It was a dark and stormy night - or so I was told - when I appeared in Equestria. 'Appeared' is the only word for it, really.
One moment I was in my car, driving out to my mother's in the middle of the night with tears streaming down my cheeks, muscles aching with fresh bruises, hands trembling on the wheel. Next minute, I wake up to a pounding headache, blurry vision, and my whole body feeling as though I'd been hit by a train or two and just come out of surgery, so weak, dazed and confused I felt.
I couldn't see properly yet, but my hearing cleared up much quicker. I froze as a shrill scream broke the silence, threatening to deafen me and doing wonders for my throbbing head. I groaned eventually, trying to shuffle away from whoever it was that managed such a cry, before a jolt of pain, and unconsciousness greeted me once again.
* * * * *
"I don't understand, Princess. This mare just appeared out of nowhere, in your quarters, in the middle of the night? Why?"
"If I knew, my faithful student, I would have waited until morning to call upon you all."
"Oh, right. S-sorry..."
A warm chuckle. "That's quite alright."
I moaned as my senses returned to me once more, albeit very slowly. Two woman had been talking, as far as I could tell, and though my body still felt sore and numb, I felt like I was lying on the softest, most comfortable bed in the world. Was I in the hospital? I guess that made sense. Maybe I'd had a crash? Only one way to find out.
"Hey, look! She's waking up!"
The newest voice had been light, cheerful even. Paying it no mind, I cracked open an eye for a moment, only to groan in discomfort at the brightness of it all. Baby steps, then.
"Ugh, how long have I been here?" I croaked, "am I gonna be alright? Did anyone else get hurt?" A moment's pause, before I'd added in a murmur, "does my mother know I'm here?"
"Calm down sugarcube, let's take it slow with the questions, alright?" Was that a southerner? Jeeze, talk about overkill. "First one, you popped in about an hour ago."
"And what accident are you talking about?" The very first voice returned, "Was it a Changeling attack? Have there been attacks in other towns? Are you a Changeling too?!"
"Now, darling, we were taking it slow with the questions, remember?"
What the heck are these girls talking about? Groaning more from frustration than pain this time, I tested my eyes once more, opened just a smidge and finding the light bearable enough to blink them open completely.
And I froze.
Seven brightly colored horses stood before me, blinking in what looked like a mixture of awe and concern. One stood about a metre taller than the rest, with a mane and tail that rippled and waved in some unfelt breeze, in colors of pastel rainbow. The others were no less vibrant, maybe more so, one of them even sporting a full rainbow for a mane and tail. But the purple one with a horn stood front and centre, violet eyes looking quizzical. What, the fuck.
"Are you okay?" She asked. She actually spoke, in that first voice I'd heard. She was talking, the purple horse was talking. "You look like you're about to have a heart attack."
"It's a wonder I haven't already," I managed to choke out, blinking several times to be sure I wasn't just seeing things. "I mean... I must have died, to be seeing this."
"Seeing what, my little pony?" The tallest horse leaned down to face me eye to eye, looking more concerned than the purple one. "Whatever is the matter?"
"I... This is a really weird dream, dude," I laughed nervously, then rose to my feet and backed away. Or... I meant to? Instead, I just found myself tumbling backwards and landing with a grunt on my back, butt still propped up by whatever I'd been lying on.
And then, things got weirder.
Looking up, instead of my own lower body, all I saw were a pair of stumpy, caramel-brown hooves. I twitched my foot, and a hoof moved. The other foot, the same reaction. I only stopped when I realized two of the horses, the rainbow-maned and bright pink ones, had burst into laughter.
"This isn't funny!" I cried, rolling about until I fell on my side. "I'm a... I'm a horse! How?! How am I a horse?!"
At that, the white unicorn among them gave an exaggerated gasp. "Why, I never! What dreadful language!"
The two laughing only laughed harder.
"I believe you mean pony, little one," the tallest murmured, but she seemed a tad confused. "Are you saying that you were not born a pony? You're a different species?"
"Yes!" I cried out again, staring at my hand-become-hooves in horror. "I'm a human, not a h- pony, whatever! Where am I?! What is going on?!"
"Uhm, if I may," the slouching yellow Pegasus in the back murmured, scarcely above a whisper. Then, she carefully picked her way through the rest of the group, stopping in front of me. She offered a gentle smile, then reached in and hugged me with her forehooves. I might have liked to push her away, but the shock was enough to have me accept all the comfort offered. "Shhh," the Pegasus cooed. "It's going to be alright. Just relax, breath. It's okay."
Confused, but obeying, I breathed deeply, inadvertently getting the flowery scent of her mane as well. Shaky at first, but eventually calming down, I returned her hug. "T-thanks."
"My name's Fluttershy," she whispered sweetly. "What's your name? I-if you'd like to tell me, I don't want to make you uncomfortable."
Heh, cute.
"Alice," I breathed, "Alice Jones."
"Oh! Oh! Oh!" Fluttershy and I both pulled apart to look at the pink pony, bouncing up and down. "Does this mean we have two AJ's?!"
For some reason, the orange pony sighed, and face-hoofed.
Author's Note
Hey! I hope this seems at least semi-interesting so far, please let me know! Any critique, thoughts and such would be very welcome for this and any future chapters! Sorry this one was a little short, and it leaves a lot to be explained, but there are plenty of chapters to come anyway~
I hadn't lied before, this really was a weird dream. And believe me, I am no stranger to odd dreams, but this shit took the cake. Once the pink and rainbow ponies had finally calmed down, the tall white mare had nodded her head.
"I will need to be raising the sun quite soon, I believe there is little point in heading back to your homes just yet." Her lavender eyes drifted to the similarly colored unicorn at her side. "Twilight, will you take this-" a brief glance toward me "-mare to the dining room, please? I will join you soon, and then we may speak over breakfast."
"Of course, Princess!" The unicorn - 'Twilight' - called after her as she trotted out of the room. "Well, come along then, Alice Jones, follow us." And she too headed for the towering doors, serving as a means to leave. The other ponies made to follow her, and at first I did too, until I toppled over, on my face this time.
"Oh my!" Fluttershy fretted, coming to help me back onto my fee- hooves. My hooves. "Are you alright?"
"Peachy," I grunted, wobbling even as I leaned against her shoulder. "How do I... Ugh. Sorry, I'm not used to having four legs."
The rainbow-maned mare gave a snort, "how many legs did you have?"
"Two!" I huffed, threatening to topple over as I took a single step forward. "This is what I get for calling Bambi goofy, I guess." No one questioned the reference, and for that I was grateful.
"You look like a little baby foal!" The pink one giggled, earning a prod from the white unicorn, who held a hoof over her mouth as if holding in a chuckle of her own.
Fluttershy, thankfully, seemed to ignore the others, guiding me as I worked to place one hoof after the other. "That's it," she murmured gently, "take it slowly, you've got it!"
Despite my initial struggles, it wasn't actually all that hard to accomplish, walking on four legs. Really just a case of remembering the extra pair, and soon enough, I was following the ponies through the wide hallways, albeit at a slow pace, and with Fluttershy's help.
Confused and out of place as I felt, I had to admit that what little I'd seen of this place was beautiful so far. Stained glass windows adorned the walls on either side of us, leaving me mesmerized as I tried to make sense of all the scenes that seemed to be crafted into each frame, like I was walking through a church or something.
And just like that, the white unicorn's shrill voice pulled me out of my dreamy expression. "Oh! We'll be breaking fast in the royal dining chambers?" She nearly bounced on her hooves, "why, I practically feel like a princess myself!"
"Rarity," Oh good, another name learned, "there's only gonna be..." The plain orange mare paused, as if making a count, "eight of us, why would we need the main dinin' hall?"
"Pretty sure we've eaten in there before anyway," the rainbow mare chimed in, flying over our heads.
"Hmph, well, what a way to ruin a filly's happy thoughts," Rarity gave a pout.
Twilight lead us inside, a placid smile upon her muzzle as she listened to the mild banter of her friends. Then, she settled herself down beside the table's head, and I awkwardly followed the others as they joined her. Once again, Fluttershy was there to guide me beside her. I noticed the pink pony give her a curious look, but quickly turned away again.
"So!" Twilight brought her hoof down upon the table, a light clop echoing throughout the room as if to make sure she had our attention. Mine specifically. "Alice Jones, sorry that we haven't had time to introduce ourselves yet! My name is Twilight Sparkle," she placed a hoof upon her chest, before gesturing to each mare as she named them, "and this is Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy."
"And the tall white alicorn is Princess Celestia!" Pinkie Pie happily offered.
I found myself lifting a brow. "Alicorn?"
Twilight opened her mouth, but it was Rarity who answered, "An 'alicorn' is a pony with the magic of all our races combined, sporting both wings and a horn, dear. Only the princesses are alicorns, though."
Now that was pretty interesting. "Wait, there are different races among you?"
Now Rainbow Dash manages to scoff before Twilight uttered a word, "uhm, duh? Earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi!"
I took a look around at the present mares, then nodded. "That makes sense too, I guess. So I guess I'm an earth pony-"
Fluttershy's voice was soft even in this proximity. "Actually, you're a pegasus, like Rainbow and I. Can't you feel your wings?"
That gave me pause, and without looking back, I twitched the muscles in my shoulders. To my surprise, I felt the ruffling of feathers over my back, and now I couldn't resist but to look back at the new appendages there. "I've... I've got wings?! Sick!"
Rainbow floated out of her seat with a few beats of her own wings, coming over to hover just above me with a laugh. "Buck yeah! I'm gonna have to show you my moves when we get out of here!"
"Girls, slow down," Twilight finally managed, "there are still more important things than flying right now. I'm sure you can show off as much as you like when we're done." Rainbow Dash gave a soft glare, but it only lasted a few moments before she drifted back to her seat, slumping back down and pawing at the table with a hoof, expression bored and displeased. But Twilight seemed satisfied nonetheless. "Thank you, now, Alice Jones-"
"Uh, just Alice will do," I offered, and though Twilight had looked frustrated at first, her look turned confused afterwards.
"Your name is a bit strange by Equestrian standards. What is an 'Alice Jones'?"
I frowned in shared confusion. "It's just a name. Alice is my birth name, Olivia is my middle name, and Jones is my surname." Before they had the chance to ask, I added, "Our first and middle names are unique to us, kinda, but our surnames are passed on from our parents, the father usually."
Understanding fluttered in the purple mare's eyes, "I get it. We don't have surnames per say, but our names occasionally have traits from those of our parents. My mother's name is Twilight Velvet, for example!"
"An' heck, most'a my kin have somethin' apple related in their name," Applejack suitably added, "call ourselves 'the Apples' 'n all!'
"With names like those, I guess mine does stand out a bit, huh?" I chuckled nervously. "Well, while I'm here, you could call me OJ. Y'know, like the juice? It was a childhood nickname, so..."
"Ooh, good, Apple Juice AND Orange Juice! Now I don't have to pick!" Pinkie Pie chortled to herself, and Applejack gave a weary sigh.
But Twilight just chuckled. "When we're in public, maybe. But we can call you Alice otherwise." She nodded at my appreciative smile, and finally continued. "Now, Alice, if you're not a pony, and not a changeling... What are you? Where did you come from?"
The smile I held faltered a bit. Would they believe that I wasn't from a land with magical talking ponies? They had to, didn't they? "I'm a human," they blinked, and I shifted before going on. "And... I'm definitely not from here. Does Earth sound familiar?"
"Very," Applejack and Pinkie Pie deadpanned in unison.
"It's a planet," I corrected. Imploringly I searched the expressions of all six mares, but none seemed to recognize it.
"I'm sorry," Princess Celestia's voice seemed genuinely regretful as she stepped into the dining room, two tall - though far shorter than she still - ponies followed, clad in chef's uniforms. They were both surrounded by four plates each, levitating in magical auras lit by their horns. Celestia nodded toward the table, and a plate was placed before each of us. My eyes fell upon the generous stack of pancakes upon my plate, served with a similarly plentiful helping of whipped cream, maple syrup, and topped with banana slices, strawberries, blueberries in abundance.
These ponies really go all out! And here I was thinking I'd be given a carrot and a handful of hay for breakfast! Guess that wouldn't be a problem here!
But as Celestia continued, her words drew my attention back to the matter at hand. "I have lived for a great many centuries, little one, but I have never heard of a placed, much less a planet, simply known as 'Earth'," she came to sit at the head of the table, pausing to nod approvingly toward the chefs. "Thank you, sirs, this looks wonderful as always." Both bowed deeply, before leaving the room.
"I've read every book in my library, but I've never heard of it either." Twilight tapped a hoof against her chin, humming in thought. "And I've not seen it mentioned in the Canterlot archives either. If I could have permission, I'd like to check further, but..."
"You are always welcome to the libraries, my faithful student," Celestia affirmed warmly.
'Canterlot'. Really? Ugh, no, more important things to think about!
"We will do everything in our ability to let you return home, my little pony-" Celestia stopped herself, blinking. "Hm, I'm sorry, a habit," she chuckled. "We will do all we can, Twilight, my sister and I, all of us. But for the moment, please, eat. All will be better with a full belly."
The wording was a little infantile, but served to comfort me nonetheless. "Thank you, your highness." Her smile grew that bit warmer, and everyone seemed happy enough to forgo chatting just for a moment to enjoy breakfast, and dear god, it was delicious. Seriously, coming from a girl who isn't fond of pancakes, these bitches were scrumptious. But though I lost myself in the pleasure of eating, the nagging concern still tugged at me. This wasn't just a dream, I had realized that now, but if not... Just what the fuck had happened? And worse, why did I feel so...
Okay about it all?
Author's Note
Hey again! Once more, sorry about being a bit slow, this story is really just something to write while I have free time, but I would still be very appreciative for any thoughts on what there is so far! Good or bad, constructive criticism would be wonderful!
Oh, and an important note; I am in no way up to date with MLP. I've only watched up to, like, season three or so, and it's been a while. I haven't seen the movie, and I avoid EG like the plague. Much of what I DO know is from the fandom. But, if it helps, let's say the current time line is... A short while after the Royal Wedding / First Changeling attack. Things will progress as normally, if slightly altered. Honestly, let's just see what happens, eh?