In the Eye of the Storm

I dared not to breathe as I watched the Commander return the spear to his holster and break the cap with his magic. Without a word, he turned to the mare, gave her a deep bow, and walked out of the room. I let out a slow breath as I turned back to the mare, waiting for her to break the tense silence.

"Good man, that Commander is." The mare smiled. "Loyal to a fault."

She turned to face me.

"I must apologize for scaring you, filly. I needed to make sure you were genuine. Plus, when you've served the military for as many decades as I, you come up with some sick things to break the daily mundane. You understand of course."

I gave a mute nod, not understanding at all.

"Now I'm sure you have a million questions, dear filly, so ask away." She continued, sitting down. "I will answer them to the best of my abilities."

A thousand all bubbled up at once, but I decided to go with the most unsettling one.

"You said Sweetie Belle died? I-if so, how? And if you saw this, why did you believe me when I told you that's who I was?"

The mare hmm'd quietly.

"Well yes, I did see what looked like Sweetie Belle and a couple others die. They fell victim to a strong magical attack of some sort. It left a large indent in the middle of Ponyville. As for why I believed you? Your magical aura may be mangled and corrupted, but it's still recognizable as you. Plus, minus some color changes, you look a like what I imagined you'd look and sound like as a fully grown mare."

"What happened to me?" I found myself asking.

The mare tilted her head and frowned.

"Well I was hoping you could tell me that, as I quite honestly have no idea. I also don't know why your coat and eyes changed colors. I'd imagine it's a side effect of whatever happened to you. What's the last thing you remember before waking up in this desert?"

I closed my eyes and rubbed my head.

"The last thing I really remember was hanging out with my friends, and we just suddenly felt this sudden sense of dread... and then it's just like white noise. Everything after that is so blurred and... and I just can't remember. Sorry."

The mare softly hmm'd again.

"I must have bumped my head pretty hard to lose all that memory." I half joked, giving the mare an awkward smile.

"Or maybe that was another effect of the magic. I suspect that magic was also responsible for transposing you here and turning your fur gray. Not a fitting color for you, I must say. You looked far less unnatural when you looked like your sister."

Ouch. She had scared me out of my wits and hurt me with an insult already, and we'd known each other for only a manner of minutes. This pony needed to work on her bedside manner.

"What... do I look like actually, now that you mention it"? I asked, ignoring the insult.

The mare simply pointed her snout to one of the nearby cafeteria tables that had some leftover dinnerware on it. A large silver cooking sheet stuck out at the top, somehow shiny enough to see your reflection in. I lit up my horn and tried to use the telekinesis spell I had been practicing. Nothing happened. Well great, I was apparently in the body of a mare and still was bad at magic.

Stupid horn.

I walked over to the sheet and looked down, and the face that looked back up seemed almost alien. A fully grown mare with a light gray coat and deep, unsettling purple eyes. That wasn't right. My mane looked pretty much the same. Same colors, same general shape, although it was flattened and matted all over and covered with dirt and sand. I bit my lip. The reflection did the same. I sniffed and my eyes welled up with tears. So much had happened. I was being held prisoner in a place I didn't know and was in the body of a mare that felt unnatural, and apparently my friends could have died and I was just a freak who survived and got screwed up even more. How were my parents? Were they even still alive? Were they worried about me? Did they think I was dead too?

A tear rolled down my face. I'm just a filly, I can't deal with this! This reflection is lying. I'm gonna shut my eyes and wake up and this will have all been a nightmare.

I shut my eyes tightly.

I'm gonna go to school tomorrow with my friends and see Mrs. Cheerilee. After I'm gonna play with my friends and we're gonna do something silly to find our cutie marks. There will be no violence, no scary military stallions or sadistic mares hiding under rags. No more cold uncaring stone. I will be back home, not in some desert. I'll be happy. I'll be safe.

I opened my eyes.

It was the same room. The same sheet with a reflection of a distraught mare glaring back at me.

No.

Please no.

I let out a dry sob and collapsed to my knees.

I wasn't ready for this. I couldn't. I wanted to go home and be read a bedtime story by Dad. I wanted Mom to come in smelling of that incense she loved so much and kiss me goodnight, then make some bad joke about how I'm gonna be the family's pride and joy. I always said I hated that, but Mom knew I was lying. I wanted my dad to then gently ruffle my mane and call me his little marshmallow before he turned out the light and went to watch TV with Mom.

I pressed my head against the cold, dirty floor.

I wanted to see my sister. I wanted to hear her expertly spun stories with a wide-eyed expression and a goofy grin and eat up every word that she said.

I wanted out of this nightmare.

I rolled onto my side as the tears came spilling free.