Forgotten Data

by Lightningflash101

The Ruins and The Tower

The walk back felt longer than it did. It was probably because of this sadness I'm feeling. It seemed to be latched onto me like some sort of parasite. It didn't want to go away.

Something had happened during that Interno 15 race. Something that's making me feel this way. Even without my memories. I'm sure of it. But what?

"Are you feeling alright?" Aqua asked, knocking me out of my thoughts, "You're lagging behind."

"I-its nothing." I replied, catching up to her, "Just thinking about something. That's all."

Her head turned slightly at me for a moment.

"...alright then." she shrugged, "Dont worry about Max. He may seem scary at first but he's just trying to survive like everyone else. If your lucky, he might open up to you."

There was a moment of silence as we returned to the "Sleeping Chambers" as described from a sigh overhead. The sight of all the lifeless bodies as we walked by made me feel uneasy. Everyone was practically untouched, aside from the two destroyed tubes.

"When you and Max were talking, he said 'the tower'." I started, looking at the passing tubes

"He was talking about our base." she replied, "Its more a camp than a base. With everything as it is now, ponies need to be ready to move when things start going south. But we make do with what we have."

"Is it really that bad out there?"

There was no reply was we headed down the stairs. The room on this floor seemed to be an identical copy as the one above us. The only thing different was the massive damage from a fallen tower. Making an opening to the far wall. Sunlight spilled into the room. How did this happen? Just how many ponies were here? Was I the only survivor here?

Aqua headed towards the opening, her helmet reverting back into her shell as she walked into the light.

No threats detected.

Deactivating protocall "magic_resistant_armour"

With a step into the light, I could feel my helmet and shell shrink back into my body. It feels almost as if I was a snake, shedding my own skin to grow longer. I felt just as exposed as well.

The light was blinding when it reached my eyes. I rose a hoove to shield my eyes as I got used to the sun's light.

"What took you two so long?" Max growled

When my eyes adjusted to the natural light, all I could see the ruins of what was a prospering city. Tall buildings had fallen over and overgrown with nature. There were even trees growing everywhere around the buildings. We were standing on one of the many fallen skyscrapers that landed on this building long ago. In the distance, there were smaller buildings. Every entrance opened to most of them while the rest were boarded up with planks of wood.

"We were looking for something." Aqua replied, walking past him, "Come on, we're taking him to the tower. Twilight'll find something for him to do... and hopefully, give us some answers."

Twilight? Does she mean the Twilight from the recordings? Could she really still be alive?

"...Whatever." he grunted, shoving me slightly to get my attention, "Come on scrap metal. Get a move on. I don't wanna piss off Aqua by falling behind if I were you."

He started to walk down the building. Catching up to Aqua. Both of them practically leaving me in the dust.

"R-right..." i replied, following them, "Right behind you."

---

The sun was just about to set as we finally stop at this mostly destroyed tower. While the tower itself is now only a story tall now, it was on the far end of the ruins (my map calling it 'Manehatton'). Medium-sized tents and some campfires can be seen closeby. All types of ponies can be seen as we got closer. Some seemed more natural while others seemed to be falling apart and covered in rust. There were even children among everything.

"Look everyone!" a small colt called out, springing alive when he saw us, "Aqua and Max are back! And it looks like they brought somepony with them!"

As Aqua's and Max's names were announced, other ponies started to gather around us. The colt was the first arrive as he jumped onto Aqua, giving her a hug. Most of them were shaking Aqua's and Maxes hooves and greeting. As if they had just been through some dangerous journey. Then a taller, winged unicorn started to make her way through the crowd. Her face seemed like royalty, even with the darkened bags under her eyes. Her mane and tail seemed almost like the night sky as it flew in some sort of wind that no one could feel. If it weren't for all that, she would look almost exactly like the twilight I saw before.

"Its good to see you two are still alive." she said, looking down at the both of them before looking at me. Her smile seemed to die a little as she saw me. I couldn't help but feel intimidated by her. She even sounded like the Twilight I saw before.

"And I see you found another survivor." she stated

"H-hello..." I said, waving my hoof to the mare

"What is your name, my little pony?""

"L-lightning, m-ma'm."

Mare gave me a confused look.

"His memory has been corrupted." Aqua stated, "He only remembers that much."

"Ahh..." she nodded, "I see. I'll see what I can do in the morning. But for now, He'll have to spend the night with Rocky Road."

"Theres something else I want to talk to you about, princess." Aqua stated moving slightly closer to the mare, "In privet"

"Of course, Aqua." the mare said, standing tall, "Everypony, please resume what you were doing. I have some matter's to discuss with Aqua."

With that said, everyone started to walk back to their tents.

"Max, could you take Lightning here to where he'll be sleeping tonight?" she requested, looking back at us again.

"sure thing, princess..." Max said reluctantly, walking past her, "Come on, scrap metal."

I took a deep breath before I trotted after him. I could hear the mare starting to talk to Aqua as I passed her.

---

It didn't take long before Max stopped at a tent set up inside the pillar. It seemed to be slightly bigger than the rest of the tents everywhere else. Besides the one in the center, which was the biggest of the whole camp. There was a dim light coming from inside the tent.

"This is it." he stated, "You'll get a job to do tomorrow. Until then, try to get some rest."

He started to walk away as I was going to say something. I decided to just let him go as I opened one of the flaps of the tent.

Inside was the small colt from before, sitting alone. He's a unicorn with a light yellow coat. His rough looking main and tell giving off a chocolate brown color with bits of marshmallow white everywhere. He seemed to be a "cyberpony" like I am, with sections of metal appearing where his legs attached to his body. He was staring at some sort of device before turning towards me. He seemed to be in his pre-teens.

"Oh hey! Your that earth pony that Aqua and Max brought back." He said, quickly standing up and facing me. He grabbed my hoof with his and gave it a quick shake. He gave a few quick glances to my back as he let go of me.

"But now that I get a closer look at you; you seem more like a pegasus model than an earth pony model. Save for the lack of wings. I'm Rocky Road. But everyone calls me 'Sparks'."

"Why do they call you that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow

As if by cue, a loud POP sounded. A spark of energy shot out of his ear as one of his eyes went dark. I jumped slightly from the loud sound as my shell immediately covered my body. Like it was some sort of reflex.

"Thats why..." he sighed as he knocked his head a few times. The eye brightened back up as if nothing happened, blinking a few times for good measure. My shell slowly reverted back as I calmed down

"Doesn't that hurt?"

"Not anymore, at least... I've gotten used to it. What did you say your name was again?"

"Uhh... Its Lightning."

"I thought so.

He turned to the other side of the tent as he started fiddling with something. Moving things around with his lemon-colored magic at the same time.

"I knew your name sounded familiar. So I started looking around my stuff to figure out where. I know its somewhere... Aha! There it is!"

He jumped up as a cassette of some kind, enveloped in his magic, floated towards him. I walked in the tent and looked over his shoulder to investigate.

"Whats that?"

"an old recording of the Interno 15. It was one of the most well known Pegasi races in all of Equus. I found it at one of our old camp sights inside the cassette player and everything."

He sat back down as he placed the cassette in this box. The box then lit up as static began to show. Rocky Road than pressed a button on the back before an image of a green double arrow pointing to the left appeared on the top left corner. The letters "Rev." where next to it.

"Hold on I gotta rewind it a bit. This might be a stretch but I think you're the stallion near the beginning of this tape. Plus I feel like you'll like the race. Don't know anyone who didn't."

I didn't ask any questions as sat down next to him. Maybe this could help me figure out who I was.

---

The film starts abruptly as the static switches to a pony standing next to someone who looked like me. But instead of all the metal parts, he looked like more natural. Exactly like the poster in the ruins. They were standing in some sort of garage, all sorts of ponies working in the background. She was a mare unicorn with a wearing a suit and tie with a skirt that barely hid her cutiemark, which simply seemed to be a star. She also wore a bow in her mane that was done into a bun. She was holding a microphone with her magic, which had a deep purple hue to it. I was wearing the jumpsuit from the poster with the goggles on my forehead. They both had a smile on our faces.

"Good afternoon fillies and gentle colts!" the mare said, getting the viewers, "Star Shot here coming to you live with one of the Intro 15 flyers. He's the new upcoming hotshot. Setting a new record for the fastest stallion in Equestria during the intermissions. Number 101, Lightning Flash!"

My look-alike gave the viewers a wave with his front right hooves and a wink as she said my name.

"So Mr. Flash-" she stared

"Please," he interrupted, Star Shot bringing the mic to me, "Just call me Lightning, I'm not a business pony."

She gave me a nod before starting again. Bringing the mic back to herself.

"So Lightning, What are your thoughts on the upcoming race?"

"Well, Star Shot, all I can say is that this'll go down in the history books as one of the most intense pegasus races of the century."

"You sound pretty confident. Aren't you worried that there might be some flyers that might not play by the rules?"

"I'm sure there will be some. I'm counting on it actually."

"Why's that?"

"Well, what would you do if you participated in the biggest race in all of Equestria? Some ponies want to win that big prise no matter what. Even if it means cheating to get it."

Star Shot paused for a moment, thinking it over.

"You make a good point."

"I admit, I thought about cheating once before. But then I realized that that's not who I am. If I'm gonna do this; Its gonna be fair and square. And those who do cheat, they won't stop me from doing what I love. I'll show 'em what its like to win."

"And what about your brother, ThunderStorm?"

"What about-"

One of the ponies in the background called out to me. Another pegasus wearing some sort of headset. Both star and the look-alike turned towards them before facing towards the viewers. It looked like the interview was coming to an abrupt end.

"Duty calls."

"Before you go Lightning, is there anything you want to say to the viewers watching?"

He took a moment as he scratched my chin, thinking of something to say. Then a smile came to his face as his left wing gave a thumbs up to the viewers.

"It doesn't matter who you are or what you're good at. As long as your having fun, then you're the true winner."

---

Static cut back in as some sort of tape starts to unravel in the box. Rocky Road jumped into action as he tried to stop the player to make any more damage to the recording.

"Nononono!" he cried, "It was gettin to the race!"

The image went dark as the cassette finally ejected from the box. Rocky Road groaned as he looked at the cassette. All I could do was sit there, completely frozen.

Lightning Flash...

Was that really me?

I could see my reflection on the box as he started fiddling with the cassette.

"This'll take forever to fix..." he complained, putting it on top of the box, "I'll need to lower the power output on the battery. That's most likely the cause of the... You okay there?"

I shook my head slightly as I snapped to my senses. I could see that Rocky Road seemed worried.

"Y-yeah." i replied, "Im alright. Just something on my mind."

"O...kay. Well, you can sleep over there. But your gonna have to move some things if you wanna get comfortable."

He pointed to the right side of the tent, where there were a few things lying around.

"Thanks Rocky Road. Maybe you could show me the rest when it's fixed."

"Sure thing. I'll let you know and we can watch the whole thing."

I smiled as I moved to the spot he pointed out. I made enough room to sleep by pushing some things out of the way. By the time I lied down, I suddenly felt very exhausted. Almost as if the energy I had earlier was sucked away. I wasn't even strong enough to try to stay awake as my eyes closed themselves.

My mind slipping into darkness...

Rest mode activated.

Sleep well #0025.

Beginning dream sequence

---

I find myself in a hospital room. The quiet beeps of a patient monitor fill the room as I sit up. Everything seems calm as look around the empty room.

"Good morning Mr. Flash."

My head jumps to the source of the voice. A mare was standing next to the bed I was laying on. Her coat was white as snow, her pink mane done in a bun with a medical hat on top. Her light blue eyes seemed worried as my gaze met hers.

"How are you feeling?" She asked

"O-okay I guess." I replied, "How did it go?"

She paused for a moment. As if she's trying to find the right words to say.

"Im... Sorry." she said, "We did the best we could... But...

My eyes widen as I bring one of my hooves to my back as if I was looking for something important, turning my head to look as well. Only to find nothing but slightly bloodied bandages. Panic had started to settle in as I looked back at her.

"B-but m-my wings!" I studdered, "Wh-what am I w-without them?"

"Im sorry... We couldn't save them"

As she spoke, her appearance quickly distorted itself to something only possible of a nightmare. Her eyes had become red, her coat was stained with blood and her mane was tangled in knots. Knives where driven in all over her chest and back. Her smile had tears of crimson running down it. Her stab wounds had started filling the room black until it had consumed me completely. It felt as though 10 tons were weighing me down.

I tried to let out a scream of pain but nothing came out of my mouth.

---

I jumped awake as my senses returned to me. Rays of morning sun finding its way thew the fabric of the tent as I sat up. My leg moving to my back on its own, trying to find something. Only to find nothing. A sense a dread fell over me before more light came in from the front of the tent. I turned around to see a natural pegasus mare leaning in, looking for someone.

"Oh good, you're awake." She said as she saw me, "The princess is looking for you in the market. You should hurry and go find her."

"Umm... Okay,"I replied, covering my eyes from the light, "Thanks."

She nodded before closing the flap, walking away to do her own business. I took a moment to stretch my legs as I stood up. Soft metal clicking could be heard from my joints as I felt myself loosen up. It felt nice.

"Lets hope i don't get lost." I told myself as I walked out of the tent, "I mean, how hard could it be to find a six-foot-tall winged unicorn with magic hair?

---

Outside of the pillar was full of activity. There were ponies frantically running from one side of the camp to the other. Some trying to get other's attention by calling out items that they were selling and its price. There where even small groups that went outside of the camp, most likely to find something out there. Definitely a major difference to last night. But out of everything, I could even get a glimpse of their princess.

How could someone so distinct from everyone else, blend in so perfectly?

"Spare Parts!" a pony called out through the crowd, "We just got a new shipment of spare parts everypony! Looking for something that needs replacing? Or maybe for a different look? Then come and claim yours before they're all gone!"

I don't know what it was, but I felt drawn to see what this guy was selling. I even stopped in my tacts and backtracked to his tent. Maybe I could find something useful in the long run. Just a quick look wouldn't hurt.

For using such a small tent, his stock was extremely wide. His stand(?) had everything from eyes to some sorts of gadgets. All the multiple body parts holding the same grey from the ponies in those tubes.

The pony himself was an earth pony for the most part. He had a natural body, that had a golden brown coat, with bits and peases of himself replaced with metallic parts. His right eye is the most noticeable difference to him. His eye was replaced with a blue eye while his natural one was green. His light brown mane seemed to be well kept as he stood proudly in front of his goods. Waiting for a customer to stop by. A grin appeared on his face as I entered his field of vision,

"You there! Sir!" he called out, pointing his cane at me, "I can see you're a pony that is in desperate need of variety!"

He beckoned me closer with his cane, every eager to show me his wares.

"Come closer, I'll be sure to help you with anything you need. What's your name good sir?

"Its lightning," i replied as i made my way to his station, "Who are you?"

"Well, Mr. Lightning, my name doesn't matter. What does matter is that I help you find what you're looking for. And looking at you..."

He circled around me a few times as I stopped in front of him. I could feel him looking at me from top to bottom. Like he was scanning me for something.

"...I can tell that you are a pegasus without his wings to fly with. Such a cruel fate for someone of your kind. But fear not! I have just the thing for you."

Without another word, he rushed inside his text to find something. Leaving me standing there, alone. The sound of shifting metal could be heard from the inside the tent. I couldn't help but wonder how much stuff was inside that tent.

"I knew I would find you eventually."

As I turned to see the source of the voice, I found myself standing face to face with the mare I'd set out to find. She was looking down to be with a small smile on her face. She seemed to be less intimidating as she was last night. Instead, she seemed inviting to talk to.

"How did you sleep?" she asked

"Okay... I guess." I replied, "Just... Uh... Dreamless is all.

"I see. And what are you doing at this shop? You seemed to be in fair condition for looking at spare parts."

"Oh, I'm having a look around. Seeing what this place is like when everyone is awake."

"Here we are!" the sales pony said as he walked outside his tent. He was carrying some sort of package next to him as I turned to face him. He seemed to be more focused on what he was holding than what was in front of him.

"One pair of genuine pega-PRINCESS!?!" The pony jumped as he saw the mare behind me, almost dropping what he was holding to the ground. He then gave the mare a bow before trying to regain his composer.

"P-princess Twilight. Wh-what brings you to my shop, your highness?"

The mare rolled her eyes.

"I was looking for this pony actually." she replied, her face making a more stern look, "You weren't trying to con him of his money, where you?"

"O-f course n-not, your m-majesty! I-i just happened to notice that he was missing his wings. S-so I decided to give these to him.

He then held out the package to me. He seemed reluctant to do so.

"Free of charge."

"Really?"I asked as I grabbed the package from him, "Thanks?"

"that's awfully generous of you, Golden Tongue."

"Is it wrong of me to help a fellow survivor?"

"Not at all. I was just curious, nothing more."

The princess started to walk away from Golden Tongue and his shop. Her serious tone seemed to disappear as she turned away.

"Come on Lightning. Let's see what I can do about your memory."

I didn't argue with the princess as I followed behind her. If she couldn't fix my memory, she at least got me something for free.