Star Spangled Man With A Plan [Open!]

[Alfred Jones]

A bookstore was by no means the first place most would look to find Alfred. There were exceptions to every rule, however, and today just happened to be one of those days where Alfred decided to toss the rules to the wind and take a look around.

To be fair, he was on a mission at this particular bookstore. He planned to gather up every book on his history that he could find and read through it to see if it triggered any of his missing memories to return. It was worth a shot, wasn't it? And Alfred was willing to try just about anything.

Though Alfred did not retain all of his strength from before, he was still rather strong for his size even now and was able to carry several heavy books over to an empty table in the bookstore, setting them down with a loud thump. A woman nearby shot him a glare, which he ignored as he took a seat and retrieved a book from the top of the pile. "A History of the United States of America." He read out loud to himself before cranking the book open.

Reading through said book brought mixed results. It soon became clear to the young nation that there were some events in the book that he could remember clear as day, while there were others that he knew he should remember, but instead stared blankly at on the page. He'd gone to war in Vietnam? The American Revolution lasted eight years? He could remember the Declaration of Independence, and he could remember the fact that he gained independence, but drew a blank on most of the battles that led him there. On the other hand, most of World War II was clear.

"It makes no sense...doesn't seem like there's any sort of pattern to it. Some things are there and some aren't." He exclaimed in a raised voice and slammed the book down on the table in frustration. Instead of helping, his research was starting to make him feel worse.

Nevertheless, he continued on, in the hopes that he would find what clicked and what didn't. He could work on from there.

[Twilight Sparkle]

"It's the Displacement Event. It can punch all these holes in your memory once you come over here from wherever it was you came from before now. There's no rhyme or reason to it either; it just seems to hit some of us some times and others of us other times. I wouldn't worry too much: most of the memories seem to come back in time," the voice came from a shelf a few shelves over from where Alfred looked. The girl to whom it belonged had turned to face him, but she still held a rather weighty book in her hand. She offered a friendly smile when she was certain that Alfred was looking her way. There was definitely something about the girl that said "friendly" pretty well, though the brilliant violet hair shocked through with brilliant pink generally had a tendency to draw attention.

"Sorry, you were probably just thinking aloud. I do that sometimes," Twilight offered, smiling and shrugging. She shifted how she was holding the book, balancing it in one hand and extending the other toward Alfred. "I'm Twilight Sparkle; pleasure to meet you."

And another flash of the charming smile. Hey, if it was one thing Twilight Sparkle knew how to do by now, it was flash the friendly smile.

[Alfred Jones]

Alfred turned his head to the source of the voice at once. A smile came to his face immediately. The words she used made it plain as day that she was talking to him. "I hope so. I have something to go off of, plus my brother's here, so that should help." It would certainly be a lot harder without Mattie, he had to say that much!

The blond shrugged. "I was, but that doesn't mean I wasn't looking for company! Sometimes it's nice to have someone you can bounce ideas off of." That and Alfred was rather extroverted, and therefore usually happier in the company of others. The only time that he wasn't? He really needed to be left alone, because Alfred actually wanting to be alone was usually a sign that he was very upset.

Alfred met Twilight's hand with one of his own. "Nice name, though I get the feeling it's probably not as unusual where you come from. Alfred F. Jones. Nice to meet ya!" He looked back down at his book, sighing. "Gonna take me a while...I've got 400+ years to go through. Good thing some of it's already there, right?"

[Twilight Sparkle]

Twilight nodded. "I bet having a brother here would be a big help. I've got a few of my closest pony friends, which is great. My brother's still back in Equestria though..." and the thought made Twilight frown. It didn't seem quite fair, on some level. Shining Armor was back in Equestria, probably worried sick about Twilight, while Discord of all beings was here causing trouble and, well, existing.

Thankfully, there were handshakes and the basic introductions to work through, two things that were certain to expunge the gloomier thoughts from Twilight's memories. The handshake and request for company instantly set off several little indicators in Twilight's head, and she was already mentally going through several different speeches that she'd prepared to talk to people. She did this for a living, after all, so it only made sense that she'd have something ready, especially since Twilight was one of those people who just did that anyway (there were lists involving lists back at her house; no pony had ever been more thankful for electronic devices for scheduling).

"Over four hundred years?" repeated Twilight. She let out a whistle and moved to look at the books. "There's definitely a lot here to look at. Nobody's really found anything that directly talks about them though, unless you're looking for something broader..." Twilight paused for a while, looking at the book and then the man holding it. "You're not one of those people who are actually countries, are you? I met Hungary a few months ago, and I think Finland was around here... I haven't seen him in a while though..."

[Alfred Jones]

Alfred listened as she explained a bit about her own situation. Pony friends? Equestria? It was clear that she came from a different world than he did. "Well hopefully he's doing alright back there, and hopefully you'll be able to see him soon." Alfred stated with a smile. "In the mean time, at least you got a few of your friends."

Having at least someone that you knew was a huge help when it came to adjusting to Tenebrae Estates. Alfred was outgoing enough that he would probably manage well enough regardless, but he couldn't deny that it felt a lot better having his brother around. He didn't feel so much like a fish out of water.

"Guessing your lifespans probably aren't as long where you're from." Alfred couldn't help but grin when she repeated the length of time he uttered. Most lifespans weren't. There were exceptions to this rule, of course - Marcelline was at least a millennium old herself, most European countries were older than him, etc. Alfred was mildly surprised when Twilight guessed correctly as to what he was. It sure helped if she'd met others. The corners of his mouth twitched upward even more. "Sure am. The United States of America, but you can call me America for short. Or, like I said, Alfred or Al. That works too, I'm not too picky." He shrugged.

[Twilight Sparkle]

Twilight frowned slightly, fighting the tears that she already felt building up. See him soon. Right; it had already been months, over half a year, since Twilight's arrival here. She didn't want to think about the fact that it could very well be years. It did seem that people were returning, but there didn't seem to be any real rhyme or reason to that as well. They just seemed to be here and then... gone, as if they never existed. Twilight didn't think that appropriate information to share with someone she just met though. That was more like third meeting stuff.

At least Alfred gave Twilight something a little more positive to talk about moments later: "Well, it depends on the pony. Our Princess, Celestia," it felt odd to throw the pauses in there, but that was grammar for you, "has lived for over a thousand years. There's this creature, Discord," who happened to be here as well, "who's been around for nearly as long. There's tales about unicorns and the like lasting a while too. It has something to do with magic and destiny and the like," Twilight shrugged. She'd never really given it much thought. Princesses did seem to last quite a while, but not every unicorn was immortal.

And she wasn't entirely certain that the countries were immortal either. She looked to Alfred as he confirmed her introduction and nodded confidently. "Nice to meet you then, America," she said, opting for the prettiest of the names. "Like I said: I'm Twilight Sparkle. I used to be a unicorn and the star student of Princess Celestia of Equestria. Now I'm just a magical human who works on helping newly Displaced individuals get adjusted," Twilight smiled, waved her hand, and magically brought out another book on American History, which she extended to Alfred now.

[Alfred Jones]

Fortunately, Alfred wasn't paying close enough attention to Twilight's facial expressions at the time to see how upset he was. He would have offered to comfort her if he did, of course, but that also meant that Twilight would have to dwell on the issue more - An issue she could do relatively little about.

Alfred did look up from the shelf when Twilight became to tell him more about where she came from. He listened with interest. "So it really kinda depends. Makes sense!" He arched an eyebrow at the name Discord. "Now that's a name that packs a wallop."

Alfred smiled when Twilight referred to him by his country name. "You were the star student of the princess? That's pretty awesome!" He grinned, then suddenly realized something else. "Did you say magical human? Does that mean you're getting your powers back?" That was evidence that things started to get back to the way they were supposed to be after they were at Tenebrae for a while. "The holes should hopefully fill themselves in then! Plus I should get my strength back!" He took the book that Twilight handed him with a smile. "Still gonna do some reading though. I'd rather fill in those holes as fast I can!" Alfred never was one for patience.