What Hurts More

by FerociousCreation

Alone in the Chamber

What Hurts More
Ch. 7

As I walked with the others through the crystal-like halls, I marveled at the fact that Twilight had her own castle. Yes I did know that she was a princess, but I thought a princess was to become a queen at some point before having a castle. Then again, I am in their world and their customs are most likely different.

“So since there are two Twilights here,” Spike said to the group, “why don’t we give one of you a nickname to prevent any confusion.” Everyone looked at each other with nods and hums of agreement.

“I guess I can be the one with the nickname,” my world’s Twilight volunteered. “Perhaps you can call me Twili? My brother calls me that.”

“Oh my goodness!” the princess exclaimed with glee. “Mine does too. Let me guess, Shining Armor is your brother.” Twili nodded in agreement. “I assume Cadence and Shining Armor in your world are married and have Flurry Heart, correct?”

Twili froze in her tracks and looked at Twilight with shock. “Wait, your Shining Armor is married to Cadence here, but mine isn’t yet…” With a wide grin, Twili asked, “Does that mean they will wed in my world as well and I am a to be aunt!?”

“Mmhmm. Seems likely.” Twilight nodded casually, amused at her counterpart’s over-the-top attitude. It was interesting to hear the princess claim that her brother was married, but Twili’s was not. If I were to guess, there might be a slight time difference from my world and Twilight’s. As I listened to the dopplegangers interact, Sunset Shimmer and Pinkie Pie watched both purple ponies in amusement.

“Well, here we are,” the princess announced. Before us was a round table with six chairs made of crystal surrounding it. As we got closer, I saw that it was not just a table; it was a map; the Cutie Map as Twilight calls it. It was a glorious thing to see as I watched miniature clouds slowly move across the modeled replica of what I could assume is Equestria. There were some towns, a castle, and a waterfall that had rainbow water cascading from it. It was like some CGI magic; but I knew better and could assume it was magic.

“Wow, amazing map Twilight,” Sunset Shimmer spoke beside me as I continued to marvel at the small world.

“I know, right?” Spike replied. He climbed up onto the surface of the table and practically paraded around the miniature world. I didn’t hear Twilight rebell against Spike’s act, so I didn’t speak against him. “Do you remember anything Sunset?”

I looked to see Sunset Shimmer tapping her chin with a hoof, then pointing to a large city. “That is Manehattan.” Interesting, we have one too. “And that is Rainbow Falls.” We also have one as well, but without the rainbow in the water; the color spectrum shows the rainbow in my world. After listing off several more locations, I came to the conclusion that Equestria was practically a mirror of my world. It was hard to take it all in as my small mind couldn’t comprehend it all. I’d rather talk about my nightmares. Which is funny, because I have to practically confess my feelings to Twilight and tell her she has plagued my dreams for the longest time. And that I was not looking forward to.

“Ooo, this chair has balloons!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, causing everyone to look at her. “Just like my cutie mark.”

“That belongs to my world’s Pinkie Pie,” Twilight answered. “She holds an important role when helping other ponies with friendship problems.” At this point, my head was full of questions and it was about to burst if I thought of another one.

“Hey, umm…” I nervously interjected, wanting to get the discussion started before anything else distracts anyone from the entire reason why we are all here. With all eyes on me, I said, “I know that we are all curious about your world Twilight. A-and it is great so far!” A wide smile almost reached Twilight’s ears, so I resumed with confidence. “I just want to get things started with our nightmare talk.”

My eyes fall on Twili, who was lost in thought, observing the Cutie Map; however, I broke her concentration as everyone looked at the unicorn. “What?” Twili asked, wondering why attention was brought upon her; perhaps she was not listening.

“Flash was suggesting we start talking about his and your nightmares now,” the princess spoke, looking to me. Twili’s ears fell back and a frown sagged at her cheeks, most likely not thrilled she is a unicorn and afraid of herself. I pitied Twili, for I did not know what it is like to have magic, let alone lose control of it. Only Twilight, and perhaps Sunset as well, were the only ones to assist Twili with her issue.

Coming to her side, Pinkie Pie smiled and took out her frownie sack and placed it on the table. “Don’t worry Twili.” The pink pony paused for a moment. “Umm, we are calling her that, right?” We all nodded in unison so there was no confusion. “Anyways, I have these frownies I made for you and anyone else who may need them.” Looking to the princess, she asked, “Do you have milk in this castle? Chocolate goes great with milk you know.”

“Of course.” Looking to Spike, Twilight asked him to receive five glasses of milk for myself and the others. He didn’t seem to be thrilled on being given the butler role, but did what he was told and left the chamber. “So, why don’t we all take a seat,” she then proclaimed. Pinkie Pie sat at the chair with her own cutie mark, which was right beside Twilight’s. Sunset Shimmer decided to sit beside Pinkie Pie and Twili sat at a chair that had three butterflies at the top of the head rest. With me left standing, I was slightly upset that Twili took her seat next to Twilight, and I could tell the princess wanted me beside her as well. But seat order was not important; the nightmares were.

“Shall we begin?” Princess Twilight Sparkle proclaimed to us all. And we all nodded, ready to proceed.

***

It was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster as Twili told Twilight her troubles with her returning nightmares and daily reminders. Sunset Shimmer and I gave our two cents to the princess as well, knowing how much pain it brings our friend. Pinkie Pie was the only one uninformed of the dreams and was making sure Twili had a frownie nearby.

Twilight scribbled down notes onto a scroll with a feather, listening hard to her counterpart; she had already filled out five! And as she looked through her notes, she was making some wonderful insight for Twili.

“In conclusion of our discussion, you should focus on the strengths of what you have accomplished,” Twilight spoke, no longer writing. “You may have lost control of yourself, but we can look at what Sunset Shimmer has accomplished.” Sunset nodded in full confidence that she was not being used as a poor example. “She once wielded great power and thought she could control it, and yet it corrupted her. But by wielding the magic from within herself, she knew she could use it for good. She didn’t think, she knew. Take that to heart. You know you can control your magic, right?”

After taking a sip of her glass of milk, Twili had a look of strong determination and inspiration. “I think so.” But I saw Twilight look at her other self with a raise of her brow, and I knew what she was implying.

“Not think, Twili,” I say gently, “but know you can.” And everyone nodded in agreement to my statement.

“Yeah, you are right.” Twili fidgeted her glasses with her hoof before returning a smile at me. “I know I can.” Looking to Twilight Sparkle, she asked, “But is it okay for me for you to help me control it?” She chuckled a bit before continuing. “I am sure you are willing to help yourself after all.”

We all laughed at the silly joke Twili made, glad to see she is in better spirits. “Of course I will help you. In fact, I am sure we are all willing to help you.” Twilight looked around to see us nodding again in agreement.

“Are you feeling better now?” Pinkie Pie asked, pushing another frownie toward the no longer distressed unicorn.

But Twili shook her head. “No more please. My stomach is starting to ache.” I was amused how the well-thought and kind snack was now causing a different type of pain for her; I guess it is difficult for Twili to avoid misery.

“So are we ready to move on to Flash’s nightmares?” Twilight asked, causing all eyes to look to me. My heart started to race as my fate began to approach. Twili and Sunset could tell I was nervous as I started to shake a little.

“I ugh…” I could feel my face turn red as I stare at the princess with her full undivided attention. For once in my life, I was intimidated by her. How could I tell her about my dreams about her? Looking to the others, I ask, “Can I tell her about my dreams alone please?” Thankfully Sunset and Twili seemed to understand, but Pinkie Pie and Twilight seemed a little confused.

“I thought we were all going to talk about yours and Twili’s dreams,” Pinkie Pie imputed.

“I agree,” the princess added. “Why not tell us what your nightmares are about?”

“Perhaps you two should talk alone.” Sunset was clearly on my side with speaking with Twilight on my own, and I was glad that she was. It wasn’t just a matter of telling her my true feelings, but I don’t want the others to think I am obsessed with Twilight. I just missed her… a lot. Maybe I was obsessed and am in denial. “Why don’t you have Spike show us around Ponyville while you and Flash have your alone time.” She winked at the princess, causing her to flush. Twili and Pinkie Pie looked at each other with giggles, knowing the implication.

“Oh please girls,” Twilight rolled her eyes, but unable to roll the blush from her face. I too wished Sunset would keep her mouth from embarrassing us both, but I knew she was doing it in good spirits. “If you girls want to, I could have Spike show you around town.” Looking back, the princess shouted, “Spike!”

With a curious look, Pinkie Pie asked Twilight, “Does my pony self live here?” The princess nodded with a smile. “Maybe Spike can show me her house!” I tried to imagine two over the top Pinkie Pies in the same vicinity, but couldn’t fathom the possibility. Everyone except for Pinkie Pie had the same bothered expression as mine, trying to see herself next to… herself.

“Yes Twilight?” Spike came running into the Cutie Map chamber upon hearing Twilight’s request.

“Could you show Twili, Sunset, and Pinkie Pie around Ponyville?” she asked him.

I thought he was going to argue, but the small dragon nodded. “Sure!” Looking to the ones who he was about to escort, Spike folded his arms. “I happen to know everything about this town.” He jabbed a thumb at himself. “Just ask me anything!” Gesturing the others to follow, Spike asked them, “Shall we?”

Twili giggled at how smug Spike was acting, while everyone else rolled their eyes. Getting up from their seats, Twili, Sunset Shimmer, and Pinkie Pie followed Spike out of the map room.

“Tell us if you two make out!” Pinkie Pie cried out before a loud “thoom” rang out in the halls. A large door closing perhaps.

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Doesn’t matter what world you are in or what Pinkie Pie you meet, they will always be… interesting.”

“I don’t doubt that,” I respond, my voice echoing in the large room.

I watched Twilight wiggle in her chair nervously, her cheeks now bleeding with blush. “You can sit next to me if you like.”

My heart pounded hard in my chest as I complied with the princess’ request. It suddenly dawned onto me that I have never truly been alone with Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps she just noticed that as well. Doing her best not to look flustered, Twilight asked, “So what are your nightmares about? And why do you want to talk to me alone about them?”

My ears tickled as they fell back, brushing against my hair. “Because… my dreams…” I felt pathetic, trying to tell Twilight I have been constantly dreaming about her. I worried if she would think differently of me for it. Looking away from her, I mutter, “I’m sorry…”

“For what?” Twilight was obviously confused at my vague statement. Reaching out her hoof, she touched my shoulder gently. “You can tell me anything.”

“Are you sure?” I did feel slightly more confident because of her kind gesture, but it didn’t make my inner man gain any points. Then again, I remembered the time when I dated Sunset Shimmer. I used to be very sincere and caring to her. She used to be tough at the time, but Sunset definitely had her down moments, and I was there to comfort her. Perhaps girls like a soft side in a guy. But how soft is the question. Might as well find out.

“I promise.” With her reassuring words and a cute smile, I finally gain the strength to tell Twilight my dreams.

“My nightmares are about you…” I didn’t know what to expect when I was going to tell Twilight the truth. But if there was one emotion that was low on the list, it would be sadness. And that is exactly what she was wearing.

“Oh…” Her ears fell back and her brows held a very sad dip in them. “Did I somehow hurt you?”

“No! No!” I didn’t seem to have disgusted her, so I suppose that was a good thing? But I somehow made her blame herself for something she didn’t do. “My dreams are just…” My thoughts were scrambled as I tried to muster up something to say. “I missed you and I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I couldn’t stop dreaming about you.” Hot blush lit up Twilight’s cheeks as she looked at me, hoping my words were true. As for my own embarrassment, I had no idea if I was blushing as much as Twilight was.

“You were dreaming about me?” The princess looked at the Cutie Map with a shy, cute smile. But the grin slowly left and her gaze came back to me. “But why was it a nightmare?”

“I just told you, because I miss you…” A frown of embarrassment almost touches my chin. “Sounds pathetic doesn’t it?”

“No! No! Not at all!” The cute smile from before returned to Twilight’s lips. “It’s really sweet of you actually. Can you tell me about your nightmare though?” I slowly nod, still not proud of myself.

“Every night is the same dream: I see you standing before the portal door with your hand reaching out to me. Before I have a chance to grab it, you fall backwards into the mirror. Then I try to force myself through the glass. But when I do, it shatters and I fall into a black abyss.” I pause, not happy with having to remember the nightmare. “Then I wake up.”

With her gears moving in her head, Twilight sat in thought, pondering what I said. Again, she frowned with her hears folding back. “I believe it is because I do not come to your world often…”

“But you are a princess, Twilight.” I had to use Sunset Shimmer’s just this once. “You probably have a lot to do, so I cannot blame you for having things to do here. Studying, magic, umm… horse races?”

Twilight giggled at my joke. “Does your world have horse races?”

“In Kentucky it is a major thing. As for the rest of my world, I am not so sure about that.” With the small comedy relief out of the way, Twilight seemed to want to get back with the subject at hand. Or hoof, rather.

“It is true that I do have a lot to do around here, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t come to your world and say hello. In fact, I should have talked to Sunset more often.”

“Oh, Sunset said you have this magical book that allows communication between herself and you.” The princess nodded.

“You are correct.” She looked down at the map, her eyes darting around every now and then. “I just feel guilty, not just for you, but for her and the others. I am sure they miss me as much as you do and I should have been writing to Sunset. It’s not hard for me to write a simple message, asking how she and the girls are doing.”

A smile grew on my face as I placed my hoof on her shoulder. “I know your friends in my world miss you, but I missed you a bit more than they did.”

Suddenly, I heard my chair scrape against the tile floor as it was being pulled toward Twilight. I saw her horn glow with power and noticed a blue aura around my seat. “How much of ‘a bit?’” She batted her eyes and gave me a shy grin.

I wink at her, not wanting to give her the answer she wants. “Just a bit.” My chair was pushed back to its original place in a quick shove of telepathy; I laugh at the act. “I just missed you a lot,” I continued back on track. “And… I wanted to know you better. You always seem to bump into me and never seem to mind. That’s how we met after all.” My hoof rubs the back of my head, remembering the first time Twilight ran into me back at Canterlot High.

“Well, you can learn more about me if you are willing to help me keep in contact with your world.” Twilight swayed her body left and right, hoping I would accept her offer.

“Of course I would do that for you.” My chair once again moved toward Twilight Sparkle, this time even quicker than the first two times. She leans into my seat and gives me a close embrace.

“Thank you.” Her hot breath tickles my ear and it twitched a bit. I didn’t have time to react to hold her and she let me go before I could. “So umm… how much do you want to know about me?”

A smile lifted up my cheeks, unable to hide my happiness. “Well, what does the Princess of Friendship want to know about me?”

“A lot of things.” She rested her arms on the side of her chair, almost leaning in toward me. I do the same, but stretch my neck out very slightly. I could feel my heart pick up the pace, hoping she was trying to do what I was doing.

“Like what?” I ask, noticing Twilight lean in a little more with hot blush radiating off her cheeks. My pulse was starting to knock on my ribcage, and I wondered if she could hear it.

“I would like to know… what it is like… to…” As I leaned toward the lovely princess, her eyes began to close.

“To what?” I whisper low as I begin to turn my head slowly.

“...to kiss another stallion.” Our noses touched, our eyes not yet closed. Her lavender eyes glittering from the room light, begging me to give her affection. Hot air hit my lips as she tried to keep herself from breathing heavily.

“Kissing is easy… It will come natural.” My nose slips off her muzzle and I move in with slightly parted lips. Coming in gently, my mouth comes in contact with hers. Twilight gasps, sucking some oxygen out of my lungs. I forgot what it was like to kiss another girl and now remembered the heat of it. Pushing hot air from her nose, she pursues further, pressing her lips even more against mine. A hoof touches my face and I feel her wanting to move my head closer to hers. I open my eyes to see Twilight having her lids closed. If there was something that was a beauty to see, it was just that; to see a lovely girl carried away in a kiss. I watched the princess crack a gaze at me, and then parted our lips.

We both looked up at each other with a dazed look in our eyes, as if the two of us forgot why we were kissing. But then, with shy, happy smiles, we both looked away from each other. “Umm… can you give me a moment,” Twilight said, getting up from her chair. “I need to… get some fresh air. I’ve been sitting for awhile now and would like to take a step outside.” I was about to follow her, but she shook her head. “I want to be alone.” A smile on her face told me otherwise, but I nodded.

“Alright, I will be right here,” I say as I watch her leave the chamber. My heart has now returned to its original pace, but it was overwhelmed with emotions. I sighed out of happiness, knowing I will no longer be haunted by my nightmares.

After a few minutes of being alone, I stare at the Cutie Map and wonder what it was like to be their in person. But in my peripheral, I see something dash by the window in a flash of purple. “HE KISSED ME!” In the distance, I watched Twilight Sparkle twirl in the air, flipping and spinning with happiness. It was no surprise that she would do something like that, considering some people would want to fly to the air in happiness after their first kiss. And I felt happy for her because I caused her to behave so dramatically. If I could fly out of sheer joy, I would; however, I need to learn how to fly first so I do not end up hurting myself. After I watched Twilight fly out of view, I wondered to myself if we were officially dating. But I didn’t want to get too far ahead of myself.

Several more minutes pass as I sit alone in the castle, still amused by the magical map. Then I hear hooves knocking on tile and I turn to see Twilight, breathing a little heavily. “Sorry, I just had to get some fresh air.”

“You seem a little more out of breath,” I snicker. “Did you breathe in not enough fresh air?”

“I think you stole my ability to breathe properly,” Twilight blushed before turning her head, looking back at something. From behind her, I watch my backpack and guitar fly into the room and onto the table. “Now with your nightmare problem out of the way, I can now learn more about you and see what you are learning about.”

My enthusiasm to want to be around Twilight quickly evaporated. However, she looked very thrilled on wanting to get my homework started. Taking a seat next to me, the princess uses her magic of levitation and takes out all of my books. Each text floats around us, mocking me with their complex subject matter.

“Shall we start on physics, language arts, or trigonometry?!” Twilight’s eyes sparkled even brighter than when we kissed, and I wondered if she prefered knowledge over love. Then I had an idea that I could combine both.

“What if I start with my guitar homework first?” I didn’t expect the princess to look so bothered when I suggested something else, so I had to convince her it was the better option. “I can take your breath away even more if I get to play you a song. After all, you want to learn about me, right?” A small smile crept up on Twilight as she looked at my instrument. “I knew you would like my suggestion.”

“I never said you could,” she smirked. But as I reached for my guitar, Twilight did nothing to prevent me from grabbing it. Then I realised that I didn’t have fingers, but hooves. How in the world am I supposed to play this?!

Suddenly, hoofsteps rang out in the castle and caused Twilight and I to look. Sunset Shimmer, Twili, and Spike looked at us with concern. “Is everything alright?” the princess asked.

“We have a bit of a problem…” Spike muttered, twiddling his thumbs.

“What problem?” Pinkie Pie asked coming into view, furrowing her brow at him.

“Yeah, I see nothing wrong here!” Pinkie Pie said, stepping into the chamber, glaring down at him.

Clearly there was something wrong: there were two Pinkie Pies! “So what is the problem?” Twilight asked casually as I looked at the identical ponies.

“They won’t tell us which one is the human Pinkie Pie…” Sunset Shimmer grumbled, indicating the issue.

“Oh…” was all Twilight said, trying to come up with a solution. While I wondered what it was like to have two Pinkie Pies in the same vicinity, one of them looked at the map. She was looking at the bag of frownies. Quickly, Pinkie Pie walked over to the table as Pinkie Pie followed in sync.

Suddenly, one of them exclaimed at Twilight and I, “Why have none of you eaten any of the frownies?!”

“You made frownies?” the other Pinkie Pie asked Pinkie Pie.

“Yeah! And I made a bunch of them today, but no one wants to eat them all.”

“For shame.”

With the mystery solved of which Pinkie Pie is the human one, everyone looked to the Pinkie Pie on the right. “Uh-oh…” the human Pinkie Pie muttered. “Our cover is blown.” She turned to her other self for help.

“Don’t worry, we can retreat!” the pony Pinkie Pie spoke. “Grab my tail!” Doing what she was told, the human Pinkie Pie held on tight before Pinkie Pie took off in a blur of pink.

“Get back here!” Twili and Sunset Shimmer barked.

***

I couldn’t believe my eyes. After months of her absence, Twilight Sparkle came through the mirror. She’s finally back!

“Flash.” Her voice echoed through the air as she spoke. Why did she sound so far away? Twilight was right in front of me, right in front of the portal between her world and mine. She lifts her light-purple arm and her fingers she so awkwardly uses unravel in hopes that I take her hand. As I reach for her hand, I take a step forward before entangling my fingers with hers. “Let’s go,” her voice echoes in my head again. Turning around, she begins to walk through the portal. Most of Twilight is through the mirror, except for her arm and hand, pulling me into her world. I close my eyes as I follow and-

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

My eyelids shoot open, disturbed by my annoying alarm. I slam the palm of my hand on the clock, wishing I had more time to sleep. Then I realised something: it was morning. The sunlight was starting to bleed into my room, causing me to squint.

I finally got a full night’s rest. Sitting upright, I stretch my arms and legs, letting out a loud yawn. I smile as yesterday’s memories come flooding my mind; yesterday’s morning with Twili’s nightmares, Sunset Shimmer’s secret journal, Twilight coming through the portal, myself entering Equestria, and the thrilling, yet annoying hunt for the human Pinkie Pie. So much has happened within a period of thirty hours, and yet, so much was resolved. No more nightmares for me, Twili was more confident in herself with magic, and Sunset Shimmer seemed to be less jealous of Twilight and I. The only thing that didn’t happen was Sunset Shimmer reuniting with Princess Celestia. She told Twilight that she wanted to make a date with meeting with her instead of bothering the princess.

Standing up, I walk to the door so I can start my Friday. But a vibrating sound buzzed in the air and stopped me from leaving my room. A book with Twilight Sparkle’s symbol glew and vibrated on my dresser. Quickly, I walked over and opened it with to see a message: Did you get a full night’s rest?

I smile as I reach for a pen on my desk to reply back to Twilight Sparkle.

Comments

[Mix-up]

It's great to see an other chapter gain I'm happy to see that Flash has the chance to talk to Princess Twilight( you might want to find as short nicknames for the doubles characters) which will help get the story to move forward a lot faster now. I have a little issue with having a lot of the sentences look a like, you might want to try to mix it up if you will, to keep things interesting.

[Ultimate Warrior of Zera]

So glad things are getting resolved and he's no longer getting nightmares. The part with the two Pinkie's and how they solved it so easily was funny.

[Galaxy of Equestria]

if i was flash i chose to stay. true love once life chance. stay there!

[Axle the Cobalt Exorcist]

Ok to me it's odd that the head canon that Shining and Cadance aren't married in the human world is so popular. I mean there nothing particular wrong with it but it would just make more cense to have them married in both worlds

[FerociousCreation]

7706721 When I was writing this chapter, I did scratch my chin and think it was odd as well.

[Brony9216]

The story has definitely improved by this point:

• You avoided spending too much time on Sci-Twi's problems. Good idea, since this is a short story focused on Flash.
• The story sticks to past tense, which makes it much easier to read.
• You have managed to write Pinkie Pie well. You nailed her bizzare but caring attitude and actions.
• While some of the narration and dialogue is still stiff, there is definite improvement in some parts (such as Twilight's celebration).