AN: I don't own the Persona or My Little Pony series, and I am making no money from this story. The cover picture is not mine either, it belongs to ThatFatBrony on Deviantart ( www. deviantart art/Dark -Hour-in- Ponyville- poster-version -340654686), who was kind enough to let me use it.

Review Response:

LeviathanTamer: Thank you so much for reviewing, it really does help. Yes, Minato will have Personas, but not all at once, I think I've come up with a good way for that to work. Hope you continue to like the story.

Chapter 1: Foggy Harmony

Twilight flared her wings carefully as she reached the balcony from which she had taken off a mere five minutes ago, trying to find a place to set the unicorn down. Thankfully, her friends were still there and immediately scattered to give her space.

"Twilight? What happened? Who's this?" Spike asked as soon as the new alicorn had finished settling.

"We don't know," Rainbow said, nudging the dark-coated colt with one forehoof. "We were just flying along, minding our own business when he fell out of the sky on top of us." She snorted. "Lucky for him that we happened to be there, it was a long way down." Twilight opened her mouth to tell the others about the hole in the sky, but a certain pink ball of energy was faster.

"Ohhhh!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing happily. "That's why I had twitchy tail! It started just after you took off, and I looked up, but there wasn't anything there, so I was all like 'GASP! What if it's Twilight' and I started to panic, but then I was all like 'That's silly, Dashie's with her, she won't let Twilight fall!' but then I was like 'But what if Dashie falls too?' but then…"

"Pinkie Pie, darling, don't say such things!" Rarity gasped, putting a hoof over her heart. "It's just to ghastly to think of our friends hurt in that way!" She then turned her attention back to the colt. "But I must wonder what a unicorn was doing that far up on his own."

"Maybe he was testing out wings like the ones Twilight gave you," Rainbow said, causing Rarity to flush and open her mouth to retaliate.

Twilight quickly shook her head. "No, it wasn't anything like that," she said. "He… he fell out of a hole in the sky." The gathered ponies and dragon blinked, staring at Twilight as if she'd grown another pair of wings, but before they could voice their surprise, another voice entered the conversation.

"A hole in the sky, Twilight?" The Elements looked up as Princess Celestia made her way over, followed by four pegasi guards rather than the normal two, as well as two unicorns. "You're certain?"

"Yes, Princess," Twilight said, stepping back to let her mentor pass. "It looked like somepony had just cut a hole in reality, and he fell out. Don't worry, it closed immediately afterwards." The Diarch of the Sun nodded as she stepped forward to studying the colt closely. "Princess, what does this mean?"

"Hmmm?" Celestia murmured distractible; her eyes still fixed on the newcomer. "I'm afraid I'm not quite sure, Twilight," she said finally. "But what I do know is that we should make sure that this little pony is not hurt." She nodded one of the guards following her, who immediately nudged his nearest companion, and the two stepped forward to kneel down on either side of the unicorn, slipping their wings under him to form a makeshift stretcher. Meanwhile, Celestia looked back at Twilight. "Is there anything else that you noticed, anything at all?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'm sorry, Princes, but I'm afraid not," she said. "I just… felt something magical happening, and when I looked up I saw a hole, then he fell out of it and it closed. After that, I was more worried about getting him back quickly."

Celestia smiled. "That's good, Twilight. Protecting our ponies is an important part of being a princess," she said. Her smile faded slightly as she looked at the two guards, who had finished lifting the unconscious pony. "But this… this is not how I expected this day to go. I had hoped that this could be a joyful time, but it seems that fate has other designs."

"Maybe it's Discord playing a trick on us," Rainbow Dash said, falling into step behind Twilight as the small herd made their way towards the castle's infirmary.

Fluttershy shook her head. "He wouldn't do that, Rainbow," she said, a tiny note of reproach in her voice. "He's working very hard to be good now, so please try to be nice." She looked up. "I was hoping he'd come for the celebration… but I guess he's busy." Privately, Twilight wasn't all that upset that the Spirit of Chaos hadn't decided to show up, even if he was reformed now. His idea of "fun" and everypony else's was… different, to say the least. Still, she didn't voice that opinion, instead trying to bring the conversation back to the matter at hand.

"If it wasn't Discord, then what caused this?" she asked, "because it certainly wasn't natural."

"Once again, Twilight, I'm afraid I don't know," Celestia said. "I have hopes that our friend here will be able to answer that question when he wakes."

"He has to, doesn't he?" Spike said. "I mean, whatever caused it, it transported him, didn't it, so it'd make sense that he knows?" Celestia nodded slowly, her thoughts clearly elsewhere, and the rest of the trip passed in silence.

The infirmary wing of Canterlot Castle was not the largest or best equipped medical center in Canterlot; that honor went to the Canterlot General Hospital in the city proper. What the Castle Infirmary did have, however, was a calm, private atmosphere perfect for the sort of quiet recovery nobility and government officials preferred. With only ten rooms, it didn't have a permanent doctor. Instead, it shared with the Royal Guard infirmary and occasionally Canterlot General. As soon as the two guards stepped into the central waiting room, still carrying the unconscious colt between them, the on-duty doctor hurried over.

"You're Highness," he said, bowing when Celestia entered, "What happened?"

"We aren't certain yet, Dr. Steady Hoof," Celestia said. "However, this little pony might be injured, would you please help him."

Dr. Steady Hoof nodded immediately. "With pleasure, Princess," he said before leading the two guards into the nearest room. A moment later, the two stepped back out, minus their charge, and took positions on either side of the door.

A long moment later, Celestia turned back to Twilight, a smile once more on her face. "Now, Twilight, while we wait for the good doctor to finish his analysis, I'd like to talk to you about the matter I had meant to before this all started." With that, she nodded to the other four guards, who stepped forward and bowed. "These are going to be your security detail from now on, Twilight."

"My… security?" Twilight asked.

"Well, darling, you are a princess now," Rarity said. "It only makes sense that there be several Royal Guard around to protect you from ruffians." She smiled as she studied the four guards, who remained motionless. "This is quite exciting, isn't it?"

Twilight felt a flush cross her face. "I… I guess so," she said. "So, ummm, what are your names?" she asked, trying to keep the awkwardness from her voice.

Immediately, one of the pegasi stepped forward. "An honor to serve you, Your Highness," he said in the clipped, professional tone that all guards used when they were on duty. "I am Lieutenant Storm Rider, and these are Sergeant Arcane Shield, Corporal Windedge and Corporal Magi Flare, at your disposal."

"I… thank you, sirs," Twilight said, causing Celestia to chuckle.

"Don't worry, Twilight, they don't bite," she said. "Well, I hope you all get along well. I…"

Before she could finish, a wordless cry echoed from the room where the doctors had taken the colt. It wasn't loud, but was filled with unmistakable pain.


The Arcana is the means by which all is revealed.

The boy shrank back as darkness rushed over him, obscuring anything that might have helped him find some sort of balance in the strange world he found himself in. Within the shadows there were images, flittering at the edge of his vision, never clear enough for him to grasp any meaning they might have held, but distinct enough that he could not ignore them. Worse was the terrible feeling of longing; he wanted to see them, wanted to… but it hurt it hurt it hurt…

Then there were the sounds; an unrelenting jumble that he knew should have meant something to him, something vitally important… but didn't, and it terrified him, made him shrink further back into the tatters of his mind.

MementoMoriJourneyShinjiDeath… 'Make it stop…' he moaned PersonaAigisJinHeartAnswer… 'Please…' AkihikoErebusMitsuruSEESGreatSeal… He pressed himself against what should have been solid ground, but could find no comforting stability StregaVelvetRoomApathyRyojiTheFallShadows… 'No more… no more…' he tried to cover his ears, but the sounds were already in his head ThanatosGiftYukariJunpei… The darkness seemed to press in harder around him, as if it sought to smother him with its oppressive weight 'I… can't…' PharosSocialLinkTartarusFuukaKorumaruIgorMeaningOf Life… 'Stop…' KenChidoriFreedomElizabethDreadMoonMessiahOrpheusN yx… 'Someone… anyone… help me…'


Meanwhile, back outside the room, everypony was reacting slightly differently. Pinkie Pie had started shuddering, somehow hovering in mid-air as she shouted "DOOZY! DOOZY!" over and over again. Fluttershy let out a terrified squeak as she dove and grabbed the nearest pony, who just happened to be Rainbow Dash. The other Pegasus had tried to take off at the same time, and thus the pair to crash to the floor in a heap. Rarity, Applejack, and Spike had also leapt to their feet and hooves, each started spinning around, trying to see the entire room at the same time.

The guards, meanwhile, on the other hoof, leapt immediately into action. The two pegasi by the door pushed it open while Twilight's new guards darted over to join them, followed closely by the two alicorn princesses.

"Get me sedatives! NOW!" Dr. Steady Hoof was shouting to one of the nurses, who was digging desperately through a supply closet, as he used his magic to hold the pony steady.

"Heart rate's climbing!" one of the other nurses said, her own horn glowing slightly as her brow furrowed. "He's hyperventilating!"

Twilight's breath caught as she saw what was happening. The colt was twitching horribly, even as he continued to cry out. He didn't seem to be aware of what was going on around him, caught instead in the grips of some terrible nightmare. There had to be something she could do for him… A moment later, she had slipped by the guards and darted towards an empty spot at the foot of the bed.

"Your Highness! Stay back!" Dr. Steady Hoof shouted just as the colt let out another cry, a sickly glow forming around his horn. "The patient's losing control!" Twilight ignored him, skidding to a halt at the foot of the bed, desperately trying to think of something…

"Wait… He's calming…" the nurse who was watching vitals said. "Breathing… Heart rate… blood pressure… everything's returning to normal parameters." She glanced at Twilight before continuing. "What happened?"


The boy sunk further back as the darkness pressed in, ready to finish what it had started.

I will always be by your side

Suddenly, gentle sounds flowed over him, along with a soft light… and the feeling of a warm spring breeze… The pressure faded, allowing him to look up. He tried to smile, but his lips were still so sluggish, but that was alright; the nightmare was fading. Somehow, he could tell he wasn't alone anymore.

The light gently washed away the darkness, while the sounds and images faded in kind. A part of him mourned their loss… but they didn't disappear… just muted… He knew without knowing that they would return… when he was ready for them.

Silently thanking whatever had brought about the light, the boy slipped out of consciousness and found peace.


"I don't know," Twilight said. "I didn't do anything."

Dr. Steady Hoof's brow furrowed as he studied her. "Are you sure, Your Highness," he said. "I find it… difficult to believe that it is coincidence that the patient would calm the moment you came close. Are you certain…"

"I believe I know what happened," Celestia said as she made her way slowly over, followed nervously by Spike and the rest of the Element Bearers. "Although… I am curious as to how."

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked. "I didn't do anything."

Celestia didn't answer immediately, instead turning her gaze on the doctor. "What happened?" she asked. "What caused this?"

"I am terribly sorry, Your Highness," Dr. Steady Hoof said, bowing. "Initial testing indicated that the patient was suffering from magical exhaustion; and I believed the best course of action was to link him to a booster, though only at a low level." He sighed. "I guess it worked, although it seems that there's something else going on. I should have been more careful…"

"You couldn't have know that, Doctor" Celestia said kindly. "And everything seems to have worked out." She glanced back at Twilight for a long moment before speaking again, her voice much more serious. "However, I must ask that you please step out for just a moment. Do not worry, I will ensure that nothing happens to your patient while you are away." The doctor bowed immediately before ushering the nurses out. Once the door was closed, Celestia turned back to Twilight. "Take a look at the Element of Magic, Twilight. I think that might answer some of your questions."

Twilight blinked before using her telekinesis to lift the crown off her head, and gasped when she caught sight of it. The star-like gem was shining, more so than it did normally. It was almost like the Element was reacting to something. "But… how," she whispered, staring at it.

"Twilight," Celestia said, shaking Twilight out of her shock. "I need to be sure of something; please set the Element down next to him and step back." Shakily, Twilight followed her elder's instructions. The Element continued to shine gently, even as Twilight backed to the other side of the room.

"Princess… What does this mean?" Rarity asked, looking as shaken as Twilight felt.

"I believe I know what I am seeing, though I admit that I am having some difficulty believing it," Celestia said. "Only three other ponies that I know of have ever shown this particular phenomenon. Unless I am very much mistaken… the Element of Magic is partially resonating with this colt."

"Huh?" Spike said. "Partially resonating. What does that mean?"

Celestia turned to look at the girls. "The six of you have what could be called 'pure resonance.' Each one of you is so closely linked with your own Element that you are able to wield their full power, especially when working together. A pony with partial resonance has a close enough relationship to an Element that they can, theoretically, tap into its power in times of emergency." Her eyes grew distant. "The Elements are not sentient, but they do sometimes show a mind of their own. They will only acknowledge a partially resonating pony as an acceptable Bearer when they feel that there is no other choice, and even then… it takes a lot out of the pony using them." She looked up. "My little ponies, would you mind terribly if you were to retrieve your Elements? I wish to see if this colt resonates with any of the others."

"Sure thing, Princess!" Rainbow Dash said as she darted out the door, quickly followed by the others.

Celestia gently brushed Twilight with her wing. "While we wait for your friends, let's step outside and let Dr. Steady Hoof get back to his work, we've made him wait long enough."

"But… what if my leaving hurts him?" Twilight asked, glancing back at the colt as she picked up her Element and put it back on her head.

"I don't believe it will, Twilight," Celestia said as she led the way out the door, giving the waiting doctor and nurses a smile and nod, which they returned as the moved quickly past and closed the door again. "If I'm right, then the Element has already done what it can in helping him overcome whatever trauma caused his panic, and if I'm wrong, then you're still nearby to help him."

A long moment of silence passed between the two alicorn princesses and the dragon before Twilight spoke up. "Princess…"

"You need not be so formal, Twilight," Celestia said gently. "You too are a princess, and thought I am still your teacher, I would be honored if you could also treat me as a friend."

Twilight nodded. "Celestia… you mentioned that there were three other ponies."

Celestia smiled sadly. "Yes, Twilight," she said. "I was one of them, and Luna was another. As for the third… it was my own teacher, Aurora, back when I was just a filly."

Twilight couldn't help but stare at her mentor. Somehow, the thought of Celestia ever being… young… was so completely foreign to her mind that she could barely comprehend it, and from the way Spike's jaw was hanging open, he thought the same way. The elder alicorn laughed. "Twilight, surely it isn't that great a surprise. I may guide the sun across the sky every day, but I was born and grew just like any other pony."

"I guess," Twilight said slowly before turning to look back at the door. "I wonder what it means, that a pony that the Element recognizes fell out of the sky almost on top of me. It seems too unlikely to be a coincidence."

"Oh, I doubt very much that it was a coincidence, Twilight," Celestia said, her own gaze following her student's. "The only question now is how this came about, and I hope that this little colt can answer that."

The two princesses lapsed into silence for a minute. Eventually, the quiet was broken by the sound of hooves, both shoed and bare, reaching them. A moment later, a great many ponies started filing into the infirmary. In the lead was Princess Luna, flanked by two of her Lunar Guard. Following Luna was Princess Cadance and her husband, Shining Armor, and finally the returning Elements of Harmony.

"Sister, what has happened?" Luna asked, her wings flaring. "Why are we here, and why have the Elements been gathered."

Celestia gave her sister one of her calming smile. "It is nothing to be nervous over, Luna," she said. "While Twilight was flying, a strange colt fell from the sky, unconscious, and he was brought here. As for why I had the Elements brought here, he seems to have a partial resonance with the Element of Magic, and I was curious if any of the others also acknowledged him."

Luna's breath caught at the words 'partial resonance.' "Are you certain?" she asked.

"I believe so," Celestia said.

Twilight noticed her brother opening his mouth, likely to ask what a partial resonance was, but before he could, the door into the colt's room opened, allowing the doctor and two nurses to exit. One of the nurse immediately made her way out of the room as the remaining pair approached the group of waiting ponies.

"Your Highnesses," Dr. Steady Hoof said, bowing. Once Celestia and Luna gave him a nod, he stood and accepted a piece of paper from the clipboard from the nurse. "I have completed my preliminary examination of the patient. He's a perfectly normal unicorn colt, and if the ageing spells are right he's about seventeen years of age. He is stable now, and I believe he will wake soon."

Twilight nodded slowly to herself. While it was good to hear that the colt would be alright, she was still worried about what had happened before. "Do you know what caused his… incident?" she asked.

The doctor sighed, looking at his paper with a furrowed brow. "I… believe I might," he said, his voice somewhere between pity and disgust. "This colt… has not had a pleasant life. There are signs of what can only be considered severe battle wounds… or worse."

"Battle wounds?" Shining Armor asked, blinking. "How bad?"

"The worst I've ever seen on a pony," the doctor said grimly. "Almost a dozen scars from major lacerations across almost every part of his body; save the head, thankfully, though several were uncomfortably close. If I am correct, then at least three of these would have been fatal had the patient not received medical care. Aside from those, there were many other minor to moderate wounds; and those were just the ones still visible." Dr. Steady Hoof took a long breath before flipping the paper over and continuing. "There were also internal injuries: many of the patient's bones showed signs of damage, including all four legs and several ribs. Then comes the signs of magical damage: moderate to severe flame burns, tissue that looked like it had been flash-frozen, and several marks that were likely made by lightning strikes." Slowly, the doctor looked up. "These are the sort of wounds that I would have expected to see on a hardened soldier or a griffon warrior, not a colt too young to be considered a full adult."

A stunned silence followed the doctor's words. Even some of the guards, normally known for remaining stoic when in armor, were gaping at the extent of the injuries. Luna's eyes, however, simply narrowed. "You mentioned medical treatment," she said grimly.

"Yes, but even that was… forced," Dr. Steady Hoof said. "Normal magical healing is a slow process, but a very safe and thorough one. As a result, even severe injuries can be all but completely erased. Whoever healed his colt, however, seemed to be in a hurry, and thus the job was… incomplete. At first, I thought it might have been a shaman ritual, but there's no signs of that: this was done by pure magic."

"That's dangerous!" Twilight gasped. "If healing spells are hurried too much, they can do terrible things to the body, especially if the caster gets distracted! Why would anypony take that kind of risk?"

The doctor nodded. "You are perfectly correct, Your Highness, which leads me to believe that the injuries were either being healed in an unsafe environment where the unicorn casting the spells didn't have time to do a proper job… or the healer simply didn't care about much beyond the colt's survival. I don't believe I have to tell you that neither of these reasons are particularly comforting." He sighed. "The only good news about this is that patient seemed to have been lucky: there are no signs of the most common mistakes and corrections; such as bones that didn't set right and had to be rebroken to properly heal." Fluttershy's face paled at these words, but she didn't say anything, so the doctor continued with a sigh. "However, I have difficulty believing anypony was that lucky, with the number and severity of the injuries we observed. It's possible that whoever healed the wounds knew some secret, or was simply skilled enough, that they could overcome the flaws inherent to rapid healing spells, both of which raise their own concerns." He shook his head. "Until our patient wakes up, there is little we can do but speculate."

Celestia nodded slowly. "What comes next?" she asked.

"I sent Nurse Minty over to Canterlot General to try and find out who the colt is, and if he has any family," the doctor said, his eyes narrowing slightly. "If we do find them, I believe I'm going to have some words for them."

"I agree," Celestia said, an uncharacteristic edge in her voice. Twilight knew her mentor well enough to know that the easiest way to make her angry was to hurt her subjects, especially the young. "May we see him now?"

"Yes, Your Highness," Dr. Steady Hoof said. "If he awakens while you're with him, please inform me as soon as possible." With that, he made his way back to the desk he had been working at before Twilight arrived.

"We probably shouldn't crowd him too much," Cadance said. "Shining and I will wait out here." Celestia nodded as she led the others into the room just as the third nurse left.

"Hmmm…" Luna said, her horn glowing. "A shame, his dreams are too muddled for me to discover anything. The good news is that he seems to be sleeping peacefully."

"Wonderful," Celestia said. "Now, my little ponies, would you please place your Elements near him for a moment."

One by one, Twilight's friends stepped forward and lay their Elements down on the colt's bedside table, and one by one, the Elements started shining. By the end, as five necklaces cast a rainbow glow on the colt's dark coat, Celestia and Luna were looking at each other with a worrying amount of surprise.

"I was expecting one, maybe two," Luna said as the Bearers picked their respective Elements up again. "But all six of them equally? That's… I don't know what to say, Sister, do you?"

"Only that this could either be a sign of something very good… or very bad," Celestia said slowly.


Grey eyes slowly opened, before closing again as a painful amount of light assaulted them, even through the dark mane. A few moments later, the unicorn named Minato forced his eyes open again, trying to figure out where he was.

The first thing he noticed was the cluster of figures standing not far from where he lay, talking about something, though his mind was too fuzzy to focus on what. He briefly wondered whether he should get their attention, but decided that he'd wait until his head stopped hurting.

Fate, however, seemed to have different ideas, as the nearest figure… nearest pony, turned to look at him before letting out a huge gasp. "Ooh ooh ooh!" she cried, bouncing towards him. "He's awake! Hi there, I'm soooo happy you're awake! What's your name? I'm Pinkie Pie, and I'm soooo happy to meet you. Well, I guess I kind of met you earlier, but you weren't awake, so I guess that doesn't really count, does it? Ooh, now that you're awake, I'll need to start planning your party, what kind of cake do you like? It's just not a party if the cake isn't liked, and if it's not a party, then that's terrible!"

Minato blinked as the violently pink pony continued to chatter. There was only one coherent thought that he could come up with: 'So… much… pink…' and even if he had wanted to give this voice, he doubted he'd be able to get his mouth to work anytime soon.

As the hyperactive pony finally took a breath, another voice cut in. "Easy there, sugarcube, ah don't think he's ready yet." A moment later, Pinkie Pie started sliding back as another pony pulled on her tail, allowing a third pony to make her way to the fore. Minato found himself squinting, thinking for a moment that the sun had come out from behind a cloud behind the tall, majestic figure. It took him a moment to realize that this pony was actually emitting light.

"My apologies, my little pony," a soft, motherly voice said, and the light dimmed back to comfortable levels. "I forgot that your eyes would still be sensitive. Are you alright," Minato could only nod, as he was still trying to get his voice to work properly. The regal pony, her coat pure white under the golden necklace and crown, smiled warmly before glancing over her shoulder as the door opened and three more ponies entered the room.

The leader, a stallion, taller than the pink pony but still much shorter than the shining one, bowed and spoke. "Princess," he said. "May I…"

"Of course, Doctor," the princess said, stepping back and allowing the doctor to take her place at Minato's side.

"Hmmm…" the doctor said, studying Minato critically. "Good, you seem to be fully aware of your surroundings, that is very good. Are you in any pain?"

Minato shook his head. "…No," he croaked, finally clearing his throat. "I'm fine…"

The doctor snorted. "I will be the judge of that, my little pony," he said. "Now," he continued, levitating a clipboard and quill, "what is your name?"

"I'm… Minato. My name is Minato." The doctor quickly scribbled something, likely the name, at the top of the paper attached to the clipboard, though there was a noticeable hesitation. Behind him, one of the other ponies, light blue with a shocking rainbow mane, whispered something to the white-coated pony next to her, but was shushed before Minato could listen in.

"Minato, hmmm… Well, my name is Dr. Steady Hoof, a pleasure to meet you." Once he had finished staring at the paper, he looked up at Minato again. "I'm sure you're still tired, but there are some questions that we need to ask you. Where and when were you born?"

"I…" Minato said. He could feel the answer on the edge of his tongue, but it wouldn't come to him. Blinking, he turned his full attention to his memories, and was stunned at what he found. 'What… what is this… there's nothing here! But how is that possible…' "I… don't know," he choked out, still trying to understand what was going on.

"What do you mean, you don't know!" the cyan pony said. "How…"

"Easy there, Dash, let him talk," the orange pony that had pulled the pink one away said.

"I can't remember anything… it's all blank," Minato said, his eyes squeezing shut as he concentrated. "It's as if there's some fog in my head…"

The sound of metal striking stone was heard, and Minato opened his eyes to see another pony coming closer. She wasn't as tall as the white-coated princess, but was taller than the others, and wore similar regalia over her dark coat. "A fog in your mind," she said. "Perhaps there was some spell cast upon you, to erase your memories. If that is so, then it is possible that I could lift it. Will you allow me?"

Minato was a bit worried at allowing a strange pony to poke around in his head, but in the end the thought of not having memories worried him more. "Please," he said.

"Do not worry, my little pony," the dark pony said, her wings flaring as her horn began to glow. "This will not hurt a bit, I promise you that." A moment later, the strangest feeling engulfed Minato. It was almost as if night itself had fallen in his mind. From within this night, a subtle presence started poking at the fog before suddenly recoiling. "No… this cannot be…" the princess whispered her eyes widening as she took a step backwards

"What is it, Luna?" the other princess said.

"There is magic that is holding back this colt's memories," Princess Luna said. "But it… the magical signature… it is that of the Elements of Harmony!"

Although Minato didn't know what the "Elements of Harmony" were, he had the strangest feeling that he should. The others, it seemed, did know what the Elements were, and were as shocked as Princess Luna, if their jaws dropping meant anything.

Before anypony could give voice to their suprise, the first princess opened her own wings. "Let us not disturb our guest any longer," she said soothingly, though Minato thought he saw a flash of worry in her eyes. Once she had stilled the others, she looked at Minato "I'm sure you have questions, my little pony, but perhaps it is best if they wait for a time." With that, she led the majority of the ponies out of the room, leaving Minato alone with the doctor and his team.


"This is impossible," Twilight said, glancing at the door. "It's absolutely impossible, the Elements would never do something like this! Besides, they never had time, all they did was resonate…"

"The Elements of Harmony have always been something of a mystery, Twilight," Celestia said. "Nopony knows where they came from. They are not sentient, but clearly have some awareness and will of their own. All I can say on the matter is that, if the Elements of Harmony are indeed responsible for this colt's amnesia, there is an important reason." She raised a hoof as Twilight opened her mouth again. "I know you want to help him, Twilight, but I'm afraid that, for the moment, it would be best to wait and see what happens."

"So you're saying that we should just let him forget everything?" Fluttershy whispered, looking horrified.

"But… if you do that…" Pinkie Pie said, her eyes widening. "Then he'll forget all his birthday parties… and his cute-ceañera… his friends… and… and…" She flung herself on the floor at Celestia's hooves, tears leaking out of her eyes. "You can't do that to him! You just can't!"

Celestia knelt down and gently lifted Pinkie Pie's chin with her hoof. "I wish I didn't have to, Pinkie Pie," she said, "but enough has happened that I am worried of the potential consequences of his memories returning. He appeared before a newly crowned alicorn on the very day of her coronation, he resonates with all six of the Elements of Harmony, and yet his memories have been suppressed by them." She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Pinkie Pie, but for the moment it's just too risky to return his memories."

"But what will happen to him now?" Rarity asked. "We can't just leave him…"

Celestia nodded. "Fear not, my little ponies," she said. "He will be looked after. I'll…"

"Can he stay in Ponyville?" Twilight asked. "I mean, if something happens, and his memories have to be restored, it'd be best if he was near the Elements, so that we could help him." Her friends all nodded and murmured their agreement. Celestia studied Twilight quietly before glancing at Luna, who nodded as well.

"Very well, Twilight," she said. "If that is your wish, then we shall trust your judgment on the matter. All I ask is that you be careful."

"We will!" Pinkie said, leaping back to her hooves, a bright smile once more on her face. "And while we're at it, we'll throw all sorts of make-up parties for him! Let's see, seventeen birthday parties, one cute-ceañera, oh, I'll have to ask about his cutie mark for that one, but wait he doesn't have any memories... that'll be tricky, can't have a proper cute-ceañera without knowing about the cutie mark… hmm…"

Twilight couldn't help but laugh warmly as Applejack reached over to a nearby fruit-bowl, grabbed an apple, and pushed it into Pinkie's mouth. "We'll focus on that later, sugarcube," she said. "For the moment, there are some other things we need to talk about, like where he's gonna stay." She looked around. "Ah think it'd be best if he came to Sweet Apple Acres; we've got room for a guest." The other girls nodded, Applejack's home was the best option.

Celestia glanced out the window for a moment before speaking. "Well, Twilight, I trust that you and your friends will be able to look after him, I'm afraid I must take my leave; the nobility are likely wondering what has happened. Luna, if you would like to join me?" The second alicorn nodded, and the pair made their way out of the infirmary, followed by their guards, and a moment later the elder princesses were gone.

Shining Armor and Cadance, however, stayed. "It won't be long before we need to return to the Crystal Empire," Shining Armor said with a grin, "But that doesn't mean we can't spend some time with you before that." Twilight beamed as she leaned forward and gave her brother a nuzzle.

Pinkie Pie, meanwhile, had finished chewing the apple Applejack had silenced her with and continued her thought. "What do you think his cutie mark means? At first I though 'Oh! A mask! He must be a clown!' but then I thought 'But that mask looks super-duper grim, not happy!' so I'm confused."

"You have a point, darling," Rarity said. "I thought at first he might work in drama, but his… injuries…" her eyes narrowed slightly as she spat the word out, "indicated that there's something else going on." Her eyes trailed to the door. "I do hope he'll be alright."

"I'm surprised he was as calm as he was," Cadance said. "I can't imagine what it would feel like to try to remember something, only to find nothing. I'd probably panic…" She shivered, causing Shining Armor to lean over and give her a reassuring nuzzle. "I'm happy you wanted to help him, Twilight."

"Yeah," Twilight said. "I think… that there's a reason that he appeared near me, and that it would be best if I stayed close. Besides, I… just couldn't walk away and leave him, knowing that the Elements were responsible for what happened to him."

A moment of silence filled the waiting room before Applejack spoke. "So, how long do y'all think it's going to be before he's up and about?"

Just as she said this, the door to the room opened and Dr. Steady Hoof stepped out, followed by Minato, who was walking fairly steadily for somepony who had just woken to find he had no memories. "Ah, Your Highnesses," the doctor said, inclining his head as soon as he saw Twilight and Cadance. "I'm sorry to have kept you."

"It's alright," Twilight said before smiling at the dark-coated colt standing next to the doctor. "How are you feeling?" Twilight asked him, trying to mimic Celestia's gentle voice.

"Fine, Your Highness," he said, bowing as well. Twilight was surprised a just how calm he seemed; even when he had first realized that his memories were gone, all she'd seen were shadows of fear rather than a full-blown panic; and now his face was almost completely impassive.

'Perhaps that's why his cutie mark is a mask…' Twilight thought, but she pushed that out of her mind and instead nodded and kept smiling. "That's good to hear. I don't think I've told you my name. I'm Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends…"

She was bumped out of the way a moment later by a blur of hyperactive pink, which started jumping up and down in front of Minato. "Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie, but I already told you that! I'm so happy too see you up and about, because when you were laying down you looked so sad, and that made me sad, but now you're up! Now we can…" Suddenly, Pinkie Pie stopped mid bounce, hovered for a moment, before gasping and dashing out the door.

"Well, that was interesting," Minato said, something between surprise and amusement leaking into his otherwise stoic voice. Twilight was once again impressed; he was certainly handling Pinkie's antics better than she would have in his hooves.

"Don't worry about that none, that's just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie," Applejack said, stepping forward and holding out a hoof. "Name's Applejack, pleasure to meet you." Minato nodded as he shook her hoof, though there might have been a slight hesitation.

"Yeah," Rainbow Dash said, nudging the farm-pony out of the way. "Not that there's anything wrong with that; Pinkie is pretty cool. I'm Rainbow Dash, by the way." She grinned as Minato inclined his head briefly. "I've been wondering, does your name mean something in another language, because…"

"Rainbow Dash! Stop being so uncouth!" Rarity cried. "Badgering the poor colt about something like that; although I will admit it is a rather uncommon name. But still, that's no reason to harass him."

Minato shook his head. "I don't mind," he said. "From what I've heard, my name probably does sound strange. Even I think that there's something missing from it…" he shook his head. "But what's your name?"

"Such a gentlecolt," Rarity said, beaming. "My name is Rarity, a pleasure to meet you." A long moment of silence filled the room before she looked at Fluttershy. "Well, you're next, darling."

"Eep… Um, I'm Fluttershy," the butter-yellow pegasus said before retreating behind Rainbow Dash. When it became clear she wasn't going to say anything else, Twilight stepped back towards Spike, Shining Armor and Cadance. "And these are my brother and sister-in-law, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance; leaders of the Crystal Empire, and my number one assistant, Spike."

Minato bowed to them. "An honor to meet you," he said quietly.

"To you as well," Cadance said. "I'm glad to see you're in good spirits, despite what has happened to you."

Minato nodded, a flash of… something passing over his face before the mask reasserted itself. "My thanks for all you've done for me already," he said. "That was very kind of you."

"Well, we weren't going to just leave you," Rainbow Dash said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, really, what kind of ponies do you take us for?"

Minato slowly nodded. "May I ask you a question?" he said finally. "What are the Elements of Harmony? It… feels like I should know something about them, but I don't."

'That's interesting,' Twilight thought. 'That indicates that he remembers them, but those memories are blocked like the rest. But… how is that possible, We were the ones who rediscovered them, and none of us have ever seen him before.' She covered her worries up with a smile. "These are the Elements," she said, gesturing to her crown and her friends' necklaces. "We don't know why the covered up your memories, but don't worry, we'll do everything we can to help you." She turned to Dr. Steady Hoof, "Is it alright for him to move around?"

"It should be," he said. "Aside from the things we… discussed, he's perfectly healthy. Just don't push him too hard, and if anything comes up, bring him right back." With that, he bowed to Twilight again and made his way back to his desk.

"Well, Twilight," Rainbow Dash said. "We should probably go find Pinkie, I'm sure she's up to something, and I have a feeling I know where." She grinned at Minato. "Why don't you come along, I'm sure you're dying to get out of here." The colt nodded, falling into step.

It didn't surprised Twilight that, when the group found Pinkie Pie, she was putting the finishing touches on a party. The new princess had suspected that Pinkie, known for taking any excuses to celebrate, would set something up for her coronation in spite of the fact that there was an official celebration later in the night (Ever since the Gala, Pinkie had been highly suspicious of "official parties.") What did surprise Twilight, however, was the fact that Pinkie had somehow already baked a new cake, decorated it, and painted several signs reading "Happy Waking-Up Party, Minato!"

"SURPRISE!" Pinkie shouted, bouncing happily around the group. "I was hoping you'd show up soon, because a party's not much fun if nopony shows up. I thought about sending invitations, but I couldn't find any cards, so I just had to hope that Dashie remembered where I said I was going to throw the party." She smiled at Minato. "And when I was talking to you, I had a great idea! Since there was already going to be a party, I could make it a double party, which is of course double the fun! So then I went 'Gasp!' and ran off, and now here you are! Have a cupcake!"

Minato's eyes flicked from the cupcake to the two full-sized ones behind Pinkie to the banners before finally turning to Pinkie herself. "You put a lot of effort into this for somepony you don't really know," he said.

"Yuppy-duppy," Pinkie said happily. "What better way is there to make friends with a pony than to throw them a party; everypony loves parties." Her grin slowly faded. "Do you… not like it?"

Minato shook his head. "It's not that, I… guess I'm still a bit overwhelmed."

"That ain't surprising," Applejack said, grabbing a cupcake of her own. "As ah said, Pinkie's quite energetic." She nodded to the cupcake in Minato's hooves. "Still, you should probably eat that, it's quite good."

"Thank you," Minato said after a long moment.

Twilight found herself smiling as she watched her friends and family drawing the newcomer in as if he had been with them for as long as she had. True, such behavior was normal for Pinkie; as far as the pink pony was concerned, the world was divided into current friends and future friends. The others, on the other hoof, were usually a bit more reserved. Still, they were all going out of their way to help Minato adapt.

She supposed it was only fair, after all, it was their Elements that had taken the his memories from him. They were all probably feeling as bad about it as Twilight felt: no matter what the poor colt had endured in the past, was erasing his memories really the best answer? And what about his resonance with the Elements, and the fact that he fallen from the sky almost perfectly into her hooves. That had to mean something… the only question was what.

"Are you alright, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, pawing at the ground as she peeked at Twilight.

The newly-crowned alicorn smiled. "Yes, I am. Sorry, Fluttershy," she said.

"That's nice," the butter-yellow pegasus said before leaning forward and nuzzling Twilight. "Everything will be fine, Twilight. I think Minato's a good pony, we'll make sure nothing else bad happens to him." Twilight nodded, glancing at Minato as Pinkie Pie somehow convinced him to put on a blindfold and play pin-the-tail-on-the-pony.

'Whatever will come will come,' she thought. 'And so long as I have my friends, we'll get through alright. I shouldn't mope, today's a happy day. Surely nothing bad will happen, not for a while.' Giving Fluttershy a smile, she stepped forward to join the celebration.


That night, deep within the Everfree Forest, absolute silence filled the air. This was far more unusual than it sounded: even in the darkest of nights, there is always the rustle of the wind in the trees and the calls of nocturnal creatures. On this night, however, none of these things could be heard.

In a cave, a mighty creature slept, resting from a successful day of hunting. It was a manticore, one of the most dangerous denizens of the forest, and certainly not something that had to fear for its own safety. Thus, when the grip of silence spread to the entrance of its home, it almost didn't notice. Instinct, however, roused it, and it sleepily raised its massive head, blinking in the light of Luna's moon. A soft growl left its lips as it padded to the entrance of the cave, its terrible stinger raised to fend off whatever had stilled the noise of its domain.

Sharp, catlike eyes scanned the darkened space between the trees, easily piercing darkness that would have had most ponies squinting and stumbling. Finally, it found something it did not expect: a patch of darkness that even it's gaze could not decipher. This was not natural, and it most certainly did not belong in its territory! Bearing his teeth, the manticore let out a rumbling growl, loud enough to ensure that whatever was causing this disturbance knew that it was unwelcome.

Slowly, two red slits appeared in the darkness and it began silently making its way towards the challenger.

A moment later, a pained howl shook the forest, scattering those birds that had been resting… or cowering in terror. Had any creature been foolish enough to stay, the last thing they would have seen was the sight of the manticore's paw being dragged back into its cave, frightfully still.


Minato's eyes swept the vast expanse of green visible out the window of the train that he was riding, along with Princess Sparkle, her friends, and several guards. It was hard to believe that he had ever forgotten something this beautiful, even because of magic.

He had been taken back to the infirmary after Pinkie Pie's party, so that the doctor could observe him to ensure that there were no "long term side effects" of what had happened, as well as to undo the worst of his scarring. Several times, the staff had attempted to jog his memories of what exactly had happened to him, though it was clear none of them really expected to break through the mental barrier placed by these "Elements of Harmony."

Minato knew he should have been more worried that the wielders of these Elements clearly wanted to keep him around. All he knew about their intentions was what they had told him, and there was always the possibility that they were lying for some reason. However, he found that, despite these thoughts, he couldn't help but trust them. For all their… oddities, his instincts told him that they truly did want to help him in whatever way they could. Besides, it wasn't like he had anywhere else to go: one of the nurses had returned to the infirmary not long after himself and informed Dr. Steady Hoof that there were no records of Minato's existence in the medical files at Canterlot General Hospital, and that it was unlikely that any of the other hospitals would know more. As far as anypony knew, Minato hadn't existed before he appeared above Princess Sparkle.

The doctors clearly expected Minato to be distressed by this knowledge, but he realized that he didn't mind much. It would give him time to be closer to the Elements, something that interested him. The princess had insisted the Elements had not blocked his memories on their orders; and if that was true, then he had to have interacted with them sometime before. This was apparently impossible, as the six of them had been the ones to re-discover the Elements, and if he had somehow found them almost two years before, his memories would have been erased then, leaving some inkling of what had transpired afterwards.

He had wondered aloud if it was possible he had somehow traveled through time, but Princess Sparkle thought that was very unlikely: while there was at least one spell for going back in time, it didn't allow for long-term travel, and it was considered impossible to go forward in time, which left them back at square one, with far more questions than answers.

"Ummm…" a soft voice drew Minato out of his thoughts and to the shy yellow pegasus named Fluttershy. "Are you alright? You haven't said anything since we got on the train."

Minato nodded slowly. "I'm fine, thank you Fluttershy," he said, turning to look at the nervous mare.

"You sure about that?" Applejack said, glancing up from her conversation with Rainbow Dash and making her way over. "You don't look so good, Minato. Didn't you get some sleep last night?"

"A little," Minato said. His dreams hadn't been particularly conducive to a restful sleep; strange, undulating darkness and murmurs that he couldn't understand. It wouldn't have been as bad if he could have learned something from them, like who he was or where he had come from, but there hadn't been anything in them that gave any hints.

Princess Sparkle noticed what was going on and closed her book as she joined the conversation. "Nightmares?" she asked, a note of pity in her voice. Minato simply nodded, his eyes returning to the window. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to talk about, Your Highness" Minato said. "Just shadows and sounds, nothing useful."

There was a slightly tense silence at Minato's words before Princess Sparkle continued. "Well, if you ever need anything, we'll all be here for you." The other ponies quickly murmured (or, in Pinkie's case, giggled) their agreement with their friend's words, causing a tight smile to appear on Minato's face.

"I might just hold you all too that," he said.

"So you do have a sense of humor after all!" Rainbow Dash said, grinning as she gave Minato a friendly nudge. "And here I was thinking you'd lost that along with your memories!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Rarity snapped. "Must you continuously make light of Minato's plight? Imagine if it was you who…"

"I don't mind," Minato said, glancing over his shoulder at the white unicorn. "You're all doing enough for me that I'm willing to put up with a few barbs. Besides, I think I've gotten used to it now."

Rarity huffed. "Still, it's not right for Rainbow Dash to be insensitive about it."

Minato shook his head and looked out the window again as the pegasus retaliated and the two started to bicker. For some reason, it didn't bother him that two friends were going at each other like those two. 'Perhaps I had friends like that, once,' he thought.

He blinked; thoughts like that hadn't occurred to him before. He'd wondered where the injuries had come from while Dr. Steady Hoof had been erasing them, he'd pondered what his family was like when the nurse had told him that there wasn't any sign of them in the medical records, but he'd never thought about friends. For some reason, this felt like a grievous oversight on his part. Eventually, he shook the thought out of his head, the foggy wall of the memory spell was far to strong for him to simply think it away. For the time being, he'd have to get used to his new situation.

"Alright, girls, that's enough," Princess Sparkle said, spreading her wings as she stepped between her friends. "Let's not fight." She smiled wryly at Minato. "Sorry about all that."

He nodded simply. "I don't mind."

"You say that a lot, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Either you're naturally the most passive pony Ah've ever met, or that memory stuff really did do something to you." She shrugged as she glanced out the window. "Well, we're almost home, anyways."

"OH!" Pinkie Pie said, bouncing over to the window and pressing her nose against it. "I'm so excited! I need to prepare for the 'Ponyville-has-its-own-princess' party and the…" She was silenced a moment later by an apple in the mouth.

"Always keep some on hoof when Pinkie's around," Applejack said. "Now, as Ah was about to say before the party pony got going, I'm pretty sure I mentioned this yesterday, but you'll be staying at Sweet Apple Acres, at least for a while." She pointed towards a tree-covered hill overlooking the small town that the train was trundling towards. "That's it, right over there."

Minato slowly nodded, his gaze sweeping the rest of the village before raising a hoof. "What's that, over there?" he asked, pointing at the dark wall of trees on the opposite side of town.

"That's the Everfree Forest, one of the only truly wild places in Equestria. It'd be best if you didn't go there, it's not safe," Princess Sparkle said, glancing at Minato. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Minato said, not taking his eyes off the forest. "It's just…" he shook his head. "Nothing, it's nothing."

"Maybe there's something in your memories that the Everfree reminds you of," Spike said. "I mean, that's where the Elements were before Twilight and the others found them."

"No," Minato said slowly. "It's not like that…"

"Then what is it like?" Princess Sparkle asked, a note of worry entering her voice.

Minato closed his eyes, trying to gather his thoughts. "I really don't know," he said finally. "There's just something about that forest… a darkness…"

"Well, the Everfree is darn creepy," Applejack said. "You probably just noticed it faster than most ponies. Don't worry none; there are some monsters in there, but they almost never come out, and if they do, we'll stop them. You're safe with us."

Minato didn't answer, his eyes finally leaving the Everfree Forest and looked back at Ponyville. As the train got closer, he began to pick out the individual buildings, including some rather odd-looking ones. Still, it seemed like a nice enough place, and if the rest of the inhabitance were anything like those he had already met, his time there could be... quite nice.

Finally, several minutes later, the train pulled into the station, where it looked like the entire population of Ponyville was gathered, murmuring excitedly.

"What's going on?" Princess Sparkle asked, peeking out the window.

Rarity smiled. "Clearly, they're waiting for you, Twilight," she said. "You are a princess now, after all."

The lavender alicorn blinked before swallowing. "Yeah, that's right, isn't it," she said. "I… what do I do now?"

"Ain't nothing to be worried about, sugarcube," Applejack said. "Ah'm sure they're all as happy for you as we are." She gave Twilight a nudge. "Go on, say howdy!"

Princess Sparkle blushed. "I…" Just then, the train came to a halt. "WhatdoIdowhatdoIdowhatdoIdo?"

"Calm down." Every pony blinked as they turned towards Minato, who had turned to look squarely at the nervous princess. "From everything I've seen of and heard about you, Your Highness, you are a kind, noble princess; one who will bring happiness and prosperity to your ponies. So please, don't doubt yourself. Everypony here believes in you, all that is needed is for you to believe in yourself."

"Minato…" Princess Sparkle whispered.

"He's right, Twilight," Spike said, reaching out and hugging the princess' leg.

"Yep," Applejack said. "That's the honest truth."

"Besides," Rainbow Dash said, wrapping a foreleg around Twilight's withers. "Even if something goes wrong, we're still right here with you. You don't have to do this alone."

Rarity nodded. "If you ever need anything at all, darling, we'll be there for you. That's what friends do for each other."

"I think you'll be a great princess," Fluttershy whispered, peeking past her mane.

Pinkie didn't say anything, simply bounced forward and gave Princess Sparkle a big hug.

Twilight looked between her friends, her eyes shimmering "Thank you, all of you," she whispered finally.

A cough came from behind the group, and everypony turned around to see one of the guards standing beside the door. "They are ready for you, Your Highness."

Princess Sparkle took a deep breath and raised her head. "Alright, I'm ready," she said finally, spreading her wings. "Come on, everypony, let's do this together." Her friends and assistant quickly gathered around her, but as Minato tried to fade back, she met his eyes and smiled. "You too, Minato, Come on, with us."

Slowly, the colt stepped forward to stand with the others. "You've done so much for me, how could I not repay you, Princess," he said, allowing a small smile onto his face.

The princess's own smile widened. "Minato, you can just call me Twilight, you know. I'd be honored if you'd be my friend." After a long moment, Minato agreed, and Twilight turned and nodded to the guard standing by the door. He bowed briefly before sliding the door open and stepping out in perfect unison with his partner. Twilight waited a long moment before leading the way forward, out of the train car and into the hooves of the cheering crowd.

AN: Wow. Writing Pinkie Pie is a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. Tell me if you think I did it at all right. Meanwhile, there's action next chapter, I swear.

Anyways, please read, like, and review.