The Mulberry Mare Disappears in the Endby YuuChaptersThe Knight Whose Armour Didn't SqueakEpeisodiaFern HillI Wandered Lonely as a CloudI'm Nobody! Who are You?If I Can Stop One Heart from BreakingSome Glory in Their Birth, Some in Their SkillStill I RiseMy Soul Is DarkEpilogue: My Best Acquaintances Are ThoseThe Road Not TakenThe Knight Whose Armour Didn't SqueakShe arrived at a confectionery store, which was roofed with decorated gingerbread. Or so they said. She entered the building and went to a mare behind the counter. “Excuse me, I’m looking for...” the mulberry mare said and stopped. A wave of shivers went from her head to her tail. “I mean, I’m looking for my friend who lives upstairs,” she said, her voice unsteady. “I’m afraid she went to see her family some days ago.” The mulberry mare lowered her head down. The floor had a pattern of pastries and desserts. She raised her head, looked at the pony before her, and inhaled. “That’s strange, she didn’t tell me,” she said. “I agree, it was quite a surprise for us as well. As I understood, she had some urgent family matters, but nothing drastic, I hope.” “I see.” The mulberry mare looked around, looking for something. “May I have a look at her room? She might have left a message for me or one of our friends.” “Of course, please go ahead.” The mulberry mare inhaled and exhaled several times and went upstairs. “Why can't I remember her name?” she said on her way. “Was it Funny, or Mixer?” She stopped and touched her head from different sides with her foreleg. “I don’t have any bruises, so I probably don’t have a concussion that might have led to memory loss. But it still feels like memory loss, just like how I can’t remember why there are so few ponies around.” She came to a door and opened it. Inside the room there was a pink mare with an unkempt raspberry mane. She was curled up on a bed, sobbing. “Hello?” the mulberry mare said. “What happened to you? Why are you crying?” The pink mare moved to look at her guest. Her eyes were red and she had traces of wet fur under them. “Go away.” She paused and coughed several times. “Why? I came to find you, I’m here to help.” “Just disappear. I don’t want to see more of you,” the pink mare said, frowning. “More of me?” “Yes, you illusions. Taunting me for being useless. Well, I've heard it before, so you're the useless one.” “Trust me, I am not an illusion,” the mulberry mare said. She went to the bed and tried to hug the pink mare, who jerked to the opposite side. “Touch me, if I’m real you will feel it.” The pink mare moved her foreleg and touched the mulberry mare. After several moments she opened her eyes and crawled closer. “I’m so glad, you’re really real! You… sorry, I can’t remember your name, what a silly filly.” “I have the same problem,” the mulberry mare said. “For some reason, I can’t remember any names today. I can’t even remember my own.” “That’s very sad. So, I’m guessing you decided to gather everypony to help you figure out what’s going on?” “Yes, you know me too well.” The mulberry mare made a small smile. “You said something about illusions, have you seen anything odd?” “For a moment I believed you were an illusion, because I probably saw some hallucinations. They began to appear after I noticed that other ponies either couldn’t see or hear me. They also ignored me if I touched them.” The pink mare paused and slowly touched the other mare’s leg. “I see,” the mulberry mare said. “Well, they looked for the pony who touched them, but they couldn't find me. I even tried to write messages to them on pieces of paper, they saw the pieces but they ignored my writings. Looks like you're immune to it.” “I hope our friends can see you too. Please go to the library, meanwhile I'll gather them.” The pink mare sighed. “I’ll be there.” “Thank you. See you soon.” The mulberry mare trotted out of the room, off to find the others that she somehow remembered were her friends, though she could not recall their names. Epeisodia“I forgot to ask her name,” the mulberry mare sighed. “Well, it is too late, I should be going.” She left the room. In a corridor, she noticed a drawing on a wall. It depicted a bright spinning top on a dark background. “Has it always been here?” She asked. “I will think about it later, I better be going.” Downstairs there were no ponies, the confectionery mare had gone somewhere. The street was also empty of living things. “No more distractions, I should go this way” she said. “I’d better talk with myself if there are no ponies around.” She trotted for a minute or two, looking around. “Still no ponies.” She felt confused. “I wonder how they feel right now. Are they in danger? I should probably go a little faster, in case they need my help sooner rather than later.” She reached the outskirts of the town. The area had far fewer buildings. She went to a road which wound around small hills and patches of thin coppice. Soon she reached an isolated cottage with a big front yard. There were a multitude of animal burrows and birdhouses around the cottage. She circled the building, but didn’t notice anyone. “I hope she’s here.” The mare said to herself. She went to the front door and knocked. Soon the door opened. “Hello, how can I help—“ A yellow mare with a long pink mane appeared in the doorway. “Oh, it’s you. Please come in.” “Hello, I’m glad you’re home,” the mulberry mare said, going inside. The yellow mare headed for a table and motioned her friend to sit next to her on the floor. They both settled on the pillows and kept silent for several seconds. “Something strange is happening, and I need your help.” “Of course, but what exactly?” The mulberry mare told her about disappearances around the market and in shops. She also explained how she met another friend who was invisible to others. “What do you think, can the spirit of chaos be responsible? You know him better than me.” “Well, um. I don’t think so. He has been very nice recently.” “I see. Thank you. Have you noticed anything unusual today?” “It is hard to say, I’ve been inside all morning.” “Can we go out so you can check? I don’t know your yard as well as you, and we may notice something that can help us figure out this situation.” “Yes, perhaps it is time to go out.” The yellow mare nodded and went to the door. They went out and the mulberry mare went around the building once more. A number of cabins for animals stood on the yard, there were also feeders and water troughs near them. “I remember you had more cabins,” the mulberry mare said. “And you had some animals around, do you know—” “Where they are? I’m not sure, for some reason they decided to go elsewhere.” “But you are so good with them, aren’t you—” “Sad about that? Not really, because they will come back, eventually.” “I see,” the mulberry mare said. “Please come to the library as soon as you can. I will go to gather the others.” “Sure. See you soon.” The mulberry mare turned and walked away. She didn’t head back to the town, instead she went aside. When she made about thirty steps from her friend she turned back to check. The yellow mare sat near a small rock and arranged several fruits next to it. Then she petted the rock, and moved the fruits closer to it. The mulberry mare shook her head. She turned from the yard and continued her trip. “I feel that I’m missing something important about all this,” she said. Fern HillHills with bushes became rows of evenly spaced trees on flatter ground. Soon the mulberry mare reached several colorful buildings and a white fence, enclosing a big yard. She went around and noticed two ponies at the edge of the orchard. The bigger one had a yellow coat and an orange mane, the smaller one was gamboge with a yellow mane. The smaller mare noticed the mulberry mare and trotted to her. “Hi, can we talk?” Before the mulberry mare could answer, the gamboge mare led her closer to the colorful buildings. “You see, my brother isn’t feeling well,” she said when she stopped. “I don’t know what to do, so I’m gonna take him to a clinic.” “Well, it is a good plan. But what happened to him? And where is he?” The gamboge mare pointed somewhere with her forehoof. “What do you mean?” “He is right here,” she said, pointing again. “Uh.” There was no one on this spot. She poked her forehoof around the area. She crossed the spot several times in different directions, just to be sure, but hadn't yet bumped into anyone. There was nothing — at least, nothing tangible. “He’s just avoiding you,” the gamboge mare said. “I see. What about you, are you feeling well?” “Sure. I’m good as new.” “Well, this illness may be related to disappearances of ponies in the town. Could you please come to the library as soon as possible? We can deliver your brother to a clinic afterwards.” “Sounds like a plan. See you later, then.” “I hope so.” The mulberry mare turned around, but the invisible brother hadn’t appeared. She sighed and headed back to town. I Wandered Lonely as a CloudThe edge of town had appeared between the trees when the mulberry mare noticed something unusual in the canopy of a tree ahead. When she got a closer look, the strange object appeared to be another one of her friends. “Hey, wake up! You...” She looked down. “I forgot her name too.” The light cerulean mare, with a mane of at least five distinct hues, slept undisturbed on a big fork of branches. The mulberry mare waited a bit and activated her telekinesis to poke the sleeping mare on her side. Without any result. “That’s strange.” The mulberry mare enveloped the whole body of her friend with a magic field and lifted her up from the branches. Then she slowly moved her to the ground. She came closer and stared at her friend. “She is breathing, and there are no visible signs of trauma.” She turned her gaze to the tree. “And no broken branches where she slept. She probably just decided to nap like she always does. But why can't I wake her up?” She trotted to the tree and back several times, then abruptly stopped. “Maybe she became a victim of whatever made the others disappear. I need to move her to a safer place — yes, the library is better than this tree. And I can’t spend my time just walking there.” She firmly stood near her friend and enveloped both of them with shimmering light. The light gradually became brighter for several seconds, then it went out with a pop. “Why am I still here?” She looked around. “I cast the effect like I did before. Maybe I am too agitated, I need to relax a bit and do everything step by step.” She slowly inhaled and exhaled several times. “First, remember the beacon to my destination. It is in my bedroom in the library. I renewed this beacon spell only a couple of days ago. Focus on it. Check. “Next, remember the three structures of the magic fields for this effect, check. “Next, surround the objects or subjects to transport with the first field, check.” Shimmering light appeared again. “Remember the unique code of my beacon in the library. Integrate the beacon's code into the second field, check. “Surround the first field with the third field to activate the effect. Check.” As she said the last word there was the same popping sound, but she was still in the same spot. “What am I doing wrong? Is it possible that I forgot not only names, but my studies of magic as well? Or has my memory become worse? Don’t panic, I only need to remember how I first studied this effect and connect it to memories of other effects. I can check it this way.” She wrote several figures and symbols on the ground, then connected them in an elaborate graph. She walked around the graph and mumbled something non distinctive. After several minutes she walked to her friend and stood there. “Looks like I have found what I did wrong. So, phase one, check. Phase two, check. Three, check. Four. Check. And che—“ In a flash of light, she disappeared. I'm Nobody! Who are You?The mulberry mare put her friend on a pillow in the main hall of the library and ran out to the street. She passed several empty streets and reached a circular building. She stopped before the front door, paused for several seconds, and knocked. After the lack of response for about half a minute she knocked again, this time more forcefully. “Go away!” someone said. “Please open the door.” “Go away.” The mulberry mare waited for a minute for another response, and, as she got nothing, she opened the door. Pieces of cloth littered the floor, there were prototypes of outfits scattered in disarray, there were even stains on the floor and pieces of broken cups or dishes. She looked around several folding screens and found a slightly shivering pile of cloth on a number of pillows on the floor. “Hello?” “I said go away!” the pile said. “Would you please come out? I can recognize your voice, so please stop hiding.” The pile moved but said nothing. “I have enough problems with disappearing ponies around here, so I don’t want to lose another friend.” A head of a mare with a light grey coat and an unkempt indigo mane appeared from the pile. “Do you remember me?”The grey mare asked. “Well, yes. The only thing I forgot is your name. I’m sorry for that, but unfortunately, I can’t even remember my own name.” “That’s great. I mean, that you remember me. The names are another story. But that’s great, I thought everyone in town forgot about me.” “I see, that’s why you were in such a bad mood.” The mulberry mare sat on the pillow near her friend. “Bad is an understatement. It started yesterday, when a pony I knew came to welcome me to town. Then another one, then another. I thought it was some kind of sick joke, but I started to ask questions, I asked ponies on the streets, and all of them had forgotten me and were treating me as a newcomer. It was horrible! I finally hid here without any idea of what to do. I thought that even my friends had forgotten me — sorry, I shouldn’t have.” “You went through a lot, so don’t be sorry. Could you please come with me to the library? I’m gathering all our friends so we can find out what happened.” “I think I can.” The grey mare moved out from the pile and stood on her legs. “You said ponies have been disappearing? I wondered why they stopped coming to greet me.” “Yes. I don’t know what is going on, but I intend to find out.” “Good. I hope you will. Let’s go.” The mulberry mare nodded and went to the door. They left the circular building. If I Can Stop One Heart from BreakingThe mares passed several other buildings together, then the mulberry mare suddenly stopped. “Do you see that?” She pointed her foreleg towards a side street. The grey mare looked. A lone pony walked across the street, several intersections away from them. “I see her. Looks like there are still some ponies around.” “Wait here, I need to talk to her, I know her.” The mulberry mare galloped to the pony. She had a pale yellow mane and a light steel blue coat, and turned a corner without noticing her pursuer. “Wait!” The steel blue mare kept walking, then turned around another building. The mulberry mare reached this building and turned after her target. There was less than one hundred meters to the steel blue mare when she turned again. “Please, wait!” The mulberry mare turned around a general store. She ran for several seconds then slowed down to walk. She looked around at buildings standing closely to each other, with no passage between them. Another building stood forty meters ahead of her, making a dead end. “She couldn't have flown away, I should have seen her over the roofs. Where is she?” The mulberry mare stumbled and stopped in the dead end, looking around. “Co—” She coughed several times, then slowly inhaled. “Come out! Please, come out! I only want to talk.” She turned her head left and right, then started circling. She looked at the roofs and balconies, then between buildings, but she was the only pony on the street. “Please, show yourself. You—” She turned her head to the ground. “I can’t remember her name.” She suddenly lost height, as her legs collapsed beneath hers. “Please, come out.” She lay down for some time unmoving, then she found some strength to stand up and slowly walked away from the dead end, swaying and tripping over small bumps on the street. She made her way back to the grey mare, who hadn’t moved. The mulberry mare lifted up her head. The grey mare flinched. “Your eyes! What hap—” The mulberry mare shook her head. Her eyes were red and she had trails of darker fur on her face. “I’m sorry.” “She disappeared too. Let’s go.” The mulberry mare turned and walked. The grey mare followed. Some Glory in Their Birth, Some in Their SkillTwo mares, the grey one and the mulberry one, entered the library. Three other mares sat around a big round table: the pink one, the yellow one, and the gamboge one. The cerulean one still slept on a pillow near the table. “Thank you all for coming,” the mulberry mare said. “I want to apologize for forgetting all your names. For the time being, I will have to address you using your descriptions.” “Sure,” the gamboge mare said. “But we have a more pressing issue: the disappearance of ponies,” the mulberry mare said. “I don’t know what’s happening in other cities, but I think we should fix our problem here first, before worrying about them.” “I agree,” the grey mare said. “But I don’t see our pink friend here, what has happened to her?” “Hey, I’m here!” The pink mare waved her foreleg to the grey mare. “She is here in this room, she actually has greeted you. But somehow only I can see and hear her. At the same time she can see and hear us, so I can repeat after her if she wants to say anything.” “That’s very sad,” the yellow mare said. “I hope we can talk to her again soon.” “I can still see plenty of ponies around here, I think,” the gamboge mare said, “but there are also some issues with my family members, which may be related to your problems.” “I see,” the mulberry mare said. “Well, I have a theory.” “Please do tell,” the grey mare said. “We know that some strange things are happening to everyone; someone can’t wake up, someone can’t be seen. Other ponies in town might be having similar problems, and while many of them could decide to just hide to cope with their problems, others might be looking for solutions.” Other mares nodded. “Do you have any ideas about who could help us?” the grey mare asked. “Let’s think about it together,” the mulberry mare said. “I have one idea so far, it is the chimera-like person, his name was... I still can’t remember his name.” She turned her ears to one of the windows. “I think I heard something outside, I will take a look.” She trotted to the door and went out. She looked around, but there was no one nearby. The streets were as empty as before. She returned to the library and sat near the table with her friends. “Unfortunately I couldn’t find— Wait a moment.” She looked at the gathered ponies. “Something is different. There are only four of you. Where is the sleeping one?” The grey mare was looking at where the cerulean mare used to be. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. She was here just a moment ago, I only noticed she was missing when you mentioned it.” “I’m not sure either,” the yellow mare said. “She probably went to another room.” “Maybe she has just disappeared?” The pink mare asked. “I saw her fly through the window.” The gamboge mare pointed to a closed window. “But the window...” The mulberry mare switched gaze between the gamboge mare and the pink mare. “Never mind, we might all have some kind of sickness we don’t know about.” The pink mare vigorously nodded several times. “I have a question.” The mulberry mare looked at the gamboge mare. “Can you see our pink friend here?” “No, I can't see her.” “Well, how many ponies do you see here, excluding me?” the mulberry mare asked. The gamboge mare looked around. “I see the grey one, the yellow one, the purplish one—” “Wait, the purplish one?” The mulberry mare began turning her head. The gamboge mare nodded and pointed her foreleg to a spot near the entrance door. The mulberry mare made a step in that direction. “Could you please describe her?” “She is rather small,” the gamboge mare said. “She has a light grey curly mane and a light purplish-grey coat.” “That sounds familiar,” the mulberry mare said. “I’ve probably seen her in town before.” “Yes, I have seen her before too,” the gamboge mare said. “Well, is she doing anything now?” the mulberry mare asked. The gamboge mare turned her ears to follow her gaze, tilted her head, then explained, “She says that everything is fine and it will be over soon.” “It will be over soon?” the mulberry mare asked. “Does that mean ponies will return? Or stop disappearing? Or—” “You should stop this,” the gray mare said. “I prefer thinking that we will find a solution.” “We’ll get through this, we’ll get through this,” the mulberry mare muttered, then took a deep breath. She returned to the table. “I hope so. I’m still on edge, sorry. But I agree, We can look on the positive side of things. Let’s think of who could be responsible. Any ideas?” “It may be that chaotic guy you mentioned,” the gamboge mare said. “He's certainly very powerful.” “The shapeshifting ponies could be responsible,” the gray mare said. “Well, what about some other species,” the yellow mare said, “like a griffin, or a dragon?” “That’s possible, and I also have one candidate,” the mulberry mare said, “but I can’t remember who exactly. Maybe it will come back to me.” “I remember some notorious criminals,” the gamboge mare said. “One tried to capture ponies to sell them abroad as slaves, and another one also captured ponies, but to sell them as meat.” “I don’t think they can be responsible,” the gray mare said, “because they’ve both been dead for a very long time. By the way, I’m sorry, I need to visit the restroom. I will return in a moment.” “Sure,” the mulberry mare said. “I’ve heard of some good candidates so far, but does anyone have any other ideas?” “Let me think for a moment,” the yellow mare said. “Of course. By the way...” The mulberry mare grimaced and slumped on her pillow. “I’m sorry, I forgot what I was going to say. Where is our gray friend?” She stood up and looked around the room. The gamboge mare pointed to the door. “She just went to—” “I need to see her.” The mulberry mare trotted to the door. She reached the restroom, but it was empty. “Maybe I just can’t see her. Maybe she is still here.” Her gaze travelled from the floor to the ceiling and back. “Please, if you are here, do something.” Nothing moved in the restroom. The air was still. Silence. After waiting for some time, she returned to her friends. “She disappeared. I don’t know what to do.” Still I Rise“Nothing I can do will stop this,” the mulberry mare said. “I see,” the pink mare said. “Looks like there are only four of us left. Well, the gamboge one may say that there are only three.” She slowly stood and moved closer to the mulberry mare. She hugged the mulberry mare with her forelegs and sat down, leaning against her. The mulberry mare sighed and returned the hug. “Well, what should we do next?” the gamboge mare asked. “Now that you mention it, I suddenly remembered that I need to feed my animals,” the yellow mare said, standing up. “I don’t see any animals with you,” the mulberry mare said. “I do have animals. Here is my pet rabbit.” The yellow mare bent under the table, producing a small, white rock. She put the rock on the table. “See? He’s already hungry. So are the others.” She added two more rocks and began moving them on the table one after another. “What a nice bird you have,” the gamboge mare said, looking at the rock. “I can’t let you go. We need to solve our problem first,” the mulberry mare said. “But he’ll die! All my animals will die!” “They’re just rocks,” the mulberry mare said. “And I didn’t see any animals around your cot—” “If you don’t let me go, I will find my own way out.” The yellow mare took the rocks with one forehoof and trotted on three legs to a large window. The mulberry mare followed her with her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re—” The yellow mare jumped into the window and collided with the glass. The glass did not move, and the mare fell to the floor with her rocks around her, caressing her head with her forehooves. The pink mare jumped to her. “Are you all right?” “Oh... Oh.” The yellow mare slowly stood up and turned to the mulberry mare. “You cannot stand between me and my animals.” At the same time she jumped at the window again, ignoring the rocks she left, and the mulberry mare jumped to catch her. The yellow mare passed straight through the window as if it wasn’t even there. Only the rocks were left on the floor. The mulberry mare sat on her haunches near the window. She touched the glass with her forehoof, finding it completely solid, then stood up and ran to the door. She exited the library and looked around. Soon she returned. “I don’t know how she did it, but she just disappeared. I know she can’t fly that fast. Even if someone was helping her, I don’t understand how it happened.” She walked to the table and sat on her pillow. The pink mare also sat near her again. “I get the feeling that I’ve missed something important,” the mulberry mare said. “But I don’t know any magic that can help me remember. It is possible that I used to know something like that, and forgot, but either way it can’t be helped.” “Maybe we can call someone to help us?” the pink mare asked. “Good point,” the mulberry mare said. “As we can’t find out what’s happening by ourselves, let’s call for help. I will write a message to my mentor, though I can’t remember her name. And could you please call for emergency services?” The gamboge mare nodded and made a couple of steps. “Well, you know…” “Ah, please go to the most distant bookshelf, on the right side of it you can see buttons. They are on a small rectangular panel on a wall. Try the yellow button first. If you get no response, press the red one. Don’t wait for a response after pressing the red one, they should consider a situation to be critical in that case.” The mulberry mare said. The gamboge mare nodded again and trotted to the bookshelf. The mulberry mare took a sheet of paper and began to write on the table. She wrote a brief list of phenomena they discovered, then looked around. The gamboge mare hadn’t returned yet. My Soul Is DarkThe mulberry mare turned to the pink mare. They looked at each other for some time. “She is gone, isn’t she?” The mulberry mare asked. The pink mare nodded. “Have you seen anything?” “No. I haven’t looked at her,” the pink mare said. “I heard as she went to the emergency buttons, pressed one, then the sounds faded.” “Then the last thing she did was press the button,” the mulberry mare said. “I hope some help will come. Meanwhile I will finish my message.” “Sure. But I want to apologize.” “For what?” the mulberry mare asked. “You know, any of us might disappear now. I’m sorry, because you will feel bad. So don’t feel bad, you can solve this even without help.” “I probably can, but I’m not sure we have enough time before we also, you know…” The pink mare was silent as she watched how the mulberry mare wrote her message. Soon she stopped writing. “Now I will send it.” The mulberry mare closed her eyes and the message glowed, before disappearing. “What should we do now?” she asked. “Let’s just wait for help, there isn’t much else to do.” “We can talk, maybe we can still think of a possible solution for our problem.” “Sure.” The pink mare moved closer and hugged the mulberry mare once more. “I’m afraid of disappearing. I don’t know what will happen to me.” “I also don’t want to fade away. But I just don’t know how to stop all this because I know almost nothing about it, and I don’t know what to do with what I do know.” “I know. I also know you’re a good friend, and you’ve always helped us.” “Yes, I think so.” The pink mare turned to look directly into the other mare’s eyes. “And not only us. I can remember how you helped our friend’s younger sisters, and their friends, and the other students in their school.” “Well, that’s true. But you’ve also helped a lot of ponies around here.” The mulberry mare also looked in the eyes of her friend. “And you were with us when all those global catastrophes appeared. So I probably have to count every pony in town.” “What is happening with your eyes?” the mulberry mare asked. “They look brown, but they should be blue. Are you feeling—” “You know, I can probably name most of our townsponies. Or at least I could, before we started to forget things.” “Wait. My walls are brown.” The mulberry mare looked around, then turned her head to the pink mare. “I can see my walls through your head!” “I could also name a lot of ponies from other places—” “You’re fading! Please don’t go!” The mulberry mare hugged the pink mare tighter. “...also helped them too, on many—” “Please, please!” The mulberry mare said quieter. “I can barely hear you now, please become normal again!” “...even our leaders—” “How can I solve this alone?” “...you know I—” “You are the last one I have!” “...in you...” “Please!” Her forelegs touched each other through the empty space. She lost her balance and fell through the now-empty space. “Ow...” She put her left forehoof on the floor, then her right forehoof. She lifted her face from the floor. She slowly lifted herself to a standing position. She raised her head a bit, then suddenly hung it. After some time she looked around. She was alone in the room. “Please come back.” She inhaled. “If you can hear me, please come back. If someone can help me return my friends, please do it. I’m so tired. I know they have trusted me many times, and today they trusted me to help everypony. I don’t know. I’m out of ideas. Can someone just return them?” She looked down. Small drops fell, some landing on her forelegs. One after another. “I don’t know what you want from us. Or from me. But I beg you to return them. Or tell me what I need to do. I will do anything for them. Please!” The room shifted. Some more drops fell. “I feel dizzy. Maybe they were right. What if I can find them and return them?” She inhaled and exhaled several times. “I’m not sure. I probably need help anyway. Can someone help me? To find them and bring them back?” Something changed around her. “Can anyone?” One last drop of water fell, passing through her foreleg, and hit the floor. Epilogue: My Best Acquaintances Are Those“Where am I? Where is everyone? Why can I only see stars? And why can't I turn my head or close my eyes? Wait, where is my head?” “Be calm. You’re all right,” an external voice said. “And who are you? Are you a pony? Why can't I see you? Hmm… I can’t see you, but I can feel you are very close.” “I can say. I was in your situation many times—” “How? When? I was in my library, with my friends, then they disappeared one by one. Then everything blacked out. Can you tell me?” “Of course I will tell you,” it said. “But first let me tell you about yourself, so you can understand what happened to you. I know how confusing this is.” “Confusing is an understatement.” The voice of the mulberry mare giggled. “It all started with a black hole,” the external voice said. “You should know what it is.” “Yes, I remember.” “So, we have a black hole about fifty light years away from our star system. By the way, you can’t see the sun because it is night in your location.” “That’s good to know. But why have my senses changed in such a strange way?” “You will understand soon,” the external voice said. “Let me finish. So, the black hole has two relativistic jets, one of them is pointed at our star system. When our planet touches the jet, something strange happens. You see, the jet is pretty narrow, it touches only a small part of the planet’s surface, about one-twentieth.” “Is everyone all right after that?” “You could say that. You see, this planet is inhabited by a single living organism: me.” “But how did I get here? Wait a moment, I was part of you?” “You were an integral part, and you are a separate part now,” the external voice said. “When the jet hit a part of me, it transferred a huge amount of memories from inhabitants of a distant world. I do not know how the black hole acquired these memories, I can only hope that their world hasn't fallen into a black hole.” “Certainly not, I don’t remember anything like that. All the ponies around me were fine until a strange disappearance started.” “Yes, it happened because the flow of information has ended and you integrated all new memories. So, back to your contact with the jet, when it hit you it brought a very large amount of information which you accumulated first, then you started to integrate it. All your cognitive capability switched to this task and as a result you mentally disconnected from me, creating two separate beings.” “That’s strange but interesting. I started to remember when I was you as you mentioned that. It was a very beautiful ability to see the whole sky at once...” “After some time when you will become acquainted with me we will establish a direct link, thus becoming a single mind again.” “I understand. I had all my friends until recently, but now there are only you and me. I need some time before I can live comfortably all alone.” “Of course,” the external voice said. “But it wouldn’t be all alone, when the jet hits me again I will get more information from another planet.” “Do you know why we get memories only from one world at a time? I remember only the world where I lived as a pony, well, a quadrupedal multicellular organism living with many others like me.” “I believe the jet may send memories from different worlds, but my mental processes tune only to one at a time.” “I see. Well, now I have these memories, and when I transfer them to you, you won't feel so alone.” “Actually I hope that one day these memories will show me means of distant communication or of space travel. Due to the aquatic nature of my world, I can’t build anything like this right now.” “That’s very sad. But ponies actually have pretty advanced technology, I’m not sure right now how it can be used to build a spaceship here, but I’m willing to review all my memories to find out.” “Don’t forget that you probably have memories of other people of this world with you,” the external voice said. “You may not see these memories right now because you have a dominant personality with the most memories, but soon you will adapt your old ways of thinking and you can access these memories.” “Well, that would be useful. Anyway, do you have any information regarding space travel or faster than light communication?” “I have some, I will send you some of my memories in a moment.” “Hmm… I see. Let me show you what I have on biotechnology. I believe we have enough organic matter at our disposal, don’t we?” “Yes, of course,” it said. “Oceans of it.” “I have some ideas where the world I visited is located. Please share with me the same information about other worlds.” “Here you are.” “I believe you have already experimented with building from organic and inorganic matter, I need it too. Oh, that’s interesting. And by the way, do you remember any person among the worlds you have visited who may look a bit unusual, like out of her place?” “That depends on your meaning,” the external voice said. “But let me send you some of my memories that may be useful.” “I see. Not exactly what I have in mind, but thank you. You know, my friend told me that it will be over soon. Something of what happened to me and you is really over. But some other things are not. Maybe we can find some clues to a solution to our problems in my memories?” “You probably shouldn’t hurry—” “I endured and suffered when I was losing my friends. I couldn’t do anything useful. I’m in a much better mood now, and I finally can think clearly. I believe together we can do that. I have my library in my mind, well, at least part of it. I have most of my notes, I probably even have memories of other ponies, I’m going to look for them soon. In a sense I still have my friends with me. Are you with me?” “Yes… It's not like I have somewhere else to be,” the external voice said. “Great. You and I are investigating and building a transmitter, or a starship, or whatever can help us reach other habitable worlds. I really want to meet my friends again, or at least their descendants.” “I would like to meet them as well.” The Road Not Taken“Good morning, do you have any cherries?” a mulberry mare with a sapphire blue mane asked another pony behind a market stall. “Sorry, dear,” said the yellow mare in front of her. “They're sold out.” On further examination she had many fruits and vegetables laid out, but not cherries. The yellow vendor adjusted her peaked cap, which created a dark shadow on her face, concealing her eyes and nose. “No problem.” The mulberry mare shook her head, exposing rose and violet streaks in her mane. She looked around, trying to locate another fruit vendor nearby. Failing, she turned back and noticed that the yellow mare had disappeared. The mulberry mare looked all around once more, even behind the market stall, but there was no pony. “Strange,” she said to herself, “is she leaving her stuff like this? Whatever. I still have a full list of items to buy, I can think about it on my way.” She took several steps and looked around again. The market seemed emptier than usual. It seemed emptier than even a minute ago. “Is there a concert or something today?” she wondered. “There should be more ponies around at this time.” She turned around several times, scanning the marketplace. She saw only a few ponies walking around, buying and selling. Several stalls with goods were without vendors. “I forgot about an event today, and that's the reason there are so few ponies around,” the mare told herself, though she did not fully believe it. She looked at the nearest stall without a vendor and scowled. Then she took out a shopping list from her saddle bag, checked it, and went to a small building near the marked square. It has a signboard with an array of several vegetables on it. She went in. “Good morning,” said an orange mare with a green mane. “What are you looking for?” “Hello,” the mulberry mare said. “I’ll check with my list and tell you in a moment.” “Sure, take your time.” The orange mare walked along a counter, adjusting some displayed vegetables here and there. After a minute she excused herself and went through a door to a back room. After another minute the mulberry mare had found what she needed from the shop and looked around for the seller. “Hello? Could you please come back?” she said. She checked behind the counter, and even looked under it. She couldn’t find the vendor. The mulberry mare called once more, then went to the door the vendor had left through. Through it was another room with racks, full of various different boxes and bottles. The mare found another door, and opened it. Inside, there was an even smaller room with cleaning supplies. She searched around a little, but there was clearly nowhere for a pony to hide. The mulberry mare stood up and thought for several moments. “There should be an explanation for this. As far as I know that mare would have no reason to disappear unexpectedly, which means someone or something made her disappear. It could be connected to the absence of ponies in the market. I need my friends — now.” She turned and galloped from the shop.
The Knight Whose Armour Didn't SqueakShe arrived at a confectionery store, which was roofed with decorated gingerbread. Or so they said. She entered the building and went to a mare behind the counter. “Excuse me, I’m looking for...” the mulberry mare said and stopped. A wave of shivers went from her head to her tail. “I mean, I’m looking for my friend who lives upstairs,” she said, her voice unsteady. “I’m afraid she went to see her family some days ago.” The mulberry mare lowered her head down. The floor had a pattern of pastries and desserts. She raised her head, looked at the pony before her, and inhaled. “That’s strange, she didn’t tell me,” she said. “I agree, it was quite a surprise for us as well. As I understood, she had some urgent family matters, but nothing drastic, I hope.” “I see.” The mulberry mare looked around, looking for something. “May I have a look at her room? She might have left a message for me or one of our friends.” “Of course, please go ahead.” The mulberry mare inhaled and exhaled several times and went upstairs. “Why can't I remember her name?” she said on her way. “Was it Funny, or Mixer?” She stopped and touched her head from different sides with her foreleg. “I don’t have any bruises, so I probably don’t have a concussion that might have led to memory loss. But it still feels like memory loss, just like how I can’t remember why there are so few ponies around.” She came to a door and opened it. Inside the room there was a pink mare with an unkempt raspberry mane. She was curled up on a bed, sobbing. “Hello?” the mulberry mare said. “What happened to you? Why are you crying?” The pink mare moved to look at her guest. Her eyes were red and she had traces of wet fur under them. “Go away.” She paused and coughed several times. “Why? I came to find you, I’m here to help.” “Just disappear. I don’t want to see more of you,” the pink mare said, frowning. “More of me?” “Yes, you illusions. Taunting me for being useless. Well, I've heard it before, so you're the useless one.” “Trust me, I am not an illusion,” the mulberry mare said. She went to the bed and tried to hug the pink mare, who jerked to the opposite side. “Touch me, if I’m real you will feel it.” The pink mare moved her foreleg and touched the mulberry mare. After several moments she opened her eyes and crawled closer. “I’m so glad, you’re really real! You… sorry, I can’t remember your name, what a silly filly.” “I have the same problem,” the mulberry mare said. “For some reason, I can’t remember any names today. I can’t even remember my own.” “That’s very sad. So, I’m guessing you decided to gather everypony to help you figure out what’s going on?” “Yes, you know me too well.” The mulberry mare made a small smile. “You said something about illusions, have you seen anything odd?” “For a moment I believed you were an illusion, because I probably saw some hallucinations. They began to appear after I noticed that other ponies either couldn’t see or hear me. They also ignored me if I touched them.” The pink mare paused and slowly touched the other mare’s leg. “I see,” the mulberry mare said. “Well, they looked for the pony who touched them, but they couldn't find me. I even tried to write messages to them on pieces of paper, they saw the pieces but they ignored my writings. Looks like you're immune to it.” “I hope our friends can see you too. Please go to the library, meanwhile I'll gather them.” The pink mare sighed. “I’ll be there.” “Thank you. See you soon.” The mulberry mare trotted out of the room, off to find the others that she somehow remembered were her friends, though she could not recall their names.
Epeisodia“I forgot to ask her name,” the mulberry mare sighed. “Well, it is too late, I should be going.” She left the room. In a corridor, she noticed a drawing on a wall. It depicted a bright spinning top on a dark background. “Has it always been here?” She asked. “I will think about it later, I better be going.” Downstairs there were no ponies, the confectionery mare had gone somewhere. The street was also empty of living things. “No more distractions, I should go this way” she said. “I’d better talk with myself if there are no ponies around.” She trotted for a minute or two, looking around. “Still no ponies.” She felt confused. “I wonder how they feel right now. Are they in danger? I should probably go a little faster, in case they need my help sooner rather than later.” She reached the outskirts of the town. The area had far fewer buildings. She went to a road which wound around small hills and patches of thin coppice. Soon she reached an isolated cottage with a big front yard. There were a multitude of animal burrows and birdhouses around the cottage. She circled the building, but didn’t notice anyone. “I hope she’s here.” The mare said to herself. She went to the front door and knocked. Soon the door opened. “Hello, how can I help—“ A yellow mare with a long pink mane appeared in the doorway. “Oh, it’s you. Please come in.” “Hello, I’m glad you’re home,” the mulberry mare said, going inside. The yellow mare headed for a table and motioned her friend to sit next to her on the floor. They both settled on the pillows and kept silent for several seconds. “Something strange is happening, and I need your help.” “Of course, but what exactly?” The mulberry mare told her about disappearances around the market and in shops. She also explained how she met another friend who was invisible to others. “What do you think, can the spirit of chaos be responsible? You know him better than me.” “Well, um. I don’t think so. He has been very nice recently.” “I see. Thank you. Have you noticed anything unusual today?” “It is hard to say, I’ve been inside all morning.” “Can we go out so you can check? I don’t know your yard as well as you, and we may notice something that can help us figure out this situation.” “Yes, perhaps it is time to go out.” The yellow mare nodded and went to the door. They went out and the mulberry mare went around the building once more. A number of cabins for animals stood on the yard, there were also feeders and water troughs near them. “I remember you had more cabins,” the mulberry mare said. “And you had some animals around, do you know—” “Where they are? I’m not sure, for some reason they decided to go elsewhere.” “But you are so good with them, aren’t you—” “Sad about that? Not really, because they will come back, eventually.” “I see,” the mulberry mare said. “Please come to the library as soon as you can. I will go to gather the others.” “Sure. See you soon.” The mulberry mare turned and walked away. She didn’t head back to the town, instead she went aside. When she made about thirty steps from her friend she turned back to check. The yellow mare sat near a small rock and arranged several fruits next to it. Then she petted the rock, and moved the fruits closer to it. The mulberry mare shook her head. She turned from the yard and continued her trip. “I feel that I’m missing something important about all this,” she said.
Fern HillHills with bushes became rows of evenly spaced trees on flatter ground. Soon the mulberry mare reached several colorful buildings and a white fence, enclosing a big yard. She went around and noticed two ponies at the edge of the orchard. The bigger one had a yellow coat and an orange mane, the smaller one was gamboge with a yellow mane. The smaller mare noticed the mulberry mare and trotted to her. “Hi, can we talk?” Before the mulberry mare could answer, the gamboge mare led her closer to the colorful buildings. “You see, my brother isn’t feeling well,” she said when she stopped. “I don’t know what to do, so I’m gonna take him to a clinic.” “Well, it is a good plan. But what happened to him? And where is he?” The gamboge mare pointed somewhere with her forehoof. “What do you mean?” “He is right here,” she said, pointing again. “Uh.” There was no one on this spot. She poked her forehoof around the area. She crossed the spot several times in different directions, just to be sure, but hadn't yet bumped into anyone. There was nothing — at least, nothing tangible. “He’s just avoiding you,” the gamboge mare said. “I see. What about you, are you feeling well?” “Sure. I’m good as new.” “Well, this illness may be related to disappearances of ponies in the town. Could you please come to the library as soon as possible? We can deliver your brother to a clinic afterwards.” “Sounds like a plan. See you later, then.” “I hope so.” The mulberry mare turned around, but the invisible brother hadn’t appeared. She sighed and headed back to town.
I Wandered Lonely as a CloudThe edge of town had appeared between the trees when the mulberry mare noticed something unusual in the canopy of a tree ahead. When she got a closer look, the strange object appeared to be another one of her friends. “Hey, wake up! You...” She looked down. “I forgot her name too.” The light cerulean mare, with a mane of at least five distinct hues, slept undisturbed on a big fork of branches. The mulberry mare waited a bit and activated her telekinesis to poke the sleeping mare on her side. Without any result. “That’s strange.” The mulberry mare enveloped the whole body of her friend with a magic field and lifted her up from the branches. Then she slowly moved her to the ground. She came closer and stared at her friend. “She is breathing, and there are no visible signs of trauma.” She turned her gaze to the tree. “And no broken branches where she slept. She probably just decided to nap like she always does. But why can't I wake her up?” She trotted to the tree and back several times, then abruptly stopped. “Maybe she became a victim of whatever made the others disappear. I need to move her to a safer place — yes, the library is better than this tree. And I can’t spend my time just walking there.” She firmly stood near her friend and enveloped both of them with shimmering light. The light gradually became brighter for several seconds, then it went out with a pop. “Why am I still here?” She looked around. “I cast the effect like I did before. Maybe I am too agitated, I need to relax a bit and do everything step by step.” She slowly inhaled and exhaled several times. “First, remember the beacon to my destination. It is in my bedroom in the library. I renewed this beacon spell only a couple of days ago. Focus on it. Check. “Next, remember the three structures of the magic fields for this effect, check. “Next, surround the objects or subjects to transport with the first field, check.” Shimmering light appeared again. “Remember the unique code of my beacon in the library. Integrate the beacon's code into the second field, check. “Surround the first field with the third field to activate the effect. Check.” As she said the last word there was the same popping sound, but she was still in the same spot. “What am I doing wrong? Is it possible that I forgot not only names, but my studies of magic as well? Or has my memory become worse? Don’t panic, I only need to remember how I first studied this effect and connect it to memories of other effects. I can check it this way.” She wrote several figures and symbols on the ground, then connected them in an elaborate graph. She walked around the graph and mumbled something non distinctive. After several minutes she walked to her friend and stood there. “Looks like I have found what I did wrong. So, phase one, check. Phase two, check. Three, check. Four. Check. And che—“ In a flash of light, she disappeared.
I'm Nobody! Who are You?The mulberry mare put her friend on a pillow in the main hall of the library and ran out to the street. She passed several empty streets and reached a circular building. She stopped before the front door, paused for several seconds, and knocked. After the lack of response for about half a minute she knocked again, this time more forcefully. “Go away!” someone said. “Please open the door.” “Go away.” The mulberry mare waited for a minute for another response, and, as she got nothing, she opened the door. Pieces of cloth littered the floor, there were prototypes of outfits scattered in disarray, there were even stains on the floor and pieces of broken cups or dishes. She looked around several folding screens and found a slightly shivering pile of cloth on a number of pillows on the floor. “Hello?” “I said go away!” the pile said. “Would you please come out? I can recognize your voice, so please stop hiding.” The pile moved but said nothing. “I have enough problems with disappearing ponies around here, so I don’t want to lose another friend.” A head of a mare with a light grey coat and an unkempt indigo mane appeared from the pile. “Do you remember me?”The grey mare asked. “Well, yes. The only thing I forgot is your name. I’m sorry for that, but unfortunately, I can’t even remember my own name.” “That’s great. I mean, that you remember me. The names are another story. But that’s great, I thought everyone in town forgot about me.” “I see, that’s why you were in such a bad mood.” The mulberry mare sat on the pillow near her friend. “Bad is an understatement. It started yesterday, when a pony I knew came to welcome me to town. Then another one, then another. I thought it was some kind of sick joke, but I started to ask questions, I asked ponies on the streets, and all of them had forgotten me and were treating me as a newcomer. It was horrible! I finally hid here without any idea of what to do. I thought that even my friends had forgotten me — sorry, I shouldn’t have.” “You went through a lot, so don’t be sorry. Could you please come with me to the library? I’m gathering all our friends so we can find out what happened.” “I think I can.” The grey mare moved out from the pile and stood on her legs. “You said ponies have been disappearing? I wondered why they stopped coming to greet me.” “Yes. I don’t know what is going on, but I intend to find out.” “Good. I hope you will. Let’s go.” The mulberry mare nodded and went to the door. They left the circular building.
If I Can Stop One Heart from BreakingThe mares passed several other buildings together, then the mulberry mare suddenly stopped. “Do you see that?” She pointed her foreleg towards a side street. The grey mare looked. A lone pony walked across the street, several intersections away from them. “I see her. Looks like there are still some ponies around.” “Wait here, I need to talk to her, I know her.” The mulberry mare galloped to the pony. She had a pale yellow mane and a light steel blue coat, and turned a corner without noticing her pursuer. “Wait!” The steel blue mare kept walking, then turned around another building. The mulberry mare reached this building and turned after her target. There was less than one hundred meters to the steel blue mare when she turned again. “Please, wait!” The mulberry mare turned around a general store. She ran for several seconds then slowed down to walk. She looked around at buildings standing closely to each other, with no passage between them. Another building stood forty meters ahead of her, making a dead end. “She couldn't have flown away, I should have seen her over the roofs. Where is she?” The mulberry mare stumbled and stopped in the dead end, looking around. “Co—” She coughed several times, then slowly inhaled. “Come out! Please, come out! I only want to talk.” She turned her head left and right, then started circling. She looked at the roofs and balconies, then between buildings, but she was the only pony on the street. “Please, show yourself. You—” She turned her head to the ground. “I can’t remember her name.” She suddenly lost height, as her legs collapsed beneath hers. “Please, come out.” She lay down for some time unmoving, then she found some strength to stand up and slowly walked away from the dead end, swaying and tripping over small bumps on the street. She made her way back to the grey mare, who hadn’t moved. The mulberry mare lifted up her head. The grey mare flinched. “Your eyes! What hap—” The mulberry mare shook her head. Her eyes were red and she had trails of darker fur on her face. “I’m sorry.” “She disappeared too. Let’s go.” The mulberry mare turned and walked. The grey mare followed.
Some Glory in Their Birth, Some in Their SkillTwo mares, the grey one and the mulberry one, entered the library. Three other mares sat around a big round table: the pink one, the yellow one, and the gamboge one. The cerulean one still slept on a pillow near the table. “Thank you all for coming,” the mulberry mare said. “I want to apologize for forgetting all your names. For the time being, I will have to address you using your descriptions.” “Sure,” the gamboge mare said. “But we have a more pressing issue: the disappearance of ponies,” the mulberry mare said. “I don’t know what’s happening in other cities, but I think we should fix our problem here first, before worrying about them.” “I agree,” the grey mare said. “But I don’t see our pink friend here, what has happened to her?” “Hey, I’m here!” The pink mare waved her foreleg to the grey mare. “She is here in this room, she actually has greeted you. But somehow only I can see and hear her. At the same time she can see and hear us, so I can repeat after her if she wants to say anything.” “That’s very sad,” the yellow mare said. “I hope we can talk to her again soon.” “I can still see plenty of ponies around here, I think,” the gamboge mare said, “but there are also some issues with my family members, which may be related to your problems.” “I see,” the mulberry mare said. “Well, I have a theory.” “Please do tell,” the grey mare said. “We know that some strange things are happening to everyone; someone can’t wake up, someone can’t be seen. Other ponies in town might be having similar problems, and while many of them could decide to just hide to cope with their problems, others might be looking for solutions.” Other mares nodded. “Do you have any ideas about who could help us?” the grey mare asked. “Let’s think about it together,” the mulberry mare said. “I have one idea so far, it is the chimera-like person, his name was... I still can’t remember his name.” She turned her ears to one of the windows. “I think I heard something outside, I will take a look.” She trotted to the door and went out. She looked around, but there was no one nearby. The streets were as empty as before. She returned to the library and sat near the table with her friends. “Unfortunately I couldn’t find— Wait a moment.” She looked at the gathered ponies. “Something is different. There are only four of you. Where is the sleeping one?” The grey mare was looking at where the cerulean mare used to be. “I’m sorry, I don’t know. She was here just a moment ago, I only noticed she was missing when you mentioned it.” “I’m not sure either,” the yellow mare said. “She probably went to another room.” “Maybe she has just disappeared?” The pink mare asked. “I saw her fly through the window.” The gamboge mare pointed to a closed window. “But the window...” The mulberry mare switched gaze between the gamboge mare and the pink mare. “Never mind, we might all have some kind of sickness we don’t know about.” The pink mare vigorously nodded several times. “I have a question.” The mulberry mare looked at the gamboge mare. “Can you see our pink friend here?” “No, I can't see her.” “Well, how many ponies do you see here, excluding me?” the mulberry mare asked. The gamboge mare looked around. “I see the grey one, the yellow one, the purplish one—” “Wait, the purplish one?” The mulberry mare began turning her head. The gamboge mare nodded and pointed her foreleg to a spot near the entrance door. The mulberry mare made a step in that direction. “Could you please describe her?” “She is rather small,” the gamboge mare said. “She has a light grey curly mane and a light purplish-grey coat.” “That sounds familiar,” the mulberry mare said. “I’ve probably seen her in town before.” “Yes, I have seen her before too,” the gamboge mare said. “Well, is she doing anything now?” the mulberry mare asked. The gamboge mare turned her ears to follow her gaze, tilted her head, then explained, “She says that everything is fine and it will be over soon.” “It will be over soon?” the mulberry mare asked. “Does that mean ponies will return? Or stop disappearing? Or—” “You should stop this,” the gray mare said. “I prefer thinking that we will find a solution.” “We’ll get through this, we’ll get through this,” the mulberry mare muttered, then took a deep breath. She returned to the table. “I hope so. I’m still on edge, sorry. But I agree, We can look on the positive side of things. Let’s think of who could be responsible. Any ideas?” “It may be that chaotic guy you mentioned,” the gamboge mare said. “He's certainly very powerful.” “The shapeshifting ponies could be responsible,” the gray mare said. “Well, what about some other species,” the yellow mare said, “like a griffin, or a dragon?” “That’s possible, and I also have one candidate,” the mulberry mare said, “but I can’t remember who exactly. Maybe it will come back to me.” “I remember some notorious criminals,” the gamboge mare said. “One tried to capture ponies to sell them abroad as slaves, and another one also captured ponies, but to sell them as meat.” “I don’t think they can be responsible,” the gray mare said, “because they’ve both been dead for a very long time. By the way, I’m sorry, I need to visit the restroom. I will return in a moment.” “Sure,” the mulberry mare said. “I’ve heard of some good candidates so far, but does anyone have any other ideas?” “Let me think for a moment,” the yellow mare said. “Of course. By the way...” The mulberry mare grimaced and slumped on her pillow. “I’m sorry, I forgot what I was going to say. Where is our gray friend?” She stood up and looked around the room. The gamboge mare pointed to the door. “She just went to—” “I need to see her.” The mulberry mare trotted to the door. She reached the restroom, but it was empty. “Maybe I just can’t see her. Maybe she is still here.” Her gaze travelled from the floor to the ceiling and back. “Please, if you are here, do something.” Nothing moved in the restroom. The air was still. Silence. After waiting for some time, she returned to her friends. “She disappeared. I don’t know what to do.”
Still I Rise“Nothing I can do will stop this,” the mulberry mare said. “I see,” the pink mare said. “Looks like there are only four of us left. Well, the gamboge one may say that there are only three.” She slowly stood and moved closer to the mulberry mare. She hugged the mulberry mare with her forelegs and sat down, leaning against her. The mulberry mare sighed and returned the hug. “Well, what should we do next?” the gamboge mare asked. “Now that you mention it, I suddenly remembered that I need to feed my animals,” the yellow mare said, standing up. “I don’t see any animals with you,” the mulberry mare said. “I do have animals. Here is my pet rabbit.” The yellow mare bent under the table, producing a small, white rock. She put the rock on the table. “See? He’s already hungry. So are the others.” She added two more rocks and began moving them on the table one after another. “What a nice bird you have,” the gamboge mare said, looking at the rock. “I can’t let you go. We need to solve our problem first,” the mulberry mare said. “But he’ll die! All my animals will die!” “They’re just rocks,” the mulberry mare said. “And I didn’t see any animals around your cot—” “If you don’t let me go, I will find my own way out.” The yellow mare took the rocks with one forehoof and trotted on three legs to a large window. The mulberry mare followed her with her gaze. “I don’t know what you’re—” The yellow mare jumped into the window and collided with the glass. The glass did not move, and the mare fell to the floor with her rocks around her, caressing her head with her forehooves. The pink mare jumped to her. “Are you all right?” “Oh... Oh.” The yellow mare slowly stood up and turned to the mulberry mare. “You cannot stand between me and my animals.” At the same time she jumped at the window again, ignoring the rocks she left, and the mulberry mare jumped to catch her. The yellow mare passed straight through the window as if it wasn’t even there. Only the rocks were left on the floor. The mulberry mare sat on her haunches near the window. She touched the glass with her forehoof, finding it completely solid, then stood up and ran to the door. She exited the library and looked around. Soon she returned. “I don’t know how she did it, but she just disappeared. I know she can’t fly that fast. Even if someone was helping her, I don’t understand how it happened.” She walked to the table and sat on her pillow. The pink mare also sat near her again. “I get the feeling that I’ve missed something important,” the mulberry mare said. “But I don’t know any magic that can help me remember. It is possible that I used to know something like that, and forgot, but either way it can’t be helped.” “Maybe we can call someone to help us?” the pink mare asked. “Good point,” the mulberry mare said. “As we can’t find out what’s happening by ourselves, let’s call for help. I will write a message to my mentor, though I can’t remember her name. And could you please call for emergency services?” The gamboge mare nodded and made a couple of steps. “Well, you know…” “Ah, please go to the most distant bookshelf, on the right side of it you can see buttons. They are on a small rectangular panel on a wall. Try the yellow button first. If you get no response, press the red one. Don’t wait for a response after pressing the red one, they should consider a situation to be critical in that case.” The mulberry mare said. The gamboge mare nodded again and trotted to the bookshelf. The mulberry mare took a sheet of paper and began to write on the table. She wrote a brief list of phenomena they discovered, then looked around. The gamboge mare hadn’t returned yet.
My Soul Is DarkThe mulberry mare turned to the pink mare. They looked at each other for some time. “She is gone, isn’t she?” The mulberry mare asked. The pink mare nodded. “Have you seen anything?” “No. I haven’t looked at her,” the pink mare said. “I heard as she went to the emergency buttons, pressed one, then the sounds faded.” “Then the last thing she did was press the button,” the mulberry mare said. “I hope some help will come. Meanwhile I will finish my message.” “Sure. But I want to apologize.” “For what?” the mulberry mare asked. “You know, any of us might disappear now. I’m sorry, because you will feel bad. So don’t feel bad, you can solve this even without help.” “I probably can, but I’m not sure we have enough time before we also, you know…” The pink mare was silent as she watched how the mulberry mare wrote her message. Soon she stopped writing. “Now I will send it.” The mulberry mare closed her eyes and the message glowed, before disappearing. “What should we do now?” she asked. “Let’s just wait for help, there isn’t much else to do.” “We can talk, maybe we can still think of a possible solution for our problem.” “Sure.” The pink mare moved closer and hugged the mulberry mare once more. “I’m afraid of disappearing. I don’t know what will happen to me.” “I also don’t want to fade away. But I just don’t know how to stop all this because I know almost nothing about it, and I don’t know what to do with what I do know.” “I know. I also know you’re a good friend, and you’ve always helped us.” “Yes, I think so.” The pink mare turned to look directly into the other mare’s eyes. “And not only us. I can remember how you helped our friend’s younger sisters, and their friends, and the other students in their school.” “Well, that’s true. But you’ve also helped a lot of ponies around here.” The mulberry mare also looked in the eyes of her friend. “And you were with us when all those global catastrophes appeared. So I probably have to count every pony in town.” “What is happening with your eyes?” the mulberry mare asked. “They look brown, but they should be blue. Are you feeling—” “You know, I can probably name most of our townsponies. Or at least I could, before we started to forget things.” “Wait. My walls are brown.” The mulberry mare looked around, then turned her head to the pink mare. “I can see my walls through your head!” “I could also name a lot of ponies from other places—” “You’re fading! Please don’t go!” The mulberry mare hugged the pink mare tighter. “...also helped them too, on many—” “Please, please!” The mulberry mare said quieter. “I can barely hear you now, please become normal again!” “...even our leaders—” “How can I solve this alone?” “...you know I—” “You are the last one I have!” “...in you...” “Please!” Her forelegs touched each other through the empty space. She lost her balance and fell through the now-empty space. “Ow...” She put her left forehoof on the floor, then her right forehoof. She lifted her face from the floor. She slowly lifted herself to a standing position. She raised her head a bit, then suddenly hung it. After some time she looked around. She was alone in the room. “Please come back.” She inhaled. “If you can hear me, please come back. If someone can help me return my friends, please do it. I’m so tired. I know they have trusted me many times, and today they trusted me to help everypony. I don’t know. I’m out of ideas. Can someone just return them?” She looked down. Small drops fell, some landing on her forelegs. One after another. “I don’t know what you want from us. Or from me. But I beg you to return them. Or tell me what I need to do. I will do anything for them. Please!” The room shifted. Some more drops fell. “I feel dizzy. Maybe they were right. What if I can find them and return them?” She inhaled and exhaled several times. “I’m not sure. I probably need help anyway. Can someone help me? To find them and bring them back?” Something changed around her. “Can anyone?” One last drop of water fell, passing through her foreleg, and hit the floor.
Epilogue: My Best Acquaintances Are Those“Where am I? Where is everyone? Why can I only see stars? And why can't I turn my head or close my eyes? Wait, where is my head?” “Be calm. You’re all right,” an external voice said. “And who are you? Are you a pony? Why can't I see you? Hmm… I can’t see you, but I can feel you are very close.” “I can say. I was in your situation many times—” “How? When? I was in my library, with my friends, then they disappeared one by one. Then everything blacked out. Can you tell me?” “Of course I will tell you,” it said. “But first let me tell you about yourself, so you can understand what happened to you. I know how confusing this is.” “Confusing is an understatement.” The voice of the mulberry mare giggled. “It all started with a black hole,” the external voice said. “You should know what it is.” “Yes, I remember.” “So, we have a black hole about fifty light years away from our star system. By the way, you can’t see the sun because it is night in your location.” “That’s good to know. But why have my senses changed in such a strange way?” “You will understand soon,” the external voice said. “Let me finish. So, the black hole has two relativistic jets, one of them is pointed at our star system. When our planet touches the jet, something strange happens. You see, the jet is pretty narrow, it touches only a small part of the planet’s surface, about one-twentieth.” “Is everyone all right after that?” “You could say that. You see, this planet is inhabited by a single living organism: me.” “But how did I get here? Wait a moment, I was part of you?” “You were an integral part, and you are a separate part now,” the external voice said. “When the jet hit a part of me, it transferred a huge amount of memories from inhabitants of a distant world. I do not know how the black hole acquired these memories, I can only hope that their world hasn't fallen into a black hole.” “Certainly not, I don’t remember anything like that. All the ponies around me were fine until a strange disappearance started.” “Yes, it happened because the flow of information has ended and you integrated all new memories. So, back to your contact with the jet, when it hit you it brought a very large amount of information which you accumulated first, then you started to integrate it. All your cognitive capability switched to this task and as a result you mentally disconnected from me, creating two separate beings.” “That’s strange but interesting. I started to remember when I was you as you mentioned that. It was a very beautiful ability to see the whole sky at once...” “After some time when you will become acquainted with me we will establish a direct link, thus becoming a single mind again.” “I understand. I had all my friends until recently, but now there are only you and me. I need some time before I can live comfortably all alone.” “Of course,” the external voice said. “But it wouldn’t be all alone, when the jet hits me again I will get more information from another planet.” “Do you know why we get memories only from one world at a time? I remember only the world where I lived as a pony, well, a quadrupedal multicellular organism living with many others like me.” “I believe the jet may send memories from different worlds, but my mental processes tune only to one at a time.” “I see. Well, now I have these memories, and when I transfer them to you, you won't feel so alone.” “Actually I hope that one day these memories will show me means of distant communication or of space travel. Due to the aquatic nature of my world, I can’t build anything like this right now.” “That’s very sad. But ponies actually have pretty advanced technology, I’m not sure right now how it can be used to build a spaceship here, but I’m willing to review all my memories to find out.” “Don’t forget that you probably have memories of other people of this world with you,” the external voice said. “You may not see these memories right now because you have a dominant personality with the most memories, but soon you will adapt your old ways of thinking and you can access these memories.” “Well, that would be useful. Anyway, do you have any information regarding space travel or faster than light communication?” “I have some, I will send you some of my memories in a moment.” “Hmm… I see. Let me show you what I have on biotechnology. I believe we have enough organic matter at our disposal, don’t we?” “Yes, of course,” it said. “Oceans of it.” “I have some ideas where the world I visited is located. Please share with me the same information about other worlds.” “Here you are.” “I believe you have already experimented with building from organic and inorganic matter, I need it too. Oh, that’s interesting. And by the way, do you remember any person among the worlds you have visited who may look a bit unusual, like out of her place?” “That depends on your meaning,” the external voice said. “But let me send you some of my memories that may be useful.” “I see. Not exactly what I have in mind, but thank you. You know, my friend told me that it will be over soon. Something of what happened to me and you is really over. But some other things are not. Maybe we can find some clues to a solution to our problems in my memories?” “You probably shouldn’t hurry—” “I endured and suffered when I was losing my friends. I couldn’t do anything useful. I’m in a much better mood now, and I finally can think clearly. I believe together we can do that. I have my library in my mind, well, at least part of it. I have most of my notes, I probably even have memories of other ponies, I’m going to look for them soon. In a sense I still have my friends with me. Are you with me?” “Yes… It's not like I have somewhere else to be,” the external voice said. “Great. You and I are investigating and building a transmitter, or a starship, or whatever can help us reach other habitable worlds. I really want to meet my friends again, or at least their descendants.” “I would like to meet them as well.”
The Road Not Taken“Good morning, do you have any cherries?” a mulberry mare with a sapphire blue mane asked another pony behind a market stall. “Sorry, dear,” said the yellow mare in front of her. “They're sold out.” On further examination she had many fruits and vegetables laid out, but not cherries. The yellow vendor adjusted her peaked cap, which created a dark shadow on her face, concealing her eyes and nose. “No problem.” The mulberry mare shook her head, exposing rose and violet streaks in her mane. She looked around, trying to locate another fruit vendor nearby. Failing, she turned back and noticed that the yellow mare had disappeared. The mulberry mare looked all around once more, even behind the market stall, but there was no pony. “Strange,” she said to herself, “is she leaving her stuff like this? Whatever. I still have a full list of items to buy, I can think about it on my way.” She took several steps and looked around again. The market seemed emptier than usual. It seemed emptier than even a minute ago. “Is there a concert or something today?” she wondered. “There should be more ponies around at this time.” She turned around several times, scanning the marketplace. She saw only a few ponies walking around, buying and selling. Several stalls with goods were without vendors. “I forgot about an event today, and that's the reason there are so few ponies around,” the mare told herself, though she did not fully believe it. She looked at the nearest stall without a vendor and scowled. Then she took out a shopping list from her saddle bag, checked it, and went to a small building near the marked square. It has a signboard with an array of several vegetables on it. She went in. “Good morning,” said an orange mare with a green mane. “What are you looking for?” “Hello,” the mulberry mare said. “I’ll check with my list and tell you in a moment.” “Sure, take your time.” The orange mare walked along a counter, adjusting some displayed vegetables here and there. After a minute she excused herself and went through a door to a back room. After another minute the mulberry mare had found what she needed from the shop and looked around for the seller. “Hello? Could you please come back?” she said. She checked behind the counter, and even looked under it. She couldn’t find the vendor. The mulberry mare called once more, then went to the door the vendor had left through. Through it was another room with racks, full of various different boxes and bottles. The mare found another door, and opened it. Inside, there was an even smaller room with cleaning supplies. She searched around a little, but there was clearly nowhere for a pony to hide. The mulberry mare stood up and thought for several moments. “There should be an explanation for this. As far as I know that mare would have no reason to disappear unexpectedly, which means someone or something made her disappear. It could be connected to the absence of ponies in the market. I need my friends — now.” She turned and galloped from the shop.
