//------------------------------// // Awakening // Story: A New Life // by Lunafan1k //------------------------------// Darkness, I was surrounded by a vast, empty void of deafening silence, yet I could still hear the screams. They echoed far, coming from everywhere and nowhere as I could do nothing but listen to them. They were cries of pure agony, of loneliness and abandonment, hatred and anger coming from all around me, from inside me. I didn’t know what was going on, who I was or how I got there. It felt like my mind was but a sliver of what it once was. And the screaming, the constant screaming… it never abated, never slowed down, it was as constant as the void I found myself in. Wait, there’s something else. Something I didn’t notice before, there, just under the screams. It sounded like a tone, a constant series of beeps in rapid succession. I hated it. It was something from beyond the darkness I found myself in, taunting me against the comforting screams that fought against the void. I instead focused on the screams, taking comfort in their effort to not abandon me to the darkness, but they were changing. They began to dwindle and I began to feel, like a pressure on my neck as the screams died out to a hoarse whisper. As they did, I heard other things, sounds held back by the screams... voices, many of them! But they didn’t come from the void, they came from beyond, from where the noise of the beep came from. With nothing better to do I gave in and listened. The voices were frantic, moving about yet somehow not there with me. I began to feel more sensations, feelings and flavors I could not place. Where was it coming from? Certainly not the void, for all it did was stare at me, judging me, a constant reminder of something I had lost… though I dare not think of what it could be, there were more pressing matters. I felt my mouth open-wait, I don’t have a body in the void… no matter where I look I’m just simply a thought in complete darkness, how can my mouth open when I don’t have one, my throat close when I don’t need one? Nothing made sense anymore, I needed to do something, I needed to fix this, I needed to- I opened my eyes. Almost immediately I was blinded by a bright light shining from far above me, dark shapes danced and played at the edges of my vision. I paid them no mind, the light, burning with intensity, beckoned me forth. Almost on cue, I felt my right hoof raise as to reach towards it, to feel it, to caress it, to-is that blood? I bring my hoof closer to examine it, the light remained as it was as my eyes focused. I felt my body convulse and my hoof was splattered with more of my green ichor. What was happening? Suddenly one of the shadows moved, my eyes weren’t able to focus on it but it looked like another hoof, one far different than my own. It moved mine back out of sight. I heard the voices again, and another, smaller light entered my vision and raced back and forth playfully. I tried to follow its rapid movements but it was gone as soon as it arrived. Then a shadow, it looked like a head by its outline, peered down at me as my mouth was forced open. I felt something, it was long, round and smooth being shoved down my throat, and the next instant I felt my lungs fill with air as my chest expanded. It was odd, breathing without air passing through my throat. Probably for the better if the blood was any indication. The next moment I felt a sharp pain at the base of my neck and a pressure, as if there was more fluid there than should be there normally. It dissipated quickly as it was forced along my body. But as it dissipated, so too did my vision fade. I was welcomed back to the darkness, but this one was comforting, embracing… quiet. I don’t know when, but I became aware of that infernal beeping once more plaguing my mind as the dream space fell away. Was I dreaming? I don’t remember, the events slipped away like water though my hooves. As I felt myself regain awareness, I realized I was laying on something both soft yet supportive, so as I rested I would be in a reclined position instead of laying down. The beeping continued, although at a much more relaxed pace compared to the frantic chorus of beeps I heard while in the void. An improvement, I suppose, but still annoying regardless. I moved my forelegs and rear legs a bit, a soft sheet slid over them smoothly in comfort. I smiled, it was rather nice compared to… compared to what? I can’t seem to remember anything before the void, not exactly anyway. Not that it mattered, I was rather comfortable. I spent a few moments enjoying the feeling of the sheets. After a moment I opened my eyes, expecting to be blinded by another bright orb of light. I was surprised to find myself in a room illuminated in a soft glow. I looked around, there was a hole in the wall leading to the outside and the light was coming from there, striking the curtains as a gentle breeze played with their fabric. It was enough to light up the room without being blinding, for which I was grateful. I turned my head to look at the other side of the room, but in doing so I felt something shift against my neck. I reached up and felt more fabric, wrapped around my throat gently, a bandage of some sort. I moved a hoof up to my muzzle and found some smooth round things, they reminded me of-oh, as I fiddled with it I felt it twitching down inside my throat, yet I was breathing just fine. Perhaps this was helping in some way? I followed what appeared to be a clear tube of some sort from my mouth to some kind of machine. Well, there were several little machines and I wasn’t sure which one it went to. There were also a number of strings… no, wires going from them to me, and it was one of those machines that was making that beeping noise, though I couldn’t tell which one. I tried to maneuver around into another position but my body felt weak and heavy. I was made aware of a dull soreness pulsing thought my body, focused mostly on my throat and chest, though I had no idea what could have caused it. I was interrupted from my thoughts as the door to my left opened gently. I was greeted by a white unicorn mare, a pony. A mild bit of panic shot through me, almost like I feared her… but I had no idea why. Did a pony do this to me? If so then I doubt they would let me rest someplace so cozy, even if their idea of torture was a beeping machine. “Oh! Good morning! My name is Nurse Redheart.” She said when she saw me. I started to open my mouth to reply but no voice came out. “Oh, don’t worry about saying anything, your throat is still healing and I would hate to have you further injure yourself.” I thought for a moment, about the bandages, the tube, and the ease of breathing. Made sense to me, so I nodded instead. “And it looks like you can at least understand our language as well, that will make this much easier.” I nodded again, unsure why I wouldn’t be able to understand them. Apparently my confusion showed as she explained, “I don’t mean to offend, but we’ve never encountered a pony of your… physiology before and assumed you were from a foreign land.” I nodded in understanding, it made sense. “Alright, so I’m just going to look at your vitals on these machines for a moment and I’ll go fetch the doctor and let him know you’re up, go ahead and just relax, okay?” I nodded once again and laid back, staring at the ceiling as Nurse Redheart scribbled away on a clipboard. There was motion above my head, when I repositioned myself to get a better view I saw it was several floating balls of various colors, some with words of ‘Get well soon!’ and other comments about health floated around, each tied to a string... yes, a string. I followed the strings to a small table under the balls and found them tied to a basket of some sort. It was unclear what was inside from the angle I was sitting but it looked like there could be more than a few small nick-knacks. The nurse must have seen my gaze as she explained, “Some of the ponies who brought you in put that together for you, it’s got a few gifts from each of them for you to enjoy during your recovery.” I nodded and smiled back at her before relaxing once more. The thought was nice, but I wasn’t up for too much at the moment. I was getting exhausted just from the few times I moved around. “Alright, I’m done here and everything looks good as far as I can see. I’ll go fetch the doctor and he will be with you shortly.” I nodded again, I should stop doing that, its making my neck tender. The door closed behind her as she left the room and a soft silence full upon me. My ears flicked as I listened, the beeping was gone! She must have shut it off and I didn’t notice! I smiled, I’ll have to find a way to repay her, what do mares like? … Nothing came to me, I haven’t a clue what mares like, let alone stallions. I tried to think of what a stallion looked like. Well for starters I bet he had a face, maybe some teeth. Eyes? Probably. Legs, hooves, mane and tail… my mental image of a stallion looked exactly like the nurse. It dawned on me I hadn’t a clue what a stallion looks like, but I know what one is… it was both frustrating and fascinating at the same time. I was brought from my thoughts as a stallion in a doctor’s coat walked in, another clip board held in his telekinetic grasp. It clicked in my mind and my mouth formed an ‘oh’ shape. This one was a light brown with a curly black mane. “Well good morning! I’m Dr. Cure, I operated on you when you were brought in last night. How are you feeling?” I shrugged. “Throat still a bit sore I take it?” I nodded again. “Not to worry, we’ll have you patched up and in a few days you’ll be good as new.” I smiled, and as I did I noticed his eyes glanced down to my mouth. Had the nurse done the same? I didn’t know, I wasn’t paying too much attention. This raised a few questions, but I wasn’t sure how to voice them. I pondered for a moment before I motioned to the doctor. He picked up on my signals and re-arranged some sheets on the clip board before hoofing it to me along with a pen. I thought how I knew what they were for a moment before mentally shrugging and gripping the pen and clipboard in my magic. It took but a moment to write out my question, What happened? “Ah, thought you might ask that one. You were found deep in the Everfree Forest by Zecora, a local zebra who lives near the edge of the woods. She told us she heard screams of utter pain and quickly followed them to find you rolling around and clutching your head. She managed to gather you up and rush you here. Unfortunately your constant screaming ruptured your throat and we had to perform an operation to keep you breathing, your throat was swelling shut from the abuse.” Ah, so the screaming in the void was my own. But why? It didn’t feel like I was in pain… The doctor continued, “Her friends had heard what happened, one of them being Princess Celestia’s student, Twilight Sparkle. They put together a gift basket and Twilight set about researching what species you were in order to help us heal you. She actually just stopped by this morning, having spent the night looking though all her books but she couldn’t find a single clue.” I raised an eyebrow, really? That seemed unlikely, I know there must be more of my kind. “Luckily your body functions about the same as a pony so were fairly confident you will be just fine. You don’t happen to know what happened, do you? We didn’t find any signs of head trauma when we examined you.” I shook my head carefully and wrote, I don’t remember anything before waking up. Lots of screams. “I see, we’ll have you talk to a mental health specialist once you’re better, sounds like a severe case of amnesia.” He said with a solemn look. I didn’t know what he was talking about, not really, it was like I couldn’t connect the words to their meaning, well I think I did but it feels… wrong. I wrote another question, I am not a pony? The doctor looked from me to the note pad and back again several times, “Defiantly some mental trauma. Here, see for yourself.” He levitated a small mirror over to me. I took it in my magic and pointed it toward my face. My jaw dropped by what stared back at me, and I had to agree with the doctor. I was not a pony, I was a changeling.