Memories. They make you who you are. I don't have any from before I woke up. But do my memories matter? Or are the ones I'll make more important? I wonder...
Memories.
They make you who you are.
I don't have any from before I woke up.
But do my memories matter? Or are the ones I'll make more important?
"Hello? Is this spell working?" Vinyl asks, poking the microphone.
"Yes, can't you see it on the monitor?"
She stares up at the screen "... Yup, I knew it all along... just testin' ya."
I groan and clutch my head "Just... leave please."
"Aye aye Mon seignior!" she salutes and trots out of my room.
"Goddess the ponies I have to deal with... anyways, ahem." I clear my throat "I am Midnight Felinus Mare, and I am making this mentally written journal to one, prove that I have existed, and two, keep record of my life here in Equestria. Allow me to start at the beginning."
I was traveling through the interdimensional space, the emptiness between existances, when a surge of harmonic energy shot out from the world I would soon come to know as Equis.
I landed, headfirst, on the top of what was known as Mt. Canterlot, knocking a number of memories and the like loose.
"Oh... my achin' head..." I groan, rubbing my head with a hoof
I pause and stare at the unfamiliar appendage "Hooves... did I always have hooves? Huh... can't remember..."
Survival instinct kicked in and I took stock of myself... whoever I was.
"Okay, let's see what I have... jacket, sword, Hat? Why would I need a hat?"
Okay, personal affects check. Physical form... four hooves, black fur, no horseshoes, wings- "I have wings! I'm a Pegasus! That's awesome! At least... I think It's awesome... huh, losing my identity is starting get whatever non-quantifiable standards into disarray... also, I apparently like to use big words."
I take flight purely by instinct and look around "Okay... town means others, others means someone knows who I am, knowing who I am helps... aha!" spying a castle below me, I fly towards it when another thing occurs to me "Okay... I know how to fly... wait, how can such small wings carry me?"
Suddenly my wings freeze and I start tumbling through the air and into a wall "Note... to self... don't ask stupid questions..." I mutter, a cloud of dust surrounding me.
Shaking the dust and debris off, I look around the room I was in "Okay, made it to the castle... albeit causing some damage, but nothing too bad... I hope."
"Who goes there?! Identify yourself!" Someone yells from behind me.
I hold my forelegs high "I don't know!"
There is a pause "What do you mean, you don't know?"
"I landed on my head on top of the mountain and I have no idea who I am or was!" I reply, starting to feel ridiculous.
A tallish, slender pony with a light blue mane walks up to me, deep teal eyes staring into mine "You... have amnesia?"
I nod, lowering my hooves "Yeah, I kinda forgot who I am... I remember that I can do some things like swordplay or cooking though..."
She hums and walks around me, seeming to appraise my person-er, pony "You... are telling the truth and yet... do you know who I am?"
I shrug and stare at her "I'm guessing by the fact that you live in a castle, you are of royal blood so... a princess? Duchess?"
She nods "I am a princess, yes. But do you know who I am? My name perhaps?"
I shake my head "Haven't got the slightest clue Princess. I'll fix the hole in your wall though, it was my fault anyways."
She shakes her head "Do not worry about it stranger... I am Luna, Princess Luna of Equestria."
I bow "I am... I have no idea what my name is, but if you would be so kind, would you bestow upon me a name for the time being?"
She smiles "Oh wonderful! I've always wanted the chance to give somepony a name! It was mostly my dolls when I was a filly but-" she blushes "Sh-show me your cutie mark please."
"I have no idea what that is."
She rolls her eyes and pokes my butt "This. It's... a card? A portal?"
I look at it and laugh "A duel monsters card! I know I love that game. So... what does a mark on my butt have to do with anything?"
"Cutie mark, and it shows what your best at, or your special talent. I suppose that 'Duel Monster' wouldn't fit... but your coat is as black as a starless night at it's peak..."
"Midnight? I like the sound of that."
She hums in concentration, staring at me "And... your voice is neutral yet you look like a mare..."
I look at myself "Mare? That sounds like a decent last name."
She nods "Midnight Mare... I dub thee Midnight Mare..."
I bow to her "Thanks for the name." I look behind me at the rubble "Uh... you wouldn't happen to have any glue would you?"
She shakes her head "No, but I can get you mortar."
"Thanks... I'll try putting these pieces in the right place..."
She leaves, melting into the darkness of the room.
"Midnight Mare... sounds like a pseudonym if I've heard one... have I ever heard any before?" I mutter, putting pieces together.
Several moments later she returns with a bored looking mare with a utilitarian haircut "Midnight, this is Maud Pie, she is in charge of repairs to the masonry around the castle, I thought that you could assist her in repairing the wall."
I shrug "Whatever you say Princess, your castle, your rules."
Luna nods and Maud walks over and stares at me with interest "Can I... help you?"
"Alien." she monotones, trotting over to the pile of rubble.
I rub my head "I... I can't properly create a response for that. I guess pegasi are like illegal aliens here?"
Luna shakes her head "No, pegasi aren't foreign to Canterlot... could it be that you are not from this world?"
I give her a flat look "Amnesia, remember? Oh, I'm also sarcastic apparently, a sarcastic pegasus who likes big words and Duel Monsters. I must be pretty popular at parties... I wonder if I like parties?"
Luna rubs her forehead "This is going to be a unique experience..."
I stare at the wall "Does anyone else see the flying armored bird pony outside, but is it just me?"
Luna rolls her eyes "That's a royal guard. They tend to patrol the skies around the castle."
I cock my head "Huh, how can they fly with the armor? I can barely figure out how they can fly without it!"
"Magic. Pegasus magic to be precise, they displace the air via their wings. The magic allows them to magnify the displacement, thus allowing them to fly."
I shrug "Makes sense but how can they displace the air without completely removing the air from around their wings and create a vacuum?"
She groans "Stop asking questions... it makes my head hurt..."
"They are valid questions!"
Luna sighs "Go bother my sister... it's time to retire."
"You have a sister?"
"Of course I have a- right... amnesia. Just go out of the door and continue down it and it's the white door with the giant sun on it." She instructs, facedown in her pillow.
I half salute and walk out, taking in the interior decoration "Hmmm... too many day colors... I don't think I like bright ones either... I'll have to see if it's cool if I paint this to fit Luna's coat..."
As I walk through the hallway, several statues glare impassively at me "My, if these aren't statues, someone must have a very large house to pop out this many identical ponies..."
As I ponder the odds of such a thing, I bump into another pony "Oh, sorry about that, lost in thought."
The pony shakes her head "It's fine... I know what that feels like..."
I offer my hoof to her and pull her up "I'm Midnight Mare."
She bows "Lyra Heartstrings."
She shakes her mane, a messy white with a single teal strip down it, golden eyes glittering like... well, gold. And a horn in the center of her forehead.
She blinks and snorts "You look funny."
"I could say the same green horse." I reply, poking her horn "Huh, I guess having a horn means royalty?"
She rolls her eyes "No, but some of the snobs would say so. I'm not royalty, just an anthropologist. An anthro-"
"Is someone who studies ancient humans, their culture, and artifacts. An odd career for an equine but that's your prerogative." I say, walking past her "Have a nice day Ms. Heartstrings."
She gasps and grabs my face "You. Know. About. Humans?"
I pull myself out of her grip and rub my face "Yes, a particularly destructive species if my damaged memory serves. Wars, famines, Justin Bieber, democracy, atomic weapons, the USSR... Okay, I know about humans. Maybe I was an anthropologist?"
She squeals in excitement and starts prancing "Finally! Someone else who knows about humans! I'm not alone!"
I cock my head "Why? If there are anthropologists, there must be humans, yeah?"
She shakes her head "No, I'm the only anthropologist I know of. Everyone else thinks it's old and fake mythology. But there is proof! Very small and far between, but proof nonetheless! I will prove to the world I'm not crazy..."
I shrug "Well maybe the princess knows about humans. I'll go ask her."
"Yeah, maybe- wait, you know the princess?!"
I nod "I crashed through her wall a bit of time ago. She's probably reading so she might not mind."
After opening the tall, dark doors to Luna's room, I look around and find her facedown on her pillow "Princess?"
"Mmmnnph..."
"I didn't know Princess Luna was nocturnal." Lyra says from behind me.
"Princess? Are you awake princess?"
She groans and blinks at me sleepily "What?"
"What do you know about Anthropology?"
She blinks and stares at me for a second "Why are your eyes glowing?"
I blink "They're glowing? Huh, apparently I have glowing eyes. Maybe I have laser vision!" I stare at a vase and imagine beams hitting it but to no avail "Okay, no on the laser vision..."
She sighs "What were you asking about?"
"Anthropology."
She rolls her eyes "Ah, the study of humans. Nasty things, hairless bipedial monkeys but make good, if particularly destructive friends... why do you ask?"
Lyra clears her throat "That would be my fault Princess Luna. I am an anthropologist by hobby and education. I was wondering if it is true that the crown is hiding texts, documents, and artefacts proving the existence of Homo sapiens sapiens."
I snort "So audacious and prideful they called themselves smart twice."
Luna yawns "I know possibly as little as you do. My sister had a fascination with them when we were fillies, possibly from Starswirl's stories."
The space around me glows gold as a small pad and pen float in the air, writing "Interesting. I have scoured the archives several times and I have yet to find a single definite answer to much aside from the fact that most reports about findings are redacted by the crown. I wanted to scream conspiracy but after I successfully reenacted Frankenstallion and created a half-minotaur, half-satyr 'Human .5', I've been blocked at every turn to find anything else on the subject."
Luna stares at Lyra "You what?"
"I had sewn together the upper portion of several un-autopsied minotaurs and a few key parts from a troupe of dead satyrs I happened upon in my search for changelings." Lyra replies
I poke the floating pencil "How is it doing that?"
She stares at me "Levitation magic. Any unicorn can do it."
"'Magic is just science that we don't understand yet.' Arthur C. Clarke. Okay... I know quotes too... I must be a big reader."
Lyra rolls her eyes "Science and magic are the same thing. 'Any significantly advanced technology is indiscernible from magic.' same person. I don't need to understand why it works, thus it is 'Magic' if I understand it, it is 'Science'."
I stare at her, mouth agape "I... you have me there Ms. Heartstrings. I concede the point to you."
She snorts in triumph "Thanks. So, under your supervision, would you allow me to enter the restricted sections of the archives in order to study further?"
Luna yawns "Even if I could, I wouldn't. Not only are several books of malicious creation and purpose housed there, but several protocols must be gone through and by the time they were out of the way, you'd be two meters under the ground."
Lyra deflates "Is there any way around the protocols?"
Luna rubs her chin in thought "Successfully break in and live within it undetected by the magical wards, Twilight Sparkle, my sister and myself. And even then, the books and materials are protected by several complex barrier spells... so no, I'm afraid not."
Lyra shrugs "Thanks for the ideas. I just needed a recording of your voice." she levitates out a small recorder and smiles "Bye~!"
I cock my head, watching her run away "Uhh... I may be wrong, but I think I just made a big mistake..."
Luna groans "I'll get my sister... come with me so you don't attract more cunning ponies."
I salute to her and she sighs "A truly unique experience indeed..."
Luna pushes open a pristine white door, a white mare stares at her with concern "Luna! What is the matter?!"
I clear my throat "I... am at fault here Luna's sister. I brought a mare to speak to Luna on the matter of anthropology and she had recorded her voice to possibly disengage wards in a restricted section of some archives."
"White mane and tail, green strip, teal coat, yellow eyes?"
I nod and she buries her head in her hooves "Heartstrings..."
I cock my head "Are you friends with her?"
She sighs and walks past me and Luna "Not in the usual sense. She's a crazy mare bent on proving the existence of a mythological species that never existed. I've tried placating her with facts that prove that they never did but to no avail. I feared that she would try something like this but..."
Luna and I follow her "So you did nothing? You should have sent her to me and I could erase her knowledge and memories with ease."
"She probably has several fail safes to prevent that. I noticed several thin metal filaments in her mane and the book she wrote in was blank. More than likely she has all her notes and evidence hidden in several places that only she and possibly a few trusted individuals would know." I say, keeping pace with the two mares.
Luna nods "Sensible reasoning Midnight. But we can deal with that when we stop her."
I pause "Wait, we aren't going to help her?"
Luna nods "Why would we do that? She is breaking into the restricted section of the library! Obviously we would attempt to stop her from releasing a sealed being or a terrible curse."
Her sister gives me a quizzical look "Who are you?"
"Midnight Mare, amnesiac." I reply, bowing my head
She blinks and rolls her eyes "Of course you are. Here's the library"
Both mares push the doors open, an expanse of books on dusty shelves staring down at us impassively
Luna's eyes flick around the expanses of the library "Where is the entrance to the restricted section?"
Her sister rubs her head "I... forget, the only one who's been in that area is Twilight..."
I shrug and smell the air "I think I can smell her... burnt sugar, musty ink, and a dash of ozone..."
Both sniff the air "I don't smell anything..."
"Okay, I have a great sense of smell... follow me!" I run, following the familiar scent to a bookshelf against the wall
The sister grins "Yes! I remember now, it was a voice key charm."
I shrug "Open sesame!"
The book case disintegrates, revealing a long stairway "Coming?"
They follow, Luna lighting her horn "How did you mimic my voice?"
"Hm? I dunno, I guess I can mimic voices too. I must be a riot at parties."
"That's... are you sure you aren't Discord?"
"I don't think so." I reply, nodding to a gold light ahead of us.
Hunched over on a table is Lyra Heartstrings, grumbling and levitating books past her face
"Ms. Heartstrings?"
"There are no books on humans in here, These are just books of dark magic and uncensored history. Nothing on what I want." she says, levitating the books back "Seriously, you just needed to say that there weren't any books and I would've left you alone Tia"
Tia groans "If I said so, would you have believed me?"
"If you can't take the word of the monarch of the sun, then I wouldn't have asked you in the first place, Id've just broken in. But your runaround trying to convince me that they never existed was a bit tiring. I just asked if you had any of the redacted reports and the fact that I can't find any means that I'm looking in the wrong place. Where might that be anyways?"
I hum in thought "Well, they could be hidden in an unlikely place where no one would dare look. Ruins? loose tiles or trap doors in personal quarters, hidden alcoves outside the castle that only unicorns can get to safely? There are an unlimited number of places if you are creative. Huh, maybe I'm a spy or royalty or something... you'd think I'd remember something like that..."
Lyra shakes her head "Aside from here, I've scanned, checked, and probed the entire castle. I even mapped the catacombs too. But ruins..." she gasps "The castle of two sisters! The library there must be it! And Twilight said it had countless traps and hidden areas! Bye~!" she shoots past us, flooring Tia.
I rub the back of my head "Whoopsies?"
Luna groans "Stop speaking your mind around her. It does nothing but give her ideas."
Tia shakes her mane and groans "What hit me?"
"Lyra. Where's this castle of two sisters?"
Luna sighs "The Everfree forest outside Ponyville... come."
I salute and follow.
I look down at the landscape "I guess not thinking about it helps."
Luna nods "That it does. Now... only speak when I tell you, okay?"
I nod and yawn "How much farther?"
"A few miles, why?"
I smile "I know a way to get to far away places... watch."
I beat my wings and go higher, Luna watching me incredulously "What are you doing?!"
"Being awesome!" I reply, now a mile higher than her. I target a mass of dark trees near a small town and smirk "This is going to be fun."
I go a little higher and angle my head at the trees and start spinning in midair, my wings wrapped around my body "Corkscrew!!"
I feel the air push me back but I keep moving, eyes closed and focused on the feeling of weightlessness If this kills me, it will be worth it!! the air starts to whistle in my ears before gaining pitch "Wait... I can't be-"
Boom
A thunderous clap of sound pierces my eardrums, deafening me. I yell something but I can't hear it over the roar of sound.
Well... now I guess dying is doubly worth it if I broke the sound barrier. I think to myself, cracking my eyes open to see mass clouds coming at me
"I wonder if clouds hurt?" I mutter, breaking through one
as I am about to say something else I slam into the ground and black out
I groan and open my eyes "Ow... the ground hurts when you hit it at super-sonic speeds... duly noted."
Wing beats echo from behind me and I spare a look upwards.
A pissed looking Princess Luna "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"
She lands and pulls me into a tight hug "Midnight! What the hay were you thinking?!"
"Uh... is that rhetorical?"
She slaps my head "No, it wasn't you idiotic fool! What possessed you to do such a feather-brained stunt?!"
"I thought it'd be awesome." I reply, rubbing my head "And lay of my cranium, I broke my fall with that."
She blinks "You... you don't have any broken bones?"
I stand and wobble "A headache and some dizziness is the worst at the moment."
She looks up at the sky, a shining pitch-black ring spreading across it "You... you did a sonic rainboom..."
"Pretty sure it's just a 'Sonic boom'. It's what happens when you break the sound barrier." I say, rubbing my head "I guess that cloud I hit slowed me down a lot more than I thought... cool."
She shakes her head "There is only one other pegasus who's broken the sound barrier, and that's Rainbow Dash..."
I snort "That's a funny name. Anyways, aren't we supposed to be stopping Lyra?"
Luna nods and walks towards a looming castle "Follow me."
"... How did I not notice that?"
Loopholes are like donuts, fun and have a gaping hole pilot part 4
I sniff the air, finding Lyra's scent easily "Follow me!"
Leading Luna and Tia down several winding passage ways and trick doors, we arrive at a set of stairs leading to a golden glow and whispers.
"I'll try and reason with her, you two stay here in case she tries to run for it." Luna nods and Tia opens her mouth to say something but is promptly shushed by her sister.
"Hello Ms. Heartstrings, have you found what you're looking for?"
She looks up in surprise, her horn growing brighter "Have you come to stop me?"
I shrug "To be honest, yes. From what I apparently know about humans, they are a horrible race that like to kill and destroy the very land they live on. If you bring proof of their existence to light, you'll be giving ponies something to emulate, and that is something that I don't think will end well. Now please-"
"No! I have the records, the reports, and the proof! I have worked most of my life to prove that they exist and I will not let all of it go to waste because of some petty fear! The world needs to know..."
"Are you helping the world, or yourself?" I ask her.
"What are you-"
"To bring this disastrous information to light is not only an idiotic idea, but it is also self-serving. You desire validation for your desire to prove you aren't mad. You desire those who mocked you to apologize for their disbelief, for taunting you, for the sole reason of self esteem. That makes you selfish, you want to stoke your own ego and for that, you are a selfish fool."
She growls "So I'm a fool for spending most of my life researching a species that has left countless inventions and ideas, for believing in them? For following the truth to the source and now that I have it, I'm just supposed to let it stay where it is, which leaves me with nothing to show for my two decades of work?! You're the fool if you even entertain the idea of keeping all this hidden from the world... now please get out of my way."
I sigh "How about a game of duel monsters? I win and you don't go public with those reports for now. You win, neither I nor anyone will stop you."
She pauses "... Fine, how did you know I played?"
"The duel disk in your saddlebags gave it away." I say, but facepalm "I don't have mine..."
I feel something radiate from inside, a blinding light radiates from my cutie mark "I... what's happening?!"
The light fades and on my arm is a duel disk, gold and black in color and shaped like a cat swiping, the claws at one end, the arm the card zones and the body is in the shape of a snarling panther's face, the life point counter in the center of the mouth, my deck area looking like another claw ready to strike.
"Sweet!" I rear onto my hind legs and the disk glows as it powers up.
Lyra levitates her own out and it comes to life, a tripod extending from the bottom "Ready?"
I grin, the feeling of ice running through my veins awakening some deep part of my psyche "Ready!"
"DUEL!"
"I'll go first!" Lyra grins "I summon 'Warrior Dai Grepher' in attack mode and equip him with 'Legendary Sword'!"
ATK: 2000
"Then I'll set two cards face down and end my turn. Your go."
I grin "Draw! Heh, I activate 'Hand Destruction'! We both discard two cards and then draw two new ones."
She grumbles in response but squeaks when a dagger and a lightning bolt shoot from my graveyard.
Her warrior shatters when the dagger slices through him, the bolt shattering her left face down "Wh-what happened?!"
"That would be the powers of the two cards I sent to the grave. First is 'Gren, Tactician of Dark World', when he goes to the grave from my hand, he takes a spell or trap with him. And next is 'Kahki, Guerrilla of Dark World', he takes a monster when he goes."
She growls "Fine!"
"I play 'Dark World Lightning'! It wipes out a facedown and I get to discard a card after." Another lightning bolt hits her last facedown, earning me a death glare.
The ground rumbles as a gold-armor clad fiend rises, giant scythe held at ready.
"Oh? This handsome gentlefiend? He's known as "Goldd, Wu-lord of Dark World. When he's sent packing to the grave from my hand, he comes onto my field to dish out some major carnage." I grin "I'm not done yet! I summon 'Brron, Mad King of Dark World'!"
A mad cackle echoes throughout the room as a chained, cloaked, and smiling fiend appears, shattering the chains with ease.
"Goldd, Brron! Wipe out her life points!" I command, the two fiends launching into the air and slicing Lyra with scythe and claws.
Goldd ATK: 2300
Bronn ATK: 1800
Lyra LP: 0
She flies backwards and drops the book, landing in a heap "I... I can't feel my anything..."
I grin and walk over to her and offer my hoof "Great Duel Ms. Heartstrings. I just guess fate smiled upon me."
She blinks wearily "Ow... I lost..."
I hear hoofsteps from behind me, pausing for a second before a silver-clad hoof touches my shoulder "Thank you Midnight. You are worthy of your cutie mark."
I shrug "I don't know about that but I have a deal to uphold." I walk over to Tia and take the book "Lyra, as we agreed, you will not go public with this information."
She nods weakly, tears brimming "Y-yeah... I guess so..."
I grin "But... that is not to say that you cannot at another time. Nor will I deny you possession of this information. I guess I forgot that gaping loophole in my rush to play... ah well..." I toss the book at her hooves "It would be so unfortunate if when I turned my back and escorted these two back to the castle that the book was taken..."
Both mares open their mouths but I grab them by the forelegs and take off towards the castle.
"-So please explain why thou wouldst drag us away and allow her to keep the book!" Luna finishes her yelling, sweat dripping from her coat.
I shrug "Seemed like the right thing to do. As far as I know I'm a civilian who decided to accompany two princesses to stop Ms. Heartstrings from finding the book. Failing at that, I decided it might be better to get her to not release it until there was a way to allow the existence of humans to become a bit more well known as to not incite panic."
She stares at me for a few seconds and then throws her head back in a sigh "I... I can understand your reasoning... but you should have asked us before you did it. At least then we would have known what you were planning."
Tia groans "I don't care if he has sound reasoning, I'm going to send a contingent of the guard to take the book back and then I will put it in a secure location known only to myself."
I shake my head "No, I promised her that I wouldn't let her be hindered by anyone. If you wish to stop her, do it yourself, or is being a princess mean you can do whatever you want so long as the king and queen are unaware?"
Luna snorts "There are is no king or queen."
I shrug "Whatever, the one or ones in charge. That's beside the point, I will stop any advances to take the book from her."
Tia grins "I am the one in charge. How do you not know this?"
"Amnesia, we've covered this already Tia, keep up please." I say, scratching my neck.
She groans "My name is Celestia. I am the monarch of the day and you should speak to me with my full name and title."
I pull my hoof out of my ear, wiping the wax on my coat "Sorry, I tuned you out when you said how I should speak to you. Did I miss much Luna?"
Luna grins, a thin upturn of the mouth "Not of much import. But the bottom line is that you have committed an act of treason by defying our intentions."
I cock my head "If you do not make your intentions clear before I do something, you are at fault for not informing me. You said 'Obviously we would attempt to stop her from releasing a sealed being or a terrible curse.' You never said anything about stopping her from possessing the book. Therefore, I have done no wrong because the intention of the latter part of the mission was never disclosed... okay, I'm apparently talented in semantics and syntax."
Tia groans "Does it matter? She can't possess that book, it's a national secret."
"Why?"
We both look at Luna "What? Luna, why would you ask that?"
Luna frowns "I have noticed something, sister. When you want something done, you send somepony else to do it. I am involved in the execution of all of my ideas and yet you are not. You never give reasons until it is completed, and even then, they are crafted to hide any lack of forethought on your part. So why, why is that book a 'National secret'?"
Tia sighs "This isn't the time Luna..."
"I think it's the perfect time. The both of you are speaking your minds and I'm here as mediator because besides your names, I don't know jack diddly squat about you two."
Luna nods "Please speak sister."
Tia groans and sits in front of her, I follow suit and sit between them to the side.
"It is a secret because the information within is dangerous."
Luna rolls her eyes "They are probably rotting report and papers on humanity. What information could they hold that is so dangerous that you would dispatch a whole platoon of guards to retrieve?"
"The information could lead to a swell in doubt about the established history of Equestria! The tiny, insignificant grains of fact that slip through are okay because whoever deduces what they are is labeled a fool. But within that book are the collected papers of each anthropologist in our history, and that makes it too dangerous to leave in the care of an insane unicorn!"
Luna scoffs "She isn't insane. Everypony else thinks so, but what I saw in her eyes when Midnight talked about them, that was pure joy and hope. She found somepony who not only wanted to help her, but also believed her. She has been laughed at for her pursuit, and I don't think I can consider myself a half-decent pony, much less a princess, if I let her endure that because you're afraid. Midnight has a solid, long term plan to meet both goals of allowing her to be regarded as a pony who never gave up and minimize any panic. I don't think anypony knows how much she has suffered, fighting back that doubt, gathering 'Tiny, insignificant grains of fact' as you so ineloquently put it."
"You think that the benefit of one is worth more than the benefit of the whole?"
"Not at all. I believe that's your intention. I have done nothing but protect ponies, fought off the invading hordes of changelings underneath the castle by myself, guide ponies to blissful sleep and illuminate the sky with a gentle light. I am looking out for others before myself. That is what being a leader is about. While I agree that if the information was carelessly released to the masses would be catastrophic, withholding the entirety is not only going too far, but you crush the dreams and aspirations she has worked to validate for the majority of her life as I understand it." Luna retorts, her tail twitching angrily.
Tia snorts "I have been nothing but open about what has happened in the past, and if you knew of the invasion, why did you not alert me or assist me in combatting Chrysalis?"
"I DID!! You said that you could handle her alone and I should work to protect the castle and those within it! You were defeated while the guards you trained were blown away by their very presence! You never follow through with anything and I must clean up the mess! You may be a good orator and a symbol of hope, but you never plan! You never think ahead! You are looking out for yourself, to keep our subjects in the dark about the truth! Sister, I have been observing you since I returned and you have yet to do anything but delegate problems to Twilight! And with her ascension, I'm afraid that you're grooming her to be your replacement and... dear cosmos..." Luna's eyes widen in realization "That... that is what you are planning! You've been molding Twilight into your own image!"
Tia snorts, baring her teeth for a second "I have done no such thing. You said yourself that I don't plan, so I couldn't have a plan. Now the longer we sit here, the more time she can use to spread copies of that book by the cartload."
Luna shivers, a chuckle leaking into her voice "It... it all makes sense now... th-the wedding... it was to make a close member of her family royalty... and what are the odds that her old foalsitter would marry her brother who happened to be captain of the guard? Without somepony pulling strings that would be quite unlikely" she swallows "You've been manipulating everything ever since Rainbow Dash caused the Sonic Rainboom... how else would five out of six of the element bearers be in the same town, which is both atop a gate or Tartarus and bordering the Everfree forest, which holds our old castle where the elements lay dormant above the tree of harmony? You anonymously gifted the property for Rarity's boutique, the land for Fluttershy's wildlife domicile, Rainbow her position as head of the local weather team, paid Pinkie's family so that she could leave and go to live in Ponyville, and you're good friends with the Apple matriarch! And you raised Twilight as your student so that they would have a leader... I..." she shakes her head "If you did that so that I would be freed from the nightmare, I'm glad, but you never stopped. And you still haven't... you looked the other way when Tirek escaped, released Cerberus, and guided parasprites to Ponyville on the day before your visit..."
The hair on my body rises as the temperature in the room drops.
Luna grits her teeth, her teal eyes glowing white "YOU have been manipulating the lives of innocents!! Even my own! YOU were the one who invited the crusaders to the garden, ensuring that they would release Discord! YOU let Tirek roam free!! YOU weakened the seal on Sombra!! YOU ignored your student's suspicions and nearly lost the kingdom to an overgrown leech!! YOU... You... I can't even believe that the 'Good' princess is nothing more than a manipulating maniac... my own sister..."
I pat Luna's back "Hey... I think that you're the 'Good' princess. You've been nothing but generous, kind, and honest in the time I've known you. You gave a perfect stranger not only the chance to right a wrong, but also a name. You listened and befriended me. And you've always been honest in your answers and trusted my planning and judgment."
Tia growls "I had done all of that for the good of society! I have done nothing but look out for them!"
I grin, wiping away one of Luna's tears "So you admit that you've been manipulating? I do believe that's a confession!"
"I... I..." she bites her lip nervously "I..."
"'Aye'? Okay then... I suggest that we look into the records of your rule and then slowly release details to the public. I will obviously head this motion, being an amnesiac and therefore unbiased. Ms. Heartstrings might know a few details or locations and..." I turn to Luna "Would you like to help us?"
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes, but a burning passion within "Yes... I will bring the truth to light..."
"Well then, I guess that means that I've got a job now. 'Midnight Mare, searching for the truth' has a nice ring to it, yeah?."
Tia grits her teeth "No. I will not allow you to destroy everything I've worked so hard to build..."
Luna shakes her head, stepping between me and Tia "No. I will protect our subjects by showing them the truth. And I am your sister, so I have just as much pull as you do. If you want to stop me, just try it."
Tia stares at Luna, shocked "Why? Why are you so dead set on this? What has made you want to ruin all of the work that's kept the peace?"
Luna grits her teeth into a smile "I will, because you have lost your way, I am still on the path of truth and peace, but you have been walking the road of deceit and peace."
I shrug "Sounds like a plan to me Princess. So where do we start?"
Tia frowns "There is no 'We', you are going to be punished for treason."
"We've covered this Tia, I haven't disobeyed any laws or instructions because they were never explained or told to me."
Tia shakes her head "No, for attempting malicious harm to myself."
I stare at her "What in the name of chaos are you going on about?"
She grins as her horn glows, a yellow aura surrounding me for a second before disappearing "Soo... what was the point of that?"
She stares at me with disbelief "How did you avoid my spell? That can't be possible!"
I turn to Luna "Mind filling in what I obviously missed?"
"You somehow avoided being affected by my sister's spell. How, I do not know."
Tia's eyes glow white as her mane and tail erupts into blue flames "Fine... if a spell won 't work, I'll just say you provoked me into destroying you!"
I feel a rush like when I was dueling pass through my body, and I grin. I grin and laugh at her "You don't scare me Tia. Now please settle down before someone gets hurt. You're acting petulant."
She growls "I am over a thousand years old! I am not petulant! You have caused too much chaos and for that I will see you destroyed!"
I roll my eyes "I think it would benefit you to accept your loss. I won, you lost an ally, your sister, and the lock on your secrets. You've lost; and that's okay, you can live without the burden of your secrets now."
Her coat bursts into white tongues of fire, her eyes crackling with plasma "I do not lose! You will be burned to ashes you ignorant, foolish child!" her horn glows in a corona and I'm tossed out of the window in the blink of an eye.
I spread my wings and hover outside the window "Then stop posturing and get to it."
She roars and white-hot flames engulf me. I feel nothing but stifling heat as I sidestep the fire "It seems you missed."
Tia growls and another blaze of fire tries to consume me but I merely avoid it with a yawn "Missed~"
Her horn lights up at the tip, a small ball of white-hot fire and plasma sitting atop it "BEGONE!!"
The ball shoots towards me and I duck under it with ease "Missed me again!"
She fires several more balls at me, and I dodge them easily, weaving between them quickly "You know, you might want to learn to fight; because this is just embarrassing Tia."
Apparently this struck a nerve, she takes flight and another ball appears on her horn, but this one grows bigger than her body "THERE WON'T BE ASHES LEFT OF YOU HERETIC!!"
I gulp "That... is a big fireball..."
She grins "Yes. NOW DIE!!"
I try to avoid it but I'm not fast enough to avoid the massive object. It connects and everything turns white and hot... then dark and cold.
I look up and I'm covered in dirt and rocks "Owwww... I guess I'm not dead..."
After pulling myself into a sitting position, all my joints pop and creak in protest as I look around "The landscape is different... must be outside."
I wipe my eyes and step in something soft and squishy "Hm? Ah! Tia!"
The panting princess's eye moves to me and widens in shock "How... I sent a miniature... star at you... you should be less than dust!"
I shrug and wipe some dirt off my coat "I'm just lucky I guess."
She glares up at me "You aren't lucky enough to avoid an actual star! Nopony is!"
I grin "I guess I'm not a pony."
She groans and I offer my hoof "Here, let me help you up."
She raises a hoof and I easily pull her out of the indentation she made "... How much do you weigh?"
"About a hundred and thirty-six kilograms..."
"Yeesh, and I lifted you with ease! I guess I'm super strong too. Maybe I'm a super hero?"
She rolls her eyes "Just... get me to the infirmary..."
I nod but then pause "Promise not to lie and say I caused all these abraisons and the like?"
She sighs and nods.
I grin and have her lead me.
I look around the deserted hallway "Okay, my guide is unconscious, Luna is who knows where and I'm thoroughly lost... wonderful."
"Hello" a familiar voice says, soft hoofsteps coming from behind me.
I turn my head and smile "Hello Maud. You wouldn't happen to know where the infirmary is located would you?"
She nods and cocks her head "Why is Princess Celestia unconscious?"
"She over exerted herself and now I have to get her to a doctor. But I'm unfamiliar with the castle's layout."
Maud nods and rests Tia's other side on her back "Follow me."
I fix my jacket, having gotten Tia to a doctor with Maud's help.
I yawn and turn to Maud "Does this happen often?"
She shakes her head "No, not to my knowledge."
I shrug and head down the way I came "I'm going to go repair the damage Tia caused. Have you seen Luna?"
Maud shakes her head and follows me silently.
Pausing, I turn to her "You don't need to follow me Maud."
"I want to." she replies, walking beside me.
Shrugging, I continue to walk towards the royal chambers of Luna, Maud in tow.
As I pull open the door to Luna's chambers, the sound of grumbling hits my ears "Luna?"
The door to her room is enveloped by a dark blue aura and opens further to reveal Luna with a flat look "Hello. Come to clean up the mess?"
I nod and nudge past her "Exactly, I just don't know what went wrong in all honesty. Everything was civil and then I wake up outside having somehow survived a star to the face."
Luna stares at me "A... star?"
"Well, not really. It was too small to be one but it looked like a miniature solar flare. Huh, I know what solar flares look like up close. Maybe I was an astronomer?"
Luna shakes her head "I... I will address that another time. I have already gathered the materials you need to repair the window... and the floor."
I salute and pick up the bucket of cement, Maud picks up a number of bricks and we get to work.
Out of the corner of my eye Luna smiles before flopping onto her bed, her soft snores filling the room.
I place the last brick in place with a flourish and grin "Done. I suppose work is it's own reward?"
Maud nods "I have found work to be a means to an end, but the sentiment is familiar to me."
"... You're very articulate. Are you a scholar?"
"No, I'm a rock farmer. And a part time artist slash poet."
I stare at her "I know this may sound silly because for all I know it's common knowledge, but how does one go about farming rocks?"
She grins slightly "Trade secret."
I shrug and walk over to the door "I suppose we should get going... or you at least, I can't remember where I live. Or... if I live anywhere at all..."
She shakes her head "I have a spare room."
"No thanks Maud, I've caused you too much trouble so far and I can't accept your offer without having compensation."
"... I wasn't suggesting it."
Before I know it she's dragging me out of the room with an arm around my neck "... I don't think I like being dragged. can you stop dragging me please?"
I look around the simple foyer "... Is the shoe rack really necessary? I highly doubt ponies can remove their horseshoes... speaking of which, why isn't anyone wearing any?"
"Horseshoes are more or less accessories and equipment. Like spiked for climbing sheer rock walls or mountains, or magnetic for walking up metal... or wedged for splitting stone."
"But... don't you have to nail them in?"
She cocks her head to the side, confused "Why would we need to do that? All we need to do is hold them."
I roll my eyes "Right, how is it that ponies can hold things with hooves anyways? I mean, I can't wrap my head around it."
She shrugs and leads me to her living room, motioning to the couch "Nopony knows."
"Huh. So, what do you want to do?"
She hops onto an opposing couch and shrugs "You could tell me about your cutie mark I suppose."
"It's a Duel Monsters card... I like the game so... I guess that's about it." I reply simply.
"Hm... Do you like geology?"
"I'm an amnesiac, I haven't the slightest clue if I do or don't."
I juggle several specimens to Maud's amusement "Seriously, I can barely comprehend the fact that hooves hold things, yet here I am juggling!"
My ears twitch towards a nearby sound "I think somebody is coming."
Maud nods and walks towards the door "I forgot I was having lunch with my sister today..."
I shrug and toss the gems and rocks back to their proper places "I can leave if you want."
"No, that's fine. You can stay if you want."
I stare at her "We just met earlier this morning and yet you want to leave me unsupervised, alone, in your house? What, do you leave your door unlocked during the night too?"
She shakes her head "I'm a good judge of character, and I don't think you'll take anything because I see that you are an honest pony."
For the briefest of seconds, I swear I saw her wink but pass it off as a trick of the light.
I lay back on the couch and replay the past few hours in my head. Unsurprisingly, the mental slide show doesn't last long and I am left with nothing to do.
"... Okay, What to do... what to do..."
Rolling off the couch, I walk around the house looking for entertainment and possibly adventure. "Rocks, stones, gems, minerals, matrices, metal ore samples, maps of distribution... seriously, why is everything related to geology? And why is this olivine with smithsonite?"
I lift the small crystal and connected to the bottom is a metal bar "Wha-" the sound of gears turning and wood shifting comes from behind me as I set the crystal down "Okay... Either I turn around and see what just happened, or walk away and act as if I never saw it..."
I pull out a gold coin Luna gave me and flip it... somehow... the coin arcs over my head and as I turn I see it roll down a dusty pair of steps that appeared right behind me "... Okay, go down the rabbit hole."
I recover my coin and look around the dark room "Hello? Anyone here?"
Nothing, my voice just echoes through out the room "Fine. I'm alone or whoever else is in here is very rude."
I sigh and walk towards a hole the size of a carriage "... Adventure!"
Jumping over the threshold, I slink through a hallway cut through what looks like granite bedrock and a few coal veins "Okay... how on earth is this possible? Bedrock is incredibly hard and the only thing that can break it easily is tectonic activity... but coal in the middle of a city built on the side of a mountain? That's impossible to my knowledge... meh, geology isn't really relevant right now."
"Green acres, we are there~!" I sing to myself, still walking the tunnel "Okay, out of show tunes. Now what do I do?"
As if answering me, a tiny glimmer of white light sparks ahead "Follow the light, always a good idea."
Several minutes later, I reach the exit of the tunnel, which leads to a craggy clearing like a crater of sorts, bits and pieces of foliage littering the edges. What stood in the centre was a giant crystal tree.
I sit down, marveling at the majestic crystal tree, tiny pins of light filter down to the tree itself, reflecting and refracting the light in a spider web of color.
Come forth... warrior of chaos...
I look around clearing "Either I'm crazy or the tree just spoke... I'm going with the former for now."
Jumping from the cave's entrance, I glide around to the front of the tree "Yeah? Can I help you crystal tree?"
You are lost in a world unfamiliar... yet at home.
I shrug "I'm not loathing my luck at the moment."
I wish to see this world's balance of forces equalized. You are the only one who can balance chaos in its purest form, whilst creating harmony. Please, search for friends who will help you in this journey.
I scratch my head "So... a quest? Cool, maybe I'll get my memories back."
The tree glows for a second and fades back to its usual brilliance Midnight Mare, thank you.
I salute "No problem. Now... I think Maud will be looking for me so I have to go. See you later!"
I take off and enter the cave, throwing a happy glance behind my back "A quest? Sweet..."
I walk back up the stairs and push the olivine down, the stair way closing seamlessly behind me "Okay, the tree said to make some friends so... I guess I already have two or three. Maud, Luna, and maybe Lyra but I haven't seen her since I left the ruined castle... Two friends, okay, that's good. I might need more... and figure out why it called me 'Warrior of chaos'... what balance it was talking about..." I facehoof "I should've asked... I must be a scatter brained moron."
Shrugging, I hop onto Maud's couch and curl up, my split tail with it's two points covering my mouth, hooves held close. "Napping is a good use of time..."
I am woken by the sounds of hoof steps approaching the door. With a yawn, I stretch my back and walk to the door, opening it to Maud's surprise.
She blinks "Thank you."
I nod and let her pass before closing the door behind her. She looks around the room and turns to me "What have you spent the past few hours doing?"
"Sleeping mostly. I read a few books but I already knew most of what was in them. How was your time with your sister?"
She grins "Wonderful. She's my beloved younger sister and I love her dearly."
I smile back at her "I'm glad. You're very cute when you grin."
She blushes and mutters something under her breath that I don't hear.
I pop my neck "So... do you know of a cards shoppe around here?"
Maud nods, still blushing "Yes, It's down the street."
I walk towards the door but pause "I don't think it's good if an amnesiac such as myself were to wander around a city alone. Would you do me the honor of accompanying me?"
She stares at me and smiles "I'd love to."
I stare up at the dilapidated building "Er... allow me to rephrase my question... a card store that's still in business."
She walks and pushes the door open "Camouflaged."
I shrug and follow, and I sense a charge in the air like when Luna used her magic So that's what magic feels like, good to know.
"...!!" someone grunts, a white unicorn with electric blue hair.
Across from her is the fading visage of 'Alien Mother', the stallion behind it, obviously her opponent, stands with a wicked grin "That was pathetic! Why do you use such a cheap and worthless deck?!"
The mare fumbles around the ground for a pair of shades and grits her teeth at the stallion.
He laughs "I forget that you're mute and blind. No wonder you can't play, you can't see your cards!"
She opens her mouth but I step between them "Hey, gloating and attacking her skills isn't the mark of a decent duelist. I must ask you to apologize."
He laughs again, irking me "You 'Must ask me to apologize'? What are you, the loser police?"
I grin "Yeah, real original guy. How about this, I duel you with her deck, and mop the floor with you?"
He scoffs "Fine, but if I win, I get your deck and hers!"
"And if I win, you apologize and we get to take a rare card each from yours."
He nods "Get ready to lose your deck Pon-3."
"Duel!"
Round 01
"Since I was the one who was challenged, I'll go first. Draw!" he grins "I summon 'Alien shocktrooper'!"
His monster hisses menacingly, muscles rippling under its skin.
"I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."
I nod and draw a card, a smile on my face "I'll start out with summoning 'Batteryman AAA'!" a slender battery with a head appears on my field.
He laughs "That monster doesn't have any attack points! Why would you summon that?!"
I grin "Because when I normal summon it, I can special summon a copy from my hand or graveyard! Some come on out 'Batteryman AAA' number two!" another appears and blows a kiss at him.
"So you have two monsters without any power, big deal." he scoffs.
I roll my eyes and smirk "I special summon 'Batteryman fuel cell'!"
His grin dissolves "Okay, that's impressive. But so what?!"
I grin "I activate 'Heavy storm'!"
A huge monsoon surges from my card, blowing every spell and trap away, causing him grit his teeth "So. What?"
"Now I'll activate the power of 'Fuel cell'. By tributing a 'Batteryman' I control, I can send one card you have back to your hand."
The first AAA disappears and fuel cell launches a bolt of electricity towards his alien, launching it back to his hand.
The color drains from his face "Oh buck..."
I grin "'Oh buck' indeed. Fuel cell! Give him a jolt."
The hulking robot raises its hands and a ball of electricity forms between its hands, the ball shoots through the air and into his chest.
"Gigigigigigigigao!" he stutters, charred from the electricity.
Neon Lights LP: 1900
I grin and set two cards facedown, ending my turn.
Round: 02
"MY TURN!" He growls "I summon a monster in defense mode and set two cards facedown and end my turn."
"I draw! I summon 'Batteryman D'!" A plupm looking robot pops onto my field in defense mode and I grin "You can only attack this little fella so long as he's on the field. Now 'Fuel cell', Attack his facedown!"
His card flips and a thin grey alien appears and then shatters when the electricity impacts it.
"You destroyed my 'Alien grey' and now it puts an 'A-counter' on your 'Fuel cell' and I draw a card!"
A slimy parasite lands on my monster and I shiver in disgust.
"I end my turn."
Round 03
"I draw! I activate 'Mass hypnosis'! I take control of all of your monsters that have counters on them until the end of the turn."
The gooey parasite on "Fuel cell" glows and it walks over to his side of the field, eyes glowing red.
"But it won't be around for long, because I'm going to tribute it to summon 'Cosmic horror Gangi'el'!"
A hulking creature looms over me and my monsters "... Dang."
"Mow down his 'Batteryman D'!" he commands, the hulking monster crushing my robot.
I grit my teeth "Okay then, I'll activate the trap card 'Portable battery pack'! It allows me to special summon two 'Batterymen' from my graveyard in attack mode, welcome back 'Fuel cell' and 'AAA'!"
He growls "Fine! My horror is stronger than your batteries! I end my turn!"
I grin "I draw! I tribute my other 'AAA' to summon 'Batteryman charger'!" The oblong-headed robot appears, and it glows, the depleted body of "AAA" glowing before striking a pose.
"Oh! And my 'Charger' brings back a fellow 'Batteryman' from the grave when it's summoned. And it gets stronger because it has some friends on the field!"
It roars its static voice, electricity arcing from its fellow batteries.
Batteryman charger ATK: 3000 DEF: 2400
"Now, Charger! Electrocute his 'Cosmic horror'! Unity discharge!!" Charger glows white, bolts of lightning arcing and coursing through Gangi'el's body before exploding.
He grits his teeth, dust pelting him "My monster!"
Neon Lights LP: 1500
"'Fuel cell'! Eradicate the last of his life points!"
It beeps in affirmation, a ball of electricity slamming right into him "Gigigigigigigigigow!!"
Neon Lights LP: 0
I grin, nodding to the assembled robots as they fade "Well, that wasn't too hard."
I hand the deck back to the mare, grinning "I'm sorry about barging into your business, but I can't stand poseurs like him."
She grins back, picking up the two ante card 'Alien mother' and 'Cosmic horror Gangi'el'.
Maud walks up to us and nods to the mare "Hello."
"Hey." someone says from behind us.
I turn and groan "What? You lost, if you want a rematch, it's against her, not me."
"I know, I just wanted to say that I don't know who you are, or why you did what you did. I don't care who you are, but you beat me fairly, so I guess that I owe Vinyl an apology. I'm sorry about berating you Vinyl Scratch, you just didn't seem to be all that invested in the duel."
She shrugs in response, obviously indifferent.
He nods to us and walks away, shoulders slumped.
"Hey, come on, come back here."
He pauses "What's the matter?"
I hold out the two cards I won "How about you buy me a soda and you can have the cards back?"
He stares at me "Really? Just a soda?"
I turn to Vinyl, who nods "Yeah, a soda and we call it even Steven"
I nod to Neon and Vinyl, taking my leave, Maud following me "Now where?"
I shrug "How about a bite to eat? Know any place that sells donuts?"
She nods and leads me out of the warehouse and towards a shoppe.
I step ahead to open the door for her, but crash into someone "Okay... I obviously never look where I'm going... sorry."
The pony, a charcoal-grey mare with solid black hair brushes herself off "That's fine, I wasn't completely focused myself."
I smile "I'm Midnight Mare, sorry again."
She smiles in return, nodding "And I am Octavia Philharmonica. Nice to meet you."
Maud comes up from behind me and nods to Octavia silently.
Octavia returns the nod "Hello Maud, how did the arts exhibition in Trottingham go?"
"... Fine."
Octavia pauses for a second, as if stunned that Maud said something "That's good... well I'd love to stay and chat about art, but I have to get home and finish practicing. Farewell."
I smile and enter the store, followed by Maud "So... who runs this shoppe?"
"That'd be me." A thickly built stallion says, a doughnut as his cutie mark.
"Ah, well... I just realized I have no money... cripes."
Maud shakes her head "I'll pay-"
"No thank you Maud, I want to pay for it myself and not out of pride, but because I don't think I like the idea of being indebted or to take advantage of your generosity. I'll come back another day, I just wanted to know where a doughnut shoppe was."
I turn and leave, holding the door open for Maud.
She stares at me and walks out, obviously confused "Why?"
I shrug "I don't know, I just had a feeling. So! What do you want to do?"
She shrugs "I was just going to show you the city, hoping it might jog your memory."
I smile at her "Thanks... but you really don't need to-" she puts a hoof on my lips "I want to. Because you're my friend."
I smile from behind her hoof "Thanks..."
A small smile forms on her face, and she points to another store "Maybe somepony from the comics shop would recognize you."
I shrug and follow her, when something in the back of my mind tells me to stay away "Maud? I think that may not be a good idea..."
She pauses "Why?"
"Just... just a feeling..." I stutter out, blushing "I think that somethi-"
A pool of red liquid oozes from under the door of the shoppe, and starts to churn, rising into the shape of a pony "Hah... I've done it! I've escaped that wretched city!!"
I watch as features appear, long, ink-like hair flows down one side of her face and tail, her fur light indigo-white "Okay, score one for instincts."
Maud stares in shock and backs up to me "What is..."
The pony, a mare by her voice and shape, smiles "Hello ponies, would you mind telling me where I am?"
"Canterlot, downtown I think." I respond, tapping my chin "Asking the wrong guy miss, amnesia is a problem, yeah?"
"'Canterlot'? Well, it appears I have come to a new world. Wonderful..." she taps her chin with her hoof "Though... what might an eligible bachelorette find in such a place? Money? Jewels? Fame?"
I shrug "Beats me, what's your name if you don't mind?"
"Ink Well, yours?"
"I haven't the foggiest what my actual name is, but my friend Luna gave me the name Midnight Mare."
She turns to regard Maud "And you?"
"... Maud Pie."
"Wonderful! Now that we are a bit more familiar, might you please show me where I might find a map-" a near silent explosion sends my body on high alert and my eyes dart to the source, a mare with dark shades and a gun-like device hidden behind her paper.
I follow the line of the gun and a shimmering blast of air is headed directly for Ink's shoulder. I spread my wings and dart forward, tackling her to the ground and the blast passes right over my head, barely hitting my hat.
Ink stares at me and then at where the air impacted a light pole "Y-you saved me..."
I grin and roll off of her and scan the streets, looking for the mare who had shot and I see her gasp and move to hide her gun but I'm too fast. I take flight and shoot towards her table, my hooves landing on it and I look down at her from over the paper, her eyes wide but still hidden by her shades "What is the purpose of you firing a compact blast of air at my new friend? If she is in trouble for maybe entering Canterlot without going through customs or whatever, I'm sure she can rectify it, but to attempt lethal force first and covertly? That's a bit much don't you think?"
She closes her mouth and glares at me "What in the name of Celestia are you doing?! She oozed out from under a door! Don't you think that'd make her dangerous and need to be detained?!"
I blink and lower my face to hers "Ahhh... no. No I do not. Honestly, why is it that people always resort to destroying what they can't understand? I mean seriously, wouldn't it be more conducive to attempting communication before attacking?"
She grits her teeth in a growl "I don't have to justify myself to you. Now get out of my way, I have to uphold the peace."
"With violence? My my my... the more things stay the same... I can't let you hurt my friend because she's a semi-solid with a cellular stricter akin to printing ink."
She rolls her eys and hops from her chair and looks around the street "Grah! It got away!"
"'She'" I correct and Maud walks towards us "... Torch hoof?"
The mare grits her teeth "Come with me, you've obstructed the apprehension of a mysterious being."
I looks from her to Maud "Uh... how about no? Turns out I'm not very partial to following the orders of people with guns."
She levels the gun at me "Do as I say, now."
I bite the barrel of the gun and drop it into one of my pockets "You can have this back when you stop being mean and rude. Besides, it's a single-shot model, you never reloaded the air charge. So, how about you hold your horses... er..." I tap my chin in thought "Uh... poor choice of colloquialism... Maud, what's the saying?"
"'Hold your monkeys'"
I give her a flat look "'Monkeys' yes, how clever..."
I yawn, and Celestia's eyebrow twitches in annoyance "You don't seem to realize the repercussions of your actions Midnight..."
I wipe my eyes and shrug "I did what I thought was right, if you think I'm wrong, agree to disagree."
Maud is fidgeting in her seat "Maud, why are you so nervous? It's just a little nagging from Tia."
Celestia grits her teeth and exhales, trying to calm herself "Midnight... you attacked a officer of order. That's a grave offense against the very ponies who protect you and the innocent."
"She shot first and at someone who is possibly a refugee or what some would call a freak. And I need no protection because I have nothing to lose other than my friendships. My life is of no consequence because as you know, I have no idea who I am, so nothing to lose by dying... though I would wonder who I was... ah well, minor problem."
The mare huffs "Princess, this fool is apparently some type of madpony."
"If protecting a perfect stranger is 'Foolish' or 'Mad', then I suppose we're in the same boat Ms. Secret Agent Mare. Ha! I made a pun! I like puns... I'm so cool."
She opens her mouth to retort but I raise an eyebrow and she flusters, holding her tongue.
I hop down from my chair and motion for Maud to do the same thing "Well, it was nice getting off my hooves for a mo, but I'm afraid I must be off."
Maud follows dubiously and as I shut the door I hear Celestia mutter "I hate that stallion..."
