//------------------------------// // WHERE THE @#$@ AM I?! // Story: FIMstuck // by SoloBrony //------------------------------// Tom woke up to the smell of dirt and leaves, and groggily got up to his hooves. Hooves. Wait, what? Tom looked down, and sure enough, he was hunched over, walking on four hooves. Brown coat... and I have black tail. Greeaaaaat. HOW THE @#$@ DID THIS HAPPEN?! It was then that Tom heard a loud branch snap, instinctively looked in the direction of the sound, and realized he had an even more pertinent question. WHERE THE @$@# AM I?! Followed by the quite-relevant followup... Is this place safe?! Are there predators around?! The forest seemed normal enough, but then again, normal forests had bears. Tom wasn't inclined to tangle with a bear on a normal day, much less a day when he was a pony. Wait, what was I before? Oh... Oh @#$@, I can't remember! I can't remember anything! Before Tom could contemplate his existential issues further, a corporeal issue presented itself; a large creature that looked like a lion, save for its huge batwings and scorpion stinger, came into view through the trees. Judging by its gaze fixed sternly on him, Tom inferred the manticore wanted to eat him. AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH @#$@ THIS Tom bolted as fast as his four legs would take him – which, between the rough terrain and his total unfamiliarity with his new equine physiology, wasn't very fast at all. Still, the manticore struggled to catch up to him once he had gotten into the thick trees, and his panicked, squirmy movement style kept him from getting caught on anything for too long. Then again, it also got him bumps, bruises, scrapes, and splinters across most of his body, so Tom wasn't sure he could call it a rousing success. Okay. Okay! Take stock! You're lost in a forest WITH MANTICORES and you have no memory, a weird equine body you aren't familiar with, and you don't even remember enough to remember what you're good at. FANTASTIC. I'm sure I can make this work! Uhh... my first step should be to find civilization! Yeah! Someone to give me the lay of the land! EXCEPT I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT DIRECTION TO GO IN AND WHAT TO DO OR WHAT TO AVOID IN THIS PLACE, AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THERE'S CIVILIZATION OUT THERE FOR ME TO FIND. AAAAAAAAAA Tom occupied himself with hyperventilating and panicking for a short while, accomplishing nothing. After several minutes of that, he finally managed to get control over himself enough to think straight. Alright, okay, I should... get food! Or water! Maybe I can find something here I recognize as safe to eat! Tom began surveying the local area, but only got a few paces from where he had started before he heard thunder. Oh @#$@. Thunder means a storm, which means— Poor Tom began getting rained on. THAT'S JUST @#$@ing GREAT. Okay, shelter! The trees are stopping some of the rain, but I need something resembling shelter! A quick look around revealed nothing, but Tom decided he was a resourceful person, and could just make a shelter. Except he quickly discovered he could do no such thing with only hooves as his means of manipulation. He couldn't even pick things up! Cursing his equine physiology's inability to perform basic tasks, Tom instead decided to look around for shelter. He passed a creek and came across an old, hollowed-out oak tree, which he tried to nestle in. The ferret sheltering in the tree informed him of its displeasure via bite to the rump, which sent a squealing Tom running far from the tree hollow. While trying to get a look at the injury to make sure he wasn't bleeding, Tom noticed things had suddenly gotten a whole lot darker. Whoa. It's almost like I'm suddenly... standing... in shade... A quick glance upwards revealed that Tom's cries of discomfort had attracted the attention of a roc, a truly enormous bird, which dove down to try to pluck him off of the ground. Thankfully, the trees made its descent difficult and precise, and Tom managed to dive behind one of the trees before the creature landed. DOES THE UNIVERSE HATE ME, OR WHAT?! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! Desperate to get away from the new predator, Tom dashed through the trees in a blind panic. Which he stopped doing as soon as he ran into something large, soft, and warm. Oooh. This feels nice. Like a— The manticore Tom had previously evaded, and now rammed, roared in fury and confusion. OH COME ON! WHY?! Tom jumped backwards just in time to avoid the vicious stinger the manticore stabbed at him, and began running in the opposite direction, screaming all the while. Remembering that his yelling attracted the roc, Tom considered being quiet. Then he had an idea. "HEY! HEEEEEY, GIANT BIRD! GOT A FREE LUNCH FOR YOU HERE!" Tom soon spotted the roc, making a descent that would intercept where he was heading. At the last minute, Tom leapt aside, and heard a furious roar and confused bird noises as the two monsters tangled. "YEAH! YEAH! I HOPE YOU CHOKE ON IT! I HOPE YOU TAKE EACH OTHER OUT, AND NOBODY GETS TO EAT TONIGHT BUT ME!" Tom, caught up in his victory, managed to ignore the rain pouring on him for several seconds – but his first serious shivers reminded him. @#$@. Right. Need to find shelter! Tom moved away from the scene of the ongoing battle, and headed back to the creek as quickly as he could. Following it upstream, he spied a small cave nearby, and quickly dove into it for cover. Phew. Out of the rain! Looking around, he saw no signs that the cave was occupied. What he did see were several perfectly-cut gems lying around the entrance. Huh. What are the odds. If I had a bag and some hands, I'd be rich. Tom sat down, frustrated, and watched the rain pour down. If I had hands, maybe I could start a fire to keep warm. Ah, well. At least this cave is pretty warm already; I can feel steam drifting past. Must be a hot spring or something further in. Though none of that matters if I can't find my way out of this soon. After watching the rain fall for ten minutes, Tom had an idea he should have had when he first woke up. "HEY! IF THERE'S ANYONE OUT THERE WHO CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE HELP ME!"