never fell off, but that was mostly because they were all so much bigger than me. I’m nowhere near the size of a full-grown horse, nor is she as tiny as I was when I actually rode those horses.

“Sweetie, move forward a bit,” I bade. She scooted up till she was just behind my withers. I then lightly raised my forelimbs and hind limbs and frowned to myself. It didn’t feel uncomfortable but she probably wasn’t too secure. “Place your hands on my neck,” I stated. The girl did so, still happy, however I frowned as I felt her fingers start to tighten around some of my mane.

“Don’t pull my mane,” I ordered. She nodded with a wide smile as her fingers loosened and she merely held me by my neck. I rolled my eyes and trotted off. “Directions please,” I bade the girl. She continued to smile as she pointed at a nearby house. It was a simple off shade of blue with a simple dark grey roof. It was the kind of house I’d passed a million times on my way to work but never really noticed.

“How long have you lived there?” I questioned. I knew most people who lived on my street, so it was a bit of a surprise I hadn’t at least seen her before. Likely she had only moved in recently and I just hadn’t taken notice of her yet.

“Mommy and I moved here a month ago,” she replied.

“I see, do you like it here?” I questioned. Mostly to distract me so this’ll take less time. But also to distract her so she won’t do anything stupid.

“It’s nice and quiet, but I miss my friends,” she replied. I twitched at the ‘friends’ thing. “Can we go faster?” the girl pleaded. I glanced back then rolled my eyes with a shake of my head. Why does everyone want to go fast? I’d always hated it when things went too fast. I also dislike heights and riding on planes, they freak me out.

“No,” I told the girl simply. She pouted at me cutely and leaned forward to look at my face.

“Why not?” she complained.

“Because I don’t have a saddle, and you could get hurt if you fell off,” I replied simply.

“Oh,” she mumbled and leaned back. She then looked behind her and reached for my tail.

“Don’t pull my tail,” I stated flatly.

“I wasn’t,” she declared and I raised a brow, “I wanted to re-tie your pretty bow!” she stated. I frowned at that and let out a breath into my bangs.

“Do that when I stop, it’s dangerous trying to tie something from my back,” I told her simply. She pouted once more but then leaned on me and hugged my neck. I felt my eye twitch once more. I really hate being touched even on a good day. Having the strange little girl I’ve never met before hug me is getting to me.

“What’s your name?” she questioned. I frowned for only a moment and then sighed.

“Moon Dancer,” I replied. However that seemed like the wrong thing to say. The little girl sat up with a wide grin on her face.

“I’m Megan!” she declared. I blinked and mentally groaned at the name. Of course she would have to be named that… Megan however frowned and tapped her chin. “Oh wait, didn’t you go to school with Twilight Sparkle!” she questioned hurriedly. My ears splayed back at the volume she used. I also wondered how she had the presence of mind to recall that name from the first episode of the series…

It’s probably because she’s a major fan of the show.

‘Why do you say that?’

She knew your name; if she didn’t know it from G1 then she knows the show by heart enough to recall Spike mentioning her birthday in the first episode.

‘Point,’ I allow and turn back to the girl.

“Yes,” I state. She seemed happy about that, before she frowned. She then hugged me again and I suppressed a shiver. I really don’t like all this touching. For some reason carrying her isn’t so bad, maybe some crazy equine instinct or something, but the hugs are getting annoying…

“I’m sorry Spike couldn’t give you your birthday present,” she stated. I rolled my eyes at that and hummed. A teddy bear from a baby dragon hardly seemed like an apt gift for somepony like me. ‘Unless that Moon Dancer and I are actually drastically different from one another,’ I admit to myself. To be honest there was a very good possibility that that was actually the case.

“So what’s your special talent?” Megan asked excitedly. I frowned to myself as I thought about it. What little I know about Moon Dancer is from Gen-1. In that she had some kind of crazy sleep magic. She even put a pony under a sleep spell none of the other ponies could break. So I suppose that was her special talent in FIM.

“Sleep magic,” I responded. It was vague enough that I hopefully wouldn’t have to elaborate for her.

“Oh, so like Luna?” she questioned hopefully. I merely splayed my ears back and heaved a relieved sigh when we arrived at her house.

“We’re here,” I stated and she pouted. The sun had already been setting, but now it was low enough that the sky had turned to twilight. The burned colors of the sky were nice, and the air crisp. I lowered down and allowed the girl to climb off of my back. She was very reluctant to do so. She then scuffed a foot into the dirt as I stood back up and nudged her to the door.

“Go on, I have to get back home myself,” I stated crisply.

“Wait!” she cried and ran behind me. I frowned and watched her then start to retie the bow around the base of my tail. I internally groaned and brought a hoof to my face. Why in the name of all things good and pure did she have to retie that?

“There!” she stated happily. I merely rolled my eyes and snorted.

“Yeah that’s wonderful, now you should hurry back inside,” I stated. Megan pouted and scuffed her feet on the ground.

“Would you come inside with me?” she asked hopefully. I merely rolled my eyes.

“Sorry, but I do have obligations at home,” I replied.

What obligations? We live in a cave…

‘Quiet you,’ I replied with a frown.

“Oh, okay,” she replied softly. She walked back inside and I made to leave when she called for me to stop once more. ‘This is getting really annoying,’ I thought to myself with a frown.

“Yes?” I asked tersely. I was trying not to be too mean, she was only a child after all, but this was really getting annoying.

“Wait one second!” she declared and ran inside. She came back a moment later with a baggy of little carrots. “For you!” she declared. I arched a brow and looked down at the carrots for a moment. “Go on take it!” she stated and tried to shove the carrots to me. I mentally sighed and took the baggy into my mouth. I then nodded to her, turned, and made my way back to my cave.

“Bye miss pony!” she exclaimed and I rolled my eyes. I stopped however at a light from a window. ‘Shifting colors likely means a TV,’ I note to myself. I then look around for a moment and approach the house quietly. I place my hooves on the building and stand up enough to see a TV is on, and tuned to the news.

‘Oh no,’ I thought when I saw a report of an ‘illness’ spreading across the nation. The ‘illness’ had only one tell, polka dot blue spots. I felt my eye twitch as I saw someone with the telltale spots shaking uncontrollably on the screen. Literally, all he was doing was shaking and it didn’t seem like anything could stop it.

Poison Joke, looks like it’s popped up in other areas as well. It also doesn’t look like anyone has made the connection to the flowers yet. Even if they start to quarantine people they won’t stop it. It’ll continue until they finally realize it’s the flowers and not an actual illness, but by then tens of thousands could be affected.

‘Unfortunately,’ I replied. I then lowered myself and turned to walk away from the house. I also made a note to ensure Megan didn’t run into any of it herself. Though given her love for the show she might already know about Poison Joke and spot it herself. ‘Here’s hoping that that’s the case,’ I thought to myself.

Worse, there’s no cure for the effects in this world.

‘No there isn’t,’ I concurred. I felt a frown tug at my lips as I narrowed my eyes on the screen. The Poison Joke was bad, yes, but I knew things would only get worse as the magic continued to spread and change things. Plants were bad, but what would happen when magical creatures started to show up.

We hope Ursa’s and Manticores don’t appear.

‘With our luck they will,’ I replied.

Then we hope they don’t appear near us.

‘We basically live in the Everfree Forest,’ I reminded.

Then we move far, far, away from here.

‘You are so funny,’ I deadpanned. My brain didn’t comment further and I sighed to myself. I needed to get back home and make plans. I’d also need to write down what happened today. If nothing else, the news that people were already being affected by the Poison Joke had to be recorded.

Don’t forget the ‘Heart Song’ you went through.

‘Yeah yeah,’ I replied with a frown. That said I went back to the cave knowing that things were bound to get worse very soon.

~~*Posey the Gentle Gardener*~~

Posey's Journal, definitively not a diary!

(:} You know it's kind of sad, I've been a bucking pony for... well I don't want to go into that. But suffice it to say that it still royally sucks! I can't even swear anymore, I can't go outside, I can't even talk to my friends since I can't work my phone!

<3 Why not?

(:} [Points at phone with hoof.]

<3 [Smile.] I could call them for you!

(:} [Deadpan.] Twerp, no.

<3 [Hurt.] But I can help!

(:} Twerp I said no, and I meant it! Besides my voice doesn't even sound right...

<3 Awww... fine… [Walks away dejectedly.]

(:} [Turns back to computer.] Ugh, with that out of the way I can say that I finally got the speech to text function to actually work. So that means I no longer need the twerp to right stuff out for me!

<3 [Sister looks over her shoulder.] But don't I have to be the one who fixes it since it'd all be one big long sentence if you just leave it be after...

(:} [Posey looks to computer silently. A beat passes.]

(:} Mother of bucking Celestia darn crab apples! [Slams head into a pillow and screams loudly.]

<3 [Giggles.] You're so cute when you're angry!

(:} [Glares.] Twerp I am so not in the mood right now!

<3 But you're so adorable!

(:} [Twitches violently.] Twerp... it's official... when I finally get back to normal, I will end you!

<3 [Confused frown.] But why? [Walks over to sister.]

(:} [Growls.] Because you're annoying!

<3 [Hugs Posey.] Aw c'mon, don't be like that!

(:} [Yelps.] H-Hey! Let me go twerp!

<3 [Picks Posey up.] But you're so cuddly and cute!

(:} Seriously! Put me down! I'm not a bucking stuffed animal! Also when did you get so strong?

<3 [Smiles.] No, you're even better! And, well I don't know? Maybe it’s because you’re a small pony that you’re this light.

(:} [Frustrated scream.]

...

(:} You done yet?

...

<3 Just a second more.

...

(:} [Grinds teeth together.] So help me... I will buck you in the face if you don't let me go!

<3 [Lets her go.] Party pooper…

(:} [Posey shakes herself and then glares at her sister.]
(:} Why are you bugging me anyways?

...

<3 [Look of realization.] Oh right! I totally found another pony!

(:} [Deadpan expression.] I don't care about your stupid toys twerp.

<3 [Giggles.] No silly! [Smile.] I found a real pony! [Motions to Posey.] Like you!

(:} [Raises brow.] Really?

<3 [Grin.] Yep!

(:} [Frowns in suspicion.] How?

<3 I got a picture of a pony with bows in her tail... though they were really messy. [A beat passes.] Duh.

(:} [Narrowed eyes.] It's probably fake twerp.

<3 [Excited.] No! I got it by request! The pictures the pony had on their facebook account didn’t have the bows. It was a trade-

<3 [Confused.] I told you before! I talked to the other pony and sent a picture of you eating an apple.

(:} Wait what?! Why did you do that!? [Furious panting.] I mean talking to someone is bad enough but you also had to get me involved with pictures! Pony feathers twerp, how do you even know it's really another pony!? It could be a prank for Celestia's sake! [Growls in irritation.] Celestia I hate pony swears!

<3 [Frowns.] I told you It was a trade, Firefly never posted pictures of herself wearing bows before!

(:} [Snarls.] That doesn't mean you could give away a picture of me like that without asking first!!

<3 Why are you always such a sourpuss?

(:} I dun' know, why are you always such an idiot?!

<3 Hey! Take that back!

(:} Make me!

<3 [Frustrated growl.] Why do you have to be so mean! I'm just trying to help!

(:} Bit of advice for ya' twerp, don't help me!

<3 But you need my help!

(:} No I don't!

<3 Oh yeah? Then what would you do without me?

(:} I... [Pauses.] I'd think of something... [A beat passes.]... eventually.

<3 See! You totally need me. [Nods.]

(:} Shut up!

<3 No! Besides here's the picture! Look! [Glances at picture of a magenta pegasus pony with a blue mane and tail. The pony has several messily done bows in her tail.]

(:} [Mutters.] Looks fake...

<3 No it doesn't.

(:} [Growls.] How would you know?

<3 Fake pictures have this weird kind of border around the fake parts that make it look bad. Also I got the picture less than an hour after I asked for it.

...

<3 What? I noticed that kind of thing in a lot of other pictures!

...

(:} Twerp, you're weird.

<3 No I'm not, I'm special!

(:} [Snorts.] No argument.

~~*Firefly the Dancing Daredevil*~~

I am going to be visited by another pony, the proof picture of her eating an apple was funny with how nervous she looked. But I have to admit that the one I did with me having a lot of bows in my tail was hilarious.

According to her sister, Posey used to be a big jerk but has mellowed a lot since she became a pony. While I am happy to finally meet another pony, I can’t help but feel worried about the disease they are talking about on TV, especially since Lisa, that's Posey’s sister’s name, pointed out how it looks a lot like Poison Joke, something from the Friendship Is Magic show.

Too bad Posey didn't seem to get her counterpart from the cartoon and comics knowledge about plants, if she had she could figure out a cure. Or maybe not since that plant wasn't in the original show. Hey maybe with our Twilight’s help we could wish for the cure, she grants wishes after all. If she’s even around, just because Posey and I exist on Earth doesn't mean anyone else does.

I then look around nervously, I took a bath and cleaned the room my kind fan had let me stay in, but I still think I might give them the wrong impression. Then there is a sudden knock on the front door, and I quickly hurry over to it. I use the peephole to take a glance outside and see a very nervous mare on the other side of the door.

I open it after a brief moment of hesitation and we just look at each other without knowing what to say until there was a sudden cry of, "Oh my gosh you really are Firefly!" and then a warm, albeit crushing, hug from Posey’s human sister which thankfully serves to break the ice.

~~*Posey the Gentle Gardener*~~

'Posey' was not a name she particularly liked. The only name she could think of that would be worse was something like 'Pansy' which she'd learned was the actual name of some character in her sister's silly pony show. She liked being a pony even less than the fact that her name was something like Posey. What she hated most of all was that her sister thought it was a good idea to go to some random person because she said she was a pony… even if she had assured her the picture was real. She also hated how she felt somewhat obliged to use the name due to how much her little sister had helped her, not that she would ever admit that to her face.

"This is such a bad idea," she deadpanned. Her sister just grinned at her. They were just lucky that it was late and no one was really out and about. Not to mention that their parents were out tonight so they didn't notice that either of them were gone.
"You're being such a worry wart!" her little sister assured her with a dismissive wave. 'Posey' scowled and looked away as her sister skipped to the door. She literally skipped and it caused the 'pony' to frown. Her sister knocked on the door and they waited. A moment later the door opened to admit a...

Tiny magenta pony with a blue mane and bright eyes...

She was silent as she stared at the little pony. The little pony was silent as she stared back at her. Posey idly noticed that the pony had wings and the same rounded face she had. She also noticed she had slightly elongated eyelashes, so was probably a girl. At least she hoped it was a girl, she couldn't imagine how awkward it'd be for a boy to turn into a pony.

"Great she was right," Posey muttered to herself. Her sister was going to be absolutely insufferable because she had been right. She'd literally gone on an angry tirade about how she was most likely wrong about finding another pony, and despite everything that told her it was nearly impossible, she'd beaten the odds and somehow done it.

Her sister all but squealed as she lunged forward and grabbed the tiny pegasus in a tight hug. "Oh my gosh you really are Firefly!" she exclaimed joyously. Posey silently trotted passed the both of them and into the house. She paused briefly to look at the pegasus pony, who was looking at her with pleading eyes, clearly looking for help.

The yellow pony snorted a breath then turned with a roll of her eyes.

"You deal with the twerp, I'm tired of dealing with her," she grumbled as she walked off and hopped onto, then settled herself on a couch. As she did she sighed and closed her eyes, she'd been limited to her sister's bedroom. It was so nice to just rest for once without a plethora of silly dolls staring at her.

~~*Firefly the Dancing Daredevil*~~

She called her little sister a "twerp" how 'polite' of her. If this is her after having mellowed out then she must have been really nasty as a human. Firefly lecturing Posey about politeness? Heh that would be funny. Still I do have to deal with Lisa, so I close the door despite the child whom is still hugging me and then decide to open a topic of conversation.

"So... has your sister got any of the memories of the pony she turned into?"
At the question the girl finally stopped hugging me and looked over at her sister "I don't know, have you?" she questioned.

Posey looks at her quite annoyed and doesn't answer. Probably because she fears somehow breaking what's left of her tough girl act by acting like Posey, something Lisa had told me actually happens sometimes.

"Okay I’ll start then." I say and move in front the couch. "I remember things from Firefly but they are a bit random, I was kind of a punk as a human and I obsessed with the idea of being cool, somewhat like a human version of Rainbow Dash would be according to the people I’ve talked with online. There might be more of us, there might be not. And sorry about this but I promised."

I then give the Earth pony a hug while Lisa took a picture with her camera. I then moved away as fast as I could, and closed my eyes, now fully expecting Posey to hit me.

Only... where did she go?

I blink as I then heard a door slam, I turn around and notice that she’d apparently locked herself in the bathroom. The lever inside is big enough to be manipulated by hooves so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to imagine. Not to mention the loud click I heard after the door slammed shut all but confirms it.

“Well,” I began with a tired sigh. “This sure was a great way to start a reunion,” I deadpan and sit on the couch with a huff.

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

08 I Dream Of Maggie

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

I have to admit one thing about this new life that I find myself in. One simple truth that is neither profound in nature nor grand in scope... I miss my bed. Silly as it might sound to others but I honestly miss my old bed. Despite how lumpy, hard, and painful the darn thing was it was so much better than sleeping on a stone floor. My blankets and such weren't silk or velvet or fancy, but they were better than my old cape.

I squirmed on the cold stone and huffed as I opened my eyes. I gazed at the far wall, cold stone and utterly uninteresting to look at. The walls in my room, as bland as they were, were somehow better looking than stone walls. Admittedly, while I do miss my bed, and my sheets... and my room... and my games...

Is there a point to all this, or are you just trying to depress yourself?

'I don't know anymore,' I replied with a sigh, 'I think my mind is wandering, cause of everything else that happened today,' I replied. My brain hummed in response while I shifted in my cape and then clenched my eyes shut. 'Go to sleep already!' I thought with a growl.

Yeah like that's really gonna work.

I don't see you coming up with a better idea!' I snapped. My brain snorted in response.

I would, but we're just trying to avoid thinking about the Poison Joke problem, and the fact that a little girl now knows we're hiding out out here.

'...'

You know it isn't good to ignore a problem, right?

'Maybe.'

Well since I am you, you clearly do know it.

'Ugh, whatever... can't you think of something better to do than annoy me?' I mentally grumbled with narrowed eyes.

Like what? I'm a voice in your head that you made up to help deal with all the stress of waking up as a miniature talking unicorn and being isolated from everyone and everything you've ever known or loved... although technically you always talked to yourself so maybe I'm just your normal head-voice or something.

'Oh whatever, you... wait... is that really what you are?' I questioned with a blink of my eyes. However my brain was silent and I huffed and crossed my forelimbs. After a moment I sat up and shrugged my cape to the side. With a sigh I rubbed at my face with my right forelimb and looked around. My eyes soon fell onto my meager food supply, after a moment I approached it and took stock of what I had left.

A frown slowly crossed my lips as I realized I was running a bit low. I could maybe hold out for another day, or bum some food off of Megan, but I'd rather not take any chances. That girl was clearly enamored with me and I didn't like the idea of taking advantage of a little girl like that. So with that in mind I knew what I needed to do.

'I'm going to need to go out and find some more,' I decided with a click of my tongue. That decided I stretched out and yawned softly. I shook my head afterwards and trotted over to my things and looked for what I'd need. As I was slipping on my 'affects' I couldn't help but think over the past week. From turning into a unicorn, living in the woods, meeting Megan, and finding out about the Poison Joke affecting so many people...

If I were honest with myself, I felt like I needed to do something about the latter. Poison Joke was mostly harmless, but there was no telling what'd happen to people who were repeatedly exposed to it. The jokes could get worse and worse till they became dangerous.

Or they might not have any reaction at all.

'Oh so now you'll talk to me,' I grumbled irritably.

Well if you're gonna be all snippy about it...

I ignored my brain as it went silent and instead focused on a few scenarios I had for what I could do to try and help with the Poison Joke. I could reveal myself and explain what was causing the 'disease'. But that would likely end badly for me since I didn't know of any kind of cure, and the people could easily rationalize that my sudden appearance meant that I'd brought the Poison Joke with me or something...

'Which isn't too far off,' I admit to myself. I seemed to have been the first transformation thus far, so if I was the first then it stood to reason that everything else followed after. I don't know what caused the transformations, nor did I have any kind of clues on how to find out. For the moment I had merely conjecture and potential theories to work with. None of which were particularly helpful or likely if I were honest.

I shake my head of such thoughts and give a soft sigh. I rub a hoof against the side of my head and idly tie my olive-drab bandanna around my head. Once it's secure I make sure the rest of what I'll need is secured and head out of my cave. Due to my fitful slumber the sun is still out, so given my nocturnal sleep-cycle, it's most likely fairly late in the afternoon. With that in mind I make a point to keep an eye, and ear, out for anyone that might be out.

Yeah, don't want anymore little girls to find you while you're out here.

I frowned at the somewhat snarky comment from my brain and stomped out of my cave. 'Do you have a problem with me or something?' I inwardly demanded. However much as before it completely ignored me in favor of silence. Thus I found myself even more annoyed than I already was, mostly cause my own brain is being difficult. Though if I thought about it, my brain has kind of been that way for a while now.

I shake my head of that and instead let out a snort. I silently consider the fact that I'm literally having a fight with myself and wonder when I started to lose my grip on reality. 'Probably around the same time I woke up to find I was a tiny horse,' I noted to myself. I sighed and then raised a hoof to rub at my face, only to pause before it could. 'My hooves have been on the ground with all the dirt and grime,' I recalled and then frowned.

'Lord I miss having hands,' I noted with my ears flattened back against my head. I also missed my old life, but now wasn't the time for such depressing thoughts. If I wanted to survive I needed to find some more food. That in mind I should probably focus on the task at hand and head out to grab some more berries from the forest. The journey there is in, relative, silence and as such I only half pay attention to my surroundings.

I keep my eyes open for the marks I'd made on the trees leading to the berries though, mostly so I don't end up getting lost. With how vast the forest is there's no telling where I might end up if I don't. Not to mention I could only imagine the kind of things I could potentially end up meeting if I'm not careful out here. From wild animals to possible hunters, there is certainly cause for caution.

Now if only you thought of that before you started randomly singing out in the open.

'You're never letting me live that down are you?' I grumbled internally. This was, what, the fifth time that my inner voice had brought it up after all.

Eh, it depends on if I get something better to mess with you with later.

'You know, I never realized what a jerk I can be until I was isolated from everyone else,' I note with a huff. My inner voice chuckled at that and a growl reverberated from the back of my throat. 'I'm not bucking joking!' I inwardly growled.

Oh I know, it's just kind of hilarious that you called yourself a jerk.

'Why's that?' I grumbled.

Cause it feels like you're still pony-ifying your words, or you'd have used a much different word for me... or is it you? Us? Well you get the point.

I pause at that thought and slowly blink. "Oh buck me I really am," I breathed and then brought my hoof to my face with a groan.

And you've just touched your face with your dirty muddy hooves... after you just had a bath the other day too. Not to mention your fur is white so even the smallest amount of dirt tends to show...

"Oh buck you and the sun-forsaken thought you came from!" I snarled and then sucked in a breath. I did it again, more pony lingo instead of me swearing as violently as I possibly can. "Calm down, you're just having a really bad day is all, no need to start swearing up a storm," I assured myself. Though to be honest I wasn't really swearing... and now I'm wondering if it's just a pony thing that we don't swear.

Maybe... I mean you did randomly break into song the other day and almost danced on top of it.

That... was actually a good point. Thanking back to the previous day I can't help but note that I did break into song and I did practically dance. Given that music also played literally out of thin air when I did and being unable to swear feels mundane by comparison. It still kind of annoys me though, seeing as I can't swear even if I might've wanted too. Unless I can somehow trick whatever magic is preventing me from swearing that is.

I idly glance up to see where I am, I notice a few more marks on the trees and continue on into the forest. While I'm sure Moon Dancer, the actual pony, could probably figure this out I can't help but feel I am sorely lacking by comparison. My own knowledge of magic is limited to whatever I know from books, games, movies, and other such media. That in turn meant I might as well be a foal given all I could do with it. No wait, if the Cake twins were anything to go by, then even foal's could do more than I can!

If we even can use magic at all, we've never really tested that before after all

'Point,' I allowed and hummed. My eyes glanced to another mark and I spotted the berry bushes I'd found the other day. 'Finally,' I thought with an internal sigh and trotted over to them. I grabbed a few berries and stowed them away in my butt-pouch without much preamble. I'd been having a pretty lousy day thus far, honestly all I wanted to do was get the berries, get home, and hopefully mope around for the rest of the day. I'd get something productive done tomorrow... if I'm feeling better by then.

I soon finish my gathering with a tired sigh. I take a quick glance up and see that it'll likely be dark fairly soon. With that in mind I get up and start on the long arduous journey back to my humble little cave. Thankfully while it is getting late by normal standards the sun is still just high enough for me to see where I'm going. Not to mention I've always had fairly decent night vision and my transformation hasn't changed that much.

As I'm trotting though I can't help but pause when I hear something snap nearby. 'That wasn't me,' I note with an internal gulp. 'Please don't be a hunter, please don't be a hunter,' I thought in a slow mantra and looked to either side. 'Oh buck me,' I thought when I spotted a large bear. The bear had taken a step towards me and broke a fallen branch beneath its weight. The beast and I silently stared at one another, until it roared and I bolted.

'Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!' I thought as I galloped away from the bear. Why was the bear even out here? Oh wait... forest, duh. So why did it come here? Wait... bears eat berries, I was picking berries, the bear probably noticed me and decided I looked more appetizing than the berries did... that thought only served to spur me onward, galloping like my life depended on it. Which it probably did.

'Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!' I continued to think in a desperate mantra as I galloped.

Less chicken talk and more running!

I ignored my brains commentary and instead focused on galloping away. Unfortunately the bear had decided that it wanted to give chase. Granted I'm a tiny horse so I probably look pretty appetizing to it...

Hey! I'm the one who makes commentary, you focus on running!

For once I decided my brain had a point and turned at a nearby tree. I heard the bear slam into the tree as it tried to turn and mentally breathed a sigh of relief. Now I just needed to get home and...

Be cornered by a hungry bear in a cave...

'Oh buck me,' I thought with a whimper as I heard the bear get back up with a roar. I tried desperately to think of something I could do to get out of this. I can't go to my cave, that was just asking for trouble. I can't go looking for hunters, they might shoot me instead of the bear... or both of us actually. Going near my old home was simply out of the question, I didn't want my family hurt and...

Would you focus!

'Wha...?' I began to question only to shriek when I felt the bear bat me to the side with one of it's claws. I was knocked to the side and slammed bodily into a tree. I fell to the ground with a grunt and looked up to see the bear approaching me. The only thought I had at the moment was, when had that thing caught up with me?

Probably when you started thinking so much that you slowed down!

Oh yeah... that makes sense,' I allowed and groaned in pain. I glance down at myself and notice several gashes in my side from the bear's claws. I quickly turn my eyes back to the bear as it stalks closer to me. 'Got to get up,' I thought to myself and tried to get back to my hooves. However I shrieked and ducked as the bear swiped its claw at me once more. 'N-no,' I think desperately, eyes trained on the huge bear before me as it rose up onto it's hind legs.

'I don't want to die, I don't want to die, I don't want to die!' I think desperately as the bear lunges at me. 'I DON'T WANT TO DIE!' I think and with a spark of crimson energy a lance of light shoots from my horn and straight into the bear. A moment later the creature stumbles back a step, and then falls to the side with a groan. I looked on with shock for a moment, and then tried to desperately control my breathing when I saw the bear shift.

It wasn't dead... just sleeping?

'A... a sleep spell?' I questioned.

Well... wait... what... we can do magic?! Jeez this is great! Now maybe we can actually get something done around here! Like figure out how to levitate things, maybe teleport since that would be bucking useful. Hmmm... now that I think about it we could also do with learning a way to turn invisible actually.

Despite my brains commentary, I just stared at the now sleeping bear with a shocked look on my face. I don't care that I just did magic, I don't care that I can apparently use magic at all, I don't even care that I just sur... okay no I am grateful that I survived, but still. 'I just cast a sleep spell?' I questioned and my eye twitched, 'Why the buck did I cast a sleep spell?! Why not teleport! A bucking laser! Anything but a bucking sleep spell?! That's like the last thing I'd consider useful in my situation!' I internally exclaimed.

Not to say that the spell was totally useless, clearly it was good for putting things to sleep... but really, what else could that be useful for? With a laser I could maybe burn grooves into the walls of my cave and make it look nicer. If I could teleport then I'd never have to worry about walking all over the place. If I could levitate then I could levitate things and never have to complain about hooves again...

Sweet lord I really wanted that last one.

Well Moon Dancer was always kind of known for casting sleep magic in Gen-1, I mean she did put Cotton Candy under a sleep spell once that not even Twilight with her wish granting could break.

'Oh great, so not only am I a nocturnal pony but I'm also the bucking nocturnal pony who specializes in bucking sleep magic!? Why couldn't I be Galaxy! Or bucking Twilight! Or tartarus I'd even take bucking Surprise! Why did I have to be the bucking sleep pony!?' with that I stopped and hissed as all my adrenaline finally wore off and my side throbbed painfully. I looked down and noticed the trails of red running down my side with a grimace.

Oh great, and now I'm bleeding on top of every bucking thing else,' I thought as I slowly loped away. I wanted to put as much distance between me and that bucking bear as I possibly could. 'Lord why not a pony with magic that could heal this?' I wondered with a whimper as my side throbbed once more.

If you were, then the bear would still be chasing you.

'Buck you!' I snapped at my brain. I shook my head of that and my head-voice and continued to press onward. However the further I went the more my side throbbed and I started to notice that I was getting more and more tired as I went. I slowly trotted through the forest, my side throbbed in pain and my head swam. 'W'as going on... why... why I feel so tired all of a sudden,' I inwardly slur as I lean against the nearest tree for support.

Oh that's just great, this body is so much smaller than a human that we're bleeding out faster! Quick get your bandages out and...

'Shu... shu' up...' I managed to grit out as I trotted onward. 'No... hands... or levitation...' I reminded the voice in my head. It groaned as a result while I tried to keep my vision from swimming. I slowly made my way from the forest and into one of the fields around the street. I wasn't entirely sure where we were at that point, what with the chase kind of putting me out of sorts. I tried to get my bearings but everything felt kind of hazy... and it was kind of dark...

Oh c'mon! Why does everything have to go wrong today!?

Normally I'd agree with my head-voice, but I was just too exhausted to comment. Instead I took several more steps forward and then all but collapsed. My vision faded in and out as I saw a familiar shape. 'Megan?' I thought with a groan as my eyelids grew heavy. The last sight I saw before blackness took me was Megan gasping at the sight of me. 'If I wake up from this... I hope I'm not in a circus or zoo or something... and that I never see another bear for as long as I live...' I thought as I passed into blissful unconsciousness.

~~*Silly Old Surprise*~~

“Is she really going to be okay?” the little girl asked, “that looks it hurt really bad,” she noted and I gave my most convincing fake smile. Unfortunately it was probably ruined by the fact it didn’t quite reach my eyes.

“Yeah of course!” I declared a bit too loudly and she tilted her head.

“Really? ‘Cause…” she began to question once more, but I cut her off.

“Hey now! Who's the actual pony between us?” I questioned, then paused and glanced at the unconscious mare on the bed. “Err… besides Moon Dancer that is,” I amended and the girl blinked innocently.

“You,” she admitted as she pointed a finger at me.

“Right! And who better to say that she’ll be fine than me!” I replied with a nod.

“Okay, but can’t we get a vetri…” she paused and screwed up her face in a cute pout, “vertra… an animal doctor to help her?” she tried but I swiftly shook my head.

“No no no no no no!” I stated rapidly and shook my head.

“But why not?” she questioned with a confused frown.

“Because that’d be the worst thing you could do!” I declared and hopped from the bed down to her, I then leaned my face into her and placed my hooves on her shoulders. “It’d be like E.T. with the government coming to get her!” I declared and the girl stared at me blankly.

“What’s an E.T.?” she questioned. I blinked and then face hooved.

“Oh right… you’re a little girl you probably haven’t seen that,” she admitted to herself and then frowned in thought. “Um, how ‘bout Lilo and Stitch?” she questioned and the little girl continued to stare at her blankly. She also frowned and glared to the side as a cricket chirped softly. “Now’s not the time!” she shouted at the cricket and it looked at her for a moment then hopped off, causing the little girl to giggle in amusement.

Once the rude cricket had vacated Surprise rubbed her temples with a sigh. “I swear, why doesn’t anyone watch the classics anymore?” she grumbled to herself then looked back to the little girl. “Anyways the point is if people find out about her they might try to take her away and hurt her,” I tried to explain as best I could.

“But why? She’s just a little pony!” the little girl reminded me and I chuckled softly.

“Yeah, well we aren’t exactly normal,” I remarked and then shook my head, “people would think we’re aliens or mutants and react badly,” I again tried to explain but the girl still seemed confused. Given her age though it made sense she didn’t exactly understand, she was a little girl who liked ponies, she’d never hurt one so she didn’t understand why someone else would.

Thankfully she didn’t question me further and just looked at Moony worriedly.
I pause that train of thought and instead glance at the unconscious unicorn again. Thankfully it seemed that her wounds weren’t actually all that deep or else I would have risked the vet. I’d cleaned and dressed the wounds with some help from the girl; I didn’t have thumbs and really didn’t want alcohol in my mouth after all. It was just a good thing I’d taken a first aid course a few years ago or, again, I’d have had to risk the vet.

‘I’ve been way too careless,’ I decided as I looked at the unconscious mare. ‘Of all of us I should’ve really paid more attention to the pony living in the bucking woods,’ I thought with narrowed eyes. Even if looking out for everyone was no easy task, the majority of us only had to keep out of sight of people; Moony also had the wild to deal with. ‘Which includes wild animals,’ I noted and rubbed my temples again.

Even with my particular special talent, it takes a lot of to actually look after everyone.

Oh don’t get me wrong I’ve still been helping everypony as best I can, like ensuring Firefly and Posey wound up meeting, or talking to Twilight when the guilt got to her, keeping the pound from catching Applejack with a few distractions, and… well Sparkler hasn’t had any problems yet. However even with all of the things I’ve accomplished there are still limits to what I can do.

Maybe I should be ‘Surprise the Helpful Pony’,’ I thought with a giggle. I then shook my head and trotted over to Moony with a frown. She was unconscious, and not just from blood loss. As it turns out our bodies need magic to function properly, and unfortunately there really isn’t too much to go around right now. Moony was likely the only pony who had active access to her magic now, but that was still worrying.

A pony’s special talent did more than just decide their ‘destiny’; it was really more like a safety net. A pony with a certain special talent had a much easier and safer time using magic derived from it, IE, Moony’s special talent is using sleep magic, my special talent is surprising ponies, etcetera etcetera. We can use magic related to those things easier than we could anything else.

Thus I can’t really mess with the weather right now and Moony can’t teleport. Just… just trust me on that, I tried, and yes I can fly… sort of, but only for short bursts. It turns out that Pegasus wings really are too small to lift our bodies and so we need a bit of magic just to get off the ground. Gliding is fine, but weather control? Ha! I got a little ‘thunderstruck’ when I tried to do that…

Yeah that was bad, sorry, I’m just really worried that one of my friends almost died.

I mean a bear almost got her! Wait… why didn’t she play dead? Aren’t bears lazy? She’d have been fine if she’d dumped the berries from her bag, although wouldn’t a pony be way more appetizing than the berries? Especially given the size of that thing. Also is that trick with playing dead really real or just a myth? Moony would probably know given that she lives near bears in the first place.

Wait, the girl lives around bears too…
“Hey sweetie,” I began and looked to the girl, who blinked at me.

“Yes miss Surprise?” she questioned.

“Has your mommy ever mentioned bears?” I asked and she nodded.

“Yeah! She told me a lot after we moved here,” she replied with a bright smile.

“Oh good,” I whispered quietly, “So do they really leave you alone if you play dead?” I questioned and she frowned.

“Umm,” she murmured with a scratch of her head. “Oh right, she said to only do that if it’s a mother defending her cubs,” she replied and I grimaced.

“And… if not?” I questioned.

“Fight back or run,” the girl replied. I grimaced in response, my ears flattened against my head and I made a note of that for the future. ‘Well, apparently Moony, the pony who’s lived near bears all her life, really did know what to do,’ I realized with a gulp. In hindsight that made a lot more sense than I cared to admit.

Wait… where was I again? Oh right! Taking care of six ponies really isn’t easy, this is especially when you’re also trying to deal with the poison joke. With Posey… like she is… we can’t really have her do anything, thus my best bet to fix things might just be getting a wish from Twilight. That is assuming the wish works right and doesn’t come back to bite me in the flank latter.

It wouldn’t be a selfish wish after all…

“Sweetie, your name is Megan right?” I asked the girl and she nodded.

“Yep,” she replied then grinned widely, bright eyes shining, “hey wait! You have the same cutie-mark as Pinkie Pie!” she noted and I glanced at the three burgundy balloons on my flank and smirked.

“Yeah I guess we kind of do, but I’m actually with the wonderbolts,” I replied. Sure that was actually a fanon guess, and I think the actual pony in the wonderbolts who had blond hair and a white coat was somepony else… but whatever, I’m so not explaining G1 to her!

“Really?” she questioned and then looked around, “wait is Firefly here?” she asked and I stared at her strangely. ‘Why did she ask about Firefly… no wait how does she know who Firefly is?’ I wondered to myself, then shook the thought off. Worry about that later, focus on your friend now!

“No, sorry,” I replied and then had a thought, “Hey sweetie, how do you feel about baking?” I questioned and she blinked, “If you help a little we can make some cookies, I’m sure Moony will be starving when she wakes up,” I remarked.

Not to mention I was pretty hungry myself. I mean don’t get me wrong, I liked sweets as a human but as a pony? Ha! It was like my sweet tooth had gone and conquered my entire mouth!

And besides you can't give away surprise congratulations cookies for surviving a bear attack without the cookies! That's just common sense.

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

'Ow,' was my first 'conscious' thought. I slowly opened my eyes and then hissed in pain as a bright light blinded me. I slowly raised a forelimb and brought up a fore-hoof to cover my eyes. 'Bad idea,' I internally moaned as my ears splayed backwards along my head. The bright blinding light that surrounded my left me more than a little disorientated. I briefly tried to think of where I could be.
I could recall the bear, being chased, putting it to sleep, then slowly passing out in the middle of the…

"Wait, why am I not in the forest?" I briefly recalled and then all but shot up to my hooves. However I then widened my eyes and felt my jaw go slack as I found myself in a wide-open space. It was dark, dark as the night sky with millions of tiny little lights in the distance like twinkling stars. I craned my neck back and observed the lofty heavens above and found a solitary moon was shining its light down on me.

"What the buck," I mumbled to myself and then shook my head. I briefly approached the side of my solitary platform of earth and looked down instead. What I saw filled me with dread, a deep dark abyss was all that awaited down below. My solitary plot of earth was all that kept me from falling into the darkness of the void. With a whimper I backed up, only to yelp as one of my hooves nearly fell off. I hopped forward and then gulped in the dead center of the plot of earth.

"Okay this is new," I mumbled and slowly made my way around the solitary plot of earth. I eventually noticed that it was only just big enough to stand on and sat back with a frown. "This is certainly not what I wanted to find when I woke up," I muttered and snorted out a breath. I then paused when I realized it was too quiet and looked up with a frown. "Yo, you awake up there Brain?" I questioned and then frowned when I received no answer.

"So what is going on then?" I wondered as I rubbed my chin with a hoof. After a moment I shook my head and made my way to the edge of the plot of land and looked down, only to yelp and step back as another plot of earth rose from the abyss to attach to it. I blinked in surprise as it did and then narrowed my eyes and trotted forward. I lightly stepped out onto the new plot of earth, and was surprised when I found my hooves against solid earth.

"This feels oddly familiar," I admitted as I trotted forward. More plots of earth rose upward to join with the rest, soon forming into a path into the distance. I couldn't help but wonder where they were taking me, before I noticed something else in the otherwise empty star-scape that surrounded me. There, hovering a distance away, was what looked like a tower hovering on a massive raised plot of earth…

The strange part was that the tower was vast and imposing, rising high into the air while being made of the strangest combination of materials I'd ever seen. Obsidian, Marble, and what looked like dark-oak and a blue-purple colored stone. The tower was tall, sure, but stranger still were what looked to be two hanging rooms built on its sides that stood out from the rest of the main body of the tower.

Stranger still I noticed a clock face near the top of the tower…

"What's something like this doing out in the middle of nowhere?" I wondered to myself. I then continued down the ever-rising path to the land beneath the tower. I hesitantly placed a hoof onto the earth, and then breathed a sigh of relief when my weight didn't cause it to fall. "Duh, if that tower doesn't cause it to fall," I muttered to myself and then approached the tower. Overgrown bushes and an old cobblestone path marked the short path.

"This place sure is overgrown," I noted to myself. Aside from the bushes I could also see a number of tall unruly trees and vines growing over half the tower. Further, I noticed an old broken down fountain off the side of the path that no longer functioned properly. Instead it held a pool of green slimy water that had likely once been clear. Beyond the fountain was an old beaten path, which lead to behind the tower, but I ignored it entirely.

I wasn't too curious what was behind the tower when I could explore the tower itself instead…

I continued on my way silently, though I briefly looked here or there as I went, then walked up a small set of stairs to reach the entrance, but paused at the door itself. "Isn't that my cutie-mark?" I murmured with a glance at my flank. "Huh... well that's a bit odd," I noted to myself. The door was otherwise normal, made from dark oak with a handle made of iron. The handle was actually a ring, and I hummed as I observed it carefully.

"It looks almost big enough," I murmured then raised my hoof then slipped it into the ring and grinned triumphantly. "Ha! Finally a handle I can actually use!" I happily crowed as I then stepped back and pulled the door open. I grunted in effort as the door, ancient and unused, slowly opened itself to my efforts. Soon enough there was enough room in the doorway for me to enter, and I released the handle and then slipped inside.

I made my way inside with a smile, only to slow and allow my jaw to slacken at what I found within the tower. It was, oddly enough, an enormous library inside, with books literally flying off of the shelves. "The buck," I murmured and then walked forward. The books moved from one side to the other, seemingly reorganizing themselves however they saw fit and causing me to smirk.

“Twilight would either love or hate that,” I muttered to myself. I personally leaned more to hate as her OCD would probably make the way they worked drive her crazy. As I made my way through I couldn’t hel but notice that the library was especially odd. Even without the books moving there were no visible stairs to get further up the tower. "So how do I," I began to question only to pause.

Several of the flying books soon flew down and formed into a set of floating stairs for me, which rounded around the room and lead up. "Oh... well that's new," I mumbled with wide eyes before I made my way to the first book. I tentatively place a hoof on it, then frowned as it somehow supported my weight. I then moved to the next, then the next, and so on and so on and before I knew it I was to the second floor.

"Huh, neat," I admitted mostly to myself and then continued on my way. The second floor of the tower was simply an observatory of some kind, with what could only be a star-chart built into the walls and a single window with an old telescope looking out at the back end. I approached the telescope, an old brass and wood number, and frowned at its size. It was roughly my size, meaning it was built for a pony…

Actually... the whole place seemed small enough for a pony…

"Weird," I admitted to myself and then spotted a near hidden alcove with a set of stairs leading upwards. "Onwards and upwards," I mumbled to myself as I approached the stairs and made my way further up into the tower. I paused on my way as I came to a door to the side. I opened it briefly and looked out across a bridge that lead to one of the many hanging rooms I'd noticed earlier.

I guess I might as well explore everything,' I decided as I opened the door, only to pause as I found a sort of sitting room within. It had a fireplace and soft cushions on the floor, not to mention an old comfortable looking rug and a number of bookcases along the walls. I idly made my way around the room for only a little while, before I turned and continued my ascent through the tower.

I soon came to the second room and looked inside, only to raise a brow as I found a simple looking kitchen of sorts, with all the amenities one would expect... if they were living in medieval times that is. 'Okay I'm starting to get the idea,' I noted to myself and hurried back out of the room and continued up the stairs. Finally I came to the next floor of the tower and walked out into a strange room that caused me to raise a brow.

Aside from the mural of my cutie-mark that was dead center on the floor there were a number of doors in all directions on the walls. However oddly enough each door seemed to be made out of different type of wood and in a different style. Some were medieval while others were much more modern. Curious, I made my way onto the floor and heard my hoof steps echo behind me as I approached one of the doors.

I approached a modern one first and idly used my mouth to open it, only to feel my eyebrows shoot up at what I found beyond it. Within the... well... 'World’ beyond the door I saw a parade of humans hefting someone up on a palanquin. The humans didn't seem to notice me while I stared, slack jawed, as they continued on with their... parade? I didn't know what they were doing and instead closed the door without comment.

"The buck was that?" I wondered and then moved to another door. This one opened up into a hallway and I frowned as I walked into it. Within the hallway were even more doors, each one more different than the last. I slowly approached one door, which was made of old rotted wood and bound by iron, and pulled it open. Within I saw a human girl scream as she ran from what looked like Jason Vorheez... who had a chainsaw.

I then noticed the hockey-masked killer spot me and felt my eyes widen.

'Close it! Close it!! CLOSE IT!!!' I thought then slammed the door shut. I took a moment to look around and then grabbed a chain from beside the door and pulled it over it tightly. I then secured the door and allowed a shudder to pass down my spine. "Okay, so this is... I don't know what the buck any of this is," I murmured with a look around. I approached another door and pulled it open, only to see a baby playing with a... I don't really know…

"Okay I'm starting to see what's going on," I decided as I backed up and closed the door. I then rubbed my chin and brought my hoof against my forehead as I realized what was going on. "Oh I'm dreaming," I realized and then shook my head. However I paused and looked at the multitude of doors as something occurred to me. "Wait a tic, I'm a pony with sleep magic," I remarked and then felt a pit form in my stomach as the doors suddenly made sense.

"So then these are all probably other people's dreams," I reasoned and slowly backed out of the hallway with wide eyes. I then closed the door as I reentered the room with my cutie-mark and sat down with a groan. "Great, now I won't even be able to sleep without something crazy happening!" I complained loudly and leaned my head back against the door with a tired sigh. After a moment I looked around with a frown.

"So wait... if this is all a dream, then this tower..." I murmured and hummed in thought. "It might be a sort of... sanctuary for me?" I considered to myself. I did kind of like the idea of having my own tower. Never liked castles personally, they were all too big and hard to take care of. Towers had always appealed to me, even the one in Fantasia that Mickey flooded had appealed to me as a kid... so did that mean I built this tower to be a sort of safe haven?

"I guess it'd be possible," I remarked and then got back up. "But if that door was a hall, what's the difference with all these doors?" I wondered to myself. The main room did have a few more doors like the one with the hall. I briefly walked over to one and found even more hallways with even more doors beyond them. "Okay so those doors," I remarked with a glance at the medieval style doorways, "lead to more halls with more doors," I noted.

I then looked to the other doors, which were more modern and frowned.

"So what about all these?" I wondered as I approached one door. It had a symbol / Cutie-Mark on it that looked vaguely familiar. I idly opened the door and then gasped as I fell into an open sky. I flailed my limbs and screamed as I fell and fell and… what the. "Oof!" I grunted as a magenta colored bullet bowled into me.

“Hey! Watch it!” I heard a voice call and glanced down to see a magenta Pegasus had literally slammed into me. ‘She looks,’ I began to think then glanced at her flank, only to pause and shudder violently. ‘High high high high high!’ I thought fearfully as I saw just how far off the ground we were. With a sudden shriek I grasped the Pegasus face with my legs and she grunted and we started to fall.

“Pull up! Pull up!! Pull up!!!” I demanded wildly.

“What’re you,” she questioned as she moved me to get a look around, only to shriek and grasp me with her own legs. This caused both of us to shriek as we started to fall the insane amount of height down towards the ground below.

“Why are you screaming?!” I demanded with wide eyes.

“I’m afraid of heights!” she shot back and I felt my eyebrow twitch.

“How are you afraid of heights?! You’re a bucking Pegasus!” I shouted and she glared.

“Shut up!” she shouted back and we both looked down and screamed again. We held one another as we fell and I spotted the clouds below, after taking a moment to whimper in fear I then looked to the magenta Pegasus.

“Oh consarn ‘it! Y-Y-Y’all a Pegasus!” I shouted, and briefly slipped into my accent, only for her to look at me strangely.

“S-S-So?!” she demanded and I growled.

“It means ter aim for the bucking cloud dingbat!” I snarled and she blinked.

“Oh right,” she murmured and then looked down with a gulp. “H-Here we go,” she murmured softly as she opened her wings and maneuvered us towards the nearest, and largest, cloudbank she could find. We slammed into it suddenly, however the magenta mare bounced and, thanks to hanging on as tight as possible, I bounced with her. For a moment we remained like that, before the magenta pony nearly collapsed in relief.

“Oh thank Celestia that worked,” she muttered as she wiped at her brow. She then looked at me as I fearfully clung to her and she frowned. “Um, you can let go whenever,” she grumbled and I glared at her.

“Oh a unicorn,” she murmured then scratched at her head. “Wait, what’re you doing in the air?” she questioned then shuddered, “For that matter, what am I doing in the air?!” she all but demanded and I glared at her.

“P-Pr-Probably a flying dream,” I responded with a whimper as I glanced down.

“Weird,” the pony responded and then frowned, “wait if this is a dream, then what are you doing here?” she questioned and I glared at her.

“D-D-Does it matter?!” I questioned and she gave me a look.

“Well kinda,” she admitted then frowned, “I mean ponies don’t normally just pop into the sky,” she remarked. She then tilted her head as an idea came to mind, “unless you teleported up here or something,” she mused aloud. I rolled my eyes and then glanced up to see the door back to my… sanctuary? Yeah I’m going to go with that.

“N-N-Nice, look can you get me up there?” I questioned and pointed a shaky hoof up to the door well above us. However she merely looked at me like I was crazy.

“Are you kidding! I can’t fly!” she shouted and caused me to gape.

“You were flying not two minute ago!” I shouted at her and she frowned.

“Well yeah but I don’t know how or why!" she responded and I growled.
“Ugh, lord tell me why?!” I demanded, slipping back into my accent as I looked to the sky, “Why in tartarus did I have ta find the one Pegasus that can’t bucking fly?!” I demanded of the sky. No answer came but the Pegasus started to snicker and I growled at her angrily. “You hear somethin’ funny?” I growled and she smirked.

“You sound like Applejack!” she declared and I rolled my eyes.

“Not really, I’m not from Texas,” I responded then clicked my tongue, “Truth be told Tennessee has a different accent same with Cajun’s and the like,” I noted with a roll of my hoof and got a blank stare from the pony. With a groan I summarized it, “Basically there are a couple of southern accents, an’ mine ain’t the same as ol AJ’s,” I replied then smirked, “Kinda like how all Pegasus parrently don’ fly.”

“Hey! Cheap shot!” she exclaimed and I smirked.

“Too bad, so sad, Maggie,” I replied. She blinked.

“Maggie?” she questioned and I nodded my head.

“Your magenta, so Maggie,” I responded and she frowned.

“No, I’m pretty sure I’m pink,” she noted bluntly and my left eye twitched.

“Nah, you’re magenta,” I stated with narrowed eyes.

“Listen here, I think I know what color my coat is,” she stated and I snorted.

“Sure, I’mma listen to tha Pegasus who don’ know how ta fly,” I quipped and she growled.

“That’s so not the same thing!” she shouted at me, “and I’m pink! Pink! Not magenta so stop calling me Maggie!” she snarled at me. I mutely frowned and narrowed my eyes.

“Please, I know magenta when I see it, you’re a bit too reddish-purple tah be pink,” I noted and saw her eye twitch.

“Oh and what makes you such an expert? Huh?”

“Well I…”

“Huh?!”

“If ya would just…”

“HUH!?!”

“Shut up ya dang feather head!” I snarled at the mare, then held a hoof to the side and, somehow, summoned a familiar dog. “See here! Y’all are the same shade as Courage!” I snapped at her as I held the dog towards her. She gaped as the said dog gave a small whine and I blinked as my anger slowly started to subside. “Huh… I didn’t know I could do that,” I admitted to myself.

“Courage? You mean from Courage the cowardly dog?” the mare muttered then grinned as she grabbed the dog with her hooves and held him up, “Oh cool! I loved that show!” she declared. She then paused and glared at me as she did. “Oh whatever, fine, I’m magenta, happy now?” she questioned with a glare and I snorted.

“I would’a been a lot happier if we didn’t have to argue ‘bout it!” I responded.

“Yeah yeah,” the mare replied then looked at the cowardly dog in her hooves. “Wait, how did you summon Courage here?” she questioned.

“We’re in a dream, ‘course I can do ‘at kind of stuff,” I responded with a roll of my eyes.

“Ohhh so that’s what’s going on,” she responded.

“Yeah I said it earlier!” I reminded her with a growl.

“Well… whatever!” she cried out and held Courage close, “so now what?” she questioned and I rolled my eyes.

“Get me up there!” I stated and pointed a hoof up. The mare blinked and then glanced up and Courage whimpered in her hooves with a quiet familiar whine. “And could ya please get rid of ‘at dog?” I pleaded and she narrowed her eyes.

“I can maybe figure out a way to get us to there,” she noted and then frowned, “But as for getting rid of Courage, no!” she responded. With a groan I placed my hoof to my face, inhaled a breath through my nose, then focused on her once more.

“So ‘bout gettin’ me up there,” I noted and she chuckled softly.

“Yeah… see the problem is I’m kind of scared of heights,” she noted and I frowned.

“You’re a Pegasus,” I responded and she twitched.

“Yeah I know it doesn’t make sense, but just trust me on this,” she grumbled. She then glanced around shiftily and grabbed me. “Just… just don’t tell anyone else, please?” she pleaded and I rolled my eyes.

“Righ’ I’m really ‘bout ta tell someone ‘at a Pegasus I meet in the dream-scape is ‘fraid a heights,” I noted sarcastically.

“Well when you put it that way,” the mare muttered and then cleared her throat. “I should probably introduce myself, it’s Firefly,” she noted and I blinked. I then glanced at her flank and scratched my head.

“Huh… weird… Moon Dancer,” I responded and she glanced to my flank and raised a brow.

“Your more white than yellow… and you don’t look anything like Twilight,” she noted suspiciously.

“What?” I questioned and she sighed.

“No never mind,” she stated with a shake of her head. She then looked up and then closed her eyes. “Dream, this is a dream,” she muttered and the cloudbank we were on started to rise up into the sky. After a few moments we were high enough that I could see the door and released a breath I hadn’t been aware I’d been holding in.

“Oh thank heaven,” I muttered and Firefly frowned.

“So… you mentioned a dream-scape,” she noted and I nodded my head, “what’s that like?” she questioned.

“Basically a sanctuary for me that leads ta a bunch of hallways leading ta the dreams of anyone sleeping,” I remarked with a shrug. Firefly tilted her head in response and then hummed softly.

“So wait… are you a real pony then?” she questioned and I shot her a look.

“As opposed to what?” I questioned and shook her head.

“No no! I mean are you like an actual unicorn pony living in the real world?” she questioned and I rolled my eyes.

“Eeyep,” I responded and she snorted.

“Don’t do that!” she shouted and I smirked.

“Nope,” I responded and she continued to snicker.

“Stop that!” she shouted and then exhaled a breath. “Anyways I’m in the real world too!” she declared and I raised a brow.

“Sure you are,” I mumbled sarcastically.

“Yeah! So how’ve things been for you?” she asked a bit too eagerly.

“A bear nearly mauled me,” I remarked bluntly and she winced.

“Oh… ouch, is that why,” she began and I silently nodded my head, “Oh… heh, the worst thing to happen to me was making Posey cry,” she admitted and I blinked.

“Posey?” I questioned and she nodded.

“Yeah her sister kind of brought her over,” she responded and I raised a brow.

“Didn’t know Posey had a sister,” I admitted.

“She’s human,” Firefly explained and I made an oh with my mouth, then paused. I hadn’t mentioned being changed into a pony… well… shoot…

“Right,” I mumbled softly and then narrowed my eyes. “So, seen anyone else?” I questioned and she shook her head.

“Nah, aside from a few mentions of a white Pegasus online I haven’t really seen anything. Well there was that kids show that was saying to avoid blue flowers,” she admitted and I hummed. That first bit sounded suspiciously like Surprise…

“Right… well I best be headin’ off now,” I noted and then looked over to the door out of Firefly’s dream. I took a quick breath before I leaped off of her and then clambered into the doorway to release a shuddering breath.

“You okay?” Firefly questioned. She was seated on her cloud, Courage desperately hanging onto her for dear life. Not that I imagined the cowardly mutt would do anything else, he was kind of known for freaking out over the slightest provocation after all.

“Fine,” I responded with an exhale then turned to face her.

”So…” Firefly began and then looked at me curiously. “Any idea on how the pony thing happened?” she questioned. “I mean it was kind of cool for a while but it’s getting really dangerous for everyone with all the poison joke,” she noted and then her eyes widened, “You don’t think Earth is turning into Equestria or… Ponyland… or whatever it’s called do you?!” she questioned worriedly.

However I shrugged my ‘arms’ helplessly.
“Truth be told I’m probably ‘bout as lost as you are,” I admitted. She groaned in response and I sighed tiredly. “Look I’m probably being a bit of a jerk, but I really should get out of here,” I noted with a nudge into my sanctuary. Firefly shot a look at me, then glanced inside with a curious expression.

“Whoa, that looks so cool,” she admitted and I rolled my eyes.

“Sure whatever, now I really don’t think I should stick around,” I noted by Firefly shot another look at me.

“You’re not the nicest pony you know,” she remarked and I rolled my eyes.

“Look up Gen 1 Moon Dancer sometime,” I commented and then smirked,

“Apparently I put a sleep curse on Cotton Candy for eating my sweet grass and threatened to keep her that way till Christmas,” I noted and Firefly’s eyes bolted open.

“Whoa… I… I didn’t know that,” she admitted and looked at me warily. “Wait, what were you before you were a pony?” she questioned and I frowned.

“A guy,” I responded and she frowned.

“Uh… how does a guy know that about,” she began and I sighed.

“I looked it up out of curiosity once,” I replied with a sigh.

“Right,” she replied then glanced at me strangely.

“What?” I grumbled and she hopped over to give me a hug. “What are you doing?” I questioned with a raised brow. She mutely continued the hug, nuzzled my neck for a moment, and then just as quickly turned and hopped back out to her cloud with a sheepish expression.

“You… you kind of looked like you really needed that,” she admitted. "So… uh... if it's a dream it doesn't count, right?"

"Only if we remember it after we wake up. Given you're a normal pony or human then I'd assume that you'll forget this meeting unless my magic messes with it or something. And given I'm apparently a dream walker or something then... yeah I'm gonna remember this no matter how much I try to forget it happened,” I noted with a soft sigh.

"Heh, well sorry. It’s just… I was already a girl and it was already hard to get used to, so I can’t imagine how bad it was for you,” she admitted. I mutely raised a brow and she coughed into her hoof. “Oh look at the time, I should really go before things get anymore awkward, it was nice meeting you, bye!” she stated and both the pony and her cloud vanished and the door suddenly slammed shut in my face.

I blinked and silently stared at the closed door for a moment. Only now I could see that the 'cutie-mark' upon its surface had also faded in color. "Well... that was certainly an experience," I murmured softly to myself. And really, how else was I supposed to react? I'd just walked into another pony's dream... "Is this what Luna feels like every night?" I wondered to myself.

"Well it isn’t as if I'm really walking through another person's dream," I admitted to myself and then sat back with a frown. "But then again how would I be able to tell if this were a dream, I mean if it weren't I'd still believe it was, and if it was then how could I tell it was since it won't matter when I wake up," I began to murmur, only to groan as I began to feel a migraine. "No, not going to think too hard on this one," I decided as I got back to my hooves.

I then shook my head and turned away from that door and all the others. I was in no mood for more hijinks in any other 'dreams' for the rest of the night. Instead I made my way back to the stairs of the tower and continued further upwards. I wandered up until I came out into a clockwork area. I figured I was in the space behind the clock face on the front of the tower, and really who'd ever wanted to live in a Clocktower!

"Oh wait, me," I recalled. With a slight blush I coughed into one hoof and then started to canter around. The clockwork gears and cogs and other such brick-a-brack turned and churned mechanically. The precise movements were lost on me, but the ever present noise of clockwork motion was not. My ears flicked here and there as they sought out this sound or that without fail.

I frowned as I wandered through the clockwork gears and mechanical things I had no real name for. Part of me wanted to find a book in the library and figure out how the clock work on the off chance I needed to know in the future. But the more sensible part of me then recalled that this was a dream and that there was little to no way that I'd ever need to know how such a massive clock functioned.

"Well I'm here..." I murmured and then frowned, "so now what?" I wondered to myself. I briefly examined my surroundings for anything of note or merit, whether it be big or small, anything at all that might be a clue or a way out of this crazy dream. Eventually I spotted a low glow from a small doorway near the back of the clockwork area. I made my way there swiftly, but carefully and pushed the door open with my hoof.

Within this new room I found an odd sight, a glowing sphere with a number of tiny white threads reaching off of what looked like a spiral fluted horn. "Well if that doesn't just scream 'dream spell' I don't know what does," I mumbled quietly as I approached the odd sphere. I looked around it for a moment, idly wondered how I turned it off, then sighed. "Well, as the Doctor would say, Allonz-y!" I declared and swiped a hoof through the sphere…

There was a sudden, well... I can't really describe the sensation exactly. It was almost like everything turned funny, not ha ha funny, but 'The heck?' kind of funny, for the smallest of moments, only to swiftly change back to normal... if that makes any kind of sense. The next thing I knew I was laying on something uncomfortable, and I felt like utter shite... and then I noticed the elephant in the room.

"Surprise!"

"GAH!"

Or rather I noticed the pegasus pony who just had to shout that just as soon as she jumped into view. Unfortunately that also made me jump back, which caused me to hit the wall and nearly knocked me back into unconsciousness. Okay so technically I only managed to 'skid' back really, but the effect was almost the same. And all that said, oh dear sweet Cele... you know what, no... Dear Sweet baby Luna, today is just not my day!

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

09 Blue

~~*Silly Old Surprise*~~

Surprise could admit to herself, she probably should've been a bit more tactful with the mare who'd only just woken from unconsciousness. Instead she'd surprised her, as was her talent, and Moony had been all but knocked back in shock. Now she was sprawled out and looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Oh pony feathers..." Surprise muttered with her ears lowered. She then hurried forward and helped the unicorn back up to her hooves. Moon Dancer took a moment to catch her breath and Surprise smiled brightly. "There, you better?" she questioned. However Moon Dancer just looked at her, blinked in confusion, and then shook her head.

“I must still be dreaming,” she mumbled with a dazed look.

“Nah, I’m really here,” Surprise responded. Moon Dancer glanced at her warily and then poked her injured side, only to hiss at the sudden sharp pain she felt. "Don’t do that! You’ll exacerbate your injuries!” she stated with clear worry. Moon Dancer grunted in response and then looked around with a frown. It took her only a moment to notice the window and the familiar landscape outside, which combined with all the girly toys…

“We’re in Megan’s house,” she noted. There weren’t too many children on her street after all.

“Yeppers!” Surprise declared and Moon Dancer looked at her strangely. “Oh heh heh, sorry about that... and for surprising you like I did,” she responded with a scratch of her head. “My special talent works in a really super duper weird way, in that I have to surprise people or I’m really,” she began to explain only for Moon Dancer to shove her hoof into her mouth.

“Surprise,” Moon Dancer began in a somewhat dangerous tone and the white Pegasus slowly nodded, “Shut up and let me decompress for a minute,” the white unicorn pleaded desperately as she let out a ragged shudder. After the Pegasus nodded she brought her hooves to her head with a groan. Surprise cleared her throat with a nervous chuckle and then backed up towards the door.

"R-Right, w-well I’m just going to go find Megan so we can change your bandages,” she noted with a nervous chuckle. Moon Dancer grunted in response as she continued to rub at her temples. All the little surprises today had really been way too much for the poor mare to take in all at once…

It wasn't too long till Surprise returned, an hour or so tops. The unicorn was still trying desperately to make sense of everything that'd happened when the door suddenly burst open. With a frown, Moon Dancer looked to the doorway and then watched with a bemused frown as Surprise marched, literally marched, in with a plate of something perched on her nose while Megan giggled at the display.

Additionally, there seemed to be a band playing somewhere nearby, or a TV was left on. Well, Moon Dancer hoped that was the case, otherwise Surprise had access to music that played wherever she wanted. 'Can't Pinkie also do that though,' she considered for a moment, then shook her head and focused on the funny mare.

'With all her similarities to Pinkie Pie, she must be great at parties,' Moon Dancer noted blandly, then arched a brow as the focus of her attention came to a halt. Surprise had stopped in front of the bed and then lifted her head back, which somehow sent the plate back as she raised a hind leg to catch it with a grin.

"Taa daa!" she declared. Megan clapped, of course, while Moon Dancer hummed.

"I give it a five," she stated bluntly. Surprise started for a moment then looked at the clearly unamused face of her fellow equine.

"Everyponies a critic," she stage whispered to Megan with a pout. Said girl merely watched the two with rapt attention, somewhat confused by the exchange, but smiling nonetheless.

"So," Moon Dancer abruptly remarked. Surprise turned back to the pony as she glanced at her bandaged side and raised a brow. "Earlier you mentioned changing my bandages?" she questioned and Surprise nodded her head.

"Eeyep!" she declared as she looked back to Megan. The little girl then held up a small white box with a very notable red cross on the top. "We found a med-kit!" Surprise declared. Moon Dancer hummed in response. 'She's acting more animated than she was before,' she thought to herself and then glanced at Megan. 'Unless she's just trying to entertain our host,' she decided and then let out a breath through her nose.

"So what's with the plate?" the unicorn questioned. Surprise, in response, kicked her hind leg back to send the plate flying forward where she raised a fore-hoof to catch it. Megan watched the 'trick' with rapt attention while Moon Dancer narrowed her eyes. 'She said her special talent works based on surprise, so does that mean she has to act like this for her special talent to work?' she wondered to herself curiously.

She also made a note to figure out how Surprise worked when she got the right equipment...

'Or would that just end with me combusting like Twilight did when she tried to figure out how Pinkie Pie's Pinkie Sense worked?' she wondered curiously. Honestly if she did combust like that it'd be kind of cool. Rapidash was a pretty cool pokemon from the first gen, even if fire types weren't really her thing. She much preferred ghost types or dark types.

"We made cookies!" Surprise declared, derailing Moon Dancer from her thoughts. She instead focused on said cookies, which were... blue?

"Why are they blue?" she questioned.

"As it turns out, sweet grass is blue," Surprise replied then scratched at an ear, "which actually makes sense when you think about it, cause how else would ponies be able to tell a normal batch of grass from sweet grass if they didn't look different. I mean you could taste test but that'd totally take forever!" she admitted and Megan nodded her head in agreement. Moon Dancer also noticed that the girl seemed content to watch the two ponies interact with one another.

'She probably thinks of it like she's watching an episode of the show live,' Moon Dancer mused and then focused on the mare instead. "You do realize that there are actual species called sweet grass on earth. Most of them don't taste sweet though, they're aromatic and just smell sweet," she explained to a somewhat dumbfounded Surprise, "but you knew that before you went out looking for magical sweet tasting grass... right?" she questioned with narrowed eyes.

"Ummm... yeah totally," Surprise replied with a nervous titter.

"What's aro... aro," the girl tried to say and Moon Dancer sighed.

"Aromatic," she responded tiredly and the girl nodded.

"Yeah! That! What's that mean?" she questioned.

"Well for starters," Moon Dancer began only for Surprise to randomly interject.

"She means they smell nice," the pegasus explained to the little girl succinctly. As Megan made an 'Oh' with her mouth she also rolled her eyes at the look Moon Dancer shot her. "C'mon Moony, Megan's still little she won't really want to hear a long winded explanation," she remarked. Moon Dancer clicked her tongue and frowned.

"Actually I was pretty much going to say that," she deadpanned and Surprise blinked.

"Oh... sorry," she chirped and Moon Dancer groaned internally. 'Is this what it feels like to be around Pinkie Pie? I suddenly have so much sympathy for Twilight,' she thought to herself. She then shook her head with a sigh and focused on the blue cookies once more.

"Cookies, blue, why?" she questioned bluntly.

"They turned blue when we put the sweet grass in them," Surprise responded and then smiled brightly, "and boy did it take me forever to find that stuff," she remarked, "I mean at first I didn't know it was blue, and I couldn't really ask Posey right now with her so depressed and stuff, so I was just looking for any old kind of green grass. But then I started to realize that if it's green it'll totally blend in with all the other grass unless," however before the mare could go further on her tangent, Moon Dancer stuffed her hoof into her mouth.

Megan giggled at the sight while Moon Dancer snorted.

"Okay, I didn't need to know all that," she stated firmly and then glanced down at the cookies. After a moment she glanced over at Megan, then back to Surprise. "You didn't give her any did you?" she questioned warily. Given that this sweet grass was likely magical in nature, she wasn't exactly keen on the idea of a normal little girl eating it. Thankfully Surprise shook her head in response and Moon Dancer removed her hoof from her mouth with a sigh.

"Good," she mumbled. She then looked down at the cookies before she exhaled a breath. "Well, might as well try them," she muttered under her breath. She was pretty hungry after all the running from that bear, not to mention she never got to eat her berries. With a sigh she looked at the cookies, then glanced up to her horn. 'Well... that dream had to be magic of some kind,' she noted to herself.

She then looked back to the cookies and narrowed her eyes. She focused on her horn, and tried to feel out whatever it was that'd cast the sleep spell earlier. 'C'mon, you can do this, a filly can do it in Equestria for ponies sake!' she thought desperately. She then blinked and saw a faint crimson aura surround one of the cookies and cause it to hover for a moment. 'Yes!' she thought, only for it to quickly fall back down.

'Aw shoot,' she thought with a pout, then hissed and rubbed at her forehead. 'Ow ow ow ow ow! I really shouldn't have done that,' she thought at the lancing pain that stretched from the tip of her horn to somewhere in the center of her forehead.

"Oh cool! Nice try, but I think the magic around here and in you is a bit too thin for that to really work right now," Surprise noted with a bob of her head. Moon Dancer stared at the pegasus strangely. However Surprise merely smiled brightly in response. With a roll of her eyes Moon Dancer leaned forward to grab one of the cookies in her teeth and then leaned back and began to slowly chew the cookie.

She paused and then blinked as she registered the taste. It was indeed sweet as the name implied, but... it was actually hard to describe, it wasn't sweet like icing, which she hated quite a bit, but was sweeter than a muffin. It was an almost perfect blend of sweet, not too sweet that it'd make her cringe, and only just sweet enough for somepony to crave more of it.

'Well no wonder gen one Moon Dancer put a sleep curse on Cotton Candy over this stuff,' she thought to herself and then looked at Surprise. "Did you try one of these?" she questioned curiously and Surprise nodded her head.

"Yeah, it's like the perfect amount of sweet right?" she questioned and the unicorn nodded her head, still stunned. She wondered if the normal ponies in equestria used sweet grass in their baking for a moment, but recalled Pinkie name dropped sugar a lot. "I mean I know it's called 'sweet grass' for a reason, but I really didn't expect it to be the perfect amount of sweet," Surprise continued to say while Moon Dancer slowly nodded.

"Pinkie Pie must never know," she stated gravely, though with a slight smirk that tugged at the corners of her lips. Surprise blinked, and then nodded her head with a solemn expression.

"Agreed," she replied with an amused twinkle in her eyes. Moon Dancer and Surprise both enjoyed their brief moment, only for Megan to hop onto Surprise's back and try to reach for the plate of cookies.

"I wanna try one!" she exclaimed as she reached out. However Surprise gasped and rolled to the side to stop her, while Moon Dancer reached out and pulled the plate away. She also took another cookie and munched on it as Surprise wrestled with Megan. "C'mon Surprise! I wanna cookie too!" the little girl declared as she started to tickle the pegasus mare's sides.

"N-No! You had chocolate chip cookies! Those are for us!" she exclaimed through her laughter while she held onto the little girl. She then snorted, a fire in her eyes as her wings twitched. "You realize," she paused to laugh again then narrowed her eyes on Megan, "you never challenge a pegasus to a tickle match!" she exclaimed as she started to use her wings to tickle Megan's feet. The little girl let out a mighty squeal that soon devolved into laughter, all the while Moon Dancer watched bemusedly.

"And to think they were supposed to be changing my bandages," she idly remarked with a roll of her eyes. She then scooped up yet another of the sweet grass cookies and leaned over the side of the bed to watch the two as Megan desperately tried to escape from the now maniacally laughing pegasus who had her in her clutches. "Are you two done horsing around yet?" Moon Dancer questioned blandly and Surprise abruptly halted and looked at the unicorn with narrowed eyes.

"No," she stated with a glare at Moon Dancer. However the unicorn merely smiled mischievously.

"What? Did I stirrup something unpleasant?" she questioned with a smirk while Surprise placed a hoof to her face with a groan.

"Puns... really?" she demanded and Moon Dancer shrugged.

"I'm a gen one pony, so yes, yes I must," she replied. Surprise made to argue that, before she paused and considered it. She also considered the propensity for Gen four's puns and groaned in resignation.

"Point taken," she remarked in defeat. With a sigh, Surprise rolled back onto her hooves and then allowed Megan to climb up onto her back and smiled. "Okay sweetie, how about I promise to make you some cookies for you and you leave the pony cookies to the ponies," she suggested and Megan narrowed her eyes.

"Chocolate chip?" she questioned. Surprise rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless.

"Well you drive a hard bargain, but okay," she responded chipperly. Megan cheered in response while Moon Dancer rolled her eyes and quickly grabbed up yet another of the sweet grass cookies. "Hey! Don't eat them all!" Surprise exclaimed and Moon Dancer rolled her eyes and nudged the plate back her way. With narrowed eyes Surprise grabbed up one for herself and started to eat it. After a moment of silence though, Moon Dancer sighed.

"Look," she began and then awkwardly frowned, "I'm just going to come out and say I'm sorry for what happened earlier," she stated and then snorted. "I know I'm really not the easiest per... pony to deal with and I'm really grumpy if not a bit snarky even on a good day," she remarked. Surprise idly nodded her head in full agreement while Megan simply watched the unicorn curiously.

"But you brought me somewhere safe to heal," she remarked with a look around then glanced down at the nearly empty plate, "and made me cookies," she noted, "so the least I can do is say thank you for the help, Surprise, and sorry for me being... well, me," she stated with a slight incline of her head. The white pegasus smiled brightly in response.

"Aw its no problem Moony," the pegasus responded with a wave of her wing. "I mean you were a little mean before, not to mention rude, with a really bad attitu," she began and Moon Dancer swiftly cut her off.

"Don't push it," she warned and Surprise grinned.

"Right, sorry!" she stated and then cleared her throat awkwardly, "Anyways," she began and then trotted over to the side of the bed and looked at Moon Dancer's side as well. "I think me and Megan still have a job to do," she remarked. Moon Dancer sighed in response, her eyes heavily as she crossed her forelegs and laid her head on them. Her eyes drooped for a moment before she slowly fell back to sleep as Surprise and Megan changed her bandages…

"That went well, now let's go make some more cookies!" Surprise said as she pulled out a chef's hat from her mane.

"Wow, how did you do that?" Megan looked at her with eyes full of wonder, it made the white pegasus feel good inside.

"Magic." To be honest she had no real clue how it worked, it just did. Well she was pretty sure that she had her own pocket dimension and when she didn't use that she used sleight of hoof and the like. She wasn't and never would be Pinkie Pie, and that was good because Pinkie was way crazier than she was on any day.

Yes, she was aware that she was at least a little insane. No one could be turned into a pony like this and not go a little crazy after all. It was still better than working a boring office job all day and constantly having to take antidepressants. How weird was her life that going from an old male human office worker to insane talking pegasus pony mare was actually an improvement to her life.

Mmm, where was she anyways?

'Now I have to wonder if Discord is the way he is because his own power made him insane? Ah who cares, we got cookies to make!'

And so alongside Megan, she did. Though as they baked the cookies Surprise wondered how old Megan was. She seemed to be alone for a long stretch of time, and usually kids that were like that were preteen age at least. 'What even counts as preteen anyways? Isn't any age before teenage technically preteen,' the pegasus noted to herself, then shook her head and focused on Megan instead.

"Hey Megan, how old are you?"

"Six... no seven... it was my birthday a few days ago and then I got my wish to meet a pony when I saw Moon Dancer and she let me ride on her back," she replied cheerfully and Surprise frowned. 'That seems awfully young to be on her own like this,' Surprise noted, 'Though at that age this must be like a dream come true for her. But I better watch the oven or the cookies will get burnt,' she thought to herself.

The cookies were finished without much of a fuss. They were a simple batch of chocolate chip, without any kind of chocolate frosting or what not, as Surprise felt that would be a bit too much. She didn't want Megan bouncing off the walls and disturbing Moon Dancer while she was trying to rest after all.

'Not to mention there is the fact that her mother will be home soon,' Surprise noted to herself and then frowned, 'I think it'd bad idea to surprise her with talking ponies right away. Maybe I could just let Megan ride my back for a bit and not talk? Mmm, with puppy dog eyes? Maybe double the puppy dog eyes with me and her daughter? That might just do it,' she considered as she tapped her chin.

However she shook her head of such thoughts and instead turned back to the cookies. She idly looked around then found a few oven-mitts and fit them over her hooves. She then pulled the over open with her mouth and stuck her forelimbs forward to pull the pan out. She put one hoof beneath the pan and carefully slid it out further, before she slid her other forelimb under and pulled it out with both.

She opened her wings to keep her balance as she slowly stepped back and then placed the pan of cookies onto the counter with a relieved sigh. With that done she idly kicked her back leg up to close the oven. Now she just needed to let the cookies cool while she tried to think of a way to keep Megan occupied so she wouldn't burn herself on the still hot cookies.

'Story time?' she considered for a moment then nodded her head. "Story time," she stated and trotted over to Megan and urged her into the living room. She pushed her off and grabbed a book on their way. She and the little girl seated themselves on the couch and the pegasus mare quickly opened the book to whatever story the little girl wanted. As she read the story she felt her mind wander to more... distressing matters.

'I hope that Sweet Grass helped Moonie's reserves,' she thought to herself, 'hopefully if it in any way managed to fill her magical reserves that'll also help with her physical recovery,' she thought to herself as she turned a page in the book. 'I mean I'm kind of just winging things right now... heh, winging... but with how closely tied magic and ponies are I'd have to assume that magic plays some kind of role in our physical health too,' she internally reasoned.

'She still looks like she really needs a hug though,' she admitted to herself with an internal sigh. 'Posey isn't much better, I think she's still confused about what's happening and kind of disturbed by it all. It'd probably be a bad idea for me to drop in on her unexpectedly like I did with Moonie or Twinkie, mmm not her name but Twilight Twinkle would fit because Stars and wishes,' she mused to herself. If Megan noticed she didn't have Surprise's attention she didn't show it, instead silently listening to the pony tell her a story.

'With that in mind I should probably go and talk to AJ, just to make sure she isn't in too much trouble... and maybe Sparkler as well, although that pony seemed a bit more... well, kind of annoying even for me,' she thought with a slight nod of her head. Sparkler, from what she could gleam, seemed to be a materialistic shallow drama-queen... basically it was like she'd taken all of Rarity's worse traits and then amplified them.

'Ugh, I'm going to avoid her for a while till she gets better,' Surprise decided quite resolutely. She understood and accepted that that kind of person did really exist, but she honestly had no desire to associate with her. Hopefully if she could direct AJ to her she might be able to help her get out of that mindset and become a better pony altogether.

Surprise paused as she heard a light snore. She turned to her side to see Megan had fallen asleep at some point and smiled softly. She quickly closed the book and put it onto the coffee table, then pulled a blanket over Megan to tuck her in. With Moonie sleeping in Megan's room it wasn't like she could just put the girl in there. Once that was done she made her way to the kitchen and looked for a container for the cookies.

'C'mon you have to have a cookie jar somewhere!' she thought and then frowned, 'why does no one have a cookie jar anymore?' she wondered with a snort. Instead she found a Tupperware container and put the cooled cookies inside before closing the lid. With the cookies sealed up she trotted into Megan's room to put the cookies where her mother wouldn't find them.

'Wait... won't Megan's mom notice Moonie!' she realized and turned to the sleeping pony. She then hurried over to her and quickly shook the other mare awake. Moonie growled low in her throat as she opened an eye to glare at the other mare.

"What? I was busy with an experiment," she grumbled irritably.

"Experiment?" Surprise questioned and Moon Dancer grunted.

"I'm trying to see what limit my dream walking powers have," Moon Dancer replied as she rubbed at her head tiredly. "I was actually seeing what I can do when I pull people into my (yawn) dream tower thing when they're about to wake up... far as I can tell it keeps them stuck in a state of sleep," she mumbled tiredly.

"Oh cool," Surprise murmured and then looked around warily, "but you really need to get up," she stated and Moon Dancer gave her a look.

"Why?" she questioned.

"Cause Megan's mom 'll be home soon and I don't think a big unicorn will seem normal to her!" Surprise replied and Moonie blinked.

"That... is the first reasonable thing I've heard you say," she muttered softly, "speaking of me moving, I kind of need my stuff from the cave, I'm worried it'll be mauled by something in the woods," she admitted tiredly and Surprise rolled her eyes.

"I already got that, it's all in the closet!" the pegasus stated with a smile and Moonie blinked.

"Oh... thanks," she said unsurely.

"No problem," Surprise chirped.

"So I should just... hang out in the closet for the time being?" the white mare questioned and Surprise quickly nodded her head. "Right, I can do that, compared to sleeping in a cave a closet is the bucking ritz," she murmured tiredly. She slowly got up, nearly falling as she got off of Megan's bed, yet Surprise steadied and helped the unicorn into the closet. Once inside Moon Dancer noticed her bag and other effects and smiled.

"So glad to see my stuff," she mumbled with a yawn. She idly pawed at the ground as she turned and then curled up and laid her head against her bag and closed her eyes. Once she had fallen to sleep Surprise closed the door to Megan's closest and then turned to the bed and frowned. 'That... isn't a good sign,' she noted to herself when she saw the bloodstains on the sheets and started to paw at the ground.

'Okay Surprise, think! You can totally fix this,' she insisted as she gathered up the sheets and headed to the laundry room. Well... it was actually more like a laundry hall as the washing machine was in the hall near the back door. 'Semantics,' she thought with a roll of her eyes as she tossed the dirtied sheets into the wash. She quickly grabbed a box of detergent and poured some in, then set the washer and breathed a sigh of relief.

'One thing done,' she thought as she galloped back to the little girl herself. She quickly nosed her head under the little girl to get her onto her back, waking the sleepy girl who looked down at her with a yawn.

"Surprise?" the girl asked sleepily.

"Sorry sweetie, just taking you to your bed," she quickly told the girl as she trotted back into Megan's bedroom. The little girl tiredly held onto her friend / steed as she carried her into her room and then helped her into bed. The little mare then quickly returned to the living room to grab the blanket from the couch and brought it to tuck the little girl in. With a yawn Megan fell back to sleep and Surprise breathed a relieved sigh.

"Finally," she muttered to herself as she recalled the sweet grass still in the kitchen. 'I could really use the boost in magic right now,' she admitted to herself. And without a second thought she hurried into the kitchen and started to look around. 'Alright I know I,' she began and then grinned when she saw the blue-grass. "Paydirt!" she stated as she then proceeded to gobble up all the sweet grass.

Sweet grass as it turned out was a magical form of flora, in that is had a trace of magic that was needed for it to exist. As such when creatures ate it, or any magically inclined flora or fauna really, it transferred a set amount of its magic on. That said, eating pure sweet grass was akin to eating pure sugar, it gave a sort of magical high that boosted the magical strength in someone... or in RPG terms, it over-maxed your MP.

"Whoa! What a rush!" Surprise declared with a giggle to herself. With a lick of her lips she then scampered out of the house and into the air. She whooped happily to herself even as she left Megan and Moonie to their sleep and dreams.

You know what, sometimes I think that maybe somepony or even someTHING up there must hate me. I mean Moonie was kind of a jerk when we first met, my friends are all kind of scattered and in danger right now, I had to skip meeting Megan's mom, and now I'm hitting an idiot with a rubber chicken... filled with rocks. Though to be fair, the idiot in question was just about to tranq Applejack.

Sure its his job as animal control, but that doesn't mean I'm just going to let him hurt my friend!

So, its been like an hour or so since I left Megan and Moonie, but did things really have to take such a drastic turn this quickly? Admittedly Applejack is a bit dirty and grungy looking at the moment, but given what she's been through I can't really blame her. I also can't blame the complete look of shock and astonishment with which she stares at me. I mean I am pretty cool beating on animal control like this to save her!

Or... or maybe she's just kind of confused about the rubber chicken, well whatever.

I give a wink to her as I hop off of the now unconscious animal control worker. With a cheerful hum I pick up his gun and make sure the safety is on before I then place it under my wing for safe keeping. I'll be sure to get rid of it later as a bit of added protection for Applejack. I mean sure animal control probably has more, but... huh... you know that could be a problem in the future. Anyways I'll dump this one somewhere later, for now I focus on Applejack.

"Hello, I'm Surprise, who are you?" I ask, though I already know my name.

"Uh," the mare before me begins. Her voice sounds... off... not like FIM AJ's does, but also it doesn't sound like Jackie's from Gen 1. It was a bit hard to place and caught me off guard for a moment, though to be fair my voice and Twilight's also don't sound like what I would've expected. I also can't help but notice that AJ has gone silent, eyes distant before she blinks and breathes out her name a bit unsurely.

"Applejack..." she murmured then frowned, "Though I have no idea why I said that..." she mumbled mostly to herself while I just chuckled. However as I did I also felt my weight increase, I'd used a lot of my magical reserves getting here as fast as I did. I don't regret it as AJ clearly needed the help but it will have severe drawbacks later.

Earth is a great planet, but not for ponies like us. It has nearly no magic in the atmosphere for a ponie's body to absorb and thus function properly. Hence why Moonie's magic is a little bit junk right now, or why I typically can't fly for more than a few feet. That Sweet Grass I ate can bolster our bodies with additional magic, but its like pumping yourself full of sugar. It gives you a lot of energy, but on the flip side you burn through it quickly and then it causes you to crash.

"Look," I began as I got close to Applejack, "Two blocks from here," I then point down the alley, "straight that way, you'll find another pony like us," I quickly explained as I shook my head as I felt the crash coming. "You'll just need to knock on the green wooden door and yell for Sparkler to open up!" I explained and AJ frowned.

"Um... are you sure?" she questioned and I grasped her face with both hooves.

"Do not question the pony who just saved your life!" I declared as I fought to keep my eyes open. AJ looked at me curiously and I groaned in my throat. "Hurry up and go already! That animal control guy won't be unconscious forever!" I exclaim and AJ yelped and galloped away. Once she'd left I stumbled off and shook my head with a groan. My entire body was starting to feel sluggish, a magical crash was feeling five times worse than any sugar-crash.

"Note to self," I mumbled with a groan, "Never ever do that again," I decide with a shake of my head as I flex my wings. "No... not enough, need to find a place to rest," I decided as I hurried off. I made my way to the dump first to toss the gun, it wasn't like I could even use the thing, being a pegasus and all, and then started to search for a good place to pass out for a few hours. Thankfully I came across a small drainage pipe near the bay.

It was just small enough for me to fit inside without having to worry about anyone finding or noticing me. So with a secure place to rest found I hopped inside and yawned tiredly as I sluggishly made my way to the back. I soon curled in on myself and slowly with another soft yawn I fell into a state of unconsciousness...

~~*Twilight The Wish Granter*~~

Dreams are in many ways the most amazing things one can have as well as the most terrifying. Dreams can inspire us to achieve amazing things in life. Yet at the same time a dream can frighten us, or in some rare cases even kill. Dreams have many unique facets too, some say you can interpret a great deal from them, while others say its all a simple sham...

Whatever the case, all dreams have some significance to the one having them.

I myself dream, I am in a barren wasteland. As a simple small pink unicorn with a scabbard at my side, both of which would be out of place in any other circumstance. I stand in this field of nothing beneath a brilliant full moon. My hooves dig into the sand, beneath me, and I turn at a low groan. It is then that I gasp as I see a legion of monsters, marching towards me.

They are the undead, a true army of the living dead. They range from simple zombies and skeletons and ghosts to soul possessed armor and other such things. I see an ocean of them, dozens of them, perhaps even hundreds. I know not the exact number save that it is far too many for me to count. Given they march towards me, it takes little effort for me to know that they want me, most likely, I am simply food to them...

Unfortunately for them, I am not helpless!

"Time to light the darkness," I whisper as a pink light flares around my horn, "burn all to ash! Firaga!" I declared as a ball of fire at least tripple my size was suddenly sent roaring forward. It slammed into the undead with all the force of an explosion, and just like that almost a quarter of the undead are gone. The sole remainder of them is the smell of their ashes smoldering on the ground and now permeating the air like noxious fumes.

Unfortunately that had also taken out most of my mana-reserves, I was practically running on fumes... speaking of...

'Yuck, I hate the smell of burnt flesh and hair,' I thought with a grimace. However I was not done, while I took out a fair number of them still more remained, some caught aflame, while others were immune to them. Regardless I snorted and then 'gripped' at a scabbard hanging at my side. With a flick of my head, my magic pulled a sword from the scabbard in a horizontal arc and I narrowed my eyes.

"Have at thee!" I declared as I reared back, only to gallop forward with a roar. I slash at the first of my enemies, a simple skeleton, it is felled with little effort. My magical 'fumes' may be little, but it is still more than enough to keep my sword aloft. Said sword gleams in the light of the full moon above, both made from purest silver and heavily enchanted, it was purely designed to fell the forces of the undead.

Slash after slash, cut after cut, I mow through the undead. The skeletons, armed with bows, try to fire at me but I duck and dodge the arrows behind their larger compatriots. The arrows do little but annoy the other undead, and so I am left fighting an uphill battle. My sword can deal with the skeletons if I get close, it can deal with the zombies and even with the ghosts... but it was the living armor I was worried about.

The sword had been a... well, not a gift, but I'd technically found it nearby. It was odd in some ways, but I wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. 'Poor choice of words,' I thought to myself as I leaped over a suit of living armor wielding a mace. I landed behind it and then bucked it's back, causing it to topple forward while I continued to try and reach the archers. The sword was alight, aglow, shimmering with power and the light of the moon herself.

Enemy after enemy falls, the few remaining zombies are cut away like butter. The ghosts vanish with ethereal wails. The skeletons tumble apart into piles of useless bones! I feel a strange sense of euphoria, I feel adrenaline pumping through my veins! This battle brings me to life, it fuels me! I allow myself to be consumed in this battle, facing opponent after opponent on my own, no friends or companions to worry about, no greater quest!

All it is is battle and a fight for survival!

I feel it, my own power and that of the sword are syncing, becoming as one as I let loose! "Let's roar." I declare as I hold the sword aloft and a great and terrible sound is issued forth, bowling over several of the undead. Had they been living, the undead may have felt a sense of intense dread fill them, consume them, flaring every primal instinct within them! For lesser creatures the feeling of fear and panic would be unwavering, it would be all consuming!

But these were the forces of the undead, they were already dead and so they had nothing left to fear! It matters little in the grand scheme of things, it only means I don't have to stop! I can fight to my hearts content, the sword and its power can be unleashed with little care! With that in mind I exhale a breath a gout of flame passing my teeth. My magic and the nature of the sword begin to spiral and swirl together before I launch forward once more.

Flames race from the blade, wrap around my body, lift me up, higher and higher. They surge forth hotter than the sun, burning a brilliant white as I bat the living armor away as if they were harmless. Flames lunge forward from me, forming the head of a dragon as it 'bites' into the undead, it burns them away into smoldering ash that stink of burning flesh and hair and bone...

I'll be very sick of that smell later, maybe even throw up, but for now I could care less!

Body after body burns, armor melts, souls scream in agony as they are all soundly consumed by the white dragon fire. In the end I'm left tired, the sword falling to the earth with a clatter as I collapse into a panting heap. I'm covered in blood, gore, and dirt, and likely smell worse than the living dead at this point. The smell of singed hair and burning corpses permeate the air and leave me retching in disgust.

I blink my eyes as I swallow and try to cover my noise of the horrible stench all around my. My eyes fall to the sword, gleaming brightly beneath the moons light. My magic gone I'm unable to sheathe the blade so reach out with a hoof. I find it disheartening to know that I'm so weak, so weak I needed the sword to save me...

With a shake of my head I reach back to my saddlebags and pull a potion from it. The liquid catches my eye and for a moment I simple stare. The liquid within the glass bottle is as red as crimson, looking like blood. Perhaps that was why it was occasionally called a gods blood... but that was a story for another time. For now I pulled the cork from the bottle with my teeth and then bit onto the spout and lifted my head up.

I gulped down the potion greedily, hopeful that it'd work quickly on the off chance that even more of them showed up. My caution seems to have been well founded as the ground shakes and I look up. I see a dark silhouette approaching. It's massive bulk shakes the earth as I scramble back to my hooves. I look to the silvery sword at my hooves and grimace. I have no magic left to lift it or call its might...

So I quickly lean down and grab the hilt of the blade with my teeth. I bite down fiercely on it and narrow my eyes as the figure approaches. I see it now, looking like some horrible combination of a gorilla and a mountain-goat with a single-eye at the center of its head. It carried a massive club in one hand, and wore only a loincloth.

It was a cyclops, and in my current state I was in no way prepared to fight it...

While the potion had restored my body, revived my stamina, my magical reserves were basically empty. I couldn't lift my sword with my magic, I couldn't call on its flames to aid in this things destruction... so what could I do? My instincts told me there was no option, I couldn't fight this thing in my present condition. I would die faster than the undead had against the white dragons fire...

So I did the only thing I could, and ran, but as I run it chases after me. It is huge, its heavy footfalls shake the earth as I try to escape. It does not let up for one moment, instead it swings its heavy club down at me. I run to the side to avoid it, leaping as the ground quakes and then land on my hooves and gallop away. I know that this won't last, my body will eventually give out, I need a plan... I need too...

Wait... what...

And then the dream started to fade...

I awoke with a groan. My head pounding and out in the middle of a vast forest. I blinked my eyes open blearily, and reach up to rub at my face. However as I do a furry thing touches me and my eyes snap open. I see a pink hoof where my hand should be that taps onto something at my forehead, and then to top it off I suddenly feel a draft... I'm naked... and a pink fluffy unicorn it seems.

Unlike with my dream, where I just rolled with whatever happened, I didn't take my sudden change at all well. I screamed as loudly as I was able and then started to panic. Unfortunately I was in a forest and my ruckus attracted attention. Two shadows fell over me and then I saw two massive 'dog-men' like things who started to talk to one another. I barely understood the language they spoke, but the threatening glint in their eyes did little to calm my frazzled nerves.

I panicked, more than ever when one of them reached for me. With a shout a ball of fire was launched from my horn and at the two of them. They yelped and quickly scurried back into the forest to get away. I blinked, and saw the 'fireball' faze through a tree... an illusion? Had I somehow conjured an illusion to scare the dogs away?

I then take time to think about what had happened.

I had just had a dream were I was a pink unicorn fighting an army of undead, and then I woke up to find myself as a smaller and... I pause to glance over my body for a moment then nod my head. A much younger pink unicorn and a couple of oddly talking dogs had seemed to come at me in a threatening manor. Whether they wanted to kidnap, eat, or do something worse to me I didn't know, I did know it couldn't be good.

Why does this all sound terribly familiar?

Then I heard a sudden haunting laughter echo out all around me.

"Whose there?!" I demand as I turn all around in search of the laughter. "C-Come out now!" I called out as a mist began to form around me. "I-I mean it!" I continued to call out to the sinister voice as the world was consumed in a dense fog... then I heard the sound of a creaking door before something pulled me away with a scream.

I found myself sailing through the air a moment later and bounced across a polished floor. I land in a heap atop what looks like a mosaic of a familiar symbol. 'That looks really familiar,' I think as I slowly get up. I find myself in a circular room with a number of doors all around me, a few of them have symbols on them that are also vaguely familiar to me. Yet what draws my immediate attention is a cloaked figure chuckling lightly a ways away.

"Welcome to my parlor, said the spider to the fly," a dark voice issued from the cloaked figure as it seemed to rise up and up and up. It towered over me, dark mist billowing from beneath its cloak and across the small room. I took a step back from the strange creature, breathes coming in short erratic bursts.

"Who are you!?" I demand and let out a snort. I try to call my magic, only to blink when I feel nothing happen. No glow forms around my horn, no tingly feeling at the front of my brain... what just happened?

The creature laughed once more, a low dark tone which pounded against my temples as the cloaked figure leaned forward. It's shadow was cast across me as it bent and twisted seemingly in the air to turn and maneuver itself. It moved like a snake, twisting over itself as it circled around me menacingly. A pair of eyes flared to life within the cloak, not the crimson red I had expected, instead, a brilliant and beautiful blue-white in color.

I followed the eyes and the head of the figure intently, turning round and round so that it never got behind me, never left my sight. The figure soon slithered to a halt and then bent upwards, higher and higher to loom over me. The eyes mere pinpricks within the shadows of its hood. It then let out yet another laugh as I backed away from it fearfully. Then I watched as its eyes dimmed and its form shrank, soon standing no larger than myself.

It chuckled, its dark voice breaking up and lightening.

"Aww how cute... but ineffective. You see, your magic won't work here, little pony," the cloaked figure remarked, "Only my magic works here," she, and her voice definitely sounded feminine now, continued as she started to approach me.

"W-Well then I'll just have to..." I tried to say, a slight quaver in my voice, yet she interrupted.

"Do what? Use your non-existent magic to take me on? Oh wait... you don't have any magic here, this is my realm," she stated firmly, "Or perhaps you were thinking you'd fight me with your bare hooves?" she questioned and with a flash of crimson I was in the air and my hooves in four thick manacles that held me aloft. "Plain to see, but that's not happening," she noted plainly and I whimpered.

"W-what do you want with me?" I asked as the cloaked figure paused.

"Hmmm, what do I want?" she wondered briefly. She seemed to leap up into the air and a throne formed in a flash of crimson. She seated herself on it and leaned her head back, a white hoof leaving her cloak as she scratched within her hood. "A great many things if I'm honest," she admitted mostly to herself. "But if you mean right here and now," she began as she approached and then started to circle around me.

"Do I want to torment you?" she questioned and I gulped even as she shook her head. "Oh dear no, that would be horribly unfair in this situation," she admitted. "Do I wish to hold you here, trapped forever?!" she questioned dramatically then clicked her tongue, "no, that's a bit much," she remarked. "Do I wish to frighten you then?" she questioned and let out a laugh, "Oh most certainly! And it has been so amusing to watch you squirm," she noted to herself.

"Honestly... I suppose I'm only doing this to introduce myself," she remarked and I blinked.

"What?"

"I mean it's not like I didn't just have to deal with Surprise and needed to relieve a little stress," she continued as she idly rolled her fore-hoof.

"What?!"

"Certainly can't be that I saw how your dream was going, then thought that I could mess with you for my own amusement," she casually commented and my eye twitched.

"WHAT!"

"And oh no no no, it couldn't possibly be that I was just oh so curious about how much I can and can't do to somepony with these powers of mine," she remarked with a hoof raised to her chest, clearly very amused with herself while I snarled at her.

"WHAT!?!"

She laughed at my indignation. Her laughter was surprisingly bright and cheerful. It echoed around the room and bounced off the walls. She held her sides and pointed a white hoof at me as she fell backwards, revealing a pearly white coated ponies body beneath her cloak, one with a crimson tail with a purple streak. "You should see the look on your face!" she exclaimed quite loudly and I growled low in my throat.

She took a moment to clam herself with a sigh as she wiped at an eye within her hood.

"This isn't funny!" I growled at her and she snickered quietly.

"Oh sorry, not sorry," the cloaked figure stated as she reached up with her white hooves to pull her hood back and smirked. She was a strangely pretty unicorn mare that gazed at me with brilliant blue eyes, her coat was a pearly white, with a noticeable a beauty mark on her left cheek bone, and a wavy red mane with a single purple stripe. "Just by the by, my name is Moon Dancer, just thought I'd introduce myself," she chirped with an annoying smirk on her face.

"You!" I tried to say and then looked down, (up?), at my still shackled hooves. "Let me down!" I exclaimed and the mare idly hummed and tapped her chin.

"So this what its like to have all of the power of dreams to literally mess with people in any way shape or form I see fit?" she idly asked herself and then grinned, "How does Luna not abuse the heck out of this to prank Celestia so hard their mother feels it?" she wondered aloud and I narrowed my eyes.

"Maybe its because she's not a five year old filly!" I growled at the white mare.

"Or she's just really really boring," Moon Dancer noted and clicked her tongue.

"Let me down!" I shouted at her and Moon Dancer tapped her chin. She then whistled a little tune and turned to stretch in her throne much like a cat would. As she did she got comfortable and rubbed at her chin thoughtfully.

"Nope," she finally responded and I growled.

"Why not?!" I demanded and she grinned.

"You didn't say the magic word," she sing songed. 'Why is that voice so infuriatingly familiar?' I briefly wondered as I glared at her.

"Please let me down!" I growled at her and she smirked.

"See, now that wasn't so hard was it," she quipped and clapped her hooves together twice. With a sudden pop the manacles around my hooves vanished and I fell to the ground with a yelp. However before I could actually hit the ground a crimson light wrapped around me and kept me aloft over the ground, before setting me gently on my hooves. I took a moment after the crimson light had left me to catch my breath and then glared at the unicorn.

"Oh c'mon I didn't do anything too bad," the unicorn remarked with a roll of her eyes.

"Dreams are supposed to be private and safe!" I retorted and she snorted.

"Tell that to Luna," she murmured just loud enough for me to hear.

"Luna protects the dreams of ponies, she doesn't use them to prank them!" I retorted with narrowed eyes.

"As far as you know," she returned and I let out a groan.

"Why does the pretty mare in my dream have to be so difficult!" I demanded and she raised a brow.

"You think I'm pretty?" she questioned. She then turned to the side and with a wave of her hoof conjured a mirror to look at herself.

"Of course you are! I mean you have a bucking beauty mark for Celestia's sake!" I remind the overly pretty mare and she tilted her head as she looked at her reflection curiously.

"Huh... never really thought of it that way," she admitted with a shrug and then tossed the mirror away. It quickly dissolved into ethereal dust particles that vanished into nothing as soon as it left her immediate proximity. "But just so you know," the mare began as she refocused on me, "I'm not part of your dream," she stated firmly. I blinked in response and just stared at the mare in confusion for a moment.

"What? Of course you are!"

"Nope," she responded.

"Oh c'mon! There is no way you're telling me your real!"

"Eeyep," she stated with a smirk and I narrowed my eyes.

"Prove it!" I growled and she smirked.

"Surprise," she stated simply and I blinked.

"Wha?"

"You've met Surprise right?" she questioned and I slowly nodded my head. "Well she just recently decided to bug me, so blame her for my somewhat foul mood," she noted with her lips turned into an annoyed frown. "I mean seriously, popping up out of nowhere just to yell 'Surprise!' at the top of her lungs! What is up with that?" she demanded and I stared at her.

"That... doesn't prove your real," I murmured unsurely. I had met surprise, and she did seem to like doing that for some reason. I don't know why exactly, maybe it was because it was the easiest prank she could pull on someone?

"Oh and also, I can kind of prove I'm real by the fact you can't currently wake up," the overly pretty white pony noted as she stretched in her throne and hopped to the floor. "I've been doing a few tests, not just with you of course," she began and then hummed, "I grabbed a couple other people in these tests who were just about to wake up, usually from alarms and when I pulled them here they just don't wake up," she explained with a glance around.

"Which I took to meaning that my magic keeps their conscious mind trapped here for however long I hold them," she chirped and then started to pace. "Alongside that I can manipulate other people's dreams to some minor extent, which also allows me to pull them in here, and then while I'm in my tower I have total and complete control over what happens here. I'm also fairly certain this place is always here, and doesn't vanish when I wake up," she paused at that.

"Which actually explains that whole gen one thing where I 'put a sleep curse' on Cotton Candy, I probably just put her in some kind of dungeon or whatever I have in the basement here," she murmured then frowned, "which means I should really go take a look downstairs just to see if I have anything down there as well," she noted mostly to herself with a slow nod of her head. However I merely scoffed.

"Oh that's such a load of," I tried to say only for her to sigh and slap me in the face with a burst of her magic. "Ow! That hurt you... you... you..." I tried to say only to trail off as I registered the fact that that had hurt... in a dream... and I mean it really hurt. Not the whole 'kind of' hurts when dreams make you think something hurts... if that makes any sense.

"Yeah, fun fact that also means I can hurt you here despite it being a dream," Moon Dancer casually remarked. I stared at the mare as she then clicked her tongue. "Just wish I was able to read here, the books in my library are all blank, save a few which have to do with memories and even then, most of those have moving pictures in them," the overly pretty mare noted with a turn of her lips.

"You... wait, you're really real?" I questioned as my mind finally caught back up with me.

"I... wait, didn't I just spend the passed five or six minutes explaining that to you?" she demanded incredulously and I rolled my eyes.

"Who cares?" I questioned and she grumbled something to herself. "Now just answer me, you saying that you're really really Moon Dancer?" I questioned as I approached the overly pretty mare and she let out a long-suffering sigh.

"Yes," she replied a bit snappishly. I grinned and clapped my hooves together.

"This is wonderful!" I declared and she raised a brow.

"Right... why?" she questioned.

"Because I just found another one of my friends!" I replied and she frowned.

"Uh huh... and why exactly do you think I'm your friend?" she questioned and I looked back to her with a frown.

"Well... I mean your a pony and," I tried to say and she rolled her eyes.

"First of all, never met you before in my life, second of all, just because we're both ponies does not make us friends, third of all, I did just kidnap you from your dream to mess with you," she added and I blinked.

"W-well yeah but," I tried to say and she shook her head.

"No, we're also not friends just because we're gen one ponies," she added and I went silent.

"But," I tried to say and she interrupted me again.

"Look, I'm willing to get to know you and the others, but that does not mean we'll ever be friends, acquaintances, sure, allies, oh definitely, but friends is really pushing it," she stated firmly as she glared at me.

"But... oh fine," I relented with a sigh, I then glanced around curiously. "So you can get into anyone's dreams right?" I questioned and she idly nodded her head. "So could you maybe get into the dreams of the other ponies so we could talk?" I questioned and she frowned.

"Currently I only know for certain that that door," she pointed to one with a familiar symbol on it, "Leads to Firefly's dreams, and that that one," she pointed to another door with my own symbol on it, "leads to yours," she finished. She then clicked her tongue with a frown. "I'm still checking to see if the others only lead to pony dreams or if its some other kind of system that I'll need to 'map out' for lack of a better term," she remarked with a hum.

Meanwhile I'd really only paid attention to one bit of that...

"Firefly!" I declared and scurried towards the door in question.

"Oh no you don't!" Moon Dancer stated as she vanished, then reappeared behind me and stepped on my tail. I gave a yelp as she arrested my forward momentum and caused me to fall to my back and look up at her.

"But I," I tried to say and she shoved her hoof into my mouth.

"No! I still don't understand all the rules or dangers of messing with dreams like this, I also don't know if you'll ever wake up if you get lost in a dream that isn't your own," she stated and then lifted me up with her magic.

"But we could get Firefly to tell us where she is!" I reasoned and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah sure, then what? Its not like we can go visit her even if we knew where she is," Moon Dancer retorted with a shake of her head. "And I honestly I've kept you asleep long enough," she continued as she approached the door with my symbol.

"What?! But we could," I tried to tell her and she shook her head.

"Ugh... look I'm currently injured and in a lot of pain in the real world," she admitted and sniffed, "So with that in mind I am not looking for the others while that's going on," she stated with a firm nod of her head.

"Wait your hurt?" I demanded but she just fixed me with a look.

"Well I'd love to say its been fun," she began as she opened the door, only to pause, "But you kind of spoiled it for me," she remarked with a pout, "Bye bye now," and with that she up and tossed me back into the 'door' and thus my dreams where I promptly woke back up.

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: Yes, WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

10 Herd

~~*Sparkler the Diamond Diva*~~

I'm going to be perfectly honest here, I am not in a good mood. Instead I lay in my living room with a frown, seated on the couch and silently glaring at the front door heatedly. I had been like this for some time now, with the only interruption being to stare at the house phone when it rang earlier. I hadn't answered of course, my hooves made such an attempt... difficult...

It was with some small annoyance, that I have admitted to myself some folly to my earlier plan. My brother is a sweetheart, true, but he doesn't live with us at the moment. I would have to leave the house to reach him, and that would require me to walk outside. This presented two very real problems for me.

One, I have no hands and refuse to put my mouth on a filthy doorknob.

Two, how does a miniature pony go about walking around in broad daylight?

Answer to two, it doesn't, especially not when it has pastel colored fur!

Were I a more mundane color I could likely pass by as a strange looking dog, but with such vibrant colors that was impossible! I mean really! Not only do such bright pastels stand out in such a drab neighborhood as mine, but there's nowhere for me to hide in a suburb without someone seeing me!

Well... unless I waited for the sun to set of course. I could likely then make my way out and no one would notice me. But that still required me to put my mouth on the filthy doorknob! Or try and leap out over the fence around the yard. I'm a cheerleader, but that does not make me an Olympic level gymnast!

I'm also a little horse, so it wouldn't matter even had I the skills to leap over the fence. I'm roughly half my original size, and on all fours. I wasn't a complete idiot after all, I knew that while a horse could leap quite a ways, that would take time and training, neither of which I had access too at the moment.

'I suppose I could call him,' I admitted to myself but that also had problems. Hooves were not fingers and weren't nearly as useful for manipulations. As such I would need a way to use my phone... 'Perhaps I could use an eraser,' I considered. I'd seen people using 'styluses' on their phones a time or two, it looked like a simple rubber bit at the end of a tube.

Naturally a pencil and eraser should work just the same... right?

Either way it was my best shot, and the pencil in my mouth would be far more bearable than trying to use my lips to open the front door. It would still be gross, but I had on occasion chewed on my pencil before out of frustration, so nothing new. With that decided I... paused when I heard a sudden slam at my front door.

'What?' I thought and turned to the door. I slowly approached the door, then idly poked the mail flap open. As I did I spotted a pastel orange pony laying on the ground outside. 'Oh dear,' I thought with wide eyes. I looked at her laying there then backed away from the door. 'Well, not my problem,' I noted to myself.

However I paused as I considered what this could mean...

What if someone saw the pony outside, then started snooping around and saw me! I could be found out, I couldn't let that happen! Even if I did manage to evade their prying eyes, there would be questions, too many questions, and if they actually searched the house. I shook my head and snorted as I turned back to the door with a grumble.

For better or worse I'd need to get that pony out of the open. Hopefully no one had already noticed it. I looked at the door with a frown and inhaled a breathe as I got up and tried to turn the doorknob. It didn't work too well, and in the end I bit back my pride and shuddered as I used my mouth to turn the knob.

With a grunt of disgust I pulled the door open and then spat to the side. With with a disgusted grunt I turned to the pony on my front porch. It was orange, bright pastel orange, with a blond mane and tail, not to mention what looked like apples on her hips. I frowned and rubbed my chin with a hoof as I considered the pony for a moment.

If I were honest she certainly stood out less than me. Not hard I'm sure, I do have such a lovely silvery-blue shade of fur, not to mention my mane and tail stood out far more, and even my hip mark, a trio of diamonds, was a sight to behold. Truth be told I felt I was a rather beautiful unicorn, though honestly I have little to compare myself too.

With a shake of my head I stop such thoughts and focus instead on getting her inside and out of sight. I hurry out, with a quick look around to ensure no one is watching, then glance down at the other pony. 'How do I get her inside?' I wondered to myself. I didn't have hands to lift her, something I sorely missed at this point...

'Oh bother,' I thought with a sigh as I trotted out passed the mare. I took a quick look around, just to be doubly sure no one was watching, and then ducked down and pushed the other pony into my house. It took a fair bit of time and effort, which I made a note to force her to pay me back for later, but eventually I managed.

With us both inside, I then closed the door and let out a breath.

I then looked down at my 'guest', and couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her. Despite the beauty of my own new form, the more muted colors of my guest would be more useful. If for nothing else then to visit my brother for help. At a distance she probably wouldn't stand out, certainly no one would think they saw a brightly colored pony.

'That would certainly be useful about now,' I admitted to myself. Though even so, now I had to deal with a second tiny horse living in my home. It was hard enough hiding from my dad on my own, how was I supposed to hide her as well? 'Bothersome,' I thought and sighed. It was a good thing my father worked long shifts, otherwise this might've been a problem.

For the moment I'd leave her to the floor, I still had a call to make after all...

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

Every being who has ever dreamed has visited the Dreamlands. While the place has many dangers, most dreamers are safe, protected by their own dreams or nightmares.

The space between dreams is the the true Dreamland and traversing it allows to enter others dreams. But doing so is very dangerous hence why I deviced an alternate method.

By years of training and lucid dreaming I build a tower, a tower that's a dream yet still there while I am aware. That towers has doors that connect to dreams of others and while inside the tower I am basically a goddess.

While visiting others dreams I am in some danger but usually my power over dreams protects me. However, should I stay inside a dream while the dreamer wakes up, I would most likely die.

Lately I been able to drag dreamers inside my tower, if I leave there, they won't wake up, even if I myself do.

While a more cruel and evil mare could use this for torture, the most I have done is to scare said dreamers a bit using the fact that inside my tower my will is law.

Although if somepony steals my sweet grass again I might get... creative. - [Moon Dancer Journal n 12, entry 16]

You know the worst part about being some kind of dream-sage? Waking up. I mean just think about it, you go from all powerful to you in a few seconds. It's disorientating for one thing, and... 'huh... what's that feeling?' I wonder to myself.

Maybe you're Hungry?

"Oh buck me you're back," I muttered.

What's that supposed to mean?

"I was honestly hoping I wouldn't have to deal you anymore," I replied quietly and shook my head to shake the sleep off.

Buck you! Anyways, are you hungry or something?

"No... well... a little of that too," I admitted and glanced around. "Right, I'm in Megan's closet," I recalled as I approached the door. I idly got up enough to open the closet door and saw that it was later, with Megan asleep in her bed. I also noticed a light from the side and spotted that her door had been opened a crack.

Her mom probably checked on her when she got home.

"Thank you for that report captain obvious," I murmured as I slowly opened the closet door and made my way out. I glanced around the dark house and spotted flashing lights in a room off to the side. 'Probably where the mom is,' I decided as I quietly crept through the house in search of the kitchen. My search wasn't long, the house wasn't especially large after all, and I slowly tip-hooved my way to the fridge.

Once there I nosed the fridge open and started to look around. 'Paydirt,' I thought as I pulled open a drawer and found a small baggy of carrot sticks.

We hate carrots.

'Yeah I know, but with this body I'd rather not take any chances with what I can and can't eat,' I replied. I then closed the drawer and then the fridge itself and made my way back to Megan's room as quietly as I could. I peered round the corners of the house to make sure the mother wasn't out and about and then scurried back into Megan's room. I entered her room with a soft sigh and then trotted into the closet and closed that door as well.

Once inside I laid down, limbs folded beneath me, and started to open the little baggy of carrots up. I held the baggy between my hooves and bit down on the top before pulling up and up and... with a sudden rip my head snapped back and a few carrots were sent flying. 'Oh that is just bucking wonderful,' I thought with a frown.

Could've been worse.

'True,' I thought as I scratched my head and then picked what few I could back up and started to munch on them. 'Okay, I don't feel too terribly hungry anymore,' I noted but then grimaced as I noted a dull ache in my horn. My hunger had somewhat covered it, but now that that wasn't an issue it was much more apparent.

Huh... okay that's a little strange.

'Might have something to do with dream walking,' I internally remarked and frowned in thought, 'alright now Surprise suggested that our bodies require ambient magic in order to function at maximum efficiency,' I began to not as I closed my eyes. 'If that is the case then I likely need a steady supply while dream walking, or else I just burn through my own magic and wake up... not tired... or hungry... but with a kind of dull ache in my horn and hooves,' I reasoned.

I get the horn... but why our hooves?

'Well I mean... maybe it has something to do with all the other types of ponies,' I tried to explain and then scratched at my head thoughtfully. 'Earth Ponies and Pegasi use their hooves to channel magic into the ground and clouds, so it'd stand to reason that a Unicorn can do so as well, its probably just not as effective or we can only touch ethereal objects or even things tied more firmly to magic,' I replied.

Okay... so no more dream walking for the time being.

'Unfortunately yes, I'm a pony and my body needs magic to function properly, so I really don't want to know what'd happen if I completely used up my reserves,' I replied and then yawned as I reached for my stuff and dug out my tablet. 'So glad Surprise didn't forget that,' I thought as I turned it on and used it to look around the closet. I then grinned when I spotted a outlet near the back and plugged my tablet in.

"Oh thank you electricity!" I whispered chipperly as my tablet started to charge while I opened my books and looked for something to read.

Not going to sleep?

"No, I'm not tired my head and hooves just kind of ache," I replied and then clicked my tongue, "So I'll just stay up and read whatever books I have on here till Megan wakes up or her mom leaves so I can grab something better to eat," I remarked as I started to read a book. I'd heard the 'light-novel' of an anime called Overlord was pretty good, I had always simply lacked the time to read it... thankfully time is something I have in spades right now.

Yeah... so... you do realize you were basically flirting with Twilight... right?

"What?" I demanded. I then looked to the door to make sure no one heard me and breathed a sigh of relief as nothing scurried. "Now what the buck do you mean by that?!" I demanded with a scowl on my face.

Well... I mean if someone had seen how you were messing with her it might've been taken in the wrong way...

"Oh shut up! I was just pulling a prank on her!" I grumbled and then promptly ignored the ever irritating voice in my head.

If you say so.

"Buck you!"

In your dreams.

"Ugh... am I always this insufferable or only when I want to annoy myself?" I demanded as I looked back to my tablet. "Block it out, block it out, block it out," I whispered in a mantra as I focused on the book and ignored my stupid brain.

C'mon you can't just ignore me.

'Watch me,' I internally retorted as I focused on the story.

Look we have to talk about this, we both know something is seriously wrong here.

'Later, right now I'd rather try and relax,' I replied. My 'head voice' grumbled and I silently ate my carrots and read the story. It was... well... it was certainly interesting. As a gamer myself I could definitely see the appeal of it. Although I did find the occasional use of technical jargon to be a bit... well, I'd just have to get used to it I supposed.

I idly reached for more carrots, only to pause when I noticed they were gone.

You ate them all, dummy.

'Yeah, I noticed,' I grumbled with a roll of my eyes. 'Guess my bad habit of stuffing my face with the nearest food-source when I'm reading hasn't changed,' I noted as I scratched at one of my ears with a frown. 'So what do I need to do to get rid of you?' I wondered to myself and the voice in my head snorted.

Not happening bucko, you're stuck with me till your admit total isolation bothers you.

'No it doesn't, I like my privacy, and I like being alone,' I retorted with a scowl. That wasn't untrue, but the honest part of me admitted I got a little... strange... when I was left alone for prolonged periods of time. The last time I was left completely alone, it was for a week and I ended up with insomnia for the entire time.

You can lie to anyone else, but not to me... since I'm you. Besides that, we're currently in a pony body, and even if you're an alien variant your probably have a similar evolutionary tree which means you're a part of a herd based species. Most likely your naturally drawn to large gatherings of ponies, and so feel both isolated and afraid right now. Which actually explains a few things that have happened so far.

"Yeah yeah whatever, I'm a bucking pony who needs 'friends', ugh... why does that feel like something out of the show?" I grumbled aloud and narrowed my eyes.

Yeah it does... but more importantly don't you think it's a bit strange that some of our habits are still here, and some seem a bit diluted?

"What do you mean?" I asked with a frown. I then glanced at the door to the closet as I recalled I was inside. I thus closed my eyes and instead tried to keep my questions internalized on the off chance Megan or her mother heard me... well Megan wouldn't matter, but I really didn't need her mother finding me.

Well you haven't felt the need to play a videogame in a while.

'No hands, can't really play games without fingers unfortunately...' I retorted, then looked upwards with a thoughtful frown, 'well, there's that and the fact that my tablet has a limited battery life and I didn't want to chance it dying on me,' I admitted. If my battery could go and go and go for days at a time, I'd have probably used my stylus and played around with creative mode in Minecraft or something...

True... then what about the fact we haven't sworn since the change?

'Well... alright that one is a bit odd, but then again I'm also the guy who used to use phrases like 'fudge nutters' in place of the F-bomb,' I reminded with a shake of my head. 'Not to mention with how my job was in a public place so I couldn't always be cussing up a storm, the only reason I thought it strange at all was because it happened after my transformation,' I admitted with a deep frown.

Okay yeah that's true... hmm... you know, it actually kind of reminds me of what happened to that Momonga guy.

'What? Where did that come from?' I questioned with a frown.

Think about it, any time Momonga got stressed out, his undead form forced him to remain calm and collected, it basically killed his libido, and to top it all off it rendered him incapable of being alarmed by his new state of being.

'Yeah... and?' I questioned.

Well isn't it just a bit strange we haven't thought of our old name once?

'How many people think in the third person?' I retorted.

Err... okay point, but how about the fact we haven't freaked out by our change?

'Honestly, I've just been focusing on surviving to keep myself from the inevitable freak out I'll suffer. It's why I've been so focused over the passed few days, if I stop and think about my situation too hard... well... I'll really freak out and that won't help anyone,' I replied with a frown as I shifted my forelimbs.

Then how about the fact we haven't tried to find a way to change back?

'How? We don't even know how we changed in the first place!' I retorted with a scowl. 'Did some magical artifact change us? Did Poison Joke exist beforehand and I stepped in it before I actually changed? Did some crazy wish actually get granted? Did my body react adversely to a source of magic and change to protect me? It could honestly be anything, trying to find a way to fix this without knowing how it happened first would be stupid!' I retorted.

We could've asked Twilight...

'No! Because even if she does have wish granting abilities look how limited our magic and Surprise's magic is right now! I can barely hold myself in my dream scape for a few hours! It'd probably kill her to try and grant a wish of that scale, plus without knowing the original cause we'd still run the risk of changing back into ponies! Oh and that's not even mentioning all the other changes to the local flora!' I replied with a deep scowl.

Alright! Point taken, wishes are a bad idea while we still so magically weak.

'Thank you for acknowledging that I'm right about something,' I thought.

Yeah yea... but that said, we haven't even looked for the cause of all this!

'With what!? I don't have any clue what caused this change besides a few theories!' I retorted as I started to rub my temples with a frown.

Theories?

'Really only one thus far, and I thought of it after Surprise mentioned how little magic is in the air,' I admitted with a sigh, 'We know for a fact that Poison Joke is a magical plant, as is Sweet Grass, and Hearts Desire, that's the three flora we've seen sprout up thus far, and I've noticed a few things like grass look more... saturated recently. Further, there are the ponies like myself and the others, which are magically inclined and require it both to function and survive,' I noted and then closed my eyes and laid my head on my crossed fore-hooves.

'My best theory, is that some form of raw magic has been either been expelled from an outside source or was unearthed and has started seeping into all of us in different ways, changing us all internally to better contain or channel it. I don't know how or when it actually started, but I'd have to guess it began with single cell organisms,' I continued.

Why would you say that?

'Truth be told it simply makes the most logical sense,' I admitted, 'a single cell organism would probably be changed faster due to smaller size and less complex nature than a multi-cellular organism. That said, I can't be certain unless I look at a local germ or cell under a microscope, and even then there's no guarantee that they'd carry a 'tell' that they were magical in nature, for that I'd need to understand what magic really is,' I noted mostly to myself.

Meaning we have nothing to work on...

'Pretty much,' I replied with a sigh, 'It's not like I'm a total nerd who just so happens to own a microscope or any of the other equipment I'd need to analyze what's going on here after all,' I remarked with a shake of my head.

Yet you do own a military grade pistol belt... and a ton of pouches for it. Not to mention all the convenient knives, the flask, and padding, oh, and that machete! Which... wait... did we forget to bring the machete?!

'What're you talking abou... oh buck me I did didn't I!' I thought as I placed my hoof to my face with a grunt. I knew I'd forgotten something when I'd gathered my stuff from my room, but how had I forgotten that of all things?!

Wow, of all the things that you should've remembered...

'... shut up...' I thought with a scowl. I also had to wonder why I was such a plot hole to myself? I then shook my head and let out a snort. It didn't matter anymore, I wasn't in the forest so I didn't have to worry about surviving bears... and honestly the machete probably would've just made it mad. I turned my attention from that and to the door to the closet. I pushed it open quietly to see that Megan was still asleep.

I then noticed her electronic clock stated it was '6:36 AM' and smacked my lips. 'Thirsty... and I really need to pee,' I thought to myself as I pushed the door open all the way and trotted out. I tip-hoofed my way through the house into the bathroom. I quickly pulled myself up so I could reach the faucet and turned it on so I could get a quick drink. I finished with that quickly and then looked to the toilet... then down at my body...

Yeah... now I needed to figure out how a pony uses a toilet...

My business was finished, and I thanked whatever power was watching for the kid-adapter seat on the toilet.

'It's probably meant for Megan,' I admitted to myself. The girl was very young after all, that much was painfully obvious. 'It's also a good thing she and her mom are away,' It would've been awkward to have one of them walk in on me when I was on the toilet...

Now I had a new task to suffer through...

That being, figuring out how to wash my hooves...

Just get up and use the soap.

'How! I have hooves!' I reminded my annoying brain.

Huh... point, might have to think about that one for a bit.

With a roll of my eyes I raised a hoof up and then slowly raised and then braced myself on the edge of the sink. With a quiet grunt of exertion I looked around and eventually spotted a soap dispenser. 'Oh good, it isn't a bar,' I thought with relief. Holding a bar of soap could be hard enough even with fingers, I could already imagine how much of a chore it'd be with hooves or, Luna forbid, my mouth. With a shake of my head I banished such thoughts and instead...

Wait, we have hooves, how are we going to turn the sink on?

'Oh pony feathers,' I thought with a glare at the knobs on top of the sink.

You're doing the horse-lingo again.

'Shut up!' I internally snapped at my brain as I considered the knobs, not to mention my already awkward position against the sink. I then focused on my hooves and recalled how I had deduced a ponies hooves were made from the same material as a unicorn horn, and thereby could in theory channel magic. 'That could mean that all ponies can use their hooves to pick up and manipulate things due to a minor spell they all instinctively know,' I mused internally.

That's a big assumption bucko.

'Well its the best I got to work with,' I retorted and then reached a hoof for one of the knobs. 'Alright, just stay calm and try to figure out how they work these stupid things,' I thought as I glared at my hooves. I tried to grasp onto the knob but, of course, it didn't seem to want to work with me. It took a few tries, each failure causing me more and more irritation as I did.

Eventually I managed to move the knob, then grinned at my hoof. 'Ha! It worked!' I thought to myself as I then looked to the soap dispenser and narrowed my eyes. 'Lets see if I can move that,' I decided as I reached out for it. It took another few tries, but I managed to grasp it and pull it closer with a little effort. Once I had I dispensed a bit of soap and cleaned off my hooves with a proud smile.

Wow, you managed to move a knob and pull a soap-dispenser closer to you... you must be so proud of that massive achievement.

'Oh shut up! It's not like I knew how to do that before.. as a pony I mean!' I responded angrily. I'd also say it was a pretty impressive achievement, considering I didn't have hands. With an annoyed snort I turned off the water and then made my way out of the bathroom. I then started to look around the house and felt a frown work its way across my lips.

It was... dirty for one thing... but otherwise completely and totally uninteresting. I nosed my way here and there, explored every room, and even checked a few nifty hide-holes, but I didn't see anything that'd keep me entertained, which was going to make this a very long day. I felt one of my ears flick to the side as I continued to look around.

'Sooo bored... can't focus,' I thought to myself as I eventually flopped onto the couch in the living room and frowned. 'TV?' I considered and then internally shrugged as I idly reached out and grabbed hold of the remote. 'Ha! Not useless now huh!' I thought with a grin.

I never said it was useless, just that you're making too big a deal about it.

With a roll of my eyes I looked at the remote and then turned on the TV. After a few minutes of channel surfing I realized why I'd long since stopped watching TV a few years ago.

There was absolutely nothing on TV, not even reruns.

"Ugh... why couldn't there be something good on?" I grumbled as I turned the TV off and then rolled over onto my back and stared at the ceiling. I don't like having excess time on my hooves, I never have actually. I prefer to have something to do and when I don't I tend to get really antsy and nervous. I let out a quiet noise that was somewhere between a groan and a growl as I shifted on the couch and then let out a grunt of frustration.

You could check out videos online on your tablet.

'No I've been on that thing all day... and all week actually... and I really need to do other things,' I responded.

Okay... then read a book.

'I've already read all my physical books aside from the ridiculously long ones,' I again responded.

Not those Game of Thrones books.

'Yeah and with how long and expansive they are, I'm really not going to read those now of all times,' I replied with a frown.

Okay, then well... err... huh, not much to do as a pony is there?

'Not on earth no,' I noted and then frowned. 'I really don't feel like going outside right now either... and I'm still pretty drained from my session in the dream-scape,' I thought as I considered what I could do. I lay there, silent and idly drummed one of my hooves on the couch as I tried to think of something interesting to do.

Practice Magic?

I idly considered that thought before I lightly tapped my horn, only to wince at a dull throb. 'Horn still hurts, so no that's not happening,' I responded and then closed my eyes. 'Think, think, think, think,' I thought to myself as I idly tapped the side of my temple.

You know you're not Whinny the Poo, right?

'Shush brain I'm trying to think of something to do,' I responded with a slight smirk. If I recalled correctly, I started doing the 'think, think, think, think, think' thing after I saw one of the movies with Poo in it. Admittedly I was just a kid when I saw it but the habit kind of stuck afterwards.

After a long time of thinking I decided that, honestly, I just needed something to keep me busy.

'Which means clean up time,' I decided and sat up. I looked around the house with a frown and idly nodded my head. 'Yeah, this place could really use it too,' I decided as I hopped to my hooves. I then began my search for cleaning supplies, because once I get started I'm not stopping until this place looks half decent.

Aren't you the least bit worried about Megan's mom noticing you've cleaned?

'Meh, I'll cross that road when I get there,' I responded.

~~*Posey the Gentle Gardener*~~

"I brought you food." Said the voice on the other side of the door, while I wanted to ignore it I was quite hungry so I opened it just a bit and saw a literal fruit basket in front of the door. It smeeled too good for the fruits to be made of wax. I quickly got the basket inside the bathroom and locked the door again.

The apple was tasty and juicy, I somehow was able to peel the banana, no clue how these freak magnetic like hooves work and the orange... was eaten raw, just like the apple. My equine teeth were good to crush everything into a paste I easily let enter my stomach.

Then I washed my face, it was a bit hard to do, leaving my mouth tasting like soap but I needed that after hours of being a wush and crying.

'Is that dog shampoo?'

Yes the bathroom had dog shampoo, this other pony sure had it good. While I had to hide in my little sister room all the time, she was living in a place were they have her her own shampoo. Even the perfume she had used on me couldn't hide the smell I had. She had not been able to find a time were our parents weren't at home for long enough to give me a bath.

"Buck, I should just take advantage of it. There is even towels big enough for me to dry after taking a shower.'

The shower ended turning into a bath in the tube because it was easier. And well... I wanted to pamper myself. I knew Firefly really didn't want to make me cry but...

"Ah dang it! Stupid weak pony personality!"

I wanted to scream to yell that wasn't me but... it was a losing battle.

Is not like I was being taken over, thank god but... my personality had changed. I had to fight all the time to avoid being polite and act shy and... that just irritated me more.

Not to mention the guilt. I wouldn't have survived as a pony without my sister help and... I keep being a jerk to her.

So the first thing I did after leaving the bathroom was give my small sister a hug and apologise. I hated myself a bit for doing so but she is my sister after all.

Then I glared at Firefly.

"What? See something funny?"

"Eh... no... are you okay?" Firefly asked me looking worried.

"Yes, why shouldn't I be?" I told her while I keep the glare. I was still annoyed about her stupid prank.

"I apologised already, okay?"

"Yes you did. Thanks for the fruit basket."

After that I stopped hugging my sister and sat back on the couch in a unfortunate silence.

"So... uh... what now?" Firefly asked and I had no clue what to answer. Unfortunately my sister didn't have that problem.

"Sleepover with ponies!"

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: Yes, WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!

011 Grouchy

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

The worst part about Megan and her mom being gone from the house, had to be the sheer boredom I felt being stuck inside. In an effort to stave off that boredom I had as such started to find myself cleaning up around their home. Nothing too big, just picking up this or that, dusting a little here and there, and even taking a brief bit of time to wipe a few things down with a damp washcloth.

Of course none of it would've been possible without the ability to grasp and hold things with my hooves. You never really appreciate being able to hold and manipulate things with your hands until you suddenly find yourself without them. True, things like touch screen controls and the like still wouldn't work, but at least I didn't have to use my mouth for everything now.

'I am so glad I figured out that magic-hoof thing,' I thought to myself as I finished picking up yet another random bit of trash. Cleaning was my job, literally, before this mess my only job had been to keep things clean at work. 'Maintenance' they called it, I thought it more like being a janitor. It wasn't the worst work, certainly not what I'd wanted when I was a kid, but it paid.

Still kind of weird seeing you all domestic.

"How in the name of Luna am I being domestic?" I demanded incredulously.

You are cleaning up this place, which is a domestic chore you know.

"By that logic, I've always been pretty domestic. It was my job to clean up before after all," I reminded the voice in my head blandly.

That was a store and you were being paid to keep it clean. This is just a house, not even your house mind you, and you hardly cleaned our place this much.

"I did when the mood struck me," I replied.

Which was once in a blue moon at best.

"You seriously love annoying me, don't you," I accused and the head voice snorted.

Please, we both know you prefer me to total silence and isolation.

"I'd prefer turning on the TV if it meant I didn't have to listen to you," I retorted. While I said that I probably wouldn't turn on the TV on the off chance Megan's mom showed back up. As it was I could listen for her and Megan to show back up so long as it was quiet enough. So I'd just have to deal with the silence, and hope that my head voice would eventually quiet itself.

With a grunt of annoyance I continued on through the house. It was true that I didn't clean my home all that much. Truth be told I tried to avoid it, and being as much of a pack rat as I was, I had always had a somewhat cluttered room. But contrary to my head voice I did try to keep things tidy, it was cluttered, but I knew where everything was.

Having a job where I kept things cleaned had definitely made me keep things clean more often. And after a while, cleaning up became something I did just for the sake of doing it. Same with keeping myself clean as well. Though it was a bit difficult as I was now. The lack of digits and all, though learning how to 'grasp' things with my hooves helped.

How does that even works anyways?

"What..." I thought with a blink of surprise and then frowned, "Aren't you me, you should already know that," I reminded my 'head-voice'.

I'm little more than a part of your imagination, I only know what you want me to know...

I blinked at that and then rolled my eyes. Of course I'd pull some inane BS like that. Make a voice in my head to keep myself company, then make it just smart enough to mess with me, while also limiting what it knows.

"Well first of all," I began and then looked down at my hooves, "I had to realize that my hooves are made from the same material as my horn, thus, it stood to reason I can do something 'magical' with them as well," I explained as I pressed my hoof onto a TV remote. "When I did that I managed to pull the feeling from my horn and push it into my hooves then pull it back to let go," I explained as I dropped the remote onto the nearest table.

So you applied the principle of tree walking from Naruto to your hooves... and somehow it worked?

"..."

You know, I'd say you're kind of a nerd, but we both already knew that.

"Shut up!" I snapped at my head voice and started to grumble to myself as I marched around the house to check on everything. I wanted to make sure that I'd managed to clean up everything. I also wanted to avoid the fact I'd called myself a nerd. As I wandered around the home of Megan and her mother, I casually picked up this or that and put them somewhere out of the way.

I was of course aware that when Megan and her mother got home they'd notice that the place looked a lot cleaner... but honestly I didn't care. If I was going to be stuck here, then I needed to do something to keep my mind occupied. Otherwise I was probably going to go crazy, mostly due to the fact that I'm currently trapped in the body of a pony. Well... that and the fact I haven't had a chance to play a video game in what feels like forever.

I frowned at that last thought and continued on through the house.

Unfortunately the distraction of cleaning was soon wearing thin, so I wandered into the living room and plopped myself onto the couch. With a sigh I flicked my ears from side to side and let out a snort through my nose. I looked around and gave a slight nod before I allowed a yawn to pass my lips and frowned tiredly. I turned to look at the clock and frowned when I noticed that it was still relatively early, Megan wouldn't be home for a while, and I wasn't sure about her mother.

"Sometimes I hate being nocturnal," I muttered from my spot on the couch. I idly rubbed at my eyes with a fetlock, then shook my head and sighed. "I should probably head to bed, but I don't feel like it," I grumbled. "I could maybe read a book, but meh, I don't have any that'd be worth reading right now," I noted to myself and started to frown as my ears flicked in agitation.

That feeling of boredom was back, only now I didn't have the option of cleaning up the place...

Ugh... so bored... can't focus...

'So tired to,' I thought as my eyes became heavy. With a yawn I fell to the side, resting my head against the armrest of the couch. 'Maybe I should just... rest my eyes for a bit...' I thought with a yawn as my eyes slowly slid shut. 'Just for a little bit... then I'll...'

Daphne Johnson sighed tiredly as she walked into her house. Between her job and her daughter Meghan, her schedule was pretty chaotic. It was no help that her parents didn't think she was capable of handling it on her own. She paused at that thought to grumble to herself as she opened the door and Meghan hurried passed her.

"Sweetie, don't run!" she called out as she entered as well. She heard her daughter call back, but didn't pay too much attention to it as she noticed that something was... off. She idly reached up to adjust her glasses and then noticed that things seemed... well, cleaner. She glanced around to see that things she'd haphazardly put up before had been set out neatly.

With a frown she walked around, noticed that the table in the kitchen looked especially well kept, the chairs all neatly pushed in, the table-cloth she'd had off to one side for a few nights had been placed out neatly. 'What the,' she thought to herself as she walked into the kitchen. It was similar, with several dishes having put to the side of the now empty sink.

For a moment she wondered if she'd done them without thinking, but Daphne was fairly sure that that hadn't happened. She didn't have the energy most days to handle that, especially not on a weekend when Meghan was home all day, and on weekdays she was too tired from work. Even now she was supposed to be at work, but had had to pick up Meghan from school.

She was only on a lunch break and would need to get back to work soon.

As a result her home wasn't the cleanest, if she were honest she'd say it was kind of a sty on most occasions, but that was a price she was fine with paying. She made decent enough money to take care of Meghan and her own needs, and had never let things get too terrible around the house and that was enough for her.

'Did a burglar break in?' the single parent briefly wondered to herself...

She then had to wonder what kind of burglar would break in and then clean up the place.

Such thoughts wandered through her mind as she idly walked upstairs and checked her room. It like the kitchen and dining-room looked cleaner than when she left. The bed had been made, and it looked like someone had picked up the random bits of trash that'd missed her bin. Further, it seemed like someone had taken the time to clean up the dust around the room.

"Mommy!" she heard her daughter call out from the living room. Daphne dropped her thoughts to hurry out downstairs to her daughter.

"Meghan what..." She paused and her thoughts ground to a halt. Daphne stood in the frame of the doorway, and simply stared at the surreal sight laying on her couch.

It was a pony... a strange looking pony if she were honest. It was white in color with a vibrant mane and tail of red and purple. It had a symbol on it's rump that looked like a shooting star, as well as what looked like a bow tied around the base of it's tail. Further, it had bandages wrapped around it's waist, and those same bandages had turned an ugly shade of red-ish brown...

It was also a unicorn judging by the fluted horn at the center of its forehead.

It was also sleeping soundly on her couch as if it was the most normal thing imaginable for a strange unicorn to be sleeping in her living room. Daphne silently stared at the little pony, not quite sure what to make of the situation if she were perfectly honest. The whole situation dazed her enough that she barely registered as her daughter pulled on her skirt.

She blinked and looked at the girl "What," she questioned and Meghan pulled her hand.

"C'mon mommy! Moon Dancer needs her bandages changed!" the little girl stated. Daphne briefly felt a prickle of recollection at mention of the name. As a little girl she'd had a toy of Moon Dancer, in fact if she thought about it, the pony had been a unicorn with a vibrant red and purple mane / tail. It'd been one of her favorites as a child, mostly because she'd just loved her colors.

Still, how was a unicorn pony from a cartoon sleeping on her couch?

"Wait, where did she come from?" Daphne had to ask as Meghan pulled her over to 'Moon Dancer' and she glanced down at her bandaged side with a cringe. The little pony was clearly still bleeding, not too terribly mind you, but enough that her bandages really did need to be changed.

"Surprise helped me bring her home after she was attacked by a bear," Meghan supplied. Daphne vaguely recalled a grey pegasus by that name from her childhood, but couldn't really bring up much of an image. Unlike Moon Dancer, who had interesting and pretty colors, Surprise seemed to have dull colors by comparison that hadn't interested her at all as a child.

"So she's been here for how long?" Daphne wondered more to herself than anyone.

"A day," Meghan supplied and her mother hummed.

"So she cleaned our house," Daphne guessed and Meghan shrugged. The older of the two briefly looked back down to the pony and idly wondered how it had managed to clean anything. 'It has hooves for crying out loud,' she noted with a glance down to said hooves.

"Sweetie, you do know that you shouldn't talk to strangers," she noted, only to pause as what the girl actually said fully registered. "Wait, did you say a bear attacked her?!" Daphne demanded with wide eyes.

"But surprise is a pony, and I already knew Moon Dancer," the little girl replied and Daphne blinked.

"How?" she questioned.

"She lives in the woods," the girl responded and Daphne glanced at the pony curiously.

"I... can actually believe that," she admitted, then glanced at her daughter. "Now what was that about a bear attacking her?" she demanded and her daughter just pointed at the pony.

"It's what Surprise said," Meghan replied naively with a nod of her head. Daphne grimaced at that as she looked back down to the little pony. So assuming this surprise was also a pony, a pretty good bet with a name like that, that meant her daughter was now talking to ponies... who could somehow talk back.

Great, so they were probably magical talking ponies now... that was... kind of weird beyond all rational thought. Not that weird things hadn't been happening a lot lately, the news was basically filled with random strange occurrences at the moment. Still, this was well beyond the norm, and she could only take so much weirdness.

"I... I see," she murmured as she looked down at Moon Dancer. She idly noticed that the pony's hooves were vaguely green, as if she'd trod across grass for a while and stained them. It only stood out to her because all her pony toys had had hooves that were uniform with the rest of their bodies... also she was trying to think of some kind of rational explanation for this.

None came to mind...

"Mommy c'mon! We need to change her bandages,"Meghan stated, echoing her earlier statement. Daphne blinked and then tentatively reached out to touch Moon Dancer. She just... needed to test something. 'And prove to myself that this is actually happening,' she admitted to herself. She then placed her hand on Moon Dancer's head, idly petting her.

She then felt her inner child squeal at how soft her fur was.

'I'm actually touching a unicorn,' Daphne thought with a giggle, only to then shake her head. She slowly moved her hand down to the bandages and undid them, only to grimace at the long diagonal slashes across the unicorn's torso. She wasn't really a vet, so she didn't know what that was actually called on a horse, but the gashes looked pretty nasty to her.

"Maybe we should take her to a vet," Daphne murmured softly. Although a moment later her own thoughts went to half the movies she'd seen where friendly aliens were taken into public, only to be dissected by overly zealous scientists and the like... it was a gross exaggeration of real life of course, but she didn't doubt that someone would try to profit off of a living unicorn.

And she doubted that the unicorn would need to be alive for it.

"No! Surprise said that was a bad idea!" Meghan stated vehemently and Daphne sighed.

"Yeah I thought so a moment after I said it," she admitted and then clicked her tongue. "Meghan watch her for a moment, I need to get the first aid kit," Daphne told the little girl. She nodded as she then started to pet Moon Dancer with a smile. The single mother smiled softly at the sight then hurried upstairs, mentally hoping the pony hadn't decided to move their first aid kit.

It didn't take her very long to find the first aid kit, thankfully it was in the bathroom, laid out next to the sink. Given the ponies injuries, it had probably pulled it out but hadn't thought to change the bandages itself. 'Or couldn't,' she admitted to herself, which was far more likely. Given its limbs were all legs and couldn't bend that far, it was a fair assumption.

Regardless she picked it up and turned to leave, her mind wandering back to the pony in her home. Silly thoughts from when she was a child came to mind, dreams of talking with real ponies that of course never came true...

Until now of course, though it was her daughter and not her who did so.

A very small part of her felt a little jealous of that fact. As a small child herself, around Meghan's age really, she'd wanted a pony. Even talking to one would've been nice. Not that that was too terribly uncommon among little girls, but it was a bit of a sore point for her with recent events.

Yet at the same time, she was more concerned by the fact the pony was even there to begin with. Magical talking ponies weren't supposed to exist in real life after all. They were supposed to be the stuff of fantasy, how they were real and one was in her house was hard to imagine.

As she returned to the living room she pushed the thoughts away to focus on changing the pony's bandages. She also glanced at the clock and grimaced. She'd have to hurry if she wanted to get back to work without being late...

This wouldn't be fun at all.

She was not a vet. That thought had ran through Daphne's mind multiple times after she started bandaging the white-pony. Pony was also a bit subjective in this case, as the equine was far too... almost cat-like in appearance. It had hooves, sure, it had a mane and tail, of course, but the face and muzzle were all wrong for any real life equine. Not to mention all the colors it had!

'Focus!' Daphne thought with a shake of her head. The pony hadn't woken even once as she bandaged her wounds. The wounds, from a bear no less, hopefully looked a lot worse than they actually were. She wasn't a vet, and she didn't know how deeply a claw could tear into the pony before it required legitimate medical attention.

That said, who would believe her if she tried to say a magical talking pony needed help?

Certainly she could pick the pony up and try to take her to a vet, but given how weird things were at the moment, she rather doubted that would go over too well with anyone. A few of the locals were already in hysterics over the strange polka-dot disease that was going around. She was not going to introduce a new species on top of that.

With a quiet exhale Daphne finished bandaging the pony and looked at her hands with a grimace. They were covered in the equine's blood. Small splotches thankfully, and nothing that looked too life-threatening, so she quickly hurried into the kitchen to wash her hands. As she did her mind wandered to the pony, and the fact her daughter had been hiding it for who knows how long.

She wasn't an idiot after all, there was no way the pony could've gotten into the house without someone to help it. It might've came in through a window, but that thought suggested it wasn't already injured at the time. Further, someone had to have bandaged the pony before, and given how poorly the bandages had been done, she'd just bet it had been done by her daughter.

'Which means Meghan is bringing magical talking creatures home,' she thought as she idly turned the kitchen tap off. She then rubbed at her eyes with a groan.

"And here I was thinking that her maybe bringing a stray cat home would be bad," she muttered to herself. There was a literal legion of stray cats on their road after all. They all lived near an old trailer, and liked to sun-bathe in the middle of the street. She'd yet to see one get hit, thankfully neither had Meghan, but the fact it was a possibility bothered her.

It also didn't help that no one ever bothered taking any of them to a shelter... then again, maybe they all belonged to a crazy cat lady or something.

Daphne shook such thoughts from her mind and braced her hands on the sink as she let everything sink in. Her daughter had found and brought home an injured unicorn. Said unicorn was about the size of a large dog, could talk, and was probably magical. Finally, she'd bandaged the wounded creature up, and now she had an injured magical talking unicorn sleeping on her couch.

Yeah... this was so far out of her league it wasn't even funny. She was a waitress, not a vet, and she didn't have any idea what she was thinking not calling the cops. 'Oh right, who's going to believe the crazy woman about a magical talking unicorn,' she thought with a snort. Even with that crazy polka-dot disease around, this was way beyond strange.

With a groan, she pushed back from the sink and rubbed at her temples. She walked back to the living room where Meghan was seated, silently watching the unicorn in question. For a moment she considered calling in to work, but dismissed that idea almost immediately after. While her home was already paid for, a gift from her grandmother, the utilities were unfortunately another story.

The polka-dot disease certainly didn't help, with a lot of people avoiding going near the infected... or outside in general for that matter.

"Meghan, sweetie I need to get to work," Daphne began as she knelt down next to her daughter. Her eyes were drawn to the sleeping pony, then back to her daughter, "will you be okay on your own for a while?" she questioned. She was concerned, mostly for her daughter, but also for the little unicorn on her couch.

"Yep! I'll be fine!" the girl chirped happily and Daphne gave a wane smile. "Moon Dancer and I will watch some TV when she wakes up," she added. The single mother blinked at that, and glanced at the magical talking pony. Well, she was assuming it could talk if she were honest. But given how it literally had to have been what cleaned her home, she felt that an easy idea to accept.

"Alright," she whispered as she pulled her daughter into a hug and kissed the top of her head, "But please don't stay up too late, you have school in the morning," she reminded the girl. 'Unless they close the schools for some kind of quarantine or they call this polka-dot disease an epidemic and cordon off the whole county,' her mind reminded her morosely.

She quickly pushed such thoughts to the back of her mind as she got up.

"I'll be back later, sweetie," Daphne stated as she knelt down to give the girl a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She'd only been on her lunch-break thus far, she often used it to pick up Meghan from school. Normally, she just brought Meghan with her to work, but today she'd also had to pick up groceries. 'Did I remember to bring those in?' she briefly wondered to herself, then shook the thought from her mind.

"Alright, just try not to move her around too much, we don't want her bandages getting loose," the single mother remarked. Her daughter frowned for a moment, then nodded her head while Daphne walked out of her home. As she did she considered what she'd have to do with... 'Moon Dancer' in the future.

'I can't really call someone to help me with her,' she mused to herself, few would believe her, and those that did would likely be insane. Not to mention she didn't want to find out what the government would do with the pony. As far as she knew, they'd cart her off to some lab, either for outright vivisection, or to hold her in captivity for study for the rest of her natural life.

Given she might be magical, and that could be an exceedingly long time indeed.

'Calling mom and dad is right out,' Daphne added to herself with a frown. Her relationship with her parents wasn't the best after all. Frankly, it was a minefield she was not interested in walking over any time soon. Daphne paused her thoughts for a moment as she got into her car, and then sighed as she placed her forehead against her steering wheel.

"This is so not what I wanted to deal with," she murmured softly, "why couldn't she have just found a stray cat I could send to a shelter?" she briefly wondered. That would be normal, simple to deal with, and it wouldn't be causing her as much grief as the magical animal was. It wasn't intentionally of course, but it was still causing her grief.

With another sigh, Daphne turned the key to her car and set about getting to work. A glance at her timer caused her to grimace. She was going to be a bit late, mostly a result of bandaging Moon Dancer, and she was also going to be starving. 'Hears hoping they have some kind of leftovers I can munch on at work,' the woman thought to herself.

Daphne wasn't sure if she liked the distance she had to drive to work, if she were honest. She didn't like to think of herself as a 'city-girl', but she could admit that the country was very different from what she was used too. Her new home for instance, was rural, with sparse homes and large forests, while the closest town and her job was a half-hour car-ride aware.

This was nice in some cases, as it left Meghan plenty of room to run and play outside, but she did miss the convenience of malls and other nearby shopping-centers. That the closest one to her home was a five-to-ten minute drive away, and was only a small dollar-store, had been more than a little hard to deal with at first.

She paused such thoughts as she arrived at work, a little out of the way restaurant in town that she'd managed to nab a job at. It was a bit of a thankless job of course, but in that seemed to be par for the course for a lot of things lately. Thankfully the locals tipped surprisingly well, and her boss wasn't a total creep, so it at least wasn't unbearable.

Upon walking inside, and quickly clocking back in, Daphne walked into the main room and noticed that her coworker Margaret was working the register. With a frown Daphne walked over to the other woman.

"What are you doing?" she questioned and the other woman sighed.

"Gregg called in," she replied, "he caught that polka-dot bug that's going around," she explained and Daphne groaned.

"Great, that's just what we needed," she muttered softly, "did Allen have anything to say about that?" she questioned. Her boss was a decent enough sort, but that didn't mean he wasn't a bit of a slave-driver when he wanted to be. He rarely, if ever, let anyone have time off.

"He doesn't have much of an opinion since he caught it too," Margaret responded bluntly, "and for some reason it made him deathly allergic to the spices in the kitchen," she added with a confused frown. Daphne blinked at that and then palmed her face. That polka-dot disease felt like some weird kind of prank if she were honest...

"Well that's just great, is Jerry here at least?" she questioned quickly. Jerry was the assistant manager, he was less of a slave-driver than Allen, but on the downside he tended to be lazy.

"He's in the kitchen, he and the guys are scrubbing the place down," Margaret explained and Daphne slowly nodded her head. That made sense, if both Allen and Greg had caught the bug at work then it was good to be cautious and clean the place thoroughly. No one would want to eat or work at a place that was going to get them sick with that freaky bug after all.

"Right, good, so is it alright I'm a little late getting back?" she questioned and Margaret rolled her eyes.

"Take a look around and tell me it's busy," she responded a bit bluntly. Daphne did as advised and noticed that, aside from a fellow by the window, that the place was relatively dead. "It's been like this all day, Jerry actually had to send a few of the others home early," she admitted with a slim frown across her lips.

"Sh-shoot, that's not good," Daphne mumbled, "any chance of things picking up?" she asked and Margaret shrugged.

"Not until that crazy polka-dot plague clears up. It's like no one wants to risk catching it by going outside," she responded and Daphne groaned.

"Right... then I'm just going to get to work," the woman remarked and Margaret nodded her head.

"I'd suggest keeping yourself busy by cleaning the place, and that you should stand around at your peril," the woman remarked and Daphne gave a smirk.

"How often have you seen me standing around doing nothing?" she questioned and Margaret shrugged.

"Not often," she admitted, "but there really isn't much to do around here without any customers," she reminded. Daphne frowned, but nodded her head in understanding as she went about looking for the cleaning supplies. She also mentally hope that things didn't get any worse and that she could keep herself going...

I slowly awoke with a groan. My head is throbbing for some reason, my ears are flicking from side to side as I try to concentrate on several strange sounds. After a moment, I blink my eyes open and glance around. I'm still in the living room, and I'm also still on the couch while the TV has been turned on, and is turned to... oh great, MLP is on.

'I'm not sure if I'm happy or annoyed about that,' I think with a slim frown. On the one hoof I did kind of like the show before all this started, on the other, I'm a pony at the moment and that kind of takes the fun out of it. Oh and it looks like Twilight is visiting an old... wait... what the... what! "Is that supposed to be me?" I ask in more than a little surprise.

"Yeppers," the little girl chirped pleasantly then frowned, "but she's not as pretty as you," Meghan added with a tilted head, "why's that Moonie?" the little girl questioned while my eye twitched. I promptly ignored the little girl and instead focused on what Hasbro had apparently done to me.

"Why am I yellow?" I questioned with a frown. No seriously, why was I apparently yellow in FIM, the previous versions of Moon Dancer were all white, so why was she yellow! And not even a pleasant shade of yellow like Flutters, I'm an ugly shade that almost looks like old parchment!

"Moonie?" Meghan questioned slowly, only for me to continue to ignore her.

"And those eyebrows! Why are they so big? Ponies don't even have eyebrows!" I remarked as, in all honesty, I had never seen another pony that looked like this other me. "The glasses are kind of cute, in a weird nerdy way, but seriously what is with her mane, and don't even get me started on that sweater!" I declare with a shake of my head while Meghan just stared at me with a confused frown.

"Um, are you alright Moonie?" the little girl questioned and I sighed.

"Yeah I'm fine just..." I paused as I saw a flashback that showed the other me at an earlier time... oh... oh no, no way, they didn't! "Tartarus... I'm literally just an over glorified Twilight recolor!?" I demanded furiously. "The heck Hasbro!" I snapped while Meghan giggled to herself. As she did I mentally planned to exact sweet vengeance on my newly discovered foe...

Hasbro was going to pay for this, Luna as my witness they will pay for this affront, this I swear!

"You're funny Moonie!" Meghan declared and I grunted.

"Sure I am," I grumble as I glare at the glorified recolor on screen. Death would be too swift I internally decided, oh no, no way were they getting away that easily! I was so dumping Poison Joke in their HQ! Lets see how they like it when they start growing spots and turn into random things! Yeah, that'll teach 'em not to turn me into a glorified recolor!

And they didn't even mention my special talent with dreams and sleep! I mean c'mon!

"You want some water?" Meghan suddenly questioned. I grunted but gave a nod of ascent and the little girl hurried to the kitchen. As she did I glared at the other Moon Dancer, who, as it turned out, was almost as grumpy and anti-social as I was...

"Okay so you got the personality right, that means nothing to me Hasbro, I will still have my revenge!" I grumble with a hoof raised even as I continue to watch the episode. "And I'm so learning that laser thing, it looks useful... and the book thing," I added almost as an after thought. It looked like a cool ability, maybe I could pick up some of Moon Dancer's other spells too...

As I continue to ponder learning the spells of my cartoon counterpart I vaguely notice Meghan return with a glass of water. She approaches me with a smile while I idly use my hooves to grab the glass of water from her hands. The girl pauses when I do, then stares as I hold the glass with my hoof and take a gulp of water.

"Thanks," I state as I finish and hoof the glass back to her.

"How did you do that?" Meghan questioned with sparkles in her eyes.

"Magic," I responded bluntly while watching the episode of MLP.

"Oh cool! What else can you do?" Meghan questioned brightly. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye and then re-focused on the episode before me.

"Mostly sleep and dream related things," I admitted.

"Like Luna?" she questioned and I nodded my head. "So cool! Are you like Luna's personal student like Twilight is Celestia's?" the little girl questioned and I shrugged.

"Lets see," I responded, only to frown as we watched the episode further. The problem was we got no answer, Moon Dancer didn't seem to have much of a job from what i could tell. She seemed to live by herself in a hovel, with tons of books for research and entertainment...

That's pretty much exactly what you did before this pony stuff happened...

'Shut up,' I snapped at my brain with a frown. It was right, but I didn't have to be happy about it.

"Huh... if she's as smart as Twilight, why isn't she doing anything?" Meghan questioned and I placed my hoof to my face with a groan.

She's probably just as lazy as you, or just has no ambitions like you.

'I told you to shut up brain, you're not helping!' I grumbled internally. A frown crossed my lips as I admitted that it was kind of true. I never worked to do much, I worked for the sake of money for living, not to really achieve much of anything. In a weird way, FIM Moon Dancer's personality was almost too close to home for my comfort.

"Oh well, at least she and her friends made up," Meghan stated cheerfully while I frowned.

Well there is that, which really is a pretty big difference between you two.

'Again, shut up!' I snapped at my brain for a third time. Unlike my counterpart I had never been interested in friends. I more closely resembled Twilight prior to the Summer Sun Celebration in that way, friends had always seemed like a pointless bother.

"I hope they show more of you," Meghan noted and I rolled my eyes.

'Unlikely, I'll probably end up as a one off with a few cameos here and there,' I thought to myself.

Jeez you're being especially grouchy today.

'I'm just in no mood to deal with you or the overly cheerful child today,' I responded bluntly. My headache was back and that episode really hadn't helped things at all. Hasbro was going to pay for making me a glorified recolor, this I solemnly swear!

Yet, they still somehow got your personality to a T.

'Shut up!' I internally snarled with narrowed eyes.

Dude seriously, you're being way too dramatic about this. I mean Hasbro has changed a lot of their pony designs over the years, not to mention their Transformers and especially the Joes. I mean, look at Snake Eyes, he's had like a dozen different looks over the years, and more than half of them are from the G1 version!

Academically, I know that my brain is correct, Hasbro have changed a lot of their designs over the years. Mostly it was to modernize them for new audiences. That said, I want to be unreasonable because I am sick and tired of the BS the world has thrown at me of late. Between turning into a pony, being attacked by a bear, and everything else I've gone through the passed week, I just want a moment to be unnecessarily angry about something small and pointless!

'Shut up brain, I'm not listening to you!' I grumble with a glare at nothing. I then paused as a weird image came to mind of Twilight from G1 in an 'I dream of Jeannie' style outfit. 'What in Tartarus are you doing?' I demanded with a scowl.

Ha! I bet that got your attention!

I ignored the laughing voice of my brain and instead focused on banishing the strange image from my mind. I'm sure it expected a more pronounced reaction, but thankfully despite having been a pony for a week, I didn't feel any real attraction to ponies.

You do realize that denial isn't just a river in Egypt... right?

'Of course I do, and no, I do not feel an attraction to ponies,' I growled at my brain. I then let out a tired sigh and frown darkly, 'Yet, anyways, I'm sure that'll happen if I'm in this form long enough. At the moment however, I feel very little attraction to what are basically little horses...' I admit, more to myself than anyone else.

Alright fine, jeez, chill out, I was just teasing.

'Your idea of teasing leaves much to be desired,' I replied bluntly. With that minor incident dealt with I returned my attention to the TV. Meghan had seemingly changed the channel while I was busy dealing with my brain. Now she was watching some random kids show with a guy in a white pegasus costume...

'Is this new? I feel like this is new... what in tartarus happened to TV?' I briefly wondered to myself. I hadn't watched TV in quite a while after all, having more or less sworn off it and instead using the INTERNET more than a year ago. Meanwhile my brain did the mental equivalent of a shrug.

Beats me, but this kind of makes me think of a Barney knockoff though.

'Do not speak that most hated name!' I snapped at my brain and it snickered in response.

Okay, not like I liked that particular show anymore than you... its kind of sad when both Sesame Street or even the Muppet's were better than this trash. And that makes me really miss Gargoyles though. Oh, and all the good Anime Toonami used to have!

'We all do, the nineties were kind of great,' I responded.

What about Cow and Chicken, or The Adventures of Sonic, or...

'Don't,' I warned with narrowed eyes and then let out a grunt, 'Look, I know that not everything from the nineties was a gem, I'm just saying that there was a lot of great shows on back then,' I responded with a flick of my ear. 'Also, I'd say Adventures of was okay, but only because SatAM was also around,' I remarked and my brain gave a hum of acceptance.

Yeah I'll give you that, but you know what, that guy in the pegasus costume suddenly has me wondering if Surprise is alright.

'She... should be,' I responded slowly and frowned. I hadn't seen the mare since she'd brought me to Meghan's, as far as I knew she could be alright or... 'Crab apples, now I'm worried,' I thought as I rose a hoof to rub at one of my temples with a grimace. I am, unfortunately, a bit of a worry wort and it was starting to show pretty clearly.

You're also using pony swears again.

'So? I'm next to a little girl, why wouldn't I use fake swears?' I retorted.

In your head?

'Shut up!'

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: Yes, we are still looking for an Editor and or Beta Readers for this story. Any help will be apreciated!

012 Sky and Earth

~~*Twilight The Wish Granter*~~

Twilight the pink unicorn woke up in her huge bed; well huge for her current small equine shape.

That had been... a weird dream... or was it even a dream?

Maybe that really was Moon Dancer?

Her stomach grumbling from hunger, she decided to think about that later, and so instead went to eat the last few slices of the cake Surprise had made for her.

Maybe it was her new body, maybe all ponies were crazy for sugar, or maybe the pegasus was just really good at baking cakes but it had been a struggle to not finish it all before.

She didn't know why but lately it was like she was tired and lazy all the time. She barely left the beach house to see the stars at night, and that wish she had made was probably at fault.

Something told her Earth just didn't have that much magic to start with, that made a mystery of how it could support magical talking ponies like her. Assuming of course that it could and that she and the others weren't going to die hideously due to a lack of magic... which was especially concerning with her Mary Sue like ability to grant wishes.

Well not really Mary Sue like, more of a PG version of be careful with what you wish for, unless the Wish was worded very carefully or was made to help others. Even then, from what little she'd managed to research about Twilight, she seemed to cause more havoc than good with her wishes.

She wondered if her wish was what was what was causing her to meet other ponies like Surprise and Moon Dancer. She also wondered if there had ever been a 'Megan' to start with.

She frowned as she ate the last slice of cake, the Twilight of her memories had been a kind pony but also something of an idiot. She had been way too naive and with her head in stories, and hadn't actually learned to say no when it came to granting wishes. Or to warn others her wishes were dangerous.

Well she had been a young idealistic mare and with first Queen Majesty around and later...

Mmm wait.... Queen Majesty?

No, that was something she had read online, her pony memories didn't show any Queen Majesty.

That explained a lot. Any version of Majesty who was called 'Queen Majesty' would have abused the heck out of her wishing powers and forced her to be a decent mage if only due to all her raw power. Not leaver her to waste all her potential.

And if anything seeing what that scary Queen did to her enemies would have made her a tad less naive.

She started to walk back to the living room, humming an old rhyme and then...

"Twilight Twinkle, little star,
How I wonder what you are.
Up above other ponies so high,
Like a diamond in the sky!

Twilight Twinkle, little brat!
How I wonder what you're at!
Up above the world you don't fly,
Like a tea tray falling from the sky!"

The unicorn mare then tripped with a pillow on the floor, interrupting her strange improvised song.

"What.... what the buck was that? And why the hay did I call myself Twilight Twinkle?"

Well it made her a somewhat different pony from the one in her memories. And it avoided the Twilight Sparkle jokes. And her powers did come from the stars.

"Fine, Twilight Twinkle it is."

~~*Clumsy but well-meaning Applejack*~~

Applejack woke to pain.

A lot of pain.

Like... inordinate amounts of pain.

Everything seemed to hurt at the moment and she really didn't like it.

Not to mention her stomach felt like she hadn't eaten in a weak.

For a moment, she tried to get her bearings, she blinked open her bleary eyes a time or two, then stared. Standing over her, looking down at her with a look that suggested both worry and disgust, though mostly disgust, was a unicorn pony. The pony was a pale shade of blue with a purple mane with a red streak and a number of blue diamonds on their flank.

"Oh good, you're awake," the pony remarked. She was definitely a girl, that voice and the prissy accent just screamed girl. Applejack blinked in response while the pale blue pony poked her head. "Right then, are you capable of standing?" she questioned. Applejack merely groaned in response. Considering it felt like her nerves were on fire, standing was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Ugh... not really," she replied.

"Oh of course it would be too much to ask that you could," the pale blue pony grumbled and then started to tap her chin. "What to do with you now I wonder?" she murmured while Applejack stared at her. The unicorn was silent for a moment before she sighed dramatically. "Well I suppose I should at least clean you up before you stain the carpets with all that filth you're covered in," she mused with a frown.

With a groan, Sparkler idly leaned down and hefted Applejack up onto her back. She then gave a grunt as the earth pony weighed a surprising amount. She internally decided it was somehow due to the fact she was hefty. After all, weren't all the normal ponies the ones who were supposed to deal with food production or something.

With a mutter of putting the other mare on a diet, Sparkler slowly made her way through the house. She internally decided that she'd probably have to help the other pony bathe, loath as she was to do so, since she clearly couldn't do anything for herself.

'It's just lucky that I've had experience cleaning mothers precious little snookums,' Sparkler thought with a roll of her eyes. Of course she had to pause a moment later as she realized that she no longer had something necessary to cleaning the dog in question... IE, she no longer had a pair of hands, or fingers for that matter.

Also she'd need to bathe herself after carrying the orange pony...

"Ugh, you better be worth all this trouble," Sparkler grumbled in Applejack's direction. The pony in question just gave a pained groan as her response. With a roll of her eyes, Sparkler continued to make her way to the bathroom and the shower.

Once she reached the bathroom, and thanked heaven they never closed the door to it, she carried Applejack inside and then dropped her into the tub. The orange mare groaned at the rough handling from the unicorn, but vocalized no other protestations. Sparkler, instead looked to the handles for the water, internally thanking that they were the 'handle bar' type.

With a flick of her... ankle? What was that part of a ponies forelimb called anyway? 'Definitely not a wrist,' she noted as she looked down at her forelimb. She then shrugged her shoulders, and wondered if that was what they were called, before she turned on the hot water. She then turned the handle that turned the shower on and idly watched as water cascaded down onto Applejack.

The mare in question sighed in enjoyment as the warm water eased several of the aches and pains she'd been experiencing. She managed to open her eyes and glanced up at Sparkler, who seemed to be glaring at her hooves. Then, with a sniff, the unicorn looked down the length of her snout at the orange mare.

She briefly glanced around for the dog shampoo, only to grumble when she realized it was pointless. Without hands it wasn't like she could actually get the shampoo bottle open, much less rub it into Applejack's coat. With a click of her tongue she decided to forgo that idea in it's entirety and instead focused on the mare herself.

"So..." Sparkler began, Applejack grunted in response. "Well if you're going to be that way," the mare huffed and Applejack silently gave her a look. "Oh fine, I'll give you allowances," she remarked and idly brushed her mane from her face. "So then, what were you doing outside in the filth?" the mare questioned and Applejack sighed.

"Woke up... like this... outside," she responded with a pained groan. Sparkler hummed in response, casually watching as the dirt and grime seemed to just slide off of her coat.

'Strange,' the unicorn thought to herself with narrowed eyes. 'Dirt just slides off of her,' she noted and then wondered if she was the same way. 'I suppose that would explain why our coats are always so pristine,' she decided internally. The two were silent as the shower continued, until Sparkler decided that Applejack was clean enough.

"Right then, time to come out," she murmured as she turned the water off, "think you can stand now?" she questioned with a frown. Applejack gave a grunt as she slowly managed to get up onto her hooves. She swayed for a moment, but raised a hoof to the rim of the tub to steady herself, then slowly nodded her head.

"Excellent," Sparkler decided, "Then kindly exit my tub and the bathroom for a moment," she began only for Applejack to suddenly shake her coat out, causing her to be bombarded with water. With a blink Sparler scowled at Applejack, "Wonderful... well I need to clean myself now," she remarked. Applejack pulled herself out of the tub, then looked to Sparkler as she hopped into the shower behind her.

"Would you happen to have something to eat, I'm kind of," Applejack began, only for Sparkler to raise a hoof to silence her.

"Later, I will not be covered in this... filth, a second longer than necessary," she stated firmly. She then turned the water on and sat back to let it clean her coat. As she did she noticed Applejack was still in the room and glared at her. "Do kindly wait outside," she stated with a flippant wave and Applejack muttered under her breath as she limped out of the bathroom.

The orange mare limped through the house. She grimaced as her stomach gave a sudden growl and caused her to raise a limb to her middle. Unfortunately that also caused her to stumble and fall face forward onto her chin. "Ouch," she muttered with a frown, and gave a low growl.

'Of everything I've had to deal with cause of this weird species change, the clumsiness is by far the worst,' she decided with narrowed eyes. The gender flip kind of annoyed her, sure, but she was trying really really hard not to think about that. However the fact she was tripping all over herself all the time was far worse in her opinion.

For one thing, it had made surviving the last few days a lot harder than it had needed to be. For another, she just wasn't used to being so... useless. She could barely take a few steps without tripping over her own hooves. Still, she got back up to her hooves with a shake of her head and then took a quick look around.

'There has to be something to eat around her,' she thought to herself as she searched around Sparkler's home... well, she assumed it was her home.

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: Yes, we are still looking for an Editor and or Beta Readers for this story. Any help will be apreciated!

013 Those Unlucky Seven Ponies Part I

~~*Silly 'ol Surprise*~~

I am dreaming.

How do I know I am dreaming? Well... a few reasons come to mind. First of all, I know for a fact that there isn't a literally cotton candy mountain on earth, or surrounding candy based fields and forests. Second, that one feeling I have while I'm awake just isn't really there... though don't ask me to describe what that feeling is.

Then you have all the copies of myself jumping all around me. Though to clarify, I mean my 'pony self' not the human me from before the change. I'm fairly certain that watching a bunch of depressed salarymen jump around would be... awkward to deal with.

Also, they all seem to be dressed in different little outfits... not sure what that's all about.

Anyway were was I? Ah yes, dreaming about a land of candy literally full of Surprises!

The Surprise wearing the incredibly cliche Noir detective costume stops jumping for a moment when she lands in front of me and frowns.

"The magic in the air... I think it is getting ticker." she noted with a click of her tongue

"I already knew that!" It was pretty easy to notice if you paid attention, specially in Moonie's forest. Normal forests are not that creepy after all. Plus all the randomly changing plants, such as the Poison Joke which was popping up, were overly abundant in her forest and the nearby rural town she lived in.

"Given the rate of change, I'd guess that bugs or even animals are probably becoming magical as well." she added and I blinked. Where did she get that idea?

"Why would you say that?" I questioned curiously and the other Surprise hummed.

"Why it's elementary, my dear pony." she responded and I gave her a look, "Oh c'mon! Tell me you've never wanted to say that!" she declared with a manic grin and I paused...

"Okay, I'll give you that." I admitted with a nod, "now about that explanation." I urged and the mare cleared her throat and nodded. A few of the bouncing Surprise's paused for a moment to snicker as she did, then continued on with their happy little lives.

"Right, what we know thus far is that we all changed but for seemingly no reason. Meanwhile all we have seen change aside from ourselves were plants. Now with that in mind I theorize that magic works harder to change things that can resist it." she replied and I blinked slowly. I then arched a brow and tilted my head to one side.

"Aaannnddd?" I stressed and she sighed.

"Essentially anything with it's own 'will' or determination will always work against whatever change magic tries to force on it." she replied and I hummed.

"So plants first because they lack a 'will' to fight it off, followed by insects since they are easily manipulated by natural stimuli like pheromones and the like, followed by animals which are ruled by instincts, and finally ending with people, who have their own will to work against it." I summarized and the pulp-noir themed clone nodded her head excitedly.

"Yes! And, further, as the plants are devoured by insects and beasts the magic is transferred to them, causing a sort of magic buildup that quickens their change." she continued and I froze and felt my eyes widen in worry.

"So... when bigger animals start eating the smaller ones who have been munching on those magic plants." I began and she finished for me.

"I'd assume we'll start seeing a whole mess of large magical creatures, such as manticores and the like." she reasoned with a shrug while I grimaced.

"Well that sounds particularly dangerous." I remarked with a shiver. I then had a sudden thought and glanced at her curiously. "So I'm going to guess that Moonie's forest is probably the center of all this somehow." I reasoned. I mean it was the most magical place I'd seen thus far. The trees themselves seemed mildly magical, giving off a sort of 'go away' field of sorts.

"Maybe?" the detective responded with a shrug, "I mean I'm just a creation your mind made to represent your more inquisitive nature to assist you towards a reasonable explanation for the things that have happened thus far." she remarked and I blinked.

"Oh." I remarked and she rubbed her chin with a thoughtful noise.

"That said, it does make since, I think?" she murmured and then slowly nodded her head, "Yeah it does. The first magical plants did start to show up around there... and what's with the weird coincidence of that kids show having a white pegasus? That was a tad convenient."

"Just like it was convenient that I was able to convince the people that work on the show to warn kids about the blue flowers?" I remarked and she slowly nodded her head.

"Yes... hmmm. I know! Even before we became ponies there was... something." she tried to describe then halted and frowned.

"Something? That's your big guess?" I questioned and she gave a long suffering sigh.

"Give me a break, we are good at surprises and comedy, not at figuring things out without the right clues!" she responded and crossed her forelimbs over her chest. She then stuck her tongue out at me in a raspberry and I snorted and snickered.

And then one of the other Surprises gave both of us a surprise hug. We were silent for a moment, before then glancing at the cheerful ponies.

"Really? Even when I am sleeping? No wonder Moonie finds me annoying." I say and pat the silly pony, who looks like a much younger pony me, on the head.

Well, this is still better than being a salaryman, or at least the salaryman that I used to be.

"We are what we are, and we are happy that way, why chance what we like? It would be like Firefly becoming a bookworm or Applejack becoming a fancy mare, they would hate it." the pulp-noir Surprise remarked. Then yet another Surprise, this one dressed like a stereotypical witch, said while adjusting her witchy hat.

"Oh? Then what about what we were before? Did the human life not count? Wasn't that a huge change? From human to pony? Why us? What was it that changed us, yet so few others?" she questioned with a raised brow. I mutely glanced from her to the Pulp-Noir Surprise, while still idly patting 'Baby Surprise' on the head...

"Mmm... that's actually good question." Pulp-Noir Surprise said as she pulled a pipe from her hat. She then started to chew on the end as a mass of soapy bubbles started to rise from it. She paused however when she saw my amused look and swiftly put the bubble-pipe away. "Ahem! I think we might be special in some way, since we changed way early, maybe we were ponies in a previous life, as crazy as it sounds." she began and I rolled my eyes.

"And it sounds really crazy." I noted with a nod of my head, to which Baby Surprise nodded in full agreement with me.

"It also sounds like the plot of several fanfics, most of which Discord was involved in." the witch noted blandly.

"W-Well yeah, but we're all clearly G1 era ponies so that is right out!" Pulp-Noir Surprise declared firmly and the rest of us just gave her a look. "N-now hear me out girls, G1 is rather unique in its own way with far greater magical relics in it." she began and I frowned.

"Have you not seen Friendship is Magic? They have plenty of magical relics." I remarked and yet the Witch Surprise hummed.

"Aside from the Elements and Alicorn Amulet... not too terribly many." she noted and I blinked and glanced at her. "What, I'm just saying we should get our facts straight." the witch noted with a shrug as she glanced at the detective, "Also, that also depends on if you mean the G1 cartoon or the comics." she remarked and the detective shrugged.

"Fair." she admitted, "and as I was saying, G1 had a vast array of magical relics, from things like the Golden Horseshoes, to the likes of the Pony Princesses Wands." she began and I frowned.

"Really?" I questioned. The Pony Princesses were kind of ridiculous in G1, mostly stupid despite all their power and waged war on one another for no apparent reason other than pure jealousy.

"Also given that we have a wish granting unicorn, I think I should be given the benefit of the doubt at the very least." she added and I blinked then inclined my head. That was fair. "Now, If my theory were true, then maybe something bad happened. And the only way to save us was to be reborn as humans on an Earth without any magic. Maybe because whatever tragedy that happened was magical in nature." she began to suggest and I frowned.

"That's sounds like one really long leap in logic." I noted and she sighed.

"At least I'm trying!" she snapped and I gave a sigh.

"Sorry, but it also doesn't explain why magic is showing up, why we were the first to change, or how we can stop this from changing the rest of the world, or doing more damage than it already has." I responded. The witch nodded her head while Baby Surprise had settled on my head and was sleeping soundly like an adorable filly...

"Again, this really sounds like you're reaching." the witch remarked bluntly and the detective's eye twitched as she inhaled a breath and then calmly exhaled.

"Maybe, but... wait a second." she began then paused to look elsewhere, then yelped, "Duck!" she exclaimed as she ran to the side. I watched as she went then turned to the witch with a frown.

"Why did she say duck if she was going to run?" I questioned, only to blink when I didn't see her, then saw a shadow cast over me. "Oh pony-feathers." I muttered and then ducked down and shot out of the way as a giant duck landed where I had been naught but a moment before. I landed on all four hooves and skidded for a moment, then frowned as I turned back to watch the duck.

It quacked and I snorted out a laugh.

"Okay, is everypony okay?" I asked and then paused at the pony-ism. I shrugged it off and then watched Pulp-Noir and Witch Surprise as they trotted back over.

"Fine." the Witch responded while Pulp-Noir sighed.

"Peachy, aside from both of you hating my theory." she grumbled and I shrugged.

"I have no idea what's going on, I'm just trying to be realistic in my expectations." I responded and the Witch shrugged.

"I'm all for magic being the cause myself, just that all of us accepted the change subconsciously and so it worked faster in us than in others." she responded and I glanced at her.

"What?" I asked and she sighed.

"If we are working under the theory that magic has to work against most creatures will to change them, then it also stands to reason that any creature who accepts the changes will do so far faster than others." she responded blandly and I slowly nodded.

"Still crazy." I noted and she shrugged.

"Everything's crazy right now." she responded and I began to open my mouth to interject, only to close it a moment later and incline my head. That was fair.

"Yet my idea is the craziest?" Pulp-Noir questioned and I gave her a look.

"Just a little bit." I responded. In response, Pulp-Noir threw a mustard pie into my face and then a food fight started. I'm not sure where she got the pie, nor am I sure where Baby-Surprise got a pie-cannon, or where Witch grabbed a cake-catapult... I just know it was messy.

Truly, I pity however decides to take a peek inside my head, I can barely handle myself.

~~*Clumsy but well-meaning Applejack*~~

You know what, even with as hungry as I'd been before, I can say now without any hyperbole that I definitely overate.

My stomach is full up like a balloon, and I can't really move. I mean normally I don't eat too much, but today? Maybe it's due to the fact I haven't had a decent meal in like... a week... or something like that. I just... ate everything in the fridge that was remotely vegetarian... then four cereal boxes of the sugarless variety.

All while being a small roughly dog sized pony.

And Sparkler is... not happy with me. Not just because of the food but because I also made a huge mess.

"Sorry." I said quickly, ears splayed back. Meanwhile Sparkler's eye was twitching violently.

"Sorry? You think you are sorry?" she questioned and then let out a snort. "Ooohhh no, you are not sorry, not yet in any case!" she declared and I frowned. "I mean I graciously allow you into my home and then, like an overweight pig, you decide to eat anything remotely edible you can get your dirty hooves on!" she declared and I frowned.

"I haven't eaten much in days!" I tried to counter, but she scoffed.

"Oh please, you are exaggerating at best I'm certain." the prissy pony remarked and I scowled.

Excuse me!?" I growled while she continued on her tirade.

"But no, that isn't the part I'm mad about." she began, which admittedly caught me off guard.

"It's not?" I questioned and she blinked.

"Well... actually I'm angry about that as well, positively livid actually." she admitted and then glared at me, "But nooo, that isn't why you're not sorry yet." she began and then placed her snout against mine, glaring at me heatedly. "No what I am truly furious over is this absolute mess in my kitchen, the fact you didn't even ask for that much, and that's not even mentioning how much you got all over yourself!" she snapped and I glanced down at myself...

I was apparently dirty again... whoops...

"Uhhh." I began only to yelp as she hooked her forelimb around my neck.

"Now then." she began, only to pause and then narrow her eyes. She hummed and tapped at her chin thoughtfully, and then grinned nastily down at me. "Actually, I think I have a rather marvelous idea." she remarked and I grimaced...

"Then why doesn't that look make me want to run for the hills?" I questioned weakly, yet received no reply as the mare physically dragged me back to her bathroom. Well, hopefully I was at least getting another shower out of this. I seriously needed one...

~~*Sparkler the Diamond Diva*~~

It took giving the... the disgusting pig in pony form another bath but my master plan was complete.

I had made the pig look even more like a dog... as long as you didn't look too close that is, but it was getting late and as it was night time, it would due.

"Were did you even get a dog collar my size?" the pig demanded and I rolled my eyes.

"Most dog collars are rather adjustable you know." I noted and then she frowned.

"Okay, then why do you even have one!?" she demanded and I smirked.

"My mother left it behind, she has a rather large pet." I responded bluntly, and then continued my impromptu disguise for the pig.

"And... why are you disguising me up like a dog?" she continued, only for me to smirk.

"Blackmail!" I replied after taking a picture of me with an old, bulky analog Kodak camera. She actually didn't protest, instead just staring at the admittedly antiquated piece of technology with a strange expression.

"Is... is that one of the ones that spits out the pictures on its own?" she asked and I blinked.

"Yes...?" I responded unsure of her meaning and she scratched her head.

"I... I've never seen one before." she admitted, "cept in like movies." she amended with a blush.

"I see." I responded, holding back my amusement as she looked at the camera curiously.

"So did your smartphone break or something?" she asked curiously and I sighed.

"No, I simply cant use it with hooves, luckily the button on this camera is large enough I don't need to worry." I responded with a glare down at said appendages. I also casually took another picture of the mare who blinked at the flash. "Apparently the screens just aren't designed for them." I replied. The pig slowly nodded her head and then frowned.

"Well if you think about it, a horses hooves are kind of like big nails." she responded and I paused.

"Your point?" I questioned and she sighed.

"You ever noticed how you can't use your nails as a pointer on your phone?" she asked and I made an oh with my mouth.

"Oh is that what's going on?" I questioned with a glance at my hooves, "I had assumed they were simply too big." I admitted with a shrug and the orange mare face-hoofed.

"Right... yeah, so do you feel better now?" she questioned as I took yet another photo and then frowned.

"I suppose, though admittedly I feel less satisfied than I thought I would." I admit with a grumble as the other mare glances at the camera again. "Oh come now, it can't be that interesting!" I snap and the pig glanced back at me.

"Kind of, I mean how often do you see an old analog camera like this anymore?" she questioned and I sighed. She was right of course... I just don't want to give her the satisfaction of me agreeing with her. Sure that's petty, but it's the principle of the matter!

~~*Posey the Gentle Gardener*~~

"Alright, how do you actually have anything that fits me?" I questioned, even as I stared incredulously at the ridiculous yellow pajamas... the pink flowers didn't help either. This was definitely not my style. I also can't help but think the magenta pajamas Firefly is wearing blend in a bit too much with her coat, and her, ugh, cutie-mark is on them, but whatever, I suppose the wing holes make 'em comfy at the very least.

"Well the lady who's letting me stay here was a fan of Gen one." Firefly noted and then glanced at my pajamas and her own. "I think she just wanted us to be comfy after she knew you were coming over, and assumed you would be the same size as me." she admitted. I frowned at that and glanced at Firefly curiously...

She was actually a little smaller than me... which explained why the pajamas were a bit snug. Though given that they were mostly just really long shirts, this wasn't too terrible. It just meant that if I glanced back the shirt was a tad small on me. On Firefly it looked almost perfect, the sleeves could probably stand to be a tad shorter as they nearly touched the floor on hers.

However, after I realized I was paying just a bit too much attention to the appearance of the other mare, I decided to quickly change the subject...

"Speaking of." my little sister began, leaving me grateful for the change of subjects, "where is she anyways? If I'm going to be staying over, I should make sure she's alright with it." she stated with a nod of her head. I inwardly agreed, as I hadn't seen hide nor hair of the mysterious woman since we'd arrived here.

Wait... what was that about staying over!

"Brat! Did you plan for us to stay here or something?!" I demanded hotly. I then growled when I saw my sister pull a set of pajamas from a backpack she'd brought with us.

"Well of course." she responded, "everyone likes a sleepover!" she declared and I felt my eye twitch violently. 'Oh why me?' I wondered as I brought my hoof to my face and Firefly rolled her eyes.

"Anna's out working right now." she replied and then grimaced, "she's a nurse at the hospital, but mostly does the receptionist stuff." she continued and then started to fidget in place. "And with that nutty polka-dot plague going around, she's been super tired lately so try and keep things quiet when she gets home." the magenta pony admitted and I frowned.

The 'Polka-Dot Plague' was no laughing matter no matter how silly some of the changes seemed. At the moment no one really knew what it was, or why it did what it did. All that was known was that it moved quick, and everyone reacted differently. No one had died yet, fortunately, but some had been radically altered by it all the same. The man who had somehow been altered into a little girl being only the most obvious example.

"You mean the Poison Joke?" my sister questioned and Firefly blinked.

"Wait... that's what it is?" she questioned and my sister gave her an 'are you serious' kind of look.

"Blue polka-dot spots are kind of unique even in MLP." she remarked with a bit of snark.

Sniff, sniff... I can't believe it, but I feel unnaturally proud of her right now. Probably wont last...

"I haven't seen that episode in ages!" Firefly retorted with a blush.

"Poison Joke?" I questioned suddenly, and both turned to me.

"Why aren't you picking on her?" Firefly questioned and my sister giggled.

"She hates the show! Why would she know what it is?" she retorted and Firefly stammered. I allowed a slight smirk to cross my lips, then focused on my sister.

"Poison Joke, what is it?" I questioned clearly. Instead of answering my sister looked over to Firefly who let out a sigh.

"I... might have the first few seasons of the show on my laptop, as well as a couple of older Gen one movies and episodes I thought might be useful in some way given how I turned into Firefly." she admitted and my sister frowned.

"And yet you haven't watched it?" she questioned, causing the magenta mare to growl.

"I just haven't gotten around to it in a while!" she declared and I snorted out a snicker in response. Okay maybe the brat will continue to make me proud for a bit... wow, maybe the world is ending or something.

It took only a little while for Firefly to get her laptop, which she then managed to plug into the wall and boot up. I watched, mildly curious, as she somehow managed to use her primary feathers as foe-finger tips, though with only minimal skill. I could tell that it took a lot of concentration, and that despite whatever she thought, her feathers and wings were clearly NOT made to be used in this manner.

"Err, isn't that kind of uncomfortable?" I questioned and she sighed.

"Very... my wings aren't really supposed to bend this far forward." she admitted with a grimace. "I've seen 'em do things in the show a lot like this, but I think they have to train to do it with any proficiency and... well I've only had wings for like a week." she replied with a grimace.

"Train?" I questioned and she frowned in thought for a moment.

"Wing pushups mostly, I think they strengthen the wings muscles or loosen 'em up enough that it isn't as uncomfortable to move 'em in such weird angles." she admitted.

"Are you doing those exercises then?" I ask and she shakes her head. "Why?" I ask and she sighs.

"To be honest, I tried to do it, but it didn't work." she admitted and rubbed at her face. "I think there might be a special way to do it, but... well, they never really go in depth in any of this stuff in the show so I haven't really figured out the proper way to do it." she explained and I hummed.

"Then why are you doing this?" I questioned with a nod at her wings and she shrugged.

"Well it's a lot faster than when I used the plastic pen." she admitted and I placed my hoof against my face and let out a groan.

"I mean why don't you just get the brat to do it for you?" I questioned with a nudge in my sister's direction. There was a moment of silence as she let that thought sink in for a moment, then brought her hoof to her face. "Didn't even consider it did you?" I questioned and she groaned.

"Oh c'mon! What is this? Pick on Firefly day?!" she demanded and I snorted.

"Only when you do stupid things." I responded cheekily as I meander over and plop down next to her as my sister practically bounces to us. She quickly seats herself between us while Firefly pouts and looks away. As she does my sister brings up the files she'd been looking for and then glances at Firefly curiously.

"So how much of MLP have you seen?" she questioned and the magenta mare sighed.

"Mostly Gen one, with a few episodes of season one." she admitted and my sister gasped.

"But season two is so good! I mean three can be kind of filler-y, but four is also good." she declared and I rolled my eyes. And there it is, all pride killed...

"Honestly I haven't had time." she replied and I blinked.

"Your a pony who literally lays around all day in this place with nothing to do... how do you not have time?!" I demand and Firefly grimaces.

"I've been trying to work out a little." she replied and then started to paw at the ground with her hooves. "Mostly running, but I managed to figure out how to get into the air too, I can only hover but I'm working on gliding." she replied and I sighed.

"So you prioritized flying over watching a children's cartoon show?" I questioned and she blinked.

"Yes?" she questioned unsurely while I nod my head.

"Good, there might actually be hope for you." I note, which gets looks from both my sister and the other pony in the room. My sister stuck her tongue out at me in response and then glanced over at Firefly curiously.

"So should we watch the whole first season, or just the episode with Poison Joke?" my sister asked and the other pony hummed and rubbed her chin in thought.

"Don't you have school tomorrow?" she asked and my sister shook her head.

"They cancelled it, they think we'll be safer from the 'polka-dot-plague' if we're all at home." she responded with a shrug and Firefly nodded her head.

"What about your parents, aren't they going to be worried about you?" she asked and my sister shook her head.

"Nah, I told them I was staying over at a friend's place." she responded with a flippant wave and I fixed her with a frown.

"Wait, wouldn't they call to check on you?" I asked and she shook her head.

"Not usually, I mean they never check on you." she responded and I frowned. That wasn't... untrue anyways. But with me, it was due to years of never being able to find me when they wanted too... That actually sounds pretty bad now that I think about it. As I considered that thought Firefly clicked her tongue and nodded her head. It took her another minute or so of thought to decide, before she shrugged and grinned at me.

"How about we play it by ear and just watch as much as we can before bed." she declared and I let out a semi-anguished groan in response.

"Oh great we'll be here all night..." I moaned while my sister and Firefly snickered.

"But speaking of calling, have they called the cops about you yet?" Firefly asked me and I blinked.

"No." I admit with my eyes splayed back and the brat snickered.

"She's had years to build up a reputation for disappearing on us. She usually goes to her friends place for whatever and doesn't show back up for days at a time." the brat responded with a grin. I grunted in annoyance and Firefly arched a brow.

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" she questioned and I started to grumble to myself.

"Kind of." My sister acknowledges and I grunt in annoyance.

"Look who cares! What about you!?" I snap and Firefly's wings extend out in alarm.

"O-Oh um." she began and then frowned, "T-Truth be told I haven't noticed much of anything since I posted those pictures on face-book." she admitted and then frowned. "Also, what kind of horse-apples is it that no one believed I was real!?" she demanded. I mutely rolled my eyes in response. 'Kind of a good thing given the kind of crazy people live in the world now a days,' I can't help but think to myself.

"What about your mom and dad?" the brat questioned and Firefly frowned.

"I... actually don't know." she admitted and frowned, "I mean with the poison joke and everything else happening around here, you'd think they would message me at the very least." she admitted.

"Huh..." I murmured and then started to tap my hoof on the floor. With me it wasn't weird that my parents wouldn't notice I was gone. Especially if my sister told them I might have gone over to one of my usual friends places. But Firefly seemed less... like me... which is kind of a depressing thought if I'm honest. "Do you ever disappear on them like I do?" I question and she shakes her head swiftly.

"N-No, usually I tell them whenever I'm out." she admits and I frown deeper.

"Okay that is really weird then." I admit mostly to myself. My sister frowned and then snapped her fingers, which caused me to glare at her. I miss being able to do that...

"Maybe something magical is involved." she suggested cheerfully and both myself and Firefly grimaced in response.

"That sounds possible... but not good." Firefly noted with a worried glance around. The brat blinked in response and then frowned at us.

"Why?" she questions.

"Because it means something magical is being used actively." I replied with a frown. That was bad, very bad, like potential witch-cults forming once they discover true-magical power bad. "What happened to me and Firefly seems a bit random, the crazy polka-dot plague seems random, but actively hiding us has to be focused and controlled." I noted and Firefly nodded her head.

"It could even be that it isn't focused on us but on hiding someone or something else magical and just happens to cover us as well." the magenta mare remarked. I... actually hadn't quite thought of that, more assumed someone was specifically targeting us. If they weren't but were instead trying to hide themselves in some way... that could be dangerous.

Magic was currently an unknown, we didn't know what it did or even what it could potentially do. We knew that, most likely, it had been what had changed us into ponies, and potentially all the other weird changes recently. But aside from that, there was really nothing to go off of. We could maybe base guesses off of what was possible in MLP though...

Something I was loath to consider seeing as that would mean I'd have to actually watch the show.

Though... now that I think about it, I'm probably going to have to watch the show anyways with all this other crazy stuff happening. If nothing else, preparing my expectations for what a witch or wizard could do with this magic is probably a good idea. So with a sigh I look over to the brat and fix her with a hard stare.

"Start the show sis." I sigh with a resigned sigh. She gave a grin in response and then immediately turned the first season on. Then she started to sing along with the opening...

Kill me now...

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: Yes, we are still looking for an Editor and or Beta Readers for this story. Any help will be apreciated!

014 Those Unlucky Seven Ponies Part II

~~*Twilight The Wish Granter*~~

I think that a sentiment that everyone can agree on is, well, sometimes life can be pretty strange.

Of course it's stranger for some more so than for others. Looking at myself for instance, I'm fairly sure that the number of people who've been changed into a magical wish-granting talking pony are few and far between. Getting a nickname is of course more mundane, as it rightly should be, and insulting myself in song... huh... is that normal? I'll think about that later, for now I have more pressing concerns.

Maybe it's because I've been cooped up for so long, but my mind has been wandering to strange places lately. I mean I haven't had any form of social interaction for days, aside from that crazy dream-walking pony. I haven't even been able to enjoy walking around outdoors given everything that's happened.

I've only been able to do two things since my change. Canter around the house, which is an admittedly nice bit of movement compared to when I was stuck my wheelchair. When I'm not up and about however, I've been more or less confined to the internet, which isn't all that different from my life before. Searching the information super-highway for entertainment hasn't changed in the slightest, despite my physical changes.

However, today is different as I actually have someone to talk too!

Well, I say 'someone' but what I really mean is of course 'some-pony'!

I'm seated at a desk in a side room of the beach-house. The computer screen before me is on one of it's many loading screens. I frown at it, ears folded back and eye twitching as I impatiently await for it to finish. I bounce one of my hind-hoofs on the chair as I wait, idly counting each bounce as I wait for the computer to finish.

I manage to reach around thirty or so before the screen shifts and the desktop come up. 'Finally,' I think to myself as I quickly shift the mouse over and click on an internet icon. Once the page came up I hopped onto Facebook, admittedly a bit slowly given I was using an old pen in my mouth, but what can you do.

Once I had finally managed to send a message to Firefly, a short one but at least it didn't take too long to type. So hey, progress! With that done I sat back and prepared to wait for her reply...

I exhale a sigh and idly reach a hoof to scratch at my left ear. It twitched to one side and I started to bounce my hind-hoof impatiently once more. 'I need something to distract me,' I decided as I glanced around the room. I spied a few bits of stationary to the side of the desk and maneuver my chair over to it with a few bounces. I'm just glad the chair has wheels to move. I let out a grunt as I use a bit too much force, causing the chair to slam my torso into the edge of the desk.

The force of the impact also caused me to drop my pen... which I really didn't appreciate...

"Oh pony-feathers!" I snap and then blink. 'Huh... that's kind of new,' I noted to myself then shook my head. 'Not important,' I decided as I pushed myself back from the desk, and found a more comfortable position in front of it. With that done I glanced around for my pen. I found it bellow the chair and grunted as I managed to slide down and grab it, then climbed back up onto the chair. Once seated in my chair once more, I glared down at the pen that had inconvenienced me.

'I'm going to have to clean this thing,' I note to myself then grimace, 'somehow,' I admit to myself given I literally don't have hands or fingers. It's interesting how such simple things seem so much more convenient now. With a shake of my head I sit back and idly crack my neck, I then focus on the pieces of stationary, eyes narrowed.

"Okay, lets just take this nice and slow," I murmur softly. I slide a piece of paper with one hoof, which is somewhat difficult, but still doable. With that done I lean forward and make a first draft, only to toss it to the side with a frown. It was basically like looking at chicken scratches. I glared down at the pen in my mouth as I started on the second draft...

It wasn't much better, nor was the third or even fourth...

Plainly put, trying to write with my mouth sucks...

Eventually, finally, I managed to get something that seems at least semi-legible. 'It's not pretty, but it'll have to do,' I decided with a nod. With that done, and no desire to try and move the paper, I simply leave the note where it lay. Given what I'd seen of Surprise thus far, I'm certain the strange mare will find it. Somehow.

It's probably best I don't question it, I don't want to end up like Twilight Sparkle that one time...

With that done I bounce myself back to the computer, overshoot it a few times, and then frown when I spot something on my feed. It's that one weird show with the white pegasus puppet. 'Weird,' I think to myself as I idly look the show up. What I find isn't too terribly surprising if I'm being honest with myself.

The show is new, low-budget, hardly surprising given the premise, and available on public access. All these facts were easy enough to find, but the rest was different. It's producer, cast and crew, and any and all other information was unavailable. Weirder still was the fact that no one knew where the show was being filmed from.

'That's... kind of creepy,' I note to myself with my ears folded back. I also made a note to dig a little deeper later. For now I have enough to worry about without thinking of strange ghost-shows popping up on public access. Or the potential mysterious forces at work behind it... or how Surprise got a message to them... 'Stop,' I told myself firmly as I clicked away from the show and searched for something less creepy.

As I did, my mind wandered to Surprise and I wondered if the strange mare was okay. I mean I'd hope she was, and hadn't been captured or hurt or anything. I hadn't seen her in a few days... but to be honest she seemed like she was able to come and go as she pleased. It'd be nice to know how, but I'm fairly certain that if I asked the answer would hurt my brain...

Speaking of hurting my brain... my mind drifted to yet another 'acquaintance' I'd met recently.

The dream pony, who seemed to think terrifying me was funny. I'm not sure if she told me her name, but I also can't help but think she looked familiar. 'White coat, red-mane with a purple streak,' I noted to myself and frowned. That particular combination wasn't common in MLP, I knew that much for a fact. 'Also her ability with dreams,' I added with a hum. As far as magical powers went, that one seemed incredibly useful.

Especially if it didn't have a 'range' as it were and we could use it for communication.

'But that'd mean working with her,' I noted with a frown. The mare had left me with a poor first impression of her to say the very least. Terrorizing me in my dreams on a whim was bad enough, but she had seemed entirely unapologetic over it! Granted she had seemingly unlimited power over dreams, making her a 'mini-Luna' in scope, but unlike the princess she had absolutely no restraint or sense of responsibility for how she used that power.

'I also have to wonder if she believed that since it was all a dream, it didn't matter what she did to me,' I add with a scowl. That kind of thinking was both dangerous and disgusting! While sure, no one would be hurt 'physically', the emotional damage she could do was drastic! Certainly she was no 'villain', with a wanton disregard for others, but who knew how many people she might've traumatized with her antics!

'When I meet her in person she's going to have a lot to answer for,' I decided with a resolute nod. The mare had the ability to ward dreams, she was a mini-Luna in all but name! With that kind of power you should know better than to go around terrorizing others in their dreams!

With all that said, we'd likely still have to work together to some capacity. Even if her sole function was as a messenger I'd still have to interact with her. So while I'll definitely give her a piece of my mind over what she did to me, I'll still cooperate with her as needed. That said she clearly has a looser set of morals than I or Luna, which sounds dangerous... No. We need her, and we also can't just ignore her. I and the others will just have to keep a close eye on her...

And reign her in if she decides to start terrorizing dreams again.

With that decision made I look back to my computer and sigh. Now all I have to do is wait for Firefly to reply... given how long it's been already, I have a feeling I'll be waiting for a while. 'What to do while I wait?' I wonder to myself before a thought occurs to me and I frown. 'If Poison Joke showed up, what else could?' I wondered to myself. I then sat up and started to look up the different kinds of magical plants that'd shown up in My Little Pony over the years.

After a cursory search, and more than a little worry over the 'Floom' showing up, I glanced at my facebook tab and noticed a new message.

Firefly: So, how do I know that you're a real pony?

The message was simple, and it was fair. Unlike Firefly I hadn't put my picture up for all the internet to see. 'Probably not a good idea on her part,' I couldn't help but think to myself. There was no telling who might've seen her, and who were looking for her, as a result. I shook such thoughts off as I instead looked back to the computer and frowned. There was a simple camera attached to the computer... well, that'd have to work.

With that decision made I replied...

Twinkle Star: Here, hopefully this video feed works well enough as proof.

Twinkle Star: [link]

Firefly: ...

Firefly: Okay, I guess that works, I mean I did pretty much the same thing after all.

Firefly: But with that out of the way, I have to ask, now what?

Twinkle Star: First of all, I think we should get everyone together.

Firefly: Everyone?

Firefly: Isn't there like... four of us tops?

Twinkle Star: Surprise kind of implied more.

Firefly: Oh okay.

Firefly: That makes sense.

Firefly: But how?

Firefly: I mean, I don't even know where anyone else is...

Twinkle Star: True... but we do know where a few of us are at least.

Twinkle Star: Actually... just out of curiosity, how far are you from the beach?

Firefly: Ehhh...

Firefly: Quite a ways actually.

Twinkle Star: Then getting together will be troublesome.

Twinkle Star: Ugh... okay think, there has to be a way to do this.

Firefly: Like what?

Twinkle Star: I... I don't know.

Twinkle Star: I mean between the Poison Joke and... wait...

Firefly: What? Something wrong.

Twinkle Star: Uhhh... I think I just saw a spider with a star on its back.

Firefly: Okay... but what does that...

Twinkle Star: It also looks like it's made of blue crystals.

Firefly: ...

Firefly: Maybe you just imagined it?

Firefly: Please?

Twinkle Star: Unfortunately I'm not going to lie just to suit you.

Firefly: Ugghhh...

Firefly: So it wasn't bad enough plants were going nutty...

Firefly: Now bugs are changing too!?

Twinkle Star: Could be, anyway, do you have a way to contact the others?

Firefly: Aside from Posey... not really, and even then I can only get in contact with Posey cause she and her sister are here with me.

Firefly: We actually watched a couple of MLP episodes the other night.

Firefly: Dunno about the others...

Twinkle Star: Okay, let me think...

Twinkle Star: Ummm...

Twinkle Star: Have you at least seen Surprise?

Firefly: No, why?

Twinkle Star: I haven't seen her for a few days and I'm getting worried.

Twinkle Star: I think she might've gone out to see one of the others or something.

Firefly: Really? in the G1 cartoon she was just a prankster or something.

Firefly: Did she like inherit some traits from Pinkie or something?

Twinkle Star:..

Twinkle Star: That would actually explain a lot.

Twinkle Star: ...

Twinkle Star: But hopefully not.

Twinkle Star: I think maybe it's just how things work.

Twinkle Star: I mean look at me!

Twinkle Star: In G1 Twilight mostly just read fantasy books.

Twinkle Star: Meanwhile here I am trying to figure out how magic works.

Twinkle Star: Actually, could you grab Posey for a second.

Twinkle Star: We should probably try to keep her in the loop since she's with you.

Firefly: Yeah sure, hang on a sec while I go get her.

[Firefly has left the chat]

"Okay contact has been made," I murmured and yawned. I smacked my lips and raised a hoof to rub at one of my eyelids. With Firefly getting Posey, I idly started to lift and lower the pen between my lips impatiently. My hind-hoof also started to bounce, yet as I stared at the screen I could feel my eyelids growing more and more heavy. 'When was the last time I slept?' I wondered to myself, even as I let out another yawn.

'It's been a while,' I admitted to myself, then frowned, 'I definitely got less sleep after that dream-pony showed up,' I admitted to myself with a frown. Her antics had definitely caused me to lose at least one night of sleep. Actually more, I'd been dreading a repeat performance and hadn't had more than a few naps since then. It was really no wonder I was tired with that in mind.

Still, that didn't make waiting for the other ponies to return any less boring. My eyes drooped as I stared at the screen silently. However I quickly blinked my eyes and refocused despite my sleep addled mind. 'Focus Twilight, you'll have plenty of time to sleep later,' I told myself. However as I did my vision started to go fuzzy and I let out yet another yawn. 'Great,' I thought sarcastically as I stared at the screen blearily.

'Maybe... maybe just a short nap,' I considered as I stared at the screen, only for my vision to darken, a yawn to pass my lips, and the world to fade as I leaned back in my seat and slipped into blissful unconsciousness...

I felt... something, a strangely cool sensation against my fur. My ears flicked to one side as they picked up what sounded like running water. Slowly I opened my eyes to a dark place, and saw strange golden motes of light hovering all around me. I blinked and followed them, before something else caught my attention.

"Voices," I whispered to myself. Voices did whisper in the dark, speaking an alien language I couldn't make heads or tails of. I frowned and closed my eyes, trying desperately to pick out any kind of familiar sounds from the voices. Yet instead, they seemed to twist and mix into one another, becoming more and more unrecognizable.

I felt a shifting sensation as my eyes opened and I saw a grand valley surrounded by towering mountain peaks, familiar, welcoming, friendly... yet somehow I don't recall ever seeing it before. My mind briefly stilled as I looked all around for a familiar landmark, only to pause and focus on an out of place color in the distance...

I awoke gasping for breath and then looked to either side before letting out a sigh.

"Okay... I seriously need to get some sleep after this," I decide with a hoof to my head. I then glance at my computer screen with a sigh. Fortunately it seemed that Firefly had replied at some point during my little 'nap'.

Firefly: Okay I found her!

CrazyCat89: Not like I was hiding...

Firefly: Well yeah but...

Firefly: Errr, never mind.

Firefly: Anyways, Twilight, what else did you want to talk about?

Firefly: uhhh... Hello?

Firefly: You still there?

CrazyCat89: You sure she's still on?

Firefly: I... think so?

CrazyCat89: Is that a question or a statement?

Firefly: ...

I grimaced when I saw the number of replies, and given how slow our typing is, they've probably been waiting on me to reply for a while now. 'Here's hoping they're both still on...' I thought as I made a quick reply...

Twinkle Star: I'm so sorry about that!

Twinkle Star: I literally fell asleep for a bit.

Twinkle Star: I haven't been getting enough sleep recently after an encounter with a dream pony.

Firefly: Nah it's cool, I grabbed Posey for you.

CrazyCat89: Dream Pony?

Firefly: Wait... dream pony...

Firefly: Are you saying...

Firefly: Wait, is Luna here!?

Firefly: Cause if she is, then that's awesome!

Twinkle Star: No... some OTHER dream pony...

Twinkle Star: One who likes to pull pranks on ponies in their dreams.

Firefly: Oh... that's slightly less awesome.

Firefly: Wait, pranks?

Firefly: How?

Twinkle Star: By scaring me half to death that's how!

CrazyCat89: (Snort) Honestly, that sounds awesome!

Firefly: Did you seriously type 'snort'...

CrazyCat89: Shut up!

Twinkle Star: First of all, she did.

CrazeCat89: (UGHH)

Twinkle Star: Second of all, no!

Twinkle Star: It most certainly is not cool!

Firefly: Hehehe...

Firefly: It sounds kind of cool.

Twinkle Star: ...

Twinkle Star: You can't tell... but I'm glaring really hard right now!

Firefly: Heh... So... this is Posey!

CrazyCat89: Sup.

Twinkle Star: Hello, Firefly has mentioned you a time or two.

CrazyCat89: Kay

Twinkle Star: ...

Firefly: ...

CrazyCat89: ...

CrazyCat89: So... what did you want?

Twinkle Star: Right.

Twinkle Star: Well, how are you adjusting?

CrazyCat89: Poorly...

Firefly: She kind of hates this.

Twinkle Star: Oh... I'm sorry.

CrazyCat89: The worst part is I'm kind of a boring mess.

CrazyCat89: I mean you get magic, Lightning-Butt gets wings.

Firefly: Hey!

Firefly: What'd you call me!?

CrazyCat89: And what do I get?

CrazyCat89: Maybe more strength and endurance, but nothing to use 'em on!

Twinkle Star: Well...

Twinkle Star: I mean it's not like I can actually use my magic.

Twinkle Star: It takes actual study to use after all.

Twinkle Star: Plus you get to be good with plants and nature.

CrazyCat89: I hate gardening...

Twinkle Star: Oh...

Twinkle Star: ...

CrazyCat89: ...

Firefly: Awkward...

Twinkle Star: Yes, yes it is.

Twinkle Star: Regardless, we have more important things to discuss aside from our abilities.

Firefly: Or lack thereof.

Twinkle Star: Not helping!

Firefly: Sorry.

CrazyCat89: Yeah, like can we go back to that dream pony bit.

CrazyCat89: Sounds like she has a better grasp on her abilities than any of us.

CrazyCat89: Could be super useful.

Twinkle Star: Unfortunately I don't know where she is, who she is, or what she's capable of.

Twinkle Star: For all I know, it was a total fluke her powers even work.

CrazyCat89: Someone sounds jealous.

Twinkle Star: I am not jealous!

Twinkle Star: Besides I can't 'sound' like anything in a chat room!

Firefly: I mean Posey's not wrong.

Twinkle Star: UGH!

Twinkle Star: I literally don't have a voice, I don't sound like anything!

Firefly: What... no!

Firefly: I meant that the dream pony could be helpful.

Firefly: The ability to travel into other's dreams could be good for like messages or something.

Twinkle Star: Oh...

Twinkle Star: Right, yes that is true.

Firefly: That said, your reactions seem pretty jealous.

Twinkle Star: STOP IT!

CrazyCat89: Also, you keep trying to avoid talking about her.

CrazyCat89: Seems kind of suspicious.

Twinkle Star: Because my first interaction with her was her invading my dreams for a prank!

CrazyCat89: I know, you told us that already.

CrazyCat89: Sounds pretty cool to me.

CrazyCat89: I'd love to be able to do something like that!

Firefly: Well... I mean dream powers do seem kind of awesome.

Twinkle Star: Who's side are you on!?

Firefly: No ones!

Firefly: But Luna is awesome in case you've forgotten.

Twinkle Star: I... guess she is, but she doesn't go around scaring ponies for the fun of it.

CrazyCat89: Boring!

Twinkle Star: ugghh...

Firefly: Wait... did you at least get a good look at the dream pony?

Twinkle Star: Why?

CrazyCat89: Cause ponies are super identifiable.

CrazyCat89: Almost like they were made for little girls or something.

Twinkle Star: ...

Twinkle Star: She was white with a red mane with a purple stripe.

Firefly: White?

Firefly: Like pure white?

Twinkle Star: Yes.

CrazyCat89: Got something?

Firefly: Sort of...

Firefly: Almost like something out of a dream...

Twinkle Star: With her, that's a distinct possibility.

Firefly: Yeah...

Firefly: But before we get anymore off track.

Firefly: Twi, you wanted to talk to us both remember.

Twinkle Star: Yes... right, back on track.

Twinkle Star: okay, first of all have either of you seen Surprise recently?

CrazyCat89: Who?

Firefly: No, or at least not for a few days.

Twinkle Star: Well that's a disappointment.

CrazyCat89: Wait, is this someone we know?

Twinkle Star: I hoped she could maybe figure out a way for us all to get together.

Firefly: Is that really a good idea?

CrazyCat89: Okay, it feels like I'm being ignored now.

Twinkle Star: Oh, sorry Posey, what'd you want to say?

CrazyCat89: Err... right... who is Surprise?

Firefly: Grey Pegasus with blond hair, kind of like Pinkie Pie.

CrazyCat89: ...

CrazyCat89: That sounds terrifying.

Twinkle Star: It's not that bad.

CrazyCat89: She's like the pink one, it's worse...

Firefly: Oh chill out, she's perfectly... something...

Twinkle Star: Yes, she's... certainly some way...

Firefly: Kind of weird...

Twinkle Star: And hyper...

Firefly: ...

Twinkle Star: Yeah, she's as bad as Pinkie isn't she.

Firefly: Definitely.

CrazyCat89: Well that just fills me with so much enthusiasm.

CrazyCat89: That said... and I really really hate to say this, but there is strength in numbers.

Twinkle Star: Exactly.

Twinkle Star: While we're separated like this we're also at risk.

Firefly: At risk of what?

Twinkle Star: Exposure.

Twinkle Star: Someone will eventually spot one of us.

Twinkle Star: Hopefully only a curious child, but if the media ever got wind of us...

Firefly: Yeah that'd be bad.

CrazyCat89: Definitely, especially given how my sister reacted when she first found me.

Twinkle Star: Yes, so we need to meet up.

Firefly: How?

CrazyCat89: It was hard enough for my sister to sneak me out of our place to Firefly's.

CrazyCat89: And she was close by at the time!

Twinkle Star: I have a few ideas actually.

Twinkle Star: The first involved finding Surprise and hoping she could somehow get us together.

Firefly: She does seem to run off a lot...

Firefly: Wait, does she know where we all are?

Firefly: Does that mean she has a Pinkie sense for ponies or something?

CrazyCat89: I hate knowing what that means...

CrazyCat89: I curse you and the twerp...

Firefly: No one made you watch with us.

CrazyCat89: Really?

Firefly: ...

Firefly: Okay so maybe we kind of coerced you a little...

Twinkle Star: Regardless, we still don't know where Surprise is so that isn't an option.

Twinkle Star: As such we'll probably have to resort to a more drastic measure.

Firefly: Surprise wasn't the drastic measure.

CrazyCat89: If she's anything like the pink pony that seems unlikely.

Twinkle Star: No. She was not.

Twinkle Star: I had hoped we could meet up without having to involve any outside forces.

Firefly: Way to make us seem crazy... or like terrorists or something.

CrazyCat89: So what is this other idea?

Twinkle Star: Find someone to drive me to your place, then hope we can figure out a way to find the others.

Firefly: ...

CrazyCat89: ...

Firefly: Wait, that's it?

CrazyCat89: Seriously, I thought you'd have something better.

Twinkle Star: it's not like I can teleport or anything!

Twinkle Star: ...

Twinkle Star: Yet.

Firefly: Still, probably not the safest option.

Firefly: I mean the lady I'm staying with is nice, so I kind of don't want to impose anymore than I already am.

Twinkle Star: Understandable.

CrazyCat89: Yeah well I don't have anyone either.

CrazyCat89: My sister managed to convince mom to drop her off at a nearby friend's place and we walked here.

CrazyCat89: I also had to pretend to be a big plushie... which almost didn't work seeing as my mom kept thinking I was too big for one.

Firefly: Really?

Firefly: I've seen plushies our size before.

CrazyCat89: Yeah sure, but mom didn't recognize buying one my size.

CrazyCat89: My sis ended up saying she borrowed me from the friend she was 'visiting'.

Firefly: Huh... makes sense.

CrazyCat89: Actually, why don't you just mail yourself here.

Twinkle Star: You really think I'm going to try and ship myself to you...

CrazyCat89: Well... actually no, that's a stupid idea.

Firefly: Really dumb.

Twinkle Star: Either way we still need some way to get together.

Firefly: Why don't we try a taxi?

CrazyCat89: I thought we didn't want anyone to see us.

CrazyCat89: Also, does anyone have the money for cab fare?

Twinkle Star: Maybe I do? I'd have to look around if I have enough cash on me since well... using a credit or debit card would be complicated.

CrazyCat89: You do know we're in the next state over...

CrazyCat89: Right?

Twinkle Star: Oh...

Twinkle Star: That could prove to be a more difficult challenge.

Firefly: Yeah...

Firefly: Well, I'm tired, why don't we sleep on it or something.

Twinkle Star: Probably for the best.

CrazyCat89: Totally.

Twinkle Star: Right, good night girls.

[Twinkle Star has left the chat]

[Firefly has left the chat]

[CrazyCat89 has left the chat]

~~*Firefly the Dancing Daredevil*~~

Hello my wonderful and beautiful fans! I just adore you just the way you are! Oh, and hi to those who dislike me, how are you, had a nice day? Just kidding, I don't care!" Little Eris, the young female and cute draconequus and alternative version of Discord said. She then waved her lion cub paw in front of the camera. She was floating over a big snowy mountain. Then she looked around and noticed that she was alone.

"Uh... how weird, were is Firefly? This is her dream after all." The young girl said, heard a screaming and had to catch a falling magenta pegasus.

"What? Again?" Little Eris complained sounding disappointed.

"Hi Little Eris... I guess this is a dream then?" Firefly said and scratched the back of her head with her right hoof.

"Yes. By the way how come you created me if you don't even watch Friendship is magic regularly?"

"I saw the two Discord episodes of season two. Why are you even asking, shouldn't you know, being a figment of my imagination and all?"

"Eh, it would be boring if I knew everything." Little Eris then snapped her right claw and Firefly and herself found themselves in in colorful and twisted patchwork house... that was floating in the air over snowy mountain. Firefly sat in a couch that looked like Boo from a Super Mario Bros game and Little Eris sat in one that looked like a cartoon like blue cloud with eyes and mouth.

"I am angry they keep calling you an idiot, since that makes me the creation of an idiot, so let's solve your problem."

"Are you gonna help me lose my fear of heights?" Firefly asked, wondering how an imaginary friend could even do that.

"No you doffus, the whole get all the little ponies together problem!"

"How? You don't have real magic, you can't just snap your claw and get all of us together."

"True, but Twinkle could just mail herself to Anna's house, she just need some help to do that."

"But wouldn't people notice that's she is a unicorn?"

"It takes a day by bus to get to the beach, express mail actually gets from there to here faster since they don't do as many stops and for so long. So she would get here in twelve hours... oh wait... it would be like sending a pet by mail, there would be a medical check up. So... nope it wouldn't work."

Firefly groaned "I already knew that!"

"Hey, don't get angry, I am your best friend ever! Besides, I got another idea... we just need her to come here by bus!"

"But she can't take a bus as a little pony!"

"But she can as a plushie."

"There is no way they will let Posey's sister travel alone by bus, plus it would take more than two days of travel!"

"True... then how does Surprise do it?" Little Eris questioned.

"Well... she might be able to glide and maybe she does ride at the top of trucks or something like that."

"Mm, so that's it! We have to find Surprise!"

"And how are we going to do that?"

"That TV program."

"I checked, is very low budget and public access, yet doesn't even have a phone number."

"Then we just go to this city TV station, is local so they most likely film it there." Little Eris retorted.

"Are you crazy?"

Yes! But if you saw two talking ponies asking about a kids show what would you think? Real ponies or small people in costumes?"

"Ugh... there is no way that would work."

"Why not? They evidently talked to Surprise to get their information about Poison Joke. So they must known something."

"No, just no, forget it."

~~*Posey the Gentle Gardener*~~

"This... this is so freaking stupid." Posey said as her little sister was riding on her back while Firefly walked next to her, as they headed to the local TV station. Anyone who looked their way saw Posey's sister holding a sign that advertised the "White Pegasus Show" written in crayon. With those exact words even, which was kind of lazy. The most incredible part was that despite the odds it was somehow working.

"It still works." Firefly whisper shouted. Posey snorted in response while her eye twitched madly.

"I know! And I hate that it does!" she snapped harshly.

"Well maybe its that spell thing you talked about last night?" Posey's sister suggested softly.

"Oh sure, magic is making it to where normal humans don't notice the three foot tall talking pony walking down the street with a little girl on her back," Posey snarked and growled, "A pony mind you, who is bright yellow with a pink mane! How does that seem even remotely reasonable to either of you?" she demanded harshly.

"Err... you kind of have a point," Firefly admitted with a frown.

"Maybe, but I still feel ridiculous. Why can't you ride Firefly like this?"

"The wings get in the way and she's weaker than you."

"Well, at least I do have one advantage over the flying pony." Posey grumbled. "Couldn't we have you know, tried to sneak in instead?"

"This was also a test to see how far the effect of that spell or whatever is making people ignore magic goes. It seems that as long as people think that there is a rational explanation for something weird, then they just think that's what's going on." Firefly replied. She then glanced around at the people, or lack thereof. "Though granted there aren't that many people out with the poison joke spreading out like it is," she admitted and Posey rolled her eyes.

"Which makes me wonder why we bothered pretending," Posey noted and Firefly frowned.

"Mostly to see if it'd work," she replied and Posey exhaled a breath through her nose then glared back at her sister.

"If that's the case then I can say this without any fear," she noted with narrowed eyes, "Get off my back squirt!" she snapped while Firefly frowned.

"Calm down!" she hissed with a glance around. A few people were glancing there way, though only one or two seemed to focus on them.

"Shh, stay quiet, people are looking at us too much!" Posey's sister whispered making both mares whisper a 'Sorry' at the same time.

After that they headed to the TV station a bit faster, the people going back to ignoring them as soon as the fight stopped.

Posey, Firefly and her brat of a sister entered the TV station, there was barely any people on it, probably due to the whole "Polka dots disease" thing.

The middle aged man at the reception desk took one look at them and then went back to wasting time on the computer.

"Excuse me, are they filming the White Pegasus show today?" Her sister asked. Now the man would probably suspect something, there was no way Firefly's stupid plan was-

"Yeah, second floor, third door on the left of the stairs." The man said then went back to watching cat videos... or something like that.

Firefly have her a smug look and Posey had to resist the urge to kick her since fighting or arguing seemed to break whatever "This is normal" magical effect was going on.

"Okay, get off, I don't want to climb stairs with someone in my back." Posey said making a grumpy face that most likely made her look adorable.

"Fine." Her sister said and finally left her back.

They climbed the stairs with no problems and headed to the third door to the left, the light thing outside was in green, did that meant they were filming or not? Or that was when the light turned red?

"Now what? Do we knock or something?"

"I... I don't know, does the green light meant they are filming?" Firefly asked.

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: Yes, we are still looking for an Editor and or Beta Readers for this story. Any help will be appreciated!

06 Silly

~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~

I awoke with a yawn and sat up and rubbed my eyes blearily. My ears were splayed backwards as I started to wake myself up. ‘Today I have an alarm to make,’ I reminded myself and then twisted my head from side to side. I heard a satisfying crack and groaned in pleasure. I then shrugged off my covers and stretched out like a cat.

You really tend to act like a cat lately.

‘Maybe the ponies of MLP have some kind of cat ancestry,’ I offered tiredly. I then started to shrug off a few of the things I was wearing.

What are you doing?

‘I won’t need my hoisting harness or... actually most of this stuff with what I’m doing today,’ I replied with a shrug. My brain didn’t comment so instead I started to remove my gear. Once it was all off, barring my bandanna, I started to sort out what I’d need in my head. ‘Definitely the butt-pouch, maybe a single medical pouch for some bandages,’ I considered with a hum.

I’d stick to that for now. Most of the other pouches are a bit on the small side... wait, keep both medical pouches and also that one Dual-mag-pouch for your flashlight. While we don’t have many bandages the medical pouch is large enough to carry at least a few things, unlike the compass pouches. We probably won’t need the knife either.

‘Yeah that works,’ I mused with a nod. That decided I started the, admittedly arduous task of removing the pouches from my pistol-belt. Even though the ALICE clips were a chore to remove with hooves, I somehow managed to do so. Once I had them removed I then reorganized them and nodded when I felt the configuration was right.

With that done I slipped to belt on and walked over to my other stuff. I shifted around and brought out my chains and ropes and dragged them outside. However as I was looking for more chains / rope I found my old Lunar Pendant and smiled. ‘Oh hey, I remember this,’ I thought to myself cheerfully. I then slipped it on to hang around my neck and nodded.

That’s kind of pointless... not to mention a bit heavy.

‘Yeah, but I like this thing, plus I dumped a lot of weight off of myself,’ I replied.

Point. Now how about we get back to that alarm system.

‘Yeah yeah I’m going,’ I replied with a roll of my eyes. I walked outside and looked over the chains and ropes and hummed. ‘Going to need a rock or sticks to elevate the rope,’ I mused and trotted about to find the needed rocks and sticks. I noised the rocks over and then started to set up the sticks in places I’d need them.

I hope we know what we’re doing here.

‘Me too,’ I admitted. I got back to work on the idea regardless. I moved rocks and sticks to places I’d need them and made a prototype first. The rope was tied in a slightly elevated semicircle in front of the entrance of my home. The chains were attached to it and pulled out away from it.

‘Seems right,’ I noted to myself. However my first test didn’t work like I’d hoped and a frown crossed my face. ‘Did I bring those bottles from home?’ I wondered for a moment. I seemed to recall thinking about it but wondered if my scatter-brained mind had actually remembered to pack them.

Hey, don’t blame me for you being scatterbrained!

‘You are my brain, you’d be the first one to be blamed,’ I deadpanned. My brain chose not to comment on that. So instead I rolled my eyes and sighed as I got back to work on my alarm system. It would only be for animals, but maybe a few humans would set it off so I could hide myself away.

Wouldn’t humans investigate after they found this?

‘Err... yeah, I suppose they would,’ I admitted with a grimace. ‘But it’s better to have this to warn me of danger, that way I won’t end up as food for a bear,’ I replied. I then tested my alarm again; yet again it didn’t make as much noise as I’d hoped. ‘What am I doing wrong?’ I wondered to myself.

Probably cause of how you have the rope set up.

‘How so?’ I questioned.

The semicircle is fine, but the rope isn’t being tugged when you have it half looped around those sticks and trees. You’ll need individual chains for each section that’s been tied or looped off. That way it’ll send vibrations to the chains and cause them to shake. You might also consider a weight on the chains so that they hang and truly rattle.

‘Oh, well that makes sense I suppose,’ I replied with a sigh. So I set to work yet again. This time I took a brief break and checked for anything else I could add to the alarms. I decided against bottles, even if I did have them, because anything of significant weight would smash ‘em. It might be useful, but it’d also be a waste of resources.

Least this isn’t a zombie apocalypse.

‘True,’ I replied. I then set about making the alterations to the alarm. It still didn’t seem to work right and I frowned deeply. ‘I’m really starting to hate this, what else am I doing to get this wrong?’ I wondered to myself with a deep frown.

At least this wasn’t a vital resource. Food, water, shelter, those are vital. This is mostly just for peace of mind to be honest. Bears don’t come this close to civilization without a reason and those berry bushes are far enough away that they wouldn’t come close to us. Even if they did I doubt they’d think you look particularly appetizing.

‘True,’ I admitted. Bears might be confused if they saw me. I also had a hunch my smell would be a bit weird to them. I have smelt a normal equine, thanks to being so close to horses, and I knew I didn’t smell the same. I actually couldn’t really place my smell, and I bet the animals nearby can’t either.

However I really wanted this to work for some reason.

So I stubbornly continued to try and make my makeshift alarm work. It was a slow going, not to mention frustrating, ordeal. I made dozens of modifications and even more changes to the original design before finally growling in frustration and sitting down with a scowl. I then let out a snort and started to paw at the ground angrily.

Okay so this is clearly a bust... why not start work on a wall?

‘Why?’ I growled.

Because if you have a wall you wont have to worry about the alarm. Plus we have all those rocks you cleared out from the cave to mess with, you could just have the chains knock against the wall instead of just rattling.

I blinked for a moment and then sighed as I set to work on a wall instead of fruitlessly continuing my effort on the alarm. There were indeed a lot of stray rocks around my cave. There were also the piles I’d made the day before yesterday. The same piles I’d planned on doing something with... but never actually got around to doing. ‘I am so scatter-brained today,’ I noted to myself with a deep frown.

I’ve noticed that too, think it has something to do with the forest or just us getting so used to our situation?

‘Probably the latter more than the former,’ I replied. My brain silently concurred while I set about moving rocks into a circle around the entrance of my cave. I would probably have to go out looking for more rocks at some point to make a big wall, but for now a small one would suit my purposes just fine.

This went on for quite a while actually. The rocks in the area were quite numerous though that made sense. ‘Stony Creek’ was actually an extremely apt name for where I lived. You’d hit rocks while digging, rocks lined the creek nearby, the rivers and streams, and rocks were just about everywhere. Finding them was so easy that I literally had no trouble at all making the wall up to my knees.

‘I wonder if I should make it taller,’ I considered. I’d left one large gap in the wall so I could walk in and out. If I had the time, or ability, I might’ve tried to make a door of some kind. But for now I didn’t have the time, the materials, or even the ability to make some kind of door.

What I did have was a mess of bones and a half working alarm system to try and finish. Strangely, I looked to the bones and tapped my chin as an idea started to form in my mind. ‘I wonder,’ I mused and began to gather the smallest of the bones. I then started to put them into the chains to hang like chimes.

It still didn’t work, but it was certainly creepy looking. ‘Now for those other bones,’ I decided and started to move them to key places. It would probably not scare anyone too bad, they were only dog bones, but it’d at least keep the bones out of the way. Once all of that was done I frowned and considered what I should do next.

What else do we need to do?

‘Get the alarm working,’ I replied with a frown. I typically wasn’t this stubborn, but I really want that thing working!

Not happening.

‘Then what do you think I should do?’ I questioned hotly.

Read a book, find some more rocks for the wall, heck; you could even collect more food or water. Be productive at the very least and stop it with that stupid alarm idea! It’s not working and we have no idea how to get it to work!

‘Fine,’ I grumbled. I then went to work on finding more rocks and getting them home. I also kept track of where the poison joke near my home was typically situated. Somehow the stuff had started to ‘gather’ for lack of a better term. Individual flowers seemed to be dying off. Meanwhile large clusters were growing in places. Hearts Desire was a bit more sporadic for the moment. As were other plants I’d never even seen before...

‘I need to start keeping a journal of what is going on, or at least note the changes to the environment,’ I decided to myself. I could probably use my tablet for that since it had a word processor I could use. It wouldn’t be the best but it’d at least give me the ability to keep track of what had changed on a day-to-day basis.

Regardless I set about the task of finding more rocks. I glanced up as the sky started to change and sighed internally. It was going to be dark soon. I tended to wake up at the very edge of daylight hours to get at least something done in the light of day. If I hadn’t I’d be out in the dark for hours on end unable to get anything of import accomplished.

Luckily I had at least enough time to collect a few more rocks. I got back home and started to set them on the wall before I finally went back into my cave and considered what I could do. Ultimately I decided that that journal idea was probably my best bet to get something constructive done. At least before the wee hours of the morning that is.

So I trotted over to my tablet and sat down on my front. I turned it on and opened up the word processor and then hummed in thought. I wondered how I should word it and if I should even bother with details. I’d also have to add things that happened before like my own odd change... I suppose that could work.

Although how would I word all this? I mean I would probably be the only one to ever read the thing and even then I only need the barest of facts. I’d only need enough facts to keep track of the changes and spot anything new. It’d also help me write sense I have to use a stylus and keyboard... due to lack of fingers.

So with that in mind I looked down at the tablet and used my stylus to write.

00--00

Day 1: Changed into a pony. Unicorn, mare, white fur, wavy red purple streaked mane / tail, blue eyes and a beauty mark on the cheek, with a Crescent moon / stars for a cutie-mark. Appear to be nocturnal rather than diurnal. Cause of transformation is as of yet unknown. Possibility of others being changed into ponies: as of yet unknown. Possibility of magic being involved with this change: highly likely. Evacuated my home to find temporary refuge in a nearby barn. Located small source of oats.

Day 2: Poison Joke first appeared. Unwilling to test how Poison Joke actually works or what it might do to me. Likelihood of magic that affected me affecting a much larger area is now quite significant. Unknown how this has occurred or what brought it about. Further study needed to identify where the local fauna have also been affected as I have. Sent message to sister and work to delay any potential problems. Likelihood of someone noticing I’m missing is hopefully quite low. Retrieved a few odds and ends for comfort.

Day 3: Hearts Desire first appeared. Unwilling to experiment with what this particular plant can do. Forest near home showcases unusual properties in the form of a ‘paranoia field’ around and within it. Field brings about senses of paranoia and outright fear while wandering around. Unknown if it was just myself or is an actual phenomenon, will have to observe others at a later date to determine. Found new domicile in the form of a cave in the woods. Cleared bones and rocks from new domicile.

Day 4: Located food source in the woods. I marked the trail to the food source with the ‘Operator Symbol’ from Marble Hornets. Felt that it would be the least suspicious thing I could do. Researched equine eating habits, unable to determine true differences between terrestrial and non-terrestrial equines aside from the physical.

Day 5: Built a wall around cave. Singular flowers of Poison Joke appear to be dying. Large clusters of the plant are sprouting out much more commonly. Hearts Desire appears to be unaffected. New plants appeared, unknown origin and species. Started work on this journal despite it being largely unnecessary.

00--00

With the writing done I saved it and let out a small sigh. I looked around for a moment and turned my tablet off. I stowed it away and then noticed my fur was starting to look a little ruddy and brown. ‘I really need a bath,’ I muse with a frown. I’m not vain, but I kind of want to keep my stuff clean.

Do that tomorrow when you can actually see.

‘Yeah, that sounds like a decent plan at least,’ I admit. So instead of doing something ‘productive’ I pull out my flashlight and get a book out to start reading. I also make a note to figure out how to start a fire with hooves. If for no other reason then so I can have a light source without having to worry about batteries.

Maybe you could make a fire pit in the morning.

‘And light it with what?’ I countered with a frown.

Just saying you could at least make preparations.

I sighed and eventually decided that wouldn’t be a completely pointless idea. However it was secondary to actually cleaning myself off. Despite what one might think muddy dirty fur feels really uncomfortable. Though I suppose part of that has to do with me being so out of place with this body.

So with that in mind I let out a breath, bundled myself up, and started to read. Once I felt tired I’d go to bed, and in the morning I’d actually wash myself off as best I could. Maybe I’d find something else to do tomorrow as well, like build that fire bit that my brain had suggested. Regardless, that was for later, for now I had other things to do...

~~*Twilight The Wish Granter*~~

*STATIC*

"This is the Rainbow Pony Show, with your friend the rainbow pony!" said a woman wearing a rainbow colored pony costume, but not the My Little Pony kind.

"Now remember kids, if you see a bunch of strange purple flowers, or even a single purple flower that looks weird, don't touch it and tell an adult. If you touch them you will get the polka dots disease!"

The screen showed a somewhat accurate and realistic drawing of Poison joke.

"Oh, are you sure those flowers are bad Rainbow Pony?" Asked a teen girl dressed like a clown "They look cute!"

"Yes! my friend the white pegasus told me."

"Hi kids" Said a woman dressed like a white pegasus to the audience.

*STATIC*

"-We are now about to interview one of the most stable persons affected by the Blue polka-dots disease." The camera showed a ten year old girl wearing over-sized men clothes and with her face and hands covered by the mentioned blue polka-dots.

"Hello Mister Smith, is true that before the disease, you used to be an adult man in his fifties?"

"Yes. The last thing I remember was picking up some weird purple flowers I have never seen before, I am a botanist you see, accidentally touching them and fainting. Then I woke up like this."

The girl then showed a wallet with a Driver ID, and an album of pictures of how she used to look like.

*STATIC*

"-recent discovery of an unusual new illness had baffled local healthcare professionals," a man in a suit stated. In his hands he held a set of papers as a picture saying 'polka-dot fever' popped up beside his head. "None of the victims shared any form of biological explanation for the sudden appearance of what could potentially be a devastating plague," the man continued. "Now I'll turn to our onsite reporter to give us a look at what is being done," the man stated as the scene shifted to the interior of a hospital.

"Thanks Bob," another well dressed man in a suit stated. He stood outside of a hospital with a microphone in hand. In the background an ambulance swerves into the area and a pair of paramedics rush out with a man with blue polka-dots across his skin. The man is screaming uncontrollably but aside from the dots, there is no other sign of discomfort or injury. The man in the suit quickly waves a hand towards the paramedics.

"The hospitals are baffled by this sudden inexplicable illness that appeared only in the passed week. Aside from sudden appearance of the illness, there has also been a rash of different symptoms with no clear defining features for where they come from or what has caused them. As of yet the only recurring symptom, oddly enough, are these strange blue polka-dots which have appeared on the victims skin," the man explained.

"Thankfully while the exact cause of the illness has yet to have been discovered, it has been confirmed that the victims are not contagious," the man continued...

*FADE TO BLACK*

And I turned off the Tv. I was tired of watching the news about this new disease that I was quite sure was caused by Poison Joke, was it because of my wish? Were those poor people sick because of me?

I read on the Internet that there was someone claiming that she became Firefly, and if that girl was lying, those pictures were very realistic. I sent her a private mensage, using a pen and my mouth to type using my computer keyboard took forever!

“Hey, look at me Twi, I can hold it with just my nose!” I turned around and saw a white pegasus with a yellow mane and three blue balloons as a cutie mark balancing a chair using just her nose,

I looked with annoyance at the white pest... dammit Surprise, you know to not annoy me when... wait...

“Surprise?” It can't be, sure I wished for it but...

“Hi, did you miss me Twilight?” The white pegasus switched balancing two chairs in her nose, one above the other. I admit that's kind of impressive.

“Surprise!” Before I know what I am doing I jump and tackle the pegasus, my friend, the prankster, hugging her. Surprise hugged me, while she somehow managed to get the chairs out the way.

“What are you doing here? I mean... how did you find me? Who were you before becoming a pony? Did you know-” She covers my mouth with a hoof and smiles.

“Now Twi, were would be the fun if I just told you everything? I can’t stay long, but, I will give you a clue, Friendship is Magic!”

“What kind of clue is that?” I asked confused, sure is the name of the new pony show, but what it has to do with anything?

“We are gonna watch the show silly! I got the first two seasons on DVD, sure there are more seasons after that, but then it starts to get boring.”

“Okay.” I just sat on the couch and let Surprise prepare things. I have been almost a week living as a pony, actually hiding in the house. Is not not my home, just a house near the beach my parents rented in an attempt to cheer me up. Now you might be wondering, how come I was able to hide the fact that I became a unicorn?

Thing is, I didn’t, we are in the middle of spring, so there aren't many people around here. I was supposed to have a maid to help me around, but I ended firing her before I became a pony. Can you blame me? I hate feeling helpless, and is not like my parents abandoned me, I kind of pushed them away. Before I was a pony I was a sixteen year old girl with emotional problems and who had recently got an accident that left her legs paralyzed, probably for life, can you blame me?

Oh, I had not figured telekinesis yet, but I figured the sticky hooves trick, granted I have just been eaten cereal and milk for five days, but is not like I dare to cook, since I am covered in fur and that makes me quite flammable.

"Okay Twilight, the popcorn will be ready in a few minutes." How the heck can she make popcorn using hooves? Magic? No, I am the unicorn, not her, I am the pony supposed to have magic! "So you want a soda?"

"Yes. So... uh...." I shifted my hooves nervously "Could you at least tell me if you blame me for.... all this?"

The white pegasus looked around, apparently confused "Blame you for what?"

"Becoming a pony."

Surprise looks at me and smiled "No, I don't, I love it!" The happiness and joy that radiates from her face makes me believe her. then her face turns serious "But not everypony might think the same, do you hate it... becoming a pony?"

"No, I am just scared about how my parents and friends will react, but... I can walk!" I jumped out the couch and trotted a bit "And I can use magic!" A few sparks shot out my horn... is the only thing I figured how to do. "Well... I just have to figure how to do magic, but I am a bookworm right? It should not be that hard!"

"Uh... wasn't this Twilight the story reading type of bookworm instead of the studying type?"

"Maybe, but I am still me, I will research, I will experiment, I will figure it out, after all, is magic, how could I not?"

"Cool! The popcorn is ready, let's watch the show!"

I have to admit, I ended liking the show a lot, it might have been made for little girls, but it was well done. Then after we watched the first two seasons, Surprise made me watch them again, this time making commentaries like it was Mystery Science Theater 3000. She even managed to get the voices right! Well, they sounded like female versions of the MST3K cast, but it was still funny.

Of course all that soda and popcorn and watching so much TV left me tired and with a headache. I felt asleep on the couch, and when I woke up, the white pegasus was gone and had left a sticky note on my forehead.

“Sorry Twi, had things to do. See ya later!” the note said. Then I heard noise in the kitchen, I went to look and it was a mess, Surprise was covered in flour and had chocolate smuggles in her face. I noticed my oven was on.

"What did you do? I mean, what are you doing?" And who leaves a goodbye note just to go to the kitchen?

"Oh I am baking a cake!" the pegasus said. They showed a piece of paper in my face.

Chocolate Cake Surprise!

Ingredients

For Cake:

1⁄4 lb black chocolate, melted

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

4 egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 1⁄2 cups cake flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1⁄4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup pecans, chopped

1 cup flaked coconut (optional)

4 egg whites

1 cup sugar

For White chocolate cover
14 ounces white chocolate
1⁄3 cup light corn syrup

For filling
That would be telling!

Melt black chocolate over hot, not boiling water.

Cool slightly and add vanilla.

Cream butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy.

Add black chocolate.

Add egg yolks, one at a time, mixing after each addition.

Sift dry ingredients together and add alternately with buttermilk.

Mix only enough to blend.

Whip egg whites and second cup of sugar to a soft peak.

Gently fold whipped egg whites into chocolate mixture.

Pour into your preferred cake mold.

Bake at 350~ for 40-45 minutes or until done.

Now for the surprise, hollow up the cake and fill it with your favorite cake filling,

I recommend it being something not usually expected in a white chocolate cake but still tasty

and edible.

Remember to add the filling BEFORE you put the cover on the cake or the surprise will be
ruined!

Now for the cover

Melt white chocolate in a double boiler.

Transfer white chocolate to a bowl and stir in syrup.

It will look like the syrup is separating from the mix, but cover it with saran wrap and let sit 24

hours.

After 24 hrs, it will be hard, but knead until smooth. You can put it briefly in the microwave to make it easier to get out of the bowl.

Sometimes lumps have formed, but if you keep kneading you can get these out. Knead a small portion at a time if it's more manageable. If it gets too soft, refrigerate briefly. Do not over work mixture as it becomes oily.

Using a rolling pin, roll out to approximately 1/8 inch thickness onto a nonstick paper like wax paper using powdered sugar or cornstarch to prevent sticking.

Once is ready spread between layers, on top and on sides of cake.

Sprinkle cake with sprinkles or with anything else that you like.

"Okay... weren't you leaving?" I said in annoyance, this mare was so random sometimes!

"I was, but then I decided to bake a cake, Oh I know, I can give you baking lessons!"

I was about to say no, but then, I was tired of just cereal and milk.

"Fine, whatever."

~~*Silly 'ol Surprise*~~

Hi! I used to be boring, but now I am not, my name is Surprise the pegasus prankster but you can call me 'Silly 'ol Surprise' if you want. Did you guys try my cake recipe? Since I woke up like a pony I been doing a lot of things! Sorry I can't tell you guys much but that would ruin the surprise! Now what I can tell... I know! My job as a human was super boring, just pushing a lot of dull buttons all day. Some days I felt really depressed, they had me taking pills so I was not. I... I know this might not be for everypony, but becoming a pony was awesome! Is like all my life all I could see was shades of grey, then all of sudden I saw my first rainbow!

Oh, I got wings, I can fly, just how cool is that? Is very common for humans to have dreams about flying and thanks to Shirley and Bob, those are my wings by the way, I can practically fly all day!

Now bye bye, time for me to keep doing mysterious things so it will be a big surprise later!

"Wait you guys are still here? Nope I don't have any more cake recipes! Shoo!"

Author's Note

Story by Pinklestia with the collaboration of BreakDown

NOTICE: WE ARE STILL LOOKING FOR BETA READERS FOR THIS STORY!