//------------------------------// // Chapter 15: In the Spotlight // Story: The Adventures of Fragment // by A Dark Reminder //------------------------------// I was going to do it. I was going to let Princess Celestia tell the Media about me. It was almost time for the conference with me, Striker, and Princess Celestia on our way to the conference room where it was almost certain I was going to be revealed to Equestria. As we walked Princess Celestia told me that the Media would likely want an interview with me given how much the public would want to know about me. "If they do want an interview, will you talk to one of them?" Princess Celestia asked as the doors to the conference room came into view. "If I'm going public then I don't really see why not. Maybe it'll help everypony get a better idea of who I am and see I'm not evil." I replied as we reached the doors and the guards by them prepared to open them. "You should stay here and watch." Princess Celestia said as the doors opened and she walked into the conference room. I looked into the room and saw dozens of reporters with mics and cameras. "Princess Celestia, are there going to be increased border patrols since the second Changeling attack?" A yellow coated mare asked. "It is an option me and Captain Shining Armor are discussing, but we don't want to give the impression that Equestria doesn't welcome others, but we will raise security around smaller settlements like Ponyville." Princess Celestia answered as another reporter raised a hoof. "Have you learned why Ponyville was the target of the Changelings' second attack?" The maroon colored stallion asked. "The Changeling Queen, Chrysalis, foalnapped three fillies from Ponyville and used them as bait to lure my student, Twilight Sparkle, to the Changeling Kingdom, where she planned to drain Twilight of her power and use it against us, luckily Twilight and her friends managed to overpower her and rescue the fillies." Princess Celestia explained as a tan earth pony with a blonde mane raised his hoof. "Are the rumors of a Changeling by the name of Fragment was brought to Canterlot from Ponyville and is not a prisoner true?" There was the question I expected to be the first one asked. That question got all the reporters' attention, displayed by their silence as they waited for the Princess' answer. Princess Celestia took a moment before answering. "They are." With those two words the reporters instantly began whispering to one another as a few others gasped. It stopped when the same reporter who asked that question spoke again. "Why is this Changeling here if he isn't being held? And why was he fighting the Cockatrice with the guards?" The reporter asked. I saw a small smile form on Princess Celestia's face before she answered. "Those are very good questions, and I think Fragment should answer them himself." My jaw dropped and my eyes widened when I heard that as the reporters broke-out into questions and whispers again. Princess Celestia turned to me and motioned for me to come out, I responded with mouthing the words ‘I don't want to!’ But she gave a small encouraging smile, and reluctantly I started walking out. This is the moment of truth. This is where I find out how they'll react… I WISH I HAD MY CLOAK! I thought as I came into their view. Once again there were a few gasps, but no pony freaked out like I was really worried about. "Heheheh, hello…" I said awkwardly as I stepped beside Princess Celestia. She stepped aside and I nervously walked up to the podium. All eyes were on me as I took a deep breath to relax myself a little. I decided to get straight to point and answer the questions they were all thinking. "I was discovered in the town of Ponyville more than a week ago by Twilight Sparkle and her friends, and they helped me. They asked me who I was, they asked why the Changelings attacked Equestria, but the truth was that when I woke up I did so in pain, with a broken leg, and most importantly, with amnesia." That took everypony by surprise. "When I woke up, I didn't, and still don't, know who I am, where I came from, how to fly, or anything else that I could do or anything about my past. I woke up being told I was an enemy and being treated like I was homicidal, but even through all of that they helped me; gave me food and water, and helped me heal as we tried to figure out who I am." The more I talked the calmer I felt and the more they seemed to listen which helped me relax, but I was still pretty nervous as I continued. "After a letter was sent to Princess Celestia, she decided that once I had healed enough I should be brought here to Canterlot so that she could speak to me herself, and after a few days in the hospital, I was brought before her where I told her that all I knew was that the Changelings had attacked Equestria and attempted to conquer it, and I only knew that because they told me what happened. For the past few days I've been here being helped by Princess Celestia herself as she has helped me relearn my magical capabilities and in the future how to fly. All I want now is to live in peace with the Equestrians." With that, I stepped back from the podium as Princess Celestia took her place once again. "Thank you Fragment. Now then…" The reporters were still in a minor state of shock when Princess Celestia started talking again. While she was answering the questions that remained I walked back to the hallway where Striker was. "That went a lot better than I thought it would." He said as I let out a huge sigh of relief. "I know. I kind of expected a screaming mob out there, but to my surprise they were actually calm and listening." I said as I looked back to the crowd that was once again focused on Princess Celestia. "I hope the rest of Equestria takes the news that well." "So what are you going to do now? Just stand here and watch?" "Do I have anything better to do?" "You could talk to Gezähnt. That's always a fun time, right?" Striker said as I rolled my eyes. "But really, what happens now? Are you just going to resume training with Princess Celestia or what?" "I guess. It's really up to Princess Celestia what happens, at least until I've learned all that I can from her." "And after that you go off into the world treasure hunting." "Pretty much." I said as I noticed that Striker was looking at me weirdly. "What?" "I'm just wondering how you'll do against a manticore since you have no prior combat training. I don't see you winning that fight." Striker said as I chuckled. "Who needs combat training when you have magic?" I said with a smug smile. "Someone who doesn't want to spend all their love on one fight." Striker countered. He had a good point there, if I only fought with magic then I'd have to feed constantly, which could prove to be very inconvenient. "That was a problem I hadn't considered. What should I do about that? I doubt Princess Celestia would have somepony give me combat training." "You should talk to Princess Celestia about that." Striker said as I remembered something I should get around to. "I should also talk to her about a piece of paper, some ink, and a quill." "Why?" "I should really write back to Pinkie Pie. Not only did she send me a letter asking how I was doing, but she also sent cupcakes for both of us, I should at least return the favor of writing a letter." I explained as Princess Celestia walked away from the podium and the reporters began packing up and heading out. "You handled yourself well out there, Fragment." She said with a smile. "I was terrified when you called me out to answer the questions myself, but when I got out there and saw them all actually listening I relaxed." I said as we began walking down the hallway. "So what do we do now? Just resume training or what?" "Shining Armor and I have a lot of work to do now because of the attacks and the Changeling prisoners, so it will be difficult for me or Shining Armor to train you, so when there is time I will see if I can find you a magic teacher. For now, you could practice spells from one of the books in your room. I have confidence that we can find somepony who can teach you before too much time has passed." Princess Celestia explained. "I must return to my duties. Goodbye, for now." "Before you go, I need some paper and something to write with." "Why?" She asked with a raised brow. "Pinkie Pie wrote me a letter a few days ago and I think I should write back to her." Princess Celestia's face formed a small smile as she replied. "I'll have somepony get you the materials soon." "Thank you." With that she went back to the throne room while me and Striker headed to my room. "So what are we going to do to kill time?" Striker asked as we walked. "We're going back to my room, getting a spell book, and going to play with some spells while we wait for whoever brings me something to write with." I replied. "It's not like there's anything better to do around here at the moment." "Yeah, it seems like the only time this place is fun is when it's being attacked." Striker said with a chuckle. "So basically your plan for now is practice until somepony can actually teach you something?" "Yeah, unless you have any better ideas." "Actually, I might." He said as he rubbed his chin. "What’re you thinking?" I asked not completely trusting what he might be thinking. "We've already established that you're going to need combat training of some degree, so how about I show you some moves and give you some tips?" "You teach me how to fight?" "Well, yeah. It'd be a good way to pass the time, wouldn't it?" Striker said. "Yeah I guess. So what exactly can you teach me?" I asked as we changed course to the training room. "I can give you the basics, and like I said before, show some moves and give you some tips. Sound like a plan?" "Better than any plan I've had today." I said as we walked. As usual it was a short walk to the training room, and unsurprisingly, we were the only ones there. Once we reached the center of the room I sat down and Striker began pacing back and forth in front of me. "Now then." Striker started with a deeper voice I'd never heard him use before. "One of the most important parts of fighting is your stance." He stopped in front of me and took a stance where his right forehoof drawn back like he was going to charge and with the front half of his body lowered a little. "You look ridiculous." I said as he then returned to a normal standing position. "Do you want my help or not?" "I want your help to be helpful. It looks like you're making it up as you go along, like that voice you were doing." "That was my Drill Sergeant impression." Striker said defensively. "It kind of sucked." I said flatly as he frowned a little. "I'm just teasing you. So other than a fighting stance and your Drill Sergeant voice, what else can you show me?" "Well…” Striker explained to me some basic combat tips, like it's important to have a strong and balanced battle stance so you're always ready to react to your enemies moves. He didn't have much in the way of actual fighting moves to teach me beyond a few counter attacks, like if you dodge a punch you can attempt to grab their limb and punch the joint, forcing it to bend the wrong way. Striker mostly showed me some simple counters but he told me he'd teach more and some actual fighting tomorrow if I reminded him. After that we headed back to my room where the ink and stuff for my letter might be waiting for me. "And when they think they have the upper hoof, you take them down quickly and in full force." Striker said as we entered my room. As I shut the door I looked around and saw that there were no writing implements or anything I needed to write with. "So what now?" Striker asked as I hopped onto my bed and laid down. "I'm not sure. We could always read books, but that's getting old." I said with a heavy sigh. "Getting old to who? There's like fifty books here that neither of us have read yet." "What is this, a book club?" I asked as there was a knock on the door. I got off the bed, walked over to and opened the door. Who I saw surprised me, it was the reporter who asked about me at the conference. The one with a tan coat and a blonde mane and tail, only now I saw that he was wearing a blue tie and blue and white flannel collar which the tie was tied around. "Uh, hello. May I come in?" He asked sounding unsure of of himself. "Yeah, sure." I said as I opened the door further so he could enter. "Thank you." He said as he walked in. "My name is Broadcast, I'm with P.N.N. and I was hoping I could have a few minutes of your time to talk to you." Broadcast said as me and Striker gave him a mildly confused look. "What, just talk, an interview or something like it?" I asked as I got back on my bed. "An interview would be accurate, if it's no trouble." Broadcast replied as I sniffed the air. He was calmer than I would have expected. "Not at all. Princess Celestia told me the Media would probably want an interview and I don't see it doing me any harm, so why not?" I said as Broadcast nodded. Striker got up out of his chair letting Broadcast sit there, then Striker left the room allowing me and Broadcast to talk in private. "So what would you like to know?" "I think that everypony in Equestria is going to want to know as much as they can about you since you're the first known Changeling to live in Equestria, so let's start with some general questions then maybe move onto more personal questions. Okay?" "Let's do it." I said as Broadcast pulled out a quill, notepad, and an inkwell. "Who's idea was it to teach you magic and why?" "It was was Princess Celestia's idea. She told me it would be a good chance for me to relearn what I've lost and for her to learn more about Changelings. She made it very clear that Equestrians know almost nothing about Changelings and that I gave them an opportunity to try to answer questions like why Changelings feed off of love and if there's an alternative to it." I explained as Broadcast wrote down everything I said. He writes surprisingly fast with his mouth. Once he finished writing he asked his next question. "You said that you just want to live in peace with the Equestrians, but is that something you think can actually happen?" "I do. I've actually already made friends with some ponies and I'm not even out on my own yet. I'm friends with my supervisor, Striker, and I've made friends with some of the castle's employees. And I'm also friends with Pinkie Pie and I think it's safe to say I'm friends with a Twilight and a few of the others. Sure that's only like ten ponies and there are thousands in Equestria, but it shows that some are willing to forgive and forget." Like before, Broadcast wrote down everything that I said then asked his next question. "Is there any proof that you have amnesia?" "I don't have it on me but the Ponyville hospital should have my medical records, and that should have the proof." "Have you spoken to the the Changelings that were captured from Ponyville?" I instantly groaned in irritation at the memories of me and Gezähnt's conversations. "I have, one of them doesn't talk much, the other doesn't stop talking, and the third one I don't like in even the slightest way. He talks like he knows everything, he claims that he knows who I am, and he completely refuses to talk to ponies." "Have you tried to get information about yourself from this Changeling?" "No. I don't believe I should hold onto my past if it's not even possible to get my memories back, because without them everyone I used to know will a complete stranger to me. If I spent my life trying to get my old life back only to learn I don't want it, it would mean all that effort was for nothing. I look at this amnesia as a second chance at life, a chance to live in peace and happiness." "Do you plan to stay in Equestria, and if so what do you plan to do for a living?" "Well I'm definitely staying Equestria, and as far as a living goes I've decided on being a treasure hunter." Broadcast raised a brow at me when I said that. "Why a treasure hunter?" He asked. "Partly because I'd rather be out in the world than stand at a stall selling produce all day, and because having magic and wings gives me a pretty good advantage in that kind of work." I explained as Broadcast quickly scribbled on his notepad. "This question is more of something that I'm curious about, why did you go with 'Fragment' as your name?" I had not expected that question. No one asked me that before, and I wasn't really sure why I chose Fragment as my name. "I... don't know..." I had to search through my thoughts to get the real answer to that question. "I guess, maybe because when I woke up, the way I was being treated, how everypony acted like I had done something to them, how they were all suspicious of me and how distrusted I was, it all made me feel like there was something bigger than just me going on. That I was just a piece or 'fragment', of what was really going on." I explained to both of us. "Do you think that you being a publicly known figure will encourage other Changelings to try to join Equestrian civilization as themselves rather than impersonating somepony?" "I have no idea. Although, if any Changelings do decide to attempt it, I'd ask them to at least try not to cause trouble. The more problems Changelings cause the harder it will be for Equestrians to forgive and tolerate us. I'd also give them the advice of be friendly and be polite." "Is there anything you would like say to the Equestrians themselves?" "I would say: if you give me a chance, I can show you I'm not evil." After that the Questions became less and less significant, and after about ten more minutes of questions we were done. I asked when this was going to be released and he said that it should be in Canterlot's paper tomorrow and over the course of a few days it'd be just about everywhere in Equestria. Once Broadcast left, Striker came back carrying a small brown bag. "So how'd it go?" He asked as he sat back down. "I think it went well. Broadcast said the interview should be in Canterlot's paper tomorrow, and later everywhere." "Are you sure you're ready for that kind of publicity?" "Not entirely, but I'm certainly not turning back now." I said as Striker placed the bag on my bed. "What's in the bag?" "Your writing supplies. A guard brought it about ten minutes ago and told me what it was." He explained as I opened the bag and looked inside. There were a few dozen scrolls, two quills, and five inkwells sealed by corks. "I guess she expects me to be doing a lot of writing." I said as I started getting the stuff out. "I think you'll need to. Do you remember the letter Pinkie Pie sent to you? She'll probably reply to your letter, which I'm sure you'll reply to, and I'm guessing that will lead to a big back and forth of letters between you―" "And then we'll start going out, get married, get a nice house away from civilization and live happily ever after." I said jokingly in a slightly high-pitched voice. "That's where it sounded like you were going with that." Striker just rolled his eyes and shook his head in response. "What I mean is that the two of you will probably be sending letters to each other and you'll need all theses supplies so you won't have to ask Princess Celestia as often." Striker explained. "You're probably right. And speaking of things I need to do, I still need to get my cloak washed. I'll talk to Princess Celestia about that at dinner." After that, we talked about what might happen now that I'm not a secret anymore. Striker said that for the most part I should just try not to cause trouble and maybe do some kind of community service to help show I'm good. At six P.M we left for dinner, where I told Princess Celestia about getting the cloak washed, she told me she'd have somepony teach me how to wash it tomorrow. I also told her about my interview with Broadcast, which she said she was well aware of, because Broadcast asked her if he could have an interview with me and he had to ask her where he could find me, but generally the rest of the night was uneventful and at around nine thirty I went to bed. But the moment I closed my eyes, I felt a pain unlike anything else, but I was unconscious before I could do anything…