Snores echoed around a small room tucked away in the bowels of the Royal Palace. It was a quaint little location far removed from the brightness and energy of the world above. The room’s resident was more than pleased with his current living accommodations, he preferred life this way, quiet, calm, full of research and intellectual pursuits. It was much more enjoyable compared to the ridiculous volume of dangerous adventures he had recently completed. Wandering the forest, spelunking in caves, or stopping robberies, simply was not his cup of tea. It felt strange to realize but he was right at home in his study, left alone to his thoughts and laboratory far away from nature or the civilities of the world.

He had been begun inhabiting the lower reaches several months ago after a long soiree with Tartarus and all its haunts. Our curious resident was rather confused as to how he could clearly hear his own snores yet remain capable of such full thought. The idea gave him a headache not unlike the one he had received when first arriving here in Canterlot. Although similar, the two pains held different meaning: the first migraine had come when he had had his mind entered by Princess Luna displaying for him and his friends things he had rather left forgotten in the dark cave where they had occurred. This second headache was one more of general annoyance and stress, it could be ignored comparatively. He always hated the nagging, baleful reminders of who he once was more than anything his current life could throw at him. He absently pushed the musings away like he was trying to bat away a swarm of gnats, no real progress was made but at least the metaphorical pests were no longer trying to crawl into his ears. Besides he could do nothing with those memories or his worries anyway and there was no sense in reminiscing on the past. It was not who he was now and would not be who he was in the future, ever, that was the one selfishness he would allow himself.

Instead his mind turned to something much more recent, and not surprisingly much more pleasant. He was now working for the Advanced Technology Research Division a prestigious research group owned and operated by a coalition of Equestria’s brightest minds. He could actively hear his snoring lighten and almost see himself smile with a long-sought mirth as those thoughts crossed his consciousness. This dream was certainly a strange experience, even more vivid than the last time he had seemingly stepped outside his own flesh, if he was being honest it was actually rather fun. It gave him the opportunity to fully enjoy all of his emotions as they sweeped up around him in flutters of goose-bumpy skin and wisps of sunset daisies with their intoxicating aroma. He relaxed and absorbed all those delightful sensations, relishing this fine moment of a blissfully empty mind.

His thoughts slowly returned and he found himself pondering on how he had been given his position in the ATRD. Clearly, somepony somewhere had done extensive research on him and his interests. When he had first awoken from Luna’s trip to his mind he had stumbled around the Palace before accidentally finding his way down to the basement complex. Once he had arrived a pair of appropriately dressed chemists had bumped into him. Immediately recognizing him they proceeded to usher him into a private lab within a section of the basement he now resided. There, in the study where he now slept behind his main laboratory, a note had been left for him. Curiously written in a rather fine script and left with a small folded paper sign with his name, the letter had been waiting for him on the desk. He still remembered the words with perfect clarity.

“Dear, Zeccaran. I am pleased to find that you have many uses, among them an interest and skill in crafting new machines and materials. As such you are granted access to this private workshop and laboratory. You will find anything and everything you need to construct anything you can imagine. If you find yourself missing something you require ask any other employee of the Advanced Research Division. They will retrieve it for you.

Additionally, if at all possible there are two projects that I would like you to begin applying your expertise to:

1. A portable long-range communication device.

It cannot be a magically generated network, I want it to be able to transmit its signals outside of the natural leylines of the world. I have left you a set of UCBC’s(Unicorn-charged battery crystals). I hope they serve as an inspiration and a decent power source.

2. Aeronautical Engine Development and Operation

This is both a project and something I want you to study. Of late Griffonia has been deploying more advanced airships that are faster and more capable of lifting larger loads. With the world changing and the political environment becoming more hostile over the last ten years, it pays to be prepared. For now focus on the operation of the engines and why they are more efficient and clearly cheaper. Specifications for the minimum requirements for a new Equestrian engine will be delivered later.

Best of luck, I expect great things from you.

G.A.S.

P.S. Your dog, Gunther, has been placed in the private portion of the Royal Gardens should you wish to spend time with him.

He still had no idea who this G.A.S. was. Beyond being a scientific mind that was well versed in magical theory, the pony was a mystery. But whoever he/she was they clearly had a lot of weight to throw around in the research community. Zeccaran could hardly complain at the windfall. Crafting new things or fixing broken ones was how he had made a living between leaving his dark past behind and finding himself a less compensated line of work: following his new friends around Equestria.. It had been about all he could do as he drifted from place to place constantly feeling like he had no sense of purpose or home, he was glad that those times had changed for the better.

His wanderings had graciously granted him some fame meaning the years of depression had at least amounted to something worthwhile. These days he wanted to meet G.A.S. and give that pony the biggest “thank you” he could. However, as it stood, or rather as it had been standing, both he and said pony were too busy to make the time for any form of a meeting. Zeccaran did not mind really, he was more than happy to wait. In the end he was enjoying the projects he had been assigned and the quiet time of not sleeping in the same room as Gusty Twilight, his chief friend and main antagonistic personality in his life.

The rumor mill had certainly picked up about that mare. Anytime he went to eat in the cafeteria Zeccaran would receive the strangest news about his friend. She was either closing down the city’s bars or terrorizing Royal Guard with her extravagant albeit edgy personality and use of magic. The stories varied in intensity with some of the most horrifying being how, more often than not, Gusty would step in and settle debates between citizens instead of Celestia. Most ponies were excited about this, thinking that perhaps the big teal alicorn was just a secret daughter of one of their regents. It was said that she had some skill in negotiations and was significantly more forward than Celestia. Zeccaran wanted to explain that “significantly” needed to be bolded and underlined to express how forthright Gusty was at all times, but translating that into speech was overkill.

He instead just listened to the many stories of his friends and suffered through the rare visit from Gusty herself and persisted on his projects. Time passed quickly and he often did not know what day of the week it was. Zeccaran loved the new life he had and regularly kept working until he collapsed. Eventually he knew Gusty would show up one day and drag him on another adventure, but for now he was determined to enjoy this personal heaven to its fullest. Currently, his communication device was coming along well, for the difficulty of the project, and that was invigorating. It had taken him what seemed like a year just to develop a way for sound waves to be received and reproduced by a machine. He still lacked a transmission mechanism but he had some ideas about the electrical signal he was now capable of recording and playing back.

His snoring caught in his throat and abruptly the whimsical dream of half-consciousness vanished in an instant. It sped away leaving him feeling like someone had turned on the lights of his room. The sensation chased away the pleasant darkness that had been keeping him company even though the room remained a black shroud. He groggily winced as he slowly sat up sweeping away the paper clutter on the desk. Gradually he entered true consciousness, staring at his workstation where he had fallen asleep the day, or night, before. The thoughts of the past slowly falling away from his mind. A curious sensation could be felt on his back. He reached over his shoulder and pressed his hoof against a woven blanket. It was fairly comfortable for its make and made him feel warm in the usually cool room. Who had given it to him was another matter entirely, he looked around the study to find no one. He got up with a befuddled walk towards the lab proper to find the sudden smell of daisies assaulting his nostrils, clearly it was a perfume.

Shocked he looked around to find the exit door partially open and the room’s equipment cleaned and put in its proper place, much unlike his normal mess he had with which he had grown accustomed. The faint sound of hooffalls could be heard quickly dissipating through the door. Zeccaran rushed over to the portal and ripped it open to look down the hall as quick as he could. He caught the briefest glance of a snow-white mare with a bright red mane and tail. She disappeared around the corner at the end of the hall before he could call out to her or see her face. Dumbfounded he went back and paced about the lab in confusion as he decided whether or not to follow.

He chose to follow.

Grabbing a snap-brim hat that had been curiously left in the lab when he had originally arrived, Zeccaran dashed out of the lab hoping to follow the mare. He rationalized his sudden un-Zeccaran-like decision as a platonic attempt to at least thank her. Then again, he might have finally taken his first steps in becoming a different stallion. He put the brown hat on his head to cover up his now too long mane and exceedingly messy mohawk as he closed his lab door behind him.

He ran down the corridor and followed its zigzagging path through the research department, hoping to catch his visitor at one of the security checkpoints. He finally made it to the post nearest his lab after the third right turn. The guardponies that were stationed there straightened their posture as he came running towards them.

“Slow down zebra, slow down!” the unicorn one shouted at him. Zeccaran obliged grudgingly. He really wanted to find that mare, he was inexorably compelled yet had no reason beyond a wild whim. “Did a white mare with a red mane come by?” he asked, shoving his lanyard and attached I.D. card at the guard.

“Uh, yeah. You just missed her.” he grumbled.

Looking at Zeccaran’s name on the card, unicorn used his horn to pull apart the identification card’s layers and reveal the small metal approval chip. He pushed it into a receiving board that was labeled with all the resident researchers’ names. The little light above his name turned green and the board released a harsh *Biiing* and the I.D. was put back together and given back to Zeccaran.

“She turned right, I think, Step through the scanner please.” he chirped. Zeccaran followed his instructions annoyed at the slow performance of a routine check. He passed the threshold of the rectangular outline that made up the scanner. It gave a low, affirmative *beeeeep* He had no idea how the scanner worked, but it always approved him, regardless of what he was carrying.

“Alright, you are good to go, Zec! Have a nice day! The guard said cheerily. Stupid guards always acted like he was some sort of imposter. He knew both of their names and they knew his too. Yet every time he entered or left the facility they pretended like they had no idea who he was until his I.D. was confirmed and he passed the scan. Zeccaran knew it was a Changeling countermeasure, but nonetheless found it exceedingly frustrating when he was in a hurry.

He entered the big hall that went along the length of the Research Division and turned right towards the front of the Palace and towards his quarry. Just at the end of the long hall at the edge of the coffee lounge and lobby of the basement facilities Zeccaran could see the mare. He immediately started sprinting putting about half the distance between the two of them away before she turned the corner. Zeccaran pushed his speed, breezing past surprised scientists, guards, and a few of the Nightwatch spooks. He hoped to catch her before she made it to the elevators so he could at least see what she looked like beyond her general color.

He only managed to see elevator doors closing as he passed into and out of the lobby and turned his view towards them. He rushed over to the elevator set and began fiercely slamming his hoof into the button. It took the other elevator a forever to open its doors, he hopped inside and began jamming the Floor 1 button.

The elevator beeped, closed and began ascending the near two stories up to the first floor. Once there it ‘ding-donged’ as Zeccaran fiercely pounded the door open button hoping the doors would open faster. They luckily obliged him and Zeccaran practically dove into main hall. He rapidly snapped his head back and forth trying to find where the mare had disappeared to. Finding no real clue he chose left and darted towards the state offices hoping his gut was not wrong.

Zeccaran passed through the otherwise empty halls following what he hoped was somepony else’s hoofsteps. He turned left at the crosshall in the middle of the offices and peered into the meeting rooms figuring that the mare he was trying to catch had possibly snuck into one of the State Offices’ many departments. He did not see her until he looked more closely down to the end of the hall, at a great distance past the stained stained glass he saw the mare.

“Hey! Wait!” he yelled as he burst into a full gallop.

The mare seemingly did not notice and continued to move along the hall far ahead of him at her own brisk pace. He pushed on desperately just want to meet her, gaining as much ground as he could until he could better see her features Finally, Zeccaran could tell she was rather tall and slender in build with a neatly folded pair of wings tucked daintily at her sides.The she-pegasus turned to the right and entered the short hall that led to the Royal Archives. It was then, as he went to call out to her again, he rammed into a pair of Royal Guards.

Together, the three of them fell to the marble floor in a great clammer. Between their grunts of pain and yells of surprise Zeccaran laid on the ground defeated. He grumbled in absent acceptance of the Universe’s will, today was not the day he would meet his female benefactor. He rolled onto his side and curled up into a ball to sulk angrily at fate as the two Guards picked themselves up.

“Well, it was both much easier and much harder to find him than you were thinking, Sarge.” one said. “Just pull me off the ground, kid.” the sergeant retorted. They looked down at Zeccaran expectantly as if they wanted him to offer some sort of joke or apology. He just laid there, still furious that every time he wanted to do something it completely and utterly backfired into his face. The sergeant cleared his throat.

“The Princesses sent us to summon you, Zeccaran.” the older stallion grumbled out. “Why?” he responded emptily from the ground.“They refused to say.” the newbie said, extending his hoof. Zeccaran reached up slowly and took the offered help. He looked them both in the eye trying to force his displeasure and anger directly into their minds. Neither held his gaze for very long. It had gotten his point across. He motioned them to guide him to wherever it was the Princesses were waiting. His sulking was severe enough to keep the guards from making any small talk as the proceeded straight past the hall his quarry had entered. Zeccaran gazed down the corridor watching as the mare he had been chasing hoofed over her identification to the guards outside the Archives. He gritted his teeth angry that he had left that access card in the lab.

Just as she started to disappear past the door she cast a glance his direction. Pale golden eyes brightly sparkled at him coupled with subtle and soft features of an utterly gorgeous pegasus. She grinned mischievously when she saw him staring at her. Then she was gone. Zeccaran took a moment to stand there dumbfounded. She had known he was following the entire time. He shook his head wondering if he would ever see her again.

He returned to following the guards, they led him to a great set of stairs at the end of the hall. The tiled ascension sparkled a creamy light-green holding many different shaped tiles in a non-repeating order as they led up to a set of jade green painted doors. The guards opened the doors once they climbed the stairs and motioned him in the exceedingly bright room. His eyes stung from the sunlight and he could a feel a light breeze paired with birds singing. Zeccaran realized they had lead him to the Declaration Hall. It was a partially outside chamber lined with pillars and glassless windows. He hadn’t ever been to the hall but knew that had been used for all manner things from weddings to coronations. His eyes finally started to the adjusting to the brightness of the unfamiliar sun.

A long table was arranged perpendicular to him piled up with papers, books, and writing quills. The great pegasus Stormwalker clad in his armor stood directly across the table from Zeccaran furiously scratching something down on parchment, the quill held in his wing. The beast snapped up his eyes up to Zeccaran before pushing them back down to his writing. He was glad that was the length of their exchange, he knew the gravity of Stormwalker’s disapproving gaze and how the stallion could have killed him just as easily as he had glanced at him.

The rustling of chalk made him look to the right allowing him to see Luna’s hooves and tail sticking out from behind a chalkboard that was not facing him. Behind the table Celestia paced back and forth rapidly, her lips pushed away from her face in thought as she stared at an incredibly long floating list kept by her magic.

“Given the severity of her mind's lack of delineation, I can’t be sure when these events in her memory occurred. It would seem though that they are points of significance to her as they are the clearest portions of her subconscious.” Luna quoted over the top of chalk being drug.

Zeccaran moved a little closer to the table and peered around the chalkboard to see both the writings there and if the other ponies in the room would notice him. Luna just continued scrawling on the board her brow pinched in concentration. Stormwalker cleared his throat loudly as Zeccaran walked the rest of the way around the chalkboard and stood staring at the strange calculations and timeline Luna had written there. He was probably trying to get Luna’s attention, there was no way that the stallion had not noticed him walk right in the way of his view of the board.

“Luna.” Stormwalker said dryly. “What?-Oh! Hello, Zeccaran, you got here quite quickly!” Luna gasped out as she turned and saw him standing there. “So, this is what you guys are up to...” Zeccaran responded lackadaisically as he examined the board in detail. Outside the calculations the board included a large circular diagram drawn in various colors of chalk. There were layers of circles detailing what appeared to be levels of pony consciousness. He looked over the labels with their varying numbers and names confusing to him until he came across an elegantly written “Gusty’s Mind” near the top of the board.

“Ohhhh!” he proclaimed fearfully. “So, you have been doing..psychologist sessions...with Gusty?!” He turned around and gaped in horror at Luna and Stormwalker. These ponies had to be insane! Picking Gusty’s brain was a pointless and ridiculous task, not to mention dangerous. Somehow they were not satisfied with what he had realized long ago: Gusty would do what she wanted, when she wanted, regardless of the consequences. If they just accepted that, dealing with the teal mare’s behavior would be much easier.

Stormwalker rolled his eyes in response, Luna smiled briefly.“I wouldn’t say that I have been attempting to fix her...issues let’s call them, rather just recording and analyzing mental stimulants and memories of hers.” She replied. “Whyyyyyyy?” Zeccaran asked in enthused confusion.

“Well, because Stormy asked me to.” Luna grinned merrily as if she loved having nothing better to do than indulge the stallion’s requests. Zeccaran pursed his lips and fixed her with a hard stare. Really? He shouted incredulous question in his mind trying to force her understand without words. He had absolutely nothing he could say. He remained baffled as Luna began explaining.

“Anyway,” she said with a push of her mane from her face, “It would seem that Gusty has a number of significant stimulants that cause a radical change in her behavior. Most of it is centered around a strange magic she possess that allows her to gage the morality of ponies around her. Other major stimulants are you and Stormwalker..” Luna finished.

“I think that’s a little off topic Luna.” Stormwalker said. Zeccaran turned to look at the giant pegasus. The stallion met his gaze before shuffling to a position closer to directly across the table from him. “Ignoring the finer points for now, all you need to know is that Luna has managed to deduce, through much work, that Gusty seems to have some form of memory condition, and a personality issue.” he remarked with a serious air.

“Pffpbttfft!” Zeccaran spluttered, covering up his laugh. “I could have told you that! Would have saved you the trouble.” he shook his head. He had no idea why this was important to the two being before him. “Anyone with consistent contact with Gusty could easily make such an assessment. Luna’s work was merely to prove that what we have been feeling is correct. It is also consistent with data I had gathered on my own.” Stormwalker continued.

“Ok. But how is that helpful? I’m certainly not an expert but that hardly solves the problem of treating her behavior. Even if you know what is causing it that doesn’t mean we can just stop her from interacting with other ponies. That would just make it worse!” he answered.

He was attempting to make sense of what in the world the Equestrian Royalty and the local demonspawn were trying to prove. It was not making sense. Celestia cleared her throat with a grunt. She slid up from behind Stormwalker before grabbing a steaming cup of coffee in her magic. The mug had been hiding behind a stack of books on the table. She downed the whole thing in a single go, unphased, before speaking

“I’m out of ideas, and ponies. Before we met her Gusty hadn’t been in Equestria longer than perhaps a year, and hasn’t been here since ponies were writing folktales about her.” She grumbled looking at Stormwalker. The stallion furrowed his brow in concentration while Zeccaran waited to see what he had to say. Previously miffed, Celestia gave him wave and a kind smile, she motioned with her hooves that she liked his hat. He responded with a slight nod and a grin. They sat there in silence for a moment as Stormwalker bit at his lip.

“Well, if the ponies you have interviewed have had no information, then we are stuck trying to deduce when and where those memories occurred. I can back reference location by description, but it will take a long time. And who knows, the world has changed, if Gusty is as old as we think she is, some of the places may not even exist anymore.” He waved a hoof as he talked.

“Then how are you gonna make sense of these memories?” Zeccaran asked him, “I heard Luna say that the events in her Subconscious aren’t organized in any real way, other than that they are important to her.”

“We have a solution for that actually.” Luna stated. “We are going to have you ask her. If all possible that is.”

Zeccaran flinched as if the Princess of the Night had thrown a brick at him. Figuratively speaking she had, it was just in the form of anxiety.

“W-what?” he stammered.

“Yes, you.” Celestia answered. “She has a particular openness when speaking to you, it would seem that you encourage her to remember things. Luna said that with some practice and her help you could even be a proficient dreamwalker yourself, given your affinity for Astral Magic.”

“I have an affinity for Astral Magic?” he questioned them.

“Yes. The amount of time and practice you have sunk into summoning Shades and Nyx herself has had some other benefits as well. Despite appearances you are quite useful to our efforts.” Stormwalker confirmed.

Zeccaran opened his mouth to respond but found his words dying before they reached his tongue. He had no defense for such claims. It was almost as if they had already known that he had been experiencing strange dreams that seemingly allowed him to visit other pony’s minds. Before today he had thought that they were just particularly lucid and fantastical sleeps, but he had been wrong. Their words had made the final piece click into place, all the old rituals he knew, all of the depressing and terrible memories, they finally made sense. He had been dreamwalking for a long time and he had taken this long to realize it. He sat there his now open mouth rendered a slack-jawed revelation.

A flash of light inside Stormwalker’s eyes caught his attention. He sparked into a cocky grin, his teeth surprisingly flat and non-fanged.

“Hmm….one...two...three!” he smiled.

A loud bang sent Zeccaran flying toward the floor in a gut reaction. He hit the ground and rolled before springing back up in time to watch as Gusty came flying through the smoldering and unhinged doors in full flight. Her sword was held high in her magic and she was violently screaming in triumph. He was unsure how to describe it but in the briefest of moments that passed as she drew closer to Stormwalker, Zeccaran could tell she was going to miss. How she was going to miss such a straight shot he had no idea. Her target stallion sat there with a deeply amused look on his face as Gusty whizzed past him attempting to slash him with her sword. She missed miserably and sailed past her target and Celestia. Landing with her hooves skidding across the marble floor Gusty loosed an angry grunt through her nose.

Zeccaran was about to start criticizing her when loud laughter from Stormwalker stopped him. The stallion had fallen forward on his chest and covered his face with a hoof while he beat the floor with the other; all the while he cackled like a hyena. Celestia and Luna kept looking between Zeccaran and Stormwalker their faces confused. Stormwalker rolled onto his back laughing even harder as his merriment ever increased.

Gusty stood there agast. Zeccaran was fairly certain she had planned this attack.in advance, having missed seemed to have frozen her in a stupor. She took all of Stormwalker’s giggles until he calmed down enough to speak.

“Haha..heh heh. I adjust my position..heheheh! Three degrees and you miss?!” He boomed as he stood up. Zeccaran actually started to laugh too. He held back as much as he could. He certainly did not want to draw Gusty’s ire, for he was not nearly as sturdy nor confident as Stormwalker. He felt completely distracted from the seriousness of what he had been called here for. It was quite pleasant, probably the first time he had laughed in solid year.

“I’ll show you who missed!” Gusty shrieked as she charged again finally regaining minimal composure.

Zeccaran watched in wonder as Gusty plowed towards Stormwalker. The stallion snapped his wings out to their fullest and performed a perfect about face motion. This happened exactly as Gusty was about to impact him. Zeccaran full on burst into giggles as he watched Gusty hit Stormwalker’s backside and wings and go flying away from him like she had hit a springboard. She landed in a heap her sword flying from her magic and landing under the table. Gusty laid there her face turning a fierce red of embarrassment and frustration. Zeccaran just kept on laughing. Stormwalker started to say something about the research but began laughing again, even harder than before.

The stomping of running hooves made Zeccaran open his eyes more fully and slow his laughter. “Made-...it-...” heaved Bunker, who now stood in the door, “She flew off so fast when guards came.” He continued to huff and puff.

“Yes, you made good time!” Luna shouted over he and Stormwalker’s laughter.

“Why dey laughing?!” Bunker screamed back.

“I think it is because they enjoy Gusty’s frustration!” Celestia’s voice came over the table.

Zeccaran remarked to himself that Celestia was not wrong. He found it quite hilarious to see the normally robust and commanding Gusty’s flames snuffed with such ease. Meanwhile he continued laughing, holding his stomach and desperately trying to calm down.

“Hoooooo….” Stormwalker sighed his laugh subsiding first, “Okay, I’m good, I’m good.”

He found himself finally able to return to seriousness just after his unexpected cohort had. Finally calm he waited to see what the other stallion had in store for Gusty. Stormwalker pranced over to where she lay and extended a hoof to help her up.

“You need to work on your aerial maneuverability, sweetheart.” he said down to her warmly. Gusty slapped his away hoof angrily. She rolled over face deepening into an angry crimson as she stood up. Zeccaran continued to snicker at them briefly. He noticed Luna huffing.

“It’s always a game to him.” she pouted to Celestia.

“I thought you liked his optimism.” Celestia responded her head tilted

Zeccaran raised his brow at their exchange.

“You know I can hear you, right?” Stormwalker asked from over by Gusty.

“Da, I heard too! And I’m over here!” Bunker said still close to the door.

Luna blushed hard causing her dark blue fur on her face to turn a purple color. Gusty who had been returning to her normal teal color stomped up past Stormwalker to face the Royal Sisters. She looked significantly more piqued with Stormwalker than they, such was like her, but Gusty was not a mare to be outdone in the drama department.

“What did you want?” she snarked at the sisters.

Celestia recovered in her perfectly diplomatic way, her face donning a bright smile.

“Just to see if a few things are familiar to you, if you would be so kind as to indulge us, dear.” she said whilst putting a wing over Gusty’s shoulder and directing her toward the research table.

“Familiar? What do you mean?” Gusty asked her voice curious. She had clearly been won over by Celestia without much issue. Zeccaran silently wondered if it was because the two mares spent so much time together.

“Yes.” Luna piped up, taking her place back by her chalkboard. “We intended for Zeccaran to ask you the questions but you arrived much sooner than we were expecting.”

Gusty shrugged in response.

Luna began explaining some of the finer points of her dreamwalking to Gusty. Zeccaran didn’t have a real reason to listen as he already knew how it worked. He took the time Luna was using detailing her experience inside Gusty’s mind to take a closer look at the diagram. No longer frustrated or confused he made better sense of the rings of circles and labels.

There were seven total layers of Gusty’s consciousness and subconsciousness . The outermost layer was labeled: “Daily actions.” The next second and third layers were labeled personality and motivations respectively. The next layer was simply marked with dozens of question marks and the occasional descriptive word. Zeccaran found this particularly interesting detail. The few words in the section included: magic, mental break, memory charm, consciousness barrier. He knew not what to make of such a strange section of a pony’s mind, beyond that it certainly wasn’t normal. The fifth layer was labeled simply ‘dark barrier.’ It was easily the largest section of the diagram, it looked as if some of the information had been intentionally erased, except a single BAD, written as it appears.

The last two layers were labeled as the subconscious. The outer layer of the sublime section of Gusty’s mind was marked with poorly drawn images of swords, ghosts and death. It was detailed in an aside-line leading to a box with text.

“Overall subconscious function has been broken, like it was tortured or cursed, requires more research.” it read.

Finally, the last layer was tagged as “Core Memories and Deep Gusty.” The Deep Gusty bit seemed weird, but there were no proper names for the portion of the mind that makes ponies...ponies. Zeccaran let it go.

“Well .. what were these core memories like?” Gusty asked, Luna finally having brought her up to speed.

“They consistently involve other ponies, majestic landscapes, or both. I believe they are moments in your life when you experienced intense feelings of love, contentment, or achievement. Other than that I know nothing.” Luna explained yet more.

“At least they are nice things!” Gusty smiled.

Zeccaran scanned the ponies again. Bunker had moved around the table and stood next to Gusty. Stormwalker was now on the other side of the table strutting back and forth in that over-confident way he had about him. The sudden and unwelcome smell of male pheromones hit his nose. It was always upsetting to smell another guy’s musk, but when there was a pure-bred pegasus in the room it was an extremely common occurrence. Pure-bred pegasi had an unfair advantage, their wings produced an oil that allowed them to fly in rain, it doubled as a way to put the opposite sex in the mood. All of the pegasi claimed it was uncontrollable when their bodies refreshed the oils, Zeccaran was fairly certain that was a complete lie.

“A-anyway. T-there are f-four specific times we w-wanted to ah-ask you about.” Luna miserably stammered. Her blush flushing her cheeks into a color close to magenta.

Zeccaran rolled his eyes. Even if he was not doing it on purpose, Stormwalker was certainly going to push it as far as he could. The stallion breezed up next to Luna and stood across the table looking directly at Celestia and Gusty as he half-folded his wings.

“The first event is marked by a large tree in the foremost of vision. In the distance you are watching a pair of young pegasi racing each other and laughing. Meanwhile stallion with a rather deep voice is singing an old folksong. Sound familiar?” Stormwalker questioned.

The teal of Gusty’s face from the base of her ears up to the bridge of her snout flared full red and she stomped her front hooves. She bobbed and shook her head vehemently.

“Yes. I remember something like that, the two children-the boy was grey and the girl was a light pink. “ She recollected behind closed eyes. “And it would be a lot easier to remember if you stopped doing that.” Gusty gritted through her teeth.

“Doing what?” Stormwalker asked back. Zeccaran face-hoofed. How he could come off so perfectly coy the the zebra would never know.

“Look, j-just...just forget it. What’s the next memory?” Gusty glowered her face heating up even more. Zeccaran could feel it from where he sat at the end of the table.

“The next one is a rather picturesque landscape of great rolling hills, -oh-dear-it-has-gotten-quite-hot-out-today- it even includes a rather nice looking castle-like manor on the left. We have no idea where it is.” Celestia said to Gusty her brow wet with sweat. The white alicorn fanned herself with one of her wings.

Zeccaran continued to listen intently. He hoped to absorb the information and then not need to think about it until the time came. He was just glad that it wasn’t his mind they were picking, this time.

“Oh yeah!” Gusty exclaimed. “I remember that one for sure! But, I don’t know where it is either, it was beautiful there, I remember wonderful friends and helping build the castle even!”

“Where haven’t you been,eh?” Bunker interjected. “D’ya know how old you are, dear?” he drolled through his accent.

“Yes, If you know your age this could greatly help us.” Luna chimed in, finally steady.

“Uhh…” Gusty responded scratching at her chin, with a tilt of her head.

Zeccaran had never thought about how old Gusty possibly was. He had vague suspicions that she was actually some type of eldritch being following him about making his like miserable under the guise of friendship. That was his paranoia talking of course, but Gusty’s odd behavior and seemingly powerful amnesia and antics would lead him to think she was fairly old. He thought about some of the old foals’ stories from Zebrabwe he had heard before he was taken in by the cultists. There was roughly a story of a goddess that had descended to the earth that sought to smite evil and spread happiness to the many clans of the plains. She was said to possess incredible power and be unmatched in battle, able to command clouds and discern malintent in an instant. Zeccaran stifled a nauseous gag of realization. The story referred to all the things Gusty did on the regular. If it referenced somepony else, he knew none that would fit the description besides Celestia and Luna, but they wouldn’t have been alive when the story had taken place.

Hell, most of the world would have still been loose herds of creatures, he thought. That means Gusty would be at least five thousand years old. If I can do math...damn that's old!

“If I got my facts right, she is at least five thousand years old.” he said aloud. He was surprised his voice was as nonchalant as it was. The other ponies jumped in surprise like they had forgotten he had been standing there.

“Are you sure?” Celestia asked him.

“Yeah. There’s an old folktale that I remembered, it took place a long time ago. And the description of the heroine...fits Gusty pretty much to a ‘T’” he responded.

“Great, that really opens up the scope of where we are looking.” Stormwalker grumbled.

“Good. If it will keep you away from me!” Gusty snapped. “What’s the next memory thing?”

“You are speaking to a young brown-colored alicorn mare. With a shiny jet-black mane. She seems particularly happy. The conversation is fairly muddled. Behind her there is an open expanse of plains you are above, on a mountain home I presume. Two young dragons fly-” Luna started.

“Off in the distance; one is red and the other is white. We had just saved them...from..something, I don’t remember. But otherwise yes. That is quite clear to me. The young mare...I think she was my daughter. She had told me some type of bad joke. We were laughing.” Gusty finished, misty-eyed.

Zeccaran had never seen her quite like this. It really was like she had travelled to another time. A time when Gusty was happier, to say the least. She seemed almost at peace. That was a mood she had never displayed since he had met her.

“That is certainly interesting. How certain are you of the other alicorn being your daughter?” Stormwalker asked his voice rapt with that sort of dangerous curiosity he possessed.

“Yes...I...I had her name, but now it's gone. It’s like the more I try to remember the further it gets away from me.” Gusty rubbed her eyes and violently shook her head after she stopped talking.

“What is the last one?” she asked after she recovered.

“You stand facing a horde of armored pegasi. They look at you with fear and flee at your words into an never-ending empty expanse of snow and ice. You turn and cheer to a pack of Yaks, all bloody from battle. You raise up your sword and yell in victory like a maniac. The yaks, yell back and then everything fades to black.” Stormwalker said.

“I…” Gusty took a long pause, before starting up again, softly “I don’t really remember that as a good memory. I was fighting something, no, someone powerful. I had won. But it was a hollow victory, like...like I had lost something incredibly important to achieve it. I was happy for the Yaks...but…” she leaned her head down behind her long mane.

“It feels strange to remember these things.” she whispered to the crowd. Zeccaran had to strain to hear her. “I makes me wonder like: is this speeding me towards something terrible? Hey!” Gusty suddenly changed her tone. “I realized I really don’t know much about the world. Tell me, are than any male alicorns?” she desperately breathed.

Zeccaran looked up at the other ponies as each of them exchanged glances before all of them settled on Bunker. The stallion sighed heavily, having realized that his cohorts decided he should tell Gusty to the answer to that question.

“No.” he said distraughtly to his fiance.

“Oh.” Gusty leaned her head down again, but picked back up instantly. “Well, in lighter news Bunker and I are officially to be married!” she smiled.

“What!?” Celestia, Luna, Stormwalker, and even Zeccaran himself yelled together.

Bunker just stood there, dumbfounded. He had the look about him that a drunk would have when he reached an epiphany of intoxication. Zeccaran offered a slight chuckle before Gusty picked back up.

“I did promise that I would take his courtship seriously.” she responded elegantly, “He has proven to be quite the gentlecolt.”

“Congratulations then!” Celestia nearly purred out.

“Indeed, It shall be an excellent pairing!” Luna declared boldly.

“I’m sure you will happy together.” Stormwalker kindly said his piece with a smile and a nod.

That left him to say something too. Zeccaran couldn’t let himself be left out.

“Yeah, good for you guys, I guess?” he gave his best answer.

Gusty squeed, hard. She promptly grabbed the still frozen Bunker in a hug before lifting him up in her magic.She laughed loudly at the stallion who was just mumbling incoherently. Zeccaran suddenly felt rather sorry for poor Bunker, he had probably just bitten off more than he could chew. A lot more.

“We are going to go celebrate! You are all invited to our wedding! Except you, demon!” She yelled with joy with pointing at her quarry.

“Do you honestly think you could stop me from going?” Stormwalker retorted with a wry smile and a raised brow.

Gusty huffed, declared farewell, and disappeared through the doors. Bunker vacantly waved a hoof as he floated behind her, a grin starting to grow on his face.

“That was...sudden.” Zeccaran said to the group.

Celestia gave a short chuckle, whilst Luna nodded rather merrily. Stormwalker rolled his eyes like he had seen it coming a mile away.

“Did you guys get all the information you wanted out of her? I mean she kinda just up and left without warning.” he said towards Luna.

“We actually got more than enough information from her reactions.” Stormwalker responded stepping up towards the table proper.

Zeccaran raised up his lip in pure confusion. He loosed a sigh in attempt to gather his thoughts. The pegasus, the demon, the whatever, he usually had some type of insight or extra knowledge. Zeccaran regularly found that annoying. The guy always had extra cards that no one else could see. He motioned circularly in the air with his hoof to signal Stormwalker to continue.

“For example: with her description I was able to confirm specific details on the Yak memory. That was the final battle for Yak independence from the Cirran Empire. It took place three-thousand five-hundred years ago. I even know where it is on an map. If I am not mistaken she killed an ancestor of mine to win that battle. That fits in with your theory that she is at least five-thousand years old.” he said.

“The Cirran Empire? A relative of yours? I’m right? All that seems pretty far fetched. I didn’t think that the empire had wars like that, or that I was doing anything beyond spitballing” Zeccaran mulled over his words.

“Oh, yes. Most of the Empire’s activities involved conquering and subjugating others, though you will never find that in any history book. The Lords that survived the Empire’s fall were sure to destroy most of the material. I would know, I can trace my lineage back almost six-thousand years, back when my family weren’t lords yet.” Stormwalker answered.

“Oh.” Zeccaran, found himself at a loss for words.

It was a strange. Zeccaran was fairly certain the stallion divulging the information despised him. Yet, he found this lowly zebra, his enemy, important enough to tell him information that had been scrubbed from history. Zeccaran had a sneaking suspicion that Stormwalker was telling him things as a means to an end. Although even if he was right, there would never be a way to prove the other stallion had ulterior motives. Zeccaran just hoped those intentions were benevolent, Stormwalker had already proved he was unstoppable if he set his mind to something. Should his intentions prove selfish or maleficent the world was already doomed.

“Well, you certainly have a grip on things. Didn’t you already have all this information? Why did you tell us?” he question finally recovering.

“A most curious observation, Zeccaran.” Celestia grinned approvingly at him. “Even with Luna’s dreamwalking, things were particularly muddled.”

“Yes. Gusty herself painted a much clearer picture of what occurred compared to what I gleaned from those jagged memories.” Luna confirmed. “We took the clearest details, speculated, set up the situation and...well you saw the results.”

Zeccaran nearly jumped in surprise. They had manipulated Gusty into remembering more than they could get themselves. It was an artful display of the three immortal beings’ capability to get what they desired without anything besides a few well placed words. He shuddered in disturbed awe and horror. In the end he was just a mortal, and simply did not measure up to the powers of the three demi-goddess alicorns and the demon lord. But somehow, he was mixed up in this twisted mess of long game deceptions and world affecting personal politics. He wondered if Bunker realized it too.

“Zeccaran?”

“Zeccaran!” Luna yelled.

“Huh?” he responded dully, still gobsmacked by stark reality.

“Are you alright? You seem...a bit touched.” the moony mare stated.

“Yeah, I gotta go.” he answered, slowly plodding around the table.

He narrowly made his journey, his hooves felt rather numb. The sensation was moving up his legs threatening to make impossible to walk. He drug himself to the door and slowly turned to look back the sisters and Stormwalker. They peered back him all of them showing some form admonishing concern.

“Have a nice day, thank you for coming.” Celestia gracefully encouraged.

He just nodded in response.

The walk back to his lab took a forever. He didn’t look up other ponies, he barely had his eyes open at all in fact. By the time he reached the door to his abode in the palace Zeccaran fell through it. He narrowly caught himself and stumbled into his study. He waltzed over to the cot that he had gotten some time ago and hopped into it for the first time and immediately fell asleep hoping desperately that the world would be the same when he woke up.

Next Chapter: Act 1: Chapter 2 - Why do I dream like this? Estimated time remaining: 25 Hours, 7 Minutes