Forget Me in the Meadow

It's not a legend, it's history!

Up in the air, where she once felt great freedom like a wild bird, she felt caged again. Down toward the shoreline is where her wings took her, following the sea breeze. On the tour, she had passed the beach, but didn't get the chance to walk on the sand or in the water. The smell of the salty wind scrunched up her nose, and, while the gentle lapping water and melodic whoosh was soothing, it didn't help settle the hurricane inside her mind.

'I can't explain it, I just can't. How would I have known about Ponyville otherwise?' Taking in a deep breath, Viridian closed her eyes to focus on the rhythmic water. 'I must be missing something, some kind of connection. Just think. I know my name and I know my home, I know that I ended up here, in Maretime Bay...' Revisiting what she already knew, something clicked inside. The cold waves rushed across her hooves, the same coldness as the stone in her dreams. However, when the memory came to her, it wasn't the desolate nighttime as before, but bright as dawn with the Prisbeam guiding her like a beacon. 'The meadow, the stone... was that a memory, and not a dream? It could be the missing piece! If that is where I came from before, then it was the Prisbeam that led me here. I must've followed it all the way out of the forest.' The splash of water opened her eyes and made her cold hooves tingle. 'But was I doing there? That platform, it's like the ones I've seen in the Canterlot gardens... the statues.'

Fighting a shudder of trepidation, her gaze rested on the distant Brighthouse. Of all the possible explanations, she wished this one to be wrong. Had she been left in that secluded meadow for all that time? Or was it some crazy, misdirected guess for why she was there? Trying to rationalize it made her head fuzzy. 'I don't think I want the answer to that.'

Another wave chilled her hooves to the bone, making her back up onto the warmer sand. The deserted beach began to unsettle her before a few ponies arrived, chatting in the distance. Just the sight of others stamped out her distress, motivating her to fly up to the walkway away from the beach.

'I don't want to face my new friends like this. I feel like I've turned into a foal again, crying and stumbling my way through a world I don't understand. And just when I've tried to find my own way, I can't...' Instead of seeking out her friends, Viridian dawdled through the town like a tourist. Wherever she went, there seemed to be eyes on her. It felt like everypony knew what she was struggling with, but, in order to keep moving, she pushed the discomfort away.

With no money, no job, and no prior commitments, Viridian had nothing but time for a long walk. Eventually, she found herself wandering down a dirt road leading away from town. Instead of turning right, toward the community garden, she kept on going. Ahead was another pony, whose white coat gave her away from afar. She seemed to be scouring the area, hovering with a magnifying glass and notepad in hoof.

"Zipp? What are you doing?" Viridian trotted over, her sullen mood breaking up. The white pegasus' head popped up to stare at her, before brightening up.

"Hey V, I could ask the same," Zipp retorted, playfully. "I'm just investigating the area. This is where it all happened." She gestured around at the scorch marks over the ground.

"We already know what happened here, even you just said so." Viridian's brow lifted, puzzled.

"That's not all, I'm tracking your hoofprints to determine where you came from." The blunt response drew her ears forward, surprised. Her silence spurred Zipp on. "To be honest, I don't have much else to do, aside from this. It's like my unofficial job, you know? Detective work, finding clues, solving mysteries. And you're a pretty big mystery." Zipp eyed her. The rapid beating in her chest betrayed her otherwise somber mood, allowing her to muster a half-hearted smile.

"You don't say," Viridian muttered, rubbing a hoof to her foreleg. "I suppose I have some information that will help your case then." Somehow, someway, spending time with Zipp made her comfortable enough to share her thoughts. So she did.

—

"You're telling me you were a statue?" The pencil in Zipp's hoof dropped, giving way for an uncomfortable moment as she bent to pick it up. A mix of hesitation, disbelief, and shock made her confused. 'Is that even possible?' Viridian nodded nevertheless.

"I said that I might have been. It's the only way I can explain everything- how I knew about Ponyville and the old Equestria, the meadow I've been dreaming about, and how I can't remember anything before I saw the Prisbeam."

Just the thought of it made Zipp's coat prickle, but there were no conclusions she could otherwise justify. It didn't seem entirely impossible, but she couldn't put a hoof on why.

"I'm not saying I don't believe you, but is there any way to prove it? I mean, turning a living pony into a non-living stone statue seems... far-fetched." Saying it out loud made Zipp itch with guilt, and she watched Viridian's eyes darken.

"That's the problem. I don't know if I can, and I'm not sure what it'll mean if I do." The pegasus kicked a small stone over the dirt, leaving a tiny hole where it had been. "There is a legend from the past- though I can't say the finer details- about the princesses before Twilight Sparkle. It told of how they defeated a monster that threatened the harmony of Equestria. They turned that evil creature to stone, and kept its statue for centuries." As she spun the story, Zipp realized where she had heard it before.

"That's right, Sunny told me that story before, too. It's the legend of Discord, a creature who used chaos magic all over Equestria. But, as far as I know it's just a legend, how can it prove that turning a real pony to stone is actually true?" The atmosphere between them thickened even more, making Zipp wish that she could clamp her mouth shut.

"It's not a legend, it's history! Do you believe that Princess Twilight was just a legend?" Viridian snapped back with a temper that surprised Zipp. Before she could apologize, the frustrated mare continued. "That is precisely why I'm worried. I don't want that to be the truth, but it's the only explanation I could think of."

There was a disturbance in Viridian's voice, as if she wasn't telling the whole truth, that made Zipp's heart sink. 'She's been through a lot the past few days. I can't imagine everything else she might be thinking. On top of that, she might've been turned to stone and abandoned for hundreds of years. I wouldn't have considered it believable if she wasn't sitting right here. But she's not alone anymore, I'm here and I promised to help her.' Above everything else, Zipp was determined to lift her friend's spirits.

"Don't worry, we will figure this out. You said that in the woods, wherever the clearing is, there is a statue base, right?" She asked, as though she were interviewing Viridian, then followed up her question after receiving a nod. "It's probably still there, then. And you mentioned that you could see the Prisbeam from there, which you then followed until you reached Maretime Bay. Then, well, you know the rest." When she finished the plausible timeline of events, Viridian's ears drew forward and the light in her eyes returned.

"You're right, if we enter the forest here and keep the Prisbeam behind us, we might be able to find the meadow. Then we'll have our answers. Zipp, you're brilliant!" When Viridian placed a hoof on her shoulder, Zipp found herself smiling.

"Then that's what we'll do," She rose to her hooves, extending a hoof for Viridian.

Her friend dipped her head, "It's best that we go in the morning, so we will have as much daylight as possible."

"Let's talk to the others. Knowing Sunny, she'll want to come with us."

The plan was made, though there was much time between noon and evening. Unsure of what to do next, and with butterflies now fluttering in her belly, Zipp rubbed her foreleg. "So, uh, do you want to fly with me again?"