Memories and Melodies

It was yet another wonderful day in Equestria. The autumn sun has just risen above the horizon, bathing the peaceful land in warm, soothing sunlight. Below the blue dome of the sky, a train zips through the green hills just outside the town of Ponyville, heading directly towards the city of Canterlot.

“Wind or Rain, Equestria Express always reins” is a common phrase known by nearly all ponies that had traveled by trains. Ever since the establishment of railroad systems all across Equestria, even reaching as far as the Griffon Stone and the Southern Wastelands, train had become the most efficient way of travelling for most ponies. On a workday like today, however, few ponies are travelling in this particular train. Most of the carriages only had three to four ponies sitting inside them, some of them even completely empty.

On this particular Thursday, though, two certain ponies, a grey Pegasus and a lavender unicorn, are currently sitting inside the first-class carriage of the train. Sitting on the red seat of luxurious carriage, wearing her trademark cloak and her saddlebags was Grey Wind, the ex-nanomachine aggregation and the current normal grey Pegasus. Accompanying her was Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia and the bearer of the element of magic. The two had received the invitation from the Princess during the party two days ago to visit Canterlot Castle and further discuss Grey Wind’s power, both old and new.

Gazing over the fleeting landscapes outside the window, Grey Wind lets out a sigh. The events that took place four days ago still lingers within her mind. Being directly hit by the elements of harmony and being sent to Limbo for one whole day before being pulled back was nowhere near pleasant. Unleashing the elements upon herself was a desperate move, and she doesn’t want to experience that anymore.

“Grey? What’s wrong? Something on your mind?”

Twilight’s caring voice interrupts her train of thoughts. Turning around to face her friend, Grey Wind finds Twilight looking at her with a slightly worried look on her face. She hastily responds:

“Oh, it’s nothing, Twilight. Just…Still recovering from what happened four days ago, you know? Dying and being resurrected…Just wasn’t so easy to forget.”

“I see…” Twilight rubs her chin, “From the books I read, such experiences relating to death could be highly traumatic. They have a very high possibility of inflicting nightmares on the ponies who experienced them. Perhaps I can find you a psychiatrist…”

“No, no need to do that, Twilight,” Grey Wind interrupts Twilight’s words, “I’m fine. Just need a few days to recover from the shock is all. Plus, nightmares won’t be a problem. I brought the dream orb.” She says as she opens her saddlebag, revealing a black wooden box inside.

Taking a deep breath and lowering her head, she continues:

“It’s just…All those things happened so fast. Two weeks ago, I was still a large gooey grey ball lying alone in a star cluster millions of light years from here. Just think about it, I experienced friendship for the first time in my life, retrieved a magical artifact, realized a filly’s dream, died once protecting my friends and was resurrected one day after, and found that I somehow carried part of the power of the elements of harmony, all in the course of one week.”

“Not hard to understand,” Twilight nods, “though what I think is the most important is-” She says as she smiles and gently lifts Grey Wind’s chin, “-is that you went through that. We all went through that. Now, you are safe. You’ve got a new purpose, and you have friends. No need to focus on the past when there is such a beautiful future lying before you.”

“I guess you are right, Twilight, thank you,” Grey Wind returns the smile, her mood uplifted, “So, what’s our plan for today?”

“Well, about that…” Twilight’s horn flares up and she floats a piece of paper from her saddlebag, “The train arrives in Canterlot at 10 a.m. I’ll show you around Canterlot a bit, and we’ll meet the Princesses at the castle at 11:30. We’ll have lunch with the Princesses, and we’ll discuss your abilities for around 3 hours. Princess Luna even wants a private session with you,” Twilight chuckles, “and then, after saying goodbye to the Princesses, we’ll head to the hospital to get the birth record for Lyra. We’ll stroll around Canterlot, have dinner and return by the train leaving at 6:30.”

“Meeting the Princesses and getting the birth record…Right.” Grey Wind mumbles as she remembers her promise at the sleepover at the library yesterday.

“-and then, before we could realize it, a colorful rainbow was launched from the elements of magic and completely enveloped Nightmare Moon. After the light subsided, lying in the place of Nightmare Moon was none other than Princess Luna. The elements had dissipated the dark magic and negative emotions that controlled her.”

“And that’s how we used the element of harmony to defeat Nightmare Moon and restore Princess Luna.” Twilight clapped her hooves as she finished her story, invoking a series of admirations from her audience, namely the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Lyra and Bon Bon. The other element bearers just sat there quietly, having known the story too well.

The ponies and fillies were gathered at the basement of the Golden Oak Library. Twilight had managed to pull all her experiment gear onto the first floor to make room for a sleepover of all Grey Wind’s friends. It was already eight at night, and the ponies were all sitting on their respective sleep bags, listening to Twilight’s story. The dream orb was placed at the center of the circle, an idea of Twilight to ensure everypony a good night’s sleep.

Grey Wind’s return was welcomed by most ponies of Ponyville. When she went to the Post office to continue her work as a mail carrier earlier that day, Mr. Fast Pace had insisted that she should take a full-salary holiday of at least one week before returning to work, “the least I can do for a mare who was brave enough to sacrifice herself for this town,” as he said. Grey Wind had happily accepted the offer, knowing by heart that what happened to her last week was indeed a bit too much.

Right now, the pony in question was sitting on her sleep bag, eyes widened, jaws agape, too stunned to say anything.

“Grey Wind? What’s wrong?” Noticing her friend’s expression, Twilight asked, a small frown on her face.

“Oh, no, nothing is wrong. Just…A bit stunned by the story is all,” Recovering from the shock, Grey Wind scratched her head, “It’s just a bit startling to me. I have a database that pretty much contains all the knowledge of my creators, and yet nothing in there could have explained neither six gems that could fire a high-energy rainbow nor a Princess that was controlled by her negative emotions.”

Letting out a sigh, she continues: “Well, guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. I’m on a world where horses can fly and somehow manipulate energy and have tattoos on their flanks that determines who they’ll become, after all.” She smirked.

The statement invoked a few chuckles around the room. Twilight, however, was more interested on a particular part of Grey Wind’s words:

“Database? You mean you still remember all the knowledge in there?” She asked.

“It seems impossible, but yes,” Grey Wind replied, “When the elements reshaped me, they replaced all my central processing units with brain tissue, neurons and all that. Somehow, all my memories, including those before I came to this world, persisted. I still remember every last bit of my database, all my creators’ knowledge, culture and technology.”

Upon hearing this sentence, Twilight instantly lit up, her mouth converted into a beam as wide as her ears, while small stars started appearing in her eyes. Noticing her friend’s reaction, Grey Wind smiled.

“I know what you are thinking, Twilight, but it won’t be possible to simply transfer all those knowledge to the ponies here. For one thing, there is simply too much knowledge, and putting them all to use would be a very time-consuming project. Plus,” Grey Wind shivered, “After seeing what happened to my creators, I’d rather not allow a technology boom take place on Equestria.”

“Oh…I see…” Twilight’s ears drooped, disappointment clear in her eyes.

“Hey, don’t be so disappointed, Twi,” Grey Wind chimed, “I can’t put them to use, but I can still show them to you guys. What would you like to know?” She said as her sight switched between her friends.

“Well…Ah’m mostly interested in the secret of life stuff you talked about,” Applejack interjected, “Y’know, the internal life thing?”

“Alright…Give me a second…” Grey Wind said as she concentrated. A batch of grey could floated from the back of her left wing and stopped mid-air at the center of the circle, slowly taking shape. Minutes later, a hologram projector was floating right above the dream orb, emanating a light green glow.

“This is a hologram projector. Basically, it can generate a 3-D model of whatever I want to show you guys,” Noticing the awed expressions on her friends’ faces, she explained, “Now, regarding the secret of life…” The green glow of the projector intensified, and seconds later a 3-D model of a double helix spiral structure was projected into the air.

“Is that a deoxyribonucleic acid molecule?” Twilight asked.

“Yep,” Grey Wind nodded, “My creators’ study regarding their genetic code had led to an amazing discovery. They found that the limitation of DNA replication rate was the only thing that hindered their cell division, which is determined by the length of telomere sequences on nucleic acid sequences. They developed a kind of enzyme that could elongate the telomeres, thus removing the limitation to their cell division, granting them immortality.”

Twilight had been actively taking notes while listening to this lecture, while the other ponies just stared at the two in confusion.

“Um, Grey, Equeish, please!” Rainbow interrupted, covering her ears with her front hooves.

“Basically, they developed a kind of medicine that could make their body tissues grow indefinitely,” Grey Wind explained, “According to my observation of Princess Celestia yesterday, the immortality of alicorns had the same mechanism, only that their cell division was prompted by magic energy, not by medicine.”

“That’s also how unicorns repair small cuts or bruises using magic,” finishing up her notes, Twilight suggested, “we use magic energy to accelerate the division of cells near the wound to fix it.”

A couple of nods can be seen around the room, even from Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.

“Still doesn’t make sense to me…” Rainbow groaned as her bored eyes scanned the room, until suddenly she realized that one mare was unusually quiet during the past conversations.

Looking towards the direction of a certain pink earth pony, Rainbow Dash saw a scene that was probably the weirdest thing she had seen in her whole life----Pinkie Pie was lying in her sleep bag, her eyes fixed on a book in her front hooves and her mouth quietly shut.

“Hey, Pinkie, what are you reading?” Without waiting for a reply, Rainbow Dash took off and swooped down at the pink earth pony, snatching her book from her front hooves and ignoring her “Hey, Dashie, I was reading that!” protest. Flipping back to the front cover, she read the title:

“Your Family and You: A Guide for Building a Family tree… Pinkie? Why are you reading this egghead stuff?”

“Well, I just found this book from the bookshelf, and I thought it would be super doper fun to figure out who our family line descended from! Hey, what do you girls know about your family?” Pinkie exclaimed, her eyes darting around her friends.

“That’s indeed an interesting topic, Pinkie,” Twilight smiled, “Hey, how about we share with each other about the stuff we know about our respective families? That would be interesting!”

A group of excited agreements can be heard around the room, except for Rainbow Dash who let out a distressed groan.

“Come on, Rainbow, it will be fun! So, starting from me,” Twilight pointed a hoof to herself, “I was born in Canterlot, and my father and mother had been living there their whole life. I actually did a bit of research and found out that my family had been living in Canterlot ever since the city was established.”

“Well, I guess I am out of the question regarding this topic,” Grey Wind smiled, “Unless you girls consider the scientist who programmed me as my parent, then I should probably be able to look it up in my database.” The statement invoked giggles around the room, even Rainbow Dash broke into a short laughter.

“My turn then, I guess,” Rarity continued, “I was born in Manehatten, where my parents and grandparents had been living. I opened Carousel Boutique and started living in Ponyville…two years ago, I remember? My parents still live in Manehatten, but they visit from time to time. Not to mention dear Sweetie Belle who lives with me now.” She said as she gently patted her little sister.

“Oh, oh my turn! My turn!” Pinkie exclaimed, “My family owned a rock farm, and we’ve been working there for more than 3 generations! I moved to Ponyville right after I got my cutie mark, so I can bring joy and happiness to all the ponies in this town! Ta da!” She pulled out a party pipe from her mane and blew into it.

“Well, time for meh to present,” Applejack smiled, “Mah sister Apple Bloom and Ah were born right here in Ponyville, and the part of Apple family Ah belong to had been living here ever since the town was founded. I guess y’all are familiar with the story of Apple family establishing the whole town, right?”

“Um…It’s my turn, if you girls don’t mind…”Fluttershy whispered, “Um, I was born in Cloudsdale, and so were my parents. I started living in Ponyville after I discovered how I loved the animals on the ground. And…and that’s pretty much it.” The yellow Pegasus finished.

All the ponies in the room turned towards Rainbow Dash, eyeing her with anticipation.

“Alright, fine, my turn!” Rainbow groaned, “I was born in Cloudsdale, and so were my super cool parents! I was the fastest filly in the whole city! I haven’t really looked into it, but I’m sure one of my ancestors must have been a Wonderbolt!”

“Well, since Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle all have sisters to tell their stories, I guess its my turn now,” Scootaloo interjected, “I was born in Cloudsdale and my parents lived there as well. I came to live with my aunt in Ponyville when I got tired of my classmates calling me a chicken,” She glanced at her now not-so-small wings, “thankfully that part was fixed.” She said as she smiled gratefully to Grey Wind, who genuinely smiled back.

“It’s finally my turn, I guess,” Bon Bon suggested, “well, my family had been in the candy business of Trottingham for like, 3 generations? I’m not that sure, but I moved to Ponyville after I decided to open my own store here. I haven’t really done much research regarding my family.” She rubbed her chin.

“It’s alright, Bon Bon,” Twilight smiled as she turns to Lyra, “that only leaves you, Lyra!”

To Twilight’s surprise, Lyra seemed to be deep in thought, her eyes fixed on the floor, hiding her expression. A bit worried, Twilight asked:

“What’s wrong, Lyra? You can refuse to share it if you want…”

“That’s the funny part. I don’t know!” Lyra exclaimed, “Ever since I started remembering things, I had been living with my aunt and uncle in Canterlot. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know who my parents were! My aunt just told me that they couldn’t raise me up, so they left me with my mother’s sister…” Lyra said as her head lowered.

Silence descended upon the basement. Twilight rubbed her chin.

“Well, that’s…interesting to hear…”She mumbled as an idea popped into her mind, “Lyra, Grey Wind and I are going to Canterlot tomorrow. If you were born there, the Canterlot Hospital should have your birth record. We can look it up for you if you want.”

“You, you can?” Lyra raised her head. Seeing the assuring smile on Twilight’s face, she charged up and pulled her into a tight hug, “Thank you, Twilight!”

“Anything for a friend.” Twilight said as she returned the hug.

Toooooot!

The sound of the train siren pulls Grey Wind out of her reminiscence. Before she can realize it, the train has come to a complete stop at the Canterlot Train Station.

“We’re here, Grey Wind! It’s still half an hour before we should head to the castle, so I can still show you around Canterlot a bit. Let’s go!” Twilight exclaimed as she enveloped her friend’s front hoof in her magic and pulled her out of the carriage.

Regaining posture, Grey Wind found herself standing at the entrance of a majestic city. The entire city is built on a cliff side at the top of a mountain. The city sure is huge, covering the entire cliff side and even stretching a bit beyond the cliff. Towering over the city was a huge castle, definitely larger than the Castle of Two Sisters in the Everfree Forest. A river runs through the whole city, forming a gorgeous water fall when it reaches the cliff side.

As she trots down the main street of the city with Twilight, she is constantly looking around her, trying to take all parts of the huge city into view. Noticing her scanning sight, Twilight explains:

“The Canterlot City is divided into three layers. We are currently on the first layer of the city, which mainly consists of residential areas. The second layer mainly consists of shopping areas, with shops, restaurants and manors of upper classes of the city. And finally, the third layer is the Canterlot Castle, and where we will meet the Princesses.”

“Wow…” Grey Wind could do nothing but admire the beautiful city.

In the next half an hour, Twilight showed Grey Wind a bit around the second layer of the city, before the two headed directly towards the castle. Upon reaching the front gate, the royal guards standing in front of the gate stopped them.

“Halt! State your name and purpose!”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia and the wielder of element of magic. This is my friend Grey Wind. The Princesses are expecting us.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Ms. Sparkle. Please come in.”

Gaining permission, Twilight walked into the front gate with Grey Wind quickly following her. Walking inside the throne room, Grey Wind found the room to be very much similar to the throne room in the Castel of Two Sisters.

The room is built using white granite, with a large red carpet on the floor. On the far side of the room were two identical thrones, each with a banner just like the ones back in the Castle of Two Sisters hanging above them. On the left throne sat a tall white alicorn, none other than Princess Celestia. On the right throne sat a dark blue alicorn, slightly shorter than Princess Celestia. Grey Wind assumed her to be Princess Luna. Somehow, Grey Wind senses an intimidating aura emitting from the blue alicorn, making her wince a little.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight exclaimed. She runs up to her mentor and hugs her. Celestia gently returns the hug with one of her wings.

“It’s nice to see you again as well, my faithful student. And you too, Grey Wind.” She says as she smiles at the grey Pegasus.

“It’s my honor, your highness.” Grey Wind responds and bows to the two alicorns. Celestia chuckles.

“Please, Grey Wind, no need to be so formal when there’s no outsiders, and by the way, I’ll be very glad if you call me Celestia.”

“Al-alright, your- I mean, Princess Celestia.” Grey Wind frantically replies.

Seeing the Pegasus’ nervous reactions sends another chuckle to the white alicorn. Releasing Twilight, she chimes:

“I believe we have a lot to discuss this afternoon, but why don’t we catch some lunch first? I heard that the royal chefs are preparing a generous amount of cloud cakes today.”
Celestia says, her mouth forming a light smirk.

Seeing nodded agreement from Luna, Celestia turns around and leads the ponies into the banquet hall.

The lunch had been proceeding for half an hour. Although the food is no doubt the best ones Grey Wind had tasted after she arrived at this world, she is sensing a growing sense of awkwardness descending upon the long table. Princess Celestia and Twilight have been constantly chatting throughout the meal, while Princess Luna remained quiet most of the time, occasionally casting a suspicious glance at her. And now, after the desserts are served, even Twilight and Celestia run out of topics. The four ponies just sit there quietly while munching into their cloud cakes.

“So, Grey Wind, what do you think about the meal?” Realizing the awkward atmosphere, Celestia broke the silence.

“Oh, it’s great, Princess!” Grey Wind replies as she takes another bite of her cloud cake, “I’ve never tasted such delicious dessert ever since I came here!”

“Well, looks like we can both agree on cloud cake being the tastiest dessert of Equestria. Right, Luna?”

“Oh, yes, certainly, sister,” Luna answers, her gaze fixed on Grey Wind, clearly not paying attention.

Silence.

The silence is becoming unnerving for Grey Wind just when the castle servants thankfully appear just in time to collect the dessert plates. After the plates are sent away, Celestia stood up from the seat and turned to her sister.

“Well, that was certainly a nice meal. Now, Luna, I believe you have something to tell Grey Wind in private, correct?”

“Yes, sister,” Luna nods, “Now, Grey Wind, wasn’t it? If you are so kind to follow us.” She turns around and walks away from the banquet hall.

Grey Wind casts a pleading sight to Twilight, who returns a reassuring smile. Realizing that she doesn’t actually have a choice, she lets out a sigh and follows the dark blue alicorn.

Princess Luna led her to a large room at the back side of the castle. As soon as Grey Wind enters the room, Luna instantly shuts the doors, locks them with her magic and casts a sound-proof spell on the room, preventing any sound from escaping. Grey Wind had to use all her might to suppress the urge of following her survival instincts and fleeing right away.

After all is done, Luna turns around and faces Grey Wind as her mouth opens:

“So, thou art the artificial grey cloud abomination that entered Equestria from outer space?”

“Y-yes, Princess Luna.”

“And thou art one of the mares that recovered the dream orb from our old castle?”

“Y-yes, Princess.” The volume of Luna’s speech causes Grey Wind to flinch back, nearly bumping into the wall of the room.

“And is it thou, who was willing to sacrifice herself to protect Equestria?” Luna raises her volume, her royal Canterlot tone in full swing.

“Yes…” Grey Wind whispers, her voice nearly as faint as Fluttershy. Backing up against the wall, she raises her front hooves and covers her face in a defensive position, “Please don’t hurt me…”

The statement seems to have confused Luna. The blue alicorn leaned down towards Grey Wind and lowers her volume:

“And why in the world do thou think we would hurt thou?”

“Because…Because I once enveloped your sister in a black ball of nanomachines?”

Luna staggers back in disbelief, surprise clear in her eyes.

“Art thou sure what thou said was true?”

“Yes…I’m sorry! I lost control! Please forgive me…” Grey Wind lowers her head and closes her eyes as she pleads.

“Grey Wind! Calm down!” Luna exclaims, shutting Grey Wind’s plead back into her throat, “we are not mad at thee for doing that to our sister, just a bit surprised that you defeated her.”

“Re- really?”

“Most certainly, Grey Wind,” Luna lets out a bitter smile, “we’ve committed much serious crime to our sister before. We understand thou feelings, and we also know that ponies shouldn’t keep punishing themselves for their past mistakes.”

Seeing the grey Pegasus loosening on the statement, Luna continues:

“Also, we apologize for our tone. We are still adjusting to this…modern life style. Royal Canterlot tone is something we are trying to change. Please, Grey Wind, don’t be afraid. We are no longer that devious Nightmare Moon.”

“Alright, Princess,” Grey Wind’s body completely relaxes as she puts her front hooves back on the ground, “so, Princess Celestia said you have something to talk to me about, in private?”

“Quite true, Grey Wind,” Luna nods, “we demand thy explanation for our inability to enter thy dreams.”

“Well, about that…” Grey Wind scratches her head, “According to my database, my creators installed a fireproof wall in my central programs. It blocks any attempts of breaching my mind by computer viruses. I suppose that might be the reason you are secluded from my dreams? Anyway, as far as I can tell, that wall was erased when the elements reshaped me, so my dreams won’t reject any visitors in the future.”

“We see,” Luna nods, “and, is it true that thou art made up of billions of tiny machines?”

“One week ago, yes,” Grey Wind replies, “but the elements have reshaped my body. Now I am just a normal Pegasus with few nanomachine subunits still under my control.”

“Show us.”

Grey Wind gulps as two grey clouds rise from the back of her wings and stays in the air. Luna lets out a small “wow” as she watches the two clouds.

“And, is that true that thou art acknowledged by the elements of harmony to help protect your friends?”

“I guess…”Grey Wind mumbles. The subunits gather on her neck, forming the golden collar with the grey gem shaped like her cutie mark on it.

“Interesting…”Luna mumbles. Suddenly, her horn lights up as a semi-spherical barrier is casted, containing the two mares and expanding to the size of nearly the entire room. Looking back at Luna, Grey Wind can see a small fire burning in both of her irises. Suddenly, a very bad feeling creeps onto her mind.

“Princess? What is that for?”

“Show us thou strength!” Luna exclaims as she takes off into the air, hovering above the floor, “If thou want our acknowledgement, then show us your strength in a glorious duel!”

“Wha-what?” Grey Wind staggers back and bumps into the edge of the barrier. Oh Celestia please let this be a joke…

“Thou art familiar with fighting, yes? Then show us!”

“But Princess, I’m not sure-“

“Enough talking!” Luna exclaims, a dark blue magical blade forming beside her horn, “Thou wish to protect thy friends, then show thy strength to me! Let us be the judge of your power!”

Seeing the determination in the blue alicorn’s irises, Grey Wind knows that she really means it. Gulping, subunits move to the tip of her wings, forming hard, sharp edges around them. The remaining subunits float to her sides, forming two small plasma cannons beside her. Watching the movements, Luna smiles.

“Good. The door is locked, the room is sound-proof, and the barrier will prevent us from damaging the room. Now, do not hold back, Grey Wind, because we won’t!” She exclaims before raising her magical blade and dashing towards the grey Pegasus.

The sudden assault catches Grey Wind off guard, forcing her to block the blade using her nanomachine-reinforced wings. A loud sound of metal clashing against each other is heard as Luna’s magical blade meets with her nanomachine edges. Luna keeps adding her force as she presses her guard, forcing Grey Wind’s wings down.

Before her guard is broken, Grey Wind quickly fires one of her plasma cannons. A green streak of energy flies toward Luna from her side, forcing her to generate a blue magical shield to dissipate the attack, and distracting her long enough for Grey Wind to escape her onslaught and roll to the side.

“Not bad, Grey Wind. We are impressed.” Luna smiles as she turns to her, “but this is not over yet!” She exclaims. With a flash of her horn, the large blue magical blade dissembles into two smaller but much swifter short swords, floating by her sides.

The last few seconds had prompted Grey Wind as well. During those seconds, a feeling she had never experienced before flushed into her mind. The urge to fight. The urge to become stronger and more experienced. Her emerald eyes light up as she spreads her wings, the plasma cannons floating to her sides. If the Princess wants to test the strength of the former Grey Tempest, then so be it!

“Bring it on, Princess Luna!” She yells.

“That’s the spirit!” Luna smirks.

Letting out two synchronized battle cries, the Pegasus and the alicorn charge towards each other.

“So, you restored your friendship with one of your old friends as well, I believe?” Celestia asks, taking a sip from her teacup.

“Yes, Princess. Grey Wind actually helped with part of that,” Twilight replies, putting her empty teacup back onto the small plate, “It feels so good to reunite with a friend that I have forgotten.”

“Then I guess you should have learned a valuable friendship lesson from that, correct?” Celestia smirks.

“Yes, Princess. I learned that it was never late to restore a lost friendship, and that good friends are always willing to forgive you. Moreover, restoring an old friendship is just as exciting as making new friends.” Twilight smiles sheepishly.

“Very good,” Celestia responds. Finishing her tea and casting a glance at the clock in the corner, she suggests, “It’s about time we go and collect Grey Wind from Luna. I do have a few questions for her, regarding her creators and her power.”

“Right, let’s go then, Princess.”

It took Twilight and Princess Celestia no time to locate the large room at the back of the castle. The room was intended to be built as a storage house, but up till now, it is still empty. According to Princess Celestia, Luna always prefers this room when it comes to having private meetings with her night guards.

Standing in front of the gate of the room, the two mares are surprised to find that the room had been locked.

“Princess Luna? Can we come in?” Twilight asks, knocking the door with her front hoof.

No response.

“Luna, are you two finished?” Celestia asks again after two gentle knocks on the door.

Still no response.

The two mares exchange a puzzled look, until finally, Celestia’s horn lights up as she unlocks the door with her magic. Opening the door, Celestia calls out:

“Luna, are you in-“ Her words were suddenly shut back into her throat as soon as she gets a clear view of what’s happening inside the room.

“Princess Celestia! What went wrong?” Twilight exclaims. She peeks into the room over her mentor, her eyes suddenly widen and her irises shrink into pupils.

The whole room in front of her is encased by a large, semi-spherical dark blue barrier. Through the barrier, Twilight can see Princess Luna and Grey Wind flying around the interior of the barrier, appearing to be in the middle of a heated duel.

Twilight opens her mouth to scream, but Celestia swoops a hoof into her mouth just in time. Leaning against Twilight’s ear, Celestia whispers:

“Let Luna have her fun.”

Twilight nods, and Celestia pulls back her hoof. The two manage to sneak into the room and find a place that has a perfect view of the entire battlefield, where the two quietly sit down and watch.

Although the battle seems to have lasted for more than 10 minutes, neither of the two competitors are showing any sign of retreat. Grey Wind is hovering above Luna, using her agility to dodge the multiple magical blasts and missiles the alicorn had been sending her, while occasionally firing a green laser or swooping down to slash or stab with her wings. Luna, on the other hand, maintains her onslaught while actively defending herself from the surprise attacks using her magical twin blades and her shield magic.

It took no time for Twilight to figure out Grey Wind’s strategy. The mare is actively trying to deplete her opponent’s strength. With every missed magical blast, Luna is wasting part of her reserve magic, and the random surprise attacks launched by the grey Pegasus worsens her situation. Even though Luna has an enormous magical reserve as an alicorn, her strength would deplete at a rate much faster than her opponent.

Luna seems to realize this after a minute or two. When Grey Wind swoops down for a wing slash once again, instead of blocking it with her magical blades, Luna generates a magical barrier in the direction of the attack. As Grey Wind’s wing clashes with the barrier, the barrier explodes. The generated shockwave causes Grey Wind to tumble back into the air, while Luna spreads her wings and harnesses the shockwave for a quick take off.

Catching her opponent’s blind spot, Luna wastes no time as she concentrates and generates a dark blue ball above her horn, which soon dissembles into a barrage of magic missiles that fly towards Grey Wind.

The grey Pegasus was not planning to be a sitting duck, though. With a quick maneuver mid-air, she quickly regains posture and charges towards the approaching missiles. With a surprisingly elegant “Z” shaped flight path, she manages to travel through the barrage without being hit a single time. After dodging Luna’s attack, she dashes towards her opponent, who readies her twin blades

Approaching her opponent, Grey Wind slashes Luna with her right wing, makes a 360 degree turn mid-air, and slashes again with her left wing followed by a quick stab of her right wing. In a few seconds, Grey Wind has dragged Luna into an intense melee assault, forcing Luna to focus on blocking her attacks with her magical blades.

Knowing that she cannot continue her defense for any longer, Luna channels a bit of magic into her horn and fires a small magic blast at Grey Wind during a window of her attack. Noticing her glowing horn, Grey Wind fires a laser towards her opponent at the same time.

The impact of two energy blasts generates a huge burst between the two mares, pushing both of them back to the edge of the arena. Quickly regaining posture, Grey Wind dismantles her plasma cannons and transmits all her subunits to the tip of her wing, forming two sharp grey spears. Luna assembles her twin blades back into a broad sword. Both mares point their weapons at their opponent, knowing by heart that this will be the determining strike.

Letting out a synchronized roar, the two mares lunge at each other. As their weapon clash for one last time, the spears and the sword shatter under the immense momentum, sending an earth-shattering energy blast across the whole room. Both Grey Wind and Luna are sent tumbling towards the edge of the barrier before bumping into it, falling flat on the ground. With muffled grunts, the two mares stand back up, showing no sign of backing up as they once again concentrate to regenerate their weapons.

“I believe that would be quite enough, Luna.” Celestia suddenly calls out, instantly gathering the two mares’ attention. With a flash of her horn, Luna lowers the barrier, eyeing her sister with shocked eyes:

“Ti-Tia! We thought—”

“No need to apologize, Luna. I know you need a chance to let out all those stresses of adjusting to modern life,” Celestia interrupts, walking up to her sister and gently nuzzling her, “Though I fear that if I let this duel continue, one of you might get hurt. Both of you have been exhausted as far as I can see.”

Releasing her sister, Celestia turns to Grey Wind, “That was quite a marvelous fight you put up against my sister though, Grey Wind. I haven’t seen such an intense duel in Centuries.”

Twilight, finally recovering from the shock of the final showdown of the duel, instantly runs up to Grey Wind and pulls her into a hug, frantically checking her body.

“Grey Wind! Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

“Easy, Twilight, I’m fine,” Grey Wind says, spreading her wings to assure her friend, “See? Not a scratch.”

“That fight was amazing! Where did you learn to fight like that?” Making sure her friend was not hurt, Twilight lets out a relieving breath and asks.

“Well…That built-in war program, remember? I just kinda…activated it with my enthusiasm.” Grey Wind blushes a bit upon hearing the compliment.

“I believe you both had fun, but we still have many things to discuss, Luna and Grey Wind. Now, if you may, please follow me to the conference room.” Celestia smiles as she turns around and leaves the room, quickly followed by Twilight and Luna.

As Twilight starts walking out of the room, however, she hears a large “thud” coming from behind her. Turning back, she was horrified to find Grey Wind collapsed on the floor, her regular breathing replaced by sharp pants.

“Grey Wind! What’s wrong?” Almost instantly, Twilight runs to her friend, frantically helping her to get up.

“I’m…fine…Just…Give me a second…Too…Exhausted,” Grey Wind pants as she gets up with the aid of Twilight.

Watching the scene, both Princesses let out a chuckle. The group stands there for a moment waiting for Grey Wind to recover, before heading to the conference room of the castle.

1 hour later, Twilight and Grey Wind have left the castle front gate, and are on thier way to the Canterlot hospital. During the last hour, the two had been discussing the database Grey Wind carries with her with the Princesses. She showed many of the technologies of her creators to the two alicorns, and the four discussed the feasibility of utilizing those technologies in Equestria. During the discussion, Grey Wind had discovered that the reconstruction of many technology in this world might be much easier than her thought with the aid of magic.

Before they were about to leave, however, Luna pulled her into a waiting room of the conference room and gave her a “secret mission”. According to the blue alicorn, she sensed a magical burst in a distant town called Hollowshades a couple of days ago, and she was certain that the burst was from one of her lost magical artifacts, “the star lyre”.

Princess Luna had entrusted her with the task of recovering the magical artifact from an old temple of hers near the town, and had made her swear not to say a word about this to Celestia or Twilight. Although a bit confused about the quest, Grey Wind still accepted it, and made a mental note to look the artifact up once she gets back to Ponyville. Upon her departure, Princess Luna also told her that she would always welcome her if she ever wanted a rematch.

Twilight, on the other hand, is still a bit startled by her friend equaling Princess Luna in an all-out combat. In her opinion, being able to last that long, and even putting up a good fight against the Princess of the Night is alone a feat that could be kept in a history book. Chuckling at her friend’s thought, Grey Wind knew by her heart that both her and the Princess were already reaching their limits in that fight. If Celestia hadn’t called time out, there is a great chance the outcome of that battle would be more gruesome.

Within 10 minutes, the two are already standing in front of Canterlot Hospital, a large white building with a red cross hanging above the front door. On their way here, Grey Wind had asked Twilight how they would get the permission to look up the birth records, only receiving a slight smirk as a reply. Walking inside, the two made their way to the front desk. A brown earth pony mare wearing a white nurse outfit greets them.

“Welcome to Canterlot Hospital. How may I help you?”

“Hello,” Twilight responds, “I’m Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia’s personal student and bearer of element of magic. I would like to look up the birth record of all ponies born on April 15th 17 years ago,”

“Well, normally you’ll need an authorized permission to look up the records, but I can’t possibly turn down the request of the Princess’ personal student, can I?” The nurse smiled, “now, Miss Sparkle, please follow me to the documentary room.”

As the nurse turns around to lead the way, Twilight turns back and winks at Grey Wind, making the grey mare chuckle.

Minutes later, the two friends are sitting in the documentary room of the hospital, looking through the various birth records of the ponies born on Lyra’s birthday 17 years ago. Their search, however, was fruitless, as they encountered no name marked as “Lyra” or “Heartstrings”.

“This doesn’t make sense. We can’t find her birth record here. Are you sure you remembered Lyra’s birthday correctly?” Grey Wind closes the last birth record documentary and turns to ask Twilight, who is still looking through a document held in her magic.

“That can’t be true! I checked with Lyra three times before we came here!” Putting down her document, Twilight sighs, “The only logical explanation I can think of is that she wasn’t born here and moved here from somewhere else instead.”

“Then how can we determine where her birth pace was? Wait a second,” Grey Wind rubs her chin, “Do you know where Lyra lived when she lived in Canterlot? Didn’t she live with her aunt and uncle here? We can ask them about Lyra’s parents. Surely they would know what happened to them.”

“That…might actually work!” Twilight exclaims, “I know where she lived, and that could be our new lead!”

“Well then, what are we waiting for?” Grey Wind smiles. The two friends quickly leave their seats and dash outside the hospital.

Minutes later, the two friends arrive at a small house amidst the lower level of Canterlot. The door was answered by a blue unicorn stallion, who Twilight instantly recognized as Lyra’s uncle, Mr. Deep Note.

Recognizing the friend of his niece, Mr. Note smiles and politely greets Twilight:

“Why, long time no see, Ms. Sparkle. And who is that you bring with you?”

Grey Wind hastily replies:

“My name is Grey Wind. I’m Lyra’s friend from Ponyville.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Wind. I’m glad to see my young niece making new friends in that small town she moved to,” Mr. Note smiles, “Please, do come in. It’s the perfect day for an afternoon tea with my niece’s friends.”

“You are too kind, Mr. Note,” Twilight replies as she walks into the house and sits at the dining table in the living room, quickly followed by Grey Wind.

Minutes later, the three ponies are sitting around the dining table, a teapot and three cups of tea placed neatly on the table.

“So, how can I help you? I believe you girls aren’t just here for a surprise visit, right?” Mr. Note smiles as he pours the tea into the cups on the table using his magic.

“Actually…We are here to ask about Lyra’s parents,” taking a sip from her teacup, Grey Wind asks, “she told me that she didn’t even know who they were, and we didn’t find her birth record in Canterlot Hospital. We…think that you and your wife might know something since you raised her.”

Deep Note’s smile stiffens on his face upon hearing the question. A frown is formed between his eyebrows, and he nearly dropped the teapot onto the table. Hastily, he responds:

“I see…I’m sorry, girls, that is a subject I’d rather not talk about, Now, probably you can tell me how has Lyra been living in Ponyville?”

Twilight and Grey Wind exchange a puzzled glance. There must be something behind this. Taking a deep breath, Twilight speaks up:

“Mr. Note, I understand that you might not want to speak about it, but this really means a lot to Lyra. When we brought up the topic last night, she was really sad,” Twilight pauses for a bit, and continues, “I haven’t experienced lives without having parents to rely on, but I can tell from one of my friends back in Ponyville, Scootaloo, that it must have felt really, really bad. Lyra and we will really appreciate it if you are willing to tell us the things you know.”

Mr. Note seems to be in deep conflicts within his heart. Minutes later, he lets out a sigh:

“I guess you are right, Ms. Sparkle. My wife and I have been hiding this for long enough. I was going to tell Lyra when she becomes older, but I guess it would be better if I tell you girls first.”

Taking a deep breath, Deep Note begins:

“Lyra’s parents, or my wife’s sister and her husband, didn’t live in Canterlot. To my knowledge, they lived in a town far from here called Hollowshade. Lyra was born there as well.”

The familiar name widens Grey Wind’s eyes. Talk about coincidence. Lyra’s hometown was the exact same town Princess Luna had tasked her to visit. Remembering her promise to the Princess, she quickly hides her emotion and continues to listen.

“Although The town was a small town that was kind of separated from the rest of Equestria due to the fact that it was located in the middle of a large forest, the ponies there were able to sustain themselves, even developing a unique regional culture. The town was also my wife’s hometown, before she moved to Canterlot around 20 years ago, where we met and got married.”

“From the letters we receive from Lyra’s parents, her family was indeed a happy one. They owned a music shop in the town, her father was a great lyre player while her mother was a skillful music conductor. I guess Lyra must’ve inherited her talent from her father.” Mr. Note smiles.

“However, when Lyra was 3 years ago, a cruel disaster befell on her parents. On that day, one of the workers in her family’s music shop noticed that Mr. and Mrs. Heartstrings never came to work that morning, so he set out to their house to look for them.”

“What he found out, however, was that Lyra’s parents were lying on the floor of their house, murdered.”

Both Twilight and Grey Wind let out sharp gasps. That was nowhere near the answer they were expecting. Deep Note looks at the two mares, sympathy and sadness clear in his eyes as he recalled the horrible event.

“People assumed that it must have been wild animals that attacked them in their sleep. Their house was located on the edge of town, so an animal attack is very much possible. They also found their 3-year-old daughter, Lyra Heartstrings, sleeping under a bed sheet on the second floor, presumably escaped her death by being hidden under the sheet.”

“The mayor of the town came to Canterlot 14 years ago and entrusted Lyra to my wife. She told us that we are Lyra’s only living relatives in Equestria, and pleaded us to take care of her. By that time we had already heard about what happened to Mr. and Mrs. Heartstrings, so we accepted her right away. We raised her all the way up until she decided to move to Ponyville. That’s pretty much the whole story.”

The air in the room stiffens. After minutes of silence, Twilight finally works up the courage to speak again:

“That’s horrible…I’m sorry, Mr. Note, that we brought back those bad memories.”

“No need to apologize, Ms. Sparkle, it’s all in the past now. Right now I’m just glad to see my little niece growing up happily and healthily, while making many good friends that care for her in the process.” Deep Note responds, smiling and wiping a tear off his cheek.

“…I didn’t expect that to be the answer we seek …” Grey Wind mumbles, “Thank you anyway, Mr. Note, I guess it would be best for us to take our leave now.”

“Let me see you off,” Deep Note offers as he accompanies the two ponies to the front door. Just before the two ponies leave, he calls out:

“Ms. Sparkle? Ms. Wind? Could you please not tell Lyra about what I just told you? I don’t think she is ready to face the truth yet.”

“Don’t worry, Mr. Note, we won’t.” Twilight replies. The two friends wave goodbye to Deep Note, and trot towards the train station.

The trip to the train station and the quick dinner were both silent. The two friends shared no words before they got on the train back to Ponyville. Looking into each other’s eyes, there was no need for them to guess to know what their friend was thinking:

What are we going to tell her?