The Riseby SirCipheredChaptersMergerSubmergedImmersionMergerIt was autumn. The trees of Ponyville faded into a kaleidoscopic mixture of colours, as they all slowly shriveled, died, blew away, and fell back into the ground. I had just woke from a long rest following an unexpected "welcoming party" that Pinkie Pie had organized. The window to my room was open, letting in the outside air. Donning my cap, I made my way downstairs to speak shortly with the innkeeper. "Morning, miss Quilt," I greeted her. "Morning, Stormfront," she replied, "Did you enjoy the inn for today?" "Indeed I did," I assured, smiling. "Well, I've got to go now." "Goodbye!" She said as I departed out the door. "Stormfront!" I looked to my right. Twilight was coming down the road to me. "Morning," I told her. She smiled. "Say," I asked, "Do you have any books on astronomy?" Twilight blinked. "Oh, yes, I do. Want to come over?" "Sure," I said. --(%)-- Once again, I was perusing Twilight Sparkle's library. Tomes of knowledge, mythology, medicine, science, and much more surrounded me as I read a book about the constellations. Something was brought to my attention: magic. It didn't in any way seem logical. I decided to read a book about spells to see if it'd hint at how magic worked, but I didn't find any answers. Instead, I found, obviously, spells. Spells on aging, cloning, forcefields, levitation, psychological manipulation, enchanted crystal interaction, transformation, and materialization. None of this makes a bit of sense, I thought. At some point, my curiosity had overriden my desire to investigate what Applejack had seen. "Twilight." She looked up from a scroll. "Yes?" "How do spells work?" She winced. "Well, we don't exactly know for sure." "Any myths or legends, perhaps?" I was desperate to know. "There's the legend of how the alicorns came to be," she replied. "Tell me about it." Granted, she still hadn't told me what an alicorn was, there was mention of a "Princess Celestia" and a "Princess Luna" in the constellation guide, so I assumed I knew who she meant. "A long time ago, before Equestria, Discord ruled, and the world was in chaos." "Is that an allegory for constant political imbalance?" I wondered if it was literal. "No, it's literal. A dragonequus, Discord, caused chaos throughout Equestria. But he was stopped by two sisters who used the elements of harmony to end the terror, and unite Equestria as one." "Does it say how they got the... elements of harmony? Or perhaps how magic was developed?" Twilight shook her head. "No," she responded. "Perhaps there are some ruins or old records...?" I didn't care about the star anymore, I wanted to know. "They found something weird while digging the train tunnel to Canterlot," she said, "But I don't know if it was a ruin. Perhaps we could go see?" I hopped off the chair I was sitting on. "Let's," I eagerly declared, trotting to the door happily. "Okay, one moment. Spike! Send this letter to Celestia!" "Okay..." A voice mumbled from above. --(%)-- We followed the train tracks up to a tunnel in a mountain. Inside the tunnel, a secondary chamber broke off from the tracks, but there were no tracks down it. "Now," Twilight ordered, "I'll use a spell in order to illuminate the cave." Huh? I was about to see a spell in action. The two of us stepped inside the tunnel, and she stopped. Her horn glowed a light purple. She focused more, and a spark flashed from the tip of her horn. It was as if she'd fixed a light bulb to the end of it, for it filled the cave with light of a purple hue, enough for us to see and make our way through the cave. I observed the walls. It seemed as if it were carved out of the rock by some strange force. We followed the chamber into a turn, and that's when I noticed something: the section we had just exited was dug much more recently than what we had just entered. "Twilight, what's that?" Her light wasn't reaching far enough for me to see it well enough, but there was something there. Something odd. "I'll get closer to there," she said, and approached the object. It appeared to be... a thing. But it was familiar. Then, I had another flashback. This device was found in a submerged cave near the Jentae High Command structure. A similar object was located one mile from the mantle on Titan. It appears to emit electromagnetic radiation... I faded back into reality. Suddenly, I remembered something huge. I couldn't say anything about it though, but it was important. Twilight's illumination spell began to fizzle out. "Maybe we should get away from it," she said. I looked at the object. "Perhaps," I replied. It resembled a sort of pod, with a strange symbol on its side. "I've seen all I need to know," I assured Twilight. We turned to leave, but before seeing the exiting chamber, something caught my eye. A large inscription in the cave, in some sort of text I didn't know, and imagery painted on the walls, mainly a scene of two ponies defeating an odd figure using six crystal-like objects. Elements of Harmony, perhaps? "Hey," I asked, "What's that painting?" I looked off to the left, where a depiction was on the wall. Twilight's light spell wasn't allowing me to see it well enough. "Let's have a look." We went to the painting. Two winged ponies stood, one white, one dark blue. The white one had a horn, and had the sun above its body. The dark blue one had a horn as well, and had the moon above its body. "That's Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Twilight explained. "So, they control the moon and the sun?" "That's how the legend goes," said Twilight, "But I doubt it's true." "Okay, nothing else here." I was eager to leave and lay down. --(%)-- I stopped at the inn, and allowed Twilight to go home. Collapsing on my bed, I shuffled my thoughts. Jentae, Titan, Kranites, the Theory...I pondered over what I had rediscovered earlier that day. Suddenly, there came a tapping, as if someone was gently rapping, rapping at my inn room window. I looked up. It was Rainbow Dash. "What do you want? To lose in a race?" I bragged. "Hey! I won the first time! What makes you think I'll lose this time?" She opened the window and slipped through, entering my room. "Because you'll push yourself too hard and fail," I boasted. Dash was furious. "Wanna fight, guy?" She feigned a stance and swung a hoof at me. "Relax, I was just joking," I reassured her. "So anyways, what did you want?" "I figured since you're new here, I should show you some things." An offer I couldn't pass: a trip around the local area. Perhaps it'll get my mind on a different track, I thought. "Sure!" I was eager to think about something that I had forgotten most of the details on. Dash and I slipped out the window, and I made sure to shut it, even if it seemed like it was never intended to be opened. "Down here is Ponyville, but you know that," she stated as we flew over the town. I didn't know that, but I didn't tell her. "Up here's Cloudsdale. I grew up here," she said. I gaped in awe. Before me stood (or floated) a mass of clouds shaped into an entire city. Rivers of liquid, which appeared to be liquified rainbows, flowed off from the edges and faded some distance below the clouds. An entire city! "Come on! I'll show you the stadium," she alerted me, while I was still in shock, observing Cloudsdale. "Coming!" I flew to her. --(%)-- "...and that's how I saved her AND the Wonderbolts from becoming pony pancakes! Wait, are you listening?" "Uh, yeah, sure..." There was a very faint black dot in the sky that I was watching. I must admit, I never was much of a listener, and would get distracted when being told a story. She let out a sigh. "Let's go check out the rainbow factory." "Sure," I chirped. I'd like to see how such an oddity is accomplished, I told myself. Dash and I entered a large industrial complex (if it could be called that) of clouds. Inside, pegasus workers in lab coats made, obviously, rainbows. In one section outside of the structure, a large vat of sorts containing the substance flowed out, creating a river, which dropped off of the cloud after a few meters. "Hey," Rainbow said, looking smug, "I dare you to taste it." I gave her a look. "Fine," I replied, and I dipped a hoof into it, then brought it to my mouth. It was like eating a pound of capsaicin. One drop alone was more spicy than anything I'd ever tasted. Rainbow laughed as I searched relentlessly for a source of water. The fact that the clouds didn't act as they should didn't stop me from trying to eat them. In fact, it somehow damaged my teeth. That's very odd, I thought as I continued to look for water. "Rainbows aren't known for their flavor," she told me. I shot her a glare. "They should be so noone falls for that sort of trick," I shouted. She laughed again, and from then on, I didn't trust her when she dared me, but unless it could kill me, I'd accept. --(%)-- After that, we parted for the time being, and I flew down to Ponyville to look around some. The town was small, with some construction in parts of the area. Shops of all sorts could be found in the main plaza, including a farmer's market, restaurant, and one that had me laughing for a bit: an installment that only sold quills and sofas. I suddenly realized that I hadn't eaten the past two days, and I had no clue what the typical diet for ponies was, so I entered the restaurant and asked for a menu. It listed things such as daffodils and grass. Makes sense, I told myself, Unlike everything else here. Of course, I didn't have bits either, so I resorted to something I'd learned a long time ago when I was a teenager: asking if anyone needed something delivered. After a quick self-analysis, I deduced that by having wings, I'd be able to make a decent living as a fast courier. A store selling cheese had a "Wanted" sign up front. "Hello," said a chipper voice as I entered. "Yes, hi," I responded, "I'm here about the job; I noticed you needed someone to deliver items." The shopkeeper was ecstatic. "Yes! We've needed somepony to do that for months. Thank you. In fact, I even have a satchel made; I can put your name on it, if you'd like. Tell me, dear, what's your name?" I smiled. "Stormfront." "Okay! I'll have it on here after tonight," she assured me, "But first, I need you to deliver something." "Sure!" I stretched my wings a bit. Probably just something simple, I thought. She placed three small wheels of swiss in each side bag, then gave me the satchel, and also gave me an address: 217 Rich Lane. "Sure thing, ma'am, but may I ask what the payment is?" I'd rather know how much I'd earn before I set off. "Seventy bits. This is a standard delivery," she explained, "and we sometimes handle deliveries for other ponies' shops as well. My courier recently moved away to Vanhoover, so I needed a new one. Thanks again for applying." "Glad to, ma'am, and I'll be back soon," I promised. --(%)-- Finding 217 Rich Lane wasn't too difficult. The large house stood out among the typical cottages that lined the streets. I landed just outside the door and knocked. No answer. I knocked a second time. "I'm coming, don't get your mane in a twist," snapped a voice from beyond the door. Suddenly, it opened, and there stood before me a stallion dressed all fancy, with a slicked-back mane. "I'm Filthy Rich," he said. "Yeah, I can tell," I remarked. "I have a delivery for you, sir: six wheels of swiss. The payment is two hundred bits." He scowled at me. "Here," he said, giving me the money and taking the cheese, "and next time you deliver here, don't make such snide remarks." "Thanks, and goodbye, sir," I droned as he retreated behind his door. You started it with the "mane" comment, I thought, but I didn't have time to argue. I arrived back at the shop fairly quickly, and when I got there, I was only asked for one hundred and twenty five bits. "The rest is payment," she told me. I thanked her, and asked if there were any other jobs. "No, sorry, but thanks! Have a nice day!" "I will!" I told her. I did have a nice day. I did. SubmergedA full week had passed since I had gotten a job delivering produce. If I kept at it another week, I could pay for my own home. The sky was a bright blue, and there was still an ominous black dot up there. Usually, I ignored it, but every morning I'd stare at it for minutes before I did anything else. The first delivery was large. I needed to take some tomatoes from the farmer's market to some place called "Dodge City", and was told how to get there. Apparently, these tomatoes were needed urgently, and the train had a derailment. I was flying over the tracks in order to get there, although I couldn't go full speed or the tomatoes would fall out of the satchel. The bright green hue of grass soon faded to a sea of beige, with herds of buffalo off near a mountain range, and mesas jutting upward nearby. The cerulean sky lacked any specks of white, and the sun shone brightest here. Suddenly, like a tree in a desert, Dodge City creeped up from the horizon. More of it came into view as I got closer. There was a swamp just past it, and a cherry orchard just north of the city, although I assumed that was part of it. I touched down at the train station, where quite a few ponies had gathered and were discussing something. Since I was in a bit of a hurry, I asked, "Someone call for some tomatoes?" They all looked at me, and one said, "Yes, put them down there, I need somepony's help for a minute." I agreed. "Sure, I have time," I promised. I'd rather not let him down. We approached the edge of a cliff. "Our mine's collapsed," he told me, "and that train was supposed to bring help." "I'm guessing they went faster than normal, and that's why they derailed?" I was concerned for the lives of whoever was in the cave. "Yes. Well, there is air going into the cave," he said, pointing out an opening near the top, "but it ain't much." "I'll see what I can do," I told him, and flew to the opening. I was able to push one rock off, but the other ones were wedged tightly. "There a unicorn around these parts?" "Only one," the miner said, "But she ain't strong enough to move those boulders." I didn't want to argue. Further, I didn't expect my job to put me in such a position. I pushed at anothe rock, and it came down. Now, if I tried, I could squeeze through the opening. I should just move the boulders, I thought. Anothrer rock became loose, and I kicked it off. I could then knock off two more, until the opening was close to the ground. "That's enough," the miner declared, and I stopped. "Y'all okay in there?" No answer. He yelled it again. "Yeah! We struck a vein!" Cheers of excitement echoed from deep in the cave. "Well," he said, "Ain't that good. Thanks!" "No problem," I told him, flying away. --(%)-- The beige expanse turned back into green as I passed the derailed train and landed in Ponyville. "I'm finished," I said as I entered the delivery station. The manager gave me a look. "You passed your deadline," she said, "Now tell me why." "Some miners were trapped in a cave, and one asked me to help," I told her. "Oh?" She lost her scornful attitude. "That's what the train was headed there for! How nice of you to do that!" "Someone had to," I said. Someone meant me, I told myself. "Well, just for that, I'm not deducting your pay. If I'm right, there's just one more delivery today. A bushel of celery for the weather factory in Cloudsdale." She dumped them in the satchel, and I sped out the door. --(&)-- I landed just outside the factory doors, which luckily were open. Trotting in, I was approached and asked if I had the celery. "Yes," I replied, and emptied the satchel into a bag the worker held out. I then approached a pony, who was looking at a drop of water under a large microscope. Nudging him, I suggested, "You know, looking at a cloud with that might be a lot more interesting." She looked at me. "Look, I'll show you," I said, positioning a chunk of cloud under the lens. "It's just like the water, I be-" Woah. Instead of condensed water molecules, whatever I was seeing looked nothing like water at all. "Quick, come!" The scientist rushed up. "What is it?" She looked through the eyepiece, stepped back, and gave me a look of confusion. "What was that?" "I haven't got a clue," I told her, "But it's weird." The other scientists started approaching, asking what the matter was, what had we seen. I allowed them all to view the piece of cloud. "Now, let me explain something," I announced. "Normally, clouds are evaporated water molecules that have condensed in the air. However, if the clouds we are stepping on, moving through the sky, and manipulating were condensed water, they wouldn't have this consistency or resilience." "Whatever this is," I continued, "This odd mish-mosh of miniature structures, this unnatural formation, it isn't a cloud, but it sure wants to be one." --(&)-- Following my declaration concerning the small, interconnected devices that comprised the clouds I observed, I returned to Ponyville to confirm my delivery and receive my pay, which should have been 250 bits. After being paid, I quickly went to Twilight to relate my findings. She seemed fascinated, and I gave her a full description of what I saw. "Hmm. That could explain a lot," she said, sifting through her library, "but I swear somepony discovered that already, and it never got spread around enough to be taught. Aha!" She procured a book titled Studies of Lens, the "inventor of the microscope". Twilight flipped to a page. In there lay full sketches and descriptions of what I'd seen, but there was nothing along the lines of an explanation. "Well," I told her, "We'll have to see. Say, do you have any books here about conflict?" "Internal or external?" I looked at her. "War," I stated. "Not much of that's ever happened," she said, "But there is an account of the ancient pegasus invasions." That sounded interesting, so I asked for it, and began to read the book. It stated how their army manipulated the weather and used air superiority for their own benefit. I immersed myself in it. The ability to fly seemed an endowment more valuable than magic, and the ability to move the clouds was just as grand. Their armies flew over the enemy, inflicting numerous snowstorms, famines, and other unpleasentries. However, when they signed the Cooperative Agreement, it was no longer profitable or honourable to attack the earth ponies, or even the unicorns. The Cooperation Agreement meant that they would protect them in the case of an invasion; the unicorns provided wealth, the earth ponies made food, and the pegasi made up the entirety of the army. Ever since the incident involving the formation of Equestria, pegasi have not ruled a sovereign nation comprised only of their race; rather, their cities have stood as exclusive areas unreachable without the aid of wings, machines, or magic, and as a symbol of power and a higher state among the rest. I yawned. The author, a seemingly adamant pegasus supremacist, droned on about superiority. I quickly passed off his claims as arbitrary and put the book back on a shelf. Suddenly, there was a noise from outside, as if something had exploded. Twilight and I rushed out the door to investigate. "Where was this one?" She asked Rainbow Dash, who was in a cloud above. "To the southeast, in dragon territory!" Dash had a look of sheer terror. "Stormfront, I need your help," Twilight said. "What's going on?" "Go with Rainbow Dash and see if anypony needs help," I was told, "but be careful." "Dragons are dangerous, Stormfront. Be very careful." --(&)-- As I sped southwest, the geography changed. The ground rose from the marshes and plains, sharpening into a jagged ridgeline as it reached the ocean. Volcanoes dotted the rough, dark red mountains. If this is dragon land, I told myself, I'm dead. Rainbow leaned herself to the left, falling out of formation and swerving to a landing point. I did the same. A dark object lay, jutted into the rock. Its side was embellished with a symbol, a light blue P inside a circle. There didn't seem to be a hatch, or even a window. Dash seemed worried. "Is anypony in there?" "What is this?" I looked at her. "You were in one of these," she said, "Except it disappeared. This one didn't." A green light shone in the middle of the P symbol. It got slightly larger, then small green lights started up, until the entire circle was covered in lights. When this happened, there was a clank, and the entire capsule seemed to eat itself away. Inside the capsule lay an unconscious unicorn, along with an iron rod that survived the disappearance of the device. She had a blue mane, and a beige pelt. Slowly, she started to wake up. "Hello? Do you remember anything?" Dash and I stood over her, prepared to help. "No..." Another case of amnesia. My mind was racing, attempting to figure out who I could blame, when a deafening roar shook the cliffs around us. "We gotta hightail it, there's a dragon coming!" Rainbow Dash had fear in her eyes. Most likely not for herself, I thought, but for the other pony. I carried her onto my back, told her to hold tight, and lifted myself skyward. The weight caused a lot of drag, and I was unable to maintain my regular high speed. Thankfully, whatever dragon had roared decided not to encounter us. Upon returning to Ponyville, I presented the unicorn to Twilight. "This can't be coincidence," she argued, and said she would "write to Celestia about it". "Well," I inquired, "What would a letter from a mere citizen accomplish?" "Excuse me, but I'm the princess' number one student!" I hadn't been informed of that. "Sorry," I said. "That's okay, I never told you before," Twilight told me. If you had, I wouldn't have made you so aggravated, I thought. The unicorn looked at me. "What's my name?" She looked pitiful. "Hmm," I told her. "You look like a Cerulean Wave," I blurted. How creative, I told myself. "I guess that'll work," she stated, stretching her back. "So, what do I need to know?" I gave her a puzzled look, and noticed that everypony else had went elsewhere, thusly putting us in a private spot. The unicorn gave me a blank stare. "I don't have amnesia," she told me, "but I have to say I do, or it'll blow my cover. Thanks for the name, I'll stick with it." "Wait, what?" I was confused. "Oh, you'll figure it out," she said, attempting to levitate a rock, "Just as I'll figure this out." Her horn would spark with a beige glow, as would the rock, but she couldn't get it to move. "Go on, and pretend we never had this conversation," she demanded. I went to go speak with Twilight. "Okay, Cerulean!" I waved at her from a distance. --(&)-- Twilight was in the library, scrawling a letter down on a scroll, using a quill dipped in ink to write. I looked over her shoulder. ...these strange appearances, which consist of objects falling from the sky and disappearing, containing ponies afflicted with amnesia, seems to coincidential to just be freak accidents. I fear something larger than this is occurring... I then stopped, and stood nonchalantly in the house. Never was one for eavesdropping, even if it was just writing. Immersion"Are you okay?" I tried to regain consciousness. What just happened? Where am I? No, WHO am I? Of course, I didn't know it at the time, but I was suffering a bad case of amnesia. Then, it just seemed like being born knowing how to speak and think. Honestly, I'm quite surprised that I managed to save that knowledge. "Are you okay?" The same voice from earlier, except easier to hear, repeated its initial inquiry. "I think I'm fine," I uttered. How I didn't notice the oddity at first still befuddles me. Standing over me was a pony. Yes, it may sound odd, but I swear that's what it was. "Come on inside, I can help." I then saw something else interesting - she had a horn! My God, I thought, [i[Where in the hell am I to be seeing that? She opened a door on a large tree - which seemed like a house or a library or something, it had windows and books and a bed - by some sort of force involving her horn and, well, nothing else. Inside, she set a bed in the center of the room, laid out blankets and a pillow, looked at me, and said, "I'll be back with a doctor. Stay here." "Yes, ma'am." I managed to slide myself between the makeshift bed and the multiple layers of blankets which she had provided. The pony left swiftly, and I was to myself. It was then that I attempted to inspect my hands. My hands were gone. Where were they? In fact, where were my feet? Why is my head shaped oddly? Then, it dawned upon me: The entire time I was headed to the home, I was being levitated by some sort of force. Now that I was on my own appendages, I was able to notice that I too was a pony. On my sides, there were wings, feathery and light, but alas, I had no horn. Probably can't have both, I pondered. Suddenly, some fragment of my existence faded back into place: My training. What I was trained for, I had not remembered yet, but a portion of it did resurface: observe your surroundings. Following this guideline, I scanned the interior of the tree. Bookshelves lined the walls in a central, near-circular chamber; an elevated level stored a bed and a window, and another level contained a desk and another window. Yet another level held a fireplace and a third window. Wouldn't a fire inside a tree be dangerous? I decided not to dwell on my thoughts. A muffled voice suddenly faded into hearing distance at the door. The pony, along with a doctor, also a unicorn, entered the house. "Hrm," the doctor said as she inspected my injuries. That seems... familiar, I thought. I doubted it as quickly as I surmised it. "Looks like he'll be fine. Let him rest for a few hours," she told the unicorn. "If there are any complications, find me." She left the house. "Okay, so," the purple pony said, walking past me, "I'd like to talk to you." I decided not to resist. "Okay," I responded. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?" Goddamnit, she caught me in a trap, I thought. "I don't think I recall..." The unicorn, "Twilight", which seemed like an odd name to me, looked downwards. "You must have forgotten a lot..." My ears perked, which annoyed me because I used to be incapable of such a strange motion. "Do you know what happened?" Twilight looked at me. "Well, when I found you, you were knocked out on the grass," she explained. "There were pieces of metal in the grass, too, metal I haven't seen before. Also, I found this," she said, revealing a silvery rod with a light on the end. "Maybe this is something...?" I looked at the rod. Something came back. A memory. Fleeting, short, but vital. It was almost a flashback. I reached for a lever. A dark panel lit up, displaying numbers and dials that seemed to be there for no reason. A silver-coloured rod lay in a compartment inside the wall. "Whatever I was in, it was cramped. Then, there was a bright white glow," I remembered, looking at Twilight. She brought a hoof to her chin, trying to make sense of my memory. "I can't think of anything. In the meantime, I'll check through my books. Also, I'd like to know if you remember how to read," she stated, sliding a book towards me. I flipped it open to the first page. The title was in bold, and it read, "A Study On Pumpkins". Why Twilight had a book on pumpkins, I don't know, but at least reading it removed my sudden and abrupt lack of knowledge about orange gourds. "Hah," I said, reading, "It says that pumpkins are sometimes made into small lantern-like objects called 'jack-o-lanterns'. Neat, huh?" "Good, you still know how to read. Have you never heard of a pumpkin?" She cocked an eyebrow at me. My eyes went from hers, to the wall, and back to the book about pumpkins. I looked at her again. "I must have forgotten." She went back to searching through a section of the library. "That's one bad case of amnesia," she muttered. "Hmm..." Turning back to the then-interesting tome about pumpkins, I delighted in reading about the different cooking uses for pumpkins. There was even a section on potion-making. I assume that's medicine, I thought. --(%)-- "Good morning, er... I still need a name. Remember anything?" Everything faded into vision quickly. The light from the windows, the brown wood of the house... and Twilight standing over me, still worried, as if this morning was the same as last. I tried to think. "Can you think of anything?" Twilight blinked. "Well, from what I've seen, most ponies are named off of appearance. You have wings, a grayish pelt, and a white mane. Does that sound like anything?" She looked at me, her head tilted to the left a bit. "Hmm... isn't there a cloud that's darker at the bottom...?" Twilight's eyes lit up. "Aha! I know!" "What?" I smiled a little. Maybe I'll remember my real name eventually, I hoped. "Stormfront! Like when a storm's approaching. That sounds good, right?" My smile grew wider. "Yeah... better than nothing." I got out of the bed, and stretched my back. There was a small piece of metal stuck in my pelt. I swatted it out with my wings. "Want to come meet my friends? I'm sure they'll be glad to meet you!" Twilight trotted to the door, excited as ever. "Sure. I'm looking forward to it," I responded. --(%)-- We approached another house that appeared to be built into a tree. It stood on the opposite side of a stream, and a bridge cut over the stream to the town road. Twilight knocked on the front door. "Just a moment," rang a light, quiet voice. I looked towards the door, smiled a little, and tried to make myself look better than I felt. The amnesia still annoyed me; I still had no clue where I was. The door opened. A yellow pony with a pink mane walked out. "Good morning, Twilight. Who's that?" she inquired, looking at me. Twilight smiled. "Fluttershy, meet Stormfront. I found him asleep on a hill outside Sweet Apple Acres. He has amnesia," she explained. "Oh dear! Is he hurt?" Fluttershy asked. "I had a doctor look at him. His only issue right now is amnesia. It's pretty bad," she assured. "Stormfront," Twilight inquired of me, "Come say hi to Fluttershy." "Morning, Fluttershy," I said, approaching her. "G-good morning," she replied. "Are you okay?" My, she must really be worried, I thought. "I'm just fine, don't worry about me too much," I responded. "Okay... Wait, Twilight, did you say he was outside of Sweet Apple Acres?" Fluttershy looked at Twilight, then past her. "Yes, why?" "Maybe you should ask Applejack if she saw anything. That might help with his amnesia," Fluttershy suggested. Twilight beamed. "Thanks! That sounds like a great plan!" I looked at Twilight. "Where are we going?" "We're going to see Applejack." --(%)-- "Who again?" I asked. We had just left the town, and I could see a barn ahead. Twilight sighed. "Applejack," she repeated, "she's my friend. She works here at Sweet Apple Acres, her family's farm." I looked around. Along both sides of the road, apple orchards were surrounded by a wooden fence. I then looked back forward, where the barn was much closer than before, and I could also see a house and some small animal corrals. An orange pony was sitting under a tree, wearing a straw hat. I then noticed something I hadn't caught before: she had a mark near her tail, sort of like a brand, of three apples. I glanced at Twilight's sides as I trotted alongside her. She had a star-like insignia, with several smaller stars around it. What are those even for? I decided not to bother thinking about it, as we approached the pony, who I assumed was Applejack, and stopped in front of her. Applejack stood up from where she was sitting. "Howdy, Twilight! Who's this feller?" She gestured towards me. "That's Stormfront," Twilight said. "I found him near your farm, and he seemed to be hurt. Did you happen to see anything two nights ago?" Applejack shook my hoof, gave me a "Howdy, mister Stormfront," and went to answer Twilight's question. "Ah think ah saw a light, like a shootin' star, but I didn't go to see. Ah just went back to bed." "Which way did it come from?" Twilight was genuinely curious. "Uh, ah think there," Applejack said, pointing a hoof. "Okay. South-southwest. Thanks," Twilight said. "Now, was there anything else that night that seemed off?" Applejack pondered for a minute. "There was a star ah ain't seen before," she recalled. "It was bluish, but it looked like a regular star to me. Still," she looked at the sky, then back at us. "Never seen it before that night." "Hmm..." Twilight looked up. I did as well. The light blue sky was clear, except for a small cloud. I had a feeling that there was something I was supposed to be looking at, something familiar about the sky... "Okay, thanks. Have a good day, Applejack!" "You too, Twilight! Same fer you, Stormfront! Goodbye!" Applejack set us off. "Okay, Stormfront, we're going to go meet another pony. Please, don't be so quiet this time, okay?" Twilight looked at me. "Sorry, I'll... I'll try. I was just thinking," I assured. "Okay, thank you. It scares me, makes me feel like there's something worse than amnesia that's going on in your head," Twilight replied. "I hope not," I said. We were just about to re-enter the town when I heard a sound from above. I looked up and saw a blue pony flying about. "Hey, Twilight! What's up?" She stopped and sat on a cloud just above us. How in God's name is she doing that? I tilted my head. "Rainbow, come down here, please." "Okay," the rainbow-maned pegasus agreed, floating down to the road before us. "Hey! Who're you?" She looked at me, inquisitive. "I'm Stormfront. Just, er... woke up here yesterday," I said. Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "I thought I saw something... was that you?" "It could have been." Probably was. She looked at Twilight, then back at me. "Yeah, whatever it was, it came from up there," Rainbow said, pointing at a spot in the sky. "Can we talk to you again tonight, Rainbow?" Twilight kept looking up at the sky. "That way, I can look for something odd." "Okay! But first..." She looked at me. "How's about a little flying contest?" "Hah! I can beat you," I boasted, a bit less modest than I wished it had been. "Excuse me? I'm the best flier in all of Equestria!" Rainbow scoffed. "Care to challenge that?" I smiled. "You're on!" We reared back, our wings jaunting outwards, and took off. Rainbow was ahead of me, moving faster than I expected, but I caught up quickly. She looked back, beamed at me in a sort of hostile way, and sped off. I mustered all my energy to catch up. All the while, I felt a feeling which I hadn't felt for a long time. I knew I'd felt it before, but I couldn't remember at the time. It was a feeling of power, of happiness... it was a feeling of freedom. Before I knew it, we had finished. Of course, Rainbow won, but we were both aware that fun was what mattered. When I touched back down on the surface, I was greeted by yet another pony. "Afternoon, miss..." I hoped it was safe to assume her gender. After all, she definitely seemed like it. "Such manners," she remarked, "I'm flattered. My name's Rarity. Twilight told me about you while you and Rainbow Dash were off flying." Her mane was purple, with curls. It reminded me of something similar, but I couldn't quite determine what, or who. However, that wasn't what my attention was focused on. "Dear, would you like a hat? You seem like a hat kind of stallion," she asked. Lucky for her, one of the few things the amnesia didn't erase was my dep admiration of headwear. "What do you have?" I didn't think I could be anymore excited. Well, in fact, I must have been beaming, because Rarity was also ecstatic. She gestured towards a building. "Follow me, and I'll show you," she suggested. --(%)-- "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique," she said, introducing me to her store. "I make and sell all sorts of apparel. Typically, I do fitting, and then make the clothes based off of the customer's desire. However, I have several pre-designed hat choices you may peruse." She looked at me. "Shall we begin?" I smiled. "Where are they?" She levitated a bunch of hats. I don't mean bunch as in "a lot"; these were bunched together and consecutively stacked. There were all sorts of hats. Ball caps, beanies, fedoras, and many more. "Pick one. Don't worry," she assured me, "I won't charge you anything." Two hats in particular caught my eye: A plaid deerstalker, and an ascot cap. It took a while to decide, but I eventually chose the ascot cap. "That looks great on you. Good choice!" Rarity restocked the remaining hats. I turned to Twilight. "Do you like it?" She grinned. "Of course, it looks great on you. Now come on, we need to meet somepony else." "How many after this one?" I inquired as we left the Boutique. "None. We'll be done then," she replied. That's too bad, I thought, I'm starting to like meeting all these ponies. We approached what appeared to be a bakery of sorts, named Sugarcube Corner. Twilight opened the door, and I followed her in. "Afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," she bellowed. "Is Pinkie Pie here today?" A tallish orange stallion, who I presumed to be Mr. Cake, responded: "Eh, yes, she's upstairs; Pinkie, there's somepony here to see you!" "Okay!" rang a voice from the upper floor. A pink pony, with a mane resembling cotton candy or something similar, bounded down the steps. "Hi Twilight, hi mister!" She greeted us equally. "Come on outside, Pinkie," Twilight said, "so we don't interrupt anything." We all exited the bakery and stood outside. "What's up? Can we play? Who's he? What's his name?" The pink pony, who I recall being named Pinkie Pie, seemed energetic as could be. Hopping in circles around us, she bombarded me and Twilight exorbitantly with all manners of inquiries, from a simple "how are you" to the far-reaching "who is he". Before I could even begin to respond, Twilight started for me. "His name's Stormfront. He has amnesia," she uttered, causing Pinkie to cease her orbital hopping. "What does he remember?" Her left eyebrow jutted upwards, and with her hoof to her chin, she pondered over the situation. I then decided to start talking. "Not much. A memory, pumpkins, and a name..." Earlier, when I was speaking with Rarity, a name came to mind: Clarice. I didn't know why, it just surfaced out of the opaque ocean my mind had become. "Oh. Well, since you're new," she said, "Do you have a place to stay?" "I spent last night with Twilight," I uttered. "Oooooh." She looked at Twilight. "Can he stay somewhere else?" I coughed. It'd be nice to have my own home for the time being, I told myself. "Well, there is a house available..." I looked at her. "...but it's one hundred and five thousand bits, with a mortgage of..." I stopped listening. If "bits" were their currency, I surely didn't have enough. "...though there is an inn down the road..." I started listening again. "That'd work," I interrupted, attempting to exercise my authority. "Oh, okay. Want to go see it? It's just up here," she explained, looking up the cobble road to a two-story cottage. I glanced up to the inn, then back to her. "I'd love to." Author's Note I wrote this in Google Documents on a mobile device, so if there's any typos (which I usually notice on my own), please inform me. Also, I use italics to express thought.
MergerIt was autumn. The trees of Ponyville faded into a kaleidoscopic mixture of colours, as they all slowly shriveled, died, blew away, and fell back into the ground. I had just woke from a long rest following an unexpected "welcoming party" that Pinkie Pie had organized. The window to my room was open, letting in the outside air. Donning my cap, I made my way downstairs to speak shortly with the innkeeper. "Morning, miss Quilt," I greeted her. "Morning, Stormfront," she replied, "Did you enjoy the inn for today?" "Indeed I did," I assured, smiling. "Well, I've got to go now." "Goodbye!" She said as I departed out the door. "Stormfront!" I looked to my right. Twilight was coming down the road to me. "Morning," I told her. She smiled. "Say," I asked, "Do you have any books on astronomy?" Twilight blinked. "Oh, yes, I do. Want to come over?" "Sure," I said. --(%)-- Once again, I was perusing Twilight Sparkle's library. Tomes of knowledge, mythology, medicine, science, and much more surrounded me as I read a book about the constellations. Something was brought to my attention: magic. It didn't in any way seem logical. I decided to read a book about spells to see if it'd hint at how magic worked, but I didn't find any answers. Instead, I found, obviously, spells. Spells on aging, cloning, forcefields, levitation, psychological manipulation, enchanted crystal interaction, transformation, and materialization. None of this makes a bit of sense, I thought. At some point, my curiosity had overriden my desire to investigate what Applejack had seen. "Twilight." She looked up from a scroll. "Yes?" "How do spells work?" She winced. "Well, we don't exactly know for sure." "Any myths or legends, perhaps?" I was desperate to know. "There's the legend of how the alicorns came to be," she replied. "Tell me about it." Granted, she still hadn't told me what an alicorn was, there was mention of a "Princess Celestia" and a "Princess Luna" in the constellation guide, so I assumed I knew who she meant. "A long time ago, before Equestria, Discord ruled, and the world was in chaos." "Is that an allegory for constant political imbalance?" I wondered if it was literal. "No, it's literal. A dragonequus, Discord, caused chaos throughout Equestria. But he was stopped by two sisters who used the elements of harmony to end the terror, and unite Equestria as one." "Does it say how they got the... elements of harmony? Or perhaps how magic was developed?" Twilight shook her head. "No," she responded. "Perhaps there are some ruins or old records...?" I didn't care about the star anymore, I wanted to know. "They found something weird while digging the train tunnel to Canterlot," she said, "But I don't know if it was a ruin. Perhaps we could go see?" I hopped off the chair I was sitting on. "Let's," I eagerly declared, trotting to the door happily. "Okay, one moment. Spike! Send this letter to Celestia!" "Okay..." A voice mumbled from above. --(%)-- We followed the train tracks up to a tunnel in a mountain. Inside the tunnel, a secondary chamber broke off from the tracks, but there were no tracks down it. "Now," Twilight ordered, "I'll use a spell in order to illuminate the cave." Huh? I was about to see a spell in action. The two of us stepped inside the tunnel, and she stopped. Her horn glowed a light purple. She focused more, and a spark flashed from the tip of her horn. It was as if she'd fixed a light bulb to the end of it, for it filled the cave with light of a purple hue, enough for us to see and make our way through the cave. I observed the walls. It seemed as if it were carved out of the rock by some strange force. We followed the chamber into a turn, and that's when I noticed something: the section we had just exited was dug much more recently than what we had just entered. "Twilight, what's that?" Her light wasn't reaching far enough for me to see it well enough, but there was something there. Something odd. "I'll get closer to there," she said, and approached the object. It appeared to be... a thing. But it was familiar. Then, I had another flashback. This device was found in a submerged cave near the Jentae High Command structure. A similar object was located one mile from the mantle on Titan. It appears to emit electromagnetic radiation... I faded back into reality. Suddenly, I remembered something huge. I couldn't say anything about it though, but it was important. Twilight's illumination spell began to fizzle out. "Maybe we should get away from it," she said. I looked at the object. "Perhaps," I replied. It resembled a sort of pod, with a strange symbol on its side. "I've seen all I need to know," I assured Twilight. We turned to leave, but before seeing the exiting chamber, something caught my eye. A large inscription in the cave, in some sort of text I didn't know, and imagery painted on the walls, mainly a scene of two ponies defeating an odd figure using six crystal-like objects. Elements of Harmony, perhaps? "Hey," I asked, "What's that painting?" I looked off to the left, where a depiction was on the wall. Twilight's light spell wasn't allowing me to see it well enough. "Let's have a look." We went to the painting. Two winged ponies stood, one white, one dark blue. The white one had a horn, and had the sun above its body. The dark blue one had a horn as well, and had the moon above its body. "That's Princess Celestia and Princess Luna," Twilight explained. "So, they control the moon and the sun?" "That's how the legend goes," said Twilight, "But I doubt it's true." "Okay, nothing else here." I was eager to leave and lay down. --(%)-- I stopped at the inn, and allowed Twilight to go home. Collapsing on my bed, I shuffled my thoughts. Jentae, Titan, Kranites, the Theory...I pondered over what I had rediscovered earlier that day. Suddenly, there came a tapping, as if someone was gently rapping, rapping at my inn room window. I looked up. It was Rainbow Dash. "What do you want? To lose in a race?" I bragged. "Hey! I won the first time! What makes you think I'll lose this time?" She opened the window and slipped through, entering my room. "Because you'll push yourself too hard and fail," I boasted. Dash was furious. "Wanna fight, guy?" She feigned a stance and swung a hoof at me. "Relax, I was just joking," I reassured her. "So anyways, what did you want?" "I figured since you're new here, I should show you some things." An offer I couldn't pass: a trip around the local area. Perhaps it'll get my mind on a different track, I thought. "Sure!" I was eager to think about something that I had forgotten most of the details on. Dash and I slipped out the window, and I made sure to shut it, even if it seemed like it was never intended to be opened. "Down here is Ponyville, but you know that," she stated as we flew over the town. I didn't know that, but I didn't tell her. "Up here's Cloudsdale. I grew up here," she said. I gaped in awe. Before me stood (or floated) a mass of clouds shaped into an entire city. Rivers of liquid, which appeared to be liquified rainbows, flowed off from the edges and faded some distance below the clouds. An entire city! "Come on! I'll show you the stadium," she alerted me, while I was still in shock, observing Cloudsdale. "Coming!" I flew to her. --(%)-- "...and that's how I saved her AND the Wonderbolts from becoming pony pancakes! Wait, are you listening?" "Uh, yeah, sure..." There was a very faint black dot in the sky that I was watching. I must admit, I never was much of a listener, and would get distracted when being told a story. She let out a sigh. "Let's go check out the rainbow factory." "Sure," I chirped. I'd like to see how such an oddity is accomplished, I told myself. Dash and I entered a large industrial complex (if it could be called that) of clouds. Inside, pegasus workers in lab coats made, obviously, rainbows. In one section outside of the structure, a large vat of sorts containing the substance flowed out, creating a river, which dropped off of the cloud after a few meters. "Hey," Rainbow said, looking smug, "I dare you to taste it." I gave her a look. "Fine," I replied, and I dipped a hoof into it, then brought it to my mouth. It was like eating a pound of capsaicin. One drop alone was more spicy than anything I'd ever tasted. Rainbow laughed as I searched relentlessly for a source of water. The fact that the clouds didn't act as they should didn't stop me from trying to eat them. In fact, it somehow damaged my teeth. That's very odd, I thought as I continued to look for water. "Rainbows aren't known for their flavor," she told me. I shot her a glare. "They should be so noone falls for that sort of trick," I shouted. She laughed again, and from then on, I didn't trust her when she dared me, but unless it could kill me, I'd accept. --(%)-- After that, we parted for the time being, and I flew down to Ponyville to look around some. The town was small, with some construction in parts of the area. Shops of all sorts could be found in the main plaza, including a farmer's market, restaurant, and one that had me laughing for a bit: an installment that only sold quills and sofas. I suddenly realized that I hadn't eaten the past two days, and I had no clue what the typical diet for ponies was, so I entered the restaurant and asked for a menu. It listed things such as daffodils and grass. Makes sense, I told myself, Unlike everything else here. Of course, I didn't have bits either, so I resorted to something I'd learned a long time ago when I was a teenager: asking if anyone needed something delivered. After a quick self-analysis, I deduced that by having wings, I'd be able to make a decent living as a fast courier. A store selling cheese had a "Wanted" sign up front. "Hello," said a chipper voice as I entered. "Yes, hi," I responded, "I'm here about the job; I noticed you needed someone to deliver items." The shopkeeper was ecstatic. "Yes! We've needed somepony to do that for months. Thank you. In fact, I even have a satchel made; I can put your name on it, if you'd like. Tell me, dear, what's your name?" I smiled. "Stormfront." "Okay! I'll have it on here after tonight," she assured me, "But first, I need you to deliver something." "Sure!" I stretched my wings a bit. Probably just something simple, I thought. She placed three small wheels of swiss in each side bag, then gave me the satchel, and also gave me an address: 217 Rich Lane. "Sure thing, ma'am, but may I ask what the payment is?" I'd rather know how much I'd earn before I set off. "Seventy bits. This is a standard delivery," she explained, "and we sometimes handle deliveries for other ponies' shops as well. My courier recently moved away to Vanhoover, so I needed a new one. Thanks again for applying." "Glad to, ma'am, and I'll be back soon," I promised. --(%)-- Finding 217 Rich Lane wasn't too difficult. The large house stood out among the typical cottages that lined the streets. I landed just outside the door and knocked. No answer. I knocked a second time. "I'm coming, don't get your mane in a twist," snapped a voice from beyond the door. Suddenly, it opened, and there stood before me a stallion dressed all fancy, with a slicked-back mane. "I'm Filthy Rich," he said. "Yeah, I can tell," I remarked. "I have a delivery for you, sir: six wheels of swiss. The payment is two hundred bits." He scowled at me. "Here," he said, giving me the money and taking the cheese, "and next time you deliver here, don't make such snide remarks." "Thanks, and goodbye, sir," I droned as he retreated behind his door. You started it with the "mane" comment, I thought, but I didn't have time to argue. I arrived back at the shop fairly quickly, and when I got there, I was only asked for one hundred and twenty five bits. "The rest is payment," she told me. I thanked her, and asked if there were any other jobs. "No, sorry, but thanks! Have a nice day!" "I will!" I told her. I did have a nice day. I did.
SubmergedA full week had passed since I had gotten a job delivering produce. If I kept at it another week, I could pay for my own home. The sky was a bright blue, and there was still an ominous black dot up there. Usually, I ignored it, but every morning I'd stare at it for minutes before I did anything else. The first delivery was large. I needed to take some tomatoes from the farmer's market to some place called "Dodge City", and was told how to get there. Apparently, these tomatoes were needed urgently, and the train had a derailment. I was flying over the tracks in order to get there, although I couldn't go full speed or the tomatoes would fall out of the satchel. The bright green hue of grass soon faded to a sea of beige, with herds of buffalo off near a mountain range, and mesas jutting upward nearby. The cerulean sky lacked any specks of white, and the sun shone brightest here. Suddenly, like a tree in a desert, Dodge City creeped up from the horizon. More of it came into view as I got closer. There was a swamp just past it, and a cherry orchard just north of the city, although I assumed that was part of it. I touched down at the train station, where quite a few ponies had gathered and were discussing something. Since I was in a bit of a hurry, I asked, "Someone call for some tomatoes?" They all looked at me, and one said, "Yes, put them down there, I need somepony's help for a minute." I agreed. "Sure, I have time," I promised. I'd rather not let him down. We approached the edge of a cliff. "Our mine's collapsed," he told me, "and that train was supposed to bring help." "I'm guessing they went faster than normal, and that's why they derailed?" I was concerned for the lives of whoever was in the cave. "Yes. Well, there is air going into the cave," he said, pointing out an opening near the top, "but it ain't much." "I'll see what I can do," I told him, and flew to the opening. I was able to push one rock off, but the other ones were wedged tightly. "There a unicorn around these parts?" "Only one," the miner said, "But she ain't strong enough to move those boulders." I didn't want to argue. Further, I didn't expect my job to put me in such a position. I pushed at anothe rock, and it came down. Now, if I tried, I could squeeze through the opening. I should just move the boulders, I thought. Anothrer rock became loose, and I kicked it off. I could then knock off two more, until the opening was close to the ground. "That's enough," the miner declared, and I stopped. "Y'all okay in there?" No answer. He yelled it again. "Yeah! We struck a vein!" Cheers of excitement echoed from deep in the cave. "Well," he said, "Ain't that good. Thanks!" "No problem," I told him, flying away. --(%)-- The beige expanse turned back into green as I passed the derailed train and landed in Ponyville. "I'm finished," I said as I entered the delivery station. The manager gave me a look. "You passed your deadline," she said, "Now tell me why." "Some miners were trapped in a cave, and one asked me to help," I told her. "Oh?" She lost her scornful attitude. "That's what the train was headed there for! How nice of you to do that!" "Someone had to," I said. Someone meant me, I told myself. "Well, just for that, I'm not deducting your pay. If I'm right, there's just one more delivery today. A bushel of celery for the weather factory in Cloudsdale." She dumped them in the satchel, and I sped out the door. --(&)-- I landed just outside the factory doors, which luckily were open. Trotting in, I was approached and asked if I had the celery. "Yes," I replied, and emptied the satchel into a bag the worker held out. I then approached a pony, who was looking at a drop of water under a large microscope. Nudging him, I suggested, "You know, looking at a cloud with that might be a lot more interesting." She looked at me. "Look, I'll show you," I said, positioning a chunk of cloud under the lens. "It's just like the water, I be-" Woah. Instead of condensed water molecules, whatever I was seeing looked nothing like water at all. "Quick, come!" The scientist rushed up. "What is it?" She looked through the eyepiece, stepped back, and gave me a look of confusion. "What was that?" "I haven't got a clue," I told her, "But it's weird." The other scientists started approaching, asking what the matter was, what had we seen. I allowed them all to view the piece of cloud. "Now, let me explain something," I announced. "Normally, clouds are evaporated water molecules that have condensed in the air. However, if the clouds we are stepping on, moving through the sky, and manipulating were condensed water, they wouldn't have this consistency or resilience." "Whatever this is," I continued, "This odd mish-mosh of miniature structures, this unnatural formation, it isn't a cloud, but it sure wants to be one." --(&)-- Following my declaration concerning the small, interconnected devices that comprised the clouds I observed, I returned to Ponyville to confirm my delivery and receive my pay, which should have been 250 bits. After being paid, I quickly went to Twilight to relate my findings. She seemed fascinated, and I gave her a full description of what I saw. "Hmm. That could explain a lot," she said, sifting through her library, "but I swear somepony discovered that already, and it never got spread around enough to be taught. Aha!" She procured a book titled Studies of Lens, the "inventor of the microscope". Twilight flipped to a page. In there lay full sketches and descriptions of what I'd seen, but there was nothing along the lines of an explanation. "Well," I told her, "We'll have to see. Say, do you have any books here about conflict?" "Internal or external?" I looked at her. "War," I stated. "Not much of that's ever happened," she said, "But there is an account of the ancient pegasus invasions." That sounded interesting, so I asked for it, and began to read the book. It stated how their army manipulated the weather and used air superiority for their own benefit. I immersed myself in it. The ability to fly seemed an endowment more valuable than magic, and the ability to move the clouds was just as grand. Their armies flew over the enemy, inflicting numerous snowstorms, famines, and other unpleasentries. However, when they signed the Cooperative Agreement, it was no longer profitable or honourable to attack the earth ponies, or even the unicorns. The Cooperation Agreement meant that they would protect them in the case of an invasion; the unicorns provided wealth, the earth ponies made food, and the pegasi made up the entirety of the army. Ever since the incident involving the formation of Equestria, pegasi have not ruled a sovereign nation comprised only of their race; rather, their cities have stood as exclusive areas unreachable without the aid of wings, machines, or magic, and as a symbol of power and a higher state among the rest. I yawned. The author, a seemingly adamant pegasus supremacist, droned on about superiority. I quickly passed off his claims as arbitrary and put the book back on a shelf. Suddenly, there was a noise from outside, as if something had exploded. Twilight and I rushed out the door to investigate. "Where was this one?" She asked Rainbow Dash, who was in a cloud above. "To the southeast, in dragon territory!" Dash had a look of sheer terror. "Stormfront, I need your help," Twilight said. "What's going on?" "Go with Rainbow Dash and see if anypony needs help," I was told, "but be careful." "Dragons are dangerous, Stormfront. Be very careful." --(&)-- As I sped southwest, the geography changed. The ground rose from the marshes and plains, sharpening into a jagged ridgeline as it reached the ocean. Volcanoes dotted the rough, dark red mountains. If this is dragon land, I told myself, I'm dead. Rainbow leaned herself to the left, falling out of formation and swerving to a landing point. I did the same. A dark object lay, jutted into the rock. Its side was embellished with a symbol, a light blue P inside a circle. There didn't seem to be a hatch, or even a window. Dash seemed worried. "Is anypony in there?" "What is this?" I looked at her. "You were in one of these," she said, "Except it disappeared. This one didn't." A green light shone in the middle of the P symbol. It got slightly larger, then small green lights started up, until the entire circle was covered in lights. When this happened, there was a clank, and the entire capsule seemed to eat itself away. Inside the capsule lay an unconscious unicorn, along with an iron rod that survived the disappearance of the device. She had a blue mane, and a beige pelt. Slowly, she started to wake up. "Hello? Do you remember anything?" Dash and I stood over her, prepared to help. "No..." Another case of amnesia. My mind was racing, attempting to figure out who I could blame, when a deafening roar shook the cliffs around us. "We gotta hightail it, there's a dragon coming!" Rainbow Dash had fear in her eyes. Most likely not for herself, I thought, but for the other pony. I carried her onto my back, told her to hold tight, and lifted myself skyward. The weight caused a lot of drag, and I was unable to maintain my regular high speed. Thankfully, whatever dragon had roared decided not to encounter us. Upon returning to Ponyville, I presented the unicorn to Twilight. "This can't be coincidence," she argued, and said she would "write to Celestia about it". "Well," I inquired, "What would a letter from a mere citizen accomplish?" "Excuse me, but I'm the princess' number one student!" I hadn't been informed of that. "Sorry," I said. "That's okay, I never told you before," Twilight told me. If you had, I wouldn't have made you so aggravated, I thought. The unicorn looked at me. "What's my name?" She looked pitiful. "Hmm," I told her. "You look like a Cerulean Wave," I blurted. How creative, I told myself. "I guess that'll work," she stated, stretching her back. "So, what do I need to know?" I gave her a puzzled look, and noticed that everypony else had went elsewhere, thusly putting us in a private spot. The unicorn gave me a blank stare. "I don't have amnesia," she told me, "but I have to say I do, or it'll blow my cover. Thanks for the name, I'll stick with it." "Wait, what?" I was confused. "Oh, you'll figure it out," she said, attempting to levitate a rock, "Just as I'll figure this out." Her horn would spark with a beige glow, as would the rock, but she couldn't get it to move. "Go on, and pretend we never had this conversation," she demanded. I went to go speak with Twilight. "Okay, Cerulean!" I waved at her from a distance. --(&)-- Twilight was in the library, scrawling a letter down on a scroll, using a quill dipped in ink to write. I looked over her shoulder. ...these strange appearances, which consist of objects falling from the sky and disappearing, containing ponies afflicted with amnesia, seems to coincidential to just be freak accidents. I fear something larger than this is occurring... I then stopped, and stood nonchalantly in the house. Never was one for eavesdropping, even if it was just writing.
Immersion"Are you okay?" I tried to regain consciousness. What just happened? Where am I? No, WHO am I? Of course, I didn't know it at the time, but I was suffering a bad case of amnesia. Then, it just seemed like being born knowing how to speak and think. Honestly, I'm quite surprised that I managed to save that knowledge. "Are you okay?" The same voice from earlier, except easier to hear, repeated its initial inquiry. "I think I'm fine," I uttered. How I didn't notice the oddity at first still befuddles me. Standing over me was a pony. Yes, it may sound odd, but I swear that's what it was. "Come on inside, I can help." I then saw something else interesting - she had a horn! My God, I thought, [i[Where in the hell am I to be seeing that? She opened a door on a large tree - which seemed like a house or a library or something, it had windows and books and a bed - by some sort of force involving her horn and, well, nothing else. Inside, she set a bed in the center of the room, laid out blankets and a pillow, looked at me, and said, "I'll be back with a doctor. Stay here." "Yes, ma'am." I managed to slide myself between the makeshift bed and the multiple layers of blankets which she had provided. The pony left swiftly, and I was to myself. It was then that I attempted to inspect my hands. My hands were gone. Where were they? In fact, where were my feet? Why is my head shaped oddly? Then, it dawned upon me: The entire time I was headed to the home, I was being levitated by some sort of force. Now that I was on my own appendages, I was able to notice that I too was a pony. On my sides, there were wings, feathery and light, but alas, I had no horn. Probably can't have both, I pondered. Suddenly, some fragment of my existence faded back into place: My training. What I was trained for, I had not remembered yet, but a portion of it did resurface: observe your surroundings. Following this guideline, I scanned the interior of the tree. Bookshelves lined the walls in a central, near-circular chamber; an elevated level stored a bed and a window, and another level contained a desk and another window. Yet another level held a fireplace and a third window. Wouldn't a fire inside a tree be dangerous? I decided not to dwell on my thoughts. A muffled voice suddenly faded into hearing distance at the door. The pony, along with a doctor, also a unicorn, entered the house. "Hrm," the doctor said as she inspected my injuries. That seems... familiar, I thought. I doubted it as quickly as I surmised it. "Looks like he'll be fine. Let him rest for a few hours," she told the unicorn. "If there are any complications, find me." She left the house. "Okay, so," the purple pony said, walking past me, "I'd like to talk to you." I decided not to resist. "Okay," I responded. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. What's yours?" Goddamnit, she caught me in a trap, I thought. "I don't think I recall..." The unicorn, "Twilight", which seemed like an odd name to me, looked downwards. "You must have forgotten a lot..." My ears perked, which annoyed me because I used to be incapable of such a strange motion. "Do you know what happened?" Twilight looked at me. "Well, when I found you, you were knocked out on the grass," she explained. "There were pieces of metal in the grass, too, metal I haven't seen before. Also, I found this," she said, revealing a silvery rod with a light on the end. "Maybe this is something...?" I looked at the rod. Something came back. A memory. Fleeting, short, but vital. It was almost a flashback. I reached for a lever. A dark panel lit up, displaying numbers and dials that seemed to be there for no reason. A silver-coloured rod lay in a compartment inside the wall. "Whatever I was in, it was cramped. Then, there was a bright white glow," I remembered, looking at Twilight. She brought a hoof to her chin, trying to make sense of my memory. "I can't think of anything. In the meantime, I'll check through my books. Also, I'd like to know if you remember how to read," she stated, sliding a book towards me. I flipped it open to the first page. The title was in bold, and it read, "A Study On Pumpkins". Why Twilight had a book on pumpkins, I don't know, but at least reading it removed my sudden and abrupt lack of knowledge about orange gourds. "Hah," I said, reading, "It says that pumpkins are sometimes made into small lantern-like objects called 'jack-o-lanterns'. Neat, huh?" "Good, you still know how to read. Have you never heard of a pumpkin?" She cocked an eyebrow at me. My eyes went from hers, to the wall, and back to the book about pumpkins. I looked at her again. "I must have forgotten." She went back to searching through a section of the library. "That's one bad case of amnesia," she muttered. "Hmm..." Turning back to the then-interesting tome about pumpkins, I delighted in reading about the different cooking uses for pumpkins. There was even a section on potion-making. I assume that's medicine, I thought. --(%)-- "Good morning, er... I still need a name. Remember anything?" Everything faded into vision quickly. The light from the windows, the brown wood of the house... and Twilight standing over me, still worried, as if this morning was the same as last. I tried to think. "Can you think of anything?" Twilight blinked. "Well, from what I've seen, most ponies are named off of appearance. You have wings, a grayish pelt, and a white mane. Does that sound like anything?" She looked at me, her head tilted to the left a bit. "Hmm... isn't there a cloud that's darker at the bottom...?" Twilight's eyes lit up. "Aha! I know!" "What?" I smiled a little. Maybe I'll remember my real name eventually, I hoped. "Stormfront! Like when a storm's approaching. That sounds good, right?" My smile grew wider. "Yeah... better than nothing." I got out of the bed, and stretched my back. There was a small piece of metal stuck in my pelt. I swatted it out with my wings. "Want to come meet my friends? I'm sure they'll be glad to meet you!" Twilight trotted to the door, excited as ever. "Sure. I'm looking forward to it," I responded. --(%)-- We approached another house that appeared to be built into a tree. It stood on the opposite side of a stream, and a bridge cut over the stream to the town road. Twilight knocked on the front door. "Just a moment," rang a light, quiet voice. I looked towards the door, smiled a little, and tried to make myself look better than I felt. The amnesia still annoyed me; I still had no clue where I was. The door opened. A yellow pony with a pink mane walked out. "Good morning, Twilight. Who's that?" she inquired, looking at me. Twilight smiled. "Fluttershy, meet Stormfront. I found him asleep on a hill outside Sweet Apple Acres. He has amnesia," she explained. "Oh dear! Is he hurt?" Fluttershy asked. "I had a doctor look at him. His only issue right now is amnesia. It's pretty bad," she assured. "Stormfront," Twilight inquired of me, "Come say hi to Fluttershy." "Morning, Fluttershy," I said, approaching her. "G-good morning," she replied. "Are you okay?" My, she must really be worried, I thought. "I'm just fine, don't worry about me too much," I responded. "Okay... Wait, Twilight, did you say he was outside of Sweet Apple Acres?" Fluttershy looked at Twilight, then past her. "Yes, why?" "Maybe you should ask Applejack if she saw anything. That might help with his amnesia," Fluttershy suggested. Twilight beamed. "Thanks! That sounds like a great plan!" I looked at Twilight. "Where are we going?" "We're going to see Applejack." --(%)-- "Who again?" I asked. We had just left the town, and I could see a barn ahead. Twilight sighed. "Applejack," she repeated, "she's my friend. She works here at Sweet Apple Acres, her family's farm." I looked around. Along both sides of the road, apple orchards were surrounded by a wooden fence. I then looked back forward, where the barn was much closer than before, and I could also see a house and some small animal corrals. An orange pony was sitting under a tree, wearing a straw hat. I then noticed something I hadn't caught before: she had a mark near her tail, sort of like a brand, of three apples. I glanced at Twilight's sides as I trotted alongside her. She had a star-like insignia, with several smaller stars around it. What are those even for? I decided not to bother thinking about it, as we approached the pony, who I assumed was Applejack, and stopped in front of her. Applejack stood up from where she was sitting. "Howdy, Twilight! Who's this feller?" She gestured towards me. "That's Stormfront," Twilight said. "I found him near your farm, and he seemed to be hurt. Did you happen to see anything two nights ago?" Applejack shook my hoof, gave me a "Howdy, mister Stormfront," and went to answer Twilight's question. "Ah think ah saw a light, like a shootin' star, but I didn't go to see. Ah just went back to bed." "Which way did it come from?" Twilight was genuinely curious. "Uh, ah think there," Applejack said, pointing a hoof. "Okay. South-southwest. Thanks," Twilight said. "Now, was there anything else that night that seemed off?" Applejack pondered for a minute. "There was a star ah ain't seen before," she recalled. "It was bluish, but it looked like a regular star to me. Still," she looked at the sky, then back at us. "Never seen it before that night." "Hmm..." Twilight looked up. I did as well. The light blue sky was clear, except for a small cloud. I had a feeling that there was something I was supposed to be looking at, something familiar about the sky... "Okay, thanks. Have a good day, Applejack!" "You too, Twilight! Same fer you, Stormfront! Goodbye!" Applejack set us off. "Okay, Stormfront, we're going to go meet another pony. Please, don't be so quiet this time, okay?" Twilight looked at me. "Sorry, I'll... I'll try. I was just thinking," I assured. "Okay, thank you. It scares me, makes me feel like there's something worse than amnesia that's going on in your head," Twilight replied. "I hope not," I said. We were just about to re-enter the town when I heard a sound from above. I looked up and saw a blue pony flying about. "Hey, Twilight! What's up?" She stopped and sat on a cloud just above us. How in God's name is she doing that? I tilted my head. "Rainbow, come down here, please." "Okay," the rainbow-maned pegasus agreed, floating down to the road before us. "Hey! Who're you?" She looked at me, inquisitive. "I'm Stormfront. Just, er... woke up here yesterday," I said. Rainbow Dash scratched her head. "I thought I saw something... was that you?" "It could have been." Probably was. She looked at Twilight, then back at me. "Yeah, whatever it was, it came from up there," Rainbow said, pointing at a spot in the sky. "Can we talk to you again tonight, Rainbow?" Twilight kept looking up at the sky. "That way, I can look for something odd." "Okay! But first..." She looked at me. "How's about a little flying contest?" "Hah! I can beat you," I boasted, a bit less modest than I wished it had been. "Excuse me? I'm the best flier in all of Equestria!" Rainbow scoffed. "Care to challenge that?" I smiled. "You're on!" We reared back, our wings jaunting outwards, and took off. Rainbow was ahead of me, moving faster than I expected, but I caught up quickly. She looked back, beamed at me in a sort of hostile way, and sped off. I mustered all my energy to catch up. All the while, I felt a feeling which I hadn't felt for a long time. I knew I'd felt it before, but I couldn't remember at the time. It was a feeling of power, of happiness... it was a feeling of freedom. Before I knew it, we had finished. Of course, Rainbow won, but we were both aware that fun was what mattered. When I touched back down on the surface, I was greeted by yet another pony. "Afternoon, miss..." I hoped it was safe to assume her gender. After all, she definitely seemed like it. "Such manners," she remarked, "I'm flattered. My name's Rarity. Twilight told me about you while you and Rainbow Dash were off flying." Her mane was purple, with curls. It reminded me of something similar, but I couldn't quite determine what, or who. However, that wasn't what my attention was focused on. "Dear, would you like a hat? You seem like a hat kind of stallion," she asked. Lucky for her, one of the few things the amnesia didn't erase was my dep admiration of headwear. "What do you have?" I didn't think I could be anymore excited. Well, in fact, I must have been beaming, because Rarity was also ecstatic. She gestured towards a building. "Follow me, and I'll show you," she suggested. --(%)-- "Welcome to the Carousel Boutique," she said, introducing me to her store. "I make and sell all sorts of apparel. Typically, I do fitting, and then make the clothes based off of the customer's desire. However, I have several pre-designed hat choices you may peruse." She looked at me. "Shall we begin?" I smiled. "Where are they?" She levitated a bunch of hats. I don't mean bunch as in "a lot"; these were bunched together and consecutively stacked. There were all sorts of hats. Ball caps, beanies, fedoras, and many more. "Pick one. Don't worry," she assured me, "I won't charge you anything." Two hats in particular caught my eye: A plaid deerstalker, and an ascot cap. It took a while to decide, but I eventually chose the ascot cap. "That looks great on you. Good choice!" Rarity restocked the remaining hats. I turned to Twilight. "Do you like it?" She grinned. "Of course, it looks great on you. Now come on, we need to meet somepony else." "How many after this one?" I inquired as we left the Boutique. "None. We'll be done then," she replied. That's too bad, I thought, I'm starting to like meeting all these ponies. We approached what appeared to be a bakery of sorts, named Sugarcube Corner. Twilight opened the door, and I followed her in. "Afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Cake," she bellowed. "Is Pinkie Pie here today?" A tallish orange stallion, who I presumed to be Mr. Cake, responded: "Eh, yes, she's upstairs; Pinkie, there's somepony here to see you!" "Okay!" rang a voice from the upper floor. A pink pony, with a mane resembling cotton candy or something similar, bounded down the steps. "Hi Twilight, hi mister!" She greeted us equally. "Come on outside, Pinkie," Twilight said, "so we don't interrupt anything." We all exited the bakery and stood outside. "What's up? Can we play? Who's he? What's his name?" The pink pony, who I recall being named Pinkie Pie, seemed energetic as could be. Hopping in circles around us, she bombarded me and Twilight exorbitantly with all manners of inquiries, from a simple "how are you" to the far-reaching "who is he". Before I could even begin to respond, Twilight started for me. "His name's Stormfront. He has amnesia," she uttered, causing Pinkie to cease her orbital hopping. "What does he remember?" Her left eyebrow jutted upwards, and with her hoof to her chin, she pondered over the situation. I then decided to start talking. "Not much. A memory, pumpkins, and a name..." Earlier, when I was speaking with Rarity, a name came to mind: Clarice. I didn't know why, it just surfaced out of the opaque ocean my mind had become. "Oh. Well, since you're new," she said, "Do you have a place to stay?" "I spent last night with Twilight," I uttered. "Oooooh." She looked at Twilight. "Can he stay somewhere else?" I coughed. It'd be nice to have my own home for the time being, I told myself. "Well, there is a house available..." I looked at her. "...but it's one hundred and five thousand bits, with a mortgage of..." I stopped listening. If "bits" were their currency, I surely didn't have enough. "...though there is an inn down the road..." I started listening again. "That'd work," I interrupted, attempting to exercise my authority. "Oh, okay. Want to go see it? It's just up here," she explained, looking up the cobble road to a two-story cottage. I glanced up to the inn, then back to her. "I'd love to." Author's Note I wrote this in Google Documents on a mobile device, so if there's any typos (which I usually notice on my own), please inform me. Also, I use italics to express thought.
