Out of the Sky (Private)

[Zealot]

It was going to be a good day for Stiletto, she just knew it. Flying high, above the clouds even here she felt happy. Truly happy. This was what she was born for, flying higher than any pegasus even dared. Here, through the clear sky she could observe the ground below and all its wondrous marvels. Even if the air was a bit thin, it was an invigorating experience. After a long and boring haul through some dull scenery she had arrived in Ponyville. There she would be staying in the local inn for the time being while the pegasus sees all the sites and sounds of Ponyville. Not to mention the Everfree Forest. 

 

Stiletto loved the wild places of Equestria. They were so alien and exciting that it was hard to resist flying through them. The Everfree Forest had a thick canopy and she could hardly see the the forest floor from such a height, but it looked wondrous. Stretching out below her like some great wilderness of green. Truth be told, she was a little disappointed. The bogs and swamps of the Everfree were hardly the spectacular sight she had imagined. Still, from this height, anything looked spectacular. 

 

Taking her spyglass the pegasus drifted on the wind currents and lifted the telescope to her eye. Peering through she could make out the canopy and the trees of the Everfree. Still, they weren't particularly exciting. Where were the monsters she had heard so much about? Where were the strange sights of a ponyless world? With a snort she gave up with the spyglass and resolved that she would have to go lower to experience such things. The canopy was ruining her view. That's what it was. Well, she wasn't going to let that stop her from having a good time. She was going to have to give up flight for now and head to the ground. Her aerial recon skills were hardly useful if she couldn't actually see past the screen of the canopy. 

[Avery]

The skies of Ponyville were truly a magnificent sight to behold, as many of the earth ponies down on the ground wonder what it would be like in the skies above. Some have the pleasure of having Pegasi friends telling about them, and even showing them some pictures from such heights. While others were content with staying as low to the ground as their hooves would let them. Even Some unicorns wonder what the sight above the sky would be like, but the sight below it was just as wonderful to see, as it holds many wonders that many ponies keep close to their hearts.

 

But why keep an eye on the ones stuck on the ground, when the ones in the air are just about to have the most intense event happen to them. Many of the Pegasi in the clouds, most doing work with the clouds as they they push them to their spots for the next day, were flying around, some not having a care in the world, and some enjoying their time with their friends. However, it was clear that most everyone was trying to avoid the skies of the Everfree forest, as the rumors of the monsters there and the entirely different life style frightened most of them. Except for one Pegasus, which was Stiletto, who was actually going towards the Everfree in hopes of seeing something new and exciting.

 

However, it was here as she was about to really test her flying skills in sudden situations. As sky just above her already extreme height shined suddenly, a ball of almost pure white light showed itself as it threw the wind in a small twister. Then, with a sudden movement, there was a loud cracking sonic boom as the wind around the surrounding area spread far and wide violently. Though that's not what was all that came from the ball of light that soon disappeared, after a few moments, there was a loud crash that came from the Everfree forest itself! Being quick enough to see, Stiletto would have the chance to see a faint figure speed towards the forest and crash into it. Luckily, the crash wasn't that far from the safe route, but with a crash like that, it must've disturbed the wild animals that were found in the forest.

 

The location of the crash could be quickly found, thanks to the slightly burning tree that whatever crash through sparked. The landing site was slightly off the beaten path, and driving deeper into the forest until hitting a clearing, as if whatever hit here came from an angle. There was also a large dirt pile here, though it seems far too large just to be a normal dirt pile. If uncovered, it would be here that the victim of this crash was certainly a pony! But... not any kind of pony, it was an Alicorn! This rare race was only found from the royal families, but this pony doesn't look like any royal member anyone has seen. They also weren't moving and seem to be knocked out... so that's a thing.

[Zealot]

A blink of light appeared in the corner of Stiletto's vision. She winced at the sudden bright light and turned to look to see where it was coming from. What was going on? What was that flash. She saw an object hurtling to Equestria, far higher than she had ever flown and roaring past the sky in a great dazzling display that lit up the sky.

 

Then there was a sonic boom, the rupture in the air currents causing Stiletto to swerve uncontrollably and buffet back and forth. It was more effort to stay in the air than anything else, the air currents going wild around her. Then, there was the inevitable whoosh as the shock wave hit her, sending her spinning out of control. The pegasus mare swore loudly and profusely as she was fought to recover from her spin out, not helped by the chaotic air currents. She had dropped quite considerably, about to cloud level and had to take a moment to regain her senses from the spin out. What had just happened exactly?

 

Stiletto looked around, trying to get her bearings. The Everfree forest was still below her and a visible smoke trail was emanating from what looked to be a small fire. Whatever had just came out of the sky had hit the ground hard and had caused whatever undergrowth was there to be cast aside and was now smouldering from the heat of the crash. The mare blinked a few times. What had she just seen, she could have sworn there was a pony in there? Or was that just her imagination. Either way, this was the most exciting thing to happen all day and she relished the opportunity to investigate. Stiletto angled towards the crash and sped towards whatever had just fallen from the sky. Hopefully, she'd be the first there. 

[Avery]

Well it would seem that little event caused more than just turbulent winds to hit the Pegasi that flew in the clouds, the crash itself was enough to shake Ponyville! The peaceful ponies were in a murmur, as they started to talk about the sudden quake, as the Pegasi talked about the sudden Sonic Boom that knocked them clean out of the sky. However, the most commotion came from the those that attempted see where this quake originated, as they gathered around the entrance to the Everfree forest, but dare not enter, for that quake was enough to ruin some creature's day in the forest of another world.

 

It was in these moments, that this victim of the crash would regain their senses and find themselves covered in dirt. Being quick to act in such a situation, they pushed the loose dirt away from them and sat up. They looked around with brown eyes to see where they were, their coat and hair were dulled due to the dirt, but it was clear that they had grey coat and crimson red hair. However, this place wasn't familiar to them, as they slowly got up to look around. Though with their first step, they wince in pain as they realized that their legs were hurt. The Alicorn pony took this as a note that they shouldn't move for now and instead take in the view around them and study what was going on.

 

They were in a forest, one that they haven't seen before, it was very dark and sinister looking. The ground here was just ground covered in a soft grass, albeit not from the large drag mark that was there. There was noises coming from all sides, one side seems to be in a panic, another seems to be angry and growls lowly. These sounds were mixing and didn't make much sense. They took a quick look around the clearing again, to make sure that they hadn't missed anything important of detail. It seems not to be the case, and they didn't want to stay around for long if there was beasts in this forest.

 

Taking a moment again to stand up and attempt to walk, they were stopped again by the pain that was on their legs. It was hard to walk decently with pain shooting up with each step they took, they didn't even know how they got here, and the pain seemed random enough as it is. Taking a breath to help subdue the pain, they began to very slowly, but surely walk down the path of the dragged marks. They needed to at least get away from whatever was growling, they're not becoming soup today.

[Zealot]

From her high position Stiletto could quite clearly see the crash site of, whatever it was that had crashed. She was below the cloudline but still quite high, too high to make out much on the ground. Suffice to say there was a sizeable crater where the thing had impacted and a large drag mark has felled a number of trees. She sure couldn't think of anything that could cause this and needed to investigate. The pegasus once again took her spyglass and raised it to her eyes so she might gaze down on the clearing.

 

Low and behold, there was a pony there. What? Hadn't she imagined the pony in the bright light? Was she seeing things now, that couldn't be right. She looked away, rubbed her eyes and looked again. Yep, there was a pony down there, limping away from the crash site. The pony was grey, with a crimson mane and it looked like it had wings. A pegasus then? Though she'd only ever heard of one pegasus breaking the sound barrier. Something didn't add up right. Nonetheless, she felt in her gut the figure she observed was friendly and that was enough to tempt her down from her vantage point.

 

Stiletto made her way down from her great height. Not fast perhaps, but quick enough so that she wouldn't lose the figure and to cause the wind to rush past her noisily. Pretty soon Stiletto was about the level of the tree canopy, or at least where the tree canopy had been. She'd heard there were dark things in this forest so the mare primed her wrist crossbow, just in case something dangerous was going to jump out at her. Once that had been achieved she called out, "Hey you down there. Are you alright?" She tried her best to emanate positive vibes as she found she could do, she didn't want the stranger to run away on her. Besides, they might need help.

[Avery]

Continuing on their way, the pony limped across the dragged mark, looking at the damage that was done to the forest. It was certainly quite strange to see this anywhere, almost like a comet hit or something. But then the pony lifted its ears, hearing something else, something like a machine clicked loud enough for them to hear. Though it was here that they heard a voice from above, they look toward the sky, trying to find out who said that, with very little luck with leaves of the trees blocking the view. Then responding with a rather soft sounding voice, though loud enough to be heard by whoever was talking to them

 

"H-Hello? Yeah, I-I'm totally fine right now. Just trying to get away from this forest. Wings feel like they just went through a tornado, too tired to fly. But I'm just peachy walkin'! Just pe-GAH!"

 

It was here that the pony was caught on something, falling over and landing on their side. Muttering something, he gets up and strains his legs further to continue forward. Trying to keep the pony who was up in the sky not worried about him.

 

"Yeah! Yeah, just... just real good right now! Don't worry, I'll be out before you know it! ...Why does this pathway smell like something was burnt? Did a meteor land here or something?"

 

The pony tried to keep going, but the strain on his legs was a bit too much as he fell to his knees soon enough and grit his teeth in pain. His wings flopped down to the side as he called back "O-Okay! Maybe I'm not as fine as I thought. Legs are REALLY hurt, can't move right now. Can I get some help? Please? If you would be so kind?"

 

The pony dropped his head, trying to ignore the pain that was shooting through his legs and hooves. He wasn't sure what had happened here, but right now he had to get out of this forest, maybe this pony that he was talking to could get him out with a little help. And maybe it could be soon, those growls aren't leaving.

[Zealot]

Stiletto chuckled from her hidden position just above the canopy. It sounded like he had this under control, whoever this was. She wasn't about to fly away though, he did just come out of the sky like a meteor and that's got to be more exciting that exploring the Everfree. But then he complained that his legs hurt, giving her the perfect excuse to get involved in matters that didn't concern her. Those were always fun.

 

"Hold on, I'm coming," the pegasus called as she began to make her way through the canopy. It took her a few moments to navigate her way through the network of branches, doing so slowly and cautiously. After all, there was already one pegasus with a bust wing, they didn't need another. 

 

Stiletto floated down quickly and landed on the ground, folded her wings neatly and threw her hair back to get it away from her eyes. For the first time she can view the stranger up close. He was smaller than she thought he'd look up close and... wait that couldn't be right. Stiletto did a double take as she saw the horn clearly marked on his head. No that couldn't be right, he had wings as well. There was only one explanation. "You're an alicorn?" she blurted out. "Well, that certainly explains the huge crash. Err this scorch was you by the way," the pegasus added once she'd taken a moment to digest that. Wait, couldn't she hear growling coming from the undergrowth. They needed to get out of here even if she was sure she could take whatever was lurking there. Especially if her new companion was an alicorn. They could take down anything, right?

[Avery]

The pony looked up at the tree tops in search for the mystery pony that was was talking to him, hoping that they would get here soon before whatever was around got to him. And soon a pegasus comes down from the branches and leaves of the forest, landing in front of him, he was certainly glad that they got here first. But then he noticed that she was baffled by something, he looked behind him as if to see something strange behind him. Not seeing anything, he turned back to hear her ask a rather sudden question.

 

"Huh? I... I guess? I don't know, I'm just a pony, is there something on me that makes me look different??" He slightly panics, looking around him, under his wings, making sure his horn was still intact. He let out a breath of slight discomfort, not entirely too sure if this pegasus was just playing jokes on him or not.

 

She then went to say that this giant scorched mark on the ground was him, meaning that the meteor he thought hit here was him. He blinks a couple of times, before looking back to the clearing, then back to the pegasus. He looked completely bewildered by the statement as he asks "...A-Are you serious? There's no way this could've been me!" He then shook his head "W-Whatever, I just wanna get out of this forest before that growling gets too close."

 

The pony attempts to get back on his hooves, though being very shaky all the while, clearly the crash had taken almost everything out of him as he stumbles to just stand up again. He was certainly taller than the pegasus, just a bit, but noticeably taller. However, it was at this moment that the trees around the area shook, and bushes shuffled. This sudden movement made the alicorn pony suddenly go on alert, stopping movement and look around carefully. His wings were still flopped to the side, obviously out of order at the moment, but very large.

 

With a whoosh of wind, and a thud behind the alicorn, this made him jump forward and turn to the side. Landing, he was forced to kneel as his legs were still in pain. The source of the thud was a large manticore, with thick red mane and menacing dragon wings spread on its back, all the while a scorpion tail swayed slowly to the side as if to judge how far it needs to strike. It made a quick jut of its head forward while growling, as if warning if they get any closer they're going to get hurt.

 

The alicorn stayed quiet, weakly getting back up, staring at the massive and dangerous creature. "...Come on, I think it doesn't want us around here. Know where to get out of here?" he said quietly as he slowly takes a step back from the Manticore, as it continues to glare at them, arched down and ready to pounce.

[Zealot]

Alright, well, things were just getting weird now. She had an alicorn who didn't think he looked much different and a strange growling sound behind her. Stiletto really had landed in a pile of fun. "Well..." yeah, she was about to say. Unfortunately she was interrupted by the crashing of some bushes behind her and a loud crash. Naturally this made the pegasus jump and turn to come face to face with an angry looking manticore.

 

"Bwah," she exclaimed, propelling herself backwards with her wings. It was quite an uncontrolled movement, but fortunately she managed to land right next to the stranger quite neatly. "I, err, I think the growling has already got too close."

 

Stiletto levelled her wrist crossbow and readied the weapon just in case the manticore attacked. She began to feel the vibes around the creature, predicting if it would attack and if it did attack where it would strike. Still, the alicorn's suggestion made the most practical sense. It didn't seem like the manticore was going to attack, even if her empathy was picking up hostile vibes from the thing. Where would it be best to flee? In the direction of Ponyville? Well no, as the crow flies to Ponyville was through thick woodland. Naturally Stiletto's default reaction was to fly up to the sky, though that would mean leaving the stranger as prey for the manticore. She took a quick glance towards him, alicorn or not he was in no shape to fight. 

 

Wait, wasn't there a path leading to Ponyville she saw from the sky? Yes, head south and join the path to Ponyville. That would be best. "Well, if you can walk then we should slowly head off that way," the pegasus gestured roughly in the direction of the road to Ponyville. "Once we're out of this thing's sight you can lean on me. Probably not good to show weakness though, animals are known to exploit it," she reasoned. Still Stiletto stood her ground against the beast, ready to leap out of the way if she needed to. 

[Avery]

The Manticore kept the same distance from the two at all times, making sure that they weren't going to be going anywhere in haste or if they tried to come close to the beast. Whatever the manticore was doing here to begin with, it must've also been curious about the crash that caused it to be so grumpy. The only option at the moment was to retreat, and the only way to go was to go south. And the alicorn understood this was possibly the only option to choose without being lunch meat, he's in no way, shape or form, to take on such a beast, even with the legend of how powerful alicorns would be.

 

"Yeah, alright. I'm not trying to, but it's kinda hard you know?" he responded as he turns to the path that the pegasus told him to go down, being able to at least walk enough to make it look believable.

 

The manticore kept a great eye on the two, studying their movement just in case they were to turn around and come back. But something behind it caught its greater attention, jumped around and roared a loud roar before charging through the the forest to get whatever that had its attention. Once the beast was gone and out of sight, the alicorn eased up on his attempt to be able to walk and stopped to catch a break for his legs They had at least made it to the pathway to Ponyville, it was clear to get to from here, but the growls of the forest were greater than usual. More then likely because of the crash had stirred them.

 

"Oh gosh... Manticores, they are not fun. Luckily we were just at the edge of its territory, so it let us off with a warning. Now, where are we going to? I'd like to know that. Oh, and who're you? I'm Avery." The alicorn, seemingly named Avery, bowed his head to the pegasus as he slowly began to walk again, still limping from the previous event.

 

The forest path was not as dense as the one they were just at, vines would hang down from the trees as overgrowth was an abundance here. And as for the outside of the forest, it seemed that most of the ponies that were curious of the source of what shook Ponyville were gone, either too afraid to enter or left because of the beasts that were closer to the safe area of the forest. Though it wouldn't be long before murmurs would wild up again when the two exited the forest.

[Zealot]

All the way to the road Stiletto kept walking backwards, using the stranger to guide her steps and looking back from time to time. Thanks to her empathy she could feel if she was going to trip, got a little hunch that something bad was going to happen. At which point she looked back and corrected her mistake. Thankfully it didn't take long to reach the path to Ponyville. 

 

Once the manticore backed away and rushed back into the forest the pegasus gave a sigh of relief. At least that was one thing dealt with. "Yeah, Manticores are a bit beyond me, especially while I'm on the ground. Glad we managed to get out of there in one piece." She stopped next to the stranger and took a moment to examine him a little more closely. He seemed young, tall for a stallion and lean around the middle. His face was oddly feminine and Stiletto detected good vibes from the alicorn. There was power there too, she could tell, and something hidden. Unforetunately, her empathic abilities weren't strong enough to tell what, just a general air of mystery about something specific. Well, it would be fun to find out.

 

That was when he introduced himself as 'Avery' and asked her name in turn. "Stiletto," she responded enthusiastically. "Aerial reconnaissance extraordinare." She didn't really matter right then though and her enthusiasm was dulled quite quickly. Avery was an alicorn and he just fell out of the sky. Hadn't she already said that? Because it probably needed to be said again, and if he didn't know where they were going. Well, he needed a bit of an information, but they weren't out of danger yet, "Look," she started. "You're an alicorn and you just fell out of the sky in a ball of fire. That's not normal. We're in the Everfree Forest right now and it's not exactly safe, this path will take us to Ponyville if we keep going west. When we get there, we can have fun puzzling all this out. And don't even think about cutting me out of this because it's the most interesting thing that's happened to me in quite a while. So, when you're ready I think you should come and lean up against me and I'll help you limp to Ponyville. Unless you had a better idea?" she asked. Her tone was a bit sharp and to the point but it looked like he needed the info dump. Stiletto wasn't being unkind, just urgent. After all, even she didn't want to linger in the forest. It was fun facing monsters, but not very fun when you had an injured alicorn in tow. 

 

The pegasus shot him an apologetic smile, trying to radiate positive vibes once more. This was definitely the most exciting thing to happen to her in a while. 

[Avery]

Avery nodded to Stiletto, chuckling lightly to her title. He always thought that such titles were just too much to say when introducing one another, so he just said his name and nothing more. But then came the rather large dump of information, where she yet again said that he fell from the sky. That kind of information was just extremely unbelievable, as he knows not to crash into anything, or even to go too high a speed that he couldn't handle without excessive training. Then the name of the forest came to mind, it wasn't one that he's ever heard before, and from the manticore alone it must've been a really dangerous place, so why hasn't he heard of it before?

 

Then the name of the nearby town came into question as well, a simple town name like 'Ponyville' wasn't on his mind at all. He was rather confused about the names of these places, and even so looked at Stiletto as if she were joking, but she continued on normally like it was all real. He shook his head slightly, trying to rid his thoughts. Though her sudden sharpness was quite the mood change, but it seemed like she knew what was going on, and it looked like she wanted to get moving soon.

 

He then shook his head, thinking he could go on his own still, as he said "Nah, I can ge-aaaah... Okay, maybe I need to lean on something, thanks." he attempted to walk forward normally, but his legs weren't exactly cooperating anymore.

 

Taking the offer of leaning against Stiletto so that they could get out of the forest faster, it felt better than trying to go on alone. Though the thought about a new town and place to see was rather exciting to say the least, and meeting someone new to boot was a plus too. Though, something felt off to Avery. If he actually crashed here, how come he couldn't remember why that happened? It was a blank memory, like something just stolen from him before anything happened. It bothered him slightly, but he shook off the thought to have it come up when the time was right, besides there was no need to hang on to that sort of question for long anyway.

 

Taking the road back to Ponyville was more quickly done then expected for him, as he was limping and didn't expect to get far. The land outside of the forest was an extreme difference, it was brighter and had a more pleasant vibe to it, feeling as a much more safer area to be in. Ponies in the area would stare and gawk at the alicorn, as something like that wasn't expected to be seen around a small town like Ponyville. Though, Avery was a bit confused as to why ponies were looking at him strangely.

 

"...Is it always like this around here? Where you're just... stared at? It's really weird," he asks Stiletto when he gets the chance to, as it was began to be discomforting.

[Zealot]

Avery isn't too heavy and Stiletto is quite able to help him limp all the way to Ponyville. Still, she couldn't work out why he was so confused by all of this. Hadn't he heard of Ponyville and the Everfree forest before? He did fall out of the sky right? Or was Stiletto losing it. Still, as they approach Ponyville the pegasus gets a little nervous. What were the ponies going to think? She'd just come out of the Everfree forest with an alicorn. An injured alicorn. Right after there was a sonic boom and a loud crash. Not to mention, one that didn't seem to know what was up or down.

 

Then came the stares that she so dreaded. Yep, they had noticed he was an alicorn. Though his reaction was incredible though. What? Why didn't he expect to be stared at. He was an alicorn, of course they were staring. "Well, yeah it's always clear clouds unless the pegasi want otherwise." She pauses for a few moments before whispering intently in his ear, "they're staring because you're an alicorn. Come on, don't you know the only alicorns in existence are the Princesses. Now annoying as they are, they are they only ones, and I hesitate to say it but they're quite the sight. It's likely they're wondering why they've never seen you before if you are an alicorn."

 

Either way, it was probably best to get back to Stiletto's house as quickly as possible. Or the hospital... "Did you want to go to the place I'm staying so we can talk all this out, or did you want the hospital Avery?" she asked with a hint of concern. This was really weird, but it was exciting too. Had she stumbled upon a lost alicorn kingdom in the middle of the Everfree forest? Though if he was some king, then Stiletto was going to have some stern words with him about proper governance. Ponies should be free, not ruled over by the princesses. 

[Avery]

With the stares continuing for as long as Avery was in sight, he was starting to wonder if he was missing something from it all. Was he such a rare sight? An alicorn was it? Strange name for it, but it must be something that's used around here. Then Stiletto was talking about clouds for some reason, then whispering in his ear about why the others were staring at him. Then hearing that the alicorns were an extremely rare race, so far only known that royalty has this gene. Taking this information in, it took a moment before it clicked. Alicorns were only among royalty?? This information made him stop in his tracks as he tried to make any sort of connection about it being like this, to the point where he was gradually tilting his head in confusion. You could almost see the point of where he was questioning himself.

 

Then he started to chuckle as it turned into a laugh as he got moving again "If you're saying that I might be part of royalty or something, you're crazy! There's no way in all the land that I could be part of royalty! That'd be a crazed dream and a half! Don't know who these 'princesses' are, but I'm pretty sure that they're not anything like that! Heheheh. Uh, your place would be fine, I just need some rest is all. Maybe practice a bit of that healing magic I read about one time, also wash my face, this dirt is starting to get itchy." he said after calming down, his ears twitching as the wind passes by.

 

As they would carry on, several fillies and colts would rush by, some stopping to look at Avery in awe. Some even tripping on their own hooves when seeing him. This made him chuckle at the sight "Lively ponies they are." He seemed so laid back about all of this, it's almost like he didn't crash into the forest at all, like this is a normal day for him. Though he was still clearly hurt, you can tell by his voice.

[Zealot]

Stiletto tried to keep it cool as the ponies stared on at the odd pairing. An adventurous pegasus that didn't even live in Ponyville and an alicorn that had just fallen from the sky. Seriously, fallen from the sky. She was really having a hard time with that one. Did that technically mean her 'greatest height achieved in Equestria' record was broken? Well, he was an alicorn so it probably didn't count. But it didn't occur to her that he might be royalty. What if he was? Did that mean she shouldn't like him, would she have to kick him out? Aww, but it was so interesting, best not to spoil the fun by adding something like that to the mix. After all, Stiletto hated the royals. Why? Well, she didn't like to be told what to do. It didn't matter, he needed her help and that's what was important.

 

The pegasus grunted as he stopped all of a sudden and replied. "I don't know," she whispered in an exasperated tone. "The high and mighty Princess Twilight wasn't royalty until she became an alicorn, so honestly I have no idea if you're a royal or not. If you are then well, we'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it." He certainly didn't seem like royalty. She was getting too much of a positive vibe and he seemed so laid back about everything. Still, Stiletto thought it best to bring him back to her place as quick as she could.

 

The pegasus brought the injured alicorn to her house. Well, technically it wasn't her house. No, she was just renting it for a while once she found somewhere interesting to go. As such, the place seemed quite bare bones. There were no personal effects and what decoration there was had a cheap and mass produced feel to it. The down stairs consisted of a living room combined with a kitchen and a dining room all blended into one space. Upstairs there was a small room for a double bed and a separate on suite bathroom. Everything was clean, or at least reasonably clean. There were still a few dishes to be washed up and the floor needed a good tidy, but other than that it was nice. Cosy, if a little bland. "Bed is upstairs, think you can make it? Or did you want to take the couch?"

[Avery]

As the two walked through the town,Avery decided to take a look at what he's going to be in for a little bit. It was a strange sight for him, but he had a feeling he's heard enough strangeness from Stiletto. The town was small, but peaceful, almost home like. Then there were the ponies around them, some were still murmuring about him, while others had went about their business. Was it that strange for an Alicorn to be around here? Well, whatever the case may be, he just hopes that it's not too much of a hassle. After all, Stiletto just helped him from the strange and dark forest, the... Everfree. What a strange name.

Then coming to a rather small two story house, inside was quite bare. It consisted with common decoration and no real personal flair to the interior whatsoever. The whole of the first floor was combined into one, where it was made for the purpose of getting to each place easier without any trouble of the needed rooms. There were still a few mishaps that laid about, but it had the feel of a cozy home. It wasn't that big of a deal for the alicorn, as he just needed a place to rest and this is as good as any place would provide. After standing up straight again, he hobbled over to the small couch

 

"The couch is fine, no need to ruin your bed because of me heheh," he stated as he climbs onto the couch and sits there. You could hear him sigh in relief and see that his muscles were able to relax. His legs were in not the best shapes, trembling and obviously messed up due to the crash that he had sustained. Speaking of which, he was still baffled that Stiletto keeps insisted that he fell from the sky like that, it's almost as crazy as hinting at the possibly of him being royalty. To him, it just didn't add up.

 

His time relaxing on the couch was a quiet one, he didn't exactly start any conversations, he was just enjoying that he was about to sit down for a moment without any danger around him. He did look around at the house a bit more, taking in what it was. It was a nice little home, some may complain, but just having a home is good enough than not having one.

[Zealot]

The pegasus chuckled at the suggestion that he might ruin her bed. "Yeah well," she replied, "It's not my bed. I'm just renting this place for a while, that's why this place looks like a hotel." Stiletto walks over to the kitchen and starts rooting around the the drawers and cupboards. Where was the medkit? Not there, no. The saucepans... Nope, the cutlery. Ahh there it is, under the sink. 

 

With a triumphant 'haha' she takes the small medical kit in her hoof and closes the cupboard. Now that she had some medical supplies she might be able to fix him up if he's too badly hurt. He didn't seem like he would need everything in the kit, but it contained painkillers at least. Stiletto marched over to the sofa, the medical kit grasped in her teeth. At which point she put it down and opened the lid with a 'pop' of the lock. "Right, we have. Bandages, gauzes, oils, wool, tweezers, sewing kit, painkillers. What do you need?" she asked. Then her eyes drifted to Avery's horn. "Or, are you just going to cheat and use your magic?"

 

Once again the pegasus chuckled, knowing the obvious answer. 

 

This alicorn was certainly an enigma. He was surprised that the ponies were staring at him. Why wouldn't they? He didn't know there were no alicorns other than the royals? Did he have wax for brains or something. As fascinating as that would be it certainly didn't spell fun for her. Still, once he'd been taken care of she was determined to find out more about him. How had he fallen from the sky and why didn't he know of the Everfree forest? Something was definitely wrong with him...

[Avery]

As Stiletto went to the kitchen for something, it left Avery with his thoughts. First thing that came to mind was the house, she said that she was renting it for the time being, so she must travel quite a bit. Also knowing that, she might know where in the world this town actually is, it might help for if he's going to be going around anywhere anytime soon. Also that Stiletto was rather kind to him, it felt nice to him, almost like a lost feeling found again. Though he dismissed the feeling and let his wings slide to the side, they were in a fumble of mess, feathers being at unnatural angles as if he went through a hurricane.

 

When he heard the triumphant sound of the pegasus, he quickly looked over to see what it was about, and saw that she had gotten a medical kit. Oh yeah, he was hurt, that was still a thing wasn't it? He had almost completely forgotten that fact. Then watching her come over to the couch, put down the kit and open it with a pop. He looked at the contents then noticed something that seemed off to him, double when he heard the word 'painkillers'. He looked over at the pegasus until she said something about his horn.

 

"Heh, I could. But healing magic is a lot more difficult than regular magic. Have to have the concentration for it, the will to close any wounds, and actual experience of medical practice. Other wise, you'd just be hurting someone, or yourself. But, these 'painkillers' are a new one." his horn shined a light grey as the painkillers bottle was brought up to eye level and began reading the text along side it.

 

"Hm, never thought I'd see the day where there would be small pills of this stuff. I saw this when it was still trying to be made! Man, time sure does fly huh? Used to be in the concept of liquid to help ease the nerves, but I guess they found that it also messes with magic a little bit." he'd say in a rather positive tone as he opens it up and takes what was needed before closing it and putting it back. He then rolled his shoulders, his wings slightly lifting then laying back down.

 

Then came a question that was on his mind "Oh hey, Stiletto, where are we exactly? I mean, this is the first time I've heard of this town... Ponyville was it? I was just wondering where we were so that if I do travel around, I would possibly know where to go."

[Zealot]

Stiletto raised an eyebrow at that one. He'd never heard of painkillers? What? But they've been around ever since she was born. The pegasus stared dumbfounded as he unscrewed the bottle and took the painkillers, then put them back with his magic. Well, at least he would feel better. She shook her head and resealed the medical kit. If he didn't need anything else there was no point having it on the floor. She grabbed it with her mouth and put it on the coffee table, just in case he needed it again. 

 

"So let me get this straight," she said with an air of uncertainty. Stiletto was going to reply to his question in a roundabout way and she suspected she might know what was wrong. "You've never heard of Ponyville, and you've never seen painkillers before and you've never heard of the Everfree forest. Not to mention you fell out of the sky. Well, Ponyville has been around for something like a hundred years. I can't really remember how it came about but it popped up near the Everfree forest around then. Central Equestria, that's where we are. I can get you a map if you like," she trailed off.

 

Then came the hard part, the uncertain part and she wasn't sure if she was right but Stiletto thought she was. "Avery, this is starting to sound like you've missed a few hundred years or something if you were around when they were developing painkillers. I don't even know when that was, but pills have been around since I was born. I know alicorns live for a very long time so, what's the last thing you remember?" she asked. 

 

There, she'd said it. For better or for worse...

[Avery]

Avery watched as Stiletto put the case onto the coffee table, looking back to her when she began to speak. He shook his head to the statements that she was saying, answering them again with a slight phrase such as "Not till today" or "Nope". Out of the sky "...Did I really?" He raised an eyebrow about Ponyville being around for a long while, though if he doesn't know the place then he wouldn't have found out about it. Then came the location of where they were, where Ponyville resides: Central Equestria. That name... does not ring any bells for him. All he did was look confused at Stiletto.

 

"Equestria? I've.... never heard of a place called that. It must be one of those... uh, continents that hasn't been touched yet or something. I don't remember, but the name isn't familiar to me." he said as he put a hoof to his chin. Equestria, equestria... no, not a single thought comes to mind when saying the name. It's like it was not even in history, like it was erased completely. Then came the statement of missing a few hundred years. That statement alone shocked him a little, seeing his eyes grow wide before slightly calming down. He never thought that he would have a life span that would stretch across nearly a hundred years, the thought was baffling in and of itself. But then came her question, what was the last thing he remembered.

 

"Oh that's easy, that would be... be... uh..." He first said with a joking laugh, but grew more and more unsure as each letter was said. "Uhhh... W-What was the last thing..? Eeeh, what WAS it?? I... I remember seeing a light? No... you always see a light, you're around the sun all the time. Uh, uh." he began to sound scared, as if worrying that there was something watching him from all sides, about to grab him with deathly claws. His breath was raspy now, as if having trouble to breath. But then he shook his head, holding it with his hoof.

 

"...I don't... know. It's like, blackness before the forest. I don't remember hearing anything, feeling anything... or even seeing anything. Ugh, that's so weird! Why can't I remember?! It's right there! On the tip of my tongue! But I can't get it out." he shook his head slowly. He looks troubled now, more angry than not. His eyes dart to and fro, as if trying to find something to make him remember, to try and get something out right. He then sighs and hangs his head down.

 

"Ugh, it's probably nothing anyway. Nothing important. But still, that's just creepy how I can't seem to like... remember anything. Like, it's all gone, like a dandelion on the breeze."

[Zealot]

Stiletto's eyes grew wide when Avery mentioned that he hadn't heard of Equestria before. That just didn't seem possible. Even if he was over a hundred years old he would have heard of Equestria before right? No, clearly he hadn't. That was pretty amazing really. Though her face grows worried as he seems to become angry at this fact. That sure wasn't what she wanted. It wasn't fun if he was getting upset over all this. 

 

"Hey, it's ok," she says, trying to be what little comfort she can. "Calm down, we can work this out." A thought occurred to the pegasus. Of course, it was so obvious. Why hadn't she thought of it before? "Look, Equestria has been around for a long time. So either you're like over a thousand years old. Or it sounds like you have amnesia. Now, I sort of have a way with telling what's up and I can sort of feel like you might have something buried deep in you. I think that might be your memories, yeah. I guess you just need something to jog your memory back into place. Maybe the crash made you forget a few things," she says trying to remain optimistic.

 

The pegasus readied herself, preparing to give him as much information as possible. Not all at once though, she thought it best to start off with the obvious. "Ok, so. You're in Equestria. A place where earth ponies, pegasi and unicorns all live together in harmony. We're ruled by two alicorn sisters and they're pretty much the bosses around here. They have proceeded to extort the population for like a thousand years or so. We give them taxes and they raise the sun and the moon. Of course, not many ponies think this is unfair. But hey, not many realise that if we failed to pay our taxes they'd probably stop and we'd all be screwed." She paused for a moment before continuing. "There are a few other alicorns too and they're all royalty. You're the first I've actually met face to face and you don't seem particularly up yourself, so you're probably not related to them. Err, is any of this ringing a bell?" she asked. Come on, that was surely enough information to jog a memory or two. Right?

[Avery]

Avery was extremely confused about why he couldn't remember anything, not even the faintest glimmer of a memory sparked to let him know anything. Something was blocking him from remembering them, like a dam blocking off water flow. When Stiletto spoke again to him, he slightly calmed down, but still a bit uneasy about the fact that he couldn't recall anything from the past. It was strange and bizarre, something not natural to the mind.

 

When Stiletto talked about Equestria, he was startled by how long it's been around. For over a thousand years? That's something only a grand kingdom would accomplish. Then the thought came up of him possibly having amnesia. It could be possible by that, amnesia is a disorder in the mind causing some memories to not be remembered right away, but the entirety of the past? That's full blown amnesia, and only a few get it. But hopefully what Stiletto would have to say might jog something right?

 

And as she explained Equestria in a rather hasty fashion, some rough examples of the royalty, and the fact that the princesses raise and lower the freaking sun and moon. That fact alone startled Avery a bit, he's always thought that it was natural that the sun and moon would revolve around the place, but its being raised and lowered by two princesses who happen to be the same species as him? That was rather unbelievable at first, though, right now most anything said is unbelievable. It was strange to hear this from someone, like it was an everyday ordeal that they have to go through. But then came the big question of any of that bringing memories back. And he slowly shook his head.

 

"No... not a spark. This is all new to me, even if I had heard about that, it would be crazy to believe. Equestria is new, those princesses that... freaking... raise and lower the sun and moon are new, alicorns... which is supposed to be what I am I guess? Speaking of which, who are those princesses, you told me one of them... Twilight? Was it her name? Never heard of that name either, and you act like I'm supposed to know about them."

 

He was back to his laid back nature again, almost completely forgetting that he lost his memories. He seemed just at ease with what he knows, but he seems interested in what's being given to him. However the fact still stands, that the information didn't let him remember, and anyone that's lived in Equestria would know any of that. So what gives?

[Zealot]

Ok, great. So none of this was making sense. Stiletto could see that on Avery's face. The lack of comprehension. Of course, it looked like he was taking it all in. The problem was that none of it seemed familiar at all. That wasn't good, everypony knew a fair bit about the history of Equestria after all. It did not bode well that none of this was triggering any memories. Maybe his amnesia was more serious that she thought.

 

"Ok," the pegasus began with a note of assurance. "That's ok, I guess really you need personal stuff to trigger memories to come back. This is all just general history I'm throwing at you so I doubt it would mean something to trigger memories. You also haven't heard of the Princesses. Well that's ok, I wish I hadn't." Stiletto giggled at that. She'd made her views on royalty very clear by now obviously but she liked to make fun of them herself. After all, what was the point in taking yourself so seriously? 

 

With that the pegasus resolved to answer Avery's question. "Yes, you are an alicorn like them. You have wings as well as magic. Unicorns just have magic and pegasi just have wings." She raised and flapped her wings before folding them away once again. "I'm a pegasus."

 

A nod of her head and a smile later she went on to explain, "Well there's Princess Twilight. She only recently became an alicorn, if that's possible. I heard she saved Equestria a few times so got a promotion to Princess. She's rather up herself and resides in Ponyville so she can feed her own superiority complex. There's Princess Cadence who rules over the Crystal Empire." The pegasus chuckled, "The Crystal Empire is a whole other story though. Suffice to say she's the Princess of Love, and is very lazy and bad at her job considering the number of bad coltfriends I've had. I mean, if you have the power to spread love wherever you go then why don't you make it a priority to do your job?" she asked rhetorically before continuing on. "Princess Luna rules the night and raises the moon. She rebelled a thousand years ago apparently because she was jealous of her sister and tried to cover Equestria in eternal darkness but then she was imprisoned for a thousand years. She got out and tried it again a year or two back. Suffice to say that one is a disaster waiting to happen. Honestly, she really isn't qualified to be a Princess if she can get jealous because her sister has a bit more power than her. I mean, all that wealth and power and you're jealous of somepony else with slightly more. Bah," Stiletto seemed quite offput by this and remained quiet for a moment.

 

The pegasus sighs and continued, "Then there's Princess Celestia who's the worst of the bunch. She's a tyrant who makes up all the rules and regulations that keep me and everypony else from doing what they want. I mean who does she think she it anyway? We don't give her taxes then she doesn't raise the sun. She's the sister of Princess Luna and a long time ago they ruled together until Luna rebelled, as I mentioned. Now Luna is back and they're acting like it's the good old days again."

 

Stiletto chuckles and hoped that Avery isn't put off by her negativity. "I think you can guess they're not exactly my favourite ponies. Not everypony shares my views of course, but that's their opinion and this is mine," she added with a little defiance. 

[Avery]

Avery remained quiet throughout most of Stiletto's talk about the princesses. Twilight was one of the newer princesses, having saved Equestria at times. Cadence was someone who was in the Crystal Empire, oh great another place to worry about when the time comes. But then what she was, the Princess of Love. Hearing that, he raised an eyebrow. Surely no one could be a ruler of love, could they? She then went on to speak about some of her past degrees of relations, and rhetorically asking about that princess doing her job, which made the alicorn roll his eyes in a joking manner. Then it went on to Luna, who was not only in charge of raising the moon, but is ruler of the night, having rebelled a thousand years ago when she became jealous. Quite the story, but there has to be more to it than that, however this seemed to be a short version of a much longer story, so it was best to leave that question out for now. Then came Celestia, who was the prime ruler of everything and was in charge of raising the sun. She was also the sister of Luna, possibly older due to her rank.

 

Avery sat through this, trying not to be bothered by all of the negative feedback of the royal stature, considering that the race he was was supposedly among those ranks. But then he had this to say about it all. "Well... I can try to see that, but I never really cared all that much about those kind of politics. Usually it just passes by me without a word, and everyone goes on to be happy and alright. Though, I do wonder why there would be a Princess of Love around here. It just confuses me is all, if you have that power, its... not always going to work. Even if you actually force somepony to like another pony, the chances that they'll mix right are very, VERY low. But that's also another thing I hardly touch on, haven't seen anypony that really catches my eye yet. Besides, whenever a mare just tries to get up and flirt with me because I have both wings and magic is quite annoying, usually have to forcefully tell them no when I really don't want to push all that much. Seriously, either take no as an answer or get put back where you came from. ...I think that happened to me once, don't remember where though, like... at a dance or something."

 

The alicorn sat still for a moment longer before he heard rattling coming from one of the cabinets near the kitchen area, he turned his head sharply, hearing small clangs of metal before the cabinet door flies open, and out pops a small pink can with balloons on the side. Looking at the can, he uses his magic to carefully pick up the can. Doing that and putting it on the coffee table, the can then jumped by itself! Reeling his head back from that sudden movement, he watches as it bobs back and forth, as if something inside was trying to get out. Using his magic again, the glow surrounded the top of the can and the top pops off. The can stops moving completely as suspenseful music starts to kick in.

 

The music fit the moment so well, the alicorn didn't even notice it play when looking at the can. And after a few short moments, a pink puff of a tail pops out of the can. And soon, out comes a whole pink bubbly pony that lands just beside the coffee table! With a bright pink, a cheery smile, balloons for a cutiemark, and bouncing nerve, it seems to be none other than Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter! The bubbly pony looked at Stiletto up and down quickly before stopping and noticing that her eyes weren't. she puts a hoof to her head and soon her eyes stop. Smiling brightly, she said

 

"Hey! Hey! Wait! Why would you talk about the Princesses like that? Especially Twilight! She's my friend, and she's really smart! Like this one time where she lifted a whole boulder with her MIIIIND! ...Oh wait, that's magic! Oops! Silly me! But then there was this time where she solved a puzzle that an old pony tried to figure out for months and she got it in about twenty minutes, does that count as smart? I count it as deliciously lucky!" and while she said all of this in a rather quick fashion, she was speeding around, fully of energy that seemed to be endless.

 

But then her rambling came to a stop when she spied Avery still sitting on the couch, she looked at him up and down like she did to Stiletto, and Avery just reeled his head back from the sudden inspection. She then gasps as she jumps back "Wait! You're an alicorn! Where's your crown? Your boots? Your mo-WHOOPS! Can't say that yet! Hasn't been introduced! Silly Pinkie! But still! Butstillbutstillbutstill! You're an alicorn! I don't know who you are!! THAT'S A FIRST FOR ME! Huh! I never thought I'd have to meet somepony like you first when you should be known ALLLLLL over Equestria!! WAIT! WAIT! I KNOW WHAT TO DO! I'll tell Twilight about you! And then maybe I can throw you both a party because I've never seen you around here before!! OH! OH! I should do this right now while Twilight's still here in Ponyville!!"

 

And just as quickly as she came into the picture, she was gone and out the door like a cat going after a mouse. All the while, Avery had tried to keep up with the blurring pink body and caused him to become dizzy, eyes rolling around while stars swirled above his head. Once he shook out of it, he stayed silent for a moment before asking with a rather surprised voice. "So... uh... who was that? I heard... something from that. I don't think I completely heard what that was, but I heard something about a puzzle?"

[Zealot]

The pegasus is glad she's not making anything worse by filling in what he would need to know anyway. This was all common knowledge and if it wasn't helping his amnesia then at least she could help to inform him of the world. Of course, her views on the Princesses was entirely subjective. She didn't know them as ponies, she knew them as the rule makers. Stiletto hated rules. They kept you from doing what you wanted and restricted the one thing that was valuable to her. Freedom.

 

"Politics doesn't interest me either, though when the ponies in charge keep stopping me from doing what I want then I get quite angry. Besides, I just don't see the reason they should have a huge castle when there are other ponies who do just as god a job with so little. Ugh," Stiletto shakes her head. "A conversation for another time. I'm sorry you have to hear only bad things about your own race and you seem very nice, even if you might be royalty. But suffice to say I feel quite strongly about it." Still the pegasus mare chuckleed at the mention of being picked up because he had a horn and wings, glad to get off the topic of the Princesses. "What some mares will do for power. Ahh well, I promise I won't flirt with you just because you're an alicorn." She said this in a mockery of a flirtation, chuckling after she said so. 

 

That's when the cupboard started to shake and Avery took the bright pink can out of Stiletto's kitchen cupboard. The pegasus knew only too well what that mean. "Oh no not again," she exclaimed, putting her hoof to her face. 

 

Sure enough, the can produced the excitable party pony known as Pinkie Pie. It's probably best not to ask how or why. Such questions were irrelevant on the topic of Pinkie Pie. Still, Stiletto smiled as she saw the pink pony. She liked Pinkie Pie, and she had been very friendly to Stiletto. Pinkie was a barrel of fun and laughs, even if she was best friends with a Princess. Though before Stiletto could say so much as a 'hi' or give Avery fair warning, Pinkie had emerged and had interrogated her about badmouthing her friend. "Hi Pinkie," the pegasus greeted her. "You know my views on the royals. Besides, Twilight may be smart but that just makes her even more up herself. She's a total Canterlot snob who thinks she's better than everypony because she saved Equestria a few times and is Celestia's star pupil." 

 

Her arguments fell of deaf ears of course, Pinkie Pie was far more interested in greeting Avery and before long she had left in a pink blur. 

 

To answer the alicorn's question though. "Don't worry, that's just Pinkie Pie. She's harmless, if a little hyper. She's a party pony, and really loves her job. Pinkie is best friends with everyone, including Twilight, and has probably just gone to tell Twilight about you." The pegasus gives another chuckle. "I try not to think too hard about how she works. Still, I think we should be expecting royalty pretty soon. No doubt our esteemed overlord will want to meet you."