//------------------------------//
// On A Wing And A Prayer 
// Story: Angels and Demons 
// by lunabrony 
//------------------------------//

"Norman? Norman? Are you okay?"

He was on his back, confused. It had been disorientating. There had been a bright light, a sense of falling and then a discontinuous transition to where he was now. Looked up at Angel she seemed... different. He recognized her, but... was this how she looked here? The proportions were a little different but it was her. He coughed a bit "That... was wild. Did it work? Am I…" He extended what he thought was a hand towards her, so that she could help him up.

His limbs were in all the wrong places. Angel looked... there was no other way to put it. She looked absolutely beautiful. He knew now where she got her name. Her colors were unnaturally bright and vibrant, her mane bounced and curled in ways that Earth never would have allowed. Her eyes were the brightest shade of blue he'd ever seen. He half expected to look behind her and see a line of suitors stretching all the way back to the nearest town. The second thing he noticed was his front leg, covered in thick light blue fur, and the hoof at the end of it. She grabbed a hold of it, and yanked him up. "I'm so glad you're alright." She said with relief. "I've never done that before. Not with someone else."

The limbs had shifted, and reoriented a bit. His legs had always been below his torso, now they were on the side. He felt the floor for the first time through the muted sense of the hooves, like a toeless shoe, some carpet brushed against the sensitive underside. His brain was working on overtime processing all the sensations, and trying to interpret them. Okay, so my arms point a little more forward and my fingers have stretched out a single limb terminating in a hoof, he thought. And things were shiny to boot. "You're... beautiful!" He said, standing up a little funny. Wow, overbalance, he landed forward on all fours with a loud clank, looking as uneasy on his limbs as Bambi on the ice. He shook his head... long neck, long... head? Oh yeah, like her. He felt the mane flap, and tried standing up. "It worked!" He exclaimed looking at her. "Haha, you really did it!"

His comment seemed to brighten her up even more. "Yes, years of daily intense grooming will do that." She teased. Something was coming up the road behind Angel, something white, bouncing up and down. He couldn't quite make out what it was. But as soon as he tried to focus on it, it was just... gone. Angel assumed a rather snobbish looking stance, and stuck her nose up. "Of course Angel did it. Was there ever any doubt?" The reference was lost on him. She seemed to realize this, and dropped the facade. "How are you feeling? Don't try to rush into it."

"I don't know? I haven't had a sudden change of what I was, before." Was he even the same? Could he translate human Norman from the Universe, into pony Norman of Equestria? He felt the hard floor beneath the hooves. Tried to wriggle fingers... nothing, no wait, the hoof seemed to flex subtly. He looked up and took a few deep breaths. "It's all a bit much all at once." His torso was horizontal, but he was standing up, on four legs. He lifted the legs in turn and looked around a little. He wondered about the white thing he had seen, but first things first.

They were in a park. Ponies of every color were running, walking, and flying everywhere. A few select unicorns were practicing magic on different objects. Every size and color were accounted for, and they all had... well, he'd assumed Angels cross on her flank had been a birthmark, but they all had one, and each one was different. Behind him, was a beautiful city, stretching up towards the sky. Assimilation was becoming easier once his mind settled, and his legs functioned more properly.

The spectacle was hard to take his eyes of. She could have rooted me here and it would all have been worth it. The sensation was peaceful. "The people here seem very happy." He remarked as he shook his rump a bit, he felt the tail respond. Check. "Get your camera ready. I'm taking my first step." He teased. How did she do it? Right arm... er foreleg first, then left hindleg...

Just to appease him, Angel summoned a camera out of nowhere. But before either of them could do anything, he was tackled from behind, and something was hugging him. Something large and white. "Hi!" Whatever it was had caused Angel to facehoof. "Oh Celestia, not her."

Needless to say, despite how sturdy standing on four hooves ought to be, he collapsed onto his belly, legs folded clumsily under him. At least the forelegs have arm like flexibility. He was about to reach behind, but he remembered that he now sported hard hooves, so he turned his head instead. Seeing what was on his back, both the white thing he had seen colliding with him, and… wing check.

There were no wings, so that was out. He was covered in soft blue fur, and Angel hadn't told him if he had a horn or not. Sitting behind him was the white object he'd seen a few moments ago. A pony with the same color scheme as Angel. White coat, yellow mane. "Surprise!" She giggled. "Get it?" He didn't. "Cause that's my name and I surprised you!" Oh God, was she ever bouncy. "I saw you coming up the road and I didn't know who you were and I know all the ponies here so that means you must be new!" Her words fired out of her like a machine gun. His head hurt again. "And since you're new, welcome to Canterlot, new pony!" She squeaked. Canterlot? Wasn't Angel supposd to take him to Evodia? 

It hurt, he gritted his teeth... which had moved somewhat more forward, at least the front ones. Would this body never stop to give him surprises. His muzzle thankfully wasn't as long as the ponies in his world had been. "Hi there, Surprise. You... uh... surprised me." Alright, be a good example, Angel is here. He looked at her pleadingly, and cast her a 'Know her?' look. Well, time to try to get up, filly on my back or not. He tried gathering his legs up and stand up gracefully. At least as much grace as a newbie could muster. Then again, it didn't feel impossible. What would I have been if I been born here? I guess basic mobility was covered. Then again...

Angel looked annoyed. "Yes." She said flatly. "Surprise, isn't it Golden Harvests birthday today?" The white pony gasped in horror. "Ohmygoshitis!" She said. "I gotta go!" With that, she bolted down the road. Angel looked relieved. "Thank Celestia for that." She muttered, and leaned down offer an apologetic nuzzle. "Are you okay?"

"I'm alright, headache returned but its bearable." He said standing up, brushing off some dirt on his left foreleg. "And hey, I'm standing, I was afraid I'd have to be taught to move from scratch." There wasn't much of a wobble. He stood firmly, just in a very strange position. "Is she your little sister?" The horn check could wait for later.

"Oh no, Surprise doesn't have any siblings. But she knows everypony, and everypony knows her." She said. "Looks like you just had your first encounter with the locals, I'm surprised it took her THAT long, honestly. But she should be off our backs for now. Just don't ever tell her when your birthday is. You'll never get rid of her." She warned. "Well... as Surprise said. Welcome to Canterlot...um... we still have to name you, don't we?"

He nodded "So... Surprise, Angel, Golden Harvest?" And she had said something about a Celestia. That was all the names he knew. "Somehow I don't think Norman would be a normal name here, but I don't really know what I should be called. Blue Migraine?" Nope, he instantly knew that wouldn't be a proper name. It would be like calling someone in his world "Bob Hrallroprillalar." Well, maybe not that bad, but something along that nature. "Tell you what, you got me here, you changed me, so, you name me." He trusted Angel, if anyone should name him it would be her.

Angel sat next to him, as patient as ever. "Well, tell me Norman, what are you good at, what are your favorite things to do?" She asked.

"Reading, definitely, and solving puzzles, riddles, figuring how things work. I love mystery novels." Always had and always would. "I haven't written much, but I've tried. I'm good at games I think, I like maths and chemistry, not so much physics. Biology." What was he really good at? He hadn't really thought about that. "I enjoy walks in the forest and light candle dinners." He joked, hoping it wouldn't go over her head. The cultural overlap varied greatly, sometimes they would be on exactly the same wavelength, and sometimes she would wonder what he meant by things like the internet. "I do like going for walks, its nice, mostly alone sometimes with friends, finding things no-one's seen before. I guess that's kinda why I really wanted to come with you."

She sat there for a good moment, although gave him an odd look at the bit about candle dinners. She wasn't sure if that was directed at her or not. "Hm... puzzles and math... you like unlocking things... Silver Key? It's vague, but it works." She offered.

"Silver Key..." It tasted a little odd, yet it seemed to go with what names were in this world, so he decided to go for it. "Alright, then that's my name, and if people ask where I'm from I say Manehattan." He rechecked the rules with her. Just to be sure they were on the same wavelength. "So... what happens now?" His stomach decided to answer that by growling, he'd only had the soda that morning. He blushed. Boy your belly really wriggles when it growls here in Equestria.

"Now? Now I treat you to dinner." She said kindly, and produced some strange form of currency he'd never seen before. Large gold coins from a pouch in a medical bag she summoned from thin air. "This will be an interesting experience for you. The cafe is right down the street, this way." She said cheerfully.