Anamnesis

by Background Bystander

Café Chats

The day had wrapped up nicely, all packaged together with pretty colors of a cool afternoon. After being in the sky for so long, the two pegasi decided to walk and admire their hard work. Especially since one of them felt like their wings had become unwound in a mess of dull throbs of discomfort. But that had little effect on their emotions, still chatting with cheerful smiles about the daily happenings of life and generally trying to catch up with one another. If it wasn’t through speed, then through speech.

Passers by would occasionally thank them for their work today, with words of wonderful admiration and gratitude. He found it a little startling to receive praise for doing your job, but he never had to remove the literal clouds hanging above their heads before. A surprise to be sure...but he welcomed it.

“What a day, what-a-day.” He walked with extra pop in his step. “As first times go, I’d say that was one of the more satisfying shifts I’ve started out with, if I didn’t blow out my wings, that is.” He tried to lift them, making him wince. “I really should’ve stretched this morning. Thanks for covering the rest of my work.”

“Relax, I got you covered! If we lift each other up, we all succeed together, right?” He nodded. “I’m really glad you liked it, too. It’s a pretty good gig, nice and laid back...heh, at least compared to my other duties.”

She mentioned those a few times. He understood the Wonderbolt situation to be a sporting endeavor, but then there were these weird stories. Fantastical battles for Equestria against threats old and new, and this element of loyalty thing he hardly comprehend. He thought she was only riffing off ideas in her head, as some do when stuck with the detriment of downtime, but her sheer excitement said otherwise. Then again, when you’re hearing all this while pushing multiple clouds filled with rain across the sky, it gets drowned out.

“Yeah, no doubt, Rainbow. I’ll have to take you up on some of those exercises, don’t want to stall any further work if you know what I mean.”

“I’ll show you a few tricks I have, but if you wanna get nice and loose, you could head over to the spa sometime.” She said, slightly shifty at the word.

“The spa?”

“Yeah, they offer treatments meant specifically for athletes. Deep tissue work, hoof kneading, wing preening...nice, cozy stones they run all down your back...lovely...oh so lovely pampered muzzle massages...” She mumbled, but quickly caught herself. “Uh, not that I’d know anything about those. I mean hello, protector of Equestria here! All thrills, no frills!”

“Sure thing Rainbow, thanks for giving me the tip.” Though, it wasn’t really him she was helping, was it? It was her, Mellow Yellow, the mare he’d been shoved into. Now puppeteering from within its head. He’d tried his best to avoid those thoughts, that everyone was speaking to him but not speaking to him. He kept himself occupied by his work, but they would eventually come around. It made him feel gross, parasitic even.

Lonely.

They crossed an intersection where many storefronts were located. The owners switching signs and sliding locks, all with the smiles of a successful day. He closed his eyes for a moment to imagine himself behind the wheel, taking the daily drive back to the house. If he thought real hard about it, he could almost hear the engine belting out its low, guttural note. Going from one job to another in dealing with Lou.

Louis. He’d been thinking about him, too. This being yet another day he’d went into town on his own. He would look down regularly to see if he could spot him. Hopes would rise upon seeing a familiar outline, yet would crash and burn finding it to be a stranger. Highs and lows, uppers and downers, fading out into endless bummers.

He was originally going towards the castle to see how he handled the two mares, when he had another thought go through his head. “Actually, forget the castle. We’re going to Sugarcube Corner instead.”

“Huh, why? I thought you said you needed to get there after work?”

“I have to pick up an order.”

“Of what?”

“Fudge.” He said with a sly smile.

Rainbow looked confused for a moment, then her eyebrows fell again. “Heh heh, oh I see. A very important order...” He rolled his eyes, she seemed to like the little jokes. They walked a few more seconds and she turned to him again. “So, how are things between you and him? You said you two moved in together?”

“That’s right, really helps you make it somewhere when you’re with somepony you know.”

“And how well exactly do you two know each other, hmmm?” She continued to poke, literally and figuratively.

“Well enough.” He pushed her back with a hoof. “Enough to know he might’ve changed his mind about meeting Twilight. Could’ve bounced around like a pinball, trying to find the right hole to consider his true calling.”

“Geez, he’s that scatterbrained?”

“I prefer to call it free spirited.”

Turn your brain off and float along. That’s probably how he was doing it. Pretty smart, ironically speaking. Certainly would’ve helped Ambrose, but there were so many incidents that happened yesterday he was busy processing. From the tour, meeting Pinkie, talking to himself in the form of yet another alicorn princess...

...And then there was that thing back at the house, after they’d discovered their home was their home. Sitting there, holding each other as the world crumbled around them. It was plaguing him more than anything else, replaying it in his head. Stroking his fur with a hoof...feeling his soft mane falling inbetween his feathertips...and that nice, reassuring warmth in his chest. Whenever he thought about it, these strange tingles would start to dance throughout him...

Nah, it was probably just because he was scared senseless at the time.

They spotted a pony walking the opposite direction, looking down into its hoof as they were sifting through coins from the saddlebags draped across their back.

Rainbow did a double take. “I don’t think that tie is doing her any favors, do you see how long her mane is? How does she even walk around with that thing?”

“Not she...”

“Huh?”

“Not she...he.” He said, feeling a rush of happiness flow through him. He stood up straight and vigorously waved a hoof. “Hey, Vanilla! Over here!”

One of their ears turned in his direction, causing the rest of their head to follow suit. Once he got a glimpse of him, that all to familiar lazy smile wrapped around his face and trotted up to them. Careful not to shake the bags too much.

“Mellow! It’s so good to see you again!”

“You too!” He wrapped a wing around him, but immediately pulled back from the pain. “I thought you said you were going to help Twilight at the castle...ow.”

“I was, I really was, but she said my enthusiasm would be better used in Sugarcube rather than some stuffy castle, and y’know what? For the first time ever, I think I agreed with a politician, it’s crazy!”

“Heh, you dodged a big one there, buddy. Lest you would’ve gotten stuck with the eggheads all day.” Rainbow chirped, idly floating in the air.

He stared at her, eyes melting over from the multicolored mass. “Woah...” His head began to slowly tilt sideways. “Hey, Mellow, I don’t if I’ve said this before, but I think this rainbow is talking to me.”

“You’d be correct, and also incorrect at the same time. This is Rainbow Dash.”

“And you must be Vanilla Fudge.” She landed and struck a confident pose. “You’re the one Mellow’s always going on about, huh?”

“Yeah, physically at least. What about you? Are you Rainbow in like, a physical or spiritual sense?”

“Uuuh...both?”

“...Cooool, it’s like I’m talking to the wind.”

She looked concerned, but shrugged it off. “Gotta say, not to sound rude, but I wasn’t expecting you to be a unicorn, Fudge.”

“I know, me neither!” He started to laugh.

Rainbow leaned over to Ambrose. “Is...is he alright?”

“Don’t worry, this is as normal as it’s gonna get.”

---

The group sat and discussed their workdays. The pros and cons of crafting cloud patterns, and deciphering the phenomenon many refer to as Pinkie being Pinkie. Things seemed to start out well for their hopefully short careers around sentient equines.

At least they’re friendly enough, guess Luna was right about that one, too. Ambrose wondered if he would see her again tonight, appearing in a cloud of space dust and congratulating him on his efforts.

Louis was still captured by the cascading colors of Rainbow’s hair. Reminded him of the hundreds-if not thousands-of icings, sprinkles, toppers, and general flairs within the kitchen. All those names, all that running around...it was crazy how many showed up, it wasn’t even a Friday! Wait, is it...this is a weekday, right?

While Louis pondered this, he felt his stomach complain of neglect with a low growl.

“Say, you guys want to go get anything to eat? I haven’t had anything since this morning.”

Rainbow rubbed the bad of her head sheepishly. “I’d like too, but I gotta check up on Tank, he’s my pet tortoise.”

“Dash, with a tortoise?”

“I know.” She chuckled. “But he’s the best one anypony could ask for.”

He turned to Ambrose. “Well, guess it’s me and you then, how tragic.”

“Shouldn’t we just eat at the house? Y’know, to save money?”

“Man, I’m completely baked out for today. Plus, I got a bunch of tips we can use to cover it.” He levitated coins out of his bags...and carrots. “These were a little strange, though.”

“Awesome, dude! Ponies usually gives those whenever they’re really pleased with somepony’s work.”

Right, ponies get treats whenever they do something as asked. “Oh...groovy.” Then he ate one.

“Well, I suppose it couldn’t hurt to eat out every now and then, but I always prefer when you do it.” Ambrose said, slightly disappointed.

“Heh, I’m sure you do.”

“Hmm?”

“Oh, nothing.” She took to the air again. “There’s plenty of cafés around town if you want something decent but not too expensive. In fact, there’s a really good one a few blocks from here. The one with the sign of a big sundae in a cup.” She started to fly away, continuing to shout. “You two enjoy your meal, see you around!” With another mighty flap, she went off with a rainbow tracer.

“So, you’ve got a new partner in crime, I see?” Louis chuckled. “Why, is the old model just not cutting it for you?”

“Oh please, like anypony could ever replace you.” He joked, but his face warmed up slightly afterwards.

“Ha, I’ll take that as a compliment.” He placed his things back into his bag and turned towards the street. “Shall we?”

The two walked around for a few minutes, Louis whistling slightly off key. Ambrose tried to hum along, finding it hard to harmonize with his lower tone. This mediocre melody continued until they found the restaurant in question, with outdoor seating and a large tree for shade. Doing as instructed by the sign and seating themselves at one of the more shaded tables.

“Ah, so good to finally get off my hooves.” Louis relaxed back into his chair, taking an exaggerated breath of fresh air. “I had no idea just how hectic cupcakes can be. It felt like when you used to run me around the track.”

“Told you it would come in handy at some point.” He replied with a smug grin.

“That don’t stop the sweating...or the soreness.”

A pony walked up to their table, wearing a vest and bow tie, contrasting horribly with his pale green fur and blonde mane hastily styled. “Hello um...ma’am and...sir.” He greeted timidly. “I’m Table Jockey, and welcome to the...uh, Sunset Sundae! How may I help you on this lovely evening?” He asked, going through his lines as he handed them both a script.

They both eyes each other, mentally agreeing to play their part. “Well, I’m a mare that requires pr-r-ristine perfection!” Louis said in a snooty tone, rolling his r’s. “I’m not some hoedown hillbilly who’ll take what’s served from the troughs, I need something that aligns with who I am. Something that will not only satisfies my hunger, but digs straight down into my spirit. To quench the hunger within my soul!”

His pupils looked like pinpricks, before he blinked and tried to speak. “I...uh, um...we serve food here, ma’am. Would you like some of that?”

“Excuse me!” Ambrose boomed, taking his voice to its lowest level. “Are you saying that my marefriend’s needs are of no concern to you? Is she nothing more than walking bag of bits? An object?”

“W-What? N-N-No! I was just-“

“Just what? Trying to tell her what she should get yourself?”

“Hmph, a stallion taking out his power fantasies on a poor mare for no good reason, the nerve on you!”

“N-No, this is all a m-misunderstanding!”

Louis gave him a cold glare. “There is no misunderstanding here, Jockey. You’ve shown your true colors, no matter how pale they are.”

“Yes, perhaps we should let management know about this incident.”

“I believe we shall, I bet this isn’t the first time they’ve had one with him. Perhaps it’ll be the last.”

“No! Please don’t!” He was practically on his knees. “I swear I didn’t mean anything by it! I’m sorry for being so ignorant, don’t tell my boss! I just started working here and I’m really enjoying it, I can’t lose this job, not now!”

He hung his head low, only to hear them burst into wicked laughter. Slamming the table to control themselves.

“Woo boy! Scared ya, didn’t we?”

“Huh, w-wait...what?”

“Yeah we did, you should’ve seen the look on your face!” Louis answered, wiping a tear.

“Wait, so...you were just joking?” Table looked at him with a quivering lip, his big blue eyes swimming with hurt and betrayal.

“Yeah, we’re just messing with you because you screwed up your greeting. I’m the stallion, she’s the mare.”

“Oh, I...well, I’m sorry. I never would’ve guessed-“

“I know, no one does.” He responded quickly.

“But we also know you shouldn’t just let somepony walk all over you like that. You gotta have some backbone if you’re in customer service of any kind.” Ambrose added, as if he didn’t just traumatize the teenager.

“I guess you’re right. I can’t just let others treat me like a doormat.” He said with newfound confidence.

“Exactly...” Louis gave him a wink. “...Now I’d like a extra large soda, really fizzy, crush the ice.”

“Coming right up!”

Ambrose silenced another giggle. “I’m good with water for now, thank you.” Table Jockey nodded with a smile and trotted off into the restaurant. “Seriously, more sugar? Haven’t you had enough today?”

“But what about my needs, Mellow?”

“Your needs?...I think I need a smoke, but I’m sure they got rules here, if smoking even exists to begin with.” He looked to the top of Louis’s head. “And he’s right, no one would guess with that bow.”

“Oh, that thing. I had Pinkie tie it back for work, guess I don’t need it anymore.” He grabbed one of the ends with his mouth and pulled.

Ambrose watched as the creamy colored currents released from their holds, erupting into tidal waves of mane. It was if time slowed, allowing him to take in every wave and curl that he ever had. He felt...like he wanted to take his wing and catch it all, letting its softness bury deep within his wingtips again. Then suddenly, a pair of hooves fluffed it, making it even more poofy. He shifted his eyes to look him in the face, which it fell around perfectly. No curl caught in his mouth, no strand sticking into his ears, nothing blocking his eyes.

His eyes, how’d he never notice them like this before? They used to be green, but this brown was...incredibly deep. Swirling and shifting, patterns repeating themselves, oh my, they were kaleidoscopes! Incredible! And they suited him so well, both mentally and...physically...

“There, much better.” Louis said with a relieved sigh. “That’s one benefit of being here I suppose, I get to let it all hang out.” He chuckled and looked to his menu.

He continued to gaze, watching the orbs bounced back and fourth across the sheet. Spirals twirling and melting into one another. Until they firmly planted themselves to look back at him. For a moment. Then longer. Longer.

“Uh, Mellow? You ok?” They asked, echoing around his skull.

He blinked, and the rest of the world sped up to him. “Huh? What’d you say?”

“I asked if you were alright, you spaced out for a while...is there something on my face?”

“What? Oh no...no, you’re fine. I just...spaced out, like you said.” He blurted, realizing his heart was pumping quicker than he thought.

“You sure? You’re face is a little red...”

He put a hoof to his cheek. “Oh, the sun cracked through the leaves for a second and hit me in the face. Not to mention I’ve been outside all day, it’s quite warm.”

“Guess I came at the right moment then, huh?” They turned to see Jockey returned, holding a tray on his wing with their drinks. He placed them on the table, then folded the tray under his wing and brought out a notepad. “Now, um...you still interested in satisfying that hunger?”

“Yes indeed.” Louis hovered his hoof over the menu. “Lemme get this portobello burger, with hay fries...what are those?”

“They’re fries...made of hay, as most fries are.”

“Not potatoes?”

“Goodness, no! What’re we trying to do, poison our customers?”

“Sheesh, relax, it was just a question. But I’ll take em.”

He scribbled it quickly. “And you?”

Ambrose scrambled with his menu. “I’ll have the chickpea and oat salad, hold the side, thanks.”

“Perfect! Thank you, it’ll be out as soon as possible!” Jockey gave a courteous nod and trotted off again.

They watched him all the way again. “What do you think?” Ambrose asked.

“Way too chipper, makes him appear fake. Needs to dial back on the smile so he’s not trying to split his face in two. Other than that, I’d say he’s fine.”

“Hmm, holding back, are we?”

“You’re the one who’s holding back, why didn’t you get a side?”

“The salad already looked big enough, I don’t need to add more. Gotta stay light for this weather stuff.”

“So you weren’t kidding, you actually change the weather, like literally?” He nodded. “Woah, that’s pretty fucking far out, man...yet immensely horrifying as well.”

“Yeah, you’re telling me.”

“Well guess what? You won’t have to worry about it for too long. For I have a plan.” He leaned in closer on the table, keeping it a whisper. “So apparently, that castle we were staying in also functions as a library. It’s got like, a library’s worth of books.”

“You just said it was a libr-“

“Let me finish, Pinkie said that it holds all kinds of different books, different subjects, right? Perhaps a few even written by unicorns?” Ambrose gave him a look of I’m listening. “Now, these ponies can use magic...some involving teleportation. I know I can do it, but I can’t control it. So if I hone in on it, and go through those books, I bet I can find a spell-ability-whatever the fuck that’ll get us back home!” He finished with a spark of his horn. “How’s that sound?”

“...That...is...kinda brilliant. For you at least.” That was the closest he’d ever gotten to a thought of leaving this place...he more focused on his work. No! He couldn’t stay here, there were people counting on him back on Earth. Who knows what was going on there. Did they notice they were gone? Maybe a missing persons report? Or maybe...maybe they’d just forgotten about him. Well he wasn’t gonna let that happen. “...If we can pull this off, maybe we could...uh...”

“Could what?”

“Maybe we could bring Rainbow with us? I think she’d really like all the cars and planes we have over there.”

“But she’s not from over there, she’s from here. We can’t just chuck her onto Earth without warning. Jesus, they’d rip her to shreds! ...But if you think she’d be up for it, I guess you could ask. Though you’d be dropping your cover in the process.”

He nodded. “Fine by me, maybe when we’re gone, whoever these two ponies were before will come back. A win for everypony.”

“I hope so, I really don’t want to be stuck inside a pile of gory goo...damn, that would really suck, man.”

“Eww, don’t say that, we’re about to eat here.”

“But doesn’t that sound delicious? Crunch down in some brains, to noodle around some intestines?” His struck another ghoulish grin. “How about some liver?”

His eyes widened. “Don’t do it.”

“With fava beans, and a nice Chianti?”

His body tensed up. “Please don’t.”

Louis leaned in as close a possible, looked him straight in the eye, and gave a loud Hannibal hiss. Making Ambrose green almost immediately.

“Ugh, stop! You know I hate that noise!”

“Oh really, that’s a surprise.” He replied with a mischievous tone. “That’s for grinding my skull this morning.”

“Fair enough, but we’re even now, alright? You start doing some weird shit with that horn of yours and we’re gonna have a serious problem.”

“Yeah, yeah, I gotcha.” He looked out onto the street, watching the many citizens of town going about their business. It really did feel like a tight knit community, where everypony knew everypony in and out, and would actually be there for support when needed. If only home had that kinda feel, instead of everyone creeping around on eggshells...or a better way to put would be a minefield, waiting for the next explosion of needlessly large proportions. Evaporating time and turning everyone’s mood sour.

He saw a couple ponies sitting on a bench way off in the distance. Both holding up large newspapers that covered most of their bodies. Weird, who reads the paper nowadays? But as he squinted, he noticed their legs. Both had fur of a very familiar purple, as were their tails. He glanced back at the papers, focusing hard. Maybe the print was just messing with him, but he sworn he saw 4 eyeballs starting straight back at him. What the fuck?

“Hey Mellow, you see anything weird about those ponies on the bench?”

He turned around. “What ponies?”

“Those po-“ In the split second he looked away, they had vanished. Leaving behind one of the newspapers on the ground. “Woah, weird...”

“Perhaps you’re experiencing the hallucinations of hunger.” Jockey chimed in with a nervous laugh. “Maybe I can help with that?” He placed down their food on the table, steaming and glistening with salivating delight. “When you’re finished, please head over to that counter to pay. Have a nice evening!”

Louis looked him up and down. “You know what?” He reached into his bag and pulled out a carrot, levitating it over and placed it in his open hoof. “You too, Jockey.”

He stared at it like he just discovered fire. His body began to shake with pent up joy before jumping high into the air with an excited whinny and dashing off at great speed.

“Aww, how nice of you.”

“I have my moments, now let’s eat.”

With a little more banter, the two finally began to eat their dinner. And maybe...just maybe, actually enjoy a night in Ponyville.

Comments

[Mix-up]

looks like they are getting their act together

[DreamCloud]

Uh-oh, feelings are being developed. God help them if they come across Cadance.

[Erie]

Hmm, two ponies who both have purple fur and tails that decided the best disguise would be a very large newspaper with eyeholes in it. Who could it be?

In other news Ambrose and Louis are definitely starting to get more used to this, even if they still struggle a bit. Though Ambrose is starting to feel a little something, even if they’re denying it.