Trust. How much of it could you give to ponies? It's strange how it takes years to grow trust, and how it can be taken away in mere seconds. Trust is such a simple aspect to you. And yet, it's incredibly difficult to for you to trust anyone. There was one person you trusted, in this entire world. Shouldn't trust be mutual? That's what you had believed. The keyword being, "had." You had trusted Sigmund. Again, keyword is "had." Could he really be behind this whole complex, convoluted plan? You had to find out. You had to find out just how far his plan goes. How long was he planning on keeping this plan going? You were determined to find everything out. You had to find Sigmund.
And, as luck would have it, the cyan pegasus is standing in your way.
The cyan pegasus. She had been on your mind this entire time. She was significant in some manner, you just didn't know in which manner it is. But she was connected to Sigmund's plan, and she was much more of a nuisance than the yellow one. You were certain of that. But the yellow one, too, took part in Sigmund's plan. Why? What connection do they have with Sigmund? And what about the yellow one knowing who you are? Had she told everything to the cyan one? If that was true, then why did she act the way she had? Again, you would get your answers from Sigmund. But now, you had to control your anger. And the two pegasi were making it very difficult to do so. She had asked you something.
"What did she ask me? I have to say something, now." you thought to yourself.
"Get out of the way." you replied bluntly.
"Oh my gosh, Fluttershy! Are you all right?" she yelled.
Fluttershy. Is that the name of the yellow pegasus?
"Yes, I'm all right." you heard from behind you. She then trotted to your side. It made you feel uncomfortable.
"Well... Still! What the hay are you doing here?" the cyan pegasus questioned.
You were about to respond yet again, with the same words you had said previously, but Fluttershy interjected.
"Oh, well... I saw him on the side of the trail, and he looked like he needed help." she said as she motioned to your hoof.
Help. Help? Why was it that both of these pegasi wanted to help? This only reinforced your idea that Sigmund was behind all of this. You were about to lose yourself in your thoughts when the cyan pegasus had questioned you yet again.
"Oh, but when I try to help you, you tell me to go away!" she replied.
"You two know each other?" questioned Fluttershy.
You wanted the cyan pegasus to say no. You wanted to leave. Dealing with one pony at a time had already been stressful enough, and now you were caught between two.
"Yeah... I sorta flew into him when I was practicing some tricks, but it was totally not my fault!"
The cyan pegasus could not have chosen a poorer choice of words. That was what had set you off last time, and you had grown impatient. They were stopping you from seeing Sigmund, and you knew that if you didn't say anything, you would only be stuck here longer. You decided to interject.
"Not your fault? Not your fault! So I suppose that would make it my fault?! All I was merely trying to do was escape the ponies on the ground, and I was surrounded! I had no choice but to fly, something I haven't done in years! And when I finally reached an optimal level, you, with all your carelessness, crashed into me! Not only that, but when I had hit the ground, you showed no concern whatsoever! Had I fallen in a different position, I could have died! And you wouldn't have cared because of your ignorance! Luckily for you, I was fine, but not without injuring myself! And when I said I did not need your help, you had to keep questioning why?! You couldn't just leave it at that! Do you know why I accepted the help of Fluttershy? Because she had asked me! She did not feel responsible for injuring me, unlike you, which is probably the only reason why you wanted to help me so much in the first place! She was not forceful or demanding, unlike you! I'm surprised to that you actually have to question why I responded the way I did! I was sure that Sigmund had told you everything about me!" you yelled.
And then, everything went silent. Your breathing was long and heavy. When you focused on the cyan pegasus, she had given you glare. Her eyes piercing yours. But her face had then shaped into a concern look, as she looked past you. You realized that Fluttershy had left your side. You then turned to her, and saw that she was scared. Scared, of you specifically. It was strange. Fluttershy had acted just like the nurses at the hospital. They reacted in fear. And when you turned to the cyan pegasus, her glare seemed to be magnified, and focused on you. She was about to say something, but you've had quite enough. She was standing in the doorway, blocking you from leaving. You would only have one chance. With your injured hoof, you had to charge past her, and start flying. Time was growing short. It was now or never.
You charged, making sure to stay off your left hoof. You angled your body in a position so that it would provide a suitable amount of force to push her out of the way. She wasn't expecting that. You knew that by her falling over to her side when you had pushed her out of the way. You had made it outside. Something you've been longing for, for the past few minutes, ever since you stepped into Fluttershy's house. You extended your wings, preparing yourself to fly. You didn't bother to look back. You gave one great flap, and you took off. And when you started gaining speed, it wasn't you that was making yourself fly. It was something else. The feeling was strange.
"Hey! Get back here!"
No, she couldn't be. She wasn't. She wouldn't have the nerve to. But, as you quickly threw your head backwards, you saw her. The cyan pegasus, following you.
"The damn, ignorant, compulsive, egotistical, self-centered, pegasus!" you thought to yourself.
You had to lose her, and quick. But, you couldn't control yourself. Something else was making you fly. Like, prerequisite commands and knowledge of flying that you couldn't access, but was stored in your memory. Maybe it was true what they said, "you never forget how to fly". You turned back to her, and she was getting closer. You flapped your wings in longer and stronger strides, making an effort to reach the clouds above you. You turned back to her again, while she had not gotten any closer, she was still uncomfortably close. You turned back up to the sky. The sun was in your eyes but you could tell that you were about to hit a cloud. You had no idea what you were about to do. After all, everything you've done up to now seemed to be all reflexes. As you entered to cloud, you stopped, catching yourself in the cloud.
The cyan pegasus had rushed through the cloud, nearly tearing the cloud into two, all while you had hid yourself within it. You had no idea what had compelled you to perform such as maneuver. That certainly wasn't of your own doing. But you had to stay quiet. They cyan pegasus had not left just yet.
"Oh, where did he go? I swear when I get my hooves on him..." her voice faded away.
And you sighed.You had heard her leave. It was now much more dangerous to fly, so you decided that flying about the cloud level would be your best bet, as the clouds would provide cover from below. You couldn't leave just yet, however. So, in the time you spent hiding in the cloud, you checked your saddlebag, to make sure that the contents within were not damaged. You opened your bag, and found that everything was in place. Your case file, the anti-depressants, everything. You pulled out your anti-depressants to find Sigmund's new office. He had told you that his new address would be printed on the label. Or was that a lie as well? It was your only lead, so you had no choice but to follow it. After restoring the items back in your saddlebag, you surfaced to the top of the cloud.
Today had been a relatively cloudy day. Many of the clouds had been around the same level. You put most of your hoofs on top of the cloud, except for your injured hoof. You had to admit that being so high up, it was a bit more challenging to breathe, but you ignored it. All that was on your mind was Sigmund. You started to flap your wings again, and took off. You had a feeling that Manehattan was in the direction you were heading. You would eventually be able to tell if you were right when you see the skyscrapers of the city pierce the sky. But, you were all alone now. And it was peaceful. Again, something you hardly get to experience.
"How am I going to confront Sigmund about this? How will he react when I tell him I've found out his plan? Whatever happens, I'm going to get my answers. And find out why that cyan pegasus still leaves an impression in my thoughts!" you told yourself out loud.
Flying had become as easy as walking. Whatever took control of you when you were being chased was gone now. You had control of your wings again. Since you didn't have to concentrate on flying as much as before, you let your thoughts wander. And that's when it returned to you. The dream you had last night.
"What was that dream about? Those voices. They sound incredibly familiar. At least one of them does. And why was that dream so sudden? What triggered that dream? Or is it a memory?" you wondered to yourself.
And then you began to wonder the elaborate scheme that Sigmund had created.
"How long was Sigmund planning this for? Ever since I said I would leave the hospital when I was legally able to? Even then, the yellow pegasus... What was her name... Fluttershy. Does Fluttershy truly know my past? Even if that was true, how could I trust her? My case file says that I lived in Cloudsdale when my parents died. From what I know, Cloudsdale was sky city. And she is a pegasus. The school I attended. The flight school. Was she in my class? Before I left? Maybe she holds the secrets to my memory. But I can't trust her. Not yet. And what about the cyan pegasus? She knows Fluttershy. On a much more personal level that I've ever held with anyone. What if she knows my past as well? That would explain why Fluttershy was careful around me and the cyan pegasus wasn't. But then why would she chase me?"
Again, you knew that everything would become much clearer when you spoke with Sigmund. You've been flying for a while now, and you were becoming a bit tired. It was about mid-day now. You had to hurry if you wanted to see Sigmund. You had forgotten the address of Sigmund's new office. But you knew it wouldn't help you. You didn't know any of the streets or locations in the city. The only thing you knew was that Sigmund's office was in a new building, relocated somewhere in the city. The building went by the name of, "Manehattan Medical & Psychiatric Institution." From what you could tell, it had become both an actual hospital and a psychiatric one. Sigmund would probably have his own office.
Half an hour later, the clouds began to drift away, and you catch a glimpse of the skyscrapers. Your hunch had been right. But you weren't done yet. You still had to search around the city for the new hospital. And you wouldn't dare ask any of the civilians for help. You weren't ready to talk to anypony. How could you? You've been holding in such a strong amount of anger ever since you found out Sigmund's plan. Even though you had released that anger unto the cyan pegasus, your hate wasn't for her. It was directed towards Sigmund.
"How could Sigmund do this to me? After working all those years to earn my trust? Did he really think that I would be too foolish to find out his plans?" you contemplated.
Now, the sun had begun to set. You were running out of time. You kept to the skies, refusing to land, until you found the proper building. If the design of the new hospital was anything like the old one, you knew what to look for. A large, relatively white building. The front of the building would have the name. You kept searching, luckily not running into any other pegasi.
Half an hour passed, and it was now night. If Sigmund worked like he did his previous hours, he would be leaving soon. You frantically searched the city. You took no notice of the other ponies on the ground. They meant nothing to you. Just as long they didn't attempt to communicate with you, there would be no problems. And then you found it, just as you predicted.
The building was large, incredibly large, with a white coat of paint. The building had the name, "Manehattan Medical & Psychiatric Hospital" in large, glowing, red letters. Sigmund had to be there. Still flying, you looked below to see that there were little to no ponies surrounding the hospital. You quickly landed, avoiding any contact with anypony else. No doubt that the few that were around bothered you, but they paid no attention to you. If only it had been the same for the small town whose name you've forgotten. As you walked closer, you were suddenly bombarded with emotions of hate and fear. Unlike Fluttershy's home, you had no idea what to expect when you entered. Here, you knew exactly what to expect. White everywhere. Somepony at a table in the front, whom you'd have to confront, and ask for Sigmund. Your heart began to race again. It was as if you were going to spend another decade inside the hospital. You had every right to be fearful.
As you reached the glass doors, you pushed inwards. And again, your predictions had been right. White was everywhere. There was a pony sitting at a receptionist table. Something you didn't expect to see were ponies sitting in chairs around the room. What they had been waiting for, you had no idea, nor did you care. You had to find Sigmund. But that would mean having to have a conversation with the receptionist. Everything was so much easier before. You could easily find Sigmund at the old hospital. You had no idea where he was here. As you approached the desk, your heart raced even faster. She looked up to you, and you slowly opened your mouth, barely enough to spit out the name...
"Sigmund."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Dr. Sigmund isn't seeing anypony anymore."
She was lying. Another trait you picked up from the nurses at the old hospital was lying, and you could tell when somepony was lying. That's why you never trusted any of them.
"Liar." you whispered.
"I'm sorry?" she responded.
You were growing tired. You had spent the entire day, thinking about Sigmund. About what he will do and what you would tell him. It wasn't about to be all for nothing just because of a lying receptionist. This re-sparked the anger you had been containing since losing the cyan pegasus. As much as you wished to hold it all in for Sigmund, you couldn't contain it all. You raised your right hoof, and brought it down onto the table, while shouting, "LIAR!"
That was a mistake. All of the ponies in the lobby jumped from their seats. The receptionist quickly jolted back from the table and said, "Sir, please! I'm going to have to ask you to leave!"
"Where's Sigmund?!" you shouted again.
And then you heard your name being called from the left of you. You had no doubt of whose voice that was. The sound of his voice would most likely never leave your mind. What you once thought was a voice of comfort, had now become a voice of betrayal. And you turned to him. Sigmund.