Chapters Chapter 2: The Palate of a Pony
"I don't trust that guy," said Mr. Dough to his family, who were patiently awaiting their new guest.
"Why not?" asked Tiger Lily, completely unaware of the noises made by the clumsy pony in the room above.
"Why should I trust him?" he replied with extra emphasis on the "should." "Why didn't he try to stand up during any part of our conversation with him?"
"Maybe he's just sore or something," suggested Mrs. Dough, trying to defend him. "He was unconscious for three days, after all."
"Oh yeah? What about his cutie mark?" he questioned.
"What about it?" asked Tiger Lily. "Was there something bizarre about it?"
"Nope. There wasn't anything bizarre about that cutie mark of his," he answered.
"There! If there's nothing bizarre about his cutie mark, then there isn't really a point to be had about how suspicious it is. You should really think things through before accusing people, Dad."
"You didn't let me finish. There's nothing bizarre about it because he didn't have one," he said.
"Oh..." she said, looking defeated.
"It could be because of his amnesia," offered Mrs. Dough. "He could have very easily forgotten what his special talent is."
Tiger Lily instantly perked up after this suggestion. "That's right! You can't know what you're good at if you can't remember anything!"
Mr. Dough glared at his wife for defending the object of his suspicion again. "Speaking of amnesia, was it just me, or did he look a little too happy when you suggested that possibility?" he asked.
Mrs. Dough looked as though she were deep in thought. After thinking for a few moments, she was stumped. "So what if he's a little suspicious?" she asked.
"I'm just worried that he might try to do something to you. I don't know what I'd do if..." he broke off. He then looked down at the ground, trying to hold back a tear. Mrs. Dough also looked rather depressed. Tiger Lily, on the other hand, just looked confused.
"I know how you feel," said Mrs. Dough, "but maybe this one is different. Not everypony would do something like that."
"I know," Mr. Dough said, having calmed down a little, "but I can't shake this feeling that something is wrong with that stallion."
Meanwhile: (Upstairs)
Gingersnap walked through the halls of his new home. "You know; I think I'm starting to get used to the whole 'walking' thing. Now I just need to figure out how to get home and I'll finally be happy!" he said to himself. He's managed to calm down a little bit, despite this new world that he found himself in. He still didn't know how this happened to him, but he assumed things might start to become clear eventually. After walking for a little, he came to a complete, although not too smooth, halt. He stared at the challenge that had arrived before him.
"Ah. My old enemy: stairs," he said. It was a simple staircase, nothing that he hadn't seen before, but it seemed like a completely new thing to him.
After devising a battle plan, he cautiously took his first step onto the top stair. So far, so good. Now for the other arm. He then placed his other front hoof onto the step below the first. Pleased with how he hadn't fallen yet, he continued with the same pattern he just used. He was only able to repeat it once before making an important discovery: he had completely forgotten about his back legs.
Crap! Now what do I do? Maybe I could take the one leg and place it there? As he thought of how he would fix this, he slowly took one hind leg and placed it on the stair. This left him in a rather awkward position to balance in. He then lifted the other leg to correct this issue. To put it simply, he very quickly found himself tumbling down the stairs. He eventually landed in the doorway of the dining room.
"Owww..." he muttered through clenched teeth.
"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find a doctor," said Mrs. Dough. She then left the building.
Tiger Lily immediately rushed to aid the fallen Gingersnap. "Are you okay?! Where does it hurt?! How did this happen?! Are you going to live?! PLEASE DON'T DIE!!!!!" she questioned in rapid succession
"In that order: I'll be fine. Just about everywhere. I tripped. I will live," he answered. "I just fell down the stairs. I'm not going to die from that."
"Really? Do you fall down the stairs often?"
"I can't say that I do. Falling up the stairs, though..."
"Up the stairs?" she asked with a very confused expression. "What do you do? Do you just go 'pffft. Screw gravity' then fly up the stairs? I think you'd need to be a pegasus to do that."
Really? Gingersnap thought. Pegasi live here too? Next thing they're going to tell me is that dragons live here.
"Now that I think about it, an older dragon could fly up the stairs. But I don't think that older dragons would need stairs, though."
I have no comment. He then stood up, wincing at the new pain in his hooves. He moved slowly and awkwardly, but he managed to reach the table. Carefully examining how Mr. Dough, who didn't leave his seat, was sitting, he tried to sit down at the place he thought was his. He stumbled a little, but he figured his newest injuries would cover for his awkward movements.
Laying on the table in front of him was a slice of apple pie, a sandwich with some yellow poking out of it (he assumed it was just some cheese), and a cup filled with a yellow liquid.
Please be lemonade. I don't want to see life's manager or anything like that. I don't have any engineers to make combustible lemons. I just want that to be lemonade! he begged to whatever gods may govern this world filled with talking horses.
He reached over to pick up his sandwich. After fumbling for a little, he managed to actually lift it off of his plate. Upon taking a bite, he was greeted by an unfamiliar taste. He didn't hate the taste of it. In fact, this is one of the best sandwiches he ever tasted. Before his swallowed it, he asked, "Whach in dish sandvich?"
"Just some freshly made bread and some daffodils," responded Mr. Dough.
Upon hearing the word daffodil, he immediately spit out the sandwich, causing petals to fly everywhere, especially into Mr. Dough's mane. He then tried to cleanse his tongue with a disgusted look on his face. His expression became even more disgusted after realizing he didn't know where his hooves have been and how clean they were. Tiger Lily laughed at the scene while Mr. Dough tried to get the daffodil petals out of his mane. After noticing the petals, he apologized for what happened.
"Are you allergic to daffodils or something?" asked Mr. Dough, having removed as many petals as he could. "I knew I should have used daisies," he then muttered to himself.
"No. It's nothing like that," replied Gingersnap. "I just wasn't expecting anything so... floral."
"What were you expecting then? Cheese?" questioned Tiger Lily, lightly chuckling as if she made a joke.
"Yes, actually," he responded. "Would you happen to have some?" he asked, looking rather serious.
Tiger Lily and Mr. Dough looked at each other for a brief moment before bursting out into laughter. After calming down, Mr. Dough said, "Look, we may be a bit better in the bit department that some other ponies, but we're not that rich."
"Oh," sighed Gingersnap. He then took another bite of the sandwich, this time allowing it to be swallowed. It was at this point that his stomach spoke louder than his desire to eat a sandwich with no petals. He then wolfed the sandwich down fast enough to put most speed eaters to shame. He then set his sights on the pie that sit on the plate in front of his sandwich-less hooves. "There's nothing in that pie that I should be concerned about, is there?" he asked, eyeing the pie suspiciously.
"It's just freshly-picked apples and pie crust," assured Mr. Dough.
Seeing no way to pick up the pie without it crumbling in his hooves, he reached over and took a bite out of it.
...
"THIS IS THE BEST PIE IN THE HISTORY OF ALL PIES!!!!!" He yelled for all to hear, causing Mr. Dough to blush a little. He then proceeded to send the pie on a one way trip to his stomach. He decided to slow down while eating this, for he wanted to savor every last moment with this delectable dessert. Upon finishing, he leaned back and unleashed a mighty belch.
"My complements to the chef!" he praised.
"What else would you expect from the 6 year reigning champion of the Ponyville Pie Baking Contest?" he boasted.
"But what about that Applejack pony who keeps beating you?" asked Tiger Lily.
"Shhhh! He doesn't need to know that!" he said in a loud whisper.
At this time, Gingersnap stood up to leave. Before he had the chance to, Mr. Dough stopped him. "Before you leave, I have some things I want to ask you," he said, looking serious.
"Ask away," Gingersnap replied with a calm expression. This expression was able to effectively mask the terror that he felt.
"I'm just going to be honest with you. Do you really have am-"
He was cut off by the door being blown open, attracting the attention of everypony present. "I came as soon as I heard!" announced the mare that walked in the door. She was a light red unicorn that wore a lab coat and had a stethoscope dangling around her neck. Her teal mane was pulled tightly into a bun, with only a strand or two of hair hovering in front of her emerald green eyes. She had a "tattoo" of a red cross on her flank.
At least it's better than bread, thought Gingersnap.
"Where is Gingersnap? I need to perform some medical examinations immediately!" she announced. She then scanned the room for her newest patient. Eventually, her eyes spotted the unicorn that she was looking for. She then gasped very loudly.
"It's you!"
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Note from the author: Any comments, questions, critiques, etc. are greatly appreciated. It also wouldn't hurt to like or favorite.
Chapter 3: The Doctor's Exam
"After all these years, you've finally returned!" announced the mysterious mare. "We all thought you were dead! Where were you this entire time?" She paused for a second, then embraced him. "None of that matters now. I'm just so glad that you're safe," she said, allowing a tear to run down her face. Tiger Lily watched in utter confusion as the scene unfolded while Mr. Dough sat back down, casually sipping his lemonade as if this wasn't happening.
As he was about to question who this pony was and why she wanted to "examine" him, she spoke again. "Just wait until Blue Shield hears about this!" she said very excitedly. "She will be so excited! You two can finally have the wedding of your dreams!" She then stared off into space, imagining the amazing wedding of Gingersnap and the mare known as Blue Shield.
At this time, Mrs. Dough had returned, almost out of breath. Between her gasps for air, she managed to say, "I went to go get Dr. Redcross. When I explained what happened, she just ran off! Have you guys seen her?"
"Look up, dear," said Mr. Dough, not even watching what was going on.
She did as she was instructed to see the mysterious mare hugging somepony that she wasn't able to see because of how everypony was positioned. "There you are! You didn't let me finish. I was about to say that Gingersnap looks a lot like Nightshade did."
After hearing what Mrs. Dough was unable to explain earlier, she pulled away from him to get a better look at him. "Are you sure this isn't Nightshade?" she asked.
"Ooklay at the ankflay," she responded, looking away to avoid attention. Understanding Pig Latin, he looked at what he assumed was his flanks, only to find that he didn't have a "tattoo."
At least I have the chance to get something better than bread. I should probably get something on here so I don't get too many weird looks.
The mare sighed, rubbing her one eye. "You're not really Nightshade, are you?" she asked Gingersnap.
"I can't say I know. I doubt that I am this 'Nightshade' fella, though," he responded.
"Oh," she said. "I'm sorry about that. I just looked at you and assumed that it was really him. My name is Dr. Redcross. I've been taking care of this family and many others for at least 20 years. Given the situation, you must be Gingersnap, correct?"
"Until I remember my real name, that is correct," he replied. He was careful not to say anything that would make them doubt his amnesia.
"Nice to meet you!" she said cheerfully. She said it so cheerfully that it was hard to tell that she was crying only a few moments ago. She then turned to Mrs. Dough. "Do you mind if we borrow the guest bedroom?"
"Be my guest!" she answered.
Dr. Redcross turned back to Gingersnap. "Alright then. If you will please follow me, we can get started with your exams."
"Can I study first?" he said, hoping to stitch together a few more lies.
She chuckled a little, but then said, "Wrong kind of exam. Don't worry though; it's pretty hard to fail one of these."
"Not impossible though..." he muttered under his breath. He then followed her up to the guest bedroom, which was where he spent the past few days. He managed to walk up the stairs without too much difficulty, mainly because he remembered to use his hind legs as well. It also helped that Dr. Redcross was modeling how a normal pony walks up a set of stairs.
When they arrived, she said, "Would you mind if I just went over what's happened so far? As you heard, I ran off before Mrs. Dough could finish."
"I don't see why not," he replied. After all, he could easily change his story to fit what she knows, if necessary.
"Ok. You were found unconscious about three days ago and you didn't wake up until this morning. Upon waking up, we found that you seem to be suffering from amnesia."
I wouldn't call it suffering; I'd just call it a cover-up for the truth.
"A little later, you fell down a fairly large staircase. That's about all that I have. Am I missing anything?"
Outside the fact that this body was made within the past few days, that seems to be about everything. "Nothing comes to mind."
"Good! Let's first see how your breathing is." She then levitated her stethoscope toward him.
"Gah!" he yelled. He then swatted the stethoscope out of the air. He had learned not to trust flying doctor's equipment. "How were you doing that?"
"It's a simple levitation spell. Just about every unicorn can use it," she replied.
"Spell? As in... magic?"
"You really did forget everything," she sighed. "I am using magic. Most unicorns are able to use magic."
Magic, huh? Does this involve a gathering of sorts? Wait a minute... I'm a unicorn. This idea made a wide smile break out across his face. Yes! I can use magic! Real magic! Not that birthday party magician type of magic, but real magic! Things are finally starting to take a turn for the better! His years of playing JRPGs caused him to wish he could use magic too. "Sorry about the stethoscope," he said.
"Don't worry about it. But promise me that you won't try to break any more of my equipment." She then grabbed her stethoscope and pressed it to his chest.
"Ok, I promise," he said, allowing her to continue her exams.
"Deep breath in... now out," she ordered. This helped him calm down a little bit. He no longer felt worried about how these exams could go.
"By the way... who's this Nightshade person?" he asked, hoping to clear up this morning's events.
Dr. Redcross suddenly looked a bit depressed. She stopped what she was doing and looked out the window. "Nightshade is the name of the Doughs' son. He disappeared about 7 years ago." She paused for a second. "Now that I think about it, it would've been 7 years three days ago. He had proposed to Blue Shield, my daughter, the day before he disappeared, never to be seen again.
"Were there any leads as to where he went?"
"There was one. About a week before he disappeared, the Doughs took in a stranger who happened to be in a situation similar to yours. He disappeared at the same time, so we believe that he may be involved with Nightshade's disappearance. Using that clue, we went on an Equestria-wide search for him, but we couldn't find anything."
I guess it will be harder to get the Doughs to trust me than I thought. "Is there anything else known about what happened?"
"We do know that Tiger Lily was the last pony to see him before his disappeared. She seemed to be fairly scarred, so we can guess that something happened that night. We haven't been able to get her to tell us, so it must have been pretty traumatizing. It seems that she's also repressed anything related to the incident lately, so we have no idea what happened and where he might be, assuming he's still alive."
"Oh..." he said, the depressing vibe she was letting of was starting to get to him. "Sorry I asked."
"It's okay. Let's just finish these exams." She then continued to press the stethoscope against him. When she had finished, she placed it back around her neck, but not before accidentally brushing a more "sensitive" area.
"Hey!" he said. "Watch where you're swinging that thing!"
"Sorry! I didn't mean to do that!" she said apologetically.
Wait a minute. A rather disturbing fact had occurred to him. I'm not wearing any clothes. And now that I think about it, Dr. Redcross was the only person...er pony that was wearing some kind of clothing. When this is done, I'm going to get myself some clothes. There's got to be at least one clothing store in town.
The rest of the exams went on in silence, with the exceptions of Dr. Redcross's occasional orders. When she was done with her exams, she made note of the results on a clipboard.
"Outside of a few bruises from when you fell down the stairs, you seem to be fine. You're muscles are dealing with a bit of exhaustion, so I would recommend that you stay in bed for the rest of the day. You should also make sure to have a large dinner tonight to make sure you fully recover your energy."
"Thanks, Doctor. I'll be sure to do that." And with that, Dr. Redcross left the room. Gingersnap went over to his bed and laid himself down.
Why do I have this strange feeling that this Nightshade pony has something to do with my sudden appearance here? Although, now I can see why Mr. Dough doesn't seem to trust me so much. Whatever the case, want to get some clothes to wear. Just because they walk around au naturale doesn't mean that I will too. At this time, he noticed something from under his pillow.
"Huh? What's this?" he asked himself, pulling out a sealed envelope. Printed where the recipient's name would go was "Jason." When he read this, he asked, "Why is my name on here? I never told my real name to anyone here." He opened the envelope, revealing two things, a letter and a small pouch. He took the letter and read it to himself.
"The day of judgement has almost arrived. Prepare yourself." Maybe I'm here for this "day of judgement" thing. He then opened the pouch and emptied its contents out onto the bed. It contained about 100 small, golden coins. He figured it was the currency of this world.
He spent his afternoon laying in bed, pondering why he was here and what this "day of judgement" could be.
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Note from the author: Any comments, questions, critiques, etc. are greatly appreciated. It also wouldn't hurt to like or favorite. While I'm at it, I'm thinking about changing the cover image. The "Welcome to Ponyville" postcard is fine and all, but some original art could be a bit better. I imagine there are some good artists out there (better than me, anyways) who would be willing to make a new cover image. Please?
Chapter 4: Truth be Told
Dr. Redcross entered the dining room. Tiger Lily was sitting alone, finishing her slice of pie. When she had noticed the doctor's presence, she immediately asked, "How is he? Is he going to be okay?"
"Don't worry. He's just dealing with a bit of exhaustion and some light bruising. It's nothing an evening in bed can't fix," she answered.
Tiger Lily looked as if a tremendous burden was lifted from her shoulders. "Thank goodness! I can't imagine what I'd do if he wasn't going to be okay."
Noticing that they were alone, Dr. Redcross asked, "Where did your parents go? I have some urgent information for them."
"Oh. They needed to open up the bakery. It turns out that their replacements for the week came down with the feather flu, so Mom and Dad need to work themselves."
Dr. Redcross looked at the clock on the wall cursed under her breath. "I don't have time to go there. I need to get back to the clinic to check on some other patients. Do you think you could tell them a message if I told you?"
"Sure."
"Ok. Make sure you tell them about this as soon as you can. Aside from the things that I just told you about, there is nothing wrong with Gingersnap, excluding his strange lack of a cutie mark."
"That's a good thing, isn't it?" She looked confused as to why this was urgent.
"That would be a good thing... if he wasn't claiming to have amnesia."
Tiger Lily gasped very loudly, then covered her mouth with her hoof.
"Yeah. He was lying about it the entire time. His brain is in a perfectly stable condition, and there were no injuries severe enough to make him forget anything major."
Tiger Lily stood in silence, trying to collect her thoughts on this. "I'm sure you have a lot on your mind," said Dr. Redcross, breaking the silence that had formed. "I'm going to get back to the clinic. Don't forget to tell your parents about Gingersnap." With that, she left the house.
Fueled by a desire to know the truth, she quickly gobbled the remains of her pie and galloped up the stairs. When she stopped at Gingersnap's open door, he was laying on the bed, deep in thought. The bag of gold coins and the letter had been placed under his pillow so the others wouldn't see it.
When Gingersnap had noticed her standing in the doorway, he welcomed her into the room. "Hey, Tiger Lily. Come on in!"
So that she could avoid suspicion herself, she appeared as though she hadn't heard about his lack of amnesia. She slowly made her way over and sat down on her haunches next to the bed.
What's the point of the chair if the people here are just going to sit on the floor? "What's up?" he asked.
"Oh, not too much. Dr. Redheart just told me about you're condition."
"I see. It's going to be a bit boring laying here all day, but I figure I can spend this time learning all that I can about where I am and what could have happened. Who knows? I might even remember who I really am."
Tiger Lily looked surprised by this. Doesn't he know that we know the truth about his amnesia? "That's not the only thing she said."
"Really?" It was his turn to be surprised. "What else did she say?"
"Quit playing dumb. Do you expect me to believe that you don't know what she told me." She hoped he wouldn't try to deny it anymore.
"What are you talking about?" he questioned. Although faint, he could feel some fear welling up inside him. He was worried about what she would say.
"I know your secret."
This can't be good.
"I know that you remember everything. Who are you really? What are you doing here? Why are you trying to hide the truth?"
...And it isn't good. "As much as I'd love to answer those questions, I don't know the answers to them myself."
"What? I know you don't have amnesia, so answer the questions," she replied. She grew more irritated by the minute. If he wasn't careful, me may find himself flying out the window.
"That's just it. I used to live in a whole different world before this. When I woke up today, it was the first time waking up in this world filled with talking ponies. I don't even know why I'm here. The only clue that I have is this letter that I found." He then fished the letter out from under the pillow. Tiger Lily immediately snatched up the letter and read it over. "I think my appearance has to with this day of judgement thing, but I don't really know for sure."
It took a minute for her to process the information, but she eventually spoke. "And you expect me to believe this? I've seen some pretty strange things lately, but this just tops the charts."
"If I'm lying, why don't I have a tattoo yet?" he countered.
"Um... tattoo? Is that some kind of food?"
He motioned toward his blank flank.
"Oh! I think you mean your cutie mark."
You have got to be kidding me. Cutie mark? Why do I suddenly need to throw up? "Yes, my *shudder* cutie mark."
Tiger Lily starred at him for what seemed to be forever. Eventually, though, she spoke. "If you're telling the truth, then why haven't you said so already? Why would you need to cover up the truth like this?"
"It's because it makes no sense. If I had the choice, I would be back in my own world right now, sipping some root beer and playing Blazblue or something. But I don't have the chance, so I'm stuck here. Besides, you said it yourself: you've seen some pretty strange things lately, but this just tops the charts. Why should I involve others if they're not going to believe me anyways?"
"...So this is really you're first day in Equestria?" she asked.
"Technically, my first day was three days ago when you found me, but for simplicity's sake, yes. Today is my first day."
"...And you don't know about this 'day of judgement' thing?"
"The name was used in a few popular movies, but it probably isn't the same. We could be dealing with anything here."
The two of them went silent. Eventually, Tiger Lily left the room, leaving Gingersnap laying in the bed.
"Well... I'm screwed," he said to himself. He patiently awaited his doom, and was eventually greeted by Tiger Lily's return. But instead of some authorities or some kind of weapon, she simply carried two books. The larger of the two read, The Complete Equestrian Encyclopedia (Post Changeling Invasion Edition). The other was much smaller, about the size of some of the smaller novels he would read in English class. This one read, A Users Guide to Magic: Learning the Basics to Mastering Advanced Spells. She walked back to the bed and set these on the chair. "What are these for?" Gingersnap asked.
"We're not going to be ready for the day of judgement if you don't know anything about this world or that horn of yours. We've got a lot of studying to do."
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Note from the author: Any comments, questions, critiques, etc. are greatly appreciated. It also wouldn't hurt to like or favorite. I'll be writing a new, unrelated story soon. The first chapter will probably be up before this is updated again. I'll be making notes on both my facebook and twitter when one of my stories (or youtube let's plays) gets updated. This should still be updated in the usual 2-3 weeks.
Chapter 5: Study Break
"Come on! You can do it!" Tiger Lily cheered. She had taken a seat on the bed. Gingersnap stood in the center of the room with the encyclopedia sitting on the ground in front of him.
The two decided to work on magic first, as that would leave him hungry for dinner after awhile. They had spent about half an hour going over the basics of using magic. The way Gingersnap saw it, a unicorn's horn is used to channel magic. Other ponies could use it, but only if they had access to a horn of some kind. When he felt he understood the basics, he went on to learn his first spell: levitation. The steps explained in the book replayed in his mind constantly.
"Step 1: Assume a comfortable position. Anything is fine as long as your blood flow isn't constricted," he said to himself, glancing at Tiger Lily, who was checking the book for accuracy. When she gave an approving nod, he shifted into a slightly more comfy position to cast his spell.
"Step 2: Focus on the task at hand. Losing focus will result in the obliteration of the spell and may cause a few unwanted side effects." Gingersnap went into his own world. He forgot about Tiger Lily, the bustling town of Ponyville, and even the fact that he was a pony. All that was left was him and the book.
"Step 3: Visualize. Imagine the spell unfolding before your very eyes." He imagined the book floating in front of him. Soon enough, a light blue glow had enveloped the book as well as his horn. The book shook violently on the ground, eventually being lifted completely off. In a matter of seconds, it was at eye level with him.
"Great job!" he heard. "You're doing great. Now all you have to do is let go!"
Let go? A drop of sweat formed on his forehead. All I have to do is imagine myself letting go, right?
Nothing happened. The book still floated in front of him, mocking his inability to put it down.
Ok. No need to panic. I just need to set it down on the ground and we should be good.
He set the book down, but the magical aura still encased the book. At this point he began to panic, flailing the book all over the place. Eventually, he lost his balance, causing the book to fly at Tiger Lily. She managed to avoid it, but the wall suffered a bit of damage.
"I think it's about time for dinner," said Tiger Lily. "Try to calm down a bit more before I get back." With that, Gingersnap was left alone. He trotted over to the magic book to see what went wrong. When he flipped to the very first page, he saw the following text in bold red letters, "WARNING: Do not panic while using magic! In cases of panic, simply think the word 'stop' to cancel the spell immediately. Using magic in a state of panic can cause untold disaster to befall those in the nearby vicinity."
They should really put something like that on the first page with a spell on it, not a page with a bunch of names that nobody really cares about. To test this keyword, he levitated the magic guide. "Stop" echoed in his mind, and the book fell back onto the bed.
As he waited for Tiger Lily to return, he decided to see what was going on in the town. The sun had just begun to set on this day, so the citizens of Ponyville had begun closing up their shops. For some reason, they all had gathered around a random pony giving a speech on a street corner. Most of the listeners seemed worried about something.
Tiger Lily walked back through the door a few minutes later with a big plate of hay fries and some muffins resting on her back. "I'm back. I'd have something a little more substantial, but it would take awhile to make anything more than this. What's going on out there?"
"It seems someone's giving a speech, and not too many people are liking what he has to say."
"I think you mean somepony . Let me see." Gingersnap rolled his eyes as he stepped aside. She starred intently out the window, as though she was trying to get a clearer look at something. Eventually, she unleashed a gasp loud enough to be heard from the streets.
"What's wrong?" asked Gingersnap.
"I remember now! That's the guy! He's to blame for his disappearance!" she yelled.
Disappearance? Could she mean... "Are you talking about the guy responsible for Nightshade's disappearance?"
"Yeah! That guy has posters with his face on it! I'll be right back!" She then bolted out of the room at speeds only obtainable in cartoons. She moved so fast that the tray of food floated in place for a split second. Using his new-found magical abilities, he managed to catch it and set it down on the ground.
In case she would cause a scene, he took a seat at the window. Tiger Lily pushed her way through the small crowd. When she arrived at the podium, she snatched up one of the papers and started badgering the guy with questions. Even when some of the audience members stepped in to hold her back, she still managed to be in the guy's face with her questioning. When she seemed satisfied with what he had to say, she returned to the house. As this unfolded, Gingersnap helped himself to some of the hay fries.
These are really crispy; it really brings out the flavor. Is real hay this crispy?
Tiger Lily walked back into the room in such a casual fashion that you wouldn't suspect that she was the one pestering the guy giving the speech. She then placed the poster on the ground in front of Gingersnap. It was a wanted poster with the mugshot of a very unpleasant looking unicorn. His light blue mane looked damaged and he had a scar running across his eye. He looked ready to attack the cameraman, but he also looked like he was in complete control of the situation. Under his picture were the words: "Warning: This criminal is very dangerous! If spotted, report him to the nearest authorities. The reward for doing so is 100 bits."
"So this is the guy that you took in before your brother disappeared?" questioned Gingersnap.
"Yeah. He called himself Flapjack, probably because he could make some really good pancakes. He didn't have that scar at the time and he looked a lot more pleasant, too. He was actually a pretty nice guy, but I had the feeling he was secretly up to something."
Flapjack? Did his parents hate him? What if he couldn't make pancakes? That's about as helpful as a pegasus that's afraid of heights. "Is there anything else you remember, specifically about what happened the night Nightshade disappeared?
"Of course I do! I wouldn't of run out there if I didn't!"
"What are you waiting for, then? Tell me what you remember!"
"Is it really that important?" she asked hesitantly.
"I have this sinking suspicion that your brother may have more to do with my being here than we might think. It could be really helpful if I know what happened seven years ago."
"...Ok. I'll tell you everything I can remember. But please promise that you won't tell anypony about this. I don't want them worrying about Nightshade right now. He's probably dead by now, so there's no point in causing a fuss."
"I promise." He crossed his heart, or at least the place he assumed his heart was at. "Now tell me!"
7 years ago
"Bye Mom! Bye Dad! Have fun on your trip!" said Nightshade, waving to his parents, who were going to Manehattan for a baking contest for a few days.
"Bye Son!" said Mrs. Dough after placing her bags on the chariot. "We'll be back in time for your wedding, so don't worry about that!"
"Don't do anything reckless while we're gone! And make sure to keep Tiger Lily out of trouble!" demanded Mr. Dough.
"I'll do my best. Now get going, or you'll miss your contest!" With that, the Doughs left and Nightshade closed the door to the house. He let out a sigh of sweet relief. "This is going to be great! A weekend with just me, Lily, and Blue Shield!" He then looked at the clock. "Is it that late already? I should go tuck Lily in and call it a night."
`He went upstairs and into Tiger Lily's room, only to find the little filly wide awake. When she noticed him, she ran up and gave him a huge hug. "Hey Big Bro! Wanna play some chess or something?"
"Shouldn't you be asleep by now? We've got a lot of fun stuff to do tomorrow, so you need to get some sleep."
"Aw," whined the young Tiger Lily. "Just one game?"
"Fine. But then it's straight to bed, Ok?"
"Yay!" She then rushed to set up the game of chess. While Tiger Lily struggled to put some of her pieces onto the board, Nightshade used his magic to put the rest into place. He wasn't sure why he was a unicorn when all of his family members were earth ponies, but he wasn't complaining.
"So how was school today?" asked Nightshade, making the first move by moving his queen's pawn forward two spaces.
"It was really fun! Applejack came back to school today, and she even had a cutie mark!" she replied happily, all the while countering his move by moving her king's pawn forward one space.
"Wow! That's great. I'm sure everypony was excited." He then moved his queen-side knight in front of the rook's pawn.
"Not as excited as I am now!" She took her king-side bishop and took out his exposed knight.
Surprised by this display of skill, he asked, "Have you been practicing?"
"Yeah! Flapjack loves playing chess. He played with me almost all day!"
The two continued their game, talking about all sorts of things. Eventually, Nightshade came out on top, but it was a very close game. When they had finished, he tucked Tiger Lily into bed.
"Good night, Lily. I'll see you in the morning."
"G'night Big Bro!" With that, he left the room.
As he made his way to his room, he heard something suspicious coming from Flapjack's room. Curious about the noise, he cautiously opened the door. In the middle of the room was Flapjack, doing what appeared to be casting a very complicated spell. When he shut the door, Flapjack's concentration was ruined.
"Ah. I see you're done playing chess with little Tiger Lily. To be honest, I thought you would be at it for a while longer. Whenever you make stupid moves like what you did with the knight, one would expect a much longer game."
"Just what do you think you're doing, and what's with the sudden change in tone? I mean, I know I'm not all that good at chess, but given how you've been acting since I've met you, this is just plain unexpected."
"Let me tell you something. This world is filled with liars and cheaters. Nopony is honest anymore. I'm sick of all of it. The world can't continue like this. It needs help. There's only one thing that can help put this world on the right track again. The day of judgement is here!" He went back to casting his spell. As he muttered strange words, things began to rise out of the ground.
A feeling of uneasiness swallowed Nightshade. No matter what, he had to stop this spell. He ran up to Flapjack, and with all of his might, kicked him in the face. This destroyed the spell, and a sickening crunch could be heard from his horn.
"Gah!" yelled Flapjack. The pain in his horn was almost unbearable. "Umbra! Detain him!"
Out of the shadows, a very muscular looking pegasus formed from nothing. He grabbed Nightshade and tried to pull him into the shadows.
"No! Let me go!" he begged. The more he struggled, the harder the pegasus held on to him. Eventually, he was completely constricted and unable to move. Flapjack walked up to him and looked him in the eye. He could feel the fear behind Nightshade's seemingly brave expression.
"Look what you've gotten yourself into. It looks like I can't summon the goddess now. It's your turn." The pegasus dragged Nightshade into the shadows, completely disappearing. Flapjack quickly packed up his things and followed them. The only thing left was the young Tiger Lily, who witnessed the whole thing.
"Big Bro?"
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Note from the author: Any comments, questions, critiques, etc. are greatly appreciated. It also wouldn't hurt to like or favorite.
Chapter 6: An Audience With a God
"And so I ran over to Dr. Redcross's house and stayed with them until my parents got home," summarized Tiger Lily. "Blue Shield was devastated. Before I told her, I honestly didn't think one pony could cry so much." Recalling these events caused her to shed a few tears, leaving a small puddle on the ground.
Gingersnap sat in awe, trying to digest both her story and the now-empty plate of hay fries. Eventually, he brought himself to speak. "That just about confirms it; Nightshade is definitely a part of this. I think it's also safe to say he's alive, too."
She sniffled. "Do you really think that?"
"Of course I do. According to you, Flapjack said that it's his turn to summon the goddess because he isn't able to anymore. He would be alive to do that, don't you think?"
She put her hoof up to her face and thought about it for a few seconds. "Yeah... I guess that makes enough sense. And now that the day of judgement is going to happen soon, he's probably the one trying to cast the spell. I just hope this thing is good for Equestria."
"I doubt it. If you told your story exactly the way it happened, then Flapjack's evil monologue probably means the day of judgement is something we want to avoid at all costs. That is, if this world is to survive."
"But Nightshade would never do something like that!" she interjected. "He's not like that. The only way he'd purposefully do something bad was if it was to protect the people he loves!"
"If he wouldn't do it himself, maybe he's being forced to do it," Gingersnap suggested. "If I can learn how to make a giant encyclopedia float in midair within half an hour with no prior experience, I'm sure they could force him to summon a goddess within seven years."
"Who is this goddess anyways?"
"That there's the million dollar question right now. I honestly don't know. I think that if this goddess is summoned, this 'Equestria' place is doomed for sure. I could be wrong about that, though."
Tiger Lily sighed and lowered her head. She glanced at the window and noticed that night had arrived while they were talking. "Is it really that late?" As if on cue, she let out a loud yawn. "I should go to bed. I don't think Dad would be too happy if he found us alone in the same room."
"I take it he doesn't trust me very much."
She nodded. She then got up to leave. "Sundays are big days for markets, so we're going to do some major shopping. Try to study a little bit before you go to sleep. It would be better for us if you could blend in as much as possible." As she reached the doorway, Gingersnap stopped her.
"Don't worry about your brother. I'll make sure he makes it out of this OK."
She didn't turn around, although he could tell that she was smiling. "Thanks. Good night."
"G'night." Tiger Lily went back to her own room and shut her door. Gingersnap climbed onto his own bed and tried to get comfortable. After rustling around with the blankets for awhile, he simply gave up and tossed them onto the floor. Noticing how dark it was, he picked up the magic book and flipped through the pages.
Let's see... teleportation, walking on clouds, gravity, Ah! Illumination spells. This ought to help me study. He looked over the instructions for the spell and was delighted to find the same steps as before. The only real difference was that he was trying to create light instead of levitating something.
He closed his eyes to help himself concentrate. As he slowed his breathing, the world disappeared around him. He tensed up for a moment as he tried to cast the spell. When he thought he had completed the spell, he opened his eyes. He looked up to see a small, blue light that lit up the room emanating from his horn. Pleased with the results, he reached over and grabbed the encyclopedia, which had landed on the bed after attacking the wall.
As fun as some of these other spells look, I really need to look up a few things. With that, he flipped through the pages until he found Equestria. The several-page entry mostly consisted of maps and historical events, as well as cultural details and the government systems in place. After reading the first paragraph, he understood that Equestria was a large country under the rule of Princess Celestia. Most of the inhabitants were ponies, but creatures like dragons and manticores also lived there.
Naturally, he also wanted to look up what a cutie mark was. Let's see here: A cutie mark is a symbol that appears on a ponies flank when they realize the thing that makes them unique. This usually involves a pony's special talent. The book then gave some example of famous cutie marks.
Special talent, eh? If that's the case, my cutie mark would definitely be a video game controller or something like that. I don't know anyone else who would even try a three-heart run of Ocarina of Time: Master Quest. Even if they did try, I doubt they could finish with three bottles and only four game overs. He looked at his flank, only to find that nothing happened. I guess video games don't count in Equestria. I'm sure I'll figure something out eventually.
The next thing he looked up was the day of judgement. Unsurprisingly, no such day was detailed. Out of ideas, he opened it to the first page and started reading. Studying almost always made him tired, so by the time he finished reading about alicorns, he was more than ready to fall asleep. He shut the book and placed it on the chair. He stopped his spell and shut his eyes. He managed to fall asleep rather quickly.
Usually when Gingersnap dreams, it's something completely random, causing him to forget within minutes of waking up. This time, however, he found it to be rather realistic.
He found himself in a very white office. The walls, furniture, and decorations were all so white he was almost blinded. Taking a quick look at himself, he saw he was still a pony.
Even in my dreams, I can't escape these ponies. But aside from that, where am I?
"I think I can answer that question," echoed a loud voice. A door from behind a desk opened, revealing a nicely-dressed man. His tuxedo was jet black, allowing others to see crumbs from what was likely his last meal. He sat down in a comfortable looking chair and faced Gingersnap. "This is where certain issues, like that of your own, are taken care of, m'kay?"
The man in front of him looked human, although he was much taller than the people he knew from his world. He assumed he looked tall just because he was a pony. "So you're saying you can do something about this?" He motioned toward his pony self.
"Something like that can be fixed, but it's going to take some time, m'kay? Correcting dimensional anomalies can take quite some time."
"Wait a minute. What's this about dimensional anomalies?" asked Gingersnap.
"Well, someone or something has been trying for a little over seven Earth years to contact one of us. More recently, they've been getting close to bringing her from this world to their world. This has been causing problems all over the multiverse, m'kay? When we get around to correcting one anomaly, another one shows up."
After trying to process the information he just heard, he said, "So I just drew the short straw in this dimensional thing, right?"
"That's one way of putting it, yes." He then pulled out a clipboard with what appeared to be some kind of contract on it. "I'm going to need you to sign these papers here."
He eyed the papers which were written in an unfamiliar language. "Just what are these papers?"
"If you sign these, we'll be able to put you back in your own world when these get processed. I'm going to need you to use your name from Earth, m'kay?"
Excited by this, he levitated a pen from a cup on the desk and started signing the papers. Trying to pass the time and satisfy his curiosity, he asked, "What are you people, anyways?"
"We are beings that possess immense amounts of power and an understanding of the multiverse, m'kay? Simply put, we are like gods and goddesses."
Gingersnap stopped writing. "So if you wanted, you could potentially destroy a world?"
"There are only a few of us who could do something like that, and they would need a pretty good reason, m'kay? Destroying a world could mean a whole lot of displaced spirits, and that means more work for me."
"I think I know who's been trying to summon one of you."
"Then stop them. We may be powerful, but we can't leave this world without being summoned, m'kay? I'd take care of this quickly, though. I don't think Justice will stay here for too much longer."
I think I'm starting to understand this. Flapjack wants to summon the goddess, who's name is apparently Justice, to destroy a world. His attempts to do so resulted in my arrival in Equestria. But what if I leave before I can fix this? "Just how long will it take for me to be sent back home?"
"It will take a few Earth days to get it processed, m'kay? Once we are ready to bring you home, we will ask if you're ready to go. Should you find that you like the world you found yourself in, you will be allowed to stay, naturally. Just know that this is a one-time offer, m'kay?"
Unable to think of anymore questions, he finished the paperwork. The man flipped through them. When he seemed satisfied, the clipboard disappeared into thin air. He then leaned in toward Gingersnap. "I think it's about time for you to wake up in Equestria. I'll see you again in a few days. And if you can, stop this guy trying to summon Justice, m'kay?"
Gingersnap's eyelids suddenly began to feel very heavy. Eventually, he succumbed to his sudden exhaustion and fell asleep once again.
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Note from the author: Any comments, questions, critiques, etc. are greatly appreciated. It also wouldn't hurt to like or favorite.
Chapter 7: Shopping Time!
Gingersnap slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. Same wood floor, same window... He glanced at his legs and let out a large sigh. and the same unicorn body.
He clumsily stumbled out of the bed, landing in a similar position to that of his first morning in Equestria. After standing up and stretching a little bit, he found himself staring at the blankets he had tossed on the floor the night before. To see if his magic was working the way it should, he decided to use it to place them neatly on the bed. He focused on the blankets as a light blue glow enveloped both the blankets and his horn. They slowly straightened out as they were lifted higher into the air until they were flat above him. As he was about to lay them on the bed, he noticed a peculiar pattern on the floor where the blankets were. He also noticed the shape he made on the floor when he first arrived.
Is that all... dust? I realize that ponies live here and this room hasn't seen any use in a few years, but that doesn't mean they can't clean it every now and again.
Out of instinct, he took the blankets and started dusting the floors like he would back home. As he continued to clean, his mind wandered off.
That dream was way too realistic and vivid to be just a dream. If that guy can be believed, Flapjack is trying to summon this "Justice" woman, who probably has the power to destroy the world. That means I must find him, and preferably before I need to go home. But where could he be? Dr. Redcross said there was an Equestria-wide search for him, and they got nothing. Something white in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He walked over to the piece of paper on the floor and looked it over.
This is the wanted poster. Unlike last night, this time he saw that his horn was slightly bent. Maybe Nightshade's kick was enough to break it. Is that why Flapjack needs him to cast the spell? Something else just occurred to him. Wait a minute, if posters like these are being handed out, then that must mean that he's somewhere nearby! But what is he doing here? Shouldn't he be supervising the spell or something like that? He shook out the blanket and placed it back on the bed.
"Now's not the time to be cleaning. I've got some work to do!" he said excitedly. His attempt to psyche himself up worked. He grabbed the magic guide, the poster, and his bag of bits and hurried out of his room. He slowed down when he approached the stairs. Learning from his mistakes and remembering what his dog would do, he managed to walk down the stairs without too much difficulty. As he rushed to the door, a piece of paper on the dining table caught his attention.
It appeared to be a note written in a hurry. It took Gingersnap a moment to decipher the chicken scratches that these ponies called handwriting.
Gingersnap,
Mom and Dad are taking me to the bakery to work until this evening. I think they don't want me spending time with you while they are busy with customers, so you'll need to go shopping by yourself until my shift is over. Here are some of the bits that I've been saving up for awhile. You're lucky saving the world is more important than a new dress from Carousel Boutique. Just try to pay me back after this mess is over, okay?
Tiger Lily
I'm sure I'll be able to clear things up with the Doughs eventually. But first things first, I should check out this "Carousel Boutique" to see if I can get some clothes. He glanced at his flanks and all of their blank glory. He also saw that Tiger Lily had left him some bags, probably to hold the supplies he was going to buy. These bags had a small pouch which contained the bits that she mentioned. He emptied his bits into this pouch and put on the bags before making his way out of the door.
The town was much livelier than it looked from the window, especially as he got closer to the market. The ponies around him were all having idle conversations with their friends. Gingersnap decided to ignore this, as he doubted it wouldn't have much to do with finding and stopping Flapjack. Most of the vendors were selling fruits and vegetables. Although they might be helpful in case he gets hungry, he decided food should wait until he had some kind of weapon. He had a feeling he'd find himself fighting Flapjack in the near future, and he didn't want to be stuck with just his hooves.
If I want something to fight with, I'd probably want to look in an alley or something if I want it to be any good. He then sighed. Of course, entering an alley to get a weapon would probably be too dangerous for me to do alone. Maybe the magic guide has something I could use.
He took out the guide with his magic and started flipping through the pages. Unfortunately for him, not a single combat related spell could be found. So much for that. I'll just hope I can find a stick or something else I can levitate. He put the guide back in his bags.
Having "checked" finding a weapon off his imaginary list, he moved on to the next thing he thought he might need: clothes. He looked around in hopes of finding the boutique mentioned in Tiger Lily's note. After looking around for a few minutes, he found what might be the building he was looking for.
The upper part does look like a carousel, and it does stand out a bit compared to some of the other buildings around here. Let's just hope this is the right place.
He casually strolled up to the door and opened it. As the bell chimed, he could hear a voice from inside. "Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where every garment is chique, unique, and magnifique! I'll be out in a second." Some of the outfits on display were a little to fancy for his tastes.
Must be a store for the ponies with a little too much money to spend. I hope there's something that fits my budget.
As he continued to browse the outfits on display, a certain white unicorn emerged from a set of curtains off to the side. Her mane was a bit messy, as if she's been hard at work for a few hours and didn't have the time to fix it. "Do you see anything you like?"
"I'm sorry, but would you happen to have something a little less... extravagant? I can tell you worked very hard on these designs, but I need something that won't make me stick out like a sore thumb."
She seemed to be confused as to what a thumb was, but she ignored it for the time being. "Are you sure? I think you'd look simply dashing in something like this." She pulled a rope dangling by one of the curtains, revealing a well made tuxedo. Gingersnap liked the idea of wearing a tux ever since his parents took him to a 007 marathon. However, he pushed the idea out of his head.
"I'm sure. I just want something simple to help... cover up a bit." He twisted enough so that the white unicorn would be able to see his cutie mark, or lack there of, as the case would turn out. She immediately understood what he meant.
"I understand completely. I think I have some garments that might be what you're looking for in the back. Follow me please." She led him to a small room near a staircase. Inside was a rack with a few simpler garments including cloaks, coats, and saddles. As he looked at some of the clothes, the entrance bell chimed.
"Excuse me for a moment," she told him before leaving him alone in the room. "Coming!" she announced to the new customer.
Gingersnap looked through the selection until he found something that he felt would work for him. It was a simple brown cloak that had a circular blue gem where he'd tie it around his neck. With some difficulty, he managed to put it on. When he looked in the mirror, he was pleased with the result, so he went to go find the shopkeeper to find out the price. When he walked out, he found her talking with a certain orange mare with a Stetson hat, and neither of them looked too happy. He decided to listen in on their conversation, hoping he wouldn't find himself in an awkward situation because of it.
"Missing? What do you mean missing?" asked the white unicorn.
"What Ah'm sayin is that Applebloom didn't come back home last night. Have you seen her?"
"No, I haven't. But she was with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo yesterday, and Sweetie Belle came home. Were you fighting?"
The bell rang again, this time revealing a certain pegasus with a pink mane, looking rather distressed. "Applejack! I'm glad I found you!" She then noticed the shopkeeper. "Oh! Am I interrupting something?"
"It's quite alright. What's the matter, Fluttershy?"
"It's just that I saw a weird unicorn carrying Applebloom into the Everfree Forest a little bit ago." The other two were shocked by this.
Weird unicorn? Could she mean Flapjack? He walked up to them and said, "Sorry for interrupting, but this unicorn, would he happen to look like this?" He took out the poster and showed them to the pegasus, who's name was apparently Fluttershy.
She carefully looked over the poster. "Yeah, that's him. Are you friends with him or something? You know, if you don't mind me asking."
So that's where he's hiding, eh? The Everfree Forest... I need to find Tiger Lily. "Just the opposite, actually." He then turned to the unicorn. "I'm really sorry about this, but I need to go right now. I promise that I'll pay for this later. For now, I really need to go." With that, he dashed out into the streets of Ponyville, leaving the poster with the mares, who were calling after him.
Author's Note
Any comments, questions, critiques, etc. are greatly appreciated. It also wouldn't hurt to like or favorite. Sorry for the wait. I was busy with some new games, Youtube shenanigans, and a bit of laziness. I'll try to get the next chapter out a bit quicker next time.
Chapter 1: A New Stallion in Town
"Ugh... Why did I have to drink so much last night?" mumbled a unicorn sprawled out on his bed, dealing with a nasty headache. He also felt a bizarre tingling sensation throughout his body, but he just assumed it was the alcohol. After all, the previous night he had his first beer. It was an hour after which he had his tenth, so needless to say, he wasn't feeling all that great.
He probably would've laid there all day if one thing hadn't made itself clear: his stomach needed food. As if the gods sensed his intense need for nourishment, he could very clearly smell freshly baked bread and some cookies. Although he was curious as to why those particular items were being made at the same time, his entire being was ready to uphold a very cherished tradition of his: "Eat first; ask questions later." He soon found himself standing up so he could get a relief from his obnoxiously loud stomach, until he fell flat onto the floor.
*CRASH!*
"Owwww..." he groaned, trying to push himself off of the hard-wood floor. After some intense struggling, he eventually gave up and laid on the ground. It was after this that something very strange stood out to him.
Hard-wood floor? I could have sworn that my room was carpeted, he thought to himself. And now that I think about it, why didn't I fall into my closet? Upon noticing these things, he took a better look around the room he found himself in, ignoring the increasing need to feed. He realized that he had no idea where he was. It was during this time that he noticed something about his hands: they weren't there anymore. He then dragged himself across the floor to look at himself in the mirror. Instead of looking at a human, he found himself staring at a tan unicorn with a reddish-orange mane (typically classified as ginger). His face shifted from a confused expression to that of terror as the mirror continued to mimic him. He then proceeded to flail his limbs rapidly, but given his current position, it looked more like he was trying to make a dust angel.
Why am I a UNICORN? Maybe this is just a dream. That must be it. To prove his point, he decided to do the classic thing and inflict pain to himself. He took his hoof and swung at his brand new horn. Not only did it hurt his horn to do that, it also worsened his headache.
OW!!!!! This is definitely NOT a dream. But how did this happen? Why did this happen? What is going on here? he racked his brain to find some answers. Eventually, he was completely stumped. "It's official: I'm clueless. I need to figure this out, but for now, I need to calm down, eat some food, and not look too suspicious," he mumbled to himself. He then looked over to the door to notice that it had been opened and a young mare was standing in the doorway. She was and orange earth pony with a blond main and...
Is that a tattoo of a tiger lily on her butt? Why would anyone do that? he thought.
The two simply stared at each other, waiting for the other to do something. After a brief moment, she fled out of the room, yelling, "Mom! Dad! The unicorn guy is awake! The unicorn guy is awake!"
Did that horse just talk? PLEASE tell me she didn't just talk. Then another realization occurred to him. Did she hear anything that I just said? If she did, this is not going to be fun.
The previously mentioned mare reentered the room followed by two older looking ponies, one a mare and the other a stallion. The older mare was a darker orange with a blond mane.
Did she really get a tattoo of a cookie on her butt? What is up with these people and their tattoos?
The older stallion was brown and had a shorter blond mane.
Bread? Really? It's official; these horses have no idea what makes a good tattoo.
"See?" said the mare to the older stallion. "I told you he was awake!" she motioned a hoof to the unicorn sprawled out on the floor.
"I can see that," he replied.
The mare then looked over to the unicorn. "My name's Tiger Lily," she introduced. "These two are my parents."
"You can just call us Mr. and Mrs. Dough," said Mr. Dough.
"We were really worried about you. We found you unconscious outside our shop. You've been asleep for three days." said Mrs. Dough.
"Three days?!" the unicorn yelled. At least I know why I'm so hungry.
"What happened to you anyways?" asked Mr. Dough.
To avoid suspicion, the unicorn acted like he was thinking. "I have no idea," he replied.
"If that's the case, then there may be a slight chance that you have a minor case of serious brain damage," responded Tiger Lily. "Don't be alarmed. But if you do feel alarmed, hold on to that feeling, because that is the proper response for being told that you have serious brain damage."
Although he was impressed with how well she managed to nearly quote Wheatley, he simply shook his head. "I don't have brain damage. I just can't remember anything is all."
"Then maybe you're dealing with amnesia?" suggested Mrs. Dough.
Tiger Lily's eyes widened at the mentioning of amnesia. "Amnesia? What's that? Is it tasty?" she asked, looking rather hungry.
"It means that he doesn't remember anything about his past," explained Mr. Dough.
Amnesia! This is perfect! This should make it substantially easier to not appear suspicious! he thought. "Yeah, that's probably right," he then said, looking a little depressed.
Tiger Lily seemed a bit disappointed that she wouldn't be able to experience the culinary delight that is "Amnesia."
"Do you even remember your name?" asked Mrs. Dough.
"I can't say that I do," he replied.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Dough looked expectantly at Tiger Lily for some reason. "How about we call you Gingersnap?" she offered.
"Why Gingersnap?" he asked.
"Because you smell like fresh gingersnaps!" she answered.
"I guess that's a fine name," he said. He was a little depressed about it though. Gingersnap was a nickname of his from school that he wasn't too fond of.
"It's official then!" yelled Tiger Lily. "Your name is now Gingersnap!"
"Well I'm sure you're hungry after sleeping for such a long time," said Mr. Dough, changing the subject. "Come on downstairs; I just finished baking some fresh apple pie."
"That sounds delicious!" responded Gingersnap. "You guys go on ahead. I'll be down in a minute."
They didn't seem to have any objections, so they left Gingersnap so they could put the finishing touches on the pie. Gingersnap realized the first thing he would need to do is stand up somehow. It took him awhile, but he managed to stand up by making use of a chair next to the bed. Step two: walking. He started by placing his front-right hoof forward. He then tried his front-left hoof, causing him to slide onto the ground, placing him back at square one. This time, he managed to stand up without the use of the chair.
Hurray! I'm making progress! he thought to himself.
Again, he started with his front-right hoof. This time around, he followed with his back-left hoof, and was excited that he didn't fall again. He then tried to step with his front-left followed by his back-right, and was proud of himself for walking forward without falling. To test his new knowledge, he tried walking over to the window on the other side of the room, which required that he turned a little. The turn was a bit rough, but he figured he would learn how to properly turn soon enough. Upon looking out the window, he saw a small town filled with ponies going about their business. Some were chatting with friends and others were stopping at a cafe across the street. He even saw a group of fillies with a wagon filled with wooden planks, tools, and other supplies that they probably got from the local hardware store. Aside from the three fillies, all of the ponies had a different "tattoo." A short distance away, he saw a billboard that read, "Welcome to Ponyville!"
Ponyville? That's a weird name for a town. Not very creative though. I guess I'll be stuck here for a while.
He couldn't think of anything else that he would need to practice so he wouldn't look suspicious, so he went downstairs to begin his first meal in Ponyville.
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