II: Getting used to a new world

I wake up, unsure of what time it is in the day, and begin to stretch out my body. As I stretch out my forearms and legs, I find myself unsure what I should do first. After I finish stretching, I walk out into the bright light and once again get stuck on the top edge of the hole on the side of the rotting tree's trunk.

After prying my head free from the wood, I trot out of the hole and decide that it would be wise to get a better lay of the land. I look around me and see green fields of grass and flowers stretching for as far as the eye can see, causing my stomach to rumble in hunger. Surprised at feeling hunger for the first time, I look around for a good spot to graze on the grass when I notice a small stream passing by a tall patch of grass and head over to it.

I stop by the stream, leaning my head down, and tear off some grass as I start to chew it. To my surprise, I find it somewhat tasty and finish chewing what I have in my mouth before swallowing it down, I then take a small sip from the stream to test the water. The water also is pretty good, even though I have no clue as to what it should actually taste like. My stomach seems to enjoy it, so I won't deny it what it desires. As I drink from the stream, I look down at the water to find out why I seem to get stuck on things. I look down at my reflection to see that aside from having the head of a pony, I also have a unicorn's horn.

A pegasus lounges on a cloud in the sky as it floats along aimlessly as one of her ears perk up at hearing an annoying slurping sound coming from somewhere below, forcing her to look down over the edge to see what is making the noise. Her eyes widen with curiosity as she sees a pure white pegasus with a long, black mane, tail and black wings. As she looks a little closer, she notices that they have something on their head as well like some of those roaming pony herds she saw a few days ago. Wanting to watch the strange pony some more, she makes herself comfy on the cloud she is on.

As I satisfy my thirst and hunger, I get the strange feeling that I'm being watched and check the area surrounding me for any threats. Not finding any threats anywhere, I grab a few more blades of grass and see a fat stalk with a thick bud at the end of it. I become curious as to what it tastes like and bite the stalk off and start to chew on it, spitting it out almost immediately as it tastes really sour in my mouth and take a drink from the stream and shake my head before spitting the water to the side. I then walk away from the stream when I hear snickering coming from above me, drawing my eyes upward to see a blonde tail hanging off the edge of a cloud in the sky and say, "I can hear you up there, please come down so we can talk."

The female pegasus stops snickering and looks back over the edge, seeing the pony looking up right at her. Unable to understand them, she just cocks her head with a confused look on her face and looks right back at them.

I sigh and begin to think that there is nothing here in the world that might understand what I say and start heading away from the pony up on the cloud.

She continues to watch the pony curiously, wondering if they can understand her at all. Deciding to follow them since she was kicked out of her herd by the lead stallion for being different from them, having the ability to go up into the sky when the others were stuck on the ground.

I ignore the pony following me and wonder how I use my creation ability father gifted me, continuing to wander aimlessly through the green fields until I come across a small river that cuts in front of me. I try to see if the water is clear enough to locate the bottom, but it is too muddy to attempt crossing because of these useless wings dragging behind me. I then start to follow the stream for a suitable place to cross, stopping every now and then to try to find a shallow point.

The pegasus looks at the back of the pony as its tail is brushed aside by some tall, stiff grass and sees that it is a stallion. She then returns to watching the stallion from her cloud as he continues to stop and look at the water from time to time, making her wonder if he is trying to find a place to cross. Wanting to help them out, she looks at the water and sees a really wide spot where the water is only a few inches deep with small stones lining the bottom of the stream. She then hops off her cloud to show him where he can cross, using her appendages at her sides to glide down to the ground.

I hear something land near me and look back to see the pegasus trotting towards me, stopping in my tracks to see what it wants. I watch as they continue on past me, flicking their tail in my face as they pass alongside me, allowing me to learn that it is female. As she continues a little ways, she stops and looks back at me then nickers, and then watches me expectantly before doing it again. I watch her do it a few more times before cocking my head and think, 'Wait, is she trying to get me to follow her? There's only one way to find out if that is true, I'll see if that thought is correct.' I then follow after her as she continues to walk ahead of me, having to trot to keep up with her and continue to ignore the pain my injured wings cause me with each step as she occasionally glances behind her to see if I am still following her.

She continues trotting along as she reaches the shallow spot she saw from above. She squeaks with surprise as something bumps into her rear, looking back to see that it was only the stallion behind her running into her. As she watches his facial expression, she notices that he didn't mean to do that and huffs as she feels her own face begin to heat up. Turning her head around to look ahead of her, she trots forward and stands off to the side in the shallow spot.

As I follow her through the tall grass, I see what she was trying to show me and smile at her, bowing my head to thank her for guiding me here before continuing to cross the stream.

While she watches him continuing to cross the stream, she watches how his appendages trail on the ground then thinks, 'What a strange stallion, he doesn't speak or act like some of the other ponies I met. Did that gesture mean that he is accepting me into his herd, I will have to follow him until he rejects me and chases me off. Those things beside his back don't seem to sit right, is he not able to go into the sky like me?' Then crosses the stream herself, trotting after him to catch up. As she continues to follow him, she looks closely at the spot where the appendages emerge from his body. Seeing that there is a sharp bend near the base of the appendages she figures out that he apparently can't fly, and feels sad for him not being able to enjoy the sky as she can and thinks, 'Since he is unable to fly, I shall use my wings to help him however I can.'

I look up at the sky and see the sun close to the middle of the sky, meaning that it is time to eat and look around for any water. Unable to see anything due to the tall grass, I continue to walk forward until it gets short enough to allow me to see in the distance. I reach a spot where my head is just above the grass around me and stop when I see another herd of ponies, the ones in this group all have a horn on their heads or a pair of wings at their sides.

The pegasus follows the scent of the stallion through the tall grass, bumping into the back of something soft and warm. She opens her eyes to see that she has accidentally bumped into the back of the stallion, her face heats up as she then backs up a little ways.

I continue walking through the grass toward the herd as a few of them spot me and watch curiously as I head towards them.

A light grey unicorn watches the strange pony as it makes its way toward their wandering herd, having a pure white coat, black mane and tail, and also having a pair of black wings and a horn on its head. She quietly wonders where it came from as a pony with appendages on its sides exits the tall grass having a blonde mane and tail and a lavender coat. As she becomes curious about what this pony is and why he has both a horn and appendages on its sides, she walks toward them to investigate.

I stop in a patch of low grass as one of the ponies from the herd makes its way toward me, having a blue mane and tail with a light orange coat. As the pony gets close enough to me, they express their curiosity by using one of their hooves to poke me in random places on my body.

The curious unicorn rears up and places a hoof on the front of the tall pony's shoulders, reaching up with her free hoof to see if the horn is attached like hers is. Lightly pushing the horn in various directions, she learns that the horn is indeed part of its body and moves on to inspect the appendages laying on the ground.

I watch the curious pony as it looks at my wings closely and pushes up on my right wing, causing me to hiss out in pain as they then stop and back away from me with a scared look on their face. I sigh and shake my head saying, "My wings are broken, so I can't fly. Won't ever heal, meaning constant pain for me."

The unicorn blinks for a moment as her mind tries to process what it just heard and responds, "You...hurt?"

My eyes widen as I look at them in shock and raise my head slightly then ask, "You can understand what I say?"

She nods her head slowly and says, "Some...yes. Be okay? How hurt?"

I smile at finally finding some creature that understands what I say and answer, "I'm glad you understand some of what I say, I will be fine. I was punished and cast out of my home, my wings were broken as punishment and will never heal. Forever in pain, but I will handle it."

She smiles back warmly and sighs saying, "I glad you be okay. Sad you lose home. You look new herd?"

Thinking that she is asking me if I am looking to join their herd, I shake my head side to side and say, "Thank you, but I'm not looking to join a herd. I wish to see more of this world and learn how to use my gift, could you help me with that?"

The unicorn thinks for a moment before saying, "I able to do this..." and looks at a small rock on the ground and uses her horn to lift it off the ground. She then lets it fall to the ground and says, "You want learn?"

I smile and nod my head, hoping that I can learn to use my ability with their assistance and say, "I would like to learn how to do that, please teach me."

She blushes for a moment and says, "I not teach good, me still learn. Father better teach, I take you, please follow." then turns around and quickly walks away with a smile on her face as she goes to bring them to her father.

A solitary elder stallion stands off to the side of the wandering herd when he sees his daughter bring an unusual pony towards her with a pure white coat, a black mane and tail, black appendages, and black hair over his hooves with a horn on his head. This new pony's appearance catches his eye as he wanders toward her saying, "Who you bring me this time sweety?"

The unicorn smiles at her father and turns towards the pony behind her saying, "I bring strange pony, has horn like me, but also has appendages. It sad they can't fly. They want learn ability."

The elderly stallion looks at the strange pony again and sees bright amber eyes looking back at his and looks back to his daughter and chuckles saying, "Thank you, sweety. Go graze while I have words with pony."

She nods her head and says, "Okay." then trots off to continue grazing on the patch she was enjoying earlier.

He looks at the strange pony as his daughter leaves and asks, "I not see anything like you, what be name?"

I look at the pony, appearing to be well past his prime, having a horn, a silver beard, and a mane and tail on a brown coat sign of his age, and say, "My name is Galadriel, I don't know what I am. I am different from the ponies I have seen so far, who are you?"

The elderly stallion nods his head and says, "I am Silver Beard, that was daughter, her name Strong Star. You wish to learn ability other horned ponies have?"

I nod my head and say, "I would like to learn to use my ability very much elderly one, I would then use it to aid those that live here."

Silver Beard then says, "Okay. First, search within for..." trailing off to find the right word for the sensation in his body and resumes speaking, "...for a spark of unused strength. It may take time to feel, but it there."

I close my eyes and concentrate for a moment, searching deep within my body for the feeling he described. Finding it after concentrating for a few minutes, I try to use it with no success saying, "I have found it, but I can't use it."

His eyes widen with wonder and says, "That was quick, very surprising. It takes others several days to find it, good job. To use that strength within, we must first learn to connect to it. When you connect to it, your horn will tingle. You then need to have an idea of what you wish to use it for."

I keep my eyes closed and try to figure out how to connect to it, taking me quite a while to get the hang of how to do it. I then start to feel a tingling sensation on my horn and think of what I wish to do with it, I think about what I should create when the idea of a fruit tree comes to my mind. I then open my eyes and look at the ground a little ways to my left, trying to coax a pear tree to rise up out of the ground and bear fruit to feed the ponies around me.

Silver Beard feels the ground rumble and wonders what is going on as he sees Galadriel's horn glow brightly as a tree shoots up out of the ground to the left of him, growing thicker as it stops and towers over the ponies around them. He is amazed at what he sees as the tree then sprouts flowers, which fall away as odd-shaped objects grow in size and dangle from small stems.

As the tree fills with green fruit, every pony in the herd stops what they are doing to stare up at the objects dangling from the branches.

I open my eyes and look at the tree with a smile on my face, then shift my gaze to the elderly stallion and say, "This tree here produces a type of fruit that is called a Bartlett Pear, the fruit on this tree grows to about that size but must be picked and set aside before they are ready to eat. When it is ready to be eaten, the thin outer layer of the fruit or 'skin' will turn colors and become yellow. They are very tasty and have a sweet taste when you bite into one that is ready or 'ripe', you can even take the seeds out when you eat it to plant them to grow more."

The elderly stallion then looks at him and says, "Wow, that sure is great ability, the herd shall make this spot part of journey."

I then smile and nod my head saying, "Thank you for teaching me how to use my ability, now I shall go forth and help others with it. Be sure the others know that the fruit does go bad after a while, usually they will have brown spots on the outer layer but not always. Make sure not to take more than what is needed, or it may go to waste. It is not very good to be too wasteful with food. Enjoy your day elder Silver Beard, I pray that your twilight years of life are peaceful.

Silver Beard smiles and lowers his head towards the ground, closing his eyes while he bends one knee and leans back while pulling his knee with him in a bow saying, "I shall follow your advice, wise one."

The pegasus following him watches the odd exchange as the other ponies do the same as the elder stallion, trotting after Galadriel as he pays no mind to their gestures and continues to wander on while thinking, 'That was quite interesting to see a tree pop out of the ground so fast like that.'

I then spot a small pond with a stream running through it and make my way there, grabbing a couple of mouthfuls of grass as I get the urge to 'go' and try to figure out how best to do it. I first widen my front legs a little and move my right hind leg under me slightly, then raise my left leg and twist my hip up and to the right so that I don't step in a puddle of my own urine.

She cocks her head at the stallion's very odd behavior, finding the way they move their body somewhat amusing as she splays her back legs slightly and relieves herself after he finishes.

As I set my hind leg back down, I return my posture to normal and resume heading towards the pond to eat grass thinking, 'I shall have to test this power out, to see what I am able to create with it so I can make the lives of other ponies better. Perhaps I shall teach this pony to speak as I can, maybe I can teach her some crafting skills.'

*Timeskip, Three months later*

I spent the majority of the past three months trying to teach her to speak and craft, having mixed results for the latter and making great progress on learning to talk. I also used some of that time roaming the land that we are currently on, and finding out what I am capable of making. Learning that I can't create just a single apple without the tree it grows on, the same goes with other items that must grow or 'live' to get the end result. I am able to manipulate things to a fair degree and control many elements including Earth, Air, Water, Fire, Metal, Crystal, and even Light.

As my friend and I travel along a remote coastal region far to the northeast of where we first met, and pass by an area where a herd of ponies tend to a few square, flooded gardens I recognize as rice paddies. I am reminded of a land on Earth where there were beautiful cherry blossom trees, making me trot around the area with hopes of seeing those trees here. My hope is crushed as all I see around me are rolling hills with a few straw huts, and there is not a single tree in sight. I sigh and still my mind, then look to my companion, Cloud Burst and say, "I shall return after I help these ponies in making their land, a little nicer to look at."

Cloud Burst smiles and says, "Yes, go experiment. Make sure not to pass gas when you are in a cave, or you may get stuck in there surrounded by giant clear rock thingies."

I look back and narrow my eyes slightly as my face blushes from embarrassment then say, "They are called crystals, and that was an accident!" I ignore her laughter and continue going about my quest to make these ponies a little happier, walking up to a really large bare spot on top of a solitary hill where there is no house or underground space. I close my eyes and concentrate on the type of tree I wish to create as I smile then use my ability to coax a cherry blossom tree to rise up out of the ground. I lower my head close to the ground while my horn tingles and softly whisper to the earth, "Rise up Somei Yoshino and grace these hardworking ponies with your beauty, they shall feel happiness and love when looking forward to your beautiful spring blooming. In turn, I shall ensure they take great care of you and keep you healthy."

A nearby pony watches the odd pony speak to the ground, causing it to rumble gently for a brief moment before something sprouts up a short distance from the pony's nose. It steadily grows taller and wider until it towers over her house as pale pink flowers appear briefly before falling off the tree and sprouting green leaves that slowly change color to light green. She becomes curious as to what or who this strange pony is, and makes her way over to them to speak to them.

I watch as the tree stops growing and weave my way around the low-hanging branches that would normally snag on my horn, succeeding in getting away from the long branches only to see a pony making their way over to me and meet them halfway then wait for them to say or do something first.

The curious earth pony looks at the tree behind the strange pony, then back down at them. She looks the pony over, having a horn on their head with two appendages on their back matching their black mane, tail, and hoof hair and bright amber eyes. She finds it curious that their coat is a pure white color and asks, "What's yer name stranger?"

I then look down at them, seeing a tan earth pony with a black mane and tail, and has a pair of pretty light blue eyes and say, "My name is Galadriel, who are you?"

She cocks her head in confusion saying, "Pardon, but could ya say that again? Ya said it too fast so ah couldn't quite catch it all."

I nod my head and say it a little slower, pronouncing each syllable as it sounds, "Gal...ad...ree...ell, did you catch it that time?"

The earth pony nods her head and says, "Eeyup ah did Galadriel, My name is Fair Seed. What is that large tree over there, and how did ya get it to grow so fast?"

I chuckle and say, "That is what is known as a cherry blossom tree, the fruit that drops from it is only edible by the birds but it is very pretty in spring when the branches fill with many light pink flowers that shed their petals. It is also pretty in the fall when its leaves change to a reddish-orange color sometime during fall or autumn. It grew that fast because I used my ability to help it continue to grow, unfortunately, I cannot help plants grow quicker that my ability does not create. I see you raise crops, does that mean you grow your own food?"

Fair Seed nods her head and says, "Eeyup we do, we found a food type that you grow in water and does not spoil for a little while after it is picked. What brings ya here Galadriel?"

I smile warmly and say, "Well nothing really, I just wanted to wander and explore this land and get to know everything I can about it as I do what I can to help other ponies improve their lives."

She then looks around at the barren land their herd stays on and asks, "Think ya could possibly grow a few more of them trees, maybe make the branches not quite so long at the bottom?"

I look back at the wide base of the cherry blossom tree and chuckle saying, "I think I can do that, those branches will catch you by your horn or your neck if you don't pay attention. Where would you like me to grow these trees?"

Fair Seed moves her head to the side saying, "Follow me, ah should make sure it is okay with the leader first. If he says it's okay, ah'll show ya where they should go."

As I follow her around, summoning trees in various points around the village, feeling glad to help these ponies out by adding beauty to their land. I finish telling her how to care for these trees as one more Sargent's Cherry Blossom emerges from the ground and rises up into the sky asking her, "Do any of you have any use for cloth?"

She marks another spot with her hoof for another tree and says, "Hmm, some but not a whole lot. Why, is it popular where yer from?"

I call forth another tree and answer, "It has an important place among the economy and those that really desired it, the fabric I have in mind to gift you is called silk. I'm able to summon forth any plant I have knowledge of, but whether I can call forth something that has an existence of its own is unknown to me. I shall have to find out if my ability will permit it, would you allow me to stay within the village for the time being? I will have to begin my attempts when it warms up and the proper leaves can be harvested, which means waiting for late spring to come around."

Fair Seed nods her head and says, "Eeyup, ya can stay with me at mah home. Ah recently left mah family's home because it was getting a little crowded, so they helped me build mah own place and there is plenty of room fer ya and yer friend over yonder."

I bow my head to her and say, "You are very kind and generous to permit two strangers to share your home, thank you very much Fair Seed. Would you be okay with me summoning a new type of tree somewhere in the village? It will create small berries that can be eaten by ponies if they wish for another food source."

She considers it for a moment and says, "Ah think that it'll be ok, but let's go ask the leader to be sure."

After getting the permission from the leader, I follow her to a nice sloped spot between too hills and begin to call forth the first of eight trees saying, "These trees I am calling forth are called Mulberry trees, the very small fruit on them will turn from green to a pinkish red. When they are ready to be picked, they will turn a very dark purple. They can be picked off the tree then or they will eventually fall from the tree on their own as they begin to dry up."

*Timeskip, Seven months later*

I learn new information about the herd of this land, forcing me to adapt to the difference in society's norm with this world's being a polyamorous social structure. Time passes and the seasons change, fall turns into winter. Winter then arrives, allowing me to begin attempts at creating a new lifeform in this world. It takes me three months to finally succeed, learning a few things during that time I spent attempting to create the silkworms. I carry a small basket in my teeth containing a small box that holds a small pile of eggs inside on a small piece of thin wood, weaved out of long, thick grass that grows beside a nearby stream as I make my way to where Fair Seed is. Finding her by the rice paddies her family owns , putting the basket down gently and say, "Good day Fair Seed, how is your day?"

Fair Seed looks up from her spot in the field to see Galadriel standing nearby and wipes her brow with her left foreleg saying, "It's great so far, we're gettin' ready to put the new crop in. Thanks fer helpin' us with the harvest bah the way, ya saved us an extra week or two. What do ya have in the basket there?"

I smile and say, "I managed to succeed in my endeavor, Inside are young silkworm larvae, they will hatch anywhere from within a couple of days to a couple of weeks. They require one or two leaves from the mulberry trees per day, make sure to keep the leaves inside this box fresh. When a new leaf is added, wait to remove the old leaf when it is dried up so that the tiny larvae have time to move to the fresh leaf. Would you want me to tell you more about them later, when you finish working today?"

She smiles and politely nods her head saying, "If ya would, ah'd be glad. Ah'm lookin' forward to learnin' more bout what this silk is and what worms have to do with it."