Well, Heck
The Inciting Incident
Load Full StoryNext ChapterOut of plain nowhere, a pony with 2 wings and 1 horn is tossed into existence. Like literally tossed. He skids across the forest floor and headfirst into a thick tree trunk. His horn is sharp at the point and imbeds itself into the tree upon impact. He screams in a way that sounds like his vocal cords are being scraped together violently. Nearby birds are startled and fly away. The pony struggles to pull his horn free in a comical fashion; the final pull that loosens his horn sending him backward.
After a few moments spent recovering, he attempts to stand up. He immediately falters and falls on his rump. Looking down at his limbs, he mutters in confusion to himself. I'm... a horse? he realizes. Yes, he is, indeed, a horse. A magical, small horse, to be exact. He accepts that he is a small horse very quickly, and now he has nothing better to do than wander. He manages to get to his hooves and stumbles around like a newborn fawn for a few minutes before heading forward.
Continuing to be wobbly on his hooves for some time, he presses onward through the thick forest he was teleported in. He walks for a while, but he spaces out, so it goes by pretty fast. The trees thin out eventually and give way to a green field with a small town visible not too far from the pony. As he nears it, quaint and colorful houses with a dirt street between the rows come into view. The relief he feels for having reached civilization quickly evaporates when he spots one of the residents of the town and he stops dead in his tracks.
Another small magical horse. This one has no wings or horns and is pink all over, except for her piercing blue eyes. Piercing blue eyes that seem to penetrate his very soul when they notice him. She grins warmly and begins bouncing toward him, a cartoony spring noise accompanying every hop. He tries to back up, but, still not used to his hooves, stumbles backward onto his butt. Too scared to move, he has no choice but to watch with his mouth agape as the pink pony closes the distance between them.
When the pink horse finally reaches him and looms over his cowering form, she speaks. "Hiya! I'm Pinkie Pie! You must be new here because I don't know you and I know everypony in Ponyville." Her voice is high-pitched and cheerful. It chills him to his very core. "What's your name?" She pauses for an answer and when none comes, she continues her interrogation. "Wait a second, are you an alicorn? You must be a prince or something, right? You're probably here to see my friend Twilight, she's a-"
He finally works up the courage to interrupt her and says: "What the hell?" His tone is defeated, perplexed, and annoyed all at the same time. "I never heard of 'Ponyville' before, what kingdom is this? And while we're at it, what is an alicorn and why am I a horse?"
"We're in Equestria, silly filly," the other pony, Pinkie Pie, says with a giggle. "Did you bonk your head or something?"
"Yes, actually." He reaches up to rub the bump on his head but is startled to feel a soft, magical horse hoof instead of a hand. He quickly withdraws his hoof and examines it with a deeply confused expression. "You didn't answer my other questions," he complains after looking back up to the pink horse a few seconds later.
"You seem super duper lost. I think you bonked your head way too hard. You should come with me to see my friend Twilight, she'll be able to help you get your memories back."
"Is she a horse too? Also, you still haven't answered me."
"Well, yeah, she's a pony. We are in Ponyville after all."
"Is this the 7th circle of Hell? Was I being too gay in the 1st circle?"
After several minutes of a very circular conversation, our main character gives in and allows Pinkie Pie to lead him deeper into the colorful town. Now that he is in it and surrounded by ponies equally as colorful as their buildings, it begins to make him uneasy. Even so, it is his instinct to follow, although following was a bit difficult with these new, unfamiliar limbs.
The bright-colored ponies around him also make him curious about his own appearance. He slows to stop in front of a shop window, observing his reflection in the glass. His fur is the color of ash and his mane and tail are charcoal black. He looks into his own dark blue eyes for a moment before Pinkie Pie urges him onward. As he continues walking, he looks over his shoulder to watch his wings while he attempts to stretch them.
When Pinkie stops walking-- or uh... bouncing?-- he blindly collides with her behind and stumbles backward. He looks up to see they're at what appears to be a castle made out of glittering gems. If he was more logically minded, he would probably be questioning the logistics behind such a structure. Instead, he groans at the light reflecting off the tower and uses his hoof to shade his eyes. The pink pony knocks on the door (also made out of gems, by the way) and the dark pony turns his attention to it. He hears a sparkling noise as the doorknob is enveloped in a purple glow and twists on its own, swinging the door open. Standing in the doorway is another pony, this one is purple with both wings and a horn. Her horn is surrounded by the same glow as the doorknob for a moment, then both lights go out and the sparkling noise ceases in the same instant. The two pastel ponies exchange greetings before the pink one steps aside and gestures at our main character as he climbs to his hooves.
"Well, come on in, then. Pinkie and Spike can show you to the living room," the purple pony says as she indicates for the 2 visiting ponies to enter. Her voice is much more mellow and warm than Pinkie's, which is a relief to the darker pony.
He hesitantly follows Pinkie Pie inside where he finds a very small purple dragon with green spikes waiting to show him to a seating area. There appears to be a lot of purple happening in this castle. The 3 ponies and a dragon walk down a crystal hallway into a crystal living area with fancy furniture which is, thankfully, not made out of crystal. They all take seats, except for the dragon, Spike, whom the purple pony asks to fetch some tea
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