"You won't make me forget, whatever you are. I refuse, there's still too much at stake, there's too many people I care about for me to just forget..."
The soul spun through a black emptiness, alone and confused. He felt his memories, his feelings, the very things that made him human, draining into that endless void.
My name is... what was it? Why can't I just remember? Something important was going on; no, I discovered something important. What was it?"
The human remembered flashing images-a monster in a black dress impaling his shoulder with an alien finger, his blood dyeing his blue military uniform crimson.
"The nationwide transmutation circle, how could I forget? There was a plot within the senior staff, a plan to sacrifice the nation's population in exchange for immortality. That demonic thing must've known that I'd figured it out.
The human felt these vital memories draining from his consciousness. Struggling to hold on to them, the human said to himself,
"My name...I have to remember that much. Hughes. Lieutenant Colonel. Intelligence division. Wife: Gracia Hughes, daughter, Elicia Hughes. I won't forget them... I love them far too much to betray them like that. My family needs me. I refuse to let them down, I won't let myself."
He felt sharp pain throughout his being as he fought to remember,
"My name is Lieutenant Colonel Maes Hughes... Amestrian military. Wife... come on, you can't forget her now, Hughes. I refuse to forget those beautiful eyes."
In that empty stillness, Hughes felt nothing but pain as an invisible force tore more and more memories from his grasp. Tears ran down his nonexistent face as he held on to what remained,
"My name... my name is Maes Hughes. Officer. I discovered something that threatened the lives of my family, my friends, my entire country. I won't let you take my memories, whatever you are.
My name is Maes Hughes, and I refuse to forget."
__________
If one were to ask a passerby stallion or mare what made the busy metropolis of Manehatten unique, they might think of the dazzling display of sparkling city lights. They might think of the wild assortment of sounds constantly erupting from every street corner, ponies hollering, dancing, singing, deals being made and buildings under construction. They might imagine the towering buildings, symbols of progress and economic prosperity across the skyline.
For all of its glamour and extravagance, the city of Manehatten was rather predictable in substance. Ponies awake to alarms across the gray downtown, slowly rising from their beds to begin their usual morning routines, generally arriving at their various work places somewhat on time. They smile as they perform duties surrounded by many friendly faces, often collaborating with each other and sharing the workload in generous acts of selflessness. As the sun begins to dip under the horizon, the working ponies of that city close their small shops and bank firms, waving a genuine goodbye to one another as they return to their warm apartments and patient families.
` The citizens of Manehatten, therefore, were often surprised by extraordinary events. Such random acts of fate didn't fit their schedules very kindly. Some ponies regarded the occasional monster attack or friendship crisis as a mere annoyance, others often protested the occasions to bureaucratic councils of lethargic clerks. Regardless, the city dwellers understood that whatever happened was often rather tame, verging on the brink of irony. Therefore, they could let any fears of these events live well outside of their consciousness as they went about their monotonous tasks and various repetitive gatherings.
After all, there was no enemy in Equestria that could stand against the Magic of Friendship, right?
When what was a well acclaimed local clothing outlet exploded violently in the darkness of a typical Manehatten evening, the crowd of ponies going about their normal business were more than a little bit surprised.
A cacophony of panicked voices interrupted the mundane serenity of the city as startled ponies scattered in haphazard clumps. Anypony unfortunate enough to be trotting by the now incinerating structure were blasted backwards by the sudden explosion, crashing hard against the rough stone street. Those ponies who hadn't already fled attempted to aid their fellow friends and acquaintances, clearing the burning area in a matter of a few seconds.
One tan stallion squinted with tears in his hot eyes at the flaming building. Smoke poured from its shattered windows and uncontrolled fire turned strong oak support beams of ashen twigs. Within a minute, the entire structure finally collapsed with a ear splitting crack, causing a plume of white ash and dust to blind the stallion's blue eyes.
A black shape silhouetted against the pile of burning ruble. It moved decisively away from the structure, its strange bipedal appendages swaying with confidence. It's features became more defined as it swiftly walked towards the startled populus, its strange face drawn in what seemed to be a lethal mixture of fury and thought.
The creature approached the collapsed tan stallion. It took it's strange fingered hand and grasped the stallion's muzzle, pulling him to his hooves. Roy Mustang's black eyes locked with the stallion's own blue ones. He spoke decisively and professionally to the trembling creature,
"Tell every civilian to evacuate the area. They'll believe one of their own kind more readily than an outsider. You don't have much time, chimera."
The stallion blinked in confusion as he replied with a trembling voice, "W-what are you? What's going on right now? You need to explain-"
"There's no time! If you don't do as I say, you and your families will perish. Do you understand?" Colonel Mustang analyzed the frightened creature. He was still operating under the assumption that he and the other strange horse-like beings of the city were the result of some military experiment.
The stallion straightened himself, more or less halting the trembling in his hooves. "I can't say I understand..."
It made a gesture that the Colonel accurately interpreted as prompting for a name. After a moment, he decided to fully disclose that information with the stallion,
"Mustang. Colonel. Amestrian Military. Get moving, chimera."
Still ostensibly confused by the peculiarity of the situation, the tan stallion with a smiling dog for a cutie mark began to back away, turning to face the panicked crowd of ponies gawking at the spectacle. Clearing his throat as Mustang turned to face his handiwork, the stallion spoke,
"Hey, everypony. So, quick recommendation: we should probably start running away now. Like, we should all evacuate, or something."
The stallion put on a obviously faked smile as he concluded his rather unconvincing statement. The crowd of a hundred or so city goers stared confusedly at the stallion and the human, the indecisiveness clear in their wide eyes.
Mustang sighed audibly. Garnering the circumstances, it was going to take more than the weak proposal of a pony to get these civilians to make a decision. Putting his hands together, he engaged his internal transmutation circle, causing an array of blue sparks to erupt from his fingertips. Without turning to face the ponies, he snapped the fingers of his right hand, causing a small, controlled burst of fire to create a small crater in the asphalt street a few meters away.
Startled by his strange magic, the crowd of ponies at last understood the gesture, dashing comically away from the scene. At last, the Colonel was alone on the long, black street. He watched the building he had reduced to burning ruble to escape the two Homunculi closely, readying his fingers to incinerate anything that moved.
` The Colonel's eyes focused on four crimson dots peering from the crackling flames and ash. In a fraction of a second, the dots were followed by the two evil souls Mustang had hoped to burn along with the empty building.
Envy darted out of the ruble, little more than a blur as he ignored the pain of the flames circling his body. It was swiftly followed by Lust, her eyes wide with rage and her fingers elongated and sharper than daggers.
Mustang snapped his fingers, unleashing a burst of flame in the small space between the charging Homunculi. His aim was true as the flame exploded, causing both of them to fly dramatically in separate directions. Now sprawled across the street meters away from each other, they writhed and clawed at the air as their bodies attempted to heal their incinerated flesh and bone.
Colonel Mustang addressed the two howling Homunculi with a steel like voice, "Unless you enjoy having the skin on your bones liquefied again and again, you will do as I say."
Envy rose slowly to its feet, its arms dangling limply from its hunched frame. It shook in pain and fear of the human glaring at them with those merciless eyes. Envy recalled his prior run-in with the Colonel, how he was brought so low by the creatures he so dejectedly despised. It pained him more than Mustang's flames to be so utterly humiliated.
Lust climbed to her heals, her skin returning to its normal pale color as she examined the situation,
"What would you have us do, Colonel?" Her voice was laced with malicious tones as she addressed the mildly surprised human. Envy glared at Lust's apparent admission of subjection with daggers for eyes.
"I would say to burn in hell, but it appears that we have already arrived. You will answer my questions, Homunculi. First of all, how did I arrive here?"
The Homunculi glanced at each other for a moment, pondering whether or not they should answer the impatient human's questions.
"Let's just say that we've got plans, Mustang. How you got here isn't all that complicated. All that matters is that you're here now, and more importantly, how I'm going to kill you. Because trust me, Mustang, I will find a way." Envy spoke with sadistic tones at the Colonel, his pupils dilated and bloodshot from pain.
Mustang moved to reply, only to have his attention diverted by a team of armored figures moving down the left side of the street towards them. The Homunculi gawked at the small squadron of armored pony soldiers arrayed in golden plates and shining silver spears at their sides. The Colonel opened his mouth to order the gathering of soldiers to vacate the vicinity, only to find his tongue unable to move as he recognized the center-most figure.
The stallion's coat was a navy blue, the same color as the uniform officers in the Amestrian military commonly adorned. His facial features were strong and determined, with a scruffy beard lining his hard set chin. His eyes were a brilliant greenish-hazel, his pupils focused despite the peculiarity of the dangerous situation before him. His flank was decorated with a simplistic design of a yellow smiling face within a gray magnifying glass.
"In the name of the Royal Guard and the Princess of Equestria, I order you to stand down."
The Colonel's eyes widened. His hands trembled and fell to his side as his mind attempted to comprehend the situation. Envy and Lust stared with looks of utter shock and surprise at the stallion addressing them, smiles slowly creeping onto their pales features.
The stallion continued his rant, putting on a small, defusing grin, "Come on now, I don't want to make this difficult. I'm sure we can just talk this through over a cup of coffee. How does that sound?"
The Colonel's entire body shook in confusion, in joy, in rage, in a cacophony of emotions that he had no ability to understand. After a long moment of silence, the Colonel addressed the stallion with tears welling in his black eyes,
"Hughes... is that you?"