//------------------------------// // Am I Alone? // Story: Becoming Rainbow Dash: A Tale of Two Worlds // by Freescript the Bard //------------------------------// <> Day One <> Okay… let's just take this one step at a– "GYYAAAH!!!" THUMP! "WAH!" BANG! WHACK! "D'OW!" CONK! WUMP! CRASH! KA-BASH! "Oof!" –time… Groaning, I rubbed a hoof to my head, trying to ease the pain. Thinking back, I had made the mistake of trying to imitate my cat again, instead of slowing down and thinking it through. With a slight decrease of a headache, I made a mental note to figure out how to go down the stairs, preferably without bruising myself. Getting over the hurt that punctuated my body, I shook the daze from my eyes. At least I was where I wanted to go, and that in itself was good enough for me. Realizing something was missing. I looked around for the bag of apples I had thought were in my mouth during the descent. A bag of apples doesn't just disappear. Where could it have–? CONK! I really should have seen that coming… Cartoon physics aside, I now had the goal of my quest done. On the downside, I had a new head injury to contend with my others, but at least I could satisfy my hunger. Picking up the bag of galas, I moved into my room, throwing the fruits of my labor onto the bed. With less-than-graceful skills, I scrambled up the thankfully low side and flopped down beside them, then tearing a larger hole in the plastic with my teeth. Gingerly, I reached my muzzle in an plucked out an apple. Now, because of my new equine tooth structure and tastes, I could easily crush through the core of the fruit in three bites, leaving nothing behind. No trash, more sustenance! Two more apples followed suit, meeting their demise in the same manner. My hunger sated, I reclined on the bed, entirely content. "To think half an hour ago, I was driven to tears," I mused to myself. I gave a start, looking down at my muzzle. Is that… really my voice? The sound that came out of my mouth wasn't my own. The thought hit me like a grenade, dampening my spirits once more. Right… I'm still Rainbow Dash… I sighed, the severity of the situation weighing down my once-light mood. I still had no idea what happened to me, or why, for that matter. It was impossible, or rather, should be impossible. But what was the reasoning? Did someone or something do this to me? If so, who or what would gain anything from turning me into Rainbow Dash? Discord has unpredictable powers, and he loves messing with ponies. He could be the culprit. While that may have been the case, I shoved that thought aside. Discord was in Equestria… and a statue. That's assuming Equestria is real, which is a valid possibility at this point. On that note, another revelation hit me. If Equestria is real, and I'm Rainbow Dash, what happened to the real Rainbow Dash? Oh sweet innocent loveable baby Luna in her crib… My eyes widened reflexively. What if… what if Rainbow Dash… is me?! My mind instinctively went through the scenarios of what the pegasus would be going through if this were true. At least I have a reference for being a pony. Rainbow Dash wouldn't have a clue about how humans walk. In my head, a visualization occurred. My human body sitting on the ground with a confused look, staring at the fingers as if they were poisonous snakes. It was… actually kind of amusing, making me laugh to myself. With the hope that Rainbow Dash could handle herself, possibly with Lyra's help, I sat back and closed my eyes. …only to open them not thirty seconds later. Eeyup. I'm officially bored. I looked over at my computer. Without fingers, I couldn't type, and using a pencil with my mouth would be frustratingly slow, so working on Brony Recon was out of the question. Reading? Nope, I had finished every book in my collection, and reading fan-fiction from my computer had the same complications as writing. For a few seconds, I thought about trying to fly with my new wings, but chuckled inwardly a out how hard moving around horizontally was. So I reached an ultimatum. I didn't like it all that much, but I needed something to do. Sighing, I rolled off the bed again and trotted my way out of my room and up the stairs again. Hopefully Dad brought the mail in today, I wished silently. Sure enough, a pile of letters and magazines littered the small table next to the sofa. Like a begging dog, I hopped my front hooves up onto the table. Sifting through the pile with my muzzle, I searched until I found what I was looking for. The Sunday newspaper. Man, if Rainbow Dash saw me now, she would call me such an egghead. I flipped the paper into my teeth, careful to grip it with my lips as to not get it ripped or soggy, and walked back to the… Oh hell no! I thought bitterly as I looked at the stairs. There is no way I'm going through that again. Deciding on a less painful alternative, I tossed the newspaper onto the couch and scrambled up after it. Not even peeking at the front page, I nosed my muzzle into the folds and flipped to a random spot in the news. Sports… not exactly my kind of reading, but hay, anything works at this point. It's not that I didn't like sports; I just didn't find them entertaining on paper. Watching them on a HD flat-screen? Priceless. Let's see… Brewers beat someone… Yankees owned the White Sox… Cubs still suck… I sighed, once again disappointed by the disability of the Sports section to provide entertainment. Baseball is the only thing on there I'm familiar with… the whole section takes two pages! Frustrated, I flipped back to the front page… …and stopped dead cold. Had I been a passive observer, I would have witnesses my irises become pinpricks, and my jaw hang loosely on its hinges. The only other movements I would make for the next fifteen minutes was the occasional twitch of the eye. The headline stood out in bold print, burning into my brain. <> Day -1 <> Lauren Faust woke up to the sun shinning in her face. Any other day, she would have cursed the foul star for beaming into her eyes, but today, the warm rays seemed to empower her, and give her a natural energy that coffee alone couldn't. And a good morning to you too, world, she thought cheerily. The silence of the home reminded her that Craig was still at his conference. Well, I have nothing else to do today. Might as well get some work done. Casually, she sat up on the bed and stood up. The next second, she was on the ground. Lauren shook her head, confused. That's weird… my balance seems to be off. As a response to the pain, she put her hand to her head to ease the throbbing. Only, it didn't feel like a hand. What the…?! Lauren tore her hand away from her head, holding it in front of her gaze. Lauren Faust looked upon it in shock. What had once been her hand was now a stumpy appendage, with white-colored hairs covering it. On the underside, a hard material could be found in the shape of an upside-down 'u'. HOOVES?!? "W-why do I have…" As soon as she began to hear her own voice, Lauren slapped a hoof to her mouth in surprise. She didn't sound like herself, instead sounding more regal and refined, as if her voice was trained to keep calm. Although it wasn't her voice, it still sounded all too familiar. To confirm her suspicions, Lauren glanced down at her body. It was covered in a white coat throughout, and had long, slender legs. Two large wings fluttered at her sides, the tips occasionally tickling her flanks. Behind her, a tail of simmering rainbows flowed, as if an ethereal wind was passing through the room. At the edge if her vision, Lauren could see a long, spear like horn extending from her forehead. On her flanks was a bright orange sun. I-I… I'm… Princess Celestia?! Just like every other human being who would find themselves in a strange, yet familiar body, Lauren Faust fainted.