Reliving Memories

by Brilorodion

7: Ambitions and Answers

“How could you betray my trust? It was because of your promise that I left my position in the first place!”

Celestia went over to her sister and gave her a little nudge. “Calm down, Lu. Everything is fine.”

“That is not our – my point,” Luna said, still breathing heavily. When she had woken up, she had seen Celestia through her window which meant that the older sister wasn’t around to personally protect Twilight. Luna had immediately jumped out of her bed to confront Celestia.

“Nothing is fine,” Luna muttered, shaking her head.

“The guards are keeping an eye open,” Celestia responded. “If anything happens, I will know, trust me.”

“Trust you? You lied to me! Moreover, your guards would not even bother reporting anything unless it is somepony bursting through the door with a spell at the ready! They don’t care about Twilight, and apparently neither do you,” Luna said. She turned around to face the open balcony door of Celestia’s room. “Forgive me if I mistrust our guards at the time. Maybe you have already forgotten, but one of those guards is the main suspect for the attack. Tell me, what crisis is it that has befallen Equestria such that you could not do me a favor for once?”

“There isn’t a crisis, just usual governing business, and I know these guards. They have been working for me for years, some even decades,” Celestia said. She sighed. “Yes, maybe I lied, but it was a white lie. You should have seen yourself. You were so exhausted, you could barely walk in a straight line. Still stubborn as always, though, so you kept insisting on staying there. It was the only way to make you get some sleep.”

“Governing business,” Luna snorted. “You cannot be serious.”

“Lu...”

“Do not call me ‘Lu.’ I am not your little filly sister anymore; I rule the night. Twilight's well-being is the most important thing to me, and you reject it as irrelevant,” Luna said, opening her wings to leave. “Do not assume this conversation is finished; I must go protect Twilight at the hospital. I will be at the hospital.”

“She isn’t at the hospital anymore,” Celestia said.

Luna clenched her teeth and snapped back to face Celestia. “What did you say? She has been at the hospital for barely three days!”

“Five days. She was released earlier today, and she’s staying at her old room at the top of the east tower – her decision, not mine. You’ve been asleep for almost forty hours, Luna. I was worried,” Celestia said.

She didn’t get a response. Luna had darted off, flying towards Twilight’s room. Gazing after her, Celestia whispered, “Oh Lu… That temper of yours… Please don’t let it cause any trouble.”

---

“Open the door.”

“Yes, my Lord,” the guard answered. He grabbed the key he was wearing around his neck and began to unlock the door of the guestroom.

Fading Light sighed. I can’t believe I’m wasting my time on him. “Any changes?”

“Um… he is…” the guard struggled for words and paused.

“Get moving. I know what his condition is,” Fading Light said, unnerved. “I only asked for changes.”

“No change, my Lord,” the guard replied, opening the door.

Entering the room and closing the door behind him, Fading Light said to the guard, “No interruptions.”

Looking around, Fading Light quickly found who he was looking for. His former assistant, Hopeful Vision, sat on the large bed, facing the window on the other side of the room. In one hoof, he held the blanket; with the other hoof, he made movements as if he was stitching, even though he didn’t have a needle.

Stepping closer, Fading Light said, “Even I couldn’t entirely predict the outcome. Taking control of another pony and being forcefully disconnected in the moment of his death... then the punishment. Let’s see if there’s anything left of you.”

Walking around the other pony to face him, he noticed the empty gaze of Hopeful Vision. The wounds were barely visible anymore; somepony had apparently taken care of them. Fading Light had been off the wall when his assistant had been brought before him that evening.

“Tell me, fool, what your plan was.”

Hopeful Vision maintained his silence.

Fading Light felt his anger rising. “Where did you keep your notes? You wouldn’t have done it without notes.”

Again, the other pony didn’t react.

“What did you tell them?”

Fading Light couldn’t hold himself back anymore, and used his magic to slap Hopeful Vision in the face, whereupon the silent pony fell over.

“Don’t even have the will to fight back? Pathetic.”

Getting back up, Hopeful Vision started stitching again, but this time he reacted. “Mustn’t interrupt me. Have to finish the blanket for the Lord. He’ll get angry.”

“I never told you to do anything like that. Stitching? Ha. Is there really so little left of your mind?” Fading Light asked. “Looks like thoughts of the pony you were controlling are polluting your mind… Interesting, but irrelevant for now. What did you tell them?”

Once more, he was met with silence. Smiling grimly, he said, “So pain is the way to make you move, isn’t it? I don’t see a problem then. You almost cost me everything, foal!”

With a short glow of his horn, he hit Hopeful Vision with a bolt of magic again which made the unicorn fall off the bed. “What did you tell them?”

“Did… didn’t want to tell,” the other pony stammered. “Wasn’t allowed to. Just slipped out.”

This time hitting him with his hoof, Fading Light noticed a disturbance outside of the door. Muffled voices were arguing. He decided against taking a look and instead shouted at the unicorn in front of him, “What? What slipped out? What did you tell them?”

A small trail of blood ran down from Hopeful Vision’s muzzle. Still gazing into space, he said, “N-name of Lord. Couldn’t say more, didn’t want to say more. Must get back to work, finish blanket. ‘Hoofstitched is better than using magic,’ Lord said.”

“My name…” Fading Light said, his heart beating faster for a moment. There is but one pony who could make use of it. It doesn’t matter. It has been… a while. The worst thing my name could do is cause fear. He shook his head. He had been careful enough, and without traces it wouldn’t be a problem. There were still questions left, so he continued to hit the unicorn.

“Where are your notes?”

“No notes. Everything in head. Didn’t tell anyone,” Hopeful Vision said. Now looking up and into Fading Light’s face, he added, “I just wanted to help you, my Lord.” Then he climbed back onto the bed and began to stitch again.

“Help me,” Fading Light snorted. “You would have helped if you had followed my instructions. I should have disposed of you just for your insolence of using my magic – my spells – without permission. Why do you think I have a puppeteer’s bar as a cutie mark? Because I’m good with marionettes? Even I haven’t met somepony with a similar talent, somepony capable of understanding, and I have seen more things than you could even imagine.”

Fading Light turned around and went towards the door. Before he reached it, he said, “You didn’t have to end like this. You were a good assistant once, but your actions doomed you. You deserve this. Nopony will interfere with my plan. I have waited too long.”

He left the room and found the reason for the disturbance earlier. Having closed the door behind him, he now faced Lucent Aura, his current assistant.

Ignoring her, he turned towards the guard and said, “Take care of him later: swiftly, safely, but with dignity.”

Starting to walk towards his private rooms, he noticed that his assistant was following him silently. Without stopping his movement, he asked, “What is it, Aura?”

She caught up with him and apparently struggled to find the right words. “I just… thought we – I mean, you could… maybe… let him live?”

Fading Light raised an eyebrow. “Why should I? He answered my questions, one way or another.”

Aura winced under his last words. “Maybe there is more! Maybe he discovered something important… He was doing research all the time.”

“Aura, there is no way you can deceive me,” Fading Light said with a stern voice. “I would prefer honesty from my assistant. You have been treating his wounds, you have been causing trouble when I was interrogating him, and now you want me to let the fool live. The fool who jeopardized my plan.” He stopped walking and looked at her with knitted eyebrows. “Why do you want me to do that?”

“I… I’m sorry. Vision and I, I think we were… friends,” Lucent Aura said, her ears dropping. “I can take care of him. I could take him to my home, you wouldn’t even have to pay for him!”

Fading Light sighed. They all still believe in this. Her brainwashing worked great on all these ponies. “Aura, friendship doesn’t solve every problem. Not like certain ponies want to make you believe. I thought you were beyond this.”

“I–”

“He will not leave that room. He will not contact anyone outside. You will take care of him. You will not let your other tasks slide. You will not mention him again unless there is any vital information he delivered. Again: he will not leave that room. If any of you two break these rules, he will die and you will either end up like he is now or die with him. Have I made myself clear?”

“Yes, my Lord. Perfectly clear,” Aura said, a tiny smile forming on her face. “You won’t know he’s there, and I’ll make sure there won’t be any problem.”

“That would be wise of you.”

---

With a few flaps of her wings, Luna quickly left Celestia’s balcony behind her. The cooling wind in her mane while flying helped Luna to clear her mind while she kept an eye on the tower where Twilight was staying.

There is hope. In time, she might remember, she kept telling herself. Although she was reciting it like a mantra in her mind, the low spirits returned. What if she will never remember? Will we get a second chance? She even rejected her friends! She could not even remember me...

Delving into darker thoughts again, Luna decided to repress her fears for now and landed near Twilight’s room. She took a deep breath and knocked; a few seconds later, Spike opened the door.

“Luna! It sure is good to see you,” he said, waving her to enter.

“Hello, Spike,” Luna replied. She took a quick look at her surroundings which were covered in dozens of books. “How are you? How… how is Twilight?”

“I’m fine,” Spike said. “But can you talk some sense into her? I’ve tried, but she’s so stubborn. Books are all she knows.”

“I will talk to her, but the outcome is uncertain. ‘Tis the second time I will meet her after what happened. She did not recognize me the first time.”

Spike wrinkled his forehead. “But maybe she will now! You were important to her, Luna. Oh, is it okay if I leave for a while? I need to buy some scrolls, ink and other stuff for her.”

“‘Tis not a problem at all,” Luna said. Having some time just with Twilight could be a start.

“Great. I’ll see you later, then! Bye, Luna!” Spike said, leaving the room.

“Good bye, Spike.”

The door closed behind the young dragon, and Luna was alone with Twilight in the room. She walked over to the largest pile of books near the shelves where she found the other mare, who was too lost in her book to be aware of her visitor.

“Hello, Twilight,” Luna said quietly.

Twilight seemed to be startled. “What… Oh, it’s you. Hi. Princess Luna was it?”

The question stung Luna, but she tried to ignore it. “Just Luna.” Forcing a smile, she added, “Even though you may not remember me, you are a princess, too.”

Twilight glanced at her wings disapprovingly. “Yes, thanks for the reminder. What can I do for you?”

“I… I was just checking on you. To see how you are, if you need any help. To provide protection.”

“Oh, so it was you who was responsible for the magic at the hospital?” Twilight asked, sounding annoyed. “I had headaches for two days after you left. Was that really necessary?”

“You had been attacked,” Luna said. “I had to ensure nothing else could happen to you!”

“Okay, nothing else happened, and I wasn’t really able to concentrate on my books. I am now, fortunately.”

Pawing the ground with her right front hoof, Luna said, “I am sorry to have caused you problems. So… how are you? Are any memories coming back yet?”

“I’m fine,” Twilight said. She sighed, grabbed a bookmark and closed her book. “Look… thanks for looking after me. Apparently you care a great deal about me, and although I can’t really believe it, according to my former friends we had a thing for each other. I don’t remember you, and I understand that this is hard. But given the fact that my memories aren’t coming back, it’s probably better for you to move on. I have to catch up on everything I learned during the last four years. I just can’t use my time to get to know you and everypony else again now.”

Taking a deep breath, Twilight added, “I’m sorry, but this is how it is. I… I’m sure you’ll get over it in time, and one day, you’ll find somepony else.”

Luna closed her eyes and tried to ignore the tight feeling in her chest. She wasn't sure how much time she let pass and what Twilight might think, but she needed a few minutes to regain her composure. You can do this, Luna. You had to expect something like this. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes; Twilight was still sitting in front of her.

“Twilight, I...” Luna tried. She wanted to argue with Twilight, but something else disrupted her train of thought.“'Former friends'?”

“What else should I call these apparently crazy ponies?” Twilight asked. “I can't remember any of them, so it's like I've never met them at all. I can't be friends with somepony I don't even know, and I can't procrastinate just to spend time with them. I mean, maybe I could, but actually, I don't want to right now. All this information on being a princess and alicorns is really fascinating!”

Luna's jaw along with her ears dropped slightly. “You... do not even want to...? Twilight, it does not matter what happened to you, nor what you and I share...d. We are all still your friends!”

“Not according to the information presented in my books. 'Friendship is a reciprocal relation between two individuals based on several variables like affection, sympathy, altruism’,” Twilight quoted the book in front of her. “The list goes on and on, so it’s quite a lot to work through. As you can see, I'm very familiar with the subject, and I think I'm making good progress with my studies.”

“Oh Twilight... Friendship does not blossom based on variables or formulas,” Luna said with a sigh.

“Why not? If you know all the essential variables, you can find a formula for everything. And if friendship really is magic like some of these books indicate, it's even easier. All magic follows rules; there's a formula for every spell,” Twilight said. Slowly falling back into her 'lecture mode', she got up and walked over to the chalkboard at the other end of the room. “Every spell uses a certain amount of energy. Contrary to what most unicorns believe, this is no flat amount of energy, but a varying amount dependent on the spell caster's experience and skill. Since the beginning of research in this field, there have been many attempts to calculate the exact amount of energy needed for particular spells, although Spark Jolt’s researches showed that...”

Luna didn't hear her anymore. When Twilight had started her lecture, Luna had turned around and left. Flying circles above Canterlot Castle to let the cool air in her mane calm her down, she squinched her eyes shut to suppress the tears.

I have to undo this. And somepony will pay for doing this to her!

---

A long corridor, dimly lit by magical green torches. The walls made of countless long and flat bricks, forming a barrel vault instead of a flat ceiling. Worn-down tops of large boulders creating the floor, a drop of water breaking the silence now and then. On the right, several wooden doors with iron fittings broke through the wall, each leading to a single small room with nothing but a stone cot.

Pictures like theses came up when Luna thought about somepony being imprisoned. It was the memory of the prison cells in the Castle of the Two Sisters a long time ago. In fact, they hadn’t been used for centuries even before Luna’s banishment, but ponykind had not always been as civilized as now, and the memory of ponies in that dungeon had haunted her for decades.

Where she was heading now, though, was disgusting in its own way.

A guest room at the palace. She let them put him into a guest room. He is being charged with high treason, and my dearest sister lets him stay in a guest room… I don’t care if Canterlot does not have a prison anymore. Chain him to the ground in a deep hole! Now he gets a nice, soft mattress and a warm chimney fire. He attacked Twilight!

Luna was still panting with rage when she reached a particular guest room of Canterlot Castle a few moments later. Two ponies, a unicorn and a pegasus, guarded the ornate door, standing on each side of the red carpet.

“Sergeant, open the door,” Luna said.

“Nopony is allowed to enter except Princess Celestia, who gave the order,” the pegasus replied. Her voice was determined, but revealed a certain insecurity.

“Who do you think I am,” Luna asked quietly as to conceal her anger.

“But Princess Celestia said… well… of course, Your Highness,” the pegasus said. She pulled out a key beneath her armor and opened the door.

Luna entered the room and closed the door with a quick glow of her horn. She looked across the room and quickly found the pony she was looking for. Morning Sentry was sitting near a window with his back turned towards the door. His ears pricked up when he noticed that somepony entered the room, but other than that, he didn't move.

“And what is it now, captain?” the unicorn asked. “Another round of ‘let's torture the pony who's life is falling apart with questions he can't answer? Or maybe it's you, Princess Celestia, Your Highness. As long as you can't explain what happened, I can't either. I have told you everything I know.”

His cynicism caught Luna off guard. How dare he be annoyed by this situation? He should be chained to the wall in the lowest dungeon for what he did to my Twilight! With Celestia's excessive need to show mercy, he will probably not even be punished properly! Before Luna could say a word, he continued talking.

“If it's not about some formality for the trial,” he sighed and slowly turned around. “I don't know what else... Princess Luna! What are you d... um, I mean... Your Highness!” he stammered before he took a bow.

“There is no need for such formalities,” Luna said with a cold voice. “You and I both know why I am here.”

“But... well, um, I already told Princess Celestia everything I know and remember.”

“I am not my sister, whelp!” Luna said with a louder voice, flicking her tail.

“I'm sorry, Your Highness,” Morning Sentry said. “I just thought–“

“You will leave the thinking to me. Tell me, Morning Sentry, what made you think an attack on somepony, especially a princess, would be a good idea,” Luna continued. She took a step closer towards the unicorn.

“I didn't–“

“Furthermore, what was your plan?” Luna said even louder than before, taking another step towards the other pony.

“I wasn't–“

“And what exactly,” Luna stomped her hoof to enunciate her point, her voice bordering on screaming at the pony before her, “did you do to Princess Twilight?”

“I didn't do it!”

“'TIS A LIE!” Luna shouted.

Somepony knocked on the door and a second later, the pegasus guard peeked through the half-opened door.

“Princess Luna, is everything alright?” she asked.

“Nothing is fine,” Luna replied without turning her head away from Morning Sentry. “But what troubles me is none of your concern. You should return to your post.”

The pegasus’ ears fell flat and she said, “If you say so… Um, if you need any help, just say the word. We’re right outside.” Then she closed the door again.

“Back to you, then,” Luna said, taking another step towards Morning Sentry; she was now towering over him like a mountain over a village.

“Princess Luna, I am not lying. I didn’t attack Princess Twilight willingly,” Morning Sentry said and sighed. “For my whole life, I wanted to become a palace guard. It was my dream. I can’t even tell you how happy I was when the captain finally told me that I would go on duty to guard a princess. But then… I don’t know what happened.”

“Do not take me for a fool, Morning Sentry,” Luna said, her anger rising again. A miasma of darkness spread from the tip of her horn; ancient magic that swallowed everything it touched like a ravenous beast. As the walls faded into nothingness, Luna grew to almost twice the size of Morning Sentry. When she cast the spell, she remembered the last time she used it, she had saved Twilight from a royal adviser with a far less powerful version of it. Easier times… I will help Twilight, even if I have to break every rule! “Did you think I would believe your simple tale?”

“Your Highness, I–”

“Did you want to pull at my heartstrings, my little traitor? Oh, I think you misunderstand your situation,” Luna said with a cold voice. “Maybe you think this is a game of good pony, bad pony between my sister and I. Is that what you thought, Morning Sentry?”

“N-no! No… well, maybe a bit,” Morning Sentry replied with a shaky voice. Luna could see beads of sweat on his forehead as he cowered away from her, his eyes searching for any means of escape in the absolute darkness.

“‘Tis a wrong assumption,” Luna continued, shaking her head. “If there is but one bad pony, it is me. You are right to fear me; I am the night, and the night is full of terrors. Tell me what really happened!”

“I-I was escorting Princess Twilight through Ponyville,” Morning Sentry said, now moving a step backwards. “We were just about to reach our destination when I took a look around the next corner because I thought I had heard something. Every memory after that is blurred, and I barely remember it. It’s like I was sleepwalking, like I wasn’t my–”

“ENOUGH!” Luna shouted. “You know who I am and why I am here, but you keep telling the same fabricated story. So be it. The fate of a traitor. You will learn what fear is. You will be scared like nopony has been in three thousand years. You will not live a single second without regretting–”

“Princess Luna! You mustn’t!” The pegasus guard stormed into the room and flew to Morning Sentry. The unicorn guard slowly followed her into the room, but stopped halfway between the door and Luna. Angrily glancing at Luna for a second, the pegasus turned towards Morning Sentry.

“Are you okay?”

Bewildered, he answered, “I’m… um, yes.”

Caught off-guard, Luna said, “Who do you think you are, guards? You are interfe–”

“We are members of the royal guard, sworn to protect every pony in Equestria from harm, and we’re only following the law when we’re protecting this prisoner from you, Your Highness,” the pegasus guard said.

Causing the room to darken even more until the candles on the table and on the walls were barely enough to see, Luna said, “The law? Who do you think wrote that law? Do not think you are a match for me!”

“I don’t think we can stop you. But we can stop you long enough. Corporal, you keep at it! I’ll be back in a wink!” the pegasus said before dashing back through the door.

Luna turned back towards Morning Glory. With her magic, she let a cold breeze douse the candles. The sun had just disappeared, but there was still a tiny bit of residual light. She didn’t need it; as opposed to other ponies, she could even see in absolute darkness – it was her element. Before speaking up, she waited a moment to let the grim atmosphere do its work.

Both Morning Sentry and Luna were too absorbed in her play to notice the spell that hit the princess, flung by the corporal. A shiver running down Luna’s back was the only reaction in the whole room.

“If you decide to continue with your lies, do it, but expect dire consequences. How do you decide, Morning Sentry?” Luna asked. “HOW DO YOU DECIDE, TRAIT–”

An extremely bright white light filled the entire room for a few seconds, then Luna found herself in another part of the castle. Unlike anypony back in the guest room, Luna knew exactly what was going on. Always lending a helping hoof… sister.

Author's Note:

Don't forget to check out the new and 20% cooler chapter 4!

Sorry it took me so long. But I'll keep my promise, I'm gonna finish this story... someday.

Thanks to my proofreaders and every user of the IRC channel of 'The Writer's Group' who helped me.

Comments

[Techgirl]

Awesome chapter, I cant wait to know what Celestia tells Luna about using that dark magic spell thing in the next update.

I hope you wont take so long till then.

[FlameSwordedLink]

I think I understand what's going on....

[Brilorodion]

4531453

Hmm.. But how would she know that Luna is Nightmare Moon? they don't really look alike (black coat versus blue, different star hair stuff, no armor) I sense shenanigans!

Don't worry, I got that covered

[Vertorm]

So... I want to read this, but I don't enjoy falling in love with a fic that isn't ever gonna finish. So, I must ask: is this fic dead?

[Admiral Q Ponyform]

Okay Twilight is in her mindset of Pilot. GUYS, have Celestia order her to READ THE FRIENDSHIP REPORTS!

[Brilorodion]

No, this fic isn't dead, I'm just very busy at the moment. I'll be done with my workload for university in a few weeks and I'm gonna write, write, write. The words are already itching under my fingernails