> Life in Equestria > by Blossom Comet > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Life on Mars > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock, yawning, I stretched and got out of bed. I didn't get much sleep last night, I spent most of my time until 3 A.M. playing World of Warcraft. Yeah, I had fantastic timekeeping capabilities. As a 22 year old man working full time as a cashier while looking for a more fulfilling job, my life was pretty dull. I made enough money to rent an okay apartment, and afford a few luxuries. I groaned as a went to the kitchen to get some breakfast. You see, I didn't have any friends, and my family and I weren't all that close, so I didn't go out much. Any money I did spend went towards more "geeky" things as opposed to nights out, or partying. I built my own computer, I spent a lot of money on Video Games, Anime and DVDs. In other words, I'm quite the loner. Any time not spent job hunting or working, I was gaming, reading, or watching shows. All it really took was one look around my apartment to see what kind of person I was, Anime posters on the wall, Superhero comics on the floor, yup. I was a geek. That being said, I have an incredible amount of books in my collection, ranging from all sorts of fiction and non fiction. The original plan in my life was to go to college for something like Biological Science, but since my parents didn't have much money it never happened. I got pretty good grades and had an academic mind, but apparently that wasn't enough for any scholarships. So I ended up leaving school at 18 and going into the world of work. Was this a problem for me? Not necessarily, as far as I was concerned, things were okay. Just okay. Sure, I got lonely from time to time, but who really needs friends? As long as you can entertain yourself and do something fulfilling with your life, that should be enough surely. After having breakfast I looked up to the clock. It was 8:14. Great. I got little over five hours sleep. This would have a toll on my work performance. Time to get ready. About half an hour later I was ready to get going to work. I got in my car and started driving. Plugging my iPhone in to the car I looked through my choice of music. Eventually I decided I was in the mood to listen to some David Bowie. The man is a legend, and one of my favorite musicians of all time. Within seconds I was singing along to "Changes" while watching the road. Despite music putting me in a good mood, something seemed off. I shrugged it off and kept driving. Looking at the clock in the car, the time read 8:55. Crap. I was going to be late, and it didn't help that there was an abnormal amount of traffic today. Was there an event or something? Oh well, I'd just have to wait. The song had changed now, and I was listening to "Life on Mars". I decided to relax and wait for traffic to start moving again. "Reading Radio interrupts to provide travel news." I raised my eyebrow. Nobody interrupts David Bowie! How dare they!? "Things are looking very tricky around the M-" I turned the music back on, nothing was going to ruin my mood this morning. Nothing I say! The traffic began moving again. It must be my lucky day! Or not. I looked back at the clock and it was 8:58. My manager was not going to be happy. To make matters worse the traffic only moved a little before stopping again. This was ridiculous! What was causing this jam? I couldn't even move to the other lane with how close together all the cars were. Sighing, I decided to get out of my car and see what the problem was. Sure, people would be pissed, but it's not like me being in there would have made a difference. Surprise surprise, people were beeping their horns at me. Whatever, I wanted to see what the problem was. Closing my car door, I walked to the other lane which was pretty empty. Why was one lane so full and another so empty? It literally made no sense! Walking to the end of the road I saw a few Cops. "What's holding all this traffic up?" I yelled at them, "Sir, please get back in your vehicle." was their only response. Were they serious? They were holding up the entire lane and keeping me late for work! I approached those clowns to give them a piece of my mind, moving in to the middle of the empty lane to get close. At this point one Cop looked over to me with a wide eyed expression, "SIR, WATCH OUT" At that moment I felt a collision, then all was black. Or at least, until I woke up. I was half expecting to wake up in a hospital bed, but instead, I was standing in a dark room. In the middle was a dusty desk with an hourglass on top of it, all the sand at the bottom. This room looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. As I looked out the window I saw nothing but darkness. "Where am I?" "Wherever you want to be, my friend." I turned around, to see a dark hooded figure behind me. "Who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling. The figure waved my question away, "I don't think that's important right now." Regaining my composure, I walked towards this hooded figure. While this seemed sketchy, I came to the conclusion that if I was in any real danger something would have happened already. Then it hit me. "I died, didn't I?" The figure chuckled, "Yes, and no." "How?" "Not accidentally." My eyes widened, "Someone tried to kill me?" In shock, I needed to sit down. As if by magic, a chair appeared behind me. The figure began to walk towards me at this point, no matter how much I tried, I just couldn't look directly at their face. "So, that's it. This is how I go? No goodbyes to my family, my friends?" The figure scoffed, "What friends?" My blood began to boil. "I could do without the remarks right now, thank you." "Well, it's not exactly like you ever thought you needed friends, is it?" I looked away, "I guess not, but I always figured one day I would make some anyway." The figure sighed, walking away from me it began to speak, "This isn't the end for you, my friend. It's just the beginning." I watched the figure closely as it moved towards the desk with the hourglass, what did it mean by this? "I can bring you back. I just need to know one thing." Was this guy serious? Whoever it was, they were offering me an opportunity to live again. I couldn't pass it up. "What do you need to know?" "What is it you desire most in life?" I took no hesitation in responding. "I wish to do something fulfilling, something that will make people remember my name." The figure chuckled, "That's fair. Very well, You can have another chance." The figure turned the hourglass on the desk, and all was black once more. "Hey! Everypony! She's waking up!" Everypony? "Twilight, Darling! I'm so glad you're okay!" I opened my eyes. This was not what I was expecting. > The Hospital > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Man, that light was blinding... As I struggled to open my eyes, I heard five familiar voices. I couldn't place them, but I knew I heard these voices somewhere. My body felt weird. Stiff, different. I suppose that was to be expected, since I died and all that. I could see the outlines of the five heads, but not much more. "Twilight? Are you still with us?" A soft female voice asked, whoever this was, they were a gentle person, which was obvious due to the heavy concern in their voice. I croaked in response, I had tried to say "Who's Twilight?" but my throat was totally dry. I needed water before I could speak. "Water" I managed to croak, noticing that despite my dry throat, my voice was definitely higher than usual. That's different. "Oh, of course, darling. Take it easy and only speak if you can." This voice was clearly the voice of a woman who was a bit more "posh", for lack of a better word. At that moment I felt my head being moved into a more comfortable position, although I didn't feel any hands touching me. It just felt like a force, as if my head might as well have moved on it's own, but it didn't. I felt a glass next to my lips and began to drink up the water. Half a glass later I felt as though I had enough. "Better?" the posh voice asked. I decided to keep my eyes closed for now, until they could adjust to the bright lights. "Better." was my response, but my heart skipped a beat as I said it. My voice was definitely a lot higher, I could swear I sounded a lot more feminine. "We're just glad you're okay Twilight, I knew you'd pull through!" A scratchy voice spoke up, this person was clearly very confident. Although, their statement did raise a few questions. "Who's Twilight? And, what's up with my voice?" "It's alright, sugarcube. You've been out for a while, you're confused." I felt an arm rest itself on my bed, this southern voice clearly belonged to a kind, honest person. "You're Twilight, and your voice is the same as ever. Can you remember who I am?" I shook my head in response. "Well, that's okay." The voice said calmly, but there was clear hurt in her tone, "My name is Applejack, we've been friends ever since you moved to Ponyville. Y'all remember that right?" Applejack, Ponyville? I know I recognize those names. I was beginning to put things together, albeit unwillingly. "So, I'm Twilight, you're Applejack. We're in Ponyville. And I'm in the Hospital?" "That's right." "Twilight! Please tell me you remember me!" A high pitched voice yelled, in a panicked but excited tone. I recognized this voice too, and I'm not too sure if it was the kind of person I needed to see right now. Nonetheless, barely two seconds later I felt someone jump on to my bed, crushing me. This caused me to scream and open my eyes. That scream wasn't my manliest. As my eyes opened I came face to face with what I was expecting, but dreading. I was staring at the face of a pink mare with a poofy mane, and a huge grin on her face. As my eyes widened with horror, I looked around the hospital room to see the shocked faces of an orange Pony, a rainbow maned, blue Pegasus, a timid, yellow Pegasus, and a proud, purple maned Unicorn. This was the cast of My Little Pony. "But, this can't be possible... I- I..." I raised a hand to wipe the sweat from my forehead, only to come face to face with a purple front leg, and what I could only assume was a hoof. "What's happened to me!?" The yellow Pegasus, I think her name was Flutterby spoke, "Twilight, it's okay. You've had an accident. You need a calm down. I mean, if you want to, but whatever you do is fine with me." The Pegasus bowed her head down towards the end of that sentence. "Yes, quite. And somepony isn't helping." The white furred Unicorn glared at the pink pony on my bed, who grinned sheepishly and jumped off. "Sorry! I was just so excited that Twilight woke up today, and when I felt that tingle in my right ear this morning I knew it was going to be today! So I went and got all you girls, and brought you to the hospital, only to see Twilight waking up minutes later, so I was all like 'omigosh! Twilight! You're okay!' but I wanted to make sure Twilight remembered me so I jumped-" "Shut up for a second!" I shouted at the pink pony, who dropped her head in response, with a look of guilt in her eyes. I immediately felt guilty, but I needed to know what was going on, and I was beginning to panic. I just needed a minute to get my thoughts together. So I seem to have woken up on another planet, I'm surrounded by cartoon Ponies, and I'm pretty sure I'm a girl now. Nope, getting my thoughts together didn't help. If anything it made me panic more, and I began to hyperventilate. Applejack walked over to me and reassuringly placed her hoof on my side again. "It's alright sugarcube, your friends are here for you." The Mare's kind words didn't help much though, as I felt tears emerge from my eyes. Whatever has happened, I'm a long way from home. At that moment I heard footsteps, and then a new voice made it's way in to the room, "Twilight! I came here as fast as I could, I'm so glad you're okay!" This voice was the voice of a young boy, full of concern and relief at the same time. The next thing I knew I was being hugged by some purple lizard with green hair, and in my current condition, that was enough to make me scream again. So what did I do next? Pass out, of course. A few hours later, I woke up. It was clearly night time, and everyone else was gone. The extra rest must have calmed me down and given me time to process everything that happened. As I studied my hospital room I noted that it was a single room, and quite a high class one at that, not that I was complaining. There was a window to the side of the room showing colorful buildings that looked more suited to Tudor times which only confirmed to me that I was in Ponyville. There was also a bedside table to my right, with a lot of books on it, and a mirror in the corner of the room. At that moment, I heard what I could only assume to be hoofsteps, and the door to my room opened. A cream colored Unicorn with a brown mane entered the room. "Hello Twilight Sparkle, I'm Doctor Horse. You might remember me from when I was taking care of Rainbow Dash." Doctor Horse? Really? I shrugged, and the Doctor looked at me with concern, "Do you know how you got here, Twilight?" I shrugged again. Doctor Horse continued to look at me and began to speak again, "Well, you were in the Everfree forest a few weeks ago, and you had an accident of some kind. Your friend Zecora brought you here right away. Whatever happened, you sustained a head injury, and it's safe to say from your reactions you have a concussion at the very least." Something told me the Doctor wasn't going to believe what I said next, but I figured it was worth a shot, "But Doc, I'm not actually Twilight, I'm not even from this planet. I don't know what the hell has happened but-" "It's okay, I know you're confused right now, but try to get some rest." I groaned, and the Doctor continued, "You seem to have recovered pretty quickly since waking up, if I didn't know better I'd say you'd have used magic to speed up the recovery." He said with raised eyebrows, "But I know you're smarter than that, you know that using magic for something like this is a little too risky. At any rate, you should be ready to go home within the next few days, but do get some rest." And with that, Doctor Horse walked out. Gee, what a ridiculous name. Despite his advice, I knew I couldn't rest just yet. I still had unanswered questions from earlier, the first being, what's happened to me? I pulled myself out of bed and stood on two legs. Big mistake. After falling on my face I rubbed my muzzle with my hoof, man that part was sensitive. I made my way to the mirror on the other side of the room, walking on all fours. The experience was weird, to say the least, and it was incredibly awkward to walk with four legs, but as much as I hated to admit it, right now, it felt a lot more natural than walking on two legs. Regardless, I had to see what happened to me. I already kind of knew, since everyone was calling me Twilight, but I needed to see it for myself. Despite knowing what to expect, it still hit me like a tonne of bricks. Looking straight in to the mirror I saw a Purple Unicorn, with a dark purple mane with a pink stripe and purple eyes staring back at me. Any man cards I had at this point were gone. I made sure to check and I was definitely female. I sat on the floor, the same way a dog sits, staring at my new reflection. I was Twilight Sparkle. > Discharged and Disorientated > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's been a few days since I woke up in the Ponyville hospital, and boy have those days been eventful. I spent most of the time learning to walk in my new Equine body, a completely alien experience to me for obvious reasons. Getting used to moving new muscles and bones all around my body has been... An interesting experience to say the least. The most unusual bit for me personally was getting used to having hooves, damn I missed fingers. For all I feel with them I might as well be wearing some very thick shoes. Fortunately the Nurses helped me out a lot, surmising that I had lost a lot of muscle mass, causing my lack of balance. Sure, whatever floats their boat. Regardless, I was beginning to get the hang of walking. While I wasn't going to be running just yet, I could walk at a steady pace around the hospital. For the first two days, I tried to convince the Doctors that I wasn't Twilight. They didn't even half believe it. As far as they were concerned, Twilight Sparkle suffered severe memory loss and concussion, and she might never recover fully. It was at that point I just stopped trying. Why bother trying to convince everypony when their minds were made up? Oh yeah, I say "everypony" now. If I'm here for the long hall I might as well use the correct vernacular, right? It sure as hell didn't help that I was constantly being called a "she" or a "mare" or "miss". It would take some getting used to having no man cards. Yup, I'm 100% female now. It would take some time but I would handle it. One particularly hard thing to learn was magic. As I remember from the show, Twilight was a student being taught magic, or something. As I had no experience in magic, or using a horn, it stood to reason that I couldn't do much with it. The white Unicorn named Rarity had been trying to help me "relearn" the basics, but with little success. As a matter of fact, most of the ponies took the time to visit me. Rainbow Dash would come in and chat about new moves she was learning, or this group called "The Wonderbolts", Flutterby would tell me about her animals and how she couldn't wait to reintroduce me to her bunny. Applejack visited too. The only one who didn't visit was Pinkie Pie, which was strange, I thought she would end up visiting the most. Right now, Rarity was teaching me how to levitate, and trust me when I say it is difficult. "Okay, Twilight, that was good, but try again. Remember, your Horn has a mental switch, but that Magic can only be channeled if you treat your Horn like any other muscle in your body." I should comment on that. It seems that inside a Unicorn's horn is a muscle that acts as a physical switch to channel Unicorn Magic. It didn't cause the horn to move, but it was definitely there. It was actually pretty uncomfortable if hit. I sighed, "I'll give it another shot, but this is really tiring." Focusing on the feather, I imagined myself channeling magic and the feather levitating to my will. My horn began to light up, surrounded by a purple aura. "That's good Twilight! You're doing well!" When I was ready, I flexed the muscle in my horn and felt Magic being channeled into the feather. And to my surprise it actually began to move! Not only that, but the purple aura surrounding my horn had surrounded the feather! My eyes widened in excitement, "I DID IT! IT MOVED!" but as soon as I lost my concentration the feather stopped moving and the purple aura surrounding the feather was gone. Fuck. "Dammit! I HAD IT!" I growled, more angry than upset. I was so close, and I had to blow it. Rarity walked over to me and put her hoof on my side, "Twilight, it's okay. You're learning Magic from scratch, and now you know you can do it! That was fabulous for a first try! I bet within time you'll be back to being good old Twilight." She smiled gently at me, but I turned away, still bitter, "Yeah, if only I knew more about her." A few hours later I was visited by Applejack, she was really good to me. Over the past few days she'd been visiting and keeping my spirits high. She brought in delicious food, told me stories about her farm and about her rivalry with Rainbow Dash. Despite this situation being a total mess, and having so many unanswered questions, Applejack sure knew how to keep my mind off it. Today was different however, it was clear to me she was trying to trigger some of Twilight's memories. She kept asking questions about things I knew nothing about. "So, you don't remember trying to use magic to help get rid of snow during Winter Wrap Up?" "Nope. Wait, was that the bit where everypony sang 'Winter Wrap Up Winter Wrap Up!'?" What? I'd seen a few episodes, but that didn't mean I was a brony. "Uhh, I think so? Ponies sing all the time, it's really hard to keep up." I thought for a moment, putting a hoof to my chin. Applejack probably was going to keep things going until I "remembered" something. So why not humor her? Back when I was a human, I only watched like 10 or so episodes before I got bored. I think the last one I saw was about a filly trying to get her Cutie Mark. Since Winter Wrap Up definitely happened, it was reasonable to assume that the 10 episodes I did see were "canon" to this universe. "Wait, Applejack. I think I remember a few things." Applejack immediately jumped up and with a wide grin on her face, "That's great news! What do ya remember?" "Welllll, I remember helping you gather apples because you overworked yourself." "That's right! During Applebuck season! What else do you remember?" "I remember Flutterby driving a dragon to tears." Applejack gave me a strange look before continuing, "Don't ya mean Fluttershy?" "Yeah, Shy." I looked around the room awkwardly, when I turned back to AJ she was giving me that 'Weeeeelllllllll?' look. "What?" "Do ya remember anything else?" "I can think of a few things, nothing majorly important. But don't get too excited, my mind is still pretty blank." Applejack's head dropped at that revelation, she turned from me as she started to speak again, "I understand Sugarcube. I just wish you could remember a bit more. We're your friends and we'll always be there for you." I debated telling Applejack what I tried to tell the Doctors, but I figured that I would only get the same 'Twilight has a concussion, she probably doesn't even understand what she's trying to say' response. Instead I jumped out of bed and put my hoof on her side, trying to comfort her the same way she did to me when I first woke up. "I may not remember things now, but I can tell that you and... me, I suppose, share an incredibly strong bond. No matter what happens we'll always be friends." I smiled warmly at the orange pony, who returned a sad smile back to me. For a socially awkward guy with no friends, I was pretty good at comforting people. Hey, I guess I have friends now. I chuckled at the thought. "What's so funny, Sugarcube?" I rubbed a hoof on the floor, "Oh, nothing too funny really. It's just weird to think not so long ago I wouldn't have even thought friends were necessary, now I have lots of them." "Yeah, I remember Spike telling me that. Before you were in Ponyville you would spend most of your time reading books back in Canterlot. You practically lived in a library, and aside from Spike, your parents and the Princess, you didn't talk to many people. You sure loved books though. Still do I'd think." AJ said, eyeing a bunch of books I had set on my table. I grinned sheepishly. What can I say? Daring Do reminded me of Indiana Jones, and I loved Indiana Jones. Still, as Applejack mentioned it, I started to realize how similar Twilight Sparkle and I were. We both loved reading, never saw much point in friends (and as a result, were somewhat socially awkward), we were academically minded and loved to learn. I was a bit of a Teacher's Pet back on Earth. From what little I saw of My Little Pony, I sure did see a lot of myself in Twilight. "I suppose so, Applejack." AJ smiled, at that moment the door opened and Doctor Horse walked in. "Good evening Twilight, hello Applejack. I've got good news." I turned my head to him, "What is it, Doc?" I still hated his name. As far as names go in this world, it was the most uncreative, so I refused to say it. Doctor Horse smiled at me, "You're ready to be discharged. You'll be able to go home tomorrow morning. Also Applejack, visiting hours are just about to end, I'll have to ask you to go." Applejack looked delighted, "Fair enough Doc. That's great news Twi! I'll make sure the girls and Spike know!" "No problem Applejack, I'll see you then!" AJ tipped her hat to me and walked off. Doctor Horse cleared his throat, "For now, I'd suggest you get plenty of rest, Twilight. And when you get back home make sure to take it easy for a while." "Will do, Doc." And with that, Doctor Horse was gone. I jumped back up on my bed and decided to read some more of this Daring Do book before getting some sleep. I woke up the next morning, almost freaking out when I saw purple bangs in front of my face and a hoof instead of a hand. As my brain began to wake up I remembered what happened. Man, it's got me every morning since I turned into Twilight. Calming down I yawned and glanced at my reflection in the mirror. Yup, I wasn't getting used to that face staring back at me any time soon. After having breakfast I was brought to the front of the hospital, waving goodbye to the Doctors and Nurses, I turned to see Spike, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. I trotted towards them, "Hey everypony!" Rainbow Dash gave me an approving look, flying above us all, "Good to have you back, Twilight." I smiled, "Thanks Rainbow." but behind my smile I was still pretty unnerved. As much as I enjoyed these ponies' company over the past few days, now that I was out of hospital I could try to figure out how this happened, and if there was any chance of me getting back to Earth. I figured that I could get them out of my hair- I mean mane, for a while once I got back to wherever it was I lived now. I think it was a tree, or something. Spike walked towards me nervously, probably still upset about making me lose consciousness not too long after waking up. Sorry, but reptiles creeped me out. "Hey Twilight, I'm glad you're out of hospital, it's been lonely back home." He stared up at me with tears in his eyes. Oh, I couldn't be scared of him... He's so cute! I quickly pulled Spike into a hug, "I'm glad to be back, Spike. Now let's go home." We started walking through Ponyville, as I took it all in I was amazed. It was different seeing it up close. The area was simplistic, but beautiful. I looked around and saw Pegasi conversing in mid air, some sitting on clouds, Fillies and Colts playing together, and ponies trading and selling in stalls. It was fascinating, a whole new culture, yet not too different to one I already knew. Rarity brought Carousel Boutique to my attention, offering to make me a dress at some point, making me wince at my femininity. Fluttershy told me all about her cottage near the Everfree forest and how she took care of animals. Applejack had pretty much explained to me everything I needed to know about Sweet Apple Acres in the hospital, and Rainbow Dash just told me about her moves and the Wonderbolts. I think she kind of missed the whole "Reintroduce Twilight to Ponyville" point. Still, it was only a short tour, there would be time for a proper tour later. Eventually we made our way to a large tree, which I vaguely recognized as mine and Spike's house. "Thanks for walking with me back home girls, but I think I might get some rest." Fluttershy looked away nervously for some reason, strange. "Are you sure you want to do that? Maybe you should explore the library for a bit, re-familiarize yourself!" Rainbow Dash suggested. I shook my head, "No thanks. I'll save that for later, the only place I plan on "re-familiarizing myself with is the bed." I turned away from the girls and went to open the door. Somehow I could hold things and open doors with hooves. I didn't know how either. As I opened the door I remembered something, "Hang on, I forgot to ask! Why did Pinkie Pie never come to visit me? What was she up to?" Applejack looked away in the same manner to Fluttershy, "Well, erm..." Rarity interjected, "She was just..." I shrugged it off, "Oh well, I guess it doesn't matter. I'm sure I'll see her sometime." I walked into the library which was pitch black. I wondered if there were any lights or candles in here. At that exact moment the entire library lit up. Well that answered my question. "SURPRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISE!" I nearly jumped out of my skin, as I looked around I saw a huge crowd of ponies, with Pinkie Pie at the front. Behind the crowd was a banner which read, 'WELCOME HOME TWILIGHT!' Well, that explains what Pinkie was up to. > Parties and Princesses > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Pinkie!?" I said in disbelief, with a wide grin on the mare's face being my response. "The one and only!" Pinkie began to bounce around, I knew this was how she tended to act, but there was something surreal about seeing it in person. "So this is where you've been the past few days? Planning a party?" Pinkie gave me an odd look, "Don't be silly Twilight! Anypony knows I can whip up an awesome party in a jiffy! I've been working on this party since last night, tops!" She began to shuffle towards me, giving me an intense stare, "The REAL reason I've been away the past few days is a doozy!" I found myself staring at what seemed to be a totally inanimate Pinkie for the next few minutes. Was she going to elaborate, or..? "And that is..?" "A secret..." Pinkie whispered, patting my mane with her hoof. I rolled my eyes, "And I take it this is some kind of elaborate surprise that I'll have to wait and see?" "Bingo!" I rolled my eyes again, I wasn't sure whether or not to just bear with it, but hey, this was Pinkie Pie, it's not like I was ever going to guess what it was. I smiled at Pinkie, "Okay then, thank you so much for the party, Pinkie Pie. It's very thoughtful! But you already threw me a party when I moved to Ponyville." "Oh, I know! Buuut you'd been in the hospital for so long, and everypony was missing you so much, so when you woke up I said to myself 'Pinkie, one of your best friends is back! She's been through so much and deserves the best welcome home party in Equestria!' So I did everything I could to make this the most super duper party EVERRRR! Then I spoke to AJ and Fluttershy, and they told me you couldn't remember much, so I figured, even if you couldn't appreciate a 'Welcome Home Party' you could think of it as a 'Welcome to Ponyville Party Version 2!'" Pinkie was once again bouncing up and down, it was clear how much work she put into all of this, there were balloons everywhere, food and punch, and a lot of ponies I didn't even recognize. One thing was for sure, nobody back home would have ever done this for me. Touched, I pulled Pinkie into a hug, "Thanks again Pinkie. Now let's party!" As I said those words I was greeted with a cheer from the ponies all around me. One thing was for sure, Pinkie Pie definitely knew how to throw a party. Of the few parties I'd been to during my teenage years, none of them had ever been as fun as this one. It was fascinating to meet ponies I'd never even heard of before, all eager to chat and 're-introduce' themselves with me. Some offered me their sympathy, wishing me the best of luck in 'getting my memory back', others were keen to just stop and chat, asking me how I was enjoying the party. I really enjoyed talking with the Cakes, telling me about Sugarcube Corner and how they even made a cake for me, but Pinkie ate it before they got here. I also spoke with that one filly from the Cutie Mark episode, she brought along her two friends who had named themselves the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders'. Knowing very little about Cutie Marks from an episode I watched a long time ago, I just smiled and nodded. But perhaps the most interesting pony to talk to was this cross-eyed Pegasus. Despite not knowing if she was looking at me or somewhere else, she was really friendly and was telling me all about her job as mail pony. Gotta say though, tough break with the kinda name she has... And I thought Doctor Horse was bad. I had to hand it to Pinkie Pie again, or should I say hoof? Her parties were like those that a 6 year old on Earth would get, but it was somehow more fun than the few "age appropriate, alcohol serving, drunken" parties I had been to. Still, as fun as this was, I was eager to get some alone time to try and put my thoughts together. I still didn't know if this was all a dream and I was in a coma, or something beyond my imagination was at works. It's safe to assume that strange figure is the reason I was here. If I could just talk to him again... "Hi Twilight, how are you enjoying the party?" My train of thought was broken as I turned around to see Fluttershy approaching me, "Oh hey Fluttershy, yeah, it's great. I was just lost in my thoughts, is all." Fluttershy gave me a warm, comforting smile, "Oh, I understand, you must be nervous. When we first met I could barely speak, it must be strange to have to meet people who have known you for years for what feels like the first time." She wasn't entirely on the mark, regardless, I nodded. I then waved away her concern, "Yeah, I'll be fine though. You go and enjoy yourself." "It's no bother, really. I'm not exactly the most talkative pony anyway, I can stay with you if you want." "Really, Fluttershy, I'm fine. Thanks though." I returned her warm smile. Fluttershy nodded and walked off. She really was the kindest pony you would ever meet. As the party went on we played games, listened to music, and I met more and more ponies. And it was great fun. Parties certainly weren't normally my thing, but I felt content here. As if I was always meant to be here. As soon as I came to that conclusion I immediately felt wrong. What did that say about everything I went through at home? Sure, Ponyville was nice, but I couldn't ever consider it my home. If I was dead then I needed to move on because this wasn't some kind of afterlife, if I was in a coma I needed to wake up, if I just body hopped across the universe in to the body of a Purple Unicorn, well, I didn't know what to think. Later on, Pinkie Pie jumped up on the table in the middle, "Okay everypony! As you know we're here to welcome Twilight back home!" This was responded with by a loud cheer from the party guests. "I know, it's totally superly awesome! Now, as some of you know I've been away the past few days on an epic adventure across the world! Running through the Everfree Forest, fighting with Dragons, partying in Saddle Arabia, Sailing with the Pirates of the Grand Li-" Applejack raised a hoof, "Weren't you in Canterlot?" "Uhh, yeah! Didn't I say that?" Pinkie grinned and continued, "Anyway, I went up to Canterlot to sort out a surprise for Twilight. When organizing this party I knew one of the best things to do would be to make sure I could get as many of the ponies closest to Twilight to come! So, I managed to bring four ponies you all may know very well, here to Ponyville!" I raised my ears, what was Canterlot again? And who were these four friends of mine? At this point Pinkie was bouncing up and down with excitement again. I don't think she could have continued speaking if she wanted to. Fortunately Applejack took this time to jump up on the table and nudge Pinkie off. "Eh, hem. As Pinkie was sayin'. Since we want Twilight to get to know everypony again, she went to Canterlot and brought four ponies very close to Twilight back with her. So I'd like y'all to welcome, Princesses Celestia, Luna, Cadence and the Captain of the Royal Guard, Shinin' Armor!" I was expecting another round of applause, but instead everypony did what I could only assume was bowing. I turned around to see an incredibly tall white Alicorn with a colorful, flowing mane, I recognized this pony as Princess Celestia, she was followed by a smaller Pink Alicorn with an equally colorful, but not flowing mane. She was followed by a white Unicorn stallion with an authoritative composure and... Nightmare Moon!? I hunched down, ready to pounce, "What are YOU doing here!?" I growled, baring my most likely non intimidating, now herbivore teeth. Nightmare Moon looked at me, shocked with my level of aggression, "Twilight, what's wrong with-" "I mean it, I don't remember much, but I do remember YOU were a danger to Equestria! I might not be able to beat you, but I won't go down without a fight!" I lunged Nightmare Moon, ready to kill. If I remembered correctly she couldn't be defeated unless somepony used these 'Element' things. Regardless, she was a threat, and needed to be taken down. As I was almost upon her, I felt myself being pulled away. As I looked around I was in mid-air, being levitated by the magic of Princess Celestia, as you could expect, I freaked out, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! GET ME DOWN!" The White Alicorn walked up to me, with concern in her eyes, beyond that concern however, was what I could only assume was an infinite wisdom, with an authoritive composure that put the stallion's to shame. It was more than enough to calm me down, and I get the feeling that it would have been enough to intimidate too. "Twilight, that's my sister, Princess Luna. You and your friends used the Elements of Harmony to help her return to normal. Remember?" As I thought back to the episode I did remember the main cast driving away her evil, or whatever. Whoops. I raised my hoof to the back of my neck and grinned sheepishly, "Oh yeah, my bad. Sorry Princess Luna!" Luna raised her eyebrows at me, but eventually smiled, "You are forgiven, young Twilight." Celestia took that time to let me down from her levitation, then addressed the ponies in the room, "It is a pleasure to see you all here to wish your great friend, and my dearest student, Twilight Sparkle back to Ponyville. However, I hope you will forgive us if I take our conversation somewhere private. I can't stay for as long as I would like and I need to address some business with Twilight, and her friends." Celestia nodded towards Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie and Spike. Spike was the first to speak up, "Of course, we can take the other room for now." Once we were all in the other room, the white Stallion approached and embraced me in a warm hug. "Twily! I'm so glad you're okay. We were all worried sick back in Canterlot. Sorry we couldn't get here sooner." I smiled back at the stallion, "No problem, thanks for coming, uhhhh..?" The stallion looked back at me, "Huh?" "What's your name..?" The stallion, shocked, stepped back with wide eyes, "What do you mean? Don't you remember your older brother?!" Mirroring the stallion I stepped back with wide eyes, "I have a brother!?" By this point the stallion was incredibly upset, lowering his head he looked directly into my eyes with a look of pain, "I knew you lost some memories, I just didn't think it would be this bad... Try to think back Twily! I was always there for you before you moved to Ponyville. What about my wedding? Don't you remember that?" I was struggling to come up with an answer, fortunately Applejack took that moment to speak up for me, "I'm sorry Shinin'. But Twilight can remember barely anything. Apart from a few memories after coming to Ponyville, she can't remember much at all." Rarity added in, "Don't take it personally, Shining Armor. Twilight is taking this just as hard." With the same concern in her eyes as before, Celestia walked up to me and embraced me in a hug. Gee, all this hugging was getting kinda awkward... "I can only imagine how difficult this must be for you Twilight. Knowing you have all these amazing friends, and yet knowing so little about them." Celestia turned to face my friends, Shining Armor and the pink Alicorn, "It's worse than I thought. Twilight here doesn't remember much at all. Something just doesn't seem right about it." Wait, did Celestia know? I had to ask, "What do you mean, Princess?" Celestia turned back to me, "Honestly, I don't think this memory loss is down to head injuries. Not alone at least." Ah, so that's what she was talking about. Well, there was no point going along with the whole "I'm a human from another planet" routine, so I let them continue. Luna picked up where Celestia left off, "You represent one of the Elements of Harmony, which are themselves elements of the most powerful form of friendship. I'm afraid it makes little sense for you to forget all but a few memories, with such a strong bond with your friends, you would surely remember all of your time spent with them, at the very least." Applejack spoke again, "Well, can she get her memories back?" Celestia smiled, "I think so, yes. As my sister mentioned, Twilight represents an Element of Harmony, something that you have in common with her. It may take some time, but with the Magic of Friendship, I'm sure Twilight will begin to remember more." I wasn't sure whether or not to cringe at the constant mentions of friendship, regardless I kept my cool. It was at that point Princess Celestia and the others made their way towards the door. "I'm sorry we couldn't stay for long, Twilight. I wish you the best of luck." were Celestia's last words before parting with us. As Shining passed the doorway he looked back to me with a sad smile, "Get well soon Twily. I can't wait to have you back to normal." and with that, he was gone. Princess Luna merely nodded towards me and left, and the Pink Alicorn looked towards me with the kind of sympathetic smile only reserved for a sister, "Sorry we didn't get a chance to hang out, Twilight. My name is Cadence, I was your foal sitter when you were younger! You also saved me on my wedding day, so I'll always be grateful to you for that. We'll speak soon, sister-in-law." And just like that, they were all gone as quickly as they came, with the only ones remaining in the room being me, the girls and Spike. Rainbow Dash was the first to speak up, "Well that's awesome news! You just need to learn about the Magic of Friendship again and you'll remember! Piece of cake!" Fluttershy held a hoof to Rainbow Dash's side, "Now Rainbow Dash, it won't be such an easy task. But I'm sure if anyone can do it, it's Twilight." They all began excitedly talking among themselves, hatching plans to help me 'get my memories back', but I honestly wasn't paying much attention. It seemed that everypony was convinced I was going to all of a sudden 'remember I was Twilight Sparkle', but I just didn't see it happening because I wasn't Twilight Sparkle. I sure as heck didn't know what was really going on, or how to fix everything, but until I could, I guess I was stuck here humoring these ponies by trying to remember things that didn't happen. I guess I was worrying too much, I needed to take my mind off of it for now, until I had some time to do something about it. "Hey girls?" I said, stopping the conversation in it's tracks. "Think we could get back to that party now?"