Troy's Fate

In the tranquillity of Princess Celestia’s bedroom, she rested comfortably under the bed sheets. All was calm until a magical scroll shattered the silence. She groaned as she woke up.

She picked up the scroll and began to read it: “Dear Princess Celestia, I apologize for waking you up this late at night, but we have an emergency. Troy just attacked Twilight while he was sleepwalking! As such, we need you to find Luna and have her fix this as soon as possible! She’s our last hope, Celestia. Please help us. Help us now! Your Faithful Dragon, Spike.”

Celestia, in a panicked state, folded the scroll and looked for her sister. Luna was examining Ponyville from a balcony when she heard Celestia running behind her.

“Sister,” said Luna. “What brings you here at this time?”

“Luna,” answered Celestia. “Read this. They require your help immediately.”

Luna picked up the scroll and read it quickly. Without a word, she opened up her wings and flew straight for Ponyville. As she arrived to the library, she knocked on the door. Twilight was the one who opened the door. Luna was taken aback by the bruises on Twilight’s neck. She spotted a cowered Troy at a corner.

“Twilight Sparkle, can you explain to me what happened? The message Spike gave me is lacking some details.”

Twilight looked at Luna and she explained the attack as best as she could. She also explained the nightmares that tormented Troy and her failed solution to solve the issue.

“Why did you not ask me for my help before?” wondered Luna.

“I…” stammered Twilight. “I wanted to solve this as fast as possible. I didn’t want to be a burden and…”

“I understand, Twilight. I acknowledge that you did not want to bother me with drama. However, it seemed that you downplayed the seriousness of all this.”

Luna paused as she closed her eyes.

“Troy,” Luna continued, “you must go back to sleep.”

Luna’s horn glowed suddenly and she hit Troy with a beam. However, the beam only made him drowsier. His eyelids began to feel heavy and his breathing became less frantic. Eventually, Troy was into a deep sleep. Luna opened her eyes, which now glowed white.

“Now then,” Luna said quietly, “let’s see that nightmare of yours.”

Luna’s vision began to drift into darkness as she searched for Troy’s dream. Then suddenly, she was able to see what Troy was seeing. Green-eyed figures were staring at Troy as he was on the ground. The images and colors that Troy saw were distorted. Suddenly, the figures vanished and Troy turned around to face an even bigger green-eyed figure. However, Troy didn’t feel panicked. In fact, he was relieved to see the figure and hugged it. Luna gasped in shock and she suddenly found herself in the library.

“What did you see?” asked Twilight.

“That was no nightmare, Twilight,” replied Luna. “In fact, that was a memory.”

“A memory? You mean all those nightmares were memories?”

“I cannot be certain, but the one I just witnessed was indeed one. A memory feels very different from a dream. If I walked into the memory, I could have damaged it. So, I choose to not interrupt. What interests me is that the memory was discolored and out of shape. His head injury must have had an effect on them. Celestia told me how important memories are to Troy. They’re the only way to restore his identity.”

“Luna, is there a way to restore his memories back? I doubt the nightmares he’s getting are going to help. Especially since the last one made him choke me! Maybe a memory spell might stop them from happening!”

Luna remained silent. She was hesitant to speak. Twilight looked at Luna with suspicion.

“You do know something, Luna,” ordered Twilight. “I can tell by your eyes! Come on, say it!”

Luna sighed, “There is one powerful spell that can restore his memories back but…”

Twilight grew a little annoyed. She realized that Luna knew a spell that would have fixed Troy’s amnesia from the beginning.

“But it can go horribly wrong. If it works, Troy’s memory can be completely restored with little to no side effect. However, if the spell doesn’t trigger properly, it can damage his mind further or worse, result in death.”

Twilight’s eyes widen. She felt mixed.

“Twilight, I know you want to get his memory back,” Luna added. “That spell is the quickest way to do so. Because of the risks, we’re not allowed to do it without permission. Do you want go with it, knowing that it might kill him?”

Twilight pondered for a minute. Spike and Owlowiscious, who were watching the event unfold, felt very tense.

“I…need some time.” Twilight answered at last.

“I understand,” accepted Luna. “I will arrive back here in twenty four hours. That will give you enough time to think.”

Luna exited the library and flew away. Twilight, now tired, picked up Troy and placed him back to bed. Everyone else went to bed as well. Twilight closed her eyes and went to sleep. However, she had difficulty doing so.

By the time morning arrived, Twilight had made up her mind and decided to wake Troy up. She explained what Luna did to him and she also talked about the memory spell.

“So let me get this straight,” questioned Troy, “this spell can restore my memory, but it‘ll kill me if it backfires and you want me to agree to this?!”

Twilight nodded.

“Twilight,” Troy begged, “you do realize that this might be the last time you’ll see me if this goes wrong. I…I don’t want to die!”

Troy calmed down and he realized what Twilight was thinking of. He felt that yelling wasn’t going to change her mind. Reluctantly, he agreed. It didn’t stop him from feeling dreadful. He decided to make his possible last day as cheerful as possible.

***

At the streets, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were bored. They were looking for things that would give them their cutie marks, but they ran out of ideas.

“Maybe reading a book might do the trick?” muttered Sweetie Belle.

They all headed for the library. When they entered, they all noticed Troy, who was reading a historical book.

“Oh hey Troy!” Sweetie giggled.

“Troy?” questioned Scootaloo. “Who’s he?”

“Troy is the pilot who crashed in the forest months ago,” explained Apple Bloom. “My sister Applejack told me all about him.”

Troy, distracted by the fillies, placed a bookmark on his book and put the book away. The fillies began to look for books to read.

“What are you three doing?” asked Troy.

The three turn to face him and said in unison, “We are the Cutie Mask Crusaders!”

“Is that right?” joked Troy. “Why would crusaders be looking for books in a library?”

“Cause we’re trying to figure out what our talents are,” replied Apple Bloom.

“Also, it’s because we’re bored,” expressed Scootaloo.

“Wait a minute!” declared Sweetie Belle. “I have a great idea! Troy, you’re not busy today, are you?”

Troy shook his head. The three girls whispered to each other. They giggled in excitement.

“How would you like to come with us?” exclaimed Apple Bloom. “You’ll be our fourth member for today!”

The girls giggled as Troy’s pride died inside. Even Twilight and Spike laughed. Unwillingly, Troy accepted. As they went outside, they kept giggling behind him. They did all kinds of silly activities such as Hide and Seek and Tic-Tac-Toe. As the day went on, Troy was surprisingly getting happier. After a stone skipping contest, they decided to stop by Sweet Apple Acres. Troy spotted Applejack in the distance. She was finishing up some garden work with Big Mac.

“Howdy, Troy!” Applejack yelled. “What brings you here?”

Troy and the fillies got closer to Applejack. The scent of fresh apples welcomed them.

“Troy is our fourth member for today!” smiled Apple Bloom.

Troy felt himself blush. Applejack and Big Mac chuckled under their breaths. Apple Bloom went on to explain the games they played.

“I think Troy here needs to play one of my favorite games.” suggested Applejack. “Horseshoes, anypony?”

***

Twilight and Spike were adjusting some books when they noticed the sunset outside. Twilight was still thinking about Luna’s warnings. His death was the image that was burned to her mind. Troy arrived a few minutes later with the biggest smile on his face.

“Had fun?” laughed Twilight.

“Of course I did!” cheered Troy. “I’ve never been happy in like…forever! I became this close at beating Applejack at Horseshoes!”

His smile began to disappear as he realized that today might be his last.

“And…” he continued, “I don’t think I’ll be this happy again. After all, I might die tonight.”

He began to cry. Twilight held him close, refusing to let go.

Hours later, there was a knock on the door. Twilight proceeded to open it and saw Luna along with a carriage and two royal guards, who were chauffeuring the carriage. Troy, Spike and Twilight hopped onboard and the carriage flew into the night sky. They soon arrived at the castle and Luna led them into a large room. The room was surrounded with magical scrolls and a spell circle was laid on the floor.

“Troy,” Luna announced, “stand on that circle.”

Troy did so. Princess Luna closed her eyes as she focused on Troy with deep concentration. She groaned as her horn began to glow intensely. She sweated and panted as the glow got bigger.

“Are you ready, Troy?” she said with a pained expression.

Troy looked at Twilight and Spike. Their faces were painted with despair. Troy whispered something but Luna didn’t hear it.

“What did you say, Troy?” groaned Luna as she felt tears drip off her face.

“I said…” Troy cried. “I…I said…”

Troy then broke down in tears. He ran off the circle and crawl into a corner.

Luna’s magic suddenly grew weaker and then stopped, much to her relief. She approached Troy, who sobbed heavily.

“You said “no”, did you?” implied Luna.

“Of course I did!” admitted Troy. “I do want to remember who I am. I really do. However, I don’t want to die either! I had the most wonderful day today. I felt so much joy today and if I died, I would have never been able to have that experience ever again! However, if it worked, my nightmares might end and I’ll know who I truly am! And Twilight wouldn’t get hurt anymore! I don’t want to harm Twilight ever again! But now, the nightmares might come back and…argh!”

Troy became very distraught and began to shake. Luna began to approach him.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” Troy snapped.

The others were shocked by his sudden paranoia. Troy continued to cry.

“What if I told you,” insisted Luna, “that there is another way to stop the nightmares.”

Troy didn’t respond.

“This one will not result in your death, but it will require you to train with me for a while. It is called “Clear Mind” and it’s a technique that even Earth ponies are capable of doing. Doing this will prevent nightmares, but in exchange, you will not be able to dream at all. Instead, you’ll be drifting into a calm filled trance that will last throughout the night.”

Troy began to turn his head towards Luna.

“Troy,” she continued.  “You realize that this might block out the only path to your memories. You can reject my offer if you like to.”

“Can you…” Troy struggled, “can you teach me? Please?”

Luna smiled and gave him a warm, comforting hug. She then suggested that Twilight and Spike can go back to the library while Troy stays with her for training. Twilight was saddened, but she understood as well. When she arrived to her bed, she looked at Troy’s bed. She sighed deeply and missed him already.

“Please come back soon,” she said quietly. She closed her eyes and she hoped that she could fall asleep.

She did.