//------------------------------// // Chapter sixteen- The Memory Orb // Story: The Gate: A Strange New World // by Ranger-Redstar //------------------------------// I felt awake even though I was for sure asleep, maybe I was awake. Everything around me was darkness except me I felt like I was glowing or perhaps there was a light shining down on me. I could hear screams in the distance, but nothing was out there. The screams sounded like the girls crying out for help. I started getting concerned when all of a sudden shadowy figures rose from the ground and were pointing what appeared to be guns at me. I looked down and saw my own rifle in my hand, I was about to fire back at the figures when it clicked telling me that it was empty. That’s when the figures began firing at me and the pain I endured felt exactly like when I got shot. The pain started to course all around me and I screamed out. Suddenly the shadowy figures were all wiped out in a single blow and the pain had subsided. I looked over and saw Luna, her horn glowing as she began to approach me. “It would appear that your fears have seeped into your dreams” I looked at my body to find no holes in me whatso ever “I had a feeling this was dream otherwise you wouldn’t be here” “I am the Princess of the night, guiding ponies through their dreams is part of my job even if they have nightmares” It was nice of Luna to come save me despite me dealing with the trauma from last night “Well, I can’t thank you enough Luna” Luna began to blush slightly “You are most welcome; most ponies would fear me if I entered their dreams” “Why is that?” “Most ponies still see me as Nightmare Moon and still carry that fear within them” I walked over to her and hugged her closely “Like I said last night, that’s not who you are anymore” Luna was comforted by this as she hugged me back “I just wish the ponies would see me the way you do” as she shed a tear We both let go as Luna turned to help me with my nightmare “It would appear that you still carry over the trauma from last night?” “Yeah, it was rather crazy, and truth be told I honestly thought I was gonna die” “That may be why this trauma resides within you, you believe you should have died, and it seems your mind thinks that should have happened” Luna looked me in my eyes as I gazed back at hers “If you had died, don’t you think the girls would be devastated at losing you?” “Well, I’d like to think that they would, but your guys-is safety is far more important…” Luna then interrupted me “And how can you protect them if you're dead?” she said slightly angry I hadn’t taken that into consideration. I was solely thinking about their wellbeing rather than their feelings. “I’m sorry this job has put a lot of pressure on me that I…” Luna wrapped her wing around me “I understand, in tough situations we tend to make rash decisions, I know I did” I almost wanted to cry but I held it in. “Thank you for the comfort, Luna” I said all teary eyed “It is my pleasure, your dream is fading, you will awaken soon remember to think about your friends they feel the same way about you” Luna disappeared and I felt myself awake. The sunlight was beaming out of the blinds in the windows, and I soon found myself with Fluttershy resting on my stomach and Applejack was resting against my head. I felt a little awkward as I tried to move without waking them up. Applejacks eyes soon began to move and blink. She moved over and let out a big yawn before rubbing her eyes as she looked back at me. “Morning sugarcube” she said quietly “I trust you slept well” as she looked at Flutters sleeping on my stomach I began to blush heavily as I looked down at her “It’s not what you think” Applejack chuckled at the thought “I’m only teasing” she walked over and moved Fluttershy gently back onto her sleeping bag so I could get up. I stood up and stretched a little before realizing that Luna was nowhere to be found, where did she go? “You all right there?” “Yeah, I’m fine, I just noticed that Luna is not in the room” Applejack looked around the room and started to ponder “Well, she couldn’t have gone far, maybe she’s outside” Right when Applejack said that the door opened and in walked Luna as she looked right at me “Ambassador the Major would like to see you” “He probably wants to hear from what happened last night I bet” “I’m just glad you’re still with us sugarcube, I don’t know what I’d do if you had passed on” “I know and trust me I don’t plan on dying anytime soon” I got myself ready to see the major as I walked out of the trailer and closed the door behind me ever so gently. I walked out and saw several men talking amongst themselves, their probably talking about how I survived last nights attack. I headed into the Major’s office as instructed. The Major was talking on his laptop with Haynes by his side. When I entered, he turned the computer around and on the screen was the President himself which I wasn’t expecting. “Mel” he said “I’m glad you could join us please have a seat” I then sat down in front of the majors desk waiting for what was to come “The major was just telling me about how you survived the terrorist attack last night please regale me” I did what I was told and told the President my first-hand account of last night’s events and how I defended the ponies. “That’s quite a story, Luna came in to advocate for you and said that you fought valiantly, even getting wounded in the process” “Correct sir I was injured” I took my shirt off and removed the bandages to show my wound and much to their and mine surprise the wound was almost healed. “Wait how long ago were you shot?” The major asked “8-10 hours ago” “Sweet Jesus, it looks like it’s been healing for over a month” “Well, you can thank Twilight for that she had some magic salve that must have some fast-healing properties” “Well, I congratulate you on a job well done, normally id give you a medal but I’m very busy so the major will present it to you, good day Ambassador” The President ended the call and the major stood up and walked over to me and I stood up as well “Mel what you did last night was probably one of the most heroic things I had ever heard in my time in the military. If you were a soldier you’d be awarded the medal of honor, however seeing as your still a civilian working for to Government I hereby award you, in the name of the President of the United States, the Presidential medal of freedom” The Major pulled out a small box and handed it to me. I took the box and opened it and saw the medal inside. “Mind you that this isn’t something that we just hand out to any civilian” “I understand sir, thank you for this” as I reached out to shake his hand “Now that that’s out of the way I want you to take the girls home, I believe Celestia wants to see them” I was a bit confused when he said that, but I could imagine why “Yes sir” I then walked out the door and was greeted by the girls and Luna all standing by the gate ready to go. They didn’t seem excited to go home in fact they looked like they wanted to go like yesterday “Come on girls let’s get you home” I looked over at the operator “Open the gate!” Soon the Doorway began to open, and we all rushed in quickly as the door closed behind us. We soon found our way back to Equestria and even though I was back in this bright, colorful and pleasant world I still felt out of it, and I could sense the girls were feeling the same way. “Come my little ponies Celestia is waiting for us” Luna spoke We all went to the train station and boarded a train bound for Canterlot. On the ride there everypony was rather quiet as they looked at each other or at the ground that when I decided to break the ice “So how you did you all like the trip?” Pinkie was the first to speak up “I had real fun time meeting the children and playing all those game and eating pizza” “I thought seeing more humans was nice, also the show bout us was very nice as well” “Being with you and everypony else was good enough for me” I could see some smiles again as they all chatted about their new experiences. I looked over at Luna and she gave me a small smile. I thought about what she said I thought in my head that I wanted to be there for these ponies and hope that I don’t upset them any further. As we pulled into Canterlot Station we all headed up to the royal throne room. As we entered Celestia was there to greet us. She seemed happy to see us but changed when she saw our expressions. Luna walked up to speak to her as she whispered in her ear for a good long while. Celestia’s eyes went wide as she looked back at all of us. Celestia then came to talk to us directly. “Everypony come with me” she said as she led us out of the room We followed to a different room within the castle. Celestia and Luna’s horn lit up and the doors were magically opened. Inside were various artefacts from weapons to scientific instruments, to statues, to weird mirrors. Celestia turned her attention to a row of what appeared to glass orbs. They looked like the ones that fortune tellers gaze into to see the future. Celestia took a rather large one and brought it to us “What are these your highness?” I said curiously “These are called memory orbs” Twilight’s eyes went wide again upon hearing that “I’ve read about these, they supposedly have the ability to contain memories from a living pony within them, granted you need a device or a unicorn in order to do so, and they can be played back as if you’re the pony in them” “What do you plan to do with it Celestia?” “I believe that what happened last night was to traumatic for all of you so if you would like, I would like to take your memories of last night and place them in this orb” The girls were shocked and so was I “What will happen if we do?” I asked “Your memories will revert back to moment before the event happened as if it didn’t happen in the first place” “So, we won’t remember it at all?” Applejack said “No however Luna and I will bring you up to speed so there’s no confusion” The girls all looked at each other to decide to go through with it or not. “May I opt out Celestia” The girls all looked at me with shock including Luna and Celestia. Celestia turned to look at Luna and seemed to understand. “Very well Mel its your choice” Celestia walked over to the girls with the orb hovering in front of her “Are you girls ready” They all nodded as Celestia’s eyes began to glow as threads of magic sprung from her horn and floated towards the head of the girls. Soon what looked to be film reels of memories began to fly out of their heads and float into the orb and in a bright flash the extraction was over. The girls all rubbed their heads wondering what had just happened “Wait why are we here, weren’t we in a hotel…” Twilight looked up and saw Celestia with the memory orb “Wow is that a memory orb I’ve only read about those they supposedly can contain memories of whomever” Twilight looked intently at the glowing orb “Who’s memories are these, Princess?” I stepped forward in front of Celestia to tell the girls of last night’s events. “There yours, Guys” I said as a lump accumulated in my throat They then all looked at me with confusion “What do you mean?” Applejack uttered “Well, something bad happened at the hotel, something so traumatic that it the memory itself would be terrible to even remember an injury so mental it would be just as bad as physical” The girls eyes went wide upon me saying that “What ended up happening is that we were attacked by several groups of armed individuals with the intent of killing me and taking you all away” “For real?” Fluttershy whispered shaking a little bit with fear “Yes, you guys would have been, if not for Luna taking most of them out” They all turned to Luna “Indeed, young ponies, there were indeed a great number of them to many for the Ambassador to handle, however it was mostly the Ambassador who held them off with his weapons and tactics” “And after upon Luna telling me this, I sought fit to have these terrible memories erased from your minds” Celestia said “That does sound awful princess I definitely wouldn’t wanna remember that” “But maybe I could have used that trauma in order to learn from it and use in the future” “Aw come on I wanna remember that sounds so cool” “It’s okay Dashie I forget stuff all the time but that does sound cool and scary” “It was in fact not as cool as you’d think” “Wait a minute how come you remember?” Twilight said glaring at me “Because humans deal with trauma all the time Twilight and this trauma is something I need to work on myself, I don’t need a magical spell for everything that’s wrong with me” Twilight nodded softly as she seemed to understand “What will you do Ambassador?” Luna said concerned “Well, I will most likely spend several weeks with a therapist in order to cope, you guys have therapist’s right?” “We do, but not for this sort of trauma” “Understandable” As the girls contemplated on this development Pinkie saw me holding my medal box. And in an attempt to break up the sour mood she brought it up “OOOH what’s that Mel?” as the girls all look “Oh, this is a medal I received from the President for my valiant effort” as I opened it showing them the medal inside, they all gawked over it “Why aren’t you wearing darling?” “Well, a lot had happened I just didn’t think about it” “Nonsense you should wear it proudly after all you are a hero” I took the medal out of the box and tried to figure out where to put it on my jacket. Rarity then used her magic to grab it and place it on my lapel. “Oh, you look smashing” “Does make you look heroic” “It just screams I’m awesome” Celestia came and looked at the medal as well “The President gave you this?” “Yes, he did” “Well perhaps you’ve earned an equestrian medal too” I was quite shocked upon hearing that then Celestia then pulled out a medal and handed it to me. The medal was round and featured Celestia and Luna flying around a sun mixed with the moon to symbolized yin and yang. I was taken back by this gesture. “I don’t know what to say your highness” “There are no need for words, for your actions speak for themselves Mel” Celestia then levitated the medal and placed it next to my other one. “What do you call this medal?” “Let’s call it, The Equestrian medal of Harmony” “Sounds fitting your highness” I was unsure about receiving this medal to be honest considering the alicorn medallion I got when I first came here and the Presidential freedom one. Celestia could see that I needed help from this trauma. “If you’re feeling unwell Mel, you can stay here if youd like” “I just might your highness” Twilight and the girls all came up too me to offer their comfort “Maybe we should stay too” Twilight suggested “I appreciate it Twilight, but I think I just need to be alone for this one” I then gave the purple unicorn a head pat as thanks “Well, if you do ever need us, we’ll be more than happy to be there for you” Fluttershy said “We’ll I don’t know bout yall, but I’ve got to get home soon” “Me too, Opal is probably wondering where I’ve been” Soon the girls gave their goodbye’s as they began to leave, and I was alone with the Princess’s. “Shall I show you to your room?” “I think I can manage your highness” I gave them a bow as I headed down the hall to the room I once stayed the night in when I first came to Equestria. I came upon the door and stepped inside. After closing the door and standing in the middle of the room for what felt like forever. I could feel myself getting teary eyed and soon tears began to stream down my face. I feel to my knees and I wept softly as I couldn’t hold it in anymore. My emotions were finally escaping from within me, I almost died, I literally would cease to be if not for Luna coming to my aid. I could only fathom about what would happen if I did die would Equestria and earth still be at peace or would there be more death and destruction? I thought of the girls and how sad they would be if I passed and yet here they were all there ready to comfort me and it pierced my heart so bad that I just had to cry. After crying my eyes out, I heard a gentle knock on the door and it made me briefly stop. I picked myself up and wiped the tears and snot off my face as I approached the door. I opened it to find Luna standing in the hall. “Art thou alright Ambassador?” Composing myself and swallowing my sorrow I answered “Yeah, I’m fine” Luna took one look at me and just shot me a look “It tis awfully rude to lie to a Princess you know” Luna said all coy I guess there’s no pulling the wool over her eyes as if it wasn’t evidently clear. “I’m sorry its just-” “There’s no need to Apologize” as she interrupted me “I understand that you’ve been holding a lot of emotions within yourself and so have I” I could see in Lunas eyes that they were on the verge of crying “You and I are both are feeling the same, perhaps if we talked about it, we could work through it together” she said “How!” I yell out loud and walked away hysterically “I’m only an insignificant human while you’re a goddess who’s been around a lot longer than I have; you’ve seen death more than I could imagine” I begin to cry again “Today was just a drop a rain in a vast ocean compared to what you’ve seen” Luna could feel how messed up I was as she trotted over and wrapped her wing around me and brought me close to her. “It’s not your fault, it was never your fault, you did what you had to do in order to protect your friends, and no one is shaming you for it” tears streamed down her face “It’s true, I have seen many ponies come and go over a thousand years and feeling ever more numb to it, but this was something that I have never witnessed before” I could tell by her voice that she was just as traumatized by this as much as I was “Seeing death come so abruptly is scary and then being the one to take another one’s life is also harrowing and it’s something that no pony should ever experience not even a human as brave as you” I took comfort in her words, and I calmed down a bit. “Well, how do I work through this crap?” “Then we do it together” as she leans into me I reach my arm around her and hold her close as we embrace each other two traumatized beings worlds apart side by side