The Alicorn Who Knew Nothing

The Alicorn Who Knew Nothing

Chapter 14

Noose

“I was sitting here and when I turned around I saw her disappear from up there, I think?” Ridge said pointing a hoof toward the rafters in the library.

“You think?” Cadence said trotting up next to Ridge, eyeing him suspiciously.

“Well it was dark in here, I wasn’t even sure I saw anything to begin with, much less even know if it was Luna or not.” He said sitting his rump on the floor.

“Ridge how many ponies do you know of that have a blue coat?” She said flying up towards the spot he had indicated.

“Well one I guess…” He said turning his head away from the bookshelves and toward the reading tables.

“Now which beam was she sitting on Ridge?” She said trying to balance herself on one of the lengths of wood.

“I don’t know….she was gone before I even knew she was there.” He said absent mindedly.

“Well what all did you do in here while Celestia was getting Twilight?” She said jumping down onto the floor.

“I don’t know, um sitting at the tables over there. I don’t see how this is going to prove the princesses are lying to me about my past?” He said trotting toward the tables.

Cadence sighed and moved closer to him.

“Ridge, it’s not just about lying. It’s about….well…this whole situation is wrong.” She said fidgeting with her hooves.

“Is there something you’re not telling me Cadence?”

Sighing she sat down at the table and motioned for him to sit down with her.

“Several months ago there was an attempted takeover of Canterlot.”

“What…!? Well…. um who would attack Canterlot, and um…what does this have to do with me?” He said with wide eyes.

“It was a species of ponies called the Changelings, they feed off the love of other ponies. Originally a Changeling would hoofnap a pony, take their place and live out their lives disguised as that pony. Feeding off the love and happiness that they receive from their loved ones. But for some reason one colony decided to try and take over Canterlot and use all the ponies for a more stable food source.” She said feeling a shiver travel up her spine.

“What happened? I know they lost, or you wouldn’t be here, but can you tell me how?”

“Twilight Sparkle is how.”

“What!?” Ridge said shocked.

“She was the one who figured out what the Changelings plan was. They succeeded on replacing me and using my husband’s power against celestia, overpowering her and taking down the shield that had protected the city. Twilight somehow saw through her disguise and was sent to where I was being held prisoner. Together we defeated chrysalis and her swarm just in the nick of time, saving the princess and the city.”

He just stared at her at a loss for words.

“I..I guess she’s special to you huh?” he managed to speak.

“Well yea, I’ve watched her grow up from a filly. She is arguably one of the best Mares in Equestria, which is why this whole situation with Celestia and Luna just doesn’t make any sense.” She said letting her head drop to the table.

“But how is Twilight even involved with them and me?” He said tilting his head.

Cadence gave a sigh and slowly brought her head up to face Ridge.

“Right before I came to talk to you earlier, I overheard a conversation between Luna and Celestia saying that they were trying to get you and Twilight to like each other.”

“Well…um she is a good friend isn’t she? So why would I not like her, I’m certainly not going to hate her.” He said honestly.

“No Ridge I’m talking about ’like like’  more than just friends.” She said looking into his eyes.

He quietly stared at her trying to process the information he had just been given.

‘the princesses were actually trying to get him and Twilight together?’

Ridge silently turned away from Cadence and trotted back toward the bookcases.

“I..I think I need to take a walk.”

“Ridge…please don’t think bad about this, I’m trying to help you. Come sit back down and we can talk this out.” Cadence said reaching a hoof out toward him.

“A..Alright” he said moving back toward the table.

He didn’t even know where to begin when it came to this situation. Sure it answered questions about how he had seen Luna in the room at night, and how he and Twilight had been left alone together, but it raised many more questions than it answered. Like what reason did the princesses even wanted the two of them together in the first place? Taking his seat next to Cadence again he asked the first question that came to his mind.

“Do you know why they want me and Twilight together?”

“No I don’t, and that is what I want to find out. Ridge ever since the attack on the city I want to make sure love is kept natural and in order. The two of them doing this to you and Twilight is just wrong, love shouldn’t be forced, it should grow of its own accord. I want to find out why there doing this and put a stop to it.”

“But I don’t even have any idea of what’s going on. I lost everything I remember in my accident. Why would they even want me a normal pony who has no memory?” He said slamming his head on the table.

“You know about as much as I do Ridge. It’s like I said I want to find out exactly why they want to do this, and then fix it.” She said resting a hoof on top of his head.

“But how can we do that?”

“Well I was hoping to look back at what we know has happened to you, and see if those events tell us anything. But it seems that there isn’t anything there either.” She said moving her hoof back to the table.

Ridge lifted his head up from the table and closed his eyes in thought.

“Well if we’re going to figure this out we might as well start from the beginning of when all this happened.” He said opening his eyes and setting his hooves under his chin.

“Okay what is the first thing you can remember?” she said.

“Pinkie get off of me!” Rainbow dash shouted.

“But come on Dashie! This is fun isn’t it?”

“Not if you’re loud like you are. Now be quiet I don’t want to get caught tonight.” She said as pinkie bounced around her.

“Hey! What are you looking for anyway? Everypony is asleep, not awake. So if they are not awake then that means they can’t see us. So why are you afraid of sleeping ponies Rainbow? They….”

Rainbow quickly turned around and put her hoof in the pink mare’s mouth.

“It’s called spying and your supposed quiet. That means no talking pinkie, got it?”

Quickly shaking her head against the cyan hoof, pinkie used her own hoof to grab a zipper at the corner of her mouth and pull it across her mouth.

“Mfgghh” was all she could manage past the zipper.

“Okay now come on I’m sure Twilight’s room is around here somewhere.”

Shaking her head in agreement again, pinkie proceeded to follow her up the staircase that led toward the main library.

‘Okay, now that we are all super secret and quiet tell me what we are looking for?’

Rainbow heard inside her head.

Quickly looking around and not seeing a source for the sound she heard, Rainbow looked back toward her friend with wide eyes.

“What did you just do?”

‘I am talking to you in super-secret quiet mode. Now what are we looking for’ pinkie said for the third time.

“Pinkie we’re looking for Twilight Remember? She disappeared with the princess earlier and I’m starting to get worried, now come on and stop doing that it’s weird.

‘Okay.’

Giving pinkie a mean look she quickly unzipped her mouth and whispered.

“Okay.”

The two ponies continued up the staircase until they came to the set of doors marking the rear entrance to the library. Silently pushing the doors open Pinkie and Rainbow made their way past several rows of bookshelves before a sound stopped them in their tracks.

“And I still don’t know how she found out. She said that she found some feathers in my room, but I don’t know.”

“Well have you been preening your wings?”

“Preening?”

“I guess that is a no.”

Quickly hiding behind a bookshelf the spies watched on as the two ponies continued their conversation.

“Who is that with Cadence?” Pinkie said with her face held in between two books on the shelf.

“I don’t know pinkie…Wait no, isn’t that the pony that fell of the tightrope earlier?”

“Yea I think it is. What are they doing here?”

“I don’t know, the princess said that he was alright didn’t she?” Rainbow stepped back from the book shelf and looked toward pinkie.

“Yea she did, but she said he was being looked at by the doctors down in the medical room.” She said backing away from the bookcase and turning toward rainbow.

“If he is supposed to be there, why is he here?” Rainbow said turning her head back toward the two conversing ponies.

“Well….why don’t we get closer so we can hear what they are saying.” Pinkie said looking up toward the ceiling rafters.

“You mean up there?” Rainbow said following her gaze up.

Pinkie responded by nodding her head vigorously.

“Okay well hang on then.”

Rainbow quickly flapped her wings and grabbed pinkie by her sides pulling her upwards toward the ceiling. When the pair had landed on one of the beams they slowly began to make their way toward Cadence and Ridge. As Rainbow stopped above them she could help but gasp and let her mouth drop open.

“Pinkie are you seeing what I’m seeing?”

“Wow, he has wings and a horn. This means he’s an Alicorn like the princesses right?” She said looking down at Ridge.

“I..I guess so Pinkie. But hang on didn’t the princess say that he had some emergency glider under his saddle to stop him from falling off the tightrope?”

“That’s what she said during her speech, I guess that means that she didn’t know about them.” She said sitting down on the beam.

“I don’t know Pinkie, Celestia isn’t like that. She wouldn’t miss something as groundbreaking as a new Alicorn.”

“Well be quiet and let’s get to spying then.” She said magically producing a pair of binoculars that she pressed to her eyes.

Rainbow sat down beside her and turned her ear toward the two ponies below.

“….So the ring broke in two, Luna disappeared, and Celestia walked in. Then well…You know the rest of the story, because well you were sort of spying on us earlier.” He said a hint of pink tinting his face.

“Yea, sorry about that, now you said you enchanted a cloth?”

“Um, yea I think it’s still in here maybe? Hang on for a minute, I’ll try and find it.”

Ridge then proceeded to get up and trot his way through the rows of tables looking for the cloth he had enchanted earlier. After a moment of searching he came across a table cloth that didn’t appear to be out of the ordinary, but upon closer inspection it was giving off a faint purple glow.

“Ah! I found it Cadence.” He yelled across the library.

Quickly trotting back to the table Ridge quickly laid the Cloth out in front of her.

“I enchanted this before Celestia had found me the first time, when I still had wanted to escape.” He said sitting back in his seat and looked at her.

“Wait so what spell did you enchant it with?” she said taking the cloth in her hoof.

“Well it uses the same spell that the Ring I had earlier. I used it to hide my presence around you three princesses…” Ridge said then turned his head away embarrassed.

Cadence quickly caught on to what Ridge was feeling and gently turned his head back around toward her.

“Ridge you have nothing to be ashamed of, anypony would have done the same thing of they were in your situation.” Cadence let her hoof fall away from his face and moved it toward the cloth.

“If your spell still works, I think it should work for an idea I have.”

Ridge followed her hooves as she picked up the cloth and brought it over his shoulders.

“Now what I’m thinking of doing can get you in a lot of trouble if anypony found out alright?”

“What do you mean?” he asked eyes widening.

“I..I’m thinking of you sneaking into Luna’s room and finding her night journal.”

“Um…what’s her journal got to do with anything?”

“Ever since she came back from the moon she has written everything down she doesn’t want to share in her day journal. I want you to find it and see if it has anything about what caused you to become an Alicorn.” She said watching his face for a reaction.

“What!? Y..You know I can’t do that! It’s Luna’s private thoughts, there has to be another way.” Ridge said getting up from the table and looking angrily at her.

Sighing quietly she got up from the table and walked over to where he was standing.

“Ridge I know it’s wrong, but we don’t have any other options now do we?”

“Well…we…can’t we…I just don’t want to invade somepony’s privacy like that.” He said sitting his rump down on the floor.

“Ridge you know I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, all you have to do is look for one thing. I’m not asking you to steal all her secrets just to find out the truth to this situation.”

As soon as he realized that she was right his anger left him.

“I…I know, but you’re sure there isn’t another way?” he said looking at her with sad eyes.

“Well, you could try to get Celestia’s day journal. But since she’s asleep in her room, I thought it would have been easier to find Luna’s and find out that way.” She said trying to add some humor to the currently dismal mood.

“Let’s just go and get this done. The less time we waste the better, I guess.” He said standing up and trotting toward the door.

“Ridge?”

Stopping at the door he turned back to notice Cadence hadn’t moved.

“Aren’t you coming with me?” he said giving her a questioning look.

“I don’t have a magical table cloth. I’m sorry Ridge but you have to  do this on your own. Whenever you find it meet me back here okay?” she said giving him a reassuring smile.

“B..But what if I need help finding it, or if somepony finds me? I don’t know if I can do this by myself Cadence.” He said his anxiety growing.

“Start by looking under the pillow, and if somepony sees you just say you got lost and need help, Play dumb. If you get into a situation all you have to do is think my name and I’ll do my best to help you okay?” she said Trotting over to him and embracing him in a hug.

Quickly returning the hug he turned around and opened the door.

“T..Thank you for the help. Now I don’t know what I’m going to find, but whatever it is I….I just…well I think…”

Resting her hoof against his lips she saw the nervousness in his expression.

“Go. You will be fine, now hurry before Luna goes back to her room. We don’t have all night okay?”

Nodding his head in approval he pushed through the doors and left the library. Sighing Cadence began to rub her temples as she began to walk back toward the table.

‘I’m going to need a vacation after all this is over’

As she sat back down at the table she put her head on top of her hooves and closed her eyes for a moment. Unbeknownst to her two ponies slowly made their way down from the Rafter they were sitting on and snuck their way out of the same door Ridge had left. As soon as Rainbow and pinkie were sure they were out of earshot they began to run winding their way through the corridors unsure of where they were going.

“Buck, do you know which way he went pinkie?” Rainbow said stopping at the intersection of two hallways.

“Nope I sure don’t, but what are going to do now?” she said looking toward her friend.

“I…I don’t know pinkie. But we can’t just do nothing.” She said looking down each corridor.

“Well let’s find Twilight I’m sure she will know what to do.” Pinkie suggested.

Quickly realizing that they weren’t going to be able to follow Ridge, Rainbow nodded in agreement.

“Alright let’s find her room. Come on Pinkie, we haven’t got all night.”

With that the two ponies began running down the corridor looking for Twilight's room.