//------------------------------// // Prologue // Story: Two Minds // by Thethhron //------------------------------// Two Minds: Begin a Story Oh! Hey there! What brings you around these parts? You want to hear about the Game? Haha, it's no trouble. I tell the story often enough that, even at my age, the details are still fresh in my mind. What's that? You want the super-duper extended extra-long long version? Geez, making me pull out my old notebooks. Yes, I have notebooks, even from back then. At least, I started writing it down as soon as I got books. Now where were they... Ah, here we go! 'Six months ago, I... Poor girl... and that griffin...' Yes, yes, it's all coming back to me now. Alright, let me just get a cup of cocoa. Sit, make yourself comfortable. It's been awhile since I had to tell this version; it's quite long. Just don't fall asleep on me. Now, I think you're supposed to say 'Once upon a time...' I was nobody special. Just a college athlete with a taste for a certain brand of colorful, cartoon equines. After college, I thought I'd have a generic, but not boring, life. A family, good friends and a job I liked well enough. My kids would have their own and I'd be a grandparent before I died and went to heaven. That's really all I've ever wanted in life. Not fame or fortune. Not guts and glory. Just a good life, lived with people I care about. So, then, how did I end up in Equestria, the harmonious land of ponies, happiness and dreams? Looking back on the day makes it seem so distant. It was a Saturday, shortly after the cross country season ended. I had just woken up in the small apartment I rented from the university with some friends, who had gone off to do some errand or another at the time. I sat down next to my laptop, bowl of cereal in hand. No meet meant extra time for homework! Hah. But no, it was Saturday and a new TV season was just beginning. At least for my favorite show. As my normal watching buddy was out, I started the stream on my own. I got comfortable in my chair as the six heroes went off to a northern kingdom, fought some advanced darkness and restored peace to a kingdom. I had to excuse myself (yes excuse myself from myself, it happens) due to secondhand embarrassment a couple of times and again in celebration during the climax. Plopping back down just before the credits however, I swiftly noticed some minor, concerning details about my environment. The TV appeared to be higher than before…and continued to move higher and higher, at an alarmingly rapid pace. Suspiciously like falling. My first reaction was confusion. I can't be falling, there's nowhere for me to fall! Did the floor give out underneath me? Looking down served to elevate my confusion to marginal fear. I discovered a tunnel of swirling rainbows beneath my chair. "Ah." I said. "That would explain the falling." As I fell, my thoughts spiralled. So pretty! Can one have a pit of rainbows? Pits are supposed to be bad, with spikes at the bottom for adventurers to fall into. Not kaleidoscopic rainbow filled holes. It must be a trap! But what devious mind could think to lure people in with the false hope of a rainbow? Truly, only a demon. After a moment more of sinking, the chair dropped from beneath me. With a yelp, I grabbed whatever was closest to me. I started to pull myself back up with the wired game controller I'd snagged but in my haste, it happily unplugged itself and fell in with me. Traitor! How could you abandon me to the whims of the internet! Er, I mean universe. Those are basically the same thing right? I only fell for a few moments before the opening disappeared with a sucking noise and I “landed” on the rainbows, which were forming a solid surface. The vortex felt plastic and slippery, like a slide, making me realize how long it had been since I’d last played on a playground of any kind. Though I was still panicking, a solid surface was calming to me, even if it was made of pulsating rainbows. I decided to enjoy the fascinating, spiraling fractals the rainbow slide was made of, laughing while I had the chance, giggling down the “slide”… at least for the first 5 minutes. Then it got old. Which was okay, as it was at this point something flipped a switch in my head. I wasn’t tired, but my eyes closed of their own accord and I slipped into darkness. Slowly, a stone chamber faded into view. Square windows were spaced evenly along the degrading walls, moss lightly covering some of the stones. Crumbling Roman pillars held up the broken ceiling in some places, the missing bits in piles on the floor. In front of me stood a horse – or rather, a pony - whose face I could never forget: Nightmare Moon. As my brain tried to process why she was there, I began to hear voices, voices I knew all too well. Without me commanding it, my body turned around. In doing so, I realized I had four legs, instead of two and two arms. Despite the fact this should have freaked me out or at least confused me, I began to feel calm and soon, happiness and relief. My senses were coming into focus and slowly, I began to think within my thoughts, as little sense as that makes. ‘Oh good, my friends found me! Wait, they’re…my friends?’ Suddenly, a weight I didn’t know existed lifted from my stomach and my brain clicked. I suddenly understood the 6th element – and concurrently realized what was happening. I knew this memory. Or rather, I knew whose memory this was. This was what Twilight Sparkle saw and felt in the castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, after the elements were shattered and her new best friends found her. This was Twilight’s memory of understanding. I knew what happened next but I watched anyway from my new viewpoint – I hardly had a choice. Twilight and I turned and explained to Nightmare Moon where the elements were and to whom each belonged. Twilight mentioned the ‘Spark’ that resides within every individual, that spark being friendship, which inspires souls to great feats and brings them together in times of need. As the elements swirled around us, I could feel the magic coursing through Twilight’s body, filling her to the brim, giving her the knowledge she needed to wield the elements. Luna’s jealousy and hate were peeled away and sent to who knows where, leaving her as she once was. I watched as Celestia returned from the sun and embraced her sister. This is where the memory faded, leaving me again in darkness. So, why am I dreaming I'm Twilight Sparkle? Did I get hit on the head during my rainbow ride? Looking around me, there was only inky blackness. No matter how hard I looked, nothing new came to my sight. I hope I don't go blind. Man, wherever I am is pretty boring. A new memory faded into view. The legend of the royal pony sisters came into focus, straight out of the book. I was surprised to find I could read the book, as it certainly wasn’t written in English. Of course, it detailed Celestia’s and Luna’s role with the sun and moon, Luna’s fall into darkness, her banishment and the role of the elements of Harmony. Towards the end, the reader looked up and gazed across her room at a picture above the fireplace. Apparently, I was Twilight again, considering the bed I was in, the window to my right and the basket nearby. Happiness and nostalgia welled up as I looked at the picture of the Element Bearers.The memory faded. Still, these feel like memories, not dreams. So I'm seeing memories? Another scene faded in. Knowing I was seeing foreign memories, it was clear they were not limited to Twilight. Before me was an apple orchard surrounded by hedges, with a small pool. Three piles of apples, one green, one red and one yellow, spoke to me, offering me a chance to ask a single question, which would be answered truthfully. “What’s gonna come of this here mission we’re on?” The rolling piles led me to the pond. Even so far removed from these memories as I am now, I still struggle to identify the memories I experienced in the void as something foreign to my own experience. I felt despair then, stronger than any despair I had felt but a few other times in my life. It overcame me, telling me to lie, so that I might try to protect my friendships. I felt a change – a corruption Discord set in motion. The memory faded. So, it's not just Twilight. But memories. Why? Who? How? Once more, a memory came into being – though it felt quite different. Before my eyes sat Discord on his chaotic throne. Twilight was saying something to him but my body was moving to the side and I missed some of what was being said. I realized I must have been Pinkie, as my body looked up and drank chocolate milk falling from a cotton candy cloud, shouting “WAIT!!” before running back and joining my fri- er, Pinkie’s friends. Again, I felt the magic swirling around me as the elements gained power. Again, I saw the rainbow arc and hit Discord, turning him to stone. The memory faded with the rainbow and flash of magic that returned Ponyville to normal. Well, that was mighty interesting. I guess. The memories were appearing more swiftly now. The first thing that I noticed was how incredibly afraid I currently was. This must be Fluttershy’s memory. Opening my eyes, I saw myself surrounded by changelings. Ah, even better, the Royal Wedding. Great. In between ducking, we, being Fluttershy and our- her friends, appeared to be traveling up a staircase. I entered the wedding chamber and watched as Chrysalis sang her victory ditty. Twilight released Cadence while the queen was distracted and created the magic love bubble with Shining Armor, floating above the ground. As the shield passed by, expelling changelings as it went, an overwhelming calm happiness descended on me. The memory faded as the couple lowered to the floor from their magical cocoon. Cool. Changelings got blasted. Great. Why am I here? I already know all this. Not that I don't enjoy the show. It's pretty interesting to see things from a different point of view. Still, I don't understand what I'm supposed to be getting out of this. The next memory came up faster and initially seemed familiar. It appeared I was at the Grand Galloping Gala, but something was off. For one, I could see Rainbow Dash dressed in a Chinese dress, the kind with the leg split - A good look for her - but she wasn’t the only thing off. A griffin was on stage, performing some song in a band. My current memory host recognized him as the captain of some pirates... or something. Huh. Interesting. Piracy in Equestria? Something is up with that. But if he was a pirate, why was he at the Gala? Wouldn’t he be under arrest? Looking to the side, a changeling came into view. Wait. I had to be dreaming now. How far in the future was this memory compared to the last? However, no one was questioning his presence, not even the pony I was looking through at the moment. The griffin began to sing and I could hear instruments even though none were present. Cartoon logic, I guess. “Rarity, darling! Good to see you again.” My head turned and I saw fancy stallion walking towards me. Ah, so this is Rarity’s memory? Okay then. The stallion and Rarity had a short chat about fashion or some such thing. I wasn’t actively paying attention. My meta-thoughts were cut short as the song changed and the memory faded again, returning me to darkness. This is getting ridiculous. Changelings and pirates at the Gala. What's next I wonder? Another memory surfaced. I could feel appendages I didn’t remember being used before or having before, along my back. Wings? And they’re keeping me afloat too. As my sight came into focus, vision bobbing with my wing-strokes, I was staring at a bookcase numbly. "Hey girls, over here! Pinkie found something!” Ah, that's Twilight's voice. I flew over quickly and discovered Fluttershy, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack and Rarity - must mean I'm Rainbow Dash - looking into a dusty book. The tome looked more like a journal than book really, as the binding was simply string and there was no design or name on the cover. After a little bit of reading, Twilight spoke again. "Okay girls. I can't fully comprehend what's written here, but there is an old description saying the spell below is supposed to use the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony to stop Sombra - somehow. I figured we might as well try it and see what it gets us, as we haven't found anything else yet." After some murmurs of consent from the rest of us, we got closer in to read the spell itself: "Seas of the cosmic, sands of time grant us a power only thine One once removed, from planes beyond lives to protect, picked from the throng Bring this land, steeped in pain the cleansing cool of peaceful rain" With each line of the spell, I could feel power bubbling up within Rainbow Dash. The magic was similar to the elements but different. It felt more personal, more connected to my locus of identity than to the broad emotions I had felt in the other memories. The six of us were surrounded with a glow of white. After the last line however, the magic abruptly ended. There were no flashy beams or explosions or any cool stuff like that. The magic being used flickered and disappeared. "Well, that didn't work. Maybe the spell isn't done? Let's look for something else." We all turned around and went back to looking. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw Pinkie getting a bunch of weird shakes but I / Rainbow Dash ignored it and the memory faded to black. When no new memory presented itself, my thoughts started rolling. ‘What was all that about? My dreams aren’t normally so clear or well defined. Even if those were real memories, where did they come from? Am I getting visions? That poem-spell seems oddly suspicious.... The darkness was replaced with an image of five white, floating words: “Please Help Protect this World” Uh, how? Pain erupted in my head and my senses failed me.