A Kinder World

Chapters

Chapter 12: Checking In
Chapter 1: The Void
Chapter 2: Unfortunate New Beginnings
Chapter 3: A Hairy Encounter
Chapter 4: A Quiet Forest Walk
Chapter 5: First Contact
Chapter 6: Waking Up
Chapter 7: Health Insurance
Chapter 8: First Impressions
Chapter 9: Split Second
Chapter 10: Disillusion
Chapter 11: Reclusive Resonance
Chapter 13: Hope

Chapter 12: Checking In

Lyra eventually made her way through the front doors of Ponyville General, a rather timid Terra curled up on her back. The reception area was entirely barren, barring a tired looking Nurse Sweetheart at her usual place behind the front desk. She perked up when she saw Lyra enter.

“Oh! Welcome, Lyra. What brings you— Terra!” she exclaimed, before immediately excusing herself from the room to find Nurse Redheart.

Lyra felt some movement from Terra, and looked to see her attempting to hide her face in Lyra’s mane while only partially succeeding. Lyra couldn’t help but see a bit of Fluttershy in the filly. “Terra is way cuter though,” she thought with a grin.

Very shortly after, a blur of white burst through one of the side doors at Pinkie Speed, before resolving into the shape of Nurse Redheart. She looked rather ragged though, with a bedraggled mane and tail and eyebags visible on her face.

“Terra!” was shouted again, this time by Redheart. The nurse had to take a moment to catch her breath before saying anything else. “Where have you been?! You can’t just run off like that! And with your injury too…”

Lyra could feel the filly gripping tighter onto her back while staying completely silent. She couldn’t help but empathize.

“I found her out near town square,” Lyra replied in Terra’s stead. “As far as I could tell, she’d been hiding out somewhere in town, and only came out for food and water right before I found her.”

While Lyra was talking, Redheart had taken to inspecting Terra’s bandages, before sighing in relief at the lack of damage to them. Something odd caught her eye though…

“Well, I’m just glad she’s safe,” Redheart said, exasperated relief apparent in her tone. “It’s not every day that a twenty two year old foal deliberately runs away from the hospital. But she’s back now! Right, Terra?”

It was only then that the filly finally peeked her head up and made eye contact with Redheart, only to quickly avert her gaze and give a shallow nod. “And um…” she squeaked, her shaking voice barely audible, “I’m… I’m sorry for running off…”

Terra looked to be on the verge of tears, causing Redheart’s demeanor to quickly soften with remorse. “Oh, you’re alright,” the nurse said in a comforting voice, moving over to Terra again and placing a hoof on her back. “Just don’t do it again, okay? You’ll be a lot safer here in the hospital than out on the streets.”

Terra’s only response was a barely perceptible, “Okay,” her gaze still tracing the ground.

Redheart smiled, patting Terra’s head a bit, before taking a moment to get Sweetheart’s attention. “Would you mind taking Terra back to her room, Nurse Sweetheart?”

After a careful exchange, Sweetheart made her way through a side door leading further into the hospital, a blushing Terra now lying on the nurse's back. Lyra’s heart ached watching the filly glance back at her as she disappeared through the door.

Redheart then motioned for Lyra to follow her to the waiting room area, where they both took a seat in two of the many empty chairs. As soon as they were there, Redheart’s facade dropped, her expression somehow filling with even more exhaustion.

“I can’t thank you enough for this,” Redheart said wearily. “I thought she’d be found quickly once Mayor Mare was alerted, but… how long has it been? 16 hours almost?” She said, glancing at a nearby clock with a sigh. “How did you do it, even? How did you convince her to come back?”

“Oh, just some music and a chat between friends,” Lyra said with a grin. “I just had to remind her that us ponies have to stick together.” She paused for a moment, her grin widening. “The food probably helped, though.”

Lyra’s quip did not have the intended reaction, as Redheart’s eyes quickly widened with shock. “Oh, she was out there for so long, she’s probably starving! That poor foal…” she said, her face overtaken by sorrow.

The unicorn recoiled, her smile quickly dropping. “Oh, yeah, I probably should’ve gotten her more than just a pretzel…” she said with a tinge of regret. “She was pretty tense as is though, almost didn’t eat at all.” Lyra sighed suddenly. “What’s her story, anyway? Mayor Mare didn’t tell us much, just her basic description and that she ran away from the hospital. It seemed a bit too odd of a response to just be ordinary circumstances.”

“It’s not a happy one, I’m afraid,” Redheart admitted, her face darkening slightly. “Just promise me not to gossip about this, alright? The poor foal’s been through enough as is…”

Once Lyra had firmly promised, Redheart briefly went over Terra’s story, touching on her being found in the woods alone, and her lack of any living family or place to live. Lyra’s heart ached more and more the longer she went on. “How could such a young filly handle that kind of loss?” Lyra thought. “It’s no wonder she was so detached…”

Redheart continued, “I’ve already sent a letter to the Ministry about finding her a new home, but there’s no response yet. Although considering that telling her about it is what I suspect made her want to run away, I’m a bit wary about who they’ll decide she’ll be rehomed with…”

Lyra nodded solemnly in agreement. “I just hope whoever she ends up with is able to get through to her, you know? She strikes me as a filly who fiercely protects her heart, like she’s been hurt in the past and refuses to let it happen again. A tough egg to crack for sure…”

Redheart froze for a moment. “Say, Lyra…”

After a short journey through the bland hallways of the hospital, I was carefully deposited on my old bed by the nurse carrying me. She then swiftly left the room, mumbling something about taking too many shifts, and leaving me alone in the sparse, sterile space.

As soon as she left, I buried my face in the pillows and let out a frustrated groan. “Stupid stupid stupid! Why’d I have to go and run away?! What was I thinking?! Why did I make such an awful choice…”

I did it because I thought living in the streets meant I’d keep my freedom, right? Right?

…No, that doesn’t make any sense! I could barely do anything out there… how did I not realize that until just now? It was like… like I couldn’t control myself. I heard something I didn’t want to hear, and my emotions took over.

I just… I was scared. I’m still scared. I couldn’t stand to see my life turn back into my childhood.

The bandages itched, my hooves ached, but what was hurt the most was my pride. Running away didn’t solve anything… it just made me feel smaller.

…

I felt like crying, but I didn’t want to cry. My chest tightened and the lump in my throat refused to go away. My sadness, my anger, my guilt… it’s all just too much. Something clearly isn’t right.

This isn’t the first time I’ve noticed my emotions being off. Is this… did my emotions go all crazy because I got turned into a child? Into a girl?

I let out another groan, quieter this time. It was like every aspect I learned about my new life here did nothing but further exacerbate my embarrassment and discomfort.

I turned my gaze to the window, before briefly sighing. Despite everything, I wanted to hold on to the desperate hope that things would turn out okay. I learned how to control my emotions before, right? I can learn how to do it again.

At the very least, I was thankful for Lyra for snapping me out of the stubborn decision I had made, and for carrying me back to the hospital. I felt bad about Redheart, though. She had very clearly exhausted herself, likely in her attempt to help search for me. “Seriously, why did I think that was a good idea?!”

I let out a deep sigh, unable to stop the guilt from gnawing at my heart.

This entire day was becoming too much for me. Everything was too new, too unexpected, too… absurd. How was this my life now?

It was like… every familiar thing was just unfamiliar enough that I couldn’t help but linger on the things that were off. I recognized the food, but the taste was different. I could speak and read the words, but some things were inexplicably ponified. I kept my dexterity, but didn’t keep my hands.

Even still, I didn’t want to keep focusing on everything bad, on everything wrong. Like… the people are different, but there’s more kindness here. The food may have tasted different, but it did taste better. And… I might’ve been turned into a kid, but that meant I could just… be a kid again, right? No judgment?

…

I still couldn’t quite resolve my feelings on it all, and my anxiety was starting to get unbearable. I needed a distraction.

I eventually noticed that the book I had left on the nightstand the night before was still there, much to my relief. “Maybe reading can help take my mind off of things…” I thought with a yawn.

“What?!”

“Wait, but…” Redheart began, confused by Lyra’s outburst. “I thought you and Bon Bon wanted foals?”

“Well, sure! But we weren’t thinking so soon!” Lyra exclaimed, then took a moment to breathe. “Sorry, this is just a lot to take in…” She trailed off, her head shaking slightly. “Let’s just step back a bit. Would you even be able to make this happen?”

“I mean, I would hope so,” Redheart replied thoughtfully, holding a hoof to her chin. “The Ministry ponies I’ve met have been kind enough to listen to what I’ve had to say in the past, so it shouldn’t be much of an issue. I might have to let them know pretty soon, though…”

Lyra let out a thoughtful exhale. “Well, I’ll have to discuss it with Bon Bon first, but… maybe…”

Her words trailed off as the weight of the idea finally settled in. “A foal? So soon? Is this really something we’re ready for?” Lyra’s eyes wandered the room, trying to process what the nurse was really asking. “To take her in, to be responsible for her well being and her safety… are we ready for that?

Lyra still couldn’t quite process it. “When do you think you’ll need to know by?”

…Tap.

Tap, tap.

“...Huh?”

I groggily awoke to find myself lying on my back on top of the covers, with an open book having slipped halfway off my chest. “Did I fall asleep…?”

Thunk.

“Wha? Where is that coming from?”

I looked around blearily, my brain still fuzzy from passing out, but I was unable to find anything out of the ordinary.

I took a second to set the book back on the nightstand and shake the sleep from my body. “I guess I was more tired than I thought—”

CRASH!

All of a sudden, the window fell open in a burst of chaos as a fuzzy looking ball of pink tumbled into the room, before slowly resolving itself into a pony shape. I looked on in utter bafflement, and responded with the only reasonable reaction for such a scenario:

“WHAT?! WHO THE FU—”

“Fun?” The pink pony interrupted, seeming to suddenly notice my existence, “I’m the fun, silly Terra!”

I grew even more baffled, somehow. “W-wha? You know me?” “Why does everyone I meet know who I am?!”

“Yeah!” she said, before taking a comically large breath and continuing, “I felt a leg twitch ear wiggle twitchy tail and knew there was a new pony in Ponyville but I searched around and couldn’t find them anywhere and then the Mayor held a meeting about a foal who went missing and that foal was you and I looked around more and still couldn’t find you but then the search was called off so I knew you must’ve been back in the hospital so I checked through all the windows ‘til I found yours and now here we are!”

The pony then somehow wound up like a spring, leaped from her position by the window directly in front of me on the bed, then held out a hoof. “I’m Pinkie Pie!”

I blinked. Then blinked again. The hamster in my brain stopped turning, and decided to go on a lunch break.

…

“Um, can you talk?”

I took a moment to forcefully restart my brain. “…Y-yes, I can speak.”

“Oh, good! I was worried I’d have to start using baby talk or something! Anyways—“ she said, grabbing at my uninjured hoof and shaking it a bit, “Welcome to Ponyville! I’d have brought you something but I don’t know aaanything about you except that you were lost and injured and helpless—“

“Okay! I get it!” I interrupted with a stab of anger. “You don’t have to rub it in…”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie said with an oblivious grin, before suddenly gasping. “Oh, I almost forgot!”

She then sat down and dug around in her mane for a moment, her hoof emerging to reveal she somehow kept a notepad and pencil in that giant pink curly mess. “What’s your favorite color, favorite cake flavor, favorite music…” Pinkie rattled off with somehow limitless cheer. “What is even happening right now? How does she have this much energy??”

“...favorite ice cream flavor, favorite flavor, favorite cheese, favorite—”

“Pinkie Pie!” The door had slammed open to reveal a nurse I had never seen before.

Pinkie quickly turned to face the door. “Uh oh.”

“Oh, and one more thing,” Redheart said as she and Lyra began wrapping up their conversation. “On Terra’s bandage, there was this… sticker, that looked like…” her eyes glanced around a moment before she leaned in and lowered her voice, “Discord. Any idea where it came from?”

“...Huh? Oh, that wasn’t you guys?” Lyra replied, tilting her head slightly.

“No, it wasn’t…” Redheart replied slowly, holding a hoof to her chin. “That’s quite puzzling… Well, thank you for all the help anyway, Lyra. And of course thank you so much again for finding Terra!” she said, grabbing one of Lyra’s hooves and shaking it almost manically.

“Oh, of course!” Lyra replied with eyebrows wide. “Just be sure to take good care of her while she’s here, yeah? And take care of yourself, too! You look like you didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“I haven’t,” Redheart said in a low growl, then blinked and cleared her throat. “B-but, um… you have my word, Lyra, Terra will get the best care we can offer while she’s here,” The nurse replied as they both left their seats in the waiting room. “Let me know your and Bon Bon’s decision as soon as you can.”

“Yeah! I’ll uh… yeah…”

As Lyra walked toward the hospital doors, her mind buzzed with all the things Redheart had told her during her visit. Terra’s story, her struggles… it all made sense now, but it didn’t make the choice any easier. Could she and Bon Bon really take on that responsibility?

Lyra glanced behind her, her eyes held on the door she watched Terra disappear through. The idea of leaving a filly that vulnerable to face a system that didn’t know the full story… didn’t quite sit right with her.

“Bon Bon, we’re going to have a serious talk tonight…”

Author's Note

New chapter yay! Don't have much to say about this one, hope u enjoyed tho :3

Special thanks to my editors Lilyheart, Rainy Skies, and Sparkly Sparks!

Chapter 1: The Void

“You are not supposed to be here.”

I was startled into awareness by an inexplicable voice, speaking to me in a way that should not have been possible. It sounded like it was being spoken inside my head, while also somehow coming from a source outside of it. The voice was both stern and comforting, like the counsel of a wise sage, but had no other defining characteristics that could be gleaned. No gender, no age, just emotion and consciousness.

I attempted to open my eyes, only to find that the muscles didn’t respond. Actually, none of my muscles responded. It was like sleep paralysis, except I didn’t even have the ability to open my eyes to see the being that was haunting me.

This alone was concerning, but I became overwhelmed with anxiety when I realized that I couldn’t feel my body at all. There was no sensation of touch, no warmth or coldness to ground me. No heartbeat in my chest, nor the quiet sound of air flowing through my lungs. All five of my senses were entirely devoid of any feedback; the only things left of me were my thoughts and my memories. “Is this what it feels like to be an uploaded consciousness or something?” I pondered, given I had no better ideas. “Oh god, what happened to me…”

I forced myself to calm down a bit and racked my brain, looking through my recent memories for an idea of what happened before I ended up here. There had to be something that made sense here, right? “Ok, I was hiking, and then… oh, I found that cave—” Oh. The cave. And what I found inside…

My thoughts were interrupted when the voice spoke again, worry seeping into its tone. “What are you doing here? This space should be inaccessible to mortal souls, unless… oh no…”

There was a pause before the voice spoke again, its tone heavy with foreboding. “I am afraid something terrible has happened to you.”

I wanted to shout out about the obviousness of that statement, but alas. My inability to perform even a single action was starting to get to me. Being a fidgety person, I felt like I should’ve been wringing my hands or something, but not being able to was overwhelming in its lack of familiarity.

“If you are here, it means you found yourself at a tear in reality and got close enough to be pulled in. Personally, I do not blame you. In many realities, there are few comparisons to their strange appearance and mysterious allure. I have done my best to patch as many tears as I can, but some still slip through the cracks…” The voice took on a wistful tone. “Even with infinite time, it is impossible to manage everything in an infinite multiverse.”

“Multiverse?? It’s real?” The mere mention of it sent my mind reeling. Could it really be true? Are there really an infinite number of different realities? The sheer implications were staggering… well, assuming I even believe it. Sure, the voice may be saying the truth about my situation, but it can’t all be infinite… right? I could just be on the craziest drugs known to man, but in the wake of not being able to feel anything at all, I found myself very willing to go along with whatever the voice said, as long as it got me out of here. “God, what have I gotten myself into…”

The voice continued solemnly. “At the moment you touched the reality tear, your soul was detached from your body, and your connection to your native universe was severed. It has been centuries since I have seen a soul in here, but I hoped that after all this time I would be able to offer future ones a better solution… still they arrive all the same, and I am left with stinging regrets. I am sorry, but…” The voice paused, its tone dripping with sorrow. “It is not within my current abilities to return you to your original life.”

The weight of the revelation crashed over me like a tidal wave and sank deep into the core of my being where my heart once beat. All of my hope for getting out of here was immediately crushed under the weight. “I… can’t go home? …Fuck.”

It was almost comedic. In a single action, I had managed to effectively end my life on Earth while also proving the existence of something assumed to be science fiction (by any sane person, anyway). Not that I’d be able to go back and tell anyone about it, seeing how I’m here. What even is here? How am I here at all? Every moment I spent here felt like it was ripping pieces out of my sanity.

Did I even tell anyone I was going hiking? If I didn’t, I'd have just entirely disappeared from the face of the Earth. I suppose my car would still be waiting in the parking lot, but who knows what they’d assume from there. Suicide? Kidnapping? There’d be no body, no signs of struggle, no evidence of where I went.

Would the cave still be there? Something like that should’ve been blocked off, surrounded by the military, and studied. I guess my luck just took a horrible turn for the worse, assuming I was the first person to find the thing. I wanted to scream, cry, shout, anything, but every attempt left me with nothing but a growing sense of frustration.

My reeling thoughts were interrupted once again when the voice spoke, a comforting air in its tone. “I can feel that you are distressed. Again, I am truly sorry, young soul. Do not give up just yet, though, as there is something still I can do for you.” A spark of hope.

I felt waves of something passing over me, filled with energy. “Although I may not be able to send you back to your native universe, I may be able to send you somewhere close to it. Your soul contains a level of kindness only seen in certain areas of the multiverse. I will use my power to send you to one of those.” A pause. “I apologize, but this may hurt.”

“Hurt? How can I feel hurt without— OH.” In an instant, a surge of anguish washed over my being, threatening to engulf all rational thought. Waves of energy crashed into me, overwhelming me in seconds. I felt like I should’ve passed out already, but without a body to be conscious in, there was no unconsciousness to be gained.

Suddenly, I felt the sensation of movement. I was going somewhere, faster and faster as I got closer to my destination. Everything together seemed to be heading towards a crescendo of pain and disorientation, a symphony of chaos that only grew louder.

It was difficult to hear the voice through all of this, but I was still somehow able to make out what it was saying. “I wish you luck in your new life. I am sorry I could not do more for you, but I encourage you to make the most of the situation. This is a new chance, in a kinder world. It will be difficult, but I have faith that you will be just fine.”

The cacophony grew louder, to the point where I couldn’t think. Everything faded to white, then to black.

Author's Note

First chapter! this is so real actually

Chapter 2: Unfortunate New Beginnings

As I faded into consciousness, the first thing I noticed was the quiet symphony of nature at night. The soft rustling of a breeze through the leaves of trees, bugs chirping at an uneven tempo, and the distant sound of an owl hooting away.

The second thing I noticed was the ability to feel again. The ability to feel sore, more specifically. There was still some residual pain from my journey here, in a place I could only assume was my soul itself. “Ugh, I feel like I got hit by a bus. Better than not feeling anything, I suppose…” As painful as it felt, it was a great relief to be away from the feeling of pure detachment brought on by the void I was just in.

I slowly opened my eyes (finally!) to reveal a forest surrounding me and the night sky above me. I was lying on my side in a small clearing speckled with wildflowers and grasses. I could feel a cool night breeze against my skin, but something about the way it flowed across me was odd. I was too sore and tired to properly address it, so I shrugged it off for now. Slowly and painfully rolling to my back, I looked up at the sky. My eyes widened at the view before me.

It was beautiful. The night sky above me was the most gorgeous one I’d ever seen. It was speckled with vivid stars, interspersed with ethereal nebulas of dark blues and purples. The centerpiece was the full moon itself, which sat in the dead center of the sky, bathing the ground below in a soft, cool light. “Wow, I must be in an area of incredibly low light pollution to be able to see the sky this well— or, right, a different universe.” I had no right to assume that the fundamental laws of the universe worked the same way here as they did back home.

I carefully scanned the sky, looking for any recognizable constellations that I could recall off the top of my head, and came up empty. Either they were all obscured by the trees, or I really was in a different universe. “What, am I questioning the voice now? I really have no reason to doubt that it was telling the truth. It promised some amount of familiarity though, so that’s a comforting thought at least.”

And familiarity I found. The forest that surrounded me reminded me strongly of the forests I left behind. Large spruces and firs speckled with moss dominated the landscape, leaving the forest floor nearly devoid of moonlight. Various bushes and ferns occasionally took up room on the forest floor, adding a bit of variation to the otherwise mostly uniform forest. The scene around me helped to calm me down, and I enjoyed the peaceful solitude for a moment.

The soreness mostly receded, I made an attempt to sit up, and only partially succeeded. My body didn’t quite respond properly, and my back didn’t seem to want to bend in the way I was used to. My following attempt to stand utterly failed, and I flopped forward and landed on my face, eliciting a muffled “ow” from my mouth, half buried in dirt.

Mostly awake now from the unpleasant and puzzling experience I just had, I sat back up again and shook my head, getting off as much dirt as I could. “Ugh,” I thought, “the whole ‘being tossed into a new reality’ thing really did a number on me, huh?”

I reached up my hand to rub my now injured nose and—

“ACK—”

I felt like I just punched myself in the face. “Ugh, what…”

Pulling my hand back to inspect it, I was hit with a sudden and overwhelming sense of confusion and disorientation. Instead of seeing my hand as I was used to, I instead saw a… is that a hoof??

Inspecting the rest of my arm only further confounded me, as it was now covered in a thick layer of orangey-tan fur. Scanning my eyes over the rest of my body, I saw more of the same fluffy texture, with each of my limbs ending in a similarly colored hoof. I went cross eyed for a moment, noticing a muzzle protruding slightly into the edges of my vision, obscuring more than my nose usually did. Looking behind me, I saw a light blue tail with a single green stripe running through it attached to my lower spine, swishing in agitation.

“What… the fuck? The voice didn’t say anything about being stuck in a new body…” Although after thinking about it, it made sense. It did say that my connection to my normal body was severed when I fell through that god forsaken hole in reality, so I suppose the only logical thing for it to do was to construct a new body for me to live in. Not that that made being stuck in this unfamiliar body any less overwhelmingly confusing. This… is a new body, right? I sincerely hope I did not just possess someone.

Shaking that concern out of my head, I brought my thoughts back to my appearance. “This is so weirddd…” I thought, twisting my arms around and staring at them. They seemed to be about as mobile as they used to be, although they felt significantly shorter, and the joints were in slightly different places. My legs however seemed completely different, with a dramatic bend at what looked like a knee. I adjusted my sitting position, and found it much more comfortable to sit like how a dog would, as strange and disorienting as that felt. The sheer brightness of the colors on my body was equally disorienting.

I could feel myself getting overwhelmed with anxiety and took a moment to calm myself. A few breathing exercises helped me to relax a little bit, but I still felt a creeping discomfort. The lack of familiarity I felt compared to my normal body was really starting to get to me. I felt dehumanized and humiliated. I’m just glad there wasn’t anybody around to see me freaking out like this…

A particularly strong breeze blew over my body, rustling the fur that covered it. I shivered, finally realizing what that sensation I felt earlier was. The fur coat I now had did a relatively good job of keeping out the cold, but I still felt quite naked without any clothing. I grew self conscious, and felt my cheeks flush a bit at the thought.

It felt surreal, knowing that of all the universes I could’ve been plopped in, I ended up in a surprisingly familiar one, trapped in the body of some kind of animal. Although after thinking about it, considering all of the horrific realities I could’ve ended up in, I felt like I’d won the lottery in comparison. “Am I a horse or something? Or at least a small one? A… really small one…”

All at once, I was suddenly aware of how short I really was. Looking up, the trees around me seemed way larger than I was used to seeing, the grass below me, although not particularly long, reached nearly to the top of my seated legs, and most of the foliage in the forest was somehow taller than me.

“Well, either the species of horse that I am is really small, or this world is really large. I’m not a super huge fan of either option…”

This… is not great. There could be any number of dangerous predatory species living in these woods, who’s to say they’d be in any way similar to any species on Earth? I could just get attacked by a horror beyond my comprehension and be dead before I had the chance to get out of this forest. I could die in any number of unknown ways and not even have a moment to blink before I did— “Ugh, stop. I’m just making myself all anxious again…”

I took a moment to quiet my now quickly beating heart by taking a few deep breaths. “Focus. I’m not gonna benefit from imagining all the ways I could die that are out of my control. Assuming that whatever I am is the dominant species on this planet, I should probably be fine. Although, I have a hard time believing that a species of small, soft looking horses could be a dominant species.”

Hmm, small horses. There’s a name for that, right? Ponies? …Ponies.

“And thus, the protagonist finds himself lost in an unfamiliar world in the body of a pony! Will he make it out alive?! Find out next time!!”

Chuckling softly at my own antics, I noticed something I hadn’t thought about yet. “Testing testing, one two three,” I said aloud. “La la la la laaaaa—“

I stopped. There was something about my voice that sounded both distinctly feminine and uncomfortably childish. I hadn’t thought to consider what age and gender I’d appear as. I guess I assumed I’d look the same way as I did when I left, but every discovery left me doubting ever more than anything about my body was familiar. I guess I really am just—

“Now hold on now. I can’t assume that gender and age works the same way around here. Different universe and all? C’mon, no jumping to conclusions. I’ll find some other people— ponies?— to talk to, and I can work out where I’m at in that regard from there, alright?”

Still, I was curious. I looked down and took a glance between my legs.

…

Huh.

Immediately banishing that thought from my head before I even had the chance to think it, I steeled myself and thought over what I needed to do.

“Alright, assuming this world has other creatures like me, my main goal should be to find civilization. Or I guess more pressingly, food and water. I’m gonna die out here if I don’t manage to find anyone in time, so basic necessities should be first.”

I took a moment to attempt to remember the basics of wilderness survival. “Ok, my first priority should be… finding a clean source of water, and then… foraging?” I really wish I had kept my wilderness survival knowledge up to date. Besides the basics of Don’t Die™, there wasn’t much to my current understanding of what to do when you’re lost in the woods. I’m sure there was some Cub Scout badge for it, but I quit too soon for that experience to be worth much. Considering how much time I spent in the forests back home, I was playing with fire for a while. My overreliance on GPS might actually be the death of me here.

Oh. I just realized something. “There’s no way to know whether or not I'm still able to eat meat, so hunting is out of the question. Too risky.” Plus, my lack of fingers or supplies of any sort would’ve made going through all the steps to catch and cook a meal nearly impossible. I looked down at where my hands once were. Would I even be able to build a fire? It might make a useful signal, but without any tools, my only shot at creating one would be through friction. I was never any good at that even as a human; as a pony it would be impossible.

“Alright, I guess I should focus on looking for… anything, really. Food, water, or other people. Anything that’ll increase my chances of living.”

With a plan in place, I decided to take another shot at standing. “Well, if I’m this horse… pony… thing, I’m probably quadrupedal, right?”

I flopped down on my stomach, then moved all four limbs under my body and pushed up. I was still a bit sore, but my attempt was a success, and I lifted myself up on four hooves, albeit with a bit of shakiness.

The feeling of standing like this was weird. It almost felt like standing on my toes, but with one big digit on the end of each limb instead of multiple. My legs seemed to be the perfect length for standing like this, and not uncomfortable like the bear crawls I had to do in P.E. back in high school. Taking my eyes off of my legs (I guess I have four legs now?), I noticed that my neck was way more flexible than I was used to, and I was easily able to face forward without discomfort. All of this combined left me with some strong mental whiplash, but also a bit of pride in my ability to figure this out so quickly. Now… uh… walking.

Cautiously, I lifted a foreleg and took a step forward. “Ok, uhh… wait, how do horses do it again? Front left, back right, front right, back left, front right, back right— wait!”

I stumbled and fell on my side, the grass below me pricking at my skin. At first I felt angry, but I forced myself to stand back up again. “Come on! If I can’t walk, I won’t be able to do anything around here! Ugh…”

I felt a sort of creeping sadness that threatened to overwhelm my thoughts. “God, this really is my life now, huh? Ejected from reality, turned into a horse. In a completely different universe with no way back. Everything in my life, gone. Fuck…”

I felt my eyes becoming watery, threatening to spill tears. This was strange for me, considering I hadn’t managed to cry at all at any point within the last few years of my life, even as much as I wanted to at times. “Well, this certainly adds to the ‘am a child’ theory.” I shook my head. “No! Stop! Think happy thoughts! Ummm…”

…

“Yeah, I’ve got nothing.”

The dam holding back my emotions finally failed as tears began to roll down my cheeks and splatter on the grass below. I collapsed to my stomach and held my head in my arms— my forelegs— and softly cried.

The reality of my situation hit me all at once. The sheer level of displacement I had experienced was beyond the scale of anyone I had ever known. Forced from my home, my planet, my entire universe, yet somehow still alive and conscious to tell the tale. How? Why? I had no answers.

I wanted to stay curled in a ball forever, and I did for a while, long enough for the moon to progress through the sky a visible amount, before I eventually untucked my head from my— arms and took a deep breath. I had found within myself the motivation to give walking another shot.

I stood back up and, very carefully, followed the same walking pattern I attempted before. Each step was sluggish and calculated, but I was slowly but surely picking up the pace. I found a sort of rhythm in it, and started whistling a tune to the imaginary beat. “Oh! Whistling still works with pony lips. So not everything is entirely different, then.”

My progress and discovery brightened my mood considerably, and I was almost smiling as I walked laps around the clearing, each one a little faster than the last. After a few dozen laps, I had already reached a solid walking pace, if a little wobbly at times. I kept pushing myself to get faster, and my walk turned into a jog (or whatever the equivalent is in horse terms). I adapted the rhythm I set before to accommodate the faster pace. “This is kinda fun!”

My streak of good luck came to a sudden halt when I tripped over something, leaving me airborne for a few moments, before I once again came slamming down on the ground, face first, sliding a few feet in the dirt. After spitting out more dirt than was probably healthy, I gently placed my head back on the ground and groaned. “God, I hope this doesn’t become a running theme…”

Chapter 3: A Hairy Encounter

After brushing off some residual dirt from my face (awkwardly, and with a hoof, that is), I reminded myself of what I was supposed to be doing. “Right, I gotta stay focused. My energy is limited and it’s only a matter of time before I pass out from exhaustion. No time to be screwing around while I’m still stuck out here…” Ugh, thinking of myself as a victim felt wrong, but there was no other way to describe what was happening. I was helpless— nearly helpless— and lost in the woods, with no idea of which direction I should even be going in, as much as I hated to admit it. I really wish I still had my phone…

Still, I was determined to find my way out, no matter what it took.

Speaking of direction, I scanned over the tops of the trees, looking for any landmarks that I could head towards. Unfortunately, my luck fell short yet again; my smallness and/or the trees’ tallness made it very difficult to see very far in any direction. I considered spinning around and pointing in a random direction, but I didn’t want to risk falling over and hurting myself again. I instead picked the direction with the least amount of foliage, then walked out of the clearing into the dimly lit forest.

It was hard to tell how long had passed, with the canopy above blocking a clear view to the night sky. At my best guess, it had been a couple hours since I left the clearing, and I was not faring well because of it. My already aching body was further aggravated by the walk, and tripping over roots and various other forest obstacles was not doing me any favors. My luck had apparently run dry, as I was unable to find anything useful so far. “Unless I can somehow find any use for a bunch of sticks and rocks— not that I’d be able to pick them up anyway,” I thought with a small scowl on my face.

In a burst of motion, I stumbled to the ground once more, courtesy of a particularly treacherous rock. As I fell, a lock of hair was dislodged from its place on my forehead and fell down to obscure my vision, leaving me a little bit startled. I was not at all used to having long hair, having kept my hair short my entire life. I had never really considered the possibility of letting it grow out. “First chance I get, I’m cutting this all off, I swear…”

After grumbling a bit, I went to push the lock back onto my forehead, only to strike something hard. A wave of discomfort swept through my skull, almost like hitting a funny bone, but in a place where it should not have been possible. I didn’t even know that was a feeling I could feel, and the sensation left me slightly stunned and confused. Straining my eyes up revealed something just on the top edge of my vision.

“Augh, what the hell— is that…”

I gave the object another light tap.

“...a horn?!”

Indeed it was. I sat there in the dirt in stunned silence, staring up at the long, dull, tan-ish horn protruding from my forehead.

“What— is— am…” I attempted out loud. It felt like my brain had just shut down, finally succumbing to the torrent of new information I’d been struggling against for the past few hours.

“I’m a unicorn,” I stated in my too-high voice. “I’m. a fucking. UNICORN. WHAT.” I blinked up at the thing a few times in angry confusion.

It took a few more moments for my brain to fully start back up, and I shook my head to clear it of the shock. “Ok.” I took a deep breath. “So… unicorns are real here. Got it. And I’m… one of them. Wow.” I honestly had no idea how I hadn’t noticed the horn before, given how it was sitting right there on my head. Add my inattentiveness to the list of things that could probably get me killed here.

I quietly groaned. “Ok, calm down. No more distractions.” I could already feel myself growing weary, like my body was unfamiliar with the exertion of a hike. “Oh, well, I guess it isn’t, is it?” I was never a particularly active person, but I tried to keep relatively fit, and the hikes I regularly went on were always a great workout. Now, as a pony— unicorn, it felt like all of that progress had just been reset.

I probably still wasn’t aware of all of the ways my body was different from what I was used to, and of all the things I lost when I was ejected from Earth, but each new thing was just adding onto the pile at this point. Once a fully capable human male, now just this— inept child. “Not that I know for sure that I’m a child or anything… different universe, right?”

Shaking out that thought, I focused my attention back on the task at hand. “Ugh, I must really be tired if I keep getting distracted like this. I can't rest yet though, I’ve still had no luck finding anything useful out here. Either I keep going, or I die.”

Invigorated by my newfound determination, I stood back up and continued on my way.

Hours had passed, and I was on my last dregs of energy. The amount of breaks I had to take to keep myself going increased as the time went by, and my hooves and legs were extremely cramped and sore, but I refused to give up. I was way too deep into this and I had to see it through.

Even still, I managed to trip over myself and fall again. I wearily looked to the treetops, noticing a change in the light. Was the sun coming up?

As far as I could tell, it was. But… this feels… way too fast. I could understand a day/night cycle that was faster than Earth’s, but the moon seemed to be moving completely normally while I was still in that clearing. Now, it feels like it’s gone from purely moonlight to nearly fully sunlight in only a couple minutes. What? “God, I’m too tired for this…”

I stared off into the forest for a moment. I could tell I wasn’t going to be able to stay awake much longer, and walking around for far too many hours had left me hungry and dehydrated, but without any signs that I was getting anywhere close to any civilization whatsoever, my anxiety only grew larger and my patience grew thinner. And my eyelids… heavier…

“No!” I shot my eyes open in a panic. “I gotta… I… need to…”

…

“Hmm… maybe just… a quick nap…”

Poke.

I grunted.

Poke poke.

“Would you quit that?” I slurred. “I’m tryna sleep…”

…

Nudge.

“Pleaseeee, just let me slee—” I stopped.

I opened my eyes and turned my head to see a very large brown bear standing over me, watching me with curious eyes. My mouth gaped and my eyes widened in horror, my exhaustion completely forgotten in an instant. The bear towered over me, on the scale that a human would tower over a terrier. How could a bear get so big?

I was terrified. More terrified than I had ever been in my entire life.

This is it. I’m going to die here. And it wasn’t even a horror beyond my comprehension that would kill me, just a really big bear.

“No! Get up! Move! RUN!” I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could, stumbling away from the bear. The bear in question seemed to tilt its head in confusion, but before I could see it do anything else, I had already turned tail (oh god, it’s literal now) and bolted away as fast as my little legs could carry me.

I was already running on fumes at this point, so what I was able to pull off with pure adrenaline alone was almost miraculous. I dodged around trees, over rocks, through bushes. Anywhere that would take me further away from the giant bear I left behind.

Suddenly, I could hear loud footsteps booming through the air from behind me, shaking the forest floor below. It was running after me!

I tried to speed up, but found that my exhaustion was quickly catching up with me. As it turned out, so was the bear. Our sheer difference in size certainly put me at a significant disadvantage in speed. Just the thought of it brought my heartrate up ever faster.

Before I could fully process what was happening, there was a sudden change from the monotony of the forest. The trees seemed to be thinning out, leaving splotches of sky visible through holes in the canopy. Through one of these, I spotted a thin line of smoke coming from somewhere close by.

A campfire!

I immediately changed course and sped towards the direction of the fire, feeling fortunate that whoever was tending to it put in enough wood to let it last all through the night.

Despite my brief stroke of luck, my carelessness finally caught up to me, as my leg caught on a particularly sharp rock. My foreleg scraped against it, setting my gait off course and leaving me sprawling on the ground in pain. I briefly shrieked, a high pitched, ear piercingly loud sound filling the air.

“God, ow, fuck…”

My heart was racing, my breath was labored and erratic, and sweat poured down my small frame. The gash on my foreleg was already deep red with blood. I could feel my adrenaline running out. I knew I wouldn’t last much longer.

“Please, just a little further! The campsite is right there, I can see it through the trees!” The stomping from behind me was only getting louder, I had no choice but to continue.

Slowly and painfully, I stood up on my remaining uninjured legs and hobbled as quickly as I could towards the treeline. “Just a little further— ow! Just… keep going…”

I was at my absolute limit. I had never felt so completely drained, yet absolutely terrified before. My stumbling continued, and the massive creature grew ever closer, until…

Finally, after too many painful steps, my body broke the treeline and I stumbled into a small campsite situated in a sizable clearing. In it were three tents and a small campfire, barely embers at this point but still spewing out a sizable amount of smoke. At the sight of the tents, my relief was unimaginable, and I could already feel my body fall from its adrenaline high. “Maybe I should get… a little bit closer…”

I could see faces peeking out from a couple of the tents, but I was far too out of it to make note of any distinguishing features. “Oh right, the bear! I have to warn them!”

“Careful… there’s… bear…” was all I could get out before I collapsed to the dirt and unconsciousness took me.

Author's Note

Backstory next chapter!

Chapter 4: A Quiet Forest Walk

(Sometime before...)

I drove my car into the state park parking lot, my thoughts still on the events of that morning.

Another argument.

It was unassuming at first. I was invited over for lunch, celebrating my father’s birthday. I went because… I felt obligated, I guess? But almost as soon as I got there, I was “invited” to help clear out an old storage shed that I never even used. What was the point of that? “I don’t know why I even bother sometimes…”

I don’t know what my parents were thinking, treating me like a tool. They may have brought me into this world, and housed and fed me as a child, but that was only the bare minimum. They had no right to assume they’d get anything in return if I didn’t want to give it.

Not that I’m a selfish person or anything! It was just the way they expected my full cooperation in things I wanted no part of, for no other reason than “because I want you to.” It left a bad taste in my mouth.

I had to just deal with it as a child, but since moving out I’ve been speaking to them less and less just to avoid getting wrapped up in another cleaning day or generic community event that didn’t benefit me in the slightest.

It was like that all throughout my childhood. Always doing what they wanted, never asking me for my input, nor accepting it if I provided it. As frustrating as they were to be around, I always hoped that one day they’d actually reach out to try to repair our relationship, but as of now, they’ve shown no interest. They still never made an attempt to really understand who I was. It’s like they didn’t even want to know me.

Do I even know me?

At that moment, I realized my hands were shaking from the force with which I gripped the steering wheel. I took a deep breath and carefully released my grip, ending my rage fuelled mental tirade.

Stepping out of the car, I breathed in the cool afternoon air of the serene woods. This forest was where I went to cool off, to take a break from the world and be alone for a while. I certainly needed it now. If I didn’t leave when I did, the mostly passive aggressive argument would’ve turned into a full on shouting match.

Anger has always been a toxic emotion for me. Made me do things I didn’t want to do, things I knew I’d regret. If I had the ability to shut off the emotion forever, I think I would do it.

I sighed. Somewhere deep down I knew that my parents meant well in their actions, despite their shortcomings. I could see their little get-togethers as just attempts to reach out to their estranged children, only for us to sulk off and ignore them. Sometimes I just wished the world was less complicated…

I took another deep breath. “But enough of that now, I came here to relax and get some alone time, right? No need to work myself up again.” With that in mind, I grabbed my pack full of supplies from the passenger seat, slung it over my back, and walked into the forest.

The land around me quickly became filled with large spruce trees and speckled with bushes and other foliage, enveloping me as I followed down the trail that I knew like the back of my hand.

Well… mostly.

But I knew that if I ever got lost, I’d have my phone available with GPS on. I knew that it worked for sure out here, since I’ve had to use it a handful of times in the past.

“Hmm, what am I feeling up for today?” I thought as I pondered a few of the different areas I had visited in the past, before settling on heading towards the more mountainous, rocky region. It’d be a couple hour hike both ways, meaning I’d be back at the car just before sunset. Plenty of time to cool off.

With that in mind, I walked off in the direction that I knew would lead me to where I wanted to go.

It had been about an hour since I began my journey, and the forest was as lovely as ever. There was something about the quiet simplicity of it, the way that everything fit together seamlessly into the well oiled machine of nature. The way that some people wanted to turn areas like this into industrial wastelands for the sake of profit was despicable.

Overall, it had been an enjoyable walk so far, and I had mostly cooled off from the events prior. There was something I had just noticed about it though: my sister hadn’t shown up to lunch. Not that that was surprising, she hasn’t shown up to any event hosted by my parents in years. It was more that her absence made me realize that I haven’t talked to her in a while.

Although we are siblings, we didn’t typically hang out unless it was also around our parents. Since she’s stopped showing up to things, we began slowly drifting apart. It’s not that she’s a bad person or anything, it’s just that neither of us are the kind of person that reaches out to those we’re not particularly close to.

“Once I’m back from my hike, I should really give her a call. It’s been far too long…”

I took a long swig from my water, before deciding to take a short break. The area I was in was just starting to transition to rocky terrain, the forest thinning out and giving way to more stones and boulders. I picked a suitable boulder and hopped on top of it, then closed my eyes and listened to the peaceful forest around me.

The forest was quite active today. I could hear a number of birds singing in the trees above and a light breeze rustling through their many leaves. There was some movement in a bush nearby, assumedly occupied by a small critter of some sort. I added my own part to the symphony of nature by whistling out a small tune.

“Man, this moment is perfect. Only something of astronomical proportions could ruin it…”

…

And then exactly that happened.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, slowly at first but quickening by the second. An earthquake!

“Ack— what am I even meant to do out here! there’s nothing I can get under, and I’m surrounded by things that could fall on me!”

After panicking for a moment, I settled for hopping off the rock and curling up next to it, protecting my head and neck. The boulder was hopefully large enough that it wouldn’t be dislodged by the quake.

The earthquake continued on, shaking the environment around me. I could hear trees creaking, birds scattering, and— something I hoped I misheard.

A landslide.

It sounded somewhat far away, but was distinct enough to hear it for what it was: a significant amount of rock sliding down a mountainside, colliding with other rocks and any obstacles in its way and generally making a big mess of things. The earthquake was already starting to settle down, but the landslide was still going strong.

Suddenly, a loud definitive ‘crack!’ pierced the air, and the rockslide began to settle down. “What was that? It sounded like the ground splitting open…”

Somewhat shaken but no worse for wear, I stood back up and assessed the damage to the area. It was fairly significant, with several large branches having snapped off of trees and fallen to the floor below, and some trees were looking more crooked than they were before, but otherwise I felt very lucky that it wasn’t any worse. That landslide though…

I had two options. One, just go back the way I came, make it back to my hopefully still intact car, and drive back home. Or… I could investigate whatever the hell just happened as a result of that rockslide.

“Ok, I know I shouldn’t, but… I’m already all the way out here, right? Might as well.”

My curiosity got the best of me, and I started my way down the path towards where I heard the avalanche.

It took around fifteen minutes, but I finally made it to the site of the landslide. A large pile of rocks of various sizes, shapes, and shades of gray had rolled down a decently far away cliff and decimated the land below, pulling out trees and flattening foliage on its way. Everything seemed typical to what I was used to seeing in photos and videos of landslides, at least until I looked closer at the cliff face a distance away.

It looked like a large crack had formed in the side of the mountain, about twenty feet tall, revealing a dark, open space behind it. “Is that… a cave? Huh, I didn’t even know there were caves around here…”

My curiosity got the best of me yet again. “Oh, I’ve gotta see this.”

It took a moment to reach the cliff, what with all the rocks in the way, but soon I stood in front of the cave’s entrance. It towered over me, creating a jagged cut through the side of the mountain. The darkness ahead was all consuming.

“AH!” I yelled, testing out the echo of the cave, and heard it reverberate for far longer than I was expecting. “Damn, this is a big cave…” I thought out loud, and heard that echo through the cave as well. I smiled at the potential for crazy audio effects I could do at just this one spot. “I wonder if it's better further inside…”

I pulled out a flashlight I kept in my bag, then started walking further into the cave. The main chamber was enormous, towering over me like the ceiling of a grand ballroom. I began whistling again, and was amazed at the sheer amount of time it took for the sound to dissipate.

I began to mess around with it with various snaps, claps, and random sounds, before I noticed something further into the darkness. A tiny light, barely visible against the slivers of sunlight still seeping through the entrance of the cave. “Huh? What is that?”

I began to walk towards it. Turns out it wasn’t tiny, just decently far away. As I got closer, being careful to avoid tripping over any rocks or ledges around in the cave, the light grew to reveal that it was actually— what?

About twenty feet away, I could see… something. It looked like someone had taken a knife and slashed a wound into the air itself. It was around two feet tall and simply hovered in space, shimmering with ethereal light. I was stunned. “How could something like this even exist? What??” My face wore an expression of shock and confusion.

Even still, it was beautiful. The inside looked like a combination between a kaleidoscope and a lava lamp, if both were on steroids and pulsated with colors I couldn’t even comprehend. There was something about it that was even more peaceful than any view of nature in the world outside the cave. And for some reason, I felt compelled to get closer to it.

As I did, I could feel something strange happening. It was like my very soul longed to get closer to the rift. It was an immensely surreal experience, but still I kept walking. “What am I doing?! This is insane…”

The feeling grew stronger as I grew ever closer, my soul practically reaching out of the confines of my being. Deep down, I knew that something was wrong, but it wasn’t enough to overpower the desire to get closer. And closer. And—

Suddenly, without warning, without cause, and without reason, the world faded into nothing.

Author's Note

Phew, this chapter sure was a doozy to write! I hope I've successfully conveyed what I meant to convey here.

Thanks for all the support on the fic! I'm super happy y'all are enjoying it so far :3

Next chapter is back in Equestria!

Chapter 5: First Contact

This year's annual Big Sister Little Sister Camping Trip to Winsome Falls was turning out to be a complete disaster. First, Rarity took far too long deciding what to bring and made the entire group late to leave. Later, the cart carrying their supplies lost a wheel, and by the time Applejack was finished fixing it, it was nearly sunset. Then, to top it all off, an injured and disheveled filly stumbled into their campsite just after sunrise and passed out on the ground.

Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and their sisters had all awoken to the sound of a scream coming from the woods nearby. By the time a few of them had collected themselves enough to peek out from their tents, the filly was collapsing to the ground in a broken heap just inside the confines of the campsite. She appeared to be mumbling something, but was too quiet to be heard.

To make matters worse, they could all hear loud thumping coming from the forest, emanating from the same direction the filly had just crawled out of. Whatever it was, it slightly shook the forest floor, scattering birds and generally disturbing the peace.

The group emerged from their tents: Rarity and Sweetie Belle from the massive, purple one, and the rest from the two normal ones. Rarity still insisted on bringing that unwieldy thing, even after the silliness of the year prior.

They gathered around the mystery filly, worry and fear evident on their faces.

“Oh no! W-what do you think happened to her?” Sweetie Belle stammered.

“She’s bleedin’! Who would do that to her?!” Apple Bloom demanded.

“Ah’ll bet it’s whatever is makin’ its way through the forest right now,” Applejack proposed, a determined look on her face. “We need to get movin’. Rainbow Dash, watch the forest and make sure nopony else gets hurt. Rarity, Ah need you to grab the first aid kit from mah tent. Girls, get inside Rarity’s tent and stay put, we don’t need any of y’all gettin’ as hurt as her,” she said, motioning to the filly below them with a hoof.

After a brief nod from Rarity and Rainbow and a hesitant nod from the rest of them, the group disbanded to fulfill their assigned tasks. Applejack took a moment to assess the condition of the filly before her.

She looked to be around the same age as Apple Bloom and her friends, and had an orangish-tan coat, a light blue mane and tail with a single green stripe running through them both, and a small unicorn horn peeking through the mane on her forehead. Had the situation not been dire, Applejack could’ve called her cute as a critter.

Speaking of the situation, this filly was not doing well. Her appearance was highly disheveled, with sticks and leaves speckling her mane and tail, along with a coating of dirt covering her fur in uneven patches. Various minor scrapes and bruises were apparent all along her body, as if she had taken a serious tumble. Although she appeared to be asleep, her face held a pained expression and her breathing was ragged and shaky. The worst of it was a sizable gash along the side of her right foreleg, still dripping blood down onto the grass below.

Rarity returned with the first aid kit and Applejack began dressing the wound.

“Oh, do you think the poor dear will be alright?” Rarity questioned, a worried expression on her face.

“Ah believe so, but Ah think we should get her to a hospital,” Applejack replied, cleaning the wound of dirt and debris. Although she was confident in her first aid abilities, there could be something happening internally that she wouldn’t be able to see.

“A hospital?! But how? We’re all the way out here!” Rarity exclaimed.

“If Ah hurry, Ah can be back in Ponyville in less than an hour,” Applejack retorted. “She’s lucky we got so delayed gettin’ out here. We would’ve been long gone had things gone as planned.”

She was nearly finished dressing the wound, wrapping a thick layer of gauze around the leg. “There, done. Take the filly in with the girls, Ah’ll go see if Dash needs any help.”

Picking the filly up in her magic, Rarity galloped off towards her tent as Applejack made her way towards a fierce looking Rainbow Dash glaring off into the forest.

Rainbow Dash was tense. That filly was in pretty rough shape, and Dash was determined to make sure that whatever had caused her injuries wouldn’t be able to hurt another pony. The stomping slowly grew louder as the creature approached.

Then, suddenly, she heard hoofsteps directly next to her. She jumped a little bit, before realizing that it was just Applejack approaching from the campsite. Rainbow Dash could see Rarity galloping off towards her tent, the slumbering filly in her magical grasp.

“How’s the filly, AJ?” she questioned, worry apparent in her tone.

“She’s alright, for now. Ah’ll be bringin’ her to a hospital once we’re done here.”

“A hospital?! But we’re way out here in the woods!”

“That’s exactly what Rarity said,” Applejack sighed. “You and Ah both know we didn’t make it as far out as we were hopin’ yesterday. Ah can run her back in a jiffy, assuming this doesn’t take long. Speaking of, any updates here?”

Rainbow Dash growled. “Whatever it is, it sure is taking its time. If that thing was chasing her, wouldn’t it have gotten here already?”

As they spoke, Rarity trotted over from the camp, taking a readied stance next to the two of them.

At that same moment, a brown bear came lumbering through the forest edge, its face holding an expression of— worry?

Rainbow Dash shook off a brief bit of confusion before shouting, “Hey! What did you do to that filly, you monster?!” She launched into the air, hovering directly in front of the bear’s face.

The bear was startled and backed away a little bit, motioning with its claws like it was trying to convey something. Rainbow Dash was having none of it.

“Did you see how hurt she was?! You should be ashamed of yourself!” She fumed, flying at the bear as it continuously backed away. Soon, its back hit a tree and was pinned, fear joining worry in the expression upon its face.

While this was happening, Applejack began to realize something. This bear looked oddly familiar…

“Hold on! Rainbow, stand down a moment,” Applejack loudly interrupted. Rainbow Dash backed off and returned to the ground, still giving the bear a glare of anger.

The bear gave a sigh of relief, then just stood there, staring at the mares in front of it. Suddenly, Applejack realized something.

“Wait a minute… you’re that bear Fluttershy always keeps ‘round, right? What was your name again? Harry?”

The bear’s face brightened and he gave an enthusiastic nod. Rainbow Dash lost her glare in a look of surprise, then one of sheepishness, her face blushing slightly.

“Well Ah’ll be! What’re you doin’ all the way out here? What happened with that filly?” Applejack questioned. “Ah sure hope you weren’t involved in that injury of hers,” Applejack warned, gaining a glare of her own.

Harry looked pensive, then roared out something that none of the mares present could understand. They all shared looks of confusion and disappointment.

“Oh, I do wish that Fluttershy was here, she’d be able to understand him…” Rarity mused.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders shared fearful glances as they looked between each other and the filly sleeping below them. None had spoken a word, neither before nor after Rarity had galloped in to drop off the comatose unicorn.

This continued for several minutes, the only sounds filling the tent being the ragged breathing of the filly and a distant conversation from outside. That was until Apple Bloom broke the silence with a fearful, “Oh, Ah sure hope the filly’s alright…”

“Does she look alright to you?” Scootaloo quipped.

“Well— Applejack didn’t rush her to the hospital straight away!” Apple Bloom sputtered. “T-that’s gotta mean somethin’, right?”

“Suuure,” Scootaloo sneered, “but to me, the filly—”

“Would you two stop that?!” Sweetie Belle interrupted, annoyed.

Scootaloo looked surprised. “Huh? Stop what?”

“Calling her ‘the filly.’ She’s literally laying here directly in front of us!”

“Well what do you propose we call her then?!” Apple Bloom challenged.

The tent returned to silence as Sweetie Belle took on a thoughtful look, the other fillies soon joining her.

The silence was shorter this time, and soon Sweetie Belle shouted out, “Terra!” The other fillies were startled by her volume, before taking on questioning looks.

“Terra? Wouldn’t that be an earth pony name?” Apple Bloom inquired.

“Well, sure, but just look at her! She’s like a mini Equus!”

Looking at her appearance, it was hard to disagree. The blue and green of her hair mimicked the oceans and land masses of the planet, and her tan-ish fur looked a bit like sandy dirt. The idea was helped along by the fact that she was covered in actual dirt.

Scootaloo conceded. “Alright fine, but what now? She’s probably got an actual name that she’ll tell us once she’s awake.”

Sweetie Belle nodded, while replying, “Yeah! But until then, we can just call her Terra. Much better than ‘the filly,’” she said while making air quotes with her hooves. “Bleh.”

The group gave nods in agreement, before they all heard a sudden shift in the tone of the conversation outside as Applejack shouted something. They hadn’t even noticed that things had heated up in the first place. Soon after that, Applejack peeked her head inside the tent and said it was safe for them all to come outside.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders filed out of the tent, leaving Terra to her slumber. Their sisters were all waiting for them, along with what appeared to be Harry, the bear that Fluttershy took care of.

“Oh, hey Harry,” Scootaloo said nonchalantly.

Rainbow Dash looked shocked. “Wha— you KNEW?! I thought he was just some random bear!”

“Well…” Sweetie Belle admitted, “We tried to get animal caretaking cutie marks at one point, with Fluttershy’s help of course! She told us about all the animals she was taking care of, and tried to guide us through their care routines! But um… it didn’t go well. We’re still very sorry about what happened, Harry,” she said while giving an embarrassed look.

Harry motioned with his paws, as if to say, ‘don’t worry about it.’

Applejack shook her head at the silliness, then took control of the conversation, saying, “Alright, back to the situation at hoof. Girls, how’s the filly doin’? Still alright?”

“Call her Terra!” Apple Bloom announced, before looking sheepish and rubbing a foreleg with a hoof. “But uh… yea, she’s still sleepin’.”

“Uh, sure, Terra,” Applejack replied, a little confused, “but Ah should still get her to a hospital. Y’all better pack up the camp and head back too, Ah feel it best we postpone the trip for now.”

As a chorus of disappointment was heard from the fillies, Applejack trotted off towards Rarity’s tent, picked up Terra, and placed her on her back. She then galloped off in the direction of Ponyville, being careful not to shake around the sleeping filly. The rest of the group watched her leave, worry marking their features.

“Oh, I do hope she turns out to be alright,” Rarity pondered, breaking her unusually long silence. “But there’s another thing that worries me…”

“What was she doing out here all alone?”

It took around an hour, but Applejack finally made her way through the front doors of Ponyville General Hospital, sweat glistening on her coat. The receptionist looked on with concern, saying, “Oh, Applejack! What happened to the poor dear?”

Applejack approached the desk, panting, then replied, “Ah found her in the woods, after she stumbled into our campsite and collapsed. We were on our way to Winsome Falls but had to set up camp early due to some… minor hiccups. She looked mighty roughed up, with all sorts of scrapes and bruises. Ah did mah best to take care of the worst of it, this gash along her foreleg, but Ah figured takin’ her to the hospital was still the best move.”

As she talked, the receptionist’s eyes widened as her concern grew. “Oh my! We’ll get her looked at right away!” She replied, paging for a nurse. “Do you have her name?”

Applejack looked nervous. “Well uh, she passed out before she could say anything to us, but mah sis’ was callin’ her Terra. No clue where she came up with that.”

“Terra, alright, I’ll make a note of that.”

Not long after, a nurse came out with a gurney and carted the filly off through some swinging double doors. Applejack sat down in a chair in the waiting room, unsure of what to do now.

“Oh, Terra,” Applejack mused quietly. “Where did you come from, little filly? And what happened to you?”

Author's Note

Woooo chapter 5! I think the dialogue went pretty well! Lemme know what y'all thought of it :3
Finally getting into the interesting parts of the plot now too! (imo, at least) I'm excited to share my ideas for this fic with you all!! :3

Also, name drop!!! Terra!!!!!!

Chapter 6: Waking Up

The remaining members of the Big Sister Little Sister Camping Trip were packing up the campsite as fast as they could in the crisp light of the early morning. This was unfortunately slowed down by the fact that Rainbow Dash had flown off to bring back Fluttershy as a translator for Harry, and the fillies weren’t too experienced in taking down tents by themselves. Harry himself was sitting off to the side of the campsite, looking a little antsy.

The mood was a bit anxious and somber. Unless Applejack were to return, or Rainbow happened to stop at the hospital on her way back, they wouldn't know the fate of the fatigued filly until they made it back to town. Conversation had been sparse, and nearly entirely focused on Terra.

“I’m really worried about her,” Sweetie Belle admitted while lugging a box to the cart.

“Ah think we all are,” Apple Bloom replied, pulling a tent stake out of the ground. “She really came outta nowhere, and she was all alone too…”

Scootaloo sighed, struggling under a pile of tent fabric. She emerged and said, “I just wish we knew anything about her, y’know? She was hurt really bad, and then she just collapsed! I don’t even wanna think about how long she was stuck out here…”

Rarity remained silent. She had all of these concerns and more; where the filly’s parents were, why she had been so injured, and how Harry was involved were among her chief ones. But she chose to keep these concerns unspoken, and gave a small smile as she forced herself to be strong for the fillies.

“Now now, I’m sure she’ll be quite alright. The hospital staff are perfectly capable of taking care of her, and once she’s awake she’ll be able to explain everything. None of you fillies need to worry your little heads about it! We can all go see her once we’re back in Ponyville.”

The fillies’ faces brightened, and Scootaloo shouted, “Yeah! And I didn’t see a cutie mark on her either, we should invite her to be a crusader!”

The other two gave enthusiastic shouts of agreement as Rarity’s smile grew to be genuine. She knew the Cutie Mark Crusaders to be steadfast in their determination. Even if Terra’s parents never showed, she had hope that the fillies before her would do everything in their power to brighten Terra’s future with their companionship.

It took another fifteen minutes, but Rainbow Dash finally returned, flying down to the campsite with Fluttershy in tow. The group stopped what they were doing and trotted over to them, before they all moved together towards where Harry was sitting.

“Harry?” Fluttershy started, “Rainbow told me about a situation with a filly? What happened?”

Harry began giving various grunts and growls as Fluttershy listened intently, nodding every so often, before she began to recount Harry’s tale. Unfortunately, it was a rather short one.

Harry had been foraging for food in the woods when he heard something stumble and fall nearby. When he investigated, he found a filly passed out on the forest floor, a bit scraped up but otherwise unharmed. Concerned, he approached the filly and shook her awake, but when she noticed Harry, she looked terrified and bolted off, leaving Harry confused. He began to follow after her at a solid pace, but when he heard a scream up ahead, he sped up, worried something terrible had happened to her. Once he realized that there was a camp up ahead, he slowed down, knowing that the filly was likely now in capable hands.

“Now Harry,” Fluttershy lectured. “You must be careful of your effect on other ponies. Not everypony knows you’re a nice bear, right?”

Harry nodded, looking downcast.

“Now hold on,” Rarity interrupted, “the filly—”

“Terra!” all three fillies chimed in unison.

“Ahem, Terra wasn’t injured when you found her, correct?”

Harry nodded.

“Then something must’ve happened right before she stumbled into camp. Nothing much we can do besides wait for her to awaken, I suppose…” Rarity affirmed, sounding disappointed. “Thank you for your help anyway, Fluttershy.”

The yellow pegasus gave a polite goodbye as she began her flight back to Ponyville, Harry returned to the woods, and the rest of them dejectedly resumed their packing.

…

If I had a nickel for every time I’ve woken up sore and in pain in an unfamiliar place, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.

As I groggily opened my eyes, I first noted that I was no longer outside, and was instead in a brightly lit and colorful looking room. The wooden walls were decorated with illustrations of vines and leaves, twisting and curling around the edges of the space. There was a large window on the wall to my left, letting in a decent amount of light, and a door on my right with a small viewing window placed in it.

I shifted a bit, noticing that I was quite sore, in a bit of pain, lying in a rather comfortable bed, and… currently a horse. “Hold on, what happened again?”

All at once, it came back to me. The void, the forest, the bear, the campsite… and passing out. I groaned, realizing just how much of a mess I had made for myself. I looked down, noting that most of my body was obscured by a blanket, but still noticing a bandage wrapped around the end of my… foreleg. “Ugh, I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to that.”

I looked back at the window. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like the day was nearly over, with the sun’s light leaving long shadows across the ground outside. Whether or not it was the same day as the one I passed out in would be impossible to tell without— oh, yeah, I just realized something else.

“There have to be other ponies around, or… other benevolent creatures of some kind. I didn’t get a good look at those camp goers, but whatever they did after I passed out led to me ending up in this… rather friendly looking room… in a… hospital, maybe?” It seemed almost too nice to be a hospital room, but the window in the door and the sterile smell of the place seemed to suggest so.

Just then, I noticed a bedside dresser to my right, with a lamp and a glass of water sitting on it. I leaned over and grabbed the glass, taking a few long gulps and relishing the refreshing taste. I had been out in that forest for far too long, any longer and I would’ve—

Wait.

I looked down at the glass I was holding.

With a hoof.

My brain stopped functioning again at the realization and the glass fell out of my grip, shattering on the floor below. “Wh-wha— how— I—”

Before I knew it, I could hear sounds coming from outside the door, right before it flung open.

All at once, I became aware of several more pieces of information before my brain even had the chance to process the initial discovery.

One, there were in fact other ponies around (which I could already reasonably assume, but whatever).

Two, there was a pony running directly into the room with me. They had a white coat and pink hair— a pink mane?— tied in a bun, along with a lengthy pink tail. They wore a white nurse’s cap on their head, and seemed to have some kind of tattoo on their side, depicting a red cross with four pink hearts surrounding it. Their face held icy blue eyes with eyelashes that looked distinctly feminine.

Three, although it was hard to tell from a distance, they appeared to be about twice my height.

Not that I could do much with all of this information, as my brain was still buffering from what I had already learned before. I sat up, stunned, as my wide eyes blinked back and forth between the shattered glass and the pony now standing before me. The pony in question had just finished crossing the room to the end of the bed and was looking at me, concerned.

“Oh no! Are you ok, little one?”

…

“Did you get hurt?”

…

“Can you… speak Equish?”

Almost on autopilot, my head nodded. I didn’t even fully understand the question.

“Oh, good. I’m glad you’re finally awake, but what happened?”

The hamster wheel in my brain finally began turning again as I got out, “I uh… I didn’t… mean to drop that.” Hearing the high pitched voice that came out when I said that kickstarted my brain back into some semblance of functionality.

There was a short pause before the pony replied, “Oh, well, that’s quite alright, dear. I’m not mad at you. Did the glass hurt you at all?”

I shook my head.

“Ok, good. I’ll just clean this up for a moment. Stay in your bed, please,” she instructed firmly.

By now I could tell that this pony was almost surely a woman, as her voice and body type seemed to suggest. “Or… whatever the horse term for it is. Hell if I know.”

She left for a moment and returned with a broom and dustpan held in her mouth. With almost unnatural dexterity, she held the broom with her hooves, swept the shards of glass into a pile, and picked them up using the dustpan.

While this was happening, I had a moment to think again. In that time, I realized something that I had already realized prior, backed up by the wording of the conversation we just had.

“Oh god, I’m definitely a child here, huh?”

I was not happy about this information. Being a child meant others making decisions for me. It meant not having control over where I was or what I’d be doing. It was all… rather uncomfortable to think about. For the time being, I chose not to think about it.

I took the opportunity to think about other things, such as the whole ‘language still being the same’ thing. “Equish? What was that all about?” The fact that I had been tossed through the multiverse and had somehow landed somewhere that spoke the same language as the place I had left was somewhat baffling, even if they called it something different.

I hadn’t even begun to process how I was able to hold that glass earlier, but I figured it wouldn’t be a smart idea to experiment with it while there was another person in the room with me. If this was something that everyone could do normally, I’d look like a weirdo if I messed around with it like it was the most amazing thing ever.

Even still, I was immensely relieved that I still had the ability to grab things. I don’t know if I’d be able to function if I was stuck with unusable hooves for the rest of my life. Which… right, yeah. I’m stuck here. As a horse. I almost wanted to forget about it again so I could focus on more pressing matters, but without the immediate danger of the forest I previously woke up in, I didn’t have much to distract myself with.

The helplessness I felt before started to creep back into my headspace, just before the nurse finished disposing of the glass and interrupted my thoughts, saying, “There, all done. Now, my name is Nurse Redheart. What’s yours?”

All of a sudden, I was feeling quite shy. With all that I had lost, my identity and my memory were among the few things that I still had left. I knew it was silly, but I felt like if I were to reveal very much about myself, I’d be giving away my last items of value and gain nothing in return for it. So, instead of answering, I stubbornly remained silent.

The silence stretched on to the point of discomfort, before Redheart sighed and said, “Well, the pony that brought you here had called you Terra, is it alright if I call you that as well?”

“Terra?” I inspected the fur on my uninjured foreleg, before slowly nodding and replying, “That works, sure.” It was short and simple, and should be pretty easy to remember. Although, given names like ‘Redheart’ and ‘Terra’, it might’ve been smart to hide my human name. It’d probably sound very strange to the ponies here if all of their names were like this. That line of inquiry got me thinking about something else though, something far more important.

“The way that I got here… I can’t tell anyone what happened. There’s no way they’d believe me.” The voice in the void had told me that there wasn’t another incident like mine for… centuries, was it? This obviously wasn’t a common occurrence. I had a hard time believing what was happening and I was the one actively living it. “Well, if I don’t tell them that, then what do I tell them?”

Before I had the chance to come up with ideas, Redheart interrupted my thoughts again by gently saying, “Alright, Terra. How are you feeling?”

I took a quick mental inventory of my senses before replying, “Uhh… bad. I’m sore, I’m tired, my… foreleg… still hurts, and I haven’t eaten or drank very much in a while.” I subconsciously noted that that had been my longest sentence so far since I’d first woken up as a pony, and it was for the sake of complaining that I felt bad. That realization… was not great for my mental state. “Um…” I added shyly, “sorry.”

“Oh, it’s nothing to be sorry about,” Redheart consoled. “Applejack said she found you in the woods this morning after you passed out in their campsite. With how long you slept, you must’ve been exhausted, and that injury on your leg must’ve hurt a lot. You’re very strong for getting through it all,” she praised.

I blushed a little bit and looked down, feeling embarrassed about being treated like a lost little kid. “Which is exactly how you appear to her right now. Stop complaining.”

“Now, Terra,” she began softly, her tone gentle and comforting, “do you know where your parents are, sweetheart?”

Oh.

In all the chaos I had been through so far, I had somehow forgotten all about my parents.

God, I stormed off to the forest on my father’s birthday and now— I’m never gonna see them again, aren’t I? I’m never gonna be able to apologize, or make up for lost time, or give them the chance to do the same. I wouldn’t be able to give my sister a call like I planned, or spend time with any of my friends, or— do literally anything with any person I have ever known.

I was completely…

and utterly…

alone.

…

My eyes grew blurry.

“I shouldn’t cry— I won’t cry.” I fought against the rising tide of emotion as if it were the only battle left to fight.

I could feel tears forming as a tightness gripped my chest and my heart pounded against it.

“No, I refuse to cry.” Not now, not in front of someone else. I had to maintain composure.

A solitary tear rolled down my cheek.

“No! Stop. Crying. You can’t break down now. You need to be strong.”

Yet, despite my best efforts, I was unable to withstand the overwhelming grief I felt. I sobbed, my shoddily made emotional dam quickly crumbling.

I should’ve been better than this. I was better than this. “God, what the fuck happened to me…”

I curled up into a ball on the bed and covered my face with my arms as my emotions poured out of me. I felt despair on a level I’d never felt before, a hopelessness beyond comparison.

In that moment, the few things that were familiar about this place were nothing compared to the sheer level of unfamiliarity I was now contending with. All the feelings that I had pushed to the side for the sake of my safety were now coming out all at once. Without anything to distract me, I was truly at a loss for what to do.

My— hooves trembled as I clutched the bedsheets below me, grasping for something, anything to anchor myself against the waves of anguish. Having been stripped of nearly everything familiar, I felt lost, adrift in a foreign world.

Suddenly, I felt something soft running along my back, brushing against the fur there. It was… comforting. In a way I didn’t know how to explain. I heard Redheart’s voice, in the same gentle and comforting tone as before, make shushing sounds and say, “you’re alright, it’s going to be okay.”

“B-but… I’m n-never gonna see them again!” I got out between sobs. “W-what am I supposed to do now?”

“Terra, listen to me,” she instructed, her soothing tone taking on a hint of firmness as she continued to stroke my back. “You’re not alone, Terra. I’m here for you, and I will do everything in my power to make sure you live a happy and comfortable life, no matter where the future takes you. You have my word.”

And yet again, right when I thought it was all over, a voice gave me a glimmer of hope in the midst of absolute uncertainty. It was one thing when it came from a disembodied entity speaking inside of my own head, but hearing it from the voice of someone standing directly in front of me was another thing entirely. Redheart’s kindness was a beacon of strength when I was unable to provide it for myself.

I then did something completely unlike me; I reached out and grabbed a hold on Redheart, wrapping my trembling arms around her and burying my face in the fluff covering her chest.

As I continued to sob, Redheart, to her credit, continued to offer soothing gestures and make comforting sounds. We stayed like that for a while.

As embarrassing as it was, it did help to calm me down, and eventually my sobs turned to sniffles, before I retracted my face from her now tear-soaked fur.

I took a deep breath. “Well, that was embarrassing,” I mumbled, finally realizing what had just happened.

“But don’t you feel better now?” Redheart countered.

I reluctantly nodded. As disconcerting as it was in retrospect, it did bring me comfort. “And… um… thanks, I guess,” I shamefully spoke while wiping my face with a… whatever this joint was on my foreleg. I should pick up an anatomy book at some point, this was getting ridiculous.

Redheart gave an amused smile as she said, “Now, I know you’re upset, understandably so, but just remember what I said, alright?”

I nodded passively. It felt strange to take advice from a— pony I had just met, but I didn’t exactly have any other options at that moment. Besides, it really did help.

Redheart’s smile grew. “Alright, I bet you’re probably very hungry.”

My body responded for me as my stomach growled loudly. I blushed a little bit in embarrassment.

Redheart gave a short chuckle. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said with a hint of mirth in her tone. “I’ll go get you something to eat. How about you go wash up in the bathroom?” She asked, gesturing towards a door that I hadn’t noticed yet, situated on the same wall as the bed.

I agreed with a nod. After being thoroughly humiliated, it’d be nice to take a break from being around another person. Er… pony. Although when I looked down off the edge of the bed, I noticed something else.

“Um…” I started unsurely, “…how do I get down?” The bed I was on was about the same height as I was. I saw no way off of it that didn't involve injuring myself. “Ugh, being a kid sucks.”

“Oh! Let me help you down,” Redheart said, before she suddenly reached out with her head, grabbed me by the scruff of my neck (which I apparently had now) with her mouth, and gently lifted me down to the floor.

I was stunned, my face now thoroughly red. Add that to the list of Things I Do Not Know How To Process Yet.

“Now, be careful on that leg of yours,” she sternly cautioned, “I don’t want you hurting any more, alright?”

I forcefully kickstarted my brain, before sputtering out, “O-okay. I’ll be careful.”

Redheart gained a new smile as she walked back through the door she came out of, closing it behind her. I almost felt myself wanting to ask her not to leave, but I held back because… c’mon, I just met her!

I stood there for a moment, taking note of my body’s soreness and my foreleg’s injury, before stumbling off to the bathroom door, my brain swirling with thoughts.

Nurse Redheart was conflicted. She had just finished talking to Terra, the mysterious filly that had appeared that morning without any reason as to why. The search through the missing foals database had proved fruitless, as there was no match for a unicorn of Terra’s description. Letters had been sent out to nearby cities in the search, but none of these had returned yet.

As she walked through the hospital corridors on her way to the cafeteria, Redheart couldn’t help but wonder about what really happened to the filly. She had taken care of plenty of injured and distressed foals before, but there was something eerily different about Terra. The way she just appeared at Applejack’s campsite, barely awake and fairly injured, painted a vividly distressing picture.

Redheart knew she couldn’t pry too deeply though. Terra seemed fragile, both emotionally and physically, and Redheart would hate to put her through any more distress. There was one thing at least that she knew for sure without the filly needing to audibly confirm it.

Her parents were… out of the picture. For good. The look of pure despair, one that should have never appeared on the face of a foal, said it all.

Even still, Redheart stayed determined. She knew Terra needed somepony strong to support her in the wake of losing the most important ponies in her life. Underneath that shell, there was a kind young filly who had only been dealt a bad hoof. Whatever Terra’s story turned out to be, Redheart would be there to give her comfort, if needed.

With a determined nod, Nurse Redheart continued on her way to find food for the forlorn filly.

Author's Note

Woo, a very important chapter, done! This sets up a lot of what I have planned for the fic in general so I spent probably way too long editing it until it was the best I could come up with. I hope you enjoyed!

Tune in next time for more angst! More comedy! More embarrassed Terra! And more mysteryyyy oooooo

Also! Very cute art next chapter! Very excited to share >:3

Chapter 7: Health Insurance

Ok.

What. Just. Happened.

I stood there, right past the closed door of the bathroom, feeling like I could simultaneously have an anxiety attack and pass out from overexertion at the same time.

“How… how did I let myself get so vulnerable?! Why did I let that happen? I. Only. Just. Met her!!” I could still feel my heart racing from the pure awkwardness of that interaction.

I loudly groaned as I sat down and placed my head in my— hooves. “And when will this stop being weird…”

It was still surreal, looking down at my body and not seeing the same build I was used to seeing for my entire life. “I guess it makes sense though… I’ve only been a horse… pony… for what, like 7-ish waking hours? And for most of it I was so dead set on getting out of that forest that I only really acknowledged my body a handful of times.”

Still, it was weird. Maybe eventually I’d get used to it, but for now the only thing I felt towards my body was confusion.

I inspected the fur on my foreleg, brushing against it with a hoof. It was soft, surprisingly so, and almost seemed to spring back to a brushed state without much effort. Throughout my interaction with Redheart, I hadn’t even acknowledged the fact that neither of us were wearing any clothes (besides her hat, which didn’t really count), but what I strangely realized is that I didn’t feel naked. Whether that was because of the fur that now blanketed my body or something about my physiology changing, I really had no idea.

I shook my head clear, realizing I got distracted. “Right, I was… freaking out about that awkward as hell conversation. At least that tangent calmed me down a bit…”

I took a deep breath to calm down my still somewhat racing heart and refocused my attention on my surroundings. Looking around, I saw what I expected to see from a hospital bathroom, with a small sink, a toilet, a wide shower, and a number of handrails— hoofrails?— along most of the walls. The toilet seemed sized for someone twice my height, but at least there was a small stool in front of the sink that I could stand on to reach it. I sighed, once again being reminded of my currently short stature.

“How’d I even end up as a kid anyways?” I mentally pouted. “Not that I can really ask about it, though.”

I still knew that revealing how I actually ended up here would be a terrible idea— right now, at least. I’d just have to deal with my current situation as it is, until… when? A part of me assumed forever. “Now hold on, I’ll be able to trust someone at some point, right? I’ll just wait to tell whoever they happen to be, and then they can convince everyone else for me.”

That part of me still wasn’t convinced. I ignored it.

There was another aspect of being stuck as a kid that I started to think about, but I pushed it aside in exchange for actually doing what I was in here to do.

I tested putting weight on my injured foreleg and winced at the searing pain. It seemed like I still needed some time before I’d be able to walk on it properly. “I’m probably stuck here for at least a couple more days. Ugh…” So far, being quadrupedal was quite a downgrade.

Hobbling over to the sink, I sized up the stool sitting in front of it. It was only about half my height, but I still didn’t want to end up knocking it over in my attempt to climb on top of it. I took slow steps up onto the stool, being careful not to put too much weight on my injury, before looking up and seeing—

Oh.

Wow.

My brain stopped working again. All I could do was stare at myself in the mirror with a shocked expression on my face.

It took a moment before coherent thoughts could begin to form.

My initial reaction was: “Wh-wha— is that… what I look like?” Which was probably the dumbest question I could come up with, considering this was, in fact, a mirror, and I wasn’t actively going insane. Hopefully.

I looked away for a moment, took a deep breath, then looked back at the mirror. The same face I saw before awaited me when I did.

My reflection looked…

“...Do I really need to acknowledge it?”

…

“Ugh, fine.”

“…I look cute.”

Indeed I did. And like, really cute too. Like “could make a really great plushie” levels of cute.

I… did not know how to feel about this. It was a level of shock I was unable to process.

It took another few moments before I could acknowledge any details about my reflection. Before me stared a pony with wide, bright blue eyes, a small, rounded snout, and large, pointed ears. It had a mess of sky blue hair with a stripe of green running front to back, along with a small, dull horn peeking out through the front of it. Sand colored fur covered the pony’s face.

And that pony… was me.

“Is this… really how I look like now? Wow…”

I experimented with expressions for a moment, twisting my face every which way. I watched as my reflection matched every goofy expression I could come up with perfectly. It was almost surreal seeing such human levels of emotion on a face that was quite far from being human.

A face which, to my surprise, looked strikingly feminine.

At that realization, all I could do was stare.

…

That was until I heard a knock at the door. The sudden sound pulled me out of my trance in a bolt of surprised motion that almost sent me sprawling on the floor.

“Terra, dear,” I heard Redheart’s muffled voice call through the door. “Are you almost finished up in there?”

“Fuck, right, the nurse. I was supposed to be washing my hands in here. Er… hooves.”

“Um, almost, just a second!” I shouted back.

I quickly leaned forward and braced my forelegs on the edge of the sink, before turning on the water (oh, right, I can still grip things) and clumsily scrubbing my hooves with the provided soap. “Hold on, what’s even the point of this? I’m just gonna put 'em back down on the floor, anyway.” Maybe this is magic soap, and it keeps my hooves clean even when I walk around on them.

I chuckled a bit at my own silly idea. “Hah, magic…”

I finished up at the sink, dried my hooves, then scampered back to the door. Upon opening it, I saw Nurse Redheart standing right outside, unsurprisingly.

I looked back at the bed, before I suddenly found myself airborne once again as Redheart picked me up and placed me down on the plush sheets. It was less shocking than the first time, but still quite humiliating.

Redheart began speaking, “Alright, I wasn’t sure what you wanted to eat, but I hope this is to your liking.” She then pulled a tray from her back that I didn’t notice there before, containing a small salad, an apple, and another glass of water.

“Now,” she began sternly, “I don’t want you breaking another glass, so be careful with this one, okay?” At my short nod, she continued, “Are you having any trouble with your hoof grip?”

“Hoof grip?” I mentally questioned. “Oh, yeah, holding things. Still have no idea how that works.”

I shook my head, and Redheart smiled. “Good, we wouldn’t want your magic to be damaged.”

…

My brain froze again.

“Wh— magic??? Like, actual, real magic? That I have? I… really was joking before.”

I really needed to stop being hit with information bombshells every five minutes. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take.

I glanced up at the horn atop my head, suddenly remembering its existence. “Maybe this thing is more than just for show…” The idea that I might actually be able to use real magic, like a… wizard, or something, was astronomically cool yet equally terrifying.

I looked over at Redheart again and finally took notice of the fact that she did not have a horn herself. “I guess there’s different pony variants? Why did I get a horn, then?”

Upon remembering I was still actively in a conversation with someone, I commanded myself to stop freaking out and get on with it. “Not in front of someone else! Just… forget about it for now.”

“Uhh… yeah,” I mumbled, as Redheart placed the tray she was holding down onto the bed in front of me.

Now, I wasn’t the biggest fan of salads. I’d only ever eat them if there were literally no other options available, and even then I’d rarely add anything to them, since I didn’t like most of the foods that went into a typical salad. They were never really worth the effort to make, and I certainly didn’t wanna waste money on premade ones when there were usually other, much better options available.

Even still, seeing the salad in front of me, my stomach growled again in acknowledgement of my gnawing hunger. I hadn’t eaten in a while, and I didn’t want to ask for something else when Redheart was nice enough to get this for me. So, despite my reluctance, and due to the lack of silverware, I bent down and took a bite of the salad.

…

Wow. This salad was good.

I didn’t know if food just tasted different here, if my taste buds changed, or if I was just glad to be eating something, but in that moment, I didn’t care. This was genuinely the best salad I had ever eaten. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, the cucumber crunchy and juicy, the tomatoes ripe and flavorful. My singular goal became finishing the thing as fast as possible.

“Slow down!” Redheart cautioned with amusement in her tone. I ignored her.

A short while later, I was eating up the last few leaves of lettuce after luckily managing to not choke on my food. Redheart looked on, seemingly quite entertained, although I might’ve caught a hint of concern in her expression.

Upon realizing what I had just done, my face went red. “Um… I uh… I was hungry…”

Redheart snickered a little bit. “I could tell,” she said with a mirthful expression. “Now, once you’re finished with your meal, I have some more questions for you if you don’t mind.”

I suddenly felt nervous. “Oh god, she’s gonna ask about where I came from. What should I even say? I can’t say what really happened, I already decided on that. But what do I say instead? It’s not like I can just say nothing!”

…

“I could just say nothing.”

As awkward as it might be to remain completely silent when facing questions I didn’t want to answer, lying could get me into an even bigger mess and the truth could lead to… I didn’t even want to guess.

Anxiously, I picked up the apple and began eating it. It was wonderfully crisp, and rivaled some of the best apples I had eaten back home, which helped to calm down my thoughts. “Ok, so the plan is, if I’m asked about where I came from or how I got to the forest, I’ll just stay silent. Or… maybe I could just be really vague?”

As I thought, I finished up the apple with sips of water to wash it down. It seems I had already gotten a pretty good grasp at holding things with hooves. The thought process to hold and manipulate objects was surprisingly similar to doing the same with hands, and took almost no additional mental effort. It was still rather strange though, having a flat surface with no dexterity at the end of my limbs.

I looked down at a hoof. “So… this works through magic, huh?” I carefully watched the end of my hoof as I… activated my grip?... and noticed a very faint shimmer of something right on the surface of it. “Wow, if ponies use magic this casually, it's no wonder they’re the dominant species here. Makes me a little worried about what else is out there, though…”

My thoughts were interrupted. “Alright, are you all done now?” Redheart said in a gentle tone.

I nodded, and she continued, “Good! Now, I have a few questions for you if you don’t mind.” My anxiety grew, before she followed up with, “Feel free not to answer if you’re anxious, but I’d be really happy if you do answer.”

It felt demeaning to be talked to like a child, but I suppose it was still a nice sentiment.

I gave a brief ‘ok’ before Redheart asked, “Ok, how old are you?”

Oh.

I… hadn’t even considered that.

I really had no way of knowing how old I actually was here. With how I felt in the body I was in, I’d say I was somewhere in the 8-12 years old range, but even then it’d just be a guess.

This question had me trapped. With how obvious it should’ve been, not answering would be incredibly strange. I ultimately decided to just follow up the question with another one.

“Um… h-how old do I look to you?” I asked nervously.

Redheart seemed confused and I immediately felt bad. There was nothing I could do to help it, though.

“Well… hm…” Redheart pondered for a moment. “I’d say somewhere around your early twenties.”

…

What.

It… seemed like ponies just age slower and I was making a big deal out of this for no reason. Cool. I mentally chastised myself for not even considering the possibility.

“Oh, well, um… I’m 22.”

“Ugh, this is so weird. Does that mean I won’t be considered an adult until my late thirties or something? Blegh…”

Redheart smiled, and said in a warm tone, “Alright, thank you for answering. Now, if you don’t mind telling me, do you have any place you call home at the moment?”

A wave of emotion threatened to overwhelm me again. I forced it back down and simply shook my head.

Redheart’s expression softened with sympathy. “Oh, you poor dear…”

She then reached down and gave me a gentle hug, stroking my back with a hoof like she did before. I was a bit startled at the sudden physical contact but it was still strangely soothing.

“Don’t you worry one bit, we’re going to find a home for you,” Redheart assured, continuing to embrace me.

I was… oddly ok with this?

I hesitated. “Hold on, what am I doing!?”

I took a moment to self reflect. Since getting here I’d been doing nothing but making a complete fool of myself and being completely helpless. And now I was accepting help even when I was perfectly capable of handling my emotions on my own. “Cmon, I gotta assert myself more! Just because I look like a kid doesn’t mean I have to act like it. I’m an adult for christ sake!”

I gently pulled away from Redheart, but said nothing. I knew that on some level I’d still have to blend into the role of a child, but that didn’t mean I’d have to accept everything about my situation.

Redheart smiled sadly at me. “Alright, I have just one more question. Would you mind if Applejack came to visit? She’s the pony that saved you.”

I was a bit wary at the idea of having visitors. If I could help it, I’d want to keep the number of ponies that see me stuck here, helpless, to a bare minimum.

Still though, I wanted to thank her for getting me out of that situation. And regardless, Applejack must’ve already seen the worst of it when I collapsed in her campsite. I didn’t even wanna think about where I could’ve ended up had she not helped me when she did, as uncomfortable as I was with having screwed up so badly that I had to be saved.

Having decided, I simply said, “No, I don’t mind. I’d like to thank her at the very least.”

Redheart’s smile took on a happy tone as she said, “Great! I’ll send out a letter to Applejack letting her know. I’ll get you some more water too, you go ahead and get some rest.”

Redheart then picked up the tray and set it on her back, then began walking back to the door. At that moment, I realized something.

“Oh! Um, if you don’t mind, I have a quick question too…”

Redheart stopped in her tracks and looked back at me, before saying in that same serene tone, “Of course, anything.”

“Well, uh… for my stay here… um… do I owe anything? I wouldn’t be able to pay for it if I do…”

This was a genuine concern of mine. Considering my past experiences with hospitals, I always came to expect the astronomical bill for even the most basic of things. Insurance helped with that, but it’s not like I had that here. I didn’t know this world’s policy for lost children, but for all I knew they could really expect me to be able to pay for this stay.

“Oh no, don’t worry about that at all,” Redheart replied earnestly. “A filly your age shouldn’t have to worry about the bits you owe to anypony.”

Uh.

‘Filly’? ‘Bits’? ‘Anypony’??

“Ugh, pony words. I’ll just assume that the filly is me, whatever that means, bits are money, and anypony is… just silly.” We didn’t say ‘anyhuman’ back home, so what’s the point of that? “Whatever, maybe I should just assume that everything is weird here and get on with it.”

Despite the weirdness, her response did help to assuage my fears. I gave a brief thanks as Redheart resumed her journey out of the room. Soon I was left alone, letting my mind swirl with thoughts of my past, present, and future.

Nurse Redheart slumped to her desk with a weary expression. Terra’s situation kept being revealed to be even more dire than she thought. Redheart hoped Terra was lying, but didn’t really think she was.

A lost foal was one thing, an orphaned foal was even rarer, but one without a home? It was almost unprecedented. The Ministry of Foal Welfare was a well oiled machine, efficient at dealing with missing and displaced foals. Terra’s parents' passing should have been properly acknowledged, and Terra should have been relocated to a new family. The implications of the contrary happening were concerning at the very least.

Terra’s mannerisms added to that concern. Her overbearing shyness, the speed at which she ate her food, her anxiety at the idea of having to answer questions, her shying away from physical contact, and her apparent financial concerns worried Redheart further. Some of these could just be explained by the situation at hand, but some hinted at something far worse.

What could have really happened? Emotional abuse? Foalnapping? Redheart’s head swirled with the possibilities, but as much as it worried her, she knew that asking Terra for what happened directly wouldn’t have been a good idea. She simply needed more time to recover.

Redheart pulled out a blank piece of paper and began writing a letter to Applejack, informing her that Terra had awoken and she would be allowed to visit. Redheart chose not to share her concerns with Applejack though. That would be something to bring to the attention of the Ministry while sorting out finding Terra a new home.

She then took a moment to do just that, finishing up the letter to Applejack and composing a new one to the Ministry, being sure to include every detail and concern that she had about Terra. She then took both letters and dropped them off in the hospital mailbox, before returning to her duties, her mind still on the mysterious unicorn filly.

Author's Note

mfw the Ministry of Foal Welfare (this wasn't intentional i swear)

I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter :3 and the art! It was made by the amazing TewiBun :3

Chapter 8: First Impressions

Day eventually turned to night as the sky darkened, until the room was bathed with nothing but the pale light of the silvery moon. Some time ago a nurse came in and placed a stool by the edge of the bed, allowing me to get off of it without hurting myself or needing assistance. So at least there was one thing within my control here.

At one point earlier I took advantage of said newfound freedom to use the bathroom. It was… definitely an awkward and novel experience. It wasn’t one I wanted to think about in retrospect, so I decided to just stop doing so.

I sat there, on the edge of the cushy bed, staring out the large window, feeling… mostly bad. I found myself fidgeting a bit, having nothing else to do. The despair I felt before had slowly faded into a trembling pool of anxiety. My brain was a cacophony of thought that swirled around everything that had happened since I first found that cave.

In an attempt to combat my restlessness, I started picking out pieces from my thoughts.

Do I have any regrets?

“Well, yeah.”

Do I have any goals here?

“Well, besides not dying… not really, I guess.”

What will I miss the most?

“…”

I let out a long groaning sigh as I laid back in bed. Normally if I was feeling this bad, I’d hop online and find something to distract myself with, but that wasn’t exactly an option here, obviously.

I’d… miss a lot of things.

Friends, family, the internet. Familiar streets, familiar forests, familiar faces. The routine of college classes, late nights online with friends. The list just kept going.

All lost from a single mistake.

I felt my eyes start to water again and tried to force myself to stop. “C’mon, I’ve cried enough today already. I can control myself better than this.”

My efforts were in vain, and tears slowly began dripping down my face. I simply didn’t have enough willpower. Or maybe I was just tired. Whatever.

I laid there, with nothing to do, nothing to distract myself with, and nowhere to be but here.

What was I even gonna do? I was never super specific with any of my life goals, but I at least had some semblance of a plan for my future.

But that was all wiped away in the void.

I let out another sigh and wiped away my tears, then sat back up, noting how awkward the motion was with my new body.

“Well, at least the view’s nice…”

I looked out to the surrounding landscape. It was almost picturesque, like a view that would be in the background of a Windows start screen or something. Vivid grasslands speckled with wildflowers and sprinkled with trees, illuminated softly by the moon above in a sky painted with stars.

I… think all I could do for now was appreciate the little things. I lost so much, but… I’m still myself. I still had a body to act upon the world with. I still had nature, in one form or another.

I thought back to Redheart’s words from before. Maybe it was silly to latch onto the words of the first being to give me support after the loss of everything I’ve ever loved, but I was a bit desperate for comfort in that moment.

“Maybe things can be okay. Maybe I can live comfortably. Maybe there are things worth living for here.”

Not all of me was convinced.

I let out a sigh. “Well, I certainly hope so.”

The pool of anxiety somewhat receded, my exhaustion was finally able to take over as I crawled under the covers and fell into an uncertain sleep.

Applejack opened the front doors of Ponyville General Hospital, letting through the soft light of the morning sun. She was here on a much better occasion than the morning prior, since the letter she received earlier that morning had informed her that Terra— or… whatever her real name was— had awoken, and Applejack would be allowed to visit.

After Applejack had dropped Terra off at the hospital the previous day, she met back with the former campers to exchange information. As it turned out, everypony was just as worried as Applejack. Now, she was determined to get some answers from the filly.

She walked up to the front desk, feeling a little antsy. Applejack had been the only one invited to visit, presumably not to overwhelm the poor foal, so she felt some pressure to make a good first impression.

The receptionist, Nurse Sweetheart, greeted her. “Hey there, Applejack. What’s brought you here this early?”

“Well uh, Ah got a letter from Redheart earlier this mornin’ sayin’ that Terra had woken up, and that Ah could come and visit,” Applejack explained, pulling the letter in question from under her hat. “We’ve all been mighty worried about her.”

“Ah, yes! Nurse Redheart told me that somepony would be around for a visit.” Sweetheart took a moment to look through some files, pulling out the file for Terra before adding, “She’s in room 216, second floor. You’re welcome to head on over.”

Applejack gave her thanks, and was about to walk away before adding, “Oh uh, are there any updates? On findin’ her parents or anythin’?”

Nurse Sweetheart glanced back at the file before she solemnly shook her head. “I’m afraid not. She’s not on any records, and she’s hinted that her parents have… passed away. We’ve already sent notice to the Ministry of Foal Welfare, to find her a suitable foster family should the search for her parents run dry.”

Applejack was shocked. “Passed away?”

Applejack felt a panging sympathy for the filly and a piercing anger for whoever could’ve left a foal helpless in the woods. A part of her worried about all the horrible things that might’ve happened.

Applejack shook away the shock as she thanked Sweetheart again, stowing the letter and making her way upstairs. As she walked down the long hospital hallways, she couldn’t help but worry even more. “What’ll she be like? Anxious? Bold? Oh, Ah hope she doesn’t try to hide anythin’. We are just tryin’ to help, after all.”

Applejack reached the correct door before giving a short knock. She slowly opened it, revealing a small, tan unicorn filly sitting on the end of a bed, staring out a large window on the opposite wall from the door. Applejack fumbled for words for a moment.

“Uh, howdy.”

The filly immediately startled, jumping a bit and turning her head as quick as a whip. Upon making eye contact with Applejack, the fear in her eyes dissipated and she let out a breath. “Oof, sorry,” she got out. “I was expecting a nurse or something.” She stood up and walked to the other side of the bed, facing Applejack.

Applejack smiled a little bit and replied, “Quite alright, sorry for startlin’ ya.”

The room descended into a brief awkward silence before the filly inquired, “Well uh… are you…?”

Oh, right. “My name’s Applejack, proprietor of Sweet Apple Acres. We make the best tastin’ apples and apple based treats you’ve ever eaten,” Applejack boasted. “And you…?”

The tan unicorn looked a little anxious before replying, “Oh, um… I’m still going by Terra, I guess. And I’m uh… not the proprietor of anything.”

Applejack was a little confused. “Not sharin’ her name? That's… odd…” She decided to shake it off for now in exchange for furthering the conversation.

“Well, it’s a pleasure to properly meet you, Terra. I’d shake your hoof, but…” she looked down at Terra’s injured foreleg and gave a nervous chuckle. “Anyways, you feelin’ alright now? You were more dinged up than a stubborn tree after buckin’ season when we found you.”

Terra simply blinked up at Applejack.

The earth pony chuckled a bit. “What, never heard a countryism before?”

Terra took a moment to reply. “Uhh… I don’t think so? But… I guess I’m doing alright. Better than before, at least. This thing still kinda hurts, though,” she said, holding up her bandaged foreleg, almost losing her balance on three legs but thankfully righting herself.

Applejack grimaced, remembering how bad the injury looked when she first saw it.

“Oh, yeah, and uh…” Terra continued timidly, sitting down on her hind legs, “Um… well… thanks for… rescuing me… I guess… I- I was out there for a while, and…”

She paused for a moment, her face twisting into a small frown. “Ugh, it was just one thing after another in that forest! I was trying my best, but…”

She stared down at her injured leg before her eyes widened. “I really could’ve died out there.”

She looked briefly horrified before she shook her head and continued, “So um… yeah, thanks.”

Applejack… was not sure how to process that. She knew she should be concerned at the very least. Before she could get the chance to reply though, Terra suddenly blurted, “Oh! What happened with that bear?”

“Well, uh…” Applejack pushed away her concern to ask about later, and replied, “It’s a bit of an interesting coincidence. That bear just happened to be one of the creatures my friend, Fluttershy, takes care of from time to time. He’s named Harry, Ah believe. He was mighty worried seein’ you out in the woods on your lonesome.”

At this information, Terra seemed immensely confused. “Wait, so… I wasn’t in any danger? Why did he chase me, then?”

“Nah, Harry’s a nice bear from what Ah’ve seen,” Applejack explained. “As for why he was chasin’ ya’, well… Ah’m not quite sure, myself. You’ll have to ask Fluttershy.”

Terra let out a long, exhausted sigh and gave an unenthused, “Great,” while rubbing the bandages on her foreleg with her left hoof.

There was another pause. “Oh, about that injury of yours,” Applejack probed. “How’d you go about gettin’ hurt like that?”

Terra grimaced. “Ugh, well… it was kinda dumb, actually. I scraped it on a rock while running from… Harry. Probably didn’t help that I was exhausted, too,” she said, looking slightly peeved.

“Well, that clears that up,” Applejack thought. “Still more to the mystery, though.”

“Speakin’ of,” Applejack segued, “You said you were exhausted? How long were ya out there for, anyway?”

The filly looked a little nervous, and took a moment to think before speaking. “Um… I’m not really sure, actually. I think… around 6 or 7 hours? Something like that…”

Applejack wasn’t sure, but she thought she saw a glint of fear in the foal’s eyes. “What the…” she thought, as her worry returned.

“That’s quite a while to be out in the woods by yourself. Did… somethin’ happen?”

The filly remained silent.

“Were you with anypony?”

…

“Uh… did you get lost?”

Nothing.

As Applejack asked questions, Terra shifted between expressions of discomfort and sending glares at the earth pony. Applejack knew something was wrong, but without any response from the filly, she knew she had to switch up her tactic. She was just too worried to give up now.

“Well, erm… Ah may not know a whole lot about you now, but Ah was told about what happened to your parents. Ah’m mighty sorry you had to go through somethin’ like that…” Applejack sympathized, looking down and tipping her hat.

“Ah lost mah parents too, when Ah was around your age. So… just know you’re not alone in what you’re feelin’. What Ah wouldn’t give to see ‘em again…” Applejack gently shook her head; she was getting distracted.

Terra seemed receptive to her story at least, as she simply looked up at the orange mare with a neutral expression.

“But Ah still had mah granny to take care of us in that time. Do you have any other family that could take you in?”

Terra’s face suddenly darkened, and she looked down at the floor. She took a moment before shaking her head.

Applejack was crushed. “No family at all? What in Celestia’s name happened to this filly?”

“Oh, dear…” was all Applejack could think to reply with. She reached out a hoof to comfort the young unicorn, but she shied away from Applejack’s touch and sent another glare her way.

Applejack sighed. Terra was a tougher egg to crack than she expected.

Applejack was suddenly reminded of her sister, and of all the times she’d managed to get lost or had ended up in dangerous scenarios. If Apple Bloom had been in the place of Terra here, Applejack wouldn’t hesitate to do everything in her power to bring justice to whoever let this happen to a filly.

“Look… Ah’m real sorry about your family. Ah can tell they meant a lot to you. But Ah can also tell somethin’ real bad happened, and if you don’t tell us what’s wrong, we won’t be able to fully help you.”

Still, the filly remained silent. Her face was laced with anxiety as she stared poignantly at the floor, holding back some barely restrained emotion.

“Did somethin’ happen right before you ended up in the forest? If it’s ‘bout your family, then—”

“STOP!” Terra shouted suddenly. Her face became painted with rage in an instant as she jumped up on all fours.

The sound took several seconds to dissipate from the room, until all that could be heard was the tan filly’s quickened, irritated breathing. Applejack was stunned.

A few more moments passed before Terra fell to her stomach and buried her face in her hooves.

Shortly after that, loud hoofsteps could be heard coming from the hallway, before the door swung open to reveal Nurse Redheart, her face filled with a variety of negative emotions. Upon making eye contact with Applejack, her expression changed to one of measured anger.

“Applejack. Lobby. Now.” Redheart said firmly.

“Uh oh.” thought Applejack.

God. Fucking. Damn it.

What was going on? Why couldn’t I control my emotions? Why was everything so much more intense? I don’t think I’ve ever been more anxious…

To top it all off, I had started crying from anger. I took deep, shaky breaths into my arms— forelegs, whatever— in a desperate attempt to calm my racing heart.

“Why wouldn’t Applejack just take the fucking hint and stop asking?! Ugh!”

If this is what it’ll feel like every time I try to withhold information from someone, then part of me wanted to just isolate from everyone and live out in the woods.

I laid there in silent frustration, directed at both Applejack and myself, until I heard the door close and a quiet, “Terra?” from somewhere in front of me.

I took an extra deep breath before wiping my eyes and slowly uncovering my head, seeing that the room no longer contained Applejack, much to my relief. Nurse Redheart had taken her place, looking towards me with a soft smile that hid a hint of concern. I settled myself into a seated position as I continued to take measured breaths.

“Are you feeling alright?” She asked, returning to that same gentle voice.

I shrugged.

“…What happened?”

I gave a short sigh. “Well uh… Applejack came in, we had a… decent chat, and then…”

“Ok umm… how do I say this without actually revealing what she was asking about? Hmm…”

“She… asked about some private stuff, and then kept asking… and then… I overreacted, I guess.”

“Now, I wouldn’t say that so quickly,” Redheart replied. “Was what she was asking you making you upset?”

I gave a nod and a quick, “Mhm.”

“And was that discomfort conveyed in a way that she should’ve been able to pick up on?”

“Uhh…” I thought for a moment. “I’m pretty sure, yeah.”

“Then that kind of reaction is expected. You don’t have to put yourself down just for feeling emotion,” Redheart concluded. “Regardless, she was the adult in that scenario. She should have known to back off and should have had the maturity to actually go through with it, especially in a situation as sensitive as yours. You don’t need to worry about it.”

Despite Redheart’s attempt to assuage my concerns, I was still feeling a little uncomfortable. “Hah, if only she knew that I used to be an adult— I mean, that I am an adult— or uh…” My brain stalled for a moment. “Oh god, how old are all these ponies?!”

I banished that thought for the time being, replying with a simple, “Ok.”

“Something to keep in mind, though,” Redheart continued, “is that Applejack tends to expect honesty more than the average pony. I’m sure she was only trying to help, in her own way, but she doesn’t know as much about your situation as I do. I’m sorry her good intentions came across the wrong way.

“There isn’t always going to be a perfect solution when there’s conflicting interests in a situation. I understand you’re upset, but try to keep in mind how Applejack feels too, okay?”

I gave a nod in response, despite my wariness. I’d probably give Applejack a chance eventually, but I didn't really want to right now.

“Alright,” Redheart segued, “I’m gonna go have a little talk with Applejack. Do you want me to get you anything while I’m gone?”

“Uhh… some breakfast would be great, if you could. Also, maybe something to do? It’s… kinda boring here.”

Redheart smiled. “Can do! See you soon,” she said, as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her. As soon as she was gone, I fell backwards on the bed and let out a long groan.

“Ugh, this is getting exhausting.”

Applejack sat on a chair in the hospital waiting room, nervously fidgeting with her hat. “Horseapples, Ah really blew it, huh…” she mumbled under her breath.

The sound of distant hoofsteps signaled the approach of Nurse Redheart, walking down the nearby stairs and approaching Applejack with furrowed brows and a stern look on her face. “Tell me what happened. Every. Detail.”

Applejack chuckled nervously and carefully explained the entire interaction, from the moment she walked through the front doors of the hospital to Redheart’s entrance in Terra’s room. Redheart’s expression persisted throughout, although it took on an air of concern when Applejack went over some of the more distressing details.

As Applejack finished explaining, Redheart sighed. “Well, I suppose it was an oversight on my part to not inform Sweetheart that Terra’s situation needed to be handled delicately. Still though, what were you thinking?” she accused.

“Well… Ah was just worried!” Applejack explained. “We’ve all been so worried about her since we found ‘er, and then there’s just nothin’ for a whole day. Ah suppose Ah just felt like Ah needed to get more information from her, else the visit would’ve been for nothin’. And… Ah kept thinkin’ of if Apple Bloom were in her place… Ah’d never forgive myself if Ah didn’t do everything Ah could to make things right.”

Redheart’s expression softened, and she countered, “Look, I get you’re worried. We all are. But it’s plainly clear to me that Terra is fragile and in distress, and she needs comfort more than anything right now. An explanation will come eventually, once she’s had enough time to process everything. Besides, we have other ways of finding out what happened that don’t involve questioning the shellshocked filly.”

Applejack looked apologetic and hung her head slightly, holding her hat with a hoof. “You’re right, Nurse Redheart. Ah’m sorry… just— Terra really came out of nowhere, y’know? Really anything could’ve happened…”

Redheart gave a weary sigh. “I know.”

Not just her parents, but her entire family.

Nurse Redheart held her head in her hooves as she hovered over yet another dead end letter sitting on her desk. The letter was from Canterlot, describing how they had no record of a filly that matched Terra’s description, just like the letters from Dodge Junction and Appleloosa.

At this rate, Redheart didn’t think there was much hope of finding anypony that knew the poor foal, especially after the new information she learned from Applejack.

Redheart almost didn’t want to believe it. She didn’t hear it directly from Terra after all, but… Applejack wouldn’t be one to lie.

Redheart’s best guess at the moment involved Terra and her family living somewhere isolated from everypony else, something terrible happening, and Terra being the only survivor. But that still didn’t explain some of Terra’s rather concerning behavior. What really happened?

Was there a new villain? One so horrible they’d stoop to the levels of killing ponies to carry out their evil plot? Redheart didn’t even want to entertain the idea.

Nevertheless, the nurse pulled out a sheet of paper and began writing another letter to the Ministry of Foal Welfare, detailing all of the new information regarding Terra. She thought of sending one to the princesses as well… but decided against it. The Ministry had connections to the diarchy regardless; if they considered Terra’s case important enough to bring to the top, they’d do it.

With another finished letter placed in the hospital’s mailbox, Redheart continued on her way, sincerely hoping for the best case scenario.

Author's Note

Wowee what a chapter, huh? I spent soooo long writing and rewriting all the dialogue to make sure it all came off right, so hopefully I did a decent job :3

The mystery deepens! Poor Redheart lol

Chapter 9: Split Second

As it turned out, hospitals were really boring actually.

With a lack of anything to do, I had spent the majority of the previous day sulking and looking out the window. It was a nice view, sure, but I didn’t think I could handle another day of literally watching grass grow. It certainly wasn’t entertaining enough to keep my mind off of the events of the past couple days, giving me plenty of time to ruminate on how awful everything was.

There wasn’t much left to think about that I hadn’t already thought through though. I was stuck here, I lost just about everything, I was in a situation that was rather uncomfortable, and I really didn’t want to keep thinking about it.

With as much as I was trying to keep my mind off things, I was running out of things to fidget with, too. I even ended up fiddling with the bandages on my injured— foreleg, until I realized what a terrible idea that was. I had a bad habit of messing with scabs as a kid, and ended up with far too many scars as a result. Not something I wanted to repeat here. Plus, I had no idea how bad the injury actually was, just that it hurt like hell.

The hospital I was in was a far cry from the ones back home, as there wasn’t any sort of machinery in sight. It was strange, really. How were they supposed to monitor how I was doing? I’d think for them finding some random guy passed out in the woods, they’d take every precaution possible to ensure their safety.

Considering how I had absolutely no idea how things worked around here, I decided to just let it go. For all I knew, there could’ve been some weird magic system monitoring the whole place. Not that I had any way of knowing that for sure.

Redheart had returned shortly after Applejack’s visit with some breakfast, consisting of some surprisingly good oatmeal and another apple. I gave some thought to the fact that food was still somehow the same as back home, but shook it off, feeling like I was gonna go insane if I kept overthinking how eerily similar everything was. “Sure, it’s a different universe, but the voice did say that this place and my home universe were in the same… multiverse section or something? So maybe some amount of normalcy should be expected. However that works.”

It still felt unbelievable to remember that I was no longer in the same universe as the one I was in several days prior. Being awake in the hospital for half a day wasn’t nearly enough time to fully process everything.

It was just… insane. How had I gotten myself into this mess? Thrown into another universe, and for what? What did I do to deserve this? I lost everything! Why?

I wanted to be mad, to lash out at whoever was responsible, but there was no one to blame here.

No one besides myself.

…

I started fighting back tears.

Luckily, my thoughts were interrupted when Redheart returned, pushing a tiered cart filled with a variety of different toys. There were wooden blocks, pony shaped dolls, action figures in heroic poses, and other things like that. Nothing that looked even remotely interesting to me, though.

I felt a little bad, seeing how Redheart had put in all this effort into getting this for me, but playing with this kind of stuff seemed no more entertaining than staring at a wall.

“Um… do you have anything else?” I asked, nervously fidgeting with my hooves. As bad as I felt for asking, I was getting genuinely desperate for something interesting to distract my thoughts.

Redheart seemed a little confused. I was getting really good at doing that to ponies, apparently.

“Well,” Redheart replied, sounding apologetic, “We don’t have any of those new JoyBoys if that’s what you’re after. I can bring you the book cart though, if you’d like.”

“JoyBoy? …Eh, nevermind, not worth asking.”

“Yes, please, if you could.”

Redheart smiled, giving a quick, “Be right back,” before grabbing my breakfast tray, placing it on her back, and pulling the cart out of the room.

Once again, my mind was left to wander.

My thoughts went back to my overwhelming loss. I eventually realized what that all encompassing awfulness I was feeling was.

Grief.

I had felt it before, in the aftermath of losing close pets or grandparents, but nothing to the level of what I was feeling now. It felt like I was constantly fighting a part of myself that wanted to curl up into a ball and give up right then and there, and another part of myself that wanted solely to cry.

I was able to force my thoughts off of it when I was still in the forest, but now that I was given a moment of peace here in the hospital, I ran out of excuses. And at this point, I was getting really tired of feeling sorry for myself.

I made an attempt to distract my thoughts, finding some mild entertainment in picking lint out of the sheets with my hoof grip. Out of habit I kept trying to check my phone, but given I possessed neither a phone, nor a pocket to hold one, I was left feeling rather silly every time I tried. Add that to the list of things I’ll miss about home…

After what felt like half an eternity, Redheart finally returned, wearing a smile and pushing another cart, this one containing neat rows of hardcover books in a wide variety of colors and sizes. I carefully stepped off of the bed to get a closer look.

I took some time scanning through the variety of different genres conveniently marked out with paper inserts. By the titles alone, it seemed like most if not all of the selection available was fiction, even the section that claimed to be non-fiction. I was more interested in a good story than learning the history of this world at that moment, so I settled on an adventure book with vague Indiana Jones vibes.

“Oh, Daring Do?” Redheart quipped. “That’s quite a popular one! We have to keep getting more copies from all the ponies asking for it during their stays here,” she said with a short chuckle.

Redheart’s positive energy was infectious, and I couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Other ponies, huh?” I looked towards the window at the landscape beyond. “I wonder how many are out there…”

So far, I had only officially met two, and one made me so mad I started crying, so… not a great start.

Realizing I was getting distracted, I gave a sincere, “Thank you,” to Redheart and made to walk back over to the bed, only to notice an issue. How was I supposed to walk while carrying something?

The book was a bit too unwieldy at my size to carry solely in my injured foreleg, and I didn’t have a clue how to hold items on my back like Redheart had done previously, so I was a bit stuck.

I’d only been here for two days and I was already getting sick of being quadrupedal.

I fumbled with the book for a bit, trying to find a configuration that allowed me to walk without falling over, at least until Redheart seemed to figure out what was going on.

“Oh, have you had any horn training?” She asked.

I looked up at her, quite confused on how this had anything to do with holding a book. “Horn training?”

“Oh, well, telekinesis training. Learning how to use your horn.”

Telekinesis.

…

What.

“Ugh, whatever! Now’s not the time to freak out about this!”

I blinked up at Redheart before unsurely replying, “Uhhh… no, I can’t say I have.”

Redheart seemed a bit confused at my reaction, which confused me in turn. “Is telekinesis somehow commonplace? If that’s the case, then… I don’t even know what to think…”

Her confused expression was brief, before she returned to a soft smile. “Ah, you can just hold the book in your mouth then, it’s alright.”

…

What.

Seriously?

I once again stared up at Redheart. A few seconds passed before I slowly and uncomfortably placed the spine of the book in my mouth.

It tasted like dust and old paper.

Figures.

The book somewhat secured, I quickly made my way back up the bed before spitting the book out as fast as I could, taking a gulp of water from the nightstand to wash out the taste.

“Blegh, is this really the norm around here? I gotta get a backpack or something…”

Before I had the chance to think about the efficacy of wearing a backpack as a horse, Redheart chimed, “Alright, now I know I’ve asked a lot from you already, and I’m sure you’re very confused, so is there anything you’d like to know from me?”

Oh?

I… hadn’t even thought about asking for more information about this place. Quite a bad move on my part. The less I knew, the less I’d be able to fit in, and the higher the risk of me being found out.

But in that same vein, asking questions that’s obvious to the average person here would be too suspicious. Maybe something vague to start?

I thought carefully before responding, “Oh, um… where are we?”

“Well, we’re in the recovery wing in Ponyville General Hospital, in the little town of Ponyville,” Redheart said cheerily. “You’re pretty lucky to have ended up where you did! I may be biased, but I think we give the best care possible in all of Equestria,” she said with a playful smile.

“Ponyville?? Equestria???”

…Ok. Maybe I shouldn’t be too judgemental… but those names are way too silly.

I thought about Redheart’s words. “I’m lucky to be here, huh?” I looked down at my bandaged foreleg. “She’s probably right… If I hadn’t gone the way that I did in that forest, I’d probably be out in the middle of nowhere by now. How did that even end up working out?”

The odds of my survival aside, I thought of another question to ask. “Oh yeah, I guess I’m also curious how bad this injury was,” I said, holding up my foreleg. “I didn’t really get a good look at it before I uh… passed out.”

Redheart grimaced slightly, before quickly returning to a neutral expression. “Oh, it was nothing we couldn’t handle,” she said with a reassuring grin. “We did have to give you a few stitches though! That’s why it’s so important that you be careful on that leg.”

Stitches? I gave a grimace of my own. The amount of time I’d gotten stitches in my life could be counted on one hand, or even one hoof, given that that number was zero. The fact that I had already sustained a relatively serious injury within days after arriving here did not bode well for my future.

“My future…”

“Also, um… I uh… I guess what I mean to say is…”

I took a deep breath to calm my nerves.

“Once I’m out of here, is there anywhere I can go?”

Asking that was incredibly difficult but… I was scared. I had no idea what to expect once I left the hospital, and I didn’t even want to think of the possibilities. Maybe if there was a homeless shelter or something around, I could have somewhere to stay until I’m able to get back on my feet— er, hooves?— and make a life for myself here.

What other choice did I have?

Redheart seemed nervous. I took that to not be a good sign.

“Well… I know things have been rough for you, Terra,” Redheart replied, with a kind yet determined look on her face, “But I meant what I said, that I’d do everything I could to make your life comfortable. That’s why I’ve been working on finding you a foster family to stay with, so you can have ponies who can take care of you, and who want what’s best for you.”

…

Oh no.

No no no no no.

God, I forgot that I’m a kid here. How could I have possibly forgotten?

“Fuck, they’re gonna put me in with some random family I don’t know, and I’m gonna lose control over my life again, and I’m not gonna have any freedom until I’m old enough to move out which won’t be for I don’t even know how many years and there’s nothing I can do about it and I don’t even know—”

“Terra?”

I paused. Without me realizing, my heart rate and breathing had picked up, and Redheart was now looking at me with a concerned expression. I lowered my head, embarrassed.

“Sorry, I just— sorry…”

“You’re alright, dear.”

Redheart reached out a hoof towards me, but I shied away from it.

I took some deep breaths to try to calm myself down. “Ugh, how did I get that worked up that quickly? Something’s not right with my emotions…”

When I eventually looked back up, Redheart was still standing there, a soft smile on her lips, but with concern visible in her eyes.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I shook my head, and Redheart’s eyes took on a sad look.

“That’s alright, Terra. Just know I’m here to listen if you change your mind.”

I gave no response.

Redheart had idled for a while, but eventually left, taking the book cart with her. I had started reading the book I had gotten, but I couldn’t really focus on the words. There was just too much on my mind.

I felt frustrated and helpless. I’d already lost so much already, and now I was going to lose my freedom too? It just wasn’t fair.

“No! I won’t just let this happen to me… I refuse to let this happen to me.”

My determination aside, I still had no idea what to do about my situation. I was stuck in a hospital, in a town I had never been in before, with a still healing injury that weakened my ability to walk. Still, I felt like I needed to try.

“So… what? I just walk out of here? I’d be homeless, but… I can live in alleyways, and steal food from street vendors! Assuming those both exist here…”

It’d be hard, but it’d beat getting wrapped up in another mess. If all else failed, I could run off and find a different town to stay in. One that wouldn’t be searching for me once I’m declared missing…

Even still, my plans hinged entirely on things around here being somewhat similar to back home. As it currently stood, I had no idea what to expect out there. And it terrified me.

After a bit more thinking, I finalized the plan. I’d leave at midnight— or as close to it as I could guess, considering the room didn’t have a clock— sneak out of the hospital as quietly as I could, then hide in some alleyway until things were clear. From there, I could just play it by ear, stealing food and water where I could. It wasn’t the best plan, but it was the best I could come up with considering how little I had to work with.

With my plan in place, I found it much easier to let myself be swept away in the book I had picked out, Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone. After all, I’d just be burning time until the right moment arrived. I simply laid back in bed, held the book on my stomach, and read.

The rest of the day slipped by, and soon the room was bathed in moonbeams.

My body was upset at me for staying awake as long as I had been, especially considering my lingering soreness from my unscheduled forest trek of the day prior. In addition, I was struggling to keep my eyes open. Typically I’d be up way into the early hours of the morning, but I must’ve not been used to it in this body.

At least the story I was reading was honestly not bad, which made it easier to stay awake. A little heavy on the action scenes for my tastes, but otherwise pretty good.

I made it a decent way through the book, before I glanced outside and decided it was close enough to midnight to head out. I’d be ending on a rather unfortunate cliffhanger, but I wasn’t gonna steal the book from them or anything. Not that I’d be able to carry it out anyway.

I set the book off to the side of the bed, clicked off the lamp I was using as a reading light, then carefully climbed off the bed and stood in front of the door.

I looked up at the door, conflicted. Even though escaping meant I’d keep my freedom, the thought of being out in an unfamiliar world on my own filled me with anxiety. This would be unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

I was scared, but I knew I had to try. I took a deep breath in, then let it out slowly. “This is it. I can do this.”

I had to reach up to grab the doorknob, then fiddled with it a bit before the lock disengaged. The door opened with a slight creak, making me cringe a bit. I wanted to be as quiet as possible to avoid being detected, so every single sound was nerve wracking. It’d be better if they found an empty bed in the morning rather than see me escaping now.

The hallway was dark and empty, with not a single soul in sight. I was lucky, it seemed. I took a look around before heading in a direction that seemed to indicate an exit. Each step I took made a quiet ‘clop’ sound, which echoed down the deserted hallway.

As much as I wanted to get out of here quickly, I was being slowed down by my uneven balance and slight limp. Although better than before, I wasn’t quite fully healed up from my tumble in the forest, and my foreleg stung with every step. I only really had a day of practice with four legs, anyway.

After a bit of walking, I made it to the top of a staircase leading down.

“…Oh god. How the hell am I gonna walk down this?”

Sometimes as a kid I’d walk up the stairs on all fours, just for fun, but never attempted going down that way. I was gonna have to do the latter if I wanted to get out of here.

I approached the stairs slowly, deciding to take them one step at a time. I carefully lowered my front left leg down to the first step, then back left, then back right, then front right. Repeating the process, I slowly but surely made my way down. Slipping and falling would be worse than just being caught, so I was nervous as hell, my limbs shaking as I took step after step.

After only slightly stumbling a couple of times, I finally reached the ground floor, and breathed a sigh of relief. “Success!”

Even downstairs, all the lights were strangely off. What kind of hospital turns off all its lights at night? Don’t they still have night staff? I didn’t see anyone, but still I kept an eye out and warily edged my way down the next hallway.

As I made my way across, I noticed a stream of light coming from around the corner at the end of the hallway. As I reached its source, I saw a set of double doors separating the dark hallway from the lit room beyond.

I was at a crossroads. On one hand, this was most definitely a way out, probably a lobby of some kind, but on the other, there were likely other people in there, making it a high chance of me being caught if I went in.

I hesitated at the entryway to the brightly lit room, unsure of what to do. I could maybe walk around a bit more and look for a different exit, but the longer I spent in here, the higher chance of someone randomly spotting me.

But before I could decide, I heard something from behind me. Hoofsteps.

My heart raced as I quickly turned around, seeing a faint light coming from a different branching hallway that was slowly getting brighter.

Panic surged through me. I was trapped.

With no other options remaining, I very slowly and very quietly pushed one of the doors open. The room in front of me was much brighter than the dark hallways I had just been through, and I had to squint slightly before my eyes were able to adjust.

Directly past the doors, I saw a large desk with a nurse I had never seen before attending it, a pink pony with striped purple and white hair, wearing a hat identical to the one Redheart wore. Luckily, she was facing away from me, and seemed too absorbed in her work to notice the door open.

Beyond the desk, in the direction the nurse was facing, were doors that lead outside, past a small waiting room area that was entirely empty. My way out.

My heart pounding in my chest, I silently approached the edge of the desk, luckily finding myself short enough that I didn’t need to crouch to hide behind it.

I felt like I was playing a stealth game. My objective was being watched by the only other person in the room with me. How was I gonna get past her?

My moment arrived a few minutes after, when from the sound of it, the nurse seemed to pick up some papers, tidy them, then walk away. I peeked over the desk and watched as her tail disappeared past a doorway situated behind the desk.

With the path clear, I began limping my way to the front entrance. My nerves were screaming at me to run, but I couldn’t risk being too loud.

Closer and closer I walked, until I was only a few steps away from the doors. This was it! Just a little bit further…

“Hello?”

I froze, my breath catching in my throat.

I slowly turned my head around to see the nurse from before standing behind the desk again, looking at me with a curious expression.

I was caught.

My body refused to move, frozen by fear. A few seconds passed before a glint of recognition appeared in the nurse’s eyes.

“Terra?”

“What?! How does she know me?!”

My body began working again. There was only one thing left to do.

Run.

Fueled by adrenaline, I quickly bolted the last few steps to the front doors, slammed one of them open, then sprinted outside.

I could barely hear the nurse’s desperate, “Wait!” before I was running down the long dirt path leading away from the hospital. Trees and houses blurred past me, but I was too focused on getting as far away from the hospital as I could to notice much else.

Luck has shone upon me again, as the roads were entirely devoid of life. I kept going until I came to an area that was densely packed with houses, but not to the level of a suburban area back home. I could still find an alleyway somewhere, right?

Even still, I had been running too long, and my adrenaline had run out. My lungs burned, my heart pounded, and my leg was screaming out in pain again. Staying up as late as I had was probably not helping matters either. I needed to find somewhere to rest, and quickly.

I looked down at my bandaged foreleg and noticed a small spot of red seeping through the fabric. “Fuck, I must’ve reopened the wound… ugh, ow…”

I took a moment to rest, limping to the side of a random nearby house and sitting down. I looked around at all the various storybook-like houses, taking in the quaintness of it all. It was nothing like what I was used to back home.

…

I missed home.

It was surreal, being in what seemed like such a lovely town, but wanting so badly to be back in my dinky little apartment in the middle of nowhere. But here at least the quiet air was peaceful, and the night sky was beautiful, which helped to calm my nerves a bit.

I got back up and stumbled my way onward. Eventually I came across a small cluster of buildings that seemed to hide a network of alleyways behind them. I quietly ducked into one, looking around for somewhere I could take shelter in for the night.

It took me a few seconds to notice something… strange. “Is this alleyway… longer than it is from the outside?”

From what I could tell, it was. Intrigued, I made my way further in.

It was incredibly odd, like reality wasn’t acting the way it was supposed to. For all intents and purposes, this alleyway should not be able to exist, and yet it did. Something clearly wasn’t right, and I was thoroughly freaked out.

Eventually I came across a branch in the path, leading off to the right. I turned the corner and walked into a small courtyard surrounded thickly by the outer walls of buildings that didn’t exist. In the center was a creature that was nearly indescribable.

It appeared to be a wild mishmash of different animal body parts, all combining into one incredibly confusing whole. A paw, a claw, a hoof, a scaly leg, a set of mismatched wings and horns, and a sly grin on its horse-like face.

It spoke. “Well well well, it’s about time we finally met.”

It… it was all too much. The last thing I could remember was my body hitting the ground as I passed out.

Author's Note

hehehe >:3

Chapter 10: Disillusion

My eyes slowly opened to reveal what could only be described as a popcorn ceiling, simply by the fact that it was made of actual popcorn.

…

Wait, what?

I quickly sat up and did a quick mental checklist.

“Hmm…”

“Yup, still a horse.”

I didn’t notice anything off about my appearance otherwise.

A stab of pain shot through my foreleg. Oh, that.

The bandage on the injury must’ve been changed while I was out, given it was now back to pearly white. Maybe I shouldn’t have ran as much as I did…

On closer inspection of the bandage, there was a small sticker placed on it that sort of looked like—

“Oh no…”

Staring up at me in sticker form was the same face I encountered right before I passed out, smiling and giving a thumbs up. My eyes narrowed in confusion, before panic surged through my mind, lingering on all the things that could’ve happened while I was unconscious. Where even was I?

I looked around, only to grow even more confused. I was laying on my back on a strangely shaped couch, next to a coffee table that appeared to have the legs of an animal, which occasionally shifted and twitched as if trying to find a comfortable position. Beyond that, there was an upside down lamp with the wrong side glowing, a staircase on the ceiling that led nowhere, a china cabinet filled with wheels of cheese, a plaque with a small tree protruding from it, and various other random objects with absolutely no continuity between them. The room seemed more chaotic than hitting a random character generator button a few times, which was really saying something.

There was also a doorway that led somewhere else in the house, and what looked like a front door. The windows surrounding it indicated it was still dark, so hopefully I wasn’t out too long.

“Okay, well I definitely don’t wanna run into that… thing again. I’m gonna just assume this is its house and get the hell out of here.”

Once again, my height was the bane of my current existence, as a considerable drop separated my position on the couch and the floor below. I considered using the coffee table as a stepping stone, but didn’t want to risk finding out if the thing could get upset.

Given my options, and being careful not to put any weight on my injured leg, I sized up the fall and…

Landed flat on my face.

I let out an involuntary squeak of pain. “Ughh, owww…”

Rubbing my aching nose— muzzle?— with a hoof, I shook myself off and took a moment to briefly inspect my body. Luckily, it seemed the only thing seriously hurt was my pride. “Not that there’s much left of it, anyway…”

…Wait, did I just squeak?

I honestly kept forgetting that my voice had changed. Something essential to the way that I regularly interacted with the world was fundamentally different now, and it surprised me every time I opened my mouth. It was embarrassing more than anything at this point…

My trek towards the door continued regardless, half limping on my injured leg.

“I think I’m almost getting used to walking on three legs!”

…

“I cannot believe I got excited about that.”

With no further incidents, I reached the door, struggled with the handle for a moment, then pulled it open.

…

My breath caught in my throat.

Outside, beyond a handful of small floating islands, was a vast, darkly swirling void.

My heart rate quickened. “Wh— how am I— what is this place!?”

I took a couple shaky steps backwards, my body moving on its own. My mind couldn’t help but linger on the empty nothingness that led me here, the experience of being unable to feel anything or do anything, of things being completely and utterly out of my control.

I closed my eyes shut and took a few deep breaths, attempting to calm down my rapidly beating heart, refusing to let my emotions get the better of me again. My attempt mostly succeeded, and I took another moment to assess the situation.

Given the choice between endless void and weird house, I very quickly chose the latter, slamming the door shut and turning back around.

…

But I wasn’t alone in the room anymore.

An amalgamation of animal anatomy leaned against the doorway on the other side of the room… reading a newspaper. Upside down.

My confusion returned. Did it not notice me or something?

Right then, it peeked its eyes over the edge of the newspaper, before widening them in surprise. It exclaimed, “Why, I didn’t see you there!”

Suddenly, its newspaper exploded into a cloud of confetti, before the creature floated off of the ground, slithered through the air, and held out a paw towards me.

“At last, we meet! I am Discord, the one and only Lord of Chaos, former ruler of Equestria, guardian and protector of all things Fluttershy. And who, pray tell, might you be?”

I simply stood there, stunned, staring up at the hovering creature, feeling a mix of immense confusion and a strange sense of dread.

“Cat got your tongue? Let me help you with that.”

The creature, apparently named Discord, suddenly reached forward, right up to my face, and pulled a cat from the inside of my mouth, which jumped to the floor and ran away. It felt like suddenly biting into a cattail plant, my mouth filling with fluff.

I sputtered and coughed, seriously freaked out at this point. Looking up in horror, all I could stutter out was, “W-what was… h-how did you…”

This is it. This is the end for me. This horror beyond my comprehension floating before me, for all I could tell, could bend reality like play-doh.

I felt like laughing bitterly. What was I expecting? That things would just suddenly go my way for once? I really thought this was gonna work out… why did I even bother?

Discord looked back, confused, as if what he was doing was perfectly normal. “Hmm, usually that goes over better with foals…” He tapped his chin in thought for a moment, before saying, “Oh, I know!”

Discord pulled a magician’s top hat from behind his back, reached inside it, and with a snap of his fingers and a flash of light, the room was instantly covered with small, white rabbits.

My train of thought immediately halted. I glanced back and forth a few times between the collection of bunnies and a smug looking Discord, passively floating in the air. By now I was feeling like I had jumped the gun on my apparent death sentence.

After a few moments of hesitation, curiosity won over caution as I slowly approached the nearest rabbit and shakily held out a hoof. The rabbit hopped near and gave it a small sniff, before rubbing its head against my foreleg. It may as well have brushed against my heart, as the urge to cry nearly overwhelmed me.

Slowly but surely the other bunnies in the room surrounded me, and I gained a small smile as I alternated petting each bunny in the group. Against all odds, I temporarily forgot about the sheer absurdity of the situation I was in.

Discord piped in suddenly, saying, “Feel better now?”

I looked up, a little startled, and gave a timid nod, replying, “I… guess so.” As silly as it was, it somehow did help to calm me down.

Discord looked very satisfied. “Ah, I knew that trick from Fluttershy would work! Now then, let’s start over, shall we? You know my name, but what’s yours?”

I hesitated slightly, before replying, “Um… I’m Terra.”

Discord raised an eyebrow, as if he was going to comment on that, but seemed to move on instead. “Well, Terra, I know you’ve been wondering why I’ve brought you into my home…”

“Uh, yeah, I’m wondering a lot of things actually,” I replied, considering this was genuinely the most confusing interaction I’ve had with anyone ever.

Is this just my life now? Absurd thing happens, I freak out, then I end up just going along with it. Repeat ad nauseam.

Discord settled into a comfortable position in midair, his head leaning on his front limbs. “Do go on.”

I took a deep breath, and spoke as clearly as I could, “What are you, where are we, how are you doing all of this, why does nothing in here make sense, and uh, yeah… why am I here?”

Discord gave a grin. “A draconequus, my humble abode in Chaosville, fueled by the finest chaos magic, because chaos is spectacularly fun, and, well… how about I just show you?”

Before I had the chance to fully process his response, Discord snapped his fingers again and the house around us dissolved into a blur of motion. After a few seconds, the environment coalesced into a forest at night, with us hovering above it.

“Ugh…” I groaned. The change left me disoriented and dizzy, but it still felt like I was standing on solid ground, so I decided to not risk questioning it. Who knows with this guy.

“Now, let's go back a bit…”

At another snap from Discord, the moon began to shift, following along its regular path, and in a few moments it had already set. The sun in its wake rose and set just as quickly, and continued until the celestial bodies had completed two full rotations, leaving a full moon in the dead center of the sky.

I grew a little wary, but wasn’t sure why yet. This forest seemed familiar though…

A few seconds passed where nothing happened. “Uh… what are we here for?” I asked.

“Give it a moment…”

…

Without warning, a bright light and deafening sound exploded from a point in the forest not far from our current position. I nearly fell over from the shock, shutting my eyes and holding my hooves over my ears (which in their new position, was quite strange).

The sudden blast left me disoriented, and I had to take a moment to recover. When I opened my eyes, trees were still swaying from the force of the shockwave.

“What was that!?” I shouted, bewildered.

“Let’s go take a look, hm?” Discord said, before snapping once again, our position in the sky shifting to just above a small clearing that seemed to be the origin of the explosion.

My wariness increased. “Oh no, is that—”

Before I could finish that thought, my fears were already confirmed. In the center of the clearing was an unmistakable duplicate of the body I was in now, lying on its side, uninjured.

I had no words.

Discord knew about me.

I fearfully turned my head towards Discord. He lazily hovered in the air, staring down at the clearing below with a thoughtful look. Without glancing my way, he casually said, “I have a certain affinity for sensing strong magic, you see. Your arrival was on a level unlike anything I’ve ever seen, which is really saying something.”

Discord finally turned to face me. “Parading under a false name, withholding vital information, making ponies assume the worst about your situation, running away from the ponies trusted with your care…”

My fear only grew. Maybe I was right to think this was the end for me.

A few tense moments passed.

“Well done!”

Discord’s demeanor suddenly shifted, taking on a jovial look and reaching out to shake my hoof. The air around us seemed to erupt with confetti and streamers.

I was confused beyond comparison. “Wh— wait, what?”

“The level of chaos you’ve caused has been enough to reach all across Equestria! I must thank you, dear, for gifting me a much-needed holiday!”

“Huh? A holiday from what?”

Discord looked at me with a genuinely curious expression. “Why, spreading chaos of course! What else would it be?”

I blinked. “Uh, sure…” I halfheartedly replied. I took a moment to calm my nerves, before asking, “So you wanted to talk to me… because I spread a lot of chaos?”

“Yes!” Discord said enthusiastically. “With all the work you must have taken to get here, I couldn’t have just let you perish out in the woods, now could I? A little nudge here, a little warping of spacetime there, and you were on your way to Ponyville.”

“Wait, so I would’ve— you… saved me?”

Discord looked nonchalant. “Oh, I suppose so. But that was all really Applejack’s doing, don’t you think?”

I looked at Discord with a strange sense of awe. I wasn’t even mad about the fact that I still had to walk for hours, considering the alternative was not being alive. I had thought my odds of finding ponies was low, but I didn’t think— wait, what was that about—

“Hold on, what do you mean by ‘the work I took to get here’?”

“Oh, well, I’ve never met a creature from outside this realm before! Your entire existence here is the very definition of chaos!”

That response left me entirely baffled. I decided to address the most pressing of my questions first.

“So you’re just… totally okay with me being from another universe?”

“Oh, I’m more than okay,” Discord declared, almost bursting at the seams with energy. “The multiverse is a wildly chaotic place, and you’re going to tell me all about it!”

“Wh— hold on, if you can do all sorts of crazy things at the snap of your fingers, why haven’t you just gone out into the multiverse yourself?”

Discord seemed to deflate slightly. “See for yourself.”

Discord, now somehow wielding a pickaxe and wearing a miner's helmet, swung the tool down, striking something invisible. A deafening noise like shattered glass filled the air, and a small crack appeared in the space in front of us. Almost as quick as it appeared, the crack repaired itself, leaving no trace of its existence.

I blinked in shock. “What.”

“As much as I’ve tried, chaos magic just simply isn’t strong enough to break a universal barrier.”

…

“Uhh. Noted.”

Discord cleared his throat, tossing the pickaxe and helmet into the forest below. “Well, I’m sure you can see now why I wanted to meet you. Now that we’ve had our fun, let’s dive into the delicious details, shall we?”

Discord snapped again and we were suddenly back in his house. I took a moment to shake away the disorientation.

By the time I recovered, Discord and I were sitting around his coffee table, with me on his couch and him on an armchair that definitely wasn’t there before. In that time, Discord had also procured a teapot and a couple teacups. The teapot then poured itself into the two cups, then whistled a jaunty tune before spontaneously vanishing in a puff of multicolored smoke.

All I could do was look entirely baffled.

Discord picked up a teacup, took a careful sip, then glanced down at me, looking a little impatient. “I’m listening.”

I took a deep breath in, then let out a sigh. Should I even be telling him this?

“Well um, I’m sorry to disappoint, but… me coming here was entirely an accident.”

Discord did a dramatic spit take, the liquid forming into a miniature rain cloud that slowly drifted away. “What?! You’re telling me you figured out dimensional travel by accident?!”

“Nonono, I didn’t figure out anything!” I protested. “I just fell through this tear in reality, into… the void between universes. Or something like that…”

Discord gave me an incredulous look. “You really think I’m going to believe that?”

My expression shifted to confusion. “Huh?”

“How is it that you’re sitting before me right now, if you had ended up there?”

“Oh! Um… there was this… voice. It was somehow talking to me, even though I didn’t have a body or any senses at all there…” I shivered, remembering just how terrifying that was. “The voice wasn’t able to send me back to my home universe, just to the sort of… same area or something. I think it could also read my soul?” I sighed again. “I don’t really know what that voice was, but it seemed pretty powerful…” I trailed off.

As I spoke, Discord’s expression turned downcast. “Well, that’s disappointing. Of course there’s a being more powerful than me out there…”

Discord took a bite out of his teacup and floated back up into the air. “No matter. You’re in this universe now, Terra. That’s not changing anytime soon, correct?”

I nodded, trying not to think too much about that fact.

“Then just keep doing whatever it is you’re doing, hm? I’ll be right by your side, cheering you on!” Discord said, now inexplicably wearing a cheerleader outfit and waving around pom poms. “Well, from the sidelines, of course. If Celestia or Luna caught wind of my involvement…” Discord let out a shutter, the outfit sliding off of his slim frame.

“Huh? Who?”

“Oh, just the two most powerful ponies in all of Equestria. Nothing you should worry about,” Discord said, waving a paw dismissively. “I just have very specific guidelines I must adhere to when interacting with their precious ponies.”

“Wait, but I’m not—”

“Oh my, look at the time!” Discord interrupted, looking at a watch that spontaneously appeared on his wrist. “I mustn’t be late for my train; I hear the Bahaymas is great this time of year! Ta-ta!”

Before I had the chance to protest, Discord snapped his fingers, and I found myself once again surrounded by the walls of cottages in the small town of Ponyville.

Author's Note

All apparated animals are humanely sourced through chaotic means :3

Special thanks to Lilyheart for helping to edit this chapter!

Chapter 11: Reclusive Resonance

“Discorddddd…” I quietly groaned, holding a hoof to my forehead.

What was that interaction!? The way he talked, the things he did… I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. Somehow, I just so happened to gain favor with one of the most powerful beings in this universe, only to be abruptly dismissed without a second thought. I let out a groan of frustration.

Did I even have his favor? Discord’s entire schtick was pure, unadulterated chaos. Would that also include lying? Deceit?

Given how Discord was also aware of my biggest secret, I could be in a world of hurt if he allowed that information to get out. It’d probably be best to be wary around him in the future…

When I thought back to what he said, I remembered something important, though. His mention of the two most powerful ponies in Equestria: Celestia and Luna.

Discord claimed that they cared for the ponies of Equestria, but…

That doesn’t apply to me, right?

I’m not supposed to be here, I knew that for sure. I’m not supposed to be a pony, not supposed to be a kid, not supposed to be in this universe at all.

I’m a foreigner. An outsider.

If the power of these ponies terrified even Discord himself…

My breath grew shaky.

There was no way for me to know for sure what their policy is for… alien threats, but I figured it best if I made an effort to avoid Celestia and Luna under any circumstance. I refused to let myself even think about what might happen, should they somehow find out about my secret. There were just so many different ways everything could go horribly wrong for me, too many to count, and I had enough on my plate as is.

I let out a long, exhausted sigh and looked around. I appeared to be alone in an entirely normal looking alleyway, not unlike the one I entered before my encounter with Discord, just without all the freaky reality warping.

Scanning the brick walls around me and the coarse dirt below me, I seemed to be back in the regular world now, as regular as a planet of ponies can be. Ending up back in Discord’s domain was something I’d prefer to avoid from now on.

Looking up through the gap in the rooftops, I noticed the sky was actively getting brighter and bluer, in the same rushed way it did every sunrise since I got here. I could hear a variety of birds singing their hearts out, just like they insisted on doing every morning. It reminded me of those late nights/early mornings I spent in college, watching the sunrise through my dinky apartment window and wondering where all the time flew off to.

“Okay, if it’s morning now, then—”

“Oh god, how long was I gone for?!”

This was bad. I was hoping for a bit of extra time to get myself situated, but with how much of it Discord managed to steal from me, my original plan had gained a new level of difficulty. Considering I was spotted right when I ran off, knowledge of my escape had probably reached halfway across the town by now.

I took an experimental step forward, wobbling slightly, towards the alleyway exit. The sharp pain in my foreleg had mostly simmered down since my escapade, but I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to manage anything more than a brisk hobble at this point.

It was then that I realized just how tired I still was. Considering the sleep I got only amounted to just passing out for a few hours, and with my encounter with Discord being so stressful, I didn’t have much energy left over for the rest of the day.

Steeling myself, I quietly stumbled my way to the edge of the alley and peeked around a nearby trash can. Looking off to my left, I didn’t see anyone out on the road, an almost universal quality of public areas during super early mornings like this. I glanced to my right—

Then shot back into the alleyway, stumbling and nearly falling in the process. To my right was a small group of ponies, whose details I wasn’t able to pick up in the short glimpse I got of them. “Fuck, I hope they didn’t see me…”

I put a hoof to my chest, taking a few deep breaths to calm my now rapidly racing heart.

When I focused on the sound of their hoofsteps, I felt my ears swivel in their direction.

The unexpected movement of two of my own body parts startled me enough to give me goosebumps. Have they been moving around this whole time?

All things considered, I hadn’t really experimented with this new body a whole lot, huh? Or… really thought about it much either…

But… what was I supposed to do? It was all too much too fast. I simply had to pick and choose what to focus on, and this surreal new body was not very high on the list.

Right?

I sighed. I just… really didn’t wanna think too deeply about what had become of me, yet.

As I intentionally exited my thoughts, I noticed the ponies’ hoofsteps receding, before disappearing entirely. I gave a quiet sigh of relief.

“Ok, coast seems clear. I guess I can— wait here and do nothing. Right.”

I had partially forgotten that the brilliant plan I had concocted the day prior required me to live in the streets now.

Why did I think this was a good idea again?

…Whatever. If I backed down now, I’d just feel all embarrassed from having to crawl back into their care, then end up upset from being scolded about running off. Like— yeah, I get it, I broke one of your fundamental laws of being a good child. Big deal.

I shook off the bit of petty anger I had somehow acquired, groaning quietly at myself. “I better just get used to this being my life now, yeah? I should find a way to pass the time…”

I then sought out to do exactly that. The new hobby I chose might not have been the best move on my part, though.

Peoplewatching.

Ponywatching?

I don’t even know anymore.

Regardless, I chose to watch the streets beyond the small collection of alleyways I was in.

Exploring said alleyways netted me a small collection of cardboard boxes (which did, in fact, exist here), several of which I could entirely fit inside of. Through a bit of finagling, I managed to position a large box near the exit of an alley, and a small hole I pierced through the side with an old rake allowed me to look out without risk of being seen.

Dragging the box around was still a bit surreal, though, given the fact that I was doing it all with this weird magicky hoof grip power. It almost felt like I still had my hands, except maybe a bit more fuzzy, like they were slightly numb, but I only felt it when I was actively trying to hold something. It was disconcerting, not being able to consistently feel a part of myself that I was used to feeling my entire life, but I forced myself to shrug it off for the time being.

Traffic was rather slow at first, but things began picking up as the sun moved higher in the sky. A few groups of ponies passed by, chattering on about some mundane things I didn’t care too much about: groceries, their “foals”, the local whatever sports game against whatever team, and other things like that. I could feel myself growing drowsy, but the threat of potentially being caught if I fell asleep during the day was enough to keep me stubbornly awake.

Eventually though, I heard a distant voice, shouting something indistinct.

“Terra!”

“…Huh?”

Although I hadn’t quite heard what they said, their voice still startled me slightly, despite them being so far away. I strained my ears in an attempt to hear them better.

“Terra!!”

Whatever they were saying, their voice was getting closer. I took a moment to make sure I was fully concealed, closing the flaps of the box behind me, before standing stalk still and listening in as best as I could. It almost sounded like they were saying—

“Terra!!!”

Oh.

“They’re calling my name. My… new one, at least.”

A pool of guilt began bubbling up in my chest, and I couldn’t help but think about the mess that I had created. With ponies out there looking for me… Discord was right, I really had caused a ton of chaos. “Ugh, why’d this have to be so complicated…”

They were close enough now that I could see them through the peephole and hear them without straining my ears.

“Any sign of her yet?” I heard the voice call out. She didn’t look like any pony I had met before, though, with a sky blue coat and a curly golden mane and tail.

“Unfortunately, no,” I heard another equally unfamiliar pony reply, a darker blue pony with a blue and purple streaked tail and mane, sadness seeping through her tone. “The mayor said she couldn’t have gotten far, though, with that injury of her’s and all.”

The first pony spoke again, “Oh, I just hope she’s alright…”

And by then, the ponies were too far away to be heard.

But I had heard all I needed to.

They were both very clearly talking about me, and both very clearly using feminine pronouns.

…

I didn’t want to believe it. I knew what I had seen; my body, my voice, and my reflection all made things plainly obvious, but I had refused to believe it. “Maybe it’s just that bodies work differently here,” I had thought, “Maybe gender doesn’t work the same.”

But things just lined up too well, and this was just the final straw.

I knew the body I was in was a female one.

The thought alone made me want to curl up into a ball and die of embarrassment right then and there.

Why? Why did this happen to me? Of all the humiliating things…

My eyes began welling up with tears, which only made me want to cry more. I could feel my heart rate quicken and my breath grow shallow.

Why did I have to turn into a girl? Why did I have to go through any of this at all? Why me?

I already knew just how much I had lost, but foolishly held out on this one final thing, thinking that maybe there was one physical aspect of my body that was still the same… but at this point, it was impossible to deny.

I. Lost. Everything.

My breath sputtered and I collapsed to my stomach on the flimsy cardboard below me, unable to bear the weight of the realization. I at least had the wherewithal to stay quiet while I sobbed, in a little box, in a dirty alleyway, over a life I would never be able to return to, and over all the parts of it I would never experience again.

I stayed like that for a while, feeling pathetic, like I was truly at rock bottom. Of all the places my life could have gone, I never for a moment could have expected this.

I had a promising future, assuming I graduated college, which I was on track to do. A few more months and I would’ve done it. I didn’t really have a plan on what to do after that, but now…

…

I stayed like that for a while. Eventually though, my sobs let up, and I picked myself back up, wiping my face off with a foreleg. As much as I didn’t want to cry, I couldn’t deny that I did feel a little less overwhelmed with things, though a little worn out. Maybe there could be some positive things about—

I shook the thought out of my head. I needed to. There was no way I could enjoy being in this new body, knowing what I was before I came here. I felt gross.

For the sake of my sanity, I decided to just drop the issue. I sniffled slightly, turning back to my small hole to the outside world.

I watched many groups of ponies pass, a few sole ponies too, a good amount of which I could tell were actively searching for me. Multiple times I checked if I was still fully concealed, in case someone tried checking down the alley I was in. Thankfully I was, but surprisingly, no one did.

There was a part of me that wanted to be out there, walking and talking with those ponies, but I kept that desire at bay. I needed to stay hidden.

I stayed there for quite a few hours, watching the bright, lively world from my dark, lonely box.

Over time I could feel myself growing hungry and thirsty, uncomfortably so, and I began wishing I had drank some of Discord’s offered tea, as sketchy as it was. I wanted to delay going out as long as possible though, thinking that maybe fewer ponies would be looking for me the longer it had been since my escape. I made it until around late afternoon before it grew uncomfortable enough that I decided to do something about it.

“Okay, I guess I could try to find some food and water. Where should I even…”

I took a moment to think about the most likely places I’d be able to find a meal, before vaguely remembering a more dense section of the town that I had passed the night before. “If I can make it back there, then maybe there’ll be merchants or something I can steal from!”

I sighed. “Yayyy, stealing…”

Everything about the situation I was in felt like I was going against my own nature, but with the risk of doing otherwise being too high, I felt like I had no other choice but to carry on. I wouldn’t risk my freedom for my morals.

Emerging from my impenetrable cardboard fortress, I squinted to allow my eyes to adjust to the afternoon light. I looked around, trying to come up with a plan.

“Retracing my steps might not be the best idea, I was totally out in the open when I first got here… but sneaking through alleyways adds a lot of extra walking time, and I don’t know how far I can walk as is… hmm…”

My eyes shifted back towards the box.

…

“No way, that’ll never work…”

It was only a short while later that I found myself hidden under a box, sneaking through the streets of Ponyville.

And it was working.

The procedure was simple: I’d scan the area through the newly expanded slot in the box, listen to see if anyone was around me, hobble a little bit in the direction I wanted to go, then repeat.

On multiple occasions, ponies would give the box weird glances, but would brush it off and walk away as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Against all odds I was still at it a good half hour later, completely defying my expectations. I was as confused as I was ecstatic.

Progress was still slow, but was likely faster than if I had tried to take a more circuitous route. I didn’t have much of an idea of where I was going, but figured that as long as I headed towards where the houses were densest, I’d find the merchants I was looking for.

The town I walked through was still rather lovely, maybe more so than it had been in the moonlight, with the afternoon sun casting warm hues on the quaint, thatched roofs and wide, cobblestone streets. But I knew better than to get attached.

Eventually though, I knew I needed to take a break. Walking around as much as I did was getting to be too much for me, given my injury and steadily increasing exhaustion.

Once I was inside the nearest alley, I turned the box on its side and sat down in it. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Okay, I think I’m pretty close to some street vendors now, assuming I’m even going the right way…”

I stayed in that alley for a few minutes, giving myself some time to stretch and catch my breath. I really, really didn’t like having to sneak around and steal food, but I had committed myself to this plan and I’d go through hell to see it through.

After a moment though, I began to hear something. Music. It sounded like some kind of stringed instrument, too plucky to be a piano, but too high pitched to be a guitar.

“Hmm, probably just some street performer,” I thought. “But maybe they’ll lead me to a marketplace!”

I got up suddenly and limped in the direction of the music, the box abandoned behind me. My pace was still slow, but I was slowly but surely getting closer and closer to the source of the symphony.

It only took a couple minutes, but after weaving through some alleyways and minor streets, I stood at the precipice of the very place I was looking for.

My assumption was correct, there was in fact a marketplace here, but it was much larger than I was expecting. Before me was a large open town square, surrounded by buildings, flanked by a river, and with a massive towering hall at its center. The area itself was speckled with merchant carts and swarming with ponies. I was alarmed at first, until I realized that the corner I was peeking out from was thankfully empty.

The only exceptions were a tall oak tree a few yards away from me, a small bench next to it, and a pony sitting on top of the bench, facing away from me.

Her coat was mint green, her mane was a light teal, and I could barely make out a horn on her head that was… glowing?

It was then that I noticed directly next to her was a small, stringed instrument, bathed in a golden glow and simply floating in the air.

My mouth gaped and my brain momentarily stunned. “Wha— I…”

…

“Telekinesis. Right. Redheart said something about horn training, or something like that…”

As much as this world was similar to home, it was the things that were different that truly baffled me in a way nothing ever had before.

“Telekinesis is just… this commonplace? Ponies can just do this? On a normal basis?”

“Can… can I do that?”

I found myself lost in thought. This world had real magic that was used regularly. Of course I had already met Discord, but he was on a level so much higher than everything else that I couldn’t even comprehend it. But to be here, in front of a regular pony, doing the mundane act of levitation, was what truly shocked me.

She wasn’t just making it hover, either. I eventually noticed that this instrument was what was producing the song I heard earlier that ended up leading me here, with each string being plucked with the care of a master musician. I couldn’t really identify what it was, though. It kind of looked like a harp, but was too small to be one, yet seemed to be plucked in the same way a harp would be—

“I get it, you know.”

I froze, suddenly ejected from my thoughts. The music had stopped.

A glance back at the pony made me realize that she was staring directly at me.

“Running away, I mean. Feeling like you can do everything by yourself, and that you don’t need anypony else's help.”

“She knows I ran away!” I thought, before reconsidering. “Ugh, of course she does, why wouldn’t she? The whole town probably knows already…”

I knew that I was risking the integrity of my plan by just standing here, but there was some part of me that wanted to hear what this pony had to say. I didn’t have the energy to stop it.

“Heh, when I was a filly, I thought I could take on the world! And sure, maybe you can, but…”

The pony then hopped off the bench, storing her instrument in some kind of bag hanging from her side, before taking a few steps in my direction.

“There’s no shame in accepting a little help, either.”

I stared at the ground, saying nothing.

“My name is Lyra Heartstrings, if you were wondering. And you’re Terra, right?”

I hesitated before giving a small, shameful nod. “That’s what was chosen for me, anyway…”

“Well, Terra, I was about to grab a snack, if you want me to get you something.”

I lifted a hoof in hesitation. “I- I shouldn’t…”

My stomach seemed to disagree, giving a characteristic growl.

Lyra let out a small chuckle. “Hold on, I’ll be right back,” she said, before walking off in the direction of a nearby food cart.

My mind was at war with itself. Part of me wanted to run away, to forget this ever happened, but at this point most of me really, really didn’t want to. Why?

I argued with myself in my head as I watched Lyra chat with the vendor and make an exchange of goods. She was already walking back my way before I had the chance to resolve my feelings on the matter.

“Here, I got you a pretzel,” Lyra said, handing me something using her weird glowy magic field, and keeping one near her for herself. The treat itself was wrapped in a bit of thin brown paper, and looked just like any other pretzel I had seen.

My eyes glanced up at her, a bit wary. “I- I dunno, I mean I kinda just met you and I don’t think I should—”

“Don’t worry about it, then,” she replied, nonchalant. “I really think you should eat, though. Are you thirsty too? Maybe a pretzel wasn’t the best idea…” she continued thoughtfully. “Eh, I’ll just get you something to drink, too. Be right back!”

Before I could reply, she had already set the offered pretzel down on the nearby bench and walked off again.

I had no idea what to make of Lyra. I had of course only just met her, and yet she had already shown me such kindness by buying something for me. It didn’t seem like she was trying to turn me in or anything either. She knew I had run off, that much was clear, but her entirely relaxed attitude was almost unnerving. What was she planning?

Why was she being so kind to me? Is it pity? Does she feel like she has to? “I’m probably just a lost kid to her…”

Regardless of her thoughts on me, I could detect no ill will from her. She handled the interaction like I was an old friend, and she had bought me lunch so we could spend time catching up. But I had literally just met her!

Lyra’s words and actions started to make me doubt the split second conclusion I drew in the hospital, after finding out I was to be placed in a new family. I knew the experiences I had as a child; I felt stifled and overwhelmed from having to deal with overbearing parents, but… could this world be different?

I then decided to at least walk over to the bench, sit down next to it, and pick up the pretzel. The thin paper crinkled in my grip, and I could feel some heat radiating off of the baked good, despite the fact that there wasn’t anything visible there that would be able to feel it. How the hell did hoof grip even work?

I stared down at the pretzel, hesitating. Earth wasn’t a very kind place when it came to strangers, and the things I had been taught when I was a kid was making me a bit wary of Lyra, but given I had literally just watched her buy it from the stand, I figured I could give it a try. Free food that I didn’t have to steal was also a plus.

Having convinced myself, I finally took a bite of the pretzel. And of course it was delicious, when had anything here not been? The bread was soft and warm and chewy, with just the right amount of salt baked into the top, and it was heavenly. “I wouldn’t mind having some cheese sauce to dip this in, though…”

I quickly devoured the pretzel, licking up the salt crumbs from the paper. Before long, Lyra was on her way back, holding a couple small glass bottles in her magic.

“I hope you like apple juice!” Lyra said, rather enthusiastically. “Sorry that took so long, I got caught up talking to Applejack.”

I froze. That was a name I recognized. The sour taste of our first and last interaction was still fresh in my mind. “Uh… Applejack?”

“Oh, she’s just the owner of the big apple farm that Ponyville is known for,” Lyra explained. “Well, besides the other thing,” she said with a giggle.

I had no idea what she was talking about, but decided to not risk asking.

I quickly accepted the bottle of juice from Lyra, and after fudging with the twist cap with my hoof grip for a moment, I drank the entire thing without stopping.

Lyra looked at me, a little surprised. “Whoa! I guess you were pretty thirsty, huh?”

I refrained from glaring at her for such a blatantly obvious question, and instead decided to just stay quiet.

Time passed in awkward silence as Lyra seemed to run out of things to say. Eventually though, I noticed a symbol on Lyra’s side in the same place as I’ve seen on other ponies, that looked exactly like the instrument she was just playing earlier. These weird symbols had intrigued me before, but I figured It’d be a bad idea to ask about them, considering everyone I’d seen so far has had one. I was still a bit curious about her instrument, though.

“Um… that instrument you were playing before… what was it?”

“Oh, that’s just my lyre! Playing it is my special talent, if it weren’t obvious from my mark,” she explained with a light giggle. “It’s not a very common instrument, so I don’t blame you for not knowing about it.”

That… was more information than I was expecting. Do these symbols have something to do with special talents? What does that even mean?

Lyra interrupted my thoughts with a quick, “You can come and sit down on the bench if you want.”

I decided to shelve my investigation on the symbols for now, and instead considered what Lyra said. I had thought about hopping up on the bench before, but… “Well, um… I don’t really wanna make this worse…” I meekly replied, holding up my injured leg for effect.

“Oh! Here, hold on…” Lyra said, before I suddenly found myself airborne once again, held by the scruff of my neck, and just as quickly I was deposited on the opposite end of the bench from Lyra.

I could feel my face fiercely blushing, my thoughts mostly comprised of, “WHY DOES EVERYONE JUST DO THAT WE ARE IN A PUBLIC PLACE AAAAAA—”

“So how has your time in Ponyville been so far?” Lyra questioned, startling me from my racing thoughts.

“O-Oh, um…” I took a moment to collect myself a bit before replying, “It’s been… okay. The hospital staff was nice, and um…”

“Hold on, what am I doing!? Why am I actually taking her question seriously? Why am I telling her things?”

“It’s… been fine.”

Lyra smiled at me. “That’s great! I’m glad you’re enjoying it here. I know when I first moved to Ponyville, I was a bit underwhelmed,” she reminisced with a chuckle. “But it is quite nice here. Much quieter than Canterlot, that’s for sure. By the way, where were you staying before you got here?”

…

I looked away.

“That’s alright, you don’t have to tell me.”

…Huh?

I looked back up.

“I can’t pretend to know what happened to you, but I can tell you’ve been through a lot, though,” she said, giving me a kind smile. “But there’s a lot of good that can come from the ponies in this town, if you choose to accept it.”

…

My resolve was starting to crack.

“You know, I once ran away from home when I was a filly,” Lyra continued. “I thought I didn’t need school, and that I could run off and join an orchestra like it was nothing! Silly, right?” She chuckled softly, a hint of nostalgia in her eyes. “But I eventually realized that I still had a lot to learn. It was accepting help from the ponies around me that made the difference. It’s nothing about being inadequate or anything like that, it’s just about realizing that sometimes, we all need a little bit of support. Things just seem to fall into place when we work together, don’t you think?”

…

I didn’t want her to be right, but deep down I knew that she was.

“Ugh, what have I been doing?!”

I made an irrational decision when I heard news I didn’t want to hear. I ran away from the hospital when they were just trying to help me. I gained the favor of a god of chaos, simply because of the things I’ve done since I got here. How could I possibly be okay with that?

But maybe, just maybe, I could be okay with accepting a little help.

I felt a tear run down my cheek. I hadn’t even realized I started crying. “And in public, of all places…”

Lyra seemed to notice quickly. “Oh…” she said, taking on a remorseful tone. She opened her forelegs, as if preparing for a hug, before asking, “May I?”

I gave a weak nod, and felt myself wrapped in a fuzzy embrace. I cried softly, thinking about all the mistakes I had made since arriving here. My situation was awful, sure, but as much as I felt like I needed to go through this alone, I knew I really didn’t want to. The past day had shown me that a life in an alleyway is painfully lonely.

There were still a lot of things I’d keep secret for my own safety, but closing myself off completely from everyone wasn’t going to help me anymore. I was still having a hard time believing it, but I did really have people here that could help me through this. Lyra and Redheart were true examples of it.

I let out a shaky breath, wiping the last few tears from my eyes. Lyra pulled back from the hug, before hopping off the bench and straightening her bag. “Alright, how about we get you back to the hospital now?” She asked.

I nodded again. “Ugh, stop just nodding!”

“And um… thank you. For the food, and… for everything.”

Lyra sent a big smile my way. “Aww, of course Terra! I’m just glad I was able to help.”

She then picked me up again and placed me on her back, embarrassing me significantly more, before carrying me in the direction of the hospital.

Author's Note

Surprise!! Lyra!!!
5.2k words! My longest chapter yet :3c I hope y'all enjoyed it :D
Featuring mysterious background pony cameos of Lilyheart and Rainy_Skies :3
Special thanks once again to Lilyheart for the editing help!!

Also! Extra special thanks to Lunasee for the first art piece and Sencha Steep for the last two!!

Chapter 13: Hope

Nurse Snowheart led a guilty-looking Pinkie Pie out of the hospital room. Terra sat on her bed, staring confusedly in their direction, her gaze only severed when the door closed behind them.

The nurse immediately turned to face Pinkie. “What did we say about sneaking into patient’s rooms?!”

“Sorry, Nurse Snowheart…” Pinkie apologized, her mane deflating slightly as she looked at the nurse pleadingly. “I just wanted to get to know the new pony in town!”

“I get that, Pinkie, but with this foal…” Snowheart let out a deep sigh, before shaking her head slightly. “Let’s just go find Nurse Redheart…” she said, before walking off in a direction that led further into the hospital.

Pinkie Pie followed Nurse Snowheart through the twisting hallways, trying her best to adhere to Pinkie Rule #12 (No bouncing in the hospital) and Pinkie Rule #27 (No loud singing in the hospital). She hummed a quiet tune under her breath instead, resisting the urge to hop along to the beat.

After a short while, they reached a door with a shiny golden plaque that read “Head Nurse Redheart”. Snowheart knocked, and after a moment they were invited inside.

A large window on the back wall let in the late afternoon light, illuminating a series of filing cabinets along one wall and a large bookshelf along the other. In the center of the room sat a very weary looking Nurse Redheart, her head turned down at her desk, the surface of which was covered by a large collection of scattered papers. Her tired eyes drifted to the door as it opened.

“Nurse Snowheart? ...Pinkie?!” Redheart said with alarm. “Don’t tell me you tried to break into a patient's room again?” she pleaded as the two guests sat down at a pair of pillows in front of the desk.

Pinkie’s mane deflated slightly more. Redheart only sighed in response.

“Pinkie, not all patients want to have a party during their hospital visits,” Redheart said with a slight shake of her head.

“Oh, no, it wasn’t that at all!” Pinkie countered. “I was just trying to get to know her so I could plan the most wonderfulest Welcome to Ponyville party ever!” she said excitedly, throwing a bit of confetti in the air.

Redheart’s eyes widened. “Nurse Snowheart, please tell me the patient she visited wasn’t the filly named Terra.”

Snowheart simply shook her head. “It was Terra, Nurse Redheart. I caught Pinkie up on her bed, spouting off a bunch of questions. Terra looked… really confused, mostly,” she explained, looking up at the ceiling in thought.

Redheart groaned in response. “Pinkie, I understand your enthusiasm, but… Terra is a foal who’s gone through an unimaginable amount of loss, much more than anypony should ever have to. Just… be gentle with her, okay? She’ll need a lot of time to adjust to everything…” she trailed off, looking back down at the scattered papers, giving a tired yawn as she shifted them around. “I wish I could tell you the best way to reach her, but… there’s so much even I don’t know, and I’m the one directly tasked with her care! But she doesn’t want to share, and I obviously won’t force her to. I just wish there was more I could do for her…” she said, anxiously tapping a hoof on her desk.

Pinkie hopped around the desk until she was right next to Redheart, before giving her a gentle hug. “Don’t worry, Nurse Redheart! I just know she’ll be alright!” she detached from the hug, before looking face-to-face at Redheart. “After all, she’s got the best ponies looking after her!”

Pinkie’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Redheart gave a weary smile in reply. “Thank you, Pinkie. I just hope you’re right…”

Satisfied, Pinkie took her leave and hopped her way towards the exit. After a stern glare from Snowheart, Pinkie stopped bouncing, gave a sheepish grin, and walked the rest of the way to the door, closing it behind her.

Snowheart looked back towards Redheart to see her resting her chin on her desk. “You should head home, Nurse Redheart. Get some sleep.”

…

“...Redheart?”

…

Snooooore…

In a small house on the other end of Ponyville, a cream colored mare pulled a batch of chocolate covered candies out of the fridge. She meticulously swirled a bit of melted chocolate on the top of each one, before placing them back in the fridge to cool. Her eyes darted back and forth between her current task and a double boiler containing a pool of melted sugar, waiting for it to reach the hard crack stage.

Eventually, she heard movement from the entryway. “Lyra, is that you?” she called out.

“Yeah, it’s me…” a voice replied in a distant tone.

Bon Bon turned down the heat on the sugar before moving to the threshold of the kitchen, watching Lyra take off her saddlebags with a sparkle of magic and remove the lyre held within them. “Something wrong?” Bon Bon asked, walking over to embrace Lyra. “How’s the search going?”

“That’s the thing… I found her.”

“Oh! Then that’s wonderful news!” Bon Bon exclaimed, lovingly nuzzling Lyra. “I’m so proud of you, Lyly! But… it sounds like there’s more?”

Lyra nodded, then began to recount her day since they left the town hall meeting that morning, taking the time to carefully place her lyre on its display shelf at the same time. Bon Bon gave a heartwarming smile hearing about Lyra convincing Terra to accept help, and her eyes filled with sympathy at the description of Terra’s situation, but when Lyra reached the part about Nurse Redheart’s request—

“What?!” Bon Bon yelled, a bit shocked.

“That’s exactly how I reacted,” Lyra said with a hint of mirth, before her face shifted to a pensive frown. “But, yeah… that’s the decision we have to make. And I know we’ve only been together for a couple years and we’re still getting used to living with each other but I shouldn’t just allow myself to leave a filly like her to fend for herself!” Lyra paced around the room, her words tumbling out in a rush. “And as far as I can tell she already seems to trust me—she doesn’t seem to know a whole lot of other ponies, so she’d just be placed with another random family that she’d have to learn to trust all over again—and I don’t know if I got the point across well enough that she has to learn to trust—”

“Lyra.” Bon Bon placed a calming hoof on Lyra’s shoulder, gently interrupting her anxious tirade. “Deep breaths, Lyly. You’re okay.”

Lyra froze mid-step, meeting Bon Bon’s level gaze, before closing her eyes and taking a few slow, measured breaths.

“Alright, let’s think this through,” Bon Bon began. “This is a massive responsibility, especially in the case of a foal who’s gone through as much as Terra has. Do we think we can handle that?”

Lyra sighed, looking at the ground in thought. “I’d like to think we could. I mean… we’ve talked about wanting foals before, right? Maybe not so soon, but… we’ve made this whole relationship work, against all odds. Doesn’t that count for something?”

Bon Bon tilted her head, her expression softening. “It does. But wanting foals and being ready for them are two entirely different things. And with Terra… she’s going to need more care, and more patience, than other foals. She’s fragile, Lyra.”

“I know, Bonnie,” Lyra admitted, her ears drooping. “But that’s why I think she needs us. I mean, if not us, then who else? She already trusts me, that has to be worth something.”

“It’s not just about her trusting us, though. We need to trust ourselves, too.” Bon Bon let out a small sigh, her gaze drifting to the kitchen. “We need to be sure that we can give her what she needs, and we need to do it right.”

“I know we can,” Lyra said, her voice filling with determination. “Maybe not perfectly, and maybe not right away, but I want to give everything I have to help her.”

Bon Bon narrowed her eyes for a moment. “You’ve already made your choice, haven’t you?” A sly grin found its way into her expression. “You’re attached to her.”

“Maybe…” Lyra said, chuckling nervously. “But that doesn’t take away from the fact that we can do this. Earning her trust was a start, we can handle the rest together.”

Bon Bon’s smile grew, a glint of something unreadable crossing her face. “...I think you’re right. And maybe… maybe it’s the right thing to do. She’s been through enough; the least she deserves is some stability.” She took a deep breath. “I’m in.”

“You’ll do it?! Really?! Oh, thank you thank you thank you!!” Lyra shouted enthusiastically, wrapping Bon Bon in a bone crushing hug.

“Don’t thank me, thank yourself. This is a wonderful opportunity for all three of us!” Bon Bon exclaimed, a bit strained from the hug. “Now let go of me, you goof. I have to get back to the sugar before it caramelizes.” she remarked with an amused smile.

“Oh, heh, sorry,” Lyra apologized, releasing Bon Bon from the death grip.

“We’ll talk more about this later, okay? There’s still a lot of details to work out.” Bon Bon nuzzled Lyra once more before she returned to the kitchen, leaving Lyra alone in the main hall.

The unicorn gave a heartening smile, looking back towards the front door. “Just hang in there, Terra,” she thought, feeling a surge of determination, “There’s hope for you yet.”

After eating and drinking my body weight in food and water, I slept the rest of the day away and awoke the following morning to find myself, once again, very bored. Although there seemed to be a lot more activity than normal outside the door to my room, no one came inside, besides the nurse that brought me breakfast. I tried reading for a while, but the storyline had hit a bit of a slow point, and given how I had literally nothing else to do, I resorted to just lying on the bed, looking out of the window. I’d do anything for even an hour of internet.

Even though I had literally turned into a horse, one of the biggest culture shocks I had experienced so far was the lack of communication. Without a phone, or any sort of electronic device for that matter, I didn’t have any of my normal means of talking to people. No texts from my mom, couldn’t scroll social media when I didn’t have anything better to do, and I was stuck with Discord instead of chatting with my friends on Discord; every speck of my normal routine was gone.

Given the extent of what I had seen so far, it seemed like all they had for communicating was written mail, besides just physically talking to one another. So not only did I barely know anyone here, but I also had no way of easily communicating with them like I was used to, partially because of how much I had to hide, but especially since I couldn’t leave the hospital.

And I know that I agreed to come back here, but… for what? So I could be bored out of my mind while waiting for this stupid injury to heal? And I’ve been here for three full days now, just doing the same routine over and over— well, I guess besides when I ran away—

Oh. Yeah.

I have nowhere else to go.

I let out a deep sigh, making circles in the sheets with a hoof. Why do I keep forgetting that I lost… everything? It’s almost like there’s a part of myself that’s still in denial of it all. And why wouldn’t it be?

I guess, with nowhere else to go… this hospital isn’t so bad. Three meals a day, a comfy bed, attentive nurses who check up on me and help change my bandages and everything… I’m okay with this, for now, I think. Despite knowing nothing about me, despite me keeping everything secret, despite me running off and being a complete nuisance, they still take care of me here. What more could I ask for, really? I can handle a bit of boredom, at least until they… find me a new place to live.

…

Finding a new home is supposed to be comforting, right?

So why does the thought make me so afraid?

A familiar ache crept into my chest, which tightened as my thoughts spiraled. The idea of a new place, with new faces and new expectations, threatened to tear down the small semblance of stability I’ve found since I lost it all. It wasn’t just about living somewhere else, it was about stepping into a life I wasn’t sure I could handle, surrounded by people I didn’t know if I could ever fully trust. What if they asked too many questions? What if they got fed up with me hiding everything?

What if they found out the truth, and turned me in?

I swallowed the lump in my throat, trying to push away the rising dread. The hospital was predictable. Safe, even. But the world outside was a chaotic storm of uncertainty I wasn’t ready for, where the small comfort I found in routine would vanish.

As my eyes traced the scenery outside, a soft knock at the door pulled me away from my spiraling thoughts. I only noticed my heart was racing as my ears flicked toward the sound, an action I was still not used to.

I looked behind me at the door as it opened to reveal Nurse Redheart, who looked much more refreshed than when I had seen her last. Behind her entered another pony I had never seen before (which wasn’t all that surprising, to be honest). She had an off white coat, a faded blue mane and tail with streaks of gray, and deep teal eyes. Her mane was kept in a neat bun, and on her face sat a pair of spectacles balanced on her snout, which she adjusted as she entered. Looking further, I noticed her weird butt tattoo was of two feathers overlayed on top of each other in the shape of a heart. Or were they quills?

Redheart’s words pulled me from musings, speaking in a soft, comforting tone, “Good morning, Terra. Did you sleep alright?”

I answered with a simple nod, shifting nervously on the bed. “A-And um, sorry again, about running away…”

“Oh, don’t worry about it, we’re all just glad you’re safe,” Redheart reassured, walking closer to the bed. “Now, introductions! Terra, this is Miss Amber Quill, visiting today from the Ministry of Foal Welfare in Canterlot!” she announced excitedly. I mentally grumbled a bit from being talked to like a child.

Amber Quill spoke up then. “Hi, Terra. I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said with a slight smile, approaching the bed as well.

“Well, that’s not ominous at all…”

“Uh, hello,” I said, holding out my right arm— foreleg— on instinct, before awkwardly sitting down and switching to holding out my left foreleg, so as to not further aggravate my injury. Amber shook it as her smile grew a little wider.

“Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m here,” she continued, nodding her head in Redheart’s direction, “Nurse Redheart here has been informing the Ministry of your situation since you arrived, and we’ve been working to find you a home with ponies who can take care of you. Turns out, we didn’t need to do all that, because a couple has volunteered! Now, you might know one of them if I recall, a mare by the name of Lyra Heartstrings, and her partner Bon Bon. We just need to make sure this is alright with you before we move on.”

My eyes widened in shock. “Lyra? Yeah, I… I know her…” I trailed off, shifting my gaze to the bed below me.

I felt my ear twitch slightly. This was good news, right? I mean, much better than someone I didn’t know… right? Even still, I couldn’t help but feel a stab of anxiety. It was one thing to see this on the edge of the horizon, and another thing entirely to be face-to-face with moving in alongside someone I only barely knew, and with them tasked to take care of me…

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, being reminded of Lyra’s words. I was completely out of my depth here, in a world I was entirely unfamiliar with, and I’ve been given the opportunity to get direct help from someone that I actually sort of knew and trusted. It wasn’t an opportunity I should give up so easily.

Eventually, I opened my eyes and looked back up. Both ponies in the room seemed like they were waiting for me to do so, as both of them sent gentle smiles my way.

“It’s alright if you need more time, Terra,” Redheart spoke softly. “I know it’s a lot to process, especially after going through everything that you did. You can take as long as you need.”

I took another deep breath. “No, it’s alright… I’m fine with it. I trust Lyra.”

Both mares were practically beaming. “Wonderful!” Amber exclaimed, before pulling a clipboard from a bag hanging from her back and looking down at it. “I’ll just be around, making sure the transition runs smoothly. We should also plan a time for you all to meet each other, say… tomorrow afternoon?” She looked back up in my direction. “Is that alright with you, Terra?” After a quick nod from me, she continued, “Great! I'll coordinate with the couple to make sure it works for them as well. I’ll see you both later!” she announced, before swiftly exiting the room.

Redheart looked at me with a gentle warmth. “I know that was difficult for you, Terra. I’m very proud of you,” she said, leaning over and giving me a soft hug. The hug was a little awkward, but the sentiment was enough to make my eyes water. Part of me wanted to pull away, but that was the same part that made me run away from the hospital, so I stubbornly disregarded it.

After a few moments, Redheart withdrew from the hug, looking at me with a kind smile. “Alright Terra, I’ll come back later to pick you up for the meeting. I hope you’re excited!”

Despite being treated like a kid again, I sent a reluctant smile her way as she left the room. I collapsed on the bed as the door closed behind her.

“Well… this is it, huh? I’m finally getting out of here…” I let out a gentle sigh, hearing Redheart’s muffled hoofsteps leading away from the door. I let my eyes drift back to the window, catching a glimpse of the clear sky beyond. “I guess all that's left to do is hope it’ll all be okay, however fragile that hope may be.”

Author's Note

New chapter yay! This took a bit longer than I was expecting, sorry folks. I quite like how this one turned out, though :3

You could say Terra was hungry enough to eat a horse...

I hope all the Americans had a great Thanksgiving! And I hope the non-Americans had a great... uh... Thursday.

And of course extra special thanks to my wonderful editors Lilyheart, Rainy Skies, Sparkly Sparks, and Lunasee!