Remembrance
To say that the sight in front of Princess Luna chilled her to the core would be a severe understatement. Her eyes swept over the field of bodies that littered the streets of Canterlot, only a scattered few having woken up and gotten back on their hooves. Of those awake , not a single one seemed to remember what happened to them.
Or Twilight, for that matter.
Luna looked to her right, where Celestia flew by her side with a stern, conflicted frown on her face. The two were hovering above the city block with the highest concentration of bodies, trying to figure out what had happened. Down below, a smaller legion of solar and lunar guards was checking the unconscious ponies and questioning those that had gotten up.
“This isn’t good,” Luna muttered under her breath after a moment, her brow furrowing. “If we cannot find Twilight quickly, who knows how many more ponies might suffer like this?”
“Indeed,” Celestia agreed, her voice slow and deliberate. To most ponies, that tone would have indicated confidence and patience; that the solar princess had everything under control.
Luna knew better.
“...You fear for Rainbow Dash,” she deduced after a moment.
Celestia cringed, allowing the facade to break in front of her little sister. “Of course I am! My daughter is out here amongst all of this! She might be hurt, or worse, victim to whatever Twilight has done to all of these ponies!”
“I am worried as well,” Luna said quietly, drifting over to place a hoof comfortingly on her sister’s shoulder. “But I do not doubt that she is fine. For all of her insecurities, Rainbow is a remarkably strong mare.”
Celestia was quiet for a few seconds before nodding, a small, appreciative smile gracing her lips. “I know… thank you, Luna. I just hope-”
“YOUR MAJESTIES!” A stallion’s voice called from ahead of them. They looked to see a thestral flying to meet them, his eyes wide. “Twilight Sparkle and Princess Rainbow Dash have been located!”
In an instant, Celestia’s smile was replaced with a severe look. “Where?” she asked, drifting forward to meet the guard.
“Just a few blocks to the south, in the middle of the street,” The guard answered, lowering his voice once he was close enough to speak in a whisper.
“What is Twilight doing?” Luna asked, her eyes following the trail of bodies to the south to locate where the guard had indicated.
The guard hesitated for a moment, looking between the two alicorns uncertainly. “I… I did not get a good look, Your Highness, but… uh…”
“Spit it out!” Celestia barked, her eyes narrowing with impatience. “What is happening? Is my daughter alright?!”
The guard cowered under Celestia’s ire, his eyes screwing shut. “It looked like Twilight was… cradling Princess Rainbow!” he blurted out, his ears folding back. “And...and I heard weeping.”
“Weeping?” Luna echoed in barely a whisper.
“Oh, no…” Celestia choked out, her own eyes going wide. Without another word, her wings spread wide and gave an almighty flap, creating a powerful gust of wind that sent the guard spiraling away as she sped for the scene.
Luna was quick to chase after her after using a quick pulse of magic to stabilize the thestral’s flight. They moved quickly, city blocks passing under them in mere seconds. All the way, Luna’s mind raced with myriad possibilities as to what could have happened, and she didn’t like any of them.
“Just hang on, my niece,” she thought, pumping more power into her wings. “We’re coming!”
They found the street in question before long. Just as the guard had said, ‘Twilight,’ unquestionably now a fallen alicorn, was seated on her haunches amid a circle of bodies. Her ears were down, and her body was hunched over. There was no questioning the cyan pegasus cradled in her hooves, and the agonized wails that Twilight was emitting were perfectly clear even from this distance.
“RAINBOW DASH!” Celestia shouted, her horn lighting up with golden light before she vanished in a flash. She re-appeared down below, right in front of Twilight, her eyes wide and wings flared out.
Luna’s eyes narrowed, and she came in for a landing behind Twilight. Her hooves slammed down into the stone street with enough force to kick up a cloud of dust before her wings buffeted it away with a single downward flap. “Twilight Sparkle!” she called out in a sharp voice, her horn igniting with blue magic. “What have you done?!”
The fallen alicorn barely stirred from the arrival of the two princesses, her despairing sobs continuing unabated. If anything, she cradled the limp body in her hooves even closer, as if to protect it.
Celestia stared at the scene in shock, her ears lowering. “Twilight… what have you done?” she choked out, taking a slow step forward. Her every move was slow and deliberate, as if not to anger a dangerous animal. “My daughter… what has happened to her?”
Twilight didn’t answer for a long time. Slowly, her cries began to taper off into silence, although the trembles in her body continued unhindered. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, she looked up at Celestia with an unreadable look on her face.
“...No.”
Celestia blinked in confusion from the strange response. “What?”
“I refuse,” Twilight went on, her eyes narrowing. “I refuse to let it end like this!”
Luna took a threatening step forward, her wings fanning out in a warning display of dominance. “Whatever you are planning, Twilight, it would be wise of you to set them aside and surrender. Now,” she commanded, adding another layer of light to her horn. “Whatever boost in power you have gained from your transformation will not be enough to fight us both!”
Twilight slowly looked back at Luna, a cold, hostile look in her eyes. “You’ve always doubted me,” she said coldly, drawing a scowl from Luna. Twilight shifted on her haunches to glare at Luna more directly, malice and hostility beginning to leak out of her eyes in the form of ghostly blue magic. “Ever since I lost my memories, you’ve looked at me with contempt and distrust.”
Luna slowly folded her wings up at her side, although her own expression remained no less intense. “Distrust which you have now openly proven was not misplaced.”
Twilight flinched, looking back down at Rainbow in her hooves. “...I know,” she whispered, her voice starting to crack. She choked down another sob before glaring at Luna again. “I’m sorry.”
That gave Luna pause. She tilted her head to one side, surprised at the admission of fault. Her mind briefly wandered back to her time as Nightmare Moon, and how nothing had been able to dislodge her from her path or her convictions. Anything that had tried, any small voice in her head or argument given by those around her had been dismissed outright.
“Twilight, please,” Celestia ventured, lifting a hoof and reaching out. “Come back to the castle with us. We’ll figure things out… there is no more need for-”
Twilight’s glare snapped to Celestia, her coat bristling. “I’m not going anywhere!” she shouted, her eyes shimmering as more tears welled up behind them. “I am not letting it end like this! I CAN’T!”
With those words, Twilight’s horn lit up a pale blue and an intense gust of wind blew out from her position. Luna dug her hooves in and grit her teeth against the gale. It was almost enough to knock her back, but she held firm. Celestia, however, having not been quite as prepared for hostilities as Luna, was sent flying back down the street with a cry of alarm.
“Sister!” Luna shouted before her eyes narrowed angrily at Twilight. “THAT IS ENOUGH!”
Luna kicked off the street, cracking the stone beneath her, and lifted into the air. The light on her horn swirled and condensed into a compact sphere of raw power at the very tip. With a cry of effort, she pointed it at Twilight and unleashed a surge of dark blue energy, intent to knock the fallen alicorn unconscious.
A magic dome formed around Twilight, catching the attack head-on and holding it at bay. More wind came from the point of impact, and Luna was forced to abandon her spell after a moment. She couldn’t risk allowing the spell to detonate. There were too many innocents nearby. Not to mention Rainbow Dash.
After a few seconds, the barrier faded away, and Twilight glared back up at Luna, short of breath. “Gah! Just… just stay out of my way!” she shouted before screwing her eyes shut and focusing more magic onto her horn.
“STOP!” Celestia cried out in desperation as she came back to the scene, lunging forward and reaching out with her hooves.
There was a swirl of ghostly magic an instant before Celestia reached her. With a cry, the alicorn passed through the space where Twilight had been a moment ago. She came to a sliding stop, her hooves scraping along the stone street. She stared back to where her quarry had just been, her eyes wide.
“Where did she go?!”
Midnight gasped as she came out of the teleport, Rainbow’s body still clutched in her hooves. She took a moment to catch her breath. A bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. Even with all of her magical knowledge restored to full capacity, her ability to use it was severely handicapped from two years of magical atrophy. Luna had been right; Midnight wouldn’t stand a chance had she stayed behind to fight, even against only one of them.
Once her breathing had calmed down, Midnight opened her eyes and looked around to figure out where she was. She blinked in surprise, having not expected to find herself sitting at the edge of the Everfree Forest; on the path that led from Ponyville, no less. “Why did I bring myself here?” she wondered quietly.
The forest loomed ahead of her, dark and ominous. She couldn’t help but think back on how the last time she had seen it, vines were reaching out in all directions, ripping apart anything and everything in their way.
Rainbow stirred in her hooves for a moment, drawing Midnight’s attention. The pegasus shifted around somewhat to get more comfortable, her brow furrowed and a strained grimace on her face. After a moment, she fell still again, her face relaxing into something distantly peaceful.
Midnight withered, barely choking back another sob. “Rainbow… what do I do?” she asked quietly, cradling Rainbow’s limp body against her chest again. “What do I do…? How do I make this right…?”
She asked herself that question over and over while her mind raced. She knew she had to find some way to give Rainbow back her memories, to give back all of the memories she had stolen. But how was she supposed to do that? She didn’t even know where to start. The memory stealing spell she had invented was primal and flawed even with the most generous of examinations. Creating an effective counterspell was borderline impossible.
Midnight sniffled before slowly easing Rainbow onto her back and rising to a standing position. Her hooves wobbled, both from the added weight on her back and her own fragile emotional state, but she found her balance soon enough. With a tired sigh, she set off down the path.
“Until I can find a way to make this right, I can’t let myself be seen,” she whispered, closing her eyes and basking in the sounds of the forest nightlife around her. “And I will make things right, Rainbow Dash. I won’t let myself come home until I do…”
With that resolution burning in her mind, she disappeared into the Everfree Forest.
Midnight wasn’t sure how much time she spent aimlessly wandering the woods, her mind racing for a solution to her predicament while her eyes scanned for somewhere safe to hold up. Time started to blur for her, a result of her mental turmoil combined with going over her newly-restored memories.
Luckily, the local wildlife saw it fit to leave her and her cargo be. Whether they sensed her raw power and decided it was not worth the risk or merely had no interest in her as food, Midnight did not know. She also did not care. They left her to her own devices, and so she left them to theirs. She couldn’t afford any distractions, anyway.
It must have been hours before, at last, Midnight was drawn out of her meandering thoughts by a change in scenery. The forest thinned out around her, and she was soon met by the sight of the castle of the two sisters and the great chasm that surrounded it. She blinked, adjusting Rainbow’s weight on her back. “This place…” she whispered, her mind briefly going over all of the experiences she had gone through here.
“...Maybe I can find something in the library,” she thought, a small smile briefly coming to her face at the idea of losing herself in all of those ancient books. Last time she had done so, it led them to the Crystal Empire, albeit with a bit of a nudge from Princess Luna. That fact caused the smile to abandon Midnight’s face.
She unfurled her wings and got ready to fly across to one of the holes in the castle’s many walls when a flicker of light caught her attention. She paused and looked down into the chasm, spying the cave that the Tree of Harmony resided in.
“...The tree…” she whispered before an idea suddenly came to mind. Her eyes snapped wide open, a sharp gasp of realization coming out of her. “Of course! The Tree of Harmony! The Elements!”
She quickly leaped from her perch and sailed down for the cave, hope and determination igniting into a raging inferno in her heart. “If I can use the Elements of Harmony like a focusing lens combined with my failsafe spell, then I might be able to give back the memories I’ve stolen!” she thought to herself, coming to a landing at the entrance of the cavern.
She cantered inside a few yards before her eyes locked onto the tree. Gently, she knelt down and nudged Rainbow off of her back to rest on the dirty ground. Midnight stared at her for a moment, more guilt ravaging her heart. She reached out and gently brushed aside Rainbow’s mane again. “...Just rest, Rainbow,” she whispered quietly. “I’ll be back soon.”
With that, Midnight rose to her hooves and took a deep breath. She turned to the Tree of Harmony, her eyes taking in its true shimmering beauty. The last time she had seen it, it was on the verge of death, and so had she, being strangled by Discord’s infernal vines. But now it was pristine, pure, and so radiant.
It hurt her to look at it.
Midnight glared at it as she advanced, her horn igniting. “I don’t know if there is a consciousness inside that trunk or not,” she began in a loud voice, one that left no room for argument. “And frankly, I don’t care! I know you just got those Elements back, but I need them for a minute!”
She reached out with her magic, grasping at the Elements of Magic and Loyalty. She pulled at them, but to her surprise, they held firm, briefly flickering with darkness. Midnight grit her teeth, growling in frustration. “Come on, you stupid tree! I’m trying to-”
Suddenly, Midnight’s spell was cut completely off. She let out a sharp gasp as tendrils of white light suddenly emerged from the trunk of the tree, each one all but blinding to her eyes. She took a step back, ready to defend herself, but it was too late. The light reached out faster than she could react, ensnaring her barrel and forelegs in a tight, constricting grip.
“What in the world?!” Midnight exclaimed, squirming and struggling in the Tree’s magical grasp. She should have known it could defend itself!
Before any thoughts on how to fight back could cross her mind, Midnight’s eyes widened as a pain unlike any she had felt before flooded her body. It was even worse then Stinger’s killing spell. Her mouth flew open, a primal scream of pain and agony filling the cave around her as the sound of splintering wood and shattering crystals filled her ears.
“It’s going to kill me!” she thought in a panic, her eyes darting around frantically. She tried to channel more magic into her horn, but whatever this light was, it had completely sealed off her power. She was defenseless.
She screamed again as the light constricted, tears rolling down her face as the realization set in. She had failed. She was going to die, again… but this time, it was for nothing.
Looking back, she saw Rainbow’s body on the ground, and a lump formed in her throat. “No!” she cried out through the pain before turning back to the tree, even as she felt her bones starting to break and her flesh beginning to shrivel. “NO! PLEASE! I’M BEGGING YOU! JUST LET ME SAVE HER!”
Suddenly, the pain stopped. Midnight blinked in surprise and looked down at the light still constricting her body. Its grip was still tight, but it was no longer literally squeezing the life out of her. And, somehow, she knew that the Tree was listening, waiting for her to continue.
Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, Midnight closed her eyes and bowed her head. “...You can reject me all you want. You can even kill me if you have to,” she said slowly, her voice low and solemn. She opened her eyes and stared at the tree in desperation, more tears rolling down her cheeks and her lip trembling. “J-just let me save her first. Please. I-it’s my f-fault that th-this happened to her, it’s my responsibility t-to make things right!”
The cavern was completely silent after that. Midnight hung there, suspended in the air by the light from the Tree, waiting for it to make its decision. Every moment felt like an eternity, and with each one that passed, Midnight gradually began to give up hope that her request would be granted.
She closed her eyes, unable to contain the despairing sobs that began to ravage her system. “I’m so sorry, Rainbow,” she choked out, shuddering uncontrollably. “Everypony… Mom, dad, Celestia, Luna… I’m so sorry…”
There was another moment of silence. Then, there was movement. Midnight gasped in shock when she felt her hooves gently touching down upon the ground. Confused, she opened her eyes and looked up at the Tree as it fully relinquished its hold on her. Slowly, as if it were reluctant, the tendrils of light reached to the Elements of Magic and Loyalty and gently pried them from their places with a low chink.
Midnight, barely able to contain her joy, slowly lifted up her left hoof to accept the two colored gems into her grasp. As the tendrils deposited them, they brushed against Midnight’s hoof, sending a chill down her spine.
Nonetheless, the message was received. Midnight clutched the gems close to her chest before looking back up to the tree, boundless gratitude in her eyes. “Thank you…” she whispered.
Without another word, Midnight turned and sprinted back to Rainbow. She slid to a halt at the pegasus’ side, her magic carrying the Elements above her. “Come on, Rainbow,” she whispered, her horn beginning to glow with more and more magic. “Remember! I won’t let you forget like I did!”
Midnight swallowed heavily and took a deep breath as the failsafe came together in her mind. She couldn’t just use it on herself, as the spell was designed to counter other spellcasters of lesser power. But now that she had the elements…
“Here goes,” she whispered before closing her eyes and letting the spell loose.
Even with her eyes closed, the light that came from the Elements once her magic touched them was beyond blinding. She cried out, a spike of pain piercing into her skull and flooding her entire being. She crumpled to the ground, gasping and crying in agony. It felt like her whole body was on fire.
The pain dragged on for several terrifying moments, each second worse than the last. Finally, with a deafening boom and a rush of wind, the light winked out of existence, and the pain faded away. In its wake was a strange feeling: a feeling of emptiness, but… a surprising degree of warmth and comfort, as well. A maelstrom of thoughts that had been filling her mind with meaningless noise had quieted, leaving her in blissful silence.
The excess memories she had stolen… they were gone.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she opened her eyes and looked herself over for any signs of damage. To her shock, she found that her fur had lost its darker shade, having returned to its normal lavender hue. Running her tongue over her teeth, she found that they had blunted back into those of an herbivore.
Sighing in relief after a few seconds, Twilight Sparkle, now with only her own memories in her head - all of them - turned her gaze to stare at Rainbow.
The pegasus winced, her brow trembling for a few seconds. With a tired groan, her eyes slowly opened. “Wha… what happened?” she mumbled.
Twilight quickly made her way to Rainbow’s side. “Rainbow!” she called, crouching down and gently lifting the drowsy pegasus’ head in her hoof. “Are you alright?”
Rainbow blinked up at her a few times. “Uh… y-yeah, I am, I think. My head hurts like crazy, though,” she groaned, rubbing a hoof against her temple. “Ugh… where are we, Twi?”
Twi.
She remembered.
Twilight’s face split with an enormous, trembling smile. “Rainbow… you remember me, right?” she asked, just having to make sure.
Rainbow looked up at her. “Uh… yeah, of course, I remember you,” she said as if it were obvious. Twilight sniffled, more tears rolling down her cheeks. Seeing this, Rainbow quickly blinked her drowsiness away. “Hey… Twilight, are you okay?”
“Rainbow…” Twilight whispered, her smile only growing as her cries slowly tapered off. “...I remember.”
Rainbow was quiet for a few seconds, her brow furrowing in confusion. “What do you mean you remember?” she asked, her drowsiness making her a little slow on the uptake. “You remember what?”
“It would be easier to show her,” Twilight decided, her smile turning a touch mischievous.
With no warning, she pulled Rainbow up and kissed her square on the lips.
Rainbow’s wings snapped open in surprise, as did her eyes. She froze completely in Twilight’s embrace for several seconds before her eyes fluttered closed. Hesitantly, she wrapped her hooves around Twilight so she could pull herself in and return the kiss with all of the eagerness and passion of a starving mare at a banquet.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed this,” Twilight thought after a few seconds before slowly pulling back to stare into Rainbow’s eyes. “I remember everything,” she said in barely a whisper.
Rainbow’s jaw dropped open. “Twi…” she choked out. Then, with something between a sob and a laugh, she lunged up and kissed Twilight again, her hooves squeezing the alicorn so tightly that she was worried her already-tender bones might start fracturing.
They pulled apart for breath after a short time, both of them blushing a little and panting, both from a loss of air and the complete elation at what was happening. Rainbow swallowed heavily, a small amount of fear creeping into her face. “Everything? You’re sure?” she asked after a moment. “Absolutely sure?”
Twilight nodded. “I’m sure.”
Rainbow’s smile was the happiest Twilight had ever seen. Laughing, the pegasus pulled Twilight close against her in a tight embrace, shuddering with relief. “I’m so glad…” she whispered, burying her face in Twilight’s shoulder. “I… I missed you.”
Twilight returned the gesture, a wave of nostalgia consuming her as she hugged the mare she loved. “I know… I missed you, too.”
As the two mares rejoiced in their love-overdue reunion, the darkness of the night began to lift as the first light of dawn streamed into the cave.
Musical accompaniment for when the Tree gave Twilight the Elements of everything after:
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YES YES YES YES YES YES YES EYS YES EYS SYES YES YESN YES YES ESY YES YES YES YES!
This is good
This story is Amazing
Twidash shippers:
https://m.Also Twidash shippers: meme.xyz/uploads/posts/t/34872-when-did-you-last-feel-happy-its-been-84-years.jpg
We had to wait for 1 year, 2 months and 5 days, but Twilight finally has her memory back AND she’s with Rainbow again!
Yay!
And then Twilight was arrested and charged for kidnapping a member of the royal family.
Once again, an excellent job on the latest chapter. I LOVED Luna's reaction to Twilight's admission of fault as well as how hard Twilight had to work to get the Tree to trust her enough to borrow the Elements for a couple of minutes to super-charge her fail-safe spell as well as Twilight and Rainbow BOTH getting their memories back.
All in all, great work on the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Now, I'm on to the next chapter.
I can honestly say I wasn’t expecting rainbow to get her memories back.
You scared me, man. What you did last chapter was just cruel. But I'm satisfied with it being a temporary condition. With Twilight's memories fully restored, and the Tree of Harmony wanting to restore its bearers. Deep down, Twilight was always there within Midnight. She never wanted to hurt Rainbow. But her inability to move on from her amnesia was what led to her fall, along with Rainbow losing her trust. But everything seems better now
9980371
I love the fact that you were counting.
9980419
Haha, I don't think she cares.
Wha-
Oh. Why didn't you tell us it was THIS kind of tree?
Nope. Too late to the party.
Luna needs a course in de-escalation. Seriously.
awwww
i cried
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GOOD.
Oh. Well, counterspell is out, so that just leaves a magical deus ex machina.
But is all Twilight's memories back?