This is how my own Undertale began.

I was falling, that much was certain. However, even as I couldn't help but scream in fear, I couldn't help but feel like this felt... familiar, somehow. Like I had a dream exactly like this before.

My thoughts were broken in the same way as my fall, by a patch of flowers. Shortly after my landing, there was a squeal of surprise nearby, but before I could see what it was, I heard hoofsteps running away.

Hoofsteps... For some reason, that's what my mind jumped to, and... well, it didn't feel wrong, in any case.

"What is it?" I heard a voice ask nearby. It was shrill with surprise, and sounded female.

Slowly, I cracked open my eyes, and was met with the sight of the bright blue sky. I felt a twinge of uncertainty, but it was crushed by another odd feeling of familiarity. Slowly, I sat up, and was met with a myriad of brightly colored, crystalized buildings. This, too, did not surprise me, which in itself shocked me to my core. I certainly don't remember any places like this, so why did it feel like I've been here before?

Another thought came to me: This was a city full of monsters.

There was a hazy memory of... something in the back of my mind, but it was pushed aside as I heard the flapping of wings. A horse... no, a 'pony', my subconscious insisted, landed in front of me, holding a spear in its mouth, which didn't impede his ability to speak. "Stop right there."

I felt myself entering a conflict, and that, too, felt familiar. Different words appeared around the guard: 'Acquiesce', 'Challenge', 'Compliment', 'Fight', 'Check', and 'Mercy'.

For some reason, I had the feeling that physically reaching for the buttons wouldn't do anything, so I simply tried to decide which to do. Even then, I had some vague feeling that I already knew what a lot of the options did.

That is, except for Fight.

I didn't want to use violence, but... it felt like something pushed me towards it.

Looking around, I spotted a small stick next to my foot. I picked it up, and the guard assumed a loose battle stance.

"Please put down the stick, and we can talk this out."

I saw Fight flash briefly, but I couldn't quite bring myself to strike. At the same time, I couldn't bring myself to listen to the guard and handle things peacefully, so we just stood there, at a standoff. I could see some nearby ponies watching the events uneasily.

The guard took a slow step forward. "Please, we can discuss this peacefully."

The moment they moved forward, I reacted, and swung the stick wildly at him. It made its mark, but only barely, only giving him a small scratch. He still winced and clutched where he was struck, though, and when he took his hoof away I could see a faint trickle of blood.

This seemed to enrage him more than anything. "Why you little-!"

He was about to swing the blunt end of his spear at me, but suddenly I felt something walk into my side.

Turning, I saw that it was a bright blue pony, with a horn on top of her head. She had the remnants of a cocky smile on her snout, now replaced with a small glare. "What is the meaning of this?! Who dares-"

Her words were directed at me, but she faltered when she spotted the guard, who had stopped his attack mid-swing, likely out of confusion.

The mare looked back and forth between us, her brow furrowing. Her gaze lingered on me for a moment, before she turned to the guard. "What exactly is going on here?"

The guard quickly dropped his battle stance. "I was sent to investigate reports of a strange creature falling from the sky." He nodded towards me. "They attacked me, so I was about to use a small amount of force."

"Did it ever occur to you that they might simply be lost and afraid?"

The guard faltered. "W-Well, I-"

"And look." She motions at me. "They look no older than a child!"

The guard seemed at a loss for what to say. The mare just sighed.

"Why not let The Great and Powerful Trixie handle this? Wouldn't want word to get out that you attacked a child, right?"

Still speechless, the guard just nodded, before flying off. I could feel my pockets getting a bit heavier.

Trixie- I noted that her name felt expected- walked up to me. Her gaze was a mildly suspicious one, though. "Trixie does not know why, but she feels like she... knows you, from somewhere."

I felt the same way, though I didn't say so. I was almost certain I had seen that combination of purple hat and cape, as well as her silvery mane and tail, before.

This left me at a loss for what to say, but thankfully Trixie was more than capable of filling in both sides of the conversation. "No matter. Clearly, fate has seen fit to present you to Trixie, so you shall accompany her for some important business. Is this alright?"

It was a simple choice, and I felt as if there was no other answer. "Yes, it is."

She nodded. "Good."

She began walking, and I followed. I looked at the scenery of the town, but I found myself unable to muster any sort of awe or surprise for it.

"Have you been to many pony cities?" Trixie asked me after a while. I couldn't think of anything to say, and for some reason I didn't even want to answer her negatively, so I just stayed silent.

"I see you are not much for conversations." I didn't comment on her slipping into first-person. "Trixie understands."

The rest of the walk went in silence, and soon we reached a tall, sparkling building. It looked like a castle of some description. Again, I could only treat this as a fairly mundane sight, as I was unable to feel any sort of awe.

There were a pair of guards at the doors, and they nodded at Trixie as we walked inside. They looked at me oddly, but didn't make any move to stop us. I had a feeling that one of the guards would have something to say, but a part of me felt like it wasn't important.

We continued down the halls of the castle, the sights and sounds becoming unimportant background details as I just focused on walking forward, staying just behind Trixie. Eventually, we reached a set of double doors, manned by another two guards, who looked back and forth between the two of us.

"Business?"

Trixie struck a pose. "The Princess has requested the presence of the Great and Powerful Trixie. Kindly let us in at once."

They looked to me, then back at Trixie, one of them arching an eyebrow.

She put a hoof around my shoulders. "This is my familiar."

The guards seemed pleased with this explanation, before one of them went inside. Shortly after, he came back out. "The Princess will see you now."

Trixie nodded and walked through the now-open double doors, and I followed right behind her. A pink mare with wings and a horn sat on a throne, with a white stallion with just a horn sitting right beside her, looking just as important.

Trixie bowed before them. "Trixie has arrived as requested, and she has brought something to help." She gestured over her shoulder with her horn, pointing to me. "Behold!"

When their eyes fell on me, the ponies at the front held unreadable expressions. The princess was the first to speak. "Is that the being that injured one of our guards?"

The other pony rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, it was just a scratch. The guards get even worse just from training."

The matter seemed to die at that, though the princess still looked at me uneasily. "Anyway, Trixie, are you aware of the purpose of the Crystal Fair, and the Crystal Heart it empowers?"

"Trixie has thoroughly reviewed the history."

I felt like I had heard this exact conversation before, and even though I started tuning it out, I still understood the gist of it: The princess, Cadance, wanted Trixie to investigate, and likely get rid of, several "shadow nests". I simply stood in place during the conversation.

After that, we were dismissed. Something Cadance said stuck out to me, though. Something about how there was little hope of finding a peaceful solution to this problem.

I couldn't pinpoint exactly why, but for some reason, her saying that made me feel...

Determination.

As we walked back down the halls, Trixie looked over at me. "You are certainly a curious being. I can feel some kind of magic ebb and flow within you, and no doubt the Princess did as well."

I stayed silent.

An awkward silence fell over us, only to be broken by my stomach growling. Trixie failed to suppress a small giggle. "Is my familiar hungry?"

I nodded. "Can we get something at the castle, here?" For some reason, the idea of food fit for royalty really appealed to me.

Trixie put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Trixie doesn't see why not. After all, we are directly helping the crown."

It didn't take long to find a guard and request some food, and shortly after we were in a small dining room, right next to the kitchen. Apparently, this was the smaller dining room, for small parties such as our own.

Trixie ordered her food from the waiter, and I did the same- yet, for some reason, I found myself instantly forgetting what we ordered. I suppose part of me didn't consider it important.

After a few minutes of awkwardly brief conversation, the waiter reappeared at our table. "Your food is nearly ready. However, we are mildly understaffed at the moment, so you will have to help yourselves to your silverware. Apologies."

He disappeared into the deeper part of the kitchen again, and Trixie pouted. "Hmmph, I suppose Trixie will be forced to help herself, like a-"

"I can get your silverware for you." I wasn't sure why I said that, but I had an uncontrollable urge to do so.

Trixie seemed surprised, then nodded, smiling gently. "How generous of you. Trixie truly chose correctly for a familiar."

With that, I left the table and headed over to the kitchen drawers. I had no idea which one held the silverware, so I just kept looking.

At some point, I was vaguely aware that I had found the forks and spoons, but something compelled me to keep looking. I didn't know what I was looking for, but...

I reached the final drawer, and felt a small twinge of anger. Why did...? What was...

...

Where are the knives.