Sapphire watched as Twilight stared blankly at her, her mind having not yet processed the question that was just asked of her. Meanwhile, the cyan pegasus from before noticed the duo, hovering closer to them to hear what was going on. Moments passed before the gears in Twilight's head started turning again her expression changed as her mane became slightly disheveled, strands of it sticking out as she gritted her teeth.
"What... do you mean... 'what's a book?'.... is that some kind of... joke?" Twilight asked through her clenched teeth, her left eyelid twitching.
Getting nervous at Twilight's sudden change in demeanor, Sapphire gulped before she answered, "Errr... no... I was being serious," before clenching her eyes in fear as Twilight ground her teeth at the response, while the cyan pegasus covered her muzzle with her hooves as she hid her laughter at Twilight's current appearance.
Fortunately, Rarity came in between the two, looking at Twilight as she said, "Twilight dear, mind coming with me for a moment, I need your... assistance on a private manner." Not even waiting for a response, she pulled Twilight away from Sapphire, towards a private corner.
After hearing the duo leave, Sapphire released a sigh of relief, before hearing somepony speaking to her from behind, "First you stick to the ceiling like glue after a simple surprise, then you have Twilight nearly freaking out? If I didn't know any better, I say you're competing for the role of Ponyville's most funniest pony."
Turning around, Sapphire spotted the cyan pegasus that laughed at her before, causing her to slightly blush at the memory. "I didn't mean to do any of those things like that... it just... happened," Sapphire replied while shuffling her hooves.
"No need to get nervous, I was just messing with you. Name's Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria," she said, extending out a hoof for a shake.
Sapphire reached out with her own hoof, letting Rainbow give it a shake as she said, "Wh—I mean... Nice to meet you Rainbow Dash," barely catching herself from asking another question. Given my track record so far, I really need to watch my questions more carefully, Sapphire thought to herself before Rainbow released her hoof.
"And here I thought you were going to ask me 'What's an Equestria'," Rainbow said with a chuckle, to which Sapphire replied with a weak giggle as she averted her eyes. Picking up on that, Rainbow said, "Wait a minute... you WERE going to ask me that. What is wrong with you, were you living under a rock?"
Sapphire shuffled her hooves once more as she answered, "Well... you might be right... since I can't remember a thing before yesterday... I could have been living under a rock after all..."
"How... how could anypony not know what a book is?!" Twilight shrieked as she and Rarity reached a corner far enough from Sapphire that she could no longer overhear the duo's conversation.
"As surprising as it is darling, Sapphire is probably telling the truth. I just retrieved her from the hospital earlier today, where I learned that she suffered from a head injury and was tragically stricken with amnesia," Rarity answered as she placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder to help calm her down.
At this revelation, Twilight released a gasp, realizing that her reaction to Sapphire was a bit rude due to her current circumstances. Her face paling at her treatment of the poor unicorn, Twilight said, "She's... suffering amnesia... and I snapped at her for asking that question... but wait... even if she's suffering from amnesia, I still find it hard to believe that she doesn't know what a book is."
"Well Twilight, the doctor also informed me that she's... uneducated. Coupled with how she was found with an injury and that no pony in town recognizes her... well, even I can conclude that something tragic must have happened to her, at the very least. The poor dear didn't even know what a party was till today," Rarity sadly replied.
Twilight became dumbfounded after Rarity finished, turning her head back to see Rainbow Dash approaching Sapphire to talk to her at the moment. Looking back at Rarity, Twilight took a deep breath, calming herself down before she said, "That... explains it... do you really think she's..." leaving the question in the air.
"We can't say for certain till word comes back from the pegasi that were sent with her description. Hopefully I'm wrong and she does have somepony that knows her to turn to, but until then it would be for her benefit if we treat her carefully. She's taking things in stride right now, but if pushed... we don't know how she'll react yet, but we can certainly say that the dear is jumpy considering the... 'surprise'. For now though, we should return to her to make sure she doesn't get into further... complications with any other ponies," Rarity answered, to which Twilight gave a solemn nod, following her back to Sapphire.
"Wait, you can't remember a thing before yesterday? Do you mean you have... what was it again... oh!!! Do you have amnesia?" Rainbow asked, to which Sapphire gave a quick nod to. Rainbow then started waving her forehooves in front of her as she said, "Whoa, sorry for saying that you lived under a rock, it's not cool for me to say that to you when you have amnesia... so... we cool?"
"It's alright Rainbow Dash, we all make mistakes, with me making more than others today... heh heh..." she answered, rubbing one of her forelegs against the other, as Twilight and Rarity finally returned to them.
"Sapphire?" Twilight asked when she reached her in an attempt to draw her attention. Sapphire turned to see Twilight, giving her a nervous but curious look as Twilight said, "I'm sorry for my behavior earlier, I didn't know you had amnesia and you were... never educated. I hope my rude behavior didn't sour your party mood."
After hearing Twilight's apology, Sapphire just gave her a small smile, saying, "It's alright Twilight Sparkle, it was just an honest mishap, we all make mistakes," while waving a hoof off to indicate that she wasn't particularly bothered by the incident.
"Still, this is your party and you should be enjoying it, and please, just call me Twilight. However, if you want to know what a book is, you could always come over to the library tomorrow to see them. I can even let you check some out to read them if you want," Twilight said with a sincere smile.
"Jeeze Twilight, I know you're an egghead but you don't have to be bringing up books at a party, we're supposed to be having fun," Rainbow nonchalantly commented, to which Twilight shot a glare at her.
"Ummm... I appreciate the offer Twilight... but you see... I can't read," Sapphire interjected before an issue occurs between the two ponies.
Twilight quickly snapped her head towards Sapphire in shock, an eye twitching as she said, "You.. how ca-" before getting a nudge in the side by Rarity, which caused her to stop and take a deep breathe, before continuing, "Oh yeah... you're uneducated. Sorry again, I didn't think that your lack of an education also meant that you didn't know how to read either. You can still come over to visit, and I'll even try to teach you the basics behind reading to get you started if you want to learn how to read."
With an annoyed look, Rainbow opened her mouth but before she can let out a word, she is quickly interrupted by Sapphire who said, "Thank you Twilight, I would like to know how to read, so I think I'll take you up on your offer."
After Sapphire finished, Rainbow opened her mouth once more to get a word out, but is once again interrupted when Pinkie Pie came between her and Sapphire, causing Sapphire to jump a bit in surprise as Pinkie said, "Why are you girls standing around for? It's a party and there's plenty of games to play and food to eat!"
At the word food, Sapphire snapped her head at Pinkie's direction, her eyes glittering as she shouted, "Food, where?!" Pinkie pointed at the confection table, where Sapphire's eyes widened at the sight of all the sweets there. Remembering Sapphire's last meal, Rarity tried to get in front of Sapphire to block her as Rarity opened her mouth to say something. However, to her inconvenience, Sapphire was too quick for her, already dashing to the table to devour the feast before her.
"Sapphire wait!!! You need to know how to dine properly!" Rarity shrieked, her horn alight with magic as she rushed to stop the impending disaster as her friends snicker at the scene.
Baring the feast fiasco that Rarity was fortunately able to avert, everypony had a great time at the party. After Sapphire had her fill at the confection table, under Rarity's supervision of course and consisting of more than triple the amount of food that a normal pony would eat, to the dismay of any ponies near Sapphire at the time, Pinkie Pie proceeded to introduce Sapphire to all the attendees, though it was done so rapidly that Sapphire could barely remember the names to any pony afterwards. After playing some games with the crowd, whom gotten a laugh at Sapphire's sheer confusion on how to play the games due to her inexperience at them. The party ended a few hours after sunset, with Rarity leaving with Sapphire after the duo said their goodbyes to the other ponies.
"I'm glad that you had a splendid time at your first party Sapphire," Rarity said as she led Sapphire to her home.
"I certainly did, and Pinkie Pie looked... overjoyed that I had fun," Sapphire said, remembering when she told Pinkie Pie that the party was the best she ever had, even though it was her first one. Pinkie Pie then gave her a smile that stretched beyond what Sapphire thought was physically possible before receiving another bone crushing hug from the party pony.
"Pinkie always loves making other ponies smile dear. Oh, here we are, welcome to my humble abode dear, the Carousel Boutique," Rarity replied as she waved a hoof at her home.
Taking in the sight of the magnificent looking building, Sapphire blinked at first, then like before at the Sugarcube Corner, she turns her head around to see the normal looking buildings nearby. "Humble?" Sapphire asked, skeptical that Rarity's home is anything but that.
"Of course dear, you may think otherwise but this is the humble dwelling of a fashion designer. Now it's getting late dear so it's time for us to enter so I can show you to your room," Rarity replied as she opened the door, ushering Sapphire inside.
Once inside, Sapphire spotted the various dresses on display, her eyes widening in wonder of their splendid designs. "You... you made these?" she asked in awe.
"Why of course my dear, but enough of you admiring my work, a lady needs plenty of beauty sleep, so follow me up the stairs if you would so kindly dear," Rarity answered with a flick of her mane, heading up the stairs with Sapphire following behind, still looking in awe of the dresses. Once on the second floor, Rarity opened the door to a well furnished bedroom as she said, "This is guest bedroom Sapphire, where you will be staying. The powder room is down the hall to your left if you ever need it’s services."
Walking in, Sapphire took in the view of the room, which is more than a step up in comfort and certainly much more decorated than the hospital room she was in this morning, before she turned back to Rarity to said, "Thank you so much again for offering to help me out Rarity, is there anything I can do to repay you?"
Waving a hoof off at it like it's nothing big to her, Rarity responded, "Sapphire dear, it's actually a pleasure to be able to aid a fellow unicorn in need."
"But Rarity, you’ve already done so much for me, it's the least I can do to show you my thanks," Sapphire replied with a frown.
"Well... if you really want to help me... I do have something in mind for tomorrow if you're still desire to help, but first things first, you need your beauty rest so you can see Twilight tomorrow. Now, have a pleasant night Sapphire." Rarity said as she closed the door. Looking to the bed, Sapphire walked over to it, getting underneath the covers as she snuggled at the softness of them, closing her eyes as she let her mind fall into a peaceful slumber.