For most ponies, their mind formed a House of Memories. Those with more training against mind-altering effects or just more willpower had their House take the form of a castle or a fortress, but in the end, they all represented the same thing. Certain memories like their childhood years and muscle memory formed a ‘bedrock’ that held the House up, with the metaphorical building constructed from this same ‘bedrock’.
Inside the House were several wings filled with various types of memories, split by type. Those more vivid and routinely used were closer to the entrance of the wing, while those that were mostly faded were far deeper. Those memories which were more traumatic in nature had their own wing, for both safety and due to their habit of resurfacing at the worst time.
Unfortunately, the House of Memories Luna floated over was in a bad state. When Luna first dreamwalked into Storm’s mind, the House was composed in a style reminiscent of a country house that one would see in Hoofington. Now it looked like a twisted fusion of a country house and one from the Crystal, all originating from a cracked mess jammed into the roof.
Approaching closer, Luna saw that it was not a simple jumble of crystal, but what looked like a large gem that shattered into pieces as it collided into Storm’s mind. Several large pieces sat on the roof, slowly crushing the House under it and no doubt causing Storm immense mental pain. A hooffull of smaller pieces looked like they had broken into the house and disappeared within.
Thankfully the gem wasn’t too large, Flurry Heart hadn’t had too many memories before she died. Luna frowned at the fact that was technically a good thing at this moment and shook her head in distaste as she flew closer to the mass, landing on the roof before one of the larger masses.
“This is why one doesn’t cast memory spells without being absolutely sure they’re necessary, Twilight,” Luna grumbled under her breath, her voice ringing out into the otherwise empty space.
One couldn’t simply destroy a memory, not even a pony of Luna’s magical prowess could do such a feat. Or at least not without potentially causing a great deal of damage to the mind of the memory’s owner. Memories and the experiences held within them helped make up a large part of a pony’s personality and outlook on life, to destroy them or excessively alter them could hold grave and unknown consequences.
So instead Luna was forced to go about it the hard way: manually cast the added memories to their proper place so Storm could begin the road to recovery. Having these additional memories will still have consequences, but that was something that Luna and Storm could tackle together versus this conundrum.
Luna began with grabbing the larger chunks of crystal, lifting them in her magic with surprising ease. The memories contained within were vital in any other pony, but to a pony who already lived far longer than Flurry, they were comparatively smaller than normal. With the larger crystals in her magical grip, Luna flew down towards the bedrock of the House, where memories of a baby would usually go.
First up came the memories of Flurry Heart’s first days with her parents, full of love and life. Looking at the crystal fragments Luna could see through Flurry’s POV Cadance, Shining, and other ponies doting on the baby alicorn. The love on their faces was clear for all to see and Luna fought back tears at the knowledge that the object of that unconditional love was forever lost.
Pressing the crystal to the bedrock of Storm’s own childhood allowed it to slip into its natural place, finding its home next to Storm’s own childhood memories. For a brief moment, Luna could see a glimpse of the difference between the two, Storm’s childhood being more of a singular love from her mother while her father remained emotionally distant.
Luna filed that information away and continued her work, slowly merging the added memories to sit next to Storm’s ones. Flurry’s Chrystalling, where her cries and uncontained alicorn magic destroyed the Crystal Heart found a home next to the memory of Storm accidentally breaking a vase and angering her father. Flurry being given Whammy, the stuffed snail stuffed animal, sat next to Storm getting a teddy bear from an uncle. And so on and so forth.
Eventually, Luna ran out of Flurry’s memories, there was only so much a year old pony could remember after all. But Storm’s House was still damaged, the structure not repairing itself as it should now that it was free from the haphazardly added memories. Luna frowned and flew through one of the holes in the ceiling, entering the House itself in spite of the potential dangers of such an act.
Luna landed on a carpeted hallway, the walls made of brick supported by timber while the floor itself was constructed of crystalline material. Dozens of doors resided within the hallway, made of wood, crystal, and other materials. Luna started heading down the hallway, both ears up to hear any potential sound as she checked each door. Each of them led to a hall of memories, be it food or accidents, or hobbies.
Luna frowned at the apparent silence of the House, the only sound the muffled clopping of her hooves on the carpeted floor. Usually, there would be some type of custodians mending the structure, or the pony themself in cases like this where they retreated into their mind. But no, there was nothing but deafening silence.
After what felt like an eternity Luna began shouting Storm’s name as she searched for the filly, but received no response. Instead, the Lunar Princess came to a set of stairs descending down into what seemed like an abyss, the sound of crying echoing out from the depths. Luna sighed and began to descend the stairs, a small part of her mind reminded of the hundreds of steps Sombra installed in the Crystal Empire.
The crying got louder the more she descended until she reached a large oak door. Luna had only seen doors this large in Canterlot Castle and other locations regularly visited by Celestia, built large enough that she wouldn’t have to bend down to fit through. Taking a closer look Luna noticed that it wasn’t an Equestrian style that she recognized, it resembled something more from Storm’s memory of ‘Earth’.
Luna took that as a hopefully good sign and opened the door with a gentle push, gasping at the sight within. Storm was curled up on the floor crying, her chest and the surrounding floor covered in blood. At the entrance of the door in front of Luna was the frozen figure of Twilight, her face a mask of rage as her horn glowed with magic. Lying behind Storm was the frozen form of a changeling, screaming in pain as it cradled its front right hoof. Or to be more accurate, the burnt wreck of a leg missing a hoof and a fair chunk of the leg itself.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what memory Storm had lost herself in, the memory of Flurry Heart’s death. While Storm had watched her life on Earth end, Luna had been careful to ensure that Storm would not feel what the memory showed. What Twilight had done had no safety guards like that, however, so Storm had no doubt felt every moment of her past life’s death.
Luna hissed in rage at this knowledge, her horn crackling slightly in an instinctive response to her emotions. She shook her head, dissipating the energy with a thought before stepping into the room proper. Storm did not seem to notice the Lunar Princess enter, continuing to cry until Luna sat next to the filly. A simple brush of Storm’s pink mane got her attention with a startled squeak.
Storm looked up to her aunt with a confused look, wiping her tear-soaked face with one hoof. “What are you doing here Princess Luna?” Her ears quickly flicked back in apprehension. “Are you here to try to make me Flurry Heart too? I don’t want anyone else messing with my mind.”
“Don’t worry Storm, I promise I have no intention of doing such a thing.” Luna shook her head for emphasis. “I merely came to help you. In whatever form you want that to take.”
“Storm....” The filly frowned, her brow furrowing in concentration. “Is that who I’m supposed to be? I can’t really remember, everything feels so jumbled. Flurry, Storm, Flurry, Storm, it's like a weird mix of names and identities.”
“Storm, listen to me.” Luna used a hoof to scoop Storm into a hug, holding her close with one wing. “Despite Twilight’s insistence, Flurry is dead and gone. You may hold her body and now her memories, but you do not have to force yourself to be somepony you’re not.”
“T-then who should I be?” Storm nuzzled into Luna’s coat, keeping her gaze from the frozen statue of Twilight. “I also died in the human world, not like I can pretend to be who I was before. Especially since I’m not exactly in the same body anymore.”
“A fair point as well.” Luna considered the conundrum for a moment before nodding to herself. “Then you should figure out who you want to be yourself. Do not worry about what other ponies want you to be, explore your interests and become the pony you want to be.”
Storm sniffled before muttering under her breath. “Better said than done thanks to Twilight.”
Luna couldn’t hold back a grimace before using a hoof to turn Storm’s head to make eye contact. “Forget Twilight Sparkle. She tried to force you to be somepony you’re not. I promise I will make sure nopony does that to you again.”
Storm nodded slowly before looking back down at the ground. “So what now? I go and stay with Rarity or Fluttershy or something? Or do I go back to Flurry’s parents?”
“No.” Luna shook her head, her decision made in her heart long before her brain caught up to the words coming out of her mouth. “If you are comfortable with it, you will live with me. I will adopt you as my own daughter.”
Storm pulled back, her mouth hanging open in shock. “I-I don’t know if I want to be a princess, that’s a lot to take in.”
Luna couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “You are too young to worry about such a thing as royal status. We can discuss such a thing when you’re older, do not worry. So, what do you think?”
Storm looked to the side, the gears in her brain turning. “Are you going to make me move around like I’ve been doing the past few days thanks to Twilight? I don’t think I’ve slept in the same bed for more than one day. Heck, I think the only real bed I’ve slept in was a hospital bed.”
“No, no.” Luna shook her head, aghast at the news. “While we would have to travel for foreign affairs, you do not have to come if you don’t wish, and you will always be by my side.”
Storm’s brow remained furrowed for a minute before she slowly nodded. “I accept Princess Luna.” Storm looked up with a somewhat amused face. “I never thought I’d say this, but I would be happy if you adopted me. You are one of the few ponies to accept me without any problems and truly care for the real me. Thank you.” Storm hugged Luna tightly before pausing for a moment. “Wait, do I need a pony name?”
“Only if you want one. Storm is a simple but fine name if you wish to keep it.” Luna gave her ward a gentle smile. “Although if you wish to change it, you are welcome to do so. I can offer an addition if you want.”
Storm nodded, her eyebrow quirked up in curiosity. “What do you have in mind? I mean if you’re serious about adopting me you are going to be my mom so I think you have first dibs on that.”
Luna let out a gentle chuckle. “Considering the season you were reborn in, I was thinking along the lines of ‘Summer Storm’.”
Storm gave an enthusiastic grin at the name. “I’ll take it. New name new me and all that.”
Luna nodded, her smile growing at the adorableness of the grin. “Then come on Summer Storm, we have a lot of work to do. First stop: Crystal Empire so you can meet your Aunt Celestia.”
Storm nodded, following Luna out of the room, albeit on the other side of the alicorn from Twilight Sparkle. Once they exited the memory Luna used her magic to close the door behind them, locking the traumatic memory away where it could hopefully never hurt Storm again. Above them, Luna could hear the sounds of the House slowly repairing itself now that the owner wasn't mentally paralyzed. Her work was as finished as it could be.
Luna's horn glowed for a moment as she pulled herself and her new child out of the mindscape and back into the real world. To face whatever troubles would arise together.
Directly narrating in-universe information is always bad. Every time you get the urge to tell your audience some fact about the world, think to yourself "How can this information be delivered either through dialogue, or inference given character experience?"
For example, in that last chapter you could have had Luna bring along someone to help her, allowing you to explain things through an audience stand in. Or you could have had Luna talk to herself as she worked, and made notes aloud along the way.
I love this chapter Great job can wait for the next one
Indexes repaired, defragmentation in progress. Segmentation fault resolved. Resume executive.
Meeting Shining and Cadance is going to be so awkward....
Very nice.
I hope to see some real consequences for Twilight's actions. She has too much power for someone so impulsive.
I wonder how the adoption is going to go down with Cadance and Shining Armor.
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Im hopeing she gets forced to go through guard training with boot camp and everything. it seems the best option that wouldent be pure punishment and be trying to fix the problem that caused this.
Also while twilight might get punished we do have to remember that she has paid a price we dont know yet and untill we know what the price was we should proberbly wait and see about other punishment.
I do like Luna adopting storm and that celestia might not approve but will have to admit that luna is the best caretaker for storm.
It just occurred to me that I dont think starlight has been mentioned yet
... well that was a quick recovery from a mental breakdown.
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well she did a have thousand and some year old magic therapist helping and technically the brain of a child they usually recover better then adults its also probably not quite over
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Considering, she's factually is a guardian of realm, throughout guard and battle training would be highly beneficial.
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Sooo, I know you have been kept in the dark about the whereabouts of your daughter.
Well, you're sister killed, then resurrected her.
Now I'm adopting the unholy creature possessing the aged up body of your child.
hmm i think Twilight is gonna have just a few small problems....
And there goes the Crystal family. So many chances to fix what was left, only to completely break the salvagable. Would Cadence and Shining still be a mother and father?
Glad to get the followup chapter so fast!
This is pretty good
files.everypony.ru/smiles/eb/9e/195fe6.png - Twilight, I came here to save Storm and kick your ass. As you can see, I have already saved Storm.
files.everypony.ru/smiles/57/c9/11a7e5.png - Now I have a daughter. Although, this issue still needs to be resolved with Cadence, but I don't think she will mind much when she finds out the whole story.
files.everypony.ru/smiles/f1/74/05f09b.png - Aunt Luna, I hope you won't be too cruel to me.
A good chapter, I expect to continue.
I wonder how Cadance and Shining Armor would react to Luna's adoption of
Flurry HeartStormSummer Storm. Considering she's in Flurry Heart's body and she technically is, or was Flurry Heart's soul.Something i think im putting too much thought into is thinking about what price you will or have had twilight pay for flurrys revival. The only two i can see at the moment working is twilights destiny and link to the element of magic being given to storm due to it being taken from twilight leaving her without a cutiemark. or a slightly more messed up one of twilight loosing the ability to have kids of her own to revive flurry.
I dont think the tree would be too extreme but i am interested in where this point goes
I think it could be a good idea the sequel, as long as you don't burn yourself. I wonder if we will see Storm facing Twilight or if she will be traumatized and what the others are going to do.
from now on it's going to be either great or shit.
how are they going to deal with fallout. it needed to be at least consistence with pre-tirek seasons. like Trixie get away with enslaves an entire town and discord got second chance after all brainwashing and terraforming he did.
would author do more retcon or work something out? maybe some incredible conclusion going to happened. maybe it's downhill from here.
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equestria empire going to break into piece USSR style lol.
I just finished the 18 chapters so far, and I have only one major gripe: Storm is awfully childish for a supposed human adult. I guess it could be explained away with the 'fatherly abuse', but it just seems a bit of a disconnect. Even in the body of a child, certain things such as maturity would persist. Emotions from the child body may temper that maturity slightly, but that wouldn't change the development. You brought it up in previous chapters their feelings impacting their behavior (saving the CMC first, for example), but they're overall behavior is indicative of someone who never really grew up and is happy to relive their childhood.
Is that what you are going for? That Storm is emotionally stunted from the abuse? If so, then maybe a bit of expansion on it in later chapters would go a long way (or maybe even adding more mature moments to help flesh out their character). If not, then I'm thoroughly confused on what you are intending.
Loving the story so far and can't wait to see how all of this plays out.
I think Twilight has managed to successfully piss off just about everyone she knows by this point.
I dunno, maybe Tom the Boulder is still cool with her.
My only question is if we're going to get a resolution as to what happened to lock down the CE in this story or the next one.
As for Twilight, she's just going to have to lie down in the bed she made and hope that the adage 'time heals all wounds' will play out for her.
i want to see Twilight get her comeuppance
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Bad news: Your sister accidentally killed your infant daughter.
Good news: She brought her back to life with magic.
Bad news: The pony she brought back to life isn't your daughter in spirit.
Good news: She remembers you and your unconditional love for her.
Bad news: Your aunt is adopting her for some reason?????
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I imagine even the most well adjusted adult would have a hard time remaining composed or unaffected if they were put in the body of a child. Physiologically, Storm now has a brain that's developing and I'd expect them to feel the strong emotions and impulsiveness children feel.
Omg killin your own niece now that’s what i (slightly expected) but was still kinda shocked
Oooh I can’t wait for parents reaction that’s gonna be sooo sick
Keep up the good work story is really intriguing 👍
I like this chapter a lot. I'm also looking forward to what happens next and to the sequel you mentioned in the A/N.
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I did mention the impact of youthful emotions in my post, but I can understand what you are saying. Maybe I'm an alien or something, because I can't see myself freaking out in the same manner. Probably a me problem given my autism and philosophical fluidity.
I didn't consider your other point before, so thank you for that. It would explain away the childishness as a defensive mechanism meant to cope with the new situation, perfectly understandable. I don't like it that they would probably undergo a permanent regression, but it is sadly a reality that many people aren't philosophically mature enough to prevent such regression. Hell, once upon a time I too went through something (arguably) traumatic that took years to get over, but I ended up going the other way in terms of development after a lot of self-reflection. I guess the idea of going backwards became alien to me with my new outlook on life.
Thanks for reminding me of the experiences of others.
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Yeah, the whole autism thing really messes with this subject. For me, the way I thought back then doesn't come across as different to the way I think now, only the latter has far more info to work with.
From what I've learned of neurotypicals though, that doesn not apply to them. Their thought processes are more rooted in emotion (which doesn’t necessarily mean they're less logical overall mind you), and thus more susceptible to the hormonal differences that physical age affects.
Though that does raise a thought: would we, who've grown up with autism, deal well with a child body that doesn't have its physical characteristics? After all, our brains aren't just metaphorically different from neurotypicals, but physically as well.
Thank goodness Storm is getting away from Twilight. We all would love to know what punishment she'll get for
manpony-slaughter and forcing a memory altering spell on someone who said "no."The theory that Flurry's parents (Shining/Cadence) are dead is starting to hold more water.
Why else would Luna say...
...instead of "...so you can meet your biological parents."
Oh man, Luna's making it real difficult to break all this to Shining and Cadence.
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Don't forget the Crystal Empire was covered in a shield for some unknown reason. I imagine getting Storm to meet Cadence and Shining would be difficult.
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11179984
I'm also on the spectrum. I don't think I'd be freaking out either but for different reasons.
Though I'm not sure how a second childhood would go for me since I was never diagnosed until adulthood. I learned to mask at a very young age.
I an loving this so far I thought you would have given her the name Storm heart as a way to show both lives as one can't wait to see what next
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If you are sitting on a bike you can feel the speed through the air on your skin, your vision and so on. If you sit in a train you can't. Flying and a train ride are vastly different.
11181419
After such a thing happens and they just found out that realy happend it might take them a few days to work through the news that their freind:
1. Tecnicly killed a child
2. did not trust them enough to tell them about it
3. If i read it properly they were both told that storm wasent flurry and what twilight did at once so it is quite a alot they have to prossess to understand what has happend completly
While twilights actions were understantable in the case of flurry about to be kidnapped she did blast with a shot that did go right through flurry so it is resonable to assume twilight is gonna be talked to not just about her actions in terms of hiding her accidentil murder but also why she used such a powerfull shot while the changling had flurry. So yea twilight getting a dressing down from her fellow royals and family is expected and also might be required to go on a course or something about combat training
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I'm not talking about the later actions. Of course she's going to face some serious sanctions for what she did to Storm, and training on combat is a good idea (shocking she hasn't already - Rarity certainly has, as demonstrated in S1E2 and S9E24). In the short run, just about the fight where Flurry died, I'd think that RD and FS would be able to see her side of it very, very quickly.
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That likely will have to be brought up at one point and i do agree that i think raindow and fluttershy would agree that it was an accident and might be willing to forgive their freind for that but all the events before and after storms revival will need to be talked about between all of them. All in all i dont think any of them will 100% support what twilight did but with some talking between them they will be able to understant to the point where they can all begin to workout what to do from there
You have no idea how happy I am to see this. Sure, it toon a while to get here, but we got here. I am so tired of seeing displaced humans in these stories just go along with being some other character instead of asserting their true identity. Finally, our protagonist can exist in Equestria as himself, and I love it. Please continue this story with our hero at the helm!
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dont forget that the spells twilight used were either
1. learned from celestia
2. spells learned from places she was given acess to though her being celestias student
In other word while twilight might have most of the blame we cant ignore that celestia did give her either directly or indirectly these spells so luna is gonna need to talk to her sister about that. especisaly when it seems both her students were taught mind control and manipulation spells if sunsets plan was the same in this story (mindcontrol teenagers). All in all celestia has alot to answer about along side twilight
Man... while i want to try to understand Twilight's point of view she hurt Storm over and over again while justifying it to herself as "the right thing to do."
Rarity, the CMCs, and Luna are great tho.
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I'm guessing after she became a princess there was no place she wasn't allowed and they assumed that she was mature enough to understand the dangers that come with certain spells and the value of listening to others. She of all people should understand that considering the wedding.
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You have a dislike on your comment. I'm a bit OCD, so I shall give you a like just to even it out to 50/50.
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I have extended family members that I no longer associate with for this very reason. Once or twice is understandable, but when it happens over and over and over again... Well, just because you forgive someone doesn't mean you give them the opportunity to hurt you again. As an example; just because a pedophile is remorseful and sorry doesn't mean you leave them in a room with a kid with no supervision.
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This is like be depressed people wish you to be o e way and try to force it, but that not how it works. It took me a bit and some proper medicine to even feel right in the head. Still have my bouts, but working out also helps.
A lot of this section closely resembles Thomas Harris’ description of Hannibal Lecter’s “memory palace” in his novels.