Memory is Magic

Chapter 1: The Unicorn

Wait, I survived? I'm alive? Yes... I'm definitely alive…

The Unicorn couldn't remember what made him think that he was dead, but he was sure that he had been lucky to survive whatever it was.

Right, just open your eyes and climb out….

The Unicorn opened one eye, then the other, then immediately re-closed them as he was bombarded by the light. Desperate to reacquaint himself with his surroundings, he reopened his eyes, holding them open with his hooves. He ignored the stinging, and the fact that every muscle in his body was seemingly working together in a scheme to get him to shut his eyes tightly and never open them again. When he had finally adjusted his eyes to the light he surveyed his surroundings, he was in a bright sunny field; the colours around him were rich and bright and familiar without being recognisable enough to make The Unicorn think he'd been there before. He wondered what he had wanted to climb out of, but he couldn't remember. In fact, he couldn't remember how he'd got in this state in the first place, and that's when it suddenly dawned on the pony that he couldn't remember anything. Panic set into the stallion as he searched in his own head for details. There was a dull ache in his mind, not a pain, but a feeling of pressure – like being deep underwater. His name, he knew his name! He did! It was there, written out in his mind, but it was as if it had been blurred out. It was so close, tantalizingly close, but frustratingly illegible. Panicked, The Unicorn desperately groped about the fog for one detail that would remind him, it felt like his life was being kept just around a corner, just out of view – but he just needed something to help him turn the corner.

My mother's name? My father's? My magic kindergarten teacher? The place I used to play as a child?

Nothing.

Terrified and alone, The Unicorn looked around for a face that would spark his memory, or at least for somepony that would recognise him and take him in. In the distance he saw a town, there had to be somepony that could help him there! He got up from the prone state he had awoke in, clumsily onto his hind legs and instantly fell forwards scraping his muzzle along the grass and mud.
"Why the hay did I do that!? I must still be disorientated…" He heard his voice for the first time, trailing of in a mixture of pain and joy, this was the first thing since he had woken up that he'd recognised, but that didn't detract from the fact that his head now felt like it had been hit by a train.

The Unicorn now stumbled clumsily towards the town now, his legs buckled occasionally and he had to stop several times for a rest even though the walk itself wasn't that far.

When he reached a hill overlooking the town he stopped again, he felt terrible, like every muscle in his body was trying to leave through his skin. He vomited heavily and then looked out across what looked like the town centre, trying to muster up the energy or inclination to continue his journey. It was then a light came on in his head; Sugarcube Corner, The Carousel Boutique, The Market, The Town Hall… He knew these places! This was Ponyville! He didn't know why this town was so significant to him, but at this point he didn't care, the rush of familiarity travelled through him and gave him the burst of energy he needed to descend the steep hill towards the town.

There is a distinct downside to blind will and determination, however, as The Unicorn was about to learn. The hard way. Much of the faculty of the body is controlled by the mind and a pony can be amazed at what their bodies will do in times when they really put their minds to it, but the body and mind are separate things and sometimes one just cannot or will not co-operate with the other. The Unicorn realised this as his legs buckled beneath him, turning his inelegant galloped down the slope into an equally inelegant tumble. He continued to roll and bounce down the hill for almost a minute, only gaining speed as he wildly flailed to try and slow himself down. He fell head over tail, tail over head, until finally, he met a less than forgiving wall.

The Unicorn looked up dazed and confused at the wall, which was cracked from the impact, and then towards the sky, as this did not require the painful effort of lifting his head. He saw pegusi going about their daily lives, never thinking to look down. "Why should they?" he thought, his eyelids getting weightier by the second. The Unicorn took one last, almost admiring glance at the damage he'd caused to the side of the building he'd crashed into before yielding to the heaviness of his eyelids and passing out...
Chapter 2: Fleeting Memories

The Unicorn listened as his mother cried his name, more and more hysterically every time. He saw himself in the third person floating in a dark abyss. He was troubled by his mother's pain, but did not truly bothered until he heard what sounded like his father… crying?

There are many things that The Unicorn knew his father for, but in all his years he had never seen him display any emotion towards him. He thought back at his life, remembering vividly growing up, playing sports far too competitively in the garden, his adolescent years spent knowing that his father loved him just enough to not break his heart by telling him his true feelings about his only son,  The Unicorn never seeing anything but an unspoken disappointment from his father. In fact, the only time he ever saw any emotion from his father was when he saw his favourite soccer team lose in a cup final.

The Unicorn saw a bright light shining on his face and the silhouette of a pony, he forced himself to focus and rouse from his groggy state. He was caught in the moments between awake and asleep, where the conscious and subconscious parts of the mind work together to create visions that can never be truly understood until they are studied by the conscious mind, visions far too fantastic to be true – but at the time totally believable. He knew that this silhouette was his mother, waiting at his bedside, that's why he had dreamt about her crying.

"Oh thank goodness, you're OK; when I found you I thought you were… I mean you looked…" the soft voice trailed off, The Unicorn instantly realising that the owner of said voice was unable to talk her worry that he was terminally wounded. The voice most definitely wasn't his mother's and the mare whom it belonged couldn't be much more than a year older than him, The Unicorn scanned her face, it seemed familiar, the pink mane and bright blue eyes, which were now looking down at the floor definitely meant something to The Unicorn, but he felt that it would be insensitive to ask her for more information in front of the other ponies. The Unicorn didn't know why, when he was so desperate for details on his own life, that it seemed wrong to pursue the details, but it just did.

The Unicorn then started to woozily evaluate the faces of the other three ponies present. Two of the faces, again, rang a bell, an orange mare with a blonde mane, wearing a hat indoors for some reason and a male pony wearing a brace clearly designed to pull a plough. The other pony, The Unicorn recognised only as a nurse. Somepony had obviously taken him to hospital after he had passed out, he gathered.

Several minutes passed as The Unicorn tried to remember where he knew the ponies' faces from. The ponies in question looked awkwardly around the room and at the floor, as if they knew they should say something, but nopony wanted to be the first one to speak.

"None of these ponies are my mother and father that I heard." Thought The Unicorn, "I mean, my mother sounded like… what did she sound like? She said my name… it was… oh Celestia, how could I forget my name, I heard it just now in the dream with my father… was my father in it?" The Unicorn's internal monologue grew increasingly melancholy as he realised that all of the important details of his dream had drifted out of focus as he woke up and that he wouldn't be getting them back.

"What Fluttershy was trying to say, is that she was really worried that you had seriously injured yourself when she found you lying at the bottom of that hill." Said the orange Earth Pony, apparently noticing the fear and confusion in The Unicorn's eyes, "she ran and fetched us as soon as she could" she gestured towards the male pony standing alongside her "and we carried you here, Ponyville Royal Infirmary, you've been out for a couple of days."  There were a few seconds of silence as The Unicorn attempted to process the new evidence he'd received – to the other ponies this felt like an eternity. "The name's Applejack and this is my brother Big Macintosh." The Earth Pony added to break the silence.

"…Applejack… Big Macintosh… Fluttershy… My name is…. is…. I can't remember..." The Unicorn looked down, avoiding eye contact with the other ponies; he had no idea as to why he was so ashamed of admitting this. "In fact, I can't remember anything about my own life, or where I came from…" The Unicorn trailed off, this was as close to a cry for help as the other ponies were ever going to get. He knew very little about himself, except for the fact that it was extremely uncomfortable and ill-fitting for him to be asking strangers for help.

"Oh, you poor thing!" Said Fluttershy, surprising both herself and The Unicorn with her sudden outburst of apparent confidence. Fluttershy knew that her calling was to care for those who couldn't care for themselves and that didn't always mean animals, but it sometimes meant ponies too. She imagined how frightening it would be to live in a world where she couldn't remember her friends and physically shuddered at the thought. "We will help you remember who you are if it's the last thing we do, isn't that right Applejack?" Fluttershy looked towards Applejack, who had apparently been caught off-guard by the question. She took a moment and then nodded in agreement; she knew that even though this unicorn was a stranger, leaving him alone without even his memory just wouldn't be right.

The Unicorn sensed an easing on his chest. Relief that he was no longer in this alone. It was only with this reassurance that he realised how scared he had been before these kind ponies had offered to help. The nurse pony left to attend to the other ponies in the ward, content that The Unicorn's condition was improving. The room contained twelve beds, most of which clearly contained sickly ponies, three were empty and another two were obscured by curtains. An elderly mare stood with an IV on a tall stand in one hoof, staring vacantly out of the window.

"Thank you so much" said The Unicorn, "but there's one thing I must ask you. Do I know you? I feel like I know you. I've not recognised anypony else, but I recognised you three. Please say that you know who I am. I-" He cut himself short, embarrassed that his panic and desperation had been portrayed so obviously in his voice. The three ponies in front of him looked at each other. There was another awkward silence, Applejack and Big Macintosh were staring expectantly at Fluttershy.

"You…. should rest." She finally said. The Unicorn needed to know more about these ponies and the significance in his life, but he couldn't think of an argument. He was tired, and Fluttershy's statement had reminded him of the feeling in his head. It was not a pain, but rather an exhausting fogginess. He tried to rationalise the feeling, but the closest thing he had experienced before was the feeling at a party, when a pony is sober enough to know that what they're doing is embarrassing and out-of-character, but inebriated enough to not stop doing it and to have a lot of fun in the process. The Unicorn tried to remember the time that this had happened, what had made him make this comparison? Ultimately, the reasoning only served to make him more tired – and he managed to give his new companions a weak, appreciative smile, before again falling asleep.


Chapter 3 – The Unicorn and The Apple Family

It was a mystery to The Unicorn, how he had found himself stood in the field. Storm clouds had started to gather several minutes ago and the first spots of rain were pattering against his nose. A loud, but dull drone shook the field and the surrounding flatlands. The noise was deafening, The Unicorn could feel it in his gut, and it made him feel physically sick. The vibration of the ground made it a struggle for the charcoal pony to even stay standing up. The rain got heavier as the noise and the shaking increased. There were intermittent flashes of neon-blue light across the sky, like no lightening that The Unicorn had ever seen before. He looked around for shelter from the storm, but could see nothing but the muddy fields and the deep grey skies as far as the eye could see. The flashes of blue lightening were now accompanied by thunder, again, like no thunder The Unicorn had ever experienced – the high-pitched wailing cut through the barren landscape, creating an inescapable wall of excruciating sound. The Unicorn collapsed to the ground, the cold mud sending shivers from his haunches to his horn. The ground shook and swayed more violently, the stallion just hid his head in his hooves and prayed for it to be all over.

---

The Unicorn awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. There was a split-second as he remembered why he wasn't in his hospital bed anymore. He was in a smaller room, with a wooden floor and walls painted deep red. The window was open and a breeze blew the curtains about, fleetingly revealing that it was daylight outside. The Unicorn was in Sweet Apple Acres, another place that had sounded familiar to him when it was first revealed yesterday.

The doctors at Ponyville Royal Infirmary had recommended that The Unicorn return home, but with still no memory of where he lived this was an impossibility. Fluttershy had suggested that he should stay at her cottage while he recuperated, but the nurse seemed to prefer the idea of the injured pony staying at Sweet Apple Acres, where there were more ponies to keep an eye on him. Head injuries can have unpredictable side-effects, she explained, so it was best that he had near-constant observation. Applejack and Big Mac were more than happy to take in the houseguest, promising the anxious yellow Pegasus that she could visit him any time. The two Earth Ponies carried The Unicorn to his new bed, despite his insistence that he could walk, and he had been there since – still feeling the drowsiness and headaches that came from his wound and the painkillers he'd been given to overcome it.

After getting out of bed, The Unicorn managed to walk gingerly towards the door. He had terrible cramp in all four of his legs, the result of not walking for what he could only guess had been about a week. On his third attempt he managed to open the door with his magic, the act felt strangely foreign, but ultimately second nature to an adult unicorn. At the bottom on the stairs, The Unicorn met Applejack again, who had just exited the  kitchen.

"Afternoon, sleepy-head." She said with a warm smile, "Big Mac is out on the farm and Granny Smith is napping, I was just making some apple fritters for me and the girls if you feel up to eating."

"I….um…yes please." The Unicorn had tried to turn down the offer out of politeness, the kindness the Apple Family had shown was astonishing and he didn't want to impose further, but he also acknowledged that he needed to talk to Applejack.

---

At the dinner table sat three fillies, fidgeting and arguing with each other as they waited for their meals. All three stopped and looked at The Unicorn as he entered the room. The young yellow Earth Pony sitting in the middle of the trio was the first to speak.

"Hey there, my name's Applebloom and these are my friends; Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, She gestured first to the Pegasus filly on her right, then to the Unicorn on her left. "Together, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Her tone then became more serious and sympathetic. "My big sister told me about your accident and how you'd lost your memory."

"It must be really terrible to not remember any of your friends…" Sweetie Belle empathised.

"Yeah… so what's your name?"  Scootaloo said brashly, drawing accusing glares from the other two fillies. She shuffled embarrassedly in her chair. "Right… sorry, but we really do need something to call you until you get your memory back. Don't worry; we'll think of an awesome name for you – so awesome that'll want to keep it even when you remember your real name!" The three fillies excited discussed amongst themselves, their whispers inaudible to The Unicorn.

"We've got it!" Applebloom exclaimed, banging her hoof of the table. "We'll call you Alley, seems how Fluttershy found you in an alley-"

"- and the wall you crashed into was the back of the bowling alley!" Sweetie Bell added. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat with huge grins on their faces, waiting for the praise that they had surely earned.

"Girls!"  Applejack had just walked into the room carrying a plate in her mouth and her outburst had caused her to drop it. Apple fritters were now scattered across the floor. "This poor pony has been through enough, without y'all hassling him and calling him names!" She raised a hoof to her sister and her friend's protests, until The Unicorn interjected.

"It's OK, really, they're right – you can't just go on calling me 'The Unicorn' or something and Alley seems fine to me." He smiled at the three fillies, recognising that their naivety was not in any way malicious. He used his magic to levitate the fritters from the floor and attempted to place them back on the plate, however they flew up and covered Applejack's face with apple – eliciting stifled giggles from the dinner table. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I guess my magic is still a little rusty," the grey unicorn felt his face burn up in awkwardness. The apple-covered Earth Pony just laughed.

"It doesn't matter, there's plenty more where that came from. You go sit down and I'll make some more. And girls, go easy on him will ya?" She grinned in the direction of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and then headed back into the kitchen.

---

As the three sat down for what was lunch for everypony except the newly-named Alley, for whom it was breakfast, the stallion decided to ask the question that he'd been avoiding all day.

"So…. Do you know who I am? It's just … I thought I recognised you and your family – do I know you?" Applejack had expected the question to come from the Unicorn sooner or later, she looked back apologetically.

"Sorry, sugarcube, I've spoken to everypony here at Sweet Apple Acres since you asked us back at the hospital, and no one's ever seen you before, you must be mistaken," she noticed Alley slump in his chair. "It's okay though, because me and my friends will help you get your memories back in no time – heck, I bet ya my friend Twilight – she lives over in Ponyville library – she'll probably have some sort of spell that can magic your memory back, just like that!" She smiled reassuringly. Meanwhile, Alley was feeling worse than ever, he had to ignore the familiarity of all these names he kept hearing, which made his job a lot more difficult.

"You're right. And thanks for your help so far." Alley said, before attempting to steer the conversation away from his amnesia. "So, The Cutie Mark Crusaders? What does that mean?" He addressed the three fillies, who had been watching the conversation between the older ponies with concern and confusion. Applejack audibly sighed.

"We're all working together to find our special talents, so that we can earn our cutie marks!" Scootaloo fluttered her wings as she spoke, hovering in mid-air for a few seconds. "Which reminds me, these cutie marks aren't going to get themselves. Come on girls!" The three fillies cheered and shot out of the door, leaving their lunches only half-eaten.

"Don't mind them. Hay, come to think of it – what does your cutie mark mean?" Applejack's question switched a light on in Alley's mind. Perhaps this would be the spark that would light the powder keg of memories. He looked at himself in the mirror that was hanging on the far wall, it was as if he had never seen pony staring back at him. Alley was a tall unicorn, with a short mane of deep crimson and pale blue. It was wild and unruly, as was his tail, a result of a week's neglect. Alley's coat was a dark charcoal and his brightly coloured mane and tail contrasted starkly with it. His eyes passed to his side – where he saw his cutie mark. It was a thought bubble.

"My cutie mark is a thought cloud? What could that mean? I am good at thinking? Dreaming? Am I a philosopher? I have been having some pretty vivid dreams lately, but I can never remember them…" Alley thought aloud, but failed to remember anything useful. "Maybe I'll go and see your friend Twilight, do you think she'll know anything about dreams?" The charcoal pony asked Applejack hopefully.

"You're sure as sugar she will! If Twilight hasn't read a book about it, then it's not worth knowing, but right now you should get some rest – you've had a really bad knock on the head, it's too early for you to go trotting off all over Ponyville." Applejack felt terrible for postponing Alley's attempts at uncovering his memories, but knew that what she'd said was right. The unicorn agreed, he was still feeling woozy and hadn't touched his food. He thanked Applejack for her generosity and kindness, before excusing himself and returning to bed.
Chapter 3 – The Unicorn and The Apple Family

It was a mystery to The Unicorn, how he had found himself stood in the field. Storm clouds had started to gather several minutes ago and the first spots of rain were pattering against his nose. A loud, but dull drone shook the field and the surrounding flatlands. The noise was deafening, The Unicorn could feel it in his gut, and it made him feel physically sick. The vibration of the ground made it a struggle for the charcoal pony to even stay standing up. The rain got heavier as the noise and the shaking increased. There were intermittent flashes of neon-blue light across the sky, like no lightening that The Unicorn had ever seen before. He looked around for shelter from the storm, but could see nothing but the muddy fields and the deep grey skies as far as the eye could see. The flashes of blue lightening were now accompanied by thunder, again, like no thunder The Unicorn had ever experienced – the high-pitched wailing cut through the barren landscape, creating an inescapable wall of excruciating sound. The Unicorn collapsed to the ground, the cold mud sending shivers from his haunches to his horn. The ground shook and swayed more violently, the stallion just hid his head in his hooves and prayed for it to be all over.

---

The Unicorn awoke suddenly in a cold sweat. There was a split-second as he remembered why he wasn't in his hospital bed anymore. He was in a smaller room, with a wooden floor and walls painted deep red. The window was open and a breeze blew the curtains about, fleetingly revealing that it was daylight outside. The Unicorn was in Sweet Apple Acres, another place that had sounded familiar to him when it was first revealed yesterday.

The doctors at Ponyville Royal Infirmary had recommended that The Unicorn return home, but with still no memory of where he lived this was an impossibility. Fluttershy had suggested that he should stay at her cottage while he recuperated, but the nurse seemed to prefer the idea of the injured pony staying at Sweet Apple Acres, where there were more ponies to keep an eye on him. Head injuries can have unpredictable side-effects, she explained, so it was best that he had near-constant observation. Applejack and Big Mac were more than happy to take in the houseguest, promising the anxious yellow Pegasus that she could visit him any time. The two Earth Ponies carried The Unicorn to his new bed, despite his insistence that he could walk, and he had been there since – still feeling the drowsiness and headaches that came from his wound and the painkillers he'd been given to overcome it.

After getting out of bed, The Unicorn managed to walk gingerly towards the door. He had terrible cramp in all four of his legs, the result of not walking for what he could only guess had been about a week. On his third attempt he managed to open the door with his magic, the act felt strangely foreign, but ultimately second nature to an adult unicorn. At the bottom on the stairs, The Unicorn met Applejack again, who had just exited the  kitchen.

"Afternoon, sleepy-head." She said with a warm smile, "Big Mac is out on the farm and Granny Smith is napping, I was just making some apple fritters for me and the girls if you feel up to eating."

"I….um…yes please." The Unicorn had tried to turn down the offer out of politeness, the kindness the Apple Family had shown was astonishing and he didn't want to impose further, but he also acknowledged that he needed to talk to Applejack.

---

At the dinner table sat three fillies, fidgeting and arguing with each other as they waited for their meals. All three stopped and looked at The Unicorn as he entered the room. The young yellow Earth Pony sitting in the middle of the trio was the first to speak.

"Hey there, my name's Applebloom and these are my friends; Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, She gestured first to the Pegasus filly on her right, then to the Unicorn on her left. "Together, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!" Her tone then became more serious and sympathetic. "My big sister told me about your accident and how you'd lost your memory."

"It must be really terrible to not remember any of your friends…" Sweetie Belle empathised.

"Yeah… so what's your name?"  Scootaloo said brashly, drawing accusing glares from the other two fillies. She shuffled embarrassedly in her chair. "Right… sorry, but we really do need something to call you until you get your memory back. Don't worry; we'll think of an awesome name for you – so awesome that'll want to keep it even when you remember your real name!" The three fillies excited discussed amongst themselves, their whispers inaudible to The Unicorn.

"We've got it!" Applebloom exclaimed, banging her hoof of the table. "We'll call you Alley, seems how Fluttershy found you in an alley-"

"- and the wall you crashed into was the back of the bowling alley!" Sweetie Bell added. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat with huge grins on their faces, waiting for the praise that they had surely earned.

"Girls!"  Applejack had just walked into the room carrying a plate in her mouth and her outburst had caused her to drop it. Apple fritters were now scattered across the floor. "This poor pony has been through enough, without y'all hassling him and calling him names!" She raised a hoof to her sister and her friend's protests, until The Unicorn interjected.

"It's OK, really, they're right – you can't just go on calling me 'The Unicorn' or something and Alley seems fine to me." He smiled at the three fillies, recognising that their naivety was not in any way malicious. He used his magic to levitate the fritters from the floor and attempted to place them back on the plate, however they flew up and covered Applejack's face with apple – eliciting stifled giggles from the dinner table. "Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! I guess my magic is still a little rusty," the grey unicorn felt his face burn up in awkwardness. The apple-covered Earth Pony just laughed.

"It doesn't matter, there's plenty more where that came from. You go sit down and I'll make some more. And girls, go easy on him will ya?" She grinned in the direction of the Cutie Mark Crusaders and then headed back into the kitchen.

---

As the three sat down for what was lunch for everypony except the newly-named Alley, for whom it was breakfast, the stallion decided to ask the question that he'd been avoiding all day.

"So…. Do you know who I am? It's just … I thought I recognised you and your family – do I know you?" Applejack had expected the question to come from the Unicorn sooner or later, she looked back apologetically.

"Sorry, sugarcube, I've spoken to everypony here at Sweet Apple Acres since you asked us back at the hospital, and no one's ever seen you before, you must be mistaken," she noticed Alley slump in his chair. "It's okay though, because me and my friends will help you get your memories back in no time – heck, I bet ya my friend Twilight – she lives over in Ponyville library – she'll probably have some sort of spell that can magic your memory back, just like that!" She smiled reassuringly. Meanwhile, Alley was feeling worse than ever, he had to ignore the familiarity of all these names he kept hearing, which made his job a lot more difficult.

"You're right. And thanks for your help so far." Alley said, before attempting to steer the conversation away from his amnesia. "So, The Cutie Mark Crusaders? What does that mean?" He addressed the three fillies, who had been watching the conversation between the older ponies with concern and confusion. Applejack audibly sighed.

"We're all working together to find our special talents, so that we can earn our cutie marks!" Scootaloo fluttered her wings as she spoke, hovering in mid-air for a few seconds. "Which reminds me, these cutie marks aren't going to get themselves. Come on girls!" The three fillies cheered and shot out of the door, leaving their lunches only half-eaten.

"Don't mind them. Hay, come to think of it – what does your cutie mark mean?" Applejack's question switched a light on in Alley's mind. Perhaps this would be the spark that would light the powder keg of memories. He looked at himself in the mirror that was hanging on the far wall, it was as if he had never seen pony staring back at him. Alley was a tall unicorn, with a short mane of deep crimson and pale blue. It was wild and unruly, as was his tail, a result of a week's neglect. Alley's coat was a dark charcoal and his brightly coloured mane and tail contrasted starkly with it. His eyes passed to his side – where he saw his cutie mark. It was a thought bubble.

"My cutie mark is a thought cloud? What could that mean? I am good at thinking? Dreaming? Am I a philosopher? I have been having some pretty vivid dreams lately, but I can never remember them…" Alley thought aloud, but failed to remember anything useful. "Maybe I'll go and see your friend Twilight, do you think she'll know anything about dreams?" The charcoal pony asked Applejack hopefully.

"You're sure as sugar she will! If Twilight hasn't read a book about it, then it's not worth knowing, but right now you should get some rest – you've had a really bad knock on the head, it's too early for you to go trotting off all over Ponyville." Applejack felt terrible for postponing Alley's attempts at uncovering his memories, but knew that what she'd said was right. The unicorn agreed, he was still feeling woozy and hadn't touched his food. He thanked Applejack for her generosity and kindness, before excusing himself and returning to bed.
Chapter 5 – The Unicorn and Pinkie Pie Part 2

The walk to front gates of The Don's mansion had been quiet. Insomuch, of course, that Alley had not said a word, the Earth Pony he was following, however, had been all too keen to fill the silence. The unicorn was barely listening to the Pink marvel, more worried about the impending slow painful death at the hooves of a sadistic kingpin of crime, which surely awaited them. Pinkie Pie was unperturbed by her new friend's silence, relishing the opportunity to talk in length about a variety of subjects. Alley was initially taken aback by the calmness in his accomplice's voice and the fact that she really didn't seem to think they were in any danger. He half listened as she spoke in disdain of some author or other who was apparently writing something in a way that was unsatisfactory to her, Alley briefly wondered why Twilight hadn't mentioned that there was an author writing in Ponyville, being the librarian, it seemed like something she'd be aware of. The thought was welcome relief from the feeling of doom that shrouded him, but not for very long.

Pinkie bounced along with a large cake box balanced on her head – she had refused Alley's offer of carrying the cake with his magic after seeing how clumsy his magic skills still were when he had dealt with her attackers earlier.

"Here it is!" She suddenly said, she pointed an outstretched hoof at a large mansion in front of her. Before the mansion lay a huge garden, with topiary in the shape of ponies, birds and other animals that Alley couldn't immediately recognise. A large pavement driveway stretched from the house to the street, with several expensive looking carriages dotted up and down it. The enormous, gold coloured fence, judging by the massive spikes on top of each bar, was obviously an important security feature as well as a decoration. The gate however was open, Alley felt a knot in his stomach – it was not normal, as far as he knew, for ponies at the head of an international crime ring to be so lax about their personal security. "Helloooo!" Pinkie was bashing the intercom button with her hoof, but there was no reply. "Hmmm, must not be working. I know! I'll just talk to the guard and ask him to let us in!"

Before Alley had chance to tell Pinkie how ridiculous her idea was, she had gone. The stallion wasn't great at talking at the best of time, but hoped, as he ran to the small guard-station by the front gate, that he could talk his way out of trouble just this once. He put one hoof on the door, desperately readying his story. He decided that he'd tell the guard that they were both travelling salesponies and that his partner had just had a little too much to drink when celebrating a day of good sales. Given that it was nearing the small hours of the morning and Pinkie Pie's natural demeanour, he figured this would be pretty believable. Or at least he hoped it would. He was just about to get an answer when the door flew open, sending Alley hurtling backwards into some shrubbery in the shape of Princess Celestia. "Are you OK? I just got an ear-flop, eye-flutter and then a knee-twitch, that means beware of opening doors – so I rushed out to warn you!" Alley was just getting up from the floor, he'd heard of the so-called Pinkie Sense during the ponies' stories at the party, but this was first time that the unicorn had actually seen it in action.

"I'm fine, what did the guard say – surely he didn't just let us in?" Alley was growing more and more uncomfortable about the situation, which was feat in itself, considering how uncomfortable he'd been before they had even stepped a hoof in the property.

"Oh, he wasn't in…" the Pink pony looked despondent, "I guess we'll just head ba-" The statement which Alley had been waiting to hear since they had left Sugarcube Corner was interrupted by the sound of breaking glass coming from the mansion. The numerous windows of the impressive home were flashing brightly with a variety of different colours and shouting could be heard from inside, although it was impossible to make out what the ponies were saying.  "Flashing lights, ponies shouting… they're having a party! No wonder nopony is guarding this place, they're all inside enjoying the party! Now they'll be super-happy when I deliver their cake, I mean, what's a party without a super-duper awesome-tastic cake?" Pinkie shot towards the mansion and through the front door, which was ajar. Pinkie assumed this was because The Don wanted as many ponies as possible to join in with the festivities.

"Wait! I don't think this is a party!" Alley yelled as he galloped after the impossibly fast Earth Pony. He went inside after Pinkie, noticing that the door was damaged around the lock. "Great," He thought, "now we're breaking in, and it looks like somepony else has got here ahead of us…"

The entrance hall was a huge room, sparsely decorated, the occasional vase lying broken on the floor. The building was largely marble and the room that Pinkie and Alley found themselves in looked more like a hotel lobby than the entrance to somepony's home. That would be the case anyway, if it wasn't for the fact that it looked like a disaster zone. The large framed paintings that once adorned the walls were scattered across the floor. The walls were covered in scorch marks and the large satin curtains which covered the broken windows were on fire.

The relative quiet was broken when two unicorns burst in through the large doors at the end of the hall. Pinkie and Alley froze, Pinkie realising the gravity of the situation for the first time – the sudden occurrence that her life was in danger struck her like a tonne of bricks and she couldn't move to hide. To the relief of both frightened ponies though, the unicorns didn't seem to notice them standing in plain sight as they were too busy trying to kill each other. They dipped and dived as they dodged the blasts of colourful magic that they were firing from their horns, the missed attacks causing even more damage to the room. "Come on! We have to get out of here!" Alley whispered to Pinkie Pie, already edging along the wall, towards the door. There was no reply, however, as the apparently fearless Earth Pony was already moving deeper into the building. "Are you insane!?" was all that the furious unicorn could say as he caught up with her.

"My Pinkie Sense is telling me that something really bad is going to happen to The Don if we don't get to him soon. These people are here to kill him!" Pinkie said, as she led Alley through a series of corridors, going through doors seemingly at random.

"Of course they're trying to kill him, he's a mob boss! Why should we save him? Come on, we can probably still get out of here before anypony notices we're here. How can you even care about this guy, you owe him a small fortune." The unicorn struggled to avoid the Earth Pony, who had stopped dead, anger in her eyes.

"How could you leave another creature to die!?" she said, sounding remarkably like a certain Pegasus she was friends with. "What if Fluttershy had just left you when she found you in that alley? She didn't know if you were a good pony or a bad pony, but she helped you all the same, and you know why? Because she's a good pony, that's why. Now I'm going to save The Don and if you're not, then you just leave me." Alley was flabbergasted by the sudden flow of seriousness and clarity. It hardly seemed like he was talking to the same pony. And he knew she was right. He felt terrible for wanting to leave another pony to die, regardless who it was.

"Wow, crazy… but not stupid." He thought to himself, before turning to Pinkie Pie and speaking quietly, "You're right. I'm sorry. Let's go save this evil master criminal."

"Okey dokey lokey! This way" The frizzy-maned pony had either not detected the sarcasm in Alley's voice during the last part of his apology, or she'd simply chosen to ignore it. Given the wisdom he'd just seen Pinkie portray, Alley guessed it was the latter. Pinkie Pie bounced away down the corridor, her serious side leaving as soon as it had appeared. "This is The Don's office" she said, pointing to an unassuming door, "I remember it from when I came here for his money." The matter-of-fact way in which Pinkie spoke made Alley feel a little better, for some reason.

She opened the door and revealed a grand office, again tarnished by the signs of offensive unicorn magic. On the floor of the office laid an enormous Earth Pony, bigger even than Big Mac – he was hurt, badly with cuts and burns covering most of his body.

"You idiots!" The Don gasped, "What do I even pay you for, I take a beating and you leave me to fight them off on my own!? Why do you think I only hire unicorns? So that I have somepony to back me up when the fight turns to magic, that's…." the Earth Pony struggled with his chain of thought, after being caught it a quite violent coughing fit.

"S…Sorry Mr. Don, Sir, but I don't think we are who you think we are, we… we don't work for you… you see-" Alley's best attempts at edging around the subject of Pinkie's debt were shattered by the pink pony in question.

"My name is Pinkie Pie, remember me? I'm the pony that borrowed all that money from you, then didn't pay you back." Alley cringed, surely they'd be killed now, "Anyway, I bought you this cake so that you'd stop sending meanies around to bully me, because I don't have any money, because I spent it all on parties for my friends – and I hurried here because I thought you might be in trouble, well, first I thought it was a party, but I don't think this is a party, if it is party, it's not like any pa-"

"Enough!" The Don struggled to his feet, he was visibly swaying and had to rest one hoof against his desk to stay standing – Alley knew all too well how that felt, but was too busy expecting to die to appreciate the irony of the situation. "You're telling me that you risk your own safety to rescue a pony that you owe money, a lot of money, if I remember correctly… which I always do. You must be insa-"

"Yep! Well, first I came to give you cake, but then I stayed to save you" Pinkie interjected. There was a brief pause before The Don spoke again,

"Hm. Why exactly, you think I'm gonna cancel your debt just like that?"

"Well, the cake was so you'd cancel the debt, it's a really good cake! But we just saved you because you're a pony, and pony save other ponies that are in trouble." Pinkie glanced towards Alley for a moment, smiling knowingly, "That's just what you do." There was an agonising silence as The Don contemplated his next words.

"You two ponies have guts, and honour – that's not easy to come by, I should know. My own unicorn guards abandon me to join some kid that's taking over this town... I have nothing now, this legacy that I've worked on for years, the family business, gone. My grandpa will be rolling in his grave." Pinkie looked as if she was going to make a comment about how The Don's grandfather rolling in his grave sounded like he was having fun, but Alley gave her a look that told her it was probably best to stay quiet, just this once, " I couldn't take back my money from you even if I wanted to. I don't have the means, I don't have the ponypower, I don't have anything – just leave. Now. I have to get my affairs in order, from what I've heard this new kid doesn't like loose ends."

"You know, those ponies don't know that you're still alive, if you left now you'd be able to start off somewhere new, they'd be none the wiser." Alley thought he'd break his silence. He was actually starting to pity this fallen giant.

"Hm. I wandered when you'd say something. You're right of course, but what's the point? Why run, when there's nothing to take with you?"

"But you do have something, Donny," Alley cringed for a third time at Pinkie's new nickname for the former crime boss, "you have your life and your imagination - for planning parties and your mouth – for laughing and your memories of all the crimey things that you've done that were probably fun to you, and loads of other things that those mean ponies can never take away from you. Your grandpa won't be all spinny in his grave now, but he would be if he saw you give up, you should go somewhere and start a new family business, in Fillydelphia or Canterlot! You could be the new Apple Family! Or maybe open a place like Sugarcube Corner! Oh! I know one more thing you can take with you. This cake." Pinkie Pie passed the cake box to The Don, who almost smiled.

"You know what? You're crazy, but you're right! I'm not gonna let these foals buck me around, I'm gonna live! You know, I've always wanted to own a restaurant? I could move to Manehatten, Fillydelphia, open up a little store or a diner! A real family business! I'm gonna leave here through the back exit, you'd better go out through the front. Make sure you break as much stuff as possible on the way out, I don't want that kid getting hold of anything that might be valuable! And… thanks."

"No problem, Donny!"

"Hm. Donny… I like that. Donny's Diner…."

And with that the ordeal, or adventure, depending on whether you listen to the pink Earth Pony's story, or the charcoal unicorn's, was over. The fighting had long-since subsided, The Don's unicorns realising they were beat and swapping sides, abandoning the mansion and leaving their leader, who they presumed was dead. Pinkie had happily thrown several priceless artefacts out of a window, before Alley rather churlishly demanded they return home, not wanting to stay there any longer than was necessary.

When the unicorn finally returned to Sweet Apple Acres, the sun was rising and Big Mac and Applejack where just leaving to work on the farm. He struggled to explain where he'd been and what had happened. The Earth Ponies, who had been worried sick when he hadn't returned home, seemed unconvinced with his answers.

However, upon hearing that he'd been on an outing with Pinkie Pie, they became less demanding, accepting his confusing tale and letting him go to bed; apparently this kind of wild ride wasn't as unusual in Ponyville as Alley thought it really should be. He didn't go to bed immediately, the tiredness he obviously felt was secondary to the adrenaline he had only just noticed pumping through his veins. The thought occurred to him that he could very well have died last night and never found out about himself. He vowed to himself that he'd focus on his memories from now on, although he had strangely enjoyed his time with Pinkie Pie.

"I must thank her for that party." He thought, before drifting into some must-needed sleep.
Chapter 6 – The Unicorn and Twilight Sparkle

Alley awoke with vigour that he hadn't felt since appearing in Ponyville several days ago. He'd slept a good ten hours and the Pinkie debacle was now just a memory. For the unicorn, this was the day that he'd get back on track; his quest to find his memories no longer an afterthought. He planned out his day in his mind. It consisted of nothing more than thanking Pinkie Pie for a bizarre, but ultimately brilliant night, with the most bizarre, but ultimately brilliant pony he could think of. Then he'd go to Twilight Sparkle's library and try to piece together his memories.

"Maybe I should tell her about my…. DREAMS!" Alley again scampered around in his own mind trying to remember the details of the dream he'd had the previous night, if he'd even dreamt at all. He felt a strange calmness surge over him as he accepted that he had forgotten his dream. It didn't worry him too much, as he had become accustomed to the feeling and had decided that panicking over something that has already passed isn't going to help anypony.

The grey unicorn was then shocked almost out of his skin as he saw his horn glow in and a large dark swirling cloud coming from the magic around it. Alley was certain that he wasn't controlling these actions, but the magic was definitely coming from his horn. The clouds created a small vortex in front of the unicorn's eyes. In the eye of the storm Alley saw himself, wandering through the Everfree Forest with the six ponies he'd met several days ago. He instantly recognised last night's dream, the memories coming, as memories often do, in confusing non-sequesters, that were clarified as he watched the scene unfold in the storm clouds in front of his eyes. Alley gazed into his subconscious;

---

Alley walked through the forest, it was dark and unruly, but there was a clearly defined path through the woods. He didn't feel particularly unsafe, but recognised that he'd probably be feeling a lot different if he wasn't with the Elements Of Harmony. They'd battled dangers much worse than anything that this forest could throw at them. That said, Fluttershy was much less convinced about her own safety, deciding that she would in the middle of the group of ponies, so that she didn't have to walk to close to the edge of the path where things could jump from the undergrowth and grab her.

"C'MON!" A booming voice shook the forest. Alley clamped his hooves over his ear, but the voice had already stopped, leaving a ringing in his eardrums and a migraine in his head. The other ponies stopped and stared at him, confusion plastered across their faces. Rainbow Dash hovered above the group.

"What's up, Alley?" She said, looking genuinely confused. Alley got up from the foetal position he had unknowingly adopted when the voice startled him.

"Seriously, no one else heard that voice? It was deafening, like a-"
"ONE MORE TIME! WE OWE HIM THAT MUCH!"
"Argh, there it is again! Oh Celestia, my ears!" The voice continued to boom down on the forest. Or more accurately, solely on Alley, who writhed on the floor in pain, his teeth gritted tightly and tears streaming down his face. The ponies stood dumbfounded for several seconds, before Rarity finally spoke.

"Alley, are you alright!?" was all she could think to say. She looked at her friends for guidance, who all looked confused and concerned in equal measures. They looked towards Twilight.

"Erm – he is recovering from a really bad head injury. Maybe taking him to the Everfree Forest wasn't such a good idea," Twilight wondered why her friends always turned to her in times of panic. She didn't really mind, of course, in fact she was flattered by it, but in this particular instance she had no idea what she could do to help. That's when salvation came. From Fluttershy, of all ponies.

"Oh dear," She stepped towards Alley, who was still writhing in pain, drifting in and out of consciousness. The sight of another creature in pain troubled her to her very core, she needed to do something to ease his suffering, and fast. "we need to get him back to the hospital! Me and Dash will carry him there, it's the fastest way we can get there." The rainbow Pegasus in question stared at Fluttershy, it was very rare that her timid friend would ever volunteer to fly a great distance, especially when carrying another pony, who was much bigger that herself. Dash was about to make a quip when she looked into Fluttershy's eye, they were brimming with tears, but showing a steely determination that was only show when she thought one of her friends was in danger.

Alley woke up, groggy and still in agonising pain. It took him a surprisingly long time to realise he was now high above the Everfree Forest, with Rainbow Dash clutching one of his forehooves and Fluttershy holding the other. Alley was momentarily frightened, but was in too much pain and lacking the levels of consciousness he needed to question the situation. The voices had stopped, but the noise most certainly hadn't. Huge lightning bolts shot down from the dark clouds that circled overhead. Alley tried to warn the pegusi, who apparently couldn't see this happening, just like they couldn't hear the noises. He shouted to Rainbow, but all that came from his mouth was a croaky squeak.

A huge bolt struck Alley square in the chest, causing him to convulse wildly. His sudden movements shook him loose of the two pegasi's hooves. He looked up towards them as he fell, a look of despair across both their faces. Fluttershy sobbed as Rainbow Dash tried, in vain, to catch up with the falling unicorn. He was not frightened as he plummeted back towards the forest, just calm and resignation.


---

The storm clouds in Alley's bedroom dissipated. Seeing his nightmare while awake was considerably more frightening than experiencing it first-hand when he was sleeping. He started to realise why his mind had locked this away from his conscious thoughts.

"Well… I guess I know what this means now…" Alley looked at his cutie mark. His voice was shaky. He stopped to consider the practical application of being able to see ponies' dreams, but this was too big of an issue and he'd already lost a good portion of the morning rediscovering his cutie mark. He headed to Sugarcube Corner, buoyed by the new information he'd discovered about himself, but disappointed that it did not prompt any further memories, such as his cutie mark story, what pony doesn't remember that?

---

As he cantered through Ponyville, Alley started to wonder what significance, if any his dreams had. Dreams were in a way, a portal into the inner workings of his mind, the parts that were inaccessible while you were awake. He remembered hearing somepony say that the subconscious stores every single thing that happens to you every day, no matter how mundane and even if the pony thinks they've actually forgotten it. This is why ponies lives are said to flash before their eyes when they are in moments of dire threat. Your mind is searching randomly through information that could help in the situation, that one thing you'd forgotten you knew that will now save your life. Or conversely, you remember your Uncle's birthday party and you die.

Alley couldn't remember how he knew this, or even whether it was true or not, but it gave him hope that his memories were locked away somewhere deep in his mind and that his new talent could help him to reveal them.

Time had passed faster than Alley had wanted and before he knew it the sun was directly above his head. It was midday already and the unicorn really wanted to get to Twilight's before it was too late. He promised himself, once more, that he'd thank Pinkie for her party – but now, there were more important things to worry about.

---

Alley knocked on the door of Ponyville library; it was answered by a little dragon who he'd had never met before, but who seem familiar,

"Hey, this is where Twilight Sparkle lives, isn't it?" Alley was suddenly flushed with embarrassment, surely he hadn't knocked on the wrong ponies house? No, even worse, he's knocked on a dragon's house – this baby dragon's dad is not going to be happy to find out he's been disturbed for nothing. Alley's mind was racing, but he was interrupted by the baby dragon, before he had chance to consider why a dragon was living in a house,

"Yeah, Twilight'll be back in a second, I'm Spike – her number one assistant!" the little dragon puffed his chest out proudly,

"Oh right, hello Spike, Twilight mentioned you at the party." Spike nodded back to Alley with a grin on his face. He was evidently pleased that Twilight had mentioned him to her new friend. He ushered Alley into the house and onto the sofa,

"You want some tea?" Spike asked, already pouring it out – presuming that the answer would be affirmative, which it was. It always was. He watched as Alley clumsily tried to drink the tea with his hooves, rather than using magic. Much of the tea was dribbling down the unicorn's chin, who looked up and noticed the confused look on the little guy's face.

"Sorry about this, I'm not too good with the whole magic thing, you see. I seem to have lost that when I lost all of my memories… I don't know why, but it just feels like this body doesn't even belong to me, you know?"

"That's because it doesn't." Alley spat his tea out as he turned to see that Twilight had returned and was listening to his conversation. That, however, was not what caused the spit-take. Behind Twilight stood Princess Celestia, filling the room with the radiant glow that seemed to project from her fur and feathers. Whatever was going on, Alley had the feeling he had moved a lot closer to the truth. He felt as if he was about to find something out, and he wasn't going to like it.
Chapter 7- A rude awakening, and the truth revealed…..

"What…..what do you mean?" Alley stammered nervously. "I mean," Princess celestia started smoothly, "that you are-" her voice was cut off as his vision flickered and he felt dizzy. He could hear her faintly, and then it was over. "Alley?  Alley? Are you ok….." He heard with alarm as her voice became deeper…….almost like….his mom's? and he heard another voice, a male voice, but there was no colts in the room……and the voices weren't calling alley…they were calling…..Oli? His vision went out, the dizziness overcame him, and he collapsed on the ground.

When he awoke, he looked around. He was no longer in ponyville. His gaze rested blearily on a heartbeat monitor, and then he turned to the 2 people in the room. His mom, and……." Who-who are you? Where am I?" Oli asked, his voice scratchy as if he had not used it in a long time. "Me?" the male asked. "I'm…..your best friend, Dan."he said.  "What….what am I doing here?" Oli stammered. "You were…in a plane crash…" his mothers voice trailed off, and tears welled up in her eyes. That would explain the voices he heard in the forest……. His mother began to sob. "I'm…..just so happy your alright….." she broke down crying. "How do you feel, mate? You think you can eat?" His friend asked. Oli nodded.


"So, we were flying……and we just crashed?" Oli asked, after he and his friend had talked over some hospital food. "Yeah……that's all I can remember…" Dan said. "but, what would explain the……ponies and…….the voices and the dreams…….." "Not sure, man. Not sure." Dan said. "But one things for sure, something happened……..and im not sure what……" "Well, ponies are my way of….relieving stress……" Oli said, embarrassed. "Wait, your telling me…….." "Well, I was daydreaming, and the plane in a storm cuased me stress, and so……………." "You lost control……." Dan finished. "Stupid ponies nearly killed you, and yet……………." Dan stopped talking and stormed out.

Chapter 8- the ending.

Oli's mom checked him out of the hospital, and he tried to talk to his friend Dan, who was still not talking to him. "Is it over the ponies?" Oli asked. "The ponies? THE PONIES?!?!? That's all you care, huh? Not if your friend is all right, not if,  I don't know, if anyone was hurt by us in our crash, no. Just the stupid ponies!" Dan said, then stormed off to his car and drove away.
That was end of a friendship, and even though friendship is magic, sometimes magic won't get you far.

THE END! Finally!

I thank you all for reading this!