Chapter 1
By the time the unicorn woke up the next morning, the zebra had prepared another meal and was packing several small bundles into a saddlebag. She noticed her guest was awake and nodded in his direction. "Good, you are awake, my friend. And your wounds are fast on the mend."
"Yeah, I feel much better. Thank you, umm...oh, I never did get your name."
"Zecora is my name, but yours I do not know. That is why we must soon be ready to go."
The unicorn heard little beyond the mare's name. He continued to eat his soup in silence, trying to remember something, anything. With his head recovering, he should start to regain his memory, but nothing came to him. It should be fine, he thought, just a bit more time and I'll know exactly why I'm here. Even in his own mind, he did not sound confident.
"Are you ready to leave yet?" Zecora asked as she finished packing a second bag. She noticed the gray unicorn's confused expression, and realized she had not yet told him of her plan for today. She laughed at her own mistake. "Oh, of course, how could I forget?"
"What? Where are we going?"
"To the nearby town of Ponyville. Meet a few good friends of mine, we will."
Friends? Maybe one of them knew who he was, or could help him find a way to remember. Suddenly feeling very hopeful, the unicorn put on the second saddlebag and joined Zecora at the door.
The two trotted down the forest path at a leisurely pace. Though the sky was free of clouds, the path became covered with a thick mist as it trailed away from the clearing. Still, it was far better than it had been last night, and the obstacles along the road were very easy to find and avoid.
"Where are we going?" the unicorn asked, "I can't see anything."
"Meet a friend of mine, we will, who lives just beyond this hill."
"A friend. I see."
The trees and mist abruptly ended at the base of the hill. The open area now before the pair of travelers shone in bright daylight, and still not a single cloud could be seen overhead. Many birds were singing in one large tree, directed by the motions of the mare facing them.
Her fur and wings were a light yellow color. Her long, pink mane covered most of her face from view. On her flank was a mark resembling three pink and cyan butterflies. She flew around the tree, encouraging the birds and warning those who sang too high or low. Her voice was barely above a whisper, inaudible over the birds.
Zecora waited for the birds to fall silent before approaching. "Fluttershy, what a wonderful song. To hear such music again, I have waited too long!"
Fluttershy slowly flew lower to the ground, landing softly in front of Zecora. "Umm, thanks, Zecora. You could visit more often, if you wanted to."
"Perhaps another time, I might. But first, see whom I met last night." With this, Zecora stepped aside and left the unicorn facing Fluttershy.
The two locked eyes for only a moment, then simultaneously fell back as if to hide themselves. After a pause of several seconds, the yellow pegasus looked out from behind her wings to meet Zecora's new friend.
Staring into Fluttershy's teal eyes, the unicorn was paralyzed, unable to do or say anything. What's going on? he thought, Why can't I talk to her? It's just a simple conversation, yet I...
"Well, say something!" one side of his mind screamed, "Don't just stand there, talk!"
Fluttershy was the first to speak. "Um, hi. I'm Fluttershy. It's nice to meet you..." her voice trailed off and she flinched back a bit, as of afraid of the conversation and the unicorn's possible response.
"Hi, I'm..." It occurred to the unicorn that he didn't know his own name. He also fell back a step. "Actually, I really don't know who I am. That's why we came here, to find somepony who could help me remember."
The two continued to stare at each other for a while, neither of them willing to speak. Zecora, sensing this conversation might last all day with no results, came back between the other two. "Perhaps the library will hold the key. Now, if you please, follow me." She set off down the path, past a sign that read "Ponyville" in faded white lettering. The gray unicorn and yellow pegasus exchanged glances before rushing to catch up to Zecora.
The three travelers followed the path over another hill. On the other side, a town was visible. Zecora turned to face the gray unicorn, "We have reached Ponyville, finally. Now, to find the library."
"What will we..."
"Hi! How are ya?"
This voice was unfamiliar to the unicorn. He looked past Zecora to find a pink pony who had suddenly appeared in front of the travelers. She bounded around Zecora and Fluttershy, greeting each with a simple "Hi!" before landing barely a hoof's width from the unicorn's face.
"Hi there! I'm Pinkie Pie, who are you? I don't know you, so you must have just shown up here! I can tell; I know everypony in Ponyville, so I know a new face when I see it. Have you been to Ponyville yet? Oh, of course not, why else would you be all the way out here if you weren't looking for the town? So you met Fluttershy and Zecora? They're nice, but there are lots of others all over town. I can't wait to introduce you to everypony!"
Zecora stepped in and spoke, "Calm yourself, Pinkie dear. Let us explain why we..."
Pinkie Pie would not be stopped. "Oh! I know! We should throw a party! That would be a great way to welcome you to Ponyville! Everypony'll be invited. I'll bring cake, balloons, and a really big banner that says, 'Welcome' umm..." She stopped and faced the unicorn again. "Hey, what's your name?"
"What?"
"Your name, silly! What does everypony call you?"
"Oh, well, you see, I really don't know. We came here to find help..."
"I know! We should go to the library! I sure Twilight has a book somewhere that can help you!" With that, she turned and hopped off toward Ponyville; her mane and tail, slightly darker than her fur, bounced along with her as if they were weightless. Watching her, Zecora shook her head and laughed softly. She gestured for her friends to follow, then headed down the path to town.
The unicorn turned to Fluttershy. "She's throwing a party for me? What did I do?"
"You don't have to do anything. Pinkie Pie throws parties for every visitor to Ponyville, or whenever she feels like it. It's pretty common." Her voice was clear, but it was barely above a whisper. It took some effort to make everything out.
"You don't seem too excited about it."
"Oh, I am excited. The party will be as great as always, but first we have to get you to the library."
The three travelers (Pinkie Pie seemed to have vanished during the conversation) had reached the town of Ponyville. As they walked down the main road, named Stirrup Street by a wooden sign at the town border, the unicorn was surprised by the sudden change in atmosphere. The forest had been quiet and peaceful, but the town was filled with sound and activity. Ponies hurried in and out of shops, argued over the price of various goods and objects, and trotted up and down every street. Many seemed to be preparing for an event of some sort. Pinkie Pie sure works quickly, doesn't she? the gray unicorn thought as he looked all around for signs of the building he found in his saddlebag, the library of Ponyville.
Zecora looked back to the others. "Right this way, my friends. This is where our journey ends." She had stopped and turned to face a large structure built into a tree. The place had few decorations, save a lantern hanging over one of two balconies, and a small weathervane. The front door presented an image of a burning candle, and a sign just outside the entrance pictured an open book. The gray unicorn held his breath as he recognized the place. This was the building in the picture found in his saddlebag; this must hold some clue to who he is, and why he was in the forest last night!
Fluttershy noticed the unicorn's sudden excitement. "What is it?" she asked.
"I had a picture of this place in my saddlebag last night. This is important, but I don't yet know how, or why."
The door opened at that moment, and out stepped a pale purple unicorn. Her mane and tail were mostly blue, with one rose-colored streak and one of a dark violet hue. Her eyes, also violet, brightened further when she saw her friends. "Fluttershy, Zecora, it's great to see you both! What brings you here?"
"Well, Zecora found this injured unicorn in the Everfree Forest. He doesn't remember who is he or why he's here, so we brought him to find some help."
Fluttershy and Zecora parted to let the unicorns meet. The purple mare was the first to speak. "Hello there. I am Twilight Sparkle, apprentice to Princess Celestia and librarian of Ponyville. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The stallion offered a short bow. "Thank you."
Twilight led the others into the library as Zecora explained last night's events in detail. The shelves were filled completely with books of all sizes and colors. Many of the titles on the spines were too faded to make out. Twilight seemed to know exactly where to look, though, and she quickly narrowed her search to a low shelf. "Let's see now...remedies for amnesia would be somewhere around...here!" she exclaimed as she pulled a large, red book out.
Rather, she used her magic to pull the book out, her horn glowing a brilliant violet light. As the book floated toward a small desk on the opposite side of the room, Twilight thought of another way to help the gray unicorn regain his memory. If we can get him to use his magic, maybe that will trigger some of his memories and help find out who he is. She decided to test that theory tomorrow. Bringing the gray unicorn over to the desk, she opened the book and began looking for the amnesia remedy. "We should be able to get the ingredients from the marketplace, and anything else will be..."
"Hi, everypony!" Pinkie Pie had suddenly appeared in the room, bouncing around the center table. "Just coming to bring you all to the party!"
Twilight looked up from the book. None of the windows or doors were open, yet Pinkie had managed to get in. This was hardly a surprise, though. "Pinkie Pie, we're a bit busy right now, so can you wait until I finish? I'm trying to help our friend here."
"I'm helping him too," the pink mare replied as she pushed the two away from the desk and toward the front door. "He can't miss his own party, can he?" Soon all four ponies were outside, following Pinkie Pie down the road. "Come on, everypony, it'll be fun!"
"Of course it will," the gray unicorn said in a dull monotone, just quietly enough that Pinkie Pie was the only one out of earshot. "I just can't wait to get started."