What happens when a little pony is lost without her memory?
Night always loved to learn new things, but her mother, Princess Luna, would not allow it, as something bad was coming to Equestria. No pony knew what was coming, but they felt it. One night, after she and her mother fought, Night found herself in her favorite place; the garden. Only, she wasn't alone...
That was all Luna could translate before seeing the beautiful filly that she had just delivered. Her mate stared at her with loving eyes. He was overjoyed to finally have his little daughter. Luna, too, was overjoyed.
“Your majesty, what are you going to name her?”
“Night Shine,” Luna replied happily.
The little filly was the only one born out of the two royal sisters, but sadly, the little filly was to remain unknown to the outside world.
Night Shine grew up with a close to normal childhood, only that she was forbidden from leaving the palace grounds. Being a shy but adventurous pony, she would try to break out of the confinements. Her mother, Luna, wasn't so pleased with the behavior, but she understood it completely.
At times when Night was unable to go out into the gardens and grounds, she would tend to wander aimlessly around the corridors. Night was the sort of pony that needed to be out in the wind and feel the grass, dirt and stones beneath her hooves. Though, Night usually only went out at the time of sundown.
During the day, the young filly would spend a great amount of time in the library, trying to find out more about magic. Although the young princess was so drawn to the ideas of magic, she was also drawn to the books that talked about some things so foreign and different to her.
Friendship and Love.
Those two seemed to hold onto Night’s attention more than just about anything. She would always dream about finding those things. But she knew it was too much to even dream for as her mother was confining her inside the palace grounds. Even she knew when Luna put her mind to something she would do anything to do it.
Soon, though, something unsettling came around Equestria, more importantly, around the palace. Luna became terrified from it, scared that it was coming for her daughter, as Night Shine was born of two very powerful and special ponies.
Night Shine was a pretty little filly, with her black-and-red mane and tail. Her eyes were the color of a clear brook's water, shining as brightly as the sun and moon. Her pelt was a silvery-white color that sparkled in moonlight. Night was a pretty shy pony, but could be outgoing and adventurous when she wanted to. Like her mother, Luna and aunt, Celestia, she has wings and a horn. Her magic is small, because she is unable to learn much since Luna is scared about the knowledge she could acquire.
Celestia was her only way of getting more magic. Her aunt would give her books on how to do simple magic things. Those things wouldn't be too dangerous or noticeable for Luna to even notice anything different.
Night had a pretty good relationship with Celestia. Sometimes, their relationship was better than her and her mother’s, which made Luna jealous at times. Night wanted to have a better relationship with her mother, but Luna was always a bit more on the ‘trying to control you’ side, and Celestia was on the more ‘caring about what you want’ side.
“Sometimes I just don’t understand her!” Night said with irritation.
“Night, I know Luna can be a bit… irritating at times, but you know she loves you and only wants the best for you,” Celestia said softly.
“I know, Celestia, but it gets so frustrating when she wants so many things from me, but keeps the way to do it from me. It’s like she doesn't want me to grow into the pony I could be,” Night sighed.
“Night Shine, trust me, Luna wants the best for you, but she doesn't want you to get hurt. And I know it can be a bit frustrating, but someday you’ll find your wings and be free,” she said smiling.
“But I already have wings!?” Night said, confused.
“No, Night. It’s a metaphor, it means that one day you’ll be free from this confinement, but you have to wait for your ‘wings’ before you can fly away,” Celestia said.
“Oh, that makes sense,” she said quietly.
“Go talk to Luna,” Celestia said gently.
“I will. Thanks Celestia, you’re the best!” Night smiled.
Night Shine started to walk down the halls, looking for Luna, only Night didn't really know where to look. She started easy and went to her mother’s room. No luck. She thought about what her mother liked and things she had been told that Luna was doing today.
Then an idea came to her. Night turned on her heels and ran down the corridors, towards the library. When she reached it, she quickly opened the doors and looked around. Thankfully, she saw Luna there. Sighing with relief, she walked up to her mother.
“Night, what a surprise,” Luna said.
“Hello, Mother. I was wondering if I could talk to you?” Night asked nervously.
“Why, of course. What do you need to talk about?” her mother asked.
“Well, um, I know you just want to keep me safe-“ Night started to say, before she was cut off by Luna.
“Night Shine, I’m not talking about this again. You cannot go out there yet! It’s just not safe!” Luna said sternly.
"But Mother, I would be a better pony if I could actually make friends!" Night yelled.
"Night, you know you cannot go out there," Luna said, lightly. "I know you want friends, but I just can't let you be out in the world."
"But why? Why is it so important that I stay unknown?" Night asked.
"There are things going on right now that you simply can't understand," Luna said strictly.
"What's so bad that you have to keep me away from getting an actual life?" Night screamed angrily at her mother.
Before Luna could reply, Night ran. Her mother called after her, trying to stop her, but Night kept on running. As she was running down the corridors, she kept thinking about everything her mother kept from her. Like freedom, friends, a real life, magic, knowledge, so many things that she actually wanted.
The thought of those things made her angrier. All her mother did for her was kept her away from things that would help her be a better, more dependable and smarter pony. She wanted to be talented with her magic like this one pony she had heard about. The pony was an apprentice of Celestia.
As Night was running, she ran into her aunt, Celestia.
"Night, what's wrong?" Celestia asked, softly.
Night shook her head, not knowing what to say. Celestia knew about -and agreed to- her being confined and kept from her full potential. Celestia, anyways, was the one who told her to talk to Luna.
"Night, you know your mother is only doing this because she wants to keep you safe, right?" she said.
Night sighed, "I know, but I want to be able to have a real life. Be able to learn and explore. I hate being kept from living like a normal pony. It's just not fair!"
"I know it's not, Night, but keep your head up, things will get better. Besides, even Luna knows she can't keep you confined forever," Celestia said, before walking away.
Night watched as Celestia walked away. She sighed in frustration, knowing her aunt was right. Night started to walk down the corridors of the palace, not exactly knowing where she was going. Eventually she found herself walking to the doors that led to the gardens.
She smiled. She always went to the gardens when she needed to think. The gardens were absolutely beautiful and they always made Night feel better, especially when she went there at night.
As she walked down the stone path way, she kept thinking about Luna's and Celestia's words. Night knew they only did this because they wanted to keep her safe, but it irritated her so much! She's only a little pony, but she knew there was a lot she could be learning if she had friends.
She sighed. Night looked up at the sky, and saw the stars were twinkling. That put a small smile on her face. Suddenly, a shooting star came by. Night smiled and made a wish.
I wish I could have some friends... a friend?
She shook her head and continued walking. When she came to the fountain, she looked at herself in the water. She was just a normal pony, so why couldn't she just have a normal life?
She bent her head down, slowing her eyes and lapped up a few droplets of water. When she opened her eyes, in her reflection her eyes were now red, then after a few seconds the crystal, clear blue water was replaced with a sickly green liquid.
Night wanted to scream, but she couldn't. A chilling breeze swept by, freezing her bones. Night Shine was scared, but she didn't know what to do. When she regained some control, she ran. She ran faster than she ever had before. As she came closer to one of the gates, it was blocked by thorns. She turned and ran towards another; again it was covered with thorns! Every gate was now covered. She didn't know what to do!
She sat down, with her head down. She felt so confused and scared. Night felt a tear drop down her face. The tear fell down, and hit the ground in an impossible-to-hear thud. Suddenly, she felt something near here. Her head shot up, but before she could do anything,
It was sun set and the sky was painted in numerous colors, varying from reds and oranges to blues and purples. The sun was just at the horizon and the moon was half way up the sky. Stars, too, had started to shine brightly in the already lit sky.
Night watched as the sun sunk further, disappearing under the earth. The sky then changed from the varies colors to a deep blueish purple color with white specks from the stars.
After a while of looking at the night sky, Night Shine turned and went back into the palace. She headed to her mother's room. Inside, it was empty. She went to her aunt, Celestia's room. Empty. She ran around the palace. No pony was there. She kept running, hoping to find some pony. Any pony. But no pony was there.
She went back out to the gardens and walked to the fountain. She looked up to the sky and a tear fell down her cheek, into the fountain, making it ripple.
Night looked down at her reflection in the water. The sparkling water started to faded into black. The world around her was gone.
Pure darkness surrounded her.
Night Shine woke with a dull, aching thud pounding in her head. When it subsides, she awkwardly stumbled up onto her hooves and took a cautious look around. Her head started to spin at the unfamiliar sights.
She was surrounded by trees that seemed to be towering over her. The ground beneath her was made of sand and pebbles. Ahead of her, there lied two paths. One headed East, the other West. Night looked down both paths, as far as she could, but both looked the same. She started to pace back and forth as she thought about which way she was to go.
Down both, all she could see was the trees and path. There was nothing to guide her into taking the right path. As she paced back and forth, a thought came to mind. What if there was no right path?
What if there was no right path for her to take?
Behind her, she heard a stick break. She turned and looked around with a terrified gaze. Again, another twig snapped. Night jumped and ran down one of the paths, running faster than what she thought was possible.
Eventually, Night slowed down, and took a look at her surroundings. Many trees still stood tall over her, but there was a clearing up ahead. She smiled, and ran to it. After the few lengths she had to run, she entered the clearing and took a look around.
The clearing was like a sandy beach, with pebbles and grass. It was outlined with varies plants, grasses and rocks. There were many rocks that seemed big enough to house a pony or any animal. But on the northern side, one rock stood out from the rest. Night decided to take a better look at it. She went up to it, and on the opposite side, was a carved out tunnel.
Night Shine looked at it with curiosity. What could be in there?
It was still day at the time she decided to explore the mysterious cave tunnel. Cautiously, she looked around the entrance of the cave. The grey rock was covered in moss and thick vines covered the entrance.
She pushed through the vines and slowly entered the cavern. As soon as she was in, the vines fell back into their original spots and left Night in pure darkness. She turned and looked at the vines, debating whether to go in or leave.
Deciding to go in, she took a deep breath. Carefully, she placed her hooves on the ground as she walked forward. The only noticeable sound was the clicking of her hooves as they made contact with the rock's surface.
All Night could think about was what could be hiding in here.
Shaking the thought from her head, she kept walking onward. She tried to ignore the silence. Night was never one to be particularly keen to silence. Up ahead, she could faintly make out a small glow. She smiled and started to run towards it.
When she was close enough, she saw a hole in the rock's wall that let the light shine through. Turning her attention to what was ahead of her, she sighed. There were, again, two paths for her to chose from.
Darkness filled both paths, so she couldn't make out what was down either way. She sighed in irritation. Night didn't know what to do.
Suddenly, the light that came through the hole was turned and now pointed down one of the paths. Night stood still at first, shocked by the movement. Then, taking the light as a sign, she followed the path that the light had lit.
She followed the path, hesitantly, wondering what could be lurking in the shadows of the cavern.
Night heard the sound of footsteps behind her, making her stop in her place. Her eyes widened. Again, they echoed through the tunnel. Night was scared, so she ran. She ran down the tunnel as fast as she could.
Eventually, at the end of the path, there was a large clearing. Night looked around, cautiously. She was scared of what could be lurking in the shadows, waiting for some pony like her to enter.
She walked in and took a look around at the rock. Many jewels, gems and metals were sparkling all over the walls, floor and ceiling of the clearing. Night Shine became mesmerized by the sparkling items. It reminded her of the night sky.
Suddenly, she felt something brush up against her. She tensed. Behind her, coming from the tunnel, she heard a growling sound. She felt something come close to her ear.
"Hide!"
Before she could react to the strangers word, she was roughly pushed against the wall, behind a huge rock. Night stood up silently, shaking her head. The stranger was rude. Then curiosity entered her mind.
Why did the stranger push her and tell her to hide?
Silently, Night peered around the rock. She gasped. In the clearing was a creature. It was so unfamiliar to Night, but she knew it was dangerous by the look in it's eyes. Anger. That was what filled the creature's eyes.
Night Shine started to shake with fear. It wasn't so much the creature that scared her, but the unknown.
Also in the clearing was a pony. The pony seemed to be about the same age as Night, maybe a little older, and the pony had a blue coat. She watched with interest as the pony used magic and skill to fight the creature.
Night wasn't sure what interested her more. The unknown creature, or the pony that was brave enough to try and fight against it.
She watched, intensly, wanting to know who that pony was. The creature before the pony was large. A couple lengths taller than herself, with a red scaley body and a tail that could curl around her entire body. It's eyes were green and filled with anger.
The creature looked over towards where Night was hiding and as soon as it's eyes caught hold of hers, she ran back behind the rock, cowering down closely to the rock that was before her.
She listened to the sounds of the fighting, hoping that the pony would be alright. Night really wanted to know who that blue pony was. She had caught the pony's eye for a brief second, but now, she couldn't forget it. That pony interested her. He was intriguing.
After a while, the sound of fighting dissolved, leaving the cavern in silence. Night tried to open her eyes, but they felt heavy with sleep. She kept trying to fight it, as she wanted to see the brave pony, but soon she gave in.
That's all that any pony could see around themselves. The whole village was up in flames. Ponies were scattered. Families were torn. Smoke filled the air, making it hard for the ponies to breathe.
Some of the ponies were even close to dying. Up above, Pegasuses were bringing clouds over the village, making it ran on the fire, trying to burn out the deadly flames that were consuming the village.
As the ponies ran, one stood out from all the rest.
A little pony with a blue pelt and an unfamiliar colored mane stood by one of the many burning homes. Getting a closer look at the pony, fear, anger and curiosity were written all over the young pony's face.
He looked around, as I guessed, for his family. But by that time most of the ponies have scattered, some have even ran off. The little pony ran around the village, hoping to find some pony. Mostly he wanted to find his family.
As he ran around the village, he saw a few ponies still running from the village, but there was no sign of any pony or his family.
Not accepting this fact, he ran back to the place where I first saw him, and ran inside the burning building. Following, I watched as he raced around, looking everywhere to see if any of his family was left inside. No pony was in there. His family was gone. He was by himself. He was alone.
The pony looked like he wanted to cry, but he didn't. He ran out of the house and ran for the woods, never looking back at the village that was once his home. He decided to follow his dream.
To become a hero.
The scene then changed.
Before me was the same pony from the fire. Except now he looked a little younger. Maybe a year or less younger. He was walking down the path towards the house he had been at in the fire. As he walked, though, he had his head down. He looked so sad. Depressed even. I watched him with curiosity. I wanted to know why the little pony was sad.
I could feel a pang of sadness hit me.
I wanted to run to him and comfort the poor pony, but it felt like my hooves were nailed to the ground. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk either. I watched the little pony with sadness.
Taking a look around, I saw the other little ponies making fun of him, laughing at him. Even some of the bigger ponies were giving him looks of disappointment. I started to wonder why.
He looked like a pony who could do great things in his future.
Then I heard what some of the young fillies were saying. When I did, I was instantly aware of why those little ponies were making fun of him. He had a disability. He couldn't use magic.
The scene changed again.
Again, I saw the pony from before walking through the woods. As he walked, I could hear him muttering. In his eyes, I could see fear, sadness and even a little happiness.
Eventually, he ended up in a clearing, that was surrounded by rocks and trees. The little pony walked around the clearing, looking for a place to sleep. As he searched around the bigger rocks, he found one that had vines hanging like a door.
He pushed aside the vines and saw it was a carved out cavern. Taking the chance, he went in tunnel in and followed it in the utter darkness. The walls were covered with moss, and looked oddly familiar.
Soon, he ended at a fork in the road.
From a small hole in the rock, a little glimmer of light shined through. The little pony debated on which path to go down. I could see confusion, curiosity and caution in his eyes.
Down one of the tunnels, he heard the sound of growling. Then the sound of hooves hitting the rocky ground. I could see it that he was wondering what was down there.
Without waiting another second, the little pony raced down the tunnel. Eventually, the tunnel came to an end. At the end was a clearing. Inside the clearing, he saw a pony.
Then behind him, he heard the growling sound again. He turned around slowly and saw a creature running down the tunnel, towards the clearing. Towards him. When it got closer he saw what it was. A dragon.
He ran into the clearing and pushed the pony and yelled at her to hide. A few moments later, the dragon entered. Then I heard the pony say two words.
"It's time."
Night woke up with a start. Did she really just dream of all that? She shook her head, then what happened yesterday flooded back into her mind. The unfamiliar creature, the fear, the pony that fought the creature.
She felt something sitting close to her, she lifted her head slowly, and looked to the side. She saw a pony. Not just any pony though. It was the pony who fought the creature!
The pony looked back at her, his eyes were emotionless. She looked at him again, her eyes widened. It was the pony from her dream.
"Blue. You were really brave, fighting that creature," Night said, whispering.
"Thanks."
Night looked at the pony, Blue, with interest. Was he the same pony she had just seen in her dream? Did he really not have magic? Was he alone like she? She didn't know what to think about him. When she had watched him fight the beast, dragon, as called it, it seemed like he had magic.
"Hello?"
Night snapped out of her daze. "Huh? What?"
Blue rolled his eyes. "I said, you know my name, but I do not know yours."
"Oh. My name is... is..." Night couldn't think of what her name was.
"Well?" he asked, a little irritated.
"My name is... Night," she whispered slowly.
"Night?" he asked.
She nodded.
"Well, Night, what are you doing in this part of the Everfree Forest?" Blue asked.
"The Everfree Forest?" Night said, confused.
"Yeah. That is where we are," Blue told her.
"Oh," she said, looking around.
"Yeah. So, why are you here?" he asked again.
"I... I do not know," she whispered.
"What do you mean you do not know?" he asked.
"I don't know why I am here, or how I even got here," Night told him.
Blue looked at her, confused. He didn't understand what was going on. How does some pony just end up in the Everfree Forest and not remember why or how they even got there.
"Why are you here?" Night asked.
Blue looked at her. Shock was clearly on his face.
"Oh, um, well..." He didn't know what to say.
Night wanted to say, you're here because where you come from, there was a terrible fire that killed your family, and you wanted to get away from there and try to follow your dream of becoming a hero. But Night knew she couldn't say that. She'd just scare away the only other pony she remembers.
"Never mind why I am here. Do you know where you come from?" Blue asked her, trying to change the subject.
"I... I do not know where I come from, or even who I am, or who my parents are," Night whispered.
"Y-you don't remember anything?" he asked.
Night nodded.
"I.. I'll be right back. Stay here. Do not leave!" Blue yelled, before running out of the cave.
Night watched as he ran. What he was doing, was what she kept asking herself. Why did he just run and leave, telling her to stay here. Is he leaving her, because she doesn't remember anything?
Night followed what he said and stayed in the cave. She walked around, trying to find something besides the moldy grey stone that surrounds her, but sadly, for her, there was no other color that she could see. Only the depressing colors of the grey stone walls, and the mucky green of the growing mold.
She walked around, aimlessly, trying to remember something, anything, from her past, but her mind always came back blank. All she could remember was that her name had the word Night in it. She knew there was more, but she only knew one word. Everything else seemed to be darkened in her mind.
When she decided to go back to the rock where she and Blue first talked at, she started to wonder if he was coming back. It had to have been a while, but Blue was still gone. Night kept wishing she knew where he went, but it was too late to even ask him that. When, or if, he comes back, she'll know. But what if he doesn't come back? Maybe he had left?
Night shook that thought from her mind, and layed down. The ground felt so cold as she gently layed her body on the stone floor of the cave, but she didn't care. She kept hoping she'd remember something in her dreams. She remembered how she had dreamed of Blue's past, if it even was his past. It had to have been, he was the pony in her dream. But why had she dreamt of his past?
She pushed the thought aside. Thinking of why kept her mind racing. She was tired, and it was becoming impossible to hold her eyes open. She let them close, and she fell right into the darkness called sleep.
Fire.
Fire was surrounding a palace, only it didn't seem to be burning it. Looking closer at it, it seemed to be trying to protect it. But from what?
I watched as ponies scattered, yelling something incoherent, but I knew it was something important. There was one pony that stood out from the others, though.
Instead of a look of fear and panic, she held a look of sadness. I could feel her sadness like it was my own. The pony I saw had a coat of a dark shade of blue, and a mane that was partially translucent, that rippled and sparkled, but as I watched, the pony's mane started to slowly stop rippling and sparkling, and was becoming less translucent. One thing I knew; she was losing her power. But why?
That's what I kept wondering. Why was this pony losing her power?
When I took my gaze off of the pony, I could see the fire that surrounded the castle was slowly burning out. Whatever the fire was put there to protect the castle from was going to get through. But when, I did not know.
I watched the ponies, fear clearly present. The fire was now a very light blue, and it was becoming transparent. Through the flames, I saw a pony. She was using her magic, combined with another pony's. I could tell that she had to have been holding up the wall of fire for a while now.
As I watched the pony of white, I saw the pony of dark, stand next to her. Both were using their magic to hold up the fire. I guessed the two were sisters, as they seemed to understand what they needed to do together, and their magic seemed to be opposites. And that type of magic usually only comes from the Sisters of Harmony.
But what were they trying to protect the ponies from? What were the ponies trying to hide from? When the dark one came to help, the fire seemed to grow stronger, but why was the fire burning out?
