Chapter 3: Filled With Strange People
The house at the top of the hill seemed more encouraging the closer Theo came to it. It wasn’t just that it was built in a more familiar manner, with fired bricks instead of the packed snow blocks that the locals seemed to use. But there was smoke rising from several chimneys of different heights, and a huge slowly turning wheel on the outside. It was hard to say what it actually did, at least until Theo saw where it ended.
There was a tiny outbuilding beside the house. He could see a huge stone wheel turning slowly inside, and the ponies in line in front of it. I wonder if that’s why they let you stay in town. You buy off the locals with a little invention. It would all be confirmed as soon as he saw the one who lived here—they’d be a bird like him, signifying that they too were from Earth. Has anyone else gone missing?
The locals scattered as he approached, backing to the very edge of the path and staring as he went. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’ll be out of your way soon.” Was that just his imagination, or was that more gray out of the corner of his eye?
Last year someone had been eaten by a polar bear, or that was the rumor. What had she been… some kind of biologist?
Theo reached the door, and could see through the little window in the front that a second airlock section was waiting inside. It was probably just a tiny room to keep air from being lost as quickly.
A massive pull-cord waited beside it. He took it easily in one claw, and yanked with all his might. A deep, reverberating gong sounded throughout the structure, and Theo actually pulled back, eyes widening in surprise and a little fear. These ears are too sensitive.
At least the one who lived here wouldn’t miss him.
He could hear the motion inside before he saw anything—then the inner door opened, and a moment later so did the outer one.
Theo felt his heart sink as he saw the one standing on the threshold—not another bird-monster like he was, but one of the horses. Taller than he was, though this one lacked wings. The colors could’ve been an ordinary horse, ruddy brown with a black mane, except he doubted many horses back home had spiked their mane with gel.
And most of them probably didn’t dress in a western-style duster covered with patches and little burn marks. The smell of sulfur and hot metal practically radiated off him, but in a way that was almost comforting. It seemed beyond what any of the locals could do.
Then the horse creature opened his mouth, and Theo faced the ultimate disappointment. “Pioom, priopiloch qxoo ogiec! Pipraisu arp ie loio hed chiouo?” He nodded politely to him, and sounded pleased to see him there. But he wasn’t speaking any language Theo knew.
“Hey,” Theo said, in English this time. Probably my best chance. “I don’t know if you can understand me, but I just landed here from Earth. I dunno if maybe you work for someone who knows what any of this means, or…”
The horse’s eyes widened at the sound of his words. He said something else—something he didn’t understand, but there was growing excitement in his tone. He reached out, clasping him by the foreleg and pulling gently inside.
I hope that means he understood. Theo followed without resistance, which was good since despite not having any fingers this horse felt like he could tear a house out of the ground if he wanted.
Theo did his best to shut the door behind him, then followed the strange pony into his home.
Past the inner door was a tiny dining area with a large flat mirror against the wall, but they weren’t headed into the kitchen. There were stairs leading down into the ground just past it, that was where the horse led him.
Electric lights illuminated the hallway, naked Edison bulbs that got brighter and dimmer again in irregular patterns.
“Whoever you’re taking me to, I know a few other languages. If German would be easier…” Still no response. His guide didn’t even seem to notice that he was using another language.
Then they stepped into a workshop. Easily larger than the house above, with a forge glowing brightly under a massive metal hood. All the usual blacksmithing tools were here, along with a homemade-looking electric lathe, slowly spinning.
He could see no other creatures down here, though. Not even another horse. This one was taking him to a dark doorway on the far wall, beyond which Theo could see the suggestion of shelves.
Theo stopped following, retreating a step towards the stairs. He eyed the empty doorway. “Look, uh… whoever you are. I’m sure you’re trying to help me, but I don’t want to climb into a hole and never come out again. Maybe you could just… explain what you’re doing right here?”
The horse shrugged, vanishing into the gloom and out of sight for a few seconds. Long enough for Theo to wonder if he should run for his life. And go where? As frightening as this was, it was also his best chance for an ally.
The horse emerged a moment later, not with a chainsaw or something else terrifying, but a tightly-wrapped bundle of cloth about the size of a football. He gestured for Theo to follow, settling it down on one of the many sturdy workbenches to unwrap.
It’s some artifact from Earth, I bet. It will have writing he can’t read on it, and I won’t be any closer to a way out than I was before.
Actually, it was jewelry. A silvery necklace, with the slightly corroded look of aluminum left out in the elements for many years. There were no gemstones, just a few loops of different metals around an opening the size of a thumb. Like someone popped the gemstone out to sell.
The horse said something, pushing it closer to him with a hoof. “Do I look like the kind of guy who would wear jewelry?” Actually, Theo had no idea what kind of guy he looked like.
The horse pushed it a little closer, then mimed lifting it over his own head.
Well at least you didn’t take me down here to cut out my kidneys or something. There was no harm in trying it. Theo reached out, taking the necklace in one claw, and lifted it.
“Prxoo pioo muio—I’m quite certain it should have the intended effect on a traveler, but I haven’t had the opportunity to test it on account of already speaking Ponish.”
It was like tuning in a radio dial, shifting from a station of incomprehensible static to one he could understand clearly.
Theo jumped, dropping the necklace before it could settle around his neck. The creature’s voice melted back into confusion again.
“Ullela! Adoosu ogoo muoosu qaisu hed chiouo,” he said, somehow scooping it up off the rough stone floor before Theo could reach. He tossed it up into the air, settling it around his neck. “There we are, miss. Your claws must be numb from the cold… I’m sure we can do something about that in a moment.”
The effect was the same, and just as instantaneous. Theo stumbled back, but this time the necklace couldn’t go anywhere. It seemed the perfect size, loose enough not to cut off circulation but not so loose that it would slide around everywhere.
“Assuming it’s working,” the horse said, one of his eyebrows going up. “Can… you… understand me?”
“Yes,” he squeaked. “How?” He stared down at the necklace, lifting it up a little with one claw and inspecting it. It wasn’t just little chain links, as he’d first thought. Each little link was actually a stylized letter, with writing on it he might’ve been able to read under a magnifier. No circuit boards, speakers, wires… nothing at all to suggest why it would work.
There were plenty of circuits in the observatory. That doesn’t explain changing into a bird.
Something thumped in the house above them, and the horse glanced up with a frown. “That shouldn’t…” He shook his head. “Nevermind that!” He took one of Theo’s forelegs again, grinning from ear to ear. “It worked! All this time I thought it might’ve been a fraud, but… it’s real.
“It’s real.” He slumped backward onto his haunches, staring. “The bridge is really here. Two years of waiting… and a traveler walks into my house. But… how did she know to find me?” Frustration briefly flashed across his face, but it didn’t seem to be with him.
She. This pony had said “she”. Theo had thought the high voice was normal—until he heard what this stallion sounded like. He was smaller than they were, and smelled differently.
If your species can change, why not other things?
Suddenly nothing else mattered in the world—not that he was potentially on another planet, not being able to speak the language.
Theo ran, back up the stairs the way he’d come. He didn’t have to go very far—that huge mirror had been right along the way down to the workshop, and it wasn’t like he had clothes. But even if he had, whatever strange clothes the natives wore would not have made a difference here.
“Wait, miss! Come back! We haven’t even—”
He skidded to a stop in front of the mirror, lifting his tail more by sheer force of will than actually knowing how to control it yet. At least this weird bird-body was flexible enough to look behind himself.
But no, himself wasn’t quite the word anymore. Granted there was nothing at all human back there, and that probably should’ve been worse. But there was no mistaking any of that plumbing for correct. The stallion who’d given her the necklace was proof enough that males here worked the way they were supposed to. A painful reminder.
Theo slumped onto the floor, all the energy and hope draining as surely as learning there was “no way back.” Going to another world, that had been exciting in its way. But now…
“What are you doing?” asked a tiny voice from the kitchen. A tiny, somehow familiar voice. Theo looked up and was surprised to see a face she recognized. It was the pegasus from before, the one that bought her lunch. “Did something get stuck in your tail? I can help you get it out.”
“No,” she said, covering her face in her forelegs. “It’s what’s not there that’s the problem.”
“That doesn’t make sense.”
“Hey!” The stallion from before called from the stairs, glaring past Theo. “I told you to stop sneaking in here, Aurora! Your mother already said I couldn’t apprentice you, and you know I have to respect her—” He stopped. “Later. I was in the middle of something.”
He closed the distance in a moment, stopping beside Theo and looking down. “I’m sorry to press, miss, but acquiring the artifact you’re wearing was an effort of years. I must know if it counted for anything. Such as… is it doing something to your mood? Do you feel… afraid? Are you seeing things that aren’t there, or—”
Theo looked up. If she were feeling better, she probably would’ve measured her words, keeping everything she knew close to her chest. But she no longer had the presence of mind for that.
“I’m not seeing things that should be there, as a matter of fact.” She rose onto her claws, wings trying to spread out in spite of the straps pulling the sled.
“I’m not supposed to be here, I’m not supposed to be this. This isn’t the Barrow Observatory, this isn’t Earth, I’m not a bird and I’m not a girl and I don’t speak the language and I don’t have any money and…”
She stopped abruptly. Both of them were staring at her—the little winged one apparently named Aurora and the blacksmith looking stallion whose name she didn’t know yet. “I’m fucked.”
She slumped down onto her haunches, as much because it felt natural as because it would hide what shouldn’t be there. “You, horse guy. I need to find the way back to Earth. Which way?”
The stallion sat down just within reach, resting a hoof gently on her shoulder. Her first instinct was to hit him, but—she couldn’t. Not after everything that had happened today. Theo melted, her pain changing to simple, agonized sobs.
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Starscribe story starter pack...
At least he got a friendly shoulder to cry on. One that might know more about his situation, soon.
Best to rip off the bandage, even if that does lead to some tears. Still, Theo's gotten herself a translator, so she can definitely make progress in finding out precisely how fucked she is.
Well, there goes "his" breakdown. I feel sorry for "him". "He" just found out that not only "he" become a different species, " he" is also female now. Can't wait to see what happens next.
I'm not going to read it soon because I have way too many things to read but looking at how quickly it got to 180 upvotes It'll be worth to add it to the list now than to forget about it.
And in spite of the situation caving in on him-now-her, I, being an amateur conlanger and not good with people, can't help but wonder if the Ponish we saw was complete gibberish, well-structured, or gibberish where each word specifically stood for something. I definitely saw a few repeated words and suffixes in there.
This is the first time I've ever experienced more than one Sunday in a week's time. Not that I'm complaining, mind you: I'd consume a sundae every day of the week if I could.
9558015
I was just wondering the same thing.
9557851
Quite literally, considering the fact that this story's a commission.
Definitely gonna read this now! Hope for you to continue this series and look for the best it can be!
Oof this is a good read!
9558100
Starscribe often updates daily for the first week of a story, and then weekly until it's done.
9558947
I can get behind stories that hit the ground running. I'll be panting and struggling to keep up, but I'll be behind it.
Now to hope there's still some running to enjoy before the weekly stride is struck.
9558031
I don't know which would horrify me worse. Turning into a griffon, or changing sexes.
So is he/she, however they decide to identify as, a griffen or a griffen pony hybrid?
9559413
Whichever one differs more from my current cultural expectations... which is probably the gender swap.
9558986
Yeah, the reason this happens is because the story was previously posted on my Patreon sometimes before they make it to fimfiction. When I post several chapters in a row, I'm catching the story up to where the Patreon is.
9559465
Griffon/Pony hybrid. Cant think of the exact name right now but yeah, they were in the movie, and I believe part of the last season.
9559644
They're called Hippogriffs. Mythological creatures are a specialty of mine.
This isn’t the Equestria we know...
As someone living with a trans person, I have to admit that Theo becoming her just because of a biological alteration makes me feel a little uncomfortable. It's not my story, and it's not a dealbreaker, but if I were in this situation, I don't think I'd be so quick to discard male pronouns.
Well this story is transformative.
Color me interested. Is magical translation an emerging technology? Or I read that wrong and the bridge is a known gateway that crosses space and Theo happened to come across it. Which is why the whole tidbit there at the end.
9561297
Since it's from the perspective of him, yeah, it's certainly a bit fast.
Though it does depend on the person, I guess. While I am, in fact, straight, I don't think I'd be that miffed if I suddenly became female, as long as all the proper hormones were there. (Though I'm sure being female would come with its own problems I'd have to learn how to deal with.)
9570402
Like heat? As well as any other female specific needs a hippogryph might have.
Ah, good! A translation device!
While having a hurdle to overcome is nice, I don't know how long I can read nonsensical pony gibberish. I'm sure Theo will agree.
Oh...
This should be... interesting.
9559666
Nonononono!~
You were supposed to suggest something like "ponybird" or anything else and never mention hippogriffs!
9561297
As a trans person, this instant "change in biology -> change in pronouns" thing makes me a lot uncomfortable. I'm glad I'm not the only person to notice it.
I haven't read the later chapters yet, so I'll hold out hope that they'll consider this with more detail. ... I don't expect them to, but I can hope.
(Honestly, it feels like it would be groundbreaking for a fic to keep the protagonist's pronouns the same even after they've been transformed. I'm all for trans positivity, but this... is not that.)
10047098
I think it's used more as the narrator reminding us that change has occured, as i doubt he will be referring to himself as female.
Oof. I was really hoping they'd speak English XD