Past Lives and Forgotten Sins

by Alabenson

Rating: everyone
Tags: Other, Twilight Sparkle, Dark, Applejack, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 5667

Twilight is suspicious of a strange pony with amnesia Applejack finds at the edge of the Everfree.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie find a strange, unconscious unicorn lying at the edge of the Everfree Forest, who awakens with no memory of who he is. While most of Ponyville welcomes him, others remain suspicious. Who is this mysterious stallion, and what connection does he have with the cult of ponies who served Discord during his original rein over a thousand years ago?

Published 2012-07-07 16:04:03 UTC
Last updated 2012-07-16 00:29:01 UTC

Chapter 1

Summer days in the Everfree Forest, the untamed and dangerous wilderness of Equestria, were normally eerily peaceful. The strange creatures that inhabited it preferred to sleep through the summer heat, and the ponies of nearby Ponyville avoided entering the forest unless they absolutely had to. Today, however, the peace of the forest was interrupted by the sounds of three young fillies wandering through the underbrush and arguing loudly.

“Apple Bloom,” one of the fillies, a white unicorn, whined plaintively, “are you sure you know where we’re going? We’ve been walking for hours.”

Her companion, a red-haired earth pony, let out an exasperated sigh. “For th’ hundredth time, Sweetie Belle, Ah know exactly where we’re goin’. Ah overheard Zecora and Twilight talkin’ about this old ruin, and it’s th’ perfect place for us to earn our cutie marks in archeology, right Scootaloo?”

“This is going to be so cool!” exclaimed Scootaloo, a young pegasus filly. “This’ll be just like those Daring Do books Rainbow Dash has been reading!”

As the three friends continued to make their way through the forest, the trees began to thin out, eventually opening into a large, flower-filled clearing. In the center of the clearing, a looming structure rose out of the ground like a giant, stony wart. At one point in the past, the structure might have rivaled the Ponyville town hall in size, but time and the elements had demolished most of the upper levels, apparently leaving only the ground floor intact. The outer walls of the structure were almost entirely covered in vines and moss, with grotesque carvings visible where the walls were clear of vegetation. As soon as the three friends crossed into the clearing, Scootaloo dashed forward, only to for her to be tackled by Apple Bloom.

“Ow! Apple Bloom, what was that for?”

Apple Bloom let out an exasperated sigh as she gestured towards the flowers which filled most of the clearing. “Y’see those flowers, Scootaloo? They’re called poison joke, and y’really need to be careful ‘round them. Th’ last time Applejack ran in to some of them, she shrunk down to the size of a mouse!”
Scootaloo visibly cringed as she rapidly backed away from the clearing. She knew that Apple Bloom was well acquainted with the hazards of the Everfree Forest thanks to her friendship with the zebra Zecora, and she could still recall the outcome of her idol Rainbow Dash’s last encounter with the insidious flowers. Proceeding with far more caution, the three fillies began to circle the clearing until they were able to find a clear path through the poison joke. Slowly, the trio made their way across the clearing towards the ancient ruin, until finally they reached its shadowy entrance. The trio paused momentarily to unpack the lanterns they had brought with them, and then pressed forward into the ruins.

**********************

“Ugh, this is so boring!” Scootaloo scowled and kicked a loose pile of debris.

“Ah don’t understand, Ah was sure we’d have gotten are cutie marks in archeology by now.” Thus far, the cutie mark crusader’s exploration of the ruin was hardly going as Apple Bloom has planned. The ruin, or at least the parts of it that were still standing, was depressingly empty. All that remained were the elaborate wall carvings, most of which had somehow avoided obliteration by time and the elements, but even those hadn’t been anything like Apple Bloom had imagined. Most of the carvings depicted strange, horrifying creatures composed of different animal parts, while others simply depicted meaningless symbols.

Sweetie Belle walked around the remains of a broken pillar “Well, what do you think we should try next?” The young filly sighed as she leaned against a nearby wall “maybe we should try-AGH!” Suddenly, the part of the wall Sweetie Belle was leaning against gave way, causing her to fall through to the floor.

“Sweetie Belle, are y’alright?” Apple Bloom said as she rushed to her friend’s side. Sweetie Belle rubbed her forehead as she stood up unsteadily amidst the rubble of the crumbled remains of the wall.
“I’m fine, what happened?” She gazed at the hole in the wall where she had broken through. Hidden behind the shattered remains of decaying, ancient masonry was a dark, foreboding tunnel leading deep under the ground. “Girls, come take a look at this!” As Sweetie Belle excitedly gestured for Scootaloo and Apple Bloom to see the tunnel, she craned her neck to see if her discovery had resulted in a cutie mark. Much to her disappointment, however, Sweetie Belle’s flank remained as blank as ever.

“Wow, Sweetie Belle, you found a secret passage!” Scootaloo pushed past her friends to stare down the long, dark passageway. “Well,” she said, turning to look at her friends, “come on, let’s see what’s down here. It’s gotta be something cool!” Without bothering to wait for either filly to respond, Scootaloo rushed blindly down the tunnel, leaving Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle to chase after her.

As the trio made their way down the dark, winding, corridor, Apple Bloom began to question the wisdom of coming to the ruin in the first place. The flickering light of their lanterns cast eerie shadows across the omnipresent wall carvings, which depicted increasingly disturbing images as they travelled further down the tunnel. Many now portrayed pony villages being tormented and even destroyed by strange monsters of all shapes and sizes. One creature, frequently shown hovering over the worst of the chaos, was particularly familiar to the Ponyville natives.

“Is it just me, or does that thing over there look kinda like a dracona-thingy? Y’know, that statue of Discord we saw on our field trip.”

“You mean a draconequus?” Sweetie Belle replied, thankful for the conversation, anything to take her mind off of the terrible wall carvings. “I think you’re right, that thing definitely looks like the statue of Discord.” Sweetie Belle frowned as she considered what this could mean about the ruin itself. “Apple Bloom, when you heard Twilight and Zecora talk about this place, what exactly did they say about it?”

“Ah couldn’t make out most of what they were sayin’, but Ah remember that they said it was from somethin’ called th’ pre-classical period.” A lingering memory of the overheard conversation nagged at Apple Bloom, how Twilight had for some reason seemed confused when Zecora initially told her about the ruins. She only had a moment to contemplate this, however, before Scootaloo’s voice called out from further down the passage.

“Hurry up, you two! You’re not going to believe what’s down here!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, trepidation written on their faces, traded uneasy glances as they hurried down the corridor to see what Scootaloo had discovered. The two rounded a sharp curve in the passageway, before suddenly freezing in their tracks. They found themselves standing in the doorway of a large, circular chamber, unlike anything they had previously seen. In the center of the chamber stood a life-sized statue of what was unmistakably Discord, though it differed greatly from the statue that they had seen in the sculpture gardens, as well as the statue that had been taken back to Canterlot after Discord had been defeated. The statue depicted Discord with an uncharacteristically serious expression, while he held out his eagle-like talon, as though he were holding something back. Even more mysterious than the statue, however, was the portion of the wall that it faced. While the rest of the walls of the chamber were covered with carvings similar to those elsewhere in the ruin, the section that the statue faced was partitioned off, as though it were an arched doorway. Furthermore, any details of that segment of the wall were obscured by a strange blue light, which suffused the room with an unearthly luminescence.

“Wh-what is this place?” Apple Bloom stammered as she entered the otherworldly chamber. “Ah’ve never seen anything like this.”

“I know, isn’t this awesome!” Scootaloo excitedly exclaimed, already deeply engrossed in investigating the glowing section of wall. “What do you think’s up with this thing? It doesn’t feel like the rest of the walls.” The young pegasus gave the glowing wall a demonstrative kick, causing a dull, hollow thud to echo throughout the chamber.

“Scootaloo, I think we should get out of here. This whole place is really creepy.” Unlike her two companions, Sweetie Belle was hesitant to even enter the underground room, instead lingering near the entrance while looking about nervously. The wall carvings in this room were no less frightening than those she had seen elsewhere in the ruin, and the statue of Discord did nothing to settle Sweetie Belle’s nerves.

Scootaloo let out a resigned sigh. As much as she was finally enjoying herself, Scootaloo hated to see her friends upset. “All right, we can go, just help me with one thing first.” Scootaloo trotted over to the statue, craning her neck to get a better look at it. “I wanna get a closer look at this statue before we go. Could you two give me a boost?”

“Sure thing,” Apple Bloom said, motioning for Sweetie Belle to help her. While Sweetie Belle was apprehensive about approaching the bizarre statue, she knew that the sooner she helped Scootaloo satisfy her curiosity, the sooner she would at last be able leave the ruins and put the entire, disturbing trip behind her. With that in mind, she hoisted Apple Bloom up onto her back, while Apple Bloom did the same in turn for Scootaloo. The unsteady tower of fillies wobbled alongside the statue, putting Scootaloo nearly at eye level with it. As Scootaloo leaned forward to take an even closer look at the statue’s expression, Sweetie Belle felt her hooves lose their grip on the smooth stone floor. Before she could shout out a warning to her two friends, Sweetie Belle slipped and fell, sending Apple Bloom plummeting to the ground. Scootaloo, however, reflexively grabbed onto the statue’s outstretched arm. She swung back and forth for a few moments, until her additional weight sent the entire statue toppling down, shattering it into hundreds of pieces and scattering broken fragments of stone across the chamber floor. As soon as the statue struck the ground, the air in the chamber pulsed and rippled, while curling ribbons of light streamed forth from the broken statue. Terrified, the three young fillies ran out of the chamber, their high pitched shrieks echoing throughout the ruins. Without a single look back, the trio continued to run blindly out of the ruins themselves, charging madly through the meadow of poison joke into the Everfree Forest and back to Ponyville, all the while screaming in terror.

**********************

Deep within the bowels of the ruins, far below the mysterious chamber the three friends had discovered, a lone, pitiful figure lay motionless on the floor of a cavern. Suddenly, as the ripples of magical energy caused by the statue’s destruction reached its resting place, the figure stirred for the first time in countless years.

Chapter 2

Pain.

Pain was the only sensation the figure could remember, the only concept that it knew. Just constant, unending, nightmarish pain. Occasionally, it was able to focus itself sufficiently to realize that there had been a time, an existence before the pain, but such thoughts were soon swept away in a sea of agony.

Or at least, they had been. After several, long minutes, the figure slowly came to the realization that the pain, which had consumed its existence, had finally stopped. At first, the figure simply lay on the ground, savoring the lack of suffering as though it was the most pleasurable sensation imaginable. Eventually, for the first time in countless years, it began to register outside stimuli. The coolness of the cavern floor on which it lay, the sounds of water dripping echoing in the distance, simple sensations, but comforting, in their own way, vague reminders of a time before it had been condemned to unrelenting torment.

Time passed, and slowly, the figure began to rise from its resting place. An inexplicable urge told it that it needed to leave, despite not knowing where it was leaving. Gradually, it made its way across the cave floor, struggling the entire way. As the figure passed by a small pool of water, it curiously glanced down to check its reflection. Staring back at it was an equine creature, a unicorn stallion, its features completely obscured by a rusted iron mask aside from a single horn jutting from its forehead. It, or rather, he, was dressed in what appeared to be tattered canvas clothing, hung from which were several large, rusted chains. The sight of himself stirred memories buried deep within the nameless unicorn, fragmented bits of a long forgotten identity.

For several minutes, the stallion stood gazing at his reflection, trying in vain to remember who he was. Eventually, the deep-seated urge he felt to leave the cave compelled him to abandon his futile effort and continue onwards. Step by step, he slowly made his way out of the cavern and into the tunnels beneath the ruins. Without consciously knowing where he was going, the unicorn wandered through the underground maze of passages and chambers, guided by nothing more than a silent feeling that he was going in the right direction. The only clue he had as to where he was headed was the continuous incline of many of the passageways, taking him closer to the surface with every step he took. Finally, after ascending a long spiral ramp, the amnesiac stallion found himself in the same circular chamber from which the Cutie Mark Crusaders had fled earlier. Unbeknownst to the three fillies, the destruction of the statue of Discord had also resulted in the dissolution of the glowing blue barrier, opening access into the depths of the ruins.

As the unicorn entered the eerie chamber, his eyes were drawn to the grotesque carvings of chaos and mayhem covering the walls. One figure in particular caught his attention, a hideous amalgam of mismatched body parts, continuously depicted hovering over the devastation, laughing and applauding at the spectacle of suffering on display. While the stallion stood, transfixed by the sight of the patchwork abomination, the monstrous creature’s mocking laughter began to echo in his ears, along with the horrified screams of its victims. Frantically, the unicorn shook himself, as though he were trying to dislodge the sounds from his head, but the terrible din continued to play in his mind unabated. Desperate to escape the ghastly racket, he staggered out of the chamber as fast as his legs could carry him, heading further and further up towards the ruins on the surface. Despite his best efforts, however, nothing would silence the unholy noise, flowing from memories that had been buried in the distant past. By the time the nameless unicorn finally made his way to the surface, the constant mental commotion had driven his mind into a deep fog. Barely cognizant of his surroundings, the unicorn blindly stumbled out of the ruins, reduced to acting completely on instinct. Slowly, he wound his way across the fields of poison joke surrounding the ruins, deftly moving past the hazardous flowers and into the Everfree Forest. With no conscious awareness of where he was going, merely the knowledge that he needed to get away from the ruins and the horrible memories they conjured, the stallion lurched headfirst into the wild forest.

**********************

The next morning, a pair of earth pony mares could be seen walking along the main path leading from nearby Ponyville into the Everfree Forest, chatting as they made their way towards the forest.

“Ah still can’t believe that Apple Bloom would do somethin’ like that! She should know better than to go off wanderin’ in the Everfree Forest!” Applejack, a sturdily built, yellow-haired orange pony, seethed as she trotted down the road. “Ah just hope Zecora can fix up some more of that poison joke remedy.”

Her companion, a bright pink, curly-haired pony named Pinkie Pie, cheerfully bounced alongside her as she responded. “Awww, poor Apple Bloom. I remember when we got poison joked and I couldn’t talk! I mean, I love talking and I couldn’t talk because my tongue was all blue and spotty and swollen and it was so awful!”

“Ah remember it fine, Pinkie!” Applejack exclaimed, quickly interrupting her friend before she could build any verbal momentum. As much as Applejack liked Pinkie Pie personally, she absolutely dreaded the eternally chipper pony’s ability to prattle unceasingly about virtually any topic that crossed her mind. In particular, Applejack didn’t want to be reminded of her past experience with poison joke. During her previous encounter with the unpredictable plant, Applejack had been reduced to the size of a chipmunk, and the last thing she wanted was to be reminded of it. “By the way, Pinkie,” Applejack began, hoping to change the subject, “why exactly are y’all headed to Zecora’s anyways?”

“Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Cake asked me to see if Zecora wanted to-“ Suddenly, Pinkie Pie let out a startled gasp as her eyes focused on something lying in the shrubbery, where the path skirted along the edge of the forest. Wordlessly, Pinkie Pie dashed past Applejack and dove into the bushes by the side of the path. A few moments later, Pinkie Pie surfaced from the undergrowth, her normally sunny expression uncharacteristically serious. “Applejack, come quick, there’s somepony here, and I think they’re hurt!” Applejack rushed to her friend’s side as quickly as she could. Pinkie Pie rarely dropped her normally bubbly demeanor, and her friends had learned to take her very seriously when she did so.

“What in tarnation…” as Applejack approached the area Pinkie Pie had emerged from, she was able to see what had her friend so upset. Sprawled out on the ground was an unconscious unicorn stallion, who was dressed in what appeared to be canvas restraints of some kind, his face hidden behind a rusted mask. Large iron chains, dark red from rust, trailed off from the restraints and led back into the Everfree Forest. Leaning in closer, Applejack could hear the faint sounds of shallow, labored breathing emanating from the unmoving pony. “Ah don’t know what’s goin’ on here, Pinkie, but we need to him to a doctor as fast as we can.” Applejack knelt down and hoisted the strange unicorn onto her back, struggling under the unexpected weight. “Ah could really use some help here, sugercube,” she groaned as she attempted to stand back up. “He’s a lot heavier than he looks, and these darn chains ain’t helpin’ any.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie” Pinkie Pie chirped, her customarily cheerful manner already returning. Moving beside Applejack, Pinkie Pie slipped underneath the unconscious stallion and helped her friend distribute his weight between them. “So, Applejack,” Pinkie Pie began as the two mares started the trek towards Ponyville General Hospital, “where do you think he’s from? I know he’s not from Ponyville because I’ve never seen anypony that looks like him before and I know just about everypony in Ponyville. Then again, maybe he’s somepony I know and I just can’t tell because of that mask he’s wearing. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a mask made of metal before, have you ever seen a mask like that, Applejack?”

“No, Pinkie, Ah can’t say Ah’ve ever seen a mask made out of metal before.” Applejack let out a resigned sigh as the pair continued onward. It would likely take the two of them at least an hour to reach the hospital, and Applejack had no doubts that Pinkie would continue prattling the entire way there.

**********************

The day was rapidly proving to be an especially frustrating one for Applejack. First, her younger sister Apple Bloom had woken up covered in long, fleecy fur, making her resemble an ambulatory cotton ball with eyes. After finally getting Apple Bloom to admit that her predicament was the result of an encounter with poison joke, Applejack had left to visit Zecora in the hopes that the reclusive zebra would be able to provide her with the remedy. Instead, while making her way to the Everfree Forest, Applejack had encountered Pinkie Pie, who in turn had discovered the anonymous unicorn whom Applejack now found herself discussing with her friends.

It hadn’t taken very long for word about the strange unicorn that Applejack and Pinkie Pie had carried to the hospital to spread throughout Ponyville, and the hospital’s waiting room was soon packed with curious ponyfolk. One of the first ponies to arrive had been one of Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s closest friends, a lavender unicorn named Twilight Sparkle. While most of the curious Ponyville citizens milling about the hospital were content with mere idle speculation, Twilight had been carefully questioning both Pinkie Pie and Applejack in an attempt to deduce some clue as to the mysterious stallion’s identity. Thus far, however, Twilight’s inquiries on the subject had left her with more questions than answers.

“You say the two of you found him just lying there on the ground near the Everfree Forest?” Twilight sighed as she brought a hoof to her forehead in exasperation. None of what Applejack and Pinkie Pie had told her made any sense; strange ponies didn’t simply appear at the border of one of the wildest portions of Equestria.

“That’s right. Ah don’t even wanna think about how long he might’ve been there if Pinkie Pie hadn’t noticed him.” While Applejack understood Twilight Sparkle’s mounting frustration with the bizarre situation, repeatedly explaining what had happened was beginning to test the farm pony’s patience. “Y’know, sugar cube, y’all might have better luck gettin’ some answers ‘bout where that stallion came from if y’just wait for the doctors t’ wake him up.” Twilight Sparkle took a moment to consider what Applejack had told her. As eager as the studious unicorn was for answers, she had to admit that Applejack was giving her sound advice. However, before Twilight had a chance to respond, the doors to the hospital waiting room flew open as Nurse Redheart walked into the room.

“Applejack, Pinkie Pie? The doctor asked me to let you know that the stallion that you brought in has regained consciousness.”

Chapter 3

Doctor Stable stood in the hospital corridor, calmly reviewing the medical charts of his latest patient, when he suddenly heard the furiously galloping hooves of Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Twilight Sparkle charging down the hallway. Letting out an exasperated sigh, the doctor turned to face the three mares as they rounded a corner and came into view. While Doctor Stable found their obvious concern for the unicorn they had brought in to be commendable, he wished that they would remember that they were in a hospital and not a racetrack.

“Doc,” Applejack began, skidding to a halt in front of the doctor. “Nurse Redheart told us that the pony we brought in woke up, is that true?”

“Yes, he has regained consciousness. Thankfully, he doesn’t seem to be suffering from anything potentially life-threatening, just exhaustion and moderate dehydration.”

“But he’s awake now, right? Does that mean we can see him?” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, her excited smile nearly splitting her face in half.

“I can let you in to seen him if you’d like,” Doctor Stable replied, “but I’d prefer if you’d keep your visit short. He’s still in a state of recovery, and I don’t think tiring him out would be a good idea.” With that, the doctor opened the door to a nearby room, allowing the three friends inside. There, lying in the bed closest to the window was the unicorn that Applejack and Pinkie Pie had rescued, the tattered canvas restraints and iron mask he had been wearing left piled in a tidy heap at the foot of the bed. As they approached the bed, the stallion let out a groan, rolled over onto his side, and found himself face to face with Pinkie Pie, who had somehow managed to dart past the doctor and her friends to the side of the bed.

“Hi there!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, grinning wildly. “My name’s Pinkie Pie, and these are my friends Applejack and Twilight Sparkle. What’s your name?”

For several moments the stallion simply silently stared at Pinkie Pie, his eyes widened in bewilderment, before he finally was able to manage a reply. “M-my name?” the unicorn stammered, “I don’t…I don’t know, I- I can’t remember anything!” The stallion began breathing rapidly as his eyes darted back and forth. “Wh-what is this place? What am I doing here?”

Before anypony else could respond, Applejack rushed to the stallion’s bedside. “Just calm down sugar cube, this here’s a hospital. Pinkie and Ah brought y’here after we found y’all lyin’ out cold by the Everfree Forest.” Applejack paused for a moment to let the stallion absorb what she was saying. “Now, are y’all sure y’can’t remember anythin’ at all?”

“I-I remember waking up in a cave, and then…” the stallion screwed his eyes shut, contorting his face as though he were in severe pain. “I must have somehow wandered into the forest after waking up. I’m sorry, but everything before then is just a blank.”

“Hey, that gives me a great idea!” Pinkie Pie declared. “Since you can’t go around without a name, I mean, you could, but then nopony would know what to call you and that would get really confusing-”

“Dang it, Pinkie, quit your gabbin’ and get to the point!” snapped Applejack.

“What? Oh, right. Anyway, I thought, since he doesn’t have a name, we should come up with one for him! Then, when he was talking just now, I came up with the perfect name for him! Since he says everything’s a blank, we could call him Blank Slate!”

“Pinkie! Why of all the-“

“It-it’s all right, Miss Applejack,” the unicorn quickly interrupted. “Actually, I think I like it. It seems, I don’t know, appropriate somehow.”

Applejack let out a resigned sigh. “Well, Ah guess if your fine with it, then Blank Slate it is. At least until y’all get your memories back.” Applejack added with what she hoped was an encouraging smile.

While the two friends continued to talk with the newly named Blank Slate, Twilight Sparkle held a hushed conversation of her own with Doctor Stable. “Do you really think he has amnesia, doctor?”

The doctor took a moment to silently ponder the question before responding. “Well, admittedly I didn’t find any signs of physical trauma when I examined him; however, I suppose it’s entirely possible that he’s suffering from amnesia brought on by some sort of psychological trauma.” As Doctor Stable spoke, he turned his gaze towards the ragged pile of canvas lying at the foot of Blank Slate’s bed.

Twilight immediately understood what the doctor was insinuating. Finding an unconscious pony at the edge of the Everfree Forest was a mysterious occurrence in and of itself. The fact that Blank Slate had been found in decaying restraints added a distinctly sinister element to the whole affair. In particular, Twilight was bothered by the iron mask that Blank Slate had been found wearing. There was something unnervingly familiar about it that nagged at her memory, as though she had seen something similar in the past. Curiously, Twilight levitated the eerie mask with the intention of examining it close up. As she lifted it up over the foot of the bed, however, a terrified scream ripped through the hospital room. Looking up, Twilight could see Blank Slate flattening himself against the headboard of the bed, eyes wide in terror, his gaze riveted on the floating mask.

“Keep that thing away from me! KEEP IT AWAY!” As Blank Slate screamed, he began thrashing about wildly until he fell out of his bed and landed on the floor. He continued flailing madly about amid his sheets for several seconds, before finally disentangling himself and rushing to the other side of the room.

While Applejack and Pinkie Pie attempted to calm Blank Slate down, Twilight Sparkle swiftly made her way out of the room with the mask, pausing just long enough to take her first clear look at the cowering amnesiac. Blank Slate’s coat was a drab grey color, and his dark, unkempt mane hung limply around his head. His body, no longer hidden under layers of rotting canvas, was exceedingly thin, leaving him with a gangly, almost emaciated appearance. What struck Twilight the most, however, was his cutie mark; a hollow circle with eight arrows emanating from it in all directions. For reasons she couldn’t have begun to explain, the stange symbol filled Twilight with a deep sense of foreboding. As the hospital room door closed behind her, Twilight looked down at the macabre iron mask she had carried out with her. “Something about all of this just seems so…wrong” she thought to herself. “I have to get to the bottom of…whatever it is that’s going on here.”

Meanwhile, back in the recovery room, the combined efforts of Pinkie Pie and Applejack had at last succeeded in calming Blank Slate down. “I’m sorry about that, I don’t know what happened. It’s just, the sight of that mask…” Blank Slate screwed his eyes shut and violently shuddered at the thought.

“Don’t y’all worry none about it,” Applejack began as she helped him up. “Nopony could blame y’for being a little on edge after what y’all must’ve been through.”

“But you’re all better now, right?” Pinkie Pie asked, a familiar gleam forming in her eyes. “And once you can leave the hospital, we’ll have to introduce you to everypony since you’re new to town. And that means we’ll have to throw you a super-duper enormous Welcome to Ponyville Party!”

“Actually, I think it would be best if we finished things up for today,” Doctor Stable interjected before Pinkie Pie could get too excited. “Blank Slate still needs time to recover before the hospital can release him.”

“Well, in that case we’d best be goin’. Come on Pinkie, let’s let him get his rest.” Pinkie Pie let out a disappointed moan as Applejack started to pull the pink pony towards the door. “Quit your complainin’, Pinkie, we’ll come back tomorrow.” Applejack paused as she turned back towards Blank Slate, “as long as that’s fine by y’all, anyways.”

Blank Slate gave Applejack a shy smile in response. “Actually, I’d like that very much. Thank you, both of you, for everything you’ve done for me. If you hadn’t found me and brought me here…” As Blank Slate’s voice trailed off, Applejack returned his smile.

“Aw shucks, don’t think nothin’ about it, sugar cube, Ah’m just glad you’re gonna be alright.” With that, Applejack allowed Doctor Stable to usher her and Pinkie Pie out of the hospital room, Pinkie excitedly waving goodbye until the door finally shut behind her.

Finally, alone with his thoughts for the first time since he had regained consciousness, Blank Slate lay back in his bed with a contented smile. Thus far, everypony he had met had been incredibly kind to him, and the idea that he was surrounded by friends left him with a warm feeling inside.

As Blank Slate started to relax, however, a cruel, sneering voice echoed in his mind. “You don’t really believe those ponies are actually your friends, do you? As soon as they find out what kind of monster you really are, they’ll turn on you, just like everypony else.” Blank Slate sat up at once and urgently looked around for the source of the voice as it continued its tirade. “What kind of pony would ever want to be friends with a vicious, twisted freak like you, anyway? Sooner or later one of them will figure out who you are, what you are, and then you’ll be lucky if all they do is chase you out of town.” Unable to see anypony else in the room, Blank Slate buried his head in his pillows in a desperate attempt to silence the terrible voice, to no avail. “If you were really smart,” the sinister voice hissed, “you’d get them first, before they have a chance to hurt you.”

“What do you mean ‘get them’? Who are you?” Blank Slate finally sobbed, but there was no reply. The voice had vanished as suddenly as it had come, leaving Blank Slate alone with his questions.
**********************

Meanwhile, in the city of Canterlot, Princess Celestia was enjoying a cup of tea on one of the many balconies of Canterlot Castle, a brief respite from her usual duties as Equestria’s daytime ruler. Without warning, a scroll appeared in front of the princess’s eyes with a silver flash. Normally the sudden appearance of a scroll was a welcome event for the princess, indicating that her student Twilight Sparkle had learned another lesson about the magic of friendship. However, instead of arriving as a floating cloud of ash courtesy of Twilight’s dragon assistant, this letter had been directly sent via unicorn magic. Curious as to who could have sent the scroll, Princess Celestia unfurled it and began to read.
Dear Princess Celestia,

As per the protocols you requested be put in place, I am writing to inform you that the prisoner known as ‘Entropy’ has once again entered an agitated state, similar to what occurred prior to the Nightmare Moon, Discord, and changeling incidents. Preparations have already been made for your arrival, and I ask that you hurry, as the prisoner’s behavior is beginning to excite the other inmates. As an addendum, I will remind you that, in the wake of the changeling attack on Canterlot, we have significantly revised our security protocols to prevent infiltration, and that some of these protocols will impact your visit.
Your Faithful Subject,
Clever Stratagem

As Princess Celestia finished reading, she turned and called for the omnipresent palace guards, concern written across her features. “Guards, have my chariot made ready at once! I’m needed at the Tower of Order!”