//------------------------------// // Chapter Two // Story: Of things forgotten, (Part one) // by Kalros //------------------------------// Chapter 2 Twilight groaned as the world readjusted itself around her. She was in a wooden building this time around. Looking around the unicorn took note of the lack of decoration or… anything on the wooden walls. Sighing she turned her attention to the other occupants of the room. One was a unicorn with a light yellow coat and minty green mane similar to that of Lyra Heartrings back home in Ponyville. Only unlike Lyra this unicorn’s mane was brushed neatly and tied up in a bun. She seemed rather nervous as was evident by the way she was shifting her weight from side to side. Twilight wondered why as her eyes trailed to the other pony… “Alright miss… Radiant?” Lieutenant Pansy glanced up from the small report in his hooves to regard the unicorn standing in his office across from him. Twilights jaw dropped in awe as she looked at the pegasus, this was THE Pansy? Besides the color of his coat and mane he didn’t seem like the weak and timid pegasus the legends said he was. Instead Twilight was looking at a tall muscled stallion that seemed to exude an aura of strength and command. Twilight shook her head trying to believe it, it seemed that sometime in the past somepony had decided to change the Lieutenant into something that matched his name. Twilight trotted closer to get a better look at the stallion starting with his face; Pansy certainly did not seem timid. His face was that of a seasoned soldier and he sported a light scruff around his chin which matched sky blue mane. Like Bragg the pegasus had the eyes of a soldier but they seemed a bit softer. Twilight tore her gaze from the pegasi’s face to examine the rest of his body. Pansy was much taller than she would have though, similar in size to other stallions like Prince Blueblood or Big Macintosh. His coat was a light orange which complemented his mane well. Lastly like many of the guards around the palace he seemed really well built. Twilight shook her head as she realized she had been gravely mistaken to cast Fluttershy in his role during the play a few months ago. “Yes, Lady Radiant.” At the sound Twilight tore her attention away from the Equestrian founder she had been examining and looked at the other unicorn in the room, Radiant. She was much more slender than Pansy and the way she had just spoken reminded Twilight of the many unicorns that lived in Caterlot. So proud and arrogant, it was one of things Twilight certainly did not miss about the city. Radiant‘s sudden sense of superiority however vanished quickly when she saw that it had no effect on Pansy “Um… Sir” Twilight had heard that the unicorns of this time were snobbish, and Radiant’s actions indicated as much. Before the immigration to Equestria they had been the nobility of the old order, treating the other tribes like peasants only because they couldn’t use magic. Thankfully the unicorns changed their ways after moving to Equestria. Or so she thought; Radiant’s demeanor seemed suggest that not everypony was so willing to change. “You’re a civilian, there is no need to address me like that,” Pansy muttered after setting down the papers on a table and turning to Radiant. “Now explain to me what exactly happened to you today. Do not skimp on any details, you’re already in enough trouble for leaving the settlement without telling anypony.” Twilight looked from Pansy to Radiant wondering what she had gotten in trouble for. She didn’t know what kind of laws were in place at this time in history but the books she had read on Equestrian law indicated that they had not changed much at all. “Yes, of course.” Radiant made her way over to some cushions nearby before lying down. Behind her, Pansy carried some quills and inkwells to write everything down. "Now, where should I begin?" “From the beginning of course” the Pegasus replied before taking the quill in his mouth and dipping it in ink. “Alright, it all started this morning when I decided to get some herbs to restock my shop…” Twilight found herself a spot to lay down believing she would just need to listen to the unicorn’s tale before she felt the familiar feel of the world changing around her and everything faded to white. Radiant smiled merrily as she made her way through the forest, behind her Twilight Sparkle sighed. She had just watched Radiant sneak out of the village taking note of her obvious distaste in getting by the pegasus guards stationed in and around Fillydelphia. It was frankly quite a shock to the lavender unicorn that anypony could be so… racist. “It’s perfect!” she laughed lightly. Twilight just rolled her eyes in response; Radiant wasn’t even trying to be stealthy, she was acting like a filly in a playground. If this forest was anything like the Everfree there was probably no shortage of deadly animals that might harm her. Twilight still couldn’t determine why Radiant had been so determined to sneak out here alone. The pair continued their stroll through the woods for about an hour before stopping in in a clearing twilight found earily familiar; it was the same one that Bragg and Joseph had found evidence of Victors attack. Twilight frowned; it appeared she was going to witness the true first encounter between ponies and humans. The unicorn couldn’t figure out though how Radiant was going to subdue Victor; she didn’t seem to have any special magic beyond levitation and possibly healing magic. Twilight believed that Radiant was some sort of healer within the village, using herbs and poultices to heal the ill and her magic on those with more immediate needs. She could not determine for certain however as the usual method of determining a pony’s special talent was useless. Neither of the two had cutie marks… The absence of the markings had been surprising and Twilight made a mental note to ask William about it later. She hadn’t noticed earlier in the office with Radiant and Pansy but now it was obvious as she followed behind the other mare. None of these ponies knew what their special talent was, the realization was a disturbing one to Twilight. In her time cutie marks help guide a pony down the path that was right for them, these ponies didn’t have that… Returning her attention to the other unicorn Twilight watched as she bent down to inspect a group of strange fungus growing on a rotting log. Intrigued the lavender unicorn trotted up beside her to look before frowning in disgust. That’s why she was here? Twilight recognized the mushroom in question from an old book she had acquired about extinct plants and animals in Equestria. The fungus had no healing qualities to speak of however when used with a specific spell it could be used to induce a euphoric state. In short the mushroom was a drug; not only was she witnessing the meeting between two species Twilight realized she was also witnessing what was probably the beginning of drug trafficking in Equestria. *SNAP* The sudden sound shook both Radiant and Twilight from their respective thoughts. The forest had grown silent, the sounds of birds and insects which had saturated the forest were now missing. “Hello? Is anypony there?” Radiant asked a bit nervously; her horn lighting up with a soft yellow just in case its magic would be needed. As if in response, a creature stepped out from behind a tree causing the yellow unicorn to scream in fear at its appearance. Twilight gawked in horror as well, but for different reasons than Radiant. The human, Victor, was attired similarly to both Bragg and Joseph. However unlike the other two Victor’s hair was blonde and his face was much more angular and menacing. Then there were his eyes... Twilight had seen eyes like that before, on the manticore, the hydra, and the various adult dragons she had encountered with her friends. They were the eyes of a predator and a killer. Twilight could have sworn Victor had said something, but whatever it was, she couldn’t understand. It seemed her understanding of the human language had disappeared now that she was no longer attached to one of their memories. Twilight watched as the human charged across the clearing towards Radiant causing her to scream. Closing her eyes the unicorn’s front hooves flailed about in self defense before hitting the human squarely between the legs causing him to double over in pain. A moment later Twilight watched as the man’s arm descended leaving a gash on her flank where her cutie mark would have been, Twilight hadn’t noticed it earlier but the human had a knife it seemed. Gathering what strength she could, Radiant managed put some distance between herself and the human. Whatever Radiant had done to the human seemed to have injured it badly as it limped slowly towards the yellow unicorn. The damage didn’t seem permanent however and he seemed to be recovering slowly. “You… you dare attack Lady Radiant...” she muttered. Victor again said something, but neither unicorn understood, and Radiant did not care. Focusing her magic she levitated a large rock behind Victor into the air. “YOU! DIRTY! BARBARIAN!” Twilight gasped as with every word Radiant bashed the rock into Victor’s skull. After the third impact the he keeled over to the ground. The rock was now covered in blood as the Radiant put it back onto the ground. Breathing heavily, Radiant turned her attention from the human to examine her injury. The cut was not as deep as she had thought, but it was still quite a wound. Her horn began to glow again as she wove into a spell to stop the bleeding. Twilight could tell it was a temporary fix, but she guessed Radiant didn’t have the time to completely heal it out here. A couple minutes passed as Radiant tried to catch her breath. Once again, her attention returned to the unconscious human. Now that it wasn’t trying to kill her the yellow unicorn approached Victor cautiously. Twilight watched her examine the body with much distaste before breaking out into laughter. “Oh Radiant… You got yourself all worked up over something about as scary as an earth pony,” she giggled to herself while Twilights jaw dropped open from shock at what she heard. How could the ponies of this time be so different? Twilight shook her head trying to reassure herself. Maybe it was just Radiant; surely not everypony in this age was so bigoted. Twilight watched as Radiant levitated Victors knife into her bag with the mushrooms before returning her attention to the human. He didn’t look that healthy, Twilight could tell as much from his ragged breaths and the amount of blood on both the rock and what was bleeding from his ears. He needed medical help soon. Twilight could see that Radiant was thinking the same thing before a disturbing grin broke out on her face. A moment later a yellow glow surrounded Victor as Radiant used her magic to levitate him a couple dozen centimeters in the air. “Ooooh, Radiant you are going to be famous!” Radiant said in a singsong voice causing Twilight to facehoof. Radiant wasn’t worried about Victor at all, she just wanted to bring him back as a prize to show everypony. Sighing Twilight began to follow her before watching as the world around her dissolved into a void of white. “So I was on my way to show you and the Mayor but a patrol of your soldiers intercepted me as I exited the forest,” Radiant huffed, she seemed to have relaxed quite a bit as she told her story to Pansy. “And you know what happened after that.” Twilight gave her head a shake as she found herself back in Pansy’s office. Twilight herself didn’t know but she could piece together what had happened after yellow unicorn decided to leave the forest. Radiant had met up with a patrol of pegasi on her way back to the village, which explained the extra hoofprints Bragg and Joseph had found. No doubt they had taken Victor from Radiant and placed him somewhere safe. “Right then, Miss Radiant, you can go home now, but I expect you to return here tomorrow morning an hour after sunrise. Ask for Corporal Summer Breeze, she will be supervising you as you serve your community service.” without another word Pansy placed the papers inside his desk before walking by an obviously stunned Radiant. Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at the look on the yellow unicorns face. She definitely deserved what was coming to her. “Bu- But…” the unicorn managed to stammer out before Pansy reached the door. Pausing for a moment, the pegasus turned his head to look at her. “The law is the law Radiant. It doesn’t matter if you discovered a new species, you’re still guilty. Just be glad that I’ve decided to ignore those questionable herbs you were gathering.” With that he left the office, surprisingly Twilight felt a tug as she was dragged outside also, it seemed she was no longer attached to Radiant. It was already getting dark, the sun's colors giving the Pansy’s orange coat an interesting glow. Flaring his wings open he took to the skies, causing Twilight’s eyes to widen with worry. How was she supposed to follow him now? She couldn’t fly! Her worry was soon put to rest however as she began to levitate upwards following him. It felt weird, like she was resting on an invisible platform that was rising into the air to follow the pegasus. Grinning, Pansy paused his climb into the air to regard the small village below him. Twilight followed his gaze and smiled as well. It was certainly much larger than she had thought it would be, and it certainly did not seem to be less than ten years old. A village this size could easily fit over a thousand ponies. “Lieutenant Pansy! Sir!” the sudden sound snapped Twilight back to reality before she turned to regard the pegasus in full combat gear that had joined Pansy “Yes private?” Pansy barked, Twilight wasn’t sure but he noticed some discomfort in Pansy’s body language. He probably didn’t like being in a position of authority. “Sir, sergeant Firewing and his patrol have just returned. They found another one of those creatures like the one that unicorn brought us earlier!” the private exclaimed with excitement. That must have been the patrol that found Joseph, Twilight figured as she looked over at Pansy. Pansy floated there in thought before turning around and heading back to the village as fast as he could, the private following close behind. Twilight gave a yelp of surprise as she was dragged along for the ride. “What’s the creature's status?” he asked suspiciously as the pair touched down. Twilight hoped Joseph wasn’t hurt too bad. That pegasus that had attacked him seemed a bit rough. “Conscious sir, just bruised around what we believe is its neck. The sergeant locked him up in a cage near the other one." Pansy nodded before heading off towards the town hall with Twilight in tow. Twilight wasn’t surprised; most town halls had a prison of sorts to deal with any extreme cases before they were sent to Canterlot. Usually they were empty as the Mayor and authorities were able to devise more creative punishments. “Good. You may return to your duties” replied Pansy before returning the soldiers salute and entering the jail. Twilight followed and was surprised to see so many other ponies inside. In one corner a male Earth pony and a Unicorn stared into the two prison cells with worry while another group of pegasi stood guard. “Sergeant, report!” Pansy snapped, causing the other pegasi to snap to attention. Twilight ignored them for the moment to look at the cell Victor was inside. He seemed much better than in the forest and she could detect that he was in a healing coma causing the lavender unicorn to sigh in relief. Somepony had made sure he was taken care of at least. “Sir, we caught this one spying on the village from a nearby ledge. Private Lightning Twirl was the first one on the scene and subdued the creature before we arrived.” Pansy glanced over to the cell which Joseph was housed inside. “Well done Sergeant. You and your men are dismissed, I expect a full report tomorrow morning” Firewing gave Pansy a momentary look of surprise before nodding and filing out with the other pegasus guards. “Mayor Whistlebloom, your thoughts?” Pansy whispered to the earth pony which Twilight assumed was the mayor. “We need to tell Canterlot. One of these things is scary enough but two? What if there’s a whole bunch of these things out there?” the mayor muttered, to which Pansy nodded in agreement before turning his attention to Joseph. “You, what is your name? How many like you are there?” he yelled at the human trying to look as intimidating as possible, it certainly seemed to work, even without his full set of armor the pegasus was an imposing sight. Joseph flinched and seemed stunned for a moment before saying something incomprehensible. Pansy sighed in annoyance. Beside him Twilight did the same, Joseph still sounded the same, only his words were completely garbled so she couldn’t make sense of it. “We need a full diplomatic team and scientists…” Pansy muttered looking back at the mayor. The unicorn aide at his side nodded as her horn lit up and began furiously scribbling down what he was saying. “And make sure somepony with them knows a translation spell.” He added before returning his gaze to the creature inside. A storm was coming and one didn’t need to be a pegasus to feel it... Twilight shivered at the feeling before the world began to dissolve around her again. “The Second Harmonic council…” William said the moment Twilight reappeared in the void. Twilight blinked a couple times as her eyes readjusted to the light before turning her attention to the human. “Yes. What was it?” Twilight asked only half paying attention. Her mind was elsewhere as she processed all that had just transpired. “It is the event you now know as Hearth’s Warming Eve,” William replied smiling “When the three tribes discovered that they were not alone in moving to Equestria a summit was held in the hopes of preventing any hostilities from breaking out.” Twilight’s attention turned to William as he spoke of the event that was now legend in Equestria. “But I thought it was just the six ponies who were involved? Why was it a summit?” She asked confused which caused William to chuckle. “Hardly, those six ponies did play a very important role but they were not alone. Each tribe sent a delegation to try and solve the issue. It was very much like the first council meeting further north in the frozen wastelands. The difference however was that Pansy, Cookie, and Clover that managed to coerce the representatives into peace; they had been ignored in the First Council.” William lectured as he looked at Twilight with amusement. “And the Windigoes?” she asked “Oh they exist, nasty things. The windigoes did attack the summit and do feed off of disharmony but they don’t have the ability to affect the climate of an entire continent. Pansy, Cookie and Clover were able to use the Windigoes as an analogy to show just how their infighting was destroying them all,” William explained. Twilight just shook her head in confusion. This was nothing like the legend at all. William sighed as he noticed her confusion before continuing, “Twilight, legends rarely survive the passage of time intact. If you decide to stick around you’ll find that the events around Discord reign and Luna’s banishment were not as cut and dry as you would imagine.” Twilight sighed and nodded in understanding. Maybe William was right, maybe everything was not as simple as she thought. “Wait, Discord and Luna?” Twilight asked confused... Those events were decades if not centuries after the immigration to Equestria “How would you know about that? How old are you?” William would have to be ancient to have witnessed them. Looking at him now Twilight could tell he looked no older than Joseph or Bragg. “I wondered when you would ask that,” The man replied turning away from Twilight. Frowning in annoyance she trotted around in front of him. “I’m not like other humans… Of course that’s obvious, not many humans can do magic after all but there is more to it.” He replied looking down into Twilights eyes causing her to shiver;they no longer seemed normal but instead twinkled with a gleam of ancient wisdom like the eyes of her mentor Princess Celestia. “Celestia doesn’t just turn anyone to stone Twilight Sparkle. You need to be special.” “What do you mean?” Twilight pressed trying to get more out of William. Was he an immortal then? Like the Princesses, and Discord? “I will tell you in time Ms. Sparkle. Now is not right,” William answered cryptically before closing his eyes with a sigh “You must be getting sleepy, maybe we should take a break for now.” He continued before opening his eyes again, Twilight frowned as they seemed to have returned to normal, no longer did they twinkle with that spark of ancient wisdom they had moments earlier. Sighing that her question wouldn’t be answered Twilight nodded in agreement she was getting tired but… “Um… How can I sleep? I mean there’s no bed and the light is so strong” Twilight asked causing William to laugh again. “Remember what I said when we first came here Ms. Sparkle? This is your mind, use your imagination,” he replied with a grin before waving his arms across the vast expanse. “This world is like a canvas for you to paint upon, so get to it!” Twilight frowned in confusion for a moment before she understood. Nodding she closed her eyes imagining one of the most familiar places she knew. “Not bad… Not bad at all,” Twilight heard William mutter before opening her eyes to find… her library. It looked exactly the same as how she left it, dirty dishes and all. “There is room for improvement though.” Looking around she saw William had pulled a book off the shelves and was flipping through it. “What? What’s wrong?” she asked before the human spun the book around causing the unicorn to gasp. The pages were empty! “Little details really, the curtains over there suffer a similar fate; they’re stuck,” Williams answered amused at her reaction. “But I must say you did really well for a first try. Now time for bed, your mind has absorbed alot today, and a good night’s sleep would do you good.” Twilight frowned at his words. She had so many more questions to ask though. Why was Radiant so arrogant? Where was everyponies cutie mark? What happened to Bragg? “Don’t worry. I’ll still be here when you wake up. Not like I have anywhere to go,” William chuckled deeply before finding a seat to relax in. “Fine… But you need to answer my questions tomorrow ok?” she replied before heading off up the stairs toward her bed frowning when she saw that Spike’s bed was empty. “Very well Ms. Sparkle. Goodnight!” William called out from downstairs. Smiling Twilight rushed over to her bed and jumped right in before groaning in pain. The mattress was rock solid! “It’s the details that matter Ms Sparkle, the details…”