//------------------------------// // Memories of Fear // Story: Ascendancy: Fear // by SeedOfEvil //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Memories of Fear Canterlot, the pristine capital of Equestria. If being the capital didn't impress a pony, the fact that it was built on the side of the tallest mountain in Equestria would. The capital was built nearly a thousand years ago some time after the first rise and fall of Nightmare Moon, the evil princess of the night. The placement of the capital served as an example to all ponies of Equestria that their Princess of the Sun was the most powerful being in all of existence. Legend had it, Canterlot was built single hoofedly by the Sun Princess herself in a single days time. Some say that legend was highly exaggerated. Some believed every word. There was really nopony still alive who knew the true story. Save for two. Princess Celestia, The princess of the sun lived in the most notable structure in all of Equestria. Canterlot Castle. It was here she would spend her days and nights ruling over her subjects from behind the high castle walls. As high and mighty as she was, the Princess was not so much a ruler as she was a caring mother. Everypony loved the sun goddess, and she in turn loved them. Princess Celestia would cringe at even the thought of her little ponies in any sort of pain. She devoted her entire life to her subjects by building a world in which they could feel safe. From the moment they woke, to the moment they drifted back into sleep for the next day. It was a good life being a princess. The best beds. The best food. The best... everything. But Celestia was not one to desire such things. Yet this modesty in turn simply made her subjects want to give her more. Everyday ponies would bring her gifts for being such a benevolent ruler. In time however, it became too much, and Celestia was forced to actually write laws to prevent ponies from showering her with such gifts. Lest her subjects start giving up their own children for her. Yet where Celestia was loved, there was another princess who did not receive such praise and admiration. Princess Luna, Celestia's sister, the alicorn godless of the night, and at one time Nightmare Moon. Long ago, when the capital of Equestria was centered around what was now known as the Everfree forest, Princess Luna ruled by Celestia s side. Celestia ruled over the day, while Luna was given the night as her domain. In time Luna became irritated with her rule over the night, Where ponies would frolic and play during the daytime, they did nothing but sleep when night fell. As if they didn't care about the beautiful night the moon princess gave them. Distraught with jealousy, Princess Luna attempted to usurp power from her sister. An attempt which failed miserably. Luna was banished by her own sister. Sent to exile for a thousand years upon the source of her power. The Moon. One thousand years later, Luna, who had taken the name of Nightmare Moon, returned to recreate Equestria under her blanket of night. Celestia had prepared for this moment however. Finding six ponies who would wield a great power known as the Elements of Harmony, to cast down Nightmare Moon once and for all. Having another attempt for power fail, Luna apologized to her sister for her foalish behavior. With her sister back by her side again, Celestia had thought things might return to normal.Yet ponies did not forget easily. Many still believed Luna to be the evil Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn who would stop at nothing until all of Equestria bowed before her. Celestia knew that it would take time for them to accept Luna. After all, until now, the only mention of the second princess for a thousand years was under the name of Nightmare Moon. It would be hard, but Celestia still had hope that her sister would one day earn the love of the ponies she had once tried to control. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Princess Celestia sat in her private quarters. It was unusually quite in Canterlot today. No meetings. No scrolls to sign. Not even the complaint of some plushy noble who thought he deserved more land for his mansion. For once Celestia had some time for herself. The Princess sat at a large desk, as she happily drank a small cup of tea while humming a song she couldn't remember the words to. Using a microscopic sliver of her magic, Celestia opened the window near her. She smiled has the warm air blew across her muzzle. It was almost always sunny in Canterlot. Usually because the weather pegasi worked around the clock to make sure no rain would cloud a single day for their princess. She made a mental note to herself to send a request for rain. If she didn't the weather teams would end up letting Canterlot burn from a lack of water. Celestia thought back about 50 years to the great fire of district 4. A whole district was wiped of the map because of a neglect to give rain when it was needed. The district was rebuilt, but it was never the same as it was before the fires. Celestia found it strange she was thinking about such dark events on such a beautiful day. She thought perhaps she felt a little guilty for having time to herself. Before her sister Luna returned to Equestria, Celestia had had so much to oversee that the only time she had to herself was when she slept. Luna had wanted to take many of Celestia s drab and boring jobs as a way to pay her back for the one thousand years Celestia had to do them all alone. Celestia could still remember the gleam in her sisters eyes when Luna had asked to become the first receiver of Twilight sparkles friendship letters. Luna had wanted to know more about Twilight Sparkle and her friends after visiting them on Nightmare night last year. Celestia was so proud of her student for creating such an interest in friendship for Luna. She knew this would be a great turning point for her sister's life. One for the best. "Hmm.... Twilight Sparkle...", Celestia thought. It seemed like just yesterday that she had met the Lavender Filly. It was when young Twilight was auditioning for enrollment in Celestia's own magic school for gifted unicorns when the two first met. Twilight had shown a great magic potential when she not only hatched the dragon egg used to assess new students, but also made the dragon grow to full adulthood in mere seconds. Age spells were extremely difficult to master, and even though Twilight did it only accidentally, Celestia knew that this unicorn had great potential. And right she was. Twilight not only freed Princess Luna form her Jealousy. She had also stopped the embodiment of chaos, Discord, from destroying everything Celestia had worked so hard to create. Twilight further exceeded expectations when she saved the Crystal Empire form the dark King Sombra by locating the Legendary Crystal heart. The credit was given to Spike of course, but Celestia felt that having Twilight's image immortalized in three stain glass windows might make the fame go to her head. So instead she gave the credit to spike. It was him who brought the crystal heart to Princess Cadence after all. So Spike should have at least gotten something for showing such bravery against King Sombra. "King Sombra.", Celestia said with a snort of her nostrils. "He had so much potential as well. If only h-" "Sister!" Celestia didn't even have time to finish her sentence as Princess Luna burst in through the double doors of Celestia's room. One of the doors unhinging in the process. "Luna? What is it?", Celestia asked. Celestia stood from her desk at seeing the concern on her sister's face. Luna approached her older sister. Her horn glowed as she pulled out a scroll and promptly shoved it close to Celestia's face as she opened it with her magic. Celestia quickly began reading over the scroll floating inches from her face. Dear Princess Celestia, Please help! Something has happened to Twilight! I don't have time to explain in a letter. Just please come to Ponyville as quickly as you can! Sincerely, Spike. Celestia read over the letter three times to make sure she hadn't missed anything. The writing was sloppy and there were several spots on the scroll where the quill had been pushed too hard against the paper, punching holes through it. When she finished reading the letter, Celestia looked up from the scroll to her sister. A serious look forming on the sun goddesses face. "Pack quickly Luna. We leave for Ponyville immediately." -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- "What happened? Where am I? And....argh....why does my head hurt so much?..... These where the thoughts of Twilight Sparkle as she slowly awoke from what seemed like the deepest and most relaxing sleep of her life.Though Twilight's eye lids were now half open, she was unable to make out a single detail of the space around her. Her vision was blurred and her head was in too much pain to think clearly.The little light visible in the room Twilight assumed it was past nightfall. From the feeling of the bed she lay in, Twilight logically assumed this was her bed. How she had gotten here, however, was a complete mystery to her. Twilight just continued to lay in her bed. Any form of movement toward getting up only made her head hurt worse, so she decided lying still was the best option. Twilight felt not only completely exhausted, but also completely drained of any magic her small lavender body once held. The last thing Twilight could remember was talking with her friend Rarity, and then... nothing. Her mind drew nothing but a blank picture in her thoughts. As Twilight sat in her bed completely unaware of her surroundings, she soon felt a presence in the room with her. Looking to her left bedside, Twilight watched as the large form of somepony quietly loomed over her. Watching her. Even though she still couldn't see well, Twilight wasn't afraid of the unknown pony leaning over her. The pony's presence itself felt so warm and inviting. From what little Twilight could make out through her impaired vision, she was able to deduce that this pony was a unicorn. A very large unicorn. Around the strange unicorns head was a great billowing mane of many colors.Twilight continued looking over the large unicorn. staring down the unicorns neck and around its shoulders until she saw- "Wings?", Twilight quietly whispered through her breath. This confused her for a few seconds until her vision finally began to clear and she finally saw who exactly was looming over her. "Good morning my most faithful student. Did you sleep well?" "Princess Celestia?" Twilight asked out of the pure shock of seeing the most powerful being alive standing at her bedside. Twilight wanted to reach out and hug the princess, but her pounding head kept her at bay beneath the covers. "What are you doing here?" Twilight weakly asked. "Later Twilight. For now you need to rest. If im guessing correctly your head probably feels like its been hit by a falling tree. Yes?" Celestia playfully answered. Twilight smiled and nodded her head slightly. She didn't want to go against the Princesses wishes. If her mentor thought she needed to rest, it was probably true. Twilight closed her eyes before slowly falling back into a deep sleep once more. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- It wasn't until around noon the next day that Twilight began slowly descending the stairs from her room on the second floor of the library. The library its self looked the same as it always had, except for the seven ponies all seated around a large round table in the center of the room. As she reached the bottom step, Twilight was assaulted by the voice of a very anxious pink earth pony who was all too glad to see Twilight awake. "Oh my gosh! Twilight girls! It's Twilight! Oh Twilight we were sooo super worried about you when we heard you turned into a giant floating laser beam! At first i was all like 'no. not Twilight' but then I thought Duh! Twilights' a unicorn! She shoots lasers all the time! Like the time when we were attacked by all those funny changeling things and i grabbed you tail and started sh-" Pinkie was quickly silenced as an orange hoof clamped over the Pink pony's mouth. "Wut Pinkie here means to say is, its good to see ur alright Twilight." Applejack said as she held back Pinkie Pie's voice. The pink pony still trying to speak through the orange hoof forced over her mouth. "Oh course she's alright! Our Twilight is tougher than any other pony in this room. Myself and the Princesses excluded of course." Rainbow Dash proclaimed from her spot at the table. "Speaking of Princesses", Twilight looked over at the two large alicorns seated at the table in front of her. "What are you two doing here? N-not that you aren't welcome princesses! I just....uh..." Twilight quickly added in a panic before Celestia raised a hoof to silence her student. "Its quite alright Twilight." Celestia assured her," Perhaps we should start at the beginning. Miss Rarity? Would you kindly tell Twilight what you told all of us?" Rarity nodded before retelling the horrific event she had witnessed. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Twilight collapsed onto the ground. After several seconds had passed, Rarity rushed over to her fallen friend. "Twilight?! Twilight, can you hear me?!", Rarity cautiously asked as she placed her hoof on the side of Twilights neck. She could faintly feel Twilights pulse against her hoof. Her friend was alive, but just barley. Twilights pulse was slow. And as the seconds went by it only seemed to slow further. "Aloe! Lotus!", Rarity ordered, "Go find Nurse Redheart immediately! I'll stay here with Twilight. Please hurry!" The two spa ponies both nodded before rushing out of the building to find Nurse Redheart. Being careful not to cut themselves on the many shards of wood which now littered the floor around them. As Rarity waited for help to arrive, she thought back to what she had just seen. Twilight had released a massive amount of pure magical energy. Though Rarity knew practically nothing about the medical field, she knew enough to know that Twilight was suffering from a severe case of magic fatigue. Magic fatigue is usually the most common side effect for when a unicorn abuses their magical power. It typically occurs in young unicorns who first learn how to use their magic. using too much magic within a few hours, or trying to use a spell far too advanced for their own bodies to handle correctly is usually the cause for magic fatigue. Rarity still remembered the first time she had overused her own magic. She had tried to levitate a gigantic cookie jar down from the high cabinet in her parents home. She had practices levitation spells with feathers, but the ten pound jar was too much to handle. Not only did she drop the jar, but Rarity had a pounding head ache for the next week. Most unicorns are too young to do any real damage to themselves, but Twilight had released enough magic that Rarity was amazed that Twilight even had a body left. Minutes went by, and there was no sign of Aloe and Lotus returning. Twilight was only getting worse with each second. Rarity was just about to leave to find more help until, as if right on cue, Rainbow Dash entered the spa through the very large hole Twilight made in the roof. "What the hay was with all that big flare in the sky!? I could see it all the way in cl-" Rainbow Dash ended her statement there when her eyes fell on Rarity and the unconscious Twilight. "Rarity? What happened to Twilight?", she asked while hovering just over the two of them. "There's no time Rainbow!", Rarity snapped, "Hurry and find Spike and tell him to send a letter for help to Princess Celestia! Then come back here and help me get Twilight back to the library!" Rainbow wanted to stay put until her friend told her what had happened to Twilight, but the glare Rarity was giving her quickly put an end to those thoughts. " Got it.", Rainbow said before taking off towards the Library. A thin Rainbow trail following her as she left. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ "And after Rainbow returned, she flew you back here to the library where we met the Princesses waiting for us." Rarity said as she finished telling her story to the now very confused Twilight Sparkle. Twilight put a hoof to her mouth as she tried to remember anything from the story Rarity had just told her. "I put a hole through the spa's roof?, Twilight asked doubtfully. Her friends and the Princesses all nodded their heads in unison. "Then how come I cant remember anything past talking to Rarity about my nightmares? I mean I get not remembering what happened to me while i was unconscious, but how could I just forget doing something so destructive?" Princess Luna Spoke up to give the answer Twilight was seeking, "The pony mind works hard to block out memories it does not with to see, young Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps it had something to do with these Nightmares we've been hearing about from your friend?" Twilight felt a little betrayed by Rarity for telling them about her nightmares, but she quickly cast those feelings aside. After all, Rarity was only trying to help her. And for that, she was very thankful. "I don't know," Twilight answered, "Possibly, but I wont know unless I can remember what happened." "Perhaps we can be of some assistance on this matter" Luna interjected," As Princess of the night, we are able to view what ponies dream. In this sense, we can also access the thoughts and memories of any pony we so choose. So long as they willingly subject themselves to us." Twilight looked at the Princess. A look of determination burning in her eyes."Do it." was all Twilight said to Luna. Luna walked over to the lavender unicorn sitting at the table." Are you certain? Unlocking what your mind wanted forgotten could do untold damage to your psyche. Do not be so rash in this decision Sparkle. Twilight merely shook her head. "No. If it can help my friends and I understand what happened to me. I'll take any risk." Twilight said. "Whoa there partner.", Applejack argued, "Maybe ya'll should listen to what the princess is sayin. I dont know much about pony brains, but I do know its not good to be poking around bad memories". Twilight looked at her friend. She understood her friends concern, but she knew she had to do this. If not for herself, for her friends own safety. " Applejack. What if Rainbow had been flying over head when I shot that magic into the sky?" Twilight felt tear almost come to her eyes as she thought about such a possibility. "But I'm fine Twilight." Rainbow assured her. Twilight stamped a hoof on the ground. "But 'What If'!? I cant go around Ponyville knowing that at any time i could hurt one of my friends in a random magical explosion. This time it was only a building, but what about next time? I couldn't live with myself if any of you got hurt because i failed to act." Celestia smiled, "As Noble as ever, my faithful student." Celestia looked over to her sister. They both nodded together as Luna moved to start unlocking the hidden memories of Twilights mind. "You may feel some discomfort Twilight. It is quite natural.", Luna stated before beginning. Twilight swallowed hard and nodded. Letting the princess know she was ready. Luna placed her right hoof against Twilights forehead. She closed her eyes as she began concentrating on gathering the magic required for such an advanced spell. After a few seconds, Luna's horn became surrounded by a navy blue aura of energy. Luna then opened her eyes, revealing them to be glowing with the same dark aura that encased her horn. Twilights eyes did the same in turn. Twilight's friends looked on in wonder and worry. Except Fluttershy, who was hiding behind Applejack. "Wha-..what if something goes wrong?", she asked timidly. What if instead of Twilights memory being returned, what if she forgets who she is or who we are?" Applejack looked back at the cowering yellow pegasus behind her. "Now don't you worry surgarcube. I'm sure the Princess knows exactly what she's doing. Our Twi would never forget about us. Not in a million years." she assured her. Applejack looked back at Twilight and the Princess. She was hoping that what she told Fluttershy would be true. As Luna continued to focus her spell, the dream world of Twilight's mind came into focus inside her own mind. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- Princess Luna found herself once more inside the familiar dimension she called her second home. She was inside her own mind. Her minds realm could be described as a home because, in a sense, it was. Whether it was because of the spell she used or the actually structure of pony minds, her mind resembled that of a long white marble hallway. Along the hallways were various doors and even furniture. Luna never truly understood why the dream realm needed furniture, but it was here that she spent most of her time while imprisoned on the moon as Nightmare Moon. So she wasn't complaining. As Luna started down the hallway, she passed by the many doors that lined the walls. Each doorway was unmarked and held no handle or knob. The only thing on the surface of each door were small deep holes that acted as the doors locks. In order to open a doorway, Luna would have to insert her own horn into the lock to open each door. Each door contained not more rooms,but memories. Even though each door was unmarked, Luna somehow knew what memory was where. How she knew this was unknown to her, but at least it made it convenient to study her own past. As Luna walked further down the corridor, the doors and furnishing became less frequent as the walls around her began to turn from a bright white to a dark grey hue. It was here she approached her destination. The walls and ceiling surrounding her came to an abrupt end as Luna came face to face with the great chasm. It was here that Luna would cross over into Twilight Sparkles mind. There would be only one way into the realm of Twilights memories. Luna would have to cross the white ethereal bridge which connected their two minds. The bridge was small. Only about three feet wide and almost fifty feet long. Surrounding the bridge was what Luna simply called, 'the void'. A black bottomless,topless, and side-less, room of absolutely nothing. When Luna first visited this place thousands of years ago, she had created a magic bird to see how far down the void truly was. She had commanded the bird to return after it had reached the bottom, but even after thousands of years, the bird never returned. Even now, Luna believed that bird was still flying down into the void. Still following the orders of her master. To make things worse in the void, flight was impossible. No matter how much Luna attempted to fly or even levitate herself with magic, the void simply did not allow it. If Luna fell from the bridge, she was sure she would fall forever. Her conscience would be lost forever. Unable to return to the real world. Luna took in a deep breath. Summoning her courage, she slowly crossed the bridge. Once Luna's hooves were firmly planted on the other side of the bridge, she was finally able to relax a bit. The worst was behind her. At least until she had to go back. Slowly, the Princess walked down the grey corridor. The sound of her hooves echoed slightly with each step she took. After about thirty feet or so, the corridor began to change from the dark grey into an almost pink marble color. Soon Luna found herself surrounded by the doors that led to each of Twilight's memories. Luna paid these brown doors no mind and simply kept walking forward. Luna wasn't looking for just any door. She needed to find a locked door. A door that contained sealed memories was not an easy door to find. Unlike her own memory doors, Twilight's doors were completely foreign to her. She had no way of knowing what was behind each door. Luna could see anything from Twilights first memory, to the last one she had before submitting to Luna's spell. Luckily for Luna, every pony mind was shaped nearly the same as her own. Luna herself was no stranger to sealed memories. She had a few locked away in her own mind from when she did certain actions as Nightmare Moon. Memories she knew should be kept closed to her. No matter what. After what seemed like hours of wandering, Luna came upon her destination. Just like the expression of pushing memories to the back of ones mind, the same applied in the memory realm. Located at the very end of Twilights memories stood a wall. The wall was covered in what appeared to be some kind of black goo. Sitting in the center of the wall was a red door. The door itself was covered in thick black chains. Every few seconds, the door would expand forward and then retreat back as if the door itself was breathing. Luna slowly stepped toward the door. She slowly let eyes wander from the doors center to its edges where the chains were fastened to the black wall. One by one, Luna penetrated the locks holding each chain with her horn. One by one, the chains fell to the floor before disintegrating into fine dust particles. Without the chains holding back the door, only one lock remained. Luna slowly inserted her horn into the lock at the center of the door until she heard it click. She stepped back as the door opened in front of her. Sitting on the other side of the door, Luna saw only darkness. She leaned in to try and get a better look. There was nothing but empty darkness. Luna continued staring forward through the door. Was this it? All this effort for an empty room? Luna was hoping she would at least see a spider or something. But there was nothing. "One should at least knock before opening a closed door." The cold voice made Luna freeze in place. Every muscle in her body completely stopped. She was sure her heart had even skipped a beat. Luna looked harder into the dark nothingness as two green eyes opened in front of her. If there was anything Luna was certain of during her entire life, it was that she should run. Now. Luna took off back down the hallway as fast as her legs would carry her. Behind her the door had exploded outward as a hundred black tendrils clawed across the walls and floor of the corridor. Luna didn't even want to think about what would happen if she became trapped inside Twilight's mind. So she kept running. As the tendrils began to close the distance towards Luna, the princess saw her goal approaching ahead of her. The void. Luna stepped out onto the bridge above the void before stopping. Using all of her alicorn strength she reared up her front hind hooves before smashing them back down against the bridge as she started running once more. The tendrils reached out to catch the bridge but were too late. The Bridge was beginning to shatter into a thousand pieces behind Luna as she ran for her life. Luna could feel the bridge becoming more and more unstable with each stomp of her hooves against it. She wasn't going to make it. The bridge would collapse long before she could reach the other side. With the last of her strength, Luna jumped. Even though she knew her wings couldn't help her she flapped them wildly hoping that some miracle would allow her to take flight. Luna flew through the air for what seemed like minutes until her body was hit hard against the ledge of her minds territory. Luna used what little she had left in her fore legs to shuffle up onto the ledge. Once she was back on stable ground she quickly let go of the spell keeping her tied to the realm of memories. Luna watched as the world around her shattered as the spell was dropped. ~~~ Twilight and Luna were both thrown in opposite directions. Each of them landing hard on the library's wooden floor. Celestia rushed over to her sister as Twilights friends did the same towards Twilight. Twilights five friends looked terrified as they saw Twilight laying motion less on the floor. Fluttershy reached out to try and wake her friend up just before Twilights eyes shot open. Her pupils were as small as pin pricks as terror ran through her mind. -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The memories Twilight's mind had sealed away returned to her in an instant. The darkness, the tendrils, the eyes of emerald staring into her soul threatening to kill her with a single blink. Twilight shot to her feet before shouting at the top of her lungs. "Get back! All of you! Get back!", she screamed. Her eyes were darting back and forth in there sockets. Twilight used her magic, not caring how much it hurt her head, to levitate several chairs around her body before throwing them at her friends. Applejack was the first to stand after being knocked to the ground by the wooden chair. She looked over her other friends around her. Rarity was out cold while rainbow was helping Fluttershy to her hooves. Pinkie was cowering on the floor. Her normally poofy mane hanging low around her face. Even Celestia was unsure of what to do as she watched her student rampage. Applejack knew she had to do something. This was the very thing Twilight herself was afraid would happen. In the heat of the moment Applejack did the only thing she could think off. She ran towards Twilight. Dodging a few more chairs as she stopped just to the left of Twilight's head. Facing away from Twilight, Applejack reared up her hind legs before bucking them right into Twilight's head resulting in a knockout. The impact wasn't strong enough to crack Twilights skull, but if Twilights head hurt before, it was going to feel a lot worse when she woke up. Seeing that Twilight was back under control, Princess Celestia looked back to her sister. "Luna! What was it? What did you see?!", Celestia asked. Luna lifted her head from the floor just long enough to give her answer. "Sombra", Luna said before passing out on the library floor.