revenance_rpg | My Little Pony, My Little Pony

Entry tags:

My Little Pony, My Little Pony

WHO: Luna, Wash, maybe others in a bit
WHERE: Ponyville
WHAT: Going to the new world, which is not so new for everyone
WHEN: Shortly after the portal opened, though not immediately
WARNINGS: Adorable little agent-ponies

Luna was still upset about her failure to be there for the fight against the Nightmare Meta. Deeply, deeply upset. And since she'd so thoroughly dropped the ball on that, she'd made a definite point of going through the portal into the newest world as soon as possible. At least she could confront whatever horrors were there before they got a chance to harm anyone else...

Her hooves hit wood, and she realized instantly that she knew this bridge. She'd been here so shortly before her arrival in Twilight Town all that time ago - even the scents of the place were still familiar to her. "Ah! Ponyville! Look!" She turned to glance over her shoulder for her companion. "'Tis Equestria, Agent Washington, my kingdom!"

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Wash had assured Luna multiple times that the battle against the Meta had taken them all by surprise and that they'd managed to handle it with a surprisingly low number of casualties and she really needed to stop beating herself up about it. He'd agreed to explore the new world with her in an attempt to get her back on track.

He hadn't been expecting it to be Luna's world, but at least she was happy. "It's...colorful," he commented unnecessarily, starting forwards. Two steps later, he was flat on his face with a clang and a clatter.

Well that was weird.

He pushed himself up, looking behind him to see what had made that noise. The clanging was probably explained by the fact that his armor had somehow become very medieval-looking gold plate. Just about nothing explained the fact that he now had hooves and a tail and was, in fact, a bright blue pony.

Over the past few days, Wash had been run over by one Meowjesty, sat upon by another, and had fought the worst enemy he'd ever faced for a second time and with extra powers thrown in because the dream world seemed to hate him. His ability to handle unwanted surprises had taken quite a beating. This pushed it - and him - past the breaking point. "Nope!" he declared, scrambling back towards the portal as best as he could with two too many legs that refused to work properly.

Luna's horn glowed, picking Wash up bodily and plopping him back down on his hooves again. Facing Ponyville. "Oh, come now, Agent, 'tis not so terrible! You make a very nice guardstallion! Why, your coat even matches your human armor!" She smiled down at him - and it definitely was down now; Luna had at least a head over even most mortal stallions, and it seemed humans-turned-pony were no different.

Teasing? Maybe just a little.

It may have been teasing, but for Wash, Luna's words were simply hammering home the fact that something was very, very wrong with him, even more so than usual. He'd somehow wound up in the completely wrong body, and he couldn't even walk, and if he couldn't walk he couldn't fight, and his armor was just about useless-

And, he realized as he looked up at her, he was shorter than Luna. Much shorter.

Somehow, that last realization was the one that tipped the scale yet again. "Fuck this," he said, with a calm that was a complete and utter lie, and then he made another ungainly break for the portal.

...well goodness, she hadn't thought he would take it as poorly as all that. Luna follows easily on her now much-longer legs, reaching out a hoof to steady him. "'Tis only a village. There is nothing dangerous here, unless thou venturest into the forest, and even then I cannot imagine thou wouldst find much greater than the occasional manticore."

Wash actually managed to tumble through the portal this time, only hearing the first half of Luna's sentence before landing with a splash in the fountain. He scrambled out of it, tearing off his helmet and rotating it around in his hands - yes, they were hands again, thank God - until he could see his reflection in its visor. Yes, that was his face looking back at him, not some pony.

He stepped out of the fountain, sinking down heavily to sit on its edge and burying his face in his hands. That was not something he'd handled well, and he knew he'd have to explain it to Luna very soon. Right now, however, taking deep breaths was definitely helping.

Indeed, Luna followed a moment later, looking confused and increasingly upset. Conversations with Ventus had told her that shape-changing in a world was a possibility, so perhaps she'd been a little more prepared than most, but she really hadn't considered that it might take anyone quite that ill. It was only a pony, what could be so terrible about that?

She avoided falling into the fountain, landing near Wash with a flap of her wings. "Agent? Art thou well?"

It wasn't so much that it was a pony. It could have been anything and Wash still would have lost it. Changing forms might have been common for people from worlds where magic was an everyday thing, but it was unheard of in places where magic was the stuff of fairy tales.

Wash bit back his initial sarcastic response at Luna's question. Neither of them needed that right now. "Not really, no."

"Oh."

Well, that was straightforward. Luna (metaphorically) hovered for a second, awkwardly. Even for someone like her, this was a bit of emotional whiplash - and if she was honest, she really really wanted to be on the other side of that portal right now. Still, friends were friends. "Is there aught I can do?"

Wash was slowly coming down from his panic, which was making things easier, but only marginally. At least he was coherent enough to speak. "No, it- it's not you. It's that." He gestured vaguely at the portal, likely meaning Ponyville instead. "I mean, I'd love to be able to walk into a new world without getting immediately fucked over, but I guess that's just too much to ask."

Later, after he'd calmed down, Wash would feel bad for having rained so thoroughly on Luna's parade. Right now, however, he was still beyond that.

Luna turned automatically to look at the portal as well, ears lowered. "I...suppose that must have been rather disconcerting, yes..." From her tone, she clearly still didn't quite grasp the root of the problem, but she was trying. She was still, however, a mare who used to routinely turn into a cloud of starry vapor for quicker travel. "It did not hurt, did it?"

Wash bit back an ugly laugh. He'd calmed down enough to realize that Luna still wasn't getting it, and laughing at her - at anything - right now wouldn't help. "That's one way of putting it."

He took another moment and another deep breath - and those were helping - to try to center himself before he attempted an explanation. "No, it didn't hurt." Small favors. "It's just- Over the past few days, I've been run over by one Meowjesty, sat on by another, and had to fight the worst enemy I've ever faced, again, with a few extra powers thrown in because why the hell not. I thought I could handle a new world. I mean, the Mother of Invention's already here - how much worse could it get?" Come to think of it, that was probably not the best way to phrase things. Too late now. "I didn't expect to wind up in a different body- I didn't know that could even happen! I can't even stand like that, never mind defend myself, and I-" Wash was working himself into a panic again, and he stopped, trying to catch himself before he went too far. "There's only so much I can handle at once," he continued after a few moments and a few more deep breaths. "And that kind of shock is- it's too much."

Ah. Well, laid out like that, it actually did make quite a bit of sense. Luna felt rather badly for not getting it in the first place...but never mind that.

"Well...I suppose there is no need to return there if you do not wish to," she said, though truthfully she would have liked him to do so. "Or, perhaps later I could show you how to move properly on hooves? Regardless, it may be wise for you to just rest for now. 'Twill likely be some time before anything else occurs."

"It doesn't matter if I want to or not," Wash replied flatly. "If new information appears, it's going to show up in there. If I want in on it, I'm..." He sighed, coming around to the words as he was saying them. "...going to have to get used to being a pony." He had no idea what the fuck had happened to his life, but he was pretty sure he didn't like it.

"Just...give me a few minutes, okay? I'll be right back." He stood and headed for the hotel without waiting for a reply, not stopping until he'd made it to his room. Once inside, he shed the armor and the undersuit, pulling on a long sleeved shirt and jeans instead. The guns were staying here - what the fuck could he do with a slingshot when he didn't have hands? - but he slid his knife into the sheath built into his jeans. A knife was a knife, after all.

On the pillow, Melody opened one eye, then bounded off the bed to stand near her person. He was going somewhere without his armor, so obviously he needed her to protect him. It took Fang a little longer to wake from his nap, but he eventually squeaked and flew over. They were going out somewhere!

Wash reached out and patted them both. "I need you two to stay sharp today." They meowed and squeaked in response, and Wash headed back down to the fountain with them in tow. "Okay." He tried for I'm ready and found that that wasn't going to work, namely because he was anything but ready for this. But hey, he'd come this far already, and stopping wouldn't get him anywhere. "Let's go."

"Very...well..."

Luna watched Wash's back as the human headed off. Well then. When the Freelancer returned, he found her lying against the edge of the fountain, wings twitching somewhat impatiently as she occupied herself with watching Noctis, who she'd already gone off to fetch.

"Ah!" She perked up instantly upon seeing Washington. And, remembering his feelings, made something of an effort to look less excited. "Good. I shall go before you?" To catch him with her magic, that is, if he fell again. Without waiting for a response, she turned and hopped through the portal with a flutter of her wings.

Seeing Luna that excited only enforced Wash's opinion that this was the right decision. She obviously wanted to be home, and given how many times she'd kept him sane when his nightmares came calling, he figured he owed her this. Really, he owed her much more than this, but it was a start.

"Sure-" Oh, okay then. Taste of his own medicine. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and followed her through the portal. Okay. So far so g-

He didn't even get to finish the thought before he stumbled, staggered sideways trying to catch his footing, and nearly toppled off the bridge.

Melody bolted out of his way, yowling in alarm. Where was her person? Who was this pony? She needed to protect him where did he go?! Fang was taking things a bit more in stride, but not by much. Noctis! Noctis where did his person go? He disappeared!

Luna reacted quickly, catching Wash in her magic and righting him in midair. "Perhaps we should move away from the bridge..." Melody was getting underhoof, and the alicorn pranced about a little to avoid stepping on the spirit as she moved off the bridge and onto land - in the opposite direction of the Everfree Forest. There, she lowered Wash carefully back to his hooves. "Here, just try to stand for now..."

Noctis fluttered and squeaked in alarm for a moment as well - where did his person's friend go? Oh no, she was going to get all yelly! When the yelling failed to materialize, however, the grey spirit recalled his training and settled down on the rail of the bridge, chirping proudly at Fang. No worries! His pony princess would take care of it!

Being held up by magic was disconcerting no matter what, but it beat taking a header into the river. Wash kept his hooves under him when Luna set him down, albeit a bit shakily. "Right. I can do that." Maybe.

The last thing either of them needed was panicking Spirits. "Melody, come here." The cat skidded to a stop, staring wide-eyed at the pony her person had become. "Come on. It's me." He bent down carefully, managing not to topple over again. Melody approached slowly, gingerly touching his nose with hers. "See? It's okay." The Necho Cat blinked and blooped her person's nose with a paw. Oh. It really was her person. Huh.

Fang listened to Noctis and settled down himself. Okay, if you say so! Noctis' person is really good at taking care of things.

Luna smiled at the little scene between Spirit and former-human, while Noctis simply puffed himself up in pride. See? His person takes care of everything!

"Very well then." In truth, she wasn't exactly sure how to teach somepony to walk; it was simply instinctual for foals. Apparently whatever form-changing magics this world carried did not pass such things along? "Do you feel more comfortable walking now?"

Wash straightened up carefully as Melody pranced away, not wanting to be in the way if her pony-person toppled over again. Okay. So far, so good.

"Given that I nearly fell into the river two minutes ago? Not really," Wash admitted. He tried one hesitant step, then another. It was working, but it still wasn't quite right. "Which leg moves with which leg?" He couldn't even use Melody as an example, because even now she still had more legs than he did.

Luna paused, trying to think of how to explain the actual mechanics behind a thing she had been doing since foalhood. Words were a silly way to explain physical action anyway. "...like this."

She turned about and paced slowly in front of him, careful to keep an eye on the agent just in case his hooves went slipping out from under him again. Her legs, of course, were much longer than his, but it was the same basic principle.

He watched Luna closely, trying to memorize which leg moved with which leg. He tried a few more steps with his newfound knowledge, moving slowly and deliberately at first. When that worked and felt a little more fluid than his previous attempts at walking had been, he picked up the pace a bit. "Okay, it's-"

To Wash's credit, he didn't trip over himself and wind up facefirst in the grass until he started talking. "Dammit!"

Luna winced, reacting just a little too slowly to catch him ere he fell. "My apologies." She didn't grab him again to set him on his hooves, thinking that perhaps 'twere better he learn the movement on his own. After all, she was hardly going to be around every time he entered this world. "But you were doing better?"

Wash groaned under his breath, slowly getting his hooves under him one leg at a time and, when he figured he'd gotten them all in the relatively correct places, pushing himself up. He wavered for a few seconds, adjusted placement, and stood a little more easily. Only then did he figure he could talk without keeling over. "Not your fault, and it's better than nothing."

Fluffy and Melody had partnered up a few yards away, quietly squeaking with laughter at their pony-person's predicament. He just looked funny like this. Wash's expression soured and he pointed an emphatic hoof at them, lowering it again when he overbalanced and nearly wound up on his face once more. "I'd like to see you try!"

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My Little Pony, My Little Pony

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