Chapter I- Chronicle Sequence 0- Friendship
Twenty years had passed since the incident of Foal Games. DustStorm had been recruited into the Royal Guard once more, and served as one of the Magic Researchers of Canterlot. A spell was cast over him by Torrent, to make him appear as a different pony, along with a different name, ‘Arcan’. For if anypony found out the truth, there would sure be a Royalty-level investigation into Corona. The spell was refreshed every few nights, as DustStorm slept, to prevent him from finding out about his true self. The SIU investigation was closed, after FlashRain reported that he and DustStorm had found the suspect, and handled him accordingly. FlashRain then filed for a request for a leave of absence for DustStorm and himself, which the SIU head complied with. And now…
***
“Memories are never fully forgotten. They cannot be erased or overwritten. They leave a permanent imprint on our being, an impression in our brain. When we say a memory has been forgotten, it has simply been pushed to a dark corner of our minds. It quietly sits there, waiting for us to find a way to access it again. With the proper trigger, the memories can come back into the light, and be rediscovered. The mind is truly a wonderful thing.” ~ Silver Scroll, Researcher
“Arcan?”
I jumped, nearly dropping the book. I turned to see one of my Royal Guard friends, Swift, standing at the door.
“The Unit’s about to go grab some drinks at the Old Mare. You coming?” he asked, giving a short flap of his wings.
I sighed, looking down at my book. “No thanks.” I answered. “Why don’t you guys go without me?”
“Oh come on, you bookworm.” Swift trotted over to me. “What’s so interesting that you can’t spend time with a few buddies?” He bent down, examining the cover of my book. “Mysteries of the Mind: Decoding what we thought we lost.” Swift gave me an odd look. “Interesting read, I guess?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you guys.” I set the book down. “Just… going out isn’t really my thing. I’m sorry. Maybe some other time.”
“That’s what you say every time. Just one drink can’t hurt, right?” Swift pressed. “One drink with friends. That’s all I’m asking.”
I considered it, looking down at the book again. I probably spent too long staring, as Swift spoke up again.
“All right, something’s bothering you.” He sat down on the bed across from me. “What is it?”
“It’s nothing.” I slid the book under my pillow. “I was just thinking about what I read.” Moving my eyes back to Swift, he was regarding me imperiously, easily seeing through my lie. “Fine.” I said. “I’ll tell you, but you’ll think I’m crazy.”
Swift settled back a little more, folding his front hooves. “I’ve thought you were crazy from the first day I met you.” He chuckled. “There’s not much that you can tell me that’ll change that for the worse.”
Taking a deep breath, I began. “Recently, I’ve been having weird dreams. Not just at night, but at day, too. It’s like flashes of images, rushing across my mind. I can only usually pull the tiniest bits from it, but… I can’t explain it. I’ve never seen those images in my life- well, not that I can remember. But the flashes are so familiar. I feel like I’m forgetting something. Memories that happened a long time ago.”
Swift was giving me another odd look, and I trailed off, looking down at the ground.
“That does sound crazy.” He admitted. Swift pushed himself off the bed, landing on all fours. “You’ve probably been overworking. I mean, you go home every night, even after a full day of training and research. That’s got to be hard on a pony. You need some time to rest.” He started to leave, then turned back. “So, are you going to join us for a drink?”
I paused, then nodded, giving a short smile. “Just one. I have time for that.”
Swift grinned. “Great. Meet you there. Fix yourself up a little, okay?”
I pulled on my cape, slinging it over a shoulder, the silver and blue material swirling around my legs. The Royal Guard crest glittered on a corner of it. A simple garment, but my favorite, nonetheless. I glanced in the mirror, making sure I looked decent enough to go out to public. My mess of a dark gray mane, with streaks of blue contrasted well with my pale gray body. My Cutie Mark of crossed swords was covered on one side by the cape. After brushing my mane a few times, I followed Swift outside.
***
“Nice of you to join us, sir!” chortled one of the guards in my unit.
“Look, Captain Bookworm is here!” Another raised his glass of hard cider. “Have a drink on us, eh?”
“No need.” I settled down at the table. “Drinks are on me tonight. And I told you many times, there’s no need to call me ‘Captain’.”
The bartender slid over a glass of frothy amber liquid to me. I nodded my thanks at him.
“That’s what we like to hear! How about a toast to Arcan then?” Swift raised his glass, the others following. “To Arcan!”
I gave a small smile as we clinked our glasses and drank. For the first time in a long time, I felt truly happy, enjoying the lively energy of my unit. No, just not my unit- my friends.