Talion began to pace back and forth as he watched the passengers getting off the train. Jackknife hadn't returned and still was missing when the train arived in Gate Station, the main station for people entering or exiting the country. So now he was looking for his friend among the throng of disembarking ponies.
"Jack! JACK!!!"
He continued to worry when no sign of him presented itself. He worriedly mumbled as the train began boarding.
"Cmon, where is he! He wouldn't just ditch me... would he? I mean, not that I could blame him given I caused this mess in the first place, but I kinda thought we were...."
"Ayyyy! Talion!"
----------------------------
I swooped down and landed right beside Talion as he spun in the direction of my voice.
"Jack!"
He rushed forward and hugged me tightly.
"Where were you!? You just vanished!"
I chuckled as he squeezed me against his floofy feathers.
"Well, I fell off the train, looked back, and said 'Hey! My bag's on there!' Anyway, could you tell me where exactly we are and why we're here instead of at work?"
He pulled away and gaped.
"You fell off the train!?"
I nodded with a grin.
"Yeah."
He looked at me again and said,
"And you're not... mopey any more?"
"Huh? What do you mean mopey?"
"Jack, what day is it?"
I tapped my chin as I thought.
"Uh... like... Tuesday?"
Talion grabbed me and took to the skies.
"Woah! Where are we going!"
"The hospital! Something's obviously wrong!"
I shrugged and began looking over the town we were in. It was larger than the other towns I'd been in ever since I'd been here, but not too large. Up ahead was a large building with a red cross on top.
Cool, I wonder where we are though?
--------------------------
A gryphon with greying fur and feathers held a dim light in front of my now unprotected eyes. I squinted a bit but he held my eyelids up with his claws. He moved the light back a d forth while I followed it.
"I'm not seeing anything. So what had you so worried?"
The doctor turned to faced Talion as I looked about the office.
"Well he started acting all depressed and weird earlier this week and then he claims he fell of the train and can't remember any of it! There had to be something going on!"
The doctor hummed before turning to me.
"So, what's the last thing you remember before you fell of the train?"
I looked up and squinted.
"Well... I left the hospital after getting the names Brooke asked for... and then I went into the forest. Oh! I remember picking some bright blue glowing flowers that I think gave me the massive headache I had upon falling off the train!"
"Blue glowing flowers? Were you near the Everfree Forest?"
Talion nodded.
"Yeah, the town was beside the Nebulae Woods, an offshoot of the Whitetail and Everfree."
The doctor clicked his tongue before motioning for Talion to follow him outside. Once safely out of earshot he turned to Talion and said,
"I think your friend wandered into some poison joke. It's a strange flower filled with chaotic magic that affects creatures in strange ways."
"So you're saying it made him super depressed and anxious and then he lost his memory? I've heard of the stuff before bit I thought it just made you get spots on your tongue or change colors when you sneeze."
"Some cases are more severe than others. A mare in Baltimare thought she was a fire breathing dragon for a whole month. When she got over the effects she couldn't remember any of it... and had an insatiable craving for spicy food."
Talion rubbed his temples and sighed.
"So how do you fix his memory?"
"You don't. He either naturally regains it or he doesn't get it back at all."
"You're saying there's no way for you to make him remember!?"
"No. Why is it so important to you? It was just a few days."
Talion groaned and looked away.
"We kinda... sorta... unofficially... started dating."
The doctor blinked before grabbing a clipboard.
"So the poison joke made your friend gay? Or was he before?"
"I don't think he was. Why are you--"
"Fascinating! It made him depressed and gay rather than chipper and clueless! I'm so writing a paper about this!"
-----------------
Talion and I walked out of the hospital with Talion looking downcast.
"Hey, cheer up buddy! It doesn't matter to me that I don't remember what happened! We're in the Gryphon Kingdom, aparantly, and we're, supposedly, going to meet your family!"
Talion sighed and shook his head.
"I'm fine. Just... nervous."
I wrapped a foreleg around his shoulder and gave him a pat on the shoulder.
"I love how shy you are! It's so freaking adorable!"
Talion blushed and looked away.
"Gee, thanks."
I laughed as we walked down a street that lead to a more residential area of town. We stopped in front of a house and Talion raised a claw to knock. He froze and took a deep breath.
"Well, here we go."
He knocked and a shrill voice rang out,
"I'll get it!"
The door opened and a small gryphon stood in the door. She gasped and Talion smiled.
"Hey, sis. How's it--"
"PONY!"
She pounced on me and latched onto my chest. I toppled over and lay on my back as she rubbed her feathered cheek against me.
"Sweetie! You can't just...."
The female gryphon that had come to the door froze.
"Talion?"
He grinned and rubbed the back of his head.
"Um... hi Mom."
"Oooh! She's so cute!"
They bother turned to look as I held the squirming gryphon in a hug. She had moved up to my neck and had wrapped all four legs around me. The gryphoness in the doorway sighed and beckoned us inside.
"Well, come on in. I'll try to pry her off you in a bit. But first," she turned to Talion and glared,"you have a lot of explaining to do!"
He sighed as we entered the house. Me with a tiny gryphon glued to my chest.
...
She's so dang floofy!