It had a been a few hours since Ariel left the hospital with the princesses guards. In that time she had gotten a new room to relax in (and the all stuff that came in it including some books) a tour of the large castle, some looks from the staff and she was expected to by live all the same rules everyone else had to. All of that information came rather quickly and it wasn't that hard to keep track of. When Ariel finally had gotten a chance to return to her room she found herself looking in the mirror after a very nice shower.

Her colorless eyes ran up and down her naked body. Everything was still in order thankfully. Seeing all the healed scars she doesn't remember getting at any point in time was a wake up call that she had to be a tough one. There was this little bit of confidence that formed when Ariel realized she really standing here alive.

“Heh..whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger right? I'm a tough little thing aren't I hehe” she confidently giggled.
Ariel looked down towards her legs and saw a few more scars there. She turned around to look at her back and only saw two flat line scars on the middle of her back. She already knew both of her hands and fingers were messed up pretty bad. However after all of that there was only one thought that came up for sure. Ariel was still as cute and pretty as she thought she was. This resulted in a little proud twirl “Damn, even with all these scars I'm still a pretty lady hehehe. I could get anyone In this world I want to if I try hard enough~”

After Ariel finished eyeing herself up and dressing up with a casual jeans and shirt she headed out to find the princess. Since it was mid afternoon the castle was still filled with staff doing whatever they had to. Ariel had asked one of the castle guards where the princess was.

*A few minutes later at Celestia's office*

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

“Yes come in” Celestia said. She wasn't surprised to see Ariel enter.

“Hello, Princess. Your staff said you would be here” Ariel replied. Celestia nodded and pointed at the available chair right in front of her desk. Ariel took the seat, watched the princess put down her pen and put her hands together on her desk. The two made eye contact and Celestia got right into it.

“I expect you know the basics by now?” She asked.

Ariel nodded “Yes I do. Honestly I expected super strict rules and I'm glad to be proven wrong. Also I'm impressed that almost everyone seems to be glad that they work for you and your sister” Ariel declared. That got a proud smirk outta Celestia.

“Well I can assure you that we do our best to keep our staff happy. As I'm sure you can tell some of the guards probably regret their work hours hehe.”

Ariel chuckled at that truth “Why yes I did notice that. But I guess that's ok since they all they do walk around all day” Ariel responded.

Celestia shrugged her shoulders “Trust me when I say they learn how to deal with it very fast. Ok, now that the ice has been broken may I ask why are you here?” Celestia asked.

Ariel put her hands on her lap “I wanted to know what your next move was regarding me. Only seemed like the most logical thing to do.”

Celestia tilted her head a bit “I had a few ideas in mind. The most obvious thing would be to retrace your steps. Obviously the problem is: we don't know where your steps begin” Celestia replied.

“That sounds like a good plan. Alright how about this: We go back to that forest to find a clue. Maybe we can find my dairy or something” Ariel voiced while shrugging her shoulders.

Celestia's tried to hold back a chuckle because, this girl with a diary? It does seem a little funny.

“I-i’m sorry but the idea of you having a diary is funny hehhe. But that does seem like the best idea. Only problem is: I'm stuck with my duties Celestia said. Ariel didn't seem bothered by that.

“That's the perfect excuse for ditching whatever you're doing and do something a little more *exciting* right? I mean if you find helping a stranger find a personal belonging exciting that is hehe” Ariel giggled holding her fingers over her mouth.

The princess looked over her work of course she had to finish it. But freeing up a few minutes couldn't hurt that much right? Well if this doesn't work out at least she got out of the office for a few minutes.

“Alright you win, Ariel. We gotta make this quick though” Celestia stated quietly.

“Well let's go then!” Ariel excitedly jumped up. Celestia grabbed Ariel’s hand and prepared her spell. There was a quick flash of light and then suddenly Ariel found herself in the middle of the everfree forest. Of course to her it seem like a regular forest and during the day it certainly gave off that vibe.

“See, princess that wasn't so hard was it?” Ariel mockingly said looking over at the princess. Celestia paid Ariel no mind as she waved Ariel off like a kid.

“Just please keep your voice down and pay attention to where you're walking. I don't need you getting hurt” Celestia stated. Ariel gestured for Celestia to lead the way as she followed. The princess wasn't exactly sure what they looking for but anything that amounted to a clue would've been helpful. The general feeling of being watched started to make that difficult. The overall quietness of the forest didn't help either. It was such a extreme difference from the busy noise of the castle.

“Hey, princess do you see that light?”Ariel asked.

“What l..” Celestia and Ariel came out of the bundle of trees surrounding them and into a large clearing. This clearing had a sphere of light in the middle. It was just floating there without a care in the world. Celestia walked around the object and didn't see anything worth talking about. She looked at the surrounding area and realized something. This was the same area as she and Luna arrived in the other night when they went to look for Ariel. She remembered sealing the Tatarus door a few steps ahead of the glowing light floating in front of her. The odds of this happening in the exact same place caused some confusion and a little bit of fear in Celestia.

“Judging by the stunned look on your face, princess I guess we are in the right place. However, what is this thing?” Ariel said reaching out to the object. When she touched the object it shrunk down and started to reshape itself. It made itself into a book with a keyhole. “Oh my!” Ariel said extreme joy. Before Ariel could say anything else Celestia covered her mouth.

“Look I'm happy for you, Ariel but we need to go now” Celestia proclaimed seriously. Before Ariel could move Celestia's hand away from her mouth she heard a set of footsteps circling the both them. They were loud enough to hear. Though due to the thickness of the trees she couldn't see what was staring the both of them down. The thing(s) obviously wanted them gone. Yeah it was time to go. Next thing Ariel knew she was back in Celestia's bedroom on the floor still holding her locked diary close to her chest.

“OK! That was close! By all the sky's I hate that place!” Celestia shouted. Somehow she managed to place herself on her bed and even better to get back in a reasonable amount of time. “Say, Ariel you own me one” Celestia said taking in a deep breath of air. She managed to push herself up to find Ariel holding her diary in the air just starting at it with a blank expression. “Everything ok?” Celestia asked.

“I don't remember there being a lock on this thing. That doesn't scream me you know?” Ariel replied. Ariel then got up from the floor and looked around Celestia's bedroom. She was immediately impressed with the personality it showed. It fit the princess perfectly form the whites of her bed sheets, to the wooden table that sat next to her windows, this little sweet apple scent that hit Ariel’s senses and everything else. “Wow, this is a Official Princess Bedroom uh? Pretty cool if you ask me. How's the view from that balcony?” Ariel pointed.

“It's really nice actually. Could see some of city but mostly I love the views of Ponyville during certain times of the year” Celestia mentioned. Ariel thought about walking to the balcony but didn't want to be too disrespectful so instead she opted for the exit. Celestia was puzzled by the sudden move “And where do you think you're going?” before grabbing the handle Ariel turned around book held tightly.

“Well since your work day isn't finished and you already helped me out I figured I would just go back to my room and figure out this key situation” Ariel replied looking at the keyhole in her diary. The more she looked at the keyhole the more it pissed her off to a certain extent. Ariel liked to think that she knew herself well and this keyhole obviously wasn't hers. She didn't notice Celestia standing over her until her chin was lifted up by something.

“Disappearing inside your room won't solve anything and you know that already or at least I hope you do. Besides you need to come with me to court and learn a few things” Celestia declared with a smile.

Ariel took a step backwards and shook her head in protest “Hold on now I didn't agree to that! Besides that sounds boring!”

In response Celestia held up one finger “You own me remember. I don't take my subject to dangerous places unless I can get something outta it. Right now that something is you learning how my court works heheh” Celestia giggled. As much as Ariel hated it she couldn't argue that logic the princess put out.

“Ugh! Fine I'll do it. However! I will not be answering any questions about myself, deal!?” Ariel said turning around and opening the door.

“Deal”

*THIRTY MINUTES LATER IN THE CASTLE THRONE ROOM*

Walking into the throne was like walking into a history museum. Ariel ah’d in sight at the different glass windows and they're obvious storytelling. Celestia told Ariel about the six heroes who rescued her dear sister and equestria many times. Ariel made a mental note to at least meet twilight to discuss some things. But that's for later, for now it was time for court. Ariel knew that she would be bored while in Celestia's and Luna’s court. At the very least she had her locked diary mystery to keep her company. However she didn't prepare herself for the amount of uninteresting bullshit that would take place. It was almost nothing but matters that were too difficult to understand. Of course some matters were important like one or two buildings needed approval in certain areas by certain people including the princess. But the others? Bullshit questions that had obvious answers that needed out of the box thinking to think of. Or the worst thing Ariel hopped wouldn't happen: rich and the bottom feeder leveled rich a-holes walking into the into Throne room like they owned the damn place. It really pissed Ariel off to the point where she almost came out of hiding to slap one of them. Only to discover that Princess Celestia put her in box where she couldn't escape luckily she had enough room to move in. While in a rage filled state of mind Celestia's words ringed in the young girl's ear.

“Oh, Doctor Lily it's very nice to see you here. Do you have a matter that needs settling?” Celestia asked nicely.

“Why yes, Princess Celestia. Can you summon Ariel Kindle here? I have something for her” The nurse replied.

*Something for me? Did I leave something at the hospital? No that's impossible I don't remember having anything on me when I first woke up. This should be interesting*

Celestia gave a nod to the nurse “Of course, come on out Ariel.” The magical box Ariel was in deleted itself from around her. She appeared right beside Celestia much to the shock of the ponies still in the Throne room. To say the ponies who were seeing a human for the first time had questions for the princesses written all over their faces would be an massive understatement.

“Hello there, Doc. I here you have something for me?” Ariel said. Just like a few hours ago there was that very same cheerful smile Doctor Lily gave Ariel. It had a pleasant affect on her which in turn put a smile on Ariel’s face. The two meant at the bottom start of stairs right in front of the princesses. The doctor grabbed Ariel and pulled her into a hug. “Ugh! Doc! Too.. Tight!”

“Oops! Sorry hehehe” She said while letting go. Ariel caught her breath and chuckled at Lily's excitement.

“Can I ask why you are so happy today Doc? You been like this all day” Ariel said. The doctor slowly shook side to side but she did blush a little.

“I.. Can't really say. But forget about me I have something for you, Ariel” She said. Lily snapped her fingers and a bag appeared in between them. Ariel took the bag unzipped it and looked inside. It only contained one item: a colorless key.

“...” Ariel went wide-eyed and had no words for this. She just stood there in front of everyone completely stunned and shocked.

“This key appeared a little while ago on your hospital bed. I figured it belonged to you and judging by the sweat running down your face I'd say I was correct. So where does this key go if you don't mind me asking?” The Doctor questioned with that still happy smile. Ariel looked at Celestia who already had her diary floating next to her. She passed Ariel the book and left the decision up to her. Ariel took a much needed deep breath to calm herself down. This was no time to get inside her own head. With the key in one hand and the dairy in the other Ariel held the key over the locked book. Both of the items glowed and the lock around the book disappeared and revealed the title.

“‘The Lives Of Ice And Fire by Ariel Kindle’. It's a story book you wrote!? It sounds exciting!” Doctor Lily excitedly declared. Ariel strongly shook her head in response and continued to stare at her diary. That's when Lily placed her hands over Ariel’s that knocked Ariel out of her trance. “Hey, it's alright, Ariel. You're surrounded by friends remember that” She said with confidence. Those were the words Ariel needed to hear to get over her sudden dread. With that gone Ariel opened her diary to its first page and decided to read whatever on it out loud.

“Dear, future me. I only have one question: are you looking for *us*?” A massive magical circle appeared beneath Ariel and the world around her went grey. She looked around rapidly to see time had stopped. Everything and everyone was completely frozen. Ariel ran to the window and saw the thing outside. Safe to say the girl was actually afraid. “HEY.. WHA!..”

“Please don't panic, Ariel Kindle you're fine. It's nothing but a time-stop spell” the mysterious voice said. Ariel looked all around her but couldn't find the source of the voice. “Look up” the voice directed. Ariel did and saw herself but, just like the world around this Ariel was all grey.

*This can't be good.*

“Who or what in the world are you and a time-stop spell?” Ariel questioned shaking her head. This “other” Ariel nodded.

“Short answer: I'm one of the many bits and pieces of memories that's missing from your head and yes” she claimed poking her the left side of her head. She watched the memory float down to her eye level they had the same colorless eyes. The same scared up hands were the same and so was the face. Every little detail was the exact same between the two. That's until Ariel looked down and saw the beautiful looking dress this “other” her was wearing. It was princess like, the kind you saw someone of pure royalty wearing and the kind that demanded respect out of the gate in a conversation. Ariel chuckled at the sight.

“What's the outfit for? For me to get down on my knee and kiss your hand?” Ariel asked mockingly. The Grey Ariel gave a smile that sent a shiver up her counterpart’s spine. She placed her left hand on Ariel’s shoulder and super quickly drove her right fist into Ariel’s stomach. The Grey Ariel enjoyed the audible and appropriate “GAHH!” sound Ariel made. That punch brought Ariel to her knees but then she received another left leg kick that brought her high into the air.

“Nope! It's purely for fashion. I wanted to look good while kicking your ass!” the counterpart voiced looking at her stunned victim.

Ariel tried to recover but she couldn't. All she could do was prepare herself for another hit. On her way back down she noticed Celestia and Luna also frozen in the time spell but something was off it was almost like they were staring at her. But there wasn't time to worry about it now for as the ground was coming up.

*CRASH*

Ariel hit the ground face first. She didn't get any time to recover as she was picked up by her counterpart’s magical abilities. She couldn't break free and was forced to stare at her counterpart walk at her laughing louder and louder. Was Ariel always this confident or is this in the heat of the moment type situation? Either way it didn't matter at this time. Of course she continued struggle to break free but to no avail. Actual pain started to settle in which made this situation even worse.

“Let me go you.. Coward! What's the point in all of this!”

“Hehehe- HAHAHAHA! The point, *sister* is: I'm.. just letting some frustrations out honestly. Beating myself up feels so good!” The Grey counterpart answered happily. She stepped closer and closer to her hanging counterpart until they were a few steps apart. Wearing the smile of a very confident bad girl did very little compared to actually punching her counterpart. “If you haven't figured it out yet, I hold some anger towards you that needed addressing. I just hope it hurts just as much as I hope it does!” she finished with a blow to her counterpart. The pain filled reaction was music to the grey Ariel’s ears.

“Ah..ahh..hh it does..” Ariel tried to catch her breath while coughing. The pain in her mid section ringed in her ears. It was low and somehow cut off at the end with a popping sound that sounded familiar in some odd way. Luckily she could still see straight, however, that same stupid smile was on her counterparts face. “You hit like a girl hehe-ha.” Her counterpart was confused at this mocking.
“I'm sorry what gives you the right to crack a joke in this situation again?”

“What did I just say? Don't you listen to words, sweetheart?” Ariel poked fun at herself. In a unexpected move Ariel fell to the ground. She looked up at her counterpart who just stood there with a blank expression shaking her head in disappointment.

“You don't get it do you, sweetie? Why do you think this is a game? You realize I'm here to seriously hurt you right?” The counterpart replied sadistically. Ariel then bursted out into laughter so hard it echoed throughout the room. “What's so funny!?”

“I just find it funny how you actually think you're gonna succeed at this. So go ahead and make yourself feel better because you're not gonna get a apology for whatever I did” Ariel replied.

The counterpart grinned “Ooh myy.. Sweet, Ariel Kindle hehe. You thought I was here to get an apology ? No no no, honey like I said before: I'm here to let some anger out. Don't worry I'll just knock you around some more and then you can move on knowing you got your ass kicked by another you hahaha!!” The counterpart gladly voiced. “I'll let you in on a secret though. Your other memories are gonna be a rainbow of emotions when they see you. I'm just so happy I got to you first” the counterpart admitted.

Ariel went wide-eyed hearing the last part of that statement “Are you telling me all of memories got cut into pieces, given their own thoughts and opinions on shit and still have the fucking nerve to not want to fix this mess. On top of that having my abilities and are in process of doing whatever right now!” Ariel yelled. Despite still being in pain this news was much worse in Ariel’s mind. Who knows what her other sentient memories could be doing. Ariel didn't want to fear the worst but considering the situation she's in right now, didn't really help much.

“Hehe yes yes that's exactly it. Why would we want to come back to you when we can experience this world for ourselves huh? Having the freedom to whatever we want is really exciting feeling for all of us. Why would you want to take that away, Ariel, hmmm?” The counterpart mocked happily and pointing at her counterpart. Ariel walked pain and all at her Grey counterpart with no fear. She grabbed, lifted her up by her top and said her words with conviction.

“If you think I'm gonna sit by and let my memories run free to do whatever they want you have another thing coming!” Her counterpart smiled looking proud at Ariel for being this angry.

“I love the anger in your eyes. To make it convincing how about you actually hit me hmm?” The counterpart happily mocked.

Ariel chuckled so viciously that it made her very confident counterpart nervous. That's when she heard footsteps being her. In her sudden taste of fear she tried to punch her way out of Ariel’s tight grip but it came to be unsuccessful. The footsteps gotten closer and the fear grew. The fear took the shape of very sharp pain as the counterpart Ariel got stabbed in the chest by a sword.

“Honey, let me tell you rule number one. Nobody fucks with my kingdom!” Princess Celestia sharply declared. She tossed the Grey Ariel across the hall of the grey thorne room making her hit the wall with a very loud thumping sound and then caught the real Ariel in her arms. The human gave her a “Thank you” smile and then fainted in her arms. Celestia put Ariel on her shoulder and lit her horn. “Luna! I have Ariel take care of that “counterpart” for me” Celestia then teleported out of the time-stopped throne room.

“HEY HEY! what do you think you're doing!” The counterpart yelled. She tried to get up but was quickly stopped by Princess Luna who was hovering above her. “Oh please..no please not again..I'm s-”

Those were the final words the Grey Airel managed to get out before Luna Strunk her with a bolt of magic. There was no screaming like she wanted but instead she witnessed the Grey Ariel turn into a ball of magic that quickly flew to her.

“What was that we just witnessed? I also believe this belongs to you, Ariel Kindle” Luna said before she destroyed the world around her and put it back to its natural beauty. Everything returned to normal but everybody wondered what in the world was that bright light. Without anyone noticing Luna sent that Grey ball of magic to her sister and had some lying to do. *You owe me a serious favor for this, Tia*

*LATER THAT NIGHT IN ARIEL’S ROOM*

“Ghha! My head… Wh-What happened..Ga!” Holding her mouth and running to the bathroom while in pain wasn't the way Ariel expected to wake up. Her throwing up almost sounded like cries for help in the worst way “Gaaaa!” Once her little experience ended Ariel refocused her energy on freshening up with a nice cold shower. It helped but did very little in the pain department. Ariel came out of the shower to find a new set of night clothes ready to put on. She didn't bother to question it and only wanted to find her bed. With a loud slam of the bathroom door Ariel stepped outside the bathroom only to find Celestia sitting at her bedside reading a book.

“Good evening, Ariel. How do you feel?” Celestia's tone was so soft and motherly that it made Ariel think she was in a nightmare. But from the pain ringing from her body she knew she was wide awake.

“I- ah! Why.. Are.. Ow..pain all over..” Ariel groaned rubbing each said of her head. The walk over to the bed seemed to take longer than it should have. It was the best feeling in the universe once Ariel put her head down her pillows though. “Ahhhh! That's much better! Still in.. Ow! *This is what you get for tanking hits you could've easily avoided you idiot*

“Hold still” Celestia said. She placed her hand over Ariel’s back and started healing her again. The pain started to go away very slowly. Ariel felt relaxed enough to not be so tense under Celestia's healing touch.

*Why is her hand is soft fucking soft!?*

“Ahhhh! Thanks, Princess. I owe you one. Two in fact. Can I ask why you're here though?” Ariel weakly questioned.

“Obviously I'm here to help you, dummy hehhe. I have to ask: how did it feel facing apart of yourself?” Celestia softly replied. Ariel gave it some thought and remembered her counterpart’s expression throughout the altercation.

“Well.. I'm still a eight outta ten for looks” Ariel voiced confidently. She expected Celestia to chuckle and that's what she got. “No but really it was weird. She had this *demanding* air about her like she expected me to do whatever she wanted. Luckily I don't bow down to those who demand respect just because they have power. Other than that she knew how to throw down and didn't lie to me either about anything she said. Should've punched her at least once though” Ariel finished.

Celestia resisted the temptation to ask the only appropriate question as a response. At the same time she finished her healing and Ariel finally sat up straight on her bed stretching out and letting out a big yawn.

“AWWW I feel awesome! That magic of yours worked wonders” Ariel moaned proudly and gave the princess a thumbs up. Celestia returned the gesture. Then she remembered something.

“Oh, before I leave I have something for you” Celestia snapped her fingers and a ball of magic appeared above her. The ball of magic acted on its own and suddenly flew into Ariel without warning. Nothing happened for a moment. That's when Ariel’s dairy appeared in front of her and opened itself. It quickly turned pages, stopped on a page and words started to appear.

“I will Burn the void I will Burn the fear I will do everything In my power to make it clear my power shall grow stronger and fight this war” Ariel spoke. The book fell onto the bed. Ariel picked it up and turned to the very same page as before. She simply stared at the them, read them over again. It made her feel safer in a way that was unexplainable.

“In my opinion that sounds exactly like you, Ariel and I've only known you for a little while now ehehe” Celestia giggled.

Ariel blushed and turned away from the princess to hide it “I.. Wrote this to specifically pump myself up for the rough road ahead. Funny how it still works. Although it is on the edgy side I must admit” Ariel said quietly.

“Well then if that's the case I hope you succeed in ‘burning the void and burning the fear’ in your heart.-” Celestia got up from her seat and started to walk towards Ariel's bedroom door to make her exit. Ariel never noticed it before but the princess’s footsteps were really quiet. “Don't worry about being alone either, I'll do whatever I can to help you reclaim those self-aware memories of yours” Celestia voiced.

Ariel chuckled “I've only known you for a little while, princess and I'm glad to say that I appreciate your help.” Ariel said with a thumbs up and grin on her face.

Celestia gave Ariel a thumbs up back and made her exit leaving Ariel alone for the night. The moment Ariel realized she was truly alone something hit her.

“Great, I'm gonna be up all night aren't I? That's just perfect. I wonder what I should do now?”

Author's Note

This took wayyy too long to come out. As always I appreciate any good/bad feedback.