A slave from the Colonial period is transported to Equestria
This is the story of an abused slave girl, brought to Equestria by unknown powers to heal and to learn the magic of friendship. Friendships will form, and enemies will be made. Who will win? Who will she fall in love with?
The harsh, blistering heat of the sun beat down on my scarred back, causing me to sweat profusely. I was working to finish harvesting my portion of the cotton field quickly so I wouldn't get whipped for being to slow, again. I had always been a bit of a free-willed slave, and it grew when I was sold to my current master and mistress, who were both extremely cruel.
My previous masters had been reasonably kinda with me, but strict. I never truly wanted to be free until I cme to learn the true nature of my current master and mistress. The first few days I was treated well. After that, however, my master and mistress seemed to target me for doing things wrong. No matter what I did, I alwys seemed to do it wrong. I honestly tried my best the first week, but after getting multiple lashings, I decided to become a bit more rebellious. I disobeyed orders more, although they weren't always on purpose.
Over time I received multiple lashing scars going across my back. I had thought of running away multiple. I dared not to , however, since I would be leaving my mother, father, and brother in slavery. It didn't seem fair to me to be free while the rest of my family was still enslaved. This lasted for a year.
Then I had the Dream. It had repeated multiple times, always ending with me wondering what the right choice was.
In the dream...
I floated there, in the void. Everything had lost its color.
That is, everything except for me.
I wandered the void for what seemed like forever, wanting some peace and a way to ease this loneliness.
It was here that I saw Her. She was the color of the midnight sky, her mane the starry night. She appeared to be a smaller version of a horse.
"Who and what are you? Are you friend, or foe?" I ask the being quietly, sensing great power coming from her
"I am Luna, goddess of the night. I heeded your cries. You said you wanted to leave this world and slavery Young One." She states in a commanding voice.
"Leave this world? I want to be free, but I'm not sure I would go THAT far yet ma'am." I try to tell her.
Luna just stares solemnly at me then walks away.
End Dream.
To the Present...
Several weeks had passed since I had that dream. It stayed in my mind at all times. I tried to dismiss it as folly and make-believe, but for some reason, couldn't. During this time, I had gotten punished multiple times. Every time I got punished, I wondered what would hve happened if I had agreed to the strange being's proposal.
I always shrugged it off. It all came to a head one day when I disrecpected my master and mistress in front of company by talking back at them after disobeying an order.
I was sent to be lashed 100 times. This punishment was the worst one yet. It put me near death. When I ws seeing light, I begged to be taken from this world, to be taken from slavery forever.
Suddenly, my world flashed blue and yellow, and I found myself in the middle of the sky. I floundered about trying not to die. I hit the ground hard and I was knocked out.
Twilight Sparkle was reading a book on trans-dimensional portals and time travels when she felt a big tremor beneath her.
"Wonder what that was" She thinks to herself, closing her book.
"Spike! Can you watch over the library for a bit? I want to investigate something." Twilight calls to her faithful assistant. Spike comes trotting down the steps and agrees. Upon hearing this, Twilight dashes outside the door tp gather the other elements of harmony. It doesn't take long to gather them, and wearing the elements, they go to where Twilight had heard the sound.
When they reached the area the sound appeared to had come from, they encounter a medium-sized crater, with a bleeding mare in the middle of it.
"Girls! We need to help that mare!" Twilight exclaims, going over to carry the mare to the hospital. the rest of the mane 6 helps her and they manage to get her to the hospital.
The news was bad.
"I'm afraid we will have to put her in surgery. She is very close to death Miss Sparkle. You are lucky to have found her when you did. She would have died if it wasn't for your quick action." Nurse Redheart tells them.
A few hours had passed before they could see the mare. Going into the room where she was staying at until she healed, Twilight studied the mare in her unconscious state. An Earth Pony, she was a chocolate brown, with a long flowing black mane. She appeared to have what looked to be a multitude of scars on her back. Twilight winced in sympathy, imagining the pain of whatever had given her those scars. The mane 6 walks quietly out of the room, so as to not disturb the mare in her rest.
"Ugh! It's been 4 days and she still hasn't woken up!" Twilight cries out loud, frustrated from having to wait so long for the mare to awaken from her sleep. She had done everything she could to keep busy, but the prospect of the potential knowledge that the mare held was on her mind, and she couldn't stop thinking about it.
On this day, Twilight had finally decided to write to the princesses, in hoping that they could help her figure out the situation. She hadn't gotten a reply yet, so Twilight was left pacing the hospital room where the unknown mare was sleeping at, while Spike looked at Twilight with a worried look on his.
"Twilight, you haven't gotten any sleep for the past four days! Rest, I'm sure she won't awaken while you are resting, if she hasn't woken up yet. I will be sure to wake you up if the princesses' and the prince reply, ok?" Spike tells Twilight, hoping that she would accept it. "If you wnt, I can watch her until you wake up." He suggests, to make her more willing.
"O-ok, Spike. Just make sure to tell me right away if anything changes. Got it?" Twilight tells Spike, looking at him with a serious look on her face.
"Of course Twilight! Now go sleep for a bit. I can handle things for now." He replies, small smile on his face.
"Ok, #1 assistant." Twilight says, walking out of the room to go to her house to sleep. Spike smiled widely as she left, glad that Twilight had taken his advice this time. He whistled happily while watching the mare for any changes.
At Canterlot Castle...
"What shall we do, dear Sister?" Celestia asks, looking at Princess Luna.
"Well, I know what she was originally, dear sister, as I brought her here. I feel as if I deserve to be there when she awakens so she isn't too worried. Being in a completely different body than what she was when I brought her here, the poor girl may be frightened out of her mind. It might be best if she saw a familiar face." Luna suggests, hoping that Celestia would agree to her suggestion.
"That may be best, dear sister. Shall we compose a letter to Twilight Sparkle about your decision?" Celestia asks.
"Of course. I don't want her to, what was the word?, 'freak out' if I go there without warning her before-hoof." Luna replies, a slight smile at the thought of Twilight running around, flustered when she finds out that Luna was coming for a visit.
"Now Luna, before you go, I want to tell you something. DO NOT FRIGHTEN ANYPONY! I know that it has been a year since Nightmare Moon was banished from within you, and I caution you that you don't draw too much attention to yourself." Celestia says, a look of worry on her face.
Luna just laughed. "Sister, I mastered the transformation magic a bit before my banishment, and I have had time to practice since my return. Do not worry!" Luna says, wanting to assure her sister that she would be discreet.
"Very well, now let us write the letter to Twilight. I wish for you to go tomorrow, however, as it is a bit late to visit the mare at the hospital currently. Just get ready for tomorrow." Celestia tells Luna. Luna nods her consent.
To my most faithful student Twilight Sparkle,
I had read your letter and we, that is, Luna and I, have decided upon something. Princess Luna shall be coming to Ponyville tomorrow afternoon to visit the unknown mare you talked about in your letter. I cannot say more on the matter, and I do so wish that you won't panic about her coming to town. Go to the train station tomorrow at 3:00 pm and look for a Midnight blue pegasus. Thank you for your concern and Luna will solve your problem soon enough.
Your Mentor,
Princess Celestia
Inside the Ponyville Library (Or Twilight's home)...
"Twilight! Twilight! Wake up! The princess has responded." Spike exclaims, running into the library as fast as he could on his short and stubby legs, panting a little. Twilight, who was napping lightly, snapped awake at this and thought to herself that she was glad she hadn't been in an uncomforable position.
"May I have it, Spike?" Twilight asks, holding out her hoof for the letter in question. Spike hands her the letter and sat down, panting for breath.
"I'm also hear to tell you that the unknown mare hasn't changed since you left." Spike says, knowing Twilight would also like to know the mare's current condition. Twilight nods absently at this and opens the letter with her magic, levitating it slightly so she could read it.
"A midnight-blue pegasus? O-ok...I wonder where I would find Luna though." Twilight muses under her breath. She reread the letter and then gave it back to Spike, who was breathing normally again. "Spike, thank you for doing exactly what I asked you to do. You are my #1 assistant, after all!" Twilight says, laughing a little.
"Would you like me to write a reply, Twilight?" Spike asks her.
"No need Spike. We need to get the library spotless for when she arrives tomorrow!" Twilight replies, looking around for cleaning tools. "Spike, lets get started, shall we?"
It took an hour, but the library was finally clean enough for Twilight. Glad that it was over, Spike slumped on the couch, exhausted.
"Twilight, can I take a rest? All this cleaning made me really tired." Spike asked Twilight, yaawning slightly. Twilight smiled slightly.
"Of course Spike. You are still a baby dragon after all." She replies gently, picking Spike up with her magic and levitating him to his basket. Spike fell asleep as soon as he curled up in his bed. Twilight smiled softly at Spike in his unconscious state, being utterly adorable when he was asleep.
After a few minutes, Twilight quietly trotted out of the library, so as to not wake Spike up. Once out of the library, she trotted a bit more quickly over to the hospital to see how the mare was doing. When she asked Nurse Redheart, the nurse simply said that the mare's condition hadn't changed since Spike had left her room. Twilight opened the door to her room and found her friends watching the mare.
"Is something wrong girls?" Twilight asked, snapping her friends out of their current state and look at her.
"N-o-o-o-o Twilight, nothing is. We are just worried about the mare. She hasn't woken up since we brought her here." Fluttershy replies softly, speaking to everypony.
"Ok Fluttershy, I just wanted to know if something was wrong. Princess Luna is coming to Ponyille tomorrow." Twilight says, causing Fluttershy to turn a bit pale. Fluttershy was still a tad afraid of Luna, seeing as how she was once Nightmare Moon. "She is just coming to look at the mare. I was told by Princess Celestia to go wait at the train tomorrow at 3pm to look for a midnight-blue pegasus. That was basically all she had said. Do you girls want to come?" Twilight asks them.
Her friends all agreed to it, although Fluttershy's reply a bit shakier than usual. Twilight just shrugged.
"It's getting late girls. Let's get some sleep, and worry about this tomorrow." Twilight says. On that note, the group of friends walked out of the hospital and went to their respective homes.
Twilight and her friends were waiting anxiously at the train station, looking for the midnight-blue pegasus mare that Princess Celestia had mentioned in the letter. It was 3:05pm and the group of friends were getting worried that they would never find the mare, when Rarity cried out,"I think that's her, over there!"
Everypony else looked in the direction Rarity was pointing her hoof at, and sure enough, there was the midnight-blue pegasus mare Princess Celestia described. The group of mares walked over to her.
"Hello there! We were told to look for you." Twilight says cheerfully to the Pegasus.
"Yes, I was sent here by you-know-who." the pegasus whispered. Twilight's eyes widened and she gasped as realization struck her.
"Are you perchance Princess Luna?" The intelligent mare asked. The pegasus nodded.
"Yes Twilight Sparkle. I am here to deal with the problem. Do not tell anypony who I am, as I am trying to be discreet here." Princess Luna says.
"Ok princess" The group of mares chorused at the same time. Princess Luna smiled at this.
"Let's get going, shall we?" The princess says, walking of towards Ponyville, the rest of the group looking at her before following quickly.
They got to the hospital in reasonably good time, but Rainbow was complaining about them going too slow. Everypony rolled their eyes everytime she complained smiling a little.
"Excuse me Nurse Redheart, how is the unknown mare doing?" Twilight asks the nurse as Nurse Redheart was leaving the mares room.
"Just about the same as before, Miss Sparkle. It looks as if she has been having nightmares, however, based on how much she has moved in her sleep." Nurse Redheart replies, pointing her hoof inside the room. The group of mares peeked inside, and sure enough, the mare was twisting and turning, her face scrunched in what looked to be unspeakable terror, yet she was still clearly asleep.
The group murmured quietly, before Princess Luna walked towards the mare. When she came up to the mares bedside, Princess Luna placed a hoof on the mares forhead. Almost instantly, her face became calmer, almost serene. The mare stopped moving and went into a dreamless sleep. Princess Luna smiled softly, glad that she had managed to calm the poor mare down.
Very quietly, almost silently, Princess Luna heard the mare whisper one word. "Luna."
Princess Luna stared at the mare, shocked that she had remembered her when Luna had gone into her dreams. Princess Luna gazed at the mare for a few moments before standing back up and walking over to the mane 6.
"She should be fine for a bit girls. You are dismissed. Go home for now, and I will call you when the mare awakens." Luna tells them, causing them to look at her incredulously. "Go on, shoo!" Luna says, causing them to get out quickly, including Nurse Redheart, who had been watching Princess Luna.
Princess Luna sighed. "You will awaken soon young one, and I shall greet you into this new world." she whispers to the sleeping mare. Luna resigned herself and sat down. This was going to be a long wait.
At Twilight's Library...
"How long do we have to wait!" Rainbow complained at the mane 6 lounged in Twilight's home.
"Who knows Rainbow? It could be a few minutes, few hours, a few days, etc. Princess Luna will tell us when something happens. I'm sure of it." Twilight responds carefully, wanting her meaning to be known. The other mares grumbled a bit, but quieted down after a few minutes.
"Now, onto the next order of business. We need to make sure we have the Elements on us when she awakens, in case she's a danger to us all." Twilight explains.
"She doesn't seem like she would be the violent type, even while asleep Twilight." Fluttershy protests quietly, but no one heard her. She sighed quietly, wishing they listened to her a bit more often.
"Gosh, Twilight, you really think that the young mare would be a threat to us? She would be too weak to do much damage at all, although she might be a handful were she fully healed." Applejack mused.
"Still, though. We don't know who she is, where she came from, or how she came to be near death lying in a crater. For all we know, she could be possessed by Nightmare Moon!" Twilight exclaims. At the mention of Nightmare Moon, Fluttershy whimpers and tries to hide behind the couch. "Sorry Fluttershy, but it's true."
"Whatever. Let's just be ready for when Princess Luna comes to get us." Rainbow Dash snapped.
"How about a slumber party then? It's getting late and I had so much fun the last time we had one. And anyways, this way, we will all be together for when Princess Luna comes to get us." Twilight said, secretly hoping they would agree.
"Sure, but no mamby-pamby stuff Twilight, got it?" Rainbow Dash said.
"It would be a delight." Rarity says.
"S-u-u-u-r-r-r-e-e-e." Fluttershy stutters.
"Course, sugarcube. We could use some fun right now anyways." Applejack says.
"A party?! Fun!" Pinkie Pie exclaims happily, producing a bunch of sleeping bags from behind her back.
"Where did you...oh never mind." Twilight mumbles.
And so that was how the girls spent their first night in four days away from the unknown mare. Meanwhile...
"Oh, how much longer must you sleep, young one?" Luna moans to herself. She had been keeping vigil over the mare for several hours now in her true form and it was beginning to take a slight toll on her patience. Princess Luna wasn't exceptionally known for her patience. Princess Celestia often joked to her that she had very little patience, always wanted everythignt obe done quickly. Luna sighed. "Tomorrow she awakens." Luna thought to herself. "I shall help her get in this world."
Third POV for now, but switches to Chocolate's POV later
It had been a few hours since Princess Luna had arrived at the mare's hospital room. She was nearly asleep when she noticed something. The mare was moving a lot more than before. "Good. She's finally waking up." Luna thought, smirking slightly.
She continued to watch the mare for a few minutes, but she just continued to move in her sleep. "Ok, maybe she's NOT waking up." Luna thought, thinking that it might just be another nightmare. She sighed, slightly mad at herself for feeling hopeful that the mare was finally waking up.
"Stupid!" Luna said to herself, facehoofing (I hope that's the right word...) herself for thinking that. Thinking that the mare might be closer to waking up than before, Luna decided to check to see. Going over to the mare, she placed her hoof on the mare's forehead, like when she had gotten rid of the mare's nightmare.
Concentrating deeply, Luna used her magic to look in the depths of the mare's sleeping mind, to see how close she was to waking up. What she saw was something far worse. The mare's nightmare.
Inside the nightmare... and it is the slave's pov
The slave girl watched in horror as her masters tortured her family.
She wanted to save them, but for some reason, she couldn't move.
All she could do was watch tearfully as the final lash was delivered to them.
She found her voice at last.
"Mama... Papa.."
Finally able to move, she runs towards them, the man lashing her parents having disappeared.
"Mama! Papa! Please don't leave me." She sobbed.
Looking into their brown eyes, she sees them glaze over.
The slave slumps, knowing that she was too late.
"I will kill you for making me lose what meant the most to me, I SWEAR!" She cries out to the heavens, sobbing silently.
Back to the hospital room... In 3rd POV
Luna lifted her hoof from the mare's forehead, many tears staining her face.
"You poor, poor dear... I will try my best to make sure your parents stay alive back on your world, no matter the consequences." Princess Luna promises.
Now that she new what the mare was currently going through, Luna decided that she needed to take immediate action.
"This may hurt young one. You will wake in a strange place with strange creatures. Stay calm no matter what happens." She tells the sleeping mare. Sighing deeply, feeling sad for the pain that she was going to inflict on the mare, Luna put her hoof on the mare's forehead once more.
Luna's horn started glowing a deep blue, much like coat. Closing her eyes in concentration, Luna charges her horn more. When her horn was fully charged, the room now eerily glowing blue, Luna released the charge on the mare. When it hit the mare, she started jerking and twitching immediately, followed by screams, moans, and whimpers.
Luna opened her eyes, looking around the room. She was glad to note that her spell hadn't damaged the hospital. Sighing in relief, Princess Luna looked at the mare, to see if the spell had actually worked.
The Slave's POV
When I was still weeping over the corpses of my mother and father, everything was fading into darkness around me. I did not notice until my parents had disappeared, along with me.
It was at this moment I felt the most terrible pain that I have ever felt in my short life. I learned later that I had screamed bloody murder at this point.
After what felt like forever, the pain started ebbing away. I was coming to. It felt like I was rising through water towards the surface to breathe.
"Ugh... My head.." I moan to myself rubbing my head with my eyes closed, still half asleep.
"You are awake at last." I hear someone say. I jerked up, tensing for what I was sure was going to be punishment for sleeping in. Slowly, I opened my eyes. Gasping, I closed them tightly, then opened them again, not quite believing what I saw. It was a mini horse. What shocked me however, was how it looked exactly like that being from my dreams from a few weeks ago.
"Wha-a-a-a-a-t...are you.." I stutter out, staring at the magnificent creature, not expecting it to answer like in my dreams.
"A pony. I am Princess Luna, as I'm sure you know." the pony says, much to my shock. I stutter out rambling stuff. The pony waved her hoof in my face.
"Yoohoo! You there?" I'm assuming that it's a she, says. I just stare at her, my mouth most likely gaping open. She sighed, then slapped me. Hard.
"Ouch!" I exclaim, rubbing my cheek where she had hit me. It was then I notice something. MY HANDS WERE GONE! In their place were what looked like brown hooves. I looked at the rest of my body in wonder. It appeared I was in an equine body, much like what the Princess looked like, except without the wings... or the horn... I did, however, still have my scars on my back. I sighed, sad that one of my worse souveniours had stayed with me through this transformation. I was also covered in bandages.
I was so busy seeing what I looked like, that I had ignored Princess Luna. She sighed again, then slapped me in the same place. With even more force.
"OWWWWWWWW!" I cry out in pain, jarred from my looking. "Where am I anyways?" I ask, changing the subject.
"Ponyville Hospital. You were quite near death when Twilight Sparkle and her friends found you on the outskirts of town." She replies, waving a hoof dismissively. I shrink at the thought of having more people, or whatever creature lives in this town, seeing me and mistreating me for being a slave. I didn't know yet that there was no slavery here in Equestria.
Princess Luna, noticing this, asked worriedly,"Don't be afraid of the residents. There is no slavery in Equestria. My sister and I would never permit it."
I looked up at this in astonishment. No slavery? Does that mean...I am a free person here? By this point I am sure my eyes are popping out in disbelief at my good luck. I jumped up and started hugging the other pony quite tightly exclaiming,"THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKY OU!" a bunch of times.
It took Princess Luna quite some time to calm me down.
"Now, you are going to need a pony name if you are to live here. You can choose whichever name you want." Princess Luna tells me softly. I gape at this, wondering in a far corner of my mind how my jaw isn't stuck open yet.
"My...own...name?" I say slowly. Princess Luna nods. I gasp happily and clapped loudly in happiness. Since I was going to have this name for the rest of my life, I wanted something sweet.
"How about...Chocolate." I say finally, a wide grin on my face. Princess Luna glances at me thoughtfully.
"That name DOES suit you. Chocolate it is!" She says suddenly.
"Princess Luna, if I may, why did you bring me here to Equestria? I am just a slave." I ask Princess Luna as she is teaching me how to walk as a pony, which are the dominant race on this planet. I had gotten out of bed, only to fall down seeing as how I had no idea how to walk on four limbs.
"I felt that you were special Chocolate. I can't tell you any more than that at the moment, but I will tell you the full truth in due time. Now, try again." Princess Luna tells me. I struggle to get up correctly, and on my third try, I finally stand.
"Finally!" I exclaim, glad that I had finally learned how to stand.
"Now you need to walk." Princess Luna tells me. I blanch in fear at that prospect.
"W-a-a-a-a-lk?" I stutter out.
"Yes, walk. You must master this before leaving. It is imperative. Do you want to be falling flat on your face every few minutes in public?" Princess Luna asks me. I blanch even more and quickly shake my head. "Then you need to learn this." She states. I sigh, not really wanting to go through this torture, but wanting to leave this hospital once and for all. Princess Luna helps me out of the bed, then steps away.
I try to take one step, and I fall flat on my face. I stood up again, feeling my cheeks go red in embarrassment. Once I'm up, I try again, and fall ...again.
"Arg! Why can't I get this right!?" I moan, after trying to walk several times, and falling flat on my face every time. At this point, Princess Luna looked as if she was struggling to contain her laughter. Finally, she couldn't take it any longer. Luna bursts out laughing, rolling on the floor. I just stood there, extremely embarrassed.
Luna finally managed to calm herself down.
"S-o-o-o-o-o-rry Chocolate. It was just too funny." Princess Luna manages to gasp out, wiping a tear from her eye. I just stare down at the floor in shame. "Chocolate. Seeing as how you have been unable to accomplish walking, I will give you the knowledge and the ability to walk with my magic." Princess Luna says, quite serious. I stare at her. She had told me that magic had existed on this world, but I half didn't believe her.
Luna closed her eyes and started to concentrate. I could only stare in awe as her horn lit up a deep blue, a spark from her horn floating over to me and going inside my body. Suddenly, I realized that I now knew how to walk. I tested my knowledge and took a step. To my great relief and surprise, I didn't fall flat on my face.
Glad that THAT embarrassment was now over, I gingerly walk over to Princess Luna.
"Princess Luna. Who is your sister?" I ask her. I had wanted to know this since I had awakened a few hours ago.
"My sister is Princess Celestia. She had ruled over Equestria for 1,000 years alone, up until 1 year ago. She had imprisoned me on the moon for trying to bring eternal night to this land, using the Elements of Harmony. Every morning, Princess Celestia raises the sun, while every evening, I raise the moon." Princess Luna told me. I gaped at this revelation. I was in the presence of a goddess. I just stared at her and blinked for several minutes. Getting tired of this, she waved her hoof in front of my face, causing me to snap out of it.
"Sorry." I mumble. Princess Luna looked at me, concern showing in her face. I look up. "I would have been more respectful had I known." I bowed deeply, well tried to anyways.
"I suppose I need to teach you some of our culture, so you don't get anything mixed up and have the other ponies living here become suspicious." She tells me, sighing deeply. I gaped at her. Me, learn? It was unheard of back home. I shook my head to get rid of that thought. This was my home now, not that place.
Princess Luna proceeds to tell me everything about her world's culture. There are multiple different races in Equestria, and the lands surrounding it. Griffins, Dragons, Phoenixes, and multiple other creatures that were mythical on Earth existed here. There were also animals that I saw on Earth. There were four types of pony, I found out in this history lesson. I was an Earth pony, who were extremely strong, endurants, and were connected to Terra, which was the name of the world Equestria resided in. There were Unicorns, who used magic. Pegasi helped control the weather, could fly, stand on clouds, and they had a cloud city, named Cloudsdale. Princess Luna and Princess Celestia were both Alicorns, an extremely rare pony type that had the strength of an Earth Pony, the capability of flight like the Pegasi, and the magical capabilities of the Unicorns.
Princess Luna then told me how Equestria came to be. I was surprised to learn that there were wars. I had thought that Equestria never had a war, but was proven wrong. I was sad to hear that.
Princess Luna spent and Hour and a Half teaching me the history of Equestria and the surrounding lands, the pony holidays, which to my surprise, were basically the same as my old holidays, just with different names and meanings. Finally done, Princess Luna coughed, to lose the hoarseness in her throat from lecturing me for so long.
"Ok then, shall we get going, Chocolate?" Princess Luna asks me.
"Sure!" I reply, and we walk out of the hospital room that I had been staying in for a week.