Author's Note: For those who prefer this chapter.

Chapter 17:

Hallelujah/ Remember Who You Are

Twilight has now flown far away from Flash and Cadance and is now pacing back and forth in an open field talking to herself. Her mind in turmoil.

"He's wrong! They're both wrong! I can't go back! What would it prove, anyway? It won't change anything! And you can't change the past," Twilight said, talking to herself with her emotions rising.

But then she stopped and looked up at the stars, thinking about her mother again and remembering what she said to her long ago. Twilight felt nothing but anger and remorse for the past and betrayed by the promise her mother made about always being there for her, even in death, Aurora might have even lied to Twilight.

"You said you and father will both always be there for me! But you're not. And it's all because of me. I ruined our family and our lives. It's my fault…I'm scared," Twilight said, lowering her head down sorrowfully and starting to cry.

Twilight has always believed that it was her own fault for her mother's death and she'd always believed that as her own. Twilight then got up and continued walking further out in the field feeling greatly depressed and confused as a male singer was heard singing…

Male Singer: I heard there was a secret chord.

That David played and it pleased the lord.

But you don't really care for music, do you?

Meanwhile, Flash and Cadance were walking through the forest, heading back home after their failed attempt to bring Twilight home with them. It would be hard to anypony they found Twilight and she refused to come home. Yet as they walked, Flash looked back for a bit, starting to feel guilty about what he said to Twilight, before continuing on.

Male Singer: It goes like this the fourth the fifth.

The Minor Fall.

The Major Lift.

The Baffled King Composing Hallelujah.

Twilight continued walking off in the field until she felt her hoof land on something deep. Looking down, Twilight could see that her hoof has stepped into a Dragon's footprint. Seeing how small her own hoof was, reminded Twilight of the time when she was a filly she stepped in one of her mother's footprints after getting herself in trouble with the Diamond Dogs and remembered how small and weak she was. She was truly feeling like such a failure.

But now, stepping in the footprint of another creature, Twilight felt weaker and smaller than she was before and brought back unpleasant memories of her mother.

Male Singer: ( x4 ) Hallelujah

Back with Flash and Cadance, the two Alicorns were still heading back out to their desolated home. However, Flash stopped when he saw two colorful butterflies frolicking around him, which Cadance took notice of. She could sense that Flash really wanted to say something to Twilight. But the stallion was still a little stubborn as he continued on, trying to forget what happened between him and Twilight.

Male Singer: Baby, I've been here before.

I know this room.

I walked this floor.

I used to live alone before I knew you.

Back with Twilight, she was still in the field when she saw a family of deer lying in the grass looking up at the stars. But seeing that brought back memories of how Twilight and her parents used to look up at the stars when she was a filly. But it also reminded her of the old saying of The Great Rulers Of The Past her mother told her about, which has been haunting Twilight ever since.

Not wanting to be haunted by her inner demon, Twilight moved on away from the deer family.

Male Singer: I've seen your flag on a Marble Arch.

Love is not a victory march.

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.

( X4 ) Hallelujah!

Cadance was still walking until she noticed that Flash wasn't with her. When she turned around, she saw that Flash had stopped and looked back to where he and Cadance had last seen Twilight before going their separate ways.

Flash was starting to feel regret and shame about himself. After all of these years, he was reunited with his childhood friend and they fell in love. But now, they have gone their separate ways and Flash hasn't even got the chance to tell her how he felt.

Cadance could sense what Flash was going through as she watched the stallion going in the other direction, feeling kinda bad for him and Twilight.

Male Singer: All I ever learned from love, is how to fight someone who outdrew you.

Twilight was feeling the same, yet she couldn't help but feel like she wasn't ready to take her place nor was she ready to face her aunt to save her home. All Twilight could ever feel was regret, guilt, shame, and sadness.

She even wonders if they would accept her back after they learned what she has done all those years ago. They probably would hate her, and not want her as Queen.

Meanwhile, Cadance was looking around for Flash until she found him by the pond that he and Twilight were drinking from when they fell in love. Flash was looking down at his reflection in the water, remembering when he and Twilight were drinking from the pond and swimming in it. And he wished he could see her again.

But Flash was now feeling more sad and ashamed than ever as he wiped away a tear from his eye, wishing that he and Twilight had never gotten into that fight. Why did he ruin everything?

Male Singer: And it's not a cry you could hear at night.

It's not somebody who's seen the light.

It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah.

Seeing Flash being too hard on himself, Cadance thinks it might be time to have a word with him about him and Twilight. After all, she is the Alicorn/Princess of Love and a member of the Royal Family.

So Cadance headed on over to Flash as the stallion looked over to see her coming to him to have a word with him.

Male Singer: ( x8 ) Hallelujah

As the last lyrics were sung, Twilight stopped at a nearby hill in the field and sat down to let out some tears of sadness.

She has concluded that perhaps her family should be pretty much better off without her. As much as she wants to go home and take her place as queen, she just can't seem to get over the regrets she is feeling.

Back with Cadance and Flash, after having a conversation, Flash realizes that it's not too late to go back and apologize to Twilight. So having about making up his mind, Flash decided to go and find Twilight and apologize to her for what he said with Cadance following behind him. Maybe it wasn't too late to set things right.

As for Twilight, she was still in the field crying in the field of tall grass alone, she couldn't get over her mother's death nor never before had she felt so lost, alone, or even scared in her life.

While Twilight loses some tears and cries for a moment, she hears some odd chanting from the distance and turns to look over her shoulder to see a dark figure in the trees dancing. The figure was shaking the branches of the trees and was still chanting.

Twilight thought it must be some crazy creature. Which was saying something, since Pinkie Pie could do some pretty insane things.

In reality, the figure was actually Zecora who was doing the chanting from the distance. But Twilight appears to not even recognize her, but the Unicorn Wizard continues chanting.

Zecora: Asante Sana!

Tasty Grass!

Wewe ni Nyati na mimi sio!

Twilight was slightly getting annoyed by the chanting and decided to move away from Zecora, to get away from her chanting. She didn't want to really interact with the mysterious unicorn, and as she hadn't directly talked to her, she didn't want to be rude by telling her to leave her alone.

Zecora, who was amused by the Alicorn Princess's attitude, chuckled as she hopped onto another branch and observed as she watched Twilight walking to a waterhole from above.

The Alicorn Princess walked until she stopped at the edge of the water hole and saw the other creatures drinking from the water hole, there was a Giraffe, a mother Dragon with her child, and a pair of Kirins.

Looking down, Twilight glumly looked down at her reflection in the water before turning to look at her blank flank and sighed.

Is this really who she has become? Was she just an Alicorn without a purpose? An Alicorn without a Cutie Mark? Or was she the ruler of a fallen kingdom?

Twilight then decided to join the other creatures for a drink at the waterhole.

But while Twilight was drinking, a pebble was thrown into the water, disturbing the water and catching the Alicorns' attention. Twilight looks up and sees Zecora sitting in another tree, starting to chant again, and is now more annoyed than ever. Why was she stalking her? Did she have nothing better to do than annoy her?

"Come on, will you cut it out?!" Twilight groaned at the unicorn as she left the waterhole and Zecora dropped down from the tree.

"I'm afraid you can't cut it out of its track, for it'll just grow right back," Zecora jokes as she laughs and follows Twilight.

"Weird, crazy, mysterious Unicorn. Will you stop following me?!" Twilight muttered, making her way through the grassy fields before hearing and seeing Zecora following her until she stopped and grunted in frustration, "Who are you?!".

"If there's a clue? Perhaps, the better question is Whoooo…are you?" Zecora asked, getting in front of her.

Twilight was startled by that comment but Zecora does have a point about her.

"I thought I knew. But now I am not so sure," Twilight replied with a sad sigh, bowing her head and looking away.

"Do not be trapped in the tar, for I know who you are. Shh, come here, it's a secret that you needed," Zecora replied as she tugged the princess's ear and brought Twilight closer to whisper in her ear.

Twilight leaned closer and was expecting to hear something about herself that she wanted to know. But instead, Zecora starts chanting again as she dances away from Twilight.

Zecora: Asante Sana!

Tasty Grass!

Wewe ni Nyati na mimi sio!

Twilight, shocked by the unicorn's crazy antics, groaned in aggravation. And she thought Pinkie was annoying, "Ugh, enough of that already! What's it supposed to mean, anyway?" She demanded, looking over her shoulder at Zecora.

"It means you're being a stubborn mule for a fool, and I on the dot am not," Zecora replied, pointing to Twilight and then gesturing to herself with a laugh, leaning on her staff.

Twilight gaped in insult watching Zecora laughing at her own statement before turning around.

"Yeah, I think you're a little confused," Twilight said as she started walking away from Zecora once more in annoyance. This mare was clearly a few cards short of a full deck and clearly wasting her time.

But Zecora teleported in front of Twilight once more and poked her nose with her hoof as the Alicorn stopped, "Wrong! I'm not the pony who's confused or stuck in a jar, when you don't even know who you are," Zecora shot back.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Oh, and I suppose you know?" Twilight said sarcastically as she moved away from Zecora, angrily irritated.

"I sure do. For the pony I see in the wild, you're Aurora's child," Zecora replied proudly, pointing her staff to the Princess.

Twilight stopped in her tracks when she heard that name and was surprised by the revelation. This mysterious unicorn mare has known her mother? What else did she know? But when she looked back, Zecora simply said, "Bye!" and ran off.

"Hey, wait, come back!" Twilight said as she started running after the Unicorn Wizard. If Zecora knew something about her mother, Twilight had to know what it was.

Running through a field, sliding down a small hill, and jumping over a creek, Twilight ran to the edge of the forest and up to a small hill and caught up to Zecora, who was now meditating on a rock with her eyes closed.

"Y-You knew my mother?" Twilight asked, panting.

"Not only do I knew another, for I know your mother," Zecora replied without opening her eyes.

"I hate to tell you this, but…she died. A long time ago," Twilight whispered as she bowed her head mournfully and Zecora opened her eyes, Zecora probably wasn't aware of what transpired all of those years ago.

However, Zecora raised a hoof as she jumped off her rock, with Twilight staring at her with confusion, and ran to a nearby dense area of the forest and chuckled, "Nope! Wrong again! Ha-ha-ha,".

Then Zecora turns back to Twilight, "Your mother has survive and is alive, for I'll show her through to you. You follow Zecora with no delay, for I know a way, come now!" She said, gesturing dramatically before waving Twilight forward and entering the forest.

After Zecora entered the forest, Twilight immediately chased after her to the edge of the forest as she hesitantly looked over her shoulder and ventured into the brush of the forest. But the Alicorn Princess was having trouble keeping up as she struggled to squeeze her way through the brush and crawled under and over dark twisting foliage. It was the opposite way she went in her childhood.

Looking up, Twilight could see Zecora standing above her on a branch as the Unicorn Wizard exclaimed, waving her hoof forward and teleported away, "Don't Dawdle! Hurry up!".

Twilight was still struggling to keep up with her, "Hey! Whoa! Wait! Wait!" Twilight exclaimed, scrambling to follow her.

"Well then come on, come on," Zecora shouted as she kept teleporting.

"Will you slow down, please?!" Twilight exclaimed as she ran. Even though the unicorn was mysterious, she was fast!

"Asante Sana! Tasty Grass! Wewe ni Nyati na mimi sio!" Zecora chanted, running and jumping through the branches over Twilight's head.

Twilight managed to catch glimpses of Zecora until she stumbled and slid down a ridge but quickly got back up and ran. Zecora's laugh was heard echoing through the forest as Twilight got herself tangled in some vines but managed to break free. Twilight looked up desperately at Zecora, who was now hopping on branches overhead, as she kept on running as she struggled to keep up with Zecora, including getting hit in the face by a branch, until the Unicorn Wizard suddenly appeared in front of her and held up a hoof.

"STOP!" Zecora shouted as Twilight screeched to a halt with her nose mere inches from her hoof.

Zecora shushed her and bounds to some tall grass, motioning Twilight towards them.

"Look down there. She's waiting for you," Zecora whispered as she parted away the grass, revealing a grotto and pointing past them with her staff.

Twilight quietly and carefully worked her way out, approaching Zecora. Twilight and Zecora exchanged looks at each other. But Twilight was nervous, she hadn't seen her mother for a long time. But how could she be alive? Twilight saw her die when she was a filly.

Inhaling, Twilight slowly approaches the grotto and heads inside, seeing how the place is filled with crystals with an opening above her showing the night sky and a passage leading into the meadows.

When Twilight approaches one large crystal at the center, she sees one alicorn staring back at her. Twilight was startled at first, for a moment she thought it was her mother, but when she saw her blue mane and purple fur she realized what she was looking at was just her reflection.

The reflection of one foolish and weak coward.

"That's not my mother. That's just my reflections," Twilight sighed in disappointment as she sat down and batted the crystal before her. It was evident that she was disappointed.

"No, Twilight. You are a starter, to see your mother, you must look harder," Zecora said, placing a hoof on Twilight's mane and using her magic on the crystal, creating magical ripples in it.

Twilight looks closer at her reflection as the ripples distort and warp her reflection. That's when her reflection started turning into something else. It began to take shape as it resolved into a familiar face that only Twilight could recognize: Her Mother.

"You see if you already knew…She Lives In You," Zecora explained as the image of Aurora took full form and replaced Twilight's reflection to show her smiling warmly at Twilight.

Twilight was awestruck as her eyes widened by this as she then heard a deep rumbling sound and the winds were quickly picking up…

"Twilight…," A familiar voice quietly said as Twilight's ears perked up, she knew that voice.

"Mother?" Twilight whispered, looking up to see clouds above her approaching.

Twilight then sees the silhouette of an Alicorn beginning to take shape in the clouds, appearing to be walking from the stars. The images begin to steadily gain a clear blue coloring and coherence of the deceased queen. Twilight was awestruck again by her mother's appearance. She couldn't even believe what she was seeing right now.

Gazing down at her daughter, Aurora spoke with a saddened frown, "Twilight you have forgotten me,".

"No! How could I?!" Twilight gasped at the ghostly image of her mother, shaking her head as the cold wind blew against her mane. She never once forgot about her mother. There was not a day that went by she didn't think about her in some form or another.

"You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me. Look inside yourself, Twilight. You are more than what you have become…" Aurora replied wholeheartedly to her daughter as clouds churned around her, outlining her head, wings, and shoulders.

"Twilight, you must take your place in The Magic Of Friendship," Aurora continued, frowning in seriousness as her spirit began to glow.

"But how can I go back? I'm not the pony I used to be," Twilight responded sadly as she was bathed in a golden light.

"Remember Who You Are. You are my daughter…And the one true Queen Of Equestria," Aurora explained as her whole spirit began to glow, resembling her past colors in life with light shining behind her, with her eyes glowing yellow and framed by a swirling cloud, radiating golden lights and smiling down on her child, now a beautiful mare.

Twilight's face begins to show a mixture of awe, fear, and sadness as she stares at her mother, breathing heavily and with tears falling from her eyes until she notices her mother's ghost is beginning to fade.

"Remember…Who you are," Aurora said with a smile as she began to merge into the clouds.

Seeing her disappear, Twilight runs out of the cave and into the open field, vainly trying to follow her mother's retreating cloud.

"No, please! Don't leave me again!" Twilight pleaded as she ran after the cloud.

"Remember!" Aurora's voice echoed from the cloud.

"Mother!" Twilight called out as Aurora's echoes were her only reply.

"Remember!" Aurora echoed.

Twilight, running out of breath, stops atop a hill as she watches the cloud fade away, "Don't leave me," Twilight whispers once more.

"Remember," Aurora echoed the final time before there was only silence.

As Aurora finally disappeared back into the night, Twilight sat down looking at where her mother had vanished, with the clouds clearing away overhead. A hush from the wind tosses away the grass restlessly, causing them to bend and stirring Twilight's mane. And Twilight has begun to realize something.

She has been running away from her past for a very long time but it'll only continue to haunt her. Right now, her family, friends, and home are in trouble. Twilight knows that she must return home and stop Chrysalis. Only then would she overcome her demons.

"What was that? Ha-ha-ha, the weather, Pbbbahhh. Very peculiar, don't you think, Twilight?" Zecora said, approaching Twilight from behind.

"Yeah, and it looks like the winds are changing," Twilight said, looking up at the stars thoughtfully.

"Awwww and seeing the change in your mood, change is good," Zecora replied in agreement, stroking her chin.

"Yeah, but it's not easy. I know what I have to do but…going back means I have to face my past. And I've been running from it for so long," Twilight said, rather nervously.

Out of nowhere, Zecora whacked Twilight on the head with her staff.

"Oww! Geez! Whatcha do that for?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock, rearing back on her hind legs while holding her head in pain. Why does she intend to cause trouble?

"It doesn't matter! It happened so fast, it is now in the past!" Zecora replied, spreading her arms wide with a chuckle as Twilight gave her the side eye.

"Yeah, but it still hurts," Twilight complained, rubbing her head with her hoof and lowering it to examine it. She didn't see the point in all this.

'"Oh, yes. At first, the past can hurt. But the way I see it you can either run from it or…learn from it," Zecora said, wrapping her arms around Twilight's shoulders. Then she took another swing at Twilight with the staff, but this time missing the Alicorn Princess as Twilight ducked down.

"Ha! You see? You no longer feel any regrets. So what are you going to do, little princess?" Zecora asked, ecstatic to see that Twilight had finally got the point.

Wanting to get back at the Unicorn Wizard for swatting her, Twilight answered with a devilish grin, "First, I'm gonna take your stick!".

Using her magic, Twilight quickly took the staff out of Zecora's grasp and tossed it aside into the grass.

"No! No! NO! No Trick! Not with the stick!" Zecora exclaimed as she ran back past Twilight to get her staff back.

Then Zecora looked back to see Twilight flying off into the air, heading off somewhere.

"Hey, getting my staff I am doing, but where are you going?!" Zecora asked, being unsure where the Alicorn is going.

"I'm going back!" Twilight shouted back, looking over her shoulder at Zecora as she flew off into the sky.

"Good! Go on! Get outta here!" Zecora said overjoyed as she made shooing motions.

Zecora then started laughing and whooping as shooting stars streaked overhead and she lifted her staff in the air above her head. For the rightful queen is returning not only to Equestria and the City Of Harmony but to her true purpose. She's going to set things right. Starting this night, it seemed as though the future had already come and it was to look bright for the Magic Of Friendship.

Author's Note: Well, how about that? Looks like things are looking up and Twilight has discovered where her place is.

After Twilight has left Flash and Cadance, she was having a bit of a conflict with herself about whether she should go back or maybe just be an outcast for the rest of her life. But what really conflicted her was the haunting thought of her mother's death.

Meanwhile, Flash was struggling about how he and Twilight went their seperate ways before having a talk with Cadance, since she is the Alicorn/ The Princess Of Love.

Back with Twilight, she was still in confliction about what she must do and who she really is.

But there is a saying, 'When the student is ready, the teacher appears'.

That's when Twilight meets Zecora. Of course, Twilight was being a bit stubborn and tries to get away from Zecora at first, Zecora reveals that the Alicorn is the daughter of a deceased queen and that got Twilight relevated when she heard that. Seeing how she got the princesses attention, Zecora leads Twilight to another part of the forest, where there lies a grotto filled with gems.

Approaching a gem in the center, Twilight was disappointed at first when she saw only her reflection. But with Zecora's help, Twilight was able to look harder at the crystal and saw the reflection of her mother in her reflection's place. What's even more impressive, Twilight saw the ghost of her mother approaching her.

Aurora tells Twilight that she must return to the kingdom and take her place in the Magic Of Friendship, and must remember who she is.

After her mother's ghost has faded away into the night sky, Twilight suddenly felt the change in the wind and has found the cofidence within her. Knowing that she can't keep running away from her past forever, Twilight now knows that she must face it instead.

And off Twilight goes. Flying back to challenge Chrysalis and take back her place as the one true Queen Of Equestria.

But will Twilight face Chrysalis alone?

Will she reclaim the throne and become queen?

Will Flash and Twilight forgive each other for their argument with each other?

We'll just have to wait and see in the next chapter.

This is Dinoman213, signing off.