Of Memories and Dreams
The scene around Skyla was hazy, like she was locked inside a snow globe, and everything that wasn't inside the small sphere around her was distorted and hard to see. Flecks of ice dropped from the sky and coated her mane and muzzle as she stared up into the heavy, steel gray clouds above her.
“It's time for a math lesson, Skyla.”
The voice pierced her heart and caused Skyla to wince, her hooves scratching against the stone and ice beneath her as she shifted uncomfortably. She forced herself to look to her right at the pony next to her as the balcony wavered around her, the dream warping as she fought against what she knew was going to happen.
Bright blue sparks of electricity snapped around the long, elegant horn of the pony next to her, and the face she knew so well cracked into a cold, sadistic smile.
“If there is only one message to be carried, how many messengers do you need..?”
The sparks around the taller pony's horn came faster and faster until they began to hum, a sound that started deep in Skyla's chest and rose to her sinuses as it increased in pitch.
No, thought Skyla desperately, please, don't do it! But there was nothing she could do. Her hooves were frozen to the stone beneath her, and the words she longed desperately to say choked her as she watched the sparking horn rise higher and higher above her, the sparks solidifying into a terrifying bolt of lightning that lanced out into the sky...
~*~*~*~
With a gasp, Skyla shot upright in her bed, her sheets tangled around her front legs and wrapped tightly around her torso. Panic coursed through her and her heart pounded in her ears as her gaze darted around the room in which she found herself, and for a moment of pure terror she couldn't tell where she was. The memories of the dream bled through her and filled her with dread as her breath came in ragged gasps, her hooves grasping desperately at her bed sheets as if they would save her from whatever was happening. Oh Saint Celestia, please tell me that I'm not back home..!
To her relief, the room around her slowly lost its phantasmagorical edge and became once again the room that served as her home in the Crystal Kingdom, the dark aura of her nightmare washing away into the warm tones of a midsummer morning. Skyla took a deep, shaking breath and exhaled loudly before running the back of her hoof over her forehead, where the curls of her bangs were stuck to her coat with sweat.
“It was just a dream,” she whispered fervently. “Just a dream...” She felt her wings shiver against her back as the cool morning air licked her damp coat, and she pulled the covers closer to her chest with a wince. It sure didn't feel like a dream, though... she reflected, and even though her mind was still fuzzy with sleep, she knew exactly why it felt like more than just a dream. Again the image of the pony and the lightning bolt flashed behind her eyes, and Skyla shook her head vigorously to chase it away. No, go away! I don't have to deal with you anymore! she commanded firmly, squeezing her eyes shut. Go away and leave me alone!
Alone. The word resonated inside of her head and sent another, very different chill down her spine. Her eyes flew open and searched her bed, certain that she would find Flurry Heart's still sleeping form tangled in the other end of her blankets; to her surprise, however, she found that she was, indeed, alone in her room, with no sign that the other alicorn had been there at all during the night.
Oh sure, the one time that I would actually like to have her in my room, she's not here! Skyla sighed raggedly, her heart twisting up inside her chest as she threw her blankets off and slid out of bed. Her hooves clopped loudly on the floor as she landed, the sound echoing through the room and driving home the point that she was totally, definitively alone. Her ears flattened against her mane as she glanced over her shoulder at the empty bed. Stupid Flurry Heart and her stupid habits...
The sun was just rising, its light igniting the eastern sky into a beautiful summer morning, but Skyla's hooves led her away from the tranquil scene outside and towards her door as she muttered incoherently under her breath about Flurry and how dumb she was being. She knew, of course, that Flurry had done absolutely nothing wrong and that it was her right to stay in her own room if she decided to do so, but something about the whole situation put a knot in Skyla's mane. She hurried to her door and snatched the knob with her magic before yanking it open with tremendous force, her nose scrunched in a distasteful frown as she darted into the hallway.
As luck would have it, however, she didn't get very far before she found the very pony that she was irritated at; in fact, as she barreled out of the door, her eyes widened and her hooves scraped across the stone as she almost ran bodily into Flurry Heart. The smaller pony gasped and scrambled backwards, her wings giving a quick flap that both propelled her backwards and pushed Skyla's mane out of her face as she skidded to a halt just outside her doorway, her heart suddenly pounding in her ears.
“F-Flurry Heart!” she gasped, her breathing ragged as she leveled a glare at the other filly. “What... what are you doing outside my door?” She lifted a hoof and pressed it against her chest, willing her heart to calm down. “That's... that's not like you at all, lurking about in the hallway like that...” Now Flurry Heart's eyes widened as well, and, as her cheeks puffed out in indignation, Skyla felt a warm, comfortable feeling spread through her that soothed her racing heart and brought a ghost of a smile to her lips.
“I wasn't lurking,” huffed Flurry. “I was waiting. Waiting for you to come out, or for somepony to tell me that I could come wake you up.” Skyla's smile inverted.
“And that's not very like you either,” she muttered. “Why were you waiting? Why didn't you just come in and get into bed with me last night, like you've done every other night since I got here?”
To her surprise, Flurry didn't say something smart or sassy in response; instead, she watched Flurry's disgruntled expression melt away until all that was left was a sad frown and the biggest, saddest eyes that Skyla could ever remember seeing on a pony, and the depth of melancholy in the smaller alicorn's eyes was enough to draw Skyla out of the mixed up mist left over from her dreams.
“I... I didn't come in there with you last night because...” she paused and took a deep breath, the sound shaking around the edges in the silent hallway, “because I wanted to give you your space.” She shifted on her hooves, her tail jerking sharply back and forth as her ears folded back towards her head. “I know I've been... close to you a lot since you got here... like, really close, all the time, and... I dunno, I guess I was starting to think that maybe you...” she sighed and dropped her gaze to the floor, “...you might not want me to be so close... even if I want to be.” Flurry sniffled softly, and Skyla felt a pang of guilt resonate through her.
“Ah... this is about what I said the other day, isn't it?” she murmured, her own ears folding back towards her mane. Flurry Heart nodded briskly, her jaw clenched tight like she was trying desperately to hold back the words that longed to leap from her tongue. She swallowed audibly and took a deep breath before speaking once more.
“I had a talk with Sunburst,” she admitted, “and he said... well, he said a lot of stuff that made me think about you and me... and... and about how I'm acting when I'm around you.” She winced. “And... I wanted you to know that I really do want to be your family, Skyla... but I understand if you don't want that. I guess what I'm trying to say is that... if you want me to leave you alone, I will... and if me sleeping in the same room as you makes you unhappy, well... I'll stop doing it.”
Skyla fidgeted in place, her hooves scraping against the stone much louder than she thought they should have as she shifted her weight back and forth beneath Flurry's gaze. That's pretty much exactly what I wanted, she admitted silently as she turned her gaze towards the floor. To have my own space so that I can figure out what I'm going to be doing with my life in this new place... Her eyes rose back to where Flurry stood and, before she could say anything, an image of the nightmare that she'd had flashed through her mind, followed by the sight of her empty bed. She shivered visibly, her wing feathers rustling together.
There was still a part of her that wanted to have what Flurry was offering, and she would be lying if she said that it wasn't a fairly good sized part of her; even as she thought about it, however, the events of the past week flickered through her mind. The talk she'd had with Shining Armor in the training room and the conversation she'd shared with Cadence at the fountain in the city had not been things that she would have set out to have, but she couldn't deny that they had effected her. They had made her see what kinds of possibilities she could have with them, the kind of life that she could have here in the castle, and she couldn't deny that the larger part of her craved that. A door inside her had opened to these ponies, a door that had long been closed, and she knew in her heart that forcing it closed again would make her the worst kind of pony.
And, as she gazed deep into Flurry Heart's big blue eyes, she saw another blue-eyed pony in her life: the face of Starlight Glimmer rose in her mind, the mysterious smile that Skyla had come to know teasing her with knowledge of things she might never understand. Skyla felt her back straighten as her heart swelled, and before she knew it she was speaking.
“I... I won't tell you that's not what I want... or at least, what I wanted,” she said, her words coming slowly as she picked her words like a farmer hoof-picking her best produce. Spilling her feelings all over the place like she had been in recent weeks still felt weird, but it was almost like she'd opened up a floodgate and there was no way to close it again. “But... when I woke up this morning and saw you weren't there...” Her throat tightened against her words, and her lip curled in irritation as she had to swallow before she could continue. “I felt really sad when I saw the bed empty,” she said, her words coming out in a rush. “I had a bad dream, and when I woke up I didn't see you, and...” she sighed sharply, “...and I felt all alone... something that you haven't let me feel since I came here.” She stood up straighter and gave Flurry a smile even as tears gathered at the corners of her eyes. “I can't stand being alone... I was alone for my whole life, and now that I have ponies around who want to be with me, I... I guess I'm just having a hard time getting used to it. I really thought I'd be better off if I kept everypony at a safe distance, but...” She sniffled and gently wiped a hoof across her eyes as Flurry took a step closer to her, her own eyes wide.
“So... are you saying that you want me to... to keep being close to you like this?” asked Flurry, her voice trembling. Without another word, Skyla lunged forward and wrapped her front legs around Flurry, pulling the smaller pony into a tight hug.
“I might want nights alone sometimes,” she whispered into Flurry's mane, “and I might need to have some alone time during the days, too... but I don't want you to go away, Flurry. I don't want to be all by myself... I've had enough of that to last me until I'm as old as Celestia.” She gave Flurry one last squeeze and drew back, dropping back to all four hooves. She could feel the tears running down her cheeks now, and she could see that Flurry was having the same problem. “So... maybe we can give me a few nights a week where I get to sleep alone if I want to? And have a little bit of space every now and again?” Flurry nodded vigorously, her mane bouncing out of place.
“I think we can do that,” she whispered hoarsely.
Skyla let out a giggle that sounded a lot like a sob, and Flurry did the same as they stepped together, Flurry's head coming to rest beneath Skyla's chin as the larger alicorn wrapped her left wing around her. Skyla could feel Flurry trembling beneath her touch and, as they stood together in the empty hall, she began to see the aura around the smaller alicorn shimmer and rise around them. It sparkled and danced as she opened her senses to it, like ice crystals on a crisp wind as the first rays of the rising sun glinted across them. It wasn't anything that she could feel, but being with Flurry Heart made her feel exactly like the aura portrayed: cool, happy, and amazed at the beauty of the pony before her.
“You have such a good heart, Flurry,” she muttered into her curls. “Please don't think that I'm mad at you...” Beneath her, Flurry sniffled.
“So... does this make us..?”
Skyla chuckled softly. “I know it sounds silly... but in my world, ponies who call one another sister... typically don't feel very nice things about each other.” She gave Flurry a squeeze with her wing and stepped back, using the edge of the same wing to wipe the tears from her face. “Let's just focus on being best friends for now... and maybe we'll talk about the whole 'sister' thing later.”
Flurry bounced in place once, further disheveling her hair as she gave Skyla a beaming smile.
“I can work with that,” she said simply.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“So, you said you had a bad dream last night.” Flurry lifted a muffin in her magic, a gentle breeze tickling the newly brushed curls of her mane. “What was it about?” She turned her gaze to Skyla, who held a muffin between her hooves as she watched the sun climb into the sky. The older filly winced slightly and offered Flurry a small, sheepish smile.
“Aah... I was kind of hoping you'd forget about that...” She took a bite out of her muffin and looked down at the city far below. Flurry had suggested that they come out to the roof to eat their breakfast muffins and Skyla had seemed all for it, but now that they were up here it seemed like she was slowly drifting away, like the scent of their muffins on the wind. “It was really nothing,” she said around her bite, “not worth worrying about, at least. Just a dream.”
Flurry scrunched her nose and pointed her muffin aggressively at Skyla, her shoulders stiffening as she sat up straighter.
“Skyla, you grew up in a world where there was no Princess Luna – world where nopony controlled dreams at all – so I guess I can get why you're not a little more worried about this. But here, in Equestria?” She pulled the muffin back towards her and took an enormous bite out of its soft, moist, delicious form. “Ponies don't just 'have bad dreams' here, okay?” she said, doing her best to pronounce all of her words perfectly despite the half-chewed muffin in her mouth. Skyla's brow furrowed, first at Flurry's face, and then at the muffin particles escaping her lips.
“What... do you mean?” she asked hesitantly. “Dreams just happen, Flurry. There's not always a rhyme or reason to them.” She shifted on her rump and placed her left hoof onto the railing, her wings shifting against her back as her hair shifted in the breeze. “Just old memories and fears,” she said, so softly that Flurry wasn't sure she was supposed to hear it. She tossed the rest of her muffin into her mouth and chewed it quickly before speaking again, this time making sure that her mouth was mostly empty before she started.
“Sometimes you're right,” she said, wiping a hoof across her mouth, “but sometimes dreams are more than just dreams.” She swallowed and let out a happy sigh before patting her stomach. “Aaaah, those were good muffins...”
“And when are dreams more than just dreams?” asked Skyla as she sat her muffin on the rail, her eyes still glued to Flurry. Flurry blinked and bit her lip as she placed her right hoof back to the stone beneath her.
“Um... well, Great Aunt Luna never really told me what exactly makes them different... just that they are different...” Her ears settled back against her mane as she gave Skyla a sheepish grin. “Buuuut we could talk about your dream, and maybe figure out if it's different from there..?” Skyla arched an eyebrow at her suspiciously, and Flurry felt her cheeks grow hot. “What? It's the only thing I can really think of to help right now, so it's what I'm saying that we do!” She sat back a little and folded her hooves across her chest, the front curl of her mane falling into her eyes as she dipped her chin. “I'm not saying that you have to tell me, but dad always says that talking about a problem is the fastest way to beating it.”
Skyla watched her closely for what felt like forever, the wind gently teasing her mane so that it shifted around her like she was some kind of hero in one of the adventure stories that Flurry had read. She was quiet, so quiet and still that Flurry was starting to wonder if Skyla'd actually heard anything that she'd said. Did I talk too quietly? Maybe the wind blew my words away so she didn't hear exactly what I said... She took a deep breath, preparing to state her idea in a much louder and clearer voice, when Skyla let out a sigh and looked out at the city again.
“It's... an old dream,” she said softly. “One that's mostly a memory, but I get stuck in it and I can't get out until...” She winced, and Flurry felt her heart leap at the chance to learn more. She scooted a little closer until her rump touched Skyla's.
“So it's one you've had before?” she asked, and Skyla nodded.
“I've been having it on and off ever since... the event in the dream happened,” admitted the pink alicorn, her ears drooping as she gazed out towards the horizon. “And no, it's not a happy event.”
“Well... what is it?”
“I'd rather not say...”
Flurry's muzzle scrunched again. “Well, how are we going to help you figure things out if you won't talk about it?” Skyla's gaze returned to Flurry, her lips quirking into a smile that made Flurry Heart's wings bristle just a bit.
“Aren't you being a little pushy for somepony who wanted to give me my space?” she asked, her voice cool. Flurry knew that tone of voice: it was the tone of somepony who was asking you why you were breaking a rule when you just told them a half hour ago that you knew that rule and then they caught you with one of the big silver serving platters as you were trying to figure out the best way to surf it down the eastern stairs again. Internally, Flurry winced. Mommy was definitely not happy then, and Skyla's not happy now... but...
“Maybe a little bit,” admitted Flurry, her cheeks flushing again, “but if you want to be close to me, you're going to have to get used to the fact that if you have a problem, I'm going to want to be there to help you solve it!” She stamped a front hoof. “Now you've got a problem, so, I'll solve it!”
Skyla's lips softened into a real smile, a nice one this time, and she lifted a hoof to her mouth to cover a giggle. “Do you really think you can?”
“I don't know dreams like Great Aunt Luna does, but I won't know unless I try,” replied Flurry, her wings fluffing out as she sat up as straight as she could, her chest puffed out so that she could sit the way she'd seen daddy sit when he was trying to look regal and impressive. “So, let's hear about this dream of yours, and we'll see if we can figure it out!” Skyla's smile wavered for a second, first growing bigger then shrinking back down to almost nothing and bouncing back again before she sighed and nodded.
“All right, Flurry... you win.” She let her hoof drop back to the stone as she took a deep breath and started talking, her voice low like she was trying to keep it a secret from the rest of the world. “It's a dream where I'm standing on the front balcony of the Crystal Castle-,”
“Oh, the one where we give all the royal proclamations and stuff?” asked Flurry, and Skyla nodded.
“Right, that one.” She sighed. “Anyway, I'm standing there, and there's snow falling from a gray sky... and I know I'm standing next to a pony, but I can't see who it is at first...” With a shaking voice, Skyla recounted her dream, all the way to the lightning bolt into the sky. “And then I wake up, usually sweaty and anxious... like I did this morning.” She offered Flurry a small smile, and Flurry noticed how out of place it looked on Skyla's sad face. “Which is part of the reason I almost bashed into you... sorry about that.” Flurry shrugged and waved away her apology.
“No, it's fine. Don't worry about it.” She settled her hoof back down in front of her, her eyes wide as she stared at Skyla. “So... who was the pony in your dream? Or do you know?”
“Of course I know.” Skyla sighed again. “It was... my mother, Queen Cadence.”
“Ooh... and... you said that it wasn't just a dream, but..?”
“A memory, yeah.” Skyla sat back and wrapped her hooves around herself with a shiver. “Ugh... I can feel the snowflakes on me just from talking about it...” Flurry Heart shivered too, but not from the memory of the snow that Skyla had talked about. Lightning is scary, she thought. I really hope I never have to fly through any.
“So Queen Cadence could summon lightning like that? That sounds like pretty powerful magic.”
“She could, and it was.” Skyla squeezed herself tighter as she turned her head towards the kingdom below, her eyes wide as if only staring at her surroundings would keep her from drifting back to the Crystal Empire. “That day... we discovered that Queen Twilight had planted a few spies into our military. Or rather, Father discovered them. He brought them before Mother to decide what should be done with them... and everypony was shocked when she freed them.” She gave her head a sharp shake. “She told them to tell Twilight everything they'd seen, especially of... well, me... and then she said to let them go. Since they were both pegasi, they took off and started flying for the clouds as fast as they could... but nopony can out-fly lightning.” She closed her eyes forcefully and held them shut so hard that it crinkled her face. “Ugh... I hate that dream so much...”
“It sounds scary,” muttered Flurry, her own hooves rising to wrap around herself. “But you said it's a dream you've had before, right?” Skyla inhaled sharply through her teeth and shrugged.
“I have, but... there was something different about it last night. Like, I can't ever remember feeling stuck to the ground like I was last night, or not being able to speak... it was just...” she shivered again. “Ugh...”
Flurry rubbed her shoulders with her hooves as she tossed ideas around in her head. “Well, maybe it's because it's been a long time since it happened, and your brain is throwing your feelings into the situation?”
Silence fell between the two fillies as Skyla turned and arched an incredulous eyebrow at Flurry, who shrank beneath Skyla's gaze.
“W-what did I say?” she asked cautiously. To her surprise, Skyla's smile returned.
“Flurry, that... that might be it!” She let her hooves drop back to the ground, her face all but glowing with relief. “Maybe it's just changing because I'm getting far enough away from that, far enough away from her, that I'm not even remembering things correctly! That my mind is putting in how I felt instead of what actually happened!” She laughed lightly as her ears perked back up, her tail swishing behind her. “That's got to be it!”
“You... really think so?” asked Flurry, her ears rising out of her mane. Skyla nodded, her laughter bouncing around the roof.
“Yes!” She leaned over and wrapped her right wing around Flurry's shoulders, tugging her close. “Oh Flurry... that's a load off of my mind. I couldn't figure out any reason why that was happening, but by Saint Celestia's raiment you made me feel so much better...” Flurry blushed from her position against Skyla's chest, but she couldn't stop herself from nuzzling against her velvety soft coat. Skyla held her tightly for several long heartbeats before letting her go.
“So you're feeling better now?” asked Flurry, her heart flip-flopping around in her chest as Skyla rose to her hooves. “Did... did we do it?”
Skyla stretched and grinned down at her. “You know what? I think we did!” She laughed again. “It's like a weight has been lifted off of me! I feel GREAT!” On the word 'great', she threw her wings open wide so that they could catch a little of the morning breeze, and Flurry's eyes widened as Skyla's pinions smacked her not-even-half-eaten muffin off of the railing beside her. She gasped aloud and lunged for the small baked good, but her chest thudded against the railing and her hooves swiped at thin air as the muffin tumbled away towards the ground far, far below. Flurry felt her bottom lip quiver as she watched it, and her wings rose from her back as she seriously considered leaping off the tower after it; before she could make a move, however, she felt Skyla's hoof on her shoulder.
“It's not worth it, Flurry Heart,” she said solemnly. “It was a delicious muffin... but you shouldn't go after it.”
“He was gone before his time...” intoned Flurry sadly. She waved a hoof after the muffin, which impacted the stones far below as she watched. “Goodbye, Sir Muffington – you were too good for this world...” She heard Skyla snicker and, after a few more moments of mourning, she allowed Skyla to pull her back away from the railing.
“You worry me sometimes, Flurry Heart,” Skyla said with a roll of her eyes. “I really hope you weren't seriously going to leap off of the highest point in the castle for a muffin that I'd already taken a bite out of...” She raised her eyebrows at Flurry. “You're getting better at flying, but you're not there yet, so you wouldn't do that... right?” Flurry scoffed and waved her right hoof dismissively.
“Naaah. Not for a plain muffin. Now, if Sir Muffington had been a blueberry muffin, well...” She gave Skyla a grin, and the other alicorn rolled her eyes again.
“I swear to Celestia, we're never eating blueberry muffins up here.” Skyla shook her head and started for the door, her hoofsteps much lighter and more energetic than the had been when they'd come up here. “Let's head downstairs and clean that muffin up before somepony sees it, okay?” Flurry nodded and hurried to catch up to her.
“Okay!” She fell into step with Skyla, and the older pony reached out with her wing and ruffled her mane.
“Thanks for talking to me,” she said. “I don't think I'd be as relieved as I am without you, so... I think you should definitely sleep in my room tonight.” A surge of excitement exploded in Flurry, and she couldn't help but gasp.
“You mean it?!”
Skyla nodded firmly, her smile warming Flurry to her core. “Of course I do. After all, you're the reason I'm going to get a good night's sleep tonight!”
Flurry giggled and hopped over so that she could rest her head on Skyla's back, if only just for a second. “I can't wait,” she said softly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The scene around Skyla was hazy, like she was locked inside a snow globe, and everything that wasn't inside the small sphere around her was distorted and hard to see. Flecks of ice dropped from the sky and coated her mane and muzzle as she stared up into the heavy, steel gray clouds above her.
Aaah, here it is again, she thought through the haze of the dream. She honestly hadn't expected that it would happen again so soon, especially after Flurry's help in the morning, but now it was easier to gather herself. It didn't chase away the memory of the cold, of course, but she felt herself relax.
“It's time for a math lesson, Skyla.”
The voice still sent a shiver down her spine, but this time she was able to force a determined smile onto her lips. Not this time, Mother, she thought firmly. I know this is a dream, and I know I'm getting farther away from you, so this can't hurt me anymore. Even thinking it made everything feel less cold, like her body was doing its level best to wake her up after realizing that she was dreaming. She felt her smile grow as she turned to face the pony to her right, deciding to give that smile to her mother before she woke herself up.
Bright blue sparks of electricity snapped around the long, elegant horn of the pony next to her, and the face she knew so well cracked into a cold, sadistic smile.
“If there is only one Princess in an empire, and she goes missing...”
Skyla's smile melted away, and the cold, damning wind of the Crystal Empire stabbed into her soul as the sparks around her mother's horn faded away. The Songstress of the North shifted her eyes from the sky and bent her neck so that she could meet Skyla's gaze squarely, the depths of her eyes as frigid as her kingdom.
“...how much time will pass before the Queen finds her..?”
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Skyla bolted upright in her bed, a gasp rending the room as she flailed against her sheets. She flopped over onto her right side and rolled away, her wings twisting around her as she leaped to her hooves, her chest heaving as her eyes darted wildly around the room. On the opposite side of the bed, Flurry Heart sat up as well, her wings shooting up in alarm.
“Whazzat?! Who-who'zere?” she blurted, Flurry's eyes blinking languidly as she fought to wake up. She lifted her hooves and rubbed them firmly against her eyes before she managed to lock her gaze on Skyla, who was standing at the edge of her bed like a spooked cat. “Skyla... what in the name of the moon is happening..?” Flurry squinted at her. “And why are you all sweaty..?”
“I had it again,” she hissed, her heart pounding so hard inside of her that she was surprise Flurry couldn't hear it. “I had... I had that dream again...” Flurry Heart blinked again, as if her brain were trying desperately to process the new information. Once it did, however, her eyes widened until Skyla thought they might pop out.
“You did? But... I thought we'd talked about it and it wasn't going to scare you anymore!” Skyla nodded jerkily, her mane bouncing around her face as she did so.
“We did, and I wasn't at first... it started out all the same, but... but then it wasn't the same, Flurry Heart!” She felt her knees begin to shake as her gaze slipped away from Flurry and down to the myriad of rumples in the bed sheets, her mind fighting to accept what had just happened. “I started pulling myself out... and then I looked at Mother, and... and she looked at me, Flurry!” Spots of moisture began to appear on the sheets as tears started to flow freely down Skyla's cheeks. “She didn't look at me the whole time that happened, but this time she did, and she even asked me a different question!!” She choked on a sob. “How?! How is that even possible?!” Her shaking knees finally gave out and dropped her back to the sheets, her whole body sinking into the bed like it never wanted to get up ever again. She buried her nose into the sheets and cried, her whole body still quivering in abject terror as she fought to process everything.
As she cried, however, she felt the bed shift as Flurry hurried to her side, the warmth of the other pony flopping against her as the smaller alicorn lent her support in the best way that she could.
“Skyla... If our talk earlier today didn't really help...” She looped her right front leg through Skyla's left front, and as Skyla met her gaze, Flurry's eyes filled with concern. “...then there's only one pony you can talk to now.” She glanced pointedly at Skyla's desk, where the journal with the silver crescent moon sat closed on its top. “She knows dreams better than anypony ever, Skyla,” said Flurry insistently when Skyla didn't answer right away. “She'll be able to tell us if this is just you going through a really hard time with your dreams, or...” She trailed away, and Skyla turned her red eyes back to her.
“Or what?” she asked, half angry, half pleading. To her surprise, Flurry's ears flattened against her mane and she shook her head.
“I dunno, Skyla... but whatever it is, Great Aunt Luna will be able to tell us about it.” She gestured to the journal with her free hoof. “And I think you'd better do it now, before we go back to sleep.”
Skyla scoffed angrily. “Like I'm going to get any more sleep tonight...” she murmured. “But... you're right.” She gave Flurry's hoof a squeeze and rose to her hooves once more, and she was happy to see that her knees seemed to be ready to do their jobs again. She hopped off her bed and made her way unsteadily to her desk, where she flipped open the cover of the journal and began to write without ever bothering to sit down.
Dear Luna... I think that there's a problem that I need to talk to you about...
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Looks like Empress is gonna have a talking to regarding her daughter once she meets her alternate self.
The confrontation draws near I see. That's going to be intense. I wonder if the other Twilight will join in too.
Here we go ! 😃
I almost feel bad for the Empress if she bumps into Luna in the Dream Realm.
Well, this can't mean anything good.
Oh no. With such pointed questions being asked - there's no way this isn't a coincidence. Poor Skyla. At least she's got Luna on her side. (And if the Songstress of the North comes calling, well, she has plenty more alicorns than that.)
Still a bit early to declare that this isn't just Skyla's worst fear bubbling to the surface, but Luna will be able to tell.
If it *is* Queen Cadenza, then I can't wait for Luna to confront her in the dreamscqpe.
Queen or no Queen, it's one alicorn versus five. And Starlight Glimmer.
It'd be like Rita getting into a fist-fight with all five Power Rangers.
I'm getting a real Sith feeling from Skyla's memories of her bio-mom. There is a love of cruelty and inflicting suffering on those weaker than her. There was also a clear indication that she was trying to twist Skyla and make her more aggressive and sadistic.
I'm also thinking that a confrontation with her is inevitable, as is a later confrontation with Queen Twilight. I really think that Skyla may have prescient dreams and that the ones she's having are a warning.
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Perhaps but, given Skyla's personality, I'm pretty sure that she'll want to deal with her mother personally. She would regard it as her personal responsibility and that she wouldn't want anyone else getting hurt.
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Empress Cadenzatine used Force Lightning?
Skyla's mother... Even the remote possibility of the Queen of the hate spirits showing up can't be good.
I think even Queen Twilight showing up might be a better alternative than that... For one thing I suspect Queen Twilight might at least be able to brought around to leaving her alone while I can't help but to think Skya's mother is going to try killing those she sees as having 'corrupted' her daughter from her 'rightful' place with their love and kindness.
That scene with Flurry was just heartwarming. Nice to see Skyla opening up.
That last dream was terrifying.