Chapter 1: Memories and Names
Chapter 1
When I woke, I was on a bed. I kept my eyes closed, hoping that my last memories were a dream. After several minutes of waiting, I couldn’t take it anymore. I tried to move my right arm, and cried out in pain. I heard the sound of running footsteps. I heard a door open, and I opened my eyes. Several of the horse-thingies I remembered had entered the room. I pushed myself back in panic, causing more pain in my arm. Then I froze. Shivering in terror, I raised my left arm, and found it as I remembered last seeing it, covered in short brown fur. My body frozen, I started hyperventilating. It was all real.
“Everything will be fine,” said one of them soothingly, “just calm down.”
“Calm down?!” I said, incredulous. “How can I calm down?! I’m a talking horse!”
“Pony.” Said one of the other… pony-thingies.
“Your point is?!” I said.
“Just semantics.” said the pony.
I stared at them all, and then I curled up, and struggled not to start bawling.
“Can't you remember anything?” Asked the first pony.
I shook my head slightly, trying to contain my terror. I didn’t know what to do. I’m in another world, I’m not even human anymore.
“Are you alright?” the pony asked.
“Am I alright?!” I shouted. “I don’t know where, or even what I am anymore!”
I finally give in to my feelings, and collapsed, crying my eyes out. As I sobbed, I heard the sound of retreating footsteps. The door closed, and just when I think I’m alone, I hear the sound of more footsteps. I open my eyes, and the first pony who talked is front of me.
“What's your name?” the pony asks.
I can tell it’s a male, a stallion. I studied him. He’s a light blue with a black mane.
“It’s… It’s…” I falter. I can’t remember my name.
“I can’t remember.” I said as tears again start welling up in my eyes.
“Okay,” said the stallion, “My name is Blue Sky. I am a doctor here.” After a pause, “If you want, you can just call me Dr. Blue.”
“Okay.” As I continue to watch him, I notice he has a horn. “You’re… You’re a unicorn.”
He glance up at his horn, then smiled and said, “Yes, yes I am. But so are you.”
He points at my forehead, and I look up. I have a brown horn on my head. I’m not so scared anymore, I'm mainly just surprised.
“I have a horn?” I asked, surprised.
“You didn't know?” says Dr. Blue.
Dr. Blue seems like a gentle and kind pony. I decide to take a chance and explain to him what’s happened.
“Up until yesterday, I wasn't even a pony, let alone a unicorn.” I explained.
“What d'you mean?” Dr. Blue asked.
“I mean,” I said, looking him in the eyes, “Until yesterday, I was human, and most definitely not a pony.”
“Human?”
“Yeah, you know, two legs, two arms. Hands, feet, toes.”
“There aren't any humans in Equestria.”
I stared at him, uncomprehendingly. “Where?”
“Equestria.” I just gaped at him. “You know, Equestria. Land settled through the combined efforts of the Earth, Unicorn, and Pegasus tribes.” No change.
After a thinking for a minute, Dr. Blue spoke. “I will be right back.”
He walks out of the room, leaving me there alone. While I’m waiting, I look up at my horn. It doesn’t feel especially different having it there, almost like it doesn't weigh anything. I reach up and prod it. It’s definitely real, I can feel the pull on my head. I then return to looking at my hooves. They are so new to me, it’s just weird. Seeing myself like this gives me the butterflies in the stomach feeling. I’m not sure how having hooves will affect my ability to pick things up. I had noticed earlier that some of the ponies who’d followed Dr. Blue had been holding things with their hooves. I wasn't sure exactly how it worked, so I tried picking up my blanket. I flexed the fingers I didn't have, and somehow, on contact, I managed to grip the blanket. Pleased with my new found ability, I pulled the blanket off of me. I freeze in shock. I was most definitely a pony now. My body’s structure had changed completely. My hind legs were jointed differently than my legs had been, clearly designed for four-legged walking. It’s just so weird.
As I continued to stare at my new body, Dr. Blue walked back into the room. Next to him, floating in a yellow aura, was a book. The book landed on my bedside table. I looked at the cover, which was red, embossed with bold golden letters, which read:
The History of Equestria:
From the Founding to Present
I stared at the book for a moment, then looked at him and said, “How'd you do that?”
“Do what?”
I glanced back at the book, then said, “Why was the book floating?”
He looked at me, eyebrow raised and mouth slightly open. I was clearly just as confusing to him as he was to me.
"I was holding it with magic, of course.”
“Magic?” I’d heard a lot of strange and new things today, but this one pushed the limits a bit.
“Yes,” he said, “Magic.”
“And… how exactly does that work?”
“What do you mean?”
“How do you hold something with magic?”
He looked at me, dumbfounded. “Do you mean... you've never used magic before?”
“Yes.”
He paused for a moment. “I… well… we'll talk about that later. Right now, Princess Luna wants to speak with you.”
“Who?”
He smacked his hoof to his face. “I will let her explain it.”
He walked over to the door. The doorknob glowed with the same yellow aura as the book had, and then the door swung open. Framed in the doorway was the purple pony I remembered seeing when I woke up in the forest as a pony. She, for it was quite obviously a she, walked over to my bed and said in a grandiose voice:
“We are pleased that thou hast awoken. We feared that thou wouldst not wake for a longer period, and are glad that we canst speak with thee sooner than we hadst expected.”
I looked at her for a second, not having expected her to be speaking old English, not to mention using the royal ‘we’.
“I’m… I’m honored your majesty.” I said. “I… well…”
She loomed over me for a second, then, her gaze softened, and she giggled.
“I will stop talking like that it makes you uncomfortable.”
I watched her nervously for a minute. “Sure.”
She laughed again. “What is your name, stranger?”
I struggled to remember, but again the memory escaped me.
“I’m sorry.” I said, holding back a fresh wave of tears. “I can’t remember.”
She studied me for a moment, looking concerned. “I am sorry that you cannot remember.”
She paused for a moment. "Well, how about we give you a temporary name, something we can call you until you remember.”
Dr. Blue nodded in agreement. “That's a good idea. It might even help you to remember your original name."
I thought about that for a second. “Well... okay.”
We sat there in silence, just me, Princess Luna, and Dr. Blue. “Wait a minute." I asked. "How exactly does the naming system work here?”
They looked at me with puzzled expressions.
“Well, your name is Blue Sky, and you’re Princess Luna.”
I pointed to them with my hoof when I said their names.
“I mean, why are you called that. I’m assuming that they’re not nicknames.”
“I see,” said Princess Luna, “Well, our names tend to fit our personalities, or talents, or something we hold dear.”
I thought about that for a moment, then said, “I see.”
We sat quietly, thinking. Numerous names presented themselves to me, but I had a question to ask the Princess.
“Princess Luna?”
“Please, call me Luna. Yes?”
“Luna. How did you get yours?”
She raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“I mean, why are you called Luna. Why is it that special? What makes that your name?”
She smiled at me, her kind eyes twinkling. “That is my name, for I am the Princess of the Night. I raise and lower the moon, and rule over Equestria during the night.”
“Really? You raise and lower the Moon?”
“Yes.” She said simply.
I pondered on this. A Princess, but also the custodian of the moon and the night. I didn’t even bother to think about the physics of it, since I had decided it was probably best not to think about it too much. That held true now more than ever, confronted with the prospect of magic, and a being capable of moving a celestial object.
“That’s amazing.”
“Thank you. It’s probably hard to understand, since you're clearly not of this world.”
I looked up at her, surprised by her response.
“I could tell by your dreams. They were of strange places and even stranger creatures.”
“What do you mean, you could tell from my dreams? How could you know what I dreamed about?”
“I am the Princess of the Night. It is my duty and honor to walk in the dreams of my subjects. And, it seems, that may now include you.”
I felt a little worried. I had always thought that dreams were something that should remain private, and untouched by outside influences.
“Don't worry.” She said. “I saw only what was relevant.”
Seeing my expression, she smiled, and added “I saw nothing you wouldn't want anyone else to see.”
I nodded, reassured, slightly. I again thought about my name. What was special about me? What did I hold most dear? I was a pretty good artist, but that didn't feel like something to work off of. I thought about my love for the night sky. I loved the stars, and the moon. I missed my old home in the country, where the Milky Way was clearly visible. Then, I thought of my favorite star. The star in the north sky. The guide of sailors, friend of the lost and alone. The North Star. I not only loved that star, the name itself felt special.
I thought about it, then I said, “Polaris.”
“What?” said Dr. Blue.
“My name. I want my name to be Polaris.”
Dr. Blue and Luna thought for a moment, then nodded in agreement.
“That is an interesting name.” said Luna. “Why did you choose it?”
“I love the night sky,” I explained. “And it's my favorite star.”
“Okay then.” said Dr. Blue.
I sat there for a minute, thinking about the name I had chosen. Why that name? It just seemed right.
“Well then,” said Luna, “now that we know what to call you, Polaris, we should go. You need your rest, and that leg won’t be ready to walk on for a few days, even with the cast.”
“Okay then.” I said. “See you later.”
She nodded, then turned to leave.
“Wait a minute.” I called after her.
“Yes?” she said, turning back to face me.
“I just noticed. You have a horn, and wings.”
“Yes?” she said.
“What kind of pony are you? I haven’t seen any others like you. And why does your mane and tail move and sparkle like that?” I blushed when I realized how that sounded.
She laughed, and said, “I am an alicorn. You haven’t seen any others because my sister and I are the only two now. And as for my mane and tail, the same reason.”
“Oh.”
“Do not be ashamed of your curiosity. Anyone who'd been transported far from their home, had their body changed, and thrown into a completely different place would want to know more.”
“Okay.”
She smiled, and then said, “Well, if that's all...?”
I blushed even brighter. “Yes.”
“Well then. Good night, Polaris.”
She left the room, and the door closed behind her. I looked over at Dr. Blue, who said, “You got along with the Princess pretty well. Most ponies can't really connect with her.”
“You did.” I said.
“Well, I get along with just about everypony. Anyway, the Princess is right, you should really sleep now. You've been awake far too long, and you've got to be exhausted.”
As he spoke, I let loose a massive yawn. He looked at me with an expression that said “See?”
I laid back down, exhausted, I pulled the covers over me with my left hoof. There was a click, and the lights went out.
“See you in the morning.” said Dr. Blue.
I grunted in acknowledgement. I was quickly swept away into sleep by the gentle but forceful waves of exhaustion. Just before I fell asleep, I rolled over and looked out one of the windows of the room. The stars were shining brightly outside. I could see so many, far more than I could have from my new house in the suburbs. Then, I slept.
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No profanity in the comment box!
I like it. The concept of hoof-gripping is odd in your explanation, but I enjoy your world-building.
3406248 What do you mean by hoof-gripping?
Pretty good so far. I suspect there will be some OC/Luna shipping.
3406380 Are you right? We shall soon see.
That has to be Twilight
3407325 Maybe.
3407943 Yes. Yes it does. Hold on tight, this is going to be a very, VERY, long story. No, seriously.
3406266 How the ponies grab things with their hooves. I always just assumed they were good at balancing stuff on their hooves.
3409334 It seems to me that their hooves must be more flexible than normal ponies and horses.
Another good chapter. We're getting to know a bit more of the protagonist, which is good.
Watch your dialogue punctuation and formatting.
Also:
I think there was an in-narrative "you" in the Prologue as well. I'm pretty sure you mean "I".
Could be a bit more fleshed-out, but you're still starting this. I shall read on!
3441855 I'll probably start improving on that.
nice chapter
I am SO glad I started to read this after it was done
Is it just me, or does some- should I call him a pony or a human? - have a crush?
♪♫
I'm reading this for the dr Whooves.
Whovians FTW