Chapters Have you ever wondered what it would be like to lose your memory?
To forget who you are and have no idea where you live?
Unable to remember loved ones and your talents?
Such an event has happened in Equestria.
Here’s one pony’s story about it.
It all started when Twilight Sparkle had finished reading a book she had borrowed from Zecora. The book was about fate, a subject Twilight was doubtful about. She thought that the idea of a predetermined future as illogical. Still, Zecora insisted that she reconsidered her thoughts on it and gave her the book. Now, Twilight was having second thoughts about fate. Could fate really exist? She had no way of knowing for sure and decided not worry about it. She placed the book in her saddlebag and told Spike to watch the library for her while she’s gone. She knew that a storm would occur soon, but she was determined to get to Zecora’s hut and return her the book. As she walked towards the Everfree Forest, dark clouds loomed above her.
After several minutes, Twilight arrived at the wooden hut and knocked on the door. She heard a voice from inside say, “Come in.” She opened the door and found Zecora sitting behind a table. She was sipping her cup of tea as Twilight closed the door.
“Twilight Sparkle, it’s so good to see you,” proclaimed Zecora. “I see you came with my book too.”
Twilight was surprised. She hadn’t removed the book from her bag. Yet, Zecora knew.
“How did you know I came here to give you your book back?” asked Twilight. “Is it my saddlebag?”
“Your bag is a good clue,” answered Zecora. “However, that answer isn’t true. With the storm, you would’ve waited. But you came to me so it was fated!”
“Fated? Don’t be silly, Zecora! I came to give you the book as soon I finished reading it.”
“Then why come to me so soon? Why didn’t you wait until tomorrow afternoon?”
Twilight realized that Zecora was right. Why was she here? The storm would bring in heavy rain and lightning. The storm would last until the next day. Why was she so determined to get to Zecora’s place under a storm? Then, it struck her. Did fate bring her here?
“Fate brought you here at this hour,” she continued. “Fate cannot be stopped with its absolute power.”
Twilight grew concerned. “Why am I here then? Is there something I have to do?”
“That is something I do not know,” replied Zecora. “I do know that your future will soon show.”
“What’s my future, Zecora?”
Before Zecora had the time to answer, they heard a loud, unusual noise above the forest. They stepped out to see what it was. It was hard to make out what the object was as the trees blocked the view. What they were able to see was a large silver machine with jet turbines on its wings.
“It’s an airplane,” exclaimed Twilight, “but I’ve never seen anything like that one before!”
They noticed that the plane was being pushed downwards by an invisible force. The plane struggled to climb, but it kept dropping. Eventually, it dropped onto the trees and an explosion rocked the forest. They then saw a fire emerge from the area where the plane had crashed. They ran towards it and when they arrived, they were in shock. Large pieces of metal laid everywhere. Trees were engulfed in flames and they found the body of a male Earth pony near the wreckage. He wore a helmet and an odd looking bodysuit. Twilight realized that it was the pilot. The pilot’s suit was cut in several places and he bled from the mouth. Twilight placed her hoof in front of his nose to see if he was still breathing. Unfortunately, he wasn’t.
“Zecora!” shouted Twilight. “We need to take him to a hospital immediately!”
Zecora placed him on her back and they ran for the exit of the forest as the blaze behind them grew. As they ran, two timberwolves suddenly blocked their path.
“Get out of the way!” yelled Twilight.
Of course, they didn’t. They approached them slowly as they eyed the pony on Zecora’s back. Twilight got very scared and then, she had thought of a risky plan.
“Zecora, you go. I’ll distract them while you get to the hospital. I’ll catch up with you.”
Zecora was surprised at Twilight’s sudden courage and Twilight directed the wolves towards herself. It worked. The wolves ran for Twilight and she ran towards the crash site. Zecora was now free from the wolves and she made a run for it. Twilight managed to outrun them and she reached the crash site. She grabbed a broken branch with her magic as the wolves howled in the distance. She placed one end into the flames and now, she had a torch. She knew that the wolves were no match for fire. She climbed a tree and when the wolves arrived, they didn’t see her up there.
“Oh, fellas!” teased Twilight.
The wolves looked up and she threw the torch onto them. They howled in agony as the flames consumed them and they stopped dead on their tracks. Twilight climbed down the tree and ran away.
***
Rain poured heavily and thunder rumbled by the time Zecora reached the hospital’s front entrance. She explained what happened and the male pony was rushed to the emergency room. The Equestrian Fire Brigade were called in to douse the flames in the forest. The Equestrian Transportation Safety Board was notified of the plane crash. All the while, Zecora sat in the waiting room, waiting for good news and Twilight. She waited and waited. About half an hour later, Twilight arrived, exhausted from running. Zecora gave her some water as she tried to catch her breath. They waited. They waited and waited. Finally, a nurse pony arrived. She didn’t look happy.
“Is he all right?” asked Twilight.
The nurse shook her head and said, “I’m afraid he’s far from okay. He’s in the ICU currently. He’s in a coma and I don’t know if he’ll ever recover.”
The news left them stunned. Twilight, unable to control her emotions, burst into tears. Zecora hugged her as she cried.
As thunder continued to rumble by and rain continued to pour, the Fire Brigade were trying their best to contain the fire. Their hoses had to be equipped with a special nozzle to create foam, which is useful for stopping fuel fires. The Equestrian Transportation Safety Board (ETSB) began their investigation into the crash. When they arrived on the scene, they were baffled. The aircraft was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Regardless, they felt they had to do their best to determine the cause. Due to the fire, they can rule out the possibly that the plane had run out of fuel.
The lead investigator, Air Marshall, was an experienced pilot and he realized that something was very wrong. “With the intense storm clouds, he should have turned around. All pilots should know to avoid storm clouds at all times. Why didn’t he turn around?”
After an hour, the fire was put out and the team were out of leads. The pieces of the aircraft were not providing enough clues. The team felt that the most likely cause was Pilot Error . After all, he wasn’t supposed to fly under a storm. Air Marshall however, felt that the pilot wasn’t the only cause. They knew that the pilot was taken to the hospital. Air and some of his team decided to pay him a visit.
***
Twilight continued to sob as she and Zecora were being led by the nurse. The nurse was taking them to the room the pilot rested in. When they entered the room, they saw the pilot, surrounded by machines. One machine was attached to his head to record brain activity. Another machine monitored his heart rate. He had an IV attached to its left foreleg and he had a third machine that helped him breathe. His torso and most of his head were bandaged up. All the while, beeping can be heard from all the machines.
The nurse spoke to them in a sad, quiet tone, “His injuries are quite severe. He has a skull fracture and he broke a few of his ribs. One of the ribs actually punctured a lung.”
Twilight gasped in shock. She didn’t realize just how bad it was.
“I’ll leave you two alone. I need to attend to other patients.”
With that, the nurse left as Zecora still held Twilight close. They looked at the pilot for quite some time. Twilight looked at the pilot’s face. His muzzle was not as square as the average stallion’s, giving him a youthful appearance. Twilight estimates that the stallion was around her age. She was saddened that somepony so young was involved in such a horrific accident. Despite the fact they had saved him from the fire and the timberwolves, his life was still on the line. The thoughts depressed Twilight greatly. She felt very guilty and felt that this was all her fault. She was so buried in her thoughts that she failed to notice that Zecora was calling her name.
“Twilight?” whispered Zecora. “Twilight?”
Twilight snapped back to reality and turned to face Zecora.
“Y-yes?” said Twilight in a depressed tone.
“Do not blame yourself, Twilight. This was beyond our might. If we put our hopes into the celestial light, this pony will be alright.”
Twilight hoped that Zecora was right. However, she had her doubts that the pony was ever going to pull through.
“Excuse me, Miss,” said a voice from behind.
Twilight and Zecora turned to see four male ponies, with neckties on, were standing in the hallway outside the room. The one in front adjusted his glasses and entered the room. The others follow suit.
“I’m sorry if we interrupted you two,” he continued. “Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Air Marshall and these are my colleagues. We’re from the ETSB and we’re here to interview the pilot.”
Twilight shook her head. “I’m sorry, but the pilot is in a coma.”
The investigators stood disappointed. Air Marshall looked at the pilot and sighed deeply.
“I guess that we have to look elsewhere,” he stressed. “What’s your name, Miss?”
“My name?” replied Twilight. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and this is my friend Zecora.”
Air Marshall’s eyes widen. “So you’re Twilight Sparkle! I’ve heard of you. You and your friends have saved Equestria a couple of times. For that, I thank you. Were you the ones who saved this pilot?”
“Yes, we are. I was visiting Zecora in the forest earlier and we heard the plane above us. We went outside and saw the plane fly high above the trees. Suddenly, the plane just dropped from the sky.”
“Hold on. Did you say the plane dropped from the sky? Are you sure of that?”
“I’m certain of it. It looked like it was trying to climb, but it couldn’t do it. It was like it was being pushed down by an invisible force of some sort.”
Air Marshall remained silent for a while. Then, he looked at his colleagues.
“I think we have a microburst in our hooves,” he said firmly.
“A microburst?” questioned Twilight. “You mean…”
“Yes. I do mean the weather phenomenon. It’s an immense column of air that pushes objects down. Planes are vulnerable against them. That’s why we advise planes to steer away from storm clouds. Clearly, this pilot didn’t get the memo. It’s reckless to fly under those conditions if you ask me. With microbursts in mind, we have four possible leads: a microburst, a stall, mechanical failure or in the worst case scenario, a deliberate crash.”
“A deliberate crash?!” fumed Twilight. “Are you trying to tell me that this stallion crashed the plane on purpose?!”
“I’m sorry if I’m trying to say he did. Look, we’re trying our best to solve the mystery. We’re thinking of all possibilities at this moment.”
Twilight kept an angered look on Air Marshall. His colleagues were taking notes on their pads.
Air Marshall adjusted his glasses once more as he continued to speak, “If he wakes up, please give us a call. Thank you for your time. Again, we’re sorry for the interruption.”
They then left the room. Twilight was relieved.
“Those guys are jerks!” she told Zecora. “Suggesting that he crashed the plane on purpose!”
Zecora turned to Twilight and asked her, “Twilight, sorry if this sounds insane, but what exactly is an airplane?”
Twilight sighs and she began to explain, “Airplanes are machines designed to fly in the air. See, Pegasi and Alicorns have wings and can fly in the air all the time. Earth ponies and Unicorns have always wished for that same kind of freedom. Usually, we use a hot air balloon or in Pinkie Pie’s case, that weird flying bicycle thing. In recent times however, scientists and engineers have been working hard to invent a more efficient machine for flight. However, many of them only exist in the concept stages and some of the early machines have crashed. There are so few working prototypes that exist. The plane that crashed in the forest was far advanced than ours. The prototypes are made of wood, but that plane was made from metal! It’s so sleek looking and has things I’ve never seen on any plane! I-I don’t know how this is all possible!”
Twilight was conflicted by all this. Many questions spawned in her head: Where does he live? Why does he have such an advanced plane? Is he from the future? Is he from another universe? Did he invent it himself? Is he from an advanced society? Why did he come here? Why was he flying below the clouds? Did he try to maintain control of his plane? Who is he?!
She did not have a proper answer for anything and she wanted it now. A nurse entered the room.
“We need to take him for more tests,” she told them. “I’m sorry, but you must leave.”
Twilight didn’t want to leave, but she realized that Spike was wondering where she was. Her trip at Zecora’s was supposed to be short. More than four hours had passed since she left the library.
“Okay,” sighed Twilight. “We’ll go.”
She was trying her hardest to fight back tears as they left the room.
***
In the library, Spike was staring out the window for any signs of Twilight. He was getting more and more concerned as the rain continued to pound the earth.
“Oh, Twilight!” he cried. “Where are you?”
He wanted to go out and look for her, but Twilight insisted that he stays in the library. Spike had never been so scared for her before. He had a rather dark thought: What would happen if Twilight died? Who would take care of him? Spike tried to keep his mind off of it and tried to think positively. As hours passed by, the positive thoughts were diminishing and the dark thought arose again. Spike sat on the ground and began to cry.
“Please Twilight! Come back! Please come back! I-I don’t want to lose you!”
*Knock Knock!*
Spike’s head sprung up. Spike looked out the window and he saw…Twilight. She was soaking wet from the rain and she looked so sad. Spike opened the door right away and gave her the biggest hug.
“Twilight! Where have you been?!”
Twilight didn’t say a word.
“Twilight?”
She stood completely silent. Her face was frozen on a sad, depressed look. Her eyes were staring into nothingness.
“Twilight!”
She moved her head towards Spike in a slow pace.
“Spike…” she whispered at last. “I-I…”
“What’s wrong, Twilight? You don’t look so good.”
“Of course I don’t!” she yelled.
Spike jumped back at her sudden outburst and shook in fear. Twilight then became aware that she scared Spike. Now, she had more guilt.
“Spike, I’m so sorry. It’s just…that I saw hopelessness face-to-face.”
Spike was puzzled. What did she mean by that?
“Spike, did you hear about the plane crash?”
“Of course I did, Twilight. Somepony told me about it earlier. Why?”
“The plane crashed in front of me. We-we went to check out the crash site and we found the pilot.”
“Is-is he okay?”
Twilight simply shook her head. Spike placed a hand in front of his face in shock.
“He’s in a coma, Spike,” she resumed. “His skull is fractured and he broke some of his ribs. One of his lungs is punctured. Spike…I don’t think he’ll make it.”
Twilight broke down and hugged Spike hard.
“I’m sorry, Twilight.”
“I’m sorry too, Spike.”
Later that night, Twilight had trouble sleeping. She remembered what Zecora had told her.
“If we put our hopes into the celestial light, this pony will be alright.”
“I hope you’re right,” thought Twilight.
Twilight also remembered what Zecora had foretold about her fate.
“That is something I do not know. I do know that your future will soon show.”
“Does my future involve him?”
Twilight hoped that it was a positive future, not a bad one. She yawned and tried to sleep, but to no avail.
As the morning came by, Twilight was in a fatigued state. She had not slept well throughout the night, due to the events that had transpired in the last 24 hours. The storm had decreased in intensity and now, it only rained slightly. She wanted to stay in bed, but part of her knew that staying in bed won’t solve anything. She groaned as she got up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her coat was unkempt and her hair was a mess. Her eyes were bloodshot from the lack of sleep. She yawned as she brushed her hair and fixed up her coat. Once she was done, she was expecting Spike to be asleep. When she looked at him, she was surprised to see that he was actually awake. He was still in bed with his eyes as equally bloodshot as Twilight’s.
“Spike?” she voiced with concern. “Are you okay?”
Spike looked at Twilight with a tired expression on his face.
“Of course I am!” Spike replied wearily. “I feel like a million bits!”
Spike, however, didn’t feel like a million bits. Instead of being cheerful and filled of energy, he felt malcontent and drained. Much like Twilight, the events kept him awake as well. On top of that, he was still thinking about losing Twilight.
Twilight got closer to Spike and she spoke again, “You don’t look like it. What are you hiding?”
“Nothing!” pleaded Spike. “I swear, Twilight! I swear!”
“There is something you’re hiding. Usually, you’re asleep and I wake you up almost every morning.”
“For the last time, Twilight, I’m not hiding anything!”
“Tell me!”
At this point, Twilight became cranky. Spike, feeling defeated, finally told her what’s on his mind.
“Twilight, what happened last night hurt me greatly. I looked out the window, waiting for you. When you didn’t come back, I became worried! Twilight, I thought that something bad happened to you! I thought you were hurt or worse…”
Spike couldn’t bring himself to finish his sentence. He broke down before he could do so. He proceeded to hug Twilight tightly and bawled onto her. Twilight place her hoof on his head and consoled the little dragon.
“Spike,” she replied. “I’ll be fine. Like what I said before, I’m sorry.”
Twilight grabbed her bag and headed for the door.
“Wait!” Spike shouted. “Where are you going?”
Twilight paused. She felt bad because she lied about being fine, but she didn’t want to upset Spike further. Still, she had to see somepony.
“Where do you think?” she answered at last. “I need to see him again. Don’t tell anypony about this. Promise me that, okay?”
Just as she opened the door, she was greeted by the innocuous face of Fluttershy.
“Hello Twilight,” murmured Fluttershy.
Twilight panicked inside. She wasn’t expecting Fluttershy to be there. In her anxiety filled mind, she didn’t want to bring anypony into this. This was her problem, not theirs. She didn’t want it to tarnish them.
“Hey Fluttershy,” Twilight said uneasily. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to return this book, “Overcoming Shyness”.”
“Sure! Just give it to Spike. He’ll take care of it.”
As Spike walked over to fetch the book, Twilight grew more and more nervous. She wanted Fluttershy away from her and her problem. Sweat drops formed on her forehead and the sound of her own beating heart was getting louder.
Louder and louder.
Fluttershy was watching Twilight as she grew more and more anxious. She became concerned for her friend.
“Twilight?” Fluttershy said softly, “Did I catch you at a bad time?”
“I’m fine, Fluttershy,” lied Twilight. “It’s just I have to get going or I’ll be late!”
“Late for what, Twilight?”
Twilight had to think of an excuse and she thought of it quick. “I’m going to meet somepony in town. She has a rare book and I’m coming over to take a good look at it.”
“Is that so? Well, I’ll just look for other books on the shelves. That is, if you don’t mind.”
“It’s okay, Fluttershy. Take them at your heart’s content!”
While Fluttershy was distracted by the bookshelves, Twilight gestured the Pinkie Promise at Spike: “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
Twilight walked away, out of Fluttershy’s sight. The light drizzle ran down her fur as she stepped outside. She then began to run. She wanted to get to the hospital immediately. She wanted to see him again. After several minutes, she made it to the hospital and her legs were aching badly.
“Please don’t die, please don’t die,” she repeated in her head as she approached the front entrance. She stepped in and walked into the ICU unit, where the pilot was held. A nurse was present in his room when she arrived.
“How is he?” asked Twilight.
The nurse shook her head. “There’s little improvement since yesterday. I’m sorry, but this is the best we can do.”
“I see…” Twilight got closer to the pilot as the nurse left her alone.
“Why me?” she thought melancholy. “Why?”
A single tear ran down her cheek as she held his left hoof, hoping for a breakthrough.
***
At the crash site, the ETSB investigators were on scene again. With the pilot in a coma, they were trying their hardest to solve the mystery. Eventually, Air Marshall decided that it would best to wait for the pilot’s awakening.
Then, one of his colleagues had an idea. “What if we reassemble the plane? It’ll give us a better view of what the plane looks like. Heck, it could give the aviation industry a huge boost. Scientists and engineers would love to learn how to build better airplanes with this one. What do you think?”
Air Marshall pondered for a second and a smile began to show. “All right, stallions! Gather up all the pieces you can get your hooves on!”
“Yes sir!” they all said in unison.
While this was going on, Zecora was sipping her cup of tea in the comfort of her hut. She was still thinking of the crash and how it affected Twilight. She knew just how much it hurt her mentally. She feared that Twilight was going to feel guilt for the rest of her life. Zecora even knew that Twilight was at the hospital at that moment. Zecora felt that her strength wasn’t enough to snap Twilight out of her darkness. So, she decided to visit the ponies that could; her best friends. She finishes her tea and sets off to her destination, the library. She didn’t exactly know why the library was the very place she thought of, but it felt right in her mind. When she arrived at the library, she was surprised to see Fluttershy.
“Oh hello Zecora,” uttered Fluttershy in her quiet tone. “What are you doing here?”
Zecora noticed that Spike was looking quite tired. He was organizing some books on the selves as Zecora began her rhyme filled speech. “Spike, I see that you didn’t rest well during the night. Does your fatigue have anything to do with Twilight?”
Spike nearly dropped his books. He caught them just in time and placed them back on the shelf. Fluttershy was surprised at all of this. She starts to notice that Spike was yawning and was doing his work a little slower than usual.
“I am not tired!” voiced Spike. “I’m in tip-top shape!”
“You cannot fool me with that little lie. Why did you lie to me…why?”
Spike realized that she was right. He had been lying and was terrible at it too. He couldn’t break his promise, but he remembered that the promise only concerned her visit to the hospital.
“Okay, okay. I admit it. I am tired. It’s just I got these dark thoughts since last night and I couldn’t sleep well because of it. I thought about what would happen if Twilight died. Where do I go? Who will take care of me? Will I be able take care of myself?”
Zecora and Fluttershy showed sympathy on their faces. They had never seen this side of Spike before.
Zecora stepped forward. “I see that death is in your mind too. This is something Twilight is also going through.”
“What do you mean that Twilight is also going through death?” whimpered Fluttershy. “She said that she was going to see somepony for a rare book.”
“Fluttershy, I’m sorry, but you were being misled. She is actually visiting somepony at the hospital instead.”
Spike’s mouth dropped. Zecora had spilled the beans about Twilight’s visit. He now wondered if Zecora was able to read minds.
Fluttershy gasped at the truth. “The hospital?! What happened to her? Is she going to be okay?”
Zecora approached her and explained everything to Fluttershy.
“Oh my!” exclaimed Fluttershy. “So, I have to gather the others to help her?”
Zecora nodded and told her to do it quickly. Fluttershy left the library in a rush and headed for the Carousel Boutique, Rarity’s shop.
***
Rarity was enjoying herself. She was pleased with the new dress she had finished making. It was covered with sapphire gems and it looked like a dress fit for a princess. She marveled at the sight when Fluttershy opened the door behind her.
“Oh Fluttershy, there you are!” Rarity said in her Mid-Atlantic accent. “You’re just in time to see what I feel is the most majestic dress I’ve ever done! Isn’t it magnificent?”
“Yes, Rarity,” muttered Fluttershy. “That is nice and all, but—”
“But?! What do you mean “but”!? There is absolutely, positively nothing wrong with this masterpiece of a dress! ”
“It’s not the dress, Rarity.”
Fluttershy walked over and explained the events. Afterwards, Rarity grabbed her couch and wept in dramatic fashion.
“This is the worst, possible thing! We must tell the others!”
***
At the park, Rainbow Dash was trying to break her ball bouncing record while Pinkie Pie was keeping score, just so Dash can be 100% sure. Pinkie also made preparations to celebrate the record-breaking event. As the ball kept bouncing off her, Rarity and Fluttershy had arrived.
Fluttershy spoke to them in her soft tone, “Rainbow Dash! Pinkie Pie! We have a serious problem.”
“Of course we do!” yelled Rainbow Dash. “I have yet to break my ball bouncing record! How many bounces so far, Pinkie Pie?”
“Three hundred and twenty nine and counting!” screeched Pinkie Pie.
Rarity was enraged. “Rainbow Dash! This is something far more serious than some idiotic record!”
“Oh?” snorted Rainbow Dash. “And what would that be?”
“It’s about Twilight. She—”
“Is this about that Daring Do book? I said that I would give it to her when I’m done with it!”
“It’s far worse, darling! Have you heard of the plane crash?”
“Yeah! Some doofus flew it into a storm! Why?”
“Well, the pilot is badly hurt…and Twilight is watching him just now. She’s depressed and blames herself for it.”
As soon as Rarity was finished, the ball suddenly dropped to the ground. Rainbow Dash no longer felt like breaking the record. Pinkie Pie’s hair had deflated and dropped into straight hair.
“We need to get going!” ordered Rainbow Dash. “Twilight needs us!”
They head off to found Applejack.
***
At Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack took a fresh scent off the apple trees. “Ahhhh. Nothing's better than the scent of fresh apples!”
Just then, she saw her friends, minus Twilight, rushing towards her farm at fast speed.
“I wonder why they’re here?” thought Applejack.
“Applejack!” cried Pinkie Pie in her high pitched voice. “Twilight is in super, duper, ginormous trouble!”
“Why? What’s the matter?”
The group explained the situation and as they did, Applejack’s face grew more and more shocked.
“Sweet Celestia!” feared Applejack. “Big Mac! You watch the farm. I’ll be at the hospital. Twilight needs me!”
***
In the room, Twilight was heavily down. She couldn’t help, but cry at the pilot’s comatose body.
“I let you down,” she whimpered. “This is my fault. My fault!”
As she cried, she didn’t notice the ponies that all stood in the hallway.
“Twilight!” they said in unison.
Twilight jumped and she got into a panic attack. She wasn’t expecting any of her friends to show up, let alone all of them. “Why are you all here? This is my problem! Get away from me!”
“Twilight.” Fluttershy began. “Zecora told me to gather up the rest of the gang and we’re here to help you.”
Twilight’s heart pounded loudly on her chest. She didn’t even think of Zecora. “It’s just…I wanted you all out of this. I allowed this to happen. Zecora told me all about fate and now, I believe I know my fate. This pilot will die because I was there. I…I didn’t want you all to become depressed because of me. That’s why I didn’t tell.”
“Twilight,” Rarity continued. “I understand how much this hurts you, but you shouldn’t feel responsible for this. You didn’t cause this accident. Nopony ever did.”
“And you shouldn’t hide your problem either!” resumed Rainbow Dash. “Hiding it will only make it worse!”
“Nopony wants to see you suffer,” replied Pinkie Pie. “If you do, we suffer as well. We want you to talk to us if you have a serious problem.”
“And don’t forget, we’re here for you.” expressed Applejack. “We support you and you support us. We will help you cope with this problem in any way we can. We’ll watch him for you when you ain’t there. What do you think?”
Twilight, conflicted in her emotions, rushed over to her friends and hugged them. Tears formed around her eyes.
Tears of happiness.
***
Days passed. Weeks passed. Months passed.
Now, three months has passed since the crash. Twilight and her friends, including Zecora and Spike, have been trying their best to cope with the situation. They all visited the hospital to watch the pilot. Despite the fact that his skull, ribs and lung have been fully healed, there were no signs of the pilot waking up. Twilight was watching over the pilot and she was having second thoughts. She remembered what Applejack had told her the previous night. Applejack was telling her story from when she pulled the plug on her uncle when all hope was lost. Twilight was appalled by the idea and yelled at Applejack for saying something so controversial. Now, she was looking at the plug that was mounted on the wall.
“Is it really worth it?” thought Twilight. “Is this what fate wants me to do?”
Twilight took a deep breath and prepared herself. She raised a hoof and she slowly moved it towards the plug. She closed her eyes as she readied herself for the inevitable.
“Mother?”
Twilight’s eyes shot open and she looked at the pilot. She could not believe it. The pilot’s eyes were opening. His body slowly moved back to life.
Twilight’s mouth dropped as she hyperventilated. “Oh my Gosh! Oh my Gosh! Oh my Gosh!”
The pilot slowly moved his eyes towards Twilight, who was shaking from sheer excitement.
“Who…who are you?” struggled the pilot.
“My name’s Twilight Sparkle. Zecora and I saved you from that horrible plane crash.”
The pilot was confused. “Plane crash?”
“Yes. Your plane had crashed. You’re safe now. What’s your name?”
The pilot began to open his mouth, but no words came out. His eyes started to fill with pure anxiety and he began to pant heavily.
“What’s wrong?” asked Twilight.
The pilot spoke at last. “I…I don’t know my name!”
An aura of uneasiness was present since the pilot’s awakening. Twilight was directed to a doctor’s office by a nurse and now, she was more anxious than ever. The pilot was undergoing tests as she waited. She refused to believe that the pilot had forgotten his name. In her head, she already had an idea on why, but in her heart, she hoped that it wasn’t true. She grew more and more impatient as the clock on the wall kept on ticking. Its ticking was gradually getting louder and louder. Before long, a unicorn in a doctor’s outfit came in with some folders and sat behind his desk.
“Well?” Twilight asked. “How is he?”
The doctor let out a deep sigh, “The pilot is awake and appears to be fine physically. I cannot say the same for his mental state. He has suffered memory loss or amnesia. He was unable to answer any of my questions. I feared that this would happen due to the skull fracture he had.”
“Will he get his memories back?”
“I’m not entirely sure, Miss Sparkle. It might take days, weeks, months, years or possibly never. I wish I could help him, but I cannot. I lack the abilities to do so.”
“Abilities? Do you mean there is a way to get them back?”
“There is. The only safe method I know of that might help is that Personality Recall spell.”
Twilight’s eyes lit up. She knew that spell. It was the one that freed her friends from Discord’s corruption.
“I can do that spell!” she shouted excitedly. “That means I can cast it and he’ll be back to normal!”
The doctor smiled, “That’s great news! You need to remember that a certain requirement is needed for the spell to work. You must exist in his lost memories and he must exist in yours.”
Twilight felt her heart drop.
“I…I don’t know who he is and I don’t think he knows me.”
The doctor’s smile had faded. He remained quiet for a few seconds and looked at Twilight in disappointment.
“There goes our only shot at recovery.”
“Hold on, doctor. I’m sure that there are more spells to help him recover.”
“Don’t look for any! Most of them do not work in this situation and do not try to recover him yourself; this would only result in impairing his mental state further. We can’t risk it!”
After the doctor’s outburst, there was a long silence. Eventually, Twilight left the office to see the pilot once again. Night had fallen and she decided to make her visit quick. When she arrived, the pilot was asleep. She decided not to wake him up and she left a note on a table by his bedside. She kissed his forehead and left for home.
***
At the library, Spike was waiting for Twilight. He had grown used to Twilight’s frequent visits to the hospital. Despite this, the feelings of dread had not left him. He looked at the clock and realized that she was twenty minutes late. This got him very concerned.
“I can’t wait any longer!” he told Owlowiscious. “I must find her! You watch the library while I’m gone!”
“Hoot!” answered the owl.
With that, Spike set off to find Twilight. The night sky was filled with beautiful stars and the moon lit the ground below. Spike ran across Ponyville in the path Twilight took to go to the hospital. Clouds began to block the moon and the area grew darker and darker. As he ran, he saw a figure walking towards him. Spike tried to get out of the way, but it was too late. They collided and Spike was thrown to the ground. When Spike looked up, he realized that he had walked into Twilight.
“Spike?” questioned Twilight. “What are you doing out here?”
“I came looking for you!” replied Spike. “You’re late! I thought that something happened to you.”
“Something did happen, Spike.”
“Huh?”
“The pilot…he’s awake.”
“He is?! How is he?”
Twilight paused. Spike looked at her eyes. They looked hurt.
“Spike. He…he lost his memories.”
***
“All right, just a few more.” thought the pilot as he saw Ponyville below him.
He then noticed the storm clouds ahead. “No! I cannot just turn around. I must land now!”
He eyed an empty field beyond the Everfree Forest. It was a perfect area for him to land.
Then, an incredible force pushes his plane downwards.
“A microburst! No. Not now! I’m so close!”
He tries to climb the plane, but to no avail. His plane is now dangerously close to the ground below.
“Come on!” he yelled. “Come on! I can’t fail now!”
Then, his plane gets hit again and this time, he is only a few feet above the trees. He prepared himself for impact. His hand hovered over the eject button and he pushes it. Unfortunately, it malfunctions and causes his seat to eject after he impacted the trees. His body hits a few branches and rocks as he tumbles down the trees. As he hit the ground, he loses consciousness as his plane is scattered into several pieces.
***
The pilot awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. He panted heavily as he tried to calm himself down. He realized that he now remembered the last minute of the plane crash. Now he had questions in his mind. Why was he so eager to get to land under a storm? Why was he coming to Ponyville? Who was he? He decided that he’ll wait for his memories to come back to answer everything. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.
By the time the sun came out, he stretched himself awake and noticed that a nurse was already preparing his breakfast. When he finished his breakfast, he saw a folded piece of paper on the table next to him. He picked it up and unfolded the note.
It read: “Dear pilot. It’s me, Twilight Sparkle. I know that these past couple of hours must have been frightening. I’ve been feeling down due to your amnesia. I’m sure you are as well. I want you to know that you are not alone. I have a group of amazing friends that will help you in any way they can. I want you to be happy regardless of what your future holds. You can stay with me once you’re out of this room. I owe you. I hope that everything gets better soon. I hope…Sincerely, Twilight.”
When he finished reading it, he hugged the note against his body. He felt truly happy and a single tear was shed. Eventually, he grew bored on his bed and he decided to pick a book off the bookshelf. One book in particular stood out from the rest. It was a book that was goldenrod in color and its spine had golden letters that spelt out: “Equestrian Legends” He picked it up and looked at its table of contents. He picked a chapter and began to read.
The chapter was about a hero known as Telemachus Rhesus Odysseus Ypsilon. He was better known as Troy. Thousands of years ago, a city was under the rule by an evil king. The Earth ponies were considered weak by the king due to their lack of wings and horns. He had sent them into prisons where the Earth ponies were slaved and tormented. This went on for years until one fateful day; a hero changed their destinies forever. A mysterious Alicorn named Troy entered the castle and demanded the release of the Earth ponies. The king laughed and Troy challenged him to a magical duel. The king agreed and they fought with all their strength. Troy had managed to defeat the king and the Earth ponies were freed. He then flew away and was never seen again.
The pilot found himself attached to the story and he secretly wished that he was Troy. Just then, he heard footsteps in the hallway. He looked up and saw a glassed pony and two others enter his room.
“Who are you?” the pilot asked.
“So I see you’re finally awake,” smiled Air Marshall.
Marshall then talked to the pilot about the accident and asked if he recalled anything. He explained that he was pushed down by microbursts during the last minute of the flight. The investigators were very pleased and invited the pilot to visit the ETSB HQ on a later date. The pilot accepted the offer and the investigators left the room. Later, a nurse arrived and told the pilot that the media wanted to interview him and she had told them not to. The plane crash was on the newspapers three month before. As time went by, the crash was less and less talked about. Now, they wanted to know his identity. The nurse had told them that the pilot lost his memory and wouldn’t be able to answer their questions. The pilot thanked the nurse and he dozed off into a nap. By the time he woke up, six multicolored ponies were looking at him.
“Wake up sleepyhead!” joked Twilight. “It’s time for you to meet my friends!”
Applejack started, “I’m Applejack!” I buck apples for a living and I’m one honest pony!”
Rarity continued, “I’m Rarity! I’m the most glamorous dress maker of all of Ponyville! I’m also extremely generous!”
Rainbow Dash cried, “I’m Rainbow Dash! The most awesome flyer ever! Oh and I’m also very loyal to my friends.”
Fluttershy whispered, “I-I’m Fluttershy. I…I love animals. I love them all and I am kind…very kind.”
Pinkie Pie screeched, “I’m Pinkie Pie! I love parties! I wanna make one right now! If you need a smile, call Pinkie Pie!”
The pilot had no words to say. He felt welcome by their presence. Applejack then asked, “So, have you decided on a name yet?”
“Oh! Oh! I know!” squeaked Pinkie Pie. “Flyer McFly! Storm Chaser? Montgolfier?”
Twilight interrupted, “I think it’s best to let him decide.”
“But what about his cutie mark?! Wouldn’t that give such a little yet giant, super shocking, plot twist clue?”
The pilot rose off his bed and looked at himself in the mirror. He still felt unsure if the stallion in the mirror really was him. He had a short black mane, teal eyes, blue fur and his cutie mark is a simple gray cloud.
The pilot spoke at last, “I think I’ll name myself Troy.”
“Troy?!” the mane six said together.
“But that’s the legendary hero, isn’t it?” questioned Rainbow Dash.
“Yes,” he answered. “Troy will be my new name.”
“You named yourself after the legendary hero?” replied Twilight.
“I read about him earlier. I cannot explain it, but I felt that he and I are similar. I don’t know why, but I just like him. I wish I could meet him someday.”
The mares looked at each other with concern.
“Sorry to disappoint you, but he ain’t real.” voiced Applejack.
The pilot’s eyes grew. “What do you mean?”
“Troy may not be real,” continued Twilight. “That hero is a legend. There is no proof if he really existed or not. However, if you want to be named so, then we’re okay with that.”
“I hope he’s real, Twilight. I hope he is. Oh, that reminds me. Some ponies from the ETSB came here today to talk to me about the plane crash. I actually remember the last minute of it.”
“You do? What happened?”
“I was urgent to land on the empty field after the forest when I was hit by microbursts. I don’t remember anything else after that.”
Twilight was relieved. Now, she knew that Troy didn’t crash the plane on purpose. After an hour, they had to leave and Twilight kissed him goodnight.
“Goodnight, Troy,” cooed Twilight. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You too, Twilight,” replied Troy sleepily.
Troy closed his eyes and drifted into sleep. He received another dream, but all he dreamt about was him piloting his plane. Throughout the dream, he stared silently into the sky as he traveled across different cities. At last, he saw Ponyville below him. He remembered himself say: “Showtime” The dream ends abruptly much to his disappointment.
When he woke up, he underwent more tests. Eventually, Twilight arrived as he was resting in his bed. The doctor from before was present in the room. He had a smile on his face.
“Good news, Miss Sparkle,” the doctor announced. “Troy is being discharged today.”
“That’s wonderful!” rejoiced Twilight.
“Before we can let him go, we need to sign some legal papers.”
After signing the documents, Twilight was now declared Troy’s caregiver. The doctor warned Twilight not to recover his memories by force. She promised in her head, but in her heart, she wanted to solve the problem as soon as possible. How she would solve it was the question she now faced. She didn’t know any other spells concerning memory, at least of her level.
As they arrived to the library, Troy was greeted by a baby dragon. Spike had prepared himself for the day Troy arrived. As Troy stood outside, he put on his biggest smile.
“Hello Troy! It’s so good to see you!” Spike exclaimed. “My name is Spike and this is Owlowiscious, the owl. We are pleased to have you stay with us.”
Troy had a slight feeling of discomfort inside him. All this was so new to him. Twilight showed him his bed, which was opposite to Twilight’s.
Twilight spoke to him in a calming voice, “I know this is hard for you, but trust me it gets better. You need rest now.”
Troy yawned. He realized just how right Twilight was. He was stunned at how soft his new bed was. He closed his eyes and Twilight kissed him goodnight. Troy hoped that his memories came back soon. Twilight had wished for the same. She closed her eyes and crossed her heart for hope.
Everything was quiet in the library. They were all asleep except for Owlowiscious. The owl kept an eye for them as they dozed off. Twilight was having a wonderful dream. She dreamt that she was in a library. It wasn’t just any library. This library had every single book in the world. She picked one off the shelf. It was the book she was looking for. A spellbook that contained the memory spell she was looking for. She opened the pages when she heard a loud piercing scream. Twilight and Spike awoke in a fright and they realized that the scream was real. They saw Troy, panting and shaking in a fit of panic.
“Troy?” cried Twilight. “What’s wrong?”
Troy didn’t answer. Instead, he continued to tremble and sweat. Twilight got off her bed and went to check on him. Spike watched on as Troy held Twilight close.
“I…I had a nightmare.” he answered at last. “It…it…”
He then proceeded to cry.
“What happened?” asked Twilight.
“I dreamt that I was surrounded by large bugs! They were all looking at me and one of them jumped at me…Oh Twilight, please help me. I’m…scared!”
“Shhh…It’s okay, Troy. It’s all over now. Please go back to sleep.”
Twilight then sang a soft sounding lullaby to help him calm down. Soon, everything was quiet again until the sun rose. For most of the day, Troy kept himself occupied with more books. Twilight was pleased to see him so happy. She was surprised that Troy really liked reading. It felt strange for her to see somepony become a bookworm like her. Then, Spike suddenly burped out a scroll. Troy jumped back.
“Did you just burp out a scroll?!” shouted Troy.
“Uh…yes?” grinned Spike.
Twilight realized that Troy was completely unaware of her royal duties or the Elements of Harmony. She sighed and prepared herself for an explanation.
“Where do I begin?” started Twilight. “Spike is…my assistant and he just received a message from…Princess Celestia.”
Troy’s mouth dropped.
“Pr-pri-princess?” he stammered.
“Yes and I’m her fateful student.”
“A student to a princess? Cool!”
“You see, me and the rest of my friends saved Equestria a couple of times.”
“Wait, what?!”
“You see, we represent the Elements of Harmony. They’re extremely powerful artifacts and each of us is connected to an element. I’m Magic, Applejack is Honesty, Pinkie Pie is Laughter, Rainbow Dash is Loyalty, Rarity is Generosity and Fluttershy is Kindness.”
She continued to explain a few things as well as their adventures. When she was done, Troy was filled with bewilderment yet he was excited. He could not even believe his ears.
Spike began to read the message, “According to this, she’ll be here for a short visit. She wants to meet Troy.”
Then, they heard a knock on the door. A large, white Alicorn Princess entered the library and Troy immediately kneeled before her.
“Are you Troy?” Celestia asked in an elegant tone.
“Ye-yes, Princess. I am,” Troy hesitated.
“I understand how awkward it is for a princess to visit you, but after the plane crash, many wish to know who you are. Even I got interested. I could cast a spell to restore your memories, but that spell is known to backfire and does more harm than good. I’m sure you’ll remember who you are if you just believe. With that, I welcome you to Ponyville. Enjoy your stay and never lose hope. If you need anything, do not hesitate to ask me or my sister Luna. Farewell for now, I have duties to attend.”
Celestia stretched her wings and took flight. Troy stared at the marvellous sight of the Alicorn as she flew towards Canterlot. He was filled with energy. He felt adventurous. He asked Twilight if he could explore Ponyville. Twilight agreed and let Spike go with him. Troy looked around and marveled at the scenery around him. They first entered Rarity’s shop where they were welcomed by Sweetie Belle.
“Hello there!” she said in her cutesy voice. “Are you Troy?”
“How did you guess?
“Rarity felt a feeling you would come by today. Oh! There she comes now!”
Rarity had appeared in a very fancy dress. Spike’s jaw nearly fell off at the sight.
“Oh, Spikey Wikey! So good to see you! And it seems that Troy came along as well!”
“Oh Rarity!” swooned Spike.
Troy chuckled, “Falling in love, are you?”
“Huh! No! I’m not. I swear!”
“What brings you here, Troy?” asked Rarity.
“I came for a quick visit. I’m exploring Ponyville!”
“Well, now! There are many places to go to in Ponyville! If you need a lovely dress, please come by!”
“I will, Rarity. See you later!”
As Troy turned around to leave, Spike continued to stare at Rarity. Troy had to pull him out of the shop by force. After the visit, they went for Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie Pie giggled excitedly when they came by, “Welcome to Sugarcube Corner, Troy! I baked a special cake just for my newest friend! See?!”
She had baked an airplane shaped cake and Troy licked his lips as he looked at the cake.
“Gee thanks!” accepted Troy. He took the cake and carried it in a bag. He thanked Pinkie and they went for the park next. Rainbow Dash was reading Daring Do on a cloud when she saw Troy below.
“Hey Troy!” she yelled. “What’s up!”
“Not much!” Troy yelled back. “Just exploring Ponyville!”
“Is that so?! Well, I wish I could join you, but I need to finish this book. Reading’s great, you know?”
“I know! See you later!”
They then visited Fluttershy’s house. Animals of various kinds surrounded her house and when they opened the door, many birds chirped and sang as Fluttershy appeared.
“Oh!” whispered Fluttershy. “Hi Troy. Nice see you here.”
“Hey there, Fluttershy,” commented Troy. “You look nice today.”
“Oh! Thank you.”
Fluttershy had blushed. Troy was simply being nice to her. Twilight had told him earlier about Fluttershy’s shyness. Troy had been exhausted from exploring Ponyville and felt that he needed a rest.
“Can I have a glass of water?” he asked kindly.
“But of course! I’ll fetch you one!”
Troy and Spike sat on the couch as the birds sang while a certain white rabbit was eating his salad.
Fluttershy came back with a glass of water and he drank the cool liquid down. He was fascinated by all the animals around him: Turtles, rabbits, birds, dogs, cats, caterpillars, butterflies, beavers, foxes, chickens, bears, iguanas and so on. It intrigued him that so many animals were all in one place.
“You weren’t kidding when you said you loved animals.” he remarked.
“Of course, I do! Aren’t they all adorable?”
Troy nodded in agreement.
“Well, I need to get going,” he said as he got off the couch. “I need to visit Applejack.”
As they went to the farm, the scent of fresh apples filled their noses. Applejack was bucking a tree in the distance when they arrived.
“Hi Troy!” yelled Applejack. “How is it going?”
“Not too bad, Applejack!” Troy shouted back.
Applejack picked up an apple and gave it to Troy.
“It’s for you.”
Troy took a bite. His eyes suddenly grew into the size of plates.
“My god! This apple is amazing!”
“Darn Tootin’! All my apples are darn good!”
“I’ll take a couple of them. These are so good!”
“Hope y’all enjoy them!”
When he arrived back home, he placed the cake on a table and placed the apples in a bowl. He told Twilight how his exploration went. Twilight was very pleased at this, but she was hiding concern inside of her. She still felt guilt over his memory loss and wanted to restore them. She didn’t know how.
At night, they all had a slice of cake and they all enjoyed it. They then went to bed. Spike was getting a dream involving Rarity. Rarity was in the same dress she wore earlier and she was calling for Spike. When Spike was about get close to her, a loud scream awoke him. Troy was screaming once more. Twilight came to calm him down once again. He explained that he was walking across a tightrope over a lava pit and he fell off. Troy continued to shiver as Twilight sang her lullaby. Soon, Troy was back asleep.
“That’s the second time in a row” thought Twilight. “I hope that was the last one. I hope.”
It wasn’t.
The next night, the same ordeal had occurred. This time, Troy dreamt that he was stabbed in the chest and died. Twilight had heard enough. The next day, she proceeded to read her spellbook and she realized that an insomnia spell was possible at her level.
“Are you sure about this?” questioned Troy with concern.
“I am sure,” answered Twilight. “Having nightmares every night isn’t normal. I need to keep you awake to prevent this from happening. I’m sorry, but it’s the only solution for now.”
She then casted the spell upon Troy and to his surprise, felt absolutely painless. She then read the next page and it discussed passwords. She learned that with a password, it could reverse some spells involving a pony’s mental state. It could also cause a pony to become tranquil. She choose a password that no pony else would think of using.
“Okay, Troy. I need you to listen to me carefully,” she said in a hypnotic tone. “I will say a password and each time you’ll hear it, you will be set free. I need you to listen to me. Say it with me: Telemachus Rhesus Odysseus Ypsilon”
“Telemachus Rhesus Odysseus Ypsilon” Troy repeated and in a flash, his whole body felt unusual. He felt more calm than usual. Twilight hoped that this worked.
It did, but not for long.
Troy’s mental state began to diminish quickly. The lack of sleep was causing his depression to break out more often. He grew crankier and suffered from paranoia. Twilight’s friends urged her to reverse the spell, but she kept insisting that it was for the best. Twilight was in denial and she refused to admit it. Her own mental state was dropping as well. Her depression and anxiety issues had taken their toll. Now, Troy stood quietly at a corner as Rainbow Dash was getting angry at her.
“Twilight!” she shouted. “This is ridiculous! You’re his caregiver! You should be helping him. Not make things worse for him!”
“But Rainbow Dash!” pleaded Twilight. “I didn’t want him to get any more nightmares! I don’t want to be awakened every single night because of his screaming. I’m sure you wouldn’t want that either.”
“I understand that, but this is worse. Troy barely spoke to me today. Do you even realize what you have done? Now, he’s a completely different pony! Face it, Twilight. You’ve grown overprotective over him since the crash! You’re always blaming yourself for it, but in my opinion, you really shouldn’t. I don’t care what Zecora said about fate. This is not your fault at all. Everything happens for a reason! Please, Twilight! Please uncast him…”
Twilight’s eyes dripped with tears. She realized that Rainbow Dash was right. She was indeed getting overprotective and she was blaming herself. She said the password loud and clearly and Troy dropped to sleep. She placed him on his bed and she and Spike went to bed as well. The tempers had subsided and now, they were at peace.
Without warning, Troy raised from his bed during the middle of the night, eyes still shut.
He muttered under his voice: “Why, Arch? Why?!”
He was slowly moving his hands towards Twilight’s neck.
He yelled, “I’m going to kill you!”
He proceeded to choke Twilight with great force. Twilight awoke in shock and she struggled to free herself from his grasp. Twilight was losing oxygen fast and his grasp got tighter and tighter. Spike was now awake and Owlowiscious flew towards Troy’s neck. He then took a deep bite on Troy’s neck. Troy screeched in pain and had let go of Twilight. Twilight, with her neck heavily bruised, said the password and Troy suddenly woke up.
“What…what happened?” exclaimed Troy.
“You were choking me!” explained Twilight.
“What?”
“You choked me in your sleep!”
“Oh my god. I…I…”
Troy stared at his hooves, afraid of himself. Twilight tried to approach him, but he backed off and refused to be touched.
“Leave me alone!” he demanded. “Please back off! I don’t want to hurt you!”
Troy continued to stare at his hooves. He couldn’t believe that he choked Twilight in his sleep. Now, he didn’t want to go to sleep. He could not trust himself.
“Spike!” Twilight expressed. “You need to write a letter to Princess Celestia immediately!”
“What?” replied Spike. “A letter this late at night?”
“Spike! It’s an emergency! We need Princess Luna for this! She’s our last chance at fixing this!”
“L-Luna?!”
“One of her duties has to do with dreams. I’m sure she can help Troy!”
Spike remained quiet for a brief moment. He went to write the letter and he blew it away with his magic fire breath.
“Please Luna,” Twilight prayed. “Please come soon. You’re our only hope.”
Now, they waited patiently for a response while Troy stood in a corner, far from harm’s way.
In the tranquillity of Princess Celestia’s bedroom, she rested comfortably under the bed sheets. All was calm until a magical scroll shattered the silence. She groaned as she woke up.
She picked up the scroll and began to read it: “Dear Princess Celestia, I apologize for waking you up this late at night, but we have an emergency. Troy just attacked Twilight while he was sleepwalking! As such, we need you to find Luna and have her fix this as soon as possible! She’s our last hope, Celestia. Please help us. Help us now! Your Faithful Dragon, Spike.”
Celestia, in a panicked state, folded the scroll and looked for her sister. Luna was examining Ponyville from a balcony when she heard Celestia running behind her.
“Sister,” said Luna. “What brings you here at this time?”
“Luna,” answered Celestia. “Read this. They require your help immediately.”
Luna picked up the scroll and read it quickly. Without a word, she opened up her wings and flew straight for Ponyville. As she arrived to the library, she knocked on the door. Twilight was the one who opened the door. Luna was taken aback by the bruises on Twilight’s neck. She spotted a cowered Troy at a corner.
“Twilight Sparkle, can you explain to me what happened? The message Spike gave me is lacking some details.”
Twilight looked at Luna and she explained the attack as best as she could. She also explained the nightmares that tormented Troy and her failed solution to solve the issue.
“Why did you not ask me for my help before?” wondered Luna.
“I…” stammered Twilight. “I wanted to solve this as fast as possible. I didn’t want to be a burden and…”
“I understand, Twilight. I acknowledge that you did not want to bother me with drama. However, it seemed that you downplayed the seriousness of all this.”
Luna paused as she closed her eyes.
“Troy,” Luna continued, “you must go back to sleep.”
Luna’s horn glowed suddenly and she hit Troy with a beam. However, the beam only made him drowsier. His eyelids began to feel heavy and his breathing became less frantic. Eventually, Troy was into a deep sleep. Luna opened her eyes, which now glowed white.
“Now then,” Luna said quietly, “let’s see that nightmare of yours.”
Luna’s vision began to drift into darkness as she searched for Troy’s dream. Then suddenly, she was able to see what Troy was seeing. Green-eyed figures were staring at Troy as he was on the ground. The images and colors that Troy saw were distorted. Suddenly, the figures vanished and Troy turned around to face an even bigger green-eyed figure. However, Troy didn’t feel panicked. In fact, he was relieved to see the figure and hugged it. Luna gasped in shock and she suddenly found herself in the library.
“What did you see?” asked Twilight.
“That was no nightmare, Twilight,” replied Luna. “In fact, that was a memory .”
“A memory? You mean all those nightmares were memories?”
“I cannot be certain, but the one I just witnessed was indeed one. A memory feels very different from a dream. If I walked into the memory, I could have damaged it. So, I choose to not interrupt. What interests me is that the memory was discolored and out of shape. His head injury must have had an effect on them. Celestia told me how important memories are to Troy. They’re the only way to restore his identity.”
“Luna, is there a way to restore his memories back? I doubt the nightmares he’s getting are going to help. Especially since the last one made him choke me! Maybe a memory spell might stop them from happening!”
Luna remained silent. She was hesitant to speak. Twilight looked at Luna with suspicion.
“You do know something, Luna,” ordered Twilight. “I can tell by your eyes! Come on, say it!”
Luna sighed, “There is one powerful spell that can restore his memories back but…”
Twilight grew a little annoyed. She realized that Luna knew a spell that would have fixed Troy’s amnesia from the beginning.
“But it can go horribly wrong. If it works, Troy’s memory can be completely restored with little to no side effect. However, if the spell doesn’t trigger properly, it can damage his mind further or worse, result in death.”
Twilight’s eyes widen. She felt mixed.
“Twilight, I know you want to get his memory back,” Luna added. “That spell is the quickest way to do so. Because of the risks, we’re not allowed to do it without permission. Do you want go with it, knowing that it might kill him?”
Twilight pondered for a minute. Spike and Owlowiscious, who were watching the event unfold, felt very tense.
“I…need some time.” Twilight answered at last.
“I understand,” accepted Luna. “I will arrive back here in twenty four hours. That will give you enough time to think.”
Luna exited the library and flew away. Twilight, now tired, picked up Troy and placed him back to bed. Everyone else went to bed as well. Twilight closed her eyes and went to sleep. However, she had difficulty doing so.
By the time morning arrived, Twilight had made up her mind and decided to wake Troy up. She explained what Luna did to him and she also talked about the memory spell.
“So let me get this straight,” questioned Troy, “this spell can restore my memory, but it‘ll kill me if it backfires and you want me to agree to this?!”
Twilight nodded.
“Twilight,” Troy begged, “you do realize that this might be the last time you’ll see me if this goes wrong. I…I don’t want to die!”
Troy calmed down and he realized what Twilight was thinking of. He felt that yelling wasn’t going to change her mind. Reluctantly, he agreed. It didn’t stop him from feeling dreadful. He decided to make his possible last day as cheerful as possible.
***
At the streets, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were bored. They were looking for things that would give them their cutie marks, but they ran out of ideas.
“Maybe reading a book might do the trick?” muttered Sweetie Belle.
They all headed for the library. When they entered, they all noticed Troy, who was reading a historical book.
“Oh hey Troy!” Sweetie giggled.
“Troy?” questioned Scootaloo. “Who’s he?”
“Troy is the pilot who crashed in the forest months ago,” explained Apple Bloom. “My sister Applejack told me all about him.”
Troy, distracted by the fillies, placed a bookmark on his book and put the book away. The fillies began to look for books to read.
“What are you three doing?” asked Troy.
The three turn to face him and said in unison, “We are the Cutie Mask Crusaders!”
“Is that right?” joked Troy. “Why would crusaders be looking for books in a library?”
“Cause we’re trying to figure out what our talents are,” replied Apple Bloom.
“Also, it’s because we’re bored,” expressed Scootaloo.
“Wait a minute!” declared Sweetie Belle. “I have a great idea! Troy, you’re not busy today, are you?”
Troy shook his head. The three girls whispered to each other. They giggled in excitement.
“How would you like to come with us?” exclaimed Apple Bloom. “You’ll be our fourth member for today!”
The girls giggled as Troy’s pride died inside. Even Twilight and Spike laughed. Unwillingly, Troy accepted. As they went outside, they kept giggling behind him. They did all kinds of silly activities such as Hide and Seek and Tic-Tac-Toe. As the day went on, Troy was surprisingly getting happier. After a stone skipping contest, they decided to stop by Sweet Apple Acres. Troy spotted Applejack in the distance. She was finishing up some garden work with Big Mac.
“Howdy, Troy!” Applejack yelled. “What brings you here?”
Troy and the fillies got closer to Applejack. The scent of fresh apples welcomed them.
“Troy is our fourth member for today!” smiled Apple Bloom.
Troy felt himself blush. Applejack and Big Mac chuckled under their breaths. Apple Bloom went on to explain the games they played.
“I think Troy here needs to play one of my favorite games.” suggested Applejack. “Horseshoes, anypony?”
***
Twilight and Spike were adjusting some books when they noticed the sunset outside. Twilight was still thinking about Luna’s warnings. His death was the image that was burned to her mind. Troy arrived a few minutes later with the biggest smile on his face.
“Had fun?” laughed Twilight.
“Of course I did!” cheered Troy. “I’ve never been happy in like…forever! I became this close at beating Applejack at Horseshoes!”
His smile began to disappear as he realized that today might be his last.
“And…” he continued, “I don’t think I’ll be this happy again. After all, I might die tonight.”
He began to cry. Twilight held him close, refusing to let go.
Hours later, there was a knock on the door. Twilight proceeded to open it and saw Luna along with a carriage and two royal guards, who were chauffeuring the carriage. Troy, Spike and Twilight hopped onboard and the carriage flew into the night sky. They soon arrived at the castle and Luna led them into a large room. The room was surrounded with magical scrolls and a spell circle was laid on the floor.
“Troy,” Luna announced, “stand on that circle.”
Troy did so. Princess Luna closed her eyes as she focused on Troy with deep concentration. She groaned as her horn began to glow intensely. She sweated and panted as the glow got bigger.
“Are you ready, Troy?” she said with a pained expression.
Troy looked at Twilight and Spike. Their faces were painted with despair. Troy whispered something but Luna didn’t hear it.
“What did you say, Troy?” groaned Luna as she felt tears drip off her face.
“I said…” Troy cried. “I…I said…”
Troy then broke down in tears. He ran off the circle and crawl into a corner.
Luna’s magic suddenly grew weaker and then stopped, much to her relief. She approached Troy, who sobbed heavily.
“You said “no”, did you?” implied Luna.
“Of course I did!” admitted Troy. “I do want to remember who I am. I really do. However, I don’t want to die either! I had the most wonderful day today. I felt so much joy today and if I died, I would have never been able to have that experience ever again! However, if it worked, my nightmares might end and I’ll know who I truly am! And Twilight wouldn’t get hurt anymore! I don’t want to harm Twilight ever again! But now, the nightmares might come back and…argh!”
Troy became very distraught and began to shake. Luna began to approach him.
“Don’t fucking touch me!” Troy snapped.
The others were shocked by his sudden paranoia. Troy continued to cry.
“What if I told you,” insisted Luna, “that there is another way to stop the nightmares.”
Troy didn’t respond.
“This one will not result in your death, but it will require you to train with me for a while. It is called “Clear Mind” and it’s a technique that even Earth ponies are capable of doing. Doing this will prevent nightmares, but in exchange, you will not be able to dream at all. Instead, you’ll be drifting into a calm filled trance that will last throughout the night.”
Troy began to turn his head towards Luna.
“Troy,” she continued. “You realize that this might block out the only path to your memories. You can reject my offer if you like to.”
“Can you…” Troy struggled, “can you teach me? Please?”
Luna smiled and gave him a warm, comforting hug. She then suggested that Twilight and Spike can go back to the library while Troy stays with her for training. Twilight was saddened, but she understood as well. When she arrived to her bed, she looked at Troy’s bed. She sighed deeply and missed him already.
“Please come back soon,” she said quietly. She closed her eyes and she hoped that she could fall asleep.
She did.
As the morning sun blossomed, Rarity was already awake, tea in hoof. She heard a high-pitched noise coming from the outside of her house. She knew what it was and groaned as Pinkie Pie barged in.
“Hello, Rarity!” Pinkie yelled. “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing just fine, Pinkie Darling” Rarity answered as she sipped her Earl Gray. “In a few minutes, I have to finish off a dress for one of my clients and I need absolute concentration. Do you understand?”
“Ooh, ooh! Am I the client? Huh, huh, huh?”
Pinkie bounced up and down at fast speed, much to Rarity’s annoyance.
“No, Pinkie” she sighed. “It’s for somepony who planning to go to the Equestrian College Alumni Prom.”
“But that’s only in a few weeks! Did you get the date wrong?”
“Of course not! It’s just that she wants it early, just to make sure.”
“Ooh, so it’s a mare client! Who is it? Is it Troy?”
“What?! Troy’s a stallion, Pinkie. It’s not like he had a gender swap. Besides, he doesn’t even go to college.”
“Well, what does he do? Nothing?”
“To be honest, Pinkie, I don’t know. Although, Twilight did uncast that awful spell she give him two days ago. At least, that’s what Rainbow Dash told me.”
The room felt silent as Rarity finished off her tea.
“So…” Pinkie continued, “who is the client?”
“I cannot tell you that,” Rarity replied. “She preferred to be anonymous about it”
“Oh come on! You have to tell me. I promise to tell nopony.”
“How can I trust you ?” Rarity exclaimed.
Before anypony said anything else, the door behind them opened. A grey Pegasus walked in, nearly hitting a vase while doing so.
“Is my dress ready yet? asked the Pegasus.
Rarity slapped her muzzle with her hoof. “You’ve asked to be anonymous and you still show up? I could’ve sent the dress to you.”
“Oops! I forgot.”
Rarity sighed in frustration. “It surprises me that somepony like you managed to not only go to college, but graduate as well!”
“I know. I guess I’m not all that dumb. So, is it ready?”
“No, Darling. It isn’t. I will finish it soon. I promise you that. I want to make sure that it looks absolutely gorgeous.”
“Okay!” said the Pegasus and she walked away.
Pinkie, with her mouth agape, stood in shock. “Your client is Derpy?!”
“Yes, Pinkie. She is. The only thing that concerns me is that she has Nopony to go with.”
The room felt silent once more.
***
The morning was beautiful and vibrant, but to Twilight’s eyes, it was dull and grey. It had only been a few hours since Troy had left for training. She already missed him and she wanted to see him again. However, Luna told Twilight to not visit him during his training. This disappointed her greatly.
Spike had recently left to buy more ink for Twilight. Only Owlowiscious was there to keep her company. She distracted herself with Daring Do books, but even the epic adventures of a fictional Pegasus didn’t stop Troy from appearing in her head. She simply couldn’t get him off her mind. She didn’t know what to do. Her ears shot up when she heard somepony knocking on the door. She excitedly opened the door with a wide smile on her face, only to find Rainbow Dash there.
“Okay, Twilight,” Rainbow Dash said in a grouchy voice. “I finished it. Here’s your Daring Do book. I must say, that one was rather weak. Nowhere near as good as the last one I read, “Daring Do and The Lost One”.”
Dash was trying to contain her anger towards Twilight. She was still mad at what Twilight did to Troy. She looks around the room and notices that Troy was nowhere to be seen.
“Where is Troy?” Dash asked.
“At the castle with Luna,” answered Twilight.
“What?! What the hay did you do this time?”
“Rainbow, please listen to me! I know you’re still mad at me, but it’s not my fault this time! Two nights ago, Troy was sleepwalking and choked me!”
Twilight had carefully combed the fur on her neck to cover the bruises. Dash spotted the faint patches of fur that showed bruising and she felt deeply frightened.
“We had Luna come over to see if she could do something about it,” Twilight continued. “She talked about a technique that could stop the nightmares he’s having. However, it stops good dreams from happening too. He’s currently training to get that to work.”
“When will he come back?” questioned Dash with a concerned voice.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said weakly.
“What do you mean you don’t know?!”
“I honestly don’t know, Rainbow. Training of this sort with an Earth pony is extremely difficult. It could take weeks for him to perfect it. I don’t even know if he’s even going to succeed. I hope he does, but part of me wishes that he doesn’t.”
“What in the hay are you talking about, Twilight? Those nightmares scared the living crud out of him! Now, you sort-of want him to still have them? Huh?! It doesn’t add up! You want him to continue sleepwalking and possibly kill you?!”
Twilight covered her mouth. She realized that she spoke too much. She didn’t want to talk about the fateful night when Troy faced the possibility of dying. Now, she felt backed into a corner. She removed her hoof off her face and spoke in a soft whisper.
“Luna,” Twilight began “realized that his nightmares were actually distorted memories. So distorted that even she couldn’t quite figure out what occurred in them. You see, stopping his nightmares is a good and bad thing. While it would prevent further incidents like what he did to my neck, it would also seal away the only outlet to his memories. Now, do you understand?”
Dash still felt a bit angry, but she was also beginning to understand Twilight’s side of the story. Dash silently nodded to her.
“It gets worse,” Twilight continued. “Last night, we went to the castle to restore Troy’s memories with Luna’s help. However, the spell was known to backfire and…and…”
Twilight choked a bit and hesitated. Tears began to flow down her lavender fur.
Twilight continued to speak through her tears. “…and it could’ve killed him! I…I was so lost in my despair that I actually forced Troy to undergo the ritual! Luckily, he backed out at the last minute…I’m…I’m a monster! I nearly killed him and for what? To fix his problem and live happily ever after?”
Twilight fell on her hind legs, staring at the floor.
“Why did they make me the caregiver? I disobeyed the doctor by trying to get Troy’s memory back by force! I nearly killed him last night! Every single time I’m around him, it’s like he’s destined to die! I don’t even know why Luna didn’t just punish me for my actions. Clearly, I should be the one who should’ve died.”
“That’s bull!” screamed Dash. “You know that! Nopony deserves death! You are actually questioning why you’re his caregiver? Well, who rescued Troy when he crashed the plane? You and Zecora! Who distracted the timberwolves so that Zecora could take Troy to the hospital? You did! Who watched him by his bedside the most? You did! Who made sure that he felt belonged? You did! They chose you because you cared for him the most. Yes, I know you made mistakes, but so what? Everypony makes them!”
“Even you?”
“I didn’t say that! Just be lucky that Troy is alive and that he is getting his nightmare problem fixed. Sure, he might lose the only way to his memories, but it’s never too late to start a new life for him. Besides, somepony might come looking for Troy and he might get them back as a result!”
“But Rainbow, it’s been months since his accident. Nopony came forward for Troy.”
“It’s possible that Troy’s lives far away. It would make sense that ponies would have trouble getting to him. By the way, I heard that the ETSB are almost done reconstructing the plane.”
“Reconstructing the plane?!”
“Yep, they gathered up all the pieces and they want to know more about it. Maybe Troy might remember something if he came to visit.”
“Huh. I never thought of that.”
Twilight got off the floor and hugged Dash.
“Thank you, Dashie for the speech” Twilight whispered. “I’ve been feeling self-guilty all day. I feel a lot better now. Please tell no pony about this. I don’t want to ruin their day with my story.”
“Will do!” Dash yelled as she saluted.
Dash, then, flew away just as Spike arrived.
“What was that about?” asked Spike.
“Oh, nothing.” answered Twilight. “Just mare talk.”
***
15 days had passed since Troy’s departure. Derpy had just received her prom dress and was now heading to the library for a book about dancing. She had already read plenty of books on dancing but she felt that reading one more wouldn’t hurt. She was only a few steps away from the library when she saw a carriage being chauffeured by two royal guards. A blue stallion came out of the carriage and entered the library. Cheers of joy can be heard from the outside. Derpy wondered what was going on. When she arrived, the stallion and Twilight were hugging each other very tightly.
“Uhh excuse me?” Derpy interrupted.
Twilight and the stallion both turned their heads towards Derpy.
“Oh Derpy! I wasn’t expecting you!” Twilight said excitedly. “This is Troy, he just came back from his trip.”
“Oh! I didn’t know you had a coltfriend.”
Twilight blushed. “What?! Don’t be serious, Derpy!”
Derpy giggled and Twilight blushed even more. Even Troy blushed. Twilight then explained Troy’s story. All the while, Troy couldn’t stop staring at Derpy’s eyes.
“Oh!” expressed Derpy .“My bad! I guess that makes more sense. Anywho, can I borrow another book?”
“Another one?” quizzed Twilight. “Is it about dancing?”
“How do you know that?”
“Well, the last six books you took were all about dancing.”
“I promise you that this is will be my last one. I just need to make sure that I’m a good dancer for the prom, tomorrow night!”
“Tomorrow?! My goodness, does time fly by fast! Do you have somepony to dance with you at the prom?”
No response.
“Derpy?” feared Twilight.
Twilight give a worrying look at Troy. Derpy was about to leave with the book when Troy shouted: “Hold it!”
Derpy stopped dead on her tracks. Troy approached her with caution. He could see that she was crying.
“Let me guess…” Derpy started, “you’re going to make fun of me, are you?”
“What?!” argued Troy. “Where did you get that idea?”
“That’s why I’m going alone for the prom!”
“What?!”
“I asked a lot of stallions to go to the prom with me, but they were either already taken or don’t like me!”
“I…I don’t get it. Why do you think they don’t like you?”
“Because I’m stupid…”
“You’re not…”
“I am!”
“I can assure that you are not stupid, Derpy.”
“But I am, Troy! Look at me! Look at my eyes!”
“So they’re cross-eyed. That doesn’t make you dumb at all, Derpy.”
“But some of them made fun of me because of my eyes. They called me names…Why can’t my eyes just be like everypony else’s…I…I just want to be normal…”
“Screw what they say! They’re just a bunch of heartless jackasses. And you are normal, Derpy…like the rest of us. Discrimination is something I will not tolerate. If I ever saw those freaks, they’ll know what’s coming!”
“Really? Would you…”
“Hmmm? Speak up.”
“Would you like to go to the prom with me?”
Troy looked at Twilight, who nodded.
‘Yes!” Troy responded. “I will!”
“Well, well, well!” smiled Twilight. “Looks like Troy is going to need something to wear and I know just the pony for that.”
***
“You’re Derpy’s partner?!” exclaimed Rarity.
“Yeah…it’s a long story.” admitted Troy.
“Well then, let’s take your measurements.”
Rarity carefully measured every inch of Troy’s body and a smile showed up.
“Lucky for you, I have a few tuxes that can fit you perfectly.”
She brought forward a few tuxes for Troy to try on. This took some time and Derpy sat and waited. Eventually, Troy came out of the dressing room and he wore a black tuxedo with a white formal shirt. A small red rose was placed on his lapel and was held on by two safety pins. He also wore a blue bowtie with white polka dots on it.
“What do you think?” asked Troy.
Derpy let off a happy gasp.
“I love it!” Derpy complimented.
“How much do I owe you, Rarity?”
“Free of charge!” Rarity announced. “Consider it a rental. You’ll give it back to me when the prom is over.”
“Wow. No wonder they call you the element of generosity!”
“Of course, darling!”
Eventually, they went outside and went to an empty field. Derpy had brought the book with her. They practiced their dancing as best as they could. By the time they were done, the sun was setting. They agreed to do it again tomorrow. When Troy arrived home, he was tired.
“Wow! What a lovely tux you got there, Troy!” praised Twilight.
“I look like a penguin” joked Troy.
Troy undressed and went to bed. He told Twilight to watch him. He proceeded to close his eyes and control his breathing. He then made four complex gestures with his hooves. Then, he fell asleep at a sudden rate.
“So, this is what Clear Mind is” whispered Twilight.
***
It was now only an hour before the prom began at the Equestrian College. Derpy had arrived early and she wore a beautiful red evening dress. She even had a muffin shaped tiara on. She was getting nervous and was beginning to regret her decision. Then, she saw Troy in the distance, much to her relief.
“Shall we?” Troy said in a low voice.
When they entered the building, they were surrounded by nearly two hundred ponies. The first dance session had begun and they danced wildly. Derpy nearly tripped, but Troy caught her in time. Troy suggested less intensity and Derpy agreed. A few giggled behind them, but they decided to ignore them. Eventually, the music switched to a slow and relaxing song. Troy and Derpy held each other close and felt calm. They looked in each other’s eyes and Derpy gave a small kiss on Troy’s muzzle. He blushed greatly.
Then, the dance sessions were over and the ponies gathered around for conversations. Troy and Derpy were at the food table, enjoying fruit punch.
“Oh my gosh, this was such a lovely night.” expressed Derpy. “I really don’t know how to thank you!”
“Well, I would’ve felt guilty had I not come along.” remarked Troy.
“Thank you…Troy…thank-”
A male voice interrupted. “What are you doing here, Cross Eyes?”
They turned to the source of the voice. It was a grey Pegasus with a black Mohawk. He was surrounded by a few Pegasi and Unicorns, who all looked as twisted as he was.
“Leave me alone, Turbine! I had enough of you and your friend’s insults!”
“Daaawwwwww. Did I hurt Derpy’s feelings? Too bad you’re a stupid fly who has no future!”
Troy bared his teeth.
“Don’t you dare insult her!” Troy raged. “Stop it right now or you’ll face my hoof!”
“Please! What good can you do? You’re just a pathetic Earth pony who has no talent. You’re superfluous to us Pegasi and the Unicorns!”
The gang roared into laughter.
“Just ignore them!” Derpy pleaded in a soft voice. “Please?”
Troy approached Turbine with coldblooded eyes. He punched Turbine so hard that he fell to the ground, unconscious. The whole crowd’s attention turned to the food table.
“What the heck did you do?” one of the gang member asked.
The gang member tried to hit Troy, but he dodged it swiftly and kicked him in the gut.
The security guards came to see what was going on. A guard tapped him on the shoulder and Troy, who was filled with anger, punched the guard in the muzzle. By the time Troy realized who he punched, it was too late. The guard bleed profusely from his nostrils. Three other guards shoved Troy into the ground and hoofcuffed him with magic. Derpy couldn’t believe her eyes. A police carriage arrived shortly and Troy was taken away.
“Why are you arresting me?” Troy shouted.
“For assault!” said the policeman. “And you have the right to remain silent!”
Derpy ran away in tears and she arrived at the library in haste. She knocked on the door loudly and Twilight, with tired eyes, answered the door.
“Derpy? What’s the matter?” said Twilight, sleepily.
“It’s Troy.” Derpy wailed. “He punched some of my enemies and is now taken by the police!”