//------------------------------// // Regression (Part 3) // Story: Cloudsdale: Metropolis // by Anonymous XXX //------------------------------// “Now, before we begin, you must understand that hypno-therapy is a very… imprecise art,” stated Twilight Sparkle, seated comfortably in front of Rainbow Dash. “It is, in essence, a way to connect with your inner being and communicate with your soul. However, it is incredibly imperfect; one cannot trust the information they discover, as the soul is a very subjective force, driven by its own desires.” Dash felt her head begin to spin. She wanted to interrupt the studious unicorn and ask for a simpler explanation, but her pride wouldn’t allow it. Perhaps Twilight would notice her look of extreme confusion and tone it down a bit. But, on the other hand… “Because of this, the art of hypno-therapy is utterly useless except in very special cases. For instance, many Hoofist monks take advantage of this practice in order to connect with their souls in their quests for enlightenment and self-awareness,” Twilight’s lecture continued. “In rare occurrences, the soul is troubled by something and it attempts to gain its body’s attention through various means, such as a trapped feeling, nightmares, insomnia, and even physical illness. This is what I believe happened to you, Rainbow Dash.” Although she was still confused, parts of it were beginning to make sense, particular the part about the nightmares. Reveling in her newfound, if mild, understanding, Dash managed to miss the next few moments of Twilight’s lecture. Upon realizing this, she quickly returned her attention to her lavender friend. “As for the tunnel of light you passed through, that was actually just the visualization of your soul transcending time itself on its journey to your past. It’s basically a brief glance at what scholars believe to be the Afterlife. When a pony dies, it is believed that the pony’s soul enters the Afterlife until it is prepared to return in a new body. Some souls return in only a few weeks, and others, like yours, Dashie, can take years and years,” Twilight explained. “Hey, wait a minute!” shouted Dash. “Are you saying my soul is worse than all the other souls?! Just because it took longer to come back doesn’t mean-” “Oh, no, of course not, Rainbow Dash!” said Twilight quickly, sounding apologetic. “There’s absolutely no difference between a soul that returns in a week and a soul that returns in a century. It just depends on the preferences of the soul.” Rainbow Dash brightened up considerably, her ego instantly healed. She leaned back with a smug grin on her face. “Yeah, my soul’s just too awesome for Equestria. It probably only came back to defeat Nightmare Moon and Discord, and then join the Wonderbolts.” Twilight gave a nervous, half-forced chuckle. “Umm… Yes, that’s probably what happened…. Anyway, after your soul travelled through the tunnel, it took up temporary residence within its previous body, Victoria Wing. It’s unlikely that you lived any other lives between yours and Victoria’s, because you would’ve caught glimpses of them in the tunnel.” Dash’s smug grin spread wide as this new evidence supported her theory. Twilight continued to enlighten her friend. “You mentioned that, when you were Victoria, you couldn’t move, right? Well, that makes perfect sense. You were reliving one of her actual memories, so it’d be pretty silly if you could do whatever you liked,” she said, laughing a little at her humor. “You could, however, feel everything that Victoria felt physically, as well as a few traces of her emotions. I doubt very much that she actually looked at you, but I suppose it would be, for you, the equivalent of looking into a mirror and seeing a stranger stare back. She would’ve been looking into her own eyes, but I can understand your confusion.” Rainbow Dash seemed a little crushed. “So… She doesn’t need my help, then?” “Oh, I think she needs it very much,” affirmed Twilight. “I just don’t think she actually meant to look at you. It’s just a technicality.” “Okay then. In that case, how am I supposed to help her?” asked Dash. “She didn’t really show me a helpful memory, you know.” “Well, Victoria didn’t really choose the memory,” Twilight began. “It’s only possible to see the memories that correspond to your exact age when you viewed them.” She saw her friend’s eyes begin to roll in confusion. “For instance, say you were exactly fifteen years old.” “But I’m not fifteen, I’m—“ “I know you’re not, Dashie, but it’ll help explain it,” Twilight smiled at Rainbow Dash’s indignation. “If you were exactly fifteen years old and you tried to view a memory from a past life, you would only be able to see what happened when your past life was exactly fifteen. You couldn’t see what happened when they were, say, fifteen and one day old.” “Okay… So, how can I find out how to help her?” asked Dash. “I can’t spend my whole life watching her memories until I find something.” “And no one expects you to, Rainbow Dash. It’s a complicated science, but to put it simply, you still have all of Victoria’s memories,” Twilight explained. “They just have to be triggered by something. If, for example, you were to talk into the room where Victoria used to eat lunch every day, you would get a strange feeling of lunchtime and déjà vu.” “Twilight, I can’t go experience everything in Equestria to figure out what was wrong with Victoria. That would take forever! And then I’d have to figure out how to help, and then actually help—“ Rainbow Dash complained. “Oh, Dashie,” sighed Twilight. “You could always just, you know, take the intelligent approach. Go to places that Victoria probably spent a lot of time, like her house.” “And how am I supposed to know where she lived?” Dash asked incredulously. “I didn’t even recognize the town!” Twilight laughed. “Just go to Cloudsdale’s police department. They should have the files on the case there. You could learn a lot from them.” Rainbow Dash’s face lit up. “Twilight… That’s a great idea! I’m going to head over there now. I’ll see you later, Twi!” Dash opened her wings and took off through the hole she had created in Twilight’s house the morning before. “Good luck, Dashie,” murmured Twilight as she watched her friend fly off into the sky, ready to solve the mysteries of her past.