"Somepony! Help! Princess Celestia Has Lost Her Memory!"

by Kevin Lee

Yin Meets Yang

Why wasn't anything adding up? Twilight Sparkle wondered.

After all this time, it was that—missing piece—that kept bringing her back to thinking about the accident and the ramifications it caused—all that terrible loss. And that always sent her spiraling down in her emotions.

But Luna's words had made an impact on her. She needed to stop dwelling on the past and the things lost to it.

It was finally at that moment, Twilight realized: it was her grief that was preventing her from solving the puzzle that remained from that accident. So, she resolved to focus on the puzzle of the accident and stop thinking of the accident itself.

However, she had no idea of just what was puzzling her. So, the only option for her was to go through the details, one by one, until she ultimately located the discrepancy. She started by returning to the final inquiry report.

"Item one: The team, the chariot, the cargo, the passengers—Item two: the flight path—Item three: the location of the incident—," she muttered, laying out the beginning of her list.

********************

"Good afternoon, Princess," Filly greeted her guest as she opened the door when she brought the tray with her lunch.

"Why is the door locked?" Celestia demanded. The princess was awake and alert, her head held high as she laid on the bed that was barely large enough for her. She didn't sound happy. And the set of her ears also conveyed that displeasure.

"For your privacy," Filly stated matter-of-factly while she set the table for the princess. "I'll leave the spare key with you. We shouldn't have to worry about anypony disturbing you today, since the Long Tree will be closed for another day. But tomorrow evening, you'll want to have your door locked."

"Why?" the princess demanded. She still didn't sound happy.

"So that none of my customers will assume that you're one of my employees," Filly replied. Celestia merely tilted her head in puzzlement.

"You might as well know, Princess Celestia," Filly said with a sigh. "You may or may not approve, but this here's a saloon. Downstairs, it's a bar. Upstairs, it's a brothel. And the mares and a couple of stallions who work here are my employees. The rest are customers. There's an old saying in this business: 'any moist plot in a dust storm is a good port'."

"Hmf!" Celestia snorted. "I know dust storms."

"Well, as most of my customers will be coming up the stairs so drunk they can't see straight, I seriously doubt they'd see you as the Princess. Hay! They'll be lucky to even see you're a mare. But they'll be able to smell you. I just don't want you bothered with that sort of nuisance."

"I—I see," Celestia replied, after taking several moments to consider what she was told. She got up off the bed and stepped over to the table.

"I made sure to give you plenty of water, Princess," Filly said, getting out of her way. "The bathroom's just down the hall opposite the stairs.

"Why?" Celestia spoke up before Filly could close the door.

"Why what?" Filly asked, pausing.

"Why do you and the others call me 'Princess'?" she asked.

"Doc said you seemed to have amnesia," Filly replied. "You really don't remember?"

"He called me 'Princess Celestia'. You do, too. You all did. I don't know who that is," Celestia stated.

"Does it scare you to not remember?" Filly asked.

"No," the alicorn replied after thinking about it. "Should it?"

Filly gently smiled and sat down on her haunches.

"'Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land….'," she began, reciting the story from memory.

"Any luck with her?" Doc asked without preamble when he stopped by that evening. Filly and Mack were just putting the finishing touches to repairing a few tables that were damaged but salvageable.

"A little," Filly replied. "It seems her mind's coming around okay, but she still has no memory of being the Princess. I told her some of old stories we all learned as foals about her and Nightmare Moon, but she just has no recollection."

"Well, the desert has a brutal way of getting to anypony," Doc muttered. "You would almost think being the immortal Goddess of the Sun would give her some immunity to—that—out there," he finished with a wave toward the doors with a foreleg and a look of disgust. "But I suppose even alicorn princesses are still flesh and blood."

"Who's to say it didn't?" Filly asked.

"Come again?" Doc asked.

"Who's to say being the immortal Goddess of the Sun didn't give her some immunity? Or at least, resistance? She did just walk across all of it, didn't she? No other pony ever could."

"Yeah, you got a point, there," Doc admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Seems to me that somepony's going to have to make the trip come winter," Mack muttered.

"Does it have to be you, Mack?" Filly asked; the worry was clear in her voice.

"Well, I've done it more than a few times," Mack replied. "I'm not fond of the idea of ordering anypony out there. It just wouldn't set right with me to send Chestnut. And Cletus—"

"And Cletus, the durned fool, would as liable go off in the wrong direction and miss Bug Tussle completely," Doc loudly spoke up, interrupting Mustang Mack.

"I wasn't going to go there," Mack grumbled.

"I know!" Doc snapped. "You're too nice to say what's needs to be said. So I said it for you."

"What'z this Ah hear?" another voice suddenly yelled from the doors. Mack, his back to the door suddenly grimaced, while Doc snickered, knowing that Cletus had been approaching from up the street before he came in. He had timed it just about right. And Filly was giving Doc a look that said she knew what he'd done, and he tried to suppress bursting out laughing. It was making Doc's day.

"Ah'll have you know I'm an excellent navogator an' Ah know that desert like th' back'o mah hoof!" the earth pony deputy yelled as he stomped into the saloon to confront his long-time nemesis.

Oh, yeah! Now this is a good way to start the day! Doc happily thought as he readied a few more buttons to push on the deputy. Mack and Filly both sighed, each knowing that Doc and Cletus would be trading insults with each other and arguing for hours. Despite Cletus' hick background and speech, his mind was surprisingly sharp, and he could give as well as he could take. It was no guarantee that Doc was going to win this match, but he was certainly off to a good start. It was quite like watching two chess masters going at it, only their pieces and moves where entirely verbal jousts.

With the saloon closed for the rest of the day, Filly Rustler took the time to shop for replacement tables, chairs, bottles, and supplies that had been demolished with the damage to the bar. Mack departed to get some sleep for his regular patrol later that evening. When she returned, Doc and Cletus were still going at it, both of them using wildly animated gestures to help throw insults back and forth at each other. And Cletus was at the moment, getting the upper hoof on Doc. But Doc didn't look irritated as he normally did when he was losing points. In fact, he was still smiling.

And it was only then, did Filly figure out what Doc was actually doing. He was keeping Cletus occupied so that he wouldn't notice the bar wasn't opening on time. It was already well on its way toward three in the afternoon and Cletus was entirely focused on Doc. She couldn't help but smile and her suspicions seemed to be confirmed when she saw Doc wink at her. Of course, Cletus noticed it.

"Now whyz you go an' wink, fer, ya old coot?" he demanded. "Ya fixin' on signaling somepony 'bout sumin'?"

"I wasn't winking, you dang blasted fool!" Doc growled, but still smiling. "It's a medical condition. Your nasally voice is making my eye twitch!"

"You wuz winkin' at somepony!"

"You see anypony around here, you idjit?" Doc yelled. "Well? Look around! Do you?"

Filly was shocked. THAT wasn't the sort of thing to say to Cletus to keep him from figuring out they were still closed.

"Now donja be changin' the subject, none!" Cletus yelled at him after taking a glance about. "What're yer smilin' 'bout? Ya been smilin' ever since I came in here, so Ah's know yer up ta sumin'!"

And Filly saw that Doc wasn't just smiling. He was grinning. And fighting hard to keep from bursting out laughing.

This whole exercise was to keep Cletus focused on Doc. And he was so thoroughly focused that when Doc actually revealed the thing he was hiding, Cletus never noticed! Filly could only smile and resume her work as though nothing was going on. She wasn't about to do anything to interfere with the game. She knew better.

That evening, the both of them were still arguing and Filly went to the Dried Date to get some supper for Doc, Cletus, Celestia, and herself. And after supper, Cletus finally excused himself as he recalled he was supposed to be doing his rounds. Doc chuckled as he gave Filly a wink as he, too, left. It was well past six when Filly was finally able to lock up.

Taking Celestia's dinner upstairs, she checked in on how the princess was doing.

"You certainly seem stronger, your highness," Filly observed as Celestia finished her meal and more water. Gone was the shakiness that accompanied her efforts to stand earlier. "The rest and food certainly has helped in your recovery."

"I still don't feel like I'm who you think I am," Celestia demurred.

"Maybe," Filly temporalized. "It could be that you just don't remember. Of course, some of it could be the magic that's in Dry Gulch."

"What magic is that?" Celestia asked.

"Second chances," Filly replied. "Everypony that ends up here always seems to get a second chance at their destiny."

"Really?"

"You'd be amazed by all those who came here, by what they did before and what they're doing now," Filly told her. "Seeing how it's affected me and everypony else in this town, I truly believe in that sort of magic. Good night, Princess. Pleasant dreams," she said as she left and closed the door.

The reopening went on with the usual fanfare: grumbling customers coming in for their usual drinks, complaining about how they couldn't get anything the day before and how they were disappointed by the service at the other bars, and making it sound like it was Filly's fault. For most ponies, such complaints would normally make Filly feel bad. But years and years of fielding the excess customers from other bars that also gone through their normal disruptions, and then comparing notes with the other bar owners, she knew the complaints were just a kind of lip service. She had never treated those coming to her badly when their usual establishments were shuttered, and those other barkeeps swore they had treated her customers well whenever they visited them. So they all knew it was a lie that the customers liked to spread about the other establishments. It was something of a game to make their regular barkeeps feel a bit guilty over the closures and keep the regular customers in the good graces of their preferred bars.

Seeing the slightly larger than normal crowd filling the bar (with today being George Hoofer's normal day for repairs, some of his regulars were here along with hers) and the ponies going upstairs for the other half of the Long Tree's business made Filly wonder, when the Lady Gay opens, who here will be making that their regular hangout? That thought made her rather ambivalent about the impending "competition" from her partner.

Speaking of which, she grumbly thought as the tall changeling strode in to check up on her staff, most of whom were changelings.

Most likely those who live closet there, she concluded as she refilled a customer's request for Pecos Whisky. Probably not Wiley here, she thought, regarding the lone, scrawny-to-the-point-of-looking-starved (which he probably was) diamond dog who was trying to drown his sorrows. He spends all his time out in the desert chasing that damned bird.

"Hey, Miss Filly!" Cletus' call sounded as he came in about seven o'clock. She waved at him as usual and turned to address another pony's glass, but she noticed Cletus was giving her an odd look and came toward the bar like he was stalking something.

"What's up, Cletus?" she asked, when he continued to stare at her for a few minutes.

"Whenja get that shiner?" he demanded.

"This? Oh, just the accident the other night," she nervously replied.

"Yeah, I got so busy jawin' with Doc ta notice ya wuz closed yesterday," he grumbled.

Yep, she thought morosely. Leave it to Cletus to finally start putting the pieces together. Quite a few ponies and other scofflaws found out the hard way that Cletus might seem rather simple minded. But that stallion's got a mind like a steel bear trap. You definitely don't want to have a piece of your hoof in there when it snaps. You ain't gettin' it back! she then nervously considered.

"An' th' night befer last ain't yer usual day fer such shenanigans. Ya usually don't get hurt, either. Does Mac know 'bout whut did it?" Cletus demanded.

"Uh, yeah," she said, nodding. "He's dealt with the matter."

"Ain't nopony in jail coolin' their hooves fer buckin' ya one," Cletus said, warningly.

Uh, oh! Filly gulped. I think I'm about to lose my hoof!

"Really, Cletus. It was just an accident," Filly protested, trying to quickly salvage her situation. If he dug too much, he'd very quickly uncover Celestia was staying upstairs. "Nopony got into any fights. I had a slip and it knocked down most of the stock behind the bar."

Cletus glared at her, shifting his head to look at her face from a different angle.

"Yeah. It don look like a hoof did that," he finally acknowledged, giving Filly some relief for his scrutiny. "But that shiner do look odd. An' ya ain't got no cuts from broken glass. 'Cause it's Tumbleweed here that's got all the bandages," he said, making her blood suddenly run cold again. And not just Filly's. Cletus was no fool, as he had cleverly come up to the bar, so he had been standing next to Tumbleweed the entire time. The former engineer's eyes had suddenly shrunk to pin pricks and Filly could feel her own eyes straining as well.

"And I said, NO!" a raised voice from upstairs suddenly yelled, followed by a large crash that resulted in two earth pony stallions flying from the upstairs hallway to thud into the wall at the top of the open landing. The two, now insentient, stallions came rolling down the stairs, and all conversations throughout the bar came to a halt. Filly and Cletus rushed over to check on the ponies. They were still alive, and nothing looked broken, but they were definitely going to have a headache in the morning.

"What is going on up there?" Chrysalis demanded, as she weaved through the crowd to approach only to stop in shock at what she saw walking out of the entrance to the upstairs hallway. Filly looked up and her heart nearly stopped as she beheld Celestia standing there with one of her wings flared out.

"WHO AUTHORIZED YOU TO TAKE HER FORM!?" Chrysalis screamed as she leapt over Filly, Cletus and the two unconscious ponies to land on the stairs so that she could advance up them. "BECAUSE I SURE Didn—" the tall changeling continued to scream, then suddenly stopped. "Oh, spit!" she quietly hissed in horror and began slowly backing down the stairs as Celestia continued to walk out.

"Are—are they okay? I—I didn't mean to hurt them," Celestia said as she folded her wing and came to a halt at the top of the steps. "They just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer."

"Uh—M—Miss Filly?" Cletus stuttered, looking up with wide eyes at the regal alicorn standing there. "Wh—who's that?"

"She's—the accident," Filly replied.

Comments

[Kevin Lee]

Well, with "Yin Meets Yang", Filly's partner is fully revealed. so those points are gone. Sorry.

But there's still points available for other guesses, especially the mystery that Twilight's still trying to solve

[Razzy]

Smooth.

[ObsPerson]

7199814
Haven't read the other chapters after this one, but I'm gonna guess it involves the magic of second chances that Filly talked about. Although if Celestia got a second chance, maybe the other ponies who went with her got it as well. But as to their whereabouts, I have no idea.