Chapter 1: The Stranger
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
Beep-beep
The sound of an ECG told him he was still alive. He wasn't sure how, but he survived. Slowly, he opened his eyes to take in the world around him. After a few moments to let his eyes adjust he noticed he was, as expected, in a hospital room. It wasn't familiar, so he knew he wasn't in Aradesh. There was only one hospital in the town, and he knew it well.
He would have moved to hit the nurse call button, but his body felt numb. After trying to move a little, he decided to just wait until the nurse came around. He waited a few minutes before the door opened and... something walked in. The creature wore a nurses uniform and kind of reminded him of a large cat with massive eyes.
“Oh! You're awake,” said the cat-nurse. “How are you feeling?”
“Uh...” was all he could say, still confused by the cat thing.
“You're probably confused,” chuckled the cat lady. “My name is Red Heart and you're in Ponyville Hospital. You were found unconscious after an accident at the local library.”
“Um,” he finally managed to say. “What kind of drugs do you have me on?”
The nurse gave him a confused glare, “We don't have you on any medications, just fluids, why?”
“Because I'm pretty sure I’m hallucinating. You're not a big cat are you?”
The nurse's confusion deepened, “No, I’m a regular pony, just like you.”
“Pony?” he said before he could think.
“Yes...” The nurse came around and placed a hoof to his forehead. “Is there a reason the two of us being ponies is confusing?”
“Uh,” his eyes went wide, “I'm not sure. I... um... can't remember anything,” You idiot! The amnesia excuse? Really? What the hell is wrong with you?
“Oh my, you can't remember? That's strange. There wasn't much injury to your head. It must be psychosomatic. Do you at least remember your name?”
Should I give my name? Wait, I already said I have amnesia so I can't.
The nurse noticed him struggling with his thought's and assumed he was trying to remember, “It's okay, sir. Don't strain yourself. Everything will come back eventually, I'm sure. Until then, I'll call you Mr. E. Get it, Mr. E... mystery. Cause you're so mysterious... never mind. The pony that brought you in asked if it's alright if she visits.”
She looked at him expectantly.
“Oh, right... um... I guess. I'd like to ask her some questions anyway.”
“Very well, I'll get word to her as soon as possible. For now, get some rest and I'll see you in a few hours,” the nurse said as she left the room.
“Mr. E” sighed in relief and tried to make sense of the situation. Okay, I need to calm down. I've just crossed a dimensional barrier... without a gate... and turned into one of the natives... Wait, I still haven't seen myself.
He raised his right limb and gazed at his new hoof. The hoof itself was covered in a fine, light gray, felt-like fur, and was much softer than a hoof was suppose to be. It was attached to a midnight blue leg.
He focused on his seal. Strangely, it was no longer on his hand... hoof... the thing on the end of his forelimb. Instead, he felt the warm glow coming from his forehead.
Something to do with the transformation? I’ll figure it out later.
Gathering the latent mana in the air, and molding it into a sheet in front of him, he formed a reflective surface. He examined his new features closely. His face, like his forelimbs, was a midnight blue with light gray on his muzzle and a stark white patch of fur in the shape of a star on his forehead right where his dimly glowing seal was. His hair was black with silver streaks. Everything about him was the different... except his eyes... those horrid reminders of what he once was were still the same evil scarlet. Scowling, he let the magic go and laid his head back down. Too many question raced through his mind to sleep. All he could do was wait for the one that found him, and hope she would have answers.
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The door cracked silently open
“Mr. E, are you awake,” the nurse whispered.
“Yes.”
“Oh good,” she opened the door fully and walked in. “The pony that found you is here.”
“Good, send her in, please.”
“Ms. Sparkle, you can come in now,” she called out the door.
In walked a purple pony with a pink and purple striped, dark blue mane. Unlike himself or the nurse, however, this one had a horn. She whispered something to the nurse and received a nod in return, and left the room.
“Hello, Mr. E,” she greeted. “My name is Twilight Sparkle.”
“You're the one who found me, correct?” the patient asked.
“That's right. Nurse Redheart says you don't remember anything before waking up here. Is that correct?”
Better stick to it until I know her intentions. “Yes. All I know is that things are weird... like things aren't the way they should be.”
She flinched at the confirmation, “Oh, I'm so, so sorry. It... it was my fault,” she burst into tears. “I tried to cast a spell to make a gateway to Canterlot, but I... I don't know what happened. It exploded and you were just laying there. And if you don't remember anything from before then that means it's my fault and... and... I'm so sorry.”
“Hey, hey... It's alright,” Damn it, “It's not your fault. Temporal magic is high level stuff.”
“Well, yeah... how do you know? Earth ponies usually don't know anything about magic.”
Stupid! “Uh... lucky guess. I mean, bending space-time to your will can't be easy. Um... can I ask you a question that's probably going to sound weird?” Twilight nodded. “What's an earth pony?”
Twilight's jaw dropped. “You... you really don't know? I've never heard of somepony forgetting that, even with amnesia. Do you remember anything about the three tribes?” He shook his head, “Wow, Okay. Well, you are an earth pony. Earth ponies are aligned with the element of earth. They are physically stronger than the others tribes so long as they are on or near the ground, and they can also help plants grow big and healthy. Pegasi are attuned to elemental air. This gives them the gift of flight and control over weather patterns and some, like the Wonderbolts, can even generate lightning. Then, there are unicorns like myself. We are attuned to fire, in other words, energy. We can manipulate the energy in anything, and since everything has energy... well, you get the picture. We can manipulate earth and air by controlling the energy within, but nowhere near as effectively earth ponies or pegasi.”
“Are there any any that can control water, or even all of them?” Mr. E asked.
“It's believed that there was a race of sea ponies that could control water, but if they still exist, they stay away from everypony else. As for ponies that can control all four, that would be alicorns. As of now, there are only three known and they're all princesses. Any other questions Mr. E?”
“Yeah,” he said with a smirk, “can someone think of a better name?”
“Okay. Since I'm the reason you lost your last one, I'll give you a new one.” Twilight sat on her haunches and scratched her chin with a hoof. “Let's see... all we know about you is what we see, so it'll have to reflect that. Hmm... I got it! Your two most notable features are your eyes-”
“No!” he interrupted. “Not my eyes.”
“Why not?” Twilight cocked her head, “They're such a beautiful scarlet.”
“I... uh,” he couldn't tell her the truth, “I just... don't like my eyes.”
“Okay... Well, your coat is quite a rare shade of blue,” the unicorn pointed out. “That and that mark on your forehead... What do you think about Midnight Star?”
He thought about it or a few seconds. “I like it.”
“Well then, it's a pleasure to properly make your acquaintance, Midnight Star,” Twilight held out a hoof. Midnight Star assumed it was a handshake kind of thing and held his out in return, shaking hers. “Well, I have to go see my friend a few rooms over. You'll be getting released in a few hours and I'll be here to help get you settled. I'll see you then.”
Midnight watched her leave with a smile on his face. The moment she was out of sight, though, it vanished.
The poor girl thinks she made me lose my memory and I let her believe it. He let out a sigh. I'm still a monster after all.
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“Hello, Fluttershy, how are you feeling?” Twilight asked as she walked in the room that held her five friends.
“Oh, hello, Twilight,” replied the pegasus, “I'm still a little sore, but I’ll be fine. How's the stallion?”
“Physically he's fine, but mentally... I’m not sure,” explained the lavender unicorn. “He apparently doesn't remember anything before waking up here, not even his name. I had to explain the difference between the tribes for hoof sake... and it's my fault.” She slumped to the flood with her head down.
“Now don't be like that, sugarcube,” Applejack placed a comforting hoof on her friend's withers, “It ain't your fault and you know it. The Elements did somethin' to the door-thing.”
“That's another thing,” Twilight looked back up, “Why? Did the Elements intervene to destroy the door and Midnight just got caught up in it, or did they use the door to bring him here?”
“Who's Midnight?” asked Rainbow Dash.
“The stallion. He needs a name until he remembers his own, so I named him.”
“So does this mean you're keeping him?” Pinkie asked.
“He's not a dog, Pinkie,” Twilight deadpanned, “What he is, is a mentally traumatized pony with amnesia. He's going to need help not only regaining his memory, but getting back on his hooves. Until he can get a place of his own, he'll be staying with me.”
Rarity gasped, “Oh, no Twilight you simply mustn’t! Think of the scandal!”
“What do you mean?” asked the scholar.
“Think about it, darling,” began the seamstress. “A single, beautiful young mare living with a handsome young stallion that just arrived in town. What do you think ponies will say?”
“Well, I need him to be close in case the Elements meant to bring him here,” Twilight countered. “You know the gossip circles best, just spread the word that he... I don't know... shows signs of a unique form of magic never before seen in Equestria and needs constant observation.”
“I suppose I could do that,” Rarity said, while in thought.
“Ah still don't think it's a good idea, him stayin' with you,” Applejack said. “If the Elements brought him here, fine, but what if they were tryin' to blow up your door? That would mean that where ever it was goin' was bad enough that they needed to stop it, and this Midnight character is from there.”
“That thought crossed my mind as well. Trust me Applejack, I'll be taking precautions,” Twilight assured her friend.
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A few hours later, and Twilight was signing Midnight out of the hospital. Fluttershy and the others left an hour before, leaving the two of them to head to the library alone. Midnight was trying to get used to walking on four legs and was leaning on Twilight for support. She just thought the explosion scrambled his coordination.
“Thank you again, Miss Sparkle, for taking me in,” Midnight said.
“Don't mention it. It is kinda my fault that this happened anyway.”
They made their way to a massive tree with a tarp hanging over one side and stepped in.
“You'll be staying in the guest room,” Twilight directed him to a door to the side, “I'll be putting a ward on the door, so don't try anything funny. I'm sorry if it sounds mean, but I just don't know you yet.”
“No need to apologize, Miss Sparkle. It's the smart thing to do. If you'll excuse me, I haven't gotten much sleep, so I think I'll turn in.”
“Okay, good night, Midnight, and just call me Twilight.”
“Good night, Twilight.”