//------------------------------// // Chapter 3:Meeting // Story: Lost Memories // by Holly-Heart-MLP //------------------------------// ~The familiar unicorn before Izar made him question who he was even more~ Morning arrived slowly as Celestia raised the sun. The high Princess let out a long sigh. Today, questions that had been hanging over Celestia like a storm cloud may or may not be answered. That depended on if the mystery pony even had the answers or not to the pressing questions Celestia had. The lovely white alicorn sighed again and left her chambers to head to breakfast. Luna was sat at the table when Celestia arrived. "Morning dear sister, sleep well?" She asked the princess of the day. Celestia nodded, but in truth she hadn't, for questions about Izar had been on her mind all night. She didn't want Luna to know about Izar, not yet anyways. Celestia still didn’t fully know if she could trust Izar yet. Just because he was a living Myth didn't mean he had good intentions. "Well..."Luna began," I have received word that Twilight and the Outsider are on their way here. They should be here around noon." The princess of the night finished. Celestia nodded and gave her sister a thankful smile. "Very good." Celestia said. Again" the hope that this outsider held the answers she wanted came back. But there was also the chance they didn't know a thing. There was really no way to tell the outcome of the events to come. She just had to be hopeful. Celestia soon finished breakfast while also teleporting some food to Izar's room. She thought he might be hungry but she also hoped that the sudden appearance of food didn't startle him. If it did, she would apologize later. The princess of the day mentioned to Luna that she was going to head to the flower garden to catch up on some letters in silence so she could focus. Luna just nodded and went off to rest after the long night of dream walking she had done. Really though, Celestia was going to check on Izar. She had some time before Twilight and the outside arrived. It was still only about 10am. Celestia walked gracefully in the direction of the garden but when she neared it, after checking no pony was around, she changed direction to head to Izar's room. This time, Celestia was nice. She didn't want to barge in again for it might seem rude. She knocked on the door softly. "Hello? Izar? It's me, Celestia." "Oh come in, Princess!" Izar said from the other side of the door. Celestia did so and let herself in. Izar was laying on the floor with a book open in front of him. "Good morning, princess." He said with a friendly and welcome smile on his face. His blue eyes were calm and friendly as well. Celestia returned his friendly smile. "Same to you. I see that books in here have caught your eye." She stated. Izar nodded, closing the book in front of him. "Yep. They are very different than where I come from, where ever that may be." Izar said, letting out a small chuckle at the end. He got up from where he was to put the book back on the nearby shelf. He then walked back over to where he had just been laying down and sat back down. "Oh thanks for the food by the way." He said, his hoof pointing to the empty plate nearby. Celestia nodded. "You're welcome." She said with a kind smile. Celestia had walked further into the room at this point and was also sitting on the floor, across from Izar. Celestia then brought the conversation back to the books. "The books we have are very interesting. I used to spend hours reading." She smiled that the found memory. "Granted I had to since I was learning to rule a whole kingdom at the time." Celestia chuckled. Izar nodded. "Makes sense. A princess should know a lot to run a kingdom. If they didn't, the kingdom might fall to ruin." Izar's voice wavered for a second when he mentioned a kingdom falling to ruin. But it was only a second. "I am sure you are a great ruler." He said with a smile. Celestia blushed a bit at the comment. The high princess then recalled the event for today. "Oh! The outsider will be here soon. If I find out anything, I'll let you know." She said. She didn't want Izar to really notice her blushing. It was a bit embarrassing. Izar nodded at the news. "Hopefully they know who I am, but they might not." Izar said, his expression was very serious. Celestia nodded in agreement. The outsider might not know a thing. "Well I will wait here. I have a feeling if I went anywhere with seeing how you reacted to finding me, I might freak others out." Celestia nodded, her expression was thankful. She was glad Izar understood he should stay out of sight for now. "Wonderful, thank you." Celestia said with a smile on her face. "They will be here around noon. So I do have some time before I have to meet with them. So if you're ok with it, I'll stay here." Celestia wanted to talk to Izar more. In all honesty, Celestia was just still in awe that there was a living myth before her. It was just really crazy. But here he was. Izar, a Male Alicorn or what he calls himself, a Unisus in the flesh, sitting on the floor with a content smile on his face. "So you say you've read a lot growing up, princess?" Izar asked, bring Celestia back to reality. She had not realized she had been staring at Izar with a bewildered look. She nodded quickly, blushing a bit from embarrassment. "Yep, that's right. I believe I have read almost every book in the castle Library." Izar's face lit up a bit and his expression changed to that of excitement and interest. "A library huh? Boy would I love to see that. I bet it is huge!"Izar said enthusiastically, his blue eyes holding a look of longing. Celestia smiled at him. "Well maybe I'll show you one day. And I'll show you around everywhere else." Celestia would love to do that. It would be a lot of fun to show Izar around her kingdom. She'd show him all the different and unique places in Equestria. But, She first had to decide if Izar was to be trusted. And it so far seemed Izar didn't have any ill will at this moment. "Really? You will?" Izar said, a smile stuck on his face. "That is wonderful! I greatly look forward to it, princess!" He said excitedly. Celestia chuckled at Izar's reaction. She was certain. Izar wasn't a threat. However, she still wanted to learn more about what was going on before she told anypony about Izar. Celestia nodded. "By the way, there is no need to call me by my title. Just call me Celestia." She said softly. Izar nodded in concurrence. "Alright, Celestia is it." He smiled at her. Celestia didn't know why, but when Izar said her name, she felt like her heart skipped a beat. She had no idea why. She decided to just let it go for now. The two talked for a bit more to pass the time. Celestia told Izar about her favorite books in the library to which Izar said he would have to read them if her got the chance. Celestia was very happy to hear that. Soon, it was only about 5 minutes to noon. Celestia got up to leave and made her way to the door. "I'll be back ok? Wish me luck." She said with a smiled. Izar nodded, returning her smile. Celestia left the room, and headed in the direction of the throne room. There she would meet with twilight and this outsider. ✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴✴ Celestia made it with one minute to spare. She sat on her throne, her magic mane flowing around her body softly. She waited for Twilight to enter. It felt like the longest minute ever. Soon though, it was announced that Twilight had arrived with the outsider. Celestia told a guard to show them in. The guard lead the two ponies in to the throne room. Twilight walked in front while the outsider was behind her. He looked aged but still had fit physique. His mane and tail were a white with a bit of pale, light green mixed in. He stood a bit taller than Twilight, if fact he looked to be about Luna's Height. His coat was a tone of gray with a bluish tone. As they walked closer, it could be seen the older pony was wearing spectacles and his eyes were a vibrant shade of golden yellow and he also had some facial hair. He wore a waist coat that was black and white with a bow tie. This unicorn was, for sure, not from around here but he also looked to be a servant of some kind. He had a few bandages around his legs and torso under his waist coat. He had been found injured after all. Celestia got up from her throne to meet them halfway. She smiled at Twilight and hugged her student. "Thank you for coming, Twilight." She let go of the princess of friendship. Twilight nodded. "Of course Princess." She then moved a bit to the side. "This is Igniteus. He is the pony I found in ponyville." Igniteus bowed before Celestia. He was very respectful. "Welcome Igniteus. I am Princess Celestia." She said kindly. "I welcome you to my kingdom." She added on. Igniteus raised his head and nodded. He smiled gently. "Thank you, your highness." He said with poise. His voice was semi deep but soft and kind. "I am grateful you have agreed to speak with me. I'll get right to it. I am here in your kingdom because I am looking for my prince. I lost sight of him when I was fleeing our kingdom. And I worried he might have ended up here in your kingdom. And that he might be hurt." His face darkened. It was like Igniteus was unsure if he should say more or not. After all, Just because Celestia Agreed to meet with him, didn't mean she had good intentions. In the end though, the thought of his prince in pain and needing help out weighed the risk. Igniteus hesitantly spoke again. "His name is Izar and he is what you would call a male Alicorn. I am very worried about him, Your grace." Upon hearing this information, Celestia almost froze in place. This was it, this pony did have the answers she was looking for. But, she didn't want to risk others knowing. And she wasn't ready for others to know. She looked to Twilight. "Thank you for bringing him here, Twilight. I wish to speak with him in privately." Twilight nodded. "I understand princess." Twilight made her way to leave. She was also trying her best to hide her shock at hearing that a male alicorn might be real and is somewhere in Equestria right now. But Twiight didn't know that he was very close by. "Please, Follow me." Celestia said to Igniteus after Twilight had left the room. He nodded and agreed to follow. Celestia lead him through the castle in the direction of where Izar was. This was a bit risky, for Igniteus could be lying. He could just be here to hurt Izar. But for some reason, Celestia felt like they wasn't his intention. His eyes had been sincere when asking about Izar. Soon they reached the door to Izar's room. Celestia Knocked. "It's Me." She said. A voice came from the other side. "Come in." Izar said. Celestia opened the door, holding it open for Igniteus to follow. "So how did it-" Izar started to speak but then stopped when he saw Igniteus. He was shocked. This unicorn before him looked so familiar. He just couldn't place it. "Do I...know you?" He asked Igniteus. Igniteus was shocked as he stood before Izar. "Milord. I am so glad I found you." He said. He then gave Izar a confused expression. "Know me? Milord, it is me, Igniteus, your Butler. I helped raise you after your parents died." Izar just looked more confused and then apologetic. "I'm sorry." He said, rubbing his hoof on the back of his head. "I don't know who you are..." Izar looked down, embarrassed. Igniteus looked horrified. "What has happened to Milord prince?" He said. Celestia walked over. It was now her turn to speak. She explained to the butler pony the events up until now. Igniteus was shocked. "I can't believe it." He said. He was at a loss for words to say to Izar. "I had hoped my second visit to this kingdom would be on a good note..." He said softly. Celestia looked confused. "Wait you have been here before?" She asked curious. Izar looked just as curious. Igniteus nodded. "I have but it was many years ago. Back when milord's Parents were still alive and a bit before you came to rule, princess." Igniteus said. Celestia looked a bit confused. "A bit before I came to rule? That was over 1000 years ago." She trailed off. It was just a crazy idea. Normal Ponies didn't live that long. But then again, Igniteus wasn't from Equestria. "Um Where is it that you come from if I may ask?" Celestia said, changing the subject. Igniteus glanced over at Izar then looked back at Celestia. "I come from the kingdom of Neozarria were milord was the ruling Prince there...at least he was before the fall." Igniteus seemed a bit sad to mention that Neozarria had fallen. Izar was just as shocked as Celestia. "So I am a prince?" Izar questioned. Igniteus nodded. Izar was surprised. "Wow. Well guess that explains the silver and bronze I have on. And the crown too." Igniteus nodded in agreement. He then turned to Celestia. "I am deeply grateful to you for finding Milord and helping with his injuries. We are truly indebted to you." Igniteus bowed. Celestia panicked a bit. "Oh um there is no need to bow to me. I just wanted to help when I saw him hurt." She said quickly, her cheeks a bit red from being flustered. Igniteus raised his head. "I think I'll stay here, if that is alright with you, princess. I am happy to have found milord again and I want to stay to protect him." Igniteus said. "I also want to help him maybe recover his memory." Celestia nodded. "As long as it is alright with Izar." She said, looking to Izar. Izar nodded in agreement. "I would like to you stay, Igniteus. You are the only connection i have right now to who I was in the past. I need and want to know who I was and what happened to me." Izar said with a kind look in his eyes. Igniteus nodded, a smile on his face. "Thank you Milord." He looked to Celestia. "And thank you princess for helping milord prince and for letting me be here." Celestia nodded. She smiled at the both of them. "I have a room for you set up." She said. "For now, You'll have to share this one, is that alright?" Igniteus nodded. Celestia smile. "Alright. Well I'll leave you two to get reacquainted. I have some things to do. I'll be back this evening." She got up to leave the room. "Thank you again, Princess." Igniteus said. He smiled, his vibrant golden yellow eyes showing he was grateful. Celestia nodded then left the room. As she walked away, it was now clear that this whole thing was bigger than Celestia thought it was. And this was the time to tell her sister what was going on. Celestia knew she couldn't fully sort this out alone. And the one other person she could trust more than anything was the princess of the night. So it was decided, tomorrow, Celestia would tell Luna about everything. Celestia went to bed that night after visiting Izar and Igniteus, hopeful about tomorrow. She hoped Luna would understand and would be willing to be a part of the secret that a myth had become truth. Hope was the only thing Celestia felt as she drifted to the dream world. ~End of Chapter 3~