Chapter II - The Pony Time Refused to Forget **Revised**

June- 5th- 2377 08:00 Hours

“Look I’m fine.” I said exasperated as the medical pony, a butter colored mare, looked me over.

It had been almost seven hours since I was attacked. The security ponies had asked me all manners of questions including a description of my attacker and possible motive, instead of political. Besides all I could remember and want to tell them was that he was an earth pony in leather, very fast, and was for EQUIS. I could remember his name but I did not think Delta 554 was something that would make much sense so I left it out of my description. It did not take too long for them to come to the conclusion that it was for political reasons. Since the pony was for EQUIS then maybe Valence would know something about it. At that point they left me with the medical staff. I had been in the clinic for at least 5 hours. The butter colored medical mare replaced the bandages around my now shattered horn of which only, roughly, half now remained. She looked at me with what looked like pity and maybe star struck like wonderment.

“You should be fine Mr.Glacier Mane.” she said.

Mr.Glacier Mane? Really was that what I was now. I dismissed it and smiled “So tell me how bad is it?” I said really only worried if I would be able to use my magic to lift a bottle.

“You should be okay.” she said as she put away the supplies that she was using to bandage my horn. “To start off Mr.Glacier Mane, the injuries you sustained to your neck are no more than bruises and the same goes for your back.” She grabbed the used materials and threw them in the trash chute. “As for your horn, I would avoid using your magic for at least a week.” This was not the news I wanted to hear. “Now Mr.Glacier Mane, I believe the doctor wanted to speak to you before you left. He should be in with you in a few minutes.” She finished cleaning and left me by myself.

The walls of the clinic were metallic grey with posters neatly hung portraying a minimalistic yellow and pink pegasus, some with a saying that said “You Don’t Need To Be A Steel Ranger To Be A Hero!” What the hell was a Steel Ranger? The concept was lost on me but I guess it meant something to the original stable residents, I mean the posters were over 200 years old. I looked to every wall noticing every pit in the steel that made them up. It was boring. How long was I expected to just sit and wait for the doctor to show up? I was tired, really tired. It had been the better part of a day since I had slept. The exhaustion level I was experiencing was draining on me. For Celestia sakes where was this doctor?

“Glacier, you need to take a deep breath and be patient.” a mare’s voice came from beside me which was weird since I was alone. I looked to one side of me, then to the other and then looked back to find a blue unicorn mare next to me.

She smiled at me. “Well they patched you up good didn’t they?” I was confused. First she was in a dream and now she was next to me in the clinic.

“How were you in my dream and now here in the clinic?” I said. “Teleportation is a hard spell to learn but Dream Walking that is an alicorn level spell.” She got up and walked in front of me.

“That’s an easy one dear, I am not really here, haven't truly been here in over 200 years.” She looked at the poster of the the pegasus and spoke the words of the poster, “You don't have to be a steel ranger to be a hero, oh Fluttershy ministry mare of peace.” She turned to me, “I was only a little girl when I came to the stable. I never really understood anything about the war just that it was bad.” She walked back over and sat next to me again kicking her hind legs like a filly would. I was of course trying to process all the information I was receiving from her.

“What do you mean you haven't been here in over 200 years! You were in my dream!" I stopped then slowly said matter of factly, "You're a figment of my imagination.” She frowned at my words.

“That wasn't nice at all Glacier.” She said with a pout. I felt bad like I had done something wrong like I had insulted myself.

“I’m sorry. Are you a ghost then?” I did not believe in ghosts but it was worth a shot.

“No, I'm not a ghost don't be ridiculous.” she said with a snicker “Close but not really one.” Now I was confused, more so then I was.

“Then what are you then?” I said on the verge of demanding.

“Thats for another time. I promise I will tell you when you are over stallion besides it’ll mean more than. However, I wouldn't go around and tell people you are talking to a ghost because you'll look like a fucking idiot and that's not good for the votes.” She smiled and the door to the clinic opened up and the doctor walked in.

I looked away from where the mare who called herself Star Charmer was, to the doctor and then back to where she stood but she was now gone.

“Hello Mr.Glacier Mane, Im Doctor Hoovenstein.” The doctor said, “Who were you talking to?” I shook my head and said nothing. “Well then, I did some tests on your blood and they came back with high levels of alcohol.” He said flipping through his papers with a hoof. He was an earth pony with a charcoal grey coat and white mane with a deep silky voice, the nurse mares were probably all over him. The fact he was bringing this up was something I did not want to listen to but I let him continue. “How much do you consume?” he asked quite bluntly.

I had this answer rehearsed, I cleared my throat, “Two glasses of wine everyday; however, last night I had a little more than that. I had four glasses of bourbon to celebrate.” I smiled and looked at the doctor.

He laughed and stared at me, he knew I was lying. I started to sweat but said nothing more.

“Two glasses of wine everyday.” He repeated every word putting emphasis on two glasses, “So do you like red or white, or maybe a rose wine? You seem like a classy stallion, so I'll say white.” He set the papers down and looked at me and I knew I was in trouble. “Don’t bullshit me, Glacier Mane.”

I sat there shifting in my place like I was on trial. “Two glasses that's it.” I lied “Like I said I had four glasses of bourbon last night.” He walked up to me and fixed a gaze at me.

“Well then this will be a surprise for you.” He turned around, grabbed one paper and sat it down on the seat next to me. “That is a test I did when you came in with high levels of alcohol in your system. Don't ask me who gave permission, it's Stable protocol to do so.” He sat on the swivel stool in front of me. “The test was for a liver analysis to see if your liver was functioning normally.” I looked over the page and saw what it said I went grim. “I can tell by the lack of color in your face that you understand that it’s not good.” He took a deep breath, “Okay so as you can read your liver is functioning at a whopping 31%, which is below the standard level of Stable Physical Standards by 24%.” He got up and took the paper from my hooves. “I have scheduled a blood purge for tomorrow at 15:00 hours, so that would be the sixth. You will be staying here that night because the seventh is the day we remove your liver and implant a Stable-Tec state of the art robotic blood filter. It is mandatory that you come tomorrow. If you do not, then I will send the security ponies to fetch you.” He wrote something down in his notes. “Now the seventh you will be released into recovery probably by lets say 20:00 hours.” He shut his notes and walked to the door, “Do you have any questions?” I shook my head and slowly stood up. I was taken aback. I was 24 years old and I was on the verge of total liver failure. “Alright then, I will see you tomorrow at 15:00 hours. Please for the sake of Celestia, do not be late.” He turned and left the room. I walked out behind him at a much slower pace.

I was met by Serenade right outside of the clinic. She hugged me and kissed my cheek; however, she could tell there was something wrong. “Don’t worry dear I’m sure a broken horn will look tough.” She tried to cheer me up but saw that it did not help, “Glacier, honey what's the issue?”

I looked at her and then back to the floor. Its funny how when your world is crashing around you that you seem to notice all the mundane things that you either forgot or you just altogether ignore. For instance, I noticed for the first time that the floor was not a complete uniform color but shades and hues of polished concrete. “My liver,” I started “it's failing from all the alcohol. I'm scheduled for a blood purge tomorrow and then the next day I will be having it replaced.” I said as I started to walk towards my quarters with Serenade in hoof.

“How bad is it dear?” Serenade said trying to grasp the severity of the situation.

“Well it’s functioning at a 31%.” I responded to her.

She thought this over and nodded “Well then looks like we got to give that liver something to remember before tomorrow right?” She smiled and walked me over to my quarters “Tonight,” she said “I am staying here with you. We are going to get drunk off our hooves and fuck as many times as you can stand it.”

June 5th, 2377 - 22:00 Hours

The drinking started as soon as the door closed. Of course there had not been any breaks for us, and we had not left at all. Serenade floated my bottles for me so I would not use my magic. “How are you doing Glacier.” she slurred her words, even in my drunken state I could see just how sexy she was.

“I’m doing so great!” I slurred in response I forced myself up and stood on my hind legs, “Fuck every single one of my Livers.” I proclaimed and then fell on to the couch that Serenade was sitting on.

She laughed and took another swig of the bourbon that she had delivered to my door, courtesy of one of the Stable-Tec robo-butlers. She floated the bottle over and allowed me to take a swig myself. She floated the bottle over, looked at how much was left and then poured it out all over me. She threw the bottle and it shattered on the wall. She draped herself over me and began to lick the liquor off my chest. At least that's where she started. She followed the liquor trail down to my cock. I responded in a way you would expect. I could feel a tension building up in me and I enjoyed it. She looked up at me and smiled a drunken smile. Oh damn this was going to be a good night I thought.

“So now that we are all smashed and horny,” she said noting that my body was showing signs of both, “Let's start fucking!” It didn't take me too long to agree to this plan.

Before I could respond she wrapped her mouth around my cock. It took everything I had not to lose my composure right then and there. Her tongue trailed my stallion-hood’s length multiple times. I sat there moaning and I’m sure everyone who walked by the closed door of my quarter knew what was going on. She began to fuck my cock with her mouth. Going first really slow teasing me with her sucking and licking then she she would begin to suck my cock fast as I bucked into her. After what seemed like an hour, I pushed her back gently releasing my cock from her mouth. I grabbed her by the hair till she was eye level with me then pushed her back on to the couch. She smiled at me as I began kissing my way down her pussy. I heard her moan of pleasure and bit down gently, smiling to myself when I heard her shout my name. I used my tongue to trace every fold of her mare-hood teasing her just like she had done me.

“Fuck! Glacier” she said convulsing with her orgasm. “You need to calm the fuck down!” she twitched and I stopped my fun.

I met her face and gave her a deep kiss.

“If I don’t survive the surgery,” I began...

“Shut the fuck up Glacier.” she demanded.

“No, No I need to say this.” I placed my stallion-hood at the entrance of her mare-hood, “I want to be the best fuck you ever had. The one you compare everyone to that never comes close. The one whose name you moan when you pleasure yourself.” And with that I pushed into her and blacked out.

June 6th, 2377 - 13:00 Hours

I woke up covered in sweat, multiple liquors, spit and probably the DNA of both Serenade and myself. I checked the clock on my Pip-buck that was still on my foreleg. Two more hours until my blood purge. I got up and felt the room spin. I could tell I was still drunk, well maybe buzzed, but I could function. I looked around and could not see Serenade so I called out for her. She moaned and peeked out from the crevasse that was next to the wall and my bed. She pulled herself up on to the bed and I could see where the escapades of last night had dried, which I found disgusting. Her mane was a mess and had knots all in it.

“We need to shower up before I go to the appointment today. We have two hours.” I said as I walked into the bathroom.

I turned on the light and looked at myself in the mirror. At some point in the night my bandages had fallen off and I could see my horn for what it really looked like. My horn was cracked off about half way up in a jagged edge. It looked tough just as Serenade had suggested it would look. I reached up, touched it and it did not hurt but I felt like it was sharp. I looked around for something to pick up, something small and lightweight. I wanted to test it out but it had to be something that could fall and not be a big deal. After looking I found and focused on a bottle of soap trying to levitate it over to me. At first it hesitated and then a sharp pain entered my head. The pain was splitting but I pushed on. The bottle levitated and that's all I needed to see. I dropped the magic and the pain stopped then bottle fell and clattered to the bottom of the shower. Serenade walked in and smiled.

“I see your magic is still there, not too strong but it's there.” She used her magic and turned the shower on. She stepped in and turned back to me, “By the way, that was the best fucking I have gotten in awhile.”

June 6th, 2377 - 15:00 Hours

“Okay Glacier,” Dr.Hoovenstein said as he sat me in a comfortable chair and leaned me back, “Now this will take a very long time, so we will be putting you under for the procedure.” I nodded and shifted in the seat to prepare for the long haul. “In all actuality Glacier you will wake up again after the surgery and you will be out of here in time for the election.” He smiled and began to gather his tools placing them next to me on a tray. There were two long surgical tubes both with IV ends and connector ends on the other ends. He had one nurse that was a unicorn mare float those behind me where they were connected to a machine that set behind me. “Okay Glacier here's the deal,” Hoovenstein said “The machine behind you is going to accept the blood that we are draining out of you and through a series of filters it will purify it. It will remove all toxins and even oxygen from your blood. Once it is purified it will be reintroduced to your body via the other tube where it will pump through your body and be oxygenated.” He smiled and looked me over, “We will do this process at least 5 times and then we will perform the transplant.” He walked over to me and set up an oxygen mask with a concentration of oxygen and nitrous oxide. “So any questions?” he asked looking at the gauges. I shook my head and he motioned for the nurse to insert the first IV into my foreleg. She walked around the backside of me and took the other IV and pushed it deep into my neck. Hoovenstein placed the mask over my muzzle and sensed my worry. “Don’t worry Glacier, I have performed this procedure 26 times.” He flipped the gas on so I would breathe it in, “I have only had issues with -“

I was out.

September, 2167

My hooves were crushing grass, beautifully green grass. I looked around and tried to get a sense of where I was. It only took me a few seconds to figure out I knew this place. I turned around and spotted the mountains that divided this village from the rest of the world. This was the village I saw from afar when I first encountered Star Charmer. I turned around again and was met with a sign that had not been there before, “Find The Clues and Solve our Mystery.” Perplexed I began to walk around the village and noticed that no pony was around. I saw a bakery full of cakes and pastries with no bakers, a post office with no post ponies, cottages abandoned but still cleaned. Where was every pony? I walked further into the village and began to notice that no matter what direction I turned I was always walking toward the largest building. Soon, I made it my task to reach it, obviously I had to go there.

Once I had set my mind on going there I arrived in no time at all. Outside of the building was another sign, “Inside are the answers you seek and the questions yet to be asked.” What the fuck did that mean? I looked up and saw the building had a name in big golden letters, “Equestrian University of Intelligences and Sorcery.” I thought to myself, I knew this name. After some consideration, I placed it as EQUIS. My mind flooded with memories of the pony who broke my horn as he said “EQUIS is this stable’s purpose.” So did he want the school to start back? This made little sense to me but I pushed forward and opened the door. The building was full of scholar ponies rushing around, but as I stepped forward the ponies closest to me turned to dust and floated on the air. This continued to happen with every step I took. The ponies did not acknowledge me almost as if I was not there. Maybe... I wasn't.

I turned to find the door had shut and a sign was there instead, these signs were really starting to become a norm for me. This sign like all the others was just as cryptic, “Follow the Voices of the Past.” It was then I heard what sounded like ponies in agreement with one another. I followed the sound up the stairs while all the scholar ponies continues to dissipate into dust. I reached the top of the stairs and found no scholar ponies were around. So I turned to look down the stairs and found a dark abyss had replaced the bottom floor. I turned back saw no sign but I continued to hear the voices so I continued my search to find them. My search lead me to double doors that swung off their hinges to reveal four ponies. Three of the ponies were in lab coats and the other was in business attire. I tried to make sense of what was going on and walked into the room. They didn't stop their conversation but instead kept talking. I also noticed that as I stepped closer they did not turn to dust. I began to listen to what they were saying as the business attires pony, who was a tan earth pony with a black mane, spoke first.

“So we will be starting up the Stable program by the end of the week, and we want it to be a split stable. Half of the stable is dedicated to the village residents and the other half is for this fine institution.” The business pony stepped toward the table and reached into a saddlebag that was on the floor pulling out two folders and handing them to two of the lab coat ponies, one a stallion and the other a mare but both were unicorns. The business pony looked at them both and sent them on their way. Then he turned to the other lab coat pony and pulled out another folder. “Now as for you, Professor…” he trailed off and looked at the folder, “Goodmane,” he continued, “We need you to lead up a special project. We need you to harvest the brains of certain residents and preserve their memories.” He handed the folder to Goodmane “Your job is different then those two, your job is more, how can I say this.... more intensive. You are the lead in this area so you shall be call Alpha in the stable.”

With that the dream shifted and I was no longer inside the school, but I was now in what looked like the stable, but I had no idea where. The room was pristine and barren of everything except a logo for EQUIS. In a swirl of light, I saw the pony known as Professor Alpha in front of me then the blue unicorn mare that I had come to know as Star Charmer. She was only a filly and was completely shaved, no mane or tail just skin. Then out from the floor and ceiling came two robotic arms both ending in silver claws. The one coming up from the floor grabbed her and picked her up from the ground. However, she did not fight the arm just stayed limp. The other arm’s claw retracted and revealed a spinning blade that dropped down slowly it began to cut off the top of her head. The top of her head fell to the floor and revealed her brains. I was appalled and ran to help her, but no matter how I much I tried to move, I could not. She moved her head and locked her stare at me.

“You see this is how I died.” she said as the claws on the ceiling arm appeared again and scooped her brain out.

The floor arm dropped her body and somehow I was right next to it. He lifeless eyes stared up at me and then she spoke to me

“EQUIS will kill everyone.” Then in an instant I was in an abyss, alone with the body of young Star Charmer.

I watched her body as the top of her head grew back suddenly she started to get up and as she did she aged. By the time she was on all four hooves, she was the age that I had saw her the first time.

“I’m sorry Glacier but you needed to see all of that to understand what I am about to tell you.” I was horrified but I nodded. “You see Glacier when I was killed by Professor Alpha and EQUIS it was so they could preserve the history of Equestria through the memory cortex.” She said, “That memory cortex was then implanted in the skull of a newborn foal.” She walked up to me and put a hoof on my shoulder. “They did this by removing half of your brain and implanting the half of my brain that they harvested and put in your head.” She said this as if it was not the most unbelievable thing in the world. “I know this is hard for you to understand, but Glacier I am in your head. I have always been but the head injury you experienced allowed me to come to the forefront of your mind.” She walked away from me and sighed, “You see why EQUIS has to be stopped?” She turned back to me, “There is no telling what kind of sick experiments these fuckers want to do to the ponies in your stable now.” She had a point, what would they want to do? They could not take the brains of the ponies that were alive in the stable because they had no memories of prewar Equestria.

I walked up next to her, “How many others are there?” I asked as if it really mattered.

“Nine others and I don't know who they are.” she said with a frown. “Look Glacier, we don't have much time but you need to win that election and open the stable so we can get away from EQUIS.” I nodded in agreement.

“I hope I get the chance to open the Stable. The only thing standing in my way is whether or not the air quality is breathable.” She agreed with my sentiment.

“Well Glacier it’s time for me to go” She started to walk off into the abyss.

“Will we talk again? What should I do next?” I said the questions swirling around in my head.

She stopped walking and turned around, “Of course we will talk again Glacier, I wouldn't just leave you all on your own.” She walked back up to me and kissed me on the cheek. “As for what you should do next, why don't you tell that mare friend of yours, what her name, Serenade that you have a dead mare in your head.” She laughed and started to walk away, “Mares just love psychos” With that she walked into the abyss and was gone.

June 7th, 2377 - 20:05 Hours

I woke up in a recovery room covered in a cold sweat with Serenade next to me.

“How are you doing dear?” she asked when she noticed I was awake.

My body was sore especially my stomach. I looked down and moved the blankets and saw a rather large scar.

“I'm fine, just tired,” I said as I looked around. I was tired, the kind of tired that required a lot of rest. “I need to tell you something Serenade.” I said as I pushed up in the bed, “I have to win that election.”

Serenade blinked and had a confused look on her face, “Yeah you do if you want to be in charge.” She said matter of factly.

“I need to tell you something else.” I said unsure of how she would accept what I had to tell her. “I, uh, have been talking to someone who is dead.” Her expression was even, unchanging, “Her name is Star Charmer. EQUIS killed her and put half of her brain in my head when I was a newborn foal. I don't know what EQUIS is planning now. The night I was attack the stallion who attacked me kept saying EQUIS will rise and EQUIS was this stables purpose. If I win, then I need to try to open the Stable door so we can all get away from EQUIS.” After I said it, I felt like I must look crazy and probably sounded delusional too, but I knew it was true.

Serenade looked at me and turned away, “Well if that's the case then you need to win don't you.”