//------------------------------//
// Ch1: Tumbling into the pony-verse 
// Story: A Brand New Morning 
// by MorningWonder 
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I was looking out of the window. Nothing but clouds, dull and gray. A stiff breeze was rustling the leaves on the trees. I sighed as I continued with my school assignment. My mind wasn’t really focused on the task however. I was thinking about the event that my classmates were participating in right now... or ex-classmates I should say, as I had been homeschooled for over a year now.

I used to have an ok time at school. I didn’t have many friends, but I wasn’t getting bullied either, at least not until SHE arrived! Sunset Shimmer, who quickly climbed the social ranks, while leaving a path of destruction in the process. In a matter of weeks, she had transformed the school from a nice place to make friends into a toxic environment where each group kept themselves separate from the others and where even within those groups there was cautiousness, envy and hostility between the members. They definitely weren’t friend groups anymore. And then there was me, who didn’t feel like they belonged to any of those established groups.

I had tried to fit in. I had even attempted to make friends with the more popular members of the “in” groups, but they didn’t want a guy like me in their grou, so it hadn’t worked out.

Even those that I called my friends previously had left me and joined this or that group. This left me all alone, and therefore a very easy target for bullying. I tried to hold out, but in the end it became too much when the bullying turned physical. I had to leave the school to save my physical and emotional sanity.

Now I was home-schooled. The only reason I even knew that the school event was taking place is because of the flyers that I still received from the school. Even though I don’t regret getting away from that school, I do feel kinda lonely now that I’m being home-schooled. Before Sunset came, these games were actually quite fun, regardless of the fact that we always got our asses kicked by Crystal Prep.

I lean back in my chair, reminiscing the good old days, wishing that we could just go back to how things were before. Unfortunately I lean back a little bit too far and my chair starts tipping backwards.  I brace myself for the inevitable impact on the floor... however it seems it is actually not as inevitable as I thought it would be, as I keep falling further than should be possible. I should have hit the ground by now, but instead I keep tumbling head over heels, until finally something soft breaks my fall.

I open my eyes and see that I’m laying on the ground, surrounded by debris, my chair to the side of me, a bit scuffed up and dirty, but otherwise still in tact. The... thing that I fell through is no longer there and all I can see is the cloudy sky. I gasp as I try to sit up. I feel dizzy and my right shoulder and hip are killing me, but I don’t think anything is broken. I look at my left hand, or at least try to. What I see instead is a furry white hoof like appendage. It takes me a moment to register that this in fact my arm.

I quickly look at my other arm and then at the rest of my body, while my heart starts beating faster. Another hoof like appendage and a white furry belly greet me, with another set of furry hooves attached to my lower legs. Speaking of my legs, they seem very weirdly proportioned compared to what I’m used to.

I feel something itching the back of my thigh and look behind me to see what it was. I wish that I didn’t however, since what I see is an appendage that until recently didn’t have. I now had a tail! A colorful tail at that, with orange and yellow streaks.

That is however not the only new appendage that I spot on my backside. Further up my back, right underneath my shoulder blades I see two white wings. They’re even larger than those of a swan or even the condor that I saw in a bird zoo once.

Also, thinking about it a bit more, I find it weird that I can even move my neck far enough to see my back clearly. A human neck isn’t supposed to be able to rotate that far. Then again, considering some of my other newly acquired traits, I’m beginning to wonder if I my neck and head for that matter are even still human. This is confirmed when I focus my vision on my nose. Rather than the skin colored blur on the inner bottom edge of my vision, I see a white blur along the whole bottom side of my field of view.

What am I? I look around to see if there is anything that I can use to get a better look at myself. I spot a small pond that might help me see my reflection somewhat. Definitely not as good as a mirror, but it’s something at least.

I try to stand up, but my hips seem to prevent me from comfortably standing on my hind legs and my now hooved feet make it really hard to balance like that. I let myself drop back down onto my han-, uh former hands, so that I don’t lose my balance. That stance actually feels quite comfortable, making me wonder if I have become a quadruped now. The hooves on my hands seem to suggest that this is the case.

I carefully waddle towards the pond on all fours, stopping when I reach to bank. Even though it’s a bit muddy, I still try to get as close to the water as possible, to be able to see my reflection.

I probably look rather ridiculous doing this though, with my forelegs standing in the water, but it does help me get a glimpse of my mirror image. After the waves have settled from me stepping into the water, I start to see the white blob resolve into a head shape. Unsurprisingly, considering my hooves, the head looks equine with a long neck. That explains why I was able to rotate my neck so far. My head didn’t look fully horse-like though. My snout was stubbier and my eyes were larger. I had a mane that was the same yellow and orange as my tail.

I see that my ears are now on the top of my head, pointed, with the same white fur growing on them. It’s only then that I become aware of the sounds of the forest and how clearly I could hear them and the direction that the sounds came from.

The peaceful chirping of the birds isn’t enough to distract me from the current situation that I find myself in.  I step away from the water’s edge an look around to figure out where I am. I seem to be in a small clearing in a forest that by the look of things is quite dense. Above me I see a cloud deck that doesn’t look like it will rain from anytime soon, but is enough to fully block out the sun. On the far side of the clearing, above the treetops I do see some breaks in the clouds. It might be possible to get out of the forest there? I’ll have to be careful though, since I don’t know if any wild animals live in this forest.

I leave behind my chair and head into the woods. Little by little I start getting more comfortable with walking on four legs. It’s not all that different from how I had to crawl around the attic, when fetching this or that for my parents. It’s even slightly easier on the hips now, since this body is actually built for that kind of motion. The only thing that I need to get used to is how I put down my hooves so that I don’t slip on rocks or roots.

I find myself walking down a trail. I don’t know yet if I should count myself lucky or unlucky yet. While it does make it easier to traverse the forest, it also means that other animals walked this path in the past. Who knows if they were smaller creatures like rabbits or squirrels, or if they were more dangerous, and who knows if they’re still around.

This thought makes me quicken my pace a bit... bad idea! I trip over a branch that I overlooked and land back down onto the ground, on the same shoulder that I landed on when this saga started. I quickly shake off the fall, and decide to go a little slower, to make sure I don’t trip again.

A few minutes later and I feel like I need a break. I’m not sure how much further it is to the end of the forest. I sit down and after a quick readjustment so I don’t sit on my tail, I find myself in a position that feels comfortable. Funnily enough it is the same kind of position that cats and dogs often sit in.

Suddenly I hear a rustling sound somewhere behind me. I duck down and try to see what made the sound. My heart is racing and I concentrate on any other sounds that I might hear.  I don’t see anything. Had I heard a twig breaking?

After a few moments a bunny hopped out from underneath a brush. I might be misinterpreting the emotions on it’s face, bit it seems to be annoyed at me for something. Maybe I desturbed its home, so I quickly moved on.

After what felt like another half an hour the forest is starting to get dark as the sun starts to disappear. Fortunately the forest started to become less dense at this point and it didn’t take me too much longer to reach the forest’s edge.

I guess it’s around dinner time by now and as if on cue, my stomach started growling at the thought of something to eat. That had to wait though, since the only part of civilization that I found was a gravel road that followed the edge of the forest, before veering off into the hilly countryside that now lay before me. I decided to follow the road. The sturdy ground made it much easier to walk on and I surprisingly didn’t feel any discomfort with walking on the gravel with my bare fee-... hooves. Damn, that was gonna take some time getting used to, especially the lack of hands.

I can see lights in the distance and once I got a bit closer I saw that they came from a small village. I start walking faster, eager to reach it. I hope that I’ll find some-... I don’t know what I hope to find, maybe just a friendly face, or at least know what’s going on. I’m definitely a bit hungry too.

The closer I get to the village, the more creatures I come across that look like me, although most of them don’t seem to have wings. Also, I didn’t realize this before, but almost everyone seems to walk around without anything in the form of clothes, apart from a few accessories. The fur seems to cover any private bits well enough. I blush at the thought that I could have made a faux-pas, but it looks like I dodged a bullet here.

The smell of something appetizing enters my nose and I look around to see where it’s coming from. I see a little tavern with what appears to be a lot of people chatting inside.

“Come in! Come in!” A large individual shouts at me, as if he knows me. He’s one of the few that are actually wearing some clothes, a guard vest to be exact. Their fur color was gray, with a blonde mane and tail and he was pretty toned compared to the others around us.

“You look in rough shape. Here, let me help you,” he says as he holds the door open for me.

“But... I don’t have any money on me...” I croak, followed by a cough to clear my throat, as this is the first time I’ve spoken since I found myself on the ground in the forest. I hadn’t really thought about my money situation up until that point, but now I realized that my troubles might not be over yet.

“Oh you poor thing, don’t worry. I’m on my break soon, so I’ll buy you something to eat. Nopony should go hungry on my watch.”

I was a bit suspicious of this “pony’s” intentions, but I followed them (him I think?) anyways, since I was quite hungry. One thing that they had inadvertently cleared up is that we were ponies. Good to know.

“What is a pegasus like you doing out here, looking so disheveled and without coin?” he asks, while leading us to the bar. “Got stuck in a tree due to the weather from earlier today?” he joked, snickering to himself.  I had no idea what he was talking about, but it was pretty obvious that he was just teasing.

“What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, he reaches over to my head and I feel him pulled on something that was stuck in my hair, after which he showed me the branch that he pulled out. I gave him an embarrassed grin.

“Ah, that. I found myself in a forest earlier and it was quite a dense and overgrown forest.” I explained.

“Wait, do you mean the Everfree Forest?! How did you end up in there in the first place?”

“Uhm, if by that you mean the forest a couple of kilometers out of town down this road, then yeah... Is that... a bad thing?”

“A bad thing?! Hay, I’m surprised that you survived in there! With all the timberwolves and such. You sure as hay are pretty lucky to come out so unscathed.”

“Really? Well... I don’t know how I ended up there in the first place. I... I just woke up in a clearing there.” I don’t know how much I felt comfortable with telling him.

He ordered us a drink. The pony behind the bar gave each of us a glass of apple cider, with straw luckily, since I had no idea how I would have been able to pick up the glass myself. I took a sip and it tastes way better and sweeter than the store bought cider that I’m used to.

“Well, you’re one lucky mare to live and tell the tale.” He says, with a cheeky grin. He raises his glass of cider and takes a sip.

At the same time however I do everything within my power not to do a spit take. Did he just call me a mare?? As in the female horse kind of mare?! How had I not noticed that? How had I not noticed that my voice was slightly higher than the other pony’s voice?

I cough a little as I try to prevent the cider from going down the wrong hole.

“Hey, you okay?” he asks with concern in his voice.

“Ehm, yeah. I just, eh... I need to use the toilet. It was quite a long journey through the forest... Uh, excuse me for a second.” I say as I move over to where I see a toilet symbol.

I make sure that I go into the female toilet. The signage is a bit different, but I still recognize which one I’m supposed to enter, even though I feel like I am entering a forbidden domain. I only ever used the ladies bathroom whenever the men’s room was out of commission due to getting cleaned or something. This time however it was unforced, other than by my appearance.

I make my way over to the mirror. This is the first time I see my reflection clearly, without any ripples distorting the image. I look at myself from all angles. There definitely are clear differences between my appearance and that of the other pony. He looks more blocky and toned, while I look more round and elegant, if I may say so myself.

Next to me another pony is washing their hooves. She looks way more like me in shape and build. That kind of verifies that I am now indeed a girl, or mare I should say.

I brush my mane to make sure all the twigs and knots are gone. After that I realize that I actually have to go, and let me tell you, the combination of becoming a different species AND a different gender didn’t make it easier to figure out how to do my business, especially with these front hooves instead of hands. I managed to figure out how to pick stuff up with my hooves at least, so that’s a win.

After washing said hooves, I made my way back to the bar. Awaiting me there still is the pony that accepted me into this tavern. On the bar besides him, next to the glasses of cider, there now also sat a plate of what looks like a burger and some fries.

“Here, eat up! The tavern keeper made them himself.” He says. I took a closer look and saw that the fries weren’t actually made out of potato, but out of some kind of wheat or grass. The “burger” patty looked to be made with a similar kind of stalky plant. I was a bit apprehensive to try it, but the burger was actually quite delicious. It was cooked perfectly and have a great texture. I have a feeling that my sense of taste has also changed along with the rest of me.

“Thank you!” I say with a mouth full of food, “That was great!”

“Did you like it?” He asks, “It’s the tavern’s specialty.”

“Yeah, it was really good! I really like the bun, it had a great texture and taste. The cheese was great too, I think I even prefer the kind they have here.”

“I’m glad you liked it. Oh, by the way, where are my manners. My name is Night Beacon, but you can call me Night.” He holds out his hoof as if to shake mine.

“Uh, my name is Morning Wonder. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Likewise! So, where are you from?”

“Umm, from Canterlot City, though I don’t know if you’ve heard of it...”

“Of course I have! There ain’t no pony here in Ponyville that hasn’t heard of the capital of Equestria! Hay, you can see Canterlot mountain from town square! I didn’t know that any pegasi lived there, apart from the royal guard. You one of them? You do have the white fur like they have.”

“Me, a guard? No, far from it.” I never had any combat training, but I didn’t feel comfortable telling him that yet, though I’m getting the feeling that he’s quite a nice guy.

“So, do you have any plans for where to stay tonight? You could crash at my place if you want to...”

I kinda dreaded this question. Especially now that I became the opposite gender, I didn’t like the idea of sleeping at the house of a guy that I just met. But I also didn’t want to be rude or anything. He did provide me with a meal after all.

“I’ll be honest and I have to say that I don’t feel comfortable with that. I don’t know you that well, as I only just met you. I hope you understand.”

Night looks a bit saddened by this, but doesn’t dwell on it for too long.

“How about this then. I’ll see if my boss has a room left over where you can stay the night for free. Considering the circumstances, I think that he wouldn’t mind, since it isn’t tourist season. I can even get you a train ticket back to Canterlot if you want.”

“That would actually be above and beyond what I could even imagine. Thank you very much, from the bottom of my heart!”

He gives me a little smile and excuses himself to go talk to his boss. I sit and finish eating my food and think of how lucky I am. A night’s accommodation along with a free rail ticket. Where I come from no one would ever consider offering something like that.

It doesn’t take long for Night to come back.

“Hey, I managed to get you the room for tonight. There’s a small catch though.”

“What is it?”

“Well, we have a back room that needs to be prepped for a big reservation tomorrow. He said that if you are willing to sweep the floor and clean the tables, that he’ll be happy to let you stay in one of the guest rooms for a night.”

“I can do that.” I say, “It’s only fair to help out a little in return after all.”

“That’s the spirit!” He walks me over to the broom closet and shows me what rags and cleaning products to use for the tables. After that he hands me a key. “Your room is on the second floor to the left of the stairs. Can’t mis it. I gotta head out now. My shift ended and I promised my little bro to hang out together later this evening.”

“Oh, don’t let me hold you up then.”

“Don’t worry. And here,” he says as he hands me a little bag of coins, “This should be enough to be able to take the train back to Canterlot.”

“Again, thank you very much for your kindness and hospitality!”

“That’s alright. Glad I could help a mare in need.”

With those last words, he gives a little wave, turns around, and leaves the room. I put the string that was attached to the bag around my neck, so I don’t lose it. After that, I get to work. It takes me 20 minutes to completely sweep the floor and another 10 to get all the tables clean and shiny. With a proud smile I put the broom and cleaning supplies back in the closet. I head upstairs to my room and crash onto the bed. It’s a good thing that I didn’t have any clothes on to begin with, because I would have been too tired to take them off.

I think back to everything that happened to me today and what crazy situation I got myself in. I hope the next morning brings me some answers to what brought me to this strange new world.

It doesn’t take long for me to fall asleep and my thoughts to be consumed by my dreams.