//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Amnesia // by Eastwing //------------------------------// "Sorry 'bout that Shadow. Winona can get a little excited sometimes." Applejack apologized, as Shadow descended the stairs. "It's okay Miss Applejack. Good morning." he replied cheerfully. "Aw shucks...y'all don't have ta call me Miss. Just Applejack, plain an' simple." the hatted mare replied. "Yes Ma'am." he agreed.  "Good morning Shadow." The voice of a certain miss Sparkle called from the kitchen. "Good morning Twilight." Shadow called back, before taking a seat on a couch.  Moments later, Winona jumps up and sits next to him. "Uh...Hi...Leona, right?" Shadow unsuredly greeted. "Winona." Applejack corrected with a smile. "Hi Winona." Shadow rephrased. The dog in question barked in reply.  "So, you were saying Applejack?" Twilight asked, trotting out of the kitchen, giving Shadow a glass of orange juice and plate of toast. "Ah was a sayin, actually asking, can you watch Applebloom and her friends for a while? They've been collectively grounded from crusadin', an' neither Rarity or Ah have the time ta watch em. Fluttershy has her animals, an' we all know why Rainbow is outta the question. Pinkie Pie...Ah think she's still plannin' that party for Shadow. Please Twilight?" Applejack pleaded, as Shadow had walked to the table and started eating. "Of course AJ. I don't have anything else planned for today, except tutor Shadow. Just send them over whenever." Twilight told her. "Oh thank ya Twi'! But um...they're outside." Applejack sheepishly told her. "Oh! Girls!! Come on in!" Twilight yelled.  The door swung open, to reveal a trio of fillies, one of each race. "Howdy Twilight!" the middle one greeted. "Hi girls." The purple flanked mare replied. "Now Applebloom, Ah expect y'all to behave fer Twilight." Applejack warned. "Of course Sis! Right Crusaders?" the middle filly asked. "Right!!" the other two agreed in chorus.  "Good, now G'bye. Ah've got Apple-buckin' ta do. C'mon Winona!" Applejack declared, as she exited the library, closely followed by the dog. "Bye Sis! So Crusaders? What do we do?" Applebloom asked aloud. "I can answer that." Twilight chimed in. "Huh?" Applebloom asked. "Does it involve books?" the orange Pegasus asked, annoyed. "No Scootaloo." Twilight answered. "Is it us going to bed early?" The white unicorn asked. "Sweetie Belle, wherever did you get that idea?" Twilight asked. "I don't know..." she sheepishly replied. "Listen Girls. I am currently tutoring somepony. Extensively. And I just realized that you three could help with one of the most important subjects a pony can ever learn." Twilight finally told them. "Really? What?" Scootaloo asked. "Friendship." Twilight answered with a smile.  "Cutie Mark Crusaders, I'd like you to meet Shadow Wing. Shadow, this is Applebloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle." Twilight introduced, after pulling the colt from his half-eaten breakfast. "H-Hi..." he shyly greeted.  "Hiya!!" "Nice ta meet'cha!!" "Cool name. Doesn't really match though." Scootaloo told him, putting a hoof to her chin. "Wh-why not?" Shadow asked, surprised. "Too scary or dark. At least for the way your acting. All Shy and stuff." Scootaloo answered analytically.  Twilight had resigned herself to let things play out naturally, with no interference on her part.  "Yeah! You'd be more suited for a name like...Fluffy Cloud!" Scootaloo joked. "B-But..." Shadow mumbled, sadly. "Wait! Don't get upset!! I was just joking!! Your name is awesome!" Scootaloo quickly exclaimed, fearfully. "We obviously ain't gonna get a cutie mark in name changin'." Applebloom rolled her eyes. "Cue-tea Mark?" Shadow asked.  "Where?!" All three fillies yelled. "W-Wha?" Shadow asked, severely confused. The CMC all turned round and round, staring at their own flanks. "Awww...nothin'." Applebloom sighed. The other two met with similar results.  "Why were you staring at your flank?" Shadow asked any of the three. "To see if we had our cutie marks yet!" Scootaloo exclaimed. "What's a cue-tea mark?" Shadow asked.  "Twilight, were did you find this colt?! How can he not know what a cutie mark is?!" Scootaloo asked. "That's the reason he's here. I'm teaching him everything a pony needs to know, and Uh...then some." Twilight sheepishly explained, giggling a bit. "But why? Why doesn't he already know?" Sweetie Belle pressed.  "I'd...um...appreciate it if you didn't talk about me like I'm not here..." Shadow chimed in, a little upset. "Oh! Uh...sorry? So why don't you know?" Applebloom asked. "I just...don't..." he answered. "He has amnesia Girls. He doesn't remember anything past a few days ago. Not even who he was." Twilight added.  "What?!" the trio yelled in chorused surprise. "Yeah..." Shadow replied sheepishly. "He was sent to Princess Luna, who sent him here for tuition. Past that, not even he knows. So, I've been teaching him, and as I said before, I would like your help girls, to help him learn about friendship. There's only so much even books can teach on this subject. So girls, would you like to...assist me with this lesson?" Twilight asked, smiling. The three fillies quickly formed a huddle, whispering amongst themselves. "Annnnnnd Break!" they exclaimed, separating. "Well?" Twilight asked, giggling.  "Cutie Mark Crusaders Friendship Teachers!! YAY!!!" the CMC declared in chorus. "I'll take that as a Yes." Twilight sighed happily.  "What do we do first?" Scootaloo asked. "I'll leave that up to you four." Twilight answered, as all fillies were enveloped in magic and levitated out the door. Before anypony could respond, the door closed.  "So, any ideas?" Sweetie Belle asked. Shadow shook his head, No. "Nope..." Applebloom added. "Scootaloo?" Sweetie asked. "Nada..." The Pegasus replied.  "HIYA GIRLS!! HIYA SHADOW!!!" a loud voice suddenly greeted from behind them. Shadow yelped and jumped into the air. "Hiya Pinkie Pie!" The CMC greeted in return, unfazed. "Have you seen Shadow? I thought I just saw him." Pinkie giggled. The trio all looked up to see the colt latched onto a branch. "H-Hi Miss Pinkie..." he finally greeted.  "Shadow, come down here. It's not fun to talk to a scared filly." Pinkie giggled. Shadow slowly let go of the branch, extending his good wing, to allow for a lazy corkscrew to the ground. "That's better. Now, we all need to get to Sugarcube Corner!" Pinkie declared. "Why?" Scootaloo asked quizzically.  "For the 'Welcome to Ponyville' party for Shadow!! Duh!!" Pinkie exclaimed, somehow appearing from beneath Shadow, positioning him on top of her head. "Party at Sugarcube Corner?! I'm there!!" Scootaloo declared happily. "Me two!" Applebloom agreed. "Me three!" Sweetie added. "Let's go girls!!" Pinkie announced, before galloping off towards the sweetest shop in Ponyville, with Shadow barely being able to hang onto her wild mane.  "We're here!! Let's get this party started!!" Pinkie announced, swinging open the doors. A chorus of cheers erupted from the main room, which was filled with a good percentage of Ponyville. Shadow visibly paled, as the entire room's focus was turned on him.  "...h-hi..." he stuttered, barely managing to not fall out of Pinkie's mane. "Welcome to Ponyville!!" the crowd greeted, obviously rehearsed. The sheer number of ponies and how close they had managed to get were bringing up a sense of claustrophobia and a nagging feeling of deja vu and dread. These combined to produce Fear.  Shadow seemed to shrink away into Pinkie's mane, cowering slightly from the constant staring.  "Pinkie, I don't think this was such a good idea." Sweetie Belle whispered in the mare's ear. "He's just being shy." Pinkie dismissed, before combing her hoof threw her mane, until the colt was gently ejected onto her back, completely exposed. "Now Shadow, go enjoy yourself." Pinkie told him, sitting down so that he slid off her back to the floor. Almost immediately the crowd formed a tight circle around him.  "Awww, he's adorable!" somepony squealed. "What's his name?" another asked.  "Why is he so scared?"  "Yeah, he looks terrified..." "Blank Flank..." "Pinkie! He's shakin like a leaf in the wind!" Shadow felt something nudge his side. He opened his bicolored eyes to see two light cerulean ones. "You okay?" Pinkie asked. Shadow quickly shook his head, before recovering it with his hooves. "I think this was a bad idea..." she mumbled sadly. "That's what I said!" Sweetie exclaimed, before being silenced by the other two Crusaders.  "Everypony, I think we should leave. Clearly, someponies can't handle Everypony staring them down as if they did something wrong. I'm sorry Pinkie, but a party was not a good idea for somepony like him. Not with so many ponies at least. Welcome to Ponyville Shadow. I'm sorry this happened." a ashamed mare announced, leading the way to the door. Shadow opened one eye to try and see the one responsible for his salvation, but she was already gone, hidden by the crowd.  After the room was emptied, save for the CMC, a saddened Pinkie Pie, and Shadow, the pink mare walked to a table. She soon returned to Shadow, hoofing him a cupcake. "Here...this'll cheer you up." she told him, smiling weakly. "Thank you..." he quietly replied, taking a small bite. "Shadow...I'm sorry for all this!! I didn't mean to scare you like that!!" Pinkie suddenly sobbed, before enveloping him with an almost bone-crushing hug. "I-I-It's o-ok-k-Kay!! He stammered, convinced his spine was on the verge of snapping. Thankfully she had missed his bad wing. "No, it's not! I can't believe I put you through being scared like that!!" Pinkie continued sobbing, somehow squeezing him harder. "M-M-miss Pink-k-k-kie!!!" Shadow yelped. "Huh?! Oh!! I'msosorryShadow!!!" Pinkie realized, suddenly placing him back on the ground. The colt immediately rubbed his aching back, but tried to smile reassuringly at Pinkie.  There was a knock at the door. "Come in!" Pinkie replied.  "Hello?" a familiar voice asked, as a unicorn stuck her head through the partially open door. "Hello. Wait a minute! Weren't you the mare who got everypony to leave?!" Pinkie asked, sounding accusing. "Yes. I was." the cerulean mare answered, unfazed.  "Oh thankyouthankyouthankyou!" Pinkie yelled, hugging the newcomare. "Uh...you're welcome. But I came back for a reason. I need to talk to Shadow." she replied, gently pushing Pinkie off. "R-really?" Shadow asked, confused.  "Shadow, do you remember the other day? Before coming to Ponyville?" The mare asked, seating herself in front of him. "It's all I can remember..." he answered, again confused. "Well, remember when you were in line? Behind somepony with a pitchfork? Remember who you were in front of?" The mare asked. "Yes. Yes. And...yes...a blue unicorn. That looked a lot like...you?" Shadow asked, a little surprised. "Yes, it was me. The reason I was in line was because my son, a pegusus like you, has recently gone missing. I was intending to inform the Princess of the situation, until the court changed. I started talking to you because you remind me so much of him...anywho. The next day, I finally got an audience with Princess Celestia. She told me that a colt was recently found and was now in the care of Princess Luna. She described you, and I told her that you weren't my son. But...then I realized that now two colts have gone missing. I thought you might have known something about my son, so I asked Celestia about it. She promised to inform me of anything that could even possibly be important. The next day, she told me of your trip to Ponyville. I figured I might as well go and try to speak to you myself. And here I am." the mare explained. "I-I'm sorry Miss..." Shadow started to apologize before realizing he didn't know her name. "Sapphire Skies." the mare answered, smiling kindly as she brushed some of her darker blue hair out of her dark green eyes. "I'm sorry Miss Sapphire...but I don't know anything about your son. I don't remember anything before waking up in some alley, and then meeting you..." Shadow sadly told her. "Oh...are you sure?" Sapphire asked, disheartened. Shadow slowly nodded.  "Alright...it was nice meeting you Shadow. If you remember anything, or just want to talk, Princess Luna should be able to set something up." Sapphire told him, standing up to leave. "Thank you Miss Sapphire..." Shadow said, hugging her foreleg. "F-For what?" she asked, a bit surprised. "For being the first pony to be nice to me..." he answered, looking up at her, smiling.  After Sapphire Skies left to return to her home in Canterlot, Pinkie decided to show the four fillies how to make a cake. A somewhat simple cake. Which wouldn't be a problem, except that four out of five ponies in that room didn't have the faintest idea of how to cook. Or how not to burn everything that was once edible to a liquid crisp.  "How is that even possible?" Shadow asked, staring at a bowl of blackened ooze. "Ummmmm..." Pinkie mumbled. "I am not eating that..." Scootaloo chimed in. "How does a cake just up an'...m-move?!" Applebloom yelled, seeing the would-be-cake start to creep over the edge of the bowl. "I knew I shouldn't have tried to use magic on it!!" Sweetie screamed, as the Crusaders strategically retreated from the kitchen.  "Well...I guess it wasn't all that bad, right? For a first time?" Pinkie giggled, quickly grabbing the bowl and disposing of it, before the creature that lurked within could react. "Th-that seemed pretty bad..." Shadow argued fearfully. "But everything's fine now. I'll go get the girls back. Can't leave this place a mess, now can we?" Pinkie giggled, bouncing merrily out the room.  "Might as well start cleaning..." Shadow mumbled. He grabbed a bowl with his mouth, carrying it to the sink. then he returned for the butter knife that was supposed to be used to spread the icing, since the tool actually designed for the purpose was dirty. As he was carrying it back to the sink, the small, smooth piece of silverware slipped from his mouth. In a vain attempt to right his 'slip-up', he reached out with his hoof to catch it.  Pinkie and the Crusaders returned to the kitchen, significantly calmed. That is, until they heard a quiet sniffling. The mare plus three quickly searched the kitchen, finding the source underneath the table.  "Shadow?! What's wrong?!" Applebloom yelled. Shadow didn't respond. He was holding his hooves to his head, and the quartet of ponies noticed a small trickle of blood trailing down his right hoof, dripping to the floor. The blood was slowly oozing from a small cut on his hoof, nothing major. But Shadow wasn't paying it any mind. His eyes looked dazed and blank, giving the impression of a thousand yard stare.  "Hello? Equestria to Shadow. Come in Shadow." Pinkie asked, waving her hoof in front of his face, worried. Shadow blinked, looking around briefly, blinking once more, before wildly galloping to an open cabinet, diving inside, and slamming it behind him.  "S-Shadow?" Sweetie asked, confused. "Go away!!" came his surprisingly loud voice. "Shady, that's not nice. Telling ponies to leave they're own kitchen. No, not nice at all. Now come outta there. Please?" Pinkie asked. "No!! Stay away from me!!!" Shadow yelled. "At least tell us whats wrong." Scootaloo pressed. There was a long period of silence, during which, Pinkie decided to open the cabinet. She backed slightly, to allow him some more space. The colt was huddled up in the corner, a few pots and pans shoved to the side. "You okay?" she asked gingerly. Shadow quickly shook his head. "Come here Shady, you can tell your Auntie Pie." The pink mare offered kindly.  Shadow slowly looked up into her cerulean eyes, before crawling out of the cabinet. "Oh! We need to bandage up that hoof too!" Pinkie exclaimed, randomly pulling out a roll of white surgical cloth.  After attending to his wound, Pinkie resumed her initial objective. "What's wrong Shady? Why'd you yell like that? And hide in the cabinet?" she asked, gently lifting up his head. "I...I...I was t-trying to clean up a bit...I grabbed a knife...but...I dropped it...then I tried to catch it...but...I ended up c-cutting myself...b-but that's not the pr-problem......." Shadow explained, fighting back tears near the end. "What is?" Pinkie pressed.  "When...When I saw the b-blood...pictures...kinda flashed though my head...but...they seemed so familiar..." Shadow told her, visibly trembling. "What were they? Oh!! Maybe they were memories!!" Pinkie excitedly suggested. Shadow, despite his black coat, visibly paled.  "The...first was...was...a...c-cave...then...there was a...a....r-really big...d-d-d-dragon! An-and it...it was...t-talking to a bunch of ponies...all wearing hoods...th-then...one had a weird kn-knife...and...he...he walked up to me....and...and....and........that's it....That's all I remember..." Shadow shakily told them. "Woah..." Scootaloo mumbled. "I think we need to take you back to Twilight..." Pinkie suggested, before getting to her hooves and making for the door. The Crusaders, plus one colt, followed. The latter still trembling.  Once the quartet reached the Golden Oaks Library, the only mare of the four knocked on the door.  "Coming!" came a very familiar voice. Soon, the door swung open to reveal a somewhat cheerful Miss Sparkle. "Hello Pinkie, girls, ShadowIsSomethingWrong?!" she greeted/asked. "Uh yeah. Shady um...had a small accident. I bandaged it up and all, but...he remembered something. I think." Pinkie answered.  Twilight was silent for a moment. "Come in. All of you." She finally said, stepping aside. The quartet entered, everypony expressing worry or fear. "Shadow...what did you remember?" Twilight eventually asked.  The colt re-re-counted the story, starting to tremble again. "Oh dear..." Twilight mumbled, looking away, deep in thought. "T-Twilight?" Shadow asked, scared and worried. "I think we need to inform the Princess." The lavender mare suggested. "Celestia?" Pinkie asked, cocking her head to the left. "No. Princess Luna." Twilight corrected.  Suddenly, the front door was thrown open, a small purple and green dragon running in. "Spike?! What's going on?!" Twilight demanded, as Shadow yelped and dove behind her, cowering. "It's...a...letter...ha...from....the...Princess...whoa...Princess...Luna..." the reptile panted, looking like he had sprinted the entire way from Rarity's boutique. Which, in fact, he had.  Spike held out a rolled up and sealed piece of parchment, almost doubled over in exhaustion. The letter glowed purple and levitated out of his hand, unrolling in the same movement, stopping in front of Twilight.  "Twilight Sparkle, This is for you and the other bearers of the Elements of Harmony's eyes only. Nopony else should know about this, save for Shadow Wing, but I would prefer to explain it to him myself..." "Crusaders? Please take Shadow upstairs." Twilight said.  "...Nightmare Moon is attempting to or already has returned. Last night, both Shadow Wing and I shared a rather frightening nightmare, in which The Nightmare herself appeared. As much as I hate to admit it, Shadow has something to do with her return. I don't know how exactly, but he is indeed linked in some form. As such, I intend to return to Ponyville to retrieve him, around noon.  ~Princess Luna" "Nightmare Moon is back?! The Princess will be here at noon?!" Twilight exclaimed. She glanced at a nearby sundial.  11:55 "Spike!! Why did you just now get this to me?!" Twilight asked, on the precipice of anger. "I just woke up. The letter came while I was sleeping..." he sheepishly replied.  Twilight glanced at the sundial again.  11:56.03893179484216 "The Princess is going to be here any minute!! AND Nightmare Moon is back!!!" Twilight yelled, 'royally' freaking out. "Jeez, calm down Twi'. Just go get Shadow. Princess Luma comes and gets him, and there's no problem. I'm sure the Princesses can handle the 'Nightmare Moon' problem. If they can't, they'll ask. Until then, calm down." Spike told her. "You know what? You're right. I should just calm dow-...please tell me I didn't just hear a chariot land..." Twilight whined. "Uh. You did." Spike reluctantly answered.  "Oh no..." A resounding series of knocks were emitted from the front door.  The door glowed a dark, starry blue before swinging open to allow the source of said glow to enter.  "Princess Luna!" Twilight exclaimed, forcing a smile as she bowed. "Greetings Twilight Sparkle. You received my letter?" The Princess asked. "Unfortunatly, only just a few minutes ago. Shadow is upstairs with his friends." Twilight answered sheepishly. "Friends? That is...unexpected. Even so, I must take him back to Canterlot, for reasons you already know." Luna replied, smiling only briefly. "Of course Princess. Be right back." Twilight complied, before galloping up the stairs. The door to her bedroom was opened to reveal the three Crusaders plus one sitting on the floor in a circle, calmly talking. That in and of itself was suspicious, until Twilight head what they asked her.  "Is Nigh'mare Moon really back Twilight?" Applebloom asked, worried. "Uh...no. No she's not." Twilight quickly answered, caught off guard. "Then why were you yelling that she was?" Scootaloo asked, not believing the lie. "Oh. Princess Luna was trying to...Uh...play a joke. But it went a bit too far...so yeah. Speaking of which, Shadow, she's here to take you back to Canterlot." Twilight answered, quickly trying to change the subject.  "Really?!" Shadow asked, excited. "Yes. She's downstairs." Twilight answered, forcing a smile. "Bye Shadow! Don't forget to write!" Scootaloo exclaimed, as the girls descended upon him in a group hug. "Uh...okay..." he stammered, blushing slightly.  After the fillies gave their goodbyes, Twilight took them downstairs. "Princess Luna!!" Shadow exclaimed happily, galloping over to her before unwillingly remembering archaic manners again, and bowing. "Hello my little Shadow." The Princess greeted, nuzzling him gently, raising him back up. "I missed you so much!" Shadow exclaimed. "We...I missed you too. I take it Twilight has been an excellent tutor?" Luna asked, smiling slightly. "Uh huh!" Shadow replied, smiling. "Good. Because you might be coming back, since this visit was cut short. Speaking of which, we must be on our way. Goodbye Twilight Sparkle, I am in your debt." Luna said, before turning towards the door. "Bye Twilight! Bye Applebloom! Bye Sweetie Belle! Bye Scootaloo!" Shadow exclaimed, happily following the Princess.  "Goodbye Shadow..."