//------------------------------// // Voice to a Memory // Story: Change in Perspective // by Quicksear //------------------------------// Ditzy hadn't really spoken since Canterlot. Once she saw Marc lying there, unmoving, barely breathing, she had been unable to process anything past his loss, and no words beyond basic acknowledgments. It wasn't as if she just didn't want to say anything: She literally felt as if she could not speak. They had had a hard time prying her away from the body. She had tried to hold on, but, hooves being hooves, Twilight had finally managed to get her away. The Princesses had sent Ditzy back to Ponyville on her own chariot with two guards to make sure she didn't do anything silly. They had dropped her off at Vinyl Scratch and Ocavia's cottage early the next morning. After a hasty explanation to the two sleepy and then shocked mares, the guards and chariot had left in a hurry, with other duties to attend to.Vinyl was one of few ponies still sympathetic to the human’s troubles, having seen his compassion before. She and Ocatavia had tried to comfort the inconsolable pegasus as she cried herself into oblivion on their doorstep. Many ponies had been attracted to the scene by the noise and the sight of a chariot flying about so early. Soon a small crowd had gathered, questions being whispered back and forth before Vinyl managed to pull Ditzy into their living room. She left Octavia to lay Ditzy on a beanbag while she took it upon herself to explain, to the shock of the town, what had occurred. It was now weeks later, and the Elements of Harmony had returned, all save Twilight, with fuller accounts of the violent and terrible accident. The flash of light that marked Discord’s dissappearance had left the entire land full of anxiety, and the story of the bravery of that strange being they had all so quickly judged after his short time here spread like wildfire amongst the ponies. He may have been received poorly by some, but he would now always be remembered well. And of course, he would be remembered best by a certain grey pegasus. Ponies were worried about Ditzy's sanity, so much so that she had not been allowed to return to Rosewood. Instead, Vinyl had asked Lyra to make sure that everything went smoothly there. Vinyl and Ocatavia had a concert that week, and most of the musical ponies were formed into a band for the show. Lyra remained mostly because Bon Bon couldn't be expected to look after Rosewood and Ditzy at the same time. Ditzy spent most days trying to come to grips with what had happened. In some way, hearing that Marc had not actually died yet was an incredible burden on her: She wished she could believe that Marc would come back to her, but after what she had seen other ponies doing by way of remembering him, she felt that hoping for something to happen was pointless. Then again, she couldn't live with that either. Something else strange had happened. The day after the Elements had returned. Vinyl had led Ditzy to the town hall. There she had been put on the stage with Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy. They, and the entire town, had thanked her for saving Equestria. No one had called her Derpy in a while. All ponies were quiet when they saw her, but it wasn't the usual ponies just ignoring her. They watched her as she passed them, unable to contain their curiosity and concern. She accepted this; After all, she couldn't say anything to dissuade them. Life felt heavy, but she was getting better. Just last night she had managed to ask Bon Bon for another bowl of soup. It was the most she had spoken since Canterlot. ***** She was sitting by the table in Lyra and Bon Bon's house, looking out the window, when a knock sounded on the door. Bon Bon dropped the mug of coffee she held with a sigh and walked over to open it. It didn't take long for her to return, stony faced, with a royal guard mare in her wake. Mares usually carried dispatches and delivered news in the name of the Princesses. There was only one thing this could be about. "Miss Ditzy Doo?" The mare asked formally. Ditzy nodded in response, waiting for the inevitable. "Miss, I have been sent to inform you of the partial recovery of Marc Warner-" It took all of Bon Bon and the guard's strength to stop Ditzy barreling through the room to the door. She said nothing, but pain was etched into her pale face as she fought against their restraining holds. "Miss!" The guard mare shouted. "I am also to inform you that he has been deemed fit to return to Ponyville. He will arrive today at noon!" Ditzy dropped flat at that. What? He's coming back? So soon? There was a part of her that rebelled against the news, having already convinced herself that Marc could never return. Now he was coming back. She suddenly shook off the hooves of the two mares and took off through the door with uncharacteristic control. That didn't stop her from immediately crashing head first into Rainbow Dash hovering outside the door. "Ditzy! Ditzy! Calm down! I know this is big, but there's nothing you can do, yet! Twilight has just come back with the carriage that brought the news, now come with me and we'll talk to her, okay? She knows how Marc is." Ditzy shook her head to dislodge the stars behind her eyes, then looked at Dash, shaking. It's true. He's coming back. Rainbow's eyes softened. She pulled Ditzy into a hug and whispered "Hey, I know how you feel. He means a lot to me too. Come with me and let’s see what news there is of our friend, okay?" Ditzy regained control of her breathing, and forced herself to answer. "O-Okay...T-Thank you...Rainb-bow." The two dropped to the ground and began walking towards the Library, with Bon Bon and the guard mare following close behind. There was already a crowd gathering around the front door, tying to see whoever had gone inside. Dash bulled them out of the way in her hurry to get to the door. She had not taken Marc's loss well. No one had seen her crying in the clouds whenever she was alone. She had tried to lose herself in busting clouds, imagining each one to be the hideous form of Discord. She wished that the Princesses had followed her cries, no matter how loud they had been, to put Discord back in stone. Of, course, she didn’t know what Luna had done, nopony did. She shouldered open the door and let only Ditzy in behind her. The poor grey pegasus was not taking it well so far, tear channels already formed in her cheek fur. Once the door was securely closed, She turned to face the full room. Luna stood surrounded by the Elements of Harmony. Ditzy sat in a corner where she felt safe from too much news at once. Luna spoke calmly to the assembled group. 'My little ponies, Marc is alive and well, but I fear his memories are not as they once were. "It is better than we feared, though. His memories have begun to assert themselves, but there is much he still does not recall. We, in consultation with Twilight, decided to return the memories of his past slowly, so as not to overload his mind: The magical effects on humans are still uncertain, but he is recalling a few names and faces. There is much to hope for, but still things to fear. We are going to install him in his original cottage until he is stable. But you may visit him this afternoon. Act with discretion, and do not expect too much. As for Discord: He has been banished from Equestria entire. It is not nearly enough punishment for what he attempted, I know, but it must suffice. I must bid you farewell for now, as I must spread these tidings to other parts. Go well." And with that, she left. In the silence that followed the Princesses departure, each pony was alone in thought. Then Applejack leapt into the air, shouting for joy, "Yaahoo! Marc's Okay!" Pinkie joined in without a moment’s hesitation, blowing a party whistle and bouncing around the room. Rarity sighed gustily and swooped a hoof to her forehead in relief while Fluttershy buzzed her wings and grinned. Rainbow smiled and was going to join in before she saw Twilight walking slowly up to her room in silent thought. Ditzy stared at the ground and tried to wrap her mind around this unimaginably vast news. Eventually she smiled and walked up to the uncertain Rainbow Dash. "R-Rainbow? Would you l-like to start walking n-now?" Rainbow tore her eyes from Twilight's door and beamed at Ditzy. "You're talking again! Yeah, let's go, the others will spread the news and join us later." ***** It was only a few hours before Rainbow Dash spotted the carriage coming in to land behind the hill that hid Marc's cottage. She wanted to immediately follow, but Twilight had told her to wait until she had explained to Marc what was going to happen. Then, Rainbow Dash was to meet Marc first, and then slowly each of the others who knew Marc would be introduced, until all the ponies who had been invited were gathered at the cottage. This was thought to be the best way to remind Marc of his friends. Rainbow watched until she saw a flash in the sky before fluttering over the hill into view of the cottage. Marc was very mildly aware of having seen all of this before. But it felt like another life, as if dozens of years had passed between then and now, not a month as Twilight had said. He felt fragile, in mind and body. His lungs ached with every breath from the treatment they had received within the energy field. His mind often flashed with memories that had once been his. But there were also those that he knew belonged to someone else, fragments of Luna's mind that had remained with him. That might explain why he felt older than he should. Twilight caught his attention with a hoof of his shoulder, and pointed him towards the hovering form of a pegasus in the air before him. He stared, uncomprehending for a second before recognition flashed with a smile across his face. "Rainbow Dash." She immediately flew into him, grasping him in a bear hug. "It's good to see you again, Marc!" It was about half an hour of idle conversation, centering mostly on one troublesome fish from wonths passed, before Marc heard the shouting from the other side of the hill, followed by the sounds of many hooves. Seven other ponies had been invited to see him today, Twilight had said. It sounded as if they were all coming together. Marc was nervous, excited to put names to faces in his mind, but Twilight had said one at a time… They all crested the hill at once, six running on the ground in chase of one flying impatiently through the air. Marc immediately felt uneasy. There was something that wasn't clicking in his head. They all arrived in a cloud of dust. He waved the dust away and regarded the ponies in front of him. It was difficult to focus on so many. There were two white unicorns, one overly styled and the other not nearly enough wearing glasses. Then there were three earth ponies, a grey one with a dark mane, and solid pink one bouncing on the spot, and an orange one with a hat. The one pegasus was a pale yellow with a long pink mane. The other one... Marc struggled to place her amidst feelings ranging from guilt to joy to despair to hope. He looked around again in mild confusion as the names drifted back to him. Slowly. Unable to factor everything t once, Marc shut down for a moment. "This was too sudden, he needed to be introduced gently! Now you'll all have to go away, we can try again tomorrow." Twilight began hustling all the ponies away despite their massed protestations. The grey pegasus looked at Marc for a second, longing clear in her eyes, before flying off and landing in a tree just in view. Waiting. Rainbow Dash stayed with Marc so he'd have a familiar face. Marc looked over at her. "Dash...I don't know if this is a good idea..." Rainbow Dash looked at him worriedly, "What do you mean, meeting the others? We'll try again tomorrow and you'll get them all right, just give it time." Marc shook his head, "No...Even my own people thought I was crazy before all this. Now...I'm even worse." Rainbow thought for a second, then jumped into the air and proclaimed ,"You know what? From what I've heard, your 'people' were really mean and hurtful, so if they thought you were crazy then you must be really nice, right?" Marc laughed at her logic, but didn't get a chance to answer before she landed and continued. "You made friends here. Now, they don't mind waiting for you, because you matter to them. All you can do is be yourself, that's who they care about. Well, that's How I see it, anyway..." She settled down and looked away abashed. Marc suddenly stopped laughing, and just smiled knowingly at Rainbow. “Hey, you got that first line straight from the Pink mare didn’t you? Pinkie Pie?” Rainbow looked down and shuffled her wings awkwardly. “Huh…so you remembered that? I suppose that’s a good thing…” Marc patted her on the shoulder gently. “Rainbow, you are better with words than you give yourself credit for, I remember that much too. Remember that morning at..Rosewood…” Marc thought for a second. Then he sat bolt upright, a song playing through his mind. Memories seated themselves as he looked at the mare in the distant tree. "...Ditzy..."