Chapter 3
Surface World
She reached the earth below excited and ready to complete her mission. As soon as she was down there however it felt like all of the air had been sucked away. She collapsed with a weak cry as her heart felt like it had stopped beating. Something was wrong, there should've been something there that wasn't. She didn't know what it was, but she wasn't getting something that she desperately needed. She lay there on the ground eyes wide, breathing in heavily the air that didn't seem to come, unable to move, and grasping for something that wasn't there.
She couldn't cry for help, or help herself. She was completely at the mercy of whatever happened by. She closed her eyes and tried to calm her breathing as she felt her heart beating again. Slowly the sudden emptiness started to fill. Now breathing properly again she could feel her heart was racing in alarm as it should've been. Still though, she felt light headed and it hurt to try and think. She laid there for she didn't know how long until she actually attempted to move.
Slowly she moved one of her forelegs under her and then the other. She managed to push herself into a sitting position, but swayed with the effort that it took. Again she remained stationary for a good amount of time gathering herself as best as she could. When she did finally rise to all four hooves it was a slow and arduous process. Spots swam before her eyes as she swayed precariously trying to maintain her balance. When she finally found her center of balance her legs were spread wide and she was trembling slightly. Then just as the other two times she stayed right where she was until she felt comfortable trying to move again. As she took an experimental baby step she was starting to adjust, but she still wasn't going anywhere fast.
Why hadn't anypony mentioned this fatigue to her? It certainly was an important detail. Surely somepony would've thought to say something. It wasn't incredibly likely that they just forgot, but why would they have chosen not to say something? Was it some form of test to see how she would fare in these conditions? Either way, several hours wasn't going to be happening, in her current condition it was looking more like at least a full day if she was lucky. Still as the time passed she could feel herself adjusting slowly to… whatever had changed in this new environment around her.
As she stood, still as a statue, trying to recuperate she finally directed her attention to the environment that was surrounding here. She had never seen something so colorful and different in all of her life! From the soft and smooth green carpet underneath her to the sturdy and rough dark brown columns that came from the ground, everything was completely new to her. She had to refrain from squealing with joy as she looked about her. She risked a larger step eager to explore the new world before her. Her task was to observe this new world and she couldn't have been happier to complete it. It left her a little dazed, but not completely drained like before. She was adjusting to the change more and more as the time passed. She took another careful step and found herself successful. She started to walk slowly in a small circle in the clearing making sure that most of the fatigue was indeed gone. It wasn't too long before she felt confident enough to explore a little bit more.
She started her trek through the strange place not really aiming in a particular direction and just admiring those things that surrounded her. She lost all track of time as she wandered with her only focus being the world around her. It was a rather startling awakening when the scenery suddenly changed. She found herself no longer looking at the strong and sturdy columns, but a path that cut through it all. Deciding that it was a good sign seeing as she was supposed to observe the ponies that were down there. She stepped out onto the dirt trail and headed onwards toward what she hoped to be civilization.
She hadn't walked to long before the large sturdy columns stopped and she found herself facing a field with a sprawling metropolis laid out behind it. It wasn't all that far off from her, but she couldn't make out any details other than that it was definitely a community. Ponies must live there, she thought excitedly as she looked at it in awe. From where she was she could already make out different colors from the ones that she was used to seeing. She trotted towards the lovely city with her emotions having reached a point that was somewhere far beyond ecstatic. She could barely contain her joy as she grew ever closer to the establishment. Although she could barely describe those things around her due to a simple lack of knowledge she believed all of it to be stunningly beautiful and unique.
As she approached the city the dirt road became paved and she started to see ponies. She was quite surprised at all of the different colors and shapes and sizes that they were. Every single star pony was the same color and generally same build so the distinction was rather strange to her. She supposed that she should avoid talking to them so that she wouldn't be noticed and just observe instead. She walked by all that surrounded her with none of those belonging to the bustling metropolis paying her any mind. She admired all that she walked by seeing as every last millimeter was filled with something new to her. As she observed her surroundings she did notice that there weren't any foals running about, but only adults. She didn't want to stick out and as the only foal there she felt like quite the standout.
She started to look for other ponies around her age that she could stick with to be less conspicuous. The warning of not being noticed was something that she had taken to heart. Her eyes searched the environment for a place where she felt she could fit in. As she spotted a group of foals her age she let out a sigh of relief and trotted over to them. Even then though, she felt the outcast as all of them wore saddlebags and her own back was completely bare. Still, there she would at least be less of a stand out. A sudden bell rang out startling her and all of the foals along with ponies who seemed to be closer to teenagers trotted in through the building's doors. She followed along hoping to just blend into the crowd as she observed their strange place.