Cuatro

by Dirty Bit

Capitulo Diecisiete

"Are you scared? You're useless to Aizen now. There is no one left to protect you. It's over...You will die alone here, where no one can touch you..."

"..."

"I asked you if you were scared..."

"...I'm not scared. Everyone came to save me, so my heart is already with them!"

"Hearts? You humans are always talking about hearts. It's as if you have them in your hand. But my eye sees everything...Nothing can escape it. What it doesn't see doesn't exist...That's how I've always fought."

"What is a heart? If I rip it out of your chest, will I see it? If I crack open your skull, will I find it in there?"

After that distinct memory serving as his dream, Cuatro's eyes shot open as he easily woke from his slumber without any fatigue. He noticed a small brightness out of the corner of his eye and deduced that he had woken up in the morning. The strange alicorn rose from his bed and looked to see Twilight and Spike still sleeping. Turning to the window, Cuatro noticed that the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon.

"Dawn again...Not really a problem for me at all. But that dream...Humans and hearts? Hmm..."

The strange alicorn quietly trotted down the stairs to proceed with jotting down his newly obtained fragment of memory as well as study up on his magic. He reached the main lobby and made his way to the sofa where he levitated his rolled-up parchment along with a nearby quill and unraveled the paper to write down the word 'Human'. He went to go place the parchment down and go pick up a spellbook, but a part of him hesitated to release it when he thought about the term 'heart'. Cuatro felt that he knew full well about the heart as an internal organ, but as he thought about his memory, it was as if this were a different heart. Something mystical, like the very Magic of Friendship.

"A heart...What is a heart? Do I have a heart?"

After a small moment of contemplation, he decided to leave the parchment as it was and ponder about this thought alone. It was better than wondering about himself being a killer, or if Celestia were actually hiding something from him. He sat down on the sofa and levitated the book he read the other day that covered advanced spells. As a personal thought, he felt that his arcane repertoire was steadily growing with each passing day. It was a wonder that he hadn't practiced his magic ever since his fiasco two nights ago.

Time passed, and Cuatro heard steps descending along the staircase, knowing that Twilight and Spike have woken up. As with every other morning, the lavender bookworm was the first to regard Cuatro with a greeting "Good morning, Cuatro. How is your magic coming along?"

Cuatro shifted his eyes to Twilight, who smiled at him while he responded "It is doing well. Good morning, Twilight." He looked down at Spike "And you as well, Spike..."

Spike waved as he waddled into the kitchen "Morning, Cuatro!"

Cuatro watched Spike leave and turned to Twilight "Does he always serve the food around here? Is he a servant of sorts?"

Twilight looked taken aback at the question "What? No! Assistant, yes, but never a servant!" She smiled "In fact, I've hatched Spike out of his egg when I was a filly. The funny thing was, hatching him was how I not only got accepted into the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns, but at the same time, I got my cutie mark and my status as Princess Celestia's personal student!" She gave a nostalgic sigh as she closed her eyes "Those were good times, too...It's amazing how time flies sometimes. Speaking of memories, have you had any luck finding more of your own, Cuatro?"

Cuatro stared at Twilight as she reveled in her own memories, and envied how she was able to collect them clearly. While he had his own share of acquired memories, he still had a long way to go with what he has collected thus far. He then turned to his paper "I found yet another term that would seem strange to you and your friends..." He levitated the parchment and unraveled it to Twilight.

She noticed the newest addition and craned her head back with a raised eyebrow "Erm, Cuatro...That term...It's not entirely strange."

Cuatro blinked "You mean there are humans in Equestria?"

Suddenly, the library's front door revealed a grinning Pinkie "Well that depends on what stories you read!" She trotted inside "There are only a few good ones, though..." The party pony added in a skeptical tone.

Twilight ignored Pinkie's random entry and further enlightened Cuatro "It's not entirely strange because...well...you're not the first pony to think about humans."

Cuatro replied "Do you know about them?"

Twilight looked away awkwardly "Not really me..." She turned to Pinkie "Pinkie's a mystery herself, but it's another one of Ponyville's residents. Her name is Lyra Heartstrings, and she often talks about humans as if they've even existed here in Equestria!"

Cuatro nodded "I see...I should probably talk to her sometime..."

Twilight winced "I'd rather not. She tends to get a little...eccentric." She spoke in a reluctant tone.

Cuatro stared in silence before he asked "Is she like Pinkie?"

Pinkie giggled "No way, silly! If that were the case, she and I would be friends in a heartbeat! But we already are friends, so that's alright!" She then turned to Cuatro "Say, have you practiced laughing since last night, Cuaty?"

Cuatro sighed "No, Pinkie...In all honesty I haven't..." An idea came to him as he continued "On the topic of honesty, I know what I wish to do today..."

Twilight tilted her head "Oh? What is it you want to do, Cuatro?"

Cuatro faced Twilight as he replied "I wish to see Applejack at Sweet Apple Acres. She was the first pony I've met since I lost my memories, and she took me in from a terrible snowstorm. I owe her a visit for her hospitality, not that yours was any better with your variety of books."

Twilight donned a knowing smile "Oh, I'm well aware. It's nice to see you want to meet her after all that she's done for you! You can head on over there after breakfast."

Pinkie hopped up and down "I'll come, too! I wanna be there to see Cuaty smile!"

Spike waddled into the lobby "Breakfast is ready!" He turned to see Pinkie "Oh, hey, Pinkie! How's it going?" He smiled.

Pinkie returned it in kind "Pretty good, Spike-o! Just stopping by to make sure Cuaty will smile!"

Spike turned to Cuatro with a sympathetic frown "My condolences..." He spoke with genuine pity for the strange alicorn having to deal with more of Pinkie's shenanigans.

Cuatro only sighed "I'll nourish myself and make my leave shortly after." He trotted into the kitchen "Thank you for making breakfast, Spike."

Spike smiled as he followed with the other two mares "No problem! I was feeling lucky today, so I made us some pancakes!"

The group gathered themselves at the table. Pinkie gladly took the offer of eating pancakes, much to Twilight and Spike's expectation, whereas Cuatro wondered where all the food Pinkie had consumed ended up with how much she eats. What made Cuatro's morning seem unwelcoming was how Pinkie chose to ramble on at the table, even with food in her mouth. It was hard for him to clean up the small pellets of syrup-coated crumbs that went into his mane. What was worse was that she was going to follow him to Sweet Apple Acres.
_____

Later, Twilight and Spike waved Cuatro and Pinkie as they left into Ponyville "Come back soon, Cuatro!"

Spike called out "My advice is to smile just to make her feel better!" He looked to see Twilight leer down at him as he awkwardly grinned "It's what she wants!"

Cuatro calmly trotted through the snow, while Pinkie hopped next to him in her sporadic fashion. It was like watching opposites attract, only it was not enjoyable for the strange alicorn at all. He was lucky that she did not talk yet-

"Hey, Cuaty!"

Or was he? Cuatro turned to Pinkie looking surprised as she pointed to something at his right "I think I see one of those arrancar thingies!" She blurted out as she pointed

Cuatro instantly stopped and turned to see where Pinkie was pointing, only to find nothing but a couple of houses. While he stared, he heard a fit of giggling followed by the words "Made you look!" The strange alicorn turned back to stare at Pinkie with his soulless eyes while they resumed their pace "I only knew the word from looking at your list! I don't even know what they are!" She giggled more, until she looked behind and gasped "Hey! Is that Princess Luna back there? Why is she in Ponyville during the day?"

The strange alicorn instantly stopped once more as he felt his heart stop while his pupils dialated slightly.

"But it can't be...She could not be here, unless..."

He looked behind to see a couple of mares trotting by in the snow. Once more, Cuatro was met with more giggling and the words "Made you look!" The strange alicorn slowly turned back to Pinkie as they resumed walking "Boy, Cuaty, you're making this too easy for me! You're more of a challenge when it comes to smiling and laughing, but I'd hate to be you when me and Dashie choose to go pranking again!" She giggled more.

Cuatro hummed, but then looked up "Strange...You mention Rainbow Dash, but is that her up there?"

Pinkie perked up and turned to the skies "Really? Where? Hey, Dashie-" She flinched when she felt a gust of wind and heard booming static. The party pony then noticed Cuatro was nowhere to be found as she looked around.
_____

At Sweet Apple Acres, Cuatro appeared in the front yard as he calmly trotted to the door after uttering "Made you look..." to himself. He reached the front door and rapped on it three times, then waited for it to open.

It opened to reveal Applebloom as she looked up at Cuatro with a smile "Howdy there, Cuatro! Nice o' ya t' stop by today!"

Cuatro looked down "Hello, Applebloom...I wished to come here to visit you all and possibly learn about honesty for my session in the Magic of Friendship. Where is your sister?" He responded in his usual tone.

Applebloom trotted backwards to give Cuatro room to step inside "Ya might wanna wait fer her a bit. She's in th' cellar keepin' an inventory on our cider supply!"

Cuatro made his way inside and stood as he looked around at the living room, taking in the scenery as how he remembered it when he first arrived here. He noticed Big Macintosh trotting into the living room and the two nodded to each other in greeting. Applebloom watched them and giggled "You an' my brother have so much in common, Cuatro!" She then retracted her statement in thought "Well...except he's an earth pony an' yer an alicorn..." She then smiled "Maybe it's jus' y'all don't really talk much!"

The strange alicorn nodded "Could be..."

Big Macintosh nodded as well with his own reply "Eeyup..." The red stallion then trotted outside the front door.

Cuatro watched in silence before it was broken by Applebloom "He's probably goin' t' check on AJ an' tell 'er that there needs t' be some work done outside. Personally, Ah don' see th' problem since there ain't much t' do other than shovel up snow!"

"Applebloom? Why aren't ya doin' th' dishes?"

Applebloom turned to the opening to the kitchen and called out "Ah took care o' it, Granny!"

"What? Speak up, young'un!"

Applebloom huffed and spoke louder "Ah said Ah took care o' it, Granny!"

"Oh, okay then! Who're ya talkin' t' in there?"

Applebloom replied "Cuatro's here t' learn from Applejack about honesty!"

Granny Smith trotted in with a quizzical glance "Dynasty? Applejack don't know nothin' 'bout that, silly filly!" She then noticed Cuatro and smiled "Why hello here, sonny! What brings ya here today?"

Applebloom sighed in exasperation "Ah told ya he came to learn from Applejack about honesty!"

Granny Smith replied "Honesty? Well why didn't ya say so? She should come inside any moment iffin' she ain't busy! What say we head to th' kitchen an' talk over some tea? Y'all haven't lived till ya tried our special Sweet Apple tea!" The elderly mare led Cuatro into the kitchen with Applebloom following after.

Cuatro sat himself down at his familiar seat, then looked over to see Granny trot towards a steaming kettle on the oven. His horn glowed "Please, allow me, Granny Smith..." He said as he levitated the kettle and a cup over to the table, pouring himself a cup of tea as he placed it in front of him and the kettle in the center of the table.

Granny Smith smiled "Why thank ya kindly, Cuatro! Yer quite th' gentlecolt t' lend a hoof 'round here!"

Cuatro gave a curt bow "You and your family have taken me in as if I were your own from the storm. It was the least I could do...I apologize for staying at Twilight's instead of here at Sweet Apple Acres..."

Granny Smith shook her head "Fiddlesticks! Applejack told me how much y'all wanted t' learn magic! Ain't no shame in coachin' yerself in the basics again! It's good that ya stopped by, though!" She gave a warm smile at the strange alicorn.

Cuatro levitated his cup and carefully sipped the tea, making sure that it was not too hot for him to handle. It was delicious, and it tasted of apples like how the Apple family had always made their meals. He then looked at Granny Smith "What should we do while we wait for Applejack?"

Granny Smith smiled "Well, Ah'll gladly tell ya about Applebloom and how she was an adorable little baby!"

Applebloom perked up and turned to Cuatro "Granny, he don't need t' know 'bout that!!" She quickly said.

Cuatro blinked at Applebloom "Is it true?" He asked with genuine question.

Applebloom deadpanned "Trust me. Ya don't..."

Granny Smith chuckled "Ain't she a kidder? Pretty smart fer her age, too! Now when she was younger-"

Applebloom turned to Granny Smith "Granny, is it naptime already?" She asked with a tilted head.

Granny Smith stopped and hummed as she thought to herself "Now that ya mention it, Ah wonder if it really is na-" She then instantly leaned back and snored loudly while her head was arched back against the chair.

Cuatro watched with intrigue as he turned to Applebloom "I was to believe that earth ponies did not hold any magic..."

Applebloom shook her head "Nope, Granny jus' loves t' nap every now an' then."

"Well I'll be! Howdy there, partner!"

Cuatro looked back to see Applejack and Big Macintosh trot inside after shutting the door "Ah, Applejack...I was expecting you." He regarded the farmpony with his usual expression.

Applejack trotted towards the kitchen "What fer? Feel like talkin' today?"

Applebloom piped up "Actually, sis, he wants t' learn 'bout honesty from ya!"

Big Macintosh nodded "Eeyup."

Applejack smiled "Well shoot! Sure Ah can teach ya, since y'all 're busy with th' Magic o' Friendship an' all!" The group looked back to see that there was a knock on the door.

Cuatro knew full well who would show up here, and he spoke up "It's Pinkie..."

Applejack turned to Cuatro with a raised eyebrow "How do ya know that, sugarcube?"

Cuatro replied "She wanted to follow me here..." He looked away "All for the sake of seeing me smile..."

Applebloom giggled "She must have a day off today! Ah'll get it!" She hopped from her chair and trotted over to the door, opening it up to reveal Pinkie, as predicted by Cuatro "Howdy, Pinkie Pie!"

Pinkie smiled at Applebloom "Hiya, Applebloom! Can I come in? I know Cuaty's here!" At those words, the strange alicorn somehow bristled with the tempting urge to hide.

Applebloom giggled again, knowing why she was here "Sure thing! Come on in!" She let the party pony inside and the two trotted back into the kitchen after Applebloom shut the door.

Pinkie hopped over to Cuatro's side and rambled on, much to the strange alicorn's displeasure "That was a pretty crafty trick you pulled back there, Cuaty! I actually believed that Rainbow Dash was actually up in the clouds since she loved to nap there instead of her house most of the time! Can't imagine why when she could've easily slept there! ANYWAY, you really had me going that time! I didn't expect you to use your Sonido thingy to run from me though, but at least I knew where you were going! I had to look up in the sky to make sure you weren't joking, but you were! Maybe there's hope for you learning about humor yet!"

Applejack frowned "Pinkie, Ah think he gets th' message. We were jus' about t' go over honesty!" She then paused for a moment before turning to Cuatro "Did y'all really run from Pinkie, Cuatro?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

Cuatro hesitated, but he answered "Yes I have...In my defense, I was a target of her meager pranks..."

Pinkie was shocked "Meager!?" She turned to Cuatro with an evil smile "Oh, you're in for it now, Cuaty! I'd watch yourself more often if I were you!" The party pony spoke in a mischievous tone.

Applejack chuckled "In any case, ya answered me honestly, so Ah suppose that counts as part o' yer lesson! Maybe Ah can ask ya some questions and see if Ah get any more truth outta ya! What do ya say, sugarcube?" She smiled at Cuatro.

Cuatro nodded "If it will help with my learning..."

Applejack, Applebloom, Pinkie, and Big Macintosh sat themselves down at the table as Cautro was about to get into his honesty lessons. Applejack cleared her throat "Alrighty then, let's get to it! First question, Cuatro...Did ya really enjoy Pinkie's party th' other night?"

Cuatro hesitated. He would say yes out of courtesy and politeness, but he would only be half-true.

"That session of Laughter...To think that was enjoyable..."

The strange alicorn sighed "I enjoyed the pleasantries offered in the party, as well as the company of my friends. However, I was not entirely fond of learning from Pinkie about laughter, especially when I was forced to. I do not wish to offend, but it was not my best experience that time..."

Cuatro expected Pinkie to be hurt, but the party pony shrugged "I wouldn't worry too much, Cuaty! It was only your first time after all!" She then grinned "But I'm super glad you enjoyed the party! Maybe I can teach you how to laugh and dance next time!"

Applejack nodded "Not bad, Cuatro! Okay, next question..." She raised an eyebrow and a curious smile "How do ya feel about Princess Luna?" the farmpony asked in an inquisitive tone.

Cuatro hesitated again. In truth, he did not know exactly how he felt about Luna despite the fact that she controls the moon and easily grants him peace. He was still confused about how he felt when talking to her and how he felt a lump in his throat whenever he stared into her turquiose eyes, or that strange moment when she hugged him last night. But if there was one thing he was sure of, he knew that she considered him a friend.

"...Luna..."

The strange alicorn found his voice after his moment of silence "I'm...I'm not sure, really...It is unethical to respond as such, but I cannot entirely convey how I feel...I can't really place my hoof on the feeling. All I can say is that we are friends at the moment, that much is true..."

Pinkie looked irritated as she frowned at Cuatro "Oh, you are such a tease, Cuaty!"

Cuatro blinked at Pinkie "...What?"

Applejack shook her head "Nevermind her. Let's keep this goin'! Now that we know 'bout how you feel towards Luna, tell us how y'all truly feel 'bout Celestia! Not limited t' when ya first visited her, o' course. Ah'm sure ya developed a bigger opinion o' her now! Let's hear it!"

Cuatro hesitated once more. This was one of two thoughts he wanted to ignore while he stayed in Ponyville. Even with Luna, he confirmed that there was something strange going on with Celestia ever since she tried using her memory spell on him in Canterlot. He sighed and closed his eyes as he felt that his opinion needed to be heard "It was not the same as last time as you said...But it has similarities..." He opened his eyes to see the group, save for a sleeping Granny Smith, staring back at him intently "I do not trust her...and after contemplating on her magical abilities with how long she has lived in Equestria, I would suspect she was indeed hiding something from me...I was not entirely sure given our short visit, but I believe she could think ill of me with how she held a completely serious aura during our conversation at dinner..."

Pinkie and Applejack frowned at this, Applebloom sat slackjawed in her seat, and Big Mac remained laidback and calm as Cuatro finished "I'm sorry, but that is exactly how I feel about Celestia. You see her as a benevolent ruler, but I see her as something else...I only hope any of you can prove me wrong in the future..."

Applebloom spoke up, almost whining "But that ain't no way t' talk 'bout th' princess! She really is a good ruler!! Really kind, too! She couldn't be hidin' somethin' from ya! That's jus'-" A hoof on her shoulder courtesy of her big brother stopped her defensive words. Big Macintosh shook his head at Applebloom, wanting her to let Cuatro stick with his opinion.

Applejack sighed "Ya really are tellin' th' truth right there. Ah'm with Applebloom with how yer talkin' like this, but Ah can't get on ya when ya have yer own right to an opinion..." She frowned at the strange alicorn.

Pinkie nodded "Yeah! I'm sure you'll be proved wrong in the future sometime, Cuaty! Just you wait and see!"

Cuatro anticipated the collective reactions from the mares, though he did not expect Big Macintosh to remain collected after he supposedly badmouthed the princess in a logical sense. A thought crossed his mind, and then he spoke up "While I was honest in my own answers, I have a question of my own...I hope that any of you would answer it for me..."

Applejack nodded "Sure thing, sugarcube! What's on yer mind?"

Cuatro took a deep breath before he looked at Applejack with a pause. He then spoke in his usual tone, though tinted with seriousness.

"...What is a heart?"