Author's Note

Just so you all know, the stringed instrument being used is either a Tagelharpa or a Jouhikko (aka bowed lyre)

XXI: What was lost

When I look at the darkness around me, I notice that it is fading away and wonder, 'Am I waking up?' My question is answered moments later as I register the sound of someone softly singing near me, slowly opening my eyes and look around the room without raising my head. I see that I am in a large room with light blue walls and really clean floors, making me think that this might be a place for healing. I turn my head to my right as I feel someone holding my right hoof and see the shy, light yellow pegasi named Fluttershy holding my hoof. Not wanting to disturb her, I lay my head down and close my eyes to listen to her singing.

When Fluttershy finishes singing to him, she then says, "I should get back to Ponyville and see how everypony is doing, but don't worry Gold Reel, I will be back tomorrow to keep you company." and turns to head for the door.

I open my eyes and then smile saying, "Hello, shy one. I enjoyed hearing you sing, you have a beautiful voice."

She freezes in place and hides behind her mane instinctively, asking in a bare whisper, "Y-Y-You heard?"

I then raise my head and nod with a gentle smile, saying, "I did, though it was only for a minute or so, but I still enjoyed it along with how you were keeping me company, thank you for that. How long have I been asleep?"

Fluttershy then answers, "A-A-About...twelve weeks, which is three months if you didn't know."

Wanting to stretch my body after having been asleep for so long, I then notice something different about my wings and see that there are no feathers on them whatsoever and say, "That is strange, I remember having feathers when I failed to complete the jump." then ask, "What could have happened to my wings in the meantime?"

She then gulps and answers from behind her mane, "Umm...that would have been mine and Rainbow Dash's doing...at Princess Celestia's request for aid. We had to remove them all because of how bad a shape they were in, your wings have never gone through a molt, have they?"

I then shake my head and say, "Not that I remember, what is a molt exactly?"

Fluttershy then comes out from behind her mane a little and says, "Oh, it is a process that every feathered creature goes through once a year to keep their feathers strong and fresh, old feathers fall out and new ones take their place. Your old feathers were in such bad shape that we had to pluck them, but fortunately, your feathers seem to have begun to grow back in. I must warn you that the process is annoying due to how itchy it feels when too many feathers start growing back. It appeared that the spell affecting your wings might be the reason you have not molted yet. So I had to find a way to stimulate your wings into growing new feathers outside of a molt, which was accomplished by a potion from Zecora."

Sitting up, I then start to cast my spell to alter my body saying, "Well that will be an annoying experience if they all fall out at once when I start to molt."

Fluttershy then giggles and says, "Oh they won't do that, they will fall out over the course of a few weeks." then watches his form shrink down, with his wings pulling back and disappearing in his spine and asks, "Are you feeling any better now?"

Ignoring the constant pain of my broken wings that have withdrawn into my spine, I say, "I do, the pain is lessened greatly and my wings no longer give me chills, do you know what time it is?"

She then smiles and answers, "That is good to hear, it is nearing eleven in the morning."

I then smile at her and ask, "Would you be able to let Princess Celestia know that I have awoken."

Fluttershy nods and says, "I will go let her know right away." then stands up and trots toward the door, giving the guards the word to lower the shield and let her out.

Celestia is in the throne room when Fluttershy hurries into the room with a wide smile on her face, bowing to her as she asks, "Has there been a new development, Fluttershy?"

She then nods rapidly and says, "YES!" then clears her throat to calm herself down and then continues, "Ahem, excuse me for my outburst, Your Majesty. What I meant to say is that Gold Reel has finally woken and wanted me to let you know."

A smile appears on her face as she then keeps her happiness under control saying, "I appreciate the news, Fluttershy. Have a great day." She watches Fluttershy leave, when a guard bursts into the room saying, "I bring news from Northern Equestria " then stops before her and bows his head saying, "uh...Your Highness."

Curious, she looks at him and asks, "Yes?"

The guardspony then looks up at her and removes his helmet saying, "I'm to tell you...it has returned.

With a gasp, she turns to one of the guards in the room and says, "You there, find Princess Cadence and Shining Armor at once!"

With a bow, the group of guards say, "Yes, Your Majesty." then take off to go find them.

Celestia then heads towards the throne doors and pulls out a letter and starts writing a letter to Twilight and then sends it off, looking to another guard saying, "Race to the royal medical wing and speak Moonbeam to the two guards at the door, retrieve the pony there known as Gold Reel and bring him here immediately. To exit the room, speak Sunrise and wait for the doors to open, then hurry here for time is of the essence."

The guard then bows and takes off with a quick, "Yes, Your Highness."

As I stretch the rest of my body out while waiting for Princess Celestia to come visit or call for me, the doors to the medical wing open as a guard comes hurrying in.

The guard looks around the room saying, "Is there a pony by the name of Gold Reel here?"

I head toward him and look at him saying, "That would be me, what do you need?"

The guard looks at the pony and says, "Her Highness, Princess Celestia requests your presence immediately, follow me." then returns to the door saying the code word and waits for the doors to open.

I trot after the guard quickly as he waits by the door when it opens, causing him to continue on at a trot, stopping outside the door saying over his shoulder, "We must hurry, she is expecting you urgently." and follow the guard as he gallops down the hallway.

We arrive at the throne room a minute or so later, and then slow down to a walk as the guard opens the doors for me. When I pass the doors, they close behind me as I see Princess Celestia is at the back of the room. Curious as to why I was summoned so urgently, I trot towards her and say, "Good morning, Your Highness. What is the emergency?"

She smiles and then says, "I apologize for having to call you here so soon after you wake up, but there has been a development that I think you would not want to miss out on in your search for who you are."

I look at her and ask, "Oh, how so?"

Celestia smiles and then says, "I was informed by a guard recently that the Crystal Empire has finally returned, so I would like you to accompany a couple on their way. I really hope that you don't have to help them fight, but you would be better off to be prepared for one."

I smile and then say, "There is no need to worry for me, Princess Celestia, I will be prepared for whatever happens."

She then sighs and says, "I don't want any harm to come to yourself, because our healers had a hard time fixing your outer wing injuries!" she is about to say more but just then Cadence and Shining Armor head into the throne room.

Princess Cadence trots up to the throne and stops at the base of the stairs saying, "We're here, Your Majesty. What is going on?"

Celestia then smiles and says, "The Crystal Empire has just returned, so I am sending you and Shining Armor there to protect it. When you arrive in Northern Equestria, be on the lookout for a towering crystal structure. You are to use your shield spells to protect it until Twilight and the others arrive to help save the empire." She then glances at Galadriel and says, "Allow me to formally introduce you all." Looking at Princess Cadence and her husband, she says, "Cadence and Shining Armor, what I am about to tell you is a national secret, so tell nopony else about what you hear." She then directs her gaze to Galadriel, saying, "Princess Cadence, Shining Armor, this is Galadriel, he is an alicorn that has been discovered only recently. Due to circumstances regarding a past he is unable to remember and unrelated to us, he is rendered unable to fly and so he chooses to appear in this form so that he can walk amongst other ponies and prefers to be called Gold Reel." While looking over to Cadence first, then her husband, she says, "Gold Reel, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, though she prefers to be called Cadence. The stallion next to her is Cadence's husband and Twilight's older brother, Shining Armor, he is the captain of the royal guard." She then looks back to the couple and says, "Galadriel will be joining you on this mission, for he wishes to search for answers about his past. Be sure to look out for each other as I know not what his magical abilities are, you may go prepare for the cold temperatures of the north before you depart. So please move swiftly, for your train awaits."

Shining Armor then looks to Cadence saying, "I will meet you at the train, dear."

She then looks at him and nods saying, "Alright Shiny." then kisses him briefly before heading for the throne room's entrance.

The captain then turns to Gold Reel and says, "You will be needing a way to keep warm, come with me." then turns and gallops towards the guards armory for cold weather gear.

After following him to the guard's armory for scarfs and snow masks, we hurry towards the train and get on with Princess Cadence. As the train takes off, I make myself comfortable on one of the seats and look at Princess Cadence saying, "Princess Cadence, I apologize for not staying to attend your actual wedding, I had to teleport away due to your spell undoing the spell that alters my appearance."

Princess Cadence sits on a seat beside her husband say, "Just Cadence please if you would, and that is quite understandable. I am not upset about it because I still got to marry my Shiny, " then curiously asks, "umm...would you mind showing us what your alicorn form looks like, Gold Reel?"

I then nod and say, "Of course not, one moment while I undo the spell." and cast my spell to let my body revert to it's original form."

The two look at his body, having a snow-white coat, an ethereal, flowing black mane and tail with glowing, brilliant amber eyes. Seeing how he looks, she says, "Wow, your coat is certainly whiter than my husbands, which will make it difficult to see you against the snow."

Shining Armor then smirks and chuckles saying, "Yeah, if it weren't for your hard-to-miss eyes, you would be nearly impossible to see during a blizzard!"

Feeling the itching sensation that Fluttershy warned me about, I then say, "Do forgive the appearance of my wings, due to the spell keeping me from being able to make use of my wings, it seems to also prevent my wings from going through a molt. While I was asleep for the past several weeks, Fluttershy told me that she and Rainbow Dash both had to pluck my feathers due to their state. I look forward to when they finish growing back in, the itching certainly is maddening, and it certainly doesn't go away when I cast the spell either."

Cadance then looks at him with sympathy saying, "That certainly is unfortunate to hear, but it was for your own health."

The captain then nods and says, "It's sad that there's a spell keeping you from flying, I certainly hope that the princesses or Twily can find a way to undo it. I've heard from my darling wife here and other pegasi that the itching will stop once the pinfeathers become big enough, which could be anywhere from a couple weeks to up to eight."

I then look at my own wings and chuckle saying, "Well I certainly look forward to having feathers again, I feel as if this 'plucked chicken' look has never been in style."

She then starts giggling as her husband guffaws at that and says, "I do believe that is true, for what I know about wing fashions, I highly doubt anypony has found that look attractive."

I then recast my spell, altering my look a bit so that I at least have a horn and say, "The annoying part about this alteration spell is that it wears off after a day or two."

From inside her cave, Equis watches Galadriel's two day journey to the snowy lands of Northern Equestria with a smile on her face saying, "Hmm...I wonder if I could help him recover some of those memories, but how would I accomplish that?"

She then hears the wordless voice coming from her child, being a chiming, tinkling sound as she then gasps saying, "You are such a dear for helping your mother out with this, now what are you thinking of doing?" Her child replies and she then thinks it over saying, "Hmm...trying to spark some of his memories through our own might not work so well. Do you have any other suggestions, sweet heart?"

Equis waits a few minutes for her child to reply when he finally answers her and says, "Seriously, you want to put all of our magic into a spell of that magnitude?" She then hears her child insist on it and then groans saying, "You are just as stubborn as your father, you know that?" then sighs and adds, "Fine, lets get to it then. I hope that I won't miss too much of Galadriel's adventure, so what do we need to do first to help your father while he's in the north?"

Putting on the mask and the scarf to keep myself somewhat warm, I follow Shining Armor and Cadence out of the car and into the snowy tundra when I feel a distant rumbling and shout against the blizzard, "I think that we should hurry as fast as we can to whereever this place is before whatever made the ground shake catches us out here."

With a nod, they race on into the storm as Gold Reel follows closely behind them. When they finally reach a towering structure two hours later, Shining Armor turns to Cadence saying over the wind and snow, "I think this is it, I will cast the spell and maintain it for a while, then you take over so I can take a break to get us some food and switch over again."

Surprised that this time I didn't revert back to my original form after he casts his spell, I notice immediately as the area becomes much warmer and has gotten rid of the snow, including the raging blizzard all around us. I then look at them and say, "If it's alright with you two, I will wander around here and see if I can get any information from the locals about my past. If you need anything, come find me and I will do what I can."

Shining Armor then says, "Alright, we will explore the castle a little so be careful out here, we don't know what dangers this place holds."

I nod as they head inside and make my way to the first house I see, knocking on the door and wait for it to open, then see a pony with a dull very light cornflower blue coat, eyes varying from an even lighter shade of cerulean to a deep cornflower blue, and having a mane and tail consisting of various lavender hues open the door and greet them saying, "Good day to you, I was hoping that you might be able to tell me anything you remember about the past?"

Autumn Gem looks around nervously, then sees that the snow is gone and says, "The snow is gone, but how?"

I look around and say, "I have came here with some friends that have cast a spell to protect you all from danger."

She then blinks unenthusiastically and shifts her gaze back to him and says, "That was a nice thing to do, but unfortunately, I don't remember anything from before the king came to power. I certainly don't ever want to think about when he ruled over us. I'm sorry that I can't help you."

I then smile in sympathy, then say, "Everything will be alright miss, and like you, I also am unable to remember much of my past. I know how you must feel so lost and unsure of yourself." I then walk up and give her a hug, hoping to make her feel a little better.

Autumn Gem then lightly hugs him back when a slight smile crosses her face, saying, "Thank you for trying to make me feel better."

I then back away from her as a light smile comes to my face and ask, "What might your name be miss? My name is Gold Reel."

She then thinks for a moment before saying, "Well...my name is Autumn Gem, and it was nice to meet you. I hope you have a good day, Gold Reel." then closes the door and goes off to hide from the king.

I sigh sadly and head to a few other houses, finding out that they too, can't remember anything from before the king's rule. I then go to the next house when I am told that they have a library, then make my way there to search for any useful information. When I get there, I head inside and start walking around when I hear someone clear their voice and ask, "Can I help you sir?"

I look at the aged mare with round glasses on her nose with a beaded string around her neck and say, "Yes, I am looking for a book that might tell me about the past history of the Crystal Empire before King Sombra's rule."

She then thinks about it and says, "Oh yes..." then trails off and looks at him expecting to hear what he is looking for.

I then smile lightly and say, "Sorry, would you happen to know where I might find it?"

The mare then thinks for a moment before sighing, "I'm sorry, I-I can't seem to remember anything at all."

I then nod and say, "That's alright miss, I will just wander around and have a look for myself." then head into the library to start checking for anything that might be helpful.

As I spend a few hours in the library, I put the book back and head around to another shelf when something lands on my back, right above my hidden wings. I hiss in pain at the impact of the book and pull the book off, then open it at seeing it just says, 'Magis's Journal.' When I start to read through it, I discover an entry that says how I came to their village with a little filly called Light bright and that this mare named Magis Amore saved us both from nearly freezing to death in a blizzard. I then feel the smoke clear as I start to remember the journey here and keep on reading, to learn that I apparently created the large structure and one called a Crystal Heart which I apparently made out of something called Diamond Crystal. I then keep reading it after learning I left the day I made those two gifts, reading an entry that catches my interest when it says how the mare felt guilty for taking advantage of the stallion in the night as he slept, telling herself that it was just to keep him warm. It also tells me that she became with foal a few weeks later and passed her study of the Crystal Heart onto her daughter named Crystee Amore. I then read that a continuation of the journal is right next to it, and follow it down the line while reading each one until I get to one that tells me that this descendant named, Queen Amore, finally figured out how to power the crystal heart through a festival called the Crystal Faire that began as a way to celebrate the anniversary of when Magis Amore first found the Crystal Heart and learned that she was with foal. I then finish reading the journal and put it back, having learned everything I can from the journals.

When I head outside, I see dark shapes on the horizon and race towards the large structure, finding Shining Armor at the bottom and say, "What are those shapes in the distance?"

Shining Armor shakes his head and says, "Not a clue, which is why I'm going to check it out." and then takes off for the barrier his wife is maintaining for the moment.

I then follow after him and say, "I am also curious, so I shall come with you."

When we get outside the barrier, there are five soldiers wearing black armor with helmets that fully cover their heads with the exception of their manes and tails. I take a closer look and see that every one has an altered appearance and that the eye slits of their helmets have a green glow to them. As they charge toward us, they use the emblems at the top part of their helmets to channel beams of shadow at us, which Shining Armor deflects with a shield asking, "Do you have a shield spell you can use?"

I nod and say, "Yes, though I haven't used it yet."

Shining Armor then briefly drops the spell to fire a beam at the attacking enemy, then raises the shield again, saying, "May as well try to figure out how it works because I want to conserve as much as I can to maintain the barrier."

I nod and then try calling forth my spell, succeeding at the first try and keep it up saying, "Let's see how good I am in combat." and then wander out of Shining Armor's shield, and feel the blasts strike my see-through golden shield and fail to do any damage to me. Knowing that I am going to have to wait for an opportunity to take one of them down, I keep the shield up until one is brought down by Shining Armor. As that successfully distracts the others into attacking him, I drop my shield and blast one of them with my magic rather harshly. When I see the helmet fly off their head, I see the pony's eyes inside stop glowing green as the helmet hits the ground and shatters. Thinking quickly, I use my magic to grab the downed pony and lay them beside me to protect them, and bring my shield back out to cover me and the pony. I then look back at the pony while keeping the shield up and use my hooves to shatter the weak armor around them and see the poor pony underneath the armor lying unconscious with a few scorch marks from where his armor didn't protect him. With an idea in mind, I look over to Shining Armor and say, "Distract them while I take the others out, then destroy the armor when you can and set them beside this other pony!"

Shining Armor nods and then drops the shield to blast another enemy, knocking them back a bit saying, "Piece of cake!" then hits a few more before putting his shield back up. He watches as a bright golden beam of light strafes across the ponies and knocks them all down, allowing him to drop his shield and target their armor with a spell.

I watch as he destroys each armor piece and drags them to safety with the other one I saved, when I hear the sound of marching soldiers and say, "Get them behind the barrier while I think of what to do next."

He nods and quickly moves them inside the barrier after ensuring they weren't being controlled any more by the dark magic and says, "That's all of them, come back!"

I recall a purification spell I learned earlier and then think of how I could use it against the incoming soldiers, then turn to Shining Armor and say, "I will not let these ponies suffer his treatment any longer, stay safe inside the barrier. I do not know how this next spell will affect you if you are outside with me." then turn back around and start to channel my magic into my horn and then look upwards at the looming black clouds saying, "That which hath been wrought of darkness...shall fear the light!" and cast my spell, releasing a great deal of my power.

Shining Armor watches with amazement as a bright, golden light blasts out from him in a pulse that races outward for a long ways. The spell is so powerful that it causes the twisted armor of the hundreds of ponies standing before Gold Reel to change back into more normal-looking armor, along with saving the ponies from being controlled, it also blasts away the gathering black clouds and causes a black mass to quickly race away to the north, howling in agony from the attack. He then looks at the pony and sees that his ethereal, flowing black mane and tail have returned and exits the barrier asking, "Just who and what are you, Gold Reel?"

I look at him and shake my head with a sigh saying, "I wish I knew myself, but I feel something calling out to me and hear it whispering to my mind. It knows my real name, so I will go investigate it. Please get these ponies inside so they can rest, they certainly deserve one." and then start heading back into the city at a swift trot, following the direction the voice is guiding me before Shining Armor can protest saying, "I will return in a few days, but Twilight and her friends should be here to help before then."

The captain sighs as he heads off on his own, shouting, "Be careful!" checking them if they are free of his control first, then begins to drag the ponies back inside the barrier.

As I turn to head north, I find the road that the voice told me to look for and follow it, eventually leading to the west as it is cut into a mountainside. It takes me several hours of walking into the blizzard before it finally lets up, finding myself at a small hamlet built with large logs and a couple of huge yaks on either side of a gate which leads inside. Heading up to the gate, I then knock on it three times so they can hear me.

A guard opens up the gate and then huffs asking, "What white pony want?"

I look up at the guard and say, "I have come here in search of knowledge, for I do not remember my past."

The yak stands there for a moment, thinking about what he should do then says, "Pony wait here, I speak to prince." then closes the door and heads inside to speak to the prince.

A few minutes later, I stand outside the gate when it opens and I see a larger yak with gold rings around his horns and a black crown upon his head.

The yak leader then looks down at the pony and says, "What white pony want with knowledge? I Prince Rutherford."

I dip my head towards him in respect saying, "It is a pleasure to meet you, Prince Rutherford, my name is Gold Reel. I desire to gain knowledge of who I am, for I have lost it. Do you have a way to accomplish that?"

Prince Rutherford thinks hard for a moment, scraping at the ground with his hoof saying, "Yak do...place very sacred to yak. If yak take white pony there, white pony respect place like yak do. Does white pony understand?"

I nod my head and say, "I do understand, please lead the way, Prince Rutherford."

He then looks to the others and says, "Yaks get things for sacred ceremony!"

I wait for them to return and see them all having some sort of objects dangling from strings hanging from rings placed on their horns, with several of them carrying torches and only two carrying a drum and some kind of stringed instrument while only one carries a stick with one end wrapped in some kind of cloth. I watch as a few others carry wood as another yak places golden rings around the prince's horns with the same braided objects hanging from them. That same yak comes over to me and places one large ring over my horn, then returns to the group of yaks.

Prince Rutherford then looks at the gate and says, "Yaks go to sacred place, white pony follow!" then takes off towards the gate.

I gallop after them, finding it somewhat easy due to them clearing a path up ahead as they travel in a single line with the prince in the lead. We arrive at the foot of a mountain with one spot having a straight, flat side seemingly having broken off a great many years ago.

The yak leader then calls out to the others saying, "Yaks build fire, do not light it until sun at horizon."

I watch as they set to building a fire while keeping an eye on the sunset, then they all begin to gather in a really large semi-circle around the fire as Prince Rutherford approaches me.

Prince Rutherford looks at the white pony and says, "Yaks first light incense for ritual, then light sacred fire. When sacred fire lit, white pony stand between mountain face and fire with pony facing mountain. Tell mountain what white pony seeks, then sing and stomp a song which pony chooses. When sing and stomp end, white pony will receive answer if mountain pleased. If not, white pony hear nothing." He then turns away and stands in the center of the semi-circle saying, "Yak light incense!"

I make my way up to the semi-circle of yaks with a space open beside the prince and wait for the incense to be lit hanging from the ring around my horn.

He looks around to watch each incense being lit, with the last one being the one hanging from the pony's horn and says, "Yak light sacred fire!"

As I watch a yak walk up to light the fire, I wait for them to return to the line before walking forward and go around the sacred fire to stand between it and the mountain. Making sure to face the mountain squarely, I then look up to it and speak, "Oh mountain sacred to the yaks, I have come to stand here before you seeking knowledge. Knowledge of my past that would help me know who I am, I humbly ask for your guidance." Without looking back I shift my gaze down towards the horizon and think of what to sing when an idea comes to my mind, saying, "Yak with stringed instrument, play continuous slow and serious tone. Both yaks bearing instruments listen and feel for changes in the song." and let myself fall into a meditative state, intending to let this world's magic be my guide.

Prince Rutherford watches as the white pony stands still, a wind gently blows his flowing mane along in the breeze with the incense hovering around him. His eyes widen with surprise as the pony begins speaking in ancient yak, a language that has been forgotten by their tribe long ago. A slow, irregular beat begins while the sunlight fades, the pony's shadow slowly rises up onto the mountain face. Without moving a single muscle, he keeps staring at his own shadow. When the light slips from the face, making the shadow go away, the pony frowns at the spot where the shadow was. A short silence carries on before the beat stops as the pony begins chanting repeatedly before his shadow slowly starts creeping up the mountain face again, when the pony turns slightly, he notices that the shadow doesn't follow.

The yak leader watches as the pony begins a hopping stomp on his right front leg and his back left leg, alternating them together in perfect sync to the beat of the drum as the other yaks follow along with it. The pony then begins to move forward, weaving from side to side in a line before trot-stomping in a curve back toward the fire, slowly turning toward the east, then to the north to the start of his gradual turn. He finds it strange that he isn't following the rhythm when the yak playing the stringed instrument adopts a livelier tone as a brief pause from the chanting begins for a few seconds before the pony begins to move a bit faster, and is surprised to notice the shadow dance on its own. Briefly surprised at the fire rising a little higher, the shadow dances a little wilder as the pony reaches the closest point to the fire. The pony then makes a short jump beside the first wave in the line, trot-stomping in place while slowly rotating to the right and keeping his hooves together. After a few moments, he hears echoes come from the mountain as the shadow starts to follow the pony's leaps as the pony leaps to the same point far away. The pony trot-stomps in place and brings his hooves down in time with the last two beats as the yak playing the string instrument returns to the slow tone from before, then slowly comes to a stop while the shadow returns to the pony.

With the song at an end, I close my eyes and raise my head up towards the sky and wait to receive a response, thinking, 'I really hope this works...'

Prince Rutherford notices a bright glow from up above and looks up to see the cloudy sky above part with a bright golden figure with wings floats down from the night sky, flying down in a beam of bright yellow light. As the being gets closer to the pony, he watches them reach towards them and try to touch them with one finger.

I stretch my head upward, feeling a warm presence above me and keep my eyes closed and try to touch them with my horn. When I feel something touch my forehead, I receive a flood of memories that I couldn't remember earlier. As the presence restores several of my memories, I can't help but think that there are a few things missing in my memory. When I think back as far as I can, I remember how I came to be here and then smile as exhaustion begins to wash over me and say, "Thank you for granting me what memories you can, Sacred Mountain." then slowly feel my consciousness leave me as I start to fall over.

The yak leader makes his way to the fallen pony and removes the ring from around his horn and douses it in the snow, seeing that the pony was drawing a symbol in the snow that matches the marking on his flank. He then looks at the others and says, "Yaks take white pony to Yak sleeping hut, I make white pony honorary yak."

I wake up the next morning to find myself in a hut on a firm bed of straw, and remember what happened last night with a smile on my face. I get up off the bed and exit the hut to find myself back in the yak village when I hear music coming from a hut across from me. I enter the hut and close the door to find several yaks inside, with no one speaking a single word. Taking that as a hint, I head in and listen to the music that is playing.

After seeing the white pony wake up, he smiles and waits until the song is over before heading outside. When he is outside, he waits for the other yaks and the pony to join him. As the others arrive, he looks at the pony and says, "White pony, yaks are honored with how you reminded all yaks of our forgotten history. Yak leader so impressed with white pony performance that yak leader make pony honorary yak!"

I smile politely as a young yak with long hair walks beside another with a yak helmet with wide horns held up in their hooves, as they approach me, I lower my head until my horn is almost touching the ground so that they can put it upon my head. When the helmet is firmly on my head, made specifically to go around my horn, I look at Prince Rutherford and bow my head to him saying, "I am honored by this great gift, Prince Rutherford. I will treat it with great respect in the days to come."

Prince Rutherford then smiles and asks, "What will white pony do now?"

I then stand up straight and say, "I will return to aid my friends who are defending the Crystal Empire from a malicious shadow, but I believe that they have everything well under control. Farewell for now, Prince Rutherford."

He then nods his head and says, "Farewell white pony, teach shadow to fear thy strength!"

I chuckle and turn saying, "I most certainly will, if there is anything left for me after my friends are done with it." then head out of the village through the gate.

A few hours into my journey, I look up to see a large blue wave race outward, with several ribbons of blue, yellow, and pink flowing outward in all directions. I stop to marvel at it and chuckle saying, "Way to go girls." and continue on my journey back to the Crystal Empire.