The Voice of a Stranger

Prologue

Dusty Trails

======
It was a quiet, calm night in Ponyville. The sky was clear and the air was warm. It was a typical summer night. The shops had closed and the street lights had come on. The only sound was the chirping of crickets.

It was uncommon for the streets of this quiet little hamlet to be empty on nights such as this. Secret lovers trying to escape the public eye. Artists seeking inspiration from the still night air. Delinquents and ne’er do wells making secret plots under the cover of dark. All of these took solace in the calm still air. Tonight though, the streets were silent. Every pony in this quiet village had sought the comforting embrace of sleep. Everpony, except a certain purple unicorn mare.

Twilight Sparkle, ever the diligent student, had once again neglected sleep in favor of her studies. Nights such as this were perfect for stargazing. A clear sky provided an unobstructed view of the world above. An unfettered glimpse of the unending void and all its wonders. An opportunity such as this was a special treat for the unicorn, as stargazing was one of her great passions, second only to magic.

The meticulous scholar diligently mapped the stars above, noting their alignment and position. She recorded the notable constellations and each visible planet. Tonight’s map was identical to many she had made over the previous months. This was a typical night for stargazing as no uncommon celestial phenomena had yet occurred.

Suddenly though, a disturbance streaked across the sky. A bright flash of light to the north indicated that perhaps tonight would not be such a quiet night. The lavender astronomer hastily swiveled her telescope, causing the quill that was creating her constellation map to slip, mucking up Orion’s belt. This was of no consequence, as the constellation had remained relatively unchanged for the past several months. No, a chance to map a shooting star was much more intriguing.

Twilight’s horn glowed bright lavender as she excitedly scratched her quill across a fresh scroll, taking note of the star’s exact position and trajectory. An unpredicted shooting star was a very rare occurrence, and all the more exciting for it. Tracking the star’s exact location with her telescope while simultaneously taking notes required a level of magical focus that was beyond most unicorns; however Twilight Sparkle was not most unicorns, she had received top honors in all of her magical courses at the Canterlot Academy for Gifted Unicorns for a reason.

As the star approached the opposite horizon Twilight’s eyes drooped. As its light dimmed, so did her consciousness. Twilight yawned as she jotted down the final coordinates of the star. She released the magic in her horn and her quill dropped. As the star faded a foalish thought entered her mind. If she hadn’t known better she’d have sworn that the star had landed in Canterlot. However Twilight Sparkle knew that shooting stars didn’t land. No, these wondrous ‘stars’ were mere chunks of space debris that ignited and burned in the planet’s upper atmosphere.

Twilight’s eyes slowly drifted shut as she mumbled to herself about stars and dust. With a soft thud she landed on her side. Spike, her dragon assistant, groggily stumbled over and tried to push her off to bed, to no avail. He begrudgingly pulled a blanket over her still form, and shuffled off to his own sleeping space, meanwhile rubbing the sleep out of his own eyes.

======
Pain. That was the first sensation to hit the stallions mind, dark was the second. Pain and dark. Not exactly pleasant sensations, but they would have to do, as they were all he could feel. Rather quickly another sensation joined the pain and the dark, removing his previous notions of silence, noise. Not just any noise, but voices. Several of them, and they were quite loud, or so he assumed. The very confused stallion decided they weren’t particularly nice voices, as nice voices would have known to keep quiet when somepony’s head was trying to split itself open. Still, maybe it would be a good idea to at least listen to them, regardless of their obvious rudeness.

The stallion opened his eyes, upon realizing he had them, and took in the sight of two pegasi. Both were clad in golden armor and neither looked very happy to see him. One of the two was noticeably shorter than the other. This shorter one spoke, using the same not so pleasant voice from earlier.

“I’ll ask you one more time, what are you doing right in the middle of the princess’s rose garden at this time of night?”

The stallion blinked, looking down he realized he was in fact sitting in a rose bush. That would explain the sharp pain in his side. He shifted slightly to dislodge several of the more annoying thorns and turned his thoughts to the pegasus’s question.

He opened his mouth to answer but as he searched his mind he found he did not possess one. The stallion had no memory of what had happened or how he had gotten here. He stared dumbly at the two pegasi. His mouth hung open and his eyes boasted a look of deep confusion.

The shorter Pegasus looked to his companion and spun his hoof around his ear several times. His partner responded by tilting his hoof in front of his mouth, miming the motion of drinking. The shorter turned back to the stallion and sighed.

“Since you’ve clearly got no idea what you’re doing here, could I get a name?” The pegasus’s voice shook a little, clearly not in the mood to deal with a potentially drunk possible lunatic.

The stallion searched his mind again. No name could be found. In fact, no memory at all could be found. The stallion stood there, mouth still agape, eyes still blank and confused. The Pegasus shook his head. He’d had enough of this.

“Looks like we’ve got us another loony,” he said reaching out a hoof to pull the stallion out of the rosebush. “I suppose it’s off to jail with you pal.”

“Wait,” the tall one’s voice rang out clearly, low but quiet, evidently a voice that didn’t see much use.

The shorter one whirled to meet his eyes; his eyebrow was raised and his nostrils were on the verge of flaring, violently. It was obvious he was in no mood to wait.

“Yes?” he responded, the anger of his tone was nearly palpable. His wings had extended and his eyes burned bright with barely restrained malice.

The taller one backed up a bit and his eyes betrayed a hint of hesitation, it was clear from his expression he’d learned this short little Pegasus was not one to be argued with. He shook himself and stepped forward again, regaining his confidence. “Weren’t we supposed to report to Celestia, anything we’d seen, no matter what?” His voice shook but it was clear he was affirming his stance. “I mean, we’ve got our orders… Sir.”

He hastily added in the title, almost as an afterthought. The shorter pegasus glared intensely at him, only mildly pacified by the mention of rank. He walked up to the taller and stared him down.

“Listen, Runt,” he growled. “I’m your superior, I give the orders here. You obey my orders and don’t question me. Got it?” He emphasized this last bit with a jab to the chest.

Runt, as he was apparently called, clearly didn’t seem to get it, as he pressed on regardless of the short one’s anger, and anything that could be defined as logical thought.

“You wouldn’t want to upset the princess, would you sir?” A hint of slyness shone under the previously dull note of Runt’s voice.

The shorter Pegasus was trapped, he knew Runt was right yet he didn’t want to admit defeat. He stood there glaring, trying to think of a way out of this, you could almost see the gears in his head turning. After several moments of this he gave up. He turned to the stallion and extended a hoof, pulling him out of the bush. The stallion fell out, rather clumsily and landed with an amusing plop.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day,” He grumbled, clearly displeased. “Runt here’s saved you from a night in jail and probably a quick release in the mornin’. Instead, you get to pay a little visit to ‘her exalted majesty’ Princess Celestia and make all of our lives more difficult.”

======
Celestia sighed, it was late. Night court had always been such a trivial matter to her, as late as it was. It wasn’t that the princess had a need for sleep, no, no mortal function held any necessity for the alabaster lady of the dawn. Sleep, food, drink. All of these were mere matters of triviality to her. Still though, she enjoyed engaging herself in these frivolities. They were a point of curiosity to her, one she enjoyed indulging in.

Celestia sighed once more. It was necessary for the princess to remain vigilant. To always be on call for the needs of her subjects. Even when they were sound asleep. The princess shook her head. What harm could a short rest cause? Catching a few winks between dusk and dawn? It wasn’t as if anypony ever visited night court anyway.

Celestia dropped her head and closed her eyes, surrendering her mind to sleep. A shroud began to form over her consciousness.

“Your majesty,” A gruff voice broke out, shattering the veil.

Celestia’s head snapped up and her eyes flew open, she looked out to greet her visitors. Before her stood two royal guardsmen with a pony she did not know. The guard who had spoken was a short one with a bright red mane and a perpetual scowl fixed upon his features. She recognized him as the guard captain Fomorian, an ambitious and slightly arrogant individual. He was a Trotland resident who had moved to Canterlot years ago to join the royal guard. On more than one occasion he’d been brought in for alcohol abuses. The other guard stood back a ways, slightly hunched in a more submissive position. Celestia recognized him as a recent recruit. Runt was the name he’d come to be known by. This recruit showed promise, despite his lack of ambition. She hoped one day he’d rise up in the ranks and take on more responsibility. The third pony that stood before her was not one she recognized.
This was a tall black pegasus. His coat and mane appeared full of some sort of gritty, particulate matter, almost like dust. A pair of wings stuck out at his sides, refusing to rest in the way most pegasi could manage. They were larger than the wings of most pegasi, and clearly would not take such a position comfortably. Atop this stranger’s head sat an odd sort of hat, one Celestia could not name but certainly recognized, it had been quite popular at the Grand Galloping Gala but she couldn’t for the life of her remember its name.

Still though, there was something familiar about this odd pegasus. His height, his gait, even the unusual hat atop his head, each stuck o chord of memory. Most of all though, she could feel his presence. This pony had a certain air to him, an aura that affected the space around him. Every pony had one, but few were aware of it. Most ponies lacked the perceptiveness to feel it, and the residual magic that flooded the air around those that had such gifts would often drown out all but the strongest of signals, but not Celestia. The ivory alicorn held an affinity for magic, one born of thousands of years of experience. She could use this affinity to look within the hearts of ponies, and see into their minds, to a somewhat limited scope, but she had learned many years ago the danger of prying magic. Despite its limits, this was certainly a useful skill, and it was one that had served her well on numerous occasions.
This stranger though, the presence he held was no ordinary one. His was a presence far more powerful than any she’d felt in many years. A presence wished not to remember, but could never forget.

======
Confusion was becoming a constant for the stallion. It’s enough of a shock when one wakes up in a rosebush with no name or memory, but throw in an encounter with two royal guardstallions and an audience with a princess and you begin to wonder what sort of madman could be running this circus act.
Still, he couldn’t deny that he was enjoying himself. From first impressions it looked like the world was shaping up to be a very exciting place. One thing was a bit odd though, the way the princess was staring at him, regarding him, studying him even. But who was he to judge? He had no frame of reference, for all he knew this was perfectly normal behavior. She sat a while, looking at him, clearly in deep thought.

Finally the princess spoke.

“And who might I have the honor of addressing?” This was a voice the stallion deemed nice, not like the angry little pegasus. The voice was unnecessarily saccharine, but nice. Soft and clear, but it carried well. The stallion opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the guardsmen, the short one.

“This here’s an intruder ma’am. Caught ‘im in the rose garden, says he ‘as no idea who ‘e is or ‘ow ‘e got there.” The military bravado was almost sickening. The stallion certainly preferred the syrupy sweetness of the princess to this forced stiffness.

The princess’s eyebrows rose at this.

“No memories you say?” Again she spoke with exaggerated sweetness, almost like a mother to a child.

“Indeed ma’am. Highly suspicious if you ask me.” The guard once again spoke, his voice still overly stiff and brusque.

The princess smiled.

“Perhaps this is an assassination plot.” Her playful sarcasm was almost impossible to miss.

“It very well may be ma’am,” Almost impossible, not quite.

The guard’s point was valid; the stallion was suspicious of his own motives, but missing such blatant sarcasm was an act of unforgivable stupidity.

Where the stallion found irritation, the princess found amusement.

“My dear captain, there is no need to fear this pony. I was only joking.” Her voice was calm, and the laughter that followed was oddly soothing. Could there possibly be a hint of magic behind it?

“Now then.” Back to business, any trace of magical sweetness was gone. “My dear visitor, who are you really?” Her words carried no hint of accusation but her voice held a note of trepidation.

The stallion shook his head and frowned, his memories remained elusive.

“I’m sorry your majesty.” The stallion felt his voice resonate in his throat, it was an odd sensation. “I really have no idea who I am.”

The princess frowned, not out of anger but more out of disappointment.

“Are you sure?”

The stallion nodded.

“Well we’ll just have to see what we can do about that.”
The genuine nature of the princess’s offer was certainly surprising. A pony of such suspicious nature as him should, and in a sane world would, be thrown into a dungeon, or banished, or banished and thrown into a dungeon in the place he was banished to. Still, nothing he’d seen so far gave any hint at all that this world was in any way sane.

“First though, I’m going to have to ask you to remove your hat.”

The stallion frowned, he hadn’t been aware of the hat until now. He stretched his wing out and removed it with a casual flick.

The reaction was immediate.

It’s a funny thing to watch a pony jump. All four legs spread out, seeming to defy gravity for an instant. As an added effect, a pegasus’s wings would pop straight out. It was quite a sight.

Still, these ponies had good reason to be startled. When the stallion looked up he understood that. For extending out from his forehead, appearing bit by bit, was a unicorn’s horn.

======
The stallion stared at his reflection. The quarters he’d been assigned were certainly spectacular, he’d even been provided a mirror. It was surprising that the princess had given him such nice quarters, given the events that had so recently transpired.
After his horn had been revealed, things had gone… interestingly. The two guards hadn’t taken it very well. The smaller one had been the one to jump, a humorous sight to remember again, so dramatic. The other one merely stumbled backwards and tripped over his own hooves.
The princess though, her reaction was quite strange. The two guards had shown evidence of shock and terror. Presumably reasonable responses, after a being so similar to their princess had become apparent, and they had quite recently displeased the aforementioned being. The princess showed no such shock, she didn’t seem frightened or in any way surprised. It seemed as if she’d been expecting this. She seemed a bit apprehensive but that was the general air she gave off. Not a moment had passed where she seemed truly at ease.

Still, her composure was remarkable. Her true feelings were quite well guarded, they had nearly gone unnoticed, and the stallion wouldn’t have been aware of them at all had it not been for a nagging sensation in the back of his mind, a curious little buzzing, relaying tiny bits of information. It had been present since he’d awoken, at the back of his mind. He hadn’t noticed at first, a quiet little hum, coming in irregular patterns. It was truly unimportant at the time. Slowly it had become louder, more ordered. A pattern had emerged. Almost like a voice.

The stallion dismissed it. He presumed it was normal. Regardless of normality this voice was certainly useful. It told him things, little things, but certainly very interesting ones, things such as the princess’s true feelings. Perhaps this was unimportant perhaps not. The stallion really had no idea what to think, so he stopped. He tucked the information about the voice away and instead returned his mind to the throne room.

The princess had remained silent for a moment, regarding the stallion. She looked him over, clearly deep in thought. Her lips had pursed before she jumped to her hooves. She then began to lay out arrangements for his future. She declared he’d stay in the castle; a solution to his memory loss would have to be found. She’d assigned him quarters among the royal servants and sent him on his way. He turned to leave the throne room and began on his way when she stopped him. She’d said he’d need a name if he was to live in the palace. She looked him over and declared his name Coalblack.

A very fitting name, it suited his charcoal coat and mane quite well. It was also a great convenience, as referring to him as ‘the stallion’ would grow tiresome quite quickly.

The stallion, or Coalblack as he must now be known, looked himself over once more. Dirty charcoal coat. Dirty charcoal mane. A set of overly long legs and a pair of ridiculous oversized wings. Even a ridiculous top hat on his head. He didn’t cast quite the same regal figure as Celestia.

He looked more like a bumbling chimney sweep than a royal figure. Perhaps that’s who he was, a chimney sweep. He really had no idea. That was the pain of memory loss though, you had no idea who you were.
Coalblack decided he’d better get some sleep. If he kept at it he could continue thinking on this all night. If his memories did return and he was actually a chimney sweep he’d rather put off knowing it for as long as possible.
He walked over to the bed he’d been provided and lifted the covers. He climbed underneath them and closed his eyes. He tried to think calming thoughts but this is a tricky feat when calm is an emotion one has never experienced before in one’s life.

======
Luna stood out over the castle terrace admiring the beauty of her night. The mysterious nature of the heavens, the soft chirping of crickets, the gentle light of the moon and stars. Night was truly a time full of life.

It was a shame, really, that ponies chose this time to sleep. The soft light of the moon and stars gave everything a sense of peace. The still night air was perfect for self reflection. After a day toil and drudgery under the sun, the gentle moon cast her soft light over the land, inviting all beneath her to rest.

Night was the time of scholars and of artists, of poetry and music, of lovers and of dreamers, those both waking and sleeping. Night was a time of respite, a time for the world to relax and turn its thoughts inward, a time of introspection and self discovery, a time of peace. Why then did so many waste these precious hours in bed? Why not indulge in the wonders of the dark? Why did so few truly appreciate her night? When one did not share in the gift of immortality why waste even a single moment of one’s short span on the triviality of sleep? Why did the ponies of Equestria shun her and accept her sister instead?

Luna sighed. Thoughts like these were dangerous. A thousand years ago such dissent had quite nearly plunged Equestria into eternal night. A thousand years ago, such thoughts caused her to burn with fury. But now though, these thoughts simply filled her with despair, they had once served as a liquid fuel for the fires of rage, and without the spark of hate she’d felt so long ago, they served no purpose beyond drowning her in sorrow. She felt no anger or jealousy. No, such feelings were behind her. She had her night and that would have to be enough.

Still, Luna wished she could enjoy some recognition. A sense that her subjects cared for her, loved her. She had one day set aside for her, every year. And this was no day of admiration. This was a day of fear, of subtle mockery. The ponies did not know it, but by their terrified shrieks and cries, they reinforced Luna’s feelings of self loathing. They told her once again that she was a monster, a being of evil and terror, one to cower at the feet of and beg for mercy. But that wasn’t the kind of ruler Luna wished to be. No, Luna wished to be known as a kind and gentle ruler, much in the way Celestia was known.

But no, that’s not who she was. She was not the benevolent ruler of all. That had never been her. Even a thousand years ago, she’d been the reserved one. Celestia was the face and the voice of Equestria. She was the one who basked in the glory of their subjects while Luna watched from the shadows, the silent queen of the night.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

In her state of melancholy Luna had failed to notice she had a visitor. She turned her head to see a tall black Pegasus next to her. He blended in quite well with the night. His appearance though, wasn’t what stood out to Luna. It was his voice. He had a kind and honest voice, but also a sad one.

This was an old voice speaking the words of a new soul. This was a voice that spoke of sorrow and of loss. A sense of power and of wisdom could be heard, but it was faint, a mere echo. This voice was ancient, had known much, carried many secrets and many burdens. Yet it had set them down, given up. This was a tired voice that had taken a chance to rest.

======

Coalblack stood on the terrace, overlooking the kingdom of Equestria. Fields and forests, hills and rivers, all were laid out in front of him under the moonlit sky. It was quite a sight. It instilled a sense of lordship inside the somber stranger. It was quite a feeling, standing over it all, able to see for miles, he could see why the princess chose to retreat to here.

Aside from the sense of power Coalblack also felt a sense of responsibility. The sight of the wider world really put things in perspective. Coalblack imagined it would be easy to disassociate things, rule dispassionately. Things like this though reminded you of the outside world.

Whose thoughts were these? Where did they come from? What was this voice? It came to him without his accord, the words of a stranger. Were these his words, the words he’d had before? His memories? They certainly didn’t sound like the words of a chimney sweep.

He shook his head and turned to the princess; that must be who this other alicorn was. She stood quietly regarding him, much the same way he was doing to her. She was less scrutinizing than the other princess had been. Her stare carried more of a kind curiosity than a harsh analysis. Celestia’s eyes had carried a sort of guarded knowledge while this princess carried no such secrets.

Was it more a sense of honesty or did this one merely lack such information? Either way, Coalblack liked this one better. Her eyes were softer. Celestia’s eyes had burned, not in a hostile or malicious way but they were certainly intense.

This princess though, the light in her eyes did not come from flame, no, her light was of a gentle incandescence. It was a more subtle power.
Hers was a quiet intensity, not overbearing, more of a background influence. She was more the quiet observer than the powerful monarch.

Again the words of this strange voice returned. Who was this, with such deep insight into the royalty?

The voice was persistent, Coalblack could give it that. It exerted its own will, dominating its hosts and filling his mind with ideas.

It was mysterious though. Shortly after it had said its piece it would retreat to a dark corner of his mind. It was impossible to track as this corner was sealed to him, a part of his mind not even he could access.

Coalblack sighed. This voice was a mystery and intended to remain so. He turned his head back to the princess, and back to her silent gaze. She jumped a little, startled by this small gesture. He could tell she wasn’t used to this, equine interaction that is, but then, neither was he. He tried to smile, not in a mocking way but in a warm, encouraging manner.

The princess burst out laughing. Coalblack caught a glimpse of himself in a polished vase and immediately saw why. Smiling is a tricky business, especially when one isn’t used to it, and the expression on Coalblack’s face looked more like the pained expression of a deranged madman than a friendly and inviting look. He started laughing as well and the tension was dispelled, a shared laugh is a fantastic ice-breaker.

The princess reached out a hoof, still smiling.

“We are the royal Princess Luna,” She declared, her voice was strong and regal, yet there was a nervous undertone.

Coalblack looked down at her hoof. He stared at it, wondering what the purpose of it was.

Luna’s smile faltered, ever so slightly. The warmth and sincerity remained, but Coalblack picked up a sense of awkward confusion, mainly in the eyes. Suddenly those eyes widened, as at a sudden realization.

“It is known as a ‘hoofshake’,” She said, accurately having read Coalblack’s confusion.

Coalblack continued to stare at her.

“Here,” she sighed, clearly amused.

She reached her hoof out and nudged his into the position hers had been in. She then connected their limbs and began to vibrate hers up and down. Coalblack mimicked this motion, still confused.

“Now you provide introductions,” she explained, once again smiling.

“Coalblack,” Coalblack said.