Though it had simply been a spur of the moment decision which had happened to pay off, Cloud could not ignore the effectiveness of using his Shock Circle elsewhere on his body. The usual method of using one, onto his hoof for a Thunder Punch, had been all he had ever considered. He'd only a brief window of time between discovering their existence and his banishment, and extraordinarily few chances since his banishment to practice magic, let alone experiment with them. The idea of alternate uses hadn't crossed his mind. Even their functionality in general was a subject all too alien. It was for this reason Cloud had returned to the clearing in the jungle. His injuries had very quickly healed; the advanced potion brewing in Oregano truly amazed him. Even the injury of Bravura’s, his tendons being completely destroyed, was fixed within twenty four hours.

Seems weird I haven’t seen this kind of stuff anywhere else, Cloud thought. I doubt it’s that secret, else they wouldn’t be so nonchalant about healing a foreigner-

Shining Armour knelt down before Princess Cadence, producing a ring from his pocket.

“I wanna know what love is,” he said, “I want you to show me.”

-not to mention twice. Cloud lightly tapped his teeth together as he thought, but continued doing otherwise nothing as he stood around like an asshole. Then again, have I really got anything to compare it to? My injuries weren’t severe yesterday, and though my injuries before that really were, I was too unconscious to know the passing of time. He snickered slightly. Yeah, too unconscious, as opposed to a nap where time is oh-so-clear. Anyway, I’m glad Maud was around to get me here. I was pretty much screwed on my own. Other times I’ve been recovering from serious injury I’ve also been unconscious. Since I haven’t been specifically seeing how effective other medical sciences are, it doesn’t matter how many places I’ve seen on this journey-

Princess Cadence was lost for words for the longest time, until finally taking a breath.

“You really believe I love you that much?” Cadence asked. Shining’s heart froze, until he noticed her smile. “Well don’t stop believing.”

Cloud blinked. I have a horrible feeling someone just made an awful joke. He shook his head to refocus his thoughts. None of this matters. I can’t continue back to Equestria by myself, I simply don’t have the travelling skills, let alone the geography skills to know where Equestria even is relative to here. I really wanna see Twilight, but I don’t know if she would even consider me a friend anymore. It’s Luna who wants me there anyway. The best decision in regards to returning to Equestria at this stage is to wait and see if Mawr finds me. If she does, I’ll go with her to Equestria, but if not then I need to eventually get back to my main goal: Find out who I am.

Cloud raised his right hoof and summoned a Shock Circle onto it. I figured out how to use this thing for use on my hoof in combat, but it was something I was able to do in an unrelated scenario. He winced slightly as he recalled the moment he became a murderer. ...Magical or not, if my body did this on a whim, then surely it’s something I had before I lost my memories? Sitting in the cool grass, he raised his left hoof and summoned a Support Circle of matching size, mirroring his right. Now that I mention it, this one I discovered in the same way. I was falling- with no help from that multicoloured asshole- and like a muscle reflex summoned a Support Circle. With Twilight helping me study it, we figured out a bunch of different functions - almost like it was designed. He looked back to the Shock Circle. If this was also summoned like muscle memory, surely it should be the same? He sat there a while longer, brow furrowed, until a small wave of fatigue wash through his mind. Both circles were dismissed as Cloud blinked heavily. While his magical abilities had grown greatly over his adventures, using his circles was still very taxing on his mind. That being so, his control as well as endurance had seemed to improved phenomenally.

“If only there was a smart-ass around who could explain, or at least theorise, why things have changed like this,” Cloud thought aloud. “Guess I’ll never know.”

“I don’t claim to be a ‘smart-ass’, as you put it, but I am quite skilled at theorising,” said Bravura, approaching from behind. Cloud turned to him quietly, waiting for him to continue. He noticed Bravura wore a pair of saddlebags upon his back, though they appeared loose. Cloud presumed they were empty, or close to it. Bravura had not continued to talk, not until he finally reached Cloud and sat nearby him. “I also have no idea what you were talking about by the way; you need to give me context if you want my thoughts.”

“Oh, right. Well…” Cloud gave a brief explanation on his circle magic, being sure to detail the difficulty he first experienced trying to learn how to use his Shock Circle. “I mean, obviously I was gonna improve with it after using them a bunch, what I don’t understand is why I’ve improved this much. Hell, I’ve been unconscious more than awake over Saddle Arabia, I didn’t have many chances to use it in the first place.” Even as he finished, Bravura did not hasten to reply. His eyes closed as he contemplated the information given to him, and it was like that he stayed for a full minute before responding.

“You say it was most difficult in Canterlot when you used it to knock out the thugs who cornered you in an alley?” Bravura suddenly asked, much to the surprise of Cloud who had been tapping his hoof impatiently.

“Th-?” Cloud caught himself. “U-uh, yeah! Those thugs who cornered me, and I just knocked out without any other harm, at all…” He nodded tersely. “I mean aside from the obvious- A-Anyway…! The pain in my head was terrible; worse than your punch yesterday, to say the least.”

“I find that hard to believe…”

“Oh yeah?Imagine the absolute worst pain you’ve ever felt in your entire life…”

Bravura’s gaze grew distant as he did as Cloud requested.

“...and multiply it by a kick to the nethers.”

Bravura’s face very suddenly paled. “Oh no…”

“But now,” Cloud paused and once again summoned a Shock Circle onto his right hoof, “I don’t struggle nearly as much as I used to.” He dismissed the circle as he finished speaking. After a shudder, Bravura returned to normal and colour returned to his face.

“To put things simply,” said Bravura, “your problem is that your approach to everything is too rigid.”

“Rigid?” Cloud frowned.

“Yesterday, during our little bout, your movements, demeanor, and responses to my actions were all far too rigid. You think too much about what you’re doing. Though this is obviously just my own opinion, I expect it also applies to your magic. You’ve become more accustomed to using your magic without thinking as much about it, leading to you not needing to try nearly as hard.”

“So it was because I was ‘rigid’, huh?” Cloud asked, almost mockingly. Being a proud idiot, he believed very little of Bravura was saying. “And how would I stop being so ‘rigid’? How could I have become less rigid without using either circle very much?”

“Look,” Bravura huffed, “I’m not an expert in magic, nor am I at all obligated to help you understand. If you’re going to be a jerk for no good reason, then you aren’t worth my time trying to help.” Bravura stood up and reached into his saddle bags, pulling out an envelope. “I’m going to be busy with business out of town today; I’ve received reports of attacks on nearby towns and settlements and I’m going to gather more information. From what I’ve heard, it sounds like a new gang of brigands have settled nearby. When you’re done here, go back to Oregano and don’t wander out of town.” He passed the envelope to Cloud.

“What’s this?” Cloud asked. The envelope lacked any writing, but was thick from its contents.

“A job. An important one too, so get it done.” With that, Bravura turned and left.

“Well, okay then.” Cloud looked down to the envelope before opening it with magic. Inside were three sheets of paper covered, double sided, in gorgeously neat writing Cloud presumed to be Bravura’s. Lengthy as it was, he quickly realised the job and his lips curled into a smile.

Border Guard Duty - Night Shift

Looks like he trusts me enough after all. Cloud’s smile faded somewhat as he realised why Bravura had left in such a huff. Dammit I’m an asshole. He replaced the papers into the envelope and set it aside before shifting his position so he could lie on his front in a very cat-like manner. His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath. I need to clear my mind… and loosen up my body…

Cloud continued to take deep breaths; slowly in through the nose, and slowly again out through the mouth. His thoughts, though usually loud and constant, began to slow down until finally his mind was silent. He took in the world around him - the gentle breeze rustling the grass, the warm rays of sun shining onto his back, the soft grass beneath him, the distant smell of tropical flowers… he allowed his senses to observe them all without interruption. For the first time since his memories’ end, Cloud’s body had entered a state of serenity. Within this state of calm darkness, colours began to bleed into his sight. Mixes of greens, browns, blues and reds, all mixing like different paints within the same container. The colours began swirling, sharpening - the browns becoming long and tall, the blues heightening, the green falling and spreading like water, the reds shrinking and dotting around. Cloud could see the jungle before him. His sight was imperfect, yet real. The jungle was alive all around him. He was standing, it seemed, though he had never stood up. His mind remained clear, taking in the sights before him.

He felt a presence.

Cloud turned, slowly, carefully, not letting the colours blend back together. Behind him lay a Unicorn, turquoise green with a short blue mane. Beside him lay an envelope. A shiver ran down Cloud’s spine, and he saw the Unicorn fidget in much the same way. His mind was no longer focused. His pulse quickened, and shadows of thoughts whispered in the corners of his mind. Cloud opened his eyes.

A ghostly figure stood before him.