Ruffled Feathers

Stifling a yawn, Nimbus - wait. He bolted upright and his eyes shot open to gaze out on an unfamiliar room. It took him a moment to wade through the mental fog, to recall the wondrous tryst he’d had with the enchanting mare named Sapphire Shine, but he smiled as the memories came flooding back. Sleeping and subsequently waking up in a dream wasn’t the wildest thing, bearing in mind he’d become a pegasus, and a part of him was elated to see what his subconscious would come up with next.

As he glanced to the side and spotted the blue-maned mare slumbering soundly beside him, a smile crept across his muzzle. She was so serene that he almost laid back down to continue spooning with her - almost. Surreptitiously wiggling over to the edge of the mattress, he swung his legs off the bed, shifted his weight, and unsteadily got his hooves, all four of them, under him.

It was funny - his instincts told him that he was standing naturally, although his higher functions said that was anything but the case. Humoring himself, he briefly reared back onto his hind legs, stood for a fleeting moment, then inelegantly lurched forward and back onto his quartet of hooves. He could experiment with standing and walking bipedally later - for now, he had far more riveting things to pursue.

Cuddling with somepony - pffft. He snickered quietly as the word crossed his mind. Somepony - not someone, somepony. He must have harbored some latent fascination for equines, because there was no other reason why his brain would spontaneously generate such a phrase. Shaking his head in amusement, he glanced over to an open doorway situated at the opposite end of the room.

There was an entire world out there to explore, one that could hold any number of fantastical things, and he wasn’t about to let it slip through his fingers - er - hooves. Glancing back at Sapphire, ensuring she was still asleep, he trotted away and into what he hoped was a lavatory. There were all tons of things he wanted to do, although getting a good look at his new body was definitely a must.

Going to walk forward, he nearly lost balance and fell flat on his face. He’d spent most of his life walking around on two legs, so having to suddenly deal with four of the things was going to be a challenge. He scrunched his snout and steeled his resolve as he lowered his head and looked down at the quartet of hoofed limbs. It wasn’t like he did it on a regular basis, but trotting couldn’t be any more complicated than crawling around on all fours ~ right.

Instead of the typical left-right-left-right, he just had to double the process. Front right leg, rear left leg, left front leg, right rear leg - so on and so forth, taking his time and being cautious, he slowly and a bit clumsily acquainted himself with the novel form of locomotion. It was no secret that horses, even tiny ones, could be quite fast and graceful, although it was going to take a considerable amount of patience and practice before he was galloping around like a wild, untamed stallion.

Snickering at the notion of cantering, he stopped dead and looked over his shoulder. Wings - shoot, he’d nearly forgotten about the darn things! As he tried and failed to move the feathery appendages, his brow knit in frustration. Moving legs, even a foursome of the things, wasn’t all that difficult - unfortunately, getting a pair of alien limbs to obey him was like trying to command a second set of arms or legs that just came into existence.

He abandoned his attempt to will his wings into submission after a hoofful of seconds, wandered ahead, and discovered his suspicions were valid. Sapphire’s bathroom was pretty nice, and remarkably like the ones he’d find on earth. It wasn’t like he didn’t want to fly, but the threat of waking up at any moment meant he had to prioritize his time in horse land or wherever the heck he was - as such, he had to get a look at himself. Glancing from the tub to the commode and finally over to the sink, paying little mind to the hygienic products and linens, his eyes ultimately settled on a mirror.

“Alright,” he softly breathed, bracing for the worst, “let’s see what we’re working with…”

Trotting over and coming to a halt, he peered at his reflection with open awe. The creamy color of his coat and plumage clashed with the vivid green gradient of his mane and tail, yet it was his eyes that were the most striking. Like twin aquamarines, his eyes were striking - even pretty, and the sight of them caused him to smile from ear to pointed, twitching ear. He had no metric to go by, but he had to think he was a darn handsome horse.

He turned in place, doing what he could to inspect himself from various angles, and faltered when he noticed his flank - well, what was on his flank. Situated on his upper thigh was an intricate design of some sort. Situated in the same spot as the one Sapphire’s hind quarters, but being wildly different, the mark seemed to be a little tornado of some sort - actually, getting a better look at it, it appeared to be a cornucopia made from a twister and filled with clouds.

Chuckling to himself, he closed his eyes and shook his head. “Funny - very funny…”

Nimbus Breeze - now it made sense. His name denoted wind and clouds because that’s what was on his butt-stamp! Holy heck - he was gonna have to jot all this down once he got up. He could write a children’s book or cartoon show based on these juicy details! Exquisitely amused and pleased with his imagination, he hopped in place.

Everything was so vivid that he could swear it was real! The lingering scent of the sex he’d had the night before mingled with the crisp air wafting through the windows, the feeling of cool tile against his hooves, the sight of everything his eyes settled upon, the sound of songbirds chirping to greet the rising sun - the minutia if it all was staggering! He’d never been one to toot his own horn, but his brain had really been holding out on him.

He shifted and awkwardly trotted over the window to peek outside. Yeah, there was no doubt about it, he’d struck a goldmine of fanciful inspiration. Laying just outside and mostly out of sight, partially obscured by a tree, was what looked like a comfy little village! If he had somehow died and this was what lay beyond, at least he’d ended up somewhere pretty dang decent!

Drawn by a sudden movement at his rear, he watched his tail flick to one side. Having parts of himself that hadn’t existed a day prior was hard to describe. His wings and tail were as much a part of him as his tongue, legs, or head, although they acted like they had a mind of their own - sure, he could probably train them eventually, but there was no way for him to tell how long that would take in the grand scheme of things. Seeing as how it took a baby years to master their limbs, he had to assume he wasn’t going to be zipping through the skies anytime soon.

Smack

He yelped, went to whip around, and went crashing to the floor after something slapped his backside. It was a bit jarring to be shaken from his musings in such a sudden way, although his apprehension bled away when he twisted and saw who had decided to join him. With a coy little grin on her snout, Sapphire loomed over him.

“Morning, sunshine,” she murmured, rubbing one eye as she peered down at him. “You’re up early…”

“H…hey,” he sputtered while struggling to get his hooves under him.

The moment he got up, she closed the gap between them and pulled him into a hug. “How’s my big, sexy stallion doing this morning?”

He moved to hug her but faltered when his right wing shot out to her back. What the heck? Though he hadn’t made a conscious effort to use the feathery appendage, it was almost like it went to return her embrace. With his wings involuntarily flapping and then settling on his back, he extended a foreleg to pat her upper back.

“I’m - uh - I’m pretty good,” he eventually responded.

While it wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t an exact truth either. Controlling himself and checking out his surroundings was one thing, but having somepony else acting autonomously and spontaneously slapping him on the tush was quite another. Backing away from her, he cocked his head and eyed the exit.

Sapphire moved past him as her horn began to glow. “You want to join me in the shower before making us breakfast?”

“Huh?” he grunted.

“Make us breakfast,” she coolly repeated, setting the water in the tub to run and warm. “If it’s all the same to you, I’d love some pancakes. You’ll find everything you need in the fridge and cupboards.”

Her flippant expectation that he cook for her was, to say the least, completely unexpected. She was a figment of his imagination, the only reason she was here was because he’d dreamt her up, and he wasn’t about to play househusband for her. Rolling his eyes, he saw himself out and left her to do whatever mental constructs did in his absence.

“On second thought, maybe - hey,” she bleated while he made his escape.

Ignoring her, he proceeded out of the bathroom, through her bedchamber, and to the only other door available to him. He clearly wasn’t in his house, and he was dying to see the interior of her abode. As he came to a stop at the exit, the corners of his lips turned downward.

On any other day, under any other set of circumstances, a doorknob would be the least of his problems - now, without the use of hands, it was an obstacle. Lifting and pressing a forehoof to the rounded bulb of metal, he reflexively clenched his leg and grimaced. How - how the heck was a horse supposed to open a door?

“Supid,” he grumbled, trying fruitlessly to see himself out.

Much to his amazement, and flying in the face of all logic, he was met with a small amount of success - regrettably, it wasn’t enough. Though he was able to twist the knob slightly, somehow able to grip it despite his lack of digits, the thing refused to turn fully. While his annoyance mounted and stymied his investigative pursuits, an idea came to him. There was more than one way to skin a cat, and there was no way in Tartarus he was going to let something as simple as a door stop him.

He backed away, lowered his head, and gently bit down on the handle. Dealing with a chipped tooth, be it in a dream or otherwise, would be unpleasant, so he gently twisted his head and kept his hooves crossed that he wouldn’t inadvertently hurt himself. With a soft, satisfying click, the door swung outward and unveiled a corridor.

“What the hay?!” Sapphire shouted. “Why didn’t you use your hoof?”

Licking his lips and tasting metal, he shrugged and sauntered into the hallway. “I got it to work ~ didn’t I?”

“I mean, yeah, but it’s not like you don’t have a perfectly good set of forelegs or wings!” she protested. “Is something - oh come on!”

“What?” he asked as he trotted by and casually inspected several pictures hung on the walls to either side of him.

Leaving her in his wake, he drifted into a den. The living room, much like the bedchamber and bathroom, was quite nice and fully furnished. If her taste in accommodations was anything to go by, Sapphire was a simple, practical mare. Along with a sofa, coffee table, and recliner, there was a fireplace and a yawning window that overlooked a street and yard just outside.

He scarcely paid any mind to the sound of hooves approaching from behind him as he delved deeper. The den led to a small foyer, replete with a desk and coat rack, which opened into a kitchen. Though he still had no interest in doing any cooking, he was curious to see what matter of vittles a small, horned and horny horse kept at her disposal.

“Stop!” she yelled, sounding somehow irritated and desperate.

“Why?” he blithely countered. “Since I’m here, I may as well get a good look around.”

“You’re supposed to be making me breakfast and fawning over me!” she insisted, cantering around him and prodding his chest with a forehoof.

Peaking a brow, he glowered. “Says who?”

“Says me -” she groused, “you know, the pony who made you!”

“Made - heh - yeah right,” he snickered, gently pushing her aside and making for the refrigerator. “You didn’t make - Woah!”

An odd hum met his ears and a strange tingling sensation enveloped him from the tips of his hooves to the top of his head as he floated off the ground. He kicked his legs and writhed against his magical, apparently arcane bonds, noticing the aura around him was the same color as the energy about her horn, yet his efforts to free himself did nothing. Levitated over to her, he squinted in silent indignation.

“What are you - Gah?!” he croaked as his jaw was prized open.

She leaned in and stared into his maw while effortlessly holding him aloft. “Did I fudge the conjuration or - oh shoot! I bet it was those discount crystals I bought!”

“Cwistahls?” he slurred, unable to speak properly while his tongue was lightly tugged upon.

Relenting and lowering him back to the ground, she gave a low, crestfallen sigh. “Darn it. I was this close!”

“This close to what?” he inquired.

He would have - should have been upset with her, yet his intrigue about what was happening eclipsed any possible ire bubbling up within him. She could use magic, actual magic, and she wasn’t bothered in the slightest about wielding it against him. Turning his head as she trotted around and behind him, he pulled away when she nonchalantly lifted his tail.

“Um - hello?” he grunted. “This close to what?”

“To making you perfect,” she lamented. “The looks are there, but it’s clear that something isn’t quite right in that noggin of yours.”

“Excuse me?” he scoffed. “If there’s anything that’s not quite right about this situation, it’s that I’m talking to a mythical horse.”

She balked, recoiling as if stricken by the word. “Horse? Horses haven’t existed in - jeez, like thousands of years!”

“Alrighty then, miss smarty pants, what are you then?” he huffed.

Staring blankly over at him, she reluctantly lifted a forehoof and tapped her horn. “A unicorn. Sweet Celestia - you’re more broken than I thought…”

Anypony - ahem - anyone could only be pushed so far before they’d had enough - for Nimbus, being called broken to his muzzled face was the final straw. Turning up his nose and as imperiously as he could, he marched away from her and to the foyer. It didn’t matter how cute she was or how incredible she was in bed, she couldn’t just stand there and insult him like he was some sort of plaything!

“And where do you think you’re going?” she barked.

“Out,” he scoffed. “If I’m so broken, you can find another coltfriend for yourself.”

Only halting at the front door for a moment, having trotted through the foyer, he gingerly clamped his jaw on the door’s handle, torqued his head, and made his leave. He felt no guilt for leaving Sapphire, for there was nothing to feel guilty about. He’d cooked her up in his head, he wasn’t beholden to her wishes, and he owed her nothing. She hadn’t made him! The only thing she had made was an ass of herself.

He strutted out, nudged the door closed as she came rushing up behind him, and smiled. She was a persistent thing, although he had a solution for that. While she may have been able to use magic, he had a few tricks up his nonexistent sleeve himself. Peeking over his shoulder, he kicked back with one hind leg and shattered the doorknob and, if he was lucky, the lock within.

“Seriously - seriously!” she raged, trying the door and shattered internal mechanisms spilling from the hole that once held the handle.

“Guess I’m not the only thing that’s broken now ~ eh?” he chuckled, spotting her through a narrow window at the door’s side. “Catch you later, Sapphire. It’s been fun!”

“You…you…” she seethed before spinning in place and bolting away.

He’d planned on taking his time, giving himself a leisurely stroll through the imagined town that awaited him, but seeing her run off, presumably to a backdoor or other exit, shifted his priorities. Unless she also had the power of divination, giving her the slip would be prudent - plus necessity was one heck of a good teacher. Not wishing to be caught, and hoping to test what he was capable of, he trotted toward what looked like the center of town as quickly as his unsteady gait would allow.

It would be difficult for him to say for certain, but he was pretty sure that Sapphire’s home lay closer to the outskirts of the hamlet. With a house to one side and a vacant, well-kept lot on the other, she had at least one neighbor nearby, although most of the development lay down the dirt road in front of her abode. Pressing onward and daring to hasten his pace, he took a long, deep breath and enjoyed the sweet air.

Wherever he was was actually pretty nice. There wasn’t any concrete or asphalt to speak of, most of the buildings he could see looked to be made of wood, and there were rolling hills and fields off in the distance. He’d never truly enjoyed the urban jungles of Earth, only residing in one out of necessity, and he’d kill to live in a place like this.

He came to an intersection after only a minute or so, slowed, and noticed a figure languidly making its way in his direction. The sight of somepony brought a smile to his face and fueled his determination. Tripping on a rock in the roadway when he tried to flag the stranger down, giving no thought that it would be wise to keep all four hooves on the ground while moving, he stumbled.

“Watch it!” they yelled.

Blushing slightly, he trotted up to a wizened mare tottering along on the curb and nodded. Aside from being an equine, the mare was wildly different from Sapphire. Her coat was a light shade of turquoise, her eyes were purple, and her mane and tail, both fashioned into buns, were a snowy white, although she lacked any wings or horn to speak of. Regardless of whether or not there had been something in that cheap booze he’d had, he had to complement his unconscious mind for its creativity.

“Hey - um - this is probably going to sound weird, but where are we right now?” he inquired, risking a glance over at Sapphire’s place.

“Where are we?” the mare parroted. “Ya mean that in an existential or more grounded sense?”

“In the here way,” he clarified, tapping the earth with a forehoof.

As fascinating as it would be to engage in a philosophical discussion with what was effectively a part of himself, getting a name for where he was felt important - if for no other reason than to include it in any literary works he may or may not produce in the future. Starting when he heard what sure as heck sounded like a small explosion, he swallowed hard.

The mare rubbed the back of her neck while she studied him. “If’n you’re talking about the town, you’re in Greener Pastures - now, if’n you’re referring to the postal code, that’d be -”

“Shoot,” he hissed, seeing a familiarly colored figure run into the road behind him and begin looking around. “Gotta go! Thanks!”

Greener Pastures - if that wasn’t funny and just a touch foreboding, nothing was. Increasing his speed as much as he dared, he made an abrupt turn at a nifty little corner store, sped down an alley, and wound up on another, almost identical street. Darned if he could say where he was going or why he was fleeing from an irate unicorn, but he was having more fun than he cared to admit.

He glanced around for anything particularly eye-catching until he heard the sound of voices - several voices in the distance. Considering there were talking horses around, and that at least two of which were of a legendary variety, the notion of meeting other fabled creatures spurred him onward. For all he knew, there could be griffons, manticores, or even dragons to meet out there!

His mind was awash with a whole host of possibilities as he moved at something akin to a jog. Fanciful setting had always held a special place in his heart, so discovering he was in one rekindled the fires of his passion. He’d presumed his imagination had atrophied over the years, dulled by the mediocrity and necessities of adulthood, but he was overjoyed to learn that was far from the case.

A blaring wolf-whistle shook him from his reverie and, sadly, threw the steady rhythm of his moving legs completely out of order. Toppling forward like some sci-fi walker, he landed on his chest with his head outstretched. Great - he hadn’t just managed to take a tumble, he’d taken a tumble in front of someone.

“Watch it there, cutie. I wouldn’t want you to hurt yourself,” a feminine voice intoned.

Pushing himself up and brushing himself off, he found himself looking down at a short, somewhat brawny mare wearing a reflector vest and a hard hat. Whoever she was, she was built like a dwarf, had a deep purple coat, and was smiling a bit too broadly up at him. Left to assume she was the one who’d whistled, possibly at him, he looked to the side and found a trio of similarly dressed ponies, two mares and a stallion, watching him.

“Well look at you,” one mare chirped, eyeing him from top to bottom. “You new in town?”

“I…yeah, you could say that,” he answered before remembering his manners. “The name’s Nimbus.”

“Short - Short Circuit,” she replied. “So what brings a tall, handsome drink of water like you to a backwater like this? Actually, no, lemme guess ~ you either got dragged here by your marefriend or you’re gonna be working at that casino they’re building outside of town.”

“There’s a casino?” he quipped.

Looking up at his face, Short narrowed her eyes. “You couldn’t have missed it if you flew in. It’s - you know what, it’s not important. With a face that, and a body like that,” she noted, gesturing with a hoof from his head and flank, “you can be as oblivious as you want.”

He stayed quiet and processed what she’d just said. Had he just been hit on and insulted in the same breath - besides that, was this how she talked to everypony? Torn between feeling offended and flattered, he leered down at her as she trotted up to him, reached out with a foreleg, and ran a forehoof over his chest.

“Mmmmh,” she half-hummed, half-grunted in what sounded like approval. “Since you ain’t got a marefriend, and because it’s obvious you ain’t familiar with the area, how’s about you let me bring you out for some breakfast.”

“Like ~ right now?” he blurted as she began circling him.

Giving his hindquarters a bit too much attention for his liking, she nodded. “Sure. Seein’ as how I’m the foremare of this here operation,” she explained and waved a hoof at an unfinished framework of a structure sitting just off the road, “I can do whatever I want.”

He opened his mouth to respond, but then he saw her coworkers - rather, her subordinates’ reactions to the exchange. Though it was as clear as day that the trio of equines were not pleased with their supposed boss, he noticed something rather interesting - a disparity between the mares and the stallion. The female ponies, a unicorn and non-mythical one, looked upset, while the poor guy seemed almost crestfallen ~ dejected maybe?

With a startled squawk, he spun, almost fell for the umpteenth time that morning, and rounded on the squat mare. “What the heck?!”

“What?” she innocently snickered, drawing amused titters from the two other mares. “If you didn’t want that kind of attention, you shouldn’t be so good lookin’ - ‘sides, you said you was single!”

Catching him completely off guard, and without his permission, she’d helped herself to a generous squeeze of his backside. He didn’t mind being flirted with - heck, he’d longed for the day when someone would come on to him, but getting groped by a perfect stranger was just wrong. The irony of the circumstances didn’t elude him, given that he’d just bedded a random, possibly unhinged mare the night before, and it left a sour taste in his mouth.

“You can’t do that,” he declared.

Short didn’t relent - if anything, she smirked even more wolfishly than before as she turned her attention over to the other construction ponies. “Look, mares, we got a real firecracker on our hooves,” she laughed before turning her eyes back to his face. “Listen, if you -”

“Back the buck off, Short!” somepony loudly and quite angrily bellowed.

Coming to a skidding halt next to Nimbus, Sapphire stared daggers at the pint-sized, perverted mare. Though he’d just spent the last few minutes getting away from her, the sight of her filled him with relief. She may have had a few screws loose, but he was glad that her anger was no longer leveled against him.

Pinching the bridge of her snout, Short chuckled. “This is too rich. Don’t tell me you’re dating this nerd…”

His jaw flapped for a second while his mind reeled. On one hoof, he had a pushy, chauvinistic mare - on the other, he had a unicorn who, just a short time ago, had expected him to make breakfast for her. There was no clear winner between the two, particularly because they both had a number of faults, but at least Sapphire hadn’t sexually accosted him in public.

“Short, I swear to Celestia, if you don’t step away right now, I’m going to…” Sapphire snarled as her horn crackled with energy.

“You’ll what?” Short breathed. “Go ahead, I dare ya - actually, I double-dare ya!”

Looking back and forth between the two, a sense of unease welled up within Nimbus. Having an extraordinarily realistic fantasy was one thing, although there was something more to this - something he couldn’t put his hoof on. Backing away, he instantly shot forward and pushed the mares apart when Short shoved Sapphire.

“Hey!” he barked.

“Gotta get your stallion to step in for you?” Short darkly chortled. “Bucking figures, coming from a -”

“Will you shut up,” he raged, baring his teeth at the dwarfish mare. “I don’t know or care who you think you are, but you’re being a jerk!”

Holding his gaze for no more than a second, Short snorted and took a step back. “Whatever. If you ever want to talk to a real mare, one who knows how to treat a stallion, I’ll be around.”

Sapphire ensnared him with her aura, unceremoniously plucked him from the earth, and stormed back in the direction she’d come from. “We’re leaving.”

Floating along beside her, he uncomfortably cleared his throat. “S…sorry about your door…”

“You’re going to fix it,” she softly growled, “and then you’re gonna make breakfast…”

“Just for the sake of argument ~ how? How am I supposed to fix anything?” he pressed. “I’m a horse with wings! Even if I was good with my hands, I -”

“Hands?” she coughed, stopping in her tracks and peering over at him. “What the hay are you talking about?”

“You know, hands,” he insisted, extending his forelegs and flipping his hooves at her.

Easing him down, but keeping her magical grip on him, she sat and rubbed a forehoof against her temple. “How - how in Equestria did I mess this -”

“Equestria?” he interrupted. “I thought we were in Greener Pastures.”

She rocked back and dumbfoundedly stared at him. “Greener Pastures is in Equestria.”

“So Equestria’s the country or something?” he openly posited. Seeing her confusion only deepen, he lifted and turned a forehoof. “You gotta work with me here, I’m trying to wrap my head around all this.”

“You’re a pegasus,” she flatly stated. “You’re in Greener Pastures, a town in Equestria which is an empire on Equus, and there’s something wrong with you.”

“I hate to admit it, but you might - Ouch,” he muttered.

Lifting the forehoof he’d just lowered and driven into the earth, he went motionless. Behind the rim of thick, hardened keratin, stuck in the yielding flesh on his extremity, was a briar he’d accidentally stepped on. He was far from a psychologist, and further still from an expert of inner workings of the human mind, but he’d always heard that pain was one of, if not the only thing that didn’t translate well into dreams.

Inching closer, she delicately took his foreleg in her hoof, frowned, and yanked the offending piece of vegetation free. “Doesn’t look like it’s gonna bleed, but I’ve got some band-aids back home. Why do you keep using the word horses?”

“Because that’s what you - we are,” he noted, still looking down at his hoof. Lifting his head and seeing her looking squarely at his face, he was hit with a feeling of apprehension. “Right? We are horses ~ right?”

“Unless you’re some prehistoric variety of pegasus, no. The closest living relatives to horses are Saddle Arabians, but they’re ponies just like everypony else in Equus,” she mumbled. “Before I got up, did you hit your head this morning?”

“No,” he responded. “I might have last night at some point - I mean, I’m not proud of it, but I did have a few drinks prior to you showing up.”

She released his foreleg and tilted her head to the side. “Me showing up? I didn’t even go anywhere yesterday afternoon. I got home from work, performed all the incantations, recreated all the spellwork’s seals, and then you showed up.”

“What do you…” he trailed off as a knot formed in his stomach.

From the way she was acting and talking, she’d have him believe that she’d summoned him - that or she thought she’d made him through some ritual. Glancing back at himself and watching his tail and wings nervously twitch, he gulped. There was no way - no possible way that she was right ~ right?

“Show me,” he softly but firmly demanded. “If you made me, I want to see how you did it.”

She eyed him with suspicion while maintaining her sorcerous grasp on him. “Promise you won’t run away?”

“I won’t,” he sighed, “scouts honor.”

As her aura dissipated, she turned and trotted away. “You’re still going to fix my door…”

He followed along in silence and kept pace beside her. While it was admittedly stupid to consider the possibility that she wasn’t lying, that she thought he was some sort of homunculus, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off - way off. Dreams could be incredible things, so strong that they could make one move around or even talk in their sleep, but this not so little adventure he was on was so vivid that he was starting to question his own sanity.

“This way,” she urged, leading him around the side of her house and to the backdoor. Through the laundry room, past the kitchen, and down the hallway attached to her bedchamber, she brought him to a door he hadn’t peeked through. “Here.”

Staying still as she swung the door open, he understood what she’d meant - well, partially understood what she’d meant. The room she’d brought him to was something like a small office, bedecked with bookshelves and having a writing desk situated in one corner, but it was clear that she’d been using the space for more than just reading. Fashioned on the floor from some sort of black powder, and dotted with cut gemstones of varying types, was a large, intricate circle lined with runes and ornate designs.

“And I used - Nnnnph - this,” she grunted, levitating a massive, positively ancient looking grimoire from her desk. “If anypony asks, I’m just borrowing it.”

He looked from the floating tome, down to the esoteric-looking sigil, and finally over to her face as his scowl deepened. “Supposing you’re right, you made a stallion because…?”

Shying back and returning the massive book to the table, she blushed and turned her eyes to the floor. “Don’t make me say it…”

Her suddenly bashful demeanor, paired with her mentioning that she’d only borrowed the grimoire, spoke volumes. Whether she was lonely, desperate, or some combination of the two was anypony’s guess - irrespective, she’d gone to great lengths to create a coltfriend for herself. Reaching out to her then pulling away, torn between the compulsion to comfort her or berate her for her actions, he set his jaw.

“Hey,” he breathed, trotting over and gently pulling her into a hug, “don’t be so down on yourself ~ ok? I won’t tell anypony about your big book.”

She returned his embrace and pressed her face against his neck. “Stars above, I’m such a screw up…”

A pang of guilt shot through him. Though he’d only known her for less than a day, he felt bad for her. Everypony, pony or otherwise, went through rough patches in life, and he’d be willing to wager that she’d only done whatever she’d done as a last resort - sure, he could and very well may have been wrong, but all he had to go on was his gut. He gazed into her eyes and smiled when a flicker of happiness crossed her face.

“Before I probably do more harm than good, how about we go make some pancakes,” he mused.

Shaking her, she moved past him and into the hallway just outside. “Seriously, how can you not even make pancakes?”

He chuckled as he trailed along behind her. Even if he hadn’t solved the greater issue at hoof, the possibility that he was in a coma or some wacky sort of afterlife, he took some solace that he’d cheered her up. Trotting into her kitchen, he marveled as she used her magic to simultaneously open a cupboard, grab a carton of milk from the fridge, and retrieve a whisk from the sink.

“That’s so cool,” he reverently gasped.

“Come on, it’s not like I’m doing anything impressive,” she laughed as she arranged the items and ingredients on the counter. “I would have thought you’d - I don’t know, come with all the ins and outs already in place!”

Mockingly holding a forehoof to his chest, he feigned being wounded. “Well excuse me! It’s not like we have magical horses on Earth!”

She quirked a brow over at him while uncapping the bottle of milk. “Earth? What do you think the world is made of, you goof?”

Just as he went to clarify what he’d said, his anxiety shot through the roof. Her reaction couldn’t have been faked, being the definition of innocently naive, and shook the foundation of his reality. Fighting through his dread, he shifted nervously in place.

“Earth the planet,” he explained. “Magic doesn’t exist there, but we do have some technology that’s pretty darn close.”

“Like steam engines?” she asked. “Why would you need those when you can fly?”

“Because we can’t fly - not normally,” he grumbled as his agitation vied for dominance against his growing alarm. “Humans can’t -”

“Hyuman?” she repeated, nonplussed. “What’s a hyuman?”

His heart sank and his blood turned to ice in his veins. Whatever was going on, disregarding the impossibility of it all, something told him that he wasn’t within the confines of his own mind or some great hereafter. Unsure of what to say, rocked to his core, he eased himself down and stared blankly at the floor. He could have been mistaken - in fact, he hoped he was mistaken, but the idea that he’d somehow been transported to another world and transformed into a pegasus seemed a bit more plausible than it had a few hours ago.

“Well don’t just sit there and make me do all the work!” she chirped, crossing to him and pulling on his foreleg.

“I…yeah…” he dully stated.

Listening to her remark on the differences between pancakes and waffles, he trotted to the counter in a haze. If this wasn’t a dream or some grand delusion, he didn’t have the slightest idea of what he was going to do. He took the whisk as she offered it to him, moving mechanically while he tried to think of something - anything that would prove his suspicions wrong - alas, he couldn’t. Housed in a body which wasn’t his own, in a far-flung land of colorful, talking ponies, he was, at least for the time being, going to have to make due…