//-------------------------------------------------------// Without memories nor past -by oswak- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 1 I woke up with a slight headache in the middle of what seemed like a public place of a rather rich city. Ponies were walking by, some of them were shooting me pitiful or even disgusted looks, but I was way too lost to pay attention to them. 'Where am I ?' Without turning my head I glared at something what looked like a castle, but much taller, 'This thing is huge...' I turned my head to see a plain followed by a dark, almost unnatural forest.'I am pretty high up in altitude, if I can see that far, but I still don't knowwhere I am...' then another realisation hit me, much more shocking: '... or who I am...' "Excuse me ? I'm lost, but that's the least of my problems..." I asked a white pegasus stallion with blue tail and probably mane, though I couldn't see it because of the armour he was wearing. He was standing at the gates to the enormous building. "I can only advise tourists to visit somewhere else, or go to a nearby guard office to get your questions answered" he said without even budging. "I am not a tourist, but  thank you..." - 'That was interesting all right' - "But where can I find the 'nearby guard office' you were talking about ?" I asked still perplexed by his behaviour. "You can find the nearest guard office down this street and then left" he responded like a machine programmed to answer this kind of questions. 'This guy is weird...' The guard office wasn't hard to find, but it took about five minutes for me to get there, since I was a pretty slow walker at the time.  The office was a large white building with a sign saying "Royal Guard-Public Affairs Office". I went in. Inside, there were a few ponies talking to guards, others waiting for their turn. My attention turned to a white unicorn mare taller than everypony else in the room who entered the room right after me. After a short while I realised she had a pair of wings too. 'She has wings and a horn ? I would be jealous if I didn't have bigger problems at the moment...' Her rainbow mane was flowing freely as if it consisted of something as light as air, or even lighter. As she entered the room everypony froze, except for one pink pony who was still loud: “And then I said: Oatmeal ?! are you craz-” she realised she was the last one still speaking “whoopsie doopsie, sorry” she immediately apologized. Then my moment of awkwardness came, after I realised I was still standing when everypony else was already bowing to the alicorn who had just grabbed my attention. 'Who is she ? Should I bow ? I don't want to bow to somepony I don't even know...Bow ? Don't bow ? That is the question...' I slapped my intern self for such silliness. 'I don't even know why it seems like a joke to me, I feel like it's some sort of inside joke, but I can't quite put my hoof on it...'. By the time I came out of my thoughts ponies were already shooting  dirty looks at me, finally one of the guard ponies yelled at his subordinates: “Arrest him ! Arrest the disrespectful pig !” Before I could react to what I was hearing, the tall white mare interrupted them: “Let him, I'll take care of him,” she turned to me, “if you would please follow me into that office over there.” She nodded towards a door. At first I was hesitant, then I realised it was that or getting arrested, and that didn't seem very comfortable. We went in the small room, which was slightly less lit than the rest of the building. “How much do you remember ?” “Well, noth- Wait ! Why did you ask me that ?  How do you know I have amnesia !?” “I saw that confused look on your face when I stepped in, and I know none of my subjects would have refused to bow. Except if he didn't know who I am, in this case I can assume he either lost his memories, or is from really far away. I decided to ask you about the first possibility. And you just proved me right.” “Oh, now it makes sense...” “Do you have a piece of identity in whatever kind on you ? I doubt it but I want to make sure” “No, I don't think so, but lemme see... No, nothing it seems...” I said looking for saddlebags where such thing could have been stored. “Well, the best would be to take you to a hospital, to check your medical condition, you don't seem injured, but just to make sure, then we'll be closer to know why you have amnesia. The next 'hospital' isn't technically a hospital, but it's got all of the required equipment. It's the medical wing of my castle.” “Your castle ? Right you seemed pretty important back in the other room... May I ask who you are ? If you don't mind, that is.” “No, of course not, I’m princess Celestia of Equestria !” “Princess ? Who's the king ?” “We don't have one. We'll discuss that on the way, shall we ?” I simply nodded. We made our way out of the building and started walking towards the castle I had noticed at my awakening. “So, as I was saying, I’m a princess, but we don't have a king nor a queen.” “So you are the highest authority here if I got it right ? Now I know why all these ponies were bowing to you back inside. Should I bow now ? You know, 'cause I didn't bow before.” “No need for this. If you don't like it, don't. Ponies always bow naturally to me, they seem to mistake me for some sort of tyrant. Even the guards think they should arrest ponies who don't bow to me... All because I sent my sister to the moon 1012 years ago...” Her voice took a regretful note at the end of her sentence. At the time I was too shocked by the fact that she had bannished my her sister to the moon to realise the high number of years she stated. “You've sent your sister to the moon ?! How are you that powerful ?!” I asked shocked. Her facial expression suddenly changed to worried as she realised she had probably said too much. “I used the elements of harmony; she had turned evil and wanted to plunge Equestria into eternal night. But now she has been reasoned by the same elements of harmony wielded by other ponies upon breaking out of her lunar prison. I will explain in more details later, if we have time, of course. Oh, look, we are here. I'll lead you to the medical wing, and then leave you there, it's near the main entrance for easy access in case of emergency.” “But the guards don't let you pass...” “In case of a real emergency they do, if they have a proof that the injured pony is in a life threatening case, to avoid tourists just simulating injuries to get a visit of the castle. But most ponies don't even know there is a medical wing in the castle, so they go to the other hospital in Canterlot.” “But the guard was so cold and inflexible... It was like he wouldn't let anypony in, no matter what.” “A guard must choose between two types of armour, one is normal, the other is enchanted to help them hide their personal opinion and feelings. Most of the guards choose the latter, because it helps them doing their job...” “Oh” I didn't really understand why it would help them in being a guard. “A guard mustn't move from his position unless told so or his shift is over, and he must always be ready for action. The enchantment helps them concentrate.” 'Is she reading my  mind ?!' We had arrived at the little hospital inside the castle several minutes ago, but had stopped right there to finish our conversation without realising we were already there. Celestia approached the only doctor pony in the room. “This pony here has no memories, I would like you to find out the reason to his amnesia. Do all the necessary tests. When you're done, send me a letter through the pipe system.” “Of course your highness.” He said with a bow. The white mare exited the room. “Let's get started, shall we ? I need you to got lie on that bed right there.” /* Author's note: So, there goes nothing, it's the first chapter (duh!) of my first fanfic, if you are confused about one part, or have found a spelling/grammar mistake, please tell me in the comments. Also, criticism is much appreciated. This story will be the first part of a 'trilogy', I don't know if I should call it a trilogy, since the first two parts will have a common sequel which will be the 3rd part And, if some parts seem random, or useless for the story, they probably aren't, I'm just trying to make a story with a more or less logic storyline (some stuff that may indicate some personality disorders, a detail about his amnesia, etc.) but tell me anyway, because better safe than sorry, right ? right ? :D */ //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 3 I was trotting down the main street of Canterlot (the guard had told me the name of the city.) It was a beautiful sunny night although there weren't many ponies outside. I trotted in front of a shop with a banner that read “You are dreaming.” 'That store looks interesting, maybe it sells some stuff to improve lucid dreams... I would try it now but I have to visit Luna on the moon.' I spotted a rainbow and approached it. Once I was at the base of the prismatic rays of light, I realised only the green part was composed of hard light. Therefore, I told my assistant to follow it and not the other colours. He nodded and told me to go grab the cart. We arrived at the moon in 1.36 seconds flat. There was Luna, but she seemed much more real than the rest of the world, like there was only her and me. “You do realise this is a dream, right ?” She berated me. “Yeah, sure ! Wait, no I didn't ! This is a dream ! Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh ! Yay ! I love lucid dreams ! Woohoo ! I wa-” “Don't get too excited or you'll wak-” I woke up in my bed, heart racing. 'Was she really in my dreams or was she just part of my dream ? She seemed more real than the rest of the dream. I'll know tomorrow.' Just as I finished pondering about her appearance in my dream, I heard a knock at the door. I stood up to open it, but I had a few problems opening pushing the doorknob. “Why didn't you just use your magic ?” The midnight blue alicorn asked curiously. “I can do magic ?” She scowled. “Of course, generally all unicorns can do magic. Anyway, next time you shouldn't panic or get overly excited about the fact that you are dreaming. You generally wake up if you do.” “Okay, I won't  next time. Can we just try again or do you need to explain me some things about dreams first ?” “I'd prefer if you slept during the day, because I need to be asleep to merge our dreams, and I’m used to sleep during the day.” “Why's that ? I mean, if I may ask.” “Because raising the moon takes a lot of energy, and my sister and I discovered it is best to do it right after waking up.” “So, what do I do until dawn ? If I try to read again, I'll just bore myself to sleep, but if I don't, then the same will happen...” “You were right, I do need to explain some stuff about dreaming, therefore I'll give you a crash course on lucid dreams.” “Now ?” “No, yesterday...” She replied sarcastically. “''kay, no need for sarcasm.” “I think the library would be the best place for your lesson, should I not be able to answer one of your questions, we could just use a book to provide an answer.” “I had never seen you before, but why did I know it was you when you appeared in my dream ?” “Well, dreams can distort your knowledge, and I have the ability to distort the dream I enter, I could directly insert the information about my 'look' into your memories.” “So what would happen if you died during one of my dreams ?” “We would both wake up, since I just merge our dreams, that's why I woke up too when you panicked and burst out of your dream. Was that your last question ? Because we are nearing the time when I usually go to bed.” “I didn't panic. I was too happy about being in a dream and knowing it that I-” “Yes, I know, but I count it in the same category as panicking, because it has the same effects on the dream structure.” We trotted back to our respective chambers. I noticed Luna's was right in front of mine. 'So that's why Celestia gave me this room.' She didn't give me that room per se, but she wanted me to sleep in that part of the castle. I hadn't realised I was tired until I lay on my bed, which almost instantly forced me into sleep. I woke up because of a loud noise outside. The noise immediately stopped after I got up to study its source; I was still feeling tired so I jumped back on my bed and covered myself in blankets. After a few minutes I realised that I actually wasn't sleepy any more and decided to read a book. I was idly reading the book that I had picked when suddenly suddenly the moon crashed through my window; to my surprise, it was around the size of a small ball. Then it popped like a balloon after the pillow fell on it, crushing it under its huge weight. I ran out of my room, scared for my life. I felt like something was chasing me, and I turned my head to see what was actually running after me, and I bumped into something, or somepony, depending on the softness of the impact, and fell to ground. I looked up to see a very annoyed princess of the night. Again, she seemed more real than anything else; this time she didn't need to point it out. “This is a dream, right ?” “Yes, one that is turning into a night- I mean a bad dream. Now, try to concentrate on not waking up  and staying lucid. And now, like I said previously, we have to try and find those memories back,and it could get difficult. Let's see what's outside, maybe we can find a suspicious spot where we could start searching for your lost memories.” “How do memories look like ?” “They don't really have a look, you just get them back once you find them.” We trotted outside, it was so hot that the moon was almost burning my skin. “If the heat annoys you, just change it.” I followed her advice, and to my not so big surprise, the temperature dropped of 10 degrees. Then the moon changed to a sun, which confused me because it wasn't my choice. The lunar princess seemed to read my confusion; “Since this is our dream, I can also change things. And I don't like to see the moon as a replacement for the sun...” We continued walking  through the city. I could see that Luna was becoming more and more impatient, although she didn't say anything. “Is something wrong Luna ?” “Nothing, it's just that most ponies prefer to fly than to walk.” “Unicorns can fly too ?! How awesome is that ? But wait, I don't have wings...” “No they can't, but now we're in a dream, you can do anything, you can even use magic without consuming energy.” “Okay, I’m trying then.”  I imagined flying through the sky at alarming speed. Nothing happened. “Just imagine you have wings, and then flap them a few times, it works most of the time.” I did as she suggested and a few moments later I was airborne. “Wow, thanks, that really helped.” Flying was amazing, and at that height I could see a weird poison green tower in the background. “Do you see it too ? That big green tower ? That's could be the strange place I was talking about earlier, but it's pretty far, you could easily make it closer to use.” “Yeah, I could, but couldn't you too ? I mean, this is both of our dreams.” “I could, yes, but I think it's better if you gain a good control of your dreams, since lucid dreaming is a really interesting thing to do, and, in case we can't get your memories back now, it will be useful the next time we'll try. So, go ahead, try to diminish the distance between us and the tower. I imagined the tower the distance becoming nothing, and nothing it became. “You are really good at  this, most ponies can't do anything on their first time in their dreams, but you even managed to distort space, I’m impressed.” “Thanks, but, the tower looks rather intimidating, especially because of that light pink aura around it.” “Then let's find a way to break that pink aura down, since it blocks the entrance. Shall we ?” “Yes, but how ?” “That's what we have to find out.” Suddenly, it was twilight and a voice came out of nowhere: “Luna ! Luna, wake up ! You have to raise the moon ! Lun-” I woke up. 'What the hay just happened ?' Outside, the sun was going down behind the mountain. After a few minutes of laying in my bed, I heard a knock on the door. Again, I had terrible trouble opening it. 'Why is it so easy to close a door, but almost impossible to open it ?' Princess Celestia stood in the door frame. “Luna wants to talk to you, she's in her chamber. With that, she trotted away.” I hit the door to Luna's room twice. “Come in.” I stepped in the room and closed the door. “What happened ? We were in the dream only, like, 10 minutes, or so, why is it already morning, I mean, evening ?” “This is what I wanted to talk about, the time flow in your dream has been sped up and I think it was your subconscious. Your mind doesn't want you to get your memories back, but do you still want them back ?” “Of course I do. I don't know what I'd do otherwise... Oh, and I have a question, how does it come that before waking up, I heard Celestia calling you ?” “It's because when you wake up because of a noise, or an annoyance, it appears in the last moments of your dream. For instance, if you wake up because you are hearing music, the music will be in your dream. And in this case, when Celly called me, I accidentally inserted that into the dream. But now, exploring your dreams might be more complicated, since we need to always slow the flow of time to avoid having dreams which last no more than 3 minutes... Let's breakfast, then I'll explain it to you in more detail.” I tried to open the door, only to be angered by the stack of planks. “Try your magic, simply do it like in dream, think of the doorknob shifting and the door opening.” Leaning forward, concentrated on the metallic part of the door, which was quickly surrounded by a pink aura. “Is magic always pink ?” “The colour depends on the caster.” “Then why's mine pink ?” “The colour's often similar to your coat or eyes.” “But my coat isn't pink, it's white and my eyes are green.” “It's white with a touch of pink. Deal with it.” On that final argument, we started trotting towards the kitchen. /* As always, if you spot a mistake of any kind (contextual, grammar, spelling, etc) tell me. PS: if you WTF'd during one of the dreams, I win ;) */ //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 4 Luna looked at me seriously, asking: “So, do you understand what you have to do to avoid time distortions inside of your dream ?” “Yes, I must concentrate on the flow of time, to avoid losing the track of it.” “Good. Technically you could 'simply' imagine the time slowing down, but most ponies can't correctly visualise the flow of time, and it's easier to use the first method.” “Okay, but what I don't understand is why you can't slow it down.” “Because the time flow is altered by your subconscious. It is difficult enough to hold my own subconscious under bounds, but controlling somepony else's is simply impossible.” “But I can't control my subconscious neither.” “Yes you can. By just concentrating on the flow of time, you can prevent it from being changed. It's as simple as that.” “You said you could control your subconscious, does that mean the part that wanted eternal darkness wasn't your subconscious and that you're still evil ?” I immediately regretted my question. But I didn't get the time to apologise, since she, too my great surprise, didn't shout, but instead responded with a calm, rather sad tone; “No, it wasn't my subconscious, although I couldn't even control it at the time, but Nightmare moon was more of an alter ego born of loneliness jealousy and hatred.” “So that means you're schizophrenic ?” 'Damn it, mouth, stop saying stuff my brain hasn't approved !' She began to laugh 'and, I’m dead...'  but, I realised, it wasn't a cruel, maniacal, or crazy laugh, but a warm, hearty laugh. ''kay, now I’m confused...' Then her voice went back to a sad note;  “I guess you could have said that at the beginning, when she was nothing more than a voice in the back of my head. I began following her 'advice', more and more, until I realised her advice was only hurting myself and the ponies around me, but it was already too late, she had completely taken over my mind and I could only watch as she continued hurting everypony around. And then, she came up with the eternal night idea, to which my sister answered by banishing me, I mean her, I mean us, to the moon. She didn't really have a choice... I had one, at the beginning,but I was foalish enough to listen to the dark side of my heart, and get caught in the trap. I know 'breaking' out of her control seems easy for other ponies, and I feel guilt for not trying harder.” “Wait, you were being controlled by somepony else, and didn't even try your hardest to escape ? I know I would've.” “Well, it seemed like I doing all I could to get rid of her but I know I should have tried harder, explored more possibilities.” “How's that ?” “It just seems to me I didn't try everything.” “Hey, you did all you could at the time, if you didn't try a possibility, or didn't invest all of your energy in it, it was probably because you simply couldn't. Besides, don't waste your time dwelling on the past. Live your life like you're supposed to, your life will be over and yo- Wait... you're immortal, aren't you ? Anyway, don't rethink indefinitely the past. It serves absolutely no purpose.” “Yes, but my sister and I are reminded everyday of my mistakes.” “Why ? I thought it was part of the past ?” “Yes, for us, but not for the masses, they are afraid of me, because I am Nightmare Moon, and of m-” “You were Nightmare Moon, but that's over now, isn't it ?” “Yes, but most ponies still think I am... And I don't feel like I should be forgiven this easily either. Mainly because I didn't just hurt my own reputation, but I also forced my sister to do it. Since she sent me to the moon 1012 years ago, everypony is scared of her. They always imagine the worst kind of punishments and are overly respectful. And it is not the kind of respect normal royalty gets, it is more of totally fear induced respect, like the 'respect' you give a tyrant. Even her prized student, who is very close to her, thought she might punish ponies stronger if she's the one concerned although she could, she would never punish somepony subjectively. But now that we have a court, we aren't responsible any more for the judgements. I can say it is great to have less duties and more free time.” “You didn't have other duties, did you ? We spent last night together -Wait, that could sound weird, never mind- talking about dreams, and you didn't do anything else.” “Of course I do, usually. My sister and I make a lot of political decisions, but we don't have to each and every day. On Fridays we listen to what the population has to say and we change the laws if we think there is a need to. Anyway, that's why I laughed earlier, because you simply don't remember enough to give us even the royal respect, unlike all the other ponies, and that was just hilarious to me.” “Yeah, that and you don't really seem like a bad pony to me. Celestia didn't appear very judging either.” “Yes, my sister really is a nice pony, but she's also quite the prankster. Sometimes her pranks aren't much more than a fake tea sip when somepony instantly refills her teacup – this is one of her favourites – but sometimes she plans them pretty well. Like when she 'forgot' to tell me we didn't use the royal Canterlot voice any more. I was wondering for months why ponies were uncomfortable when I spoke. Then I went to Ponyville to celebrate nightmare night, where Twilight Sparkle helped me understand modern society and ponies from Ponyville understood I’m no longer Nightmare Moon. Alas it was not enough to convince the rest of Equestria I’m no longer evil...” “Oh, but I don't get it, what's the royal Canterlot voice ?” “It's more like a way of speaking which uses a really old version of our language and a magically amplified voice. Anyway, it's nearing time for dinner, so let's get going, shall we ? The night shift has usually less good food than the diurnal one, since there are less cooks who are willing to work during the night...” “We didn't eat yesterday, did we ?” “Well, I did before entering your dream for the first one, and you probably had something during the day.” The royal dining room was dark. The only light source in the room was a chandelier on the table between Luna and myself. The food wasn't very tasty, I had not eaten anything since I lost my memories, except for a few slices of bread that same 'morning', and even I could tell it wasn't high quality, even though I had nothing to compare it to, and it was cold, which didn't improve the taste either. Despite the food, the setting could have been described as romantic. The candlelight added a warm touch to the atmosphere around us. I caught myself staring into her beautiful, big blue eyes. We started leaning across the table, we came closer and closer until our lips were only separated mere inches from each other. She then moved to the left, to my ear and whispered : “You know this is a dream, right ?” “Nope, I didn't until now.” “Interesting you put us in such a situation...” “But I didn't, I don't control the primary setting of a dream !” “Yes you do, but without realising it. It would be true to say it's your subconscious which tries to accomplish some deep wishes of yours, Anyway, we'll talk about it later, outside of dream. Now, let's find that tower again.” “How do you know it's the same tower ? It could have changed.” “No, it's the place that symbolises your lost memories. As long as they don't change, the tower won't change, but the dream around it will.” “One thing, all other dreams seemed unrealistic, or rather, surrealistic, but this one appears normal, almost like reality, why is that ?” “It doesn't, in reality the candle would give off enough light for us to see the walls.” “Oh, now I see. I'll try something really quick.” As I imagined it happening, the walls around us disappeared and the pink wrapped green tower materialized in front of me. “Wow, you're even better at this than I thought, you can summon an object, or even an entire building without even seeing it. But stay concentrated on the flow of time, we need as much time as we can get.” “Okay, but how are we gonna get in ?” “We need to find a way, it's often a some sort of riddle that represents why your mind would lock your memories, and you have to solve it to break the protection around it, in case of locked memories, of course, which happens to be your case.” And so we started inspecting the tower, a few minutes later, Luna called me: “Hey, I think I found something !” I joined her at the front side of the impressive building. She was pointing at a stone behind the pinkish force field in which were inscribed a few words : “To break the spell you must use the power of love. Be warned though, because the memories you wish to regain contain a monster.” “Hmm, intriguing, we should try to see if the-” “Luna ! Luna ! Second time this week you oversleep ! Are your nightly conversations that interesting ? Time to raise the mo-” I woke up in my bed, blanket on the floor and cold. I stood up and went straight before the night's princess's room, waiting for Celestia to come out so I could get a word with Luna. Alas, I was standing too close to the door, and got hit by it right in the face. “Oh my ! I'm sorry.” “No problem, Celly.” She shifted at the use of her nickname. “Sorry, I guess I shouldn't be using it, but I heard your sister say it several times and it just came out...” “It's okay, it's just weird to here that from somepony else than Lulu. Erm, don't call her that, she won't like it if other ponies start to.” At that moment the moon goddess stepped out of the door. “Let's eat breakfast, shall we ? We'll talk about your dream while eating.” “So, why did the dream end so quickly this time ?” “Because you lost focus, you started thinking about the enigma, and your subconscious took the opportunity to, again, speed up the dream.” “You said I was good at dream forming, but why can't I just stop the time ? Is it my special weakness ?” “Because time alteration in dreams is extremely difficult. Besides, what's a special weakness ?” She asked, curious. “I don't know, something that would be the opposite of a special talent.” “Oh.” “And do you know what that riddle meant ? Because I don't.” “No, but we have a lot of time to think about it, and, we can always try to bruteforce the lock with magic. That would take up a big of amount magic power, but I think I have enough to do it, since I’m a goddess.” She said with a sly grin. “But... I though magic didn't exist in dreams, because you can directly can everything...” “Yes, you can easily change dreams, without magic, but if I try to force those memories out, I’ll need my real magic, since I’m directly altering your mind.” “That sounds risky, are you sure it's safe ?” “Yes, it might, but only if your memories are, and I highly doubt that.” “Okay, I trust you...” /* Author's note: Sorry this one took so long, but there are some parts that I didn't want to seem rushed or anything (if something does, tell me, as always). The next one should come up this weekend, although I’m not sure when. And I’m going to bed now, I need my 6 hours sleep. */ //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 5 “I have to go, now, I have some responsibilities, and you kindly pointed out I should pay more attention to them.” She stated with fake indignation. I finished my breakfast – jam on a piece of freshly baked bread – and then went upstairs into my room to at least try to do some reading. I took another random book from the shelf and started reading once I arrived at my room. 'What was that dream ? I think she told me that the initial setting of a dream depends on my subconscious, but that would mean I have either subliminal feelings for Luna, or I simply don't realise I have them. If it is because of my subconscious, then it won't hurt unless it changes my behaviour in a negative way. And I doubt I could be oblivious to my own feelings... Although, I've met only three ponies, Celestia, that guard, and Luna – actually I've met lots of ponies at the guard office, but never talked to them – and I like Luna most... But does that means I like her ? Why is it so hard to make a difference between liking and liking somepony ? Why didn't she react more to my dream ? Why am I  still pretending to read this book ? Why am I asking so many questions to myself ?' I put the book back onto its shelf, since I wasn't even reading it, I was just turning pages from time to time. 'I think the best thing to do is nothing, until I find out more...' I grabbed the book again, only to put it back a few seconds later. 'I think I might go for a walk, but it's night time... I hope the gardens I saw at the back of the castle are illuminated at night... although I doubt it...' I followed the hallway that led to the back entrance of the castle. The new moon wasn't shining very brightly and, like I had predicted, there were no lights so I could only see the main path that went between the different parts of the garden. There was a small path at my left which I decided to take. Soon, I was lost in the royal gardens, I could still see the castle, but I wasn't able to remember which path I had taken last. But I didn't care, I didn't even realise it at the moment, all I wanted was to think, and wandering about with no reason seemed to increase my ability to do such thing. I was thinking about my feelings for Luna, pondering about their authenticity, and, conclusion after conclusion, finding out more and more on them. I continued my little tour of the gardens for half an hour when suddenly a blueish light caught my eye. I turned my head to realise that one part of the garden was actually lit, a small park. It took me a moment to realise there were no actual lamp there, only flowers, midnight blue flowers. Those were as bright as small, blue candles. My legs were getting sore so I decided to sit down in the grass between the flowers. I felt a weird, but not unpleasant aura, like somepony was sitting next to me. 'Meh, probably only a natural illusion of some sort...' I stayed there for a while and enjoyed the fresh air for a while. My thinkings were reaching a conclusion when I decided to find my way back to the castle, yet I didn't move, mostly out of laziness, but also because the atmosphere was just beautiful and I wanted to enjoy it a little more. 'I think my feelings are real, otherwise they couldn't have influenced my subconscious that much and, now that I think about it, I do feel something for her. But how does it come that I haven't realised it until now, and why do I like her after less than three days ?' “I see you're admiring those flowers. How do you find them ?” “I... er... they're beautiful.” I wasn't really admiring them, I was lost in thought, but they were indeed beautiful. “I've created these a few years after I came back from the moon. I was trying my hoof at gardening, but my plants just died every time. One day, I managed to grow a flower that survived longer than one day, but somepony accidentally stepped on it and crushed it. I had kind of grown onto it, so I decided to try to save it with magic. The result was a flower the same colour as my magic, after a few days it had multiplied so I decided to wrap this entire area in a spell to avoid it messing with the Equestrian ecosystem. The flowers also close during the day and open only at night, therefore, almost nopony ever sees this.” She paused for a moment; “Do you like me ? You know what way I mean. The setting of that dream was created by you, or rather, your subconscious.” “I don't know... I've been thinking all day, well night, about it.” “Hmm... Do you feel better in this garden than elsewhere ?” “Yes, there is some kind of 'aura' that's pretty enjoyable, but apart from this, not...” It was then I realised that aura was much stronger since she was here, and it was almost like there were two of her; like the Lunas had been doubled. “We unicorns can sense other ponies' presence if they are close enough, that 'aura' you are feeling is my magic running through the flowers. So you are enjoying my presence, which means you do like me.” “Yes, I think I do... And that way too...” I could almost feel the blush on my face. “But how can you know it's this way, and not another, for instance, like a friend ?” “Well you just told me...”'Second time I get caught on that...' “I guess I need to find a mental hospital now...” “Why ?” “Because it would be awkward for you if I stayed here. Wouldn't it ?” “No, except if... I... uhm... The truth is I kinda like you too, and I wanted to try this relationship.” She said apparently trying to hide a blush. It was cute, considering her place in the society. I couldn't help but smile at that. “Oh, I'd love to try too... But it seems weird to start a relationship like that, from scratch. Or is it normal ? Damn, amnesia is confusing...” “Consider it more like dating – you know what dating is, right ?” I nodded in response. “But without the actual dating, because I can't just go out with somepony in public, given my social rank.” “Yes, of course. But it still seems a bit weird, I mean, we've known each other for three days, and it's a little short, isn't it ?” “It's not about how long we know each other, but how much we know about the other.” “But... I know almost nothing about you...” “You know much more than you think you do. While sharing a dream with somepony, you learn huge amounts of informations about the pony you're dreaming with, and the best part is that you don't even realise you're learning all those things. They are written into the dream, into its structure.” “But we've spent only a few minutes in dream.” “Which is like several hours of discussion.” “Oh, but I still don't get it, if that means we've talked for so long, why don't I know every aspect of your life ?” “Because it's like talking about nothing, we don't discuss anything, but we are still talking to each other, and that's what's important; we learn to know each other, not about our lives.” “Okay... I think I understand now.” We spent the rest of the night talking, this time with a subject. At one point we caught ourselves leaning against each other, but neither of us made a movement to get out of the embrace. When the moon was indicating the end of the night we decided to go to bed. “I think you should sleep in my bedchamber today-” “I... uhm... you... are you su-sure a-about this ? I m-mean, isn't it go-going too fast ?” I could feel so much heat from my face that I was sure my white (PINK!) coat had turned a shade of crimson. “Oh, sorry, I didn't mean anything like that. I was just thinking of improving the connection between our dreams, since we'll be trying to bruteforce that barrier. And I don't want the link of our dreams shattering and throwing you into coma.” “Wait, that thing can break ? And it can 'throw' me into coma ?! You said there were no dangers !” “It can't break, usually, but since I am technically attacking your mind, it tries to get me out of there, and to break the connection. I can pretty easily stay inside, but the closer I am to the pony I’m merging dreams with, the easier it is. This is the only situation where physical distance matters. It's probably because this actually requires magic.” “Okay, but I still don't understand why I can fall into coma if the link gets broken, and do you fall into coma too ?” “No, I am totally safe doing this. And honestly, I don't know why ponies I do this to fall into coma if I fail.” I was laying in bed, waiting to fall asleep. I felt too captivated by the beautiful – this was the first time I realised this – goddess in laying in the same bed as me. I wasn't actually looking at her, because I felt like it was invading her privacy, somehow, but when I turned around and saw how peaceful she looked I couldn't help but smile at her sight. As I watched her, I slowly drifted off to sleep... I was starring into Luna's beautiful cyan eyes. It felt like nothing could break this moment, but of course, I was wrong. “You had trouble falling asleep, didn't you ?” “Oh, yeah, kinda...” “Much on your mind ?” “Yeah, a certain cute blue alicorn...” I said with a wink. She smiled and continued after a pause: “Anyway, we need to find this tower, I’ll try to destroy the shield around it, I think it'll work, because I’ve never seen an amnesia of this type that would have resisted a bruteforce attack from me.” Once again I made everything around us disappear and the green tower materialise next to me. “So, you just concentrate on the flow of time while I try to break the 'spell'.” “Okay, I’m on it.” She concentrated for a few seconds until she sent out an orb of light onto the wall of pink energy. The ball bounced off harmlessly and popped after she released the magic. “Hmm, the 'spell' is stronger than I thought, I’ll try with more power this time.” Again, she loaded up her magic and fired, having approximately as much success as last time. “By my sister's name ! It's really resistant. I'll try one more time.” And once again, she repeated the spell, but still without any signs of success. “Sorry, I can't do anything, I’m afraid, I could use more power, but I doubt it would help more, since locks of this type usually break after a first try, and this one withstood a rather big amount of energy... Besides, more force could leave damage.” “Please, you have to try... And I thought it couldn't get dangerous...” “Well, it was because I was using normal amounts of magic doing it, amounts of magic that aren't big enough to do actual damage to your mind, but if I go higher with the magic, it can get pretty powerful and destructive. I can try; but you need to be hundred percent sure about this, are you ?” “Of course I am ! We're talking about my memories here ! And it's the only way to get them back.” “Well, solving that riddle could do, but we have no idea how to solve it.” “We have to use the power of love, don't we ? It seems easy to me...” “The only ones who can use that power are changelings and Cadence, and neither of them can enter dreams.” “Then try it, I’m nothing without my memories...” “Okay, you've been warned though.” This time she waited considerably longer until releasing it. This time, the ball of energy didn't disappear after bouncing off the wall, no, it was charging at full speed towards Luna. So I stepped in front of it... Author's Note: Luna got a little edit in, since it's funny it will stay in the manuscript, but it won't be in the final version of the book. /*Author's note: You guessed it, that author's note above is from aponymous (yes, I’m still looking for a name for him...) I know this chapter seems rushed, but that's only because it is, there will be an explanation to this in a few chapters. It's late when I’m writing this so I’ll proofread it tomorrow (I realised that I can't just ask my readers to do this, and that I need to do this myself) #procrastinatingFTW (done) But keep telling me about grammar/spelling mistakes, English isn't my first language so the vocabulary isn't very developed either, so if you see a word you'd change, tell me. Also, sorry for the huge delay, I had a over loaded weekend, and just couldn't get a moment to sit down and write. */ //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 6 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 6 I woke up in bed with a gasp. Luna, who, for some reason that I didn't know at the time, had burrowed her muzzle into my chest, lifted her face in surprise. Her eyes were red and she looked like she had cried. When she realised I was awake a sigh of relief left her. “I thought you would be asleep for a few years.” “Why, did the connection break ?” “No, I broke the dream, which was supposed to wake us up before that energy ball touched you.” “So, you broke the connection, then why am I still here ?” “Because, I broke the dream, not the connection, if I pop a dream, we simply wake up, it's the natural way of doing it, and it never does any damage. And I lied, I know why ponies fall into coma when the link breaks. It's because our dreams don't have time to separate, so when the dream ends, both of us get an equal part of it, but not the part we originally gave, so we both find ourselves with incomplete minds.” “Wait, wait, wait, you said you get incomplete minds when you separate dreams, what the hay ?” “It's because dreams are your mind, 'physically' represented. So by merging dreams I technically merge minds, but our souls prevent our minds from merging completely.” “Oh, but you also said you were safe was that a lie too to make me feel better about this ?” “Yes, and no; The supernatural healing abilities of an alicorn also apply to his or her mind. Every time our mind gets injured it simply heals itself.” “Then how could Nightmare Moon exist ? She was a mental illness, wasn't she ? She should have been 'healed away'...” “No, because she wasn't a thing like that, that's the simple way to describe her. She was more of an alter ego, but really, it's difficult to understand, even for me.” “I see you have been crying, how long have I been away ?” “Fifteen minutes, after five I was worried the connection had been broken, or that the ball of energy had touched you. I'm still confused why you didn't wake up immediately...” “Couldn't have I been sleeping without dreaming ?” “No, when a dream terminates, you wake up, and that's it. Although... If you immediately went to another plane of awareness... Do you remember anything ?” “Nope, I directly went from the dream to here.” “Well, let's not waste too much time on this; back to sleep. This time I won't enter your dreams though, our last attempt was kind of our last chance to get your memories back...” “Does that mean I won't get my memories back ? Ever ?” I asked suddenly hit by a wave of disappointment. “Maybe one day, but not that soon, as it seems. That reminds me, we need to find you a name... Pink-red ma-” “It's just red, okay ?” She rolled her eyes. “Okay, red mane, and pink-” “White !” “No. It's pink. Your coat is pink, and green eyes... I think 'Cherry Blossom' would sound too feminine, wouldn't it ?” “Yeah...” “How about just 'Cherry' ?” “Meh, seems fine to me...” “So, Cherry, let's get back to sleeping.” She immediately started my new name, which proved it would be my name for a pretty long time... Getting out of the bed, I realised something; “Seems weird to have a name again...” “Hey, where are you going ?” “Back to my bed ?” “Stay here, will be easier.” 'Why does she want me to stay ? Is it to do it ?' “Okay, but why will it be easier ?” “If they see you coming out of here at this hour, they're gonna suspect something.” “Oh.” 'Good I had my head turned, otherwise she could've seen me blush.' When I woke up I first looked for a clock – because I didn't want to get 'caught' by Celestia while sleeping there – and I found one which read 8:47. 'One hour and thirteen minutes until Luna has to raise the moon.' I decided to wait until nine to wake up Luna and then get some breakfast, but as I began to wait I noticed her eyes were actually open. “Good morning there.” “Good morning Cherry, slept well ?” “Of course, even though eight and a half hours of sleep don't seem to be enough for me...” “See it that way: The less you sleep – without exaggerating, of course – the more time you have for more interesting things... Like spending time with me.” “That's definitely something I’d wake up earlier for. Let's get some breakfast now.” “Okay. Oh, and if somepony asks why you were here, or if you slept here, say you came ten minutes ago, and if he or she didn't realise it, he should get his eyes and ears checked out.” Luckily, there was nopony in the hallway, probably due to a shift change. When we arrived at the dining room, there was nopony there either, so we took our seats and waited for our meals, and then we heard a feminine voice coming from the doorway: “Good evening, well, it's morning for you, so, good morning you two. Good to see you've not forgotten to wake up this time.” Teased the Sun goddess. “Sister, I’ve already told you, the dream got modified to-” “I know, I know, I was just joking.” All in the sudden, a strange item caught my attention; “Hey, what's that ?” “You mean the teapot ?” “Yeah, I think...” “Well, it's something used to make tea.” “Er, and what's tea if I may ask ?” “It's a drink, it's pretty relaxing most of the time. Do you want some ?” “Yes, please.” She used her magic to fill a cup with the mysterious liquid, which, for some odd reason, made me notice something. “Oh, and now I know what you meant when you described Celestia's pranks... It's weird, my amnesia seems so... random. I mean it doesn't have patterns like 'delete memories of all the ponies'. For instance, I didn't know what this tea was, but I know what coffee is.” “Interesting indeed...” Something was different about the food, too. “I just realised, this is so much better than what we ate the other days...” I was expecting the night princess to answer me but instead, the daily one did: “Yes, the day cooks are always doing a great job. You can get something warm to eat at any time of the day. From nine night to ten day.” “Sister, ten day is zero night.” “Yes, yes it is, but only clocks 'say' it that way, we ponies prefer saying ten.” As we finished our first real meal in a few days we went for a walk through the gardens. “What now?” “What do you mean, what now ?” “Well, what will you do now ? You need to find a job.” “Couldn't I technically stay here ?” “Yes, of course you can, but you'd still have to contribute to the Equestrian economy, you know.” “Oh, I see... But...” I paused as a weird sadness overtook my heart. “That would mean I couldn't see you, if I worked during the day...” “Why ? You could still find a nightly job, or even work at a nightly shift of a normal job. You could maybe try your hoof at cooking.” “But I’d need to look for a job during the day...” “And that would be at most a few days.” “You're right, I’m just being silly. Are we going anywhere specific ?” “Yes, I am leading us to that part of the garden with the moon flowers. I wonder if they could actually grow on the moon...” We were sitting in between the flowers, talking, cuddling , and enjoying each other's company. I was observing her as she talked, when a silence finally filled the air, I knew exactly what to say to make that moment perfect. “You know you're beautiful, right ?” I waited for her response, which turned out to be a small blush on her cheeks. “I love you.” This oh so simple statement seemed to be so powerful, and even made her smile. But the smile was quickly replaced by an expression of guilt. “You know, I wasn't really honest with you from the beginning. I engaged in this relationship not because I liked you, but because I wanted to see if it would at least weaken a little bit the seal on your memories, and I thought your feelings for me weren't real. You knew nopony else as good as me, and you thought that your simple, friendly affection was love. But when you stepped between me and that ball of energy – which was really dumb, because it could have killed you, but not me – I understood your love for me was real, and then I actually gave you a chance, and realised I really like you... What I’m trying to say is that I... I think I’m in love with you. Please accept my apology for lying to you...” She lowered her gaze to meet the ground. I used my hoof to lift her head and make her look in my eyes. “I love you and you know it, and the only thing that matters now is our love, so of course I accept it.” Right then I noticed how close we were, and that she was moving closer and closer to me, and that I was also moving forwards. I could feel her warm breath against my muzzle. A few moments later, we were locked in a kiss, our first kiss. At the beginning it was nothing more than a simple, plain kiss, but once our tongues began to dance, we grew more and more passionate, embracing each other with our hooves. Suddenly, her horn lit up and there was a flash around us. I found myself on the bed of the night's princess... And that same princess was next to me wearing a very, very seductive smile... I awoke in that same bed, locked in a tight embrace with the blue alicorn who consumed all of my love. Her eyes were open and she was smiling at me. “Slept well ?” “Of course I did. Well, how could I not with such a wonderful mare by my side ?” “Well I, for one, preferred the time spent with you before napping.” She winked waiting for my reaction. My cheeks were burning, I could feel my face turning the same red as my mane. “It's five night, our nap was pretty long. Sleeping during the night seems weird, but that was rather exhausting. Especially since I haven't done it in over a thousand years.” “Well, I don't even remember when my last time was. So it must be a really long time ago... Bad jokes aside. What are we gonna do now ?” “What we usually do; talk. We're not going to the garden, are we ? I’m tired.” “Nah, I’d rather stay here; my legs are sore.” There was a short, pleasant silence. “You know, Luna, when I’m with you, I get that feeling in my chest. I just feel so happy. And it's like only you could give it to me. I have no idea who I am, nor do I know other ponies; but I know you're the best thing that could ever happen to me and I want to...” 'Do it ! No ! It's only been two days ! But our love is so strong ! No it only seems to me like it 'cause I’ve never experienced any other kind of love. But I know what I feel ! And I know it's real ! I’m gonna propose to her now ! I can't ! I don't even have a ring ! But she knows I can't get her a ring because of my situation.' “Tell you I think our love is something special, and that I couldn't get it from anypony else. I know I’ve already said that, but I want to say it again, I love you, I love you, IloveyouIloveyouIloveyou.”'Well, I’m definitely good at proposals, I can even do one because I’m so sure of myself.' “I love you too, you know that.” With that, she planted a firm but sweet kiss on my lips, it still felt amazing, even after the 'better' things we had already done. “This relationship is going so fast... It's been like, two days, and we already had emotional sex. I don't regret anything, though.” “What do you mean, 'emotional sex' ?” “It wasn't sex for sex, it was loving sex. It wasn't fucking, it was making love.” “Thank you, miss obvious.” I said right before kissing her deeply. “Now that our love is real, we'll see what happens in your dreams next time. We need to find something to do until dawn... But I’m sure this won't be that hard...” She was wearing that seductive smile again, but it was quickly replaced by an expression of worry. “Oh shi- I just remembered I have a huge amount of paperwork to do...” “I can help, will be done faster.” “No, it's top secret... Sorry.” “Oh... How long will it take ?” The disappointment was almost palpable in my voice. “I'm not sure, six or seven hours maybe; it's huge. I had a week to do it, but I kind of forgot about it.” She left the room and I decided to read a bit. Fort the first time since I could remember, I was actually able to read, it was probably because it was the first novel I’ve had between my hooves since my amnesia. My old room didn't have any novels; only documentary books. When I woke up I directly quit the room, leaving Luna sleeping peacefully in her bed; during the dream she had told me she went to bed really late and didn't want to be awoken. The dream itself hadn't been surprising; the shield was still there at hundred percent. I had slept for a long time during our mid-night nap, even though it was only seven day. I went to the garden, I wanted to see what it looked like during the day. It was beautiful, but it just couldn't be compared to Luna's creation. After more or less an hour, I noticed I was practically starving. I wanted to wait for Luna to wake up and then breakfast with her, but alas, my stomach had different plans. Arriving at the dining room I spotted Celestia sitting at the table. “Good morn- Well, it's evening for you, so – Good evening Celestia.” “Good morning Cherry.” Seeing the confused look on my face, she explained: “Luna told me this morning before she went to bed she had given you this name. She's still asleep, isn't she ? She went to bed at two day.” Nodding, I sat at the table and levitated the teapot over; I loved tea, and I didn't understand how I could forget about something as delicious. I was drinking the delicious liquid until I realised the day princess' confused stare. “Your magic... why is it blue ?” “It's not blue, it's pink silly.” “Right now it was blue.” “No, it's pink, see ?” I focused on my teacup which was quickly enveloped in a midnight blue miasma and lifted into the air, only to be brutally dropped a few instants later. “Ah ! Why is it blue ?! Am I mutating ?! Am I gonna die ?! Idonwannadieidonwan-” My panicking was cut off by a scream; not a normal, quiet scream, a scream loud enough to shatter the room's windows and make the table shake. “LUUNAAAA!!!” ”How does it come that I can't have a lover when you can even have a crush on your prized student ?!” “You know exactly I didn't choose her, my hormones did !” “Yeah, but you know exactly that you need to already have feelings for the pony your body wants to mate with ! And the only reason you didn't follow what your body wanted was because she already had a marefriend ! And she even married her now !” “Because of who ? Remember, I changed the law so that they could marry !” “Yes, but that still doesn't explain why I can't have a lover !” “You've known each other for, like, five days and you already had sex ! Actually, you know what ?! I’m fine with it, just don't come crying to me when it turns out to be nothing more than a sexual relationship !” With that, she ran out of, throwing the door open, squashing me against the wall. “That's what you get for eavesdropping.” I entered my lover's room only to be greeted with some berating. “Why did you tell her ?” “I didn't tell her anything. She flipped out when she saw my magic was blue instead of pink.” “Aww, that's so cute. It also proves my sister is a complete moron.” “Is there anything I should know but I don't ?” “Yes, there is. A unicorn's magic can rarely ever change colours. Except if he or she's in love and has gone all the way with his or her lover.” “What do you mean 'gone all the way' ? Oh, I see.” “Yes, I thought it would sound more poetic than just 'had sex with his or her lover'.” “And why did you say it was cute ? I mean it shows my love for you, but you already knew that.” “No, I mean, being spotted like that as a couple is the most adorable way of getting spotted, well except if Celestia decides to blow up half of the castle's windows by over amplifying her royal Canterlot voice. Most of the unicorns who know about this decide to hide it, so only younger unicorns get caught like this, and it's adorable. I remember when Twilight came to the castle panicking because her magic was pink instead of purple. It was just so freakishly cute.” “Why would they hide it, aren't they proud of having their partner ? I'm definitely proud of being your coltfriend.” “They like to avoid questions, and it's something pretty private, and ponies don't like when everypony knows about their sexual life.” “Oh, and how do you change your colour back ? It's only a hypothetical question, because, like I’ve already said, I’m proud, and besides, blue is manlier than pink.” She rolled her eyes. “Hmm, 'manlier', what a strange word, I wonder where it comes from...” “You know, when you use your magic, you focus on what you want to do, and voilà, it works, but when all your thoughts are consumed by something or somepony special, your magic gets influenced. It's a subliminal effect, you can't really control it, the only thing you can do is revert back to your old colour, but even then the change isn't permanent, if you use your magic without concentrating on not concentrating on your love, it's gonna be the second colour.” “Do you think Celestia will finally accept our love ?” “She's gonna have to.” “You know, I think I’ll write our story down, maybe somepony out there will like it, and if I’m a good writer, I’ll be maybe able to work like this.” /*Author's note: Sorry it took so long, I finished this on friday, but I could only publish this today. Questions ? Confusions ? Tell me in the comments :D*/ //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 //-------------------------------------------------------// Chapter 2 I was waiting on a chair and staring outside while the doctor had disappeared for the x-th time behind a door. I noticed that the sun was indicating late afternoon. 'I've spent all of my day here... I've got more important things to do... Wait... no I don't... I'm amne-' “Your in perfect health, sir, except for your blood sugar, which is a little too low. You don't have anything that would cause amnesia, which means your lack of memories is due to a mental cause, and that means that I can't do anything for you, except advice you a good psychologist. I've already sent a message to the princess, she'll be here in a moment she said. A few moments later, a pure white alicorn entered the room. Celestia directly turned to me: “I need to talk to talk to you. Would you please follow me into my private office ?” “O-of course.” After a short walk through the castle we arrived at the throne room, which was the only access to her study. There were two doors behind the throne. “It's that my study's over there.” She nodded towards the left entrance. “The other is my sister's. I'll be there in a minute, I just have to check on something.” I entered the relatively huge room. It wasn't that big, but it was still impressive for an office. The only two windows of the room let enough light in to annoy my eyes considering the white of the walls. On the desk stood a picture of a purple unicorn. 'Is that her daughter ? She looks a little too old to be her daughter, since the princess looks rather young. Maybe her sister ? Shouldn't she be a pega-unicorn too then ? No, as long as she has unicorn ancestors. Oh, I'd like to know the proper name of those “pega-unicorns.” Hmm I think I should ask somepo-' “The unicorn on that picture is my prized student. Her special talent is magic. Now back to you; from what Doctor Royal Pains told me, your amnesia has nothing to do with your health. This means that it's a mental blockade of some sort. And that means that we have two choices, we either put you in a mental hospital, or I ask my sister Luna to help you to become lucid in your dreams and to find your blocked out memories. If you choose the former you will be locked in a room during the night and even if you succeed to get your memories back, you will have a huge bill to pay. If you choose the latter, you will live here in the castle, and the therapy will be much shorter.” “I guess it it would be more beneficial to be treated here, but something intrigues me; how do you know I'm not lying and just pretending to be amnesiac to get a free lodgement and food ?” “After 1700 years of existence, I can see if ponies are lying; even the most skilled ones can't fool me. Besides, you can't really fake a lack of cutie mark, and the doctor already checked if you had just put make up on that spot to cover it. Which means you really are amnesiac and you forgot your special talent.” “Oh ! That's why he was rubbing my flank, I thought he was just being a colt cuddler...” She facehoofed. “But wait, you said you were 1700 years old, but shouldn't you be, you know, dead ?” “No, we alicorns are immune to natural death, but there are, however, some diseases that can kill the regular alicorns, but my sister and I are also immune to them, because we are the goddesses of the sun and moon.” “And how can your sister assist me in my dreams ? Is that her special talent ?” “No, her special talent is raising the moon every night, and mine is raising the sun. But since the night is hers, she can enter everypony's dreams, but never does so without asking, because it would be an intrusion into the concerned pony's privacy.” “I see. But the first solution seems too good. There has to be a-” She cut me off before I could finish ; “Yes, there is a counterpart, but your doing is rather passive. I'll explain; you see, my sister Luna is very lonely, most ponies fear her. She used to try her best to get them to like her, but she eventually lost hope. She needs somepony else to talk to. Even if the first reason she will think you are there is that you need her help, and not vice-versa. I will come up with a reason why you can't just go to a mental hospital. You'll see tomorrow. Now, you need a room, don't you ?” She returned into the throne room and talked to a guard; “Could you please assign a chamber in wing C to this colt here ?” “Yes your highness.” He turned to me; “Please follow me, sir.” I did as he suggested. “So, what's it like, to be royalty ?” “I'm not royalty...” “That's weird, because wing C is reserved for the highest social ranks.” “Is it ? I don't know, maybe I was, before losing my memories. But how could princess Celestia know ?” After hours of discussion with that doctor, I had somehow assimilated how to talk about the princesses. “Anyway, I see you're not wearing the enchanted armour, unlike most guards, which is good, because this has been a pretty boring day so far, and I need somepony to talk to.” “Yes, I don't like having my emotions stored away like that, especially since I can naturally control my emotions pretty well.” We chit chatted a little bit more on the way to the 'royal' wing C. When I stepped inside the chamber the guard had shown me, I realised there was a bookcase and it was pretty full. 'I'll read a little bit until it's night. I hope I still remember how to read. Actually, yes, I've already read a few signs this morning on the streets.' I randomly chose a book and looked at the title which read: “Changelings, who are they ?” I decided to give it a try. I jumped on my bed and eagerly opened it. After two pages I was already fast asleep. “Sister, why do you always think I am lonely ? I don't need this “amnesiac” I don't need his company.” I awoke at the sound of a voice passing next to my door. “But I already told you, he needs your help. The ponies at the mental institution couldn't do anything for him.” “FINE ! But I still am sure it is one of your tricks to get me some friends.” At that the voices stopped and I drifted back to sleep. /* Author's note: Yay ! Another chapter done ! As usual, if something sounds weird, confusing, or useless, tell me. If there are any spelling/grammar mistakes TELL ME ! I'll remove those Author's notes once the story is finished. */