//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Twilight's Twinlight // by Autum Breeze //------------------------------// Twilight’s Twinlight Chapter 1 ___________________________________________________________ I sigh, scratching the back of my neck with one hand, while adjusting the strap of my bag with the other as I walk towards the crossing. I honestly wish I didn’t have to go to school today. Aside from Design, I didn’t have any enjoyable lessons for today due to Home Ec being cancelled for the week due to the teacher having to visit a relative. As I get closer to the crossing, maybe a foot or two away, I glance behind me, down the road, over my right shoulder, seeing a car several houses down out of the corner of my eye. I can tell from the distance that I have plenty of time reach the crossing and cross without inconveniencing the driver in their having to slow down. I move to cross the road, my leg reaching out and start putting pressure on it, when something inside me sends off a warning bell. I glance to my right, and see the car right there, about to hit me. The next moment I felt an immense pain as my lower body was slammed by the car’s front, before I was tossed into the air, the world spiraling around in a confusing blur of colours that made me feel ill. Suddenly, the world stops spinning as I feel my head smack hard into something, my vision showing the road for a moment before impact. An immense pain is surging through my body, but only for a few moments, before the world goes black, my last thoughts being the feelings of something warm pooling around my head. ___________________________________________________________ I jerk awake, shocked to feel cold stone beneath me. How is the road that cold? A dripping sound comes from somewhere, my ears twitching, swiveling around in the direction. Something about that doesn’t feel right, but I'm a bit groggy and can't quite focus on it properly. I shift, shivering on the cold rock beneath me. Opening my eyes, I’m met with the same darkness as before. If I didn’t feel my eyes as they’d opened, I’d swear I still had them closed. I shake my head, frowning as my hair flips into my eyes a few times. My hair wasn’t that long before, in fact, I’d had it cut just last week. Also, I was in heaps of pain a moment ago. Why don't I feel like I'm in pain now? That's when I remember. The car, the pain, the blurring colours. That asshole ran me over! Now able to think about that split second before everything became confusing, I see what happened and feel a rage burning up within me. The driver was too far down for him to have gotten to me at the speed he’d been going, so he had to have sped up, which you’re not meant to do at a school crossing, even when no one’s there. That guy had obviously seen me intending to walk in a slight turn towards the crossing and thought “Oh, no. I’m not letting that kid cross before I get there. I need to go passed first. That kid should know this and will stop before I hit them.” Why else would he have decided to speed up to reach the crossing so fast? What a jerk! He hit me and... I wake up in a darkness? Oh, great. Am i dead? well, if death is darkness, it sucks. “Just what’s... going... on?” my frown deepens. My voice sounds really high compared to the usual way it sounds. I lift a hand to my throat, before my eyes widen in fear. I can’t feel my fingers! I try to stand up, only to fall back down. I can’t stand on two legs. I press myself up, finding I can wobbly stay upright on four... a slight bit of fear inching further inside me as I realize my legs and arms are at equal length, which should not be possible. What’s scarier is I’m not on hand and knees, the ends of my arms and legs are both on the floor at even levels. I shiver. Something is seriously wrong here. I feel movement on my back and from above my butt, which causes me to freeze. I feel a thing I can only describe as a tail flick in agitation from behind me. On my back I feel new bones I hadn’t had before and hear a fluttering, making me think of wings. I whimper, I can’t help it. Something is wrong with my body, if I even still have one and am not some solid spirit thing and I can’t even see what. “I wish I had some light to see...” I murmur, the fear in my voice clear to me. Suddenly the darkness is lit by a purple light. It happened so out of nowhere I startle and stumble back, tripping over myself and flopping back, wincing as the things on my back, which I can now confirm are wings, are pressed against me. My eyes shoot open. If I'm dead... I shouldn't be able to feel pain. Unless I'm in Hell, but let's not go down that road of thought until I can think more clearly and rationalize. I look up to where the light is coming from, my forehead. At once, I frown skeptically at what I’m seeing. A horn is sitting in the middle of my forehead. The glow is coming from it. It seems to be surrounded by the light. I want to question why the hell I’ve a horn on my head (if I'd been turned into some kind of demon in Hell, I'm pretty sure there'd be two and look more like goats horns instead of what I'm seeing in the purple light, however, I'm going to go on the theory that I am somehow alive for the sake of my santiy) and why it’s glowing, but it’s giving me light, so I’ll put those thoughts aside for later and assess where I am first, as well as what else has happened to my body. I push myself up and try to sit up normally, but for some reason can’t, so I end up sitting like a dog. I look down at myself in the purple light. I’m suddenly aware that I’m nude, another thought I put aside for later. My body seems to be covered in fur. Looking down at what should be my hands and feet, I learn why I can’t feel either finger or toes. What’s in place of my hands and feet are, what I can best describe as, hooves. I lift my new hooves up to my face and feel it. My mouth is longer, stretched out, sort of like a horse... only my eyes are still centred on my face, while I know horses have their eyes almost on either side of their heads. I deadpan as that thought cements itself. A horse with a horn? Great. I’m a unicorn. No, wait, I’ve wings, so a Pegasus? What do you call a Pegasus with a unicorn’s horn? A pegacorn? Unicus? I sigh. This is just great. I get hit by a car due to some idiot wanting to try beating a school kid to the crossing, and I somehow find myself in a cave as some unicorn-Pegasus freak of nature. I know I’m in a cave from looking around. The light from my horn (now there's something I'd never thought I'd say) shows rocky walls, moist with water, some stalactites and stalagmites dotting the ceiling and floor here and there. There’s a tunnel not too far off, leading I have no idea where. My thoughts about my current form are almost finished... when I freeze, realizing I’m missing something important to my gender. I look down and my eyes widen. I’ve never seen one up close before, but I never wanted the first time to be on my own body! I whimper as I look at what used to be my manhood, now a reminder of my new gender and the implications of that. “Okay,” I say in that new voice of mine, shivering as I hear it leave my own horse lips. “You’ve just woken up after being hit by a car and found you’ve turned into a female horse with wings and a horn in a cave. Nothing to freak out about.” As if. How I’m not freaking out is beyond me, but I know I should be. I’ve turned into a fucking winged horse, for crying out loud! “Who’s there?” an annoyed voices calls from somewhere down the cave tunnel. It sounds female. Wait. Another voice? Joy and dread fill me at the same time. Whoever that voice belongs to can help me out of this cave... but if they see me like this.... I gulp, heading in the direction of the voice, down the left tunnel. It's not like I've any other options. I'll just have to risk this person freaking out at the talking winged and horned horse. However, I immediately realize something as my face goes down to greet the stone floor. I don't know how to walk on four legs. I groan, and try to figure it out. It takes a few minutes, but i eventually get the hang of walking on four legs, walking back and forth where I am, if wobbly. “Is somepony there or not?” the voice says again, sounding a little impatient, which is understandable, since I made the wait so... Wait. Sompony? What an odd thing to say. “Over here!” I call out, moving a little faster, while trying not to lose my footing (hoofing, maybe?) as I move faster. "I was having some trouble walking." I round the corner and find another horse looking back at me. I quick look over causes me to frown in confusion. It’s clearly the female I was hearing. She has a horn, like me, but the glow around hers is light-blue. However, her colouring, as best as I can make out in the light of our horns, doesn’t make sense. From what I can gather, is a sort of pink and her mane, which I can’t help noticing looks more human than horse with it shaped almost like the beehive style, is purple with a single streak of light-blue down the majority, while two streaks were at the very front where her hair was parted by her horn. Her eyes, which were blueish purple in the light of our horns, narrowed at me. “You.” I blink, looking behind me, for some reason thinking I’d find some other horse standing behind me that she was looking at, for a moment. “You’ll pay for ruining what I set out to achieve!” I look back at her words and see her horn’s light has grown brighter. I get a sudden bad feeling. As I step back, a beam the same colour as the light coming from her horn flies from it, hitting me. I squirm, suddenly feeling like something hot is burning at my thighs, trying to pull something not only off my body but from within it. “Stop!” I cry, before a flash of purple light blinds me. When it fades, the unicorn is standing there, looking dazed. I take the chance and bolt down the tunnel, moving around her to avoid her. I don't question how I'm running when I've barely figured out walking in this form. I'm more foucsed on getting the hell away from this mad... mare, i guess? After a few moments, I hear an angry shout from down the way I’d come. I need a way out. Please, someone, anyone, show me the way out and away from that crazy horse! At once my horn flashes and purple dots appear along the floor of the cave. Studying them, they are hoofprints, which I confirm by landing a hoof on one as I run. Nodding to myself, and having nothing else to go on or where to go, I follow them, not stopping for fear of that unicorn catching up. Whatever she’d been doing with that light of hers, it had creeped me out and I wanted to put as much distance between her and myself as possible. ___________________________________________________________ After what feels like forever, I see a light that isn’t from mine, nor thankfully that unicorn’s, horns. It’s natural light. I quicken my pace, coming to the opening of the cave and look out to see snow covered hills and a slightly cloudy sky. I sigh, taking in a long, deep breath of fresh air, cold as it is. It’s the best thing I’ve ever smelt. Being in that cave was nerve-racking, even without the worries that crazed unicorn were bringing into the mix. I suddenly now realize the unicorn spoke, but my brain counters this with, I can speak, so what shouldn’t it? That decided, I walk out and spot my reflection in the frozen ice next to the cave. I blink. My fur is an impossible purple for something living and not artificial. My eyes are purple too. My mane and tail are dark-blue, with a streak of bright pink through the middle. I frown, turning to my side. For some reason, there’s an image of a six-pointed purple star, surrounded by five smaller stars on my thighs. “And I thought talking horses with wings and horns that light up was weird enough already,” I murmur. Now that I think about it, I’d seen an image on that unicorn’s thighs, too. But hers had been a single four-point purple star, more like a fancy square, really, with another white fancy square behind it in a position so you only saw its corners around the purple one, with a light blue trail making it look like a shooting star or a comet. I shake my head. Weird butt marks are something I can worry about later. For now, I need to see if there’s anyone around who can help me, hopefully someone not as crazy as that unicorn. Though there is one thing I can’t ignore. The world kinda looks like a cartoon of some kind. Though, that’s impossible, right? Who ever heard of someone being hit by a car and waking up in a cartoon? I start off down the track, glancing over my shoulder, hoping that loon of a horse stays the hell away from me and inside those caves. After a couple minutes walking, I stop, gulping. There’s a huge gap that leads down to a gorge. I lean over the edge, then scoot back, gulping again. From the looks of it, there used to be a bridge here, but it must have crumbled with time. I look out at the other side. It could lead to civilization, someone who can explain to me just what the heck is going on around here. I look back. Either I go forward or return to the caves and the latter option is definitely out of the question. I frown. How am I suppose to get over to the other side. It’s not like I can fl— I blink, glancing at my back and giving my new wings a few flaps. I frown again. “I’m insane if I think this’ll work.” I sigh, closing my eyes and drooping my head, feeling my ears droop as well, but ignore that. “Not like I have a choice though.” I look out over the large gap between me and the other side. “No way I can work out these things to fly all the way,” I glance back as I hold them both out, then look at the gap. “But... maybe I can glide if I give myself a good enough running start?” I grin nervously. “It’s not that far. I can make it. Probably. Hopefully.” I move back a very long distance, ensuring I have a long running start. I gulp, shake myself, then shoot off in a gallop. Within moments I’m close to the edge, my brain and self-preservation instincts screaming at me to stop, but I blot them out and leap, spreading my wings out as wide and straight as I can, making sure they’re even. After a few seconds with my eyes shut, I feel my front hooves touch ground and relax, letting my wings drop to my sides. I look over my shoulder at the other side of the gorge. I grin and start bouncing around. I made it! I made it! Then it hits me. I flew! Well, technically I glided, but I still went through the air without any technological help! Awesome! I look at the path ahead of me. “Well, nowhere else to go, Ken. Let’s see where this leads.” ___________________________________________________________ After a few minutes of trotting, the snow thins out and I find myself walking along a rocky path, one that eventually leads to an outcrop, overlooking something I’m overjoyed to see. A town! A real town! The houses are all olden style, with thatched rooves and such and they’re lined in two rows. I bound down the road, eager to meet civilization again, before I catch myself and leap behind a bush, looking out. Whether I found civilization or not, I’m still some weird unicorn with wings. That thought process is halted, however, when I see several figures step out of the nearest building. They’re both horses, similar to myself and that unicorn. Though, unlike her or me, they have neither a horn, nor wings. I blink, surprised, before wondering why I’m surprised. The idea of a normal horse shouldn’t surprise me this much. “Hey, Princess!” I leap at the sudden loud voice, toppling out of my bush and flopping down in front of it. I hear something thud in front of me and look up. It’s another horse, a female. She has a darkish-blue coat and a white wind-swept looking mane, with streaks of very light-blue through it. The mark on her thighs is the oddest thing. It looks like a crescent moon, but with another black to show it was soon going to be a new moon. On each side of the moon were small clusters of stars. I blink up at her, frowning. “Are you trying to scare me to death?” She chuckles, holding out a foreleg. I take it and she helps me up. “Sorry. RD told me that if I ever see you again and get the chance, I should try that.” I continue to frown at her. Whoever this RD friend of hers was, I already didn’t like them. Wait. Again? I look at her, an eyebrow raised. “We’ve... met before?” No way is that possible. I’d remember meeting a talking Pegasus horse, especially one as colourful as her. Her grin slips a bit. “Come on, Princess. You can’t have forgotten me that easily. Night Glider, remember?” I shake my head, my frown returning. “I don’t. And why do you keep calling me princess?" I deadpan. "It’s not because I’m female, is it?” It better not be. Insults to my new gender are things I can deal without right now. Her grin fades completely, replaced with confusion and slight worry. “Because you’re a princess of Equestria. Don’t you remember?” Now I’m feeling even more confused than before. Princess of what-now? Equestria? What the hell is that? She looks at me for several moments, before the worry in her eyes deepens. “Do you remember your name?” I almost say, “Yeah. My name’s Ken Williams” but stop myself. She clearly thinks I’m someone else, this princess. Whoever she thinks I am... is it possible I became them somehow? A part of me says playing along would be a really bad idea, but I need help and, if I’m seen as this princess, I might be able to find a way home faster than in trying to explain the misunderstanding. I just have to pray to God that I don’t run into the real princess. Preparing myself for lies I don’t feel comfortable with, I shake my head. “I just remember waking up in some cave and having to run from this crazy unicorn.” Night Glider’s eyes widen in shock. “Starlight Glimmer?! What did she do to you? Are you okay?” “I’m fine, really,” I give a reassuring smile, while inwardly I’m frowning at the unicorn’s name. Starlight Glimmer? Seriously? It sounds like the name a little girl would give her doll. “I got away. Still,” I frown, looking down, “I felt her doing something weird to my thighs. It felt like she was trying to pull something off of them and out of me.” The Pegasus looks at me with greater concern than before, almost pure alarm. “She tried to take your Cutie Mark again?” “Cutie Mark?” Again, huh? So, the princess I now look like (possibly am) has tangled with that loony unicorn before. Noted. She seems even more alarmed by my confusion of the phrase. She points behind me and my eyes fall on the marking on my thighs. “The marks on your flanks. The things that makes you special, what shows your talent. Please tell me you remember that?” I look back at her and shake my head. This isn’t a lie, thankfully. I can’t remember something I didn’t know anything about until just now. She looks like she’s starting to panic. “Oh no. Starlight must have erased your memories! I knew she was horrible, but going that far, and then still trying to take your Cutie Mark?” To my surprise she pulls me into a tight hug. “If she’d gotten you with your memories gone, she could’ve fooled you into thinking you never had it and nopony else should. Like she did to us, before you saved us.” “Um... okay?” I say, patting her back in as reassuring a way as I can. This is really odd. She pulls back, looking me firmly in the eyes. “I need to get you back to Ponyville. Maybe your friends can help you get your memory back.” “Um, sure... Night Glider,” I nod, though not knowing where she’s talking about. Ponyville? What kind of a dumb name is that? She flies up and over to a group of horses. I noticed two of them, males by the looks of it, one horse without horns or wings, the other a unicorn, while the other horse with them, another female, is a unicorn. After Night Glider has a few words with them, she hurries back over to me. “We need to head for the train tracks. We should be able to just catch the next train if we hurry. Can you fly?” I glance back at me wings, still folded at my sides, then look back and shake my head. “I glided earlier, but I don’t think I could fly.” She sighs, but nods. “Okay. Then we’ve gotta run. Follow me!” With that she bolts off. The suddenness stuns me for a moment, before I hurry off after her, shouting, “Hey! Wait up, will ya?” As we run through the small village, a lot more horses come into my sight, including younger ones, foals I believe young horses are called, all of whom wave to me, some calling hellos. I call hello back hurriedly as I move to catch up to Night Glider. Jeez, for a horse with wings she sure is fast on her hooves. After we leave the village, we go through a small forest-like area with a rope bridge leading to the other side. A short run through that and we enter a desert-like area, with train tracks leading off into the distance. As we stop in front of them, I frown. There’s a blocker that I know you put up when something’s either out of bounds, or unfinished. I look to Night Glider, an eyebrow raised skeptically. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but how would the train know to come when there isn’t a train station?” Night Glider gives me a sad smirk, an odd thing to see. “Just wait. The trains somehow know when we’re waiting for them.” We stand waiting for several moments, before a thought occurs to me. I look to Night Glider and ask, “What’s my name?” She saddens at my question and sighs, closing her eyes. “Your name is Twilight Sparkle, princess.” My nose wrinkles at once. Seriously? Twilight Sparkle? So, not only am I turned into some purple winged unicorn, but the name of the one I look like is named after that boring movies series as well as why the vampires in it are seen by so many people at my school as pussies? Great. Just great. I sigh, rolling my eyes. “Well, I can think of worse names,” I mutter so she doesn’t hear.