Rainbow Dash jumped down the stairs like a little kid on Christmas morning, urging Fluttershy and Rarity onward as if they were her parents.
"That's it? He's just... quitting the charade?" Rarity skeptically asked.
"I guess you could call it that," he responded. Ty sighed as he looked at everypony's expectant faces. "Now, this will definitely seem strange and unorthodox, but you'll just have to bear with me."
"We're all ears! If you don't count the rest of us, that is," Pinkie said.
"Oh, boy. I can't believe I'm doing this", he muttered. "Alright, I think it was two days ago when I first got here. It was right in that forest where the waterfall is."
"Wait," Twilight stopped him. "Got here? Where were you before you got to the Everfree?"
"Look, nosy Nancy, I'd get to that... if I could answer it," Ty shot, getting somewhat awkward glances from the main six.
"Now how do ya' not know where ya' came from?" Applejack questioned, clearly unimpressed.
"That's just the thing, I don't. I don't know where I am or where I was before now, let alone who I was."
Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared an uneven look at each other while everypony else just stared at him in disbelief. Fluttershy looked especially concerned, surprising since some of her tears hadn't entirely stopped. "Oh goodness, so you have amnesia?"
"If that's the term for a loss of memory that isn't just blatant forgetfulness, then yes. I don't suppose any of you six know what might've happened"
Everypony looked around at each other as they wondered what Ty could have meant by this. Twilight decided to speak up. "Well, I was concerned when Rainbow Dash came to me to tell me about you yesterday, so after she left I did some digging. She gave me a rundown of your basic appearance and, weirdly enough, the closest we got to your coat and mane colors were a skier named Double Diamond, but he's been missing for a few years and had a different cutie mark. Even weirder, nopony has never seen a pony with eyes like yours. Birth records from the last forty years didn't turn anything up either."
Pinkie popped up suddenly. "It's a lot like looking into a mirror, just instead of seeing you now, it's back when everything was black and white!" she said in a tangent.
Ty looked shocked. At Twilight's statement, not Pinkie's. He knew to disregard that. "Okay. First, holy cow that was a lot of work for one pony in one night. Second, I thought I told you not to do that. Finally, forty years was way too much for a fifteen-year-old."
...
"You're how old!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders.
Ty winced in anxiety. That, and his ears hurt now. "I don't entirely understand how amnesia works, seeing as I still know how to talk (Thank goodness I'm in the English version, knowing my luck I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up in a Spanish translation), but sometimes I just... remember things. It's weird, but it's happened, seeing as how I know my age. Once I was getting into a bush to sleep, then I thought, 'I'm in Equestria.'" Ty finished with a gulp more audible than it should have been. "Right?"
"Yes," Rarity answered him. "Ponyville, specifically."
"Thank you." That's reassuring. Maybe I'm closer to the canon universe than I thought. "And Celestia and Luna still rule the place?"
"M-hm," Rarity responded again. Ty only now realized Rainbow Dash was trying to stutter something out.
"B-B... Fifteen? How? You're the same height as most of us."
"Why's that matter?" Ty said, looking over at Pinkie. Now sitting in a rocking chair, Ty saw he was indeed a the same height as Pinkie. The others were all around the same size.
"Cuz' it jus' don't make sense," Applejack said, shaking her head. "That's only two years older than Applebloom, yet yer' still nearly twice her height!"
Wait, aren't Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon that old too? The sizes here make no sense.
"It's out of my control. Just like a lot of others." Ty muttered, "Like how I'm here. A lot of things about me don't make sense."
Twilight just rubbed her hoof against the wooden floor in thought, "I need to think about this," she said as she turned to the stairs that led to the main floor.
Ty turned to his flank and sighed, "Like how I'm one of the elements of cringe or something. Of all it could've been, I get that as a cutie..." he trailed off as he realized everypony in the room was focused squarely on him, even Twilight, who had turned away from the exit as he started to talk quietly to himself.
"The elements of huh?" Twilight questioned, looking extremely confused. Ty looked around nervously as he realized he'd let something from his homeworld slip.
"Um, it's not important," Ty said lamely.
"A set of elements other than us is absolutely important!"
Of all things to randomly mention, I bring up a Youtube series that hasn't had an installment in four years.
Ty wanted to get off this topic quickly. "Wait, you're a set of elements?"
Rainbow couldn't lose this opportunity to gloat. "Yup! Elements of harmony, live and in person! Name's Rainbow Dash, element of loyalty," she reached out to give him a hoof shake, only to jerk him towards her. "Oh."
"It occurs to me you all have a lot to learn about hospitality," Ty shot a glare at Twilight and Applejack. Wait. In person?
"Hehe..." Twilight laughed nervously, while Applejack just watched Ty skeptically.
Rainbow Dash got back to introducing Ty to their fame, and started listing off her friends, extending a forehoof toward each of them, "Getting back to the important part, Pinkie Pie is laughter, Rarity's generosity, Fluttershy is... missing, apparently. She was kindness."
Everypony just noticed Fluttershy wasn't heard from for a long time. Rainbow Dash only cared enough to look for two seconds, as she was just in the corner, too nervous or shy to say anything.
"I'm just back here. I don't, um, really have anything to add."
Rainbow Dash ignored this and continued, "Applejack's honesty and Twilight is magic. Finally finished," Rainbow said with a smile of relief.
Ty made his best inquisitive face. "What do elements actually do?"
Rainbow Dash was beginning to brag again, before Twilight silenced her by placing a hoof in her mouth. "That's what I'm trying to figure out, Mr. element," she scowled.
Ty gulped. Maybe it's best I just come up with something simple that would make sense in this universe.
"Ugh, fine. The elements of cringe were another set of elements that disappeared ages ago. Happy?"
Twilight slowly got an excited look on her face. "I've never heard of another element set before! What were the elements? Who were the bearers? What about their disappearance?" Twilight rambled, pushing her muzzle inches from his. Eyes widening to an almost frightening degree.
All right, this is going to go too far. "Do I have to talk about that?" he asked Twilight. Her face slowly got red in anger. "Okay! Fine!"
Twilight exhaled, pulling her head back, "Oh, thank you."
"The elements of cringe were pain, awkwardness, stupidity, disgust, misfortune, and recklessness. I'm fairly certain I'm misfortune, and that's all I can say," Ty shot off, eager to get this over with.
Nopony seemed to know how to respond. Pinkie burst out laughing. "Wow! We got that worked up over a random pony, and they turn out to know about lost elements. Then after all that, they're the element of misfortune!"
"You know, you've got a point," Ty thoughtfully said. "You were this concerned about a pony who came here with little knowledge of how things work here. Then when he does get here, all he has is a toque."
Twilight didn't know what to be confused about. She picked the boring option. "What's a toque?"
That's what you want to know? "A kind of hat."
Rarity perked up at the mention of clothing. "Oh! Do you mean this lovely little thing Fluttershy found?" She levitated Ty's toque seemingly out of nowhere. Ty's confusion was subsided by finding something more familiar.
"Hey! You found it!"
Rarity got a bit too into the clothing for Ty to hear, something about "shading" and "interweaving." This went on for some time until she addressed him directly.
"Huh!? Hm!? What!?" Ty was startled like he had been abruptly woken up.
"This 'patch' on the side. What does it mean?" Ty had no idea what Rarity was talking about until she rotated it, revealing two band-aids crossed in an X pattern on the back left.
Ty didn't recognize it. "I don't know, symbolism?" Rarity just shrugged.
"Eh. Makes as much sense as any other explanation. I initially thought it was a designer's mark." Ty just gave her a confused glance. She continued. "Like how I always use my cutie mark on the tag so ponies know I made it. I figured you made it yourself."
Ty seemed to understand. "No. That was on there when I had awoken. Plus, you know those are bandages right?"
Pinkie was the first to inspect the toque's mark, popping out from behind Rarity. "Oh yeah! These always seem to appear when I get hurt. Don't know how." Ty regarded this sarcastically. The animation budget, that's how.
"Yeah, I've gotten familiar with those lately," Ty said. "Just another cartoonish aspect to pile on to my physical attributes. Speaking of which, do you think I could, y'know, stand?"
"How do we know we can trust you?" Rainbow Dash questioned intently. Ty just smiled.
"Rarity? Hand me my toque, please."
Rarity's nose scrunched up. "Hand?"
Ty loudly groaned, "Ugh... hoof! Just give it to me, please," he finished with a tired tone in his voice.
"Err, right. Of course dear." Rarity levitated the hat on his mane, making his head visibly dip from pressure.
"Careful! You're going to snap my neck!" He winced while rubbing the back of his neck with his head. Ty then pulled his head back up, causing the toque to fall over his eyes. "Um... Anyway, why would you need to trust me?"
"If I fell off a cliff I'd need to trust you to pull me up," Rainbow Dash said with a tone that seeped with sarcasm.
"If you were holding onto a ledge, you'd just pull me down with you. Plus, you can fly."
Rainbow Dash just chuckled to herself. "Heh. Fair point," she said as she went to work on the ropes.
"How do we know we can trust you?" Rainbow Dash questioned intently. As these events transpired, Applejack leaned against the wall, a sour expression on her face.
Twilight was simply watching when Applejack leaned over to her. "That's just it. We can't," Applejack whispered. Twilight glanced over in confusion.
"Why do you say?"
"Come on now, Twilight! This whole thing is just an act! He's givin' us a bunch of literal horse crud," Applejack attempted to convince Twilight as they both turned back toward the mysterious pony, who now had his toque over his eyes.
"He looks harmless. Plus, he seems sincere to me," Twilight argued.
"That's cuz' yer' not me. Element of honesty and all that? Ah' can tell when somepony's lyin' and that there was a massive example! Fer' all Ah' know he coulda' been eatin' mah' apples. Ah swear, he's reminding me more and more of that other stallion we saw the other day."
Twilight raised a hoof to start objecting, but slowly put it down again. "Fair enough. I'll keep that in mind."
As the two ponies got back to the subject at hand, Ty was finally up on his hooves again. "Shoot, my back hurts a ton."
'Shoot'?
"Are you all right?" Fluttershy asked.
"Yeah, I think so. You're too kind." This made her blush slightly.
"Oh, thank you," Fluttershy mumbled.
"No, I'm serious. I get you're the element of kindness, but that doesn't mean your entire life has to center around that one trait," Ty looked at her with an unimpressed yet somehow concerned look. He twisted his back into multiple (And rather unsettling) positions, causing several snapping sounds. If he twisted any harder he'd definitely end up killing himself. "Holy cow, what did you bring me here with, bricks?"
'Holy cow'?
"Nah, I just carried you." Rainbow Dash said in a tone reminiscent of bragging, but you can't brag about lifting a sack of air.
Ty looked at her questioningly. "That's it?"
"Yeah, and you might want to consider working out. It was easier than turning the page in my Daring Do books.
"Hey!" Ty stomped a hoof on the ground, making a noise a couple of bats heard. "I weigh more than a sheet of paper! I'll just..." Ty looked around and, to a very small amount of surprise, found what he was looking for.
"Use this balance scale and paper sheet that're just... here, I guess." Ty trotted over to the scale and bent over to pick the paper up. To absolutely nopony's surprise, he found that he can't.
"Okay, what is wrong with me?" Ty held his hooves in front of his face in exasperation, marveling at how inconsistent this cartoon world actually is.
"Here. Let me get that for you." Fluttershy walked over and, with no effort, simply blew on the page, sending it directly onto the scale.
"Wow. I knew pegasi could control the weather but not to that extent," Ty thought out loud. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy simply looked at each other with confusion.
"We didn't do anything to the wind," Rainbow Dash said with a confused and skeptical tone.
"Of course you didn't," Ty said as he lifted himself onto the balance. It didn't even move at first, but then it tipped sharply a few inches. Ty felt himself being raised. His eyelids drooped as he moaned, "Of course."
Applejack seemed slightly relieved, figuring he was nothing more than an 'insecure liar' who didn't want to share who he was at first rather than an actual threat. "Well now that that's cleared up, what're we s'posed ta' do now?"
"Maybe you could let me leave?" Ty mumbled to himself before getting loudly interrupted by Pinkie Pie.
"I know! We'll give him a tour of Ponyville!" she shouted, making everypony look in her direction. Most were rubbing their ears.
Ty felt like this could be a way out. "Eh, why not?" He looked around at the cartoonish characters in front of him. This ought to be an interesting tour.