Nix: Identity

CHAPTER FOUR: THE MYSTERY DEEPENS

N

Well, this is familiar, I thought as I waited for Jared to wake up.

I was sitting next to Jared’s bed in the hospital room the next day, my arms crossed and seated in a comfortable position. Though technically I did not have to sit, since I was a spectral, I found it oddly comforting to assume the position.

This was the exact same room we were in two years ago after Amy’s beatdown. Not many things had changed from our last check-in. The same devices that had been used two years ago were on and beeping. A jug of water and several paper cups were on a nightstand next to the bed. A light fixture hung overhead, a slightly yellow light emanating from it.

Jared coughed, and I turned to look at him. He coughed again, and a mixture of spit, blood, and—a bit of flesh?—flew out of his mouth. I chuckled. “Nice one.”

Jared shuffled up the pillow, groaning. “Thanks, I try.” He rubbed his drowsiness off of him, peering at the mess of spit on his bed. “Ugh...is that a lung?”

I leaned over. “Certainly looks like it.”

He shook his head. “I guess we can add punctured lungs to the list of injuries.”

“Don’t forget third degree burns and branches in your back.”

He shrugged and levitated the liquid and flesh off the bed into the trash can, leaving only a light pink stain on the bed covers.

“Did you find anything?” he asked me.

“Depends on what you mean by anything,” I answered. “While you were resting, I was busy sifting through the memories in the Castle.” I shook my head. “Unfortunately, there’s not much there. Not that it’s your fault, though; those two were good at hiding their secrets.”

He threw off the covers and grabbed his signature brown leather jacket which was hanging on the side table and put it on. “What about their appearance?”

“The female, from what I gather, had a pink coat. She had a purple and greyish-blue mane as well. Judging from where the light emanated, we can also assume that she is a unicorn. And judging by how harsh the light was, she’s most likely a talented magic user.”

“What about the male?”

I rubbed my temples. “There’s next to nothing there. Dark fur, dark coat, dark muzzle. He wore a brown shroud, was very tall, and definitely an incredible magic user.”

Jared shook his head. “You’re right. Nothing all that useful there.” He got out of bed and walked around, stretching his legs. “By the way, how’d we get here?”

“Looks like we were carried here by Twilight and Zecora, after we blacked out.”

He managed a chuckle. “What is it with us and hospitals?”

I smiled. “They’re like our home away from home.”

There was a knock on the door. “Come in,” I called.

The doorknob turned, and the door swung open. A teal colored unicorn walked in. She had a pale-blue mane and tail, and amber eyes. A harp was on her flank, signaling her talent for music, I presumed. She closed the door after she had entered.

She gasped when she saw Jared standing, a crooked, welcoming smile on his lips. “May I help you?” he asked.

In answer she ran around him excitedly. “Oh my gosh a human!” she squealed.

Jared chuckled. “Lyra Heartstrings, I presume.”

“Yeah! How’d you guess?!”

“No other pony is this fascinated with humans like you are,” he answered, eyes twinkling.

She blushed in embarrassment. “Er, yeah! Um. I was just wondering if...you know...I could ask you some things!”

He shared a sidelong glance with me. “I...suppose I could talk.”

She nodded ecstatically. She started asking about everything remotely human. She asked about clothing, walking, grabbing, anatomy, language, culture, his kind’s history, and so forth. He answered all questions patiently and as clearly as he could, despite not knowing everything about humankind.

“Wow!” she exclaimed. “You all evolved from basic primates?”

“So the theory goes,” he answered, “though it hasn’t completely been confirmed.”

“Wow…” she murmured, staring starry-eyed at him.

The door turned and an earth pony entered wearing a nurse’s uniform. When she saw Lyra, she frowned. “Hey! No visitors to the VIP room unless you have an appointment!”

Lyra yelped and ran straight out the room, though not before thanking Jared again. The nurse sighed, and turned to Jared. “How are you feeling, Mr. Jared?”

“Fine, thanks,” he answered. “VIP room, huh? Didn’t know I warranted special treatment.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, well, neither did I.” He smirked. “Anyway, I’m here to check up on you. Raise your shirt.”

He sighed and did so, and the nurse’s eyes widened when she looked. A huge burn mark was left on his chest, in a Y-shape. The charred flesh was sickening to look at, though Jared didn’t seem to mind.

Then again, I thought, we’ve had much worse. I looked to his side, where an ancient scar was still visible.

“Good Celestia,” she murmured, and he put his short down. “I’ve seen my share of burns, but this…”

He shrugged. “It’ll vanish one day. No need to worry.” He grinned reassuringly.

“Alright. If you need anything, just call.” She walked out.

A few moments later, we heard the sound of hooves marching up to the door. Two Royal Guards entered, wearing their signature gold armor with blue plumes.

“Nix and Jared?” one of them addressed. “We are here to escort you to Canterlot to Princess Celestia.”

Jared and I shared a look. “News travels fast, doesn’t it?” he said with a small smile. He turned to the guards and nodded. “Alright. Let’s go.”

The Mane Six as well as Sonic and his friends had already gathered in the throne room.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Twilight exclaimed when we entered the Royal Sister’s residence. She threw her hoof around Jared in a hug, which Jared calmly returned.

“You’re not hurt, are you?” Fluttershy asked. “Ooh, if I ever find out who did this to you…”

Sonic chuckled. “I’m sure Jared’s fine, Fluttershy.” He looked at Jared. “I mean, besides the burns and cuts, of course…”

Shadow shook his head. “It seems burns and cuts are naturally attracted to Jared…”

I smiled a bit. “Eh, what can we say? Danger loves us.”

Jared and I walked up to the throne where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were seated. We bowed respectfully, then stood.

“Please, Jared, tell us what happened,” asked Princess Celestia. Luna nodded her agreement.

Jared began his tale, with me filling in several details in between. The Princesses’ eyes narrowed as he talked. Our friends stood by, listening intently to the story. When he had finished, the Princesses shared a look with Twilight.

“What did this female unicorn look like?” asked Princess Celestia.

I scrunched my brow. “She had a pink coat and a greyish-blue mane. She also had blue eyes.”

“And her voice? What did it sound like?”

Jared answered, “Very demanding. She had a callous and ill-tempered persona around her, I believe.” He looked at the Princesses questioning. “Why? Does that match the psyche profile of somepony?”

“Maybe,” Celestia answered. “I think Twilight knows what we’re thinking.”

“Twilight?” Jared prompted. All eyes turned to the Princess of Friendship.

“It...sounds like you met Starlight Glimmer,” she said.

“Who?”

“A while back, the girls and I had followed the mark on the map to this village in the middle of nowhere. The village was a rather odd one—”

“Yeah!” Pinkie interjected. “They smiled funnily!”

“It wasn’t just the smiles. It was the way everyone acted. They were exceptionally friendly, and kept welcoming us repeatedly.”

“And how does Starlight Glimmer fit into all this?” I asked.

“She was the founder and leader of the town, apparently.”

“What else made the town odd?”

“Well, the most notable things were the Cutie Marks. You see, a Cutie Mark usually depicts a pony’s natural talent. In this town, however, each pony had the same one: a grey equal sign. Starlight Glimmer had a philosophy in the town that ‘true friendship’ comes from being equal in every way.”

“How were the Cutie Marks made into equal signs?”

“According to the townsfolk, Starlight Glimmer used a magical artifact called the ‘Staff of Sameness’ to remove them.”

“Is there such an artifact?”

“No; it was all a sham. She was using magic to remove their Cutie Marks.”

Jared’s eyes narrowed. Twilight continued: “She showed us where she kept all the Cutie Marks, outside the village in a vault, and she used her magic to steal our Cutie Marks. We managed to expose her as a fraud, thanks to Fluttershy, and she tried to escape with the marks. The townsfolk helped us get our Cutie Marks back, but Starlight used her magic to escape.”

“I see,” Jared said, pacing around the room. “The way you described this Glimmer character certainly seems to coincide with how this female unicorn acted.”

“So was she a Communist?” Tails asked. The ponies looked at him in confusion. “Oh, it’s a political movement in Jared’s and our universe.”

Jared shook his head. “Communism is the socioeconomic system that is built upon the idea of common ownership among the means of production. It’s characterized by the absence of social classes, money, and the state. It’s basically the working middle class being equal to all other classes, and then removing the class system. The workman is equal to the poor and also to the aristocrats.” He looked at Tails. “While the ideals are similar, in that everyone is equal, Starlight Glimmer and her town were not following Communism. It seems more likely that they were a cult of sorts. Cult of Equal Cutie Marks, so it seems.”

Sonic turned to the Princesses. “Should we be worried?”

Luna frowned. “It’s uncertain. Since Glimmer was apparently powerful enough to magically remove a pony’s Cutie Mark, we should be on guard.” She looked at me. “I’m more concerned of this dark creature you spoke of.”

“We’re assuming he was a unicorn,” I replied, “given his magical ability. However, based on how fast he had thrown up that shield, he’s either an incredibly powerful normal unicorn, or a minor alicorn, though I didn’t see any wings.”

Celestia nodded. “In any case, we’re glad you’re well, Nix and Jared.” We nodded our thanks, bowed, and turned to leave.

As Jared and Nix left, Sonic walked over to Twilight and watched them go. The doors closed shut as the Guardian moved on to other things.

“I can’t get over it,” Twilight said to Sonic. “I mean, he’s changed so much in two years!”

Sonic nodded. “Two years ago, he would have been anxious to get to whoever hurt him. Now, though, he seems content with waiting for more information.” He looked at Twilight. “They’ve matured quite a lot, don’t you think?”

“Yes,” the alicorn answered, smiling. “It’s a pleasure to see him again, even if he’s different.”

“Different, but definitely better off,” Sonic said with a sly wink. He and Twilight walked away.

Tails stood next to Shadow and noticed that the black hedgehog was in deep thought. “What’s up, Shadow?”

The Ultimate Life Form looked up and at the two-tailed fox. “It’s...incredible.”

“What is?”

“That Jared and Nix have changed so much. Jared used to be more into the action than Nix; but now it seems he’s switched gears.”

Tails nodded. “He certainly is thinking things through more. And Nix is taking more action rather than staying inside of Jared all the time.”

“What do you think made them change so drastically?”

“I’d guess that it has to deal with his coming to terms with himself. Did you hear about his last meeting with the Mane Six, when we weren’t here?”

“Oh, yes, when they went to the human opposite of Equestria.” Shadow shook his head. “From what Fluttershy told me, Jared had a lot to deal with there.”

“Yeah. According to Twilight, Jared had matured there more than he had anywhere else.” Tails let out a breath. “Apparently something there had broken his barriers, and he emerged emotionally stronger than ever.” He smiled. “He never was one of the strongest emotional people, was he?”

Shadow chuckled. “I can relate.”

The rest of the group gradually left, leaving Princess Celestia alone with her sister.

“Sister,” Luna began, “what are you going to do?”

In response, Celestia summoned the captain of the guard, Shining Armor. “Yes, Your Highnesses?” he said.

“I want the Royal Guard on the look out for these characters,” Celestia commanded. She described the two who had attacked Jared. Shining Armor nodded, turned, and left to resume his duties.

“I hope this doesn’t turn out any worse, Luna,” Celestia said quietly once they were alone again.

Luna nodded. “As do I sister.” She sighed. “Looks like we’ll have to put off figuring out how Jared got here for this.”

"Indeed."