The Voyage to Asclepius

Chapters

PROLOGUE
Chapter 1: Caduceus, The Sign of Hope
Chapter 2: The Wooden Wolf
Chapter 3: Into the Sandstorm
Chapter 4: Misaki May
Chapter 5: The Black Blizzard
Chapter 6: A Shot that Never Misses
(ENDING)

PROLOGUE

The year is... Well, I don't really know. My location, I don't have a single clue about that either. My back hurts, it hurts a lot. I'm lying on some sort of moist and damp substance, I'm guessing it's some sort of corroded wood. I can't move at all, but I'm not paralyzed or anything of the sort. All I can see is a ceiling overgrown with moss and vines. Out of the corner of my eye I can see what looks like a broken glass window. I'm cold, the wind is blowing hard through the window and against my corpse-like body. Shivering, I turned my neck to the right and noticed something odd in the corner. Something else is lying on the corroded wood a good distance away from me. Brightness... It's coming from above her. Is she an angel?

But wait, how do I know it's a she? What is a... She. I just blurted out a word I don't know the definition of. And at the same time, I know exactly what it means. Her coat, it's just like mine. Grey... Bland... Average. Her mane is a light pink, I feel even colder when I stare at it. It's tied back into a braid, but the end is all messy.

Suddenly, she moves.

And then my body, like a marionette, begins to rise with her. My right hoof moves, hers does the same. I'm trying my hardest to stand up, but this pain is unbearable. I can't hold it in anymore, I have to...

"RR....AAAGH!" I shout, and I collapse to the floor. My string's have been cut.

She does the same, she collapses, and she turns her head towards me. I see her face, and I almost start to cry. Who is she? And why does she stick out to me so much? Maybe it could be the fact that she's the only living thing that's keeping me company around here-- wherever 'here' is. It's only been about ten (10) minutes since I woke up, but it feels like I've just been born.

"Um..." I hear a noise come from the pony across from me.

I reply with a tired-sounding "Hello?"

"Who... Are you?" She asks.

"I can't exactly answer that right now."

"Why?" Her voice squeaked.

"Because... I don't know who I am."

"Same here." She replied.

"Well then I guess we have something in common."

Soon enough, I found myself having a pleasant conversation with this strange new friend of mine. It was a great change from staring at the mossy ceiling. But an awkward silence filled the air as we soon ran out of conversation topics. The silence was followed by noise that seemed familiar, yet I've never heard it before.

*AROOOUUU*

A loud howl echoed from outside the broken windows.

"What is that?" She asks.

I simply reply with another, "I don't know."

The howling stopped. I let out a deep breath, and came to the realization that there was something else alive in this world besides us two ponies in this single room. But was this other life form friendly or not was the question. Was it able to help us with finding out who we are? Maybe it's some sort of predator, that was my guess.

"Alright, I'm not sitting here any longer." I tell her, "Let's get out of here."

"What are we going to do? It hurts when I move. I only tried because you looked like you could do it."

I reply, "It hurt me too. Just... Stay there for a second." My body began to rise on it's own, but this time it hurt a lot less.

There was still a bit of stinging in my hooves, and my torso was still numb. I slowly made my way to the grey filly on the floor. As I stood up, I got a better understanding of my surrounding. We were in a room that was empty as can be. The walls were made up of some kind of smooth stone. Every few metres there would be a glass window inserted into the walls. Every single window would were either partially shattered, or the hole in the wall would be completely devoid of any glass. The ceiling had rotting holes in the wooden floor boards above me.

I walked across the wet wooden floor towards her, "What is this stuff?" I asked.

"No clue." She replies.

Finally, I reach her, "Come on now. Just tell me if it hurts." I say, as I slide my head underneath her torso. Lifting my neck up, she falls onto my back. Her forehooves are hanging from my left side, and her hind legs from my right.

"T-Thank you." She says.

Suddenly, something snaps in my brain. 'Thank you' sounds so familiar, and this 'Thank you' sounds like something I feel close to. But why? I decide to let it sit in my brain, and hopefully it will come back to me. There is a set of stairs leading down near us, and we move towards it. As we do, another howl echoes from outside.

*AROOOUUU*

The howl, followed by a chilling breeze, makes me shiver. I pay no attention to it, and trot down the wooden stairs that led down. I arrive at the base of the stairs, in a room that is less empty this time. A few desks, along with a few chairs, are scattered around the floor. Is this is a school?

"How do I know what all of these things are? Yet I cannot remember who I am?" I hear her whispering.

I hate this feeling, this feeling of uselessness. She is constantly asking me these questions, and I always reply, "I don't know." Why do I want to answer her questions this badly?

I realize that we awoke on the second floor, and we are now on the ground level. But it is strange, how do I know what these words mean, and yet I don't know anything about myself.

We-- I continue trotting through the room. A set of giant glass doors blocks our path. Pushing does no good, neither does pulling. It's as if I've had this problem before, pulling and pushing doors to no avail.

There's something on the ground, near the desk behind me. It's a metal pipe. I wrap my mouth around it and sharply twist my neck towards the door. The glass breaks, and I use the pipe to chip away the shards of glass on the frame.

"There. Now watch out, don't get cut." As soon as I say that, she begins to cling tighter my body. What is this feeling?

Carefully making our way through the glass door, we make it outside. This is strange, everything inside seemed so familiar. Yet outside, it's even more confusing now.

*AROOOUUU*

That fierce howl echoes out from all directions again. Suddenly, I see something move in the corner of my right eye. Something that was fast, extremely fast. What is it? Whatever it is, it isn't friendly. If this filly gets hurt because of me, I could never forgive myself. But why could I never forgive myself? I've only known her for a short while.

As that thought crosses my mind, the words echo in my head.

"I've only known you for a short time." I say under my breath. I feel like I've said this before...

"W-What was that thing that moved just now?!" She quietly asks.

Again, I am unable to answer her question. But I want to, I want to so badly, "I don't know."

I can't help myself, I don't know anything. Where am I? When am I? Who am I? Who is this filly on my back? I hate this feeling of stupidity, this feeling of complete incompetence.

This is irritating.

Chapter 1: Caduceus, The Sign of Hope

A fierce howl echoes through the empty streets of this city I've just woken up in. A grey filly sits on my back as I carry her through this mysterious place. The concrete streets were overgrown with plantation, as were the buildings. Everything on the streets were also overgrown with plantation, broken down pony-drawn carts, street lamps, and newspaper stands were covered in green moss and vines.

I have no idea what I'm doing here, and neither does the filly who is sitting on my back. She begins to speak again, "So where do we go?"

This time I reply with a proper answer, "We should find shelter first. This weather here is pretty bad, and it looks like it's going to get worse."

*RUMBLE*

I hear the sound of her stomach growling at me, "Maybe we'll find some food first..." I chuckle.

She giggles adorably, and we continue to pass stores and business establishments along the block. General stores, banks, apartments, and restaurants were broken and abandoned with plantation growing out the walls and display windows.

"I'm so hungry..." She moans.

"Just hold out for a little bit okay?" I replied.

We continued walking through the absolutely silent city. One of the restaurants on our right side had a sign that was too worn down to read. I decided to take her into the restaurant, as grey clouds began to form in the sky. We stepped inside, or rather I stepped inside. To our surprise, the vegetation inside wasn't as intensely covered on the inside of the restaurant. Tables were broken and flipped on their sides all across the floor. Holes were littered on the tables, what could have made all of these? It looks like there's something black around each of the holes.

I sit this filly down behind the counter in the far right corner of the room, "There. Now stay put okay? I'll try to find food, and try to block the door later. Maybe start a fire too."

She nods, and then slowly sits herself upright with her back up against the counter. I see a door next to the counter that is open ajar, and decide to enter it. It is completely dark, I can't see anything inside besides the floorboards in front of me. I decide to close the door and forget about the room. I hope nothing comes out of it.

Luckily, there seems to be canned goods underneath the counter that are still good. If she didn't point them out, I might have never have found them. Fruits, vegetables, and even bottled water too! What luck! Now that food is taken care of, now we need warmth. I search throughout the restaurant for something to burn, and something to start the fire. The legs of tables and chairs can be easily broken off, but I can't seem to find anything to burn them with.

"Um..."

I suppose I could find some flint or some metal and smash them together...

"I um..."

If only I had a unicorn's horn or something, that'd be a big help.

"Excuse me..."

I turn around and see that the earth pony behind the counter was trying to get my attention.

"Something wrong?" I ask.

She peeks from behind the restaurant counter something metal and shiny placed in her adorable mouth.

"What's that you got there?" I ask again.

She spits it out onto the counter top and then speaks, "I dunno. I've never seen anything like it before."

I approach her, and examine the piece of metal more thoroughly. Upon further inspection, I come to a single conclusion, "T-This is a lighter!"

She tilts her head, "A... Lighter?"

"Yeah, it turns the liquid inside into fire."

"Liquid... Into fire?" She sounds confused.

I understand that this may be a little too complicated for her, so I decide to drop the topic altogether, "Look, the important thing is, we have fire for the night."

"How do you know what all these things are?"

I'm wondering that myself. I know what a lighter is, but I don't know my name. I wonder if it's the same with her.

The filly helps me break apart the table legs and we both throw them into a pile. I collected some vines and coiled them underneath the table legs, and lit them with the lighter. It took a while, but the flames eventually engulfed the vines, and then the wooden table legs followed. After about ten (10) minutes the fire was large enough to give us enough warmth for the night.

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have had this fire, or the food for that matter. So I guess... Thanks." I say, as I pop open a can of beans.

She remains silent. And for longest time she gives the crackling fire an empty gaze. All she's doing is staring blankly at the flames, she won't even eat anything I place beside her.

"So... Are you starting to remember anything?" I ask.

No reply.

This is starting to bug me, and I'm feeling terrible because she's ignoring me. I sigh, and get up to take another look outside. The sky is beautiful and the moon is brighter than the fire inside. I find it odd that the sky looks like it's been painted a dark blue color, I've never known the night sky to ever have color besides black. The stars decorate the sky around the moon, each of them twinkling perkily.

Maybe I should take this time block off the restaurant entrance, we don't want any unwanted visitors after all. The leftover table legs and tabletops should suffice. I drag the and push the pieces of wood to the door way, jamming the smaller pieces between the doorhandles. Now we should be safe from anything outside.

I turn around and see that the little filly has already fallen asleep. She looks kind of cute, all cuddled up by the fire like that... What am I thinking?! What is this feeling I'm getting? It feels so familiar, like I've been in a situation like this before. This is driving me crazy, this memory is just within my grasp and I can't do anything to reach further. Why?!

Before I sit down beside the filly, I hear something hit the window near the entrance. I looks like a piece of paper was blown onto the glass. Trotting closer and closer to it, I see that it's some sort of... Advertisement flier? The light from the fire let me see what it read.

"Hail to Your Rulers: George and Martha. Hail to Your home: Caduceus!" Is what it read.

The artwork on the flier looks like nothing I've ever seen before. In the flier two (2) unicorns, who I assume are George and Martha, are standing in front of the strangest white pole. The pole is straight, and two (2) snakes are wrapped around the it. A pair of beautiful white wings hover over the pole as well. This is piquing my interest now. Maybe we can get answers from this place, 'Caduceus'. My mind is made up. Starting tomorrow, we set off for Caduceus.

Returning to the filly, I lie down next to her. This is great! The two of us won't have to be alone anymore. But... Maybe I want to be alone with her. I'm starting to second guess this idea.

No, I'm thinking nonsense. We NEED are our memories back. Well, I need them back anyways.

I completely erase any doubt in my mind, we're going. And that's final...

I just hope she doesn't have any objections.

Chapter 2: The Wooden Wolf

I am awoken to the sound of a high pitched chirping. Nothing is in the room, and the fire is already been extinguished. There are still a few table legs, but the vines have been reduced to nothing but ash. The filly is still asleep next to me. Before I nudge her awake, I think I'll take a look outside first. A cute little bird is resting on the window sill outside as I approach it. It's chirp must have been the same one that had woken me up. That flier from last night is caught on some rubble outside the window. I should grab that in case there's some more detail as to where this Caduceus place is.

The wooden table legs are still jammed between the doorhandles. They are easily dislodged, and I slowly open the set of glass doors. The flier flaps in the wind outside, and the rising sun shines down on it. Picking it up, something stands out to me. Nothing on the front side of the flier was out of place, but rather it was the back of the flier that was strange.

On the back was a crude drawing of two decapitated snakes. In the middle of the two snakes was another white pole, but only one snake was wrapped around it. Underneath the drawing were the words: Asclepius Lives. This must be some kind of graffiti, or maybe an attack on these George and Martha ponies. Whatever the case, I won't pay it any more attention than it needs.

Again, that mysterious howl echoes throughout the streets.

In fear of meeting the source of that ominous noise, I trot back inside and wake up the filly, "Come on, let's get going." I whisper to her.

She slowly opens her eyes and moans, "A few more... Minutes..."

I sigh, and then reply, "Fine. I'll pack up our stuff in the meantime."

Then the realization hits me, we don't have anything to carry all of this food in. There are about ten (10) cans of food, and five (5) bottles of water. There's no way we can carry that many provisions on our backs. I trot to the back of the room to see if I somehow missed something that I can use to carry our supplies in.

What I need is a bag or something to miraculously fly through the--

*CRASH*

The glass restaurant doors burst open, and I fall back on my rump. As a loud ear-wrenching roar follows the crash, I cover my ears with my hooves.

*GROOOAAARRR*

After the roar, whatever's in the door begins to make another noise. One I cannot even recreate with my own vocal chords. All I can say is that it is an extremely high pitched noise, and is similar to that of claws on a chalk board. Scratch that, ten (10) claws on a chalk board simultaneously.

*SCREEEEEECH*

It hurts! It's as if the noise it's emitting is making my ears bleed! The noise, and now the smell! Something foul is filling the air, and I don't know what it is. I can't even open my eyes long enough to see what's in the doorway! It seems to be something quite large though. Something large and... Brown?

"Make it stop! Make it stop!" Is all I can think to myself.

I turn to the filly and see if she's alright.

"You've got to be kidding me."

There the filly lays, sound asleep through this teeth-gritting noise!

"Hey! Wake up!" I shout.

She yawns, and wakes up to see a giant brown thing making an awful lot of ear-wrenching noise. After looking at me, and then turning to the doorway again, she grabs one of the empty tin cans beside her.

What is she planning on--

*THWOCK*

She throws the can at the door way, and the noise stops upon collision with whatever's in that door.

This filly is amazing, just who is she?

The loud creature that was stuck between the doors was now whimpering like a sad little puppy. I slowly crept towards the filly, who was now wide awake and staring at me on her side.

After reaching for her arm, I whisper, "What did you do to that thing?!"

"It was being loud. So I made it stop." She replies.

Disturbing. It seems like nothing fazes her.

"Was I too harsh? Should I apologize?" She asks.

Apologize? That thing tried to kill us. If anything, that thing should apologize to us! That is, if it's that intelligent. Well, whatever it was it's still whimpering behind the rubble outside the door. I'll confront this thing, and maybe I can reason with it.

"H-Hello?" I call out to it, while slowly trotting towards the door.

The fearful creature sounds almost like a whining... Dog? I creep around the corner of the door, and see something burying it's entire body into a bunch of logs and twigs. But wait, that wood looks like it's.. Part of the creature?

The filly quickly brushes past me and gallops to the... Wooden creature.

"Hey wait!" I shout, as I try to grab her. She's just out of my reach.

Her nose pokes at the twigs and logs, and they begin to shake. My hoof wraps around her arm, and I yank her back to the door.

Pieces of wood, twigs, logs, and timber become covered in a strange green glow as they begin to levitate in mid-air. Slowly, they connect and form into the shape of a four-legged creature. A dog.

Pointed pieces of wood insert themselves into what looks like the mouth of the creature. With leaves for eyebrows, and a small stump for a neck, the creature stares at me with fierce green glowing eyes.

It's... Facial expression, changed drastically when the filly peeked out from behind me. It snapped from an angry look, to a scared look again. Is it afraid of her? That a tin can couldn't have hurt that much. Could it?

"I-I'm sorry if I hurt you. Um..." She attempts to apologize, but I don't think it cares all that much.

And to my surprise, the dog-like creature backs away. She approaches it calmly, and gets close enough to pet it's head. It begins to pant happily with a smile cracking on it's face.

"Aww... He just wanted a little attention!" She exclaims.

Her ability to switch between split personalities amazes me.

Then, an idea pops into my head, "Hey, what if use this big guy to carry us and our supplies?"

She turns to me, "I'll ask him if it's okay with him."

She'll ask him. Great, I'm accompanied by a wolf whisperer. I'm not going to question it, maybe she does know how to talk to this thing. I hear her talking quietly to it, and it turns to me as if she had instructed it to. It slowly walks towards me, and then... I'm suddenly covered in a cloud of foul stench.

She giggles, and then bursts out laughing.

So this creature has the ability to belch out putrid gas out of it's mouth on command. I don't think I can live with it. But it's the only way I'm getting Caduceus. So I'll suck it up, and hope for the best.

"Heh, cute. Well, it looks like we can carve out an area on his back to make room for the supplies. Maybe there'll be room for us too." I say, thinking of different ways we can use this creature.

"He's not our own personal taxi service you know. And his name is Shrubbery by the way." She explains.

"We're naming him?" I ask, with an unamused face.

"Of course! He's the only other life form we've seen in this place. I think it's only fair." She replies.

"Then how come we don't have names?"

We both stop, and an awkward silence fills the air between us.

"That's right..." She says.

I finish her sentence, "We don't know anything about ourselves. But we..."

"We know everything else. Everything besides our own lives. Oh... We're never going to find out are we?"

I sigh, and then remember something. I remember that there is a way to help us get our memories back. It's close by, I just hope it's still there. I trot past Shrubbery and the filly, and spot the flier; still fluttering in the wind while caught on some rubble. Pulling it out, I show it her.

"Look! There's a place out there that might know who we are! We just have to find it."

She nods, and then agrees with me that it's our best bet. We trot inside, leaving Shrubbery outside. The two of us rush back and forth, tossing cans of food and bottles of water onto the wolf's back. Once all the cans are on his back, I climb on top of him carefully. The twigs are easily removed, and my hooves dig a little nest for the supplies to sit into his back. It doesn't look like he's hurt by this, which makes this a lot easier. I can see that a few large leaves are sticking out of his rear, he won't miss one. They come out easily, and make the perfect roof for the provisions.

"Well, it looks like there's just enough room for the both of us sit on his back." I say pointing to the ration nest, "Alright big guy, stand up and let's see how big you really are."

The wolf rises from it's sitting position. He's twice my height, and about four (4) times my body mass. He's gigantic.

"Shall we be off then?" She asks.

But where do we start? Maybe we should get out of the city first. Then we can see if there's any other cities around.

I climb on Shrubbery first, and then I pull the girl up after. She's sitting near the provisions, and I'm positioned closer to his neck. I can see fine from where I'm sitting, and that's an advantage since I have no idea where I'm going anyways.

"Alright boy, that way!" I yell.

And upon command, he obeys. But he catches us off guard, and we both almost lose our balance. We stabilize ourselves, and the cool windy breeze pushes against us. We're coming to the end of the street, and I can't see anymore buildings past that point.

The wolf runs faster and faster until I am forced to slow him down just a bit.

While looking up at the sky, my back is on the wolf's back, and a storm of thoughts begin raging in my head.

What is Caduceus?

Can it really help us?

What about Asclepius? What is it? And is it relevant to our journey?

How far is this place anyways?

Or maybe... We're standing in Caduceus.

No. I can't think like that. If I do, then I lose my purpose for living. And then she'll lose her hope too.

We finally reach the end of the street, and the city of broken and run-down buildings simply ends. There are no more buildings in front of us. No streets, no streetlights... Nothing. All we see in front of us is a vast, open, empty, lonely desert. Nothing but sand for miles and miles.

My hope begins to fade, but maybe there's something beyond all that sand. Maybe... Maybe... No. Definitely, there's something behind all that sand. I just... I just have to find it. Not just for my sake, but for her's too. I'm doing this for both of us. I don't think I can survive without knowing who I am.

I swear on my life, I will find Caduceus. Even if it kills me.

And with that sandstorm heading our way, I think it just might.

Chapter 3: Into the Sandstorm

What's that coming over the hill? Is it a sandstorm? Great, it is a sandstorm. The empty sandy desert in front of me worries both myself and the filly beside me. The timberwolf-- I mean Shrubbery, doesn't seem to be fazed by any of this. Perhaps he wishes to fulfill his master's wish. Or something along the lines of that. The tin cans of food clattered together with the bottles of water as the timberwolf galloped faster and faster towards the sandstorm. At first, I was wondering why our new friend was heading directly towards the sandstorm. But I soon realized what this wolf's plan was.

A giant leaf had begun to sprout from Shrub's neck. He was using this leaf to shield us from the sandstorm! Maybe this dog was smarter than I had thought. Or perhaps this is simply defense mechanism that he's using naturally. Whatever the reason, I think I can forgive this pup for almost killing me. The leaf grew and bent to cover us in all directions. Although the timberwolf left a moderately large hole in the back area for us to look out of. I can see the city we were in, it's slowly shrinking in size as Shrubbery gallops away.

"Do you even know anything about this Caduceus place?" The filly shouted over the sound of the sandstorm approaching.

I responded, "Well, I'm assuming it's some kind of city. And those leaders, George and Martha, they don't seem like bad ponies. And the buildings on the flier looked kind of... Futuristic."

"Futuristic?" She tilted her while sounding confused.

I paused before trying to describe it, "Well, they were really white... And tall. Clean looking too, cleaner than the buildings back there." I point out of the leaf's hole and to the city behind us.

"I... See. May I see the flier?" She asks politely.

"Sure. I think it's underneath the supplies." I say, reaching into the pile of tin cans.

I pull out the flier, and hand it to her. She takes it, and examines the front of it. Then, she flips the flier over.

"W-What...?" She whispers to herself.

Her eyes shoot open, and her hooves are shaking.

"What's wrong?" I ask the wide-eyed pony.

"Nothing! N-Nothing. It's... Nothing." She snaps at me.

It's clearly not nothing, but I decide to leave the topic alone... For now.

We sit awkwardly on this timberwolf's enclosed, yet spacious, backside. We're in the sandstorm now, I can tell because Shrubbery has slowed down in his galloping. The wind blowing against his face must be what's slowing him down. I feel sort of bad. We're safely being sheltered on his back, and he's enduring through this violent sandstorm. Time passes, as I gaze blankly at the back of the flier.

Why was the filly, who is now asleep mind you, so shocked to see this symbol? It's just a single snake wrapped around a white pole. It looks similar to the Caduceus symbol sure, but it's missing the pair of wings. Aside from that small detail, plus the missing snake, there's nothing odd about it.

I tuck the flier underneath the supplies, and lay down next to the filly. Not extremely close, but maybe a foot and a half away from her. Glancing out the hole in Shrubbery's leaf shield, I notice that the city we were in is no where to be found. We were too deep in the sandstorm to even see anything four (4) feet behind us.

Shrubbery wasn't as obnoxious when moving as I had thought, I imagined him to be bobbing up and down while walking, shaking us around in the back. In fact, the timberwolf was rather calm and gentle when he was moving. Which made it even better for us, as I knew the trip would be long, and I wanted to catch up on my sleep.

Unfortunately, the howling of the sandstorm and the sound of sand pellets pelting on the body of our timberwolf kept me from falling into slumber. I guess I should be grateful, at least the sandstorm was traveling in one direction. Had it been blowing the opposite way, it would have filled the inside of our leaf tent.

I lay on my back with my eyes closed, hopelessly trying to fall asleep. It seemed like the minutes slugged along for hours. Time passed on, and the worst part was that I couldn't tell how long we had been traveling. It could have been minutes, hours, or even an entire day! There was no indication of day or night in this wretched storm. The sun couldn't peek into this blizzard even if it wanted to. I could only wait until it subsided.

To my surprise I seem to have fallen asleep, that or I might be dead. Maybe I'm just closing my eyes whilst I'm awake. Who knows? The third assumption is probably my best bet. I'm too tired to open my eyes, let alone move my entire body. Who knew that a timberwolf's back would be so comfortable? Despite the sharp twigs and branches sticking out of it.

But... Something else is poking me. It's more like something is repeatedly poking me, rather than something constantly being jabbed into my foreleg. It's... Something soft. And something of small stature. A... Hoof?

"Hey! Wake up! Come on wake up!" I hear a voice echoing in my head.

It sounds familiar, and I come to the conclusion that it's probably the filly.

"I'm awake... I'm... Awake..." I groan.

Feeling groggy, I open my eyes to see the grey coated filly's face. Inches from... My face.

"What are you doing?" I ask, as if disappointed with her in some way.

"I thought you were dead. So I started poking you." She says, sounding uncomfortably emotionless.

I sit up straight, and she moves her head away from mine, "Glad to know that the first thing you would do is cry if I had died." I reply sarcastically.

She pauses... And then she softly speaks, her head hung low, "Don't joke about that."

Raising an eyebrow, I ask her what she meant.

"Don't joke about death... I can't bear to lose you."

Lose... Me?

A sudden shock snaps through my head. What is this feeling... I feel... Like this has happened before.

Who are you...?

"I'm..."

I'm waiting for an answer. And I finally get one. After all this time, I find out who this pink-mane grey-coat earthpony is.

She answers,

"May. Misaki May."

Chapter 4: Misaki May

"Y-You remember your name?! Since when?!" I shout.

This grey filly has just revealed to me that she knew all along who she was. She knew her name at least. And her name is Misaki May.

"N-No! You misunderstand. Well... I guess I kind of know..." She desperately tries to explain.

She better have a good excuse for not telling me.

"It was... When you were asleep..." She says.

"I fell asleep on Shrubbery..." I say to myself.

"No. At the restaurant back at the city. When you fell asleep, I snuck out and went back to the building we woke up in."

She has guts, I'll give her that. Trotting out in the middle of the night in a city with mysterious beasts roaming around.

"Wait, then there could have been--" I'm stopped, she interrupts me.

"No." She likes to use that word a lot.

She pulls a small notebook from behind her, "There was only one bag, one satchel. There was a journal in it, and I--"

I snatch the book from her.

"H-Hey!"

I open the book, stand up, and flip through the pages. They're all empty! All of them!

"What the hell is this?!" I shout, throwing the journal on the ground.

She slowly reaches for the journal, I kick it away. I wanted to kick the sand in anger, but I accidentally kicked the journal instead. Before I try to apologize, I notice my surroundings.

The sandstorm has subsided, and Shrubbery was whimpering in fear behind a rather large boulder.

I couldn't care where I was. This filly, Misaki May, found out something about her past and didn't even bother to tell me. I'm upset, angry, and furious at the same time!

"I'm... Sorry." She says, staring at the sand below her.

"Sorry?! How could you do this?! You sneak out, and put yourself in danger like that for an empty journal! How stupid are you?!" I scream.

"I just forgot about it okay?! And it's not empty! Look!" She throws the journal at me.

That's the first time I've ever heard her raise her voice. But that's not the point of interest in this argument, I look down and see the front of the journal. A symbol is imprinted on the front of the journal. It's the exact same symbol from the back of the flier. A single snake wrapped around a pole.

"So? It's just the mark on the back of the flier. How is that relevant to--"

"The front page you idiot!"

She called me an idiot, that's a first. I open the journal to the first page, and it reads, "If you're grey, and have a pink mane, then you're most likely me. If you're reading this, then you should first know your name. You're name is Misaki May, and--" The of the page is torn off.

"Well that's just fantastic." I say, tossing the journal to the side.

"Now do you believe me?" She asks.

I nod, "Yes. And... I'm sorry."

Without a reply, she scoffs and trots over to Shrubbery, who is still whimpering behind that rock. I sigh, and then follow her.

We both decide that it would be best if we camp out for the night around the boulder. Shrubbery dispenses some twigs and kindle for us to use, and I light the pile of timber on fire with the lighter. Just in time too, the sun has just set behind the sand hills in the distance. Soon the light faded, and the previously red and orange sky transitions into a dark blue sky.

I sit near the fire, the flames crackle inches away from my face. My back is against this giant boulder, as Shrubbery sleeps behind it.

The filly-- I mean, Misaki May is lying on her stomach on the opposite side of the fire. I noticed that her braid was becoming undone. It was a shame, I kind of liked her mane like that.. I feel horrible for yelling at her, I suppose I felt left out when she found out something about herself. She's definitely mad, she didn't even accept my apology when I gave it to her earlier. This sucks.

I gaze up at the sky, the stars are twinkling in the night. The moon hovers beautifully above us, glowing as the brightest thing up there.

My eyes are getting heavier by the minute. This boulder is strangely comfortable, almost as if it were a living being.

The only thing I can think about now is... Sleep...

This groggy feeling infects my body again. I feel like jelly, oozing out onto the sandy ground. Before I open my eyes, I notice an uneasy silence looming in the air. The lack of blowing wind wasn't disturbing, nor was the extremely quiet burning of the extinguished fire pit.

My eyes shoot open, and I scramble to my hooves.

It's already early dawn, and the sun is just rising over the sand dunes behind me. Looking around, I see nothing except the giant boulder and the burnt pieces of charcoal in the fire pit.

"Damnit! I was afraid she would do this, and I was knew it would happen too!"

I kick the sand with my hind legs and shout as loud as I can into the sky, "ARGH! I'm such an idiot!"

The only thing behind the giant boulder was an empty desert that was littered with dunes. Shrubbery was gone, and so was Misaki May.

Why? I don't know why I'm asking, I already know the answer. I pissed her off, and girls like to show the fact that they're pissed off. But this? I could die for crying out loud! She didn't leave me any supplies, no water or food. I'd give myself about a day, two if I'm lucky, before I either pass out or die from a heat stroke.

I'm still regretting what I said to her, I know for a fact that I was too harsh for something so miniscule. I'm trying avoid coming to the terms with the situation I'm in right now. I don't want to face the facts, not this fact at least.

So it comes down to this huh? It comes down to this terrible fate I've been met with.

She had run away, and left me for dead. I was alone.

Completely, and utterly, alone.

Damn it all.

Chapter 5: The Black Blizzard

The only two (2) companions I've ever had in this world have left me for dead. Misaki May, a filly whose only goal is to find out who she really is, has been angered by my cruel and harsh words. Shrubbery, a timberwolf that is loyal to the filly, was most likely the mode of transport for Misaki. I theorize that she loaded all the supplies onto the timberwolf, and then left in an unknown direction. She probably didn't want me to follow her, maybe she thinks she can handle this entire situation on her own.

Fortunately, she didn't take Shrubbery's paw prints into account. He had left a trail of triangular claw marks in the sand that lead off towards the sunrise. There's nothing to pack up, so I guess I'll start following these tracks.

I begin walk through the sand, a light breeze is blowing grains of sand past my hooves. The sun rises above the sand dunes in the distance, and I'll soon be staring directly into it. I trot closer and closer to dunes, but they to be getting farther away from me. The giant boulder behind can still be seen, which proves that I haven't been walking for very long. But it seems like an hour has passed already, I fear I'll never find those two at this rate.

I'm starting to tire, my legs can't carry me any further. I've reached the top of a sand dune, and my body collapses onto the sand head-first.

"Where in the world are you two..." I muffle through the sand.

The sun is showering me and the sand around me with boiling hot rays. If I could get up, I could. But this heat is unbearable and I can't even move my head up from the sand to look over the dune. My eyes are shut tightly, so sand can't get inside. But something makes me scramble to my hooves rapidly. A noise echoes in the distance. It's a... Purring noise? It's very quiet, and soft. But it's gradually becoming louder and louder. Is it... Getting closer?

My head shoots up to see what's making the noise. I never thought to look past the dune. My first thought was to collapse and catch my breath in the sand. Looking up, I see three (3) blurry objects in the distance. Whatever they are, they're approaching me. And at a fast pace as well.

I'm betting that those things aren't as friendly as I hope they are. But on the other hoof, they might know where Misaki and our timberwolf could have gotten off to. That is, if they're sane enough to understand me. Then again... Everything I've seen in this world seems pretty intelligent...

I think the first thing I should figure out is what exactly is coming my way. 'They' are too far away to see clearly. However, I can see their numbers quite well. Three (3) blurry objects speed towards me, and I attempt to trot down the steep sand dune. But as soon as I take a step, another loud noise rings out.

*BANG*

Something speedily flies into the sand below me. I may not know who I am, but I do know what bullets are. And bullets come from guns, and it takes a somewhat intelligent being to handle a gun. Now I know for sure that these are some relatively sound creatures. But my guess is that they don't plan on giving me directions, seeing as they just began shooting at me.

It doesn't seem like I can do anything in this situation. Fighting back is out of the question, and I probably wouldn't get very far by running away. There's a slim chance that negotiation could work, but I have nothing to bargain with; seeing as a certain somepony made off with all of my food and water.

Well looks like none of those are an option now, aside from negotiations, as the three (3) creatures are within sight now. The first thing I notice is their transportation, motorbikes? The gas powered machines stop at the foot of the sand hill, and I can clearly see the creatures on motorbikes.

My assailants are... Dogs?! Before I can question this strange turn of events any further, one of the dogs shouts at me.

"Oi! You up there! Git down here before I pop one in 'yer noggin!" He yells with a thick accent that I can barely understand.

I nod, and proceed down the dune. As I reach the base of the sand hill, I see the dogs more clearly, as well as their guns. The one on the right carried a long shotgun on his shoulder, and the one on the far right had a long barrelled rifle hanging from his neck by a strap. Then there was the dog in the middle, he certainly looked like the gang-leader type. A short barrel revolver hung from a holster that was stitched into the sash on his chest. The roaring of their motorcycles, along with the smoke emitting from their exhaust pipes, amplified the toughness of these 'dogs'.

I build up the courage of "Excuse me, but could you--"

The right-hand dog immediately pulls out his gun and fires a bullet to my right.

*BANG*

"Hey hey hey! Easy there pal, I just wanna know if you saw a filly and a timberwolf anywhere around here!" I shout at the top of my lungs. In retrospect, that probably wasn't the smartest idea in the world.

The dog on the left speaks up in a flat, rather dumb-sounding voice, "Oi boss, didn't we see sometin' sorta like 'dat a little while back?"

Then the dog on the right shouts in the same dumb-sounding voice, but a little more aggressive, "Shat yer' trap Brown! Don't tell 'em nothin!"

Their accents are ridiculously annoying, I can barely understand a word they're saying. Fortunately, the middle dog seems to have an understandable accent.

He holsters his gun, and begins to speak, "I'm terribly sorry for my companions' behaviour. Now, about that timberwolf..."

"You've seen them?!" I ask.

As I ask, the dog on the right quickly takes aim at me with his rifle, "Don't bite 'da hand 'dat feeds ya mate! Let him finish!"

I take a step back slowly, and the dog in the middle raises his paw to signal the other canine to back off as well.

He sighs, "I cannot express how sorry I am, I'll deal with him later. But the two individuals you're looking for just happen to pass by through by our base. Or rather, through our base."

"Through?" I ask.

"That wolf of her's trampled through camp, and happened to take down one of our medical tents. The armoury collapsed too, that timberwolf packs a punch I'll tell ya that!"

Shrubbery doesn't look like he's able to act without commands. Why would Misaki tell him to do something like raid a camp? Wait... Camp...

I've come to a realization, that there are other life forms in this damn desert. But I can't dawdle on this new fact, I need to find my original companions.

The middle dog continues, "After that filly and her 'Branch-Mutt' trashed our base, they headed off towards Caduceus."

My eyes light up, and my ears perk high, "Caduceus?!"

"Uh... Yeah. It's north-west of our base camp. Why? You looking for something there?" He asks.

"Yeah, you can say that. I-If it's not too much trouble, could I please get a ride to your camp?" I ask desperately.

He looks to his left, and then his right, and then straight at me.

"Sure. In fact, maybe you can help us catch that filly."

I nod, and approach the centre dog's bike. He pats the empty seat behind him. I climb on, and try to avoid any physical contact with the dog. He revs the motorbike up, and smoke begins to rise behind me. Soon, the bike begins to move. His companions follow us as we do a complete loop and head off in the opposite direction of the sand dune.

I raise my voice over the sound of the engine, "By the way, what's I never asked what your name!"

"My name? It's Black! Black Blizzard! What about you?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out..." I reply in a quiet volume, but he seems to notice regardless.

Now I have a plan. Find Caduceus, and in turn, find Misaki. And if the right cards are played right, I'll find out who I am.

We zoom through the desert, and I see something in the distance. It looks like... A building.

Chapter 6: A Shot that Never Misses

I've transitioned from "I'm alone in a desert because I upset a girl." To, "I'm sitting on the back of a motorcycle, with a dog, flying through the sand and towards a large tower in the distance."

It's about noon, the sun is at it's peak in the sky. The roaring of the bike's motor forces me to speak in a higher volume. Two other dogs are riding motorbikes on both of my sides. Sweating like a pig, I ask the biker dog in front of me, "So is that your base in the distance?"

"Yeah, that tower is our main base of operations." He explains, loudly.

"So why are you camped out here, instead of at Caduceus?"

"Are you dense?! Caduceus is the last place I wanna be!"

I ask why. I mean, isn't it some kind of utopian city? Why would he pick the middle of the desert over a place like that?

He answers, "Because those two (2) idiots, George and Martha, they can't even hold their citizens' trust long enough to even--"

Suddenly, he stops. He pulls the brakes on the bike's handles, and we skid on the sand to a halt.

"Why'd you stop--" He covers my mouth with his paw.

"Shut it pony! Oi boss, is it one of 'dos dragons?" The biker on my right asks.

The dog in the middle responds, "Yeah. Check your ammo. Make sure you have enough, there'll be no time to reload."

Dragons? Check your ammo? No time for reloading? Are they seriously going to try and shoot it down?! I don't see anything flying around, and I certainly don't hear anything either.

"Where is it?" I ask.

He stares straight ahead, "You blind? It's right there!" Whispering, he points ahead.

I squint, and try and look as far as I can. There's... A cloud of sand in the distance, but I can't see anything else besides the dogs' base tower.

"Think pony. There's no wind, not even a breeze. Do you think a cloud of sand that big can just form on it's own?" He asks.

He brings up a good point, so there's a dragon inside that cloud.

"Loaded up boys?" The centre dog asks.

Both of them nod. The one of the left pumps his shotgun.

"Then let's get to it!" He shouts, as the motorbike sways left and right, and then begins zooming forward towards the cloud of sand.

My mane blows to the back of my head, as we speedily approach the supposed dragon. The closer we get, the larger the cloud of sand becomes larger. Suddenly, a blurry long figure bursts from the cloud. It shoots just above our heads, leaving a trail of displaced sand in it's path. I barely got a glimpse of it, but it was definitely something with wings and a tail.

"Do a loop and start shootin!" The dog in front of me commands.

The other bikers obey, and we do the same. My rump almost touches the sand, as do a full turn towards the wild creature.

"Can you really catch that thing?! I mean, did you see how it shot past us?!" I shout over the roar of the motor.

"Catch it? I ain't gonna put it in a zoo if that's what you're asking!" He laughs.

Gunshots ring out, the other two are firing their guns while riding. But the dog in front of me isn't shooting, why?

"Hey pony! You know how to shoot a gun right?" He asks.

"Well uh, I've seen movies--"

"Close enough! Catch!" He tosses a revolver onto the open space between my legs.

"W-Wait wha--"

"Don't worry!" The dog shouts, "I hooked up a hoof adapter for ya! So ponies like you can use it too, go on slap it on your arm!"

There's a large cuff, about the size of a large hoof, attached to the handle of the revolver. Some sort of lever is attached to the ring. The other end of the lever sat in the middle of the trigger guard. It looks confusing and indescribable, but I insert my right hoof into the ring, and pull on the fastening belt with my mouth. It's a snug fit.

"I think you can figure out how it works. You push that lever, and it pulls the trigger of the gun! We crafted that mechanism when an earth pony joined our camp, since he didn't have any wings or horns." Black Blizzard explains.

So there are ponies in his camp? I'll ask questions later, first we need to deal with this dragon. Waltzing into the camp with a 'fast as lightning' lizard flying around is out of the question.

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

The other two riders begin shooting into the sky. I can see the winged creature now high above us. Except, it's descending. Fast. In our direction.

"Shoot to kill!" Blizzard shouts.

Raising my arm to the sky, I pull the hammer back on the gun, take aim at the dark blurry figure approaching from above, and slap the lever forward with my left hoof. The revolver releases a loud 'bang' and the recoil makes it bounce backwards towards my face. Luckily, my face remains unbruised. Smoke rises from the barrel of my gun. But I'm not sure if I actually hit anything.

But Black Blizzard puts my doubts to rest, "Well I'll be damned! You're a natural shot, pony!"

"Wait, do you mean I--" I'm interrupted by one of the other dogs riding around.

"Heads up! She's comin' down!" The rider with the shotgun shouts.

I look up and see the dragon losing it's straight flying form, and beginning to flop around during it's descent. Now, I can finally see the dragon clearly.

Light brown rough scales cover the creature completely. Sharp, giant wings are attached to a fat body that is twice the size of it's head. And it's long neck curls as it falls to the ground.

Fortunately, the dragon falls behind us and not on us.

*THUD*

The loud noise signals that the dragon has been shot down, and has crashed into the sand behind us. Black Blizzard squeezes the brakes on our bike, and turns around to examine our enemy. He twists the throttle, and we cruise calmly towards the body.

We pull up to the dragon, and everyone dismounts their bikes. The other two dogs follow me and Blizzard as we walk over to the corpse. Sure enough, it was dead. One of the dogs pumps his shotgun, and cautiously approaches the creature.

After walking around it, twice, he shouts, "Ya got him between the eyes pony!"

"You sure you've never shot a gun before?" Black Blizzard asks.

I shake my head.

"Well, maybe beginner's luck was on your side today. You can keep the gun, we have plenty back at the camp." He says.

The dog with the rifle begins to poke the dragon with the barrel of his gun, "We take the scales and hide for clothes and such. We'll stay here and skin it, you take the pony back to camp boss."

Black Blizzard nods, and then returns to the bike. I follow. I'd rather not see a dragon get skinned. It's bad enough that I've just killed a creature. I've seen enough movies that involve killing to be used to this kind of stuff. But still...

"We all have a first time, and it's never pretty."

My head turns towards Blizzard, "Even you?"

"Even me. I remember my first kill... It was a pegasus. In Caduceus. I threw up my lunch a few minutes after, in a nearby alleyway. I'll never forget the feeling."

He took a pony's life, and shot down a dragon. Yet, I don't feel any remorse for taking a life. Why don't I feel anything about this... It's tearing me to bits. Feeling horrible, because I can't feel horrible. Great.

I mount the motorbike, and Black Blizzard races off to towards the towering building in the distance. Finally, I'll have my first clue to where Misaki has escaped to.

Misaki, where are you?

(ENDING)

We approach the base camp Asclepius. It takes us a mere few minutes by motorcycle, and I soon find myself outside a set of sturdy-looking sandstone pillars that acts as a gate. They're both about five (5) meters high, and two (2) meters wide. In between the pillars is a pair of large wooden doors that towers over Blizzard and myself. A brown pegasus and a silver dog stand guard in front of gate.

Black Blizzard and I come to a halt on our motorbike in front of the guards. They seem to recognize Blizzard, but they glare ominously at me.

"He's fine, let us in." He says.

The guards nod, and each walk to the middle of the gate. They pull on the giant handles, and the large wooden door opens. Behind it are rows and rows of tents and buildings. After Black Blizzard shuts off the motorcycle we disembark and enter the gated town, leaving the motorbike in the care of the guards.

The sand doesn't blow as hard within these sandstone walls, and I think the inhabitants of this town appreciate that. Merchant stalls full of groceries and goods are scattered around the town. Ponies and dogs of all kinds walk around this mysterious desert outpost.

"What is this place?" I ask my canine companion.

He replies, "This is the safest haven for miles around. Welcome to Asclepius."

Asclepius? Isn't that...

I look around, and see posters stuck to building walls. The posters have the exact same symbol on them as the one in the old city, outside the restaurant, did.

"So you're the ones who drew these posters. I've seen your work in an old city I had just come from."

The dog nods, "Yes. Although, I don't recall placing any posters in that abandoned place. We only put these up in the streets of Caduceus. The reason for that is so that the government doesn't suspect our plans, and it shows the people who believe in our rebellion when and where we're going to strike. Our followers know to check the back of the posters, while the law enforcers leave them up without touching them."

I then remind myself of why I'm here. Misaki May and Shrubbery.

"So what about that timberwolf and the filly that came here?"

He gestures for me to follow, and I cooperate. Not too far from the gates is a small igloo-like building that is made of sandstone, rather, what's left of it.

"This is just a small part of the damage they did. They-- rather *she*, took a few weapons, and a whole lot of medicine."

How much exactly did she take?

"Think of a squadron. Maybe about the size of four (4) ponies and three (3) diamond dogs. Now double that."

Good grief.

"She's yours right? You gotta fix this, or get her back here with the medicine and weapons." Blizzard speaks in a serious tone.

"B-But... I don't know where she could even--"

"Caduceus. The only place around here for miles is Caduceus. And you wanted to go there in the first place right? Well?"

"T-Then, can you take me there?!" I ask desperately.

He remains silent, as we walk through the chatter-filled streets of Asclepius. Feeling like a nuisance, I decide to shut up. The streets are bustling with ponies and dogs carrying bags and cargo back and forth across the streets to what I'm assuming are other shops. Suddenly, a group of pony children and pups begin to chase each other around me. Perhaps they know I'm new in town? Black Blizzard shoos them off playfully.

"Let's not bother our new guest now, you'll get plenty of chances to play with him alright?"

The children nod, and run off to play elsewhere. That was a quick persona change if I've ever seen one.

We walk for a few minutes, and we finally come up to a house made of bricks and wood in the middle of the other sandstone architecture. Where could they even get the materials around here? They must go out pretty far to find them.

The dog walks up to the wooden door.

"Celestia's crown, may it rule forever." Black Blizzard whispers.

Is that a password? I'll be sure to remember that.

*CLICK*

The doors makes a strange noise, and I can only suspect that it's been unlocked from the inside.

"Come in." He instructs, and I follow.

It's rather dark inside, no windows. There are lamps hanging from the ceiling, but they're not very bright. The smell of smoke sails through my nostrils. Somewhere in the house, a cigarette has been lit. I follow the dog into another room, where a table and seven (7) chairs sit.

And in those chairs, four (4) mares sit silently. The light isn't bright enough to see any details about them. But I know that they're mares, and I know that one of them is smoking.

"Sit." Blizzard says, as he pulls up a seat.

I place my rump on the wooden stool next to his, and a good distance away from the intimidating mares.

"Alright ladies. We have a new recruit on the S.I.R.T."

"S-Sirt?" I ask for an explanation.

And then... A sweet, yet fierce voice comes from the group of mares, "Special Infiltration Recon Team."

Surely they're joking. This sounds so cheesy it's not even funny anymore.

"It's no joke. And if you think it is, you have every right to leave. Although, we might choose to shoot you before you get past the gates." Another voice, a different one this time, comes from the group of mare again.

"Easy Strings. We don't want to scare him just yet." Black Blizzard intervenes.

Just yet?

"What the hell is he supposed to be anyways? What role does he have in our team?" A third voice asks.

"It's too dark in here. Do you mind?" Black Blizzard turns to the mare furthest on my left.

Suddenly I see a horn glow, on the right side of the mares this time. Then, the lamp above the table has a sudden boost in light and the room is illuminated a bit more.

"Ah, I apologize ladies. It's hard to tell ponies apart from just the voices." The dog to my right apologizes-- Wait... There's no longer a dog sitting next to me!

I jump off and away from my seat.

"W-Where did--"

"Hm? Oh, Phooey. It wore off." A black unicorn sits where Black Blizzard should be.

"W-Wore off?"

"Yes. Changeling armour. Developed and sold to us by a traveling changeling a little while ago. I use it to conceal my identity here in Asclepius." The unicorn explains.

I calm down, and sit next to the dog-- Rather, the unicorn.

But now, I can see the four mares in front of my quite clearly. A blue earth pony in a frilly black dress sits on the far left. Next to her is green pegasus who is currently polishing off her glossy revolver. On the pegasus' left, a white unicorn sits with a tiny golden harp on her back. And finally, on the far right end of the table; A skin coloured earth pony sits with her hind legs on the table with five (5) cards held in front of her face. Each pony looks as uninterested as the next.

"Can you four at least show some interest? Or at least pretend to." The black unicorn requests.

"Not a chance. We work fine on our own. Why do we need a male--"

"Sexism isn't going to solve anything. And besides, this young strapping colt has traits from his father that we need." He says.

"My... Dad?" I ask.

The pegasus speaks up, "Don't you see? He doesn't even have a father. I know an orphan when I see one. I've been there kid, don't worry." Her words are comforting, and at the same time, they leave a harsh sting.

"He has a father. We all do. He just hasn't met him yet. And now he can, on our next trip to Caduceus."

"W-What?!" Three of the mares shout, as do I, in synchronization. The mare on the far left remains quiet, but shows a sign of interest in her eyes.

"You're name is Apollo Coronis, and your father is trapped in that so-called 'City of Hope'."

...I'm shocked. I can't move, and so many thoughts are swirling around in my brain like a tornado. He just dumped that on me, he really just did.

"Wait. You don't know who I am! I don't even know who I am!"

"Well you got one more surprise kid, one of the mares in front of you... Is your mother." Black Blizzard keeps piling on the outrageous.

*THWOCK*

A knife pierces the wood of the table, just inches from the edge. It looks like the blade was thrown at Blizzard. And it looks like the marksman was... The pony in the frilly dress? She's the last one I would have expected to do something like that.

"Ah, let me introduce you to the rest of your team, Apollo."

He calls me by a name that sounds so familiar, yet so unknown.

"On the far left, the mare that just tried to kill me, that's Thorns. She deals with... The stealth and surprise aspect of our group."

"Next to her is firearms expert, Dove. Sniper rifles, shotguns, pistols, you name it; she's got it. And she's also trained with it too."

"And the one with the golden piece of noise and racket on her back is Strings. She's the diplomat. Any deals need to be made with someone inside, she's got it handled."

"And finally, the gambler on the right over there is our tactician and leader."

"I thought you were the leader though?" I interrupt.

The earth pony on the right cuts me off and interjects into the conversation, "He's the distraction, and if needed, support. I'm the leader because I'm the one who organized this band of lunatics. I'm the one who sets the one common goal between us in this room. Your father. The name's Ace. Remember it, and address me with it when I give you orders."

Yes sir...

"Now. We head for Caduceus immediately. I don't want to explain the plan twice, so Dove you do it. Since you're the one with the most comfort with him."

Dove turns to Ace, "You little--"

They begin to argue, but Black Blizzard pulls me off to another room.

"You'll need this." He hands me a watch with the word 'MAST' etched into it. "I see you've kept the gun. You can have it, I have more. Now, here's the plan for Caduceus..."

Looks like I'll get more answers than I bargained for. And even more questions than when I started.

But still... Who are these ponies? Four (4) mares who, one of which could potentially be my mother. And my father, he's here in this world too. Maybe it's fate, or a God of some sort smiling upon me with fortune. But where in the world is Misaki and that Timberwolf?

Will I ever get the answers I'm looking for?

But wait, I already have one.

Apollo Coronis...