Tag was floating in darkness, a familiar feeling.

“Why are you doing this Book?” He called out into the darkness. He felt his hooves touch solid ground but he didn’t move. Open Book eventually came into view.

“Because I get the feeling that things are not well in there.” He said pointing at Tag’s head.

“You mean in here?” Tag deadpanned. Open Book gave a little cough.

“Yes, but that’s not the point.” He said. “We need to find out what’s going on in here.”

“And how do you suggest we go about that?” Tag queried.

“By exploring!” Book exclaimed; Tag looked around in case he was missing something.

“Exploring what? There’s nothing here but darkness in all directions!” Tag said. Book grinned.

“You’re not looking in the right place.” Book explained. “You need to look for something specific and it will come to you.”

“Of course, let just get this over with then.” Tag muttered. “What first?” Book looked thoughtful for a moment.

“Perhaps we should start were this question that’s on your mind came from. After you were released from Discord.” Tag shivered at the memory.

“Do we really have to start there?” He whimpered. Book raised an eyebrow.

“If your going to react like that then we probably should.” He said. “Do you want to… or should I?” Tag started panicking slightly.

“No! I don’t want to go back there! Never go back there…” He started. Book just watched, studying his actions.

“Yes, that is most definitely the cause.” He decided and closed his eyes. Tag looked around desperately as familiar figures appeared around him; Iron Hoof was on the ground bleeding, his friends and the princesses were huddled in the corner and Tac was standing before them with Torais. Tag was familiar with the scene and wanted nothing to do with it. Open Book stood in his way.

“If you’re going to act like the way you have been for the past few days you’re going to need the truth.” He said. The Tag from the memories was stabbing Tac repeatedly while his friends watched in horror. Tag put his hooves in his head, he couldn’t watch. Book continued to survey the entire scene, looking for the slightest indicator of something amiss. Past Tag was on the floor with blood-covered hooves crying his eyes out, and then he was jumping around screaming and laughing. Then he was out cold.

The world became dark but it did not skip to when he was next conscious.

“This must be it.” Book declared and nudged Tag to his hooves. “Come on, this might even provide the answer you’re looking for.” Tag reluctantly took his hooves off of his eyes and looked around, he put his hooves over his eyes quickly.

“No, not again!” He said quietly to himself; Book looked at him quizzically, he had never seen Tag like this and there was nothing in his memories that was too disturbing. In fact there was a gap at this particular point. The world was filled with a brief light that blinded Book and when he opened his eyes he was in a different place.

He stood beside the cowering Tag in what looked like a desert; there was sand everywhere and nothing in sight except a beaten path in front of them. Tag shook slightly as Book pawed at the ground with his hoof. Eventually an object appeared in the distance; it looked like a box but it was moving on what looked like wheels but Book couldn’t see any ponies pulling it, it had also been painted light brown. He cast a glance at Tag who was still cowering on the ground.

The object came closer at a surprisingly quick pace, making a roaring noise and soon it was right in front of them. It stopped and one of the doors opened, a strange creature stepped out onto the path. It was a bipedal standing on two legs and was wearing heavy-looking brown clothes covered in pockets despite the fact it must have been scorching out. His arms ended in what looked like hooves but there were five thick little limbs stuck out at the end. He wrapped them around a bottle strapped to his side and brought it to his hairless face to drink. Book watched the creature fascinated. It put its bottle down and gripped a thick metal tube with several metal pieces sticking out in different directions.

It looked around as if it was expecting something to be in the middle of nowhere, not a second later Book could hear a sharp whistling that caused the creature to jump to the ground. Less then a second later the large brown object exploded in a deafening blast that sent Book clutching his head between hooves. Perhaps that was what Tag was waiting for. After Book’s ears had stopped ringing he picked himself up and looked around; the creature was on the ground covering its head with its hooves. A little ways away Book could make out another creature of the same species wearing a black robe stand up out of a sand dune holing a much larger metal tube.

The creature in brown had gotten to his knees pointing his own metal tube around until he noticed the one in black. He muttered something unintelligible to himself and pointed his tube at the creature in black. He pulled the trigger causing a small flash to come from the end of the tube and a loud noise that echoed around the area. Small spurts of blood erupted from the creature in black’s chest and he cried out in brief pain before collapsing. Book was horrified; what kind of creatures possessed the power to kill another living being instantly? Tag had formed a protective ball on the ground. The creature in brown removed a piece of metal from his tube and examined it; he inserted into an opening on the tube and examined the wreckage of his ‘horseless carriage’. It cursed aloud and clutched a small black device from another of its pockets. It pressed a small button with one of its appendages and spoke into it.

“Bravo, this is Private Clearingfield, Target has been taken out, he won’t be attacking our convoys anymore. But I require another transport the bastard managed to take mine out before I could eliminate him.” It said in a deep, distinct voice.

Must be a colt. Book decided. The area was starting to fade and the last thing Book saw was Private Clearingfield sitting on the wreckage of his carriage.

----

Open Book and Tag were in an area full of tightly knit buildings much taller then the ones in Ponyville. The strange bipedal creatures were everywhere, entering and leaving buildings, standing around and talking to each other. The numerous types of carriages were all on a hard road flanked on both sides by a slightly raised area the creatures walked on. There was so much noise and Book wondered how they dealt with it. He glanced back at Tag who had stopped shivering but still didn’t move. Open Book sighed. The he heard a disturbance from down the road; he peered in the direction the noise had come from and saw the carriages moving from their usual paths. There was a carriage that was speeding down the road at an unbelievable speed, swerving around to avoid the other carriages. The creatures ran in every direction trying to get away from the run-away carriage but it seemed to aim at one in particular; a creature that was hunched over with age. It noticed the carriage coming towards but could not move fast enough. The front of the carriage connected with the creature’s leg with a loud snap that sent it flying over the top of the carriage. It landed and rolled before coming to a stop in the middle of the road. The carriage had stopped and went silent. The creatures came out of their hiding spots and ran towards the injured trying desperately to get it to respond. Book’s vision dimmed and soon he disappeared along with Tag.

----

They were in a room, the first he had been in in this world. He could see young creatures sitting at tables; they seemed to be paying attention to a fully-grown one at the front of the room. It was talking about numbers and complex equations as it wrote on a board hanging from the ceiling. Book couldn’t understand any of it. Bright light shone in from the windows making a peaceful atmosphere compared to the previous locations; the scribbling of their pencils on paper sounded almost like a lullaby calming Book down. The scribbling soon faded into the background, and Book was gone with it.

----

Book’s eyes opened quickly, he must have dosed off. Tag was beside him standing up straight.

“Are you feeling better?” Book inquired. Tag shook his head.

“No, but this is the part that confused me the most.” He said shakily, Book could see a little fear in his eyes still. They were in a dark room, a small room. A faint light from Book’s right showed him the outline of an unmade bed and a bookshelf to one side. There was a soft clickety-clack that came from his right; Book could see a single one of the creatures sitting at a desk. On top of the desk was a flat object that was giving light. The creature was hitting little black squares on the bottom of the object and Book could see words appearing in small, neat print. He read some but froze; the words were describing perfectly what had occurred in the past week. The window was dark telling Book that it was nighttime, why wasn’t the creature in bed? The creature had closed the object shutting off the light and leaving Book in complete darkness. He heard what sounded like the creature getting into bed followed by shallow snores. Then they were gone.

----

Book and Tag were in Tag’s mind; the familiar emptiness was comforting after being in a world that had so much. Tag still looked slightly frightened but had calmed down for the most part.

“I think I finally understand what you mean.” Book said. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

“Don’t be.” Tag sighed. “I didn’t think that anypony would take me seriously.”

“Still, this isn’t a reason to be acting the way you have, is there something else that’s bothering you?” Book asked, concerned.

“It’s just… me getting back to normal, I can still feel a little fear when I see my friends… and I’m still trying to fight the familiar urge to run away.” Tag confessed.

“I’m sorry.” Book said. “I was unaware that you were still haunted by what happened.” He said contritely.

“It’s also been hard to talk to you, you were sometimes one of the worst parts and it was the one thing that I couldn’t run away from. I remember every single day I went through now, every single messed up representation of my friends, my brother, my world; I remember the horrible and the gruesome… I guess it will take awhile before I can forget that.” Tag elucidated.

“What, if anything, can I do? Just sitting here seems almost wasteful and if you have to relive the same experience everyday it just isn’t healthy.” Book said but Tag shook his head.

“No, this is something I feel that I must do myself, just like finding the answers behind the creatures we saw. If my friends can’t help me then I’ll have to help myself.” He explained.

“You don’t have to do anything by yourself. It’s an important thing to be able to ask for help. Even if your friends can’t help you I’m sure that somepony out there can.” Book said encouragingly. “All you have to do is ask.” Tag raised an eyebrow.

“Really? I just ask random ponies if they know of a species before us?” He asked doubtfully.

“No… I’m sure it will come to you.” Book sighed. “Now I think that this has gone on for long of enough, I’ve gotten the answers I wanted. You need to let your mind rest because you have work tomorrow.” He said to Tag who nodded.

“Of course… thanks for understanding.” He breathed in response. Book shook his head.

“My normal response would be that it’s natural but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of this sort of situation before. What’s important is that you understand that the nightmare is over, and that you can stop running. I’ll be here with you for every hoofstep.” Book explained and tapped Tag on the head sending him out of his own mind.

----

Tag was in the kitchen the next day watching Tor go about making breakfast, his mind was tired from last night’s adventure and he was having trouble focusing on anything. Tor brought over a bowl of oatmeal for Tag and placed in front of him on the table, when Tag didn’t react Tor looked at him with a concerned look on his face.

“Tag? Did you sleep okay last night?” He asked causing Tag to startle.

“Oh! Yeah, I’m just… thinking about other things right now.” He sighed and started eating. Tor shook his head.

“Tag… seriously, do you think I’m THAT thick?” He asked sitting down with his own bowl.

“No, really, I’m just thinking.” Tag restated.

“About them.” Tor said.

“About them.” Tag confirmed.

“Of course, well when you’ve forgotten all that and are ready to rejoin society please let me now.” He said in mild annoyance. “In the meantime you should be getting to work.” He pointed at the clock with his hoof. Tag stuffed the last of his oatmeal into his mouth and stood up.

“Thanks for making breakfast.” Tag said quickly and stepped out the door. He started down That Street towards the boutique.

It’s not good to avoid Tor like that. Book said in his mind.

I’m not avoiding Tor. Tag thought trying to evade the question.

It’s strange to think that you went through all that only to be driven away by a single question. Book mused causing Tag to stop.

What are you implying? Tag asked as he started to walk again.

That you still should be focusing on right now, I know that finding out what those creatures are is important to you but that doesn’t mean you can shut out everypony else until you find the answer. Book said solemnly.

I know that and I’m trying it’s just hard when you think that you’ve seen a part of history that nopony knows about. Tag thought.

Understandable, and I realize that the days are a little slow making it hard to find something interesting to focus on but at the same time there is so much to think of, you have a marefriend who I bet is feeling kind of lonely right now. Book said with a chuckle. Tag smiled in spite of himself.

It’s becoming a habit of yours to bring that up, isn’t it? He asked as he passed a pony giving him a strange look.

Love is a wonderful thing. Book said simply. Tag blushed slightly.

That came out of nowhere. He observed.

It’s a thing that might help you get your mind off of things. Book explained.

True. Tag thought in agreement. But If I’m going to ask Rarity on another date I still don’t have anywhere to go.

And that’s what you can think about all day! Book finished.

Wow… you’re good. Tag thought as he rounded the corner, the Carousel Boutique was in sight.

I have to be, if I weren’t you would certainly be in tons of trouble. Book said teasingly causing Tag to laugh and get several other strange looks from ponies.

----

Tag could hear Rarity talking to somepony before he opened the door, so he knocked. Not a second later Spike opened the door.

“Hi Tag.” He said and moved aside so Tag could enter the boutique.

“Good morning Spike, may I ask what you’re doing here? Shouldn’t you be helping Twilight at the library?” He asked looking at the baby dragon. Rarity trotted up next to him wearing her saddlebags.

“Spike is gem hunting with me.” She explained. “His claws are perfect for extracting them from the ground.” Tag gave her a confused look.

“But what about the store? What if somepony needs measurements? How would I work on the repairs?” He asked.

“I stayed up late last night to finish all of the repairs, all I need you to do is give them back to the ponies today.” She said pointing to a rack behind the counter.

“But what is somepony needs measurements?” Tag repeated. Rarity put a sign on the front door that read: ‘Repairs only’.

“Does that answer your question?” She asked. Tag nodded.

“Yes, I suppose so. When do you think you’ll be back?”

“Just in time to close up shop.” Rarity said and opened the door. “Come along Spike. We need to get out there!” Spike jumped enthusiastically out the door.

“Have fun!” Tag called after them. I guess it’s just you and me. He sighed inwardly.

You make it sound like it’s a bad thing. Book said.

----

Tor hobbled toward the library door and knocked, he was sweating slightly.

How do you feel? Silver asked. Are you going to pass out?

Ha ha. Tor thought. Just a little stiff, that’s all. The door opened and Pinkie stood in the doorway.

“Glad you could make it!” She said happily and helped Tor inside.

“Almost didn’t.” Tor confessed. Twilight was sitting in the centre of the library with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. He joined them and let out a breath. I don’t remember the walk being that long.” He commented. Fluttershy trotted over to him.

“Do you mind if I examine your leg? Only if it’s been bothering you.” She asked shyly.

“It’s not bothering me horribly but if you could look at it that would be nice.” He said and shifted so Fluttershy had room to work. “Where are the others?” He asked.

“Spike is helping Rarity get away from Tag and Applejack had to do a few things this morning.” Rainbow Dash explained. “They should be here soon though.” Almost on cue the door opened and Spike stepped inside followed by Rarity, she put her saddlebags to one side and joined them in the centre of the room.

“Good morning everypony!” She said.

“I suspect that you managed to ditch Tag?” Twilight asked.

“Of course! Although I do feel a little bad for half lying to him.” She professed. Fluttershy yanked on Tor’s leg causing a loud and ominous pop. Tor sighed in relief.

“That feels amazing…” He trailed off with half closed eyes. Fluttershy sat back down next to Rainbow Dash.

“You really should be stretching your leg some more.” She scolded him. “Perhaps you should try to walk a little more, but start out slow.”

“Of course, nurse Fluttershy.” Tor said teasingly causing Fluttershy to blush slightly. The door of the library opened again and Applejack trotted in.

“Sorry fer keepin’ yall waitin’.” She said apologetically. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothing, we were just about to get started.” Twilight said. Applejack sat down beside Tor and looked at him.

“How long do ya think ‘til ya can get back to work?” She asked him.

“Tor should be able to work a little in about two days.” Fluttershy anwered for him.

“What she said.” Tor agreed.

“Right, well now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way we should get down to business.” Twilight said. All six of them sat at attention. “As you all know the topic for today’s meeting is Tag.” She said.

“And we need to plan a party, a surprise party!” Pinkie said. Twilight nodded.

“Exactly. Anypony want to say anything at this point?” Nopony said anything. “Alright, the party will be here at the library.” She started.

“Ah’ll take care of the food.” Applejack said.

“I’ll be in charge of the decorations.” Rarity added.

“I’ll make sure the weather’s clear.” Rainbow Dash said.

“I’ll get some music.” Fluttershy said.

“I’ll keep Tag busy on the day of the party.” Tor said.

“I’ll prepare the library for the party.” Twilight said. “Spike, I’ll need your help.”

“And I’ll oversee the whole thing!” Pinkie said.

“Good, we all know what we’re doing. The next item is the date, when will we have the party?” Twilight asked. “I suggest tomorrow seeing as it’s Saturday.” The rest of them murmured in agreement. “Perfect, Pinkie is there anything you need to add?” The pink pony stood up.

“We all know what we need, we all know we can do it, we all know there’s no reason we shouldn’t do it. So let’s do it!” She said to a cheer from the audience.

“Let’s do this girls! … And Tor and Spike.” Twilight finished. “Meeting adjourned.” All of the ponies stood up and trotted out of the library. Tor towards his house, Fluttershy to start on the music, Applejack to her orchard, Spike and Rarity to collect gems, Pinkie to the Sugar Cube Corner, and Rainbow Dash to find a nice cloud to nap on.

----

Tag stood patiently by the counter waiting for somepony to trot through the door; he was almost desperate. He looked at the clock; it was only 2:30!

This is so boring! He thought.

Whatever happened to thinking about what you would do for that date? Book said.

Yeah but Rarity isn’t even here… Tag trailed off.

What’s your point? Book sighed; Tag sensed he was slightly annoyed.

… I guess I have no point. Tag thought sheepishly. He heard the doorbell clang and a pony walked in, the sea green unicorn from yesterday trotted in.

“Good afternoon, are you here to pick up your order?” Tag asked starting towards the rack.

“Yes…” She said slowly.

“Is something the matter?” Tag asked looking at her. She shifted uncomfortably.

“Are you the one who was at the library last night?” She asked quietly. Tag gave her a strange look.

“What do you mean ‘at the library last night?’?” He asked quizzically as he lifted out her order with his magic. She smiled sheepishly and coughed.

“I was on my way to the library last night and heard some ponies arguing, and I know it’ none of my business but-“

“What are you trying to say?” Tag cut her off. She took a breath.

“I was wondering what you meant when you said something about an intelligent species before us.” She asked. Tag stared her for a moment before replying.

“The entire answer is slightly personal but I’ve been wondering recently if there has been an intelligent species before ponies.” Tag summed. The pony smiled widely.

“Do I have an answer for you then!” She smiled enthusiastically.

“What do you mean?” Tag asked confusedly.

“I know of a species that came long before the pony times; they were called humans.” She whispered. Tag was speechless.

“Why should I believe you?” He demanded.

”Because I have proof!” She said excitedly; she opened one of her saddlebags and pulled out a worn piece of parchment. She opened it on the counter and showed it’s contents to Tag. He had put her order aside, now long forgotten. “This; is my proof.” She said proudly. On the piece of parchment was an accurate drawing of the hooves of the creatures from Tag’s dream, even down to the strange little appendages that poked out on the edges.

“I… I almost don’t believe it…” He said to himself.

“You better believe it!” Said the pony.

“What do you know about the… humans?” Tag asked. The pony put the scroll away and stood in front of the counter.

“I have been studying these humans for most of my life, although not much is known about them. The only drawings or texts have come from ruins that are few and far between.” She explained. “Seeing as they are not researched majorly I like to think of myself as the Equestria’s leading expert on the subject.”

“You have to tell me more! This has been eating at me for the last little while.” Tag said. The pony looked doubtful for a moment.

“Aren’t you in charge of the store?” She asked. Tag motioned around with his hooves.

“I’ve barely seen anypony all day, I think most business comes from orders.” He said. The pony took a seat.

“I suppose, I’m Heartstrings, but my friends call me Lyra.” She said and extended a hoof; Tag shook it.

“Nice to meet you Lyra, I’m Tag.” He said.

“I suppose that if I’m going to be explaining this to you I should ask how you first had the question.” She said in a sudden business like manner.

“I don’t think I should go into the exact details but to simplify it I had a strange dream where I saw several humans doing different things…” Tag explained; Lyra nodded.

“Is there anything specific that you could explain to me?” She asked. Tag struggled to put it into words.

“Uhhh… first I was in a desert… then a horseless carriage appeared…there was a male in heavy clothes and he had this weird metal tube with bits pointing in different directions. Another one dressed in black had a larger tube fired a… thing that made the carriage explode. The human in heavy clothes pointed tube at the one in black and then there was several bangs and the human in black fell over with blood pouring from his chest…” Tag started. He looked at Lyra and saw she had a slightly disgusted look on her face but she didn’t say anything.

“I remember being in a place that had a lot of tightly knit buildings… there were a lot of horseless carriages and then there was one that looked like it was out of control. It swerved around and hit and elderly human… I think it might have been fatal.” He continued.

“Then I was in a room, the gentle light of the sun coming through the windows, there were many young I think humans sitting writing while a grown up human spoke.”

“And finally I was in a really dark room, I could see things with a faint glow that came from a strange object and there was a human sitting in front of it making weird sort of clickety-clack noises you know what I mean?” He finished. Lyra seemed to take it all in for a moment.

“It would appear that you’ve had a fairly detailed encounter. Several of the things you described sound familiar but I should check with my notes before telling you anything.” She sighed. “But this seems very promising, I believe that I could learn a lot if you explained it to me in detail.” She said. Tag nodded.

“Okay, but should we meet up somewhere or something? I doubt you coming into the store everyday to talk about this would seem kind of odd.” Tag said. Lyra put a hoof to her chin momentarily.

“Perhaps you could meet me somewhere tomorrow, it is the day off you know.” She suggested.

“Yeah I can do that.” Tag agreed. “Where should I meet you? That they would allow me to go.”

“What do you mean ‘allow you to go’?” She asked confusedly. Tag deadpanned.

“You mean you’ve forgotten the whole Princess Luna incident and you haven’t noticed the knife strapped to my arm?” He asked sarcastically. Lyra went wide-eyed.

“That was you? I’ve guess I was so excited about the whole human thing I kinda forgot.” She mumbled. Tag chuckled.

“Forget about it, it’s nice having somepony to talk to.” He said.

“Right, in regards to someplace to visit just meet me in front of here at around noon.” She said. Tag nodded.

“Well then, Lyra I guess that should wrap this little conversation up.” Tag said happily and Lyra nodded in agreement.

“Definitely, I’ll see you tomorrow then.” She said and began to trot away.

“Wait! Your order!” Tag called out after her.