I awoke to a rather gentle knock at the door. For a while, I ignored it, not wanting to get up from the bed even though the ceiling above me only continued to remind me of the previous night’s events. How had things turned so sour so quickly? Why had things gone that way so fast? What did Luna have against me? Now, quite frankly, I didn’t much care that Luna thought of me that way, seeing as I wasn’t staying for too much of an extended period of time, but the fact that I wasn’t quite sure what I had done was what had set me off.
“Nemo?” came a voice from outside. “Nemo? Unlock the door, please. I have your supplement for the morning.”
I was thankful it wasn’t Shining Armor. Having to speak to him would mean having to go through what happened again last night, which wasn’t pretty and included me throwing one of the glass cups in the suite for water so hard against the glass that it broke. He wasn’t mad at me for it, I think, and he stayed until I had calmed down enough to speak normally. Shaking the memories of the previous night out of my head, I changed again and opened the door for the guard, a white pegasi I recognized as Revenant Wings, carrying the silver tray in his mouth. He brought it over to the coffee table and set the tray down; I drank the supplement, which tasted more like orange today, and watched as the guard looked over to the broken glass in shock.
“I… I shall get the maids in here to clean that up for you,” Revenant said, and left the room as soon as he said it.
I sat in the suite for a little while and got a not-so broken glass for a drink of water before leaving the suite and going down to the dining hall for breakfast. There wasn’t so many ponies in there today; aside from Princess Cadence and Shining Armor, in addition to one or two other ponies eating at the opposite end, the hall was empty. I sat down across from Shining Armor in my usual place and kept quiet except for a “thank you” as the butler brought me a plate with eggs, fruit, and what I knew as ‘French toast’.
“How are you doing, Nemo?”
I winced. The question was inevitable, but I didn’t want to hear it all the same.
“Alright, I guess.”
“No more broken glass?”
Cadence looked shocked, but said nothing.
“I thought about it.”
“…but you didn’t actually do it?”
“No.”
Cadence looked between me and Shining Armor. “Wha… what happened?”
Shining Armor told Cadence about Luna. The reactions that I saw from her were pretty much to be expected: she got up, went around the table towards where I was sitting and started looking me over, mumbling things like “Are you okay? Did you get in a fight? Maybe you should see the nurse…”
“I don’t need a nurse,” I interrupted. “I’m fine. It went no farther than words. I threw the glass at the window because I got angry, but I didn’t actually do any harm to Shining Armor or Luna. Can we please drop the subject?”
Cadence went back to her seat and looked to Shining Armor. “Maybe some dream therapy?”
“How do we do that when the one in charge of dreams is irritated with him?”
“Point taken.”
I sighed and motioned to the hall, trying to change the subject. “How come hardly anyone is in here?”
Shining Armor was as willing to turn things around as I was. “Most ponies in the court get the weekend off. Today and tomorrow there’s nopony around except for a few select guards, the royal librarian, and the head archivist. I get today and tomorrow off, too, but since Cadence is one of the princesses, we stay in the castle.”
I nodded. It made sense… sort of.
“Hey!” Cadence brightened. “Why don’t you head out for a little with us today? We’ll be going to a park for a little bit, then heading out to lunch, then attending a Wonderbolt show.”
“Wonderbolts…?”
“They’re an aerial stunt and military team. They’re some of the best flyers in Equestria and make up some of our air force, but they don’t have much to deal with, so they put on shows to keep their skill and stamina up. It’ll be at the Cliffside stadium this evening.”
“So long as neither of you two mind…”
“Oh, you’re not going to be a problem, Nemo,” Shining Armor said. “Me and Cadence talked about this last night, and she has no problem with you hanging out at us. She can get you an extra ticket for the Wonderbolt Derby in the royal box with us.”
It was a change to get out of the castle…
“Alright. So long as you’re absolutely sure…”
“It’s fine,” Shining Armor and Cadence said simultaneously.
* * *
I had a wonderful afternoon with Shining Armor and Cadence. We got in a carriage pulled by some members of the Solar Guard and made our way through the busy streets of Canterlot until we hit somewhere close to downtown and the largest buildings. I stepped out with the others and found us flanked by more of the Guard. We walked about a block down a street where no carriages ran to a steel and glass entry gate with a ticket booth; one of the guards paid for the seven in our entourage and we passed through.
The scenery suddenly changed from tall buildings of wood and stone and metal to a lush park with rolling hills and trees. Off in the distance, I could see a small pond around which some ponies fished, and closer to the entrance we stepped through was a playground with fillies on playground equipment and older mares sitting around on picnic benches talking and laughing with one another. A few bowed as we passed, but most shouted a hello towards Cadence, who also seemed very popular with the fillies that ran up to her looking for hugs or a pat on the head which Cadence was more than happy to oblige throughout our time in the park.
We wandered through the park, stopping for a rest and an ice cream at a small amusement park located towards the center of the larger park. There was a carousel and a Ferris wheel and a few other carnival attractions that were free of charge, likely since it cost to enter the park. Once we had finished with our dessert we walked up to a hill that allowed us to see all of Canterlot. I found myself amazed at the size of it and how small the towers of Canterlot Castle looked in the distance. After a short while of just taking in the sights, we walked back down the hill and through the park to the entrance gate we had originally come through and went back into the busy streets of Canterlot.
Once in Canterlot, Shining Armor led us to a restaurant located on an out-of-the-way street and we were seated – the guard joining us though they remained ever vigilant. Shining Armor ordered a few large plates for the whole table, plates and bread were brought out, and soon large bowls of salad and these pieces of a food that looked and tasted almost like chicken and another that looked and tasted like pork links (“You’d know it as tofu.”) were brought out with a variety of sauces and a few large bowls of rice. It was different fare than I had expected, but tasted good and I gorged myself nonetheless. I saw multiple ponies during dinner come up to Shining Armor and Cadence, who were more than willing to talk with them and would hear most out for a little while before resuming lunch. A few ponies came by to gawk at me, but Shining Armor’s presence alone kept that to a minimum.
“Are you alright?” Shining Armor asked me after a few of the latter type were shooed away. “You’ve hardly said anything.”
“I’m not quite sure what to say,” I told him. “I’ve mostly been trying to take in everything I see that’s new or unfamiliar, which is a lot less than I thought. It’s so strange; I remember doing almost this exact same thing back at home with my family back when I was younger, so I keep having these feelings of déjà vu. It just feels so… so…”
“…normal?”
“Yes.”
“…is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“It helps, that’s all I’ll say.”
“Well, when we’re done here, we’ll be going to see something that I don’t think you’ve ever seen before. The shows done by the Wonderbolts are a thing to behold, even from the recruits. I’ve gone to their shows every time they pass through Canterlot since I was a colt and I’ve always been amazed by how amazing their skill is.”
“I’m already amazed by how friendly you’ve been towards everyone that’s stopped by.”
“A royal’s work is never done,” Cadence chimed in. “Even when we’re out on the town to enjoy ourselves, it’s better that we still put on a good face for the royalty. It benefits us in the court and the people: we’re still able to enjoy a day out of the castle for ourselves but our people see us as one of them and trust us.”
“Probably helps that you use your powers for good reasons. Celestia gives them life and protection, Luna gives them rest and shelter, and you give them joy and a sense of sanctuary. It all works so well together.”
“Then… why don’t you want to stay?” Shining Armor asked.
“It’s welcoming, but it’s not home.”
The conversation was left at that until we got into the carriage heading for the Wonderbolts’ Canterlot stadium.
“Define ‘home’ as you see it,” Shining Armor asked once the carriage got rolling.
“Well… home is where you feel comfortable. Home is where you feel safe. Home is where you walk in and everyone accepts you. Home is where your family is. Home is where you’re able to settle down and not have to worry. Maybe… maybe most of all, home is where you feel like you belong, like you can identify with those around you.”
“…and you don’t feel any of those?”
“I feel safe, maybe. Safer than I’ve ever felt, to be completely honest. But I’m not comfortable. I’m not able to settle down. I don’t have family. And I just don’t feel like I’m in the right place.”
“…can you remember any more of what life was like back there?”
“…no.”
“What was home like?”
I struggled to think. “Well… home was a one-bedroom apartment. I paid my rent, I paid for my groceries, I paid my taxes. I lived on my own, and I think I had been doing a pretty good job of it.”
“But even Celestia hasn’t told us the conditions you were brought here under.”
“Why is that? Why would she know and not tell me anything? Why would she leave me in the dark like I’ve been, trying to regain my memories on my own when she could just do something like tell me or use some magic spell on me that shows me all the memories I’ve lost? Isn’t such a thing possible?”
“It is,” Cadence said sadly, “but only in dire situations. The revealing of memories is only used if there is a threat to royalty or something that threatens to upset the balance of harmony, as it’s regarded as an invasion of highest levels of privacy as well as something generally considered untrustworthy. The last time such memory spells were used was done by Twilight Sparkle when the entity Discord came and turned the Elements of Harmony against each other, at which point it was used to break the Elements from Discord’s curse.”
“Couldn’t this whole situation be counted as ‘dire’ or a ‘threat to the balance of harmony’?”
“Word about the fact that Celestia has brought a human that hasn’t changed into a pony has not spread very far. In fact, the reason ponies gawked at you was because Celestia hasn’t said anything. With so little ponies aware even of your existence here, in addition to the fact that no one really pays much attention to rumor and more to Celestia’s word, you’re entire entrance went under the radar.”
“…is it possible Celestia wants to keep me in the dark because she wants me to stay?”
“It’s entirely possible,” Shining Armor admitted. “But, since no one really knows what is going on in Celestia’s brain until sometimes years after the fact, none of us are quite sure. We’ve since learned to trust Celestia as much as we can and hope that it’s revealed to us in time. I’m sorry; I really wish there was more we could say, but we’re almost as much in the dark as you are.”
It didn’t comfort me any that I couldn’t find out any more than what I could remember already – and it wasn’t coming back relatively quickly – but I was partly cheered that Shining Armor and Cadence were willing to help me out as much as they could. Additionally, I decided that there was no point worrying about it now since we weren’t in the castle and came to the conclusion I should enjoy myself for the time being and attempt to ask Princess Celestia about it later that evening, or the next morning if she wasn’t too busy.
The Wonderbolt stadium was a large complex on a cliff within sight of the castle boasting a store for Wonderbolt memorabilia, a few restaurants and even a couple of pubs that were similar to the one I had gone to with Shining Armor. There were also a few conference halls along the sides, where Wonderbolts sometimes met on days there weren’t performances to discuss routines. There was also a part of the complex that looked like a parking garage, but it boasted a sign saying “Canterlot Royalty and Wonderbolt Carriages Only.” Inside the garage, the door of the carriage was opened for us and the three of us left the carriage, followed by the guards that escorted us, and we were led to a pristine wooden door opened for us by a unicorn valet. Inside the room was a marble and wood foyer with statues of Wonderbolt Hall of Fame members – and honorary members – and a small counter where a single unicorn stood dressed in a suit.
“Who is in the party this evening?” he asked genially as a smile became forced onto his face.
“Shining Armor, Captain of the Guard,” Shining Armor replied.
“Princess Cadence of Canterlot and the Crystal Empire,” Cadence replied.
“And with us is Nemo,” Shining Armor continued, “guest of Her Majesty Princess Celestia and a guest of ours this evening.”
“Excellent,” the unicorn said and began writing things on a sheet of paper with a gold-feathered quill. “So… that will be three of the royal box seats and three passes for the private reception afterwards.”
“Yes,” Shining Armor confirmed. “What sort of food will be present?”
“Sandwiches, fruit, and snack items, as well as both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. You’ll have to pay for the alcohol, though.”
Shining Armor nodded and called for one of the guards to pay the ticket fees. I was given a badge, along with Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, for access into the reception when it was time, and we were given tickets for the box seats. Afterwards, the unicorn called a young pony dressed in a suit with what I can best describe as a red undershirt over to the counter. “Escort these three and their guards to the royal viewing box.”
I walked behind the couple and the attendant as we went through a marble hallway and a few double doors until we reached a door with a golden plaque saying “Royal Canterlot Viewing Box: Royalty and Guests Only.” The pony opened the door with a push of his hoof and motioned for us to come in. “Should you need anything,” he said, “push the red button and speak into the speaker next to the door. It will be on its way shortly. In the meantime, is there anything we can get you?”
“I think a few glasses of water will suffice for now,” Shining Armor said.
“Yes, sir.” The attendant bowed, then left the room.
The box itself had wall-to-wall red carpet and portraits of the three princesses on the walls. Arranged in two rows, one lower than the rest of the box, were fifteen wide plush seats. Princess Cadence and Shining Armor sat in two in the bottom row nearest to a wide open window as an orchestra started playing through the high-quality speakers in every corner of the box. I chose a seat next to Shining Armor and sat patiently waiting.
“When does the show start?” I asked.
“They’re playing the opening orchestral theme, which will go for a few minutes. Once the theme finishes, then the Wonderbolts themselves actually begin the performance.”
I took a moment to look out the window and down at the rest of the stadium. It was all along the edge of the cliff and seemed like a large drop down, but a magical barrier prevented anyone from actually going over. There looked to be around forty thousand ponies in the stadium, lined up in twenty sections of seating. It reminded me of some of the baseball stadiums I had seen back in real life, only the back half of the stadium was wide open over a narrow valley that stretched outwards into the distance. Our own box was maybe two stories above the nearest level of seating and offered a view of the entire layout of the stadium, including an intricate racetrack and a series of cloud rings placed in an even more detailed pattern. I leaned out of the box and took it all in as the orchestra swelled then finished.
A smooth baritone voice came over the speaker as the sunlight dimmed slightly as it went under the horizon. “Welcome, fillies and gentlecolts, to this performance of the Wonderbolt Derby and Aerial Show! A list of music may be found in the program and schedule of events. For now, please enjoy our first performance: a synchronized flight run by Honorary Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash, Wonderbolt’s Second-in-Command Soarin, and Wonderbolt Captain Spitfire!”
No sooner did the baritone voice finish than three trails of color – one a deep sky blue, one orange like fire, and one that looked like it was made from every color of the rainbow – shot out from above our box, causing me to jump back into my seat with a laugh from Shining Armor and Cadence. The three formed a triangle formation as they zipped around the arena, doing corkscrews and loops and barrel rolls that made my stomach flip just watching them. The orange trail always remained slightly ahead of the other two, leading them in everything they did, which was always done in perfect synchronization. It was amazing to watch, like watching a trio of fighter jets at an air show.
When that was over, the rainbow trail went to a small building on the other side of the valley as three more pegasi joined the show. I can’t really describe how amazing it was to see them zip around the arena, how awestruck I was at the speed and quickness of the flights, and the amazing way in which the five pegasi easily traded the lead as they each performed their signature move. I was even more amazed when the rainbow trail returned at the end of the first half and shot towards the sky before flying downwards at increasing speed until a cone shape appeared around her, then broke with the sound of a sonic boom and the brightest rainbow trail behind her, in addition to one, then two, then three rainbow rings from the top of the stadium as she broke the quickly-forming cone again and again before creating a rainbow that passed over the entire length of the stadium and lit up the darkening sky.
“Fillies and gentlecolts,” the baritone voice returned. “We will now take a twenty-minute intermission before the second half of the Wonderbolts’ performances. The show will resume in twenty minutes.”
Shining Armor looked over at me. “Well, what do you think?”
I didn’t answer him, partially because I was staring outside with my jaw dropped at the rainbow rings that were just fading away.
I heard Shining Armor snigger. “I think he likes it.”
“That… was… amazing…”
“Glad you think so!” This voice was different enough that I had to turn my head to look. Flying outside our balcony were two pegasi mares, one with a cyan coat and a rainbow mane that was mostly covered by a blue and gold bodysuit with lightning bolts on it, while next to her was another with golden fur and an orange mane that reminded me of fire in another of the blue and gold suits.
“It’s always nice to see a newcomer enjoy the show,” the orange mare said as she flew through the window and settled herself down on the carpet behind us, the cyan mare following suit. Shining Armor and Cadence got up to speak with her and I followed them, stretching my legs after sitting down for the last hour since the show started.
“Hey there, Spitfire,” Shining Armor said as he and the orange mare shook hooves. “Where’s Soarin? I wanna see my old university buddy again.”
“He’s taking a nap in the locker room,” Spitfire replied. “I think he’s feeling a little under the weather lately.”
“Hey, Shiny!” the cyan mare said. “Remember me?”
“Of course I remember, Rainbow Dash,” Shining Armor said. “How’s my little sister doing down there in Ponyville.”
“Being an egghead, as usual. She went with me to the release of the new Daring Do book, though, so it’s not all bad. She still can’t fly well or fast enough to keep up with me, though.”
“Well, what do you expect? It hasn’t been long since Princess Celestia went through the whole ceremony. Anyways, give her my regards, will you?”
“Sure thing, Shiny.”
I saw Spitfire look towards me. “Who’s your guest?” she asked Shining Armor.
“That’s Nemo,” Shining Armor said as I waved nervously, trying to make myself as small as possible. “Princess Celestia brought him here a few days ago, but he’s having trouble with his memory and he’s being taken back after the Summer Sun Celebration.”
“Pity,” Spitfire said as she shook her head and turned back to Shining Armor. “I’ve had a few Wonderbolts come from the other dimension and they’ve made great fliers. How’s Thomas doing? I feel bad after sending him the rejection notice.”
“He took up a spot in the Guard shortly after and he’s doing fine He’s paired with his twin, Revenant Wings.”
“Good to hear. Could have used someone like Revenant though…”
Spitfire walked over to me as Shining Armor went back to talking with cyan mare. “So, you don’t remember anything before you were brought here?”
“Very little.”
What more do you say to what very well may be considered one of the celebrities of another dimension?
I noticed that Spitfire was looking at me very intently. She walked a loop around me as she continued looking. Her eyes narrowed for a minute before a gentle, approving smile formed on her face. “If you do decide to stay and are transformed into a pegasus, call me afterwards. I think you’d make a great flyer with a little practice. The shoulder muscles are in the right position and strength for wings, and you look like you would lose any excess weight fast enough to tone down to the right aerodynamic form.”
“Um… thank you?”
I made some more small talk with Spitfire, who kept dropping strange comments that I think may have been due to taking an interest with me. I had to admit, I did find her fascinating both to look at and to talk to, especially with her family history that sounded a lot like the stories I always remembered hearing of World War II and the Vietnam War and the soft feathers that covered her wings that were so straight and clean that they shimmered in the lights that were being turned on around the stadium, and found myself even more stunned by her as she left our box into the stadium lights that made her fiery coat even brighter.
“Someone has taken an interest in the Wonderbolt Captain…” Cadence said in a teasing, sing-song voice.
I blushed. “N-no, I haven’t!”
I calmed down when the show’s second half started with a series of races between the Wonderbolts (minus Rainbow Dash) and sat back down in my seat. I was beginning to get exhausted and didn’t remember much of the second half, and was thankful when we left the box to go to the reception hall. There, I managed to get a chance to talk with Rainbow Dash as we ate sandwiches and drank an alcohol-free cider.
“You saw my second set of Sonic Rainbooms?” Rainbow asked eagerly.
“Both times were just awesome…!” I said, almost unable to contain myself.
“You know it! I’ve been working on ways to pull off multiple Rainbooms without stopping, and I think I finally got it down!”
“How come you aren’t in the Wonderbolts?”
“The leader of the weather team in Ponyville says he can’t let me go. I’m lazier than the others, but get the job done faster. Also, all my friends are in Ponyville, and I can’t leave them hanging like that. I’m free to perform with them whenever I want, though, so it’s all good.”
“Makes sense.”
Rainbow Dash squinted. “You seem like an egghead,” she said seemingly out of left field. “If you ever come down to Ponyville, you really should meet Twilight. She’s so into books, but she’s actually pretty nice. Might also help you get acquainted with some of us.”
Rainbow nudged me with one of her fore-hooves. “You might seem like an egghead, but you can appreciate something awesome. I like that and would like to hang out more if you ever pass through Ponyville.”
“Um… sure.”
Rainbow Dash laughed, but it was a good-natured one. “Anyways, I should probably get going and head out to Ponyville. I’m starting to miss home after this last session of traveling around. See you around, Nemo!”
I left myself and went to find Shining Armor and Cadence. They were in the middle of talking with Spitfire, but had seen me talking with Rainbow Dash and figured they leave me alone for a little while longer. We finished our small plates and said our goodbyes before heading over to the carriage to go back home.
“I was talking to Spitfire back there,” Shining Armor said. “She said you’d make a good candidate for the Wonderbolts if you decided on being a pegasus.”
“I’m not staying.”
“Why not? You looked happier than you’ve been ever since coming here.”
“I was. I mean, I am. But… everything keeps reminding me of home. It’s not much, just a bunch of little things, but it was like I was able to fulfill all my childhood dreams. The only thing missing is my family. My time to head home can’t come fast enough.”
Shining Armor’s head dropped. “I suppose I can’t persuade you otherwise, and it isn’t my position to. If you want to go home, I suppose you know what you want.”
I figured that, if there was one thing I missed, it would have been Shining Armor. It didn’t help that it felt that he was one of the first true friends I ever had.