For most ponies, their mind formed a House of Memories. Those with more training against mind-altering effects or just more willpower had their House take the form of a castle or a fortress, but in the end, they all represented the same thing. Certain memories like their childhood years and muscle memory formed a ‘bedrock’ that held the House up, with the metaphorical building constructed from this same ‘bedrock’.
Inside the House were several wings filled with various types of memories, split by type. Those more vivid and routinely used were closer to the entrance of the wing, while those that were mostly faded were far deeper. Those memories which were more traumatic in nature had their own wing, for both safety and due to their habit of resurfacing at the worst time.
Unfortunately, the House of Memories Luna floated over was in a bad state. When Luna first dreamwalked into Storm’s mind, the House was composed in a style reminiscent of a country house that one would see in Hoofington. Now it looked like a twisted fusion of a country house and one from the Crystal, all originating from a cracked mess jammed into the roof.
Approaching closer, Luna saw that it was not a simple jumble of crystal, but what looked like a large gem that shattered into pieces as it collided into Storm’s mind. Several large pieces sat on the roof, slowly crushing the House under it and no doubt causing Storm immense mental pain. A hooffull of smaller pieces looked like they had broken into the house and disappeared within.
Thankfully the gem wasn’t too large, Flurry Heart hadn’t had too many memories before she died. Luna frowned at the fact that was technically a good thing at this moment and shook her head in distaste as she flew closer to the mass, landing on the roof before one of the larger masses.
“This is why one doesn’t cast memory spells without being absolutely sure they’re necessary, Twilight,” Luna grumbled under her breath, her voice ringing out into the otherwise empty space.
One couldn’t simply destroy a memory, not even a pony of Luna’s magical prowess could do such a feat. Or at least not without potentially causing a great deal of damage to the mind of the memory’s owner. Memories and the experiences held within them helped make up a large part of a pony’s personality and outlook on life, to destroy them or excessively alter them could hold grave and unknown consequences.
So instead Luna was forced to go about it the hard way: manually cast the added memories to their proper place so Storm could begin the road to recovery. Having these additional memories will still have consequences, but that was something that Luna and Storm could tackle together versus this conundrum.
Luna began with grabbing the larger chunks of crystal, lifting them in her magic with surprising ease. The memories contained within were vital in any other pony, but to a pony who already lived far longer than Flurry, they were comparatively smaller than normal. With the larger crystals in her magical grip, Luna flew down towards the bedrock of the House, where memories of a baby would usually go.
First up came the memories of Flurry Heart’s first days with her parents, full of love and life. Looking at the crystal fragments Luna could see through Flurry’s POV Cadance, Shining, and other ponies doting on the baby alicorn. The love on their faces was clear for all to see and Luna fought back tears at the knowledge that the object of that unconditional love was forever lost.
Pressing the crystal to the bedrock of Storm’s own childhood allowed it to slip into its natural place, finding its home next to Storm’s own childhood memories. For a brief moment, Luna could see a glimpse of the difference between the two, Storm’s childhood being more of a singular love from her mother while her father remained emotionally distant.
Luna filed that information away and continued her work, slowly merging the added memories to sit next to Storm’s ones. Flurry’s Chrystalling, where her cries and uncontained alicorn magic destroyed the Crystal Heart found a home next to the memory of Storm accidentally breaking a vase and angering her father. Flurry being given Whammy, the stuffed snail stuffed animal, sat next to Storm getting a teddy bear from an uncle. And so on and so forth.
Eventually, Luna ran out of Flurry’s memories, there was only so much a year old pony could remember after all. But Storm’s House was still damaged, the structure not repairing itself as it should now that it was free from the haphazardly added memories. Luna frowned and flew through one of the holes in the ceiling, entering the House itself in spite of the potential dangers of such an act.
Luna landed on a carpeted hallway, the walls made of brick supported by timber while the floor itself was constructed of crystalline material. Dozens of doors resided within the hallway, made of wood, crystal, and other materials. Luna started heading down the hallway, both ears up to hear any potential sound as she checked each door. Each of them led to a hall of memories, be it food or accidents, or hobbies.
Luna frowned at the apparent silence of the House, the only sound the muffled clopping of her hooves on the carpeted floor. Usually, there would be some type of custodians mending the structure, or the pony themself in cases like this where they retreated into their mind. But no, there was nothing but deafening silence.
After what felt like an eternity Luna began shouting Storm’s name as she searched for the filly, but received no response. Instead, the Lunar Princess came to a set of stairs descending down into what seemed like an abyss, the sound of crying echoing out from the depths. Luna sighed and began to descend the stairs, a small part of her mind reminded of the hundreds of steps Sombra installed in the Crystal Empire.
The crying got louder the more she descended until she reached a large oak door. Luna had only seen doors this large in Canterlot Castle and other locations regularly visited by Celestia, built large enough that she wouldn’t have to bend down to fit through. Taking a closer look Luna noticed that it wasn’t an Equestrian style that she recognized, it resembled something more from Storm’s memory of ‘Earth’.
Luna took that as a hopefully good sign and opened the door with a gentle push, gasping at the sight within. Storm was curled up on the floor crying, her chest and the surrounding floor covered in blood. At the entrance of the door in front of Luna was the frozen figure of Twilight, her face a mask of rage as her horn glowed with magic. Lying behind Storm was the frozen form of a changeling, screaming in pain as it cradled its front right hoof. Or to be more accurate, the burnt wreck of a leg missing a hoof and a fair chunk of the leg itself.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what memory Storm had lost herself in, the memory of Flurry Heart’s death. While Storm had watched her life on Earth end, Luna had been careful to ensure that Storm would not feel what the memory showed. What Twilight had done had no safety guards like that, however, so Storm had no doubt felt every moment of her past life’s death.
Luna hissed in rage at this knowledge, her horn crackling slightly in an instinctive response to her emotions. She shook her head, dissipating the energy with a thought before stepping into the room proper. Storm did not seem to notice the Lunar Princess enter, continuing to cry until Luna sat next to the filly. A simple brush of Storm’s pink mane got her attention with a startled squeak.
Storm looked up to her aunt with a confused look, wiping her tear-soaked face with one hoof. “What are you doing here Princess Luna?” Her ears quickly flicked back in apprehension. “Are you here to try to make me Flurry Heart too? I don’t want anyone else messing with my mind.”
“Don’t worry Storm, I promise I have no intention of doing such a thing.” Luna shook her head for emphasis. “I merely came to help you. In whatever form you want that to take.”
“Storm....” The filly frowned, her brow furrowing in concentration. “Is that who I’m supposed to be? I can’t really remember, everything feels so jumbled. Flurry, Storm, Flurry, Storm, it's like a weird mix of names and identities.”
“Storm, listen to me.” Luna used a hoof to scoop Storm into a hug, holding her close with one wing. “Despite Twilight’s insistence, Flurry is dead and gone. You may hold her body and now her memories, but you do not have to force yourself to be somepony you’re not.”
“T-then who should I be?” Storm nuzzled into Luna’s coat, keeping her gaze from the frozen statue of Twilight. “I also died in the human world, not like I can pretend to be who I was before. Especially since I’m not exactly in the same body anymore.”
“A fair point as well.” Luna considered the conundrum for a moment before nodding to herself. “Then you should figure out who you want to be yourself. Do not worry about what other ponies want you to be, explore your interests and become the pony you want to be.”
Storm sniffled before muttering under her breath. “Better said than done thanks to Twilight.”
Luna couldn’t hold back a grimace before using a hoof to turn Storm’s head to make eye contact. “Forget Twilight Sparkle. She tried to force you to be somepony you’re not. I promise I will make sure nopony does that to you again.”
Storm nodded slowly before looking back down at the ground. “So what now? I go and stay with Rarity or Fluttershy or something? Or do I go back to Flurry’s parents?”
“No.” Luna shook her head, her decision made in her heart long before her brain caught up to the words coming out of her mouth. “If you are comfortable with it, you will live with me. I will adopt you as my own daughter.”
Storm pulled back, her mouth hanging open in shock. “I-I don’t know if I want to be a princess, that’s a lot to take in.”
Luna couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “You are too young to worry about such a thing as royal status. We can discuss such a thing when you’re older, do not worry. So, what do you think?”
Storm looked to the side, the gears in her brain turning. “Are you going to make me move around like I’ve been doing the past few days thanks to Twilight? I don’t think I’ve slept in the same bed for more than one day. Heck, I think the only real bed I’ve slept in was a hospital bed.”
“No, no.” Luna shook her head, aghast at the news. “While we would have to travel for foreign affairs, you do not have to come if you don’t wish, and you will always be by my side.”
Storm’s brow remained furrowed for a minute before she slowly nodded. “I accept Princess Luna.” Storm looked up with a somewhat amused face. “I never thought I’d say this, but I would be happy if you adopted me. You are one of the few ponies to accept me without any problems and truly care for the real me. Thank you.” Storm hugged Luna tightly before pausing for a moment. “Wait, do I need a pony name?”
“Only if you want one. Storm is a simple but fine name if you wish to keep it.” Luna gave her ward a gentle smile. “Although if you wish to change it, you are welcome to do so. I can offer an addition if you want.”
Storm nodded, her eyebrow quirked up in curiosity. “What do you have in mind? I mean if you’re serious about adopting me you are going to be my mom so I think you have first dibs on that.”
Luna let out a gentle chuckle. “Considering the season you were reborn in, I was thinking along the lines of ‘Summer Storm’.”
Storm gave an enthusiastic grin at the name. “I’ll take it. New name new me and all that.”
Luna nodded, her smile growing at the adorableness of the grin. “Then come on Summer Storm, we have a lot of work to do. First stop: Crystal Empire so you can meet your Aunt Celestia.”
Storm nodded, following Luna out of the room, albeit on the other side of the alicorn from Twilight Sparkle. Once they exited the memory Luna used her magic to close the door behind them, locking the traumatic memory away where it could hopefully never hurt Storm again. Above them, Luna could hear the sounds of the House slowly repairing itself now that the owner wasn't mentally paralyzed. Her work was as finished as it could be.
Luna's horn glowed for a moment as she pulled herself and her new child out of the mindscape and back into the real world. To face whatever troubles would arise together.