The black of night greeted a lone filly as she awoke from her bout of unconsciousness. Everything was blurry initially, no sight nor sound able to pierce through her delirium. Her breathing was slow and heavy, as whatever had hit her left its mark. It took a couple minutes of laying still combined with slow even breaths for her to regain enough composure to get back up.

Sense of touch returned to her first, the coarse dirt and grass beneath her indicating she’d landed on solid ground. But something about it felt off. She didn’t know the words to explain it, but it was like some parts of her were… exposed, while others were covered.

“Ugh… wha’ happened?” she asked, raising a hoof to her forehead to try and quell the throbbing. But the moment she did, any and all sense of calm was lost.

Something was wrong, and the poor filly could feel it.

A rush of panic ran through her system as she scrambled to get back to her feet, the cold wind biting against the exposed parts of her body. It took a few seconds, but she did make it back to standing. Or at least, what she was used to considering ‘standing’.

Her back legs felt too long.

She couldn’t feel her tail.

She couldn’t feel her wings!

Looking for a mirror or something similar as soon as her vision had sufficiently focused, the filly ‘walked’ as best her odd proportions allowed. There was a lake nearby. Surely, she could use that to help set her mind at ease.

Or so she thought. Every step was awkward and uncoordinated, the difference in her limbs becoming too much to ignore. And her hooves, they felt… wrong. Like they weren’t the solid pieces she was so used to having and using daily. Six short years of muscle memory told her it was unnatural, and yet, she had to keep doing it, lest she never get an answer.

“It’s okay… it’s okay…” she said to herself, using every ounce of her willpower to try and keep the feelings of dread down. “Just get to the water. It’ll be okay.”

Slowly, far too slowly to quell the growing pit in her stomach, she made it to the water, the light of the moon above illuminating the reflective surface, and granting her a perfect view of her body. Or at least, what should have been her body.

The feeling in her stomach was right. Something was very wrong...

Looking back at her was a creature so familiar, yet so alien. No fur on her body, replaced instead with bare skin the same color as her coat, and a set of dirtied clothes, tarnished with brown and red. Gone were her hooves, replaced instead with a strange, claw-like appendage, ending in five spindly digits. And her face… oh her face.

She barely even took in the not insubstantial differences, as the first thing that stuck out to her was not the smaller muzzle or the placement of her ears.

The first thing to stand out was the immense amount of red, nearly covering half her face.

Panic and lightheadedness hit in equal measure, as the ‘filly’s’ eyes desperately darted from side to side, searching for any sign of what happened to her, or any sign of where anypony else was. Nothing, immediately, and with a foggy mind working against her, the options seemed thin.

So, she did the only thing she could truly think of.

“MOMMY!”

She screamed as loud as her little voice would let her, actually hurting her throat with the sheer volume of it. But she did not care. When silence was the only answer received, the fear within her doubled, and once again, she screamed.

“DADDY!”

Nothing…

“LIGHTNING DUST!”

Not a noise, beyond the birds spooked away…

“SOMEPONY! ANYPONY!”

Her voice was hoarse, and her throat couldn’t take much more. Tears stung at her eyes, as she heard no hoofbeats, not a single wingbeat on the wind, or anything of the sort. With no leads as to where she was or why she was there, the only thing left that she could do was cry. And really, why shouldn’t see?

With small, convulsing sobs, the filly curled herself up, closing her eyes and trying to block out the world around her. No telling how long she sat there, wallowing in her own loneliness and fear. It could have been minutes, or it could have been hours, and it still wouldn’t have mattered. She didn’t want to see this place, or this body. She wanted to be rid of it.

She wanted to go home...

“Hello?”

One little word, and her attention had returned to reality. Opening her eyes despite the tears still falling, the filly sat back up and scanned the surrounding area. It was a small hope, but hope nonetheless. Maybe it was a pony that knew what was going on, or who could help her find her way back to Ponyville.

The crunching of leaves behind her signified that her savior was close by, and with all the speed her tiny body could muster, she spun around.

But just like before, that hope was dashed, as the owner of the voice was revealed to her.

She wasn’t a pony.

She was another one of these strange… things the filly had woken up as. A tall, ebony-skinned woman with orange-and-white hair, looking at her with deep blue eyes. Eyes laced with concern, which only made her feel worse, as the only ponies who she wanted to see, who were probably worried sick about her, were nowhere to be found.

And so, she hung her head low, and began to cry again.

“Hey now,” the creature said softly, approaching. “Are you okay, little girl?”

“NO!” the ‘girl’ answered in between sobs. “You’re not them!”

“Not who?”

“My mommy and daddy! My sister! I want ‘em back! I wanna go home!!”

The older woman’s breath hitched in her throat as she heard that, looking to the bloodied girl before her. An image formed in her mind, the apparent trauma the girl had been through telling a story all by itself. She couldn’t just leave a crying child in pain like this, and it was clear she needed immediate medical attention.

So, the woman did what first came to mind. Picking up the poor, confused girl and cradling her close, she offered what comfort she could.

“Shh… it’s okay, sweetie,” she consoled, like a mother to her daughter. “It’s going to be okay.”

The little girl sniffled. “N-no it’s not…”

“Oh, please don’t talk like that, little one. Things might look bad, but we’re going to make sure you’re okay. I promise.”

A downtrodden expression and dead silence was the only answer she got, and so, she embraced the child, who continued to sob into her chest. Blood, dirt, and tears stained her blouse, but she did not care, so long as she could help.

“Social?”

Turning her attention back, Social Butterfly was greeted with the sight of her husband, Soft Sell. The green skinned, silver haired man looked to her, golden eyes laced with worry as he saw the battered child.

“Soft, start the car,” Social explained. “We need to get this girl to the hospital, pronto.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice,” he answered. “Bring her to the driveway, I’ll be waiting.”

Social nodded, and began her trek back to their house, the still sobbing child in her grasp.

“I know it must hurt, sweetie, but you don’t have to worry. We’re going to make it all feel better.”

The girl shook her head. “Y-you can’t. I-I wanna go home. I w-want my mommy. I want m-my sister.”

“And we’ll try to find them and get you back home. But for right now, you need a doctor. So, I need you to be a brave little girl, okay? Can you do that for me?”

The child said nothing, only offering a weak nod. Barely noticeable, but it was at least something.

“Now, tell me, what’s your name, sweetie?”

“… I-Indigo. I’m Indigo Zap.”

“Well Indigo, there’s a hospital nearby, and we’re going to get your booboos taken care of. Trust me, you’ll feel a lot better when we’re done.”

Despite the haze her mind was still going through, the words registered in Indigo’s thoughts.

Hospital.

Hospitals were a good place. Mommy had said they took care of her when her wing was messed up. They could make the hurt go away. Hospitals also meant doctors, and doctors were smart. They could tell Indigo what she was, and maybe how to fix it.

After what felt like an eternity, the frightened filly was greeted with the sight most unfamiliar. Kind of like a strange mix of a wagon and a train, colored a bright yellow, with lights flashing in their direction. Social’s pace quickened upon seeing it, and before Indigo got to really take in the details, a door was opened, and she was gently placed in the seat. Comfort overtook her and battled the unease as the plush material met what little exposed skin was on her legs, and a warm breeze blew in her face.

Next to her, Social sat down, wrapping a seat belt around Indigo, and leaning the filly’s head against her body.

With a rumbling noise resembling a beast waking up, the strange wagon-train thing came to life, and the three were moving. Fear crept into Indigo’s young mind, glancing at the concerned woman next to her. They promised they’d get her help, that much she knew. But what kind of help? Would her doctor be a unicorn? Maybe they knew some magic to turn her back? Or did they just mean cleaning off all the blood and giving her bandages?

Whatever it was, Indigo Zap would find out when they got there. Still though, how long would that be?

“C-can this thing go faster?” Indigo asked, trying to hide her nerves.

“Of course it can,” Soft Sell answered her, his voice gentle, yet confident. “It’s not called a ‘Muscle Car’ for nothing.”

The ‘Muscle Car’ let out another loud roar, and the pace with which their surroundings changed quickened. It would have almost left Indigo in awe, if it weren’t for the fact that she was still reeling from this whole thing.

Still though, she tried to think happy thoughts, to keep the darker ones down.

It would be okay.

When they got to the hospital, the doctors would know what to do. They’d be able to turn her back into a pegasus, and they’d know how to get her back to Ponyville. When she got there, her family would be waiting. She’d see Mommy and Daddy again, and Lightning Dust would be so happy. It would be like nothing ever happened.

It would be okay.

… Right?

Author's Note

Okay, it is like 6 AM where I am in the world when I'm posting this, but dammit, I think it's time. I've been thinking long and hard on the AU I wanted to do with Indigo Zap and the others, and I even got a piece of cover art commissioned for this first one, so no better time than the present.

Now, obviously, this does take inspiration from my previous work Obsession, but since that was a one-shot, it won't nearly be as fleshed out as the full version will be. But for now, I offer a prologue, designed to set the scenario up, as well as give an introduction to this Indigo Zap. It's going to take quite a bit to get her from Point A to Point B, so I hope you all enjoy the journey there.

Until next time! For now, Gusto sleeps!