//------------------------------// // Capítulo Trece // Story: Cuatro // by Dirty Bit //------------------------------// Capítulo Trece Caution With his decision made, Cuatro has now paved his own way of reclaiming his memories while living with his friends. He stayed and waited for the others to finish their dinner, and was escorted along with the element bearers to the castle gates to say their goodbyes. Twilight gave Cadence a hug, then trotted over to Celestia and smiled up at her "Thank you for letting Cuatro go through with his decision, Princess! If it even takes that long, I see to it that he'll get his memories back!" Celestia smiled at her student's enthusiasm, but inwardly grimaced at her promise. Another image swam through her head, showing a dark winged figure being pinned down by a horned figure and staring up at a charging red energy blast. Managing her smile, she feigned innocence when she replied "I'm sure you'll do a marvelous job with helping Cuatro, Twilight. Good luck teaching him about the Magic of Friendship!" The two shared a small embrace 'It may be the only thing he needs...' Luna trotted up and held out a hoof to Cuatro with a smile "Twas an interesting evening, was it not? We were happy to meet thee today, Sir Cuatro! Perhaps we can meet each other again in the near future?" Cuatro stared at Luna before he reluctantly took her hoof with one of his own "Yes..." When their hooves broke contact, he continued "Know that I was serious when I said that I may visit here of my own accord..." Luna's smile widened "We art pleased to hear that. Fare thee well, Sir Cuatro, until we meet again!" Cuatro nodded and left with his friends as they made for the train station, the princesses waving them off. When they were gone, Luna turned to Celestia "Sister..." The solar princess looked back at her "What is with this mood of thine? Art thou keeping something important from us?" Cadence frowned "Now that Luna's mentioned it, you have been rather tense lately. Is there something we should know about?" Celestia closed her eyes and responded in a neutral tone "Only that we should have faith in Twilight and her friends teaching Cuatro about friendship." She did not feel comfortable sharing the entirety of her secrets to both of her fellow princesses. Cadence smiled at the response "Is that all? That shouldn't be a problem to deal with! Nopony's more well-versed in the Magic of Friendship than your student, Celestia! I'd say that he'll be a new stallion before finding his old self!" Luna stared at Celestia in silence before she turned to Cadence "Mi Amore Cadenza, could Shining Armor be waiting for thee in the castle by chance?" Cadence perked up and smiled "I suppose I should check up on him since there isn't much to worry about at the moment! I'll see you two inside!" She trotted into the castle, leaving Celestia and Luna by themselves. Luna turned back to Celestia and slightly narrowed her eyes "We're familiar with how thou chooseth to keep secrets from certain ponies, Tia...What troubles thee? Please tell us..." She spoke in a firm tone. Celestia looked back at Luna and frowned "The only thing I can tell you is to be more wary of Cuatro the moment he gains more of his memories...In fact, I should probably warn Twilight of the same thing in the near future..." Luna was instantly confused 'Is there something about Sir Cuatro that she's not telling us?' She then huffed "What else is there to know, Tia? Thou mustn't keep such important matters from me if it involves the Elements of Harmony and a mysterious alicorn!" Celestia sighed before she began trotting inside "I'm sorry, Luna. All I can say to you is that you should be more cautious and alert around Cuatro. We're giving him a chance to learn new things while he tries to find more of his memories..." She felt inner pain from keeping her secrets from her own sister 'If I tell her about his true life, no doubt she would rush in and do whatever it takes to stop him...And I, myself, wouldn't be much of a challenge for him alone. I should probably take care of this problem later on tonight...' Luna glared at her sister and chose to fly up to her tower instead of going inside through the castle's front entrance 'Be more wary around Sir Cuatro, hm? It is disheartening for her to keep so much from me, but she sounded truthful on that note...' When she reached her balcony, she looked across the horizon of Canterlot, over to the train station as the Friendship Express departed from the city. She watched the train leave and looked troubled 'Sir Cuatro...Thou canst be a menace at all...can thee?' _____ On the train, Cuatro sat in his seat and stared out of his window in silence, Twilight sitting next to him. Pinkie sat on the other side and rambled incessantly with cheer "So since Cuaty's gonna stay with us, should we take turns on where he should stay? Oh! Before that, we're SO gonna throw another party for him! It'll be a 'Cuatro-chose-to-stay-with-us-at-Ponyville' party! I should definitely make more tea since Cuaty seems to like it an awful lot! This is so great! And maybe one day, we could manage to get a whole batch of his lost memory without any trouble! But not before teaching him more about friendship, of course-" Applejack, who sat next to Pinkie, simply placed a hoof in the party pony's mouth to cease her rambling. Twilight thought to herself while rubbing her chin 'What to teach Cuatro about friendship when we come back...No doubt he would just go back to reading once we arrive home. Not to mention, it would be so late at night...' She smiled 'Maybe if the girls aren't busy tomorrow, we could try and spend some time somewhere in Ponyville with Cuatro!' She turned to see Cuatro as he continued staring out the window with his emotionless face, causing her to frown 'I wonder what he's thinking about...Is he having second thoughts about his decision, or-' Twilight perked up and thought back to the dinner and when they left. She playfully smirked over at Cuatro "So, Cuatro..." Her smirk widened when she received the strange alicorn's attention "What do you think of Canterlot?" She asked innocently, though her tone said otherwise. Cuatro looked out the window to see the shrinking image of the city and looked away "It is supposedly exquisite in structure and class, but it doesn't really matter to me..." He looked back at Canterlot "But truthfully, it wasn't a total waste with what was seen..." Twilight's smirk evolved into a grin "Really? Could it have been the food offered there?" Pinkie released Applejack's hoof from her mouth and spoke up "If that's the case, then I agree with you one-hundred percent, Cuaty! They know how to serve their cake!" Rarity and Spike sat behind Cuatro and Twilight as they listened in on their conversation. Rarity was confused as to how the lavender bookworm was talking until she noted her tone of voice. She then hid her smile 'Twilight, you mustn't tease the poor dear...' The fashionista stifled a giggle. Cuatro looked back at Twilight "Why would I be concerned about the food? It was good, but I am not all that worried..." Twilight nodded knowingly "I see..." She then smiled again "Could it have been that there were more alicorns there?" Cuatro kept his stare on Twilight and spoke "While that itself is something to be concerned about, there were only three of them...Only Celestia, Cadence, and-" He instantly silenced himself and looked away. Twilight slowly leaned in with an anticipating smirk "Aaaaaand~?" She asked playfully. Cuatro almost felt as if he had swallowed something immense and it was caught in his throat. What could be causing him to do so like this? "I am hesitant when mentioning Luna...What does it mean?" The strange alicorn found his voice and looked outside "I...should probably think about my memories..." He then remembered a topic he wished to share with Twilight "Twilight...are you aware of the term 'Murciélago'?" Twilight's playful expression faded and was replaced with confusion when the question was asked "Murciélago? What's gotten you thinking about that?" Cuatro replied instantly "A part of my memory indicated that particular term...I am unaware if it is just that, or a name belonging to another individual..." Spike scoffed "With a name like Ichigo, I wouldn't be surprised if there was somepony named Murciélago where Cuatro came from!" Twilight quirked an eyebrow "But Ichigo is Neighponese, and Murciélago means 'bat' in Mexicolt..." She looked over at Cuatro's wings and hummed to herself in thought "We could look into this either tonight or tomorrow depending on what is planned..." Rainbow Dash smiled "I'm free for tomorrow if any of you wanna hang out someplace!" Fluttershy looked at Rainbow Dash "But where could we go during winter? Unless maybe anypony felt like going for a hike..." Twilight sighed "Fluttershy has a point. There's not much we can do in the middle of winter." Pinkie smiled "What if we all went bowling tomorrow?" Cuatro turned to Pinkie and parroted "Bowling?" Pinkie rolled her eyes in thought "Well, if not that, then maybe the club in Ponyville's another option!!" Rarity scoffed "And just why would Cuatro want to go THERE of all places!? Even I wouldn't consider it a place to learn friendship from!" Spike winced at Cuatro "That, and Cuatro would definitely stick out with how he acts..." Twilight darted her head to the purple dragon with a stern look "Spike!" Spike directed his claws to Cuatro "C'mon, you'd agree with me on this, too! Do you think the club can even handle an alicorn that wouldn't even want to socialize much?" Fluttershy frowned "Not to mention the music is too loud...I certainly wouldn't go there myself..." Cuatro looked up at his horn "I would like to practice my magic when I return..." The group turned to him when he piped up "With what I've read before coming to Canterlot, I wish to demonstrate the knowledge I've accrued under Twilight's roof..." Twilight looked at Cuatro, then smiled "Well, alright then! You can practice once we get home." Pinkie grinned "But not before another party!!" Applejack sighed "Pinkie, it'd be mighty late fer a party once we come back t' Ponyville! Can't y'all jus' hold it off fer tomorro'?" Pinkie pouted "Oh, alright! But only because it could give us time to hang out!" She then grinned "Wait a minute, that's a great idea! We can hang out at the party tomorrow and try to teach Cuatro during that time!" Rainbow Dash chuckled "That's our Pinkie!" Cuatro looked around "Is another party even necessary?" Twilight smiled awkwardly at Cuatro "When it comes to Pinkie, partying is in her blood..." The group continued to talk as they rode back to Ponyville. _____ When they reached the station, the group went their separate ways back home. Cuatro traveled back to the library with Twilight and Spike and they went to gather inside of the library. The strange alicorn made a note to practice, but then thought back to his latest memory. "And the other, is for anyone above Cuatro to unleash their power...Both are so powerful that they would easily destroy Las Noches..." Barring the strange location, the memory provoked slight tension inside of Cuatro. He stopped himself outisde when Twilight and Spike went inside "Twilight, Spike...I would like to practice my magic outside." Spike raised an eyebrow "But it's so cold outside! You sure you wanna go through with it?" Cuatro nodded "For safety issues...I would also like to practice at a safe distance from Ponyville." Twilight frowned "I'm aware that you're a nocturnal alicorn, Cuatro, but can you handle yourself for so long in this cold weather?" Cuatro replied "If you were referring to the snowstorm from two days before, I was winded then...Now not only is the weather calm, I can easily handle myself without any problems. I'll be sure to return here soon..." Twilight was silent before she sighed "Alright, Cuatro. But try not to get sick or anything, okay? We have a lot to do tomorrow!" Cuatro nodded and looked around. When he spotted a vast meadow far from Ponyville, he activated his Sonido and winked out of existence with his speed, startling Twilight and Spike. Spike shuddered "Sheesh...I'm surprised Rainbow Dash didn't ask him to teach her how to go that fast!!" Twilight shook her head "Well, I'm sure that can be explained in the near future. Let's go inside, Spike. We're letting the cold air inside." The two went inside and shut the door. Twilight wanted to go to bed, but then noticed the spellbook on the sofa "Oops! Looks like Cuatro forgot to put it away..." She then looked over at the sofa's right arm and noticed a small parchment "Huh? How long has that been there?" Spike scratched his head "Cuatro must've practiced writing in the middle of the night. Well, if he was up at that time! The fact that he's a nocturnal pony should be proof enough he would stay up late!" Twilight trotted over and levitated the parchment to read it. On it was three familar words written neatly in descending order "Hmm...Aizen...Hueco Mundo...and Ichigo? Cuatro shared two of those words with us recently! He might be keeping track of his memories while staying with us! But he hasn't told us about Aizen yet..." Spike frowned "As if Ichigo wasn't weird enough..." He murmured to himself. Suddenly, his cheeks puffed as he belched a large stream of green fire. As the fire receded, it wasn't just a scroll, but a gem-studded chest as well. The impact of burping up a large item affected the purple dragon as he laid down and rubbed his stomach with a pained groan. Twilight galloped over and quickly unraveled the scroll as she read it "Dear, Twilight. Please do not ask why, but for the sake of your safety I'm entrusting you with these items while Cuatro is staying with you..." Twilight was instantly flummoxed as she looked at the chest 'Wait a minute...this chest...' She opened the chest with her magic, and six golden accesories making up of five necklaces and a tiara laid inside. Twilight stared with an indescribable amount of shock and confusion "The Elements!?" She blurted out incredulously. To be continued...