//------------------------------// // Ch. 2 (Reunion) // Story: Return to Equestria // by Shadowmane //------------------------------// “Wake up!” Whack! Something hit the side of my face painfully. “Ow! The fuck is—” Whack! The blue thing smacked me again. “Get up!” the same voice barked. I knew that voice... Whack! “Ow! Stop that!” I protested before whatever it was could hit me again. “Get off 'im, he's awake already,” drawled another distantly familiar voice from across the room. I shoved against the fuzzy blue blob that was pinning me to the floor and sat up with a groan. My head hurt like hell and I couldn't see anything clearly. I tried to rub my face, only to stop at the unfamiliar shape of my nose and lack of fingers. That wasn't normal. “I...I think you dropped these,” came a third half-remembered voice, this one timid and hesitant. A blurry yellow-and-pink mass filled my view, then everything came into sharp focus as it carefully set my glasses on my nose. I blinked a few times as Fluttershy quickly retreated to the other side of the library. The others were there as well; Rainbow Dash was hovering in the air just in front of me with an angry frown stretching across her face, Pinkie Pie was preoccupied with setting up a few books in a domino line behind her, and Twilight, Applejack, and (I swear my heart physically sank downwards and settled right between my kidneys) Rarity were all staring at me curiously. But they were not quite how I remembered them. They hadn't grown nearly as much as the Cutie Mark Crusaders, but they were noticeably older. Applejack had grown a few extra freckles, Rainbow's mane was slightly longer, and other small things like that had changed. I also noticed that they were all a little bigger than me, which seemed really bizarre, considering that I'd towered over them before. Nopony spoke for a few seconds. They all looked down at me and I looked back. A mixture of emotions shot through me as I fully understood what was going on. On one hand, seeing old friends after being apart feels great no matter who you are. If a pair of preppy teenage girls will hug one another and break down in hysterical giggles after losing sight of each other for all of five minutes, imagine the feelings that come from five years of separation and not having even a single other friend in that time. But at the same time, my gut twisted with guilt and fear as I remembered how I'd acted the last time we'd met. I'd yelled at Pinkie and Rainbow and told the others that they were just the products of a delusional mind. That couldn't have possibly left a good impression. Are they even my friends anymore? my mind asked of its own accord. Do they want anything to do with me now? I really wasn't certain if I even wanted to know the answers to those questions. Twilight coughed into her hoof and broke the silence. “Sooo...Who are you, exactly?” “Huh?” I asked obtusely, not sure what she meant. Doesn't she remember me? “What's your name?” Rainbow asked impatiently. “I swear, Discord better not've stuck us with a retard.” Then I realized what the problem was; I was a pony now. Of course they wouldn't recognize me! Call me slow on the uptake, but it's hard to think when you're hungover, been knocked unconscious twice before breakfast, and thrown into another world against your will. “Well?” Rainbow demanded as she shoved her face into mine. “Are you gonna tell us or not, buddy?” She venomously sneered for the last word. “Oh,” I stalled as I struggled to come up with something. Some kind of alias to hide my true identity. Even if they were willing to believe that I was the human that they'd befriended before, I really didn't want to bring up our last meeting again. “My name's...my name's...uh...” My brain locked itself down and refused to give me anything to work with. Twilight and Rarity glanced at each other and Rainbow scowled deeper than ever. Pinkie came to my rescue. “Oooh, do you want us to guess? I'm good at guessing games!” She bounced up and down excitedly, and in so doing she knocked over the books that she'd been playing with. “Uh, sure,” I said and held in a sigh of relief. That almost ended badly. “Hmmm...” Pinkie poked her tongue out of the corner of her mouth and studied the twin gears that were my stud stamp. “Is your name Gearhead? No, it's Sprocket, right? No, no, that's not it either. It's gotta be Machine-O-Pants! That's a silly name.” “No, you're way off,” I muttered. “You're making it way too complicated.” For me. Pinkie scratched her chin and thought hard. With a muted pop, a lightbulb sprang into existence above her head and turned itself on. “I got it!” she shouted giddily. “Cog! Your name's Cog, isn't it? Did I win?” “Uh, yeah, that's right. My name's Cog,” I said quickly. That would be easy enough to remember. Applejack raised an eyebrow at that. “Well, 'Cog,' jus' who th' hay are ya? Why'd Discord tell us we have ta work with ya ta get mah sis back?” “I don't know,” I quickly lied. “He didn't tell me anything, except that he'd left clues around. Did he mention where to start?” I wanted to shift the focus away from myself until I could build up a more solid backstory. Twilight nodded. “He gave us a list of hints, and it looks like there are four clues to find. We were going to head out to Sweet Apple Acres and start looking around for the first one as soon as you were up.” I pushed myself to my hooves (it felt weird to think in those terms) and got my balance. “Alright then, let's ge—” You know what I learned right then? Walking with four legs is harder than it looks. You know how I found that out? By smashing my face into the floor after two steps. That was about as painful and embarrassing as you'd think. “Oh come on!” Rainbow facehoofed as I stood up again. “Discord stuck us with a guy who can't even walk?” I ignored her and took a few cautious steps. This time, my front legs got too far ahead of the back pair and I slid into a bellyflop. “Are you alright?” Rarity finally spoke. She looked genuinely concerned. “Yeah, just...I'm just dizzy,” I answered lamely. I pointedly looked away from the other ponies as I got up a third time. This try ended with me wobbling off to the side and crashing my shoulder into a bookcase. Rainbow Dash shook her head. “This is pathetic. Let's just get moving and let him catch up later.” Twilight sighed. “Alright. Fluttershy, you stay here to help him out and lead him to the farm. Everypony else, let's head out and start looking around.” “Oh...okay,” the yellow pegasus mumbled as the others filed out of the tree and left us alone. * * * * * It took a full fifteen minutes just to get to the front door. I eventually figured out that I had to move my rear left leg, then the front left, then the back right, then the front right, and repeat at an even rhythm. It was a simple pattern, but it was also challenging to maintain—partially because my center of mass had shifted closer to my chest and partially because I was using my muscles in unfamiliar ways. Fluttershy's protective instincts kicked in when she saw how much trouble I was having, and she patiently assisted me throughout the struggle. She helped keep me balanced and offered encouragement the entire time, so that I felt like I was a hospital patient getting out of a wheelchair and she played the part of the attending nurse. She was even considerate enough to not ask why I was having so much trouble. “You know, I used to be a very weak flier,” Fluttershy offered brightly as I finally reached the door and pushed it open. “But now I can fly for hours and not get tired. So just keep practicing and you'll do great!” “Right,” I muttered and stumbled outside into the autumn sunshine. She flew right above me and held my torso steady as I threatened to overbalance yet again. We slowly passed Sugar Cube Corner, the Carousel Boutique, and the Town Hall. Ponyville looked just like I remembered it—same houses, same stores, same landmarks. The trees were different colors, but they were all in the same spots. Even the resident ponies were all the same, or at least very similar. A few of said ponies stared at my uneven walking and muttered to each other, but they soon turned back to their card games, conversations, or whatever it was that they were doing. That was pretty much the exact opposite of their reaction to my first appearance, but I guess a crippled pony isn't quite as exciting as a human. As we left the town behind and made for the rolling hills, a random thought entered my mind: none of this was real. I'm just having a relapse, aren't I? I asked myself. Why am I even bothering with something that's going on in my head? It's not like it'll really make a difference. I could just sit around with my thumb up my ass and be just as productive. Then again, I couldn't risk letting three ponies and Spike being trapped in stone forever. Then again (again), they were just part of my scrambled brain and therefore it didn't matter if we rescued them or not. Then again (again) [again], I didn't want to risk it on the off chance that they weren't figments of my imagination. Then again (again) [again] {again}, that was a stupid thought. After going back and forth a few more times, I decided that it was pointless to debate with myself about that any further. If I was stuck in my head again, there was no reason why I couldn't carry on with it like I had before and treat it like reality. After all, there was no telling when I was going to reawaken. My last visit to Equestria had lasted for more than a week, and I couldn't make myself return to Earth, so I decided to go along at least for the time being. If nothing else, it would give me something to do until I woke up again. Isn't this what I wanted anyway? I asked myself as I took a quick look over the countryside. I almost laughed at how ridiculous that question was, then frowned as I considered further. For five years I'd been second guessing my decision that day in the psychiatric hospital, asking myself if I'd made the right choice or if I'd even had a choice to begin with. Well, I hadn't been happy on Earth and now I had an opportunity to take the other fork in that road. But now that I was actually in Equestria once more, I didn't feel the happiness come rushing back. I felt horrible. My friends didn't recognize me, and I had deliberately lied to them all to keep it that way. Even Fluttershy, who was still watching over me like a dedicated mother to make sure I didn't trip or fall over again. That wasn't fair to her, or to the other five either, and I felt my ears go hot with shame. I seriously considered coming clean and just telling them all the truth, but that idea died as quickly as it had formed. Even if I confided in Fluttershy while we were walking...I just couldn't. I'd thrown myself headfirst at a shadow dragon after repeatedly insulting its mother, but the terror of even that paled in comparison to how I imagined the ponies' reactions: tears, accusations, ridicule, doubt, anger, and so many other things that I couldn't bear to think about. They would definitely resent the hell out of me for leaving them like I had. Then an even worse thought entered my head: What if they resented the hell out of me for coming back? I'm not sure what exactly sparked that notion, but that settled it—I made up my mind right there that I would never tell them. I would have to just start over and bide my time as a pony until I woke up on Earth again. No, it wasn't the right thing to do, but it was the better option. I tried to clear my head and focus on walking. Rear left, front left, rear right, front right, repeat. I let the yellow pegasus steer me in the proper direction, even though I remembered the way. Our progress was slow. It took forever, but eventually Fluttershy and I reached the outskirts of Sweet Apple Acres. The trees had already been harvested and the leaves had turned from deep green to gold and orange. A crisp breeze rustled the dry foliage and blew my mane (that was another weird word to use) into my eyes. The other five ponies were waiting for us in front of Applejack's barn. Actually, only four of them were waiting. Rainbow Dash was splayed out on her back and snoring loudly on top of a short hay bale. “'Bout time ya'll showed up,” Applejack muttered as we came close. “We searched th' whole place, but couldn' find nothin'.” “What were you looking for?” I asked as I finally stopped moving and took a moment to catch my breath. I needed a smoke. Twilight's horn glowed and a scroll of paper lifted itself from the ground. “This is a list of the hints that I mentioned. I was pretty sure that the first one lead here, but we haven't found anything that could possibly be a clue.” I squinted at the floating scroll. Like she'd said earlier, there were four hints scrawled on it: 1. The flame of the Big Apple. 2. Dusty land and sweet disputes. 3. The spire of the light that never warms. 4. A spectral isle in the midst of a blackened glen. “Did you check the fireplace?” I asked. That seemed logical enough. “It was the first place that we looked,” Rarity said as she paused in filing her hoof. “And the soot nearly ruined my mane.” “Ya got hardly any on ya,” Applejack muttered as she rolled her eyes. “Ah swear, yer too friggin' prissy.” “Caring about my appearance does not make me prissy!” Rarity shot back. “And you should take more care of your own—” “Shut up, I'm sleepin' here!” Rainbow Dash snapped and rolled over on the hay. “Time ta git up!” Applejack moved over to Rainbow, cocked a leg back, and bucked the bale right out from under the blue pegasus. Rainbow hit the ground with a dull thump. “Ow! What the hell was that for?” she asked as she rubbed her sore spine. “We're tryin' ta figure out how ta git th' Crusaders an' Spike back, 'member?” Applejack said irritatedly. “That includes mah sis. An' Ah bet Scoot'd be happy with how much effort yer givin' right now.” “That's enough!” Twilight interjected heatedly as things threatened to get violent. “She started—” “I'm finishing it! Just drop it and let's focus on moving forward, alright?" She glared at them both for a few seconds, then turned back to me. "Now then, is there anything we could have overlooked in the hint?” I looked back to the first line on the paper and frowned. I could feel something nagging at the back of my mind. Flame...Big Apple...flame...Big Apple... “We're in the wrong place,” I announced as I made the connection. “The first clue's in Manehattan.” “Manehattan?” Applejack looked skeptical. “How d'ya figure that?” “Well, I...uh...it's hard to explain. Just trust me on this, okay?” I could have kicked myself for that slip. They probably didn't call Manehattan the Big Apple. Naturally, Discord had chosen a hint that would only make sense to a human and couldn't be easily explained. “Well, what do the other ones mean?” Twilight asked before the orange pony could question me further. I checked the remaining hints. “Appleloosa,” I said simply after a moment's thought. “And I'm not sure about the last two.” “Twi', could Ah talk ta ya fer a sec?” Applejack tilted her head at the barn and trotted inside. Twilight raised an eyebrow and followed. “What's this about?” her voice came clearly a few seconds after she disappeared. “Ah'm not so sure 'bout this Cog feller. Ah don' trust 'im.” “Why?” “He's not tellin' us everythin'.” “That's hardly surprising, AJ. He's just been thrown into this mess by Discord, what did you expect? He probably just wants to get this whole thing over with and go home. He's trying to be helpful, and we should be grateful that he hasn't just run off already.” “Ah'm tellin' ya Twi', Ah got a bad feelin' 'bout that colt. He couldn' walk, he didn' give us his real name, it don' look like he's eaten anythin' in a month, an' I don' even wanna know what that smell on 'im is. An' how'd he figure out half o' those hints so fast? Somethin' 'bout him just ain't right.” “Isn't that kind of like what everypony said about Zecora before we got to know her?” There was a short pause before Applejack responded. “Naw, this is different. Somethin' 'bout this guy's...wrong. Really wrong.” Twilight sighed. “Look, I understand what you're saying, but if he'll help get Spike and the others back, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Can't you put your misgivings aside at least until we can rescue your sister?” The purple unicorn came back outside without waiting for an answer. Applejack followed more slowly and gave me a wary glance. “If you're going to have another private conversation in the future, perhaps you should consider lowering your voices,” Rarity pointed out lightly. “Oh,” Twilight flicked her eyes at me sheepishly. “How much did you hear?” “Every word,” Fluttershy said quietly. “Well...uh...moving on.” Twilight's face went red and she cleared her throat. “I think we should split up and try to get two clues at once to make up for the time that we wasted searching here.” “Is there a time limit for this?” I asked, trying to remember if Discord had mentioned one. “No, but we shouldn't leave the Crusaders and Spike with Discord any longer than absolutely necessary. Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, and Cog, you'll go to Manehattan. Applejack, Fluttershy, and I will head for Appleloosa.” “Wait a second!” Rainbow flew right up to Twilight. “I'm with Applejack on this. I don't trust Cog.” Twilight facehoofed. “Oh, for the love of....At least AJ tried to be subtle!” I sighed heavily. “Alright, none of you trust me. I get it. Can we just move on, now?” I probably should have been more resentful, but I just didn't have the energy to get upset over their suspicion. In truth, I had actually expected worse. “Well,” Rarity said airily. “I for one am willing to give you a chance before making any kind of judgment. We've only just met you, after all.” “Yeah!” Pinkie agreed happily. “And 'chance' rhymes with 'prance'!” “What's that got to do with anything?” Rainbow asked. “I like prancing!” Pinkie said, a dreamy grin plastered onto her face. After waiting a few seconds for a further explanation that never came, Twilight cleared her throat again and turned back to Rainbow. “Okay then. If you don't want to go to Manehattan, you'll come with us to Appleloosa and Fluttershy will go with them instead. Everypony clear?” There were nods all around. “Then let's move out.”