Author's Notes:

Psst. This fic is alive. Hopefully the next chap won't take as long.

(Vash’s PoV:)

My first few days back at the castle were rather uneventful. I ended up getting a haircut from the top stylist in Canterlot. While I am under the opinion that I could pull off just about any hairstyle, it felt good to have the classic look back. I wouldn’t miss the flowing locks too much seeing as keeping it looking good while maintaining the wanderer lifestyle is nigh impossible.

The most notable event after that was the arrival of a large airship. Celestia led me to the roof of one of the larger drum towers where the ship had been anchored. As soon as it stopped moving and the guards signalled that it was secured, a hatch opened at the front and a ramp was lowered down. Moments later, a tall zebra mare stepped into view and came down the ramp. She was wearing a sort of black dress that went down to the bottom of her thighs and just above her knees. Yellow and red floral patterns adorned the front of the outfit with multicolored bands around the sleeves. Said sleeves cut off around the elbows and were wide on her arms. Her mane was done up in braids that clung to her head and then draped down her back in a tightly bundled ponytail.

Celestia strode up to the zebra mare and smiled. “Zecora, I’m so glad you were able to show up on such short notice.”

Zecora smiled back and took Celestia’s hand to give it a shake. “Think nothing of it, I’m more than happy to help.”

“So, how are you planning on helping?” I chimed in. “Sorry if I seem rude, but the idea of getting my memory back after so long has me feeling a little impatient.”

Zecora chuckled, looking me over. “I would not believe it if I weren’t seeing it for myself, but here you are, Vash, and the years have been kind to you.”

I rubbed the back of my head, sighing. “I’ll take that as a compliment, but they haven’t exactly felt kind.”

Zecora nodded in understanding, her smile receding a bit. “I am sure.” She clapped her hands together, looking between Celestia and I. “Alright, I can see that I’ve wasted enough time, I’ll just have your staff take the ingredients out of the ship and I will get to work on a brew that will hopefully restore those lost memories of yours, Vash. There’s just one small issue.” She took a moment to let that news sink in, our pensive faces urging her to continue. “You see, I need a special ingredient: the beard of a one eyed mare. As it turns out, there is no one that fits that criteria in all of Zebafrica. There were a couple mares with mustaches, but none quite had a beard."

My eye twitched, my mind reeling as I tried to make heads or tails of that statement. “Probably a dumb question, but does the beard have to be from such an oddly specific source?”

Zecora shook her head, a small smile on her face. “That is a perfectly reasonable question considering what I am asking you to procure. You see, for common ailments letting the normal chemical reactions take effect are more than sufficient to cure them. However, for extraordinary circumstances, extraordinary ingredients are required. Every living thing in Equus gives off a magical field. Normally, a being’s magical field will not change much, but unique circumstances can alter them. A particularly strong shift can be achieved when a mare manages to grow a beard and loses an eye. This altered field can be maintained for a while when the beard is cut off and used to make powerful potions.”

I scratched the side of my head, pretending to understand about half of the explanation. “Okay, that makes enough sense.” I rubbed my hands together, trying to form a plan. “Looks like I need to go to some circuses and sideshows.”

Celestia turned to me with a serious look on her face. “And I will send out a contingency of guards to aid in the search as well. Hopefully we can find a mare that fits the criteria.”

I turned and started to make my way off the tower, mentally making a list of supplies for a trip. Once I was fully packed and wearing my cloak once more, I headed out into the city streets and found the nearest stand that sold newspapers. I quickly paid for one and leafed through it as I mindlessly dodged the traffic to head towards the train station. I ignored the business and arts sections, keeping an eye out for the entertainment page. It took me a few moments, but I eventually spotted it. I scanned the page, my eyes desperate to find the word circus. One article looked promising, detailing that there would be one just outside of Fillydelphia for a few days.

When I reached the station, I handed the mare at the ticket counter enough bits to get myself a first class ticket for the next train to Fillydelphia. Since I was staying with a princess I figured I could afford to splurge just a little on the trip. It was easy to find a seat in first class seeing as I was the only one in the entire car. Once I was settled in, I tried to formulate a plan for getting the beard off of the mare once I found her. Just asking her straight up was a possibility, though it didn’t seem likely that it would yield results. Disguising myself as a hairdresser had potential.

I continued going over various plans, the gentle sounds of the train’s wheels on the tracks always on the edge of my notice. After a few hours of planning, I fell asleep in my seat with my head resting against the window. I don’t know how long it had been, but I was woken up by the train jerking to a stop. The sudden movement sent my head slamming into the seat in front of me.

I stood up, rubbing my forehead and grumbling about what was sure to form into a nasty bump. I grabbed the small bag of supplies that I had brought along with me and exited the train onto the station.

The building was fairly nice. Sure, there was some trash strewn about but it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I didn’t focus on the building too long though, my first priority was finding a way out onto the streets and my way to the circus.

One thing I always loved about cities in my travels was the ability I had to fade into the background. No one seemed to ever care about the six and a half foot tall guy in the cloak. Maybe it was something about the natural hustle and bustle of city life? Or maybe it was the fact that with so many people packed into one confined area, you were bound to have your fair share of weirdos? Either way, it suited me just fine and I slinked through the crowded streets without any fuss.

Once I arrived at the circus I kept an eye out for the attractions. Sure enough, there was a bearded mare as part of the show. Making my way inside, I paid for a ticket and went about searching for the mare of the hour. Thankfully, the show was fairly small so making my way around it didn’t take me long. After an extensive search, it turned out that the bearded mare had both her eyes.

It didn’t take me long to return to the station and plan out my next move. I figured there had to be some sort of event going on in Manehattan. With that in mind, I booked the soonest train to Manehattan and set out on the next leg of my search.

I spent the next few weeks searching any possible lead for a one eyed mare that was surely allergic to shaving or waxing. Much like Zecora before me, my findings always came up just short. When I found a mare with only one eye, the best she had was a dewy mustache. And when I tracked down a bearded mare, both of her eyes just had to be in working order!

In the end, I had to call off my search and regroup back with Zecora and Celestia. Luckily, I had actually managed to think ahead and decided to save enough money so I could afford a train ticket back to Canterlot. Lord knows that walking all the way from the border of Southern Equestria and all the way up a damn mountain would just be the cherry on top of my failure sundae.

Most of my trip was uneventful, spent drifting in and out of sleep while occasionally overhearing snippets of conversation from a lovely couple seated in front of me. My attention was grabbed when I noticed a group of stallions boarding the train. I say group but they were spread out amongst the various ponies getting onto the train.

Having been a drifter for as long as I had, I’d resorted to various means to earning money. One of those was gambling on card games. My telepathy had made me a natural at it, but it had also helped me develop another skill, reading people. The stallions may have been spread out, but each one shared something in common. Their eyes all had this sense of hunger to them that I had seen at card tables countless times. A desperate, gnawing hunger that would do anything to be sated.

Before the train could resume its trek, I got out of my seat and headed towards the nearest restroom where I had seen one of the stallions board. The train lurched as I quickly relieved myself. I counted off a predetermined number in my head before opening the door once more.

“-give us your bits and valuables and nopony has to get hurt!”

I found myself staring at one of the stallions I had taken note of. This one was a pegasus, with a short mohawk. At the other end of the cabin was a nagapony, no visible horn or wings. Both of them were holding magigun pistols and had their faces covered. The nagapony took notice of me the instant I left the bathroom so I had to act fast.

I let out the least threatening scream I could manage and fell backwards, kicking the magigun out of the pegasus’s hand before his accomplice could alert him to my presence. The gun sailed through the air, bouncing off the bathroom wall before landing in the toilet with a satisfying *plop*.

My flailing put me behind the pegasus, leaving the naga without a clear shot. I screamed again, tilting my head to avoid a hoof being slammed into my nose.

“Stay still jackass so I can beat your face in!” the pegasus roared, trying to hit me again only to narrowly miss me again.

“That is a terrible sales pitch!” I shot back, scrambling towards the cabin door and making sure to kick a foot into his crotch. Once I heard the gasping for air I was expecting, I turned around and found the stallion doubled over with his hands covering his crotch. Letting myself smirk I threw a right hook at his temple and knocked the would-be robber out. The instant the pegasus crumpled to the floor, I dropped my head to narrowly dodge a shot from the naga.

The narrow aisle of the train car was a severe disadvantage for the naga given his bulky tail. Which meant that if he had any kind of sense, he would try to keep me at a distance. Lucky for me, an obvious solution to close the gap made itself apparent in an unlikely source.

I feigned scrambling once more, waving my arms in an exaggerated manner while dodging another bullet and grabbed a suitcase off the rack placed above the seats. I made sure to undo the clasp on the lid before flinging the trunk towards the robber and causing the clothes and the other various objects inside cascading towards my attacker.

The naga dodged the trunk, only to have a pair of tighty-whities land right on his eyes. While he had been busy doing that, I was already running down the aisle and just as he tossed the underwear away, my left hand met his face.

He swayed on his tail for a moment before collapsing in a heap. I sighed in relief, looking towards the shocked passengers. “Odd question, but does anyone here have any rope or handcuffs in their luggage?”

With the help of the grateful passengers, I was able to scrounge together makeshift materials that would be able to hold the two robbers until authorities could deal with them.

Unfortunately, I knew this wasn’t over. There were still several stallions that were on the loose. I exited the car as quickly as I could and headed towards the locomotive. If I had to hazard a guess, at least one of the robbers was holding the conductor captive and preventing him from stopping anywhere that guards were posted.

Once I was outside the car, I climbed the service ladder and pulled myself onto the roof of the train. The wind buffeted my face and forced me to stay low or else I’d lose my balance. It might have been inconvenient, but it would keep me from running into any of the robbers before I could make it to the conductor.

My crawl was time consuming, but I made it to the locomotive without any real complications. There was a door with a small window separating the controls from the space between the connector and the next car. Pressing my back to the door, I snuck a glance into the head of train. Sure enough, one of the stallions was in there with a gun pointed at the conductor.

I scooched over, giving the door plenty of room to swing open. I gave it a knock, clearing my throat. “Hey, we got a problem,” I said in a rough imitation of the pegasus I knocked out. “Some jackass is trying to take us out and is giving us the slip.”

“The Tartarus are you blathering about?” the robber questioned, opening the door and stepping out.

Before he could even look around, I jumped out of my makeshift hiding spot and grabbed him into a sleeper hold. He coughed for a moment, dropping the gun he had been holding and attempted to break free. I debated a witty comment, but decided to leave him whatever dignity he had as he went limp in my arms. I dragged him into the locomotive, the conductor staring at me in shock.

“W-Who the hay are you?” he stuttered, obviously still shaken up by what he had just been through.

“Just a concerned citizen lending a hand,” I replied, dumping the robber at his hooves. “Do you have any way to restrain him for when he wakes up?”

Pulling a handkerchief from his breast pocket, the conductor mopped at his brow. “Yes, I have some rope in my emergency supplies. That should hold him until we get to the next stop.”

“Just out of curiosity, how far away is that?” I inquired, finding said emergency supplies and rope in a corner of the room and setting to work on tying the robber.

“The next station is in Gunsmoke, about twenty minutes away,” he answered, returning to his duties.

I tsked, finishing the last knot. “Great, so we’ve got to wait twenty minutes before we can get the help of guards.” Standing up, I clapped my hands. “Alright, looks like it’s back to the grind.”

“You’re going to take on more of those thugs?” the older stallion asked, his voice full of bewilderment. “That’s suicidal!”

“It can’t be,” I started cheekily stepping towards the door, “I disapprove of suicide.” With that, I walked out and back into the train cars.

I made my way through the train cars, not encountering any of the bandits for several minutes. That changed when I reached the dining car. I had to tilt my head to avoid a bullet that lodged itself in the doorframe. A unicorn stallion stood at the other end of the car with a smoking gun in his hand. Between us was a cart still full of covered food.

“That’s far enough!” the unicorn boomed, training the pistol on my forehead. “Hands in the air where I can see ‘em!” I complied, my mind buzzing as I tried to think of a way out of this. His eyes drifted to my waist, most likely noticing the slight bulge my revolver made against my cloak. “Disarm yourself!” he barked, inspiration striking me.

Suppressing the urge to laugh, I reached at my left shoulder. “Poor choice of words there.”

Before he could question what I meant, I disconnected my prosthetic from my shoulder and flung it at the stallion’s face. He blanched and staggered more from the shock than the impact of the metal arm hitting him. Kicking away the discarded limb, he took his eyes off me. I capitalized on this and charged. I dove onto the food cart, sending me and it barreling towards the unicorn. He looked back up, but it was too late. The cart crashed into him, sending him, several trays, and myself flying through the door into the next train car.

I landed on top of the bandit and noticed that he was unconscious. “It looks like the food didn’t agree with him.” I was brought out of my reverie by the cry of a mare. Whipping my head up, I found one of the robbers holding the mare from the couple that had been seated in front of me with a gun pressed to the side of her temple.

“That’s far enough, asshole!” the stallion barked, jostling the orange mare. “Make any sudden moves and I blow her Faust damn brains out!” The mare flinched at that, looking to a nearby large red-headed stallion with naked fear in her eyes.

Something caught my attention from the corner of my eye. It was the circular, metal lids to one of the platters that had been on the food cart I had charged in on. Luckily, it was within reaching distance of my remaining arm. A hair brained scheme began to take shape in my mind, one I wasn’t even sure would work out. So par for the course really.

Putting on my best poker face, I stared down the stallion. “If you shoot that mare, you’d better hope you’re faster to aim than I am,” I warned, my voice full of quiet fury. Before he could protest, I shifted my cloak slightly to show off my revolver. “Don’t think I can’t shoot you from down here. It’ll only take me a second to pull this out and put a nice new hole in your forehead.”

For a split second, it looked like the robber faltered, his gun trembling. “You’re bluffing. Slide that thing over to me or I’m killing both of you.”

“Is that a chance you can really take?” I questioned, flexing my fingers. “I took out your friend there with a cart. Just think what I could do to you with an actual weapon?” As I asked this, I let my hand drift towards the handle of my revolver.

The gun faltered against the mare's temple, a bead of sweat forming on the side of the robber's head. The mare in question turned to me with panic in her eyes. As bad as it was, I had to ignore her in order for my ruse to work. I smirked, focusing my gaze on the sweat in a way to let him know I could see it. This had the desired effect; the stallion roared out, tore the gun away from the frightened mare and started to point it right between my eyes.

My hand instantly shot away from my gun to the lid, shoving it in front of my face and angling it just so. The stallion had already pulled the trigger by the time he could see what I was doing. The shot rang out, everything slowing down and I swore that I could see the bullet heading for me. Before I could hesitate or second guess my insane plan, the bullet struck the silver lid. There was a high-pitched ringing sound and the projectile ricocheted around the lid before finding its way in the bandit’s hand.

Another beat passed and the stallion screamed out in pain, blood gushing from his hand. This caused his grip on the mare to loosen and he tilted his head away from her. I used this as a chance and hurled the lid like a frisbee to slam right into his muzzle.

Just as I was about to scramble to my feet, a feminine warcry tore out of the now unrestrained mare's mouth and slammed her hoof directly between the legs.

“Take! That! Ya! Low! Down! Varmint!” she boomed, each word punctuated by a wince inducing kick between the bandit's legs. Said bandit had fallen to the floor, his eyes rolled in the back of his head.

“Ah think he gets the message, Buttercup,” the stallion the angry mare had looked to during the ordeal chimed in as he restrained her. “Remember what the doc said about gettin’ worked up.”

The mare turned her head up, a retort obviously forming on her lips. In the end, she let a breath out of her nose. “You're right, no sense stressin’ mahself out more.” She put a hand on her stomach and managed a weak smile. “Gotta think of the baby after all.”

I tuned the couple out and pulled myself to my feet while I made a mental checklist. I was pretty sure that I had fought off all the ones involved in the heist, but I wanted to be sure.

I pressed onward, looking through the remaining cars. My mind eased when I passed through quiet car after quiet car. After giving the caboose a thorough inspection, I went to go retrieve my arm. As I walked, I picked up on whispers from the passengers. News of what I had done had obviously spread to ponies that hadn't even bore witness to the insanity I had acted out. I ignored the whispers, simply content with restoring the peace to the train. I tried to stretch my arms above my head, only to succeed in getting one up.

With a new goal in mind I headed up the aisle towards the last place I had seen my arm. When I made it back to the car I had been sitting in, a hand on my shoulder stopped me before I could exit. I was spun around to stare at the stern face of the large stallion who was part of the couple from before.

“Listen here feller, Ah don’t appreciate that gamble ya took with mah wife’s life,” he started, his grip on my shoulder becoming ironclad. “But, ya did pull it off. Thank ya.” A soft smile spread across his face and he extended his other hand to me. A pause hung in the air as I just stared at the offered hand. It took him a bit before he realized his mistake; the hand on my shoulder flew off and he offered it to me instead. “Sorry there, partner. Didn’t notice yer lack of an arm there.”

“I was just about to fix that,” I told him chuckling weakly as I met his hand shake and had to suppress a scream. The stallion's grip could crush a lump of coal down into a diamond.

Thankfully, the handshake came to an end before I could hear any bones crack. “Thanks again there, partnah. Ah app-” He was unable to finish that thought as an orange hand whacked the backside of his head.

“Don’t think I missed that, sugarcube,” Buttercup chided, her eyes starting to narrow. “Tryin’ to break that fella’s hand ain’t called for.” Her expression shifted as she turned her attention to me. “Sorry ‘bout my husband. He's a sweetheart but he can be real protective of me.”

I waved her off and smiled weakly. “It's fine. I should be the one to apologize. I gambled with your life.”

“Ya were in a tight spot there,” she assured, flashing me a warm smile. “Just try not t’let somethin’ like that happen again.”

“Can do,” I promised, returning her smile. I was just about to turn around and go after my arm when I felt a tapping on my shoulder. With a spin of my heel, I found myself staring at the bearded mare I had seen at the circus. Cradled in her arms was my prosthetic.

“Sorry to interrupt, sir, but I just wanted to thank you for stopping those bandits.” Holding my arm out to me she added, “If there’s anything I can do to return your kindness, please don’t hesitate to ask.

I started to wave her off, a smile on my face as I grabbed my prosthetic. “Oh that won’t be necessa-” I stopped, finally taking notice of something. One of her eyes was rolled back in its socket while the other was completely fine. “Um ma’am, not to be rude but did your eye get injured?” I questioned, tapping the corner of my own eye.

She blinked, putting her finger directly onto the afflicted eye. “Oh my, how embarrassing,” she said, giggling at the mishap. “This darn glass bobble always rolls around on me. I’ve been meaning to see the doctor about getting one that fits better.” With a quick movement of her finger, the eye was set back into place.

It took everything I had not to jump for joy at this discovery. “Ma’am, I think I do have a favor I’d like to ask of you, but it might seem odd.”

After several minutes of explaining my situation, I managed to convince the mare to let me have her beard. Relief shot through me like a numbing injection, allowing me to slump into my seat without a care. That feeling didn’t last long as I started to reattach my prosthetic. Surprisingly, putting a prosthetic into place so that it can move effectively without any formal medical training is a painful process. I know, I was shocked too.

The rest of my train ride was uneventful, and I nearly passed out due to my fading adrenaline. I made sure to say goodbye to the nice couple and waved them off the train. After that, my trip was entirely quiet and spent in a state of semi-consciousness. When the train pulled into Canterlot station, I instantly felt revitalized and shot off onto the platform.

The throngs of people on the city streets slowed me down marginally, but I still made it to the castle in record time. After pushing my way into the throne room and fanfare from Celestia, we met up with Zecora.

With the bag of hair in hand the zebra said, “Excellent, now all I need is a place to mix my brew.”

Celestia nodded, a smile on her face. “Then I will lead you to a place where you should have everything you need.”

With that, Celestia turned on her hoof and led Zecora and I down from the tower and into the castle proper. As we walked down the halls my mind wandered. My thoughts were dominated by what would happen once my memories were restored to me. Then there was the creeping fear of the possibility that whatever Zecora was going to give me wouldn’t work. I tried to keep myself calm, but my anxiety couldn’t help but bleed onto my face.

My eyes darted around and took in the decorations on the wall as we continued our trek. Suits of armor stared blankly on either side, almost seeming to pass judgement on me for actions I couldn’t even remember. I tried to focus my attention on the tapestries depicting the Equestrian sigil, but that offered no comfort. The blue figure on them caused a stir in my chest, almost like a memory was trying desperately to surface. It renewed the feeling that something was wrong with the castle that I hadn’t been able to shake since my arrival. Like someone or something that should be there wasn’t.

My train of thought came to a screeching halt when Celestia stopped at a door and opened it. Inside was a square room filled with shelves of various dried plants, powders and various other things that seemed random. The majority of the space was dominated by a long table that was covered in equipment. Things like mortars and pestles, glass containers nested in burners with tubes that led to vials. The smell of the herbs was strong in the room, leaving it with a pleasant, though slightly overpowering scent.

Celestia turned to Zecora and I, sweeping a hand over the room. “This is where the royal apothecaries work. I hope that it will suffice for you.”

“This will be more than enough, thank you.” Zecora turned and gathered equipment. Once she seemed to be satisfied she turned back to us. “Once my ingredients are brought to me I will set to work on the potion. I will send for you once it is finished, so feel free to try and relax until then.”

“Yeah, relax,” I muttered, turning and walking out of the room.

I wound up wandering the halls a bit, looking for anything that could calm my racing thoughts. Getting out of the tapestry filled halls was my first priority. My memories trying to claw their way to the surface was more of a headache than I needed considering what was about to happen. My meandering eventually led me into the gardens, the sounds of the various exotic animals that inhabited it threatened to drown out my thoughts.

I welcomed the idea of such a thing and found a spot to lie down beneath the shade of a tree that overlooked the hedge maze and statue garden. Even with all of the animals, I couldn’t help but reminisce over the journey I had been on up until finding myself in Canterlot. Several important faces and events came flooding back to me. Of course, the hard times came back to me as well. I had gone to sleep hungry more times than I can count. I couldn’t help but wonder if some part of who I was would be lost after regaining my memories.

I knew it was stupid; if anything I was regaining who I was more than anything else. I continued along on that train of thought for some time until a guard came by to inform me that Zecora was ready with the potion. I brushed myself off as I stood up, thanked the guard and retraced my steps back to the apothecary room.

Celestia was already there when I stepped into the room. Though it was subtle, I could tell she was excited about what was about to happen thanks to some slight shifts in her body language. Zecora was standing by the table with a bottle in her hand. Said bottle had a bubbling, thick purple liquid inside of it. The liquid did not look like it was going to be anything that could be described as tasty. I thanked my lucky stars that many, many years of scavenging food had hardened my palate considerably.

“I recommend closing your eyes and pinching your nose before you drink it,” Zecora offered, placing the bottle in my hand, “it lessens this potion’s… impact.”

I nodded and did as she said, tilting my head back to make sure not even a single drop of the mixture went to waste. My body recoiled the instant it hit my tongue. Even with my nose pinched it was the worst thing I had ever tasted by a longshot. I pressed on though, the idea of returning my mind to its proper order worth the pain of dying taste buds. At some point the last bit of the potion had disappeared into my gullet, causing me to put the bottle down onto the table. I smacked my lips in a desperate attempt to get the foul flavor free of my mouth.

“Well, that could’ve been w-” I froze, a pounding forming in my skull. Various images flashed before my eyes. I tried to make sense of it all, but they were gone before I could even begin to make heads or tails of what they were supposed to be. I swayed on my feet for a moment before collapsing in a heap, darkness creeping into the corners of my vision.

“Vash!” Celestia cried, turning to Zecora and saying something that I couldn’t quite make out as unconsciousness took me into its warm embrace.

I don’t know how long it was until I came to, but I could’ve sworn someone had taken a few swings at my skull with a sledgehammer while I was unconscious. Forming a coherent thought was nigh impossible as my eyes cracked open. I winced as sunlight from a nearby window blinded me, but after a few moments I adjusted and noticed that I was in an infirmary of some kind. Close to the bed, Celestia was sitting in a chair reading a book. I say reading, but she didn’t seem to be paying it much mind as her muzzle was scrunched up in deep thought. She hadn’t taken notice of me yet and I didn’t want to disturb her while I was still getting my bearings. The flashes of memories came back to me, though thankfully it wasn’t as intense as it had been before I passed out.

Eventually, the images slowed down to the point where I could make them out. It started with my time as a human, working my way through my life until the fateful moment in the Crystal Empire. Once the images finally stopped, my mind settled on a couple things. I shot up, getting Celestia’s attention. I whipped my head towards her, my eyes wide.

“Tia, where’s Lulu and Toya?!”

She gasped, getting up from her chair and letting her book drop to the floor. “Vash, you used the nickname you gave me!” The rest of my frantic question seemed to sink in as she managed to calm herself down and offered me a sympathetic maybe guilty look. “Luna,” she paused, searching for the right words. “Luna became Nightmare Moon. I… I was powerless to do anything but use the elements on her.” She wrapped her arms around herself as if to find some form of comfort, tears freely falling from her eyes. “I banished my own sister to the moon.”

I couldn’t stand to see her like that so I got out of bed as quickly as I could and pulled her into a tight hug, stroking her mane with my right hand. “It’s okay, she’ll come back to us one day,” I assured her in a gentle tone, tracing my finger behind her ear in an attempt to comfort her. “But what about Toya?” A stabbing pain shot through my heart, unable to stop myself from picturing a version of my son that had long since fully grown up.

“Jason visited on his tenth birthday,” Celestia answered, reigning herself in as she clung to me. “Toya decided to stay with his mother until your return.” A small smile graced her face as her eyes met mine. “It was his way to keep you from missing out on his childhood entirely.”

I removed one of my arms from the embrace and fished around my coat for Jason’s token. Somehow, I had never resorted to pawning off any of my tokens. Lucky break for me considering that meant nobody would accidentally summon a Displaced and leave them stranded in a foreign Equestria. I instantly pressed the button on the unitrix core the moment it poked out of my coat. The core lit up and I tossed it towards an empty part of the room to allow a portal to form.

A green skinned woman I didn’t recognize stepped through the portal, sporting a massive head of black hair, complete with green streaks. Her eyes were a forest green, and her dress matched the Omnitrix’s colors. The device itself rested on her chest, just above her cleavage.

“Bella, I told you before, don’t antagonize...” she stopped mid-sentence, eyes locking on me.

“I feel like I interrupted something,” I commented, scratching my cheek and offering her a weak smile.

Before I could say anything else, a teenage girl I assumed to be Bella stepped through the portal after the woman. She was in a dress that matched the woman’s along with the same green skin. However, the girl’s hair was blue and pink and styled in more of a bob.

“I didn’t antagonize, mother,” “Bella” retorted, resting one of her hands on her hip. “I merely offered my opinion.” It was pretty obvious that she hadn’t taken notice of her new surroundings yet.

The woman stepped forward, drawing her hand back and slapping me rather hard across the face... only for her to grab my head and pull me into a deep kiss. She held it for a moment before shoving me away.

“Gah,” I groaned, rubbing at where the woman had slapped me. “What is it with people and greeting me violently then nicely lately?”

My voice seemed to get Toya’s attention, her head snapping towards me. Her face lit up and she crashed into me to give me a tight hug. “Father! I can scarcely believe I’m seeing you again. Oh what am I saying? I knew you’d return!”

“I never had any doubt, Bella,” the woman agreed, winking at me.

I returned Bella’s hug and turned my head towards the woman. “So, what did I interrupt and what form are you using to both be members of the fairer sex?”

She struck a pose, grinning at me. “My dear, Vash; Bella and I are sirens. Songstresses of the highest caliber!” Gesturing to the portal, she continues. “As for what you were interrupting. We have a mother-daughter day every month.”

I rubbed the side of my head, smiling down at Toya. “I had a feeling that you’d follow in with your mother’s side of the family when it came to switching genders every now and then.”

Toya giggled, ending the hug to cover her mouth with a hand. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a smooth first outing when we had our first mother-daughter escapade. As you can imagine, wrapping my head around changing my body like this on a whim took some doing. Plus, I know not to mix shapeshifting and liberal consumption of alcohol.” She shot her mother a knowing smirk.

Jason clicked her tongue, turning her nose up. “Do keep in mind, my dear sweet Bella. If not for that particular event, you wouldn’t be here right now, now would you?”

Toya smiled and nodded her head. “That is a fair point. I’m sure Freya would only enjoy having the undisputed claim as your strongest child.”

“My ego would take a blow,” I started, intervening before the two could start trading barbs, “but you were married well before we met, Jay. How are your wives doing by the way?”

“Very well. In fact, we married again! The lucky lady’s name is Tempest Shadow, but you’re family,so you can call her Fizzy.”

“You’d like her, father,” Toya said, smoothing out her dress. “She’s the only person I’ve ever met that has taller hair than you.”

“Wait, if her name is Tempest Shadow, why would her nickname be Fizzy?” I questioned, looking to Jason for answers.

“Because Tempest Shadow is the name she gave herself during her first few days as an edgelord, her real name is Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”

I chuckled, rubbing the back of my head. “I was an edgelord once too. And thanks to Zecora’s potion, all my memories are fresh in my mind. And now I remember every lyric off Mechanical Animals like I did in high school.”

“Good for you dear,” Jay said, wrapping her arms around me. “Does that mean you remember our first night together?”

Returning the hug, I scrunched my face in thought. It took a few moments but I was able to focus on something. “I’m going right to the morning after. Everything’s fresh but hard to sort through. Kinda hard to explain.”

“Hm well, perhaps we can help jog each other's memories later.” Winking at me, she turned to Celestia. “How are things, Fire Horse? Haven't burned down the castle yet I see.”

“Things are better now that Vash has had his memories restored,” Celestia replied, an easy smile on her face. “I’ve adopted a niece and taken two apprentices since we last met.”

“I take it that would be Cadance.” Keeping an arm around me, Jay all but dragged me to the door. “But so help me, Celestia, if one of those students is named Starlight Glimmer, I’m turning you into a kirin.”

Celestia put a a hand on her cheek and hummed in thought. “I'm unfamiliar with the name Starlight Glimmer. My students are Sunset and Twilight.”

Leaning over, Jay stole a kiss from Celestia’s lips. “That’s a good princess. Looks like you can follow instructions.”

Rolling her eyes, Celestia feigned a pout. “Do you really have such a low opinion of me that you have to patronize me?”

Jay didn’t respond, merely walking past her. “Come along, Bella, we have people to meet. We have to celebrate your father's return.”

“Of course, mother,” Toya chirped, bounding over to us. “Who shall we see first?”

“Celestia~ We should like to visit Caddy first,” Jay called over her shoulder. “Is her room in the west wing?”`

Reaching into her dress, Celestia produced a pocket watch. “Actually, at this time of day she's with her private magic tutor in the library. I of course offered to teach her myself but she said it would be better this way.”

“An even better reason to stop by.” Jay grinned, turning down the corridor. “Let's have some fun with the princess of love.”

“Is this the same kind of fun we have at certain nobles’ expense?” Toya asked with a giggle, brushing her bangs out of her face. “The poor dear won’t know what hit her.”

(Cadance PoV:)

My eyes scanned over my magic textbook, my mind swimming. My horn seemed to itch as I puzzled over the formulas. Being born a pegasus meant that magic was something I’d never thought about before. Sitting across from me was my tutor. She was a middle-aged mare with peach colored mare with a yellow mane named Nectarine Fuzz.

“How’s your reading coming along?” she asked, a smile on her face. Thankfully, my newfound aunt had found a tutor with a vast wellspring of patience.

A blush went across my muzzle and I looked up from my book. “To be honest, not well. I still can barely wrap my head around levitation.”

My tutor smiled and reached across the table to pat my hand. “Perfectly understandable. You haven’t had that horn on your head very long, it’s not instinctual for you like it is for unicorns. Just relax and treat your horn like your wings; it’s a part of you, not some foreign entity.”

Taking a deep breath, I tried to call upon my magic like Nectarine had been drilling into my head. While I did that, Nectarine got up to examine the shelves. Most likely checking for materials that might help a total novice.

“Having fun?” A voice asked from behind me. From the sounds of it, it was a girl around my age.

My concentration wavered and any chance at getting my magic to flow was gone for the time being. Spinning in my seat, I looked to see who wanted to get my attention. She appeared to be the same species as Vash, only her skin was a pale green. “If you call failing at magic fun,” I managed to say, stopping my staring.

“Well then, maybe we should ditch class?” She whispered, eyeing my tutor. “That's much more fun than memorizing stuffy spells.”

I scrunched my face up, glancing at my tutor. “I really shouldn’t. I really need to make progress with my magic if I want to be a proper princess,” I whispered back.

“Oh pah-leesse!” The girl scoffed, putting her hands on her hips. “You have all the time in the world to learn all the pretty princess things. Have some fun!” Leaning into my face, she grins. “Don't you know; it’s fun to do bad things.”

Biting my lip, I looked down at my textbook. It might as well have been gibberish to me. “Okay, let’s ditch.”

Pirouetting, the girl held her hand out to me. “A wise choice, princess. Come along, before the nag catches us.”

I took her hand and quietly rose up out of my seat. My heart fluttered a bit as she kissed my hand and pulled me towards the door.

I knew it wasn't right to skip my lesson, but it was an offer I couldn't resist. My time in Canterlot hadn't gotten me a lot of genuine friends. None actually. Everyone my age always tried to use me to get close to my aunt. But with this girl, I didn't sense any selfish intentions like that.

“You can call me Bella,” the girl introduced, pulling me out of the hall. “I'll simply call you Caddy.”

I quirked a brow, letting her lead me by the hand. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh pish posh, don't fret your pretty head about it. I know a lot of things,” Bella said, smirking at me. “How about we head to the gardens? A nice day for a proper chat and the flowers are just to die for.”

Her expression should’ve irritated me, but something about it was endearing. “Well, I do like the gardens.” I managed a smile, wandering through the halls with her. She seemed to know where to go, only once or twice did I see her pause to find her bearings.

Bella practically skipped into the sunlight, her curls bouncing this way and that. “See? I told you it was going to be a good day. You should be thankful you have someone like me guiding you.”

“Oh please,” I retorted, giving the girl a nudge. “Sunny days aren’t in short supply in Canterlot. Doesn’t take a genius to figure out it was gonna be nice.”

Bella huffed, making a show off brushing her hair back. “Let's not forget if it weren't for me, you'd have your nose in a book. You should work on your keeping your ego in check, before you overstep your training bra.”

My feathers ruffled at that barb and I turned my head away. “Keep my ego in check? Look who’s talking. I’m surprised you’re not floating away with all the hot air you’re storing.”

“I am a siren, I wouldn't expect a pony to understand.” Pouting rather adorably, Bella crossed her arms. I snuck a look at her own chest, noting for the first time the metal disk attached to her skin.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” I instantly said, taking a seat in the grass. “I just thought we were teasing each other.” The disk seemed odd, but I didn’t want to bring it up. If it was for medical purposes, then it was likely a touchy subject.

“I suppose I can forgive you,” Bella relented, taking a seat next to me. “Vanity is a blessing and a curse all sirens possess.”

“It’s hard to imagine a species that share a common personality trait,” I commented, watching the clouds go by. “Then again, I haven’t met a siren before.” I opened my wings slightly, letting the gentle breeze run through my feathers.

“And now you have.” Bella puffed her chest out. “And fortunately for you, it just so happened to be me.”

A giggle escaped my lips and I glanced at her. “I’ll admit, you are pleasant to talk to. Ever since I moved to Canterlot, people have been so fake around me. And now that I can sense emotions,” I let a hand drift to my horn, “I know they don’t really care to get to know me. I’m a springboard to them, not a real pony.”

Bella smiled, leaning in. “But princess don't you know?” Her smile turned predatory as her teeth lengthened into needles. “Sirens eat emotions. How do you know I'm not here to lure you away so the older sirens can whisk you away?”

Scoffing, I flicked her forehead. “Nice try to scare me, but I can sense your emotions too. If you had any dark intentions then I’d know.” I drew my hand back as Bella made a show of snapping at it. “Did I touch a nerve, guppy?”

“I don’t like to be flicked,” Bella said, sticking her tongue out at me. “And way to kill a joke, princess. Pushing your nose in those books has killed your sense of humor it seems.”

I giggled, giving her a little shove. “You're like a little kid, you know that? I feel like I'm foalsitting some spoiled filly.”

“I am not a spoiled child!” Bella shot back, bristling at the accusation. She put a hand to her chest and puffed up. “I am simply assertive and do not let myself get substandard things.”

“Spoiled~” I singsonged, giving her my biggest grin. “Bella is a spoiled fishy-fish.”

Huffing at me, Bella turned her nose up. “And Caddy is a stuffy featherbrain. No wonder you got turned into an alicorn.”

I gave her another shove, the two of us trading barbs for a while. After a while, a voice interrupted our reverie.

“Princess, what are you doing out here? The whole castle is in a kerfuffle looking for you.”

I looked up, finding Morning Glory staring down at me. “Miss Glory, I didn’t hear that you’d returned from Manehattan,” I said, giving her a weak smile.

“Don't give me that, young lady.” Morning frowned, her features downturned. “I thought you were above ditching your classes.” Eyes locking on Bella she grabbed the back of Bella's dress and hauled her up to her feet. “Lemme guess, it was this little hellion who convinced you it was a good idea?”

“Who are you calling a hellion?” Bella said, frowning at the nagapony. “It’s not the end of the world if she misses one magic lesson. She wasn’t in the mindset to make progress anyway.”

“Let's go, kid.” Morning turned, beginning to drag the siren back towards the castle. “Breaking and entering the castle? Corrupting the youngest princess? Not looking good for you. If you behave, they might just give you a slap on the wrist.”

“Is this any way to talk to your big sister?” Bella questioned, going stiff in Glory’s grip to make it harder to drag her away.

“Big?” Morning turned, getting in Bella's face. “All I see is a little girl. I'm pretty sure I'm the big one here.” Coiling around Bella, she grinned. “And I'm more than okay with that.” Grinning to herself, she subjected Bella to a ticklish assault.

Bella burst out laughing, struggling to free herself from the naga’s coils. I could only watch in confusion, their brief exchange having left my mind reeling.

“You know, I like the idea of having a little sister,” Morning said, adjusting her coils to keep Bella trapped. “Maybe I'll talk to your mom about keeping you like this?”

“W-when did you become so sadistic, Glory?” Bella asked, her giggles dying down. “You used to be so sweet.”

Morning frowned, pressing her nose against Bella's. “Are you saying I'm not sweet? I knew letting you move in with your mom was a bad idea. Got your perceptions all screwed up. Maybe some more tickles will fix that.”

“N-no!” Bella cried, only to trail off into hysterical laughter. Soon, Bella was out of breath, her hair a wild mess. “I was wrong, you’re not sadistic, you’re pure evil!”

“Keep that up and I won’t make you a new wardrobe,” Glory warned, stopping her assault. “I already had ideas in mind for your colors and figure.” Loosening her coils, she traded her deathgrip for a hug. “I missed you so much.”

Bella breathed a sigh of relief, tapping the disk on her chest. In a flash of green light, where there was once a young girl, there was now a boy. He appeared to be my age, but I almost thought he was older due to his size. He was easily six feet tall and his muscles were well defined. “I missed you too, Glory. Though, I think this face is more appropriate for our reunion.”

“Aw, but you were cuter the other way,” Morning whined. “Oh well, I guess I can work with this. Cadance, I'd like you to meet my brother, Toya.”

Gaping, I tried and failed to get my thoughts in order. I had never heard of any species other than changelings pulling off shapeshifting of that caliber. “Nice to meet you,” I said dumbly.

Grabbing Toya's arm, Morning smirked, wanna see a trick, Candy?”

Shaking my head, I snapped out of my stupor. “Trick, what kind of trick?”

“The fun kind.” Coiling around Toya again, she ignored his protests and began fiddling with the watch on Toya's arm. “What would you rather see, something cute or funny?”

I tapped my chin in thought, a smile returning to my face. “Is both an option?”

“Coming right up~” Pushing down part of the watch, Morning grinned as Toya vanished in a burst of green light. In his place, she was holding a baby dragon. “Tada!”

Toya snorted a puff of smoke in her face, a frown on his face. “Stupid dragons and their slow aging.”

I giggled, stepping over and scratched under the now black and green dragon’s chin. “Aww, you’re right, that is cute.”

“Sorry, little brother, but I learned a few things from the pups while you were away,” Morning explained as she pet Toya's scales. “We are going to have so much fun.”

“I can’t leave my door unlocked with you around, can I?” Toya said, settling in her arms. “I’ll wake up as something like Stinkfly or The Worst.”

“How about I make it up to you?” Morning offered. “You let your feminine side make put and we have a girls day! Or, we could just have fun turning you into things. Either works for me.”

Toya wiggled out of Morning’s grip, undoing the transformation. A few moments later, his frame shrank, his hair lengthened and he was suddenly much more feminine. “Letting my feminine side out isn’t a problem. I sorta consider myself both male and female ever since Mom and I went siren together.”

“Good to know.” Morning poked Toya's nose and turned to me. “How about it, Candy? Wanna keep ditching and be a rebel for a day?”

Smiling, I instantly nodded at the offer. I looked between the two siblings and couldn’t shake the good feeling I got from them. “I think one day wouldn’t hurt anything.”

The two siblings smiled in agreement and we headed out towards the city. A wicked grin spread across Toya’s face and she fiddled with her watch for a bit. In a flash of green light, she had turned back into Bella and started singing about girls just wanting to have fun. She kept the song going while we hit the best spots in the city. At one point I was pretty sure I saw random ponies breaking out into a dance number from the corner of my eye. All in all, it was one of the best times I’d ever had while in Canterlot. Somehow, my intuition told me that I had finally found a lifelong friend.