Pretty in Blue

“Well yeah!  You’re a pretty mare!  I can’t believe you didn’t know that already!”

My eyes must have gone wide as she repeated herself, because she fell over, giggling.  I couldn’t even wrap my mind around this.  I’m...a mare?  And mares...and the females here...which means I’m not a stallion.

Oh, for the love of all things holy.

I was still sitting there, dumbstruck, when Pinkie hopped up and moved right up and in front of me.  She was practically touching noses with me!  “I don’t know why you’re acting so silly!  It’s like you didn’t know you’re a mare!  And the only way that could happen is if you’re actually a guy from a whole other universe and not a pony at all!”

Wait.  What?

“How’d you know all that?”  That was it.  Regardless of the fact that I’m a mare, it was time to get some answers.  And this pony seemed to know an awful lot about what was going on.  Or, at least, I hope she does.  Why else would she have said all that?

“Oh, just a hunch!  Anyway, are you hungry?  Because you look really hungry!”  And just like that, she swept me up and hauled me into the cake-house-thing and plopped me down in a chair at a table.  I barely had time to blink before she appeared before me with a tray of cupcakes, all frosted and tasty looking, and sat down across from me.

“I just...I mean...how?”

She giggled again and shrugged, pushing the tray towards me.  Well, she was right about one thing.  I was starving.  And those did look really tasty!  I reached out to grab one...only to smush it with my hoof.  And I guess I must have looked really sad, because Pinkie just smiled and scooted her chair closer.  She then proceeded to pick up one of the pastries and hold it to my mouth.

I eyeballed her and the cupcake for a couple seconds before taking a bite, albeit in a begrudging manner.  Pinkie simply smiled and let me finish that one off before picking up another and feeding that one to me as well.  We probably would have looked like a couple of idiots if anyone else had been in the store, but luckily for us there wasn’t.

After the second I held up a hoof and sighed, then wiped my mouth.  “Those are really good.  Uh...thanks, I guess, for feeding me.  I don’t really know how to...hoof...yet.”

Pinkie, being Pinkie, giggled and shrugged.  “No problem!  I’ve never met someone from another world before.  Well, not really anyway.  So this is really neat!  And I’m super glad to help.  We’ve still got like a whole thirty minutes before anypony comes in for breakfast, so why don’t you tell me the whole story!”

I blinked and stared at her.  She was taking this news far better than I was.  In fact, she seemed kind of overjoyed about the whole situation, while I was doing my best not to break down in sobs about it.  So I nodded and looked around, catching a look at myself in a mirror on the wall.  I flinched a little, thinking it was another pony, only to realize that it was me in all my blue furred glory.  And...I have a horn, apparently.

So I’m a Unicorn.

Got it.

“Well, okay...but there’s not much to tell since I don’t remember a whole lot.  I know that I’m from a place called Earth, and that I’m a human.  A male human, by the way.  And...I was at this party...and then I must have blacked out, because I don’t remember anything after that, other than waking up in the woods outside of town here.

I don’t remember my name, the names of my friends...or even my parents’ names.  And I sure as heck don’t know how I got here.  All I know is that I just want to go home...like, as soon as possible.”

I looked down at the table as it finally hit me.  New place.  New body.  And I might never make it home again.  Sure, they have magic here, like, real magic...but that was no guarantee that it would take me home.  The entire life I’ve built up to this point was gone.  I was stuck here.

And that’s when I finally started sobbing.  I pushed my forehead against the table and wept like I’ve never wept before.  They were loud, wet sobs, too.  The kind one only gets when something huge happens.  And I definitely think this qualified.

I don’t know how long I was going on like that, with the world cut off from myself, only hearing my choked noises and the fear in my own mind.  But when I finally started to quiet down, I heard singing.  And then I realized it was Pinkie.  And she wasn’t even really singing so much as...humming...and holding me in a hug.

It was comforting, even if a little strange.  This total stranger had pulled me off the street, fed me, let me confide in her, and was now holding onto me while I cried my eyes out like I was some old friend.  I couldn’t help myself, though, and I wrapped my fore legs around her too and held on as tight as I could.  It was the best that I could do, all things considered.

There was no telling how long the two of us stayed like that, but the sound of the doorbell finally broke us apart.  Pinkie smiled at me, gave me a wink, and waved to the patron that just walked in.  “Stay right here!  I’m gonna go help him, then find Mrs. Cake, and we’re gonna go get you some help, okay?”  I just nodded and watched her take off.  A little smile tugged at my own lips.  Maybe she could help me.  Who knew?

I only had to wait for about half an hour before Pinkie did all she had said she would and we were headed down the street towards my original destination.  Pinkie had told me that if there was any pony in town that could help at all, then it would be Twilight.  She is the Princess of Friendship, after all, and her special talent is magic!

I had no idea what any of that meant, but it sounded impressive enough, so I agreed without any argument.  I had calmed down a bit since the scene earlier, too.  That realization had hit me like a wrecking ball, but I wasn’t going to give up hope.  Not yet anyway.  Not until I had exploited every single option out there.

We passed by a few ponies here and there, and Pinkie smiled and waved at every single one of them.  I feel like if she hadn’t been with me, that she would have stopped and talked to every single one too.  But she kept us moving forward in a rather determined fashion.  It was nice that she was going so far out of her way for me, especially with me being...well, an alien, I guess.

I didn’t talk much on the way there, preferring to keep my silence for the time being.  It didn’t stop Pinkie from rattling on the entire time, though.  She pointed out every pony by name, and detailed everything about every shop we passed.  She was practically tour guide worthy.  And it was nice, because it helped me keep my mind off things as we walked.

We arrived at the castle after only a while, and Pinkie just pushed the door open and beckoned me in after her.  I kept expecting guards or...something to come out and tell us to stop, but they never did.  Pinkie was walking around like she owned the place.  And after a minute, we arrived at what must have been the center of the whole place, because there were six chairs sat in a circle, and each one had a picture on it.

Then I noticed that one of the chairs had the same picture as Pinkie did on her flank, and I became all the more confused.  I made a mental note to ask her about that later.

A purple pony came flying down once Pinkie called out “Twilight!”, only to stop in mid flight when she saw me.  A curious look crossed her eyes as she landed and smiled at Pinkie.

“Oh, hi Pinkie.  What can I do for you today?  And who’s your new friend?  I don’t think I’ve seen her around before.”

Pinkie took a deep breath, and then blurted out the whole story in one go, like she was having a race, only to stop and breathe at the end.  “And that’s how she ended up here, and why she wants to go home, and why she needs your help!”

Twilight looked...befuddled, if nothing else.  But she stepped closer and started to look me up and down, “Hmm.  I don’t see anything unusual about you.  In fact, you look just like any other unicorn mare.  Except, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pony our age that doesn’t have their Cutie Mark yet.”  She moved back around to my front and extended a hoof, “It’s nice to meet you, anyway!  I’m Twilight Sparkle.”

I extended my hoof as well, pretty sure that I was blushing from that little inspection, and tapped it against Twilight’s.  She looked confused for a moment, then shrugged.  “Sorry.  I, uh...I don’t remember my name.  I don’t really remember much of anything, to be honest.”

Twilight looked crestfallen for a moment, before stamping her hoof, “Well, don’t worry.  If there’s a way to get you home, then I’ll find it.  Heh, I might have to get a little help, though.”  She looked between me and Pinkie, “But, for right now, let’s keep just who you are between the three of us, hmm?  Well, us and the Princesses back at Canterlot.  I’m sure Princess Celestia and Princess Luna would be as intrigued by this as I am.”

She tapped a hoof to her chin, before looking at me and then at Pinkie.  “So, have you found a place to stay yet?”

She barely had time to finish the question before Pinkie seemed to explode with energy!  “Oh!  Oh!  Oh!  You can stay with me!  We’ve got an extra room right upstairs!”

I frowned and looked between the two of them, “I mean, that’s nice and all, but I don’t have any money to pay for it.”

Pinkie seemed to think on this for a moment, and then Twilight chimed in.  “How about you pay for it by working at the bakery?  It will give you ample opportunity to practice with your new body, and Pinkie can help you with anything past that.  And while you’re doing all of that, I’ll get busy trying to find a solution.  It was nice meeting you.  I have to get going, though.  I’ll see the two of you later!”

And, just like that, she popped into thin air with a burst of purple magic.  Which, of course, left me completely dumbfounded.  “Uh…”

Pinkie nudged me, while giggling, and motioned back to the door.  “She has the best ideas.  Which is why she’s the best book pony ever!  C’mon, we’ve got so much to do!”

I gave the castle one more once over before I nodded and followed Pinkie out the door.  One thing was for certain.  This was definitely going to be interesting.