Chapter Two: ...Hello Horse. No I am not a fish.

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Sunset Shimmer

I stare at the fire in the arcane fireplace, occasionally sipping some of my banana tea. My housemates are on the second floor practicing for their next performance. The rain outside is absolutely dreadful. The sun would sometimes shine through the steel colored clouds, but otherwise it was grey and gloomy.
It's been like this a whole week.

I wish they would finally repair the 'Weather Factory', or fix the weather at least here, I need to run my experiments. I know I probably shouldn't think like that. What with the 'Rainbow Storm' incident claiming many lives and the number still rising, but if I can at least find out what's causing all these ley-lines energy fluctuations, then maybe I'll find the solution to fixing this weather, or maybe something else entirely.

I'm about to take a sip, when a sigh escapes my lips. Some bubbles appear in my tea. I pull the cup back in surprise. I really am stressed out. I can't believe that it was Twilight of all ponies that told me that I look stressed. When was the last time she looked in a mirror? That mare knows no rest. If she keeps running all these errands for the Queen, then she will lose all her hair and fur in a month. I giggle at the thought of bald Twilight, whilst raising my cup to take another sip.

Suddenly a strange noise gets my attention. My ears start swiveling around, trying to pinpoint the source. After a couple of seconds of fruitless effort, with great displeasure I place the cup down on the tea table and rise up from the comforts of the chair. It's...it's like air being sucked out of something. The noise gets louder and I'm finally able to pinpoint where it's coming from - outside. Through closed windows. With rain pouring like out of a waterfall. What in the world?

I start walking closer to the window to see what's causing it. All of a sudden, there is a sound not unlike thunder and metal hitting stone. Hard. I peer through the glass and my eyes widen. There, standing in the middle of the street is a horned, black figure. I hear hoofsteps coming down the stairs. I'm about to turn around, when the thing suddenly falls to it's knees. I start panicking. I decide to grab my orange hoodie and run onto the street. If anything happens to me, the girls can call the guard.

I am not thinking straight.

I stop as soon as I get outside. The mysterious figure is lying on the ground near where it was standing just moments before. I hear someone slowly come up behind me.

"Sunset. What just happened? What is that?" I hear a whisper behind me.

I open my mouth to answer, however suddenly a quiet voice just barely cuts through the rain.

"Help." That came from the direction of that thing!

"Sunset...what do we do?"

The weather worsens. After taking a moment to calm my already rattled nerves, I turn to Adagio.

"Please help me get it inside."

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Me

Noise.

"-et! You will not untie him and I will not put the knife down!"

No. A voice. A very authoritative voice.

"First of all: you don't know if that is a he. And second: it might get scared and not cooperate if you don't put that knife away." A tired and worried voice speaks up.

Knife? What knife? Da fuq did I get myself into?

"Look: I know you have a kind heart and a logical mind. But until that mind starts working properly, I will not let you make these kind of decisions. Especially in such an unknown territory."

"What, like you?"

"...That was different Sunset. That was completely different."

I feel the blood flow throughout my body and regain my sense of touch. It appears that I am no longer wearing my costume and also tied down to a metallic chair. Who has a chair made entirely out of metal? At least get a cushion.

I decide to open my eyes, but I do so with great effort.

"How was that any different?" I hear Sunset say.

My eyelids fully lift and my mouth drops.

"Well, she didn't have a knife for starters." I bet she was wearing pants as well, whoever she is.

There, standing in front of my face. Was a butt.

It was a really nice butt, but a butt nonetheless.

I try close my mouth and crane my neck upwards to see who was the one, that decided to give me such a view.
Whoever it is, they are at least wearing a simple grey shirt and have an abundance of the fluffiest hair I've ever seen, however it was slightly wet. I can also see them holding something in their right hand.

Oh. That knife.

"No, but she did have almost every single possible medical instrument you can imagine." I recognize Sunsets voice and realize, that it's owner is on the other side of this topaz furred glory.

I hear fire behind me as I start paying more attention to my surroundings.
While the two keep arguing, I slowly turn my head slightly to the right. There is the exit...two exits to be precise: a door and a window.
There is also a small cushion lying an the floor...

Dicks.

Hearing some cheery humming and what sound like dishes being washed I turn left and stop when I see someone. She is wearing a simple black top with an image of a broken red heart and, thankfully, some purple pants. She's currently standing near what looks like an archway to the kitchen, because that's where the sounds of humming and running water were coming from. It appears that the only artificial source of light in the house is coming from that room. Everything else is washed in grey.

Realizing that the very emo looking girl doesn't seem to notice me, I relax. It seems that she's instead finding some amusement in Sunset and who I assume is Adagio bickering, though she keeps frowning at some parts of the argument. Suddenly her dark purple eyes flick to me, however I can't see any anger or worry on her face, she's just... curious. I decide to prove a theory I just got.

'How long have these two been at it?' I mouth at her and nod my head to where the still half naked Adagio and for some reason flustered sounding Sunset were standing. I wasn't really paying attention to their conversation.

She seems mildly surprised for a moment, before facing her head to her left, looking at something and then turning back.

Smirking Aria mouthed back 'About for half an hour'. I am simply guessing their name based on the color and form of their hair, but I could be wrong and these could be completely different people. She definitely doesn't care about who, or what I am, if she hasn't alerted anyone of my awakening yet.

I just tilt my head with wide eyes. I know people that can lead arguments for a while, including myself. But for half an hour? How can anyone argue for half an hour about me?

A light blue pony in a white apron comes out of the kitchen. She stops smiling and humming when she enters the room.
Sighing she turns to the purple and cyan haired emo horse.

"Are they still going at it?" the horse, but not quite horse asks in slightly high pitched voice, her striped hair swinging from side to side with her heads every movement. Some would consider it adorable.

"Adagio, look: it is important to figure out how its armor works. I think the key to activating the rest of the spellwork is in placing that armor on its owner."

"Sunset, I believe you. I really do, but if we give him the armor...there's no telling what might happen. He might explode for all we know!"

Well that's a horrifying thought. It would appear that my costume is no longer just a costume. I wonder if it was the merchant who had enough time to place some 'spellwork' just before I got dragged onto the pain train.

"What do you think Sonata. Are they?" Sarcastic and monotone. That is definitely an emo attitude.

"*Sigh* Come on girls. Enough with the noise. Let's just wak- Oh you're up, hello my name is Sonata! What's yours?" She gave a little wave and looked at me expectantly.

Before I could even blink, Adagio turned to face me in an orange blur of wet hair.
She had an expression of fear and surprise, but the next moment it was gone replaced instead by one of seriousness
and determination, or as some call it the 'You mess with me and I will castrate you quickly, but painfully'.

I decided to mess with her.

She took a wide stance and pointed the knife millimeters from my face, I went cross-eyed to look at it.

"Can you understand me." It wasn't really a question.

"If I say no, would you believe me?" I raise an eyebrow, while still looking at the knife.

"Drop the tone. Who and what are you?"

"No offence, but I'd really rather answer either Sonatas, or Sunsets questions at the moment." Her demeanor wavers for a moment before she steels herself again an this time raises her knife to one of my eyes. My eyes reflexively follow the tip .

"How do you know their names?" Oh dear...

"I awoke earlier and for five minutes trying not to stare at your uncovered backside, which is a very hard task to do by the way, considering how good it looked, not that I am hitting on you or anything. And I may, or may not have overheard your conversations."

"So you were eavesdropping on us?" Commando Adagio accuses me. It seems that the first part of what I said
has passed completely over her head and then some. I hear quiet giggling to my left and one of Adagios ears swivels towards the noise, but otherwise she keeps her posture.

"Ada-"

"It's not really eavesdropping, if you're shouting in the same room right next to me"-I look her in the eyes, having managed to not cut myself-"and it's not really peeking when you spread it for me, if you know what I mean."

She stares at me for a second with a blank muzzle.

I smirk.

She blushes.

What the hell? I have never in my life seen a human blush, but I can see a pony blush through their short fur?

This shouldn't be physically possible.

"Oh don't mind her. She just likes to practice without any underwear on." Sunset you so smug.

"Sunset!" There's the butt again. I think I am starting to get used to it.

"I completely understand. You can't practice for something like that, while wearing underwear." I have no idea what she's practicing for.

I think I hear her neck creak when she's turning bac-Oh, oh yeah that's anger.

"Adagio, no pants, remember?" My grin is reaching far and wide. I haven't had this much fun in ages.

Uh oh. The teeth clench "Excuse me for a moment." The now scarlet Adagio goes to the stairs on my left and up onto the second floor.

"Did she go to get a bigger knife?" I ask the now unobscured unicorn with the ketchup and mustard hair.

"I don't think so, but she might get one later,"-my smile drops from Sunsets tone-"so I suggest you give me one good reason to untie you."

I don't even need to think. "Because you want to?" She's silent after that.

I see her go through a bunch of different states: confused, then thoughtful, worried and sad, tired and finally determined.
The other two in the room seem to have their own, different opinions on the matter. One's worried, the other is just smiling.

"I can't. You might be very dangerous I wouldn't want you to start any trouble."

"Is that you speaking or Adagio?" She shuts her mouth and tenses. I look her in the eyes and she in mine.

"Am I sapient?"

"Well uh..."

"The answer's yes. Next question: Have I hurt anyone so far?"

She opens her mouth, then closes it. "Not really, no."

"Did I break any laws of this land?"

"None." Her mask is falling apart.

"So have I done anything to receive such distrust from you?"

Sunset let's out a tired sigh and look down at her blue shirt, "Adagio doesn't trust you."

"No way. Are you sure?" I am a master of sarcasm, after all: I've been honing it to perfection since I was six.

"I am asking you, Sunset. Do you trust me or not?"

"She's my friend and this is her house, I respect her wishes. But I don't know whether I trust you or not."

I see. "I see. You have the right attitude towards the unknown, you realize that? Not trusting, but neither distrusting until I do something that will cause one of those."-I hear a set of hooves coming down the stairs, no one else seems to notice-"So what I am guilty until proven innocent?" I raise my voice just a bit and hear the hoofsteps immediately stop.

The poor unicorn looks so torn by guilt. Guilt of wanting to not disrespect her friend's wishes in her own house and guilt of keeping a civilized creature trapped like an animal and allow it to be threatened. I didn't feel threatened though.
The choice may seem difficult, Sunset, but I can help you choose.

Go on. Say something.

"S...We were planning on giving you in to their majesties 'royal guard'." Checkmate.

"You might have been, however you decided to not do that, because I know for a fact that you had more than half an hour to do just that. So there's zero reason for you to keep me tied up here."

Sunset untenses her muscles and exhales deeply. I am smiling at her victoriously.

"But maybe you have a reason to stay tied to that chair? Yes, the idea to give you in to the guard was dismissed. However I think that you'd much rather prefer us interrogating you, than Professor Sparkle."-Adagio walks to me from the side. She is now wearing a pair of incredibly fabulous pants. They're magenta.-"So basically: either you let us ask you questions on our terms, or... we give you to our dear neighborhood professor and she get's even more answers her way."

Her muzzle gets a haunted expression for less then a second, but I noticed it. I think about what she's saying, legitimately worried for my physical and psychological well-being.

"So...what do you choose?" She leans in close to my face, while Sunset takes a seat in a much more comfortable looking chair and drinks something from a teacup. Probably tea.

I look at the orange 'siren' and notice that up close, her eyes almost look like that of a fish. Just a bit too rounded.

And hollow.

I smile, "How about mutual terms?"-She raises her eyebrow-"You untie me, give me a couple of minutes to stretch my legs and I'll be nice and answer all your questions truthfully and completely seriously?"-she looks at me suspiciously-"What am I gonna do? Run away? In that rain? I may be mad, but I'm not that mad."

She raises her knife, "If you lie-"

"I don't lie."

She keeps staring at me, that stare promising a most painful death, if I make one wrong move. Suddenly raising her knife she goes behind me and I can feel my binds getting loose. As soon as she finishes cutting and the rope falls to the ground, I nearly jump out of my chair, the action causing Sunset and Aria to tense and I don't even need to turn around to know that the mare with the knife just took a stance to stab me with it.

When I attempt to take a step forward, all of my joints in my spine suddenly pop. All of them.
I stifle a shout of pain and attempt to stop myself from falling forwards, but that just makes the joints in my arms and legs pop as well. I end up on the ground.

I try to move my neck, in order to look at Adagio and after a while succeed. Barely.

"Oh yes, look at me! I am such a dangerous creature! Can't even take a step, before ending up in a pile of pain." 'Sarcasm', 1 upgrade point available.

Sunset is looking torn between being worried or laughing at me, so she does both. Aria has no problem though and proceeds to have a surprisingly cute giggling fit. Sonata just straight up disappeared, guess she's trying to be polite.
Although, I think I can hear her laughing her ass of through the walls. And of course the orange menace has zero problems enjoying my misfortune, apparently deciding to comment what everyone was thinking.

"-he-heh. You certainly didn't lie. You can't even take a step without what I would only call - self destructing. He-he-he-"

She has snark, that one.

"Tell me something I don't know." I grunt as I get up.
After making sure that all my leg muscles were behaving properly, I took a tentative step forward.

...

Success! I can actually walk without succumbing to the power of gravity and stupidity.

"Impressive."

...

I hate the fact that she genuinely sounds impressed.

I decide to not reply and instead try to reach the mirror on the wall, left of entrance to the kitchen.

As soon as I am two steps away from the mirror I take a look at myself. I'm still wearing my dark blue, long-sleeved blank shirt, that's tucked into the trousers of a black suit. I would have worn my jeans, but the costume's leggings weren't fitting around them, so I chose the suits trousers. My dark brown short hair is a bit messy and doesn't really have any sensible shape at the moment.

But it's my eyes that grab my attention

Oh they're still hazel-brown with that lil' bit of green in them. They're just no longer bloodshot. The whites are pure white. Some might think that's a good thing, if it weren't for the fact that my eyes were always at least a bit bloodshot.

Or for the fact that I had dried blood reaching down from the eyes to my chin. It wasn't even in rivers. It was like a warpaint.

No wonder Adagio doesn't trust me. Looking like that, I wouldn't trust myself.

After a minute of staring at my bloodied pale face, I realized something.
I took a step back...and another...another. I could still see myself. I could still see all the details on myself. I could discern almost every single hair on my head from one another. I realized that the blood on my face was previously located inside my eyeballs and was the cause of my shortsightedness.

I looked right and saw a modern aquarium. It had a bunch of different plants and fish in it, which I have never even seen or heard of before. One of them was glowing pink and had small tendrils on the side of it's head. The luminescent fish swam to my side of the aquarium. It looked at me.

Three bubbles came out of it's opened mouth.

Author's Note

Anthro. Yes the ponies are anthro.
The have hooves for feet ,
A muzzle for a face
And hands for hands.

Deal with it.

Also for anyone wondering: No there will be no crossovers with the other displaced.
They might be mentioned, but that's your lot.

I would also like to thank rikithemonk for helping me find the typos in chapters 1 and 2.

Once again if you have any questions. I'll be willing to answer them in the comments.
I'm planning on releasing the next chapter, next week. Until we see each other again.

Cosmic Tesseract out.