Jake woke up from a dreamless sleep not sure how to feel. A part of him wanted to be upset that he was the only human in the entire world, but another part of him wanted to feel a little hopeful due to the fact that he had someone that understood how he felt. He looked over at Spike and saw that the little dragon was still sound asleep. Jake gave a small smile as Spike mumbled in his sleep.
Jake crept out of bed, careful not to make a sound to avoid disturbing Spike. He stretched out his limbs and made his way to the shower to start his day. Jake quickly slipped off his underwear and bandages and stepped into the small tub. He crouched down and let the water hit him and just reveled in the sensation for a few blissful moments. After a while the silence was broken.
“What a rough night’s sleep.” Yawned a half awake Twilight. “Wait, the water’s already on.” Twilight’s eyes widened as did Jake’s. Both seemed to want to scream but couldn’t quite remember how. Jake tried to exit the shower in a hurry, but ended up tripping and sprawling onto the bathroom floor. In an attempt to prevent this he grabbed at the shower curtain only for it to rip off of the rings and drape over him. “Jake, are you okay?” Twilight called out.
“I think I bent it.” Jake squeaked.
“Are you talking about the shower rod? That’s completely fine, but the rings are broken though.”
“No I think I bent IT.”
“Oh, that.” Twilight replied with a blush. “Um… is that a common problem for humans?”
“Only in the mornings and… wait you saw it?”
“It’s not like I tried to. Besides, you see me without clothing all the time.”
“That’s different.”
“How is it different?”
“I don’t know it just is! Don’t ask me to explain because I don’t have an answer. It’s just a feeling I get.”
“What’s with all the noise in here?” Spike said rubbing one of his eyes. He took one look at the scene and said, “You know what I’ll leave you two alone.”
Jake sat down at the breakfast table with his bandages and underwear back on. He tried to avoid making eye contact with Twilight who was directly across from him. He didn’t know what to say after what had happened in the shower. Luckily he didn’t have to, Spike did.
“Here’s some breakfast for the two of you. You must be starving after your eventful morning.” He said with a chuckle.
“Nothing happened, Spike.” Jake spat.
“Sure, I totally believe you.”
“He’s right. We just had a little misunderstanding with our morning habits.”
“Can’t you guys take it easy? I’m just kidding.”
“You’re hysterical. What happened to that surrogate brother thing you were talking about last night?”
“It’s totally in effect. Messing with each other is how brother’s get along.”
“Then don’t worry bro, I’ll make sure to mess with you more.”
“It’s nice to see you two get along.” Twilight stated with a warm grin. “Now, hurry up and eat, there are a few tests I want to run.”
“Hey Twilight, did you find a scarf with me yesterday? After everything that happened I forgot to ask about it.”
“Yes we did. I can go get it for you if you like.”
“Thanks, Sweetie Belle gave it to me. She risked her life to give it to me I might as well wear it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I think that’s why she went to the Everfree Forest. When I found her she tried to tell me about the scarf.”
“You must’ve left a strong impression on her for her to do that.”
“I don’t know about that."
After Jake had scarfed down his pancakes Twilight gave him the scarf and led him into the basement. There, he found a large room filled with all sorts of strange implements. Most of it seemed to pertain to chemistry as shown by the multiple beakers, flasks, and test tubes. Then there were the large machines in the corner that Jake couldn’t even begin to imagine their purpose. For some reason Jake began to feel uncomfortable and had a strange urge to leave the basement immediately.
“Are you ok? You don’t look well.”
“Yeah, for some reason I get an odd feeling looking at this kind of stuff.”
“That might be some sort of memory working its way into your consciousness. Come on, let’s get started.” Twilight said, leading Jake toward one of the large machines and telling him to put on a strange helmet.
“Twilight, what are you gonna do with this thing?”
“Don’t worry, I’m just going to gauge your brain waves, and then I’ll examine the sections of your brain. You won’t even feel a thing.”
“I’ll take your word for it.” Jake mumbled as Twilight started the machine.
Almost immediately two needles similar to those on a polygraph started making markings on reels of paper. Twilight let the machine run for a minute before shutting it off and picking up the results with her magic. Her face tightened in concentration and scrutinized over the paper. After a few moments she brought over similar reels of paper toward her and looked at them as well.
“This is interesting.” Twilight stated, taking a look at Jake.
“What is it, do those readings mean something?” Jake asked anxiously.
“I think so. These readings are for most of the sentient creatures in the world.” Twilight said, letting Jake see the reels of paper. “As you can see there are some minor differences but for the most part are the same no matter the creature.” Twilight lectured. “Now, these are your readings.”
“This is completely different than the others you showed me.”
“Exactly, your brainwaves are just about opposite to those of other creatures. I can’t be sure but this might be why you’re able to read minds. Of course, there might be other factors to consider as well, so I’ll need more time to think of tests to prove this hypothesis.”
“Was there a reason for this test?”
“Yes, I wanted to make sure your mind was healthy. And other than the different pattern, everything seems to check out. Now, let’s take a look to see if we can map out your brain.” Twilight said, plugging the helmet into another machine. She used her magic to flip several switches and make some minor adjustments before the machine whirred to life. Twilight stared intently at the screen in the center of the panel and continued to make adjustments every once in a while. “This can’t be right.” Twilight gaped.
“What’s wrong?”
“I focused the machine on the memory center and… there’s almost nothing there.”
“What do you mean there’s almost nothing there?”
“From what I can tell, trace parts of the area are still active but for the most part your memory center is inert.”
“Could it be a part of the amnesia?”
“No, if it were amnesia there would still be activity, just limited access. This is more like somepony took your memory.”
“So there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“I might be able to do some research to see if there are any spells that are capable of something like memory removal, but even then I might not be able to reverse it. Sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. You did more than you had to.” Jake sighed, unstrapping the helmet.
“You should try relaxing for a while. I’ll come and ask you some questions later. Relax; when Celestia sees you I’m sure she’ll be able to help you.”
“Yeah, if this isn’t her fault,” Jake growled under his breath.
“What was that?”
“Nothing, I’m gonna go take a breather or something. Come get me when you need me.”
With that, Jake got up and left Twilight alone in the basement. She wanted to say something but could tell he needed some time alone and decided against it. Twilight kept looking at the scarce data she had and tried to make sense of it all.
‘What does any of this mean?’ Twilight wondered. ‘Come on, you are the personal student of Princess Celestia, there has to be a way for you to make sense of this. Jake is a human from another dimension. You know this from an old story that talks about Celestia summoning one. And if Celestia or even Luna for that matter had summoned him then they would have brought him directly to them instead of on the edge of Applejack’s orchard.
Maybe it was some other powerful spellcaster that messed the spell up.’ Twilight mulled the idea over for a while but eventually discarded it. ‘No, the fact that they brought a human, especially one able to survive in the Everfree Forest for as long as Jake did seems too convenient for something like that. So, who would know about humans and intentionally leave them somewhere that nopony goes toward.
Then there’s the matter of the amnesia. I can’t just label it as an effect of the spell that brought him here because the human from the story didn’t suffer from amnesia. Whoever brought Jake here wanted him to forget about his past. But why?! What would they gain from that?! Uggh, the more I think about it, the more my head hurts. I can only imagine what Jake must be going through right now.’
Jake chuckled as he leaned up against one of the bookcases in the main room of the library. It was a dry and bitter thing that died as it escaped his throat. He couldn’t help but feel as empty as his head was supposed to be. The small part of him that had hoped that his memory would come back to had died. Before he had a chance to continue his train of thought he heard a knock at the door. He managed to pick himself up and opened the door. Rarity walked in with a bright smile on her face and brought several rolls of fabric, some tools, and an oddly shaped mannequin with her.
“Good afternoon, Darling, how are you?”
“Hi, Rarity, I’m fine. What’s up with all the fabric and equipment?”
“I just got word from the hospital that Sweetie Belle is awake and is able to see visitors now. I thought that if I hurried over and worked as hard as I could, I might be able to finish your new outfit in time for both of us to go see her. I even made a crude mannequin for you. It's not my best work but it was all I could manage on a short notice.”
“Thank you, you really don’t have to do that for me.”
“I might not have to, but I want to.”
“Alright, I don’t think I’ll be able to change your mind anyway.”
“Very good, it seems you don’t lack in sense.” Rarity said with a quick smile. Then she noticed the scarf and quickly asked, “Jake, where did you get that scarf?”
“Well, this is what Sweetie Belle gave me when I found her. She was saying something about it before I convinced her to rest. Why do you ask?”
“Oh, no reason,” Rarity chimed, “I can just recognize her work anywhere.”
“Ok, if that’s all then let’s get started.” Jake replied, he could tell there was something she was hiding, but didn’t feel like pressing her on it.
“Yes, first thing’s first; spread your arms so I can take your measurements.”
Jake did as he was told and pretty soon measuring tapes flew around him and began to settle on different areas of his body. Then, they flew back to Rarity where she began to record the information provided, all the while wearing a pair of red glasses. Rarity stared at Jake for a while with a sketch pad floating in front of her and rubbed her chin with a hoof. After a while her face brightened up and she disappeared behind the pad. When she was done she turned the pad so that Jake could see, with a smile on her face.
“Well, Darling, what do you think?”
The sketch had a simple design, but still felt somewhat elegant. The shirt was a short sleeved button down that seemed to match the frame of Jake’s torso. The pants were similar to slacks and cut off slightly below the ankle.
“I like it, it’s just the sort of thing I need.”
“I’m glad you like it. I’ll have it done as soon as I can.” Rarity said, picking up a couple of fabric wheels.