Chapter 1: Where did these come from?
by Tray Hunter
I remember being on a party, with my friends.
We (mostly myself) had serveral drinks above our usual limits.
Im my case this usualy meant that I had problems with everything, that didn't involve either sleeping, sitting, throwing up or a combination of all three of them.
Yap, that was a pretty good night.
After trying to keep my lunch for half an hour, I decided it was time to let go and make room for more.
As I tried to make my way to the bathroom, I saw nowthing but a tunnel of colors and light.
Nothing unusual when you are short before a breaking your liver in half.
It took me another ten minutes to find the bathroom and as I opend the door everything seemed to explode in my head.
I thought about getting back to my chair, but wasn't sure, if I could make it there in one piece, so I decided to stick to Plan B and just pass out.
.
.
The next thing I remember was waking up and I use this term losely, as it was more a snaping-back-consiousness.
So, I was "awake" and my brain decided it was time to remind me of what I've been doing all nigh,t by seting itself on fire.
I wanted to moan or something, but wasn't able to make any sounds at all.
That was when I realized that I couldn't do anything else either.
I was going to crack my eyes open in shock.
And how shocked have I been when I saw... nothing.
My eyelids were numb aswell.
This called for an internal alert:
I sent emergency calls to all parts of my body but there was no response.
'Typical' I thought' let's move on to Plan B or better, Plan C: Forming a Plan B.
As I wondered what to do, my brain came up with something.
I might add, that my brain and me don't have that usual quiet relation, you maybe know from yours.
In fact, we often have extended arguments about the use of bodyfunctions or reactions.
I usualy win these but on the other hoof it is slightly faster with bringing up new ideas or remembering stuff.
Not that much of a suprise when you think of what and where it is.
Anyway, my brain came up with the idea to do this strange sensingthing, I from time to time.
This talent of mine basicaly involves concentrating on body parts and imagining my inner energy to flow where I order.
The result is a warm feeling in the target limb.
Not very exciting at this part but it workes.
'Yeah, might try that. Thanks bro!' on which said bro just
seemed to nod (I have no idea how a brain is suposed to nod but it felt just like that) and initialized these, assumed imaginary, energystreams to follow my bidding.
First we scanned for our eyelids.
It took some time to find them but once the contact was up, I started to move the lazy pieces of skin.
Bad idea.
The incomming sunlight almost burned my eyes and the hangover wasn't helping one bit.
After some time, I however got used to the brightness and fotunatley my brain began to release these painkillers, it produces whenever something sends an emergency signal, stating pain or anything similiar.
Usualy these are useless against a full grown hangover but this time it worked.
I started to explore my suroundings and the pressence of trees and bushes seemed to indicate that I in fact wasn't at the party anymore.
'Toto, this isn't Kansas anymore!' my brain stated.
My brain is always such a smartflank but thats cool, since it shares its best quotes with me.
As I tried to reestablish a conection to my fingers in order to feel the ground, I was lounging on, I couldn't find any of them.
(We humans use to have fingers that might be compared to the ones of dragons but without scales or claws...oh and we usualy have 5 of them per hand.)
'Ok, this just keeps getting better and better' I thought.
'At least you found these hands of yours.' my brain stated.
I indeed found them but something was different about them.
The energy made its way down my spine as I sensed something even more alarming than having no fingers.
This time nothing was missing.
In fact there was something that shouldn't have been there.
'It's porbably just something lying on your back' my brain complained as I moved the energy further.
'No, I can accses it...it's conected to my body. '
'Fine, I'll process the data you send me'
The next part was analyzing these strange things on my back and getting a clue of what they were.
'These things have muscles in it... I will try and see if we can move them.' my brain said as I sent the data I was getting from the energy.
I am not entirely sure how this whole energything works either, but it does.
'I found some informations in the cells, these things are made of.
Seems like they have feathers...how are we suposed to produce feathers?'
'I don't know, but isn't there also the fact that we usualy don't HAVE FEATHERS?'
'Hey, don't yell at me!
I'm just analyzing what you send me.
And- wait a moment.
I think I know what these are...'
'What do you mean?'
'Hold on, we can move them now.'
As I tried to move these extralimbs and make sense of the nonsense my brain was freaking about, I realized.
They weren't as flexible as arms or fingers and could only move up and down but seemed to be conected to my spine with strong muscles.
As I examinied them with the energy I felt a single joint in each of them.
'Feathers? Muscles? Joints?
These are...these are...'
'Yeah, wings.'
'No fingers + wings = ?
Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!'
The wings stiffend and and stretched.
The energy literaly exploded inside my body and the numbness that was stuck in my limbs vanished.
I felt my whole body come to life and jumped up onto my hooves.
"I am a pegasus pony!" I shouted with a mix of pride, joy and confusion.
'Yeah and you've got a wingboner to prove it.'
"Oh would you please shut up?
For all I know, you are responsible for reactions like this."
'Well, I found this new function a while before and thought it would probably be something awesome.'
I rolled my eyes and went on to take a look at my new body.
I was now a full equiped pegasus with a brown coat and, very to my suprise, black-feathered wings.
My usualy brown hair was somewhy turned red, just like my tail, which also was completly new for me to have.
It also appeared to me, that my mane was a little bit shorter than it used to be, since it barely touched my shoulders now.
But maybe it was just my neck that had become longer.
Good thing I lost my hairband before.
I'd go crazy, before I got my hair done with hooves.
I don't know how this farmpony I once met, manages it everyday.
You may wonder, why I wasn't more suprised, to see my body like this.
Well, I already was familiar with stories about ponyfied humans.
But thats what they were: stories.
They make it look easy.
Just let me tell you one thing: the first step for me as pony was a short and painfull one.
"Ouch!" I laid on my stomach and looked at my hooves "How do these ponies coordinate four limbs at the same time?"
'Maybe you should try to move one after the other, until you figure it out. '
There it was again, my brain, smartflanking on me.
"Ok we'll try this... Do you have any tips for me?
Because if I fall on my face again you will take a hit aswell. "
'Yeah, figured that out.
I found one memory of a horse walking in your TV section. '
"TV? Horse? Oh you mean the corner where we keep the pony stuff."
'Whatever, just do as I say and we should be back on the road in no time. Just don't mess up.'
"Me? Nahaaaaaaaaaa-"
"Ouch..." I got up after my second step and decided it was time to listen to my favourite thinking organ.
'Ponies walk crossed, so when you move your right ar- foreleg you have to move your left hindleg aswell.
Why don't you try to walk over to that tree there?
Take it slow now, it ain't a race.'
"No problem, 'Doc'. "
I did as I was told and somehow managed not to fall a third time.
"I'm walking! I'm walking!"
'Told you we could make it.'
"Now for level 2!"
I flapped my wings as hard as I could and tried to take off, but only blew some dust from the ground beneath me.
"Maybe somepony else can show me how to do this. "
'Did you just say "somepony"?'
"For all we know, we're in Equestria and blending in could help getting some informations and stay out of trouble."
'Equestria? Mmh, let's see. I think I still have the map of it, you once saw. Maybe I can-'
"I know where we are!
Thats the Everfree Forest!
And the fact that we are having this conversation either means we aren't very deep inside OR we are at a point no living creature dares to go!
Do you still got this memories about surviving in the wilderness?"
'Most of it. Someone replaced a good half of it with jokes about "drinking your own piss"!
But with the stuff we still remember, we probably can make it out of the forest in one piece.'
"Great! Let's get our flanks outa here!"
As I made my way through a nearby bush, I found a path on the other side of it.
"Jackpot!"
'But which direction do we head?'
I looked around and noticed a sign saying
Ponyville
6 km
'Ok.
Direction and distance.
All we need to know.'
"Plus, we know who to ask for informations!"
'Are you going to ask that libarian pony?
I doubt she'll listen to someone, whose breath stinks like a liquorshop.'
"Still have my mints!"
I grabed for the mints in my beltpocket and put one into my mouth.
'How in the name of all that is logic did you do that?'
I looked at the mints and realized that I hadn't had my beltpocket anymore.
"Where did these come from?
Maybe..."
I reached for my lighter and drew it out.
"Aha! I knew it!"
'What? And where did you get that lighter?'
"Cartoon-world, Cartoon-physics!"
'Whatever.
What else do we have in that invisible container thing?'
"The P.P.S.C.!"
'The what?'
"The Pinkie Pie Storage Container!
The name fits, since she's drawing stuff out of thin air all the time."
'We should think about a better name for this later!
So, whats in there?'
I reached for my waist and pulled everything I could feel out of the P.P.S.C. untill it was empty.
At least I think it was empty.
You never know.
"Let's see.
We got my jacket, my cigaretes, the lighter, the mints and the bulk with my belongings. "
These "belongings" contained my leather wristbands and my four rings.
One of the wristbands was equiped with a watch, which I crafted onto it with cable ties.
'I guess we can forget about the rings.
No fingers to attach them to!'
"I'm not gonna part from them!
There has got to be a way to-"
I looked at my back and saw that the ends of my wings were about as thick as my fingers used to be.
Some of the feathers broke, as I attatched the rings to my wings, two on each side.
'Why do you keep them anyway?
I thought you said, we are to attract as few attention as possible!'
"They got some strong memories bound to them.
Also I think they will blend in just fine."
Indeed the rings looked as if I had just bought them at a Hot Clopic in Canterlot.
One was a dragonclaw made of silver, another one was a small chain.
The other two were made of stainless steel, although I'm not sure if this material is known to ponykind already.
Next, I took on my wristbands.
The one with the watch, now embraced my left foreleg and the other one, which had small cone shaped rivets on it, was on my right foreleg.
I looked at the rest of my stuff and sighed.
"Look at this!
Some jackass put holes in the back of my jacket!"
I looked closer at them.
"And why does the logo now say "Herd of the Damned"?
'Cartoon-alteration?'
"More like PUNteration!
But wait a moment..."
I put on my jacket and noticed my wings could fit through the holes in the back as if they were hand tailored.
Or better, hoof tailored.
"Sweet!"
I took the lighter and the mints and stored them in the pockets of my jacket.
The last thing on the ground was the box with my cigaretes.
"Uh, why is there a picture of Princess Luna on my MOON's?"
'PUNteration?'
I rolled my eyes and put the box into one of my pockets.
The journey to Ponyville was pretty quiet.
I guess my brain was still wondering about the P.P.S.C. and how impossible it was.
As I arived at the edge of the small village, after a 30 minutes trot, everything was so quiet.
After a quick snap at my watch I realized that it was in fact 4am and probably everypony still was fast asleep.
"You know.
Theres something I have to check out first. "
'What?
I thought we were about to ask Twilight and get infos?'
"She is probably sleeping off her bookover anyway.
And I always wanted to know, if the taste of cactus goes well with cider."