Memoir of Misery

by Silvak

Chapter V: Fear

"So Princess Luna thinks it’s best for you to not find the root of your nephophobia?"

"...My what now?"

"Your fear of clouds."

"...Couldn't you say that instead of saying nepofovia?" Sapphire asked with a look of confusion. It was the next day after her cloud episode, with her and Twilight sitting in the library.

"It's nephophobia, and I was just calling it by it’s scientific name," Twilight answered with a sigh. "So the princess couldn't do a thing to help you?"

"Well... she did try to help me..." Sapphire replied, before recalling how it went.

---

"I find that the best way to conquer your fears is to face them directly!" Luna declared.

"Wait... what do you mean by th—" Sapphire started to say, before Luna's horn glowed, changing the surroundings from the dream version of Sapphire's new home to a massive cloud that the two were now standing upon.

"Now face your fears, young Sapphire, and conqu—"

"AHHHH!!! We're all going to die! " Sapphire cried out, interrupting Luna as she latched onto the princess's face while screaming in terror.

"Sapphire, remove thyself fr—"

"Quick, we have to get away or we’ll be burned so harshly that our coats will be ashes in mere seconds!"

"...What is making you come to that con—" Luna tried to ask, only to be drowned out by Sapphire's screaming which grew in volume while her hooves tightened their grip on Luna's face. In a muffled voice, Luna said, "Perhaps another approach is needed..."

---

"Let's just say that it didn't turn out well and it may take a while before we can begin to figure out the source of my fear," Sapphire said with an awkward smile.

Humming to herself, Twilight asked, "Sapphire, I have an id—"

"No," Sapphire interjected as she gave Twilight a mild glare.

"But it might he—"

"No means no, Twilight."

"It’s just goi—"

"Twilight, is there some hidden or obscure meaning for no that doesn't mean refusing something?"

"Well, no, bu—"

"Then I stand by wh—" Sapphire started to say before Twilight decided enough was enough as she forced Sapphire's muzzle shut.

"Sapphire, you're being unreasonable. I'm just proposing that we see what kind of reaction you would have if we bring a tiny bit of a cloud to you and work up from that," Twilight declared before letting go of Sapphire's mouth.

Frowning, Sapphire replied, "Well, considering the last time you did an experiment with me, which consisted in burying me up to my head in snow, I was assuming that you were going to go too some extreme end like Luna did."

"...Wait, what did Luna do to you?" Twilight asked as she gave Sapphire a curious look.

"Umm... it's best not to say," Sapphire said as she averted her eyes from Twilight's gaze.

"But I wa—"

"If you want me to try that cloud idea of yours, then don't press the matter Twilight."

Huffing to herself, Twilight replied, "Fine, let's just go get Rainbow so we can start this experiment."

---

"Are you sure about this Twilight? You do remember how hard Sapphire freaked out last time, right? She almost decked me in the face," Rainbow said as she stood on top of a cloud as the others stared up at her from the outskirts of Ponyville.

Taking a glance at Sapphire, Twilight saw that she only had a slight frown on her face. Twilight returned her attention to Rainbow as she replied, "I think Sapphire will be fine, right Sapphire?"

"I guess? I mean, if we don't take it too far and too fast, then I think I will be okay," Sapphire answered as she shifted her attention to her.

Sighing, Twilight summoned a scroll and a quill before saying, "Sapphire, what do you feel when you're looking at the cloud that Rainbow is on?"

Her frown deepening, Sapphire followed Twilight's instructions, She started to stare at the cloud for a moment as Rainbow let out a bored yawn before saying, "Yeah... I'm getting nothing from just looking at it."

"I see. Okay Rainbow, you can start now," Twilight said as she began writing.

"About time," Rainbow complained as she got off the cloud, tearing a small part of it off before throwing it at Sapphire's face, causing her to shriek in surprise.

"Rainbow!"

"What? I did what you told me to do," Rainbow replied as she rolled her eyes. A ball of water then collided into her face. "Gah, what the buck?!" Rainbow exclaimed, looking down to see an irate Sapphire whose horn was alight with her magic.

"Do that again and I'll toss a pool at you next time," Sapphire warned, only to notice that Twilight was blinking at her. "What?"

"Didn't that cloud... scare you?" Twilight asked, causing Sapphire to tilt her head until she realized what Twilight meant.

"Um... not really? I was just irritated that I was hit in the face with it," Sapphire answered.

"Hmm... okay... Rainbow, let's proceed to the next stage," Twilight said, only for the whole cloud to drop down right next to her, causing her to jump back in shock. "Rainbow!"

"Jeeze Twilight, it's just a cloud," Rainbow shot back as she pushed the cloud towards Sapphire, who just kept a neutral expression before pushing her hoof through the cloud.

"Still nothing... weird," Sapphire declared.

Hovering over to Sapphire, Rainbow wrapped a hoof around her withers as she said, "Guess you’re finally over your fear of clouds. If only you overcame it yesterday, then you could have seen me doing a Sonic Rainboom and saving the Wonderbolts," she bragged, only to then get a pair of flat stares directed at her. "What?"

Pressing the tip of her hoof on the ridge between her eyes, Twilight explained, "Rainbow, a pony doesn't overcome their fear in such a short time period, especially if they experience an intense reaction." Turning her attention back onto Sapphire, Twilight continued, "Sapphire, I'm going to cast a cloud walking spell on you to enable you to stand on the cloud. Would you be able to do that?"

Looking at the cloud and remembering how she reacted in the dream when she was standing on a cloud, Sapphire gulped as she looked at the cloud before answering, "Maybe? I will admit that I'm not as privy to the idea of looking at a cloud or even touching it while still being on the ground..." only to see Twilight scribbling on the scroll. "Twilight?"

Taking her attention off the scroll, Twilight replied, "Huh? Something the matter, Sapphire?"

"I have to ask, is all this some kind of research project for you?" Sapphire asked as she pointed at the scroll, which caused Rainbow to lean her head closer, as if she was expecting something to happen.

Befuddled, Twilight responded, "What do you mean? I have to take in-depth notes of every discovery as we pursue this in order to come to a scientific explanation on the nature of your fear and what specific effects it has on you. If we don't record every last detail, we may overlook something that could be crucial in finding the root of your fear and any possible solution to helping you conquer said fear."

Staring at Twilight for a moment, Sapphire and Rainbow shared a brief glance at each other before Sapphire said, "Umm... okay... how about you cast that cloudwalking spell then?"

"Okay, if you're ready for this," Twilight replied, the light around her horn brightened as Sapphire became engulfed in the same aura as she felt the spell being cast, causing her to shiver in response. A few seconds later, the aura disappeared as Twilight stated, "Okay, the spell should be taking effect now. Don't be afraid to take things slowly if you need to."

Nodding, Sapphire eyed the cloud as she slowly placed a hoof on it, only to discover that the cloud was holding up against her hoof. It felt quite soft, like a pillow to her. No wonder Rainbow likes to nap on them, Sapphire thought to herself as she brought her other hoof onto it, only for it to be pushed away, causing her to fall down as her muzzle crashed into the dirt with a shriek.

As Rainbow broke out into laughter at the sight, Twilight rushed to Sapphire's side as she said, "Sapphire? Are you hurt?"

Letting out a groan, Sapphire answered, "Only my pride..." as she pulled her muzzle out of the dirt, rubbing it off with a hoof before eyeing the cloud. "Is there an easier way to get on the cloud besides climbing onto it?"

Relieved at that fact that Sapphire wasn't hurt, Twilight turned her attention to Rainbow who was still laughing. "Rainbow, stop laughing at Sapphire and help her get on the cloud."

Stopping her laughter, Rainbow eyed Sapphire as she replied, "I would... but I don't want her to start panicking on me like last time."

Sighing as she rubbed the side of her head, Twilight said, "Then how about you just hold the side of the cloud so she can climb onto it then?"

"That I can do." Flying over to the cloud, Rainbow braced her hooves against one side, to which Sapphire took it as her cue to start climbing the cloud again. After rearing up and placing her forelegs on the cloud, Sapphire stopped for a moment as she thought about what to do next. She then took a deep breath as she hopped off the ground with her rear legs. Clambering onto the cloud, Sapphire stood on somewhat shaky legs, looking about before turning her attention towards Twilight.

"Okay... I'm on the cloud... and I think I'm okay," Sapphire declared as she gave Twilight a nervous smile.

Writing down some more notes, Twilight said, "Okay. For the next phase, Rainbow is going to slowly lift the cloud upwards. If you become scared of that, quickly inform us and Rainbow will gently lower you back to the ground, right Rainbow?" as she gave Rainbow a crossed stare.

"Yeah yeah, let her down gently. Let's just get this over with already. You ready Sapphire?" Rainbow asked as she tightened her grip on the cloud.

Looking down at the cloud, Sapphire resisted the urge to gulp again as she answered, "As ready as I'll ever be." Giving Sapphire a nod, Rainbow started to slowly raise the cloud up into the air as Sapphire cautiously looked around. "Huh... this isn't bad. It's like when Rainbow caught me when the Crusader's trebuchet sent me flyi—AH! Too high! Too high! Get me down you crazy ponies!" Sapphire said before freaking out when Rainbow brought the cloud above the roofs of some two-story houses, taking in rapid breaths before jumping off the cloud.

"Whoa, what are you doing‽" Rainbow cried as she released the cloud, flying down to catch Sapphire before she crashed into the ground. "I was going to lower the cloud, you didn't have to jump off like your life was on the line."

As her panting started to slow down, Sapphire replied, "I... I don't know... I just freaked out and wanted to get off that cloud as fast as possible."

As Rainbow lowered Sapphire to the ground, Twilight commented, "Interesting, it seems that you nephophobia kicks in when you're on a cloud at a certain height. I wonder, if we simulated you being inside a cloud house while at ground level...would it trigger your phobia?"

Staring at Twilight, Sapphire shot back, "I’d rather not Twilight. I think I’d like to keep the amount of panic attacks to one per day at most," causing Twilight to look at her before adopting a sheepish expression.

"Yeah, I rather not have to build a cloud house out of the blue," Rainbow added in, causing Sapphire to briefly glance at her for a moment before returning her attention to Twilight.

"I think you two have a point, we should call it a day here. How about we return to the library and I treat you to lunch?" Twilight responded.

Her eyes sparkling at hearing the word 'lunch', Sapphire said, "Now that is something I'm up for," before turning around as she headed straight toward Twilight's home.

Leaning towards Twilight, Rainbow whispered into her ear, "Hey, do you think that if we throw a feast at my place, Sapphire would forget about her fear of clouds until we ran out of food?"

"Normally I would berate you for saying something like that. But for once, you honestly have a good point there. It's actually scary how obsessed Sapphire is with food."

Frowning, Rainbow asked, "Are you saying we're going to have to do something about that too?"

Shaking her head, Twilight answered, "No, otherwise we might end up starving her. Now let's get moving so Sapphire doesn’t empty my fridge in a raid."

Comments

[NeutralJS]

So Sapphire has acrophobia that mean fear of height well that just normal fear or did something to her that make PTSD on height.Oh maybe it a specific phobia that she scared of cloud at high altitude or it maybe without she stood anything but without ground that maybe she afraid of this ?

[ConsciousHaze196]

7827922 Clouds may be just side effect. It could be a generic PTSD that lowered her overall tolerance to fear, no?
In which case they should stop with the tests and heal her, then test her
yes, it still might be the opposite, that fear of clouds came first, and the ghost kept giving her a cloud nightmare at night.
But it's also possible that being regularly spooked by ghost made her fear heights more.

[NeutralJS]

7828847 Her PTSD maybe caused by her fall from high building that near with the cloud and the cloud monster push her or she afraid the cloud monster and back away from them until she fall.Or the worst ridiculous thing is the nightmare cloud took her up into the skies and let her go and fall through the cloud that caused her traumatized or is it that Sapphire took a air balloon and go into the skies and she saw the cloud monster and fall off from her balloon.This is maybe of what happening during her traumatize experiance and we can excluded her walking cloud spell is expire and she fall off through the cloud are excluded since she don't know that spell at all but not asking the air balloon mean she already know it in her past.This is just conjecture until we read the author intention of why Sapphire got acrophobia and what happened to her in that time and If I right ,that mean my logic are at least okay of what happen to her of that time.

[Greatazuredragon]

"Quick, we have to get away or we’ll be burned so harshly that our coats will be ashes in mere seconds!"

Really interesting choice of words there... so the source of her fear was most definitely not normal clouds.

Nice chapter, good work.

[The Watcher Face]

7830891
Only thing I can think of is volcanic hot ash that's deadly just ask the residents of Pompeii.

These occur when hot gas and ash erupt from a volcano and flow down its flanks at high speed. These flows can have temperatures higher than 1,000 degrees C, and travel at more than 700 km/hour. It's impossible to outrun a pyroclastic flow.

The fact she said that was interesting as she could only know by
A) Someone told her about the danger.
B) She saw it happen or its after effects.
C) Was common knowledge where she was from.
Just my thoughts.

[Lancerlot]

Hmmm... Ok, I'll pick the craziest idea out of my head and fling it at the screen:
Test Sapphire on different clouds of different colors?

[Golden Fang Ryu Shenron]

Frowning, Rainbow asked, "Are you saying we're going to have to do something about that too?"

They’d better not!

[Asolem2]

"Okay... I'm on the cloud... and I think I'm okay," Sapphire declared as she gave Twilight a nervous smile.

This is a very weird sentence when you stop and think about it