//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: Thy Accured Name, The One Behind it All // Story: The Sound of Music (Yet Another SI) // by VirgowithCheer //------------------------------// So...okay. My Little Pony... yeah, I could do that. But some things had be addressed first. First off, my name...Couldn't go by Aidan OR Forshaw, that would just get you attention you didn't want, or rather, the WRONG kind of attention. Which while probably not too bad of a thing, seemed like more trouble than it was worth, especially since its sounds tiresome explaining the difference in literal nomenclature each and every time... Okay then, names, names....how about... "Bard Ballad?" It...was a little on the nose, but it certainly wouldn't be the worst choice for you. It fit the naming scheme of your new world, it would be easy to respond to it with enough practice, and it was close enough to a name nearly chosen for you anyway, so it would do, if only as an in-joke. And hey, I was planning on traveling around anyway, so if worse comes to worse, I could just call myself something else anyway. It'd be pretty easy now that you thought about it... But enough musing and creating of temporary identity forgery! "Let's try going beyond the clearing to look for water! Don't want to be dying of thirst while looking for civilization." I declared as I started off into a random direction. Anywhere was better than being randomly stuck in one spot after all! And thus, my adventure into the great unknown began! ...Only to find a small lake after not three minutes of....walking? Trotting? Trotting. Man that would take some getting used to. Anyway, I wasn't really there to admire the view of the moon reflecting on the calm water's surface (though it was beautiful) No, I was more curious about my current looks. And they were...alright. Definitely something to adjust too. To start with, the majority of my upper-body was white. Like, pastel picket fence white, not a near silver or anything. In fact, it would probably look a little blond in the light, but that was only a small bit. To contrast this, my legs and a fair bit of my lower half were a deep black, though with a little bit of the white from the top spotting around my leg joints. I also found out that weight on my head was IN FACT, a horn. I would like to say it was around 5 to 6 inches long, with a rather pointed tip, but it could easily be longer or shorter, given how hard it was to judge something on the near top of your head, even with a reflective surface to help. All in all, I looked like a prototype Zebra that someone slapped a stick on...wwwwhhhhhhiiich might be more accurate than I meant it to be given how I was ROBed through pure happenstance. Oh yeah, I also had a Cutie Mark, or whatever the Male version of it was called. A Handsome Symbol? Whatever, it took a fair bit of finagling to view my own ass or flank or whatever in my new body, ending in me standing in what looked like a combination of downward dog and a chicken preening itself, but I think I got a good enough look at it. To start with, it was three circles arranged in a triangle formation, with each circle being filled by small cartoonish faces. The bottom left was a wide grin, the bottom right was a deep frown, and the top one held a closed mouth sticking its flat tongue out. And seeing them, you could agree it fit you. "~The Smiles, they Fill You With Glee~" The tune escaped your lips for a moment before you dunked your face completely under the water, both due to thirst, but more importantly because you toppled over right into the body of liquid with the sudden change in equilibrium you hadn't quite mastered yet. Still, even through the crystal clear waters as you resurfaced, your grin stood out amongst the white of your face as your brain raced and rationalized the image that supposedly represented 'you'. The circles arranged in the triangle showed how steady I was in regards to life, or at least what I tried to do, the circles represented how I cycle through the emotions for what suited me best, the smiles themselves were likely reference to the stories that I loved and had shaped me through my life, and even then, the differing faces brought to mind the image of Theater Masks. It fit in a way that shocked me, but also made me feel quite a bit closer to who I really was as a person, no matter the form. After all, in the words of a certain parody... "It's Sym~boollicc~" I voiced out, the noise crisp against the warm night I held myself in, even as snickers broke through even that as the situation and scenes I was referencing came to mind. Yeah, you could work with this. Even without the whole 'time-stop' thing going on in your original world, you wouldn't have really worried. What would the point even be. You had...let's call them options to explore here, even if they were vague at best. Still better than what most got, and you could have all the fun you wanted on the way! Probably. Now that THAT was established though, the real journey was able to begin. "Now...I don't know where the HFIL I'm going...SO LET'S PICK A DIRECTION!" I-Bard called to the moon, abruptly turning away from the lake and beginning to walk. "Locked and loaded, don't I know it, oh the moment is right to ignite, let's get going, I'm not waiting, hesitating, So tonight we Roll, Cause I got that Fire in My Soul~" And of Course, no journey was complete without a soundtrack. This Tale...Is only Just Beginning. END OF CHAPTER