My eyes opened as a quiet gasp escaped my lips. My eyes rolled upward to stare up at the ceiling. That isn’t right… I thought as I turned my head toward the direction of the wall. A beam of sunlight had been what had woken me from that dream.
What was it? It was so awful, but now it’s gone. As if water through a sieve… A siren? I-I remember fear... The harder I attempted to hold onto the fading details, the faster they seemed to be washed away. Closing my eyes, I laid back down to listen to the birds sing their chorus in the bright morning. If I could, I would have simply laid there listening all day.
After a few more minutes, though, I felt my leg twitch—a tick I had picked up when I knew I was ignoring something I needed to do. Damn. I’m already in an unfamiliar room, why can’t I just wait until someone comes in to rouse me?
I turned to watch the door, but when no one came in after a few moments, I sighed. They must be too busy to worry about a kid… I guess I better figure out where I am myself.
I sat up and froze as I looked down. I was no longer wearing the T-shirt I had fallen asleep in. In fact, I was completely naked except for a covering of fur. I stared at my flat chest for several seconds before lifting my shaking hand and bringing it down against my chest. I stared at it and swallowed hard.
A hoof… my hand was gone, replaced by a hoof. I didn’t know much about equine anatomy but I knew that a hoof should not be able to stretch in that manner.
And the color… there must be something wrong with my eyes…. I closed my eyes and shook my head.
Today, at four thirty pm eastern standard time, President Russel declared a state of emergency over the whole of the United States. All citizens are to be aware that martial law has been declared as of one hour ago….
I opened my eyes and shook my head, rubbing at my temple with one of my hooves. With another shake of my head, I grabbed the blanket covering me with both forehooves and tossed it to the floor. I’d deal with it later if I wound up coming back here.
As soon as I figure out where here is… I stared down at the rest of my furry body and ran a hoof down my foreleg marveling at the texture of it. Soft, yet silky—almost like velvet. Is that how a horse’s fur normally felt? I pulled my hoof away and gripped the mattress before pivoting my body and dropping to the floor on my two back legs. I strained to stay upright for a few fruitless seconds before falling to all fours. I lowered my head in defeat. Why was this happening?
Curfew will be enforced from seven pm until seven am each and every day. Persons found outside after curfew will be subject to not only arrest, but quarantine as well. And now Doctor Ryan Scott from the CDC will once again describe the symptoms to look out for….
I felt a throbbing in my head and lifted a hoof and rubbed it. Rather,I tried to, but there was some hard knob right where the throbbing was. I gazed around the room. I was certain the normal occupant had to have a mirror in their room. My eyes darted around until...
Pay dirt. A vanity with a mirror and hair brush. Looking at my hooves, I just had to get to it.
Alright right front, back left, left front, right back… I got this.
After a few stumbles I got the hang of walking on four legs and reached the vanity. My eyes caught sight of the hairbrush again before glancing up at the mirror.
Do I really want to? I forced myself to look into the mirror and watched as my reflection’s jaw fell open.
Stage one symptoms consist of a high grade fever coupled with cold sweat. There have also been reports of the HE1X virus causing auditory and visual hallucinations.
Staring back at me was a small ponyish looking creature with big eyes and a long mane. What really caught my eye though, was the knob sticking out of my head. Rather, what I had though was a knob. I lifted my hoof to it and marveled at the spiral pattern the horn had.
It almost looks like a unicorn horn. Oh well, that’s no more silly then the idea that I was a little colored pony thing.
I closed my eyes and stretched my back a bit with a yawn. It was peculiar but while I knew I should be panicking, I just wasn’t able to. While I felt something was off, it was no worse than the idea that I might have misplaced a book. It was there but I could ignore it if necessary.
Stage two symptoms include a feeling of euphoria. Also possible lesions on the head and or back.
I took the hairbrush in both hooves and haphazardly ran it through my mane. If I plan on going outside I need to get my mane at least untangled…
After several seconds of brushing, I set the brush back down on the vanity.
Good enough. I walked through the doorway and carefully down a flight of stairs. My eyes locked on the front door. When I came back…If I come back I’d be sure to take a more careful look around.
Once the third stage has set in, citizens are reminded not to panic once—
“I said it’s time to go, young lady. Turn off the TV. We have to get to the shelter. The alert just sounded. You...come on, your brother is already ready to go. Dad is already there….”
Repeat do not panic We’ve been promised safety if...
I blinked a few times as I wanted into the bright morning light. My eyes adjusted quickly and I gazed around. All around me were tons of ponies walking around chatting with one another or selling goods.
The colors… The ponies were like nothing I had ever seen. Some had horns—like me—while some flew through the air like birds. I shook my head, no one else was staring. A grumble erupted from my stomach.
When was the last time I ate?
I wandered down to where several ponies had stands set up. They were selling fruits and vegetables and a pony wearing a cowboy hat gestured me over.
I walked over with a smile on my muzzle—the apples she was selling smelled so good.
I wonder how much they are?
“Morning, Twi, can I interest you in an apple? On the house of course!” The cowboy hat wearing pony smiled at me and I felt my mouth open.
“Thanks, Applejack, one honeycrisp please!”
As long as we don’t fight we’ll be safe.
Author's Note
Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.
-Albert Einstein
