//------------------------------// // Part III - Chapter 13: Marks and Revelations // Story: Return of the Mare // by Victoria //------------------------------// Chapter 13 – Marks and Revelations Marcus and Spike were waiting for us at the castle. Twilight was worried about how they were holding up — apparently she had left in such a haste that she had barely explained what had happened. They were probably worried sick. Or at least we thought so until we discovered them playing a board game in the throne room, along with Big Mac, a giant red stallion who was in some way related to Applejack. It was my first time seeing the pony and it left me breathless. I couldn’t rip my eyes off him as he sat in one of the chairs surrounding the table. He was so…big and muscular, he could probably break me like a twig in one move. My heart pounded quicker in my chest just at the sight of the handsome stallion; I felt some strange warmness under my tail. It’s like I wanted him— “Oh boy,” Twilight exhaled behind me, interrupting my thoughts. “We forgot to warn her about the heat.” Her statement threw Big Mac in a coughing fit and I would say he was blushing if his coat wasn’t so red. Spike gazed at me with his spooky reptile eyes as Ruby fell on the crystal floor beside me, laughing and jerking her legs in the air. I arched my eyebrow at Marcus, but he just shrugged, being as confused as me. An embarrassing realization hit me. “Ah…” That explained my unhealthy reaction to such a lovely stallion. It made my heart clench seeing him galloping out of the throne room like I was a wildfire. I enjoyed the nice view of his hindquarters and his long blond tail, fluttering behind him…I sighed when he vanished behind a corner and looked around, finally noticing the funny stares my friends were giving me. “What’s wrong?” My innocent question renewed Ruby’s trashing on the floor and it took her a few minutes to pull herself together and finally stand up straight, displaying an enormous grin glued to her muzzle. “It’s my fault, really,” said Twilight with a reddening face. “I knew you don’t have any memories about being a pony and I should have guessed that issue would rise up eventually.” “Something would rise up, alright,” giggled Ruby, not in the slightest perturbed by Twilight’s murderous stare. “Well, that’s awkward,” said Starlight flatly. “You two should explain it to her while I go and tell the boys all about Manehattan.” She gestured for Marcus and Spike to follow her and the boys obliged happily. The three of them cleared the throne room, leaving me alone with a blushing Twilight and a giggling Ruby. The princess threw her a disapproving glance and sighed heavily. “Fine, I’ll handle it. You see, Sundae, there is a special time of the month when every mare feels that desire…to mate.” — Ruby interrupted her with an amused nicker and Twilight flickered a tail at her face before continuing — “It may be difficult to control at first, but it gets better once you get used to it. Or so I was told at least. Most mares, including me, prefer to use a heat-reducing potion. It’s simply a lifesaver.” “Lame,” Ruby commented under her muzzle, but I caught it. Judging by Twilight’s annoyed ear flinch she did too. Twilight warned me that the heat lasted from a few days to a full week depending on the mare. It struck the poor creatures roughly once a month and it was quite difficult to handle without a potion. Even though this was my first time experiencing it, I already dreaded the future. Even though I had caught just a glimpse, it was difficult not to think about Big Mac’s big…I wildly shook my head to get rid of the unwelcome thoughts. “Where I can get one of those potions?” *** Starlight was about to head to Zecora’s to give her the ingredients we had bought in Manehattan, so Ruby and I went along. The princess assured me that Zecora would have the potion I needed. She herself bought them from Zecora since the zebra had settled in the Everfree Forest. Ponyville had its own small alchemy store, of course, but it was losing customers to the competition. I kept my eyes staring at my own hooves while we hurried through the town, but even the smell drove me crazy. I risked glancing forward on the road, but instead got captured by Starlight’s purple hindquarters, which swayed alluringly in front of me. Damn, was I attracted to other mares as well?! Wrestling the desire to jump at her right then and there, I forced myself to look away and concentrated on trotting. Finally, we got to the forest border, where a fresh wind cleared up my head a little. I took a few deep breaths and looked at the dark trees. After everything I’d heard about the Everfree Forest, actually being there wasn’t as terrifying as I had expected. I was shuddering on my first trip here before our adventure in Manehattan, but I remained more at ease now. My ears swiveled to every sound nevertheless — there were some real monsters we could meet in the Forest, though we were unlikely to do so on the fringe, where Zecora lived. It was unlikely, but still possible. Luckily, no monster decided to eat us along the way and we reached Zecora’s hut without any trouble. I allowed myself to relax at the sight of her tree hut; she was home, judging by the shimmering fire light out of the windows. Starlight knocked and the zebra let us in, immediately returning to brewing some substance in the boiling cauldron. "Hello, my little pony friends. Let me guess, your journey to Manehattan was a success? "It was actually," Starlight told her, levitating a small package out of her saddlebag. “And we brought you the ingredients as promised.” "Then it seems like I can brew the potion! Let's waste no time and put this plan into motion." Starlight handed over the expensive package to the zebra and she promised to start on it as soon as she finished her current work. Zecora’s eyes darted towards me, no doubt noticing my weird behavior around my friends. “You’re acting quite on edge, my dear. If something is bothering you, I’m here.” "Zecora, Twilight said you have those... heat reducing potions in store?" "Of course I do, Sundae,” Zecora winked at me, “Is this the first time for you, by the way?" I nodded silently as Zecora snatched a tiny bottle off one of her shelves and gave it to me. Starlight paid for the potion and I frowned slightly. I was grateful, of course, but I hated being dependent on others like that… I pushed it out of my mind and gulped down the whole bottle. It didn’t taste good, but hopefully it would make my life easier. *** Zecora promised to have everything ready by tomorrow and so we left until then. I noticed the effects of the potion on our way back. My unnatural attraction to stallions, and apparently mares, didn’t disappear completely, but it was much easier to control. Still, I couldn’t help but look at the ponies around us as we trotted on the populated streets of Ponyville. A gray pegasus mare with a blond mane trotted by, nodding at me in greeting and I followed her with my stare. I had never noticed how nice the ponies looked before, though it was probably the side effects of my condition. I was able to appreciate the view without losing my head now, thanks to the potion, and I did so until Ruby caught me in the act. My cheeks burned hot as she giggled. “Sorry,” I mumbled and dashed to the castle’s gate, which was already close. Having no better plans, I went straight to my room. Marcus was waiting for me inside, sitting in my cozy reading chair. He gave me a friendly nod upon my arrival and then hugged quickly. My friend had never been a fan of hugs, I reflected. I guess the ponies were rubbing off on him. “I’ve heard what happened in Manehattan,” he started solemnly. “You almost died out there. Maybe if I’d gone with you that wouldn’t have happened.” “Don’t be silly, Marcus,” I said, though I was pleased to know he cared about me like that. “It’s not silly,” he denied with unexpected bitterness as I settled onto my soft couch. “I got stuck in this world by helping you and it would be dumb of me to stop that just because I can’t go back.” My ears drooped. I suddenly felt like a selfish monster who cared only about her own problems while my friend suffered because of me. I should have done more to help. I suddenly realized that I’d barely talked to him in the past week, being too focused on my studies… “No, no, no, I don’t blame you, Sundae,” Marcus quickly reassured me and I glanced at him in surprise. “I know you’re dealing with your own issues. You’ve just found your real parents, for God’s sake, not to mention all this being pony business. What I meant to say is I’m finally starting to accept that I could be stuck here forever. Besides, I thought that even if Twilight were to fix the portal somehow, I’m pretty sure I’d go to prison if I went back. The police are looking for you there, remember? It won’t look good if I just show up alone.” “I guess you’re right…” I sighed, feeling a lump in my throat. “I want to do something useful. I looked around in town for a job, but nobody wants to hire a strange dude from another world.” “Why don’t you ask Twilight? I’m sure she would help.” “I don’t want to bother her — she’s too busy with this damn portal already,” said Marcus waving his hand. “I’ll handle it alone, thanks. I just needed to get it off my chest.” Despite what my friend had said, I promised to myself to bring it up the next time I saw Twilight. I knew Marcus — he never asked for help even when he really needed it, but he always helped others without asking. I would return the favor; it was the least I could do. For now, though, we decided to go on a job hunt together. We got outside without meeting anypony and I followed Marcus’ lead, briefly noting that I wasn’t attracted to him as a male in the slightest. There was a job center in Ponyville and Marcus checked out a few possible vacancies every day but with no luck so far. We hoped that maybe if I as a pony went along, they would be more likely to accept him. Turns out while I’d been holed up in the castle for most of the week, Marcus had been exploring Ponyville, so now he walked through the town with big determined strides; I had to go on a fast trot to keep up. We checked another open vacancy — Marcus was trying for a carpenter’s apprentice this time — but even my presence didn’t help him get it. The ponies in town were mostly used to him, just not enough to trust him with a job, I guess. “Don’t despair, I’m sure you’ll find something in time,” I said, tapping him on his leg reassuringly; it was as high as I could reach. He just grunted ambiguously in response. We returned to the castle in defeat. I quickly fetched Spike from the kitchen, where he was roaming uselessly while watching Ruby cooking, and we spent the rest of the day playing a board game together. Big Mac paid us a short visit during the session, but vanished as soon as he saw me by the table. I suspected it was my — or my heat’s — fault. We had a good time nonetheless. *** I woke up the next morning feeling well-rested, but my mood was quite serious. Today wasn’t just any random day. Today I would finally get my memories back — something I thought impossible, but always wanted to do. After a quick but delicious breakfast, everypony had gathered in the hall. All of my friends were there for me — Ruby, Marcus, Starlight, Rarity, Twilight, even Spike. The time was almost noon; Zecora should be finished with the memory potion by now. “I feel like some shepherd with all of you around,” chuckled Marcus, towering in the middle of our small herd. I deliberately stepped on his toe for that. “Ouch.” Pinkie Pie stumbled through the doors right before we left. I looked at her in confusion, wondering why she had come. I hardly considered her as my friend — after all, I barely knew the pony. Though the way she acted would make anypony think that we were some old pals. “I’m so, so happy you’re going to get your memories back, Sundae!” she said, crushing me in a powerful hug. “Thanks, I guess,” I wheezed out. After that we went straight to Zecora without any more delays. The zebra was already waiting for us near her hut. She arched her eyebrows for a moment, seeing such a large crowd, and waved to us in greeting. Her small house wouldn’t hold everypony, so she brought the potion outside. I watched the tiny bottle in her hoof nervously as she approached me. She offered it to me and I grabbed it in my magic with great care — it would be ridiculous to just spill it after all the trouble. I wondered about what would happen if I drank it. What if I became a totally different pony? What if the potion didn’t work at all? It would be devastating for me — I had accepted the idea that I’d never remember my past, but now that I held the potion before me, I wanted my memories back more than ever. I realized that I had gotten lost in thoughts just gazing at the bottle when Ruby nudged me in my side. Whatever happened, I had my friends to support me. With this last thought, I drank the potion in one decisive move. I shut my eyes, mentally preparing for a stream of memories to hit me, but nothing happened. I opened them up again to see my friends around me, watching with their big hopeful eyes. I shook my head in disappointment; tears welling up in my eyes. It seemed like the potion had failed. Ruby was the first pony to approach me. “I’m so sorry…” she said. Our eyes met and it finally hit me. *** My first week at the College. I was trotting on the familiar path to the classroom when I saw two young mares, chatting pleasantly. My ears went flat against my head on their own. One of them noticed me and alerted her friend. “Look, it’s Dumbdae!” she said with a sneer. I grimaced and tried to sneak past them, but stumbled on an outstretched hoof and lost my balance. I fell face down, hitting my chin upon a hard floor. A mocking laughter rang in my ears and I hurried to get back on my hooves. Those two had been mean to me since I had started College, but they had never hurt me physically before. I didn’t want to escalate the conflict, so I slowly backed out. My saddlebag was suddenly lurched off of my back, lifting me in the air before the belt ripped, and flew to the sneering unicorn mare. “I like your bag, Dumbdae,” she said, examining it closely. “I think I’ll keep it.” Having said that, she emptied its content on the floor. I silently watched how my books fell out, breathing heavily on the verge of tears. “Give it back!” I yelled, leaping at her. She simply tossed my bag to her pegasus friend, who hovered above and waved it just out of my reach. I followed it with my eyes and attempted to use my own magic to grab it, but the mare flicked my horn, breaking my concentration. I hissed from the annoying tingling that it had caused. The pegasus was suddenly tackled to the ground by an azure earth pony. They hit the ground with her on the top, knocking the air out of the pegasus. The azure mare got up, holding my bag in her mouth, and passed it to me, while the bully unicorn rushed to check on her fallen friend. “Get out of here or you’ll have to deal with me,” my savior growled and watched them in contempt as they scrambled away in defeat. The mare turned to me with a gentle smile and I looked into her sky-colored eyes: “My name is Blue Ruby, but everypony just calls me Ruby. Nice to meet you.” *** “Sundae, are you okay?” Ruby shook me violently, bringing me back from my trance. “You have those weird white eyes right now. Oh, they’re gone.” It took me a moment to process the information and realize its meaning and when I did, I grinned at her happily. “I remember you now.” Ruby froze for a moment and a smile grew on her face. She jumped at me with a squeal and hugged me, almost dropping me to the ground in her enthusiasm. “Yay!” Pinkie exclaimed in jubilation. A bunch of confetti shot in my face on me out of nowhere. “This calls for a party!” “Do you remember everything now?” Ruby asked, backing off from me; her tail wiggling like a happy dog. “Well, yes, I think so…” I said, reflecting on what had just happened. “I mean, I remember you now, but when I try to remember anything else my head still hurts.” “You may need a trigger to help your memories to return,” Twilight suggested. “Ruby was one of them, but it can be many other things — a familiar face, place, even a book.” I ignored Spike muttering something like it’s always a book with you, and turned to face the princess, hoping that seeing her would trigger more memories. Nothing happened. I pouted in disappointment. “Oh, I can’t be it. I wasn’t even a princess back then,” said Twilight. “But that’s a great start! Your memories are returning and I think it’s for the best that they didn’t come back all at once. That way you can process them safely instead of getting buried under them.” “I guess,” I sighed. I wanted to return to the castle — I had to discuss so much with Ruby right now, like talking about our past, but Pinkie insisted on having a party and I succumbed to her wishes. In my defense, it was nigh impossible to resist her energetic persuading. All of us, including Zecora, went to Sugarcube Corner, the place where Pinkie Pie worked. Seeing Ponyville didn’t bring back any more memories, though I wasn’t really expecting it. I had probably never been to the town back in the days, so there was simply nothing to remember. Pinkie hopped in front of us and soon we were at Sugarcube Corner. It was a bright and colorful bakery with a big cupcake decorating its roof; it was exactly the place I expected Pinkie to work in. I wasn’t surprised in the slightest after I learned that she lived there as well. The owners of the place — Mr. and Ms. Cake — had everything prepared for the party. I looked at Pinkie wondering — did she organize everything beforehoof? Most likely. The tables were full with baked goods and guests were already coming in one by one. I didn’t know most of those ponies, but I saw them around town sometimes. All of Twilight’s best friends were also here. “So did it work?” a cyan pegasus, Rainbow Dash, swooped at us as we came in. “Of course it did,” Pinkie Pie answered for me. “That’s why we’re having the party, silly.” “Yeah,” I confirmed with a nod. “I don’t remember everything yet, but I’m starting to.” The party lasted for many hours and everypony had a lot of fun. It took my mind off the troubles and I could finally relax. I played a lot of games and talked with a lot of different ponies, getting to know them a little bit better. Rainbow Dash zapped under the ceiling like a mad fly at Pinkie, who just rolled out a barrel of cider. Her excitement slightly diminished when she learned it wasn’t of Applejack’s making, but for me who had never tried Applejack’s stuff it tasted divine. The food was amazing too — Pinkie proudly told me that she had baked most of the dishes herself the night before the party. At some point, I met a nice green unicorn with a lyre on her flank. Her name actually was Lyra and she had a very close friend named Bon Bon. We all shared a drink together and promised to meet sometime after the party. They reminded me of myself and Ruby a little. Then it was time to dance. I had no idea how to dance as a pony, but my judgment vanished after the third cup of cider, so I agreed for Ruby to show me the moves. I spectacularly failed, obviously, but at least it was funny and made everypony laugh, with me being the first to join them. Marcus was having a good time as well. After having a few cups of cider himself, he wasn’t dancing, but it made him more relaxed and he freely mingled among the ponies — I hoped it made most of them realize that he was a good guy and an interesting person, not just an exotic specimen. But as good as the party was, it was finally coming to an end. The guests started to leave and soon it was just me and my friends. “What are you planning to do now?” Starlight asked, taking a bite from a cupcake. “I was thinking…” I said slowly. “Twilight told me that my mind needs a trigger to remember things. Maybe I should go to the places I’ve been to before, meet the ponies I used to know and such.” “Don’t be ridiculous, Sunny,” Ruby suddenly hit me in the shoulder. I looked at her with a frown, rubbing my hurt foreleg. “The Doctor must be pretty mad after what happened in Manehattan. You should stay here in Ponyville under the Princess’s protection until he and his organization are destroyed.” “I agree with her, Sundae,” nodded Twilight. “My guards are coming to Ponyville tomorrow; nopony would dare to touch you here.” Marcus walked up closer and sat on the floor to be on the same level as me. Or maybe it was just difficult to stand after all the cider, who knows. “I’ll go with you if you decide to go! I still have the rifle — if somebody comes for you, they’ll regret it.” “I say we go to them!” Rainbow Dash declared, suddenly swooping at the innocent chair like it was the enemy. “We’ve dealt with monsters much worse than that pony.” “The CSS will take care of him, Dash,” Twilight reprimanded her, frowning at the broken piece of furniture. “Let’s allow the professionals to do their job for once.” “Well, I’m not in any rush,” I shrugged. Maybe it was for the best to stay in Ponyville for now. “I don’t have any money anyway, so I can’t exactly go wherever I want.” “I can help you with that little issue, darling,” Rarity smiled. I glanced at her questioningly. “I need somepony to help me in my boutique. I am often busy with dresses and simply don’t have time to deal with the clients.” “That’s a great idea, thank you!” I said, elated. In fact, her offer made me so happy that I rushed at her to give her a powerful hug. I had no idea how we ended up falling on the floor instead. Anyway, I had experience working at a store and even though it wasn’t my favorite job, that way I would finally get some bits and be able to pay for myself. If only all of my problems were solved that easily… *** A large pegasus stallion followed me like a tail as I trotted through Ponyville. It was Twilight’s fault — she thought it was too dangerous for me to be alone, so she had assigned one of her new guards to protect me at all times, since the Doctor and his organization were still at large. The guard’s name was Sturdy Peak. I glanced back at him — his sapphire coat gleamed under the morning sun, but his shortcut mane was almost nonexistent. At first, being followed everywhere made me nervous, but I got used to it with time, especially after I convinced her to let the stallion take off his armor; I was getting too much unwanted attention otherwise. “Aren’t you bored of being a guard?” I asked him, slowing down to walk side by side with him. “No, miss,” answered the stallion. He still called me miss even though I had told him a million times to use just my name. “Fine, private,” I sighed in exasperation. “Have it your way.” We walked the rest of the way to the boutique in silence. Rarity had kept her promise and had hired me as her assistant. My job didn’t involve working with the dresses; instead, I did more simple tasks like selling the dresses that were already done, taking new orders and such, freeing Rarity to create without interruptions. She paid me well and I had a lot of free time between the clients, which I used to read books about magic. Since I had drunk the potion a month ago, I had remembered a lot of new stuff — technically old stuff for me — and reading was one of them. It sped up my learning of magic considerably, though I still had to learn most of it. It turns out I hadn’t been a very advanced magic user in the past and my magic knowledge was pretty limited. As of now, I already knew more than I had forgotten. Starlight still helped me, of course. She explained the parts I had problems with and helped me practice the new and old spells in my free time after work. For example, my shield spell was impenetrable for Ruby’s attacks now even though she tried very hard to punch through. We were going to practice something special after work and I couldn’t wait for the end of my shift. As luck would have it, today’s shift had been incredibly boring. Almost no clients visited the shop and Rarity was pretty busy with a complicated order, so I spent almost all of it rereading the theory of the spell I was going to try. Sturdy Peak mulled about the hall melancholically, gazing on the displayed dresses. It annoyed me somehow. I would guess he was bored, though I knew he would never admit it. “Hey, Peak,” I called out to the pegasus. “Why don’t you go take a fly?” “Can’t do it, miss,” he said, throwing me a glance. I fumed on the inside, but kept a calm face and even managed a smile. I had long suspected that the guard called me miss specifically to annoy me, but I could never prove it. Not that there was anything wrong with being called a miss, of course. I just hated it when he did it. I forced myself to ignore Peak and returned to reading. Good thing my shift was coming to an end. I threw glances at the clock and as soon as it showed me the right time, I rushed to Rarity’s studio to warn her I was leaving; the guard hovering one step behind. The room was brightly lit inside and the mare was sewing something on her machine, not noticing my arrival. I took a moment to appreciate the unfinished dress on the ponnequin and cleared my throat to let her know I was there. “Ah, you’re here,” Rarity turned to face me, looking at me through her neat red-framed glasses. “Is it so late already?” “Yep,” I nodded with a grin. “Time for me to go.” “I see you’re in quite a good mood.” “I can’t wait to try the new spell!” I shared the source of my excitement. “You can’t imagine how long I’ve been waiting to try it.” “Good luck to you, darling,” smiled Rarity and sighed tiredly. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I shall return to work. This order is quite complicated and I must finish it by tomorrow.” Maybe I would offer my help at any other time, but I just couldn’t suffer any more delays today. Rarity was a professional and she wouldn’t have taken the order if she was unable to finish it, so after a quick goodbye, I galloped out of the store. I noticed the filly standing on my way in the last possible moment and barely had time to react, jumping over and falling to the ground like a potato sack. I got up with a moan; maybe I should find the time for a physical training along with my magical studies. I looked at the filly unicorn to make sure she was alright. She appeared unharmed, just startled by my sudden appearance. “Why are you running like crazy, Sundae?” the filly whom I knew as Sweetie Belle asked. “Is my sister giving you too much work?” “No, I’m just so excited,” I smiled at the filly sheepishly. “Sorry for almost knocking into you.” “It’s okay. Why are you so excited?” I explained to Sweetie why I was in such a rush and she nodded in understanding. The small unicorn looked similar to her sister Rarity in her coat color, but her mane style was different. Unlike her older sister’s curly purple hair, the filly’s two-toned mane was much lighter in shade and shorter. She and two of her friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, had spent a lot of time with me this past month, trying to get me a cutie mark. It was kind of their job as they told me. Since all I did was studying magic, they thought it was my special talent. But whatever we did, the stubborn mark just wouldn’t appear. “Can the girls and I go with you?” asked Sweetie Belle. “Sure, why not. Meet me on the hills north of Ponyville in half an hour.” I trotted to the castle to meet Starlight, while Sweetie ran off to find her friends. The Crusaders obviously hadn’t given up on their quest to help me. Maybe Sweetie thought that by casting a really complicated spell I would finally get myself a mark. I hoped I would — it was a little embarrassing to be the only adult pony without one, though the Crusaders were obviously much more troubled by the lack of it than I was. Two guards in full armor stood by the entrance. It had become a common sight after Twilight had formed her own branch of the Royal Guard, which currently comprised a dozen ponies. Their purple armor was enchanted to give them a similar white coat color, so I couldn’t tell them apart when they wore it. I gave them a small nod and waved to Starlight, who just walked out. “Hello, Sundae,” she waved to me in return, approaching me. “You haven’t changed your mind, have you?” “Nope.” Starlight was reluctant to let me try the new spell, thinking it was too risky for me yet, but I told her that I would do it with or without her help, leaving her no choice but to agree. I wasn’t totally insane, of course, and made sure my magic level was up to the task. The problem was with casting the spell itself without it going haywire, but I was confident in my abilities. “Fine…” the unicorn sighed. “If you think you can do it, who am I to argue? Celestia knows I’ve done far more risky spells on my own.” “It’s lucky I’ve got you to help then.” Starlight chuckled as we trotted together to our chosen destination; Sturdy Shield silently hovering behind. The hills north of Ponyville were completely boring and nopony usually went to that place — even the grass was feeble and pale out there. For that exact reason, it was the perfect training ground for my magic, especially after Twilight had barred me from doing it in the castle. In retrospect, it had been a bad idea to practice offensive spells in the library… My attention was on other ponies’ flanks as we moved through the town. It wasn’t anything related to the heat — another wave had just ended a few days ago. I was just examining their cutie marks and trying to guess their meaning to pass the time. I guess I’d acquired that habit from the Crusaders. I nodded to Lyra as we passed her, glancing at the golden lyre on her flank. It was an easy one: I had seen her play an actual lyre before, producing an amazing tune. But not every mark was so straightforward. I barely avoided Derpy, a gray blond pegasus, who almost stumbled into me while madly racing somewhere. She threw me a quick sorry with a sheepish smile and continued on her way, while I examined her bubbles, wondering what they meant. She was a mailpony and had a clumsy reputation in town, but I had no idea how bubbles related to any of that. We were on the north edge of Ponyville when a strange pony suddenly caught my attention. I lifted my eyebrows at a pegasus I had never seen before who stood leaning on the wall and watched us with his narrowed eyes. But what truly dazed me – he had no cutie mark on his flank! After being noticed, the pegasus stepped away from the wall and blocked our path. I took a nervous step back; the previous assassination attempt was too fresh in my mind. Sturdy Peak landed in front of me immediately, readying his sword, but the pony ignored him, staring at Starlight instead. I shifted uncomfortably from the intensity of the hatred I saw in his eyes. “Can I help you?” Starlight asked, keeping her voice level. The pegasus just snarled instead of answering and advanced on her menacingly until Sturdy Peak put a sword’s blade in his way. That made him freeze in his tracks. “Stop hiding behind the others, bitch,” he demanded, addressing Starlight. She flattened her ears at such hostility, looking hurt for a moment, but then frowned. “Who are you?” “So you don’t even remember me…” the pegasus flapped his wings in dismay. Judging by his behavior, he hadn’t been sent by the Doctor. This rude pony was obviously preoccupied with Starlight rather than me, though it wasn’t much of a relief. The pony looked insane enough with his unkempt gray coat and disheveled mane and might be pretty dangerous, even though he had no visible weapons on him. “Leave us alone,” I said, having little hope that he would actually listen. The pegasus focused his mad stare on me instead and I felt shivers on my back. He stared silently for a few seconds and suddenly gasped; his eyes going wide. “She did it to you too!” he yelled, pointing at my flank. I glanced at it curiously — it was blank as always. “Are you talking about my cutie mark? It’s a long story, but Starlight had nothing to do with it.” I heard Starlight gasp in recognition and saw her face change into a mask of horror. “Skychaser, is that you?!” “What kind of leader are you if you don’t recognize your loyal supporters?” Starlight twitched at that, like his statement had wounded her. She lowered her head, looking down in shame. “I was a terrible leader…That’s why I left the village. I’m trying to learn from my mistakes.” “I don’t give a damn about that!” he screamed, stomping his hoof. “Just give me back my cutie mark.” Starlight looked up at him in surprise and her eyes went wide when she finally noticed his blank flank. She stared at it for a few seconds with an open mouth. I didn’t get her reaction at first, but then I remembered her past and the angry pegasus’ words and it all connected in my head. Back when Starlight had ruled a village, she had taken away everypony’s cutie marks, but when Twilight and her friends overthrew her, the ponies got their marks back. It seemed like not all of them did. “Look, it’s not so bad if you don’t have a cutie mark,” I said, hoping to calm him. “I don’t have one either as you can see and it’s fine.” “You don’t understand,” Skychaser glared at me madly. “I’ve lost everything after she ran off. I can’t return to my normal life without a cutie mark.” “I don’t get it,” Starlight frowned. “Everypony got their marks back when the Vault was destroyed. What happened to you?” “It’s your fault,” he said, pointing an accusatory hoof at her. “Now make it come back!” I was a calm pony usually and it was hard to make me angry, but this pony had managed that by acting so rude to my friend. It had to stop now. I walked up to stand before him and looked him straight in the eyes, trying to appear stern. “Listen, pony. If you want help, you should just ask for it.” “Asking for help is what got me into her crazy cult the first time!” exclaimed Skychaser. “Give me my cutie mark back or you’ll regret it.” “I’m sorry, Skychaser,” Starlight shook her head. “I don’t know what went wrong, but—” Skychaser didn’t wait for her to finish. Instead, he shoved me to the side with his surprisingly strong wing and lunged at Starlight with a snarl on his face. The guard reacted promptly and put him out cold with a blow to the head. The pegasus fell to the ground, while my brain was still trying to catch up. It had all happened so fast… “Why in Tartarus did you do that?” Starlight scolded the guard in anger. “I would have stopped him without hurting him. He had suffered enough because of me as it is…” “Just doing my job,” shrugged Sturdy Peak. Starlight ignored him and examined the fallen Skychaser. She sighed in relief a few seconds later. “He’s fine, just unconscious,” she told me and lowered her eyes. “I know you really wanted try out the new spell, but I should get this pony to the castle now. I don’t know why he didn’t get his cutie mark back the same way as the others, but I intend to find out.” I drooped my ears, but nodded. Even though I had wanted to cast that spell for a while, it could wait a bit more; helping the troubled pony was much more important. I just hoped the Crusaders wouldn’t be too upset when I didn’t show up as I promised. Starlight made Sturdy Peak carry Skychaser on his back and we made our way back to the castle, getting a few weird glances along the way. She explained to me that the pegasus was one of the ponies who had lived in her village back when she had been obsessed with the idea of equality, though I already understood as much. Starlight used to store the ponies’ cutie marks in the Vault, but when Twilight and her friends broke it, all the marks were returned except for his apparently. “It’s possible to get a new cutie mark if you’ve lost your old one, right?” “I hope so,” answered Starlight. “Well, I’ve been trying to get a cutie mark for a whole month and nothing. Even the Crusaders think it’s weird.” Starlight fell deep into thought after my words and I wondered what would happen if I never got a cutie mark. My old one was probably lost permanently because of the damn Mirror and maybe something like that had happened to Skychaser. I was managing pretty well without one, but that was because I had spent years living as a human. Skychaser didn’t have that advantage. “What if there is something preventing a pony from getting a second mark, even if the first one is no longer there?” Starlight theorized. I shrugged. It could explain why even the Crusaders had failed with me so far. “We should ask Twilight.” *** We put the still unconscious Skychaser under guard and gathered in the Throne Room. “This is a great theory,” Twilight said in excitement after Starlight explained her idea. “I used to read a lot of books on cutie marks and there is no case of getting more than one mark. Well, except that one event with Apple Bloom a while back when she got sick with the Cutie Pox. But it only proves some magical lock must exist, preventing you from getting more than one mark.” “That and the fact that ponies usually have only one special talent, so there would be no need for a second mark,” Starlight added. I sighed. It meant that the Crusaders had been blaming themselves for nothing. No matter what we tried, I simply wouldn’t get a cutie mark because I’d already had one and lost it… “Don’t worry, Sundae,” Twilight said, noticing my shifted mood, “I’m going to examine your and Skychaser’s magical fields. Maybe I can even find that lock and temporarily remove it. If that’s the problem, then both of you would get a cutie mark in no time, since you already know what your special talent is supposed to be.” I nodded reluctantly. It’s true, Ruby had told me what my old cutie mark used to look like and how I’d gotten it, though I couldn’t remember it myself yet. An old vase that used to be on my flank represented my interest in archaeology. The problem was — I wasn’t sure it still remained my special talent. Living as a human had changed me. “No time to waste then!” Twilight said in a ringing voice. “I’ve never done this before; this would need some special preparation. I’m going to need some amplifier arrays to be able to look at your aura closely…The usual ones won’t do, I should—” Twilight disappeared from her chair in a flash of light in the middle of her sentence. Starlight rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her muzzle. I just shrugged — it was typical of Twilight to teleport without explanation when she got some new idea she wanted to test. All we had to do now was to wait. Wait… “The Crusaders!” I exclaimed suddenly; Starlight looked at me in surprise. “I mean, the Crusaders are still probably waiting for us in the hills. I should go and tell them there won’t be any spellcasting today.” “You stay here, I go. Twilight can return any minute.” Starlight left, leaving me alone. I agreed that would be for the best — it would be bad to make the princess wait too. I was slightly annoyed at Twilight though; she could at least have told us what she was going to do. Maybe I would even be able to help. My magical knowledge was far from her level, but I’d learned a lot during this month. The door squeaked open and I turned my head, hoping to see Twilight, but Marcus stood there instead. I smiled at him anyway and he nodded in return. “Sturdy told me some psycho attacked you and Starlight,” my friend said, holding a hand on the hilt of his new sword. “It wasn’t that bad,” I shrugged. “The poor pony just wanted revenge.” “Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?” he snorted and I chuckled involuntarily. “I mean, he lost his cutie mark because of Starlight and told her to give it back. She couldn’t do that for him, so he got mad and kind of jumped on us. That’s when your friend bumped him in the head.” “That tattoo seems really important to you ponies,” Marcus said. I shrugged again. I wasn’t in the mood to explain the whole importance of cutie marks to ponies, so I left that matter alone for now. Instead, we did a bit of catching up. Sadly, we’d been a little out of touch lately with all of my studying and his training, but I was happy that he’d finally had something to do at least, besides wandering about the town. “So, have you decided to join fully yet?” I asked. “I don’t know,” he sighed and looked me in the eyes. “I would have to give a vow to join Twilight’s Guard and that’s a pretty serious commitment.” Twilight made a position especially for him as the first human guard, but he had yet to accept it. Although he had already become buddies with the other guards in the Castle, so I thought it was only a matter of time. He was basically an unofficial member of the Guard, carrying a blade with him all the time and sparring with his new friend Sturdy Peak. With Marcus being so much bigger than ponies, he was a formidable fighter, despite lacking in sword skills. I put a hoof on his hand to show my support and he nodded gratefully. Touching his soft hand with the base of my hoof was a little weird. I wondered how he could use it at all, especially with all of those icky numerous fingers…It felt so fragile compared to my hoof; I would probably break it if I pressed too hard. I shuddered at those uncomfortable thoughts. It was hard to imagine that I used to have the same hands a little more than a month ago. We were interrupted by a loud pop and something heavy suddenly fell on me a moment later. I yelped in fright and bucked instinctively, throwing my hindquarters upright. To my surprise, Twilight landed on the table in front of me. She laid on her back and looked at me with her large eyes, dumbfounded, and I stared back. “Why were you sitting on my throne?” I blushed and looked to the side, realizing that Twilight must have teleported to the same place from where she had previously disappeared, not knowing I was already occupying that space. Twilight quickly flipped back on her feet and jumped off the table, levitating a small sack off the floor that hadn’t been there before. Marcus coughed to hide his laughter and put the sword that he had drawn back in his sheath. “Anyway, I’ve brought some supplies!” Twilight said, ignoring the little accident. “I have an array ready. I’ve made some modifications to it, so it would allow me to see your magical field very clearly.” Having said that, Twilight left the room, through the doors this time. Marcus and I exchanged a glance and we quickly followed her. After a short walk through the corridors, we arrived in the castle’s big library. I liked this place with its rows and rows of books. There was even a fiction section, the genre I loved the most. I often came here to read, with Twilight keeping me company. Twilight stopped in the center of the room and started to draw a big scheme on the floor, using the supplies she’d brought. Marcus and I just stood to the side and watched her work silently, not daring to interrupt. At some point the Crusaders burst in with Starlight in their wake, but Twilight just shushed them and they joined us in quiet waiting. “So is Twilight really going to cure you from whatever is not letting you get a mark?” Apple Bloom, one of the Crusader fillies, asked. She was Applejack’s and Big Mac’s little sister and an earth pony like them. I nodded to her without turning my attention off of Twilight’s work. She used her magic to draw an array with three chalks at once, moving them in perfect harmony with each other. I was slightly jealous — I was able to move one object with enough precision, but Twilight was a whole level above. I reminded myself of the fact that a month ago I could barely lift a spoon. “I knew there was something wrong with you,” said Scootaloo, another member of the Crusaders, a brown pegasus. The other fillies gave her a stare and she blushed. “I didn’t mean it like in a bad way!” the filly hastened to explain herself. “I just thought it was weird that you were not getting your mark even though we’d been so sure you would. I was starting to think there was something wrong with us…” I chuckled and rubbed her mane with affection. “I get it, don’t worry. I myself suspected that something had to be wrong.” Soon Twilight was done. The array looked pretty complicated and took up a large chunk of the floor. It consisted of two circles and a lot of runes and lines. I had no idea what most of it was supposed to do, except for the mana crystals, which were arranged around it, so that the caster would be able to draw energy from them. I had read about those things in a book. They were recommended to use in any advanced arrays in case the unicorn overestimated their own abilities and ran out of mana. “Please, stand in the center of that circle and relax,” said Twilight, showing me to the smaller one. “I’ll begin when you’re ready.” I did as instructed. Standing there, I was reminded of movies about exorcisms or summoning demons, but Twilight wasn’t planning to do something like that, was she? I gulped and tried to relax as Twilight had told me, dismissing the silly thoughts out of my mind. When I felt calm enough, I gave her a nod and she began. Twilight’s horn glowed as well as the lines of the array around me. She opened her eyes, but instead of pupils they too glowed with a white light. I shuddered from her spooky stare — that must be how my eyes had looked after I had drunk the memory potion. I turned my gaze away from her and to my group of friends standing behind her. They gave me some supporting smiles and Marcus showed a thumbs up. Suddenly a weird tingling sensation started to bother me from all around my body. It felt like somepony was prickling tiny needles into my skin. It was probably a part of Twilight’s examination, so I stoically endured it until a sharp pain from everywhere at once struck my body. I yelped and almost fell, but the pain was over the next second without any trace. Gradually, the array lost its glow and Twilight’s eyes returned back to normal. “I think I did it,” a large grin appeared on her face. We all gathered around her and she explained us what exactly she did. The array gave her an ability to look at the magical field within me in great detail. It was something similar in effect to an x-ray. Twilight’s modified array allowed her to discover a specific part of the field in charge of cutie marks, something that apparently hadn’t been done before, and fix the distortion she found in it. That was the surge of pain I felt in the end. All of that meant that now, in theory at least, I would be able to get a cutie mark. “Now we can get you a cutie mark!” the Crusaders exclaimed together as one. *** I wasn’t able to resist their renewed enthusiasm even if I wanted to. We decided to try our very first idea for getting a cutie mark, which hadn’t worked back then — cast some complicated magic spell to prove it was my special talent. And what a funny coincidence it was that I had planned to cast my most complicated spell so far just earlier today! Before we all went to the hills and tried to put that theory into practice, Twilight and I paid a visit to Skychaser, still being locked up under guard. The pegasus was conscious already and threw us a murderous stare as soon as we entered the room. His eyes grew wide when he recognized the princess. “Your highness!” he jumped on his hooves. “What are you doing here?” “You’re in my castle,” Twilight pointed out coldly. “You were brought here after you attacked one of my friends in public.” “Your friend?! That…Starlight is your friend?” Skychaser looked truly shocked by the revelation. “She is. And you were one of her villagers. I understand your anger and pain, but you should know that she has reformed and truly regrets what she has done to you and the others.” “She may have fooled you, Princess, but I’ve seen her for who she really is,” Skychaser said with conviction. “She’s a liar. Her lies brought me into her cult and her lies will bring you to your doom.” Twilight kept a calm expression on her face, but I saw in her tense posture and slightly lowered ears that his words angered her a great deal. “Leaving that issue aside, I’ve discovered a way for you to get a cutie mark. It may not be exactly the same one as before, but it will represent your true talent nonetheless.” She quickly explained her idea to him and what we had just done in the library – removing the magical lock. Skychaser wasn’t convinced though. “I’ll believe it only when I see you with a cutie mark,” he said, pointing at me. “As a matter of fact, we’re about to try something that would get me one. You can go along and watch with your own eyes,” I glanced at Twilight after I said it and she nodded slightly in confirmation. “As long as you control yourself,” she said sternly. “The guards will be watching you and if you try to attack Starlight again, you will be officially charged with assault.” Skychaser agreed to Twilight’s conditions and we led him to the hall, where everypony was waiting. Starlight frowned in concern upon seeing Skychaser walking among us, but Twilight assured her that situation was under control. Three guards were escorting us as we walked through Ponyville once again, including Sturdy Peak, who was familiar to me. He and Marcus just chatted with each other, while the other two remained silent and searched our surroundings for any potential threats. No fewer than two guards followed Twilight everywhere at all times. She wanted for them to concentrate on the castle only when they had just arrived, but the captain was adamant and Twilight had to agree with his position on matters of security. I mentally prepared myself for the spell, which had become much more important now, seeing as it could both get me a cutie mark and help Skychaser at the same time. I threw a glance at Skychaser: he was behaving himself like he’d promised and completely ignored Starlight, who trotted by my side. He didn’t look as haunted and sullen as he had before. Perhaps our words had given him some hope — that was another reason I wanted to succeed. “Don’t worry, Sundae,” said Apple Bloom. “We’re pretty sure you’ll get your cutie mark.” “Yeah, you just need to realize that casting spells is your special talent!” added Scootaloo. “Casting that super-complicated spell would prove it for you,” Sweetie Belle finished. I nodded to them gratefully. Despite all our talks and planning I still had doubts about my talent. I mean, I liked magic, but it wasn’t the only thing I liked to do. Was it truly my special talent or was there something else I hadn’t thought of yet? We were about to find out. Our little group gathered on the top of the hill that overlooked Ponyville. It was a good spot for potentially dangerous spells — open land and far enough from pony dwellings. Everypony looked at me expectedly and I blushed a little from such big attention. “Come on, Sundae,” Starlight said. “Remember our lessons. Concentrate on the spot in front of you and cast the spell.” “I know, I know…” I waved to Starlight and the others to step away just in case, and closed my eyes, once again replaying in my head what I was going to do. The spell I so desperately wanted to learn was…teleportation. I had loved it since the first time I had seen Twilight do it and I had been practicing my magic every day, dreaming about it. It was such a great concept! Teleportation was a pretty advanced spell too, but I had learned the theory perfectly — all that was left to do was to execute it. I calmed my breath and opened my eyes again, looking at the spot in front of me while ignoring everything else. That’s where I wanted to land. It was important to know where you wanted to land; otherwise you risked ending up Celestia knows where. Though the spell wouldn’t let you appear inside of another object, you could teleport yourself up too high and fall down, breaking your bones as a result. With so many unicorns and pegasi currently around me, I wasn’t worried at that prospect right now. Time for action. I filled my horn with magic and finally cast the spell. I heard the sparks discharge around me and all my vision disappeared for a moment. Another moment and I was rolling down the hill like a rag doll. Somepony’s magic caught me before I sustained any injuries though, and levitated me back up. I felt completely disorientated and wondered what had happened with me. My friend’s wide grins filled me with hope, however. “Congratulations, you did it!” Ruby tackled me while I was still being held in the air and we almost rolled off the hill again. “I did?” I asked in amazement. Until the last moment, I wasn’t sure I would be able to pull it off. “Yep,” Starlight’s voice confirmed from behind me. “It was definitely a teleportation spell. You’re going to need some work on precision, but for the first time it was great!” “Did you get your cutie mark?” The Crusaders surrounded me and shooed Ruby off me. I guessed the answer to that question by their sullen faces before I glanced at my flank — it was empty like at any other day. I pulled myself back on my hooves and sighed. At least I had done my first teleportation spell, so it wasn’t so bad… I sighed again. “Ha, I knew this wouldn’t work,” Skychaser said, but there wasn’t any joy in his voice. It was quite the opposite, in fact. “Shut up,” Marcus said to him simply. “I don’t understand, I thought I had removed the lock…” Twilight mumbled to herself, approaching me and examining my flank. “What went wrong?” “Getting a mark is more than just casting some spell,” said Sweetie Belle. “She has to truly realize her special talent,” Scootaloo nodded sagely. “But I am realizing it,” I stomped my hoof in agitation. “I liked magic even before I knew I was a pony. It helped me to accept who I am and I want nothing more than to be at least half as good at it as Twilight!” As the words left my mouth, a strange warm feeling encompassed me. I felt such a clarity about what do with my life like I never had before. I would learn as much as possible about magic! Somepony levitated me off the ground; I looked at my friends, but nopony’s horn glowed to indicate the culprit. Instead, they all gazed back at me in surprise. In the next moment, I was put down. “What was that?” I asked nopony in particular, as my friends began to smile widely for some reason. “Look at your flank, silly!” Ruby said, grabbing my head and turning it herself. There was an image of a white star inside of a blue gemstone proudly displayed on my thigh. I looked at it, but couldn’t believe it. It was my very own cutie mark. Some tears welled up on my eyes. Seeing it now made me realize how incomplete I had been, even though I had never realized it before this moment. Now I was fully a pony both in body and mind, the only thing missing was my memory… A surge of pain struck my head like a lightning bolt. I grimaced and couldn’t hold back a moan. “What’s wrong?” Ruby asked in concern. I couldn’t answer as the pain became almost unbearable. Grasping my head in my hooves, I fell down onto the grass, moaning in pain. My friends rushed to me, though I barely saw them through my half-closed eyes. I had no idea what was happening to me, but the pain slowly faded away. When I opened my eyes fully to see the worried faces around me, something had changed inside me. I remembered now. I remembered everything.