Caution--

I'm gonna keep the gore in this mild, but I'm still placing a slight warning on this. Read at your own extent.

Day ?:

? Hour

--

Suddenly, the black cleared. In a sudden gust of wind, the scenery changed, and the scene was switched to an urban neighborhood. It looked a lot  more industrial and dull than Ponyville and Equestria in general. The roads were a boring grey, and the sky showed signs of rain. A few people outside were jogging, and the occasional car parked in their respective parking spaces. Suddenly out of one of the houses, a boy in a short sleeved dress shirt and jeans ran out the door with a soccer ball, accompanied by a figure that looked like his mother. However, the child yelled out,

"Over here, big sis!"

"Alright, I'm coming Alan."

The ponies looked at each other, than back at the scene. Twilight ensured that the spell worked well enough that they wouldn't be seen by anyone, but they could see freely. The sight of the child Alan shocked them. He looked incredibly bright with a grin on his face, and his hair was brown. The smile was the exact same.

Together, Alan and his apparent older sister played with the soccer ball, sometimes playing a serious game, other times, just trying to get the ball passed each other. They learned that her name was Elena. It was obvious that she had the upper hand - she looked  very athletic and competitive, and shared some of Rainbow Dash's flair. She finished off a game with an amazing goal kick that involved an airborne maneuver. After they were done, they both sat on the grass, out of breath.

"That was fun!" Alan said, picking himself and following his sister back into the house. The last words heard were, "You have to teach me that technique sometime, okay?" The door shut.

For a moment they were all silent. Then they looked at each other. They're questions mirrored each other. Was that really Alan? Who was the girl with him? And..

Was the grey, industrial world really where he lived? Rain started to fall. The scene switched.

--

It switched to a school playground. The sun was out, and Alan was out in the field, playing the same game with many other people who looked his age. He was a bit older too, probably in middle school. His hair had grown longer, and his eyes had a sharper look to them.

"Over here!"

Many offensive players were closing in on the brown-haired child. Within in the blink of an eye, Alan sent the ball hair born, leapt, and kicked it sideways.The receiver then kicked it to the goal. After the game, many students gathered around Alan, the majority asking where he learned that technique. He laughed and scratched his head.

"Oh you know, from somewhere."

Many of the mane six couldn't hold back a smile. In this state, he was unbearably cute.

The bell rang, and the students filed out. Many of his admirers followed him into the classroom. The scene twisted.

--

Then, a subway station appeared. Of course, none of the ponies knew where this was, but many people, much taller and older-looking than Alan, were walking past each other. Some stopped to talk, many rushed to get to their respective destinations. Alan sat on the bench, looking a bit older than he did in the previous scene. He was just entering high school, but today, he was seeing Elena off to college after her break. His parents had come to see her as well.

The fog was intense that day.

Everyone was wearing coats or sweatshirts of some sort. Alan looked loosely dressed, but he had a snug scarf lifted around his shoulders.

"Thanks for this, Elly," said the boy, hugging his older sister. "It's really comfy."

The train bells started to ring. "That's for me," she said, giving her parents kisses. She stood up by the line that formed. Alan was sad to see her go, and it showed on his face, but Elena gave him a wink as the sound of wheels grinding against metal got nearer. He smiled sadly and waved.

Finally, it appeared. From first sight, something was off. The train looked off course and slightly tilted. The side hit against the passenger waiting line. The engines and lights combusted from the pressure, and an explosion of large proportions ensued. The train actually derailed and skidded. Alan's eye's widened as time suddenly slowed down.. the train was coming nearer and nearer..

At the last moment, someone pushed him out of the way. His father braved a hard look on his face as he turned his face to the incoming hunk of iron.

"..Dad?"

Suddenly, his world was red. Blood from not only his father, but other's who were suffering from the explosion splattered his coat.

The explosion caused the cracking and decaying walls of the station to start breaking up. Pieces of debris and cement started to fly in all directions, and smoke filled the area. A siren went off, but it was quickly drowned by the frantic screams of the many people in the station. Debris kept falling, but all Alan could think of was finding Elena. He hoped she was still alive - no, she had to still be alive. There's no way this could kill her..

Then he saw. Elena was running towards him as well, but they couldn't reach each other through the rushing crowd. They screamed each other's names. Alan parted space and reached out to her. He was so close. For a moment, he touched her smooth fingers. It was no use - he couldn't reach farther. Alan looked up at his sister's face. She was crying but smiling at the same time. The station had reached a critical point. The whole roof started to fall, entrapping many people within the stone. The last thing Alan saw was her face. She mouthed something. In case he couldn't hear, she made some cute impressions with her hands.

I

She pointed to herself.

love

She made a heart with her hands.

you.

Everything faded to black.

--

Alan woke. There was smoke everywhere, and his eyes hurt. Who was he? Where was he? Why did his head hurt so much? He looked down to find a steady red blotch growing on his coat. An intense pain struck, and he felt himself suffocating on the smoke. Someone cried out to him - he looked down. Elena was trapped within a boulder of cement, only her torso and right hand free. It took her every ounce of strength to reach out. Alan, unsure of what to do, grabbed her hand. Fire was spreading all around the damp floors of the station.

She grinned, then, her hand lost feeling.

"..Hello?" His voice grew frantic. "Are you sleeping?! Oh god, please don't be dead, please.."

His fingers slipped, and her hands fell to the ground with a finished thud. Alan's eyes widened. The effects of the amnesia wore off slightly. He spoke, "..Elena?"

Alan held her hands once more and tried to keep his voice level. "Are you alright? Please talk to me.."

Her hands were cold. The teen couldn't hold back tears. "Big sis, please talk to me!" He almost yelled the words while sobbing. "Come back! Please!"

He was forced on his knees. He felt himself losing consiousness, but focused on the face of his sister. Her hair was draped over her face, so he took the liberty to tuck some of it behind her ear. He couldn't hold on any longer - he lost consciousness. Alan blacked out in a field of bodies in a steadily crushing building. The scene switched over.

--

"..be alright, he's not physically hurt that much, but trauma will do terrible things to him."

"Like what?"

"Well for a first, his hair turned grey."

"From shock only?"

A man in a large, white coat nodded and stared down at a clipboard, scratching his head.

"From when we first found him, he's steadily been losing less and less blood in important organs. This has required multiple transplants, but we've avoided a full out operation."

"He'll be alright, won't he?"

"Of course he will. It's a miracle he survived."

--

Alan now looked much closer to his original age. He was in a bed, though, it was still light out. It had been a few years since the incident, but he still had to take frequent rests. Alan sometimes collapsed from fatigue if he failed to rest properly.

"Alan? Dinner's ready!"

"Coming, mom."

He walked down the stairs unsteadily, by gained his balance and took a seat at a table, where his elderly foster parents sat.

"Woah, this looks delicious," Alan said.

His mother lent him a hand, and her husband. "Let's say grace."

"For what we are about to receive, may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen."

Alan dug in.

--

Now, the grey-haired youth was actually wearing the same uniform as he was when he first came into Equestria. He walked into a classroom and stood in front of a chalkboard. The teacher introduced him in a robotic voice. He turned and wrote his name on the chalkboard and gave the class his condolences. He could literally hear the whispers as he made his way down the aisle.

"His eyes look so dull!"

"Is he even human?"

"What's with his hair? Is he actually an old man or something?"

He took a seat and slammed is forehead against the desk.

--

At the same scene, only outside the classroom, the sound of clanging metal sounded as Alan was pushed up against a locker.

"Listen up you empty-headed freak," spoke a burly boy around his age holding his collar up, "speak any more and I'll knock your freakin' teeth out, you got that?"

Alan looked up at the ceiling. "If ignorance is bliss, you must be the happiest person alive."

"Huh?"

Alan pushed away the student and brushed himself off. "Exactly."

Although he had lost the strength to push him around again, he snarled at him. "Listen punk, I don't think you really know who I am."

Alan retrieved his messenger bag and proceeded to leave. "I'm busy now. Can I ignore you some other time?"

Before he could get grabbed again, he left the crowd. He distantly heard the words "Dull" and "Empty" shouted at him. Alan stopped in his tracks and glared at the ground, the many students passing by him or over him.

I never chose to be empty.

- -

The mane six returned to the library, the one place that did not belong on Earth. They all looked at each other, then back at Alan. The steady rise and fall of his chest told them that he and his memories had not been disturbed. A lot of them were teared up.

"I'm so sorry, Alan."

--Sidenotes

Woo, two or three chapters in one day! I have no clue.

Anyways, here's some boring biography for you all. I don't think I did a great job, but uh, fdsa

That caution was a little unneeded, but whatever, it makes it official.

Now we return to ponies.