I awaken to a pain in my legs. It takes me a moment to realize the pain is coming from my pants being too tight. I try undoing the buckle, but my hands don’t work. I look at where they’re SUPPOSED to be to find blunt, dark blue round things.

Oh... Right...

I roll over onto my back so I can see what I’m doing. My legs stick up in the air, bent at an angle that feels natural but looks painful. I pull off my shoes to find my socks have morphed into similar shapes that my “hands” are.

Slowly, painstakingly, I finagle the belt into becoming undone. After that I realize I still have the zipper and button to deal with.

“Ugh…” I groan. Somehow, I sort of pinch the zipper between my “hands” and slowly unzip them. The button was easier than expected to get undone. The pants fall to the floor as I kick them off. The tail happily swings free. The socks, underwear, and watch were also annoying so they came off.

I’m stark naked, and I don’t feel cold at all. I sit up. I feel the tops of my ears brush the ceiling… I look towards the front of the car, catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

Wide cerulean eyes stare back. I position myself to get a better look. My eyes aren’t just wide, they’re much larger. Light blue hair falls down my face, looking messy, but somehow out of the way enough to see my new features clearly. The dark blue fur covers my entire head, my mouth and nose ending in what can only be called a muzzle. The triangular ears stick up out of the light blue mess, standing out with their dark blue coloration. That isn’t the most shocking feature though. A long, spiraling horn that is the same color as my fur, sprouts out of my forehead.

“I’m a unicorn...” I say, my voice clearly that of a girl’s. I look upwards at the horn. I prod it with a dark blue hoof. A tingling sensation erupts from the point I touched it. I shudder. “Never doing that again.”

I come aware of sunlight filtering through the trees. I prod my discarded watch to get it into a readable position. 8:58 am. I look outside. The woods are grey and uninviting.

“What do I do?” I asked myself. “Granola bars aren’t going to do much after long, and I’ll need water eventually…” I decide it’d be best to see what I have available on hand… Hoof… Nope sticking with hand. And scout the area around my car.

After finagling the door open, cool morning air infests my warm car, causing me to shiver. I look around to see if anything moved in the past few seconds. Not a leaf has stirred. So I jumped out…

Only to land flat on my face.

“Ow…” I croak through a mouthful of dead leaves and dirt.

“Shut up…” I groan, as I lift myself on all fours, spitting out the leaves and dirt.

“Two legs are easier to keep track of…” I say as I put a front hoof forward. “What’s the next logical step?” the opposite back leg moves forward. “Then this one…” My other front leg moves forward. “And finally.” I finish the round by moving the final leg. “Rinse and repeat…” I repeat the maneuver until I barely have to think about the steps.

I look up to see I’ve almost run into a tree.

“Crap…” I look around helplessly. How was I going to turn? I repeated the steps backwards, experimenting with the lengths of individual steps. I moved as stiffly as a car or truck but I could at least move around if I had to. I made my way back to the car.

I crawled back into the backseats and closed the door behind me.

“What do I do?” I asked again. Could I still drive? One look at my legs answered that question… A resounding no. “I can’t stay with the car, someone’ll find it eventually and then I’ll be screwed. Do I leave then? Stick to the trees and hope to God I find fresh water?” I looked around. The trees seemed pretty thick in this area… As long as I kept quiet and listen for a motor or talking or footsteps I could probably hide. “Especially during the night…” I finished, looking at the dark blue coat that would be perfect for hiding during the moonlit hours. “Besides, I don't think there's anything I could use around here…”

“I have to. Sticking by an immobile car is going to get me found. And I don’t have any water.” I stated as I began the painstaking process to turn out my pant pockets, looking for anything useful.

Hmm…

“Wallet maybe, knife yes, even though I’ll probably cut myself trying to get the dang thing open… Receipt no, dollar bill, put that in the console… Coins, console…” I listed off as I began sorting everything I need and didn’t need. “Lunchbox absolute yes. Jacket yes. Watch…” I looked at the watch. Would it fit around what was my wrist? I maneuvered it on the seat trying to gauge how thick of a limb the band could take. “Barely.” I smiled as I nosed and poked the straps onto what used to be my forearm. I then put my knife and wallet into the lunchbox. Thinking I could still use the wallet to prove identity and because I still had my bank card I could use to get money from an ATM or something. It wasn’t until I threw the jacket over my shoulders that I realized I forgot something.

“Oh right… You.” I growled at the wings I forgot I had. “I’ll learn about you guys later…” I stated as I picked up the lunchbox in my mouth. Disgusting as it was I had no choice. I hopped from the car, closing the door with a small kick from a hind leg.

“Wh’r noaw?” I said around the handle.

“Fanks phuck phace.” I growled as I went forward, turning towards where I hoped was deeper into the woods. I walked slowly through the woods. Taking care to avoid fallen branches and not trip.

I walked for several hours. I had come across several trails that obviously had four wheeler tracks. I scurried across them as fast as possible.

“There he goes folks! Right past Davey!”

“Jesus!” I exclaimed as I dove behind a tree.

“Oh! And Mackey out of NOWHERE for the tackle!”

“Wait…” I stammered. “What?” I crawled forwards, keeping as quiet as possible. Suddenly the sunlight intensified and I found my head exposed. I pulled it back before anyone called ‘Hey a dark blue unicorn thing!’

Thankfully, no one did anything of the kind. But when my eyes adjusted I saw one of those small town football fields that had players on it. The two stands that must’ve held 15 people each were full. A guy in a rickety wooden tower served as the announcer.

“Second down and only 10 yards to go folks!”

“Noted.” I said as I spotted a package of water bottles left unattended.

“Nope.” I said as traced the tree line with my eyes. The closest point the trees were to the water bottles was a good 10 meters of open ground. My bit my lip as I contemplated the area. There wasn’t anything large enough to hide behind that was moving nearby… I couldn’t just make a mad dash and hope for the best… What I could do was… I grinned as I felt the weight on my back.

I was crawling, ever so slowly towards the treasure trove of watery goodness.

I ignored the voice and continued inching my way to the water.

Five meters left.

Someone walked by. I froze.

“I want you to go left, I’ve noticed Mr. McKinney favors the right side…” the footsteps stopped. “Who left their jacket out here?”

I prepared to bolt.

“Hey couch!” Someone else nearby shouted

“Hmm?”

“That’s my coat!”

I let a sigh of relief loose.

“What was that?”

“Wait… Who does this brown jacket belong to?”

“Aw crap…” I whispered, soft enough I knew they couldn’t hear me.

HONK!

“And that’s half time!”

“Aw hell… These jackets better be gone when I get back!” the coach shouted. A stampede of feet rumbled by.

“Not mine.”

“Nope.”

“Dat’s one ugly jacket yo.”

“Up yours dude…” I grumbled quietly. Thankfully no one heard me and it soon got quiet as the players went away. I lifted the edge of the jacket just enough to see the water bottles ahead. I began inching towards them again.

Finally I reached the package. I looked around again from under the jacket. No one was around, and I was out of sight for anyone in the stands. I took the half empty package of bottles in my teeth and dragged it under the jacket. With that in position I decided it’d be best to walk away instead of sneak. It’s amazing how short 10 meters can be if no one’s around.

Thankfully no one raised an alarm about ‘the animal under the jacket’ and I got away clean with the water bottles. I went back to where I hid my lunch box and ripped one of the bottles open with my teeth and drained it. I then unzipped my lunchbox and put as many bottles as I could without crushing the granola bars as possible. Then I figured I might as well make the jacket carry some too, so I put two bottles in the inside pockets as well. But now I had several extra bottles that I couldn’t carry… I decided to drink another one, as well as eat a bar. That made a little more room to squeeze another bottle in.

“Should I just leave the package here?” I asked.

“...” I stared at the plastic wrapping closely. “I’ll hide it in a tree or something in case I need more…” I decided. I picked up my lunchbox and the plastic in my mouth, it was uncomfortable and disgusting but it was the only way.

I skirted the field until I found a tree that had a sort of opening at its base. I pushed the bottles in and covered the opening with its own plastic. I then pushed leaves and sticks on it to further hide the shiny plastic.

“Now how am I going to mark the tree…” I asked. I looked at my back legs. “... Hell with it.” I shrugged off the jacket and took up position, tail end facing the tree. With a grunt I kicked it with my back legs. The tree shuddered. I turned back around to look at my handy work… It looked like someone took a sledgehammer to the bark.

“That’ll do.” I stated. I looked up. The sun was just past its zenith. I yawned. “Not used to be up during the day…” I reasoned. “That, and I probably haven’t had the best of days…” I yawned again. “This is happening if I want to or not… I need to find somewhere to sleep…” I looked up the branches, then back at the useless wings. “Later.” I reasoned.

I explored for five minutes before finding a fallen log that sort of provided a roof. I cleared out the fallen leaves and curled myself underneath, shrouding my jacket over me as a sort of camouflaged blanket. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep.

An obsidian palace. Trimmed with silver. It stood, indomitable in an untamed forest.

“Hello?” I called. My newly feminine voice rang off the ancient trunks. I looked at the gate, it was open. I walked in hesitantly. The castle grounds gave off an eerie feeling… Statues of rearing, armored horses, Unicorns, and horses with wings lined the walk to the massive front doors. They were all covered in moss and grime. The area behind the statues was also overgrown, and shrouded in mist. I walked forwards until I came to the double doors. I reached a hoof out to push it open.

Before I could touch the door it swung open with an aging groan.

“Hello?” I called again. This time a pained scream answered, muffled by old stone and wood.

“Look who finally decided to show up…” came a silky smooth voice I knew all too well.

“Hey…” I winced as I looked at the throne. Sitting there, was a creature like me… Only she had fur as black as the darkest of nightmares, a mane that glowed like the darkest of nights and flew like a flag during a windstorm. Teeth that belonged more on a wolf than mystical horse thing gleamed in the low light. A chain hanged off her neck and coiled around the foot of the throne.

“It’s been awhile since you’ve been here Luna.” she greeted.

“I don’t recall.” I stated as I pushed some moss around with a hoof.

“I imagine not…” she got off the throne and trotted towards me.

“So who was screaming?” I asked.

“One of my playthings... “ The nightmarish creature said. Her horn glowed a midnight blue and a wall to my left revolved, revealing a scared, skeletal human that was stretched over a steel square. I hadn’t seen him in years but I recognized him. In real life, last I heard, he was still in prison. “Would you like to play with him as well?” the creature in front of me asked.

“No thank you…” I said, looking away from the horrid simulacrum.

“Suit yourself…” the creature’s horn glowed again and the tortured Human was replaced with a wall. “You need to have a little more fun Luna… It’s been so long since you’ve played with me.”

“I don’t want to do those kinds of things anymore…” I winced, even admitting I dreamt of doing such things was shameful. “You said I haven't been here in awhile… Where is here?”

“Ah, right… You don’t know what this place is.” the creature chuckled, turning back towards the throne. “Walk with me.” she said, turning suddenly towards one of the side doors. I followed. “You could say, this place is the manifestation of your head…” the creature started. “All your memories, hopes, dreams, everything you are is represented here.”

“A run down abandoned castle that needs to be condemned?” I said, spotting more than one spot with mold in the hallway we were in.

“Exactly. Now…” the creature said her horn glowed again, the door unlatched itself. “... Each person has their own. A cottage, a two-story house, castle, doesn’t matter… Everyone has one.”

“Except you.” I stated. We entered another depilated hallway.

“I make do… Each of these ‘dreamscapes’ reflects the person they belong to.”

“I’m an awful human being I get it.” I deadpanned.

“Hard to be a ‘human being’ if you're not human anymore.” the creature turned on me, poking me with a black hoof.

“About that, what gives?” I asked.

“Hahahahah!” she laughed, continuing down the hall. “I can’t tell you!”

“Bull.” I deadpanned.

“I’m under orders.” she stated, unlatching another door with a glowing horn.

“Under orders by me…” I quoted. “If you can’t tell me, show me.” I ordered.

“Gladly.” she pushed the door open to reveal a massive, two story library. Most of the shelves were locked behind rusty iron bars, the books behind them looking very old and ancient. A small portion of the shelves on the floor we were on however were unbarred, and looked modern and new. Totally out of place in this crumbling ruin. There was a single table with four chairs right in front of us, they looked brand new and the table even had a laptop on it.

“I’ll leave you to it.” the creature said, pushing me inside. I heard the door shut and click a moment later.

“Hey!” I shouted “You can’t just lock me in here!”

“I can and I must!” came the muffled reply.

“Up yours you worthless figment!” I shouted, banging on the door. I heard her hoofsteps walking away.

“I still have valuable time to spend with my playthings! Tata!”

I sat in front of the door for several minutes

“That bitch…” I finally swore. I turned towards the room. “I guess I have to somehow sort all this…” I said as I glanced around. The library didn’t look disorganized, just locked away. I began looking over what wasn’t unlocked. “A Tale of Math, Beyond This World and Into the Next…” I began reading the titles. “What the hell are those supposed to mean?” I pulled the book ‘A Tale of Math’ out and opened it.

I was sitting in a desk. I looked up to see my second grade teacher patrolling her classroom. I looked back down to see a math quiz. 2 x 2 =. Easy 4. 2 x 3 =. 6. I filled out the quiz to its completion. I looked over it. And the light bulb turned on in my head. Math wasn’t a fancy thing, it was just numbers. And numbers are meant to be counted.

I woke from the memory with a gasp. The book was laying on the floor. I closed it and picked it up, putting it carefully back on the shelf.

“She said this castle is my head, a storage of everything I am… So a library in the castle that is my head would be…” I looked around at the shelves. “... memories.” I didn’t think I would remember the answer to my current problem, so I turned away from the new shelves. I examined the closest locked shelf. The bars may have had some rust on them, but they were in no shape or form flimsy. A lock was set in the middle of the bars. I debated trying to kick the bars, but I didn’t want to damage the books on the shelf. I looked at the rest of the shelves, the bars looked identical. Seeing no other option, I went to the table. I pulled a chair out and pulled myself onto it. A difficult maneuver for four legs. I sat on my haunches so I could still use my arms to move things. I examined the laptop. It was identical to the one I left in my room. Odds were, since I connected the internet with knowledge in my head, I could look up my own knowledge on it. Or it was a directory for this pseudo library. Either way I put it to the side. What grabbed my attention next was a small piece of paper. On it was writing that looked like my own handwriting.

“The key you seek lays on your head.” I read out loud. I flipped it to make sure there was nothing on the back. There wasn’t. “Well that’s maddingly unhelpful.” I said, turning it back to the side with the writing. “The key you seek lays on your head…” I repeated. Thinking about the words.

Did the note mean what’s on the castle? Moss? Grime? No I don’t think that’s what it meant. I lock of blue hair fell over my eyes. Hair wouldn't be a key… Much less so than moss. What else was there? My eyes went to the horn. No, it wouldn’t fit in the keyhole at all… I poked the horn, receiving the same shuddering sensation as before. My thoughts went back to the owner of the voice.

“She said she could tell me… But was under orders not to say anything… But she could show me…” She could show me, show me, show me… “Did she do anything with her horn?” I asked. “Something I would’ve seen?” I thought. “It glowed…” I answered. “Something she did made it glow and things happened nearby that just aren’t possible…” Things moving around as if by...

“Magic…” I finished. A flash of light came from the table. I rubbed my eyes to find a key laying where there wasn’t one before.

“No way.” I said after minutes of staring at the key. “No way…” The key continued its silent impossibleness. “No.” I stated. It continued to glare at me. “No…” I felt my ears droop. “Oh no… Magic caused whatever’s happening to me?” The key relented its glare. “I am insane then.”

“No, you proved the transformation is real.” a familiar silky smooth voice said from the shadows. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.

“Ignoring that you don't want to be here... Magic isn’t real… Everything can be can be explained by science…” I stated, reinforcing my resolve. “No such thing as magic exists.”

“What if magic is a science that hasn’t been discovered by man yet?”

“Then… Then…” I started, but fell short.

“You know you aren’t from Earth Luna… I know because I showed you the memories of our final moments on our own planet.”

“You’re nothing! You’re not real! You can’t prove anything!” I shouted.

“Oh really?” she asked, snaking into view on the other side of the table. Her horn glowed again and the key, enveloped in the same glow, lifted a decameter into the air. The key swirled and went in circles. Finally it set itself down on the table. “Move it.” the creature in front of me said.

“What?”

“Move it!” she shouted. I put a hoof on the table and slide it forward to move the key. It didn’t budge.

“What are you waiting for? Move it!” she shouted again. I tried again. “Move it!”

“It’s not moving!” I exclaimed, getting both hooves to push.

“The key you seek lays on your head!” the creature shouted. I bent my head towards the key to prove a point and tried doing the same thing only with my horn.

I was sitting in front of a door. The door towered above me. I wanted outside. But no amount of pushing and prodding moved the door an inch. A hook with a keyring was nailed into the post besides the door. I glanced between the keyring and the knob of the door, and back again. I needed out. I examined the keyring, taking in every detail. Its rusted metal, the slight bend of the keys from being used often.

Finally I closed my eyes in concentration. I was so small, so far away, but even from down here I could feel the keys. I felt them lift off their imprisoning hook. Slowly they twirled in the air until the correct key was over the lock. Just as I had freed them, they would free me. The key pushed itself into the lock and turned. Click. I pushed the door open and squealed with glee as I ran out the door.

“Hey! Come back you little scamp!” exclaimed my worn, unicorn mother.

“AAAAAAAGH!” I shouted, once again in the library. I blinked to find wolfish teeth inches from my face.

“That wasn’t so hard was it?” the monster asked. I gasped for air. “Did we learn anything now?” she asked again. I looked at the key that was between us. Hesitantly, I repeated the process in the memory. The key became enveloped in a cerulean glow, and lifted off the table. “Very well done…” the creature smiled as she pulled away. I stared at the floating key. I twirled it around in my head, the real key copied its movements. “I’ll leave you to your playtime… I have my own to tend to now…” she purred before slinking off.

I was still looking at the floating key as the door clicked closed. I glanced at the nearest locked shelf. Would it unlock? Did the key fit any of them, or only a specific one? If it fit any of them, did it matter which one I unlocked first?

The clean shelves were all along one side, the last one being only half full. An educated guesstimate said that one was the present, or the not-so-lost past. So those before it was going back in time… That meant the first locked shelf explained why everything was happening. It would also contain the most advanced knowledge if magic was indeed a thing.

“If I wanted my future self to unlock something, I’d choose the last one to explain everything.” I reasoned “But can I use the key on any of them?” I asked, starting to walk down the shelves, moving with the timeline. “If I can use the key in any order, then from the beginning would be best… Excepting that I need the most vital information. So if I want to find out if I need a specific key for a specific shelf…” I put the key in three shelves away from the free memories and turned. Nothing. “So it’ll only work for a specific shelf…” I say, withdrawing the key. “That leaves the last, and first shelves as the logical choices… First because it’s the beginning of the story and everything will make sense if viewed in order… Last because that is where the most vital stuff would be…” I looked at the last shelf and up to the top floor. “Would I leave my future self with a key for my last thoughts? Or my first thoughts?”

I thought quietly for a moment.

“I would leave a key to my last thoughts because if I came down with amnesia it would have the best clues.” I say to the empty room. I approach the last shelf. The key slid in nicely, and I turn it.

Click.

Thank you so much for reading! But this isn't the end! Not by a long shot!

I have a small community Discord (https://discord.gg/RVvqpuGaRa) if you want to hang out! I'll be streaming Starfield tonight (10/29/23) as a celebration for this fic's debute! Come stop by!