"...ow," groaned Stanley as he came to consciousness. "My back...why does my back hurt...wait...SKILLIT!"
Stanley bolted up to a sitting position, wide awake with momentary panic as he remembered what had happened just moments ago. But what he saw confused him. Skillit had said he was going to send Stanley to a world of chaos and misery. Stanley had honestly expected a world very similar to that of the Shadow Land from which Skillit originated, which was a dark world full of monsters and demons, lacking in light and sun. What he wasn't expecting was to end up in a small room that only had beige walls, a small painting on one of said walls, a green door, a small bedside table, a mirror, and a small but comfortable bed. Not exactly what came to his mind when told 'chaos and misery'.
"Okay...this wasn't what I was expecting," he said, looking around. "Maybe Skillit opened the wrong portal? Then again, maybe this is just a trick, an illusion...well, at least he didn't get the mask...wait...THE MASK!"
He looked around in a panic and found his briefcase sitting on the bedside table, still snapped shut. After checking to make sure there weren't any holes in it (hey, it's his only briefcase) he unlatched and opened up the thing, revealing the green wooden mask that gave its eerie glow across its surface.
"Oh, thank goodness it's safe," he said, closing the suitcase again. "At least nobody's taken it."
As the words left his mouth, he saw the door open up. Standing there was...a yellow cartoon-like pony with pink hair and blue eyes, looking at him with concern. In his career as bearer of the Mask, he had come across many kinds of beings, including a mad scientist bent on spreading chaos, a disgruntled weather reporter who gained powers over the weather itself, a witch who could turn anything and everything into cheese, and even a blue-skinned imp who hailed from a hellish world. But while all of those beings were both malicious and strange, at least they were somewhat understandable (well, understandable for him, anyways). To Stanley, a yellow pony came completely from left field. And as if it was just to confuse him even more, said yellow pony began to speak.
"Oh, you're awake!" she exclaimed softly. "I'm glad. How are you feeling?"
"...what?" he asked, trying to process what was going on in front of him.
"I, um, asked how you are feeling. You're not hurt, are you?"
"...I think I'm finally losing my mind," he said to himself. "Maybe I've been knocked unconscious from falling out of Skillit's portal and this is a dream...then again, he did say this was a world of chaos. Maybe talking horses is part of it?"
"Um, Mister?" she asked again.
"Oh, uh...well, now that you mention it, my back is pretty sore. I must have landed hard on it when I came out of that portal...um, I don't mean to be rude, but who are you?"
"Oh,um...I'm Fluttershy," she said, suddenly self-conscious.
"...uh, I'm sorry. What was that?"
"I'm...Fluttershy."
Before Stanley could react, a carrot stub bounced off of her head, prompting the two to look towards the door. Standing there was a white rabbit with an intelligent glare on its face, glaring at Fluttershy with a look that, to the pegasus, spoke a silent message. Chalk one more for the list of strange things Stanley had ever encountered: a bunny with an attitude.
"You're right, Angel," she said, nodding in agreement to whatever it said (or didn't say, as it was). "I need to be more assertive...Mister, my name is Fluttershy."
"Fluttershy, huh?" he asked, a soft and curious smile forming on his face. "That's a...interesting name. Can't, uh, say I've heard of it...I-I-I-I'm Stanley, Stanley Ipkiss."
"It's wonderful to meet you, Mr. Ip...kiss?" she asked, hoping she was pronouncing it correctly. "So, what was a stallion like yourself doing passed out on my yard?"
"Oh, I, uh-uh apologize for that! You see I...wait. Did you just call me a stallion?"
"Yes."
"As in...a horse?"
"No, not a horse. A pony."
"Uh...look, Miss...Fluttershy? I can accept the fact that I'm talking to a horse...or pony, if that's how you call it. But how can I...I...what?"
As Stanley was in the middle of that sentence, he had taken that opportunity to look down at himself. What he saw stopped his words cold. For one, he didn't have hands. Instead, he had hooves, cartoonish just like Fluttershy and the same color blue as his usual suit. In fact, his legs and body were also of the same blue. Seeing the mirror to his left, he stumbled out of bed and brought himself to the mirror, seeing his body for the first time since he woke up.
He was no longer a human being. Stanley Ipkiss was now a blue pony with brown mane-and-tail. Like most people would, he handled it the best he could in such a situation.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"
Fluttershy instinctively jumped behind the bed in fear from Stanley's sudden outburst. When she realized what was happening she pulled herself out from behind and watched as Stanley began to have a panic attack. A very loud panic attack.
"WHA-WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME?!" he exclaimed, stumbling away from the mirror. "I'VE BECOME A HORSE! I'M NOT EVEN WEARING THE MASK AND I'M A HORSE!"
"S-Stanley? Please, calm down!" Fluttershy tried to say over his voice.
"CALM DOWN?! I CAN'T CALM DOWN, I'VE BECOME A HORSE!!"
(Aaaaaand fast-forward to five minutes later...)
"There you go," she said in a soothing voice, gently patting Stanly on the shoulder. "Feel better?"
"Much," said Stanley, having been breathing into a brown paper bag for some time now.
"Good. Now, tell me what's wrong," she said in a motherly voice.
"Well...here's the thing: I'm not actually a pony; I'm a human...or, at least I was."
"A human? What's that? A kind of animal?"
"No...well, technically, yes. I mean, uh...well, humans are sorta like...hairless monkeys?"
"Hairless monkeys?"
"Yes, hairless monkeys, except for our heads. Only we walk on our back legs and don't crouch when we walk, a-a-and we wear clothes."
Fluttershy took a moment to try to imagine that. (And for your reading pleasure, here's a thought bubble) First she imagined a chimpanzee standing straight up. She then imagined said monkey losing all hair except for the top of its head. After that she imagined it wearing dress and walking around in it. Needless to say, it certainly brought a chuckle out of her.
"W-what's so funny?" asked Stanley.
"Oh, I'm sorry! It's just that imagining a hairless monkey wearing a dress is kind of funny."
"A dress? Well...the women do wear dresses...um, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
"Oh, sure! Go right ahead."
"Well...how, exactly, did I end up here in this room? And how did you find me?"
"Oh, well, I brought you in here when I found you passed out in front of my house. I was walking home from the market when there was this sudden wind that came out of nowhere. When it stopped, you had suddenly appeared on my yard...um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how did you end up passed out on my yard?"
"Well, uh, it's a funny story, actually. Well, no, not really funny, more like horrible."
"Horrible?! Oh dear, please! Tell me what happened!"
"Well...I was on my way to work at the bank this morning. I was in a rush because I wanted to get there early so as to gain that promotion. I was just at the door when Skillit came and threw me into a portal."
"Skillit?"
"Oh right, he's this blue-skinned imp who likes to cause trouble for everyone, sort of like an evil Peter Pan."
"Peter Pan? What's that?"
"...this may take a while."