//------------------------------// // Dreams of the Past // Story: Similar and Different: My Days as Ditzy // by house932 //------------------------------// “Why did you reference The Simpsons?” Her introduction, while answering the basic questions, raised many more. “I like the line. Now, we must discuss our shared situation.” That’s probably a good idea. She does know the body, and I know the area. Besides, I may not know how to fly. She may do that. “You’re right. I handle our flight. Don’t want you to crash and resolve to never fly again, but it’s not like you have a choice...” “What do you mean by that?” This could be something I don’t want to know, but if she says that, I’m one of those people who takes it as a challenge. “Have you felt the compulsion yet?” I nodded. “Good. Well, not good, but I don’t have to explain that it exists. Some pegasi get a compulsion to fly when they’re on the ground for a long time.” “Lemme guess. It’s more apparent when you’re bored.” “Right.” At this point, I looked around the dreamscape. It looked familiar...like a place I’ve been...I know! It’s the Cincinnati Union Terminal! Wait, am I dead? “No, you’re still alive. Or at least I am...” “We’re in the same body!” “Yeah, mine. Do you know what happened to yours?” I have to admit that I do not, to this day, know what happened to it. “Didn’t think so.” “Remember, we’re in this together. If one of us loses, we both lose. And by the way, were you thinking earlier?” If so, that explains the...different...thoughts. “That was me. Sorry if that freaked you out...” “No problem. It is your head.” Wait, why is it the Union Terminal? “It’s familiar to you and, if I may say, a majestic building.” Ditzy, would you stop doing that? “Doing what? Oh, you weren’t asking. It’s kind of hard distinguishing between your monologue and dialogue from in here.” You make a point. “I can’t believe I haven't looked at your cutie mark yet!” I looked and it was...five hailstones. Hmmm, maybe she isn’t as much of a Derpy clone as I thought. “How do you know about my sister?” Oh, that explains it. They’re twins! “Answer the question.” Should I be transparent, or protect her sanity? “I’d be transparent. I can probably handle it.” Oh yeah, she can hear my internal monologue. “Okay. There’s this show, right? My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Your sister was a fan favorite who we knew nothing about. Our love for her was acknowledged by the show’s producers, who put her in more and more until an episode of Season 2. “This was the first time anyone took offense to her. She was seen as a joke on the mentally disabled, and the episode where she spoke was redubbed and the video changed. Some fans saw this as an assault on the fanbase, and I don’t blame them. Most, including the mentally disabled, loved her. If you have to be told why you should be offended, they’re wrong. And by the way, how did you get your cutie mark?” “It’s better to show you the memory.” Wait, can she do that? “It’s a dream. What can’t I do?” I’ll give you that... *** I was in the willow previously mentioned on a normal Wednesday, wondering what was taking Derpy longer than usual. Finally she came and, in accordance with tradition, smacked her hoof on the willow. “Who dares disturb the Wondrous Willow?” I boomed, giggling afterwards. I’ve always loved doing that. “I dare disturb the Wondrous Willow!” “So I see. Welcome, sister, on this Wondrous Wednesday.” “Sis! I brought something for you!” She held out a small vial. She made another perfume! Awesome! She’s very good with fragrances. “Knowing how well you do fragrances, this’ll have to smell good.” “Oh Ditzy, you are so kind!” “You’re great with fragrances, sis. There really is no denying it.” “Thanks sis!  I really hope you like this new perfume, I call it ‘Wonderland’!” I opened the bottle and sniffed. She really outdid herself on this one. “Smelling it, I can see the name fits! It smells like this place looks!” “Thank you! I tried my hardest to craft our adventures into a perfume!” “You did great, sis.” “I’m so glad you like it!” “And I like it that you’re gla...” Her flank was...changing. “What’s happening to your flank?” “Huh, what?” Apparently she got her cutie mark! “You got your cutie mark! It’s...bubbles. That’s fitting for you, with your Chemistry and your personality.” She looked. “EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!” My twin started hopping around me, squeeing. “And man can you squee! It’s almost like your life was defined just now!” “Oh that’s crazy talk!” “It was! This is what many point to as the defining moment of their life!” “Hey sis, maybe we should go home now, it’s starting to get dark.” “Yeah, don’t want our parents to worry about us.” “Yea, let’s go.” With that, we trotted off from the ‘Wondrous Willow’  for the adventure of getting home. “Is that...a hail cloud?” I asked the obvious. Derpy has a strong nephophobia, strong enough that we can’t bring her anywhere near Cloudsdale. “I-I think so...” “Right over the quickest way home, too... I’ll move it, don’t worry. Meet you at home?” “O-okay..” “I’ll just be a second, sis.” I flew over to the cloud to get it out of the way. It was smaller than I thought, so I simply moved it over by where the Weather Patrol was working and went back to Derpy.. “Never mind. It was a small one.” “Thanks sis..” “No problem. Can’t have you being forced through hail.” “That hail would have killed me..” “But it couldn’t. I was here.” “That’s why you are awesome!” “Any pegasus could do that. Most ponies know very little about fragrances compared to you.” “Thanks, but did you see how far you tossed that.. evil.. cloud?” “Just over to the closest Weather Patrol member. “Oh shush, you know that was awesome!” “Not as awesome as that perfume earlier!” “You are so sweet!” “It’s true.” “You are the best sister ever!” “And from where I stand, you are.” “Ditzy! Your flank!” I looked, then gasped. My cutie mark! On the same day as my sister got hers! “EEEEE! Our cutie marks on the SAME DAY!” “They match! I got seven bubbles you got five...  bubbles?” They were...hailstones. “They look like...hailstones.” “Cool! That must mean you’re great with weather!” A normal talent, if there ever was one. “And also that, as a team, nothing can stop us!” Unstoppable teamwork is rarer, but it happens to be an interpretation that I like. “Woohoo! Best. Team. Ever!” We giggled. “And that’s because you’re on it with me!” “Eeyup!” “Now let’s get home!” “Hey sis?” “Yeah?” “Thanks for helping me with my Nephophobia.” “No problem, sis. It’s something that you need help with, so I’m happy to do so.” “You are the best sister a mare could ever have!” “From where I stand, you are.” That was honest. She’s the best sister I’ve ever had. *** “So that’s how Equestria was made.” I said that with a straight face, oddly enough. I generally grin when making an obvious joke. It’s a dream, I can do what I want. “What...Oh, is that a Pinkie Pie quote?” She’s going through my memories? Oh, come on. “You are in my body.” True, true. “By the way, your mom just started waking you up, just so you know.” “Okay, guess we have to wake up.” I hugged Ditzy as we woke up. *** My mom was shaking my shoulder or whatever the real term for it is. She looks surprised. “You already know I’m a pony!” Unfortunately, it came out more like “Mff mffumfffmf!” You see, my mouth had something in it. “How do you have a pillow in your mouth?” A pillow? Seriously? How did I, while asleep, open the car door, find a pillow, go back to the back seat, and stuff it into my mouth? Why didn’t I just use it like a pillow? I wanted one anyway... Ditzy, did you have anything to do with this? No, I wouldn’t have eaten it. I depillowed my mouth, with great difficulty. This one was a big one. I couldn’t fit it back into my mouth, and trust me I tried. Whatever caused the pillows may be connected with the ponifications... “The question remains, though. How did you get a pillow in your mouth?” “Neither of us know.” “Right. Wait, is there an alternate personality I don’t know of?” “He’s MY alternate personality. My body, you know?” Ditzy spoke up. My mom looked at me (Her? Both?) like I was crazy. I probably am, but she’s probably not. I took the mouth back from her to make a point. “The way it works is that I woke up in my bed and this body-” I was interrupted from within. “And MY body now has him in it. Today, he did most of the talking.” I took the mouth back. “I wasn’t aware of your consciousness until lunch, Ditzy. Of course I did most of the talking.” My mom’s snickering finally reached my ears. “And what are you laughing at?” “I know you sometimes talk to yourself, but not to this extreme.” “I’m not him. He’s not me.” Ditzy took the mouth. “And where are we, anyway?” “Home.” Good, I hate shopping. And besides, I wanna play video games. Should I ask what those are, or not?         No, I’ll show you.         Don’t bother, I can see your memories.         Oh yeah...Be careful in there.         Yeah, yeah...Oh my Celestia, who would do something like THAT!         What did you see, Ditzy? I hope she didn’t get into Halo...         They blew up the moon, Chris! Halo’s fine by me; they were doing what they had to. But they blew up the moon! Okay, it was Sonic Adventure 2. Weird, she’s more offended by the moon being blown up than genocide.         Above all, Ditzy, they were telling a story. Only in the story did they blow up the moon. And besides, in the game, which isn’t real, it was a warning shot. Would you rather he shot at the Earth, where all of the people are?         No...         Exactly. Now I’m gonna play it. By this time, we were all inside, and I was sitting in front of the TV, looking at my Dreamcast. Luckily, my copy of Sonic Adventure 2 was in the system. I don’t wanna break it. I pressed the power button and waited. When the start screen came up, Ditzy surprised me by pushing the requisite button. The controls were a struggle; we gave up on it after ten minutes trying to create a file. Oh well, gaming can wait.         At this time, I spontaneously decided to do something drastic. I went up to my room and grabbed a small bag. Inside of it was my laptop. The clock read 3:00. I then hovered downstairs and grabbed my phone and a USB cord for it.         “What are you doing?” I’m sorry, Mom, but I feel that this has to be done.         “We’re going to Cincinnati.”