An accident at a revolutionary cryoncs facility causes the unintentional first tester to take a trip into the future.
A technological breakthrough! That's what it was to some. A freak accident, that's what it was to the inventor. A trip to the future. that's what it was to many. A surprise - that's what it was... to me.
-------------------------------------- Based partially on Futurama and Monster Hunter. Any resemblance to characters from either is accidental. Human tag is mostly for the first few chapters. Tags will be added if necessary.
A scientific breakthrough; That's what it said on the paper.
For me, it would prove to be a job, then the path to a new world.
It was revolutionary technology, and many new hire-ons were required. Including doctors, maintenance workers, consultants... (sigh) And janitors. I was hired as one of the latter.
My parents were happy either way.
One night, my boss had me cleaning the entire facility. Yeah, he was one of those bosses.
"Now, you'll be doing this by yourself. Be careful with the merchandise. This ain't no place for fun, got it?" he said.
"Understood, sir!" I replied with a salute. Menial job or not, I was determined to work as hard as I could.
"Okay, okay. No need to be obsequious." He said with a frown. "Nobody else was able to come tonight, that's all. This is practically just a figurative milk run. All you need to do is clean the place. Wash the floors, clean the surfaces, just make sure that everything is in working order. What could go wrong?" he said before leaving me to my job.
I winced at the last bit. He just had to say those four words. Still, I had my instructions and hopped to it.
When I began, it seemed like everything would be fine, like I was worried over nothing. I started to hum while I was working. Being a brony some time ago (I still watched an episode or two now and then), it seemed apropos to go with Winter Wrap Up at first. I started with th hallways, moving on to the break room at the back, then the offices. By that point I had gone through Art of the Dress, even a few brony songs I'd heard on Youtube.
Finally, I'd moved on to The Room. The one where The Magic would happen. Well, when people started signing up for the proceedure, anyway. The way I heard it, there were a few people signed up to see the future. Of course, that wasn't the only good part of the process. You'd also be fully healed, for example. No old scars or even any minor scratches. As a fringe benefit, you'd be fully rested when you came out and supposedly wouldn't lose any muscle mass, however long you were to stay in there. Also, you'd be able to get any shots you'd be missing out on. Why? I had no idea. It wasn't my place to ask anyway.
Apparently, though, someone spilled some coffee on the floor and didn't clean it up. Judging by the amount there was, it was a large coffee, too. Thus it was up to me to clean that up as well. After that, I had to wash my mop out. Then I went back to what I was doing.
Apparently someone had been fiddling with the settings on some of the machines, but that wasn't my business either. Then, it happened. I slid on a wet spot and got stuck in one of the machines. Just... of course. At first it seemed like it wouldn't be a problem. However, I heard the door lock. Right then, my eyes widened. I started to panic, trying to jimmy the lock on it, but to no avail. And besides, I was starting to... feel... sleepy...
------------------------------ (A day or so later...)
"Look, lady," my boss said, "it was his fault. He was clumsy and slipped."
Being observant, my mother noticed some of the coffee stain remaining. "He wasn't the kind to drink coffee." she pointed out.
My boss' eyes widened and he went to look at the stain. "Looks like whoever had that had a milky one, too. I'll have to ask around." he finished. "Either way, It's out of my hads at this point. He's locked in there for however long it's set for." he added. "Hopefully it wasn't too long..."
The pod I was in opened with the telltale sound of pressurized air releasing. The first sound I made was...
*YAWN*
I'd been asleep for quite some time, after all.
Anyway, stepping out of the pod, I took stock of my body, as I'd been instructed to.
"Let's see... Toes are okay, feet, legs, joints for the above, all good..."
I went through all of my limbs and the joints thereof. Even my ears, which I'd learned how to wiggle at... some point. A few parts were aching for some reason. Particularly my back and extremities (I.E. my feet and hands).
Anyway, otherwise I felt Fan-tastic! Better than I'd felt at any time in recent memory. I felt much stronger, had much less fat; A few other things.
Looking around, it seemed that I was in the same room I was in when I'd taken the fall and ended up doing a Rip Van Winkle impression. But things felt somehow... different. I couldn't put my finger on it, but things just felt off, for some reason.
I thought aloud, "Jeez, it must have been a really long time. I wonder how long?"
{Answer:}
"Gah!"
{Approximately 5000 years.}
There was a voice in my head!(1) An African one, by the sound of it.
"Who are you!?"
{Answer: I am the first new ability of your new life. Does that assuage your fears?}
Was that a rhyme? "Why am I imagining you with stripes?"(2)
I heard a chuckle.
{Answer: Based on your memory, what's the first sage you'd think of? The first one that you'd see?}
It took less than three seconds for me to come up with an answer.
"Zecora. Being a brony, the first that comes to mind is Zecora."
{Response: And thus I am identified; the answer to your mysteries. You might call me that, if you would be pleased.}
"Zecora it is, then. But that'll be confusing if I ever meet... well, you."
This elicited another chuckle.
{Response: I can tell that our time together will be a delight. It seems you posess humour, as well as insight.}
"No doubt." I deadpanned. "So, why do things feel off?"
{Answer: Due to a universal crossover, your world was filled with magic. There's no need to fear. It's nothing that would be tragic.}
Looking out the nearest window, I saw trees. "Let me guess..."
{Pre-emptive response: You guess correctly. Outside of this window is the new forest Everfree.}(3)
It seemed possible that I'd be meeting her sooner than I expected. ----------------------------------------
I had been walking for some time, when I came upon a shack of sorts. Much larger than I expected. I could hear the sound of humming inside.
I knocked on the door, and was greeted in a lyrical manner. "Come in, come in. You're most welcome in my home... human.(4)"
Stepping inside, I asked, "How did you guess?"
"It wasn't all that hard. There have been many of your kind lately, coming into my yard."
"Really?" I queried.
"Yes, indeed they do. Do you like tea? While it steeps, I'd like to hear about you."
"I'd love some. I've been walking for some time. What kinds do you have?"
"Many kinds do I posess. I keep them in alphabetical order, in order to not make a mess. I have apple, blueberry, chammomile, cherry, echinacea and ginger-peach, too. If you name it, chances are I have it for you."
I smiled and said, "Blueberry will do, please. With honey if you have it. Brown sugar if you don't."
While that steeped, I told her about myself, up until my... accident.
"...Aaaand apparently it's been 5000 years or so since then."
"Quite an adventure, it seems to me. What might you tell of your family tree?"
"Well... there's my great grandfather (on my mother's side). He was the herbalist of their town; The local medicine man. Not unlike yourself. He wanted to live to be four-score and ten. He died at four-score and nine."
At that she looked confused. "89? Is that all? Here it's common to have lives more than thrice as tall."
"Yeah, that's the thing. During my time, the average lifespan was about 70 years. The oldest person on record died at... 120 or so, I think?"(5)
"My my, that will not do!" she said in reply, dashing for a vial of a greenish-blue potion. "Here, drink this; your life will increase, true."
Drinking that, I could feel myself becoming connected to the local nature, from the trees to the wildlife.(6)
At length, I said, "Wait, wait, wait. If that's the potion, what's in the cauldron?"
"I have been asked that once before, but I'd be happy to explain once more: It ties the room together and emits a warm glow. If I'm to be honest... it's just for show."
She went on to explain how things in the nearby town had changed. Instead of houses with thatched roofs, it was common to see ones made of metal with several floors and powered by charged crystals, for example. She said that there were monsters that would occasionally come up. Each house was equipped with a bowgun of sorts, that way, the ponies therein would be relatively safe.. Those that slew a monster would have first pick of the remains and could use them however they wished..
After finishing my tea, I thanked Zecora and left for Ponyville.
I walked through the rest of the forest, looking forward to seeing the modernized Ponyville. I walked as quickly as I could. Zecora had also explained of some of the wildlife in the Everfree forest. I would have to be careful.
{Query: You seem to be quite worried. With your new abilities, why are you so hurried?}
At that, I blinked twice. "Like what?"
{Answer: For example you have magic to use any ability from any game you've played, any show you happened to see.}
Having baan something of a gamer (rather than a watcher) in my... previous life, that was quite the list. For example, I was particularly fond of the Final Fantasy and the _____ of Mana series.(1)
As if on cue, a wolf made of wood jumped out of the bushes, growling threateningly. It howled, attracting more.
At this, I was slightly worried, but not as much as before.(2) I could sense a set of D10s appearing to my side. Pointing at ine of the ligneous lupines, i exclaimed, "Fira!"
(4 successes/6, doubled due to weakness to element. Fira cast successfully.)
The wooden wolf that I had pointed at went up in smoke, but the grass beneath it started to burn. My eyes widened. "Watera!"
(Water cast.)
With that, the grass fire was put out. I wiped my brow. "Not gonna try THAT again."
I pointed at my next target. "Let's try this again. Blizzara!"
(Blizzara successfully cast.)
Sure enough, the target was speared by several spikes of ice, slaying it.
{Caution: You might wish to cast with care. You might remember that the more you cast, the less mana you'll have there.}
I nodded at that. Time to cast slightly more carefully.
"Okay!" This time decided to take from Final Fantasy 5. I pointed at several targets at once. "Blizzara; multicast!"
(Blizzara cast successfully)
The rest of the targets were impaled by frosty spikes.
Again, I wiped my brow. That took more out of me than I expected. Before I knew what I was doing, I reached to my left and withdrew a blue potion. Quaffing that, I immediately felt better. Then I realized what I'd just done as the glass vial disappeared. "Huh. Zecora, how many more of those do I have?"
{Answer: 4 more. Over time will rise the score.}
Smiling, I continued my walking. ---------------------------------
The first house I came upon was the one I recognized as Fluttershy's. But like Zecora said, instead of a thatched roof and wooden supports, it did indeed have a steel frame. She didn't concern me all that much (and like as not she'd be afraid of me), so I moved on.
The next sight was Sweet Apple Acres. I had no money, so again I decided to move on. But just as I was about to, my stomach grumbled. Loudly. Ans sure enough, Applejack was close enough to hear me.
She trotted over to me and said, "Yer 'nother one, huh? Well, that'll fix itself in time. 'nyways, Ah heard sign that you're hungry. As it happens, we were 'bout ta have lunch. If'n ya'd like, yer welcome to come 'long."
I replied, "I don't have any way to pay you back, so-"
She interrupted me. "T'ain't no trouble! Big Mac 'n Granny Smith always cook too much 'nyways." As she turned around to move back to the local Apple Family home, I noticed that she had wings.
I said "Hmm..." Then I looked at her and said, "Scan."
Applejack. Species: Alicorn.
That was all I needed to know. Clearly, a horn is easy to hide under a hat, but not so much the wings.
She stopped and looked around. "Somepony's steppin' on mah grave. That is, if Ah had one."
After a moment, I caught up to her and said, "I'm sure it's nothing."
She looked unsure, but said, "Ah s'pose yer right." and moved along.
Eventually, we reached our destination. As it turned out, they were having lunch outdoors today.
Granny Smith said, "Ha! 'nother one come 'long, huh?" then she addressed me. "Well, come 'long. If AJ 'proves o' ya, y'caint be all bad." she joked.
When I sat down, Granny Smith backed up, looked to Big Mac and said "Mac, would ya do th' honours?"
Big Mac backed up himself, as did Apple Bloom. (my cue to do so as well) He clopped his hooves five times and the table expanded, so it'd be big enough for five.
When that happened, Granny Smith looked to their house and gestured for something to come this way. Along floated everything that they'd prepared for lunch.
Before I took a plate, i reflexively put my hands together and said, "We give humble thanks for the rich bounty the world provides. And now, let's eat!"(3)
They looked confused. Applejack said, "Ya didn't strike me as th' r'ligious type."
"When we eat, it becomes part of us. And as a part of the world, it's only proper to give thanks for it, isn't it?"
Applejack tilted her head to one side, then the other and said, "Ah 'spose yer right at that." she repeated my gesture and we moved on to the eating.
At some point, Applejack said, "Granny, pass th' taters, please."
Applejack deadpanned and said, "Do ya really hafta ask?"
Granny Smith grinned and reached for the apple pie. "Had ya fer a moment there, didn' Ah?"
Soon enough, I didn't feel quite right. Applejack said, "Ah reckon it's 'bout ta happen. Ya might wanna find a tree sum'whar nearbah." she gestured to the general area. I nodded and moved to one of the further trees.
The food, in retrospect, was clearly filled with Equestrian magic, and as a result, so was I. I kneeled and hunched over as my arms changed into forelegs, tearing the sleeves of my shirt. Shortly thereafter, my legs changed to hind legs, wrecking my pants. My chest and belly became my barrel, and my neck lengthened.
{Notice: your body would be less taxed if you were to be more relaxed.}
'Easy for you to say, Zecora.' I thought to myself, rolling my eyes. Neverthe;ess, I tried to relax.
My skin prickled as white hairs began to crop up and my ears disappeared briefly, only to reappear at the top of my head. Then hair lengthened into a mane, which turned whiteas a similarly coloured tail appeared, tearing a hole in my pants. my mouth and nose lengthened into a muzzle, hairs beginning to crop up there too. It was then that I realized that I was changing into one of my OCs; Winter Fields.(4)
My male parts were switched for female ones as my system flooded with female hormones and my voice rose an octave or two. I fell forward onto all fours as my hips and legs shifted as small teats grew in. When my cutie mark appeared (frosted blueberries), my purpose and talent became clear to me.
------------------------------ Nearby, Pinkie Pie's eyes fluttered, then her tail swished, then her shoulder briefly ached. She gasped and said, "Somepony nearby just got their Cutie Mark!" (5) Then she grinned. "Time to plan a party." ------------------------------
As my changes complated, my nausea vanished and that knot in my back relaxed as wings grew in, fluttering briefly.
{Notice: Your changes are complete. A PegasEarth you are; How neat! You'll soon feel feel very hungry; Such changes are hard on the body, you see.}
With that, I returned for some more lunch. When Applejack and the rest saw me, they exclaimed as one, "Winter Fields?!"
I smiled sheepishly and my ears folded. "Surprised me too, believe me. Can I resume eating? Changes like that are hard on the body."
Granny Smith gestured to the seat I'd taken before. "Fill yer boots."
"I'd rather not do that, even if I had boots to fill." I joked. "But I will eat some more..."
After eating with the Apple family, I decided to go into town, to find a place to sleep for the next few nights, at least.
When I went into town, I saw several houses on a VERY raised level. Around 50 feet!
'How am I supposed to get up THERE?' I thought to myself.
As if on cue, a platform lowered for me.
"Well, that's convenient." I thought aloud, stepping on.
When it brought me up all the way, I trotted into town. The houses were much as I remembered from long, long ago. But, you know, with some... improvements.
I saw several houses, but one house that caught my eye looked like it was split in two. One side looked classical, while the other looked like... well... I don't know how to describe it!
Either way, I recognized it as Octavia and Vinyl Scratch's house.
Trotting up to the door, I knocked.
When the door opened, I saw Octavia, looking exasparated. "Yes?" she deadpanned.
"Hi. I'm Winter Fields."
"Hi. I'm confused." she said, blinking twice, suddenly awake.
"A pleasure." I joked. "I'm wondering if you have a spare room for the night."
"As it happens..." she started, not finishing. She pointed to the sign at the side of the front door.
"Uh... You might say that I'm not from around here?" I said, somewhat embarassed.
"Just put one hoof on it and shake it." she replied, rolling her eyes.
Doing just that, the sign translateed to English. "Nice." I said.
The sign read as follows.
ROOM FOR RENT.
Looking at the sign, Octavia said, "Oh. You're one of those ones. Come in!" she finished, moving aside.
When I stepped in, I saw that the inner area was much like the outer. Complete with a 70" TV. "Groovy." I said, raising my eyebrows.
Octavia smiled brightly. "You're the first one recently that hasn't reacted poorly to the aesthetic of the house."
"Well," I started in reply, "I am a music fan myself."
Octavia grinned outright at that. "I'm liking you more and more!" Then she turned and exclaimed, "VINYL! Come meet our new tenant!"
Vinyl trotted out, oddly enough in bipedal form. "Qui es, 'Tavi?" she queried. "Go go Ponify." she finished, becoming quadrupedal once more.
I waved. "Allo!"
Vinyl smiled. "I see you speak fancy too."
I blushed at that. "Only a bit. Not enough to carry a full conversation. When I was in grade four I read through my... classes in that language. They let me. Upside: I received a Reader's Achievement medal for being able to read at five grades my senior. Downside: My French- I mean, Prench- was stunted. I was able to catch up in later years, but not entirely.(1)"
"Bummer." Vinyl said curtly.
"Tell me about it." I replied. "So what's with the Anthro form?
"I was restoring some ancient tech." she said. "I think i fixed it, but I can't get it to work."
"Can I see it?" I asked.
"Sure. Follow me."
Walking into the back, I saw-
"A Wii?" In near mint condition, too!
"You know what this is?" Vinyl asked.
"Hook it up to thet TV you have and I'll show you what it can do."
Looking at it, I could see that a crystal was plugged into the back. Otherwise it looked fairly normal. It also had all of the requirements for it to work.
After it was hooked up, the TV was turned on. Apparently there was a Just Dance CD in it.
I grinned. This was practically an old glove for me.
"You know about this?" Vinyl asked.
"Just watch me." I said. "Go Go: Anthro!"
Sure enough, I shifted to the Anthro form. Grabbing the Wii-mote, I attached it to my now-hand.
Picking out a song, I stretched before picking a character. The song started up...
"A monster attack?! Blast!" Octavia said. "And it was just getting good. To the armaments!"
They invited me to join, which I accepted.
As it turned out, there was a swarm of Rathalos.
"Fire when ready." Octavia growled with grim determination, by a Binder.
I took a Ballista, while Vinyl sat at a cannon, using her magic to lift cannonballs into the cannon..
As one of the junior Rathalos got closer, Octavia fired off a round, binding it. While it flailed around, I fired some shots at it, bringing it down.
When a senior one got close, Vinyl let loose, slamming the beast with several cannonballs at once, causing it to crash as Vinyl reloaded.
A Silver Rathalos flew by. Octavia pressed a button and all three of us let loose, Octavia's Binder firing a flaming coil of energy, bringing it down.
When an Azure Rathalos came, I pressed a button nearby and out came a familiar armament.
A voice exclaimed, "D-D-D-Dragonator!" Taking careful aim, I fired that at the new target, only to find that Vinyl had the same idea; full-on overkill.
As that crashed nearby, the rest of the monsters flew away, other houses firing at them, bringing a few down.
Octavia and Vinyl brought out their carving knives, myself getting one as well.
As we carved off various parts, Octavia asked, " Where'd you learn to- Ngh! Aim so well?"
I smiled. "Let's just- ragh! Just say i- ngh- have my share of ngh-experience."
After that, we put the parts in one bin, the corpses of the monsters into another.
A ticker rang up our reward. Octavia said, wiping her brow, "I can tell this is going to be a wonderful partnership."
Vinyl asked, "How's that?"
Octavia replied, "Anypony who can get an ancient machine working, entertain us, then bring down a Silver Rathalos and aid with downing an Azure Rathalos with such accuracy... Is somepony I want on my side!"
Vinyl said, "Fair enough! Now what say we order some pizza?"
As it turned out, with all of the new things, some things never change.