After everything that had happened, one might expect that a unicorn would never regain their life. It was true that he had his memories back, but there was something else missing. Hokey Smokes knew who he was supposed to be, knew what he had to do, but that was slightly less important to him than what he was missing. Where was his family? Where were his friends? The stallion had names of ponies, names of cities, but the two of them had brought him nowhere. Manehattan had been a bust, and Canterlot didn’t have a single pony who knew the ponies he was referring to. Somepony had told him to go to Appleloosa, but that hadn’t really made sense to him. Why would his family go somewhere that was filled to the brim with settler ponies? There was also the fact that the majority of what he heard made them all sound like earth ponies. His parents were both unicorns, just as he was. All of that meant that he was two months in, from the whole incident with Twilight and Luna, and there was not a single place that he knew he could stay at.

Hokey Smokes had actually taken to wandering rather quickly. There were always people who would pay for a good show, and magic was something that he had a slight grasp on. Even with his memories, the knowledge of how to do the spells, there was something that wasn’t quite right. Every time he tried to perform a spell, even one that he should have been able to do, it didn’t work. It was almost as if he was a little foal again, trying to learn them for the first time. If only Luna had stayed, maybe she would be able to help me understand this. At the very least, she could have pointed me toward figuring out where I could go to fix whatever problem is stopping me from doing much more than lifting things. Eyes looked up, not paying attention to anything that was going on around him. It started to seem weird that he was able to just wander around and make money. In a few towns, he heard about a great unicorn that possessed great power. He never got a name, but the words about her being the pupil of the princess were enough to make sure that he didn’t want to run into her.

Eyes looked back on the path that he had been walking, and a few blinks came next. It wasn’t that he had been trying to steer clear of this town, but there wasn’t any reason that he was there. Didn’t he say that I should follow the path that leads out of Canterlot to Baltimare, which is to the east? Then, and I think I remember this correctly, take the exit on the north side of town. That would lead me right to the town of Trottingham. It’s exactly where I was supposed to go, right? Hokey Smokes had stopped, glancing up in the air again as he tried to think of exactly how it was that he had turned up here instead of there. Another few minutes passed, and then came the realization that he was completely wrong. It hadn’t been north from Trottingham; it had actually been the direction from a previous journey. It was north from Manehattan that he had first run into the town of Fillydalphia.

Had he really gotten so confused in only a couple of months of travel? It had been almost nonstop, true, but it just seemed to be a huge mistake that he shouldn’t have made. His stomach started to rumble, the clear sign that he needed food. How could he show his face back in Ponyville? He wasn’t even sure he wanted to be there, the entire town was filled with ponies who he had likely angered. After all, Twilight Sparkle seems like she’s a pillar of the community. They all care for her; they all seem to like having her around. Or maybe it was just the noise. Either way, I doubt it’s a good idea to simply go into the town. Another rumble of his stomach came, almost as if to tell him that his stubborn pride was going to cost him, and then he let out a sigh. Hokey Smokes had to figure out what he was going to do. If he went into town, he might be able to make some bits. After that, he could leave and never show up again. The only other option that he had lay with stubbornness. He could refuse to go into town, and he could go hungry for the night. Manehattan wasn’t far, but it was starting to get dark.

And staying out might have the benefit of letting me lay out on the ground again. Then again, I don’t know anyone in Ponyville that would let me stay with them. Oh what I would do for a nice wagon right about now. I would take great care of it, and likely be able to make a huge spectacle of myself. Ponies love a good show, and I could provide. Maybe I could even get as much money as that showmare that I heard a lot about. What was her name again? A few seconds later, it came to him. He should have remembered somepony who referred to herself as the Great and Powerful Trixie. Of course, she likely has a lot of magic. I’m not quite as skilled, unfortunately. I know how it should work, but… I don’t know. Something isn’t right at all. The few minutes of thinking hadn’t made the decision any easier, but he soon decided to stay near Ponyville for the night. There was something about the town that made him feel safe. It could have been the scenery, or maybe it was the fact that everypony seemed to quickly react when he had gone in to confront Twilight Sparkle.

Around half an hour later, the night having taken full hold by now, Hokey Smokes came upon a destination. It looked like an orchard of some sort. He would just have to find a good place to rest for the night, and then he could leave in the morning. Aside from that, it looked as though there might be a few apples that wouldn’t be missed. There were plenty of trees. All he would have to do was remove a couple, eat them, and then find some way to make sure that the cores were never found by anypony who could link them to him. All in all, it was a good plan. A single apple was pulled down, and quickly eaten. Afterwards, he practically collapsed beside one of the trees and went to sleep. He hadn’t even been able to hide the core, the exhaustion from the travels seemingly hitting him at once.