Defect

I kept walking on and on for hours. My legs didn't seem to tire out. Sora used to run on the white sand day in and day out, so, it made sense for him to have strong legs. Multiply that by two, and you have yourself a neat little combo. Step by step, I found myself at the signpost marking the entrance to Ponyville. I didn't notice at the time, but I had walked until the sun rose. And this might be a good time to mention it, but I knew that there existed a show about ponies and friendship. But I never went about watching it.

However, I could recall the appearance of one of the ponies in the show. They were white with a purple mane. My sister got it from a friend at a secret friend game. I couldn't recall her name, but I do remember she had diamond thingies on her butt. At any rate, the sign had HUGE letters marking the signboard.

"Ponyville, the friendliest place in Equestria," I muttered while reading the text. A bad habit that escaped my mind most of the time.

At least I know the name of the place. I concluded before taking a few steps into town. Which is when I started to notice something, EVERYONE was naked. For some reason, they didn't have their junk showing. But I still had to work around the idea of looking away whenever someone walked diagonally to me or passed in front of me. I didn't want to see any of that, but these ponies weren't helping much. Right. Where the hell am I going? I finally thought as I stood by a fountain with a winged unicorn sculpted on it.

"I should have thought of that before waltzing into town," I mumbled while staring at the reflection on the fountain water. My hair/mane was longer than it should, but it had a bit of a spiky aspect to it. It looked somewhat familiar.

Right. I saw this fan concept of Sora being in a horse shape at some point. But that one looked more like him than I do. I look older. And my hair is too big to be Sora's.

"Um, excuse me?" I heard from behind me. I turned to see the same pony as the toy my sister had. She was red as a tomato and kept glancing downwards before blinking back to look at my face. "I do believe you forgot something rather important."

Tilting my head, I looked around to see if there were any other ponies around. There were none. So, I pointed to myself.

"Yes, you. Did you forget to put it on?" She inquired while trying hard to keep her eyes locked with mine.

"Forget to put what on?" I asked in earnest.

"Do you seriously mean to ask that question?" She retorted with her face getting redder.

"Ms., with all due respect, I woke up a couple of hours ago while falling from the sky. I shouldn't be here. I don't know how I got from walking on a sidewalk to falling from the sky. So, I do apologize for my ignorance. But I don't have the faintest idea of what you're talking about," I replied as clearly as I could.

Wasn't I supposed to act like Sora? Sora isn't that formal. In these stories, my personality would have been overwritten by the character's mindset and habits. Maybe, did the defective form I took influenced it? I mused while the mare stared me down like I was some lost puppy.

"You poor thing! You mustn't know that you lost it then!" She exclaimed before her horn fired up, and I started to float. "Do you have anything you never take off?"

"I have this necklace," I said while pointing at the crown dangling from my neck.

"Perfect!" She said as a purple ribbon made of light left her horn and wrapped itself around the crown. Then, she put me down. "There, all better now. You're lucky none of the guards arrested you for sexual harassment."

"Wait, what?" I inquired while my mind sped through the information of that exchange and the naked detail I had noticed beforehand. As one plus one equals two, I concluded. "Oh. That's, I mean, oh. I, No. I want to disappear right now," I said as I fell on my flank and covered my face.

"Worry not, deary. You're just a victim here. So, now that's out of the way, where did you get those unique clothes?" She inquired with her eyes beaming.

"I woke up with them. Didn't have them before," I replied while keeping my face behind my hooves.

How do I identify myself now? Do I give the name Sora? Should I call myself through my actual name? Should I make up a new name? God damn it! I cursed while rubbing my hooves against my face.

"Oh, dear! Are you hurting anywhere? Do you feel like anything was done to you?" She inquired with worry as she placed her hoof on my shoulder.

"No. I don't feel anything different. Um, I'm Cael, short for Caelum. And you are?" I inquired while dragging my hooves down my face.

This has to be the most unimaginative answer I could have come up with for that conundrum. I fell back on the translation of Sora's name and changed it to Latin. I'm just glad I didn't lose my mind to Sora. I don't mind if I get his powers. But I prefer to be myself, thank you very much.

"Oh! Where are my manners?! I'm Rarity. A pleasure to meet you," Rarity replied while placing her hoof on her chest. "Now, Cael, was it? What brings you to our cozy little town?" Rarity continued with a friendlier voice.

"Rainbow Dash, who basically saved me from falling to my death, and told me that there was a town down the road," I answered promptly while getting up.

"If you don't mind me asking, what does your Cutie Mark stand for?" Rarity asked while leaning to the side and staring at my butt.

"My what?" I asked before looking back to my flank. There was a Keyblade splitting the game's signature heart logo in half. "That wasn't there when I fell from the sky."

"You just got your mark?" Rarity tossed before I felt someone poking my shoulder.

I looked to the side before getting a blast of confetti hitting my face. Luckily, my mouth was closed, otherwise, I would have swallowed at least a fistful of paper.

"WELCOME TO PONYVILLE! And Happy Cutieceañeara!" A pink pony whose mane looked like had just gotten out of a cotton candy machine said as I waited for the ringing in my ears to fade.

Information! You've been dazed! Reaction time reduced for the duration of the effect

Ok. So, that's an ailment.

"My what now?" I inquired while using one of my hooves to rub my right ear.

"You don't know about Cutieceañeara?!" The pink pony asked as she grabbed my face and pressed her forehead against mine. "And I'm Pinkie Pie!" She added after backing away.

"Cael, a pleasure. And what exactly is this Cutie thingie? Both the party and the thing on my flank," I replied while recomposing myself.

Information! You're healed. Reaction time has returned to normal.

"Darling, are you sure you are ok?" Rarity asked as Pinkie's jaw hit the floor.

"I think so? I mean, there were no marks like these back where I came from. Or rather, I never heard anyone naming them. Or celebrating getting one," I lied through my teeth.

"A foreigner then? Well, there are some kingdoms out there," Rarity said while rubbing her chin. "The short explanation goes like this, everyone has a unique talent that makes them special. The mark shows that talent. I can find gems. Pinkie throws parties that make ponies smile. And you?"

"Unlock hearts?" I mumbled while processing the information Rarity had just given me. "Or is it locking hearts? Can I even call it out?"

"That is a rather romantic and on-the-nose explanation, darling," Rarity replied while waving her hoof.

Lady, you don't know the half of it. I quipped while shaking my head.

"Well, nothing's been making much sense today. So, I doubt it would be simple as that," I replied while rubbing the back of my neck.

Little does she know. Right! I need a place to stay. I realized while searching for any signs pointing to an INN. Shit. I'm broke.

"Um, I hate to ask. Actually, I'm not sure if it is my place to just ask for this," I said while kicking a bit of dirt off the ground. "But, do you know of a place where I can spend the night? For free? No, that's stupid. Is there a place that accepts other methods of payment? Wait, that was weird. Ok, is there a place where I can spend the night and work to pay for it? Like, washing dishes or wiping the floors?"

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea," Rarity said before biting her lip.

"I think I'll save the party for later," Pinkie said while sitting on her flank and rubbing her chin. "To when you're more oriented. Bye-bye, Caely!" She added before bouncing away as if she had springs on her hooves.

"Ok," I said slowly while watching her bounce away. "I think I'll ignore anything strange she does from now on."

"That's a wise decision," Rarity said before shaking her head a couple of times. "I have a spare room in my shop. It isn't anything fancy. But you could use it for now."

"Really?" I asked before getting a nod from Rarity. "Thank you! Is there anything I can do to repay you? Or anything I can help you with?" I added before sitting on my flank and taking her hoof to shake it up and down.

"We will think of something," Rarity replied with a warm smile.

"I'll do anything within my power!" I said while letting go of her hoof and standing up. "Should I follow you until you go back? Or are you on your way back already?"

"I just finished buying some threads and needles for my next line of clothes. So, we can head right back," Rarity replied while turning around and gesturing me to follow.

Ok! The first hurdle has been cleared! Next, I need to sustain myself. Goddamn it. Stay positive! I have a tattoo! And I got it without getting under a needle! I got myself a roof above my head! It's the small victories! Let's GO! I celebrated with a grin while gingerly trotting behind Rarity. Just a detail, I wasn't aware I had started to trot.