The Orb of Magic

Chapter 3 - Twilight being creepy

The sun rests high in the clear sky as the smell of freshly cut grass and other types of plants linger in the air, although there is that hint of chemicals in the air. Probably from the hospital medications and tools. The sound of small children playing in the distance floods your ears alongside the rare conversation of people that walk by. As you wake, you lift your hands to your face and rub your eyes. Slowly you open your eyes to look up at your hands. They seem to be covered in a type of oil which confuses you until you realize that you're probably just really dirty. When was the last time you had a shower anyway?

"They look kinda weird. What are they?" You widen your eyes in shock of someone nearby. You shoot up in your bed and quickly turn to face the owner of the voice. As you look around you notice the voice comes from a purple figure, one which you now remember is a pony. You show a face of disapproval as you face the fact that this whole pony thing isn't some kind of horrible dream. "Oh sorry! I didn't mean to scare you" The purple unicorn has an apologetic look upon her face.

"Where you watching me sleep?!" you panic slightly wondering why the pony was watching you, and while you slept. Pretty creepy.

"Er, no! Well yes... But not in a creepy way or anything"

"Why?!" you quickly snap.

"Well I came by to check on you and you were still asleep, I didn't want to wake you" The purple pony puts on a convincing smile as she still remains where she is. The ponies name escapes you as you worry about the recent events.

You decide that it's probably best to brush it off. "So, what are they anyway?" The pony questions. "What are what?" The pony sits up and walks closer to your bed when she lift a hoof and gestures to your hand. "Oh. It's a hand, you know four fingers and a thumb"

"Hmmm. Interesting. The closest I've seen to this 'hand' are claws, but even they're different" The pony seems to keep her concentration on your hand. You lift your hand in front of her face and wiggle your fingers a few times and flip your hand a few more. While fixated on your hands a new pony seems to creep into the tent. The pony seems to have no horn or wings but is a light brown shade while a darker brown mane.

"Ah! You're awake" The brown, presumably male pony walks over to a clipboard on a desk nearby and picks it up in his mouth. The pony looks at you curiously as you and the unicorns attention is on him. He trots over to your bedside and drops the clipboard onto your chest. You pick up the board and take a look at what is written there when the brown pony speaks up. "It says there that today is the day you get let out. Now before you go, I'm going to have to ask you a few questions okay?"

"Uh, okay"

"Right, now first of all, are you feeling any immense pain anywhere?"

"Um... No" you say unsurely.

"Good. Now, do you have any medical conditions?"

"Uhh, not that I know of"

"Okay then. And lastly, do you have any place to go once you leave?" You are about to confirm that you don't when something prods at your arm. You look over to see the unicorn nod softly accompanied with a warm smile. "I... I guess so"

"Great! Then you're ready to go!"

With a flick of a hoof the brown pony gestures you to leave the tent. You swivel your hips around so your legs are dangling over the edge of the bed. As you are about to stand, you realize that you are completely butt naked. "Uh... can I get changed first?"

"Certainly" the unicorn quickly snaps. The two ponies remain in the room with their eyes fixated on you. The unicorn looks curious as you don't move. "Is anything wrong?"

"You're watching me. Can I have some privacy?"

"Oh. Uh. Okay?" The two ponies seeming confused look at each other hoping for an explanation, however they are met with the same confused face. The two ponies trot out of the tent while the brown pony yells "Call when you're done!"

Thankful that you wouldn't have to get changed in front of two ponies, you quickly get changed. The task however seems to be harder than you first thought as lying in bed for however long you have been here has taken its toll on your legs. They ache as you try to lean on them, but you manage to keep a steady balance. Once you are changed, you shout out "Okay! I'm ready!". The two ponies casually trot back into the tent but only remain at the entrance. "Okay then, if you'd like to follow me" The brown pony gives a short smile before heading out of the tent once again.

You take few steps forward as you start to stumble slightly. The purple unicorn quickly rushes to your side to catch you if you fall. Knowing that something in a strange world is actually trying to keep you safe brings a small smile to your face. The unicorn looks up at you as she begins to speak "What're you doing? Why are you walking like that?"

"Like what?"

"Standing on your two hind legs" After pondering for a moment, you seem to understand why. "It's how I'm supposed to walk. From what I know, humans don't walk on all fours. We walk upright like this"

"Strange, I've never seen anything like it" The purple pony looks down for a moment as if to ponder on this. After a short while, she starts to progress forwards slowly to try and help you keep balance.

As you approach the exit of the tent, the unicorn quickly speaks to you "Do you have the orb?"

"Yea, it's here" You take the orb out of your pocket to show her. The unicorn looks pleased at the fact that its safe as you slip it back into your pocket. Once you are at the exit, you find that you have to bend down a bit as you seem to be much taller than the ponies that you have seen. The ponies seem to come up to about your waist height, so you are just under being twice as tall as them. Maybe a little less. After going through the exit, you raise your head again to see what is in front of you. You stop moving when you gawk in awe as you take notice of a large form of village in front of you. You see ponies walking through streets, going about their daily lives. You see ponies running stalls and shops while others buy the goods they have to sell. As you remain still, you start to feel the soft wind blow into your face as you embrace the smell of freshly cut grass and flowers."Wow" The words escape your mouth without you even meaning to say them.

"Come on, this way" The brown pony speaks as he interrupts your stare at the village in front of you. He waves a hoof in front of your face to try to get your attention, when you realize that you must have been staring for over a few minutes. You turn your head to see where to go while the brown pony gives you a smile and starts to walk towards a building close to you. You turn and start to head in the direction of the building which you assume is the actual hospital. As you start walking, you feel something brush up against your leg. You look down and see the purple unicorn try to help you keep balance. A smile once again finds itself upon your face.

Once you reach the front door, you notice that the door seems to be higher than the tent's entrance. This door seems to come up to about your eye level which is a slight relief meaning you don't have to bend down completely every time you want to go somewhere. After entering the building you notice you are in some kind of reception area. The brown pony turns to face you. "Wait here one moment please, and I'll get some paper work you need to fill in". The pony trots off into a hallway nearby, who is followed by the unicorn. Being left alone in a strange place, you decide to investigate slightly without moving. As you look around, you notice a few ponies sitting in what seems to be a waiting room opposite the room you are in. One pony notices you and shoves its elbow into a adjacent pony. The two ponies look at you confused and slightly terrified. You give a small smile to them when they decide to move out of your view.

The brown pony returns alongside the purple unicorn when they both walk over to you. "Can you just sign here for me please?" The brown pony says after he drops the paper that was in his mouth alongside a pen onto your lap. You pick up the pen and get ready to sign the paper when you realize you have no idea what to write. "Uh, what do I write?" The brown pony gains a confused expression "Your signature, or your name, whatever is fine". You think for a moment as you realize that you don't know your name or even if you had one. "I don't know my name" you bow your head as you feel stupid just saying that.

The unicorn looks up as if to ponder for a moment before she speaks to you "You-you said before. That you don't know anything right? That means you must have suffered from some kind of amnesia". You nod as if to confirm that you have no idea of what happened before you woke up in a weird building. The unicorn continues "So that means you have no idea how you got the orb or anything right?". You nod again.

"Hmmm. Then for the time being, I will have to assign you a name". The unicorn's eyes look up and down at you then down to the floor. She taps her muzzle a few times with her hoof as if to show that she's thinking before the quickly yells something.

"Mystery!"

"What?" You reply.

"Mystery. That's what I think we should refer to you as for the moment, because you're a mystery" The unicorn looks very smug as she seems to be proud of the name she has come up with.

"Okay then I guess" Reluctantly, you pick the pen up and write the word 'Mystery' into the signature box. As stupid you may think that sounds, you decide to go with it and you can't think of anything better yourself at the moment. The brown pony pleased at finally having the box signed takes the paper and waves a hoof "Okay you're free to go now". You watch as the pony seems to walk of quite happily while just letting you go. With an unseen wave of your hand to him, you attention is drawn back to the unicorn. "What was your name again?" you ask.

"Twilight. Twilight Sparkle"

Twilight starts to turn and face the doorway when she looks back at you. You question her quickly "Where are we going?"

"We're going to my place, and along the way I'm going to ask you a few questions" Twilight walks towards the door the suddenly raises her head as if she had remembered something. She quickly rushes to your side to help you keep balance. "It's okay, I'm fine"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, thanks anyway" Twilight turns to take a step back to watch you. As you try to look confident you take a step forward. The step then turns into a tumble, as you almost slip on nothing, Twilight quickly rushes over to you as she dives underneath you. The landing was soft as the pony used herself as a landing cushion. Twilight looks back at you with a smug look smeared across her face. "You're fine huh?"

"Okay maybe not" you reluctantly blurt out.

You push your hands on the floor as you stand back on your two feet when the unicorn shuffles over to your side, allowing you to lean on her slightly. "Thank you" you look down upon the unicorn showing a warm smile when she looks up to you. "Oh it's fine. Now come on, I've got a lot of questions to ask" You sigh slightly as you know that this journey is going to be a long one with all the questions as you are sure she has many of them. "I need to ask some questions too" you add.

"That's fine" Twilight smiles before lowering her head and starting to walk slowly towards the door. You walk slowly out of the door, once again lowering your head under the frame. As you step outside you see the village again. In a world without other people like you and nowhere to go really makes you feel slightly lost, yet with the ability to do anything you want, makes you feel free and unstoppable.

The unicorn nudges you as you realize that you have stopped walking and started staring at the village again. "I think you will absolutely love my friends. They're the most amazing ponies I've ever met. They are loving, caring and absolutely fun to be around. Sorry they weren't here to pick you up but they all have jobs to take care of like the rest of us. I mean I could come and see you because my job is quite free with times and things" Twilight intrudes.

"Don't worry about it. I'm sure they're lovely" You add. Twilight looks at the village and then back at you. "I'm sure you're really confused about all this"

"Yea, I don't even know how I got here, I just woke up in that horrible place"

"Well hopefully we can figure this whole thing out soon" Twilight pushes against you as to start you walking in the chosen direction when she speaks in a soft voice "C'mon let's get you over to my home"