Inner Demon

Chapters

Rion, the Unicorn
September
All Around Town (Rion's PoV)
All Around Town (Pinkie's PoV)
All Around Town (Twilight's PoV)
Arguing with Myself
Reversal
Chapter One: Heartbeat

Rion, the Unicorn

The sky was a dreary, depressing gray. Once proud buildings lay in shambles. Every once in a while, there would be a small fire that eventually extinguished on its own. Emptiness. No signs of life whatsoever. The entire town was abandoned, so it seemed. Only the trails of blood could account for what truly happened...

Suddenly, screaming. The screams of fathers, mothers and children alike. Screaming while fleeing from sadistic, maniacal laughter. Fire sprang out, engulfing everything. Through it all, there was only one survivor. A lone unicorn sat in the middle of the once shining town, nothing but remnants of what used to be.

The red-coated unicorn awoke suddenly, jolting into an upright sitting position. Cold sweat ran down his face, past his lavender eyes, which where nearly as wide as saucers. His breathing was sharp. Finally regaining his composure, he looked around the room he found himself in. He didn't remember any of this. All he could remember were the sc-

His thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Finally, you're awake!" a voice shouted. The unicorn cringed at the sudden noise. He turned slowly and awkwardly. When he did, he was face-to-face with a purple unicorn with eyes that nearly matched his own. The unicorn looked at this other pony, remaining silent. He could tell this unicorn was a mare. Her mane seemed particularly well-kept, unlike his, which he rarely combed or brushed because it never stayed the way he wanted it anyway. Her cutie mark seemed to be stars. Simple enough, so she was really good at magic, just like he was. Of course, their magical talents were no doubt different. He sat contemplating this when the mare spoke again.

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," the mare said. "What's yours?"

The unicorn suddenly stared at his own hooves.

"Red..." the unicorn mumbled.

"Uhm...Your name is Red?" Twilight asked, confused.

The unicorn in question perked up, out of his trance.

"No..it's not...it's uh..." The unicorn paused.

"You don't remember your name?" Twilight inquired.

The unicorn paused again. He seemed confused. Twilight was confused also. She wondered if he had amnesia, but it didn't really seem like it. He just seemed...confused. Like somepony who couldn't decide between one thing or another.

"Rion," the unicorn finally responded. Twilight blinked, she was too caught up in her thoughts to actually hear his response.

"Huh?" Twilight said lamely.

The unicorn sighed.

"My name...It's Rion," the unicorn repeated.

"Oh..." Twilight began. She couldn't finish her thoughts, because the unicorn, who claimed to be Rion, spoke up again.

"I can see your special talent is magic," he stated.

Twilight's ears perked up.

"Y-yes," she said, a bit nervously. That uneasy feeling she had was still there...Something was not quite right with this unicorn. Twilight hoped the feeling would pass. It was becoming too much. She hoped this Rion character wouldn't notice her begin to break out in a nervous sweat.

Rion did notice, but he didn't bring it up.

"I guess that's one thing we have in common," he continued. "We both excel in magic..."

He seemed to trail off at the last part. Twilight remained silent. She heard him, of course, but she was too nervous and uncomfortable to respond. The atmosphere seemed crushingly heavy.

"So, do you specialize in a certain type of magic, or are you one of those 'jack-of-all-trades' types?"

"Uhm...I...I don't really know..." Twilight replied. She knew she wasn't specialized in any one certain field of magic. She was just too uncomfortable to formulate a proper response.

"I see..." the unicorn said. "Myself, I specialize in...energy magic."

Suddenly, Twilight's curiosity overcame her uneasiness and fear.

"Energy magic? I've never heard of that," Twilight said. The thought of learning something new intrigued her, as it always did.

The unicorn pondered for a moment.

"Where am I, exactly, Miss..uh...Sparkle?" Rion questioned.

"Uh...The Ponyville Library. I live here with my assistant, Spi-"

"And where's that?"

"...Ponyville?" Twilight was really confused. Did this unicorn hit his head really hard or something?

The unicorn remained silent for a few minutes. Suddenly, he spoke up again.

"And where's Ponyville?" he asked simply.

Twilight had to try her best to not look at the colt like he was crazy.

"It's in Equestria of course, how could you not know that?"

"Oh," was all the unicorn said. "That explains a lot"

Twilight was confused for the umpteenth time that morning.

"What explains a lot?" she inquired.

"My magic is a form of combat magic," the unicorn explained, suddenly deciding to jump back on topic.

"I've never heard of anypony in Equestria teaching...combat magic," Twilight said.

Realization hit Twilight. Rion wasn't from Equestria. Now things were starting to make sense. But of course, just as she got answers, she got more questions. Like the easy one, where did he come from, then? And how, if he didn't live anywhere in Equestria, did he end up in Everfree Forest the night before? Twilight racked her brain for any recent happenings elsewhere in the world. She searched her memories for anything odd, maybe something magic-related. She either turned up blanks or merely remembered some political debate in some random country. Then, she remembered, out of the blue. The headlines from the latest paper from Canterlot. A small town in a country called Esker was completely wiped out. She tried to remember the name of the town, but it just wouldn't come to her. Oh wait, that's right, she remembered. A small, quiet town, a lot like Ponyville, called Peaksedan. From what she read, supposedly overnight, the entire town was practically wiped off the map. The newspaper claimed an accident, and failed attempts at covering up blood streaks here and there showed what actually transpired. Twilight become suddenly even more uneasy. Her mind filled with doubt and self-conflict. She half believed that somehow, this unicorn was somehow involved.

"Do you know about a town in Esker named Peaksedan?" Twilight asked. She had to confirm at least part of her suspicions.

Suddenly, the unicorn's expression became unreadable. His head was lowered, that messy mane of his covering his eyes. It was silent for quite some time. Nearly five minutes had passed, and yet neither moved.

"Yeah," Rion said, not looking up. "I know all about it."

September

Rion trotted confidently through town. He knew just about everypony there, and he was quite well-known himself. Supposedly, he was an exceptionally gifted unicorn at the academy. Rion tended to be the modest type, never really admitting his true skill or potential. It was a bright, cheery day that September in Peaksedan. Rion smiled a bit, breathing in the fresh air. He greeted ponies as he walked by, as he did every day before going to his classes and training sessions. Rion sighed, attempting to relieve the tension in his body. He felt strangely pent up today, and he had no idea why. He mentally shoved it aside, dismissing it as something trivial. He hadn't the time nor the patience to deal with his mind nagging at him twenty-four seven, especially over what appeared to be absolutely nothing.

"Running late," Rion muttered to himself. "There goes my perfect attendance. Oh well."

Suddenly, the sky began to turn gray. Ponies stopped what they were doing, staring at the sky as it grew darker. A small fog began to gather. Rion stopped as well. Something wasn't right...

"Oh Rion..."

Rion jumped slightly, startled. He furiously looked around for the source of the voice. There wasn't a soul around him. Strange, there were ponies all about just a moment ago...

"Why don't you let me play?"

That voice again...Who was it? Rion suddenly broke out in a cold sweat. He was surprised at himself. Rion hardly became nervous...but some kind of strange feeling was overtaking him. He caught himself trembling. Was he...afraid? Was this fear? It made sense, in Rion's mind. The only thing that didn't make sense was...What exactly was he afraid of? The voice, perhaps? Rion looked down at his hooves, his eyes widening at what he saw.

His coat was starting to turn black. Rion tried to call out to somepony, but the words wouldn't come out. His throat suddenly went dry, and he lost the ability to speak. In his head, he heard a small cackle. It soon turned into a fit of maniacal laughter. Rion was slowly becoming even more terrified. He had no idea what was going on whatsoever.

"This is going to be a lot of fun..."

Everything went black.

Rion's eyes fluttered open, slowly. His vision was blurred, so he couldn't see well. He tried to sit up, but pain racked his entire body. He collapsed in a heap, grunting. An extremely unpleasant odor was in the air. It smelled like-Oh no...

Rion rubbed his eyes furiously, looking around. The once proud, bright buildings of Peaksedan lay in shambles. Fires were everywhere, small to medium, medium to large. Other than the occasional flicker and crackle of flames, he heard nothing. Rion then realized he was laying in the middle of a particularly large crater.

"What in the world...?" Rion said. He stood up, met by much protest from his legs. Rion could hardly feel them. Slowly, but surely, he crawled out of the crater. He suddenly wished he didn't.

Streaks of blood covered the streets and walls. Mutilated bodies of ponies lay nearly everywhere. Rion heard shouting in the distance. Probably a relief squad. Though, from what Rion saw, a relief squad, or even many relief squads would be of absolutely no use. There wasn't anything to relieve at this point, except for Rion's aching body of course. Rion slowly dragged himself the rest of the way out of the crater. He looked at his hooves again, just barely noticing a small black patch dissipate into red. After which, he simply passed out.

After what seemed like an eternity, Rion awoke once again. His head was throbbing. Rion sat up, rubbing his temples, trying to soothe this pounding migraine. Rion then suddenly realized he was laying in grass. Well that was weird, there was DEFINITELY no grass in the streets of Peaksedan. His memory was all a blur, he couldn't remember much before he woke up in...well, wherever he was. It looked like was in a very dense forest. So dense, in fact, he couldn't rightly tell what time of day it was. Suddenly, a wave of pain hit him like a brick wall, and he fell to the ground, gasping. Rion felt his consciousness slowly slipping away. The last thing he heard before he blacked out again was that same voice in the back of his head.

"Nighty night, Rion..."

-~~-xx-~~

Twilight Sparkle stared in horror at this dark red unicorn.

"W-what?" she managed to choke out.

"I was there," Rion muttered back. "I remember..."

"D-did you?" Twilight said. She couldn't bring herself to end her sentence.

Rion said nothing.

"Dear Celestia..." Twilight muttered to herself.

"I dunno," said Rion.

"But you said-"

"Yeah, I remember. The screams, the fires, the blood...All of it, except..."

"Except?.." Twilight was terrified, and confused. But mostly terrified.

"I don't really know how it happened," Rion finally replied.

"O-oh..."

Twilight still had her doubts. It was just all too convenient. Peaksedan completely wiped out, then this unicorn shows up in Everfree Forest. Rion spoke up again.

"How about we move on to a less depressing topic?" Rion asked. "I'd...really rather not think about what happened in Peaksedan..."

Twilight then couldn't help but notice the change in the atmosphere. That uneasy feeling she had was completely gone. Twilight let out a sigh of relief.

"That, I can agree with," Twilight said, putting on a smile. Rion found himself smiling back, glad the tension in the air had finally evaporated. He quickly recovered over the proceeding hours, and soon enough found himself wandering around Ponyville, as Twilight had informed him. He noticed it was a lot like Peaksedan, or, well, how Peaksedan used to be. Rion closed his eyes, and therefore did notice a bright pink mare bounce past him. All of a sudden, a huge gasp invaded his ear drums, causing Rion to jump significantly. He turned to face his attacker, but seeing nopony. Rion raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"...O-kay..." he said, turning around. He almost immediately regretted it. He ended up face-to-face with a bright, pink-coated mare, with a very poofy and curly pink mane, though it was significantly darker than her coat. Her cutie mark appeared to be three balloons. He stared right into her cyan eyes. Rion was about to turn around when...

"Oh my gosh, I've never seen you around before! My name's Pinkie Pie and I know EVERYPONY in Ponyville! And since I don't know you, that must mean you're new! And if you're new, that means I have to throw you a WELCOME TO PONYVILLE PARTY!" the mare screamed while bouncing around wildly.

Meanwhile, Rion was still recovering from the latest assault on his ears. Did this pony ever stop talking? He shook his head, massaging his temples again. That blasted headache returned. He tried to tune out the pink mare's nonsense. It worked for the most part, although he'd occasionally catch random bits involving some kind of pastry or sweets. Rion really wished she would be quiet.

"Why don't you just blast her to smithereens? It'd be an easy way to make her shut up, not to mention fun!"

That voice again. He dreaded that voice, ever since that day in Peaksedan. Or at least, what he could remember of that day. Rion's head felt like it was about to split in half, and he crouched on the ground, clutching his skull in agony. The pink mare finally realized something was wrong.

"Er...Is there something wrong mister unicorn?" she asked, her voice now full of concern.

When Rion didn't respond, she sped off quickly, saying something about 'getting help'. Rion picked himself up off the ground. He tried to activate his magic to teleport, but with his head screaming at him in pain, he couldn't focus. So, instead, he ran as fast as he could out of Ponyville. Occasionally, he would knock over signs or mailboxes, sometimes both, which earned scowls and angry shouts from their owners. Rion couldn't care less. He just wanted to get away. Rion looked up, his vision becoming obscured. He was probably going to pass out again. Rion tripped, falling into the dirt.

~~-xx-~~

Pinkie Pie burst into Twilight's library.

"Twilight!" she shouted.

Twilight blinked, looking up from the book she was reading. Pinkie was breathing heavily and had a mixture of concern and fear plastered on her face. Twilight sat up instantly.

"Some new pony looks like he was hurting a lot, we gotta help him!" Pinkie yelled.

Twilight instantly realized who she was talking about.

"Let's go!" Twilight exclaimed.

Pinkie led Twilight to the spot where she had seen Rion, only to realize he had fled the scene.

"He was here a few minutes ago..." Pinkie said.

"He must have ran out of town or something," Twilight said, albeit more to herself. "I'd like to help him, but he could have gone anywhere. I guess we can only hope he comes back soon."

"Yeah," Pinkie nodded. She clearly didn't like the idea of leaving a pony in pain, but there wasn't a lot of choice in the matter. Twilight didn't much like the idea either. Instead, they went around Ponyville asking all the ponyfolk if they would inform them whenever they saw Rion, including their other friends. Their friends agreed instantly, as did most of the other ponies. Some did mention being too busy, but for the most part, the entire town was on the lookout for the mysterious unicorn.

~~-xx-~~

Rion sat up in the dirt. He groaned a bit, his earlier mind-splitting migraine still lingering a bit. He tried to collect himself, leaning back against a nearby tree for support. Rion could barely feel most of his body. His legs were mostly numb, his throat was dry, and he had this obnoxious irritation in his eyes. Rion glanced down at his jacket. It was filthy and covered with mud. He looked over toward where he picked himself up at. Great, random not-yet-dried mud puddle.

"Thank you so much for ruining my jacket. Stupid mud."

He sighed. Insulting a puddle of half-dried mud was not going to get him anywhere, and especially not clean. He contemplated going back into town, but he really didn't want another run in with that hyperactive pink pony. What was her name again? Pinkie something or the other. His head hurt way too much to bother remembering it. His head kept pounding. Rion was becoming extremely agitated. Under most circumstances, Rion would only be slightly annoyed by a headache. However, given the situation involving his recent migraines, he couldn't help but become rather frustrated. The throbbing in his head made it nearly impossible to concentrate on magic.

He wished the pain would go away. Rion started thinking back on that day in Peaksedan. He realized he actually didn't know how long ago that was. It seemed like a few days, or maybe hours, but it wasn't very likely. Unfortunately, with all the recent happenings, not to mention the unpleasant thumping in the back of his head, his mental calender became a mess. He sighed loudly. Rion tried to sit up. No pain. He also noticed feeling was returning to his legs. Alright, at least that was getting better. Rion put on his thinking face. He sighed thankfully.

That blasted headache finally subsided. Now he could focus. Rion stood up, taking a deep breath. He figured he might as well go apologize to that Pinkie or whatever her name was. And not to mention, actually learn her name while he was at it. She seemed nice, although her apparent supply of infinite energy would likely cause future migraines, assuming he planned on staying for any extended period of time. Rion doubted it, but added it to his list of possibilities. Honestly, he'd do nearly anything to drown out the memories of that voice.

Twilight Sparkle sat at her table, her eyes yet again glued into a book. In fact, she was so into reading the book she didn't hear the first several knocks on her door. She eventually was broken out of her trance when whoever it was basically punched the door ten times.

"Er..coming!" Twilight yelled. "Wonder who it is..."

Twilight opened the door. "Yes-Oh, it's you!"

Rion stood directly in front of her.

"Uh, yeah," Rion said. "Listen, do you know some pink pony named..uh..Pinkie...something."

"You mean Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, her," Rion replied.

"Of course I do, she's my friend."

"...Oh."

Twilight couldn't help but smile.

"She came by earlier. She practically broke the door down when she came in, yelling about how somepony needed help. Somepony new. I figured it was you since you're the only new pony around that I know of. She was really worried," Twilight explained.

"Yeah," Rion said. "Kinda wanted to apologize about...ya know, running off randomly. Speaking of apologizing, I probably should go talk to those other ponyfolk whose signs and mailboxes I ran into..."

He began to trail off again. Twilight looked at him.

"Uhm, you okay?" she asked, nudging him slightly.

Rion blinked, snapping back to reality.

"Oh, uh...Yes, I'm fine," he replied. "Anyway, know where..uhm..Pinkie Pie usually hangs around at?"

"You should probably check Sugarcube Corner," Twilight told him.

"Sugarcube Corner, right. Gotcha," he said, and began walking off.

A few seconds later, he backed up and looked at Twilight.

"Where's Sugarcube Corner?"

Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed, smiling at the same time.

"Just follow me," Twilight said. Rion nodded and walked beside her as she led him to Sugarcube Corner.

Rion sighed inwardly. He could tell, especially with that Pinkie Pie's hyperactive and energetic personality, or at least what he saw of it, was going to make this already long day even longer. Rion pushed the thoughts of that voice to the very back of his mind. Rion was dead-set on enjoying the rest of this day. And he sure as hay wasn't going to let some stupid, psycho voice in the back of his head mess it up any further. Before he knew it, Twilight stopped in front of a rather large building.

"Here we are," she said.

Rion nodded.

Bring on the headaches.

All Around Town (Rion's PoV)

Rion's POV

I stood outside this Sugarcube Corner place. It looked like a giant candy house, especially with the top floor shaped like a cupcake with candles sticking out of the top of it. I could hear voices inside. I'm really not one for noisy places, especially with these recent migraines, so you can justly assume that I was having some second thoughts about actually going inside. Noise combined with the fact that I don't like sweets? Sugarcube Corner didn't really seem like an ideal hang-out spot for me. Twilight opened the door, beckoning me inside. I hesitated. Part of me wanted to apologize for being rude to Pinkie Pie despite my mind-splitting headache, but the other part of me was screaming to run like mad to save myself from another. I glanced around awkwardly, hoping I wasn't attracting any unnecessary attention with Twilight holding the door open for me and whatnot. I was just about to attempt to offer some kind of excuse and scram before two pink forelegs extended from the door and dragged me inside. Resistance was futile. My eyes met with cyan ones. Pinkie was one tough pony, I'll admit. Had some vice grip type-stuff going on there. I rubbed my shoulders with my hooves for a moment.

"...Hi," I said meekly.

I hated it when I got nervous. I really didn't like how all the attention was on me. I glanced around nervously, dragging my forehoof across the floorboard. The entire shop was pretty silent. For about three seconds, probably. If even that.

I groaned inwardly, before remembering why I agreed to come to Sugarcube Corner in the first place.

"Look, Pinkie," I began. "I'm sorry about running off earlier. It was pretty rude of me, even if my head felt like it was about to explode."

I felt a nudge in my side. I looked up and saw Twilight roll her eyes and shake her head. I simply shrugged. It was true, my head seemed ready to burst. There was definitely a connection between the voice and the headaches, that much I could put together. I really hate that voice...It's creepy. No, it's more than creepy. That's too light of a word. It's horrifying. I can't think of another way to properly describe it. Sometimes I think it's just memories resurfacing. I mean, the voice sounds familiar, but I can't put a face to it. My thoughts were very jumbled. Trying to make heads or tails of this whole issue was making my brain hurt. Not that I'm stupid or anything! It's all just so...confusing. I don't know what to do, and I don't feel like I can exactly tell anypony about it either. Faintly, I heard murmuring. I figured Pinkie Pie was rambling about stuff I don't care about, but no.

That's not what it was. Vaguely, I remembered days from Peaksedan. The strange thing about these memories was that it all seemed to be from around the time I woke up in that crater. But that seemed like it wasn't the only one. When I woke up before arriving in Ponyville, I noticed everypony in Peaksedan was...no longer among the living. Not the case in this particular memory. Ponies were alive. Dirty, thin and terrified, but alive. The especially worrying factor? They were terrified of me. They all ran whenever I came into view. It was so strange...It was like I was watching a movie of myself in my mind.

I could never see my own face, though. I could hear voices through windows and from behind doors. At least, coming from the buildings that were apparently still standing at the time. I wondered how long ago this actually happened, in relation to my waking in that particularly massive crater.

"Uhm, hello? Rion, you okay?"

I snapped back to reality. Who in the hay was talking to me?

"Oh, uh, hey Twilight," I muttered, after realizing who it was.

"You were spacing out. Is something wrong?" Twilight asked. She seemed concerned.

"I'm fine," I lied. I wasn't fine, not at all. Twilight seemed to catch on to my fib. I wasn't a very good liar to begin with anyway.

"You're not a very good liar."

Stay out of my head. Seriously, that's not fair.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Twilight asked.

Because I will probably either be obliterated or exiled. Neither of which sound very pleasant. Though, given the choice, I think I'd rather be obliterated. At least that stupid voice would leave me alone then.

"I don't have anything to tell, because nothing's wrong," I said, doing my best to put on a fake smile.

I don't think it worked all too well, because Twilight gave me a very displeased look. I looked around nervously. Slowly, I glanced at the door, which was, for whatever reason, still hanging wide open, despite the lack of a door stop. I looked back at Twilight, the door again, and then Twilight. I inched my back leg back slightly, and the door closed.

"Don't even think about it," Twilight said, frowning a bit now. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's bothering you"

Oh for the love of...This wasn't going to be easy. Wait a minute. I'm a unicorn too, duh. I mentally kicked myself for forgetting I could do magic as well. I started to focus a bit, attempting to be discreet with my collection of energy.

"Well, I'd love to stick around and chat, Twilight Sparkle, but I have uh...stuff to do. Yeah."

With that, I teleported out of the bakery. I was just winging it with the teleportation spell, so I had no idea where I was going to end up. Sure enough, I was teleported to yet another unfamiliar place. I looked around, taking in my surroundings. There were a lot of apple trees. I shrugged, turning to walk around. Almost immediately, I managed to trip over a fence and faceplant in the grass on the other side. I sighed. This whole faceplanting in the dirt thing was getting old, fast.

"Having fun?"

You've gotta be kidding me.

I looked up, staring straight into the rather annoyed face of Twilight Sparkle. She found me pretty fast. I wondered for a moment if she somehow traced my teleportation spell. I also really hoped this wouldn't become a common occurrence. I didn't like ponies pestering me, which Twilight was doing a good job at.

It took me a moment to notice she was with somepony else, though. It was another mare, an earth pony with a light-ish orange coat and a golden-blonde mane and tail, both of which were tied off at the end with a red band. She wore a brown stetson and had bright emerald eyes. Her cutie mark was three red apples. So she was good at doing...something with apples. It was a bit vague, there's a lot of stuff you can do with apples.

"This the pony you been tellin' me 'bout, Twi?" the earth pony asked, looking down at me again.

Twilight nodded.

"Yes, Applejack, his name is Rion, and..." she stopped at the last part. It seemed like she didn't know how to continue with it. It took me a moment but I figured it out. She was trying to find a way to explain where I came from, without making herself sound like she was suspicious of me, like I'm sure she was. I didn't blame her, I was suspicious of myself. Not that I was going to say it out loud, of course.

"He's...He's a survivor from Peaksedan," Twilight concluded finally.

Applejack's eyes widened in surprise.

"From Peaksedan? Ya sure about that Twilight?" Applejack said. Twilight nodded in response.

I sighed.

"Actually, I think I'm the only survivor. I remember waking up once, I didn't see a single pony around. I don't know how long I was awake after that, but I passed out on the street and woke up again laying on grass. I then proceeded to pass out once more, and that's when I woke up in your library, Twilight," Rion said, looking up at them.

Twilight and her friend exchanged concerned glances.

"Why don't you tell us what you remember?" Twilight asked, sitting down, Applejack following suit. I sighed and gathered my thoughts before beginning my retelling of that fateful September day.

All Around Town (Pinkie's PoV)

Pinkie Pie's PoV:

I bounced all around Sugarcube Corner. I was worried about that new pony I met in town earlier, but Twilight told me not to worry. I ended up forgetting all about him when I came in. Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake were in their rooms, so there wasn't any worry of them getting hurt in the crowd. The store was packed today, I guess all the ponies really wanted some of my tasty pastries! I think it was about a half hour later that I heard the door open. I saw Twilight standing there, and it looked like she was holding the door open for somepony. Aww, did she have a date? I couldn't quite see who she was talking to, some other ponies were in the way. I made my way through the dense crowd of ponies, and stopped when I saw who it was. It was that unicorn. And gosh, his jacket was sooo dirty! Rarity would go crazy if she saw him like that! I had to hide him, quick. I quickly reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him inside the shop. I don't think he looked too happy about that, but that's because he didn't know I was rescuing him from Rarity and her need to be all clean and fancy and stuff!

"...Hi," he said. I don't know why he was so quiet about it. Maybe he was like that all the time? He'd sure get along with Fluttershy, she talked really quiet too. Except that one time when that mean minotaur came and gave her 'assertiveness techniques'. That was scary. I gave him my biggest, bestest smile I could muster.

"Well hi! I'm glad to see you're okay, and boy your jacket is really dirty! You better hope Rarity doesn't see you like that, she'll have a fit! And oh, now we can have your super duper Welcome to Ponyville Party!" I shouted. Maybe I was a bit too loud. Everypony started looking at us. The unicorn didn't look very comfortable about it either. Oh yes, he and Fluttershy would be bestie best friends. I began to bounce around him in a circle. I was so excited today. Especially since I would be able to throw another super spectacular party-

"Look, Pinkie," he started. "I'm sorry about running off earlier. It was pretty rude of me, even if my head felt like it was about to explode."

I stopped, blinking a couple times. I noticed Twilight nudge him and give him a disapproving glance, but he just shrugged it off. I don't think anypony would like their head exploding, that sounded like it hurt a lot! I started to bounce around again. Soon enough, I was rambling on about all kinds of stuff. From my pet alligator, Gummy, to the Cakes and their twins, and then the kinds of sweets I baked, and all my friends. Though, I don't know if he was listening. He seemed really spacey. I stopped after a few moments. He was totally zoned out. I looked at Twilight, and she just shrugged. Then I remembered I still had orders to fill. Uh-oh! I raced back into the kitchen and continued my baking frenzy!

"Well, I'd love to stick around and chat, Twilight Sparkle, but I have uh...stuff to do. Yeah."

I stopped. That was the new pony talking. I really needed to learn his name. There was a bright flash, and I heard Twilight groan. She sounded upset, so I went to talk to her.

"What happened, Twilight?" I asked.

She sighed. "Rion teleported somewhere. He's avoiding my question. I have to figure out what's bothering him so much, he's always zoning out."

"Oh, do you want me to help look for him? Maybe he's just playing hide-and-seek or something!" I loved hide-and-seek! I wondered if he was good at hiding. Probably, he's a unicorn so he could use magic to turn invisible or something.

"I don't think he's playing hide-and-seek, Pinkie," Twilight replied.

"Aww, but hide-and-seek is really fun," I said. Well that's no good, that's like, one of my favoritest games!

"But I'd really appreciate your help in looking for him," Twilight said, smiling. She probably didn't really need my help, but I agreed anyways. Twilight's really smart, she probably already knew where he was! Soon after, she used her magic to teleport too. I'm not sure where she went, but I think she mentioned something about Sweet Apple Acres. He probably went there. I guess he likes apples. I ran out of Sugarcube Corner, skipping the whole way to the Acres. It wasn't too far from Sugarcube Corner, so I got there pretty quick. That's about when I saw them. The new pony, er, Rion, had just managed to trip over one of the bordering fences when Twilight and Applejack came walking up. Wow, that really didn't take very long. And Rion was a terrible hider! Everypony knows you don't go and trip over a fence, you get caught real easy that way!

"Having fun?" I heard Twilight say.

I peeked out from behind the tree I was at. I don't know why I didn't just go over there. Maybe I didn't want to interrupt? Yeah, that was definitely it. Rion didn't look too happy. Then again, if I tripped over a big fence in front of my friends, I would be pretty embarrassed.

"This the pony you been tellin' me 'bout, Twi?" Applejack asked. She looked down at Rion, I think I saw a bit of suspicion in her eyes...I don't know why, Rion seemed nice. I mean, he totally spaced out a lot, but he wasn't bad. Right?

"Yes, Applejack, his name is Rion, and..." Twilight looked nervous now for some reason. And what? Maybe it was a guessing game? Or was she drawing suspense? It's no t like it was a story or anything, so there really wasn't any need to get dramatic. I thought Rarity was the drama queen.

"He's...He's a survivor from Peaksedan," Twilight finally said.

Peaksedan? I've never heard of that place before. Was it in Equestria? Wait a minute, survivor? I didn't exactly know what that was supposed to mean, but I guess it must have been bad, since AJ got all wide-eyed.

"From Peaksedan? Ya sure about that Twilight?" Applejack asked. Twilight just nodded. Okay, seriously, what is up with this Peaksedan place? Sometimes I feel like nopony tells me anything! Well, maybe they forgot, or they were planning to later. I figured it was best to not question my friends or doubt them, especially with what happened with my surprise party and all...

Rion started talking again. I shook my head and kept listening.

""Actually, I think I'm the only survivor. I remember waking up once, I didn't see a single pony around. I don't know how long I was awake after that, but I passed out on the street and woke up again laying on grass. I then proceeded to pass out once more, and that's when I woke up in your library, Twilight," I said, looking up at them.

Alright, I didn't understand what happened with Peaksedan at all, but the only survivor? I still didn't know what that meant exactly, but it sure sounded lonely. I think he needed a hug. Maybe then he'd smile.

Twilight and Applejack both looked at each other. They seemed worried. Really, I think I should just throw a party. Everypony's been so down in the dumps lately!

"Why don't you tell us what you remember?" Twilight asked, sitting down. Applejack did the same thing, and Rion sighed. I guess that means storytime! Woohoo!

All Around Town (Twilight's PoV)

Twilight's POV

I held the door open for Rion after we got to Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't a very long walk from the library. Sometimes I wish he'd be more open, though. The entire time we were walking, he didn't say a word. I think the only times he spoke to me up till now were the two times in the library.

Now, he seemed hesitant. A couple of minutes ago, he looked ready-to-go. Now? Probably not so much. It looked like he was about to take off, when suddenly, pink hooves reached out and dragged him inside. Definitely Pinkie. I laughed lightly before trotting in myself. Sugarcube Corner was very crowded. I located Pinkie and Rion and made my way toward them.

"...Hi," Rion said. He was talking to Pinkie of course. I could sense his nervousness. Not that he was hiding it particularly well, though. That was one of his traits I noticed immediately. Rion was terrible at hiding nervousness. Consequently, I wondered if he had similar issues with his other emotions and feelings. I shook my head, trying to focus on their conversation. I wasn't eavesdropping or anything, I was just making sure the apology Rion said he wanted to give went well. Then I could also probably write a letter to Celestia about it, as well.

"Well hi! I'm glad to see you're okay, and boy your jacket is really dirty! You better hope Rarity doesn't see you like that, she'll have a fit! And oh, now we can have your super duper Welcome to Ponyville Party!" Pinkie practically screamed. She began to bounce around Rion in a small circle. Pinkie was getting even more excited, if that was even actually possible. Then again, it was Pinkie Pie after all. The mere thought of being able to throw a party for anything would be enough to make her skip around like a madpony.

Rion briefly had an expression which gave the impression he'd rather be anywhere but at Sugarcube Corner. He recovered soon, though. He cleared his throat slightly, then hesitated for a second.

"Look, Pinkie," he said. "I'm sorry about running off earlier. It was pretty rude of me, even if my head felt like it was about to explode."

Okay, I don't think the last part was really necessary. I nudged him in the ribs with my hoof. When he looked at me, I made sure to give him my traditional "Do not approve" look. He just shrugged it off, though. I sighed silently to myself. With Sugarcube Corner being as crowded as it was, I couldn't tell if Rion was actually talking to me or not. If he was, he was being very quiet, or everypony else was very loud. After about five or so minutes, I looked at him to see if he was saying anything. On the contrary, he was completely zoned out. The look on his face was quite troubling for me. I couldn't tell if it was fear, nervousness, or both. I suspected it to be the latter rather than the former. I took it upon myself to snap him out of his daze.

"Uhm, hello? Rion, you okay?" I asked, nudging him slightly.

That definitely seemed to get his attention. He blinked a couple times, probably trying to regain his focus after his dozing was disturbed.

"Oh, uh, hey Twilight," he replied.

"You were spacing out. Is something wrong?"

I was pretty worried about him. I don't think it's very healthy for anypony to just keep spacing out like that. Especially since it seemed like something was bothering him. I know personally you shouldn't keep emotions bottled up inside. I was definitely going to get him to talk about it, one way or another.

"I'm fine," Rion stated simply. Wow, he was worse than Spike at lying. No, worse than Applejack. I frowned. From the look on his face after I did so, he probably realized I saw right through it. I decided to state the obvious.

"You're not a very good liar," I said.

Now it was his turn to frown.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" I asked, pressing on the attack, so to speak.

Rion seemed to contemplate my question for a second, before replying.

"I don't have anything to tell," he began. "Because there's nothing to tell."

He tried to put on a poker face, but failed miserably. I barely stopped myself from slapping my own face with my hoof. I rolled my eyes, sighing inwardly. This was going to take a while. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him move. I caught a glance at his face; he was looking right at the door. Oh no you don't, Rion. I quickly closed the door using my magic so he couldn't escape. I could see the irritation on his face.

"Don't even think about it," I said. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's bothering you!"

I was downright determined to fix whatever problems this pony had. I remembered what happened the last time I got a bit...carried away with the whole friendship report thing. But this time it was different. This pony had a serious issue, he was hiding something; I could tell. I was distracted with all those thoughts, so I didn't notice Rion gathering energy to use magic. I realized it all too late.

"Well, I'd love to stick around and chat, Twilight Sparkle, but I have uh...stuff to do. Yeah." Rion said, immediately teleporting. I groaned in annoyance. You've got to be kidding me!

"Ah, ponyfeathers..." I muttered. Then I noticed something. Aha, perfect! When Rion teleported, the spell left a magical residue which I could use to trace his destination point! I smiled inwardly, proud of realizing it so quickly.

Pinkie had come out of the kitchen to ask if I needed any help. I explained to her that Rion took off using magic to teleport. Almost immediately, she went on about hide-and-seek. I really hated to burst her bubble, but hide-and-seek was definitely not what we were doing. After a few more seconds of dealing with Pinkie Pie being...well, Pinkie, I was able to leave the store and focus. Looks like he ended up at Sweet Apple Acres. I was curious as to why he chose to teleport there, when I realized he probably just teleported randomly. He didn't know the town very well, so he probably just teleported a fair distance away in a random direction. That was easy enough to trace. I focused, using my own magic to teleport. I decided not to transport myself directly in front of him. I decided to place myself a few feet back. When my spell had finished, I didn't realize I ended up directly in front of Applejack. Until she bumped into me of course. I turned, and hushed Applejack before she could say anything. I motioned for her to follow me with my hoof. She raised an eyebrow at me, but complied. When I turned around again, I nearly started laughing. Rion had somehow managed to trip over one of the fences surrounding the Acres. That definitely took some skill. He looked very, very annoyed. I can't blame him though; falling face-first in the dirt is never really fun. Applejack and I approached him quietly, but quickly.

"Having fun?" I asked with a smirk.

He looked up at me, that irritation still plastered on his face.

"This the pony you been tellin' me 'bout, Twi?" Applejack inquired, glancing down at Rion. I think I noticed just a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

I nodded.

"Yes, Applejack, his name is Rion and..."

For some reason, I stopped at that last part. How could I bring up anything about his past, or at least what I knew of it, without alarming Applejack? She already seemed suspicious of him. It didn't help that I was, too. Finally, I just decided to tell the truth. There wasn't a whole lot I could really make up. I already told Applejack a little bit about him, so I might as well tell her the rest, right?

"He's...He's a survivor from Peaksedan," I said, finally.

I noticed Applejack's expression turn to surprise. Obviously, she wasn't expecting that. Actually, I didn't think she'd know about what happened in Esker at all.

"From Peaksedan? Ya sure about that Twilight?" Applejack asked.

I nodded again. I was about to continue when Rion interrupted me.

The only survivor? How is that even possible...I mean, surely at least one other pony could have survived, right? Applejack gave me a concerned look, which I returned.

The only survivor...Most of my fears were confirmed in that instant. Somehow, this unicorn, Rion, had to be involved in what happened in Peaksedan, I just knew it!

"Why don't you tell us what you remember?" I asked, sitting down calmly. I figured it would be best to talk a calm approach, rather than jumping at him. He might not tell the truth otherwise. Then again, he might not even tell the truth now, or anything at all. He could try all he wanted to get away though, we'd just find him again unless he skipped town. However, I don't think he had anywhere else to go, so unless he wanted to live out on the streets, he would comply like a sensible pony.

Rion sighed, gettin my attention. He opened his mouth to speak, and I immediately leaned in to listen. I was finally about to get some answers.

Arguing with Myself

Twilight and Applejack stood silently as Rion finished recounting the events in Peaksedan. For what seemed like an eternity, there was silence. It seemed as though Twilight and Applejack could hardly comprehend what they were told. Peaksedan entirely destroyed, with Rion as the only apparent survivor. Twilight was still a bit suspicious, but figured what he told them made sense. Or at least, what he could tell them, since he was unconscious most of the time. Rion sighed, standing up finally. His snout had become numb from lying on his face while telling the story. Of course, he left out the parts that included that voice in the back of his mind. Though, the more he thought about it, that voice he kept hearing seemed more and more like a completely different pony. He began to wonder if perhaps he was being spoken to with telepathy of some kind.

"Not really, no."

There it was again. Rion wasn't going to try and run from the voice this time. He needed answers and he needed them now.

"Who are you?" he asked the voice.

"That would be telling, wouldn't it?" the voice cackled.

"I don't have the time nor the patience to play games with you. Just answer my question!"

"I don't have a name."

"Liar," Rion growled. The voice really put him on edge.

"You know, we're one and the same, you and I," the voice replied.

Rion was taken aback for a moment, before regaining his composure.

"What do you mean?" he asked. One and the same? It made no sense.

"Never heard of that two peas in a pod analogy? Kind of like that. Kind of," replied the voice.

"Nonsense. You're not real," Rion muttered.

"That's why you're talking to me, right?"

Touché. The voice definitely got him on that one.

"I thought so," the voice said smugly.

"What do you really mean by 'one and the same'?" Rion asked.

"Well now, that would be telling, wouldn't it?"

"You're lucky you're just a voice, or I'd strangle you," Rion muttered, with an annoyed expression.

"I wouldn't push your luck. Or do I need to turn this Ponyville into a Peaksedan replica?"

"So it was you," Rion said, his eyes narrowing.

"More or less," said the voice. "Technically I used your physical body. That is, after making a few...light adjustments."

"...What," Rion said.

"Oh you know, altered your entire physical appearance. I love being able to do that,"

"Light adjustments my flank," Rion muttered.

"I could always turn you pink," the voice laughed.

"Shut up," Rion grumbled.

The voice seemed to yawn. Rion wondered how a voice could get tired.

"Hm,/i]" the voice began. "Wonder when I should begin tearing this little town apart. Seems easy enough."

"I won't let you," Rion mumbled.

"Hm?"

"You're not getting back out. Ever," Rion replied. "I won't let you hurt anypony else."

"Oh, that's all? I was expecting something a bit more intimidating. Then again, you're not very scary at all."

Rion remained silent. Being scary and being intimidating wasn't something Rion cared about, so it didn't very well unnerve him.

"Laugh all you want, but I'm not gunna let you have free reign. This is my body, my life; and you're not ruining it any more than you have already. Buzz off," Rion said.

"I need to rest anyway...Peaksedan took up quiiiite a bit of my energy," the voice yawned again.

"Don't mention Peaksedan, you monster," Rion growled.

"Well, I never," the voice said in a mocking tone. "I found my artwork positively stunning. Well, I guess not everypony appreciates my talents."

Rion was about to respond, but the voice kept going.

"Oh, and just an F-Y-I, you're as much of a monster as I am. We are one and the same, after all."

The voice then broke out into a short fit of maniacal laughter, which faded within a few seconds, leaving nothing but silence. Rion sighed inwardly. Finally, now he could concentrate on what was happening in the real world.

Rion then felt an obnoxious tapping on his head. He blinked.

"Huh," he said. He looked around, seeing Applejack and Twilight staring at him, confused expressions on their faces. Oh, right. Spaced out again.

Today was going to be just lovely.

~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later, Rion had finally managed to shake off Twilight and Applejack. To his relief, Rion had not seen mane or tail of that pink mare known as Pinkie. As he thought back to his mental argument with the unnamed entity that occupied his mind, Rion once again failed to pay attention to his surroundings. Before he knew it, he was outside the town limits. Rion shrugged. Soon enough, he found a nice patch of grass under a large tree. Seemed like a good enough place to stay, since he hadn't a home anymore.

Rion pondered over the recent events. Twilight's obvious suspicion of him seemed to diminish, but he couldn't help but feel like she didn't quite trust him. Rion sighed, ruffling his mane a bit. He suddenly found himself overcome with fatigue. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A pink pegasus sat upon a log jutting out of a small pond. She gazed at the sky, her lavender eyes fixed on the stars. Everything about her was quite pink. Pink mane, pink coat, her eyes were pink. Hay, even her cutie mark had some pink on it.

A small unicorn foal approached her, rubbing his own lavender eyes tiredly. He yawned, then rubbed his black mane slightly.

"Oh, hey Rion," the pegasus said, smiling a bit. She was only a bit older than the foal was.

"Sis, what are you doing up so late?" Rion said, letting his hooves rub his eyes again.

The pegasus couldn't help but smile.

"Technically, it's very early," she said. "And...I was just thinking."

"About what?" Rion asked, tilting his head in confusion.

"Our parents, and, you know..." the pegasus replied. She looked down in sadness.

"Yeah.." Rion said. His expression then nearly mimicked the pegasus exactly. Their memories couldn't stray away from that day. It was a lovely day, before the incident. The incident which cost them their home, and the lives of their parents and two youngest siblings. Rion couldn't suppress the tears.

"I miss them," he said, tears freely flowing down his cheeks. "I miss them a lot, Cerise."

The pegasus fluttered over to him. She held his chin up in her hoof, wiping the tears away with the other.

"I miss them too, Rion. But you know they would hate to see you like this."

Rion nodded. "I know, but still..."

"No buts, little brother. You're still tired, why don't you go back to sleep?" Cerise said. It was more of a demand rather than a suggestion.

"Okay. But you need to sleep too, sis. I don't think they'd want you to not sleep," Rion said. He seemed to have cheered up. Cerise couldn't help but smile again when Rion trotted away. She turned her back to him, returning her gaze to the sky.

"We'll make it, somehow..." she said softly, before allowing herself to fall asleep.

Rion finally got back to his spot. He sighed, laying down. Sleep quickly overcame him once more. The last thing he heard before he drifted off was a small voice in the back of his head.

"Goodnight, Rion."

The next morning, Rion awoke to find he had rolled a few yards away from where he was originally. Rion rubbed his head, which was throbbing. He didn't often get headaches, but he hated it when he did. He shook his head, trying to focus. Rion was always slightly out of it when he first woke up. An unfamiliar scent brushed past his nose.

"What is that smell?" Rion said to himself. "It's...eww-y."

"Cerise!"

"Cerise?"

"Sis, come on, it's not funny!"

"...Sis?"

Rion wandered around the vicinity of his sleeping space for a few minutes, before remembering she was at the pond. He quickly ran off to find her. Rion became a bit scared for a minute. Cerise, no matter how far, usually responded to his calls instantly. Though, she might have been asleep, considering how long she was up. Rion shook the worry out of his mind. His sister probably just fell asleep near the pond. When he finally reached his destination, he stopped for a breather. He looked up, noticing pink on the ground, behind the log Cerise had been sitting on when he found her before. Rion closed his eyes and sighed, beginning to approach the other side of the log.

"Jeez, sis, you scared me for a minute-"

Rion stopped. He stepped in something. Rion looked down to see what it was. His eyes widened in horror.

Blood.

A slight breeze whisked past Rion, blowing away Rion's finely combed mane into a mess. Rion stared wordlessly, in absolute disbelief, at the crumpled body of his older sister. He tried to scream, but nothing would come out. Finally, he let loose a loud wail.

"CERISE!"

~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rion jolted awake, standing up. He was sweating quite profusely. After his heart rate slowed to normal, he sat down, sighing loudly. He attempted to brush the sweat off of his brow, but to no avail. Rion punched the dirt. He hadn't had that dream since...Since he was a little foal. Weeks in a row after what he discovered that day. His older sister had been murdered, somehow. He could never find the one responsible. Years after, it had been pushed and locked in a vault in the back of his mind. That's when he moved to Peaksedan. He tried to forget about it there, and the voice too; the voice he heard before he fell asleep on the day she died.

"That old dream again? I thought we got over that."

Rion became furious.

"Shut up!" Rion yelled at the voice. "It was you, wasn't it?"

"''Scuse me?" the voice said.

"You did what you did at Peaksedan, didn't you? Took over my body, and then..."

"Killed your sister?"

Rion said nothing. He couldn't bring himself to say anything more.

"May be hard to believe, but no. That wasn't me."

"...What?" Rion said. How could it not have been...?

"Even harder to believe, I cared about her just as much as you."

Rion continued to remain silent. He was completely caught off guard by that one.

"Yes, that's right, I can care."

Rion didn't say anything.

"It's like I said," the voice continued.

"What?" Rion said. He figured he knew what the voice was going to say.

"We are one and the same."

Rion sighed. Usually, the voice angered him. But this time, the voice seemed to have some kind of comforting presence.

"Do you miss her?" Rion asked. He didn't know why he asked, Rion just felt he needed to know.

The voice was silent for a few minutes.

"Yes. More than anything."

Reversal

Rion sighed deeply as he trotted through Ponyville. He no longer had a home or a job. Rion looked around at the ponies who were also walking about. Occasionally, ponies would give him weird looks, and others would stop and ask if he was a hobo pony. Rion didn't blame them, though; he was filthy. Rion sighed again.

He didn't know the area very well at all. He couldn't remember where Sugarcube Corner was, even though he'd been there the day before. Since Rion didn't have a home or other place to stay, he also concluded he had no place to bathe. Rion sighed for the millionth time. He hardly noticed a white unicorn pass him by. Suddenly, he heard a loud gasp, much like the one he heard when he first met Pinkie Pie. Not another one...

"Oh my stars!" he heard from behind him.

Rion turned to face the speaker, only to be suddenly hauled off to who-knows-where.

Rion blinked. One moment he was outside, the next he was in some building with a purple interior. Pony mannequins lined the walls, each adorned with a dress of some kind, some of them being half-finished. Rion felt himself hit the floor.

"Ow..." he muttered.

"Oops, sorry about that," the voice said again.

Rion stood up, examining his abductor. The pony was a white unicorn mare, with a fabulously curly purple mane, and a tail to match. Her eyes were a deep blue, and her cutie mark appeared to be three diamond-shaped gemstones. Rion looked from the mare, to the mannequins, and back. He suddenly didn't like where this was going.

"Who are you, and why am I here?" he asked.

"Well, my name is Rarity, and right now you're here at my shop, Carousel Boutique." she replied.

"...Why?" Rion said.

"Well...Just...look at yourself!" Rarity exclaimed.

Rion examined himself. Yeah, still filthy.

"So?" Rion asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I simply cannot let this pass," she said, closing her eyes and taking a dramatic stance.

Rion still didn't like where this was going, but before he could voice his opinion, he was suddenly attacked by tape measures and rulers.

"What are you doing?" Rion asked.

"Taking measurements," the unicorn replied while scribbling notes in a small journal.

"For what?" Rion inquired.

"Why, your new clothes, of course!" Rarity said, a delighted smile spreading across her face.

Rion blinked.

"Uhm, I kinda like my current clothes. And...how in the hay do you expect me to pay for all this?"

"Nonsense, darling, I couldn't possibly forgive myself if I let this crime against fabulousity stand," Rarity explained.

Rion blinked, confused. Fabulousity? Was that even a word? He decided not to dwell on it.

"Well, thanks miss," Rion said, smiling lightly.

"Oh please, it's nothing," Rarity replied, smiling herself.

After a few more minutes of measuring, Rion finally felt the pressure of rulers and tape measures leave his body. He shook his head, looking at Rarity, who was just finished jotting a few last measurements into her journal. Afterward, she set the notebook down and looked at Rion.

"Is there anything in particular you'd like? I noticed you're...fond of that jacket. Maybe you could let me spruce it up a bit?" Rarity said, smiling.

Rion thought for a moment.

"Sure," he replied, using his magic to remove the jacket. He folded it neatly in the air, and set it gently by Rarity's hooves. He looked back up at her, and noticed she was staring at his side. Rion blinked, before he suddenly remembered. Oopsie.

There was a rather large scar on Rion's right side, extending from his forelegs almost to his cutie mark. It was mostly faded, but still noticeable. Rion coughed, attempting to clear the nervous air.

"So uhm, why don't you just surprise me? In the meantime, I'll uh...do...something," Rion said.

Rarity just nodded. Rion stood up nervously, turning to leave, when Rarity suddenly snapped back to attention.

"Oh, wait! You simply must take a bath!"

Rion stopped.

"Yeah, and? I didn't exactly see any private bathhouses around here."

"That's fine, you can use mine for now," Rarity said.

"Err, are you sure that's okay?" Rion asked, raising an eyebrow. It seemed kind of awkward.

"Of course, it's the least I can do," Rarity responded.

Rion blinked again. Least you can do? You're already fixing up my clothes, Rion thought. He sighed inwardly, deciding to let it go. He wasn't about to look a gifthorse in the mouth.

"Thank you, Rarity," Rion said, walking off to find the bathroom.

"It's nothing," Rarity said. "Also, the bathroom is the other way."

"Right," Rion said, walking the other direction. Rarity couldn't help but chuckle.

~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rion stepped out of the bathroom, freshly cleaned and feeling extremely refreshed. He let out a relieved sigh.

"Feeling better?" he heard from beside him. He turned to face Rarity.

"Sure am, thanks a lot Rarity. I appreciate it," Rion replied, smiling.

"It's nothing, darling. Oh, I finished your jacket. I do hope you like it," Rarity said. Her horn began to glow a light blue, and a piece of clothing floated in front of Rion's face. Rion's jaw almost dropped.

It was his jacket, normally just a plain black jacket, however, it was vastly different after Rarity's alterations. It had a red trim along the sides, lighter than his coat, however. The color had a nice goldish-orange trim, and two sapphires adorned either side. His Cutie Mark was also emblazoned on the back.

"Wow, Rarity...That's...That's amazing," Rion said, at a loss for words.

Rarity just smiled.

"Well thank you, I'm glad you like it," she said, smiling.

Rion smiled also, using his magic to take it and put it on. Cleaned it and made it look awesome. For once, Rion actually felt genuinely happy, especially since his arrival to Ponyville, of which he still didn't know the details. He decided not to think about that, though, and instead direct his thoughts on the day he had ahead of him.

Rion left Carousel Boutique a few minutes later. He recalled Rarity saying she had somewhere to be, which didn't surprise him, she seemed like a pony with a rather high social status. Rion sat down on a nearby bench, wondering what to do next.

"I have an idea," the voice in his head stated.

"If it's anything to do with death and destruction, don't even bother," Rion replied instantly.

"Nah, actually, I was thinking, maybe you should go set things straight with that Twilight Sparkle chick," the voice said.

"Hmm...That's not a bad idea, I guess," Rion said, thinking about it. "I'll do that, then. Have to start somewhere."

Rion hopped off the bench. At least he remembered where the library was. He made his way there, greeting ponies as he went, getting a generally positive response from each one. Yep, this place was almost exactly like Peaksedan. Rion stood in front of the library, not realizing how fast the trip went.

"Wow, that was quick," Rion muttered to nopony in particular. "Not complaining, though."

Rion sighed, knocking on the door. No reply. He knocked again. Still nothing. Rion sighed again. Maybe Twilight knew he was there and was ignoring him due to her suspicions. He wasn't going to pass up a chance to put things right, though. He opened the door and walked in. The lights were off. Strange, but whatever. Rion was about to say something when the lights suddenly clicked on.

"SURPRISE!"

Chapter One: Heartbeat

Princess Celestia sat quietly one night upon one balcony of her great castle, which overlooked the entire city of Canterlot. It wasn't normal for her to be out this late, she usually didn't come out at night, until it was time for her to raise the sun. She sighed. There was a nagging at the back of her head, something had been bothering her for quite some time. She couldn't quite place her hoof on what it was, and it was really getting to her. Princess Luna had gone to bed a few hours earlier, and Celestia could not help but smile inwardly at the situational irony. She sighed once again, getting up and turning around. She was almost inside when she felt something. She stopped in her tracks, a nervous bead of sweat finding its way down her forehead. Celestia began to look around apprehensively. What was it she felt? It was so faint, it was almost impossible to tell. Perhaps it was all her imagination. Celestia sighed again, when suddenly, she felt that same thing again. Celestia heard something as well. What was it she heard? It was also faint, like the energy she sensed. What was that sound? It was becoming more clear, and Celestia strained her ears to listen, trying to focus. That sound...was it...was it a heartbeat? Yes! That's what the sound was! Faint, but a heartbeat nonetheless. Celestia smiled at her discovery, before realization hit her. Somepony near her location was in a dire condition. There was no time to assemble a search party, the source of the heartbeat probably wouldn't make it through all the wasted time. Celestia had no choice but to find it herself. She spread her wings in took to the skies. At first, she presumed the source was in Canterlot, but as she flew away from her castle, the energy became more faint, as if growing farther away. She turned quickly, flying straight back to the castle. It was incredibly confusing. Celestia gazed around in confusion. She looked onward towards Everfree Forest in the distance. Yes, that must be it. As Celestia sped off towards the forest, she noticed the energy source seemed to get closer. So, whatever it was that was loosing this energy was definitely in Everfree Forest. Certainly not a very good thing at all. Celestia had to get there fast, before anything else was attracted. She landed softly moments later. The large trees made it almost impossible to see during the day, and at night it might as well have been impossible to see. Celestia used her magic to light the tip of her horn, using that light as a kind of candle. Celestia remained focused, however, on the energy she sensed. Perhaps this energy was the source of her recent stress? It was a possibility. Celestia sometimes had some sort of precognition to events, like she knew that SOMETHING was going to happen, at least. She shook her head, trying to recollect her thoughts once more. Celestia didn't notice until after she tripped.

"Ugh..." Celestia groaned as she picked herself up off the dirt. She looked behind her to find the culprit, and was quite shocked with what she discovered. A dark red-coated colt lay in the grass, seemingly asleep, perhaps unconscious. Celestia noticed his breathing was shallow. The heartbeat she heard earlier was louder now, not by much, but loud enough to tell her "this is the place, this is the guy". She stared at this unconscious pony for a moment, taking in his appearance. The colt was a unicorn. He had a dark-red coat and a messy black mane and tail. His mane mostly covered his closed eyes. Their color was so far the only mystery about him, besides who he was and how he ended up here, in Everfree Forest. The colt also wore what appeared to be a black jacket of some kind. The jacket did a good job of hiding his Cutie Mark, or at least hiding the area where his Cutie Mark should be. Celestia had heard of some cases where ponies within Twilight's age group still hadn't obtained their Cutie Marks. Celestia glanced around quickly, remembering the possibility of other creatures lurking about. She saw none, and sighed with relief. She looked back at the colt. Something about him made her feel...Uneasy? She didn't quite understand why, but she couldn't help but feel like something was not quite right about this unicorn that lay before her, barely holding onto their life. Celestia shook her head. Her feelings clashed with her judgment, and finally she let her good conscience win. Celestia used her magic to levitate the unicorn onto her back. Then, after making sure he was safe from potentially falling, she took to the skies. For a moment, she debated whether or not returning to the Canterlot Castle with this unicorn was a good idea. She shook her head, remembering her uneasy feeling. No, she thought, if she herself felt uneasy around this unicorn, then her sister surely would too, and Celestia knew Luna wouldn't be as trusting. Celestia sighed once again. That didn't leave her a lot of choices. All of a sudden, an idea came to her head. Of course! Why didn't she think of it before? Her most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle! Twilight was very knowledgeable, and the hospital in Ponyville was very exceptional. Perhaps, throughout this unicorn's recovery, Twilight could possibly discover more about this strange pony. Especially what made her feel so uneasy while around him. It was probably the best way. Celestia hesitated for one more moment before speeding off to Ponyville. Twilight Sparkle was resting peacefully in her bed when a sudden, loud knock on her door woke her.

Twilight sat up with a groan. "Who in the hay would bother somepony this late?"

She stumbled out of bed, fumbling around in the darkness. After finding her way downstairs, she went over to the door. She opened it, sighing. "Do you KNOW how late it-"

She stopped when she realized who had decided to pay her a visit.

"P-Princess!" Twilight shouted. "Er..uhm...sorry about that, I was just-" Celestia suddenly cut her off.

"It's okay Twilight Sparkle. I'm sorry for coming here so late. There's...Just one slight problem," Celestia said, nodding her head to her back, where the unicorn lay.

"Ohmigosh!" Twilight exclaimed. "Who's that? What happened?"

Celestia sighed this time. "I don't know, Twilight, he was unconscious in Everfree Forest. I figured I'd bring him here to you, with your knowledge I'm sure you could help greatly in his recovery."

Now Twilight was confused. "Princess, why not just take him to the clinic in Canterlot?"

Celestia sighed again. She couldn't bring herself to lie to her own student and friend.

"You see, Twilight, I found this colt in Everfree Forest, like I said before. He's not from around here, I can assure you of that. But that's not the point."

Twilight remained silent, patiently waiting for the rest of her mentor's explanation.

Celestia continued. "When I found him, I sensed some very strange kind of energy. I...Don't quite know what it is. I was hoping you would, while assisting in his recovery, attempt to find out more about him."

"Oh," Twilight said. "Well why didn't you just say so? Sure I'll help. But, couldn't your sister help more than me?"

"Well, you see, the thing is, this particular pony gives me a very...uneasy feeling. I can't quite put my hooves on it but...I don't know. Something's off. You and I both know Luna isn't very trusting. If I get this feeling around him, Luna certainly will, and she won't be as forgiving as me," Celestia replied. Twilight nodded in understanding.

"Okay, I get it," she said simply. Celestia smiled. A few moments later, the unicorn was placed on a small bed, hastily crafted from hay, a small blanket sprawled over his form. The pony's breathing had become much more steady. Twilight glanced back at the princess.

"Well Princess, I'll report his condition and any of my findings whenever I can," Twilight said with a smile. Celestia smiled back at her.

"Great, I knew I could count on you. Now, I must be getting back to Canterlot. It's nearly time for me to raise the sun," Celestia stated. With that, she simply teleported away. Twilight then stared at the sleeping unicorn whose name she did not yet know. She also couldn't help but develop an uneasy feeling at his presence. It was strange. She didn't even know the colt at all, but there was something off. Something she couldn't quite figure out. She hoped her friends wouldn't harbor any of the same feelings. Twilight sighed, taking one last look at the unknown unicorn before trotting upstairs and returning to her slumber.