Apple Bloom sighed slightly as she finally stopped talking for now. She had no idea how long they had been going for but it was dark outside and her throat was tensing up from so much reminiscing. Peace Walker was sitting back against the wall, resting her chin on a hoof in thought, looking a lot more focused than before. Apple Bloom looked over to the water trough and reluctantly went to get a drink, hoping that whoever put them here didn't put something in the water.
"You're an interesting pony, Apple Bloom," Peace said eventually, little energy in her voice, her eyes showing tiredness. "With a name like that, anypony would think you'd be working an orchard somewhere. Or was that too obvious a choice?" She grinned slightly, showing she was just trying to keep the mood light.
Apple Bloom finished her drink and looked back at Peace Walker, feeling a strange sense of Déjà vu all of a sudden, as if something she'd been remembering was linked to the pony. Her mind was still a complete mess though, unable to search for a reason without the pain and flashes returning. Even as she rubbed her forehead to shake the feeling, she remembered something, unconnected but definitely from the life she had before this room.
"A pony once taught me that a cutie mark is, just an extension of who you really are...At least, I think that's what it was. The point was that what my mark was didn't matter as much as if I was happy with what I was. I sure was, from the sounds of it."
"Seems like a wise pony." Peace commented, unable to keep herself from yawning. Apple Bloom understood, she was tired out too, hoping for a half decent night's sleep considering there wasn't even any straw in here.
"Come on, I warmed this spot up and you need the best conditions we can get." Peace said as she got up and moved over to another spot.
"You're sure?" Apple Bloom asked, Peace nodding as she moved over to the spot. "You're too kind." Normally she'd at least try to convince Peace Walker to stay there but exhaustion was starting to set in and she didn't feel up to debating the offer. She settled down and curled up, drifting into a silent sleep as soon as her eyes closed.
Peace watched her for a few minutes, silently hoping that she was going to last long enough for them to get anywhere. She'd seen several ponies come in here as regular ponies and go out with their old minds, all trances of their lives, simply erased. Even with the all the training and discipline of a guard, the thought of that happening to her, terrified her right to the core. As she settled down on the colder floor, she could only pray that tomorrow would go a lot better, and that tonight's sleep would have less nightmares.
Apple Bloom twitched as she slowly started to wake up. While her sleep had been uninterrupted, it was hardly relaxing, her dreams made up of witnessing two versions of herself battling in a thunderstorm. One bearing her old saw cutie mark, the other the equal sign she had now. Though neither of them had been able to gain any advantage over the other, she understood that the equal one was stronger and the warning it carried.
If the old mark had lost, she was going down with it.
Apple Bloom shook her head slowly, trying to shake the idea from her mind, she was going to come through this in one piece with Peace Walker's help. Speaking of, where was she? She opened her eyes and glanced round, letting everything sink in again at the sight of the same room.
"Good morning, Apple Bloom." Peace Walker said, Apple Bloom looked over her shoulder and saw the blue pony by one of the windows, resting a hoof on the edge and watching the clear sky. She looked depressed, as if this small opening was the only way she'd ever seen the sun and ever would again. It struck Apple Bloom that for all her guidance and determination, Peace Walker was just another pony, one who needed the same help as she was giving.
"Morning, are you ok?" Apple Bloom asked as she got up.
"Me, yeah. What about you? Any dreams?"
"Yes, I was watching two of me duelling." Peace Walker raised an eyebrow and looked over at Apple Bloom, she'd heard several dreams mentioned before and that was a new one.
"I see...Which won?"
"Neither, when I woke up they were still going. I think the one with our marks was just ahead though."
"Okay, really wish Princess Luna was here to explain it. It's asking a lot, but the sooner you can remember more, the more chance you've got. Think you're up to continuing?"
"Actually," Apple Bloom said as she thought about how she was going to put this. "I was wondering if we could talk about something else for a little bit."
"What kind of something else?"
"Well, I'd kinda like to know a little more about you. I'm curious about the pony pushing herself to help me and, well. If I can help you keep going as well, I want to push myself like you were."
Peace looked away for a minute, thinking it over. Apple Bloom waited, looking down at the hay bucket and eating some in the meantime. It was probably worse than grass, but she suspected that was the point. Peace Walker eventually looked back to her, wearing a soft smile for the first time since the two had met.
"Truth be told, I was hoping you would ask. I kept clinging to memories of my life for this moment, hoping somepony, anypony here would want to know about me, just in case...Thank you for having faith in me, Apple Bloom."
"We have to help each other through this." Apple Bloom replied, watching as Peace Walker sat down before dropping into a sit next to her, indicating that she could start when ready.
"Okay, about me...Come on, you can still remember this," Peace muttered to herself, tapping her forehead with a hoof for a few moments before looking up again. "That's it, the one that wasn't here. I was born in Baltimare, about thirty one years ago, I think. My parents were regular earth ponies, the names escape me though...Dammit. My motivations are-" Peace stopped and clutched her head slightly, fighting the false memories for a minute before relaxing as Apple Bloom placed a hoof on her shoulder.
"Your motivations?"
"I'm sorry, I thought too hard then, don't do that if you can help it. All I remember is that I wanted to serve Equestria, the princesses. I found my chance when the Equestrian Defence Force was founded. At the time, I was eager, fit, ready to go, aside from the fact I was fifteen years old."
"That, sounds like I should know what that is." Apple Bloom commented, prompting Peace walker to look over at her for a few seconds before remembering that something like that would obviously have been supressed.
"You would if it wasn't for this mind messing. Long story short, Princess Celestia realised that having Equestria's response to major threats be either hope the problem fixed itself or send the Elements of Harmony at it, wasn't that smart. Aside from the risk involved, it put a lot of stress on the elements, especially Princess Twilight after she failed to talk one such threat down."
"Oh, wow...Poor Twilight. What happened?"
"I..." Peace thought for a minute before tapping the floor in irritation. "I can't remember that either, god dammit." Apple Bloom looked over at her, wearing a look of confusion.
"What's a god?"
"A figure from minotaur religion," Peace Walker said, surprisingly calm about it. "I studied it for a while in school and found their beliefs surprisingly accommodating. They've included a number of figures from other races in their deities, even some of ours."
"Okay, that's pretty cool."
"So anyway, back on topic. Under the watchful eye of Princess Luna, several hundred ponies came together to make up the original defence force. Trained to take on any regular threat that might be capable of throwing Equestria off it's path."
"And you wanted to be part of that?"
"Well, yes. I applied when I was nineteen and...Let's just say enthusiasm is not much use when you actually need to fight. I was fast and good at rapid judgement but when it came to fighting, everypony wiped the floor with me. I was on the verge of quitting when my training officer let me know that I could be transferred to something a little more my speed."
Apple Bloom nodded, remembering back to their first meeting yesterday. Peace Walker had mentioned she was in a scout division, it sounded perfect for a pony like her, eager to serve her homeland but without having to be overly aggressive in the process.
"Okay, your life sounds good. What about family? Remember any of them?" She asked, waiting as Peace Walker sat back and looked up in thought. She seemed to be mumbling to herself, running it all through her mind before looking back down and answering.
"I was a single child, can't remember much about my parents, just that they were very supportive of me. There's also my husband, he...he..." Peace Walker faltered for several seconds before clutching her head in her hooves again, clearly pushing herself too hard to try and remember. Apple Bloom reached over and shook her slightly.
"Come on Peace, focus! You'll remember for good when we're out of here, right now I need your mind, I need your help." She didn't mean to have it come out so harsh but she was just as worried about the implications. Fortunately, Peace Walker calmed down after a few deep breaths, sitting back and looking over at Apple Bloom.
"Okay...Okay, thanks. I-I think that's enough on me for now. My mind is a mess. You still feeling alright, Apple Bloom?"
Apple Bloom nodded, understanding what she had to do. Odds were the clock was against them and the more she could remember, the more...Well she wasn't sure what the more was, but given the circumstances it couldn't be anything worse. She sat back and relaxed, trying to find a clear memory that was close to the ones from yesterday.
"I can continue, try and keep us both calm this time. October ninth is..." She winced slightly at a rush of memories, tensing as she thought she saw something new mixed in. It wasn't the same though, even at just a flash the mental imagine gave her a feeling of dread, but she didn't have time to understand or show it right now.
"...Is, just a haze. I-I think I've got something clear just after that though."