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Azure Memories

by Silvak

Chapter 7: Chapter VII: Recovery

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Staring at the door that was left ajar, Twilight stood still in shock. Her mind had come up with many possibilities in regards to how Celestia’s confrontation with Sapphire would turn out, but not coming up with Sapphire simply fleeing from the library after being found out to not have any dark intentions against Twilight and her friends. Even Celestia was surprised by the turn of events until a pair of pegasi from the Royal Guard flew through the door to investigate what happened.

“Princess, what happened? Have you been harmed? Shall we pursue the fleeing unicorn?” asked one of the Royal Guards as they both tried to take stock of the current situation.

Shaking her head from the shock of Sapphire’s flight, Celestia answered, “No harm has occurred to anypony, but you must find Sapphire Rain, the unicorn that just bolted from the library. I do not know what she will do, but in her current mental state...if she is not found and bought back to a reasonable state, I’m afraid she might do something that will bring harm to herself, or even to others. Though that would most likely be unintentional on her part. However, do not do any harm to her as well, she is innocent of any possible wrongdoing.” Dipping the heads in acknowledgement, the Royal Guards flew out of the library to pass the orders onto the rest of the guard stationed at Ponyville.

Tentatively, Twilight approached Celestia, asking, “Is Sapphire going to be alight Princess Celestia? I don’t think she meant to anger you…”

Celestia sighed as she turned to look at Twilight, realizing that while Sapphire’s reaction was out of the line compared to most ponies that were in her presence, she knew that she shouldn’t let her emotions get the better of her so easily. “Twilight, you do not have to worry, Sapphire is not going to be in trouble for her words. I understand that deep down, she is in pain over her missing past and my questioning only aggravated her pain. Unfortunately, my retort wasn’t truly necessary. If I had remained calm, Sapphire would still be here."

“Forgive me for asking princess, but why did you react like that? Normally you wouldn’t be bothered by anypony if they act with that kind of behavior towards you,” Twilight asked, having rarely seen Celestia be angered by anything.

“You are correct my student, but in regards to this matter, your safety and your friends’ safety were at stake. You are the Elements of Harmony, and there may be other ponies, or other beings, that would desire to do harm to you or to take advantage of you to their own nefarious ends. Sapphire’s unusual circumstances along with her having relations with each of you so soon could have been an indication of a plot in which she would try to take the best moment to do harm to you and your friends,” Celestia answered, wishing that she hadn’t treated one of her subjects so harshly in light of their current misfortunes. “Hopefully the guard will find Sapphire before she finds herself in some kind of trouble. Then we can avert the damages that were done earlier.”

Looking out the still opened door, Twilight nodded to Celestia’s words, hoping that Sapphire remains safe. However, time passed. With seconds becoming minutes, which soon becomes hours as the two began to worry. They started to wonder where Sapphire could have gone off to that would take the Royal Guard so long in locating her. After several hours had passed, a member of the Royal Guard returned with news.

“Princess Celestia, Sapphire has been located, however she was found in the Everfree Forest.” Twilight released a gasp, knowing fully well the danger that resides in the forest after going through it barely a week ago. “I regret to inform you that Sapphire has been attacked by timber wolves, whom successfully injured her. She has sustained a deep cut in her throat as well as being bitten on the right side of her barrel. Fortunately, the injuries are nonfatal. However,t she has lost enough blood that by the time we fended off the timber wolves that were chasing her, she has fainted from the resulting blood loss. We brought her to Ponyville hospital, where she is currently having her injuries treated.”

At the sudden news, Celestia became aghast due to being the cause for Sapphire’s irrational flight that resulted in her fleeing to the Everfree Forest. The news rendered Twilight speechless, shocked at the harm that had come to her friend. Twilight soon recovered though, quickly rushing out of the library to be at Sapphire’s side, leaving Celestia alone in the library to regret her recent actions.


“Miss Sparkle, I know you’re concerned, but you must remain calm. Miss Rain is currently asleep and we don’t need you disturbing the rest that she needs for her injuries to heal. So please calm down first, then we will lead you to her room” Doctor Horse said. After leaving the library, Twilight immediately bolted for the hospital, arriving hysterically as she quickly plagued the front desk with demands to see Sapphire.

Realizing that the doctor is right, Twilight took several deep breaths until she regained her composure. “Sorry Doctor Horse, I just panicked when I heard about Sapphire being injured.”

“It’s understandable Miss Twilight, but remaining in a panic will not help Miss Rain. Now that you have calmed down though, you may follow me to her room.” Turning around, Doctor Horse led Twilight down the hallway, before arriving at Sapphire’s room, where he opened the door for Twilight to enter. Upon her entry, she released another gasp upon the sight of a bandaged Sapphire, who was in slumber in the bed. Her neck was covered in bandages with signs of her side being bandaged as her arm was hooked up for a blood transfusion. “While Miss Rain’s injuries aren’t serious, it appears that she has sustained them long enough for her to lose a large amount of blood. However, with the blood transfusion, she will be fine and will make a full recovery in a few days.”

Turning to the doctor, Twilight was about to say something until Celestia entered the room as she took a look at Sapphire. Her face took an expression of sorrow at the unfortunate consequences of the earlier confrontation. “Doctor Horse, I request you leave the three of us alone, there is something that I must discuss with my student.” Giving a bow, Doctor Horse took his leave as Celestia turned to Twilight. “Twilight... please forgive me for the harm that has come to Sapphire, I did not… intend for her to come to harm, regardless of how she reacted. I only did what I believed would help assure you and your friend’s safety."

Looking down at Sapphire, Twilight took in a deep breath, before letting out a sigh as she turned to look at Celestia once more. "It's... it's not your fault princess... it's.. whatever happened to Sapphire that is the source of all this... if only there was some clue to her past..."

"Her forgotten past is... problematic to say the least... though there is nothing to indicate that she's not who she appears to be. Still, I should have approached her more cautiously instead of letting my suspicions get the better of myself." Looking upon Sapphire's resting form, Celestia continued, "I fear that if I remain here when Sapphire awakens, it would only cause her distress. It would be best if I take my leave now, I still have affairs in Canterlot to attend to. As for Sapphire, would you keep an eye on her Twilight as well as give her my apologies?I will pay her another visit in the future when she has enough time to recover from this... tasteless 'experience'."

"I will princess. Hopefully, Sapphire isn't a pony who holds grudges..." Twilight replied with a hint of sadness as she looked upon Sapphire once more. Giving Twilight a nod, Celestia turned around to leave, leaving the duo alone as Twilight took a seat, hoping that Sapphire would awaken soon.


...Sapphire... please always remember... I will always love you...

Letting out a gasp, Sapphire suddenly sat straight up in her bed, a foreleg pressed against her chest as her breathing quickened from her shock. Hearing two more gasps that didn't come from herself, Sapphire turned her head, seeing Twilight and Rarity sitting in their own seats, looking at her in surprise. A moment passed as they stared at each other before the two ponies rush over to Sapphire's side.

"Sapphire, are you alright?" Twilight asked, her voice full of concern.

"I... I... it was nothing important," Sapphire said, before getting a good view of herself, catching sight of all the bandages. "Errr... except for what happened in the forest... sorry for causing such a fuss girls..."

"Now Sapphire dear, we're your friends, and thus we are naturally concerned for your well being," Rarity replied.

"Sapphire, I think something important is wrong... I know that you're upset from how Princess Celestia confronted you... but no pony would expected you to react so badly... can't you please tell us what’s wrong?" Twilight asked.

Sapphire looked at her two closest friends for a moment, before taking a deep breath to calm herself down. "Alright... I just... I was trying to get past how I have nothing about who I am beyond my lost memories and my name, and it's so frustrating to... to have nothing that can tell me who I am. But just when I was thinking I was starting a new life of sorts, in a place that could lead me to a bright new beginning. I get confronted by what I lost, by just how much of a... stranger I really am..." Sapphire finished, as tears ran down her face. Giving Sapphire looks of sympathy, Twilight and Rarity went to her, the both of them giving her a tender hug, letting the poor pony sob in their warm embrace. Collecting herself, Sapphire continued, "Thanks girls... I guess I really needed that... I just wished I hadn't unleashed it at... Princess Celestia..."

"Sapphire, the princess isn't mad at you, she actually wants to apologize to you for causing that breakdown at you," Twilight says.

Sapphire jerks her head at Twilight's direction, unable to believe what she's hearing. "She's... she's not mad? But she looked so... harsh to say... by how I reacted."

"Princess Celestia might have... reacted poorly... but she's a kind compassionate pony that cares about all us ponies. She even wants to meet you again Sapphire, to truly convey how she felt about... indirectly causing you to be in harm's way," Twilight replies.

As Sapphire stares at Twilight in surprise, Rarity breaks away from the hug as she asks, "Still, are you sure there's nothing else you want to talk about dear? When you woke up, you looked dreadful, like you saw something horrendous."

"Umm... well... I was dreaming... and I thought I heard someone talking to me... and it was a voice that I never heard before," Sapphire answered nervously, to which the other two suddenly look at her in wide eyed surprise.

"Sapphire, that might be a memory! Do you recall anything about the voice, or what you heard?" Twilight asked with excitement at the prospect of what she just heard.

Looking at the wall, Sapphire's eyes took a look like she was looking at some distance object as she drew upon the memories of her dream. "Well... all I can remember from that dream... is that the voice was female... and that she told me to always remember that she loves me... besides that, I have nothing else. Sorry Twilight."

"No, no this is good. It might not be much, but it does hint that you have someone that cares about you Sapphire. If only we can find this mare, we might learn more about your own past. It's also a possible sign that you are beginning to remember your past. If given more time, you may recover even more memories Sapphire!" Twilight exclaimed as she broke away from Sapphire to pace around the room. "It may be that you can only recollect your memories when you're asleep based on how you didn't seem to remember anything from my tests. I suggest that you keep a journal at your side Sapphire, and write down any dreams you have. Perhaps we can piece together something about your past from them."

"Maybe... but for now, I rather just rest... I am hurt after all," Sapphire said with a weak laugh. "As for the princess wanting to... meet me again, I rather have some time to... put some 'things' behind me first... I don't want to have another breakdown in front of her..."

"Don't worry Sapphire, Princess Celestia only wants to meet you when you're ready to meet her this time. We all don't want a 'repeat' after all, right?" Twilight replied with an awkward chuckle.

Taking a look at the clock, Rarity noted how late it is, herself having only arriving a few hours after Twilight arrived, rushing the moment she heard about Sapphire's condition. "Looks like we have to make our leave Sapphire, you do need your beauty rest. We'll visit you again tomorrow dear." Sapphire nodded to indicate her acknowledgement, as the ponies then said their goodbyes. After Twilight and Rarity took their leave, Sapphire laid her head on her pillow once more as she closed her eyes, wondering if Twilight's theory could be correct as her mind drifted to sleep once more.

Next Chapter: Chapter VIII: Bunnies Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 54 Minutes
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