//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1 
// Story: Upheaval 
// by Erie 
//------------------------------//

When I wake up my day always begins by hitting the snooze button on the digital alarm clock stowed beside the bed on a nightstand devoted solely to holding it and a lamp. It didn’t matter if I felt dead inside or like the energizer bunny had just gotten some new batteries, that snooze button was going to be hit.

So when I woke up even though the alarm wasn’t ringing and my entire body felt off I swung my right arm around to hit that snooze button, not even bothering to open my eyes... and promptly found myself careening towards the carpet, with a quilted blanket shadowing me as I fell.

So, this is what I am stuck with... I suppose it could be worse.

“Ow!” I squeaked as the carpet smacked into my face, ending with me on my side underneath a blanket. It didn’t really hurt physically though my pride was quite bruised after falling like that. How the heck did I even manage to fall out of my bed? At least it had woken me up.

Annoyed, I strained my neck to gaze at the alarm clock that had managed to elude me and was more than a little surprised when I saw the time. 

3:27 AM

I usually woke up at 6:00 with the alarm to try and give myself ample time to get ready for the day. Rarely did I ever wake up beforehand, and especially not this early. 

And was I smaller? The nightstand that the alarm clock sat on seemed to have grown in size and as I glanced around, it seemed that everything else around me had as well. From the closet to the bed they all seemed far bigger than they were yesterday. Even the Cirsium I kept on the windowsill seemed larger and, weirdly enough, strangely appetizing?

While slowly shaking my head at how I somehow managed to find flowers of all things appetizing I noticed something even stranger. Crossing my eyes, I found a strange faded yellow protrusion jutting from my face, glowing softly in the lamps' fluorescent light.

With this, I noticed many more oddities. How I couldn’t feel my hands and how strangely sensitive yet numb everything felt. How my pants and underwear had somehow disappeared and my solid blue shirt was only loosely fitted around me now. How my hair somehow had somehow sprouted past my neck. How there was a strange sensation of something moving behind me, that only seemed quicken as my breathing started to grow erratic.

Stop panicking. You’re still alive, aren’t you?

Forcing myself to take a deep breath and remain calm I tried to think through this rationally. Panicking would only turn me into the blubbering idiot that died first in every horror film ever, I was probably just hallucinating anyways. I just needed to prove to myself that everything was fine, and things would start making sense again in no time. And what better way to stop this than with my hand.

So, after taking another deep breath and with a bit of struggle I pulled my perfectly normal right hand out from the blankets that had enveloped my body and took a good look at it.

.....

My breathing had come to a screeching halt as I looked upon my hand, or lack thereof. Instead in its place was what looked to be a hoof with fur the same faded yellow I saw earlier. And so, faced with this irregular development, I did the most rational thing that I could think of at that moment.

“AHHHHHHH, WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO ME!” The shriek tore itself loose from my throat. My breathing had gone into overdrive in an instant while I thrashed as much as I could to try and get away from my hoof, only to find that I couldn’t as the blanket had entangled me within it.

Well I guess I should’ve seen that coming. Focus. Once aga-

*BANG BANG BANG!* came from outside my room, my ears somehow twisting towards the sound.

I froze, that was almost certainly the door to my apartment.

“You okay there?” Came a gruff, muffled voice. “Heard some screaming and I think it might’ve came from your place.”

It was just someone else in the apartment complex who’d heard me scream. Forcing myself to start taking deep breaths again, I fought back the panic that had overtaken me. I was not going to lose it in front of whoever this was.

“I’m-I’m okay, just had a, uh, really bad nightmare,” I responded to him, a lie coming automatically to me. Also, my normally deep voice sounded oddly... melodious? 

“A nightmare? Must’ve been a reeeal bad one to get you to wail like a banshee in there.” He chuckled softly. “Anyways, glad it’s nothing too serious miss, would’ve hated to have had to come in myself to make sure you were okay. It’s never good when I have to do that.” His voice took a more serious tone at that.

Ignoring the fact that he had just called me miss I took note of what he just said.

“Wait, come in yourself? You have a key to the apartments?” I asked.

“Yup,” he answered with a touch of pride in his voice, without even a trace of the stoicism from earlier, “I’m the janitor here, got a key to every room in the building, even the apartments.” He paused, “if you need anything don’t be afraid to holler at me miss and I’ll help you out, though I’ll likely be heading out soon. ‘Bout done for the night and was wrapping up when I heard you.

“Thank you, if I need help, I’ll say something.”  I doubted I actually would, the last thing I wanted was for someone else to see me.

“Alright miss, you take care now and have a good one,” he said as I heard him step away from the door, leaving me alone with my thoughts once more.

Huh, I was sure I was going to have to calm them down again to stop the panic, though I guess that works too. Still should do it though, no sense in not clearing their mind.

I stared down at my hoof again, though I didn’t panic like I did before. How was this even possible? Was this all just a dream? No, it couldn’t be. As bizarre as this was, everything else seemed normal. Not to mention the slight pain from falling out of my bed virtually guaranteed this wasn’t a dream.

I shook my head, despite whatever had happened to me I needed to see myself, if only just to know what I looked like now. To do that I’d either need to go to the mirror in my bathroom or use my phone's camera to take a picture of myself.

It was a simple decision, after all, there was no way I was going to be able to use my phone as things stood.

Of course, first I needed to get myself out from under my own blanket. It was easy enough to get my left arm out as well which seemed to also now end in a... hoof now, with the same faded yellow I had seen before. 

Next up were my legs. I tried just pulling them out in, but they didn’t move at all how they used to and I think it just got me more stuck. I tried using my... hooves to pull away the blanket but they’re hooves so I couldn’t get a grip with them to save my life. I thought about using my nightstand to pull myself up at least but once again, hooves can’t grip things and I wasn’t even sure I could reach that high.

I groaned while collapsing in frustration into my surprisingly soft arms after a minute or so of struggling to do such a simple task. How the hell was I supposed to do anything like this, use my mouth and bite onto anything I wanted to move? 

Yes actually, at least until you figure out how to use your magic. And even then, it’s more convenient to use your mouth.

Seconds later my head popped back up, that couldn’t be it, could it? There was no way I was even that flexible in the first place. But as I stretched my head over, I was quickly proven wrong, it was barely even straining to turn my head like that.

My mouth hovered over the blanket that had vexed me so as I wondered was I really about to use my mouth on something so disgusting? Was I really about to bite into it like a wild animal?

Are you really going to let yourself be trapped by a blanket of all things over something as bucking stupid as pride?

I bit down onto the blanket before another stray thought could come and stop me.

Thank you.

The taste of the quilted fabric and its fuzzy texture was not pleasant but my legs were finally free after I flung the blanket off to the side. I stared for a second at my newly freed legs, both now ending in those same fuzzy hooves before forcing myself to look away. I wouldn’t let myself have another panic attack over this. I barely even took note of the strange tattoo I had on my hips now.

That is a Cutie Mark, not a tattoo. And it’s on your flank, not your hips.

Next up I needed to stand up. After rolling onto my stomach I took a deep breath once more and pushed myself off the ground and onto my legs in a single, swift movement.

What are you doing now?

For one glorious moment I stayed like that, standing as I might if I were still human. But reality would not be denied and almost instantaneously I felt myself losing my balance. I had to stop myself with the bed which I was barely taller than, even when I was propped up against it.

I sniffled slightly while I added that to the swiftly growing list of things I had lost. I’d known from the moment I tried it that it would likely not even work. Still, having it proven so clearly that I would never walk normally again hurt, no matter how prepared I was for it.

Stop whining, it does nothing for you.

After taking a moment to mourn I went with what my common sense had said the moment I saw those hooves but had decided to ignore in favor of the slight chance of walking normally. I was no longer a human, but some strange miniature horse now. And obviously I’d walk like one now.

Pony, not a miniature horse. An Earth Pony to be exact, which is funny considering you call your own world Earth.

I let myself fall from the uncomfortable standing position onto my arms. The moment they landed on the carpet I could feel just how much more “natural” it was like I had been trying to force a square into where a circle should’ve been and finally slid a circle in.

I hated it.

Too bad, you’re going to have to stand like that now unless you want to crawl everywhere.

I felt something behind me angrily swishing behind me and I glared at it. I had a tail now because of course I would, and I tried my best to stop it. It stubbornly refused though, and only seemed to swish more violently behind me now that I had tried to stop it. 

I sighed and started focusing on the new problem I faced, how was I supposed to move like this?

Tentatively, I moved my right arm forward and found that it worked. Simple enough, now to do the same with my left arm.

The moment it landed I could feel my body stretching out and swiftly found myself splayed out on the carpet.

Evidently that was not how I was supposed to move. Grumbling at that, I picked myself back up and got to where I was before I fell. This time I put some thought into what I had to move next before deciding on my left leg.

It worked like a charm, even if my steps were shaky. And while I’d have to focus on the motions and take it slow, I had no doubt that eventually I’d internalize it and be able to move without even thinking about it, even if I hated it.

I made some weird breathy noise that I couldn’t name but certainly wasn’t human at that thought.

And here I was thinking I’d have to help you out, though your gait needs some work. Considering your circumstances though I’d say that was rather good. Oh, and for the future that was a nicker.

Soon enough, I found myself face to face with the knob on the door that led to the living room. Thankfully, I had not fully closed the door, I could only imagine how hard it would’ve been to turn it if I hadn’t. As it was, I bit the knob, which was cold and made me wish I washed the thing even semi-consistently, and slowly dragged it open with a weird reverse gait.

As I peered into the living room, I found it was just like I had left it last night, nearly pitch black. Some light from my bedroom lamp did reach but not nearly enough to really see. I was going to have to turn on the lights for it, and the light switch was of course on the other side of the room by the front door.

I stuck to the left while I shakily traversed my living room. I soon bumped into the couch with my right arm and almost fell again but managed to keep myself upright. Mercifully, that was the only problem and I soon found myself against the door to my part of the complex.

The light switch was to the right of it somewhere, so I very carefully lifted up my arm and started feeling around for it. I found it almost instantly thankfully and after several failed attempts I managed to flick it upwards with my hoof.

As I walked through the lit living room, I really took note of just how tiny I was now. I was a little tall standing at 6’2” though I had never really cared too much about it, but when my coffee table came up to my lower chest it was almost impossible to ignore. I must’ve been less than 3ft tall now which meant I could be shorter than a particularly big dog.

Feet? Oh, of course you’d be using the celestial system. Making me have to figure out for myself what you meant.

Shaking my head, I went over to my bathroom, which fortunately had its door wide open. I slowed myself as my arms touched the tile that covered the bathroom. Tile could be slippery, and with hooves it was like I was driving a car through sleet-covered roads. Even being as cautious as I was, I still almost slipped quite a few times, but I was not going to let myself fall.

3’3” leaning a little towards 3’4”, smaller than the average mare but that’s still above the 1-meter line, get your own height right at least if you’re going to use the idiotic Celestial System instead of the superior Lunar System.

Eventually, I reached my goal; the clear mat I had bought after I fell and got a concussion a few years back. Steeling myself for what I was about to see, I closed my eyes as I awkwardly turned myself around to face the mirror and opened my eyes.

And I promptly found myself staring at the vanity. Of course, I’d have been too short to see over it now. I nickered at that while I re-enacted what I had done back in the bedroom when I had first tried to stand. 

With a soft clop my hooves hit the vanity, I kept my head down and made sure I wasn't going to slip as I laid out my arms on it, steeling myself once more. I closed my eyes as I leveled them with the mirror and opened them.

I gazed at the slack-jawed pony in the mirror, its face looking strangely human and horse-like at the same time with its rounded muzzle. It had huge emerald green eyes that were wide open and that same faded yellow that I had now on its fur coat. Its hair was a pair of lush greens, one bright and one dark, that fell past its head and it was a miracle none had fallen in its face with how messy it was. 

It looked like somebody had just ripped it right out of a cartoon too with just how expressive it was. I could see its ears dropped down in clear panic as I stared it down. Its eyes were erratic, looking from place to place, never stopping. They were getting watery as if it were about to cry when it started moving.

It slowly raised a shaking arm and reached out towards me, not quite having the reach to touch the glass.

Okay, firstly, mane, not hair. Secondly, cal-

*Knock, Knock*

A firm voice came from the door, “Sheldon! I know it’s an ungodly hour, but we need to talk!”