Chapter 15: *The Chapter with No Name*

Author's Note: Finally got this chapter out, big thanks to ZuperDerpy for inspiring me to get this chapter revised. Also, I'll be making a blogpost about a few things I've come to realize about this story. Other than that, here's chapter 15 (Submit a title if you want, I don't have a clue what to call it)

Kiba walked away from the bush and turned to see Hige forcing himself through it. Hige was smiling as he pushed his way through, it seemed he was finally free from it when suddenly one of his back limbs got snagged and caused him to fall. He felt a magical force lift him up, as he regained his balance he began to see a strange trio of ponies. The white unicorn’s horn glowed the same color as the aura that surrounded Hige’s. The other two were an earth pony and a pegasus who seemed relieved to see him.

        “Thank you, miss”, Hige said with a smile.

        “Miss?” Vinyl asked. “Why do you call me that?”

        “I can’t really talk right now, need to see somepony”, Hige said quickly as he flapped his wings once and shot into the air.

        Vinyl turned to Big Mac and Fluttershy with a puzzled look. “He seemed... off...” she said.

        “His eyes... were they red...?” Fluttershy thought out loud.

Kiba ran off.

        “Let’s find him first and figure out what happened to him”, Big Mac said in a rush as he followed Kiba, which he thought was following Hige.

Marie had finished her shift at the hospital and began to walk home. She walked with a vague expression in her eyes, the previous events had taken their toll on her mood. ‘It must have been a prank... He can’t be alive...’. Hige carefully landed behind Marie, making an effort not to be detected. They both walked in silence, Hige cleared his throat. Marie moved out of the way, thinking that was what the sound meant.

        “Sorry”, she said as she turned and bowed her head slightly. She opened her eyes and was shocked at the image she saw. “You...”

        “Long time no see, huh?” Hige said with a smile.

        “You...” She extended her hoof and placed it at the side of his face. “You’re real...” she said as tears began to form.

        “Yep yep! Wanted to say thank you... for everything you did”, Hige said with a slight smile. “At the hospital...”

        “I can’t believe it...” She said as she wrapped her arm around him. “I thought you died... You grew up so fast.”

        “I am dead...” Hige said in a grim voice.

        “W-what?” Marie asked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

        “It’s too hard to explain, I’m not gonna be here for much longer...” He explained as he hugged Marie back.

        “What?” She asked as she looked him in the face. Hige’s red eyes began to fade into it’s normal green color. “Your eyes... That’s how you stayed alive?”

        “It’s a little more complicated than that, but yes.”

        “I... I understand. I’m happy to see you’re alive...” she said beginning to understand Hige’s situation.

        “I’m sorry, but I need to go. I don’t have much time”, Hige said as he broke off the hug. His pupils becoming slits.

        “Oh okay, goodbye”, she said in a sad tone. “Take care of yourself.”

Hige’s expression changed as he walked along the trail. Kiba caught wind of Hige and picked up his pace, once he was able to see Hige, he didn't think twice in jumping on top of him.

“Get the hell off of me you fleabag!” Hige exclaimed as he shook off Kiba. Kiba got up and circled Hige with a strange look, he began to growl. “What the hell do you want!?”

“Hige!” Big Mac called out.

“You, is this your dog!?” Hige screamed. “Get him the hell away from me or I’ll-” Hige’s head snapped in Big Mac’s direction. He had a strange smile. Hige flapped his wings once. A dust cloud arose from the ground concealing Hige. Once the cloud disappeared, Hige was gone. “Another one...” Hige said, his voice now behind Big Mac.

“What the-” Big Mac tried to say, but couldn't finish once Hige slammed his hoof at back of Big Mac’s neck. Big Mac tried to get back up, but found that it was harder than he thought. Hige placed a hoof on Big Mac’s back, ending any progress he had made in trying to get up.

“You think you can just walk around with all that power? You think you have a right to be better than anypony else?! I’m here to put a sto-” Hige suddenly stopped talking. His eyes becoming it’s normal dark green color “Stop!” Hige screamed. His eyes turned a dark red color, but his pupils remained round. “Yeah, ya big bully, stop beating ponies up!” The pupils became slits. “Why the hell should I!?” Hige screamed as if each change in eye meant a change in persona.

Hige became silent. His eyes continuously changing in an even faster pace until they finally stopped in its normal dark green color.

        “Are you okay?” Hige asked in a worried tone as he tried to help Big Mac up.

        “I’m gettin’ pretty tired of getting beat up by you.” He said jokingly trying to lighten the mood.

        “Sorry... Not feeling like myself right now...” Hige said in a sad tone.

        “Gonna explain what happened in the forest?”

        “Not yet... Maybe back in Ponyville... sorry.”

        “I understand”, Big Mac said as he turned his head. “They’re coming.”

Vinyl and Fluttershy could be seen running at them from a distance.

        “We... Lost you two...” Vinyl said between breaths. Fluttershy began observing Hige. “What’s wrong with Kiba?” Vinyl asked as she looked at Kiba standing away from Hige.

        “Who knows, maybe he’s in another one of his moods...” Hige said trying to avoid suspicion.

        “Do you know a nurse in the nearby hospital? Her name is Marie”, Vinyl asked.

The name caused a familiar dizziness in Hige’s head. He turned his head away to avoid them seeing his eyes changing.

        “You okay?” Vinyl asked in a worried tone.

        “Fine... Just a little dizzy...” Hige was able to say. “Can... Can I borrow your sunglasses?” Hige asked.

        “Sure...?” Vinyl said as she took off her glasses and passed them to Hige. Hige put them on and turned to them.

        “Okay, better now”, Hige said.

        “So, do you know Marie?”

        “Yep. From a long time ago, why?” Hige said in a happy tone.

        “... She said you were supposed to die.”

        “Yeah, Marie told me.”

        “He kept you alive?” Vinyl asked

        “Yep”, Hige responded.

        “What are you talking about?” Fluttershy asked, breaking the silence she had kept since they were all reunited.

        ‘No... I can’t tell her...” Hige thought to himself.

        ‘Why not?’ A younger voice asked ‘She was okay with everything else.’

        ‘This is different...’ Hige added.

        ‘Stop whining. You don’t need her’, a deep voice said.

        ‘Oh you shut up. You have issues’, the younger voice replied. ‘By the way, Hige, they’re talking to you.’

Hige began to notice a white hoof being waved in front of his face. Hige snapped back into reality.

        “What?” Hige asked suddenly.

        “What are all of you talking about!?” Fluttershy asked in frustration. “I don’t understand... Sorry for screaming...” She said feeling embarrassed about her sudden outburst.

There was a moment of silence. Big Mac and Vinyl shared a troubled look while Hige just fought off the voices in his head.

        “I... I’ll tell you in the carriage... Just... Please, I need some time....” Hige said in a sad, desperate voice.

        “But...” She tried to respond, but couldn’t find the will to push the broken stallion. “Okay...”

Hige took a deep breath and made a weak attempt at a smile. After a few minutes passed, Vinyl decided it was time to lead the group to the nearby hotel where they were going to spend the night. The four of them took two separate rooms. Fluttershy and Vinyl in one room; Big Mac, Hige and Kiba in the other. During the walk to the Hotel, Kiba once again warmed up to Hige, but kept a small distance between Hige and himself. Once they reached the Hotel and got into their rooms, everypony took their turns in the showers. Vinyl and Big Mac where the first to take showers in their respective rooms.

Big Mac walked out of the bathroom. He looked over at Hige, who seemed fixated at staring at the roof. He walked over to Hige and found his eyes rapidly changing. Not knowing what to do, Big Mac slapped Hige across the face. Hige was sent back to reality with a surprised look on his face.

        “...You enjoyed that didn't you?” Hige asked as he shook his head.

        “Maybe a little...” he answered with a grin, “go take a shower, the water’s boilin’”

Hige rolled out of bed and walked over to the bathroom. He turned the water on and lay in the bathtub. His head began to fill with thoughts, most of which were not his. As the thoughts began to talk about events that were not in Hige’s memory, he felt himself sent back and reliving it. Constantly gaining new memories that didn’t make sense. Memories taken from such a distant point in time, that he couldn’t connect them.

As another memory began to enter his mind, he found himself at a loss of breath. He quickly realized he was about to drown. Hige then forced his head out of the water and took a deep breath. He put his head underwater one more time before he got out of the tub. He shook the excess water off of his head and looked at the bathroom mirror. The thoughts began to flow once again, Hige slammed his head against the wall beside him in an attempt to stop the thoughts.

        “Just shut up...” Hige murmured.

        “You okay in there? I heard a slam”, Big Mac asked from outside the door.

        “Fine... I just tripped”, Hige answered. Big Mac’s hoofsteps walked away from the door and then faded.

For a few seconds it seemed as if the memories had stopped, but the feeling didn't last long. Another memory began to take shape, but was distorted as Hige slammed his head against the mirror causing the glass to shatter. The memory distorted, but continued to take shape. Again he slammed his head, causing the memory to distort even further. Again and again Hige slammed his head against the mirror, hoping it would end the memories; stop him from reliving things that made no sense.

Each time one of the memories ended, Hige found himself back in reality, but he soon found out that the more it happened, the longer it took him to remember his situation. He found himself lost in a world he had no recollection of, as he forgot everything about himself. He looked at the shattered mirror and saw that in between the cracks he could see the images of the dark alicorn and the younger version of himself. They looked at him with a sad and worried look.

        “We can’t stop it...” the alicorn told him, “It’s out of our control...”

The bathroom door slammed open, Big Mac had bucked it, breaking the locks. He looked at Hige worriedly. At that very moment, Hige could feel a drop of blood dripping off his chin. What sounded like a metallic chain falling against the floor sounded in Hige’s head. As he looked back at the mirror, he could see two chains wrapping themselves around both the alicorn and the younger version of Hige and dragging them out of sight; taking the memories with them.

Big Mac quickly walked in and looked at the wound on Hige’s head. Big Mac said something before he helped Hige out of the room, but Hige couldn’t hear it. He was more distracted by the bandaged beast taking form in the mirror. He looked at Hige and whispered: “It won’t last forever...” Hige smiled, the memories had finally stopped.

The next half hour passed by in a blur. Big Mac placed Hige on the bed and left the room. When he came back, he was accompanied by Vinyl and Fluttershy. Fluttershy rushed in and looked at the wound. She looked back and said something, Vinyl and Big Mac began to search the room soon after. Vinyl walked back to Fluttershy with a small box marked with a red cross floating next to her, a light blue glow emanating around it. She placed and opened the box next to Fluttershy. At this point, Hige blacked out. When he woke up, he found that a bandage had been placed on his head.

Hige began to remember what had happened. The wound, as he remembered, wasn’t that bad and couldn’t be blamed for a strange pain he was feeling somewhere in his head. The  pulsed every few seconds sending a wave of agony all throughout his head. Hige got off the bed while Big Mac was sleeping and walked out the door.

‘Why does my head hurt so much?’ Hige thought as he rested his weight on a wall trying to let some of the pain subside.

‘Because you’re dying.’ A voice responded inside Hige’s head. Hige could recognize it as the bandaged pony.

‘... What do you want?’ Hige asked with a hint of frustration.

‘I want a deal. One where both of us can agree...’ It said simply.

‘And why should I trust you? You almost killed Big Mac back at the library.’ Hige asked, his anger growing.

‘Hey, don’t blame me!’ It quickly responded. ‘Yes, those were my powers, but I wasn’t in control. It was that alicorn clone of yours!’

‘What?’

‘The atmosphere drew him out. Once you snapped, his will took over. He doesn't like other rogue demons, so Big Mac was his first target.’

‘But he saved Fluttershy from you!’ Hige replied.

‘No, he didn't. The only reason he did that was because I was trying to break out. I was never even gonna hurt her...’

‘But... Then why did he lead her to me?’

‘Well... I can’t be sure, but... Fluttershy had her mind set on finding you. She wasn’t gonna leave without seeing you and if he tried to stop her, he’d risk angering you.’

‘Then why did you try to attack her?’

‘I wasn’t going to hurt her!’ he persisted. ‘I just wanted to leave. The least I would do is scare her...’

‘So you’re telling me that the alicorn is evil?’ Hige asked.

‘No... well not completely. He’s a form of you taken from a point in time where you weren’t exactly “yourself”. It’s not his fault he acts that way.’ It explained.

‘And where are they now?’ Hige asked.

‘Held back. You can’t see or hear them, and the memories won’t continue to appear.’

‘For how long?’ Hige asked.

‘Two week at best... Just in time for the Grand Galloping Gala’

‘What does that have to do with anything?’

‘It’s called making an exit’, It said with a faint chuckle.

‘And Yowai? What about him?’

‘It... He... It wasn’t my fault. I gave him what he wanted...’

‘You tried to kill me!’

‘No, HE did. I just gave him the opportunity.’

‘And now you’re on my side?’ Hige asked.

‘I’m a demon. I’m not supposed to think for myself, I’m just supposed to follow the will of my host.’

‘And Big Mac has one too?’

‘Yes. A surprisingly powerful one, but he seems to hold it back... not sure why...’

‘What about Vinyl?’

‘If you’re asking if she has one too, the answer is no. She’s one of the rare series of ponies that have a faint connection to the spiritual plane and have the natural ability to sense us.’

‘I’ve hated you for so long... I despised you... But now... I don’t know what to think... For some reason, I don’t care. Let’s just start over and see where it goes from there. If you’re a part of me,  then I better just deal with it...’

‘Agreed.’

‘But I don’t even know your name.’

‘I don’t have one... never needed one...’

‘Then think of one.’

‘... Give me some time, I’ll think of one.’

‘Okay then... Can you do anything about the pain?’ Hige asked. He took the pulsing pain stop as a response. ‘Thanks...’

Hige pushed himself off the wall and began to walk. The series of events that had transpired continued to re-run in his head. So many questions had been made and most of them answered. He’s just discovered part of his life that had been completely hidden from him, but most of all he found himself without hate for the demon who had put him in this situation. He continued to walk into the lobby of the hotel and out the doors. He looked around the area and walked the streets. The silence and the cold air made the shock of the event settle, if only for a while.

Hige began to flap his wings and flew up to the nearest cloud. He felt the fatigue take over and found it hard to stay awake while lying on the small cloud. He soon fell into a deep sleep.

‘Hige...’ A voice rang out in Hige’s head; it didn’t wake him. ‘Hige... Wake up!’ it screamed. Hige was startled awake.

        ‘What?’ Hige asked, not opening his eyes.

‘You need to get off this cloud.’ It said.

‘Why?’ Hige whined.

‘Because clouds move.’ It answered simply.

Hige opened his eyes and was shocked when he found himself surrounded by landmarks that were unfamiliar to him.

        ‘Wait, where’s the town?’ Hige asked in shock.

        ‘Clouds move, you moved with the cloud. The answer must be obvious.’ It answered.

        ‘But do you know where the town is?’ Hige asked

        ‘Left from where you’re looking at right now.’ It said.

Hige jumped off the cloud and headed in the direction the demon had suggested. Soon enough, the image of the town became visible. Hige sped up and tried to find the hotel they were in. Once he found it, Hige dived in for a rough landing. Hige walked up to the door, but before he could touch it, the door opened and behind it was Fluttershy. They both shared an awkward look.

        “Hi...” Hige said with a faint smile in an attempt to break the silence.

        “We were going to go look for you, I need to check your bandages...” she replied with a faint smile.

        “Okay then.” Hige said as he followed Fluttershy into the closest room. Hige stood near the door while Fluttershy looked for a pair of scissors and cut of the bandages over Hige’s head. The bandages fell and a look of shock appeared on her face.

        “Uh, is everything okay?” Hige asked wondering what she was seeing.

        She shook the expression of her face and grabbed the bandages. “Nothing, don’t worry”, she said as she pulled off the remaining the bandages and dropped them in the closets trash can.

Hige placed a hoof on his forehead to find what had surprised her, but he didn't find anything and that surprised him. The wound was completely healed, not even a mark left from what he could feel. ‘There should at least be some sort of mark...right?’ Hige pondered.

        “Time to go. The Carriage will be getting here at any minute.” Vinyl said as she walked inside the room. “We'll be riding a Pegasus Carriage, we’ll reach Ponyville in no time at all.” She added.

        “Okay.” Hige answered waiting for Fluttershy. Vinyl walked out of the room.

        ‘Are you going to tell her?’ The familiar voice rang in Hige’s head.

        ‘Now?’ Hige asked.

        ‘No, but are you going to?’ It rephrased.

        ‘Well... yeah. I promised her didn't I?’ Hige answered.

        ‘But you’re also afraid of the reaction. You know that Big Mac and Vinyl will accept you considering that they already know about me, but you’re not sure how Fluttershy will react.’ It said.

        ‘Are you telling me not to tell her?’ Hige asked.

        ‘No, just trying to help you.’

        ‘And how are you doing that?’

        ‘By helping you understand why you shouldn’t be afraid, but you interrupted me.’

        ‘Then continue.’

        ‘You’re afraid that she is going to be afraid of you because of it, but she’s already seen it. You remember when you woke up and found Fluttershy and the alicorn? She had already met me, and him. Yes, she seemed shocked at the fight we had, but even after that, she still tried to find you. For as long as I lived, and I’ve lived a very long time, I know love when I see it.’

        The last part made Hige blush and smile like an idiot. “I can’t believe I’m actually getting along with you”, Hige said out loud.

        “Who are you talking with?” Fluttershy asked with a puzzled look

        “I’ll explain it in the carriage. It’s gonna take a while”, Hige said with a smile.

        “Oh, okay”, she said, still keeping the same expression.

        “Let’s go!” Hige said excitedly. “No time to waste!”

They walked out of the hotel and made their way to the same stop that the other carriage had left them at. Once they looked up, they could see the carriage flying in the distance. Strange thing was, Kiba was nowhere to be seen. The carriage landed and Hige began to look around. Big Mac mentioned he took off in the morning with Hige’s saddlebags, but thought Hige would know where he went. As soon as panic began to set in, Kiba was seen running towards the group, saddlebags in mouth.

        “You had me worried there for a second.” Hige said as he grabbed his saddlebag. ‘Seems heavier.’ Hige thought. Hige looked at Kiba in the eyes and confirmed it, there was something new in the saddlebag. ‘I should not open it just yet...’.

The group walked in the carriage and closed the door.

        ‘Take a deep breath...’ The voice said. Hige took a deep breath.

        ‘Tell them everything...’