We Found Your Hat

-Two and a half weeks ago-

During the wee hours of morning, before the sun had been drawn out, Celestia sat in her study reading over some of Twilight's old letters. “She has come a long way,” the majestic mare told herself. “One day she may even surpass me.” A gentle smile lifted her cheeks. “We'll see how this all turns out. Now then, off to raise the sun.” After standing up and moving to the door, the princess heard a loud thud come from the hall.

“Ow! Who put that wall there?”

“Who is that?” She opened her study's door and peered outward. Of peculiar interest, she found a tan-coated, blonde-maned Earth Pony stallion stumbling about in the hall. “Hello? Who are you?”

“Oh! Hi Princess Celestia. Would you happen to know where Princess Luna ventured off to?” the pony inquired. “Oh, whoops. I forgot!” Suddenly he dropped to the floor in a bow. The princess would have asked about his business with Luna, but several suspicions caused her to refrain. Among other things, he was not part of the royal guard and as such should not have been able to enter the palace this early.

Stepping out from her room and facing him, she interrogated, “Who are you?” Her words remained calm and soft, but she was worried for her sister.

“Me? Uhhh...” The stranger turned his head and looked back the way he came. He began mumbling to himself, not quite aware that Celestia could hear him with clarity. “No, not a good time for witty response. I can't tell her, can I? I wasn't expecting to see her. Ugh, how could I have walked into a wall like that? Such a klutz.” After his soliloquy, he faced her and answered, “Nobody. I'm Nobody.”

“No...body?” She made note of that form of speech and went on in her investigation. “How did you get in here?”

“Oh, I'm a friend of Princess Luna, so I walked through the front doors.”

“Did the guards let you in?”

“Yup!”

“Hm.”

“I'm a friend,” he repeated with added emphasis. “I am on an important mission, and I don't have lots of time to twiddle my th-er hooves.” A small object clanged onto the floor in front of him causing him to gaze downward. “Ooops.” Celestia stepped forward and peered down at it. While she could not identify exactly the nature of the item, she recognized it as a machine.

“Are you a smith? Or a tinker?”

“Y-yes. That's my latest project.” He grabbed the object off the floor and put it away. “I need to give it to Luna. It's very important. It's why I came here, and please stop asking questions. I am trying to help, but it gets harder and harder the more you know.” Celestia readied to ask another question but was stopped. “No, I won't tell you anymore. If you won't help me find Luna, then I'll get her myself. I'm sorry for being disrespectful, but I am in an important enough rush to be that way. Please understand.”

“No.” Princess Celestia did not appreciate his words, and she would not allow him to pass without real answers.

“Ergh...” The strange pony shook his head. “You're going to be late for your sunrise. It's supposed to be a few minutes from now.” His head shook once more but with somberness; nonetheless, the royal mare would not budge. “Sorry.” A black smoke exploded around the fellow, and he appeared crashing into a wall down the hall. “Ooof.” He fell to the ground backwards. “I can't move through the walls?”

Celestia cantered over and peered down her snout at him. “I have had magic protecting the palace since the Changelings attack; you won't be going anywhere.” With that, she covered him with casing magic which looked much like a straight jacket. “Tonight, I will have Luna see you to confirm what you have said, but you will have to wait until then.”

“Guess I'll have to learn patience.” The pony huffed some air, while Celestia levitated him into her study. “Wait, you're not taking me to a dungeon?”

“I still have questions to ask, but I won't cause you any harm.” She smiled ever-so tenderly before releasing him by the fire pit and leaving. Doors shut.

Celestia did her duty extra speedily, so she could return as soon as possible. After approximately ten minutes, she entered her room and found the stranger lying comfortably on the floor—that is, as comfortable as possible whilst bound up. She released the magic around him so that he could move. “If you try anything, I'll tie you up again, but do get comfy. You'll be here awhile.” She already had a line of questions set up in her mind.

On the other hoof, the Stallion drove right on explaining himself. “I don't have a name, Princess Celestia. I was not born with one, as far as I can remember. I was not-ugh, you know, I'm getting sick of answering your questions.”

“I-I haven't even asked them yet, and we've barely started.” The pony's attitude began to grate on her nerves. He was impatient, secretive, and whiny. “I-”

“Please! Stop, stop!” The nameless individual pleaded with a great deal of emotion; his voice even broke. “I don't have time for this. Sincerely—with all my heart—I would tell you everything if the conditions were not so severe. I gave something to your sister, and I forget a major detail. It's very unlikely anything will happen, but I need to get my little trinket to her to ensure that nothing will. I made a mistake, and I'm trying to fix it.” A long deep breath erupted.

“I don't believe you.”

“You're not my enemy, Celestia, but I can't tell you everything. Most things, even.” Getting off the floor, he marched up to her face and stared her in the eyes. “I'm sorry for my attitude. I'm sorry for causing you to worry. I should have tried harder, but I messed up. Can you please forgive me?”

After hearing that, her highness nodded and relaxed. “I do; however, that's not what this is about. I still want to know certain things. The faster you explain, the faster you can leave. You're not in trouble, but you will be if you can't tell me. I can deem you an enemy of Equestria, if I consider you dangerous enough.” A hoof raised and waved left to right. “I don't want to do that.”

“Is there any way to get out of this questioning?”

“No.”

“Fine.” He turned to his left and show-cased his cutie mark. It was a black, five-point star.

The princess had not paid any attention to it beforehoof. Both her brows furled and her snout scrunched, for she had not seen anything like it. Cutie mark stars had color or were white, but she had yet to see a black one. A black star was a dead star, and a pony rarely, if ever, received a cutie mark involving death. “What is your special talent?”

“I'm a dead messenger.” The pony raised a hoof and tapped Celestia on the nose from which she stepped back.

“I've never heard of such a thing.”

“Of course not.” He walked about the room and came up alongside the mare. She did not approve but permitted the action. “I'm that star that continues sending out its message even though its light has gone out. My own light is not my message; I have another's light to show. Now, Celestia, I'm turning this around because that's all you need to know. Once Equestria is safe, I'll tell you more.” He walked in front of and faced her. “Though, you will answer one question. How can a pony without a horn do... this?” Abruptly, the same magic that had wrapped the black-star pony up then developed around Celestia. It tightened around her preventing movement.

“What? You're-”

“Nothing. A ghost, a shadow, a dead star.” He cackled. “I have to explain myself the same way with so many, and it never gets old.” With that, he reached for the door; nevertheless, upon contact with the door knob, his hoof sizzled. “Gah, OW!” He took his hoof and blew on it. “Hot, hot!”

“You're not going anywhere.” Princess Celestia sliced off the magical bindings with magical scissors. “You are dangerous, Black Star, so I cannot allow you to leave.”

“I knew this would happen. Actually, I didn't.” With the unburned forehoof, “Nobody” smacked his forehead. “Okay. Last warning. I will fight you, if I have to, but you have to promise me one thing. You won't say word of this to anyone. Good, glad we've agreed.” The princess did not have the chance to say anything, but she did not care. “You've already lost.” Suddenly several copies of “Black Star” appeared across the room.

“I think not!” Celestia spread her wings and unleashed a intense heat wave towards him, but a hollow sphere of water enveloped her absorbing all of the heat. All the water burst into steam which then clouded the room, so she lost sight of her targets. She attempted to blow away the fog with a wind, but before she could, a large torrent of water smashed against her thrusting her into the wall. The crash caused a daze, but she shook it off quickly. The fog grew intensely thicker at which point it started to hamper breathing. Successfully this time, Celestia generated a wind, but a counter-torrent canceled it out. Moreover, the contrary tempest wielded a sinister chill. All the air liquid froze and collected upon everything in the room including her highness. The chill crept into her bones posthaste. One Black Star stood at the other end of the room The low temperatures seemed to have no effect on him, for he casually watched her.

Every action she had made thus far was rebounded. It seemed the enemy knew her magic well and had the means to beat it. She had to do something drastic.  Therefore, as a last ditch effort, she expended the remainder of her magic. She coated the room with a protection spell and then summoned a chunk of sun into the room. Temperatures skyrocketed. For certain, Black Star would not survive this. Fortunately, the heat did not scathe her in the slightest, though exhaustion did force her to the floor. She looked up to see what would happen to the blonde-maned pony.

“You know, Celestia!?” he called out, standing in front of the monstrous ball of energy. “I think you forgot another name for a dead star! Black hole!” He dipped his face into the sun shard and sucked all of it through his mouth. Belch! “That was refreshing.”

“But...” Celestia gaped. “What-what!?” Coming to terms with her defeat, she relinquished the spell around the room. Black Star trotted up to her and peered down his own snout at her.

“This did not have to end this way,” he remarked. “I tried to avoid this. There are things I can't tell you, Celestia, and there things you are not ready to know. Unfortunately, I cannot have you waltzing around with the knowledge of what you just saw. I have to take your memories concerning this incident.” He placed a single hoof to her head and pressed hard. The princess simply shut her eyes thereby accepting her fate. Silence. After several seconds of nothing, the princess opened her eyes. “I'll take them away!” The hoof ground hard into her head causing minor pain; therefore, she cringed and slammed her eyes shut again.

A wet drop splashed on the bridge of Celestia’s nose. “I can't do it,” the whisper came. The powerful stranger lightened up and backed away. When Celestia gazed at him, she noticed tears strolling down his cheeks. “It hurts more and more.” He slammed the floor. “I don't want to hurt anyone anymore! I hate it. I hate it so much! Winning is stupid and vain.” A heavy breath escaped the lungs and a second stream of water fell from his eyes. This turn of events shocked even the princess; although, she did understand. “Celestia... I lost my memories once. More times than that.” He sat down and covered his face with a leg. “I have them all back now, but I lost my first wife and several children because I did not remember my past. Even if only short part, I cannot wipe your memories away. I cannot make that happen to someone else.”

Shakingly standing up, walking over to him, and sitting in front of him, the princess laid a hoof on his shoulder. “You have lived a long time. I can relate to your experiences.” She didn't care that they had been fighting moments ago; the situation had changed.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Wiping away his tears, the tan Earth Pony put his hoof on Celestia's outstretched leg. “I still can't tell you anything else, but do you trust me now?” She nodded slowly. “Thank you. Heheh, hahah. Well, I should find Luna now; I have wasted enough time. Well, I guess this whole experience wasn't a waste, if I gained your trust through it. Now, I'll be off.” Poof. He exploded into black smoke again only to collide into the door and fall over. “Ow! Forgot about that.” Using the door properly this time, he left the room ambling away.

The door suddenly whooshed open, and Black Star walked back in. “Oh, yeah, forgot another thing. Do you know where Princess Luna is?”

“She visits the moon sometimes. You should check there.”

“Thanks. Bye.” Once again, the weirdo had gone, and Celestia was left on her lonesome.

“Hm.” She pondered the being she had just met. “He is not a pony.”

For a second time, the door swung wide and Black Star appeared. “I forgot another thing! Sorry, brain on the fritz. Could you... keep me a secret? It's good for keeping people... ehm, ponies safe. Thanks.” Before she could answer, the pony disappeared.

“He is not from around here either. Hm.” She grabbed some books and began studying. She wanted to know what species he was, and she wanted to know what kind of machinery he had.