Chapter 11: Forgotten But Not Lost
Twilight marveled at the silver room she now found herself in. It was almost void of furnishing, save for a small, found table in the center. There were no windows either and the silver walls were completely bare.
She looked around for a light source but found none. The silver light in the room seemed to come from nowhere, and there were no shadows cast in any direction. It was one of the strangest things the unicorn had ever seen.
The door slammed closed behind her, but she paid it no mind. She was now fixated on the table in the room. On this table a small amulet rested, a gemstone of indiscernible color on a thin chain.
Twilight lifted a hoof to pick up the amulet.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Twilight started and turned to the right, lighting her horn. Some kind of creature she had never seen before was curled up in the corner, its head resting on its front paws. The creature made no move to defend itself from Twilight’s spell.
“What- Er, who are you?” Twilight asked, dispelling the magic from her horn.
“I think the better question is who you are.” The creature said. Or rather, thought. The voice was clear as day, but the creature didn’t move its mouth as it spoke.
“Is that telepathy?” Twilight asked, taking a nervous step forward. Her insatiable curiosity had now been piqued.
“Yes, actually, but you haven’t answered me. Who, pray tell, are you?” The creature licked a paw like a cat, showing little interest.
“Uh, my name is Twilight Sparkle. Now will you tell me who you are?”
The creature stretched out its front and back legs, looking very much like a cat. However, it was much bigger, its ears were sharply pointed, a pair of curly horns decorated its head and a row of spines ran down its back. Its tail was tipped with an arrow-shaped point, just like Spike’s.
“My name, Ms. Twilight Sparkle, is Relan. As for your other question, I am a Drake Cat.” Relan walked around to another corner of the room, pawed at the floor for a moment and lied down.
“Why are you in Hood’s house? And why don’t I want to touch this amulet?” Twilight asked, pointing at the bauble.
“I’m here to guard it. That, unicorn, is answer enough to both questions.” Relan said, once more resting his head across his paws.
Twilight decided it would be best to play along. “What would you do if I did touch it?”
Relan yawned, baring two rows of very sharp, very white teeth. “I would watch as every ounce of magic in your body was drained out in the most unpleasant five seconds or so of your life.”
The unicorn took two steps away from the table.
“Very impressive that you found your way in here. Moonlight cast some very thorough spells on that door.” Relan said.
“Moonlight?”
“Oh, right, the one you know as Hood.”
“I solved the riddle on the door, and it opened for me.” Twilight said, cocking an eyebrow.
Relan licked his paw again in exactly the same place as before. “You think yourself clever then?”
“Uh, well, I suppose so?”
“Don’t take it the wrong way, it was hardly an insult. You would truly have to be clever to not only find the door in the first place, but get it to open. What was your answer?”
“I, uh, well…” Twilight stammered, momentarily forgetting herself.
Relan yawned, turning around in place. Twilight took a moment to get a better look at him. In the silver light, his color was unguessable. He wasn’t huge, only a little bigger than a pony.
Relan uttered a mental sigh, or at least the idea of one. “I knew someone would get in here one day, but I had always assumed Moonlight would be with you. Perhaps you should leave?”
“No, wait, the-uh, the answer the door was looking for, it was um…”
“Ye~es?” The Drake Cat droned sarcastically.
“Um, love.” Twilight muttered, looking away.
An air of amusement drifted off of Relan. “I know, I just wanted to see you say it.”
Twilight opened her mouth and closed it again. She wasn’t quite sure why she was standing her listening to this sarcastic creature, but something about the situation felt right, as if this was what meant to happen.
“Can you just answer my questions, please?” Twilight pleaded.
“Fine, fine. What do you want to know?” Relan replied, wiping his face with a front paw.
“Well, first off, I want to know why I’m locked in a silver room with a dragon cat thing who thinks he knows everything?” Twilight snapped. She immediately covered her mouth with her hoof.
Relan yawned again. “You’re actually not locked in here; the door opens from the inside. And the proper term is Drake Cat. Moonlight could have told you about that, had he known I was here.”
“He didn’t know you were in here? How long have you been hiding in his house?”
“Hiding? You misunderstand, unicorn. He asked me to be here. Moonlight and I have known one another for many years. I rescued him from the manticore that killed his mother and father.”
“But you said he didn’t know you were here…”
“He doesn’t.”
“Would you quit talking like that?!” Twilight half-shouted.
Relan lifted his head and looked at her directly for the first time. “Very well. The reason I’m here is exactly the reason I said. I guard that amulet you very nearly made a very dire mistake with. One year, one month and six days ago, Moonlight put it here and asked me to watch it for him.”
“What is it exactly? And if it has such a powerful enchantment, then how could Hood handle it?” Twilight asked, closely inspecting the necklace without touching it or using any magic on it.
“Perhaps a proper description of the situation would be necessary?” Relan asked.
Before Twilight could say anything more, she felt a powerful magical force pushing its way into her mind. She didn’t know how to react, but the spell didn’t seem to cause her harm, so she relaxed and let it take over.
An image filled her vision. It was Hood. He wasn’t wearing his cape, and his flank was completely bare. This seemed odd, as he looked almost fully grown. Relan circled him almost like a predator, but Hood did nothing to fight back.
Relan’s voice filled her mind, but she could tell that the Drake Cat was speaking to Hood, not her.
“Focus, Moonlight. Let the spell work for you, not from you.”
Hood squeezed his eyes shut and his horn began to glow.
“What do you see?” Relan asked.
“I see… The moon…”
“Is there anything different about it?”
“Yeah… The Mare in the Moon is gone…” Hood said, his horn begging to glow brighter.
“Look to the sides. Where are you?” Relan asked, continuing to circle the unicorn.
Hood swiveled his head side to side, but kept his eyes closed. “I’m… Not sure. In a town somewhere. A park, I think. There’s a fountain.”
Relan said nothing, content to circle Hood over and over for what seemed an eternity. The tension was broken when Hood gasped, his eyes flying open. They were glowing a bright white.
“Moonlight, stop the spell, now!” Relan shouted, shifting to a position as if ready to pounce.
“I… Can’t!” Hood shouted. Sprays of sparks flew from his horn, causing Relan to hiss and duck away. The glow from Hood’s eyes disappeared. Where it had once been, his purple eyes were fogged over and he collapsed on his side, his mouth hanging open.
Relan darted to his side, checking him from every angle. Finally, the Drake Cat simply settled by Hood’s side, watching him.
The vision filling Twilight mind began to fade away, returning her to the silver room in Hood’s home.
Relan was resting in corner he had been in when Twilight had entered.
“What was that?”
“’That’ was Hood’s first magical mishap. He entered a magically sustained stasis that lasted for three years after that day.”
“How could anypony possibly survive that? How did he stay fed?”
“Hood’s magic is more powerful than you could know. I’m the only one who remembers that day, or what happened afterwards. To all of Equestria other than me, Hood was in a coma in the Canterlot Hospital for all that time. In reality, I was hiding him in his foalhood home in Trottingham.”
“But I never remembered Hood being that strong. I went to school with him for years!” Twilight objected.
“I was always nearby to remind Hood of proper restraint.”
“Nopony ever spotted you?”
“Oh, yes, dozens of times. As I recall, you saw me two or three times yourself. My kind are… not accustomed to being seen. I tampered with your memory of the event. That’s why you don’t remember.” Relan explained.
Twilight shifted uncomfortably. The thought of having someone invade her thoughts like that bothered her, even if Relan seemed like a kind enough creature.
“And now I suppose you’d like to know about the amulet?” Relan asked, once more licking his paw.
“Um, yeah, sure.”
“The amulet is made from of fragment of the Spell Breaker Stone. When Moonlight awakened from his stasis he traveled there and retrieved that shard. Afterwards, he poured most of his magic inside. Then he moved here. Once a month he remembers the stone and seals an ample supply of magic inside.”
“You hypnotized him, didn’t you?” Twilight accused.
“Only at his request.”
Twilight though for a moment, scratching her chin with a hoof. “What about this stasis you talked about? What happened?”
The Drake Cat yawned and turned around in place again. “The spell you witnessed was an attempt at a foresight spell. It went wrong, causing Moonlight to be broken in two. His body continued into the future of Equestria, while his mind continued to exist in a separate plane.
“This plane was exactly the same as Equestria to him, but there, everything he wanted became reality. It was like a most pleasant dream taking place in real time. And it went on for years.”
“Everything he wanted…” Twilight muttered, thinking about what he could have possibly seen during this time. He could have been King of all Equestria, or a powerful alicorn…
“It’s hardly what you expect.” Relan chuckled.
“Do you know what he saw?”
“I do.”
“Will you tell me?”
“You seem awfully curious.” Relan said, smoothing the fur on his face.
“I just want to know.”
“Very well then. Were you at all curious why Moonlight chose to make Ponyville his home after he retrieved the Spell Breaker Shard?”
“Not really, no.”
“During his time in stasis, Moonlight lived in a world of utmost happiness. There, he lived in a small town, much like this one. He was nopony important or powerful, just a simple delivery pony.” Relan explained.
“That’s why he came here? I suppose he came to the wrong place if he was looking for peace and quiet.” Twilight muttered.
“He wasn’t. He was looking for you.”
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Moonlight has never been one for fame or glamour. To him, the paradise of his mind was a small home and a simple job. The only ponies in his life were his parents and you. I was there too of course, but that’s not really the subject at hoof.”
Twilight looked at the silver floor. “I thought you said he didn’t remember his stasis?”
“He doesn’t.”
“Then why did the door try to get me to tell it that he loved me?”
“Moonlight cast the spell on that door right after he bought this house. After that, he asked me to hypnotize him into forgetting that he had ever entered that state.” Relan explained.
“This is all unraveling so fast…” Twilight muttered, looking at the amulet still on the table.
“Moonlight had anticipated long ago that it would be you to discover this. Of course, he doesn’t remember that he did it. Where is he anyway?”
The question struck Twilight harder than she thought it would.
“You didn’t hear the commotion from the living room? He’s barely even been home for two weeks!”
The Drake Cat scratched behind his ear. “He stored power in the necklace about three weeks ago. He’s due to cast the spell in a week or so. I don’t leave this room.”
“Well, half the house is destroyed. Hood went into some magical frenzy and destroyed the place.”
“When was that?”
“About half an hour ago. After that he teleported away, I don’t know where he went.”
“Well, this isn’t good…” Relan muttered, performing the feline equivalent of furrowing his brow. “Hard to say where he went.”
“Will he remember to come back here in a week? That should bring him back.” Twilight pointed out,
“No. If I’m not around then the spell on him will remain active until I can get to him. What set him off?”
Twilight raised an eyebrow again. The Drake Cat truly had no idea what had been going on in the world outside. Whoever or whatever he was, he was brutally loyal to Hood.
“I’ll start from the beginning.” Twilight recounted the entire tale, from when she had found Hood resting on the bench in Ponyville park, all through their trip to the old lands, returning to Equestria to find Nightmare Moon had returned and how Hood’s magic had torn the house apart. Relan simply lied there and listened, never even asking a question.
“So, it’s happened then. Ah well, I suppose it had to at some point.” Relan replied, his mental voice carrying the concept of a shrug with it.
“What do you mean?”
“Moonlight predicted Nightmare Moon’s return a few days after she was defeated last. It was then that he was awoken from his stasis. Fearing that he may be right, he retrieved the stone, in case Nightmare Moon managed to get a hold of the Elements of Harmony. That crystal, little unicorn, holds magic greater than princess Celestia herself.”
“That’s not possible!” Twilight blurted.
“Just how do you suppose Princess Celestia and Princess Luna became alicorns? They weren’t born that way you know.”
“I suppose you know?”
“I’ve lived in Equestria since before this place was called Equestria. Ah, I remember when you loud, nosy, oh-so-colorful creatures first came here.” Relan looked off into space a moment before focusing again.
“Anyway, Celestia and Luna were once no more alicorns than I am. They were unicorns, just like Moonlight and yourself. The Elements of Harmony changed the sisters when they used them to defeat Discord.”
“You’re still not telling me how that amulet can be more powerful than Celestia.” Twilight pointed out.
“Right, right. Of course, Celestia is very powerful. She singlehoofedly moves the sun, of course. But the amount of power she can have at any one time has a limit. That jewel, however, has no limit. And Moonlight is no weakling.” Relan explained.
“So do you know how to use the magic inside? I can defeat Nightmare Moon with it!” Twilight said excitedly.
“Sadly, no. Moonlight is the only one that can use the power contained within. With him gone, the necklace will remain quite useless.”
Twilight chewed on her bottom lip, her mind racing. She realized just how little she actually knew about Hood. Until this day she didn’t even know his real name.
“Tell me everything you know about Hood.” Twilight demanded. The Drake Cat lifted his head, amusement emanating from him.
“That would take a long time, unicorn.”
“I don’t have anything but time right now.”
“Very well, if you truly want to know. But be warned. Knowing more about a pony than you want to can change your view of them in more ways than one.”
-
Rarity copied the spell she had just been instructed in. There was no immediately obvious affect, but she could tell it had gone as it was supposed to, as the hooded unicorn who had illustrated seemed satisfied with her effort.
All around, unicorns from town were casting the spell, some having an easier time than others. Twilight and Hood were nowhere in sight, so she decided that she would personally help them with the spell later.
The unicorns were dismissed, most walking away with angry grumbles. None made any move to confront the night ponies, however. It seemed futile.
Rarity trotted back to Carousel Boutique. She opened the door to find Spike and Sweetie Belle holding a tense conversation by the fire. Despite herself, Rarity’s face twisted into a sad smile. When Spike turned to look at her, an ecstatic grin crossed his face and he rushed across the room to her.
Rarity greeted him and nuzzled the side of her head to his. Sweetie Belle joined them in a small group hug. It was nice to see Spike again. The baby dragon’s affection toward her meant more than she usually let on, even if she knew nothing would ever happen between the two.
-
The once-great commander Northwind struggled to see in the dark. He had found his way to Equestria two days before, but the sun hadn’t come up the whole time. He was used to not seeing the sun, as he had never seen it before anyway, but he thought it should have come back up by now.
His wing screamed with protest every time he flapped it. In fact, his entire body seemed to have turned against him, fatigue mixing with his many bruises and minor wounds from Windtrot’s cowardly sneak attack on him.
The battered grey Pegasus was flying high as to avoid crashing into anything in the dark, but refused to land. Every town and village he had passed had been occupied by more earth ponies and unicorns than pegasi. Whatever city the Equestrian Pegasus from before had mentioned was nowhere in sight. Not that he could see very far anyway.
Finally he could take it no more and landed in a grassy meadow, almost collapsing as his hooves met the ground. He tore some grass from the ground and ate it raw. He wasn’t used to eating plain grass, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. It was fresh and green and it tasted better than the bland crops his kind had learned to grow.
He ate a few more mouthfuls and then settled down to sleep, giving his wing some rest. He honestly didn’t care if some monster came along and ate him. Everything had been taken from him now. His home, his army, everything.
Northwind breathed a heavy sigh. He hoped Windtrot would at least treat the pegasi as he should.
-
“Doesn’t it seem odd?” Queen Silver Hoof asked, gazing out a window.
“What?” Commander Windtrot asked, scanning a map as he had been for the past two days.
“The sun hasn’t gone down since we cleared the clouds. I would have thought it would change from day to night every so often.” Silver Hoof replied, still looking at the clear blue sky. Most of the snow on the ground had melted now, and ponies of all kinds were churning up the near-frozen ground planting seeds.
“Aren’t the unicorns supposed to move it?” Chancellor Butterscotch asked after dismissing some ponies she had been speaking with.
“We haven’t done so in thousands of years. They say that the Princess of Equestria does is on her own. She seems to be shirking her duties.”
“Those Equestrians seemed pretty worried about that letter they got. Maybe something’s gone wrong?” Windtrot suggested.
“Or maybe they told the princess to let us keep the sun for a while. I’m not complaining.” Butterscotch said, smoothing a lock of her mane.
“Difficult to say. Let’s not fix what’s not broken just yet, though. Give them time, and then we can panic.” Windtrot said, scratching out something on the map with a guill gripped in his fetlock.
“Very well, but if the sun hasn’t gone down within a week, I’m going to try to cast the spell, if it’s all the same.” Silver Hoof said with finality.
“Whatever.” Windtrot said with little interest, making another mark on his map.
-
Twilight was resting on the floor, listening to Relin’s seemingly endless bits of knowledge about Hood. She had long since abandoned bothering with questions, as the Drake Cat never answered them anyway.
Relin finally paused, licking a paw again. “I suppose that’s more or less it. As of now, you know more about Moonlight than he does.”
“I do have one more question, if you don’t mind.”
“What’s that?”
“Why did he decide to forget about the magic he stored in the amulet? Didn’t he know somepony would have to use it to defeat Nightmare Moon?”
“He did know that, and there’s a simple explanation for why he did this. Should he have been captured by Nightmare Moon, he couldn’t let her know about the amulet. The best way to keep her from knowing is by ensuring that nopony knew. Not even the one who hid it.” Relan explained. It made sense of course.
Twilight thought for a moment. “You said you remember when Celestia and Luna weren’t the princesses. Do you know why Nightmare Moon is more powerful than them?”
A feeling of trepidation radiated from the Drake Cat, as if he was reluctant to speak. He did, however.
“Well, as I said, Celestia was once a unicorn, no more powerful than you. The Elements of Harmony enfused her and her sister with a magic of pure harmony, imbuing them with the best of all three kinds of ponies, unicorns, earth ponies and pegasi.
“Nightmare Moon, however, is not a proper alicorn. An alicorn is supposed to be a pony not of any one kind, but of all three. Nightmare Moon practically consists of pure magic. As a result, she can use magic at an almost uninhibited level.” Relan explained, sounding almost like a professor.
“Wait a minute… If that’s true then we should be able to use the amulet to destroy her for good! If she is made of pure magic, she should be absorbed by it, right?” Twilight asked, springing to her hooves excitedly.
“It’s not that simple, I’m afraid. Think of the Elements of Harmony as Celestia and Luna. Now, think of the Spell Breaker Stone as Discord. The elements are a force of the definitive ‘good,’ working to keep balance. The Spell Breaker Stone is much less predictable, working chaotic magics however it pleases. To be honest, I don’t know how Moonlight managed to work with it.”
“Well, I suppose Hood’s never been accused of being normal.” Twilight muttered.
“I suppose not.”
“Then we need to figure out where Hood went. Only he knows how to use the amulet, so he should be able to defeat Nightmare Moon with it.” Twilight said, planting a hoof on the floor.
Relan yawned. “There is one more factor to consider.”
“What?”
“Perhaps Moonlight doesn’t want to defeat Nightmare Moon.” Relan suggested.
“Wait, like, he wants it to stay night time forever?” Twilight asked, her heart sinking a little. It didn’t seem that farfetched, actually.
“No, what I mean is that Moonlight is a gentle kind. Hurting another pony, even Nightmare Moon, would be the last thing on his mind. Honestly, though, you may be right. Moonlight would be the one to prefer everlasting night.”
Twilight sighed and rubbed her temple. “I wish I had learned all this before Hood teleported off. Where do you suppose he went?”
Relan silently got up, walked over to another corner and lied down again. His mannerisms were very catlike. “He could be anywhere, really. He may have gone home to Trottingham, returned to Canterlot, or he may just be blowing off steam in a field outside town. If her doesn’t want to be found, you won’t be finding him.”
“What about you? You could probably find him!” Twilight suggested.
“I could, but that would leave the amulet unattended.”
“Who cares?! It’s not like anyone else knows it’s here.”
“Except for you.” Relan replied, his piercing eyes once more meeting Twilight’s own.
Twilight looked at the floor for a moment. “Then make me forget. The same way you made Hood forget it. And…” Twilight hesitated.
“And?”
“And I want you to make me forget something else.”
“That’s an interesting request. It’s rare that someone wants to be hypnotized.” Relan remarked, a hint of skepticism in his mental voice.
“I know. But I want you to make me forget that I ever learned how Hood felt about me. Make it so I never found this room, or heard the riddle on the door, even that I ever met you. Make me forget everything that happened after Hood vanished.” Twilight said soberly.
“I can, if that’s what you really want. Do you really understand what you’re asking me to do?” Relan asked, rising to his feet and stretching out.
“I do.”
“Very well.” Relan looked Twilight directly in her eyes. She could now see his eyes glowing a bright green. A magical force penetrating her mind. After that, her vision went dark and she remembered no more.