I opened my eyes and a yawn escaped my mouth. Using my arms, I pushed myself up to a sitting position. I realized a familiar feeling in my hands, my HANDS. I kept my position sitting up and raised my hands in front of my face; I saw them, normal as ever. I didn't understand how I was human; I was a pony talking to another pony just a little while ago.
I looked up in front of me, lowering my arms to the ground. I saw a grass field spanning for miles. My legs lifted my to stand on my feet and I took a look at my surroundings; I was in a grass field that went on forever in all directions, disappearing in a thick fog that seemed to be a half mile away. Once I turned around, however, I saw a massive stone wall only a few feet in front of me and my eyes widened in surprise. Had that wall been there the whole time? Couldn't have been… I checked my surroundings, there's no way I would have missed it.
What was even stranger than the sudden appearance of the wall was the fact that I felt… compelled to walk inside, walk inside the giant wall. I saw no doorway or opening or anything that I could walk through, just a big stone wall. Despite how impossible it seemed to walk inside, I shifted my now human feet and walked towards the… giant wall.
I seemed to just pass right through it, like it wasn't even there. On the other side of the wall, I found myself in a large room with a massive door sealed shut, no handles. On the top of the door was some writing I couldn't make out, but I somehow knew what the symbols said.
"Labyrinth of the Gargarath" Is what I managed to read.
Labyrinth? Was this the entrance to some sort of maze? I didn't know how I ended up here, but it was the only door here.
Somehow, I knew that I couldn't go back through the wall behind me, so I had to press forward. I walked up to the door and touched where I imagined a handle would be. Once my hand touched the handle-less door, I saw that small part of the door light up a bit, then a wave of darkness and a chilling roar engulfed me and all I saw was darkness and all I felt was pain.
I suddenly sat up in my bed and I felt sweat on my face. Was I dreaming? I looked around the room and I was in that hospital room again. I knew I was in reality this time, if you can call a world full of talking ponies reality. Nurse Redheart was walking into the room just as I had woken up.
"Oh, you're awake, great timing."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, I told a certain pony about your lack of knowledge of our society, and she jumped at the chance to meet you, so I'm going to take you to her."
"You told me that I had to stay in the hospital."
"Well that was before we knew that you are perfectly healthy, now that we know you're fine, you can go!" She said that last bit with enthusiasm.
"But I still can't walk properly."
"For now you can use a walker, she agreed to teach you everything that you need to know."
I sighed and closed my eyes to think about my answer. Not that I had much of a choice, but I decided to go along with it.
"Fine, I'll go."
"Great! Oh, and she'll also teach you how to use magic and such, seeing as you lack the ability to do that."
"Wait, huh?"
"She'll teach you to use magic."
"What does that have to do with learning about society?"
"You're a unicorn, aren't you?"
"I-" I paused, thinking of my words. That's right, the horn on my forehead. "Um, okay."
"Great, we can actually get you there now, if you like."
"Alright, sounds good."
I had spent a good amount of energy trying to get out of the bed; I ended up falling on the floor again. After a minute, Nurse Redheart had brought me a walker; it looked exactly like the ones where I was from. I knew instantly how to use it, but it took me about ten minutes of trying to get the hang of it.
Nurse Redheart had gotten off work early that and was able to escort me to my destination herself. Despite how I had already figured out that I was in a world of talking ponies, I was still shocked by what I saw in town. I saw ponies, casually walking and trotting around. It was like a small town, or village. I was even more shocked when I saw a couple ponies flying through the air, moving clouds even!
"Looks like the pegasi are planning a rainy day." I heard the nurse pony say.
Despite how much my curiosity and confusion grew with each moment, especially when she talked about pegasi "planning a rainy day", I didn't bother to ask a question, I knew my questions would be answered once I got to my destination.
While I was walking, I also noticed that the ponies staring at me, as if I were some strange figure walking among them, I couldn't help but think they knew who I was; however, it took me a while to realize that they were not looking at a human in a pony body, but at a perfectly healthy male pony walking on a walker. The walker I was using had wheels due to the fact that I couldn't pick anything up with these hooves. I tried to ignore the staring ponies to the best of my ability.
I continued to walk with the walker and I soon saw a large tree, or at least I thought it was a tree. After we got a bit closer I realized that it was a house built into a tree! My guess was changed once again when I saw a sign with a picture of a book on it, this was a library.
"What are we here for?"
"A pony by the name of Twilight Sparkle agreed to take you in and teach you."
"Wait, take me in? I thought she was going to show me how to control this body and help me get home!"
"Trust me, she can help you."
"Alright, fine! But I'm not staying too long!"
We walked up and Nurse Redheart knocked twice on the door, and it was soon answered by… a purple pony with a purple mane and tail, and a pink streak through both. The colors in this world were too bright and shiny for my liking, but if the nurse says she can help, then I trust that she can.
"Hi Twilight, I'm here with the patient. Well, former patient."
"Oh!" I heard the purple pony say. "Well come on in, then."
She turned around and went back inside; I walked in after Redheart did. I saw objects levitating around with a purple glow, moving here and there. Then, I saw the purple unicorn's horn glowing the same color, was this the magic that I was told about?
"So, tell me your name." I heard her say without looking at me as she apparently sketched some notes on a piece of paper.
"Allard." I said simply.
"Allard? That's a weird name." I didn't like that comment, but I was good at ignoring things. "So,
where are you from?"
"That's kind of difficult to say, first tell me where I am."
She then turned and I saw her glare at me if only for a second, then she smiled and answered my question.
"You're in the Ponyville library."
"I see."
"So, where are you from?"
I closed my eyes to think for a moment, where was I from? Well, I lived on a warship representing America; perhaps I should give her the specifics.
"I am a member of the American Navy positioned on the Destroyer: Spartan; number DDG-232, currently located off the coast of Africa."
The both of them just paused and looked at me with a confused look on their faces. From the look of the purple pony, it's apparent that she's not use to being the one not understanding something someone else says.
"Um… what?" I heard Redheart say.
I sighed, of course they wouldn't understand, I didn't really expect them to, but it was worth a shot.
"I'm from America."
"I'm not sure I've heard of that place before. Do you mind if I try out a spell on you?"
Was she talking to me? She's going to try out a spell on me? I didn't know the dangers, or understand the properties, of real magic, and if she's inexperienced in this particular spell, then there's no telling what could happen to me!
"What!? No!" I replied in a somewhat rude tone.
"Come on, please? It could help your situation a lot!"
I thought it over; did I really have a choice? With a brief thought, I sighed once again and I lowered my head in defeat over the walker.
"Fine, do what you need."
She nodded and I lifted my head to watch. Her horn glowed that purple color again and all of a sudden, she aimed it at me and I was engulfed in purple light. I was shocked by the action but I didn't move, knowing that I'd fall if I even attempted to move from the walker. Twilight and Redheart looked to be taking a couple steps back at what they saw.
Soon, the light faded and Twilight quickly turned around, took out a book she had laying on the floor, and used her horn to levitate it in front of her as she sped through the pages.
"Um, what's going on?"
"No, no, no, no, no! Nothing! There's nothing here!" I heard twilight say and I felt Redheart's eyes still on me.
"Hey!"
No answer, so this is what it feels like to be ignored.
"HEY!" I shouted and Twilight jumped and dropped the book, then turned to look at me.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, uh…" I saw her pause for a second to think. "There's… nothing in my books about… well, you."
"Me?"
"Well, more specifically what you are…" She said in a puzzled tone. "I used a spell to identify your soul, an image of what your soul looks like appeared. I expected to see a pony, but, I can't seem to figure out what I saw."
"What did you see?"
"I don't know, I have a book of creatures, it tells me about everything from ponies, to griffins, to dragons, but nothing about what your soul looked like."
Griffins and dragons? Great…
"What did I look like?"
"Hm… well. A tall, bipedal creature with hair only on top of its head, two arms-"
I stopped her right there.
"A human?"
"A what?"
"A human, that's what I am."
"…" She thought in silence a bit, it appeared that she'd never heard of a human before, just as I've never heard of talking ponies before. "I have a lot of questions, would you mind?"
"I have questions, too, so that would be fine."
"Alright."
I heard Redheart interrupt the conversation.
"Listen, I'm confused too, and I don't want to intrude, but would you mind if I stayed a bit while everything is being explained?"
The both of us looked at her, and then Twilight smiled.
"Of course, if Allard is okay with it, that is."
"Yeah." I knew how she felt, confused and wanting answers, no reason to keep her questions unanswered.