Kassidy sighed, stretching back on the mattress. Sure, school would get harder as life went on, but for now she had a moment to relax.
She looked up at the pale ceiling. When the constructors had built the house, the ceiling paint dried in swirls, ridges, and bumps. Over the years, she'd subconsciously mapped it, constantly admiring the landscape she saw. There was an immeasurable amount of wonder that came from it, and from this well of imagination she wrote stories. Now, she thought about a novel - a distopian one, set in a world with a dead sun.
She laid like this for what seemed like hours. Ideas ran through her head consistently, but none that would fit what she was looking for. After her thirteenth inadequate character design, she gave up. She sat up, folding her arms in frustration.
Kassidy rubbed her sore eyes, yawning. She checked the clock. 5:16 pm. "Fine," she muttered. "Well, I may as well get something done today," she asserted, even as she picked up her laptop.
She quickly opened Google, unsure of how to proceed. She drifted the cursor to the "I'm feeling lucky" button. It took a moment to load, but eventually transferred her to a new page. In the toolbar appeared the words "My Little Pony human". She scoffed lightly, being only a fan of the show, but decided to fix the keyword and watch the first episode of the actual show, if just to pass the time. She couldn't very well leave her room; her parents were extremely safety-minded, and didn't want her to leave her sheltered room while they were gone.
Once the episode was over, she clicked on the next one. After that, the next one, and the next. It continued like that until she could hear the garage door opening, at which point she tore herself away from the screen and stood in the frame of the door, waiting patiently. She forgot to shut off the laptop, and it went to a link in twisted lettering.
She didn't see the face that popped onto her computer. She didn't see the spark of black light that flew out of it, or even the brighter one that floated out of her and into the computer. The face receded, pulling Kassidy's light back. The computer closed of its accord, but she didn't notice.
As soon as she heard her parents calling, "we're back," she opened the door and walked out to meet them in the living room. Her mother, Camille, had long black hair and dark skin. Her eyes were dark brown, but she was always glancing around nervously. So was Kassidy's father, Jack, whose face was framed by glasses and curly ginger hair. Kassidy herself had straight red hair and her mother's tan skin, but neither of her parents had her green eyes. However, it only skipped the one generation, and for some reason she took comfort from knowing she had something in common with her grandparents that her parents didn't.
Camille smiled warmly, already wrapping her daughter in a hug. Jack offered a wan smiled too, but held back. He carried three fully-packed grocery bags, presumably filled with food. The girls noticed his pained expression and stepped back. He stepped through the gap quickly, causing the bags to thud down on the table early. Kassidy walked in and picked one up, but it starting falling.
The bags were heavy, and they each had to catch their breath before talking. Instead, they pulled out the groceries, opened the refrigerator, and sat them neatly inside. Jack patted his daughter's shoulder. "Thanks, Kass," he said, exhausted from the day's work.
She nodded, shooing imaginary dust from her jeans. "It's not a problem." Kassidy sat down, winded. For some reason, she couldn't fill her lungs or get a good breath.
Suddenly, she felt sluggish and off-balance, and her head seemed the wrong size. In fact, everything seemed the wrong size. Her neck was too thin, her hands and feet too long. Her legs weren't nearly thick enough to carry her.
She pitched forward, slamming into the ground. Her parents' startled cries were drowned out by the sudden pounding of her heart. She couldn't lift herself up, she was too weak. She could feel her fists ball up, her ears grow longer. Even her face was rounding out, her nose lengthened to a snout.
She turned her head towards the wall, but her vision was tunneling quickly. Where she should've seen white tile, there was only darkness and something that looked like grass. In barely a second, she blacked out entirely.
Ponyville Center Park was Lyra's favorite place in town. It was great for playing music and earning a few extra bits, clearing her mind, or even just getting out of a quiet house. The golden sun dappled through thin leaves overhead, and a constant breeze wove through the gardens. Small groups of ponies talked and strolled through the park.
In addition, the park was full of memories. Her first concert, the day she met her marefriend, the first time she'd attempted to play a harp... Even her first steps had been taken here. The thoughts came back to her, and she used them to add emotion to her music. It wasn't uncommon for her to trip up because she wasn't concentrating.
The turquoise unicorn leaned back, gripping her lyre to her chest. Days like these should be savored, she thought, almost slipping into poetry mode. She knew ponies gave her strange looks when she sat like this, and plenty of them thought it was strange for a unicorn like her to play with hooves. Still, she was attached to the behaviors. She'd had them ever since she started believing in humans, and that was saying something.
Just as Lyra was about to play, a huge crash blew the instrument out of her hooves. The noise sent the park's birds into the air, songs broken.
She tried to catch her lyre, but she couldn't reach. It landed five feet away, just as she realized she'd leaned a bit too far. The turquoise unicorn quickly propped herself up with her front hooves, but the falling sensation stuck for a few extra seconds.
She sucked in a deep breath before standing up. At this point, she was more angry than surprised. "Who did that?" She shouted in direction of the sound. No reply came, besides a few puzzled looks.
She frowned, anger mounting. Luckily, Lyra had enough reason to leave these ponies alone and take matters into her own hooves. She absentmindedly cast a Search-and-Direct spell. A huge red arrow blinked above her head, prompting her forward. The turquoise unicorn picked up her lyre and trotted away.
As she walked, she noticed something: nopony seemed to notice the sound besides her. The birds still hadn't returned, but other than that everything continued as it always had. Other than her lyre, nothing had come out of place.
Eventually she reached the edge of the park, facing a dark forest. It wasn't anything like the Everfree, but that didn't mean it was safe. The arrow pointed straight forward. A chill went down Lyra's spine.
The mare rubbed a fetlock nervously, debating whether or not this was worth the knowledge. Her curiosity won out, and she straightened up, ignoring the fear. She set her lyre down, then trotted into the darkness.
Inside, the trees were the same ever-present oaks as there were the park, except much, much taller. Sunlight couldn't make it past the dense canopy, but small pinpoints of light poked through. Luminescent fungi nestled at the base of the trees, glowing in a stark contrast to the moss-covered earth.
The turquoise unicorn hadn't expected this kind of beauty. The ghostly light gave the forest an ethereal quality, one that made Lyra want to sing. There were predators in the forest, though, and she didn't want to draw much attention. Instead, she turned her head down and sang under her breath. "Alone, alone in Wonderland, alone and free and glad to be..."
Suddenly the mare's hoof came down on open air. She caught herself just in time to avoid falling headlong into a pit. The abyss was crater-like, and measured about sixty feet in each direction. There were no plants in it, and the far wall cast a long shadow, so she couldn't see inside. The earth was black and moist, which made her think it was newly exposed.
Lyra glanced back for a mushroom, deftly picking one up with her magic. Orange and cerulean light fought each other until she stuck it on her head, adjusting it as securely as she could. She straightened up, proud of her work, and started climbing down.
Her hooves sank into the dank soil, making it easy for her to descend slowly. When she was almost a fourth of the way down, the mushroom dislodged. Suddenly, it fell off of her head, and as a unicorn with a talent besides magic, she wasn't able to catch it. The turquoise unicorn gasped as it tumbled, coming to rest by the form of a pony.
Lyra slid down into the pit. Dust flew up as her hooves the black dirt. She caught herself at the bottom, stumbling. She picked herself back up and grabbed her mushroom hat, readjusting it over her left ear. The turquoise unicorn studied the unmoving creature.
In the dim light, the other pony's daffodil coat was just visible. Her dark red mane lay on the ground, flaring around her petite head like the sun. The pony had no cutie mark yet, and this plus her small form led Lyra to believe she was an adolescent. A rounded horn stuck out of her forehead. The pony's eyes were closed, and Lyra didn't want to hurt her by trying to open them. Besides, that would be extremely creepy.
Lyra sat down, nervous. Now that she'd found the pony, what would she do? She could try to carry her back, but she wasn't sure that was within her physical or magical limits. She couldn't just leave her, either. She reached out with a hoof, gently shaking the filly.
The girl stayed immobile, but now at least she was snoring. Lyra pushed her again, harder this time. The other unicorn swatted at her, but it was progress. Finally, the turquoise unicorn clapped a hoof over the filly's ear, carefully but undoubtedly firm.
The pony grumbled, forcing herself up. "Wha..." She rubbed her eyes vigorously, blinking at Lyra. Suddenly, she turned her head up. "Seriously? I'm really having this dream?" The young unicorn rattled off a few curses, all the while striking angry gestures to the sky.
Lyra stepped back, unsure. Suddenly she didn't like this filly very much.
The filly shot her a look. "What?! Who are you, anyway?" She shoved Lyra back with a hoof. Suddenly her freckled face twisted. "No no no! This is not happening. But I'm not a brony! I'm barely even a fan!" Lyra's head inadvertently tilted at the outburst.
The older mare tried to just ignore it and sidle away quietly. Still, there was something nagging at her thoughts. Actually, there were three things. First, it would be cruel to leave another pony in a wild place, even if they were a little violent themselves; second, she wondered how the filly got here; three, she recognized her for some reason.
Besides, the other girl had noticed her trying to sneak away. "Hey, get back here! You look familiar. Who are you?" She stood up on the tips of her hooves, suddenly inches away from Lyra's face, eyes narrowed. The turquoise unicorn fell back on her rump.
The filly's scowl deepened. "I know you. Tell me right now. I promise you, you won't like me when I'm angry."
Lyra pushed her back, trying to seem dominant. "I figured that much. Do you seriously think you're alone in this whole mess? I'm just as confused, don't get me wrong, but this can wait until we get out of here." She tried to mimic the filly's expression. She only got as far as the glare, but it was good enough.
The sunny-coated unicorn's resolve faded, giving way to fearful curiosity. "Wait, is this... This can't be the Everfree forest, right?" She glanced at the mushrooms outside the pit.
Lyra shook her head. "No, but it's still dangerous to stay in one place for so long. We should get moving." She was already making her way back out of the pit. The filly nodded, suddenly very aware of all the moving shadows.
"By the way, I still don't know your name," Lyra said to break the ice. "I'm Lyra Heartstrings."
The filly stumbled, finally recognizing the turquoise mare. "I'm Kassidy Williams. But I guess I'll have to get a new one..." She frowned, remembering that pony names consisted of words. Still, ever since she saw the show she'd wanted to be a pony, if only for a day. Actually having it happen, though... She had a hard time coming to terms with it.
Lyra smiled. That reminded her of the stories she'd read about humans as a filly. There was one about a male human named Sherlock Holmes who went around solving mysteries, and another about a group of four human children that discovered a fantasy world, although "Narnia" was awfully similar to the southern Fae Kingdoms. She couldn't remember all of them, but the girls were Lucy and Susan and one of the boys was Edmund. She'd found all of her human stories in a run-down library, and none of them were listed so she was allowed to keep them, despite her parents' concerns.
Then a thought occurred to her. Maybe Kassidy believed too! Maybe her family taught her stories about them, and she would have a talent regarding them someday...
The turquoise unicorn was still lost in her thoughts when they escaped the forest. She kept walking obliviously - straight into a trio of colts playing with chalk. A little red one frowned when her hoof came in the way of his drawing, dragging the chalk across her leg. She noticed him after a moment, smiling nervously as she backed up into another. This one was more tolerant; he was one of her friends, and knew the "omigosh somepony else knows humans" face when he saw it.
Lyra quickly stepped out of their circle, head down as she caught up to Kassidy. The two of them talked a little bit, but Lyra tried to save the big questions for when they got home. The filly had a hard time walking on even ground for some reason, but she decided she would ask later.
Kassidy was amazed by the park topiaries. They were mostly just well-trimmed bushed and the like, and the largest trees were left alone, but a few were in the forms of creatures. Eventually they came to a garden full of huge animal-shaped ones. She tapped Lyra's shoulder. "What's that one?" The yellow unicorn pointed to a group of delicate bushes that vaguely reminded her of fish. They were circle around a lake.
Lyra looked up. "... I don't know. They show up in mythology sometimes, but rarely by name. We just call them "Sea Ponies", but I don't know if they're real... Maybe when we get home, I'll look it up, okay?"
The filly nodded, but the sight of them nagged her memory. Something she'd watched as a kid had characters like that, but it had been years. She shook her head, trying to ignore the thought.
When they trotted away, the topiary plaza was empty. Empty, of course, besides the little creature in the lake.
