Zoey POV
"...ke...up...wake up little pony..." A voice seemed to echo in my head, though somehow it was a voice I hadn't heard before.
A soft cool breeze blew through the foliage around, making the trees and plants dance in the gust. Small birds chirped as they flew around the trees. A small river flowed somewhere in the near distance.
My entire body ached from the entire event.
Wait...trees? A river? Aching? So the whole event last night, or however long ago it was, actually happened?
Slowly I opened my eyes. My vision was blurry at first, but it soon began to clear. I appeared to be in a forest of some kind. It was kind of dark, with sunlight peaking through the trees.
"Where...am I?" I tiredly looked around.
I sat up and raised my hand to my aching forehead. But something was off. My hands were now hooves!
"What the?!"
I looked down at my new hooves. That would explain why I suddenly lost feeling of my fingers and toes. Giving a quick look at my new form, I was not a regular horse either. There were small golden hairs all over my body that acted as fur. Meanwhile I had long messy blue hair that had light yellow highlights, with bangs that hung down slightly in front of my eyes. The same went for a new tail that had sprouted from my butt. Speaking of which, now on the sides of my butt there were little tattoos of a sideways blue lightning bolt and two red wheels underneath it.
"No...nonono..." My voice became shaky as my eyes widened.
This is just great. I've somehow been ditched all alone in a dark forest and worst of all I've somehow been turned into a horse? A strangely colored horse?
"This can't be happening...THISAN'TBEHAPPENING!"
In a panic, my front half jumped and landed lower onto the ground. It was then that I noticed a single golden feather float in front of my face and land on my new muzzle. A quick look behind me revealed that now I had two wings that now stood upright.
"I...have wings? So great...now I'm even more of a freak show. A multi-colored horse with wings." I folded my arms, or hooves, in frustration.
My eyes widened again as I quickly looked around. To my surprise, my skateboard and backpack were lying on the ground beside me.
"This is here too?"
I attempted to stand on my new legs. I was a bit shaky but managed to walk over to my backpack. Surprisingly, my backpack still fit onto my shoulders...do horses even have shoulders?
Another quick look around confirmed that I was alone. My ears drooped at the sudden realization.
"Jake..."
Before I could lower myself into deeper sorrow, a snap of a twig caught my attention. My ears perked up as I searched for the sound's origin.
"W-Who's there?"
Just then, I saw a glowing pair of green eyes peaking out from a nearby bush. A low growl followed before it pounced out of the bushes, revealing a wolf made of wood!
"W-What the heck?!"
My wings raised in reaction to panic. In haste, I turned and began to ran.
The wooden wolf behind me started to run after me, it's growls getting more vicious.
"Someone help!"
The wolf kept getting closer and closer, bearing its teeth.
"Okay, Zoey, think. What do most animals do in these situations?"
I noticed the number of trees around as the wolf chased me. As soon as I passed another tree, I made a sharp turn to the right. The wolf didn't appear to be very smart as it rammed into the tree.
I couldn't celebrate for long though as the wolf shook off the pain and continued to chase.
"What do I do, what do I do?! I have to get rid of this wolf somehow!"
I made another sharp turn and let the wolf hit the trunk. As soon as I did, I noticed a small clearing with a large tree that was made into a house.
In front of the door to this house, there was a zebra with golden chains around her neck and front hoof, as well as a gold earring.
The zebra quickly noticed the wolf that was nearly on my tail.
"Quickly come inside! Let me provide a place for you to hide!"
I didn't have much time to even consider the option before I ran inside the house. The zebra stood at the door and quickly slammed it once I had run inside, letting the wolf ram into the closed door. The wolf growled once more before it wandered off.
Inside the house there was a large cauldron sitting on hot coals. There were many masks hung on the wall and some on the ceiling, while the shelves were filled with bottles.
"Whew...thank you so much...I couldn't lose that thing..." I breathed heavily.
"It was no trouble at all. Now what is your name that I may call?" The zebra seemed to speak in rhymes.
"My...name...? Zoey."
"Zoey is such an interesting name. Though it does not sound like other ponies, not at all the same."
My ears perked down as my eyebrows curled.
"Not like other ponies? What other names have you heard?"
"Well my name is Zecora, as far as names go. Other names I've heard are Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow."
My eyes widened at those names. Suddenly the bright colors made sense. I somehow was transported to the world of the children's show My Little Pony.
"No...nonono"
"This can't be happening...but now what? My real name won't work here..."
"What is wrong, my little pony? Perhaps your troubles need to be set free."
The zebra had a concerned look on her face. I had to quickly collect myself.
"Let's see...I like to skateboard, so maybe that will help me? Skateboarders shred...and I have a lightning bolt on my butt, so storm?"
"Er, I'm sorry. I'm still a bit worked up and confused from being chased by that wolf...I'm actually called Storm, Shred Storm."
I quickly masked my face with a smile.
Zecora didn't seem to buy it as she frowned at me.
"As for your name I don't buy, for I can see right through your lie."
"Uh..."
My ears drooped and my wings folded as I frowned.
"Something about your mannerisms tell me you're not from here. If it is a long story, I would be happy to hear."
"How did you know...?" I stuttered.
"Well let us see, your wings do not fly, and your walk is not neat. You are also very lacking in the ways ponies speak."
I looked down and kicked my front hoof along the ground.
"Well...yeah. I'm not from here. I just woke up like this in the middle of the woods. It might be hard to believe, but I'm not from this world." I hesitated in my speech.
Zecora was silent as she went to the cauldron. She took a stick and stirred whatever was brewing.
"Your tale is actually not hard to perceive. I work with magic, so it is not hard to believe."
"Wait, magic? There's magic in this world?"
Zecora simply nodded as she cast some pigments into the brew, releasing a rising cloud of green smoke into the air.
"Wow...everyone back where I come from just uses science to progress." I stared at the smoke in awe.
"As for your home, I have no experience with other worlds on my own. I can however inform you of this world's customs, this world's systems. As for your flying, I am no assistance there. You will need to receive help from elsewhere."
I nodded quietly as I sat down and crossed my front hooves.
"Very well. Your reference to everyone not an equine will need to be redefined. To refer to everypony would be quite kind."
"So, basically instead of 'everyone' I say 'everypony'?"
Zecora nodded with a smile.
"So I was wondering...can you tell me where I am?"
"We are in the middle of forest of Everfree, just outside of Ponyville you see."
"Ponyville...that name sounds oddly familiar..." I whispered to myself.
Zecora continued to stir the pot and throw pigments in. I was almost curious about what she was brewing, but not enough to stop my questioning of this world.
"So this Ponyville...is it very populated? Would any...pony know how to help me?"
Zecora poured some of the brew into a small jar.
"It is very populated yes indeed. However as far as magic, there is only one other than me."
"There is another pony that knows about magic?"
Zecora walked over to one of the shelves to place her filled jar.
"Perhaps she could, and perhaps she might not. As for your identity, it is up to you to decide whether you are truthful or hide a lot."
One of my ears perked down slightly as the other raised to listen.
"What do you mean?"
"While I am familiar with magic, most citizens shy from what is strange. For the sake of your identity, it is up to you to decide if it is you who will change."
My ears drooped as I pondered. As my wings tried to stand, I felt an ache jolt in my muscle.
"Argh...these aches are killing me..."
"I would imagine after the fall. Let's be thankful that was all."
"Wait, I fell?"
That would explain some of the aches I had, although maybe some of that was from my transformation.
"From a great height, from not very far. In that distance I could not find you to see how you are."
I had to wonder why this zebra spoke in rhymes. It made it a bit tricky to understand at first.
"Now would you care for some help getting to Ponyville? To get through these woods takes some skill."
My ears perked up as I slightly smiled.
"That would be great, actually."
The zebra smiled as well.
"We'd best be on our way while there is still light in the day."
I looked out the window to see that the sky was turning orange, a sign the sun was going down.
"Yeah...let's get going."
The sky was turning pink by the time we exited the woods. Just outside the line of trees there was a small village, the most notable attraction was the giant castle made of crystal.
"The pony we seek may also provide shelter. Compared to my place, for you it is better."
"That would be great...I don't have any other places to go tonight..."
Zecora simply smiled as she led the way.
The town was actually pretty nice looking. There were plenty of cottages, a boutique, a cake shop, and in the distance I could see a market place. Quite a little town if I had to say so myself. Since it was getting late, though, there weren't many ponies out.
To my surprise, Zecora walked up to the giant castle across town.
"W-Woah..." I stared in awe as it sparkled in the fading light.
Zecora just walked into the front door.
"Wait, she can just do that with whoever lives in here? This place looks like it was meant for royalty!"
"Do not be shy, I can assure you this will be alright." She waved for me to follow her.
I stayed silent as I carefully walked up the stairs and followed her inside.
Even the walls inside the castle were made of some kind of purple crystal. The long hallways had maroon carpets that lead the path through the middle.
Suddenly the giant door down the main path creaked open. I couldn't believe my eyes when a little purple dragon with green spikes poked his head through to investigate the front door.
"Oh, hey Zecora!" He smiled friendly as he ran to greet her.
"Greetings my little dragon friend. How have you been?" She smiled at him.
"Things have been going great. I was just helping Twilight and Starlight work on some spells."
The little purple dragon then leaned over and saw me.
"Who's this?" He smiled.
"O-Oh...I'm Storm, Shred Storm."
My ears perked down as I nervously smiled. Considering Zecora's reaction earlier, I decided it would be best to keep up an act for now. If she reacted weirdly to just my real name alone, who knows how other ponies would react?
Zecora seemed to slightly wince at my decision of hiding my name, but respectfully went along with it.
My ears drooped as my front hoof scuffed the ground.
"This is Shred Storm who has fallen today. She is quite lost and needs a place to stay."
The dragon's smile quickly wiped off his face as his eyes widened.
"You fell from the sky?! Are you okay?!"
"Well, I'm aching a bit and almost got hurt by a wolf..."
"A timberwolf? And you managed to escape?! Thank Celestia you're not hurt worse than now..."
"Who is this Celestia he's talking about?" I wondered.
"Hehe yeah..." I quickly fell silent.
The dragon tried to give a friendly smile despite my worry.
"Well my name's Spike. I'm sure Twilight wouldn't have any problem with you staying with us."
"You're sure it's alright?"
"Sure I'm sure! Well, let me just check in with Twilight real quick. I'll be right back!"
The little dragon hurried off into the next room, closing the door behind him.
Zecora then looked at me a bit concerned.
"I see your decision has been made. I just wonder how long you will keep up this charade."
My ears drooped again with a frown. I quickly tried to force a smile, but she did have a point. Finding my way home might be difficult at first, or finding Jake, but can I really trust that these ponies would believe my real story?
It wasn't long before Spike poked his head out of the large door.
"Come on in, Storm!" He waved for me to follow.
Zecora turned to me with a small smile.
"With that, I must be on my way. I hope that you will have luck during your stay."
"Thank you so much for your help, Zecora. I really appreciate it." I smiled back.
"It was no trouble at all. If you find you want to talk about this, feel free to give me a call."
"I definitely will, thank you."
With that, Zecora turned to the door and left.
I then turned to the little dragon and quickly trotted over to him.
Spike simply smiled as he led the way into the room.
As I entered through the door, the room I had just entered was huge. In the center of the round room there was a circle of six large chairs, and a smaller chair, surrounding a large blue crystal table.
Sitting on two of the chairs were two ponies. One of them was a pink unicorn that had a curled purple mane and tail with a green streak through them. The other pony was a purple unicorn with wings who had a neatly brushed indigo mane an tail that had a pink streak running through. The two ponies attention was quickly turned to me.
I nervously chuckled as I followed Spike into the large area of the room.
"Twilight, Rarity, this is Shred Storm. She's the pony that Zecora asked if she could stay with us tonight."
The purple unicorn with wings smiled as her wings stood up.
"Welcome, Shred Storm. I'm Twilight Sparkle."
"And I'm Starlight Glimmer." The other unicorn waved.
"Nice to meet you, although just 'Storm' will do."
"Well then, Storm, is it true that you fell from the sky? Into the Everfree Forest?" A worried frown formed on Twilight's face.
My ears perked down nervously.
"Yeah, though I was unconscious for it. I'm aching really bad as well..."
"It's a relief that you're not hurt worse than that, at least from what it appears." Starlight said.
Spike walked over to the little throne next to Twilight's and sat down.
Twilight then turned to me as she leaned her hooves on the table and smiled.
"So Storm, please sit and tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Were you coming to Ponyville originally before you fell in the Everfree forest?"
Nervously I took off my backpack and sat on one of the nearby thrones, one that had a rainbow lightning bolt that struck from a cloud.
"O-Oh, well I...I'm not really from anywhere per se. I just travel around since I don't really have a place to call home."
It wasn't completely a lie either. I really didn't have a place in this world to call home.
"Wait, so you don't even have family to support you?"
My ears drooped with a frown.
"W-Well...no. None to speak of."
"That's right...my entire family is back home, the only familiar one that might be here is Jake..."
Seeming to search around for a different subject, Twilight noticed the skateboard attached to my backpack.
"So you like to ride around on that board?" She pointed to it.
My ears perked up as I smiled.
"Yeah actually, I love skateboarding."
"Is that how you got your cutie mark?"
She pointed to the blue lightning bolt with wheels on my butt.
I then remembered the mark on my flank that had a symbol resembling a skateboard. If I recalled correctly, that the symbols represent talents? I guess it makes sense.
"Yeah, my talent is skateboarding. My wings definitely help."
"So you mentioned that you travel a lot, how was it that you came to Ponyville then?"
Man this pony sure likes to ask a lot of questions.
"Well...thing is I was trying to solve a mystery with a friend of mine. I think we made some kind of breakthrough, but I fell unconscious after that and somehow ended up falling from the sky above Everfree." I frowned.
The room was silent for a minute as my ears drooped with worry.
"It sounds like you've been through a lot...Well, Storm, we would be more than happy to let you stay here until you can get back on your hooves." Twilight gave a hopeful smile.
My wings stood up in excitement.
"Really? You don't mind?"
"Not at all. There should be a spare bedroom across from where Starlight's room is. You can take that one."
"Wow, thank you so much. It really means a lot." I smiled.
"It's no trouble at all. Starlight, could you please show Storm the bedroom? The one where Sludge stayed?"
Starlight hopped off from her chair with a smile.
"Sure thing. Follow me, Storm!"
Starlight waved for me to follow.
"Thank you all so much." I grinned before following Starlight.
"Hope you have a good night, Storm. It was nice to meet you!" Twilight smiled with a wave, as did Spike.
I picked up my backpack and waved goodnight as I followed Starlight through another door.
Starlight led me up to one of the higher levels of the castle as we wandered the halls. I have to admit I'm surprised she can navigate the place, every hall looks the same!
"Hopefully the room Sludge stayed in is in good condition. I can't remember if anyone cleaned up after his mess..." Starlight worried but kept walking.
"Oh It doesn't matter to me, as long as there's a room to stay in I'll be happy." I smiled at her.
"Still, some nice hospitality would be best." She mentally shrugged.
Finally we reached a room on the left of the hallway, the door was a dark shade of purple, though barely noticeable from other doors.
"Here we are, this is where you'll stay, Storm."
Starlight's horn glowed a teal color, in cue the door handle did as well as she pushed it open.
"Did she just...use telekinesis? Did I just witness magic?!"
I tried to contain my excitement, but I couldn't keep my jaw from hanging open.
Starlight waved for me to follow.
I closed my mouth and followed inside.
The room itself was kind of cute. The bed was round and wooden, except for the back part of it which had a crystal tree decoration curving above the main part of the bed. On the left side of the room there was a bookcase in the shape of an elm leaf, with a crystal outline with a pink diamond on top. the shelves had a few books, a globe, and a picture frame. Next to the shelves there was a bin of building blocks. To the right of the bed there was a small coffee table with drawers. Outlining the two windows on the sides of the bed, there were purple curtains, as well as the gap behind the bed and the corners of the room.
"Wow..." My eyes widened with awe.
"It's not much, but I hope you can make yourself comfortable." Starlight smiled as she turned to me.
"Are you kidding? This is perfect!"
I then noticed my wings started to flutter a bit with excitement, but not enough to let me fly.
Starlight trotted over to the door.
"Well I'm glad you like it. Please make yourself at home. My room's across the hall if you need me."
"Thank you Starlight" I smiled before she closed the door behind her.
My ears then drooped as I placed my stuff beside the bed. I walked over to the window and looked out.
There was a great view from here, although hard to see as it got dark. I could notice a school or something surrounded by a moat, not too far from the castle, just by a small mountain.
"Hmm..."
The weight of this situation really began to sink in. I'm alone in a new world, in a new form that I don't know how to fully control. Worst of all, I have to keep up this charade with a new name in case other ponies wouldn't believe me. I really wish I knew where Jake was. Maybe things would be different if I had someone to help me get through this...
It was just then that I felt a folded piece of paper hit my head all of a sudden! I turned around but there was no one in sight. I turned my attention to the paper and carefully tried to open it with my hooves.
The note read, "Hello, my little mare, I trust that this note will find you well. It is my wish to assure you that your friend is in this world too. Things may be difficult at first, before long you will be reunited. But not before you both learn your place in this world. In time I will help you reveal clues to help guide you. With greatest wishes, ~Luna"
I sat silent for a minute as I tried to process the note. Jake was indeed somewhere in this world, and somehow whoever 'Luna' is knows about us. What does she mean about learning our place?
A long yawn escaped my mouth as I stretched. It has been a crazy first day in this new world, and no doubt my confusion will only continue.
I climbed into the bed and pulled the covers over me. I had to admit it was a comfortable bed. Sleeping in a bed might just be the only thing familiar in this world so far.
I opened my eyes and looked out at the night sky one last time.
"Please be well, Jake. I hope that someday I can find you soon.
I just realized...I'm not even home. Do my parents even realize that I'm missing? I hope they don't worry about me too much...As far as I know there's nothing we can do right now.
Goodnight everyone...I hope to see you all again someday...somewhere..."