The strange memory event has passed, and it's been two months since Rhyan and Rarity almost revealed their relationship to the school, on many occasions. But Rhyan spotted something in his other friends after they welcomed Wallflower Blush into their little group. All was well in the world of magic, but some things aren't always completely gone. They just linger in the shadows, waiting for the opportune moment to spring back in anyone's face.
Within them all, one very special thing is amiss and Rhyan feels like he should know what it is, but has made a decision to stay with his girlfriend for a little while longer before anything else happens. She notices he's been distracted by thought just by the subtle changes in his behaviour in the last few weeks since summer vacation had started and started to ponder if she should pursue this change in him, knowing he was going to be honest with her about his thoughts.
'Rhyan, Darling,' Rarity whispers, leaning into him as they share her bed. 'Are you sure you're okay?' Her voice was soothing to Rhyan, as he pulls her closer to his side.
'Well, I'm ...' He replies, but is at a loss for words. 'Thinking back to the night that I arrived here, I can't help but want to know why I can't remember anything. SInce I've been aware of it, I always get this feeling that I'm a different person.' Rarity draws a finger across his toned chest, through his PJ top, as he talks before laying it flat and leaning her head against him.
'Darling, I'm sure there's a pretty good reason why your memories have been frozen.'
'I know, but I wish I knew why I keep feeling this way.' he whispers back in a soft grumble while rubbing his face in frustration. He huffs out a long, deep sigh before wrapping his arm around her, falling asleep after a few more minutes of talking together.
The next day comes all too quickly. Surprisingly, Pinkie Pie walks up to them on their walk to the park, with Melody in tow, holding hands. Both Rhyan and Rarity are a little bit taken aback, but not so surprised that it had shown on their faces.
Their plan to be alone in the park slowly seemed like it was going to be enjoyed by their friends too. The walk was a bit noisier as the summer break had lots of student couples milling around the calm lake with a soft ambience of young, teenage voices mingling through the summer air.
'Wow, I wasn't expecting to see this many people here around this time.'
'Me neither, Sparky.'
He looks incredulously at her, surprised at her sudden nickname and giggles anxiously.
'Did you just call me "Sparky"?'
'Oh no! I didn't mean for that to slip out!' A look of panic on her face appears, with a very warm blush on her cheeks.
'It's okay. It's not like I have one for you, RaeRae.'
He deliberately uses his nickname out loud, hoping to catch her off guard. It pays off, as she gives the same incredulous look back at him, before they just laugh and hug sideways. As they approach an ice-cream truck, Rarity checks her bag, only to notice something is missing.
'Oh dear, I think I left something at home. Could you-'
In a flash of green lightning for just over five or so seconds, he's gone, only to return with one of her other handbags. Purple, with three diamonds stitched into the side with a styling that displays her name in nothing but fancy curves and twists.
'I believe this is the bag you're thinking of?'
'Why I do believe it is! Thank you so much, darling!'
'You're welcome!' He replies, with an exaggerated bow, making everybody, including Melody and himself, laugh.
This laugh didn't go unnoticed, as Rainbow Dash and Applejack appeared together, Twilight with Sunset holding Spike and Fluttershy with an older, new boy all arrive from different directions. For most of them, something didn't feel right with the new kid, but Rhyan got the impression that he'd do anything to be a good friend for Fluttershy. There seemed to be a weird aura of, well, chaos about him.
After a sweet, first day of summer antics with the nine of them hanging out, they all went home feeling spent and with different partners. Fluttershy with Dash, AJ with Twilight and Spike, and Rarity with Sunset and Rhyan. The boy had introduced himself as Desmond Cordial, but prefers the nickname of Discord, saying it was a mix of the beginning to his first and last name in response to Rhyan's curiosity.
TIme flies by as the first two weeks of summer go by, but nightmares keep him awake at night. It was only a few weeks after the memory mishaps that he'd been getting these weird but familiar dreams, ending up with something blurry and scary whenever he woke up. He knew something was trying to break through his amnesia, but the trauma behind the vivid recreation within his nightmares was keeping them from appearing during the day.
After Sunset's latest message to Princess Twilight, Rhyan did another visit to the "Land of Equines", as he dubbed it when Rarity didn't want to see him go back there again. The visit had only been a short one, just for Princess Luna to peek into his nightmares and see what was troubling him with his amnesia, but something wasn't just keeping him out, but her as well. Even Twilight had been brought into his dream world, experiencing his slightly different perspective on the world around him.
Curiosity got the better of her and with some help, went with Rhyan back through to the memory of waking up in the first aid room. Somehow, in one way or another, in the pony reality, his memory stone, now hiding within his cutie mark, was glowing vibrantly from behind the green gem, seeping its spiral shape into the gem itself.
The glow fades as they stop viewing the memories, but when the time came for them to leave the dream world and wake up Twilight did in fact notice his Cutie Mark, and that beyond everything she knew, had indeed changed while they'd been reviewing his dreams again and what the weird, fuzzy "car memory" was all about.
Returning home, Rhyan is reunited with his girlfriend, revealing what had happened. She also points out to him that his two necklaces had fused into one while he'd been gone.
'Rhyan, Darling, didn't you have two necklaces before you went through the portal-thingy?'
'huh?' He looks down. 'Oh, yeah. Wait... They've fused?!'
This got the attention of Sunset, but besides this unexpected change, they decided it would be best to just let his magic do its thing.
But the worst thing happens around the twenty-third nightmare, his latest one. The voices were very familiar, but they didn't match the voices of the girls he was close with. He could hear happy voices, then the overbearing boom of a thunderstorm wrecks his dream world and he finds himself feeling extremely warm and mumbling names and some muffled yelling. He wakes up sweating and worked up, finding Rarity is hugging him very tightly, also wide awake, with a look on her face comprised of being scared, caring, upset and worried for him when she pulls back after realising he's now awake and not shaking or screaming anymore.
Rhyan was told, in the most soothing voice, that he had been convulsing and screaming out names of people she didn't know, his body shaking like crazy as if he'd been electrocuted and his eyes had been glowing softly in the dark room with wisps of sparks dancing through his tears.
After a long hug, she suggests he go for a run, like Dash would do whenever she has nightmares. Taking her up on the offer, with a kiss on the lips they shared for a minute or two, he puts on his black tracksuit with fancy, green, electricity-styled stitching to match his ability. His first time wearing this tracksuit, he could smell the perfume softly emitting from around the collar, knowing she'd probably fallen asleep on it when she'd worked on it.
After taking a peek outside at the quiet, early-morning streets, he zips away at hyperspeed, loosely pondering about his dreams and nightmares as well as why they're so strongly vivid but locked away from him. Unfortunately, as he runs, he finds that he's actually making a lot of noise in the quiet streets as windows are being lit up as he turns down every street.
Running out of the town, he takes a scenic detour, running up to and through Manehatten, getting the same response, then through Cloudsdale with less of a response but enough to suggest he avoid busy areas. He takes a lot of quiet but long country roads when something seems off about his speed, as it cuts out mid run. Luck was on his side this time, as he slides to a long stop, burning his soles and wearing them down a little, before realising that he'd stopped outside the road to Camp Everfree.
Something weird was going on whenever he was anywhere near this place and it also reflected in the emotional connection with his necklace, but the resulting problem was probably something he'd plan on dealing with way later, it wasn't that important to him right now.
Not knowing that the school had issued a summer camp trip to Camp Everfree again, during the summer, he jogs 'normally' until his necklace flashes briefly once and begins to shine again he's far enough away, then zips back home. He's welcomed back by Rarity and Sweetie Belle and a lovely cup of hot chocolate with a few small marshmallows, then they all sit together and just relax into the early morning, as Sweetie Belle goes back to bed thinking that Rhyan is a great father-like figure for her, even though he's dating her sister.
All is well, when something from deep within Camp Everfree, back in the cave of crystals, began to glow. The cave began to shimmer in a mixture of silver and pink colouring, just before a portal appears in the middle of the room and really close to the pedestal that was once home to the geodes of the seven girls.
The portal shimmers rapidly then disappears in a flash of impossible, silver coloured light and a young girl with blonde hair in two long ponytails and a skin complexion similar to Applejack's. Brushing her long hair back, then doubling over in the cave behind some rocks, she wipes her mouth and stumbles out into the world.
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'Where am I?! This isn't Aerylidale...'