I had been looking around me for a few minutes now, everything was different. I wasn't even a human anymore, I was a pony. To be more specific, I was a unicorn colt. My bright green fur was comfortable, and the sun warmed me. Given my hermit-Esque nature, however, I decided to get out of the sun once I was finished looking at -- well, everything. The grass was greener here, the sky was bluer, the air cleaner, and as I leaned back onto a tree in the shade, I finally felt happy for the first time in decades. It felt good to smile, even if it was just a small one.
I was brought out of my happiness though, as I always was. One day, I'll learn, I promise. I could hear talking, and the stomping of hooves heading my way. Other people would cause problems, I was sure of it, so I hid in some brush until they passed by.
"The magic signature stops here, girls." I could hear someone say.
"You woke me up from my nap to see some dry grass?" Another, more irritated voice replied.
Peeking my head out from the brush slightly, I got to see the ponies who'd arrived. I must be near Ponyville since the Mane six were the ones who came by.
"Grass doesn't just randomly dry up in random circles, something or somepony caused this," Twilight said, stepping closer to the dry patch.
I was frozen there in the brush as I tried to keep absolutely quiet. No movements, quiet breaths, the silent ones stay alive longer than the screamers, I knew. The tactic of remaining silent only works if the people searching for you are using their eyes and ears to search for you. If they had a dog with them, they likely would find me easily. Unfortunately, Pinkie Pie decided that at that exact moment, she should pretend to be a dog and started sniffing the dry grass.
My heart beat faster as I stood still and watched her move over to the tree that I was leaning back on just seconds before, and then slowly made her way to the brush. I knew that I'd been caught when she started sniffing the brush, but I stopped thinking for a few seconds like a moron and ran in the opposite direction of the group.
In my head, I should easily be able to outrun them, but this isn't in my head, it's a situation that I'm currently stuck in. What I failed to remember, is that I'm currently a colt, a pony child, whose legs are roughly ... six inches long I'd guess. Even if my legs were longer, how could I keep up with Rainbow Dash anyway? In mere seconds I was surrounded, and I could do nothing but stare at the ground as they gaped and stared at me.
"What's a colt doing out in the Everfree?" Applejack asked nobody in particular.
Fluttershy moved closer to me quietly and knelt low to the ground before speaking softly, "Hey, where are your parents, little guy?"
Being surrounded like this, all I could do was freeze further, essentially making myself rock-like. Maybe I ignorantly thought if I looked like a rock that they'd go away. When I didn't answer, they decided that I was more important than the dry grass and that I should be taken to Ponyville so they could find my parents. I highly doubted that my parents made the trip to Equestria with me. How would I even describe them in this case, them being humans and not ponies? Whoever I explained this too would likely think I was insane.
I had no choice but to follow them as Fluttershy easily swooped me up in her hooves and flew me off to the Ponyville General Hospital.
"Well, he's completely unharmed." The doctor said, to which the main six breathed a sigh of relief. "Now, what were you doing in the Everfree Forest by yourself, young colt." He asked in the way a parent would scold their own child.
I could only reply with a, "I really don't know." That's all I could say, I don't know how I got here. Sure, I wished to go somewhere else, somewhere safe, but I didn't think that it would cause me to actually be teleported anywhere, let alone Equestria. Not that I regret making that wish, there was nothing but death and likely slavery for me back on Earth.
The doctor sighed through his nose and asked me if I knew my parent's names. "No sir." His eyes widened and he stepped back.
"Sir?" He asked, seemingly shocked.
Oh shit, I messed up again. I wasn't sure how I messed up though, so I just tried to fix it the best I could. Tilting my head and squinting with one eye, I fixed my statement.
"No..Doctor?" I tried.
"You're very well-mannered for a colt your age." The doctor said.
Now it was my turn to be caught off guard. The tone in his voice, bore something secretive, a secondary motive most likely. I realize that I'm on the weaker side of that battle, and changed the subject.
"How old am I?" I asked, causing everyone's ears to droop.
"You don't know how old you are?" Fluttershy asked, sadly.
Pinkie decided to interject at that moment and ask me when my birthday was. I don't know how the Equestrian calendar works and I doubt they go by the roman emperor standard we used on Earth.
"I don't know that either," I said, feeling their eyes bore through my skin and scratch at the flesh underneath.
"He wasn't that far into the Everfree, we could ask around town. Ah'm sure somepony knows him." Applejack suggested.
"I'll have to inform the Ministry of Foals that he currently has no legal guardian." The doctor informed sadly.
"Now hold on just a minute, let us ask around first. This could be just a big misunderstanding." Warned Applejack.
The doctor looked down in thought for a few seconds before agreeing, "I'll give you until nightfall."
"that's only a few hours, couldn't you give us a bit longer?" Twilight asked.
The doctor shook his head, "If I don't report him, someone else will. When they find out that I was his doctor and I didn't write out a report, they could suspend my license."
"I guess that makes sense." I finally spoke up. "Besides, nopony in Ponyville knows me. I doubt anypony in Equestria even knows me."
They were going to try anyway, but as they left, I couldn't help but notice the somber mood they had. I wish I could make it better, but lying to them would only make it worse. Besides, Applejack probably could tell If I was lying anyway.
Rainbow Dash kept taking glances at me as if I was on the verge of death or something. For just a brief second, I got a chance to make things better as Pinkie Pie gave me a pink cupcake with yellow and blue sprinkles.
I sprung into action immediately upon getting it. I lifted it into the air with a childish noise and stuffed my tiny mouth with frosting. To top it off, I began making nomming noises. The room for just a second was filled with giggles at my childish behavior and I thanked Pinkie for the cupcake.
Just before I was left alone in the room, I asked the doctor, "How old am I, do you think?"
The doctor was caught off guard by this after my humorous cupcake eating but answered anyway. "From getting a good look at you, you're roughly three or four years old."
Nothing ever came of the mane six asking around town. I figured it wouldn't, but I still pretended to be upset. In reality, I didn't mind being sent to Equestria like this after the initial shock wore off. After all, nobody has tried to kill me yet, and that's always a plus. The ponies were nice, even though I could see they were faking their smiles. Whenever they spoke to or looked at me, they were either sad or in pain. That's fine, by the way, I don't like looking or talking to me either, so I can relate. They always tried to cover it up with a smile though, so I knew I wouldn't be staying in the hospital for long.
I had just started to wonder if I could convince one of the doctors to let me leave when a stranger entered my hospital room. She was a pink mare with a yellow mane and tail, who definitely wasn't one of the hospital staff. The lack of uniform was a dead giveaway. The way she walked in made me immediately aware that she'd done this before.
"Good morning, Chocolate." She said softly with that same smile covering up her sadness.
Yeah, I told them my name was Chocolate Chip. My human name would raise too many questions and concerns.
"Please, just call me Chip." My voice was horrifyingly squeaky, but given my supposed age of three-four years, that should be expected.
"Chip, that's a nice name. Is that what your friends call you?"
Ha, jokes on you, I don't have any friends. I looked off to the side before answering in an attempt to look like a child who was embarrassed to talk to an adult about their friends. "Yes, ma'am."
"My name is Sunrise Vale, I've been assigned to be your counselor."
Fuck, more trouble. "Yes, ma'am." I stiffened my body and kept my eyes locked with hers. Knowing already that she wasn't here to help me, but to test me. She wanted to watch me suffer, and given how she's acted so far, she has all the experience she'll need. She may beat me, but I'll make her work for it.
Her eyes gazed into mine as her body stepped back, feigning intimidation. Now it was her turn to look off to the side, as she rustled through a file, likely on me.
"So Chip, tell me a bit about yourself." She said, trying to get me to open my heart up to her, purely so she could rip it out, I'm sure.
"There's nothing to say, ma'am." I answered calmly and clearly so she could easily hear me.
This caught her off guard, whether it was my unwillingness to speak or my manners again, she was clearly not prepared for someone who knew her game. I had played it before, three times actually. They tell you everything is confidential, but it's all a big lie. They'll go and tell every last one of your secrets to everybody who will listen.
"Chip, is everything okay?" She asked softly.
"Yes, ma'am."
"Can you tell me about your parents?"
"No, ma'am."
"What about your friends?"
"No, ma'am."
"W-what about where you're from."
"No, ma'am."
She looked at me for a brief moment before hiding her face into a folder. I wasn't sure if she was looking for information on me or if she was as done with this conversation as I was, so I just sat in silence, maintaining my rigid stance on the bed.
After several minutes she cleared her throat and asked, "Would you like some lunch, Chip?" She said it in such a sweet voice that I almost wanted to hurl.
Not moving a muscle and regaining eye contact, I gave her the best glare a human trapped in a three-year-old colt's body could, "No, ma'am."
Blinking a few times, Sunrise Vale closed the folder and began trotting out of the room.
"Alright Chip, I've gotta go fill out some paperwork. Don't cause too much trouble now."
As soon as the door clicked shut, I fell onto my back and breathed a sigh of relief at last. This was foolish though, I should've known she'd wait by the door to watch me without my knowing. With a flick of a wing, she was back inside the room.
I immediately got back into my rock-like sitting status, but we both knew it was too late, I was caught. There was no doubt that my weakness would be broadcast to all her friends. The cruel mare even giggled as she left again. This time I maintained my vigil over the hospital room even after she left. I could feel her eyes on me, I wouldn't lose this time.
So I waited, holding out until I didn't feel her eyes on me anymore, but she was just as dedicated to this as I was. I didn't move my body nor my head, I just stared forward motionless on the bed for what must've been hours. Ponies came and went from the other side of the door, she must've told everyone else that she would do this, because she never moved either, at least, I never heard her move. Heck, I didn't even hear her wings flapping. Nobody ever spoke with her either, which I found odd. What was she planning?
I didn't have long to ponder this though as Sunrise Vale reentered the room. "It's time for bed, Chip." Wait, that wasn't Sunrise's voice, I thought.
"Do you need anything before bed?" This new mare asked.
"No, ma'am." I said, keeping still.
"Do you need to use the little colt's room before bed?"
"No, ma'am." I replied again.
"Oh, well good night dearie."
With that, the door was closed again, but this time, the lights were off. I wouldn't surrender though, just because she sent in one of her cohorts to throw me off, I would play this game as long as she was going to. Even though it was pitch black now, say for the small beam of light from the door window, I sat there, ready for her. She was just waiting behind the door, I'd wait just as long.
