Jacked Up

-{Chapter 2: This Was Real}-

~~~~~

Monday, April 21st, 1002 ANM

Canterlot, Equestria

Canterlot Sewers (Exact location Unknown)

Denise had awoken in many strange places in her life- locked in a dumpster, soaking wet in a fountain, tied to a chair in a mobster's basement- oh, that had been a good one- but she had never woken up in a sewer before.  Groggily, she opened her eyes, only to wince at the stench around her.  She tried again- slower, squinting this time.

The first thing Denise noticed was that she was lying on her stomach in a puddle of she-didn't-want-to-know-what.  Too weak to stand, she rolled over, landing on her stomach once more, this time onto what she hoped was a layer of soil.  She took a brief gander at her surroundings- strangely, the tunnel appeared to be constructed of aged stone brick, and seemed very simple compared to the sewer systems she had seen in her life- no pumps, no generators, not even a walkway for maintenance workers.  The only pipes she saw seeped fluids into a septic river in the center of the tunnel, where they flowed away to an unknown location.  Denise considered herself lucky not to be in there, instead resting comfortably on the shore of the river (at least, as comfortably as one can in a sewer).

Groaning, she struggled to stand, trying to remember what had left her here.  She remembered a creep in a suit, offering a job- had he drugged her?  No, he never had the opportunity.  But then how did she get to a sewer, of all places?

These questions faded from her mind once she had risen to stand, as she suddenly found herself completely off-balance, falling onto her back with a thud.

Wincing from the impact, she opened her eyes again-

And saw a strange, chitinous set of hooves in front of her.

"AAH!"

She screamed, scampering away from them-

They had moved with her.

"AAAAH!"

She moved her arms in front of her face- the same hooves appeared.

"AAAAAAAH!"

She fell to the ground, unconscious.

~~~~~

Time passed...

Denise woke up slowly.  Attempting to open her eyes resulted in a flash of pain, so instead, she merely propped herself up on one foreleg, rubbing her head with her free hoof.

She had been having the weirdest dream- she had sold her soul to the devil, or something, and woke up in a sewer.  For some reason, she was reminded of the kind of dreams she had after watching My Little Pony while on morphine, but she couldn't for the life of her figure out why...

Wait.

Foreleg.

Hoof.

Denise opened her eyes.  She was still in the sewer.  She still had hooves.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

She fell to the ground, unconscious.

~~~~~

Time passed...

Denise awoke with a start, her eyes shooting open.  Something was wrong.  She had been having a nightmare- a vivid one, the kind you only get through heavy drug abuse, and she knew she hadn't been shooting up morphine recently.

A creeping sensation came over her.  She looked to her arms.

Chitinous.  Hoofed.  Forelegs.

The realization came like a hurricane.  Everything came back to her- the bar, the creep, the flash of light, it was all real, it had really happened, oh god what the hell was happening to her-

She felt woozy, as if she would pass out...

"No, NO!  None of that shit again!"

Shaking herself awake, she forced herself to focus.  She had done enough drugs in her life to be able to tell when something was real or not. This was real.  This was happening.

She had to focus.  Her life could depend on it.

Denise struggled to stand, only to fall on her back once more.  She spat out a hiss of frustration- wait, what?- and reluctantly clambered to all fours.

Something about her appearance rang a bell in her head- she'd seen this sort of thing before, somehow.  She was hit by a second realization.

"I'm a... changeling?"

Yes, that was the word.  The little creatures from the last episode of My Little Pony, who attacked the royal wedding of... Someone.  It was one of the main character's brother, she remembered that much, but she wasn't quite in the state of mind to dredge up every little detail.  Con would know more- he was practically an expert on the show, a hardcore Brony, whereas Denise was more casually interested in the show and its fandom.

That thought rang yet another bell in Denise's head.  The creep from the bar had offered Con a job too.  That meant...

"Con?"

Denise winced at her own voice- it was more or less the same as before, but it felt... Scratchier.  Like a buzz.

"Con!" she called out, louder this time.

No response.

"Damnit," she growled.  Con had to be there somewhere.  The creep had listed their partnership as one of the reasons he picked them both; he wouldn't separate them.

Though that raised the question of how he had done any of this in the first place...

No, that could wait.  Denise was more or less alone, in a new body, in the sewer of god-knows-where, and she had no plan whatsoever.  She needed to focus on the present.

Steeling her resolve, she headed off through the series of tunnels, calling out for her friend...