Of Old and New (Private)

[Avery]

Ponyville, a plains town with the infamous Everfree forest at it's edge. This town has had it's fair share of chaos, including some massive adventures. From the dangerous Nightmare Moon, to the destruction of Tirek and him siphoning every kind of magic to make Equestria nothing but a barren wasteland. But every time a villain has shown its face, they were utterly defeated by none other than the wielders of the Elements of Harmony! Or should we call them the Defenders of Friendship now? As they no longer wear the Elements, but instead use the power granted by the crystal like castle that has taken their place.

 

These ponies that have defended Equestria many a time are: Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship. Rarity, the Element of Generosity. Applejack, the Element of Honesty. Pinkie Pie, the Element of Laughter. Fluttershy, the Element of Kindness. And Rainbow Dash, the Element of Loyalty. These six mares have put to rest many a evil, and they're jobs are always busy, with keeping the peace of Equestria. But they keep normal lives in Ponyville, keeping their daily jobs and finding new friends. They are worthy of their titles that they have earned.

 

Today was the day before Nightmare Night, and many ponies were excited about tomorrow and its events. Many speculate that Princess Luna would return tomorrow to enjoy the activities again, but its only a hope. Young colts and fillies were always on the move, trying to figure out what to wear tomorrow! Rarity was getting orders in for the usual spooky attire, though not her forté, she tries her best in making the costumes. Along with everyone preparing, even Mayor Mare is making preparations for tomorrows festivities with other details!

 

But what about today is special? What needs to be announced? Well, as Princess Twilight  knows, today was the day of a very special moment to Princess Celestia, and only today is she not to be bothered by anything. For today, seven hundred years ago, Celestia had a son, that was soon taken away from her. She takes today to search through the skies for her lost son, hoping that he will return one day ...and that day seems to be closer than most.

 

Above the skies of Ponyville, where the Pegasi were just completing today's weather duties, there was a strange disturbance. A bright light at first, and soon wind. But not calm wind, it was rash, violent. These winds grew stronger and stronger, causing a miniature tornado to form in the sky, the clouds around this location was torn to shreds and the pegasi flying through the skies were forced to the ground, otherwise they would get severally hurt. These winds only grew stronger as the light within them grew to a brighter degree! What's with this wind?! Where did it come from?!

 

Those questions would never be answered as the winds soon stopped as a sudden break in the sound barrier had occurred, causing even further damage to the skies above! But with that break, something fell out of the sky! Going at insane speeds, it soon crashed by the edge of the Everfree Forest, causing a noticeable quake in the ground, enough to startle Ponyville!

 

Everyone there was looking to the skies, around the area, to see what had happened, but nothing was apparent to them, they soon forgot about it and continued their daily activities. Of course, there is something in the Everfree that fell from the sky, and no one would want to enter there without someone there to help them, as the Everfree isn't someplace to be taken lightly. The main entrance of the Everfree was in ruin, sticks and trees all on the ground, the canopy of the forest was burnt to a crisp. Along the ground heading to a clearing, was drag marks that were drilled into the ground, that thing really came in with a big bang. In that clearing was a large dirt pile, covering something up. What's under there? And why does it feel so warm when uncovering it?

[Hawkeye12]

Impossible. That was the first word that came to princess's logic-based mind as she stared up at the sky. She wanted to refuse to believe it, it just didn't make sense...but at the same time, there wasn't another explanation. It couldn't be, but it had to be. It was the day before Nightmare Night, after all...

 

Thoughts raced through Twilight's mind like replays in her head. Celestia had a son. An alicorn stallion. A prince who, several hundred years ago, disappeared. Twilight didn't think she had any luck in finding him, especially if Princess Celestia herself couldn't, and as such pushed the thought to the back of her mind. But the hole in the sky was bringing it all back. 

 

So she galloped towards the Everfree, Spike clinging to her back as clueless as ever. Twilight doubted that he remembered what Celestia had told them, but that refresher would have to wait. Her friends offered to go with her, but luckily she had insisted they stay and help the townsponies so she could go alone. Well, all except one anyways. Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi were investigating things in the air, Applejack was cleaning up debris on the ground, Rarity wouldn't leave her dress shop tornado or no tornado, and Fluttershy is usually scared to step hoof in the forest in the first place. Which left... Pinkie Pie. Luckily she hyperactive mare had a tendency to not question things (and make up her own reasoning), which would keep her from an explanation of everything for a while, and besides, her strangeness could come in handy sometimes, right?

 

"Remember, don't touch anything," she said, glancing seriously toward Pinkie, who ran along beside her.

 

"Okay... wait! What if it's a petting zoo! Aren't those meant to be touched? Wouldn't I be breaking the rules if I don't pet the petting zoo animals?"

 

Luckily, before the alicorn could scold her, Spike stepped in. "Yeah, like a petting zoo would fall from the sky."

 

Pinkie may or may not have continued talking, Twilight had tuned her out. Besides, it wasn't long after that before the trio arrived at the entrance to the forest. It really was a mess, but that was to be expected. How could something fall from the sky and not make a mess. Without saying a word and with a mind hungry for answers, Twilight followed the path of destruction up to a huge pile of debris. 

 

"Can you help me dig, Spike?"

 

 "Uh...yes ma'am!"

 

Hesitantly, the dragon nodded, jumping off her back, immediately followed by more of Pinkie's fast talking. "Ooh! It's like opening a present! I wonder what's inside...OH! I hope it's candy! I LOVE candy! Though it would be weird, getting candy the day before Nightmare Night, but then again, you can never have enough-"

 

"Pinkie!"

 

A little while later, with Spike's claws and Twilight's levitation, something was beginning to uncover. Something...grey...and warm...

 

"Celestia's son..."

[Avery]

What Twilight had uttered was as true as the Alicorn stallion that lay in a crumpled heap in the ground, covered in dirt, grime, and leaves. His coat, grey like light smoke, his hair was a bright red; brighter than most. Though a curious sight was that he has no Cutie Mark to speak of, he was a blank flank, though he seems to be a full grown stallion. His wings were splayed out along the ground, and his horn poking the earth. It didn't seem like a comfortable position to lie in, though he didn't move. He was breathing though, which meant that he was knocked out cold, expected from a fall from the sky like that.

 

Though he groaned as soon as he caught the scent of fresh air, after a few moments however he opens his eyes in shock, looking around in a blurry haze. He didn't see much of anything besides blurred colors of ponies. He looked at them, with a shocked and confused look, though it didn't last very long as he fell unconscious once again. At least he was alive! But now he was just in the ground after that fall, covered in muck, though extremely warm, most likely from the fall. But there he lay, alive as ever, finally back in Equestria after so long.

 

However, looking at the crash site, the area surrounding it was nearly burnt as much as the trees were. In fact, there were even some small flickers of flame surrounding the drag marks and the crash itself. This was a devastating crash, one that would take a great deal of work to fix. Even the sky was dented from the launch from the sky, it was torn to shreds from that miniature tornado that seemingly shot the prince from the sky. Of course, the ponies of Ponyville tried to fix what was broken along with the others, though there were the brave and curious few Ponies that wanted to see what in the world happened in the forest, only watching from the entrance.

[Hawkeye12]

Well, there no doubting it anymore. The princess stood there for a moment in disbelief, scanning every bit of the sprawled out stallion. Every bit of his appearance matched Celestia's description to a T: Grey coat, bright red hair, almost feminine stature. Though what surprised her most was the lack of cutie mark. Of course, there were still a lot of things that needed to be questioned, but something about that fact stood out. 

 

The sudden movement of the other alicorn quickly caught Twilight's attention. It wasn't much, just a groan and a drop of the head, but it was enough to make her snap out of her daze and realize she should focus on more important matters, like making sure he was actually alive. Which he was of course, albeit unconscious...so what now? Spike was still moving dirt out of the way, which gave Twilight enough space to levitate him to a more comfortable position. That was a start. Distant murmurs could be heard behind her though, a sign that some ponies had followed her here, which wouldn't make things easier. 

 

It was then that Spike seemed to have caught on to what was happening, taking a few steps back from the dirt mound in surprise. "Wait a second...isn't that the-"

 

And a few seconds later, Pinkie as well. Sort of. "Hey, look! It's an-"

 

"Not so loud!" Twilight hissed, a hoof dashing covering each of their mouths. That was the last thing she needed, was all of Ponyvile, no, all of Equestria to be in an uproar about this. "Promise me...erm, Pinkie Promise me that you won't talk to the other ponies about this. It's like a...surprise."

 

That was enough to get Pinkie's attention, along with a muffled version of the Pinkie Promise rhyme. Spike simply rolled his eyes, which was good enough. She then stepped back, facing the ponies at the entrance to the forest, a hopefully convincing smile on her face. "Don't worry, everything's fine! We can handle it!" 

 

Or could she? Twilight's thoughts raced once again as she considered her next move. Going to Celestia herself seemed like a decent option...but, who would want their son brought back to them like this? No, the library..or, castle, seemed like the best bet. So, without thinking, her horn grew a bright lavender as the four teleported to the entrance of the library. Twilight sighed, teleporting took up a lot of energy, but whatever it took to get them out of that forest. 

 

Spike was still in a bit of a daze, and Twillight almost felt sorry for him. But things needed to be done. "Spike, pillows!" And with a nod, the dragon was off. 

 

"So...now can I throw an alicorn party? Those are super fun you know!"

 

The high pitched voice made Twilight's sigh turn to a groan. Usually Pinkie was either strangely helpful or the exact opposite, and right now it seemed to be the latter. 

 

"No party until I say so. Just tell me when he wakes up, I need to think..." And with that, the alicorn trotted off down a corridor. So much happening a once, she just needed time to herself, even for a few minutes. She just hoped that Pinkie wouldn't scare him too much when he woke up.

[Avery]

The ponies that had arrived at the forest to see what was going on heard Twilight's call, and seemed to believe it for a moment. As they decided that they shouldn't interfere with royal business if Twilight was there. They went back to Ponyville to go along with their daily needs, and no one else dared to go near that forest as they told most others about it being royal business now.

 

So, with the lavender Alicorn gone to think about this situation, that left the unconsciousness prince within the Library. With him laying on the floor, his colors popped more than back in the forest. In fact, his mane was extremely long for a stallion, it might as well beat Shining Armour's mane in length. The same with his tail, whatever style the prince had chosen, it was long and flowing. But the mystery of him lacking a cutie mark was strange, he should be at LEAST seven hundred years of age. So how come during that time he never once got his cutie mark, to see what his talent was? It was odd, and why only now did he make himself known? All these questions were spiraling around this lost prince, and he hasn't even woke up yet.

 

No, he wouldn't wake up for another forty seven minutes. During that time, he would've been placed somewhere more comfortable than the hardwood flooring. Though, as those minutes pass by, and the clock marked that it had become one in the afternoon, a soft muffled grunt came from the prince as he begins to wake up. His eyes slowly open as he gets used to the lighting of the library, the light shining off his brown eyes. He shielded his eyes for a moment with his hoof, before slowly sitting up, his mane drifting passed his shoulders. He shook his head for a moment, most likely getting rid of the rest of the dizziness he was feeling, before slowly looking around at the location he was at. His expression went from drowsily in pain, to curiously scanning the environment confused.

 

He took a breath before speaking out "Where... am I? This doesn't look like... like..." he mutters to himself, failing to notice anyone else in the room with him. He does seem concerned though, as he furrows his brow and looks downward in thought. His voice was fairly deep, though it still has that soothing tone to it, much like Celestia, so there's a connection already. But also coming close to him, you would feel a heat from him. He's had enough time on the ground to cool off from the crash, but the heat remains... just more questions to add to the barrel.

 

He seems to be lost in thought right now, he wouldn't even notice anyone without getting poked. But, he was awake, and able to move comfortably it seems, a good sign perhaps?

[Hawkeye12]

Perhaps Twilight had taken a longer break than she intended to. Well, that was an understatement, she had actually fallen asleep as soon as she reached her bed. A good night's sleep was becoming much harder to achieve lately, and the princess found herself snoring away almost like Spike.

Which left the purple dragon and Pinkie watching over the alicorn stallion. Spike at least was helpful, bringing pillows and whatever else he could do to help him. Though when he tried to shift him into a more comfortable position, hein edtately stepled back, surprised by the strange heat. He didn't want to mess with it, and simply left the prince as he was. All the while, Pinkie never stopped talking.

"Soooooo Spike, who is this awesome stallion that Twilight knows? I totally need to throw him a party! I mean, if he's new and an alicorn? That's like, a double party! Ooh! I need to start planning it now! I'll make invitations, but won't give them out until Twilight says so, because I did Pinkie Promise after all! But I want to go make them right now!"

That last part was enough to get Spike's attention. Besides, he was pretty sure Twilight did t need the hyperactive mare anymore anyways. "Uhh, yeah, sure Pinkie! It would be a great idea to make them right now!"

Spike was pretty sure that Pinkie was bouncing higher than normal now. The strangest things made that mare excited. "Ohmigosh, thanks Spikey-Wikey! You're the best!" And with that, she was gone faster than one could ever calculate.

It was around then that Spike noticed the prince beginning to wake up, even mumbling some things. Well good, at least he was still alive. And still incredibly warm. Prince...Avery. Yeah, that was it. Everything that Celestial had told him suddenly came coming back to him, though some of it didn't make sense. Why was he so warm? And what's with the lack of cutie mark? The dragon found himself staring for a good two minutes, wondering, before it finally hit him that he should say something. "Um...hel-"

"SPIKE! Is he awake yet?!"

Twilight's voice broke the eerie silence that happened after Pinkie left, nearly scaring him out of his skin. But before Spike could respond, lavender colored flashes appeared everywhere as she began teleporting all around the dazed looking prince. Leave it to Twilight to use magic instead of walking three feet. Though after a couple seconds of this, she eventually stepped backward just like he did earlier, seeming to notice the strange heat coming from him. She mumbled some things to herself, but eventually came back to her senses and spoke to him.

"Prince Avery, yes? My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I am the...oh, that doesn't matter. You are okay, right? Can you hear me?"

Twilight still seemed to be a bit off even after her thinking break, but that was expected. Spike stood silently behind her, wondering what would happen, why this prince even fell from the sky in the first place.

[Avery]

The lost prince of Equestria, one with a strange name, Avery. Most would consider this odd, as it's mostly used as a pet name or something to name a doll. Yet he has that name, and Celestia seemed to have chosen that name... or was it her choice? There were too many unknowns to him, he was almost like- ...actually, he IS a walking mystery. With so many unknowns and so many questions to answer, he almost seemed like a finder's dream.

 

But oh, we should get back to what's going on. All the while as Avery sat in place, thinking of where he was, he never even noticed the purple dragon watching him nearby. But before he could even get a hello in, he was interrupted by a shriek of a question, which was enough to snap Avery out of his thought process and look up. Though as he did, all he did was see flashes of purple and lavender for a moment before it stopped. He took a moment to close his eyes from the rapid flashing and shake his head gently and look to the pony that had suddenly appeared, one that had a rather strange hair style to him, but he didn't question it.

 

Though when she spoke, is when he became confused. He tilted his head for a brief moment before speaking out "Prince..? Heheheh, you've got to be jesting me. There is no way that I could be a part of royalty, and yes I'm fine. Even though I feel completely beat up..." he seemed to laugh at the thought of him being a prince, even though he WAS one... he didn't accept it. Though the laugh soon turned into a serious look, almost a glare of suspicion "Well, Twilight, let me ask this; How do you know my name? Further more, why the label of 'prince' all of a sudden? And where am I? I don't recognize this place at all."

 

With that, Avery went back to scanning the area around him, though as he did he got up from his spot. Stretching in turn, first his front, his back, then his wings with a quick shake of the head. He was... certainly tall, perhaps a just shorter than Big Macintosh. Though with the attention to detail aside, he actually began walking around slowly, taking in what was around him. What would be noticed is that, he didn't exactly seem that troubled with being somewhere else. He was very calm, as if this was an everyday thing to him, but the questions were true and honest, he had no idea where he was. Yet, he remained calm, looking for some similarities within the library, where none would be found.

[Hawkeye12]

Well, luckily Avery only seemed to be in his dazed state fora moment. As soon as Twilight had spoken, he perked back up like everything was normal. Which was good, as one could only imagine returning their son to Princess Celestia like...

 

Wait. Twilight's mind had seemingly come in a full loop, falling back on the prospect of what to do now. He did seem perfectly fine, but something was telling her not to bring him to Celestia yet. Maybe her mind was just hungry for more answers, or she had a gut feeling something was wrong here. Probably the former though.

 

But just as the princess was about to question him more, he began talking again, which only added more to the already puzzling situation. He seemed to take the whole 'prince' thing as a joke...at first. How could he not remember...?

 

"Oh! You're the-" 

 

It was then that Spike piped up, only to be silenced again by a shove from Twilight's back hoof. No need to reveal everything at once. "Heheh....well, see you're alicorn. Or to be precise, a pony that possesses both wings and a horn. And here...well, that's royalty. I'm a Princess, as you can see, you're in my castle, er, library," She shifted her stance a bit as she said that. Even after all this time, Twilight still wasn't comfortable with calling herself a princess and claiming this place as a castle. "You're also the...relative of someone I know, do you happen to know Princess Celestia?" Maybe saying her name would jog his memory a little. But still, Twilight didn't know how much to explain, she didn't even know if the prince knew what Equestria was. Which begged another question....

 

"Where are you from? I mean, where were you before you...you know..." 

 

"You fell from the sky! Speakin' of which, how did you survive a fall like that? It was pretty cool!" 

 

Twilight sighed, giving up on keeping the dragon quiet. There were still so many questions to be answered, and these were the times that her mind needed to be focused. She watched as the other alicorn stood up, revealing himself to be taller than she had expected. Luckily he seemed to be more...okay with the situation than she had thought, but he still seemed rather confused. A sign that he had no idea where he was. 

[Avery]

As the grey Alicorn wanders slowly through the library, surveying the books on display. Most of which he's never even heard of, which baffled him as he thought he's read most of what there is to read. Using his own magic to slide a couple of books from the shelves, he looks at their covers, trying to decide on which one to perhaps read first. This was a public library right? He didn't know that for a fact, but he continued to look at the spines of the remaining books, to see which one caught his eye. The ones he pulled were a classical writing, and historical finds of magical relics

 

However, as he turned to hear what Spike had to say, he was silenced. Avery didn't exactly know what was going on, and the situation made him raise a brow in curiosity. Though it was here that Twilight decided to explain why she called him a prince for starters, which is because of his own body. Because he has wings and a horn, he's considered royalty. The idea of that was still stupid to him, and he only rolled his eyes at the thought of him being among those high ranks. Though when Twilight referred herself as a princess and this being her castle, he almost snickered at that, but she corrected herself and stated that this was her library. He saw that she was uneasy when saying that, which begged a question.

 

But just as he was about to ask, he heard that he was related to someone by the name of Princess Celestia. He furrowed his brow for a moment in slight annoyance, but he shook off the feeling. However, he thought about this question, and nothing rang any bells. He shook his head, shrugging with the books he was levitating. "Sorry, but I don't know anypony by that name. Who is she, some sort of monarch? I find it hard to believe that she's related to me though, for starters, she's royalty... and as I said, I am not. There is no way in a million years that I could be a member of those ranks, just doesn't seem right."

 

Though it was here that she had another question, about where he was from before... before what? He tilts his head slightly, trying to figure out what she was talking about. But Spike butts in with a straight up answer, he fell from that sky. That answer alone made him blink, shake his head and blink again. He puts the books he had back onto their respectful shelves, and looks at himself, noticing the amount of dirt that was on his body.

 

"What in the? How'd I get so..?" he utters before he fell silent into a thought. After a few moments, he spoke up again to answer both questions. "I... I don't know. I was in the sky before, yeah, but... that's all I... really remember. All I saw were clouds and then, I was knocked out. Where... was I before that..?" he says rather quietly, seemingly just getting this information himself. He then sat down, his tail wrapping the lower part of his body, and he was thinking again. Where exactly was he before the sky? Nothing comes up... nothing at all. It was all... a blank. Blackness with no hints.

 

"No... nothing's coming to mind. I... don't know where I was. Why... why don't I know? I should know! So why don't I?! This doesn't doesn't make any sense, I SHOULD know where I was!" he suddenly spouts, almost as if beating himself up just because he doesn't remember. It's not exactly his fault either, that crash may have made him forget most everything if he doesn't even know Princess Celestia. Everyone in Equestria knows who she is... but somehow he doesn't?

[Hawkeye12]

Twilight didn't mind as the other alicorn began to browse through the library. Perhaps he was trying to figure out clues to where he was, or he was just an egghead like she was. Either way it made her feel slightly better, watching curiously as he picked up one book and flipped through it.

 

But then, as soon as the name Princess Celestia was mentioned, a strange expression seemed to come across Avery. A...blank one. So, he didn't know anything about the Princess? How was that even possible? But to make things even more strange, the stallion seemed to have absolutely no memory of falling from the sky, not to mention where he was before that. Her mind raked for possible answers to all this, but none came up. She couldn't figure out anything, and as many knew, Twilight hated not knowing things.

 

"So you don't know anything? Nothing at all? That just...doesn't make sense! Why?! How can I return you to the Princess with no memories of what's happened all these years! What am I supposed to do?!"

 

"Hold it, hold it!" The ponies were now rambling at the same time, and Spike couldn't take anymore of it. "Equestria doesn't need two alicorns that freak out all the time! Just Twilight doing this on a daily basis is enough for me..."

 

Which was met with a sigh from the lavender coated mare. A sigh that the two both knew well, so much that Spike was practically expecting the next words. "You're right, Spike. Let me just try this again..."

 

And just like that, she began rambling again. But this time her thoughts were more collected, and it was more like thinking out loud. She paced a little, not even making eye contact with the others in the room as she did so. "So not knowing anything... the first thing that comes to mind would be amnesia. That would make sense, as you did take a pretty hard fall and get knocked unconscious, but the fact that you are able to walk and use magic immediately afterward and know your own name and yourself pretty well doesn't really add up to that. Of course, I'm no medical expert, but it does seem to be much deeper than that. But you said you don't know Celestia by name, which would mean that you were obviously taken out of Equestria. No...not just that... who would return from say, Saddle Arabia, by falling from the sky. So that means you were taken to another world! Yes, that's it! It's crazy, but I think that's the answer! Well... one of them, anyways."

 

The words fell out of her mouth as fast as she could say them, but it was the thought process she was sticking to. She noticed Spike looking at her with a blank expression, but he gave her that look on a daily basis. She then looked to Avery, her eyes more excited now that she found possible answers. "Did all that make sense to you? You see, one would think that alternate worlds are just uncanny, but I've been to one." She paused, thinking about the strange place she was taken to before being bestowed a princess. It sure seemed like an alternate world. "That still doesn't explain the memory loss of course, but... maybe the ponies there used magic that helped them do that? But I've never heard of anything like that, so... sorry. I'm rambling again." The princess knew she was talking way too much, but one of these theories had  to ring a bell, right? Perhaps the answer was as simple as amnesia... or not. 

[Avery]

Avery flinched at the sudden shout of the small Dragon in the room, it seemed that he's dealt with the ramblings of Twilight many a time, but having two voices doing the same thing at the same time was just a bit much for the ears of the purple lizard. Avery briefly looks over to Twilight before looking away, thinking that someone rambles just as much as he does is surprising... not to mention a bit embarrassing to hear that he was also rambling. He doesn't usually ramble unless he was in a conversation, which this seemed to be at first, but now it's just a pile of questions with no plausible answer. Almost getting nowhere... until Twilight started rambling again.

 

Avery looked back to Twilight as she spoke, listening to what she was rambling on about. He was more of a listener than a speaker anyway, so hearing this made him comfortable at least. Of course, the first obvious answer would be that he would have amnesia, which he considered... until the fact that Twilight had stated the he knew his name, himself, such. He had to agree, it didn't add up. By this time he'd accepted that he did fall from the sky, even though it seems out there to him. Then was the fact that he might've been taken out of Equestria, which would be a possibility, considering that he knew next to nothing about the place he was at. Then he heard something about another world, which to him seemed crazy, though not impossible.

 

However, with his knowledge about how powerful some Unicorns become, it's becoming less and less plausible on his thought process. He had hung his head down in thought mid-way through Twilight's ramblings, trying to think of more of a way to solve this problem... though an end wasn't in sight. Though he'd been asked a question about if any of it made sense. He... stayed silent until she finished talking before speaking himself.

 

"Oh, no, don't stop yourself. I'm much more of a listener anyway. Still... it does seem a bit odd that I would happen to know myself yet... not know anything else. I mean, all well and sane, it might just be that I was taken to another world sure... but." He stood up for a second, looking around at the library. "Why was I sent away from there, if I've been gone for however long. Let's say, you're right on the fact that, heh, I'm some son of a princess and I was taken away to some other world, if I don't even know my own birth right mother, then why would I come back here? ...Then again, I don't even know anything right now, so asking that seems a bit redundant. But also something else came to mind, with how powerful Unicorns can become... I have no idea if they can even rip through the fabric of space. Sure, there's teleporting spells and the like, but those have always been short distance... at least to my knowledge."

 

He states, tilting his head in thought once again. It was all so unclear; was he actually from another world? Or perhaps just in another place just with no knowledge of the past? Twilight seemed pretty sure that his mother was here... and he doesn't even know his mother so it could be possible. But having the off chance that his mother is royalty is just baffling to him, he's never considered himself royalty, he's never even had the THOUGHT of being royal one day. So... what is the true answer?

 

Avery groans, unsure what to make of the situation. Though a slight grumble told him something else, also while looking down realized something else. He cleared his throat, trying to prepare himself for anything after saying this. "W-Well... Anything's really considered right now but... I'm... slightly hungry. You don't suppose you have anything for me to eat? Anything is fine, and I'd greatly appreciate it. Oh and... do you happen to have a bath somewhere..? I don't exactly want to look like this all day." He spoke rather softly, as if he wasn't in the right place to ask such things. With how he was posed as well, it... looked like he was about to expect something awful. ...Wherever he was, it must've been hard, though he doesn't seem that phased about anything... just confused.

[Hawkeye12]

Twilight couldn't help but smile a little at herself. Well, at least someone listened to her 'egghead' voice. Too many times had she been going on about something or other, only to be given the same old blank expression from Spike. The only ponies that understood were, ironically, were the other alicorns in her life. Funny how that worked. 

 

But anyways, Avery's two cents on the matter did bring up a good point. Why would he just come back here like that? Or, instead, how would he get there in the first place? The theory was pretty far-fetched, but still, it was hard ruling out anything considering that he just flew from the sky at random. 

 

"Well... there is the fact that today's supposed to be your birthday? Uh, I think. I can't really remember for sure, and you didn't look like you knew that, so...and besides, what would that have to do with you coming here anyways?" Spike smiled awkwardly as he spoke, as if he was hoping he was on to something.

 

"Yes, of course! I completely missed that!" Well, at least the little dragon said something useful for once. But how that related to all this, she didn't know. Twilight glanced curiously to the other alicorn before he went on to a completely different and much less confusing topic - food.

 

The subject resulted in an embarrassing growl from the mare's stomach, making the Spike snicker a bit. "Heh heh... I'm kind of hungry too. So much has been happening today that it sort of slipped my mind, I guess. But actually...I don't think we have much besides oats - Oh, and there's a bath down the hall to your left." It was funny how Twilight had a castle bigger than the rest of Ponyville all to herself, but didn't have much food. Grocery shopping had been pushed to the back of her mind when studying, as usual. "I don't suppose once you're all, you know, clean, we could get something to eat? Of course we'd have to figure out a way to hide the fact that you're royalty...no need to get the town in another uproar."

[Avery]

Avery looked to the little dragon and tilted his head, raising an eyebrow for a moment before saying "Well... yeah, though I didn't expect you to know about that. Then again... you did say you know my actual mother so... ugh, this is all too confusing right now." He slightly gave an annoyed sigh before slightly nodding to Spike's little theory.

 

Listening to Twilight say talk about the less confusing subject of food, he was slightly surprised to hear that they barely had anything here. He looks around slightly, to the highly details of the library, but hearing her say that it slipped her mind must mean that she gets distracted by something quite a lot. Hearing where the Bath was, he looked to the door before walking toward it and looking outside. It was quite different than what the library was, making him double take on the scene, looking back into the library, then back into the hall.

 

Smacking his lips slightly, he says to himself "Wow... a lot... bigger than what I was expecting." Though keeping his head in the door, he heard Twilight's other proposal of heading out to eat after he had gotten clean, since there wasn't much to eat around here. He couldn't disagree to the thought, considering that there would be much better food and the like. Though hearing that Twilight was still calling him royalty just put a bad taste in his mouth. Though, he swallowed his own pride to not get upset over such a minor thing such as a title.

 

"Of course, I may just be a time before I'm done... considering that most of the books here are ones that I've never even heard of before, which might mean that bathing might be different here too, hopefully not though. And about concealing my... body I guess, perhaps you have a cloak somewhere? That would easily hide my wings if that were needed." He said as he stretches gently, getting the rest of the kinks out of his body. "Now, thank you, first of all. You're very kind. I will take my bath, and wait out in the hall afterwords. If it's different, I'll ask for help"

 

That being said, he bows his head to Twilight as he heads out of the library and to the door where the bath would be. Of course, he'd stop to look around at the hall for a moment, looking at the decor and style of it all, though he'd head into bathroom to take a well needed bath. Of course, entering the room he was... confused about how everything looked so differently. So, it took a minute before he actually got started just relaxing in the bath.

 

Though, as the time passed on, steam flowed out of the bathroom door, a LOT more than what is usually let out. However, it was just about fifteen minutes before he was out of the bathroom, steam pouring out of the room, nearly filling the hall with a faint cloud hovering above the ground. Avery certainly was more clean and crisp than before now, with his hair and coat actually giving off their proper color now, a light smokey grey coat and his hair being extremely bright. Some could say that it seemed alive like a fire with how bright it was in contrast with other colors.

 

He gives a long sigh, shivering slightly from the sudden chill of the wind on his body. He looks around at the hall once more, taking in its decor. Of course he softly says as he walks out "At least it's no different here... just different looking." he looks around in search of Twilight or her little dragon, wondering if they were sticking true to their words.

[Hawkeye12]

The other alicorn's memories seemed to be seriously jumbled, and it was confusing Twilight with each word that he spoke. He remembered things like how baths worked, and seemingly read a lot of books... but still had no idea where he was before he fell out of the sky. And there were still too many questions left unanswered, which made her head hurt even more. A good bath sounded kind of nice, actually.

 

Spike seemed to had wandered off somwhere, but she couldn't blame him. The little dragon usually had no idea what to do in these situations. Not like anything like this had happened before of course, but still. Twilight wandered around a bit in the library area after Avery left, quickly remembering that she had to get a cloak.

 

The mare trotted over to her bedroom, sorting through her admittedly small selection of clothing. She wasn't really a fan of wearing clothes outside the dresses Rarity made her for more formal occasions and events like Winter Wrap Up. There was her Star Swirled the Beared cape, but she wasn't sure if Avery would... appreciate it. He did know next to nothing about the literature they had here, after all. After digging around some more, she finally came across a simple black cloak. Nothing much, but it would do for hiding his wings...and his lack of cutie mark, come to think of it.

 

As she walked back out to where she was earlier, Twilight couldn't help but notice the...abnormal amount of steam coming from the bathroom. She raised an eyebrow in curiosity, wondering if it was a result of the strange heat coming from him. That factor had slipped her mind for a while.

 

But she didn't ponder that for too long as the stallion came out only a few moments later. She smiled politely, levitating the cloak over to him. "Here you go, it's a little old but I think it'll be good." 

[Avery]

Avery had looked around at the hall for a mere moment before he was greeted by the voice of Twilight, looking over she had gotten a black cloak for him to wear. He takes it into his own magical aura as he swirls it around his body, tying the strings at the front around his neck tightly. He takes a moment to look over the cloak and how it looked on him, he nods in approval before saying. "Though not exactly my color, I do appreciate the offer. Anything would've done, and I guess a simple black gets the job done easily. Though I still disagree that I'm somehow a part of royalty, there's just no way! Heheh, me, pfft, royalty, what a joke." He says, yet again, that he didn't believe that he was royalty.

 

He looks at the hall for a moment more before asking "So, uh, where exactly did you plan to go to eat? And what about that little purple lizard that was with you? Did he want to come along?" After he asked that a slight rumble in his stomach told him that he was still hungry because he mentioned food. He silently chuckles to himself, shaking his head slightly, though he quickly stops. As if he was in the wrong for just amusing himself, he stiffens himself as though he was expecting something bad again. Though after a moment, he relaxes his muscles, giving out a sigh as if he hasn't even laid in a bed in forever.

"Forgive me seeming so... uptight? I haven't had this much freedom in a while, it feels different since.... since.... ah... dang it, I can't remember." He says to Twilight, soon closing his eyes and tilting his head to the side, trying to remember when it was that he had this much freedom. His memories seem to be affected with who and where he was with or at before. Though, actions that he's done seem to not be forgotten. If he did have amnesia, he shouldn't even remember having the choice of freedom taken from him, but it seems that certain parts of his memories are gone. Still... not having this much freedom before? It just leads to more questions.

However Avery simply waves it off "Bah, it shouldn't matter. If I can't remember, then it shouldn't be important right now. I'm fine without remembering that. Shouldn't be the main goal just to have me remember stuff anyway, right now, I'm hungry, you're hungry, and this is a place I haven't been to yet, so I've got quite a lot to explore heheh." He smiles as he starts to walk forward, though walking backward to still talk to Twilight. He had truth in his words. He also seems to be much... chipper than before. That bath might've given him some time to himself to actually think about the situation at hand, letting him just... relax, compared to his stiff movements before.

[Hawkeye12]

The black cloak seemed to work out just fine for Avery, which was good. Twilight watched with curious it's as he began to joke about the idea of being royalty, which made her smile a little bit. "Yeah, I guess it is kind of hard to believe," she said casually, knowing exactly how he felt. It took forever to finally get the conceits of being a princess wrapped around her head, and she still would occasionally feel awkward about it.

 

But the subject quickly changed back to food, and Twilight quickly mentally runs through her list of places around town. "Let's see...I know there's a good place that sells hay burgers, I suppose we could try that out." He also mentioned her 'little purple lizard,' which led Teilight to smile a bit once again. "Oh, Spike? I'm sure he's around here somewhere. He doesn't exactly like what...we eat, but I know he has a stash of gemstones around here somewhere, so I think he'll be fine." She didn't know how much Avery knew about dragons, but at the same time, not many ponies were experts on them unless they had one of their own. Which not many did, as far as she knew.

 

Still, there were things yet to be answered, and the princess could tell that it was bothering Avery as well as he struggled to remember things. He had no freedom? How did he remember that, but nopony that he was with, or where he was? And better yet, why did he have no freedom? 

 

But just as Twilight was about to go on another ramble of questions and theories, she hesitated as Avery brushed off the whole subject. He seemed so...laid back about this whole thing, which went completely against Twilight's nature. But still, she couldn't exactly disagree with him. There wasn't any clues to figuring things out right now, and she couldn't think on an empty stomach. "I guess you're right," She said, trotting up beside him as they walked outside. Ponyville seemed to had calmed down after the previous...incident. Though she supposed that was to be expected, the town had been through a lot, and somehow managed to recover in a short amount of time. She admired it for that. 

[Avery]

Hearing where to go next, Avery couldn't help but agree to that, hay burgers did sound good right about now. They were filling at the very least. Then hearing about if Spike wanted to go with them or not, he tilted his head slightly, though he shrugs it off for another time. A lizard and gemstones? Doesn't exactly sound right, but perhaps its some sort of new animal that he hasn't seen yet. Though thinking on that now, that 'animal' can talk and understand what's going on, so... is it right to call him an animal? Perhaps not. Though he nods all the same about him not coming along.

 

Heading outside into Ponyville, Avery made the quick notice that it was... colorful. Ponies walked by, talking about their daily lives, some even waving to them as they made eye contact. Avery looks around slowly, looking at all of the buildings and the colors they showed off. Of course, being as close to Nightmare Night as it was, everything had more of a scary look to it. But that still didn't make Avery look away. Not even a few seconds out the door of the castle, Avery asks "So... what's this town? I didn't realize it was going to be so... colorful. All the homes here have their own look, different colors for each, and the folk here seem rather friendly."

 

Of course, Avery would listen to Twilight's response, though he kept his eye on his surroundings as well, making sure he didn't miss a thing about the town. He almost looked like a child that was looking into an aquarium for the first time. His ear twitches from time to time, listening in on everything around him. Of course, normally he would have his wings out, ready to explore the skies, but with the cloak he had on, he was forced to be on the ground. Or at least he's just trying to stay within Twilight's domain of him being a secret.

 

Not too long later with Twilight guiding to the place they were going to eat, which so happened to be a open window diner. The line inside wasn't very long, though with everyone being as busy as they were for the day of frights and chills, it's to be expected. However, since Avery was new to this place, he did not expect it. He looked around at the area, wondering where in the world everyone was. But soon enough they were next to be served! The tan earth pony working behind the counter saying "Welcome! What would like today?"

 

Avery remained quiet, wondering if he should just make the order simple for him, or get something more. Though, because he has absolutely no bits on his person, that thought went right out the window. "I'm not all that picky, so anything is fine for right now. I would get it myself... but it seems that I don't have your currency. Sorry..." he says as his voice fell to a whisper at the end, end his head lowering for a moment. Though he catches himself and shakes his head. He waits for the order to hear what Twilight was getting.