My body felt like it got hit with a bus, with jet engines attached to it. I mildly groaned for a moment, still in my nice warm bed. I was still very much groggy from just waking up, but after a while, I realized something. The air hung with a faint hospital smell and the faint sound of a heart rate monitor beeping in the background. Was I in some sort of accident?
As I opened my eyes, I was greeted by a bright light. “Arrgh! Son of a—” I cried out. As I started shifting around, my body still numb, I fell out of bed.
“Nurse, the patient has woken up. Inform her right away.” one voice stated.
“Right away nurse Redheart.” another voice stated.
As my senses began to come back to me, I made several attempts to scramble to my feet, but something was off. It took me but a moment, but my arms were a bit numb for some odd reason. I was still apparently too weak to stand up, but as I attempted to flex my fingers, that's when my mind realized something. I looked down at my hands to realize that I was now staring at what looked like two blue lightly furry stumps resting right below my chest.
It wasn't until I tried to move my arms until I realized that the “stumps” were my arms. As I tried to move my arms, the stumps moved in sync. And although they initially were straight, as I moved them, they felt and looked more like arms than anything else.
As I turned to examine the rest of my body, I could see that I was dark blue all over. And although I was now on all fours, I somehow barely noticed it. Usually in fictional stories where characters go through a radical transformation, they are completely disorientated. Heck, even people with enough missing teeth have to learn how to talk properly all over again. Maybe it has something to do some changes with my mind.
While keeping the fictional stories in mind, shouldn't I be panicking right about now? I'm in a radically different body, in a strange room I've never seen before, after a strenuous event that I originally believed to be a dream. I should literally be running around the room screaming at the top of my lungs like a flimsy little girl. Yes, I was confused, upset, and had many questions, but it felt like something big was missing. There was fuel, but somehow no ignition.
With that, I heard a door open along with hoof steps. I turned around to see what confirmed my first suspicions about me. I was face to face with none other than Twilight Sparkle herself. She looked different in real life, but rather real pretty. For instance, her eyes weren't as huge and exaggerated as in the TV show and I could see the details on her body like the hairs and each individual hair that made up her mane. It was like looking at one of those 3D animated films, stylized, yet realistic.
But now that I am focused on the room itself, or at least trying to since I have a bad habit of staring too much, I began to get a better sense of my surroundings. I was what looked like a hospital room with a single bed.
As I tried to move about, I quickly stumbled over myself right on the floor. Looking down revealed that I was caught up in the bed sheets.
“You okay?” she asked, trying her best to stifle a laugh.
“I dunno Twilight. Where am I? What's going on?” I asked. When I had realized that I said her name, I was half-expecting her to be bombarding me with questions over that particular piece of knowledge. Although she looked surprised, her expression quickly passed, sooner than I had expected.
“How did you know my name Daniel? I never got the chance to tell you.” she asked, more puzzled than anything.
“How do you know my name?” I asked in response.
****
Celestia still could not wrap her mind around the reality of the situation. As each asleep pony from the new buildings were carted out to a temporary hospital area, rough estimates of the new population was roughly to be 100 at least. The hospital staff were short in equipment and space, and even had to ask the mayor for extra supplies, and much of the confused population, which were already up from all the ruckus, just stood there speaking amongst themselves, unsure of what to do.
“Princess?” a familiar voice called out. Celestia turned to see that it was a terrified Twilight Sparkle that gave a look as if she was guilty of a massive crime. “I-I don't know what happened. I was trying out a spell and—“
“I don't blame you for what happened Twilight. In all my years, I have never seen anything like this. Not even Star Swirl the Bearded could have pulled this off.” Celestia stated, looking at the new addition to the town.
Twilight wasn't sure if she were impressed or concerned at her teacher's statement.
“So who was that unicorn you just read?” Twilight asked.
“His name is Daniel Freeman.” Celestia stated.
“That doesn't sound like a pony name.” Twilight said, now confused.
“That's because it's not. He used to be a human.” Celestia said.
“But I thought that humans were just of myth and legend. And besides, aren't humans usually described in stories as violent, hateful creatures?” Twilight asked, now concerned at what the answer might be.
“From what I have been able to tell so far from him, human behavior seems to be mixed to say the least. On one hoof, they seem to be a loving, caring race that looks out for one another. But on the other, a violent race that lies, cheats and steals from one another. In all honesty, they are more like us than anypony would give them credit for.” Celestia informed.
“Excuse me princess, but when has our people ever done acts of evil before?” Twilight asked, perplexed at her teacher's answer.
Celestia could only smile at the answer. “It's true that nopony does acts of evil these days as we used to, but try to understand that we live in a time of relative peace. There is no real reason to lie, cheat or steal these days. The only time when a pony's darker qualities mostly begin to appear is during times of desperation and survival.”
Twilight looked conflicted at the answer. It's true that ponies got into arguments all the time, but this was something that she could never expect to hear from her teacher. Before Twilight could sat anything else on the topic, something else came to mind.
“Wait a minute. Are you saying he was a human, and now somehow he's now a unicorn?” Twilight asked, wondering if that assumption was even possible.
“Yes. I don't even know how it happened. The last memory that he remembered was his entire house glowing, but nothing more than that.” Celestia said.
Twilight now winced at the sight of the body for a moment, wondering how this one unicorn could have been another species. But if her teacher said that he was okay, then there should be nothing to fear. But that didn't stop the nervousness that she now felt.
“What happens now?” Twilight asked.
“Now I have to talk to the mayor and the local guard to clear up any possible fears about the situation. Even though I won't be raising the sun for quite a while, I'll leave him in your charge for the time being.” Celestia instructed her.
“But why me? Shouldn't some other pony be better suited for the job?” Twilight asked.
“Let's just say that I get the feeling that you two should along well.” she said with a small, wry grin.
****
“The only conclusion that I have is that you are from another world. Nowhere in any of my books has there been any encounter of humans, even outside of Equestria. At least so far.” Twilight stated to me.
“I don't know how else to say this, but I don't think that your spell really did all this.” I said.
“What?!” she nearly went white at the notion.
“I'm trying to remember back, but before the event that brought me here happened, I distinctly remember you and Spike having a conversation. I could hear you, but not see any of you. Something about a fire in a library?” I said, eyes closed and focused on my thoughts.
But before Twilight could begin to speak, she heard a small giggle that came from behind the door. I immediately recognized the voice.
“We both know you're there Pinky Pie.” I called out, realizing that my in depth knowledge of them would have given me away anyways sooner or later.
The door opened and, from my surprise, the whole gang was there. Fluttershy, with her trademark timidness, was the last pony to enter the room.
“How did you know about Pinky Pie? Are you a spy?” Rainbow Dash asked, muzzle-to-muzzle with me while hovering in mid-air. When I tried to reply back, all I could do was stutter.
Before I could actually say anything, something pulled Rainbow Dash backwards. Looking at who did it, I saw Applejack with Rainbow Dash's tail in her teeth. “Now hold up gosh darn it. Why do you always insist that anypony who knows somethin' you don't is automatically a spy?” she asked after spitting out the tail.
Rainbow Dash could only cross her hooves and frowned at Applejack with an audible “Hmph!”.
“You know I'm from another world, right?” I asked. Everypony agreed.
“Where I'm from, there are...stories about this place.” I said, unsure at the impending reaction.
“Of the hospital? That would be depressing? Wouldn't that be depressing? I think that would be depressing. Anyways, I--” Pinkie Pie rambled on until Rarity shoved her hoof in her mouth.
“No. Of all of you.” I said, pointing my hoof at them in a circular motion.
“Ha. So you are a spy after all. Who do you work for?” Rainbow Dash stated accusingly, nose-to-nose again. Applejack gave a loud, fake cough to try to break up the moment.
“S-so are you j-just saying that we are just characters in a story, and we aren't real?” Fluttershy said, almost to tears.
“I seriously don't think any of you are fake. And this feels way too real to be a dream, even a lucid one. As for the TV Show, which focuses on your lives and the lessons that you learn, I enjoy watching it when I have free time, even if the show was originally designed for little girls.” I said.
“What's a TV Show?” Twilight asked.
“Do you have film?” I asked, thinking back to the tornado episode.
“Yes.” Twilight responded.
“Well, a TV Show is usually a filmed story or recorded events that runs about half an hour or longer. But in the case of My 'Little Pony: Friendship is Magic', it's a cartoon, which involves stuff like animated illustrations of each character, voice acting, background art, and music.” I said, hoping that none of it went over their heads. Most of them just stared with their mouths open. I guess it did.
Twilight, on the other hand, just listened. The silence in the room soon became unbearable.
“All that I know for certain is that there is some sort of connection between our worlds. I don't know how much, and I don't know in what way, but it's clear there is some sort of connection.” I said, hoping to break the silence.
“Oh yeah? Prove it. What's my favorite flavor of Ice Cream?” Rainbow Dash challenged.
“I don't know. Look, I may not know everything about you, but I do remember key events.” I said, Rainbow Dash not looking impressed.
“Such as?” She challenged once again.
“Let's see. Um...There's the time that Rarity flew too close to the sun with her butterfly wings and Rainbow Dash had to save her causing a sonic rainboom. Then there was the time when Fluttershy got a bit too assertive because of that Ironwill character. Then there's the time when Twilight Sparkle enchanted her Smarty Pants doll because she didn't have anything to report to Princess Celestia. There was also the time when Appleja—” I said until Applejack interrupted, “Yes, we get it. You know a lot 'bout us.”
“I still don't trust you. Anypony that watches anypony else for their own amusement is so not cool on my list. Even if the pony doesn't know the other is real or not.” Rainbow Dash stated.
A thought crept in my mind. “Hey Rainbow Dash!” I said to her now turned back.
“What?” she asked annoyed.
“How was the latest Daring Do novel?” I said, trying my best to keep a mocking tone out of it. Her arms instantly dropped to her side.
“Are you accusing me of being a spy?” She asked, now furious.
“No, but I was trying to put it into perspective for you. I've been watching your adventures for months now without even thinking about the possibility that you all could be real on another world. And as for the Daring Do reference, I was basically saying that if somehow Daring Do was real and she knew about the stories written about her, don't you think that she would believe that you were spying on her? Even for a moment?” I asked, hoping to get her settled down.
“He does have a point Rainbow Dash. He's not really a spy. The definition of a spy is a pony who secretly collects and reports information about an enemy or competitor. I don't know about you, but I think he hardly qualifies as an enemy since I don't think that he has anything against any of us, and he hasn't done anything to indicate that he's a competitor either.” Twilight stated.
“Okay, so you're not a spy. But what is this TV Show? Do you have any proof that it's real?” Rainbow Dash asked, still unsure of me.
As if on cue, the door knocked. Twilight opened the door with her magic and in came Spike with an open cardboard box.
“Spike? I thought you were watching the library?” Twilight asked, obviously not happy.
“Well, I was, but then a guard pony came by to ask you questions about this.” Spike said holding out the box.
Inside was a variety of MLP merchandise. Dolls, hand-made plushies, artwork, and the DVD version of the Canterlot Wedding episode. As Applejack held up the doll version of herself, Spike couldn't help but to laugh. 'Appletini indeed' I thought to myself, giggling.
“Wait a minute. Are you telling me that ponies are going through each of the houses?” I asked, shocked by this revelation.
“It's not like the guards are taking anything. They're just looking to make sure there isn't anything dangerous.” Spike said. I immediately pointed to the box. “Well okay, most anything. But this is the only stuff they have taken out. I swear.” Spike admitted.
“I have a question.” I asked.
“What?” Pinky Pie replied.
“Why aren't I screaming? I'm now a different species, on a different world, in front of ponies that I once thought were fictional. I should literally be running around in circles screaming like a little girl. Or a filly. I don't really know what to say at the moment.” I asked. Pinky snickered at the thought.
“You see that crystal on the table next to your bed?” Twilight asked pointing right behind me.
I looked back to see a red ruby slightly pulsating with light, resting on a small stand. At first glance, I thought it was some sort of night light.
“Let's just say that you weren't the first to wake up. The first pony woke up yelling, screaming, and even threatened with violence if he wasn't released from the hospital and sent back home.” Twilight said.
Twilight continued, “Luckily there was a unicorn nurse that uses a spell that helps calms down traumatized patients. After he calmed down and the situation was explained to him, he immediately apologized for his actions. Afterwords, it was decided by the hospital staff to infuse the spell into crystals so that this wouldn't happen again.”
“I see that our patient is alive and well.” a voice from the doorway called out.
We all turned to see Nurse Redheart at the door.
“If you don't mind Daniel, I would like to do one final checkup before releasing you.” she asked.
“Okay, but where will I be staying? My house?” I asked as I turned back to Twilight.
“You will be staying with me at the local library until the guards give the all clear to go back to your house. Just basic precautions.” Twilight said. I waived at them as everyone except for the nurse left the room. Twilight quickly popped her head back into the room. “I'll be waiting in the lobby for you.”
The checkup was pretty much what you would expect from a standard hospital checkup. Checking vitals such as heart rate, blood pressure, and reflexes. The only test that I was surprised at was some test to do with my horn by placing some sort of wrap on it. For one thing, I didn't know I had one until she mentioned it and I confirmed its presence when I touched it with my hoof.
Walking out of the room seemed out of place for me, but not in the way I initially would assume. It oddly felt normal to walk on all fours, as if I've done it all my life. I don't know if it was something the doctors did or if it happened all on it's own. At that point though, I didn't care. I was just glad that I wasn't tripping over myself like some sort of idiot.
After going to the bathroom, which was an experience in itself, and left, I looked up to see the signs that you would normally find in hospitals. Everything was written in clear English, which was strange to me at the time. If I were still in human form and there weren't any pony around, I would easily be fooled that this was a human hospital. After following the signs to the lobby, I saw Twilight Sparkle waiting for me, looking at a gardening magazine. She probably couldn't find anything better to read. Right next to her was Spike playing with what appeared to be both a Spike and Rarity doll. “Kissy kissy.” he whispered to himself, chuckling. Twilight turned and told him to put them away.
“Oh Daniel. I didn't see you there. Are you ready to go?” Twilight asked placing the magazine down on the counter with her magic. Spike took one look at me, and quickly put the dolls back into the box, giving a forced smile.
“As ready as I'll ever be I guess.” I said.
“Are you alright?” Spike asked.
I took a brief look around the room. I was surrounded by ponies, oblivious to my presence as they waited around. Not knowing who I once was or where I came from, even as they looked right at me, I looked back at Twilight and sighed.
“I dunno. I guess.” I said, giving a half-smile. Twilight, who was now at the door asked, “Are you coming?”
I had already spoken to the doctor about my parents. Apparently no one else has woken up yet, and since it was getting so late, they recommended me to come back later when the hospital would allow visitors. But even then, I would have no idea what the looked like until they woke up. So my only hope at the moment was to sleep over at Twilight's place.
As I was leaving the hospital with Twilight and Spike, I noticed that it had just passed sundown. The air was crisp and clean, and a heavy series of scents filled the air. It was then that I contemplated on the reality of my new body. Were my senses better than before, or was it just about the same? Was I just as smart as before, or was there some sort of increase or decrease in my IQ level? As these questions came across my mind, I looked up to see that we were already at the library. Funny I didn't run into anybody yet, but then again, it was getting late and many were at home already.
Spike held the door open as Twilight and I walked in. It was mostly what one would see from the show, but a bit bigger, there were more books in the shelves, and it didn't look like an illustration. The wooden horse statue on table in the middle of the room was the only thing that looked very closely to the one on the show.
“Is something the matter?” Twilight asked, probably because I was so quiet.
I looked around the room once more. “I dunno. I guess I was half-expecting Pinky Pie to have a party set up here or something like that.” I replied, trying to think about something else.
“That would be my fault. I did a lot of reading on history and discovered accounts of new cultures meeting for the first time. I came to the conclusion that the first encounter should be handled very carefully. I simply told her to wait a while before doing it.” she said. I wonder what Pinky's definition of a while actually was.
“Okay.” I stated as I continued to look around the room.
“Are you even listening to me?” she asked me in an annoyed tone.
“Sorry. What?” I asked, now panicked that I might have missed some important information.
“Right, it's getting late. I've already taken a bath, so why don't you go ahead and do that. Afterwords, I can show you to your bed.” Twilight stated.
“But there's one problem.” I said.
“What?” she asked, confused at my statement.
“The last time I took a bath, I had hands.” I said, waving one of my front hooves.
Twilight groaned at this revelation.
“Don't worry, you can just walk me through it. It's not like I'm 3 years old or anything like that.” I said, hoping to put her at ease, which it did to a certain extent.
“Fine, but don't expect me to do this every night.” She said.
“Once I get it down, you won't have to.” I reassured to her.
With that, we both entered the bathroom, which was located near the sleeping area. Spike had already gone to bed, and Owlicious took over the night shift. I can definitely say that Owlicious looks a lot less cartoony than the one in the show.
The bathroom was pretty standard by itself. No serious decorating, and the walls were painted white. I walked over to where Twilight was waiting. Using her hoof, she turned on the water.
“How did you do that?” I asked, shocked that she was able to do that so effortlessly.
“I gripped the shower valve with my hoof. It wasn't hard for me to do.” she said, closing the valves to the bath to further demonstrate.
“But that doesn't make sense. Don't you need at least two hooves to grip the valve?” I asked, still dumbfounded at her actions. She takes a moment to fully absorb what I was asking, then giggled momentarily.
“Oh yeah. I would have never thought of that. You see, all ponies have the ability to grip objects with their hooves using a kind of magic ability.” she lectured, picking up a bar of soap. “It's just that we ponies don't use the ability as often as we'd like and use our mouths for grabbing most things. This is mostly because we have to often walk on all fours.”
I walked over to the bathtub, which was now ready to get into, and tried it on a bar of soap. The first few times, I just ended up pushing the bar around, but eventually, I got it. It's weird to think about, because it seems that I just tense my hoof in some way (I can't really describe the feeling in words) and the object sticks.
After that, taking a bath was very straightforward. After drying off with the towel, I briefly looked around for clothing. It took me a moment to fully realize that I didn't need clothing. Looking back at my fur, which was now mostly dry, I could see what could be described as the reality of the situation. My hair, or should I be calling it a mane, was of a darker brown than I was used to. But what really caught my eye, and nearly gripped at my heart was something further back. My tail, I was definitely expecting, but it was my cutie mark that really got me. It was one of a gamepad. I know that I loved to play video games, but it just was something that I didn't really think about.
It was getting late, and I was pretty sure that Twilight wanted to get some sleep too. She led me to her room, where at the bottom of the room (her bed was in an upper level) was an additional bed that was fully made. I climbed inside as best I could and got into a restful position. The reality of the world around me began to slowly seep in. Granted the world I came from was not perfect, but the prospect of being forced to live a new life, even if no one forced it upon me, still frightened me.
“Daniel?” Twilight asked.
“Hm?” I uttered.
“If it's alright, can I ask you questions tomorrow after breakfast. I know you would want to find your parents, but this would help me with my studies on humans.” she asked.
“You're studying humans now?” I asked.
“Yes, the princess wants me to refocus my studies on learning as much about humans as possible. Since you've already proven that humans act differently than what's found in myth, I can assume there is much I can learn from your people. So, can I?” she stated, sounding excited more than anything else.
“Okay.” I stated. I had a disturbing image of Twilight with a list that was long enough to cover the whole floor of the main library room, but let the image pass since I do tend to think about the worst case scenario. I just hoped that it wouldn't take too terribly long. With that, I heard what sounded like Twilight getting into her bed. With only the sound of crickets to be heard, I lay there, quietly thinking about home. What my parent's reaction to the new situation, how the new population would handle the situation, stuff like that. The only funny thing that crossed my mind is an image of my father in pink. But even then, I could tell that the next day would be interesting to say the least.