Filly Aware

The first thing that came to my mind was not the throbbing headache or the sore back. Nor was it the itchy feeling body. It was the sound of birds and the light shimmering on my face. Slowly opening my eyes, I immediately regretted it. The brightness was not doing my obvious hangover any good and I let out a pained moan.

Weirdly, my moan came out more like a whimpering squeak. But before I could think too much about it, my body froze as I felt something I never had before. My ears flicked. I couldn't tell if it was just my nerves acting up, or something else. So I rolled over to my side, only to become more confused. I could feel the grass and dirt beneath me.

Slowly opening my eyes, wincing a little from the light, I confirmed the feeling. I was outside, and it wasn't winter. Quickly I sat up and looked around. My eyes painfully adjusted to the daylight as I found myself in a bright and lively forest. It was a radical change from the Canadian winter I was in yesterday.

How? Was all I could manage to think before rubbing my eyes. When my face was met with a hard solid "whack". Rearing back, I fell over and covered my face. But my hands felt off. After a moment of recovering, I opened my eyes once more and was shocked by what I saw.

They weren't my hands; instead, in their place were a pair of fuzzy cream-colored stumps with hardened tips on each end. I just stared at them for what felt like minutes, unable to process what was going on. Slowly, my mind was trying to make out what had happened.

Around me, the sounds of nature continued to be heard. It was a calm contrast to my current state of mind. Birds continued to chirp and the trees rustled as I endured my mental panic of trying to process just what was going on.

This had to be a dream. Was I still drunk? Am I drugged? A thousand questions raced through my mind as my brain desperately tried to come to terms with the situation. Closing and reopening my eyes, checking my arms over and over again, as if hoping this hallucination would fade and I’d see my normal limbs intact. I kept doing this until eventually looking down. It was then my mind had fully awakened and I fully realized what had happened. My first instinct was to scream.

The shrill, newly feminine shriek seemed to echo through the woods. It felt as if my cry silenced everything around me. Leaping forward and onto my now fully understood forehooves, I continued to look over my new body. 'I. Was. A. Pony!' This had to be a dream, maybe some sort of lucid one. It felt too real. Looking around, I took in my surroundings. Feeling the gentle breeze blow through my mane, and the cool grass on my hooves. I stifled a childish giggle as my ears twitched and flicked seemingly on their own.

It was surprisingly easy to get the hang of walking. I wasn't sure if it was simply instinct or that it felt no different than running up stairs with your arms. Soon I found myself wandering the pleasant forest, occasionally soaking in patches of sun from between the trees.

It was all so surreal. Too surreal to simply be a dream, and too grounded to be some sort of drug-induced hallucination. Lost in thought, I tried to think of any sort of logic behind why I was suddenly a small horse. My attempt to rationalize my current situation was interrupted when I suddenly noticed it was starting to get dark.

'It shouldn't be getting late already, I just woke up.' Looking towards the sky, I quickly noticed the darkening gloomy sky. 'Overcast? That fast?' I could have sworn it was clear when I last looked up.

'Perhaps with pegasi running the weather, things just change that fast.' Before I could contemplate any further, I felt a small raindrop hit my muzzle. Hoof reaching up, I carefully booped my face to confirm it. "Oh, great…"

As if waiting for my word, the sky started to downpour. Taking cover under one of the denser trees, I looked around for any signs of civilization. A sign. Anything. But I only saw nature all around me. This was gonna be a long day, wasn't it?

The rain came in waves, sometimes dying down, giving me false hope that it had ended. Only for the water to come back down hard once more. Through the woods I ran, looking for some sort of trail or building, but only saw more trees. What didn't help was how it seemed to only start raining harder and harder.

Suddenly, I saw a flash quickly followed by a loud thunderous boom. "Ahhhh!" I let out a girlish scream and quickly ran under a massive oak tree. My body was trembling. I wasn't sure if I was just cold from the rain or if the thunder actually got to me.

A moment later, another flash followed by another boom. I felt… scared? No, just a bit on edge, that's all. I tried my best to justify my heightened panic. 'Just need to find shelter.'

It only seemed to get darker as the storm grew more violent. All the while, each explosion and even the rumble of distant thunder seemed to wear on my growing sense of anxiety. Why was that? I'm not afraid of thunder. This must have been what my cat felt during storms.

Another loud boom caused me to jump and I suddenly bolted towards a random direction. I had to get out of this storm. I had to find a dry place to stay. I had to hide! A small logical part of me seemed to push back at my sudden fear, but it didn't seem to budge.

More and more I ran, now noticing the shadows illuminated by the flashes of light. It felt like something was following me, chasing me! My breathing grew rapid as I continued to sprint for my life, tripping into the mud and roots. Pulling myself up, I winced in pain. Tears swelled up in my eyes, hidden by the rain, as I continued to run.

I didn't bother to think or plan, simply running for someplace safe. Safe from the rain, the loud sound and the scary shadows. With the rain so thick and sky dark, I could barely make out the glow of a house's light.

It drew me in like a beacon of hope, a lighthouse in this horrific storm. Sprinting towards it, my body ached, legs burned, and my mind full of fear. I eventually arrived and slammed myself against the door. Another burst of thunder caused me to scream and bang my hoof on the wood.

I wasn't sure if the storm was masking my banging or if whoever wasn't home, so I called out begging for help. "Please! Help! Please!"

I pleaded, and banged on the door, tears streaming lost in the torrent of water. My cries for help quickly devolved into incoherent wails and then my prayers seemed to be answered. I didn't even bother to look at who had opened the door before I ran in and wrapped my hooves around them.

Burying my face in the dry soft fur, I heard the door quickly close and a soothing voice shushing me. What felt like a warm blanket of feathers quickly enveloped me and I simply curled up, wishing for the scary thunder to stop.