Chapter I: "What's your name?"
Chapter I: "What's your name?"
Prologue: We've all heard the stories of humans finding themselves in Equestria. We've also seen the consequences of such actions. The endless possibilities of being stuck in such a foreign body. And we know sometimes life isn't what it was turns out to be. We learn that the world doesn't pause, nor does society stop to revolve around us. Solace must still attend school in Baltimare, while also finding a way to match the perception others have known her as all these years. But can she determine whether her own existence is worth diminishing the life of another? The bitter lessons of an old reality come into play as she reflects on the answers. For even in a candy colored world can you deny who you truly are? Which also begs the question, is such an escape, even an escape at all?
Brrrrrrrrng! Brrrrrrrrng! Brrrrrrrrrng!
There was nothing but black quiet before the defeaning abrupt ringing shot through the mind of the one closest to them. She was a pale gray mare whose coat could easily remind one of a murky rainy day, while her pitch dark mane was a mirror of coal black. Her eyes were violet, in similarity to a starless evening sky bordering on the edge of twilight. As she laid there in her bed, she stared up at the ceiling blankly only for a few seconds. It was that time again, a time she'd grown used to at this point. It was time to go to school in this world.
After a few minutes the grey mare had made her way downstairs to the first level of her prestigious home. Thankfully, getting ready was nothing complicated, for all she had to do was wear a school tie which identified which school she attended, and have her books.
"Will you be skipping breakfast again this morning?" A sudden voice inquired from a distance.
The grey mare glanced to her left, as she looked towards an older unicorn mare in the kitchen, who looked much like her besides the fact she herself was an earth pony. But she only looked at her for a brief second before eyeing the ground. "Yes Mother. I-I'm not that hungry today either." She had a hesitant look on her face, as she decided to wearily glance up at her once more. "But thank you for the offer."
There was also an older stallion sitting at a dining table, as well as a small filly, both brown with black manes, currently eating.
The unicorn mare was currently chopping vegetables with telekinetic magic as she had a subtle smile, yet kept her gaze focused on the chopping of the vegetables. "Strange, you always seemed to love having breakfast with the family." She squinted with a pause, "Speaking of which. What would you like to have for your traditional birthday meal? Seeing as it's coming up next week Sweetie."
This caused the stallion to glance over at his wife with a raised brow, yet he said nothing.
The grey mare opened the door with one free hoof, before smiling absently. "C-Cake is fine Mother." She then made her way halfway out the door, answering her before leaving entirely. "Or um, whatever you usually cook for me. I know it'll taste great!"
The stallion blinked a bit, tilting his head to the right in confusion. "Her birthday isn't next week Honey, you know that." He paused, looking back down at his plate. "Speaking of which, she sure has been off these last few days. She should've caught onto that as well."
But the older mare in the kitchen just continued to smile subtlety, as if suppressing other emotions. "I know..."
On her way through the gates of a private school courtyard, the mare kept one book hugged to her chest while her eyes were downcast. It was early in the morning so the sun had yet to fully reveal itself. She seemed lost in thought, while other ponies around her, and even some variations of other races, trotted towards the school building as well. She was completely immersed with herself, fully concentrating on whatever she was thinking about. But due to her own distraction, it was at this moment she bumped into another. "Oof!"
Both individuals fell towards the ground, as the grey mare dropped her book, and the other dropped a series of them.
The grey mare looked up towards that individual as she was now upon the ground, and she saw something she didn't quite expect. Her eyes went wide in surprise. A-A draconequus? Sitting on its butt in front of her was a draconequus, much smaller than Discord and wearing a backpack. It was obviously a female based on its long lashes and hair, and it was definitely nervous based on its demeanor. As the grey mare sat there, it hurriedly got itself to its knees before trying to gather up its own pile of books. The grey mare shook her head, before apologizing. "I-I'm sorry, please uh, let me help you." She began assisting the draconequus in gathering up its books hurriedly.
As they'd finished, the draconequus just eyed the mare in deep thought itself, strangely in surprise, yet said nothing.
The grey mare looked back to it silently for a moment, before slowly opening her muzzle about to say something. "Uh-"
"Solace! There you are! Seriously, when did you start thinking it's cool to head to school by yourself!" Another voice chimed in.
The grey mare's eyes widened as she glanced back, "Huh?" And she saw a group of familiar mares, and a lone stallion. They all were quite beautiful, possessing a various assortment of vibrant coats, and easily could be depicted as ones who took great care of themselves. They referred to her name as Solace, but upon realizing that the grey mare looked horribly uncomfortable, for particular reasons.
In that split second the draconequus hurried to her hoof and claw, before striding past the grey mare and towards the school gate.
The grey mare raised her hoof a bit in regards to the draconequus as she muttered. "Hey wait um-...." but it was too late.
As the draconequus passed the group, the mare who'd called out to Solace frowned grumpily at it. "Ugh." But she immediately smiled when looking back at Solace, tossing a wave with her hoof. "Solace! What's gotten into you?" As they all reached her, that mare in particular leaned down, helping her supposed friend back to her hooves. "First I find you're constantly ditching us to head to school early then you're associating yourself with that thing? If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you've turned into a completely different pony."
Solace squinted a bit, guiltily looking towards the ground as she only responded with nervous laughter. "Haha, yeah, sorry."
That particular mare blinked a bit, as did her friends, before she smiled wide and laughed. "Jeez! You're such a goof! Anyway, let's head on into class." She wrapped a hoof around Solace before leading her back towards the school building, "I can tell something is wrong, and I'm going to hammer it out of you whether you like it or not." She broke off into a series of snickers, as they all now trotted together.
As they were all in the classroom, a stallion at the front of the class cupped his muzzle with one hoof. "Alright class! Everypony take your seats. We're about to get started on today's lesson." He was a unicorn, and using telekinetic magic to levitate a piece of chalk.
Solace glanced around, as she was currently sitting around the middle of the room, closer towards a window. She eyed the other students in question, observantly and deep in thought while she rested her chin on one hoof. She looked particularly at a griffon and minotaur couple, as well as a diamond dog who was a part of their class, a bit surprised. Can this be the current time-frame after all?
"Um Solace, are you okay?" A sudden voice cut in, interrupting her thoughts.
Solace blinked, quickly glancing over and up at a mare that was looming over her. "Huh?"
The mare frowned promptly. "You're sitting in my seat. Didn't you accidentally try to sit in Duster's seat yesterday as well?"
Solace looked on over at a stallion across the room, whom was presumed to be Duster.
Duster, a unicorn stallion, chuckled, as he was leaned back in his chair. "Yeah she did, maybe she's sick or something."
The mare looked at Duster in wonder, before looking back down at Solace. "S-Solace, maybe you should go home for today?"
Solace chuckled nervously again, as she rose sluggishly. "N-No um, it's fine." She swiftly made her way on over towards the front of the room. All the while, members of the class watched her as she tried to find her seat. She glanced around nervously. "Um-"
The mare from her group of friends earlier patted an empty seat beside her with slight annoyance. "Really, Solace?"
Solace's eyes widened as she hurriedly made her way over to that seat, promptly situating herself within it.
The rest of the class burst into chuckles, unable to resist after seeing Solace so perfectly make a fool of herself.
The mare from her supposed usual group cocked a brow at her, appearing irritated with her before looking ahead. She rested her chin on both hooves which were bent in front of her. "Are you okay? You're seriously starting to freak me out. You've also been too quiet lately."
Solace was trembling, as she looked down at the surface of her desk while biting her lower lip. "Y-Yeah, I'm okay."
As everypony was situated in their seats, the teacher at the head of the class also looked at Solace in curiosity. But he went back to writing upon the chalkboard. "Alright everypony, so we'll pick up where we left off yesterday with Princess Twilight's history and-"
But suddenly entering into the class, thus breaking the atmosphere was the young draconequus from earlier. She still had her series of books and her backpack on, as she made her way in through one of the rear doors of the classroom. Her desk was also located towards the back corner of the room, closest towards the window. She appeared neutral based on her expression, as if she were attempting to ignore the fact the rest of the class was eyeing her. She casually made her way to her seat, before promptly sitting in it and keeping her gaze downward.
The teacher at the head of the class frowned bitterly. "Candy, why're you late?"
The draconequus now revealed as Candy muttered softly, "Sorry Sir, I um, forgot one of my books."
The teacher squinted at the draconequus. "Please see me after class."
The draconequus remained neutral based on her expression as she nodded. "Yes Sir."
Silent mutters began to spread throughout the class as they all began whispering one another.
The mare who sat beside Solace glanced back at the draconequus with satisfaction before nudging Solace. "Serves her right."
Solace appeared confused, as she eyed the mare in confusion. "Why?"
The mare gasped lightly, whispering. "What do you mean why? She always tries to ditch class. She's so irresponsible."
Solace glanced back at the draconequus in the corner in wonder and curiosity.
As time passed, and the first portion of the class ended, the class eventually were released on their lunch break.
Per usual, many of the students ventured off towards the cafeteria to grab their food, while some remained behind in the classroom. Solace also chose to do this, as she and her group of friends often enjoyed conversing about various school topics, to include gossip, during their free time. But Solace remained silent, keeping her thoughts to herself as she looked down towards the floor boards while sitting.
One of the mares in her circle of friends laughed wildly. "Yeah yeah I know! But I still think Rainbow Dash is the coolest!"
That same mare who always sought her attention, nudged Solace again. "Hey you! Will you stop being so quiet already?"
Solace flinched, as she felt startled for a second before gathering her thoughts again. "S-Sorry, I'm just feeling a little off." She rose suddenly, "Actually, I think I should go use the restroom." She strode past her friends, swiftly making her way out the rear door.
Meanwhile, the same draconequus from earlier watched as Solace left the classroom, still with a neutral gaze.
As Solace was within the restroom she had the sink on while staring at herself in the mirror. How long can I keep this up?
"You're a newbie, aren't you?" A light, high pitch voice cut in. "Less than a week, if I were to take a guess."
Solace flinched, turning towards the restroom door as she saw the little draconequus standing at the entrance. "You're-"
The draconequus only stared at her. "I also know that you were human." She paused, "You should've noticed by now, that you've taken the place of somepony else, and others are starting to realize something's off. But you have to protect your identity. Otherwise, you'll disappear just like the others. And disappearing, doesn't mean you get to go back." She tilted her head to the right, "What's your name?"
Solace trembled lightly, as she gave the draconequus a stern look. "What do you mean? M-My name is Sola-"
The draconequus glared at her as she cut her off then and there. "Your real name!"
Solace frowned, as she glanced to the lower right in admittance. "R-Rachael, Rachael Harper."
The draconequus closed her eyes, hurriedly attempting to address Rachael. "Well you need to stop drawing attention to yourself Rachael, or else you'll get us all caught and then she'll find us and make us disappear." She opened her eyes again, looking at Rachael seriously. "If you start feeling your host's memories coming back to you, it means you need to feed off sources of magic. We can all do it, and you need to use it to keep yourself attached to this world. There's no room for guilt." She frowned, closing her eyes again. "Others may be weary of your actions here as well to keep themselves attached to Equestria, so be careful." She turned back towards the entrance of the bathroom. "I noticed you looked like a lost puppy new to Equestria, s-so I wanted to help. I don't want to see anyone else disappear."
Rachael almost immediately swiped her hoof in a panic. "W-Wait! You can't just tell me all this then leave! H-How did I get here? How do you know all this? Who are you?" She closed her eyes, clutching a hoof to her chest. "What's all this about disappearing!"
The draconequus glanced back at her, leaning her head back a bit as well. "I got here the same way you did."
Rachael flinched as she looked at the draconequus with wide eyes. "Huh?"
The draconequus looked down towards the ground in reminiscence. "By wishing to leave our old world behind." She appeared lost in recollection. "We're parasites Rachael. To get here we live in the body owned by another. To the rest of Equestria, we might as well be a mental illness that needs to be erased. We might as well be crazy. Humans like us, just can't appear out of thin air." She glanced back at Rachael. "It's best we just keep this story simple, and leave the characters we're familiar with alone. It never ends well for us."
Racheal's trembling worsened, as she kept her eyes on the ground. "I-I, I don't know what to do. I'm afraid."
The draconequus' eyes saddened as she began making her way out the bathroom. "Just do as I told you, and you'll be okay."
Rachael hesitantly looked back towards the draconequus. "Can you also tell me, why you didn't refer to her by name?"
The draconequus lowered her head as she stopped halfway through the door, remaining silent for a few seconds, before muttering in a cold tone. "It's Princess Luna." With that, she finished exiting the bathroom, heading back down the hall towards their classroom.
Rachael looked back towards the mirror in doubt, and further concern. How long can I keep this up?
