CONSTELLATIONS
Author: Burritoburger
Chapter 3: Memories
Digit's POV
I sat back and relaxed in the guest room of the Changeling castle. Y'know, when you get past all the creepy guards, rooms, moss, and statues, this place isn't so bad. There are a ton of rooms in the castle, and you could easily get lost. however, there were many good things to look after. Chests, beds, bathrooms... Okay, never mind. It was a bit the same. However, the castle is so large due to claustrophobia that Changelings have... pretty weird when you ask me. If they are in a small space or in a crowded space, they can be really uncomfortable to the point where they almost panic and pass out from fear. It was a bit strange, but tolerable.
I opened my eyes and stared at the top hat sitting on the desk next to me. I picked it up and examined it. Nothing too special, if you count the giraffe piss and monkey waffle.
What the buck, brain. I thought to myself. Sure, I was known for being overly strange and unknown, but come on! I only say that stuff out loud, not in my head.
Moving back to my previous thought, I continued to examine the hat. It was a regular old hat, about a foot tall and had a white stripe where the rim and base connected. It didn't seem too special, but I got an idea. Top hats are usually tradition for magicians to use with magic tricks, even if they weren't a unicorn. I wondered why this was still here anyways. I know these are for fashion, but they usually use intricate designs for these top hats, and this was an old fashioned one. As well as that, but they aren't even used anymore, due to the impossibility of unicorn magic. Still, my curiosity got to the better of me, and I reached in the hat. I nearly lost my balance and fell off the bed as my entire arm went into the hat, much farther than the hat length itself. So I was right.
"Ahh!" I hissed as I clutched my head. Memories flew back into me, but they were only pictures. There was a show... I was on stage... no, wait, that isn't me... no unicorns in the crowd?
The pictures stopped and I opened my eyes. Obviously this hat triggered a memory of some sort, and my look alike was on stage doing a magic show. Huh.
I slowly and carefully stuck my arm inside of the hat, trying to reach down further than before. Once again, my arm seeped through, past the limit of the hat. I felt something solid and wet come into contact with my hoof, and I quickly shot my other arm through to grab it. I barely got a small amount of grip on the object and pulled it up and out of the hat. To my surprise, it was a hairy waffle with some bad smelling liquid on it. It was a bit revolting, and it was obvious as I rushed to the open window. I threw the strange waffle outside from the middle of the castle. I immediately shut the window as I heard a "WHOMP!" sound with a following "What the buck?!"
I exhaled and walked over to the private bathroom and washed my hands. While doing so, I thought to myself. What triggered the hat to generate... whatever that was? And more importantly, how?
I finished washing my hands and looked over at the hat. For some reason, I felt the need to go to Ponyville to see if I could spark some kind of memory thing again. I carefully put the hat on my head, flinching as I thought another waffle was going to hit my head. However, it was empty and I smiled, feeling comforted with the hat on my head. I don't know what was up with it, but it seemed to rejuvenate me, make me feel better. I walked out of the guest room and flew out of a window.
I don't think Chryssie will mind if I leave right away. I thought, reffering to the nickname for Chrysalis which I found in my journal of past memories. She gave me a tour of the castle, and when I called her Chryssie, she had a look in her eyes. One that seemed to remind me of, well, home.
I smiled as I thought of the Changeling alicorn, feeling sympathy for her that she wasn't appreciated by others. Or bye everyone, for that matter.
After a few minutes of flying, I started to get tired, and the find that Ponyville wasn't anywhere in sight over the horizon just made me more annoyed. I looked up my hat as if it would give me all the answers.
For the moment, I wondered what I was even going to do in Ponyville. Was I going to visit my good, good friend, Stargazer? Or maybe take a visit to all the elements of harmony? I decided upon the second choice, but got sidetracked as my hat started making a vrrr sound. Soon enough, it got louder, and I felt a suction upon my head. then, the hat went over top of me as my entire body sank inside of it. I was in total darkness, looking around, not knowing what to do.
What's going on?! Where am I?!... Why am I falling?
It's true. I looked down below to see Ponyville approaching, and a look of terror crossed my face. Funny though, my hat was still on my head. I didn't notice this yet, as I was screaming like a filly.
"OHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOHCRAPOH-" I stopped yelling in time to facehoof so hard, my nose started bleeding. I unfolded my wings and dived down, with my hat still miraculously still stuck to my head. I flew down and after a few minutes, landed gracefully on the ground. By "gracefully", I meant straight into a tree. A very large tree as a matter of fact.
I groaned as a pony, most likely female, gasped at my sudden, robust appearance. Wait, no. That's not what robust means... unexpected? Whatever, you get the idea...
"Oh my gosh! Are you alright?!" She asked.
"Just dandy!" I responded, getting up and taking out a piece of wood stuck in my shoulder. I quickly observed the scene in front of me. It seemed to be a large library, filled with books upon books of many different subjects.
"No you aren't! Look at yourself!" She said, her horn glowing. Looking down at my appearance, I witnessed bruises and cuts all around my body.
"Oh, this happens all the time. One time, a giraffe kicked me in the pancreas so hard, I couldn't speak for a week." I responded with a lighthearted smile. She stopped her spell on me, which seemed to take a few of the light bruises and cuts away.
"...What?" She asked, utterly confused as to where that sentence had come from.
"Don't worry about it. My name's Digit. I presume your name is Twilight Sparkle." I greeted. She nodded and seemed to shrug off the sudden events occurring, and put on a friendly smile.
"That's right. Pleased to meet you, Digit. What are you here for, anyways?" She asked. I opened my mouth to say something, but stopped. What did I come here for? All I wanted to do was meet the elements of harmony, but I didn't plan much to do with them. After a few seconds of thinking, Twilight spoke up.
"Um... Digit?" She asked.
"Hm?"
"Why don't you have any cutie mark?" She asked, obviously trying to change the subject. I looked at my flank. It's true, there wasn't a mark there, but I didn't think that mattered. Weren't they just tattoos or something that seemed to be a trend?
"Um, what exactly is a cutie mark?" I asked, looking back at Twilight. Her eyes widened, and she almost looked as if she was going to faint.
"How can you not know what a cutie mark is?!" She asked in surprise. I didn't think it was this bad, they were just pictures on ponies' plots. What's the big deal?
"Well, aside from the fact that I suffered from amnesia at least two years ago, I don't know any way that I could have possibly-"
"Wait wait wait! You suffered amnesia two years ago?" She asked, seeming as if she wanted to delve deeper into the subject.
"...Yes?" I responded. I kind of don't know why she asked such a question, but I was beginning to think coming here was a mistake.
"And you haven't gotten your memory back?" She asked, getting much more deeper into it than I thought.
"Well isn't that what amnesia is supposed to do to you?" I asked, really wanting to leave.
"That isn't right! Usually a pony remembers what happened before their amnesia a few days after it has happened! But two years... It's unheard of! I can't believe-"
"Can you please calm down?" asked, putting a hoof over her mouth. I swear, ever since I met this pony, she's been as paranoid as ever. She nodded slowly, and I took my hoof away from her mouth. She took a deep breath and sighed.
"Sorry. You just kind of crashed through my house, and you seemed suspicious, so I wanted to ask a few questions." She explained.
Now we're getting somewhere! I thought, relieved that Twilight stopped worrying.
"Okay. I will explain everything soon, just don't freak out at ANYTHING I say. Okay?" I asked her. She nodded her head and sat down, watching my every move. I sat down in a separate seat, wondering why I was still here anyways.
"Start after the amnesia." She said.
"Actually, I have a journal that basically tells me everything in my childhood. I have read it twice and back. Do you want me to start there?" I asked.
"Yes please."
"Okay. I didn't know much about when I was younger, especially didn't know much about my parents or where I lived, but I do know there was an explosion. There was a chemical explosion in a building I was in, with my friend."
"Who was-"
"I'll get to that. What happened was that there was the chemical explosion, and many of the ponies in my town died. My friend and other ponies that survived were put into quarantine and were treated, so that the radiation could wear off. While I was affected, nopony knew, except for my friend. I forced her not to tell them, and assured her that I was fine. She trusted me and let me be. Afterwards, I started traveling in search for a new home for us, but I was the only one to leave, and nobody knew. That's why she was looking for me..." I trailed off, trying to leave as much suspense as possible.
"Okay, now who was your friend?" Twilight asked. I hesitated, as to hearing the news of Twilight's brother marrying Princess Cadence, and the Changeling attack. Obviously, if I told her, three things were to happen. She would either kick me out, panic, or attack me.
"Are you really sure?" I asked, trying to make sure she wouldn't flip out.
"Yes."
"Okay. It was the Changeling Queen, Chrysalis."
Silence filled the room. Twilight's eyes slowly dilated as she analyzed what I just said. She started breahing faster, and more heavily. Panic, I guess.
"Calm dow-" I started, until she started charging a spell at me. Attack? Oh well. I calmly hummed as I reached into my hat after taking it off. Shield, shield, shield... aha! Shield! I thought as I pulled out a large shield from my hat, obviously too big to be inside. I then placed it in front of me just in time for the spell to fire and bounce off of the large piece of metal. As soon as she opened her eyes again, the blast hit her in the face, knocking her unconscious.
"Um... okay, see you later!" I said, putting the shield back in my hat. With that, I whistled to myself as I left the library. Time to go to Sugarcube Corner, huh? I thought, already seeing the gingerbread building in the distance. As I walked, I wondered hoe Pinkie Pie will react. Will she react the same as Twilight? Or will she avoid the whole matter? Nonetheless, I still wanted to visit each and every one of the Elements. I gulped after thinking how Rainbow Dash might react. Probably tackle me off the side of her cloud house, ten feet above ground, thrusting me and herself down at high speeds. I shuddered at the thought.
Upon arriving at sugaracube corner and walked inside, everypony looked at me, and a few of them chuckled.
"What's so funny?" I asked the crowd in front of me. One of the ponies turned around towards me and started to count from three:
"Three, two, one."
"OHMYGOSH You're new! Hi my name is Pinkie Pie and this is Sugarcube Corner and we bake sweets and *GASP* I just forgot that you're new! There's going to be a party and cake and music and sweets and OH I'M SORRY we haven't even introduced ourselves! I'm Pinkie Pie and who are you?" She said at a very fast speed, one for some reason was very familiar...
"Digit."
"Hi Digit! Are you from around here?"
"No."
"Where do you live?"
"No idea."
"Why don't you know?"
"I had amnesia two years ago."
"OHMYGOSH I feel so bad! Did you remember anything?
"Only one thing."
"What was it?"
"A memory."
"*giggle* You're funny!"
"Where do you live?" I asked right back.
"Here of course!"
"Why a gingerbread house?"
"Because of the sweets! Duh!"
"What are there?"
"Cupcakes!"
"Can I try one?"
"Which one?"
"Blue!"
"Flavor?"
"Chocolate!"
"ON IT!" She yelled, speeding into the kitchen.
"Seven-point-four seconds!" Somepony yelled. Everyone stared at me in disbelief.
"Uh, what do you mean?" I asked, highly confused. I know the conversation was fast, but I'm used to it. Why...?
"Every time a new pony walks into Sugarcube Corner, we time how fast the conversation goes. The faster, the better." The same pony explained.
"You have the record so far!" One of the mares called out.
"Is that supposed to be an achievement?" I asked, scratching my head.
"Yes." another pony said bluntly. Huh. I never knew talking fast was an accomplishment. I can almost tell the things to come with this pink mare, Pinkie Pie. It would probably be fun.
"Here you go!" She said (at a noticeably slower pace), handing me the chocolate blue frosted cupcake. I took a bite into it, not caring about the wrapper.
-HOLY SHIT! Was the only thought that ran through my mind at the very moment. The rich, tasty chocolate combined with the creamy- THIS CUPCAKE IS THE BEST THING I'VE TASTED SINCE THAT MOUNTAIN WAFFLE! My thoughts interrupted. Basically, it was really good.
"Do you like it?" Pinkie asked with a large smile. I simply looked at her with a weird stare.
"Was that a trick question?" I asked, tossing the rest of the cupcake into my mouth.
"So... it is good?" She asked.
"Yes." I replied, thinking that if I responded with another crude comedy comment, she wouldn't get it either way.
"*GASP!* OH MY GOODNESS! I have to set up for the party! Out, out, out!" She said to me, and finally shoving me out of the door.
Mmkay. Party. Awesome. I thought, knowing that I probably shouldn't question what happened to me while I was inside of the large gingerbread house for less than two minutes. I got up from the ground that I was pushed on and made my way towards the Carousel Boutique. My guess at Rarity's first reaction? Probably complementing and/or criticizing my choice of outfit, along with the hat. However, despite this, I felt as if we would have a nice talk and maybe a spot of tea whilst discussing today's top line of fashion and designer-
I quickly shook off my sudden change in formality. Just because I'm wearing a hat doesn't mean I'll discuss fashion with tea. Speaking of which, what metric value is a spot of tea? As I based this on mass and-
What the hell? I asked myself. What's with these changes of personality? Whatever. I decided to shake it off and just get to Rarity's place before my mind wanders off into another personality I'm not familiar with.
Finding the Boutique was a piece of delicious, chocolate frosted, velvet red, horrifyingly amazing... cake. I knocked on the door and waited a few seconds.
"Just a minute!" A regal sounding voice called. I waited for about... let me check the sun... seventeen seconds?
I pulled my eyes away from the sun before I went past colorblindness. For a second there, I had no idea what color the door in front of me was.
My thoughts were obliterated at the sight of the mare opening the door, who was presumably Rarity, with her white coat and purple mane, along with her three diamonds as a cutie mark. I quickly peeled my eyes away from her appearance, as if she would get the wrong idea.
"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, may I help you?" She asked, not noticing my observation of her physical appearance.
"Hello! Um, actually, I just kind of wanted to talk. Uh, you are Rarity, I presume?" I explained quickly.
"Why yes! It's a pleasure to meet you, mister..." She trailed off, as if asking a question of some sort. After a few seconds, she added, "Well?"
"Well what?" I asked, losing my concentration on nothing in particular.
"What is your name?" She asked more straightforward.
"Oh! My name is Digit. Pleasure to meet you." I said, holding out my hoof. She kindly shook it.
"Please come in and make yourself at home!" She said, walking over back inside the room. I stepped inside and looked around. Plenty of drawers, chests, and chairs lined the room, as well as a few mannequins here and there. She sat down at a chair and I allowed myself to sit on the very comfortable sofa.
"First, I can resist asking, but you just HAVE to tell me where you got such a hat!" She said, staring at the hat as if it were some kind of valuable object.
"Oh, this? I got it as a gift... I think it was passed down by my family or something..." I trailed off as I lost focus, and pain surged through my skull.
--
"Digit... I want you to have this." My father said as he handed me the hat sitting on his desk.
"What? Why?" I asked, examining the hat.
"That hat is very special. You can't use it yet, but when you get older, you may find out it's secrets." He explained. Before I could ask anymore questions, he glanced at the clock and hid a small gasp.
"You should visit Chrysalis's house. See if she's there." My dad suggested. the thought of Chryssie lit me up, and I ran out of the room.
"Sure thing, dad!" I called. I ran down the hallways until I bumped into the changeling herself.
"Chryssie!" I said, hugging her. She hugged me back. "What are you doing here?" I questioned after I broke the hug.
"What? I was told to come here." She said.
*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*
"Hey, do you hear that?" Chrysalis asked as the beeping continued. I then realized something. Chemical facility. Flammable and explosive Chemicals.
Propane tanks.
"Run!" I yelled, sprinting past her. But it was too late.
*BOOM!*
"Digit!" Rarity yelled in my face as I regained consciousness on the floor.
"Wha... What happened?" I asked.
"You seemed to be in pain and passed out." Rarity explained. I slowly got up, and she stood back, watching for any signs of pain.
"I'm fine. Really, I am. I just had another memory..."
"Memory?"
"Yeah. I had amnesia two years ago. At most." I explained quickly.
"That's horrible! Did you just start remembering?" She asked.
"Yeah, pretty much. But I'm fine now, I promise." I reassured, getting back on the sofa.
"Are you sure?" She asked, still looking a bit concerned.
"Yes." I quickly answered.
"Well, okay."
"Now, you were wondering about this hat, right?" I asked. She nodded. I slightly gulped. This is the first time I tried this on somepony else.
"Uh, tell me, what do you have in your fridge?" I asked.
"What? Why?" Rarity questioned. I shrugged in response.
"Well, we have some apple cider in there, but I don't understand why-" She stopped after I took my top hat off and shoved my hoof inside of it.
Please, please, please... aha!
I quickly pulled a mug of apple cider out of the hat, careful not to spill it. Rarity gasped.
"Go check your fridge." I smirked. Rarity nodded and walked over into the kitchen. I reached into my hat and pulled out one of those dispenser things when you pull the lever and water comes out. Rarity came running back in, her eyes wide.
"It's gone! The cider is gone!" She exclaimed. I pulled out a glass from my hat and poured the cider inside the hat. Placing the lever activated faucet on the hat, I lifted it up and placed it on my head, and didn't feel any liquid. I handed her the cup.
"Would you like a drink?" I asked. She slowly nodded and I leaned forward and pulled the lever from my hat as cider came pouring from the faucet and splashed into the cup. She didn't dare take a sip of it, fearing that it might be magical, or some jazz like that. I took the facet of the hat, lifted the hat off and threw the faucet inside. I then showed her the inside of the hat, which was just a plain old hat. I put it back on and motioned her to follow me back towards the kitchen. Locating the fridge, I opened the door and pulled out a full mug of cider.
"Wha- The- Why- How?!" Rarity stammered.
"Honestly? I have no idea." I replied.
"Well, that was certainly amazing! you must have a performance sometime!" Rarity exclaimed.
Performance?
"Uh... Why not?" I said, scratching the back of my head.
"Well, I need to get back to my dresses. Thank you for the show, though." Rarity said, walking out of the room.
"Bye!" I called, and walked out of the room.
A show, huh? This oughta be good...
--
Sorry for the late update! I just kinda wanted to make this a longer chapter because I probably won't get time to update on my birthday, July 4th... Anyways, hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you next time!
-Burritoburger
CONSTELLATIONS
Author: Burritoburger
Chapter 5: The show
Lightning's POV
I kept walking along as I sorted everything out in my head. Everything seemed to be back to normal, no evil ponies, no destruction of the world, no Celestia trying to get rid of us. Everything was back to normal, and that was a good thing... right?
I shook my thoughts off and decided not to worry about something that's already been fixed. I then remembered something I was going to do before we got thrown out of Equestria. I remembered the ring hidden in my house. D was out hunting.
I quickly flew towards the house, getting more focused as I went. This is serious, and I can't believe I didn't do this sooner. When I arrived, I ran to me and D's room. I looked in the cabinet next to the bed and lifted up the piles of unused papers and looked in the back. A black box was there. I placed the papers on top of the drawer and I heard the door close. Funny, you don't usually hear doors close inside of a house made out of clouds. I grabbed the box and hid it behind me as I walked out of the room and down the stairs.
"I was wondering when you would get home! I got so bored that I went hunting!" She said, dragging the dead carcass of a deer behind her. Despite her face being covered in blood, she was still pretty beautiful. She walked into the kitchen and washed her face off with a rag until she noticed me holding the thing behind my back.
"What are you holding behind your back...?" She asked, trying to look around me to spot it. However, I turned so she wouldn't see it.
"Okay, I am not big on stupid speeches, and you probably know that. But, even if I could say a half-wit speech right now, I would make a half-wit speech you would never forget. But anyways, let's cut to the chase." I said, pulling out the blakc box from behind me. I opened it, revealing the ring.
"Will you marry me?" I asked. Honestly, I wasn't too into all this love crap, but it made me feel better when I was around D, and it made me feel way better when she hugged me and said yes. So that kind of happened, and I put the ring on her hoof. She then looked as if she realized something that seemed potentially important.
"Oh! I totally forgot! You know Digit, right?" She asked.
"You mean that guy that practically screwed himself over when we were being pranked by Nightburn, not to ention he was the only one that could potentially piss her off for the hell of it? You don't really forget stuff like that." I chuckled.
"Well, he apparently is becoming a magician or something, and he's having his first performance tonight! We should see it." She explained. I scratched my head. Him? A magician? I thought he would be a psychologist... or something. Plus, his first act? This sounds a bit like Trixie to me.
I shrugged, "Sure."
A few hours later, the stage was set up and we were standing in the crowd, along with the rest of our friends, excluding Stargazer. Said he couldn't come for some reason. Pinkie came too and gladly joined us. Ponies were talking, some about rumors spread of Digit, others thinking his act will crash and burn. Me? I just wanted to see how it would play out. Digit is like a male version of Pinkie Pie, only with a bit more subtlety, and can adapt to the best of situations. Nonetheless, he still had that random Pinkie Pie feel, and can practically shift reality to his will. Sort of. Not really. More like he can do things that no other pony can pull off. You know what? Forget it. It's hard to explain.
"Fillies and Gentlecolts! Digit, who recently joined our town, apparently has a thing for magic!... I guess. Anyways, without further ado, here is Digit!" Mayor Mare announced. Honestly, they make such a big deal about Digit. Does anything exciting ever happen around here?
Digit stepped out from behind the curtains, looking a wee bit, no wait, really worried. With his top hat on, he stepped to the microphone.
"Um, hello! Uh, I've recently came here and I can apparently do magic although I'm not a unicorn, I'm a pegasus, so... yeah..." I facehoofed. However, he took off his hat and reached his arm inside of it. He pulled out a bunny.
"Ta-da!" He said, putting on a fake smile. the bunny frowned in annoyance and kicked Digit in the face, where he let go and hopped off. Apparently, the bunny was none other than Angel.
The crowd didn't cheer. In fact, I'm pretty sure some crickets joined the crowd too. Digit looked around, worried.
"Uh, okay. My next trick involves me... uh..." Apparently, he had run out of tricks. His eyes widened and he ducked when a tomato whizzed above his head, in which the stallion booed at him. Other ponies joined, and Digit looked a bit horrified. I facehoofed harder. When I looked up, his face expression changed. He looked a bit angry.
"Fine!" He practically yelled. The sudden outburst made the crowd a bit quieter.
"You want magic? Here's magic!"
Digit pulled his hat off and reached inside of it. He took out a small seed and threw it over at the ground next to the stage. He then placed his hat over the seed, covering it. He slowly lifted his hat up and the crowd gasped at what they saw. As he was lifting the hat, a trunk, wood, branches, and leaves were coming out of the hat as he flew up. He got to the top and placed the hat back on his head, and smiled at the full grown tree. He then pushed the hat inwards into the largest branch, and it completely fit inside without ripping through the hat. He flipped the hat and the spot where the branch was disappeared. He pretended to look inside of the hat, and he started shaking it. A bonfire pupped out, lit and everything.
"Y'know, I one time heard a good saying." Digit said. "As things grow..." Digit referred to the large tree. "...And as accidents happen..." He kicked the bonfire into the tree, and the tree slowly caught on fire, causing a bit of alarm to all the ponies. "...Those memories originate..." He flew up. "..From a single..." He threw the hat down, completely enveloping the blazing tree and hit the ground, with no more fire. He flew down and picked the hat up, picking up the small item from the ground. "...Seed."
Aaaaaand the crowd cheered. Seriously, I have no idea how the heck that happened, but I don't think I'll be able to make anything of it. Digit got back on the stage and smiled. He bowed, and moved back behind the curtains.
"That was simply a remarkable performance, Digit! We hope to see you again soon! Next performer..."
Next performer? I didn't know there was a next performer. I shrugged and walked off with D and The rest of my friends to congratulate Digit. We saw him approaching us, a big smile on his face. It was a quick celebration, and Pinkie even planned a party, but Digit assured her that the party should wait until tomorrow. With that, we said good night, and he suddenly grew quiet.
"Uh, I kinda need a place to sleep. He smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head.
"What? Why?" I asked.
"Well, I kind of got here recently, and I don't have enough bits to buy a house, so... yeah. That's the problem. Pinkie suddenly perked up.
"Ooh! Ooh! There's a guest room at Sugarcube Corner! I bet the cakes won't mind!" Pinkie smiled.
"Uh, sure, okay. Maybe I could show you some magic tricks when we get there." Digit suggested.
"That would be amazingly splenderiffic!" Pinkie said, bouncing towards Sugarcube Corner. Digit waved to us and said goodbye. We did the same and went our separate ways to get to sleep. It has been an exhausting day.
You happy, Thunder Cloud? YOU HAPPY?!
It's the middle of the freaking night, thanks a lot.
Well, that's all for today. See you all next time!
-Burritoburger
