1 Waking Up Is Hard To Do

I drifted back to awareness in an unfamiliar place, feeling strange. My hands and feet felt stretched out; when I opened my eyes, the odd weight on my head corresponded to something just above and below my vision. Was my skull screwed into a halo? No... I could turn my head, I wasn't tied down.

Now that I looked around, it wasn't a hospital room. Rather, it had the look of a kids' room hastily prepared for someone visiting. Colorful pictures of horses everywhere, books I couldn't make out the titles to from here, even an oversized stuffed green horse sitting on a chair.

That just looked up at my movement and--

Whew, not stuffed, just a horse, no, pony sitting on a chair reading a book.

Mental record scratch.

"Ah, good, yer awake! Ya gave us a right scare, dearie, when Wheatgrass found ya in the field an' Dr. Triage couldn't bring ya 'round. Been three days, too, thought we'd have ta ship ya ta Fillydelphia."

"What... what happened to me?" My voice sounded odd, a bit hoarse. What were those dark blue things stuck to my face?

"That's what we was hopin' ya could tell us, Galaxy. Here, let me get some water in ya."

She, given her voice sounded female, hopped off the chair and somehow grabbed a glass of water by sticking her hoof to the side of it. Thirst and a dry throat overrode caution, yet I somehow jammed my nose into the water much faster than I expected. Coughing and spluttering, I raised a hand to rub the afflicted appendage and promptly froze.
I was looking at a blue horse's leg rather than my hand, the hoof moving with each twitch of my supposed fingers. Blue, just before black, like the sky just before the stars began to come out.

"What happened to me?" I repeated in a whisper, my heart hammering. I looked at my other arm... no, also a horse's leg. Carefully, gingerly, I touched the side of my face to one of my... front legs. A snout. The green pony was starting to look more concerned at my antics, but I reached up to feel the thing sticking out above my eyes-- ouch, a sharp point!

"Don' worry, Galaxy, Doc Triage said yer horn is in good shape."

I focused on the... lady? Mare? "Why do you keep calling me Galaxy?" I asked. Thirst and a sore throat reminded me she was still holding out a glass of water. More carefully, I leaned over and sipped as she helpfully tilted it slowly. Such a simple, necessary pleasure, water. Cool, clean, with that subtle taste you can only get from a good well out in the country.

"'Cause of yer cutie mark, o' course. Jus' like I'm Candied Rose. Alla my friends call me Candy." Helpfully, Candy set the empty glass-- most of the water got in me, some had spilled over me and the quilt was a bit damp-- and turned to show me her, um, hips. There was a brand or tattoo or something of a rose surrounded by wrapped candies.

"My name is... Alex. Alex Stone..." I'd been putting off looking under the covers, fearing what I'd see.

"Odd name, lotta ponies will change theirs to match their mark, Ailex... no, Alex, right? Here, yer prolly hungry, I can whip up some soup fer ya quick if ya'd like?" At my nod, Candy trotted off, though she left the bedroom door open.

I took a deep breath, then tugged the covers aside to see... more pony. I was definitely a pony.

On the side of my rear end was a mark, unlike what Candy had. It looked like someone used a circuit board to draw a six-armed spiral galaxy, somehow the fur grew in that pattern, not a tattoo or brand. A look elsewhere, and an old frustration hit, still male. My tail and, a bit of clumsy pawing with a hoof, mane were quite the stark contrast to my fur; metallic silver with a few streaks of black.

Galaxy... a flash of memory, looking through my telescope in the depths of a clear night, gazing raptly at the Andromeda Galaxy, something... then the tendrils of the memory escaped me.

I shook my head, as Candy clattered around in the kitchen. Realizing I was naked, I clumsily pulled the sheets back over myself. It didn't matter that Candy wasn't wearing anything, got to stay decent after all. On that thought, my hostess walked in not a moment too early, a tray balanced on her back somehow, with a steaming bowl that smelled quite good. She stopped by the bed and looked at me expectantly. I looked back expectantly.

I blinked first.

"So why don't ya jus' grab it with yer magic or yer hooves?" Candy asked, puzzled.

"Erm... I don't know how? I never had magic... or hooves for that matter, 'til all this."

"Oh, dear. Never heard a' such a thing, even when a unicorn's horn got broke." Candy moved over to the nightstand, and I was able to at least guide the tray and keep things from spilling. There was a spoon, oddly normal in shape now that I thought of it. Nothing to it, then, I awkwardly pulled myself to a sitting position, doing my best to kep the sheets over my lap. For some reason, that made Candy stifle a giggle, more so than my leaning over and slurping soup carefully from the bowl.

"Ain't nothin' to be afraid of, nopony wears pants anyhow 'less they're gettin' really, really fancy. Not ta mention, I raised three foals."

I just nodded, not wanting to speak with my mouth full. Hmm, some kind of vegetable barley soup, not spicy though probably with some home-grown herbs. There seemed to be some fine-chopped straw or grass or something, but since it all tasted good anyway, I figured the extra fiber wouldn't hurt.

"That was really good, you're an excellent cook," I said as I finally came up for air, and realized I'd licked the bowl clean. Without thinking, I picked up the tray... and promptly dropped it as what I'd done hit home. I felt my ears go flat at the crash, but fortunately nothing broke. "Er, oops! How the hell did I do that?"

"Like I said, ya jus' do it." Candy scooped the tray and bowl off the floor, then held the spoon out to me. I swallowed, then touched my hoof to it, imagining I was simply taking hold. I felt it 'stick' to my hoof, as if I had a magnet embedded in my hand.

"Wow." I felt my cheeks heat, as I pictured someone acting as if they had hands for the first time back on Earth, then held the spoon over the tray and let go. Obligingly, gravity pulled the spoon down to the wood.
Candy grinned. "Well, first steps an' all that. Mus' be whatever knocked ya out, really knocked ya for a loop. We'll have ya back on yer hooves in no time. Holler if ya need anythin', I'll take this back to tha kitchin'. Oh, an' bathroom's tha secon' door on yer left."

I waited for her leave again before screwing up my courage. First, sheets out of the way. Then carefully sit up and--

*THUD*

"I'm good!" I called out, pre-empting my host. Note to self, ponies walk on four legs, not two. So... maybe if I tried something like a push-up?

I'm sure I looked as wobbly as a foal, but I finally managed to get myself up onto all fours. At least the position felt as comfortable as standing casually on two feet used to. Maybe my brain was rewiring itself quickly? It would make for a great scientific paper... if I wasn't more preoccupied with survival and hopefully undoing whatever had happened to me. Oh, and the requirements of biology.

The less said about my first pony bathroom experience, the better. I awkwardly reared up to wash my hooves, then stopped and stared in the mirror.

While I was disappointed in staying my birth gender--apparently, bizarre transformations aren't convenient that way--I could like my new face. My looks almost seemed feminine, the long flowing mane didn't hurt in that department. The horn was pretty shocking to see, a long spike of a spire that went to a sharp point. My eyes were a light, almost brilliant blue.

With a little shake, I snapped out of my self-examination and finished washing, so I could at least practice walking.

***

When I got back to the guest room, I was happy to see my things carefully piled in a corner. I'd apparently exploded out of my clothes; my jeans were a ruin, my shirt was too-- I wondered what ponies would make of 'Keep Calm and Nuke It From Orbit'? Even more importantly, several other things had come with me. My beloved 4" Dobsonian telescope with various lenses, my old laptop-- sadly, the battery was drained, probably from being left on. Same with my cell phone. My binder of notes and sketches was there too! Turning pages with a hoof was still tricky, but I was able to find my last notes without ripping anything.

Let's see... July 5th, observed Saturn mid-evening, Jupiter, then hunted down the right area to see Andromeda. An odd pulsing glow nearly straight West caught my attention, was trying to center on it after adding a Barlowe lens, then nothing more.

My thoughts were interrupted by voices, one definitely Candy's, the other lower, male-- her husband Wheatgrass, I assumed. The door was still a bit tricky-- why on Earth would quadrupeds, with hooves, use round doorknobs of all things? I slowly made my way down the hall of what felt like a ranch style house, having to focus on where I put each foot and in what order. I nearly tripped again when I was distracted by the living room, with all the pictures of various ponies, but made it to the kitchen in one piece. There was a new pony to me, a strong, blocky sort with fur the color of ripe wheat, mane and tail the color of sun-faded leaves.

"Er, hello, I'm Alex. Alex Stone. Thanks for taking care of me." I waved a hoof, then wobbled and almost fell over, but caught myself before they could do more than take a step. "Wheatgrass, I presume?"

The man, no, stallion? nodded. "Good ta see ya up and about, Gal, er, Axel.. Alex, sorry. It's no trouble, always good ta help a pony in need."

Wheatgrass and I moved back to the living room, where I ended up sprawling on the couch trying to keep myself decent, while he settled into an overstuffed easy chair on one side of the fireplace. I got an odd look at my antics, but... why couldn't pants be normal?

I explained that I'd been stargazing in a field 'pretty far away from here', and something weird happened. The next thing I knew, I woke up in their guest room. Wheatgrass explained how he found me when he went to plow the back field three days ago, to get it ready for the spring planting. That was a shock, and I said as much-- it was late summer where I'd been!

Wheatgrass frowned, rubbing his chin with a hoof. "'Fraid that'd have to be taken to one a' the magic universities or summat. Maybe even Princess Celestia. Sounds like yer a long, long way from home-- this is Equestria, not the Amareca ya said ya was from. Like Candy said, we'd be glad ta help ya get back on yer hooves."

I gave a tenative smile. "Well... you probably do things differently here, but I have worked on a farm before. I suppose I could lend a hand, uh, hoof, while I look for work and a way to get home?"

***

After dinner that evening, consisting partly of hay that I'd never imagined could be cooked in five ways, I stepped outside to watch the sun set and the stars come out. And that's where I really started to panic.

The sun was dropping too fast. It had crept across the sky at its normal pace as the world turned, then suddenly, it's as if someone had decided the day was over and it was time to wrap things up. Then the moon rose.

It was almost exactly opposite the sun, so it should have been full or nearly so, waning slightly.

It was a crescent moon, nearly new.

I was starting to hyperventilate as I stared at the stars. Some came out normally... others were more like mirror satellites.

"I'm not on Earth anymore," I whispered to the terrific, and terrifying alien cosmos above.

Author's Note

First story jitters, I hope you enjoy and are intrigued!