A Life Forgotten (Cancelled)

‘No... No... NO!’ Hige thought to himself as he ran to his room. After hearing what Shining Armor had to say, he simply bolted out of the room. ‘Why do I feel so guilty? I only just met her... Why do I feel like I owe her? Why do I feel so sad...? She... She’s nothing to me, she’s just another pony.’ He kept thinking to himself. He reached his room, but didn't open the door. He rested his back against the door, slid down onto the floor, and slammed his head against the door a few times. “What’s wrong with me...?” he said with his ears folded back.

Moments later Hige’s ears perked up as he heard hoofsteps walking towards him. Hige stood up and tried his best to look normal. He looked as the sounds he heard began to round the nearest corner in the hall: it was Emerald.

                “Hige! Just the bipedal monstrosity I wanted to see”, he said with a smile. “I’m going to Ponyville to pick up the results of the test Twilight took. I talked to Celestia, and seeing as how you were compliant today, she agreed on me taking you”, he said as he finally reached Hige.

                “Ponyville?” Hige asked.

                “The town where Twilight lives in”, he answered in a surprised tone. “Thought you would be familiar with that town....”

                “Oh...”

                “So, you wanna tag along? It’s better than walking around the castle all day.”

‘I need to get my mind off Shadow Step...’ “Sure, I’ll tag along”, Hige said with a small smile.

                “Great! But first, an experiment...” he said with a mischievous smile. “Put this on...” he said as he reached into his lab coat and took out a bracelet.

                “Okay”, Hige said as he grabbed the bracelet.

                “No questions? This is why I like you”, he said with a smile.

Hige put on the bracelet and began to feel the same strange surge of energy he got from when he was in the strange talisman machine, but it was much stronger this time. As he looked at his hands, he saw that they began to glow a strange bright green color. His vision began to blur as the color intensified. Once he regained his vision and looked around, he noticed that his point of view has changed.

                “Perfect! I think... We’ll find out”, Emerald said as Hige looked around.

                “You turned me into a pony, didn't you?” Hige said as he remembered how he felt right after Twilight had turned him into a pony. He felt the same.

                “Indeed I have. Now let’s go!” Emerald said as he walked along the hall.

They walked in silence. Emerald lead Hige to the same place where the Royal Guards had dropped Hige off right before they took him to the Royal Throne room. Emerald exchanged a few words with some of the guards that were surrounding a carriage. The guards let Emerald in the carriage and then signaled Hige to walk inside.

Minutes passed before the silence was broken.

                “Something on your mind?” Emerald asked.

                “What? No...” Hige answered.

                “You sure? Considering your dilemma, it’s understandable.”

                “It’s nothing. Don’t worry about it”, Hige said with a fake smile.

                “If you say so... You know you don’t have to come to the library with me. You can walk around if you want.”

                “Good to know”, Hige said as he began to think.

The rest of the trip passed by in a few minutes. Once they reached Ponyville they went their separate ways. Emerald went to the library and Hige went to find a very special doctor.

Hige followed the same trail that The Doctor took the first time they went to the great blue box. He walked to what he thought was the spot where the blue box was. ‘This should be it...’  Hige thought and almost on cue, the image of the tree behind him began to disrupt. Two brown limbs reached out and dragged Hige in. Once Hige looked around, he found himself in the blue box.

                “I thought I told you to come back when you were human. I’m guessing the spell will wear off soon?” The Doctor asked.

                “No.” Hige said as he reached to the bracelet, “It’s a different spell.” He took the bracelet off. There was a bright flash and Hige was turned to his normal ‘human’ form.

                “Brilliant! Let’s get started”, he said as he searched through a box. Seconds later his head popped up, he was wearing a pair of 3-D glasses. He got closer to Hige and began to look at him. “Hmm... I’m guessing the claws, the tail, and the ears are what you ment by ‘almost human’?”

                “Yes. What are you doing with those glasses?” Hige asked curiously.

                “I’m using them to see Void Stuff...” he answered.

                “Void Stuff?” Hige asked curiously.

                “Yes.” The Doctor flipped his head and threw the glasses into the air. They landed on Hige’s head. “Take a look.”

                “Okay...” Hige placed the glasses in front of his eyes and looked at himself. “I don’t see anything...”

                “Precisely! Now look at me.”

                Hige looked over at The Doctor. “You’re glowing?” Hige asked as he saw that The Doctor had a strange glowing aura around him.

                “That’s ‘Void Stuff’. You can see it on matter that has traveled through parallel dimensions. Strange thing is, you don’t have a trace... As if you aren’t from another dimension, which is even stranger considering your memories.” The Doctor explained.

                “Then why are you smiling?” Hige asked. The Doctor had maintained a strange smile ever since he’d put on the 3-D glasses.

                “Because I have no idea what’s going on!” He said excitedly. “But I promise you, I’m going to find out...” He looked at a screen that was connected on the control panel in the middle of the TARDIS. “If you do belong here, maybe you aren’t the first.” He began to type.

                “If there were more, wouldn’t they have remembered?” Hige asked.

                “People would forget, and the story would fade back into legend.” he answered.

“But there's always someone that remembers the legend, even if they believe it or not. If what you’re saying is true, then that means that information about that legend was wiped clean.” Hige questioned.

“Very clever, but that doesn't matter.” He said with a grin.

“Do you know what TARDIS stands for?” he asked.

“Not sure...”

“Time And Relative Dimensions In Space”, he said with a grin. “It can travel through space AND time.”

“So what are you planning on doing?” Hige asked.

“I remember reading that in one point in Equestria’s history, various libraries were being burned down. If I’m right, that’s the point where the legend was wiped from history.” He explained, “That’s a fixed point in time, so we can’t alter it. We’re going to go there on the day it burned, and we’re retrieving the book.” He began to mess around with various knobs, buttons, and dials that were on the control panel.

“Which book?”

“Equestrian Folklore.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

“For Ditsy to get back”, he said as he stopped messing around with the control panel.

“Where is she?”

“Sleeping.”

“No I’m not!” Ditsy said as she popped out of the lower area of the TARDIS.

“Since when were you up?”

“Since I heard my name”, she said with a smile.

“Well we’re going to a burning library to save a really important book. It’s called Equestrian Folklore.”

“Adventure!” she exclaimed in a happy tone.

“Are you ready?” The Doctor asked Hige.

“I gues-” Hige tried to say.

“ALLONS-Y!” The Doctor exclaimed as he pulled a lever causing the TARDIS to shake.

Hige was taken by surprise, but was able to keep his balance while the TARDIS violently shook. Moments later, it finally stopped. The Doctor looked into his box again and took out three small spray canisters.

                “Both of you take one”, he said as he threw Ditsy and Hige a cannister. “It’s like a mini-fire extinguisher. Should help with any fire that comes along. Now let’s get that book.”

The three parted from the TARDIS and split up. The Doctor continued to go forward, Ditsy flew up to the upper left levels, and Hige went right. The fire was just starting, so most of the books were safe, and the structure was still stable. ‘What the...’ Hige thought as he rested his weight against the wall. ‘I can’t... Think straight.’ Hige’s vision began to blur. ‘Dammit, Hige, concentrate!’ he screamed in his head. He forced himself to walk, his vision returning to normal. ‘That’s better. Now to find that book.’ Hige looked around and found himself surrounded by books. ‘I have no idea what I’m doing...’ Hige thought. He was lost and had no clue what to do. He looked at one of the halls and it read Fiction. ‘Must be there...’ He ran towards the hall and looked at both of the walls of books. There were hundreds on each side. ‘This place is going to burn down anyways, no need to be gentle.’ Hige looked at the books, if it wasn't the one he was looking for he would simply throw it to the ground to avoid any further confusion if that same book caught his eye again.

-five minutes later-

“AHHHHHH!” Hige screamed in frustration as he took down the last few books on the shelves. “Dammit” He said as he pushed the shelf to the ground “Never going to find that book! The only chance I get, and I’m wasting it!”.

“Who goes there!?” A voice said. Hige popped his head out of the hall to find a unicorn mare floating a lantern was looking at him. “Trespasser!” she screamed as she levitated handcuffs and ran towards Hige.

                “Not in the-” Hige screamed when a sudden pain in his head forced him to his knees.

                “A-are you okay? Can you speak?” The mare asked worriedly after Hige fell to his knees. “I-I mean, you’re under arrest.” She floated the cuffs behind Hige.

                “Leave me ALONE!” Hige yelled at the top of his lungs. The mare was taken by surprise, the cuffs fell to the ground.

“W-What are you!?” she screamed in fear.

“Shut up!” Hige screamed in anger. He took quick, shallow breaths for a few short moments. “No no no no! What the hell is happening to me?!” Hige couldn’t think straight, his mind was clouded with anger. “Need to get out of here...” Hige murmured.

“N-No... You need to come with me...” The mare said trying to reassert herself.

“I’m not-” Hige ears perked up as her heard a strange noise coming from the book next to him. He grabbed the book and opened it.

“You need to-” she said, but stopped as she saw a strange red glow coming out of the book. “What is that-” Hige tossed the book far away. A high pitched shriek caused Hige to cover his ears as a series of fiery explosion ignited the library.

“No! Not yet!” Hige said in reaction. “Forget it... You, we need to go”, Hige said to the mare. The newfound adrenaline made it easy to ignore the dizziness. He got up and walked to the TARDIS.

“What is happening!?” She said as she followed Hige. “Who are you?”

“No time, just run!” As they reached a large doorway the sound of creaking wood caused Hige to stop in his tracks. “Stop!” Hige said, but was unable to warn the mare fast enough before a pile of flaming rubble broke off from the ceiling and killed the mare in her tracks. Hige looked at the doorway, which now had a pile of flaming rubble at the bottom.

Hige threw the can at the fire. He stepped back and waited. The moment he heard the pressure building up in the can and saw it was forcing some of the liquid out through the nozzle, he ran. As he reached the flaming pile, the can exploded, but barely made a difference in the fire. Hige was going too fast to stop. He leaped into the air and dug his nails into top of the frame and used it to keep himself away from the fire. He made the jump and landed a safe distance from the fire.

He looked forward and saw that Ditsy and The Doctor were both making their way to the TARDIS. They were going to reach it at the same time. Hige ran as fast as he could. The Doctor threw the keys into the air and caught it in his mouth by the time he got close to the doors. He quickly opened the TARDIS. Hige and Ditsy quickly ran inside. Hige closed the door.

                “What happened?!” Hige heard Ditsy in a scared tone. As he turned, he saw that half of The Doctor’s body was severely burned.

                “Don’t worry...” He said forcefully “I just need.” The Doctor pulled out a strange jar with cables connected to the control panel of the TARDIS.

 Inside was what seemed to be a severed pony limb that seemed to match The Doctor’s coat. With one pained grunt, The Doctor exploded into a cloud of yellow dots that seemed to be reaching out to the jar. As the cloud diminished, there was a bright flash from where The Doctor used to stand. Once Hige looked back, he saw The Doctor. Not a single scratch on him.

                “Allons-Y!” The Doctor said as he pulled a lever causing the the familiar shaking as before.

The shaking didn't take Hige by surprise, but as the adrenaline left his body, he began to feel dizzy. He lost his balance and was smashed against the door of the TARDIS. Luckly he was able to hang on to the doorway. Once the shaking stopped, the dizziness began to fade. It only took a few seconds for Hige to feel comfortable enough to stand up.

                “What happened!?” Hige asked in shock referring to when The Doctor exploded.

                “He regenerated!” Ditsy answered in a happy tone.

                “What? Regenerated?”

                “Yes. It’s a way us Timelords cheat death”, The Doctor explained.

                “Then why were you burned?”

                “I found the book and was making my way to the TARDIS when suddenly the shelf beside be burst into flames. I was carrying the book on my back, so part of it got burned... I knew there was something odd...” he said with regret.

                “The books”, Hige said.

                “What?”

                “The books. That’s what caused the explosion. I was talking-” Hige stopped as he remembered the mare that had died. He clenched his fist.

                “What’s wrong?” Ditsy asked with a worried look.

                “There... There was a mare... She was guarding the library.”

                “What happened?” she asked.

                “She died. Part of the roof broke off and killed her...” Hige explained.

                “It would have been worse if she would have made it here...” The Doctor murmured.

                “And what the hell does that mean!?” Hige screamed in anger.

                “She was better off dying back there...” The Doctor said deep in thought.

                “You... You...” Hige said as he tried to think of something, his anger slowly growing. “Forget it.” Hige put his hand in his pocket and took out the bracelet. He walked to the doors of the TARDIS, put on the bracelet, and walked out the door. Neither of them said a word.

Ditsy looked at The Doctor and Hige who’d walked out the door. She flew out the door and looked for Hige. He was was barely a few feet away of fromTARDIS.

                “Hige!” She said trying to get his attention.

                “What...” Hige said. He didn't look back and he didn't stop. Ditsy was hovering over him.

                “Stop! Please...” She said in a worried tone. Hige stopped. Ditsy landed right in front of him and looked at him straight in the eyes. Hige’s eyes were red and he seemed to be fighting back tears. “I’m sorry... He didn't mean to say that... It’s just that he has to follow a set of rules. He couldn’t have saved her even if he wanted to”, she tried to explain.

                “Why?” Hige asked.

                “Because she was supposed to die. If you would have brought her back, we would have had to leave her... He only said it was best because if she would have had reached the TARDIS...”

                “We would have had to kill her on purpose...” Hige finished.

                “Yes. Imagine how that would have bad us feel.”

                “I’m guessing that’s happened before.”

                “Yes... It has... Don’t take it too seriously when he acts like it’s nothing. He has to deal with many burdens.

                “Well... Tell him I’m sorry. Don’t take it personally, but I really don’t want to be in the TARDIS after what happened.” Hige said.

                “I understand. Guess I’ll see you later...” she said as she walked back to the TARDIS. “Good luck”, she said as she passed by his side.

‘Shadow Step...’ Hige though as he walked to the library. ‘... She’s... She was the first to smile. Ever since I got here everyone has been weary of me. Maybe Twilight warmed up to me, but I could still see she was nervous around me... But Shadow Step. The second she saw me walking out of the throne room, she smiled... I almost killed a mare, and she smiled. I walked out of the throne room thinking that, after that, nobody was going to get close to me, but she... She made me believe. Her, Emerald, and Shining Armor... They made me feel normal...’  Hige reached the library and placed a hoof on the door. ‘I guess that’s why I feel so guilty... I owe her.’  Hige opened the door and walked inside.

The room was empty. Spike walked by with a handful of books and placed them in front of a shelf. He said that they were in the basement. Hige asked if he needed any help organizing. Spike accepted the offer. He was just about done, but there were two stack of books that needed to be reshelved. One of the stacks was on the table and the other was next to Spike. Spike explained where to shelve them, and they both began to reshelve. Once done, Hige walked to the basement. He walked down the stairs, but tripped on a broken step.

                “Are you okay?” Twilight asked in a worried tone as she used her magic to help him up.

                “Fine... I think.” He said with a smile as he got on his hooves. He looked around “What happened here?” The room looked like it had been raided. The machines were tipped, the papers were shredded, and the machines that weren't tipped seemed like they were beaten to death by a rock.

                “I’m not sure. I went to sleep, and it was like this when I came here. Didn’t hear a thing”, she answered. “Couldn’t even get the results...”

                “Hige, show her the bracelet”, Emerald said quickly changing the subject.

                “Oh right.” Hige said as he raised his hoof. Once Twilight saw the bracelet, he took it off. There was a flash, and Hige turned back to his human form.

Emerald and Twilight began to talk about the bracelet. Hige placed his hands in his hoodie and walked around the room waiting for them to finish. As he looked around, he saw a scratch on the wall that caught his attention. ‘That’s weird...’ Hige thought as he looked at his hand. There were five claw marks on the wall. ‘It can’t be...’ Hige placed his hand on the wall. His claws matched with the claw marks. Hige took a few steps back as he let what he just learned sink in. He tripped over one of the tipped machines. Hige smashing against the hull of the machine caused Twilight and Emerald to end their conversation.

                “You okay back there?” Emerald asked as he walked over.

                “Yeah, fine. I’m still a wee bit tipsy I guess”, Hige said in an embarrassed tone.

                “Indeed you are. We should get going, there’s nothing more to do here”, Emerald said as he and Twilight walked upstairs, Hige catching up. Once they all got to the library, Emerald remembered he left something downstairs, and went back down, leaving Hige and Twilight alone.

                “Good to see that you’re okay”, she said with a smile.

                “I was surprised too. Thought they’d seal me in a dungeon or something.” Hige replied with a smile.

                “So what did you do to get on Celestia’s good side?” she asked curiously.

                “Nothing... Just happened I guess...”

                “Oh... Well at least I can tell everyone you’re all right, I’m tired of saying I don’t know.”

                “Who do you mean by ‘they’?”

                “Fluttershy, Rarity and Applejack mostly”, she answered.

                “Oh...”

                “They were really curious about how you turned out after that strange introduction you gave us.”

                “And how’s Rainbow Dash?”

                “She’s fine. She’s just a little grumpy since she’s grounded for the next few days.”

                “So nothing permanent?”

                “No, nothing at all”, Twilight answered.

Emerald walk up the stairs and signaled for Hige to follow him out the door. After a short goodbye, Hige and Emerald departed. Hige put on his bracelet, and walked over to the carriage. It was a silent trip to the castle. Emerald seemed like he was deep in thought, so Hige made no attempt to interrupt him.

Once they reached the castle, Emerald quickly made his way to the lab and Hige walked over to his room. ‘I should get something to eat...’ Hige thought as he changed his trajectory. When he entered the dining room, he found the dining table already had food on it. The chef looked over at Hige with a strange look.

                “Who are you?” The chef asked. Hige realized that he hadn’t taken off the bracelet yet. Once he took it off and he reverted to his human form, the chef smiled. “Oh, sorry about that. I know everypony in the castle, you took me by surprise.”

                “No worries”, Hige said with a smile.

                “Well, feel free to eat what’s on the table. I made it for Shadow Step and Luna, but I doubt they’ll eat it all and I bet they won’t mind.”

                “I’d rather wait for them to get here first...” Hige replied.

                “That must be them”, the chef said as the sound of the dining room’s door opening reached their ears.

                “It was nice talking to you...” Hige said waiting for the chef to say his name.

                “Gustaf”, he answered.

                “Well see you later, Gustaf.” Hige walked into the dining room.

                “Hige! Funny seeing you here”, Shadow Step said in surprise with Luna behind her.

                “Yeah. I was thinking of getting a bite to eat before I went to sleep”, Hige replied.

                “Sleeping? At this hour?” Luna asked in surprise.

                “Yes. I’m more of a night person”, Hige answered with a smile.

                “Well feel free to join us”, Shadow Step said as she walked to the table.

                “Don’t mind if I do.”

The three of them walked down the table, Hige sat opposite from Luna and Shadow Step. ‘This is a weird feeling... Talking to someone that you know is going to die.’ Hige thought. There was an eerie silence in the room. ‘Luna... She keeps looking at Shadow Step... Doesn't say anything, but looks at her with a strange face... Worried? Scared? Angry? Dammit, I can’t let her die!’ Hige thought, pushing his chair away from the table.

                “I just remembered I had to go talk to Emerald”, Hige said.

                “Don’t let us keep you”, Shadow Step said.

                “Okay. Guess I’ll see you two around.”

                “It’s been a pleasure meeting you”, Luna said as Hige walked away. Hige gave a nod in reply.

Hige walked out of the dining room with new-found hope. ‘Okay, how do I help Shadow Step?’ Hige thought as he slowly began to lower his pace. ‘Wait...’ Hige thought as he stopped walking.

‘I have no idea what I’m doing...’

Author’s note: And with this, A Life Forgotten goes on a short Hiatus while I finish Lost In the Dark. Sorry -_-” Can’t handle too many stories at a time, and I just want to get one of them out of the way...