Fugue - Volume 1

The faint sound of birdsong provided the perfect ambience for Huey as his eyes flickered open. Once again, he had slept upstairs in Twilight's bedroom, close by to Spike's basket. After taking a moment to stretch his arms and legs, he sat up and glanced around to see if he was alone or not. Much to his surprise, he noticed that both Twilight and Spike were still asleep. A swift look out of the window informed Huey that he had woken up early. He was about to curl back up to head back to sleep, but stopped when he caught a horrendous whiff of body odour.

Scrunching his face up in disgust, he sat back up and looked over towards the bedroom's en-suite bathroom. He hadn't had the chance to wash since his shared bath with Princess Celestia. Since that was over three days ago, it was inevitable that he was beginning to smell, especially after the hard work he had engaged in yesterday. Carefully, Huey crawled out of his makeshift bed on the floor and walked to the bathroom.

Upon entering, he grimaced when he realised that the bathing facilities were, due to their usual equine user’s stature, horrendously small. The bathtub was, at most, three feet in length, which was completely inadequate for his six foot high form. As for the shower unit combined with the tub, it was only four feet off the ground and not adjustable or flexible. Huey sighed heavily, realising that he was going to have to crouch or kneel under the shower head. Resigned to the uncomfortable situation before him, he stripped off his clothing and stepped into the tub. Within moments, warm water began to flow over him, after he had turned the taps.

Once he was entirely wet, Huey glanced over at the collection of various shampoos and other toiletries neatly arranged on the side of the bath. It became apparent that all of them, undoubtedly, belonged to Twilight. Since she wasn't awake, it wasn't possible for him to ask permission to use them, nor was he willing to just use them without her knowledge or blessing. Shaking his head, Huey grabbed a brush and began to scrub himself down. If he was unable to use the limited supply of shampoos, soaps and conditioners, he was definitely not going to refuse the opportunity to scrub himself clean, even if the bristles were incredibly uncomfortable as they scoured his skin.

Suddenly, Huey heard the sound of knocking on the door. He swiftly turned the shower off, so the running water wouldn't drown out his speech, or that of the individual outside the bathroom.

"Huey?" Twilight's voice asked on the other side of the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Everything's fine, Twilight!" he replied. "Just having a shower. I woke up and found that I smelled absolutely rancid, so I decided to use your shower. I hope you don't mind!"

"No, not at all!" Twilight chirped reassuringly. "If you need to, you can use some of my toiletries, if you don't mind using something designed for mares."

"Honestly, I'm completely fine with that," Huey stated honestly. "As long as I get clean, I'd bathe in bath salts, strawberry shampoo and an exfoliant face mask."

Twilight chuckled lightly.

"Alright, I'll wait until you're done, I'd like to use the shower too!"

"Naturally!" Huey agreed before turning the shower on and grabbing the first bottle of shampoo his hand touched. Five minutes later, Huey opened the bathroom door and stepped back into Twilight's bedroom with a happy smile on his face. While he had been forced to put the clothes he had been wearing for almost a week back on, he was well aware that the copies from Canterlot would be arriving soon, and he could always have another shower later. Waiting outside was Twilight, who looked up at him and matched his smile with one of her own.

"You're looking awfully cheerful today!"

"Well, it's nice to feel clean again," Huey explained, stepping aside to allow Twilight to enter. "It's been a few days since I cleaned, and I'd rather not force everyone to cope with the smell of human body odour. My kind find it to be incredibly unpleasant, so it's possible that ponies will too."

"Understandable," Twilight remarked, as she trotted into the bathroom. "Still, Applejack should be setting up her stall for serving breakfast outside. I'm sure she could use some help!"

"Good idea!" Huey remarked. "Enjoy your shower, Twilight, and thank you for allowing me to use your shampoo."

The sound of running water, and no response, informed Huey that his reply had been completely missed. Shrugging nonchalantly, he turned and ventured downstairs to assist the apple farmer.

"Howdy, Huey!" Applejack greeted with a wave. "What can I get ya for breakfast today?"

"I think I'll try apple crumble today," Huey replied with a slight bow of his head. "It's nice to see you! I hope things weren't too hectic after I turned in last night. After all, you had one heck of a crowd to feed."

"Things went just fine!" the farmer remarked, scooping a large portion of crumble into a bowl. "Also, pardon me for bringing it up again, but I just wanted to say sorry for threatenin' to kick you. I shouldn't have acted like that."

"It's fine," Huey reassured her. "I shouldn't have nicked your hat. I gathered, from how you acted, that it is more than just a hat to you, so I think your reaction was, in all honesty, understandable. Regardless, it's all water under the bridge, no one got hurt, let's just forget it ever happened."

"Alright," she murmured with a slight frown. "Thanks for bein' so forgivin'."

"Applejack," Huey interrupted. "Forget it happened."

The orange mare stared at Huey, her mouth opening and closing as she decided to say something, but swiftly reconsidered. After a few moments of indecision, she finally spoke.

"Forget what?"

"You learn quick." Huey chuckled, shovelling a spoonful of crumble into his mouth. "This crumble's amazing, by the way. Add some custard or ice cream, and I think you would have the perfect dessert."

"Aw shucks," she said, while tipping her stetson down to hide her embarrassed expression. "You don't have to say that on account of my being a true lover of apples."

"No, I'm serious. I'm glad you insisted I give apples and stuff a try. It's delicious!"

"You better stop before you go and make me redder than Big Mac," Applejack scolded playfully, giving Huey's side a jab. "Movin' swiftly on, what do you plan on doin' for your date?"

Huey immediately stopped eating and looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Applejack's eyes widened at the faux-pas she had just made, causing her to burble as she tried to backpedal.

"What I was meant to say was," she panicked. "What do you have in mind for repayin' Ditzy's favour?"

Huey smiled gratefully and continued eating his breakfast, while he mulled over his options. His expression swiftly melted into a grimace as a grave problem reared its head.

"That's a good question," he mused. "I don't have any money. How am I meant to treat her to a nice meal, if I can't afford it!?"

"Why don't you make her one?" Applejack suggested, causing Huey to stare at her blankly.

"Make her a meal? Doesn't that kind of tip this into 'date' territory?" Huey countered. "I don't think it would go down well if I approached her today and said; 'Hi, Ditzy! I'm so sorry, but since I'm broke, I'm going to have to offer you dinner for two at home. Hope you don't mind!' That's quite an escalation from just returning the favour!"

"Do you have any other option?" Applejack replied with a shrug. "As you said, you're broke! You can't even take her for a hayburger and fries!"

Huey sighed in exasperation and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I can't go back on my word," he muttered. "So, if that means having to invite her round to the library for dinner, then so be it! We both agreed that this was just my opportunity to thank her for sharing her lunch, nothing more. It'll be fine!"

"If you say so," Applejack replied nonchalantly, turning her attention to the first of many customers approaching to receive their breakfast. "All I'm gonna say is 'best of luck' to ya."

"Best of luck for what?"

Huey and Applejack's ears pricked up at the sudden introduction of a new participant to the conversation. Turning his head, Huey was blessed with the sight of Twilight and Spike approaching the stall. He and Applejack waved in greeting, which the unicorn and drake returned cheerfully.

"I was just discussing the commitment I'd made to Ditzy with Applejack," Huey informed Twilight. "I've only just realised that I'm penniless... Or would 'bit-less' be more appropriate? Anywho, since I have no money, it seems my only option would be to invite her over for dinner."

"For dinner?" Spike repeated thoughtfully. "I thought you were trying to make sure this wasn't a date."

Huey and Applejack shared a knowing glance.

"Well, it's either that, or I ask someone for money, which I'd rather not do, or I tell her that I can't repay her and that the entire idea's been ditched. Suffice to say, I have no intention of breaking my promise to her. As I said to Applejack, she and I are adults who agreed that this wasn't a date, so it should be fine."

Twilight nodded in agreement at Huey's conclusion, while Spike raised an incredulous eyebrow before shrugging and fetching breakfast from Applejack's stall.

"Moving on, it's good to see you are having breakfast today, Twilight," Huey remarked. "Your stomach sounded like it could start an earthquake yesterday."

"I made sure to wake up earlier than normal," Twilight explained with an embarrassed chuckle, levitating an apple towards her to eat. "You woke up earlier than expected too!"

"Well, as the old saying goes, 'early to bed, early to rise, makes one healthy, wealthy and wise'," Huey replied. "I don't know if you've heard of that particular saying before, but it sounds fitting."

"It certainly does," Twilight agreed. "I assume you will be heading back to Zipporwhill's home to continue rebuilding?"

"Your assumption is correct! What about you?"

"I'll be continuing my organisational work, with Spike, my number one assistant, by my side!" Twilight announced proudly. "Anything I can do to help rebuild Ponyville, I will do!"

"Hear, hear!" Huey and Applejack concurred. The human lifted his bowl up in a manner reminiscent of a glass being raised in support of a toast for a moment to accentuate his agreement.

"Speaking of which, what have the others been up to?" Huey asked. "I've not seen them since the meeting in the library."

"Pinkie's been helpin' me, Big Mac, Apple Bloom and Granny out with the bakin'," Applejack replied. "Her work at Sugarcube Corner made her perfect to help with cookin' up all this grub for the townsfolk."

"Not only that," Twilight interrupted. "she's also been working hard on repairing Sugarcube Corner."

"I didn't know Sugarcube Corner housed children," Huey mused. "Do the owners live above the shop?"

"They do!" Twilight chirped. "However, we prioritised the reconstruction of it since it's a bakery! It would make things easier to have the food cooked there, instead of at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Plus, it's a sizeable building," Huey added thoughtfully. "Better to have the place up and running for everyone to get their nutritional needs, instead of forcing Applejack and her family to cart all this food here from the farm."

"Awww shoot," Applejack replied with a shrug. "Granny's been here since before Ponyville was founded! We'd do anythin' to help our friends."

"True, but you need to do all that cooking, as well as the running of your farm," Huey countered. "There's no need to make hardship last longer than it needs to. What about the others?"

"Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy have been helping Rarity repair Carousel Boutique," Twilight explained. "Her shop's show room and other facilities make it perfect for temporary accommodation!"

"Fair enough!" Huey remarked. "Hopefully, once this is all done and dusted, the whole town can have a well deserved break!"

"Agreed!" the two ponies, and Spike, concurred with a nod.

"But, until then, we've got work to do!" Huey declared, putting his bowl next to the growing pile of used crockery near Applejack's stall. "Thank you for breakfast, Applejack. I'd better get going to my work-site, Drill Bit made a prediction, and I intend to make it come true!"

"Hold ya horses, Huey!"

He immediately turned to face Applejack, who tossed an apple towards him.

"Lunch!" she said. "I don't want ya starvin' like ya did yesterday!"

Huey smiled and gave the farmer a grateful thumbs-up.

"Thanks, Applejack! See you guys later!"

The trio waved goodbye, which Huey returned, as he left the group behind to head to work.

"You've got the strength of an earth pony!"

Huey looked up at Flitter, who was watching him push a set of drawers into the house they had finished thatching.

"I wish!" he retorted, while beads of sweat slowly rolled down his face. "This thing's heavier than it looks! How's the daub doing on the upper floors of the house?"

The light blue pegasus fluttered up, so that she could give the outside wall an experimental prod with the tip of her hoof. After a couple of prods had been performed, she flew into the house in pursuit of Huey to inform him of her findings.

"Still kind of sticky and wet!" she reported. "I guess it needs a little bit more time before we begin painting it?"

"Indeed it does, Flitter!" Huey concurred. "You've learned quick!"

"It's certainly different to doing weather stuff!" she remarked, hovering beside Huey. "How do you know all this kind of stuff anyway? I mean... I thought Drill Bit would be the one teaching us all the bits and bobs of this building lark, but from the amount of stuff you've told us over the past day... I'm starting to think you should be in charge!"

Huey raised an eyebrow at the compliment. It was true that he had been able to impart a great deal of knowledge on all kinds of topics. However, it was nothing truly specialised, just incredibly varied. One could, as was the case with Flitter, honestly make the mistake that he was an expert, but he was not. The scraps of knowledge he could recall were not huge enough for him to be on par with an individual, like Drill Bit, who had not only been doing construction their entire life, but were born to do it.

"That's kind of you to say," Huey mused. "However, I'm really not that qualified. Sure, I know lots of stuff, but that doesn't make me an expert. Drill Bit's got the cutie mark, I'd put my faith in him long before I put any in myself."

"You don't need a cutie mark to be good at something!" Flitter argued. "Look at you! You don't have a mark, yet you know all kinds of cool stuff!"

"I can't argue with that, but Drill Bit still has practical experience. As far as I can remember, this is the first time I've built something."

"Alright, but don't go underselling yourself!" Flitter conceded. "You're better than you think you are! Memories or not!"

"Thanks Flitter."

As the pair turned to venture out of the house to find another piece of furniture to move in, Drill Bit poked his head through the doorway.

"Lunchtime, everypony!" the construction worker bellowed. "Also, you've got a visitor, Huey!"

The human's ears pricked up in interest at the news, and immediately quickened his pace to see who wished to see him. His guess that it was Ditzy Doo was confirmed when the blonde and grey pegasus waved at him, once he had left the house. Huey waved back and approached her.

"Hello!" he greeted cheerfully. "How's your day been?"

"Great!" Ditzy chirped with a smile, her excitement at meeting her friend causing her to fidget on the spot. "What about you!?"

"Happy to see you," Huey replied, causing Ditzy's smile to widen even more. "I've been thinking about dinner."

"Dinner?" she repeated in surprise and confusion, her fidgeting immediately ceasing, while her head tilted inquisitively. "What about it?"

"Well, it had completely slipped my mind at the time, but I don't actually have any money," He explained, causing Ditzy to frown, while her ears drooped. Huey's heart sank, the assumption forming within him stating that Ditzy probably thought that he was attempting to bail out of his promise, because of who she was.

"However, I'm going to keep my promise!" Huey declared. "I can't take you out for dinner, so I thought..."

His tongue immediately seized up. The memories of yesterday and this morning flashed through his mind. The thoughts of the meal being 'a date', and the fact that this had escalated from just taking her out for a hayburger to a full on meal at home had caused him to hesitate.

"You thought...?" Ditzy asked slowly in an attempt to prompt Huey into continuing.

"I thought..." Huey began carefully. "That... I could make dinner for you at my home."

Ditzy's eyes widened at the invitation, causing Huey to quickly continue.

"And you can bring your daughter along! You would be able to meet Twilight, the mare who opened up her home for me to live in, and her assistant, Spike!"

The pegasus nodded her head slowly as she let the invitation sink in.

"Okay..." she began slowly. "Yeah... I think I could do that."

Huey breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"Thank you, I thought that, maybe, you'd find that a little bit awkward or forward, but I don't have any other way to thank you for your kindness right now! I could hold off until I found employment and saved up enough to do what I intended yesterday, but..."

"But what?"

"I didn't want you to wait," he explained solemnly. "I know this may sound a bit cliche or silly, but I'd like to show you that I really do appreciate what you did for me."

Ditzy looked away, her gaze locked onto the ground as she kicked the dirt beneath her hooves in thought.

"Sure!" she said after a few moments. "Yes, I'd love to do that!"

Huey smiled and nodded his head.

"Fantastic!" he chirped. "I promise that you and..."

"Dinky Doo." Ditzy said, filling in the gap Huey had unwittingly created by referencing her child. The unusual name caused the human to mull over it for a moment.

"D-Dinky?" Huey replied with a hint of confusion. "Dinky's your daughter's name?"

"Yeah," Ditzy replied nervously. "Do you like it?"

Huey gritted his teeth. The name, in all honesty, sounded as weird as the rest of the names he had heard so far, however saying that outright was clearly not the best move at the moment.

"You hate it, don't you?"

"No!" Huey spluttered. "No! I don't think that at all! It's just..."

"What?" Ditzy asked, her eyes shining with the tell-tale sign of tears welling up. Huey sighed in defeat.

"I'm still getting used to how unique Equestrian names are, Ditzy," he admitted. "They all sound so... weird. Every single one of them."

He walked past the pegasus and sat down on the edge of a cart that had once been full of daub for the walls of the house he had been building. Ditzy followed and sat next to him once he invited her by patting the empty spot next to him.

"You see..." Huey began thoughtfully. "Where I'm from, we have all kinds of names like Thomas, Alexander, Bethany, Erika and George."

"Those sound really weird," Ditzy remarked. Huey nodded his head in understanding.

"Yeah, they must if you have only ever known Ditzy, Dinky... Twilight Sparkle, Celestia and..."

"Drill Bit?"

"Yeah! My own name, Huey, must sound incredibly weird and alien to you. Just as all your names sound so strange to me."

"You're right," Ditzy admitted with a hint of guilt. "I didn't want to tell you it was though. I mean... it's not nice being told your name, the thing you will be called your entire life, is weird."

"Quite," Huey agreed quietly. "You know... i've only been here for almost a week."

"You have!?" Ditzy gasped. "Wow! I thought you'd been here for ages! You seemed so... well... settled in."

"Well, I don't really have that much of a choice," he explained. "I don't know what kind of life I lead back home. I found out only a couple of days ago that if I wanted to go home... I'd be dead long before that could even happen."

Ditzy reached out and placed a hoof on Huey's hand to give it a friendly squeeze.

"I can't begin to imagine how hard that must be," she mused. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault," Huey reassured her. "To be honest, and don't go telling anyone this, but..."

"But what? Don't worry, I won't tell anypony at all! Pinkie Promise!"

Huey chuckled at the reference to the unusual ritual Pinkie Pie created.

"I'm actually kind of glad that I can't go back."

"What? Why?"

"Because I'm scared of what I might find," Huey admitted, his gaze looking up towards the sky. "I wonder whether I'd go back and my memory would return. I'd then find out whether I was a good or bad person, whether I'd lived a happy life or not. I'm scared I might discover that I was a horrible person. What do I do then? Do I accept what I did and go back to being that horrible person, or do I toss that aside and start from scratch?"

Ditzy's hoof squeezed Huey's hand again.

"Well, you don't have to think about that," she reassured him. "You said yourself that you can't go back. You shouldn't be afraid of what you might find, if you know that you won't find out."

"But that's the thing, Ditzy. What if my memory comes back while I'm here?" Huey continued. "I could wake up tomorrow and remember that I have a family and friends all waiting for me at home. They would be worried sick, and I'd never be able to tell them that I'm safe. I would never see them again."

Ditzy scrunched her face up in thought. Unlike the first scenario Huey had presented, this one was still remotely possible. All creatures, as far as she knew, had parents, so there would, undoubtedly, be a family back home that were probably wondering where Huey had gone. The thought of that happening to her beloved Dinky sickened her. She couldn't begin to imagine what she'd do if Dinky suddenly vanished without a trace, never to be seen again. The grief would probably leave her a broken shell, as she hoped, in vain, that one day her beautiful baby filly would suddenly reappear.

"I wish I had an answer, Huey," Ditzy began honestly. "but I don't. I can't begin to imagine how much this must worry you."

"I try not to think about," he replied softly. "but it's always there. I worry about regaining my memory the most. 'Ignorance is bliss', they say. Except I'm not ignorant to the fact that I may suddenly remember everything. That single, insignificant thing terrifies me more than anything, since if I were to remain without those memories, I could block them out entirely. Sure, I know I don't even know my own name, but I can imagine something less painful without fear of being proven wrong. I can imagine that, before I came here, I was an orphan. No one who would worry about me if I disappeared. I'd be able to just move on and focus on making the most of being here, instead of worrying about the massive catastrophe that's occurred due to my disappearance."

Ditzy nodded in understanding and wrapped a wing round Huey's torso. The human sighed and leaned into the pegasus' side for comfort as he stewed silently in his concerns.

"Huey..."

"Yes, Ditzy?"

"I don't know what I can say to help you right now, but I can tell you this," she murmured quietly. "It may be for the best if you try not to think about something that may not happen. Instead, you should wait until it does. If, by some miracle, you do remember your past, I'll be there for you... no matter what."

Huey sniffled and sighed softly, as he felt Ditzy's wing tighten its grip around him. Tilting his head, he rested his cheek against the pegasus' blonde mane and closed his eyes so he could just focus on the comfort the embrace gave him. His experience with Celestia and Luna a few days before had shown him the therapeutic value of a hug was immeasurable.

"Thank you, Ditzy," he whispered. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome."