Chapter 1: Seeker Dragonheart
Seeker Dragonheart lowered her map as she glanced around at her surroundings. She had been wondering the forest for days in search of a mystical healing spring that could cure any aliment. Feeling not completely satisfied at where she was, she tucked the map back into her jacket and grabbed her crutch that was resting against a tree.
Her whole life, Seeker had to struggle with the pain of a turned out right leg. It was quick to catch the eye of schoolyard bullies and she was mocked endlessly by heartless teenagers while just trying to walk through a mall.
“No more.” Seeker muttered as she tucked the crutch under her arm and slowly began her trek through the woods. She was sure she should have been close to the spring by now. Maybe she went left when she should have gone right. Maybe she had the map upside down.
Her jumbled thoughts were interrupted by the presence of a white deer standing no more than 20 feet away from her. Seeker froze in place trying not to breathe too hard. The deer stared back as if trying to figure out if Seeker belonged here before turning around to leave.
“H-hey! Wait!” Seeker cried out. She hobbled as fast as she could after the deer.
“What in the world am I doing, following a deer in the woods?” she half laughed to herself. “This isn’t the movies.”
Yet something told Seeker she should chase after the deer. She started to run faster and faster. Her heart started to race and her asthma started to kick in. She had to slow down yet she would lose the deer if she did. She didn’t have a choice. She had to stop.
She collapsed on all fours and her hands immediately felt wet. She looked up at an old marbled horse statue staring down at her. Seeker quickly realized this was what she had been searching for. Too tired to stand, Seeker glanced down at the water, not knowing what to do.
“Do I just drink it or pour it on my leg?” she wondered. Finally, Seeker decided it would be best to take a drink and admired how clear the water looked as she scooped it into her hands. It was cold and refreshing after her hard run. Then Seeker sat completely still and waited for something to happen. And she waited. And waited. Nothing.
Anger began to swell inside of Seeker as she struggled back onto her feet. She was furious she had made such a hard journey only to be tricked by the gypsy that gave her directions. She locked eyes with the horse statue.
“You were supposed to help me! You were supposed to change my life! And now, I have nothing! Nothing!”
With a firm throw, Seeker hurled her map at the statue and watched the map start to dissolve in the water. She turned to leave when the statues eyes came to life and Seeker found herself locked in place covered in a yellow light. She felt her body lift a few feet above the ground. She tried to struggle but to no avail.
Then a warmness took over her body and she could feel her limbs start to change. Her hands started to fuse into hooves, her bones and muscles snapped as they reshaped into a body of a pony and wings started to sprout from her back. Seeker didn’t notice most of the transformation as her vision was spinning and she could barely stop herself from her screams of pain. For a moment, she spotted the white deer watching her and Seeker though she saw the eyes of the gypsy staring back at her.
Then she felt herself getting pulled into the water and a current pushed her body along a dark tunnel. Seeker tried to hold her breath for as long as she could but couldn’t hold her breath any longer and passed out.
The sound of water against a shore was the first sound that woke Seeker up. She slowly opened her eyes and quickly tried to block the sun. She mouth dropped open as she saw a hoof instead of her hand in front of her face.
“What’s this…” she gasped, giving the hoof a shake. “No, no, no, no! I…must be dreaming.”
Seeker struggled to stand up and she instinctly tried to stand on two legs and fell over. She crawled on her belly and peered into the river and couldn’t get any words to come out at what she saw. A yellow Pegasus with grey eyes was staring back at her, looking equally shocked. Seeker covered her eyes with her hooves.
“This can’t be real, what do I do? I…I have to get out of here. Get some help, maybe…I have to stand up.”
With shaky legs, Seeker forced herself up on all fours and stood still for a moment getting used to the different stance. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as she was expecting and felt strangely natural. Seeker could feel herself getting weaker again. She was tired, sore, and hungry and needed to find someone to help her. Her eyes scanned the horizon and she saw the silhouette of a village in the distance. If only she could make it there, she could find someone to help her.
Seeker began her slow walk to the distant village. It was a nice day for a walk. The birds were chirping, bunnies were hopping around, the sun was out. Seeker noticed a nearby turtle that seemed to be walking faster than her with a smirk on its face.
“Very funny…” she growled. The walk felt like it took ages to get to the village and just as she hit the border she felt her strength give out and she collapsed. A nearby pony ran over to her and tried to move her with his head.
“Excuse me, are you alright?” he wondered. There was no reply. “Hey everypony! We have a problem here!”
A small crowd began to gather around Seeker, the ponies were all talking at once trying to figure out who this stranger was. The noise caught the attention of Twilight’s ears and she stopped to listen.
“What’s wrong, Twilight?” Spike asked.
“I’m not sure, let’s go check it out.”
Spike jumped onto Twilight’s back and she hurried through the street following the chatter. She skidded to a stop as the crowd parted so she could get closer to investigate. Spike jumped down and walked over to examine Seeker. The Pegasus looked tired and wet and then something else caught Spike’s eye.
“Hey Twilight! This pony doesn’t have a cutie mark.” he said with a point.
“What? How is that possible? Something weird is going on here. We need to help her and find out what’s going on.”
Twilight’s horn glowed and she levitated Seeker’s body gently off the ground.
“I only hope we aren’t too late.” Twilight said as she hurried toward her library.
Seeker could feel a warm liquid being gently poured into her mouth. It was slightly bitter, making Seeker realize it must have been a medicine of some kind. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was lying down next to a fireplace and had a blanket over her.
“Feeling any better?” a voice gently said to Seeker.
“I think so.” Seeker said quietly.
A sharp noise made Seeker jump as Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash rushed into the library.
“Twilight, dear. We saw you rushing off with the injured pony and we had to come see if there’s anything we can do to help.” Rarity explained glancing from Twilight to Seeker.
Seeker’s eyes went wide and she suddenly became frightened.
“Ah! Talking ponies!” she screamed and backed herself into a corner. She grabbed a bookmark with her hooves and held it in front of her like a weapon.
“Back, back I say! I’ll let you have it.” Seeker said menacingly towards Pinkie Pie who had been walking closer to her.
“You can’t let me have it, its Twilight’s!” Pinkie said, falling to the ground laughing.
Pinkie’s laughter brought smiles to the other pony’s faces and soon the rest were laughing as well. Feeling defeated, Seeker set the bookmark back down.
“Allow me to introduce everypony.” Twilight said stepping forward. “That’s Pinkie Pie. This is Applejack.”
“Howdy.” Applejack said with a polite tip of her hat.
“This is Rainbow Dash.”
“What’s up?” Rainbow Dash said coolly.
“This is Fluttershy.”
“H-hello, it’s…it’s nice to meet you.” she whispered.
“This is Rarity.”
“Charmed to meet you.”
“This cute little baby dragon is Spike and my name is Twilight Sparkle. What’s your name?”
“My name is Seeker. Seeker Dragonheart.”
“Where did you come from? And why don’t you have a cutie mark?” Twilight wondered.
Seeker rubbed the back of her head, feeling nervous.
“Well,” she said. “This is kinda hard to explain but…I’m not actually a pony.”
Seeker was met with blank stares. She could start to feel the tension in the room grow.
“I’m actually a human that was turned into a pony.”
More blank stares. Seeker was beginning to sweat.
“What’s a human?” Pinkie asked, look at Twilight for an answer. Twilight shrugged.
“Humans..you know. Get up in the morning and work 9-5…stand on two legs….”
Seeker realized very quickly she was speaking to a failed audience. With a deep breath Seeker began to explain in depth about her past, about the gypsy she met, seeking out the spring, the transformation and waking up.
“Oh my gosh…I forgot to check my leg.” Seeker yelped, stopping in the middle of her story. She glanced back at her right leg and saw it was as normal looking as the other one. Her mouth opened up in surprise. Seeker could feel tears automatically start to fill her eyes and she quickly looked away to try to hide them.
“I-I’m sorry.” Seeker said, feeling slightly ashamed. “It’s been a rough day for me.”
“Why don’t we step outside so you can get some fresh air?” Twilight offered. Seeker silently nodded and followed the others outside.
“Welcome to Ponyville!” Twilight said happily.
Seeker quickly forgot about her sorrows and glanced around, absorbing everything around her. Ponies were chatting among bright colored houses. Pegasus were clearing away some of the clouds to allow the sun to shine down. A group of fillies ran by Seeker laughing. Everything here felt so peaceful and happy. Seeker had never experienced anything like this before in her life.
“We might not be as fancy-smancy as Canterlot, but we have good friends and we have good hearts.” Applejack said proudly.
“And cake!” Pinkie Pie said, shoving a piece of cake in Seeker’s mouth.
“Mmm! That’s good!” Seeker said, licking her lips. “But where will I stay? I have nowhere to go.”
“Feel free to stay at my library with Spike and me. I insist.” Twilight said kindly. “I have so many questions about your world that I’m dying to know.”
Those eyes, thought Seeker as she looked back at Twilight.
“Alright, I accept.” Seeker said happily. Everyone cheered and for once in a long time Seeker felt at peace.
Chapter 2: Earning Her Wings
The sound of the birds singing gently after the rise of the morning sun gently roused Seeker from her sleep. Pushing the blanket aside, she stretched and looked across the way to see that Twilight’s bed was empty and already made. Not wanting to appear like a lazy guest, Seeker straightened out her blanket as best she could and headed downstairs. Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack were standing around the table and there seemed to be some kind of commotion. The conversation stopped when Seeker got closer and everyone began speaking at once, with Rainbow Dash looking the least concerned.
“I came over to invite you to visit Sweet Apple Acres!” Applejack said quickly.
“That’s not fair, Applejack. I’m sure Seeker would rather visit my fabulous boutique.” Rarity pouted.
“What!? I was here first before any of you and I was going to take Seeker to Sugarcube corner!” Pinkie said loudly.
“I wanted to show Seeker all the cute animals back at my place and introduce her to Angel.” Fluttershy said quietly.
“Quiet!” Twilight yelled above the noise, making everyone stop. “Everypony needs to calm down. Seeker’s not going anywhere for quite awhile and you all will have your chance to spend some time with her. I’ve already scheduled Rainbow Dash to spend some time with Seeker today so she could start getting the hang of flying. You are now a Pegasus, after all.”
Seeker gulped down the bite of apple she had been eating loudly and looked nervously at her wings. She was not the best fan of heights and tended to get motion sick.
“Oh…great.” Seeker said, putting on a half smile. When did Twilight make time to arrange all this, Seeker wondered as she started to follow Rainbow Dash out the door.
“So, you think you’re ready to use those wings of yours?” Rainbow Dash asked, now starting to pace in front of Seeker. Rainbow Dash reminded Seeker of a general to giving orders and it took her some self control to prevent herself from saluting. “Let’s see that wingspan!”
Seeker slowly unfurled her wings and held them out awkwardly.
“Keep those wings straight and stand up taller. Now, very slowly try flapping them and push yourself off the ground into a short hover.”
Seeker began to flap her wings. Feeling confident, she got ready to jump in the air and found herself flying backward into a bush.
“You stopped paying attention to the angle of your wings.” Rainbow scolded as Seeker spit out some leaves. “Try again.”
Once again, Seeker straightened out her wings and began flapping them. Feeling ready, Seeker leaped into the air and managed a tiny hover just over Rainbow’s head. Seeker smiled feeling satisfied with herself and hoped Rainbow wouldn’t have her go higher than this.
“Not bad, not bad.” Rainbow said, leaping into the air. “But we need more space than this, let’s go up. Follow me.”
Seeker could feel her breakfast start to jitter in her stomach as she watched Rainbow take off into the sky. Noticing that Seeker wasn’t behind her, Rainbow flew back down.
“No chickening out now.” Rainbow Dash said and began to push Seeker up higher. “And for the love of Equestria, don’t look down. That will just make things worse for you.”
Now at a descent height, Rainbow stopped pushing Seeker and grabbed a nearby cloud. She began shaping it into cones and built a short line before landing on a nearby cloud.
“Let’s practice some maneuvering. I want you to fly in and out of the cones and try not to touch them.”
“Ok.” Seeker said, teeth clenched full of fear. Eyes glued to the cloud cones, Seeker very slowly moved in and out of them making sure her wings didn’t touch. She wanted to land but Rainbow blocked her.
“Do that again and slightly faster this time.”
Seeker turned around and began maneuvering as Rainbow ordered directions.
“Left…now right…just a little faster….stop looking down….try again.”
After a good 15 minutes Seeker was finally allowed to rest on a cloud after much assurance she wouldn’t fall through it. Seeker’s wings ached and her heart was racing.
“We’ve only just begun!” Rainbow Dash said proudly. The next few hours consisted of landing drills, suddenly stops, flying through an opposing wind, wing-ups, and more maneuvering with cones. Throughout practice Seeker couldn’t tell if she was making a good impression with Rainbow Dash or if she was a hair away from giving up on her. Exhausted, Seeker collapsed on a cloud.
“I’m sorry Rainbow Dash, but I’m a nervous wreck being up this high. Isn’t there some way I can be of use to Ponyville without having to be so…well, far up off the ground?”
“Well…I do know one place that might work…but I gotta say. It’s pretty dull to me.”
“I’ll take it!” Seeker jumped. “I like dull! Especially if it’s dull and low to the ground.”
Rainbow arched an eyebrow and motioned for Seeker to follow her to Ponyville below. Relief filled Seeker’s body as she felt her hooves touch solid ground and the two ponies made their way toward a building. A billboard out front read Ponyville Post Office and a sign in the window read ‘Deliverypony Needed.’
Seeker’s eyes lit up. “Oh, the post office! What a good idea.”
“Hey Postmark!” Rainbow Dash greeted.
“Rainbow Dash! How can I help you?”
“You still need that delivery pony? I brought somepony who needs a job.”
Seeker waved shyly.
“Oh, that’s perfect! Yes, the position is still available if your friend wants it.”
“I’ll take the job sir. It will be my pleasure to help deliver the mail around Ponyville.” Seeker said with a small bow. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. I really owe you one.”
“Nah, that’s ok. Just keep practicing and soon….”
“I’ll be as good as you?”
“Pfft…as if. I’m the best flyer in all of equestria, no pony can top what I do. Still for what it’s worth, I’ll tell Twilight you weren’t bad for a rookie.”
“Thanks.” Seeker grinned. Postmark handed Seeker a messenger bag and told her she could begin her new job tomorrow. Seeker waved goodbye to Postmark and Rainbow and hurried back toward the library.
Spike and Twilight were reading when Seeker walked in.
“How did your flying lesson go? I know Rainbow Dash can be a bit…brash sometimes.” Twilight wondered.
“I was very nervous being up so high but I thought Rainbow Dash was tough but fair. And she helped me find a job I can do.” She unhooked her bag and held it up proudly in her teeth. Twilight examined the Ponyville Post Office logo on it.
“What a good idea! You’ll get to know all the ponies in Ponyville and practice your flying while you’re out delivering the mail.”
Twilight’s comment made Seeker feel on top on the world. Seeker became filled with a surge on energy.
“Come on, Spike! I’ll give you a ride!” she said happily.
“Seriously? Awesome!” Spike said, jumping on her back. Seeker leaped into the air and flew in small circles around the room with Spike cheering.
“I think I’m really going to love it here.” thought Seeker happily.
