A Simply (Not So) Simple Life

by Neon Icy Wings

Chapter 4: Head Into Town

My sleep was dreamless, or at least I failed to recall the dreams, which I didn’t really begrudge all that much. One nightmare of a Timberwolf wrenching itself from my gullet was one too many anyway.

The rest itself was alright, I admit, but after a painful near death experience and cleaning an apple farm not that far afterwards, the pain finally caught up to me. My muscles ached, so, so much, but I was in a new world, so there wasn’t time to stay in bed. Even if my muscles wanted to out vote me.

I winced as I placed my bad front leg onto the floor, not helped with this being the first time I actually got out of bed as a quadruped, without falling from a nightmare at least. Sucking it up, I powered on and put my good front leg out to stabilize, which only caused me to wince more as its muscles were also quite angry.

Finally free of the bed, I sighed, and then stilled. I had no idea what to do next. I was in a new world, I had no home on this world, no real way to my real home. I didn’t know what to do. Not for today, not for tomorrow. I felt… trapped.

I mean, should I go to Celestia, just say, 'Yo, I'm human, can you send me back?' And pray for the best? A part of me was torn. Younger me from a few years ago would have jumped to Equestria and not looked back, granted there was a huge pull on current me towards Equestria, though I hated to lose my human life, my family, my friends.

'But what of the new friends, the found family you could make?' A thought whispered to me. It felt a lot easier, what since I was standing in Equestria, a pegasus who was at least on decent terms with Rainbow and AJ. To forsake a dream, an escapist dream true, felt loathsome to do. How many would kill to stand where I stood? How would a younger I have killed to stand right here?

An angry twin thought wisped through my mind, 'And what of the possibility you're in a grimdark fic You definitely weren't canon, what else isn't?' A terrifying thought indeed. I still didn't know when I was. There could be ample time for me to either die, or for obscene alterations to make themselves known to me, or, god forbid, I accidentally make the obscene alterations.

Oddly enough, going home if I could might be a less perilous and more stable life decision... I sighed, that was a lie. Earth was just as perilous. Perhaps more so in some regard. At least in Equestria there are designated good guys to counter the dark. Equestria had the benevolent dictator of Celestia. Earth had corrupt politicians, overbearing religious zealots who demanded freedom of religion that ironically refused freedom from said religion, and so much worse beyond, with no rainbow nuke to blast them with.

I turned my head to the cloud wall and frowned. Should I try to go home? Could I even? Which world, which life held more promise, more love, more peace of mind? Was it wrong to even try to quantify? Could time move differently between them? Was I thrown not only through space, but through time? Unending questions swirled my mind, with no clear paths to answer.

But one stuck firmly in my mind: Is the grass only greener right now, that I'm on this side of the fence?

Finally, a knock on the door jolted me out of my stupor. The knock was followed by silence, so, feeling awkward I limped over and opened the door, revealing Rainbow who too looked a tad awkward, “Hey, just came to see if you were up and, uh, wanted breakfast.”

A good question, I gave it a mediocre answer as I stared dumbly, “Uh, sure.” Come on, it was far too early for me to have to face the reality of ponies.

Once again, our breakfast was a quiet affair. Me the fake amnesiac, her the awkward host housing said fake amnesiac. I already wasn’t someone for small talk, but I also hated silence, doubly so I hated breaking them. Back home there were TVs as background static at least, here, the mere munching of featherflakes. Granted, being a fake amnesiac, I didn't really know what an amnesiac would think to have small talk about. Luckily it was a quick breakfast and Rainbow flew me down, at least partially answering my conundrum of not having anything to do.

“Alright, listen, I need to go help the weather team today. After the storm it was kinda agreed on that we’d triple check any and all planned weather around the area. Ya know, looking for any other Everfree clouds, seeing what kind of weather we need to schedule and where to make up for the Everfree storm, it’s a lot.” She drifted off a little, and kind of winced, “So… I can’t really, uh, look out for you today, I guess. But, I figured you’d wanna check out Ponyville and stuff sometime anyway, and since I don’t wanna leave you hanging in a cloudhouse you can’t get down from, and all, so.” She kinda shrugged, looking a bit guilty. Which in turn made me feel slightly guilty too.

I waved a hoof dismissively, “It’s no issue Rainbow. You’ve got work, I can’t fly yet, it all adds up.”

She sighed and stretched her neck like it was stiff, “Yeah, but it just feels wrong leaving you on your own for some reason. Like, yeah, you apparently put the beat down on a Timberwolf, super kick flank by the way, but you still haven’t healed, I feel like I should have given you a tour of town, just something, you know?”

Gingerly putting a hoof on her shoulder, I gave her the gentlest smile I could, which I had no idea how adequate that was, but I tried, “Rainbow, I don’t blame you for a second, and you shouldn’t either. You’ve already gone far beyond what I’d expect anyone to do. You can have many, many days that don’t revolve around me. Hell, I didn't really expect one day to even slightly revolve around me. In fact, please spend your time however you want, I’d hate to drag you down any.”

My words seemed to at least ease something in Rainbow who gave a small, if conflicted smile, “Fine. Well, uh, that way is to Ponyville, kinda hard to miss even from ground level,” She said, pointing a hoof indeed towards the not that distant buildings I saw from my slow exit from the forest, speaking of which, “And that way is where the Everfree is. No matter how much of a bad flank you are, please don’t go there on your own, okay? Well, I guess it’s kinda obvious not to, the storm and, uh well you, all came from there, but still.”

Nodding and keeping the same smile, I did my damndest to reassure Rainbow everything was fine, “I got it Dash. I’ll wander around Ponyville for a while and get back before nightfall, sounds good?”

Seeming less ruffled, Rainbow bounced her head in agreement, a much brighter smile adorning her face, “Alright! I doubt I’ll get off work too early today, so take all the time you want to sightsee. See ya later!” And with that she leapt into the air and flew off, quite majestically I’d say.

Welp, hooves on the ground and no duty to which I was bound, I began to meander my way to Ponyville. All in all, the town definitely looked a little worse for wear. Roofs had holes that certainly looked to have been made by tree branches, everything just had a grungy look to it, and the closer I got, the more it seemed like clean up was only just nearing completion. And that was all just what I could see from a distance.

As I got nearer, the finer details of Ponyville were finally visible to me. Ponies were milling about, either making rudimentary fixes to damage the surrounding buildings took, or were still cleaning up the remaining debris that plagued the town. I briefly flashed back to my life back on Earth, where we luckily never had to deal with heavy storms like that.

I cringed slightly, for some reason a lick of guilt passed through me that I couldn’t explain. I supposed the correlation of me arriving right as a big storm did set off some alarm bells. A human being transported into Equestria, a storm of at least decent strength. Maybe whatever power that punched through reality to bring me to the land of ponies kicked off an Everfree storm as a side effect. I mean, it would make some bit of sense, human from earth where weather does its own thing lands in the land where everything does its own thing. Comparative to the pony world at least. In the end, whether the weather was tied to me or not, it was out of my hands. Hooves, whatever.

Presumed nonsensical guilt aside, the sight of mildly mangled roofs and slightly tired ponies made me wonder how often Everfree storms were. Couldn’t be too frequent, but I was no meteorologist. Then I wondered if Rainbow Dash technically counted as a meteorologist when I finally noticed someone calling out to me.

I blinked, somehow not expecting to really be of note to anyone. Turning, I saw an aqua unicorn, Lyra right? Or did she get an ‘official’ name? Lyra, until proven otherwise, cantered towards me, breathing heavier than would be normal, well, I guess she was probably helping clean things up.

“Hey!” She huffed, slightly out of breath, “You’re new in town, right?” Lyra said, looking, I don’t know, excited? Something like that.

It felt odd to be approached for some reason, introverted previous lifestyle probably didn’t help. Especially not when someone with Lyra’s expression approaches me. Hell, if anything I thought Pinkie would have been the one to randomly approach me. Luckily I was saved by Bon Bon who totally had an ‘official’ name that I couldn’t remember for the life of me. Said Bon Bon trudged over, scowling lightly, “Lyra! Why’d you just run off like that? We aren’t anywhere near finished with all this Celestia forsaken cleaning!”

Lyra to her credit did look a bit bashful, but come to think of it, yeah, that was a good question. “Oh! Sorry Bon Bon. It’s just, I saw this new pony, and felt like I should come say hi.”

Bon Bon seemed close to face hoofing honestly, though had a calmer tone when she next spoke, “Lyra, on any other day I wouldn’t be that bothered, but can you at least let me know you’re going to borrow some of Pinkie Pie’s energy before running off without warning?”

Wincing slightly, Lyra nodded, “Ah, yeah, sorry Bon Bon…”

Giving a sigh, Bon Bon patted Lyra’s shoulder, “Oh, I guess it’s fine in the end. Might as well greet the new pony.” With that she turned to face me, a slight smile growing on her face, “Hello and welcome to Ponyville. I’m Bon Bon, and this unicorn who leapt before looking is Lyra. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you!” Lyra echoed, excitedly.

I blinked once, then twice and thrice, finding the back forth from a few seconds ago just odd. It’s one thing to see the interaction as something cartoon, imagining it from a tv or other screen, but to see it in person, reality, right in front of me, well, it just felt weird. “Uh, hi? I’m Neon?”

Seemingly not put off by my hesitant response, Lyra began inspecting my bandages more closely. “Geez, what happened to you? Were you caught out in the storm or something?”

Doing my best not to stall, I shrugged, and winced as I flexed sore muscles, “Uh, kinda? It's a bit of a, well maybe not a long story but an odd one. I woke up in the Everfree during the storm and-”

Bon Bon cut me off with a wide eyed stare of shock, “You were out in the Everfree and the storm? By yourself?”

I decided, in for a bit, in for two bits and forged on, maybe forcing down a small smirk as a trollish attitude overtook me, dearly hoping for a funny reaction from them as they heard my first day, -night?- in Equestria, “Yeah, the Timberwolves didn't make it any easier.”

Lyra joined Bon Bon's stare, more fear and worry than incredulity though, “Timberwolves did that to you?”

Learning from my shrug and refuting the urge to, I simply nodded, “Yeah, bad luck right? I got chased for Discord knows how long, got cut off, only got lucky by stunning it and scaring the rest away by biting its throat out.”

Now that left the two mares before me stunned, Lyra seeming in awe while Bon Bon just looked lost, “You bit out the throat of a Timberwolf?” She asked and I nodded, “And that scared away the rest of the pack?”

“Well, that's what it looked like. They were kinda cowering, and I was really tired so I sort of growled at them and they hightailed it out of there.”

Bon Bon then became flustered, shaking her head lightly, “But-but Timberwolves reconstitute!”

Lyra quirked an eyebrow and turned to her friend, “You know how Timberwolves work?”

Bon Bon just became even more flustered, and seemed to almost take a step back, only to force herself not to, “Ah, well, it's just- know those things you hear about randomly and they stick in your head?”

I nodded happily, knowing exactly what she meant, “Ah, cultural osmosis! Passively seeing, hearing, learning until you have a bunch of broken and jumbled informations and factoids with no source?”

She stood a little still before pointing a hoof at me with a little smile, “Yes. That exactly. It's just, everything I heard about Timberwolves seemed to be that they don't really... die, they're just stunned and pull themselves back together, or worse. Stunning one would not cause the rest of a pack to run away, it-it just doesn't make sense- and you bit out its throat?”

“Yeah. It got a bunch of gunk in my mouth.”

The two stared, soaking in my story. Lyra turned her eyes back to my bandages with new weight to her sight, “So, the Timberwolf did that?”

Grimacing I nodded, the trollish attitude passed, their reactions weren't as funny as I thought they would have been. Shame. “It hurt like a- like very bad. Shame on me for underestimating the sharpness of naturally occurring predator wood.” I blinked for a moment and tilted my head, “Well, I presume naturally occurring.”

Lyra went back to staring at my bandages while Bon Bon took a step forward, a tint of worry in her eyes, “What happened next? After the Timberwolves ran away?”

I sighed, and continued, “It sucked. I was muddy, bloody, tired, being battered by wind and rain. But once I saw the break in the trees, and climbed the hill, saw Ponyville just within reach, it was like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.” Lyra looked like she was on the edge of her seat at a good movie, while Bon Bon seemed more worried about my description, “And then I fell on my face and passed out.”

Bon Bon blanched at that, “You passed out, bleeding and alone in that storm? Who picked you up?”

A genuine smile crept across my muzzle, “Rainbow Dash. She said she saw me leave the forest and rushed me to her home when the storm was getting worse.”

Scrutinizing my bandages a bit more, Bon Bon tilted her head, “Well, good to know Rainbow Dash can make good decisions in the heat of the moment. What happened next?”

I shrugged and winced again, grumbling slightly about my muscles, “I woke up from a nightmare, kinda, well, slugged Rainbow from that wake up call.” Both of them stifled laughs, I presumed at the mental image of me hitting my savior was a tad humorous, “From there I had breakfast, accompanied Rainbow to Sweet Apple Acres so she could apologize-”

“Apologize for what?” Lyra asked.

I felt my face scrunch up from the memory, “Well, Dash found me when she was heading to Apple Acres, so she wasn't able to tell Applejack about the storm.”

Bon Bon and Lyra shared my grimace, with the latter saying, “Ooh, yeah, the storm only got worse through the night. Though I don't think there was much the Apples could have done to brace their farm that late into the storm, I doubt Applejack would have cared. She's the type of pony who'd march into that storm and start tying down trees without a second thought.”

“She smacked Rainbow with a barn door.” I said in deadpan, causing the two to flinch, “Yeah, I kinda had to talk her down from her anger. I don't think she would have seriously hurt Rainbow. I think.”

Lyra didn't look so sure, “Not to slander Applejack or anything, but when anything comes between her and her farm, I feel sorry for whatever is between her and her farm.”

“Well, after I explained everything, Applejack calmed down and apologized to me of all things.” I said, a bit of incredulity seeping in.

Bon Bon mulled on that thought for a moment before nodding, “Yeah, that sounds like Applejack.”

Continuing ever on, I said, “After all of that, me and Rainbow helped Applejack clean up her farm some. I couldn't do heavy lifting or anything, but it felt nice to help considering I was kinda the reason she didn't have any warning.”

“I'm guessing Rainbow Dash let you stay with her?” Bon Bon guessed.

Nodding, I confirmed, “Yeah, she's been really helpful.” I said, turning my gaze to glare at my bound wing, “Granted, getting up and down from a cloud house without being able to fly is a bit of a pain, but can't complain.”

Lyra smiled and gestured with a hoof, “Well, I'm just glad you aren't that worse for wear.”

Seeming to think for a moment, Bon Bon changed the conversation's course, “Wait, you said you woke up in the Everfree, right?” That pulled away Lyra's smile, replacing it with a look of confusion.

Blinking, I nodded, “Uh, yeah.”

“So, if you woke up there, were you... camping in the Everfree, or, what? 'Cause nopony goes in or out of the Everfree.” Bon Bon inquired.

Her words brought me pause, “Nopony goes in or out of the big, not so far away forest?”

Lyra shook her head vigorously, “That place is just terrifying and unnatural.”

Bon Bon kinda waved her hoof haphazardly, “Well, some ponies go in, like I think some ponies, very very few, have business in there, but most ponies try to avoid making a habit of going in there, as your bandages can attest. Which just begs the question, what were you doing in there?”

I shook my head, quickly aligning my bare bones amnesiac story in my mind, “No idea. I woke up mid storm with no idea how I got there, no memory of really anything. I just randomly remembered my name when talking to Applejack.”

“Oh, that's terrible.” Lyra cried.

Bon Bon seemed to agree, “Definitely a bad situation to find yourself in. You don't remember anything else?”

“Just everything since waking up, and my name. Nothing else stands out.” I responded.

She sighed and scratched at her mane, “That sucks. So, were you just checking out the town now?”

“Rainbow had weather work to do after being off yesterday, and since I can't fly right now, she let me down so I could get to know Ponyville. I mean, it's not like I have anywhere to go, anything planned. Well, no plans that I can remember.”

Bon Bon grimaced, “Not to be too doom and gloom, on top of not being a doctor, but I worry that this kind of memory loss isn't really something you can, well, cure.”

Matching her expression, I couldn't help but wonder if my lies would come to bite me in the ass, “Ah, hadn't... really thought about that.”

Lyra jumped in, seeming to try and lighten the mood, “Well, so long as you'll be here, I hope you'll find Ponyville a nice place to stay, lost memory or no.”

Bon Bon's grimace changed to a small smile, “That's right, and if you need anything, don't be a stranger. Even if Ponyville isn't in the best shape right now, and can be odd on the best of days.”

A feeling of comfort came over me, an aura of friendliness easing the dark atmosphere the conversation had turned to, “Thanks. I don't know what the future holds but, I think I could imagine worse situations.”

Pulling on Lyra a little, Bon Bon seemed satisfied with my response, “Well, sorry for jumping you out of nowhere, Lyra and I really should get back to cleaning and repair.”

“Oh, yeah! Talk to you later, Neon.” Lyra supplied as the two went back to what I had distracted them from.

I waved goodbye, leaving that interaction feeling a tad positive all things considered. Just nice to know at least Lyra was friendly, so maybe Ponyville was a welcoming place, well except for zebras. Granted that was assuming Lyra didn't just sense my humanity somehow. Highly improbable and silly? Maybe, but reason went out the window the moment I woke up in a living cartoon.

Distraction by friendly ponies aside, I continued my sightseeing. As I walked along, seeing ponies toil with the trash and debris, a part of me wondered if I should offer any help. I mean, I did help Applejack but we were associates by then. And I was motivated by guilt. Not too sure how many ponies would like a random bandaged pony offering to help. Might just be my aversion to social anything, that and I didn't know how big Ponyville actually was. Felt a tad stupid for not taking in the town's size better after that.

Almost as stupid as when I brainlessly rammed into a pony. Even before I could utter an apology, I heard something slam to the ground and the pony I just ran into yelled intensely behind grit teeth. Swinging my head around in surprise, the other pony angrily pressed their face against mine, obscuring my sight with purple glasses.

“Why don't you watch where you're going, flankhole?!” She screamed.

Well, I thought, that was a new curse I hadn't expected. Didn't really expect to be yelled at, so sure shows me. I didn't even apologize, I was just caught so off guard I could only stand there as the ever so slightly trembling Vinyl Scratch, I assumed, breathed almost raggedly, frankly I almost feared she was going to punch me, but instead she simply growled and went around me, her horn alight.

Taking a deep breath, I tried to let out some of the tension that encounter injected directly into my soul. It didn't really work. It was my first day in Ponyville, I was expecting happy colors, quaint architecture, the feeling of my soul leaving me as the town I came to enjoy leapt directly into my eyes.

Instead I somehow screwed up so bad the silent Bob yelled at me.

Fuck.

With a sigh, and intentionally refusing to look at where I assumed ponies to be, I continued my walk to nowhere. Once I was sufficiently away from prying eyes of those who would have glanced at me from the unicorn DJ's fury, I finally looked around again. With quite a few anxious twitches forward to ensure I didn't make, oh I don't know the Doctor hate me. I think he had an official name, but I was in emotional pain.

I finally recognized a building properly, granted it was both easy and hard to miss the living tree library. I wondered if Twilight was in there, or if it was vacant. At least its continued existence narrowed the timeline for me. Though that did mean my neck was on the chopping block of one Tirek, but at least he didn't have a rainbow of darkness, so it balances out.

Refraining from entering the library, I was not in the mood for annoying more ponies, I continued on my trudge. Well, if I was honest, my real reason for not wanting to try Golden Oaks Library was the fear of finding somepony other than Twilight in there. There was nothing tangible about that worry, none that I could put words to adequate enough to justify it at least. Perhaps it was about being in a realm of unknown, perhaps it was a fear of messing something up.

Reason regardless, I passed by the library tree.

It was still difficult to really do some sightseeing, the ambient fear of being stared at ever lingering clashed with the much more present fear of running into another perturbed pony. That meant that most buildings sorta blurred together.

Unless they were a giant gingerbread house. Sugarcube Corner stood before me, in all its sugary glory, and honestly it didn't look all that worse for wear. Yeah, it looked like it had a hanging sign that got yoinked into the storm, but nothing major. Lucky.

A feeling thrust through me and I carefully glanced around. If that was Sugarcube Corner, then where was the Party Pony baker that doth reside inside? When I wasn't jumped by Pinkie, I allowed myself to relax. Giving the bakery one more look, I shrugged and moved on. Sure, I felt a lot more at ease with the idea of going into Sugarcube Corner, but I didn't have any bits to really justify going in. An experience for the future I suppose.

While seeing Pinkie's home and base of employment did make me feel better, for some reason, but I still felt awkward and on edge. Ya know, 'cause of the ever present and hopefully won't become a core piece of myself fear of the stuff around me. Really, that just split my mind into three annoyed camps. Which activated a fourth annoyed camp as I couldn't just hide out in Rainbow's house since I couldn't even fly.

I stopped walking, standing alone in a relatively clear area of Ponyville, of both buildings and debris. “I gotta find a way to murder my brain.” It was then a scream sounded from nearby, “Well, speaking of murder.”

Interest piqued even more once I realized the scream was rather familiar, and had come from Rarity's Boutique all but cemented my decision that dealing with that was far more fruitful than plotting my brain's murder. I rushed on towards the tent-like building and carefully opened the door, as, Murder or no murder, I ain't destroying a door.

Once I burst onto the scene I glanced around, and saw, who else, but Rarity, sitting near a stack of boxes. Upon the tinkling of the bell above the door, she turned around, her pained expression changing to one of confusion. “Uh, I heard screaming.” I supplied, lamely.

She sniffed and shook her head, “Oh, I am terribly sorry. It's just... ugh.” She turned back to the container that was in front of her, “I thought I had found everything that tacky storm had ruined, haaaa, but alas, not only were more fabrics ruined than I thought, but it even managed to reach some of my premium, expensive stock as well. It's just a travesty!”

I stepped closer and winced at the sight of the fabrics. What was before me had obviously once been pristine rolls of fabric, but now they just looked like they were recently dragged from a river, though that did make me wonder something, which I voiced, “I'm not fashionista so forgive my ignorance, but can't you clean it so it's usable?”

Rarity sighed a tad dramatically, “Perhaps some of it, it will just be heaps of work, and even if by some miracle it is left none the worse for wear, I don't know if I could in good conscience use it in a dress or other apparel. It just doesn't seem right to use refurbished fabric in brand new apparel. Though, I suppose refurbished or not, I could find some sort of use for it.” With a second shake of her head, and a shove to the box, she turned towards me, “It is just quite disappointing. But, you have my thanks for coming to check on me, even if it wasn't an actual emergency. It does put my mind at ease knowing ponies such as yourself are about should something actually serious arise.”

For some reason that brought on a crushing feeling of shame. I didn't run in because it was the right thing to do, I ran in because this was pony land and Rarity screaming. If this was Earth and I heard a scream, my first instinct would be to get the fuck away with heaping doses of paranoia that I'd get unlucky if I called nine one one, and 'fail' their pseudoscience guiltiness over the phone test.

“Uh, well I didn't actually do anything. I just came to see what was up.” I said, trying to discard the unearned honor Rarity had tossed upon me.

She simply chuckled however, “Oh, I won't be having that. You took time out of your day, especially in the wake of the storm to check on somepony. That's more than most would do. But, regardless, I don't believe I've had the pleasure of meeting you before, I am Rarity, might I ask you your name?”

Suppressing a sigh, I obliged, “I'm, Neon Icy Wings.”

“A pleasure to meet you, Neon darling.” She said before seemingly taking me in fully, she tilted her head, “Hmm, your bandages seem a bit worn, let me help with that.” As she spoke a bundle of clean cloth floated into view, surrounded in the sparkling light of magic.

Attempting to not be enraptured by the show of magic, it was quite pretty, I tried to decline the offer, “Oh, it's no issue at all, I've barely noticed my bandages really.”

Rarity scoffed and approached me, looking over my old dressings, “Nonsense, bad bandages are hardly something I can let you walk away with. You came to help me, let me help you.”

My brain roared and my anxiety spiked as Rarity invaded my personal space with her well intentions. Digging further into logic, I tried one last time to deflect her generosity as I took a step back, “B-but, you already lost so much fabric, I can't in good conscience take what you have left!”

This did bring her pause, well that and I think she didn't want to charge forward if I really didn't want her help, but she still spoke, "Regardless darling, I simply must insist on helping you, that is to say, give back in some way. You're covered in a decent amount of wrappings, and so I'd think a helping hoof would go a long way. I would just fetch my first aid kit, but... I don't think I have the bandages for this particular job, so.” She simply levitated the clean fabric with a kind smile.

I let out a sigh and sat down, “Fine, fine. These bandages are probably due for a change anyway.”

Rarity sat next to me and gently began to undo the bandages on my shoulder. It was then that I realized I hadn't paid much attention when Dash redid them last night. As Rarity began to peel it away, her eyes widened, and I couldn't blame her. A decent patch of my shoulder and top foreleg was just long and sometimes inter-crossed claw marks that, while not actively bleeding, still looked pretty fresh.

“My word dear! What in Equestria happened to you? I knew it had to be somewhat bad, but this?” Rarity said, concern laden in her voice.

A part of me wanted to be a bit annoyed, but upon seeing the wound first hand, I couldn't bring myself to. “Uh, it's kind of a whole thing, so the simple, quick and probably poorly worded version is thus. Woke up in the Everfree during the storm, chased by Timberwolves, out flanked by a Timberwolf which attacked me, I killed it somehow scaring the others off, passed out when I got near Ponyville, currently have memory issues.”

Rarity blinked, glancing back down to my wound, “Well, that certainly answers my question. I am at the very least glad you made it out, maybe not unscathed, but alive. But if you passed out during the storm, why dear, what happened next?”

“Rainbow picked me up, with some cost to Applejack's farm, but Dash got me out alive and has been looking out for me.”

She smiled at that information, “That's good at least. If anypony were to find you out in that dreadful weather, Rainbow was more than likely the best pony for the job.” Curiosity sated, she resumed carefully stripping away, what I probably should have expected to be, dirty bandages.

For some reason, an incessant thought got lodged in my head, “You know Rainbow?”

Chuckling, Rarity continued her work, but graced me with an answer, “We have a mutual friend. While we don't get together too often, we don't exactly share too many interests, you see, she has been kind enough to help me from time to time, even if she does complain about having to stay still for too long.”

“Huh, wouldn't expect her to offer to do so in the first place.”

Upon fully removing one of the bandages at last, Rarity shrugged, “It is still rare, but having a pristine athletic build for fittings is such a gift.”

We lapsed into silence as she really got into the process. Really seeing my wounds forced them to the front of my mind, the light sting of them being revealed to the open air. It was an odd feeling overall.

Eventually Rarity pulled the fabric taut in her magic, and gently but firmly began to wrap it around me, isolating my wounds once more from the outside elements of the world. It felt snug and nice, even with the newfound presence the claw marks had in my consciousness, though that presence was happily placed alongside the comfort the new binding brought with it.

As she worked amidst the silence, she spoke up once more, “Perhaps it's a bit intrusive of me to ask, but are you feeling alright, dear?”

Not expecting that, my eyes flicked over to her, “Huh?”

She didn't lift her gaze, simply continuing the work as she spoke, “I was just wondering if you were doing alright after everything. A harrowing experience, with memory problems to boot, it all just sounds like a lot if you ask me, so, I felt it pertinent to ask.”

I blinked and turned my gaze away. “Huh.” I mumbled.

Really, I had put some thought into things, but at the same time didn't. Truth be told, I think a part of me tried to semi distance myself from what happened in the forest. Detach myself from it. Acknowledge it happened, tell it to others, just... don't think about it beyond that. Just didn't have much cause to dive back into it mentally.

Memory wise, well that was a nonissue. A lie. Granted the whole, 'in a new world with no immediate way back, do I even want to' situation took precedence over that, but with no way to reasonably address it, aside from minor pondering I was mostly just trying to ignore it. A mixture of feeling like I couldn't address them, and wanting that to be the case so I wouldn't have too.

I finally spoke, my voice, not wavering, but maybe a tad off, “I honestly don't know. It feels like... a lot to deal with right now. If I even can.”

Rarity hummed as she laid more fabric on me, “Completely understandable, dear. I'd say you're quite strong to have gone through all that, and wounds aside, come out none the worse for wear.”

Didn't feel strong, but I'd take the compliment.

“But dear,” She continued as I turned to her again, “If you ever need a set of ears to talk to, don't hesitate to come by. Alright?”

Her gentle smile was positively glowing, matching her compassion. “Thanks Rarity.” Felt kinda dumb responding with just that, but I didn't know what else to say.

We fell back into a conversational lull until the binding was finally set, I gently flexed against the fabric as Rarity smiled at her handiwork, “Doctor I may not be, but I'd say that is adequate workmareship.”

I nodded in agreement, “Yeah, it definitely feels nice. Didn't really notice before, but this feels much better.”

Rarity happily brushed her mane to the side with a hoof and smiled, “Well, I do only use the best materials.”

“I still feel bad for taking off with this fabric without paying and hardly doing anything. But, thanks for this.” I gently strained my wing against the new constraints, yup still hurt, but it also felt oddly comforting. Hell, for all I knew the fabric was magic, so no questions from me. Turning to Rarity, not really sure how to feel, but I supposed I leaned more to grateful than not. “Well, sorry to have kept you. Didn't mean to take up so much of your time.”

“No problem at all. Now, I don't want to keep you. Don't be a stranger, it would be nice to talk when there's less going on.”

Ironic, as unless time moved oddly, I could only assume things would be going on more and more. “I'll try to come by and say hello, though my memory isn't the best when it comes to social things sometimes.”

She chuckled at that, “Then I shall attempt to reach out from time to time. Have a good day.”

“You too Rarity. Stay dry.” With that odd detour done, I stepped from the Boutique back into Ponyville, still not sure how to feel. At least my wing felt more snug for some reason. It felt nice. Though, meeting Rarity did put my whole excursion to town into perspective. Mainly that it was basically just a bunch of faf.

Continuing my wanderings, paranoia of repeating the Vinyl incident aside, I realized I didn't have anything to do. No obligations, no life. No purpose. It was then that I really felt like an invader, the feeling leaping to the forefront of my mind. What was I meant to do? Sure, a basic soul searching question, but it just felt wrong. Wrong to step along the simple town road of Ponyville, wrong to have spoken to Rarity, to wear, well, be bandaged in her fabrics.

My mind began to churn again with a million and one thoughts, a thousand and two worries, when a flash of Pink took up my vision.

With a quick pseudo scream of shock, I stumbled back, only to be greeted by a cheery voice, “Oh, sorry to startle you, but I was just so excited to finally find ya!” Pinkie Pie said with an almost literal glowing smile.

It was all so sudden, my brain hadn't even caught up to what was happening. “Find me?”

She snorted out a laugh and tried to bounce only to grimace slightly, instead choosing to kind of bob in place, “Yeah! I got this super feeling that somepony was in town that I've never met before! Kinda weird, but hey! I won't complain! But that whacky storm blew on in and threw everything all over the place!” She grumbled and glared at the sky, “Hate to say it, but your 'Welcome to Ponyville Party' is gonna have to wait. I haven't even thrown the 'Yay, the Storm Didn't Kill Us Party,' yet.”

I think my very consciousness got fried from mere proximity to Pinkie, as I could only muster a meager, “What?”

Pinkie trotted up to me and put a hoof on my shoulder, a serious look on her face, “Don't you worry, before you know it I'll have your party up and running, ready for partying! Just after all this post storm stuff blows over. Anyway! I gotta get back to the Corner, still got some cleaning and party planning to do. I'll see ya when you least expect it!”

And with that she walked away with pep in her step. With a small groan, I let my head tilt back, pointing my eyes to the sky. Maybe it was just the events of the day, me still getting my bearings in a new world, but running into Pinkie was draining.

As my gaze beheld the sky, I was greeted by a quick rainbow trail that flew behind the titular blue pegasus. The sight of a familiar pony, even if it was mostly as a speck, and mostly an individual I knew in an almost voyeuristic way, it still was a comforting sight that asked me to wave in greeting, even if I knew it was a fruitless idea. She was far too high up, and I too much of an indistinguishable dot to discern among the many ponies of this Ville.

The sight flew my mind away from the uncertainty and the oddity. With a small, kinda painful flex of my bandaged wing, and slight flare of my good wing, I imagined what it was like, to soar through the heavens on your own power. The veritable canvas of cloud and sky that could be beheld.

I felt myself become calmer, almost freer at the idea, and dearly hoped Rainbow would teach me how to fly. No idea how she'd take it, if a pegasus with memory issues would also suffer loss of flight capability, but I oh so wanted to fly. Even when I was human, I never even climbed a tall mountain, let alone board a plane.

A nagging part of me badgered on about how I might enjoy flying too much and use it as an excuse to abandon Earth, but it was only a small part, drowned amidst the wonder of the mere idea of flying like a pegasus.

Granted, said wonder kept my eyes off the road for so long I collided with another pony, that kinda brought the mood down.

I let out an 'oof' and stumbled back, while hearing the soft sound of something hitting the ground. With a groan and rubbing my face in annoyance, I apologized, “Sorry, sorry. This is the second time I've run into somepony.”

“Ah, no problem. If anypony knows what it's like to run into things it's me.” The mare said, in a pleasant voice.

Removing my hoof from my face I looked at her properly, and huh. It's Derpy. Or is it Ditzy? Muffins? The grey furred, blond maned, wall eyed pegasus who seemed practically jolly was dressed in a brown shirt and hat, carrying a saddlebag full of packages and mail. It was so nice to not have another angry pony on my case. If I had made Derpy Ditzy Muffins Hooves Doo angry with me, I'd have half a mind to walk back into the hell forest.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I said, “Oh thank you. I still feel bad for bumping into somepony earlier and making them drop something. Getting called a flankhole really isn't a good way to start your day, especially when I bump into a second pony in the same day.” With a quick glance to a package that had fallen on the ground, I cringed, “And, make them drop something too, Dear... everything.”

The mail mare winced and nodded, “Ooh, that one's harsh, but don't let it get ya too down, okay? Some ponies got hit by the storm worse than others, but that doesn't make your honest mistakes less honest, right? Has your day only been being called a flankhole?”

The question put a block to my shame, replacing it with confusion, “Uh, no? I met and had a nice talk with Lyra and Bon Bon, and Rarity helped me with my bandages...”

She beamed a positively beautiful smile, “See? Bad things may happen, but usually there's a bit of good that can weigh against, then everything's not bad at least. Right?”

“Huh.” Well, she had a point. Actually made me feel a tad not worse. “Thanks, uh, I'm Neon, what's your name?” I said as I picked up the fallen package and handed it to her.

She took the package with a smile and a nod, “Oh, I'm Muffins, though sometimes I go by Ditzy, nice to meet you! But I gotta get these packages delivered before it gets too late, bring a few smiles to some ponies while I'm at it. Maybe I'll see you around, Neon.”

I simply waved as she trotted away, and looked to the sky again. Huh. The day had really gotten away from me, and in such odd ways at that. I hadn't meant to run into Rarity or Pinkie, but then I also didn't mean to be called a flankhole by a DJ. Bleh. Still, Muffins' little chat left me feeling overall better about the day. No need to focus on the angering emotion, I met some nice ponies, and that should be what's remembered.

My mind quickly jumped back to seeing Dash, which made me think about heading back to the Cloudominium. It was getting late and I didn't want to occupy Rainbow's time more than I had to. So, I about faced, and began tracing my steps back to where I came from.

As the sun's rays bled across the ground from its setting position, I noticed less ponies working about. Completely understandable, most of them had probably been toiling away all day, not to mention the day before which was probably rougher. The ponies of Ponyville had definitely earned their rest.

With less wandering eyes upon me, and less chance to bowl somepony over, things felt much nicer, like I could appreciate the town more with less distraction, anxiety, and more openness. Maybe on a better day, you know, one not following a freak and devastating storm, Ponyville would be more fun to wander around.

Eventually, I turned my brain cells away from sightseeing and toward specifically making sure I was heading down the right road to the right cloud. Sure, a veritable mansion in the clouds should be obvious, but I bumped into two ponies, I wasn't going to underestimate my bad luck.

Luckily, though, it didn't take me long to locate the home in the heavens. Honestly, despite not really doing anything beyond walking and intruding, I felt tired, so the idea of lounging about in a cloud house was positively divine.

But then my divine hopes of lazy lounging were skewered by one rogue thought as I craned my neck up to stare at the vacant house with no Rainbow in sight. “How the fuck do I get back up now?”

Author's Note:

Now with cover art drawn by me! Huzzah!

Comments

[DraconicDuelist]

Bit of a rough introduction to some of the locals, but at least some friends were made!

Have to wonder, will any abilities come with the name now you've "remembered" it in full? Or will a talent/Cutie Mark be formed? Maybe joining a winter-time weather patrol with Rainbow would result in glowing ice forming on her wings? Be pretty cool, but that's all speculation.

Looking forward to meeting the rest of the main/secondary characters. The story of how Neon got here would probably be considered a "bad influence" on the Crusaders, unless the scars could count as a warning against going into the Everfree...

Overall, nice chapter! Thanks for the update!

[hmaf43]

I think make shorter but more frequence chapters would make the story more consistent.

[Raiss Icewind]

Just found this, and gotta say, it's fun to see an SI story that doesn't immediately start rehashing episodes.
I like the start, it's written well enough (a few typos here and there) the characters are believable and your SI isn't strangely over powered, yet, that could change.

I look forward to the interactions with the main cast and to see what knowledge of events Neon chooses to act on

[Randompegasus168]

Nice chapter can’t wait to see more

[KvAT]

Well that was one of the fictions of all time, I guess

[Nismo Rose]

Love the story can’t wait for the next chapter!