After a wish on a shooting star, Twilight has an unexpected meeting with a dark figure that can take the form of other ponies, but also with an amnesia-inflicted stallion who seems to be her perfect match.
It's a beautiful Winter day in Ponyville, and Celestia tasks her faithful student with gathering some rare winter herbs. During the quest, Twilight ends up making a wish on a shooting star for the next day to be more interesting. That night, she is visited in her dreams by a shape-shifting creature, and the next day meets a stallion in the Everfree Forest who has lost his memory. As Twilight grows closer to this pony, a dark past unfolds and threatens Ponyville, but is it somehow related to him?
Just another normal day in Ponyville. It was a bright winter morning, and the sun reflected off a fresh layer of snow in just the right way that the air itself seemed to be sparkling. All the woodland critters were away or hibernating, save the few that lived with Fluttershy, so it was a quiet morning. A few ponies were already out, starting their daily chores and errands, wanting to be done early or first in line when the shops opened, but most were still sleeping, enjoying the chance to snooze a little longer. It was the day after Hearth's Warming, no one would frown upon being a little slow-moving. But a day to relax didn't mean it needed to be spent relaxing. Twilight Sparkle was doing the opposite of relaxing, actually. She was frantically looking around the library, searching for a reference guide. Twilight had been assigned another project from Princess Celestia, requiring her to gather several rare herbs that grew in locations just outside of Ponyville, and she needed the guide to know exactly what she was looking for.
Running around, she wasn't paying much attention to where she was actually going, and smacked head first into a bookcase, and fell to the ground as books toppled onto her. When the room stopped spinning, Twilight managed to make out a very irritated baby dragon standing over her, short arms crossed over his chest.
"Uhhhh... Good morning, Spike." Twilight said, trying not to let her embarrassment show.
"Well, it was a good morning until somepony went and woke me up early..." Spike let the sentence trail off. Twilight blushed a little as she apologized. Spike had been working extra hard all week, so Twilight had given him this day to rest up, and she felt bad about disturbing his sleep. But slowly, Spike's expression softened as he let out a sigh; by this point, he was used to being disturbed by Twilight's research. "So what are you studying today?" Spike asked, curious what Twilight had been so frantic about.
"Not studying, today. I've been assigned a mission by Princess Celestia. Today I'm gathering herbs for her."
"What? A mission from the Princess? And you were gonna let me miss it?"
"Well, it was your day off, so I was going to let you sleep."
"I can't take a day off when there's something that important to do."
"Well, I can't argue with that. All right, I found the book, so let's go."
Spike took a little jump to get on Twilight's back, and the two went outside into the snow. It came all the way to the top of her boots, so her hooves quickly grew cold, and her movement was quite slow. She probably could have moved faster without a baby dragon on her back, but Spike would move even slower than she was moving now if he had to walk in this. Twilight eventually trotted into town and took a look. Most of the shop stands that were going to open today were open already, and various ponies were trotting through the snow, except for one who was trotting OVER the snow. Pinkie Pie walked along, not even leaving a hoof print in the blanket.
"Good morning, Twilight! Isn't this snow just Sparklerific? Just look at how beautifully it glows! I couldn't bear to ruin its smooth, sleek shine." Not too long ago, this would have seemed impossible, or at the very least unusual to Twilight, but now it was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie. Twilight said her good mornings, got a little more dose of Pinkie, and then continued on her way, leaving Pinkie to hop around pondering the occasion for her next party.
As Twilight got farther away from the center of town, the snow got thinner. The Cloudsdale Weather Committee had scheduled for the snow to be heaviest in Ponyville, to help set the mood for this day of relaxation. After a little more walking, Twilight and Spike passed through the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres. The two kind of expected the Apple Family would be indoors, considering it was winter, but Applejack and Big Mac were out in the fields, working away. So Twilight trotted over to say hello.
"Mornin', Twi!" Applejack said in a cheery voice as she stepped out of her snowplow to come greet her friend.
"Good morning Applejack," Twilight responded with equal cheer. Spike took a look around and, not being too sure, asked what they were doing.
"Ah, well, see we'all found a special kind of apple that might be able to grow even in winter, so we reckoned it was worth a shot to try."
"Eeyup," Big Mac agreed.
"So here we are, a'clearin the snow to try and grow. We even got ol' Rainbow Dash helpin out." At first, Twilight hadn't noticed, but every now and again, a streak of rainbow could be seen, busting a few clouds to make the sun shine in just bright enough to aid in melting snow. The next time the rainbow stopped, Twilight could see Rainbow Dash standing on a cloud.
"S'up, Twilight?" She yelled down, along with waving her hoof. Twilight responded with her own wave and "Hey, Rainbow Dash!" Then all three ponies went back to their tasks.
"It's so cool that they can grow apples, even in this kind of weather!" Spike said. He started talking about how that could help the amount of food available in Ponyville during these harder seasons. Twilight nodded in agreement, but she also had a question in the back of her mind she wanted answered.
"Do you ever feel it's all the same?" She asked Spike.
Huh? Wudduya mean?"
"Well, it just feels like every day has been so similar lately, doing the same thing each day. Rainbow Dash is always on weather patrol. And with how many rows Applejack and Big Mac had cleared, they couldn't have just started today."
"I guess, but they seem like they're having fun with it. Are you trying to say you're bored of your studies?"
" Not really... bored, but things have just been kind of quiet lately. I haven't really learned anything about friendship in a few weeks. Just same old, same old."
"Well, it has been kind of quiet," Spike responded, "but they're our friends, so it's worth just being around them."
Twilight thought on that. Spike was probably right, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was getting a little too relaxed, and being unprepared for a disaster was never a good thing. By this point, they had reached the "border" and were outside the boundaries of Ponyville. The Cloudsdale weather ponies had no jurisdiction here; the weather was left to nature. There was no snow, just grass, but the grass was a dull green and mostly dead. Since it was easier to travel now, Spike got off of Twilight and started walking alongside her. According to the field guide, which she had brought along in her saddlebag, this place was called Nevergreen Fields and, like the name suggested, was infamous for its infertility. It was a place of despair, and not somewhere most ponies ever visited. Twilight wouldn't have been here herself, except for the fact that this almost barren wasteland did support one thing. The rare Morseon plant, one of the two herbs required for the Celestia's mission. Twilight didn't know too much about plants, but according to the field guide the Morseon plant was root-like and could only be found under ground. Of course, Twilight was well prepared, and had already looked up a spell to help locate the herb. Even so, it wasn't a rare plant for no reason, and it took Twilight most of the day for her spell to find a root on its radar. As the sky turned a crimson shade of orange, Spike helped Twilight dig up the plant. It was a thick, brown root, and matched the description from the field guide perfectly. Of course, then Twilight realized that she had just spent the entire day out here on this pretty boring mission, and had only found one of the two herbs. Twilight sighed. Hopefully, the Princess wouldn't be too upset about her mission taking an extra day to complete. As the last light faded from the sky, Twilight's eye was caught by an object flying through it.
"Twilight, a shooting star! Make a wish!" Spike exclaimed.
"Oh Spike, you know that's just an old mare's tale." But all the same, Twilight looked up at the star and thought to herself I wish tomorrow would be a little more interesting. When the star had passed, Spike asked Twilight what she had wished for.
"You know the tale, Spike. The wish won't come true if you tell anypony."
"So you do believe in it!" Spike yelled. If Twilight wasn't going to share her wish, she obviously had some belief in the tale.
"Well, sometimes it's fun to play along," she said. And with that, the two friends began to walk home as Princess Luna filled the night sky with a dazzling display of stars and a beautiful, bright full moon.
It was dark. Beyond dark to the point that there was no light anywhere. Twilight couldn't see anything, not even her own hooves. She tried to use her magic to create a light, but something was cancelling out her spells, and nothing she tried worked. Twilight sat still for what felt like hours, but was actually just a minute or two, and then decided to try walking. Again, walking with no visible progress seemed to take an eternity. Finally, Twilight saw a light. It didn't stretch far, but it was a speck against the otherwise infinite shadows. As Twilight got closer, the speck began to grow, but she still couldn't see very much. She reached the speck, which had now completely transformed. As the lines shifted and morphed, the form of a grand pony became more and more defined, and soon Princess Celestia stood over her student.
"Princess! I don't know what..." She began, but was caught off by a flick of the alicorn's wings. Twilight wasn't sure what it was, but something seemed different about the princess. Like she was less graceful, and more sinister. The princess still hadn't spoken a word, and starred at Twilight with a piercing gaze. And then it hit her like a smack in the face. This wasn't the real Princess. The normally gentle magenta eyes of this Celestia were a blood red with deep black centers. Twilight could feel her heart speed up.
"So, you've realized I'm not your Princess." The fake Celestia spoke, a bitter voice that sounded as if the speaker's throat was grating with each syllable. The being began to move closer, and Twilight backed away.
"W-Who... w-what are you?" Twilight stuttered out. "Are you a Changeling?"
"A Changeling?" The figure laughed, an awful noise that reminded Twilight of chalk scraping against a blackboard. "Interesting that would be the first thing you associate me with. Good guess, but no, girl, I am not a Changeling." As the being continued to move closer, its shape morphed again, this time into a perfect reflection of Princess Cadence. Then it changed again into the form of Fluttershy, all while continuing to advance on Twilight. Each time the creature changed its form, one thing remained the same; the piercing red and black eyes, alive with a dangerous glow that sent shivers up Twilight's spine. And then the worst thing yet happened. It was still light-less, so she could see nothing but the being advancing, but her back came up against something and she could retreat no farther. And on top of that, the being had shifted forms one more time, into Twilight Sparkle. Twilight looked at this rendition of herself, every detail identical to her own body except for those dreadful eyes. She screamed, but no sound came out. She desperately tried for a spell, any bit of magic, but nothing happened. As the creature reached right over her, Twilight closed her eyes.
"Twilight, it's time." She heard its voice. And then she soundlessly screamed again as she felt the ground disappear beneath her.
She jolted up in bed. A cold sweat was on her brow, and she felt sick to her stomach. It was twilight, and the morning sun had just begun to flit through the window. After taking a minute to slow her racing heart, she got out of bed and went over to her mirror. Her mane was even more of a mess than most mornings, and there were a few stress lines becoming visible underneath her eyes. She gave her magic a test, trying to pick up her comb, and there was no problem at all. She combed her mane and made herself look nice, but her heart wasn't in it. She was too busy trying to remember her nightmare; most of it had already faded from her memory. The only things she could recall were shape-shifting and those piercing red eyes. She told herself it had just been a bad dream. That had to be it; just a nightmare.
She stepped out of her room and saw that Spike was still in bed, so she grabbed the field guide off the shelf where she had left it the night before, and went to draw a bath. The water was warm, and helped calm her nerves. She used her magic to levitate the book off to the side, above the water. Today she needed to find the second herb, a Ceravita Plant. According to the book, the plant could be found in the Everfree Forest. They would have to move a little faster today, because she sure didn't want to be stuck in there after dark, now less than ever. Another image of the piercing eyes flashed through her mind. She shuddered. The movement caused the water to ripple out and bounce back off the sides of the tub. The water eventually returned to its calm state.
If only I could get my mind calm again, she thought. She drained the bath water and got out, re-brushed her mane, and in a few minutes was out, waking Spike up. The baby dragon groaned like usual, saying he was having a nice dream about feasting on gems, and Twilight felt a twinge of jealousy that his sleep had been relaxing. Bu the feeling passed as Spike got out of bed to prepare for the day. Forty-five minutes later, the two were ready to go. The snow wasn't as deep as it had been yesterday, so it was easier to travel. Along the way, they ran into Fluttershy and Rarity, who were off for one of their spa appointments. Seeing Fluttershy made Twilight flinch, as it stirred a memory from the nightmare. She tried to regain her composure, but Rarity had noticed already.
"Are you all right, dear? Something the matter?" "No, I ... I'm fine. I just got hit by a cold breeze." Twilight responded. "Oh ... well ... I can understand that. A breeze in the face isn't fun..." Fluttershy said quietly.
Twilight agreed. Rarity didn't seem convinced, but a reminder that they were almost late for their spa appointment got them to move on after saying their good-byes. Spike had been too busy gazing at Rarity to notice anything unusual about Twilight's behavior. The two then continued through Ponyville until the reached the outskirts, and the entrance to the Everfree Forest. The woods were thick and green, opposite of the fields she and Spike had explored yesterday. She had been here several times before, though not every visit made her eager to go back in, and her recent dream didn't make her any more excited about exploring a dark forest. But Spike was getting curious as to why she had stopped, so she took a deep breath and went inside.
The forest was dark, as expected, even though the sun was getting higher in the sky. But it would have been darker still had it been night, and that thought helped her feel a little better. She used her magic to try and locate one of the Ceravita Plants, but she kept getting distracted by shadows, jumping at the slightest things. At one point, she screamed when she tripped over a root.
"Are you okay, Twilight? You seem a little upset." "It's... It's nothing." She was starting to wonder why she was so upset over the nightmare. That was all it was, and she hardly even remember most of it. "We should get back to searching."
She started to perk up, and was no longer timidly distracted by every little thing. Her magic was much more focused now, and her spell honed in on the location of one of the plants. After a little more searching through the thick forest, she found the plant, growing alongside a particularly tall evergreen tree. The plant was a colorful flower, a mix of hot pink, a royal purple, and a majestic blue. It seemed to glow with the essence of life, and just looking at it made Twilight feel warm inside. When she touched it, a burst of energy swept through her, dispelling any fears or doubts she had left. She took the plant and carefully placed it in her saddlebag, of course after she placed a protective spell on it so it would survive the trip home. The two turned and started to make their way out of the forest. Spike made for good company, and they had various random conversations: friendship lessons, which one of Pinkie Pie's parties had been the greatest, which one of Rarity's dresses was the most fashionable, and so on. Soon, they reached a part in the trees and came out into a field. At first, Twilight was surprised, but then she realized she had made a wrong turn during a conversation about apple cider.
Looking up, it was still bright out, maybe mid-afternoon. And then she saw another light blazing across the sky. She thought it was another shooting star. And then she realized it was broad daylight, so she probably shouldn't have been able to see it. And then she realized that whatever it was, she could see it because it was falling straight at them. Spike and Twilight made a dive to get behind a tree. Spike succeed, but Twilight stumbled over her own feet and fell face-first into the ground. Her eyes were closed, but she heard Spike yell her name before she fell unconscious. ...
When she came to, the first thing she saw was Spike, leaning over her. When he saw that she was awake, he started.
"You're alive!" He yelled, throwing his arms around her. Twilight was still dazed from the shock and couldn't respond. She shouldn't have been alive; the object should have crushed her. But before it hit the ground, it had dissipated, and the impact was more of a shock wave; one created from a magical origin. She hadn't been out long, and the debris was just now settling. There was a crater in the ground, not very deep, but noticeable. Twilight re-assured Spike that she was fine, then stood up and walked towards the center. AS she moved closer, she began pondering what kind of spell could have done this. She didn't know of any spells that could create a force like this, dropping a magic blast from the sky. She was still thinking about this when the last of the dust settled and she got close enough to see what lay in the crater's center. Spike saw it at about the same time, and the two of them exchanged a glance of disbelief. In the center was a young stallion.
It's... it's so dark. So cold, the stallion was thinking. He wasn't sure of where he was or how he got there, or even who he was. His memories had deserted him and left him all alone, with no idea what to do, where to go, or anything else. Why is it so dark? Why isn't anypony helping me? Am I dead?
"Hello? Anypony?" He called out, subconsciously hoping for a response, though not expecting one. But to the stallion's surprise, he heard a reply.
"Hello? Are you okay?" A girl's voice asked.
"Twilight, how can he still be alive?" A boy's voice, but not a pony's voice.
"I don't know, but he just mumbled something."
"Are you sure you're not hearing things? You've been imagining other things all day..."
"I know he said something." The stallion felt a nudge on his shoulder, and then a few taps, and then the sense came flooding back to him. He opened his eyes to find himself starring at the most beautiful mare he had ever seen. Of course, he didn't remember seeing any other mares, but still. Her coat was a beautiful light purple, and her mane was a lovely dark purple with a highlight of a pinkish color. Her face looked gentle, and her eyes had a depth and softness that seemed to make them sparkle. He must have been gaping or gawking, because the mare started to look uncomfortable and toss glances side to side. He gave his head a little shake to refocus. The mare had a hoof on his shoulder, and he realize she had been the one to shake him awake. He looked a little farther and saw a purple baby dragon, and figured he was a friend of the mares. She was the first one to speak.
"Are you all right? You took a really big fall."
"I'm fine." The stallion responded. A big fall? He thought. What exactly happened? But the mare didn't explain.
"Well, that's good. So, what's your name?" She asked. The dreaded question. But yet hearing this mare ask for his name somehow sent a spark through his shattered memory.
"I'm not sure, but I think it's Starlight Shimmer." He replied.
"Not sure? You mean you don't remember your own name?" The purple dragon asked. The mare nudged the dragon in a kind of scolding action. The stallion felt a bit of joy that the mare stood up for him, but it didn't really make up for the fact that he couldn't remember anything.
"Actually, I don't remember much of anything. I'm just going with a gut instinct for my name." The mare studied him quizzically, like he was a complex book, and she was trying to read deeply into him.
"He has amnesia," she said, mostly to the dragon. Then she returned her focus to him. "Anyway, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is Spike."
"Hi," was the dragon's acknowledgment.
"Uh...well, it's nice to meet you." He said. "So... where are we, exactly?"
"Welcome to Equestria." Twilight replied. "You ended up near my home, Ponyville."
"Ponyville and Equestria. Ringing a bell, but it's not coming to me." Amnesia, huh? Then where am I from? Is this it, or do I live somewhere else? He thought.
"Well, you may as well come back to Ponyville with us, in the mean time. Maybe you'll remember something when you see some different scenery." Starlight wasn't sure that would help, but at the very least he would get to spend some with Twilight and maybe make a new friend or two, so he decided to go along with them.
...
Twilight observed Starlight during the walk back. He was a well-built unicorn stallion, not too muscular, but still strong-looking. His coat was a grayish blue, gentle on the eyes, and hi mane was a rich, creamy yellowish white, a similar shade to the glow of the starts. his cutie mark seemed to be a star with a blazing trail after it, a shooting star (Twilight cracked a bittersweet smile at the irony), and the image of a shield was within the star. His eyes were ocean blue, deep and mysterious. And he was handsome. Twilight didn't want to admit that last part. He appeared to be around the same age as her, and his face wore an expression of gentleness. As far as his personality, he seemed infinitely curious, gazing all around the forest with wide eyes and a jaw partially dropped in awe, as if every new sight was a valuable treasure.
"Enjoying the scenery?" Twilight asked, wondering why everything seemed so mysterious to him. Sure, he had lost his memory, but surely he'd seen a forest before?
"It's... it's... it's.... amazing!" Starlight stuttered, "I've never seen anything like it!"
"Really? It's just a forest." Spike said.
"A forest, huh? Nope, I've never seen one before. Though now that I think about it, I might have read something about them once. These are trees, right?" Twilight smiled at the comment about reading; she was starting to like Starlight more and more.
"Yeah, they're trees. The smaller plants on the ground are flowers, and the green stuff we're walking on is grass."
"It's so... lush and green. I feel like wherever I'm from wasn't like this."
"So some of your memory is already returning?" Twilight asked.
"Not really, at least nothing helpful." By then they had gotten out of the Everfree Forest and were almost back in Ponyville. Starlight continued to wear his expression of awe and commented on how peaceful Ponyville looked.
"Yeah, it's quiet most of the time." Twilight responded, realizing that she had been thinking similarly yesterday, though she had called it "boring" instead of peaceful. Then she remembered her wish on the shooting star the night before and realized that today had indeed been more interesting. Unicorns falling from the sky was definitely not a normal thing. She refocused when Starlight responded.
"Well, it seems like a nice place, if first glances are any indicator."
"Anyway, I need to get back home so I can finish my mission. If you want to come you can, or you can explore town a little first." Starlight didn't want to leave Twilight and Spike so soon, but the air just seemed so fresh and inviting that he felt drawn to the town.
"I think I'm gonna explore a little."
"All right. Spike?" The baby dragon understood and spat out fire. At first, Starlight was startled, but the flames quickly gave way and a scroll remained in Spike's hands. He gave Starlight the scroll, who opened it up with his magic. His horn lit up that starish color as the scroll unfolded to show a map of Ponyville.
"We live in the library at the center of town; you can come there when you're done. Good luck."
"Thanks," he responded, and with that Twilight and Spike left him to decide where he should go first.
...
Ponyville was such a nice place. Everypony was friendly, and the atmosphere itself seemed to welcome Starlight to the herd. The land was green and lush and the air fresh, which helped Starlight relax. He still didn't remember exactly where he was from, but he got the feeling it was no where near as nice as Ponyville. Starlight put the map away inside his saddlebag. Where did he get the saddlebag? He had made it. Ever since he was a foal he had been able to use his magic to create objects. Nothing large, but completely solid. The magic object would remain as long as he needed it, whether he continued to use magic on it or not, and then shimmer back into nothingness when he was finished with whatever task the object had been made for. With the map tucked safely away if he needed it, Starlight to walk through town. He preferred this random approach to see where aimlessly strolling would get him, but he would have the map ready for when he needed to get to the library. Walking through town, he exchanged greetings with many of the town's folk and walked past several interesting places. But nothing jarred any specifics about his memory. The next group of ponies he saw were in a group of three. One had a white coat and a purple mane, with three diamonds for her cutie mark. The second was a pink pony, who's mane was also pink, and had balloons as her cutie mark. The pink pony was bouncing all over with seemingly endless energy while the white pony looked on in annoyance at her cheery companion. The third, a sweet shade of yellow with a light pink mane and butterflies for her cutie mark, quietly followed behind the other two, but still seemed to be enjoying herself. As Starlight walked passed, he said hello, and was about to keep walking when the pink pony gasped.
"Ohmygosh, Ohmygosh, Ohmygosh, Ohmygosh!" She exclaimed, then ran over to Starlight and bounced around, saying "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, nice to meet you! You must be new here, because I know ALLL the ponies in Ponyville, but I've never seen you before, and if I don't know, you must be new!" The white pony rolled her eyes.
"Please don't mind Pinkie Pie; she gets a little excited whenever she meets somepony new. I am Rarity, and this is Fluttershy." The yellow pony put her head down and mumbled something that might have been hello. The pink pony was still bouncing around, clearly excited to have made a new friend. Starlight wasn't sure why, but Pinkie's prancing filled him with energy, and he started jumping around, too. Rarity's jaw dropped.
"I see it, but I cannot believe it." She said. Fluttershy giggled. It felt good to Starlight to just get all the pressure off his chest by bouncing around.
"Hah-hah! And you need to meet all my other friends. First there's Applejack, then Rainbow Dash, and then Twilight!" Pinkie kept dancing around, but Starlight stopped.
"You girls now Twilight?" He asked.
"We sure do," Pinkie responded, "we're her bestest friends!"
"You know her, too?" Rarity asked.
"Yeah," Starlight responded, "we met this morning in a forest. I think it was called.... Everfree, maybe?" Rarity's eyes widened.
"You met in the Everfree Forest? Wait, where are you from?" Starlight looked down.
"I... I don't know. I met Twilight this morning. She found me unconcious in the forest. She woke me up, but I don't remember much. I have no idea who I am or where I'm from. Twilight said I might figure something out if I saw some different sights here in Ponyville, but so far I haven't recalled very much; only small details that don't help very much."
"I see..."
"Twilight told me to meet her at the library when I finished having a look around." Rarity giggled, though she made sure to hide it. After all, it was highly possible that Twilight had just found her first crush.
"Ooh, ooh! We could take you to the library!" Pinkie vouched. "A friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine!"
"Oh, sorry everypony," Fluttershy stepped in quietly, "but I need to get home and start preparing the winter animals' dinners." And with that she flew off after a soft good-bye. Starlight looked up at the sky. It was late afternoon, the sun still in the sky but starting to get low. Starlight decided it would be a good idea to have a guide that knew the town well, especially as it got darker.
"Sounds good. I appreciate it."
"Oh, it's no big deal," Rarity interjected, "friends help each other out." Starlight smiled. It seemed Ponyville really was a nice place, he was thinking as the saddlebag shimmered away.
...
Twilight finished her studying a little before sundown. When she had gotten back, she had Spike prepare to send the herbs to the Princess, and it was sent off quickly. After that, she spent the rest of the day studying amnesia. She had found various causes. Sometimes, traumatic events can cause a pony to forget things; or they could just not want to remember them. Or the most troublesome cause she had found: it seemed dark magic was also capable of blocking memories, possibly similar to King Sombra's control on the Crystal Ponies. She hadn't really learned learned much about a cure or counterspell, but there would be more time for that later. Now, it was time for dinner. She was setting up when there was a knock on the door. She went to answer it, thinking maybe Starlight had found something after being out for awhile. When she opened the door, she found out that he did find something.
"Hey Twilight! Hey Twilight! Lookie who we found!" Was the first thing Pinkie Pie had to say. Starlight gave a smile, and Rarity wore an expression that seemed to ask where does this pony get all her energy?
"Hey girls," Twilight said to her two friends, "I guess you've already met Starlight? Anyway, come on in, I was just getting ready for dinner."
"Actually," Rarity said, "we've already eaten. We took Starlight to meet Applejack and Rainbow Dash, and we had a lovely, if somewhat overly apple-based, dinner. And now I need to get home and finish a dress I was working on."
"And I need to plan a surprise party to officially welcome Starlight to Ponyville. ... Oh shoot, now it won't be a surprise! Erghh." Starlight's face shifted up into a smile in the fading light. He seemed much more relaxed than when Twilight had met him this morning.
"Oh, well... goodnight then girls. Starlight, I can go ahead and show you the guest room." Pinkie and Rarity walked off, with the latter turning her head back to give Twilight a wink, but the receiver wasn't sure of the intended message. Starlight gave a last glance after them, then followed Twilight inside.
"I'm jealous Twilight. You sure do have some great friends. They're so kind and easy-going."
"I'm glad you like them. What are your friends like?" She asked, and then regretted the question as soon as it came out of her mouth. "Oh... sorry."
"It's all right." Though he seemed to falter in his statement.
"Did anything come back to you while exploring?"
"Small things, childhood lessons, some likes and dislikes. A start, but nothing major." Twilight nodded, but wasn't going to press the subject any farther. Besides, she was really hungry by now. So she took Starlight to the guest room, and called Spike to help him settle in. The rest of the night passed quietly. They talked at one point, but she could tell Starlight was having a hard time keeping the conversation going, so she said goodnight and went off to bed.
Twilight woke up to a thud downstairs. It was still dark; in fact it looked like she couldn't have been asleep for more than an hour or two. At first she was worried, but no more noise came. She used her magic to create a light and opened her door. As she went downstairs, she saw a light on in the library. Twilight stopped her spell, then crept down to get a closer look. Starlight was on the ground, underneath a pile of books. It seemed that he had run into a bookcase. She giggled a little, then went the rest of the way down to help. When he saw her after the world stopped spinning, he blushed a little, realizing he had woken her up, and shook the books off.
"Uhhh.... Sorry." He said in an awkward apology.
"What were you doing?" Twilight asked, slightly annoyed at being woken up.
"I couldn't sleep, so I figured I'd try reading a little and see if I could learn anything. Nothing about my memories came back, but I ended up so interested in what I was reading that I lost focus and, well..." He gestured sheepishly at the pile of fallen books, but Twilight's expression had softened. After all, she had woken Spike up the same way just yesterday.
"It's all right. I'm up late reading all the time." The two used their magic to start cleaning up the books that had fallen. Most were "As" "Bs" and "Cs" from the nonfiction section, several along the lines of "Cures" "Brains" and "Amnesia." The two unicorns worked quickly, and soon only one book remained. Both grabbed it with their magic at the same time, and it began to glow a cross of purple and that yellowish-white. And at the same time, they both let go and it fell to the floor.
"I got it." Starlight said. Twilight stole a glance at the cover before Starlight physically picked up the book. It was titled "Blooming Romance," and the cover showed a couple, a light colored mare and a dark colored stallion, leaned up against each other watching the sunrise. In the forefront of the image were several young plants, just starting to blossom, but already looking stunning. The trees were still brown, but green leaves were starting to grow back. "Umm... shouldn't this be in fiction?"
"Oh, yeah." Twilight responded. "Yeah. Just put it on that table and I'll put it back later." Starlight put the book where directed. "Well, now that I'm up, I may as well do some more studying." She said. "How about you?"
"Heh. Well, I've still got a lot more to learn, so yeah. Let's go." He said with a smile.
The two were all over the place, looking at tons of different books. Some were instantly put back, some sifted through, and others thoroughly scrutinized. Whenever one found something they thought the other would find useful, they swapped books. Twilight searched for potential cures for amnesia, while Starlight researched the fundamentals. After a few hours, Twilight began to nod off. She fell asleep while reading about magic cures, and started to fall over. Starlight noticed in time and caught her with his magic before she hit the ground, and brought her over to the couch. He used his special magic to form a pillow for her, then went back to the podium where he had been reading. After a few more minutes, Starlight was fast asleep, hung over the podium. The page he had been reading summarized the strength of bonds. And that was how Spike found them the next morning.
...
Twilight dreamed of the shape-shifting figure again, but this time the location was brighter... sort of. The hall she was in seemed like a recreation of Celestia's throne room, except that everything appeared as a darker color. As Twilight walked through the hall and observed closer, she realized that everything was made of physical shadows. There was even a shadowy version of the stain glass mural that depicted her and her friends harnessing the Elements of Harmony. She reached out to touch it, but her hoof went right through it.
"Fascinating, isn't it?" Said a scratchy voice, one Twilight was unwillingly acquainted with.
"You!" Twilight exclaimed, turning to face the source. On the shadow throne sat the same character from before, currently copying Twilight's own body, but with the same piercing red eyes as before. "Who are you? What do you want?"
The creature ignored the question and repeated her own.
"Fascinating, isn't it? Even in dreams, this place retains its properties. Only ponies of special descent can step hoof into it. Of course, magic can be used to bypass that, but only a powerful magic." Twilight had no idea what the being was getting at, but it continued. "Love is a mysterious thing, no? So tender and fragile, yet capable of shattering otherwise impenetrable barriers and connecting separate worlds." The imposter chuckled. "Anyway, I dabble. That magic is protecting you now, but soon enough we will meet, my dearest Twilight. Of course, knowing that won't help you since you won't remember this conversation. Good-by for now..." And with that, the dream faded as Twilight yelled "Wait!"
Twilight woke up to Spike shaking her shoulders. At first, she wasn't sure where she was, but the night's events slowly returned to her. She was on the couch, resting on a pillow she didn't know she owned, and Starlight was slumped asleep over a podium.
"Jeez, Twilight, and you scold me about sleeping late."
"Wha-what time is it?" She asked, still a little dazed.
"Ten after eleven."
"Whoa, I slept that late?" Twilight had no idea when she had fallen asleep, but it must have been pretty late if she had slept this long. She groggily sat up and went to wake Starlight up. Outside, it was a nice morning, and the snow was almost completely melted. A few confused birds sat on a leafless tree, even though Spring was still awhile away. Starlight shook his head as he woke up; his morning mane was almost as bad as her own. he looked around blankly for a minute, and then realized what time it was.
"Oh... uh... mornin'." He said. Twilight smiled; it did seem like a good morning.
...
The next two and a half months flew by. Starlight became a common face in Ponyville. Almost everypony knew him, as he was such a helpful soul. Some days he could be found at Sweet Apple Acres, helping Applejack care for her new "Winter Apples." Other days he would be aiding Pinkie Pie in the creation of delicacies at Sugercube Corner. And even Fluttershy quickly warmed up to him and let him help care for some of her wintery critters. Of course, his favorite task was helping out Spike and Twilight at the library, which he had come to call "home" during his time here. Everypony else was nice and all, and he really did enjoy their company, but there was just a special spark he only felt around Twilight; like is existence was actually worth something, even though he still wasn't sure who he was or supposed to be. She didn't seem to care about his past; she never pressed him about it, and accepted him for who he was now. He still failed to recall most of his past, and while that was disappointing, he felt that his life here in Ponyville was much better than how he was living before. And most importantly, he was growing closer to Twilight. The two had been getting along extremely well, often spending hours together, cleaning the library or studying. Twilight had even found a spell that might help unblock his memories, but it was complicated and would take some more time to perfect.
Aside from chores around town, Starlight also enjoyed the scenery. Every other morning, he would get up and find a quiet place, usually somewhere around where Rainbow Dash lived, and would watch the sunrise. He wasn't sure why, but just seeing the the sun return to the sky filled him with a sense of wonder and joy. After that, he would just lay back and let time slip by, staring up at the clouds and dreaming about a future where he could be happy. He could sit there for a few minutes, or as long as several, enjoying the shining blue sky and the sun's warmth on his skin. Of course, this was ruined on days when the Cloudsdale weather ponies scheduled rain or snow, but that was just part of life. Sometimes he just had to let things pass, just like time itself kept going.
And just like that, it was the day Starlight had been waiting for since he heard about it from Twilight; today was Winter Wrap-Up day. She had told him her story of her first experience with the event, how she was worried she wouldn't fit in. She said she had clumsily tried several different things, from nest making to ice skating to field plowing before she found the role that best suited her; organizing the rest of the ponies for theirs. It was quite impressive that the entire process was organized by a single pony, so once a year, Twilight really got to shine.
Starlight was lying in the snow, considering all this, and how today would be his chance to show that he belonged here, kinda like Twilight. As the morning sun came up, dawn's first light began to shine directly through the branches of the leafless trees and reflect off the snow, lighting up the air in the appearance of miniature fireworks. It was moments like this that made him feel truly alive. After his morning display, he got up and trotted into town square, where everypony was gathering. It was just after sunrise, so not all the ponies had made it yet, but up on the stage stood Twilight and the mayor of Ponyville, awaiting the start of the day's events. Spike stood at Twilight's side, clipboard at the ready so the All Teams Organizer would be able to perform her duties. After ten more minutes, most ponies were out and ready to get going. The mayor stepped forward to address the crowd.
"Good morning, everypony! It's time once again to clean up Winter and bring in Spring. Since we all know the drill, I wish everypony good luck, and without farther ado, present our organizer, Ms Twilight Sparkle." Twilight stepped forward.
"All right then, we all know how to start." She stated with an air of authority. "The Blue Team will start out by finding the southern birds (please make sure Derpy knows which way South is), and the Green Team will start clearing the ground. Yellow Team will get right to work on waking up the hibernating animals. Sub-Team Pinkie will start slicing up the frozen lakes, and Sub-Team Rarity will work on nest making for the birds. Everypony know what they're doing?"
There was no denial from the crowd. "Then let's get Winter wrapped!" A cheer rippled through as everypony went off to their groups. Starlight could see several ponies in Blue gathering under Rainbow Dash, in Green around Applejack, and in Yellow around Rarity (because Fluttershy sure wasn't going to lead). Starlight went and found Twilight, and asked her what position he was assigned to.
She gave a mischievous smile, and said "Find your place." She gave him a wink and left to go make sure everything started out okay.
Starlight figured that meant he was supposed to try what Twilight had done the yer before and see where he could be helpful. He decided to start at Applejack's group, since he had been helping her on the farm frequently since his arrival. After a little walk, Starlight arrived at the work site. A bunch of ponies were hooked up to snow plows and were trotting along to clear the ground. He saw Applejack up on a nearby hill, overseeing the process and shouting commands when necessary. He went up to her.
"Hey Applejack, how's it going?"
"Howdy Starlight. It's going well enough. not the fastest year we've had, but we're gettin'er done."
"Anything I can do to help?" Applejack frowned and shook her head.
"Sorry, but we don't have any more snow plows, so there's really not much you can..." She was cut of mid-sentence by a loud thud and several bangs. The two looked down the hill and saw that Big Mac had tripped over a large rock that had been hidden beneath the snow and, judging by the way he was sprawling, had probably sprained a leg.
"Uh, welcome to the Green Team, Starlight. Could you take Mac's position while I get him home?"
"No problem. Go take care of your family."
"Much obliged. Just remember, no magic." And with that, Applejack went to help here fallen family member.
Starlight went down and got himself harnessed into the plow. When he was all set up, he went to work and helped plow through the snow. Many ponies were surprised by how strong Starlight actually was, as his pace was close to what Bic Mac's had been. after about an hour and a half, the ground was cleared to the point it needed to be for the Pegasus ponies to melt the rest. Applejack asked Starlight to go check on how Fluttershy's team was doing with the animals. She also said that Big Mac would be fine, he just needed to stay off his leg for a few hours. Starlight was glad to hear that, and went off to do as requested. Fluttershy was just waking up the bears when he arrived, and he watched with wonder at how well the timid mare handled such a large creature. When she was finished, he walked over and said hello.
"Oh... uhm... hi, Starlight. Did you need something?"
"Nothing much. Applejack sent me to see how you were doing."
"Oh, well, that was the last animal, so we're done here. A-as long as nopony else has anything to do."
"So, should I let the Weather Team know you're done?"
"Oh, that would be great, thank you... if you're not too busy."
"Nah, it's fine. We already finished plowing up at the farm."
"Okay then, thank you." Starlight left as Fluttershy went to triple check that all the animals were awake.
...
On the way into town, Starlight passed Twilight. His heart did a little flutter, the same way it usually did when he saw her. It was kind of funny. He had been living in the same building as her for over two months, but that only seemed to make her more distant. He knew she considered him a friend, but he wasn't sure if she had the same feelings he did. By now, she had seen him too.
"Starlight, hey. Is everything okay? Find a job?" Her eyes shone with a warm glow, like the essence of Spring was there, waiting for its time to return. Her multi-colored vest seemed to glow with the light reflecting off the last bit of snow. Everything about her made his heart beat faster.
"Y-yeah. I helped out plowing the snow, and now I'm off to let Rainbow Dash know she can have the Weather Team clear the sky.
"Did somepony say Rainbow Dash?!" Came a voice from up above, and the clouds started to clear. The first light of Spring was now shining on Ponyville.
"Well, I think you just told her." Twilight responded.
"Yeah, looks like it."
"Anyway, I still have one last stop to make. I'll see you back at home later."
"Uh... oh. See ya." And Twilight walked off.
...
The rest of Winter Wrap-Up went smoothly, and Winter was officially wrapped up about an hour before the previous year. the snow melted fast, Rarity's nest-building team hadn't had the same setback as last year (Twilight actually still had that nest around, mostly because it was unfixable, and kind-of a souvenir), and Derpy had actually gone South to get the southern birds (everypony was impressed). Twilight and the Mayor gave their congratulatory speech, and the days chores were finished. It was early the next morning that this speech occurred; earlier than last year, but planting still took long enough to push the chores into the dark hours of the day. It was maybe an hour away from the first sunrise in Spring. Starlight though about going back to the library and getting a little sleep, but he could just as easily stay awake another hour and watch the sun come up, welcoming his first Spring in Ponyville. So he started walking away while the rest of the ponies wrapped up congratulations and went to get some shut-eye.
...
Twilight had seen Starlight head away from town square. She would have assumed that he was going back to the library, but the path he had gone down lead to the Everfree Forest. So she went after him; the Everfree Forest wasn't the best place to be, especially alone at like five in the morning. Twilight reached the forest entrance right as Starlight vanished inside. She ran in after him, and managed to follow without getting left behind; she wasn't sure if he knew she was there, but he wasn't making it easy for her to catch up to him. Of course, he wasn't trying to lose her, either.
The forest changed seasons naturally, so there were still several snowy spots here and there. Thank Luna that the fading stars were numerous, and the moon clear in the sky, because they provided just enough light for her to see where she was going without using magic. And since it was the end of Winter, the trees were a little less green, so more light could slip through the verdant cloak. The forest itself was still as gloomy as it usually was, and most animals were still asleep, not to wake up for a few more hours. Starlight walked out into a clearing, and Twilight was soon behind. Starlight had laid down in the middle of the clearing and was looking up at the sky. Twilight watched for a minute or two, then went up to him.
"Starlight..." She started, not really sure what exactly to say.
"Why'd you follow me?" He had come here to get away from his problems.
"I was just curious what you were doing. Can I join you?" Starlight was quiet for a minute, then replied:
"Watching the sunrise. You might as well, since you're here." Twilight sat down next to him. he looked a little agitated, like her being there was causing him pain, but the longer he looked up at the sky, the more relaxed his expression became. After about half an hour of just sitting there, gazing at the stars, the first crack of dawn became visible, and slowly got brighter. Twilight stole a glance at her friend, who wore a small yet pure smile, as if the morning light had wiped away all his fears and doubts. Twilight had to admit, the sunrise was beautiful, and the view from this clearing was marvelous.
"Come to think of it, this is where we first met, isn't it? That seems like such a long time ago."
"Yeah, this is the first place I saw in this world."
"This world?" Twilight asked, sitting up so he could look at his face. "What do you mean, this world?"
"Well, there's still no name, but I remember a general image of my home, and I get the feeling it's not in this world. I think I'm here more by mistake than anything else."
Twilight thought about that. It was a little weird to think that Starlight could be from another world entirely, but ultimately it didn't really matter.
"Well, any way around it, I'm still glad I met you."
"But, I'm not even a normal part of your world. And..." Twilight put a hoof up to cut him off.
"It doesn't matter to me where you're from. You're you, and that's all I care about. And with that, she leaned over and kissed him. She hadn't come here meaning to let out all this emotion, but she couldn't deny any longer that she cared deeply for this unicorn. At first, Starlight's deep blue eyes grew wide and he started, but after a few seconds, he relaxed and kissed her back. The sun was now high enough to illuminate them, and the two were warmed by its embrace, as well as each other's. At that moment, the first buds of flowers sprang forth from the ground, rose buds, and began on their path to one day blossoming.