//------------------------------//
// Today 
// Story: Strange New World 
// by Boopy Doopy 
//------------------------------//

Lake thought that being a pegasus was weird. Being a horse was strange enough, but a horse with wings? It was downright strange.
The former human waited until after Tory, Sapphire, and Roxanne departed for Earth before he checked out one of the books at the library on his species. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't have much confidence in his friends’ objective of finding anything. The map made it look like the island was uninhabited, with many miles separating it from civilization. They were probably gonna be here long term, which meant he should start getting used to living in this world.
And one of the things he had to get used to was having large, feathery wings. They ruffled and shifted subconsciously sometimes, they felt stiff and sore when he slept on his back, and his feathers were starting to look like a mess after so long on Equus, to put it frankly. They were uncomfortable and seemed a little bit mangy, compared to the nice, neat, orderly feathers he had almost a month ago at the start of this adventure.
The book he checked out explained why; pegasi, like he was, needed to preen their wings. He didn’t know how to do that, but he kind of figured he would have to, with how mussed up they were looking.
The book explained how to him, too, thankfully. However, the process it described made his cheeks warm, even as he lay alone in the spare bedroom in Sapphire Glow's house. Apparently, there were two main things that made up the activity: something called “rezipping” feathers, and oiling them up to keep them waterproofed and to repel lice and bacteria. The first part wasn't anything too crazy. He was just supposed to take them in his mouth, straighten them out, and reposition them nice and neat. There was a graph and everything that showed him exactly how he should do it.
The embarrassing part came in when the book told him where on his body the preen oil gland was located. No, this wasn't going to be an activity to do in front of other people, not even if he was naked all the time. Fiddling around with his dock and tail like that in public, especially having to use his mouth—he would die of shame before he ever finished. He didn't even know his neck and body were that flexible to begin with.
It did feel good though, having his feathers straightened and looking nice and shiny after a few hours of figuring it out. Pretty relaxing too, actually, somewhere in between just stepping out of the shower after working all day and taking a low dose of alprazolam. It was enough so that Lake found himself sighing contentedly as he worked and even still a little bit after he finished. Whether it came from the preen oil or just his now bird-horse brain interpreting this as the right thing to do, Lake didn't know.
But then, of course, that feeling made sense. The book said he was supposed to do it every five to seven days for good maintenance. Too little, and the feathers would get brittle; too often, they'd fall out. Preening them regularly was considered a big part of pegasi health, large enough that he might not be able to fly properly later if he didn't.
And flying was something else he was going to have to learn to do eventually. If they were gonna be here long term, it was going to be useful for him to learn to do. He was a little worried about it at just the thought; he very much got motion sick easily and didn't like doing exciting things. But he would try to learn. It would be a pretty neat experience, one that no other person in history could claim to have had if he did.
Not right that second though. First, he made himself lunch, and then took a nap on the couch, able to lay more comfortably on his back again now that his wings were preened. He was feeling relaxed enough that he was able to doze off for a couple of hours before he continued reading the book. He was even able to mostly ignore his worries about Tory, Roxanne, and Sapphire.
Flying for Lake, according to the book, should have been easy. Pegasi apparently had a natural inclination to fly, although Lake wasn't sure he'd felt that instinct so far after almost a month or so in Equestria. The book said that as long as he was preened properly and his wings were fully grown—which seemed to be the case on both fronts now—then all he should've had to do was jump slightly and flap them steadily, and the magic around and inside of him would kick in automatically. It made no sense, but it seemed simple enough.
He stepped outside, and tried his best to do what the book said. He flapped his wings, kicked off the ground, and… he was in the air, and slowly rising! Lake gasped in surprise, and then, forgetting to flap his wings, promptly fell back to the ground as gravity kicked in enough for him to land on his face. Ouch.
Note to self, he thought as he rubbed his now sore muzzle with a hoof. Concentrate on what I'm doing.
The second time he tried to fly, it hurt a lot less when he fell. It helped when he made sure to land more on his body than on his face. It turned out, pegasi bodies were also a lot lighter than the bodies of other kinds of ponies, and their bones had more flexibility to them. It sounded strange, but it meant that they were more resistant to damage and healed faster when they were hurt. It was a good thing, Lake decided, since it meant he would be safer not only flying, but in general.
And he needed it, because he fell over and over and over again. Five times, ten times, a couple dozen—concentrating on keeping his wings flapping in the air was difficult. He didn’t know what it was exactly; probably a combination of controlling his body the way he wanted and focusing on his breathing as he lifted into the sky. Eventually, he realized if he sort of pushed himself forward while flying and kept his wings outstretched, he’d glide instead of falling straight to the ground. It wasn’t before he received several black and blue marks under his orange coat though. He was gonna be sore tomorrow.
It wasn’t as bad as flying on an airplane; being able to control his body himself rather than riding along inside a machine made the motion much easier for his stomach to deal with. But he was still kind of dizzy after a couple of hours of attempts. He might have managed to get himself one or two stories off of the ground by the time he made himself dinner, and could stay in the air for a good minute or so. It was something, he supposed, considering he largely had no idea or instinct for what he was doing.
“I watched you out there for a while,” Shimmering Diamond commented as she ate dinner with him and drank her usual beer. “I thought pegasi were supposed to be natural fliers, but you looked like a school aged colt.”
“Well like we said before,” Lake replied, “my friends and I are supposed to be humans. It's a wonder I can even walk without tripping over myself.” He rubbed his aching body and stretched out his now sore wings as the mare sipped her drink.
“Well, if you say so,” she shrugged. “It's easier with just you here right now. You're a lot easier to deal with than Saph or your friends are.” Then she lit up her horn to pick up her plate and take it with her to the bedroom. Interesting words.
It was now two ponies in this world who said Lake was handling things better than Tory and Roxanne were, and he wasn't sure why. Did being nervous and stressed out all the time do anything to put them at ease? He didn't know; he only knew that caution was usually the best idea, rather than his friends’ recklessness. Maybe that was the difference. Ponies liked it when you used common sense and appreciated the things they did for you. Just like any human. Friendship was a tangible force in this world after all.
Maybe they could use that to their advantage somehow. He wasn't sure how, but maybe.
But there was still tension outside when he headed over to Lilac Beauty’s house the next day to check on the closet. It wasn’t that bad once Lake got out of the neighborhood, or was just sitting in or around Sapphire’s house. But the walk between her house and the main part of Manehattan was stressful. Even more so since he still hadn’t been able to take any anti anxiety meds.
He chilled out for an hour or two at Lilac’s house, then headed to the library for a while before making the journey back. He could understand why carriage taxis existed with how much walking he’d been doing the last month or so. A few miles a day, at least. The entire trip to Lilac’s house and back had to be around three or four hours. It was getting dark as he started to get back into the neighborhood.
Lake very much disliked being outside at night, especially alone. It was one of the many things that made him anxious, and a problem that he couldn’t really do much about since he had to visit Lilac’s house every day, except maybe wake up earlier. It didn’t help that his friends had his phone, so he couldn’t play music to try and ignore those feelings. Even worse with all this uncomfortable unease in the air. When did Sapphire say whatever cleaning crews came around would be here?
He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes to take a breath before continuing on. How many times before did he think someone was following him because of anxiety? A thousand times, at least. It was just a feeling, one he could easily push back with just a glance over his shoulder. No one was here, just as expected. It would’ve been nice if there were street lights anywhere in this city though.
A couple of ponies walked in the opposite direction on the other side of the street, and a bird, a creature that looked like a griffon, stared bored at nothing in particular as Lake passed their house to continue to Sapphire’s. The neighborhood might have been a bit run down, but obviously the people who lived here would be normal. He might have been irrationally anxious, but could still rationally think at the same time that it would be stupid to just randomly attack a stranger walking along. Especially given that it wasn’t that late out yet.
Another griffon on the other side of the street, a couple of ponies arguing loudly in front of their house, a black buggish looking creature crossing the street to get to his own home. A pony coming up behind him to quickly pass him, and—wait, he’d seen that stallion before. A gray unicorn with a dirty blonde mane?
“What the heck are you doing out here, Roxie?” Lake called. “I thought you and Tory and Sapphire were back on Earth! Why are you all alone?”
The stallion turned around, looking around to see if Lake could’ve been talking to anyone else. Then, irritatedly, he asked, “Who the hell is Roxie?” Oops. Lake should’ve known it wasn’t her.
“Sorry,” he apologized quickly, shaking his head. “Mental lapse. I thought you were someone else.” That was awkward.
The stallion grunted, rolled his eyes, and turned back around to continue onto wherever he was going. He didn’t take more than three steps though before something apparently clicked and he spun back around. Lake almost jumped out of his skin, it was so sudden.
“You’re talking about that changeling, aren’t you!” His voice was suddenly much louder, much more angry, with a venom in it that Lake didn’t expect. Gone was his anxiety; it was already replaced completely with fear. His wings twitched nervously as he tried to take a step back.
The stallion stepped closer in response. “I– we–” Lake stuttered. He didn’t need to be able to sense emotions like Roxie to see how infuriated this guy was. When had she even had the chance to interact with him?
“She’s not supposed to be a changeling,” he tried to say. “I don’t know what she did, but we’re not actually from— aah! Let me go!”
There was suddenly a yellow aura enveloping his front and back hooves, holding his legs tightly in place, as well as his wings. The unicorn's horn glowed brightly in the darkening street, and a few creatures around them stopped to look at the two. Not that any of them seemed particularly interested in helping him.
The stallion had a hateful expression as he stepped up to Lake, practically pushing his muzzle in his face. His jaw was clenched while Lake’s own teeth were chattering, his eyes wide. What the heck had set him off so quickly? He didn’t know, but his breathing was already picking up.
“Is that what it is?” he demanded. “Your friend thinks that because they’re a changeling they have nothing to worry about? Is that what you think? You think because you look clean cut like she does there’s nothing to be scared of?”
“No! I don’t think that!” Lake was already begging, wriggling around to try and get free as the stallion kept his nose to his face. “Please! Please let me go!”
“And then you transform into me like you think you're better than me?” he snarled. “Like your friend did?” What in the world had Roxanne done to piss off this random stallion so much? She never mentioned an encounter like this! 
“I can't transform! I'm not a changeling!” Lake got out. “I don't know what she did, but I promise, I won't do anything to you! Please! It's probably just all the tension in the air making—FUCK!”
Lake was suddenly crying out in pain as a sharp something hit his side, cutting into him. The good news was that this stallion dropped him to the ground. But now it was his own jaw that was clenched as the spot just above his left hip seared in pain. It felt like a burning knife in his side, but he didn’t look right now. Instead, his eyes were shut tight as he shivered and tried to hold back a scream. He didn’t do a very good job, not that it mattered. It still didn’t seem like anypony around them particularly cared what was going on, outside of slight curiosity.
“That’s what you get for thinking you can talk to me however you want!” the stallion yelled at him. “And you better tell your friend that that’s what they’ll get, too! I’m not gonna let them walk all over me next time!”
What? Was this not him doing whatever he wanted to Lake right now? He couldn’t think—only kept his eyes closed and breathed deeply, painfully and held back his scream this time. What the heck had Roxanne done to him? Lake had a feeling that asking was only going to make things worse. The stallion was at least walking away now, muttering something to himself.
Lake opened his eyes again, slowly standing back up and putting a hoof to his side as he looked around. Still no one really seemed to care. A couple of ponies looked at him from across the street, and then continued on their way to wherever. Another griffon passed from behind him, not even giving him a glance. Wasn’t this world supposed to be dominated by friendship? Lake let out a breath and shuddered from the pain.
Blood was on his hoof when he pulled it away, with some dripping down to the ground and onto his leg, staining his coat. It wasn’t gushing thankfully, only trickling out steadily, but it still felt horrible. The wound burned enough that it brought tears to his eyes. He definitely needed a hospital. Which way was the nearest one? Back in town probably. Was he even going to make it there? Did this town have an emergency line possible to call?
He winced and groaned in pain, shivered again, then moved to head back the way he came. Walking back home again even later in the night was going to be terrifying. What the heck had Roxanne done to that guy?
If it didn’t before, being in Equestria officially sucked now.
“He was upset with your changeling friend because she spoke back to him,” someone said out of the blue. Lake tensed up quickly again, then gasped in pain from the motion. He turned around slowly, and came face to face with a black buggish looking creature, one with dragonfly wings and holes in its limbs. It had an unreadable expression on its face as it looked him up and down. Just like the other creatures, it also seemed not to particularly care that Lake just got stabbed.
“What?” Lake breathed deeply, still wincing. “Please help me. Can you call someone?” His voice came out quieter than he wanted, and his limbs were shaking. His eyes were getting more wet, and a tear touched the fur on his cheek as he stood there. What the hell had even just happened?
“Only because you are friends with the changeling,” the black bug told him. Why it took until now to click for Lake that this thing was a changeling, too, he didn’t know, but if they would help, he didn’t care. He felt light headed, but not like he was about to pass out. How could he, with how badly his side now hurt?
“You are not a changeling,” they said—Lake couldn’t tell if they were a guy or a girl, they’re anatomy looking stranger than anything he’d seen yet. “Yet you are the same as your friend. You have more confidence than a normal pony. Do you hail from the same place as they?”
“Yeah,” he said, completely unable to ignore his pain. “Can you please help me? Can you do the same magic as the other ponies?” He didn't feel very confident, even if most of his anxious fear was replaced with sharp, searing pain. He couldn't imagine what it must've been like to have even less.
“Yes,” the changeling told him. “You will go now. Tell your friend that I await a time when we will speak again. I am certain they have many interesting things to say.”
Their jagged looking horn lit up in a sickly green glow, and Lake closed his eyes once again, knowing he was about to be teleported like the police did with them before. A second later, he was inside a bright building—a hospital, and had a couple of nurses rushing up to him and leading him along to get treated.
He didn’t even realize he was being given an anesthetic until he was groggily waking up again in a hospital bed, his side still very much burning. He was breathing hard, and already starting to sweat as he tried to refocus his thoughts. What the hell was all that? What the heck had Roxanne gotten herself involved with? At least that changeling came to his aid. What would’ve happened had it just ignored him like the other creatures did? He was pretty sure he knew the answer.
“Glad you’re awake, guy,” the familiar voice of Shimmering Diamond said from beside him as she looked up from a book she was reading. “I can’t imagine you’re feeling very good though.”
“No…” Lake got out in a hoarse voice. He cleared his throat, and asked, “How the heck did you get here?”
“You guys have your address listed as my place,” she said. “Of course they’re gonna message me. What do you expect?” She sighed, looked back down at her book, and said, “They apparently already caught the stallion, since he stabbed you with everypony around. A gray one with a yellow mane? What happened to you anyway?”
“Don’t know,” Lake got out breathlessly. “Was walking back to your house when he stabbed me… fuck.” He closed his eyes again. He felt bad.
“Well, doesn’t matter if they already got him,” Shimmering Diamond shrugged. “You’ll probably feel rough for a few days, I think, but it shouldn’t be that bad. You really shouldn’t be walking around at night if you don’t know how to fly though. I thought Saph would’ve told you that.”
“She did…” But he had to, because he decided to go to the library instead of coming straight back home. Or more generally, because the portal only showed up when he opened the closet. Apparently friendship was enough to make impossible wormholes to other universes but couldn’t stop you from being physically assaulted by some crazed pony. 
“Hey, Lake?” the mare beside him started again. “Be careful. Seriously. I know you guys are all serious about that human stuff, but it’s not worth getting stabbed over if it comes to that.”
“Yeah. I know,” he told her. He hoped he did know.
The book might have said pegasi were fast healers, but as Sapphire Glow’s mother told him, it was still a rough few days. The very first thing was talking to the police, the same two cops that arrested him when they first showed up. Normally, he wouldn't have cared about how crazy the story about the portal might have sounded, but Lake could see by the look on their faces they weren't as sympathetic as they would've been with someone else. He focused on just describing the incident itself and not the context around it.
They were professional enough though as they took down the information, and told him a few days later that the stallion entered a guilty plea in exchange for an eight and a half year sentence. Lake figured that was okay enough. The doctors said he'd only take a couple to weeks at max to be back to full strength after this, and he’d never see that horse again.
It was definitely still a rough few days. The pain meds they delivered through the IV helped, but the catheter didn't. He didn't even realize he was wearing one for the first few hours until the police left and the nurses came to talk to him. Both were gone within a day, and were replaced by going to the bathroom on his own and a week’s prescription for pain meds. He wasn't surprised by the fact that they had oxycodone and hydrocodone in this universe. He opted instead for acetaminophen though.
He was released a couple of days later, with orders to take it easy for a couple of days more. Sapphire Glow walked him home, and then he followed the instructions, not heading out anywhere for two days. He was sure his friends would understand if it took him a little longer to get back to Lilac’s house, and preening his wings helped to calm some of his anxiety about it. Hopefully they’d have found a way to get to somewhere useful when he got back to them.
Of course he felt his anxiety coming back in full force. He didn’t want to stay here forever. Especially not after something like what just happened. Why did he even follow them through to Equus? But then, if he hadn't, both of them would've been trapped here in the best case. Worst case, they'd be in jail.
What was even happening back on Earth, in Pennsylvania? Did they think he was dead and doing a murder investigation? Did they sell his possessions? Were his friends and family crying at a funeral they held for him? Hopefully instead they had the New York Times and other newspapers doing a scientific investigation. He somehow doubted it though. Who the heck would believe something like this? Lake wouldn't. He still almost didn’t, with nothing but his sore body keeping him grounded in reality right then.
The pegasus decided eventually that it was time to stop feeling sorry for himself and head back over to Lilac Beauty's house. He felt good enough to walk, although he moved a little slower through Manhattan to get to his destination. Maybe he could stay at Lilac’s house if it got too late. He was not going out again on his own.
Hopefully the portal was still there. If not, he hoped Tory and Roxanne wouldn't be upset with him for taking so long to get back. 
Or that they would have the chance to be upset. There was a crowd of stallions around Lilac Beauty's house, all of them white coated ponies of different breeds, wearing armor as they chatted with one another. There were a few police officers talking with the home’s owner as the old mare stood outside. A couple of them eyed Lake as he approached, giving him a look as though silently telling him to keep back.
And before he could even call to Lilac to ask what was happening, there was Tory, Roxanne, and Sapphire Glow being led out by police again.