//------------------------------// // A really bad idea // Story: Stranded // by Deathsia //------------------------------// JOURNAL ENTRY, SEVENTH MOON OF THE FALL I've been here for nearly one moon and there's no sign of Scootaloo or Applebloom... I've only recently been able to understand how to control parts of this new body of mine... I want to go home, to Ponyville. I'm scared, terrified, and have no idea what is going on beyond what I've learned. These humans need us for something, that much I am certain, but what? I wish I knew. If somepony finds this and I'm... No longer around. This journal is a record of what's happened up till now... DEATHSIA PRESENTS... Please listen to my story... This... Might be the only chance we have of surviving... This is how we became... STRANDED ------------------------------------ ONE WEEK AGO... It was just after Twilight came back from the crystal kingdom from her royal coronation and I was excited to see my big sister and all her friends again. I was shocked to learn from my big sister about what happened to Twilight. She had gone to this strange new world and interacted with creatures who walked on two legs instead of four.  I was curious to say the least. “You wanna what?!” Scootaloo exclaimed looking shocked by the idea that Applebloom had just suggested. “Come on fillies, don't ya think it would be a great if we earned our cutiemarks in explorin this new world?” Applebloom suggested as she walked around in their club house. “How would we get there? Twilight said that the mirror she went through only opens once every thirty moons.” Sweetie Belle asked apprehensively. The farm filly looked stumped as to trying to figure out an answer to this question at first but then it came to her. “Let's ask Twilight! Ah bet she knows another way to get there!” “I don't know...” Sweetie Belle replied apprehensively. Something about this idea was worrying me. I was all for adventuring and earning my cutiemark but going to a whole new world to do it? ------------------------------ “You three want to what?!” Twilight exclaimed with a shocked expression as she stared at the three fillies. “We just told ya, we wanna go to that world that ya came from! Why Ah reckon we could even earn our cutiemarks there!” Applebloom exclaimed enthusiastically with a wide grin. The lavender unicorn stared at the three a little longer recalling the events that transpired in that world and shuddered at the memories. “Trust me my little ponies, you don't want to go there.” Twilight replied in the most convincing tone she could muster. “Is it dangerous?” Scootaloo inquired with a curious look at the unicorn. “Well... not as far as I know. I mean, there was that whole thing with Sunset Shimmer attempting to use my element of harmony to invade Equestria but she turned over a new leaf after we defeated her.” Twilight replied thoughtfully before she reasserted her focus to the three fillies in front of her. “The point is, you couldn't go there even if I was okay with it for another twenty-five moons, which I'm not by the way.” “Please?” Applebloom asked making the best pouty face she could muster as did the other cutiemark crusaders. “No means no fillies. Now, why don't you try something else to earn your cutiemarks? I have a bunch of books in my library you can read and who knows, you just might find something in one of them that will help you discover your special talent.” Twilight suggested with a warm smile as the three fillies groaned and sighed. “No thanks.” “Pass.” “Maybe another time?” The three fillies left Twilight's library with their tails hung low and a defeated expression painted a crossed each one of their little faces. “Now what?” Scootaloo asked dismally as the three walked back into their clubhouse and sat down on the wooden floor. “Maybe it's for the best. After all, we don't know anything about that world Twilight went to and it could be dangerous.” Sweetie Belle remarked as the three continued to ponder ideas for earning their cutiemarks. “There's gotta be a way to that world Twilight went to! Ah bet she's hidin somethin!” Applebloom exclaimed suddenly. Apparently, unlike the other two, she hadn't given up quite yet on finding a way to that world just yet. “And how would you suggest we find out?” Scootaloo asked with a skeptical expression. It was at this point that Sweetie Belle noticed they were being watched from the window of their clubhouse. She didn't know who but judging by the horn, she knew it was a unicorn. “Who's there?” Sweetie Belle asked aloud which caused the other two crusaders to look in the direction she had just in time to see the horn disappear. The three rushed out the front door of their clubhouse only to find no pony was there. “I know I just saw somepony, it wasn't just me right?” Sweetie Belle remarked with a worried expression to which the two nodded in confirmation. “So who was it?” Scootaloo asked curiously as she looked about her surroundings. “Ah don't know but it looks like they dropped somethin.” Applebloom remarked as she walked up to a large rectangular object and placed a hoof on it. “What is it?” Scootaloo asked curiously as she looked at it as well. “It looks like a book of some kind.” Sweetie Belle remarked as she walked up and opened it which revealed paper pages. Most of the pages were blank save for the first page of the book. “What does it say?” Scootaloo asked speaking as she was staring it from an angle that made the text appear upside down to her eyes. The farm filly quickly set to reading the contents aloud. So, I hear that you three fillies wish to see the world that Twilight Sparkle visited. Fear not, for I can show you the way. All you need to do is read the following out loud and you will be magically transported to this wondrous world and back here when you read it aloud again. NEP- “Hold it!” Sweetie Belle suddenly interjected, cutting the farm pony off. “What?” Applebloom asked curiously. “Didn't you just read out loud that if you said the following that we'd be magically transported to that world?” Sweetie Belle replied with a slightly annoyed expression as her friends lack of concern with this book. “Yeah she did. That means we can go that world now then! Isn't this awesome?!” Scootaloo exclaimed enthusiastically. “Don't you two find a little weird that we want to visit that world and a book just happens to suddenly show up?” Sweetie Belle asked as she looked at the two whom actually took note of this fact. “Ah guess it is a little weird but maybe somepony wants to help us out.” Applebloom suggested with a meek smile. “Yeah!” Scootaloo chimed in. “Do I really need to remind you two what happened the last time we did something involving a book with real magic spells in it?” Sweetie Belle replied with an annoyed expression at the two. She was of course referring to the hearts and hooves day disaster that those three had caused nearly two years ago. “But this is different! We're not gonna be givin anypony some potion or anythin, we just goin to the world Twilight went to and then we can come right back. We don't need to stay there too long after all. It says right here that all we need to do is say this spell again and we'll all be transported right back here. Sides, we could earn our cutiemarks there too!” Applebloom replied confidently. I didn't like this idea one bit but the temptation to finally earn my cutiemark was quickly overriding that little voice of reason in my head as it often did. “W-We'll be able to come right back? Are you sure?” The unicorn filly asked apprehensively. “Of course we will! Twilight said herself that books are a source of real information!” Scootaloo replied seemingly all for this idea as was the farm pony. “Well, if your sure... I do want to earn my cutiemark.” Sweetie Belle replied still looking worried about the whole idea. “Don't ya worry, if things get shady, Ah'll just read these words again and we'll be back in Ponyville safe and sound!” Applebloom replied with a confident smile as she returned her gaze to the spell. NEPTUNE... TRANSCORTOS... INFINETO! No sooner the farm filly spoke these worlds aloud the pages of the book began to flip rapidly as if it was attempting to find a certain page and stopped roughly in the middle of the book. It was then a bright glowing line began to stream along the pages which displayed before them. It drew strange symbols and shapes that none of the three fillies had never seen before and continued its course along the page drawing more strange symbols and soon began to draw a swirling shape in the middle of the page. As soon as the glowing line had stopped in the middle of what looked like a swirling shape, the pages glowed so brightly that the three covered their eyes to shield them from the blinding light and then everything went dark... -------------------------------- I regained consciousness sometime later, how long later, I don't know. The only thing I knew when I opened my eyes was this: “F-Fillies, I don't think we're in Ponyville anymore...” Sweetie Belle remarked aloud in a dazed tone as her eyes slowly focused to her surroundings. As Sweetie Belle's mind grew more and more aware of itself it realized something was very wrong. Sweetie Belle craned her head to the left and realized straight away that she wasn't staring at a hoof rather something she didn't recognize yet she knew it was attached to her body since it she could feel the cold iron clasp just below the foreign appendage. She looked to her left and saw yet another foreign appendage attached to her which also had a cold iron clasp around it. Fearing what the rest of her body may look like she looked straight down and gasped. “Okay, I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that these are supposed to be down there next to my... what the?!” She exclaimed as she got a good look at her lower part of her body. Well as a good a look as she could anyways. “What in tartarus is that thing?! It doesn't look like the thing I normally pee from! Come to think of it, where's my fur and hooves?!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed loudly. She was quickly becoming frantic from the amount of discoveries of this new body she was now in as she lifted the lower half of her body up to get a better look at this part of her. “That...doesn't look normal at all!” She exclaimed before she allowed her hind legs to fall back down. Once the initial shock of her new body began to wear off however her mind realized these secondary facts; her “front legs” were bound to what looked like a metal table of some sort, Scootaloo, and Applebloom were nowhere to be found. She then decided to take in her surroundings. She was in what looked like an abandoned building of some sort. The walls looked as if they had been written on repetitively with some strange writing she couldn't understand and looked very old with cracks streaming along many parts of the walls to her left and right. Along these walls stood some shelves which held some medical instruments she had never seen before. The floor looked as if it was littered with different cans of some sort, plates, and dirt. “S-Scootaloo? A-Applebloom?” Sweetie Belle called out her voice shaking slightly as she called out for her friends. “Ha,ha,ha... she's awake. The horse-girl is awake!” An unfamiliar voice exclaimed from a distance though this voice sounded far from friendly, crazed even. “Horse.. what?” Sweetie Belle asked aloud unfamiliar with the word that the voice just said. “She's awake! The horse-girl is awake! Now I can have fun! Ha,hah!” The voice exclaimed which sounded closer now. The door to the room creaked open a few moments later revealing a creature Sweetie Belle had never seen before. This creature stood on two legs instead of four and seemed to do so with ease. More so she took note of the creatures arms which had the same appendages she had on her “front legs”.  Farther more its face looked even more bizarre to her. It was flat with no muzzle to speak of. “H-Hello? Can you let me out of these things? I'm a little stuck.” Sweetie Belle said timidly with a nervous expression at the strange creature. “Let the horse-girl go? No, I can't the horse-girl go! No! I haven't had my fun!” The creature exclaimed sounding more hysteric with each word he spoke. “Wh-What kind of fun?” Sweetie Belle asked timidly with a worried expression as the creature walked over to one of the shelves and seemed to be looking over them as if to decide which one to use. “Must have fun with horse-girl, must open her up and find out what makes her tick!” The creature muttered audibly which caused Sweetie Belle's expression to become fearful and worried. “O-O-Open me up?! What the hay is that supposed to mean?! I hope you aren't talking about what I think you are! Because even if it's not normal, it's still mine, and you're not touching it!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with a crimson blush. The creature seemed to ignore her and mutter the same thing over and over. “Must have fun with horse-girl, must open her up and find out what makes her tick!” To Sweetie Belle's horror, the creature seemed to be holding something sharp and long in it's left appendage as he turned to face her while continuing to repeat the same thing over and over. “Wh-What are you going to do with th-that?” She asked in a scared tone as she stared at the creature continue to walk towards her with the knife held firmly as he continued to repeat the same thing over and over. “N-No! S-Stay away!” Sweetie Belle screamed as the creature walked up to her and began to lower the knife on her. On impulse, Sweetie Belle rose her hindquarters up, retracted her hind legs, and bucked the creature hard in the face with both hind “hooves” which staggered the creature backward. “Th-That hurt! Horse-girl hurt me! That makes me mad!” The creature roared as he stood back up and charged at her knife still held firmly. Sweetie Belle once again rose her hindquarters up, retracted her hind legs, and bucked the creature squarely in the face once again which caused something to fly from its shirt pocket as it flew back and hit the wall and looked as if it was now unconscious. Sweetie Belle looked as what had landed just between her legs and knew what it was. “A key...” Sweetie Belle remarked aloud, quickly adjusted her body and allowed the key to slip down her body to her face at which point she bit down on the handle of the key, turned to her left and scanned the metal clasp for a keyhole. Sure enough, there was one. Sweetie Belle quickly set to putting the key in and turning it till she heard a loud “clank!” and the clasp suddenly released its grip on her left arm. She then turned her head to her right and turned the key in the keyhole once again until the second clasp released its grip. She immediately rolled off the table, dropped to all fours, and attempted to begin “walking” only to find that walking like this was very awkward for her if not nearly impossible. Regardless, she did her best to walk to the door, open it and quickly found herself in what looked like a living room of some sort. The room would look like a normal living room to her if not for the countless heads of different animals plastered all over the walls and the fact the home looked as old as the room she came out of had. “Where am I? Is this really the world Twilight came to?” She thought to herself a she “walked” towards the door only to come to a halt as a full-body mirror caught her eye. Once she walked up to it and got a good look at herself she gasped in shock. “Wh-What in Equestria am I?” She asked aloud in a stunned tone as she looked over every aspect of her body. “Wh-Where's my snout and my horn?!” She exclaimed aloud as she ran her “front hooves” over her face frantically. This however caused her attention to be averted to the foreign appendages on the ends of her “front legs”. She then sat on her rump and got a decent look at her “front hooves” and took note of the fact that they looked exactly like the creature's in the other room. Timidly she attempted to move the digits of her foreign appendages and found she could move each and every one of them with ease. “What are these?” She asked aloud as she looked at the foreign appendages more intently now for a few more minutes before she switched her gaze to her “hind legs” and began to examine them. She ran her “front hooves” along them all the way down to her “hind hooves” and lifted her right “hind hoof” up to get a better look at it. “Well, at least this looks a little like a hoof but what are these little things sticking out of it?” She asked curiously as she looked over it and soon realized she could move each of the individual digits of it as well. “Wow, this body is so weird...” She remarked aloud as she examined the foreign appendage a little longer before a rustling at the door snapped her attention to it. Fearing it was more scary creatures like the one who attempted to attack her earlier she ran as fast as she could on all fours a crossed the room and dove under a table with a large table-cloth draped over it which effectively hid her from sight. “Hey! Crazy-pete! Is that horse-girl awake yet? You haven't done anything to her yet have ya? I know you have an obsession with cutting things up and all so don't bitch at me for asking!” A deep male voice exclaimed as two sets of legs walked into the room as Sweetie Belle watched from the small sliver of a hole in the table-cloth. “Why the fuck isn't that idiot responding?” The same deep make voice asked after a few moments of silence. “Haha, he's probably getting some, I know I would be if I were him.” Another male voice replied though this one sounded less deep than the other with a country accent in it. “Dude, you realize that the horse-girl is only like, thirteen right?” The deep male voice asked with a slightly shocked tone. “So?” The country accented voice replied. “You're a sick fuck, you know that?” The deep male voice replied as the sets of legs walked out of Sweetie Belle's sight now as they entered the other room. “Oh shit! She's gone! Wake up you fucking moron!” Sweetie Belle heard the deep male voice exclaim followed by a loud kicking sound and the crazed man's voice giving a startled cry. “Where is the horse-girl?” The crazed voice asked. “I was going to ask you the same question man! Do know the boss is gonna do to us if she finds out that the horse-girl escaped?!” The deep male voice exclaimed as the frantic movement steps could be heard followed by three sets of legs coming into sight in the room. “Spread out and find the little bitch! She couldn't have gone far!” The deep male voice exclaimed and two sets of legs ran out of the room through the front door though the third set stayed in the room. Sweetie Belle could tell that the creature who hadn't left was searching the room for her because she saw him bend over and look behind a small nightstand. Sweetie Belle's breathing and heartrate began to quicken as she noticed the set of legs coming closer and closer to her as the creature searched under and behind objects in the room. “Please don't look under the table, please don't look under the table.” Sweetie Belle thought to herself over and over as her chest became ice-cold as the set of legs stopped just in front of the table she was hiding under. Sweetie Belle's eyes widened in fear and horror as a foreign appendage grasped under the bottom of the table-cloth and was about to lift it. Hey! Come on man! Get your ass out her and help us search for the horse-girl! The deep male voice Sweetie Belle heard before could be heard shouting from outside at which point the appendage let go of the table-cloth much to Sweetie Belle's relief. “Alright! I'm comin!” A country accented voice shouted out loud and sighed. “Stupid fuck.” The country voice remarked in a soft tone before the set of legs walked away from the table and left the room through the front door. Sweetie Belle's heart felt as if it was ready to explode from her chest now as she breathing in and out in an attempt to calm herself. “That was too close.” She remarked softly after she had calmed herself down a bit. She then timidly lifted up the table-cloth slightly to get a better look around the room to look around it and make sure no one was in the room still. To her relief no one could be seen. She then timidly crawled from under the table and began “walking” only to fall flat on her face. “Walking like this is going to be impossible.” She remarked softly to herself and sighed as she looked in the mirror again. “I guess I sort of look like those creatures. Is that why walking like this is so hard?” She thought to herself curiously as she looked at herself. She then looked at her “hind legs” debating on if she should try this or not. “I'm not gonna get anywhere like I am now, so I got nothing to lose I guess.” She remarked out loud finally and attempted to stand to two legs only to stumble backwards and fall straight on her rump. “Ow-wie!” She exclaimed softly as the pain from the impact to her posterior jolted through her body which caused her to reach around and rub it in a vain attempt to dull the pain. She then looked around the room and took note of the table she had hidden under ealier. She then walked over to it on all fours, reached up, and attempted to put her “front hooves” on the table to help herself up only for her “front hooves” to slide off and her fall back onto her rump once again sending a jolt of pain through her already sore hindquarters. “For the love of Luna, this is ridiculous! How hard can it be to walk on two legs like those creatures can?!” She thought to herself dramatically in an agitated tone before she looked at her “front hooves”. “Dude! Use your damned hands, not your mouth!” “Sorry man, old habit.” “This isn't Equestria you retard, your not some horse, your a human being here! Two new voices that Sweetie Belle hadn't heard before shouted from outside. Though their voices were muffled by the window and wall between her and them, she could hear them. Curiously, she lifted herself up and peered out the window. “So that's what those creatures are called? It also looks like I'm not the only pony to come here from Equestria? Who else came here before us?” Sweetie Belle thought to herself curiously as she walked the two creatures lifted a large wooden board with what one of them refereed to as their “hands”. Sweetie Belle then lowered herself down only for her “front hooves” to slip due to having no grip on the window's ledge and once again fall in her rump. “Ow! This is getting stupid!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed with a whine as she rubbed her rump once again. As she rubbed her behind however, she recalled that these same appendages were used by those “humans” outside. “They called these things hands...” She remarked aloud thoughtfully as she rotated her left hand around to get a good look at it and then the same with her right. “They used these things to grab onto that piece of wood like I do with my mouth. Maybe they work like my mouth does?” She mused aloud as she examined both of her hands now. Timid yet curiously, Sweetie Belle reached out to a small tennis ball that laid on the floor to the right of her, she placed her hand on top of it flatly and them closed each digit of her hand around it one at a time until her hand fully gripped the object. She then lifted her arm up and held the object in front of her face. “Well that was easier than I thought it would be.” She remarked aloud with a satisfied smile. That is, until the ball slipped out of her grasp and fell strait between her legs hitting her where it counts. While the drop wasn't enough to cause a great deal of pain, it was enough for her for slam both hands between her legs and bite her lower lip as a mild yet sharp pain surged though the part of her. Once the pain subsided she looked at the tennis ball which had rolled a short distance in front of her and stopped at her right “hind hoof”. “I guess I should make it bite down harder.” She remarked thoughtfully as she leaned forward, reached out her right hand once again, and grasped the object once more. She then brought it to the front of her face and held it there. This time the tennis ball did not fall out of her grip. Satisfied with her latest personal success, she then turned to look at the table once again. “So now all I need to do is make these things bite down hard on the edge of the table and lift myself up. Sounds simple enough.” She remarked as she crawled over to the table once again, reached up, and lifted her hands to the edge of the table and gripped down on it hard. She then began to pull the rest of her body up only for her hands to lose grip and once again fall to her rump with a soft thud. “Ugh, easier said than done apparently...” She remarked dismally as she rubbed her rump again. She suspected that by the time she was done here, her bottom was gonna be bruised and feeling as if Rarity had taken a hoof to her hindquarters. Nearly ten attempts later she had finally managed to lift herself up and was now standing on two legs. The problem now was that her “hind legs” were wobbling frantically as if to say they couldn't sustain her weight. This made her fear even attempting to remove her hands from the table now. “L-Lets take it easy for now and see if I can make it to that couch.” She said nervously as she used her hands as braces while she took timid steps towards the couch. Eventually however, she reached a point where if she wanted to make it to the couch, she would be forced to remove her hands from the training wheels as it were and walk on her own. She then timidly removed one hand, then the other, and attempted to take a small step with her left leg towards the couch with success. She then took another with her right leg. Success. Her legs at this point were wobbling fiercely as if to say they would give out at any moment. Despite this worry, she took another timid step and another. “Nearly there, just a few more steps.” she said aloud as if to reinforce her self-confidence. The following attempt however proved disastrous as she lost her balance and stumbled towards the couch landing hands and face first into one of the cushioned seats. “Well, the hard part's over at least. Just need to practice walking between here and table for a while and I should be able to walk like those creatures do soon.” Sweetie Belle remarked aloud though her voice was muffled do to it being buried in the cushion still.