To Feel Is To Understand

Of course I changed, I had to. My girl needed me. But Aro didn't care. As I grew a heart, his shrunk. It wasn't until he took her away that I realized how better off we would be if he was dead.

I was so wrong.

"How are you feeling today, Moon?" Twilight asked, approaching the hospital bed.

"Better, surprisingly." He glanced at the cup on the stand beside his bed and pointed at it. "Do you mind? I would do it, but I still don't know how to use these," he said, lifting his two front hooves.

Twilight levitated the cup of water to Moon, he took it and had a drink. "Thanks." She nodded and smiled softly. "I can hold basic stuff in between 'em, but I can't figure out the grip." He shrugged and carefully set the cup back down. "It's gonna take some getting used to, not having fingers." He looked back at Twilight. "Will me and the rest be returning to the other side of the mirror today?"

"Not quite. I still need to understand what could've brought you here."

"Princess, we need to go back. There has been a misunderstanding. Arthur and I have to clear it up. Otherwise something bad will happen to him."

"If you tell me what exactly is going to happen, it may persuade me to let you go back."

Moon’s ears drooped as he looked away. "It's better for all of us if you didn't know what happened." He looked up at her. "You seem like a good person. That's why I don't want to tell you."

"Please." She put a hoof to his. "Tell me. That way, I can figure out how to help the four of you." His expression looked pained, as if what he was about to say could physically hurt him. Twilight continued, "You can trust me."

He swept his mane back, sighing. His eyes met Twilight's as he began, "There are these bad, greedy people in my hometown. They shoot first, then ask questions later. They'll bury you if you ever crossed them. And the worst thing is, they won't remember who you were," he finished with a shake of his head, swishing his mane.

That's… horrible! She leaned in. "And how do you know this?"

"Me and Arthur work for them." Twilight's eyes widened, while Moon glanced down. "We made mistakes. We both have debts that we need to pay." He looked up at her, his gaze unwavering.

He shifted in his seat. "In order for that debt to be paid, the four of us needed to rob a museum. As you know, stealing is illegal." He brought the hoof that Twilight wasn't holding up to his mouth. "Right. No fingers." He looked at the symbol on it for a few seconds before lying it back down. "So a lot of cops tried to arrest us. They saw us as a threat and wounded me and the rest of the crew."

"I see. So, you are a criminal," she stated, looking straight in his eyes, frowning.

"Yeah. All four of us are." Her gaze grew harder. He leaned in. "We weren't born criminals, Princess." He patted his chest, saying, "We do what we can to survive. Sure, the things we do may seem unfair. But the way I see it, we're just balancing the scales." He sighed and lowered his head. "Sometimes we don't even have a say in the matter. Sometimes we're just puppets," he finished, lying back and looking at the ceiling.

Someone used these ponies. These ponies, capable of committing crimes. She stared at his hoof. He would break the law knowing getting hurt was a high probability?

"I was wondering when you'd notice," he said, looking at the hoof sticking from below his blanket. He glanced at Twilight and lifted the blanket off of his hind legs. Twilight gasped and brought her front hooves to her mouth.

The bottom half of his left back leg was metal, though a soft material separated flesh from it. The prosthetic limb had the shape of a thin hourglass. It was a mishmash of grey, black and chrome. The chrome took the form of four bars that connected the metal hoof to where his lower leg would've been. With a squint, Twilight could also make out small scratches, dings, and even a dent on the black hoof.

"I lost it, two years ago. On a job gone wrong." He covered his legs. He smiled, but didn't show teeth. "It is what it is. It took a while but I've learned to live with it, it's a part of me now." He looked at her. Her eyes were tearing up. "That's what those jobs meant to me." He looked down and fiddled with his front hooves. "Like my leg, something inside me was replaced. But it was replaced by the need to stay comfortable. Even if I had to break the law doing it."

He sighed. "The reason I told you now is because I know you'd find out sooner or later. And because it would blow up in my face." Twilight looked up. He continued in a softer tone, "If there was other option than stealing, I would've taken it. But the truth is, my world doesn't give you one."

She broke eye contact to glance at the floor. "I'm going to talk to Arthur Paige. Then I will send a message to the Princess of Equestria. I will tell her how I feel about this situation, how I think it should be dealt with. But I won't have a say in what happens to you."

He nodded. "I understand. And thank you for listening." She rose from her spot on the floor. "Princess?" She turned. "Can you tell Arthur I'm sorry?"

She opened the door and glanced back at the stallion, specifically, the stallion's necklace.And with that, she nodded and left.

Twilight walked through the door and shut it behind her. Her eyes rested on the stallion. Who was staring out the window, slouching as he rested his chin on his hoof. Her gaze averted from his bright form, his coat reflecting a modest glare from the sun. It was white, though not as pure as Celestia's. Patches of his fur were dyed a faint orange from the bloodshed a week ago. The patches weren't as defined as the ginger in his short mane, which stuck up in random places.

Twilight barely fought the smirk lighting up her face, saying, "Hello, Arthur."

He shot her a glare. "Where the hell am I?"

She approached the foot end of the bed. "It's okay. You are in a hospital. You are safe now," she said with a smile.

"How did I get here?" he asked, his hard gaze unfaltering.

"We don't know," she said. "We are currently trying to understand why you and your crew arrived here. I've already spoken to them. Apparently, they remember the events that led to it, except for the means of the actual arrival. I was hoping you could shed some light on that issue."

He leaned back, crossing his forelegs. "You can give up your hopes on that. I was unconscious and probably bleeding to death."

"You were. We barely saved you."

Arthur just gave her a look that enunciated, "I don't believe you." He shook his head. "Whatever. Here's a question. Why am I a horse? I tried asking the nurse, but he looked at me like I was crazy, I think. It's kind of hard to tell since he's a horse." He waved a hoof.

Twilight glanced at the floor. "I'm not sure why you are equine. Though, I turned into a human when I went through that portal. Also, we refer to ourselves as ponies, not horses," she said with a shake of her head.

He put up his front hooves. "Back up. A portal? We aren't on Earth?" he asked, eyes squinting.

"There is a portal in my castle that allows for transportation to another dimension's portal. It seems you are no longer in yours."

His gaze drifted off to his right. "Huh. Another dimension." He lifted a hoof and squinted at it for a few seconds. He shrugged, then hit himself with it. After shouting in pain, he said, "That hurt." He stopped rubbing his face and his eyes widened. "This is real! You're real!" His hooves went straight to his head. "How long have I been here?!"

"It has been a week since your arrival in Equestria."

"A week?!" Twilight nodded. "I need to get out of here. I-I need to get home!" he yelled.

"Arthur. You are still healing. We can't let you leave yet." He leapt out of bed, landing on all fours.

Twilight's eyebrows lifted as she rose, approaching the other side of the bed. "Easy." She held up a hoof. "Think about this. You haven't used your body in a week. You aren't coordinated properly…" When she reached him, she had to look up at him, he easily stood at least a foot over her.

"I don't have time for this!" He took a step forward and immediately lost balance. He crashed down face-first with a loud thud.

Twilight winced. "Let me help you," she said, approaching him.

He immediately held up a hoof. "G-get away from me!" he yelled, trying to put as much distance between him and Twilight.

Is he actually afraid of me? It seemed so, his eyes were as wide as dinner plates, pupils practically shrunk to pinpricks, and his ears clung to his head as tightly as possible. She sighed, her ears drooping.

She took a seat on the floor. "I'm not going to hurt you. It's okay," she said, her voice barely reaching above a whisper. She offered a hoof. All Arthur could do was stare at it.

A moment passed. He reached for it and slapped it away. He shoved Twilight to the floor and made a break for the door. It was inches away before he stopped. Looking down at his front hooves, he realized, How in the world am I going to get the door open?

"I'm sorry for this. I really am." He looked back at her. "But you've forced my hoof. Nurse!"

Arthur shook his head so fast that Twilight was slightly concerned it would fly off his neck. He moved away from the door. "No! You don't understand! I need to see her! I need to make sure she's okay!"

A unicorn ran into the room, pushing the door open with a loud slam. "What is going o—" His eyes widened upon seeing his patient. The nurse trotted over to Arthur, a syringe appearing from behind him.

"No! Please!" Arthur attempted to run, but found he was held in place by an invisible force. "What the hell?!"

The nurse stopped a few feet away from Arthur. "It's okay, Mr Paige. You aren't in any danger," he said.

"Why can't I move?!" was all Arthur could say before the nurse stabbed the syringe into his flank. He scrunched up his face and yelled. "Gah! F-fuck!"

"Shh. It's going to be okay," said the nurse in a soft voice. "Don't fight it."

A moment passed and Arthur's eyes glazed over. He eased off, slurring, "I… n-need to… see her."

The nurse breathed a sigh of relief. He closed his eyes and the grooves in his horn lit up teal. Arthur floated off the ground.

Twilight took a step. "I can hel—"

The nurse had held up a hoof, but didn't turn to face her. "My patient needs his rest now." He barely glanced at her before saying, "I'm sure he'd appreciate it if you waited a little longer until your next visit." Arthur was set on the bed, a blanket covering him. "Be sure to shut the door on the way out."

Uyada shot up. "No!" She was breathing heavily, her eyes watering. She patted her chest and looked down at it. Keeping her hoof on it, she lowered her head. Closing her eyes, she let out a soft cry.

She calmed down when she saw the pale yellow pegasus sitting in the chair on the right side of the bed. Even through her blurry sight, she could still make out her pink mane.

Setting down a book she was reading, Fluttershy approached. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Uyada nodded and wiped away the tears.

Fluttershy gave her a knowing look. "Here," said the pony as she passed a box of tissues to Uyada.

She grabbed a couple of sheets. "Th-thank you."

The shy pegasus gave a small smile before averting her gaze. "Oh, it's no problem." She looked back to Uyada with a worried expression on her face. "You were tossing in your sleep again. Do you want to talk about your nightmare?"

Uyada glanced at the floor, shaking her head. "No. It's not worth the time to talk about what's passed."

"I see. Then, would you like some water?"

"Yes," Uyada nodded, "that would be appreciated." She gave Fluttershy a small smile. The pegasus nodded and smiled as well.

"I'll let the nurse know you're awake," the pegasus said before leaving the room.

Uyada ran her front hooves down her face and lowered her head on them. I can't believe we are here. The Land of the Ponies. At least the past can't catch up again. She sighed, lifting her head. How will I tell them?

She looked outside the window at the hustle and bustle of everyday life in the streets of Ponyville. Such a fitting name, she thought. Ponies. Talking ponies, free from harm and evil that stalks the outside world. How peaceful. And yet, here I am.

She looked up at the horn sticking out of her forehead.

Fluttershy entered the room, balancing a cup on her outstretched wing. She approached Uyada with a soft smile on her face. When she reached a respectable distance between her and Uyada, she passed her the cup.

She didn't take a sip, but chose to stare into it. "Why do you choose to be with me, Fluttershy?" she asked, looking up at her. "There are plenty of patients here. Why me?"

Fluttershy sat on the floor, looking down at it. "All the ponies here have a smile on their face. Some get visitors every day. They all look so happy." She looked up with her watering eyes. "Except for you."

Uyada's brows furrowed. "You don't even know me."

"I don't need to know you to show you kindness," she replied, shaking her head.

The unicorn shut her eyes. Her voice trembled as she said, "I don't…" Her nightmare flashed through her mind. Tears released, and her lip quivered. She whispered, "I d-don't deserve it."

Fluttershy trotted over. She put a hoof to the unicorn's cheek, lifting her head and looking into her eyes. "Everypony deserves kindness, even if they think they don't. That's why I come here every day, making sure to put a smile on your face at least once," she finished with a smile.

Uyada took a deep breath and sighed, her breath shaking. "Thank you, Fluttershy."

"You don't need to thank me." The pegasus backed off and took a seat on the floor. "I wanted to ask you something, but I didn't want to offend you."

"What is it?"

"How did you earn your cutie mark?"

"My cutie mark?" Uyada asked, wiping her tears.

Four humans show up in Equestria, the Princess of Friendship looks after them. Sounds like a joke. Twilight sighed. How will I tell my friends? Twilight thought back to the arrival of the humans. Why them? Why now? Why would someone even suppress their memories?

She was too deep in thought to hear a familiar dragon walking up behind her. "How'd it go?" asked Spike. Twilight flinched back to reality.

She turned. "Please don't do that again."

"Do what? Ask about your morning?" he asked with a smile.

"Not that. Sneaking up on me. You know how last time went."

Spike laughed. "Trust me, I've learned my lesson. So, how did it go?" She lowered her head. "That bad, huh? We can talk when we get back to the castle, you've been on your hooves since Princess Celestia raised the sun."

The walk to the castle was uneventful and short, thankfully. Although it was also eerily silent.

"What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked. She didn't respond. "Is it the humans?"

She nodded. "They are criminals, Spike. I just…" She sighed. "I don't know what to do."

"Good thing you have time to figure it out," he said, patting her back. "I'm going to make something to eat." He turned and walked off in the direction of the kitchen. "Stop stressing so much," she heard him say from behind her.

I wish I could, Spike.

Twilight pushed the Map Room's doors open telepathically, revealing her pupil reading a book, lounging on Twilight's throne.

Starlight looked up with a pleasant smile. "Hey, Princess." Seeing Twilight's expression, she asked, "What's going on?"

Twilight approached the table and poured herself a steaming cup of tea. "Those ponies are being released today." She dropped in a couple sugar cubes and stirred.

"Isn't that a good thing?" Starlight asked. "They can go home." She closed her book and left her spot.

Twilight turned. "They're criminals."

Starlight's face fell. "Oh." She cleared her throat. "They didn't hurt ponies, did they?"

"None that I know of," Twilight said before she had a drink. A pleasant flavour greeted her taste buds, while an intense heat burned within her throat. "Somepony needs to decide what happens to them."

Spike walked in with an apple slice platter. He walked to the table holding what seemed to him as an oversized dish. The thing was as big as him, yet he held it with no problem.

"Thank you, Spike," said Twilight as she levitated a slice to herself.

"No problem," he replied, before approaching the exit.

"Wait, Spike?"

He turned. "Hm?"

"Can you bring a sheet of paper? And a quill?"

"Yep. Can do," he said with a smile before turning and walking off.

"I need to let Princess Celestia know about this. She'll know what to do with them," said Twilight.

"I say we should send them back," Starlight said. "There's no telling what they could do." Twilight lowered her head. "You aren't considering letting them stay, right?"

Twilight let out a sigh. "I can't let them go back."

"Twilight, they're criminals! Better yet, they're criminals of another world!" Starlight exclaimed.

Twilight turned. "If I recall, you aren't that different from a criminal!" Starlight's eyes widened, tears glistening at their corners. Twilight brought a hoof to her mouth, a soft gasp escaping her lips. "I-I'm so sorry."

She turned away. "Is… is that what you think of me?"

"I didn't mean to…"

"I hope you know what you're doing with those humans, Twilight," Starlight said.

Me too. "Spike?" She looked backwards and her gaze landed on him. He had a quill ready to write.

He cleared his throat before saying, "Way ahead of you, Twi."

"Dear Princess Celestia…"

Pain. It wasn't intense and piercing, it was more like an ache. An ache in Arthur's heart that brought him back to a waking nightmare.

Upon opening his eyes, a blinding light burned them, forcing him to shut them again. He winced. He put up his hooves, then dropped them when he realized he was trying to block the setting sun. He yawned.

"You're up!" His gaze locked onto a teal-colored unicorn at the foot of his bed. Arthur could hear faint whispering from him. The nurse had written something on the clipboard attached to the bed. When the nurse was finished, he looked up. "How are you feeling?" he asked, a pleasant smile spreading across his face.

Absolutely terrible. Instead of saying that, Arthur settled for, "Just peachy."

"I see," he said flatly. "Princess Twilight was insistent on asking you more questions," the nurse finished with a little more life in his voice.

Arthur sighed, massaging the back of his neck. "So that's her name."

"Yes. I, uh… I kept her away, so she wouldn't disturb your rest," the nurse continued, before looking back at the clipboard.

Arthur sat up. "What's her deal? Why does she want to ask me stuff?"

The nurse took a glance at his patient. "She's the one who found you. You're lucky she did. You would've died." He turned to face Arthur. "If you don't mind me asking," his head tilted, "what hurt you? I haven't seen a wound like yours in… well, ever."

Arthur broke eye contact. "You don't want to know, trust me."

"Well, that's what I get for asking," said the unicorn, eyes darting to the floor. He looked up as he asked, "Do you want to try walking, Mr Paige?"

Arthur shrugged. "Sure. Why not?"

"You know, I'd rather walk on two legs. Four are so confusing."

The nurse chuckled. "I don't think we are built like that." Arthur wrapped a hoof around the railing. "Do you have it? Don't want you falling again."

Arthur snorted. "Yeah, I think I got it."

"Okay, I'm going to let go. Ready?"

"Yeah." The nurse released his grip. Arthur took a step and wobbled. He stiffened his legs, then took a few more steps. He laughed. "I'm doing it!" He looked up at the nurse with a grin on his face. "I'm real—" One of his front legs missed a step, causing Arthur to tumble down face-first with a familiar thud. He groaned. "I'm really starting to hate this." He chose to rest in his rather uncomfortable position.

"He doesn't walk very well, does he?" asked a familiar voice.

Arthur looked at the door, seeing a smirking pale blue pegasus, with Moon's stupid haircut. "Moon? Is that you?"

The pegasus chuckled."How's he doin'?" asked Moon.

"Better," said the nurse, "he's recovering quickly. I'm quite surprised."

"Good. 'cause a certain purple princess wants to speak with him." Moon approached his downed friend and sat in front of him. "She is gonna tell us what's goin' to happen to us," he said, looking down at Arthur.

"Well, he's ready to go. We were just finishing up," the nurse said as he shared a look with Moon.

"We were?" Arthur asked as he struggled to get to his hooves.

"You don't need to worry, Mr Paige." The nurse helped him up. "Your legs have the strength. You just lack the confidence. Keep practising. Next thing you know, you'll be back to your old self in no time," he said with a smile.

"Well, thank you…"

"Beating Heart," the nurse finished.

Arthur smirked. "Thanks for looking out," he said.

The nurse chuckled. "Just doing my job." He turned. "I'll see you around."

Arthur waved. "Take it easy." The nurse left the room. Arthur looked back to his friend. "Moon, what the fuck?! What happened?! Why are we horses?!"

Moon lifted his front hooves and said, "Calm down."

"How?! How the hell am I supposed to be calm?!"

Moon gave him a flat look. "You literally stared death in the face. How are you scared now?"

"Obviously you weren't sedated while being held in place by magic. A gunfight doesn't scare me." He looked forward. "At least there I'm not completely helpless."

Moon looked ahead. "Well, you're going to have to get used to magic. It's a common practise here."

"Where even is 'here'?"

"Ponyville, Equestria. We're in some weird horseland. I don't think this is Earth. Well, our Earth."

Arthur lowered his head and sighed. "I'd rather be home right now."

"Hey, you still have time." He patted his friend's shoulder and held the door open.

Arthur shook his head and walked through the door. "This is ridiculous." He looked over to his friend. "What even happened after I passed out?"

Moon met his gaze. "I honestly don't know. Apparently there's a spell that's preventing me and the girls from remembering."

Arthur gave him a look that said ‘Bullshit.’ He asked, "Doesn't that seem sketchy to you?"

Moon nodded, then looked ahead. "It does."

"So, what do we do about it?"

"We wait." He glanced at his friend. "For now."

The door opened. "—right, I admit. I'm impressed. It's a castle made of crystal!" Arthur exclaimed. "You know, something tells me this won't be the end of the very long list of 'things that shouldn't be'," he continued. Moon just smirked.

"Hello again, Arthur," greeted Twilight as he walked into the room, his friend following behind.

"Princess," he said with a nod.

She approached him. "I'm sorry for earlier."

"It's okay," he whispered, his gaze drifting to the two other horses in the room. "Those are the girls?" he asked his friend.

"Yep. That's them," replied Moon.

The short one was talking off the taller horse's ear as she nodded occasionally.

"—and that's when you showed up. Oh, man. I thought we were burnt." The taller one nudged her partner's shoulder. "Hm? What?" She simply nodded at Arthur. "Is that Arthur?" the short one asked.

He looked her up and down. She had no horn, no wings. If Arthur had to guess… Potato. Her loud voice gave it away.

"Holy crap! You just had to be tall as a horse too," she said, walking over to him. "Eh, at least you don't have a horn. Like our Japanese friend here," she said as she pointed to the only white unicorn in the room.

"Uyada. Nice to see you," Arthur said with a nod. She matched it with one of her own. "So, what's going to happen to us?" he asked, turning his attention to Twilight.

"We'll get to that." She glanced at Arthur. "Thank you all for seeing me. I'm sure you have spent enough time taking in the situation."

Arthur scoffed and shook his head.

"I've come to a decision." She paused and lowered her head. "All four of you will remain in Equestria."

Exactly five seconds passed, before Arthur yelled, "What?!" Twilight looked up at him. He gave her a familiar fearful look. "No, no, no. I need to go back!"

"This is for your own good."

Moon lifted his front hooves as he sat down. "Princess, please. Just listen."

She looked back to Arthur. It looked like he was on the verge of tears. It reminded her of the first time she saw Moon. Twilight swallowed past the lump in her throat and nodded once.

"I have a family," he began with weakness showing in his voice. "Th-they need me. They need my help. P-please. Just let me go back to them." Just as he finished, tears spilled from his eyes.

A moment of silence washed over the room. His look of hopelessness grew as he slowly lowered his head.

Twilight had to turn away from the sight. I can't be the one to decide this! But I can't just keep somepony from their family! She stomped her hoof. The sting from the impact shot up her leg and made her eyes water. She lowered her head and sobbed quietly.

Moon trotted over to his friend and sat beside him. He had collapsed onto the floor, crying, except no noise escaped his lips. "We can't fight this, Arthur." He held his friend, feeling every shake of a shallow breath he took. "We can't fight this," he whispered.