My place in Equestria.
Story of my Life.
A lone man sat at his desk in his dimly lit apartment, ready to record the previous week's events.
Journal entry: Final one?
Date: December 21, 2012
My birthday was the best. It happened to coincide with the Christmas special of MLP, and it was my best birthday yet. But the storms also happened on that day, and the effects of lightning strikes and other weather effects are quite bizarre. People are starting to call them 'magic storms' because of the wierd things that happen. People are getting struck by lightning more and more often, and all sorts of things happen. One person got turned into a frog during work last week, and others have had limbs torn off, or even added on. I've also read stories online of people getting turned into mythical creatures, and even other people. One "lucky" person was turned into a living incarnation of Derpy, but she wasn't a brony. Her son was, and
The man paused for a moment, to recollect his memories of that day, when a white flash of light paralyzed him, searing to the spot, while his body erupted in pain.. The last thing he saw was the page he was writing on, before blacking out.
-|~~~~~|-
I awoke in a blur, slowly rising to my feet. Everything looked different, but something else was bothering me. Something just didn't feel right. It took me a moment to realise that I wasn't standing like normal.
Wait a second! I'm standing on four legs! Can this be real?" I wondered.
A quick look around revealed I was in a light forest. In the background was a mountain range, with what appeared to be a city stuck to the side.
"This must be real! That looks an awful like Canterlot in the distance!"
I started to trot through the trees, breathing the fresh country air and admiring the world around me, feeling slightly giddy from the thought of myself in Equestria, of all places!
The walk was slow, but I didn't care. Of course I missed some of the conveniences and pleasures of the modern world, but with every one of these, there were two horrifying or just plain bad things to spoil our world. This place, on the other hand, was free. Pure, even. No political dramas or crime to ruin the otherwise peaceful population.
"Perfect." I repeated to myself, my only thoughts on such a world as this.
After a considerable time walking, I finally reached the outskirts of Canterlot.
"I must get to Ponyville and talk to the mane six." I mentally noted.
I noticed the roads were made of dirt, and the buildings were made of brick. I spent some time simply wandering around and admiring the sights and scenes of the big pony city. The ponies were slowly trawling through the town, enjoying lunch, shopping, or just idly chatting to eachother. A thought came to me, and a frown appeared on my face.
"How DID I get here, anyway? Maybe the Princess could tell me? But where is she? I'd better ask someone-- I mean, somepony for directions.
I approached a lone pony in a hurry, but he turned his head away and scoffed before I could speak to him.
"Maybe he's just too sophisticated? He is wearing expensive clothing, I think." I said to myself, completely unaware of the truth. I observed quite a few strange looks from ponies. The people wearing sharp or expensive were also turning their heads away. I wanted to yell, but I noticed young foals looking at me with sheer amazement, as if I were a god. Their parents were muttering something to them, and they hung their heads in sorrow afterwards. After a moment of thought, I noticed a family having a day off to spend their hard-earned bits, and something struck me.
"I never noticed ponies were that tall..." I thought, before shaking it away.
I decided they would be better to approach, because they didn't notice me yet. I steeled myself for my first conversation with a pony, completely unaware of how ponies would react to me, when they spoke to me first. Or, at least I thought they were talking to me.
"D'aww, look at the little puppy! Can we keep her?! Can we can we can we?!" Said the little filly, with a speed almost incomprehensible to me.
"What is this?" I thought, completely dumbstruck.
"No, we can not! It looks filthy!" Said a stallion with a hint of anger in his voice, before turning his attention to the mare standing next to him.
"Please!?"
"No means no! And where would it stay?"
"In my room!" She whined.
"Honey, your father's right. We can't afford it at the moment. Maybe another time...?"
"D'aww!"
I tried to ask them what are you talking about?, but a bark came out of my mouth instead.
"What magic is this?!" I almost said out loud.
The filly D'awwed again, and the mare gave her a nudge to snap her back to reality. She hung her head in sorrow, and started trotted again with her family. It took me a second to comprehend everything they said, and I immediately looked down at my hooves after.
"Wait a second! I don't have hooves, I have... paws!" I thought in an urgent manner.
"What am I gonna do now?! I despaired. "I can't just talk to Celestia anymore, I can't even speak! Only... bark... I loathed over the news, repeating the events in order in my mind, as well as my 'epiphanies'.
The rest of the day was spent walking around Canterlot, looking for a place to shelter and laboring over my own thoughts. My hopes and dreams were dashed by a filly who would never know, and I couldn't even communicate with anypony. I thought about drawing in the dirt, but it was too hard-packed, and I imagined it would be like this almost everywhere. Somewhere in the center of the city, I met another dog. He simply game me a strangely aroused look, so I ran away. Not long after, I met another dog, this time, a female. I barked at her, and she looked at me confused. She barked back, but it didn't sound like a bark to me. She asked "What did you say?" in perfect English.
"I said 'Hello'!" I replied with enthusiasm.
"Hello to you too!" She replied cheerily.
"You look really tired."
"I am." I said solemnly.
"Why don't you get some sleep?"
"Because I have nowhere to stay..."
She audibly gasped.
"You poor thing!" She whispered!
"You wouldn't know of a place where I could stay, could you?"
"Of course I do! I know just the pony who can take care of us!"
"Great! Lead the way!" I said with renewed energy, grateful for a place to stay and possible even a bed to sleep in.
She started walking away in a hurry, and it took an unusual amount of effort to keep up. She ducked and weaved through alleyways and streets like an expert. I noticed we walked quite a way before leaving Canterlot. We walked some more, and reached a small house sitting on the outskirt of the same forest I woke up in.
"Here we are." She stated. The house was actually a cottage, with two stories and the appearance of it being carved out of a tree trunk.
"Looks nice." I commented somewhat sarcastically. Then, the door opened. And out walked out a white unicorn foal with a stylized purple mane.
"It can't be...!"
-|~~~~|-
She was staring out of the window of her room, amongst piles of boxes, when she saw two dogs walking up the path. Her expression instantly brightened, and she rushed out of her room, down the stairs, and opened the door with the speed of a
deer and the grace of a rhino.
Standing on the cobblestone path, were two dogs she almost didn't recognize. One of the she actually didn't know, but the other's identity became clear to her with a second of thought.
"Sapphire! You're back!" She almost screamed. She dived for the first puppy, squeezing her in her hooves.
"I missed you too!" Sapphire laughed.
"And who's your friend?" She said.
"My friend!" She joked!
The filly put Sapphire down and approached the other one.
"And who are you? Do you need a place to stay?"
"YES!" She barked with joy.
Suddenly, a masculine voice rang out from somewhere inside the house.
"Rarity, who are you talking to?!" He said.
"She's back! And she brought a friend!" She yelled back excitedly.
"Honey, you know we can't get another pet! We're supposed to be moving to Ponyville tomorrow!"
"But daaaaddy!"
"No buts! We can't move two dogs at once!"
"Shh!" A third voice hissed. "Sweetie's just started sleeping again!"
"Sorry!" Both Rarity and the stallion said in unison, whispering loudly.
Suddenly, the stallion walked around a corner and stopped behind Rarity.
Rarity almost shrieked as she heard hoofsteps getting closer. She turned around, and sighed loudly when she observed her father approaching.
"Daaaaddy, why can't we keep her!?" She groaned.
"Because." He said evenly.
"That's no fair!"
He sighed. He was beaten, and he knew it.
"Talk to your mother." He said with defeat in his voice.
"Yaaaay!" She jumped in the air, shouting to anypony who would listen.
She charged inside, rushing right past her father, with the two dogs not far behind. The trio ran all the way upstairs and into the spare room, where a mare and her foal were lying down in silence.
"Hey Rarity. Who's your friend." She said slowly, gesturing to the puppy hiding behind Sapphire.
"Sapphire brought her here! Can we keep her? Can we can we can we?" Said the filly similarly to the other one she encountered a few hours ago.
"I suppose we can.." She sighed, exhausted from caring for the new-born Sweetie Bell all day.
Rarity almost exploded from joy. She immediately galloped past the pair of dogs and down the stairs, through the kitchen and outside to the backyard. They ran after her and found her searching through piles of boxes, throwing things everywhere.
Eventually, she pulled out a dark blue blanket and laid it down gently on the grass. To duo of dogs slowly walked through the door, slightly embarrassed and confused by her sudden outburst, and her parents weren't far behind. She didn't notice them, and kept working on the blanket, shuffling it around and tidying it up until it sat right next to Sapphire's bed. She was about to go inside and fetch the duo, when the noticed them standing in the doorway.
She ran towards the dogs, picked them both up in her hooves, and gently laid them down in their respective beds. Her parents just laughed at her adoration of the duo.
-|~~~~|-
Right before my eyes, was a young Rarity doing who knows what to that sheet. We watched her carefully, trying to look past her flanks and see what she was doing.
After some time, she turned around and noticed us, a massive smile forming on her face.
"What are you doing?" Sapphire barked.
Instead of responding, she just picked us up! She stood on two hooves and deposited us me on the blanket and her on the adjacent dog bed. She walked away after saying something I couldn't hear and started chatting with her parents about us.
"You really are a fidgety filly, aren't you?" Her mother said cheerily.
"But it has to be perfect for our new pet!" She responded in an authoritative tone on the way inside, her voice trailing off slightly.
After a moment, Sapphire spoke to me again.
"What did I tell you?" She laughed.
"Who said I didn't believe you?" I retorted.
"That's true, but you didn't show it."
"Well, it's been a long day."
"I can imagine. So how did you end up looking for somewhere to sleep?"
"Erm... it's a long story." I stuttered.
"Tell me. We still have a long time before bed time."
"Well..." I started as I realised I didn't have a thing to say to her. I figured I could started with some truth, and go on from there.
"I woke up in the forest over there this morning..."
"Why?"
"I don't know why. Anyway... I uh, live in Ponyville see..."
"What luck! We're moving to Ponyville tomorrow, see!"
"Really?"
"Yeah!
"Well, that does explain the boxes..."
"But that's not for a while." She interrupted. "Please go on with your story." She said, sounding an awful lot like Rarity from the TV show I used to watch.
"I don't remember much.." I said nervously.
"Uh-uh." I mentally breathed a sigh of relief, because she bought it all so far.
"All I remember is going to sleep... on my bed at night... sometime ago, and waking up in the forest today." I said with a little more confidence.
"You poor thing!"
"Um... Thank you?"
"Don't mention it!" She sounded so oblivious to what she just said.
I was rescued from the awkwardness I felt approaching by a pony shouting "FOOD'S UP!" from the kitchen. Sapphire dashed from her position on her bed with surprising agility. She was already digging into a food bowl when I modestly walk in. I strolled over to my food and examine it carefully, before leaning in for a sniff. Sapphire was too busy chowing down on her food to notice me, so I swallowed my pride, and took a small chunk of the dog food that was my dinner. All my reservations about only eating people food went out the window when I tasted it. It was like a flavour explosion in my mouth! I could taste the all-natural ingredients, and everything about it was just amazing! I happily wolfed down the rest of my food faster than she ever could. Somepony else also noticed, and they came close to my face to deliver a message.
"D'aww, look at you! Were you hungry?" Said the little Rarity, who I observed was almost my height.
"Yes!"
"Do you want some more?"
"Yes!!"
"Rarity!" Her mother started. "We can't feed them too much!"
"Aw..."
"Why don't you introduce our new friend to Sapphire's toys?"
Something clicked in my mind. A soft squeaking rang in my ears. I turned my head slowly, and noticed Rarity squeaking a toy with magic.
"Go get the ball!" She said, magically throwing the ball outside. At that moment, I lost it! I had to have it! I charged out the door, Sapphire not far behind. The squeaking echoed in my head as the ball bounced away. It came to rest on the far side of the yard, and I was certain I was going to have it! As the ball grew near, I slowed down slightly, and made one epic lunge for it! Success! The squeaking started again as it rolled around in my mouth.
Sapphire trotted up next to me, a smug look on her face.
"So you think you can just waltz right in front of me and take my toys, eh?" She said sarcastically.
I just growled softly as I chewed on my new favourite toy. I considered ignoring the sarcasm, but decided she might take it too hard. I spat out the toy softly, and turned to face her.
"I love your toy." I said quietly.
"Yes, I do too. It's simply wonderful!"
"Can... Can I have it?"
"Um... yeah, sure!"
"Thanks!" I immediately resumed enjoying my new chew toy. The rest of the night went fairly smoothly, with me and Sapphire discussing everything aspect of life in Equestria, and one mare yelling at the rest of the ponies about losing her favourite toys. When she did start screaming, Sapphire simply gave me a knowing wink, and we had a good laugh about living with Rarity and her family.
Soon enough, morning came, and it was time to move. A large cart was waiting, with two burly ponies attending it. I assumed they were pulling the cart, while the Rarity family loaded the rest of the boxes. A second cart rolled up, with a roof over it, plushy seats inside and outside of it.. Mother pony noticed, and gently placed little Sweetie Bell inside it, and strapped her into some sort of device, which I assumed was a booster seat.
Rarity jumped onto a pillow on the back of the cart, and patted it while looking at us enthusiastically. I immediately understood her command, and we rushed to her in tandem. With a graceful leap, we joined her in sitting comfortably on the outside of the cart. We took off a short time later, passing through Canterlot briefly and entering yet another forest. About midway through the journey, it started raining. And it rained so much! I freaked out a little bit when I heard thunder, but of course, my friend Sapphire was there to snap me out of my fear.
"What's the matter?" she asked, with concern written all over her features.
"I wasn't expecting a storm." I lied.
She opened her mouth to say something, but was interrputed by Rarity.
"Can't they come inside with us? It's raining!" She moaned.
"No, they're probably filthy!" Her father retorted.
Hearing him calling us filthy was extremely depressing. I wanted to scream something at him, but instead I just laid down on the spot, my wet fur matting to the pillow and my skin. The cold was starting to set in, but his comment was bringing up some bad memories. Memories of home, and when I was at school, and...
"Are you alright?"
"Huh?"
"You're looking pretty down." She said gently.
I just sighed. "It feels like forever since I've seen my friends and family..."
"I know exactly how you feel..."
Another flash of lightning and burst of thunder caused me to jump on the spot. I started breathing heavily for a few minutes, but we weren't so lucky next time. A second bolt of lightning struck, and it hit dead center on the top of the carriage. The carriage exploded, and creatures were sent flying in all directions.
-|~~~~|-
"Applejack? Applejack!? Where are ya?"
A lone red stallion wandered the storms, searching for his lost sister. He started a few hours ago, and hadn't stopped. He was incredibly tired and hungry, but he still marched through the forest.
Wolves' howls rang, but he didn't care. His sister was still a foal, but he loved her no less. She was alone and missing in this weather, and the responsibility fell upon him to find her.
-|~~~~|-
I flew through the area, as graceful as a brick and as fast as a snail. I felt like I was flying forever! My tail was scorched and my skin and fur was burned, but flying through the rain just felt satisfying. The land however, wasn't so much fun.
I eventually hit the ground with a thud, sticking my paws out but hitting my chest against the ground. I yelped in pain, and struggled to stand up. After I recovered slightly, I looked around, but there was no sign of anybody else. I started walking in a straight line, hoping for any sign of somebody else.
I ducked and weaved through bushes and under trees for what felt like ages, before reaching a small clearing of sorts. I sat down and caught a break, but my rest was interrupted by a low growling.
"What did they say?" I wondered.
I heard rustling behind me, and craned my head to see a wolf approaching. I immediately stood up, and I heard more rustling. More wolves were emerging, from all directions. My spirits sunk as I realised I was completely cornered, and they had those strange looks on their faces.
Every step they took inspired panic, and I was desperately looking for somewhere to run. I noticed a particularly slow character, so I lunged at the opportunity. I charged, jumping over his head, and taking off towards freedom! Most of the other wolves noticed my plan, and took of right after me, trampling the poor, slow wolf who probably started eating crayons and glue when somebody took their eyes off him for two seconds.
I ran and ran, but so did the wolves, and I wasn't able to shake them. My chest felt like it was on fire again after just seconds of running.
Somewhere along my journey, I passed a pony. He was a red pony, with a green apple on his flank. I only noticed him for a second before I went past, but some of the wolves tumbled head first into his chest. He went reeling, but he didn't look badly hurt. I considered stopping to help, but some of the wolves were still on me, so I had to run. I could've swore I heard him calling out another ponies' name, but I just couldn't understand him. But there are more urgent matters to attend to! I shook the thought from my head, and pushed on.
Just as I felt like I couldn't run anymore, I tripped over on an exposed root. I went rolling, and rolling, before coming to a halt in an open field. I noticed the forest ended, and on the horizon was Ponyville! I'm safe! Or, at least I thought I was. The wolves didn't give up, and before I knew it, they were surrounding me again. I stood on all fours, ready to face my fate, when an orange foal with a blonde mane casually strolled out of the forest a few meters from us. She was completely unaware of her surroundings, and everyone else knew it too. The wolves might have been faster, but I was smarter! I jumped up, pushed the nearest wolf aside, and dashed to her safety. They only hesitated for a moment, before trampling another of their pack.
I ran harder than I ever ran before, sending her flying onto my back with my head, and I dashed towards Ponyville in a desperate attempt to protect her.
The wolves were catching up to us faster than ever, when the strangest thing happened...
-|~~~~|-
"APPLEJAAAACK!" He roared, scratches and scars all over his body.
From his position at the edge of the forest, he made a mad dash towards his sister. He charged right past the wolves, causing them to pause for a moment, not even giving them a second thought. He was hell bent on rescuing his sister, and je was so close to the wolf who had her, when she spoke up.
"Hello Big Maccantash!" She said in her squeaky, foal voice.
He scooped her up by her mane with his mouth, and deposited her on his own back. She got to her hooves, and jumped off Big Macintosh, barely landing on the wolf, who struggled with the surprise weight.
"Applejack, what are ya doin'?" He said somewhat angrily.
"Yay!" Came the reply.
She sat up on her haunches, and clapped her hooves together in approval. Big Macintosh started slowing down, when he realised the wolf was actually a dog, and she was enjoying riding on her back.
"Applejack, are ya okay?"
"Yeah!" She said joyfully.
Big Macintosh returned to full speed when he noticed the wolves closing in, and he nudged the dog, who simply gave him a nod. Ponyville was within reach, and nobody was slowing down now.
Ponyville was mostly empty, with only the sparse pony able to hold an umbrella one way or another in the square. Everybody stopped when an exotic smell wafted past their noses/muzzles. The local bakery, Sugar Cube Corner, was brightly lit and somebody was obviously cooking up a storm.
"No, Pinkie! Stop wasting ingredients!" Somepony shouted from inside.
Everyone stopped when a cupcake went flying out the door, landing next to one of the wolves. He hungrily dived for it, devouring it whole. The other wolves caught on quick, and charged right at Sugar Cube Corner for a chance at delicious cupcakes. Mr Cake noticed the wolves from is position behind the counter, and quickly shut the door, locking it in the wolves' faces. The dog and Big Macintosh saw this opportunity for what it was, and quietly snuck away, before running when they were clear of Ponyville Square. They only hung around for a short time, before leaving after realising there was no more food.
-|~~~~|-
We were finally clear of those wolves. My previous troubles were completely forgotten in the heat of the moment, and now we were facing the dirt road leading up to Sweet Apple Acres.
"I've finally made it! I thought with a smile.
Applejack clapped her hooves again, as if she read my mind!
"She probably won't remember this by the time the show comes around, but this is a day I'll never forget!"
The walk up the long road was slow, but the silence was calming, in my opinion. Once we got inside, we were greeted by Granny Smith, rocking away on her chair.
"How did it go?" She said quietly, almost oblivious to my presence.
"It went well, thanks to a friend." Big Macintosh said evenly.
"I assume she is your friend?"
"She!?" I thought, realising I was still absolutely clueless about who I was.
"Eeyup."
"And what's her name?"
"Ah dunno."
Granny Smith sluggishly got out of her chair, and whispered something into Big Macintosh's ear. They muttered and chatted for what seemed like forever, and the whole time Applejack sat patiently on my back, staring with wonder at her big brother. Finally, they parted, and Big Macintosh walked slowly over to me and Applejack.
"We'll call her... Winona." He said softly.
My whole world went anarchic after hearing my name. I couldn't think straight, because of all the ideas and memories of the show buzzing around in my mind.
"Definitely, the best. Day. EVER!"
"Thank you!" I barked, and Applejack jumped off. She went into another room, and came back with a red squeaky ball in her mouth. she dropped it, and it squeaked again softly. Big Macintosh picked it up, and threw it into yet another room. I charged after it, following it bounce past a crib and stopping right in front of a fire.
For hours, we all stayed in this room, relaxing and enjoying ourselves, while Big Macintosh and Granny Smith discussed what happened throughout the day. Then before we knew it, night fell, and it was time for sleep. Big Macintosh laid Applejack down in the crib, and Granny Smith fell asleep in another rocking chair in this room.
"Good night, y'all." Big Macintosh said, before heading upstairs to his own bedroom. Applejack and I exchanged one final glance, before I curled up in front of the fire, and slept with my new family.
--|/~~~|--
