No Place Like Nowhere

by CoffeeBean

Nº 4: REMEMBER

"Oh! Did you have a good slumber, little Flurry?" Wysoka chimed as she turned from her desk to see Flurry lumber tiredly down the stairs.

"I did... your big pillow bed is really comfortable." Flurry explained, her voice raspy from having just woken up.

"I'm happy to hear that! I have been awake since you and your parents went asleep remembering my Equestrian." Wysoka explained with a smile, her accent still rolling her R's and making her W's into V's.

Flurry stopped dead in her tracks, her wide eyes locked with Wysoka, who wore a genial smile upon her face.

"How... How did you become fluent in Equestrian... overnight?"

Wysoka stumbled with her words, "It... it's hard to explain, I don't really know how to explain. Like I said yesterday, I can go back in my mind and memories and remember things, and I used to be able to speak Equestrian; before I found the Nitzche."

"That's incredible... you can travel into your own memories and... unlock things that you don't remember anymore?"

Wysoka nodded.

"Well... you kept saying yesterday that you don't remember who you are," Flurry explained as she walked to the living room, sitting down on the carpet before the table, "So, what do you remember?"

Wysoka sighed, "There are lots of things I remember... it would take a while for me to start from the beginning."

"I've got all day... or, well," Flurry looked from the candle-lit living room to the now pitch black outside world beyond Wysoka's home, "All night, I guess."

"As far back as I can remember... and things this far are still cloudy, I remember a large, stone building with a tall ceiling. There was a tall, white Poniska, like you and me; I don't remember her voice, or her face, but I remember there being... anger. From her and me. Then, something happened, and all I can remember is pure white, then black. But, this black, it was real, like a room. I could think, and feel, and speak within my own head to another voice, and I remember that voice... she was angry with me. For years and years and years this black is all I can remember, and I remember feeling lots of anger for a long time, then sorrow, then anger once more. Then suddenly, the black stops! And I remember seeing the white Poniska again, I remember being angry at her and she was angry at me. Then I remember being in front of other Poniskas, they looked so funny, because unlike Nitzche, their fur was all different colors! Like you, and your family, they were all like a rainbow. After that, things are kind of blurry again, and finally, very clearly, I can see this purple Poniska, and she had 5 friends with her, and they all look like a rainbow, too. There was more anger, and hate... but then; the purple Poniska and her freinds... they did, something, I still do not know what, but they did something to me, and everything went pure white. Then, 23 years ago, like your family, I woke up in a wide field of grass, and I could see all of these mountains. But, everything hurt. Everything hurt so so bad, I couldn't move," Wysoka winced a little at her memories, "My body hurt so much, I did nothing but lie in the grass. I cried, because then, I couldn't remember anything; all I knew was how to speak Equestrian. Now, after all of my work, I know what the past was like, but then, there was nothing. For days and days I couldn't move, but eventually I could, so I stood up and I began to walk towards the mountains. Days and days and days go by again, and my wings stop hurting, and so does my horn, so I begin to fly towards mountains. I flew up very very high to see around, and everything was grass, trees, and mountains. So, I flew. At night, I would fly, and sleep in the day, because the sun hurt my eyes and it made me too warm. So many days of flying later, I see this big forest, it seems to go on forever, but I saw something in the trees, at the base of this mountain, I saw a building! I flew down so fast the air hurt my face and wings, but I landed, and I found the Nitzche! They said lots of things to me, but... I spoke Equestrian, so I still don't know what they said to me, but eventually they called me Wysoka, and taught me how to read, and how to write, and how to speak Nitzcheska. They let me have this house, but I was so tall that the really nice Nitzche named Mostyn, she was the Nitzche's Dowódca then, she had the Nitzche make my house special. They took away the small doors and made them taller, and she gave me my bed, and she gave me the big bathtub you used last day. And I was happy! Now, I am happy, and the Nitzche and I are happy together!" Wysoka's smile faded, her mind turning back the clock, "I don't know why my past seemed so dark and angry, everyone I remember, they were angry at me, just like the purple Poniska and her friends; they were all very mad at me, and I don't know why. I don't know why they hurt me. Whatever they did, to make things white, and to make me wake up in the grass long ago, it hurt me. Why was there so much anger?"

Flurry couldn't bring words to her tongue. Wysoka could remember everything that Nightmare Moon had done; fighting with Princess Celestia, being banished to the moon, returning and being defeated by the Elements of Harmony at the hooves of Princess Twilight and her friends. One thing stuck out through all of her words; it wasn't anything that Wysoka had said, it was the fact she had said them to begin with. How was it possible for her to exist? Nightmare Moon had just been a mental creation of Princess Luna's. Where the Elements of Harmony really powerful enough to create... life?

"You look very shocked... have I been saying things too fast?" Wysoka asked with a little frown.

"Uh, no... it's just, that's a very intense story."

"Flurry, you remember being little, yes?"

"Being a foal? Yeah, why?"

"Nitzche remember when they were little, too. Sometimes, when the town sleeps, I will explore their dreams and minds, and sometimes I can find memories of being little, playing with their parents and being happy together. Why... why can I not find that in my own memories? No matter how hard I try, and believe me, I have tried hard," Wysoka pointed to the papers before her on the desk, "I can't remember being little, or having a family. The first thing I remember was being angry with that white Poniska... was she my family?"

Through Wysoka's glowing, azure eyes, Flurry could see something she had never had a pony look at her with; desperation. This creature had spent the last 23 years of her life trying to figure out what her life was, and now; sat before her, was the answer to every single question she had posed. Flurry thought hard, Wysoka noticing the young Alicorn's contemplation. Was it her duty... maybe even her right to tell Wysoka what her past was? What if Nightmare Moon still lived within this kind mare, and learning the exact truth would bring her back out?

"I... I don't know. Wysoka, you said something about a purple mare and her friends that, hurt you... right? They did something to hurt you, so does that mean you're angry with them?" Flurry probed.

"No. If I ever did see them, all I would ask is 'why?'. If I saw that white Poniska, I would ask her 'why?'. I... I did something to make them all angry at me, or they did something to make me angry at them... but I don't know what it was! It... it drives me crazy. Even more annoying is that, no matter how far I try to go back, no matter how far I leave the town, I cannot find them."

"Wait, what do you mean, 'leave' the town? Have you gone out on adventures to try and find other Ponies?"

Wysoka sighed, shaking her head, "Another hard thing to explain. When I am sleeping, and sometimes, if I put all my magic into it while I'm awake, I can move around. It's how I find the dreams of the sleeping Nitzche, and sometimes I can see the bat's dreams, and the dreams of other creatures that I have never seen... but I cannot find any Poniska dreams. I have gone so far in every direction, as far as I can go, to find them; but nothing ever happens. There are places I cannot go past, they are very far from here, and if I try to push past, then it hurts; and if I keep pushing, I wake up with blood dripping from my ears and nose, and then my head hurts for days. The first time it happened the Nitzche were very scared for me, because I fell back asleep after it happened the first time. The Nitzche who brings food in the night found me in my big bed, and she told the others to help, but they didn't know how. They thought I was gone, but I woke up, and they all said 'Wysoka, do not do that again!"'

Flurry's expression held a look of slight shock, "So, you can move around... in the world... while you sleep, but not physically?"

Wysoka nodded, "Nitzche have the same reaction when I first told them." She said with a smile.

"Did you look at our dreams when we were asleep?" Probed Flurry.

"No, because I wasn't sleeping. I was busy working to remember Equestrian. It worked, yes? I have never used Equestrian with other creatures, so I don't know if I am good or not."

"It's like night and day, Wysoka. You have an accent; of course, but other than that, you're perfectly fluent. Yesterday you were... understandable, but I think both I and my Mom and Dad missed a lot of what you said because it wasn't all that clear."

"I am happy it is clear now, then!"

The conversation paused as the light clunk of hooves on the upstairs floor drew both Wysoka and Flurry's attention to the staircase as a half-asleep, unkempt Shining Armor clunked his way down the stairs.

"Good morning," he groaned.

"Dad, it's not morning, it's almost 10 PM."

Shining paused for a moment, thinking, "You're right... I guess we have to be nocturnal for the next while," He spoke, his teeth clattering just a little as he walked to the table, resting on his haunches beside Flurry, who wrapped her wing around him.

"Did you sleep well?" Flurry nuzzled, her father giving a short smile in return.

"Yeah, I did. Mom's still asleep; she's absolutely beat after yesterday."

Flurry blew a raspberry, "Who wouldn't be?"

"Do you want food or drinks? I can get us food." Asked Wysoka as she stood from her desk, making her way into the kitchen, her head craning so her impressively long horn would not strike a low-hung rafter at the little area's beginning.

"Oh, that'd be wonderful. Do you have coffee or tea? I could use something warm to drink," Shining replied, nuzzling himself further into Flurry's wing.

"You are cold... here:" A blue aura surrounded Wysoka's horn, moments later a spark of orange light flooding the room as the home's quaint fireplace came to life, both Flurry and Shining squinting at the flames as they began to engulf the three logs stacked within.

"Thanks, Wysoka. We ponies aren't very used to being cold." Shining chimed gratefully as he and Flurry scooted themselves to the flames.

"You are not used to night, as well. I see your horns making light for you to see in the house. Where you come from; ponies sleep at night and live during the day?"

Shining paused as he tuned in on Wysoka's speech, "You... you're fluent in Equestrian... after a few hours of practicing?" He exclaimed, seeming a little more awake.

"Yes. Hard process to explain, I have told Flurry already." Wysoka continued as her magic held a kettle under the kitchen's little sink; a smooth, steady pour of water filling the vessel.

"Basically, she can travel through her own memories and pull stuff up that she's forgotten." Explained Flurry as she watched Wysoka move into the living room and hang the kettle from within the fireplace by a little hook fixed above the flames.

Shining offered a simple hum in return.

"What food do you like? I have lots of fruit, and I still have the ciastko from the last day."

"Anything you have, we'll eat."

Wysoka nodded at Shining's words, beginning off towards the home's staircase, "I will get fruit, then."

Almost perfectly in sync with Wysoka's departure, Cadance appeared from the home's second story, her mane just as disheveled as the rest of her family.

"Good night, honey," Shining commented with a smile.

Cadance gave a few tired grumbles as she clumsily lumbered to the fire, sitting at Shining's side to sandwich him between herself and Flurry.

"That bed beats grass any day." Cadance croaked, giving a little smile as she yawned.

"I second that motion," Flurry added.

After a short moment of silence, heavy hoof steps drew the trio's attention to the downstairs staircase as Wysoka came back up from the cellar, an assortment fruits and what looked to be a jar filled with some sort of herbal mixture held by her blue spells.

"Oh! Cadance! You are here in time for some food and tea!" Chimed Wysoka as she lowered the gathering of fruits to the table, keeping her jar with her as she moved to the kitchen.

"Yes, yes I am. Thank you for preparing breakfast, Wysoka; it means a lot to all of us that you've been so generous." Cadance replied in a still groggy tone, her horn coming to life as she took a peach from the assortment, Shining taking an apple.

"Wysoka, do you think you could bring those cookies you had yesterday?" Flurry inquired with a little grin.

"Cookies? Cookies..." Wysoka paused, thinking as she placed a fair bit of the herbal mixture into a steel-mesh container, "Are cookies my ciastko?"

"Yes, they are; and they're really good."

"Oh! Alright, yes. I can get you cookies. I am happy you like them!"

"Sweetheart," Cadance began, quickly swallowing the large bite of peach in her mouth, "you don't get cookies for breakfast."

"You all can have cookies, not just Flurry," Wysoka added as she walked past the family, depositing the plate of yesterday's cookies to the table while on her way to the fireplace.

Flurry shot her mother a cheesy grin, one of the cookies at the plate being taken by her pink aura.

Cadance rolled her eyes, sighing, "Oh, fine. But you can't just eat cookies!"

"Well, duh," Babbled Flurry through a maw-full of cookie, "I'm gonna eat more of those soft, blue fruits that Wysoka gave us yesterday. Those things are amazing."

"Niebieski? I did get some, they are on the table." Commented Wysoka as she finished fitting the herb-filled brewing vessel inside the kettle, sitting across from the family at the short table, taking one of the mentioned fruits in her magic.

"Wysoka, your Equestrian sounds so good all of a sudden... how'd you do it in a few hours?" Cadance inquired, watching with a raised brow as Wysoka dug her fangs into the little blue fruit within her magic.

"Wysoka can go back in her mind and bring back memories, she did it yesterday to re-learn Equestrian. She told us all of this yesterday, remember?" Informed Flurry, Wysoka nodding along with her words as she continued devouring her little fruit.

"Does that mean you can go back into our memories and find out what caused me to teleport my family into this forest?"

"I can, yes." Wysoka downed the bites of fruit, "I have gone back in my mind, I have gone back in the Nitzche's mind, so I can go back in yours."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Not from what I know; and I know a lot," Her hoof pointed to her desk and papers, "I have written 14 books on the memories I see, and how I see them, and how I can go through a sleeping Nitzche and see their dreams."

Each of the trio went slack-jawed, eyes widening.

"You've written 14 complete books?!" Flurry exclaimed.

"Yes, all slightly different. The Nitzche have some of my books in the biblioteka, they like to read about my work, and like to help sometimes."

"Is that the big Library near the base of the mountain?"

"Yes. I forgot where my books are in there, I would have to ask Edelweiss where she put them..." Wysoka thought, her vision trailing off.

"So, Wysoka," Cadance injected, just having finished her peach, "how does the process of... looking into our memories work?"

Giving a thoughtful sigh, Wysoka tapped her back hoof at the carpet, "I... do not know how I would explain any of it. But, to start, you have to sleep."

"Does it have to be a natural sleep?"

Wysoka chuckled, "You are excited to find out what happened, yes?"

"Yes. The sooner we know, the better. We still don't know if our friends and family are safe."

"Whether sleep is genuine or magic, it doesn't matter. What really matters is comfort and calm. When the mind is calm, and the heart is calm, things are smooth."

"How soon tonight could you explore our dreams?"

"Right now, but it would not be 'our' dreams. It would be yours, I can see only one thought at once."

"My memory is the best, Dad and I figured that out a while ago," Flurry spoke, bringing everyone's attention to her.

There was a short pause as Shining and Cadance shared a slightly apprehensive look.

"Process will not hurt her, I give Lunaz Gritza on that," Wysoka added, noticing the parents' nervous looks.

"Honey, this is the only way we're going to find out what happened." Shining spoke, his sentiment causing Cadance to sigh.

"You're right... Wysoka, you're sure it's safe?"

"Mom, It'll be fine; I trust Wysoka, and she's obviously really good at doing this kind of thing." Flurry butted in, Wysoka simply nodding in agreeance to her words.

Cadance gave another apprehensive sigh, looking to the floor for a moment, "Okay... but-"

Her words were cut short by a loud whistle as the kettle hung above the fire gave its cry, Wysoka exclaiming happily as she stood to collect the kettle.

"Tea and food first, then we worry about finding memories, yes?" Chimed Wysoka as she trotted to the kitchen with the steaming brew vessel held in her magic.

The trio couldn't help but smile.

The chilly air of Wysoka's upstairs room felt thick. Cadance couldn't help but notice the nervous shake in her own hooves as she and Shining sat a short distance from their daughter and Wysoka, who was currently igniting a strange little block of incense with her magic, the tip of the block holding a faint ember as it was placed upon a little wooden tray, thin whisps of smoke rising and filling the air with an herbal, almost sugary scent. Flurry was lying comfortably on her side, a knitted blanket snuggly covering most of her figure as she did her best to relax her mind; Wysoka occasionally swinging her hoof above the block of incense to waft its smoke in her direction. A single candle in the far corner of the room below one of two opened windows provided the only light within the space, it was just enough to provide somewhat monochromatic silhouettes of Wysoka, her pure black figure would have been completely invisible if not for her gently radiant eyes and wispy, star-sparkled mane and tail.

"Mysle spokoj. Mysle niewiele." Wysoka whispered as she craned her head down, gently touching the tip of her horn to Flurry's temple.

A black hoof was carefully raised from the carpet beside the bed, gently petting Flurry's side through the blanket as her magic worked invisibly, Shining and Cadance watching with worry. Her hoof came back up, Wysoka's gentle eyes looking to the peacefully sleeping Alicorn before her.

"She's asleep?" Shining inquired quietly.

"Yes. If she wakes with worry, do not be frightened. What she sees may hurt; things the mind hides are hidden for a reason."

The parents shared a quick look, turning back to see Wysoka lower herself from her haunches to her belly, her eyes closing as her horn took a faint, pure black aura, and aura that, despite the darkness of the room, still seemed to glow. The spell-bound horn was once more lowered to Flurry; the second it came to contact the young Alicorn's temple, things went gray.

Already memories could be seen. Through Flurry's own eyes Wysoka passed through different, somewhat faded memories, and as time ran on they gained clarity. There were different scenes of the young Flurry Heart's oldest memories, a warm feeling coming from them. This Poniska was happy, and as Wysoka moved forward through her life, that feeling stayed constant. Though, she noticed something that set her apart from the Nitzche; there were so many more memories. So many were happy, so many had her parents or other nice Poniskas she didn't recognize. Ignoring her own curiosity in fulfillment of her oath and promise to both Flurry and her parents, she bypassed almost everything Flurry's mind held until she found exactly what she hoped to find; the bad place. It was a feeling of fear, and it seemed to hold these few sets of memories in a dark mist, one only she could see. Forward in time, she moved; finding the exact moment Flurry had woken in the forest and began to look for her parents. In that time, there was this cloud of fear; but only days more faded that cloud. Flurry's happy, warm feeling returned to her thoughts and memories after she had found both of her parents. If Wysoka could smile at the images of these three Ponsikas walking and talking through the trees, she would. That happy remained once they came to Nazomova, but, for a split moment, Wysoka saw herself standing in the doorway of her home, and this single instant, nothing more than a few seconds of time, held a feeling of more dread and fear than any other time.

Wysoka continued looking at herself, letting that feeling soak through her mind. Why? What did Flurry see in her that she feared so much? She had smiled, greeted them with warm hugs and said hello... why did that give fear? This dreadful, almost crushing cloud of feeling fell as time continued to the present, Flurry becoming happy with Wysoka as she and her parents spent a little time with her. The things she saw were paused, time moving backwards through Flurry's eyes as she found the moments before her departure from the place she knew as home. It was daytime in this moment; something that caught Wysoka's attention. When Flurry woke up in the forest it was night. There were no lapses or truly forgotten times in between, and she was sure of it. How was it possible to be in one place with day, and wake an instant later in a place with night? More things about this memory began to surprise her further than the time; the settings, and the other Poniskas, they all caught her mind. It was a tall, bright building of white stone and gold colors; but all of the Poniskas, including Flurry, felt horror. She could begin to hear a loud banging at two doors leading into the room, a group of armor-wearing Poniskas holding the doors shut with their bodies, one of them being Shining Armor, who wore a specially colored set of armor. Things became more clear as she focused on this memory; she could now see Flurry was being hugged not by Cadance, but by a different, purple Poniska. She focused on the purple figure, and she felt something on her own mind she had never felt through a memory; fear, her own fear.

It was the purple Poniska she remembered from long ago, her face held the same shape, her fur was the same color, and the stripes of color in her mane were identical to what she remembered. More sounds came through the memory; she could hear Shining and Cadance shouting with worry, and she could hear another, seemingly calm Poniska talk. Only a little from where Flurry was being hugged by the purple Poniska that had hurt her long ago stood Cadance as she cried to a taller, pure white Poniska. That feeling came back. Worse. Her mind clouded with horror as she looked at the worried white Ponsika. It was her. It was the white Poniska she had seen in her oldest memories; the Poniska that had hated her, and done something to make her memory for so, so, so long be black. Time froze. The sounds stopped, the movement stopped, everything drove to a total halt as she continued to look at that white Poniska. Flurry knew her. She had told Flurry about the white Poniska, and the purple Poniska, and Flurry knew them. Wysoka felt another thing she had never felt in her mind while being in this state; a feeling she failed to place a hoof upon. If she had a chest, it would hold her breath tight. If she had a stomach, it would flip. If she had eyes, they would cry. What was she feeling? Why had Flurry not said anything about the white and purple Poniska? Flurry knew them. Why had she not said anything? Why did Flurry know the Poniskas from her past? What more did Flurry know? The memory suddenly began to move again; something she had not caused.

There was another Poniska in the room, one she had only noticed at the start of the memory; she was Cadance's height, and had been standing at a large window behind the other Poniskas in the room. Her fur was a deep blue, her eyes were almost exactly like her own, and too was her mane. This Poniska turned from the window, her hooves silently carrying her across the white stone floor directly towards Wysoka. She could see this strange Poniska was like herself, and every other Poniska except for Shining Armor; she had wings and a horn. Though, one thing about her figure struck Wysoka the most; her flanks were blotted with black markings, and at their center was the same moon of Lunaz's flanks. Who was she? Suddenly, the memory disappeared; a void not black or white replacing it; but this Poniska remained, her eyes locked with where Wysoka's sight remained. Her expression held an open-mouthed scowl of confusion as she continued, Wysoka beginning to feel that same dread once more in her own mind. Who was she? Was this Lunaz? How could she move freely from the rails of memory, and how did she see her? Wysoka knew she couldn't be seen in the memories, she was not there; she was merely a spectator, so how could she be seen? In the void, this blue Poniska stood mere inches from where Wysoka saw, her eyes drilling through her sight. The dread she felt turned to something painful; true fear taking over her feelings as this pain consumed her mind. The blue Poniska only continued to stare; her eyes suddenly becoming pure white. Wysoka could feel herself falling; though her vision did not move.

The void and the blue Poniska disappeared in an instant, her eyes flying open and chest heaving as the real world spun, her entire body shivering and her vision a dark blur. Pain like she had felt when she first came to wake in that field 23 years ago spiked through her entire being, the horribly loud, echoing voice of Cadance shouting something to her as she and Shining looked on with horribly concerned expressions. Wysoka snapped her vision to Flurry, who had not sat up, but was glaring at her with a horror-filled, teary-eyed look, Wysoka returning this gaze with an expression holding more anger than she had ever felt.

"Wysoka!? What happened? What did you see!?" Cried Cadance, her voice ringing through Wysoka's horribly throbbing head like a bell.

Her horn suddenly burst to life, holding the family completely still, "Quiet!!!" Her front hooves came to either side of her head, her eyes closing tight and fangs grinding together.

Cadance watched as Wysoka looked to Flurry with burning anger, her daughter returning the gaze with pure fear.

"If you touch my daughter, I sweat to Celestia...!"
"I will not hurt her!!" Wysoka boomed, cutting off her sentence.

After a single moment of pure silence, Wysoka's horn released the three, neither of them moving as they continued to look at the pain-paralyzed Wysoka. Chest heaving and tears beginning to roll from her cheeks, she looked back to Flurry, this time the anger of her face being a look of what seemed to be sorrow.

"What do you know? You know the white Poniska, and the purple Poniska... but you looked at me... you looked at me with terror. What do you know that I do not?!"

"Flurry, what in the name of Equestria is she talking about?" Shining spoke in a fairly calm tone, both he and Cadance now too looking at Flurry, who had her eyes shut hard.

"This morning... Wysoka was telling me about what memories she had brought back from her mind, she remembers Celestia, and Twilight. Wysoka... I... I'm sorry I didn't tell you this morning when you first told me! I didn't know how!"

"How to tell me what? What do you know that I do not?!"

"Everything! All three of us, we know exactly what your past was! We know who you used to be, and we... we know everything! I-I'm sorry, I didn't know how to tell you!"

Flurry's soft, shuddering cries were the only sound in the room for a moment as everyone went quiet, Shining and Cadance now looking to Wysoka as she simply stared at Flurry with a look of total misunderstanding.

"What is it?" She finally spoke, her quiet voice beginning to crack as she took Flurry's shoulders in her hooves, looking to the young Alicorn with the same look she had given her that morning; a look of pure desperation, "I don't care how you know... or why... j-just tell me what it is."

Author's Note:

Comments

[Mlp Fan Celine]

More. I want more

[CoffeeBean]

7643453 Chapter 5 is chugging it's way down the rails of progress... slowly.

[Mlp Fan Celine]

7643459 okay dokay lokay

[CoffeeBean]

7643560 hope you've got some napkins ready for when chapter 5 drops.

[Drake1703]

That escalated really fast, poor Wysoka, I don't think she'll take her past kindly.

[GeorgeOfTheJungle]

Christ these chapters are a slog. Which is a good thing in regards to stories like this, in my opinion. It makes the journey feel more real, gives the length and exhaustive nature of the traveling more weight, but still manages to avoid becoming boring or tedious. I remember feeling like this way towards Off The Edge Of The Map, and that story is easily one of my favourites on this site.

[Ice Star]

A profound author's note. Really ties the chapter together.

and jfc chop up some of those paragraphs