• Published 3rd Jan 2013
  • 1,327 Views, 41 Comments

Memoirs of a Thief - grey mane



One thousand years ago the Legendary Thief vanished from the world, and now he has returned to continue doing what he has always done. But for what reason did he have for leaving, and why now after all these years has he returned?

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An Immortal Thief

“Memories warm you up from the inside. But they also tear you apart.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore


Deep in the depths of Tartarus two demons of the rank minion slowly return to their master, as they feared to bring news of what had transpired in the world above. For they knew repercussions for their failure was certain death in the slowest and harshest way possible, and that was if their master was in a good mood.

The first minion was not just fearful of his own mortality he feared how he would die, "Do you have any clue as to what could happen? He got away from us and to add to it Abaddon is dead!"

While he continued to fear his impending doom the other almost didn't seem to care knowing that the lives of ponies were short, "I don't see what the problem is. Even if we didn't find him he's still just a mortal pony. There's no way he could survive the wounds he sustained, let alone the fall from the cliff. Sooner or later his soul will come back here and we can resume his punishment. Besides the only reason he's been alive for so long is because he's been here. And don't forget it was our masters dark magic that was keeping him alive, to make an example out of him."

As a retort the other feared that because it was Greymane that they were talking about things were far more complicated than they knew, "But that was only for the past thousand years. If you have forgotten he entered Tartaros around the same year Princess Luna became Nightmare Moon. The only thing we know about him is he used the fountain of youth for who knows how long. But it might have been long enough to give him the motive to come here and try to claim immortality."

Still unable to grasp the truth about Greymane the second minion tried to act smarter than he was, "So~o as far as we know he could be older than he looks? It doesn't make any difference the fact of the matter is he's mortal, immortality comes at a price and no mortal is willing to pay that price."

"Yes, you may be right, however we don't know anything just yet." In an attempt to be optimistic he stopped his fellow minion, "Perhaps we get lucky and you are right, and he did die, even if he didn't it's not like he can hid anywhere up there; far too much has changed since he was last in the mortal world."

As the two slowly entered the throne room of their dark lord, they were unawares to the fact that he had heard every word they said, nor was he in a good mood, "What do you mean...HE'S...NOT...DEAD!! You should have brought his head back to me on a SILVER PLATTER!!!" Shouting with a great rage was causing his very domain to shake in fear of what its master could do to lessen his temper.

Attempting to keep their composure was not possible as they could not feel the level of power their master possessed; though they could also feel his ever growing anger, "M-m-my lord you have nothing to fear he will die shortly."

Being told what to do only made him far more volatile as he began to levitate one of the minions by the neck choking him, "Have nothing to fear? I! FEAR! NOTHING! However, that thief should be dead and I cannot stress how important that is right now and...and..." Having finally noticed that there were only two out of the three he had sent stalled his rage for only a moment as his curiosity began to peek, "...where is Abaddon? Well? Tell me where is that cowered. Why does he not show his face? Is the punishment for failure far to great for the enigma of Tartaros, the self proclaimed single GREATEST WARRIOR?!?! Well? ANSWER ME DAMN IT!!!"

Out of fear one of the guards dropped to his knees. "A-a-ab-b-bad-d-d-don...m-m-my l-l-lord...is dead. He died at the hooves of that accursed thief."

Though he was being choked the second minion struggled to get a few words in as he struggled to free himself even if he knew this effort would fail, "We chased him... ...as per your orders with... ...Abaddon leading the way." Being let down and released from his hold the minion continued after a moment of wheezing and coughing, "He ran for quite a while until we cornered him at a cliffside waterfall. Located somewhere in the Everfree Forest, with his back to a corner he turned to face us only after saying a few words." The minion hoped this little bit of information would be enough to turn the dark lords rage onto the thief.

Believing they had turned his favor the first guard walked forth on his knees thinking his continued life was assured, "We never anticipated that he could be that skilled as a fighter. Who would have thought a thief could have the skill and the power to kill one of the greatest warriors Tartaros has to offer. And stranger still when he spoke Abaddon's name, the Enigma of Tartaros seemed to have lost half his power if not all of it. But not to worry my lord even though he killed Abaddon we rushed him when he was wide open. Our surprise attack left him mortally wounded."

Though he was no longer being choked the second minion chose not to test his master by staying where he was; fearing that their master was trying to figure out which of them he would kill and how, "T-that's right and as a last attempt to try and live he jumped off the cliff. H-however..."

With his anger still on the rise he channeled a small amount of dark magic to his horn. And with the faint glow he slowly killed the demon who had been walking towards him on his knees by slowly ripping off his limbs, tearing out the bones in his torso, and tossing what was left of him into a small fire.

Looking at the remaining minion his eyes simply said he was an example, "However?" As his horn began to glow again he thought about ripping out the minion's organs carefully one by one; and while still attached feeding them to the fire fish in the third tier of his domain as the minion dangled over them like a worm on a hook.

With fear taking hold of him the demon froze in place as he began to sweat bullets, "H-h-however...we looked every where for his body starting with the base of the waterfall and found nothing but a small hint of his blood on the jagged rocks that were just below."

Piecing together what he knew about Greymane the dark lord thought for a moment, "Had it never occurred to you that he could have tried to swim to safety?"

Trying to save himself from the same fate as his fellow minion or from a far worse fate the minion did all he could to recall the river itself, "In his condition I don't think he could with the river current being as strong as it was."

Scoffing at his ignorance he gave him a glare with the intent to kill as his horn grew brighter, "Then why not jump in yourself to find him?"

"Well...no." As the dark lord began to focus his thoughts on how to torment the minion that sat before him the minion fell back as he started to cry, "B-but even if he did somehow manage to survive, he has two mortal flesh wounds. I am more than sure that he will die soon enough my lord."

Walking to him the dark lord put the back of his hove on the minion's right cheek and slowly caressed it, "Why yes...how right you are." Filling his hoof with his rage he back hooved the minion into a pillar causing it to collapse, "IF HE HADN'T TAKE THE MEDALLION OF IMMORTALITY. I took the time to check the vault. And out of everything that had been returned, and according to his foolish lackeys, it's the only thing missing right now. NOW...go back out there and bring me his head and the medallion."

"I-I-I'm afraid I can't do that my lord." Stuttering out of fear of his own life.

Vanishing from his sight the dark lord teleported right behind him prepared to kill, "And just why not?"

Closing his eyes in fear the minion recalled the path of the river and where it led, "W-w-we t-t-took the time too follow the river hoping he washed ashore further down. With no luck I'm afraid, and to add to the problem the river slows down as it comes to a head near a village called Ponyville Lord Asmoday."

As his rage grew he knocked a hole in the wall as he walked toward his throne, "DAMN IT!!! Why...of all the places in the world. I knew he would run to Equestria. But so long as he remained out of any populated area we could handle him. And I dare not challenge Celestia... ...let alone the Elements of Harmony. And don't even get me started on how much problems it would cause with the gods." Slouching in his throne he placed his hooves on his face while closing his eyes, "Perhaps I can get her to aid us...yes...yes.” Feeling a wicked grin cut itself across his face Asmoday waved to a demon just off to the side of himself, “Scribe, send a warning to Celestia..." Taking a moment he thought of how to word the letter so that she remained as far in the dark about the situation but still have her worried enough she would take some action, "...tell her a dangerous pony has escaped from Tartaros and is hiding in Ponyville. He will more than likely have disguised himself. And should anypony try to apprehend him they must use extreme caution."

As the scribe finished the message he walked toward the window. "I shall send it off now my lord." As the scroll burst into flames the ashes themselves flew faster than any creature in the pit as they made their way to Celestia with a somewhat false warning.

"Excellent...soon both the medallion and that thief shall be back here." The dark lord boasted as he began to laugh diabolically.


As his plans were set in motion the dark lord was unaware that the thief had hidden himself in more ways than one.
Casually flying over the nearby area with Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy spotted something along the shore of the river bank right out the corner of her eye. As she pointed the object out to Rainbow Dash the two of them flew in as quickly as she could. Seeing it was a badly beaten pony she quickly pulled him out of the river.

Fearing he was nearly dead Fluttershy looked over his wounds, "Oh Rainbow, do you think he's okay?"

Looking at him the blue mare could tell that he was in bad shape just by some of her own experiences, "I'm not sure, I've never seen a pony this badly hurt before. Now that I think about it...I've never seen him around Ponyville either."

Trying to pick him up as best she could Fluttershy struggled just a tad as she tried to fly, "Well either way we need to help get him to the hospital."

As they tried to rush off as fast as they could they tried to not to drop him though for a brief moment during their trip he woke up, "...T-thank...y-you."

Trying to keep his hopes up Rainbow Dash tried to reassure him that he was in good hooves, "Hey save your strength, will have you at the hospital as soon as we can."

Though still full of worry Fluttershy whispered her thoughts to Rainbow, "Oh I hope he's going to be alright."

Having the medallion hidden under the neckline of his cloak before the fight Greymane wasn't worried about being alright but at the same time he was unsure of everything going on, he was however more than alright. The power that came from the medallion was slowly closing and healing his wounds along side keeping him alive, though this was just the tip of what the medallion was able to do when it came to turning any living creature into an immortal. As they reached the hospital his wounds closed up to the point of appearing deep and nothing more, even some of the ones that had once appeared fatal were just starting to look like close calls.

Once inside the hospital they rushed him into the back where they started by injecting him with morphine to numb the pain as they began to clean and stitch the large gashes in his flesh. Once the work was done they put him in a room with light supervision believing he would be asleep for quite a long time.

"Well it's a good thing you got him here when you did. Any second longer and no telling what could have happened. And from what we can tell aside from the lacerations, he has a concussion and will suffer some if not complete memory loss. But in time he will make a full recovery." Looking at his chart the mare overlooked the painkillers they filled him up with to give a slight estimate, "Now he will be out cold for a few days and we shall keep an eye on him till he awakens." The doctor proclaimed with a small hint of relief.

Knowing he was in good hooves Fluttershy sighed as she started to settle down, "Thank you doctor, will you let us know if there is any change?"

Though the doctor did what she could with the aid of the nurses she had another look at the chart, "Of course I will, now do either of you know his na..."

As the doctor inquired about his name one of the nurses came running from down the hall. "Doctor! It's the patient in room seven he's...he's..."

Though she was confused as to what was going on she was slightly annoyed that her head nurse had come running down the hall as if she had injected herself with a shot of adrenaline, "Yes? What is it. Come now spit it out."

Having just heard some of the medical equipment getting knocked over they watch as the stallion they had just finished operating on slowly come around the corner, knowing he was on some of the strongest pain killers yet he was up and about as if it was nothing. Barely standing on his hooves he stumbled down the hall as he walked, and though the way he walked was off balance he still appeared ready for a fight.

With his vision blurred from the morphine it left him confused about all that he saw, "Where...am...I?" He asked slowly falling to the floor, while bracing himself on the nearest door.

As the orderlies came running in the doctor rose her hoof and signaled for the stretcher right behind them as she walked toward the disoriented stallion, "You're in a hospital right now, you've been in a small accident. It's okay, we're here to help you. Now if you can remember...what is your name?"

"M-my name?" As he started to remember a sharp paralyzing pain shot through his body causing him to drop to the floor in a fit, and though they were unaware of it it was the effects of the medallion keeping him from remembering too much; though they had removed it from him this was one shared power that all artifacts have if they chose to use it, "I-I don't remember." He grunted just before losing consciousness.

As he passed out the doctor gave his stitches and bandages one quick look over just before the orderlies carefully lifted him up. "Well...let's get him back into bed. I'll worry about his name later. And get some pony from security to keep a closer eye on him. The last thing we need is for his wounds to open up again."


As they kept a close eye on him day and night for nearly a week, they believed he was resting peacefully thanks to the occasional injections of painkillers and muscle relaxers. All in a steady and careful dose, this however was just to calm his flesh; beneath that was a pain the likes of which nopony ever knew of, not even the dark lords and gods of Tartaros themselves knew of this kind of pain or its existence.

Attempting to force his memory had sparked a chain of images, and voices that ran through his mind. All of it scattered and jumbled about, it was so incoherent and inconsistent not even a second made any sense. Only a few things stood out from being repeated again and again.

"What are you doing here?!?!"

"It's him...GET HIM!!!"

"That bounty on your head is MINE!"

"I thought I told you never to come back to this orphanage!"

"Look everypony big brother is back."

"GREYMANE!"

"It's good to see you Grey."

"Well, well, well if it isn't Greymane."

"Listen to me, I don't care how much money you bring in for this orphanage. You're a no good stallion and these foals don't need to have your influence. Now leave at once, or I'll call for the guard!"

As it all slowly subsided he began to awake. With the sun in his eyes and his vision still slightly blurred all he could see was a fuzzy shadowy figure with a horn that made him jump. The instantaneous movement caused him to grab his side in pain where one of the many of the stitches where.

Having watch him jump like Fluttershy being touched by a random falling leaf the good doctor couldn't help but chuckle behind the medical chart, "It seems some pony is finally ready to get up. Though I suggest taking slow steady movements if I were you."

As his vision slowly cleared he started to look around the room still confused about what was going on, "Where am I, how did I get here, how long have I been out?"

Looking under the last of his bandages the doctor quickly scribbled down a few things, "You're in a hospital, but for general location you're in a small little village called Ponyville. You've been asleep for almost a good week now. And if it hadn't been for Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy here you might not have survived."

Calming down as he looked over he saw the yellow mare with pink mane, and the blue mare with a rainbow mane, "Thank-you." As he thanked them he tried to rush out of his bed only to cause his body to start aching with the source being right at his chest.

Using her magic to slow him down the doctor shook her head, "Easy now, though you're fine to leave you still need to take it easy for the next couple of weeks. Now if it's not too much trouble for you, can you remember who you are or where you might be from?"

As his eyes shifted back and forth, all he could get was jumbled bits of information that couldn't add up, "The only thing that stands out in my head is...Greymane...But I have no idea as to why, nor do I have any clue as to where I am from."

"Did you just say 'Greymane'?" Inquired a lavender mare as she entered the room weighed down with books in her saddle sacks.

Hoping she would know more Greymane nearly jumped out of bed, "Why...yes...why do you ask?"

Pulling out a rather old book with bold golden letters that read 'The Legendary Thief' the lavender mare opened up to the page that gave the best idea of his characteristics however far-fetched they seemed, "Well I just got done reading an old book with several stories and tales dealing with a pony who is believed to be a legendary thief called Greymane. According to the book he took to stealing for unknown reasons, and that he was untouchable. Not even royal guards or even the great Alicorns could catch him. But as the stories go on with tales of him, get this, stealing even the stars themselves from the night sky..." Giggling at the thought the stars could be stolen she soon regained her composure, "...he just vanished around a thousand years ago. But he's just some old ponies tale sense there was never any proof that he was real. Some history books say that the leaders at the time believed he was real and put up wanted posters of him using the description used in the book." Using her magic she flipped through a few more of the pages, "Ah, here it is. According to the book he's an earth pony who's coat is dark grey, but his mane, and tail are a light grey. He doesn't have a cutie mark. And here is where it gets a little more far-fetched than before, he could fly and use some magic. All that aside it's more than likely you've heard these old tales when you were younger."

"Hey Twilight, not to be rude or anything but, what are you doing here?" Inquired Rainbow Dash as she leaned toward her.

Quickly putting the book away the lavender mare brought out a letter, "Oh the Princess sent a letter with a warning. It says that a very dangerous pony escaped from Tartaros and will more than likely be hiding in disguise. I was on my way to inform the mayor of this and let her know that a few of the royal guards will be sent here out of uniform, the only reason we are being told this now is because it took time to plan this out and even get the guards here. I thought I should warn you guys as well."

Trembling behind the bed, no thanks to the news, Fluttershy slowly peeked over the covers. "D-d-does it say w-w-what this pony looks like?"

Shaking her head Twilight sighed, "Sadly, no. And the Princess has sent many letters back to Tartaros asking for more information. All we are told is to use extreme caution. However the letter also mentioned that Princess Luna would come by with a few of her personal Night Honor Guard. And whomever this pony is will be hiding in plain sight."

Having just opened the window the doctor looked out into the courtyard, "Well it's safe to assume that if he is going to disguise himself he would try not to bring any attention to himself. Now on a separate matter, you young stallion, until you can remember who you are I'll just write down Greymane under name. And please if you do recall something let me know."

As the doctor walked out of the room the security mare left as well knowing she wasn't going to be needed in that room any longer giving Greymane the oddest look, "Too think they were worried you were going to get up again and hurt yourself."

Attempting to quietly tiptoe out from behind the bed Fluttershy looked up at both Twilight and Rainbow Dash, "Oh I hope everything will be just okay."

Limping toward the door Greymane gave a slight blank stare, "I'm sure everything will be fine." Though he was giving some reassurance to Fluttershy he feared the description that Twilight gave, as his own appearance matched what the book had given exactly.

"Where are you going?" Twilight inquired with one eyebrow raised.

Without thought to the matter it almost seemed instinctive as the words came flying out of his mouth, "I-I don't know...anywhere I guess."

Floating next to him Fluttershy put her hoof on his shoulder, "Without your memory it would be much safer for you to stay here in Ponyville."

"I don't have a place to stay, nor do I have the means to get a place. I don't even know if I have the skills to do anything about it." Letting out a sigh as he tried to make his way out the door he found that nearly every statement seemed to just be a slip of the tongue, though in a way they seemed to feel right.

Without hesitation Fluttershy knew that she had to help him for what reason she didn't know nor seem to care, "Well...I have an extra bed at my cottage you can live with me till your memory comes back. And you can help me take care of all the little critters in exchange. I mean, if you want to that is."

Perking up Twilight almost seemed to jump at the chance to help him, "Oh that reminds me Apple Jack has the harvest coming up we can go ask her if she will accept your help when you get better. It will give you some work experience in the meantime." Hoping that his bit of news could raise his spirits.

Turning around he gave a faint smile as a single tear ran down the side of his face, "Thank you...all of you. I'm just some vagrant, and here you all are helping me as if we've known each other for years."

"Great...I'm going to see Applejack right now why don't you join me." Twilight hinted as she walked passed him as she looking back she saw Greymane limp as he struggled to walk, "Perhaps you should use a wheelchair for the time being."

Though he knew his injuries were rather bad the words still seemed to fly right out of his mouth as if it was a challenge he was willing to take, "Its alright, I've been asleep for a while. I just need to stretch my legs and get a little exercise."

As Rainbow Dash walked up she brought a wheelchair over to him, "There's a difference between stretching your legs and over doing it, believe me I know better than most ponies. Now have a seat before you hurt yourself again."

Looking at all three of them stare at him he buckled under their command knowing he wouldn't make it very far, "Very well then."

As they take the time to wheel him off to the Apple Farm they took the time to get to catch up with each other and the day's events. With Greymane being the only exception at the moment. He learned what he could, and when he was out of questions he read a few of the books Twilight had on her, starting with the tail of The Legendary Thief, hoping to gain some insight that might spark a memory or two.


As Greymane took small steps toward what could be a brighter and better future. The dark lord he escaped from was taking steps to recover his lost prize.

The minion that had narrowly escaped death, had found himself delivering yet another letter to his master yet grumbling at the tedious task he had been given, "Why can't the scribe do his job...it's not like he has anything better to do. All he has to do is write things down and send off letters, not like that is very hard." Opening the door he gazed at something he had never heard, nor seen, before. "Master, another letter...from...Celestia...has."

With a disgusted look he stared at the minion, "Has what?"

Holding out the letter he watched as it trembled in his hand, "Oh...umm...has come in. She still requests more information on our little run away."

"Send a letter back to her detailing how useless it would be if he has not only disguised himself, but if he has already gone into hiding." As he scoffed he knew that she would just send more letters and if she didn't get the answer she needed then it was only a matter of time till the dark gods got involved, "And reassure her that he will do what he can to remain unseen, and that all they have to do is be careful when trying bring him in."

Bowing as he started to leave he took one last look at the room, "As you command my lord. Umm...if you don't mind me asking. What are you up to? Forgive my questioning master it’s just that I’ve never seen such a marking as that."

"I am preparing to leave my body and take an astral form that lesser creatures such as yourself cannot comprehend or see." As the guard started to leave, the dark lord turned and looked at him, "When was the last time that I raised your rank?"

With a tremble in his voice he turned and faced his master, "I-i-it's been about four hundred years. In fact I'm surprised that I had survived long enough to make lesser at that moment in time, though you've still continued to treat me as a minion."

The dark lord's face grew blank as he closed his eyes to focus on the shadows that surrounded himself, "I see. Well then let's change that." Using his dark magic the dark lord levitated his minion off the ground as the shadows around them moved toward the demon consuming him. "You are no longer some nameless lesser demon. Consider yourself a proud ranking soldier in my army. Hence forth with your new found strength and power you shall be known as the greater demon Abatu. Use your power to serve me well."

As the shadows left his body he barely hovered over the ground flapping his new wings as his new found power surged from within him, "I shall my lord. And with this new power I shall do more than simply serve you, I shall glorify your name as I bring down terror and fear upon all I come across."

As the dark lord began to sit down Abatu glided out of the room as a barrier was raised up behind him, "After you've passed the message along I want you to go to Kharon. Oh and take the archdemon Adramelech with you."

Cowering in fear Abatu looks back shaking in his knees, "W-wont the Lord of the Flies be angry?"

Pissed that his newly acquired greater demon had not only hesitated but also questioned him nearly broke the dark lords' concentration on the spell, "You let me worry about that dried up excuse for a demonic god. Now...GO!"

As Abatu rushed off the dark lord began to focus, as an eerie glow began to emit off his body. Within moments his body fell over almost lifeless his astral form stood over it for a few seconds, then shortly after shot out of Tartaros with great speed. Flying past the River Styx, he made his way through the Everfree Forest and into Ponyville where he began his search.

Going from one building to the next as he passed through walls searching every nook and cranny for any signs of Greymane, "Where could he be hiding. Even if he's a master thief he can't hide forever, all it takes is one slip up. All I need to find him is the smallest theft." As his patience grew thin he frantically took to the sky as he made his way out to Sweet Apple Acres, "He just has to be here somewhere."

As the dark lord came to a clearing he could see a barn with a few ponies standing around talking. Slipping past them he hid in the nearby barn and eavesdropped on the conversation.

As he watched an Orange mare was who pacing back and forth while looking at the ground, "So he has some memory loss but ya'll think he can help with the harvest. I'm sorry Twilight but the harvest starts at the end of the week. And from what you said the doctor mentioned he would need two weeks at the least to recover. And I ain't got that kinda time once the harvest starts."

Raising from the chair and standing strong Greymane walked toward her with no problems what so ever, "Please I'll do any little thing you can think of till then Ms.?"

Stopping her pacing the orange mare turned and smiled at his attempts to be polite, "It's Applejack an' don't fret the Ms. part, hardly anypony says it out this way."

"Applejack. I need the work. And I can prove I'm a hard worker. And it's only half a week I'll need to get better any way." He lied in the hopes of getting her to change her mind.

Shaking her head with a faint smile she put her hoof on his shoulder, "Now I'm sure you are but I don't know if there's anything I can have you do till then. I'm sorry truly I am. And besides I know my friends wouldn't lie to me so don't go trying to lie to me and push yourself too hard."

As Greymane followed her trying to plead with her, the dark lord phased through the wall to get one good look at him, 'No...can it be?' He thought to himself as a few young fillies came running past him talking about ways they could get their cutie marks.

As they passed by one of them knocked over a large bag full of sand onto a plank of wood that sent a few rocks flying in the direction of Greymane and the others as the yellow filly with red a red mane shouted out to them, "LOOK OUT!!!"

As they both turned and looked Applejack attempted to get out of the way. Whereas Greymane's instincts toward danger naturally kicked in causing him to jump right into the path of the falling rocks. While in mid air his hooves made contact with the rocks pushing them to his left and right as he moved like a snake through them till all of the rocks had landed away from any pony. Once on the ground a sharp pain shot through his body starting from his chest.

Rushing to his aid they slowly helped him to his hooves, as Rainbow Dash commented on how cool that was, "How did you do that?" Performing a few aerial acrobatics as she went on about how he pulled off what he did, while she tried to recreate what she saw.

Looking down at his hooves Greymane watched a vision of some arrows flying at him in the same manner then left without any warning or clue as to where in his mind it came from, "I..." Looking around himself at the rocks and where they landed caused him to question who he truly was far more than ever, "...I don't know. It just happened."

As he slowly turned to check on everypony he heard a strange but familiar voice that filled him with warmth unlike any other, "That is quite the display of skill."

As he slowly turned to see who it was the oldest, yet for some reason happiest, memory came forth from the deepest recesses of his mind. In this memory he was able to recall a small conversation though he couldn't see anything this time around.

"Don't be afraid, you're safe now."

"Who are you?"

"Me? Well I'm no pony important. What's your name?"

"I'm woona."

As his memory came to an end he found himself staring at the ground as sweat dripped from his face, "L-lu-na?" He stuttered as he tried to piece together what just ran through his head.

As he slowly regained control of himself he looked up and made eye contact with the Princess of the Night as she sat down in front of him, "Are you alright? You look a little pale."

Giving a faint yet nervous smile Greymane couldn't help but feel a warm and loving feeling rise up from within him, "I...believe so."

Having one good look at his face Luna tilted her head slightly to the left, "You look familiar. Have we met somewhere before?"

"Oh let's hope so, any clue to help jog his memory would help." Fluttershy had gently stated with great optimism only to quickly calm down after having noticed that nearly all eyes were on her, "Oh sorry I got a little carried away."

Seeing the look of confusion on Luna's face Twilight walked over and bowed, "I'm sorry princess but our friend here has lost his memory due to an accident."

As a faint frown came across Luna's face she placed her hoof on his shoulder, "Oh we are sorry to hear that."

As he saw her start to frown Greymane gave a small smile as he instinctively reacted to her feelings attempting to bring a smile to her, "It's quite alright. And you have nothing to apologize for, it's just a..." As he tried to lighten the mood more memories came flooding back though the visions this time were all about her smiling, "...an unfortunate turn of events, that at this moment are becoming rather grand."

As a faint smile came across her face once more Luna extended her hoof to him, "If you don't mind us asking, what is your name?"

Trying not to make any of them worry as he fought his way through the many recollections he reached out and kissed her hoof. "It's Greymane. Sorry about this every pony but I need some time to think. Excuse me for a moment."

Watching him struggle to his hooves Applejack cocked an eyebrow, "What in tarnation is wrong with him?"

"That's one thing we forgot to mention. When his memories do start to come back...it seems to hurt him for some reason." Rainbow Dash said while rubbing the back of her head with a guilty smile across her face, as she let out a nervous chuckle.

As he stumbled away Luna looked on with a small worried look on her face, "We hope he will be alright."

With an enthusiastic smile and a bit of a pep to her step Applejack took hold of Twilight, "Wait Twi, can't you cast a spell to help him remember?"

As the lavender mare's ears folded back she lowered her head, "I thought about that. But, if the smallest memory does this to him there's no telling what remembering everything at once would do I'm afraid he has to take it all in one little piece at a time."

Having witnessed everything the dark lord pieced it all together and nearly bust out laughing, 'It is him…’ Having heard that Greymane had some memory loss seemed quite fortunate for him, ‘...though with his memory loss this can work to my advantage. And if everything goes well not only will the medallion and him be back in Tartaros but, I can also try and conquer Canterlot. All I have to do is get him to go there, and if the other dark lords or even the gods should come to question it, I'll just put it down as a casualty of circumstance. And no one will be the wiser for it.'

As the dark lord dissipated and returned to Tartaros, Greymane walked away from them and hid behind a few rows of trees as not to worry any of them. Knowing he was out of eyesight and earshot of anypony he buckled under the pain that pulsated from his chest as another old memory played through his head.

"You know you didn't have to save me there."

"We were just returning the favor that's all. And we can't believe you lied to us. Was it part of some greater scheme just to get close to us? "

"Is that the reason you spared me from your guards, or is it something else?"

"You saved us when we were just a filly, and here you are now the same as you were then. You haven't aged a day, you're not an alicorn, and you're definitely not a unicorn casting an illusion. You're an earth pony...how is it that you have not aged?"

"That's the real question now isn't it?"

As the memory came to an end the pain started to subside as he found himself panting and sweating. In his weakened state his mind had open for a brief moment allowing him to receive a telepathic message.

As the message came to him it felt as a faint whisper that came from all around him, *There are dark forces at work here great thief. Leave this town as soon as you are able or far greater harm will come to you and all ponies around you than what has already happen.*

As his mind closed its self off he called back in frustration under his breath hoping to get an answer of some kind, "Who said that?" When he heard nothing he shrugged it off and wiped the sweat from his brow, "Calm down Greymane, it's more than likely just a memory coming back. You've gotta get a grip on yourself, don't need anypony to think you've gone crazy." He hinted to himself as he sat down, though the question ate away at him, if that voice was another memory then why did it come to him as it did and not like the others.

This however was a question that would take more time to figure out. As he slowly calmed down, his breathing slowed to a normal rate. He still worried that he would never learn who he truly is, let alone whom he was and yet at the same time and for reasons he didn't quite know or understand; he didn't seem to care at all.

Though this was the thought his fear started to plague his mind as a hoof slowly rested on his shoulder causing him to jump. As he landed on his hooves his body had made instinctive movements causing him to turn around and take a defensive stance.

Surprised to see him move in the manner he had Applejack held up her hoof as a means to say stop, "Whoa now sugar cube. No need to get all excited and jumpy."

Having one good look at himself as he started to set his hooves back on the ground while mentally asking how he did any of what he had done today. Though he was confused as to how he took that stance without ever knowing how to fight, or so he believes more questions filled his mind as he sat down. Looking around he saw that it was only Applejack and nopony else around.

"I'm sorry, I'm...its..." Though he tried to find a reasonable excuse as to how he moved as he did was impossible since he could not recall how he did it let alone why.

"Ya, I know. They told me. Ya'll have some memory loss." As Greymane closed his eyes and lowered his head as Applejack placed her hoof on his shoulder again, "Now it's not y'all's fault ya can't remember nothin'. But the best thing to do now is move on and make a new life for yourself."

Out of fear of uncertainty Greymane began to cry as he took hold of his head, "And what if my memory comes back?"

"Then we’ll help you make sense of it all, sure it's something' ya'll are goin' through on yer own. But ya can look on the bright side of it all, ya'll can make friends who will help you understand it one step at a time." Applejack claimed in the hopes of bringing him some amount of optimism.

Though he started to cry like a newborn colt Greymane was happy for some reason as he thought out loud, "And what if it never comes back?"

Wrapping her hooves around him Applejack did what she could to calm him down, "Then at least ya’ll have something to look forward to here in Ponyville. Now I've given it some thought and I've decided. I'll have ya'll help around the farm as needed. Now how does that sound?"

As he started to smile he hugged her knowing he was in the best care he could hope for, "Thank you...thank you for giving me this opportunity."

As she started to smile knowing how she helped out a pony in need she patted him on the back, "Think nothing of it. Now come on everypony is worried about you."

As they got back they saw every pony talking over a nice tall pint of cider, and behind them was Big Mac. struggling with a rusted old pad lock on his tool box causing Applejack to sigh, "Having trouble with that darn thing again?"

"Eeyup."

As Greymane started to walk up his eyes narrowed in on the old lock causing one of his oldest memories to return, ‘In some cases if a lock is old enough all you have to do is tap it with the back of your hoof. Like so, and some of the mechanisms will fall out of place opening the lock.

As his memory came to an end, every pony watched him walk up with a blank stare. Squeezing between Big Mac and Apple Jack, looking down at the lock and Greymane raised his hoof. And with a small tap they heard something come loose in the padlock as it popped opened with little effort.

As some of their jaws dropped from seeing this Big Mac walked up with a faint grin on his face, "Now how did ya'll know to do that?"

"It just came to me...I'm not sure how but it just did." As he stared at his hooves he slowly began to fear the words of warning that came to him just moments ago. The two words that stood out the most where great thief, 'I-I can't be a thief... ...can I?' He thought to himself trying not to hint his fear to the others.

Having just had a good look at him Luna put her hoof on his shoulder, "We are surprised to see a stallion like you hasn't earned his cutie mark. Perhaps you might be a locksmith?"

Looking at his own flank his fear started to rise even farther and faster to the point that not even the question presented by the princess could draw his mind away from his current thoughts. He worried that if his memories came back would he be the same pony he was now, or would he just be some criminal? As his fears started to eat away at his mind he remembered they were looking for somepony that had recently escaped from Tartaros, this only made things worse and added to his fear as he slowly began to sweat.

Trying to keep a calm look on his face as he looked up the easiest of his many skills took root as he smiled, "Perhaps I lost it when I lost my memory."

As they all started to chuckle at how poor of a joke he just made; the idea of losing a cutie mark just by losing one's memory seemed funnier in some small way.


As they all sat around enjoying cider as they made jokes the dark lord had awoken in Tartaros with a guest looking over him, "B-Beelzebub..." Looking around he saw that his barrier was still standing strong with no signs it had been altered in any way, "...how did..."

Waving his hand around the demonic god merely smiled as though it was just something he enjoyed doing, "You think I can't walk through a weak barrier such as this?"

Knowing his actions could be put to question and his rank as a lord stripped by the other dark lords and gods if enough of them voted, the dark lord did what he could to remain humble in the presence of Beelzebub, "Though this brings me much honor to have you here I feel I must inquire...what brings the demonic god Beelzebub Lord of the Flies, Master of Disease and Poison to my humble domain?"

Holding out a ledger with a list of names with marks next to them along side with the time they were checked; the dark god pointed to one that was marked missing at the recent inspection, "The Archdemon Adramelech has gone missing from my vast ranks of demons. Samael mentioned seeing him run off with a greater demon, though no one had seen this demon before, and yet the description was rather close to one of your lesser demons. Care to..." Pausing for a moment he listened to the screams that came from the condemned souls being tortured at that moment; as though hinting that any action against him was a slow painful punishment beyond imagining, "...enlighten me Asmoday?"

Trying to keep his composure Asmoday swallowed what he could of his fear as well as his pride knowing the dark god that stood before him was one of few he didn't wish to contend with, "I know nothing of this. P-p-perhaps one of the other dark lords might know?"

"Keep this in mind Asmoday, if I find out that you have something to do with this. Not only will Samael and my self bar you from the council of the dark lords but we shall strip you of your title, and you will have to fend for yourself as the other lords come hunting you down." As Beelzebub ended his threat his body dissipated into a cloud of miasma and vanished.

Watching the cloud vent out of the room Asmoday's rage only grew, "Damn it...he wasn't even here, it was just another one of his tricks. Oh well if all goes according to plan I'll have the power of a demonic god and he will be the one licking my boots. But Greymane needs to be under lock and key for everything to work, so long as he is free nothing will go as I have planed."

As he walked over to his desk at the far end of the room he removed the clutter that was laying on top. Under all the clutter and trash was a map with a knife stabbed through it at the south of Unyasi and small markings of battle plans. Pulling out a small booklet Asmoday went over a few notes as he compared them with a few of his recent reports.

Author's Note:

For future reference anything marked with ** is either a personal thought or a telepathic communication and will be noted either before or after the fact.
Also any and all opinions, suggestions, and comments are welcome.