//------------------------------//
// Part 2 
// Story: The Impossible Girl 
// by Doctor Perseus 
//------------------------------//

     I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of terrified screaming. I raced out of my room and followed the screaming to Twi's room. I burst into the room to find Twi lying in bed and screaming in her sleep. I ran over to her and began to shake her awake.
"Twi! Wake up! It's just a nightmare! It's just a nightmare! Wake up! WAKE UP!" I cried. Finally, I managed to shake Twi out of her nightmare. Her eyes shot open and she looked straight up at me. Tears began rolling down her face and she proceeded to lean into me and sob frantically.
"It was horrible! I was so scared!" she cried. I heard a yawn and turned to see Tanya appear in the doorway.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Go and get Twi some water from the kitchen. Everything's fine. She just had a bad dream," I replied. Tanya sighed before turning and heading into the kitchen to get the water. I turned back to Twi and patted her head softly. "Everything's okay, Twi. It was just a bad dream."
"No!" she gasped as she sat up and looked at me. "It felt so real!"
"Was it a memory?"
"No...it didn't feel like a memory. It felt like I was watching something that was happening right now!" Tanya returned with the water and handed it to Twi.
"Here you go," said Tanya. 
"Thank you," Twi said as she took the water and practically inhaled it.
"What did you see in this nightmare?" I asked. Twi began to shake as she began recounting the memory.
"I was in a forest," she explained. "It looked kind of like this forest and yet it didn't. It must have been some ways away from here. Anyway, I was walking through this forest. It was the dead of night and it was completely dark. There was no moon out. Then, I saw something moving about in the darkness. I approached it and found myself coming across a boy...a young, naked boy."
"What did the boy look like?"
"He was fair skinned, like us. He looked to be around Tanya's age, maybe a bit younger. He had spiky, green hair and green eyes. He had several cuts and bruises on his body and he was sweating a lot. He looked to be completely lost and afraid. Then, someone came out of the darkness and attacked him."
"Who?"
"I don't know. I couldn't really see them, but I could tell that it was a woman. The woman tackled the boy and tied his hands and legs. She told him...she told him that it was wrong for him to try and get away. She laughed at him. Oh...damn that laugh of hers! Anyway, she told him that it was a bad move for him to try and escape her. She said that she was going to keep him alive until they found her."
"Found who?"
"I don't know. The woman never mentioned this other person's name but rather kept saying her. The woman said that once they found her she would kill him first and her second. Then...then she said that she would have to punish him. She pulled out a long, jagged stick...and...she stuck it straight up his...I can't! I don't want to remember that!" Twi fell back onto her pillow and buried her face into her hands.
"That's one screwed up nightmare," Tanya said.
"That's not helping, Tanya," I sighed.
"Whatever. I'm going back to bed. Sweet dreams." Tanya then yawned as she turned away and left the room.
"Everything's going to be fine, Twi," I said as I turned back to Twi.
"That poor boy," Twi cried from behind her hands. "That poor boy."

Twi eventually managed to fall back to sleep with me by her side. I had then retreated to my own room to get some sleep. I woke up to the smell of bacon and eggs the following morning. After getting dressed, I trudged into the kitchen and living room area to find Tanya sitting at the table and munching on a bacon and egg toast sandwich.
"Morning," she said as she noticed my presence. "There's some leftover food on the counter if you want anything." I nodded as a sign of thanks and grabbed a plate of bacon and eggs. I proceeded to sit down in the chair opposite to the side of the table where Tanya was sitting.
As I ate my breakfast, I noticed that Tanya appeared to be thinking of something. "Something on your mind?" I asked. Tanya simply shook her head before taking another bite out of her sandwich. "Are you sure?"
"I'm fine, Aaron. In case you're wondering, Twi's out at the swimming hole."
"I didn't even know she was awake yet."
"She woke up a little bit after I did. I offered her some breakfast but she said no and walked out to the swimming hole."
I looked out the nearby window and just barely managed to make out the silhouette of Twi moving about in the water of the swimming hole. "Was she all right when you saw her?"
"A bit tired but mostly fine. I figured that nightmare of hers probably took a toll on her."
"Yeah." Tanya suddenly gave a nervous laugh. "What?"
"Oh...it's nothing."
"Tell me."
"It...it's just that a lot of this sounds familiar."
"What does?"
"Things Twi's describing: an older brother with blue hair with a position of authority, a young boy with green hair, and even her own nickname. They all sound familiar; like I've heard something similar to those things somewhere before."
"How can they sound familiar? We only met Twi two nights ago."
"Exactly my point. I think there's something strange about Twi."
"You're just being suspicious again."
"And you aren't? Are you telling me that you don't have one ounce of curiosity about her forgotten life?"
"No. Of course I'm interested in learning more about her. She's quite a mystery to me as well."
"Then how come you're not as suspicious as me? You're so open and welcoming to her."
"It...it's complicated. It just feels right to trust her; and don't you dare say it's love or any of that crap!"
Tanya smiled and raised her hands in defense. "Hey, I'm not making any accusations."
"Yeah you are. I know you."
Tanya gave another laugh and smiled. "Okay, maybe I'm making a few." I smiled at my sister and gave a calm chuckle. "I heard her say something strange last night."
"Twi? When she'd say something strange aside from talking about the nightmare?" I asked.
"I heard her talking in her sleep when I woke up this morning," Tanya replied. "She kept begging somebody to not hurt a certain him. She kept saying, 'Don't hurt him! Please, don't hurt him! Leave him out of this! Go away and never return! Leave them all alone!'"
I scratched my chin with curiosity as I took another bite of bacon. "I wonder what it means."
"I'm not entirely sure; but what I am sure of is that her memories are probably not very good." Tanya and I fell silent and proceeded to eat the remnants of our breakfast without speaking another word.

Tanya retreated to her computer after breakfast and I decided to go out to the swimming hole to talk to Twi. Twi had borrowed one of Tanya's purple swimsuits and was lying on the surface of the water. I approached the edge of the water and sat down. I remained silent for I didn't want to scare her. For a moment, I sat there and watched her lie there on the water's surface. Her long, purple hair spread out around her head and made her look like a humanoid peacock. It was during this moment of silence that I decided to examine her hair. Upon first seeing her, I had assumed that her hair's color was simply the result of her using hair dye in her past. Now, upon taking a closer inspection, I found myself strangely doubting this fact. Her hair didn't look like it had been dyed. I couldn't even see the roots. It was almost as if her hair color was natural. But this was impossible. Humans can't have naturally purple hair...could they?
Eventually, Twi let her lower half sink into the water in order to allow herself to stand up. Her back was facing towards me. I figured this was the time to make my presence known. "Hey," I said with a cheerfully awkward tone.
Twi calmly turned around and smiled at me. "Hi, Aaron," she said as she waded over to me.
"Are you feeling better?"
"A bit."
"Don't worry yourself too much. It was just a nightmare."
"And yet, I'm not entirely sure about that."
I looked around the area and examined the series of trails that led off into the surrounding forest. "Why don't we take a little trip today?" I asked.
"Aren't you already on a trip?" Twi asked with a smirk.
"Ha ha. Very funny. No, I meant get out of the forest for a bit. I think you, Tanya, and I could use some time away from that cabin."
"Where are we going to go?"
"The caretaker of the cabin, Mr. Franco, told me about a quaint old town that's just a half-hour's drive from here. I haven't been to a small town in a while so I think it would be interesting. I could use another change in scenery, you could probably use some time away from the forest after that nightmare, and Tanya desperately needs some time away from the damn computer of hers."
Twi gave a chuckle before pulling herself out of the water. "Sure, I'm up for it," she said happily.
"Good!" I exclaimed. "Just go dry yourself off and change while I get the computer addict." Twi giggled as she made her way back towards the cabin.

It took some convincing but I eventually managed to get Tanya to go with Twi and me. Everybody was silent during the time we spent on the road. Tanya spent the whole trip listening to her iPod while Twi just watched the trees fly by as we drove down the road. We eventually arrived at the town. Twi was instantly enchanted by the sight of the town. It was certainly a cute little place that just reeked of colonial heritage. I parked the car along a street of small shops and diners. Tanya stored her iPod in her pocket and began looking through the windows of the shops.
"I'm honestly surprised," she said with a smirk. "There's actually quite a lot to see here."
"See? Would I lie to you?" I asked.
"Yes."
"Shut up." Twi, Tanya, and I continued down the sidewalk. 
There were only a couple hundred people in the town, according to the city sign, so it wasn't an incredibly small town. We occasionally came across locals who turned out to be really nice. We had just passed a small church and cemetery when we came across the local library. Twi's attention was instantly drawn to rustic, red brick building.
"Can we go in there?" she asked.
"Sure," I replied.
"Why not?" Tanya added as she shrugged her shoulders.
The interior of the library smelled of aged paper and tangerines. An elderly librarian stood at the counter while a few locals walked amongst the shelves of books. Twi was instantly drawn to the history section while Tanya wandered off in search of the fantasy section in hopes of finding the next Dresden Files book to read. I quickly found myself alone and decided to explore.
I came across several mixed collections of books amongst the shelves. The books in the library ranged anywhere from modern series like Harry Potter and Percy Jackson to old classics like Frankenstein and Great Expectations. As I walked through the horror section, which contained mostly a collection of R.L. Stine and Stephen King books, I came across one of the local girls looking through a newspaper. She was a black girl around my age with long, curly, black hair. She seemed to be shaking her head in disgust as she examined one of the articles. "Bad news?" I asked.
She turned to look at me. "Yeah," she sighed. "A whole family living on a farm near here was brutally murdered."
"Yikes."
"This is the third series of murders to take place in the past two days! First there was this couple that was driving through the country, their car was stolen and their bodies were dumped on the side of the road, and then this old teacher that I used to know was found in a ditch on the outskirts of town."
"It looks like you've got a serial killer on your hands."
"I hope not. Our town doesn't need any killers walking around." An awkward silence then fell between us. She quickly stashed the newspaper into one of her pockets before extending her hand. "I'm Evelyn, by the way."
I extended my hand and shook hers. "Aaron," I replied.
"I haven't seen you around before. Are you new here?" Evelyn asked.
"I haven't moved here, if that's what you're thinking. My sister and I are from the city and we just came here for a change in scenery."
"Nice. Are you staying in the motel?"
"Nah. We're staying in a cabin that's about a half-hour's drive out of town. My family owns it and a family friend of ours takes care of it when we're not using it. His name's Jerry Franco. Maybe you've heard of him?"
"I know Jerry! I see him all the time at church."
"How about that? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This looks like a town where everybody knows each other."
Evelyn smiled and let out a cute laugh. "Yeah, our town's kinda like that."
"Aaron!" called a familiar voice. I turned to see Tanya walking towards the door and beckoning me to follow her. A satisfied Twi was walking behind her. I laughed as I turned back to Evelyn.
"I guess I better go before my sister rips my head off," I chuckled.
"Okay," Evelyn giggled. "Is that other girl with you too?" I turned back to Twi and then back to Evelyn.
"Yeah. She's a...friend."
"Well, I hope you and your group enjoys your stay here."
"Thank you."
"Why don't you drop by the church at five o'clock the day after tomorrow? It's game night and there's going to be free food; and, trust me, you have not lived until you've tried my brother's lasagna."
"I do enjoy a good lasagna and I haven't had lasagna in a while. Tempting offer, I must say."
Evelyn gave another giggle. "So, should I expect to see you there?" Evelyn asked.
"Possibly," I replied.
"Come on, Aaron!" Tanya groaned. 
"Bye then," I said to Evelyn as I walked over to Tanya and Twi.
"Have a nice day!" Evelyn called to me as I left.

Twi, Tanya, and I stopped at one of the local diners for lunch. Tanya and I shared a large pepperoni pizza while Twi got a cheeseburger.
"These small towns sure know how to make good food, I must say," Tanya admitted as she took a bite of pizza.
"We just got invited to the local game night," I said. I then proceeded to explain my conversation with Evelyn.
"Sounds interesting. I'd like to go," said Twi.
"Good! What about you, Tanya?"
"Maybe," Tanya replied.
"What do you have to do right now?"
"Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, the usual."
"Really? Is getting trolled by Tara Strong more important than socialization?"
"It can be a bit more entertaining."
"You're hopeless."
"I know." I gave Tanya a light shove and she shoved me back. Both of us were laughing and had wide grins on our faces.
"You see? This is how brothers and sisters should be," Twi said with a caring smile. I smiled at Twi and even Tanya smiled. I turned back to Tanya and she quickly got rid of her smile and returned to eating the pizza. I turned back to Twi and we shared a silent laugh.

We returned to the cabin feeling better than we had when we left. I decided to make another campfire and pulled out the marshmallows, Hershey's bars, and graham crackers for s'mores. The sun had begun to set by the time Twi, Tanya, and I had begun making our s'mores.
"It's been a long time since we've made s'mores," I said as I placed a roasted marshmallow in between my chocolate and graham crackers.
"I don't think we've done this since we were kids," Tanya added with a grin.
"Ah, nostalgia." I took a bite out of my s'more and turned to Twi, who had just finished devouring her own. "You must have really enjoyed yours."
Twi blushed as she turned to look at me. "I did. It was really good," Twi replied. Suddenly, Twi gasped and grabbed her forehead.
"Twi?!" I gasped. Twi began groaning with pain and shaking something fierce.
"What's going on?!" asked a surprised Tanya. I ran over to Twi and grabbed onto her shoulders.
"Twi?! Twi?! What's wrong?! Do you feel sick?!" Twi grabbed onto my arms and held them tightly. Twi then opened her eyes and looked up at me. I gasped in response.
Twi's eyes were glowing. I didn't know how to make heads or tails of it. I was certain that it wasn't a trick of the light or some strange reflection. Twi's eyes were definitely...glowing. Suddenly, Twi spoke something in a tone that sounded like a voice recorder playing something back. "S'mores, check! Now the next item of fun we have to do is Truth or Dare!" Twi stated in a nearly robotic voice.
"What the hell?" Tanya asked. Suddenly, Twi shoved me away with such strength that I nearly lost balance and fell into the fire. Twi then stood up and let out an annoyed groan.
"ENOUGH!" she screamed. "It says right here that the number one thing you're supposed to do at a slumber party is have fun! And thanks to you two, I can't check that off!"
"Slumber party?" I asked in confusion.
Tanya and I stared awkwardly as Twi continued on. "I hope you're happy! Both of you! You ruined my very first slumber party! The makeovers, s'mores, Truth or Dare, the pillow fights! I mean is there anything else that could possibly go wrong?!" Then...Twi stopped. She seemed to freeze in place for a moment. A second later, she collapsed onto the ground. I ran to her side and held her in my arms.
"Twi! Twi?! Are you okay?! Twi?!" I asked. Twi opened her eyes and I was relieved to see that they were no longer glowing. 
"Aaron," she breathed. I simply sat there and watched as Twi lost consciousness.

I checked on Twi as soon as I woke up the following morning. I peeked through her bedroom door and was happy to see that she was sleeping soundly. I then walked into the kitchen to find Tanya making another round of bacon and eggs.
"More bacon and eggs?" I asked with a chuckle.
"I like bacon and eggs. Screw off if you don't want any," she said as she flipped her egg on the skillet. I sat down at the table and Tanya glanced back at me. "How's she doing?"
"She looked fine when I checked up on her. At least she didn't have any nightmares last night. Did she talk in her sleep?"
"No. She was quiet."
"That's good."
"What was up with what she said last night? What was it again? She was talking about a slumber party and us ruining it or something like that?"
"Yeah. I'm just as confused as you are."
"That's not the weirdest part though."
"What do you mean?" I asked as I raised an eyebrow.
"I swear to Christ that I've heard that dialogue before!" Tanya stated. "What Twi said last night...I can guarantee that I've heard it somewhere before."
"What are you talking about? Where could you have possibly heard it?"
"I have no idea. I just know." Tanya placed her eggs and bacon on two plates before walking over to the table. She placed a plate in front of me before sitting down with her own plate. "She must have had a really screwed up life before this."
"Don't say that!"
"Why not?"
"She may hear you!"
"Whatever. Do you think she remembers anything new?"
"Who knows? At most she might remember a slumber party that went horrible wrong." 
Tanya proceeded to laugh at my remark before taking a sip of orange juice.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I was pleased to finally get over my cold so I decided to go for a swim. Tanya went on the computer for a bit before taking a walk through the woods to explore. Twi woke up at around noon but appeared to have no real recollection of the previous night except for what she described as a vision of two arguing friends.
"At least you can find comfort in the fact that you're regaining your memories," I told her. She nodded before wandering off into the forest. 
Once I had finished swimming, which was late in the afternoon, both Tanya and Twi returned from walking. It appeared that they had been talking for a while. I was pleased to finally see Tanya and Twi getting along to an extent. I actually didn't know what pleased me more: the fact that Twi was feeling better or Tanya's sudden full acceptance of Twi's presence with us. However, it was pretty clear that Tanya was still suspicious of Twi; and, honestly, I couldn't blame her. I myself was starting to have a few suspicions of the amnesiac girl with purple hair.
That night, Tanya decided to make pasta for dinner. While Tanya cooked the pasta and Twi talked to her, I figured that it was about time to call my mom.
"Hello?" asked my mom after the phone call was made.
"Hey Mom. It's me," I said.
"Aaron! How are you feeling?!"
"Great. The cold has finally gone away."
"See what I told you? I knew the country would help you. How's Tanya doing?"
"Surprisingly, really good. I think she's starting to enjoy it here."
"Well I hope you two don't plan on staying there for too long. Remember, Aaron, you have college to prepare for."
"I know Mom. Tanya and I aren't planning on spending the rest of our lives here."
"How's Jerry doing?"
"Mr. Franco? He was doing fine the last time I saw him. I haven't seen him since the night Tanya and I arrived so I can't say anything further than that."
"Well, don't forget to thank him again when you leave. God knows how much trouble that man goes through to take care of our cabin."
"Yeah. I'll leave him a nice tip."
Mom gave a giddy chuckle. "Have you been to town yet?"
"Yes. Tanya and I went there yesterday. I met a girl there named Evelyn who invited us to the local game night."
"Evelyn, huh? Is she around your age?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, she is."
"You better behave yourself! I don't want to hear anything about unexpected grandchildren!"
"MOM! I wish you'd stop expecting crap like that to happen!"
"I'm sorry, dear. It's just my motherly instinct."
"Well can you tone that motherly instinct down every now and then?"
"Sorry dear. I can't. That's my job." I let out a loud groan in response.
"Pasta's ready!" Tanya called.
"Gotta go, Mom. Tanya's finished making the pasta," I said.
"Okay then. Tell Tanya that I love her," Mom said.
"I will."
"Love you, honey."
"Love you too." I then hung up the phone and headed into the kitchen to join Twi and Tanya for dinner.

That night, it was my turn to have a strange dream. I was walking through the woods in the middle of the night. I noticed a small house in the distance. I approached it and saw that the door had been kicked in. I walked inside and instantly smelled something terrible. I followed the smell over into a nearby bathroom. When I entered, I nearly threw up. Lying on the floor were three, bloody corpses: two were adults and one was a young boy who must have been at least twelve years old. I became even sicker at the realization that the boy was naked. I backed out of the room and heard the sound of talking. I followed the voices into the kitchen of the house. A fair skinned boy with spiky, green hair was sitting at the table. I noticed that he was wearing a series of bloody and torn clothes and that he was also tied to the chair he was in by thick ropes. A woman was sitting at the table. She was wearing a long, green silk dress. I couldn't make out her face but I could tell that she had tan skin and long, gray-blue hair. She was currently eating her way through what appeared to be a plate of raw meat.
"I know you're hungry but I'll feed you when I'm done eating," the woman stated. The boy with green hair gave the woman a look of pure hatred and disgust.
"You killed them," he said. "You killed them all and made me wear...his clothes!"
"At least you have clothes now. I was getting tired of looking at your ass all day." The woman gave a cold chuckle. "Speaking of that, how is it doing?" The boy seemed to cringe at the sound of the woman's words. "Does it still hurt? Good. That'll teach you. And, remember, the punishment stick will always be waiting for you whenever you try to escape me."
"You'll never win. You don't even know where she is."
"She's in the general area. I can smell her; and I will kill as many of these humans that I need to in order to get to her! Her lovey-dovey brother and sister-in-law aren't here to keep her safe now. There's just me, you, and her. Nothing can protect her from me; and I cannot wait for that moment of satisfaction when I'm finally rid of you and her."
"Then what will you do? Last time I checked, you're stuck here just like her and me."
"I'll find my way back. And when I do, Canterlot will be waiting for me."
I felt a sudden pull and found myself back in my bed in the cabin. I was sweating something fierce. I got up and looked at the clock. It was only a little past four in the morning. "Canterlot...where have I heard that before?" I asked myself as I began heading to the bathroom to wash my face.

I woke up the next morning to find Twi and Tanya outside. Tanya was telling a funny story about one of her ex-boyfriends and all the while trying to comb her sandy brown hair. "Good morning, you two," I said as I made my way over to them.
"Morning!" said Twi cheerfully.
"You seem happy about something."
"No particular reason. I just feel happy."
"That's good. You excited for tonight?"
"For what?" Tanya asked.
"The game night in town," I replied. "Remember?"
"Oh yeah! I remember now! Yeah, I'm looking forward to it, I guess."
Twi stood up and began walking back to the cabin. "I'm thirsty. Does anybody else want anything?" she asked.
"Nah," Tanya and I said simultaneously. Twi giggled as she disappeared into the cabin. I quickly walked up to Tanya and sat down in the chair next to hers.
"I need to talk to you," I said.
"What's up?" asked Tanya.
"I had a nightmare last night."
"And?"
"And it involved the same boy from Twi's nightmare."
"No way!"
"Yes way! It was a boy with spiky, green hair. Just like the boy in Twi's dream."
"It's probably just some coincidence."
"No, it's more than that. This nightmare...it felt so real."
"Whatever. So you're having nightmares like Twi. At least you're not screaming your lungs out in the middle of the night."
"Don't tell Twi about this," I ordered.
"Why?" Tanya asked.
"I don't want to worry her."
"Whatever." A second later, Twi emerged from the cabin with a glass of apple juice in her hand.
"Did I miss anything?" she asked.
"No," I replied. "Nothing at all."

It was around four o'clock in the afternoon when we set out for town. I wanted to get to the church a bit early. I parked my car in the front of the church when we arrived and got out to see that a few people were beginning to show up. We followed the locals behind the church to a secondary building. Inside the building, a series of games had been set up alongside several tables and a dance floor.
"You'd think this were a big event," said Tanya.
"That's because it is," said a familiar voice. Tanya, Twi, and I turned around to see Evelyn standing there with a cute grin on her face. "We love our game nights. It's a great social gathering for us."
"Might I suggest an outlet mall or something?" Evelyn giggled at Tanya's comment.
"Well, I'm glad you were able to come, Aaron. Would you be so kind as to introduce me to your group?"
"Ah, yes," I said. "Evelyn, this is my sister Tanya and our friend Twi."
"Nice to meet you," said Evelyn as she shook Tanya's and Twi's hands.
"Same here," said Twi.
"You too," said Tanya.
"Now I know it's a bit early so why don't you walk around and meet some of the other locals while the games are being set up?" Evelyn suggested. "Oh and don't forget to enjoy yourselves, of course."
"We will," I said as Evelyn walked off to talk to somebody else.
"You might just be going home with a new girlfriend, Aaron," Tanya teased.
"Oh shut up, Tanya," I said as I gave my sister a light shove. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Twi give a strange face.

More locals continued to show up as time progressed and by five o'clock the building was surprisingly packed. Evelyn hadn't been wrong about game nights being a big deal in this town. Tanya found a group of teenage locals to play some games with while I found myself running across many colorful characters that lived in the town. After running into a woman with a strange obsession with lemons, I found myself running into Mr. Franco.
"Aaron! How are you?" he asked as we shook hands.
"Good. Great. Splendid," I replied.
"Enjoying your stay?"
"It's been...interesting, but in a good way."
"Well that's good. Well, I best go and catch up with some of my friends. Give your parents my best the next time you speak with them."
"I will." I watched as Mr. Franco disappeared into the crowd. I walked over to a nearby punch bowl. After grabbing a cup of purple punch, I sat down at a nearby, empty table and examined the scene. I couldn't help but chuckle. With the games, punch, and diverse people I was beginning to feel like I was back at my eighth grade prom.
"Mind if I join you?" asked a familiar voice. I looked to see Twi standing before me.
"Not at all. Sit down," I replied. Twi gave a small smile as she took the seat next to me. "Enjoying yourself?"
"Yes. It's a lot of fun."
I noticed a pinch of sadness in her eyes. "You don't look like you're having fun."
"I just have a lot on my mind, which I guess is strange with the whole lost memories and all."
"It's not strange at all. I'd be wishing to find out who I was if I lost all of my memories."
"It's just...I keep having these strange dreams."
"More nightmares?"
"Not really. They're not really nightmares. They're more like...memories."
"That's good! I've heard that, in the case of memory loss, forgotten memories can sometimes be presented in dreams."
"I know that. Dreams often act as a dumping ground for random thoughts and discarded memories that the brain decides to throw together all at once. Don't ask me how I know that, it's another one of those random facts that I know. However, the dreams I have can't possibly be memories."
"Why not?"
"Because they involve talking ponies."
"Talking ponies?"
"Yes. In my dreams, I'm in this town. I can't remember what the town was called. I'm walking through the town and I'm constantly being greeted by multicolored ponies. Some have wings, some have horns, and some are just regular ponies. But all of them are multicolored and have these tattoos on their rumps." 
I began to scratch my chin. Everything she was describing sounded so familiar. Why did it sound familiar?! "That is pretty strange."
"There's also...another thing that I'm thinking about," Twi said.
"And that is?" I asked.
"I...I'm curious."
"About what?"
"I...I'm curious about...you, Aaron."
"Me? What's curious about me?"
"Why did you do it? Why did you let me stay with you this whole time? Why have you taken it upon yourself to help me, somebody you honestly know nothing about, recover? Why?"
I gave a nervous smile as I looked at Twi. "You'll never believe this...but I've found myself asking those exact same questions. Why did I choose to help you? It just felt right."
"That's it?"
"Pretty much."
"Are you sure that it has nothing to do with the fact that I was naked when we first met?"
I rolled my eyes and let out a loud groan. "Please don't start turning into Tanya! I can only handle one of her!" Twi giggled and shook her head.
"Don't worry. I'm not planning on becoming your sister."
"That's good."
"Hey, Aaron!" called a familiar voice. Twi and I looked to see Evelyn running towards us. "You wanna dance?"
As if by instinct, Twi grabbed my hand. I turned to Twi and she, upon realizing what she did, blushed and pulled her hand away. "Sorry," she said. "I was reaching for the...um-" Twi jumped up and ran off towards the punch bowl. After a few awkward seconds of silence, I turned back to Evelyn and stood up.
"Sure...I'm willing to dance," I replied as I took her hand.

Evelyn and I danced for some time. It was a lot of fun but I still couldn't get my mind off Twi. Her strange grabbing of my hand and then running away as soon as Evelyn had extended the offer to dance with me had me thinking. Could...could she possibly be getting a crush on me? It felt strange thinking about the possibility that someone had romantic feelings for me. I had next to no experience with that feeling. I felt bad thinking about it because I wasn't even one hundred percent sure about this. I didn't want to make unfair assumptions. Maybe Twi was just feeling protective of me or something like that. That would make a bit more sense. Maybe she just felt the need to stay close to me as I was the one to help her in a time of need. I hoped for that to be true...but I would be lying if I said that I didn't like the idea of her having a crush on me.
After we finished dancing, Evelyn brought me over to meet her brother Ron. As I walked, I looked to see if I could catch Tanya or Twi anywhere in the crowd of people. I managed to see Tanya for a few seconds as she walked over towards the dessert table, but I was never able to find Twi. It was almost as if she had disappeared. Anyway, Ron was standing at one of the food tables and was serving what I assumed was his famous lasagna that Evelyn had told me about.
"Ron, this is Aaron. He's from the city," said Evelyn as she introduced me to Ron.
"Nice to meet you," Ron said as he extended a hand. I smiled and nodded as I shook his hand. As our hands parted, I took note of his shirt. His shirt was bright pink and in the center of the shirt was a picture of what appeared to be a pink pony with a mane like cotton candy. Around the pony was a phrase that stated It's Time to Par-tay!
"Interesting shirt," I said. Ron chuckled as he looked down at it.
"Yeah."
Suddenly, an old memory popped into my head and I understood what his shirt meant. "That's...Pinkie Pie, right? From that show My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic?"
"That's correct. Do you watch the show too?"
"Yes and no. I've seen bits and pieces of it because one of my friends is a huge fan of it. What do the fans call themselves again?"
"Bronies."
"That's it! He's a huge Brony. Personally, I'm not a giant fan of it but I've enjoyed what I've seen. It's been a long time since I've seen anything about it so that's why it took me a while to realize what your shirt meant."
"Understandable. So, I'm guessing my sister has brought you over here to try my lasagna," said Ron with a smirk.
"Yes. She's definitely got me curious about it," I replied. Evelyn gave a cute giggle as Ron handed me a plate of lasagna. I was about to take a bite when Twi suddenly appeared. It was almost as if she had appeared out of thin air. "Gah! Twi!"
"Oops! Sorry! Did I surprise you?" she asked as her face turned slightly red.
"A bit." An awkward silence fell amongst the four of us. "Well, Twi, you've already met Evelyn; and here's her brother Ron. Ron, this is my friend Twi."
"Twi? That's an interesting name," Ron said as he shook Twi's hand.
"It's my nickname," Twi replied.
"Wait. Wait. Wait! Let me guess your real name." Ron scratched his chin and gave off another smirk while Twi continued to blush.
"Actually-"
"I got it! Your name's Twilight Sparkle, isn't it?" Twi and I froze in silence for a moment before Ron let out a laugh. "I'm just kidding with you! I'm sorry but it was too easy. I mean with the nickname Twi and the long, purple hair you could very well be a human version of Twilight Sparkle."
"Ron, no offense, but I don't think everyone knows exactly who Twilight Sparkle is," Evelyn said politely.
"I know who she is," Twi stated. "She's a unicorn from the land of Equestria; and she lives in Ponyville with her dragon assistant and five pony friends all the while learning the magic of friendship under the instruction of her mentor, Princess Celestia." Evelyn, Ron, and I found ourselves extremely surprised, but I was more shocked than surprised.
"You must watch the show then," Ron said.
"Show? No, I don't watch the show. I just know who Twilight Sparkle is."
I remained frozen as I turned towards Twi. I knew it couldn't be true. It was impossible. Twilight Sparkle was a character from a freaking television show. And yet...what Ron had said, even though it was said as a joke, surprisingly made sense. I wanted to shake the thought from my head because it was simply insane. Twi couldn't be Twilight Sparkle! Twi was real and Twilight Sparkle was fictional! But there were so many similarities: the hair, the eyes, the love for books, the knowledge of random facts, and I just realized that the strange dialogue that Twi had said a couple nights earlier was exactly the same as Twilight's dialogue from the episode Look Before You Sleep. "No. No. No. No. Impossible. No. No way," I found myself saying under my breath. Upon noticing that things were beginning to slip into insane awkwardness, I took a huge bite of Ron's lasagna. "Oh my goodness! This is amazing!"
It took everyone a second to realize what I was talking about. "Told you it was good," Evelyn said with a chuckle.
"I'm glad that you enjoy it," said Ron. I smiled as I took another bite. It really was great lasagna, but it still wasn't enough to wash the strange thoughts out of my head, and it didn't distract me from the fact that Twi was holding tightly onto my free hand.

It was getting late by the time I decided it was time to head back to the cabin. Twi had stayed by my side for the rest of the night. This appeared to slightly annoy Evelyn, who had probably wanted another dance. Tanya had made friends with some of the local teenagers and I took pleasure in the fact that my sister was starting to have fun out here in the country.
"Did you have fun?" I asked Tanya as she, Twi, and I met up in the church parking lot.
"Yeah. It was fun. How about you two?" Tanya asked.
"It was...interesting," Twi replied.
"Hey Aaron, I saw you dancing out there with that Evelyn girl. Look out Twi, you've got some competition for dear Aaron's affections."
"Will you knock it off?!" I snapped.
"No. I'm your little sister. It's my job to make your life a living hell at times."
"What's my job then as your big brother?!"
"To take it in stride."
"Yeah, I'll take it in stride; and you'll happily take the ice water when I pour it on you tomorrow morning."
"Do it and you die." Tanya and I couldn't help but smile and laugh at our own banter. We arrived at my car and hopped in. I had just started the car when I noticed Mr. Franco walking to his own car. I was surprised to see that he wasn't alone. A tall woman was walking alongside him. As I began to back out of the parking spot, I noticed that Twi had become as white as snow.
"Twi? Are you okay?" I asked as I began to slowly drive the car out of the parking lot.
"Oh. My. Celestia," Twi choked. "It's...her."
"Oh my Celestia?" asked a confused Tanya. "Where did that come from?"
I found myself falling silent as I drove the car past the area where Mr. Franco and the woman were walking. As we slowly passed, the light from a nearby street lamp illuminated the area and allowed us to get a clear picture of the woman. "Oh my God," I said. The woman had fair skin, flowing gray-blue hair, and a silky green dress. I didn't want to believe it...but I had no choice but to accept it. The woman with Mr. Franco was the same woman that I had seen in my nightmare the previous night. Suddenly, the woman turned to look at us as we drove by. Her eyes were huge and green. Her eyes seemed to widen as she saw us. For some reason, I had a feeling that she was focused more on Twi than Tanya or I. Acting on instinct, I pressed the gas and sped off down the road. I watched in the rear-view mirror as the woman and Mr. Franco disappeared into the distance.
"What the hell was that about?" Tanya asked. Twi and I refused to speak. I had a feeling that I knew where Twi had seen the woman before. So many questions were flowing through my head as I drove down the road. Who was the woman? What were the nightmares about? Who was the boy in the nightmare? And, the biggest one on my mind, could it be possible that Twi was Twilight Sparkle?