//------------------------------// // 5: Reunion // Story: Saving Their Souls // by Clever Name //------------------------------// Celestia and Luna were talking together in Luna's bedroom once more. Discussing the strange Human they had put their faith in. "-then he said it was his inner demon." Celestia said, recalling the days events. "What does that even mean?" "Now sister you must calm down." Luna suggested. Celestia paused her rant and took a deep breath. "Okay." Luna smiled and nodded. "Good, now let's think. What exactly is the problem?" Celestia paused. What was the biggest issue? The last obstacle? Why did she have a problem with him? "I can't trust him." She concluded. "I can't trust him because all he does is lie to us, and the truth only confuses us even more. I need him to tell me the truth about the Bloodbath before we can begin to make final decisions." Celestia looked to her sister. Who nodded again. "I agree. How do we get him to tell us the truth?" The sun Alicorn thought for a moment. "Who would he tell his past to? Who would he undoubtedly trust and speak the truth with every word to?" Celestia's eyes met her sisters and in that instant they both knew. "Maple." They said in unison. "But Rarity!" I whined as the Unicorn led me to her Boutique. "I'm fine." "But nothing. You only have the one outfit and it is currently stained in blood. I positively insist upon making you some proper clothes!" She opened the door to her shop. "Now in you go." I groaned, there was no reasoning with with her. She is easily the third most stubborn person I've met. I grudgingly walked through. "Honestly darling you're more stubborn than Rainbow Dash, and haven't even started." She trotted over to to her shelves and floated out some measuring tape. "I'm only going to measure you so I can start on your new outfits." I sighed, there was no use fighting it. "Okay, but on one condition." "What is it?" She asked unwavering. "No gems, diamonds, sequins, or anything sparkly in my clothes." Rarity paused her measuring for a moment to look at me. "Darling, I'm shocked you would think I would do such a thing. I will take into consideration that you're a male, I promise there will be nothing feminine or girly on any of them." I let out a breath. "Well thank you." "Although I do have to make you something to look nice in." She insisted. "Why? I'm not going to any dances or formal parties while I'm here. I'm going to figure out what's going on in the Everfree then leave." I said blandly. "Oh I know but can I please make it anyways? I may never get another chance to make an outfit for a human again, I don't want to waste this chance." she gave me a pleading look. I huffed. "Okay fine, just don't over do it." She smiled and went back to measuring. "I'll have at least one set done for you before dinner, you can pick it up around eight thirty." I noticed she didn't promise to not over do it. One hundred and twenty four seconds later, I know because I was counting the entire time, Rarity finished with her measuring and shooed me off so she could begin her work. I was hardly two steps out the door when I got a face full of Pinkie Pie. "Hiya!" She said enthusiastically, mere centimeters from my face. "Gah!" I jumped back and hit my head on the side of Rarity's Boutique. "Pinkie Pie." I groaned while rubbing the back of my head. "Can't you just casually walk up to someone?" She thought about that for a whole one second. "Nope!" She responded with a cheery smile. "Oh! That reminds me! There's gonna be a party tonight and you get to be the guest of honor!" Well that certainly was a surprise. "I'm the guest of honor?" Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously. "Why?" "Cause you deserve it silly! Be at Sugar Cube Corner at nine o clock!" With that she bounced off to do who knows what. "I deserve it?" I wondered aloud. All I've done is talk to a Dragon and shoot a couple Timberwolves, not really something party worthy but I could use the distraction. I looked up at the sun, it was still around noon so I had some time to kill. Now what could a human do for fun in in a magical land full of silly, colorful little Ponies? "Ready?" I asked the Cutie Mark Crusaders. "Ready!" They replied in unison. That's right. The big, mean, nameless Human, one of the few survivors of the Bloodbath, would fight anything without a moments hesitation, ripped a man's head right off his shoulders (he deserved it), was playing with three cute little Fillies. I had found the trio at Sweet Apple Acres and they were already working on a catapult, which is much to dangerous for Fillies. So I did the responsible thing and volunteered. "GO!" I yelled. With that they pulled the rope and I was shot out of the catapult, hopefully to the giant soft cushion we had set up earlier. The Crusaders pulled the release and I went flying. It was nice actually, soaring through the air, it gave you a real sense of freedom. I could see why Rainbow Dash likes it so much. Unfortunately I wasn't Rainbow Dash, which meant no wings, and no wings means falling... fast. We had underestimated where to put the giant cushion and I went flying over it. "Well shi-" was all I could get out before I landed in an Apple tree. I was still in a daze when I heard somepony calling me. "You all right there partner?" I gave my head a shake and saw Applejack standing under me, a glance and I saw Brian standing further behind her. "Actually, I feel great!" I untangled myself and fell to the ground with a loud thud, I quickly jumped to my feet and smiled. "I haven't felt that alive since well... a long time actually." Applejack just cocked her head in confusion. "You jus' smacked head first into an apple tree but alright, whatever floats yer boat." She turned around and trotted off to the house, which left me and Brian. "Brian." I said "Yes?" "I'm not mad." He seemed surprised. "Really? But I slipped so bad I almost snapped completely." I smiled lightly. "You needed it, don't you feel better now?" Brian took a deep breath. "Yeah, a little bit actually." I smiled a little more. "See? No harm done." His smile faded. "Thanks to Vinnie, why would you let me get away with everything I said?" I tried to act like it was no big deal and shrugged. "I expected it really, the only part that surprised me was how bad I slipped." "Why don't you do the same as I did and let it out, just a little bit?" I shook my head. "It's different for me. I don't hide it the same way you and Vinnie do." Brian was confused now, "really? How is there another way to hide it?" I let out a small breath, "it's just another thing you wont understand." He frowned. "That was kind of mean." Just then three familiar Fillies barreled into me, shouting happily. "You're okay!" "I was so worried!" "That was awesome!" Brian chuckled at the sight. "You're pretty good with kids you know that?" *** "Come on! Hurry up!" "You know, the cubs aren't going anywhere. They were just born after all." "I know I know I know. But I still wanna see them!" "Okay, you know what that means?" "Um, no." "It means... You gotta race me!" "Hey! That's no fair!" "Hahaha!" *** "Yeah, just natural I guess." I said quietly. I managed to pull the crusaders off of me. "Well thanks for letting me play with you, I'm going to go meet Twilight now." "Aaawww." They whined together. I chuckled. "I'll meet you later, but right now I have to meet her." "Okay mister. Promise you'll be back?" I flinched a little and if Brian caught it he wasn't saying anything. "Absolutely." I said confidently. The trio cheered and zipped off to go create havoc elsewhere. Brian turned to me. "What's up with that?" "Up with what?" I asked as if I didn't know. "You act like making a promise hurts you." Damn. "I had a chill that's all." I lied. Brian raised an eyebrow. I sighed. "Personal." was all I said before I turned and headed for the library. Those are some great kids aren't they? "Really? You just played this card." I said grudgingly. Wonder what they'll be like when they grow up. "Do you have a point or do you just like reopening old wounds?" Anything really, maybe a Chef, Mayor, Doctor, or I know! I braced myself. The Animal Caretaker? *** He pointed excitedly to the Lions. "Lookie lookie!" He shouted. "Those are Lions." I explained. He pointed at the Tigers. "Those?" He asked. "Tigers." I explained again. "Coooool." He said. "I wanna take care of all the animals when I get big and strong like you!" He announced. I laughed at his enthusiasm. "You know, I bet if you ask Charlette super nicely... she might let you help with some of the animals." His face brightened up at the thought. "Really?" He asked. "Really." I confirmed. He smiled brightly and ran off to the caretakers house calling for Charlette. I smiled too, because I was glad my little brother was happy as could be, regaurdless of our parents. *** I felt weak again and braced my arm against the nearest apple tree. "That was a low hit." I said with anger in my voice. Yeah well, so was letting them live. "You know what happened." Damn right I do! You got so angry you manage to rip his spear right out of you! Then, you chase them all the way back to their hideouts and literally tear everyone apart that's in your way! Then what do you do when you finally find them? You let them get away then you claim to be 'distracting' them while building that Corner with this Vinnie and Brian you've never met before. I had made my way into Ponyville now and was trying my best to hide my conversation. "Okay, first off. I didn't let them escape. The roof collapsed and they were long gone by the the time I was on my feet. Secondly, why are you so talkative lately anyways? You haven't been like this since before the Bloodbath." I said in a hushed whisper, I could have just thought it but it was easier to just say it aloud. Look around. "No, you just did that yesterday and it completely confused the Princesses... again." I was telling the truth about him in the beginning yesterday, even though it's a little more complicated than a simple inner demon. No, no, no. I'm serious, just have a glance. I took a breath and looked around me, it looked like I was on the main road. Ponies were everywhere, just talking, laughing, and having an overall good time. They were much better about Humans wandering around their town now, so they would only spare me a glance. "What about them?" I asked cautiously. See how similar it is? Replace the Ponies with people and it's almost an exact copy! You've been remembering this entire time, even if you didn't know it. "Which caused you to resurface." I guessed. Exactly. I was almost to Twilight's now, then I could end this. "What are you trying to do exactly?" What I've always done, from the moment I was first manifested. I'm helping you. I dropped the act for just a moment and realized he was right. Only, it wasn't the nameless one he was helping. "Okay, but you have to keep cool when Ponies are paying attention. Any other time I'll endure what you throw at me, deal?" I'll consider it, you're still him - in a way - after all. "Thanks." I said as I entered the Ponyville Library. I walked into the main room and saw Twilight talking with Rainbow Dash. "Hey." I said, getting their attention. They both turned to me. "Oh good you're here!" Twilight said gleefully. "As you may remember you'll be staying with Rainbow Dash for the next two days." I nodded, I remembered the conversation. When I asked how I was supposed stay in a house made out of clouds Twilight only said she had thought of that already. "Well I have taken the cloud walking spell, and after some hard work I've managed to make a potion of it!" "A cloud walking potion?" I wasn't too sure I heard that right. Twilight nodded excitedly. "Yes! Some of my best work in fact." She went upstairs and returned moments later with a vial containing blue liquid in it. She floated it over to me. "Here you are, drink up." I inspected the strange drink. It seemed to have a slight glow to it and it honestly didn't look like I would enjoy it that much. I glanced up and saw them both looking at me expectantly. I lifted the vial up. "Cheers." I said just before I tilted my head back and downed the entire drink in a few swallows. I was wrong about the taste, It had a blueberry after taste to it which I was actually enjoying. I handed the bottle back to the lavender Unicorn. "Not bad." Twilight smiled and turned to Rainbow Dash. "Now for the test." With a wild grin Rainbow flew out the door. "What is she-" Was all I could get out before I was lifted up in the air and dropped back down. Where I had anticipated a hard wood floor I was met with a fluffy cloud. I shot Twilight a look. "You could have just asked me you know?" Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." I waved a dismissive hand at the Pony, "no problem, I just prefer to know when I'm about to be lifted in the air." I bounced a little on the cloud, it felt more like a really nice pillow than anything else. I could see why Dash loved sleeping on them. "How long will the potion last?" I asked the purple Mare. She thought about it for a second. "I'd say about... fourteen days before it starts to wear out." I nodded while continuing my bouncing. "Cool." Rainbow Dash spoke up behind me with the same grin. "So, you ready to go flying?" I mimicked her grin. "Oh, absolutely." Rainbow had brought me to enormous heights and we were flying all over Ponyville at incredible speeds. I was holding on to the cloud for dear life, it was both exciting and terrifying at the same time. Rainbow shouted something at me but the wind was so loud I couldn't understand it. "WHAT?!" I shouted at her. "I SAID GET READY!" "FOR WHAT?!" I could almost hear her grin when she answered "THIS!" Suddenly the cloud was taken out from under me and I began to fall. I really should have been scared, terrified really. But something happened and I just enjoyed the free fall, I couldn't help but suspect my demon had something to do with it. I didn't pay it any attention though, I was fine with enjoying something. I ignored the fact that I was falling towards the ground at breakneck speeds and had a little fun. I tucked in my legs and started to flip through the air. I was laughing all the way down until I got a face full of fluffy cloud. I could hear a familiar Pegasus giggling. "Are you okay?" I tried to tell her I was fine but due to the cloud in my face all that came out was a mass of mumbling. Still laughing she asked again. I sat up and repeated myself. "Yeah, I feel great. It's easy to see why you like that so much." She smiled brightly. "Yeah. it's a great rush and it makes you feel so free." I looked around. "What time is it? I have to pick up some new clothes and I don't want to miss my first Pinkie Pie party." Rainbow almost gasped. "You've never been to one of Pinkie's parties before?" I shook my head. "No, and for whatever reason I'm the guest of honor." "Well it's probably your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party, everypony gets one but I'll be sure to ask her later." I nodded. "So where's your house anyways?" She looked around as well. "Well lets see, since we're right over the market it should be..." She turned around. "That way!" The Pegasus Mare did a flip and began to push the cloud I was on towards her house. It was a fairly short flight, although that was mostly due to the speed we were going. We finally stopped just outside the outskirts of Ponyville. As for her house it was like a replica of the small, two story houses you would see all over Ponyville, except it was made out of clouds. Rainbow Dash flew me right alongside of it and opened the door. "Come on in." She said cheerfully. I dismounted my cloud and walked into the cloud-house. It wasn't unlike anything I had expected really. A couch, a table, pictures along the walls and various trophies along the shelves on the walls. The owner of said home walked up next to me. "So, can I get you anything to eat?" Luna ran up to her sister in one of Canterlot Castle's many hallways, excitedly calling her name. Celestia turned to greet her. "Hello sister, I take it you have good news for me?" Luna nodded vigorously, which elected a small giggle from her older sister. "Oh yes! Pinkie Pie has already planned the party and invited the Human, Rarity is making him some formal attire, Rainbow Dash will be keeping him occupied until everything is ready, and Maple will also be arriving in just a moment. Celestia nodded. "Excellent, we shall prepare Maple. Then, we will introduce them just after the Human arrives at the party. Did Maple bring Stormy as well?" "Yes she was happy to bring him." Luna responded with a smile. "Then we can begin our preparations." In just a few hours the Princesses would finally get some of the truth, whether they liked it or not. I was once again sitting on a cloud that was floating high above the ground, only this time I was sitting peace fully and watching Rainbow Dash practice some of her new flight moves. It was nice up here, calm, peaceful, no distractions... So I've been looking around in some of your memories. Son of a bitch. And I've figured out which ones are most likely to get a reaction from you. I let out heavy sigh and watched the rainbow-maned Pegasus fly upwards while completing multiple barrel rolls. "Is that really a good idea while I'm two hundred feet in the air." You're not that high and I just want your opinion on some things. "Really? You don't know how I'm going to react to remember that everyone I knew was slaughter in front of me while I got to live?" Oh please, your life was hell even before the Bloodbath. You shouldn't undersell yourself like that. I failed to suppress a laugh. As much as I hated him he was still like an old friend to me, something I severely lacked at this point. In fact, I think I'll remind you of your childhood right now... "Well fuck you too." *** "But can I please go play with the other kids now?" "No! You have to train!" "But Dad! They don't have to train." "That's because they're weak! You have to train or else you'll be a pathetic weakling like everyone else!" "Can I skip just this one time?" SMACK! "No! You do what I tell you to or else I break your fucking skull!" *** I snorted, "that's it? I've made my peace with that asshole a long time ago. I think you're loosing your touch." Yes but... How did you make your peace? I froze. Exactly, you did what no other would do.. You did what only you could do. "Look, I get your point but you don't have to-" You took your own fathers life. "Hey! I did what had to be done, he was a tyrant! He terrorized everyone that looked at him! At least I was man enough to give him an honorable death." Maybe, but your intentions were quite the opposite. "How dare you say that! I did what any good man should do and defend the one he loved!" Lets have a good remembering then shall we? *** "Hey I'm back!" "Oh good, I'm happy that you're safe." "Hey, are you okay?" "Yes, why wouldn't I be?" "Well, you're not looking at me and I would really like to see you. "Um, okay. But, don't get mad..." "Why would I be mad?" ... ... "No, don't do anything bad." "Who?" "It's not that big a deal really, it's just-." "Please tell me..." "It- it's not so bad, I can't even feel it anymore..." "Listen. I love you and want to take care of you. Now please. Who hit you?" "Do you promise to not do anything bad to them?" "...You know I can't promise you that." "Please?" "I can't let anyone treat you like this and get away with it. I'll try to solve it peacefully but no promises." "Okay... It was..." "Could you say that a little louder?" "It was... Your father." ... "Now please don't do anything you'll regret." ... "I know you're angry." ... "But sometimes violence isn't the answer." ... "Um, are you okay?" "I'm going to kill him." *** This memory might just be my favorite, here, I'll even make it vivid for you. *** "You!" My shout echoed through the streets. He turned to me with a smug look. "So you finally came crawly back to your dear old dad?" My fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back and was completely shocked. "You dare hit me?!" He shouted. I punched him again. This time I knocked him off his feet. "How dare you hit her!" I shouted at him. He got to his feet. "The whore deserved it, she was distracting you and I had to make sure she knew her place." My vision was red. "How dare you call yourself my father! You beat me near senseless every day I was a child until I ran away, you made my mothers life so miserable she ended up killing herself, and now you not only hit the one I love but call her a whore? Then, after all this time. You still think you're in control?" I pulled out my training sword he had given to me as a boy, but I had kept it sharp. "I think you're the one that needs to be put in his place!" I yelled at him. I barley noticed that a crowd had encircled us. After some searching I spotted her along the inner circle of the crowd and saw her watching anxiously. Seeing that black eye again only made me hate the man in front of me even more. He laughed. "You think that you have what it takes to kill your own father?" He drew a sword of his own, nearly twice the size of mine. "I doubt it." I stared at him. "You're no father." "That's what you think, but no matter what. You will always be my son." "Is that what you think?!" My hatred was almost uncontrollable at this point. "Do you even know that Mom had another child!?" His expression told me no. "Do you know why she killed herself?!" He remained silent. "As soon as he was born Mother killed herself, and do you know why?" Silence. "Because of you! She couldn't stand to see another one of her children go through the beatings that you had given me so she killed herself! Then what happened to the baby? I took him in and raised him! Not on my own though. Oh no, I raised him with her!" I pointed to my lover. "Because I love her!" The way he looked at her made me tighten my grip. "Know how I met her? Of course not! It was directly after I ran away from you! I've been staying with her since!" He continued to stare at the woman I loved. "You selfish whore." Then he charged at her, sword at the ready. That. Was. Fucking. It. I brought my blade across calf, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground. He looked around. "Well don't just stand there! Get him!" The crowd didn't move an inch. "What are you doing? Obey your king!" Not a single person even blinked. He clumsily got to his feet and stared daggers at me. "You've been a thorn in my side since you were first born, time to take you out." He clumsily ran over to me and raised his weapon. I responded by parrying his sword with my own and bringing it down, slicing his chest. He roared in rage and swung at me, I ducked and cut him again. This time across his stomach. In a hateful last attempt he tried to spear me with his blade, I mearly side stepped him and elbowed his throat. He fell over in a heap. I circled him with my sword pointed at his heart. "You're a sad old man that has been given too much power. It's about time I put you out of your misery." I crouched next to him. "You know what my only regret is? That it took me so long to do this." I stood up and addressed the crowd. "Who's with me?!" They all cheered as my blade pierced my fathers heart. *** You would think I would cringe at the memory, or show some sign of discomfort of the fact I had killed my father shamelessly in front of everyone. Nope. I absolutely loved it. My father was practically a slaver. After he had defeated our previous ruler he turned into a tyrant and everybody did what he said. They were all too scared to speak against him so they simply submitted. If you think 'that can't be so bad' you'd be dead wrong. We had no freedom, he had a few loyal guards that patrolled the streets and kicked down doors of anybody that looked like they were even thinking something bad about him. Which was pretty much everybody. Not only were we under constant watch, he took away our names. It was his symbol of control. He would name us to show that he owned us, sometimes he would forget about someone completely and they would spend a large part of their lives without an identity. Once he was dead we all picked our own names to show we were independent, which is why names meant so much to us. We even carried the tradition long after that time had passed, when the children were old enough they could pick their own names. All except for Me and Miranda. We were so in love at that time that we picked each others names, to show that we belonged to each other. It was an enormous sign of trust. Even though she wasn't always named Miranda, from the moment I first saw her she would always be Miranda to me. So when she died a part of me had died with her. That part just happened to have my name. Woo! We really just had a stroll down memory lane didn't we? "You're kind of an asshole you know that?" Just doing my job. "Would you believe me if I said that I actually thought I could just watch Rainbow Dash in peace?" Well you should of know better. I snorted again. Looking up I saw Rainbow flying towards me. "So? What did you think?" She asked once she got closer. "That was pretty amazing." It was the truth, the parts I was paying attention to were really cool. But then I got distracted by my 'demon'. She sat down on the cloud next to me. "Yeah, that's what everypony keeps telling me." Her eyes slowly closed before they suddenly shot back open and she jumped to her hooves. "Sweet Celestia it's nearly sunset already!" I looked at the horizon, true to her word there was indeed an orange glow reaching out across the land as Celestia's sun began it's decent. Before I knew it the Pegasus at my side had taken control of my cloud and was now lowering me very quickly. "So sorry about this but I gotta go and Rarity's shop is that way bye!" She shouted in a rush as she dashed off towards someplace in Ponyville. With a shrug I jumped off my cloud and walked to Rarity's Boutique. I knocked on the door to Rarity's store three times firmly and waited. "I'm coming!" Rarity said in a sing song voice. Not a moment later the door was opened by Rarity herself. "There you are! I've been waiting for you." I rubbed the back of my head nervously. "Yeah, sorry I was kind of stuck on a cloud for a while." Rarity cocked her head in confusion but decided to not question it. "Well you're here now and that's what's important, now please come in." She gestured inside with a hoof. I stepped inside while Rarity explained the situation. "Now, Pinkie's party starts in about five minutes and it's a three minute walk. That gives us just enough time to get you into your new clothes and see how well they fit." I was still worried about the amount of gems that could be on it. "Um, okay. Sounds good." Was all I could say as Rarity floated over my new clothes. They were nice to say the least, and I was happy to see the absence of gems on them. It was only a pair of light brown cargo shorts and a white tee shirt, which was fine by me, the simpler the better. I turned to the dress maker. "Thanks, they'll work just fine." Rarity nodded happily. "Good, good. Now quickly put them on, we can't miss this party." she said pushing me into the changing booth. Just moments later I walked out wearing my fresh new clothes, they were a perfect fit and comfortable too. When I voiced my compliments to Rarity she only thanked me quickly. "Yes, yes. Thank you, but right now we need to get to the party!" She exclaimed, clearly excited for the party. "Okay okay, lets go." Celestia and Luna stood among the crowd of Ponies gathered at Sugar Cube Corner. "Does everypony remember what to do?" The elder of the sisters asked. When the reply was positive Pinkie Pie jumped up and cheered. "Then let's get this party started!" When Rarity and I walked through the doors of Sugar Cube Corner it felt like I was hit by a party cannon. There were Ponies everywhere, dancing, laughing, and playing. A white Unicorn behind the turntables, I recognized her as Viynl Scratch. Clearly the party was already in full swing. The speakers were pounding out techno music, there were multicolored balloons cover the ceiling and streamers lining the walls. What made me uncomfortable was how much everypony was looking at me, they all seemed to be sneaking glances at me expectantly, like they knew something. Unfortunately none of their gazes lasted long enough for me to read their eyes. I looked around and saw that Rarity had already begun to mingle. I had no idea what to do in a room full of partying Ponies. Luckily for me though, Pinkie Pie did. "Hiya!" She shouted right into my face once again. "Good to see you made it! I threw this whole party just for you ya know!" I nodded. "Yeah, I know. So why did you throw the party?" She patted the top of my head. "Don't you worry your pretty little head, auntie Pinkie Pie will take care of it." I was about to object, but then again she has been around for almost a hundred and a half years longer than me. "Okay, whatever you say." She giggled excitedly and bounced off into the crowd. These Ponies defiantly knew something that I didn't. I had no idea how to mingle with a different species, let alone a cartoon of it. I talked to various Ponies that I had seen before, but it was hard to strike up a good conversation seeing as how I had nothing in common with them. I moved to where the food had been placed out and began t wonder why I really was helping these Ponies. I wasn't really a big deal I suppose it's not like I was busy. I looked around while munching on a cookie and noticed a lack of my Human friends, why wouldn't they be invited? Or were they just late? My thoughts were interrupted when the music abruptly stopped and two Alicorns walked through the door. Everypony had moved aside, creating a path from them to me through the crowd. Okay, this was defiantly rehearsed. Rainbow Dash and her five friends were next to the door, was this where she had rushed off to? Celestia spoke, drawing the attention of everypony in the room. "Human, I know that you have a past that you may not want to share with us. But please, let us thank you for all that you are about to give. When you venture into the deepest parts of the Everfree Forest in just a few days, you my not come back." "This is so exciting!" "Shush!" Luna was next to speak. "We admit to watching you when you thought you were alone and talking to this... inner demon of yours. We admit to hearing what you thought nopony has heard. When you mentioned no real reason to fight, and that you could be stronger. We wish to give you something to fight for, something to protect once more." I could feel anticipation radiating off the Ponies surrounding me as the sisters stepped aside to allow two new Ponies to enter the store. I didn't recognize either of them from the show. One was a Pegasus Mare with a scarlet coat, a flowing sky blue mane and tail, pink eyes, with a golden heart surrounded by four smaller hearts as a cutie mark. She was flanked by a young Earth Pony Colt, still too young to have his Cuite mark. He had a darker blue coat and matted black mane and tail, it looked as though it had recently been attempted to be combed, but to no avail. He also had silver eyes, which I have never seen on any other Pony before. It was what was Mare's left ear that caught my interest. A flower, a Dandelion to be specific. Not something I would think a Mare's first choice would be, perhaps a rose or something. Staring at it for a moment sparked a memory. *** "Here." "Oh! A flower, how did you ever find one?" "I saw it growing under a light in the Snake pit and I just had to get it for you." "Awww, thanks... There, how does it look?" "Amazing." *** Then there was the Colt with the blue and silver colors. I looked into their eyes and they were both thinking the same thing. "It's really him. The Mare and Colt smiled warmly at me. Something clicked, Celestia and Luna could retrieve souls and bring them here. What were the odds that I knew who was standing in front of me? It all made sense, the Dandelion, the black, blue, and silver on the Colt. I could barley breath. My breath caught in my throat. I forced one word out, one name, the name that meant everything to me. "Miranda?"