Chapter 1
Vinyl's eyes opened to an unfamiliar ceiling. Her eyes flitted around the room as she took in her surroundings. The furniture was a bit odd, seeing as it was higher off of the ground than normal. But, seeing as she was in Manehattan, she supposed that they might just have a bit more height there.
Her head hurt. She raised a hand to her head to rub her throbbing temples, but stopped halfway, simply staring at it. She didn't have hooves anymore. What she saw in front of her was none other than a hand. Vinyl was a human.
She bolted upright, scooting back against the headboard in a vain and silly attempt to get away from her hands. By doing this, she thoroughly kicked the blanket off of the bed, giving her a nice view of her new body. She had a thin, lithe form, with very pale, almost pristine white, skin. Her torso was covered by a baggy t-shirt, and a pair of too-big shorts served as a pair of pants. Her hair, still the same interweaving colors of electric and dark blue, fell over her shoulders in an unkempt manner.
Vinyl turned to the nightstand to find exactly what she was hoping for. Her sunglasses. She hesitantly reached out and gently grabbed them, still getting used to her hands. She slowly lifted them to her eyes and placed them there. By doing this, she discovered something that was missing. Her horn. It was gone. There wasn't any trace of it, not even a parting in her hair. It was just... Gone.
Vinyl turned and swung her legs over the side of the bed, her bare feet mere inches from the floor. She took a deep breath before placing a hesitant foot on the cold hardwood floor, and another before doing the same with her other foot. She placed a hand on the nightstand to brace herself, then put her weight on her feet.
Almost immediately, she fell forward and caught herself on the wall. She hesitantly moved a foot forward in an awkward step, leaning against the wall for support. She shakily made her way into an adjoining bathroom and braced herself up on the sink, staring at her reflection in the mirror.
What's happened to me? She thought, watching her reflection place a hand against hers in perfect unison. How did I get to Earth? Why am I human? How do I get back. How -
Vinyl's thoughts were interrupted when the door to the bedroom opened. The princess stumbled out of view, against the wall next to the doorframe, inside of the bathroom. The person on the bedroom spoke up. "Hello?" He asked. He sounded to be in his late teens. "Are you in the bathroom or something?" vinyl heard footsteps coming her way, and took a deep breath before stepping out into view, braced against the doorframe.
"Oh, there you are," He said, moving toward her. "Are you feeling better now?"
Vinyl shook her head, feeling a bit sick from all of her recent movement. Now that the adrenaline from the fear and shock had gone, she realized just how unfit she was to be standing, much less moving around.
"Come here, you need to get back in bed," The man said, putting an arm over her shoulders to help her to stand. He slowly, to accommodate her current sickness and fatigue, helped her back to the bed, where he picked her up and laid her down. "Do you want anything to eat?" He asked. Vinyl nodded. "Okay, I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." He left the room, making sure to close the door behind him.
Now who could he be? Vinyl thought, propping herself up on one elbow. He doesn't seem hostile, but I don't know. He could be one of those people who take women into their houses and then... Yeah. Regardless, I'm not in any condition to leave, much less resist him if he tries to... Do that.
Thoughts such as these swirled endlessly through Vinyl's mind as she sat there, propped up on one arm in the bed. Upon hearing the creak of a floorboard in the hallway, Vinyl sighed and laid back, her head sinking into the pillow a bit. The doorknob slowly turned and the door opened, giving a clear view of the man, his arms occupied by a tray laden with soup, toast, and some orange juice.
"I'm back," He said, entering the room and closing the door with his foot. "Sorry I took so long; the toaster's pretty old. Can you sit up? I don't think you'd want to eat hot soup while lying down." Vinyl nodded and, with some help, sat up, her back against the headboard.
The man grabbed the tray again and gently set it onto Vinyl's lap. "I hope this is enough," He said. "I haven't gone grocery shopping in a while, so I didn't have that much to make for you. Through this, there's nothing on the toast but a bit of burnt bread - again, the old toaster's fault - and the soup is closer to plain old tomato juice than actual soup."
Vinyl shakily grabbed a piece of toast, slowly increasing pressure as to not break it. Once it was enough pressure for her to not drop it, she lifted it to her mouth and took a bite. It was quite good, seeing as it was slightly charred and had nothing on it. She hesitantly chewed and swallowed, a proud smile passing over her face. She hadn't broken the toast by grabbing it too hard.
"So, um, miss?" The man said. "I don't think I've introduce myself. My name is Jayden. And yours is?" He expectantly leaned forward a bit as Vinyl opened her mouth. She went to speak, but all that came out was an unintelligible raspy whisper. "Here, drink the orange juice," Jayden said. "It'll help."
Vinyl reached down and grabbed the glass, careful not to drop it. She shakily lifted it to her lips and drank, slowly downing the entirety of its contents. She went to speak again, and this time, her voice was slightly louder and clearer. "Vinyl," She rasped. "My name is Vinyl."
"Vinyl?" Jayden asked, raising an inquisitive eyebrow. "That's an odd name. But I suppose people don't get to pick their name, after all, that's their parents' job. So, do you want anything else?" He asked, taking the juice and toast plate off of the tray. Vinyl shook her head no in response. "Okay, then. I'll be back in an hour to pick up the soup bowl. You should eat it; you need to get some nutrients back into your system. I'll see you then, okay?" Vinyl nodded, and Jayden exited, closing the door behind him.
Vinyl let out a relieved sigh and smiled in spite of herself. Jayden, huh? She thought. He's nice. and not hostile at all. And - and he's kinda cute, considering I've never seen a human before. She realized what she was thinking, and took a swig of soup. No, Vinyl. She thought. You have to get back to Equestria. Your friends need you. Octavia needs you, Lyra needs you, Bon-bon needs you. you can't get distracted by some cute human.
Vinyl sighed and drank some more soup. "This is going to be frustrating," She said aloud.