//------------------------------// // Why We Remember // Story: Remembering Harmony // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// Twilight found herself standing in front of a wide, yawning cave. Leaves and branches gently knocked against each other in the wind. The cold breeze sent a shiver down her spine as the foreboding abyss bore into the mountain in front of her. "Monster..." She heard a disembodied voice echo through the trees. "Who's there?" She called out, turning her head left and right. The cave entrance seemed to slowly expand outward towards her. She heard galloping hoofsteps behind her and turned to look, and gasped when she saw herself, barrel clad in the glass harmony armor, eyes glowing a sickly red, horn cracking with magic. "Murderer!" The other Twilight screamed, sending forth a surge of offensive magic from her horn, which she wasn't able to evade in time, and it threw her into the cave. She rolled end over end before coming to a stop. As she got to her hooves, she then realized something was off when she saw the coat on her front legs; not lavender, but a much darker orchid. She came to a standing position, saw a puddle of standing water on the cave floor, peered down into it, and saw the reflection of Tempest Shadow staring back at her, the eyes widening in shock and fear as she took several startled steps backward into the blackness. The dark gave way to an eerie blue light from behind her, and her blood ran cold as she heard a low growl, turning to see an ursa minor towering over her, raising it's right front paw to attack. The swipe came too fast, and Twilight didn't step back far enough as the claws came into contact with her head and she heard a sharp crack. The Princess of Friendship bolted up in her bed, and couldn't stop herself from shooting off a bolt of magic that bounced off of the adjacent crystal wall, forcing her to duck as it impacted just above her headboard, leaving a small scorch mark. Twilight shuddered briefly before beginning to weep, sitting up as she did so, looking over at her clock on the nightstand and saw that it was barely past midnight. She had spent the entire ride back from Foal's Peak silent and sulky, and had gotten back to the castle just as the sun was going down. She didn't talk to anypony as she got a small snack from the kitchen and then retired for the night. She walked over to her window and pushed them open, letting in the cool night air of late summer, before going over to her small desk, uncapping the inkwell as she grabbed a quill, dipping it in the ink before putting it to the fresh sheet of parchment. Starlight, I need help. Please come see me as soon as you can. Your friend, Twilight Twilight took a deep breath and lit up her horn, sending her letter through the aetherial plane to Canterlot, where it would materialize at the hooves of her student-turned-alicorn. It was a spell she had to learn quickly, as rapid correspondence was something that she had previously relied on Spike's enchanted dragon's flame for. Wiping her eyes and taking a few more breaths, she was about to go down to the kitchen to make some hot tea when there was a gentle knock on her door. "Twilight?" Came the concerned voice of Starlight Glimmer. "Come in." Twilight replied, watching as the door opened to reveal Princess Starlight of the Night and Dreams. The darkest purple segments of the heliotrope alicorn's mane and tail had recently begun to sparkle and take on the princessly ethereal motion of its own as she had become more attuned to her powers. Her horn length had increased just slightly, and she had chosen not to wear a crown, at least not on friendly house calls such as this. As it was, she barely tolerated the shimmering indium gold necklace and horseshoes that had been made for her, that shone like diamonds. Starlight had made it crystal clear that the regal, pomp, and circumstance that Canterlot was historically known for was quite repulsive to her as long as Equestrians were struggling to rebuild. Twilight wished she could have been there a few weeks ago when she offered a rather fierce rebuttal to one of Canterlot's elite who dared to ask if the Grand Galloping Gala would be held at the beginning of autumn as it always had. "Twilight, are you alright?" Starlight asked gently. "No. No, I'm not. I can't deal with this alone anymore, Starlight. Every single night..." Twilight explained, shuddering. "Twilight, I'm always going to have nights where I miss them." "It's not our friends, Starlight. It's... It's what I did to Tempest." Starlight took a moment to think back. So this wouldn't be helping her friend along the grieving process. "You mean when I found you on that path outside Foal's Peak?" Starlight asked. Twilight nodded, sniffling. "I had beaten her. I had gotten my magic back... And I still wanted to tear her limb from limb." The Princess of Friendship explained, sitting down on her bed. "You think anypony would blame you? After what she did?" "She was defenseless, Starlight. She was defenseless and she asked for mercy. And I answered... By throwing her into the cave and burying her under half the mountain. And even that wasn't enough. One of her fillyhood friends found out what had happened, she included that spot in the grave markers she's making for the village, and I responded by pulling out the E.U.P. that was helping her yesterday. Does that sound like something a princess would do?" "Princess or no, you are only a pony, Twilight. Remember what Starswirl told you? It was never going to be enough. Now, lay down. I will help however I can." With that, Starlight gently pushed Twilight back onto her bed with a hoof, and lit up her horn, casting a sleep spell that quickly overcame Twilight. The first half of her task done, Starlight sat down in a meditative state, and entered the Dream Realm. It was a seemingly endless field of stars, each one was what a pony experienced in their sleeping hours. "Twilight Sparkle." The name left her throat at under a whisper, and Starlight was thrust through the realm as the field of stars rushed passed, and after a momentary flash of white light, she found herself standing next to the Princess in a forest, darkened by an overcast sky. She recognized it as the forest path she had found Twilight on after one of the peaks of the Foal Mountains had partially collapsed. Twilight looked uneasy, even with Starlight next to her. For her part, Starlight lit up her horn, and touched her left hoof to Twilight's chest. It glowed in response, before a wiggling, sparkling mass was pulled from her chest, and Starlight immediately put a magical barrier around it. The purple, glowing, smokey amorphous mass had no defining shape. "I take it you know what this is?" Starlight said, and Twilight nodded with wide eyes, remembering all too well from when they had helped Princess Luna. "A Tantabus." Twilight answered, watching as the creature of the dream realm writhed within the confines of Starlight's barrier spell. "A magical parasitic creature of the dream realm. Severe guilt made manifest. This represents what you wanted to do to Tempest. You wanted to put her suffering on par with your own, but there is no sating that kind of anger, or hate. Instead, you must find a way to let it go. Or it will continue to eat at you." Starlight's concentration seemed to falter for a moment, and that proved to be enough for Twilight's Tantabus to break through the barrier and slam into the Princess of Friendship, seeping back into her chest, bringing back the knot in her stomach as she took in a labored breath. Starlight focused for a moment, closing her eyes, as if she had been distracted by something. "What is it, Starlight?" Twilight asked. Starlight mentally reached out across the dream realm in silence for several moments before the glow of her horn faded and she opened her eyes again, looking over at her mentor. "It would seem that you're not alone in your guilt, Twilight. The mare at Foal's Peak. She is dealing with something very similar, and I believe you two can help each other through your troubles. I urge you to return to that village and talk with her."