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// Chapter 2: Discovery 
// Story: Etherial Dawn Book One: Dawn 
// by masterchef227 
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Author's Note: This chapter is currently being plotted and will be complete and edited by Saturday. Published too explain why the second chapter is taking forever. Sincerely, masterchef227. P.S. Post comments on previous chapters to give me some insight as too what you guys think so far. :)

Etherial walked in, and his hooves were trotting on a wooden floor. Etherial took notice of his surroundings as he entered with the princess. The room was cylindrical with books on either side. Both sides are divided by a set of spiral stairs leading up to an upstairs. The second level had a small bed, that seemed to sway. It had a small blanket and a heart insignia at the base front of it. He guffawed inside his head though only letting out a small chuckle as he thought who slept there. Then he remembered the dragon who let him in. When he chuckled it was met with some confused faces and a question from Ms. Sparkle. "Is something funny Etherial?" She said with a look of confusion. He replied immediately, "None at all Ms. Sparkle, it is a private joke."
This was of course a lie, but she continued to ask, "May I be so enlightened by what exactly is reminiscently humorous about my home?" She was offended, he could tell; it was in her tone. He moved on to say, "Nothing my dear, its just that I remember someone else who lived in a library." This was the wrong thing too say. She then calmed down. "Oh." She spoke plainly, but he knew what was coming next. "Who was it?". He of course knew the librarian at the castle, so he would just use her name. "Her name was Kiandra Quillstar." He stated. He never really knew Kiandra nor anything about her. He didn't find it funny at all that he was reminiscing about his home. In fact he was on the verge of tears. Etherial was very far away from home, in more ways then one. He reminisced about the times he simply spoke too his guard, Rogil, her majesty, Kiandra, Elysia...
He noticed that she was speaking but he didn't pay attention. Then he remembered why he was there, "Shall we get started?" he asked. Twilight looked irritable when he said that. "I had just asked that." She then recomposed and then moved on to say, "Never the less, we shall proceed. Now first I must ask you a series of questions, if this is alright." Etherial nodded his head, and then Princess Celestia spoke, "Twilight, remember what I told you prior too my arrival." the Princess inquired of the mare. She nodded then spoke to the dragon called Spike, "Spike, can you go outside and maybe play with the crusaders or something?" The dragon retorted and whined, "Awe, but Twi I want too stay! I have some questions of my own!" He looked beseeching of the librarian. "Spike, this wasn't a request. Etherial I am sure however can make the final decision. So Etherial can Spike stay and ask you his questions?" The mare put a hoof and put her hair out of her eyes as she spoke. He smirked, though not in the arrogant way so many ponies as he knew did. "Of course, go ahead Spike."
Spike was eager, and he began. "Where are you from? And why were you in the Everfree Forest with Slendermane around?" Etherial simply smiled as he spoke, "I am from a place very far away, and I honestly do not know why I was in the forest. I must have forgotten from heat exhaustion or something." He wasn't entirely being untruthful, but he wasn't exactly telling the whole truth either. The purple dragon continued, "Why is your cutie mark shaped like the sun at dawn?" This was actually a very sophisticated observation. He did not think too little of the dragon now for sleeping in a bed like he did. He thought for a minute then replied, "My cutie mark is of the sun at dawn, as you stated. It is because... well honestly I do not know. I have forgotten quite a bit actually." he simply tilted his head innocently as he lied. He had gotten his cutie mark from when he became king. The cutie mark was a symbol of him being king of the morning, it was the foundation of his whole kingdom. His cutie mark was the flag and insignia of his kingdom, his power, his life, and most importantly what he stood for. Dawn meant the beginning of a new day, he always took every new day like a new start.
How Etherial became king is a different story, and he would rather not talk about it. Then when Celestia's voice spoke he was brought back into the present. "Are you sure? I am quite sure that she should have tested you for things like amnesia and other stuff. I suppose I arrived too early." Amnesia, what a perfect excuse. "Oh, I am sorry I didn't know." He spoke innocently, but then a surge of guilt coursed through his body like a dagger cutting a fine line into his flesh. He did not want to lie too Celestia, Twilight, nor Spike. He had only used lying as a form of amusement, something of a joke or too test others and see if they saw that he was telling the truth or not. Celestia apparently only saw his innocence, yet something about her made him very inclined to feel remorse for what he had just said.
Twilight then spoke, "Alright then Spike, enough with the questions. I had enough trouble telling Pinkie Pie to wait until today at around 8:00 to throw a party for Etherial so don't start on me now. I will see you later Spike." As she mushed him out off the house. She then spoke, "Right, shall we get started then?" she looked at Celestia as she spoke. "We should, and maybe it be best if we explain what it is we are talking about to our new found friend." She smiled at him kindly, looking at him straight in the eye with her own. She was very stunning, and was beautiful almost radiant with the light of the sun. At this description of the alicorn princess he remembered something that threw him off prior. Yes, it was her cutie mark. She had a sun for a cutie mark and apparently had the ability too raise and lower the sun. This must have taken immense power too move a celestial body that big.
"We wish to just ask you a few questions, that's all." Twilight stated, turning away from the end of the room and walking towards him. "I as well, me not really remembering much. Yet curious enough, is this place called Equestria?" Twilight simply nodded. Celestia seemed to be examining him as she spoke, "How old are you? And are you available friday night?" Etherial was taken by surprise, "I am... wait, what are you asking me my dear?" She answered, "I asked how old are you? And if you are available Friday for a royal feast." Etherial understood now, "Oh. Why yes I believe I am. And that is mainly because I forgot any prior obligations I may or may not of had." They both laughed slightly.
Etherial was once again in the presence of royalty, and he must behave his absolute best. He reminisced about royal gatherings and parties and feasts and banquets. It was all fine and dandy and the music was nice, but a lot of the time he would just stick with Rogil, who happened to get him into a lot of trouble at these gatherings. Once Rogil was with him at the banquet for King Goldfire's daughter's wedding. It was a nice celebration and all went well, even Rogil seemed to behave himself. But like all good things, it can't last forever. Rogil then made it his solemn vow to get the address of one of these maids, so they could "Bake cookies" as he put it. Of course Rogil failed miserably by asking out Queen Goldfire herself. He flirted with her and got her a drink.
His hoof was in his face so many times he was turning redder then tomato paste. So then the King walks up to him and asks, "Who is that fine gentlement with my wife the Queen?" Etherial looked sardonically at him and spoke, "Someone you need not worry about." They both laughed. Then they continued to watch as the faithful blacksmith tried to win over the queen. So then he continues to ask, "Are you sure we have nothing to worry about?" He smiled though only slightly. Etherial sighed as he spoke, "My friend, Rogil has about as much a chance with your queen as he does with his own." This was met with booming laughter once again. Then they looked over one more time to see what Rogil was doing. "SMACK!" The queen her majesty smacked him hard across the face. They joined in another joyful chorus of laughter.
Rogil came over to the two stallions and had a defeated look about his face. He had a red hoof mark where the queen had so gracefully decided to smack him as hard as she could. "That was a bit off don't you think?" Etherial chortled with the king at this. Then continued to reply, "I think you were a little more then a bit off don't you think?" The king and Etherial howled with laughter at Etherial's remark. This was met with stares at nearby party guests. "Why are you two laughing so hard? And who's that you are with Etherial?" He was brought back to the present as Celestia spoke. "Well, are you going to answer my questions?" He had almost forgotten that he was suppose to answer.
He remembered her first question, "I don't know sadly my dear, I suppose it is my amnesia." He lied again, and the painstaking guilt returned. "Do you know where Canterlot is?" He assumed it was the place where his old castle once stood, so he just sighed and spoke, "Sadly I do not my dear." For he could not say anymore then this as the guilt intensified even more. He just hoped he could maintain his composure, he had never felt guilt like this ever before in his life.
Celestia smiled, apparently buying into his lies, the literally made tears go into his eyes from the pain. A look of concern spread across the two mares faces, and Twilight was the one to speak. "Are you okay Etherial? What's wrong?" He couldn't answer for if he did the guilt probably would have killed him, yet still he had to say something. "I assume its just the guilt I feel." He didn't know what he was saying, or why. This surely would be a dead giveaway that he was lying to them before, but Twilight continued, "Guilt? About what?" The tears were subsiding and the pain in his throat from the intense guilt was leaving him. He didn't know what to do, or what to say, but he had to tell the truth. He simply smiled as he spoke, "I suppose its guilt I feel from my past." This wasn't a lie apparently as the guilty pain didn't join him. He sighed as he stated, "I just don't know why?" At the time he was thinking of why he would feel such intense guilt, and why it didn't rejoin him previously. Apparently he did feel guilty about something in his past, this would make for a great excuse later on.
He knew they were very vague answers but it was the best he could give them. After all he still didn't trust these ponies, not yet anyways. And he wanted to keep his amnesia story going for as long as possible. He wanted to tell them everything, but something in the back of his head kept nagging at him not to. Twilight continued, "Then why were you crying?" Etherial smiled at this, "I suppose it was tears of joy, for never have I met such kind folk as you my dears." The Princess and her student both blushed and returned to smile. He had not entirely given the truth, and not entirely lied to them either. This must be why guilt hadn't shown up this time; otherwise, he would probably have fainted again.
Celestia was the one to speak this time, "Very well Etherial, my student here can give you directions to Canterlot for the feast. We have it only 4 times a year, on the solstice of every season." She was smiling but Etherial was in complete shock. Apparently, even 10,000 years later they still celebrated the Solstice; however, for them it wasn't a whole festival but a feast. This certainly was something to think about in fact, why wasn't he thinking about it? He was in awe with himself, and literally disillusioned at once. It was 10,000 years belated! He should be panicking, though that would be a dead giveaway. He was very lucky that they even spoke the same language! Etherial was angry with himself, he had forgotten to think about gathering some intelligence on when and where he was. Etherial was clever however, and so he thought of a way to gather intelligence and delude any doubts about his amnesia. He then spoke, "Twilight, would it not be wise to study and see if anything triggers a memory?"
Twilight looked taken a back. Apparently she wasn't expecting a response as intelligent as this from Etherial. "Of course! I was actually going to suggest that for tomorrow." She smiled when she was finished. He replied, "May I ask why not today?" Twilight shrugged, "Pinkie Pie's party." Ah yes, he had almost forgotten about the pony Nurse Red Heart had once told him about. He definitely was intrigued about what kind of attire was required at these events. He figured he would find that out in due time.
His mind focused on studying however, so he moved on to ask, "May I borrow some books that I may read?" He was polite but Twilight grimaced. She must be an intellectual reader, focusing more on logic then drama or entertainment. For Etherial this was quite the opposite. He remembered his days as a young foal reading adventures written by Steel Flames. He was a famous pony writer who told tales of fantastic adventures. Thinking of this now, made him homesick. His nostalgia was ephemeral however, as the unicorn responded. "Why of course you can? I recommend A History of Equestria, Myths, Legends, and Theories of ancient Equestria, and maybe a foal's tale. I think if you have read one when you were a foal it should bring back some memories." The first two books make sense for one if they had attended school and had been educated. This would bring back memories of school and possibly festivals and why they were celebrated.
She was very logical in coming to these conclusions, yet the foal's stories he would not indulge in lest he find time in between his studies. He was of course lying about his amnesia, for he had a perfect memory of who he was and where he came from. Its just how he got here and why, (if there was one) that he is clueless about. He somehow felt that the amnesia story would be quite inadequate if he did not play the part. So he decided to read the foal's stories, maybe they would be interesting.
Celestia spoke, "Twilight, I should take my leave. Unfortunately Luna has requested my presence, and I have been belaying my arrival in an effort to help our friend here." She gestured towards Etherial. Twilight was busy browsing the libraries, yet with a bow she spoke, "My princess please do not let us keep you waiting. I will tend to Etherial." She lifted up her head, and opened the door via magic for the alicorn princess. Celestia smiled, took a slight bow at both of us, and turned to walk out the door. When the door closed, signaled by the ring of a small bell, Etherial decided to ask for the foal's stories. 
"What are the titles of the foal's stories may I ask?" Twilight responded, "Oh, just some of the more popular tales. I think I would have you read a couple. Let me think." She put a hoof up to her mouth and gazed apparently thinking hard. Eventually after a moments silence she spoke. "Ah yes, "The Tale of Nightmare Moon" and "Blazes Apples". These are both popular foal stories that should trigger some memories, and if not... well we have plenty of books as you can well tell." She gestured with her hoof around the room.
Etherial wasn't accustomed to speaking so much. He thoroughly enjoyed company; however, this wasn't as common as he would like. His guard remained silent unless he spoke, and they weren't much for conversation. The castle didn't receive many guests, as even visiting dignitaries weren't common. He should have made time for more parties and feasts yet sadly, being a king meant mainly that he signed acts and laws needing to be passed. It was very dull work, and he mostly did it alone. If he ever gets back, he will make the necessary changes to accompany his newfound desires.
Twilight spoke, "Etherial, I am done collecting the books. I think these should help trigger your memory." She was levitating a stack of about 20 books. When the aura disappeared around them, they crashed onto Etherial. The weight of which was immense, crushing him. "Ouch!" He managed to let out, with the books crushing his figure. "Oops! Sorry!" And with that, the ton of books that used to be on him, was floating in air yet again. "I got distracted by this book, here." She levitated one of the books from the stack toward him. He held out a hoof, and caught it. He looked at the title and read aloud, "The Remembrance of Celestia?"
He looked at Twilight who was organizing the books. While books were organizing themselves, she looked at Etherial. Then she sighed and looked outward, apparently reminiscing the time when she either first read the book, or when she first received it. After a moment or so she answered his inquiry, "It's a tale, unlike any other. From when Celestia was a lot younger. It tells the story of how she became the Princess of Equestria, through a series of many tales." She levitated a stack of books onto a table, and began writing on a piece of parchment. He was curious to know in particular why she had chosen the story, but he assumed he would find that out once he began reading.
He looked again at the title, the author's name was Bronze Flames. Wait, Flames? Etherial looked puzzled, Flames was the last name of the author of his favorite foalhood story. So, this Bronze Flames must be a descendant of Steel Flames. The family wasn't famous for being authors, yet, that was back in his time. This was 10,000 years after, so maybe the lineage is famous for that now. He asked Twilight, "Flames, is that name significant?" She replied, "Oh why yes actually. The Flames family has been known for writing for thousands of years. They claim that the trait goes down the lineage quite a ways. Of course, there is little known evidence to back it up, other then the supposed name of the first author in the family." She wave a hoof in the air dismissing it. "What was the supposed name may I ask?" She thought for a moment then spoke, "I believe they say its some ancient pony by the name of Steel Flames. Hmm, I highly doubt that its true though. That would be remarkable, because any record of any ancient ponies have been lost in the ancient Canterlot Catacombs..." She sighed, "I would love to get my hooves on a manifest of the ancient ponies."
That explains why the ponies didn't know who he was, or he supposed, who he used to be... "Of course, Discord would probably know. He is as ancient as can be..." She sighed, "Yet, I don't know a pony stupid enough to try. It's not like he would talk even if he did know anything." This was a shock to Etherial, how could he have forgotten? Discord, that evil being of pure chaos. He knew him, and doubted that Discord would ever forget him, no matter how many millennia went by.
Though he doubted he had anything to worry about, as Twilight stated no pony was stupid enough to try and free Discord. He must still be a stone statue, even after all these years. "Discord? Who now?" He asked with false intent. "Oh yes, I have forgotten." He laughed, "Well so have I my dear." They both laughed at his joke. It was a calming environment, peaceful. He seemed comfortable talking with Ms. Sparkle. After the laughter had subsided, she spoke. "Discord is an ancient and evil being, who is currently taking up resident at Canterlot Castle, a solid statue." 
(I published this incompleted, because the story is cancelled. )