Taking It To The Maximum

Prologue

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I cry out as I tumble forward, slamming my head into something, hard.

I slump down onto hard, cold concrete, groaning.

“Hey, what was that?”

“I dunno. Go look.”

“I ain’t lookin’. You look.”

I can hear a pair of voices, but I can’t make any distinguish of them.

I pull my hands to my head, holding it.

My head’s pounding like crazy and I can’t really think straight. What in the world just happened to me?

“What in the world is that thing?!” a voice says from… somewhere.

Opening my eyes and lifting my head, I can blearily make out two forms in front of me, but I’m still too out of it to make them out clearly.

“Well, whatever it is, it looks like nothing I’ve ever seen,” the blurry one on the right says.

“Me neither. Ya know,” blurry on the left says, “if she’s unique enough, we could make a fair bit selling her off as a rare creature.”

“Where? Klugetown? We’d just as quickly be sold ourselves, you dingus!” the right blurry says, moving closer to the left one, causing it to make a cry of pain. “Still, if we found the right buyer, they could take it there themselves. We’d still get paid.”

Okay, groggy brain or not, I can tell they’re talking about selling me into slavery.

“D… don’t you… fucking think about it… dicks,” I say, trying to sound tough… which really doesn’t work when you’re pulling yourself up to stand using a wall for support.

Something feels really off here. Well, aside from the two people just outright making it clear they plan to sell me into slavery.

My voice doesn’t quite sound right and my body feels… weird. I can’t tell why, exactly, my head’s not clear enough to figure it out yet, but something is definitely different with my body than it was before… whatever made me feel so out of it in the first place.

The two blurries look to each other, before snickering and start moving towards me.

“H-help!” I cry out, trying to back away, something definitely not easy when your brain and your body aren’t working in sync with each other yet. “Someone, help!”

The right blurry snickers. “Heh-heh. You really think anyone’s comin’ t’ help you, freak?”

“Well, they’re right!” another voice says and the two blurries are slammed to the ground by a third blurry.

I watch, shaking my head to clear it, then holding it as the pounding increases. That was not a wise move at all.

I watch as the two blurries are getting knocked about by the third… who’s fighting style seems almost like an animal, moving on all fours, sometimes seeming airborne, before hitting the ground again.

After a few tense moments, two blurries go down and the other turns to me.

“You okay… whoever you are?” they ask, seeming to pause, as if trying to figure out how to address me.

“Y-yeah,” I manage, before groaning as I lean my head into my hands. “Aside from this pounding headache that won’t let me think straight, I’m good.”

“I don’t know if that’s good or not,” the good blurry says, moving closer. “Can you stand?”

“I… I think so,” I say, using the wall to slowly push myself up like before.

I seem to bit the same height, if a bit taller than my saviour.

“Man, your kind are tall,” they admit. “Got a name?”

I’m not entirely sure what they mean by “your kind”, but my head hurts too much to think right now.

“Max,” I say, wincing as my head gives another painful throb. Fuck, this is the worst headache, ever. “M-my name’s Max.”

“Nice to meet ya, Max,” Savoir says, it feeling translating in my brain that she sounds female, moving closer, I guess to let me hold them to stay steady.

I do so… only for what little cognitive thought I’m able to manage to do an immediate nosedive.

I can feel fur. Moving my hands, I feel large ears and… are those feathers? The fuck?

“Uh… Max?” Savior asks, sounding confused. “What’re you doing?”

“I… I dunno,” I manage, wincing through another throb of pain. “Something about feeling fur, the ears and wings feels… off to me. Don’t ask me why.”

“Sheesh. How hard did those jerks hit you?”

“Whoa, Misty. What happened? Who’s this?” a male voice says from somewhere.

Misty. My saviour’s name is Misty. Well, that clears one thing up at least.

“Fire,” Misty says, her tone firm, “I’m taking this… kid to get some help. Some jerks ruffed ’em up real bad. Let the captain know I’ll be back late.”

“Got it,” this Fire says and we start moving in…whatever direction it is we’re moving.

I can’t tell. My head’s still pounding like crazy.

“I’d take you to a hospital,” Misty says, sounding a mixture between worried and annoyed, “but I honestly don’t know if they’d know how to treat… whatever you are, Max. What even are you?”

Well that’s a weird question.

“Human,” I say, trying to ignore the pain in my head. “Ya know, like you?”

“Hue-Man? Um, sorry to disappoint, kid, but I’ve never even seen a Hue-Man til today and that’s you.”

What?

We keep moving for a few minutes, before I wince as a banging sound comes from in front of me.

I find out seconds later it was just Misty knocking on a door, but it sounded more like a battering ram slamming into wood to me.

“Misty?” a surprised female voice asks. “I thought you and the team were doing a performance at the castle?”

Castle? Who the heck is this Misty if she’s performing at a castle? Where in the world am I?

“Sorry, cousin,” Misty hurriedly. “I am, but we just wrapped up today. We’ll be heading out in a few days back home.”

“And who’s your… interesting friend?” Misty’s cousin says, sounding intrigued.

“Her name’s Max,” Misty says as we move through the door. “I saved her from a bunch o’ thugs who were attacking her. She’s pretty out of it. I think she just needs some sleep and things will be a bit clearer to her. I know you’re only house sitting, but ya mind if she crashes here?”

“Of course. Of course,” Misty’s cousin says and I feel something flat take my hand. “Come, Max. We’ll rest you on the coach and see what we can do.”

“Thanks… um…?” I say, trying to clear my head with the lightest of shakes so as not to cause any more pain.

“Clear Skies,” she says, leading me until my hands touch what feels like a couch and I settle down, the flat thing no longer touching my hand.

I didn’t ask for the weather. I asked for her name.

“Thanks, Clear,” Misty says “suggesting it is here name?”, before I feel something flat touch my hand again. “I’ll be right back, Max. Just take it easy. See if you can clear your head so we can figure everything out. But don’t force it.”

I nod, regretting it instantly, holding my head as it throbs again.

I faintly here the sound of odd footsteps, more than I was expecting, before I faintly here a door close.

“Who else is here?” I ask, blinking as my vision finally starts to clear enough for faint colours to appear, suggesting I’m in a living room.

“Um… only you and me?” Clear says, walking over with someone else.

“But I heard several set of footsteps,” I point out as I feel someone sit down next to me. “There was even someone walking while you were walking just now.”

“Was there?” Clear sounds genuinely confused, turning what I guess is her head every which way. “I didn’t see them. Are you sure you’re not just hearing things?”

I groan. “Maybe I am? Stupid head pains.”

“Well, it’s late, so I recommend you get some rest for now,” I feel Clear move, before something flat touches my hand and guides me to lay down. “I’ll go fetch some blanks and a pillow. Come morning, maybe things will be clearer for you.”

God, I hope so. This not being able to think clearly thing is horrible.

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Conciseness returns to me and I yawn.

Man, that was one of the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had.

Sitting up, I notice I’m on a couch instead of in my bed and I remember last night.

I pause, closing my eyes and trying to remember what happened before I found myself in that situation of confusion.

I remember I’d been leaving work early, angry about how things had gone because everything was just irritating me that day and my supervisor asking me to explain why I was angry, then expecting me to be working at the exact same moment before I even got the first word out… and that was all I can remember before hitting my head.

I was crossing the road, then that was all. After that, all I remember is the blurry evening.

Wait. I’d left work in the early afternoon. What the heck transpired between then and my confusion for it to have started at night?

I don’t drink, so I wasn’t suffering from that. I damn well don’t do drugs.

What in the world happened?

Shaking my head, I remember how something about my body had felt off too so I look down… my brain only just now registering a BIG difference.

My body feels… well, lighter, I guess is the best word. And slimmer. A LOT slimmer.

I mean, I’m not fat, but I do have a bit of a belly… or I used to, anyway.

My stomach’s flat as a board… though something else isn’t.

Why in God’s name do I have breasts?! Why in the world do I have—?

My blood goes cold.

I have a— I have a— Oh, sweet baby Jesus! What the flying fuck?!

I glance around, noticing a door that looks like it leads into a bathroom.

I bolt from the couch and stumble over, shoving my way through the door and looking around what is definitely a bathroom, my head turning this way and that until I see a mirror and—

I pause, just staring.

The face in the mirror stares back at me… but I know it’s not my face.

My cheeks are thinner, yet smoother. My hair is brown with blonde streak sand much longer than I remember, it being down to my neck in length and my eyes are brown.

I’m wearing some kind of white gown, kinda like those you’d wear in hospital.

I… I know this face. It’s not mine and it looks a bit younger than I remember, but I know it.

I’ve… I’ve somehow turned into Max from the Maximum Ride novels, specifically the Manga! What the fuck?!

I just stare at the face staring back at me for several moments, before I grab my head in my hands.

“Okay, okay. Calm. You have to stay calm,” I tell myself, averting my eyes from the mirror. “You don’t know what’s going on, but you can sort this out. You’re a logically thinking person. You can do this. Don’t. Freak. Out.”

It takes a few moments of deep breathing, but I do finally manage to calm my nerves at least enough to think a bit, finally noticing my voice, for some reason, sounds like Honey Senpai from Ouran Highschool Host Club, only more feminine. Was an anime for Maximum Ride in the works and she was going to voice Max? Never mind. Gotta focus!

I glance around, finally taking in my surroundings… though that in itself presents another problem.

Wherever I am… it’s not the real world.

Everything looks to clear in colour for it to be the real world. Wherever I am, it’s some cartoon world.

Ridiculous a thought as it is, I’m smart enough to be able to tell that’s what’s going on and, horrifying an idea as somehow ending up in a cartoon universe is, trying to reason to myself it’s not possible isn’t going to get me anywhere.

I do have a horrifying few seconds after coming to grips with being in a cartoon universe where I think I’m in some anime version of the novels and all that nightmares that would entail, but I quickly register that this world doesn’t look like an anime universe.

If anything… it kinda makes me think of My Little Pony’s flash animation.

“Urm, Max?” Clear’s voice calls. “Where are you?”

“Bathroom,” I call on instinct, before cursing myself.

I hear two sets of hard footsteps and… a bright purple Pegasus pony walks through the bathroom door.

We both just stare at each other, her clearly wondering why I’m staring and me… having everything from last night collide in my brain with complete clarity.

Misty, Fire and Clear Skies. Being called a rare creature that could be sold for money. Misty having no idea what a human is and pronouncing it “Hue-Man”. The multiples sounds of footsteps I heard last night after Clear Skies let us in.

I’m in Equestria.

I’m Maximum Ride… in Equestria.

What the flying fuck?!

Author's Note

Yep. Another new story.

Don't you hate it when the Inspiration Bug bites and won't leave you alone to you've done something about it?

Whelp, that was me last night, not helped by the fact i haven't been feeling as up to things as i should be.

as mentioned in my last chapter of A Child of Kindness and Laughter, I had a pretty crummy week, especially with the whole USB thing.

I literally spent most of today having to redownload so many videos, including Equestrian Broadcasting Company's 4 episodes of Fallout Equestria, the SFM versions of episodes 1 and 2, Rainbow Dash Presents My Little Dashie AND the ending cutscene from Diablo 1, all cutscenes from Diablo 2, Diablo 3 Wrath AND a version of of the Diablo 3 cutscenes that DIDN'T include Reaper of Souls.

Yeesh.

It's a wonder I got this chapter done at all and, even then, I'm finishing this Author's note from home because I didn't have time at the library.

And I'm STILL not done.

Tomorrow I have to scan another USB, download Storey's Slenderman videos again, the final 3 videos from MunchOrange's ORAS Delta Episode playthrough...

I am going to be so exhausted and needing a break after all this. And that's provided I'm not going back to work tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm gonna wrap this up so I can publish this already.

Edit 19/2/2021: so, turns out this prologue on its own doesn't have enough mlp in it to properly identify it as such, by the rules of the site.

Hopefully I've fixed that with the next chapter, should also be available so feel free to continue on.