//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - Lost // Story: Memories Forgotten // by Ephraim Blue //------------------------------// Chapter 1 - Lost Ponyville Castle A loud thud echoed through Twilight's castle, making her ears perk up at the sound. She looked behind her, expecting it to be close. Nothing was behind her. "Spike?" she called through the hallways. "Spike, did you drop something?" "Spike?" her voice echoed back. "Spike, did you drop something?" That was the annoying part of her castle; the echoes. They always talked back to her, even when she didn't want them to. No reply came, which either meant the echoing halls never reached Spike, or he wasn't listening. Or sleeping. He was usually sleeping. Or maybe he just wasn't answering. Or maybe- "Twilight?" Spike's voice echoed through the halls. "Twilight, did you hear that?" Twilight shook her head at her assistant's voice. He hadn't heard her, but he heard the same sound she did. She stepped out into the halls, hoping to find any of two things. Spike ran through the halls and bumped into Twilight as she calmly walked through the halls. Well, Twilight thought, that's one thing I was looking for... "Twilight!" Spike called from the floor he sat on after falling from the sudden collision. He got up and dusted off his scales, though is seemed a bit unnecessary. "Did you hear that weird sound earlier?" "Yes, I did," Twilight answered. "Did you drop something?" Spike shook his head. "No, I heard the noise and called out to you to see if you heard it." "I did hear it," Twilight said, "but do you know what caused it?" Again, Spike shook his head. Twilight sighed. "It's fine," she said. "I don't know what caused it either." Suddenly, several sounds echoed through the halls of Twilight's castle, coming from their left. Twilight and Spike turned in its direction, only for it to stop. "I wasn't imagining that, right?" Spike asked. "No..." Twilight said. "I heard it too." The sound came again, more rapid this time. Although, that's not all that was heard. "Twilight, open up!" a quiet voice called, as if it were muffled by something. Although Spike had turned his head in confusion at the sound, Twilight realized what was going on. The sound was knocking, and someone was at Twilight's doorstep. She ran through the halls. All the halls looked the same, but Twilight knew her way around. She spent two weeks memorizing the layout of the castle and where all the rooms were. It was difficult, but if she could memorize the location of every book in the Golden Oaks Library, she could memorize the way around her new home. She eventually found the front door to her massive castle and heard one of her friend's voices behind them. "Twilight, open up!" It was Rainbow Dash behind the door... And she sounded worried. Twilight opened the door nada saw her friend's face. A sense of worry flowed through her when she saw the worry implanted on her friend's face. "Rainbow, what's wrong?" "That's what's wrong Twilight!" she almost yelled back, pointing a hoof behind her, just outside of Twilight's vision. Twilight stepped outside and looked behind her friend. What she saw made her gasp. A stallion lied on the ground, almost directly in front of her castle's door. His coat was green, while his mane was a dark blue; both were hideously filthy, as if they hadn't been washed in several days. Rarity would have a fit if she saw this! Twilight thought. But... who was this stallion? The other thing she took note of was his cutie mark. Though his coat was dirty, she could still see it. To her, it looked as if it were a checkered flag. Why would a stallion have a checkered flag as a cutie mark? Was he a referee of some sort? "I found him slumped against your door Twilight," Rainbow said. "I heard a thud and came flying down. He's unconscious, and I didn't know who else to talk to!" "What about the hospital?" Twilight asked. "They're not open this late Twilight." Only now did Twilight take the opportunity to look around at Luna's night sky. Rainbow was right. The hospital closes at 9:00, and it was clearly past then. Even if she wanted to, she couldn't take this stallion there. "Also, he's only unconscious." "Right..." Twilight said. "Well, help me bring him inside. We can't leave him out here all night." Rainbow obliged and hoisted the stallion onto her, and the two of them brought him into Twilight's huge castle. They(After a long series of getting lost and a bit of arguing about where to go) eventually found one of the bedrooms of the castle and set the stallion down on the bed. "Well," Rainbow began, "what now?" "We wait," Twilight said. Rainbow gave her a confused look before she continued. "This stallion is unconscious, and we don't know when he'll wake up. He doesn't appear to have any physical injuries, and he needs rest. When he wakes up, then we can ask why he was on my front door." "Oh," Rainbow said, nodding. "So, is there anything you might need Twilight?" She smiled. "Not tonight, no," she answered. "I think I'll be fine, and our guest here probably won't be needing anything. And don't worry about wondering who this stallion is. If I find out anything, I'll let you and the girls know." Rainbow nodded. "Gotcha Twi!" she said excitedly. She turned to leave, but stopped mid-turn. She looked back at Twilight with an embarrassing smile on her face. "Umm, which way is out?" Carrot Family Farm Carrot Top made her way back to her carrot farm, even though she should have been back hours ago. Her family was almost certainly worried about her. If not, then they were asleep. She took a quick glance at the sky before she entered her home. Dark clouds filed the sky, and seemed to fly ever closer to her location. Though, they were still pretty far away, and moved very slowly. "That's strange," she said for none to her. "I don't recall the pegasi planning a thunderstorm this week." She shrugged and looked quickly at the ground. "I guess it must be some malfunction in Cloudsdale. Even though, I should prepare for the worst." She began to look at the sky once again, but something fought her eye. She glanced in its direction. Faintly, on the horizon, she could see the familiar shape of a pony. She squinted her eyes, but found it impossible to make out who it was. "Hello?" she called as loud as she could to the figure. Nothing happened. "Carrot Top?" That voice caused her to turn in the direction of her front door, which opened not soon after. "What are you doing out this late at night?" "Sorry mom," she replied. "Busy day at work again." "Who were you calling to?" her mom asked. She pointed a hoof to the hill where she saw the figure of a pony. "I saw somepony on the horizon over there." Her mom stepped outside of the house and looked in the direction her hoof was pointed. "Carrot, there's nopony there." "Of course there is!" she objected. "Do you think I would... make... this... up?" She had turned her head in the direction she was pointing. Surprisingly, there was nopony there. "But... I'm certain I saw someone there!" "You're just tired dear," he mother explained. "'Rough day at work', remember?" She blushed slightly at her mom's statement. "Right..." Maybe I did make it up... she thought. "Come inside dear. You need some rest." Carrot Top nodded at her mother's words, and followed her into the house. But not before sneaking another look at the hill she once saw the figure. Nothing was there. ??? He awoke with a huge gasp. His eyes shot open and looked around the space he occupied. Darkness all around. He didn't know why, but he freaked out. He was on a soft and slightly fuzzy surface, and that prevented his struggles. "W- Where am I?" he asked. "What is this around me?" One final question struck his mind before he hit the floor hard. "Who am I?"