Author's Notes:

Here it is - Act 2! It's been a while, but hopefully, you still enjoy the story as it is!

If you're all caught up, lucky you! You will be the main character again!

I most likely am going to be leaving the rest of the story in 2nd Person - and probably rare 3rd person - but switching characters whenever needed. First person is difficult to properly accomplish, and though 2nd person limits the freedom of the reader in a way, it seems that more people just generally prefer it.

So I guess it'll stay after all.

Enjoy Act 2! Also, here's the new intro!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_o1QdvsEhpU

"Welcome back."

The circle was quiet.

It was always quiet. Whenever they came here, no pony - no one - said a single word. It wasn't always out of shyness or fear or even rejection. Perhaps they simply had nothing to say.

Nothing to say at all.

But soon enough, the voices came to, and they greeted their leader as he greeted them.

"Good morning, counselor," they all said in near unison.

Many of them had smiles on their faces. Some didn't even want to be there.

It was still a mix.

But it was working.

The counselor got up from his chair and walked into the middle of his twenty-something students and sat down on the warm, soft carpet. He would do this for a while. For the past week, he would do that same thing.

"Have you all been careful?" he asked. "Safe?"

They all knew what he meant.

One month, and enough to rebuild, but the world was still somewhat crazy.

Not right yet.

But they nodded. All of them nodded. They were safe, careful.

Spike too.

He has always been here.

Sometimes, he was quiet. Other times, he would talk on and on about his day to everyone here, and that itself would spark new conversations, new friendships, anything to help him.

Help.

"I know we haven't seen each other in a few weeks," the counselor spoke up. "...These...crazy few weeks..."

Crazy.

Such an understatement.

"...But I'm glad that you all have...managed to hold on still - never let go of the troubles that have plagued us, of the monsters that we've all faced.

"...I'm proud of you. Every single one of you."

Some smiled. Others didn't, but were just as grateful.

At some point, they weren't.

Spike wasn't once.

The day came when he wasn't, and he wanted to-...

But he didn't.

"Does anyone have...anything...that they would like to say?"

A few looked at each other. Curious too.

"Experiences? Hopes?"

For a few moments, nopony - no one - answered his question. A number of reasons, really.

Pain. Misery.

Despair.

No hope.

A mare - no older than 15, some believed- slowly raised a hoof to the group.

"Yes, River?"

River Drop. She was new. None of them saw her before. Who was she? Where was she from?

The counselor knew her before anyone else.

She greeted herself with her full name, and everyone greeted her back. Many of them smiled. It was necessary.

They needed to be comfortable. She needed to be comfortable.

So she started talking about herself.

She's sixteen. A year off from what everyone thought. Close.

She was from Detrot. Lived there for years with her family. She came down here to visit her grandparents at the time. From what she described, her grandparents were a nice bunch of ponies that you would've ever met. Her parents were not as caring. It wasn't to say they didn't care. They definitely did.

Not enough.

Detrot was wiped out. Most of the city is smoldering, burning wreckage of what it once was.

Her parents didn't make it.

At least - that's what she knows, or thinks. The Guard doesn't let anyone in the city.

"Too much of a hazard," they told her.

Who could blame them?

Spike could remember the trips he and Twilight had to take. Several towns, several cities.

All burnt. All broken.

There were some that were quick to act - they sustained the least damage. Hit the softest or not at all.

Hayward, it's a small town far west. It's been reported as one of the few - very few - towns to have not been hit at all, stopped by just a mile's worth of time. No injuries. No damage. The only change was a loss of their electricity.

Something they could live without, regardless.

River kept talking. Her grandparents made it.

Everyone made it here in Ponyville. It was surprising. Spike was surprised. So many towns, so much destruction, so many lives lost - but Ponyville was one of those towns that were lucky enough to sustain no loss of life.

And it was simple why. Everypony listened. No one was ignorant to stay.

And surely they weren't ignorant when even the Guard told them to get out.

Yes...they survived, sure...but the memories made...

Her grandparents' house was destroyed.

Gone. Lost and burnt with the rest. Every memory, photo, decoration, models - nothing more but ash and dust. They were distraught. Troubled. They didn't know what to do. They didn't know what to feel.

They lost that. Feeling. Emotion.

That was gone with everything else.

Even after a new house was built for them...

...It wasn't the same. How could it have been?

They stayed at Applejack's farm for a while after it happened. Everyone did.

The whole farm became a sanctuary for everyone who wasn't far enough from town or lived in the sky-...

Like some.

River stopped talking. Some gave her a gentle pat on the back. A few gave her hugs.

It wasn't as emotional as they thought.

"I stopped crying," she said.

It was a lie. Spike knew it.

He didn't say it.

A moment of silence arose. It was awkward throughout the corner as the counselor looked at all of his students. Many of them ponies, some gryphons...

One, dragon.

He pointed.

"What about you, Spike?"

Everyone turned to him.

He reacted, but didn't immediately begin or do or say.

"What has happened for you? ...Surely, Princess Twilight has taken you along throughout this ordeal."

They all knew about him, his relations with Twilight. It was no secret.

At first - the dragon said nothing. He felt hesitant, but at the same time, there were so many things in his mind that he could be willing to talk about. But what could he - would he - talk about?

They were aware of the efforts, the journeys, the meetings and the discussions between the princesses.

The survived ones, of course.

He opened his mouth, but nothing came out at first. He was thinking of what to start with, what to say.

It didn't take long. The words began to flow.

"Last week, Twilight and I...we, uh...we-...went to Los Pegasus to...to give a speech to the survivors, to those in need. Helping in the efforts and...

"...and all that."

The young dragon didn't speak again right away, but was waiting for someone, anyone, to perhaps ask a question.

River raised her hoof. He looked to her to let her know, I'm listening.

"...What was it like? The place, I...mean."

...It was a good question. Spike was sure that ponies like River or the others around him had never seen the rest of Equestria following the whole...

So he knew it was out of mere curiosity.

And he wasn't going to sugarcoat it.

"It was hell."

Many of them looked at him with wider eyes, looks of surprise.

But he kept talking.

"Half the city was gone. The streets were crowded with ponies trying to get from one place to another. So many of them didn't even have homes anymore.

"A lot of buildings were just...rubble. Nothing but bits and pieces of brick, steel, and concrete. Even when we were there, some of the buildings were still on fire. But...but once the water came to the place, they weren't a problem anymore."

Someone else asked him another question. It was a kid, probably a bit younger than River herself.

"How many dead bodies did you see?"

A few of them didn't like that, but he could only remark the question because "he was curious".

Spike had a feeling he'd never seen a dead body before.

"A lot."

He did.

"A lot of them were in body bags. There were a few ponies we saw on the streets that were desperate...dying. We wanted to help them at the time, but...we didn't have what we needed yet. But when we did, and when we could finally help...

"...They were gone.

"Some of them, we had to put them in the bags ourselves. Hm...Twilight didn't want me to do it...but I insisted.

"It was the least that I could do for them...

"Especially when we weren't even able to help them."

The crowd was a mix of all kinds of emotions. Sorrow, sadness, maybe a bit of confusion and frustration at all of the chaos. Everyone had the right to be so about it. They all had the right to be angry or sad or frustrated at the destruction, the chaos, the death, the...everything.

No one expected it to happen. No one knew it could happen.

But it did.

But no more than a few seconds passed before the dragon looked up to them with a hopeful smile.

It made them even smile - just a little.

"...But, uh...something good did happen...for once."

The counselor asked him, "And what is that?" He smiled.

Spike smiled more.

He breathed in and out quickly. When he had the air to talk, he started to ask them about him. They all knew quickly who he referred to. The only one who didn't was River. And he took the moment to explain exactly who he was.

And the dragon didn't hesitate to do so. He referred to him as "one of the nicest guys you'd ever meet." He was never far from the truth. The few that took the time to know him knew he was indeed nice. He would go out of his way to help someone, and even if he-...even if he messed up, he would always try to make it up. Somehow, some way, he would try and make it up to that pony.

Some believed he was more misunderstood than a "nuisance" to the public eye.

Some believe he wasn't.

Opinions, opinions.

In the end, he was someone.

"And what exactly about him Spike?" the counselor looked at him with somewhat of a hopeful eye to him. "Did something happen to him? Something good...perhaps?"

They all knew what the counselor was talking about. It was no secret. What happened then...it was news for the world. Of course - why wouldn't one of the world's former notorious criminal bosses beating in the head of an innocent passerby be considered news?

But that was in the past.

Spike smiled for the present and answered him.

"He woke up today."

Many of them smiled, proud for him, proud for his friend. The counselor joined in.

They were happy.

Spike would be too.

The smile faded, and right away, everyone noticed it. They were questionable. Why did he stop smiling? They knew it was a good thing - it was a good thing, wasn't it?

Right?

"...What's the matter, Spike?"

He noticed the tears.

Spike tried to hold them back. For a moment, they thought he was shedding tears of joy and happiness.

He wasn't.

No.

He answered.

"He doesn't remember me...!"

The drake cried.

And everyone watched.

Shock? Sorrow? Frustration?

A number of things.

What could they say? Do?

Nothing.

Who am I?

You asked yourself this question for several minutes now. It was the only thing in your head, the only thing that could be in your head.

Who am I? Who am I?

But there was always that one lingering answer in your mind.

I don't know.

It was true. You didn't.

You didn't know.

Every time you asked that question, that very answer would pop into your mind, almost on instinct. Your entire mind was a blank canvas. That was all you were - blank. You had no name. You had no age, no place, no idea, no idea...

No idea.

Before, not too long ago - as you came back to the world - there was a mare staring into your eyes.

You didn't know her.

...She knew you, though.

The way she talked to you, moved for you, looked straight at you - it was as if she had known you for a long time, like she had settled around you for what must have been a lifetime.

But you could only ask her one question.

"Who are you?"

It was an honest question. You didn't know one slight bit who the girl was. You weren't sure if the question itself shocked her, disappointed her, made her curious. Her face was nothing more but a....a mix of things, of feelings, of emotion.

You didn't know if it was good or bad.

You wanted to ask her exactly who you were - if you even had a name or a general something about you - but the girl walked out of the room - ran out, even - without saying a single word to you. She didn't turn back to you or say anything.

She was gone within a moment.

For several minutes, you started to ask that question over and over. There was always that answer of, "I don't know."

But was it really an answer? The one you were looking for?

No.

After enough time had passed, after enough thought had contemplated through your mind - you tried to get up, out of the bed you had been laying in for what felt like too much time.

But there was the weakness.

You felt it before, when you first opened your eyes. Your muscles didn't function as you intended, as you hoped. Every time you would lift yourself even the slightest off the bed, your body would immediately fall back to it. It didn't hurt - in fact, it felt relaxing sometimes - but at the same time, it annoyed you.

As you continued to try - someone walked in.

Again - it was someone you didn't know, but judging from their attire, you had to assume they were a doctor.

The pony - a stallion - walked in through the door and immediately noticed you. He sported a faint shade of brown on his fur, and in one hoof, he was holding a clipboard. He walked in with a bit of a pace to him, as if somewhat...alerted.

If you could recall correctly, wasn't that blue mare yelling for a doctor prior? Her voice would seem to be loud - but your ears were not even working proper yet, so all you could hear was nothing more than a causal tone.

But your ears now worked just as they were meant to.

So you could very well hear the doctor's clipboard fall from his hoof and land on the floor with a metallic cling! to it.

For a moment, you and the doctor exchanged looks. Yours was a look of question or curiosity. His seemed to be more of a shocked manner, or just generally surprised.

Back and forth. Quiet.

"Dear...goddesses..." was all he said. It was slow and hesitant.

But it was something.

The next hour was just a blur. Or - at least - it passed by in one, but you could remember every detail. The doctor spoke up and seemed somewhat relieved - in a curious way - that you were awake. But when you too asked him where and who exactly you were, he left the room with an even further look of shock.

He came back just a minute later with another doctor - a nurse, rather - sporting a white coat of fur and a red cross for...for...

W...What was it called again...? A...cutie mark?

Y...Yeah, t-that's right. It was a cutie mark, a red cross for a cutie mark.

At the doorway, the nurse and the doctor seemed to exchange a few words. It was nothing but whispering, so you weren't able to understand a single word. After a few moments, the doctor took a bit of a glance at you before leaving the room. The nurse greeted you kindly and exchanged a few words herself.

"How are you feeling for the moment?" she asked.

With a bit of a casual shrug, you answer, "Fine-...I guess. A bit weak, but...I feel...okay."

The nurse nodded slightly. "Good."

Reaching into the left pocket of her nurse outfit, she pulled out what seemed to be...a stethoscope, likely.

"You don't mind if I check for any abnormalities, do you?"

You shook your head. "Go ahead."

"Thank you." Almost right away, she hoofs me her clipboard, and before I could ask, she adds, "This clipboard has a total of thirty questions. I need you to please answer every single one so I can have a bit of confirmation about your mental status."

With a tilt of your head, you ask her, "My...mental status?"

"If you're stable enough to function, talk, breathe, act, do. Think of it as a safety test."

You briefly shrug your shoulders and start to go along with it. You knew what she meant. With a grab of the pen clipped on, you start to answer the questions that were presented to you on the piece of paper. The nurse steps out for a moment. As you're writing, you hear the sounds of whispering again going on outside. Again, you can't make much sense of it - of course, that was really the point - but as you finish answering the rest of the questions just a minute or two later, the nurse walks back in.

With the last question checked off, you give the clipboard back to her. She gives a smile and starts to look over every question, scrolling her eyes down with each one after the other.

But the smile fades as it goes on.

And on.

And on.

"...Oh."

The brief short smile you had yourself starts to fade. "Is something wrong?"

She was speechless. She didn't have a single word to say. It looked as if she was in a bit of shock. You were already sure this had to do with you not remembering somethings or someones. For another few moments, she continued to look at the clipboard up and down, even flipping the page over to look at the other questions.

Many of them weren't exactly questions, but rather yes or no types of statements.

I know where I live.

I know where I am.

I know about this and that.

I know who you are.

No.

No.

No.

No.

Many of the answers on there were no. There were a few that you honestly had trouble answering because you weren't exactly sure how to answer them.

Do you have a family?

That could have been one or the other. At this moment, you really didn't know.

The nurse flipped the paper back over to the front and gave a little sigh. She looked at you.

Her eyes seemed very sad. You didn't know if you knew her too before - but it sure seemed like it.

A moment passed where her mouth was opened, but nothing came out, like she didn't know what to say or ask.

But before you could say anything, she started talking.

"...You really don't know anything...do you?"

You shook your head with honesty. Her mouth gently formed into a scrunch as she nodded.

"Okay."

With another sigh, she asked you if you could sit there while she took the papers to other doctors. You obeyed, and within a moment, she was out the door, heading down the hallway, her hoofsteps becoming fainter and fainter.

You sighed yourself. With a look at the room around you, you noticed the blandness of it. Very few paintings, bland colored walls. Almost a boring sense to it.

And you thought...

Why are hospital rooms so dull?

Redheart was at the other end of the floor, more towards the lounge area. She was clutching the paperwork in one hoof while walking with the other three. As she walked and trotted back and forth, her mind stayed in complete disbelief - but at the same time, she knew something like it wasn't uncommon.

She just didn't think he'd be one of them.

She made her way into the lounge.

Stable was sitting at one of the tables. He was lost in a stare, a cup of cooling coffee tight in his hooves.

Still shocked, it seemed.

"Stable," she spoke up.

He hesitated - but he still looked up.

"What?"

Even his voice seemed hesitant in a fashion. He was either thinking about something else, or...

Or he was thinking about that.

Redheart walked up to him and placed the clipboard down on the table - right in front of him. Stable took a brief look at it before asking what it was. After she told him, he slowly picked it up and started reading from top to bottom. Every question, one after the next, down and down, until he flipped the page.

Many noes.

The only different answer was the question about a family - not even he knew.

Even after three months, nopony ever showed up claiming to be his relatives - no one was able to find them either.

It could've been a name change in the directories, or perhaps he had been adopted at some point, or...

It could've been a number of reasons.

"Is this accurate?" Stable asked as he turned back toward Redheart.

She nodded. "He didn't hesitate to answer any of them. He was truthful. I could see it in his eyes."

The doctor got up from his chair and started walking around the lounge. He covered his mouth with a single hoof and sighed through his nostrils. It was clear that he was upset, in a manner. It got quiet for a few moments when neither of them moved or talked, only breathed the air.

Stable was staring again. Lost in thought, lost about many things.

Redheart was looking at him. A part of her was worried about Stable as much as him. She knew he was a strong doctor - he could handle many situations or troubles without a broken sweat.

But still...sometimes, things can come up.

"Do his friends know at all?" she asked him.

But he shook his head - though it was hesitant.

"Other than Dash...no. Then again, she probably doesn't know the full extent of it. She just ran off before we could even say anything. For all we know, she probably thinks it's temporary or minor or-"

"Are they coming here at all today?"

"We told Twilight he was awake, but...we didn't tell her about the question he asked this morning. That's up to Dash - if that's where she went, that is."

Stable leaned against the lounge's kitchen counter and covered his face with his hooves. He groaned in sadness and frustration.

"This is gonna hurt them," he said after another silent moment. "It's gonna hurt them a lot."

It was silent again.

Redheart's face scrunched up like before and she nodded.

"Yeah."

Her voice was quiet and sad.

She really didn't want to do this. Any of this.

It hurt her too.

It always hurt.

It was about ten o'clock when Twilight and the others all went to the hospital. The only one excluded from the group was Rainbow herself. Stable had called Twilight and mentioned that she had "run out" - but he never explained why. She grew suspicious about the seeming secrecy - but at the same time, perhaps she was merely overcome with emotion.

Her friend lays in a coma for three months and wakes up out of nowhere - it's definitely something that would be sure to stir up something. Of course, it wasn't to say that Twilight wasn't overcome herself. She started tearing up when she first got the news, but she stayed focused through it.

Spike was just as overjoyed - perhaps even more than her. And when the others were informed of the news, their spirits...

Well - it was the first time she saw them truly, truly happy in months...

The first time she herself was happy in months. After everything that had been going on even in the past month - she deserved to be happy.

Just this once.

The five mares and the young drake all entered the hospital at the same time. It was the same casual atmosphere today as it had been even before that night. Doctors and nurses doing business, patients going to and fro.

The hospitals never changed, even when everything else did.

The princess gave the front-desk mare a wave and a kind smile. Care Taker was her name - most ponies usually referred to her as Carrie. Twilight had only seen her a few times, but enough to warrant a casual smile every now and again. Most days, she was off doing other shifts. It was always nice to see her.

But today - something was off. Carrie was not as happy. There was the smile, but it was...faint.

Twilight couldn't help but ask her what was the matter.

The faint smile faded even more. She tilted her head to the elevator.

"Dr. Stable wants you."

The princess knew that she knew the reason. But Carrie said nothing to explain it, just insisting that she talk to Stable herself. Twilight didn't seem hurt by the response - she was more or less a bit worried by her emotion.

"We can talk later - okay?" Carrie said to her.

Twilight nodded with a slightly hesitant, "Okay."

They gave a brief 'goodbye' and parted. Twilight and the others started making their way to the elevator, and already, they were growing confused and worried expressions on their faces. Did something happen again? Was he okay?

But Twilight kept them calm enough for the moment. They pressed the elevator button and waited for no more than a few moments. As soon as the metal doors slid open, they all walked in and pressed the button for the third floor. The doors slid shut and right away, they were going up. The time between one and three was a little less than ten seconds before the doors opened back up.

The third floor was a lot more in detail than the first, though smaller. Nurses and doctors still walked about, but were few and far between. Few patients were also out in the hallways, going wherever they needed or desired. As soon as they walked out, they went right, heading towards their friend's room, assuming Stable was there too.

As they trotted along, Twilight started to feel the sense of worry growing in her. The way Carrie spoke to her, how she didn't explain or say anything about what happened - it was already starting to mess with her, and she was starting to fear that something bad had happened in the time it took to even get the phone call and get here.

She was already feeling afraid of having to go inside that room and-...

"Twilight," a voice called from behind the group.

She turned her head around, past her friends. Cobalt was there, having just left a patient's room. She went to him and the two exchanged warming hugs.

When they parted, Twilight started to ask him questions.

"Is everything okay? What happened? Is he okay?"

"He's fine," Cobalt insisted as he calmed her down. "He's okay, he's fine."

But Twilight looked at his eyes.

They were off too.

"There's something you're not telling me...are you to lying to me?"

"No, I'm-..."

Cobalt paused and looked at her, hooves on her shoulders. With a sigh, he blinked hesitantly.

"I just need you to come with me. Stable will explain it-"

"Why?" she remarked, "Why can't you explain it?"

"Because he knows more about this than I do."

The princess looked at her friend, confused at what he meant by it. She wanted to ask him of it - maybe he did know more than he said - but perhaps he simply didn't want to explain it in the middle of the hallway and cause a scene of some sort - whatever would cause one, that is.

"Okay," Twilight answered Cobalt with a nod, and with another turn, the doctor was making his way down the hallway; the unicorn and the others followed after her.

With a few twists and turns, they entered what appeared to be the floor's lounge area. It had its own kitchen setting, a table in the middle with several chairs, a couple of couches, and even a radio with speakers throughout the room.

But the room wasn't empty.

Sitting at the table was Nurse Redheart and Stable himself.

And then there was Rainbow - sitting on the couch, a leg crossed over the other and - initially - staring blankly at the kitchen. When she saw the seven of them standing at the doorway, she looked at them. She didn't say anything, didn't even react all that much except just look at them.

Her eyes had their own tone to them, as if they were telling Twilight, I don't know how to say it.

And all Twilight could think was, Say what?

For a moment, no one said anything audibly. They all looked back and forth at one another.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

That immediately gave a cue.

Rainbow moved her hoof away from her mouth, looked right at Twilight, and answered right away.

"He doesn't know us anymore."

For a good moment, Twilight didn't know what she meant by it.

"What? What do you m-"

"He doesn't know us anymore, Twilight, he-!"

She points in the general direction of where his room would be.

"He doesn't remember us anymore! He doesn't know you, or me, or any of you!" With every bit of emphasis on every word, she pointed to Twilight, to Fluttershy, to AJ - even to her.

But before the princess could even ask for an explanation - Stable began to talk.

"She's not exactly...far from the truth."

Redheart added in, "We ran some tests, analyzed thoroughly - we even had him take a survey, and-"

"She said he doesn't remember." Twilight interrupted Redheart, and the room went quiet.

She looked at Cobalt, who was standing at the table with the rest.

"...Why did she say that?"

Cobalt didn't answer. His face was blank and unsure, like he didn't know how to talk or answer her question. But just that alone - that sense of silence - was enough to make Twilight start questioning.

But Stable answered before she could even get a word out.

And he didn't sugarcoat a single thing.

"He has Amnesia."

The girls...Spike...even Dash all reacted to that simple sentence. Quiet gasps, looks of complete heartbreak.

Devastation.

It reminded Cobalt of Manehattan, just the faces alone.

Stable continued to explain.

"As Redheart mentioned, we started to run some tests on his brain - just shortly after he woke up, and just after Rainbow stormed to us. At first, when the tests came back, nothing seemed to out of the ordinary. We just assumed it was a temporary thing, as is common with coma patients. After someone wakes up from a coma, they usually forget most things - and then they come back after a few minutes, maybe even an hour. But nothing-...nothing more than that.

"But..."

Stable stopped, keeping the girls on edge. Rainbow knew what he was going to say, so she seemed more patient than the others had been.

It didn't make her any less upset.

"But when we looked deeper into the x-rays, did more tests...we noticed something.

"The cerebral cortex was...how could I put it in a simple term...?"

He only stopped for a single second before he answered.

"...Dented."

It was simple, definitely.

The reaction wasn't.

It was exactly as he would have expected them to react.

He never liked it.

But he continued.

"Think of the cortex as a metal plate, a rounded metal plate. And if you smack the plate-"

She stopped him.

"I don't want to hear a goddamned analogy!"

Stable and Redheart were taken somewhat aback by Twilight's sudden outburst. They would never expect someone like her to lash out like that. The girls themselves had seen it before, but on much smaller conditions.

In a way - they weren't surprised.

For a moment, Twilight had a look of frustration on her face. But once she realized what she did, the look died away, replaced with another of shock. Even then, Stable apologized, sorry that he had angered her.

The unicorn looked away, slightly ashamed at her action. She didn't want to resort to yelling just to get an answer.

If that was always the case, then...

She looked back to Stable.

"How bad is it? How serious?"

The doctor looked nervous, like he didn't want to tell them.

But again - he had to.

"He...doesn't know anything. He doesn't know where's he from or who any of you are or who he is. He doesn't even know who his parents are. He's normal in every other aspect mentally, but his memory...it's...completely gone. It's as serious as it could get. He knows absolutely nothing.

"...And, uh...speaking of parents...does he have any...?"

They knew what he was getting at.

"No," Twilight responded, "Or...we don't know. He never told us about them."

Applejack stepped forward with a questionable look. "Can't y'all try an' look them up in a phone book or somethin'?"

"We tried," Redheart answered. "We tried for weeks, every number and name we could find, but we...we couldn't find anyone with the same last name.

"And even if we did find them..."

She casually held a foreleg up, pointing it in a general direction.

"...after everything that's happened in the past month, it would still be at least another month until we could use the phone lines again."

"But...you called me this morning."

Stable added in, "She's referring to the distant phone lines. Phone lines in Ponyville and the other small towns were fixed quickly - but most of the country's phone lines - not to mention, power lines - were heavily hit. It took two weeks to get the power lines fixed that weren't destroyed by the methane...but phone lines take a bit more time. And if I recall, wasn't Detrot hit pretty bad?"

"He ain't from Detrot," AJ remarked, "He's from Chicacolt."

The doctor shook his head and held a folder in his hoof.

"Not in his file. He was born in Detrot. We've got records of the schools he's gone to, college, places of work, but, uh...nothing about his parents. We assumed they would be living in Detrot, but...well, like I said, we couldn't call anypony there if we tried, at least not for another month."

And then Rarity spoke for the first time in a long while. "Couldn't we just go to Detrot and look for ourselves?"

No one immediately responded, they really just looked to Twilight, hoping that she would come up with an answer.

She sat down onto the floor, clearly with a slight look of distraught. They could all hear her sighing quietly. AJ called her name. Just the way she said it carried the sense of asking, "Are you okay?"

A few seconds of silence came and went before Twilight opened her mouth again.

"We went to Detrot two weeks ago."

She paused for a moment.

"It was bad...A lot of the buildings were torn apart, all over the street. A lot of the city sank enough for the lake to flood most of it. A lot of the ponies there did survive, but...but a lot of them..."

Twilight stopped, not wanting to continue any further.

She was quick to change the subject and looked back to Stable.

"Is he awake right now?"

The doctor nodded.

You had been spending the past half hour listening to the radio sitting on one of the stands. Most of it was nothing but white noise or complete silence, but there were a few stations that played music. You remembered the genres - rock, classical, hip-hop.

It made you wonder why you knew those specifically and not much of anything else.

When you turned to one radio station, it seemed to be going into news. Your initial thought was that it was a good idea to perhaps inform yourself on things.

The news reporter speaking through the speakers was a mare, clearly.

"In the latest news just outside of Canterlot, Princess Celestia has granted the country of Saddle Arabia permission to deliver aid to the affected areas. The country is now one of more than fifty who have assisted Equestria following the methane blasts last month."

Methane blasts? What?

You listen on.

"The death toll throughout Equestria has risen to more than 50 million, and is expected to climb in the coming months."

...

What...happened while you were out?

"Bodies are still being recovered in the nearby ruins of Dodge Junction, including the body of a seven year old-"

You quickly turned off the radio upon hearing that. You don't think you'd be able to stomach anymore.

Already, you regretted turning on the radio. The last thing you wanted to hear was about children dying. But you quickly found yourself becoming curious about the other sayings. You questioned what they meant by methane blasts and the affected areas.

Had the world ended and torn itself asunder while you were sleeping in peace?

You got off the edge of your bed and started making your way towards the window. Every step was wobbly and weak. It was much worse before, but you had gotten a proper hoofing. Once you got to the window, you took a look outside, to the environment and what it held.

Many of the areas at the bases of the mountains - distant and near - seemed burned and almost scorched, but at the same time, they seemed to be growing and beginning to flourish.

But the burn marks...was that the methane they mentioned? Did it do that?

You looked down to the town that was nearby. You overheard a doctor in the halls mention Ponyville a while ago. Was this Ponyville? It seemed like it.

Was it home? That...rainbow mare said you were home.

Where had she gone?

Your mind started racing with questions about so many things. The methane, the town, the land, the everything.

And that mare...who was she, exactly? You knew that she knew you, but...

Who was she?

Your thoughts halted when you heard the sound of the door opening from behind the corner. You heard indistinct whispers from one to another, but you could tell it was more than just a single doctor or nurse or even those two together.

You heard a voice call out into the room, "Are you here?"

It was the nurse.

Of course you were here. You'd be quickly lost if you left this room.

"Yeah," you answered. "By the window."

The sounds of hoofsteps filled your ears.

Then they emerged from the corner. It was the doctor and the nurse from before - but there were five other mares following behind them. And...

Is that a dragon too? A baby dragon?

What? Oh, wow.

They all looked right at you. They stared you down, from top to bottom, as if...

...Why?

W...Wait...

Do I know them too?

"What were you doing?" the nurse had asked you.

You pointed a hoof outside, towards the town and the mountains.

"Just...looking outside, that's all," you answer. "Figured I should...get a look at my surroundings, I guess."

The mares seemed speechless, even the little dragon standing beside them. Their mouths were open very slightly, but nothing came out. They all had look on their faces, many of them the same as the others.

"Good," the nurse replied with a faint smile and a nod of her head.

She took a few steps forward and lent a hoof towards the purple mare - or was it lavender?

The mare herself seemed to be a unicorn, as was another in the group. You assumed the purple - lavender - one was the leader of some sort.

Or was that not the proper word...?

"What's going on?"

She pointed a single hoof to the purple unicorn and introduced her.

"This is Princess Twilight Sparkle...she came here to see you today, see if you were doing okay."

A princess? You knew a princess once?

You felt honored, but-...you didn't know what to say exactly, so you just nodded in assurance.

And then the princess started to walk forward, towards you.

Her pace was slow and careful, seemingly hesitant. It was definite she was observing you in every sense of that term, just as they had upon first walking in - from head to hoof.

When she got up to you, so close to you - her breaths were just as hesitant. They would stop for a moment, and she would breathe out, then breathe in, slowly. Even when she moved gently - she was still.

So very still.

It got quiet. It was strange, not a single soul talked or let a breath loudly. It was weird.

Seconds ticked by.

And she just looked at you.

And then - she moved closer, huddled against you.

And she started wrapping her arms around your body, enveloping you into a dear, warm hug.

Then she started to cry. You couldn't see her cry, but you could hear her.

Feel her.

Her body shook with every quiver of sadness, with every shed of tears that flowed. She cried quietly, at first, enough for you to hear, but it grew for the rest of them to listen in, but she was still just as quiet.

Everyone watched. They didn't react very much - their faces contorted into sad expressions. The few of them seemed as if they wanted to cry - whether it'd be a sign of happiness and joy, or pain - you couldn't tell.

The small dragon himself was almost the same way.

It was disbelief though. You could tell it.

He couldn't believe it.

Couldn't believe what?

The unicorn continued to cry into your shoulder. She was like that for a few moments, casually moving her face around, either as if to not get tears on your shoulder or to breathe or to...

You embraced her back.

With a slightness of hesitation, you wrapped your own arms around her body and held her close.

Then she stopped crying.

It got quiet for a moment.

And so you asked her...

"...I know you...don't I?"

Didn't you...?

You could feel her nodding, maybe even give a bit of a sobbed chuckle.

"Y-Yeah...you do."

She was so full of emotion. The way she spoke, the way she moved and felt - it said it all.

You had emotion too. Of course, it was commonly confusion, perhaps a bit of uncertainty.

But at the same time...you did feel for the unicorn. She felt nothing but pain, and a part of it even came to you too.

You felt the pain.

And the two of you huddled closer, embracing each other further.

She started crying again, but it was muffled - her face was buried into your shoulder. She started to talk into it; at first, you couldn't understand what she said at first.

But a simple, "Hmm?" was all that was needed for you to understand.

"...I missed you."

You held her closer.

"...I missed you too."

You held her, she held you.

She cried, but you didn't. It didn't matter.

You were still happy nonetheless.

With a lift of your head, you looked at the girls again, at the dragon, the doctor, the nurse - you looked at them.

And you noticed something...far in the back.

Staring you down with a look.

Worry.

Fear.

Frustration.

It could've been anything.

And that something stepped out - out to where you could see it.

Out to where you could see her.

It was her.

She came back.

The girl with the rainbow hair.

Weird way to end this chapter on? Probably. :)