When I woke up again I found myself in a dark & dingy cell, sitting up and looking around I could see that it was of a very simple construction. 4 walls, a single wooden door, and a paneless, barred window positioned high up, I swear I even saw a rat scampering around, but I couldn’t be sure through the gloom.

I then noted with some alarm that my armour and mask, along with my rucksack, was missing and I was dressed in what appeared to be a plain and ragged robe of some sort. Part of me was thankful that they had the common decency to allow me to keep my dignity intact, but another part of me didn’t feel any less naked without the armour.

I was stirred from my rather uncomfortable musings by the sound of footsteps approaching the cell, though I soon found that term to be inaccurate as I saw a metal shutter about halfway up the door move aside on the door and the pegasus that I had first encountered peered into the gloom, though this time around I didn’t find her appearance all that funny

“Good, you’re up” she said “had your fill of laughter, I take it?” I ignored her quip.

“My armour, mask, and rucksack” I said simply “where are they?”

“Under lock and key until I’m certain you can be trusted” she said “Quite frankly I’m hesitant to even give you back your armour and “mask”, but you needn't worry about anyone else touching your rucksack”

“What exactly can I do to prove I’m trustworthy?” I asked, touching the tips of my fingers and thumbs together tilting my head to one side to look at her “I’ve already told you I have no ill intent on this town, that much is still true despite the fact you assaulted me unprovoked, what cause have you got to keep me imprisoned-”

“Equestrian Royal Guard Guidelines, section 34, paragraph 2b” she said cutting me off and stamping a hoof against the door and causing an audible thunk “A guard may use any non-lethal forth they deem necessary to apprehend and contain an individual they feel is acting suspicious and may be a threat to the peace. Don’t go proclaiming your rights to me, you haven’t even given a name”

“Because you knocked me out” I shot back.

“Well go on, then” she said, a ghost of a smirk gracing her face “tell me what it is, I can’t exactly write “anorexic, mangey, chimpanzee” on my report, now can I?”

“My name is....” only to draw a blank, almost immediately the smirk on the face of the pegasus grew.

“As I thought” she a victorious tone to her voice, she apparently noticed my distressed expression “Aww, what’s the matter, upset that you’ve been caught out?”

“No, no” I said, waving a hand in her direction to quiet her. I gripped my knees to stop my hands from shaking “I can’t remember my own name, come to think of it, I can’t remember where the hell I’m from, I can’t remember anything...where the hell am I?” I felt myself spirally into a panic and I barely registered the clicking of a lock and squeak of the hinges as the cell door opened, then closed, and hoofsteps cautiously approached me. I saw a white hoof gently rest itself on my left knee, and I glanced up to see the pegasus studying my face, the smirk gone and in its place concern marred her features, a small part of my mind noted that her face was surprisingly human, it was almost weird.

“Hey, calm down, alright? Deep breaths, big fella” she said, a small part of me noticed her voice taking on a twanging accent, similar to the type spoken in southwest England “I don’t wanna have to call psych-personnel over if you have a breakdown, OK?" I clenched my jaw and forced myself to take in a deep breath. She softly tapped my leg and nodded, humming in encouragement until she was certain I had calmed down

“There we go” she said, before sitting down and slowly taking her helmet off, almost as soon as it left her head the white coat and blue hair begin to disappear, rolling across her body like a wave to be replaced by a burnt-orange coat with a multi-toned maroon mane and tail, the former of which cascaded to almost completely cover the left side of her face. her physical build changed as well, the armour appearing to fill out as she became noticeably stockier, meanwhile the tip of her snout as well as her hooves became highlighted a sort of tan colour. I couldn’t help but stare in amazement, she simply smiled and replied with “standard issue, the helmet is enchanted so that we all look alike. Now, let’s take this slowly, tell me everything you remember”

And so I did, I told her everything, from when I woke up in the forest, to when we first met.

“So...you can’t remember what happened before? Where you’re from?” she asked.

“Nothing concrete” I said, bringing a hand up to my forehead. “I get glimpses, like a dream that you soon forget after you wake up. Other than the fact I’m Human from the Nation of England. I’ve got nothing, it’s like a wall in my damned mind” I practically spat out the last part, the mental block was beginning to cause no small amount of frustration.

“I can tell you now that I have never heard of your species or your country” she said, I simply sighed, I’d thought as much considering I definitely didn’t remember seeing talking little horses with wings. “But I know of someone who might” that made me jerk my head up.

“Seriously?” I asked, she simply needed as she put her armour back on, the enchantment once more turning her coat and hair white and blue.

“Our leader, Princess Celestia” she said, making her way over to the door and unlocking it “she very old, and very wise, if anyone knows of your kind, it’s her” I expected her to simply leave, but instead she stood there, waiting for me. “Well, are you coming?”

“You mean I’m not going to stay locked up?” I asked. She rolled her eyes in response.

“You had a panic attack when I asked your name, I think we’ve established at this point that you aren’t a threat” she said “and she can’t exactly help you if you aren’t there in person”

“Well in that case then I’m going to need my things” I said “I’m not going to go outside practically naked” she slapped a hoof over her head in annoyance, and I swear I heard her mutter something about “prude highborns”.

“Alright, I’ll get your armour” she said, before her demeanor shifted to one of sternness and she pointed a hoof at me accusingly “but I’m watching you, if you try any funny business in canterlot, you’ll regret it”

“I don’t doubt it” was all I offered in response before she disappeared, locking the cell behind her. She soon returned, bringing my belonging on a cart, and then left once again to grant me some privacy. Soon I was once more wearing my armour and mask, and feeling all the more relaxed for it. Instinctively I once more rifled through my rucksack, and was pleased to see that everything was as it should be, seems I could trust this one pegasus at the very least, but this “Princess Celestia”...only time would tell if they were someone worth trusting. My memories might be gone, but one thing that I knew was unchanged was my wariness of strangers.

I walked over to the door and knocked on it, being rewarded by the satisfying click of the lock and the squeak of the hinges as it opened to reveal the pegasus, now devoid of her full armour and dressed in something more slimmed down, revealing the mark of an autumn leaf surrounded by a metal shield emblazoned on her thighs. Gone was the slightly cocky bravado of before, replaced by a calculating and stern demeanor.

"I'm off patrol-duty now" she explained upon catching my look "but I still gotta keep an eye on you, so I've gone for something a bit more comfortable that still offers some protection. The name's Autumn, by the way, Autumn skies"

"Not sure how effective an armour solid gold is" I said as she began leading me out of the guard outpost. "if anything it seems like it'd be more of a hindrance, being so heavy and soft, especially if you can apparently fly"

"It's only gold plated" she said "it's actually some sort of high grade metal...which I forget the name of" when we exited the outpost I was left stunned at the sheer diversity of not only people, but the colours of them as well. all were small horses, similar in size to Autumn, though she seemed to be a bit on the small and stocky side. They varied from stockily built and unextraordinary in shape, to lithe pegasi, to regal unicorns. but one thing thing united them all was their vibrance and diversity of colour, grab a colour palette, pick a random colour, chances are that colour would be present somewhere on one of these creatures. And every single one had that same human-like intelligence in their large eyes.

"you really aren't from around here" I heard her say.

"Really?" I asked, feeling a bout of sarcasm coming along "I hadn't realised with all the miniature horses walking about when I'm the only bloody ape!" my outburst prompted a number of passers by to stop and stare. Autumn turned to look at me with incredulity before she proceeded to take off into a hover and then fly around me to push me on my way, ignoring my confused protests.

"Nothing to see here! just an idiot tourist" she called, giving a nervous chuckle, before I felt her lean in and speak to me through gritted teeth "word of advice to keep you from getting decked, never call us horses" she didn't stop pushing until we reached the station, at which point she hastily ordered tickets for the next train. after a few minutes of us standing in tense silence I finally plucked up the courage to ask.

"H...how much of a fubar did I commit back there?" I asked, her eyes practically bugged in responce.

"Are you joking?" she asked, before spitting what I could only assume to be some foreign curse in what sounded like a celtic language "A-barth an Jowl a gyj! If Rainbow Dash or Thunderlane had just so happened to hear you they would have at the very least threatened to knock you three ways to sunday"

"I'm sorry?" I offered "I don't even know what the problem is with what I said, I literally only arrived here today!" Autumn proceeded to groan in frustration and face...hoof(?), then dragged the hoof down her face in an exaggerated manner before answering through gritted teeth, clearly trying to avoid getting heard by passers by.

"To call somepony a "whorse" is basically saying they get around like...a lot!"she explained, I very quickly put two and two together and proceeded to let out a string of curses in frustration at my own slipup. this prompted no small amount of amusement from Autumn. "colourful choice of language"

"You're one to talk" I retorted "what the hell was...whatever it was you said? A bath a jaw a git?" Autumn snorted and rolled her eyes.

"A-bath...an Jowl...a gyj" she repeated "it means..." she began rolling her hoof in a circle as if trying to reel the words forward like a fisherman "Pyth yw....By the spirit of chaos? something like that"

"You've lost me, but ok" I offered in response, eventually the train arrived, the fact it was steam powered was a novelty to me, and only once we were well under way did I let out a sigh of relief as I pulled my mask away, something which Autumn took note of.

“What’s wrong now?” she asked.

“Nothing” I said “I’m just not keen on crowds” I was referring to the not-to-inconsiderable amount of attention I had drawn to myself by my mere presence, she regarded me with an odd look.

“You wear all that armour, and yet a simple thing like crowds bugs you out?” she asked, resting her head on a hoof and watching the scenery go past

“My memory might be blocked, but I can assure you that where I’m from we don’t just go wondering about in suits of armour" I said "I feel like someone from several hundred years ago"

“About your memory” she began “you don’t seem to remember much about yourself, yet you seem to know bits and pieces about where you were from, care to fill me in on what you can remember?” I scratched the back of my head in thought.

“It’s difficult to think where to start” I said “I remember things to do with culture and world history easy enough, but any memories to do with my own life are just...gone” I glanced out the window, studying the passing countryside “so many of the things things I see seem familiar...Trees, hills, mountains, dales...but seeing it all together, as I am now, it’s completely unfamiliar to me”

“Dales?” she asked “now you’re starting to sound like one of the Yarvik Tyes from my home country, Trottinghamshire....come to think of it, your lilt isn’t too far off, though it’s rather watered down” I raised an eyebrow at that.

“Oh?” I asked “And where would you happen to hail from?”

“Westwards” she said with a shrug. I wrinkled my nose in confusion.

“As in...you’re from the west?”

“No, I live in a realm of Trottinghamshire that’s literally called Westwards” she corrected “I mean, yes, it’s in the west, but that’s its name”

“And what’s it like?” she brushed her hair back with a hoof as she hummed in thought.

“Cold, mountainous, windy” she summed up “It’s mostly just Pegasi living there, the Earth Ponies are to the east in Yarvik, and the Unicorns to the south” after this the conversation started to dry up and before long we had taken on a comfortable silence. Not content to simply sit in the quiet I opened up my rucksack and began rummaging through it, before fishing out my phone and a set of headphones. This caught the attention of the pegasus, who eyed it with curiosity

“What’s that?”

“It’s called a phone” I said “it’s used to talk to people for the most part, but it can also hold music, photos and movies”

“You can hold a library in that thing!?” she asked, her eyes widening.

“In a manner of speaking” looking through the phone, I noted with some frustration that all my personal details, anything that could have given clues as to my life, was meticulously scrubbed clean. “Whoever or whatever brought me here was damn meticulous, I’ll give them that, not a single scrap of a clue as to who I once wa-oh, hey! I’ve still got music!” and before the pegasus had a chance to even respond I had my headphones in my ears and began scrolling through the list. I once again felt irritation creep into my mind to find out that none of the songs looked familiar to me anymore...I had completely forgotten about them all. Acting on a whim I picked a song which seemed to stick out in my mind and relaxed further into my seat as the sound of an acoustic guitar finally provided a structured melody which blocked out the background noise and gave me time to focus my chaotic thoughts.

As the song ended I felt a sense of purpose creep into my mind.

“Whatever brought me here did so for a reason” I thought, studying my reflection in the window “why else would I be given this armour? Somehow I don’t get the impression that I was sent here for a sinister purpose, which means that I’m here because I can somehow make a difference. It probably won’t be quite so simple as looking for a way to get sent back…” I continued to ponder this as we made our way towards this nation’s capital, and eventually myself and the pegasus, now once more fully adorned in her armour, found ourselves walking up the steps of the capital’s castle, festooned with all manner of ornate decorations, I couldn’t help but take a moment to stop and admire the architecture. I heard a chuckle and looked down to see Autumn with an amused look on her face.

“Yep...does that to just about everypony who sees it for the first time” she said “pick your jaw off of the floor and let’s go inside” I rolled my eyes before making my way past her and towards the guards who stood sentry at the front doors. At first they drew their pikes across the entrance when they saw me, only to lift them once again when Autumn proceeded to bark her name and rank.

As she me through the seemingly endless hallways I found myself turning my head this way and that to admire the stained glass windows, which appeared to depict various historical events.

As we entered the throne room I was taken aback to see no less than four ponies who had not only wings but horns as well. As we drew closer I could hear them talking, their voices laided with worry.

“....With no pegasi to control the weather, there will be no rain in Equestria.” said the tallest of the four, with a pure white coat and a rainbow-coloured mane & tail which appeared to flow as if suspended in water “And there is word he has gone after the earth ponies as well. Without their strength, they will not be able to tend the land.” I heard the pegasus to the side of me gasped in shock, though I just looked from the four winged unicorns to the pegasus and back in confusion, feeling like something really important had just flown right over my head.

“Ponies will no longer be in control of their world” said the second tallest, dark blue with a mane and tail that resembled the night sky itself “That power will belong solely to Tirek!”

“There is no doubt that Tirek is after Alicorn magic.” Said the white one once more “With Discord by his side, we will not be able to stop him from taking it”

“Once it is in his possession his power will know no bounds and all all hope will be lost”

But...there is one solution” the white one said with certainty in her voice, and as one three of a winged pegasi, called Alicorns apparently, flew down from a dias towards the smallest of the four, who was coloured in various shades of purple. “It is only by making this sacrifice that equestria and the lands beyond it might be saved…” she paused and closed her eyes, as if deep in thought, before finally opening them, determination showing on her features.

“We must rid ourselves of our magic, before Tirek has the chance to steal it from us!”

Author's Note

Chapter heavily edited as of 11/04/2019, wanted to redo a couple things to preemptively avoid a few plot holes later in the story.

also managed to knock together a basic reference for Autumn Skies

it's more of a loose reference than anything else, it's by no means an exact representation.

she's of the westward folk, that means she's more adapted to living on cliff sides and mountains, so she's shorter (about 4ft, rather than 4'6) and heavier set (hence the exposed hooves) with larger wings than a typical pegasus.