The next morning I woke up naturally. Today was more overcast than yesterday, and slightly humid to boot. I'd have put money on it raining later, but I had none. But that was beside the point, as I had a different conundrum to deal with. That being my memories.
Last night I'd had a look at some of the books on the shelves. Most were various fictions, some of heroes and magic, some romance, some crime noirs, but the most eye-catching was a series called Daring Do. From what the cover had said, it starred the titular pegasi who went adventuring on the Equestrian frontiers, vying for control of precious artifacts against her villainous rival Dr. Caballeron and the evil Ahuizoltl. Some of the plots seemed contrived, and the books hadn't been touched for awhile. One of them still had a bookmark inside from whomever had been reading last.
I had a stretch, freshened myself up, and went downstairs to the kitchen, where Applejack was waiting for me.
"Well lookie here, ah was just about to come wake you." she said.
"Morning, Applejack. All ready to go?" I greeted her.
"Yep, just grabbin' a quick snack." she replied. On the counter was a bowl of sliced apples.
"Spare a slice?"
Applejack nodded and tossed one my way. I went to catch it in my mouth, but it just bounced off my nose. She chuckled a bit as I recoiled, but tossed me another one. This one I did manage to catch and chewed heartily. She shook her head in mock disapproval before scooping the missed shot off the ground and giving it a quick rinse before eating it herself. The slices left in the bowl were poured into a lidded container, which was placed in the saddlebag that she was wearing.
"Just a snack for the road." Applejack explained.
"How far is Ponyville?" I asked.
"Not long at all. Half an hour walk, abouts." said Applejack.
"Then pitter patter." I began.
"Let's git at 'er." Applejack finished.
I was fairly quiet on the walk to town, mostly due to anticipation. I'd only seen this town from afar, and heard a little about it from Applejack. To try and relieve that anticipation I took in the scenery. Most of the area outside town is, or was at some point, farmland. You could tell by the scattered copses of trees, and by the shadows of the old field boundaries, and of course by the fields that were still being tended. Applejack waved at a few of the other farmers as we passed by.
You know," I said as we passed a group of farmers hard at work. "I think it's best if we keep my little secret as close as possible. I could attract some unfortunate attention if it reaches the local rumour mills."
Applejack stopped for a moment and held her hat over her chest. She solemnly said, "Not my secret, not my place to tell. Ah'd only bring it up if it were in th' interest of safety. It's rude to gossip behind a pony's back, anyhow."
"Thanks. Hopefully I can figure it out with the help of your friend. What was her name again?" I replied.
"Her name's Starlight. Starlight Glimmer." said Applejack.
"Where abouts does she live?" I asked. We could just now see the edge of town. Ponies were out and about doing all sorts of things. Sweeping their doorsteps, chatting with friends, going for a walk, hawking their wares out of various stalls in the street.
"She lives in the big ol' castle on the other side of town."
I frowned slightly. "It's a pretty striking place. Has she done any additions to it, or did it come like that?"
"Well, it sorta sprouted from the ground one day." she chuckled.
"Sprouted from the ground? Is there some kind of tree that grows castles around here?" I questioned her.
"Sorta, until a while ago at least. It was this magical tree in the Everfree Forest, under the old castle's ruins, had these things called the Elements of Harmony that my friends an' ah used to defeat evil. It's a long story."
"No kidding." I said skeptically.
In the skies above a rainbow coloured streak zipped and zapped through the air. It went straight through several sizable clouds, smashing them into dust. I had to wonder how that worked. Applejack didn't comment on it, so it must have been a fairly common sight around here.
For all intents and purposes Ponyville seemed like a nice little town. Not so large that it got claustrophobic and lacked space to actually move around; not so small that it lacked some of the nicer things about city living. The houses were old fashioned, with thatched roofs. Their walls were made of white plaster, with thick wooden poles at regular intervals, and planks to cover the diagonals. As we walked down the street a few people stopped and said quick "Hello"s and "How's the family"s to Applejack, the various polite things you'd say to someone you see often but aren't particularly close to. It was all so... benign. For some reason I couldn't help but feel a sense of dread. Something about being here made the hairs on the back of my neck stick straight up.
Then something up high caught my attention. At the very top of the large carousel-like building in the centre of town there was a flash of movement. Danger? A moment after I'd spotted it, it vanished. It probably wasn't dangerous, at least not yet. Whatever it was, it unnerved me. I suddenly felt exposed in the wide street, and kept an eye out for decent cover. I relaxed slightly when we passed a building that broke the line of sight from that tower.
If something went down, what was my plan of action? Evasion and escape. Here, near the centre of town, the buildings were clustered tightly, with narrow alleys leading all over. I'd be able to stay out of line of sight and lose any possible assailants through those before making my way out of town. Lacking weapons, I'd need to improvise --
"Nervous in crowds?"
I half jumped out of my skin. "Y-yeah, sort of." I stuttered.
The crowd wasn't really that large, but it wasn't the crowd itself I was worried about: it was what the crowd could hide. Anyone who wanted to make trouble could hide themselves in one, could hide an explosive in one. A crowd meant danger could be lurking right behind you and you wouldn't even know it. But... why did I know that? It made sense, but I couldn't place why. The fog on my mind was as thick as ever, vast and impenetrable. It was less aggressive than it had been yesterday, like it was stabilizing somehow. A further thought brought on a shiver of existential dread. What would happen to the memories locked away behind the fog? Would they be gone forever?
"Well, here we are, Ink Blot." Applejack said.
The castle was much more magnificent up close. The entire thing was a crystalline structure that sprouted up like a tree, and in the branches of that tree was nestled a castle. Though it was really closer to a palace, since it didn't have much in the way of a built up defensive structure. It towered at least 6 full stories from the door at ground level to the very highest window, three times the size of the Apple Family Homestead. The last thing of note I could see on the castle itself were a series of scattered balconies. Beside the castle was a sprawling collection of buildings which I hadn't seen from the hill the other day. It looked sort of like a school campus. It probably was a school campus.
It seemed like we'd arrived at just the right time. A pink mare with purple hair had just left the castle and was on her way towards the campus. There was a light blue streak through her mane that caught my eye. "Hey, Starlight, do you have a minute?" Applejack called out to her.
She turned and waved to us with a smile. "Hi Applejack, just on the way to open up for morning classes. Who's your friend?"
"This here is Ink Blot, he's got himself a bit of a pickle that ah think you can help him out with."
I gave her a little return wave and a half smile, but it was hard to keep it up for long.
"Won't be able to help at the moment. Faculty meeting in fifteen minutes and I can't afford to miss it. If it's a friendship thing, Trixie would be glad for an excuse to miss it. Best to get in to see her before the day gets rolling anyway, the Counselor's Office can get pretty busy." Starlight chuckled.
"Can't you spare a few minutes?" Applejack asked.
Starlight sighed. "We can talk on the way to the meeting room."
"Thanks, Starlight." said Applejack.
The interior of the campus building we entered had high vaulted ceilings in a style vaguely complimenting the stylings of Ponyville, but it was much more ornate. I couldn't quite place the era, but it reminded me of some sort of church. "So what exactly is the problem?"
"So a few days ago I woke up in the middle of the woods without any memories." I said nervously, my voice cracking slightly.
"You just woke up there? Nothing else?" she asked.
"Well, it hurt to think, and I couldn't remember anything about myself. Who I am, where I'm from, social security number, what bank I use. I could remember stuff like algebra, but it's like there's some kind of fog on my mind. Or like someone spilled ink while trying to write."
Starlight shrugged. "Maybe you hit your head. Have you been to a doctor?"
"That's not all," I interjected. "I eventually found Sweet Apple Acres, and offered to work in exchange for a place to stay the night. But when we had dinner, I remembered something. It was the cobbler. My grandma made cobbler the exact same way, except with peaches instead of apples. For a moment, the fog lifted and I could remember her, because of the cobbler."
"That's pretty weird." she said after a moment.
"Do ya think you could do some of th' memory magic you did for Twilight with him?" Applejack asked politely.
"...Maybe. It's intriguing. What exactly do you want me to do?" Starlight replied.
I tapped the side of my head. "I want you to see if you can get rid of the mind fog. Clean up the spilled ink."
"That's a lot of metaphors."
"Well I don't have any other way to describe it." I shrugged , trying not to let my frustration show.
"Give me a moment." Starlight said.
Her horn was enveloped by a soft blue glow, the same blue that streaked through her mane. She lowered her head to direct her horn squarely at my forehead. I felt a soft tickle in the back of my skull, coaxing me, asking me to relax. It sent a shiver up my spine and down my tail. I closed my eyes, doing my best to try...
And nothing happened.
I looked between Applejack and Starlight awkwardly. Applejack shrugged. A bead of sweat formed on Starlight's forehead and she frowned. That frown quickly turned into a grimace as she began to shake with exertion. Suddenly, a flash of blue energy blinded me and threw us to the ground.
"Jumpin' Jackalopes-- are you two alright?" Applejack rushed over, the clatter of her hoof beats making my ears throb. My head hurt too, like I had a hundred migraines all at once.
I groaned and opened my eyes in time to see Starlight stagger to her hooves. "I-- what? That's not supposed to happen!" she panted.
"Well what was supposed to happen?" I asked groggily.
"That's not a head injury," Starlight said as she collected herself. "That's a curse, a very nasty one. It's blocking your memories. No doubt about it."
Applejack helped me up. "So someone did that to him?"
"Had to have..." Starlight trailed away before dusting herself off.
"Oh, wonderful. What the hell was that flash?" I muttered.
"The curse reacted negatively to my attempts to dispel it. Whoever cast it on you doesn't want you remembering anything." Starlight explained
"Can you still try and get rid of it?"
She thought for a moment. "...I'm not sure. I'd need a longer term study of it, and who knows the time it'd take until I got rid of it?"
"At least you tried. Enjoy that meeting, or whatever." I said with a sigh. I glanced at Applejack and turned to leave.
"Wait."
I looked back at Starlight.
"Come with me. I've got an idea."
Starlight lead Applejack and I back out of the campus and into the castle. The main entrance opened into a grand hall with many rooms along the sides, and a passage that lead around a circular room in the centre of the trunk. High above floated large crystals which cast light throughout the room. At even intervals, tapestries and paintings of various descriptions made the walls look less bare. She lead the way down one of the side passages, past the door to the central room which had been left ajar. Inside I spotted six crystalline thrones, arrayed around a large circular table.
We followed the passage, which twisted around that central room, with several passages leading off like wagon spokes. Moving down one of the spokes and went up a flight of stairs, we eventually entered into a single large library room that occupied at least three floors. All along the walls, from the floor all the way up to the roof were bookshelves absolutely crammed full of books. Two spiral staircases allowed access to the second level, while a single rickety ladder stretched up to the highest shelves. Even with the amount of shelving space, there were still stacks and stacks of books scattered around the room. Half a dozen strong wooden tables were scattered around the floor space, clusters of random pages, scrolls, and opened books adorning them. Starlight sat herself down at one table and unceremoniously shoved the mess onto the floor.
"Tell me about what happened again. I need to document this." she said as she floated out a quill and paper.
"What about the meeting?" I asked.
"Good point," Starlight replied. She quickly wrote out something on a sheet of parchment, then folded it and sent it away with a flash. "Sunburst can take care of it."
"Ah thought you said it was important?" Applejack questioned.
"It is! I just don't actually want to go to it. Now, tell me in as much detail as you can." Starlight smiled.
I began to explain what I knew, starting from the moment I woke up in the woods. I told it in much the same way as I experienced it, except for omitting the part where I'd been eavesdropping. That would have been rather awkward with Applejack right here. I did appreciate her being here to offer support, though she stayed relatively quiet. The quill rasped along the page as I spoke, filling one, then two. When I mentioned the cobbler, Starlight perked up for some reason.
"Describe the cobbler." she requested.
"A nice balance of sweet and tart, the apple chunks were soft and but not without a bit of crispness. Hint of cinnamon for taste. It wasn't one of those crumbly cobblers either, it was more of a soft bake. It was served with a side of vanilla ice cream, just a single scoop, left to melt a little before eating." I said.
"This cobbler, why did it stand out enough for you to mention?"
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I could almost taste it again. "When I ate it, something happened," I began. "The taste, the texture, the presentation, it jogged my memory. All of a sudden the fog in my mind lifted and I remembered that my grandma regularly made cobbler that was almost identical in taste, texture, and presentation. The only difference was that she used peaches instead of apples. It's probably one of my favourite deserts."
"Interesting," Starlight said to herself softly. "Have there been any other moments like that?"
"No. Something came close earlier today while we were coming to see you, but it didn't bring back any memories."
"Elaborate."
"Well, while we were walking down the main street. The street was busy, and in the back of my mind I remembered that I had to be wary of crowds. Could be anything lurking in a crowd, trouble hiding behind a friendly mask. Then, of course, I noticed something watching us from the top of that big carousel-looking place." I explained.
"Reminds me of Klugetown." Applejack commented.
Starlight's ears perked up. "On top of the town hall? What did it look like?"
"Didn't get a good look. It disappeared, probably because it saw me looking. Only reason I saw it was because of something reflective it had." I replied, and Starlight scratched on the paper.
"So that covers today and the day you arrived. Did anything happen yesterday?"
I shook my head. "I worked, I ate, and I told Applejack... this."
"Ah thought you'd be the best suited to help Ink Blot out, so ah said ah'd bring him here to see ya." Applejack added.
Starlight scratched a few more lines onto the page before setting it down. "Interesting. Very interesting. I can't believe I almost dismissed this out of hoof."
"I'm glad I'm "interesting" enough for you." I muttered.
"Well, as far as I know there hasn't been anypony with a curse that affects memory like this. I'm the local expert on anything memory related, which isn't saying much since it's not exactly a field many ponies are interested in. Given time, I can look into breaking your curse and restoring your memories to the fullest."
"I'm sensing a "but" coming."
Starlight nodded, "But there's no way to know how long it'll take."
"Of course," I scoffed. "What should I do in the mean time? I have no dough, no home, and no job. Could try picking up baking, but from what I hear the market's cornered."
"You can always stay with us, we always have th' room to spare." Applejack immediately chimed in.
"That won't be necessary. Ink Blot will stay in the castle, since I need to keep a close eye on that curse of yours. For observation, experimentation, and documentation." Starlight said. She collected her the sheets of paper and stacked them neatly on the table, then carefully put a lid on the inkwell.
I personally didn't have a problem staying with the Apples, but who was I to argue with a so-called local expert?
"Well, if you're gonna be stayin' here ah guess ah don't need ta keep waitin' around on ya." Applejack shrugged.
"And with my lack of luggage I won't need much help moving in." I commented dryly.
She chuckled a bit. "Take care of yourself. An' feel free to stop by Sweet Apple Acres any time!"
I waved goodbye as Applejack showed herself out of the castle.
It was suddenly very quiet in the library. A clock ticked somewhere in the distance, muffled by the vast amount of paper and parchment. A book whizzed past my nose and onto Starlight's table, where she began flipping through its pages. About a dozen other books followed it from all corners of the library, each one sort of haphazardly stacked and laid open wherever there was room. Within moments Starlight was furiously scribbling down notes from the half dozen books that were currently open. When one book was exhausted it was tossed onto a pile beside the table and replaced with another one from the shelf.
Eventually, I noticed a book on the table nearest me called Mythos Equestria. On the cover there was what looked to be a stained glass representation of six coloured gems. There were five arranged in a sort of pentagon, while the sixth was in the centre with lines radiating out towards the other gems. Each gem was shaped uniquely. The centrepiece was a light purple star, while the others were a red lightning bolt, a darker purple diamond, a blue bag-looking thing, a pink butterfly, and strangely enough one was an orange apple. That last one somehow reminded me of Applejack.
I looked back at Starlight, who was still engrossed in whatever she was doing. I felt like a kid waiting at a doctor's appointment. It was still bright out too.
"So, Starlight..." I began.
"Let's hear it." she responded without looking up.
"Where am I going to sleep?"
She looked at me and raised her hoof like she was going to make a point, but all she said was "Good question."
"If you don't show me I'll just have to wander around the castle aimlessly." I jokingly threatened.
"I'll show you around in a moment. I've got a theory here regarding your curse I'm trying to flesh out." Starlight finally answered.
"Could I hear it?" I asked.
She scribbled what I hoped were the last few lines and nodded. "Basically, it may be possible for you to subvert the curse with strong emotional reactions. I'm mostly working off of The Magic of Memories by Written Word, with inspiration from Das Lehrbuch Der Fernweh which was written over a hundred years or so ago by somepony with a name I can't even begin to pronounce. Oddly enough this isn't a very well explored avenue of magic or science, despite how prevalent memory can be in our culture, but I digress. If we can weaken the hold of the curse by connecting emotional experiences to the locked memories then we can possibly crack it wide open."
"Not necessarily the cobbler, but using the same concept." I said in understanding.
"Again, this isn't exactly a solid theory. We'd need more data to be certain, but we won't get that by standing around and feeling sorry for ourselves." Starlight continued.
"Any ideas?"
"We could try the one thing that seems to solve most problems around here." she replied.
"That being?"
"Make some friends!" Starlight said happily. "Go into town and just strike up a conversation with somepony."
I snorted. "Is it really that easy?"
"Well, you could try enslaving the minds of an entire town and brainwash them into accepting your ideology and removing their cutie marks with magic all because your childhood best friend got his cutie mark before you and was sent off to Celestia's School of Magic."
"How'd you turn that one around?" I asked skeptically.
"Magic of Friendship."
"Somehow that makes sense."
"But now's not the time to discuss past events which may or may not haunt our every waking moments and make us question every decision we've ever made or ever will make," Starlight proclaimed. "Now is the time for you, Ink Blot, to go and make a friend! As Headmare of the School of Friendship, I tell you to go out unto the masses and forge the bonds of fellowship that will last you a lifetime!"
I had to admit, the way she said the last part was rather moving. I'd have gone out right now if not for one thing.
"Soooo, how about that room?" I reminded her.
Starlight smacked her forehead. "Oh! Completely forgot. Follow me."
We left the library and returned to the winding halls. The layout was esoteric, every hallway looked the same, and there were over a hundred rooms with narry a label or a number to speak of. I could spend days exploring each room and never find the exit. However, there was something about the way that the crystal that made up the castle shone and reflected the light above that made it feel alien and distant. It didn't really feel like a home, not like the Apple homestead did.
Eventually Starlight halted at one of the intersections. "Here you go. This whole wing is pretty empty, and I never use it, so make yourself at home."
"Really? You're just giving me a whole wing to myself?" I said in astonishment.
"This castle has space like you would not believe. Even when Twilight and Spike lived here they only touched one of the wings. There's six total, and they sort of spread out like a star. Most of the space is vertical, so it's all spread across three floors worth." Starlight explained.
"It's very kind of you."
"It's nothing. Go make yourself at home, and then go make yourself a friend!" Starlight urged me. She turned around and presumably returned to the library, leaving me to my own devices.
She was right about how little she used this wing. The floors were bare, and there wasn't even an old dusty tapestry to liven things up a little bit. There wasn't any dust at all, in fact. This wing seemed untouched, and probably was exactly the same as the day it (allegedly) sprouted from the ground. Something in the way the lights shone gave it a dingy feeling. Overall, it wasn't a very welcoming place.
But that wasn't any reason to stand around and wax poetic. So, I wandered on through to get a feel for my surroundings. It seemed that each wing could function as a self contained living unit, with all the essentials a royal would need. There was a kitchen large enough for a team of chefs, a large banquet hall that could probably double as a ballroom, probably six different bathrooms. On the second floor was a series of bedrooms as well as a smaller kitchen and attached dining room. The third floor was mostly empty rooms for storage or whatever, but one notable room had the remains of someone's sleepover supplies and a window that faced west. Around the window were an assortment of chairs and benches, as well as a collapsed pillow fort. I left it as it was, since I probably would never have any use for the third floor anyway. I also had to wonder how all these rooms fit into the overall structure of the castle.
I finally decided on a bedroom on my second walk around. It wasn't very large, just 15 by 12 feet, probably intended as a servant's room. It spoke to me. Not too large, enough space for a desk and some shelving if I wanted it. Just like everything else, the bed was made of crystal, though someone had gone through the trouble of putting some bedding and a mattress on it. Really, it wasn't much, but it felt like a space I could really grow into.
When I felt comfortable with my choice, I exited the room and left the door ajar so I could find it later, and made my way outside to make a friend.