Boom
A rare feeling
Boom!
I am covered in a flash of rainbow-laced light and lightning in a moment of confusion and vertigo.
Spinning, rolling, tumbling.
Splash!
I had tumbled headlong into a lake in the middle of the day. I had no idea where I was, or how I had gotten here, but my first priority was to get some air before I drowned. I could see the blue sky cradling the sun in wavy warps from below the water just before erupting through the surface of the lake and shaking my hair out of my face. It had grown longer, somehow, magically, in an instant as I was grabbed and thrown from my world into this crazy alternate dimension.
Was it another dimension? It sure felt like that from the texture and the feeling of the membranous cavern I had just spent a couple seconds in on my way here. I was, for a split second, staring straight into the sun.
I turned my head quickly away, and started a short swim towards land. No one was here. I was alone in on the small beach as I walked on my hands and knees towards the grass, just getting enough of my bearings to stand on 2 feet and look around. This was a very flat and grassy place, besides the lake, but there appeared to be a dirt path to somewhere in the distance.
Thankfully, I was still wearing my t-shirt and jeans, but I had kicked off my socks and shoes in the lake, or perhaps lost them on the way here. I didn’t mind though. The path was dry dirt, and there weren’t any sharp rocks or pebbles for me to step on. In fact, the path looked very well worn. There were tracks here and there, but not human ones. Obviously, people on horseback used this path. They must have dismounted on the beach.
This meant I wasn’t in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps a city or a town? The only towns I knew of that still had horses were full of wealthy inhabitants. I was quickly reminded of my own horse. Not a horse, per say. It was an old, beat up truck with scratched paint and a little rust. I had bought it off my parents for a few hundred dollars, and it had suited my purposes just fine. I had left it, and my world behind.
But wherever this place was, the presence of expensive rides like actual horses meant that the town where I was headed would cater to the finer demands of anyone with a good amount of money. Food. Beds. Maybe a show and a good bottle of booze to make my time here richer. I pulled my wallet out of my drenched pants and opened it up. Yes. I still had about a hundred in twenties left relatively dry with some random coins rolling around in there.
I put my wallet back in my wet pocket and continued walking. I walked for about 20 minutes before a town opened up in front of me. This place wasn’t as flat as I had thought, because there was a slope that had hidden this town from me at the lake. As I approached, I noticed that there were no people walking around. Nobody anywhere.
But, something was walking towards me, appearing from behind one of the buildings. It was…a pony? A white pony with big anime-ish eyes and a styled purple mane. Now I knew I was in another dimension. She stopped and stared at me, her jaw slacked open, just for a moment before trotting gingerly towards me. I was unprepared for this. This didn’t look like any kind of horse or pony I’d ever seen. Then she spoke.
“Welcome to Ponyville, dear,..um, sir!”
Now it was my turn to be open mouthed. This..animal..was speaking to me? In English no less? Not just that, but with a refined accent?
I closed my jaw with my right hand and cleared my throat.
“Ughm! Yes, my name is Matthew.”
“What a strange name. Hmm. My name is Rarity. You seem to be new around here. Oh! I should take you immediately to the Princess! She always knows what to do when new..um..races..come calling. Come along!”
As I followed her further into town, I noticed her spiraling tail was waving slightly back and forth. It was strangely hypnotizing, but I was just getting used to watching her walk. She acted just like a human, really, but there was something cartoony and artsy about her. I began to question if I was really looking at an animal or not. She was not unaffected by my eyes on her.
“I take it you’ve seen ponies before?”
“Uh, no. Not like this. Not like you.”
“Well! I never!”
“No, no, I don’t mean that in a bad way. It’s just that ponies, where I’m from, don’t…”
“Well? Don’t what? Spit it out!”
“Don’t…talk.”
She was silent for a moment, and has stopped walking. I barely noticed before I almost ran into her. What an odd sensation. I had walked right into her swaying tail. For a moment, I started to get a little aroused by the feeling. Weird. I quickly jumped back and shook off the feeling.
“S-sorry!” I stammered out.
She looked back at me with a look that was a mixture of confusion and worry. I thought I almost caught her blushing for a moment, but I missed my chance to verify it as she turned her head back to the path, which had gotten a bit more…paved with pebbles as we had entered town.
“I think you’ll find the lot of us ponies very talkative, Matthew.”
“Um..yeah.”
We continued to walk through town, and I began to see more and more ponies peek out from doorways and windows. Where were all the people?
“I don’t suppose,” I managed to utter “There are any humans, here, like me?”
“Oh, is that what you are, darling. I was getting worried not being able to place you in my Beastiary of Equestrian Creatures.”
Beastiary? I was…a beast? A creature? Somehow I didn’t like how she had turned the tables on this little encounter. Suddenly, I felt very much alone, and very immoral for not thinking of Rarity as a person.
“We’re here.”
I had somehow failed to notice a crystalline palace in the center of town, looking as if it had somehow grown instead of being built.
“I’m sure Princess Twilight will be happy to meet you. You are the first…human we’ve yet to encounter.”
A lump appeared in my throat. I began to think that this place would change me forever.