//------------------------------// // 05 Purity // Story: Unlucky seven // by Pinklestia //------------------------------// ~~*Sparkler the Diamond Diva*~~ I am not a morning person, however, I still found strange to wake up in the middle of the night. I felt warmer for some reason, like I was wearing some comfortable and warm sleepwear, only it covered my whole body... yeah lets stop here cause its starting to sound... kinky. And despite what others might think, I am not that kind of girl. Anyway, I woke in the middle of the night, feeling warm, maybe a bit too warm, there was also an unfamiliar weight on my forehead, maybe I had a headache? Unfortunately my sleep addled mind was too lazy to even care to touch my head, I yawned and looked around my darkened bedroom. Only to find out... it wasn't my bedroom. For some reason, I was outside, in our backyard. The backyard is paved with cement, that would explain why I didn't notice before but... the ground looks closer than it ever did before. Then, I looked myself over and noticed that I wasn't wearing a nightgown, or even the tight leotard I use for my gymnastic practice. No I was covered in... whitish silver fur, more white than silver. I would have screamed, if It wasn't because I could not believe it. And then there was another detail that I should have noticed earlier, I was down, walking on all fours, and... my hands... and my feet... were now strange cartoon like horse legs. This... this has to be a dream, right? I mean sure, I am not a nice person, I am a cheerleader, what in High School is called an Alpha bitch, and all my dates so far have been more looking at the boys wallets that any liking I had for them. But I had been raised in money, then after the divorce my bitch of a mother dumped us with father and I had to be middle class? Screw that! I would do anything to regain my former status and money. Despite wanting really hard for this to be just a bad dream, I examined myself, four equine legs, a purple horse tail with a streak of red in the middle and ... I guessed my hair had the same color. I should not be able to see that well at night, if it wasn't because of the full moon. So I went from cheerleader and gymnast with a bright future, as long as I married a rich man, to a cartoon looking horse. Mmm, I am too small for a horse, maybe I am some kind of pony? Sure I love ponies, but when I said I wanted a pony for my birthday, even if I knew we were too poor for that, this isn't what I meant dammit! Then I feel like a tug in my head, like something or someone wants me to go near the pine tree, one of a few places of the backward that still has grass and junk. I go there near the tree, then I remember something I did ages ago, when I first hear that my bitch of my mother yelling that she was gonna left me and that. I took my mother diamond earrings and dig them near the tree, then never told her. I felt that tug in my head again, at to my surprise, it seems a ray of pink light shots from my forehead near the tree, and to me came floating those beautiful diamond earrings. "Wow!" When I say that the earrings drop on the ground, what was that? Some kind of power to find things? Maybe the ability to find valuable stuff that's buried around? If I wasn't stuck as a equine that would be useful. Stuck? Oh come on Sparkler, think positive! "What the hay I just called myself?" Hay? Why I am using such a stupid expression? It sounds just like… oh please for the love of God don't tell me I got turned into one of those ponies in that cartoon my stupid brother loves! 'No, don't go there girl, is a stupid idea.' Despite how stupid the idea is, I end using my hoof to touch around my forehead and unfortunately find what I was fearing, I am not just some dumb cartoon pony, I am a UNICORN cartoon pony. That explains the magic, if it wasn't because I called myself Sparkler I would swear I am that gem and fashion obsessed unicorn named Rarity. What? I watched the show sometimes, just a few episodes like the one where they got the butt marks and one focused on Rarity where she sang and made dresses for her ungrateful friends. Granted, is just a stupid cartoon for little girls, I should not have let that episode affect me so much... anyway... what the hell I do now? Food, food sounds good, better eat food now before my stomach grumbles and I am forced to eat grass or something yucky. So that's how I end inside, eating veggies I took out the fridge. It was hard to do using hooves, as the magical stick in my forehead kinda refused to work after the whole jewelry stuff, but not before I put the earrings in my ears, it did not hurt, not because I already had my pony ears pierced, but because they were clip ons. Okay, try to think positive. Good points... I got magic that let me find jewels, like that Rarity pony. And my brother is a Brony so he would probably take care of me, he also doesn't seem sexually interested in ponies, at least not female ones, thank God for my brother being gay. Yeah a gay guy who loves a little girls cartoon don't you dare mock him! Also vegetables taste better, before, I hated them yet ate them anyway cause a cheerleader has to stay fit and slim. Now the negative... Oh wow, so many things that can and will go wrong. For one, I am no longer human, that means I am not a US citizen and they can capture me and cut me up like in those fake aliens videos, or experiment on me or... I almost threw up thinking about that, I am not a pet, I am not somepony... err someone slave! Why... why I am crying? I am made of tougher stuff than that I am... Oh, who I am kidding? My life ended, my bro might be willing to take care of me but my dad will call the police or something worse. Mm... maybe I could hide in his room? I am about the size of one of those really big plushies... hehe... no. I will just hide in... no. I will just wait and see what happens, running away? I live in the middle of the city, plus maybe my brother, who is so good at giving me make up by the way, will save me. My gay brother, who I have been pretending doesn't exist unless I am at home... yeah quite hypocritical of me, well, no more. He might be socially unacceptable for those racist jerks who pretend to be my friends, but this is an emergency, and unlike my bitch of my mother, me and my brother promised each other that we would help each other when we could. I... I just hope he still thinks that. Now then, I wonder who should get the blame for this fiasco? I know I certainly didn't wish to become a unicorn of all things. I certainly shouldn't receive undue punishment for the actions of others. It's not like I was ever a truly terrible person either, maybe a bit selfish, but who isn't? If its some magical hex then its an odd one. Typically I think those make you a frog or something else ugly... like that one old hag down the street. Certainly it wouldn't make me into such a lovely mare. The sparkly mane and tail, the smooth silky coat, even those precious diamonds on my rump are simply fabulous! Wait... why do I think I'm so beautiful? I mean of course I am, it's so plain to see it would be painfully obvious to anyone with even half a brain. Hmmm... perhaps I should take a gander at a mirror, just to be on the safe side. Though while the Kitchen has a door that leads directly to the backyard, my room has no direct exits outside, save for the window, and the window is closed and leads to the front yard, were people will see me. Is just too dangerous, can you imagine what someone might do if they saw me? Adults would try to sell me I'm sure. Little girls would try to put their filthy hands all over me! Ugh! I am not some attraction at a zoo! Oh dear, I really must calm down. This just can't be good for my skin... coat... fur... whatever it is... Anyways, lets move on from that for a moment. What enemies do I have? Hmmm... can't really think of any 'enemies' more like 'jealous peons'. So lets start with that instead. My ex-boyfriends of course, they really should grow up. Just because they went and thought I actually liked them doesn't mean I belong to them, really. Girls whose lives I 'ruined', but please... their lives were ruined long before I came into the picture. They were all so silly and pretty and kind, bah, they could never make it in the real world. I'd be surprised if they even lasted a few seconds outside of school. Like that one cheerleader... what was her name? Lindsey or something... something with an L... or maybe an H. Can't recall, don't really care all that much. I do remember how I joined the cheer-squad. She was a member but for the life of me I don't know how anyone could stand her. You know that 'valley girl' thing you hear of so often. She had it down to a T! Not only that but she was a complete and utter imbecile! She was all 'like' this and 'like' that every few words! Finally I just got sick of it and maneuvered a few incidents and she was finally out of my hair. Clearly this unicorn thing is outside the scope of her limited abilities, so it must be someone else. Hmmm... maybe her. I recall a long time ago I used to borrow clothes from this one girl. A bit uptight and far too serious if you ask me. I remember she let me borrow this one sweater when it was cold out. I had needed it, then went out on the town with a few friends. Unfortunately I might've ended up staining the thing. I... oh dear, she did tell me it belonged to her grandmother... who died... my... hmmm... Well, whatever. Perhaps I'm not the most decent person, but its not like anyone got anywhere by being a doormat. I know I certainly wouldn't. Then again I'm a unicorn now, a tiny one too, I could do with a bit of good will now. So former friends maybe, hmm... quite a few of those. Most of them simply due to the fact I no longer needed them. I mean it was nothing really personal, just that they were in my way. Or like Kim, she was such a dear and loyal friend, then she started hanging around those... ugh... nerds. A lady of my stature simply couldn't be dragged down to such a base level. So I simply had to let her go. Then there was Claire, she was a stuck up queen B, yes capitalize the B darling, till I got done with her that is... I think she had to move because of that. Well broken eggs and all that. Hmm. Who else, maybe one of my former beaus then. Perhaps Charles, I recall he was rather unusual, from a family of gypsies too. But I doubt the whole Gypsy curse thing is real. Nor do I particularly think we parted on such monstrous terms. Yes I dumped him. Yes he tried to win me back in his own pathetic way. But its not like I ever said I loved him. Nor any of my boyfriends actually. I certainly appreciated all their gifts and affection, but aside from those things, I could do without the lot of them. Though I had been eying a particularly dashing rogue recently. He was charming, though I suspected it hid a much more sleazy persona. I'm not a complete idiot unlike some girls. A charming smile or fancy clothes wont win me over. The money certainly helps, yes, but that is hardly the only thing I look for. Looks matter. As does patience. While I might stomach some beastly behavior I am as pure as the driven snow and shall remain as such. Till, that is, I find someone worthy of such a gift and... Oh dear... I hadn't considered all of that before actually. I really do have quite a lot of enemies. That makes the list of candidates unfortunately long. And thinking about it now, I'd actually have an easier time thinking of people who wouldn't want to do something awful to me. In fact, becoming such a lovely unicorn mare seems more like a stroke of pure luck than an intentional action. Though maybe my purity had something to do with that. Despite being a cheerleader, I am neither a bimbo nor a tart. Hard to believe from someone of my dubious character, no? Well sorry, but not all Queen B's are... well you know. A few of us actually manage to get by just fine with that firmly intact. Regardless, I'm no closer to figuring out who did this to me. As much as I hate to admit it I might require some form of help to deal with this problem. My only dilemma, is to whom I can turn to for advice? I am not foolish enough to seek out the aid of my peers. Many would gladly sell me to the highest bidder after the things I've done. The few who would not would... well... those freaks are better left avoided completely. Ugh. So that leaves me with few, if any, options to turn too. Oh why must this all be so complicated? Perhaps if I'd been turned into a frog this would be easier... But then frogs are hideous creatures, and they also get eaten in France and used for dissection in schools. Anyway where was I? Ah yes, I need help, I guess my brother will have to do. ~~*Moondancer the Dream Weaver*~~ Somehow, hope beyond hope prevailed. I woke up at some point in the afternoon. While it was clear the sun wouldn’t be up long, it’d hopefully be long enough to suit my needs. So getting up I stretched for a moment and then yawned and smacked my lips. Shaking my head my crimson and purple mane flew all about and got in my face. ‘Well that’s irritating,’ I noted with a breath. It didn’t quite rid me of my bangs, but a quick hoof solved that issue. That done I set about checking on my surroundings and hummed. I had two goals right now. One, I needed to go and find some food before I ran out. A very pressing concern to be sure. Second, figure out what to do with all these rocks and bones, which wasn’t really much of a concern. Not unless you want decoration. I ignored my brain and instead gathered what I’d need for the day. I left anything of value behind and took only the essentials. Which today included a knife; on the off chance I needed it of course. ‘Better to be prepared,’ I decided with a nod of my head. That in mind I cantered out of the cave and set out into the forest. Might want to stick close to the edge so you know how to get back. Or like, make some kind of markers you know. I thus stopped and turned back to the cave with a quiet grumble. I hate to admit it but being able to relocate my current abode was priority. If Minecraft was anything to go on I was horrible with mapping directions unless I’d been there for months or years. Point being I didn’t want to lose my new abode so soon after locating it. So with that in mind I started to move the largest rocks I could find around. I moved them into a triangle outside of my cave and then started to move slightly smaller rocks on top of them. Then I repeated that with smaller rocks, and finished with a few dog skulls to make them easily noticeable. ‘Should I do anymore?’ I wondered. I rubbed my chin and hummed as I looked around for a moment. I then smiled as an idea came to mind and I galloped into my cave. I looked around and grabbed up an old blanket from my duffle bag. The thing was extremely worn with age to be comfortable. It also had easily available thread / yarn I could use for my latest idea. I carefully pulled out some of the yarn and then made my way back outside. I gathered some fairly sturdy sticks and wrapped some of the bones to the sticks. I couldn’t really tie them, but hopefully this would still get the job done. Once that was done I put the sticks up outside of the tower triangle to more easily locate my cave. It wasn’t exactly the most cheerful look, but it would certainly grab my attention. ‘That’s all that matters for right now,’ I decided with a nod. That in mind I turned and made my way back into the forest. My next mission was simply to locate some berries and then head home and look ‘em up on the Internet. ‘I’m worthless without the Internet,’ I note to myself with a sigh. Well… yeah, but it’s not like that’s horrible for the moment. Right now we still have at least limited access to the Internet. With that you can figure out what local flora you can eat at the very least. Which also means you won’t have to guess or even make wild guesses on what you can and can’t eat. ‘True,’ I admit. I also recall that ponies can eat flowers. At least in Equestria they could. So I could maybe head back towards the people to grab a bite to eat if I was ever truly close to starving. When did our family become ‘the people’? ‘The same time I became ‘the unicorn living in the woods’,’ I replied. That makes it sound like someone knows we’re out here. ‘They might figure out there’s something odd out here,’ I remind. True enough. Still, we should focus on food and worry about being discovered at a later date. ‘Agreed, for once,’ I replied. That done I let out a breath and wondered the edge of the forest. I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of berries. Barring that I might just grab some hay from down the street. The errant thought causes me to halt and then blink. ‘Why didn’t I think of that before?’ I wondered with a frown. ‘I mean I am genuinely confused here, and we have a bucking field out behind our house!’ I internally exclaim. Actually… I don’t know, and there’s also the field down the street where they have those huge hay bales we could nibble on for months without getting noticed. ‘Oy, we’ve been over thinking everything haven’t we?’ I questioned with a grimace. Not really, but that one thing we kind of did. Although I doubt hay tastes all that great by itself, for days or even weeks or months at a time. ‘Point made, look for berries, barring that we gather some hay,’ I decide with a nod of my head. That in mind I continue looking around for berries, though now it’s less of a priority than it might’ve been. ‘I’ve really got to consider my environment more. I mean for bucks sake, I lived in front of a field for years,’ I note with a shake of my head. That’s the problem! It blended in with the background, we’re so used to it we just didn’t consider it! Just like how Derpy appears in many episodes, her unusual appearance makes her stand out. A more mundane pony that did the same thing would literally blend in with the background and no one would notice! ‘Well that makes a certain amount of sense,’ Though it begged the question of what else wasn’t I considering from my surroundings. I idly look around while also thinking on that for a bit. ‘The people up the street might notice if I stole more oats, flowers going missing might not be noticed,’ Ponies in the show can eat eggs and we have the chickens behind our house. ‘Are we sure of that?’ We can check on the Internet if nothing else. But I think I remember them using eggs for baking in at least one episode- ‘True,’ With another option sorted I continued to think about my surroundings. STOP! I immediately halted and looked around. However strangely I couldn’t see anything that would warrant the sudden stop. I was about to continue on my way when my brain decided to clarify what it wanted me to avoid. Look down you moron… I glance down and grimace. Poison Joke dead ahead and I almost stepped in some. ‘Well that would’ve been horrible,’ I shivered. No duh, that’s why I warned you! Now stop spacing out, we can further consider our options back at the cave. Right now you need to keep an eye out for berries and especially Poison Joke! I nodded my head in agreement. With that firmly in mind I skirted around the Poison Joke and continued on my way. I also took a moment to glance up and frowned. It was quickly starting to turn dark. While I had options for food I wasn’t about to give up until I was sure that there were no berries nearby. Unless it gets too dark to see, that would just be asking for trouble. I winced and nodded my head in full agreement. It would be pretty bad to end up with poison joke because I was being stubborn. Stubbornness wasn’t exactly what I was known for anyways. Not that I was known for much. Actually now that I think about it I have very few friends… bordering on complete social non-existence really. ‘Wow, now I feel better about myself,’ I note dryly. Strangely works out for us in this situation though. ‘True, but that doesn’t make it any less sad,’ With a breath I continue to look around for a few wild berries. Luck seems to be on my side too when I spy a single bush nearby. ‘Finally!’ I quickly trotted over to the bush and then went about snapping a significant branch free. That way I wouldn’t have to pick all the berries and could just pull them off at my leisure. Won’t keep for too long. ‘No, but this bush should last for at least a little while.’ I then looked around and hummed. I shifted the branch onto my back and pulled my knife from my belt. With it I walked over to a tree and marked it with a circle, then put an X inside of it. The scratchy symbol was from Marble Hornets and given the slender mythos few would question why someone put it in the forest. Or they will just blame it to kids being kids, a X is something generic after all. ‘I’ll make a few more so I can find this place again.’ I then made my way back to the cave. I carved the "Operator Symbol" into different trees on my way. Spaced apart but easily visible so I wouldn’t have much trouble following them later. I soon returned home to my cave and put my knife away then trotted inside. I put the berry branch down and then covered it with my cloak and hid that with my duffle. I took a single berry and put it into my belt. I’d need it to check on whether I could eat them or not. So with that in mind I picked up my tablet and stylus and then set out for my former home once more. ‘I swear I come back to this place more and more often.’ Not like it’s exceedingly hard to get close to the house. ‘Unless the dogs are out and about,’ I retorted. How often is that? ‘Quite often both day and night,’ I replied flatly. Right… forgot about that. Then again, all they could do is bark and we’re so used to ‘em barking at skunks and the like that no one would really notice. I rolled my eyes at that and continued on my way. Much like the last time it wasn’t terribly hard to find the trailer. I pulled my Tablet free and started it up. I was currently hidden beneath the back porch for safeties sake. Although I grimaced at the fact it was so wet down there. ‘Rain water always collects here.’ . Unfortunately it happened to still be water too. As I searched for what ponies could eat I actually noticed that eggs wasn’t on the list. ‘Better cross that off, just on the safe side,’ I decided. Look for episodes you idiot, I am quite sure it was mentioned ponies can eat eggs in that overworked Applejack episode! Right, I looked for a summary of that episode, it mentioned Applejack using the wrong ingredients, and Fluttershy had chickens, so ponies must use the eggs. It made me wonder why Applejack had pigs, maybe it was for trade? Griffons eat meat! Dogs too. So, how about some eggs? "Do you want me to get literally ‘henpecked’ while trying to get some eggs?’ Noted, and please no… I merely rolled my eyes and continued to look down the list. As I looked over the list I also noted a bit of an addendum that said that oats technically weren’t good for some ponies. ‘Wait, I haven’t had any problems unless that’s why I’m talking to myself… but I already did that before I even became a pony,’ I note with a frown. We’re magical extraterritorial pony, of couirse some things don’t affect us like they would normal equines. Didn't' we agree that about eggs? Also chocolate would kill real ponies, but ponies in the show are okay with it. ‘Perhaps, but I’d hate to explain it away with ‘it’s magic’ that would really stick in my craw,’ I grumbled. Not as bad as ‘I don’t know’. Also being an alien works for this. ‘Actually I don’t know is better since I’m honestly unsure about my biology at the moment, alien or not.’ I retorted. My brain no comment so I continued to look over the list and arched a brow. ‘No potatoes not such a big surprise, but also no tomatoes… huh, so that’s why you never see a pizza or anything similar in Equestria,’ I muse to myself. Although I had to wonder if tomatoes would affect me like they did a terrestrial pony. Best not to test it, but i still want chocolate. ‘Agreed,’ Though honestly I liked pizza and pasta and such, going without would be annoying. I was mostly sure chocolate would not kill me, but better not risk it. We can probably still have alfredo. ‘True, I suppose cheese isn’t prohibited considering I’m a magical pony. Though honestly I’m getting curious about my digestive tract and what I can and can’t eat when compared to a terrestrial pony. Not to mention how it affects me in general,’ I admitted to myself. ‘Aha, finally found the berries, looks like they should be fine,’ I declared happily. Good, that means we can leave now. Also I remember ponies in the show being vegetarians, so that includes cheese, milk products and eggs, but I am not sure is something official. ‘True, wasn't that in one of Pinkie Pie songs? Oh and it looks like a few types of greens aren’t the best for me. At least if you base it all on terrestrial ponies,’ Although looking at what wasn’t good for me, the list was long but a lot of it was stuff I avoided as a human anyways. Still, I was getting more and more temped to just go with what ponies in the show could eat. What stopped me was not being sure my digestive track was was exactly like the ponies in the cartoon. Oh, found the episode that mentions ponies being vegetarians, it was the one with the buffaloes! We’re in luck for the most part. Now get back to the cave already! We can’t stay here all night! ‘Yeah yeah, hold your…’ I stopped and let out a breath. ‘Nearly walked right into that one,’ I grumbled and turned off my tablet. I then stowed it away and quietly crept out from under the back porch and made my way back to the cave. If nothing else it was nice that I finally had at least a guideline for what I could eat. Of course it probably wasn’t one hundred percent reliable, but it was better than nothing. And to be honest, I would probably risk chocolate eventually. ‘Oy, I wish this was as easily as looking for a terrestrial ponies diet,’ I admitted to myself. No risk no gain, but I admit I am a tad nervous of dying from food poisoning. Also, how come you are okay with being an alien? ‘Well, I’m not of this world.’ But you were born on this world. ‘In a human body, I was altered into a body not of this earth.’ I reminded. True, but you have to admit considering yourself an alien is kind of out there unlss you are joking. ‘I’m not an alien per-say, more like a… a cryptid maybe? Maybe I’m a mythical creature or even just a random drop off from another reality. Don’t really know, but what I do know is that I’m not of this earth so I’m extraterrestrial.’ I replied to my inner voice. Sure, whatever can we please get back to the cave already? ‘Yeah,’ I replied curtly. With that I left my hiding place and made my way back to the forest. I kept my flashlight on and watched out for any Poison Joke on the way. Though I also made certain to keep an eye out for anything else that might be strange. ‘Mostly any kind of strange plants that might’ve cropped up.’ The chances of magical plants randomly spawning in the time we’ve been gone from home are slim to none. ‘Is Magical plants, I’m not taking any chances.’ I stated flatly. My brain seemed to agree with that decision and I kept my eyes peeled for anything strange. Thankfully nothing popped up, so I made it back home without further incident. I glanced around for a moment to make sure nothing had invaded my little home. Once satisfied that everything was fine I set about pulling off some of the stuff I was wearing and put it away. I also stored away some of the berries by putting them into one of the darker dryer corners. ‘I wish I had like a cooler and some ice or something,’ I sighed. Shaking such thoughts from my head I started to eat some of the berries to satiate my hunger. Once I didn’t feel hungry anymore I went back to work sorting things out just a bit. I didn’t have much I needed to do afterwards so went to my little sleep area and let out a sigh as I laid down. Even as I did I had a few ideas come to mind. ‘Tomorrow I should probably start work on some kind of alarm system or something,’ I thought to himself with a frown. Why? ‘In case of wild animals trying to get at me. I am not worried about birds, but anything on the ground could be horrible. Especially if any bears decided to try and claim the cave. Or reclaim it.’ Though the cave didn’t look like anything had made a residence in it in a long time. Likely due to how close it was to civilization. That… actually sounds like a good idea. But how are you going to make an alarm? This isn’t minecraft, we don’t have Redstone to play with, it isn’t Don’t Starve so we don’t have access to magic… yet… and it definitely isn’t like any other Survival game we’ve played before. It’s real life and we need to be realistic with what we can build. ‘Chains and rope, the rope ’ll be a bit elevated so if anything steps or trips on it it’ll pull and cause the chains to rattle.’ Hmmm… do we still have all those chains? ‘Fairly certain, I wouldn’t leave chains behind since I could easily find other uses for ‘em. But for now the warning system feels like the best use of my time.’ My brain concurred with my assessment. Metal Chains would be stronger than rope, though maybe not the small ones I had. Thankfully they would definitely work for what I needed them for. Good, well I think we need to get to sleep. No telling what will happen next. ‘Agreed.’ I then yawned and laid my head down and pulled my makeshift covers over myself. I just hoped that tomorrow was easier to deal with…