I woke up on the silvery sand of a beach. The waves washed over me lazily and the water was cold; sweet, crisp salt air wafted through my nostrils - it smelt weird. Clearer maybe? I guess that made no sense. Everything was beyond sense though.
Because I had made it. I was pretty sure I had finally made it into Equestria.
At first, all I could do was stare up at the night sky. The moon was white as silk, and the light it produced was incredible. The stars shone strongly, so much so that I could see their full shapes, glowing in the darkness. The air was warm and fresh; weird for an early spring night.
Breezes ran over me, chilling me to the bone where the salt water was washing over me. I had to get up, otherwise I might drown. The night was low tide wasn't it?
Is it low tide here now?
I tried to move, but every single one of my limbs screamed with pain. I winced. My fingers and toes seemed numb. Trying to wiggle them just meant more throbbing. Something edged into my back.
Huh? Why.. can't I... move? I thought, worried. Am I paralysed or something? But don't those paraplegic people never feel anything? I... I... whats going on?
I closed my eyes, which was also painful, but it took me away from everything for a few moments. I made my mind clear and still. And all of sudden, the numbness started to ebb away.
But I still couldn't feel my fingers... so I numbly lifted an arm up.
I will never forget the feeling that rushed through me at the sight of my hand.
Well, hoof...
"Agh!" I screamed, then overbalanced in the sand and toppled over. Which, to be honest, was a feat in itself, seeing how my clothes now tangled around my long limbs, of which, ended with neat hooves. I muffled a few more screams, struggled in the too-big clothes and got a head full of sand for my slightly spastic troubles. I flopped my gangling head back and got a face full of thick hair. A mane.
A mane?! What is this crazy world?
Eventually, I stopped, and just laid there, my rasping, panicked breath breaking the tranquility of the waves.
I... I'm a pony.
How was I a pony? Surely that stupid amulet didn't transform me or something; how do I change back? I did not want to be a pony! Why was I a pony?!
Hysteria slowly took over, and I rolled around on the ground in a panic. It took a rather large and aggressive wave to wash over me to snap me out of it.
Calm down! Oh my god, Cassie.
I sat there and gasped in air for a few moments and then wildly tried to compose myself - so, shaking myself out of it, I slowly and painfully began to give myself orders.
Okay. First one. Now how do I get out of these clothes? Um...
How was I supposed to do this? I didn't have any hands. Wait... my teeth. Damn.
Firstly my skirt. That was easy enough. It was hanging loosely from my knees (or whatever they're called now...), and had a few strands of tail stuck to it. The rest of the tail was stuck up the shirt, which I pulled out easily. It was exactly like my normal, well, human hair, in the slight waves it portrayed. It also seemed the same chocolate brown color, but had several highlights through it. Although the moon was insanely bright, it was sort of hard to see by, so I wasn't completely sure. But it was fascinating. The tail also moved from side to side and up and down, and I swear I played with the silly thing for ten minutes, it was that entertaining.
I also examined my fur. It seemed to be a pale tan color, and it covered everywhere; my neck, my legs, my bare flank and my stomach. Literally everywhere. It also sparkled with the sea salt forming on it that was from my drenching.
I looked back at my flank. Was there supposed to be something there?
I remembered once, when Tempera and I were talking about cutie marks.
*******
"So when you fulfill your destiny, you will get a cutie mark!" said Tempera Glow excitedly. She looked at her blank flank and sighed.
"I really wish I could get mine."
"Really?" asked Cassie. "Do you really want a stamp on your butt? Is it like a tattoo, and it will never come off?"
"Yeah."
"My mum would kill me if I came home one day with a tattoo on my butt." retorted Cassie.
Temp laughed.
*******
It was unexplainable this stuff. It was weird. Its just... well, so strange to me, who has spent fourteen years of her life on two legs with hands, but it was also jarring in a way that
I spent seven years of my life telling myself that this was not real. It made me sorta depressed.
I was okay again soon after though; due to all the buttons and stuff on the stained white school shirt (which I would never in a million years be able to undo with my hooves), I had to basically rip it off. Although the sea salt the shirt was caked in tasted horrible, it gave me immense pleasure to rip my school uniform shirt to pieces.
As I spat the last of it out of my mouth, I felt a rising pleasure coming up through my back. I heard a few bits of my spinal cord popping, which felt good, but sort of itchy. All of a sudden, my back was tingly... and I felt my back just unfold or something. I don't know. It may sound crazy, but I guess turning into a pony was even more so, so nothing was really was all that crazy anymore.
I felt funny and also a little bit faint for a second, but then righted myself; I then swung my head around and looked. A beautiful sensation rolled up through me.
Something I had never expected to ever be attached to, stared back at me.
Wings.
Oh sweet holy lord, I had wings!
Craning my long neck around, I stared at them, and felt joy that I haven't felt for such a very long time. They were perfect. Although the feathers were salty and damp, they were amazingly defined, and each of them quivered in the moonlight, alive in their own way. They matched my tan fur color up to about half of the wing, and then started fading to my dark brown hair color at the tips of the feathers.
I couldn't believe it. I wasn't just a pony. In fact, I was never just a pony.
Yes; I, Cassie Quattuor, human turned horse... was a pegasus!