Imposing, majestic, antiquated, and spooky; all were terms used for the large house standing like a silent sentinel at the top of the hill. No-one remembered who had owned it, no-one remembered who had ever lived within, yet still it sat undisturbed, slowly surrendering to the ravages of time. Some threw the name ‘heritage building’ as if to validate its existence while others tried to ignore its presence. Other than the hapless council worker who would have to trim the lawn, there was no-one who ventured near.
That is, unless you were a child.
Long used by the younger members of the town it had become almost a coming of age tradition to sneak inside the house. With its weather damaged exterior it made the perfect dare for children to use against each other. Normally it was a simple challenge to run inside the front and back out, others however would be more intricate such as to head into one of the upstairs’ rooms, to then show your presence by one of the third story windows to prove your worth.
Others, such as the one Viktoria found she was completing fell more in the mid-range of challenges.
“Why do I have to do this?” Her voice was kept quiet just in case the house was haunted, not that she believed the others for a second. She most definitely wasn’t remaining quiet so no spirits of the damned would hear her, she was fourteen and that wasn’t something a girl her age believed in.
Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Where is that dumb…” Trailing off Viktoria continued to slip through the rooms and only slightly winced with each creaking floor board. Each step thrust dust through the air, dancing tauntingly through the rays of sunlight that pierced through the empty rooms. She was unsure why she had let them talk her into this, she had been at the orphanage since she could remember and yet this was her fourth foray into the creaky old dump.
She mulled over the possibility it perhaps was due to the trouble she recently found herself in for coloring her hair brunette despite being denied permission. Singling yourself out generally made you a target for the other children… that went without question. Viktoria sighed as she continued to hunt for the throwing disc, silently complaining under her breath how it wasn’t even her that had led to this predicament.
Creeping into one of the living rooms she found the toy lying at an angle against the wall, presumably where it had eventually ended up having been thrown in from the street. Looking both ways just in the off chance there was a malicious ghoul waiting to attack her, she crept into what at some point could have been a bedroom. Long stripped of furniture there was only a vague idea to go off, although Viktoria felt she had spent far too long in the creepy house as it is if she was now considering how best to decorate a room caked in dust.
Retrieving the Frisbee she looked outside the window, a one finger salute given to a few of her peers who jeered at her for taking so long. With a flick of her wrist she sent the disc to sail serenely over the front yard through the window that had long ago given up its dreams of holding a pane of glass.
A few good natured insults were also directed up in her direction, each returned with a smile on Viktoria’s face. If there was one thing the orphanage had brought her was that despite it all they treated each other like family; a wildly dysfunctional family maybe, but one none the less. Even if Anton and Johann got on her nerves more than the others, especially with sending her to retrieve the flying disc in the first place.
“Okay… now to get… out…of-“
Strangely enough her head was drawn to look through the doorway into another room, one which had some form of furnishing held within. An old antique mirror rested against the wall, designed with ornate carvings that would have been beautiful back in the day that now had long worn down or chipped off to a shade of their former glory. Most impressive however was the glass held within, it was dusty but remarkably still mostly intact, somehow surviving decades of children invading the house without any giving in to the urge to smash it.
Curiosity eventually got the better of her, sneakers kicking up a cloud of dust with each step as she entered the adjoining room. Approaching the mirror she ran long nails down the surface, long furrows dug into the dust as her reflection peeked back through the now visible glass. However, Viktoria also learned that the glass wasn’t quite as entire as she presumed it to be as her finger slipped over a crack, a sharp inhale followed by German profanity exiting her lips.
Sucking on her finger in a reflexive gesture she instantly regretted it as she got both the taste of iron within her mouth mixed with the not so pleasing sampling of dust. After another few curse words were issued she blinked as a single bead of crimson rolled lazily down the mirror. Viktoria understandably was definitely not ready for the glass underneath to ripple as the drop of blood rolled down, nor was she ready for the dust to be burnt entirely off its surface when the mirror emitted a flash bright enough for the girl to shield her eyes with a forearm.
Blinking the afterimage from her eyes she felt rather scared, completely unsure of what had just occurred. As her eyes refocused she noticed something else, something that made her breath be caught in her throat. Falling onto her backside she stared with wide eyes at the mirror, her breathing increasing in pace with growing anxiety.
It wasn’t her reflection.
Staring back at her was what could be generously described as a horse. Wide expressive blue eyes shone with fear, gazing back at her as the creature sat upon its backside in a mockery of her own current position. Viktoria raised an arm as if to ward off the beast only to blink in shock as the equine-thing raised a foreleg to mimic the gesture.
“W-What… what the hell is?” Confusion ran rampant through the teen’s mind as her frazzled brain picked up more startling details. The blonde mane and tail were the same shade as her natural hair color, and strangely the fur that covered the beast was the same as her current dye job. Undoubtedly however, the most disturbing thing were the eyes; clearly harbouring intelligence and… undeniably feminine looking, staring back at her as they quivered. Familiarity gnawed at her, they were the eyes she saw in the bathroom mirror every morning if somewhat larger.
There was also the fact whenever Viktoria spoke the horse-thing moved its own mouth as if mocking her. The girl was unable to run, her eyes transfixed on the sight before her, scared were she to turn her back, to even move she would be pounced upon or worse. Seconds felt like hours until she noticed one small, but no less vital fact that pounded through the fear that clasped her attention.
It was mimicking her, right down to blinking at the same time.
“Oh… this… this is a trick right? Right?” Ignoring the fact her voice broke several times, Viktoria worked hard to convince herself it was merely an illusion of sorts, a magic trick. Emitting a loud laugh she watched the reflection do the same, convincing her she had discovered the truth. “Okay, good one… you all got me… that’s some freaky stuff right there you know?”
Reaching forward she touched the glass as if to prove to herself it was all as she had spoken and there was no creature waiting for her guard to be lowered. Slowly her fingers trailed down the cool and thankfully firm surface, watching as the horse creature did the same with a front hoof. She noticed a few things now the fear was abating somewhat, primarily how the creature looked in an overall feminine way, especially the eyes… but then again they were copies of her own after all, not that she would admit that; that would be admitting she had fallen for this clever illusion. There was also how its mane looked styled like hair, plus the two wings on the back of the beast were a nice touch all things considered.
“Ah, a winged horse? Couldn’t just freak me out with a proper one… no this is great guys… really good joke.” Figuring she owed the others a punch in the arm, a standard gesture of thanks for the wonderful surprise, she attempted to stand only to find that her fingers touching the mirror wouldn’t move.
Turning her head she looked as the mare - as if it was a female horse then that is what it must be - panicked at the same point she was, trying to pull its hoof from the surface as well.
“O-Okay… not funny anymore.” Fear bubbled within the girl’s body as she tugged harder to no avail. Much to her disbelief she watched as her fingernails slowly slipped into the glass, the surface rippling as if it were liquid once again. Any attempt to struggle only led to more of her fingers being sucked in, the pace increasing as with a scream of terror her hand was pulled forcefully through.
“Help! Someone help!” Her frantic cries for help got a few confused retorts from outside until the pulling increased, cold numbness overtaking whatever was already through the surface of the mirror. Tears rolled down her cheeks as Viktoria felt her elbow go in next, her efforts to free herself doing the complete opposite.
Opening her mouth she tried to scream only to be tugged off balance, the motion pulling her inside the mirror fully as she fell into a sea of nothingness. A sliver of light shone above her, within she could barely make out the interior of the house, yet it made no sense, her mind racing for an answer it couldn’t possibly formulate. Reaching to try and access the portal home she instead felt her skin itch prior to aching, her body becoming unresponsive as pain enveloped her.
Viktoria felt agony lance through her skull, along her spine until with a sharp jolt she was blissfully rendered unconscious.
~~~
A soft breeze washed over Viktoria’s hair, teasing the strands as she felt the lingering effects of the nightmare pass. Squeezing her eyelids shut the girl recognised the sensation of grass under her, yet her confused mind struggled with the fact she felt something else, something warm like a soft blanket enveloping her body.
Noticeably her tongue felt thick within her mouth, finding herself unable to move it around the way she desired while her jaw felt decidedly stiff. Continuing to lie upon her side she wondered if she had hit her mouth sometime during the day, yet she didn’t remember doing so. The wind playing over her body was wonderful, relaxing, although that was the point her mind caught up to current events.
Her eyes snapped open as she found herself gazing at a small muzzle pushing from her face, disbelief turning to horror as she saw the brunette fur now covering her explaining the warmth, the nostrils flaring with distress. An attempt to scream was met with her jaws and tongue rebelling, refusing to work as she desired while she kicked awkwardly with her legs, her arms trying to find purchase.
Her body felt strange, alien as she writhed on the grass, eyes wide in absolute panic. Looking at why her arms were refusing to move as desired revealed the reason why; where there should be arms and hands were instead the forelegs of a horse. A strangled groan managed to emanate from her throat, the only sound she could construe as she struggled, tried to get away from this waking nightmare.
“Nnngh!” The sounds she produced were unintelligible, her mouth refusing to work as she remembered it, as it by all rights should still do. Looking over her shoulder, or what should have been a shoulder Viktoria instead saw two wings twitching sporadically, the impulses she felt in her brain making sense now. She was trying to move wings she didn’t even know she had!
Tears rolled down her furry cheeks as she saw her body, her naked yet furred body lying on the grass. She saw the hind legs of an equine along with a long blonde tail protruding from her backside, another explanation for the strange phantom limb she was trying to move. Her mind fought with this information before she tried to stand again only to have her legs rebel and move completely contrary to how she wished them to, ending up stumbling and falling flat onto her altered face.
A strange strangled sob escaped her… her muzzle as she mentally tried to scream it was all a dream. The pain made her very aware that she was only deluding herself; her face clearly aching from where she had smashed it into the ground. For several long minutes she tried to scream out how unfair this all was, to rage, and to gnash her teeth. Nothing but crying and a disgusting slurred sob would emit from her throat, everything about her body feeling off, muscle memory conflicting with her current state.
Unable to do much else she eventually took note of her surroundings through blurry vision once the tears stopped, which in turn found herself near a clear lake of water. Trees grew in the distance and flowers bloomed, which in any other situation she might have found a charming landscape, yet right now Viktoria only desired one thing. Eyeing the lake tantalisingly close she tried to pull herself towards it. She had to know what she looked like, to see if her suspicions were correct.
Unable to get her limbs to work in any operational capacity she instead opted to bend her foreleg, the fetlock bending as she tried to pull herself along. With painful slowness she tugged herself towards the water, dragging her mass along the ground. After a few attempts she gave a cry of pain, something being bent at the wrong angle causing the distress. Looking over herself she saw one of her wings pinned under her body, wincing as she realised at once it was the source of her discomfort.
With fresh tears matting her fur she moved her limbs just enough to push off and free the wing, moving onto her belly instead. Reaching forward with a foreleg, she grit her teeth in frustration, trying to get it to move but having to settle for awkward pawing at the ground once more. Inch by inch she made the distance, her back legs kicking ineffectively, unable to comprehend how they worked with the different bend.
Viktoria was not about to cease her attempts though; despite what was going on she had to know the truth. Slowly, painfully, she made her way to the lake edge, pulling herself to see over the edge. Her mouth moved but only slurred words passed her lips as she took in the reflection gazing back at her. The blue eyes were hers, well the colour was but everything else about them was wrong.
Fresh tears dripped into the water, mercifully disrupting the reflection albeit too late. She knew what she had seen.
The image from the mirror had once again been staring back at her.
She tried to scream but couldn’t, her mouth again rebelling as instead a guttural cry came out, which admittedly was not quite as satisfying as she desired. Instead, defeated she flopped against the grass, tears rolling down the fur upon her cheeks unbidden. Her wing was once more pinned yet she didn’t care, her teeth gritting as she tried to ignore the pain, lashing out at what her body had become.
How long Viktoria rested on the grass she couldn’t say, eventually however she gave in and shifted to free her wing. Regretting her earlier impulsiveness she found herself flexing the feathery limb through much trial and error, trying to ease the painful throbbing. Sniffling afterwards she peered through tears, unable to even formulate how to move an arm, no… foreleg to clear her vision. Another thought pushed through her mind as she blinked rapidly, another cruel twist playing out. She thought her sight had been blurred due to the tears, but now she realised her contacts were absent. An attempt at a bitter laugh instead led to something guttural and in no way close to the desired sound.
Not only was she now a winged horse, but almost as if done with a cruel sense of humor her eyesight remained unchanged and without glasses or contacts the world would remain slightly unfocused. Near-sighted and a feminine pony-creature left in a field by herself and unsure where the closest town was, she wasn’t even sure if in fact she was still within Germany. Yet, Viktoria was not about to just succumb to despair and give up, she had been called many things but a quitter was not one of them. After lying on the grass a little longer she sniffed deeply and struggled to get the essential four limbs under herself.
Several attempts were had but each resulted in her falling back upon her side or stomach. Frustration began to override her fear, her forelegs still felt somewhat like her arms but with the very awkward and uncomfortable feeling much akin to pushing on the tips of her fingers whenever she stood upright. Her rear legs were even worse with the altered bend and a similar situation with the hind-hooves feeling like the tips of her toes. It was overall a balancing act she would have never had to endure as a girl which in turn made it even more confusing in her present situation. Her centre of balance was also completely off but with effort she was learning to use her wings to try and balance.
Several more attempts were given until with shaking limbs she managed to get herself upright. Remaining in such a stance gave her a sense of accomplishment although the daunting task of graduating onto movement was now lurking over the horizon. She couldn’t remain in her current location, she had no clue as to where she was let alone what dangers she might face. Wolves or bears might find her and given her current appearance, no matter how bizarre it looked she would probably be considered a tasty meal for any carnivore.
Pushing aside concerns of why this had happened to her, Viktoria instead grit her teeth and moved her tongue about her mouth. She knew speaking would be difficult, but if she were to prove she wasn’t just a beast she would need to learn. On the grand scale of things at that present moment it was a low priority, first and foremost was to get out of her location and to find civilisation which in turn hopefully would bring help with it.
Moving a limb she tried to turn only to start to topple. Panic set in as she then began to overcompensate and quickly found herself falling, unfortunately in the direction of the water resulting in the cold grip of the lake claiming her. As luck would have it the water was deceptively deep leading the girl turned pegasus to thrash her limbs and wings as she fought to stay above surface. Terror quickly gripped her as she struggled to try and get a foreleg onto the ground tantalisingly close, yet found herself unable to get a firm grip to tug herself up or even to keep afloat.
Further struggling only tired Viktoria out as she felt the icy grip of fear clasp tighter around her heart, the girl’s body slowly sinking as she only accomplished exhausting herself. A final attempted scream for help only managed to create a horrendous muffled sound and a mouthful of water. Viktoria felt herself slowly slipping under the turbulent waters as she realised with cruel certainty that she was going to drown.
Gazing up towards the surface she felt her struggles lessen as her body continued to sink, her lungs aching as oxygen was deprived from within. With her mind reflecting on her life up until that point she certainly did not expect to be saved, not that she was wishing to die. Equally unexpected was her saviour owning two blue-grey forelegs that reached in and grasped her limp fore-hooves. Feeling herself being tugged upwards she broke the lake’s hold only to cough up water while being pulled half onto the grass lining the bank. Her lungs screamed at her, but Viktoria was only grateful for the pain as it reminded her she was still alive. Slowly she calmed herself down, her body recovering as she opened her eyes to see who, or what had saved her.
“Wow, are you okay?”
Viktoria blinked as she took in the sight of two lilac-coloured eyes shining with concern. The blue-grey pegasus that stood before her was as female as she was, pale green hair topped with a pink ribbon as her tail flicked behind reflecting her mood.
“Uuugnh.” Viktoria’s response was less than intelligible as she grit her teeth. The mare, obviously not understanding turned to regard someone else.
“Sis, I don’t think this filly was playing around.”
In the process of ejecting more water with chest-wracking coughs, Viktoria noticed another flying horse hovering in the sky. Being outside the range of her effective vision all she could make out on the mare was the fur colour being similar to the one who had saved her. That and she had spikey mostly white hair with matching tail.
"So... she fell into the lake by standing?" The new arrival sounded understandably perplexed, yet her tone of voice still held concern laced within the obvious bafflement. Viktoria continued to take in large mouthfuls of air, not trusting herself to speak but curious as to why the horses were speaking German. It did thankfully allow her to understand them, if only adding more questions to her attention.
"I... guess so." The one who saved her shifted on hooves before bending down with a warm smile. "Hi, my name is Flitter and this is my sister Cloudchaser... and... oh... you are not okay."
The cheerful tone quickly turned into genuine worry as Viktoria tried to stand with predictable results. Groaning from where she had fallen she saw the two mares share a look, now both close enough to at least have her eyes focus on them.
"She... looks really beaten up." Cloudchaser bit her lower lip as she leaned in, Viktoria not quite comprehending what they were saying. A gentle touch of a hoof to her side garnered a small shiver and whimper as she felt humiliated, confused, scared. "Did... she fall or something?"
The two sisters exchanged glances before the one who had introduced herself as Flitter bent down. "What's your name?"
"Vaah... doooreeeasssshal." Viktoria's attempt was, compared to her earlier tries a remarkable improvement in speaking. Unfortunately it was still largely unintelligible as tears of frustration formed in the corners of her eyes. She tried to slam a hand on the ground and found only a fore hoof awkwardly moving, only increasing her anger.
"I... um... didn't quite catc- ow!" Cloudchaser rubbed her side with a wing from where Flitter's own had struck her prior to the pale-teal maned mare speaking instead.
"It's okay... we'll um... we'll get you someplace safe." Viktoria still could not believe her own form, let alone two other talking winged ponies speaking to her, but the idea of going anywhere not where she currently was sounded appealing. Viktoria eventually managed to give a faint nod of her head, her muscles and body exhausted from the recent trauma. Part of her was also confused as to their apparent concern over her appearance, mention of her altered body looking 'beaten up' causing a slight spark of worry.
Cloudchaser, seeming to wish to make up for whatever had earned her the wing slap bent down and moved with surprising ease to get Viktoria upon her back. While not much smaller than the winged horse carrying her, Viktoria found she was barely a burden to the pegasus as the two sisters engaged in a conversation where to take her.
Drained from her near-death experience, adding onto the trauma of what occurred - mentally along with physically – Viktoria took the time to rest her eyes. Their voices continued to speak but she had stopped paying attention as she felt her exhausted mind grow clouded. Sleep sung its siren song from the recesses of her consciousness and she willingly gave in as the adrenaline drained from her system.
If only to escape the nightmare she had found herself waking into and the body that was not her own.