42 Torpor part 3
The tiny version of the pony that all believed was supposedly Trixie continued to baffle Twilight and Celestia with her uncanny sailing skills. It was remarkable that one could have such a knack for sailing, especially considering her young age. Even Celestia, in all her long life, had seldom seen even grown ponies who had a special talent so specialized in every aspect of a profession. She was crewing ships effectively, portraying every skill needed to successfully sail, from steering, to navigation, to manipulating the sails, all at once.
And all by herself.
Celestia and Twilight just watched on in silence, neither wanting to distract or be distracted from the spectacle, both because they were both so impressed and because they were here for a reason, which was to determine why the pony whose memory they were observing was currently suffering a case of self induced Hopeless Magic so severe it was causing her to literally fade from existence. Before long, after the little filly made some more stops to harvest more kelp, a vast coast became visible over the horizon, the differing earthy colors contrasting with the vibrant blue of the sea enough that it became noticeable from quite the distance. Steadily, it grew closer, increasing in size as more specific details became more discernible with each passing second. Beaches and cliffs were the first things Celestia and Twilight could make out, followed by trees that had taken root along the coast, forming a seaside forest.
Eventually, several wooden docks also became visible, as well as several buildings. A small coastal town, roughly the same size as Ponyville, was connected to the multiple piers, but whereas the small inland village Twilight and her friends call home was basically a farming community, this place appeared to be strictly engineered for seafaring trades. Other ships were moored in the shallows surrounding the docks, some the same size as the one currently about to make port, others not as big.
There were even a few ships that were still in the process of being assembled, their unfinished frames housed in open shipyards, waiting to be completed and then crewed out to open sea.
Trixie, with the air of a pony who had done this multiple times, brought the ship to a free section of one of the docks, performing a very lengthy process that secured the ship in place; all with the same diligence as she had done everything else up to that point, before deploying a gangplank and going ashore, all the while strolling forward with the air of professionalism that not even a seasoned captain could boast. Not wanting to lose sight of their dreamstride host, Celestia and Twilight pursued, following Trixie from the gangplank off the ship to the docks, then, finally, to dry land.
Up close, the quaint little seaside settlement was even more tranquil than when it first came into view out at sea. It looked cozy, yet prosperous. The docks had opened up to what appeared to be a marketplace and that's where Trixie led her observers first. It appeared to be just as successful as Ponyville's own market district, though obviously engineered towards resources gained from the ocean, rather than from surrounding farming communities. There were no signs of poverty or neglect, all the stands and stores were in prime condition, though it was slightly distorted to Twilight and Celestia, due to the hazy visions produced by Vaermina's Torpor .
However, the buildings and tranquility of the village weren't Celestia and Twilight's primary focus.
Since disembarking with the filly Trixie, Twilight and Celestia had noticed the extreme lack of activity in this simple settlement. While such could easily be contributed to it being too early for anypony to be up yet, both Twilight and Celestia were knowledgeable enough to realize that it was extremely unprecedented for any thriving community to be completely devoid of activity at any given time, especially when the location was on a coast, where there was an abundance of responsibilities that settlements located further inland, like Ponyville, didn't have to worry about, especially at night. Here, close to the ocean, there was the need for night watch ponies to always be posted, ready to alert everypony in case any surprise dangerous weather came in from the sea, possibly a hurricane or even a monsoon or tsunami. Yet not even ponies on the lookout for such were present here.
The place was practically a ghost town.
"Princess Celestia?" inquired Twilight nervously, looking up to her mentor. "Do you see anypony here?"
"I'm afraid I don't," replied Celestia, just as unnerved, worried why such a prosperous settlement of her kingdom would be deserted like this.
They apparently weren't the only ones to notice the deserted nature of this place either, because, not a second after Twilight and Celestia commented on the lack of other ponies, Trixie spoke up. "Hey, where is everypony?" she asked in her youthful little voice, the young filly looking from side to side as she combed the marketplace for any signs of other ponies with a confused look on her face. Apparently, this was unusual, even for this early hour , if even the owner of this memory didn't understand why there wasn't anypony present. She suddenly galloped off, heading for a watchtower built on the edge of the docks, Twilight and Celestia following suit, not wanting to lose sight of her.
"NIGHT EYE!? NIGHT OWL!? YOU UP THERE!?" she called up the wooden structure once she arrived near its base . "IT'S ME! DIDN'T YOU GUYS SEE ME COME INTO PORT!?"
There was no response from the tower, just an eerie gust of wind that blew in from out at sea, ruffling manes of ponies both of the past and present.
Trixie's face seemed to grow even more confused at the silence. Twilight and Celestia, on the other hoof, had just been given the final confirmation, without a doubt, that there were indeed supposed to be ponies present, even at this early hour. The aforementioned Night Eye and Night Owl must be the night watch ponies that were supposed to be on duty, but where were they?
Where was anypony?
Trixie soon left the deserted docks and market soon after getting no response from the watchtower, heading up a connecting street that linked the market with what appeared to be a residential area, the stalls and stores giving way to several houses, ranging from one to three stories tall. Still, there was nopony in sight. No graveyard shift ponies returning home from a night of hard work, or early risers just waking up and going for a morning walk or heading out to open their place of business for the day. Twilight and Celestia were also noticing strange details as they followed behind, unnoticed by the Trixie of long ago.
The Princess and her student were both aware that each house they passed was lacking in other signs of early morning activity, other than what would be expected from the residents that live there. There were no morning newspapers left on any of the doorsteps, or freshly delivered milk, and the mailboxes at the front of each of the yards were empty. One might not think such would be cause for alarm, but Twilight and Celestia had experiences that led them to believe something was suspicious. Celestia, being the one who had signed several petitions on the modifications to the mail and newspaper systems of Equestria over the years therefore knew that it wasn't too early for the delivery processes to have at least started. Twilight had lived in two locations of Equestria throughout her life and had two examples to compare to this, and if this place didn't follow the diligent example of Canterlot, then there should be signs of effort being made at least, like in Ponyville.
After all, Derpy wasn't the most subtle of mailmares, and Twilight had the bumps to prove it.
"Princess Celestia," said Twilight nervously, looking up at the taller pony. "I think something bad happened here."
"I agree," replied Celestia, looking around the quiet neighborhood with growing unease.
"But what happened? Did something drive everypony off?" asked Twilight, looking around for any signs of what might have transpired. There were no signs of damage that would indicate something like a large predator attack, like a dragon or timberwolves, and she doubted the ponies just up and left for no reason. Especially if such a young filly like Trixie was unaccounted for.
Celestia was about to voice her own uncertainty to the reason behind why this place was currently vacant of anypony but stopped as a thought occurred to her. Given the new facts of current happenings in Equestria there was a possible explanation for this town's current lack of population, but she hoped she was wrong. It would make sense, though it seemed a little too coincidental.
Twilight seemed to notice the worried expression on her face and also became worried herself.
"Princess, what is it?" she asked.
Celestia gave her another uneasy look. "I have a theory as to what may have happened here. Let's keep following Trixie, I have a feeling she will eventually lead us to the answers. Maybe they'll prove my theory right, maybe not. Though I pray for the latter."
That didn't instill much confidence in Twilight.
Nevertheless, they both resumed following their guide as she trotted up the street, her every stride carrying anxiety. Eventually she stopped at one of the houses, Celestia and Twilight's first thought being that it was her house, but the little filly with a ship for a Cutie Mark just started knocking and calling out to someone.
"ANCHOR? MEEK?" she shouted as she rapped on the front door. But there was no response, nopony responded to the little filly knocking at the door.
"Come on guys, you have to be home," said Trixie, her voice growing softer as her knocking got weaker. Still, there was no response.
"Come on, guys, something weird is going on here, you have to help me." Her voice was cracking with despair and fear, but still, nopony answered.
Dropping her head in defeat, Trixie eventually moved on from the house, Celestia and Twilight following, though with each passing second their rage towards her and all she had done in regards to the Alicorn Amulet were dwindling, replaced with pity and concern. If the current pattern continued once that little filly arrived at her own house...
Trixie eventually arrived at another house, but rather than knock, she pulled the stereotypical key from under the welcome mat, unlocked the door, and entered, Celestia and Twilight following. It was a standard house, with all the necessities of a pony family's everyday life, but, like with outside, other than the little filly that had just entered, there were no sign of any other ponies.
"Mommy?! Daddy?! Trixie?!" she hollered into the house, only to once again be met with silence.
Trixie proceeded to wander the house, in search of the other occupants she had no doubt shared this house with for the entirety of her life. She ceased in what appeared to be a living room, falling to her haunches and staring at the floor.
"What... what is going on here...?" she mumbled to herself. Her voice, which had, up to this point, carried a mixture of confusion and unease, now became flooded with the beginning signs of fear and despair.
Celestia and Twilight could only feel their hearts further going out to the little filly as they continued to silently observe. Twilight's attention was first drawn away from the filly however when she noticed something up on the mantle of a magnificent fireplace built into the far side of the living room. It was a massive family portrait, housed in a decorative brass frame. There were a mare and a stallion, the mare being neon pink with a familiar light blue mane and green eyes, the stallion being a seafoam green with an emerald green mane and violet eyes. Between them was a filly that appeared to be the same age as Trixie before them, but was obviously not her.
Her coat was dark purple in color and her mane was a magnificent combination of red and silver streaks, but the most striking aspect of the image of the little filly was her attire. A familiar star spangled hat and cape adorned the filly in the portrait, the stark contrast of the differing colors between the pony wearing them making all the colors stand out in different aspects. All in all, it projected the image of a pony that would really draw attention for her coloring alone. Perfect for, say, performing on stage.
It didn't take long for Twilight to make an assumption of who this was.
Especially considering the fact that, wrapped in a bundle cradled in the filly's forelegs, was a sleeping baby pony, whose visible face was a familiar cyan blue, a small tuft of silvery blue mane poking out from under the blanket wrapped around her head.
Celestia, for her part, had noticed something other than the heartwarming family portrait. Her attention was drawn to a newspaper lying nearby on an end table. It was perfectly legible, despite the fact that all this was just the revisited memory that occurred an unknown amount of time ago. Celestia could barely recall any newspaper with any amount of clarity, yet, somehow, this memory from Trixie's foalhood was as readable as any present day paper. Vaermina really must be the mistress of dreams to capture even such minute detail.
But all that aside, it was the contents of the front page that had piqued Celestia's interest.
The headliner wasn't all that important, but the date was, as well as the title of the paper.
KELPTOWN PRESS
At that moment everything fell into place for Celestia, and her worst fears were realized. The time and place, the name of this settlement, plus, now that Celestia thought about it, the names of the two ponies Trixie had called out when she was knocking at her neighbor's house, it all confirmed what she had expected. She now believed she knew what had become of Trixie's parents, family, neighbors, everypony she knew.
And... why she had adopted the name Trixie.
"Mom! Dad! Trixie! Where are you?" mumbled the light blue filly, who slid to her stomach and began to weep on the living room carpet, silent sobs racking her frame. "Where are you? I'm alone... I don't want to be alone...Come back, please..."
Twilight couldn't hold back her own tears at seeing the little filly in such a state and, despite what Trixie had done prior, despite the fact that this was merely a replaying memory, Twilight reached out with the intent to comfort the distraught child, but before her hoof made contact the she bolted upright and dashed out the front door, desperately calling out for somepony, for anypony, echoing behind her, reverberating through the front door, left open in the wake of the distraught child's mad dash. Twilight and Celestia were about to gallop off in pursuit but, in all the span of a blink, their surroundings suddenly changed. Rather than the living room of a house located in a town that, for some reason, had become devoid of its pony occupance, they were now back at Ponyville's jailhouse, the familiar cell housing the adult version of the little filly they had been observing for the past few moments before them, said pony still visible through the bars, blurred due to the still active effects of the Torpor, her body still gradually fading. But neither knew why they were suddenly here, so close to present events. From what was known of the Torpor it was supposed to allow the taker to observe the relevant memories of another individual, and, since Trixie had been a young filly at the point of their arrival, they had both assumed they would be in for several years worth of memories.
But not only were Twilight and Celestia not subjected to memories of what Trixie endured from what was just witnessed to her current predicament, the effects of the Torpor were apparently at an end, for the strange haze the world had acquired after Twilight and Celestia had swallowed the foul concoction suddenly lifted, leaving everything looking and feeling normal again.
"Princess Celestia! Twilight!"
But before Twilight and Celestia could even become accustomed to the sensation of being in the material world again they were both addressed by a stunned voice, both turning to find Doctor Rorschach Test behind them, staring at them with a bewildered expression. The psychiatrist's expression remained locked on them for a few seconds before she remembered whom it was she just addressed so abruptly and sank to her knees in a respectable bow.
"Forgive me, your majesty, you took me off guard," she said apologetically.
"Rise, my little pony," assured Celestia benevolently. "I am not cross."
Doctor Rorschach Test complied, standing up and looking at them both questioningly. "If I may be so bold, where did you two run off to?" She directed her attention directly to Twilight. "You declared that you might have a solution to my patient's predicament but didn't elaborate."
Twilight and Celestia exchanged a look. In their haste Twilight hadn't had a chance to brief Doctor Rorschach Test on her hypothesis on what could be utilized for this situation. Trixie was her patient, she deserved to know.
They gave a brief description to the good doctor about how Twilight assumed that a potion known as Vaermina's Torpor and its properties, how it was used to observe the memories of others, even those under emotional duress like Trixie, as well as a brief summary of its potential and origin.
To say Rorschach was taken aback would be an understatement.
"The... there's..." She stammered, trying to force the words out. "The kind of creature that tentacled monster is, there is one that embodies memory?"
"Vaermina the Dreamweaver," confirmed Twilight, "She has power over all things psychological, like memories, nightmares, and mental torment."
Rorschach stammered some more before continuing. "Why would you resort to something affiliated with such a creature?" she exclaimed, the look in her eyes portraying she was less than supportive of their actions.
Celestia could blame Rorschach for her demeanor. They had had to give her a brief description of Vaermina the Dreamweaver so she could fully understand the potential of the Torpor, and her reaction was understandable. Rorschach was a psychiatrist, so everything she stood for was in stark contrast to Vaermina and all she represents.
"I, in no way, find anything redeeming with what Vaermina does," she said to the doctor, internally wincing as this conversation once again reminded her that the mind tampering Daedra was technically her and Luna's father, silently praying that never became common knowledge. "Her actions in regards to the minds of others is appalling, to say the least. But there's no denying the potential of her craft."
She looked back at the whimpering Trixie, her faded body steadily becoming transparent now. Who knows how much time they had left. "Even with your talents in minds, doctor, you were unable to determine the problem with this unfortunate soul, due to the state of her mind, but my student and I have just concluded a journey through this very pony's dreamscape, were we bore witness to much, including, I believe, the source of her distress."
Rorschach balked at that. She had peered into her patient's mind and saw how jumbled it was. "This... potion worked? It showed you her memories?"
"More than that, it actually physically brought us into them," explained Twilight with an air of schoolfilly excitement at the prospect of passing knowledge to somepony. "That's what the Torpor does, it draws the taker physically into memories and allows you to observe them, then you reappear in the real world at the exact place where the memory ends."
Rorschach looked at Twilight with a confused look. "You and the princess... didn't teleport back?"
She was aware that both the princess and Twilight could utilize such a teleportation and had assumed that was how they arrived back. The lack of a blinding light heralding their arrival was in contrast to this however and now Rorschach knew why.
Twilight shook her head. "This is where Trixie's memories are the most recent, so, after we observed what we needed to, the Torpor brought us here, as is one of its functions." She looked around in mild confusion. "Though I don't know why what we observed cut to here so abruptly. We're nowhere near where Trixie's memory occurred."
"This pony isn't Trixie," said Celestia as she turned to them, having spent a majority of Twilight's explanation staring at the pony that had gone by that name with utter pity. "You know that as well as I do, my student."
Celestia's sudden inquiry made Twilight remember what they had bore witness to in the memory and her demeanor slackened in sadness, her ears folding back.
"What are you talking about, your majesty?" asked Rorschach. "What did you and Twilight see during this supposed 'dreamstride' anyway? What do you mean that this pony isn't Trixie?"
Celestia then realized that, in their brief description to Rorschach about the Torpor, its properties, as well the individual who heralded it, they drifted off the main topic of this endeavor. Namely the reason why the pony behind them was so emotionally distraught that she was virtually self-destructing via Hopeless Magic. Hopefully not too much time had been lost to give an adequate description to the good doctor.
"We were witness to several things while under the effects of the Torpor," began Celestia, her demeanor deflating as she recalled her final conclusion of what might have happened. "Namely evidence that this poor filly," she pointed behind her and gestured at the holding cell, "isn't the real Trixie."
From then on, Twilight and Celestia both explained in detail about what they had seen, about how, several times, the filly version of the pony that had them all concerned at the moment, didn't refer to the name Trixie in the third person, but in reference to another pony all together, supposedly an older sibling. They then explained that, through observation, that whoever this pony really is, her special talent wasn't stage magic, but sailing ships, which explained the the recently discovered true Cutie Mark, and how she was talented enough to sail an entire galleon solo, despite the fact that she could not have been older than six or seven at the time. Then it was explained that, as the young filly made port, she came back to find her home deserted, with nopony in sight, including her own family.
Rorschach was taking it all in stride.
This was her area of expertise, being a psychiatrist, and she was already deducing a diagnosis.
"I see. It all makes sense now. So she's suffering from an identity disorder," she stated professionally.
"A what?" inquired Celestia and Twilight at the same time.
While both were by no means average in terms of intelligence when it comes to ponies, neither of them were well versed in psychology. Why would they be? After all, Celestia was the ruler of Equestria, and, while that in of itself was quite the tremendous task, it didn't require her to know anything in certain medical fields, and Twilight, while studious, had skills primarily pertaining to magic.
Even Apocrypha hadn't extended her knowledge in this regard.
But Rorschach didn't seem to mind, for she soon proceeded with an informal, if brief, explanation. "An identity disorder is a condition where an individual suffers an experience so traumatic it can have several effects on their mental health, even to the point where they might not even have a full grasp of their identity. In Trixie's case, or whoever she truly is, I would say the trauma caused by the loss of not only her family, but the entirety of her village, was so great she couldn't cope with it and resulting in her building herself a mental defense mechanism. She most likely took on the persona of her sister afterwards as a way to deny what happened, as well as to convince herself that her sister wasn't gone. She must have begun believing, if she was her sister, her sister was still around and with her."
Celestia and Twilight shared a distant look as Rorschach's explanation brought new pieces to their own specific perspectives.
"That would explain why the Torpor cut off like it did," Twilight speculated out loud. "It's designed to view specific memories of a single individual." Her gaze at Celestia fell further. "So... the moment she stepped out of her house..."
"Was the moment she stopped being the pony she was and became Trixie. The older sister she looked up to," said Celestia, following Twilight's train of thought, and becoming just as downtrodden. "And... when I brought up her home..."
"You inadvertently punctured her delusion and, at least slightly, made her remember that she is in fact not Trixie, which brought her long buried trauma back to the surface and begun her descent into Hopeless Magic," concluded Rorschach, with a sad nod, still sympathetic to the plight of ponies stricken by degrading mental health, despite her long career in the field.
Celestia and Twilight were equally sympathetic, their animosity towards Trixie completely gone. Nopony, not even one as vindictive as Trixie had been, deserved to go through anything like this. Maybe she wouldn't have turned out this way if her life had been different, as a matter of fact.
That thought caused a spark of guilt to intermingle with the other emotions that Celestia currently felt, due to her assumption that, at this point, she doubted was wrong.
"Were... either of you able to uncover her true identity while you were viewing her memories?" Rorschach asked. "From what I have surmised from all that I have learned, this poor mare's condition revolves around the fact that she has been concealing her true persona behind a false identity, and now that identity is unraveling, for whatever reason. But now that the ball is rolling, we might be able to use this situation to our advantage."
"What do you mean?" asked Twilight.
"Her fantasy bubble she has shrouded herself in is already ruptured," explained Rorschach clinically. "Rather than building it back up, it might be for the best that we tear it down entirely."
"I... don't understand," said Twilight incomprehensibly, not liking the sound of the doctor's words. "I thought you were going to use her memories of the cause of her trauma to fix her, not this?"
"That was when I was working under the assumption that we were dealing with a pony who was suffering an intense emotional meltdown, not a pony that had been concealing her true identity behind a false one," explained Rorschach, her tone still professional. She was in her element, after all. "Such a condition doesn't warrant my original solution. The false persona she has shielded herself behind is unraveling to reveal the true pony she is inside, but in doing so she is remembering the intense pain of losing everypony important to her, which is why she is stricken with such a severe case of Hopeless Magic. But if we can reach her true identity and ease her into accepting it, as well as get her to accept the truth, we might be able to save her.
"So I ask again, did either of you learn who she was before her sister disappeared?"
Now Twilight, ever the egghead, could understand. Whatever the case, the hard truth of the matter was this pony believed that she was Trixie, when the truth of the matter was that Trixie was actually her older sister, who disappeared long ago, along with a good number of other ponies. She apparently had shrouded herself in her missing sister's identity as a means to keep her alive, but now that false persona was the cause of her current predicament.
But if she stopped being Trixie and went back to being the pony she had been at the beginning, could that work?
These thoughts made Twilight come to a sudden realization, that she realized should have been obvious. During the whole escapade they had never discovered who this pony truly is, but, then again, neither she, nor apparently Celestia had seen this coming. They had set out to discover why Trixie was having such an emotional reaction to being reminded of her home that she was deteriorating from Hopeless Magic, not that she might not be Trixie at all.
How were they going to figure out who she was? The Torpor had worn off and they didn't even have a name.
"I... think I might have an idea of who she may be."
Twilight and Rorschach turned to the princess as she spoke up, the psychiatrist looking on expectantly, her student in confusion.
"You know who she is, your majesty?" asked Rorschach.
"How do you know, Princess?" Twilight spoke up before the solar matriarch could address the doctor. "I don't recall any indication of who she may be during our exploration of her memories."
Rorschach seemed to be slightly taken aback as she gave the lavender unicorn a confused sideways glance. When Celestia had spoken up she had assumed that the answer to her inquiry had been yes, these two had deduced Trixie's true identity through recent endeavors, but since Celestia spoke up with the affirmation but not Twilight it was safe to assume that that whatever had been revealed to them through that concoction hadn't included the information she asked for. So, if Celestia did have an inkling to Trixie's true identity, where had it come from?
Twilight was apparently like minded, with the dumbfounded expression she wore.
But Celestia was apparently unaffected by either unicorn's chosen expression, for she only took a second to speak up with her explanation to Twilight's question. "That's because I didn't come across my assumption through our recent experience with the Torpor, my faithful student."
Twilight blinked, even more dumbfounded than before. "You didn't?" she asked, Celestia shaking her head in response. "Then where?"
"You remember our recent endeavors with the surviving members of Queen Chrysalis's changelings, Twilight?" asked the princess, her eyes drooping with bitter regret and shame.
Twilight paused as her teacher's words reminded her of those events. With all that had happened, what with resuming wedding preparations and the more recent incidents with Dagoth Ur and now Trixie, she had almost completely forgotten about the changelings and their involvement in all that had happened thus far. A fact that she now berated herself for.
Her temporary reprieve from Hermaeus Mora's service was only due to the fact that the Daedra sought new followers in Equestria, so they were sent here to seek the now leaderless changelings and offer them sanctuary in Hermaeus Mora's realm, while also being free of their hunger, while her friends adapted to the power of the Thu'um enough in order to assist her in her main objective in regards to her bargain with the the ruler of Apocrypha in the meantime. In return, Twilight and her friends were allowed to stay in Equestria to orchestrate the marriage of her brother and Princess Cadance. It had been a messy process, but had been accomplished nonetheless.
But what did that have to do with any of this?
"Yes, I remember, Princess," admitted Twilight. "But what does that have to do with Trixie?"
Celestia's dour demeanor only increased along with her frown. "I believe Trixie's home was one of the many pony settlements pillaged of its population by Queen Chrysalis in order to fuel her legions. She must be one of the few from those places that evaded the same fate."
Twilight was once again bombarded by facts she hadn't considered in a while.
It had been quite some time since contemplated that the changeling horde were actually ponies Queen Chrysalis had abducted and converted into members of her own kind, using the same method that had transformed her herself from a simple pony into the spiteful creature she was when she met her end at the tendrils of Hermaeus Mora. It also sparked a little guilt in Twilight.
Several of those changelings had met their own ends at her own hooves, especially when she utilized the Storm Call Thu'um.
"You really think that's the case, Princess? How?" Twilight asked, unable to suppress a slight curiosity about how Celestia could have come to such a conclusion, on top of her other emotions.
"You remember our infiltration of the changeling hive in the Badlands?" Princess Celestia said in response.
Another subject Twilight hadn't focused on in a while. Of how, in return for her and her friends reprieve from Apocrypha, Hermaeus Mora had requested they offer the surviving changelings the opportunity to enter his servitude. No longer were they love starved creatures on the brink of extinction, but the Equestria branch of Hermaeus Mora's knowledge gatherers, the dark Daedra's influence modifying their appearance from resembling insectoid equines to forms that crossed them with aspects of his other minions, like the Lurkers and the Seekers.
Though, from the very beginning, from time to time Twilight wondered why Hermaeus Mora had granted them this reprieve, regardless of the tasks they had done for him in the meantime. He had goals in mind for them after all. Maybe it was because, until her friends fully adapted to the Thu'um, they were unable to accomplish Hermaeus Mora's goals intended for her, and, by extension, her friends (that being stealing away The Ideal Masters' prized minion for his own) all they could do while confined to Apocrypha was sit and wait, so, while not being his primary goal, Hermaeus Mora had decided to use their adaptation period to forward his desire for Equestrian minions, after all, if Hermaeus Mora was anything, he was a multitasker. It came with being a creature that could spawn in multiple places at once. Maybe he'd done all this to remain partially in their good graces as well?
After all, indebted servants were more reliable than enslaved servants, and Twilight couldn't deny that they owed obligation to Hermaeus Mora, for his contribution to them wasn't minor in any sense. For Twilight, obligation took the form of all the Daedra had done in regards to a certain old foalsitter.
"Of course, Princess," confirmed Twilight, snapping out of the bout of recollection and back into current circumstances.
"Then you remember the spell that we had to resort to to convince Pharynx of the false nature of the queen he had always been loyal to by unveiling the life he and his brother had before being spirited away by Chrysalis and converted." Twilight nodded before Celestia continued her explanation. "The spell was, in a way, a two way street. While it was active, not only were those memories recalled by their owners, I also bore witness to them myself. And, on the day Chrysalis preformed her foul deeds on Thorax and Pharynx's home, there was a brief mention of a little filly that was notorious for taking her parents' ship and sailing it solo, just like we saw in those memories."
Twilight was absolutely stunned.
She had been unaware of all this previously, of course, Celestia had never informed her about every aspect of the spell that was used in the badlands, or that the caster was also privy to whatever information it restored as a result. Then again, why shouldn't she have known? Celestia had had no reason to fill in anypony on every minute detail, and the spell had served its purpose at the time, so there was no need to be cross with the princess. Twilight had gotten that out of her system long ago.
But it all led up to a perplexing assessment.
What were the odds that one of the sole ponies from the isolated populations of Equestria that was fortunate enough to escape one of Chrysalis's raids resurfacing now, right after her horrific actions had been brought to light? And for it to be Trixie, of all ponies?
"I... I don't understand," mumbled Rorschach, reminding them all of her presence, and the revelation that she was definitely unable to follow along with all the revelations, due her lack of information on past events.
They spent the better part of an hour explaining to the good doctor their assumption, as well as filling her in on how they coincided with all that had transpired thus far, beginning with the true origins of Chrysalis and her changelings, how the diabolical tyrant had actually once been the entomologist, Pheromone Signal, a good, honest pony, respectable in her field, until she was betrayed by the infidelity of her fiance with her younger sister, who then, after retaliating with murder, proceeded to magically rip her very own love from her being to escape the pain, but only succeeded in destabilizing her own Equestrian magic, causing her insect based talent to also destabilize, mutating her into the abomination Chrysalis, who built up an army of changelings by steadily abducting ponies from isolated areas known for their own natural hurdles that could explain a such a mass decline in population to avoid suspicion, until she finally met her end in the face of Hermaeus Mora. They finished by explaining to Rorschach that it was likely that Trixie was originally from one of the many places raided by Chrysalis, probably even the sole among those unfortunates that escaped that horrible fate. Twilight and Celestia didn't like how much time was needed to be diverted to explanations, for neither of them were entirely sure how much time Trixie had left, but Rorschach's very reason for being here was to try and stabilize the poor mare's mind, and hopefully save her life, so she needed to be filled in to every detail.
"And you're sure this assumption is accurate?" asked Rorschach, her tone a mix of pity, horror, concern, as well as a respectable air of practiced professionalism, given she was a psychiatrist.
"Almost entirely," said Celestia, Twilight nodding in agreement.
"And you're positive that Trixie is the same pony that you heard referenced in the memory of that changeling, without any doubt?" continued Rorschach, not willing to take any chances that they had reached the wrong conclusion. "As unlikely as it seems, the pony here with us could very well not be the same pony that you saw in the revelation spell you used on the changelings. It could have been some other filly that had a knack for sailing."
"Yes, the fact that Trixie is able to crew an entire galleon alone doesn't necessarily prove she is the same filly from Pharynx's memory, back when he was the colt known as Anchor," agreed Celestia. "But that wasn't the only similarity between my and Twilight's vision, and the one I saw back in the badlands. After Trixie realized that she was alone she called out for ponies she was obviously close to. The names she called out were the names Pharynx and Thorax possessed in their pony lives, Anchor and Meek.
"And that's not all. The place Trixie docked her family's ship was the same place Pharynx and Thorax lived as ponies. Kelptown."
That pretty much made everything substantial enough for Rorschach to begin believing that the princess and her pupil were correct in their assumptions. What were the odds that Trixie wasn't this mystery filly versus all this evidence? But, that left one more astronomically unanswered question.
"Who is she really, then?" asked the psychiatrist, concernedly, yet clinically.
Twilight looked at her mentor, having not been privy to that information either. After all, she didn't know, Celestia still hadn't filled her in on what she witnessed in the badlands in full detail.
"Specific characteristics, other than her habit of sailing the family ship solo, I do not know," admitted Celestia with a professional tone. "But, judging from everything I have learned so far, I believe her true name is Penelope."
There it was.
The true name of the pony that had traversed Equestria as a traveling magician, who had undoubtedly taken on her sister's identity after her disappearance, along with her parents, and all the other ponies who lived in Kelptown. It felt kinda strange to Twilight, to have a new name to attach to the cyan mare she had known as Trixie up till now. Her relationship with her may be that of a person who you could be more than happy to just live without, Twilight had known her at least more than a stranger, and it was weird to have to call her something else from now on.
Twilight and Celestia stood expectantly, waiting for Rorschach to question further, but she just nodded in confirmation, stood up from her haunches and walked past them for the cell the mare that had previously been known as Trixie, but was now revealed to be the true pony with that name's little sister, whose name was apparently Penelope.
"Where are you going?" Celestia and Twilight asked at the same time.
"To do what I was intended to do. I believe I have all the information I need to stabilize the patient," answered Rorschach as she approached the bars of the cell, gesturing to the guards to let her through. You had to give it to the Royal Guard for their stoicism, what with a slowly vanishing pony behind them, Princess Celestia appearing before them out of nowhere, and it all finishing up with the princess having a discussion with her student and a well learned psychiatrist about why the pony in the cell was slowly dissolving, without nary a reaction, until the psychiatrist in question came forth and addressed them, and even then, it was only because Celestia had given her the clearance to access the cell whenever necessary.
Celestia and Twilight didn't protest, because this was the doctor's field after all. They had done their part, all they could do now was trust in Rorschach's judgement and have faith in her skills. For Trixie's sake.
Rorschach arrived at Trixie's side as she lay huddled on the floor, pity and concern escalating upon seeing how much more dire her circumstances seemed to have grown while everypony was desperately trying to come up with a solution. Her mane and tail were completely gone, leaving the poor mare bald at both ends, the process of the Hopeless Magic now beginning to affect her body. Her form was now partially transparent, like the image in a stained glass window. At the end of her hooves was a twinkling band that was slowly moving up her legs, anything below becoming transparent to the point of not being visible, though did still leave a discernible outline.
Activating the spell she had utilized before, Rorschach surrounded her distressed mind with her psychological magic, but with one difference. Whereas before she had no guidance and was just stumbling around blindly through Trixie's fractured psyche, now she had a baseline to work with.
'It's time for you to accept reality, little one,' she projected soothingly through her magic. 'It's time to accept who you really are, Penelope.'
As those words flowed through Rorschach's magic and into Trixie's mind, a lot happened at once. Trixie's trembling ceased and she stopped mumbling incoherently. The progression of the Hopeless Magic also halted, everything below Trixie's fetlocks transparent as glass.
"W... what did you call me?" Trixie mumbled, lifting her head from her hooves for the first time since Celestia's alternative sent her spiraling into the deepest depths of despair.
"That is your name, little one," said Rorschach gently, out loud this time once the magic feedback from her spell confirmed that the mind of her patient was starting to become coherent and begin functioning normally again. "Your name is Penelope."
Trixie's pupils dilated for a second before her eyes snapped shut and she began shaking her head fiercely. "NO! No, that is not my name! My name is Trixie! Trixie Lulamoon! Best stage performer in Equestria!"
"No, little one, that isn't who you are," said Rorschach, sensing Trixie beginning to put up barriers of denial through her spell, throwing in her own magic to keep them from forming completely and allowing her own magic and words to reach the distraught pony. It was always difficult when one of her profession had to keep a patient from slipping back into their delusions and it needed to be done carefully, but Trixie needed to accept the truth, lest she succumb to the Hopeless Magic again.
"You are Penelope Lulamoon," continued Rorschach. "Little sister of Trixie Lulamoon."
At those words Rorschach sensed a flare up of repressed memories with Trixie's mind, and before they could vanish behind a barrier of denial again, Rorschach latched onto them and gently pulled them to the surface, like a pony drowning in the ocean. They depicted a pony no older than twelve, viewed through the eyes of a pony that couldn't be any older than eight. She bore similar characteristics to Trixie, but was a completely different color. She showed Trixie magic tricks, like fireworks and smoke bombs, as well as assembled what looked like a stage cart, the little filly struggling rigorously to lift a hammer with her slowly developing magic. There was a Cute-ceañera celebration themed towards sailing, the other filly gifting the smaller one with a captain's hat, which she obviously adored. There was also a memory of the two fillies sneaking out in the dead of night and the older one watched as the younger manipulated every aspect of a ship on her own, sailing out into the moonlit waters and coming back the next morning with the ship laden with freshly harvested seaweed, all the while the older filly watched in awe.
"That is your sister, Trixie," assured Rorschach, her tone gentle as she displayed these memories for their owner to see for the first time in who knows how long. "She was your older sister, who I have no doubt you loved very much. You are her beloved little sister, Penelope Lulamoon, a filly, from a young age, discovered that she had a strong knack for sailing."
"No! I am Trixie," replied Trixie definitely, though not with much conviction as before. "I... I have to be... for her."
"Little one, do you really think that this is what your sister would want?" asked Rorschach. "Would she have wanted for you to be her? How did she react when you got your Cutie Mark?"
"She... she was... so proud of me," replied Trixie, her tone growing distant, like she was trying to be somepony else while saying the words. "She... told me that neither Mamma and Pappa had even an iota of the skill I had..."
"And would she have wanted you to bury that talent under a false image of her?" proceeded Rorschach, still using her magic to ease the fractured mind before her as several pieces of reality and truth began to fill in the sections clouded by delusions and denial.
"N... no," replied Trixie, tears flowing from her eyes. "She told me I have a talent that comes once in a lifetime... and... to never take it for granted."
Suddenly, Rorschach felt her spell grasping at nothing for at those words of admittance the false identity that this pony had hid behind shattered and the real thing surfaced and took control.
"OH, WHAT HAVE I DONE!" Penelope yelled in complete despair, sobbing into her transparent forelegs. "I'VE DEFILED THE GIFT BIG SIS SAID I SHOULD CHERISH! I'VE THROWN IT ALL AWAY! I'VE THROWN MY LIFE AWAY. TRIXIE! OH, TRIXIE I HAVE FAILED YOU. I WASN'T THE PONY YOU ADVISED ME TO BE! WHY... WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO?! HOW COULD YOU LEAVE ME?! WHY DID EVERYPONY LEAVE ME?!"
Rorschach pulled the sobbing pony into her arms, her transparent state apparently still leaving her tangible. She could tell that the false identity had been discarded and Penelope was accepting who she is. It wasn't often that acceptance therapy went this smoothly, but minds were fickle things and sometimes mended easily, especially when there was a trained unicorn therapist involved that could magically assist a broken psyche. But despite the fact that the false image of Trixie Lulamoon had fallen away, the Hopeless Magic hadn't receded, continuing to work up Penelope's body.
'She's accepted who she is, but without her false identity she can't deal with the disappearance of her loved ones, just like when she first arrived home to find it deserted. She needs closure,' deduced Rorschach, though with a hint of nervousness. The truth was the first step to closure, but what happened to the ponies of Kelptown was so horrible Penelope might not be able to handle it. But truth was the path to acceptance, and acceptance was the path to healing.
"We know what happened to your family and friends, Penelope," admitted the doctor.
Penelope's sobs halted and she slowly leaned back, staring at Rorschach with bloodshot eyes full of doubt and hope.
"You... you do?" she mumbled, almost incoherently.
Rorschach responded with a nod. Though the news wasn't good, the truth may be what is needed for Penelope to get past this. Acceptance was the path to healing, after all. Rorschach then proceeded to tell Penelope all that had been learned from Celestia and Twilight's efforts, how, piecing two stories together, they had come up with a viable conclusion about what happened to the ponies of Kelptown, Penelope's home.
The pony in question grew a horrified look once the explanation was complete. Chrysalis, her machinations, how they resulted in not just the disappearance of her fellow denizens of Kelptown, but several other isolated settlements from all over Equestria, abducted to be converted into the diabolic race known as changelings. It was almost too horrible to comprehend.
But, for better or worse, Penelope finally knew what befell her townsponies, after almost a decade of hiding from the unknown truth under the guise of her sister Trixie. But, most of all, she now knew that...
"Anchor, Meek, they are now changelings?" Penelope asked.
"Yes, according to what Princess Celestia had told me," confirmed Rorschach.
"Do they... remember who they are?" Rorschach was about to respond but Celestia, who had approached the bars, spoke up.
"They didn't say at first. But recently it was necessary for myself, my sister, Twilight and her friends to make an incursion into the changeling hive in the Badlands to offer them a new life, one free of the life of conquest instigated by Chrysalis."
Penelope, still partially faded, looked at the princess with a perplexed look. "I... do not understand."
"You recall the events of three years prior, when the changelings first invaded Canterlot?" asked the Princess. Penelope nodded, shivering as she recalled hearing about the events. "Chrysalis met her end that day, and without her the changelings fell into disarray quite rapidly, slowly starving into oblivion. They would have died out, had another individual not taken an interest in their plight and decided to fill in as their master, providing them with an alternative method of feeding that was more benign, with me and the aforementioned party being sent to deliver the offer."
As Princess Celestia explained to Penelope the events surrounding the changelings, Twilight couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as she recalled her role in those events. While it had been Hermaeus Mora who delivered the final blow to the changeling queen, Twilight herself had been left stained by the blood of multiple changelings that day. But, regardless of the fact they had been former ponies, corrupted by the selfish ambitions of a twisted mind, Twilight had no choice but to do what she did, for Equestria.
Though she had a feeling her deal with Hermaeus Mora was most likely going to be a conundrum that was going to trouble her friends for quite some time.
"Though, to convince them to accept their new role, my sister and I had to undermine the unwarranted respect for Chrysalis and her ways that still lingered," continued the Princess. ”But to do so we had to cast a spell that restored their memories of the time when they were ponies.
"After it became apparent that Chrysalis wasn't the strong leader she had made herself out to be, the changelings eventually accepted the offer, and now serve Hermaeus Mora, the Daedra that has infiltrated our world in order to plunder its knowledge, and the changelings now assist him."
Celestia didn't know why, but she felt that knowing at least a vague version of the full story would assist in Penelope's recovery. She didn't want to tread on Rorschach's hooves, but she had yet to tell her the whereabouts of the changelings currently. Though the doctor didn't seem to mind.
Penelope, on the other hoof, was only catching glimpses of the Princess's explanation, mainly of how Anchor and Meek were still around, existing as the changelings known as Pharynx and Thorax. And if they were still around, surely maybe... others from Kelptown were still around too. It... gave her a sense of hope she hadn't felt in a long time.
The effects were instantaneous.
Penelope's form reappeared in all its cyan color, her mane and tail reappearing as the Hopeless Magic was driven from her body.
Celestia, Rorschach, and Twilight were elated once the unicorn became fully visible again. Their efforts had paid off, they had successfully saved this pony from a horrible fate. Now they could move on to the next...
'POOF'
With the sound of a balloon popping the trademark smokescreen Penelope utilized as Trixie to make dramatic exits went off, filling the entire jail with noxious smoke. They all coughed until the smoke cleared, shocked to find that Penelope was gone.
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Twilight, looking at the vacant spot where Penelope was a moment ago with wide eyes.
"How is this possible, her magic was suppressed?" gasped Celestia, also appearing shocked.
"Your majesty!" exclaimed Rorschach, pointing to the floor, where the magic suppression ring rested.
They all gawked at it. These devices were irremovable by the one wearing them, how had Penelope gotten it off?
"The Hopeless Magic!" gasped Twilight in realization, "It must have made her horn partially intangible before we managed to purge it."
"Then let's not waste time," said Rorschach, galloping out the door.
They may have neutralized the Hopeless Magic but Penelope was still in a delicate state. She would need more medical attention after this. It didn't take long to pick up her trail as soon as they exited the jailhouse.
After all, Penelope had made herself quite noticeable to the ponies of Ponyville, especially with her recent exploits with the Alicorn Amulet.
---
Hope.
A fleeting, intangible hope was all Penelope was aware of as she galloped on the road leading out of Ponyville.
She didn't care about recent events, she didn't care about the altered sun still hovering in the sky. All she knew was that, for the first time in a long time, she now had an inkling to where she could find the ponies of Kelptown. Regardless of the morbid nature of the circumstances, all Penelope knew was that she could see those whom she had thought lost forever so long ago.
Even if Anchor and Meek were the only ones truly confirmed.
In fact, that was more than reason enough.
Those two had been the best friends a pony could ask for. They always played together, and, although Meek's talent didn't measure with hers, Anchor was one of the few ponies who could come close to her raw talent, at least in pertaining to anchors. She didn't know how, she didn't know where, but she would find this Hermaeus Mora creature and demand to see those whom she had thought lost. She didn't have a set destination in mind, she didn't even know where to start in tracking this creature down.
All she knew was he was her destination.
---
Celestia, Rorschach, and Twilight were hot on Penelope's heels when Twilight suddenly felt a foreign sensation through her body, her heart stopping cold as she realized what it meant. She skidded to a halt, grabbing Celestia and Rorschach by the tails in her magic, stopping them too.
"Twilight, what is the meaning of this?" complained the Princess, Rorschach mirroring her frustration as their quarry tore out of town.
"Princess..." mumbled Twilight, her tone instilling a bit of nervousness in the Princess as she presented her flank, revealing that the weaving tendrils of Hermaeus Mora that had joined her Cutie Mark some time ago had come to life, coiling and wriggling like snakes upon Twilight's coat.
Celestia looked at the mark as it undulated, her nervousness climbing to the same levels as Twilight, though she was more skilled in concealing them.
"I don't understand, Princess, the patient is getting away!" protested Rorschach, looking between the diminishing Penelope and the animated Cutie Mark, the latter giving her enough pause not to resist, having never seen a phenomenon like this in all her medical career.
"Doctor Rorschach, whenever Twilight or one of her friends' Cutie Marks does something like that it can only mean one thing," explained Celestia, turning to the doctor, unable to suppress a gulp. "Hermaeus Mora is coming."
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I don’t like where this is going. The Daedric Prince’s are about to tear Equestria and Nirn apart.
How many chapters long will this story be?
Glad to see the story starting to circle around. Looking forward to seeing what Hermaeus does next. Though, if I'm not mistaken, the only other time this much emphasis was put on his appearance was when he dragged a mountain sized hive underground.
Of course. He has her friends, and you knew that.
Maybe because her former friends is now under the service of the Daedric Prince that he has to come himself?
And of course, you've caught me in a Silent Hill mood. LOL
The whole sequence in Kelptown had some real Phantoms vibes.
Hopefully Penelope isn't going to regret calling upon the daedra. I suppose the one thing he'll be interested in is her knowledge of sailing - so long as he doesn't kill her for it, she'll... Probably be fine.
11480110
While Hearmaeus is the prince of memory, stolen memories are the domain of another. Celestia has proven capable of restoring memories, but I doubt she can go through the entirety of the remaining changelings looking for a needle in a haystack.
11480332
With the level of coincidence already present, my bet's on Ocellus.
11480371
Also, it has been heavily implied the daedric prince who's domain is stolen memories followed Luna back to Equestria. This would be quite a time to make his appearance. I'm also hoping to see some interaction between two daedric princes, as well as Celestia having a parent/child moment of her own like Luna had with Azura.
Crap, cliffhanger, waiting for the next chapter, I knew I should have waited for the next chapter before checking
Cliffhanger time
Awesome chapter ^^
11518645
Thanks
Please update.
11601233
Will get it done soon
11601248
Yeah, want to finally see what Hermaeus Mora wants with Penelope? ( Who pretends to be her big sister: Trixie, after her rather tragic mental trauma. That is also caused by Chrysalis of all people/Changeling!? Crazy coincidence, is it not? )
https://youtu.be/hiwR67qoMxg?si=q85Gu3i7z5VGRb1c
Is it Safe ? Is it Safe to come out of hiding
Is it Me ? Or is it something Else ?
Is it me , or a somebody else
Is Somebody ? Than Who Would be
Than who would be
Who Exept Me is here so.
So entwined And twisted soul , As Some parts fractures into two
Tell me why ?
What is Happening
exept me it is so entwined and twisted?
Tell me Why?
What Is Going On
Tell Me Why
Tell me Why is Happening
Is it me ? Who walks my Steps?
is it me ? Who is strolling on this Dusty Path?
Tell me Why ? Who walks in my steps
What is going on?
Who is strolling in this dusty Path?
Tell me Why ? What tthe Heck is Going On and on?
As I walk ... looking at the mirror
The Same Eyes ...
The Same Memories
But Still Why ? I don't understand!?
But Still Why? Why some fades away?
Was it hopeless...? To be in this path...
We walk on two ... Without knowing it .
As I walk alone ... Without knowing shedding tears
Without Knowing, Than I'm bleeding from inside
As Walking, in Delusion,
Of Myself
That I'm fine
Without knowing I'm not .
I feel Fine , Under anesthesia
as something Flashes where in the distance
As I walk in, The Echo is ghosting
As I Walk in , Hearing the Void from somewhere
As I don't know where
Or Why I hear it
as s it goes As normal.
Hearing The Void
Without knowing....
Who is there
It's a Shards of Splitting hearths
But the Soul still is strong.
As it Nothing happened
As I walking , Mummefied , in unseen bandages
As I walk in, maybe feel something else.
I don't know? It's muted too much to know
As I walk in , Hoping for a Shinning day to light
Who is That , That is the Questioning