Falling is such a strange sensation. Sure, it varies based on the person. Sure, it's never PLEASANT... Mostly. But it doesn't stop it from being strange. Personally, falling invokes a sense of equilibrium. I can feel the blood rush to my head and scramble my insides, yet I still feel the weightlessness of free-fall. Perfect balance.
Which is why I am struggling how to process that I'M FALLING THROUGH THE ATMOSPHERE. And rather quickly at that.
I searched my memories twenty times over, and each time it led back to something that literally couldn't be possible.
In fact I should be dead if said memories were to be believed.
It... Also doesn't help that the air around me sounds like it's on fire.
Okay, yeah, now I'm panicking. Am I panicking? I think I'm panicking.
'NO! No. Focus. How long till you hit the ground?'
'Like, thirty seconds at most?! You know we're WELL beyond what SHOULD be terminal velocity, right?!'
'Trust me, you'll be fine! Besides, we don't know how durable our new body is!'
Right. New body. Forgot about that. Here's hoping I still can't feel pain.
I waited with bated breath as the ground hurtled towar- no, as I hurtled to the ground. I braced for impact, fully expecting to be in great amounts of pain.
And I braced.
...And braced...
"...Okay where's the- *GAH*" There it was.
I felt the impact. Oh boy did I feel the impact. I could feel as the crater formed around me, I could hear the shrapnel of obliterated trees. There's this small, tiny part of my mind that wishes I could see what in the hell was happening, but I couldn't. Not anymore, anyways. Good news though! Still can't feel pain.
I sluggishly crawled my way out of the crater I had undoubtedly created, idly noting that I had paws now. Also that I at least seemed uninjured. Not that it surprised me at this point.
So. I bet you're wondering how exactly I've ended up in the middle of nowhere falling from the sky. Well. It all started about ninety three seconds ago, when I bought something at Comic con.
"Let's see here... Cash, check. Key, check. Full costume, che- wait, no, missing the mask."
Today was finally the day. My first con, my costume finally finished, and an abundance of cash due to far too much overtime. My costume had been a project that had taken, - oh I don't know, a year and a half? Two years? Something like that - to complete. To make up for the costs, I'd been surviving off the bare minimum, but I couldn't care less. It was done!
Made of Faux fur, synthetic ivory (that took far too long to get my mitts on) and a little bit of leather to keep everything together, it looked just like an Absol.
Sort of.
See, this was an Absol of my OWN design. Sure, it's a bit of a pallet swap, but it's mine. The fur was black as soot and I'd painted my face to look as white as I could get it. The claws and the horn itself were also white, if a shade lighter than what I'd managed to make my skin. Instead of the horn being just the crescent curve, it also doubled as a mask, what with part of the horn having 'overgrown' my eyes. I used that as a reason to tweak the typing as well, so instead of Dark type, this particular Absol is ghost and psychic. I didn't have the mask fully attached, so I could still see if need be by quickly lifting it or taking it off.
Not all of my time had gone into making this thing, though. Part of the process was walking around blindfolded to build up some situational awareness, so I could actually put up the illusion that I was semi-confident in my ability to move with the mask still on. That led to some awkward moments of colliding with inanimate objects, but it was effective. I can now semi-accurately pick out things within a one and a half foot radius around me while the mask's on.
Enough about that.
So here I stand, overlooking (not really) the various stalls and booths set up for random ass merchandise, browsing for something I'd been meaning to grab. In particular, I was looking for a mega stone. It didn't have to be Absolite, I could make do with any mega stone, seeing as we never get to glimpse how any of them actually look. Right this second, I'm looking around with my mask slid up just far enough to reveal my eyes, showing their red contact lenses, to scan over some of the more out of the way locales.
'See anything yet?'
'Nope. Not a thing. Seriously, we've passed three pokémon merch stalls, and not a single one had a mega stone. It's not even that hard to make one, surely.'
Right, that's another thing. When I was a kid, I never managed to mesh well with others my age. In fact if it wasn't my temper acting up, it was another kid in the process of bullying me. As a defense mechanism slash escape, I... Developed another consciousness. No idea how, no idea why, but it happened. And it's the single best thing to ever happen to me.
Lemme preface this next bit by saying, I'm a guy. Not confused about that, not disappointed with that, it's just what I am and I couldn't care less. So imagine my surprise when I first spoke with this second consciousness, only to find out that they are unequivocally female. Not that it's an issue, just surprising. But ever since that day, all those thirteen years ago, they have managed to keep me grounded, both mentally and socially. She's like a sister I never had, nor realized I needed.
...Okay, there may be a debate running on whether or not having something in your head that talks back to you is mentally stable and/or healthy, but I digress.
'Okay, seriously, we've been to every damn stall in this place, how does NO-ONE have a-'
"Well, that's not something you see every day. What's an Absol like you doing here?"
The sudden, and eerily familiar voice caused me stop in place.
'Was that-'
'Sounded like it.'
I slowly raised my mask off my eyes to catch a glimpse at whoever called out at me, and my suspicions were instantly confirmed. Standing not too far away, behind a counter, was none other than Handsome Jack.
Well, okay, not literally him I suppose, but the voice was spot on, and the cosplay was perfect. I couldn't hope to do that no matter how hard I-
'He wasn't there.'
'Excuse you?'
'He literally wasn't there. There wasn't even a stall here.'
That certainly rang a couple of alarms, but maybe we just missed him. Honestly wouldn't put it past us.
"You gonna just stand there staring? Starting to creep me out here, kiddo." I couldn't help but roll my eyes at the 'kiddo' remark. I'm twenty, damnit! "I've got wares, you've probably got cash, so how about it, cupcake?" He idly waved at the aforementioned wares, a couple of which instantly caught my eye.
"Son of a bitch, you actually have a mega stone!" It was decided, I was going to that stall, and I was buying the mega stone. Consequence be damned.
"Ah, this old thing? Found it a couple years back, never could find anyone gullible enough to- *cough* interested enough to buy it." He smirked at me. Cheeky git. "Tell ya what, seeing as you're an Absol yourself, and this is... At least I think it's Absolite, not entirely sure, I'll throw in this mega bracelet for-" He hesitated. Calculations? Probably. "One-ten."
I stumbled. no ifs, ands or buts about it, I straight up stumbled. Luckily enough I caught myself by the edge of the stall, but it was close. "One-ten. As in, one hundred and ten." My mouth was practically watering at that price. A lot of the other merch around here was FAR more expensive than that.
He merely raised a brow, before shrugging at me. "Yeah? Look snowflake, you want 'em or not?"
I matched his earlier smirk with my own. "Seriously? You can literally see me drooling over them here and you considered the possibility that I didn't want them?" I practically threw the cash at him, before snapping up both the stone and bracelet. Immediately, I slipped the bracelet onto my left arm, and socketed the stone into a handy little slot I found on the side. I nearly missed the shit-eating grin that the Jack lookalike had plastered onto his face. "What's so funny?"
"Oh, nothing much. Enjoy your trip! Oh, and say hi to Sunbutt for me, wouldja? She owes me a cake. Damn she-devil..."
I stared at him like he'd gone crazy.
"Red flag?"
'...Red flag.'
Didn't even get a chance to make a break for it. The moment I made to try and move, the ground ate me. Wish I was kidding, literally swallowed up by the ground. Everything went black, yadda yadda, FALLING. There- there was no in-between.
'So. Uh... Status check?'
No response.
'Skyla? You there?'
'...Have you even taken a moment to check yourself over before asking me? Also, please don't panic when you do.'
'I mean... Earlier it felt like I had paws, and I'm fairly sure my mask is now fused to my f-... Oh.'
'Yeah.'
I can feel my eyes moving, so I wasn't technically blind. Okay, good start. I brought one of my... One of my new paws up to try and remove my mask, which wouldn't budge, so I still can't see either way. I could feel the paw come into contact with the mas- horn, so it was a part of me. My paw trailed down to my teeth, felt sharp, so my mouth now has completely carnivorous canines. Further back, I felt fur. not the faux fur I used for my costume, but actual fur. Wonderful. On a whim, I shifted my right paw over to my left... I guess, foreleg, and felt the telltale sign of... Wait, rock? So I guess I kept my mega bracelet. Shift to the right a little- yep, there's the mega stone. My nails felt longer, so I guess I have claws too? Would make sense, I included them into the cos-...
'I take it that it just clicked?'
'...Be real with me Skyla...'
'Yes, we're an Absol. Specifically, your Absol.'
'...'
'...Braig? You alright?'
'Just... Just processing that.'
'So would now be a bad time for me to add that from as far as I can tell, you're female now?'
'Please tell me you're kidding.'
' 'Fraid not.'
'So. I'm in the middle of nowhere, I'm an Absol, I've been genderswapped... Sounds like a bad fanfic if I've ever heard one. What next, I'm in Equestria?-'
'Something's coming.'
I could feel my left ear flick towards something, which is surreal cause apparently Absol has fox-like ears hidden under all that fur, but I couldn't miss the telltale sound of something moving through foliage. The moment the sound registered, my nose realized it was supposed to function, and I really, really wish it didn't.
It smells like rotting fruit, on top of rotting flesh, on top of sawdust. Why sawdust? Who knows! Unfortunately, the only thing that even came close to that description is something that I should not be able to smell. Ever. And yet here it was.
'You know I was kidding when I said Equestria, right? So why can I smell timberwolves?'
'MOVE NOW, CRISIS LATER!'
I took off sprinting to my right, hoping my new quadrupedal form came with the instincts necessary to allow my flight response to actually respond.
It didn't.
I tripped immediately.
I landed badly on my left shoulder, allowing me to rediscover the oh so unpleasant sensation of a painless dislocation. The paw-falls were approaching slowly, meaning the timberwolves probably wanted to relish in the hunt.
'Any more ideas, genius?!'
Apparently the wolves got impatient, as I heard a snarl, followed by what I assumed was a lunge. At least that's what I was banking on.
I rolled to the left, narrowly avoiding the wolf whose breath was far too close for my liking, and not because it stunk. One of its pals decided to try and follow it up, and I was still recovering from the roll, so all I could do was raise my right leg and block. Mere moments later, the wolf was upon me, teeth sunk deep into my arm.
'Have I ever thanked the forces that be for making me incapable of feeling pain?'
'Yes. All the time... Are you gonna do anything about this, or...?'
An idle thought crossed my mind, and I found myself smiling despite the situation.
'I'm an Absol, right?'
'...Aye, what's your point?'
Instead of answering, which I'm sure will piss off Skyla, I concentrated inwards. Particularly focusing on my teeth. If I was an Absol...
I jerked forwards with my teeth bared, and I felt them harden as if into steel. The results were instantaneous, a whimper of pain and a series of yelps sounded out around me as I slammed my new fangs into the timberwolfs' neck. I kept my jaw locked down onto it as my mouth started to fill with... sap. Tree sap. Blegh. Apparently it was enough to dissuade the other timberwolves, as I heard them scramble over each other and run back into the forest. The wolf I managed to catch struggled in my grip, but apparently Absol has a pretty strong jaw. It died in my grasp, and fell to pieces. Not long after, it dissolved. It took me a moment to wrap my head around what happened.
'Braig. You good?'
"Heh... Hehe..."
No. I was not 'good'.
"I can't walk. Even if it doesn't hurt, I'm still injured."
'That's not what's eating you and you know it. What's wrong?'
Apparently I was having none of it today.
"What do you think? It may have been a timberwolf, but I still killed!"
'...'
Woops.
It took longer than I'd have liked to center myself, but after a few dozen deep breaths, I managed it. If there is a single person who never deserves to be on the receiving end of my relatively short temper, it's Skyla.
"Sorry."
'Just- get up, would you? If there are timberwolves, then we're in the Everfree. Which means we need to try and find Ponyville.'
I silently judged which leg is technically the most injured, and decided that I couldn't risk putting much weight on my dislocated shoulder. So, right leg it is. Slowly, and awkwardly, I managed to situate myself on three legs, and found a way to walk. Picking a random direction, I set off in search of Ponyville. God that felt weird to say.
'So, I take it you tried using Bite back there?'
"Tried? You mean succeeded."
'True. You think you got your whole moveset, or a regular Absol one, or just Bite?'
"Don't have a cl-"
My words died in my throat as we heard something a ways ahead of us. It sounded like talking. Between two individuals. Both of which we could recognize. A tired, blood-drained, and extremely happy smile crawled its way onto my face.
"...Are we even looking for again?" It was faint, but it sounded nasally, and semi-sarcastic.
"The squirrels told me that there was an injured creature out here. Oh, I'm s-so worried, what if it was attacked by t-timberwolves? W-what if we're too late and it-" Even quieter, stutters alot, sounds like a goddess, yep, I know who's approaching.
'RD and Flutters, dead ahead. Ready to meet our saviors?'
'Do you even have the strength to get there? You've lost alot of blood.'
'Eh... Probably not. Does it matter?'
'As long as you grab their attention, then not really.'
Dredging up what last scraps of strength I had left, I picked up my abysmally slow pace to try and make a generous amount of noise.
" Woah, woah, calm down! I'm sure it just tripped and sprained a paw or... Something. Nothing to get worked up about." There was Rainbow again. So close now. Just up ahea-
As I pushed past what I guessed was a tree, I caught my back leg on a vine, which subsequently tripped me and sent me face first onto what felt like a worn dirt road. Although the chorused gasp let me know that I had succeeded in my impromptu mission of 'get noticed by a third of the elements of harmony'. With a content smile, I let the full embrace of unconsciousness envelope me as the blood loss finally overtook me.
-View change: Rainbow Dash-
"That's... Not what I expected."
And it isn't. Wait, what even is this thing? Black fur, has a horn, no eyes? No, covered by the... Horn, mask, thing. Wicked claws, weird tail. Does this thing even have ears?
"Oh, goodness! It's hurt real bad!" Right. Flutters is here. She has a point though, that leg looks pretty badly-
"OH BUCK! The hay happened to it?!" I joined her in a single beat of my wings, because of course I did, as she started to check its... Honestly pretty terrible injuries. Even I could see that shoulder looked out of place.
"Dislocated shoulder, bite wound; torn; possibly infected, teeth are covered in- hrm." She flinched. Why'd she flinch? What about its teeth?
"Fluttershy? C'mon, don't leave me in the dark here."
"I-it must have gotten in a fight with a timberwolf..." A timberwolf, huh? Ouch. "And it- it seems to have won"
"...Wait, whaddya mean, it won?" This thing won against a timberwolf in that state?
"I-its teeth, they're covered in sap, but the bite marks on it's foreleg match that of a timberwolf. I-i think it tried to d-defend itself by biting the timberwolf."
...Say what?!
"That's so awesome." Oh, crap, quick, damage control! "Uh- I mean, not as awesome as me, but, you know-"
"Rainbow Dash, it's just me, it's fine."
"...Alright, alright." She has a point.
"C-can you help me get it back to my cottage? It's heavier than it looks."
"Huh?" Shy's tryin to pick it up. Back to- "Oh! Right, sure. Budge up, I got this." And~ LIF- "Oof, okay, you weren't kidding, huh?"
This thing weighs almost as much as Applejack. Heh, she would so buck me over a mountain if she heard me say that.
Took me a moment, but I finally managed to get it up onto my back. Can't fly in this position, but I can make do. For now.
...But seriously, what is this thing?! It looks so cool!