In the Clouds

by Thought Prism

Nightmares and Comforts

Tamiyo sat at a desk, reading. There were so many books in the library, all begging to be read. She was happy to oblige, and dove in with fervor, her quill flying across the page. So many interesting things had happened on this plane, and so many strange creatures called it home.

Soon, however, Tamiyo's eyes began to hurt. She reached up with her hand to rub them. They weren't dry, but something felt off. Maybe she'd been reading for too long. However, Tamiyo realized, her eyes would not close, and the pain only increased. Then, something dripped down her face and onto the pages. It was blood. She shot up in shock. What was happening? Her heart beat faster and faster in her chest.

She spun and bolted for the door to get help, but something snagged her foot, and she tripped, landing face-first on the floor. Rolling onto her back, she looked at her feet. Fleshy, orange-purple tentacles had sprouted out of her legs, rooting Tamiyo in place. It was Her.

Tamiyo screamed at the top of her lungs in terror, only for no sound to escape. Spongy lattice bulged in her throat and across her lips. All at once, her arms exploded into more tentacles, which shot out and grabbed the desk. As she was dragged back to her seat, Tamiyo writhed with all her might to no avail, unable to escape her own body, further screams stifled before they began.

The lumps of flesh that were once her hands had merged with the wood of the table, rooting her in place with searing pain. In her mind, Tamiyo continued to scream in agony, in protest, for help, even as her sight dimmed and her ears rung. When the ringing faded and her whole body was fully transformed into a reflection of Her, she began to hear Her voice.

You'mrakul-Are'mrakul-Em'rakul-You'mrakul-Are'mrakul-Em'rakul-You'mrakul-Are'mrakul-Em'rakul-

"ENOUGH!"

Unimaginable relief flooded Tamiyo as her senses returned in a rush of white light. The mutant growths all over her instantly reversed themselves in a shower of tingling sparks, returning Tamiyo to her natural form. The adrenaline slowly began to ebb out of her system.

When the light had faded, there before Tamiyo stood a magnificent being. Though a head shorter than she, the deep blue equine had a mane like the night sky, and it waved through the air like water on the sea. The aghast expression on her face did not suit her, Tamiyo thought.

"I have no idea what manner of creature you are, but that doesn't matter," she said, slowly trotting up to Tamiyo. Her voice shook. "Are you alright? What could have possibly prompted such a horrible nightmare? In all my years, I have rarely beheld anything even close to this level of terror in someone's mind before!"

Nightmare? Oh. Everything came flooding back to Tamiyo. Yes, this was a nightmare. She'd been having the same one fairly regularly after that fateful night in Thraben. But she was getting better now, or trying to. She should be having the nightmare less often, rather than have a savior suddenly appear to end it. Wait... Oh! She was on Equestria! That meant this alicorn was...

Tamiyo quickly dipped into a bow. "Thank you so much, Princess Luna! Words cannot express my gratitude!"

Luna sighed. "Thank goodness, you seem to be fine now." She paused, staring up at Tamiyo with a serious expression. "Though, now I have but more questions. You've heard of me, clearly, but I can't say the same."

Now fully composed, Tamiyo nodded. She saw no reason to keep Luna in the dark, given that her peer already took the news well. "I'm Tamiyo, a Planeswalker, visiting from another world. The last time I was here, I read the story of your banishment. I'd heard you'd returned a few years ago, and now patrol the dreams of your subjects."

There was a long silence.

Luna's eyebrow rose. "Indeed? What brings you here, then?"

Huh, that was easy, Tamiyo thought. Figures the warden of dreams would be open-minded. "Currently, I'm staying with Princess Twilight." She waved her hand in a wide arc. "She's been helping me get my mind off of the source of these nightmares."

She frowned. "That's a good idea, in theory, but mere distraction will not work. Whatever plagues you must first be acknowledged and addressed."

Tamiyo's brow creased. "I suppose I could recount the story of my time on Innistrad for you."

"Don't tell me. Tell Twilight. I've done my job, now you must let the young princess do hers. Have her help you, really." She winked. "It worked for me."

She looked intently at Luna. It made some sense that after all she'd been through, a magical purge wouldn't have fixed everything, at least emotionally. And Luna was probably right anyway; what little she had read of therapy suggested that the first step was to disclose the source of the problem. But...

"Alright," Tamiyo finally said. "If Twilight gets nightmares like mine though, I'm telling her to blame you."

Luna laughed. "That's certainly fair." Turning, she lit her horn, and a portal appeared next to them. "I must be off now. Feel free to keep in touch if you wish."

"Wait," Tamiyo said. "Before you go, there's something I think you'd appreciate knowing."

"Yes?" she asked.

"Remember when I said I read of your history as Nightmare Moon? Well, my magic comes from stories, and yours operates as a sealing spell. To summarize, I ended up using it to trap a truly monstrous being within a moon not unlike your own. So, in a way, you saved nearly a whole world of people from suffering in the manner you just witnessed."

The expression on Luna's face as she processed this was a mixture of surprise and melancholy. Silent for a time, she eventually said "Thank you for letting me know," and stepped out of Tamiyo's dream.

* * *

Tamiyo was hesitant to start the day. She sat on the edge of her sweat-soaked bed, wondering how best to approach Twilight with last night's revelations. Should she take the direct approach like last time? This subject matter was far more delicate, though, and they were already acquainted. She didn't want to strain their relationship so soon over all this... baggage she now carried.

But alas, Tamiyo did not get to decide, for there was a knock on the door. "Tamiyo, it's Twilight. Did you sleep ok? I heard screaming coming from in here last night." To Tamiyo, her voice oozed concern.

Tamiyo rose, and floated over to the door. She just had to believe Twilight would stay by her side. Pulling the door open, she met Twilight's eyes. "Good morning. And to answer your question, no, not at first. But Princess Luna visited me in my dream."

She tilted her head up. "Really? That's good. It must have been a bit shocking to see her, though!"

The beginnings of a smile formed on Tamiyo's face. "Yes. As well as ending my nightmare, she also gave me some advice. She told me to tell you about its cause: the very same reason I'm here in the first place."

Twilight paused, wearing a quizzical expression. "Ah, so I can help you work through it." She giggled. "First Luna, then Starlight... I might as well go for a degree in psychology at this point! Anyway, I know just the place where we can talk."

When Twilight moved to leave, Tamiyo followed. They ended up in Twilight's bedroom, the alicorn sitting with her legs folded neatly on her enormous bed. Tamiyo rested next to her.

Twilight took a deep breath. "So, what exactly brought you here?"

How would she tell her? From the beginning? So much had happened, Tamiyo thought. Many events would require context or background information to be properly explained. Twilight was more inquisitive than most; an abridged version wouldn't satisfy her, but the full version would take all day.

It was then that Tamiyo had what was likely an extremely poor idea. But it was the best one she had. "Perhaps, if you agree, I could show you."

"Huh?" said Twilight.

"With one of my spells. It can copy memories from the caster into someone else."

"Oh, wow! That certainly would be faster."

Tamiyo shot her a hard stare. "It would be. But you don't have to. What I've seen, and felt... it is terrible beyond words, but I could try to use them anyway."

Twilight returned her stare with one of resolve. The muscles on her back visibly tightened. "I want to. I understand, and I want to, Tamiyo."

"Are you certain?"

Twilight nodded fiercely.

"Very well." Tamiyo carefully pulled out the scroll containing Original from her bag and skimmed it to refresh her memory. Tamiyo drew upon her well of mana, the energy bouncing invisibly between herself and Twilight as the particular set of memories to be passed grew clear. Once she cast the spell, Twilight would remember everything of her time on Innistrad as if she had been there herself, all at once.

Tamiyo reluctantly did so.

The effect was immediate. Twilight's pupils shrunk to pinpricks, and she wailed, the loud sound magnified by the crystal. Tamiyo could feel her shaking though the bed. When her scream ended, the poor mare started panting for breath. Tears cascaded down her face.

"Twilight?" Tamiyo asked.

She just kept shaking, completely unhearing. Seeing her in such a state make Tamiyo tear up as wall, and she reached over to stroke her mane gently, disguise be damned.

Eventually, Twilight's sobs had been reduced to sniffles. She looked up at Tamiyo, the sadness on her face heart-wrenching in intensity. Tamiyo pulled her into a tight hug.

"You're fine, Twilight. Everything's fine," Tamiyo said, using the same tone she adopted with her children.

They sat together like that for a while, taking solace in eachother's warmth.

Twilight wiggled her forelegs out from under her, wrapping them around Tamiyo. "I understand now. All those abominations. And then, you were... violated."

"Yes."

"But Emrakul is gone. You're safe, now."

"We're safe," Tamiyo confirmed.

Twilight laughed bitterly. "Still, now I'm definitely going to give another very strict talking-to to Starlight. Mind control is not ok."

Tamiyo nuzzled in closer. "Can it wait for a while?"

"Yeah. It can wait."

Author's Note:

Remember when I said most of the chapters were going to be more cheerful? This is the exception.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

Now seems like a very good time to link to this image.

In any case, certainly an interesting spin on Emrakul's banishment, especially since Mega-Ultra-Squid was the one who originally slipped her pony fanfiction in a scroll that originally recounted the story of Urza collapsing Serra's Realm.

As for the shared memories... Twilight had better start rebuilding her castle, because she just lost the top half of her library. Still, she's definitely better equipped to help Tamiyo truly heal rather than just avoid the problem.

[Thought Prism]

7730030

That pic is f***ing perfect.