Blank Slate

Augh... why does my head feel like it is gonna split? What did I drink last night?

"She is finally stirring, go get Stalwart. Quick!"

Who's tal—wait, who is in my room?

Despite my head telling me to rest, I started to crack my eyes open, groaning at the effort as I brought one of my hands to my head. Oddly, my arm felt a bit still, though I didn't care as I needed to figure out who was in my room until my hand finally reached my head. It was at that moment I felt that there was something much more wrong with me, for instead of feeling fingers upon my head, I felt a flat surface. Not only that, I didn't even feel my fingers. Snapping my eyes open, I immediately looked at my arm, to see a dirty white furry limb in its place, ending at what appeared to be a hoof. The sight almost caused me to let out a scream, that is till I heard a gasp, causing my eyes to snap to the owner. Standing by the door, wa—Is that a fucken pony?

"Umm... hello?" said a green-furred pony with wide blue pupilled eyes and pink curly hair, dressed in a brown apron over a white blouse. The voice sounded feminine as she tried to force a smile, though that quickly became strained as I kept staring at her till I noticed something on her flanks, a mark that looked to be of a feather duster.

Wait, is that a Cutie Mark... Am I in Equestria? I thought as I glanced about, I could see that I was in some kind of stone brick room, laying on my back in what appeared to be a queen-sized bed, covered in what felt like cotton sheets. I then noticed a mirror to my left side, where I saw in its reflection a rather large dirty white-coated unicorn with pale blue hair, staring with silver eyes. Blinking slowly and noting what I think is my size, I slowly moved a hand... I mean hoof to my face, touching it to confirm that it was my reflection in that mirror. "Wh—" I started to say till a coughing fit overtook me as I realized just how damn parched I was.

"Drink this!" said the mare as she was at my side, holding a wooden cup of water right next to my face. I was tempted to snatch it out of her... hooves, till I realized that I might not be able to pick things up right now since I was unsure of how my hooves would work. Leaning my head forward, I sipped at the water, grateful for the soothing liquid though a tad embarrassed at being so helpless. However, that came to pass when the door slammed open, startling me enough that I started to choke on the water.

"By the light, one has finally awakened," said a masculine voice, and as I coughed out the water from my throat I saw in the door stood a white unicorn with a golden mane and blue eyes as he wore some kind of silver robe with a smile plastered on his muzzle. Walking over to me, he looked me up and down before saying, "Now I know you might be confused, but everything will be revealed in time. But let's get started with introductions, my name is Stalwart Hope, and this fair mare here is Blossom Brush," as said mare bowed before me.

Rubbing my throat as I cleared it, I would eye the stallion before finally croaking out, "What is going on here... why am I here?"

"Good question. I know things seem rather, how would you say, a surprising experience for you. Now, I can't exactly explain why, but simply put, destiny has brought you to us to be our savior," Stalwart explained, keeping that smile on his muzzle as Blossom sidled back to stand by the door.

"Savior... are you joking?" I asked, shaking my head in dismay. How would these ponies think I would be able to do anything, but I did draw my attention to the mirror, then to my sheets as I moved a hoof under them and lifted them enough to see that at my sides were a pair of wings. Somehow, this wasn't too surprising to me, though that is due to being a fan of the show I saw several years ago, and this felt like some fans' dream to be one, but something felt off. Me being a savior and appearing here with no recall of how I ended up here was chief among them, as I recalled simply going to bed after a hard shift at work before I heard Stalwart clearing his throat, drawing my attention back to him.

Keeping that ever-present smile, Stalwart replied, "Yes, this may be confusing to you, and you're probably wondering how you could be our savior. It's complicated, but the jist of it is that there was a prophecy about your appearance, and we have been waiting for your arrival for so long."

"A prophecy? Really? I'm sorry, but I think you got the wrong... pony. There is no way I could be someone... I mean somepony's savoir," I stated in disbelief as this was just too surreal for me to accept. I have read some stories written by fans about some people appearing in Equestria as some kind of character, some with power or some without, but hell no would I be able to help anyone out. I worked in retail, not some hero.

Smiling gently now, Stalwart responded, "Now now, I know you have your doubts, but we're not gonna simply thrust you into your destiny on day one. We know that you're unt—"

"Wait, we. Stop, just stop," I interjected, holding up a hoof to stop Stalwart, causing his smile to drop. "I just... I need a moment to process this. And I need to know who you mean by 'we'. What is this prophecy you're talking about?"

"Oh, well, when I said we I meant all of ponykind. And th—" Stalwart started to explain until we heard someone yelling causing him to turn his head towards the direction of the shouting and letting out a sigh. "Oh, another has awakened, I guess since you have woken up, the rest should follow shortly."

"Another? Rest? Okay, I know this is rude, but I need some answers here," I said, trying to get some kind of grasp of the situation.

"Oh um... maybe explaining the prophecy would help clear things up," Stalwart said as he returned his attention to me. "So, there was a prophecy about six alicorns, that is what you are if you didn't know, coming to our world during our darkest days, to bring us out into a golden age!"

Staring at Stalwart, who had sat down to raise his hooves to emphasize this statement, I remained dumbfounded at such a thing. "I... what? Look. I don't know the finer details, but you certainly got the wrong pony here. I'm no leader, I'm no savior. I wouldn't know the first thing about helping anyone out of this dark age you told me about. Just... how about you send me back and find someone else to lead."

Blinking, Stalwart glanced at Blossom, who was mouthing the word 'anyone' in confusion, before he returned his attention towards me as he replied, "I'm sorry... but do you think we brought you here? No no no, we simply found you and the others. We have no idea where you came from, or how you even got here."

Stalwart's response caused my breathing to accelerate since I assumed that some ritual or spell brought me here. But another question gnawed at my mind, prompting me to ask, "Uh... wait... I have to ask. Have you ever heard of the names Celestia, or Equestria?" Some things weren't just making sense to me, such as there being six alicorns or a dark age. I know some things about the fourth generation of my little pony, but this wasn't something I saw in the show.

"Celestia? Equestria? No, I haven't heard of such names before. Are they supposed to mean something?" Stalwart answered with a tilt of his head. This didn't serve to help me calm down, but maybe there was something else that might help.

"Umm... how about a map? Can you provide me a map of the world, or at least of much of the land that is explored," I requested. Maybe this was an Equestria in the past, or perhaps one of the future?

"Okay... if that is your desire. Just give me a moment," Stalwart replied as he left the room, but glanced at Blossom before leaving.

"If there is anything you need in the meantime, Your Majesty, just ask and I'll do my best to fulfill it," Blossom said with a bow, causing me to sigh, only for my stomach to start to rumble, drawing her attention to it. "Don't worry Your Majesty, I'll procure you a meal," Blossom said as she bowed before leaving the room.

Left alone to my thoughts, which may not be a good thing currently, I would let my gaze travel over the room. The grey stone walls indicated that this couldn't be Canterlot Castle, especially based on the cabinet to my right side with a cabinet to the left side of the mirror as well as a window on its right side with its shutters closed. They weren't all that well constructed, with the cabinet leaning a bit to one side. Even the sheets seem to have seen better days, with patches here and there sewn in. Maybe he was telling the truth... I wish I could see more, but I doubt I could walk anytime soon. I may need answers, but I rather not have them come back to find my face planted on the floor.

It wasn't long till Stalwart came back with a scroll engulfed in a blue aura, who glanced around before saying, "I taking that Blossom went to fetch you a meal?" I simply nodded in response, causing him to shrug as he came over and opened up the map. "I do hope that would be sufficient. To qualify where we are, we're at the northeastern part of the land."

Sufficient... may not be the right word in this case, at least for me as I saw that this land was certainly not Equestria. Nothing on the map resembled any of the maps the show had, and it certainly wasn't a map of Earth, though it might be hard to say for certain as my vision was starting to blur as I started to panic. Seeing my distress, Stawlart dropped the map before coming to my side, reaching up with a hoof to rub my back.

"Now now, you don't need to worry. I know this is overwhelming for you, it would be for anypony after all. But we'll figure things out, and I and the rest of ponykind will be there to help you every step of the way. Nopony expects you to start leading us anytime soon, so you can take your time to figure things out for yourself. Just think of this as a new beginning for yourself, a way to start anew," Stalwart said with a smile.

As much as I hate to admit it, the rubbing he was giving me was helping me to calm down. But starting anew, I still had a life back home, with friends and family that I would want to see again. "What... what if I just want to go back home?"

His smile faltering, Stalwart said, "Well... I don't know if that is something I can help you with, or anypony for that matter. But don't you worry, you're an alicorn, the embodiment of magic and destiny! Surely you will find the means to travel to your home someday. You just need to master your magic and find your talent first, and then the way will be shown to you."

"Wait... my talent?" I responded, before pulling my bedsheets up once more to see that indeed, I was a blank flank.

"Why yes, your talent. That might be confusing to say, but we have these marks on our flanks called Cutie Ma—"

"I know what a Cutie Mark is," I interjected with a frown as I returned my attention to him.

"Oh, that makes things simpler then. Now how to put this... I'll be frank then. We found all six of you without any marks. Even your coats were of the same color, though some of us think that it might be tied to your destinies. You're all blank flanks waiting to discover yourselves, to find out who you're meant to be. That is why I said you can start anew, for this is a new beginning for each one of you. I'm not telling you to abandon your pasts, whatever they may be, but the six of you didn't appear here for no reason at all. Destiny has brought you here, and surely your fates are tied to this land and each other," Stalwart said as he placed his hoof on my shoulder.

Staring at him, I gulped as I said what was coming into my mind. "And what if I ended up as a disappointment? A failure?"

"Well, there is a saying. If you fall, just pick yourself up and try again. Things may seem rough at first, but you'll learn, and you have time on your side, for alicorns are immortal. You may think that you're not much now, but we ponies will look up to you and the others because you will be the wisest of us all in the end. And it will be that wisdom that will help bring ponykind to the golden age, and perhaps then you'll find the means to return to your home. Though, I do have one tiny request for you first. Don't worry, it is something simple," Stalwart replied as he took a few steps back and tried to give me a comforting smile.

Raising an eyebrow, I asked, "And what is it?"

"Can you tell me your name?" Stalwart answered. Blinking at the question, I was about to say my name before I paused as I remembered the nature of pony names from the show. Ponies had gone by names of things such as Cloudchaser and the such, so my human name would sound rather weird to them. I was about to open my mouth when he continued, "Oh, forgot to mention, but you could always change your name once you realize who you're meant to be, and if you can't recall your name, you could simply choose whatever you like."

Frowning a bit at his words, I looked out the window in thought, seeing the clear blue sky and my light blue hair in the mirror. If I'm stuck in this world, and if what Stalwart said is true, there wasn't much I could do except go with the flow, I guess. Maybe I can figure something out as I learn what is going on here, but for now, I just have to do what I can for the time being and do what they say. I don't have any other options for the time being after all. "You can call me Misty... for now."

"That's a nice name, Misty, matches your mane. Now, I know that this is all a shock for you, but for now, just rest, Blossom will attend to your needs. You can spend the rest of the day relaxing and even read a book. We don't have much of a selection, but if you need something to take your mind off things don't be afraid to ask," Stalwart said with his nearly everpresent smile, as said mare came into the room with a wooden tray on her back. Glancing at her, I watched as she placed it on my lap, where I could see a clay bowl of looked to be some kind of vegetable soup, another wooden cup full of water, and a few oats.

Yeah... this really must be the dark ages... this is gonna suck.