Tabula Rasa

by Rose Quill

Confession

"We really should have stayed in one place," Twilight griped as they stumbled through a thickly overgrown jungle landscape. "I can't tell if we've been going in circles or not."

"We may well be," Luna said. "This morass is of a mental nature, and with each step, it gets more tangled. The only one capable of moving through it effortlessly is our companion."

Tabula glanced back, the vines and thornbushes that tore at the two princesses peeling away as she walked.

"You keep calling this a morass," the Pegasus said. "But all I see are trees and flower bushes."

"Dreams are oft subtle," Luna said, using her magic to pull a briar-lined vine from her path. "And each sees the symbolism differently. Tell me, how much light is in your forest?"

Tabula glanced around. "Not much," she said. "It's not dark like the Everfree was, but it's not bright and sunny, either." She looked around. "I think I've passed that log already today."

As the Alicorns came up to her, Luna marked the trunk with her magic, the rotten and vine-covered wood now bearing the mark of a crescent moon.

"Now we may know if we travel around aimlessly," she spoke. "Though if you are truly searching for yourself, I suppose there is no wrong direction."

"That might even help," Twilight said, perking up a little. "I read that in dreams, wandering a forest could be representative of being confused. Which way should we go?"

Tabula frowned and glanced around. "That way," she pointed.

The trio trudged on for a few minutes before Luna called a halt.

"We should rest here, for now," she said, pushing brush aside and settling onto the ground. "We should conserve our strength when we can. You, especially, Twilight."

"Why?" the confused Alicorn asked.

"'Tis your spell that keeps us here and not drifting about the endless lands of the Dreamscape," the Princess of Dreams said. "Though you feel nothing, your mind is subconsciously keeping us linked. Should your will falter through fatigue, we may be lost in more than one mare's mind."

Twilight plopped onto the ground immediately.

---

A few hours later, a small voice spoke out in the darkness.

"Luna?" Twilight whispered.

"Yes, Twilight?"

The lilac pony fidgeted a bit before speaking again. "I'm sorry I got us trapped in here. I know you had your own duties to perform, and I'm interfering with them. This is all my fault."

Luna reached over a placed a hoof on the younger princess. "Twilight," she said gently. "I may not be as good with words as my sister, yet were she here she would say not to blame thyself. What you did was out of a desire to help one pony anyway you could. That is a noble effort, and one I can appreciate better than you can understand."

Twilight bit her lower lip. "But I could be more careful," she whispered. "You'd think that by now I'd have figured out how to not race headlong into trouble."

"I remember a mare," Luna said. "Dressed in the most accurate costume I had ever seen show me what the boundaries of friendship could accomplish, and how sometimes admitting your mistakes and forgiving yourself are better than holding onto the guilt." She glanced away for a moment, her cheeks coloring. "I have thought often of that night you freed me from the Nightmare and returned me to my sister. I have never truly thanked you."

"You don't have to," Twilight said. "I'm sure you'd do the same for me if I ever needed it."

"Let us hope that you do not," Luna said with a grin. "We may not be able to defeat you should you befall the same fate as I. I feel that should that happen, my heart would surely break."

"I wouldn't worry," Twilight replied, smiling. "Between the girls and you, Celestia, and Cadence, I'm sure you'll keep me on the right path."

"That isn't the whole of my problem," Luna said. "I think that..."

"This way," Tabula suddenly said, leaping to her hooves and racing off. "I can smell water!"

"Wait!" Twilight shouted, struggling to her hooves and following.

Luna rose, her head hanging for a moment.

"I think I love you, Twilight Sparkle," she whispered as she followed behind the other two mares.

Comments

[MorningRose]

another lovely chapter looking forward to more

[Kafyui]

Good story, just wish the chapters were longer.

[MixMassBasher]

Aww. That confession at the end. Hopefully Twilight hears it soon.

[ScisetShimmerEvan]

That confession at the end... I did not see coming!