I noticed that Soren had woken up when I heard him groaning in the bed behind me. I’d been watching the door in case anyone... the word felt all wrong to me, but Twilight had told me it was what Soren said in place of ‘anypony’, and I supposed it was right enough, considering that I myself wasn’t a pony anymore. Anyway, when he woke up, I turned to face him, and was about to say something when he suddenly said, “There, is there something I can do for you?” His voice was slightly slurred, and he immediately groaned and fell out of the bed.
“You okay there, sugarcube?” I asked, reaching out a hand. He was still wearing the same clothes, except that his scarf had fallen to the ground. He picked it up with his free hand as I helped him up. “Quite a fall you took...”
He shrugged. “It’s nothing. What got me here was worse.” He looked around as he threw the scarf loosely around his neck. “Where is here, anyway?”
“My brother’s bedroom. He was the one that knocked you out.”
“Protective of you?”
“Only a little. It takes a lot to worry him, and I’m one of those things that can do it.” I laughed and pushed Soren’s mane out of his face. He flinched a little bit at first, and there was still a nasty lump on his forehead where he’d been hit, but it seemed fine. He was standing up well enough, so I walked over to the door. “I’ll let everypony know you’re up. I’m sure you can apologise to my brother without taking another...”
“Something’s on fire,” he interrupted, sniffing the air twice. I did the same, and noticed there was a smell coming from downstairs. “Definitely. Might wanna get on that.”
I ran down the hall and down the stairs, rushing into the kitchen. I was worried that something was burning in the oven, but it was coming from further outside. As I rushed out the door, worried that the orchard was burning, I followed the smell and the sight of rising smoke to what, on the contrary, was a small campfire not far from the house. My sister and her friends were sitting around it, roasting marshmallows on sticks. “Now, Apple Bloom, I told you not to light campfires so close to the house,” I said, folding my arms for what seemed like a good reason at the time.
“Sorry, sis,” Apple Bloom replied. “I didn’t want to be campin’ too far out in the orchard...”
“You know there’s plenty of open space that you could be usin’.” I looked down at the fire, and saw that it was at least safely contained. “Least it’s safe, but I’m stayin’ here for now in case we need to put it out fast.”
“These kids yours?” Soren suddenly asked from behind me. I was startled by his appearance, since I hadn’t heard him coming. “Oh, foals, I guess is the word, innit. Pretty cute.” The Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they’d come to call themselves since becoming friends, all turned towards him at once. I was expecting them to scream and retreat, but instead, as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked at him and turned to me as well, they oohed in unison before charging up to him, almost knocking him over. “Hey, wanna be a little more careful?” he asked. “No, no, wait—hey!”
Before he could pull his hand up, Scootaloo had jumped up to grab on it, pulling him down to the ground with her surprising weight. “It’s so soft...” she cooed, rubbing her hooves all over his hand. I grimaced, expecting the worst, and he tried to pull away, only to stop when he realised, at about the same time as I did, that nothing was happening. “What’s wrong, mister?”
“...Nothing, nothing’s wrong,” he said. “Hey, AJ, do you know where Twilight is?”
“No, I don’t, but she probably hasn’t gone far,” I replied. “And why do you keep calling me that?”
“It’s an English thing. Pay it no mind,” he replied. With a chuckle, he added, “Or I could just start giving everyone nicknames based on English phonetics and call it my roguish charm.” He laughed to himself, but nobody else did. Eventually, Apple Bloom started laughing as well, even though she clearly didn’t understand.
Sighing, I picked up two sticks and gave one to Soren before reaching into the bag of marshmallows. “No thanks,” he said, as I pulled two out. “Don’t care for marshmallows, even toasted.” The fillies let out an ‘aww’ in unison, and he raised his hands. “Hey, everyone’s got preferences. I’m sure all of you have some foods everyone else likes that you hate.” He rubbed his stomach at that and stood up. “Actually, if I’m gonna wait for Twilight, I’d rather have something to eat first. You got anything inside?”
“Besides apples?” I asked, jokingly. With a smile, I continued, “There might still be some apple pie left over from dinner. Follow me.”
“Have fun, ladies,” he said, waving to the fillies, who all waved back before returning to their marshmallows. As we walked off, I heard Sweetie Belle asking what kind of pony doesn’t like marshmallows, and Scootaloo replying that he wasn’t a pony, so maybe his species just didn’t care for them. Apple Bloom then very emphatically proclaimed that that was impossible, using a word that I definitely didn’t teach her. I would have turned around to tell her off for it, but I’d heard Soren use it and others in his sleep and I had no idea how old he was, so I decided to ignore it that time.
Macintosh was waiting in the kitchen when I came in. Soren was sitting on a chair, looking at him. He was avoiding eye contact, and I cleared my throat as I walked through. I turned my back as I picked up the slice of apple pie. It wasn’t that big, but I slowly and carefully placed it on a plate as I waited for one of the two behind me to say something.
Neither said anything as I turned around, placing the plate on the table behind Soren. He picked it up and put it on top of his legs instead, holding the fork in his fingers and eating slowly. Macintosh still wouldn’t look him in the eye, but didn’t walk away either. Slowly, Soren ate and Macintosh stood, until I nudged Soren as he was about to take another bite. I frowned as I looked at him, trying to get my point across. If Macintosh wouldn’t do anything, then I could at least give him a reason to by having Soren start.
“What?” he asked, and I gestured to Macintosh, then to myself. “What’s that meant to mean? What did I do?” He looked between me and my brother, and then sighed. “It wasn’t really my fault...” He trailed off, then shook his head. “No. It was a decision I made. I... I’m sorry about your sister,” he said. “I didn’t intend it to happen, but it happened. So this is me... taking responsibility.” He put the plate with about half the slice left on the floor and knelt down to Mac’s level, bowing his head.
Eventually, Mac spoke as well, slightly below his usual volume. “Sorry I hit you.” It was all he was likely to say, and Soren, recognising that or perhaps not caring, reached out a hand. After a moment of confusion, Mac took it and shook it. Soren tilted his head slightly before he picked up his plate and sat back down at the table, facing me.
“There, that wasn’t so hard, was it?” I asked Mac, but also Soren as well, slightly. Soren ate the rest of the pie quickly, and I held up a hand. “Whoa, slow down there, sugarcube. Can’t enjoy it, at that speed.”
“I have to find Twilight,” he said quickly, gulping down the last of the pie and standing up. “Do you have any idea where she might have gone?”
“Slow down, what’s this about?”
“Think, Applejack. What happened when I shook your brother’s hoof?”
“You two came to understand one another better. That’s what happens when ponies shake hooves, innit?”
Soren slapped his forehead. “No, you’re thinking too deep. What else happened?”
I put my finger in my mouth, but couldn’t think of anything. “Nothin’ I could see.”
“And what happened when the fillies outside bowled me over and felt up my hands?”
“Nothin’ much, except you gettin’ a little embarrassed.”
“Exactly. Now what happened when I touched your hoof, and Twilight’s?” Before I could answer, he gestured to my head and waved it down towards my feet. “This. It’s not that touching a pony turns them into a human. Only specific ponies. And I have a theory as to who’s on the guest list. Or rather, I know who to ask.
“Twilight was the first pony I met, and you two seem to have a connection, even if you can’t remember it. There should be more ponies out there who Twilight doesn’t remember yet, but if she does remember them, I’ll be able to bring them together. From what Twilight’s already been able to remember, I get the feeling that the rest of her memories are gonna be important. I can’t wait to tell her this. Can you at least guess at where she might be?”
Before I could answer, I heard Soren’s bird squawking outside. “Damn it, where’s Karin?!” Soren shouted. “Gotta find out what’s going on!”
“I took her to the barn for you,” I replied. “She should still be there, unless... don’t tell me.” I ran outside and rushed towards the barn, where the ruckus was still coming from. The doors were wide open, but the bird was still inside, along with three fillies. Apple Bloom had a lasso tied around herself, and Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were barely hanging onto the bird, who was thrashing around wildly. I barely avoided being gored by one of its talons, and had to duck again as the two fillies were thrown off.
“Karin! Karin!” Soren shouted, rushing into the barn. “Oh, fuck me... Karin, calm down,” he said, walking towards the still-frantic bird. “Calm down, it’s me, I’m here.” He slowly walked towards it and started stroking its neck, and gradually it started to calm down. He continued to say encouraging words to the same effect for almost a minute. All I could do was watch; I wouldn’t have even gone near it, even if it was my bird. I didn’t know what had possessed Soren, but the only other pony I would expect to try was...
“We are going to talk about this later,” I said to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, scowling. “Soren, there’s a pony I’d like to introduce you to. She can probably take better care of your bird. She’ll probably be at least awake enough to take her in, it’s not that late yet.” The moon was barely above the horizon, and Fluttershy usually tended to her nocturnal animals before going to sleep herself, or so I’d heard about her.
I paused as I realised I’d never really spoken with Fluttershy, except on one occasion where Winona got sick. But I felt as though she was the perfect choice to look after this animal I’d never seen the like of before, and in all likelihood she hadn’t either. It was as though I did remember occasions where she’d looked after animals and gained their trust, despite never having seen them before. Shrugging, Soren took his bird by the reins and led her outside.
“So what was all that about in there?” he asked, once we were a short way from the farm.
I shrugged. “Foals being foals. Trying everythin’ they can to get their Cutie Marks.”
“What’s so good about having a Cutie Mark?” I was taken aback slightly by the statement, but I decided to hear him out, since I wasn’t sure if humans had them at all. “As long as they can still do new things, and if they enjoy doing it, then that’s better than being stuck doing one thing for the rest of your life.” I didn’t say anything, trying to figure out what he meant. “From what Twilight told me, that’s what your Cutie Marks do, isn’t it? Leave you doing the same thing for the rest of your life. A physical manifestation of an unavoidable destiny...”
“A lot of ponies believe that Cutie Marks are to do with their talents,” I replied. “And for a lot of ponies, that really is all they are. But it doesn’t for one minute mean they can’t do other things that they enjoy doing. And not all Marks are as simple as representing a talent.” I showed him my own Mark, which had moved to the outside of my thigh. “This Mark might just mean apples to you. But to me, it’s more than that. It’s about my family. There’s three apples here, not just one. I’m not just a mare who can kick an apple out of a tree. In fact, I didn’t get this doing anything on the farm.”
“Yeah? So how did you get it?”
“Back when I was a filly, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stay on the farm. So I moved to another city, stayed with another branch of the family. The Oranges of Manehattan,” he smirked loudly at that, and I asked, “What’s so funny?”
“It’s nothing, it’s a human thing. We have a city that sounds just like that.”
“Really?”
“It’s not a big deal. So, the Oranges...”
“Right. They became businessponies in Manehattan, and I decided I wanted to try living their life. And they were nice enough, but it was just too different from how I’d grown up, and as many misgivings as I’d had, none of them could compare to what I’d lost. One day, I was wondering whether to stay or go back home, when a rainbow suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pointing straight towards Ponyville. I figured it was a sign and headed back home, where my family accepted me back with open hearts. And that was when I gained my Cutie Mark.”
“So, it’s about your family? And being a farm pony.”
“It’s not just that I’m talented at working on a farm. My heart belongs to Sweet Apple Acres, and the family I have there. So that’s why my Cutie Mark does too.” He didn’t say anything right away, and I continued, “Do you have a Cutie Mark?”
“No. Humans usually don’t. I guess it’s just ponies who’ve been turned into humans that do.”
“What would yours look like, I wonder?”
“Well, I’m twenty-three and still don’t know what I want to do with my life, and I probably would’ve kept on wondering if the decision wasn’t made for me when I was sent here. So I don’t know either, but I doubt it’ll ever come up.” He looked across the horizon and asked, “You wanted to know why I think the way I do about Cutie Marks? That why you asked?” I nodded. “You explained it a lot better than Twilight did.”
“Really? Shucks, I’m not normally the most eloquent pony around...” I blushed slightly. “Well, I’m not a pony anymore, but... Aw, forget it, you know what I mean, right?”
“I certainly do,” he laughed, and I joined in, unable to help myself. “So are we nearly there?”
“Just another ten lengths or so. You can see it from here.” I pointed out the light coming from one of the cottage’s windows, and he nodded. “Looks like she’s still up, too. That’s good. We won’t have to feel bad about waking her up.”
“Let’s hope she didn’t just leave the light on.”
~~
Applejack had said she needed to deal with the Cutie Mark Crusaders back at the farm, so I was left alone to meet this mystery Dr Doolittle mare. It was after dark, so I wasn’t expecting to see too many animals up and about, but there were still quite a few critters running around in the dusk, and an owl at one point swooped over my head, alighting on a branch and, unless I was mistaken, staring directly at Karin. It didn’t move at all until we reached the door except to turn its head to track us, and the larger bird specifically.
It finally flew off when I knocked twice on the door, and it opened slowly. I could barely hear the voice that had come from inside before, and before I could make out what the mare looked like, she squeaked and shut the door. “Well, that went well,” I said. “C’mon, let’s go.”
“Kweh.”
“I’m sorry?” The voice came louder this time, and the door opened slightly. I could see yellow through it, and a greenish-blue eye peeking through the crack. “Oh, you must be...”
She didn’t say anything more, and I knelt down to her eye level. “Hi there,” I said, and she squeaked and closed the door again. “Hey, hey, hey, sorry!” I said quickly. More quietly, but still hopefully loud enough to be heard through the door, I continued, “I’m not going to hurt you. If you’ve heard about me, then you know I haven’t hurt anypony else, right?” The word sounded a bit strange coming from my own mouth, but I figured it’d convince her better than ‘anyone’.
Slowly, she opened the door again. “I’m a human,” I explained. “I’m just like you ponies. I can think, I can talk, I can argue philosophy...” It didn’t seem to be working, so I decided to switch tack. “What’s your Cutie Mark?” I asked. She opened the door a little bit wider and showed me her flank. There were three butterflies printed on it, the same pink and blue as her mane and eyes.
She said something that I couldn’t quite make out. Even with the door open, she was speaking too quietly, and it didn’t help that her butt was facing me. “What was that?”
She turned back towards me and, at a volume that was barely comprehensible, told me, “I’m... Fluttershy.”
“Fluttershy, huh? Nice name.” Neither of us said anything for a few seconds, and she started looking away nervously. “So, should I come back later, or...?”
My question was cut off when she saw Karin and immediately let out a surprisingly cute gasp. “Who’s this?” she asked, at an audible volume. Using wings I hadn’t noticed before, she flew up to Karin’s eye level, and the Chocobo let out a squawk.
“This is Karin,” I told her. “She’s a Chocobo. They’re...”
“From the same land as humans like you?”
I grimaced slightly. “Yeah, let’s go with that. We use them as mounts and beasts of burden, and you can’t walk ten paces without tripping over one where I’m from, but they’re not particularly common anywhere else that I’ve seen.”
“She’s amazing...” Fluttershy smiled, rubbing Karin’s neck with her hooves. Karin cooed appreciatively, and I smiled and shrugged.
“It’s been hell finding someone who can look after her for me, but I’ve heard you’re pretty good with animals. And I can already see that she likes you. She doesn’t like most ponies much.”
“Her feathers are so lovely...” Fluttershy had reached Karin’s tail feathers, and was brushing them down. “How long can she stay here?”
I laughed a little. “Well, I’m planning to stay in town a few days. She can stay here until then. I’ll just get the riding gear off...” As quickly as possible, I stripped Karin of the gear. “You got anywhere I can keep this stuff?”
“Oh, I’m sure I can find somewhere.” She looked at the saddlebags I’d placed on the ground. “What’s in your bags?”
“Nothing much, just some herbs. Take one out and feed it to her in the morning. And only one. She’ll probably beg for more, but I haven’t found any more of them in Equestria so far; I don’t want to waste any.” I remembered the journal just in time and pulled it out. “Also this.” I put it in one of my jacket’s pockets for the time being. “That should be everything. If I want to head out anywhere, I’ll saddle her up myself.”
“I could help you with it...”
“It’s faster to do it myself. Appreciate the offer, though.”
She looked up at the moon for a moment. “It’s late. Do you want to stay here?”
“Nah, I had a long nap this afternoon. I’ll probably head into town again.” I rubbed Karin’s neck one last time as a goodbye. “Stay here, okay? Be nice to Fluttershy.”
“Kweh.”
“I hope I can see you again...?” Fluttershy said.
“Soren. My name’s Soren.”
“That sounds nice. Soren...” She said it a few times to herself before she realised I’d walked off. In the loudest exclamation she’d made that night, she called out, “Goodbye, Soren!” I turned around and waved to her as I walked down the path back into Ponyville.
I stopped in at Berry Punch’s tavern. The place was a little livelier after dark, with ponies sitting and talking at the tables or standing up. A few turned to face me, but it didn’t make the bar fall silent like you’d see in some movies. Berry Punch herself seemed to recognise me as I came in. “Another cider?” she asked.
“No, thanks,” I replied. “I’ll think of something.” I sat down at the bar and looked at the man to my left. He had a mug on the table, and I couldn’t quite identify the smell of what was in it with all the smells wafting around the tavern. “I’ll have whatever he’s having,” I said, pointing to my left.
The man to my left?
“Didn’t expect to see another human here,” he said. “Let me guess. You bought something from a creepy merchant and woke up in the middle of nowhere?”
“Sounds about right.” I turned to face him properly, and saw a familiar-looking green tunic and hat. “You’re Link, right?”
“Well, not really,” he admitted, “but I guess now it’s who I am. Since I can’t really go back to being anyone else.” He looked me up and down before taking another drink from his mug. “Don’t know who you’re trying to be...”
“Nobody in particular. I just threw something together, but I figure it’s like Final Fantasy or something. Soren Cavanagh.”
“Arnold White.” We shook hands just as Berry Punch placed a mug down on my table. The liquid inside was white and frothy, and I took a cautious drink. At first, it tasted like milk, but then a sudden kick came into it, and I almost did a spit-take. “Nice, innit?” he said. “Milk with a shot of whiskey mixed in.”
I took another sip, trying to understand the slightly conflicting tastes of the milk and the whiskey. I’d never really drunk whiskey before, but I decided to at least finish the mug I’d ordered. “It’s certainly a pretty interesting taste,” I said. “So how long have you been in Equestria?”
“A couple of weeks, I guess,” said ‘Link’. “Been travelling from town to town, not eaten much but I’ve been okay, strangely.”
“You, too? Guess we’re all playing ‘The Game’, then.”
“What?”
“Never mind. Wouldn’t want to worry you with it. Big-time hero like you, you’re probably already getting more than enough requests from ponies...” He looked down into his mug and drained the last of it before snatching mine. “Hey, I was still drinking that!”
He looked at it, realising what he’d done, and laughed nervously. “Put his drink on my tab, barkeep,” he said. “What do you want? Another one the same?”
I shrugged, realising that at least I didn’t have to drink the strange concoction anymore. “Nah. Just give me another cider.” I received the new mug not twenty seconds later, and my hand brushed over Berry Punch’s hoof for a moment. Nothing happened. “What’s got you so highly strung? Don’t tell me I hit a nerve there...”
“The last town I came through, I feel like I tried to help every single pony there,” he said. “And it was just... It was just so stressful. I never had any time to myself, to be anyone but Link. I can’t keep it up like this, I’m just glad that nobody’s asked me to find their baby or destroy any ancient evils yet...” He took a deep drink from my previous mug. “I can’t be Arnold anymore. I have to be Link, all the time. At least you’re lucky enough to not have to pretend to be someone you aren’t.”
“I dunno, being a hero sounds pretty good to me,” I admitted. “You have to work for it sometimes, but having the adoration...”
“Even if you can help one pony, everyone else is just asking you for more. And even they forget their gratitude quickly enough as soon as something else happens.” He took another drink. “You don’t get it at all.”
“Maybe not,” I said. “But... You know, Link was always fated to be a hero in his games. Maybe that was your fate too. You can be a hero. And even if everyone wants you to be a hero to them, you don’t have to do that. Be a hero in your own way. Just as long as you’re helping people, even if they don’t really appreciate you, to know that you’ve done a good job for someone else...” I sighed and took a drink of my own cider. It wasn’t quite as good as Appleloosa’s, but there wasn’t much in it. “Well, that’d be enough for me. I never really did much back at home, but I’ve already managed to save a town from an evil being. They didn’t react that much, but I know I did it. That’s enough for me.”
“Well, if you want to help another town,” Link said, “there’s a militia in Ponyville keeping it safe from monster attacks. Maybe you could talk to them in the morning. They could use a hero.”
“What about you?”
“They didn’t ask me right away, and I’m happy with that for now,” he replied. “Haven’t you been listening? I don’t want to be a hero right now. I just want to be Arnold. I want to relax, to laugh, to make a few friends. That’s why I’m telling you.” He touched the katana at my waist. “As long as you can kinda sorta handle that thing, I’m sure they’ll accept you for as long as you wanna stick around. As for me... I’ll join up once I’m good and ready.”
“Destiny doesn’t always like to be kept waiting,” I told him. “But, I’m sure in this case it’ll be fine. Thanks for the tip.” I pulled a few bits out of my pocket and left them on the counter with the unfinished mug of cider. “Oh, have you seen anyone around who’s purple? Like, violet purple all over? More purple than Berry Punch there?”
“One near the tree library,” she said. “Tall feller like you, all dressed in purple.”
“Thanks, random pony citizen,” I said.
“Derpy.”
“Thanks, Derpy.”
I left the bar and retracted the short route to the Golden Oaks Library. Twilight was there, like Derpy had said, sitting and reading a book using a magical light she had floating next to her. “What are you reading there?”
“I found this in the library. Would you believe it’s all ordered alphabetically?” she proclaimed. “Honestly, it’s like they’ve never heard of the Dewey Decimal System.”
“Wait, what?”
“Invented by Dewey Decimal, the first chief librarian of the Royal Library in Canterlot. You don’t have that?”
I shook my head, frowning. “No, we do, it’s just I was expecting it to be named something else.” I sighed and continued, “You know what? Never mind. I still can’t read Common Equis. What’s it about?”
She showed me the cover, and I tilted my head, being unable to raise only one eyebrow. “After I remembered about the Elements of Harmony, I decided to see if there was anything else about it. I’ve had hours to search this place by myself. Eventually I found this: ‘The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide.’ It doesn’t say that much useful, though.”
I pointed a finger at her. “Actually, that reminds me. Do you remember who the other Elements of Harmony were yet?”
“No, not quite yet. Why are you asking?”
“I’ve touched a few other ponies, but none of them transformed into humans like you and AJ did. I think I’ve figured out what it is. The only other pony Players are the six Elements of Harmony.”
She thought about it for a moment. “It’s possible... I haven’t remembered all of them yet, but I have a few hazy memories of using the Elements with them. I know that one must have been Applejack, judging by the orange and yellow. I can sort of make out her hat as well.”
“Can you tell me what the other hazy blobs looked like? What colours?”
She closed her eyes, thinking of the memories I wanted her to call up. “Blue... white, with purple...”
“Blue and white with purple?”
“No, it’s two different...” She opened her eyes and threw her hands down in exasperation “I can’t concentrate with you asking questions like that.”
“I’m sorry. So, one pony was blue, another was white and purple, the others?”
She closed her eyes again. “Applejack, probably... pink all over... and the last one was yellow and pink.”
“Yellow and pink? Don’t tell me...”
“What is it, Soren?” Twilight asked, opening her eyes.
“I met a mare like that just today. But I don’t want to wake her up just to turn her into a human. Besides, I’ve got an errand to run tomorrow.” Without warning, I suddenly yawned, realising that my time unconscious hadn’t really given me that much rest. “There anywhere to sleep in here?”
Twilight pointed at a flight of stairs. “There’s a bed upstairs. You can probably sleep there.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine. I have these books to keep me company.” She smiled and pointed at the stairs again. “If you want to sleep, sleep. It’s okay.”
I smiled and removed my scarf. “Well, in that case, good night, Twilight.”
“Sleep tight, Soren.”