open The Town That Friendship Forgot

[Kronos the Revenant 1,971]

@Samurai Equine

Kronos took a look at his tracker. 
 

Hmph, he grunted to himself, So the traitor is testing the limits of the tracker i put on him, huh? Time to lay down the law on this fat bastard. 
 

He quickly got up to his feet and leapt over the wall to the outskirts until he found his tracker. It was approaching him fast. What the hell is Mayor Black on?

[Samurai Equine 52,089]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

When she gets there, the staff let her in. However, Chelsea soon finds the staff look distraught. They point her over to the mayor's personal nurse. "Oh, Ms. Chelsea... It's been the roughest day for us just trying to keep Mayor White stable. That war was so traumatizing, I fear it may have undone all the healing you've been giving him. He was walking around the city for the first time before all that, and now he's been slipping in and out of critical condition. It's been a real mess here." The nurse explains.

@Kronos the Revenant

Despite his best efforts to intercept, Kronos just missed mayor black. He seems to be riding some kind of motorcycle or something, and he used it to enter the town! He's making a lot of ground, swerving down different roads in hopes of maybe losing you or keeping you guessing. But most of all, it seems like he is trying to reach a specific location within the town...

[Chelsea]

@Samurai Equine

Chelsea saw the staff and listened to what they said. She gasped and covered her beak, looking rather upset at the fact that the mayor was unstable and in critical condition. “Please let me see him…” She said with a small sniffle. 

[Samurai Equine 52,089]

@Courageous Thunder Dash

The nurse shows her the way, but Chelsea should be familiar with this place right now. The mayor is sleeping in his medical bed, but his condition is not great. He is hooked up to a heart monitor and other various medical things to keep him alive right now.

[Chelsea]

@Samurai Equine

Chelsea's heart ached for the mayor. "Oh Mayor...I'm so sorry..." She said in a broken voice with a small sniffle. She went by his side and rested a talon on his chest. She let out a gentle flow of water energy, her locks of hair starting to glow as the healing began once more. 

[Kronos the Revenant 1,971]

@Samurai Equine

As Mayor Black whips past him, Kronos snapped back towards the former mayor. The mayor makes decisive and deliberate turns, almost as if he was intent on heading somewhere. Then it clicked.

 

His hotel, Kronos figured.

 

Kronos took a more quick and straightforward approach and called the hotel ahead of time as he got closer. 
 

“Lockdown the building,” Kronos ordered, “We got a bogey inbound and get me a security detail around the town, now!”

Edited May 30, 2021 by Kronos the Revenant

[Samurai Equine 52,089]

@Kronos the Revenant, @Courageous Thunder Dash

Sadly, Kronos predicted wrong...

Mayor Black gets deep into the city, but he doesn't go to the hotel. No, he picks a much different building. One that is suppose to be a history museum, but he's going through some kind of secret entrance through the back. This may be where Kronos needs to investigate on foot.

Meanwhile, in Mayor White's medical tent, Chelsea is having a hard time. It's almost like the medical magic she is casting just isn't working like it use to. But suddenly, a loud commotion stirs everyone in the office. "Hey! What is the meaning of this?!" One of the workers says. "You can't be here, you--Dear Celestia! Mayor Black?!" Another says. "But how?! Why are you here?!" The head nurse says.

Indeed, it is Mayor Black, busting into the office of his frail and struggling brother, and he looks a mess. He ran in as fast as he can, so his mane is a mess and he's sweaty. "No time!" He runs into the medical tend and goes over to Chelsea, putting a hoof on her shoulder and gently but firmly pushing her aside. "Move aside, miss! I've got to save him." Mayor Black insists.

Once the way has been cleared, Mayor Black leaps forward, and a suddenly light engulfs the medical tent. Something strange is happening to both of the mayors! And by the time Kronos gets there, if the tracker can tell him anything about Mayor Black's biology or vital signs, he'll see that it's changing. Something is happening to these two mayors, and it's magically changing them in front of everyone in this office!

[Chelsea]

@Samurai Equine @Kronos the Revenant
 

Chelsea yelped when Mayor Black pushed her to the side. “But I was trying to save him too!” Chelsea said back. She started to pant. Something just didn’t feel right. She wanted to cleanse the area but wasn’t sure if that would impact whatever was going on. 

[Tree Song]

On 2021-05-28 at 11:39 PM, Starforce Glimmer said:

@PawelS

"Flim and Flam machine? Whats that? Well anyways we can go to the inn. I really need to take a bath and get cleaned up." she seemed a little desperate for some reason but she did not tell her why she was feeling that way, but agreed with the idea of working on potions. 

"Well, Flim and Flam are... let's call it entrepreneurs, who created a magic-powered machine that makes cider in a more effective way than traditional methods. They were traveling between different towns, and selling their cider several years ago. Anyway, let's go to the inn then, I think I should take a bath too." I finish eating, throw out the trash and return the trays for both of us.

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

"He is at the inn. He was going to set up the alchemical equipment in our room, so we can start making these potions." We leave the restaurant and start walking through the streets of Friendshire again.

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

"Well, me and Nopony are not unicorns, so we can't help you with that. Our magic works in a completely different way." I'm surprised by the jingling, but I don't say anything about it. If Sparkly wants to tell me what it is, she will. I don't want to push her about it.

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

I'm a little surprised by what Sparkly said. "Flying? But you're a unicorn, so you can't fly either. Unless you can levitate yourself, I heard some unicorns can do that. But you're right that being able to fly is a wonderful thing, a few days ago we were inside a video game (it was one of the strange things that can happen in this town), and I was some sort of an angelic guardian. I could fly and it was awesome!"

"As for the earth ponies, it's a common misconception that we can't use magic. We can't use typical unicorn spells, like illumination, telekinesis and teleportation, and our magic is channeling the forces of nature rather than using your own power, but if one has a talent for that, and pursues it, earth pony magic can get quite powerful actually. A good example is Mage Meadowbrook, she is an earth pony, but she is very good at magic."

We're getting close to the inn.

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

"It really happened. You can ask the others, we were all inside that game (not Nopony though, he was waiting outside of the town). I know it sounds preposterous, but there's something strange about this town that makes these things happen." We enter the inn. "You said you wanted to take a bath, so let's go do that first."

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

I feel surprised and somewhat concerned. She wants to show me something? What could it be? Perhaps it has something to do with the jingling I heard earlier...

"What is it?" I try to appear calm and hide the tension in my voice.

[Kronos the Revenant 1,971]

@Samurai Equine

Kronos made a mad dash towards where Mayor Black’s tracker was. He seemed to be in close proximity to Mayor White. He cant fail Mayor White, or else Kronos would never forgive himself if anything bad happened to him. 
 

Suddenly, he hears Mayor Black say something about there not being any time and a bright light flashed from the medical tent. Bewildered, Kronos activated a vitality scanner and noticed strange anomalies coming from the tent. Is Mayor Black saving his brother after all this time? Maybe Kronos misjudged him after all. Or maybe it’s something drastic. He still crept closer as a precaution to whatever is happening.  

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

Seeing the ruler of Equestria herself here was the last thing I expected. I'm utterly shocked, and I let out a loud gasp.

I kneel down before the princess. "Your majesty! You're... here but... why?" Then I look at her scar. "What happened to you?"

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

Turns out she's not Twilight Sparkle, but she looks like Twilight Sparkle. That's one of the strangest things I've ever seen, on the same level as that video game I was in.

"I understand. It's a good thing you're hiding it, I'm sure you would get a lot of unwanted attention otherwise. And I still want to know how you got that scar, if you don't mind telling me, of course."

[Samurai Equine 52,089]

@Courageous Thunder Dash, @Kronos the Revenant

When Kronos enters, the blood soldier that he assigned to Mayor Black is also standing at the entrance, confused on what to do. And for good reason...

As the light fades away, both mayors are gone.
In their place is a dashing, moderately buff looking earth stallion. White coat, black mane and tail with turquoise highlights, purple eyes, and a high-fashion suit that is many shades of gray with little pops of turquoise here and there. He smirks as he reclines in the bed, though he is not attached to any of the medical equipment. "Greetings, everyone. I see you are all very confused. Allow me to introduce myself... I am Mayor Chromatic Alfonz, the original founder of this town. My childhood friends use to call me Crows for short. ... It seems bits of my memory are missing, so I can't fully say what happened, but in a moment of despair, I used a universal magic to split my body into two different ponies. Mayor White represents my selflessness, and Mayor Black represents my greed. Both of them have their character flaws, because they are both only halves of a greater picture; me. And though they stopped seeing eye-to-eye, they never stopped being passionate about this town. They show it in different ways, and sometimes their feelings get the better of them, but they do care about this place greatly."

Mayor Chromatic gets up with ease. He smiles at Chelsea and gives her a bow. Then he approaches Kronos and looks at him with a concerned look. "And as for you, Mr. Kronos... I realize Mayor Black let you and the town down in their moment of need. However, I humbly apologize on his behalf, and I beg you to spare his life. Because the truth of the matter is, my lifeforce is tied to his. If you kill Mayor Black, you'll also be killing Mayor White, and in turn, you'll be killing me. Whether I am one or two ponies, they all share the same soul."

Edited June 2, 2021 by Samurai Equine

[Chelsea]

@Samurai Equine

Chelsea could feel the two life forces of the mayors within this new being. She wondered if the mayors used this technique quite often. It reminded her of a much more complex and permanent version of fusion. She bowed at the new mayor. “Mayor Chromatic, how long will you stay like this?” Chelsea asked. 

[Kronos the Revenant 1,971]

@Samurai Equine

Kronos stood in awe at the new pony standing before him. He also recalled the blood soldier back into Mayor Chromatic, who somehow still had the amulet attached to him. 
 

When he heard what Mayor Chromatic had to say, he replied, “I was merely going to try Mayor Black for treason, but no death penalty or anything like that. Still, two ponies one being.”

Then something clicked that bewildered him, “Quickstop, if both Mayor Black and White are basically you, then how come when we exited the game world, White was fatally ill while Black seemed perfectly healthy?”

Edited June 2, 2021 by Kronos the Revenant

[Samurai Equine 52,089]

@Courageous Thunder Dash, @Kronos the Revenant

Mayor Chromatic smiles and bows like a gentlecolt. "Thank you for your mercy." Then he hears Krono's question, and he looks at his hoof. "A biproduct of splitting my mind and body like that. Mayor White is my selflessness. In his eagerness to help and elevate others, he often neglects himself. He will gladly give away the meal on his plate or the shirt off his back, if it means making someone else happy. Doing that for years eventually took a toll. You can't burn the candle at both ends without suffering some consequences. Mayor Black is my greed. He is fat, gluttonous, believes other ponies should be able to handle their own problems. He can be a bit uncaring sometimes, but he did have a point. If White had been just a bit more selfish, he wouldn't have overworked or starved himself half to death. Likewise, if Mayor Black was just a bit more giving and caring, he'd see just how much hope and potential this town still has."

With a nod, he turns to Chelsea. "How long will I be my completed self, you ask? Well, the better to..." Mayor Chromatic pauses and darts his eyes to the left, as if he was listening into an ear piece or something. "...Really? Are you sure? At least give it a week this time. ... All right..." He sighs and faces Chelsea again. "It seems Mayor Black has grown to love his independence. This fusion won't last for much longer. A few minutes at most. When it's over, you'll see the two mayors differently. White will no longer be in critical condition, and Black will be a bit more physically fit. That's what happens when they fuse for a while; their health equalizes. Black might disagree with how White lives, but he doesn't want to risk his brother's life. And frankly, I have no intent of terminating my own life."

Mayor Chromatic steps towards a wall. He sees a picture of the town when it was young, happier, and filled with a lot more citizens. "...Someday, the mystery of what happened to force the two mayors away will be solved. On that day, I know this town will be saved. I'm going to trust you all, my brave champions. Do what I couldn't do; what they have trouble doing while divided. Save this town."

Edited June 3, 2021 by Samurai Equine

[Chelsea]

@Samurai Equine @Kronos the Revenant

Chelsea let out a pant, sensing the negative side of Chromatic with her pure heart. She was determined to help restore the town to its former glory. "It reminds me of Thundy and I...Thundy's heart is still impure...and I'm waiting for that day when he lets go and unlocks his true self..." Chelsea's voice seemed to trail a little. 

 

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

"I see. But why are you showing this to me, of all ponies? I'm not sure what I should do with this knowledge..."

While saying that, I leave my saddlebags on the floor and enter the tub.

[Tree Song]

@Starforce Glimmer

"Really? You're in this world for some time, so I thought you already made some friends. But I guess you're the type who likes to be alone..."

I proceed with the bathing. It feels good to wash the city dust off my coat.

[Samurai Equine 52,089]

@Courageous Thunder Dash, @Kronos the Revenant

The staff in Mayor White's office is stunned speechless. This clearly changes everything. Some are searching their records for ANY mention of a Mayor Chromatic, but are finding nothing. The nurse isn't even sure who she should be making medical reports about anymore. Mayor Chromatic faces Chelsea and Kronos again, relieved. Seeing everyone brings him to slight giggle. "Well, you've all seen the real me. Soon you'll once again return to seeing only half of me. What you do with this information is up to you. And how you guide these starward ponies is also up to you..." Mayor Chromatic says before he sits down on his medical bed.

Less than 10 minutes pass. Eventually, Mayor Chromatic begins to glow again, and he splits into two ponies once more.
Just as he said, they look different. Mayor White is no longer skinny, frail, or any of his previous symptoms. He looks more a strapping adult stallion. Not as muscular as Chromatic, but you'd never once assume he was ever bedridden. And Mayor Black? He's lost so much weight he is almost skinny! He still has a bit of a paunch, but nothing that could easily clear up with some exercise, and his chin/snoot is a bit more chiseled than it was before.

"Oh my! I feel positively young again! I could easily run a mile without feeling like all my organs are going to give out!" Mayor White says, bouncing up to flex and inspect himself. "Oh great! Do you know how long it took me to grow all that girth? Looks like I need to go back to McDaffodil's to eat my weight in hayburgers again." Mayor Black says, disappointed. In fact, he's the first to get up and start walking. Mayor White sees this and reaches out. "Brother, wait! Please... Must you go? You're my brother. I love you dearly. Can't we rule together again? There is still so much potential in this town, I just know it." Mayor White asks. Mayor Black stops in his tracks. His expression softens; which is a very rare sight for him. "I love you too, brother..." He looks back at him, almost like he wants to, but stops himself. "...But no. We can't. Fix this town first, then I'll come back. But not before." He turns his back to his brother. "...But you know, I am watching and listening. And during events like the race or the music concert? Things like that made me happy. Maybe you and this town's new champions are on to something."

Mayor Black looks at Kronos and gives a nod. He knows their business is over. He leaves the building. "First thing's first, need to relocate my office to another new spot. And then, maybe I need to find somepony else to by my new right-hoof..." Mayor Black says to himself as he leaves. "...Well, that's that. Chelsea, Kronos, would either of you be willing to show me around town? I'm quite healthy now." Mayor White asks.