đ
I watched Robinwind lift himself up all the way for the first time. His legs were shaky, just like a newborn foal. But I could also see the strength there, too. Even though he was the same size as me, there was a solidness to how he was built. His front leg trembled even more as he took a slow step forward. Was that sweat on his face? Goodness, heâs having a hard time.
âI thinkâŚâ I chirped. âWait, nevermind.â Before I gave him advice, I better experiment myself to see if Iâm right, shouldnât I?
I pushed myself up. Same shaky legs. No, no. Not like that. I closed my eyes and took a breath. Rather than thinking about my legs, I instead just thought about getting up. It worked. I opened my eyes. Okay, now for the next step. Go over there!
My head bent forward a little. Okay, not too helpful. Hoof, move! I lifted it, and felt it shake a little. No, thatâs not right. Instinct! Instinct! Let your instinct take over!
âHuh, before I could move by not even thinking about it. So thenâŚâ I muttered. I want to go over there, and Iâm happy! I bounded towards a tree. Okay, thatâs fast. Stop, please. And there I was, four feetâno, four hooves on the ground. And Iâm next to the tree!
âHa! It works!â I backed up to turn around and trotted back over to Robin. Whoa, super close. Ponies are fast. âYou just have to let your instincts take over! Donât think about your hooves, just let them do their thing.â I gave a little hop as I chattered.
Robinwind stood quiet and still for a moment. He blinked. âOkay, nothing happening.â
I giggled and gave another hop. âFor me, it's just because of how happy I am. I just think, âOh, Iâm happy,â and pounce over to wherever I want! See?â I hopped around him, circling him. I hope that isnât annoying. Okay, letâs try something new. I marched forward, like a little army pony. One hoof, two hoof! Ha, it works!
âHorses start walking almost immediately after theyâre born. So I guess it being instinct makes sense,â Robin mused. âOkayâŚâ I watched as he glared at the closest tree⌠and then shot forth like a bullet! âŚand faceplanted straight into the tree.
Robin peeled off the trunk and plopped back to the ground. Wait, are those actual birds? âWhat the h-h-hay? What the hay? Hay?â Whatever. I bounded over to him. Yep, actual tiny yellow birds were flapping in a circle around his head, and his eyes were spinning out of sync for each other. Not the only derp, am I? I waved a hoof around his head and watched the birds give annoyed chirps before dispersing and recollecting on a tree branch.
âAre you okay?â I asked Robin.
âI want to go home,â He grumbled.
âThatâs probably a yes.â I put a hoof on his back. âYou actually did really good! I havenât even moved that fast yet! You just have to get used to⌠getting to things faster than youâd think youâd get there.â
Robin made a deep rumbling sound.
***
It took us several minutes of practicing walking (is walking even the right word?) Well, we practiced trotting, too.
With my back turned to Robin I tried bending my legs to see what they were capable of. My âwrists,â âelbows,â and shoulders could all swing 360 degrees. So cool. Just watching it, along with the sensation; I could feel the joints moving about. It was like watching a Claymation film for the first time, or messing with play-Doh snakes.
But eventually I realized I could curve my entire leg to make an arc. The joints and bones interlocked like a ripple up a chain. Except I could feel it. I wanted to show Robin, but definitely not right now; he wasnât ready. I would also wait before mentioning that he had been bending his legs the wrong way without even realizing it. Of course, that reminded me of the other things I wanted to try.
âLetâs see here, how does this workâŚâ
I turned my head to my left. Dang. I could swing it further than before without feeling strained. I was now facing solidly to my left side. There was just the slightest feeling of stiffness. But it still felt likeâŚ
I I turned my head further. Further. A little more. A little more. I was now facing directly behind myself. I watched Robin practice walking slowly, methodical in each step he took. There was a tension building in my neck, but no pain. I felt like a solid piece of rubber being twisted. But let's go a little more.
Twist, twist⌠Does this mean Iâm still going on my left, or am I now turning on my right? I guess itâs the left side of my body because thatâs the directionâno, that doesnât make sense, because thereâs my right shoulder. I guess humans donât have to deal with this question because weâre always facing forward.
And I was facing forward again. I just turned my neck 360 degrees, and Iâm still alive. Ha! I smiled. A warmth built up in my chest⌠barrel? Is it the barrel on the inside, too? Whatever. I felt⌠is this what accomplishment feels like? And with that, I lost my focus.
The tension in my neck was released, and my head quickly spun around, and with a SNAP my neck was back to normal.
âOh, that felt weird.â I blinked and simply sat still to process what had happened. It reminded me of when I, of all things, went horseback riding at summer camp. The horse I rode decided to buck another horse behind us. I went from perpendicular to the ground, parallel, then back to perpendicular so fast I didnât even understand what had happened until the kid behind me told me so. Candy was that horseâs name. I loved her, but oh did she ever challenge me at every point she could. But I liked that. I think we had mutual respect by the time camp was over.
I twisted my neck left, and then right again, and then shook my head to get out the stiff feeling. The curls bounced back and forth. My curls! Such a divine sensation! Eeeee! Goosebumps down my neck!
I leaned backwards to plop on my back, though I had to adjust for my tail. My tail! I had a tail! That beautiful sky! I sighed and lifted up a hoof into the air. Different shades, both⌠pretty. Everything gave me euphoria. I should have tried harder to appreciate life back home. Thereâs nothing about being a human that keeps you from laying down in the grass and soaking up the sun. Nor about being a boy. Why couldnât I simply be happy with what I had? Because⌠because⌠I searched my memories and searched my past. A web and tangled threads of action and reaction, choices and consequences. I tried, didnât I, God?
I shouldnât be happy now, should I? I donât deserve it. I didnât do anything to be happy. I swallowed, and felt tears forming in my eyes. Really? I used to never cry! Even when I wanted to. It must be this body. I let the tears flow freely down the sides of my cheeks. After everything I did, how can I be happy? After what Iâve done?
But happiness isnât about what you deserve. No one would deserve happiness in that case. You know this.
Am I allowed to be happy? Am I allowed to move on? Oh, how I hate those words. The tears started coming down even faster. I sniffled. The waves of emotion were overwhelming. I whimpered. No, keep it inside. I whimpered again. No, no, Robinwind will hear. Stop. The next thing I knew, I was sobbing. Loudly.
âA-Lilyheart, what happened?â
I put my hooves over my face. âAh kamf stah. Mmmp kwuu!â Great. This happened the last time I cried, too. When I was ten. âAhfff fffiph!â
âDid you hurt something?â Robinwind looked completely at a loss. Like after youâve tricked a dog and it doesnât know what happened to the ball you just hid in a pocket.
âNo!â I managed between sobs. âF-f-fffffine!â
âYouâre⌠fine?â Robin asked, his head cocked to the side, his ears pointed to the ground.
I spluttered a giggle. âIâm fine,â I said with a massive breath, before sobbing again. Oh gosh, Iâm a mess. What is happening? Can I go back to hopping up and down again?
âOh gosh, I need a tissue!â I whined. Wait, I whined? I rolled over back onto my legs, in what was basically the loaf position. Ooooh, I get to loaf, now!
âI donât have one,â said Robin.
I looked at him in confusion.
âA tissue. I donât have one.â
I spat in laughter. âReally? You donât have one? I wasnât asking!â I cackled.
âWell, you just saidâŚâ Robin pursed his lips and pawed the ground. âWhat happened, anyway?â
âN-nothing. I think this body has some getting used to.â
âDid you hurt something?â
âNo, I mean,â I wanted to tap my forehead, but stopped myself. âMentally. Emotionally. I⌠I think I⌠hormones. I donât even know if estrogen is what mares have. Or even if thatâs the same thing for ponies. Cartoon ponies. But the emotion just⌠overwhelmed me. Iâm not used to that.â I smiled. âActually, I feel better now! Come on, letâs get to Ponyville!â
Robin looked at me strangely as I bounced up. âThis way, right?â
âYeahâŚâ he muttered.
***
Walking as a pony was fun. There was something just neat about it. Clop, clop, clop. Though, itâs not like we were actually making that noise, since we were walking on grass and dirt. Iâd make the sound myself, like the guy who followed around Arthur in the Holy Grail, but it would probably annoy Robin. He was at my left, scrutinizing the scenery. Or maybe he was frowning because walking was still hard for him?
A shot of blue and yellow caught my eye. âHey, a butterfly! First sign of life weâve seen! Well, besides the birds.â
âThereâs been a few of those,â Robin muttered as the birdsong continued overhead.
âThere were also yellow ones. Iâm not really sure how that worked,â I mumbled as I approached the butterfly. It hovered for a moment, and then settled on my nose (snout?). I slowly looked back over to Robin with a smile.
âYou match,â he said with a smile back.
I suppressed a laugh, but it was too much. The butterfly fluttered off. âAw.â We watched as it flew up into the branches of the tree above us. âItâs looking more and more like weâre in an Equestria we know. Wildlife⌠even a bug, would never be so friendly like that. And⌠how we can bend our limbs, and what we look likeâŚâ
Robin nodded. âI wonder why only we ended up here, though. No one else from the Con is here.â
âI mean, it had to do something with the comic we opened,â I responded as we continued on.
âYeah, but, we went the only one looking at those. Even if it was only the very single one we looked at, any-b-b-b-pony else couldâŚâ Robin blinked. âReally?â
âAnyb-b-b-pony,â I tried. âMe too.â
âDang it!â Robin rolled his eyes. âWhy did I have to lose my words? And my name? Wasnât turning me into a pony enough?â
âSorry.â
âWell, itâs not your fault. It was my idea to go to the Con. And anyway, I think I dropped the comic on the floor right before I blacked out and ended up here. So any⌠pony could have picked it up after us. But, no ponies appearing after us.â
I scrunched my face while I considered what Robin said. âIn Narnia, the wardrobe was originally from Narnia itself. The only reason they could get to Narnia was because magic from that world has already been brought into oursâŚâ
âBut the wardrobe was made from a tree that grew over the rings, and the rings were an invention,â Robin interjected. âBut I donât think fiction is the best way to figure out reality. I mean, CS Lewis just invented that. But this, this is real.â
âFiction is the only way to speculate on these sort of things, though. Science-fiction started out with authors really trying to understand how technology would affect p-p-p-p-ponies,â I blinked and Robin side-eyed me. âAnd fantasy was about trying to figure out the h-h-h-h-horse heart.â I blinked again. âOkay, this might get old. But all we can do is speculate! And thatâs what fantasy and science-fiction is about, at the heart: speculation. Exploration. Those questââ
âLilyheart, stop!â
I froze and followed his eyes. âOh.â
âThis is a problem,â he said.
Before us was a tangle of thick, black, thorny trees. We were on the outskirts of the Everfree Forest.
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My first comment! Thank you!
A fun read so far! I wouldn't say Lilyheart is a Mary Sue, at least not yet :)
Interesting that this story leans into the cartoon nature of the world, which is an angle I haven't seen before. Just keep them away from dip.
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Thank you! I'm happy I've avoided Mary Sue thus far!
And I'm surprised to hear that about the cartoon part; but come to think of it all the fanfiction I've read does lean on the realism side of things.
I like the âwhat the h-h-hayâ part! And the fact they canât say âhumanâ and âanybodyâ and all sorts of other words. It reminded me of the show The Good Place where when they try to curse, it gets censored XD
I like how the characters even have to get used to MOVING in a new body. I donât see it addressed often, and like another comment said I like how the world is clearly cartoony :p
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Funny about the cartoony part, I didn't even think about it as being cartoony. Just, 'Oh, this is how it works on the show, so how would it feel like to actually do these things?'
I have to credit Jet_Black1980 for the idea about the word stuttering. But I actually do say "What the hay?" in real life.
Thank you for all your comments. Chapter Six is almost ready.
Perfect so far
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Thank you very much for saying so! I can only hope the rest is just as perfect.
But, also, seeing as you're pretty new here, welcome to the site!