Chapter I
The Last Memory
He was falling. Or… he thought he was. He was clenched up in midair, eyes snapped shut as he flew backward. How, he didn’t know. But the rush of adrenaline took the backstage of his mind as it surged on and on.
Instead, something else stole his attention—a phantom noise, humming just by his ear. The melody made the falling sensation cease, and he started to float. He felt a numbness overcome his body and his mind, sleep’s warm fingers caressing him until the sound faded.
Soon thereafter, the soft melody blended into a cacophony of shouts. He wasn't floating any longer, the warmness around him fading into the cool air, and the hard earth lay at his side. Voices came, muffled at first, but then they turned into bickers and screams, the first among which was frantic and desperate.
“We couldn’t have just left him there!”
“Was it worth the risk? To slow down enough for the enemy to catch up… for a colt?”
Silence. “I plead you, sister! I felt something from him, I swear it!”
A sigh. “Come, let’s go. Before the night falls.”
Those words were lost in the flurry of his mind. A sludge of emotions settled in his stomach: fear, confusion, curiosity. His throat burned in nausea, the stabbing pain all over his body making him want to curl up and groan and grimace. However, he didn’t dare move. Why should I trust such unfriendly voices? he thought.
“I’m staying here,” the first voice decided.
“You can’t be serious—”
“You can flee if you fear for your own life this much. I’ll stay here until he wakes.”
A mumble came from the other. “I am not leaving you behind,” she said.
He held his breath, the fear stabbing ice cold knives through his gut. They aren’t leaving… he thought. The first voice... she felt something from him. What if she can still sense it? he thought. He clamped his eyes shut, hanging onto his last bit of fear, not wanting to let go lest he entered a world broken in conflict. I have to wake.
None of that changed when he opened his eyes.
His eyes fluttered open to gentle light. He lay on his side in a vibrant green, grassy plain. Rolling hills waved off into the distance, with a curtain of rain farther out. The rather balmy wind flickered through his coat. Birds flew low overhead, strangely holding their song in. He rolled on his stomach, pain's teeth knawing at his flesh as he stood.
To his left, two sisters argued, faces snarled up like rabid dogs. Their coats contrasted from each other, the one on the left baring a pearly white coat, the other on the right carrying a nightlike-blue. Both their manes were misty, like the sky during the day and the night. The one on the left was slightly shorter than the other, her eyes vast pools of grey want. The other didn't share this expression; instead, a blue fire blazed in her eyes, their searing gaze piercing through him indirectly. Both of them had crowns, both different in size and grandeur, nestled behind their horns and ears.
He caught his breath. They’re royalty! he thought, taking a step back. What's happened with them?
The one on the right turned her head toward him, breaking the contention in the air with a sharp blow, “Thank the gods, you’re awake!”
His mind went blank and his face slacked. Dumbstruck, he dipped, nearly falling straight to the ground. "Y-your Majesty!" he yelped.
“We need to set out now, Luna,” said the other. “We will head straight for Canterlot. We need answers.”
“Are you all right?” Princess Luna asked, stepping closer to him, only for him to step back further.
He blinked. “I—" His ears burst into ringing as his head felt like it was going to burst. Tunnels appeared before his eyes, dark and empty. He fell back onto the ground, clinging onto it as the world spun around him.
“We’ll figure out whatever ails him when we’re in the village.” The other stepped forth. “Right now, we need to get as far away from home as possible.”
Princess Luna scowled, muttering something under her breath similar to Latin. “Come along, now,” she mumbled to him, offering a hoof to him. “We don’t have that long a journey ahead of us.”
He nodded, taking her hoof. It felt strange, being helped by a higher figure. He was in the wrong place, with the wrong ponies, in the wrong time. Everything was just wrong.
“What is your name?” Princess Luna asked.
Her heavy words fell like boulders on his ears. Such a simple question should’ve been easy to answer. But nothing came. His head pulsed with a surging pain that nearly blinded him. “I don’t know,” he finally said, breathlessly. “I can’t remember. Your Majesty... I can't remember anything.”
Princess Luna went suddenly still. “What…” she breathed. “Nothing? Nothing at all?”
He flinched. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty…” His heart sank. He knew he was responsible for all this. She was in high hopes, and learning that… He dragged his hooves across the ground. I don’t know how many miles they’ve carried me, nor the extent of time they did so, he thought, but their efforts may all be for naught.
Burdened more than he ever was before, he looked back to the forest. Its dark reaches were not far away, and they almost seemed welcoming. Something about that wood was familiar, with its twisted branches and its dark greens. The phantom melody once again faded into his mind, clearer, but not yet discernable.
Princess Luna gave a small laugh. “Of course, I could’ve expected this. You were pretty beat up back at the village when I first saw you. I just thought that maybe you would be able to help us. Help us reclaim our home from that wretched beast.”
He cocked his head. “Wretched beast, mi'lady?"
“Discord,” she said. “That is his name. He’s a draconequus, a creature made for the purpose of twisting things beyond recognition for its own benefit. There were once many, thousands of years ago, when the world was being created. But they grew too strong. The Magi exterminated them... but not all of them, it seems."
He sucked in a deep breath, trying to accept that it was okay to speak. “Magi, milady?”
She nodded. “Yes. They are the creators of this world, and the most powerful beings in the universe. Legend says they created six stones for each of the six Magi, and rained them upon the earth, to be found in the heart of all harmony.”
“But legend is just legend,” her sister added. The statement came out more like a growl, to whom it was directed, he wasn’t sure. “To think that the Magi would want harmony…” She scoffed.
He narrowed his eyes. The more he studied them, the more the princesses looked less like sisters, but rather magnets repelling each other. “I wouldn’t imagine she’s always like this,” he said.
Princess Luna sighed and shook her head. “No, she is not. My sister—Celestia—is usually loving and kind. She's just not that fond of having the throne being taken away from her.” She sighed. "I was hoping that you could assist us..."
“We’re leaving him at Canterlot, Luna,” Princess Celestia reminded her. “We don’t have room in our company for a freeloader.” Irritation streamed from her, stiffening her movements and pausing her stride.
Luna sighed. “Sister, please, you must think this through! Surely, you must’ve felt it from him, yes? That power?”
No response came from her as she walked along.
The sun was on the edge of the horizon when they finally arrived, the hills rolling down to a flat cliff of a solitary peak. Around its perimeter lied a small gate, with a low wall that stood merely a foot taller than his head stretching east and west. Two guards stood patrol to the right and left of the open doors, the inside giving a peek into a small village, paved roads just going into a small square before they stopped entirely. Most houses were stout and meager, and seemed to be barely enough to survive a gentle breeze. But far to the north of the village lay more refined establishments of polished stone, and a wooden platform stretched off the cliff face and wrapped around the mountain somewhat.
Luna nodded toward the village. “Welcome to Canterlot, the village of the unicorns.”