Soul Ties

Chapter 4-Canterlot

A/N: Holy Dooley! I haven't uploaded in ages! Sorry about that, but I had loads of homework to do... So now I'm on Easter Holiday with no homework, so I will have more time to work on this! :D Okay, my routine of listening to the C418 Minecraft album whilst writing this are starting to make me question what goes on in my head as I actually go through this. Anyway, back to topic, we see a new character in this chapter! ITS AN INNOVATION ahem, calm down Tom. Anyway, the character is my friend Mike's OC, so I've had to go through the personality of the character before writing this, another reason this chapter is slightly late.

READ! I KEEP YOU NO LONGER! ~ Mr. Authershmertz

We all waited inside the huge wooden cavern. It had been around... five minutes since the letter had been allegedly sent to this 'Princess' who may know more on the subject. I was increasingly sceptical, as I was told that Twilight could help in uncovering my memory, which was about as much use as a radiator made out of ice. So, in effect, I had about as much enthusiasm as a dead fish on the subject. "Hmm... It usually doesn't take her this long." Twilight broke the silence, cocking an eyebrow. I didn't take much notice. I was too tied up in the ropes of my mind to be fully alert to the outside world at the moment. It was broken by a huge belch, causing me to snap back to reality. I turned my eyes to a queasy looking Spike, who had a small scroll enswathed in a lingering green aura floating before him. It fell into his hands (claws?) before beginning to unwrap it. "Great! She's returned a message. What does it say, Spike?" Twilight piped. Spike cleared his throat and began to read.

"Dear Twilight,

Thank you for your letter, I am incredibly intrigued by what you described and I am at a loss at what could be the circumstances of your spell's failure. However, what intrigues me most is what you meant by the pegasus that was not from Equestria. As you know, we are the most predominant species in Equestria, and I do not believe that a pegasus could come from somewhere apart from the land that I control, however, due to my close ties to the land, I may be able to identify the situation. Sadly, I am unable to do such at the moment as I am currently visiting Fillydelphia due to some strange happenings in the town that urgently require my attention. For now, though, I find it plausible that perhaps you and the pegasus visit Luna. There will come a day where she will need to attend such things as I do, and this would be a good way to develop her independence some more. I shall give the message to her personal guard Lance that she may be expecting some visitors over the next few days, so when you get the chance I ask that you consult her. She has a strong connection to the land and its inhabitants as I do, so she most likely will be able to help make some sense of what you require.

Your Tutor,

Princess Celestia.

There was a silence. "So, Celestia is unable to help. Great." Twilight sighed. Spike piped up. "Yes, but Luna should be able to help! After all, she is your tutors sister! Celestia advised her, didn't she?" Twilight looked up at Spike. "I guess so. Well, we can't go now, it's sunset. I guess we should leave tomorrow." She glanced at me. It had felt like everything had been going by on its own. Well, it had. Well done for pointing out the obvious. Wait a sec... Sunset? How long had I been in this new world? Well, guess I can't tell... Can't see a clock anywhere. Wow... this is boring. "Well, I guess you will have to stay in the library for the night. Thank Luna I didn't throw that extra bed out." Twi smiled slightly. I remained silent. I really didn't have anything to say, this all seemed to be going by in a blur. I mean, it seemed like it was only half an hour ago I woke up in this place, and already my first night was dawning. Well, thinking back... maybe the time had gone by. Just maybe it seemed quick because of the circumstances. "Maybe you may remember something over sleep. Spells have been known to take a little time to kick in." Twilight offered with a supportive smile. Wow, the people... uh, ponies? really are kind here. It's almost as if the fact I was not completely of their kind was completely irrelevant. "Yes, I think I will try to get some rest. I need to let this all... sink in. Thanks for your hospitality." I smiled slightly. "Where do I sleep?" She began to make her way to a staircase that was carved into the wall. "Just up here. It is the bed on the right, near the balcony." I hastily made my way up the staircase, man, I needed to just be alone in the quiet. The door was ajar, so thankfully I didn't have to go through the whole sorry process of figuring out how to open a door with bloody hooves. The door shut behind me as I gazed at the huge upper floor before me.

A huge pane of glass with a view of the now rising moon dominated the back of the room, and to the right of me was a balcony with a single bed next to the entrance. I flopped onto it, the mattress had a texture that was kind of reminiscent of marshmallow. Wait a second... marshmallow? My mind practically exploded. "Hell yeah! I know what marshmallow feels like! I actually remember something! I'm king of the world! BWAHAHAHAhahahhehehe... he..." I stopped at realising how loud I had screamed that. But; did I just remember that? Or had I known from the start? Oh, here I go. I'm going to start making huge mental judgements over confectionary, aren't I. Yep. Well, best start trying to get some rest. I tossed the covers to the side with my mouth (it's the quickest and easiest way) before covering myself back up again and shutting my eyes. Meanwhile, downstairs...

Twilight glanced back to Shy as the door creaked shut. "Fluttershy, can I ask something from you?" She asked the yellow mare. Shy's eyes flashed in a little uneasy shock. "Oh... umm, yes. What is it?" Twilight raised a hoof to her chin. "Would you mind telling me what happened when you found this colt? Up till now? What were his reactions and how did he act?" Shy recoiled slightly from the request. "Umm... well, when he woke up, he was very calm, and said he thought he was dreaming in some sort of way. He must of soon realised he wasn't dreaming, as he soon seemed to panic, the poor thing. I must have fainted when he began to scream at me... But I offered him food when I woke up. He accepted it, but seemed slightly shocked when I mentioned it was a regular daisy sandwich. When I asked him if he had a name, he said he could not remember, poor darling-" She was cut off as a scream echoed from upstairs. "Hell yeah! I know what marshmallow feels like! I actually remember something! I'm king of the world! BWAHAHAHA!" Shy looked up at Twilight, a bemused expression on her face. Twilight returned the look. "I think that is enough." She sighed. "It really seems as though this colt isn't a normal pony. Well, this will help during the visit to Luna tomorrow. Thanks Fluttershy, you must be getting home soon." Twilight sighed under her breath "Why does this always have to happen to us?"

I tossed and turned under the covers. Will my brain please just shut up! The same old questions that I have already thought previously, going round and round like some sort of demented goldfish. 'Why am I a pony? Why do I have wings? Why am I constantly naked?' I snorted in frustration. I rolled over once more- THUD. I rubbed my head tentatively with a hoof. I had gone and fallen out of the ruddy bed. I slowly stood back up. There was no way I was going straight back, I needed something to help me take my mind of my... mind. I glanced at the balcony. Perfect. I glanced at the deep night sky, decorated with a mosaic of stars and lights. It was truly breathtaking. So breathtaking in fact that I forgot to breath and almost passed out. Damn it, concentrate! I stared back at the huge pale saucer dominating the scene. The full moon, peppered in grey craters that were visible even from this distance. I took the chance to gaze back at the illuminated village. It truly had a different appearance to it in different periods of the day. I focused back at the dark ocean above my head. Oh, look. A frying pan constellation. I soon found myself lost amongst the marvel of nature before me, I didn't care about getting sleep. This just looked too incredible. "Looks like someone can't sleep." I heard a voice behind me, causing me to flinch slightly. I turned my head to see Twilight, walking up to the balcony. "I do the same when I can't sleep. Are you interested in stars at all? I find they are incredibly interesting." I smiled. "Oh, I was just taking in the beauty of this night sky, that is all. And look, there's a frying pan in the stars!" I replied. She beamed. "So you like constellations, then? What is your favourite? I think mine has to be Orion. Pisces is fairly interesting too, and Scorpio is rather intriguing." Okay... my mind just went into overload. "I think the pan is my favourite..." I said simply.

I yawned. I was now officially wacked. "You don't mine if I go to bed, just a bit tired now." I asked. We had gotten into a huge discussion on stars and the night sky, and it had helped to take my mind off the nagging questions rampant in my brain. She smiled softly. "Of course. It's a free land, after all." I slumped back into the bed and, at last, managed to get some sleep.

I rubbed my head. Oh man, where the hell am I? I stared at my body. Yep, still not a human. Wait a sec... where the hell am I? Why didn't I answer my question? I stared around. What the... All I could see was white. No wait, that's... fog? My vision was smothered with the bleak mist. I stretched out a foreleg (I could hardly call it an arm now, could I?) towards the blanket surrounding me, I could only just see the end as it cleaved through the vapour. Please don't tell me I've been sent to some other strange world. I shifted my line of sight to the ground beneath me, just a strange grey surface of what seemed like cement. This place seemed empty, the silence was practically deafening. I couldn't see any other signs of life either... Am I the only living thing here? Well, I'm not going out by just standing around like a fool. "Hmm, which way to go..." I thought aloud to myself. Well, kind of a dumb question really, everything looks the same... no landmarks or anything. I began to wander in the direction I was facing.

All that greeted me was the same wall of white, metres upon metres, miles upon miles of the same monotone. A familiar wave of panic washed over me, sending my body shivering as my spine became the epicentre of the reflex. I collapsed to my haunches, I could feel the emotions building up in my head. Before I could ponder on the subject any longer, something caught my attention. In the corner of my eyes, on the border of the fog was something small and jet black. I cautiously made my way over to it, and as I drew closer, I recognised the shape and details. Is that... a radio transceiver? I lowered a hoof to it, but I jerked it away as it began to emit noise. Static? The transceiver began to buzz and occasionally jerk a few distorted words out of it. It was truly disturbing for reasons I could not fathom. The static petered out, and loud clear words began to transmit through the device.

"If you wish for absolution, for truth, do you seek and pursue such? Or do you run and evade it at all costs? Do you need the facts, or are they better conc-ea-..."

The static returned and drowned out the haunting message that had just been playing. Eventually the static too stopped, and my mind was left going round again. What the heck was that? What was it talking about? I was snapped out of my mental trance as something came into view amongst the fog. The silhouette of... a human? The shadow continued to grow ever closer, and what emerged from the veil of vapour shook my mind to the core. It was what I could remember what a human looked like, but what was truly haunting was... its face. It's face was just a sheet of skin, no features, nothing. Just a blank canvas replacing the sculpture that should be dominating the part of the body. I wanted to run. My mind told me to run. My legs willed me to go, to escape whatever this thing was, but my body would not cooperate. I just stood there, my mind rattling with the repeated message. The fog began to suddenly grow deeper, before I couldn't see a thing.

The birds were standing proudly in amongst the snaking branches of the trees, performing their song to the rising sun as it bathed the land in the warmth it needed to be sustained. I jerked up in bed, covered in sweat. What the bloody hell was that? Some sort of nightmare? No... it seemed to real. But why am I back here, as if nothing happened? It was all so clear... the feeling of isolation. The strange creature with no identity. The distorted message that came out of the radio. Could that all have been just a dream? "Well, someone's up early. Did you sleep well?" I turned to see Twilight reading a book on her bed. "Umm... yeah. I guess so." I replied. Well done for keeping suspicions down, you fool. Quickly, change the subject! "So, aren't we meant to be going to this... Can- ter- lot today? Ss-wish! She smiled. "Well, somepony seems eager to go new places!" Somepony? What sort of grammar is that? Well, I guess it's going to be different here. "Uh... yes. Can we go as soon as you are ready?" I put on my oft used sheepish smile. Twilight beamed. "It's great to see such a boost in confidence! Sure, we will go as soon as I've sorted breakfast." I nodded and thanked her.

Well, I won't bore you with all the following events, as it would effectively kill off half of the people reading from sheer monotony. So, in a brief summary, I ate sandwich, walked through Ponyville, followed Twilight past the Everfree forest until I could see a huge castle embedded into the side of a mountain. We soon came to what looked like a city, which Twi told me was Canterlot. Now, back to the epic plotline!

I stared at the huge landscape before me. If I thought Ponyville was large, then I should have seen Canterlot. But what shocked me more was that there were ponies, but with clothes on for a change! What an innovation! Twilight turned to me. "Well, you see the castle on the mountain? That is the royal castle." I nodded. She continued. "Now, the walk there isn't too long. But the ponies here are a bit... snobbish. So if you get a few looks, don't take it personally."

Well, here another uneventful half an hour was meant to be written here, but shall be summarised for the sake of the reader. In essence, all that happened was we walked through the city, got a load of looks saying 'you are the scum of the earth'. Eventually we reached the castle gates, which is where I shall actually continue properly.

We stepped into the castle grounds through the towering gates. We were immediately greeted by a pegasus stallion in dark armour, who's coat was as grey as the ornamental metal on his body. "May I take your name please?" He half ordered. Twilight answered. "Twilight Sparkle. Celestia told me to come here and visit Luna for an issue we have." His stern expression changed to a more welcoming one. "Ah, yes. The princess said I should be expecting visitors." He help out a hoof. "The name's Lance, Luna's personal guard." Twilight accepted and shook. He then help his hoof out to me. Umm... what do I do in this situation? I slowly reached my hoof to his, and we shook. "Good to meet you. Your name is?" He motioned. "Uhh... I don't know." I replied. He looked shocked. "Don't know your own name, eh? The old case of amnesia, I take it?" Twilight nodded. Lance turned. "Well, the princess is waiting. This way." And with that, we followed. Oh, please tell me this Luna can help me at least...

I kinda enjoyed writing this, especially the fog bit. Well, the next chap will be out sooner, which is good. Now we can start to get into the nitty gritty stuff after we get this bit with Luna over with. WOOP DEEP JOY! ahem. Please remember to review as it helps me know what I'm doing good and what I'm not doing good. Also, if you have any requests, I will contemplate adding them, and I am willing to add peoples OC's too, as long as you describe their personalities and backgrounds. So, with that, I am OUT!