I stumbled through the dark and snowy woods, the silver moon in the star-speckled sky my only light. With each breath, my lungs replied with fire, my tired body numb from the cold. The branches scraping at my arms and legs, leaving welts on my face, were meaningless. In the distance, I heard the dogs and their handlers getting closer.
I was desperate, ‘Just a few more minutes.’
I saw a stream up ahead. A glimmer of hope inspired me to run just a little faster. I drew a sharp breath as I splashed into the icy water. My legs burned as I waded upstream into the freezing, fast-running water. I pushed myself as hard as I could. I managed about a hundred meters before I scrambled up the bank, my fingers grasping at the snow and frozen earth.
The dogs were getting louder. My soaked canvas leggings dragged against my legs, quickly caking in snow.
In the distance, I could hear the barking of the dogs; they suddenly seemed confused. ‘Thank God. I lost those mutts at the stream.’ I took a moment to gulp a lungful of burning cold air. This respite was cut short when the dogs changed the tone of their bark. They'd found my trail again. I muttered a curse under my breath.
With relief, I could feel it in my gut. I was just a few moments before a jump. It took me many years to learn all the signs, but now I know them by heart. A vague sense of unease, a curious shifting not quite centred in my chest, and just a general, indescribable increase in discomfort. I'd even learned to estimate how long my stay would be once I had arrived in the new world.
‘Who knows?’ I thought, ‘I might even jump back home this time.’ I knew it was optimistic to the point of stupidity, but the hope of seeing my family again had kept me going all these years.
I turned my head and, just for a moment, in the distance, I looked into the eyes of one of the handlers. I realized at that moment they had spotted me as well. I wasted some precious breath to swear.
The lead hunter called out, “Alex Roberts. Surender now, don’t kick up a fuss, and I’ll make sure you get light punishment.”
“Sorry, Sam. Not this time. I’ll be out of your bald head soon enough.”
The grizzled guard sighed, “You asked for it. Unleash!”
I swore as the dogs charged towards me.
I knew the sensation, and it was the prelude to a jump. It quickly grew stronger. In the growing haze, I stumbled and fell, disoriented and unable to run. The world around me became brighter. The jump had to be coming any second now. I felt sick and afraid as I saw the dog's foam-flecked teeth.
Time slowed as the lead hound leapt at me. The dog moved closer and closer, first by meters, then centimetres, and finally millimetres. It never quite reached me. The edge of my vision dissolved into silvery white and slowly covered my field of view. I couldn't tell if this took seconds or days, my sense of self disappearing as the whiteness grew. And as that pure light superseded my vision, so the silence deafened me. Before I lost all sense of self, I knew something was different, and what was left of me cried out in fear.
In Canterlot, the Princess of the Night was awoken by a strange tug on the fabric of reality.
In the Royal Court, Princess Celestia was startled by a sudden and violent sundering of The Weave and an equally violent reconciliation.
Xenobiologist Lyra Heartstrings crept into the woods. She was cautious, partially to avoid disturbing any dragon fairies but mostly to avoid the ire of the landowner and her rabbit companion.
She stopped at the edge of a clearing, taking a long, cool drink from her water bottle. The telekinetic glow faltered when a bright flash and crack of thunder startled her.
She saw a strange sight in the distance; a patch of snow-covered ground with what looked like a young misshapen minotaur.
She crept closer, leaving her emptying water bottle behind.
In the past, a jump was a quick affair; a little disorientation, a little visual distortion, but these went away after a few moments, a minute at the most. This time, I blacked out. I’m not sure how long.
When I regained a modicum of my senses, my vision was a wall of white, whether my eyes were open or closed, and the vertigo was nauseating. My hearing was no better. All I could hear was a high-pitched tone. I was effectively deaf and blind.
I felt warmth on my back and icy, wet cold on my front. I slowly clenched my hands into the wet snow, getting life back into them. The world was still indistinct, and I tried to get up, only to fall back down, the dizziness causing me to vomit. My face landed half on the edge of the snow and half on the wet warm grass. I was grateful, ‘At least it didn’t seem to be winter here.’
This was the first time I had been so disabled after a jump. In the past, it was, at most, a head shake, and after a few moments, I would start seeing again. I calmly waited for what I thought was a minute or two. I was unsure if there had been any change, but maybe there was a slight improvement.
I had learned that the longer I was dazed, the longer I would be staying, and it looked like I was in for a long one. ‘This may be the last jump, then,’ I thought. ‘This is where I’ll die, in whatever final hell I've been dumped in.’
Lyra stopped at the edge of the woods. In the distance was a familiar demure yellow pegasus with anger issues. She guessed the landowner would be worried the light and noise may have frightened her beloved animals. Carefully hiding behind a bush, she watched the pegasus cautiously move toward the large clearing at the back of her estate. As an extra measure, she put a few small branches with clumps of leaves in her mane. Her smile grew smug, ‘Now no pony will see me.’
I slowly crawled on my belly to the edge of the disk, dragging vomit on my chest. Whenever I jumped, I brought a two or three-meter radius sphere of whatever was around me. The exact radius varied each time I jumped. This time, it was snow, frozen earth, and a few branches replacing whatever was there when I landed.
While dragging myself, my hand slipped several times on the quickly melting ice and snow. Nevertheless, I continued until I moved off the frozen ground. I dropped to the ground from fatigue, glad of the wet warmth underneath me. I could feel the short, cropped grass on my cheek, and I knew that usually meant a yard or field. I had a worried thought. 'That means people.'
My eyesight was slowly returning, the world moving from a white wall of haze to one of the more defined fields of colour. I heard a very gentle, very feminine voice speaking from a distance, “How strange, a round patch of snow in mid-summer?” It then exclaimed, “Oh my, you poor creature. I've never seen anything like you before.”
Remembering the hard lessons of the past, I couldn’t be a threat - if I’m not a threat, they’ll leave me alone.
That same, sweet voice continued, “Are you hurt? Are you sick? Here, let me see.”
Something hard touched my shoulder.
I felt a surge of desperate, manic energy. Terror flooded my veins with adrenaline. My arms strained as I threw myself off the ground and away. I heard a surprised, high-pitched squeak but ignored it. The impact was sharp and sudden. I had hit something far harder than the ground. My breath was cut from me as I tumbled to the ground.
‘So much for an escape.’ I wasn’t going to be going anywhere soon.
My vision was starting to clear, and I saw what I assumed was their mount. I thought it was a tiny thing for a horse, even for a pony. With my blurred vision, I assumed it was decorated with a bright yellow body covering and had its mane and tail dyed pink. A pink like that doesn't happen in nature. I looked around and saw bold, bright colours with very few gradients. Even my hands were looking like this. I wondered if my vision was failing in some new strange way, colours were never this pure in nature.
Between gasps, I tried to apologize. “Sorry... to... startle... you... ma’am... I just... landed from... a... long trip, and I’ll be off... your property... in a few minutes.”
If it was possible, her voice was even more meek, “Oh my, you can talk.” My vision was getting clearer, and I could have sworn the voice was coming from the mount. She must be behind it, keeping the pony between her and me.
My breath was returning, letting me speak a little more normally. “I didn’t mean to scare you, miss. My name is Alex Roberts. You don’t have to hide behind your horse. I don’t mean you any harm.” Things were getting clearer, and all I saw was that ridiculously coloured pony. I was still confused by the bright, unnatural colours.
“Oh, that's alright. I'm Fluttershy. I'm so sorry I touched you. I realize it was rather rude.” Incredibly, her voice was even softer than before.
I strained my eyes, trying to see around the mount. She must be quite small. By now, I could see the mount quite well, and it was a very odd-looking animal.
She had a tone of curiosity in her voice, “Now, what do you mean by hiding behind a horse? I’m not hiding behind anypony,” she continued, “Anyway, I’m a pegasus pony.” I could see something expand a little from the pony’s side and then collapse back in.
“I’m very sorry, miss... Fluttershy, was it? My vision and hearing are both a little out of whack right now. Did you say you’re a pegasus? As in a flying hor-, er, pony?” That name made something tick in my mind, but I decided it could wait.
She tittered, “Well, of course. What else would I be? Here, let me clean up those cuts and scrapes.”
As she approached, I could see what looked like a cloth in its mouth and white patches where eyes should be. I could see that they were far too big for her head to be eyes.
Suddenly, what I thought was some decoration blinked.
“Holy shit!” My exclamation made her scamper back. I berated myself, 'Idiot, don't alienate the one person trying to help you.' I smiled, bowed my head a little and raised my hands in a friendly way, “Ha ha, sorry about that. My vision is still sort of bad, and I didn't expect you so close. How about this? I'll put my hand out, and you put the cloth in my hand. I would really appreciate that.” I heard a high-pitched squeak in response. I slowly pushed myself up, leaning against what I assumed was a tree. “Just... just let me get my vision back, and we'll start again.” I saw she had moved away from me, out of sight, and I cursed myself, 'way to push away the one person willing to help.'
Lyra had been watching the unfolding scene with fascination. Her focus was shattered by a white rabbit smacking her in the flank with a carrot. She decided to make good her escape before the little rat giving her the stink eye gave her away.
It had been about a quarter of an hour since I frightened that yellow creature away. The heat of the summer sun was getting oppressive. I removed my coat and wet leggings and laid them out to dry, then I stumbled back down and closed my eyes. Every few minutes, I would open them, and each time my vision was clearer. It was about another quarter-hour before my vision was fully cleared.
I was still a little dizzy, but I managed to stand and take in the surrounding landscape. If my vision was failing in new and exciting ways, it was doing so in a very consistent fashion. In this place, lines were unnaturally smooth, and colours were bright and almost free of gradation. Even my hands almost looked stylized and unreal, even though when I touched them together, they felt as they always have; rough, calloused, and scarred.
I looked at the circle of mostly melted snow and noticed a black, bloody object on the far edge. I looked closely and realized what it was. One of the dogs that had attacked me had lost the tip of its nose. 'Damn, that was close.' I was thankful the field had caught it there, not higher up. That would have been a real mess.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose. I could feel someone watching me. I turned slowly, and hiding behind a tree was what I assume called itself Fluttershy. I sat back down and called out, “Fluttershy. It’s ok. I won’t hurt you.” I raised my hands, fingers open, palms out, “See, no weapons in my hands. I’m sorry I frightened you,” I chuckled, “I was just a little panicked myself.”
Very timidly, she fully stepped out from behind the tree, and, for the briefest instant, I saw my daughter standing there. ‘Lily’, I thought, and nearly said aloud, but then the vision dissolved, and once again, I saw a shy alien creature standing before me, its hoof tracing a nervous pattern in the grass. ‘Very timid. At least she’s not a fae, or it would be far more eager to ‘help’ me.’
I got a good hard look at her and found it difficult to understand what I saw. Her teal eyes were unnaturally large. If they were spheres, they would be half inside each other and outside her head. And her coat was a perfectly smooth yellow. Not even the best dyes could make it look that consistent. Her mane was a bright pink with darker pink highlights, and there were outlines of wings on her sides.
She squeaked something so softly that I couldn't understand what she said. I asked her to repeat herself, but her reply was even quieter and higher pitched. ‘Is there something wrong with her?’ I wondered to myself. ‘I’ve never met anything this shy. How the hell do I interact with her now?’ Not knowing what to do, I recited the mantra that had kept me alive through so many encounters, ‘Apologize, be meek, don’t be a threat.’
“Miss Fluttershy? I’m very sorry for my earlier reaction. I’ve never met a talking pony before. You startled me, to be honest.” I thought desperately, ‘Be meek, be humble, do NOT be a god damn threat.’
“Oh... You’ve never met a talking pony?” Her voice was questioning and still timid but getting stronger.
“No, this is the first time. And I get scared when I can’t see, but now that I can, we can reintroduce ourselves. Hello, my name is Alex Roberts, and you seem to be a lovely person called Fluttershy.” ‘Not too shabby, Alex, just don’t overdo it and hope she has a kind heart.’
I could see her raise her hoof to her mouth and titter, “I can understand being upset when you’re blinded and lost. I’ll be glad to forgive and forget what just happened. Let’s start again. I’m Fluttershy, and you seem to be a person trying to make amends.”
I chuckled, “That I am, Miss Fluttershy, that I am.”
‘You have no damn idea,’ I thought bitterly.
My clothing was still wet, and I needed to warm up fast. I could get sick if I were like this for too long. Even though it was warm, a summer afternoon, it wasn’t warm enough to dry me off quickly. I needed a fire. “Miss Fluttershy, with your permission, may I please make a fire to dry off? These clothes are wet, and I don’t want to catch a cold. I’ll happily chop wood or do other tasks in exchange.”
She looked confused, “Well then, why not remove them until they’re dry?”
I wondered if I read her expression correctly and her tone of voice. ‘At worst,’ I thought, ‘she’ll think I’m some kind of idiot or simpleton.’
I sighed, telling her a simpler version of the truth. “I have some scars I’m self-conscious of, you understand,” and added to myself, ‘among other things.’
She seemed to accept that answer, “There’s a fire pit closer to my house. You’re welcome to use it. There’s some firewood by the back shed you can use. I would really appreciate some cut wood. I find it so difficult to do.” Her voice was now almost normal, assuming the way she spoke before the misunderstanding was normal.
“Yes, Miss Fluttershy. Thank you very much again, Ma’am.” I repeated the mantra that had served me so well, ‘Stay meek. Stay humble. Stay safe.’
A winded Lyra ran headlong back to her home. She threw the door open and rushed to her work desk without even closing the front door. As she excitedly revised and expanded her notes, she muttered to herself, “Wait until Bons hears about this. This project will beat the hay out of everything I did on dragon fairies.”
Had she been a bit more perceptive, she would have noticed a tiny butterfly-winged creature waving goodbye to her.
I spent the afternoon drying by the fire, and then, as agreed, I started getting to work. I saw she had a rusty old pull saw and no axe. “Miss Fluttershy, if it’s alright with you, I’ll use my own tool to get the job done.” I slowly pulled my knife out and held it by the blade. ‘Don’t be a threat, Alex, don’t be a threat. Better explain before changing the shape.’ “Miss Fluttershy, can I ask you a silly question?” She nodded. “Do you have magic in this country?” A look of curiosity crossed her face, but she slowly nodded. “This is Imperial Pattern One Two Seven Nine C... Knife with Mental Controls and Polymorphic Enhancement.” ‘Best to skip the Combat part.’ “It allows me to give it commands, and it will change its shape based on a small library of predetermined shapes.” I gave her a friendly smile.
Her own grin rewarded me. “My, what a useful device. It must be very rare.”
I chuckled, “Actually, ma’am, this is a fairly common device where I got it.” ‘She seems to be relaxing, that means I can relax. Seems like a decent person too.’ I felt good about this situation and decided to take a chance. I thought the command words,‘CHILD MODE.’ As much as I wanted to establish trust, I was not going to risk my life. I flipped the knife, holding it by the blade. “Here, touch your, um, hoof to the handle. Think ‘PICKUP’ clearly. It will shape itself to your limb.”
Fluttershy gingerly put her forehoof out and touched the blade. The brass handle and knuckle guard flowed like water around her hoof, producing a pretty gilded pattern while the blade remained in the centre. What started as a startled flinch grew into a panicked shaking of her foreleg as she desperately tried to remove it.
I stated calmly and firmly, “Think ‘DROP KNIFE.’.” I snarled at myself, ‘Good going, idiot. And things were going so well. Christ, I hope I can salvage this.’
Her face scrunched up in concentration for a moment, and the knife dropped off her hoof. She looked in terror at it as if it were some poisonous insect.
I rubbed my eyes, “Miss Fluttershy, I’m truly very sorry about that. I should have warned you that it gets a little clingy. Please, let me chop some wood for you, and I’ll get out of your hair.” I bent down to get the knife, and she started to speak.
“It’s alright, Alex Roberts. We can’t think of everything. You’ve been using it for a long time, so I’m sure it's second nature to you. I was just surprised at how perfectly it fit. And,” she smiled up shyly at me, “I can be a little skittish sometimes.”
As she was talking, her expression became one of angelic kindness and forgiveness.
‘This is crazy. I’ve known her for less than an hour and trust her completely. I never trust anyone. I must have a concussion or something. What if it’s some mind control magic or worse?’ I spent a few moments feeling around inside my mind for any telltale signs of influence but didn’t find any. This just left me a little confused.
“Well, Miss Fluttershy, you were kind enough to let me use some wood. I’ll split some as promised.” She led me to a felled tree. It was about 5m long and still had all the branches attached. With my knife in garrotte mode, it only took about an hour to clean all the branches off the trunk, cut everything into lengths, and split the larger pieces.
Once completed, it was getting near dusk, and I put a small log on the remains of the fire. “I want to thank you again for your kindness.” I played with the ashes of the fire, “You didn’t have to help me, you know.” I gave her a sidelong glance, “I really mean it. Almost everywhere else I’ve been, it’s been everyone for himself.”
She had what seemed a reproachful expression, “Don’t be silly. You needed help, and I was there to give it.”
We sat quietly together by the fire while I processed my day. The sky was darkening, and I saw the first star. I smiled, glad that the sky was as consistent as ever over all the realities I've been at. I softly said, in a sing-song voice, the same thing I've said almost every night:
“Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Have the wish I wish tonight.”
I wished the same wish I have for as long as I remember, ‘I want to go home.’
Fluttershy spoke wonderingly, “That’s a lovely little poem. Is it from where you come from?”
“Yes, it is. This will seem silly for a full-grown man to do, but it’s a child’s poem.” I continued looking at the stars coming out, the constellations forming quickly. “You know, Fluttershy, they,” I pointed at the stars, “have been one of the few constants in all my travels.” I pointed them out, “Orion, Ursa Minor, Cassiopeia, Scorpius, Leo, there are more, but you get the idea. They tie me back to my home, Fluttershy, and for that, I’m very thankful.”
“Princess Luna has been making the stars and the moon much more vibrant these days. It’s her you should thank,” Fluttershy stated demurely.
I usually don’t pray to the local gods, but the quiet sincerity with which she believed was hard to dismiss. I smiled as I would to my own daughter, “So, how does one thank Princess Luna?”
“It’s very easy to thank her. All you do is look at the most beautiful part of the sky and give her your letter of thanks.
I grew thoughtful for a moment, “So, Fluttershy, how do I send a letter of thanks to Princess Luna, exactly? I’m afraid I don’t have any paper to write on. And what part of the sky is considered the most beautiful?”
She looked at me with such kindness, such joy at a chance to teach, “Silly, you don’t need paper. You just write the letter in your heart and speak it with your mouth. And the most beautiful part is the one that means the most to you.” She smiled wistfully.
I looked at Fluttershy for a long moment and resigned myself, ‘I may as well do it. I have nothing to lose. Anyway, it feels good to believe, even if I really don’t.’ After thinking for a moment to gather my thoughts, I composed my prayer. Once it was ready, I looked at the North Star, the one that has guided me so many times, and cleared my throat:
Dear Princess Luna,
I am new to your world and don’t know if you’ll listen to me or even exist. No matter, I ask for nothing. I only want to thank you for your gift of the night sky. You arrange your constellations in the same way as they are back home. A home I lost so many years ago and seek to return to. Please accept my deepest thanks for this.
Your supplicant,
Alex Roberts
Luna, on her throne, sat with an expression of pleasant surprise. ‘A simple thanks. How... unexpected.’
Fluttershy smiled warmly at me, “That was a... nice letter. I know Princess Luna will be pleased.”
Much to my surprise, even as sceptical as I was, I felt better after that little supplication. I muttered to myself, ‘I hope you’re real, Princess Luna. I really do.’
As the warm summer evening wore on, I started dwelling on a nagging thought. 'Why did my mind tick at her name? How could I have possibly heard that name before?'
She must have seen the pensive expression on my face as I absentmindedly stirred the embers.
“What’s wrong, Alex?” I flinched as she put her... hoof on my arm. I’ve developed a very strong sense of personal space over the years, and I found it hard to ignore any physical contact, even from such a lovely and sweet person.
“Sorry, just... well, it doesn’t matter. I’ve just been noodling why you seem familiar, like I had heard of you before. It’s been bothering me like a song stuck in your head. But please don’t take this in a bad way. I doubt I’ve heard of you before today. Please understand, it’s just some ramblings from an old man.”
“It’s alright. It happens to all of us.” I was struck again by the fierceness of her gentle kindness.
I almost felt overwhelmed. She smiled sweetly at me again and started humming a wordless tune. I started picturing my little Lily singing something to that tune.
I listened briefly, eyes closed, letting the music flow over me. I soon asked, “That tune. Are there any words to it?”
She smiled that omnidirectional kindness, “Not really. But it’s called ‘My Little Pony’.”
“Huh.” I pondered this for a moment. “Doesn’t ring a bell.”