Shifting Morals

by Leafdoggy

Prologue

Colorful

It’s not a word that comes to me much, but it’s the only way I could possibly describe the clearing I just woke up in. Wildflowers of all sorts standing out in contrast to the dark greens of the forest behind them. Creatures meandering by, paying me no mind. A perfectly blue sunny sky. It’s an assault on the senses. I need to walk into the forest before I get sick.

Walking through the brush into the trees, I'm immediately more at home. Drab, dreary. A layer of fog covers the ground, shadows fly overhead. It’s a perfect way to spend an afternoon, taking in the world’s natural dark underbelly.

Sadly, it doesn’t take long for the trees to part and reveal civilization. The colors here put the clearing to shame. If there’s a competition for gaudiness somewhere, this place is winning it. I briefly consider passing this town up in favor of someplace I can stomach, but somehow I doubt I’d find one.

Crouching behind a tree, I strain my eyes to try and get a look at the people that I’ll be- huh. Well those certainly aren’t people. Horses? No, smaller. Ponies, I guess. What a bizarre place. Seems I’ll have to put in some extra work to blend in here. Ah, well; perks of being a shapeshifter.

I let my instincts choose my new look, and get back to work. Things certainly seem calm and peaceful here; most people are just meandering about and socializing. Laughter, playfulness, just boundless joy all around. If that’s all there is to contend with, then this place is gonna be a piece of-

“HEY!!!”

I jump out of my skin as a pink mass drops out of the tree I was hiding behind and lands in front of me. Was I spotted? Where were they? This could go south fast, I need to brace myself. Maybe these horses are more dangerous than they let on.

The big pink pony crouches down to match the defensive position I’ve taken, and cocks her head to the side. “Whatcha doin out here? Some kinda game? Oh, or maybe you’re spying on someone to plan a surprise for them!” She bounces around like a bundle of springs as she talks. “Ooh ooh, let me help! I’m great at surprises! Also, who are you? I’m Pinkie Pie!”

My muscles relax and I slump backwards. Not a danger, it seems, just an idiot. I’d rather enter the town on my own terms, but I’ll have to roll with this. “I, uh.. I’m not really sure who I am.” I put on my best frightened face. “I just woke up over there, and I can’t remember anything. Where am I?”

“Oh no!” she gasps. “You can’t remember ANYTHING? What about your name?”

“Hmm… no, nothing, sorry.”

“Geez, what a disaster! I’d be so sad if I couldn’t remember I was Pinkie Pie… Okay, well what if I give you a new name? Just until you remember your old one. What about uhh.. Brownie Bite? No, that’s not quite it.. Pinkie Pie? That’s taken I think. OH! Strawberry Tart! It’s perfect.”

“Strawberry Tart? Huh. Well, I guess if you say it fits, I’m fine with it.”

“Hooray! So what are ya gonna do now?”

“I dunno. What do you do when you have amnesia?”

“Huh, that’s a good question. Hmm... I think that if I forgot who I was, I would want me to show me where I live and who my friends are.”

“O..kay. Well that could work I guess, what if you showed me around town?”

“Oh, that’s a great idea! Let’s do it!”

Before I can respond, the pink pony starts hopping away from me, so I get up and follow behind her. She parades me around town, rambling on. “Over there is Rarity” she says as she points to a small storefront, “And over there is the apple stand that’s missing a leg and so sometimes it drops an apple on the ground which they give to me for free. Oh, and that over there is-” most of what she says seems utterly inconsequential, so I tune her out.

I study the town as we walk. My instincts seem correct so far; utterly benign. I've yet to see so much as a frown. These ponies wouldn't know danger if it was standing right in front of them. They certainly won't know it when it's their friends standing in front of them.

As we walk past a store, I catch my reflection in the window and get my first good look at myself. I’m certainly small, a fair bit smaller than the pink one. My light brown fur is speckled with white dots from my snout to my shoulders, marks I’d call freckles if I wasn’t covered in fur, and I have a rather plain sienna mane, cut short and curly. It's a nice, subdued look. There’s a strange mark on my side too, some sort of pitch-black spiral that seems almost separate from the light fur around it.

At one point we walk up behind a yellow pony on the street, and Pinkie Pie points at her and loudly announces “That’s Fluttershy!” The wiry horse yelps and jumps a full three times her height into the air. “Oh, hi Pinkie,” she half-whimpers, “it’s nice to see you. Who’s your, um.. Friend?”

“Oh, this is Strawberry Tart! She-”

“They” I interject.

“They lost their memory, so I’m givin them a tour around town! Wanna join us?”

Fluttershy floats back down. “Oh, no thank you Pinkie, I have to get back home to Angel. It was very nice meeting you though Strawberry! I’m very sorry to hear you’re not doing well, but you’re in good hands. You're really lucky that Pinkie found you. So um, where are you staying?”

“Oh,” I say. “I guess I don’t really know. Where is there to stay?”

Pinkie lights up. “Oh, you should stay with me! It’ll be like a sleepover!”

“Are you sure, Pinkie?” Fluttershy says. “Wouldn’t that get a little.. Crowded?”

“No, it’ll be fun! Cmon Strawberry, we gotta. Thanks for the idea Fluttershy!”

Pinkie drags me away before Fluttershy can protest, and so she just meekly waves as I’m abducted by the giddy horse.

It’s dusk by the time the tour ends. “And this is Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie says as she bounces through the door of a tacky-looking building. The garishness of it rivals the pink pony herself. Inside it’s just as tacky, but surprisingly tidy. “This is the store, my room is upstairs” she explains. I’m surprised she’s able to keep a business in order; I suspect the kitchen paints a very different picture.

“We don’t really have a spare bedroom, buuuuut we do have a basement where we keep our junk! I’m sure there’s somethin down there you can make into a bed, so that can be your room!” She seems oblivious to the frown I’m wearing. “Let’s hit the hay early so we have lots of time for fun tomorrow, kay? Nighty night!” With this she bounds up the stairs, leaving me in blissful silence.

The dimly-lit basement actually suits me fairly well. Bare walls, no windows, cobwebs dominating the room. Digging through piles of junk I find an old, torn up sofa buried under boxes. I’ve had worse beds. I clear it off and make myself comfortable, improvising a pillow from an old saddlebag.

This is certainly an odd place I’ve landed in, but it seems like everyone here is either incompetent or a coward. Easy pickings. Pinkie is right, we're gonna have tons of fun tomorrow.

Comments

[IDontWatchMLP]

Not bad so far... Keep writing.

[Emperor]

The pace of action...is ridiculously fast.