Author's Note

While it isn't specified in all memories, assume our protagonist is over 20 years of age in the scenes that apply.

5 - Memories of a Forgotten Time

I awoke myself in the arms of the old woman, though she appeared to be younger now. Her skin wasn't as wrinkled, her face had a firmer tone to it, but the glint in her eyes was as bright as ever. She was cradling me. I must have been an infant at the time. She was cooing and saying nonsense to me, as I was reaching out and giggling at her. I tried to recall her name. I know I had heard it before somewhere, but what was it. Maybe if I tried to say it she'd tell me.

"Bbbrrrrr... Oooolll... Ahhhhhh..." I tried to remember what it was, but this seemed to get her attention.

"That's right little one, I'm Bhlu. Blhu!" She told me.

The woman had tried to tell me her name, but I couldn't understand her. It was as if my mind was rejecting what she was trying to tell me. I attempted to recreate the sounds she was making, resulting in her lifting me high and telling me I was doing a wonderful job. I couldn't help but laugh, it was a wonderful feeling to be praised. I continued to try and say other words with her all through the night.

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"Tell me another story grandma!" I exclaimed.

I found myself now sitting inside the house yet again. The old woman, Anki, was sitting there laughing at my antics. I was bouncing on my butt begging her to tell me a tale.

"Alright little one, how about the Princess and the lost girl." She said.

Despite the title I knew that the story would be worth listening to. She began to tell me of a warrior princess, armed with a sword in hand. The princess was searching a settlement that had felt the destructive touch of war. Moving through, the princess heard thumping and scraping coming from one of the still standing shacks. The princess walked inside to find a child, born of the enemy. Knowing that leaving this child alive could spell doom in the future, the princess prepared to end the child's life. The child, looked to the princess and asked her for assistance in finding an item that was precious to them. The princess agree to help the child, and before long found what had been lost. The child thanked the princess for helping them, wrapping the princess up in their small arms. The princess, taken aback by this action, merely nodded to the child. Once the child was preoccupied, the princess prepared her blade so that she may end this life before corruption could take hold of it. But the princess lowered her blade. She saw this child had done no evil, and did not deserve punishment. Learning that the child's family had been killed, the princess took the child under her care.

"Why didn't the princess kill the child? If she hadn't done anything yet, it meant that she could still be evil later right?" I asked my grandmother.

She smiled at me and said, "The princess chose not to strike her, because she believed the child deserved a chance to prove themselves. The child was not yet guilty, and under the princesses care, never took an innocent life."

She continued to tell me that later, the princess and the child had become good friends. During their time together, the child acted as a support to lean on, someone to be there for the princess when war and duties weighed heavy on her shoulders. The princess acted as a teacher, showing the child right from wrong and answering questions as they came. My grandmother started to tell of a promise the two had made to each other, but as she began I felt my eyes grow heavy. The only part I heard of the promise was to always remember each other and...

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"Come on brother! We need you!"

I snapped my eyes open to see I was no longer in the home. I was standing at the front gates of a fortress that was under siege. I turned my head to look at the man who had spoken and found a large burly man with two war axes in each hand.

I remember this...

"What do you need me to do?" I asked

"Get up there and open the damn gate. The second it drops, we kill the lot of them!" He was practically screaming this at me, but his face show nothing but joy.

"I'm on it!" I yelled back at him.

I launched myself at the wall, grabbing at anything I could. I rose up the wall with incredible speed. Launching myself over the top, I rush towards what I assume what the mechanism holding the gate up. I saw too guards ready to kill me. I ignored them and beelined for the gate mechanism, slamming into it with all the force I could muster. It must have taken previous damage as the thing shattered off of the wall, taking a second mechanism with it. I saw the gate drop open as my assumed comrades roared in bloodthirsty glory. I was about to join them when something slammed against me forcing me against the edge of the tower.

"DIE!"

I turned to see the hammer smash into my head sending me over the edge. As I fell, the sounds of death and war surrounded me. I hit the ground with a hard thud, knocking the air from my lungs.

The memory isn't over?

"Come on lad! I know it takes more than that to take you down!"

I looked up to see the burly man from before offering me a hand. Taking it, I rose to my feet, stumbling as I did so. Gaining my balance, I turned to the man.

"Thanks Kaar." I said, gaining the breath I had lost.

He thrust two short swords at me. "Don't thank me yet, we got some whelps that still need butchering!"

Taking the swords, Kaar and I raise our respective weapons letting out a warcry as we charged froward into the now open courtyard. At the far side was a large reinforced door, with many groups of ponies taking up defensive positions. Rushing towards a group of pony soldiers, I crossed my arms over my chest. Once I was close enough, I threw out my arms out sending my blades through the opposition. I sliced clean through four of them, their blood coating my blades. I saw I had five left, all of them swinging overhead in an attempt to strike me down. Crouching, I lifted my swords and met their blows, locking them in place for a moment. Seeing my advantage, I poured all my strength into my legs, launch myself up and out at them causing them to stumble back. I took a swing at both the far left and right soldiers, ending them easily. The middle soldier was able to recover fast enough to swing at me again. He made the mistake of swinging overhead once more, allowing me to step to the side and drive the point of me blade into his exposed throat. As my sword pierce him, his eyes went wide and he began to gurgle on the blood now filling his mouth and windpipe. As much as I wanted to savor this moment, I pulled the blade from him and turned to the remaining foes. They appeared to be a common foot soldier and a captain, if the insignia on the second one's chest plate was anything to go by. The soldier made a blind rush for me, hoping to catch me off guard. I stood my ground, thrusting both blades into his gut. I swung outward, carving out him midsection. As he screamed, desperately trying to keep his entrails inside of him, I turned to the captain. I saw that he was simply standing there, as if waiting for me. I was confused at first, till I noticed the his horn which was glowing. Too late to react, I felt something slam into me, knocking me some distance away. Hitting the ground, I turned to see the bastard had thrown a dead comrade at me. The unicorn captain charged, leaping with his sword pointed downward to skewer me. I rolled backward, feeling the edge of the blade slice at my back. Rolling to my feet, I hissed at the pain but made ready to charge. His horn lit up again, giving me an idea. I rushed forward and made a feint at his legs. As expected, he moved to protect himself, opening up his head. I swung upward with the hopes of cleaving his horn off completely. He wasn't an idiot, and began to recoil. But I had gotten close enough, and managed to chip the tip of his horn off. He stumbled backwards, clutching his head as he roared in pain. I saw my chance, and brought both of my swords to his neck in a cross position. The captain only had time to look at me before I forced my arms forward, decapitating him. His head toppled back as a burst of blood came up, painting me red.

Having dealt with them, I turned to the rest of the battle. We were pushing them back, Kaar was taking lead smashing and cleaving as he went. I was about to join him when a horn sounded, causing the fighting to stop. We knew what this horn meant, and the two sides separated onto different sides of the courtyard. Our foes had signaled for a duel, and they were to have it. The large doors began to open, and two figures stepped forward. One was a pegasus, and appeared to be the commander of this fort wearing blue painted armor and a plume on his helmet. The other was a unicorn, who must have been second in command as they also had painted armor but a standard helm. The commander and Kaar walked to the center of the courtyard, followed by the second in command and myself.

"You know the rules. I choose the weapon, and the defeated surrenders entirely." The commander spoke, a deep male voice sounded from his helmet.

"Aye, I know what this is about. So what's your fancy?" Ask Kaar.

The commander gestured to his second, and they stepped forward.

"Silvia will be fighting as my second, the weapon of choice is broadsword." The commander said.

"What a weakling, can't even fight your own battle." Kaar spat back, disgust clear in his voice. He placed a hand on my shoulder. "He will serve as my second, and you'll see what a real man is capable of!"

I nodded, handing my swords to Kaar. Turning back, I saw a woman I didn't recognize approach me with a crude broadsword. It was chipped and dull, but it would have to do. Taking it, I stepped toward my opponent.

"You really expect to fight me with that? You're not even wearing armor. You must have already excepted death." They spoke, a soft female voice coming from behind her helmet.

I smirked at her, "I don't need armor to beat you, or the countless others that fell before you. As for the blade, you'll find it's more than enough." I readied myself to fight. She did the same.

This blade was different from what I was use to. It was heavy, and reached far longer than what I had been fighting with. If I was to win, I would have to focus on blocking and parrying attacks. Dodging could use to much stamina, or be too slow to matter. We stood for a moment, keeping our gazes level. The only sound was that of a soft wind blowing past our feet. She made the first move, choosing to swing at my left. I responded by blocking the attack and stepping forward. I didn't follow up with an attack to see how she'd react, to which she put the distance between us again.

So she doesn't want to get friendly. I can use that against her.

She feinted to my right and swung to the left. I wasn't fast enough to catch myself, so I ducked to avoid the blow. She brought her sword up high, giving me the opening I needed. Catching her blade with my own, I parried to my right releasing my left hand from my broadsword.. This threw her off balance, allowing me to charge forward. Slamming my shoulder into her breastplate, I grabbed her sword in my free hand. I threw my shoulder up, smacking the underside of her chin. She lost her grip on the blade, and I jumped up placing my feet on her chest. I kicked her down, knocking her flat on her back. I hit the ground, and recovered to see she was still daze. As she started getting to her feet, I threw her blade back to her. She looked at me surprised, probably because I hadn't just killed her.

"There is no shame in admitting defeat. Not when you're the one who's willing to fight at least." I said this glaring at the commander before looking back to my opponent. "Surrender now, and save yourself the trouble."

She picked up the blade, scrambling to her feet. "I will not surrender! I know well what you savages do to those who surrender and you will harm no one no more!"

I chuckled at her little act, "You know what happens when some worthless officer sends his second to die for him. But we've never had a fighter, who was will to actually fight to protect their own, surrender to us. You may be surprised by what you find."

I could tell this got to her. Her eyes darted around, as if searching for the answer of an unasked question.

"Silvia! Don't let him toy with you! The only way out of this is too win. Blood is the only thing these bastards understand!" The commander barked at her.

She looked back and nodded, preparing to fight till one of us was dead.

"What is your name?" I asked her.

"What?" She asked, confused by my sudden question.

"What is your name?" I asked again.

She stood tall and spoke proudly, "My name is Silvia Blueblood, daughter of Marx and Sevna Blueblood!"

I nodded to her, and we took stance, "Silvia Blueblood, daughter of Marx and Sevna Blueblood, honor is yours this day whether you prevail or fall. You have done your family proud."

With that, we charged.

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"Come on! We're almost there, just a little further!"

I took in my surroundings. I was now sitting on what seemed to be a log, but turned out to be the branch of a much larger tree. Glancing the direction the voice had come from, I saw a girl smiling down at me before she continued her way up. I looked down to see we were hundreds of feet in the air, a fall from this height would spell certain doom. Turning to where the girl had been, I began to climb after her. I moved from branch to branch, using the same grace I had used on the wall of the fort. Much like a monkey, I swung and flung myself higher and higher till I caught up with the girl once more.

"Isn't it just beautiful." She said.

Looking where she had, I saw an expansion of land flow out like a never ending sea. In the far off distance, I saw a castle surrounded by homes with what looked to be birds flying to and fro. The birds were actually pegasi, and the castle marked the capital of the pony kingdom. It was without name at the moment, the sisters who ruled more worried with bringing the kingdom together than naming it. Beyond that, I spied rolling hills and a snowy tundra, supposedly hiding this so called "Crystal Empire" from my sight. Looking back to the girl, I examined who she was.

Her name was Nelli, and she had been my friend for about 7 years now. She and I were 14, considered to be children, and loved to cause trouble to our elders. My family had basically adopted her, as her parents were members of the council, leaving little time to spend with her. Nelli and I had bonded over listening to my grandmother's tales, both of us gushing at the idea that they may be true. Since then, I had always thought of her as a sister. We were considered by our people to be scouters, ones who could get anywhere despite the lack of conventional means, then slip away without being noticed. Our people planed to make use of our ability in war, war that was drawing nearer every day. But we didn't care for that, we simply wanted to enjoy the world before us.

Looking back over the land, I asked her, "Nel, where do you think we'll be in 10 years?"

"What kind of question is that? Will probably be fighting in that stupid war the elders have been planning." She responded.

"I know that's what they want, but what if we weren't here to go to war. What if we ran off, explored the world, left this place and never turned back." I responded, looking back at her.

She was made uneasy by my statement, "You know we can't talk like that, if the council found out-"

"The council's not here," I cut her off, "Right now it's just you and me. So why don't you speak your mind for once. You always say that's why you want to come here, so just say it. What do you want Nelli?"

She was silent for a moment, looking at her feet.

"I want to go to war."

We didn't talk much after that day.

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"Lady Goldhooves will see you now."

I found myself sitting in a parlor. There were many colors decorating the room, the main theme being red, gold, and purple. The one who spoke to me was a butler, a male unicorn with simple features. He gestured for me to follow him, so I stood and followed after him. Walking along with him, I checked my breath. It was clean for the most part, but there was the faintest hint of alcohol. I had been drinking before hand, possibly preparing for what I was about to do. I remembered what Kaar and I had spoke of before hand.

"You've got her buttered up and believing this piece treaty is a real possibility. Now get her somewhere private, and show her our true intentions. Do it with your own two hands if you have to." Kaar had told me.

"With pleasure."

Following the butler, he stopped for a moment turning to me.

"One moment sir." He told me.

"But of course." I responded with a slight bow.

He nodded, turning to a door and knocking. He waited for a second, before opening it and walking in. I waited until he reemerge from the door and spoke to me.

"Right inside sir, have a goodnight."

I thanked him, seeing him off before walking into the room. I saw that I was now in a bedroom, well furnished but dimly lit. The only light was that of the moonlight pouring through the windows near the bed. I looked to the bed to see my target. Maiden Goldhooves, age 38. She was a red colored unicorn with silver like hair and tail. She was sitting, but looked to be about 5'8ft with a model's body. But her eye's were what held my attention. They were mismatched, the left was a brilliant blue while the right was a crimson red. I could feel a burning hatred for this mare, but suppressed it for now. The time would come soon enough.

"I see you decided to join me." She spoke to me with a smirk.

"I was just preparing for the negotiations." I replied.

With a laugh, she stalked over to me. "I think we both know what kind of "negotiations" we'll be having."

Her eye's were lidded, indicating what she meant. She was close enough that I could smell the alcohol on her breath. Whatever I had drank, she had consumed three times as much. I had been prepared for a lot, but this through me for a loop.

"Maiden Goldhooves, do you intend to lay with me?" I asked, a playful casualness to my tone.

She giggle, pulling me close to her, "You've been very kind to me, to all of us by convincing your people to call off the war. I merely wanted to... show my appreciation."

This wasn't part of the plan. However, if she would be foolish enough to do this, it would leave her exposed and alone with me. I loathed this mare, no love for her in my heart. I barely felt any lust towards her, however I could use this to my advantage. It would make the end result more enjoyable.

Pulling on a false smile, I wrapped my arms around her waist, "I can promise you, your "appreciation" will be repaid with my own."

With that she pulled me towards the bed.

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Sex scene start
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She laid herself out over the sheets, allowing the moonlight to shine on her fully. She was wearing a see-through singlet with no panties, leaving little to the imagination. Her breasts were perky, floating against gravity as her nipples poked out, threatening to tear the fabric. Her pussy was quivering, glistening slightly in the light. I moved to kiss her, but she stopped me.

"Why don't we skip to the good part, unless you need... motivation." She said with a smirk.

Not bothering to answer her, I stood back up and began to slip off my clothes. Finished with that little ritual, I looked to her to see she was staring at me with a hunger in her eyes. Or a part of me at least.

"Care to say what's on your mind?" I asked.

"Shut up and fuck me." She demanded.

I moved over top of her, taking her head in my hands. She wrapped her arms around me, guiding me closer to her. I felt a buzzing around my dick, and looked to see she was concentrating her magic to align me with her. Pulling me forward, I slid inside her easily. Whatever she'd been doing before I arrived worked wonders as I sighed in pleasure at her warm, wet embrace. Gently resting my head against her's, careful to avoid her horn, I pushed in hilting us. Pulling out, I began a slow rhythm of thrusts. Goldhooves breathing became labored, gasping ever so slightly whenever I rubbed the right spot. Pulling her into a kiss, I tasted the alcohol on her breath as I sped up my breaths. She parted her lips, inviting my tongue to enter and explore. We began to lustfully attack the other's mouth, fighting for dominance as my thrusting increased. She suddenly broke away from me, taking advantage of my position to flip us over.

"My turn." She whispered into my ear with a giggle.

Straddling me, she once again positioned us and slid into place. She began grinding against me, allowing me to lay back and simply enjoy the bliss. Reaching my arms up under her pillows, I felt my hand brush something cold and metal. I paid no mind to it, as the mare upon me began to bounce herself, placing her hands on my chest for support. I could feel the pressure building, so I grabbed her forcefully towards me, placing my hands on her rump as I began to thrust once more. She was moaning now, loosing herself to bliss as I felt myself reaching my peak.

"I... I'm close." She managed to say in between moans.

"Well, don't let me stop you." I responded, doubling my efforts.

Pounding into her now, it was only a few moments before I let go. Slamming her down, I released a torrent of cum inside of her. She locked up, letting out a yell as she squeezed onto me for everything I was worth. Once we had finished, we collapsed, allowing ourselves to catch our breath. Coming back from the brink, I set my plan into motion.

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Sex scene end
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Riding off the orgasmic high, I stretched my arms up and out. I inspected what my hand had hit earlier, and fumbled around with it discovering what it was.

Well that makes this even easier. It'll take the fun out of it, but it'll keep things quiet.

Goldhooves recovered from her own high, steadying her breath and pushing herself off my chest to look down at me.

"Well that was fun, but I'm afraid-"

I cut her off, driving the dagger she had hidden into her heart. Her eyes went wide, her mouth hanging open as I pulled myself up till our faces were level.

"Times up." I finished for her, stabbing the dagger into her repeatedly. The hatred I had suppressed came back in full, driving me to puncture Goldhooves till she was nothing more than a bloody mess. Once I had sated my blood lust, I threw the mare off of me and began collecting my clothes.

I was walking away from the manor, when I heard a scream ring out through the night. I allowed a smile to grace my lips as I continued.

One more problem dealt with...

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"Alright, we're here. Are you ready?" A woman asked me.

"Uh, sure." I replied.

A blindfold was removed from my eyes. Blinking the spots from my eyes, I saw... an apple.

"Wait, why are we here?" I asked, turning to the woman. Her details were blurred from my mind, but I could see she was tall and thin with jet black straight hair.

"We're here to test something. Now look over there and tell me what you see." She said pointing to the apple.

"It's an apple. So what?" I said, confused at this little "Test".

"No no no, describe all that you can see." She chided at me.

"Ok, it's an apple in a basket sitting on top of a pedestal." I replied.

The woman sighed, "The elders were right, you think far too objectively. You're not taking in all the details, only the ones you first notice. Try again, but this time don't just see the apple. See everything around you. You were given eyes for a reason."

I looked back out towards the apple, and tried again. "There's the apple, sitting in a wicker basket. They're upon a stone pedestal, looks to be carved by hand. Beyond them is a field, and just beyond that is a forest."

"Good," The woman started, "but more detail. I know you see more than that."

"The trees are evergreens," I began, "they're tall enough to block out anything beyond them. The grass is green but crunchy, it probably needs more water. The stone pedestal is pearly white and was probably made from stone from Dower Cave. The basket is hand made, and was probably used as cradle at one point. The apple is red and shiny, it's ripe and was recently rinsed for consumption."

"Very good," I turned to see the woman smiling at me, "there is more you could have said, but that's a start. You must always remember to consider everything around you, even if it doesn't seem important. Not only will it help you in combat, but it will help you remember landmarks so you can always find your way home to me."

"Ok, thanks mom." I said to her.

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"Come closer child."

I leaned down to my grandmother. She was on her death bed, and had requested that I be able to speak with her alone before she passed. She was pale, the wrinkles in her skin were defined. She looked to be at least 20 years older than when she was in the chair.

"I'm here grandma." I assured her.

"Child, you use to listen to all my stories, and you would ask me if they were true or not. I can tell you, you've heard every tale I have to tell, and they are all true." She spoke softly.

I was stunned to hear this, "Grandma, that's impossible. Most of the stories you have to tell, you've said they were of a different time, a different world. There's just no way."

She smiled at hearing this, "Then what would this be?"

Reaching under her covers, she pulled out her hand to reveal a glowing orb. I gasped, knowing that this was from one of the stories she had told me long ago.

"The gift from the princess..." I was flabbergasted.

My grandmother took my hand, and placed the orb in my grasp.

"The time is coming, but I'm afraid I won't live to see it. I know that you will be able to do what I could not. Remember all that I have told you, all that I have taught you. You will forget, but in time, the memories will come back. Just know what is yours."

With that she placed her hands back at her sides and sighed. She was motionless after that. My grandmother had breathed her final breath.

"I will grandma. I promise."

I felt a presence behind me. Spinning around, I was shocked to see a mare. She was tall, taller than Celestia. She must have been 8ft with rose colored eyes. Her hair and tail was rose colored as well, hanging loosely from her form. She had white fur, and a long, flowing white dress that covered her body. She had wings and a horn, standing proudly with the feel of protection emanating from her. She seemed to almost glow in a non-existent light.

"It is good to see you are remembering who you are, and why you have come." She spoke, her voice sounding both far and right next to me at the same time.

I took a step back, only to realize that it had been my own action. Looking down at my hand, I opened and closed it a few times to find that I was in control. This was not part of the memory. Looking up at this mare I could only do one thing.

"Who are you?" I asked.

Her laughter was angelic.