My Own Flesh and Blood

by NioFox

9: Politics, History and Bubble Baths

Politics, History and Bubble Baths

The shoes she had no choice but to watch be defiled, they did belong to him after all, but there was no way she was doing to allow the same to happen to her own belongings. "There is absolutely no way you will be touching my greatest creation ever in a state like that!" she exclaimed with finality. Alpha looked craned his neck to look back at the rest of his body, searching for some clue as to what she meant. Finding none he simply shook his head at her and shrugged. Rarity rolled her eyes. "Please don't take this personally darling but, you're filthy! When was the last time you had a bath?"

"A bath?" He had been there for almost two days and as yet had to even touch water, let alone clean himself with it. Sure they had cleaned him up back at the hospital, standard procedure and all, but a sponge bath while lying incapacitated on a bed was a far cry from the real thing.

Rarity's eyes bugged out and her jaw dropped open. After a few awkward moments of silence, Alpha blinking and idly pawing at the floor, she broke out of her shock with new resolve. "Well that settles it! Come along Alpha," she levitated a few things into her waiting saddle bag in the corner and then pulled it on, "today you become a new stallion - and it all begins at … the Spa!"

---

"Excellent! Now that we have put that final bit of business behind us, I'd like to officially bring this year's discussions to a clo-"

"If I may just add one more thing?" a rather elegant female griffon suddenly spoke up, interrupting Princess Celestia. Inwardly she sighed to herself, but on the outside she remained cordial.

The yearly diplomatic meetings were almost a complete waste of time. There was never anything of great importance to discuss; mostly it tended to be about trivial things like the performance of the student exchange programs, requests for assistance with various large wild fauna, requests for aid in regions that did not have their own weather control pegasi (or whatever race they happened to have do the job) and, very rarely, there was a border dispute between members of two different races. These issues were just about always resolved in the same way, Equestria taking on the brunt of the requests, and Celestia could barely remember the last time one was turned down. A millennium of rule was a very long time, even for an immortal, to recall the finer details.

"Of course Annis, please go ahead," said Celestia politely. The Princess did not dislike Annis, she was pleasant to look upon and was actually quite soft-spoken for a diplomat, especially for a griffon, but as a result she tended to keep her country's issues to the very end, usually just as Celestia was bringing the discussions to a close, like just then. No she didn't dislike the griffon girl- just her habit of making a really long and tiring day of debate go on longer than she wanted, especially when she had been dreaming most of the said same day about taking a nice long relaxing flight above the clouds to wind down.

"Just one thing actually." Big surprise there. The griffons usually brought up the most frivolous of issues, though she was sure Annis was just as loathe bringing them up as Celestia was hearing and dealing with them, she was still saddled with the task of representing her nation, "our stargazers noticed a meteorite on an intercept course with the planet a few days ago. According to the latest observations it has touched down within the Equestrian border. We humbly request a sample of the remaining fragments, if any- for research purposes … of course." Annis reminded Celestia of an older more experienced version of one of her student's friends … what was her name again? Fluttershy? She did not stutter- in fact she was quite sure of her words at all times, probably due to her training for such an important position, but her excessive politeness was an obvious improvisation of what was actually written on the sheet of paper in front of her. A proud race such as the griffons never would have used such words as 'humbly' … or 'if' for that matter. Nothing was ever expressed by their ruling class that did not carry with it their full confidence … even when it was completely wrong.

"Of course, Equestria is always happy to collaborate with her neighbors in the interest of … research," Celestia replied with her usual warmth and smile, even as her mind raced. Griffons did not do 'research' in the sense that one might think. Most of their society was built on a harmony with nature. The kind of harmony that ensured their 'exotic' food supply did not go extinct.

It was one of the many skeletons in the closet for the Griffons; the ruling class' delight in eating other living things. It had been over fifteen hundred years since the magic had been developed to allow plant foods to be transmuted into forms that the carnivorous race could digest. Yet no matter how much more nourishing or easy this substitute was to come by, there were those who still enjoyed the thrill of the hunt and … the kill. It was never a pleasant topic for the Princess to think about, but sometimes the truth could be unpleasant, as it seemed this new one might be … when she figured it out.

The agreement made had been simple yet profound. Griffons were never to hunt a sentient creature and never to cause any species to go extinct. In return, they would be allowed to hunt in any non-populated area of the signed countries- a measure they were forced to resort to as a result of centuries of wild-life depopulation in their own lands before the laws were instituted and enforced.

In light of all of this, the griffon stargazers usually just made observations for superstitious purposes or to predict weather patterns for their cloud shaper class, as they called them. Any research they might do was almost always related to that. This was an anomaly and everyone at the table knew it, but hid their own initial reactions as any good diplomat usually did. The fact that Annis stumbled on this last bit was a testament to the fact that she was still young by comparison and had had trouble wording the request in such a way to avoid suspicion.

"I will have a squad of the Royal Reconnaissance Pegasi dispatched immediately and enlist the help of one of our most promising astrophysicists. One team from each interested nation will be allowed to attend and conduct observations on-site. I trust this will not be a problem?" she asked looking around the table at each attendee. They all nodded, except the minotaur diplomat who simply sat back and stared out the window. Minotaurs had little interest in anything even remotely scientific - and anything relating to good manners apparently.

"Is there anything else?" Celestia's expression never faltered, continuing to exude the warmth and kindness she had become famous for in her early years of leadership.

Annis shuffled a few more sheets before replying, "No, that is all. Queen Lynette thanks you for your continued … kindness in these matters," another unused word, especially by the Queen of the griffons. Annis had a few more years to go before her words flowed naturally and without pause, but at least she never misspoke.

"Well then, I hearby bring this year's discussions to an end. Please enjoy the remainder of your stay at Canterlot Castle. As always, chariots will be available at your request whenever you are ready to depart."

---

"Interesting …" Twilight Sparkle mumbled to herself, eyes rapidly flitting across pages as she devoured tome after tome.

"Whatcha studying this time Twi?" Spike asked as he went about replacing the books from the discarded pile around Twilight.

"Hmmm?" her focus was intense, not unusual for her when the topic was one she enjoyed immensely. But then … was there any topic she did not enjoy?

Spike walked in close to her before asking again. "Whatcha studying?" he said directly into her ear.

She whispered inaudibly, finishing the last sentence she had been reading before responding. "Spike this amazing! Princess Cadence has such a rich family history!"

"Huh?"

"Hang on, I was just about to find the first … here. One Princess Mona, the first Alicorn to marry a non-Alicorn thousands of years ago," she said, continuing to read as she spoke, "wed the pegasus Prince Night Prancer. Their first attempt to have foals ended badly when-" she gasped, "stillborn …"

Twilight began to tear up as she imagined the pain that such an experience must have brought to the royal couple, but she continued on. "In her weakened state from birth, Mona was unable to use her magic to help. It was declared a day of mourning … Mona was unseen for months as Night Prancer continued to run the kingdom.

"After many years and much research, the royal couple made another attempt to procreate with a team of highly trained unicorns monitoring every step of the process. They succeeded in giving birth to Prince Neptunus. The foal's wings were stunted from birth but he was otherwise healthy. Through-out his lifetime, the Prince could never fly but his magical aptitude far surpassed that of normal unicorns.

"The royal family, fearing more severe birth defects, decided to abstain from having any more foals until research could be perfected to guarantee a completely healthy birth. Sadly, this research was not completed until Night Prancer was bedridden with old age.

"Poor Mona … having to go through all of that …" Twilight drew a shaky breath and wiped her eyes, before continuing. "The following is the family tree starting from Prince Neptunus- wow," she lifted the tome and the page unfolded, spilling onto the floor as it opened up, "that's … a lot of ponies!" Both she and Spike were wide-eyed as they regarded the huge list.

"So … yeah … here at the bottom is Princess Cadence's grandfather. Magic was needed continually to prevent birth defects, but occasionally there were instances where an Alicorn would elope and have foals without the properly trained royal physicians to ensure there were no problems. Sometimes a pegasus would be born, sometimes a unicorn, but never a flawless Alicorn."

"Is that why don't we see so many Alicorns?" Spike asked.

"No, actually that is the result of Alicorns being actively discouraged from having more than one foal. Some references say it was out of respect for Princess Mona, others say it was a physical limitation of the magic involved. In any case, if you look closely you can see this tree doesn't branch out much at all." Indeed the few branches that shot off to the sides of the parchment never got far before ending abruptly. It was almost exclusively one for one all the way down to the end.

"Oh hang on; here it says in fine print that this tree only records Alicorns. Well I guess that explains why I can't find any reference to Prince Blueblood's heritage."

"Eh, sounds a bit shady to me," Spike said, wrinkling his snout.

"Watch it mister, that's my foal-sitter's family you're talking about- and royalty I might add," she warned half-hearted, still reading.

"Oh yeah … I hope I don't get banished," he pulled his tail to his chest as if it would protect him.

"No one's getting banished, now hush … listen to this," she had another book open now, "A few centuries ago a Princess Storm Singer was born with a stunted horn. She was unable to cast even the simplest spells until one day when one of her more persistent admirers gave her a strange bracelet as a gift. It was found that when she wore it for any length of time her magic became stronger and could be used in sporadic bursts to cast even some of the more complicated spells. The bracelet was made of a shiny dark stone, almost perfectly black. It accidentally fell and broke one day and could not be reformed. The stallion that gave her the gift vowed to make another if she married him and when she agreed he journeyed to one of the more active volcanoes around that time, mount Buckatoa." Twilight's eyes widened as she looked up at the baby dragon.

"Spike! That's the volcano that caused untold destruction when it erupted centuries ago, could …" her head shot back down to read the rest of it.

"The unnamed stallion is thought to have been lost when the volcano erupted while he was gone …" she finished in a shaky voice, unable to continue. Spike rubbed her side trying his best to comfort her. "This … now I remember why I stayed away from ancient history … there was so much tragedy back then. I can't imagine how ponies of that era got by from day to day …"

"There there, it's all in the past Twi, let's focus on right now. That black bracelet helped Princess Storm Singer. Any idea what it was made of?"

"Hmmm …" she turned her focus completely to the task at hand hoping to put that last bit of unpleasantness behind her, "Well volcanic rock is black … but it certainly wouldn't break from simply falling. It would have to have been some kind of dark glass or …"

"The shoes Rainbow Dash was-"

"Yes, that has to be it! Those are Alpha's shoes, they must have been made for him for specifically that purpose! Well that was easy," she finished smiling, "All we have to do is let him know that all he has to do is put them back on. Ooo I can't wait to see what the magic detection spell shows when he uses them!"

As Twilight began to move to the door Spike belched green flame and a scroll dropped to the floor sporting the royal seal. He picked it up and began to read, "Dear Twilight, as you may already have noticed, a meteorite has touched down in Equestria. What you probably don't know is that our neighbors are interested in studying it. I have granted them a chance to do just this and I formerly request you oversee the operation as soon as the Wonderbolts have located the exact impact site. I know how much you love astrology and I am looking forward to a full report when the task is complete."

Twilight let out a huge gasp, "Yes! Spike do you know how incredible this is?!"

"N-"

"I've only dreamed about a day like this! Such an amazing opportunity to further my studies! Can you imagine? An object that has been hurtling through space for what could be uncountable centuries- and I get to look at it FIRST!" By now she was prancing around in circles, giddy with excitement. It reminded Spike of a certain Pink mare.

Spike didn't really get it, but he was happy that she was happy and smiled at her. "Well I hope you don't get mad at me for wishing they don't find it until tomorrow, it would be a shame to miss the big party tonight."

"Oh yeah … that …" her mind wandered a bit as she thought about her embarrassing fumbling with Alpha earlier. 'He didn't seem to notice though,' she thought to herself, 'I'll just pretend that never happened. I wonder what he's doing right now …'

---

Alpha's head burst up out of the massive tub and he gasped for air. It was an odd sight to say the least. Despite Rarity's best efforts she had been unable to convince him to take his shoes off before getting in and now he was trying, with very limited success, to wipe the water from his eyes. After a minute of careful prodding he used his bare knees instead, finally getting his eyes open without blurred vision and realizing that Rarity and the two mares that ran the spa were staring at him.

"Wh- what? Is there something on my face?" he asked, pawing at his cheeks and nose.

"You … could say that … Alpha are you … is that a horn on your forehead darling?" Rarity asked in shock from her casual sitting position at the side of the tub where the floor rose to meet its lip. The water had completely deflated his mane and the bit that used to hang over his forehead, hiding the horn, was now clinging to the left side of his face where he had pulled it out of his eye and the horn was poking straight through the paper thin layer of wet hair.

"Uh n-n-no, that's um, a … rock?" he sighed in defeat. "Yes," he mumbled, sinking slowly back under the surface of the water, bubbles appears as he exhaled slowly.

Rarity's face had begun to change slowly into an ever-growing smile. "A Prince? Are you really a Prince, Alpha?" You could see the sparkles in Rarity's eyes as she her imagination ran wild. A Prince wearing her designs would all but set her for life.

'I might just have to steal this one away from Twilight,' she thought deviously to herself for a brief moment, 'Prince Blueblood turned out to be a complete waste of time but Alpha … he doesn't act anything like that! Though he did lose his memory … what if he turned out to be- bah! What am I thinking. There's no way I could do that to Twilight. As tempting as it is …'

"Um … I don't … I can't remember," Alpha replied, pulling Rarity back out of her day-dream. "But please, can you-" he stopped suddenly looking around at the other two ponies, "Can everyone keep this to themselves? The doctor said it would be … troublesome if others found out about this and … I've had enough trouble these past two days," he finished, batting at a soap bubble with a sad look on his face.

The mares looked at each other before nodding, "Of course Alpha, I'll … try my best," said Rarity, still a bit giddy from the implications of her discovery. "It's so small though … I don't think I've ever-"

"Yeah yeah, the doctor said the same thing. As it turns out I cannot really seem to use magic. The best I can do is-" he began to concentrate; his front hooves held in a cup shape, half submerged in the water. To his surprise, they began to glow a soft yellow. Or more specifically, the shoes began to glow. "Sunspots … this is … new," he had stopped concentrating to look closer at the shoes and they stopped glowing. After a moment of scrutiny he resumed his attempt. This time when the glow appeared again, the quarter sphere appeared beneath the water and slowly began to rise, lifting a bit of the liquid inside of it. This time, however, he realized the sphere was slowly completing itself, growing to half, and then three quarters as it rose, finally becoming a complete sphere with the liquid inside beginning to divide and particulate (much like a lava lamp) as gravity lost all influence on it. "Whoa …" he whispered, hooves held out underneath it as if he expected it to fall at any moment.

"Well you certainly don't seem to be having much trouble with it now," Rarity mused watching the strange bubble the likes of which she had never seen before, "Maybe you are a Prince and don't yet know it," her expression turned into a smile.

"B-but … just a while ago in the library …" he never finished as he began to manipulate the sphere, causing it to grow then shrink slightly, testing his command over it. Then it darted around the room, following his every thought and he let out a little laugh as he deftly guided it through smaller and smaller formations; under tables, behind plant pots and through the rafters- and promptly popped. Rarity had dunked his head into the tub with a bored expression on her face, breaking his concentration and destabilizing the spell.

"Enough showing off you, there's still much to be done," she said when Alpha came back up coughing and spluttering. Before he could adequately catch himself two pairs of hooves, one pink and one blue, were upon him, lathering and scrubbing away with practiced precision.

"A-are you s-sure this is … healthy? It feels … uncomfortable," he managed to say without getting soap in his mouth, squirming and whimpering under the ministrations of these new strangers.

"My dear Alpha, this is the pinnacle of good hygiene! And I'll have nothing but the best for my soon-to-be star model!" Rarity smiled at him before sipping from a straw protruding from an open coconut with a tiny umbrella poking out of it.

"Yea but aaaAAAHaaaaiiii-" his voice pitch topped out and cracked, eyes wide as he looked down between his back legs, then at the pink mare before scrambling over to the opposite side of the tub. She just shrugged and grinned.

"Apologies, you are second male customer ever," she said, thinking back on when Pinkie Pie had brought in Cranky. If memory served her correctly, he did not seem to mind their attention much at all. In fact it was like he was a million miles away.

She offered him the brush. "I-I t-think y-you just about covered it. Thanks," he said, squeezing his legs together and looking back at Rarity, "very uncomfortable!"

Rarity's face turned a light shade of pink and she looked away, trying to remain lady-like, "I'm sure it was an honest mistake," she started, a hoof on her mouth attempting to stifle the giggles, "Come on, let's get you loosened up, I'm just positive that will help," she added picking herself up and walking over to the massage beds with the two beauticians in tow.

Alpha attempted to pull himself out of the tub- only to drop back in with a splash. "Um … just … give me a minute?" he asked, blushing furiously as he sank back into the water again. The girls could contain their giggle fits no longer.

---

Alpha was sparkling - literally. As he and Rarity walked slowly back to her Boutique the air was filled with crinkling and crackling sounds. "Tell me again why I'm walking around like this?" he asked. The late afternoon sun was glinting off of the stiff transparent material that was tied to Alpha's legs, scattering the light in every conceivable direction.

"Do you want to try on your new outfit or not?" Rarity asked bluntly.

"Yea but-"

"Then you must be spotless! I will accept nothing less"

"So-"

"Those disposable coverings will keep your hooves clean until we get back."

Alpha sighed in defeat. "I am starting to think this is more trouble than it is worth"

Rarity looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Alpha can I ask you something personal?"

"Personal?"

"How do you feel about Twilight Sparkle?"

Alpha's expression wrinkled in thought. "She … has helped me so much … since I awoke. Before I met her- all of you … before I saw how you are all so willing to help another pony without knowing anything about them … when I think about it I have to admit I probably would not have done the same. But after being in such a hopeless position … after feeling what that is like … I think I understand now.

"Twilight really put the words to it though. She made me promise," he smiled at the memory, "'When you see a pony who needs help, you help them.' I feel like I owe her everything. From what the doctor told me … I would not have made it if not for her. If you think about it … I should not be here. I should be buried and lifeless in that same hole out there …" His gaze was unfocused as he became lost in his thoughts.

"Honey," Rarity nudged, causing him to stumble slightly to one side but they did not stop walking, "What's in the past is in the past, okay? There's no point in thinking about how bad the stitching was on your first designs, it won't make them any better, or you for that matter. What matters is you're here, now, and you're stronger for it."

Alpha looked at Rarity with renewed vigour. "Yea I guess you are right. Still … I know I promised her but, I feel like I will never be the same until I repay Twilight in some way." He made a dismissive sound and looked away. "Listen to me. It almost sounds like I know what I was like before all of this, does it not?" Rarity smiled.

"They say there are some things that can't be forgotten, but who knows? Maybe you are exactly as you were before you lost your memory; a nice colt with a talent for charming book-loving young mares," she finished with a grin and winked.

He had to think about that one for a second, "Wait wh- what?"

"Come along darling, we still have so much to do!"

---

The light was fading fast and the crickets had begun their mating rituals, filling the early evening with a steady chorus of chirping. Twilight was pacing back and forth in front of Spike as he sat near the library door fiddling with the bowtie she had conjured for him along with the rest of his miniature tuxedo, complete with top-hat and cane. He had not opted for the moustache this time since realizing that it did not work with Rarity and Twilight had managed to talk him out of the beard idea.

"Where is he?" she grumbled, staring at the clock every ten seconds.

"Are you sure he said-"

"I know what he said!" she snapped in frustration but quickly sighed. "Sorry …"

"Are you okay Twi?" Spike asked in concern, forgetting his bowtie for the moment.

She sighed again. "Yes, yes I'm fine … I just thought … never mind. It's getting late, we should probably go"

"Hey why don't we leave a note on the door, it shouldn't be too hard to find Sugarcube Corner with some directions right?" he offered.

"Yeah sure," she replied half-heartedly, moving slowly to the door. 'Is this what it feels like to be 'stood up'? I think that's what the book called it …' she thought to herself. Since noon she had been pouring through every book on relationships she could find. Alas, like everything else she read up on, it never completely prepared her for the actual experience.

'Well he did just want directions … maybe it was silly of me to think … bah, I'm not going to let this ruin a nice evening.' Her head rose in resolve as she reached the door. Spike had been scribbling furiously all the while and pinned the parchment to the door when Twilight opened it.

"All set!" he announced proudly, hopping onto Twilight's back after closing the door behind them. "So whaddaya think Twilight? Do I have a chance with Rarity tonight?" She giggled. Spike always managed to cheer her up, even when he did not realize it.

---

You could hear the music thumping away from a few buildings down. Inside Sugarcube Corner a pale yellow pony (usually mistaken for white) with a blue and cyan mane was working the turntables while the other ponies mingled. A grinning Pinkie Pie was bouncing around making sure everything was going smoothly, completely hiding a nagging worry as she continued to keep an eye out for the, as yet absent, guests of honor.

It seemed as if every pony in Ponyville was present. The doors to the bakery were wedged open with most of the party spilling over into the street. Tables had been setup on the sidewalks in front of the building with the same sugary treats the pink mare had been working on most of the day. One might have called the decorations 'over-doing it' but everyone had come to expect such things from the perky apprentice baker.

"Hoo-wee! Well ain't this sumthin'," a familiar voice exclaimed loudly outside.

Well maybe 'perky' was an understatement. "Applejack!" Pinkie squealed in delight, relieved that at least one of her best friends had finally shown up as she zipped outside to greet her.

"Howdy Pinkie. Looks like you've outdun yerself yet again!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"Thanks! Hey have you seen the others? I know I gave them their invitations myself but I haven't seen them yet. Can't have a party for two ponies if they don't show up can we? I mean sure the party would still be going on, but would it really be-" Applejack shoved a hoof in Pinkie Pie's mouth.

"Alright alright ah getcha. Naw ah haven't seen 'em yet. 'Least not on the walk over from the farm. Sorry ah wuz this late by the way, had to pull some overtime cuz we were in the middle o' apple buckin' the who~ole orchard! And ah still hafta git that crater in mah field filled in!" Applejack exclaimed, trying to sound frustrated but failing.

The farm pony was a hard worker and loved every bit of it. This was not to say that she did not enjoy the benefits of better tools. She had been keeping her ear out on the progress of the steam powered plough since the Flim Flam brothers debacle. There was no way she was ever going to try to improve on the perfection of her family's cider, but there was always room for doing things better in the fields. Just thinking about all of the chores she could get done with the extra time such an innovation would provide made her head spin. Of course she did not get to that point all on her own. It took a lot of her sister's youthful enthusiasm, not to mention persistence in thrusting advertisements for the darn thing in her face, to convince her that not all innovations were a tragedy waiting to happen.

Before Pinkie could comment, they both spotted Twilight and Fluttershy walking up the street and waved. Twilight had to urge Fluttershy forward when she caught sight of the crowded scene, but Spike waved back on their behalf.

"And there yah go, not a thing tah worry about" Applejack said with a contented smile at Pinky.

Pinkie Pie was leaning to one side, then the other trying to get a look behind the pair of ponies come up to them. "Hey where's Alpha? I had an extra special- it's not gonna work if you're not together- awww. Now I have to come up with- AHA!" With that the befuddled group watched as Pinkie skipped back inside.

"Any idea what that was about?" Spike asked, thumbing toward the bakery entrance. Everyone else shook their heads emphatically.

"Who's Alpha?" Applejack asked, a little more confused than Twilight and Spike, "Ah mean ah know the name is on the invitation an' all, but Pinkie didn't exactly stick around tah explain much," Fluttershy looked up, interested in the answer as well.

"Remember the pony we rescued on the day of the picnic? The one we were all camped out at the hospital because of? The one who says one thing and then does another …" Twilight had gradually descended into a low grumbling by the last sentence and instead of nodding the others were just staring at her in almost the same way they had looked at Pinkie a moment ago.

"Funny you should mention him," called a voice none of them ever thought they would hear at a party. Doctor Heartstrong had walked up behind them, back on all fours without the aid of a sling, and stopped just beside Twilight. "I was hoping to ask him something. I don't suppose any of you know where he might be?"

Everyone looked at Twilight for a moment and she twitched visibly, clearly indicating she had been caught up in her thoughts. "What?" She asked, blinking rapidly at them.

"Miss Twilight, it is good to see you again," the doctor smiled warmly, "I was hoping you could tell me where Alpha is this evening. I hear he has been spending time around the library lately."

If it had not been after sunset, one might have noticed the slightly redder shade of purple the fur around Twilight's cheeks had taken on. "Ahem, yes he came to by asking about, uh …" she looked around at the other girls for a moment and then back at the doctor, moving in closer to whisper the next word, "magic."

"Oh, I see." Now it was the doctor's turn to blink rapidly. "How did that … turn out exactly?"

"I was doing some research on it and it seems very likely his … condition actually is a birth defect." By now they had ambled away from the others who had struck up a conversation of their own, quite convinced that whatever Twilight and the doctor were talking about would be far beyond the scope of their own comprehension. "Among many other interesting facts I came across along the way, I found a previous case buried in ancient history and a way to work around it. I was actually hoping to meet him here tonight and give him the good news."

"He wasn't with you all day?" the doctor asked in a tone of voice more suited to a private investigator.

"What? No! I mean … maybe he would have been but he left in a hurry, something about … oh yes, he seemed to remember a previous engagement he had with Rarity." Twilight frowned as she said the name, but before she could slip off into another trance the doctor interrupted her.

"So he was with Miss Rarity the rest of the day?" Again with the voice.

"I'm sorry but you'll have to ask her that," said Twilight, a new edge in her voice now. She shook her head, 'Stop it, stop it, stop! Rarity is one of my best friends, stop thinking such things Twilight! I promised myself I wouldn't let this get to me. Why am I acting like this? I'm helping out a pony in need, nothing more,' she thought to herself. "What is this all about anyway? I thought you discharged him, has there been some complication?" she asked curiously.

"You could call it that." Doctor Heartstrong looked off into the crowd of ponies having a good time, trying to figure out how to word his next sentence. "You probably don't know about this but I had a professional come to Ponyville to examine Alpha on the day he was discharged. The purpose was twofold, though admittedly the second reason was a probably bit optimistic.

"After the … incident between you and Alpha, I was concerned that the damage to his brain may have been greater than I initially predicted. Perhaps he was hallucinating for example. The professional, one Doctor Tintenflecks, examined a number of psychological factors to determine if there was any problem based on the same methods used to rehabilitate patients with violent tendencies. As it turns out he found nothing out of place. Or so he said."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. Next, the hope was that he could use his specialist methods of hypnosis to restore Alpha's memory. Now for this part I was only present at the beginning. You see, his method does tend to make an already weary pony … drowsy. So I stepped out for a coffee. Unfortunately I was ambushed by a few small matters requiring my attention on the way to and from the break room and when I got back … well, things did not seem so normal."

"I feel like you're doing this on purpose. Please doc, cut to the chase, what happened?"

"I don't know if you are familiar with the good doctor, but he normally has a very strong accent-"

"Yes yes, Alpha had a ball making fun of it, go on"

"When I re-entered the room the doctor appeared to be … I don't know, in shock perhaps? He was just staring blankly. Alpha seemed to be at a loss as to what had happened. The doctor did snap out of it when I finally shook him but when I asked about the results of his … experiment, his voice was completely different; there was no accent at all – or emotion for that matter. He told me there was nothing wrong with Alpha and that the memory restoration attempt had failed, then he excused himself. It was all very disconcerting I assure you, but Alpha did not seem to be any different and, despite my better judgment, I decided to discharge him."

Twilight blinked a few times. "Well that does not seem too strange. Forgive me doctor but I fail to see the problem here, I have met some very odd ponies before. An eccentric psychologist hardly-"

"Miss Twilight," the doctor cut her off hurriedly with a rather grim expression on his face, "Doctor Tintenflecks is now a patient at Ponyville General Hospital - he's comatose."