Of things forgotten, (Part one)

Chapters

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter 1

Twilight blinked as she awoke to… nothing. Looking around the all the unicorn could see was an expanse of white stretching in every direction.

“Hello? Is anypony out here?” Twilight called out taking a couple nervous steps forward and breathing a sigh of relief to feel something solid beneath her hooves. “Where am I?”

WE ARE WITHIN YOUR MIND TWILIGHT SPARKLE. WE HAVE BROUGHT YOU HERE FOR A PURPOSE…

Twilight gave a shout and ducked down beneath her hooves as the words seemed to come from everywhere leaving her ears ringing. It was the human’s voice again; only instead of being a voice that would echo within her head this one echoed loudly from all around. It reminded her of the Royal Canterlot Voice that Princess Luna had used during Nightmare Night.

“My apologies Twilight Sparkle, it has been so long since I have used magic, and even longer since I have used this spell.” The voice called out again, this time it sounded like the speaker was right beside her. Peeking out from beneath her hooves she saw… the human.

He looked exactly the same as back in the chamber, only the stone that had encased him was gone. His clothing was of a dark color, almost black but there was a tinge of blue to it. The creature’s skin was a dark brown and upon it numerous arcane tattoos were etched.

“Get away. I… I don’t want to hurt you!” Twilight called out getting back up on her hooves as she tried to prepare a spell to defend herself “What?” her magic was gone, frowning in concentration she tried to cast prepare the spell again only to come up with nothing.

“You need not worry Twilight, I'm not here to harm you,” the human replied raising his hands palms up trying to reassure the pony; the gesture was lost on Twilight who didn’t understand and continued to try and draw upon her magic “As for you magic you can’t use it here. A side effect of my spell it seems”

Twilight returned her attention to the human as yet again she failed to produce a spell. “Why… why have you brought me here?” she finally said giving up trying to escape for now.

“To learn,” the human replied as he looked at her. “You wanted to find about the dark ages? That book you wanted would certainly explain everything to you but I think my method would be more informative and enlightening.”

“Why should I trust you,” Twilight retorted, she was starting to grow angry at this creature “You attacked and kidnapped me!”

“Did I? As I said Ms. Sparkle we are within your mind, your body is still within the chamber.” The man replied raising an eyebrow in amusement. “And as for my intrusion into your mind I apologize. You were going to run away and leave me alone again before I could say anything and make you my offer.”

“Offer? “ the unicorn replied in confusion as she relaxed a little bit at the humans apology. She still didn’t trust him but for now she had no choice but to listen.

“A chance to actually see what you wanted to learn; to experience first hand, er hoof, what happened after your ancestors moved to Equestria.” The human explained. Experience the Dark Ages herself? The idea was very tempting to Twilight but why should she believe this human?

“Why should I trust you? Why can’t I just learn everything from that book?” The unicorn asked.

“When I wrote that book Ms. Sparkle I was a very angry man; while informative the book is also misleading and highly opinionated against your kind. Since I was encased in stone I have had time to rethink my actions and realized that perhaps everything is not what it seemed for me. What I offer you is the option to see the past without bias so you can form your own opinion.” the human answered. Twilight still wasn’t sure whether to trust him; he didn’t seem evil but why would Celestia have imprisoned him unless he was a threat?

“And if I say no?”

“Then I’ll let you go on your way,” Twilight’s head shot up at that answer, he would just let her go? She could check the book then and if he was telling the truth Twilight could return to get the whole story couldn’t she? ”But if you do you will not be able to accept my offer at another time. I used the last of my magic to create this link between us and won’t be able to do it again,” the man continued crushing Twilights hopes. “If it helps you decide you may choose to leave at any time even in the middle of what I show you.”

“What are you going to do?” the unicorn asked as she began to pace back and forth, the sound of her steps echoing in the void.

“I will show you memories, from both my people and yours. They are unaltered so you can see the events of that time unfold and form your own opinions,” The human replied following Twilight’s pacing. What kind of magic did this human possess to be able to pass on memories like that? She had never heard of anypony being able to take another pony’s memories and show them to someone else.

Stopping Twilight returned her attention to the human. Provided he wasn’t lying, there was no reason for her to refuse his offer. And if she didn’t like what she saw she could leave.

“Alright, I accept.” She said finally, this was an opportunity she couldn’t pass up, a chance to see the dark ages with her own eyes? Who else could claim to have done the same?

“Excellent,” the man’s face broke into a smile, relieved that she had accepted his offer. “Then we shall start from the beginning!”

“Wait! Um, can you first tell me what exactly humans are?” Twilight quickly said before the human could do anything. “I mean, how many of you were there? And where did you live? Did you all have magic? What did-“ she stopped as the sound of laughter entered her ears, he was laughing at her!

“An inquisitive one aren’t you Ms Sparkle,” he said a moment later “I am fortunate then that you were the first pony to visit me, very well then. ” Twilight blushed a little at his words before sitting down to listen to what the human had to say.
“Our empire was a large one, stretching from our coastal capital Helmsguard to what is now Canterlot. To the west was the ancient Griffon kingdom, and across the ocean we had begun establish small colonies in what is now called Zebrica. It was really the beginning of a golden age for my people.

It wasn’t always like this however. Only one hundred years previously humanity had been ruled by tyrants. Like all creatures in Equestria we are able to use magic, but unlike ponies very few humans had the gift. These men saw themselves as superior to the rest of my species and used their powers to rule as warlords for countless generations. Eventually the masses banded together and overthrew their rule, and united together to form the Confederacy of Free Provinces. It was the largest empire the world has ever seen.

But what of magicians like me? While the tyrants and monsters who had once ruled were all killed, some Magi had sided with the rebels and went on to create a new order for our kind in the government. While still distrusted some also served as healers and scientists alongside their regular human counterparts. Others would put their talents to use in the new Confederate Legion” The human paused as he noticed a small look of confusion the unicorns face

“Confederate Legion… But how can that be? If your species had such a massive presence in the world why is there no evidence?” Twlight wondered trying to comprehend it, and why did they all disappear?

“Ah, but there is evidence,” he replied with a smile “Consider all the devices and objects in Equestria that you ponies use every day. Devices that seem so ill suited for hooves such as your cups, doors, or utensils. They were designed to be used with hands not hooves.” Twilight’s eyes widened at the realization. It had certainly never occurred to her but she used magic to manipulate objects like that.

“But why did you disappear then?” Twilight asked.

A sad look appeared on the humans face, “I’m not sure. I had suspected it for a long time after my imprisonment but only learned when you showed up.” Twilight nodded feeling bad for him. He had just learned that his species didn’t exist anymore. “Anyway Twilight Sparkle, shall we begin?” Twilight nodded in response eager to begin.

“Then we will start at the beginning, a time just after the event you know as Hearths Warming when the three tribes began to immigrate to Equestria” With that the human began to fade as the white light around them began to shine brighter and brighter. Twilight blinked as she realized something.

“Wait! I don’t know your name!” she called out, the lights almost blinding now.

“You may call me William...”

Twilight Sparkle blinked as she the world shifted and she found herself standing in a tent. The sun from outside was shining in illuminating a human covered only by a thin sheet. His --Twilight assumed the human was male—his head was covered in long curly black hair, and on his chin she could see what might be a beard. Moving quietly Twilight moved around the humans sleeping form to get a closer look at his face before cringing. He definitely had a beard, but that smell! Judging from the small coating of dirt that covered the humans pale skin and his unkempt hair Twilight figured it had been days if not weeks since the human had bathed.

“Joseph? You awake?” a voice called out from outside causing Twilights eyes to widen, there were more of them? Where had William sent her? What would they do when they found her? The unicorns mind churned with thoughts both horrible and worrisome as she tried to think of what was going to happen to her.

“Oi, get off your fat rump and get out here, something’s come up” the voice called out again, a moment later Twilight watched as the other human, Joseph she assumed, began to stir.

“Fine! Dammit Bragg… Cant a guy just get some rest in paradise?” the man replied, annoyed, before pulling himself out of his cot. The sight caused Twilight to freeze, were those animal furs? To her horror she realized they were, the man was clad in barbarian clothing made of dead animals. Twilight wasn’t sure what his reaction to her presence in his tent would be but she was sure it wouldn’t be pretty.

Joseph yawned again clearing his eyes before crawling out of the tent, his complete disregard for Twilights presence only confusing the mare. Why didn’t he see her? Maybe he was just too sleepy to notice? No, it was the spell William had used. These were memories and it wouldn’t make sense if she could influence what was happening just by being there.

“Wha?”The unicorn’s thoughts were interrupted as she felt a force push her out of the tent following the human. Twilight winced as her eyes adjusted to the sunlight outside, she seemed to be in the middle of the forest, looking around she saw another human standing just a couple meters away from her. He seemed to be preparing what seemed to be a bow and arrow.

The other man, Bragg, was attired similarly to Joseph. He seemed to have a larger build compared to Joseph, and unlike his companion his hair was red. Then there were his eyes, Twilight knew she had seen eyes like those before, but where?

“No, we’re heading out. Victor hasn’t come back yet from checking the traps and we’re going to go and find him," Joseph sighed as he watched the younger man grab his bow and arrow before looking over at him. “Well? Grab your sword and let’s go!” Joseph just continued to stand there with a bemused expression on his face.

“How long has he been missing?” Joseph asked before walking over to a large fallen tree and sitting on it. Twilight found herself pushed again beside the man. The forest reminded her allot of the Everfree forest, wild and untamed.

“He was supposed to be back an hour ago, I think.” Bragg paused for a moment to look up at the sky in thought before nodding. “Yeah, I think that’s right.” Joseph just sighed before looking reaching over to grab his sword.

“Fine… But if it’s nothing you’re taking my watch shift tonight understand? Now come on…” Joseph replied before heading off. The three walked in silence for a time with the older man keeping his eyes on his surroundings. While the situation was probably not one for alarm, Joseph moved stealthily and seriously. After all, if by some slim chance Victor was in trouble he wanted to be sure that he didn’t stumble into anything.

They continued on for what seemed like a half hour before Joseph raised a hand telling the other man to stop. Twilight looked around wondering why they had stopped before hearing Joseph speak.

“I’ve got another set of tracks here. And…” Whispering, Joseph pointed over at a patch of forest floor that looked disturbed. “Fighting, looks like someone, or something got the jump on him” he muttered again before casting a couple wary glances around making sure they were still alone. Twilight trotted over to the small clearing to get a better look. There was blood on the ground which meant that either Victor or his assailant was wounded, but she saw no bodies… Meaning that whatever it was Victor was now a prisoner, or a meal.

“Was it… was it the Legion?” Bragg muttered; his eyes rooted at the spot Joseph had indicated the fight had taken place.

“No… Look here. The assailants’ tracks aren’t human.” He replied looking down at some mud, Twilight took a couple steps back to give the human room before looking at the tracks again. They were oddly familiar, but Twilight had no skill at tracking,

“Griffon?” Bragg asked causing Joseph to sigh in annoyance. Twilight shook her head in agreement with the black haired human. These marking were not those of a griffon but of a… pony? Twilight frowned as she realized this, a pony had attacked Victor? Or had it been self defense? She could sense some faint magical residue so a unicorn was probably involved.

“Zebra…” Joseph replied quietly. A zebra? Twilight frowned, what in Celestia’s name caused this man to think it was a zebras. They seldom left Zebrica and never traveled this far north into Equestria. Twilight shook her head as she thought about it, William had mentioned that the humans had been colonising Zebrica, maybe that explained it. Zebra and Pony physiology was very similar, and if these humans knew nothing about ponies. Joseph and Bragg thinking Victor’s attacker was a zebra was a logical, if incorrect, assumption.

“Ze- No way! How can one of those be out here?” Bragg blurted out. The man fell silent for a few moments, then muttered, almost to himself “We… We should leave.”

Joseph frowned and turned around to face the other man, a look of anger on his face. “What? Why? It's just a single Zebra. Besides its Vic, we're not just going to leave him. He might be a murdering son of a bitch but he’s one of us.” He replied with a glare that said there would be no room for discussion on the topic. The other man just nodded, but there was obviously something bothering him. Again Twilight pondered that look in his eyes, she now knew where she had seen it before. The royal guards around Celetia’s palace, it was the look of a soldier…

“Now, come on,” He grumbled before setting off following the hoof prints and blood. Twilight just shook her head and followed the pair. She was wondering why the unicorn was bothering to bring the human. Maybe Victor was injured and the unicorn wanted to try and help it.

Again, the pair traveled in silence with Twilight following, until Joseph stopped them again to show Bragg more tracks. It appeared that the Unicorn had been joined by more ponies.

“Alright, we’re just going to scout them out, if these tracks are any indication there’s probably at least a dozen of them. We’re gonna have to use stealth; I don’t know about you but I don’t want to face a bunch of those things to rescue Vic.” Joseph muttered to Bragg. The other man nodded in agreement before pointing at a small plume of smoke rising up from the treeline on the other side of the clearing.

“We'll move up on that ledge there, it should give us a view of their camp.” Twilight watched as the two moved silently towards the small hill Joseph had indicated. Twilight paused for a moment to get a view of the landscape; they seemed to be in the mountains north of Canterlot. Near where Fillidelphia was located if the landmarks were anything to go by. Her thoughts were once again interrupted when she felt that same force pulling her towards Joseph. The two were crawling on their bellies up the hill. Twilight kept pace right beside Joseph and peered over the ledge with him to get a view of the smoke.

It wasn’t a camp, it was a small village. The smoke they had seen earlier was coming from a central building around which smaller buildings were built. A wooden wall surrounded them all, and from what Twilight could see a bunch of pegasi keeping guard causing the unicorn to smile. Her guesswork was right, there were no zebras and she seemed to be looking at the village that would one day become Fillydelphia. Twilight glanced over at Joseph with a small satisfied smile as she watched the man try to understand what he was seeing.

“Those are not zebras…” Joseph muttered before looking over at the other man to find… he was gone. Twilight frowned as she realized the same. Where had Bragg disappeared to?

“Bragg? Where the-" all thoughts of stealth thrown aside, Joseph got up and looked around for the other man but it seemed like he had disappeared into thin air. “You damn coward! When I find you I’m gon-“ He didn’t even finish as he was tackled to the ground from behind. Twilights eyes widened as she got a look at the attacker; a pegasus! His coat was white he was wearing a full set of bronze armor. From what she could tell from beneath his plumed helmet his mane was a light blue. Twilight smiled a bit as she realized he looked very much like her older brother, if he had been born a pegasus instead of a unicorn that is.

With a grunt Joseph threw the pony off him and took up a fighting stance. His hand reached down towards his waist to try and grab his sword only to find it was missing. Joseph started to look for his sword forcing him to break his gaze away from the Pegasus. What a mistake that was. Faster than Twilights eyes could follow, the Pegasus charged forward knocking him to the ground onto his back.

“How the…” Joseph found his words cut off again as he felt a hoof pressing down on his neck, the Pegasus’ face contorted in anger as it slowly strangled the man. For a few more moments Joseph struggled to get free, but he was pinned and losing strength fast. 'Bragg… Where are you?' He thought, before he was finally swept off into unconsciousness and Twilight’s world shifted away from the scene.

Twilight shook herself as the world returned to normal only to stagger back in surprise when Bragg rushed right by her. A moment later she felt herself being dragged along, it seemed the memory she was anchored to was Bragg’s now. Regaining her footing Twilight ran beside him, the humans face was one of exhaustion and fear. Why was he running? Why did he abandon his friend? Twilight didn’t understand what was going on but she noticed that the look in his eyes from earlier had been replaced with one of outright terror. As he reached the camp Bragg quickly entered his tent to grab his things. Twilight watched as he stuffed his bedroll and a few other items into a sack. A few minutes later the man exited the tent only to find he was no longer alone.

All around him, twenty other men wearing the shining steel breastplates stood, half of them holding bows aimed at Bragg, the other half standing in a defensive stance holding swords and shields. Painted on their shields was the image of a small red icon similar to a flower the meaning of which Twilight did not know but she could see that Bragg recognized them. While most of the humans wore wool caps those with swords and shields were had odd angular domed metal helmets.

“Well, well, well, what do we have here?” Bragg's eyes focused on the only man of the group not holding a weapon, most likely their officer. "By order of the Senate you are under arrest for crimes against the Confederacy” the man continued obviously amused. His face was clean shaven and angular with no noticeable hair at all, but Twilight couldn’t be sure because of the helmet upon his head.

“Bind him and bring him with us. Lord Rorik going to want to see him before we ship him south for trial” Twilight watched as a couple soldiers approached Bragg and the world faded away.

Twilight was in the void again; nearby she could see William watching her with interest. He seemed to be smiling slightly at the unicorn’s confused expression.

“Well?” the man asked with a small grin. Twilight stood there for a moment her mind processing the information.

“What… what was that?” she managed to finally say after a few moments.

William gave a light chuckle before replying “That Ms.Sparkle was the first moment in history where your species met mine; not with warm words and open arms of friendship but instead with violence.” He answered before turning away from Twilight to look out into the white expanse.

Twilight trotted up beside him frowning, so that’s what she had seen? The first encounter ponykind had with a human? She had not expected it to be pleasant but the truth was surprising.

“Well, perhaps that is not completely true. The man Victor, his encounter with the unicorn Radiant was earlier that of Joseph.” William then muttered, Twilight nodded in agreement before turning to look at the dark skinned man.

“Who were those men?” She asked. Bragg, Victor, Joseph, they didn’t seem at all like those soldiers who had appeared in Braggs memories. Where the soldiers had been seemed more refined and discipline the three other humans seemed like barbarians in comparison.

“Outcasts from our society, criminals,” William answered turning to look into the unicorns eyes. “Joseph was a thief from Brightspire, a small woodland province north of our capital. He had been on the run for a few months before he met the other two and fled north into the Frontier” Twilight nodded trying to understand what William said. It certainly made sense, Joseph`s passage through the forest had been in almost complete silence, and his tracking abilities seemed to imply a past as a hunter.

"And the other two?” Twilight asked wishing for William to continue.

“Victor,” William paused shaking his head “Victor was a convicted murderer,“ Twilight gasped at the revelation. Murder was a somewhat alien notion to her; sure they happened in Equestria but they were extremely rare. William only sighed “Yes. He had been sentenced to death in the Capitol but had somehow managed to escape. I wish I could say more about him but I was never able to recover any memories from him.” Twilight only shivered; these two men were the only examples of humanity that the Equestrians had, it was not a good sign.

“Lastly, Bragg… Bragg Telmon was a soldier of the Legion and had served overseas defending the Confederate colonies. He had lost his entire platoon to a zebra raid which also scarred him mentally. A few days after returning to the Legion to give his report he boarded the first boat back to the CFP and deserted the Legion. He would then head north and found Joseph and Victor almost by accident. Bragg never told the other two about his past but did find a place with them and earning their respect.”

Twilight nodded finally understanding why Bragg had looked so terrified. He had thought that zebras were close by and panicked, Twilight couldn’t imagine what kind of trauma the man had endured to cause that kind of a reaction.

“So Ms.Sparkle, what are your thoughts on what I have shown you?” William then asked snapping Twilight from her thoughts. What did she think?

“I… I don’t know. This is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before” She muttered breaking her gaze from William to look out into the white void. The things she was learning were completely new to her and really she wanted to know more. It was like a good book, she didn’t want it to stop. “But I want to continue. I need to know more about what happened. Do you have any memories from my side of meeting? From the pony side I mean?” She then asked looking back at William hoping desperately that he would say yes.

“Of course I do. It’s important that a historian learn the truth from both sides of the story” he replied smiling. “The next two memories are those of two important ponies of that age. One is from the unicorn I mentioned before, Ms Radiant. The other is that of a pegasus whose name I think you may recognize, a Lieutenant Pansy?”

Twilights eyes widened at the name. “The Pansy? Adjutant to Commander Hurricane?“ she asked ecstatically. Private Pansy was one of the founders of Equestria! “Wait, Lieutenant?”

William nodded smiling at the unicorns excitement “Yes. After the events of Equestria’s founding and the migration south into the new lands Private Pansy was promoted quite a few times, especially after Commander Hurricane disappeared. The pegasus government was looking for a new icon to lead the military and wanted Pansy to fill that role.. Fortunately he was able to get a posting far south in Fillydelphia where it would be difficult for them to control him.” Twilight listened attentively frowning only for a moment as William mentioned Commander Hurricane disappearing

“What happened to Commander Hurricane?” the other revelation that Pansy was male she could understand. The story of Hearths Warming Eve was ancient and she was not surprised some of the facts had changed.

“No one knows. From what I understand she disappeared soon after the Second Harmonic council,” he replied only serving to confuse Twilight more. “Anyway I think we should begin… The memories you will be observing are taken about 10 years after the first ponies moved to Equestria,” The human continued before he started to fade away again.

“Wait!! What’s the Second Harmonic Council!?” Twilight yelled out as the lights shined brighter and brighter before finally engulfing everything.

Chapter Two

Chapter 2

Twilight groaned as the world readjusted itself around her. She was in a wooden building this time around. Looking around the unicorn took note of the lack of decoration or… anything on the wooden walls. Sighing she turned her attention to the other occupants of the room. One was a unicorn with a light yellow coat and minty green mane similar to that of Lyra Heartrings back home in Ponyville. Only unlike Lyra this unicorn’s mane was brushed neatly and tied up in a bun. She seemed rather nervous as was evident by the way she was shifting her weight from side to side. Twilight wondered why as her eyes trailed to the other pony…

“Alright miss… Radiant?” Lieutenant Pansy glanced up from the small report in his hooves to regard the unicorn standing in his office across from him. Twilights jaw dropped in awe as she looked at the pegasus, this was THE Pansy? Besides the color of his coat and mane he didn’t seem like the weak and timid pegasus the legends said he was. Instead Twilight was looking at a tall muscled stallion that seemed to exude an aura of strength and command. Twilight shook her head trying to believe it, it seemed that sometime in the past somepony had decided to change the Lieutenant into something that matched his name.

Twilight trotted closer to get a better look at the stallion starting with his face; Pansy certainly did not seem timid. His face was that of a seasoned soldier and he sported a light scruff around his chin which matched sky blue mane. Like Bragg the pegasus had the eyes of a soldier but they seemed a bit softer. Twilight tore her gaze from the pegasi’s face to examine the rest of his body. Pansy was much taller than she would have though, similar in size to other stallions like Prince Blueblood or Big Macintosh. His coat was a light orange which complemented his mane well. Lastly like many of the guards around the palace he seemed really well built. Twilight shook her head as she realized she had been gravely mistaken to cast Fluttershy in his role during the play a few months ago.

“Yes, Lady Radiant.” At the sound Twilight tore her attention away from the Equestrian founder she had been examining and looked at the other unicorn in the room, Radiant. She was much more slender than Pansy and the way she had just spoken reminded Twilight of the many unicorns that lived in Caterlot. So proud and arrogant, it was one of things Twilight certainly did not miss about the city. Radiant‘s sudden sense of superiority however vanished quickly when she saw that it had no effect on Pansy “Um… Sir”

Twilight had heard that the unicorns of this time were snobbish, and Radiant’s actions indicated as much. Before the immigration to Equestria they had been the nobility of the old order, treating the other tribes like peasants only because they couldn’t use magic. Thankfully the unicorns changed their ways after moving to Equestria. Or so she thought; Radiant’s demeanor seemed suggest that not everypony was so willing to change.

“You’re a civilian, there is no need to address me like that,” Pansy muttered after setting down the papers on a table and turning to Radiant. “Now explain to me what exactly happened to you today. Do not skimp on any details, you’re already in enough trouble for leaving the settlement without telling anypony.” Twilight looked from Pansy to Radiant wondering what she had gotten in trouble for. She didn’t know what kind of laws were in place at this time in history but the books she had read on Equestrian law indicated that they had not changed much at all.

“Yes, of course.” Radiant made her way over to some cushions nearby before lying down. Behind her, Pansy carried some quills and inkwells to write everything down. "Now, where should I begin?"

“From the beginning of course” the Pegasus replied before taking the quill in his mouth and dipping it in ink.

“Alright, it all started this morning when I decided to get some herbs to restock my shop…” Twilight found herself a spot to lay down believing she would just need to listen to the unicorn’s tale before she felt the familiar feel of the world changing around her and everything faded to white.

Radiant smiled merrily as she made her way through the forest, behind her Twilight Sparkle sighed. She had just watched Radiant sneak out of the village taking note of her obvious distaste in getting by the pegasus guards stationed in and around Fillydelphia. It was frankly quite a shock to the lavender unicorn that anypony could be so… racist.

“It’s perfect!” she laughed lightly. Twilight just rolled her eyes in response; Radiant wasn’t even trying to be stealthy, she was acting like a filly in a playground. If this forest was anything like the Everfree there was probably no shortage of deadly animals that might harm her. Twilight still couldn’t determine why Radiant had been so determined to sneak out here alone.

The pair continued their stroll through the woods for about an hour before stopping in in a clearing twilight found earily familiar; it was the same one that Bragg and Joseph had found evidence of Victors attack. Twilight frowned; it appeared she was going to witness the true first encounter between ponies and humans. The unicorn couldn’t figure out though how Radiant was going to subdue Victor; she didn’t seem to have any special magic beyond levitation and possibly healing magic. Twilight believed that Radiant was some sort of healer within the village, using herbs and poultices to heal the ill and her magic on those with more immediate needs. She could not determine for certain however as the usual method of determining a pony’s special talent was useless.

Neither of the two had cutie marks…

The absence of the markings had been surprising and Twilight made a mental note to ask William about it later. She hadn’t noticed earlier in the office with Radiant and Pansy but now it was obvious as she followed behind the other mare. None of these ponies knew what their special talent was, the realization was a disturbing one to Twilight. In her time cutie marks help guide a pony down the path that was right for them, these ponies didn’t have that…

Returning her attention to the other unicorn Twilight watched as she bent down to inspect a group of strange fungus growing on a rotting log. Intrigued the lavender unicorn trotted up beside her to look before frowning in disgust. That’s why she was here? Twilight recognized the mushroom in question from an old book she had acquired about extinct plants and animals in Equestria. The fungus had no healing qualities to speak of however when used with a specific spell it could be used to induce a euphoric state. In short the mushroom was a drug; not only was she witnessing the meeting between two species Twilight realized she was also witnessing what was probably the beginning of drug trafficking in Equestria.

*SNAP*

The sudden sound shook both Radiant and Twilight from their respective thoughts. The forest had grown silent, the sounds of birds and insects which had saturated the forest were now missing.

“Hello? Is anypony there?” Radiant asked a bit nervously; her horn lighting up with a soft yellow just in case its magic would be needed. As if in response, a creature stepped out from behind a tree causing the yellow unicorn to scream in fear at its appearance. Twilight gawked in horror as well, but for different reasons than Radiant. The human, Victor, was attired similarly to both Bragg and Joseph. However unlike the other two Victor’s hair was blonde and his face was much more angular and menacing. Then there were his eyes... Twilight had seen eyes like that before, on the manticore, the hydra, and the various adult dragons she had encountered with her friends. They were the eyes of a predator and a killer.

Twilight could have sworn Victor had said something, but whatever it was, she couldn’t understand. It seemed her understanding of the human language had disappeared now that she was no longer attached to one of their memories. Twilight watched as the human charged across the clearing towards Radiant causing her to scream. Closing her eyes the unicorn’s front hooves flailed about in self defense before hitting the human squarely between the legs causing him to double over in pain. A moment later Twilight watched as the man’s arm descended leaving a gash on her flank where her cutie mark would have been, Twilight hadn’t noticed it earlier but the human had a knife it seemed.

Gathering what strength she could, Radiant managed put some distance between herself and the human. Whatever Radiant had done to the human seemed to have injured it badly as it limped slowly towards the yellow unicorn. The damage didn’t seem permanent however and he seemed to be recovering slowly.

“You… you dare attack Lady Radiant...” she muttered. Victor again said something, but neither unicorn understood, and Radiant did not care. Focusing her magic she levitated a large rock behind Victor into the air.

“YOU! DIRTY! BARBARIAN!” Twilight gasped as with every word Radiant bashed the rock into Victor’s skull. After the third impact the he keeled over to the ground. The rock was now covered in blood as the Radiant put it back onto the ground. Breathing heavily, Radiant turned her attention from the human to examine her injury. The cut was not as deep as she had thought, but it was still quite a wound. Her horn began to glow again as she wove into a spell to stop the bleeding. Twilight could tell it was a temporary fix, but she guessed Radiant didn’t have the time to completely heal it out here.

A couple minutes passed as Radiant tried to catch her breath. Once again, her attention returned to the unconscious human. Now that it wasn’t trying to kill her the yellow unicorn approached Victor cautiously. Twilight watched her examine the body with much distaste before breaking out into laughter.

“Oh Radiant… You got yourself all worked up over something about as scary as an earth pony,” she giggled to herself while Twilights jaw dropped open from shock at what she heard. How could the ponies of this time be so different? Twilight shook her head trying to reassure herself. Maybe it was just Radiant; surely not everypony in this age was so bigoted.

Twilight watched as Radiant levitated Victors knife into her bag with the mushrooms before returning her attention to the human. He didn’t look that healthy, Twilight could tell as much from his ragged breaths and the amount of blood on both the rock and what was bleeding from his ears. He needed medical help soon. Twilight could see that Radiant was thinking the same thing before a disturbing grin broke out on her face. A moment later a yellow glow surrounded Victor as Radiant used her magic to levitate him a couple dozen centimeters in the air.

“Ooooh, Radiant you are going to be famous!” Radiant said in a singsong voice causing Twilight to facehoof. Radiant wasn’t worried about Victor at all, she just wanted to bring him back as a prize to show everypony. Sighing Twilight began to follow her before watching as the world around her dissolved into a void of white.

“So I was on my way to show you and the Mayor but a patrol of your soldiers intercepted me as I exited the forest,” Radiant huffed, she seemed to have relaxed quite a bit as she told her story to Pansy. “And you know what happened after that.”

Twilight gave her head a shake as she found herself back in Pansy’s office. Twilight herself didn’t know but she could piece together what had happened after yellow unicorn decided to leave the forest. Radiant had met up with a patrol of pegasi on her way back to the village, which explained the extra hoofprints Bragg and Joseph had found. No doubt they had taken Victor from Radiant and placed him somewhere safe.

“Right then, Miss Radiant, you can go home now, but I expect you to return here tomorrow morning an hour after sunrise. Ask for Corporal Summer Breeze, she will be supervising you as you serve your community service.” without another word Pansy placed the papers inside his desk before walking by an obviously stunned Radiant. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the look on the yellow unicorns face. She definitely deserved what was coming to her.

“Bu- But…” the unicorn managed to stammer out before Pansy reached the door. Pausing for a moment, the pegasus turned his head to look at her.

“The law is the law Radiant. It doesn’t matter if you discovered a new species, you’re still guilty. Just be glad that I’ve decided to ignore those questionable herbs you were gathering.” With that he left the office, surprisingly Twilight felt a tug as she was dragged outside also, it seemed she was no longer attached to Radiant.

It was already getting dark, the sun's colors giving the Pansy’s orange coat an interesting glow. Flaring his wings open he took to the skies, causing Twilight’s eyes to widen with worry. How was she supposed to follow him now? She couldn’t fly! Her worry was soon put to rest however as she began to levitate upwards following him. It felt weird, like she was resting on an invisible platform that was rising into the air to follow the pegasus. Grinning, Pansy paused his climb into the air to regard the small village below him. Twilight followed his gaze and smiled as well. It was certainly much larger than she had thought it would be, and it certainly did not seem to be less than ten years old. A village this size could easily fit over a thousand ponies.

“Lieutenant Pansy! Sir!” the sudden sound snapped Twilight back to reality before she turned to regard the pegasus in full combat gear that had joined Pansy

“Yes private?” Pansy barked, Twilight wasn’t sure but he noticed some discomfort in Pansy’s body language. He probably didn’t like being in a position of authority.

“Sir, sergeant Firewing and his patrol have just returned. They found another one of those creatures like the one that unicorn brought us earlier!” the private exclaimed with excitement. That must have been the patrol that found Joseph, Twilight figured as she looked over at Pansy. Pansy floated there in thought before turning around and heading back to the village as fast as he could, the private following close behind. Twilight gave a yelp of surprise as she was dragged along for the ride.

“What’s the creature's status?” he asked suspiciously as the pair touched down. Twilight hoped Joseph wasn’t hurt too bad. That pegasus that had attacked him seemed a bit rough.

“Conscious sir, just bruised around what we believe is its neck. The sergeant locked him up in a cage near the other one." Pansy nodded before heading off towards the town hall with Twilight in tow. Twilight wasn’t surprised; most town halls had a prison of sorts to deal with any extreme cases before they were sent to Canterlot. Usually they were empty as the Mayor and authorities were able to devise more creative punishments.

“Good. You may return to your duties” replied Pansy before returning the soldiers salute and entering the jail. Twilight followed and was surprised to see so many other ponies inside. In one corner a male Earth pony and a Unicorn stared into the two prison cells with worry while another group of pegasi stood guard.

“Sergeant, report!” Pansy snapped, causing the other pegasi to snap to attention. Twilight ignored them for the moment to look at the cell Victor was inside. He seemed much better than in the forest and she could detect that he was in a healing coma causing the lavender unicorn to sigh in relief. Somepony had made sure he was taken care of at least.

“Sir, we caught this one spying on the village from a nearby ledge. Private Lightning Twirl was the first one on the scene and subdued the creature before we arrived.” Pansy glanced over to the cell which Joseph was housed inside.
“Well done Sergeant. You and your men are dismissed, I expect a full report tomorrow morning” Firewing gave Pansy a momentary look of surprise before nodding and filing out with the other pegasus guards.

“Mayor Whistlebloom, your thoughts?” Pansy whispered to the earth pony which Twilight assumed was the mayor.

“We need to tell Canterlot. One of these things is scary enough but two? What if there’s a whole bunch of these things out there?” the mayor muttered, to which Pansy nodded in agreement before turning his attention to Joseph.

“You, what is your name? How many like you are there?” he yelled at the human trying to look as intimidating as possible, it certainly seemed to work, even without his full set of armor the pegasus was an imposing sight.
Joseph flinched and seemed stunned for a moment before saying something incomprehensible. Pansy sighed in annoyance. Beside him Twilight did the same, Joseph still sounded the same, only his words were completely garbled so she couldn’t make sense of it.

“We need a full diplomatic team and scientists…” Pansy muttered looking back at the mayor. The unicorn aide at his side nodded as her horn lit up and began furiously scribbling down what he was saying.

“And make sure somepony with them knows a translation spell.” He added before returning his gaze to the creature inside. A storm was coming and one didn’t need to be a pegasus to feel it... Twilight shivered at the feeling before the world began to dissolve around her again.

“The Second Harmonic council…” William said the moment Twilight reappeared in the void. Twilight blinked a couple times as her eyes readjusted to the light before turning her attention to the human.

“Yes. What was it?” Twilight asked only half paying attention. Her mind was elsewhere as she processed all that had just transpired.

“It is the event you now know as Hearth’s Warming Eve,” William replied smiling “When the three tribes discovered that they were not alone in moving to Equestria a summit was held in the hopes of preventing any hostilities from breaking out.” Twilight’s attention turned to William as he spoke of the event that was now legend in Equestria.

“But I thought it was just the six ponies who were involved? Why was it a summit?” She asked confused which caused William to chuckle.

“Hardly, those six ponies did play a very important role but they were not alone. Each tribe sent a delegation to try and solve the issue. It was very much like the first council meeting further north in the frozen wastelands. The difference however was that Pansy, Cookie, and Clover that managed to coerce the representatives into peace; they had been ignored in the First Council.” William lectured as he looked at Twilight with amusement.

“And the Windigoes?” she asked

“Oh they exist, nasty things. The windigoes did attack the summit and do feed off of disharmony but they don’t have the ability to affect the climate of an entire continent. Pansy, Cookie and Clover were able to use the Windigoes as an analogy to show just how their infighting was destroying them all,” William explained. Twilight just shook her head in confusion. This was nothing like the legend at all. William sighed as he noticed her confusion before continuing, “Twilight, legends rarely survive the passage of time intact. If you decide to stick around you’ll find that the events around Discord reign and Luna’s banishment were not as cut and dry as you would imagine.”

Twilight sighed and nodded in understanding. Maybe William was right, maybe everything was not as simple as she thought.

“Wait, Discord and Luna?” Twilight asked confused... Those events were decades if not centuries after the immigration to Equestria “How would you know about that? How old are you?” William would have to be ancient to have witnessed them. Looking at him now Twilight could tell he looked no older than Joseph or Bragg.

“I wondered when you would ask that,” The man replied turning away from Twilight. Frowning in annoyance she trotted around in front of him.

“I’m not like other humans… Of course that’s obvious, not many humans can do magic after all but there is more to it.” He replied looking down into Twilights eyes causing her to shiver;they no longer seemed normal but instead twinkled with a gleam of ancient wisdom like the eyes of her mentor Princess Celestia.

“Celestia doesn’t just turn anyone to stone Twilight Sparkle. You need to be special.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight pressed trying to get more out of William. Was he an immortal then? Like the Princesses, and Discord?

“I will tell you in time Ms. Sparkle. Now is not right,” William answered cryptically before closing his eyes with a sigh “You must be getting sleepy, maybe we should take a break for now.” He continued before opening his eyes again, Twilight frowned as they seemed to have returned to normal, no longer did they twinkle with that spark of ancient wisdom they had moments earlier.

Sighing that her question wouldn’t be answered Twilight nodded in agreement she was getting tired but…

“Um… How can I sleep? I mean there’s no bed and the light is so strong” Twilight asked causing William to laugh again.

“Remember what I said when we first came here Ms. Sparkle? This is your mind, use your imagination,” he replied with a grin before waving his arms across the vast expanse. “This world is like a canvas for you to paint upon, so get to it!”
Twilight frowned in confusion for a moment before she understood. Nodding she closed her eyes imagining one of the most familiar places she knew.

“Not bad… Not bad at all,” Twilight heard William mutter before opening her eyes to find… her library. It looked exactly the same as how she left it, dirty dishes and all. “There is room for improvement though.” Looking around she saw William had pulled a book off the shelves and was flipping through it.

“What? What’s wrong?” she asked before the human spun the book around causing the unicorn to gasp. The pages were empty!

“Little details really, the curtains over there suffer a similar fate; they’re stuck,” Williams answered amused at her reaction. “But I must say you did really well for a first try. Now time for bed, your mind has absorbed alot today, and a good night’s sleep would do you good.”

Twilight frowned at his words. She had so many more questions to ask though. Why was Radiant so arrogant? Where was everyponies cutie mark? What happened to Bragg?

“Don’t worry. I’ll still be here when you wake up. Not like I have anywhere to go,” William chuckled deeply before finding a seat to relax in.

“Fine… But you need to answer my questions tomorrow ok?” she replied before heading off up the stairs toward her bed frowning when she saw that Spike’s bed was empty.

“Very well Ms. Sparkle. Goodnight!” William called out from downstairs. Smiling Twilight rushed over to her bed and jumped right in before groaning in pain. The mattress was rock solid!

“It’s the details that matter Ms Sparkle, the details…”

Chapter Three

Authors note: I apologize for this chapter taking so long. Real life has kept me rather busy the last month. Anyway id like to thank Alfa995 for the new story image. Also i would like to make you all aware that the chapters previous to this one have undergone a rewrite adding some new elements to the story so I would suggest you revisit them. Anyway enjoy ^^

Chapter 3

Twilight yawned as her eyes fluttered open to see the sun shining into her room through an open window. Smiling, the lavender unicorn pushed the covers off her and jumped out of bed before trotting over to the mirror hanging over her dresser. Levitating her comb Twilight brushed the hair out of her eyes to get a better look at herself in the mirror only to see… nothing?

“Wha?” she said in shock as the mirror in front of her reflected everything except the unicorn and the brush she was using. Instead the object appeared to still be sitting on her dresser untouched. Frowning, Twilight tried to comprehend what she was seeing before the events of the day before rushed back to her. It was an illusion, something conjured in her mind; like the rock hard mattress last night the mirror was only appearing like it did back at her true home and not actually serving its purpose.

With a sigh Twilight closed her eyes imagining the mirror reflecting her image back at her and doing its job at well... being a mirror. Opening her eyes she saw her own reflection staring back at her and imitating her movements perfectly.

“Much better Ms.Sparkle,” a voice said calmly from behind Twilight causing her to jump in surprise. Reflected in the mirror Twilight could see William sitting on the bed observing her.

“Don’t do that!” she replied catching her breath from the human’s sudden appearance.

“I’ll try not to in the future,” he replied non-committedly before getting up off the bed to walk over to her. “I assume you had a good night’s sleep?” William asked before walking to the window and looking outside.

“Yes I did…” she muttered grumpily before returning her attention to her mane “After I fixed my mattress.” William gave no response instead letting the silence between the two settle in. For what seemed like minutes neither mare nor human spoke until Twilight finally broke it.

“So… Are you going to answer my questions? I want to ask you about why Radiant was so…” She trailed off not exactly sure how to say it. To see somepony be so inconsiderate and snobbish to other ponies was jarring. There were times when she had lived in Canterlot where the ponies living there would act arrogant and superior to those who lived outside the city but Radiant’s actions seemed to be on another level.

“Racist? Bigoted? Self Centered?” William said completing Twilight’s sentence as he turned away from the window to speak to her. “You must understand that you were looking at her when she believed nopony was watching her and she could voice her thoughts,” Twilight nodded a bit but that still didn’t explain her actions and when William noticed this he gave a sigh.

“To explain this I need to explain what exactly occurred in the years following the Second Harmonic Summit,” he continued before walking over to sit on her bed again and motioning her to join him. “You see before moving to Equestria your ancestors had a very rigid caste system in place, Earth ponies worked the land growing food and giving a portion of it away as tribute to others. The Pegasi maintained a powerful fighting force to defend everypony from danger and influenced the weather. Lastly the unicorns used their magic to aid in tasks too difficult and intricate for hooves, at the same time they pretended to influence the cycle of day and night by moving both the sun and moons. The unicorn tribe believed this last service made them superior to the other races and set themselves up as an upper class of sorts.”

Twilight nodded her head in agreement as she listened to his explanation. At least this part of the Hearth Warming Eve story and her books was true but there was something about the way William told it that seemed off…

“What do you mean pretend?” she asked in confusion. That didn’t make sense; every book she had read explained that the Unicorn tribe had at that time the power to move the celestial bodies.

“Yes. There may have been a time when that claim was true and unicorns were able to affect the sun and moons but they certainly did not have the ability to do so when your kind immigrated into Equestria,” he answered, the human seemed to be deep in thought for some reason. “About five years after the initial settling of Canterlot, Trottingham, New Unicornia, and the moving of Cloudsdale, Princess Platinum and her consort Clover the Clever decided to make an announcement regarding the role of her race. She revealed, in the interest of equality and cooperation with the other tribes, the truth about the unicorns and celestial bodies. The admission changed everything, however any ill will directed towards the unicorns was deflected when the Pegasus government decided to admit that their race did not have total control over the weather. Soon after Chancellor Pudinghead decided to make public certain tomes detailing how Earth ponies cultivated the soil. It was a massive revelation that fundamentally shook their culture to its core.”

Twilight found it difficult to imagine what it would be like to live in those times, when everything that ponies took for granted was suddenly changed. The closest comparison Twilight could make would be if Celestia and Luna admitted to not being able to move the sun and moon.

“But pegasi can manipulate the weather…” she muttered musing over that single detail.

“You’re partially right Ms. Sparkle. Back then the pegasi were able to make small weather events such as watering a single field, but they could not create large scale events like thunderstorms. In those years Equestria and the rest of the world would naturally resist that kind of imposed order. I’m not too sure what could have changed to give present day pegasi the large scale control that you’re familiar with.” William replied. Twilight didn’t know the answer either, from time to time the pegasi could screw up and create something completely out of their control but it was rare. The pegasi that William spoke of seemed different.

How much have we changed since then? Twilight wondered. She knew that natural evolution occurred to all species however this seemed rather different, it was like Equestria itself had changed and ponies took up the positions as stweards of the land.

“As for Ms. Radiant she used to be known as Lady Radiant. The social changes affected the unicorns the most as members of the nobility had to give up their positions to make room for the lords and ladies appointed by the earth pony and pegasus tribes,” William explained. Twilight could already see where this was going… “Radiant was living a life of luxury before the founding of Equestria left her without a title and home. She was forced to learn a new skillset as a healer in the years that followed but she would also grow to resent the other two pony tribes who she saw as usurpers.” Twilight nodded in understanding. Radiant’s words and attitude might have been wrong but at least now Twilight could see the reasoning behind them.

“So she had a grudge? She went from living as royalty to having to work for a living,” she muttered, it would probably be the same as if Prince Blueblood was kicked out of Canterlot and forced to work at Sweet Apple Acres. Then again Twilight figured it would probably do the obnoxious unicorn good. Beside her William nodded in agreement before getting up off the bed to walk about.

The humans words also served to remind Twilight of another question she had, one that she should have asked sooner. “William, what about Cutie marks? I noticed nopony had one,” Twilight asked. In her time the marks were an important part of Equestrian culture as they helped guide a pony through life.

“Ah, yes. Cutie marks,” William replied with a bit of a grin before taking a glance at Twilight’s. “Would I be correct in guessing yours is linked to magic?”

The unicorn nodded “Yes. Why didn’t anypony have one?” she asked again hoping William would explain it.

“I can’t say…” was all he said before turning away from Twilight. He couldn’t say? Why not, this was a history lesson wasn’t it?

“What do you mean?”

“Ms. Sparkle, the appearance of cutie marks was always linked to the Princesses. They were the ones who bestowed that boon upon your kind. I’d elaborate more but now isn’t the time.” He replied just loud enough so that Twilight could hear him. Why couldn’t he tell her more? It seemed like he was trying to avoid the topic. “Anyway, shall we continue Twilight?” William suddenly asked turning around to face her. The sudden topic change caught the unicorn off guard, and already Twilight could see the library fading away to white.

“Wa- Wait, I have more questions!” she yelled panicking as the world began to grow brighter and brighter.

“In due time Ms. Sparkle but we’re on a bit of a schedule and must work fast” he answered before disappearing from view.

She was in a building again. Looking around Twilight could have sworn for a moment that she was back in Pansy’s office. No, the proportions were off, and the items that were strewn about were not the same that Pansy adorned his office with. A sudden cough from behind her snapped Twilight out of her thoughts and she turned to regard whoever’s memory she was supposed to be following.

Sitting behind a wooden desk was a human, a man. For a moment Twilight wondered why she had not seen any female humans but that thought was put to the side as she trotted over to get a closer look. The man was much more pleasant to look at when compared to three criminals Twilight had observed before. Where the others appeared like barbarians his black hair was cut short and face was clean shaven although it seemed to share the same rugged appearance of Joseph. The other difference Twilight noted was that he appeared to be older than any other human she had seen before, she could see small wrinkles on his face and his hair had some grey hairs mixed in with the black.

Tearing her gaze from his face twilight looked at what he was wearing. He wore a breastplate of steel armor with small engravings that spelled out something. “Vita Em populous” Twilight muttered as she read the words. It didn’t make any sense to her. Beneath the man’s breastplate he seemed to be wearing a finely tailored red tunic. He also was wearing a set of white trousers which ended in a pair of what appeared to be leather boots. Again Twilight found herself repulsed by the usage of animal hides for clothing.

“My Lord!” Twilight turned and watched as a soldier rush into the room before giving the man a salute. He was garbed in a similar manner to the man behind a desk, only his armor lacked the fine details and articulate embroidering of his superior. On his back Twilight could see a small kite shield which matched the sword strapped to his hip.

“Yes soldier?” The noble at the desk muttered not taking his eyes from what he was reading.

“Sir Hector has returned from patrol. They managed to capture a few bandits roaming the border.” The young soldier replied. Twilight was surprised by his demeanor; it reminded her of the guards stationed around Canterlot. Then again these were supposed to be soldiers; a certain amount of discipline was to be expected.

“Yes, yes, anything else?” the noble muttered in reply. He had yet to actually look at the soldier which had entered.

“Yes, one of the criminals brought back was identified as Bragg Telmon.” That did it, Twilight watched as the noble set down his papers to look at the soldier addressing him.

“Hector is certain of this?” he asked before getting up off his chair. Twilight watched as he grabbed a red cloak that had been lying nearby.

“Yes my lord, there is no doubt. That man is Bragg Telmon.” The nobleman sighed before grabbing a sword from atop a shelf and strapping it to his hip. Now that he was standing Twilight could get a good look at him. He wasn’t wearing that much armor aside from his breastplate. Now that it was on Twilight could see that the cloak was trimmed with fur at the shoulders and attached to the breastplate. The difference between the soldier and noble were rather stunning now that Twilight had a chance to see them both completely. Where one looked like he could easily blend into a group of his fellows the noble’s costume seemed to demand attention.

“That’s Lord Bragg Telmon to you soldier,” the noble growled. The admission made Twilight blink in surprise, Bragg was noble born? She would have to ask William about this later, the unicorn mused. Her list of questions just kept getting longer it seemed. “The Senate has yet to revoke his status so until they do I expect you to treat him the same way you would me.”

The soldier nodded “Yes my lord!”

“Good, now go and Captain Frederic that I’ll be meeting him at the cages in fifteen minutes,” The noble said before walking in front of the soldier “And grab the mage also. We’ll need him.” He added with a bit of obvious distaste as he said the word mage. The soldier gave a curt nod in response before giving a salute and marching away. Twilight watched the exchange a bit confused. Where was she anyway, a human military camp? And who was this noble. She had a nagging feeling that she should know his name but it escaped her at the moment. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt herself being pushed to follow the noble as he left the office and then the building, a pair of guards flanking him.

It was definitely not a camp…

As Twilight stepped outside she got her first look at human civilization. Everywhere she looked she could see human soldiers marching around doing their tasks only pausing to salute the noble as they passed. There were a few wooden buildings and Twilight could see massive walls looming in the distance all around them. This place was massive in size, the number of humans living here must at least be in the thousands, if not tens of thousands. Looking around Twilight also got her first look at a female human fetching water from a nearby well. Unlike the males she had a more slender form and seemed much more femenine than any man she had seen. Her hair was also longer, like that of Joseph and his group, but unlike them it seemed styled much like a pony would with her mane.

Seems some things were the same in both ponies and humans, Twilight thought amused as they passed by her causing the human to bow. Whoever this man was he seemed rather important.

All in all, this town reminded Twilight of the paintings and images she had seen of old Equestria, especially of old Canterlot only a couple hundred years ago. She had even spotted a couple humans in full metal plate armor, they had been the only humans who had not bowed or saluted the noble. From atop the building ramparts and the walls surrounding the town Twilight could see large flags flying depicting a red rose held in an eagle’s beak.

Finally they arrived at their destination; unlike the multiple wooden buildings that she had seen this one was made completely out of stone and brick. Twilight had seen a couple other buildings crafted like this one, however they were all under construction. The building was about two stories tall with very few windows.

“Lord Rorik!” a voice called out from down the street. Together Twilight and the nobleman turned to see the same soldier from earlier followed by what seemed to be… William?

She didn’t recognize him right away but as he got closer she could definitely see that it was indeed the human mage. He was wearing a set of bright white robes emblazoned with specialized runes and around his neck Twilight could see he was wearing a necklace attached with what appeared to be a small pyramid with a stylized eye within.

“Ah good, you brought him,” Lord Rorik replied as he eyed William cautiously. William’s words about his species magic users echoed in Twilights mind. Humans distrusted magic, and for good reason given their past. William kept his head down the whole time that Rorik spoke; Twilight wasn’t sure if it was because of the noble man’s presence or because he was a mage.

“Very well, let’s get this over with.” Rorik continued before beckoning the soldier and William to follow him into the building. It was a prison. That much was evident from the moment she entered and saw over a dozen armed guards standing watch over many cells that lined the walls. The guards themselves were wearing similar clothes to the soldiers only instead of red clothing beneath their breastplates it seemed to be a light brown and they were all wearing fully enclosed helmets.

One of the guards snapped to attention as Rorik entered before making his way to the noble. Judging by his uniform and lack of helmet Twilight figured he was probably in charge of the prison or at least the guards.

“Take me to him” Rorik said before the prison guard had a chance to speak. The other man responded with a nod before turning around and leading them deeper into the prison. Twilight took the opportunity as they walked to get a better look at the people inside the cells. They were a mixed bunch, some looked as if they had been there for weeks while others wouldn’t have appeared out of place on the streets. Surprisingly a couple of the prisoners bowed to Rorik as he passed but if the nobleman noticed he didn’t give any indication.

“Right here my lord” the guard said as he stopped in front a cell. Looking inside Twilight could see Bragg sitting quietly in a corner. He seemed no different from earlier when she had seen him. Maybe a bit more haggard, and his eyes had a faraway look but he didn’t seem to be harmed.

Looking away from Bragg, Twilight noticed that the group had been joined by another soldier; like the guard who had escorted them here this soldier seemed to be a higher rank. Twilight stared at the man for a moment, he seemed rather familiar.

“My lord,” the man said before bowing deeply to Rorik. The sound of his voice was enough to remind Twilight who this man was. He had been the officer that arrested Bragg back in the forest. He hadn’t changed much since then, besides growing a bit of scruff. It seems a few days have passed since the encounter in the forest. He wasn’t wearing his helmet anymore and Twilight could see that he did in fact have short black hair.

“Well Sir Hector? Where did you find him?” Rorik asked glancing over at the officer before returning his gaze to Bragg. Now that she had more time to examine him Twilight could see more differences that seemed to make him more than an officer. Small crests and symbols were emblazoned upon his armor and it seemed to be of much finer make than the guard officer. It was as if Hector was something between an officer and a lord. That or the human military leaders were just different from the law enforcers.

“About a week’s journey from here my lord, the fugitive had camped out in some hills with a couple other criminals. When we arrived the camp was empty so we set up an ambush. A couple hours later he,” Hector nodded over at Bragg before continuing “returned to camp. He had this mad look about him, like he was fleeing for his life.”

The human lord listened attentively to Hectors words and after the man finished he remained quiet for a few moments before speaking. “And the other criminals?”

“When we took him into custody we performed a search of the area and found nothing. We got no information from interrogating the traitor, he kept rambling on about zebras and that his colleagues had been taken by them” Hector smirked as he finished explaining. Strangely Rorik did not seem to react to the way Hector spoke of the prisoner like that soldier earlier. It seemed that the relationship between the two men was more cordial than that of an officer and their subordinates.

“Zebras…” the noble muttered in thought and turned to look at Bragg.“And what do you believe transpired then Sir Hector?”

“My lord, you know as well as I do that the wilds here are filled with dangerous beasts. Me and my men believe that the criminals were simply attacked by one; perhaps a griffon or a manticore,” Hector replied “And knowing this traitors history it wouldn’t be surprising if -“

“I know what I saw!” Twilight jumped in surprise as Bragg suddenly spoke up interrupting Hector. “Hoof prints! About this big,” the man then held up both his hands a small distance apart “Whatever took Victor was not a damn-“

“Be quiet dog! We did not ask for your input!” Hector suddenly said his face contorted in anger.

“Enough, both of you…” Rorik said calmly. Even though he had not raised it Rorik’s voice cut through the room easily leaving only silence. A moment later he turned to regard William “Are you able to determine what really happened mage?” the noble asked.

William seemed a bit surprised when the man spoke to him but quickly recovered. “Um, yes my lord. However I will need direct contact with the prisoner…” He replied. Twilight was surprised by how different the man sounded. He did not seem the same as the confident wizard who she had spoken to earlier. This man was quiet and humble.

“Wait… You’re not going to let that spook near me are you?” Bragg suddenly exclaimed as he figured out what was about to happen.

Rorik didn’t seem to hear the prisoner’s words and gave the guard captain a nod. Without a word he produced a set of keys and signalled for a couple other guards to follow him into the cell. Bragg began to scramble about inside his cell and when the door opened he made a dash to the exit. His attempt at escape failed miserably however as the guards quickly had him pinned to the floor. “No! Don’t let him near me!” Bragg protested, his eyes widening in fear as William approached him.

Williams took the prisoners head in his hands and closed his eyes, his face frowning in concentration. At first Bragg struggled but that quickly subsided and his eyes seemed to glaze over. Twilight gasped as she saw William’s hands glow with a white magical aura that then extended to encompass Braggs entire head. She could feel the magic flowing between both humans and watched with excitement, it wasn’t often she saw another species using magic. Back home in Ponyville, the only form of magic she got to see besides that of fellow unicorns was Spike's dragon breath.. Twilight had read that every creature in Equestria possessed some form of magic however it wasn’t common that they be able to wield it like a unicorn or a human.

A few moments passed before William finally pulled away and opened his eyes with a troubled look on his face. “The prisoner is not lying my lord…” William stated and exited the cell. Behind him Bragg groaned as he woke up. The two guards pinning him to the ground had left with William and closed the cell door. Muttering a couple curses under his breath Twilight watched as the prisoner moved to a corner of his cell glaring at the group.

“Well?” Rorik asked a look of curiosity on his face. “What did you see then mage?”

William sighed and began to recount the story of what he had seen. It was the exact same one as the memory Twilight had witnessed only it was recounted from Braggs point of view. Everything about Josephs fight and capture by the pegasi was omitted. After finishing Rorik’s face was that of a man deep in thought while Hector seemed unconvinced.

“My lord… You can’t actually be thinking of taking the word of a spook and lunatic as proof!” he exclaimed. It was then that Twilight noticed how the human had been keeping his distance from William the entire time, as if the man’s very presence unnerved him. William just stood off to the side, if Hectors words unnerved him he did not show it.

“Despite what he is, I’ve known William long enough to trust his words, he has never led me wrong before” Rorik replied trying to calm the other man down.

“But what if it’s wrong? He took the information from a man who’s paranoid about the creatures! What if that altered his memory?” Hector persisted.

“I did not detect any strangeness in Bragg’s memories. If they had been fabrications brought on from his past I would have known.” Rorik and Hector both turned to look at William seeming a bit surprised that he had spoken.

“Besides, if this is true there seems to be some sort of village north of us. I would like to have that investigated Sir Hector, zebra or not.” Rorik added sternly before giving Hector a small smile. “Besides if these are zebras you can expect this place to become much more interesting.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll form a small scouting group and head out tomorrow.” Hector grumbled before turning to leave until the sound of William coughing caused him to stop and turn to the mage. “What?”

“That place is over week away, and I need this information as soon as possible.” Rorik said, before turning to regard William. “He will allow you to be back by tomorrow night.” William nodded in response but it was obvious that Hector did not like the plan one bit.

“You cannot be serious…” the soldier muttered staring at William and then Rorik in shock. “No… I will not …”

Rorik frowned a bit but did not seem troubled by the fact that his subordinate had just rejected a direct order. “You will go Hector, you swore an oath to obey me…” the older man replied calmly. Rorik’s reminder seemed to have the desired effect and Hector sighed before turning away.

“He better be at the traveling grounds tomorrow morning. Otherwise my men and I will set out without him.” Hector muttered before making a quick exit. Twilight watched him go along with Rorik before the world itself seemed to convulse and everything faded to white as the memory ended.

Prologue

Of Things Forgotten

Prologue:

Dark. That was the first thought to run through Twilight’s mind as she made her way through the dusty hallways beneath the royal palace. It was also very cold, but that didn’t bother her as much; she wasn’t planning on staying long. Coughing slightly, the unicorn paused. Her face distorted into an expression of concentration before a bright purple light burst forth from the tip of her horn, but that did little to help push away the darkness. Instead, it only served to make the area seem scarier than it had previously been, the light casting shadows that seemed to stretch ominously high on the walls. Then there were the other objects that occupied the remaining space.

Do not touch ANYTHING!

The mare shivered as those words echoed in her mind. She had never heard the Princess sound so serious before, and looking at the devices and objects littering the floor of the hallway she wondered why. They all seemed harmless really; some even looked like they wouldn’t be out of place in anypony’s home. Despite this, there seemed something off about them; the items seemed to be larger. Others, like a typewriter hidden away beside a stack of dusty rags, seemed completely out of place were a pony to use them. Maybe a baby dragon or a griffon, but otherwise there were too many small buttons for anypony to use properly.

Why hadn’t Celestia sent any guards with her? Better yet why hadn’t the Princess joined her down here? It seemed all too easy to simply trip and stumble into something damaging it out of accident. Looking forward, the mare sighed before resuming her trek ahead into the gloom .It didn’t matter now; she came down here for a reason and once she found the tome she was looking she would leave.

The mare continued her stroll for what seemed like a half hour before finally stopping in a massive chamber. How far below Canterlot was she? No matter, there in front of her was the object she had been searching for. An old book Celestia had stored down here and Twilight hoped it would explain in detail the events surrounding the dark ages; the time before the coming of Luna and Celestia, Twilight had been petitioning the Princess for more information for months now, ever since she had begun researching that era. What little ponykind knew about that time was steeped in mystery and legend, the most prominent one being the story of Hearth’s Warming Eve.

But what happened after that? Legends rarely could be relied on for facts and truth and the unicorn knew that the information from that time had to be stored somewhere. Twilight knew that if anypony knew where it was it would be Celestia.

“But why here?” Twilight muttered. Why would Princess Celestia put such an important book down here where no one can access it?

“Why here indeed?”

The mare blinked for a moment as a voice echoed in her head. Where had that come from? She was most definitely alone in the chamber…

“Maybe you are… This is just a sign you're going crazy…” The voice called out again, a deep chuckle following it. It was definitely male, though, from what the unicorn could tell.

“Who's there? Show yourself!” the mare called out, looking around frantically, trying not to let the fear she felt show in her voice.

“Oh, I'm sorry if I scared you. If you’re wondering where I am just look in front of you,” the voice replied, sounding a bit nicer and more trustworthy that it had before. Frowning, the unicorn advanced forward and gasped as her horn revealed something astonishing.

It was a statue. A statue of… something. It certainly didn’t resemble anything she had seen before.Only a couple feet taller than her it’s upper body seemed to be similar to similar to that of a Minotaur., However as she looked lower the legs were not the familiar furry goat legs of their kind, instead they seemed to resemble the arms of the creature. Its head was strangest of all. It was as if somepony had flattened a pony's face keeping only a small nub that the mare could only assume was a nose. Above it two small eyes stared defiantly ahead. Oddly, Twilight noticed a lack of hair all over the creature’s body, although from what she could tell it seemed like the head could have had some at one point but now was adorned with strange markings like tattoos.

“What, are you? Ive never seen something like you before” Twilight whispered, she had over a dozen books detailing all the different species residing in Equestria; from griffons to changelings the books left nothing out and Twilight was certain that this creature was not one of them

“I’m what you would call a human, and I’m probably the reason you’re down here.” A human? Twilight had never heard of such a creature in Equestria before. Examining the statue closer a thought sprang into her mind.

“Discord…” That was it. The statue was similar to that of Discord which sat in the royal gardens. Did that mean...

"Discord? Ah, yes, I guess I do share a similar fate as that wretched creature," the statue seemed to mumble, as if to itself. Suddenly,Twilight was more intimidated by this thing than she had been moments earlier. If this thing was like Discord, and had to be turned to stone by the princesses... then it was dangerous. She had to leave, now. Summoning up her magic, she made a grab for the book at the statue's feet only to find... resistance? Something else was fighting her for control of the book! She could feel the statue's presence latching onto her magical connection to the book and making its way up the stream to her horn.

“Nononononono!” All thoughts of the book forgotten, the pony turned around and ran. She needed to get away from this thing!

“I'm sorry, but I need to do this. I need you to see, to understand,” the statue said almost angrily before its magic seeped into the unicorn's horn and then dove into her mind.

Twilight Sparkle gave a gasp as the alien energies entered her body before letting out a small scream and collapsing to the ground as the darkness enveloped her.