Fleeting Memories

Chapters

I. Amnesia
II. Nightmare
III. Suprise!
IV. Apples
V. Therapy
VI. Awareness
VII. Fellowship
VIII. Descent
IX. Epilogue

I. Amnesia

A terrified teal Pegasus tore off his armor before leaping into the sky. When he joined the Equestrian guard he had expected to guard the borders and earn a decent living. He had just been sent into a mine to rescue some miners with his squad. They couldn’t find the miners, but they did find something in the dark. It started with screams and at first he thought it was the miners. His sergeant turned and ordered him to warn Celestia at once and stop for nopony.

As the Pegasus flew above the scattered clouds he had a sense of dread and fear unlike any he had ever known. Rubbing sweat out of his eyes he pushed faster and faster. His muscles burned as the cold night air cut through his feathers. He could feel something gaining on him so he angled down and dove through the clouds. He was already nearing the sound barrier and still felt the entity getting closer.

As he pondered if it was wise to attempt to break the sound barrier, he felt a hot searing pain hit the back of his head. He tumbled out of control towards the town below, and his last thought was of the screaming.

~*~

The world was pain, darkness… and beeping? Where was that infernal beeping coming from? Slowly I opened my eyes to see where I was. The ceiling was white and blurry, so I rubbed my eyes before sitting up. My head felt like it was split down the middle and aching furiously. There were hideous grey curtains, white walls, a bed and a dresser. A sickly smell of cleaning products was in the air.

“Hello?” I called out with a coarse dry voice. I kicked the bed sheet off and examined my limbs. My wings were bandaged, my legs were sore, and there was the headache, but I appeared unharmed otherwise. Now if I could just figure out what was going on...

Two ponies pushed the curtain aside and walked in “Hello I’m Doctor Stable and this is Nurse Readheart. Do you know where you are?”

“No, I was about to ask you that. Why am I here and why is my head hurting so much?” I replied, eager for my own answers.

“I see—we found you in the town Library after a nasty crash landing. You’ve been here for a week while we healed your injuries. Nopony in town knows you; do you remember how you got here?”

Now it was my turn to be at a loss. I couldn’t remember what had happened, or how I had ended up crashing into a library. I could feel something itching at the back of my mind, but try as I might, the last thing I remembered was waking up in this hospital. “Sorry Doc, but the last thing I remember is waking up here.”

“Well, the good news is that we’ve healed your wings and the swelling in your head is down. When we found you, you had a nasty concussion, and you spent a week in a coma. The town librarian offered to come by once you woke up and try some memory spells on you.” Stable looked down as his chart and jotted some notes.

“Uh Doc, I’m not sure I want some librarian poking around in my head. Aren’t you trained to do that sort of stuff?” I wondered.

“We’ve already tried, and the librarian I’m speaking of is Twilight Sparkle.” The Doctor grinned.

“Is that somepony I’m supposed to know?” I asked and was rewarded with the Nurse nudging the Doctor.

“You know he has amnesia Doc, so why don’t you explain things for him while I get some water,” Redheart stated.

“Right, so we’ve established that you’ve crashed and have amnesia. The good news is your memories should return with time, the bad news is it’s a poorly understood field of medicine. The brain is as fragile as it is complex, and when dealing with physical trauma there is no guaranteed way to heal the damage. Our attempts to magically heal and recover your memories have failed, and you’ve spent your time here in a coma.” The Doctor was taking a few more notes on his chart when a lavender pony walked into the room. “Speaking of Twilight, that’s her now. She is the element of magic so you’re in good hooves.”

“Hi, I’m Twilight—" started the lavender pony,

“Wait, what’s an element of magic?” I interrupted.

This seemed to surprise the other unicorn. “I’m one of the elements of harmony, protégé of Princess Celestia,” she said with a slight look of confusion.

“Twilight, he is suffering from complete amnesia and doesn’t remember anything before the crash. I was hoping you would be able to help him out, as I just explained to him” the Doctor stated.

“I see. If it’s okay with you I’ll see what I can find out?” Twilight asked.

“Sure, fire away.” I replied. The lavender horn began to glow as she approached, emitting a purple aura that was soothing to watch. As her horn touched my head my headache seemed to improve notably, but at the same time I could feel something tugging and tingling in my brain. I could almost feel a point of energy bounce around in my head, like a rat lost in a maze looking for an exit and not knowing where to start.

“Hmm, this is interesting. I’ve been studying memory spells while you were in a coma in case there wasn’t any brain damage. Now if your amnesia was caused by brain damage, then no amount of memory spells could restore it. I’m not sensing any brain damage; however I am also not detecting any trace of a memory spell. So if the memory loss isn’t physical or magical…” Twilight looked to be deep in thought.

“So I hit my head hard enough to forget everything, but not hard enough to cause brain damage?” I asked, perturbed by the odd circumstances. “Something doesn’t add up, perhaps I could jog his memory by showing him my memory of his crash landing?” Twilight looked over at the Doctor for approval.

“Sure thing Twilight, how about you—uh—" The Doctor was glancing through several pages of the chart. “What are we going to call you if you can’t remember your name?”

I glanced around unsure how to reply to that. Looking down I could see the mark on my flank, a white streak resembling a Comet. “I don’t know, how about Comet for now? At least until I can remember my real name which I’m hoping is a little better…” I trailed off, starting to feel upset that such a large part of my life could be taken away from me so easily. Who was I? Did I have family?

“Ok Comet, what I’d like to do is use a spell I used when Discord-- I mean, a while back to restore memories to my friends. So I will show you a shared memory of us, and with luck you will be able to trace it back to how you crash landed.” Twilight didn’t look the least bit concerned, so I nodded my head in agreement and she approached again.

~*~

“So Fluttershy, what brings you by the library so late at night?” Twilight asked.

“I wanted to return this book on mammalogy and check something out on herpetology” Fluttershy replied. The mare with yellow skin and a flowing pink mane closed the door gently behind her.

“Oh sure thing, I was just having tea with Pinkie, care to join us?” the lavender pony gestured to a pink pony sitting at a table.

“Oh that’d be lovely, thanks” Fluttershy gently replied.

“So Fluttershy, what’s with all the ologies? Eulogies? Such funny words! I think I’ll add mammalogy to my list above kumquat but below sarsaparilla,” the pink pony giggled.

“Oh Pinkie, I’m always studying to learn more about animals and mammalogy is the study of mammals.” The mare joined the other two at the table and helped herself to one of the cupcakes. The pink pony’s tail began twitching

“Twilight, are you expecting Rainbow Dash?” she asked.

Noticing Pinkie’s tail, Twilight quickly shouted to her assistant “Spike! Open the windows!”

Twilight and Fluttershy looked a little concerned, while Pinkie Pie looked quite excited. “Oh a combo, it’s definitely Rainbow going to crash into the library again! I love this—" Twilight put a hoof in her mouth.

“Pinkie! Why don’t you try and get a mattress or something to soften her fall.”

Pinkie went over to an open window as if she could tell which one their guest would fall through. Sure enough, a teal Pegasus colt with a blue mane slammed into the mattress and bounced across the room. “That’s not Rainbow Dash… and that means—" Pinkie gasped and darted out of the library.

“PINKIE!” Twilight shouted after the mare “ugh… this is no time for a party--Fluttershy go get Nurse Redheart.”

~*~

“I remember now, the falling that is. I had started to spin out of control and aimed towards the village before…” I felt that itching at the back of my mind as if I was about to remember something, but instead it was replaced by dread and vanished. “I’m sorry I can’t remember more, and thanks for bringing me to the hospital after I crashed Twilight. So Doc, how much longer do I need to stay here?”

“Well, you are healthy enough to leave the hospital. Just check back weekly so we can see if any of the memories have returned. We’ll schedule you with a therapist and ask you to write down anything you remember, however small, in a journal. Let’s discharge you tomorrow morning and see if we can find you a place to stay.” The Doctor took a few final notes and trotted out of the room.

“Comet was it? That’s not such a bad name. I know it can be hard for a new pony to find a place to stay in town, but I have plenty of friends. If you need a hand finding a room stop by the Library, it’s the only tree house in town, and I’ll see what I can do.” Twilight smiled and followed the doctor out of the room.

I sighed and looked around. The sun was starting to set so at least I wouldn’t be here too long. I smiled as I saw Nurse Redheart come back in with water and dinner. I might not be able to remember how I got here, wherever here is, but it looked like things wouldn’t be so bad.

Author's Note

Thanks to Nharctic for proofreading.
All chapters are in the process of being updated.

II. Nightmare

It had gotten dark and I was lost. There were buildings all around me but not a single one had lights on. I could feel that sense of dread, something was coming back to finish me off. Beads of sweat were rolling down my blue mane and dripping to the dusty road. Everywhere was darkness, even the moon seemed unwilling to venture out this night.

I trotted along, looking for someplace to hide until the darkness left. Maybe if I could fly up above the darkness… but I couldn’t get my wings to work. My legs started to slow down, I willed them to move faster but they were starting to stick to the ground. “Hello? Anypony?” I cried out as I got more panicked.

The doors were still all closed, all the lights were out and the darkness was getting closer. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe… I had to get out of here now! A figure stepped out of the shadow and grinned at me, and I could feel my heart chill and stop.

~*~

“AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” I screamed rather loudly, for not a moment later a very panicked nurse ran into my hospital room.

“Comet! What’s wrong?” Nurse Redheart asked. All I could do was lay there, relieved to be back in the light but unable to stop hyperventilating. The nurse stepped over to me and tried to comfort me “Was it a nightmare? That’s not uncommon after traumatic events” she told me.

“I was—" I paused to focus on slowing my breathing down. “I had a dream, but it felt as real as a memory. Everything was dark, everypony was gone and something was chasing me. I think—" I swallowed a lump in my throat “I saw it.”

The Nurse who had probably seen far worse in patients waited there until I had calmed down. “It’s alright now, if you’re feeling better after breakfast we can still check you out. I’m going to suggest you find a roommate though in case you have any more night terrors.” She pointed over to a journal. “We also got you this journal so any memories or dreams need to go in here. Think of it as an exercise to help more memories return, and for you gain control over the dreams.”

“Thank you” I replied, and set about to the task of noting down my interactions with Twilight and Doctor Stables the day before. I paused on the next page unsure if I wanted to remember the nightmare. The despair and darkness, the… thing… but I was being foolish. I jotted down the dream and got out of bed to stretch my legs. At least my muscles didn’t have amnesia and despite some soreness, I was able to trot around the room. I stretched out my wings, the bandages having been removed once I was awake. It felt good.

~*~

I had hoped Twilight might stop by again when I was discharged. She was probably busy at the library and it was only 10 in the morning. I had all day to find my way over there and find a place to rent me a room. I was excited to leave the hospital and set out towards the middle of town, which I had learned was Ponyville.

Once outside, I bathed in the sunlight. This was a quiet place and before I knew it I was walking past a bakery in town. I glanced up to the sign that had every candy imaginable on it, and walked inside.

My stomach was rumbling and I figured I could use something to eat. I kicked myself as soon as I walked in though, I didn’t have any bits yet. I turned to leave when someone called out to me “Wait sir, wouldn’t you like to try anything?”

I turned back and replied “Uh, Hi. I forgot to bring any bits with me.”

I started back out the door. But the pony said “I’m Ms. Cake, what’s your name?” I decided a little conversation wouldn’t hurt so I faced her and made a small smile

“I’m Comet, I’m new in town and sort of crashed into the library.”

“Oh well, I have some extra cupcakes today why don’t you try one? Maybe you can come back later once you get settled in.” She smiled and offered me a blue cupcake with sprinkles, which I readily accepted.

“Thanks Ms. Cake, I was just on my way to the library to look for a room for rent—and a job I suppose. You wouldn’t happen to know where I could find either?” I asked as I munched on my cupcake.

Ms. Cake smiled. “Sorry, we aren’t hiring and we’re already renting our guest room to Pinkie Pie. I’m sure once you get to the library though Twilight can find something. Speaking of which—“ her expression changed to one of concern. “Have you met Pinkie Pie?”

I was baffled at the sudden change in her tone “No why?” With a sigh she handed me another cupcake.

“Here, you’re going to need your energy.”

~*~

I wandered through town aimlessly, not that I’d have known my way around anyway. I knew I’d been flying before the accident, so I likely wasn’t from around here. I spotted a park and heard a stringed instrument in the distance. It was playing a soothing melody, and I had the sudden urge to just sit and relax for a little while. The sun was high in the sky, so I had probably been wandering for several hours already. I knew I should get to the library, but exploring a new town takes a lot of energy. Most importantly, a Pegasus needs their naps.

I approached a pair of benches and sat down across from a mint colored unicorn that was playing a lyre. She smiled and I smiled back, but I was much more interested in a quick nap then making any friends. She continued to play while I relaxed in the sun. I’m not sure how long I was there but suddenly the music had stopped. I opened up my eyes and my vision was filled with pink.

Welcome welcome welcome,

a fine welcome to you!

Welcome welcome welcome,

I say how do you do?

Welcome welcome welcome,

I say hip hip hooray!

Welcome welcome welcome,

To Ponyville today!

“Wait for it…” the mare paused for dramatic effect, but I was still in shock. One second I was napping and the next a dancing pink pony with long curls and a wagon full of instruments was welcoming me to town. Suddenly confetti shot into the air and a cake was ejected in front of me. “Yes! I put the confetti in the right cannon this time! WOO HOO!”

“Uh hi, I’m Comet—“the pink mare, still bouncing around, shouted “And I’m your new best friend Pinkie Pie!” Finally past the shock I was able to grin and say “Thanks for the cake, but I uh—I’d really like to relax a little more before I go find a room to rent.”

“Okie Dokie Lokie Comet! I’ll see you at the library!” Pinkie bounced down the path back towards the center of town. I looked around but there was no sign of the welcome wagon, all that remained was the cake. The mint unicorn resumed her playing and tried not to giggle too loudly.

“You handled that better than someponies I’ve seen Comet, I’m Lyra Heartstrings.”

I smiled back at her. “Thanks, I think… do you want some cake?” I immediately thought that was a pretty stupid thing to say. The mare in front of me was good looking and my stomach had already betrayed me as it filled with butterflies. Probably best to just wrap things up and get to the library, I didn’t even have a room or a job yet.

“No thanks, but if you would like I can show you where the library is” she responded. “Then what am I going to do with a whole cake?” I asked.

“It’s ok, just chalk it up as ‘Pinkie Pie’ and move on. She is flinging cakes at people every day and yet I’ve never seen any litter.” After she had placed her lyre in her saddlebag, she showed me the way to the library. I get embarrassed easily around women, or at least I assume I do since I can’t remember anything past a week ago. I was definitely embarrassed now though, at least I’d be at the library soon and I could have a nice quiet conversation with Twilight about finding a room and a job.

I said goodbye to Lyra and managed to tell her I’d stop by the park again sometime. She just said good luck with a knowing grin and left.

Author's Note

Editor’s Note: Nharctic here!
It really is a pleasure working on this story.
Anyways, thanks to Kaidan for letting me edit this, and enjoy the story!

III. Suprise!

I opened the door to the library as the sun was beginning to set. "Twilight? Anypony home?" I called out into the dark library. I paused for a second at the doorway, remembering the dark night I had crash landed. Something wasn't right...

"SURPRISE!!!" yelled a roomful of ponies. The lights came on and the pink one, Pinkie Pie, leapt clear across the room to land next to me.

"Welcome to Ponyville! I've been wanting to throw you a party since you crashed but Twilight and Doctor Stables told me parties aren't allowed in hospitals..." Pinkie trailed off as I smiled and nodded my head. I could see what Ms. Cake was talking about, this pony must run off pure sugar and if the party was any indication I had a long night ahead.

After a few moments of stunned silence as my heart rate returned to normal I noticed Pinkie had finally stopped talking and was looking at me expectantly. "Thanks Pinkie, this party is great." I smiled look around, somehow it seems like everypony in Ponyville was in the library. I had a sudden urge to grab some punch and find a nice, quiet corner to watch everypony dance.

Twilight came over after Pinkie had bounced off towards the cake, the same cake that was in the park it seemed. "How did she get my cake over here from the park?" I must have had a confused look on my face.

"I've decided to just explain it as ‘it’s Pinkie Pie.’ I am glad you made it over, and if you introduce yourselves to everypony I'm sure you can find a job and a roommate" Twilight cheerfully said. The air did seem to have an energy in it and I was soon loosening up.

I headed over to the only other Pegasus in the room, a cyan mare with a rainbow mane. "Hey Comet, I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in all of Equestria!" Rainbow hovered in the air striking a macho pose which came off looking rather silly. "Twilight was telling me how you crashed into her library!" Rainbow added.

"Thanks Rainbow, so I notice there aren't many pegasi here. Are you in charge of weather?" I asked casually.

"Yeah, I'm the lead weather mare in Ponyville. We're getting ready for winter and several of the pegasi are rounding up extra clouds. I heard you're looking for work, we could use another pegasus and the mayor will be able to give you a salary." Rainbow continued to hover in the air, quite comfortable floating over everypony. I thought about flying around gathering clouds, it sounded pretty easy. I also thought about what was out there that had shot me out of the sky.

"Thanks Rainbow, I'll take a rain check on that job," and I walked off to talk to more ponies.

"Hi, I'm Comet," I greeted an orange mare with a cowboy hat. "Howdy, ah'm Applejack, and ah run Sweet Apple Acres." Glancing at the mare, I noted her three apples cutie mark, and the muscles of a pony who has worked every day of her life.

“Good to meet you, Applejack.” I replied. “Do you by chance have any work around your farm?”

Applejack grinned. “Ah heard you might be lookin’ fer some work. Ah need tah harvest all th’ apples before winter comes, and ah need all the help ah can get. Why, we even have some guest rooms you could use.”

She seemed like an honest pony, so I accepted the offer.

I headed around the room introducing myself to everypony. Before the night was over, I had met the elements of harmony and learned a great deal about Ponyville. With all the party games and cake, I was soon exhausted.

"Comet" Applejack addressed me, "It's gettin' late and we should head back to the farm and get ya settled." I looked outside and sure enough it was pitch black, the new moon barely casting any light around. Turning to face Applejack, I noticed most of the party guests had already left. I was again gripped by that dread in the back of my mind, I didn't know why but I knew for certain I didn't want to be out at night.

"Thanks, but I'm really tired. Hey Twilight!" I called over to the librarian, "I don't suppose you have a guest bed? I'm exhausted."

Applejack just looked at me and I tried not to be nervous, but somehow I could tell she knew I was holding something back. "Oh, sure thing Comet. I had Spike prepare the guest bed earlier in case you needed a place to sleep," Twilight replied. "Thanks" I told her and looked back to Applejack, who seemed willing to drop the matter. I breathed a sigh of relief, the last thing I needed was to tell a room full of ponies I was afraid to go out at night.

"Hey Spike, thanks for getting that guest bed out" I told the small dragon.

"Oh no problem Comet, and it's nice to have a colt around for once. You want to see some of my comics about Daring Do or Batcolt?" The purple dragon offered.

"I'd love to do a little reading" I responded and we went to examine his comic book collection.

~*~

I don't remember how long we'd stayed up reading comics, or Spike chatting about his crush on Rarity. Spike had hoped I might have some advice for him but as I was quick to remind him, I had amnesia, so I suggested just being himself.

Now I lay in bed looking at the ceiling, it was still dark out and I wasn't sure how long I had slept. I decided to get up and get some water, remembering that Spike slept in a small basket I was careful getting out of the guest bed. I looked over but his basket was empty, he must have gotten up too. I quietly headed for the stairs and noticed Twilight's bed was empty too. I recalled Spike telling me how she liked to burn the midnight oil studying.

I had made it downstairs when I heard noises coming from the basement. After I got a drink of water my curiosity got the best of me. Light from a firefly lantern flickered across the library, and I took it down to take with me. The floor was in disarray from the party with as many books as streamers laying about. I made my way over to the basement door and stepped through it. The door slammed shut behind me, nearly causing me to drop the lantern. I tried to open it but it was locked now, from down below I could hear talking. I would just ask Twilight what was going on.

I headed down the stairs but I wasn't in the library anymore. All around me were damp brown walls, supported by thick beams of rotting timber. The voices were still there but seemed more distant, and each step echoed down the long mineshaft. I thought of going back, but behind me was only darkness. Biting down tightly on the firefly lantern, I proceeded ahead.

It started slowly as I neared the corner, the sense of dread was back. With it I could feel all the happiness from the party earlier in the day fading away. All I knew was that I should get back in bed and stay inside, I shouldn't be happy, I should know only fear.

I rounded the corner and saw myself standing with my sergeant in my golden but worn guard armor. Before us everypony was fighting some type of unicorn that was covered in black shadow. Everypony that attacked, or tried to defend, was sucked into the shadows and silenced. The sergeant's horn glowed brightly as he tried to hold back the darkness and protect his squad, he turned to me and said "Go now! Report to Princess Celestia and stop for nopony! We've disturbed something most foul in the caves."

I saw myself flee out of the cave, and I saw the sergeant's protection spell completely surrounded by the darkness. Then there was nothing but silence and the darkness, I hadn't even noticed my lamp go out. My eyes tried to adjust but all I could hear was a deep laughing and a set of eyes... red eyes staring straight into my soul. He knew I was watching.

Author's Note

Thanks to Nharctic for proofreading.

IV. Apples

After waking up Twilight and Spike with my screaming, I decided the best thing to do would be to head off to take Applejack up on her job offer. It would be nice to have my own room and earn some bits while my memories come back to me. I had something now that I hadn't had before, a sense of purpose. Who ever the sergeant in my dream was I felt he was important, what ever task I had was important. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that sense of dread and fear so I have come to believe that whatever shot me out of the sky is trying to protect itself.

Sweet Apple Acres covered large swaths of hills and rivers outside of Ponyville. It was still early in the morning as I approached the farm house. "Applejack, is this the new pony you were tellin' us about?" a yellow filly called out. I greeted her "Hi there I'm Comet, and I am new in town." The filly replied "Hi, I'm Applebloom! Me and my friends are making breakfast this morning!"

Out of nowhere darted two more fillies "I'm Scootaloo--" and the other shouted "I'm Sweetie Belle, and we're--" The 3 of them in unison shouted "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER CHEFS!!!" I couldn't help but laugh as I wondered if there was such a thing as a normal day around here.

"Calm down there sugar cubes 'n let our guest have some space" Applejack chided with a grin. "Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres Comet, the fillies offered to make us breakfast today. I told Granny to make us some apple pies in case breakfast... doesn't go as planned. I reckon I'll show you to the guest room and we'll get to apple buckin' after that."

"Thanks, everypony sure has been nice. You must be Big Mac" I asked the large red stallion who was putting his yoke on. "Eeeyup" was his sole reply. Applejack added "Don't you worry, once he gets to know ya, you'll be wonderin' how to make him stop talkin'."

I sat down at the tables outside and could see the crusaders bringing over breakfast. They had oatcakes, some burnt oatmeal, and apple fritters. It looked edible for the most part, and the fritters turned out tasting much better then they looked. We chatted about the farm and my job responsibilities, before the fillies offered to clean up the dishes. They all turned in unison to look at their flanks, and sighed with dissapointment.

"Oh well girls, we still have all day to go crusadering'" Sweetie Belle chirped. "We'll just finish up the dishes and head out for our next task." Scootaloo had a mischievious look in her eyes as the three jumped and shouted in unison "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER PARKOUR!!!"

~*~

The morning went by quickly. All I had to unpack was a saddle bag and my journal. After that I had fed chickens, bucked apple trees, and gotten an earful when I asked Applejack why their vegetable garden didn't have any carrots. Apparently there's a family feud between the Apple and Carrot families. I had decided to head into town and find something to eat with Big Mac.

"So Big Mac, want to eat at McDaisy's or Hay in the Box?" I inquired. Big Mac was a colt of few words and just replied "McDaisy's." We headed over to the outside seating area for the restaurant and sat down. I looked over the menu and ordered from the waiter. "I'll take a McDaisy sandwich and extra hay fries, with some apple cider" I told the waitress. "How about you Big Mac, the usual?" The waitress asked. Big Mac just grinned and said "Eeyup." If I didn't know better I'd say he was blushing at the waitress.

After the waitress was out of earshot I gave him a quick jab "So you like the waitress huh?" Big Mac just sat there for a moment while I grinned at him before admitting it with a "Eeyup."

I looked around while waiting for the food and noticed the musician Lyra sitting alone at the next table. Big Mac had noticed me staring and it was his turn to jab me in the side. "Yup" I replied to Big Mac and he prodded me again. "Hey Lyra, why don't you sit with us so your not eating alone?" I called over to her.

"Oh, thank you. I was just taking a break from practicing for Hearth's Warming Eve in a few months," Lyra responded. After she had sat down next to us the waitress returned with our food. I watched her and Big Mac grin at each other. "So Lyra, you spend your time performing concerts and playing in the park, what's that like?" I inquired.

"It's quite relaxing, and I get to play beautiful melodies for everypony. How about you, are you on the weather team?" Lyra asked. I tried to look busy chewing on some hay fries but eventually admitted "Actually I'm helping Big Mac and Applejack on the farm. Since I crashed in Ponyville I haven't done any flying, I'm still sore" I lied. The truth was I wasn't ready to risk any more falls until I had a better idea what had come after me.

We had a quiet lunch discussing all the other ponies in town. It turns out the waitress name was Daisy, the grand daughter of the pony who had founded McDaisy's. There was also Zecora who was the zebra sitting a few tables down from us, apparently she doesn't visit town that often. I had finished my food and chatted a little longer with Lyra before she told me she had to get back to practice.

"I can see why you like it here Big Mac, plenty of kind mares to go around" I chatted. He responded with a blush I'd expected, but then said "Eeyup, me 'n Daisy are goin' to Hearts 'n Hooves together this year."

"That's wonderful!" I replied, glad to have heard him utter something other then eeyup or nope.

V. Therapy

It had been an uneventful day of Apple bucking. I had gotten comfortable flying around the farm and hadn't had a nightmare last night. I landed next to the set of trees I was supposed to harvest next when I got that familiar feeling of somepony watching me.

I looked around but didn't see anyone. I started to buck one of the apple trees when I noticed the moon was out. That was unusual for the daytime, if I recall correctly I was told a Princess Luna controlled when the moon rose and set. Maybe she'd taken a day off?

I continued to buck apple trees never quite shaking the feeling that someone was watching me. I suddenly noticed the sun had set so I quickly headed back inside. Before I walked through the front door of the Apple's house I looked back towards the orchard. Underneath one of the trees was the creature that had been watching me, black as night with a sparkling blue mane.

~*~

I awoke startled, but not screaming which made a nice change of pace. I wrote down in the journal what I had seen. I was disappointed another memory hadn't come back to me, and also happy I hadn't had to witness that night in the caves again. I had an appointment with the therapist today and with any luck we would be able to piece together and recover some more memories.

After grabbing a few apple fritters for breakfast I headed into Ponyville until I was at the office of a unicorn named Sandy. She had a brown coat and grey mane with a small pocket watch on her flank. After a brief wait I was lead into her office by her assistant and took a set on a nearby sofa.

"Hi Comet, it's a pleasure to meet you" the unicorn stated cordially. "Thank you, should I call you Sandy or Doc?" I replied.

"You can call me Sandy, so tell me have you been writing down any memories or dreams you have been having?" She reached for her own notepad with her magic that had a soothing grey glow. "Yes, here is the journal" I responded while reaching into my saddlebag and lifting it out with my teeth.

After glancing through it and holding it aloft with her magic she told me "Alright, we are ready to begin. Now as you may know, the key to memory are the associations between objects. I may associate sitting in this chair with taking notes on a patient, and the need to have a quill and fresh ink. If I walked out of the office to get a new quill, I might get distracted by the receptionist and forget why I had gotten up."

"Ok I'm following you so far Sandy" I responded, patiently following her analogy.

"Now when I return to my office and sit down, I would again associate this chair with taking notes, and thus recall that I needed a new quill. The fragments of memory and dreams in this journal are going to help me guide you through hypnosis. I will be helping you make those connections, and hopefully we will find out what happened to you."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea? I'm usually overwhelmed with a sense of dread when I try to remember anything. Last night is the only night I didn't have vivid nightmares." I waited as she flipped through the journal to the last page.

"Ah it says here you had a dream you were working and that the moon was out, then it got dark and before turning in to bed you saw a black mare with a sparkling blue mane. Was this the same thing that was watching you in the other dreams?" Sandy took several notes while I replied. "No, this was something different. It was watching me, but I didn't feel any fear or dread. I just knew it was analyzing me the whole time."

"Ok then I think we are ready to begin, I'm going to ask you to lay down and clear your head of all thoughts. Focus on the sound of my voice as your eyelids begin to feel heavy..."

~*~

"Where are you now Comet?" Sandy asked.

"I'm back in the hospital bed, when I first came to Ponyville." I looked around and it looked as real as the dreams I had been having, and yet this time I knew it was a dream.

"Now think back to how you ended up in the hospital, do you remember crashing into Twilight's library?" Sandy inquired.

"Yes, I had lost control while I was flying." I felt a sudden chill and shivered a little. "I think something was chasing me"

"Why would you think that? Is that why you were falling?" Sandy asked.

"Yes, I remember pain, and trying to outrun something--" I paused as I could feel that looming sense of dread return. A wick at the back of my mind began to suck up all the happy memories I'd made over the past few days until all I could feel was the dread.

"Comet it's ok, you are still in my office. I need you to take a deep breath, and tell me about that night. Was it cloudy? Did you see anything unusual?" Sandy had a very soothing voice and I was soon back in the air again.

"I flew through the cloud cover... I had a sense of dread and knew something was chasing me, I was nearly at the speed of sound and aiming for the town below when something shot me. I could feel a pain... I think it was in my head but an instant later I had blacked out." I flinched in my dream as I ended up back in the library.

"Ok, let's go back a little further. Can you remember where you took off from? Was the moon on your right or your left?" Sandy's voice seemed to have taken on a musical quality that helped me focus.

"I can't remember... in one of my dreams I was in a mine, and on that night I fled the moon was left of me but it was barely shining." I could see the 2 pieces in my mind but couldn't quite connect them. A mine, and the library, and in-between was only the dread and sorrow.

"Good, good. So it sounds like you were flying south. Did you live in a village in the north? How big was the mine?" Sandy asked and continued to guide me through my dream.

"The mine was large, I was in the royal guard at the barracks there. We were slowing down production but still working hard, I think we had just helped build a city--" My mind flashed back to that night deep in the mine, when the darkness had consumed my friend. I wanted to curl up and hide from the thoughts, but I soon heard a soothing voice.

"Your doing great Comet, now you were at a mine in the north near a city. Do you recall any names, or how close you were to the border with the Gryphon kingdom?" Sandy asked.

"No... there wasn't much around the mine I think. There weren't many ponies that far north." I tried but could not remember any more.

"Alright then, I want to go back to your sergeant and the mine. Remember the darkness can't hurt you here, why did you go into the mine?" Sandy questioned.

"Ponies had been disappearing in the mines, at first we thought they were cave-ins. At first a few cave-ins were found, but most of the ponies just vanished in the south-eastern tunnels of the crystal mine. Finally my sergeant had enough, and took our entire platoon down fully armed to explore the deepest reaches of the mine."

"Your doing excellent" Sandy encouraged.

"We were getting near the end of the mine shaft, when we found fresh tunneling. The walls were damp and brown, and lumber had been hastily erected to support the ceiling. We weren't supposed to have any mining operations that deep, so with a sense of dread we set off down the new tunnel..." I had to pause again to try and control the dread. I could feel something scratching at my mind, something that wanted to be remembered. My emotions had become numb and I felt cold, but amidst the fear I also knew determination and duty. Sandy was guiding me, and I was going to figure this out once and for all.

"Comet? Comet can you hear me?" Sandy sounded concerned. "Yeah" I replied, and she responded "you seem to have drifted off, please continue."

"We had brought a few torches but as we got deeper they weren't enough. We ended up in a room that somepony had built deep in the mines. Inside was a sarcophagus that was empty, and suddenly the caves began to shake violently. We were about to flee for fear of a cave in when it stopped, and that's when it appeared." I couldn't stop now, I was so close. I attempted to swallow the lump in my throat and continued.

"At first we thought the torches had gone out, the room was pitch black and nopony could find the entrance. The torch in my hoof was still lit but I could barely see the flames 4 inches away. I bumped into something, and it was the sarcophagus.... only now it wasn't empty. The husk of a black unicorn lay in it, with a red horn and lifeless eyes. The darkness seemed to be coming from him... and then there was nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?" Sandy pondered.

"Well, I had been feeling fear, we all were, but suddenly it's like everything just froze. I couldn't feel or see anything, I wasn't panicked or worried. I just was. I seemed to float there forever and only a second all at the same time. I don't know how long that continued, but the silence was suddenly broken with a scream. Light had returned to the room and something was hovering over the sarcophagus..."

~*~

I jolted up on the sofa, startling the therapist. "Comet what did you see?"

I looked over to her and said "I saw my king, but it wasn't my king it was something evil in his place."

Sandy began levitating books around searching for some way to piece the puzzle together and make sense. As I watched the books dance around in the air the weight of the dread landed on me again and I heard laughter. The room darkened and for the first time the entity stalking me stepped out of the shadows. I could see him clearly, and my entire mind screamed to deny his existence. What ever this was should have stayed buried in that tomb, along with the rest of us.

"You made it so far, almost beyond my grasp and yet you kept poking at the memories until I caught up with you. This time you will never awaken!" The ghastly figure with the head of a unicorn and a smokey body stared straight at me and I felt the pieces of my mind being torn away. I looked out the window behind him hoping for some miracle, but instead all I saw was the crescent moon and a blue flash.

VI. Awareness

Everything was hazy and had a dreamlike quality. I went around my daily tasks on the farm, earning bits and then going to bed. This cycle seemed to keep repeating, and I may have gone mad if it were not for the voices. Every so often I could hear voices standing beside me, yet they were never there when I looked. The Apples barely talked to me and I began to feel like I was dead and in purgatory... but I had the voices, so I clung onto them.

"That's when he told me about a tomb in the mine, he started convulsing and then became as still as death."

I don't recall any mines on Sweet Apple Acres. I spent a day looking for them but any time I wandered too far from the farm I'd find myself back in the middle of the orchard.

"Have Nurse Redheart start an IV and hang some dextrose. We'll scan him later and see if there is any change."

Nurse... Redheart? Had I heard that somewhere before? I adjusted the yoke that was digging into my back as me and Big Mac plowed the soil so we could begin a new harvest.

"I hope he's alright, you go ahead and head back home Big Mac. I'd like to stay and play some music."

It didn't matter how many trees I bucked, there were always more. As soon as I looked away the apples had regrown. In the distance I could hear a melody, calling out to me. None of the Apple family played an instrument, I wandered aimlessly trying to find the source of the music. I could feel something, a memory? Was this all a dream?

"Eeyup, up 'n went north and took everypony with her. Sis said somethin' bout savin' Equestria again."

Equestria? Why would we need to save it, today was such a beautiful day. I was happy to have so many apples to buck, every day I had my routine and that's all I needed. I headed off to the south orchard and noticed the moon was up and it was full.

"...Can't keep him on IV fluids forever, if somepony doesn't have a better idea..."

I couldn't stop staring at the moon. It was so clear and vibrant, and everything else seemed so surreal. I sat down and continued to stare until the moon suddenly opened it's eyes.

"Awake my little pony, return to the tomb and destroy the remains. We shall handle the crystal heart."

Tomb? Remains? I started to run back towards the Apple house. I just wanted to buck apples... the ground fell away beneath me and suddenly I was falling again, crashing towards the ground below. I screamed but couldn't hear anything, below a building was getting closer. Time seemed to slow down, I flinched but passed right through the roof landing on a teal Pegasus.

~*~

"AAAAAHHHHH!!!!" I screamed out loud. "haha! I'm Alive!" I bounced around on my bed, so excited to have a headache, so grateful to be alive.

That's when I noticed a rather startled looking mint green mare who looked like she had been sleeping in a chair. "ohmigosh! Lyra, are you ok?"

"Um... it's you we were worried about Comet. What happened?" Lyra asked.

By now the Doctor and Nurse had walked in so I began to explain. "Doctor, Nurse, I know what I have to do now. I have to warn Celestia, the Crystal Kingdom is back!"

"Oh dear..." Lyra had a pensive look on her face I hadn't seen before. "I was playing in the park when Twilight came to get Fluttershy, I overheard her say that the elements of harmony had been urgently summoned to Canterlot."

"So the Princess already knows? We have to destroy his remains or the best they can do is just banish him again!" I said with a hint of panic. "The princess spoke to me while I was dreaming, we have to destroy the tomb to end the King's reign once and for all."

"Well... I guess the Princess already knows but how will you... " Lyra trailed off, and I realized just how exhausted she must be.

"So Doctor, if I could get the discharge papers and some of that lovely jello Nurse, I'll get out of your mane. I'm going to head north and make sure Twilight and the others do more then just banish King Sombra this time!"

~*~

After slowing down to explain what had just happened i was discharged. Lyra and I headed to Sweet Apple Acres to find Big Mac with a renewed sense of purpose now that most of my memories were restored.

"Lyra, thanks for visiting me. It all felt so real, I was convinced that I had all I ever wanted in the dream. Hearing your music, it helped me start to realize that it was a dream." I grinned over at her.

"Oh your welcome, you were such a nice pony when you came to town, it's the least I can do to help you." Lyra said while glancing at me.

"So once we get Big Mac, we'll set off north to destroy King Sombra and save Equestria! Looks like we won't have to be a background pony this time." I smiled and guided her to Sweet Apple Acres.

"Comet! Ya'll are ok!" Big Mac ran over to greet us.

"I sure am, and I'm going to need your help or Applejack and the others might not succeed on their mission." I could see the worry in his eyes.

"My sis is in trouble?" Big mac asked.

"Yeah, I believe they were sent to the Crystal Empire to banish an ancient evil, only they don't know about his prison. It's a tomb in a mine I used to guard, he should have stayed sealed there forever. If we don't destroy his remains, he'll eventually escape again" I explained.

"I still don't understand, nopony has ever heard of the Crystal Empire. If what the Doctor said earlier was true then it's an ancient kingdom thousands of years old. How are you here now?" Lyra inquired.

"I don't know, but I was there the moment he was sealed in the tomb. Maybe I'm even from the Crystal Empire. All I know I'm connected somehow and I have to end what my squad started when we disturbed the tomb." I looked at Big Mac "So will you help us destroy it?"

Big Mac spat out the piece of straw he'd been chewing on and said "Eeyup. My sis is up there 'n I've got to help her out."

VII. Fellowship

"Alright, we've got food, rope, lanterns, and a map. Can anypony think of anything else?" I asked Lyra and Big Mac.

"I think we should ask Zecora for help, she lives in the Everfree forest" Lyra stated. "Eeyup" Big Mac replied.

"Ok, let's head out. There is no telling how long we have before the tomb is sealed again, we need to destroy his remains before that happens." I explained to them.

We headed off towards Zecora's cottage in the forest and for the first time in the 2 weeks I had been here I felt joy again. My memories had mostly returned, and I knew now what I faced. When my squad had been sent to investigate the mine we must have been trapped with King Sombra's remains in his tomb. The sarcophagus must have trapped us all there somehow, and somehow we had gotten out. At that moment Sombra must have taken his anger out on us, killing the other soldiers while I fled for re-enforcements. Since the Crystal Empire apparently disappeared and reappeared with me, I might still have friends or family up there.

The Everfree forest had it's own aura of dread about it. The trees were all black with dark blue leaves. Bushes rustled from a wind that never ceased, and the flickering shadows cast by the branches made it feel like a timberwolf was hiding in every dark corner. As we walked I had to listen to several colorful folk songs including a very catchy jig about an evil enchantress putting ponies in trances.

"We're here." Lyra walked up and knocked on the door, and placed her lyre back in her saddlebag. I'd have to ask later if Zecora was the evil enchantress from the short song she had just sung.

The door opened and a zebra stepped out. "Why hello mint colored mare, what brings you to my lair?"

"My friend Comet here has was sent to warn Celestia about the Crystal Empire. He was trapped though and ended up in a coma and we think Luna told him to destroy King Sombra's tomb!" Lyra paraphrased.

"Disturbing visions I have had of this Empire, aid you I will to avoid Sombra's ire." Zecora headed back into her cabin and began gathering up some potions and herbs before coming back and closing the front door. "Let us head north pony folk, and please tell me everything of which you spoke."

~*~

My hooves were getting sore from all the walking, but Zecora assured us in rhyme we were close. I'd spent the better part of the day piecing together an explanation and the more I talked about it, the more I could remember.

"There sure are a lot of rocks up here, though I think the mines are just north of here." I stated. The map showed only grassland where the Empire should be, since nopony had seen it in millennia.

"Comet your words are true, this is a rock farm through and through" Zecora chimed. "You know I heard Pinkie say once she grew up on a rock farm, I always wondered how you would grow a rock" Lyra pondered.

"Well there's a pony over there that might know. Excuse me, how do you grow rocks?" I asked the light blue unicorn ahead of us.

"The great and powerful--ah who am I kidding. Now I just keep the rocks watered and make sure they gather no moss. That's all there is too it." The unicorn looked fairly depressed as she broke rocks into smaller rocks then carefully arranged them on the ground.

"Trixie, is that you?" Lyra inquired. This seemed to wake the unicorn from her stupor "You're from Ponyville aren't you! Come to laugh at the Great and Powerful Trixie!"

"No actually, I'm helping my friend Comet here," Lyra calmly spoke. "Nopony here would want to laugh at you for what happened."

Trixie sighed and let her hammer rest on the ground. "You know, after you ran me out of Ponyville and destroyed my home i haven't been able to do my magic act in any town. Everyone knows I'm all smoke and mirrors now."

I couldn't stand to see somepony so sad, though I didn't know what exactly had happened to her. I decided to offer her a chance to turn things around. "How about you help us? What ever happened to ruin your reputation, I'm actually on a quest to save Equestria right now! It's not as glorious as it may sound, but I'm sure that what we're doing will restore your reputation."

"You--You want--" Trixie had a look of hope in her eye and seemed unable to tell if this was a genuine offer. "You would have the Great and Powerful Trixie aid you in saving Equestria? I wouldn't have to work on this rock farm anymore, I could get a new trailer! There will be treasure right?"

"Uh probably" I mumbled "I mean I haven't exactly saved a world before so I wouldn't know..."

"Very well, I shall let you ponies accompany me as we save Equestria for 40% of the treasure we find." Trixie ran back to a run down looking shack to grab her things.

"You do realize what your getting us into I hope?" Lyra asked me. "Well Lyra, I have no idea what we're getting into. But I'm sure that this unicorn deserves a second chance, and besides this looks more like a labor camp then a rock farm. I still don't understand how you grow the blasted things" I replied.

~*~

"And that was the year I left my mother and sisters to set out to become the greatest stage magician in Equestria!" Trixie launched some fireworks into the air to drive home the point.

"Wow Trixie, I never thought to ask about your personal life. Things just got so hectic after that Ursa Minor invaded Ponyville we all just assumed you always loved to brag and boast." Lyra was smiling and it seemed like her and Trixie were hitting it off.

"Yes, the Great and Powerful Trixie used to have many fans with her illusions and magical tricks. I never expected 2 fancolts to drag an Ursa Minor into a town though..." Trixie kicked a rock off the path before continuing. "There are several mines up here where we get our rock seeds from. Your mine is probably just north of them."

"Thanks, say what is that up there in the sky?" I pointed up at 2 flecks speeding around in the air.

"It's a bird! It's a plane!" Lyra shouted. "Nope" replied Big Mac as the two objects got closer "I reckon that's a gryphon and a dragon."

"I hope it's a young dragon, last time the guard upset an adult dragon Celestia herself had to settle the thing down." I gulped as I began to see clearly what was going on. The gryphon overhead was agile, dog fighting a crimson dragon in the sky. The dragon looked faster and stronger, so the gryphon could not flee. It's only choice was to stay in close and dodge his attacks, though the gryphon's counter-attacks did little damage.

The dragon shot out a few streams of molten fire, probably singing the gryphon in the process. Before I knew what I was doing I had leapt off the ground and shouted "Cover me, we've got to help!" I could imagine the looks of bewilderment on the 2 unicorns and stallion behind me as I gained altitude.

I hadn't flown since my crash landing, but the feel of the wind cutting through my spread feathers felt right. I belonged here in the sky soaring over trees and mountains. As I got closer I could see that the gryphon had been burned at least twice by the dragon. The gryphon was focusing it's attacks on the dragons left wing, probably hoping to force it to the ground by weakening it.

"Hold on I'm coming!" I shouted. The gryphon looked at me surprised, nearly getting swiped by the dragon's tail before returning to attack. Going as fast as I could, I spun and kicked the dragon in the jaw as he turned to see his new attacker. The dragon went into a free fall but quickly recovered.

This dragon was quick, and larger then I had thought. Each crimson scale look worn by years of the dust, sand, and snow. There were gashes into the thick plates that adorned it's abdomen. At the end of each limb were jagged, notched claws. Every time he could get one of us in his sights, he exhaled a flame hotter then any I had ever felt. I didn't know why the dragon was attacking, only that somehow I had to stop the beast.

Fireworks started going off around us as we weaved and rolled around the dragon. This seemed to confuse the dragon, allowing me to dive and kick his wing joint with all my force. I used my legs to push off and fly away as his angry maw spun and breathed flame over his left wing. As he followed me downwards, the gryphon landed on his back and bit into the wing, eliciting a roar of pain.

As more fireworks went off the dragon had enough, and turned to fly away from us as quickly as he could. Now clear of me and the gryphon, Big Mac began to buck some rocks up at him while Trixie continued to set off fireworks near him. He looked to be limping as he flew, so I doubted we'd see him again anytime soon.

"Thanks--" the gryphon said, catching her breath "you're not so bad for a bunch of lame ponies."

"Your welcome, I think I might be more surprised to see a gryphon this far south then a dragon. I'm Comet, what brings you down here?" I asked.

I could tell the gryphon was annoyed, but seeing as how I'd just saved her life she decided to humor us. "I'm Gilda, with the Gryphon Air Patrol. I was sent to investigate rumors of the Crystal Empire's return. Long ago we were taught that the war like ponies of the Crystal Empire sought to conquer our great nation."

"Oh, I'm sure nopony would want to do that" Lyra said, and Big Mac agreed.

"Well Gilda, the Crystal Empire has returned led by an evil King who will likely conquer all of Equestria if we don't stop him" I pleaded. "Can you help us find the crystal mine near here to put an end to him?"

"Hah! Why would a gryphon want to help anypony? I think I'll just wait until he wipes out Equestria and the gryphons can come in and take it over for ourselves" Gilda mocked.

"Gilda... Gilda... I remember you now, you were at a party with Rainbow Dash. You set off a bunch of pranks at a party and stormed off" Lyra recalled.

"Bah of all the rotten luck... Yeah that was me what of it?" Gilda said.

"Well only that I haven't seen you since then, and if you were Rainbow's friend maybe helping us could get you back on her good side. Surely you've tried to talk to her since then if she is your friend?" Lyra asked.

"Yeah... we did have a lot of fights at junior speedster flight camp. We were still best friends through and through despite our differences. This is different, she made it clear she didn't want me around all her pony friends" Gilda stated.

"I'm sure that's not true, if there is one thing I've learned in Ponyville it's that friends don't give up on each other" I said. "Maybe you can help us at least find the cave, and send Dash a letter later. I'm sure she misses you too."

"Ugh fine, let's just hurry up and get this over with. I have to get back and report on the status of the Crystal Empire by tomorrow." Gilda finally settled onto the ground and began to walk north with us.

"Gilda let me look at you, I have many a healing brew" Zecora sang.

"This is great, with the two of us we can fly ahead and find the cave. Why doesn't everypony set up camp for the night, and make sure we have plenty of firewood. We'll fly ahead and find the cave, then we'll camp here overnight." Things were finally starting to look up for me. With more and more allies, I would be ready for what ever was awaiting us at Sombra's tomb.

VIII. Descent

By the time Gilda and I returned to camp everypony was asleep. We had located the mine that we needed to descend too and it was just over the next hill. I set out to get some more firewood for the fire before going to bed.

The darkness was still unsettling to me and it took a conscious effort to contain the fear of King Sombra. I had gotten better at resisting his influence but could still tell he was watching me. I realized I had wandered too far into the forest and gotten lost. I decided to fly above the treeline with the firewood to get back to camp. I leapt into the air but landed with a resounding thud.

I looked back in confusion only to see my wings were gone. The firewood had vanished as darkness closed in on me. I'd had enough of this.

"Show yourself you coward!" I shouted at the darkness. In front of me a shape stepped out of the darkness, taking on the smoking form of a unicorn nearly twice as tall as me. He had grey armor that reflected none of the faint moonlight, and a menacing red horn.

"Fool, I should have ended you when I had the chance." The figure glared at me and I could again feel my emotions go numb and I could feel only hopelessness. "When you were trapped in my tomb with me for eons, you ponies were my only source of food and amusement. By the time I drew enough power to escape my prison from you ponies, it was a mercy to murder the lifeless husks."

I stood rooted to the spot listening to his story. I remembered being in the tomb, being trapped and floating through the darkness. But I remembered when we had awoken and my fellow soldiers had attacked him. They weren't lifeless husks, and my sergeant had been casting a protection spell...

"You don't seem to be recalling events correctly, let me help you" Sombra spoke. Suddenly we were standing back in the tomb. Sombra floated above the shattered sarcophagus, and around him were the lifeless bodies of 12 ponies, a mix of pegasai and unicorns. Near the entrance to the tomb were two weak ponies, a unicorn who seemed to be casting a protection spell and me.

"Your foolish sergeant somehow managed to protect you, but look at how you limp out to go get help! You don't even realize that you never left. Your still trapped in the mines with me!" Sombra began laughing and I could feel myself surrendering to his power. The room was getting dark and I wanted more then anything to embrace the void.

"Comet, you must warn Celestia--" I interrupted the sergeant with my hoof. I was suddenly standing next to him again, Sombra glared at us as the protection spell faded. I stepped forward to meet my end when I heard the melody. I thought it was another of Sombra's tricks, but I could see a confused look on his face. There had been no music in the tomb that night. Could this be... another dream?

The darkness was vanishing, I could see Sombra's mouth moving but hear no sound. I could feel warmpth and a tugging as I was pulled back to the waking world.

~*~

I awoke shivering with the sun just rising. I was back in the camp, and Lyra was playing her lyre. To my right, Zecora had been mixing up a brew. "What happened to you pegasus, I've never seen night terrors such as this." Zecora leaned in and gave me some red potion which I accepted. It seemed to ward off the chills I was feeling.

"I had another nightmare, only this time I knew it was a dream. King Sombra approached me again, he seemed desperate but also more powerful. What ever he's trying to do in the Crystal Kingdom he's close, but he's also worried. I don't think we have much time to destroy his remains before he is re-imprisoned. And if he is imprisoned, the tomb will seal and it's only a matter of time before he escapes again." I got up and saw that the whole camp had been packed up.

"Lyra, how did you know about the music?" I asked. "I remember when you were in the hospital and you told me you could hear my music in your coma, I thought it might help you get back" Lyra replied.

"Thanks Lyra, you saved my life. I was so close to giving in to Sombra's will" I added.

"Ugh come on, if your telling the truth let's crush this guy and I can go back as a hero to all gryphons" Gilda snorted.

~*~

The journey to the mine didn't take long, nor did the descent down towards the tomb. "It should be just around this corner ahead and across a short bridge."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie commands... I mean, why don't you ponies go first?" Trixie blurted.

"Hah, I'll go first then" Gilda smirked and headed around the corner. The bridge was ahead when the ground started rumbling. Big Mac shouted out "CAVE IN!" with a volume I hadn't heard him use before. Once the trembling stopped I tried to explain "Last time that happened it was shortly before King Sombra was trapped. The tomb is just ahead, we need to destroy his remains.

We all crossed the bridge and my worst fears were realized. King Sombra's sarcophagus was shattered. This meant the prison would no longer work. Luckily I should still have time to burn his remains. "Come on Gilda, we've got some remains to torch!" I called out to her.

"Hah, this was too easy" Gilda mocked "What's the worst that could happen torching some smelly old bones."

We walked towards the sarcophagus as we heard a dark laughter from outside. We all looked back just in time to see a very pissed looking King Sombra across the bridge.

"I can't believe those insolent fools reached the Crystal Heart! But they can banish me as many times as they want. Just because I can't reclaim my throne doesn't mean I can't destroy the rest of Equestria!" King Sombra began to cross the bridge. "My prison is destroyed and after I destroy you ponies I'll have all the time in the world to plan my invasion."

"Hurry up you must, destroy the bones with no further fuss!" Zecora reached into her bag and threw a vial at King Sombra that shattered in a flash of smoke behind him. Apparently it did not have the intended effect "I could use a new idea or two, if anyone has a clue."

Big Mac stood in the doorway to impede Sombra's path, and then Trixie leapt out onto the bridge.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie commands you! YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" Trixie planted her feet and her horn began to glow. She created a small magical barrier on the bridge to impede Sombra's progress. She then stomped her fore hooves, shattering the half of the bridge he stood on.

"Hahahahaha! Foolish pony, I can fly! What possible use could breaking the bridge serve? You on the other hand, can not fly!" Sombra reached out and knocked Trixie off the bridge. She hung on by one hoof and shouted up to us "Quit standing there and torch the bones!" before letting go.

I turned around and lit the torch on fire while Gilda covered the bones in fuel. I tossed the torch down while Gilda forced her way past Big Mac and dove after Trixie.

"What? NO! This can't be!" King Sombra stood across the bridge, bathed equally in shadow and fire as his link to the physical world was destroyed. "CURSE CELESTIA AND HER LITTLE PONIES!!! I WAS SO CLOSE!!!" He continued to swear as he burnt into nothingness.

I started helping everypony out of the tomb and flew them across the bridge. We were very relieved when Gilda flew up carrying Trixie shortly later. No one had known our names before today, and they might never. We had still managed to put our differences aside and save Equestria.

Everyone was overjoyed as we set up camp for the night. There had indeed been treasure in the tomb and we planned to sell it to the nearest pawn shop and split the bits 6 ways. There were some pieces of armor and jewelry in the tomb, one in particular that Trixie seemed particularly interested in. She kept talking about the amulet with the drawing of an alicorn on it and how she would have to study it when she got back home. We still sold it to the pawn shop though she seemed sad to see it go.

~*~

I was back in the apple orchard, it was a calming place. The full moon was out and the mare I had been expecting to see since I went to sleep stepped out from behind a tree.

"Princess Luna, your looking well" I stated.

"Thou hast done us a great service." Luna spoke with authority.

"Your welcome, I was just wondering why not have the elements of harmony do it? Or yourself?" I questioned the goddess.

"Comet" Luna chuckled and began to speak more casually. "It was your task to complete and we are proud of you. You were not meant to be trapped with Sombra, nor did we expect him to curse the Crystal Empire to vanish until we released him from his prison. Clearly we could not release him, and so we wept for the Empire."

I sat down listening as the princess of the night spoke to me. "We knew he would escape one day, and we knew some ponies had been trapped with him. It was our hope that when the time came, somepony would be able to lead others back to the tomb and destroy the tomb. Had we not needed all our strength to preserve the Crystal Empire we would have surely aided you."

"I understand, I guess my only other question is what now? Can you tell me where my family and friends are?" I asked.

"They are in the Crystal Empire now, I can take you there if you wish" Luna told me.

"Actually, I'd like to stay with my friends from Ponyville. I'll visit my parents before I head back south. Oh, and thank you Luna. I know now you were trying to reach me in the nightmares, you helped me resist Sombra's influence."

Luna smiled before stepping back behind the tree and said "As I would have done for any of my subjects."

Author's Note

That moment with Trixie was one of my top 3 reasons for writing this story, I just couldn't resist :)

IX. Epilogue

After visiting the Crystal Kingdom, we decided to head back to Ponyville. Trixie took her leave of us, but Gilda decided to head back to Ponyville to meet up with an old friend.

This time we took a train to get back, which was much more relaxing. We had just missed Twilight and the others and figured we could exchange stories back at the library. By the time we got their a party was in full swing.

We all sat in the library and compared our stories. Rainbow Dash and Gilda seemed to forgive each other, especially as she recounted her fight with a dragon. Gilda seemed to not be snapping as much at the other ponies but I could still tell how different our species were.

Lyra and I sat next to each other, recounting the story of how I got displaced from time to Twilight, who was furiously taking notes. Zecora was recounting the entire tale to the Cutie Mark Crusaders in rhyme, I don't know how she can do it.

Big Mac was over with his sister Appljack and the waitress Daisy from the restaurant. I couldn't help but notice how Daisy seemed to hang on every word of his story about how he had saved the day.

As the party began to thin out I walked out with Lyra and told her what was on my mind over this past week. "So Lyra, it's a bit early but would you be my special somepony for Hearts and Hooves day? I've been so happy spending time with you--" Lyra interrupted me with a kiss, and I felt as if my hollow bones were filled with helium. "Yes, I'd like that" Lyra said giggling.

"So hotshot, I heard from Gilda you remembered how to use your wings!" Rainbow Dash taunted.

"Yeah, I don't suppose the weather team still has openings? I used to be a meteorologist you know" I told her with a smirk.

"Well I can't just let anypony on the weather team, how do I know you've got what it takes?" Dash said.

"Are you just saying that because you don't want to be known as the 'second fastest flier' in Equestria from now on?" I taunted her back, getting the reaction I hoped for.

"WHAT! Why... No way, get up here right now and race me! I'll show you who is the fastest!" Rainbow was livid and I could see Applejack laughing fiercely. Apparently she enjoyed pushing Rainbow's buttons too.

"Alright, but I won't go easy on you just because your a mare" I said, feigning disinterest.

"OH IT'S ON PUNK! Last one to Canterlot has to clear the skies of clouds for the next 2 weeks!" Rainbow dash landed over by Pinkie Pie who had already drawn a start line and pulled out a hot air balloon to comment on the race.

"Be careful now sugarcube, Rainbow hates to lose" Applejack warned.

"This is going to be fun" I replied to her. I had something now that I didn't have back when King Sombra ruled the Empire. I had friends, a town full of nice neighbors, and a special somepony.

3!
2!
1!
GO!

Rainbow and I took off towards Canterlot, and I got the feeling I wasn't going to live this one down after all the boasting I just did. I tried to catch up but she always stayed just ahead of me. Pretty soon the spectators saw a mach cone and 2 pegasai vanish in the distance heading for Canterlot.

I wouldn't trade my new life for anything, even if I ended up clearing out all the clouds for years.

Author's Note

Whew, did an all day writing marathon to finish up my first series. I've done a couple unrelated short stories but this was my first longer story. Feel free to leave feedback, I'd really like to hear what everypony thinks :)

I'd like to thank the FIMfiction community for inspiring me to write. In particular, Background Pony for showing me the awesomeness that is Lyra.