//------------------------------// // Surprise! // Story: Little Memories // by Skijarama //------------------------------// Twilight stared distantly out the window of the train, absently watching the landscape outside pass with minimal interest. The sun hung high in the sky, the hour being just a little before noon. Spike rested against her side, his eyes closed and subtle snores sneaking out of him every once in a while. He had claimed to have not slept very well the previous night, citing that he wasn’t used to using a pony-sized bed. They hadn’t brought along his bed basket when they left Ponyville, after all. The only other pony in the compartment was Rainbow Dash, who sat directly across from Twilight. Her eyes were also pointed towards the terrain outside, a thoughtful look on her face with her chin resting in her hoof. Every so often, Twilight would catch herself looking at the pegasus. Every time she did, she would tear her eyes away and stare more intently through the window. Things had been like this since they had gotten up that morning. Twilight had been having a hard time saying anything to Rainbow Dash... Although truth be told, she was having a hard time talking to anypony. Her mind was just far too occupied with all of the things she had heard in her parents’ home, not to mention her scrambled emotions. The gentle bumping and rolling of the train served to soothe her, though, and she was able to dedicate more brain power to sorting through it all and getting herself situated. “...It’s gonna be weird,” Rainbow’s voice suddenly cut through the silence, snapping Twilight out of her reverie with a start. Curious, Twilight turned her head to look at Rainbow to see she was still looking distantly out the window. Her eyes had opened up slightly, shifting more with thought than to track the scenery. Confused, Twilight tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?” Rainbow didn’t look at her, instead nodding her head forwards at something in the distance. Twilight looked and saw that Ponyville was becoming visible in the distance as their altitude dropped. Rainbow got a small, wistful smile on her face. “Going home. Going back to everyday life… after so many months of doom, gloom, and…” her eyes drifted to her scarred hoof, and her smile faded. “...and other bad stuff… it’s gonna feel weird to sit down and just… live again.” Twilight’s ears drooped slightly, and her eyes found the cushion beneath her hooves. “...You really went through a lot, didn’t you?” she asked in a soft and gentle voice, not quite willing to look up. “We went through a lot,” Rainbow corrected before giving a slow nod. “But yeah… kinda hard to believe so much happened in just a few months… but eh,” she leaned back in her seat and finally looked at Twilight. “It’s done, now. So let’s just go home, sit down, and relax for a while, kay?” Twilight was quiet for a second, not sure what to say. When Spike snuggled a bit closer against her side, though, she couldn’t help but unfold one of her wings and drape it over him. It was almost a reflex, something she didn’t really think about doing. “Yeah… that sounds good…” she agreed quietly before lifting her eyes to meet Rainbow’s gaze again. “Glad to hear it,” Rainbow said in a hushed tone before her eyes fell on Twilight’s outstretched wing. A small grin split her muzzle, making Twilight suddenly feel a little worried. Then Rainbow lifted a hoof to point at the feathery appendage. “Just don’t get too comfortable. We’re gonna hafta train you how to use those new wings of yours one of these days.” Twilight frowned and lifted her wing up to her face so she could look at the feathers. It still felt odd, having these limbs. They felt so alien and out of place… from the moment she had woken up in the Empire, the fact that she did not have wings before was the only thing she could really say she knew, aside from her name. She sighed and draped it over Spike again. “I suppose…” Rainbow’s grin faltered, and she leaned forward in her seat. “Hey, now, don’t look like that. It’ll be fun! And y’know what?” she stood up and quietly made her way to stand directly in front of Twilight. “You’re gonna do great. I know you will.” “How do you know?” Twilight inquired skeptically, tilting her head at Rainbow while her muzzle scrunched up. In response, Rainbow just playfully poked her on the tip of her nose, making her go cross-eyed. While Twilight recovered from that sneak attack, Rainbow nimbly hopped up onto the seat and settled down next to Twilight so Spike was sandwiched warmly between them. She then looked into Twilight’s straightened eyes and winked. “Cause I know you. Amnesia or not, you’re still Twilight Sparkle… and even if you fall and kiss the dirt a hundred times, when you get it…” she reached out and placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “You’ll get it.” A silence fell over them for several moments, with Twilight unsure of what to say. Rainbow’s confidence in her was both encouraging… and concerning. She tore her eyes away from Rainbow’s and nodded her head. “Right… thanks, I guess. I mean, you’d know better than I would, wouldn’t you?” she pondered, her mind drifting somewhat at the idea. Rainbow shook her head and retracted her hoof. “For now, maybe…” she admitted before shrugging her shoulders and leaning back. “Won’t last long. Once we’re settled in back home and really start to get back into the swing of regular life, you’ll start to figure yourself out no problem. That’s a promise.” Twilight managed a small smile at that and nodded gratefully towards Rainbow. “Thanks, Rainbow,” she said softly before returning her attention to the landscape rolling by outside. She perked up when she realized they were almost at their destination, the buildings of Ponyville starting to pass by through the window. “Oh, we’re here!” Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Huh. That was quick… musta zoned out harder than I thought,” she mused before hopping off of her seat and giving a languid stretch. She gave off a pleased groan before turning and reaching for Spike. She stopped with her hoof mere inches from him, though, and her eyes drifted up to Twilight’s. Twilight noticed her staring and frowned. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked, reaching up a hoof to touch her face as if there were something there. Rainbow smiled softly and nodded down at Spike while retracting her hoof. “You wanna carry him? The little guy’s still asleep,” she pointed out, drawing Twilight’s attention to the slumbering drake. “And you did hatch him…” For a moment, she wanted to say no. But when she saw that her wing was already draped over him like a protective blanket, she couldn’t help but smile. He was pretty adorable like that… and she had known him since the day she woke up. He and Rainbow were the two creatures she was most comfortable with at this point… They’d done a lot for her. It was only fair that she returned the favor, wasn’t it? Besides, like Rainbow said - Twilight had hatched him. So, with a gentle glow and hum of magic, Spike was slowly lifted away from Twilight’s side. She got down from her seat and set him down on her back, nestled comfortably between her wings. To her surprise, he was a lot lighter than he looked, but then she remembered Rainbow’s words from when they were in the sky. “You’re an alicorn, now. You’ve got a little bit of everypony in you; including pegasi.” “Hmm… A little of everypony… so I have earth pony traits too?” “You’re probably a lot stronger now, yeah, and your magic is also probably a lot stronger than it was before.” Figuring it must have been her alicorn strength, Twilight nodded at Rainbow just as the sound of metal grinding against metal screeched through the air from outside the train. The momentum of the vehicle began to steadily crawl to a halt, and the two ponies stepped out of their cabin and back out into the train proper. Soon, they were emerging from the train and stepping out onto the platform. Twilight took a few steps forward before closing her eyes and taking a long, deep breath through her nose. Ponyville definitely had a nicer smell than Canterlot did. While the big city smelled of snow and mountain winds, Ponyville smelled like flowers and grass. A warm summer breeze washed over her, causing her mane and tail to drift lazily in the air while her feathers wavered on her wings. She opened her eyes just as Rainbow came to a stop next to her. The two made eye contact before Rainbow nodded forwards. “So… we going?” she prodded simply. Twilight didn’t hesitate and started forwards at a relaxed pace. “Yes. We are…” her head turned so she could smile down at Spike on her back. The little guy had stirred somewhat but was still sound asleep. “...Let’s go home.” Rainbow fell into step besides Twilight, her eyes trained on the trail ahead of them. They didn’t need to say anything else to each other. They just trotted along in companionable silence, and Twilight took the opportunity to appreciate the bright sunlight and fresh air. Many ponies were still giving her curious and shocked looks as they passed, their eyes drawn to her wings. Some of them whispered to each other, no doubt about her lost memories. She’d be lying if she said it didn’t bother her. It very much did, and unless she got her memories back, such behavior would always be uncomfortable to see. But, thankfully, it wasn’t quite as bad as it had been the last time. Maybe she was just used to ponies looking at her in surprise at this point. Or maybe it was because a lot of them were… smiling at her? Hold on, what? She started paying more attention, and sure enough, many of the civilians they passed wore smug and cheerful looks once their initial shock wore away. It was like they knew something she didn’t… and they liked it. Twilight frowned and glanced over at Rainbow Dash. “Dash, is there a reason everypony is grinning at me?” she questioned, her brow furrowing. Rainbow had apparently not noticed the looks herself, for she quickly swept her eyes around at passersby and frowned. “I… have… no idea,” she eventually drawled out before shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders. “Dunno. Maybe they just think the wings suit you.” “I don’t know,” Twilight muttered, looking around again. “I feel like I’m missing something…” “Heh, ditto,” Rainbow agreed before picking up her pace a little bit. “It’s probably no big deal, though. C’mon. There’s the library.” Looking ahead, Twilight saw that Rainbow was right. There it was. The Golden Oaks Library sat just ahead of them, and Twilight found herself pausing for a moment at the sight, one of her hooves hovering hesitantly above the earth. That tree was her home, but… it didn’t feel like it yet. She’d only spent two nights there, after all… but it was home, nonetheless. Besides, it wasn’t like she had anywhere else to go. Swallowing down her reservations, Twilight trotted up to Rainbow’s side, the pegasus having come to a stop to wait for her by the door. “Would you like to do the honors?” Rainbow asked with a slightly cheeky look on her face. She jerked her head towards the door for emphasis. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Eh, sure,” she replied before lifting her hoof and pushing the door open. To her confusion, the inside was revealed to be remarkably dark, as all of the curtains had been pulled tightly shut, and all of the lights were off. Frowning, she took a few steps forward, submerging herself in the darkness. “Huh… did we close all the curt- GAH!” Twilight’s question was abruptly cut-off when, all of a sudden, her vision was flooded with a blinding light, and a cacophonous roar of cheers and kazoos filled her ears. Startled and yelling, she fell onto her rump, which in turn led to Spike being unceremoniously dumped to the floor with a yelp of his own. “SURPRISE!” a chorus of voices sang out all at once, and only then did Twilight lift her gaze to see what was before her. Her jaw fell open at the sight. A gigantic banner was suspended from the roof over the front room. On its white surface, the words ‘Welcome Back to Ponyville’ were written in big, bold, friendly pink letters. Streamers were still falling from the air, as was confetti. Contrasting this, countless balloons of all colors, shapes, and sizes hovered in the air, tethered to various pieces of furniture by colorful strings. Perhaps more striking than that was the table that had been placed in the heart of the room. There was a circle of paper plates, each of which was decorated with a colorful arrangement of cupcakes. Within the circle of sweetness was a towering multilayered monster of a cake. The frosting was primarily white, while the edges were trimmed with a shade of purple nearly identical to Twilight’s coat. More decorative lines of frosting that were akin to Rainbow’s mane (in that they were rainbows) swirled around the center of each layer of the cake in an intricate, lightning strike-esque pattern. On the top of the cake, a recreation of Twilight and Rainbow’s cutie marks were clearly visible, having been painted in frosting with utmost attention to detail. But the most eye-catching thing out of all of it was the assortment of ponies that stood all around the room. Twilight instantly recognized the rest of their friends; Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity. They were joined by an assortment of several others - a gray pegasus mare with golden eyes that looked in two directions, a pegasus stallion with a black coat and a silvery blue mane and tail, a collection of three little fillies by Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack, and many others. On the floor behind Twilight, Spike gave off an annoyed groan. “I don’t wanna get up yet… five more mins…” he mumbled in a drowsy stupor before reaching out and wrapping all of his limbs around Twilight’s tail, hugging it close to his chest and promptly falling asleep again. “Ooh, sorry Spike. But I think she was surprised!” Pinkie Pie squealed in delight before doing a front flip over the table and cake to land in front of Twilight with an overjoyed grin plastered all over her offensively pink face. “Do you like it?! Do ya, huh huh huh?!” “I don’t - but when - how - why - WHAT?!” Twilight stammered, her brain trying to catch up with everything she was seeing. “When did you have time set all of this up?!” Pinkie just winked at her. “Haha, please. Twilight, I’ve had this little number planned since before you woke up,” she said before ruffling Twilight’s mane and cartwheeling to the left. She then gestured at everything that had been set up with a wide wave of her hoof. “And this super duper fantabulous welcome home party is aaaaaaaall for you and Dashie!” “Speaking of,” Rainbow finally chimed in, poking her head in through the door and looking around. She studied the room up and down before smiling in satisfaction and stepping the rest of the way inside. “Wow! You outdid yourself this time, pinks!” “Only the best for my very bestest friends,” Pinkie glowed, her chest puffing up with praise before she stood up and backed away a few paces. “So, Twilight? Whaddya think?” Twilight just stared for a few more moments, her jaw still hanging open and her eyes wide. After almost a minute, though, she found the presence of mind to clamp her jaw shut and smile. “Wow… it’s so… amazing…” she breathed before looking at Pinkie again. “We’re such good friends that you’d do this for me?” “Any day, every day, always,” Pinkie said with a giggle before pointing behind the table. “And look, look! Everypony got you welcome home presents!” Indeed, there was quite the pile of wrapped boxes in the back of the room, each one colorful and cheery. They were all stacked very neatly, the bows binding them tied to perfection, and oh wow Twilight’s mind was loving that folding job on the wrapping paper. Snapping out of it, Twilight rose to her hooves, only briefly delayed when Spike thumped to the floor again and took a few steps forward. Rainbow came up to her side as well, her eyes falling on the rest of their friends. “So, you all helped?” “We did our share, yes,” Rarity acknowledged before stepping forward with Fluttershy and Applejack. “Pinkie Pie’s been plannin’ this little number since we left the Empire, and she was workin’ on settin’ it all up the second y’all went up to Canterlot,” Applejack furthered, giving a respectful tip of her hat at Pinkie, which made her giggle. “That filly worked her ears off to make sure this was all perfect for ya.” “And she did an amazing job,” Fluttershy finished off before stepping just a little closer. Her smile faltered somewhat, her eyes boring into Twilight. “So, uh… how did your trip to Canterlot go?” she asked, her voice much quieter than usual. Twilight’s smile fell away for a second, but she was quick to put it back on. “It went… well. I learned a few things I’m still trying to figure out what to think of, but, well,” she looked up at the banner, her smile growing. “I think talking about that can wait…” “Eager to see one of Pinkie’s trademarked parties, are ya?” Rainbow asked with a knowing grin. She elbowed Twilight playfully in the ribs to drive home the point. Twilight turned to face Rainbow and nodded. “Absolutely!” Off to the side, Pinkie Pie began to vibrate. “YES!” she cheered before sprinting over to the kitchen door. “There’s more, too! C’mon! There’s snacks and games and an alligator in your sink!” That got Twilight’s attention. “There’s a what?!” she all but shrieked while chasing Pinkie into the kitchen at a full spring, her wings flapping instinctively at her sides. Rainbow watched her go for a moment before rolling her eyes and following after her. It didn’t take long for Twilight to realize that the alligator was just Pinkie’s pet named Gummy, who had no teeth to speak of whatsoever. He was also really small and actually kinda cute. Although, there was something harrowing in those eyes of his… Twilight felt like that creature had a lot more going on in his head than Pinkie let on. But, in truth, the haunted look in the alligator’s eyes was soon forgotten by Twilight, as she and all the others lost themselves in the festivities that all of her friends had gone to such lengths to craft, especially on such short notice. There were only one or two moments where the subject of her amnesia made things a little awkward, but somepony always had a quick out or a change in topic to keep spirits high and the party moving. There had been delicious snacks, entertaining party games, thoughtful presents, catchy and upbeat music, energetic and carefree dancing, stories told around mugs of juice and cider, not to mention that amazing cake. All in all, it was a very well wounded and joyous experience. The party went on for a long time and only began to wind down as the sun dipped its head below the horizon. As the last of the guests departed the home, leaving her, Rainbow, and Spike alone in the library, Twilight collapsed onto a couch and closed her eyes to relax. She could just hear Rainbow and Spike uttering a last few farewells and thank yous to Pinkie Pie. This had been a wonderful surprise… if quite an exhausting one. She could already feel sleep taking her away from the waking world, and she let it claim her with no resistance. She was only numbly aware of somepony’s hooves draping a warm, fuzzy blanket over her and tucking her in before the world fell still and the world of dreams opened its doors to let her in. The last thing she thought before stepping through… was that if Rainbow wanted her to make new memories and be happy, then today had been a perfect way to start.