Forgive The Forgotten

Princess Memoriae

It had been an especially harrowing week for the Memoriae. Her strength had all but been exhausted by the time she had finished casting her spell with the help of her magic mirror and then it had taken an even larger toll to trap the Celestial sisters in the Everfree forest. The experience hadn’t robbed her of a great amount of her powers, energy she couldn’t rightly regenerate without rest which proved exceptionally elusive now that she’d assumed the role of sole ruler over Equestria.

An aggravated sigh tore its way from the Princess as she glared hatefully at the stack of scrolls meant for her to inspect, answer or write into law. If it wasn’t frustrating enough that she hadn’t managed to get a good night sleep in several days, the fact that she had to put up with this tedious and unending volley of work was absolutely absurd! She was a Princess! Royalty! She shouldn’t have to do these sorts of things!

“Your Highness?” Memoriae’s eyes snapped angrily to the guard who’d spoken. Said stallion flinched beneath the mares withering stare but was undeterred. “T-The Captain has told me to inform you that he is patrolling Ponyville and will be gone for approximately five days.” He spoke though it was quite obvious he was uncomfortable with delivering the information. Maybe it had something to do with the look of horror and then anger that appeared on his monarchs face. Yeah, that could have been it.

“He did WHAT!?” The Princess was suddenly standing, wings flared out as her voice rang inside the chamber as she processed the news. “Why was I not told sooner? What sort of Captain abandons his post without telling his ruler?” She was spitting with rage and it was a wonder how the messenger managed to squeak out. “He did your Majesty…He wrote you a letter…two weeks ago…You never got back to him.” Memoriae’s irritation climbed higher as she gave the unfinished stack of scrolls – nearly as tall as she was – a glare that should have lit them on fire. Actually...they did catch fire a moment later and the Princess looked rather smug about their timely demise.

Fine! It didn’t matter. His memories, like everyone else’s had been altered so there was nothing to worry about. There wouldn’t be any reason for him or anyone to go looking about the Everfree Forest so she was safe… “Whatever. I’m going for a walk. Have somepony clean this mess.” She mumbled, stomping like a teenager throwing a tantrum toward the exit and swiftly made her way outside to the gardens.

Dawn Star

There was never a dull moment in Equestria no matter where it is you happened to be. Whether dining with high society in Canterlot or buying a bushel of the finest apples in Appaloosa, there was always something to warrant the attention of a passerby – provided they knew what to look for. Such was how Dawn Star came to find himself trotting across the bridge into Ponyville, smiling broadly under the sunlight and seemingly unaffected by the summer heat.

The Pegasus wasn’t alone of course. No, rarely did he make ventures to any other territories without a small detail of his soldiers at his side. Frankly he believed that they worried too much about their overly friendly Captain and made excuses for joining him whenever he got tired of walking the streets of Canterlot and assigned himself a patrol where they could not stealthily oversee his actions. The thought earned a chuckle and a quirked brow from one of the white stallions in attendance to which he only smiled back and resumed his forward facing stroll across the bridge.

Officially there wasn’t anything of deep concern about Ponyville. Things had been almost suspiciously quiet in the recent months but he wasn’t about to complain about the lack of rampaging Ursa Minors or aggressive Manticores. The less they had to do and rebuild the better but it made for a decidedly uneventful day when there were no crisis’s to avert or danger to thwart. So while there really wasn’t a reason for a guard detail to patrol that didn’t mean Dawn was going to neglect it. Better safe than sorry right?

The stallion’s attention was quick to stray as they crossed the threshold into Ponyville. It was a quaint little parish not at all as extravagant or overtly decorated as Canterlot but its rustic design made his heart do a joyous bounce in his excitement. He’d been to this sector of Equestria before but it was always worth the trip in his opinion because of all the cities and townships basking under the sun, this one by far was the most troublesome. Well, it had been before Twilight Sparkle had become a Princess.

Dawn Star frowned slightly and stopped for a moment. Come to think of it he hadn’t seen much of the book-loving Princess in recent weeks. She usually visited Canterlot so she could chat with…with…who? His mind was drawing a blank because he distinctly remembered speaking to Miss Twilight Sparkle and she’d mentioned she was going to talk with her mentor. But Princess Memoriae didn’t have any apprentices so who exactly had Princess Twilight gone to see?

Mildly confused by his lack of information Dawn was about to question his companions when a screech erupted on their left and all heads jerked to the sight. A yellow mare was waving frantically at a small group of woodland critters – and if he wasn’t mistaken a bear which wasn’t small at all – gobbling up her stock of edibles. His thoughts on Twilight evaporated in an amused chuckle, “Go handle it. I’ll be fine on my own.” The guards nodded affirmatively and did as bade, leaving the Captain to take another look at Ponyville. It wasn't long into his evaluation that he was approached by someone who greeted him cheerfully instead of warily glancing at him from afar.

Happy to see such a friendly face the Pegasus smiled warmly at her.“Hello Miss, how are you today?”