The sun was setting over the horizon as Trevor walked his way back to his home. The smell of rain still resided in the air as he watched the many headlights of all the cars coming and going through the street. A cold breeze made him shiver a little in his black suit and white dress shirt. He found those clothes uncomfortable, but what else would he wear at a funeral?
His uncle's funeral had been one of the worst experiences of Trevor's life. Having to say farewell to the person who took care of him after the accident that killed his parents, when he was seven, and knowing that he would never come back hurt his soul like hell.
The 17 year old boy didn't really know what to do now. Of course he still had his uncle's house but he was in no condition of taking care of himself, having to quit school due to aggravating depression, the previous year. Maybe the social services could help him in some way but frankly, he would prefer not to have to resort to that.
As Trevor unlocked and opened the door to his uncle's house he finally let out the tears, he was desperately trying to hold back. He closed the door, pressed his back against it and slid to the floor while sobbing. Uncle Phillip was all the family he had left, and now he was gone. He had no friends, no family, nothing. Some of his uncle's friends had offered to help him and he was inclined to take their offer, but that didn't help the feeling of emptiness inside of him.
A great part of the treatment of his depression was keeping a mantra to never give up, he still had something to live for, but now that his only family in the planet was gone, what was left?
The thought of making Phillip mourn over him gave him strength to keep going, but he never imagined that he would be the one mourning. He knew his uncle was bound to pass away some day, but it was supposed to be in the far future, at a time where he would be stronger.
Finally managing to get a grip of himself the young man rose to his feet. 'Come on Trevor, uncle Phillip would not like to see you like this.' Glancing at the door of his bedroom he realized just how tired he was, it had been a long day and he needed some rest. 'I'll figure something out, I just need some rest.'
Trevor walked into his room, and straight into bed, not even bothering to take his suit off, his desire to sleep overcoming the uncomfortable feeling it gave him.
He closed his eyes feeling his drowsiness overcome his as he drifted to sleep, hoping that some magical force would take him to another world, were the pain would be over.
If he had his eyes open for a few seconds longer he would have seen the bright green light overcome his sleeping form.
After a long night of sleep, Trevor finally opened his eyes only to find himself with one hell of a headache.
He groaned as he brought a hoof to his head to try and…'Wait a minute.' His eyes shot open as he quickly sat up and stared at his…hooves.
"…the fuck?!"
His hands were gone, in their place were now hooves.
"This can't be possible!"
As he looked around he realized that he wasn't in his room anymore, in fact he was pretty sure he wasn't even in his city. He was in a clearing in the middle of a forest; all around him was nothing big tall trees and the smell of leaves.
"How did I get here?"
He tried standing up, only to fall on his back staring at his legs that now had hooves for feet. Through some simple assumption he figured it would be better to stand in all fours due to his newfound condition. He stumbled a bit but finally got a grip and managed to stand tall.
Trevor took this chance to examine the rest of his new body. He had a dark brown coat whit a dark green spiked tail. If he had to take a wild guess he would say he was some kind of horse, but then again he had never seen a horse with a green tail.
"Ok so I'm not home anymore…I don't even know where I am, and to top it all I'm…a horse." Trevor let that statement sink in for a second. "Either this is a very livid dream or I need to change my anti-depressants."
He stood for a few seconds trying to plan a course of action. He couldn't just stand there and wait for something to happen, even if it was just a dream. Making up his mind he picked a random direction, and marched through the woods trying not to fall while walking on all fours.
Trevor had been walking for so long that he could barely see the sun over the tall trees; it was obvious that it was only a short time before it got dark. He needed to find shelter for the night, there was no telling what kind of beasts roamed this forest.
'I can't just keep walking and hope that I find civilization, I need to build a shelter for the night.' He then shifted in his hooves. 'But how will I build a shelter with…these?' He thought as he stared at his hooves.
His train of thought was interrupted when he suddenly heard a feminine voice. "It's alright chosen, you are safe in these grounds."
Trevor blinked and looked around him franticly, where had that voice come from? For all he knew it seemed to have come from all around him. "Uhh…he-hello?" He could only stutter at this point. Being frank he was quite afraid at this point, whoever it was it must have had a vantage point on him, and surely had a better knowledge of the forest. He crouched slightly trying to do as best of a defensive stance as his new body would allow it.
Suddenly roots could be seen sprouting out of the ground and take the form of a giant cocoon only to disperse and reveal a mare.
In his world Trevor would not be able to identify a female horse just out of its appearance but this mare had clear feminine characteristics. She had a bright green coat whit a tangled dark pink mane and tail, and what appeared to be the drawing of a tree marked on her flank and she was much taller than him, she wore a crown which appeared to be made out of roots and a necklace made out of all kinds of flowers. But what really stood out about her was her horn and wings.
"I guess you must have a lot of questions." She said whit her sweet voice but strong at the same time.
Then Trevor did the only sensible thing someone like him would do at a time like this.
"HOLY FUCK, A TALKING HORSE." He said as he jumped and fell on his back startled beyond reason.
She giggled lightly at his reaction. "I guess that was expected given your situation."
Trevor was trying his best to keep it cool and calm down. 'Ok, ok…its ok Trevor…it's just a talking horse…that just came out of the ground…and you're a horse too…I MUST BE GOING INSANE'
"Why don't we start with our names first?" She said in an attempt to calm him down. "My name is Gaia"
"I'm…Trevor." He said confused.
"Hm…that name won't do, we'll have to go about changing it quite soon"
"What do you mean my name won't do?" Trevor said whit a hint of annoyance in his voice.
"All in due time, chosen." Gaia said "You must have a lot of questions about your situation, but please let me explain your purpose here before asking them."
Trevor kept quiet, whatever explanation this mare had to say was more than anything he got since he woke up here, plus if the horse can talk he might as well listen to what it has to say.
"I am Gaia, the creator of all the wild life in this world." She said. "You see Trevor, I have been trying to find someone worthy to be my pupil for a very long time, but it seemed this world just didn't have the right soul to take the place. My only option was to search in other worlds, and well, that's how I found you."
"W-what's so special about me?" Trevor said, now genuinely interested in her explanation.
"You see Trevor as much as you negate yourself to see it, you are an admirable person." Gaia said with a smile. "I watched you since the beginning of your life, I watched your losses, which were many, and I was captivated with your iron will to keep going and never give up, and how you tried to make all around you just an ounce happy even if it made your existence miserable."
Trevor was speechless. Was she saying the truth? Sure he tried to be a good person, and always do the right thing but he didn't think it was that impressive. But here was the first being to appreciate his actions since his uncle Phillip.
"At first I didn't want to bring you here." Gaia said with a pint of sadness in her voice. "You were on a journey to find your happiness, and I thought it would be wrong to take you away from your uncle that you loved so much. But then he passed away." Gaia could only stare at the ground in sorrow.
Trevor could feel his heart shattering all over again, the memories of his uncle coming back to him at full force. He missed him so much.
"That world has taken so much away from you, and given you so little. I couldn't leave you there with nothing left, so I did what I thought was right and brought you here." Her face lighted up with renovated determination. "You have a pure heart, and you know what it is to be helpless and afraid. I want to give you strength so you can share it with the ones in need like you always did. I want to give you a chance to be happy Trevor."
"What do you mean?" Trevor said breaking himself out of his state of sadness.
"I am the ruler of all nature, I have power over the wild but I can only do so much. I want your help Trevor; I want to teach you the ways of the wild, because I know that you can bring something wonderful to this world. So…will you accept my offer?" Gaia said extending her hoof.
"So you brought me here against my will, turned me into a pony of some sorts, and now you just expect me to leave it all behind and go with you?" Trevor said, rage burning in his eyes.
Gaia looked down in shame. "I know it was not the best approach, and I know I should have asked you first, but I couldn't bear to see you suffer like that."
"Well it doesn't matter anymore now, does it?" Trevor said clearly furious. "I'm stuck here now, and there is no coming back."
"If you want I can send you back." Gaia said, now looking at him. "But let me ask you a question. Do you really want to come back after all that has happened? You lost everything and have been oppressed for years in that world. What are you coming back for?"
Trevor froze. He had never thought of it like that. His family was gone, he had no one, he couldn't find any kind of work that gave him the least bit of pleasure in doing and he didn't know if he had the strength to carry on in that cruel world of his. Was there really a reason to come back?
He just stood there for what it seemed like hours.
"This is a different world Trevor." Gaia said with a faint smile. "This is chance for you to start over."
Trevor looked at her; she seemed genuinely concerned about him. Maybe that's all he needed, a fresh start. He didn't want to come back to a world that only brought him suffering.
Trevor then made the decision that would change his life.
"I guess when you got nothing, you got nothing to lose." He said with a faint smile on his face. "I accept."
He was then surprised as Gaia pulled him into a tight hug. "This is going to be so fun! I have so much to teach you!"
"What am I exactly going to learn?" Trevor said slightly uncomfortable from the hug.
"You'll learn a lot, but first let me take you to your new home." Gaia said letting go of him. Her horn then started to glow and roots sprouted out of the ground forming a cocoon around them only to them travel back into the ground revealing them in a completely different location.
"That's so cool." Trevor admitted. Being able to travel like that could really come in handy.
"That is one of the things I'll teach you, but what I really wanted to show is that." Gaia said gesturing to the massive tree in front of them. The tree was easily bigger than any building Trevor had ever seen, probably being hundreds of feet tall.
Trevor found himself mesmerized by the colossal oak.
"Now if you'll follow me inside." Gaia said, walking to the door at the bottom of the tree.
Trevor followed as she opened the door to reveal the hollow inside of the tree, completely decorated with all kinds of furniture, and filled with ponies of all kinds walking around.
However as Gaia walked in, all of the ponies stopped dead in their tracks, and bowed down to the princess. She was then approached by a grey Pegasus with red mane and a boot with wings attached to the back for a cutie mark.
"Princess Gaia, good to have you back." He said hastily. "I am happy to report that the wild berries are finally ready for harvesting! We are just waiting on your order to begin."
"That's great to hear Lucky Streak." Gaia said with a smile. "Tell the harvesters that they may commence immediately."
"Right away, your majesty." He said as he flew off
"What kind of name is 'Lucky Streak'?" Trevor said with slight confusion on his face as he looked in a nearby mirror. He wasn't able to get a good look at his new body before. Now he could see that he was a regular pony, with a dark brown coat, his mane and tail were dark green in color and although his tail was kind of spiked in appearance, his mane was made of dreads, and he had dark green marks around his eyes witch had a golden color.
"I'll explain everything to you in a feel moments." Gaia said walking to a gigantic red door at the end of the lobby, with Trevor following close behind.
Past the door was another room decorated with numerous lights hanging from the ceiling and a long red carpet in traversing the middle of the room leading to a set of stairs with a big oak throne at the top.
"This is the throne room, should you ever need of me, you will be able to find me here, most of the time" Gaia said as she took a seat on the throne and looked at Trevor. "Now listen closely for I have a lot to explain…"
Trevor knew that learning about a whole new world would be complicated but…wow. This world was so different from his old one. Mythical creatures walking around were a normal thing, magic was a day to day thing and they came up with the weirdest jobs for ponies, like who would have thought that it would be possible to control the weather?
"So everyone has a 'Cutie Mark'?" Trevor said while trying to make sense of the situation.
"Yes, I'm sure you will get yours in no time." Gaia said. She really liked finally having a student of her own, after hearing so much about her old friend Celestia's student. "We will also have to come up with a new name for you. I believe 'Trevor' does not fit into our society."
"If I understand correctly, the names are usually two words that represent your personality in some way, right?"
"Yes, that is correct" Gaia said with a proud smile on her face. "I will work on your name as I get to know you better, but for now don't worry about it."
"And you also said you were going to teach me magic, but how do you plan to do that since I don't have a horn?"
"I'll take care of that in due time as well. For now I want you to spend some time at the library and read some books about equestrian history and I'll also give you some time to explore the palace." Gaia said. "We will start your training in let's say…one week."
"Looking forward to it." Trevor said with a hint of excitement in his voice.
"Now if you'll excuse me I have royal business to take care off." Gaia said as she floated a scroll up to her with her magic. "Why don't you go explore in the meantime, I'll send somepony to escort you to your room when it gets late."
"Understood." Trevor said as he walked out of the throne room and back into the lobby. Where to go next? Thankfully all of the entryways had a sign for what the room was used for, which was probably a smart thing given the place was so big.
He knew he needed to go to the library, but it was still fairly early so he figured he had time to explore the place a little. The library was conveniently on the first floor, so it would be easy to find when he eventually came back to get some reading started.
Walking around the first floor Trevor came across a doorway with a sign identifying it as the kitchen. He then realized that he hadn't eaten since he woke up, which made his stomach growl. Deciding against starving he entered.
It was an incredibly big kitchen, which Trevor figured was necessary in order to feed everypony in the palace. The place was not only a kitchen but also some kind of restaurant apparently, and a very luxurious one at that. The entire place was masterfully decorated to fit with the interior of the tree.
As he observed the place a unicorn stallion dressed in a suit and bow-tie approached him. "Table for one, sir?"
Trevor was in such awe by the whole place that he didn't even see the waiter come up to him. Once he snapped out of his trance he remembered that he didn't have any money on him. "Uhh…no, I'm just getting to know the place…" He was interrupted when his stomach growled loudly, which in turn made his face fluster with a light blush.
"You're not from around here, are you?" The waiter said with a friendly smile. "Come on, first order is on the house." He then proceeded to push Trevor to a nearby table.
"Thank you…I guess." Trevor said as he sat down on the chair.
"So what will it be?" He said while floating a notebook and a pen up to his eye level.
Trevor looked at the menu and all he saw was a bunch of foods that he didn't even think were food. A daisy sandwich? Did they actually eat flowers in this world? But the more he thought about it the more it made sense, since those were things that ponies ate anyway.
"I'll just have what the chef suggests." He said. He was so hungry that he didn't even care if he had to eat flowers.
"I'm sure chef Rose Sweet will come up with something good for you." He said as he took some notes while smiling. "I'll be back in a moment with your food." He then walked into the kitchen to deliver the order.
Trevor took the time to examine the ponies around him. There were ponies of all shapes and colors, some looked big and buffed, while others were thin and more gracious looking. He saw that it was very easy to distinguish males from females.
Only now he noticed how much attention he had gained since he got here. Many of the ponies were giving him glances, probably because they had never seen him before, which was understandable, given that this was his first day here and he was already allowed in the palace. He even noticed some mares blushing as they looked at him. Was he an attractive pony? More importantly, why did he also find some of them attractive? He guessed it was just the pony side of him taking over and figured he could just roll with it, after all an attraction to his new species was the least of the crazy things that happened to him today.
As Trevor enjoyed the eye candy, the waiter came back levitating a plate with some kind of pie. "Rose Sweet's special apple pie, I hope you like it." He said as he left his client to enjoy his meal.
As he took a bite of it he was stupefied. He didn't know if it was his pony appetite acting up but he swore apples didn't taste that great before. The pie was also pretty filling. Whoever made this was a great chef and he would have given her his complements if he wasn't such an introvert.
As he finished his meal, the friendly waiter from before came to retrieve the plate. "Will that be all, sir?"
"Yes, thank you, it was great!" he said as he got up of his chair.
"Hope to see you again soon." Said the waiter as Trevor walked back to the main lobby.
With a full stomach he figured it was time to check the library and get his reading going. With that thought in mind he headed straight to the doorway with the "Library" sign on top.
Once getting there he could see very tall bookshelves filled to the top with all kinds of books. This was a true fountain of information, and an impressive sight to witness.
Deciding that he would take hours to find what he was looking for he overcame his introversion, even if just for a moment, and walked up to the pegasus mare at the front desk. She had a red coat with a silver mane tied into a knot coupled with a pair of glasses and an open book for a cutiemark.
"Hello and welcome to the Everfree palace's library! How may I be of help?" The mare said with a bright smile.
"Hi…I was hoping you could help me find a book on general Equestrian history." Trevor said while shyly look around. He found talking to people in his old world to be extremely stressing and that passed on to the habitants in this world.
"General Equestrian history…" she said to herself. "I have just the thing."
The librarian flew to one of the front bookstands and pulled out a massive book. She struggled with the weight as she flew back to him carrying it in her hooves. She then placed it in the desk with a loud thud and proceeded to straighten her mane, that got a little messy from all the hassle.
"This is the Equestrian Gran Encyclopedia" she said with a hint of pride in her voice. "This contains most of the Equestrian history information, save for a few specific facts."
Trevor could not believe the size of the book, this world had a lot information to give, and it would probably take a while for him to learn everything, if he managed to learn everything that is.
"Wow." Was all that he could muster at the sight.
The mare giggled at his reaction. "Yeah, it's a pretty big book. May I ask why do you need a book like this?"
"Well…" Trevor tried to come up with an answer better than 'I came from another world!'. "I'm from far away…like very far away and Gaia wanted me to learn about the land before she begins to teach me."
The librarian gasped. "You're Gaia's student?!"
"Uhh…yeah." Trevor said as he blushed lightly.
"That is so cool!" she said, her eyes shining with awe. "I'll be glad to help you in any way I can! I don't know if you noticed, but I'm a fan of Princess Gaia." She said blushing deeply
"Yes, she can be a very admirable mare." Trevor said remembering everything the princess had done for him, granted it might not have been the best approach she did it all with good intentions.
"My name is Sunray Novel, nice to meet you." She said extending her hoof
"My name is…" Trevor froze. He couldn't say his human name and Gaia had not come up with a name for him. He had to think of something fast. Then something in his mind clicked. "…Lone Heart." He said as he shook her hoof.
"So, Mr. Lone Heart, if you are staying at the palace you can take this book with you for your studies. I would be more than glad to help you in any way I can" Sunray said with a wink.
Trevor blushed at that comment. Was she flirting with him? No one had ever done that before, so he didn't really know how to deal with it.
As if luck was on his side the same Pegasus from earlier came flying through the door. "I'm looking for princess Gaia's student." He said only now catching sight of Trevor. " Oh there you are. I am here to guide you to your room."
"Oh, ok" Trevor said as he put the heavy book on his back. "Nice to meet you, Sunray and thank you for the book."
"Make sure you come back Lone Heart, I would love to see you again." She said with a bright smile.
Trevor then followed Lucky Streak out of the library, not noticing the mare at the front desk looking at his behind and purring lightly.
Lucky Streak guided Trevor through a flight of stairs, which did a number on his bad since he had to carry a heavy book through the distance. When they finally stopped at a door he had to put the book down, panting a little.
"Here we are." Said the cheerful Pegasus as he unlocked the door and gave Trevor the key. "If you have any issues just look for me."
"Thank you, I'll keep that in mind."
As Trevor entered the room he was astonished by its level of luxury. If it were in his old world this would have been clearly considered first class. The bed was big, clean sheets and the soft smell of flowers in the air. It had a coffee table in the middle with a comfortable looking couch next to it. When he looked out the window in the room, he could see the rest of Everfree Forest and the windows of other rooms in the tree's gigantic branches.
He set the book in the coffee table and stretched, making his back give some satisfactory cracks.
"I see you're settling down already." Said Gaia, who was standing in the doorway.
Trevor turned to look at her. "Yes…thank you for the room, it's very nice."
"It's the least I could do." She said with a cheerful smile. "By the way, on my way here I bumped into Sunray Novel, and she asked all about the handsome stallion that I had chosen as a student." She let a giggle escape at the memory. "I guess you must have made quite the first impression Mr. Lone Heart."
Trevor blushed at the thought of the flirty mare. "Not really, she just became interested when I commented about being your student…she really adores you." He then looked around embarrassed. "And I'm sorry about the name… I just had to say something."
"It's quite alright, after watching you for so long I believe it's a fitting name, given you are not the most cheerful individual." Gaia looked a bit saddened with that statement. "But I'm sure we'll fix that in due time. For now try to read some of that book and I'll make the preparations for your training. But for now you should try and rest for the night." She said as she closed the door slightly. "I'll see you tomorrow".
As she shut the door Trevor went straight to bed, the day had been extremely exhausting. But all of the crazy things that had happened to him in just one day, it all gave him hope, hope that this new beginning would bring him a brighter future than the one he would have had in the human world. This was a new world and now he wasn't Trevor anymore, he had a brighter future and a chance to be something greater than he could have possibly imagined. He was not Trevor anymore, he was Lone Heart.