You Can’t Judge a Pony by their Cover
By: Gork105
Prologue
Some say people never change; I would have to strongly disagree but not because of how people act or behave because some people will act the way they damn well please in spite of others. For those who do want to change, some wish to become friendlier, maybe more honest, thrifty or even stop a drug addiction. But I—I wanted to become something more.
Before I... “changed” I was a pretty average eighteen year old guy. A little overweight, not much though. I loved to wear camo. Urban camo cargo pants and a black t-shirt is what you would find me in most days. It’s kinda funny, my mom hated it. In the past she had joked “I swear, If you buy another black t-shirt, I’ll put bleach in your laundry.” I did my best to keep my dirty blond hair short. I tried to bleach my hair blond once for the fun of it but ended up taking all of the color of my hair. The awesome part about it was when I went to prom the next week, the whole dance floor was clocked with black lights so my hair glowed fluorescent blue; that got a few laughs. My skin was fair probably from how much time I spent on the computer. I preferred to spend my time using Photoshop and playing video games rather than walking or riding my bike.
For most of my life I had only one friend: my cousin. His name’s Frost, he’s a pretty chill guy. He’s a meter reader and in the winter, when it's below freezing he works in jeans, a t-shirt and a hoody. Around the time I “changed,” I found two other friends one goes by Rex, and we call him PeaceMaker. He wants to join the Army and become a sniper. My other friend, Kyle, he’s a huge internet troll. His pastimes include calligraphy, trolling people, and video games.
I suffer from clinical depression and anxiety. It’s not too terrible, but it’s enough to need medication. People don’t see it when they're around me because I do my best to conceal it. I hate to say it, but the meds do help. My low self esteem only adds to the crap I deal with. Most people see me as an energetic and happy person. That’s because they're not always there to see my depressed side. Deep down I wanted to be something more than just an average person you see walking down the street. I used to see myself as a person with nothing to offer the world, nothing special, no special talents, nothing. My friends and family would whole heartedly disagree with how I saw myself, but no matter how hard I tried to change, I still had hostility towards myself.
But I’m sure you're probably not interested in who I once was. Who I was is no longer. To only myself and my closest friends do I remain who I was. There are many questions that now swarm my head. Do I carry on as myself in the shell of another? How did something like this happen? Is this a blessing or a curse? Will I suffer at the hands of others or will I be uplifted by those around me?
I've been an avid Whovian and a Brony for some time now. If you know anything about Doctor Who, you'd know The Doctor can change his face by regenerating. well, I suppose you could count me lucky, not many get to do as The Doctor has done. My face has changed like The Doctor but unlike The Doctor where he is almost entirely replaced, deep down I’m still me, thank God. It’s more like a touch of alicorn magic or who the hell knows maybe I’m a frickin Timelord. At this point in time, I have no clue why I'm trapped in this shell.
For the time being, I’m like this, doomed or blessed (I can’t decide) to run on four instead of two. This reminds me of a quote by Paulo Coelho — “When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back.” So maybe I should buck up and take my problems head on. I was never good with change, even being eighteen I, like most, struggle with change. I hated losing The Tenth Doctor. Like many others Twilight being an alicorn will take some getting used to. If a science fiction character and a cartoon pony rustled my jimmies that much, then how the hell am I going to handle being what I have become.
Maybe my life has changed for some special reason like “I’m destined for great things” or some other crap like that. Hey, you never know what life throws at you like one day you might turn into something impossible. I can’t say it was all of a sudden because for a long time I didn't want to be just another human. Well I got my wish. I guess you could say be careful what you wish for, but that’s a little cliché. I also said I’m not sure if this is a blessing or a curse because my path has had many up and downs since I changed.
You kinda know a little about me so I think it’s almost time to tell you my story. I guess you could say that people change and I would agree, although maybe not in the way you would expect. I've changed in more ways than just my form. My friends had to undergo these changes with me. They've been by my side through thick and thin. I’ll never forget when we woke up and became something extraordinary, when we became ponies.
Chapter One: A Strange Awakening
You Can’t Judge a Pony by Their Cover
Chapter One: A Strange Awakening
By: Gork105
My friends and I love to chill at my house, I have two computers and a lot of electronics. This was an awesome night because I had all four of my best friends over at my house. Sitting at my computer, I turned to my cousin, Frost, who was sitting at my spare desk using his laptop. I remarked, “Don’t you think we should go to bed? It’s like seven o'clock in the morning. Kyle and Rex fell asleep before midnight.”
“I’m gonna go to bed soon; just let me shut down my computer,” Frost replied. He put his laptop to sleep and lifted his arms above his head in what was probably the biggest yawn I’ve ever seen.
“Okay, lets hit the hay.” I looked at the couch in my room and sighed “Dammit, Kyle took my spot again.” Frost and I got up and pushed in our desk chairs. After turning off the lights, we walked to the living room where there was a big “L” shaped couch with enough room for two people to lie on comfortably. On the left side of the couch, Rex was soundly asleep. “Frost, do you mind if I get the other half of the couch? You're welcome to use the cot in the closet,” I stated.
“That’s fine.” Frost replied unfazed.
Grabbing a blanket from off the top of the couch, just above Rex’s head, I threw it to my side of the couch. I Plugged my phone into the wall outlet and said “Here’s the phone charger if you need it.”
“Ight,” Frost responded after retrieving the cot from the closet. With little difficulty, the cot was up and we climbed into our sleeping spots.
“I hope my mom doesn't wake us up at, like, eleven tomorrow. Well, I guess it's technically today. Remember that time my mom woke me up by sticking her finger in my ear?” I grimaced remembering my rude awakening.
“Yeah, that sucked. If she does that again, I’m going to your room to sleep. I hate it when she sings in the morning just to piss us off.”
“I'm just glad she doesn't do that often. You know what would make an awesome super power?” I asked just to change the subject.
“What?”
“The ability to change your voice to copy anyone. Could you imagine doing a fanfiction reading as Morgan Freeman. Like, Morgan Freeman reads cupcakes.” With that, we both broke up laughing. “No, wait, Master Chief reads Rainbow Factory!” I couldn't control my guffaw.
“Just walk down the hallway at school and sing in Fluttershy’s voice,” Frost added. We both took a few breaths to calm down.
“You know what would be an even better super power? The ability to shapeshift. Can you imagine showing up to school as The Doctor. C’mon, that would be awesome.” I chuckled at the possibilities. “We could go to the mall as our oc’s. Can you imagine you just see two cartoon ponies walking around?”
“Yeah, that would be sick.” Nothing more was said and we fell asleep soon after.
“Frostmane, Angel, PeaceMaker! Get up! I made you breakfast!” my mom yelled, I just rolled over ignoring her. Then, it occurred to me, “Who the hell is Angel and Frostmane!”
“Sweet Celestia!” Frost Yelled, “What the hay happened?” his sudden shout jolted me awake. Something was wrong, very wrong. I couldn't feel my hands. I had fallen asleep on my side, so I used the fore part of my arm or what should have been my hand to push off the back of the couch to flop onto my back. I moved my arms in front of my face to hopefully find the reason for the lack of sensation in my appendages. For a moment, I was speechless. Then it hit me. “Why do I have hooves?” I screamed.
“What are you two screaming about? Wait, why do I have hooves too?” Rex yelled in pure terror.
“What's wrong with all of you? You're acting like you’ve never seen your own hooves before!” my mom yelled from the kitchen.
“Um, Frost? What's going o—?” I stopped at the sound of my own voice. “Why is my voice so high?” I craned my neck to see Rex literary roll off the couch. He hit the floor with a thud, and attempted to stand up. He slowly used his four legs to lift himself off the floor. I Tried to do the same. I rolled off the couch and landed on my hooves. *Clop* the sound echoed through the room. Standing on my newly aquired hooves was most bizarre feeling I have ever had. Taking a moment to breath. It was then I noticed I was only about three feet tall. I looked at my mom and my mouth dropped “Mom why are you still a human!”.
“I’ve always been a human!” she hollered “Just as you’ve always been a mare!”
Rex broke up laughing, “Well that explains your voice! Hahaha ha!”
My mouth hung open, my pupils shrunk exponentially, my tail and ears involuntary dropped. Devastated, my voice was almost nonexistent, “I-I’ve always b-been a... t-that’s not right... I’m an eighteen year guy...” my voice trailed off.
“Now do you want breakfast or not, because I made oatmeal and there’s orange juice in the fridge.
“I don’t think any of us are in the mood to eat.” Frost spoke keeping his voice calm. The door to my room opened and I heard Kyle walk in. My mom stormed into the kitchen angry.
“How are you ponies doing this morning?” Kyle asked nonchalantly as he sat down next where I had been laying.
“We’re out of hay, and I’ve got a few errands to run! I’m gonna go to the store, I’ll be back in a couple hours! I put your breakfast in the fridge.” My mom called out and I heard the front door slam. Frost fought the sleeping bag for a few awkward moments and eventually he found his way out by using his teeth to pull the zipper down.
“This is one hell of a dream,” Frost thought out loud.
“This seems too real to be a dream...” I trailed off in thought.
“I know how to find out if this is real,” Rex chimed in. “Hit yourself in the barrel, I-I mean chest. Pain will end a dream. So, who wants to hurt themselves first?”
“I guess, I’ll try to wake up first.” I said absentmindedly. “Here goes nothin’.” with a swift left hook I hit myself in the stomach and I dropped to the floor “Ow, *cough* that hurt. I don’t think this is a dream *cough*” I heaved through the pain.
“Why did Angel just hit herself?” Kyle questioned
“Why are you calling him Angel? His name’s Nick.” Rex asked confused
“I think we should take this back a few steps.” I said as I scraped my self off the floor. “Kyle, who do you think we are?”
“What do you mean who you are?” He responded
“I think there was a mix up. Tell us are name’s and any other information you know about us.” “Okay, Well, your name’s Angel, you're a lime green unicorn mare. You have a bright green mane, tail and eyes to match. I’ve known you for a couple years now.”
I responded “To me, I’m someone different. My name is Nick I'm an average human.”
“Who am I to you?” Frost asked intently
“I still don’t get why I have to tell you who you are.” Kyle paused for a moment “Your name’s Frostmane, you were named after your deep blue mane. You like to keep your mane in a neatly kept mohawk. Your eyes match your mane perfectly. Um... your a grey pegasus.”
“Actually my name’s just Frost. I’m a human.”
“Okay, No your not.”
“Who am I?” Rex asked butting in to the conversation.
“I’ve only seen you a couple times before this, but your a gray pegasus as well. You have a red and black mohawk and tail, your name’s PeaceMaker. You have gray eyes. You love guns and the military.”
“I’m really a human too; most people call me Rex”
“Are you ponies just screwing with me?”
“No, we're not.” I responded, gloom in my voice. We all sat there for a few minutes in an awkward silence.
“I’m going to get some food; anypony else—” my words stopped dead in their tracks “why did I just say any-pony?” Fear returning to my voice. Then it dawned on me, “Guys, if this isn’t a dream, we're going to have to live the rest of our lives as ponies.” Only a cold silence filled the air and it stayed for a long time, like days or even years had passed. “I’m gonna try somthing” I closed my eyes; relaxed my body and focused. I felt something surround my horn, like a thick fog but with no temperature. It felt just like how a millimeter sanner from call of duty looks. Only; I could feel the location of every object in the room. I felt the room for a light object. My focus landed on a small cup on the coffee table. With incredible ease I lifted it up off the table. I opened my eyes to see a green aura encasing the cup “I can't believe telekinesis is this easy!”
“That’s sick!” Frost interjected.
“You know what I just realized!” I said my voice filling with excitement. “You and Rex can fly!”
“Holy crap, we can! Hay, Rex, let’s go fly!” The two of them shot to the door leading outside. Only to be stopped by the door handle. “A little help, Angel-I mean Nick?”
“Sure, I got this.” With ease the handle turned; the door flew open at my command and out the door they ran.
