Bird Alarms
I woke up to chirping birds. The sun was high overhead, either just before or just after noon. I was lying on my back, and trees were visible on the edges of my vision, with a large canopy high above me. Strange swirls of dim light floated through the air. ‘Pretty…’ It was quite peaceful out all things considered. Must be a rainforest, judging by the large vines I could see hanging from the trees. I would have been content to lay there if I had actually felt tired. Moving, however, proved to be a problem.
First, I tried to turn my head. When my vision did not change, I realized something was wrong. I attempted to move my arms to see what was wrong, only to have them refuse to move either. Starting to panic, I tested my legs. Again, I received no response, At this point, my mind was freaking out. I tried to scream, only to find myself robbed of my voice as well, my mouth sending no signals back to me.
Fear overtook me then. If I had been able to move or speak, I probably would have looked like I was having a seizure. As it was, I just screamed in my head. I've never been afraid of much; no arachnophobia or fear of closed spaces or silly things like that. Having absolutely no control over my body, however, was definitely not okay with me. I was trapped within my own body and unable to even see what was wrong with it. After about five minutes of mental screaming, I was able to calm my jimmies. Nothing was actually causing me pain. I felt like I was in perfect health, despite the fact that none of my extremities were functioning
It was at this point that I noticed a distinct lack of movement around where my chest should have been. Trying to keep from panicking again, I tested for all of the sensations I should have been feeling, like humidity or heat considering the locale.
I could see, I could hear. No feeling from my nose or mouth, no intake of air whatsoever and certainly no flavors. So smell and taste were out too, as well as an apparent need to breathe. Touch however... closing my eyes, which still seemed to work, I focused on my chest and discovered a pocket of somewhat comforting warmth.
Now, I could get over not needing to breathe. Could make some things, like swimming, way easier. While I'd certainly miss the smell of chocolate and rain after a storm, I’d could deal with it. However, I was certainly not interested in strange bodies of heat floating around inside my body when I had no idea where they came from. ‘Did somebody find and rape me and I’m repressing the memory? I hope not. I don’t drink, so it can’t be from a crazy night I forgot about…Wow, that's dark.’
As I mentally poked at the heat source, it suddenly burst, so to speak. At once, my entire body felt warm and tingly, overflowing with an unknown strength. At first, it was nice, filling me with peace. Soon though, it was starting to become overbearing, almost burning like too many burritos at a Friday evening cook-out. As it started to actually feel painful, I hurriedly tried to redirect it at the ground I was laying on. Maybe that’ll jump-start my arms. Or something. I was not thinking very clearly, some panic remaining from earlier. But my hasty decision did manage something entirely unexpected.
*FWOOM*
As I redirected the energy, the pain lessened slightly. However, I shot up into the air.
Oh my god what's happening why is the sky getting closer why can i still not move this is not ok!
I still couldn’t feel or move my arms. I still got no response from my legs. Just straight into the air, spinning as I went. I’d like to say I noticed more about my surrounding than the jungle flashing beneath me but I was rotating far too quickly for my vision to keep up, especially since I couldn’t do that trick ice skaters do where they keep their head facing one direction until they have to spin it. I was rather dizzy and was primarily concerned with stopping. I tried redirecting the energy towards where my legs were supposed to be.
*FWOOM*
This stopped my upwards motion slowly as I was now rocketing off in the opposite direction of my feet – which I still couldn’t see.
What's going on!?
While I was no longer going up, the spinning wound down so I was facing the trees beneath me. Now, I could see a large forest or jungle and in the distance, what appeared to be an ocean. None of this solved the issue of my continued motion and state of not being on the nice safe ground. The energy didn’t hurt anymore, though it still burned a little. So I decided to just stop directing it. As one might expect, this was a bad idea.
*FWOOOooo-phssst*
Now I was falling. As I watched the ground rush to me, my brain froze up. No thoughts or anything besides utmost terror passed through my mind as I watched the trees grow ever closer. About 100 meters above the canopy, my brain kicked back in, which was mostly useless considering I had fallen like a brick from who knows what height. But it did give me some insight.
‘Well, considering I’m about to die, I might as well figure out where my resting place is and why I can fly.’ I tried to move my eyes and was surprised when my vision shifted. I still felt no movement from my neck though. I was staring ahead of my trajectory. Seemed I was going to land in or next to a lake a mile or two in from the ocean. Knowing my luck, it would probably be the shore next to the lake I land on. Or a rock. The ground was approaching fast.
‘Why not try what I did earlier? Wouldn’t that make sense, using the funky heat power stuff? Course I’d just rocket into the sky again-’
*BAM*
Ah, hello ground… I’m not dead?
I shifted my vision around and found myself looking at the sky. And not in pain. Which was immensely confusing to me. So let’s take an account of today’s day so far: Wake up in forest after having dream about getting sucked into a rainbow vortex and reliving memories of the mane six. Check. Lack the ability to speak, the need to breathe, and the control of my limbs. Check. Discover weird body heat and use it to fly to what should have been my death. Check. Also, have yet to piss myself. That’s good. So, who gave me drugs? Cause I’m pretty sure that’s what I’m on right now, though the clarity of thought says otherwise. In a coma then? …No way to determine that truth, though, again, awareness of my situation might say otherwise… Then again, I have no idea what a coma is like. We’ll go with coma for now. Time to see if I can be more delicate with the…heat-y stuff.
Suffice to say, I had no idea what I was doing. Every attempt to will short bursts of energy ended in me jumping around in the sand like a maladapted Magikarp. Eventually I stopped trying until I had thought more about how to deal with the energy stuff. In the meantime, I practiced shifting my vision and got a better look at my surroundings. First, I was definitely in a jungle of some kind. I saw at least four toucans and even more parakeets, of various colors. I couldn’t tell how hot or humid it was though. I think I might have been able to feel heat but that could have been the heat from my insides. The "lake" I was near was only about 100 feet across and seemed to extend 50 or so feet in either direction. It was surprisingly clear considering the vegetative growth nearby, and incredibly calm. Must be visited often. ‘Which means someone might find me and be able to help me! Yes!’ Nothing else in the visible area was particularly interesting. The sun had moved to the top of its arc and was now on its downward course. Probably about 1 PM.
Since I won’t be doing anything besides laying here… What about those memories? Why did I have those as dreams? Let’s see. The first was Twilight using the elements for the first time. What was most remarkable about that? Probably understanding the elements and using them. All that magic – what a feeling! Wait… Thinking about it, that’s what this heat feels like! Does that mean I’m using magic? But how do I use it? And why do I have it? Argh, so many questions without answers!!! I’ve already “used” it, if zooming into the air and shooting myself to a pond counts as using magic. Okay, slow down. Think. What do you know about magic besides jack shit?
.......
...Okay, what do I know about FICTIONAL magic? Well, a couple of fanfics I’ve read mention Sweetie learning telekinesis and supposing this magic I’m using is similar to unicorn magic, hopefully it’ll work.. What was it? “It’s like you have a paw that can grasp and surround things with.” Here goes nothing.
My first subject was a shell near the water. Reaching out with my mind, I tried to direct the magic again. The shell shot somewhere into the forest, leaving a hole in the leaves it passed through. I heard a loud thunk in the distance. I was obviously doing this wrong. Imagining my magic as a hand instead, it tried to pick up another nearby shell. To my never-ending relief, it floated in a pale blue aura. Moving didn’t require much effort either. The shell went exactly where I wanted it. I spent some glee-filled minutes make it zoom about like an airplane, complete with noises inside my head. Can I pick up more than one at a time? I focused on another shell while keeping track of the one I was already holding. I managed it and tried to add more and more. After about an hour of experimentation, I discovered I could hold about 8 at once before I lost focus, 10 if they were in my range of vision. I had yet to test weight and how much I could lift, but that could wait. I spent another half an hour or so flying the shells into each other, playing out a silly airship scene in my head. Finally bored, I turned my thoughts inward.
Hehe, well, that was fun. What now though? I still can’t move or see what’s wrong with me. Can I pick myself up with telekinesis? Then I could hover myself over the water and get a better look at what’s wrong. I suppose it’s worth a shot, though I’m pretty sure I remember Twilight needing an extra spell for that… Oh well. Guess I can try.
Imagining a hand around myself seemed to work. As I imagined my body being picked up, my vision did shift. I was able to move myself. This was good. The warmth was decreasing faster than with the seashells by a lot however. So maybe weight has something to do with it. Or maybe there’s a reason a separate spell is required for self-levitation. Reduces the amount of magic needed? Well, time to go see what’s wrong with myself. Can learn about magic later I floated myself over the pond and looked down. What I saw locked my brain down.
I was a rock.
A bloody crystal formation.
Like the ones you see in a Final Fantasy game to save at, just a giant hunk of multi-faceted crystal.
Words cannot describe how dumbfounded I felt. I’m surprised I even managed to hold my concentration on the telekinesis holding me up. I floated there for at least five minutes, staring at the reflection, just staring. Thoughts refused to flow. Slowly, I came back to myself trying to make sense of the issue at hand. I was about three feet in length and about two feet wide around my center. My edges tapered to a point on either end of my body, which almost looked like two cones joined together at the base, only with a lot of uneven facets instead of a smooth curved surface.
Why am I a crystal? Like, seriously, what the everliving floral undergarments? I’ve had dreams before but never have I been anything other than a human! I guess that explains why I can’t move anything; nothing to move. I’m definitely not in a dream. I guess a coma is still a possibility but I’m feeling less and less like that’s the case. And I’ve been awake for far too long for this to still be considered a hallucination. So is this real then? If it is, how did I become a crystal? Wait, how am I even thinking without a brain!? Does that mean memories are stored in the soul and not the gray matter? I suppose this lets me prove souls exist. Hooray.
During this internal monologue, I levitated myself over to a boulder, leaned myself against it, shifting my vision to look at the sky and released the magic. Speaking of souls, am I even me? Am I just a clone of a personality? ...Well, that doesn’t really matter I guess. “I think therefore I am” and stuff. That applies to the situation right? Even if I am a fake, doesn’t invalidate my right to live. But man am I tired! I didn’t think crystals could get tired, though what do I know about bloody sentient geodes or whatever. Is it because I was using magic? Or maybe because I was using it on myself? I seem to recall Twilight not using self-levitation until she got to the Crystal Empire. Maybe it uses a lot of magic. Or maybe there’s a special way to do magic so that it uses less actually magic. Ugh, I hope don’t have to find mythical pastel ponies to help me. Am I even on Earth? Haaaa, I’ll just... sleep, if that’s even possible. Hopefully I’ll regain magic or something. No clues to go on at the moment.
*Crack*
I spun my vision towards the sound and grabbed a stick with my magic.
Now there’s a cat dude with a spear, staring at me with utter confusion.
“What...is that?”
My day just keeps getting weirder.