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// Things can be stupid 
// Story: The Joke is on Me 
// by StandardIssue 
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I find that waking up is both the most amazing thing, and yet the worst. Mainly because of the fact that, when you wake up, you can go back to sleep again, or you have several people staring you straight in the face. Never have that happen to you?

I felt tired and groggy, waking up in the same cot and bed as I did last time, the first time. The same nurse of their species next to me, putting another towel to my forehead. I must have looked about as confused and sick as I was, because the second her eyes and mine connected,  she smiled reassuringly to me. The amount of ache I felt as I tried to speak was bad enough, but my dry, water deprived mouth wanted to be quenched so badly. Before I could attempt to ask, she picked up a porcelain bowl and leaned it toward me, her hand cupping around my neck and helping me get to the life sustaining liquid. 

        “What…” That was all I could crook out, my throat and voice sore, and still foreign to my groggy mind. It was just now starting to accept and rationalize my change, or at least try to. The main factor my mind was clinging to was the fact it was still a dream. This, however, was proven to be false. 

        “You are okay now, sweetheart. Had to see if you were of the same kind, and not just a shifter.” She continued to put the bowl down and grab another cloth, wiping away at me, almost as if this was a regular thing. And to my mind, it probably was, seeing how I was the alien here, yet everything was so alien to my. There was no need to try and comprehend it. “You passed the test, and left our friend Hisao over there with a headache.” She tilted her head to the side, in turn I tried with much effort to strain my head to the direction she had motioned in. Hisao was laying there, unconscious with a towel on his forehead as well. 

        “How…?” 

        “That, my dear, is something I don’t know. I am only here to heal.” She would reach down and grab another ceramic bowl, holding both hands underneath. She then leaned her head down, closing her eyes as she muttered something under her breath almost. Her hands then flashed to flames, causing me to jump. I instinctively grabbed the other bowl and threw it at her hands, then I winced and fell down, blacking out again. 



I had to get out of the habit of passing out. It had to be bad for my mind, which of course, I’m pretty sure I had already lost it. I awake again,alone this time, and feeling better. I was able to sit up again, going over the same routine of looking myself over, to which I found the same female vixen body. I just sat there, staring at my hands, tracing them over with my eyes. I then grabbed my tail. I had a tail, and it felt weird, yet, almost perfect. It was supposed to be there. It felt soft, and fluffy. I also felt my hands on it, which was a mental trip to get over with, as well was going to the bathroom, which is going to be left unsaid. I don’t know how long I was zoned out on my tail, because I would have noticed something. 

        “You aren’t a shifter, yet you look at yourself as if you are foreign. You fall from the sky in a ball of fire, but show no trace of anger or bloodlust in your mind or soul. Who are you, really?” I nearly jumped out of my skin upon hearing the familiar voice, looking over to the bed that Hisao sat on. He looked back at me, hand resting on his head as his eyes studied me. 

        “I’m Julia… Now…” I looked back down to my tail, letting it go from my grasp. “I am from earth, and I don’t know how I got here…” I looked over to him, leaving out a lot of details wasn’t that bad, because he got the major information. 

        “And you don’t know how or why you are here.” He shook his head, standing up. He would then get dressed, no longer looking at me. “We are leaving again, for real this time. This outpost is still secret, but we have a couple days journey. You will need to talk to my superiors.” He then looked over to me, finished getting dressed. “You were sent here by someone, and until we verify your necessity or importance, we will have you under surveillance at all times.” 

        I didn’t know what to say, understanding, but not. “I didn’t do anything…” I mumbled, but it was lost upon him. He looked back, his eyes serious, and almost menacing. 

“Only this time, you won’t know where we are headed.” He then walked out, brushing past me. I only watched him leave, my senses finally coming back. If this is how it’s going to be, then I better plan a way to get away from this. I wouldn’t be held prisoner in a new place I never saw before, new body or not. I simply nodded, striking my attention back to the bed, walking over to it. 

After that, things were kinda slow. I spent a whole day and night in the same room, spent studying each feature. I asked for something to read, but once it was brought to me, I couldn’t even understand what was written down. A mix between images and strange characters foreign to earth. I put the scroll down, eventually giving up on acting like I knew what was written down, and laid back. I then began to play with my tail and reflexes, doing stretches. When the nurse came back to bring me my dinner, she asked how the read was, and I replied that it was unique. She simply nodded, going on about how the wood is a new way to judge something related to mana. I didn’t understand it, just nodded and ate my soup and bread roll. I eventually found it to be night once again, sitting at the foot of the cot, staring in the mirror.

Looking to my hands, a thought crossed my mind. I was the same creature as they were, so it could be assumed I could do the same things that they could do. One of them being, using fire in with their hands, like magic. Which was a safe bet, if this world really was Equestria. Staring at them, my features twisted to concentration. How would one even begin to summon the ability to use fire? It must have been easy to do, judging how the nurse simply did it without blinking… Maybe it was the way you felt it, or thought about it. Which is what I began to do, closing my eyes to think and concentrate, holding my breath as well. I then peaked my eyes open, gasping for air, only to see nothing had happened… I grumbled, looking at them. It probably was more complicated than I thought,most likely looking into myself for confidence or some shit. 

        After doing this for damn near three hours straight, give or take the way the sun moved, I threw my hands up in frustration. “Really?! I guess I’m not the same afterall. How bloody hard is it to spawn fire with my hands?! I bet if I just imagined it, or just made the image in my mind, it would work? Huh?!” A spark jumped on my thumb, causing me to blink. My expression went to excitement, to annoyed real fast. “This… is the most stupid way to learn magic…” I stated, looking to my hands. After just willing it, kinda, my hands lit on fire. I smirked however, looking at them, from front to back. “As stupid as it was to learn… this is pretty cool…”