"Dammit!!" Czar slammed his fist on the wooden table, causing a bottle of ink to topple over, covering the table with black liquid. He cleaned up the ink and tossed the empty ink bottle in a waste basket with his magic. "How can he just up and leave like that..."

"I-I dunno," Terra's eyes started to tear up, "but, he might've left to go after him."

Czar began to cough violently. He pulled a cloth from his cloak pocket and brought it to his mouth. He coughed into it, sending bits of saliva and blood into its threads. Gasping haggardly for breath, Czar cleared his throat and tossed the damp rag onto the table. He cleared his throat, and muttered solemnly, "If Quarrel doesn't kill me, this damned disease will..."

***

"You’re horrible!! How could you do something like that!? Just leave, Epee!!"

The image came with an intense migraine that hammered your brain. You sat down on a nearby bench, your pain ridden body unable to support itself. All the girls rushed by you, Fluttershy being the only one of them to sit next to you.

"Are you alright, what's happening?" They all say, Fluttershy's voice holding the most concern.

You didn't respond right away. You held your head in our hands, feeling the pain pulsate throughout your skull. The pain subsided after a couple seconds, and you lower one hand, still holding your head with the other. As you sat there, questions popped into your head. Who was that girl? Why was she yelling at you? A sudden realization morphed from the barrage of questions. She was yelling at you. She called your name. You remembered your name!

"Are you alright dear? You look pale," Rarity asked, a look of worry cast over her face.

"E....Epee..." You mutter...

What was that, sugarcube?" Applejack asked.

"I...remembered something...My name." you say softly. "My name is Epee." You stand up, shaking your head slightly. "Sorry for worrying you, should we get going?" You say with a smile.

"Did you remember anything else, darling?" Rarity questioned.

Damn, you think to yourself, she just had to go and ask. You sigh. "Yeah...it was someone yelling...it was a girl, looked to be a teenager-"

Dash cut you off. "Ooh, a girl? A past lover maybe?" she teased.

"Maybe, I dunno," you sigh.

Dash had a look of minute surprise. "O-oh..."

"What all did she say?" Twilight asked.

"She said...she said, 'You're horrible. How could you do something like that? Just leave Epee...'"

Everyone grows quiet, leaving a solemn air about the group.

"Wh-what did she look like?" Twilight stammered out.

"She had shoulder length red hair, looked kind of petite, and had a horn."

Twilight mulled it over. She sighed, "Doesn't sound like anypony I know...I'm sorry."

"No, it's alright," You tell her. "Where should we go next?"

"Is anypony thirsty?" Pinkie started, her hyperness fading a bit, "Cuz I could really go for some sweet apple cider right now." Everyone including you gave Pinkie a weird look. She faltered, and recovered. "E-err, nonalcoholic cider, of course."

***

Your fingers numb from the ice cold sweet apple cider. Nonalcoholic cider, of course. You barely had drank it, only taking sips ever once in a while. The words the girl yelled to you repeated in your head over and over, seeing her scream them, tears streaking down her cheeks. "You're horrible! Just leave, Epee!!"

"You ok, sugarcube?" Applejack's concerned voice sounded out before she downed her sweet liquid apple essence. She tossed the empty plastic bottle in a nearby trashcan, and caught back up with the group.

"Yeah," you lie, taking another sip of your cider.

"If you say so..." said Applejack, seeing through your fib.

"Ooh, I know!" Pinkie exclaimed, her adorable hyperness returning, obviously attempting to bring a smile to your lips, "Let's go to Sugarcube Corner!! My sweets are guaranteed to turn that frown upside down!"

"I-I'm not frowning," You argue, your cheeks turning a light shade of pink. She was an inch from your face. Her breath smelled...sweet. Not a sick odor of sugar, but as if her toothpaste was bubblegum flavored. And...Cotton candy? Maybe it was her hair, you thought. It did have a look of poofy cotton candy. That fact didn't change the shade of your cheeks, though.

"C-come on Pinkie, give Epee his personal space," Dash said, pulling her back. Annoyance was slightly present in her voice. But, it didn't sound as if she was annoyed that Pinkie Pie was being a tad intruding, but something else. She looked up at you, and blushed barely, just barely, so faint it was hard to notice, and looked back.

The bell that alerts storeowners of an arriving customer rung as Pinkie bounced into Sugarcube Corner, bubbliness almost cracking your face into a small smile.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Cake!" Pinkie happily exclaimed.

The sudden overload of activity startled the two elderly shop owners. "Oh! Oh, hello Pinkie..." Mrs. Cake sighed, hand over her heart in an attempt to calm its palpation. She took notice to you. "Who's this? A new friend?"

"E-er-" you start before Pinkie cuts you off.

"Yeah, his name's Epee, Fluttershy found him hurt on the path to her house night before last, and she took him in her house. He doesn't remember anything though, well other than his name he just found out a while ago, but other than that, not a thing! He doesn't have anywhere to live either, come to think of it..." She paused in thought for half a second, and then resumed to pour out more words. "We were walking around to give him a tour of Ponyville, and we stopped to get something to drink, but he wasn't smiling, so I brought him here to get some sweets to make him smile!" She said all that without ever stopping for breath.

"Wait...what just happened?" You say, marveled at the speech Pinkie Pie just blabbered out.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," Twilight sighed.

"Oh dear, you look like you just left a war-zone," Mrs. Cake gasped, seeing the bandages on your arms and head. "I wondered what happened..."

"So do I," you sigh, your slight frown returning. Pinkie took notice to the state of your lips and frowned herself.

"You're frowning more and more, we need to get you a lollipop, STAT!" She grabbed a lollipop from the counter, and put in your hand. "Eat this; it'll make your smile come back!"

"We might as well get some for ourselves..." Twilight thought. She grabbed a lollipop for the group and left a few coins on the counter.

"Come back soon, we'll help anyway we can!" Mr. and Mrs. Cake called out as you all walked out of the store.

The group walked about the streets of Ponyville, enjoying Pinkie Pie's sweets. The words continue to play in your head, repeating again and again like a broken record, repeating the same track. "Just leave Epee!! You're horrible!"

You had the lollipop in your mouth, sucking its sweet flavor. It had made your mind feel a bit at ease, but you were still demoralized from seeing that image, and hearing those words...seeing her cry...you must had done something really bad...

Pinkie Pie took notice to your bubble of depression, and appeared two inches in front of you again, causing you to stop. She had a look of sadness cast over her face.

"Does my candy...not make you smile?" Pinkie said, eyes shining over, threatening the appearance of tears. You start to fluster.

N-no, it's not that at all! Your sweets are delicious!!"

Then...how come you're not smiling...?" Pinkie asked, her voice cracking.

Oh crap. "I assure you, you're sweets are amazing, they aren't making me not smile. In fact, it's really the only thing that's helping me right now," you assured her. After seeing that girl cry in your memories, you never want to bring that level of sadness to anyone ever again.

Pinkie still stays silent.

"Look, your sweets aren't the cause of my, er, not smiling, in truth, I think this candy is the main thing that's keeping me from being a sad sack altogether." You smile, hoping that that it would be the trick to get Pinkie out of her haze.

She smiled, satisfied that you were enjoying her candy. "Ok, Epee, I believe you," out of completely nowhere, she hugs you tight. You blush and a noise that was a mix of embarrassment and shock escapes your lips.

"Well," Applejack chuckled, "ain't you jus the lil' Casanova, huh?" she teased.

"W-w-wait, I'm n-not-"

You were cut off by Fluttershy, Applejack, Twilight, Rarity, and Dash's laughter. You continue to blush as the bubbly adolescent holds you tight. She finally let go, leaving you flustered and confused. As you all began to continue on the walk through Ponyville, Pinkie began to walk next to you.

"Thank you..." She whispered, so only you could here. You look to her, confused. She ignored your look of confusion and began to initiate in the small talk with the rest of the group. You were left clueless on why Pinkie showed so much affection to you. The group acted as if it wasn't too common, but not strange either. You decided to worry about it later.

***

After the tour was finished, you all had returned back to Fluttershy's cottage.

"Well, that was fun, wouldn't you agree?" Twilight said to you as you all entered Fluttershy's warm, welcoming abode. You nodded, and let the scent of nature relax your sore muscles. The walk had taken a lot out of you, as did the whole scene of acrobatics. You all had stopped for lunch before returning, so the weight of the food you consumed slowed you down, yearning for a rest.

Pinkie's words at Sugarcube Corner reminded you of something.

"Um..." you start, "I don't have any place to stay, so err...I-is it alright if I stay with one of you?" you ask.

"Hm...I don't think we have any room in the library..." Twilight dwelled on the request.

Applejack thought about it as well. "Ah don' think so either...sorry, Epee,"

"No, its fine, thanks for considering it, AJ," you reassure her.

"Only pegasi can walk on clouds, so my place is out of the question," Dash sighed. "Too bad you can't stay with someone as awesome as me, huh?" She teased.

"Yeah, a real shame," You say sarcastically.

"What about you Rarity?" Twilight asks.

"Hm, no, I don't either, sadly, sorry dear." Rarity responded.

Pinkie didn't have any room either, and you were quite disappointed at that particularly. You wanted to understand why she acted so affectionate towards you.

Everyone eliminated, all eyes turned to Fluttershy. Embarrassed by being the sudden center of all the attention, she blushed and hid her face behind her pink, rosy curl. "Y-yes?" She asked timidly.

"Do you have any space free for Epee to stay here, dear?" Rarity asked.

"U-um...I guess, I mean, um...s-sure, th-there's a spare room, d-down the hall you can use, E-Epee..."

"You sure? I don't want to intrude. I mean, you seem timid enough, so I don't want to make you uncomfortable in your own house." You say, worried you'd cause inconvenience to Fluttershy.

"I think it's a nice opportunity for her to get more comfortable around you," Twilight advised. "Don't you think so too, Fluttershy?"

She squeaked, and hid her face behind her hair again. "S-sure, I guess..."

"Then it's settled! Epee, you'll be staying with Fluttershy from now on, so get comfy together, you two!" Pinkie nudged Epee with her shoulder, a sly smile forming on her lips. You didn't want to even think about what she was implying.

Fluttershy blushed, while you just looked confused. "Sorry to make you go through all this trouble, you all," you say.

"Oh, don't be darling, it's our pleasure to help you," Rarity assured you.

"Well, we should get going," Twilight said, standing up.

"Yes, let's," Rarity agreed, "We've been away from our jobs for quite a while, we need to get back to work."

Sorry, for making you fall behind on work, you guys," you apologize sadly.

"No, don't be, like Rarity said, it's our pleasure to help anypony in need," Dash told you.

"Yeah, we enjoy helping others!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Yeah, don't sweat it," Applejack added.

"Thanks, guys, you're all a great help."

"Oh, no need to flatter us, we know we're already awesome," Dash boasted.

"You're very modest aren't you?" you sarcastically ask.

Everyone laughed, and said their goodbyes as they all departed back to their homes and jobs.

Only you and Fluttershy were left, save the small critters milling about.

You looked to Fluttershy, and she only squeaked and hid her blushing face behind her hair. You sighed. This was going to take some getting used to.