Chapter 2:

Waking up in Equestria

The peaceful, quiet chirping of morning songbirds filled the air. Beneath him, a soft, plush cushion molded around him and supported his body under the warm sheets of the same material. His head lay on the softest pillow he ever felt, and for the moment, he felt at peace. Last night was a blur. Did he dream that, or was some of that true? What was that energy, all that pulling and pain? Guess it didn’t matter now. He felt great. Fully rested and at peace, awake but not making any attempt to get himself out of bed and break from this moment of serenity. He slowly opened an eye, allowing his vision to adjust to the brightness. It was morning, alright, but he didn’t recognize the room. The sun streamed in through the window, high in the sky, lighting the posh extravagance of the room. Hand-carved wooden furniture, bookshelves built into the walls and stacked with large, antique looking books, marble floor, giant carved wooden double doors that, for the moment, were closed and beautiful paintings of landscapes, constellations, buildings, horses...

“Horses… a horse.” He thought. He had a dream about a horse. A real weird one, too. A blue horse, with wings and a horn? Too many fantasy novels, perhaps. It had to be to come up with a screwball idea like that. He chuckled to himself as he shimmied his face into the pillow a little bit deeper. “I think that nightmare creature thing even talked to me.”

===

“You’re not mad, are you Tia?” she said with a worried look. Princess Celestia trotted quicker down the hallway to catch up with her little sister as she skipped, almost galloping ahead of her.

“No, Luna, of course not! I’m quite proud of you, in fact. That was a wise decision, and so courageous, too.” Luna blushed. She heard praise from her big sister all the time, but this time it was for something tangible.

“Aw, come on, sis,” she said, blushing slightly. “I just did what anypony would have done.” They trotted together up the stairs and reached the end top in no time. Servants and royal guards in armor bowed their heads in honor of their princesses, making way for them as they passed. The visitor’s room where they were headed was just a few doors down this hall.

“Oh, really? You levitated him all the way from the garden to a couch in the front foyer, had the guards fetch the royal doctors, helped bandage his wounds and sat with him half the night as he tossed and turned, just to learn his name if he woke up. And almost 20 healing spells? That’s a bit more than what anypony would have done.” Now, Luna blushing became much more noticeable.

“Alright, ok, what would YOU have done if YOU found him, then?” Celestia gave a sly smiled as they approached the closed doors of the room.

“I would have thrown him in the dungeon for trespassing.” Luna turned to her sister, finding her trying to hold back laughter. Both sisters giggled at the remark before entering the room.

===

Soft footsteps could be heard in the hallway outside, starting to make him nervous.

“Should I go see where I am? How did I really get here? Somebody had to put me in this bed.”

As his mind woke up and slowly cleared, these questions started to play heavier on his mind. The footsteps now seemed right outside the door. They paused, and then he heard the sound of voices and laughter muffled. Another set of footsteps came down the hallway and stopped outside the door as well. “Visitors?” he thought, closing his eyes and waited, pretending to be asleep.

“Maybe I can squint my eyes enough to see who’s coming in without letting them know I’m awake yet.” he thought. The door opened, and he heard what he assumed were several people entering the room. Their footfalls on the floor seemed strange at first, almost like horse hooves on stone, like the kind that usually circled Central Park.

“Here he is, Tia. I can’t believe he’s still sleeping. He must have had quite a night.”

That voice, the same voice he heard before the world turned black, last night on the grass. Trying to squint his eyes, he could just barely make out two figures in the room. What he saw made his eyes shoot open wide.

“Look, Luna, I think he’s waking up!” another voice said. His eyes once again adjusted to the light in the room, just in time to see a dark blue horse, with wings and a horn staring at him and smiling. “Good, morning, stranger.”

His eyes needed no adjusting to the light this time. He recognized the voice right away. It was the same he heard just before the saw the horse. In fact, it WAS the horse! It was the blue horse, same blue as a bright night sky. Its mane was a slightly lighter shade of blue, and fell slightly over its face, broken only by a single blue spiral horn in the center of its head, adorned with a small crown. On its back, a set of what appeared to be large swan wings, tucked neatly on both side. And on its backside, a darker patch of blue with a crescent moon in the center, with a tail the same color as its mane. He turned his attention to the other visitor. Another horse, only almost twice as big. This one had a bright white coat, with a long flowing mane made of at least four different colors. This one also had a spiral horn on its head, however, at least twice as long as the horn of the first, with the same type of crown resting around it. As it moved closer and stood beside the smaller one, he noticed its marking, a large symbol of the sun. The white horse leaned down slightly towards him and smiled.

“Good morning, friend. I am Princess Celestia and this is my sister, Princess Luna. She found you last night in our garden. It seems you had some sort of accident, but we had you fixed right up and brought you here to recover. Tell me, now; how are you feeling”?

A moment passed. Then, another. He stared at his visitors, anxiously awaiting his answer. The white one turned to the blue one.

“Do you think he lost his hearing or something?” She asked.

“I don’t know, sis. Maybe he doesn’t speak Equestrian.” ‘Speak EQUESTRIAN?’ He closed his eyes and chuckled. Then again, louder. Soon, he broke into full, hysterical laughter.

“These freakin’ horses are talking to me!” He yelled out loud, barely able to catch his breath between laughs. Luna looked at her sister confused. “Maybe he’s just happy… to be alive? I don’t know.” Celestia leaned back away from the bed a bit.

“Luna, how did you say you found him again?”

“Lying in a small crater in the garden, completely spent of energy and covered with cuts and scratches from his fall.” Celestia thought a moment.

“Any… head injuries?”

He rolled onto his back and was barely able to compose himself. “HA HAH... WOW! Of all the hallucinations and trippy dreams I’ve ever had, you two are the most original! I’m writing this down when I wake up; I swear to god, I am! HA!!” he yelled as he stared at the ceiling, still laughing. “Wow, I am SO trippen’ BALLS right now…”

Luna suddenly realized. “Tia, I think he thinks he’s still dreaming. That’s what the problem is. He thinks he’s not really here.”

“Oh,” Celestia said. “I see. He doesn’t really believe he just met his princesses.” She leaned close and whispered to her little sister. “Just wait and see how embarrassed he is when the shock wears off.”

Luna leaned forward, over him. “Friend, you’re not dreaming, I assure you. You really are in the Royal Palace of Canterlot, with Princesses Celestia and Luna, rulers of Equestria. It’s all right; I know it must be simply amazing. But anyway, friend, we didn’t catch your name.”

The blue horse stood over him, giving him a stern look as she waited for a response. “Are you paying attention?”

He did enjoy this fantasy, but he was starting to get a little long. The magic had worn off. Time to wake up. “Alright, I had my fun.” He thought. Sitting up, he closed his eyes and cracked his neck.

“Ew! That is so gross when ponies do that!” Luna said, as she cringed.  

He looked at her and shook his head sighed. “Time to wake myself up… wait, did you just call me a… pony?” For some reason, a cold chill started to crawl up his back. He reached up and tried to grab the sheet covering him. He couldn’t grip it. He tried to move his fingers and felt nothing. He started to panic. “He he. Funny. Time to get up now. Dream ain’t funny no more. Gotta get up, now!” He threw off the covers down to his waist and felt his blood run cold. He couldn’t move or feel his fingers because they were gone. His arms and chest were gone. HE was gone. “I… I… uh…” A look of fear came over his face.

“Luna, come here now, please. Now!” Celestia said, a sense of concern in her voice as she called her sister away from the bed. Luna moved away as he started to hyperventilate.

“Ok, ok, ok..this is just a dream. Just a very, VERY vivid dream, that I’m having a hell of a hard time waking up from. He hehe. But that’s OK, cause I’m gonna go wake up, right now.” He moved to get out of bed, swinging his legs around and stepping to the floor, and immediately fell face first to the ground, his feet fumbling underneath him. He braced himself up on his front ‘hooves’ and looked at his feet. They were the same as his hands! Over his shoulder he noticed something moving near his back. No, not near his back… ON his back. “I got.. I got…”

“You got wings, yes! Duh.” Luna said, annoyed. “What are you doing? Get up before you sprain one, you goof.” Luna was losing patients with this strange pony before her. Princess Celestia bit down on her tail and pulled her back from the bed almost to the door. “Ouch! Tia, what do you think you’re doing?”

“Luna, I don’t think he’s joking or in shock. I think something’s very wrong with him.”

He tried to stand up and fell again, his hooves slipping on the floor as he tried to stand up on his hind legs. This time he tried to get back on the bed, but couldn’t lift his head. It was caught on something. He focused his eyes up and noticed something attached to his head. Wearily, he reached up and felt what he was caught on. The mattress? He was caught on the mattress by a large, spiral horn in his head!

“I got a… there’s a… AHHHHH!!!!!!”

He  pulled his horn free and pushed himself back against the nightstand next to the bed. Quickly, he crawled back into bed and dove under the covers head first, almost falling off the other end with his backside and tail sticking up in the air.

“No, nonononononono! Not happening, NOT HAPPENING! THIS ISN’T REAL, I’M NOT HERE!”

Luna was getting furious. This lunatic was starting to get on her nerves. What in the world was his problem? She stomped away from her sister and closer to the bed.

“Hey, you maniac! Are you quite done with this outburst?! What is your problem?!” He shot up from the foot of the bed, the sheet catching on the tip of his horn, almost covering his panicked face.

“What the hell happened to me?!?! Where am I?! What’s going on?!?” He looked down at his hooves, his body now covered with a thin coat of fur, his wings flapping wildly beneath the sheets, out of his control. “What did you two freaks do to me?!?!”

“EXCUSE ME?!” Luna yelled back. This was the last straw. “You listen here, you insane, panicky wreck of a pegacorn!” She shouted as he still muttered to himself looking at his hooves. “You LOOK AT ME when I TALK TO YOU!!” He quickly turned his gaze to her, still with a look of fear. “Do you know how many healing spells I cast on you last night?! Huh?!” Before he could answer, she moved closer and shouted again, making him lean back away from her. “19!! That’s how many! I was exhausted by only 8, but I kept it up so you could heal properly! And this is the thanks I get?! Well, I’m done! Do you HEAR ME?!?!” She stomped her hoof on the floor, causing him to jump in place, and with an angry growl, turned and began to stomp out of the room, right past Celestia. “And when you’re done with your little fit, feel free to come out and I will GLADLY have the guards TOSS YOUR SORRY RUMP OUT THE DOOR!”

“Luna! Wait a moment!” Celestia said, going after her little sister, now in the hallway. She shut the door behind her as Luna started to vent her anger.

“No, sis, this is exactly why I don’t leave the palace! I tried so hard to show some kindness, some genuine friendship and generosity like you always say I should, and this is my reward?! And you want me to go out and spend time with even MORE ponies! This is everything that I was worried about all this time! Sometimes I wish I never came back from the moon!”

===

He watched the two leave the room, slamming the door behind them. He looked at his body. Instead of his skin, he only saw a thin coat of thin, charcoal grey fur. He looked down at where his hands used to be, now replaced by a set of hard, black hooves. He looked down to where his feet used to be and saw the same. A crimson red tail hung from his backside and red mane hung down lightly over his eyes. He felt up to his face… A long nose, pointed ears, long neck…

“This can’t be happening. This… this kinda stuff doesn’t happen!” he thought. Bringing his hooves up above his head, he felt a long, hard pointed horn growing out of the top of his head. He reached around to his back and felt feathers, attached to WINGS; large wings growing out from between his shoulder blades. “I’m… I’m just like them....”

===

“Luna, listen! Just calm down for a moment!” Celestia shouted at her little sister as she marched up and down the hallway, huffing and puffing in anger over the infuriating stallion she left behind in the guest room. “I don’t think he’s being ungrateful! I think he really doesn’t know who we are or where he is!”

Luna stopped and hit the door with her front hoof.

“How could he not know us? We’re the rulers of Equestria, for goodness sakes! He’d have to be living in a cave not to know us!” Luna said as she stomped about the hallway, slowly calming by her sisters words. “Well, not know ME, maybe, but to not know YOU? It just doesn’t make sense!”

“I know, I know. But that seems to be the case. I think before we make any rash decisions about this stranger, we should try to learn more about him.” She said, turning back to the room.

Luna sighed and took a few deep breaths to calm down. “Ok, fine. Ok. We’ll give him a chance to explain himself. One chance. But if he starts acting crazy again, I won’t wait for him to go on his own, he’s getting thrown out.” Luna said sternly as she walked back over to the door.

“Stranger…?” Luna said as she slowly poked the end of her snout into the room. “Can you hear me?” She received no answer. Cautiously, she entered the room, her big sister close behind. They did not expect what they found.

The stranger sat up on the bed, his hind legs and left front leg tucked underneath him. His wings were folded tight against his sides and tail lying motionless beside him. He looked at the hoof of his right leg, a sad, frightened look in his eye. Then, he turned it over to look at the underside. Then, he slowly stretched it out and back. As she approached the young pony, she noticed a single tear rolling down his face.

“… help me…please.” he said, barely audible under his breath, trembling.

Luna slowed her approach, stunned at what she thought just came out of the wild stranger’s mouth. “What did you just say?” she said, her anger and confusion now being replaced by a sense of shock.

“I’m… sorry for the way I acted when you came in…” he said shakily, his voice breaking as he spoke. “I know you probably didn’t do... this to me,” He said, motioning back to his body with his head. “because you think I’m one of you. But, I’m not.” More tears began to flow freely down his face. He closed his eyes and sniffled. “I have no idea where I am! I don’t know how I got here! I know you brought me up here in this room, but I don’t know where I am right now! I don’t even know WHAT I am!” He fought to keep himself composed enough to continue. “I’m sorry about the outburst before. I’m… scared. This isn’t me. This isn’t the body I had yesterday! I don’t know how I got this way or why. I just want to wake up right now and be home…” He started to breakdown completely. He brought his free front leg back underneath his body and pulled his wings tighter to his back. Curling himself up, he pressed his nose into the bed in front of him.

Luna could feel a lump in her throat. The disrespectful, loud wild stallion from a moment ago was gone, replaced by the sad, sorrowful creature before her now. She looked back to Celestia for a clue as to what to do next, finding her with a look of shock the same as her own. She paused for a moment, and slowly walked towards the bed, circling around behind the stallion. She climbed on the bed beside him and sat up snuggling against him, her front legs out. She extended one of her wings out and over his back, bringing it down on top of him as she nuzzled in close.

“It’s alright, now. Don’t worry, friend. You’re safe here. We’re here to help you, anyway we can.” He paused a moment and looked up to her from the bed, then, slowly brought his head down to her front legs, still sobbing and sniffling.

Celestia stood for a moment, watching her brash younger sister in amazement. Moments ago, she was ready to toss this stranger out into the street. But now, there she was; sitting beside him, wing around him in comfort. She stood a moment, feeling a sense of pride in her sister’s sudden show of compassion, before moving to the bed and kneeling down before the stallion.

“We’ll help you find out what happened, and find your way home.” Celestia said. “No need to fear. Tell us, now, friend. What is your name?”

“That’s another thing…” the stranger said between quiet sobs. “… I can’t remember…”

Next Chapter: Double Agendas Estimated time remaining: 16 Hours, 27 Minutes