//------------------------------// // Going somewhere? // Story: Broken Gates // by SuzukiDragon //------------------------------// Something tickled my face, and I attempted to open my eyes. It was a bit of a struggle, like trying to get up when your bed was too comfortable. My eyes simply didn't seem to want to stay open. I tried to move my hooves, but they were equally sluggish. I had never really been a morning person, so I didn't really think much of my inability to move. Sleeping just isn't the same anymore. I tried to use my lethargic hooves to pull my eyelids open, but I could barely bring them to my face. My vision flickered, and I was sure I saw something green. Where was I? How much time had passed? What was going on? I tried to collect my thoughts, and find some answers. Okay, you fell into a weird hole in the universe. Sam was with you. Where are you now? I had a feeling of dampness settling into my fur, and gentle tickles along my body that felt like... Grass? Am I laying on the ground? I tried to open my eyes again, but they remained shut. I decided I must be dreaming or something, it made sense after all. When someone was asleep, and they tried to open their eyes or move in real life, it often felt like this. Okay, so how I get myself awake? I wondered. I didn't try to wake myself up very often, I liked sleep most of the time. I hoped my inexperience with forcing myself awake wasn't going to be something I would regret in the near future. What was it with being Aurora and sleeping? It seemed to be all she ever did! Couldn't I just stay awake one full day? The grass was unusually comfortable, and it must have still been early morning as I could feel the light warmth of the sun radiating onto my fur. I didn't seem to be in the original clearing where I had fallen into the hole, I could tell by the quality of the grass. The original clearing was rather small, and surrounded by tree roots and rocks. The grass I lay on now was top quality, seeming to be like the grass you might find on a golf course or something. Judging by the feeling of sunshine, I definitely wasn't concealed by any shade, but there were certainly trees around. I could hear at least one family of birds chirping away contentedly. The air was warm, but not uncomfortably so. It was easy to tell that summer was definitely here. Why did I want to get up and leave? Surely a place like this wasn't actually dangerous or anything, and I obviously had somehow found my way out the hole in the universe, so I didn't have to worry about that anymore. I wonder where Sam is? Is she around, enjoying the sun too? I tried to struggle myself awake one last time, realizing that I couldn't lay here unless I knew my Sister was safe. "Hey, there's a pony on our lawn, Will." A surprisingly familiar voice informed someone named Will. Will? Isn't that my Dad's name? And that voice sounds like- "There is? Oh, so there is. Don't worry Kathy, I'll get him to move along." An equally familiar voice answered. "Her- That's a mare, Will." "Whatever. This is our vacation spot, and you're the only pony I'm letting stay here." The voices sounded a lot like some people I knew, some people that I should have been nowhere near. The thought that I might know these people was enough to allow my eyes to cooperate and open for me. My neck cooperated too, and turned around to help me gawk at the pony-human couple standing on a nearby porch. The sun was understandably bright, seeing as I had just had my eyes closed for an unknowable amount of time. But it wasn't bright enough to stop me from recognizing my Father, and the pony that I assumed was my mother. My Dad was a pretty well rounded guy. He liked to go camping and fishing and all those usual Dad things, and he liked to wear goofy shirts and be an internet geek. He was taller than I had been, at about 6'1, and his black hair suited his paleish skin. His jaw was rather rounded, and though he wasn't too skinny he definitely wasn't very beefy either. He had done a great deal of jobs throughout his life, and I wasn't sure what he did for a living even now. Mom was a shocking contrast to how I had remembered her. She had been almost as tall as Dad, though with a much more defined figure. She usually wore glasses, and it suited her veterinarian look. She was an actual veterinarian, though I don't think she liked animals to the point of wanting to be one. But she was one now. Her coat was rather pale, not quite white but certainly a very pale grey. Her mane was a mid-shade of green, and looked pretty plain. I noticed that she had attempted to put on clothes, ending up with an old hoodie and a pair of shorts hanging loosely on her body. Her face was free of glasses now, and I wondered whether or not becoming a pony had actually fixed her vision. Her hoodie hung just loosely enough that I could see a hint of a cutie mark, though I couldn't quite make out what it was. Probably something to do with vet work. I thought of the plain space on my haunches, wondering why I didn't get a cutie mark when I was Aurora, an actual pony. I wasn't quite sure how to react. I couldn't remember if Sam had told them I was a pony or not, and I didn't know how they felt or would feel about it. I was sure about one thing though. It wasn't possible that I was here. Somehow I had gone from my hometown, in the middle of the Fraser Valley, in British Columbia, out to where my parents had been vacationing. Which was on Vancouver Island. The two places were separated by a rather sizable body of water, and it would have been no easy feat for someone to carry me from point A to point B without me waking up. Did I fall into a hole and wake up hundreds of miles from where I started? There had to be more than one of those holes in the world, it didn't seem impossible that I could fall into one and tumble out another. But what did seem impossible would be tumbling out HERE, in front of my parents. The vacation home was a nice pale blue two story home, that looked comfortably modern. It's backyard led into one of the many forests that crowded Vancouver Island, and it was isolated to a surprising degree. Not having a car wasn't an option around here, unless you felt like walking several kilometers to the nearest neighbour. My parents called the isolation nice and peaceful, but I called it living too far away. I wasn't quite sure what Sam called it, maybe I should ask her next I see her. I just had to know where she was, because she certainly wasn't anywhere around me. "You know, just because you're a pony doesn't mean you can just park yourself on anyone's property, young lady." My pony-mother informed me, rolling her eyes. I wonder if she knew that not everyone had kept their original gender after they had changed. "Oh, sorry, I didn't quite mean too." I responded, looking down at the ground and trying not to look guilty. To my parents I probably reminded them of another 'young lady' who had passed out on our lawn on her way home after a house party in our neighborhood last year. Only that had been Sam's friend Ramona, and that had been a lawn I had just been running along just this morning. How in the world had I ended up here? It just didn't seem possible that I would end up on my parent's vacation home. Any other place in the world might have made sense, but here? "I wouldn't expect that you did. Is your home very far from here? I understand that walking is a problem for a lot of ponies." My mother answered, ever concerned with the well being of strangers. "Uh, Kathy?" Dad interrupted, more than likely a bit unwilling to go along with helping a strange pony on his lawn. Chances are Mom was going to offer said strange pony a ride, and he would end up driving. He was likely a bit worried that once he gave one pony a ride, how long would it be before he was giving out free rides to every pony who needed one? Lots of people were probably in need of help right now, he couldn't help everyone! Or at least, that was the silent argument I heard as my parents shared a single glance. "It's only one pony, Will. Helping one pony does not mean I'm asking you to help every pony." Bingo, I may not be the same son I once was, but I can still follow their lines of thought. Will was a bit lost, "That's actually not what I was worried about. We have to call Sam soon, I was wondering if you wanted to or if I should?" Mom's ears twitched, and she frowned heavily. "I don't think I'm ready yet. I really don't want to think about any of this. I'm trying to stay calm over here, but if I talked to Sam I think I might just-" She looked down at the ground with an expression of worry. Oh yeah, hadn't Mom called Sam earlier this morning? And broken down on the phone? I thought she was taking this pretty well now, but she probably wasn't doing as well as she looked. I glanced up at the sun, a bit curious of something. I wasn't quite sure of what time it was, and I wondered how long it had been since Mom had called Sam the first time. "I'm sorry, but you could you tell me what time it is? And what day?" I added on the part about the day just in case I had somehow been unconsciously floating in the void for a couple of days or something. I currently suspected that I had fallen into the void yesterday morning, and somehow woken up here. That would mean that this was day three since the ponification. "It's about eight in the morning, June twenty-third, a Sunday morning." Dad filled me in, reassuring me that I was existing on the right day. Except that wasn't the right day. The ponification had begun on Friday night, and I had spent my day of being passed out on Saturday. When I had gotten up, after Sam told me that Mom had called, it had been about nine o' clock. ON SUNDAY. My tail gave itself a flick, and I stood up. Somehow the hole in the universe had dropped me a couple of hours backwards in time. Sam and I had a saying, that was simple and easy to remember. If ever either of us time traveled, we had to avoid panicking and avoid causing any paradoxes. The second part was pretty easy, I was hundreds of miles away from my past self, so it wasn't likely I could shove myself out of the way of the hole or anything. I could call Sam and tell her not to go near the hole, but I would probably end up letting her know I had time traveled. At which point she would hang up, and ignore anything I had told her to do, to avoid causing any paradoxes. The first part was my main concern right now, seeing as panicking is something I do quite well. It was actually surprising that I didn't have a cutie mark in panicking. I time traveled. I just stepped into a hole and woke up in the past. I took a deep breath, several of them in fact. I stood up, and walked around in a circle, before stopping and wondering what I was doing. "Are you okay?" My Dad asked, "I told you the time and now you look like you've seen a ghost. Or at least I think that's the expression I'm getting. Is that what she looks like Kathy?" He looked over at his still saddened wife, who was now looking at me curiously. She gave a nod. I glanced over at the two of them, wondering what to say. I was in front of my parents, before they called Sam, who would let me know, only she was letting me know hours ago, and here I was before I knew. Knowing. I think my brain is going to melt. Turning into a pony is fine. Seeing a hole in reality is fine. Time travel? Well I had to draw a line somewhere. I realized I was acting very strangely and saying almost nothing to the Keegard couple, so I decided to try and fix that. I took a deep breath, and tried to remember what I had just been asked a few seconds ago. "Um, I guess I'm probably alright. Maybe." I said in a very unsure manner. Dad asked if I was okay right? I had to focus, but it was hard when my mind was trying to process the reality of what was happening. Sometimes a mind would accept things if they were simply too hard to truly understand. Hundreds of thousands of people turning into ponies one summer Saturday. That was fine, It was an unbelievable number. My mind couldn't quite handle it, so it pushed it away. Accepting it because it didn't have to deal with it. It wasn't a problem I could solve, let alone understand. I couldn't worry about it. Time travel though, was something my mind could handle. I had thought about the way time travel worked plenty of times. It was something I could understand. And in understanding, I could worry about it. And right now, I was definitely worrying. I still didn't know how time worked, it could be that time worked in lines, and that time travel was jumping forwards or backwards on these lines. Maybe you might have a phone and a microwave, and you might be able to jump yourself into a different timeline somehow. Or maybe time was made of loops, or squiggles. Or maybe it was just a big wibbly wobbly ball of stuff that I could never hope to understand. I didn't need to understand how time worked at the moment, I just needed to know that I had moved through it, and that my life might never be the same. Well, duh. You already turned into a pony, how much more different could your life get? "You really don't sound alright. How did you get here? What happened to you sweetie?" My mother asked, trying in vain to help a 'strange pony.' I tried to smile, but I was too busy hyperventilating. I had to calm down, time travel didn't mean the end of the world. Maybe. It could if I caused a paradox, but- I couldn't worry about it right now. Well, while it doesn't mean the end of the world just yet, It does mean that things just got really complicated. It was ridiculous to think that stepping on a butterfly might end the universe. But I had time traveled. There was no telling what any sort of thing I might do might accomplish. I had only gone back a couple of hours, but- This is what I mean when I say I panic too easily. I slowed down my breath, trying to smile at the poor confused souls who were now giving me odd looks. I had gone from sleeping to panicking in about a minute, so needless to say they had reason to suspect I wasn't doing well. They might even suspect that I might turn violent next, so calming down became a must. "Alright, well I slept a little more than I thought I would." I lied, seeing as I had gotten negative sleep. I wondered briefly if I should tell my parents who I actually was, but decided against it. They'd find out eventually, but I really wasn't ready to tell them. "I'm sorry about sleeping on your lawn, I guess I'll be on my way." I offered to leave, which knowing my Mom's kind heart was essentially my ticket indoors. "Oh no! It's no trouble at all! What's the point of a lawn if you can't lay on it every now and then. You should come inside!" My mother said cheerily, earning a look of concern from my father. "I- That's really kind of you. I haven't got anywhere to go, so I guess it couldn't hurt." Dad was a stickler for polite people, so I tried to drag myself into his good graces too. I began to trot towards the house, trying to come up with a story for myself. I stopped myself from trotting at my absolute best however, as I decided that my level of walking was a bit too good for the pony I was going to pretend to be. I couldn't just tell them the truth, that would be ridiculous. What kind of person goes around telling the truth, surely it could only result in problems! I thought sarcastically, though still knowing that the truth actually would just complicate things more for me. "No where to go! That's awful! Tell me all about it!" Seriously though. I traveled through time! How many other people got to say they had done that in their lifetimes? I wasn't sure if I would ever being amazed by the sheer fact that it actually happened! I hadn't even gone anywhere interesting, but still! ---- ---- I found myself sitting comfortably on a couch, nearly an hour or so later. I had several ideas for stories, but obviously not all of them would work. I had considered grand tales of escape, to heart wrenching tales of an epic journey to find the parents of Leslie Keegard, as I was his secret lover that had turned into a pony, and had sought out his parents for their comfort when their son had rejected me for my change into a pony. Needless to say I abandoned the idea of that story pretty quickly. I had to tell them something though, so I ended up just keeping it simple. I was some girl who had turned into a pony, freaked out, and run away from home. Later on I passed out on their lawn, and here I was. It was so simple that I was terrified they would never believe it, but they bought into it a little too much. The following hour had been spent filling in tiny details for the life of a girl named Megan, who had technically never existed. It was the most stressful hour of my life, as I was terrified of making a single slip-up or contradiction through out the story. Creating an entire life from scratch was nigh impossible. Creating a family for that life and giving them personalities and back stories of their own was just plain ridiculous. But I had done it, on my own, and my parents had mistaken the anxiety I had felt for sadness at having run away from my family. I wished that Sam had been here so that I could get a high-five for my struggle. "Oh dear, look at the time, we were supposed to call our daughter. Sorry to interrupt your lovely story, but I have to go do something." My mother informed me, leaning and falling off the couch, before struggling to take her hooves over to the phone. "That's okay," I replied, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. I had been running out of things to say about the brother I didn't have. I really should have claimed to be an only child. Or an orphan. With no family at all. That would have made things so much easier. "Kath, you don't have to, I could do it if you wanted." Dad chimed in, watching her stumble over with concern. It must have been hard for him to deal with this. Mom had always been so graceful and independent, and now she could barely make a phone call. I wondered how she planned to dial and hold the phone, when she spoke up. "That's fine Sweetie, I'll talk to her, could you just dial this thing and hold it for me?" Ah, well that's one way of doing things. Dad jumped up right away, ready to help. I continued sitting on the couch, aware I was about to hear my mother cry. I had felt sick the first time, and I hadn't even heard the original conversation. Was I going to be in tears by the end of this, or worse? I hoped my emotions wouldn't get the better of me, what would happen if I jumped up to comfort her, or told her that her son was there for her? I couldn't help her at all, and sitting here watching everything unfold didn't sound too enjoyable. "Mind if I go use the bathroom?" I inquired, to which I got a quick nod from Dad, who was dialing. Mom was busy biting her lip, likely trying to figure out what she could say. I wondered if they would remember that I wasn't supposed to know where the bathroom was, but they forgot all about me for the time being. So I was free to find it on the first try 'by accident' without any suspicion from the couple. I headed down the hallway, taking the second left 'by accident' and sneaking in. I looked back at my parent's, as William and Kathy Keegard stood together, trying to get through everything together, never giving up on each other. It was surprising that Kathy could be upset when she had a husband as caring as that. "Couldn't you just put it on speaker phone?" I called down the hall, getting a look of surprise and then an awkward laugh as Will pressed a button and set the phone down. Dad stood up, walking over to the dining room and leaving Mom by herself. Oh, oops. I killed the sentimental moment. Now he isn't there for her. I slipped into the bathroom, a little embarrassed. It figures that just when I think of how close my parents look, I find someway to drive them apart. I closed the bathroom door gently, and blinked in the darkness. Why did I come into the bathroom? Nature isn't calling me. I didn't want to hear the gush of emotion I expected my Mom would let forth, but what was I supposed to do now that I was here? I placed a hoof upon the wall, before lifting myself up hoof by hoof into a bipedal stance. One hoof found the light switch, and I gave it a quick flick. Smiling, I turned to meet my reflection in the mirror once again. My eyes met the purple eyes that looked back, before the noticed something a little more curious. My flank was still bare, I still had no cutie mark. Why don't I have cutie mark? I wasn't sure why it was important to me, I hadn't needed one yet. A thought stirred at the back of my mind, before making itself known an alarming me. I used to have a cutie mark. I did? What happened to it? Where did it go? The Aurora thoughts that sometimes stirred at the back of my mind were quiet, and offered no answer. I hopped up onto the counter, keeping my eyes level with my reflection's purple. I wished getting answers about my life as Aurora was simpler. If I could just ask a question and she would reply, Oh here you go! Have an answer! It would make my life so much easier just to be able to know things for sure. Why was I so sure I was Aurora? What happened to Leslie? Was I Leslie to start with, or did I steal his memories, or his entire body? Was I Aurora, or Leslie, before the ponification? What was up with everyone turning into ponies anyway? How did that happen? Did Aurora even know? I always liked having answers more than I did questions, but sometimes I had to acknowledge that I lived in a world where you might not always get answers. You might have questions that still haunt you after you die, and no one will ever know the answers. But it really wasn't fair! Surely I had to get some answers eventually, but aside from a few tiny flukes, and one pretty big one where Aurora had gotten my wings to work, It seemed that I wasn't any closer to knowing who I was. Who was that purple-eyed pony in the mirror, why did she look so confused? Actually I can answer both of those. She is who I am, and she's confused because I'm confused. The mare in the mirror sent me back a frown. And now she's upset, because she wants to have answers, and feels she might never get them. The mirror pony finally sent back a sigh, and an ear flop that I took to mean that she felt, Helpless, and now probably a little worried that she's crazy because she is on the verge of talking to herself in the mirror. I wished that talking to Aurora was as easy as talking to a mirror. Like, it would be great if her reflection would just come alive and respond. Even if she couldn't talk, it would still be better than what I had now. I wondered if this was what it was like to have amnesia. A total lack of knowledge about your life. The only way to know about yourself was either to let your memories return with time, Which I've heard doesn't necessarily always happen, or to have someone tell you about your past. Of course, most amnesia typically came from brain damage, which meant that the amnesiac might be unable to retain the knowledge one someone tells them. Or that they might drool a bit instead of listening to what they were being told. Yesterday morning, in the shower, I had begun receiving memories of Equestrian plains and meadows. AND THEN I SHOOK THEM AWAY. Well I certainly regretted it now. Any memories had to be better than no memories, right? The biggest thing I had reclaimed as an Aurora memory had to be that I had once had a cutie mark. It didn't help me understand what she was like, what her favorite color was, what her family was like, or her favorite food. I didn't even get to know what the cutie mark looked like. All I knew was that she was me. I was probably going to fall into circles again, being angry that I didn't know anything about her and glaring angrily at that pony in the mirror. And then wishing I had a way to know about her. I needed a new perspective. Wishing to know about her wasn't helping anyone. What good could it do to wish to know about yourself? Hey, there's an idea! New perspective. Don't ask what Aurora is like, ask what you're like! I was certain I had tried that already, at least once or twice, but I had to give it at least one more try. What am I like? What is- I had questions, I didn't have answers. There wasn't much point in asking if you knew you weren't going to get a response. I had to try a question I could answer instead. What is your favorite colour? That had to be the most simple question of all time. My favorite color used to be green, but what was it now? Green was Leslie's favorite color. I can't just borrow his, that's not creative enough. Creative? Was I a creative pony? Did I have something against things that didn't seem creative? I still hadn't answered my simple question. Blue? No, too many people take blue. It's too common. Pink? Too common for girls, if I took pink people might think it's just because I'm a girl now. Red? Red is my least favorite colour. It's overused and people seem to give it more credit than it needs. Too many things in this world are red. Apparently Aurora had strong feelings on the color red. Leslie certainly hadn't minded red. Well he didn't get dressed up in a frilly red dress and hate it when he was four years old. Fair point, I would hate it if- that happened to me? Which apparently it did? First a realization about my cutie mark, and then an admission about disliking frilly red dresses. For something that happened in my past! I had had two Aurora thoughts in the past two minutes, that was definitely a record for me. The mare in the mirror met me with a smile, and her tail flicked upwards in a manner that I assumed represented positive emotions. I wasn't sure about pony body language, but if I could remember two things about my old life then who knew? Maybe one day I could be able to tell what my ears and tail were signalling. I still didn't know my favorite colour, but maybe one day that might change too. Maybe one day I might remember. I just had too keep asking, and give it time- Purple. It seems like I like my eyes, and people think I'm egotistical because of it. But they can throw a shoe, purple is a nice colour. -I could give it time, or apparently I could receive my answer quite suddenly and spontaneously. The pony in the mirror was equally surprised, letting me know that my jaw had dropped. My eyes had widened into pure joy, and I prepared my spirit to be crushed when no further hints at my life came. I allowed myself some optimism, and sent out a second question. I didn't expect it would be answered, but even the progress I had made so far was enough to leave me content for hours. What is my favorite thing about being a pegasus? Wait, that was a terrible question. My favorite thing was flying, duh! I racked my brain for more questions, but I was suddenly drawing a blank. A million questions, but no words to ask them. Of course, asking something wouldn't have worked anyway, that wasn't how the background thoughts of Aurora worked. They came at random, when I least expected them. Sometimes I wouldn't notice them, and sometimes they would be glaringly obvious. Sometimes they corrected a view of perspective, other times they took over and took me flying. I wasn't sure how I felt about the latter ones, they seemed to be dangerous. I didn't ask a question, and as such got no answer. That was fine though, I was plenty happy with what I had. Just knowing that I still had a chance of learning, even after shaking away my chances for direct memories, was plenty good enough for now. I decided to leave the counter, and go see how the phone call with Sam was going. I flopped backwards in my usual fashion, wings spreading and slowing my fall while my front hooves absorbed the shock in a way that I would probably never stop being in wonderment over. There were plenty of things I could be wonderment over, such as the fact that I was actively standing in the past, permanently a few hours older than I should be. Or I could be amazed that I had conjured an entire life for the Megan I was pretending to be, without even a hint of suspicion from my parents. But no, I was amazed by my hooves being so squishy and shock-proof. My mind was probably in a weird place right now. I reached a hoof up to the door-knob, and tried to give it a turn. My hoof felt- Oh, hang on. My hoof didn't feel the warm lively flow that I associated with magic. I tried again, but to no avail. My hooves appeared to be magic-less. Had I still been looking in the mirror, I would have seen myself blink and tilt my head in surprise. I brought my front-right hoof back down, before exchanging it with my front-left hoof. I knew the feeling to look for, I knew how to use magic with my hooves. But there was only a feeling of cold metal to meet me. Okay, let us try the more flashy magic. I closed my eyes, trying to initiate my sixth sense, to see the flow of magic through out the room. I got nothing. I tried to work with what I had, and ignore the lack of magic-vision. I just had to focus, and my eyes would glow, my tongue would taste pomegranate, and the door handle would- Do nothing, because apparently I had lost my magic while I wasn't looking. I stood there silently, unsure of what to do. I- kind of needed that. Where did it go? What happened to it? I was concerned for sure, but more than that I was mainly surprised. How had I not noticed before now? You would I think I might notice myself being separated from a force that was constant and everywhere, but apparently it had simply slipped my mind. I stared blankly at the door, wondering what I should do now. Instead of magic, I had tiny pieces of Aurora's life. I was happy about one, but it seemed likely my good mood was destined to vanish now. "Um, hello?" I called through the door, wondering if one of my parents might be able to hear me and come to my rescue. I was in the same boat as every other pony on the planet now, stuck without magic and relying on humans that had fingers and could open doors to rescue me. It was a terrible fate, except when I remembered that literally every other pony had the same problem. I hadn't lost anything that I couldn't live without. It was of course, sad to see it go, but I had to wave goodbye to my magic. I couldn't let myself get stuck simply because one of my unexpected resources had disappeared, I had to move on. So I did, focusing again on being happy that I still had a few more glimpses into Aurora's past life. "One second, on my way." I heard Will's voice call, as he strode over to open my door. What do you mean gone? Magic doesn't just disappear! I want it back! Aurora's thoughts flared to life, apparently a little more upset at the situation than I was. I was ecstatic! Four Aurora thoughts in just two minutes! Sure one of them wasn't a memory, it was more of an outraged outburst, but it still counted. But while I had started out quite elated, I began to feel the influence of Aurora's thought. It didn't matter if hundreds of thousands of ponies didn't have magic. I did have magic! I enjoyed having magic! Take away my memories, take away my mane or my tail, but don't take my magic! I need that to fly! pegasus wings can't work to their fullest without magic! My thoughts revealed, and my breath caught in my throat. They can't? WHAT? Then I do need magic! Walking everywhere is fine, but what's the point of wings if I can't use them! I demand my magic back! I reached a hoof to meet the door knob again, hoping that my will power would restore itself. I didn't need the unicorn telekinesis, but the passive hoof magic was probably quite similar to whatever flying magic was. When I had flown earlier today, Though technically later today, I had felt some sort of something spreading into my feathers. I hadn't really been paying attention to it then, seeing as I was suddenly falling towards the ground immediately afterwards. But if I needed magic to fly, then I was in big trouble. Flying wasn't something I could just shrug off as not important. I was pegasus, and it was as Sam had said: 'What kind of pegasus doesn't like flying?' At the time I hadn't been in a mood to care, coincidentally because I was too busy caring about magic. As time had gone on, I had found myself caring more and more about whether I could fly or not. And then I had actually flown. It was terrifying but before it was terrifying it had been wonderful, and I found myself yearning for that feeling of wonder more and more. Dad pushed the door open gently, at met the eyes of a concerned pegasus who was currently biting her lip. "I imagine my daughter has a similar expression right now. Kathy isn't going easy on her." He sighed, glancing back at his wife with longing in eyes. "I wish I could tell her everything is going to be okay, but obviously things just aren't going to be okay. I mean, you know how hard it is to be a pony, both of you girls are going through some tough times." I nodded, "Yeah, tough times indeed. I hope she isn't falling apart." I fought back a laugh, as I realized that when Dad had claimed his daughter had a similar expression, technically I was his daughter now.So while he was talking about Sam, he unknowingly was talking about both of his daughters. "No, she's holding together pretty well so far. I think she was a bit inspired by you, I mean, she keeps talking about you and how you're holding yourself together pretty well. She said earlier that since you didn't break down when telling us your story, surely she couldn't bring herself to fall apart just telling her daughter that she was a pony!" Ordinarily, I would have been comforted to know that Mom was not falling apart. A stable mother was a happy mother, and a happy mother meant a happy family. And I was part of that family, meaning that Mom being happy meant that by extension I was happy. Except that today, a happy mother meant something in the timeline had changed, and that worried me. And paradoxes ensue. I hope I don't poof out of existence soon. I tried to maintain a facade of being calm, and trotted slowly out into the living room. Dad followed me back, smiling as he approached his wife. She wasn't in a state of falling apart, and was actually smiling. "So yeah, that's how my past couple of days have been. I'm glad you're taking this so well. Before I let you go, I have to ask how you kids are doing! How's Leslie?" My hoof faltered in mid-step, and I awkwardly stumbled. She wasn't too upset, and now instead she remembered to ask about me. What will Sam say? Sam's voice replied over the speaker phone, loudly and jarring. "Oh? Leslie? He's uh- Doing fine! A bit lonely now that Summer's started. The whole pony thing has blown right by us though, I'm a little disappointed." The tone of her voice sounded about as sure as I was that losing my magic was a good thing. Somehow my parent's believed her though, which was a rather large relief. "Oh, that's good. Don't be disappointed, being a pony is harder than it looks. Or sounds, I guess, seeing as neither of you are ponies." Mom replied with a chuckle. "Anyway, I have to let you go. I love you dear, I'll see you in a little more than a week. Take care of your brother!" I was still concerned, and searched my memories for what Sam had told me about the conversation between Mom and her. It had been a bitter pill to swallow for the both of them, and Sam had never had a chance to tell Mom how we were doing. At least, I think she didn't. Maybe Sam lied? No I remember specifically Sam telling me that she hadn't had a chance to tell Mom how we were. She had said: 'I only got a little chance, right before the end, the rest of the time Mom was a bit emotional, but she remained pretty strong. She said something about a pony named Megan, who-' And... You are now a first hand witness to what happens when something changes in the timeline. I still remembered what had originally happened, but directly thinking about it only returned thoughts from the new primary timeline. I could only imagine what horrors might come about if I were to talk to Sam myself, and tell her not to let us fall into the void. I would probably cease existing, which wasn't exactly something I wanted to do today. Kathy gave a smiley nod to her husband, who smiled back. He crouched down, placing the phone down back upon the cradle it belonged on. "Well you did it! And no tears either. What did I tell you, you're stronger than you think." She nuzzled his shoulder gently, "Well I think I might cry now! That was tough. I can't believe I got through all of that." She looked over towards me, offering a gleeful look. "And I owe it all to you! I couldn't let myself feel down knowing what you went through, it just wouldn't be right! You told her how I felt right?" She asked Will, who nodded. "Yep, I told her how you felt." I stood in the corner of the room quietly, a bit unsure of what to say. "Uh, thanks?" Eh, good enough. Apparently I changed her destiny from tears to smiles. I wasn't sure if I should be happy that everything was working out, or sad that I changed something forever. My mother turned away, offering Dad a clumsy nuzzling on his shoulder. He pulled her in for a hug, "You need to stop being so soft, dear. I might never stop hugging you." "I could live with that. Hugs are nice." I stepped on a butterfly, and I would never know what might have happened in the future if I hadn't have told them my story. What if without me, Mom had fallen deeper and deeper into depression, ruining her life forever? Change was something I definitely had to be weary of, but what if I had just permanently changed things for the better? Could anything bad really come from my mother being content? Maybe some butterflies needed to be squished. There had to be a few bad butterflies, not all of them needed to stay intact. I had heard that some species of butterfly were poisonous even. What if telling Sam not to go near the hole was something I had to do? A butterfly that needed to be squished? No- you've changed the timeline enough for one day. Besides, if you don't fall into that hole, then you never show up here to make Mom feel better, and then you'd never make the decision to stop Sam, and that would definitely be a paradox. There was a big difference between changing something and creating an infinite time loop that might just destroy the fabric of the universe. Heck, for all I knew the reality holes might have been caused because some pony went and caused a paradox, and broke the universe. I might have even been that pony! "Right. Well I'm probably going to get on my way-" I started, feeling a bit awkward in front of my parent's affection. I didn't really have anywhere to go, but maybe I could start making my way home- Wait, home is across a channel of water. Getting home is going to be just a little bit hard. "Oh! Goodness no! You haven't anywhere to go, and we've got loads of spare space for a poor soul like yourself. Think of it as a thank you for everything you've done!" I hadn't actually been prepared for her to say no this time, surely no one would be so kind to a stranger. "All I did was sleep on your lawn and tell you about myself." I replied, a bit overwhelmed. Was this really how Mom treated everyone? Or was she just exceptionally kind to ponies? Was my story THAT heart wrenching? I tried to butter it up a bit, but surely I hadn't gone that far. "Are you sure it isn't too much trouble? You've been awfully kind to me already." I barely had to stay in character, Mom was being a little bit out there, or maybe she was just in good spirits. Either way It seemed too late to refuse the offer now. Dad had to be a little put off by the kindness too, but- "Of course, you have to stay! What kind of man would I be let a poor girl like you out to wander the streets? It's pretty far to get to the nearest town anyway, It's probably a good idea for you to stay for a while, young lady." -Or maybe maybe Dad had caught whatever kindness bug Mom had. My stomach sent out a gentle rumble, letting me know that I hadn't eaten since those mini-wheats last night. That was at least seven or nine hours ago! "Well, what kind of young lady would I be to turn you down. I'll take your offer!" I still hadn't let my true identity slip, and I didn't really have anything to lose. Except maybe my parent's trust, but they'd probably understand. What could possibly go wrong? If Sam had been here, she probably would have informed me that there were an infinite number of things that could now go wrong, but her voice was absent. Where had Sam gone? I hoped she hadn't been erased from time somehow. I don't think I would be able to live with myself if I had erased my sister from time. She had better call or something soon. She had been holding onto me when we had fallen into the hole, how far could she have gone? My Dad stood up, Mom still in his arms, and he began walking in the direction of the kitchen. "Well, your stomach seems to want you to stay, for sure. Let's saunter over and see what I can cook up." Mom closed her eyes, leaning her head against his shoulder in an adorable fashion. Never in a million years did I ever expect I would find myself calling my Mother cute. It would be fine for me to stay here for now, but sooner or later the truth would have to come out. I just hoped that Sam turned up before then. If I didn't hear from her in the next couple of hours I was going to have to go out searching for her. I probably should have been looking as soon as I noticed she was missing. I followed Dad into the kitchen, with three worries on my mind. I was worried about what I was supposed to do now, and how long I could avoid telling my parents that I was their son. I was worried about my lack of magic, and whether or not it might come back. And most of all, I was worried about Sam. What in the world happened to her? ---- Samantha ---- I became aware really slowly. Much slower than I usually become aware of things when waking up. I didn't remember going to sleep, but I wasn't remembering much else right now either. I tried to collect my thoughts, but it seemed like I didn't have any thoughts to collect. I was just laying there, wherever there was. I was laying on something cold, and just a bit damp. I felt my body stir a bit, but it didn't want to move just yet. Well too bad body! I'm getting up, and figuring out where I am! I tried to shift my leg, and open my eyes. All I got was a moan, and my body telling my mind that it wanted five more minutes. All right, five more. But that's all you get. After that I'm getting up for sure. Just five more, it wouldn't take long. I just- -Need- -A bit of rest- I began to bob in and out of consciousness, not really trying to get up anymore. I was strangely comfortable despite the dampened ground, It felt like there was a soft bed of moss underneath me, which wouldn't be too weird. There was moss in the clearing with the reality hole, maybe I had just bounced right back out? Or bounced somewhere else on earth that had soft moss. Lot's of places in the world have soft moss- As I slipped into a deep sleep, I lost my train of thought. Before long my mind was wondering why I would ever want to get up. I wasn't too cold, I could feel a ray of sunshine radiating onto my back. Why would I want to get up? Was Aurora enjoying the soft rays of a setting sun too? Oh right, Aurora. Where is she? How did I know that the sun was setting- No! Let's stick with serious questions only. Where is my Sister? Through the desire to know my sister's situation, I tugged my body back to being awake. I wasn't a morning person, but I certainly had an easier time getting up in the morning than my sister did. I think I do at least, I know Leslie's sleeping habits, but I have no idea about Aurora. Maybe they're completely different. It would probably be weirder if they didn't have differences. My eyes were open, and I was laying down in something black. Or rather, my face was pressed against the ground so that I only saw blackness. I pushed myself away from the ground, the soft moss beneath me- “Wow, that is some really vivid moss,” -was unusually brightly coloured. It was still an earthy green, it was just, bright somehow. More lively. I stood up, glancing around. I had no idea where I was. I was in a valley of sorts, with tall and lush mountains stretching out before me to the north. At least, I think that's the north. Judging by the sunset assaulting my eyes from the west. West is left when you're facing north right? Never Eat Soggy Waffles- Yeah. North. There were trees around, some tall pines of some variety. I didn't recognize any features of the geography around that might give me a clue of whereabouts I was in the world. To the north was tall but gentle mountains, to the west a blinding sunset, to the east was a wall of trees in my face, and to the south- “Woah! That's a view.” From my little isolated spot of mossy ground, I could see the landscape slowly decesnding downwards. The trees mostly cleared out of the way to the south, and so what seemed like low lying flat ground was just high enough to see a magnificent sight. I mostly had the tops of trees in my vista, but out far beyond I could see great fields and meadows. Wild land as far as the eyes could see. That was when I realized that in this case, wild land wasn't good. I didn't want wild land, I wanted civilization, I wanted help! How had any of this happened anyway! I remembered falling into a white hole, and my sister was with me, and then- My memory 'donked' out, and I woke up on a moss clearing. In the middle of a forested valley, miles away from any visible civilization. “This is impossible stuff, tread carefully Sam.” I had to have been carried somewhere new by that hole, that was obvious. I guess I couldn't expect to fall into a hole in the universe and have nothing change on me. It was sunset right now, that means either I had slipped forwards in time, or I had just been passed out for the entire day. I'd prefer the latter, seeing as time travel was simply too dangerous to consider. It had been morning still when Aurora and I had left the house, hadn't it? I could understand falling into a hole, and bouncing out hundreds of miles away. Or wherever I was. But time travel was literally one of the most serious and dangerous concepts ever theorized. If I had just become Sam, the time traveller, then I was probably going down in the history books. Assuming my time travelling hadn't destroyed history of course. I didn't want to be, Sam, the history ender. Leslie had often joked about time travel, and how much fun it could be to do it. Sure, go back in time, give yourself some winning lottery numbers. Nothing bad could happen from that could it? I mean, aside from the universe ending just from having met yourself. I hear that's a real problem for time travelers. It couldn't help that everything in modern media told us that pretty much anything done while time travelling could result in the end of the universe. Of course, that was mainly exclusive to when people travelled to the past. When they went to the future, the worst case scenario was usually just the end of the world that was happening anyway with or without time travel. IF, and that was a rather big if, I had time travelled into the future, surely I couldn't be that bad off. As long as I wasn't in the past, I ran no risk of accidentally destroying everything that ever existed. Or at least that's what popular culture told me would happen. I wasn't a theoretical physicist, so my knowledge on the true nature of the subject was likely a bit limited. What I did know for sure, was that even if I was a time traveller, or not. I currently had bigger problems in my life. One was the lack of visible signs of civilization. I didn't know many places on Earth, that looked as wild and free as the land before me. Granted, I was looking at it from really far away, if I got closer undoubtedly the fields and meadows would appear to have patterns in them, from farming and harvesting. That still wasn't my biggest problem though. My biggest problem lay just on the horizon, just barely lit up by the light of the sun. It was a great deal of clouds. It wasn't storm clouds, no it was much worse than that. I didn't know how I had failed to notice it before, seeing how vivid it was. Heck everything around me was vivid, I just wasn't looking very hard. “No.” I complained, though words wouldn't change much. The vividness of the moss had reminded me of something, though now that I was looking around, particularly at the patch of clouds just above the horizon, it seemed blindingly obvious just how much of a mess I was in. “No no, that- Just no” It wasn't vanishing. The vividness of the land, the unfamiliar geography- That stupid batch of impossible clouds just on the horizon. That had- “Nope! I'm done! This isn't fair!” -That had- “I'm leaving! I don't know how, but I'm going back to sleep or something, and letting this all go away.” Ahem, The patch of clouds w- “None of this is possible, and I am sick of it. I haven't been here for even three minutes, and I'm sick of it.” The patch of- “Furthermore! I-” I haven't really got any valid complaints. Where do I send them anyway? I'm here, might as well accept that. The rational side of my mind was all for ignoring the bulk of my problems, and focusing on surviving. Fortunately the irrational side of my mind wasn't finished. “I'm literally just an ordinary girl! Why in the world am I here! This shouldn't even be possible, let alone happening to me!” On the horizon lay a brilliant sight as the sun made it's way below the horizon. In the distance, patches of clouds with brilliant rainbows pouring out of them were remarkably easy to make out. It was a place I had seen few times, though it was distinctive enough to easily recognize. It looked much bigger than I had imagined. When I mentioned the sun making it's way below the horizon, I was being literal. Science had long ago proved that the Earth rotated around the sun, and that it was really just the curvature of the earth covering up the un-revolving sun. BUT, I wasn't on Earth anymore. I could tell, thanks to that patch of clouds. They were referred to as the floating city of Cloudsdale in the cartoon, but seeing them in real life was a bit of a shock for many reasons. Mainly because it finally got me to realize exactly how far I had gone after falling into that hole. “WHY AM IN EQUESTRIA!?”