Finding Yourselfby abcd_zChaptersFirst ImpressionsResearchRarity's ExpertiseTwilight's Sensible and Reasonable ReactionFirst ImpressionsEverything is too loud, too bright, too painful. You groan and crack your eyes open. You're lying on blackened ground, as if some intense heat scorched the earth under you. You slowly get to your feet and look around. You're on the outskirts of a town. You can see a few houses in the distance (well, they're more like cottages, really), and the blackened ground under your feet extends several meters in every direction. It's almost as if you were the dead center of an explosion. You're in pain and a little disoriented, so maybe you really were in the dead center of an explosion. Beyond the blackened ground is a greyish-green path that leads towards town. As you get to your feet you realize there's an unfamiliar weight bumping against your chest. You touch your chest with your hand and look down, which is when you realize three things: First and least important, you're currently wearing a t-shirt and jeans. You don't recognize these particular clothes, but you don't pay much attention to clothing. They look like clothes you'd have picked out, so you don't worry about it. Second, you have a silver band on your wrist that you could swear you've never seen before. At the same time, it feels oddly familiar. Third, there is a hard cold lump of something gently bouncing off your chest as you try to steady yourself. Reaching into your shirt you pull out a pendant that consists of a brilliant red stone in a thin silver setting. "Well," you say out loud. "What the fuck?" You try to recall your most recent memory. Anything that would explain what you're doing here or why. Nothing. A blank. You know your name- Suddenly you experience a splitting pain in your head. The headache was moderately tolerable before, but now it feels like a giant nutcracker is squeezing your head. You collapse on the ground from the pain and almost pass out as a memory forces itself upon you: an old man telling you something vitally important. "No matter what you do or where you go," the old man says, "you must never identify yourself by your True Name. The Realms you create can be observed by anybody with the knowledge and the desire, and if anybody had your True Name they could trace it back to you. This must never happen." You remember asking, "But what if you only shared that information with somebody you trusted implicitly? And even then, only once?" The old man shook his head. "You forget the nature of the Demigod. All of space and time are at our disposal. Every word you speak in a Realm, every memory you recall, is always accessible at any time by any of the others. Never speak your True Name while sojourning in a Realm. The safest way to protect yourself is to choose an alternate name and identify with it so strongly that it becomes your new identity, removing or altering any memories that would contradict your new identity. In this way, nobody will be able to pierce the veil you weave." The pain slowly recedes as you think about the memory you've obtained. You have no idea when or where that memory occurred. At the same time, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the memory was genuine and the old man was telling the truth. Additionally, you now realize that you are currently in one of these "Realms". You don't know how you know this. It's just something you intuitively sense, like gravity or warmth. This is a problem, because the third thing you intuitively know is that you still remember your True Name. After a bit of thought you adopt the pseudonym "Cale." You always thought it was a cool name, even if it is also an edible leafy vegetable. You walk down the road towards the houses you see in the distance. After several minutes of walking you see a mare walking in your direction. She has a light purple coat and a pinkish-purple mane that clumps together and sort of reminds you of dreadlocks. She doesn't seem to notice you until you get closer. You smile and wave to her. "Hello, there!" you shout. The pony frowns, lets out a "hmph!" noise, tosses her head up and walks past you. Well, that was rude. Maybe you'll have better luck with the next pony. A few minutes later you meet another pony walking on the road. This one is a pegasus with a light brown coat and a darker brown mane. "Hello!" you call. "Could you help me? I seem to be a bit lost." The pegasus perks up and trots over to you. "What can I do for you?" he asks. "I'm lost. I don't know where I am or how I got here." "Well that's easy enough," the pegasus replies. "You're in Ponyville." You've never heard that name before, but somehow it feels familiar. "Have I been here before?" you ask before you can catch yourself. The pegasus chuckles. "Not that I know of." You chuckle too, but in embarrassment. "Yes, right. Well, the other thing I'd like to know is a little weirder. The first thing I remember today is waking up in the center of the aftermath of a giant explosion about half a mile that way," you say, gesturing down the road. "At least I assume that's what it was, because I woke up in pain in the dead center of scorch marks left on the ground. Before that, I don't remember anything." The pegasus' eyes grew wide. "Good heavens! Do you think it's amnesia?" "A loss of long-term memories caused by some sort of trauma?" you ask. You sigh. "Probably. It's frustrating. I know my name, my likes and dislikes, and most of the important things about myself. I just can't remember anything recent. Oh, speaking of names: I'm Cale." A thrill runs through you as you introduce yourself by your pseudonym. You've never had a chance or a reason to use a fake name in the past, and it's rather exciting now that you do. Well, except for that time you tried to pretend you were your own twin brother. That was just embarrassing. The pegasus reaches out to shake your hand with his hoof. "I'm Crescent Moon. Nice to meet you, Cale. Now, you said you woke up in the dead center of what you assume was an explosion, but aside from the pain you seem to be just fine. There's nothing about your clothing or body that would suggest you've been subjected to heat intense enough to scorch the earth." Your heart sinks. "Does this mean you don't believe me?" you ask, somewhat plaintively. "Not at all," he says. "I just mean that whatever happened here is clearly not in the realm of the normal. And that means magic is probably involved. And there's nopony in Ponyville who knows magic better than Twilight Sparkle." He starts walking down the road towards town. "Come along, I'll take you to her." You follow him. ResearchAuthor's Note Just FYI, Twilight Sparkle is a unicorn in this fanfiction. I don't have anything against Twilicorn, it's just that one of the things Cale does in this chapter probably wouldn't work if Twilight had wings. Research You stand in front of the Golden Oaks Library. Sunlight reflects off several of the windows set into the tree. Crescent knocks on the door. After several seconds the door opens, revealing Twilight Sparkle. "Um, hi," you say. "I'm Cale." There's an awkward pause. Just as Crescent Moon is about to speak you straighten up and take charge of the conversation. You clap your hands, drawing attention to yourself and startling the two ponies. "I was hoping you could help me out," you say to Twilight. You explain your situation: the odd post-explosion situation, the new accessories that you don't recognize, and your lack of memories. "...and that's about where I stand. I don't know where I am or why, I don't recognize either of these," you say, holding up your wrist just below your pendant, "and on a more concrete subject, I'm not sure where I'm going to spend the night." At this Crescent Moon pipes up. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that last one. You can stay with me until you get back on your hooves." You look at him in surprise. "Are you sure?" you ask. "I don't want to impose." He waves his hoof airily. "I'm sure." "Wow," you say. "That's very generous of you." You turn back to Twilight. "Well, that's one problem taken care of. Regarding the rest of it, Crescent Moon thinks magic might have been involved, which means you're the best person to talk to." "Well," she says, "I'd have to do some research before I could say anything for certain. Here, come inside." Twilight walks into the library and both you and Crescent follow her. Bookshelves line the walls, taking up most of the wall space. Sunlight shines through the windows, causing drifting dust motes to be visible where the light shines. A staircase follows the curve of the room, leading to the second floor. "Spike!" Twilight hollers. "What is it, Twilight?" "I need you to carry some books for me. Let me think. We'll want 'We've Got Explosives!' by Goblin Sapper, 'The One Ring and You' by Legendary Frog, History Channel's 'I'm Not Saying It Was Aliens'..." Twilight runs back and forth between sections as she names each book, grabbing them with her magic and tossing them to Spike, who carries them in an ever-increasing pile. Eventually, Twilight stops grabbing books and says, "There. That should be enough to tide us over. Oh, Spike, you can just put those down anywhere." A large pile of books hits the ground with a loud "thump!" and Spike falls backwards in exhaustion. "Careful!" Twilight warns. "Some of those books are delicate!" You chuckle and say, "Then maybe you shouldn't have been throwing them around like that?" "Oh! Yes, well..." she's visibly flustered by this. "Um, let's get to work! Crescent, this might take a while. I'll make sure Cale gets to your place once we're done here." Crescent Moon says his farewells and leaves. Several hours later, you're no further along than you were when you started. You let your head drop onto the table with a "thump!" and groan in frustration. Twilight, meanwhile, has become frantic as she realizes that her books aren't very useful in this situation. Her hair has become frazzled and the pupils of her eyes have shrunk due to the stress. "I know, I'll check 'Thaumic Surges and You: A Collector's Guide!'" "Twilight." "Or maybe I should triple-check 'The Life and Times of Starswirl The Great'!" "Twilight!" You stand up. "Or maybe there's something in Fiction that will help us! You know they say inspiration comes from the strangest places!" You grab her around the barrel and yell in her face. "TWILIGHT!" She looks up at you with a shocked expression. "Now look," you say. "It is not the end of the world if we don't find what we're looking for right now." She turns and tries to pull away from your grip, reaching for another book. "But-" "No buts. You're having a meltdown on my account, and I won't have it." "But-" "That's it," you say. You pick her up and toss her on the back of your neck. Too stunned to do anything else, she prevents herself from falling by catching your shoulders with her forehooves. You make a small hop to reposition her into a better "piggyback ride" position and use your hands to hold her forehooves in place. "So, Twilight, do you know any good places to eat around here?" Shocked by the sudden change of subject and the impromptu piggy-back ride, Twilight mentions Sugarcube Corner. "Hmm... nope," you say. "I'm not in the mood for sweets. It's been a while since I've eaten and I want something substantial." "Um, there's an outdoor cafe a few streets away from the library." "Excellent! Then I shall let you guide me there. Spike!" you holler. "Twilight and I are heading out to get some food! Want to join us?" Spike yells from upstairs in response. "No, thanks! I had a heavy lunch." You say, "Then let us be off." You walk out the door carrying Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's protege and one of the most powerful magic-users in all of Equestria, on your back. You follow Twilight's directions and arrive at the cafe in short order. Twilight is still on your back, which surprises you. Honestly, you thought she'd insist that you put her down long before you reached the cafe. Either the thought didn't occur to her, or she enjoyed the piggy-back ride. Either way, you're at the cafe now and you deposit her on one of the piles of hay before sitting down on another one. You get up and scoot the pile of hay around the table so that you sit right next to Twilight instead of across the table from her. Old habits die hard, you suppose. "I can't believe you did that!" Twilight exclaims. "You were freaking out," you say nonchalantly. "You needed a change of scenery and I needed some food. It was win-win." "Next time, ask before you do something like that!" "Hmmmmm. Nope." You grin widely. "You're too much fun to rile up." The waiter takes your orders. Several minutes later, the waiter brings your orders out. Twilight is eating something called hay fries. You snag one with a grin and eat it before promptly gagging. Despite the similar names, hay fries taste nothing like french fries. Twilight giggles. "Serves you right for stealing my food." "Oh, woe is me," you say dramatically, placing the back of your hand against your forehead. "Undone by my love of eating food! What a very ironic twist of fate!" You fall backwards onto the ground, landing with a loud "thump!". Twilight jumps up and runs to your side. "Are you okay?" You let your mouth drop open and your tongue flop out. You make a "bleah" noise. Twilight starts rapidly pacing back and forth quickly. "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, what do I do?" You sit up and place a hand on her flank. Twilight jumps in surprise. "Twilight, relax," you say. "I'm okay. I do that all the time. The trick is to slap the ground at the same time you land so you don't hurt yourself. See? Watch." You stand up and dust yourself off. Then you fall backwards, slapping the ground as you land. Twilight lets out a large sigh. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you'd hurt yourself!" You chuckle. "It takes a lot more than that to harm me." Then you grin at Twilight. "What?" she asks self-consciously. "You liike me" you sing. "You liiiiiiike me." You expect her to deny it, but she doesn't say anything and her cheeks are showing red through her coat. Holy crap, she really does like you. Twilight clears her throat and changes the subject. "I was thinking about the accessories you have. My books didn't tell me anything useful-" "Your books?" you interject. "Oh, shut up," she says playfully. "You know what I mean. The library's books didn't tell me anything useful, but maybe my friend Rarity would know something." "Why would Rarity be able to help?" "Well, she owns a fashion boutique. Maybe she'd be able to tell us something about those accessories you're wearing." "Sounds good to me. Shall we be off?" "Erm, sure. But... aren't you going to pay for the date... meal! I said meal!" You chuckle. "With what, Twilight? I don't have any money to my name." You pat your pockets to show off how empty they are. As you do, one of your pockets makes a soft jingling sound. You freeze and slowly reach into your pocket. Inside is a purple cloth bag with a draw-string holding it closed. It reminds you of a hand-made Crown Royal bag. You loosen the draw-string and empty the bag on the table. Some gold coins roll out. "Twilight," you begin, but your throat seizes up. You clear your throat and try again. "Twilight, would you say these are the coins your community uses for currency?" Twilight grabs one with her magic and levitates it, inspecting it. "Yes. These are called bits," she says, putting it back on the table. "Most of Equestria uses them." "I thought this place was called 'Ponyville'." Twilight explains, "Equestria is a word that refers to the ground we live on. Ponyville is the name of the city we're in right now. So we could leave Ponyville but we'd still be in Equestria." "Huh." You stare at the bag. It's an artifact that tells you nothing you didn't already know, but somehow it throws you off your game. You put the coins back inside and return it to your pocket. You clear your throat, then look at Twilight. Putting the mystery bag aside, there is something you need to tell her. You lean into Twilight Sparkle's personal space and look deep into her eyes. "Twilight?" you say. "Yes?" she asks meekly, staring back at you with wide eyes. "Twilight, there's something you absolutely need to know." "Mmm-hmm?" Twilight's ears twitch as she stares back at you. You shift your position and whisper in her ear, "You're paying for this one." It takes her a second to process what you just said. "Wh-bu... huh?" You pull back. "I said, you're paying for this meal." You stand up and walk towards the gate.* You hear a sound of outrage from Twilight, followed shortly by the noise of metal hitting wood. You turn to see a few coins on the table and Twilight hurrying to keep up with you. "So, how do we get to Rarity's place?" you ask with a grin. *gate, noun, definition 2: "an opening permitting passage through an enclosure." Up until now I've always thought of a gate as an actual physical thing, but I guess that's not always necessarily the case. Rarity's ExpertiseYou enter the Carousel Boutique with Twilight. Your first impression of the store is "pink and purple and frilly and lacy". Bolts of purple and pink fabric drape from some of the walls. Many of the drapes are edged with a frilly lace. To your right is a small table surrounded by mirrors, and to your left is a rack of pony clothing hung up on hangers. You also see a mannequin shaped like a pony. The mannequin is wearing a pony outfit. Rarity comes around a corner and greets both of you. "Twilight, darling," she says, "it's so good to see you! And who is this?" she asks, sizing you up. "I'm Cale," you say. "Twilight here is helping me out with a project." You take off your necklace and show it to Rarity. You say, "We have a mystery on out hands and Twilight thought you might be able to help us." Rarity takes ahold of the necklace with her magic. "My goodness, that is a beautiful necklace!" she exclaims. "Where did you get it?" You sheepishly respond, "Actually, we were sort of hoping you could tell us." Rarity draws the necklace close to her face and starts inspecting it. "My, but isn't this a brilliant ruby! Excellent cut, no imperfections, quite a few carats... the setting seems to be some sort of silver-plated metal, and the cord holding it together is a black fabric I don't recognize, held together with a spring-loaded clasp." Rarity gives it back to you. "Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you about it. I don't see an engraver's mark on it, so I can't help you." "I'm sorry, a what?" you ask. "An engraver's mark. When somebody creates a piece of jewelry, it's common practice to leave a tiny mark somewhere on the piece that signifies you were the one who created it. Usually it's the same as your cutie mark, but... I don't see one on here." You put your necklace back on and take the silver wristband off. "What about this?" you ask, holding the wristband out to Rarity. She takes with her magic it and starts inspecting it. "No, I'm sorry," she says eventually. "I don't see any marks on this one either. The only thing I can tell you is that it was probably made from the same material as the necklace. If I had to guess, I'd say they were made by the same person." Rarity looks up at you and shrieks. "Good heavens!" she yells. "Your forelegs! And your stance! What are you?!" You chuckle. "Finally, somebody notices. I'm a human." You take the wristband back and put it back on. "They're called 'arms', not forelegs, and I walk upright because my species descended from... well, let's just say the species most similar to humans is a chimpanzee." "Well goodness, you gave me quite a scare!" Twilight asks, "Rarity, are you okay? It's just Cale. He lost some of his memory and we're trying to figure out what he's doing in Ponyville." Rarity responds, "Yes, yes, I- I'm fine. Just give me a minute to get my breath back. I apologize, I'm sure that was very unladylike of me." Twilight hastens to reassure Rarity. "No, no, it was fine," Twilight says. "You were just... startled." "Yes, well, that's no excuse for my behavior. Cale, as an apology I would to give you one of the shirts I've made." Twilight says, "You don't have to do that." You say, "Actually, I wouldn't mind. I don't exactly have a lot of clothing options here, and if it makes her feel better, I'm not going to stop her." "Quite right," Rarity says. Rarity uses her magic to pull a clothing hanger off the rack and says, "Here, why don't you try this on? The color goes well with your eyes." You look at the clothing she's just presented to you. The arms are too short and the proportions are all wrong. It's a shirt designed for a pony. "Um, Rarity?" you say. "That's not going to fit me." "What? Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Try this one instead." Rarity puts the clothing hanger back and pulls out another one, also proportioned for a pony. "Rarity," you say, "look at me. I have shoulders that connect my arms with my body. None of these shirts have shoulders." Rarity gets a frantic look in her face. "I'm sure that if you just tried them on, darling..." Instead of responding you walk over to a store mannequin and gesture to it. "This is what your clothing is designed for," you say. "Do you see any differences between me and this mannequin?" Rarity quickly looks between you and the mannequin before responding, "A few, but if the measurements are off I can always make adjustments to it..." "Rarity. How many legs am I standing on? "Why, four, of course. "Rarity, look at me. How many legs am I standing on?" "Four- f-" there's a pause, then, "I don't- I DON'T KNOW!" Rarity starts sobbing. Unsure how to respond to this unexpected turn of events, you stand there awkwardly while Twilight rushes forward to calm Rarity down. You can hear Rarity softly sobbing, "I don't know," over and over. Eventually Rarity calms down enough to talk. "I'm sorry, you must think the worst of me," she says softly, then hiccups. "Yelling at a customer like that." "Rarity," you say, "it happens. We all have our off days. I think, though, that I should probably get going. I have some more research I want to do at the library, and it looks like you could use some rest." Rarity nods. "I think that would be best," she says. You ask Twilight if she'd like to accompany you. "I'd love to," she responds, "but I think I should be there for Rarity right now." Rarity sniffled. "Oh darling, please don't let me keep you from your day." While the two of them are debating whether or not Twilight should go with you, you slip out the door and start walking back towards the library. Back at the library, Spike greets you at the door. "Where's Twilight?" he asks. "She stayed behind at the Boutique to talk to Rarity." "You guys went to Rarity's Carousel Boutique? Why didn't you invite me?" You shrug. "It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing," you say, "and I didn't realize you'd want to come. Sorry." "So why did you guys go see Rarity?" "I was hoping she could give me some information about the jewelry I'm wearing. She couldn't, though. All she said was that she loved the necklace." "Wow. She said that?" "Yeah." "Could I... could I try it on?" Spike asks. You think about this for a second. You don't see the harm in it. "Sure kid, knock yourself out," you say, removing the necklace and tossing it to Spike. "Just remember: it's my necklace, I want it back, and it is not to leave the house. I may not know why I'm wearing it, but I would not be happy to lose it. Got it?" Spike gulps and nods. Then he says, "I'm gonna see how I look in the mirror." You chuckle as Spike runs up the stairs. Several minutes later, a human boy with green hair runs down the stairs and stops in front of you. He's wearing a purple hoodie and your necklace. "Well?" he asks, with a very familiar voice. "How do I look?" Author's Note As far as I know, I made up the concept of an engraver's mark. It wouldn't surprise me if people did this, though. Twilight's Sensible and Reasonable Reaction"Spike? Is that you?" you ask. "Well, yeah!" the green-haired boy says. "The necklace looks cool on me, doesn't it?" "Spike... you're a human." "What? No, I'm a dragon. Duh." "Spike, look at your hands." Spike looks at his hands. "Huh," he says. "That's weird." "Spike, did you look at yourself in the mirror?" "Well, yeah." "Did you notice anything... out of the ordinary?" "Uh, yeah," he says as if it was obvious, "the necklace looks really good on me." "That's it," you say. "I think we need to have another look in the mirror." As you climb the stairs with Spike you notice that he has perfect coordination. He doesn't trip or stumble at all on his way to the second floor. If you didn't know better, you'd say he spent his entire life as a human. You step into the bathroom. Both of your faces are reflected in the large mirror above the sink. "Spike, look closely," you say. "See this face?" You point to the reflection of your face. "This is a human's face. Compare it to your face. They aren't identical, but they're closer than anything else I've seen here in Ponyville, and five minutes ago your face looked completely different." Spike eyes his reflection. "I don't... oh, oh wow. Okay, yeah. I see it now. That's really weird. Until you pointed it out, I didn't see anything wrong with it." Spike looks down at his body. "I guess that means the body's wrong too, huh?" "Yeah." "It's weird," he says. "Even though I know I've always been a dragon, even after you pointed it out, this body still looks and feels natural to me. It's like I've always been this way." "'Until I pointed it out to you'... Spike, do you know of any spells that affect somebody's mind?" "Well, yeah. A long time ago Twilight cast a spell on a doll of hers that made everybody in town want it. She called it the 'want-it need-it spell'. Why?" "Because I think something similar is going on here. The necklace made you human, but it also did something to your mind so that the human form feels natural to you. That's why you didn't stumble over your own feet when you were going up and down the stairs." Something clicks into place in your head. You say, "It's not just the necklace, it's the bracelet too! Rarity freaked out at the boutique once I took the bracelet off and only calmed down once I put it back on! Then she kept treating me like I was a pony. It was because she was trying to see me as a human, but the enchantment wouldn't let her! That must be why she broke down like that." "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Spike yells. "Rarity broke down?" "Yeah. That's why Twilight stayed behind. Didn't I tell you?" "No, you didn't!" At that moment you hear the sound of the front door opening. Twilight's voice calls out, "I'm home! Spike, Cale, are you here?" Spike runs down the stairs two at a time in his new body. "Twilight!" He shouts. "Is Rarity okay?" You hear Twilight shriek followed by a loud crashing noise. You run down the stairs to see what happened. Human Spike is lying dazed in a pile of books and Twilight's horn has a pink aura around it. "Stay back!" Twilight yells at Spike. "I'm warning you, stay back! You run and interpose yourself between Spike and Twilight. "Twilight, stop!" you yell. "That's Spike!" "That is not spike!" she yells back. "That's a Diamond Dog with a green mane!" "Twilight, calm down," you say. "I promise you, that is Spike." Twilight looks back and forth between you and Spike, ready to act but not sure what to do. You slowly reach down and take the necklace off of Spike. There is a puff of smoke which dissipates quickly, leaving only a small purple dragon. A few more books fall on him. Spike groans. "What hit me?" he asks. You let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding. Up until you actually did it, you weren't sure the transformation could be cancelled that easily. "Oh, Spike!" Twilight cries and rushes to him. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you, and you were this horrible monster, and I just freaked out and threw you into the bookshelves, and I'm so sorry Spike, can you ever forgive me?" "It's okay," he says, "you didn't know." You chuckle. "Horrible monster?" you ask. "Yes!" Twilight exclaims. "Before you took that necklace off, Spike had this weird flat face and he held his upper body off the ground and he was walking around on only two... legs..." Twilight frowns in concentration, staring at one of the walls distractedly. You ask her, "Does that description sound a little bit familiar?" "Actually, it does," she says. "Now where have I heard of something like that before? Two legs, two... not-legs, a mane but no coat, looks kind of like a diamond dog..." You can't resist. You take the silver bracelet off your wrist and pocket it. "Hey, Twilight," you say. Twilight faces you. Just as she gives you her full attention you say, "Boo." Twilight shrieks, her horn glows, and you're thrown into the bookcase on the opposite side of the room. Pain lances across your back where you're slammed into the bookcase by Twilight's magic. Several books fall off the bookcase and land on top of you. You groan in pain. "I don't know what I expected," you mutter. As if agreeing with you, one last book falls off the bookshelf and lands on your head with a loud, and painful, "thump!" Several minutes later you're holding an ice pack to your head while you talk with Twilight. There aren't any chairs on the first level of the library, so you sit cross-legged on the ground. "How did I never notice this before?" she asks. "You're clearly not a pony, but... for some reason I never really saw that until now." You hold the wristband out to her. "It's this thing," you say. "I don't know exactly how, but anybody- sorry, anypony that sees me subconsciously thinks of me as just another pony. And judging by how you reacted to two perfectly normal humans, I'd say it's a good thing that I have it." Twilight's ears droop and her body slumps slightly. "I'm sorry," she says softly. "I really didn't mean to freak out like that." You wave your hand in a careless gesture. "I already told you, I accept your apology." Twilight doesn't react to your words and her body language doesn't change. Well, if you can't directly make her feel better maybe you can at least distract her. "Hey, Twilight," you say. "Would you like to help me figure out how this thing works?" That did the trick. Twilight's eyes light up and she grins. "Really?" she asks. "Yeah, really. Unless you know of any other unicorns in Ponyville with an affinity for magic," you say teasingly. Twilight treats your joke as a serious suggestion. "Well, there are a few unicorns in Canterlot with a cutie mark in magical research," she says, "and of course Celestia and Luna might know something about this enchantment, but they're in Canterlot too." You facepalm. "Twilight, it was a joke." Twilight chuckles nervously. "Oh, of course. I knew that. I was just... playing along." You shake your head and hold your wristband up. "So, where do we go from here?" you ask Twilight. "Ooh, I know!" she says gleefully. "I have a research lab down in the basement! We can work on figuring the enchantment out there!" You throw your finger in the air and yell, "To the basement!" in a faux-superhero voice before jumping up and running in what you hope is the direction of the basement. Twilight giggles and follows you. A few minutes after you both leave the room Spike comes downstairs carrying a bowl of ice cream topped with ruby sprinkles. He looks at the two large piles of books that had been knocked to the ground, does some quick mental calculations, says, "nope", and goes back upstairs.
First ImpressionsEverything is too loud, too bright, too painful. You groan and crack your eyes open. You're lying on blackened ground, as if some intense heat scorched the earth under you. You slowly get to your feet and look around. You're on the outskirts of a town. You can see a few houses in the distance (well, they're more like cottages, really), and the blackened ground under your feet extends several meters in every direction. It's almost as if you were the dead center of an explosion. You're in pain and a little disoriented, so maybe you really were in the dead center of an explosion. Beyond the blackened ground is a greyish-green path that leads towards town. As you get to your feet you realize there's an unfamiliar weight bumping against your chest. You touch your chest with your hand and look down, which is when you realize three things: First and least important, you're currently wearing a t-shirt and jeans. You don't recognize these particular clothes, but you don't pay much attention to clothing. They look like clothes you'd have picked out, so you don't worry about it. Second, you have a silver band on your wrist that you could swear you've never seen before. At the same time, it feels oddly familiar. Third, there is a hard cold lump of something gently bouncing off your chest as you try to steady yourself. Reaching into your shirt you pull out a pendant that consists of a brilliant red stone in a thin silver setting. "Well," you say out loud. "What the fuck?" You try to recall your most recent memory. Anything that would explain what you're doing here or why. Nothing. A blank. You know your name- Suddenly you experience a splitting pain in your head. The headache was moderately tolerable before, but now it feels like a giant nutcracker is squeezing your head. You collapse on the ground from the pain and almost pass out as a memory forces itself upon you: an old man telling you something vitally important. "No matter what you do or where you go," the old man says, "you must never identify yourself by your True Name. The Realms you create can be observed by anybody with the knowledge and the desire, and if anybody had your True Name they could trace it back to you. This must never happen." You remember asking, "But what if you only shared that information with somebody you trusted implicitly? And even then, only once?" The old man shook his head. "You forget the nature of the Demigod. All of space and time are at our disposal. Every word you speak in a Realm, every memory you recall, is always accessible at any time by any of the others. Never speak your True Name while sojourning in a Realm. The safest way to protect yourself is to choose an alternate name and identify with it so strongly that it becomes your new identity, removing or altering any memories that would contradict your new identity. In this way, nobody will be able to pierce the veil you weave." The pain slowly recedes as you think about the memory you've obtained. You have no idea when or where that memory occurred. At the same time, you know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the memory was genuine and the old man was telling the truth. Additionally, you now realize that you are currently in one of these "Realms". You don't know how you know this. It's just something you intuitively sense, like gravity or warmth. This is a problem, because the third thing you intuitively know is that you still remember your True Name. After a bit of thought you adopt the pseudonym "Cale." You always thought it was a cool name, even if it is also an edible leafy vegetable. You walk down the road towards the houses you see in the distance. After several minutes of walking you see a mare walking in your direction. She has a light purple coat and a pinkish-purple mane that clumps together and sort of reminds you of dreadlocks. She doesn't seem to notice you until you get closer. You smile and wave to her. "Hello, there!" you shout. The pony frowns, lets out a "hmph!" noise, tosses her head up and walks past you. Well, that was rude. Maybe you'll have better luck with the next pony. A few minutes later you meet another pony walking on the road. This one is a pegasus with a light brown coat and a darker brown mane. "Hello!" you call. "Could you help me? I seem to be a bit lost." The pegasus perks up and trots over to you. "What can I do for you?" he asks. "I'm lost. I don't know where I am or how I got here." "Well that's easy enough," the pegasus replies. "You're in Ponyville." You've never heard that name before, but somehow it feels familiar. "Have I been here before?" you ask before you can catch yourself. The pegasus chuckles. "Not that I know of." You chuckle too, but in embarrassment. "Yes, right. Well, the other thing I'd like to know is a little weirder. The first thing I remember today is waking up in the center of the aftermath of a giant explosion about half a mile that way," you say, gesturing down the road. "At least I assume that's what it was, because I woke up in pain in the dead center of scorch marks left on the ground. Before that, I don't remember anything." The pegasus' eyes grew wide. "Good heavens! Do you think it's amnesia?" "A loss of long-term memories caused by some sort of trauma?" you ask. You sigh. "Probably. It's frustrating. I know my name, my likes and dislikes, and most of the important things about myself. I just can't remember anything recent. Oh, speaking of names: I'm Cale." A thrill runs through you as you introduce yourself by your pseudonym. You've never had a chance or a reason to use a fake name in the past, and it's rather exciting now that you do. Well, except for that time you tried to pretend you were your own twin brother. That was just embarrassing. The pegasus reaches out to shake your hand with his hoof. "I'm Crescent Moon. Nice to meet you, Cale. Now, you said you woke up in the dead center of what you assume was an explosion, but aside from the pain you seem to be just fine. There's nothing about your clothing or body that would suggest you've been subjected to heat intense enough to scorch the earth." Your heart sinks. "Does this mean you don't believe me?" you ask, somewhat plaintively. "Not at all," he says. "I just mean that whatever happened here is clearly not in the realm of the normal. And that means magic is probably involved. And there's nopony in Ponyville who knows magic better than Twilight Sparkle." He starts walking down the road towards town. "Come along, I'll take you to her." You follow him.
ResearchAuthor's Note Just FYI, Twilight Sparkle is a unicorn in this fanfiction. I don't have anything against Twilicorn, it's just that one of the things Cale does in this chapter probably wouldn't work if Twilight had wings. Research You stand in front of the Golden Oaks Library. Sunlight reflects off several of the windows set into the tree. Crescent knocks on the door. After several seconds the door opens, revealing Twilight Sparkle. "Um, hi," you say. "I'm Cale." There's an awkward pause. Just as Crescent Moon is about to speak you straighten up and take charge of the conversation. You clap your hands, drawing attention to yourself and startling the two ponies. "I was hoping you could help me out," you say to Twilight. You explain your situation: the odd post-explosion situation, the new accessories that you don't recognize, and your lack of memories. "...and that's about where I stand. I don't know where I am or why, I don't recognize either of these," you say, holding up your wrist just below your pendant, "and on a more concrete subject, I'm not sure where I'm going to spend the night." At this Crescent Moon pipes up. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that last one. You can stay with me until you get back on your hooves." You look at him in surprise. "Are you sure?" you ask. "I don't want to impose." He waves his hoof airily. "I'm sure." "Wow," you say. "That's very generous of you." You turn back to Twilight. "Well, that's one problem taken care of. Regarding the rest of it, Crescent Moon thinks magic might have been involved, which means you're the best person to talk to." "Well," she says, "I'd have to do some research before I could say anything for certain. Here, come inside." Twilight walks into the library and both you and Crescent follow her. Bookshelves line the walls, taking up most of the wall space. Sunlight shines through the windows, causing drifting dust motes to be visible where the light shines. A staircase follows the curve of the room, leading to the second floor. "Spike!" Twilight hollers. "What is it, Twilight?" "I need you to carry some books for me. Let me think. We'll want 'We've Got Explosives!' by Goblin Sapper, 'The One Ring and You' by Legendary Frog, History Channel's 'I'm Not Saying It Was Aliens'..." Twilight runs back and forth between sections as she names each book, grabbing them with her magic and tossing them to Spike, who carries them in an ever-increasing pile. Eventually, Twilight stops grabbing books and says, "There. That should be enough to tide us over. Oh, Spike, you can just put those down anywhere." A large pile of books hits the ground with a loud "thump!" and Spike falls backwards in exhaustion. "Careful!" Twilight warns. "Some of those books are delicate!" You chuckle and say, "Then maybe you shouldn't have been throwing them around like that?" "Oh! Yes, well..." she's visibly flustered by this. "Um, let's get to work! Crescent, this might take a while. I'll make sure Cale gets to your place once we're done here." Crescent Moon says his farewells and leaves. Several hours later, you're no further along than you were when you started. You let your head drop onto the table with a "thump!" and groan in frustration. Twilight, meanwhile, has become frantic as she realizes that her books aren't very useful in this situation. Her hair has become frazzled and the pupils of her eyes have shrunk due to the stress. "I know, I'll check 'Thaumic Surges and You: A Collector's Guide!'" "Twilight." "Or maybe I should triple-check 'The Life and Times of Starswirl The Great'!" "Twilight!" You stand up. "Or maybe there's something in Fiction that will help us! You know they say inspiration comes from the strangest places!" You grab her around the barrel and yell in her face. "TWILIGHT!" She looks up at you with a shocked expression. "Now look," you say. "It is not the end of the world if we don't find what we're looking for right now." She turns and tries to pull away from your grip, reaching for another book. "But-" "No buts. You're having a meltdown on my account, and I won't have it." "But-" "That's it," you say. You pick her up and toss her on the back of your neck. Too stunned to do anything else, she prevents herself from falling by catching your shoulders with her forehooves. You make a small hop to reposition her into a better "piggyback ride" position and use your hands to hold her forehooves in place. "So, Twilight, do you know any good places to eat around here?" Shocked by the sudden change of subject and the impromptu piggy-back ride, Twilight mentions Sugarcube Corner. "Hmm... nope," you say. "I'm not in the mood for sweets. It's been a while since I've eaten and I want something substantial." "Um, there's an outdoor cafe a few streets away from the library." "Excellent! Then I shall let you guide me there. Spike!" you holler. "Twilight and I are heading out to get some food! Want to join us?" Spike yells from upstairs in response. "No, thanks! I had a heavy lunch." You say, "Then let us be off." You walk out the door carrying Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's protege and one of the most powerful magic-users in all of Equestria, on your back. You follow Twilight's directions and arrive at the cafe in short order. Twilight is still on your back, which surprises you. Honestly, you thought she'd insist that you put her down long before you reached the cafe. Either the thought didn't occur to her, or she enjoyed the piggy-back ride. Either way, you're at the cafe now and you deposit her on one of the piles of hay before sitting down on another one. You get up and scoot the pile of hay around the table so that you sit right next to Twilight instead of across the table from her. Old habits die hard, you suppose. "I can't believe you did that!" Twilight exclaims. "You were freaking out," you say nonchalantly. "You needed a change of scenery and I needed some food. It was win-win." "Next time, ask before you do something like that!" "Hmmmmm. Nope." You grin widely. "You're too much fun to rile up." The waiter takes your orders. Several minutes later, the waiter brings your orders out. Twilight is eating something called hay fries. You snag one with a grin and eat it before promptly gagging. Despite the similar names, hay fries taste nothing like french fries. Twilight giggles. "Serves you right for stealing my food." "Oh, woe is me," you say dramatically, placing the back of your hand against your forehead. "Undone by my love of eating food! What a very ironic twist of fate!" You fall backwards onto the ground, landing with a loud "thump!". Twilight jumps up and runs to your side. "Are you okay?" You let your mouth drop open and your tongue flop out. You make a "bleah" noise. Twilight starts rapidly pacing back and forth quickly. "Oh gosh, oh gosh, oh gosh, what do I do?" You sit up and place a hand on her flank. Twilight jumps in surprise. "Twilight, relax," you say. "I'm okay. I do that all the time. The trick is to slap the ground at the same time you land so you don't hurt yourself. See? Watch." You stand up and dust yourself off. Then you fall backwards, slapping the ground as you land. Twilight lets out a large sigh. "Don't scare me like that! I thought you'd hurt yourself!" You chuckle. "It takes a lot more than that to harm me." Then you grin at Twilight. "What?" she asks self-consciously. "You liike me" you sing. "You liiiiiiike me." You expect her to deny it, but she doesn't say anything and her cheeks are showing red through her coat. Holy crap, she really does like you. Twilight clears her throat and changes the subject. "I was thinking about the accessories you have. My books didn't tell me anything useful-" "Your books?" you interject. "Oh, shut up," she says playfully. "You know what I mean. The library's books didn't tell me anything useful, but maybe my friend Rarity would know something." "Why would Rarity be able to help?" "Well, she owns a fashion boutique. Maybe she'd be able to tell us something about those accessories you're wearing." "Sounds good to me. Shall we be off?" "Erm, sure. But... aren't you going to pay for the date... meal! I said meal!" You chuckle. "With what, Twilight? I don't have any money to my name." You pat your pockets to show off how empty they are. As you do, one of your pockets makes a soft jingling sound. You freeze and slowly reach into your pocket. Inside is a purple cloth bag with a draw-string holding it closed. It reminds you of a hand-made Crown Royal bag. You loosen the draw-string and empty the bag on the table. Some gold coins roll out. "Twilight," you begin, but your throat seizes up. You clear your throat and try again. "Twilight, would you say these are the coins your community uses for currency?" Twilight grabs one with her magic and levitates it, inspecting it. "Yes. These are called bits," she says, putting it back on the table. "Most of Equestria uses them." "I thought this place was called 'Ponyville'." Twilight explains, "Equestria is a word that refers to the ground we live on. Ponyville is the name of the city we're in right now. So we could leave Ponyville but we'd still be in Equestria." "Huh." You stare at the bag. It's an artifact that tells you nothing you didn't already know, but somehow it throws you off your game. You put the coins back inside and return it to your pocket. You clear your throat, then look at Twilight. Putting the mystery bag aside, there is something you need to tell her. You lean into Twilight Sparkle's personal space and look deep into her eyes. "Twilight?" you say. "Yes?" she asks meekly, staring back at you with wide eyes. "Twilight, there's something you absolutely need to know." "Mmm-hmm?" Twilight's ears twitch as she stares back at you. You shift your position and whisper in her ear, "You're paying for this one." It takes her a second to process what you just said. "Wh-bu... huh?" You pull back. "I said, you're paying for this meal." You stand up and walk towards the gate.* You hear a sound of outrage from Twilight, followed shortly by the noise of metal hitting wood. You turn to see a few coins on the table and Twilight hurrying to keep up with you. "So, how do we get to Rarity's place?" you ask with a grin. *gate, noun, definition 2: "an opening permitting passage through an enclosure." Up until now I've always thought of a gate as an actual physical thing, but I guess that's not always necessarily the case.
Rarity's ExpertiseYou enter the Carousel Boutique with Twilight. Your first impression of the store is "pink and purple and frilly and lacy". Bolts of purple and pink fabric drape from some of the walls. Many of the drapes are edged with a frilly lace. To your right is a small table surrounded by mirrors, and to your left is a rack of pony clothing hung up on hangers. You also see a mannequin shaped like a pony. The mannequin is wearing a pony outfit. Rarity comes around a corner and greets both of you. "Twilight, darling," she says, "it's so good to see you! And who is this?" she asks, sizing you up. "I'm Cale," you say. "Twilight here is helping me out with a project." You take off your necklace and show it to Rarity. You say, "We have a mystery on out hands and Twilight thought you might be able to help us." Rarity takes ahold of the necklace with her magic. "My goodness, that is a beautiful necklace!" she exclaims. "Where did you get it?" You sheepishly respond, "Actually, we were sort of hoping you could tell us." Rarity draws the necklace close to her face and starts inspecting it. "My, but isn't this a brilliant ruby! Excellent cut, no imperfections, quite a few carats... the setting seems to be some sort of silver-plated metal, and the cord holding it together is a black fabric I don't recognize, held together with a spring-loaded clasp." Rarity gives it back to you. "Unfortunately, that's all I can tell you about it. I don't see an engraver's mark on it, so I can't help you." "I'm sorry, a what?" you ask. "An engraver's mark. When somebody creates a piece of jewelry, it's common practice to leave a tiny mark somewhere on the piece that signifies you were the one who created it. Usually it's the same as your cutie mark, but... I don't see one on here." You put your necklace back on and take the silver wristband off. "What about this?" you ask, holding the wristband out to Rarity. She takes with her magic it and starts inspecting it. "No, I'm sorry," she says eventually. "I don't see any marks on this one either. The only thing I can tell you is that it was probably made from the same material as the necklace. If I had to guess, I'd say they were made by the same person." Rarity looks up at you and shrieks. "Good heavens!" she yells. "Your forelegs! And your stance! What are you?!" You chuckle. "Finally, somebody notices. I'm a human." You take the wristband back and put it back on. "They're called 'arms', not forelegs, and I walk upright because my species descended from... well, let's just say the species most similar to humans is a chimpanzee." "Well goodness, you gave me quite a scare!" Twilight asks, "Rarity, are you okay? It's just Cale. He lost some of his memory and we're trying to figure out what he's doing in Ponyville." Rarity responds, "Yes, yes, I- I'm fine. Just give me a minute to get my breath back. I apologize, I'm sure that was very unladylike of me." Twilight hastens to reassure Rarity. "No, no, it was fine," Twilight says. "You were just... startled." "Yes, well, that's no excuse for my behavior. Cale, as an apology I would to give you one of the shirts I've made." Twilight says, "You don't have to do that." You say, "Actually, I wouldn't mind. I don't exactly have a lot of clothing options here, and if it makes her feel better, I'm not going to stop her." "Quite right," Rarity says. Rarity uses her magic to pull a clothing hanger off the rack and says, "Here, why don't you try this on? The color goes well with your eyes." You look at the clothing she's just presented to you. The arms are too short and the proportions are all wrong. It's a shirt designed for a pony. "Um, Rarity?" you say. "That's not going to fit me." "What? Oh, yes, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. Try this one instead." Rarity puts the clothing hanger back and pulls out another one, also proportioned for a pony. "Rarity," you say, "look at me. I have shoulders that connect my arms with my body. None of these shirts have shoulders." Rarity gets a frantic look in her face. "I'm sure that if you just tried them on, darling..." Instead of responding you walk over to a store mannequin and gesture to it. "This is what your clothing is designed for," you say. "Do you see any differences between me and this mannequin?" Rarity quickly looks between you and the mannequin before responding, "A few, but if the measurements are off I can always make adjustments to it..." "Rarity. How many legs am I standing on? "Why, four, of course. "Rarity, look at me. How many legs am I standing on?" "Four- f-" there's a pause, then, "I don't- I DON'T KNOW!" Rarity starts sobbing. Unsure how to respond to this unexpected turn of events, you stand there awkwardly while Twilight rushes forward to calm Rarity down. You can hear Rarity softly sobbing, "I don't know," over and over. Eventually Rarity calms down enough to talk. "I'm sorry, you must think the worst of me," she says softly, then hiccups. "Yelling at a customer like that." "Rarity," you say, "it happens. We all have our off days. I think, though, that I should probably get going. I have some more research I want to do at the library, and it looks like you could use some rest." Rarity nods. "I think that would be best," she says. You ask Twilight if she'd like to accompany you. "I'd love to," she responds, "but I think I should be there for Rarity right now." Rarity sniffled. "Oh darling, please don't let me keep you from your day." While the two of them are debating whether or not Twilight should go with you, you slip out the door and start walking back towards the library. Back at the library, Spike greets you at the door. "Where's Twilight?" he asks. "She stayed behind at the Boutique to talk to Rarity." "You guys went to Rarity's Carousel Boutique? Why didn't you invite me?" You shrug. "It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing," you say, "and I didn't realize you'd want to come. Sorry." "So why did you guys go see Rarity?" "I was hoping she could give me some information about the jewelry I'm wearing. She couldn't, though. All she said was that she loved the necklace." "Wow. She said that?" "Yeah." "Could I... could I try it on?" Spike asks. You think about this for a second. You don't see the harm in it. "Sure kid, knock yourself out," you say, removing the necklace and tossing it to Spike. "Just remember: it's my necklace, I want it back, and it is not to leave the house. I may not know why I'm wearing it, but I would not be happy to lose it. Got it?" Spike gulps and nods. Then he says, "I'm gonna see how I look in the mirror." You chuckle as Spike runs up the stairs. Several minutes later, a human boy with green hair runs down the stairs and stops in front of you. He's wearing a purple hoodie and your necklace. "Well?" he asks, with a very familiar voice. "How do I look?" Author's Note As far as I know, I made up the concept of an engraver's mark. It wouldn't surprise me if people did this, though.
Twilight's Sensible and Reasonable Reaction"Spike? Is that you?" you ask. "Well, yeah!" the green-haired boy says. "The necklace looks cool on me, doesn't it?" "Spike... you're a human." "What? No, I'm a dragon. Duh." "Spike, look at your hands." Spike looks at his hands. "Huh," he says. "That's weird." "Spike, did you look at yourself in the mirror?" "Well, yeah." "Did you notice anything... out of the ordinary?" "Uh, yeah," he says as if it was obvious, "the necklace looks really good on me." "That's it," you say. "I think we need to have another look in the mirror." As you climb the stairs with Spike you notice that he has perfect coordination. He doesn't trip or stumble at all on his way to the second floor. If you didn't know better, you'd say he spent his entire life as a human. You step into the bathroom. Both of your faces are reflected in the large mirror above the sink. "Spike, look closely," you say. "See this face?" You point to the reflection of your face. "This is a human's face. Compare it to your face. They aren't identical, but they're closer than anything else I've seen here in Ponyville, and five minutes ago your face looked completely different." Spike eyes his reflection. "I don't... oh, oh wow. Okay, yeah. I see it now. That's really weird. Until you pointed it out, I didn't see anything wrong with it." Spike looks down at his body. "I guess that means the body's wrong too, huh?" "Yeah." "It's weird," he says. "Even though I know I've always been a dragon, even after you pointed it out, this body still looks and feels natural to me. It's like I've always been this way." "'Until I pointed it out to you'... Spike, do you know of any spells that affect somebody's mind?" "Well, yeah. A long time ago Twilight cast a spell on a doll of hers that made everybody in town want it. She called it the 'want-it need-it spell'. Why?" "Because I think something similar is going on here. The necklace made you human, but it also did something to your mind so that the human form feels natural to you. That's why you didn't stumble over your own feet when you were going up and down the stairs." Something clicks into place in your head. You say, "It's not just the necklace, it's the bracelet too! Rarity freaked out at the boutique once I took the bracelet off and only calmed down once I put it back on! Then she kept treating me like I was a pony. It was because she was trying to see me as a human, but the enchantment wouldn't let her! That must be why she broke down like that." "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Spike yells. "Rarity broke down?" "Yeah. That's why Twilight stayed behind. Didn't I tell you?" "No, you didn't!" At that moment you hear the sound of the front door opening. Twilight's voice calls out, "I'm home! Spike, Cale, are you here?" Spike runs down the stairs two at a time in his new body. "Twilight!" He shouts. "Is Rarity okay?" You hear Twilight shriek followed by a loud crashing noise. You run down the stairs to see what happened. Human Spike is lying dazed in a pile of books and Twilight's horn has a pink aura around it. "Stay back!" Twilight yells at Spike. "I'm warning you, stay back! You run and interpose yourself between Spike and Twilight. "Twilight, stop!" you yell. "That's Spike!" "That is not spike!" she yells back. "That's a Diamond Dog with a green mane!" "Twilight, calm down," you say. "I promise you, that is Spike." Twilight looks back and forth between you and Spike, ready to act but not sure what to do. You slowly reach down and take the necklace off of Spike. There is a puff of smoke which dissipates quickly, leaving only a small purple dragon. A few more books fall on him. Spike groans. "What hit me?" he asks. You let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding. Up until you actually did it, you weren't sure the transformation could be cancelled that easily. "Oh, Spike!" Twilight cries and rushes to him. "I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you, and you were this horrible monster, and I just freaked out and threw you into the bookshelves, and I'm so sorry Spike, can you ever forgive me?" "It's okay," he says, "you didn't know." You chuckle. "Horrible monster?" you ask. "Yes!" Twilight exclaims. "Before you took that necklace off, Spike had this weird flat face and he held his upper body off the ground and he was walking around on only two... legs..." Twilight frowns in concentration, staring at one of the walls distractedly. You ask her, "Does that description sound a little bit familiar?" "Actually, it does," she says. "Now where have I heard of something like that before? Two legs, two... not-legs, a mane but no coat, looks kind of like a diamond dog..." You can't resist. You take the silver bracelet off your wrist and pocket it. "Hey, Twilight," you say. Twilight faces you. Just as she gives you her full attention you say, "Boo." Twilight shrieks, her horn glows, and you're thrown into the bookcase on the opposite side of the room. Pain lances across your back where you're slammed into the bookcase by Twilight's magic. Several books fall off the bookcase and land on top of you. You groan in pain. "I don't know what I expected," you mutter. As if agreeing with you, one last book falls off the bookshelf and lands on your head with a loud, and painful, "thump!" Several minutes later you're holding an ice pack to your head while you talk with Twilight. There aren't any chairs on the first level of the library, so you sit cross-legged on the ground. "How did I never notice this before?" she asks. "You're clearly not a pony, but... for some reason I never really saw that until now." You hold the wristband out to her. "It's this thing," you say. "I don't know exactly how, but anybody- sorry, anypony that sees me subconsciously thinks of me as just another pony. And judging by how you reacted to two perfectly normal humans, I'd say it's a good thing that I have it." Twilight's ears droop and her body slumps slightly. "I'm sorry," she says softly. "I really didn't mean to freak out like that." You wave your hand in a careless gesture. "I already told you, I accept your apology." Twilight doesn't react to your words and her body language doesn't change. Well, if you can't directly make her feel better maybe you can at least distract her. "Hey, Twilight," you say. "Would you like to help me figure out how this thing works?" That did the trick. Twilight's eyes light up and she grins. "Really?" she asks. "Yeah, really. Unless you know of any other unicorns in Ponyville with an affinity for magic," you say teasingly. Twilight treats your joke as a serious suggestion. "Well, there are a few unicorns in Canterlot with a cutie mark in magical research," she says, "and of course Celestia and Luna might know something about this enchantment, but they're in Canterlot too." You facepalm. "Twilight, it was a joke." Twilight chuckles nervously. "Oh, of course. I knew that. I was just... playing along." You shake your head and hold your wristband up. "So, where do we go from here?" you ask Twilight. "Ooh, I know!" she says gleefully. "I have a research lab down in the basement! We can work on figuring the enchantment out there!" You throw your finger in the air and yell, "To the basement!" in a faux-superhero voice before jumping up and running in what you hope is the direction of the basement. Twilight giggles and follows you. A few minutes after you both leave the room Spike comes downstairs carrying a bowl of ice cream topped with ruby sprinkles. He looks at the two large piles of books that had been knocked to the ground, does some quick mental calculations, says, "nope", and goes back upstairs.
