Pony Dimension

He woke in a crater. It was several times his size. He didn't know who he was, or what had happened. He was a stallion, 17 years of age. His coat was a somewhat dull shade of red, almost brown, but definitely red. His mane didn't match his coat in the slightest. The outer part of it was white, while the inner aquamarine, slate, cyan, whichever sounds more appealing. The front of his mane went straight up a short way, then spiked out close to his horn, the second spike tucked in around the horn when viewed from the side. His mane was long and hung around his neck spiking three times, which flowed mildly in the breeze as he struggled to stand. His tail spiked six times with the same color scheme, but, unlike his mane, didn’t rival the size of a mare’s.

He was fatigued. That confused him. His body didn't feel natural either. That also confused him.  When he finally stood up he turned his head to gaze at the crater which was still smoking from the impact. 'Did I make that?' he thought. He pondered a moment as a momentary silence overtook the scene. ‘Must have been something else, there's no way I could survive that.’ He sifted through his memory for an answer to his predicament, but for naught. The only memories he fished out were two words: dimension shift. He tried walking on his hind legs briefly, but deterred himself from it when it became difficult. He walked, slowly and weakly looking for... He didn't really know, ‘I need to go somewhere, if I just stay here I’ll eventually starve.’

So he walked, stumbling from time to time for what felt like days. He spotted a beige, bricked clock tower after about an hour of tedious travel. "Somewhere..." He continued his muddled search for answers.

The clock tower was part of Ponyville, a good-sized but humble town. Most of the buildings were medieval, but bright and welcoming. A well-balanced population of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns roamed the streets during the day, it wasn’t crowded though. Paths were paved through the most populated areas of the town, while dirt paths occupied the less traversed areas. On one of those paths was an earth pony pulling a cart which, despite being empty, smelled like apples. The one pulling it was an orange mare with blond hair. On her flank was an image of three apples. They were arranged in a way that gave the impression of their falling down. The midday sun illuminated her coat and three white freckles. Her Stetson kept the sun out of her emerald eyes. She pulled her cart effortlessly and recalled the delivery she was returning from.

‘Can’t see why anypony’d want so many at once, must’a been havin’ an event of some sorts.’  She felt a strange wind and silence. She paused and looked around for a few moments. A premonition had swept over her. It was the feeling you get when you feel someone’s watching you, but you turn around and no one’s there. It was ominous. “Hmm…” ‘I coulda swore someone was watchin’ me just now…’ She let out a small chuckle and shook her head, “You’re lettin’ the heat get to ya, Applejack,” she told herself. She dismissed it and continued down her route despite the birds scattering shortly after.

The unicorn neared the same path Applejack was on. He was in that state of mind – exhausted and think you should stop but you’re too tired to change your action to rest, your mind just doesn’t register anything. He was on autopilot, stumbling everywhere. He walked through a bush without noticing. He didn’t notice when he tripped over himself and fell. He especially didn’t notice the mare a few paces to his right when he fell and lost consciousness. But she noticed. Time slowed down as he fell to the ground. Applejack’s eyes narrowed as she stood astonished.

“A-are ya ok?” she managed to utter. No answer. She rushed to the stallion and checked his breathing. ‘He’s out cold.’ After several failed attempts to wake him up, she decided it would be best to take him home until he woke up. She lifted him into her unoccupied apple cart and covered him with a blanket that was there for the cold season. Society frowns upon carrying unconscious ponies in the back of a cart in a secluded area.

The trip back went smoothly. She wasn’t stopped for conversation by anypony, which she was thankful for. She had looked back to check on the stallion. He didn’t wake up during the trip. Part of her had questioned her course of action, but she was a good mare and wasn’t going to leave a pony who needed help. She unhitched herself close to the house. It was what’s to be expected of a country home, need I say more? She had explained to her family what had happened and that she wanted to let the unicorn stay with them until he was able to care for himself. Granny made a joke about her “bringin’ stallions home with her,” but wasn’t opposed to it. By the time he did wake up, Bic Mac, her older brother, was working in the orchard. Applebloom, her younger sister, was playing with her friends, and Granny Smith was taking a nap. Applejack was just finishing the dishes. The unicorn’s eyelids slowly fluttered open, revealing a sea green hue that complimented his mane.

He sat himself on the couch, groaned a bit and rubbed his head. Feeling around, he felt a lump, which when followed became a length- a horn. He let out a confused “Eh?” and muttered something incomprehensible below his breath. His thoughts were interrupted by a hearty “You’re awake!” He briefly eased his head in the direction of the doorway where Applejack was standing before hanging his head somewhat in the other direction.

He replied with a hollow “Yeah.”

“You ok? Ya looked a might out of it before ya passed out.”

“I’m fine.” he replied a bit too quickly. It was obvious conversation wasn’t his forte.

“I’m Applejack!” She shook his hoof enthusiastically as he just sat there with a blank look. The mare preferred to keep the mood cheery. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but nothing came out. “What’s your name?” He didn’t speak for a moment. He didn’t know his name. He reacted impulsively a bit; he tried to remember those words that he’d fished out earlier. He made his only memory his new name.

“Dimension… Shift. My name is Dimension Shift.”