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My Name is Brayden Miles

Journal Entry #4

My stomach was doing a few back flips as I continued to stare at the lump that now rested at my tailbone, my thoughts scattered as to what was happening to me this time. Numerous popping and grinding sounds rang in my ears as bones started to shift throughout my body, causing me to double over. I rolled onto my back, placing my hands on my chest as I wheezed, making sure I could still breathe. Every fibre of my entire being was slowly changing before me, and I was scared, fearful that going through all of this might kill me. I flinched, feeling my heartbeat pound hard against my ribcage. Trying my best I slowly got to my hands and knees I continued taking deep breaths while my form changed.

'Must...get back to Zecora...' I thought hard. 'I need h-help.'

I felt a sudden tingling sensation spread over my skin. I stared down at my arms to discover what hair that I had on my entire body except on my head began to shed and fly off in the air making me shudder. I freaked out a little, touching my face where my stubble was previously and finding only smooth skin. Razors be damned I guess. I shook my head to get back at the matter at hand, trying to get up on my feet, struggling against the change that wanted to keep me grounded. I maintained my balance, now hunched over bracing against a tree. Panting heavily, I felt another wave of the same tingling sensation, pushing it at the back of my mind as I was convincing myself to move forward.

I attempted to take a step and heard a loud crunch, yelling at the jolt and quickly collapsed onto my side was on the grass once again. Surprisingly, I felt no pain, but when I looked down I went white as a sheet. My right knee was completely bent in the other direction, which looking at it caused me to start convulsing. I covered my mouth and willed myself not to vomit, doing my best to ignore the horrid image from my thoughts. I shut my eyes tight as I felt my left knee following suit, snapping quickly the other way. Again, it didn't hurt, but the odd feeling still wracked my system considerably. My arms lengthened and my legs shortened in places, the muscles bulged slightly and tendons stretched and grew to match my new bone structure. I could feel my boxers becoming tight on my lower half, restricting my movements.

My hands and feet began to morph and change. The bones began to shift on their own and I pulled my hand away from my face, trying to keep my fingers apart but they quickly fused together, so did my toes. I screamed in surprise and fear as the bones crunched and melded underneath my skin. My nails merged and hardened, stretching over the palms of my hands and the bottoms of my feet. I heard the sound of wings flapping in the distance. I probably scared some birds, but that wasn't top priority. All four of my appendages finally formed what seemed to be...hooves?

"...the hell?!"

I felt my neck stretching and my ears grow and shift, moving themselves closer to the top of my head, brushing against my dirty-blond hair. The bones of my face began to move on their own, my nose and mouth feeling like they were being pulled forward and down a few inches. Even my jaw and teeth grew and shifted, which made the attempt to not throw up even more difficult. Whatever I was becoming must be something of a monster. I just prayed that if I survived and Zecora did find me, that she would help me and not run away in terror. I couldn't really see what I was becoming, and whatever it was it couldn't be good

My skin began to itch over my entire body- at the time I wish I still had fingers. The transformation seemed to slow down, which I had hoped meant that it was nearly finished. I had managed to move my head to the side to see a layer of lightly copper-coloured hair grow rapidly from head to...hoof over my body. But the coup de grace was yet to come. The bump on my tailbone had lengthened and was pushing against the seam of my boxers, causing a new feeling of discomfort registering in my brain. I heard a loud rip as the last remnants of my clothing was destroyed, a short slightly wavy tail with hair that matched my head poking out of the hole from behind me.

I rested my head back onto the ground, breathing deeply through my newly formed nostrils. The tingling stopped and so did the changes, or at least it felt like they were finished. I didn't move, nor did I want to. I was scared, afraid that something else was going to happen. The sun shone down on me, my new chest rising and falling with each breath while I kept my eyes closed.

'This is very, very bad.' I thought to myself, stating the obvious. 'How did this happen to me? Was this some sort of magic?' I lifted one of my limbs that used to be an arm, seeing the hoof once again and set it back down onto the grass, not believing what I was seeing. 'Whatever this is...I can still change back, right? Man, I hope this isn't permanent. Crap, even if I did I would be completely naked.'

I began to hear something in the distance. It sounded like galloping, coming closer to my location. I stirred, unable to do much of anything else. Maybe it was Zecora trying to find me, or maybe something else. Either way I needed to find out. The trampling of hooves was close by, but whoever it was hadn't spotted me yet.

I opened my mouth, hoping that I still had a voice. "Z...Zecora?!" I called. Good, at least I could still speak english. "Someone? Anyone? Help me!"

The running changed direction and headed towards me. I could hear it closer now and began to slow down, stopping next to me. I could hear something jingling next to my ears. I cracked one eye open, seeing the familiar grey and white zebra looking right at me. She looked calm; at least whatever I was wasn't going to scare her off. I breathed a sigh of relief. She gave me a once over, probably in surprise because some creature was laying on the ground randomly in the middle of nowhere.

"Why hello. This is a strange circumstance..." Zecora commented lightly. "Have you seen an odd-looking creature by any chance?"

"I wouldn't think that I was that odd-looking...at least before now" I chuckled, but let it drop. I looked at her helplessly, "Z-Zecora...i-it's me..."

She took a moment to register what I had said, flicking an ear and gasped, backing away from me in surprise. "Brayden?! But...how could this be? What did you do to stir up the Everfree?"

I raised my head, locking my eyes with hers, my tone coming off slightly irritated. "I didn't -do- anything. Some stupid insects stole my clothes and I ran after them. I chased them through the forest, got them back, realized that I was lost, and then turned into...this. Whatever -this- is." I looked at my hooves, still not seeing myself completely while laying down. "By the way, what do I look like? I'm not a monster am I, like the creatures in the forest?"

She shook her head. "Your human form for now is gone. However, it seems with this look you do belong."

"Belong? What? You're not making any sense."

She gave me another smile. "Do not fret. I'll show you, this way. Unless you want to remain here to stay."

"U-Uh...no. I need some help, I can't seem to get up like this." I gave a few attempts to roll over and get my legs underneath me but nothing was working. She watched, giggling at me. "Hey! This isn't funny."

She trotted behind me, slipping her nose underneath my backside. She began to push, helping me roll over. Staggering, I got on all fours, doing my best to support my new weight. It wasn't all that difficult now that I was upright, feeling my muscles tense with my new form. I looked at Zecora, now only a few inches taller than her. I felt the rest of my boxers tear away, sliding off of me and I finally got a good look at myself, my eyes wide.

"I-I'm...I'm a...horse?!" I said in surprise. I tried to turn around but being awkward walking on all fours I nearly fell all over again. I stayed in place and stared agape, "W-What the hell?! Zecora...how did this happen? How-"

"Perhaps you may have missed a clue. Tell me, when you ran did you see some flowers of blue?"

I paused, thinking back to a few moments before. "Flowers of blue...those weird flowers? Yeah. There was a large patch of plants that I ran through to catch up with those weird bugs-"

"Ah! There you see? It seems you have solved the mystery."

"Mystery? What are you getting at?"

"Follow me and I will show, something important that you need to know."

She started to move ahead of me as I looked down at my hooves. "U-Uh...how do I..." I watched her stride, seeing how she walked and tried to copy her, taking a few small wobbly steps, my legs shaking. "W-Whoa...a-almost got it-whaa!"

I lost my footing, being immediately braced against Zecora. She didn't move, waiting for me to regain balance. I looked away embarrassed once I was on all fours again, letting out a sigh. "Thanks...again."

She walked slowly beside me as I was trying to understand my new body. It was hard at first to get the rhythm right in my head to walk without thinking about it. While Zecora led I began to get the hang of it, but still maintained a slow pace. I followed her back through the forest, trying not to trip over anything. Going from human to horse was different to say the least. I felt shorter and awkward being on four hooves. Even if I tried to stand on my back legs I probably wouldn't stay like that for long. It was something new that I would have to get used to for the moment.

The various kinds of trees around me were starting to seem very familiar. I saw the clearing ahead, the blue plants Zecora had asked about were growing all over the ground. "Here, this is it." I said, noticing the trampled strip I had made previously.

"Hmm, it seems that your sprint through this path, the poison joke incurred a laugh."

"Huh?"

She pointed to the plant. "This here is poison joke, you see. It grows rampant through the Everfree. For what its worth, it doesn't harm. Instead it likes to give some charm."

"You mean to tell me that these flowers turned me into a horse?!"

"A pony, to be exact. But give me time I can change you back."

"Whew...this isn't forever. Good. So what do I need to do to get back to normal?"

She looked at me. "May I suggest a different task, before I arrange for what you ask."

"What do you mean?"

"This may be a great opportunity, to see the rest of the world as a pony."

I raised an eyebrow. "You want me...to stay like this. You're talking nonsense Zecora. I can't be a hors- pony. Whatever this is. I'm human, and I need to find a way back home."

"Brayden..." she shook her head. "A creature like you is rare. You may find others who won't be as fair."

"You mean, they might not be as understanding as you have been." I bowed my head and sighed. "I might scare anyone who I tried to get answers from if I changed back. Damn. "

She nudged her head against mine, looking into my eyes. "At least you have taken a few steps..."

"Hmm?"

"This is the closest you've been with me yet."

I blinked, just now realizing that she was so close and was able to touch me. Before I was afraid of her being near me; and now, I guess that it meant that I was getting used to her. I had no one else in this world. She was nice to me, much more than any person had met before on Earth, besides my family of course. But even then my family and I weren't exactly close to begin with. I took a few steps away from her, creating some distance between us. I could see by the look on her face she was confused.

"Sorry Zecora. It's not you. I just, don't know what to do right now. First I'm sent to this place, and now I've been changed into a pony by some odd magical plants. If this is someone's idea of a joke, I'm not laughing." I dug at the ground with a hoof, slightly annoyed by the whole thing.

"I think it's best that you should go; to Ponyville, one of my friends may know."

"Wait. Pony...ville? Seriously?" I scoffed. "Someone really named a place that?"

She looked at me, slightly irritated. "Do not judge what you haven't seen. It lies beyond the Everfree."

"Sorry." I winced. I took a moment to think. "Everfree. You've said that word before. I assume that's what this forest is called."

She nodded. "Other ponies prefer to be wary. Most of this forest is somewhat scary."

"I can agree to that." I took one more look at the flowers, then turned. "Fine, let's go to this 'Ponyville' you talked about. I hope I can get some answers to why I'm there."

Both of us remained silent during the trip through the forest. I figured I shouldn't say anymore to piss her off, being my guide and all. It took us awhile with me fumbling through the trees to keep up with her. The sun overhead continued to beam down on us. It actually felt nice on my new coat. Wait, no! Keep it together Miles. This was only temporary until I figured out how to get back on Earth. I wonder how my boss will feel about me missing work because I was sent to another world? I doubt he would take that as an excuse.

Eventually we came to a path that made things easier for me to move around. It was well trampled and flat, perfect for me to practice. The forest opened up and I could see what looked like a village in the distance. It was rather quaint to be honest, with a large farm in the distance. From what I could see it kept up well. I thought I could even see a train on the other side of the town.

'This must be where Zecora was talking about. But why would anyone call a town 'Ponyville'? Did they have some kind of economy that revolved around...'

And that's when I saw it, Ponyville. There were ponies, dozens of them; all of them walking around freely around the village in various shapes, sizes and colours. Pink? Yellow? Green? What odd colours for these creatures. I gave my head a shake, watching in awe at some of them pulling carts or standing at food stalls. Wait, they worked?! They had jobs? My jaw dropped, watching the peculiar animals performing various tasks. All of them seemed to have some kind of tattoo on either sides of their rumps. I narrowed my eyes to some of the ponies, blinking in surprise.

'Some of them have a horn on their head. Wait...does that mean...'

"Zecora...are those..."

She silenced me with a hoof, pushing underneath my jaw to make me look up. If she didn't have her hoof underneath my head my jaw would have hit the ground.

'Horses...with wings...flying around in the clouds. I'm not seeing things, they're real. Ponies, unicorns, and even pegasi.' I couldn't believe it, they were here. Mystical creatures that were only in myths and legends were right in front of me. 'I wonder if they can talk too...'

"Zecora!" came a child's voice, almost with a touch of an accent. I heard light footfalls galloping towards us, but I continued to stare at some of the pegasus that were messing with some of the clouds overhead.

Zecora looked over to see a small yellow pony with red hair and a pink bow on her head, giving her a smile. "Apple Bloom, how are you? What have you and your friends been up to?"

"Oh, nothing much today. Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and I took a day off to draw up ideas on how to get our cutie marks." the little pony said. She looked at me. "Hey Zecora, who's the new stallion? I've never seen him before. Is he a friend of yers?"

"Ah yes, he is a friend. Apple Bloom, this colt is named Brayden."

I snapped to attention, hearing my name. "I...huh, what?" I shook my head, looking down, seeing the small pony as I towered above her. "Oh, hi."

The pony named Apple Bloom laughed at me. "Ehehe, you're a funny stallion. I'm Apple Bloom. I live here in Ponyville. Where ya from?"

I blinked. "Uh...w-well..."

"He comes from a land most exquisite. But he's come to Ponyville for a visit."

"Really? That's great!" Apple Bloom said, bounding around me happily. I felt nervous, staying in one spot as Apple Bloom continued to move around me. She stopped behind me and gasped. "Land sakes! You don't have one either!"

I blinked, looking at her. "Don't have...what?"

"A cutie mark! You have a blank flank!" she said, showing the side of her leg. Yes, there didn't seem to be anything on her, making me confused.

"Uhm..."

"I've never seen a stallion before that didn't have their cutie mark. Is that what older ponies call a 'late bloomer'?"

"Uh...yeah? I guess?" I looked towards Zecora, my eyes pleading for help.

The zebra let out a chuckle, turning back towards the forest. "I will leave you two be. Brayden, I hope you find the answers you need."

"W-Wait! Zecora? Don't go...I don't know what I should do!" I said to her, slightly panicked.

"Find your path, it will show you the way. Call me when you need me, you two go on and play."

"B-But...I-"

"Come on Brayden! Let me show you around!" Apple Bloom said, looking at me with a huge grin on her face.

I looked at the child, and then back where Zecora was standing, only to find that she vanished. I looked around, unable to see her. "Zecora? Where did she go?"

"Zecora? Oh, she does that alot. Let's go!" she said, nudging my hind leg.

"H-Hey...wait a minute...I don't think this is a good idea..."

I found myself stuck. Now I was somewhere that was infested with multi-coloured ponies, being directed towards the village by a kid pony. Dear God, what had I gotten myself into?

.o~End of Journal Entry #4~o.

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