//------------------------------// // Capitulo Veintitres // Story: Cuatro // by Dirty Bit //------------------------------// CapĂ­tulo Veintitres Loyalty In Ponyville, Rainbow Dash was hovering and looking around diligently while carrying a sack in her hooves "You see him yet, Pinkie?" Pinkie was on surveillance below Rainbow Dash with a set of binoculars as she looked around in random directions "Nopey dopey, Dashie! Not even a tiny hair!" Rainbow Dash smirked mischievously "Awesome! That'll give us plenty of time to prepare! Good ol' Cuatro won't know what's coming to him once he gets back!" She sifted through her sack and went over the contents inside. Pinkie continued looking around "You mean IF he comes back! If is good, right? He's been gone for so long, you'd think he'd be here with that Sonido thingy of his! In fact, if I were to guess when he'll be back, I'd say he'll be next to us, right aboooooout..." The party pony turned into another direction until she noticed a patch of pale white blur into her vision "There he is! Hi, Cuaty!" Pinkie lowered her binoculars to look up and see Cuatro look back at Pinkie with his usual emotionless expression. Rainbow Dash was instantly startled as she fumbled with her sack and quickly hid it behind her back while she hovered "U-Uh, hey there, C! How's it going?" She asked with an awkward grin with a tone to match. Cuatro regarded the two mares in his usual tone "Hello to you both. It is actually going well today..." He looked back at the distant city of Canterlot. "I can only wonder how Luna was able to activate my wings without magic..." Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes "Cool, that's whatever...We kinda heard from Twilight that you were at the castle a couple of hours ago!" She looked at Cuatro with a curious glance "Did Princess Celestia wanna see you for something?" Cuatro shook his head "It involved my first friendship letter...It's safe to assume that I should trust in you and the others to teach me more about friendship..." Pinkie got into Cuatro's face with a wide grin "Does that mean you'll smile now?" She asked in an expectant tone. Cuatro replied flatly "No..." Pinkie drew herself back with puffed cheeks and crossed forelegs "Horseapples!" Rainbow Dash shifted her eyes again "Say, Cuatro, why don't you go and let Twilight know you're back? Wouldn't be right to just stand way out here!" Cuatro stared at Rainbow Dash with his unreadable expression "...You and Pinkie are right next to the library..." He stated in his usual tone, albeit deadpanned. Rainbow Dash blankly turned to stare at the large treehouse next to her "...Oh..." She turned back to Cuatro with a grin "Looks like we are, huh? Now you can tell go Twilight about your visit! Wouldn't wanna keep her waiting, right?" Cuatro sweatdropped at Rainbow Dash's unusually ardent response and trotted into the library without another word. When the door shut, the cyan pegasus quickly landed next to Pinkie and whispered in her ear "Okay! Now we know he's here! Let's just figure out where to start with what we have!" Pinkie saluted with narrow eyes, and the two mares dug into the sack and fished out random items while tittering to themselves. _____ Twilight and Spike were busy reading history and geography books to see if she could not pinpoint any trace of familiarity with Cuatro in Equestria. So far, she had absolutely no leads on particular alicorns of his appearance. Twilight grew frustrated with her current results 'This doesn't make any sense! Not a single lead to follow with Cuatro's memories! No piece about his origins, no word about Hueco Mundo or Las Noches, no nothing! Where could Cuatro hail from to have all of these memories??' She stole a glance at his compiled list of memories starting from 'Aizen' and ending at 'human'. The lavender bookworm ever wondered if she could either make sense of Cuatro's memories or be able to restore them altogether in the near future. The front door opened, and Twilight looked to see Cuatro trot inside and smiled "Oh, hello, Cuatro! I see you're back from Canterlot!" She looked at the mass of books surrounding her and grinned sheepishly at the strange alicorn "I've...been doing a bit of studying with Spike's help, so there's no need to worry about the mess!" Cuatro activated his horn as he stared at Twilight "Not at all...I can gladly clean this up while I explain about my visit..." He brought a book over to him and examined its contents; it was the history book he had last read. Cuatro gave a light nod and read on. Twilight hopped over a small pile of books and gave a touched smile "Cuatro, you shouldn't feel so obligated to help, it wasn't your mess to begin with..." Spike nodded "Yeah! And besides, with how long I've lived with Twilight, reshelving these books are a cinch!" He smiled at the strange alicorn. Cuatro stopped his reading to look at Twilight "I musn't disregard you or the rest of my friends for your care and understanding of my situation, especially if I'm a stranger to many in Equestria...I believe I managed to nearly understand what a heart is..." Twilight gave a brightened smile "Really? Then, how about I fix us up a light snack and we can talk about it?" Spike rubbed his claws together and licked his lips "I'm all for that! I could use a small break from all this research, wouldn't you?" Cuatro turned to Spike "Research? Is there a certain process I should know about?" He replied in his usual tone. Twilight sighed "Cuatro, I'll be honest. While you were gone, I was still fixated on turning to nearly every book that I own to see if you fit in any particular area or historical event tied to Equestria and its history! But, as of late, we haven't had the best results..." Spike crossed his arms "You know, I'm still iffy as to how Princess Celestia couldn't bring back your memories! That's just a thought that's been nagging at my head for a while now!" Cuatro was silent upon hearing Spike. He had his own suspicions about Celestia and how she supposedly 'failed' at restoring Cuatro's memories, but so far, she had managed to re-educate him into learning more about the value of friendship as well as the heart, along with how he had been acting towards others. "...Could I understand the full concept of the heart before my memories return? What would I do after I manage to accomplish both of my goals?" Twilight shifted her glances between Cuatro and Spike and gave an awkward smile "Well, since we're on the topic of Princess Celestia, why don't we head to the kitchen?" Twilight trotted inside with Spike and Cuatro following close behind. Spike and Cuatro made themselves comfortable on their own seats while Twilight fetched some snacks she preserved in her refridgerator. She pulled out three sweet rolls and levitated them onto the table, then trotted towards the stove "I'll get us some hot cocoa going, if any of you feel up to it?" Cuatro shook his head "No thank you. The sweet roll is fine..." Twilight shrugged "Suit yourself." She pulled out some powder packets from the cupboards after closing her fridge and readied two mugs as she poured hot water and powder into both of them, stirring them up "So tell me, Cuatro. Did everything go well at Canterlot?" Cuatro replied while he levitated his history book "It was actually more acceptable than I had hoped for. I even managed to socialize with Luna for a short period of time..." Twilight turned to Cuatro with a smirk "Really now? A simple day as friends, I take it?" Cuatro replied instantly "More or less...It was actually fulfilling to see her in a good mood, save for when she had made mention of her absence..." He turned to Twilight, who approached with the two mugs she made for herself and Spike "Tell me, Twilight...Do you bear knowledge of Luna's 'absence'?" Twilight and Spike blinked before they shared knowing and slightly somber expressions towards themselves. Twilight turned to the strange alicorn with a frown "Cuatro, this is something that has affected Princess Luna for the longest time. It actually involves the Elements of Harmony." Cuatro stared at Twilight, growing more curious about her explanation "Has she used them herself?" Twilight nodded "For a time, according to her and Celestia's history, but this is different. You see, Cuatro, one thousand years ago, the princesses took pride into their jobs of raising and lowering the sun and moon." Spike continued "The ponies adored Celestia's sun, and they frolicked and played under it until the moon rose into the sky. Everypony then went to bed and basically ignored the night sky." Twilight frowned more, knowing what was explained next "With how Celestia got all the attention for her work, Luna became more and more jealous and wanted her night to last longer. Celestia urged Luna for both of them to work together, but Luna grew more stubborn and jealous until she became an evil monster known as Nightmare Moon, who wanted the night to last forever! Celestia knew that nothing else could be done about Nightmare Moon and her power other than to use the Elements of Harmony and banish her to the moon, where she remained for one thousand years exactly!" For the first time, Cuatro felt his heart buckle at the thought of seeing Luna being imprisoned in her own creation as punishment for her actions. It left when Twilight continued her story "But she was aided by the stars in escaping so that she could try and bring eternal night to Equestria once again after being gone for so long." She then placed a hoof on her chest "That's where me and my friends came in! Before I came into Ponyville, I was living in Canterlot, where I was too busy studying to talk to anypony or make any friends! But after I was sent here by Celestia in order to actually make friends, I never realized how much of a positive impact it had given in my life! I've met my friends AND discovered that we were the new Elements of Harmony. We even managed to save Luna in the process!" Cuatro was silent as he took all of this information in, and even set down his history book as he thought about this. "So Luna became a threat to Equestria for a time...I can sympathize with her reasons, but to think that she would be driven into darkness over jealousy..." The strange alicorn turned to look out the window "That explains why she was saddened about it...I should be happy to know that I've cheered her up..." Twilight smiled "You have? How?" Cuatro looked back to Twilight "A snowball fight. Though, I never thought a princess such as herself even favored such an activity." Spike chuckled "Somepony needs to have more fun in his life." He cringed when he noticed Twilight giving him a look. Cuatro nodded "I've also learned that I should even protect my friends whenever conflict arises..." He looked at Twilight and Spike "I know I have said this in the past, but I thank you and the others for accepting me into your life as a friend, especially if I feel lost myself...Know that if need be, I shall guard you all with my life..." Twilight and Spike gave a touched smile at Cuatro's words, though Twilight's grew thin "You don't exactly have to go that far, Cuatro. We haven't been met with any known disasters as of late." Cuatro replied instantly "Regardless, you all are carrying my burden, and I must return the favor somehow...It would go against my title as Moon Shield..." Twilight drew her head back and blinked incredulously "Moon Shield?" Cuatro nodded "Luna has bestowed a title upon me out of both the goodness of her heart and her judgement of my character..." He closed his eyes "I must be loyal to those that I hold dear..." Spike crossed his arms with a smile "You know, with all this talk of loyalty, you should go find Rainbow Dash and learn a thing or two from her! That should boost your knowledge on friendship AND show how committed you are to your title!" Cuatro turned to Spike "An excellent idea...Much appreciated from you, Spike..." The purple dragon waved a dismissive claw before he blew on his cocoa and took his first sip. Twilight smiled "You really are a good friend to say all of this. If you need to know anything at all, you know who to turn to!" She closed her eyes and took another sip. Cuatro stared at Twilight drinking her cocoa and remembered a topic of importance as he spoke in a straight tone "My wings extended on their own when I made physical contact with Luna. Why is that?" Spike didn't have enough time to brace himself when a stream of hot cocoa splashed onto his face and prompted the dragon to scream. _____ Later, after a small talk about pony anatomy and hearing Twilight apologize profusely to her assistant while cleaning him, Cuatro made his way out of the library and decided to pursue Rainbow Dash by trotting through Ponyville, though his head was hung in shame as he went. "To act inappropriately towards a friend, and around Luna no less...I should apologize to her the next time we meet...But why was she laughing at me rather than being offended?" As he thought to himself, he was unaware that he was being watched from the skies. Rainbow Dash stealthfully monitored Cuatro's movements from behind a cloud in the sky. She turned to his right to peer down at a bush containing a secluded Pinkie readying a pie. When the party pony looked up at Rainbow Dash, the cyan pegasus gave a nod to which Pinkie returned as she got her throwing hoof locked into position. Cuatro stopped and looked around until he faced to the sky to pinpoint Rainbow Dash's position. "She tends to enjoy the sky, so no doubt she would be up there..." Pinkie found the time to quickly appear from the bushes without making any noise and toss the pie at her target. However, she was too late when Cuatro decided to unfurl his wingspan and fly upward, inadvertently dodging the pie. Instead of going for Cuatro, the pie was now headed towards an unsuspecting zebracorn wearing a fedora with a black-and-white plaid scarf while he trotted in the snow. He turned to see the pie with widened eyes and did not have time to scream before it slammed and splattered in his face. Pinkie winced at the scene and mouthed an 'oops' to herself as she saw the zebracorn muffle a curse with a tin on his muzzle. Rainbow Dash saw the whole thing and cursed under her breath. She then noticed Cuatro nearby, hovering in the air and looking around 'What could he be looking for? Is he onto us?' She scowled to herself 'I'll bet somepony tipped him off! But who?' She looked away and whispered to herself while she hid in her cloud "Okay, so that one's out. Guess we'll have to find something else..."She turned back to spy on Cuatro, who was right in front of her face, causing the cyan pegasus to yelp and distance herself away "Whoa! Why'd you sneak up on me like that!?" She spoke in a startled tone. Cuatro replied "My apologies if I scared you, Rainbow Dash...It's just that I've heard you whispering and I've managed to find you now. If it's not too much trouble, could you perhaps teach me about loyalty today?" Rainbow Dash calmed herself as she hovered with Cuatro "You wanna learn about loyalty today? Are you wanting to get the whole learning session out of the way or something?" Cuatro shook his head "I only wish to know what the true meaning of loyalty is from the Element of Loyalty herself, so that I may be more committed to my friends..." Rainbow Dash chuckled "You sound like a royal guard! But maybe I could teach you a thing or two today!" She looked down at Pinkie, and an idea instantly clicked into her head as she grinned "Yeah, I could show you some pointers while going around Ponyville! Sound cool?" Cuatro nodded "Very well. Although, the cold has no sound unless you're referring to the wind..." Rainbow Dash just stared at Cuatro with a mixture of unamusement and disappointment 'Now I see why he wanted to stay with Twilight...' She quickly changed her expression into that of a smirk and glided past Cuatro "C'mon, C! Let's head on down so you can get started!" The strange alicorn followed after his teacher for the day as they descended to the ground. They began to trot in the snow with Rainbow Dash at Cuatro's side, and while he looked forward, the cyan pegasus quickly turned to the bush and winked with a mischievous grin. Pinkie noticed the signal and zipped out of the bush, catching the attention of Cuatro "Was that-" Rainbow lightly nudged the strange alicorn as they continued on "Hey now, you shouldn't get sidetracked over the little things! The lessons begin now!" Cuatro turned to Rainbow Dash "Of course. Forgive me for being distracted..." Rainbow Dash looked around "Now where should we go first...Hey! How about we head over to the park? That'll be a good place to learn loyalty!" Cuatro replied instantly "If you truly think that it is best..." Rainbow Dash smiled "Alright! Let's head on over! I'll race-" She instantly stopped herself before she cleared her throat "Er, let's just walk there..." The cyan pegasus spoke in a defeated tone. She didn't want to repeat the same mistake again knowing Cuatro's Sonido 'Hey, wait a minute! He said he could teach me Sonido someday!!' She looked back at Cuatro "Hey, Cuatro! I have a better idea now! I'll teach you about loyalty if you teach me how to Sonido! You said you'd teach me someday, and you're in search of lessons yourself, so we'll be helping each other out!" Cuatro blinked until he remembered his words from Pinkie's party "Ah, yes...I have, haven't I? A part of me regrets this decision with how my Sonido could be considered a natural trait..." Rainbow Dash frowned "It's a trait on speed, and I'm all about speed! I'll be sure to keep up with how you'll put it in words!" Cuatro wished to deny it further, but he saw the determination and persistence in Rainbow Dash's eyes and sighed "I'll do my best to teach you as you will me..." Rainbow Dash beamed "Awesome! Let's get moving!" The two made for the park after a deal was struck. Rainbow Dash kept her grin while she moved with Cuatro 'I get to prank Cuatro with Pinkie AND I get to learn how to go even faster! It's a win-win!' To be continued...