I felt consciousness slowly return in a haze. Like there was some kind of thick fog hanging over my mind. Nothing hurt that much, which was nice. However, I did feel very stiff and my muscles were aching like I’d just been simultaneously lifting 200 lbs. and running a marathon. First thing to return to my waking mind was touch. I could tell I was in a bed, if the sheets over my legs were any indication. I also felt a faint breeze on my arms and chest. From what I could tell I was in a half-sitting position. Whatever was on my back must’ve made laying down next to impossible. Next on the senses list came hearing. My foggy mind faintly heard birds chirping and bells ringing in the distance, as well as the faint rustling that accompanied ruffled sheets. I could smell.... flowers? Though I couldn’t tell where or how close said flowers were.

I finally decided to open my eyes. Which was a bit of a chore, because they really didn’t want to open. As I finally got them open and blinked away the blurriness and light, a reedy groan wheezed from my chest. I was..... I couldn’t really tell where I was.

The room was made of some kind of gray-white stone. It looked to be somewhat on the large side. There was a window to my right and I could see bright blue, semi-cloudy sky outside. The window was also the source of the bird noises, bell noises, and breeze. I was in a bed with white sheets, though it appeared to be made for someone larger than me. To the right of the bed was an end table. Set atop it was a vase filled with a variety of flowers. That was where the scent of flowers came from. To the right of the end table was an open, plain wood door that was clearly sitting open. Though at the angle I was at I couldn’t see into it. A bathroom? To the left of the end table. only about a foot away from the bed, was a plain black chair. Directly across from me, on the opposite wall was a set of cupboards. A lower set had a countertop that sported things I’d only seen in a doctor’s office. The cupboards above and below the countertop were probably filled with various medical things. To my left was another end table and another chair. In the middle of the wall to my left was a plain wooden door.

My best guess. I was in some sort of personal medical room or wing. I closed my eyes and tried to remember why I was here.

Let’s see... Work... Birthday.... Presents from Jake.... Singing..... Talking with Tia and Discord......

Car......

I felt a chill run down my spine as I felt the blood leave my face. My hands clenched into fists and the room suddenly felt a lot colder.

The SUV was only a foot away.... The driver hadn’t even used his horn......

My breathing became heavy and I clearly heard my breathes in and out through my nose. My eyes clenched tighter.

I had felt things break as he hit.... my left arm...... left leg..... Why was it always the left leg?.....

Tia...... Tia had saved me....

Pulled me through...... something..... to save me....

Then Discord..... What had he done?

There were.... planets?.... Universes?...... that I had passed by?

What did he do to me?...

My eyes opened and I tried to steady my breathing. I looked down as I raised my hands.

Pallid gray-skinned hands met my eyes. The skin appeared taught, stretched-thin. The fingers were thick-knuckled, and bore almost claw-like nails. Both hand appeared gnarled with advanced age. Continuing my visual trek, my gaze drifted down my forearms. Said forearms were thin, downright skeletal, and covered in a spiderweb of veins and pockmarks. I didn’t see much muscle. The same could be said for the lack of biceps and triceps. The formerly muscled chest I swore I’d seen earlier, now showed a very bony ribcage. Papery skin was stretched over it. Below that was an incredibly thin stomach that looked emaciated. As if I hadn’t eaten in weeks.

I clenched my eyes shut and let my head fall into my hands. A shaky breath left my throat as I felt tears start to form. I tried to fall back into the bed but whatever was on my back stopped me. I dropped my hands and opened my eyes. I didn’t even need to crane my neck very far. Six massive spikes erupted from my spine. There were three on each side. They were long and four (The lower two on either side.) fanned out to the right and left respectively. The other two seemed to fan upwards and split into two dull points in a way that reminded me of an elk for some reason. Craning my head around as best I could, I saw that the spikes were attached to a very noticeable spine. Said spine protruded from the skin in overlapping ridges that, to my best guess, ran from the back of my neck to my tailbone. The thickest of the spine ridges were connected to my ribcage and also happened to be the point where the spikes connected.

I......

I... don’t even......

What happened to me?.....

Did Discord do this all himself?......

“What the fuck.....” Came the thin, reedy voice that left my throat.

Wait....

“What...” The voice was monotone... Completely monotone.

That..... that was me.....

I needed a mirror!

I threw the sheets off my legs, revealing the thin, barely muscled legs that I expected. Thankfully someone had given me some rather comfortable gray briefs. Though the pun Manes wasn’t lost on me. I’ll groan about that later. I sat up fully with a groan and a sore back. I shifted and slid my legs over the side of the bed. With my hands still firmly on the bed to hold myself up, I slid off and let my gnarled, claw-nailed feet touch down on the cold stone floor.

I took a breath and tried to stand. My legs were very shaky, but I managed to stand. I took a step, still having a hand on the bed and my knee decided it didn’t want to work. Before I could go down fully I slammed my other hand into the end table.

My hand flared with green light. I felt a weird feeling of something flowing from my chest, down my arm, and into my hand. Then the end table exploded in an eruption of green flames. The vase was sent flying. I fell, and as I did I saw the flowers fly through the air. They seemed to wither in midair and swiftly turned to dust. I felt ever so slightly invigorated. That feeling quickly left my mind as I collapsed to the ground.

“Nnnnnngh.....” I groaned.

I like it here.

The floor’s comfortable.

I’ll build a home here on the floor.

I heard cries of alarm from beyond the other door. Within moments I heard the door burst open.

“Jared!” Wait... that was Tia’s voice...

“Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!” That.... was a voice I recognized, though I didn’t know why.

“What happened?!” That’s voice #2 that I recognized.... Joy....

“Move, get him up and back to bed! He shouldn’t be up in the first place! He shouldn’t even be awake yet with the amount of sedative spells we used!” That one I didn’t recognize. It was a woman’s voice, a little rough and clipped. A doctor?

I felt multiple sets of hands on me and my vision was briefly a blur of movement. Next thing I knew, I was back in bed with the sheet back over my legs. I shook my head slightly to clear it. With that, I got a clear view of who was around me.

My eyes were immediately drawn to what I could only call a Goddess. At the foot of the bed was alabaster-furred, anthro pony mare. She had the body of an amazon, and she towered over all in the room by at least 2 feet. She also had an absolutely massive pair of white wings coming off her back (that no doubt grazed the floor) which only made her look more imposing. Her face appeared young but the magenta eyes, so full of worry, had clearly seen much. A massive spiralling horn sat atop her forehead. Her mane was the colors of an Aurora and it seemed to flow through the air in a non-existent breeze. She wore no regalia, just a simple gray sundress that went a little past her knees, yet she virtually radiated power and authority despite the fact that she was clearly worried for me. I also noticed a tail behind her, flowing just like her hair. I did my best not to have my eyes linger on her rather impressive bust. However an errant thought of ‘I wish I knew cup sizes’ ran through my mind. If I remember correctly the size was E.

I was next drawn towards the brightest thing in the room next to the Goddess. Namely the Pink mare only a foot to my right with her slender hands on the bed. Her light blue eyes were filled with concern and her face bore a small frown of worry. Her mane was a bubblegum-pink riot of poofy curls and had an equally poofy tail. She appeared to be ever so slightly on the chubby side. (As much as I hated to used that term, she did have a tiny bit of a belly.) She wore a bright blue tee shirt and jean shorts that bore stains that I recognised, which had to have come from a kitchen. Once again, curse me for being a male. My eyes were briefly drawn to her chest. She too had an impressive pair, however they weren’t as big as the Goddesses. Ds perhaps? Never mind that! By my best guess I’d say she was probably around 5 foot 4 maybe 5 foot 5.

Next was a very purple mare with a spiralling horn similar to the Goddess’s. However her’s wasn’t nearly as long. This mare was to the immediate left of the Goddess. She had curious violet eyes, and a midnight-blue mane with a single stripe of pink and a single stripe of purple running down it. She looked to be studying me more than anything else. She seemed to have an average built, erring on the slight side. This mare wore a white sweater and a jean skirt that went down past her knees. It seems all tails here match their owner’s hair in color and style. Thankfully for my male brain, the sweater hid her bust. (I wasn’t blaming them for their appearance. I simply blamed myself for lingering.) She appeared a little taller than the pink one so.... 5 foot six maybe? I didn’t have any reference point for heights, I was simply guessing.

Lastly was a gray mare with a white mane done up into a bun. Like purple and Goddess, she too had a spiraling horn coming out of her head. She had striking gold eyes and was looking at me with a mixture of worry and annoyance. I couldn’t tell much about her, though I noticed a few small lines of age, due to the fact she was wearing a doctor’s smock. She appeared roughly the same height as purple mare.

By my estimation, it’d taken only seconds to look over all of them. “Sorry about that.” I rasped dryly. “I got somewhat excited and wanted a mirror.”

“It’s... It’s alright Jared....” The Alabaster Goddess known as Celestia spoke softly. She seemed emotional. On the verge of tears even. Her hands were white-knuckling the sheets at the foot of the bed.

“Well... You seem fine despite your fall. Any noticeable injuries?” The doctor mare asked, drawing my attention.

“No ma’am. Just a fall, thank you.” I nodded at her.

She appeared to study me momentarily, then her face softened and she gave me a small weak smile. “Well good. Wouldn’t want to lose the only one of your kind in Equestria.” She chuckled weakly. “I’ll check back with you later after you’ve had some social time. Oh, and I’m Doctor Aether.”

“Nice to meet you.” I said, not having enough energy to muster a small smile. “Thank you for everything.”

“You’re welcome Jared.” She smiled and quietly left the room, closing to door behind her.

My gaze returned to Tia. “Tia...” I said slowly, worrying for the... Alicorn? isn’t that what she told me? “How are you? You don’t look so good.”

Tia sniffled and took a deep breath. “Jared.... I-I’m so sorry....” She could barely get the words out.

I sighed and looked at my hands. “I’m alive aren’t I? I survived.”

“Y- you.... You shouldn’t be.” Tia sniffled quietly. “Right now you shouldn’t be alive. I-I tried to save y-you and now-”

“Tia.” I noticed every time I said Tia the purple one twitched a bit. The pink one just stayed next to me, clearly waiting patiently. For some reason I felt that that wasn’t normal for her. “Just tell me... Rip it off like a band-aid. What did Discord do? What happened to me? I need to know now so I can start processing it. Waiting just makes things worse.”

Tia nodded, and reached up to wipe away a stray tear. “R-right... S-sorry Jared... You’re right.” She took a breath and looked at me eye to eye. “You got hit by an SUV going almost 70 down a residential street, in what was turning into a snowstorm.” That made my heart lurch painfully and I felt my hands stitch slightly. I began shaking only to feel a soft hand on my arm. I looked up to see the pink one giving me a small caring smile. Words didn’t need to be said. She was here for me. As Tia continued, I returned my gaze to her. “I panicked. I pulled you from your world... your universe... and wanted to bring you to me. W-what I did was dangerous for everyone. I could have killed you, torn a hole between universes, any number of things!” Tia took a breath to calm down. “Discord however.... He wanted to give you a Birthday Present according to him. When he realized what he’d done.... he retreated... He hasn’t talked to anyone....”

“And how long have I been here?” I asked, giving her a moment to compose herself.

“You’ve been here a little over a week. You’ve also been in and out of consciousness for the past three days.” Explained purple mare.

“Thank you.” I nodded at the mare and she gave me a nod in return. I looked back to Tia. “Whenever you’re ready to continue. I’m sorry Tia, but would prefer to get this out of the way now. The sooner I know everything, the sooner I can take the time to go through it. Grieve even...” I said ended with a small shaky breath.

“I know, and you’re right.” Tia nodded and composed herself once again. “So all Discord wanted to do was turn you into an orc. You’d be bigger, stronger, faster....” She struggled for an analogy.

“Like a Space Marine, just natural.” I stated, cutting her off.

“Yes.” Tia nodded briefly pointing at me. “Exactly that. If I could heal you while he changed you, you’d end up here better than before. At least that was his thought process. He thought he was helping.” Tia’s face fell. “But.... I didn’t take into account how interversal travel fully functions. During your... change.... you traveled dangerously close to quite a few hostile universes. The change somehow acted as a magnet for...... other forces.... Your body absorbed these forces and Discord lost control of the change....”

“What forces....” I felt a pit forming in my gut....

Tia closed her eyes, appeared to center herself, took another steadying breath, and opened her eyes once again. “Death, Fel, and Void. V-Void is m-more commonly known as Shadow....”

“And what did those forces do to me?” I feared the answer.

“They infused your very being.... So much so that.... You should be dead right now... but those forces are keeping you alive.... Y-you don’t have magic like other races here do.... B-being a human with an absence of magic, th-those forces filled you.....” Tia was having a hard time. Then again, so was I. I felt sick... my blood had long since left my face. Tia, unfortunately, continued. “Y-you can’t be healed by us. You reject Positive Energy. Your powers... Umm... I-instead of pulling from an internal well of magic like Arcane beings. The Powers of Death Magic, Fel Magic, and Void Magic actually feed off of you... That’s why you look....”

“Why I look like an elderly cancer patient?” I provided, my joke falling flat.

Tia nodded. “Yes... something like that......” She continued. “You in turn feed off of other living things. You tear the life from others so your magic can tear the life from you. Again.... You should be dead..... This is you without any magic in your internal reservoir. When you.... When you have a full reservoir you p-probably look better.... Y-younger... less.... fragile.”

Something struck me, for the briefest moment I had a tiny light of humor. My mouth turned up into a small smile. “Heh. Heh. I’m Shang Tsung.”

“Wait! The stallion from Maretol Kombat?” The pink one piped up next to me. “The one who has to rip the souls out of people to stay youthful.”

My tiny light returned and grew into a tiny flickering flame. I looked over at her. “I don’t know weather to slap you for that pun or kiss you because you know that.”

The pink one grinned. “You could do both if it’d help you feel better.”

Tia actually chuckled softly. Apparently we lightened her mood. “I-I would advise against it. You hands are the most direct connection to your magic. Your hands, mainly your palms, drain life on physical contact. We believe that eventually you could learn to control it, and even that you might be able to drain at range.... We....” Tia briefly looked away awkwardly. “We had to run a lot of tests to make sure that...”

“That I wouldn’t be a danger to myself or anyone else, even on accident.” I said flatly, my flickering flame dying out. “That would explain the flowers.....”

“Yes....” She said weakly.

I felt more chills. I didn’t want to think what they’d potentially had to do to me if I’d been a danger to anyone.

I bowed my head and closed my eyes.

I took a slow breath.... I have time...... I can process this.....

I opened my eyes and returned my gaze to Tia. “Thank you. Thank you for everything.”

Tia balked. “Wha- what? B-but I-I... Y-you...”

“Tia... you saved me... I should be dead right now from the car alone. But I’m alive thanks to you. However... I-I don’t know if I can forgive you... yet....” I took a slow breath in through my nose. “I need time.....”

Tia nodded. “I-I understand... Eventually, when you’re feeling well enough and adjusted enough for it.... We, the doctors, Twilight and I,” she gestured to the purple mare, “would like to run some tests to see what you’re capable of.”

“It will be a learning experience for all of us.” I nodded with a slow sigh. My eyes moved to the purple mare. “So... your name is Twilight?”

Twilight jumped. “O-oh! yes! I’m Twilight Sparkle!” She instinctively raised a hand.

I blinked at her hand, blinked at her, then briefly did jazz hands. “Can’t touch anyone.”

Twilight blushed furiously, and I actually managed to get Tia and the pink one to giggle. Twilight settled, her blush receding a little. “Right... Anyway... I’m here to apologize. I blasted you when you first showed up. I thought you were attacking Pinkie.” She looked away shamefully.

“I forgive you Twilight, you were protecting your friend.” I said causing her to brighten and Tia to smile weakly. “I haven’t even seen my face yet and I’m sure I look horrifying.”

“Eh, you could look worse.” The pink one drew my attention.

“Can I assume that you’re Pinkie?” I asked.

“Yup!” Pinkie chirped. “Pinkamena Diane Pie!” She grinned happily at me. Wow, she was a bubbly one. I like her.

“May I call you Diane?” I asked, entirely serious.

Her face screwed up in confusion. “But nopony calls me Diane.”

“Pinkie then.” I nodded. “And why are you here Pinkie?”

“When you first showed up you asked me for help. So I’m here to help you in any way you need.” Pinkie smiled and bounced on her.....

Huh, so anthro ponies still had hooves.... Cool...

Pinkie bounced on her hooves.

“Well isn’t that generous. Are you always this kind?” I cocked my head to the side a little.

“Nope! Those are Rarity and Derpy.” Her grin returned as she flopped into the chair next to the bed.

I blinked, then returned my gaze to Tia. I pointed at her. “I want one.”

Tia was quietly giggling. “W-well, you have her until she decides to leave. Believe me, we’ve tried to make her leave, but she keeps showing up.”

“Like Boarz. They’re the Space Herpes.” Pinkie giggled.

I blinked, processing... Boarz... sounded like Orkz..... Ooooooooo! Animal Pun! “Heh heh heh.” My small smile returned. Yep. Pinkie’s a keeper. I shook my head. “What now Tia?”

“Ummmmm... It’s Princess Celestia.” Twilight said, probably finally fed up with whatever her issue was.

“I don’t see titles.” I responded without looking at her. I got Pinkie to giggle again.

Tia was legitimately smiling, probably because we were all getting along and I was managing not to lose it. I can break down later, thank you. “Well you should probably rest more. I don’t think they want you moving around for at least for a couple of days.”

I nodded. “Makes sense, doctor’s orders and all that.”

“And I’ll be here if you need anything.” Pinkie leaned in close, causing her chair to tip forward.

“Heh. So you mentioned Pinkie.” I gave her a small smile. “Just don’t get in the way of the medical professionals.”

“Oh I know, I’m for here for moral support and fetch quests.” Why couldn’t I find someone like her back when I was on earth.

Earth......

Well that killed my mood.......

My face fell to a small frown. “If you wouldn’t mind. “I’d like to get some sleep...” I said slowly. “Pinkie you can stay so long as you’re quiet.”

Pinkie did a rather long pantomime of sipping up her mouth among other things. Tia and Twilight simply nodded and both of them quietly left the room.

Slowly I lowered myself back onto the bed. I noticed that the pillows had been rearranged when I hadn’t been looking so my whole body was supported better. Looking over to Pinkie, she gave me a thumbs up and mimed throwing away a key. I nodded and gave her a small smile.

Relaxing into the pillows, consciousness faded within moments of closing my eyes.

Author's Note

Please pardon my shameful descriptions of the mares I don’t describe humanoid people that well.

Character Art for references.
Pinkie by evehly.

Celestia by sketchychangeling

Twilight Sparkle by king-kakapo