At this point in my journey, I feel it necessary to state that I highly doubt I am insane in any meaningful way. Despite this admission, I found myself lost in the labyrinthine confines of the town hall. It did not seem this large from the outside, but here I was, wondering halls and finding doors to nowhere or endless filing rooms. It felt like I had been there for hours, so I had eaten my apple while taking a break and consulting a faded map on the wall. Applejack was right, they were incredibly tasty.
Eventually, I discovered the office of the mayor, nestled between Filing Room 113-A-6 and Filing Room 348-Q-1. Don't ask me how that made any sense to anypony other than the designer of the building. I knocked twice and entered when called.
"How can I help you?" asked the silver-maned pony seated behind the desk, surrounded by piles of paper.
"I... I'm the pony that was in the coma, with amnesia?" I asked hesitantly.
"Ah, yes. Have you had any luck remembering anything?"
"Just that I am apparently very skilled at playing the saxophone, so this lovely trio of fillies dubbed me Alto. You may wish to improve the sound proofing in the music room."
"Honestly, I didn't know we had a music room. So, Alto, what can I help you with?"
"Well, Miss Mayor, I have no home, no job, and no money. I was wondering what options there were."
"As far as I'm aware, we don't have any facilities here for temporary housing, but I'm sure one of the ponies in town would be willing to take you in temporarily. We're a very tight-knit and helpful community. As for a job and bits, Sugarcube Corner is always hiring, you can borrow that saxophone you were playing until you can afford your own and play in the park or along the market. If you're up to it, Applebuck season starts in three months, and the Apple family could always use an extra set of hooves."
I pondered this information for a moment before nodding, "Alright, thank you, Mayor. I'll definitely take you up on that saxophone. Is there any paperwork to fill out for that?"
"Luckily, no. I'm sure you're the only pony who can actually play that thing in town, and I have a good memory."
I chuckled, "Thank you again," I said, bowing and backing out of the office. I spent the next few hours navigating my way back to the music room and packing up the instrument in question before exiting the building into the cool evening. I worked my way over towards the bakery known as Sugarcube Corner, intent on securing a steady source of income. While I loved to play, I was sure it would not provide nearly enough regular income to allow me to live on my own. So, it would have to be a little extra trotting around money. I wondered why the bakery would be hiring constantly, but narrowed it down to either a problem customer or a problem employee. I would discover which of these very shortly.
As I approached, the sign on the door said "Closed for Private Party," with an arrow for official business to be directed to the rear. I wandered round back and knocked on the back door, only to have it swing inward slowly, with an ominous creak. I poked my head in, lighting my horn for light, "Hello?"
My call went unanswered in the darkness beyond the reach of my horn and, being not that brave, I determined it would be in my best interests to return at another time, preferably when the facilities were well lit. As I turned away, my vision was filled with a pink blur and then blackness. I struggled futilely as I was shoved inside and through another door. The blinding object was removed from my head and lights were thrown on to a loud shout of, "Surprise!"
I admit to the shame that I nearly wet myself in terror at first, before I realized where I was. It was a surprise party, for me of all ponies. A banner hung at the back of the room proclaimed that this was a "Welcome to Ponyville, Nameless Alto!" party. As my heart rate returned to normal, I was aware of a bouncing pink pony in front of me asking me if I was really surprised and saying things faster than I could process.
"I, yes, I'm surprised. Hello, everypony! I don't think I deserve a party."
"Oh, Alto, I'm Pinkie Pie! I give a party to every pony who's new in Ponyville, and you're definitely new to Ponyville! So of course you're going to get a party to welcome you to town and meet as many ponies as possible."
I blinked a few times, letting her speech filter, "Thank you, Miss Pie," I said with a smile, "I uh, am not really sure how to behave at parties."
"Oh, you just go out there and mingle and have fun!" she said before bouncing off to the other guests. I shook my head and made my way over to the refreshments, where I was met by a familiar purple unicorn, "Twilight! A pleasure to see you here."
"One does not miss a Pinkie Party," she said with a smile, "I also heard that you were looking for a place to stay? Fluttershy offered her spare bedroom, and Applejack offered her barn, so I figured I'd see where you'd rather stay."
"No offense to Applejack, but I'd prefer a bed to a barn. Where is Miss Shy anyway? I haven't seen her for months and want to apologize again for crashing into her house."
"She doesn't really like large crowds of ponies, so she decided not to attend. Anyway, I'd like to introduce you to some ponies. You've met Fluttershy, Applejack, and now Pinkie Pie, but I'd like to introduce you to the rest of my friends," Twilight said, leading me over to a corner where a rainbow-maned cyan pegasus stood arguing with a purple-maned white unicorn, "The pegasus is Rainbow Dash, and the unicorn is Rarity, both good friends. Girls, this is Alto."
The pegasus nodded and smiled, "Sup?"
The unicorn smiled and flipped her mane, "Charmed, darling! You simply must come to my boutique for a suit when you are discovered by the music industry."
"Oh, I have no intention of selling my soul for bits, Miss Rarity," I said with a small grin, taking a sip of punch.
I won't regale you with the conversation that ensued, but, suffice to say, I met a few other musically inclined ponies and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also managed to secure an interview the following morning with the owners of the bakery in order to see about getting a job. It turns out they usually can't keep employees around because while everyone loves Pinkie's parties, she can be a bit difficult to work with, and some times the foals can be a bit loud while they rampage around upstairs.
I assured them this would be no problem for me, as I'd come to discover I'm relatively easy going. Exhausted from my first day of freedom, I took my leave of the party after getting directions to Fluttershy's cottage. I found it easily enough and was surprised at how well the damage had been repaired. Then again, they had a year to repair it between when I landed and now. I tentatively approached the front door and knocked softly. I was greeted with a soft eep before the door opened a crack and a familiar face looked out at me, "Oh! Hello, um, did you remember your name?"
"No, but I decided to use the name Alto for now, Miss Shy."
"Oh, that's very nice," she said, opening the door further, "Are you here about the room?"
"Yes, if you don't mind. I would rather sleep out here than in Applejack's barn."
She nodded and let me in, and I took in the view of the house. It was cozy with knick-knacks and decorations all over. The phrase "crazy cat lady" slipped through my head despite the complete lack of any felines, "The, uh, room is right back here," she said softly, leading me down a hall.
The room was indeed small, but more than enough for a homeless stallion like myself, "Thank you, Fluttershy. I promise not to be in the way, and get out of your mane as soon as possible."
She giggled, "Oh, no problem, Alto. You can take your time. Sleep well," she said, vanishing back down the hall.
I smiled after her before shutting the door and collapsing on the bed. It was far more comfortable than the one I had in the hospital and I stretched out, nuzzling into the soft pillow before sleep finally overtook me.