//------------------------------//
// A Feeling of Resolve - 2 
// Story: A Feeling Of 
// by Nuke 
//------------------------------//

	I am a curious man.

Curious men tend to traverse the abyss with a blind eye.

And I am as blind as a bat. Except, bats have really good eyesight, and there are torches on the walls of the tower, illuminating the room. This euphemism escapes me.

So far, nothing eventful has happened. The room I stand in, just beyond the door, contains nothing but a small desk and chair. On top of the desk lays a book and a pen. Upon inspection, the book is completely blank.

On the opposite side of the room is a set of stairs that spirals up to the next floor. I draw the sword and ascend.

I am met with nothing dangerous, surprisingly and thankfully.

A few steps from the top step of the stairs is a bed. At its foot is a travel chest, similar to an old-timey trunk back on Earth. I've rarely seen them in Equestria, but the ones I have seen are usually extremely ornate and belong to posh ponies.

I open it, only to find clothes. Neatly folded pants, socks, underwear, shirts, all stacked up in the chest. What surprises me the most is that they are my clothes, from Earth.

I close the chest and throw the sword and shield onto the bed. I doubt there's going to be anything that warrants violence in this tower.

Leaning against the stairs that lead up to the next floor, are a set of bookshelves. My heart races with a kind of anxious glee one would feel when a long-awaited package is delivered to their door. As I approach it, I can't help but smile.

On those shelves are dozens upon dozens of books I read on Earth. Books I absolutely loved and cherished. I never thought I'd see them again in my life. It takes quite a bit of willpower to keep myself from crying tears of joy.

Unfortunately, I don't have much time to read any of them. Whatever awaits on the third floor must be taken care of immediately.

I ascend the stairs.

This room catches me the most off guard. It's much bigger than it should be, given the physical constraints of the tower. Nearly twice the size of the previous rooms, it contains a grandfather clock that ticks away, another travel trunk, a desk littered with papers, and a large mirror with a stone frame.

With no clue where to start, I opt for the desk. Shuffling through the papers, I become more and more concerned.

Pages that seem like they were torn from my journal are littered amongst blank pages.

June 12th, of last year, exactly one week before I was brought here is the earliest of the pages. It's written in my own hand-writing.

"My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I thought I saw a little white horse run by my window. It looked like it was wearing a mask, or something," it reads.

I remember that. It had an orange scarf. It has appeared in my dreams once or twice since I came, but I don't know anything about it.

I check my journal for that entry.

"Woke up feeling a little sick. Went for a walk to get some fresh air, maybe try to feel better. Grabbed something to eat, went home, relaxed the rest of the day."

I stare at the words, a little perturbed, and a little confused. It's my hand-writing, but something about it feels... wrong.

Every entry from June 12th to June 17th is the same. On the desk, the pages describe the pony I followed. In my journal, with that same, wrong hand-writing, the pages detail regular, mundane events. Someone rewrote my journal.

The next entries catch me off-guard the most.

June 18th, the day I came to Equestria.

"I followed the little white horse. It's strange. It looks like it was animated. I saw it run down an alleyway, so I followed it. I know it's a dead end. I'm staring at it right now. So where did it go?" The desk's entry worries me. Very rarely did I ever write anything in real time. I certainly don't do it now, despite writing this journal in present tense.

I check the entry in my journal and worry myself further. It's the exact same, save for the last line.

"I saw the wall shimmer. What would happen if I touch it?" The last half of the page is torn and burnt.

A chair by the desk offers me support as I sit down to contemplate what all of this means.

Someone, or something tampered with my journal. Most likely that little white pony. If it tampered with my journal, then it certainly had a plan to lure me here.

I don't know how to feel about that possibility.

On one hand, I should thank it for bringing me here and letting me meet Speck. On the other, I should hate it for taking my life away from me.

What alarms me the most, is that I don't remember anything from June 18th. I remember waking up and going outside, and then I remember waking up to Celestia and Luna accosting me.

"Oh well. What's happened can't be undone, so there's no use crying over spilled milk." It takes me a minute or two to stand up. I approach the chest after shaking off my anxiety.

It might as well be a chest full of lost, ancient relics. I find all kinds of electronic gadgets and little mechanical gizmos. What really catches my eye is a picture.

I pick it up to get a better look at it. Two people stand, side by side, holding hands. It's a really weird thing to look at. After all, I haven't seen another human being in over a year.

They look familiar, though. I can't place it, but something about the guy comes off as miserable. Like, he's happy with the girl, but there's something else in his life that's got him down.

I turn from the chest and carry the picture around the room, scratching my head and pacing in thought. As I pass the mirror, I look up briefly before looking back down at the picture.

It's me. The guy in the picture is me. I didn't recognize him because that miserable feeling in his life isn't present in mine.

"This is silly," I mutter before getting ready to leave. I am stopped almost immediately, not because of my own will, but because something in the mirror catches my eye.

A little white pony, dressed in an orange scarf and a white mask, stands beside me, looking up at my reflection. I look away from the mirror to where it stands, but find nothing there. It is still present in the mirror.

Some garbled static noise fills my ears. I know it's trying to speak, but its mouth doesn't move beneath the mask.

Somehow, I understand it.

"Would you?" It asks.

"Would I what?" I respond. I already know what it means.

"Would you go back, if  you could?"

I glance down at the picture. If I went back, would I go back to being this miserable guy, or would I be able to find this woman and be just as happy as I am now? I scratch my chin in though, and answer the question all the same. Speck is much more cuddly than a human.

"I think I'd rather take my chance with a pony I've known for two months, than go be miserable with someone I'd probably known my entire life." I wouldn't be miserable with that woman. I don't remember her, but I do remember being happy when I wasn't alone. Besides, after a year, everyone I knew on Earth has probably moved on with their lives and chalked me up as a missing person.

Of course, two months ago I would have gone back in a heartbeat.

Things change, just like people do.

I'm happier now. I have a fun job. There's a lot of fun to be had in Equestria.

Equestria is my home now. And Speck is all I need.

"Of course! We will meet again, someday, mister..." It tilts its head for a second. "I believe in Equestrian Common, it would be pronounced 'March," and spelled similarly." It ponders a moment before shrugging. "It took nearly a year to find a word similar enough to your name. Strange how the name you chose was so easily translated. Possibly because our language only has a select few words for those without names. Nameless, incognito, unknown. Anonymous."

"That doesn't explain why I couldn't remember my name in the first place."

"Ah! But you could! Do you remember our encounter on the train? It was the first time you had heard it in nearly a year. What you heard was the distortion and unfamiliarity of not recognizing the word. Of course, you recognized it as static screeching."

"And when I first came to Equestria?"

"You had merely bumped your head and forgotten it! Some time down the road, maybe you recovered the memory, but it was so foreign to you that you had no clue what it was? You've certainly recovered it now!"

"March." I roll the name along my tongue a few times. It's been a long time, but it definitely is familiar, and it definitely is my name. "I like it." Before I can say anything more, it interjects with a rushed farewell.

"I must leave! It seems you have a visitor!" Its reflection runs toward me, but disappears as it reaches the mirror. Its glass skin ripples weakly.

I look back down at the picture and turn away from the mirror.

"I guess that's... quite a few mysteries solved."

The sound of hoofsteps clicking against the stone floor causes me to look up.

Standing across the room from me, right by the stairs, is a familiar face. She bears an incandescent grin.

"Anon."

"It's March."

"No, it's July." She looks up at me, confused and concerned.

"No, Speck. My name. My name is March." She tilts her head and raises an eyebrow.

"It's Anonymous."

I approach her and kneel in front of her. She looks into my eyes, trying to see if I've lost my mind. I squeeze her cheeks together.

"No, sweetheart. I learned my real name. It's March."

"March," she says a few times before smiling. "I like it!"

"I do too."

I hug her as tight as I can, happy to see her. She hugs me even tighter and almost threatens to crush my bones.

As we part, her nose bumps against my hand.

"What's that picture?"

"It's nothing. Just some people I used to know."

She smiles as she follows me back to the chest. I decide to empty it and leave room for the books downstairs. I might be able to translate them for Twilight to read. I know she'd love that.

As I place the contents of the chest in a pile beside it, Speck sorts through everything. The nosy little bat turns everything over in her hooves, pressing whatever buttons and flicking whatever switches she can. Anything electronic is most likely drained of power, and anything else doesn't interest her much.

Once I've finished emptying the chest, I pick it up and turn to Speck. She faces the pile to my left, giving a good view of her side.

I notice something different about her. Something that's really kind of amazing.

She got her cutiemark. A beautiful golden heart with two feathered white wings. I wonder what it means.

Just as I'm about to ask her about it, she yelps and throws a small, black rectangle up in the air. It drops, face up on the pile.

"Oh, hey. I remember that." I bend down to pick it up and push a button on its top. It lights up and displays a series of icons.

"What is it?"

"It's uh..." There isn't really a word for it in Equestrian. "It's like a little portable... everything. It has a lot of stuff on it. Games, music, books, pictures. Almost everyone on Earth had them. They were pretty central to our lives, and were really handy, but..." I press the button again and put it down. "We didn't need them."

"Oh. That sounds really cool!"

"At first, they were. Then they became so common that no one was impressed. We always craved the next big thing. Maybe Equestria will invent them some day. Shouldn't be too far off. After all, we've got television and arcade games here. Give it another forty, fifty years. We'll get to be like those old ponies that bicker about things being different from when we were young, while trying to fiddle around with the newfangled technology."

She laughs as I pat her on the head.

"Sounds like a plan, Ano- I mean, March. Are you ready to go back outside?"

"Yeah, just give me a minute." I grab the chest and toss a few puzzle cubes in it. I know that little filly back at the orphanage would love some of these. "I want to grab as many of the books downstairs as I can. Twilight would probably enjoy reading some human literature."

"You don't want any of those neat things you had back on Earth?"

"Nah. Nothing but old memories that should just be left to reminiscence."

We approach the stairs together and head down.

Speck helps me fill the chest up with books from the bookshelves. Only about half of them fit.

"What about these?" She asks as she holds a few other books up to me, whilst sitting on top of a small pile of dusty old novels.

"We'll throw them in the other chest." I point to the one by the bed. She trots over and drags it to me.

I open it and start sorting through the clothes. As I pull them out and look them over, I quickly start to realize I've had better clothes tailored for me in Ponyville. I honestly wouldn't even let Speck wear these.

After I finish tossing the clothes across the room, I start piling the rest of the books into the chest.

"Alright. That should do it," I say as I shut the chest and stand. "Ready to go, Speck?" She doesn't answer. "Speck?" I look around, only to find the bed, two chests, empty bookshelves, and a pile of clothes. I notice something dark turquoise poking out of the pile of clothes. As I sneak up to it and start moving clothes out of the way, I expect to find Speck hiding. Instead, I just find a shirt the same color of her mane.

"Anon? What're you doing?"

I jump forward, trip over the clothes, and scream the shrillest, most feminine scream ever. Speck stands over me, staring like she's embarrassed for me. My scream dies down, and I get back on my feet.

"I was just, uh... Screeching to find you."

"Sure," she says with a slight smirk.

"Where'd you disappear to?"

"Upstairs."

"Why?"

"Well, that picture you were holding.  I thought you forgot about it, so I went to get it." She picks the picture up off the floor by her hoof and gives it to me. "Who's the other human?"

"I guess she's someone I knew back on Earth. I don't remember her, but I remember being happy with her."

"Like how I make you happy?"

"Yeah."

"So, if you don't remember her, does that mean you have amnesia? Is there going to be other stuff that you wake up and remember?"

"I doubt it. I remember everything about my time on Earth, except for my last week there, and anything about this woman. I'm sure she was important to me, but at this point, it doesn't really matter. Right?"

"Right." Speck nods with a smile. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Just gotta get these downstairs, and we'll be done here."

Speck watches on as I struggle to drag the chests toward the stares. It is difficult, but I manage.

"Those look heavy." My little bat-pony hovers beside me and looks down at the chests. "How are you going to get them downstairs?"

I catch her eye as she looks up from the chest. For a brief moment, I consider trying to carry the chests down. She knows I will not do that.

I do something that I would expect her to do. Something that would frustrate me to no end, and would cause her to fall to the ground, laughing in a hysterical fit.

I kick the chests down the stairs.

She stares at me, wincing every time the chests bang against the stairs, wall, and each other. I slowly smile as they descend.

"To answer your question, yes, that was necessary."

"I wasn't going to ask, An- March." She sighs softly. "I don't know if I'm going to get used to this any time soon."

"Give it time. Now, how about we get out of here? I could go for a midnight snack."

She nods and follows me downstairs. I take a minute to examine the chests. No cracks, nothing's broken, and they're still closed.

These are some quality chests.

Now, if only they were enchanted with some kind of feather-light spell.

"Should I go get one of the princesses, so you don't hurt yourself with those?"

"Nah. If they come in here and see that there's no danger, they'll want to explore it. I'm not a hundred percent sure what was up with that mirror, but I don't think it would be a good idea for them to see it."

"Right."

Speck tries to help me with the chests by pushing as I drag them. I appreciate her effort, but she really doesn't do much. We still manage to get the chests to the door, despite the struggle.

As I open the door, I am met with a light that grows in intensity at a rapid rate. As I duck away from the doorway, I feel its heat rush past me. Whatever launched itself into the tower was dangerous.

"Fire!" Speck shouts as she darts out of the tower.

I look up to find fire blazing against the stone wall of the tower. It overtakes the support beams and starts crawling toward me. In the entire year I've been in Equestria, I have only been faced with the threat of dying once. And just like that time, I have no idea what to do. The only difference is, instead of a baker threatening me with a knife, I'm being threatened with a fire and a tomb that mocks me.

I can not bring myself to run. I press myself against the wall and prepare to accept my fate.

I nearly jump out of my skin as the sound of metal scraping against brick catches my ear. I look down to find the two chests quickly being dragged out by a yellow magical aura.

As a familiar and uncomfortable tingling sensation washes through my body, I wish only to throw myself into the blaze. Much to my discontent, I find myself being dragged out of the tower by the telekinetic grasp of Princess Luna.

The door slams just as I clear it, and the flame reaches it. I am dragged away from the tower and into the grass at the edge of the brick circle.

I lie on my back, looking up at the starry, night sky. Smoke from the tower starts to blot out the stars. Two dull orange eyes and a set of fangs block the smoke.

"Are you okay?"

"I've been better. Like when we were still in Ponyville. Or yesterday during the food fight. Or even five minutes ago when we were dragging the chests through the tower. Really, I think I've been better at any given moment in my life when my life wasn't being threatened by a massive fireball." I roll onto my stomach and get to my hands and knees. Celestia tries to avoid my eyes as I glare at her. "You want to tell me why you thought it was a good idea to fire off a spell like that, knowing we were still inside?"

"It was a precaution, Anonymous. In case you and Speck ran into any trouble, or something dangerous got past you."

"So you didn't bother to check before casting that spell?"

"It wasn't lethal! It would have merely paralyzed you and swathed you in a flame that would put you to sleep."

"I felt its heat. Did it really have to be fire? It couldn't have been something a little more pleasant?"

"Sister enjoys the dramatic effect."

I glare at Luna, then at Celestia.

"You're giving me the kingdom to make up for this, right?"

"No."

I suck my teeth as I stand. Speck bumps her nose against my hand before leaning most of her weight against me.

"I'm not going to forgive you easily, Celestia. We'll discuss the terms of your surrender in the morning. I need to take this batty little goofball to bed."

"Fair enough, Anonymous. We will see you at breakfast."

I pick Speck up and leave the chests with the princesses. They'll get them ready to be shipped to Ponyville first thing in the morning. After everything that has happened tonight, I deserve a good night's sleep.

Speck falls asleep in my arms as I carry her to the guest room.