“I beg your pardon?” asked the clerk.
Tia’s mind went blank. Something was terribly wrong. How can she not remember her parents’ names? It is the craziest thing that can ever happen. There has to be a logical explanation. Tia figured that maybe she is still in shock from what happened. She calmed herself down and tried to clear her thoughts about the crazy pony, the sewer, the hotel room, and thought about her mother and father.
The masked pony is gone, she told herself. Everything is going to be fine. Now think about your mother. Her name is. . . her name is. . .
Nothing. Not even a nickname came up. None of this made any sense. But Tia did not give up just yet. She had an idea. What if she imagined what they looked like? She closed her eyes to conjure up an image of her mother.
Think, Tia, think! She thought to herself.
She could not think of anything. What is going on? Why can she not remember her parents?
“Tia, what’s wrong?” asked Lulu.
“I-I don’t know,” stammered Tia. “I can’t remember our parents.”
“What do you mean?!” cried Lulu.
The clerk and Tia exchanged confused looks. Tia suspects the mare behind the desk must think she is crazy, or some silly filly trying to pull a prank on them. The look of panic on their faces said otherwise. Lulu was so shaken by what was happening that she looked like she might start crying. Tia wanted to say something, to both the clerk and her sister. How can she explain this? How can anyone explain what is happening to her?
“Miss, I don’t feel so good,” she finally said.
The desk clerk suggested that she and Lulu take a seat in the dining room. She promised the fillies that she will locate their parents, wherever they are. Their stomachs rumbled. They have not had a meal since early afternoon, and running for their lives from a masked killer pony worked up an appetite.
The girls found an empty table in the dining hall covered in white tablecloth, silver lined up by size on either side of the dinner plates. Lulu fiddled with them for a short time. They sat under brightly-lit chandeliers that hung from the white ceiling like Hearth’s Warming ornaments, surrounded by mares and gentlecolts in suits and dresses. A string quartet played classical music on stage, although nopony in the room paid attention. Strangely enough, both of them felt out of place.
Tia looked at the surrounding tables. The food the ponies ate seemed more expensive than their suits and dresses. She searched her saddlebag, finding only a few bits. Hopefully it will be enough to order an appetizer, if it does not cost too much.
A waiter appeared out of thin air, requesting their order. Minutes later he returned to their table with a platter of hors d’oeuvres, little sandwiches and cheese crackers. They were so small, not nearly enough to fill their empty stomachs. Still, it was the only thing they could eat at the moment. They ate in silence.
Tia was never a fan of classical music, but it was soothing enough to help her clear her mind. She closed her eyes and thought of her parents. After a minute of thinking, nothing came up. Lulu looked up from her food, noticing her big sister did not look well.
“Lulu, I need you to do something for me. Think about mom. Close your eyes and think about our mother. Think as hard as you can,” said Tia.
Lulu did exactly as she was told. She closed her eyes. She tried to imagine the color of her hair, the softness of her coat, her kind and beautiful eyes. Only. . . something was not right. What did her mother look like? Was she tall or short? Did she have blue eyes or green eyes? Did she look more like Tia or herself?
“Lulu?” said Tia.
Lulu opened her eyes. She felt horrible, like having a nightmare she could not wake up from. “I don’t know what she looks like!” she said.
“Neither do I.”
“Oh Tia, what’s wrong with us?” wailed Lulu.
She closed her eyes again to conjure up an image of their mother and father. It was like someone had gone inside their minds and erased them. She heard Lulu’s voice cracking. She let out a few emotional bursts that caught the attention of some of the ponies in the dining hall. Tia put down the spoon. She held the little filly’s blue hoof. She wanted to say something to comfort her. What can she say? Tia’s thoughts scrambled all around inside her mind, like a tornado had picked them up for a violent spin.
“I think We’ve lost our memory,” she finally said. It was an awful revelation, but she tried not to sound too much in despair. Lulu laid her head on Tia’s side. “At least. . . we lost some parts of it. We still remember our names. We remember what hotel room we’re supposed to be in. We remember the reason why we came to Canterlot.”
Tia thought listing the things they could remember will make them feel better, but it did not. Something still bothered her, a creeping, lingering thought that hung in the back of her mind, a missing piece of a complicated puzzle. What was it?
How did they get to Canterlot?
Tia grabbed a spoon with her hoof. She stared at her reflection. Long pink hair, skin as white as the winter snow, slender neck, and a frown that went with her face.
“Where do we live?” she asked herself. “Do we live in a house? An apartment? A town or a city? Are we rich? Poor? Somewhere in between?” She found no answers to any of those questions. Nothing at all.
Oh my gosh! Tia thought. She caught her breath in her throat. I can’t remember yesterday! Or the day before, or the day before that!
Tia sat like a statue, a horrified look glued to her face. She did not know what to do with this shocking revelation. Who can she tell about this? Who would believe her? What will happen to them now? How can anyone help them?
Lulu had not been faring well, either. Not only was she faced with this devastating revelation that her mother and father - the very ponies whom she thought loved them and will always take care of them, did not exist, that strange sensation returned. She felt the same cold chill from when she arrived at the Tower of Doom sweep into the room. It gave her goosebumps. Who opened the window? Lulu looked about the dining room at the tall windows. None of them were open. The chill was stronger than before. She turned her attention to the front entrance. The white curtains flowed like an ominous cape.
She shook her sister’s white forearm, bringing her out of her deep introspection. “Tia, do you feel that?” Lulu’s voice was high-pitched like a frightened mouse when it saw a cat.
Tia was initially confused, then she slowly understood why her little seemed so afraid. Everything is different. Not just with what they learned about their lives, but everything around them. She did not feel the chill as her sister did, but something else that was equally terrifying. Somewhere in the air was an invisible force that was coming for them because of their discovery. And it was near.
From the corner of her eye Tia spotted a glass door near the stage. She wasted no time and grabbed Lulu’s arm. She pushed the door open. A few eyes were on them, probably wondering where the parents of those fillies were. The girls quickly pushed themselves through a white curtain behind the glass door, and found themselves in the middle of a dark corridor.
“Where are we?” asked Lulu.
Not even Tia was sure where they were. Maybe a hall used by the hotel staff, perhaps? It looked creepy. It did not look like a hall that would be in a five star hotel. like the type of place that characters in a horror story find themselves when they are chased by a maniac. The lights flickered and blinked, and the paint was peeling off the walls. That familiar cold chill returned. This time the sisters felt something at the same time. Whatever they felt was inside the dark hall. Tia tried to open the door they came through. It was locked.
“No, no, no,” Tia muttered frantically.
Some of the lights stopped flickering, going out completely, leaving them in the pitch black darkness. Lulu let out a terrified shriek. The fluorescent lights flickered on again, and the masked pony stood over them like a dark phantasm. The girls locked their fear-stricken gazes on him - unable to move, unable to scream, unable to run.
“I told you there is no escape from what is to come,” he snarled.
“Why are you chasing us?” squeaked Tia. “What do you want from us?”
The masked pony said nothing. With a swift move he pulled Lulu away, wrapping her around his big, strong forearm. Lulu screamed for help, then cried, prompting Tia to rescue her. The masked pony brought down his axe, making her skid to a stop. It struck the floor, cutting through the surface. The masked pony let it stay in its place. Tia felt the very air escape her lungs.
“Don’t hurt her!” pleaded Tia. She was on the verge of tears.
“If you value your lives, you will do good to surrender!” the pony growled. He tightened his grip on Lulu. She gasped for air. “There is nowhere to run now,” he declared.
“I’ll do anything you want! Just stop hurting her!” shouted Tia.
The masked pony loosened his forceful hold on Lulu, but not enough to let her get away. Tia cautiously gave herself to the pony, only to slightly hesitate when he detached his axe from the stabbed ground.
“Good,” he muttered. “Excellent. He will be pleased with this development.”
Tia looked up.
“He?” she repeated.
The masked pony raised his axe. Tia and Lulu closed their eyes, knowing this may be the end of their young lives. Instead, he uttered some words and phrases in a strange language neither of them understood. The axe glowed a sickly green light. The blade sliced through the air, creating a swirling portal.
“Move!” barked the pony.
Under the threat of the blade, the fillies stepped through the portal, into the blinding light, floating in an empty void. This must be a dream, Tia thought to herself. It has to be. This must be the part where I wake up. Please let me wake up.
Tia opened her eyes. Sadly she found herself still awake.