Chapter one

H"wnxna z'wqpkija [The Tree of Fall]

...

I walked down the poorly lit street, casting quick glances behind me as I do so. I put a hand to my small skull-shaped key around my neck. I quickened my pace as I heard someone behind me. I started to pray my dead mother for her protection. I saw my goal ahead, only a few feet away. I was running. I opened the door and quickly got inside.

I put my back against the door, taking my breath. I walked up the stairs to my dad's apartment. I opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind. I immediately went to the bathroom. I took a quick glance at myself, and I let out a sigh of relief.

I went to my room, and I sat down on my bed. I took a pad of paper and a pencil, and I began to draw. I drew for about an hour before my dad finally arrived.

"Hey, Jenny. I'm home."

"Hey, Dad!"

My name is Jennifer Stone, but I prefer to be called Jenny. I am eighteen years old. My life was what you'd call normal, that is, until I turned six. On my birthday twelve years ago, my mother died in a car accident. At least, that's what the police report said, but my dad and I both know she has been killed.

Ever since that day, I've been a problematic child, getting in a lot of trouble. I've been a thief once. I also had problems at school, my grades being lower than what I could get. My dad tried to find me help, but it never worked.

Apart from that, my life was normal. I was a six feet two inches tall girl with curly hair that fell to my kidneys. Only thing weird about my hair was the color. My hair was naturally deep sapphire blue, which is NOT a natural hair color. I had steel-blue eyes and fair skin. I usually wore a dark grey jacket open on a black t-shirt with dark blue denim jeans and dark grey sneakers.

I was a strange girl. I could be extremely girly at times, and then I could be tomboyish. I was sometimes really shy, but I could still be social. I liked the night, the stars and the moon, as well as the TV show for little girls called My Little Pony. I was also a down-to-earth girl. I also liked to draw.

"Jenny, go to bed now."

"Yes, Dad. Good night."

The next morning, I got up and prepared myself for my day. We were in fall, and I had planned to go trekking in the forest in the park of the city. I walked out of my room and went to the kitchen. On the counter, I found a note from my dad. I read it out loud.

"'I'll be out for the day. Love, Dad.' At least you remembered to leave me a note."

I opened the fridge and made myself breakfast. I ate, and when I was done, I finished preparing myself, brushing my teeth and combing my long hair. I kept my hair long because of my mom. She had beautiful long flowing hair that fell to her heels, and my dad said I had the same kind of hair.

I went in my room and took my backpack. I grabbed my pad of paper, pencils, coloring pencils, a blanket, a plush moon with two stars on each side given to me by my mom when I was five, a small knife given to me by my dad when I was thirteen, my PlayStation Vita, my ear buds and my charger. Everywhere I went I brought my charger with me, and I don't know why myself. I put them in my backpack, and I went to the kitchen with my backpack.

I grabbed some dried fruits, some nuts, some beef jerky, and I filled my reusable bottles able to hold about two times 593 millilitres with water. Once I was satisfied with my pack, I grabbed my keys and I left the apartment. I walked slowly to the park, breathing the fresh air of fall.

The city I lived in was not one of the safest place to be, especially at night. There were a lot of rapists and murderers living there, but it was still a pretty town. I reached the park and I began to walk on the path towards the forest. I already was able to see the tree line, and I knew I was almost there.

After a few minutes, I was finally in the forest. I then stepped off the main path and took one of the secondary path less traveled by trekkers. Then, I heard something move in the undergrowth.

"Is anyone here?" I asked out loud.

There was no more sound, and I began to panic as there should've been at least birds chirping. Then, I heard a growl from the undergrowth. I stepped closer to the undergrowth.

"Are you okay?"

Something then jumped out of the undergrowth and began to run down the path. I followed whatever it was down the path. At some point, it turned on an even less traveled path, one going deeper in the forest. I kept following the thing that jumped out and ran away.

After several long minutes, I reached a clearing, and I was lost. Despite the coolness of the air, I folded my jacket's sleeves up, exposing my forearms. I walked to the middle of the clearing. Then, the thing growled again, and it jumped on me from behind. I fought against it, and it managed to slash my forearms.

I then managed to kick whatever it was off me, and I ran away in the undergrowth. I kept running for several minutes before I stopped. I looked around, and I realised that the trees and the undergrowth seemed different from the forest in the park. And I seemed to be close to the tree line, which made no sense at all. I looked at my forearm, and the pain kicked in.

I gritted my teeth not to scream, and I made my way out of the forest. As I got out of the undergrowth, I tripped and fell on someone. I got out as quickly as I could with my two forearms bleeding like hell. I turned around and faced who I fell on, and my jaw dropped.

"S-sorry." I said, still stunned by who I fell on.

"It's okay. And I am sure I..."

Just then, I felt a powerful pain in both forearms, which made me cringe.

"Oh, you're hurt! Come with me, I'll take care of you."

Despite the little voice in my head screaming that nothing that was happening was true, I followed the yellow Pegasus I fell on. We reached her cottage quickly, and I followed her inside.

"Sit down on the couch while I go get my first aid kit."

I sat down on the couch, trying not to bleed on anything. Yet again, the little voice in my head screamed that it didn't matter because it wasn't real, but it was soon drowned by the louder scream of pain that came from my bleeding forearms. The yellow Pegasus came back with a first aid kit and she began tending to my wounds. I then blacked out due to the pain.

When I finally woke up, the sun was setting. I was still on the couch in Fluttershy's cottage, but my backpack was not on my back and my forearms were bandaged. I looked around and saw my backpack. I took it and opened it. Everything was still in it. I took out some dried fruits and my bottle of water and I ate. I didn't realised how much I was hungry as the few dried fruits I took out of the plastic bag I took from home. I then took my Vita and my ear buds to listen to some music. But before I could, Fluttershy came back.

"Oh, you're awake. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks Fluttershy."

"How do you know my name?"

"Long story. Where can I sleep tonight? I don't need that much, maybe a pillow and a soft surface, and even then, I can sleep on a bunch of wooden planks, so..."

"Well, um... You can sleep here, if that's okay with you."

I nodded. The small voice was now using speakers to make itself louder and it kept screaming that nothing I saw was true.

"When will you take to Twilight about me?"

"Tomorrow. But now, I think you should sleep."

"Great idea. Good night."

I took out my blanket and I placed myself on the ground. Fluttershy had already brought a few pillows, so I took one and I put it where my head would be while I would sleep. I took out my plush, I opened my Vita, put my ear buds in my ears, and put some music. I set my head on the pillow, and I held my little moon plush close to my heart as I slowly fell asleep.

"Mommy!" I said as I saw my mom.

I tried to run to her, but with each step I took, she seemed to be only farther from me. I yelled at her.

"Mommy! Wait for me!"

I began to cry, still running after my mom. Tears soon blurred my vision.

"It's okay, sweetie. Mommy will be okay." My mom said in her soft and gentle voice similar to the voice of an angel.

"MOMMY!" I yelled louder, a hand reaching for my mother.

"No sweetie. I must go now. Be a good girl." My mom said as she slowly faded away.

"MOMMY!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

I sped up, trying to reach my mother. I was panting heavily.

I woke up shivering. I was covered with sweat, and I could feel my heart pumping in my chest. I looked around. I saw that I was no longer in Fluttershy's cottage, but outside of it. It was still night, and a gloomy fog was rolling in. I was naked, except for my necklace. I sat down, putting my hair in front of me to cover my breasts.

I got up and knocked on the door loud enough to wake the dead. In my head, the little voice was yelling at the top of its lung that nothing was real, and I was beginning to believe it. Placing my hands over my private areas, I waited for Fluttershy to open the door.

I didn't have to wait too long. Fluttershy opened the door, and I ran in, quickly picking my clothes up off floor and putting them back on before I could blush out of embarrassment. Once I was dressed, I looked at Fluttershy.

"Look. I don't know what happened, nor why I woke up outside naked." I said, tears beginning to roll on my cheeks.

Fluttershy stayed silent. I picked my Vita up off the floor and I sat down on the couch. I opened my Vita and I put my ear buds in my ears. I put on some music to try to calm me down, and I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I was sprawled out on the couch. The sun was shining in my closed eyes, and I could hear two sets of different clop on the wooden floor. I closed my Vita and I got up. I picked up my blanket and my plush and I put them back in my backpack. Then, I heard clop coming in the living room.

"I see you are awake. Fluttershy was worried about you, so when the sun started rising in the sky, she came to see me. I am Twilight Sparkle, and you are?"

My first reaction was to bow. I got on my knees, and I waited for her to say it was okay to get up.

"I hate that, so please, stop."

I nodded and slowly got up. I looked at the purple Alicorn in front of me.

"Right. My name. I'm Jennifer Stone, but I prefer to be called Jenny."

"Nice to meet you, Jenny."

I nodded, the little voice in my head giving up and banging its head on a wall.

"So?" I asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"Oh, sorry. Still not used to seeing a female human here."

"Wait... FEMALE human?!" I asked.

"Yes. You're the second human to appear here in Equestria, but the first female human. The other is a male."

I shook my head, not believing what I heard. 'I told you so. Ah, shut up. Okay, suit yourself.' I thought and heard the little voice say. Then, I felt a tingling sensation in my forearms. I reached to scratch myself, only to feel my hands held by Twilight's magic.

"Don't scratch." She said.

Slowly, she folded my jacket's sleeves up, and I saw that I no longer had bandages. In fact, my wounds were already simple scars.

"WHAT THE?!"

"I scanned you with my magic when I got here. Apparently, whatever slashed your forearms passed some sort of disease on to you. And I think I know what it will cause." Twilight said as Fluttershy walked in. "You see, last night, there was a wolf spotted in Ponyville. However, the wolf did not act like a normal wolf. It seemed like it was saying something like 'mommy'."

"My dream..." I muttered.

"And I think it was you. I check in my books for whatever your illness was, and I found something. But it's not a disease. It's more like a curse."

"A curse?!" I said.

"Yes, a curse. And it will cause you to transform into other animals. Fortunately, it can be controlled."

"Okay. Now, it's official, I'm nuts. I am not seeing anything of what's in front of me, I'm in a nice cushioned room down at the asylum." I said, backing up a little.

"I don't think so." A male voice said.

"Great. Him."

I looked around, and I saw a bird sitting on the window frame from where the voice came from. The bird then flapped its wings, flew inside and began to change into a man about twenty with brown eyes and short messy black hair. He was wearing a chain necklace with a copper coin pendant. As he transformed, I realised he was naked, so I looked away, and so did Fluttershy and Twilight.

"Come on. We're all adults, right. There's nothing wrong in any of you taking a peek at nature's creation."

"I'm eighteen! In the state I'm from, legal age's twenty-one!" I yelled.

"Sorry. Not exactly from the States. Wait a second."

I heard the man walk around a little, and after a while, he spoke.

"It's okay, now. You can all put your pretty little eyes on me."

I looked and he was dressed. He was wearing a dark grey t-shirt and torn up blue denim jeans with bright red sneakers. His necklace was resting on his chest. He had what looked like a tattoo on his right forearm. It was a multi-century-old-looking tree.

"The name's Nathan Ladouceur."

"Jennifer Stone. But call me Jenny."

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, you're going to leave, Nathan." Twilight said as she pushed Nathan towards the door.

"Why? She needs a teacher after all."

"You're doing that just to be able to peek at her. I went to a human world, Nathan, and I know that males would do anything to see naked females." Twilight continued to push Nathan.

"I doubt she's even interested in men."

That made Twilight stop. She turned Nathan around and flew up to his eye level.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Um... You should calm down."

"Well, I did live with three sisters out of whom two were lesbians. I think I can tell, Twi." Nathan spat.

"Please calm down."

"Oh, really? Is that why you cheated on me?!"

"You're not bringing that up, are you?"

"CALM DOWN!" Fluttershy yelled, and we all looked at her. "Nathan, Twilight, we already went over that."

"Fine. But if I see you do anything wrong around her, you'll see what an Alicorn can do." Twilight menaced.

"Um... Twilight?" I said.

"WHAT?!" She snapped at me.

"He's right. I prefer people who are of the same gender as me." I said.

Nathan gave Twilight a 'I told you so' look, and she sighed.

"Good. Now, shall we start, Jenny?" Nathan asked as he opened the door of Fluttershy's cottage.

I quickly put my back pack on and I followed him outside. We went some distance away from Fluttershy's cottage. When Nathan stopped, he looked at me.

"This may sound crazy, but everything is real. But I doubt there's a way back."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I've been stuck here for a year now, and I still don't have any idea how to go back home."

I nodded slowly. The little voice in my head was silent, and I could tell that it was beginning to believe all of what had happened was real.

"Alright. I said I'll teach you how to control the transformation, and I'll do just that. And keep in mind that here, eighteen is the legal age."

I instinctively placed my hands over my private areas despite the fact that I was completely dressed.

"Sure, I'll take a peek, but which straight guy, and lesbian, wouldn't?"

"Good point."

And with that, Nathan began teaching me how to turn on demand and how to control the shift. He explained everything I needed to know, and I practiced a little alone, even though I think he still took a peek. His 'class' ended at sun down, and I walked back to Fluttershy's cottage with an empty stomach. I slumped on the couch and I took out the beef jerky from my backpack.

"What is this?" Fluttershy asked as I took a bite.

"Meat." I said, my mouth still full.

"Oh... Humans eat meat, I forgot..." Fluttershy said as she slowly backed away.

"Don't worry, I don't eat that much meat. And besides, I can find other protein sources like eggs and nuts."

That seemed to ease Fluttershy as she slowly walked to me.

"How was the training?"

"Hard. But I think I understand how it works. And how to 'borrow' parts of different animals and have them while I'm human."

"Really?"

I nodded, and I finished the beef jerky, putting the plastic bag away in my backpack.

"But what does it mean exactly?"

"If I'm right, it means that I can, for example, have cat ears instead of human ears. Or have wings."

Fluttershy nodded, a smile growing on her face.

"What?"

"Well, as you explained what you meant by 'borrow', your ears changed to cat ears, and they are properly placed too."

I brought a hand to my head. I could feel the furry ears almost on the top of my head. I felt my cheeks burn, and the cat ears flattened against my skull, which made Fluttershy giggle. I focused, and my ears went back to normal. Fluttershy and I talked about me and my story up until we both went to sleep.