The First Journey: Feelings of Etherealism

by Kaille

Chapter 2

~Chapter 2: New World~

I gotta say, that was a little shocking to me at first. Only a little. But, I didn't really care. I wanted to live a hell of a lot more of my life than that, but if I ended now, I couldn't really do anything about it, now could I? As the car started to crumple on the passenger side where I was hit, I simply exhaled and relaxed myself. Nothing I could do. I just let go and closed my eyes.

Now, something I didn't exactly expect happened. That thing I mentioned, where I seem to relax into an out of body experience at martial arts? Apparently, thats more literal than I thought.

I watched as the semi completely drove through my car and plowed it all away, and I stayed in the middle of the intersection.

Now, this is a little disconcerting. Having no body, just being a consciousness in the middle of nowhere, incapable of interacting with anything or anyone?

Yeah, now I'm flipping out.

I could feel myself drifting in and out of consciousness now, but not in a physical sense. Yeah, my body was likely pulp now. But my vision was fading from normal to black and normal again, leaving me feeling incredibly disjointed. Well. More so, I guess. As things drifted, I could somewhat make out people running from their cars to try and help me. Yeah, luck with that. Now my perception is beginning to slow down, and I watch people moving at a snail's pace turn from the car horrified, some even running to a garbage can and relieving themselves of their lunch into it.

I finally seem to start to 'pass out'- I can't help but wonder to myself if its even possible to do so when you are, for lack of a better term, a spirit. Then I somewhat ironically think about how I didn't even think spirits existed.

I blink out of existence.

~

When I 'come to' again, I have a single thought go through my ethereal brain.

Well, fuck, I guess that did happen. I'm dead.

I am drifting in a black space, absolutely nothing around me. Not a single light, no person, nothing to touch, no smells, no tastes, no sound. Just complete and utter void.

As I drift I find myself reflecting on my life, relishing all the best moments, regretting all the things not done. I seem to be there for hours, my mind slowing, and becoming somewhat destabilized, what with the lack of any of my senses.

Then, suddenly, I find myself noticing something very faint with all of my senses.

The taste of iron and plastic.

The sharp smell of something sterilized.

The touch of cloth, and pinch in what I feel to be my arm.

The sound of an incessant and constant beeping, growing ever louder, and a steady rhythmic trickle of liquid.

And the sight of light getting brighter and brighter in front of me, taking up my entire vision through my eyelids.

I open my eyes slowly and find myself staring at a white ceiling. There is a tall metal rod to the left with a bag of clear liquid hanging off it and tubes running from it. It's an I.V.

Well, I guess I'm in a hospital. I think to myself. Maybe my body was actually salvageable?

As I lay there, I notice some pink hair bobbing and moving off to the right. A white hat with a blue rim rested on top of the hair. A nurse. Perhaps I can ask her how bad it is.

I go to speak, but it comes out as a groan. I realized then that the taste of plastic was intubation. I managed to get her attention however, as she suddenly spun around, making a small yelp. Now, despite all that had transpired for me over the last. . . god knows how long, nothing compared, to THIS.

She was a pony.

Nurse Redheart, to be exact.

My eyes widen in complete and utter shock, similar to how hers had, but for a completely different reason.

We stare at each other for a minute before anything happens. We both swallow, and that causes some discomfort for me, so I wince. She notices and suddenly speaks. "Oh, here, let me remove that for you."

The feeling of the tube sliding out of my throat wasn't exactly pleasant, but It was worth it after it was gone. I try to speak again, this time saying something different than what I tried at first. "Am I in Equestria?"

Nurse Redheart turned to look at me after putting down the tube with a somewhat confused look on her face. "Yes. . ?"

I turn from her to the ceiling, completely and utterly floored. How the hell did that happen? "What happened to me? Why am I in the hospital?"

"You got brain damage. We have no idea how, but you wandered here into Ponyville with a dazed look on your face and blood on the side of your head." She said, looking at my right temple.

I reach up to touch the side of my head, and it feels wrong. I look at my hand and see that. . .

It's a hoof.

I sit up slowly and look at my body.

I am a stallion. My Little Pony style, grey skin, blonde tail, wings, pen-shaped cutie mark, . .

What.

The.

Actual.

Fuck.

I look at the nurse with what must have been the most confused look she had ever seen, because her face screwed up in sadness with a little of her own confusion mixed in. "Whats wrong?" She asked me.

"Uh. . . I'm a pony." Was all I managed to say.

She tilted her head sideways a bit, even more confused. "What else would you be?"

"Uh. . . I was human."

Her eyes widen, and she smiles a bit. "You must have had a very interesting dream when you were asleep. Humans are just an old marestale. They don't exist."

I look at her, then look at my body again. "Sure. . ." Was all I managed to say.

Her eyes softened as she saw none of the confusion disappearing. "Is there anything I can do to help you?" She asked, worry still in her voice.

I look up to her again. "Does anyone know who I am?"

She shook her head, and a little bit of fear actually crept into her voice. "No. You came out of the Everfree Forest. Not even Zecora recognized you."

I look down again. "Thats what I thought." I mumbled.

She continued to stare at me. "What is your name?"

I look up again. "Well, I don't have a pony name. I have a human one."

Her frown returned. "You are really set on that, arent you?"

It was my turn to continue staring. "Yes. My name is Connor."

Her face went a little funny. "Thats an odd name."

I snorted and smiled a bit. "Thanks."

She smiled a bit as well after seeing a pleasent expression on my face for once.

"Okay, how long have I been unconscious?"

She looked at the chart next to her. "Hmm. . . roughly a month."

"Okay." I look around, seeing what else is in the room. There is a vacant bed a couple metres to the right of me, just past Nurse Redheart. "May I get up and walk around a bit?"

She looks at me with a little worry. "Being down for a month, your muscles have degenerated a fair amount. You will need aid to do so."

"Thats fine. I am just getting a little restless." I replied, and slowly brought myself to the edge of the bed. The Nurse grabbed a walker and brought it over to me. I glanced at her appreciatively, and after fumbling for a few seconds, trying to figure out the best method to make this work, I rested my forelegs on the top bar. I slid one hind leg to the ground, and then the other.

Moving was incredibly difficult. It felt like walking under two or three times more gravity, everything sluggish and requiring intense effort on my behalf. It also didn't help that I was not used to walking on hooves and having reverse joint knees. I slowly got the hang of walking with these legs, but it was still incredibly tiring. I spent 10 minutes practicing, and when I looked up, I had gone maybe 3 or 4 feet. This. . . is going to take some work. "I take it I am going to start to receive intensive therapy to get myself back in shape?"

"Yes, that would be correct. When would you like to start?"

I look her right in the eyes. "As soon as possible."

~

Luckily, the brain damage did not affect motor function, and it only took a couple days to reach the point of being able to walk at a senior pony's pace. Nurse Redheart was with me at all times to make sure I was okay, and I was now actually going through the halls of the hospital, seeing what the place was like.

Today, however, was kind of a special event. They finally trusted me in my abilities enough to take me out of the hospital for a small walk through town. I was somewhat excited for this. I always loved the character of the town Ponyville in the show, and I was going to see it in person. To put it simply, a brony's dream come true.

We reached the hospital doors, and the Nurse pushed one open for me. At first the sunlight was a little too strong for my eyes, being in a building for so long, but I adjusted quickly. It's not like they left me in darkness 24/7; there were windows.

Once I finished adjusting, I simply stared in wonder. It was more beautiful in person.

I could see the Carousel Boutique above some of the houses, Town hall, The Library, Sugar Cube Corner, the Apple families orchard across the hills in the distance. . . I couldn't believe it all.

We started our walk, and happily, we came to the library first. A chance to meet Twilight? I'll take it. "Would we be able to stop inside for a moment? I have a passion for books."

Nurse Redheart smiled. "Of course."

Comments

[TheArcher20]

seems good so far. you got my like and for now my fav. good luck to writing the next chapter to you

[Kaille]

798670
Thank you very much! Yeah, my spacing between paragraphs has felt odd to me. You should have seen it in the first drafts.

[TheArcher20]

hey mine was worse when i started posting because i used notepad to write it and i just copy pasted it over to the site before realizing how bad it ended up in post

[Kaille]

800093
Oh, I did write mine in another program. A cheap free one called TextEdit. I typed it up, copied and pasted to here, edited, saved, edited, saved, published. lol

[TheArcher20]

yeah bad news for me is that i didnt edit and save multiple times after copy pasting it over. so i had to spend 2 and a half hours going through and correcting my grammarless ass *this was before i got a proofreader* so i learned my lesson

[Kaille]

800447
lol, nice. But no, I like to think I at least have a pretty decent grasp on the english language and know how to use it. My biggest problem is often circumlocution. But I'll have to check out your story soon. Right now I'm writing Chapter 3, so gimme a bit.