Memoir of Misery

by Silvak

Chapter L: Bleak

"So, you're saying that I have to wait a while before we can proceed with taking on the next... nightmare?" Sapphire asked as she was following Luna down the hallway to the dining room.

"Yes, for you still have to sift through the memories that you have recovered first. There could be some clues on how you came to this world, or more of your clan's past that may become harder to find once you have finished reviewing your memories," Luna answered before stopping at the front doors. "Thankfully, I have arranged for Baroness Clock to 'distract' the griffon embassy today, so you can tell me all that you have learned from your memories," Luna added as she opened the front doors to reveal an empty room, with the exception of the staff standing by the doors.

Raising an eyebrow at Silver Clock entertaining the griffons, Sapphire replied, "Are you certain that’s a good idea? Since the Baroness is the leader of the most powerful noble family here, which is still just her, wouldn't she use that to further her own desires?"

Pausing as she was about to take her seat, Luna gave Sapphire a surprised look as she stated, "I never thought I would hear you talking about something critically instead of being thankful for skipping some, as you would say, 'princess work'."

Shrugging, Sapphire said, "Maybe I'm getting a bit more serious after gaining those memories... or maybe I'm in shock... I can't really tell with all those memories jumbled in my mind,” as she took her own seat and started on her meal of a massive stack of pancakes. The dining room doors then slammed open as Skyward flew in, spinning about before standing on top of the table, much to Sapphire's and Luna's surprise.

"Hello, princesses! I got some good news for you two today!" Skyward declared as he rapidly stomped in place on the table in excitement. This caused Sapphire to light up her horn to keep her stack of pancakes from toppling over as Luna just gave Skyward a scowl.

“And just what is this good news you’re talking about, Skyward?” Sapphire asked as she used her magic to levitate Skyward off the table when it became apparent that he wasn’t going to stop anytime soon.

Pointing at the entrance with a forehoof, Skyward exclaimed, “Another clan member has arrived!” Blinking in surprise, Sapphire and Luna directed their attention to the doors, only to see nothing coming.

“Um... Skyward? There’s nopony the—“ Sapphire started to say until Skyward rushed forward to cover her mouth with a hoof.

“Shhh... you’ll ruin the moment!” Skyward loudly whispered before directing his attention towards the doors with a look of glee on his face. A look that wasn't shared by the alicorns present, with Luna having an annoyed expression while Sapphire was glaring at Skyward. Eventually, the trio heard the sounds of somepony's hoofsteps, though based on what they were hearing, the pony was approaching at a walking pace. They then finally saw an earth pony mare with a green coat and a brown mane walk in. She had a Cutie Mark of three rocks on her flank with a wind blowing on them, which was almost hidden by the weathered saddlebags she had on her back.

Gazing at the two princesses with her blue eyes, the newcomer turned her attention towards Sapphire before saying, "So this is the mare that you think is from the Arulas clan?"

"Yes yes yes, Bleak Valley. This is Princess Sapphire, the alicorn descended from the Arulas clan, who happened to have forgotten her memories! But she does know th—oh pancakes!" Skyward said before grabbing some of Sapphire's pancakes and stuffing them into his mouth.

"Hey, those are my pancakes!" Sapphire hollered as she wrapped her magic around Skyward before forcing him into one of the room's corners.

Sighing at Skyward's antics, the mare named Bleak said, "Fall brings the dancing of the leaves."

"And winter brings the snowy blanket across the land," Sapphire promptly said, before frowning as she commented, "It's really freaky that I said in such an automatic fashion."

"Which is a good sign of you being descended from that clan if they actually preserved their matriarch's customs. Thankfully, it appeared that they did, or we would have found it too hard to believe that you're from the Arulas's clan. Though some of us would just assume your claims to be a lie. Shame though that you have amnesia, since I would love to have a clue to bring back to my clan so we can finally bring the search to an end," Bleak blandly replied.

As Luna glanced at Sapphire's direction, Sapphire let out a sigh as she said, "About that... let's just say that I just got a portion of my memories back, which so happened to include what happened to the Arulas clan all those ye—don't do that Skyward!" Pressing a hoof against the mouth of Skyward, who had dashed from the corner to her in excitement, about to say something until Sapphire silenced him.

"Well, that is rather convenient. Perhaps the four clans can finally unite at their old stomping grounds. So, just what happened with your clan, Sapphire?" Bleak blandly asked, but did look a bit curious.

"Alright... its going to be hard to explain, so brace yourselves. Now then, the reason why nopony ever found the Arulas clan, was because they somehow ended up in another world thousands of years ago," Sapphire answered, causing Skyward to stare at her in confusion while Bleak only rose one of her eyebrows.

"Arulas... went to another... world? Do you really expect us to believe that?" Bleak asked as Skyward pulled himself away from Sapphire as he looked at her in confusion.

"Sapphire speaks the truth, for I have seen some of her memories in the dream realm, and the evidence points to that being the reason for the disappearance of the Arulas clean. The odds of three other clans of ponies not finding a trace of the fourth one for over thousands of years are extremely unlikely unless they ended up in another world entirely. Henceforth, the Arulas clan have traveled to another world, though what brought them to their world is still an unknown," Luna explained, which Sapphire nodded to.

"...Wait... does this make Sapphire an alien?" Skyward asked, only for Sapphire to slam a hoof into her face. "Oh sweet Celestia, don't suck my brains out, they're not that tasty to eat!" Skyward exclaimed as he held his hooves over his head in an attempt to protect it.

Giving Skyward a deadpanned look, Luna stated, "Sapphire isn't an alien since the Arulas clan was still Equestrian before they left the world. Things might have changed between her clan and the ponies of our world, but we are all still ponies in the end. Hence you shouldn't treat Sapphire any differently beyond what you originally did."

Nodding in agreement with Luna, Bleak added, "Not only that, but it could mean an end to the search for her clan. For the first time in thousands of years, our clans can finally start to settle down. Some ponies may not be exactly satisfied with such an answer, but others would be glad that they can finally start to find a city to reside in."

Tilting her head at Bleak, Sapphire asked, "Couldn't they have done that whenever they wanted to?"

Shaking her head, Bleak explained, "They could, and over the years various members broke off the clans to settle down. But the core of the clans remained, for it became a matter of pride for the clans to find the Arulas, and a drive to find the answer to the greatest mystery related to our clans. Though, since you are the only known tie to the Arulas clan..." before drifting off as she glanced at Luna for more answers.

"Baring the possibility of finding the location where the Arulas clan had disappeared or any more of them showing up at random, I'm fairly certain that Sapphire is the only connection to her clan," Luna declared.

Nodding in acknowledgment, Bleak continued, "Hence, many members of the clans would want to come to Vanhoover to see what they have been searching for for most of their lives. This could lead to many ponies coming to seek you, as well as an influx of ponies that might want to just settle down in Vanhoover as the final part of their trip."

"Oh oh! I sure hope my brothers and sisters come here and settle here. We can even make it the greatest family reunion in the history of Equestria!" Skyward exclaimed as he jumped into the air in celebration. "Today is like one of the best days, ever!"

Frowning as Skyward was flying around the room in excitement, Sapphire leaned over towards Bleak as she asked, "Just how much do you know about Skyward? I mean, is there an end to his energy?"

Shrugging, Bleak answered, "I met him a few times when the Wenjutas clan met up with the Selunas clan, and each time he was always a bit hyperactive."

"Oh... so... how many ponies should I expect to be coming to Vanhoover? Eighty ponies? Ninety?" Sapphire asked before glaring at Skyward when he was looking at her pancakes with a hungry look.

"More like a few hundred... for each clan," Bleak replied as she was inspecting her forehoof. Seeing Sapphire's surprised expression, Bleak continued on, "Do you really think the clans would have dwindled over the years? While a portion of the ponies may decide to settle down somewhere, it was still a small portion. Besides, the more ponies each clan had, the more ground they could cover at a faster pace."

"Due to the nature of the disappearance of the Arulas clan, were there any incidents where some clan members disappeared mysteriously?" Luna asked as she leaned forward before shooing Skyward away from herself.

Shaking her head, Bleak said, "There have been ponies that gone missing, but we eventually found out the cause of their disappearance, unlike the Arulas clan. I assume this is about finding the general location the Arulas clan were at before they left Equus?"

Nodding, Luna stated, "Yes, though this causes me to wonder if both the Arulas clan disappearing and Sapphire appearing in our world was nothing more than a freak accident. Magic can be a fickle thing, hence their transit could just be purely magical in nature and hence something that we can't reproduce easily. Though, I will admit that I'm partly glad about it considering your past, Sapphire," before turning her attention towards Sapphire.

"Yeah... unless things have been taken care of before my arrival, I rather not find anything nasty cropping up from my world," Sapphire replied as she was about to eat a pancake before Skyward appeared before her face. Letting out a yelp of surprise while trying to keep her pancake from falling to the floor, Sapphire shot Skyward a glare as she asked, "Do you mind? I would like to eat my breakfast at some point this morning."

Backing away a couple inches, Skyward said, "Sorry, but I'm just so excited that you’ve gotten some of your memories back and we solved the mystery of your clan's disappearance! Now, I want to know what your world is compared to Equus. Like if it has one sun, or three? Did the unicorns of your clan have to lift the moon and sun since Luna and Celestia can't go there to do it for them? How many alicorns are in your world? Do you have a moon that has different colors than Luna's? Did you reme..."

Clasping her head with her forehooves as Skyward continued on, Sapphire thought, Does this pony ever learn to shut his mouth? At this rate, he's going to expect me to know all the answer to just about anything! Maybe I should have let him have some my pancakes, at least then he wouldn't be able to talk. before she moaned as she slammed her head into her pancakes in frustration.

Comments

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Calling it now. Skyfall is related to Pinkie

[Asolem2]

8902439

Calling it now. Pitfall is related to Pinkie

Who's Pitfall ?

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

8902499
Skyfall, darn auto correct

[Asolem2]

8902504
*ugh* i know right

[The Wind King]

Blunt force exposition, hurled like a brick to the head.

I think I need a lie down, and an ice-pack.

[Black Ash]

Dang waste of good pancakes that.

[Kevin Lee]

Shrugging, Sapphire said, "Maybe I'm getting a bit more serious after gaining those memories... or maybe I'm in shock... I can't really tell with all those memories jumbled in my mind, as she took her own seat was started on her meal of a massive stack of pancakes, before the dining room doors slammed open as Skyward flew in, spinning about before standing on top of the table, much to Sapphire's and Luna's surprise.

Um--missing a closing quote somewhere or has Sapphire started 4th-Wall-Breaking to her list of hidden talents?
Sapphire: "After typing his question, Kevin Lee scrolled back up to read more of the chapter--oh, but it now looks like he's scrolling back dow
Kevin Lee: "KNOCKITOFF! "

[Greatazuredragon]

Skyward should meet Pinkie Pie.

[Rosie Quill]

8903466
Lets not do that. The world might end

[Greatazuredragon]

8903548
Nah, things would end up just fine.
They now have an alternate world with two moons to evacuate to after all.

[Knightwolf1875]

Can I please hit Skyward with a hammer? He's getting on my nerves now.

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

Clasping her head with her forehooves as Skyward continued on, Sapphire thought, Does this pony ever learn to shut his mouth? At this rate, he's going to expect me to know all the answer to just about anything! Maybe I should have let him have some my pancakes, at least then he wouldn't be able to talk. before she moaned as she slammed her head into her pancakes in frustration.

I swear he’s reminding me of Pinkie...but in a much more annoying way.