Drawing a Blank.

Chapters

Chapter 1: It was just a normal day.
Chapter 2: It came from the Everfree Forest...I think.
Chapter 3: Many questions, few answers.
Chapter 4: Meeting the Human.
Chapter 5: A Letter to Royalty.
Chapter 6: Mischief with Memory Magic.
Chapter 8: Meeting Ponyville, Part Two.
Chapter 9: Strange Dreams.
Chapter 10: Royal Happenings and Ponyville Mischief.
Chapter 11: When the Bookworm's away, the human will play.
Chapter 7: Meeting Ponyville, Part One.

Chapter 1: It was just a normal day.

Ponyville. A quaint little town located in scenic central Equestria, located just south of the country's capital, a day or two by train ride at the least. Over the past couple of years this small, less then noteworthy town has become the center of many major events in recent history. This was due to the arrival of one Twilight Sparkle, now Princess Twilight Sparkle, who's arrival in the town had forever changed its destiny for the better.

But you all know that story. How she came to the town, made some of the best friends anypony could ever hope to ask for, and after a series of adventures eventually earned the right to become one of the few Alicorn Princesses of the land. Her dominion, friendship. It was only appropriate, given all she had been through over the past few years in this town. But thankfully, not every day was a world ending cataclysmic event that could only be stopped through the magic of friendship, most days were rather peaceful, with some various amounts of mischief here and there.

Today was one of those calm peaceful days, thankfully. Not a cloud in the perfect blue sky, the spring sun producing a calming warmth, and a gentle breeze flinging the scent of flowers all through out the town. One could easily call a day like this perfect. But for our dear Twilight Sparkle, today was far from perfect. Why, you ask? Well, today was Twilight's least favorite day of the month: grocery day.

If you asked her why she hated grocery day, she wouldn't be able to tell you why exactly. On some days, it was because she had just gotten into a good book, and wanted to get back into it but couldn't because of the obligation to her nutrition. Other days it was because she wanted to spend time with any number of her friends within the town, but again the need for food outweighed the need for social interaction. And in today's case, it was a lack of sleep due to being very invested in a new book. Now, she could always just push back grocery day if she really wanted to, but after the last time she did that she swore to never do that again. She could always get her assistant Spike, or her graduated student Starlight Glimmer to do it by themselves, but she was too nice to let them do that all on their own and continued to venture into the marketplace every month with her two roommates. At the end of the day it was a part of life that was necessary for survival.

Today's grocery trip was no different then any other, just the three friends going from stall to stall and stocking up on whatever they needed. Fruit, vegetables, bread, dairy products, the works. Occasionally they'd run into one of their friends and engage in a short conversation just to catch up and say hi. Usually with a member of the Apple family, as they run the only apple stand in the entire town.

And so the day went on, gathering groceries and engaging in small talk every now and then. Eventually the three return to the large crystal castle that they called home to restock their pantry with all the tasty delicacies they had recovered in their quest. Doing so was probably Twilight's favorite part of grocery day, as it meant the ordeal was almost over.

"Hey, it isn't even noon yet!" Spike shouts with glee, taking a quick glance out the window and at the sky to spot the sun's current position. Based on his estimate, it was somewhere between 9 and 11 O' clock. "Usually that takes WAY longer!"

"Well, we have been doing this for awhile now. We've got a pretty good route figured out," The unicorn known as Starlight responded, a touch of pride in her voice. "It makes sense that we'd get it done faster the more we do it."

"MmmHmm," Twilight responded groggily, eyes half lidded as she slowly stumbles past her friends, making her way to the stairwell leading to the upper levels of the castle.

"You really need to stop pulling all-nighters like that, Twi," the young dragon says with a chuckle as he follows his lifelong friend upwards. "Especially when you know you need to get up early the next day!"

"Couldn't help it. Had to finish that book," The Princess of Friendship responds with a yawn, "I got to the good part and I just couldn't put it down. I lost track of the time."

"...Didn't you start that book yesterday? You couldn't have gotten THAT far."

"It was the second book of the trilogy, the whole thing was the good part," Twilight responds with a half chuckle half yawn, making her way into her bedroom for a well needed nap. Leaping onto her bed with unprecedented agility considering her tired state, she quickly makes a blanket burrito out of herself and is out like a light the instant her head touches down on the white fluffy pillow.

The purple dragon couldn't help but let out a quite laugh as he slowly closes the bedroom door as to not disturb his friend. "Sweet dreams," he whispers just as the door shuts fully.

And sweet dreams were had indeed. While a quick nap is no replacement for a good night's sleep, it is good for re-energizing yourself so you aren't a zombie all day. Returning to the waking world with a loud yawn, wriggling one of her front-hooves out of her cocoon of comfort to rub her eyes and scratch her head, the newly revitalized Princess rose from her bed and make her way to the window overlooking the town. Taking a moment to adjust to the light, Twilight's gaze locked onto the sun dial in the center of town.

In any other circumstance, trying to use a sun dial from this distance would be about as useful as a hole in the bottom of a bucket. But thankfully for the young princess, she had ways of circumventing this limitation. Particularly, she had recently discovered an old spell made for this very purpose. Stepping away from the window, and turning her back to it, she prepared the spell. With a small amount of concentration, the horn atop her head began to glow with a familiar hue. Within seconds, the pinkish aura begins to also emanate from her eyes. At this point, all Twilight would have to do was think about the location or object she wished to view, as long as it was in the spell's radius, and not underground or inside of a building. But luckily for her, the Ponyville Sundial was subject to none of these conditions.

'Ponyville Sundial' she thinks, closing her eyes for several seconds. Quickly opening them, an outside observer would see that Twilight's eyes had gone from the pinkish hue of her magical aura to a pure, blinding white glow. From Twilight's perspective, she was now looking at the town's sundial as if she were standing right next to it, even if it did have a wavy purple filter slightly obscuring her vision. She looked down at her semi transparent body standing in the middle of town, nopony in the immediate area noticing the ghost like visage of the local Princess. Now, was using an astral projection of herself just to check the time of day a bit excessive? Probably. Especially considering she had a clock in her room. But she had found the projection spell and had yet to find a practical use for it, so she made one.

After examining the shadow's position carefully, the Princess of Friendship cancels out the spell as her eyes, and vision, return to their natural state of being. "I love that spell~" she almost sang as she turned and exited her bedroom. It was about 2:30 in the afternoon, so she had slept for a little under three hours or so. A bit excessive, but it sure helped her recover. Now she had the whole rest of the day for whatever she wanted. And she knew exactly what she wanted.

Making her way back through the cool colored hallways of her home, the Princess notices her two roommates in one of the rooms, with a deck of cards between the two. Hearing the distinctive sound of hooves on crystal, the two look up from their card game and see the reawakened Princess of Friendship.

"AH! The dead has risen! It's the end of days!" Spike shouts in a clearly fake fearful tone, prompting a giggle from the Unicorn sitting across from him.

"Ha ha, very funny," the lavender Alicorn retorts with a sarcastic tone and a roll of her eyes. "So what've you two been up to?"

"We decided to follow your lead and take a lazy day," Starlight answers, looking back to the set of cards floating before her in a mystical blue veil. "Nothing's really going on in town today, aside from the usual. So Spike and I have been playing a few card games."

Twilight couldn't help but smile at that response, another day of peace and quiet was always something she looked forward too. "Well, I'm off to the book store to see if they've got a copy of 'The Broken Stone, Number 3' in stock yet. I need to know how the story ends. I'll be back later." She explains while trotting off, leaving the dragon vs. unicorn card game resume.

"Got any sevens?" Spike's voice could be heard asking as Twilight continued on her way, followed by the sounds of a very grumpy baby dragon groaning.

Making her way through town at a brisk pace, Twilight was as excited as she could possibly be on such an average day. If the bookstore finally got a copy of the third book in the Broken Stone series, she'd finally be able to figure out who--

And just like that, her train of thought is interrupted by somepony carelessly running into her, knocking the both of them to the ground. Dazed from the impact, Twilight is surprised to see her dear friend Fluttershy was the Pony in such a hurry.

"Oh Twilight! Thank goodness I found you!" The clearly flustered yellow Pegasus says with a sigh of relief as she helps her prone friend onto her hooves. "I-I-I was out in the Everfree Forest helping out a family of birdies, when I heard a strange sound."

The Alicorn couldn't help but chuckle a bit. "Fluttershy, it's the Everfree Forrest, weird sounds are a norm in there. Why're you so panicked?"

"Because it sounded like a hurt Pony."

The half joking expression on Twilight's face instantly takes on the form of worry.

"B-but when I went to check see if they were OK, I...didn't find a pony," Fluttershy continued, clearly still a bit on edge from the whole ordeal, her words becoming faster and faster with each passing moment. " It was...well, I don't know what it was. And I didn't know how to help the poor thing since it was to heavy for me to move on my own, so I panicked without thinking and came rushing back to town as quick as I could so I could find you, because I thought that maybe you of all ponies would know what this creature was, and--"

Fluttershy's paranoid rant was cut short by Twilight placing a hoof over her mouth. "You can explain later, can you tell me where this hurt...thing is?"

"Oh, why yes! It should still be near the edge of the Forest, just behind my--" Not being able to finish her statement, Fluttershy's eyes are filled with a bright flash of light as she finds herself and Twilight standing at the edge of Everfree, just behind her cortege like she was about to say. "--...house." She finished, a bewildered look on her face.

"Come on, Fluttershy," Twilight shouted as she galloped towards the forest, her yellow coated friend quickly catching up and taking the lead. The Princess's current emotional state was a rather conflicted one. On one hoof, there was the possibility that somepony, or something, was seriously injured and needed help. On the other, this was a creature that Fluttershy, the expert on all things animal, was unable to identify. This sparked the academically curious side of her that hadn't had a good exercise in awhile. And a totally unidentified creature? While it might be dangerous it could also be a great learning experience. Making their way through the woods, the duo eventually arrives at a slight clearing where a large bundle of leaves leaning against a tree, slightly moving as if it were breathing.

"I had to hide it, so nothing would find it before we got back," Flutershy explains, beginning to use her wings to gently sweep away the pile of leaves she had dumped onto the creature.

In a bit of a panic herself now, Twilight was quick to light her horn up with magic once more. To fluttershy's surprise, the pile of leaves she was trying to gently move had just popped out of existence with a simple flash, exposing the figure who had been lying within. And when Twilight laid eyes on the creature, an audible gasp was heard escaping the Alicorn's lips.

Just as Fluttershy had described, propped up against the tree was a creature unlike anything the two had ever seen. It was very clearly a bipedal creature with a build not unlike that of a Minotaur, but he was far too thin and far to short to be counted as one of the bull men. If Twilight had to guess, she'd likely be on eye level with its chest if the creature were to stand up, more or less anyway. The creature was also almost entirely bald: the only exception on it being a dark grey, almost back, mess of hair sitting atop his head. The unknown entity was covered in various bite marks, open cuts and bruises, mostly on his upper body. twilight instantly recognized these types of injuries as the tell tell signs of a Timberwolf encounter. But of all the creature's traits, the one that caught Twilight's interest the most wasn't the lack of fur, or the wounds, it was the creature's clothes. These weren't simple leaf coverings, these were tailor made for a creature of this body type. Meaning that whatever it was, it had to be intelligent enough to make and understand the purpose of clothing. As it laid on the ground, it could be heard lightly groaning in pain. It was still alive, at the very least.

"So...do you know what it is?" Fluttershy looks back towards her still shocked friend, still unsure of what to make of the whole situation.

Twilight merely looked at the creature with shock and awe. In all of her years of academic study and adventuring around to various locations in Equestria, Twilight had never seen anything quite like this creature. Based on the shape of the appendages at the ends of its arms, and its facial features, the best she could come up with was that this had to be a primate of some kind. But she had never heard of any primate who could craft clothing.

"I...have no idea what this thing is."

Author's Note

And that's the introduction to this little story. A bit of an average day, suddenly turned upside down by a weird monkey thing Fluttershy found in the forest! Truly this can only end in good ways!

Also, why did I specifically mention the creature's height, using Twilight as a point of reference? Basically just to give you, the audience, a feel for how everything scales in this story. I've read a few of these stories that made it a bit unclear just how tall/short the human was compared to the ponies. And I just wanted to establish that.

Chapter 2: It came from the Everfree Forest...I think.

Forgetting about the creature's unknown classification for the time being, Twilight gently uses her magic to set the creature on the backs of both herself and Fluttershy, who were now standing side by side to act as a makeshift stretcher. Thankfully whatever this thing was, it wasn't much heavier then the average pony. So while carrying it alone would be a bit of a hassle, with their combined efforts it wouldn't be an issue. As the two slowly walked towards the forest's exit, Twilight began thinking of where to even take this creature.

Her first thought was Fluttershy's cottage. It made the most sense, it was the closest place to them, and Fluttershy likely had whatever they needed to try and treat the creature's wounds. But upon overthinking things, as the Alicorn was one to do, the various animals Fluttershy lived with might not take to kindly to whatever this entity was. While she was positive that Fluttershy's animals would never outright kill this thing, the unknown presence may cause them to panic.

The second thought was the Ponyville hospital, which had more then enough resources to treat the creature's wounds. Just one problem though: the staff of the Ponyville hospital were trained to help ponies with injuries and sicknesses. They wouldn't have the knowledge or expertise to deal with...whatever this strange animal was. Plus, parading this creature through town, or putting it in a public place like a hospital, would turn some heads and attract a lot of attention. And possibly start the townsfolk to panic. And a panic was the last thing that was needed right now.

Eventually, the Princess of Friendship decided that the best place to take this thing to treat its wounds was her own abode, seeing as the only other two who would be there was Spike and Starlight, and those two were rational individuals. It was possible that Starlight might even recognize this thing. After all, she had shown time and time again that she was a very learned pony, and maybe she had seen one of these creatures before and knew what it was!

"Hey Fluttershy, I'm going to teleport us to my castle. I think it'll be the best place to take care of this...creature. You ready?"

The yellow colored pegasus was going to argue, but quickly decided against it and simply gave a quick nod. She had come to Twilight for help after all, it would be best to go along with whatever her friend was planning. With another flash of light flooding her vision, she finds that the three of them had appeared in one of the crystal castle's many rooms, this one being a guest room based on the simple bed and nightstand.

With the combined efforts of the two ponies, the creature was gently laid onto the rarely used bed. Quickly withdrawing a first aid kit from the nightstand drawer, Twilight had made it a point to have one in just about every room in case of an emergency, she leaves Fluttershy to dress the creature's wounds while she went on to find Starlight and Spike. It wouldn't take the Alicorn very long to find the castle's other two occupants, they should still be in the same room they were when she had left this morning. Or at least she hoped.

"Careful now," Starlight said with her gaze turned upward, her horn aglow in blue light. "Don't wanna waste all this hard work, right?"

"Don't worry, I'm a pro at this by now," high above the crystal floor Spike floated with a veil of blue aura warped firmly around him. In each of his claws was a single playing card, held together in such a way to make an upward arrow of sorts. The dragon's eyes squint harder, his tongue sticking out of the side of his mouth as he concentrated on adding the final touch to the absolutely massive house of cards the two had somehow managed to put together in the short time Twilight had been gone. A perfect representation of Canterlot castle, or at least as perfect as a house of cards could be. The structure was absolutely massive, hundreds of cards had gone into the creation of the monolithic replica of the crown jewel of Canterlot.

"Spike, Starlight!" Twilight shouts as she suddenly bursts into the room. The sudden shout causing Starlight to jump in surprise, the light around her horn flickering for onlya moment. But it was that very moment that mattered most, as the room was quickly filled with the sounds of a baby dragon screaming as he plummets towards the ground. The Castle of Card-erlot, as Spike had so fondly named it, following his lead and falling into an unrecognizable heap of playing cards in a matter of seconds.

Realizing her mistake, Starlight glances away from Twilight to look towards the now prone dragon laying atop a pile of playing cards and shattered dreams with a slight blush on her face. "Oops, sorry Spike! You okay?"

"I'm fine..." Slowly picking himself up and dusting himself off, Spike overlooks the ruins that was once Card-erlot castle. "...But we almost had the world record."

"Sorry guys, didn't mean to ruin your card house, but I need some help!" Twilight states in a slight shout, quickly going into the details of what had happened after she had left the castle earlier. It takes some time to calmly and rationally explain what exactly was going on, Twilight was able to get the essential details explained.

While not fully understanding the situation, the two friends quickly spring into action. Spike going to get some warm water and some towels, Starlight going with Twilight to see if she can identify the mystery creature.

"You said you found it in Everfree Forest, right Twilight?"

"Well, technically Fluttershy found it first, but yes."

"...And it was alone?"

"Yes. As far as we could tell, it was the only one around."

It had taken longer then she would have liked, Fluttershy had managed to treat the unknown creature's wounds with relatively no issue. The hardest part was taking of the torn off shirt and jacket that had been nearly ripped to shreds on its upper torso, the clothing on its legs was mostly untouched so she felt it better not to remove them. After that it was simply a matter of cleaning the wounds and wrapping them in gauze. Thankfully the creature stayed unconscious during the process so it didn't flail to much. It also seemed that dressing the wounds has caused it to rest easier, giving Fluttershy a bit of relief. Taking a seat on a nearby chair, the yellow pegasus takes in a deep breath as she assures herself that the creature was going to be fine now. Though as she took a moment to finally calm herself down, she couldn't help but ask herself.

"...Why didn't Twilight just heal it with magic?"

Before that train of thought could be taken any further, Spike enters the room carrying a pale of warm water in one claw, a small stack of white towels in another. Placing both on the nightstand next to the bed, Spike takes a moment to inspect the creature.

"Whoa. Twilight was right. This thing IS weird looking."

"That isn't a very nice thing to say, Spike, even if it is true." Fluttershy retorts, walking up and placing one of the towels into the pale. Ringing it out until it was only damp, she gently places it on the creature's forehead. It twitches in resistance at first, but the warmth seems to calm it down quickly enough. "Equestira is filled with all kinds of strange and wondrous creatures. This one, while a bit...unique is no different. Every animal is beautiful in its own way."

"Yeah, but it still looks weird," Spike continues, lightly running a claw along the creature's pale, slightly tanned skin. "What do you think it is?"

As if to stop the question from being answered, Twilight and Starlight enter the bare guestroom and move over to the bed, the Dragon and Pegasus stepping aside so they aren't crowding the creature to badly. As she gets closer and closer, Starlight's expression starts to resemble that of Twilight's when she first laid eyes on this creature more and more. Placing a hoof on the bed, right next to the creature's arm, Starlight can only stare with her mouth agape. "I...I haven't seen anything like this before..."

Horse apples, Twilight thinks while watching her now graduated student eye the creature up and down. I was really hoping she'd know.

"...Are you two sure this thing's from Everfree?" Starlight eventually asks, glancing back to the other two Ponies in the room.

"Well, that's where it was found...but it was pretty close to the edge of the forest," Twilight ponders out loud, sitting down on her hind legs as she places a hoof on her chin in contemplation. Her expression suddenly changes as the metaphorical light-bulb turns on in her head. "Maybe Zecora will know something?"

None of the four seeing any better options, they agree that seeking Zecora's advice would be the best course of action. Figuring it would be best if they didn't leave the creature alone, so they decide it best to "split the party," as Spike had put it. Fluttershy and Starlight venturing back into Everfree to find the zebra, Twilight and Spike staying behind to keep tabs on the creature in case it woke up. Twilight was convinced the thing was intelligent due to the clothing it had seemingly crafted, so maybe they could communicate with it when it woke from its rest.

It had been almost an hour since Fluttershy and Starlight left to seek out Zecora. She lived pretty deep within the forest, so it only made sense as to why they had been gone so long. Not to mention the fact that Everfree was not exactly the safest place in the world, so they likely had a run in with some Timberwolves or something of that ilk. But the Princess of Freindship wasn't worried, she knew just how powerful Starlight's magic was from first hand experience, a few Timberwolves wouldn't be much of an issue for them. Twilight's mind was to occupied with other worries at the moment, evident by the fact she had spent a good chunk of this time pacing outside the room where the creature lay dormant, alone with her thoughts. Spike was off getting food for the creature, claiming it would probably be hungry when it woke up, praying to Celestia that it wasn't a carnivore.

'Oh bringing this thing back here might have been a bad idea,' Twilight couldn't help but think as she continued to pace back and forth. 'We have no idea what it is. What if it's dangerous? Why didn't I think to go to Zecora first?!' She continues to mentally scold herself like this for some time, until her ears suddenly perk at a sudden sound from inside the room. Stepping closer to the closed door, she places one ear to the structure and listens carefully. The sounds of weak groaning can be heard from the inside, as well as the sounds of blankets ruffling around. It was awake.

'It finally woke up,' Twilight told herself, doing her best to stay as quiet as possible as to not spook the now roused creature. 'I guess that means I should go see if it's okay...' Suddenly, her shocked and worried expression becomes one of forced optimism. 'It should be fine. If it's friendly, everything will be fine. If it is dangerous, I can incapacitate it with magic. Hopefully without hurting the poor thing.' Slowly reaching out for the door knob with her magic, she slowly turns the handle and creeks it open ever so slightly. Looking through the crack in the door, she begins to take mental notes of the creature.

Said creature has managed to stand up, proving her biped theory, as it seems to be investigating the room curiously. Looking over the towels on the nightstand, as well as the pale of water, it looks at them as if it had seen objects like them before. Unsure what to make of it, Twilight nearly jumps out of her skin as the creature turns towards the door. Her heartbeat beginning to slow back down as it continues to turn, walking towards the window. Well, less "walking" and more "limping." It may have woke up, but it was still clearly injured and fatigued. The creature mutters...something to itself as it overlooks the architecture of Ponyville through the window. It sounds at ease, relieved even based on the tone. Deciding it was safe enough to enter the room more, Twilight slowly pushes the door open with yet more creaks from the wood.

The unknown animal notices the sound this time, quickly turning towards the door with wide, silver colored eyes. Twilight could clearly tell that she put the creature on high alert. Which to be fair, anypony would be on high alert if they woke up in a strange place they'd never been before after being almost eaten alive by Timberwolves. Swallowing her fears away, Twilight fully steps into the room and looks at the creature.

"It's okay, I'm not--"

The sound of the creature's blood chilling scream echos through the room as it slumps to the floor, desperately trying to back away from the Alicorn with short, rapid breaths. Whatever this creature was, it was clearly just as confused about what Twilight was as she was about what it was. She quickly lowers her ears and ducks her head close to the ground in an attempt to make herself look as small as possible, hoping the gesture would calm the creature down. Twilight looks the creature square in the eye as she takes a step back.

"It's okay...It's okay...I'm not gonna hurt you...You're okay now..." She says quietly, almost mimicking Celestia's mothering tone. She was hoping that the creature understood that she wasn't trying to hurt it.

The creature's short, rapid breaths begin to slow and lengthen. The unknown entity leaning forward slightly, it flinches as the Alicorn takes a few small steps forward, but the expression of terror shifts into one of curiosity.

"...Y-y-you can t-t-talk?" The mysterious creature manages to say, its tone still just as frightened.

This instantly causes the Princess's ears to perk up, her eyes growing wide with surprise. "...You can understand me?"

For a moment, the two beings stayed where they were in silence, neither quite sure what to make of the other before them. The silence is quickly broken by Spike bursting into the room; a tray of fruits, vegetables and bread in his claws.

"Twilight!? Are you OK?! I heard screaming!!" Spike shouts as he barges into the room, his eyes quickly catching the creature sitting in the corners. "Oh sweet Celestia it's--"

The castle once again echoes with the sounds of the unknown creature screaming its head off.

Author's Note

"The Sleeper has AWOKEN!"
...Anybody?
No?
Ok.
That was Chapter 2. We finally meet the creature...and he did not react kindly to seeing an Alicorn or a dragon. How inconsiderate of him!

...Oh, and next chapter, expect there to be rhymes. You already know why.

Chapter 3: Many questions, few answers.

Fluttershy knocks her hoof against the door of Zecora’s hut several times before taking a step back to stand by Starlight, a smile on her face at the prospect of seeing one of her good friends again.

“So...this is where Zecora lives?” Starlight asks, looking all over at the tree-made-house. It was a look of curiosity, mostly. Why anypony would decide to live in a place like this was beyond her. But she had to admit, the architecture was impressive.

“Oh, have you never met Zecora?” Fluttershy asks, her usual way of speaking had been returned after the surprisingly calming walk through the woods. “She does things a bit differently then we do back in Ponyville, but she’s a kind mare.”

Before Starlight was given anymore time to admire the simplistic architecture of the building, the door swings open to reveal the Zebra that calls this place her home. “Ah, my old friend Fluttershy! Come in, come in! How have you been getting by?” The zebra states happily, stepping aside to allow her guests to walk inside.

“I’ve been doing just fine as of late, Zecora, thank you for asking.” Fluttershy says with a smile, leading Starlight into the abode. “I hope life has been treating you good as well.”

Starlight’s eyes instantly begin darting all over the single room as she enters the humble hut. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say this was the home of some kind of powerful wizard or alchemist, or maybe just a witch doctor. Regardless, the various potions lining the walls peaked Starlight’s interest greatly.

“Oh ho, and who is this you have brought with you?” The zebra asks, finally taking notice of the unfamiliar unicorn. “Has Twilight added a seventh member to your friendship crew?”

“Oh...I’m Starlight Glimmer!” The unicorn manages to pull her attention away from the various potions for a moment to properly introduce herself, a bit embarrassed by her mindless gawking. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I can say the same to you,” Zecora continues, walking towards the sound of a tea kettle whistling. “Take a seat my friends, my tea has finished it’s brew.”

'Does she always talk in rhymes?' Starlight couldn't help but ask of herself, feeling it best to keep that question to herself.

And so the three equines gathered around the large cauldron in the hut’s center, sitting on the ground as Zecora owned no furniture outside of her simple bed. Fluttershy and Zecora were engaging in simple conversation as the three casually drink their tea, mostly catching up on recent events in each other’s lives as it had clearly been quite some time since they had seen each other. But to be perfectly honest? Starlight wasn’t paying attention to most of it. She was a little to focused on asking about the mysterious creature that they had left in Twilight’s castle, and very much wanted an answer as to what it could be. But, as a good friend, she decided it would be best to allow the two to catch up. Even if it did take the rest of the day. Eventually, however, Fluttershy was able to get the topic onto the mysterious creature that she had found. Perhaps she used the mundane “let’s catch up” conversation as a way to easily transition into it? Starlight didn’t know for sure, but at least they were finally back on track.

Calmly explaining the situation to the potion brewer, Fluttershy proceeds to go into great detail about just everything they knew about the creature up to this point. Granted, there wasn’t a lot of information they had about it, but she was at least able to accurately describe the creature’s appearance with some help from Starlight. As the description of the day’s events and the mysterious creature these events brought continues to be unraveled, the Zebra merely sits and nods, rather enjoying her tea.

“--and we were hoping that you would know anything about what this creature could be,” Fluttershy finishes, taking the last drink from her tea cup.

“Hmm...it seems you have found quite the mystery,” Zecora collects the three empty cups and takes them over to what was clearly meant to be some kind of sink. “But I’m afraid I know not of this creature, nor its history.”

“Are you absolutely sure?” Starlight asks, walking over to the sink like structure as well. “I mean, it’s probably a very rare creature, but you must have seen it in this past if it lives in the Everfree Forest. Right?”

“For many years I have lived with these trees. Whatever this creature you speak of is, tis not of Everfree,” she continues, not losing her usual mysterious tone of voice. “I’m sorry I could not assist more, as I know it is quite hard to reach my door.”

With the hopes of Zecora knowing about it dashed away, Fluttershy and Starlight move to politely make their leave. The zebra giving them some kind words and a couple of potions that should help the creature recover. While she wasn’t able to help them identify the strange entity, she was not going to let them leave entirely empty hoofed. They weren't anything to special, just a few herbal blends meant to help restore stamina and vitality. With a kind smile and wave, she tells the to Ponies that they are welcome back in her abode anytime.

“I’ve never seen potions like this before,” twirling the potions in her magical grasp, Starlight admired them while making sure to occasionally check that she was still on the path with Fluttershy.

“They’re old zebra recipes,” Fluttershy answers with a soft smile, doing her best to keep her friend on the path. “Not a lot of ponies know about them, but they work rather well.”

The trip back through Everfree was just as uneventful as the trip into the forest was, but neither the unicorn or pegasus were going to complain about that particular fact. Exiting the forest with no issues, the two look up to see the position of the sun. It was almost 5 O’ Clock by this point, so they had been gone for about an hour or so. A bit peeved at how long it had taken them to basically end up right where they started, Starlight let out a tired groan as the two once again approached Twilight’s castle. Hopefully nothing to bad happened in the time they were gone.

This hopeful thought is almost immediately laid to rest as the sound of a loud scream can be heard coming from within the castle, causing nearby ponies to look up in shock and surprise. Several of them beginning to mutter among themselves about what could be happening. Starlight and Fluttershy were no exception to this new trend.

“That didn’t sound like Twilight or Spike...I think the creature woke up,” Starlight whispers, attempting not to cause a panic. Despite this, she was making no effort to hide the utter panic and worry strewn across her face. “And it doesn’t sound too happy.”

“It might just be confused, it did wake up in a foreign environment,” Fluttershy responds in her own whisper. Though if one were to be honest, it wasn’t that much different from her regular speaking voice. “I’m sure it’s just a little startled, that’s all.” The explanation from the animal expert gave some ease to Starlight’s worry, it probably was just startled by the sudden change in --

And just like the first optimistic thought the unicorn had mustered up on the approach to the castle had been silenced by the sound of an unknown creature screaming, so to was this thought quickly put in the ground to join its older sibling. This time however, the scream was much louder. The unicorn and the pegasus give each other a glance, the expressions on their faces speaking countless words, before they turn back to the castle and quickly dash inside, Starlight locking the entrance behind them as to not let anypony else barge in and mess anything up.

Quickly running up the stairs and towards the room where they had left the creature, the two ponies are greeted by the sight of a young dragon being catapulted out of the room as the door slams shut, the visage of Twilight’s magical aura present around both. As Fluttershy moves in to check on Spike, Starlight goes to see if Twilight is all right.

“Do NOT go in there!” Spike swiftly shouts, holding a claw up to his snout, which had been hit against the wall during his flight. “That thing will probably scream again, and Twilight will toss you out like she did to me!” He warns in only a half sarcastic tone, rubbing his sore but otherwise unhurt snout.

“Well can you tell us what happened?” Starlight snaps back, turning to the baby dragon and taking a few steps forward. “Why was it screaming like that? Is Twilight OK?”

“I don’t know. I heard screaming, I came in to see what was wrong, there was more screaming, and the next thing I know I’m in an intimate relationship with this wall.” The dragon explains in a disgruntled manner, patting his free claw against the crystal wall for emphasis.

Hearing the strange creature scream again causes Twilight to panic in turn. Not seeing any other solution at the moment, she acts fast to get her young dragon friend wrapped in a mystical aura, as well as the plate of food he had brought in. With one swift motion, the tray is pried from the dragon’s claws, set on the nightstand next to the stack of towels, and the dragon is ejected from the room with what might have been an excessive amount of force. Quickly slamming the door shut and locking it with magic, as to prevent any other intruders from startling the already terrified creature, she turns back to examine her unusual guest.

Said guest had devolved into a quivering mass huddled into the corner, its arms warped around its own head in an attempt to protect itself. Visibly shaking and lightly sobbing, it would be clear to anypony who looked at it even for a second that this thing was terrified. Whether this fear was of the Alicorn, the dragon, or just the unfamiliar situation was hard to tell at this point though. It was likely still uneasy from whatever event had left it in such a sorry state in the Everfree Forest. The sounds of Spike quietly shouting about something could be heard just outside the door, along with two other voices that Twilight recognized. That meant that Starlight and Fluttershy had come back. But given what just happened, Twilight elected to keep the creature mostly isolated for the time being. At least until she could get it to calm down.

“Shh, it’s okay. Nopony’s going to hurt you,” the Alicorn Princess reassures in a calm tone, once again getting close to the ground to try and make herself seem less intimidating. “You’re safe now, you’re going to be okay.”

Still taking short and quick breaths, the creature shifts one of its arms to look at the Alicorn kneeling before it. This gives Twilight a better view of one of the creature’s eyes, seeing that it is intensely dilated. Likely--obviously out of panic.

“...W-what are you?” The unknown entity manages to ask between gasps, keeping its one exposed eye locked firmly on the Princess before it.

“...I’m a pony, an Alicorn if we’re being specific,” Twilight explains in a somewhat confused tone. It was rare that a creature capable of speech didn’t know what a pony was, but then again they had no idea what IT was either, so it made sense. Slowly standing back up she takes careful mind to not venture to close to the still quivering creature.

“My name is Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. Can I ask who...and what, you are?” She responds in a way trying to make herself seem as polite as possible. True, asking somepony what they were seemed a bit to direct, but they needed to know what this creature was so they could help it.

The creature’s gaze shifts from Twilight to itself. In particular one of its hands. There was a moment of silent contemplation “I’m...human...yeah, that's the word...human,” the now identified creature manages to say, slowly picking itself up off of the ground and into a sitting position, still maintaining some distance from Twilight for the time being.

It, or rather ‘he’ based on the sound of his voice, was still clearly a bit flustered. But the human was at least making some progress. It was clearly capable of understanding and replying to speech , meaning this whole process would go much smoother. This acted to relieve some of the Alicorn's stress, allowing herself to shift into a sitting position on the ground as to try and help the human feel more at ease.

The human does not notice this gesture, however. He seems to be to busy staring deeply into his own hand, the expression on his face changing from pure fear, to confusion, to a mixture of the two. Slowly lowing his hand, he looks back to the now sitting Alicorn. While his expression was mostly of confusion, there was something she could see in his eyes. Fear. Uncertainty.

“I...can't remember...” the human continues, the pupils in his eyes slowly shrinking back down to a more regular size as his emotions return to a more balanced state. "...I can't remember who I am..."

This statement undoes any sort of relaxation that the Princess had managed to attain in this stressful situation was shattered like glass in an instant. True, while she had finally managed to figure out what this creature was called, and that it was smart enough to communicate, there was now a much bigger issue on her hooves.

Author's Note

I hate trying to come up with rhymes.
But I did it! because I wanted to.
Now the rest of the story can progress.

Chapter 4: Meeting the Human.

Twilight remained in the room for hours with the mysterious creature. Or at the very least it felt like hours to Starlight Glimmer, who had been pacing back and forth in front of the door for...well, she didn't know how long it had actually been. But it FELT like it had been hours. And who could blame her? She had no idea what was going on in the room between her friend and the still unidentified creature. She tried to listen in on the conversation through the door, and she could hear Twilight muttering something, but it was far to quiet for her to make out anything specific. She tried to open the door, but it was being held shut by magic.

In the mean time, Spike and Fluttershy had been sitting against the wall adjacent to the door. What had seemed like several hours to Starlight, in reality it had only been about ten, fifteen minuets tops. Spike even had enough time to go to the kitchen and make some sandwiches for himself and his two other friends. Starlight, of course, hadn't noticed the kind gesture and continued to pace.

"You sure you don't wanna eat?" Spike asks after gulping down the last bit of his quick meal. "It's been kind of a rough day. You should eat something."

"Yes, you can't think straight on an empty stomach," Fluttershy adds, only about halfway done with her food. "It isn't healthy to starve yourself."

"Not hungry..." Starlight mutters, still pacing in front of the door like an over zealous guard dog. The unicorn's resolve however is undone by the sound of an angry beast growling. In actuality it was her stomach. "Well, maybe some food wouldn't hurt," she says with a chuckle, levitating the third sandwich closer to her. However, just as she was about to take a bite, the sound of the door being unlocked breaks the silence. She quickly moves away from the door, her eyes locked squarely upon it.

The door slowly swings open, revealing the rather happy looking Alicorn Princess as she trots out of the chamber. Behind her, the human standing with his hands behind his back, an embarrassed look strewn upon his face. The sight of the creature giving a small jump to the unicorn and pegasus who had been waiting. Spike merely sat there, having already seen it before and knew what to expect.

The human slowly steps out of the room, still a bit nervous but not nearly as scared looking. "Umm...hello," he says timidly, showing one hand and waving it gently, perhaps a form of greeting for their kind. His gaze turns to the small dragon sitting on the farthest wall. "...S-sorry for screaming at you..."

By this point, nopony has said anything else. Fluttershy, Starlight and Spike simply staring at the creature, trying to process what had just happened. "Did it just speak to us?" That was the thought the three were unknowingly sharing.

"Uhh...Twilight?" The human simply stares back at them, its nervous facade growing as its eyes glance over to the smiling Alicorn. "...They're just staring at me..."

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at the reactions her friends had towards the human's ability to speak. True, her reaction was virtually identical, but it was fun to see it from an outside perspective. "Everypony, this is...umm, a human," Twilight starts, still unsure exactly what to call him considering he couldn't give her a name, "Human, these are some of my friends: Spike, Fluttershy, and Starlight Glimmer."

"...Human? That's a weird name," Spike comments, standing up and approaching the figure. He could see that the figure was taller then Twilight, as the Alicorn had predicted before. If Spike had to guess, he'd compare the human's height to that of one of the older two Alicorns. Possibly Luna moreso then Celestia.

"That's...not my name..." The human responds, scratching the back of his head. "...I...don't know what my name is?"

"He's suffering from retrograde amnesia," Twilight interjects, walking towards Starlight and Fluttershy. "The last thing he remembers is running through the Everfree Forest, and then waking up here. He has no memories outside of that."

"Yeah, what she said," the human adds, nodding his head while pointing at the Alicorn. "Though she left out the part about those...tree dogs?"

"Timberwolves,"

"Yeah, those things." The mere thought of those vile beasts sent an uncomfortable chill down the human's spine. "Vicious little pricks...I don't know how they didn't finish me off..."

With many questions forming in the minds of the young dragon, the pegasus, and the unicorn, it was hard for any of them to pick a point for them to start. Fortunately none of them would have to choose, as the sound of glass shattering behind them fills the immediate area. The sound causing the three ponies, and baby dragon, to jump a bit and turn to the source of the sound. The human, on the other hand, has decided to make like a banana and split. While he wasn't flat out terrified anymore, it seemed that he was still quite jumpy.

"Twilight! What's going on?!" A slightly raspy sounding voice calls out from the room where the human once slept. The voice was rather familiar to all present but the human, the four looking into the room to see a battle ready Rainbow Dash had busted through the window. "Ponies in town keep talking about some weird screaming they said came from this room! I tried the front door, but somepony locked it!"

"My window!" Twilight shouts, looking at the small pile of broken glass underneath her friend's hooves.

Starlight, on the other hoof, began slowly backing away with an embarrassed blush on her face. She was the one who locked the door after all, so it was kind of her fault the window got broken.

"Worry about the window later, Twi!" Rainbow shouts, confidently trotting past her friends. "The townsponies won't stop talking about something screaming in here, so I got the others and came over as fast as I could to see what--"

The technicolor pegasus' attention is drawn towards the running...something making its way through the castle. She leaps a foot or two back, flaring out her wings in a show of force as she readies to charge the unidentified being.

"The hay is THAT thing?!" She shouts, not bothering to wait for an answer as she charges toward the fleeing creature.

"Rainbow NO!" Twilight, Starlight and Fluttershy all shout in unison. The two magic user's horns lighting up in almost perfect sync. If one were to watch this event in slow motion, they would be able to see Twilight's magical aura envelop the rainbow colored pegasus in an attempt to stop her forward momentum, while Starlight's mythical grasp reached out for the tray that the three sandwiches Spike brought up had been on. Said tray beginning to rapidly move towards Rainbow, as Twilight's magical aura slowed her down.

After managing to stop Rainbow Dash from assaulting the still injured human, perhaps with a bit of excessive force on Starlight's part, the multicolored pegasus was given a chance to explain that Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were also waiting outside. The only reason they hadn't come in yet was because of the locked door, obviously. So Spike had gone and let them in, and they were all told to meet up in the map room. And so Rainbow, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack were left waiting in said map room with Starlight and Fluttershy trying to explain the whole situation, as Spike consulted the town. Twilight in the meantime trying to calm the human back down. The new arrivals had been filled in on the basics, but the major specifics were left out.

"Did you really have to hit me so hard?" Rainbow asks, using a hoof to hold an ice-pack rather tightly to the side of her head. "I think you gave me a concussion!"

"I said I was sorry," Starlight repeated for the umpteenth time. "But I couldn't just have you hurting the human. He was already pretty banged up."

"You still haven't told us what this 'hyuman' thing is exactly," Applejack interrupts, "What even IS it anyway?"

"I didn't get a good look at it, but it looked like WEIRD," the technicolor pegasus blurts back, "And I'm pretty sure it was the thing screaming bloody murder!"

"Well, based on what we've been told, the creature doesn't seem dangerous," Rarity adds with a slight flick of her mane. "It just sounds like it has had a...rough day. I'm sure it must be--"

"Oh I'm gonna laugh so hard when you actually SEE that thing," Rainbow interrupts again with a chuckle, "Trust me, it's a--"

"He. The human is a he," Fluttershy says, looking at Rainbow with a firm but still relativity polite expression. "Please don't call him an 'it.'"

"Says the pony who won't even call 'him' by 'his' name!" Rainbow shouts back, still a bit irritable from the sudden headache she was inflicted with.

As this conversation between five goes on in this matter, the pink earth pony known to all as Pinkie Pie was a million miles away. Lost in a trance like thought pattern going a mile a minuet in a consistent flow of questions that she instantly had the answers to, even if they were wrong (though that particular tidbit didn't bother her one bit). Such thoughts would be far to chaotic and far to erratic to describe in mere written words. The only things comprehensible by mere mortals was that she seemed to be planning some sort of welcome party. Given the circumstances, it was likely for the human creature that everypony was talking about, as that was one of the few recognizable words that could be spotted among the raging rapids that was currently Pinkie's stream of consciousness. If the Lord of Chaos, Discord, had been here; he would have shed a tear at the pure unbridled madness that was flowing through the pink earth pony as it almost rivaled his own back in his heyday. The only sign that she was still part of the land of the living was her quietly humming a jaunty tune to herself.

The half-argument between five of the six Ponies is put to a halt as the young purple dragon enters the room with a sigh, making his way over to the tiny him-sized throne situated next to the one bearing Twilight's Cutie Mark. "Well, the Townsfolk are calmed down. Told 'em it was just a simple misunderstanding and nothing to worry about," he explains with a tired sigh, sinking into his chair.

"Okay, but what that hyuman thing?" Applejack asks, looking to the dragon. "Ah'd like some more questions answered."

"Twilight's trying to calm him down. Rainbow spooked him pretty bad," Spike explains, rubbing the sides of his head with his claws. "He's been jumpy like this since he woke up."

"Heh, a little broken glass was enough to spook the thing? What a weenie!"

Before anypony had a chance to further comment on that, the Princess of Friendship makes her entrance with the human following a few paces behind her. It seems at some point he had retrieved the shirt and jacket that had been removed from him earlier, even if they weren't covering much of his upper body as he'd like.

"Sorry about that, Twilight," the human mutters shamefully as he follows the Alicorn into the room. "I'm not...or I hope I'm not usually this--"

The second the creature set foot in the room, the marshmallow colored unicorn let out a shriek that wouldn't be out of place in a cheesy horror movie. Thankfully not loud enough to be heard from outside, but still enough to gather the attention from everypony in the room.

"What did I do?!" the human shouts back, looking around frantically to see if he had done something wrong.

"I knew she'd scream," Rainbow muttered to herself with a chuckle, taking some satisfaction from the fact that she totally called it. It didn't make the bump on the side of her head hurt any less, but she was a tough pegasus, it'd be better by morning.

"You're clothes! They're practically ribbons!" Rarity explains, pointing a hoof towards the human's shirt and jacket. Or at least, what was left of his shirt and jacket.

"...I'm sorry?" the human apologizes confusedly, "...these are the only clothes I own...probabbly..."

"Well, we can't have that now! Come come! We'll get those tattered rags off of you and into something more--"

"Uhh, Rarity? Shouldn't we wait 'till AFTER they explain what's goin' on?" Applejack interjects, one eyebrow raised.

"...Oh of course! How uncouth of me!" The snow white unicorn blushes for a split second, a bit embarrassed by her rather unladylike reaction. "Please pardon my hasty nature when it comes to clothing quality, Mister....I'm sorry, what did you say your name was again, darling?"

"Yeah! I can't throw a party for somepony who doesn't have a name!" Pinkie Pie finally speaks, her first words since being brought in here, causing the others to flinch in shock. They honestly forget she had been here, considering how uncharacteristically quiet she had been up to this point. After her initial comment, her happy go lucky expression shifts to one of deep contemplation. "...Well, I COULD do that, but it'd make it REALLY hard to introduce you to everypony..."

The human let out a nervous chuckle at that, scratching behind his head once more. 'Perhaps that's some human body language for them being nervous?' Twilight couldn't help but think, watching as the human continued to do this strange ritual.

"That's...kind of a long story," the human continues, watching as Twilight trots over to the last empty chair around the big crystal table.

It took some time, but with the combined efforts of Fluttershy, Twilight, Spike, Starlight and the nameless human; the events of today's attempt at trying to identify the creature. Fluttershy recounting how she came across him, going to get Twilight for help. Twilight went on to explain how she didn't know where else to bring him, other then here of course, and that she didn't want to cause a panic. She also made a comment that Rainbow's reaction was the exact thing she wanted to avoid. Starlight then began to describe how Fluttershy and herself sought out Zecora's aid, only to find another dead end as to what the creature was. But they were able to get some potions that should help him recover quicker. And lastly, the human decided to step into the conversation and explain what he could about what had happened.

To put it in summery, the last thing he could recall was running from...something in a dark hallway. He wasn't able to recall what he was running from, but it shook him up pretty bad just thinking about it. There was a loud crashing sound, and the next thing he knew he was in that weird forest. He had wondered around the wooded area for awhile before being attacked by what he could only describe as wolves made of wood, everypony in the room instantly recognizing that as a simple yet accurate description of Everfree's native Timberwolves. After that, the only thing he could remember was waking up in this castle. As far as he was aware, that was his entire life story. And while he had some basic knowledge, like what he was and how to read, other things of that nature, he had no idea who he was or where he came from. He then went on to thank Fluttershy and Twilight for saving his life, and apologizing again for all the screaming and freaking out.

By the time the story had concluded, the mood in the room had become quite somber. It was quite a bit to take in all at once. Granted, it wasn't any worse then some of the situations that this group of friends had overcome in the past, but it was certainly in the top 20 of their strangest encounters...that statement alone says quite a lot about what these seven mares and single dragon have seen over there adventures, huh?

"And...then I came in here, and she started screaming about my clothes," the human concludes, pointing at Rarity for a moment before digging his hands into his pants pockets. "...That's all I got."

The following silence in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

"So what do we do 'bout this?" Applejack finally breaks the silence, slowly trotting over to the human to get a closer look at the strange individual. "I mean, we got no idea who this is or where he came from. What do we do from here?"

"Well, it's obvious that he's suffering from retrograde amnesia," Twilight stands from the throne and walks over to the human at a brisk pace. "A pretty serious case as well, anything regarding him personally seems to be missing. But amnesia usually isn't permanent. There's no telling how long it will take to get his memory back, but I'm sure there's a memory spell or two out there that could speed that process along. Once he gets his memory back, we can help him get back home. Until then, he'll be staying here," she explains, patting a hoof gently against his side. Admittedly, it wasn't the best plan, but it was their best option at the moment. "I was also going to send a letter up to Princess Celestia to see if she knew anything. If any place in Equestira has information on humans, it'd be in the Canterlot Royal Archives."

"...So why did we need to wait in here for you to tell us this?" Rainbow asks, raising an eyebrow at the human. "Sounds like you could have just told us later."

"Well, that WAS the plan," the Alicorn comments again, looking towards the pegasus. "But then you broke one of my windows, and started demanding answers."

"Oh right...sorry."

"So why don't ya want the town knowing?" Applejack adds.

"Let's just take this one thing at a time," Starlight answers, finally stepping forward. "The human's had a long enough day as it is. Let's give him some time to adjust before we let the town bombard him with questions."

Aside from the concerns from the athlete and the farmer, none of them could see a reason to argue against this course of action. It was clear the human wasn't dangerous, so letting him stay in Twilight's castle for the time being might have been best. Though there was one question still lingering on everypony's mind...well, there were SEVERAL questions, but one in particular that stook out more then the others.

"So...what do we call him?" Rarity finally asks, deciding to take this particular bullet for her friends. "I mean, we can't just keep calling him 'the human.' It just doesn't feel right calling a creature capable of speech by its species. It would be like if we all just called Spike 'the dragon.' Or Rainbow 'the pegasus.' It's...just so informal." While it was the question on everypony's mind, even the human's, it seemed that nopony had a way of simply answering the question.

"If we name him, we'll just get attached to him," Rainbow pipes up in a joking tone, "then we'll wanna keep him!" She chuckles at her joke, getting a snort out of Pinkie Pie and Spike.

"But Rarity's right, we do need to call him SOMETHING other then human," Starlight interjects.

With this in mind, the eight individuals begin trying to come up with a suitable name to call the human. At least until he remembered what his actual name was. Everypony, save Pinkie Pie for whatever reason, suggesting various names of various complexities. However, every name suggested gets shot down one for one reason or another, either the human not liking it, or somepony else saying the name doesn't "fit" him.

"Archimedes?" To long winded, Twilight.

"Bob?" No, that's what ponies do when they're in the water. It was clear the human was bad at naming things.

"Ashen? Because of his hair?" That one was Rarity's idea. While it was an accurate description of his hair color, it was a bit of an...intimidating name.

"Ace?" He isn't a dog, Rainbow.

"Ringabell?" No. The human was still bad at naming things.

"Anon? Short for anonymous?" The human kind of liked that one, but decided against it. It felt to...common to him, for some unknown reason.

"Raptor?" He's not a lizard either, Rainbow.

"Hugh Mann?" Human, please stop talking.

"...What about 'Drew'?" The pink earth pony finally speaks up, a contemplative expression on her face. The sudden suggestion attracting curious expressions from the others. "OK, so just hear me out. It's the past tense for 'draw,' right? And ever sense he's got here he's been..." she stops herself from breaking out into uncontrolled laughter. "...Drawing a blank!" She finally finishes, her laughter coming full force. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm sorry," she explains while catching her breath.

The name suggestion made everypony wince slightly. Not at the wordplay, but more at the context. It seemed a bit...to on the nose for the human's current situation. Everypony was expecting the human to say something along the lines of "that's offensive" or "what the hay is wrong with you." Everypony in the room knew that Pinkie meant no harm by it, but the human hasn't gotten a chance to know Pinkie or her sense of humor yet, and might get his feelings hurt. The exceptions to this uncomfortable mood was Pinkie, of course, and Spike who was also chuckling a bit.

You can imagine everypony's reaction when the first reaction from the human was the sound of him LIKING the name.

"...That's actually pretty good," the human manages to say, nodding in approval with a hand on his chin. "Let's go with that."

And so, they all agreed that they would be referring to the human as "Drew" from now on. Though Rainbow Dash was still adamant on trying to give him a "cooler" sounding name. With the first of many problems out of the way, the group begins to leave the large meeting room to go about their nightly routines. However, as they all make their leave, Fluttershy manages to stop Twilight to ask her something that's been on her mind for awhile now.

"Umm, Twilight? I need to ask you something," the yellow pegasus says, stopping the Alicorn as the others exit the room. She was met with an optimistic look from the Princess of Friendship. "Well, when I was treating the hu-...I mean, Drew's injuries, I couldn't help but wonder. Why didn't you just use a healing spell, or something, on him?"

The cheery expression upon the Alicorn's face was instantly changed to one beyond words. Eyes wide, mouth frowned, one could almost hear the internal screaming going on inside the mind of the young Princess.

"Umm...Twilight? Are you okay?" Fluttershy asks, taking a tenitive step closer to Twilight, quickly jumping back when the Alicorn's hoof began to move at an insanely high speed.

The events that followed would be come to be known as the greatest face hoof in history. Legends would be told about the mighty echoing "slap" that accompanied the Alicorn's hoof greeting her own face at nearly the speed of light. The thunderous sound was enough to shake the very foundations of Twilight's crystal castle, perhaps even Equestria itself. At least that's how Twilight felt as she smacked a hoof against her face, before quickly dashing out of the room and trying to find Drew.

Author's Note

Longest chapter so far. Sorry 'bout that, wanted to have the introduction of the hum-I mean Drew to the Main 6 get done, and I couldn't find a better place to end it off.

And yes. The ONLY reason the story is named "Drawing a Blank" is because of the wordplay I came up with for that name. I know it's not clever at all. And I don't care.

Also, stubble joke about the "Anon" concept that's a main-stay of HiE fics. Probably would have been better to use that, all things considered, but I wanted to use an actual name. Nothing against those who use the Anon name for anything, it's just something I didn't want to do. Also, when the list of possible names was going on, I didn't make it clear who suggested it. That's for you to decide.

Chapter 5: A Letter to Royalty.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I hope life has been treating you just as kindly it was the last time I written you. But unfortunately I am not writing this simply to catch up on recent events in our personal lives. Not that I don’t care enough to ask about such things! It’s just today has been a rather long day, and I believe I will need your assistance in a matter of...I wouldn’t say utmost importance, but one that has acquired my intrigue.

Earlier today, I had learned that Fluttershy had discovered a mysterious, wounded creature in the Everfree Forest. Now, mysterious creatures in the Everfree is nothing new. It’s one of the many features that makes the forest such a big source of local legends and lore. But in all of my time in Ponyville, and within the Everfree Forest due to...well, you know, I have never seen a creature quite like this one before. For the sake of ease, I will just let you know now that we’ve learned that this creature is called a HyuumonHugh Mann Human. ((Spike here. Sorry about that. We had to go ask him how to spell it.))

If I had to compare him to anything, the closest comparison would be some kind of mostly hairless primate. I say “mostly” because he has a large patch of hair atop his head. And unlike any primate I’ve ever seen, who all move around using a combination of their arms and legs, this human is a completely bipedal, not unlike a Minotaur. Standing at about my height, give or take a few inches, this creature is certainly an oddity. But that’s not where the strangeness stops.

When he was found in Everfree, the human was wearing clothes. And not clothes stolen from somepony or simple coverings made from leaves and vines. Actual clothes, made of fabric and the like, tailored for somepony of his body type. I’m still unsure if he crafted these items himself, or if a member of his tribe/clan/herd did, but they seemed fairly well made, at least from what I can tell from their current state. They were ripped up pretty bad when he was found.

Now I’m sure your interest has already been peaked by this human, I know mine was peaked by this point, but that isn’t even the icing on the cake. And I’m also sure you’ve realized that this creature must have some sort of higher intellectual capacity. So it may come as no surprise when I tell you that this human is capable of speech! And not simple mimicry like a parrot or similar animals. He is fully capable of forming full sentences, and responding to questions. From what I can tell after only a few hours of talking with him, he is fully capable of cognitive thought and emotion. ((Spike again. We already knew he had emotion. You should hear him SCREAM, he’s pretty loud. And pretty easy to scare.))

I’m positive you’ve begun to ask yourself by now, why is this an issue? If this human knows what he is, and can talk, where’s the problem? Well, that’s just the thing. That’s about all he knows. While he has retained some basic knowledge, he has unfortunately developed some form of retrograde amnesia. He has absolutely no idea who he is, or where he came from. He doesn’t even know what his own name is! If you’re curious, we’ve decided to call him “Drew,” due to some “clever” wordplay that Pinkie Pie came up with. ((Spike for the third time. I thought it was actually pretty funny. So did he. I’ll tell you later.)) We’re fairly certain he isn’t a native to Everfree, as our good friend Zecora was unable to identify him, and one of his only memories is that of just appearing in the middle of the forest.

And that’s why I’ve elected to send you this letter tonight, Princess. If any location in Equestria has documentation of these humans, it would be the Canterlot Royal Archives. Now I know for a fact that you are a rather busy pony, but if at some point you find yourself in a situation where you can, could help us find any information involving humans? Past sightings, migration patterns, anything you can to help would be more then appreciated. In the meantime, Starlight and I will be working on trying to cure his amnesia in any way we can. Starlight’s already flipping through a few spell books looking for a memory spell.

Regardless, I would like to thank you for any time you dedicate to helping us with this situation, it is most appreciated.

Sincerely, your ever faithful student and friend,
Twilight Sparkle.
((And Spike))

Taking a deep breath after dictating her latest letter to her mentor, the lavender Alicorn takes a few drinks of water from a nearby glass. She watches out of the corner of her eye as her ever helpful assistant rolls up the scroll and sets it ablaze in emerald flames. The magical smoke flying out the window towards its destination. It took a few rough drafts, but they were able to get a coherent letter out.

“She probably won’t get to it until tomorrow,” Spike comments while looking out the window and watching as the sun sets, the moon raising in its place. “And like that, it’s time to call it a day...literally.” He places the quill back into the small jar of ink, and begins to make his way out of the large study. “Good night Twi, night Starlight!” And with that he made his leave, but quickly ducks back into the room.

"Hey, you still want me to put that journal in his room?" He asks, gesturing over to a plain looking book on one of the tables.

"Yes, please!" Twilight responds, trotting over to the library's desk as her assistant begins his final task for the day.

“Why does memory magic have to be so finicky?” The voice of Starlight Glimmer could be heard coming from behind a large stack of books. “There’s a memory spell specifically for ponies, griffons, dogs, and just about everything else! Argh! Why can’t there just be ONE memory spell made for everypony?” She plops the final book down on the table and rests her head on the oak wood surface.

“If I had to guess...it’s probably because different species have different brain chemistry, so a memory spell that works for a pony may not have much of an effect on griffons, for example,” Twilight explains, walking around the pile of books on the desk to see her friend’s tired and irritated face. “Come on. We can look more tomorrow. No need to pull an all nighter.”

Starlight’s grimace shifts to a teasing smile at that regard. “That’s hilarious coming from you.”

“Do as I say, not as I do.”

The two magic casters get a laugh out of the little exchange as they make their way out of the room. As they turn to head to their personal bedrooms, Twilight’s eyes catch the ever so slight hint of a magical aura in the distance enveloping...something. Based on the color, it was more then certainly Rarity’s. Giving roll of her eyes and a small chuckle, Twilight quickly trots over to where the magical light was emanating, the sight she finds causing her to laugh just a bit under her breath.

Drew the human, standing with his legs pressed up together and his arms outstretched in such a way as to make him look like a giant letter “T.” His bandages were no longer applied thanks to a few quick healing spells Twilight had cast before going to dictate her letter. Around him, several strands of measuring tape warped around various points of his body. Several spots on his arms, his legs, his waist, near his chest, and one around his neck. Walking around him, Rarity observed each of the measurements carefully, jotting down various notes in a little notepad. Upon seeing the approaching Alicorn, a spark of hope lit up in the human’s eyes.

“...Help...me...” he whispers carefully, trying his best not to alert his tormentor. “All I did was ask for clothes...and I’ve been standing here for nearly an hor--epp!” Drew’s plea for help is cut off by a small but sharp tug from the measuring tape.

“Drew, darling, the more you move the longer this will take!” Rarity says in an upbeat tone, not looking away from her notes. “The more you fidget, the more I have to remeasure!”

“Umm, Rarity? What’s going on?” Twilight asks, taking a few steps closer to try and get the fashionista’s attention.

“Oh, Twilight! I didn’t see you there!” The unicorn shouts happily, turning away from her latest project. “I was simply getting the measurements of our new friend Drew here. I can’t just let him run around in ruined clothes like he has been, as I believe I stated earlier. So after we finished up the little meeting, I ran home and gathered some supplies so I could take his measurements. After all, I’ve never made clothing for somepony quite of his...posture before.”

With a small fluctuation of light from her horn, the notepad was closed and it along with the various strands of measuring tape were neatly tucked into the saddle bags that Twilight had failed to notice until just now. “And I’ve gotten what I’ve needed. I should have some new clothes for you soon, Drew!” And with that, the unicorn trots off with a determined bounce in her step. Clearly reveling in the prospect of a new challenge.

“Your friends are a little...extreme,” Drew comments, stretching various parts of his body after the session of statue impersonating.

“You'll get used to them after awhile, trust me,” Twilight reassures with a smile and a yawn. “Now come on. I bet you’re tired, and I still need to fix your window.” She begins walking towards the guest room she had set the human up in.

“Wait, fix the window? Tonight?!” Drew asks, following the Alicorn down the hall. “Can’t you just set me up in a different room? Fixing that thing will take hours!”

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the statement. “You realize I have magic, right?”

The human’s worried visage shifts to a contemplative one. “Well...your Rarity friend was able to move all that stuff with her mind or something...and you did do...something that made my cuts and bruises go away...probably should have put two and two together on that one...” There was a hint of shame in that realization.

Again, the lavender Alicorn wasn’t able to hold back a small laugh at the human’s reaction. Eventually reaching the guest room where she had set the new arrival up. Walking inside and looking at the small pile of broken glass on the floor, Twilight’s horn lights up with a magical hue, the pile of glass quickly moving back into place. Repairing the window as if Rainbow Dash had never flew threw it.

“See? No big deal.”

Though, evidently, it was a VERY big deal to Drew. Stepping around the Princess and rushing over to the window, he gently knocks the glass with the back of his hand, sending “tink tink” sounds out with every light tap. The expression on his face speaking a thousand words.

“...So can anybody with a horn do that?”

“If they know the spell, and practice it enough, then yes!”

“That’s amazing...” Drew continues to stare at the window in amazement. If Twilight didn’t know any better, she’d say today was the human’s first time seeing magic in action. Though due to the memory loss, it may as well have been. His mind was currently ablaze with all sorts of possibilities this magic could do.

“Well you’ll be seeing a lot more magic during your stay here, so don’t waste all the wonder on some simple healing or repair spells,” Twilight advises gleefully, walking towards the door. “Now get some sleep, tomorrow we’re going to start working on that memory problem of yours.”

Turning back to the Alicorn to ask what she ment, Drew's eye catches sight of something that wasn't on the night stand before. It looked to be a simple journal, with ink and quill ready to be used. Walking over and picking the book up, he gestures it towards Twilight with a confused expression.

"...What's this for?"

"Well, I'm sure you have a lot on your mind right now. Writing journal entries has always been a way for me to organize and process my thoughts. I figured it might help you...adjust to everything." The Princess explains with a bright smile. "Besides, I'm sure you'll have plenty of stories to tell your human friends when you get back home. Good night," she finishes, closing the door behind her as she left. Drew simply looks over the currently empty book in his hands.

Today had truly been an...interesting one for Twilight. An all night book session followed by the dreaded Grocery Day, further followed by Drew’s sudden appearance and dealing with that had taken quite a bit out of her. The nap from earlier may had helped her recover in the short term, but she might need to sleep in tomorrow to help fully revitalize her being. Wrapped tightly in her bedding, the Princess of Friendship had long since drifted away to dream land. And the past several hours of rest had been magical in their own right, sleep truly was the--

*thud*

“...And now I’m awake again,” Twilight grumbled to herself, her eyes shooting open as she thinks of what the sound could have been.

*thud*

It was closer this time. It sounded like...a door slamming shut?

*thud*

Even closer this time. Whoever was doing this, they were looking for something. Quickly. Desperately. Pulling herself out of bed, she opens it and leans her head out into the hallway, horn aglow with a simple light spell. The magical radiance illuminates the crystal hallway. The sudden light reveals the human now known as Drew opening doors, looking inside, only to close them a bit too quickly, only to repeat the process on the next door. His frantic search for...something is interrupted when he notices the sudden illumination. The human glances over to the grumpy and tired Alicorn, revealing his panicked visage.

“Oh, hey Twilight...did I wake you up?” Drew asks, trying to act as casually as possible.

“It’s the middle of the night. What’re you doing slamming every door in the castle?!”

The human’s panicked expression becomes one of embarrassment. “...Where’s the bathroom?”

The Alicorn simply let out a half grown, pointing a hoof further down the hallway. “Very last door on the left, I put up a sign. You can’t miss it.”

“Thank you!” The human states happily, dashing down the hallway at maximum speed.

Twilight merely lets out a half groan half yawn as she turns back to her bed, and makes her way back into her bed to reunite with the land of slumber. Despite her grumpy outward appearance, internally she was chuckling a bit at the Human’s dilemma.

'Just like my first night here.'

Canterlot. Anything but a quaint little town like the village to the south. As Equestria's capital city, it was a place of wealthy ponies and nobles of all sorts. Over the city's term as the capital, it had seen many things of great importance in Equestria's history. The rise of empires, the fall of dictators, the return of chaos to the world, and a few social gatherings that could have probably gone better. Despite being home to any number of noble ponies and leaders, there were two that stood above them all. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The Monarch of the Sun and the Ruler of the Moon. These two had been Equestria's highest rulers since the beginning of recorded history...save for that one time a thousand years ago where Celestia had to take up her sister's duties, but you already know that story.

The morning had not been a kind one to Princess Celestia of Canterlot. Every day was more or less the same for the radiant Alicorn, signing bills and approving/revising laws, any number of public appearances, as well as dealing with the various problems coming through the Day Court to deal with. But it was all worth it to the Monarch of the Sun. The strict routine, while a bit strenuous at times, did more then enough to keep her occupied. And helping to make the lives of her little ponies easier was always more then enough to help her keep occupied. But some days were more tiring then others, and today had just been one of those days that had just worn her out. Thankfully she was able to wrap most of everything up before two O’ clock, so she had some to herself before she was required for more of her royal duties. Not much, but enough to recuperate.

“Oh, what’s this now?” Entering her private study, Celestia was surprised to see a scroll waiting for her on her desk. The rolled paper floating towards her, wrapped in a golden light. “How long has this been here?”

Unraveling the small ribbon tied around the paper, the Alicorn Ruler was happy to see that it was a letter from her dear student. It had been quite some time since she had received a letter from her, and these always helped to add a little sunshine to her day, in a manor of speaking. Even when her beloved student was in trouble or asking for help, there was always a hint of pride that sparked up whenever she had any interaction with her most accomplished pupil.

However, today’s was a bit...different. Particularly when the Princess had read the word “human.” The reaction wasn’t anything bad, just one of surprise. And not the "you threw me a surprise party!" kind of surprise.

“That’s a word I haven’t heard in awhile...”

Continuing to read the letter, Celestia was a bit surprised to learn just how much Twilight had managed to learn about the creature in such a short time. Though, in hindsight, it really shouldn’t have been so shocking. Twilight had a knack for soaking up knowledge, like a sponge had a knack for soaking up water. It was one of her more admirable qualities, even if it had gotten her into trouble in the past. Her student also had a talent for getting attracted to...unique situations, to say the very least.

But having found a human in Equestira? That was something else entirely. While she was aware of the existence of those creatures, and had some basic knowledge, it had been a very long time since she had seen one in Equestria.

“And virtually right in the very center of it...how did they get here?” Celestia couldn’t help but ask herself, looking towards a map of her country mounted on her wall. Just as she had said, Ponyville and the Everfree Forest were about as close to the center of her country as possible, there was no way a human could have gotten this deep into Equestrian soil without somepony noticing it.

Turning her gaze back to the letter she had been sent the previous night, Celestia grew a bit concerned when the word “amnesia” was brought up. She couldn’t speak from personal experience, but she had seen ponies forget who they were on several occasions in the past. It wasn’t a fun thing to go through for anypony involved, and she could only imagine how scared the human must be. Finding itself in a foreign land surrounded by individuals completely unlike itself, it must've been terrified. Though these worries were diminished as she recalled that one of the first ponies that this human had found was her student, the Princess of Friendship. If anything, it was the ideal situation. Perhaps a bit to ideal...

“...Oh, they gave him a name. That's cute,” Celesita spoke alloud as she continued reading, finding some relief in the fact that the human seemed to be handling the situation well. “...Drew? What possible wordplay could somepony come up with for Drew?”

As she finished up the letter, she swiftly rolled it back up and acquired a quill from her desk. Quickly scribbling the date on the outside of the message, the scroll was placed into a large cabinet filled with a seemingly impossible number of identical scrolls, each one with its own date inscribed onto one side. Closing the cabinet back up, she quickly went over to her desk and acquired a blank piece of parchment to write a response on.

“Now what should I say?” The princess asked herself, using her magic to tickle the feather lightly against her chin in contemplation. “I should choose my words very carefully. I don't think it would be wise to tell Twilight everything...not yet, she already has enough on her plate with this Drew fellow, I shouldn't overwhelm her right now...”

And that was the last thing Celestia wanted to do with her reply. But at the same time, she’d be lying if she said the idea of a human just popping into her country out of nowhere didn’t put a bit of worry into her head. It had been hundreds of years since a human had been seen by pony eyes, by her eyes, so why was one all of a sudden in the middle of Equestria? How did it even get into the middle of Equestria? And why now, after so many years of them being entirely absent?

She thought back to her first interaction with their kind, and the circumstances that caused said situation. Celestia suddenly got the very strong feeling that a certain entity of chaos had a pretty good idea of what was going on. And with that, she thought of what to tell the Princess of Friendship in her reply, and quickly began to write a reply to her beloved student.

Author's Note

So Celestia has prior knowledge of humanity? That's neat.
And if that gut feeling of hers is true, then so does Discord.
That's totally not ominous at all, and can only lead to good things. Probably. Maybe.
...Actually this is probably really bad.
OR MAYBE I'M JUST PLAYING WITH YOUR EXPECTATIONS.
But we won't know for sure until we see what she writes back in her letter!

Also, feel free to check out the spinoff story: Drawing a Blank: An Amnesiac's Journal! That should be out around the same time as this chapter!

Chapter 6: Mischief with Memory Magic.

Other then the human's desperate need for a bathroom, the rest of the night went fairly smooth for the three, I'm sorry, four occupants of the crystal castle. Likely helped by the tiring events of the prior day, sleep came quickly and easily to each and every one of them. But once the morning arrived Spike was the first one to awaken from slumber by means of his own gluttony. By that I mean his stomach roared loud enough for the baby dragon to know that it was time for him to eat. And thus, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes with a claw, he yawns while making his way down to the freshly stocked kitchen.

Traditionally, the next to wake up was usually either Starlight or Twilight, who were usually up early for one reason or another. Today it was Starlight's turn to be the earlier bird, as she was still a little anxious about finding a memory spell that would actually work on their new human friend. Simply grabbing a couple of apples from the kitchen, she made her way back up to the castle's library section to continue searching.

Twilight was the one to awaken last of the usual three residents to be roused from slumber. It made sense, she was easily the most sleep deprived of the castle's usual occupants. Getting up with a rather loud yawn, Twilight made it a point to check on her guest before heading down to acquire her morning meal. Gently knocking on the guest room door, Twilight slowly pokes her head into the room.

"Psst, Drew? You up yet?" She whispers into the dimly lit chamber. The only light in the room was coming from the newly fixed window, unfortunately none of the sun's radiance had reached the bed, leaving it and its occupant veiled in almost total darkness. Walking over to the bed, and placing a hoof onto the large mass beneath the blankets, Twilight gently nudged at the creature resting beneath. As she did, she catches the sight of the journal out of the corner of her eye.

"Come on. You need to eat something."

"...No...lemme sleep..." the human half replies, half gurgles, lazily shifting away from the lavender Alicorn and closer to the wall.

"No, you need to eat. Everypony needs three square meals a day to maintain a healthy--"

"Not a pony..." Drew responds in a similar manor, a hint of sarcasm present in his half awake tone.

"Oh, so do you know the proper dietary needs for humans?"

"...That's not fair..."

"I thought not!" The Alicorn beams, using her magical aura to lightly tug at the blankets wrapped around the human. "So until we figure it out, you're getting three square meals a day. And the first one is breakfast. Now get up, before I MAKE you get up."

Letting out a half growl, half hiss, the human now known as Drew slowly sits up in the bed. Rubbing his eyes and letting a yawn escape his throat, he slowly pulls himself away from the bed. The Alicorn trots past the slowly shuffling human, she tells him to hurry up, as they have a long day ahead of them. Leading him down to the kitchen, and giving him a slight tour of the castle as they descend floors, the two finally arrive at the home to all the castle's food: the large pantry connected to the kitchen by one door, and the rest of the castle through another. However, as Twilight began to look through the various foodstuff in her abode, a serious question came into her head.

"...Hey Drew? You wouldn't happen to remember what humans eat, would you?"

The human, still half asleep, standing in the middle of the room like an indifferent zombie, simply sniffs at the air several times before licking his lips. "...Whatever's making that smell would be my first guess."

"Smell? What--" and then it hit Twilight just as it had hit the human. It was a smell she was all to familiar with. Pancakes. Blueberry pancakes. Walking out of the massive food storage and into the kitchen, expecting to see Spike with a half decent stack of flapjacks made; Twilight was surprised to instead find her friend Pinkie Pie, in a chef's hat, with a rather large pile of pancakes constructed. "Pinkie?! What're you doing here?!"

"Oh, hey Twi!" The pink earth pony beamed through clenched teeth, teeth that were gripping a spatula. She flips another breakfast pastry onto the pile before turning off the stove, placing the spatula in the sink, and finally turning to face her friend. "What's up?"

"Why is there a giant tower of pancakes in my kitchen? How did you even get IN here?" Twilight asked, unsure of how the tower was able to still stand. While not IMPOSSIBLY high, it was still about as tall as Twilight was, if not taller.

"Spike let me in," Pinkie explained, the chef's hat slowly sinking into her main and vanishing entirely. "And I wanted to do something nice for Drew for his first REAL day in Ponyville, but I can't throw a party for him yet because we don't know ANYTHING about him! So I thought this would be the next best thing. Plus, it'll give me a chance to learn about him so I CAN throw him a 'welcome to Ponyville' party!"

In hindsight, those were two VERY stupid questions to ask of the party planing pony. It was Pinkie Pie, of course she wanted to befriend Drew and throw him a party. Making friends with everypony she met was her trademark. If you think that's a joke, it isn't. Last time Twilight checked, Pinkie had a hat with the words "I'm Friends with at least 98% of Equestria" embroidered into it. And while Twilight didn't know the exact validity of that statement, it made sense Pinkie would own such an item.

"Well, next time could you ask first before coming into my home and using my kitchen? We just restocked, and I don't want to have an early Grocery Day next month."

"I did ask! Spike and Starlight both said yes, and they've already gotten their pancakes!" Pinkie Pie responded, her smile and tone unchanging from their usual cheery state. "So there's plenty for the three of us!"

Letting herself sigh in relief, Twilight simply turned back towards the pantry where she had left Drew. "Drew? Pinkie made you pancakes. You can come eat."

"Way ahead of you," the half asleep human responds, who was already standing behind Pinkie Pie with a decent plate of pancakes in one hand, and a fork in the other. "These are pretty good," Drew continued after finishing his first bite.

To say that Twilight was flabbergasted was the understatement of the century. Looking back up towards the pile, it was indeed several pancakes shorter then it had been when she first laid eyes on it. "But...how? When?! I was standing here the whole time, I would have seen you!"

"You were busy talking to your friend," Drew explained after finishing another bite. "I was busy getting fed. Like you wanted me to. You should be happy."

The rest of the sudden breakfast party, as Pinkie had called it, went on fairly smoothly from that point on. The three of them were treated to their fill of flapjacks, with one or two leftover for later, with Pinkie Pie launching question after question about various, seemingly random things. "Do you prefer chocolate or strawberry cake? What's your favorite color of balloon? What party games do you enjoy?" And other questions of that nature. Drew did his best to answer as many of them as he could, but most of his responses added up to "I don't know, surprise me." Pinkie Pie, in the meanwhile, had been taking diligent notes on the answers that she had been given, despite the vague responses to most of the questions. Satisfied with the information she had acquired, Pinkie bid her two friends adieu as she made her leave, bouncing out the front door and vanishing into the town.

"She seems nice," Drew comments, now fully awake after the Q and A session. "A bit...much, but nice,"

"Again, you get used to it," Twilight responds with a grin as the two walk through the halls of the crystal castle. "We better go check on Starlight, she might have--"

"I found a spell!" Starlight suddenly shouts as she appears before the two in a burst of blue light, a book held in her telepathic grip. The sudden appearance of the unicorn was enough to give Twilight shock, so you can picture how well Drew took it. If you can't, here's a hint: he can currently be found behind a nearby flower pot.

"I found a spell that I think might do the trick!" Starlight beams, turning the book towards the Alicorrn Princess. At the top the page, in big bold letters, is the following:

Missing Memory Recovery for various species of Primates and Monkies

"Seeing as Drew is basically a primate, as far as we can tell, I figured this would be a good place to start!" The Unicorn explains, a bright smile upon her face. A small smudge of maple syrup still viable on one corner of her mouth, causing Twilight to chuckle a bit.

The unicorn's statement causes Drew to peak out from behind the safety of the flower pot. "Are you calling me a monkey?!"

After the intensely heated "I am not a monkey" argument, the three made their way back up to the library in order to attempt to bring back Drew's missing memory. Quickly reading and internalizing the instructions for the spell, Starlight commanded Drew to stand in the center of the room as her horn began to glow. As she continues to read the incantations on the page, her instructor Twilight standing by in case anything were to go wrong, Starlight's magical aura shifted from a solid blue color to a greener hue; with curved yellow lines viable within that almost resembled...bananas? That's probably normal. It was a spell made for Primates after all, maybe the Pony who wrote the spell had a sense of humor.

"So...what exactly am I meant to--" Drew began to ask, but was interupted by the green and yellow ray of light shooting forward from Starlight's horn and striking his head. The spell's aura being pulled completely off of the unicorn's horn and wrapping itself completely around the human. Said human was currently shaking and convulsing as if being electrocuted.

"Don't panic! The book says the spell causes some minor discomfort! It should pass soon!" Starlight shouts as if nothing were wrong, not looking away from the spell book. "You'll be fine!"

"YOU....PLANNED...THIS..." Drew manages to accuse through his convulsions as the green and yellow light surges around him. Until eventually the light disperses in a large puff of smoke, filling the room with grey colored clouds.

"Did it work?" Twilight manages to ask between coughs, lighting up her horn and opening a few windows. "Drew? Can you hear me? Do you remember anything?"

As the smoke clears and the dust settles, the two magic casting ponies could see Drew standing right where he had been. Completely motionless, a blank expression strewn across his face. He was still breathing, loud enough that they could hear it from where they were.

"...Starlight, did the spell work?" Twilight asks, moving towards the statue-esque human. Waving a hoof in front of his face, the only response received is that of more heavy breathing. "...He isn't responding..."

"I cast it right if that's what you're asking," the unicorn responds, frantically looking over the pages depicting the spell. "...It doesn't say anything about unresponsive behavior afterwards."

At that very moment, the once silver colored eyes of the human gain a bright green coloration, his posture becoming slouched. Letting out a loud screeching noise, Drew dashes out of the library with surprising speed. But the way he was running was quite different then what Twilight was expecting. He had gotten down on all fours, using his knuckles to help propel him forward...almost like a monkey.

"...Okay, the spell was DEFIANTLY not supposed to do that," Starlight states blandly, looking back towards the book. "...You should probably go get him...I'm gonna look for a counter spell." Twilight nods in agreement as she dashes out of the room, hoping she was going the same direction as her monkey-fied friend.

Spike the dragon could currently be found wondering the halls of the crystal castle he called home after a quick trip to the mailbox, a small stack of envelopes tucked under one of his arms. Though his attention was not on any of those items, but instead on the package addressed to him held tightly in both claws. He didn't even need to open it to know what the parcel contained: the newest issues of the Power Ponies series, of course.

"Power Ponies Number 170: The Rise of Sparker," Spike told himself out loud, gently shaking the package back and fourth in his excitement. He had been anticipating this particular issue for quite some time, as the last ten issues or so had been hinting at this secret organization called "Sparker" who had come to Maretropilis, pulling the strings behind some more recent wrong doings in the city to further their own goals. And Issue Number 170 had heavily hinted that they'd be making themselves known soon: as their arch nemesis had finally tracked them down.

This was exiting on so many levels for the young dragon, as not only would he be getting to see some all new villains in action, but also a new hero, most likley! That could either be a regular character in the Power Ponies comics, or maybe the star of their own spin off! Oh the possibilities of the comic held within the package were endle--...wait, what was that screeching sound?

Looking up from the package towards the hallway in-front of him, Spike was surprised to see Drew running towards him at top speed in a...really weird fashion. Did all humans run on all fours like that? And why was he screeming like that?

"Hey Drew! Where's the fire?" Spike shouted jokingly at the quickly approaching human. By this point, the baby dragon has noticed that the human didn't seem to hear him, and wasn't slowing down. Eventually Spike noticed the eerie green glow to his eyes and yelped in surprise, falling backwards onto his rear.

The frenzied human, still yelling and screaming like some sort of monkey, simply leaps over the Dragon with a surprising amount of agility. Sticking a ten point landing, the rather confused human continues to run wild through the crystal castle.

"Drew! Stop! Come back!!" Twilight shouts, galloping down the hall in hot pursuit of her human friend.

"Twi? What's up with Drew?" Spike asks, still seated on the ground with a perplexed look on his face. His question is ignored, however, as Twilight simply leaps over him just as Drew had and continues to give chase.

"I'll explain later! Come on, we need to catch him!!"

Getting up, and tucking the package under his arm with the other pieces of mail, Spike quickly bolts off to help his freind catch their other friend.

"You sure he went in here?!" Twilight shouts, as she runs into the map room with Spike following closely behind.

"Positive!" Spike reassured, a bit out of breath from chasing the human around for quite some time. "I saw him turn the corner and the door slam. He HAS to be in here."

"Okay, then where is--" Twilight's question is cut off by a wet 'plop' sound coming from the top of her head. Hesitantly glancing upwards, the Alicorn Princess was just barley able to see what looked like a banana peel hanging in her vision. Using her magic to lift the foreign object, she was able to confirm that the object that struck her was indeed a banana peel.

"What the? Where did--" Spike's question is similarly interrupted by a similar plop, a banana peel appearing on his head as if from nowhere. Both the dragon and the Alicorn look up to the ceiling, both of them gasping in shock at the sight before them.

Drew the human, under the influence of some kind of Primate mentality, had somehow managed to climb to the top of one of the crystal structures that lined the room's walls. A cluster of bananas held tightly in one fist. The human turned monkey screeching and howling what what could only be described as laughter.

"How did he even get up there?!" Twilight asks aloud, making use of her wings to try and catch up to her confused friend. Said friend tries to climb higher, but he wasn't quick enough and is enveloped in a magical aura, slowly being lowered to the ground still shrieking and struggling.

Continuing to use her magic to hold him down on the floor, the Alicorn lands beside him and folds her wings back to her sides. "Alright, now we just wait for Starlight and the counter spell," she explains, having to raise her voice to be heard over Drew's monkey-like screaming. "Spike, could you go tell her that we're in the map room?"

Giving his pony friend a salute, Spike takes a deep breath and charges out of the room as quickly as his tiny legs could carry him. Left alone with the severely confused human, Twilight decided to take a seat and give herself a well needed rest, making sure to not let up on her magical aura as she looks towards the still struggling Drew.

"I don't know if you can understand me right now, but I'm sorry about all of this," Twilight states between deep breaths, "...I really hope this isn't permanent."

After a few minuets of waiting, and holding down Drew in all of his monkey rage, Spike eventually returns with Starlight in tow. The latter immediately rushing over to Drew with her horn ablaze in arcane light. Standing over the still struggling human, she lets the blue energy rush from her horn into him. The magical energies cause his spasms to increase in intensity for a few moments, before eventually they stop entirely and the blank expression from before returns. The green light fading from his eyes, returning them to their natural silver coloration.

As soon as the green glow had left his eyes entirely, Drew took in a a deep, long breath before beginning to pant heavily, his body becoming limp and his eyes dart in all directions. Breathing a sigh of relief, Twilight slowly walks over to her clearly exhausted human friend, undoing the magical hold she had on his body.

"You okay?" She asks through another deep breath.

Drew's eyes dart over to look at the Alicorn before becoming still, closing slightly. "...Yeah...I'll be fine...I don't know what happened, but I'm just gonna lay here for awhile...that cool?"

"MmmHmm..." Twilight responds, slowly lowering herself to the ground to lay down as well. Chasing Drew around all morning, and then holding him down like that, really took a lot out of her. Physically, magically and mentally. "You care if I join you?"

"You're castle...you can do what you want..." Drew manages to say between deep breaths. His eyes look over to Starlight, who's face is a mixture of both relief that she helped to fix the problem, and embarrassment from the fact that she caused it in the first place. "...I don't know what that spell did to me...but don't do it again...ever..."

"Of course," the unicorn responds, slowly turning and walking away. Before leaving the room, she turns back to say one last thing. "I really am sorry about--" Her unfinished apology had fallen on deaf ears, however, as Drew had already fallen asleep. She looks over to Twilight to leave her message instead, but the Alicorn had also fallen asleep on the crystalline floor.

Drew awakens with a loud yawn, sitting up from his position with a bit of trouble. Sleeping on the castle's floor may have been a bad idea, but he was well rested at the very least. Looking around his environment of the Cutie Map chamber, the memories of what had transpired to bring him here still eluding him. And frankly? He couldn't care less. Mostly due to what he found laying next to his resting spot.

"Daww!" The human couldn't help but squee as he looked at the Alicorn sleeping on the ground next to him. She had curled herself into an almost ball like shape, not unlike a cat or dog, and was using her wings as a makeshift blanket. The human's reaction, in turn, caused the pony's ears to twitch to and fro a bit as she mumbled something under her breath.

"This is the cutest thing I've ever seen..." Drew mumbles as he watches the peacefully sleeping Alicorn. Unfortunately he did not have much time to appreciate the sight, as she began to raise from her slumber. Thinking quickly, he let himself back down to the ground and pretended to still be asleep. As he pretended to continue sawing logs, his ears were greeted by the exact sound he was expecting the least.

"Daww!"

It seems that his clever rouse has worked.

So after taking a nice nap on the cold, hard crystal floor (which, after a morning of running around like a monkey/chasing down somepony who thinks they're a monkey, is surprisingly relaxing), Twilight and Drew finally left the chamber of the Cutie Map, Drew still not sure how they got there at all and Twilight a little less then willing to explain the whole situation. But regardless of context, the two agreed that they were done testing out memory spells for the day...maybe for awhile.

"Oh, there you two are," Spike comments, watching the two walk down the hallway from his perch against the wall. In his claws, his new comic book was held open and at the ready. Seems as if he were already halfway into it. Next to him was a scroll very slimier to the one Twilight had sent to Princess Celestia the prior night. "Perfect timing, this just came in," he explains, lightly tossing the scroll to Twilight before returning to his reading.

"Thank you, Spike!" Twilight catches the scroll in her magical gasp almost instantly, quickly unfurling it as she continues to walk with Drew.

Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Firstly, I would like to apologize for my delayed response, yesterday was a bit of a hoofful for me as well, and this morning was no better. I have only just now gotten around to your letter and your request within.

And I can say with joy that the human you found may not be as unknown to me as it was to you. I believe I've seen something regarding that particular species before, but it has been quite some time so the details my be blurred. Regardless, I would be more then happy to help with this situation. In fact, I believe I already know where to begin my search for information, though it make some time due to my schedule, among other factors, so I humbly ask that you grant me a little leeway in regards to time.

Oh, and one last thing. You mentioned that Starlight Glimmer and yourself were looking into spells for fixing memory loss, yes? And you also mentioned that you believe this Drew character to be some form of hairless primate? Well, I'm not sure how helpful this will be, but if you find a memory spell attuned to primates. I have seen the effects of magic made specifically for regular bulls used on Minotaurs before, and the results are usually not pretty. So I would strongly recommend not using it on your new friend. Such a spell could have unforeseen side effects on a cognitive creature such as him.

With sincerity, your ever caring mentor and friend,
Princess Celestia.

"So, what's it say?" Drew asks, nudging an elbow into the lavender Alicorn's side. "Your friend know anything about me?"

'Why couldn't this have come in earlier??' Twilight asks herself, a regretful tone echoing through out her mind. 'Why didn't I realize this?'

From the human's perspective, the Alicorn had gone from happy and well rested to a potent mixture of anger, sadness and self loathing. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she just got the news that someone passed away. "...Twilight? You okay?"

"...Oh, I'm sorry. I was a million miles away!" Twilight explains, snapping herself back to her usual optimistic tone and visage. "What were you saying?"

"Does your friend know anything about me?"

"...Not sure yet. She's going to do some investigating, but it might take some time. I'm sorry..."

Drew simply takes a deep breath, looking back to where they were walking. "Well, I've got nowhere to be...probably, so I can wait."

"You sure? You could have a family and friends who miss you..."

"And worrying about things like that isn't going to change a thing. It is what it is, we gotta deal with it."

"...You're a lot different then you were yesterday."

"Yesterday I was scared out of my mind. Today, not so much."

Twilight couldn't help but let out a small laugh at that. It was true, he was pretty frightened yesterday. The fact that he managed to bounce back this quickly was astonishing. Though the kindness and willingness to help that she and her friends had shown him was probably a major factor in that quick recovery. That was good, it made helping helping him get home all the easier. The two continue to walk through the castle for quite some time. It didn't seem like they had a destination, they were just walking. It was nice.

"...So when's that second square meal?"

Author's Note

Now why on Earth would I ever put such a descriptive...description for Spike's latest issue of Power Ponies? Could I be planning a short spin off story where they get sucked back into the world of Power Ponies to complete the events that were described as happening in Issue 170? Or even a future issue? Probably not.
Was it a cheap excuse to make a not so subbtle Kamen Rider reference? Yes. Yes it was.
This was mostly just a silly chapter anyway, so I felt I could get away with it.

Also, ended the chapter with some DAWWW. Because why not?

Chapter 8: Meeting Ponyville, Part Two.

Rushing up the stairs with great determination: Twilight and Spike were on route to reach the room where Drew had been staying in record time. It was the only place he could have been if he went to try on the clothes Rarity had made for him. Drew hadn't been very jumpy since his first night in Equestra, but considering that fact that literal canon fire had erupted from inside the castle only a few minuets ago, nopony knew how well he was reacting right now. By this point, Twilight had magically set Spike on her back so she could run full tilt, as it were.

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, Twilight and Spike would be finding Drew far faster then they originally anticipated. For just as Twilight rounded the corner into the hall where Drew's room was, she was not greeted to the sight of the hallway, but instead to the sight of Drew's frightened expression as he ran at exceptional speed through the castle.

It happened far faster then anypony could have reacted to it. Drew and Twilight collided at high speed, both getting knocked to the floor from the force of their individual momentums being suddenly halted, Spike being tossed a few feet into the air from the crash.

"Ouch...you okay Spike? Drew?" Twilight asks, wobbly returning to her hooves, and looks over to her Number one Assistant. To her delight, the dragon seemed fine, if only a bit annoyed as he was picking himself up. Satisfied with Spike's current well being, the lavender Alicorn quickly turns back to Drew.

Drew, on the other hoof, was not doing as good as Spike was. Still laying on his back, the human's eyes were closed as he rubbed a hand on his forehead, anypony could correctly guess that was the spot where he had collided with Twilight's own cranium. But by this point, Twilight had noticed that he had in fact managed to change his attire. While his shoes were the same ones he had arrived in, his new pants were a similar style to his old ones but they were now dark grey in color and they seemed to be made of a slightly different material. The torn up shirt and jacket combo he had been wearing since his arrival was now replaced by a single midnight blue shirt with long, slightly baggy sleeves.

"...I'm okay..." Drew manages to blurt out, slowly pushing himself to his feet. "...Can I ask a question?" He asks surprisingly calmly, Twilight thought, considering everything that was happening.

"Of course, what did you--" Twilight is suddenly grabbed by the sides of her face and made to look Drew directly in the eyes.

"WHY IS EVERYTHING EXPLODING?!" While he wasn't screaming, there certainly was an urgency and a loudness to his voice. So that was a "yes" in regards to the "did he hear the Party Canons" question.

"Calm down, everything's fine!" Twilight yanks herself away from the human's grip, thankfully it wasn't too tight, and she takes a step or two back. Like she feared, he was spooked again, but it didn't seem to be as bad as the last few times. He was making progress. "...Well, not FINE. But the Party Canons aren't exactly the prob--"

"I'm sorry. Did. You say. CANONS?" Drew interrupts again. Despite his memory loss, there were still some things he had some relocation of. And apparently, one of those things was the concept of ballistic weaponry. "What's going on?!"

"That's...a long story."

Back downstairs in the entrance hall, ponies had slowly began to pour into the crystal chamber ready for a good time. Pinkie, between her quick bursts of last minuet preparation, had been greeting the guests and assuring them that the guest of honor would be appearing soon. Of course, by this point the musician had finished setting up her equipment, and an upbeat but not overpowering melody filled the room. Easily enough to provide a positive atmosphere for the event.

As the number of ponies grew, so too did the number of Twilight's friends who were here to attend the party. Rainbow Dash was, of course, the first of this particular group to show up, but it was relieving to see Fluttershy and the Apple family were able to make it as well. This gave Starlight some relief, Twilight would be glad to see the ponies Drew had met prior were here to help keep things in check, if need be.

Not wanting to be a stick in the mud, and following Rarity's lead, the unicorn had elected to start mingling with some of the guests in the meantime. After all, it was a party, there was no need to be panicked the whole time over what was potentially nothing.

"Hiya, Starlight!" The tiny voice of Apple Bloom shouts from behind, causing the talented unicorn to jump a bit. "How've ya been lately?"

"You're Applejack's little sister, right?" Starlight replies with a soft tone, "I've been...busy..fine, but busy."

"Tryin' to help that hyumon guy, right?"

To say Starlight was taken aback by the young Earth Pony's insight was an understatement. "...Yeah. Did Applejack tell you about that?"

"Course she did...was it meant to stay a secret?" The young Pony's expression was suddenly changed to one of embarrassment. "A-Ah didn't tell nopony else! Promise!"

"Oh don't worry, it's fine! I just wasn't expecting anypony else to know...until he came downstairs."

"Oh, okay," The smile upon the filly's face is restored at that remark, "So, if ya don't mind me askin'...what's a hyumon?"

Once again, the talented Unicorn was caught off guard by the question. "That's...a hard question to answer, I'm still not entirely sure myself." Before the young filly count ask anything else, she was beckoned by the sounds of her two friends calling her over. Bidding the unicorn a good day, the earth pony went to go see her best friends. Not that Starlight minded, the conversation was a bit awkward for her. Letting out a sigh of relief, she decides to go get some of that cake she saw earlier.

"...So there's an entire town of ponies downstairs, right now as we speak, all here to meet ME?" Drew asks as the three of them slowly walk back towards the location of the party.

"Well, not the WHOLE town," Spike responds, "I'm sure there were plenty of ponies who had work or were sick or something. So it won't be the WHOLE town."

"But there will still be a lot of Ponies down there," Twilight interjects, her tone of voice still a bit concerned. "Are you sure you can handle it? You aren't exactly...the best in stressful situations."

The human looked hurt at this statement, though it was abundantly clear it was a facade, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're pretty jumpy," Spike chuckles a bit, jabbing an elbow into the side of Drew's leg. "Somponey comes out of nowhere, or a really loud sound happens, and you go in full panic mode."

"In my defense, both of those things are things that happen without me expecting them," Drew explains, leaping a few feet ahead and turning around, walking backwards as he talks to his friends. "But today the ball is in my court, because now I know what to expect. I may not be very good in the memory department, but I have a decent idea of what a party entails."

"You seem to know quite a bit for somepony with no memories," the young dragon squints his eyes, a bit suspicious of the human. "You SURE you have amnesia?"

"Amnesia does not equate to stupidity," the human continues, turning around and retaking his place between the dragon and Alicorn. "I still KNOW things...I just can't remember anything about my life," his bright expression sours as he thinks further on that topic. He stops walking, prompting his two companions to do so in turn.

"...It's kind of scary, actually. Not knowing who you are...not knowing where you came from..." Drew looks downward to an open hand, it was shaking pretty bad. "...If someone told me I just...started existing only a couple days ago, I wouldn't be able to deny it...how could I? I don't even have a name...I've been trying not to think about it to hard..."

"Drew? Do you need a moment?" Twilight asks, her expression mirroring the human's own, taking a step closer to him. "...Are you gonna be okay?"

Drew suddenly looks up from his hand, his eyes locking with Twilight's as his expression shifts back into a happy one. "Sorry about that. I got a little...carried away. I'm fine," he explains, continuing to advance to the party. However, after only a few steps he finds himself unable to walk any further. Looking down, he sees that his foot is being held to the ground by a familiar magical glow. He shift his gaze up to greet Twilight's, and it was already waiting for his.

"Drew...if you aren't okay, you can talk to me, that's what friends are for," the Alicorn explains, shortening the distance between the two of them. There was a silence in the hallway as the two stared at each other. Spike, looking back and forth between the two of them just staring at each other.

"I'm...gonna go get some cake..." the Dragon explains, quickly running ahead. Though his statement, and departure, went completely unnoticed.

"If something is wrong, you can tell me..." Twilight finally speaks, not letting go of the human's foot.

Finding that he would not be winning this battle through attrition, Drew lets out a defeated sigh. "...What's there to tell? I have no idea who I am or where I came from. That's kind of a stressful thing to deal with."

"What happened to your 'worrying about things won't change anything' attitude from yesterday?"

"...Sometimes it's hard not to worry," Drew explains through another sigh, his shoulders slumping down slightly. "...What if my memory never back?"

"Don't think like that...even if we can't find a spell to help you, amnesia usually isn't permanent. It'll come back, you just have to give it some time," Twilight explains, her frown slowly turning into a smile. "Besides, you said it yourself, 'it is what it is, we gotta deal with it.'"

"...I did say that," Drew's grimace lights up, a chuckle escaping his throat as he felt the magical force holding his foot down vanish.

"Now come on, I'm sure everypony is dying to meet you," With a shared chortle between the two of them, they continued walking through the crystal hallways.

"Ah this is gonna be good," Rainbow Dash comments, pinching a glass of punch between her two forehooves as she hovers above the ground, her wings rhythmically flapping. "I can't WAIT to see everypony's reaction to the human."

"...That ain't the only reason you came, is it?" Applejack asks through a half chewed bite of apple, the rest of the fruit balancing atop a raised hoof.

"Of course not! I'd never miss one of Pinke's parties!" the multicolored pegasus responds with a bright smile. "Besides, I wanna learn more about this human guy too."

"His name is Drew," Fluttershy interjects in her usual tone, trying to correct her friend.

"I know, but 'human' sounds WAY cooler then 'Drew,' I'm doing him a favor by calling him that!"

"So what do ya make of him, anyways?" Applejack asks after finishing off the fruit of her family's namesake. "I mean, I don't think he's anythin' bad...but somethin' about him feels...off." The two pegasai look towards the earth pony with their own brands of confused glances. "...Ah just mean it feels like he's not from 'round here. Ya know?"

"Well we are among some of the first ponies to ever see a human," Fluttershy explains, it was impossible to tell if she was being sarcastic or sincere."Maybe that's why?"

"Nah...it's somethin' else...like he's an alien from a story book somethin'," the orange earth pony continues, "...Not that Ah think he's evil or nothin', he seems nice enough from what Ah've seen, plus Twilight trusts him and all that, but Ah just think there's somethin' more to him then we think."

"Ah, there you all are!" Rarity blurts gleefully, waving through the crowd of ponies to greet her friends. In her magical grasp she carried a trove of items. A plate holding a rather modest slice of cake, along with a fork to eat it with, as well as a cup of punch and a decent stack of neatly folded napkins. "Quite the turn out, wouldn't you agree?"

"Pinkie's parties always draw a crowd," Fluttershy retorts, placing a hoof to her chin in contemplation. "I can't think of a party she's thrown that wasn't this lively."

"Of course, just making small talk," Rarity continues, looking around in an almost frantic manor. "Has anypony seen Drew yet? I brought him some new clothes this morning, and I want to see what outfit he picked for his debut to the town!"

"He hasn't been down yet, I've been eyeing the stairs the whole time," Rainbow answers with pride, her gaze turning towards the large staircase as she lands, her glass of punch now situated atop her head. "Nopony's been up or down it since I got here. And if Drew was down here, I'm pretty sure we'd all know." Sitting down on her hind legs like a dog, she clasps at the drink again with her forehooves and finishes it off in one big gulp, tossing the cup over her head and somehow managing to make it land perfectly in one of the trash bins Pinkie had set up.

"Ah, well I hope he chose something suited for an event like this," the white unicorn continues, taking an almost minuscule bite of her already modest cake, wiping her face with a napkin despite there being no visible crumbs. As if on cue, the sound of a loud bell echoes through out the chamber. Everypony's head turns towards the source, seeing Princess Twilight Sparkle standing at the halfway point of the staircase. Evidently she had cast some kind of sound spell to gather everypony's attention.

"First off, I'd like to personally thank everypony here for coming to Drew's welcome party," the Princess explains gleefully, visibly much calmer then she was when she had ascended the staircase earlier in the day. "Drew is also grateful for all of you showing up, it means quite a bit to him."

"Then where is he?!" Rainbow shouts, doing her best to hide her voice. This action earned her a shove from Applejack.

"I was getting to that," Twilight continues, seemingly unbothered by the interruption. "Now, Drew is a bit...different when compared to your everyday pony, and he was a little nervous at the thought of meeting all of you today,"

'He wasn't the only one,' Starlight, who was standing near the snack table, couldn't help but think as she took a bite from her slice of cake. 'Chocolate with strawberry frosting, huh? Not bad.'

"All I ask of all of you is that you keep an open mind when you meet him, and please try to not overwhelm him with questions," the Princess concludes, turning her back to her guests and signalling for somepony just behind a corner to step out. Stepping out into the public eye was, of course, Drew. Just as Twilight had said, he did seem a little nervous at the situation. But he was also managing it pretty well as he stepped past Twilight, stopping at the step just bellow hers. Everypony's eyes were locked onto the human, whispers and murmurs going threw the crowd. Questions about what he was or where he came from.

"Of course he chose the darkest and blandest clothes I made for him," Rarity mutters to herself, drowning her sorrow in another bite of cake.

"...If you don't like 'em, why'd you make 'em?" Applejack couldn't help but ask, giving her friend a puzzled look.

"I had assumed that Drew would want some...less striking attire for simple casual wear. I never expected him to wear those to a party!" Rarity explained, almost wounded by the human's choice in clothes. "I mean, I know the party was on short notice, especially for him, but I figured he'd go back and choose one of the flashier outfits I managed to make!"

"Maybe he likes darker colors?" Fluttershy asks, patting her friend on the back. "If it's any consolation, I think he looks quite dashing."

"Thank you, Fluttershy dear," Rarity responds, turning her attention back to the guest of honor.

Overlooking the large crowd of ponies examining him, Drew gulped quietly before clearing his throat. "Hello, everybo--...everypony!" he starts, correcting himself into using the local lexicon. He was doing his best to sound excited, but anypony could tell from a glance just how nervous he was. "I'm...pretty sure you have a lot of questions, and trust me, I do as well. First of all, my name is Drew, and I'm what's known as a human..." he pauses for a moment, eyes darting all over the room, making eye contact with just about every pony in the room for a fraction of a second. "And...that's about all I know since I have amnesia...thank you all for the warm welcome, I hope you enjoy the rest of the party!" Drew continues to walk down the stairs, Twilight only a few steps behind him. As he touches down on the ground floor, a few Ponies make way to let them onto the party floor.

"...They're all starring at me...what do I do?" Drew whispers to Twilight, who had now caught up to him and was walking by his side.

"This is just as new for them as it is for you," the lavender Alicorn whispers back. "They're just curious, they'll lighten up soon...ish."

Despite the less then normal introduction, Twilight was right in her prediction of the Ponies lightening up after awhile. It helped that he had a small group of ponies, and one dragon, in his corner to help back him up. The progress was slow at first, but eventually the tension that had entered the room had given way to the general cheery attitude Ponyville residents usually had. Several of the townsponies still had some questions for the human, and he did his best to answer each one he could. Again, with a little help from outside sources. Drew, in turn, had also opened up much more as the party continued, letting himself ask his own questions of the town, and laughing at jokes even if he didn't get the punchline. As the party concluded a few hours later, it seemed pretty safe to say that the town had warmed up to him quite a bit, even if there still were some reservations from a few individuals, but it was clear to the Princess of Friendship at least that these would clear up in time.

As the last few guests make their leave, and as Drew and Pinkie thanks them once more for stopping by, the human viably slouches downward with a loud sigh the second the large double doors close. The only ones who were left in the chamber with him was Twilight and her niche of friends, all of whom seemed satisfied with the day's festivities.

"...And you do that every day?" Drew asks, resting his hands on his knees as he continues to breath loudly.

The pink earth pony let out a rather loud snort, followed by a short giggle. "Of course not! But I do throw a LOT of parties! It's kind of my job as a Professional Party Pony!" She trots off towards a closet hidden behind the staircase. Or more accurately, she bounces towards it.

"Not to sound rude...but I do not envy you, pink floof of everlasting energy," Drew continues, forcing himself back into a more suitable posture.

"Don't sell yourself short, dude!" Rainbow Dash suddenly shouts, appearing in front of Drew with a burst of speed. "It took real guts to stay down here after everypony stared staring at you like that!"

"...Please don't remind me about that, it still kind of freaks me out..."

"Come on, you were great! Tell him, Fluttershy!"

"I can't argue with Rainbow on this one, " the yellow pegasus steps towards the conversation. "I know what it's like to get stage fright like that, what you did today was very brave."

"Seriously, stop. You're making me feel like the universe is trying to make me look cooler then I actually am," Drew retorts, "All I did was show up to a party. Anyone could have done that." He explains while looking around to the remnants of the day's activities. "Well...guess we should start picking up." Much to his surprise, the remaining ponies simply began to laugh at that statement, throwing the human into utter confusion. "...What's so funn--"

The question would never be answered, at least not through spoken words, as Pinkie Pie returned from the storage closet. Walking on her hind hooves, her forehooves were placed atop the device she was pushing into the center of the room. Said device was clearly some sort of vacuum cleaner, and a rather colorful one at that, with a face painted onto the front of it.

"Everypony stand clear! This thing can't tell the difference between friend and party favor!" Pinkie shouts, returning her front hooves to the ground as she reaches the room's center. And with that statment, Twilight and the castle's other residents began to travel upstairs, while the remainder of Twilight's friends made their way towards the exit. All of them shouting their goodbyes as they depart, Drew left standing in the center of the room dumbfounded at the device now sitting in the center. Before being allowed to ask what a single vacuum cleaner was supposed to do, he found himself being pushed by his lower back towards the stairs. Looking back, it was Pinkie Pie using her head to move him.

"Go and get some rest! The other part of being a Professional Party Pony is cleaning up the aftermath!" Pinkie explains, ceasing her pushing just as the Human's feet make contact with the stairs. "Now GETOUTTAHERE, I have a VERY intense cleaning method and you do NOT want to be caught in the middle of it."

Drew had elected to not question the pink Earth Pony, it seemed she knew what she was doing after all, so Drew simply went up the stairs at a brisk pace, Twilight and the other two waiting for him at the top. But the moment his foot touch down on what was officially the second floor, the sounds of a motor starting up emanated from the entrance hall. What followed could only be described as a hurricane of sound emanating from the lower floor. Nothing overpowering, but it was noticeable.

"...Do I even want to know?" Drew asks, as the four begin to walk further into the castle.

"Some questions are better left unanswered," Spike says while patting the human on the side of the leg. "And the less questions you ask about Pinkie, the easier it is to understand her."

Author's Note

Wow, the party didn't ACTUALLY end in disaster, despite the fact that I made it very obvious that it WOULD end in disaster. That's what we call "playing with expectations," kiddos...or bad storytelling. I'll leave that one up to you.

Chapter 9: Strange Dreams.

The rest of the day went on without much in terms of excitement. The only things happening after the party was just some light conversation, and eating a nice dinner. And so day three of Drew's stay in the crystal castle came to a close, and the sun once again gave way to the night. Sitting up in his room, jotting the day's events down in his journal, Drew's thoughts couldn't help but wander back to two of the day's events in particular.

The first, the party itself. It was truly one of the highlights of the few day's worth of memories. It was reassuring to know that he had been welcomed into this with open arms...hooves? Drew didn't know what the pony equivalent to that phrase. Regardless it was reassuring to know that, while different, he wasn't necessarily an outcast in this strange land...even if he did get a few wide eyed stares.

The second was his talk with Twilight just before the party. The lavender colored Alicorn had been nothing but kind to him during his stay in her home, and her words had been a constant source of reassurance in this strange time in his life. After all, she was the Princess of Friendship. It was likely her job to outreach a hand...err, hoof in friendship to everyone she met. While Drew still didn't fully grasp the Princess of Friendship concept, he had assumed that her kindness was a byproduct of her title. He knew that wasn't the case, but he had assumed that her title was a factor in all of this. But something about today was...different.

Drew couldn't quite place a finger on it. Something about how she had talked to him just before the party, something about how she looked at him that was...different then their other talks. He had put himself on a dark train of thought, and she helped knock him off of it. For the first time in his short stay in Ponyville he felt like there was a connection. A deeper connection. Not just her trying to help him find his memories and get home, but actual friendship. Maybe he was just finally opening up? Or maybe the two were growing closer? Drew couldn't tell what the exact answer was, and frankly he didn't care, even now as he wrote about it in an attempt to figure it out. It was just nice to have someone looking out for him in this...vulnerable point in his life. So he would leave it at that. He was actually making friends with these ponies, that's all that he should care about.

But even if he had continued to ponder, he was too tired to keep his focus for much longer. Finding the strength to finish up the day's journal entry, the human took his body's not so subtle hint and crawled into his bed, eyes already closed. His conscious thought soon following as he drifted off into the world of dreams.

Just as sleep had easily come, so to had the return to the waking world. And while Drew would have liked to sleep just awhile longer, he was also excited about the prospects of the new day.

'Maybe I could get a tour of the town today, that'd be kind of fun.' He thinks, nestling further into his resting place. It seemed more pillowy then it had the past several nights, though he hadn't put much thought into how his bed felt, it might have always been that soft. 'I'm sure somebody wouldn't mind doing it. I'm going to be here for awhile anyway, I may as well get the to know the place...but a few more minuets won't hurt.'

That train of thought was interrupted by a chilling breeze-- wait a minuet. Chilling breeze? While Drew wasn't sure if his bed had gotten softer or not, he was 100% certain that the window in his room was CLOSED when he went to sleep. Opening his eyes, Drew was instantly greeted to the sight of the ground-- hundreds of miles away from him.

Screaming for only a split second and throwing his arms over his face, the sight had convinced Drew that he was plummeting to the ground at terminal velocity...except he wasn't. It took him a second to realize that he wasn't moving...and he wasn't looking down. He was lying on his back, and it felt like he was looking up. Not sure what to make of the situation, he slowly opens his eyes and stands up. Looking down...or was he looking up? Regardless, he could now see that he was a riding on a large cloud lazily drifting through the night sky. That explains why it was so soft.

"Hello?" Drew shouts out into the night air. Despite every one of his senses besides sight telling him he was standing right-side-up, his eyes and his brain were telling him that he was dangling upside-down from a cloud hundreds of miles above the ground. Needless to say, he was a bit panicked, and very confused. "Can anyone hear me? Does anybody know how I got here?!"

Then, there was a giggle. It was soft yet powerful, not intimidating yet with an air of authority in it. It sounded like it had come from beneath him...or was it above him?...It sounded like it came from the other side of the cloud, that's what Drew pieced together. Looking around frantically, Drew called out again, hoping this mystery individual would be able to help him. Then out of the corner of his eye, there was a blur of dark blue, almost perfectly blending into the night sky, shooting towards the sky/ground from one edge of the cloud. Looking over to where he saw the blur, Drew was greeted to the sight of a Pony standing there on the cloud with him. But something about her seemed different.

She bore both a horn and wings, signifying her status as an Alicorn. Her coat was a dark blue color, much different from any of the other ponies Drew had seen in his short time in Equestria. Her mane and tail flowed magically, almost ethereal in appearance, both were a slightly glowing depiction of the night sky. Her form was decorated with black and silver regalia, and her teal colored eyes, while not bearing any ill intent, pierced threw Drew's soul like a harpoon. The unfamiliar Alicorn giggled again, walking closer to the human. By this point, Drew could see that she was also taller then the other ponies he had come to know. She was the first pony he had met that he didn't have to look down to in order to look them in the eye, they were roughly the same height. In fact, if you're counting her horn, she'd be taller then he was.

"You certainly are a strange creature indeed," the mysterious mare comments, pacing around the human. "...Your name was Drew, correct?"

"...That's what I've been going by these days," Drew answers, not taking his eyes off of the Alicorn as she inspects him. Her slow walk around him had reviled her Cutie Mark to him, a crescent moon. He was doing his best to hide the fear in his voice as he answered, but even a child could tell that he was frightened. Who wouldn't be? Waking up in the middle of the sky with a mysterious pony that you have never seen before, you'd be a bit on edge to.

'Did she bring me here?' Drew asks himself while continuing to eye the Alicorn, who in turn eyed him back with an enigmatic smile on her face. 'She's an Alicorn like Twilight...maybe this was the friend she wrote to the other day? If she is, why'd she put me in the sky?'

"So you actually can speak!" The Alicorn continued in a bright almost childlike tone. She lets another small giggle echo around them. Her grin fades a bit as she realizes what she had just said. "...That came out wrong."

'If she wanted to hurt me, she could just undo whatever magic was keeping me up here, Drew thought. Maybe she just wants to talk?' The Alicorn's pacing suddenly stopped, as her bright expression furrowed a bit more. It didn't take her long to ask Drew what was bothering him so much.

"...Who exactly are you?" Drew managed to ask. "...And why are we in the sky?"

"Ah, forgive me! How rude, I had entirely forgotten to introduce Ourself!" Her entire demeanor changed in that very moment, as if she were embarrassed or was forgetting something. "I am Princess Luna, Ruler of the Night. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

'So she's a princess like Twilight...probably should have guessed that from the whole Alicorn thing.'

"Deepest apologies for contacting you in this manor. I am usually asleep during the day, and teleportation between Canterlot and Ponyville takes up far to much magical energy to be used lightly," Princess Luna continues. "I hope you can forgive the intrusion."

'Canterlot. I think I've heard Twilight use that word once or twice. She's defiantly that 'friend' she wrote that letter to....didn't Twilight say that her name was 'Celestia' though?'

"So...what exactly is this 'method' you're using to contact me?" Drew asks, taking a hesitant step backwards away from the Alicorn. She might not have wanted to hurt him, but the situation was still more then a little uncomfortable. "...And forgive my own rudeness, but why are we in the sky?"

Luna could only giggle again at the human's response. "We aren't in the sky, Drew. I am still in Canterlot, and you are still safe and sound, sleeping in your bed." Okay. Now Drew was really confused. How could he be in his bed, asleep, if he was here: in the sky, wide awake, talking to this possibly crazy Alicorn. The look on his face doing more then enough to signal to the Alicorn that he was a bit concerned.

"I can see you have some questions you would like to have answered," the Ruler of the Night continued. "You see, as my title may imply, my dominion is over all aspects of the night. And one of the duties I hold is to act as the guardian of the dream world. I have the ability to pass in and out of the dream world as I please." The Alicorn takes a step backwards from the human, seemingly in an attempt to help ease his worry. "And I have elected to use this power to meet you, and I would like to apologize again for any distress this situation has caused you, Drew. Twas not my intent."

Drew was clearly having a difficult time understanding what "guardian of the dream world" meant, but at least he had gotten an explanation at all. It seemed a little far fetched to him, but he couldn't find a reason to see this as a lie. If Equestria needed a Princess of Friendship, maybe it also needed a Princess of Dreams. Continuing to think it over, the human suddenly smiled brightly as a brilliant idea popped into his head.

"So I'm dreaming right now. Right?" He asks, pointing to the upside down world around them. "All of this is just a dream.

The dark colored Alicorn's expression changed back into a gentle smile. "Indeed. Still safe and sound in Twilight's castle. Sawing logs, I believe the phrase is."

"And if you're here, that means you're in my head, right?"

Her slime dropped a bit at that question, curious as to where he was going with this. "...Yes, if we were to be technical. We are currently standing within the realm constructed by your dreams."

The human's smile grew brighter as he suddenly approached the Alicorn, almost screaming in joy as he got uncomfortably close to the Princess. "That means you can help me get my memory back! Right?!"

Surprised by the human's sudden approach, Luna quickly leapt back. It took her a moment to even register what he had just asked of her. "...Oh yes, Our dear sister did mention your amnesia when she told spoke of Twilight's letter...it is possible, but I would rather--"

At this moment in time, Drew was to ecstatic to listen to the rest of the Alicorn's answer. What started out as a scenario from a horror book had suddenly turned into his ticket to reclaiming his memories. Letting out an ecstatic "woo-hoo," the human began to prematurely celebrate. Unfortunately his excited dancing, while amusing to the Ruler of the Night, had inadvertently caused the cloud they were standing on to pop like a bubble. And while Luna was able to avoid the nasty after effects due to her winged nature, Drew was not as lucky. And so he fell skyward. He still wasn't sure how up and down worked in this world, but he knew he was falling. And given that the ground was getting further away with each passing moment, he let out a rather loud scream as he realized that he would be falling for quite some time.

Drew's scream continued to echo on loudly as he shot up to a sitting position. Frantically looking around, he finds that he was back in his room at the crystal castle. Quickly shooting out of his bed and rushing to the window, he sees that it is still the middle of the night.

"...How real was that?" He asks out loud looking towards the night sky. Part of him was saying that it was just a weird dream, likely induced by all the cake and other sweets he had ingested earlier at the party. But at the same time, something about that dream felt so real. Drew's contemplation was cut short as an arcane flash filled the room, the chamber becoming illuminated by a magical glow.

"Drew?! What's wrong?! I heard screaming!" Twilight shouts, looking around like a crazed animal. It looked as if she was only half conscious, as evident by her slightly slurred tone. Though she was surprised to see the human looking out the window seemingly so calm, but that thought died when she laid eyes on his now equally crazed expression as he turned to look at her.

"Is Princess Luna a real pony, and can she really go into other people's dreams?!" Drew suddenly shouts with wide eyes. Caught off guard by the question, Twilight's mood shifts from panicked to confused.

"...Of course Princess Luna is real. She's the one who raises the moon every night...did she come visit--" the question was cut short as the human bolted from one side of the room to another, placing both hands on either side of her face and pulling the magic user uncomfortably close.

"I need you to knock me out. I need to get back to sleep. Right now," the human commands, his pupils heavily constricted. "I don't care how, but I need to be unconscious NOW."

Not knowing what was going on, and quite surprised by her friend's manic behavior, Twilight shoots a bolt of energy from her horn without much thought due to her half asleep status. She was at least able to focus enough to make sure it was a sleep spell she fired into the human's face at point blank range and not, say for example, a disintegration spell.

Letting go of the Alicorn's face and stumbling backwards with a groan, Drew could feel his consciousness fading once again. "Thank...you..." he manages to say in a slurred tone. With his last act of wakefulness, the human allowed himself to fall over backwards onto his bed. The moment he touches down on the mattress, he is out like a light. Once again depatred from the waking world.

"What...just happened?" Twilight merely stands in the center of the room for a moment or two, staring at the now peacefully sleeping human before her. By this point she had begun to fully wake up, and was becoming aware of what had just happened. It was at that moment the door to Drew's room was swung open, another light spell adding to Twilight's own as Spike and Starlight barged in. The young dragon could be seen wearing a blue sleeping cap and wielding a rolled up newspaper as a weapon.

"What's with all the screaming?" Starlight asks, half asleep and half panicked. Her partly blurred vision catches sight of her Alicorn friend, and the Human who seemed to be practicing very poor sleeping posture. "...Twilight? What just happened in here?"

"I haven't the slightest idea..." the lavender Alicorn responds, unable to take her eyes off of Drew. "...But I don't think we should let him eat leftover cake right before bed again..."

With another loud gasp, Drew found himself once again in a strange environment. Unlike the previous dream, he was on a small island of stone and sand surrounded by a body of seemingly endless, and motionless, water. Said water was very clearly reflecting the countless stars in the sky and a rather large full moon, but if one were to look up the sky would be entirely devoid of these two features. It was simply a dark blue void. Other then Drew, the only thing on the island was a small tree, that had somehow managed to sprout through solid stone.

"Luna! Are you still here?!" Drew shouts with hands cupped around his mouth to make his voice carry further. "I'm sorry about that! Can you still help me?!"

"You do not need to shout, I am standing right here." The Ruler of the Night states back, walking out from behind the tree. "How did you manage to get back to sleep so quickly?"

"I had Twilight shoot me in the face!" Drew says in a tone that implied that was an entirely normal statement. "So...you can still help me get my memories back, right?"

"I said it was possible, but I never said that I would do such a thing," Luna explains, walking towards the one-track-minded Drew. "Dreams and memories, while connected in numerous ways, are two completely separate constructs. Using one to affect the others could have adverse effects on your mind."

"Oh...I guess I missed that part before..." Drew's hopeful expression faded into a dark grimace, shoulders slumping down. He looks back up to the Alicorn with a half grin. "...How adverse would these effects be?" The question gave the Ruler of the Night a moment of pause. This was not a comfortable subject for her, clearly.

"...You do not wish to know, trust me."

"Oh come on, how bad could it possibly be?" Drew could tell that his insistence was starting to get on the Alicorn's nerves, but he wasn't planing on letting up. "You said you could do it! What's the big deal?!"

"Have you ever experienced the feeling of being unmade?"

"...Maybe? No idea, really. I can't remember a thing from before three days ago," the human explains, crossing his arms in an upset matter. In his mind, he had every right to be upset. First she tells him that she COULD do it, and then turns around and tells him that she wouldn't? She could have at least just said no, instead of getting his hopes up like that. "I hate to be rude, but I don't see why you can't help me."

"You do not wish to know, trust--"

"You're right, I don't wish to know why, I wish to get my memory back!" Drew suddenly interrupts, taking a step closer and waging his finger in the air aggressively. "You said that you could do it! If you aren't going to, I at LEAST want an expla--"

"Enough," Luna suddenly commands, her voice and way of speaking changing entirely in that instant. She wasn't trying to meet and greet anymore, she was clearly exercising her authority as Guardian of the Dream world and her authority as a Princess of Equestria. The air around them seemed to grow thicker and darker. The Alicorn's eyes begin to grow with an eerie white light, as the sky begins to grow thick with dark storm clouds. As the clouds roll in, the reflection of the night sky changes, the stars blinking out one by one, and the moon being replaced by a ring of light akin to a solar eclipse. "You would be wise to trust Us on this matter.

"To try and alter the state of your memories through the dream world could utterly destroy your mind. Destroy you." She walks closer to the human, her intense gaze locking into his own. Even if he wanted to he wasn't unable to look away, and he couldn't tell if Luna was forcing this reaction from him or if just her change in demeanor just commanded this level of respect. Whatever it was, it was working.

By this point, her voice had also taken on a sinister echo to it, and it was no longer being heard from just her mouth. It sounded as if her voice was coming from everywhere. The Ruler of the night begins to walk forward. With every step, the landscape of the dream world begins to blacken and crack. Thunder suddenly claps, and a heavy torrent of rain begins to drench the two. Or rather, it drenched Drew. Luna was not touched by a single drop, as if the rain itself was afraid to touch her.

Drew was rendered speechless by this display of power. He couldn't scream, he couldn't respond, all he could do was slowly back away as the mare continued her approach. It was at this moment that Drew was able to peace together what was happening, she was the guardian of the dream world. And it was more then apparent that what she was doing. The moment the realization entered Drew's mind, another crash of thunder echoes out through the realm, this time accompanied by a bright flash of lightning.

"You would lose everything. Your conscious mind, your memories both new and old, and even your sense of self. In every definition of the word, you would be erased," Luna continues, halting her approach as Drew steps into the water. "This fear you are feeling now? It is but a fraction of the fear, and pain, you would experience. So We suggest you stop pressing the matter. Are. We. Clear?"

"C-c-c-crystal!" Drew manages to stammer out, tripping and falling into the water. Expecting to land with a splash, the human was surprised to find that he was quite dry. In fact, as his behind touched down, the nightmare around him was replaced by an entirely new environment, a realm composed entirly of a calming blue light.

In an instant, Luna's air of authority had receded back into her previously mischievous nature from when she had first interacted with Drew, signaled by a small laugh from the darker colored Alicorn. Her eyes had ceased glowing, and her voice had also returned to normal. "We are sorry you had to see that, but you would not stop pressing the issue. Are you alright?" Drew couldn't answer, still dumbfounded by what had just happened.

"...What...was that?" He manages to ask, not sure if he should still be afraid or not.

"...It was meant to be a warning. We are sorry that We could not be of assistance in your quest for your memories, but We do not wish to be responsible for your untimely demise," Luna explains, her voice had sorrow in it, as if she was ashamed she had done that. Yet despite her voice returning to normal, she was still referring to herself in the third person. "But in Our defense, you refused to stop pushing the issue. So we pushed back. We hope you can forgive us for our...extreme measures. We might have gotten a little carried away." As the Alicorn explained the circumstances, Drew could feel the terror within him fading away. Likely Luna's doing, she had easily instilled terror upon him, it made sense she could take it away just as easily.

"...Extreme is a bit of an understatement." Despite the fear being drained away, he still vividly remembered what he had seen in that moment of light.

"If it is any consolation, We shall not be doing that in the future. But We do not expect forgiveness for what We had just put you through."

"...I was kind of asking for it...and I was being a jerk about it," Drew mutters as he picks himself back up. "...I'd say we're even?"

"...I would say that is fair."

"That's good, " a sigh of relief escaped Drew's throat as he allowed his posture to slump slightly. "...And at the risk of setting you off again; if you didn't come here to help with my memories, then why did you decide to pay me a visit?" Contrary to Drew's expectation, the Alicorn's ears and expression perked up at the question. She now wears a similar smile to the one she had when Drew had first met her.

"We came to you this night to get to know Equestria's newest resident better," the dark colored Alicorn explains as her horn glows with a magical aura. Two chairs, a table, a pot of tea with matching cups and a fully set up chess board suddenly materializing out of thin air. "We assume you know how to play?" She asks, taking a spot in one of the seats.

"...I guess can learn?"

Chapter 10: Royal Happenings and Ponyville Mischief.

Thankfully today's royal duties had been less strenuous then the past few days for Princess Celestia, seems her hard work yesterday had paid off, but despite having some much needed time to herself there was still an issue eating away at her. Namely, the human that had somehow found his way into her domain. She wasn't worried about Drew himself, she knew their kind wasn't dangerous based on her past experiences, but the Embodiment of the Sun was still a bit perplexed as to how, and why, a human had appeared practically at the door step of one of Equestria's most powerful citizens. Either this was a major coincidence, or something sinister was afoot. Celestia's worries started to subside as shes her beloved sister Luna approaching her, the two rulers stopping to greet each-other in one of the many hallways of Canterlot Castle.

"Ah, Luna. How was your evening?" Celestia asked of the tired looking Alicorn. It was clear she was accustomed to sleeping during the day. "I assume you met the human?"

"It was...most entertaining," the Ruler of the Night responds. "Drew is a perfectly fine young stallion...or whatever the human equivalent is. It was nice to make his acquaintance...though he is a cheat at chess."

"So what were you able to figure out? Is he...you know."

"No, dear sister, We did not sense any ill intent in his being here," Luna explains, letting a large yawn escape her lips. "He is just as confused at his being here as you are. Possibly more so."

Celestia let out a sigh of relief. This was good, it meant the human wasn't a hostile force. A part of her had known this deep down, partially thanks to more letters from Twilight and her own past experiences, but there was something about hearing it first hoof that had cemented it in her mind.

"Though, We will not lie--"

"You're doing it again, Lulu." Celesta suddenly interrupts, referring to the darker Alicorn's tendency of speaking in the third person. There was a disgruntled sigh from Luna as she took a moment to recollect her thoughts.

"...I will not lie, he can be a bit...jumpy at times. From what We--...I could gather, he has adverse reactions to unfamiliar circumstances and ponies," Luna continues. "He had shown great caution when we first appeared to him...and interest in my dream magic...and when I told him that it could not aid him in his quest for memories...though perhaps it was my own fault for not treating the situation with proper care..." There was a hint of shame in that last remark.

"...How badly did you scare him?" The younger Alicorn baked away at Celestia's question.

"...Enough?" Luna couldn't look her sister in the eye as she answered the question. "We-- I didn't show him Nightmare Moon...if that's what you're asking." The elder Alicorn could only let out a tired sigh at this new development. She had asked her sister to ask Drew a few questions, not make him wake up with soiled sheets. The Monarch of the Sun took a few moments to process Luna's previous statements, particularly the one where she mentioned "dream magic" and "memories."

"Did you at least explain yourself?"

"...He received an explanation as to why I took that course of action," Luna slowly explains, her eyes finally looking in Celestia's direction again. "And he seemed to forgive me for my transgression..." There was another sigh from the white Alicorn, one of relief this time around. Despite her sister's actions, the elder of the two sisters was at least happy that she had managed to make amends for her mistake fairly quickly. And if Celestia's own experiences with her sister's dream magic were anything to go by, then the human would more then likely be over this by now. He'd remember meeting Luna and their conversation, but the nightmare portion would be just that, a nightmare. Quickly forgotten once he entered the waking world. If he did take anything away from that experience, maybe it would subconsciously help him to not be so easily startled as Twilight had described.

"Drew! Come down from there!" Twilight shouts up at her clearly over reacting friend.

"NO! One of those tree wolf things is down there!" Drew shouts back with tightly closed eyes, his limbs wrapped in a death grip around a high tree branch. "And it wants to EAT ME!"

The two were in the middle of Drew's tour of Ponyville, the human expressed great interest in getting to know the area since he was going to be staying for awhile, Twilight being more then happy to show him around town. By this point the two had seen a good chunk of the town, they'd gotten lunch at Sugar Cube Corner, and he had gotten a general layout of the town's major locations. He had seen the market and some stores that Twilight recommended, it was going great!...Until they had reached Sweet Apple Acres.

Why did everything turn so sour at the one location in Ponyville that literally had 'sweet' in its name? Well, as it turns out, while most of the townsponies had gotten used to Drew, it seems that the local animals within the city would be a bit harder to win over. One of these animals turned out to be Applejack's work dog, and dear companion, Winona. The second the canine had spotted the human, she instantly began barking at the unfamiliar intruder.

Drew however, had yet to actually lay eyes on the Collie. He had only heard the dog frantically barking at him, and visions of his run in with the Timberwolves came rushing back into his head. Reacting on purley instinct and fear, mostly fear, the human jumped-- not climbed, jumped-- into the nearest tree, and had yet to come down.

That was about fifteen minuets ago.

"Fer the last time, they're called Timberwolves," a rather frustrated Applejack shouted up at the human. "And there ain't any on mah farm! The thing that spooked ya was just mah dog, Winona!"

"You're lying to me!" The human shouts back, still not opening his eyes. "I can still hear it gnawing on some poor pony's bones! That'll be ME if I go down there!" He releases one of his arms for the tree, pointing towards the sound of the gnawing before reengaging his death grip. His eyes were still shut tightly.

The two ponies give a disgruntled glance over to where he had pointed. Just as he said, there was indeed a canine creature gnawing on a bone. But it wasn't a Timberwolf doing the loud chewing, and it certainly wasn't a pony's bone. It was simply Winona once again, happily chewing on a large milk-bone Applejack had brought her to stop her from barking. The canine was happily growling at the treat as she continued to chew and crunch.

"...He has to be messin' with us..." the farm pony states matter-of-factly, looking back over to the Alicorn. "He can't ACTUALLY think there's a Timberwolf here, right?"

Twilight could only look back up to her human friend with a concerned glance. Twilight couldn't help but stifle a laugh as she watched him dangle from the tree like that, it was admittedly a bit funny if it was a joke. "Drew, if there's a Timberwolf here, then why are WE not being mauled by it?"

"Because it wants ME! It found out I was still alive, and it's come back to finish the job it started!"

"Alright, this is gettin' old," the orange colored earth pony exclaims in a tired tone, walking up to the side of the tree. Spinning around with one swift motion, Applejack slams her hind hooves into the trunk of the apple tree Drew had climbed into with a loud crashing sound accompanying the impact. Drew lets out a loud screech as he plummets to the ground alongside a few leaves and apples. Taking notice of the reappearance of the strange creature, Winona slowly walks up to the unknown entity and begins to sniff at its face. His eyes finally opening, only to see the work dog investigating him.

"Oh...it actually WAS just a dog..." he stammers, doing his best to sit back up without agitating the canine again. It was hard to tell if he was being sincere or not, but either way Applejack could only roll her eyes while the Alicorn let out another chuckle while helping the human get up.

After seeing her sister off to bed, Celesta continues on about her day as she normally would. Eventually her reprise from duty had ended, and she was faced with the one thing that nopony ever guesses when listing off a Princess's duties. The one foe that no matter how many times she faces it will never truly perish, only retreat momentarily to lick its wounds. Only to come back stronger then ever. Over the many centuries as Equestria's primary ruler, she had faced this beast more times then she could count. Each time she was the victor, but each time the battles became longer and harder. The Princess allowed herself, just for a moment, to dream of a world where she no longer had to face this foe. But, walking into her office, she steeled her resolved to face her oldest most persistent foe.

Paperwork.

Sitting down at her desk as she always had, and despite despising this being her least favorite parts of her duties, over the many years she had managed to streamline the process exponentially. Specifically, setting up a system that prevented the documents from being written in overly complex ways and requiring them to be set up in a particular fashion. While it didn't make the pages and pages of documents any less time consuming, it did make it so there were patterns and processes for the Princess to follow and thus get her work done in a more efficient manor.

And over the years of using this streamlined system, Celestia had managed to practically make it second nature to her. To the point where she was capable of maintaining full conversations while still being aware of and completing said paperwork without any major issues. It was rather impressive, but when you have decades upon decades dedicated to this kind of thing, you learn to multitask after awhile. And thus we come to Celestia's favorite mental exercise to practice during her paperwork sessions: daydreaming. Or, in today's case, it was more akin to remembrance rather then daydreaming.

She allowed herself to remember the first encounter ponykind had ever had with humanity. Specifically, her first interactions with them. She hadn't actively thought about such topics in nearly a thousand years now. But the memories came back to her clear as day, pun intended, like rushing water. She spent a long time thinking about how they had gotten there, and how they were finally able to leave, and it made Celestia's calm attitude give way to momentary anxiety.

"...That was a thousand years ago..." Celestia reassured herself, placing the paperwork down for a moment. "If he had told his people of Equestria, they would have surely come back long before now." She looks to the ceiling with a sigh. "...And if he had arrived in the same manor, SOMEPONY would have noticed the crash..."

One of the biggest differences between Twilight's interactions with Drew and Celestia's with humanity, the humans Celestia had known knew how they had ended up in Equestria. And he had a method in which to get them home, with Celestia's help of course. Drew seemingly had neither, which only meant one thing, his method of arrival had been completely different then that of the previous humans.

Letting herself relax for a moment, Celestia looks back to the paperwork she had filled out during her remembrance. Double checking the documents just in case she had made an error, Celestia took notice of one particular law that she had ended up passing.

"...'With the enactment of this law, use of excessive mounts of frosting on all cakes baked within or distributed within the city shall henceforth be frowned upon, and an offence punishable by a fine of 600 bits'...Who even submitted this? Is this some kind of joke?!" Celestia had asked out loud, magically reaching for a "veto" stamp she had in the events something like this slipped through her system. "Honestly, who even thought this was a good idea? I swear some of these nobles are to uptight for their own good! You can NOT make a cake with to much frosting. It's the BEST part!" She says passionately, vetoing the law she had accidentally enacted with haste. It was clear that the Monarch of the Sun was very passionate about the sponge-like desert.

Remember when I said it was going to take some of the local animals in Ponyville a bit more time to get used to Drew being around? Well, at first Twilight had thought that Fluttershy might have been able to help out with that particular problem. Temporarily forgetting that Fluttershy's abode was home to about 85% of the entire animal population in Ponyville.

Thankfully, Fluttershy's animals were less protective of their territory then Applejack's work dog had been, most of them showing timid curiosity towards the human, spurred on by Fluttershy's encouragement. It was going really well, actually. Drew was getting along with a good portion of the animals...all except for two of them. The first was Angel Bunny, Fluttershy's personal pet. The second was the large grizzly bear that Fluttershy watched over, who had been somehow convinced by Angel that the human was some kind of threat. And that... would have some consequences.

"You really think it's okay to leave him out there alone?" Twilight asks, taking a sip of tea. Fluttershy and herself had retreated to the inside of the cottage to partake in some tea while the human was busy socializing with the animals outside.

"If you want the animals to get used to him, it is." Fluttershy responds, glancing out the window. She eyes the human sitting on the ground surrounded by various birds and other critters. "And it looks like they've taken a liking to him. I wish I knew where Angel Bunny put my camera..."

The Alicorn and the Pegasus proceeded to casually sip their tea while waiting for the Animals to conclude their investigation of the human. However, just as the two were about too sit down, there were two loud sounds that alerted their attention. The first was what could only be identified as a loud grizzly roar, the second was the sound of a human screaming in fear. Quickly forgetting about the tea, the two Ponies rush outside to see what had happened.

Drew was currently screaming his head off, running at top speed from the grizzly bear currently chasing him. Atop the grizzly's back, Angel Bunny sat; wearing a small food bowl as a helmet, and wielding a carrot as a sword. Brandishing the weapon and pointing it towards Drew, the bear roars again as it begins to gain on the frightened human. The two Ponies looked at each other for only a split second, the looks on their face saying more then enough words to encourage the two to leap into action.

Celestia paced back and forth in her personal chambers, every now and then her horn flashing with a golden light. It was almost time for her to lower the sun for the day, but she couldn't focus on anything other then getting at least one of these spells to finally work. She had spent the past hour or so trying every message, communication and summoning spell she knew, desperately trying to get in contact with the Lord of Chaos himself, Discord.

"This doesn't make any sense, distance is not an issue with any of these spells," the Monarch of the Sun growls to herself in frustration, a side of her that she almost never showed in any capacity outside of a few specific circumstances. "So why can't I reach him? He can't be blocking me out, he agreed to stop doing that. So why can I not reach him?" A sudden knock at her door snaps her out of her train of thought. Quickly returning to her usual demeanor, she calls out for the Pony to come in.

"Sorry for the intrusion, your highness, but some mail addressed to you has just come in," one of the castle's many guards states as the door opens. He quickly trots into the room and sets the small stack of envelopes on a table. And with a bow, the guard makes his leave.

Deciding to take her mind off of her current frustrating situation, she grasps the small stack of letters in her magical aura, shifting through them with a sigh. "From Blueblood...from Fleur de Lis...from Fluttershy?" That last one had caught the Alicorn's attention. Why would Fluttershy be sending mail through the postal system? Surely if the pegasus needed to speak with the Princess, Spike would be more then willing to help. Her curiosity was also peaked when she saw the date on the envelope, it was from at least a week ago! If Fluttershy had needed something, the issue has gone entirely ignored for quite some time. The Alicorn quickly opens the letter with baited breath.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Hello, it's Fluttershy. I hope you have been doing well. I'm writing on behalf of Discord, he wanted to send you a message, but he said he was in a hurry. He said something about "missing his flight." He also told me not to send this letter directly to you with Spike, he didn't exactly say why, but he made it seem like it would be very bad if this got to you the day I wrote it.

Anyway, Discord told me to tell you that he was going on vacation to go see...something. He didn't exactly say what it was, but he said it was a "once in an eternity event" and he didn't want to miss it again. I'm not sure where exactly he is going, but he wanted you to know that it would be very far away, and that trying to contact him by normal means would be 'completely and entirely impossible' (his words, not mine). I'm not exactly sure what he means, but he seems to be in a hurry so I have to wrap this letter up now. Oh, he also wanted to give you this picture, so I'll include it in the letter.

He should be back in Equestria soon enough, but he said that the event he's going to will last a couple weeks or so. So it might be ahwile.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this letter. With best regards,

Fluttershy.

Looking back into the envelope, there was indeed a photograph still within. Looking at the image, it depicts Discord with a pair of sunglasses and a red shirt covered with white floral patterns. In each of his hands was a brief case, and his face was twisted into his usual smile. Celestia could only groan at this.

If Celestia wasn't worried before, she was now. Discord just so happened to evacuate Equestria right before Drew shows up? That was a pretty big coincidence. And when Discord was involved, it was never just a simple coincidence. He HAD to know something about all of this. But there was no way of contacting him right now, if what Fluttershy said in her letter had been true. Letting out a remorseful sigh, Celestia moves to go lower the sun for the night. After all, there was nothing more she could do about the situation for the time being. All she could do was wait.

Chapter 11: When the Bookworm's away, the human will play.

If one were to ask how his day yesterday had gone, he'd choose a series of very specific words. In short: fun, but tiring. Yesterday he had convinced Twilight to give him a tour of Ponyville, to get the general lay of the land since he would be staying for the foreseeable future. And since the locals had just gotten a chance to meet him, this would be a perfectly opportunity to help them get used to him further. It was sound logic, in Twilight's mind, so they had elected to spend the day doing just that. And it went pretty well, all things considered. Though there were a few...issues.

For starters, Applejack's dog Winona chased him up a tree.

Then there was the fact that Fluttershy's rabbit Angle Bunny did not take kindly to his very existence.

And let's not forget how said bunny was able to convince a bear that Drew was not to be trusted.

It was kind of a rough day.

But it wasn't all bad. He got to see where Twilight's friends work, and what they do for work, he got a delectable lunch of baked goods, and he got to learn where everything in town was. He even helped Twilight find the third book in that "Broken Stone" series she had been looking for, and that made her happy. But as you can imagine, it was a very tiring day as well. Walking around, being chased up a tree, being chased down by a bear, it was a great physical workout but also pretty exhausting. So when Drew had returned to the castle, the first thing he did was go to bed...and then he got out of bed about an hour later to eat dinner, and then went to bed.

And the human was permitted a good night's sleep. The best sleep he ever recalled having, if you asked him. But as all good things do, it had to end eventually. And that's where we find the human right now, laying in his bed as he groggily wakes himself up. Looking over to the clock mounted on the wall, it revealed that it was a little past six thirty, far earlier then he would have liked to get up...but significantly later then usual...

"Weird...usually the Purple Princess is in here by now..." Drew mutters to himself with a loud yawn. "Maybe it's some kind of pony holiday or something...international sleep in day or something." With that thought, he casually rolls back over and attempts to reenter the land of dreams. Unfortunately, that would never happen. The human was fully rested, and he wouldn't be getting any more sleep this morning.

"...Of course she doesn't come get me the ONE day I can't sleep in," he growls to himself, throwing the blankets off of himself and heading towards the box of clothes he had been given the other day. The guest room he had been set up in had all the basic amenities, but lacked a dresser or clothes hangers. But for now, the box worked just fine for what he needed. Picking an outfit featuring a nice vivid red shirt and another pair of dark colored pants, he walks out of his room ready to face the day.

"Tomorrow, I'm giving her the fight of her life. I'm sleeping in until at LEAST four if it's the last thing I do. Just to spite her," he continues to grumble to himself, making his way towards the castle's library. He knew the Princess would be in there, she spent a good amount of time in there based on what he was able to ascertain in his short stay.

Though if he were being honest? Something about the castle felt...different today. Maybe it was the dim morning lighting, maybe it was the fact that just about everything in here was made out of crystal, or maybe it was the fact that this was one of the few times he had walked the halls alone, but something felt...off today.

These thoughts were immediately pushed into the back of Drew's head as he entered the library. And he was surprised to see that it was entirely empty, practically abandoned. The only sign that anypony had been in here was the stack of books on the desk. Spell books, if Drew had to guess, likely for that memory problem of his.

"Weird...she's usually in here by now..." Drew says to nopony in particular, walking over to the stack of books. "...Maybe she's still downstairs?" He starts to overlook one of the open pages. At the top of the page, the words Rappel de Mémoire can be seen. The human was able to piece together that it was some other language that he didn't recognise.

"Oh hey, you're up," the somewhat muffled voice of Starlight Glimmer suddenly calls out from behind. Quickly turning around, Drew found that the pink unicorn was currently munching on an apple that was floating in front of her. "Didn't expect you up so early," she continues after swallowing the chewed up mush.

"The early bird is starting to get to me," Drew states lamently, slowly looking up from the tome, "Where is she anyway? Usually she has to fight me out of bed."

"I've noticed. She was the same with me when I first moved in," Starlight explains with a chuckle, taking another bite of the apple. "But she won't be back for awhile, so I thought you'd like to sleep in for a chance."

"...Did something happen? Where'd she go?"

"Something like that," the unicorn chuckles for a moment, turning around and gestured for the human to follow her. "Come on, it'll be easier to just show you."

Starlight had led Drew into the chamber of the Cutie Map, a room he had been familiar with since his first day staying in the castle. But it was currently much different then he knew it, all these changes centered around the large crystal table in the room's center. What was once a smooth table top was now a rather detailed map, likely of the country of Equestria, he thought. And above one particular space on the map, two magical symbols floated in a slow, lazy orbit. It took Drew a moment to recognize these symbols as the Cutie Marks of both Twilight and Rarity.

"...So this map tracks Twilight and her friends?" Drew asks, poking at the floating glyph of his friend's Cutie Mark. As expected, his hand passed right through the magical image.

"Not exactly, it tells us where we need to go to fix a friendship problem," Starlight explains, using her magic to swat Drew's hand away from the magic. "It also tells us who to send to fix the problem."

"...So this table is constantly observing everyone in Equestria and keeping track of their friendships?" Drew asks again, turning towards the unicorn and rubbing his sore hand. "That's a little creepy."

"That's...one way of looking at it..." Starlight mumbles, looking over to the magical table. What exactly was it anyway? Was it conscious? She had to help her friends fix it one time, but they still had no idea how it worked. And it took Drew's observation to get her to realize that. Shaking herself out of these thoughts, she quickly turns back to her human friend.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Twilight left a bag of bits for you on the kitchen counter. Just in case you wanted to get out of the castle or something."

"...Well that was nice of her. See ya later, Starlight, I wanna see more of the town," Drew says blankly, looking back towards the table. He points two of the fingers of one hand at his eyes, before flipping his hand around to point the same fingers at the Cutie Map. "I'm watching you, magic table. You better not be watching me in the bathroom." He warns to the magical artifact, slowly backing out of the chamber.

"What do you mean humans don't eat hay?!" A rather disgruntled employee of the Ponyville Hay Burger asks of Drew, who was currently on the floor hacking up his lungs and tiny bits of hay. "Why did you even order it if you can't even EAT it?!"

"I thought it was named after the restaurant!" Drew defends of himself in a hoarse voice, hand wrapped around his throat with tears coming out of his eyes and running down his red face. "It made sense, at the time!"

For context, Drew had been spending the last few hours exploring the town of his own accord, stopping by the shops he didn't get a chance to yesterday and doing a bit of window shopping. And then, as it often did, hunger struck at around noon, so the human decided to get some lunch. But not wanting to bother Pinkie at work a second time, he decided to go to another local food establishment: the Hay Burger. Where he promptly ordered a hay burger.

Though unfortunatly for Drew, the "hay burger" was not named after the restaurant like he had assumed. It was actually made of hay. And, apparently, humans do not eat hay. Drew learned this the hard way when he started choking on the sandwich. Thankfully, one of the employees was quick enough to ram him in the stomach hard enough to dislodge the mass of food from his throat, which leads us to where Drew is right now.

"...You can't be serious," the employee states blankly, not taking her eyes off of the human as he stands back up. "How in the world could you have NOT known that? We're PONIES. We eat hay, for Celestia's sake!"

"Well I know that NOW!" Drew shouts back, moving both hands to his gut. The earth pony had hit him pretty hard, and he was still sore. "...How much for something that doesn't have hay in it? I'm still hungry..." To say the restaurant worker was surprised was an understatement. Who almost dies at a restaurant and then asks to buy something else? She was used to getting demands for refunds for this kind of thing.

"...Let's just say your refund'll cover it," The earth pony rolls her eyes as she begins walking towards the kitchen. "I need a grilled cheese out here!" She shouts into the kitchen, turning back to the human for a moment, who was currently climbing back into his seat and taking a few long gulps from his drink. "...And an order of onion rings..."

So after almost dying, and being compensated with food he could actually eat, Drew spent the remainder of the day continuing to wander the streets of Ponyville. He actually ran into a few ponies from the party who were kind enough to ask him how his day was going. Though much to Drew's shame, he couldn't quite recall the names of everypony he ran into, he did meet what was essentially an entire town in one day, so he had to apologize a few times for not remembering every name. Thankfully, the ponies of Ponyville seemed pretty forgiving. Guess that's what happens when you live in a town inhabited by the "Princess of Friendship."

Though as the day went on, Drew eventually found himself running out of things to do. He had managed to find a relatively secluded and quiet part of the town, perfect for collecting his thoughts. This had been his first day in Ponyville with any kind of lull in activity, usually SOMETHING was going on around him, but today was just normal. Which was abnormal.

"...Maybe I should try and get a job or something," the human mutters to himself, placing his hands behind his head as he looks up to the late afternoon sky. "...But I'd need to know what I'm good at first...that might be a little tricky." He continues to ponder these questions as he aimlessly walks though the town. However, this train of thought would have to be put on the back burner, for as soon as he lowered his hands away from his head to stretch he was greeted to the sounds of canine barking right in one of his ears.

Just as it had yesterday, the distinctive and familiar sound sends memories rushing through Drew's mind. Memories consisting mostly of intense pain, immense fear and a sudden blackness that had convinced him at the time he was no longer a part of the land of the living. And just as he did yesterday, he reacts by leaping into the nearest hiding spot available. This time, instead of a tree, he dives into a nearby bush that begins to shake and rustle with his terrified trembling.

"Oh man! Applejack was right!" The voice of Rainbow Dash suddenly shouts through her own laughter. "You're a wuss!" The traveling from the bush stops immediately, Drew angrily rising from the bush practically draped in an aura of anger.

"...Why would you do that?" The human asks, doing his best to hold back his rage.

"I wanted to see if you really did freak out like Applejack said," the multicolored pegasus replies, smirking as she crosses her front to hooves. "And I'm not disappointed. It wasn't even that good of a dog impression, but it certainly fooled you!"

"...You're going to regret this, rainbow horse," Drew promises as he steps out of the bush. "My revenge shall be legendary." Without warning, he suddenly lunges at the pegasus with his arms outstretched. However, the only thing he would be able to catch was open air as Rainbow took flight.

"Hey, it was just a joke!" Rainbow Dash shouts downward, watching the human pick himself up. "I didn't mean to set you off! Calm down"

"Oh, so my canine-related trauma is a JOKE?!" Drew shouts up at her, doing his best to try and grab at one of her hooves. Unfortunately, she was just too high for him to reach. "I'LL GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO LAUGH ABOUT!"

"Yeesh, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you so bad!" Rainbow Dash shouts again, quickly flying off after deciding that the human needed some space to cool off. It didn't do much to calm the human down in the moment, but Rainbow was sure this would all blow over soon enough. In hindsight it probably wasn't a good idea, she thought, but it was funny to watch him dive into that bush like that. Drew continued to shake his fist at the air long after the pegasus had quickly vanished from his line of sight.

"Umm...Drew? What're you doing?" Spike suddenly asks from behind. Turning around, Drew as greeted to the sight of Spike and Starlight making their way downtown.

"Oh...just planning some divine retribution," Drew mutters, looking back for only a moment to the direction Rainbow flew off in. "...What about you guys?"

"The friendship emergency got solved a little while ago, we're on our way to greet Twilight at the train station," Starlight explains with a smile. "...And before you ask: yes, the map tells us when the issue is resolved."

"That's still creepy, but convenient," Drew responds with a blank tone, having quelled his rage rather quickly. He didn't bother waiting for an invitation, joining the dragon and the unicorn on their quest to welcome their friends home after their long day's work.

Chapter 7: Meeting Ponyville, Part One.

So the rest of the day had been fairly uneventful. After the whole monkey thing, the remainder of the day had actually been mostly comprised of Drew asking Twilight questions about...well, lots of stuff. Things that sounded a lot like questions a young filly or colt would ask.

"So what do ponies do for fun?"

"What's with these weird butt tattoos that you all seem to have?"

"How can you be the ruler of a metaphysical concept like Friendship?"

"Wait, Spike's a DRAGON?!"

...Alright, maybe not ALL the questions were that of a young filly or colt, but his curiosity wasn't unjustified.

'Even without the memory loss problem, he'd probably be just as curious about ponykind as I am about humankind,' Twilight told herself during the Q and A. 'I mean, if we know next to nothing about humans, it only makes sense that they'd know next to nothing about ponies.' And it wasn't like she was unhappy to tell him these things, anyway, she enjoyed explaining things. In a way, it was very therapeutic for her. Though explaining how the whole "Princess of Friendship" thing worked was a bit tiring if she were to be honest.

With every question asked of her, the Alicorn Princess did her best to answer in a way Drew would understand. In many cases she had to go a bit off topic to explain the context behind a few things, as there was no way for him to have prior context. But eventually, the day had given way to night, and the two were rather eager to get some shuteye. And so, they did just that.

The morning played out much like the previous one had, with the residents of the castle waking up one by one and beginning their daily routine. And, once again, Twilight had to pester Drew until he decided to get out of bed. The Princess of Friendship gave a silent prayer that this wouldn't become one of the morning traditions. Though at the same time, there was a part of her that knew this wouldn't be the last time they did this. As the morning continued, it was made apparent that Pinkie Pie would not be returning to make more pancakes, and so they had to settle for the typical breakfast of cereal, toast, and fruit. However, the comparatively plain meal was interrupted by a series of loud knocks on the front door. Spike, having been first to finish his food, was the one sent to see whoever was making such a ruckus.

"Hold on! I'm coming!" Spike shouted at the door as he made his way over. Opening the door, the young Dragon was surprised to see Rarity waiting with a rather impatient look on her face. Behind her, a large cardboard box floated in a blue telekinetic aura. "Oh, hi Rarity! What brings you here so early?" Leaning against the door frame, he was clearly trying to make himself look "cool."

"Oh, hello Spikey-Wikey! So good to see you, darling," the unicorn's face shifting from annoyance to glee within mere seconds of the door opening. "I'm here to see Drew, I promised him I would get him some new clothes so he could get out of those tattered rags of his. May I come in?"

"...Good thing you didn't come over yesterday," Spike comments with a chuckle, moving out of the way to let the white Unicorn inside. "Trust me, it would have been bad."

"Oh dear, did something happen?"

"Oh, nothing we couldn't fix. Just a little...monkey business," the dragon explains with a laugh. When told she didn't get the expression, Spike simply wrote it off as it being nothing to worry about it. Making her way through the crystalline hallways of her friend's abode, she was lead into the all to familiar dining hall, where the Princess of Friendship could be found enjoying a slightly her breakfast with Starlight Glimmer and Drew the human. It was a simple meal, and from the looks of it they were almost finished. Perfect timing.

"Oh, hey Rarity! What brings you here?" Starlight asks, being the first to notice the unicorn's arrival. "...And what's with the box?"

"Oh, I told Drew that I would be bringing him some replacements for his ruined attire. It took longer then I would have liked, but I managed to get a few outfits for him done!" Rarity explains while placing the box atop the table, being careful as to not place it on anypony's food. Despite her attempts at doing so gently, there was still an audible thud from the container's impact.

Drew was just sitting there, finishing his apple and looking at the box. "...It's been less then two days and you already made enough clothes to fill that box?"

"They aren't anything to extravagant, I had to work with what I had on such short notice. I am deeply sorry for that inconvenience," Rarity says with a slight hint of shame hiding in her usual tone. "But I thought you would appreciate getting out of those rags as quickly as possible."

"...Thanks," Drew blankly responds, walking over to the box and picking it up. A bit heavier then he first anticipated, but it wasn't to much for him to carry. "I'll go change right now."

As Drew begins to walk past, Rarity pulled him in with a quick telekinetic yank, leaning into whisper something to him. "And don't worry, I included those...umm, special garments you told me about."

"Thank you!" Drew whispers back, continuing to walk out of the eating area.

"Special garments?" Spike ponders, still standing next to Rarity. "What kind of 'special' garments?"

The human's face becomes red as a rose as he stops dead in his tracks, his mind flashing back to the other day.

--Two days prior--

"Oh my, these clothes are fairly well made," Rarity comments, running a hoof down the stitching along the side of Drew's pants-leg. "Did you make these yourse--oh, I'm sorry, I forgot about the amnesia," she corrects herself, taking a step back and returning the Human's personal space.

"It's fine, I'm still getting used to it myself..." Drew explains, looking towards the two saddle bags that the fashionista had quickly returned home to retrieve. "...You really don't have to do this, you know. I don't want to be more of a burden that I already am."

"Oh, nonsense! It's no burden at all!" Rarity retorts in a slightly raised tone. Not quite offended, more so just being dramatic. "We have no idea how long you'll be staying in Ponyville, we can't have you running around in those tattered rags for who knows HOW long!"

Drew sighs as he scratches the back of his head. "...Well, if you're going to the trouble anyway, can I make a request?"

Rarity's ears perk up at that, her eyes practically glowing in excitement as if to say "go on."

"Well, the clothes you see aren't the only ones I have on..." Drew explains, pointing to his shoes. "Under these, I have these things that are called 'socks,' that are--"

"I know what socks are for, darling, I run a boutique by trade after all," the white unicorn interrupts with a ladylike giggle. "I can easily make you some socks. Though it might take me a few tries to get it right."

"Oh...good..." Drew replies slowly, his face beginning to turn red as he scratches the back of his head faster. "So...if this sounds weird, let me know...but do you know what underpants are for?...Because I think I need those to..."

While the unicorn's eyes open fully at that statement, she keeps her composure in check. She could tell that the human was a bit embarrassed about asking her such a thing. "...Yes dear, I do. No need to feel shame. They aren't that different from the socks you asked for, if we're being honest," she explains as her horn begins to glow. All of a sudden, several strands of measuring tape, as well as a pen and notepad float out of the bags. "Now, pardon my rudeness, but I'm going to have to ask you to hold still."

Drew begins to back away at the sight of the suddenly floating objects, not fully understanding the context of the sittuation. "I-I'm sorry if I offended you!" He stammers as he attempts to flee, but finds that he is suddenly no longer able to. Looking down at his feet, he sees that they have become enveloped by the same blue light that was surrounding the objects floating around the unicorn.

"You didn't offend me, dear, but I'll have to take your measurements if you want clothes that fit. Now, please, hold still." The unicorn explains as she makes her slow approach, the various strands of measuring tape behaving as if they were cobras gifted with flight.

--Present day--

"It's...complicated. Clothing things, far to complex to get into right now!" Rarity quickly lied, in an attempt to save some of Drew's dignity. "Now hurry along, Drew. I'm sure you want to get out of those clothes as soon as possible! Hurry on now, go! GO!"

The human looks back as he makes his leave, his face still beat red, mouthing the words "thank you" as he disappears out of sight. Starlight and Twilight merely look at each other, the former giving a shrug as she finished up the last remains of her breakfast. The later still a bit curious about what these 'special garments' were, but she wouldn't push the issue after seeing how uncomfortable it made Drew.

Having waited patently for quite some time with the others, Rarity was practically head over hooves for the chance to see the fruits of all her hard work. Sitting in the dining room with Twilight, Starlight and Spike was a bit dull, but she was certain it would be the first place Drew came back to after getting changed, so it was worth it. Plus, she was finally able to get context on the "monkey business" jokes that Spike had made earlier, thanking her lucky stars that she chose to come over this morning instead of yesterday. At some point, Twilight had offered to make tea to help keep the wait bearable, to which Rarity was eternally grateful for.

"So, what are you two planning to do today?" The boutique owner asks, trying to keep the conversation lively while they waited.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be looking for another memory spell," Starlight explains, cleaning her face up with a napkin as she does so. "I'm sure there's at least ONE that will work for him."

"Oh, so you won't be attending the party?" Rarity takes a sip of tea after the question, not paying any mind to the comment. Everypony knew about it, after all. Or at least, she THOUGHT everypony knew about it. Twilight on the other hoof nearly choked on her tea after hearing that, Starlight and Spike equally as surprised.

"Wait, that's TODAY?!" Twilight shouts, eyes wide with sudden panic.

"Well...yes, dear, it's Pinkie Pie. Of course it's today," the marshmallow unicorn explains through a bit of a chuckle, "She told me that she came in yesterday for some...oh how did she put it? 'Party recon' or something like that."

Twilight's mind instantly flashes back to the breakfast party Pinkie threw for Drew yesterday. "I-I-I knew she was going to throw a party, but I didn't think it would be TODAY!"

"...Have you not been outside?" Rarity's relaxed visage visibly drops from worry. She reaches into one of her saddle bags with her magic, drawing forth a flyer of some kind. "These have been up all over town since yesterday afternoon. It's why I was in such a hurry to come over here, I wanted him to be presentable for his first introduction to the town...I was under the assumption you all knew..."

Taking the flyer in her own magical grasp, Twilight quickly glances at the advertisement Pinkie had made for this event, Spike and Starlight leaning in over her shoulders to get a look as well. The flyer was mostly a dull yellow color, not unlike Fluttershy's coat color, with pictures of brightly confetti making the paper "pop." Pinkie's Cutie Mark was present in the lower left hoof corner of the flyer, with big bold text across the front.

Welcome to Ponyville, Drew!!
Who's Drew, you ask?
Come find out! March 6th, Twilight's Castle, 11:30am!
Don't worry! He's friendly, so come say hi!
Help me and the others give him a proper Ponyville welcome!
No flash photography. Thank you.

As Twilight read the words plastered on the poster, she felt a serious conflict in her emotional state. On the one hand, Pinkie Pie meant no harm through any of this. She was just doing what she always did when a new pony moved into Ponyville. But at the same time, Drew wasn't a new pony who had moved into Ponyville. He was an amnesiac creature that very few ponies had ever laid eyes on before taking residents in her castle until they figured out where he came from.

"This could go badly..." Twilight begins to think out loud, beginning to pace around the dining hall in a panicked stupor. "While Drew's been adjusting at an exceptional rate for somepony in his situation, he's never had a chance to interact with more then a hoofful of ponies at a time. And the townsponies have never seen a creature like HIM before. Oh, he's going to get eaten alive..."

"Twilight, calm down!" Spike shouts, jumping in front of the lavender Alicorn in an attempt to stop her train of thought. "The party isn't until eleven thirty! Maybe we have time to get Pinkie Pie to delay it a couple of days, or something!" Twilight commended the dragon on his quick thinking, quickly casting the projection spell to figure out just how much time they had left. Her spectral self appearing before the town's sun dial, the spell was nearly ended prematurely from sheer shock as Twilight learned the time.

11:00, on the dot. Not only that, but through her projection she was able to hear the conversations, while a bit distorted, of a few nearby ponies. They were wondering who this "Drew" character was, and what kind of pony he was. Quickly returning to her physical body, her panic returns tenfold.

"We have exactly thirty minuets to convince Pinkie Pie to delay a party," Twilight explains, her face shifting into a dreadful grimace.

"Oh come on Twilight, that's plenty of time. Besides, Pinkie hasn't even set up the--" Starlight began to reassure, before the very ground beneath them began to shake.

*BOOM*

The sounds of canon-fire echoed through the lower floors of the friendship castle, clearly originating from the entrance hall. All looking to each other with a worried glint growing in their eyes, the four friends quickly rush out to see what was going on, only to find Pinkie Pie standing in the center of the chamber, thoroughly investigating her work.

Three of her Plus Sized Party CanonsTM were placed in a lazy circle around her. The entrance hall to the crystal castle had been entirely redone in only three shots. Balloons were every where, mostly covering the ceiling, but there were a few not filled with helium that bounced lazily across the floor. On one side of the room, an absolutely massive buffet table filled to the brink with all kinds of foods appropriate for a party: mostly deserts and other pastries, as well as some chips and other foods of that ilk, with a large punch bowl situated in the center of it all. A slightly smaller table was situated next to it, with various pieces of plastic silverware, plates and cups. On the other side of the room a small stage has been set up, where Ponyville's very own DJ PON3 was currently setting up her equipment. And lastly, on the opposite side of the room from the main entrance, a large and colorful banner reading "WELCOME DREW" had been set up.

"Horse apples..." Twilight and Starlight mutter in unison, looking around at what Pinkie had wrought.

"Oh, hey guys! You ready to party?!" Pinkie Pie shouts to the new arrivals, pushing the party canons to the side of the chamber to allow the guests freedom of movement.

"Pinkie, why didn't you tell me you were throwing the party TODAY?" Twilight asks, meeting her friend half way. "I don't think Drew is ready for all this interaction yet, he's still adjusting to everything!"

The pink earth pony's face goes from cheery and bubbly to dead serious, the same change applying to her tone of voice. "Twilight, it's ME. I did my Party Recon yesterday. Of course the party was going to be today," and with that, Pinkie returns to her usual demeanor. "Besides, he was going to have to meet everypony at SOME point! He can't just stay cooped up in the castle forever! So I thought it would be better to do it sooner rather then later." Despite her objections to doing this so soon, Twilight couldn't help but agree with her friend's logic. Drew was going to have to go outside EVENTUALLY. She couldn't keep him here against his will, after all, so it would probably be better to introduce him to the town in a controlled environment instead of out of the blue.

"But...could you have at least TOLD me it was going to be today? So I could at least warn Drew?"

"Twilight, you saw me doing my Party Recon! You. Were. There. We've known each other long enough for you to know how the system works!" Pinkie explains again, still as upbeat and cheery as before. Though she swiftly puts a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, the earth pony's expression becoming less intense and more caring. "Trust me, everything is going to be fine. I wouldn't be doing all this if it was going to end in disaster!" She quickly returns to her bubbly nature as she returns to setting up the party.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight manages to calm herself down with help from her friend's words. Turning back to the others, she almost instantly snaps back into her mania. "Alright, there is absolutely no way were're going to stop this party from happening."

"Twilight, you need to calm down," Rarity says, putting a hoof on her friend's shoulder in an attempt to calm her. "You've been through worse situations then this one."

"What if we, oh I don't know, just TELL Drew that there's going to be a party today?" Spike suggests, shrugging his shoulders. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen? We'd all be right here anyway if something DID happen, so I can't see anything going to terribly wrong." The suggestion lit a spark in the young Alicorn, her eyes practically flashing with it as she processed the suggestion. Quickly turning towards the stairs, she signals for her assistant to follow, and the two of them vanish into the depths of the crystal castle.