//------------------------------// // The Other Side of the Coin // Story: G.N.D: A My Little Dashie Sequel // by Nibrudly //------------------------------// Now that was the mother of all headaches. Had I not blacked out, and if I wasn’t in excruciating pain, I would have found that rather awesome. But, here I am, right in the middle of Ponyville…a mile off the ground and I haven’t flapped either wing to get here. I have to say, it’s nice to have a moment all to myself and really soak in Ponyville. Granted, it might be more enjoyable if there were actually other ponies, but in its own way, the quiet adds to the atmosphere. No vendors screaming their sales pitches, no clouds to worry about, absolutely no hustle or bustle below. Yep, I’m looking at Ponyville at its purest…okay, now I’m getting creepy. And so is Ponyville; forget the silence, I want the noise back. And how exactly am I standing on air? I know dreams can be cool and all, but I’ve had enough. Thankfully, gravity is kinder here than in reality. I just glide down and put all four hooves on the hard cobbled road, trying to think were the exit would be. Aside from Daring Do, I’ve gone through at least a third of the science fiction section at the library. And if I’m right, this is just like that Dreamscape story I read a couple months ago. While the story was more complicated and the situation was much more dangerous, I’m sure this place works the same way. I just need to find the door out of here. A thorough search through town gives me no promising leads; nothing is standing out to me. This was so much easier in the book. Okay, so the door isn’t in town. Let’s see how far this place spreads out. I take to the air and fly as high as possible. Just how far am I going to have to go to find the exit? I mean, outside in the real world, on a clear day, I can see the two-thirds of the Everfree forest and in the other direction I can see the silhouette of Canterlot hanging off the side of the mountain. But it isn’t a huge forest or the sunlight gleaming off Canterlot Castle that grabs my attention. About ten miles away from Ponyville is this weird…bubble. Yeah, a big purple bubble with a bizarre looking city inside. And every couple of minutes a large ripple goes through the bubble, starting on one end and passing to the other. Now I’m finally getting somewhere! As I fly towards the weird city, I just can’t help but feel it looks…familiar, somehow. But that’s impossible. It looks nothing like anything in Equestria. Oh, right…I’ve been to another world. Boy, that place must have been a dump. The city looks so desolate, how in the world could I have liked living there? I don’t think anyone in their right mind would want to live there. The buildings are old with vines crawling up the sides and graffiti everywhere, the trees are on the skimpy side, and it doesn’t look like the sun would shine on the city-even if the bubble wasn’t partially blocking it. And this is what Twilight wants me to remember? What could I have possibly experienced to make this a place of happy memories? It doesn’t take the long to find the source of the ripples: something is banging on the side of the bubble. No…not something, somepony is bucking the side. As I get closer it gets harder for me to believe who I see. I know it’s just a dream and all, but this still seems impossible. Cyan coat, rainbow mane, and now I can even see we have the same cutie mark. It’s me on the other side of the wall, bucking like crazy. She doesn’t notice me as I land next to the side of the bubble. “Hey.” I call out, she keeps bucking. “Hey!” Still nothing. “HEY!” Now I finally have her attention. She takes a few minutes to turn and face me. As soon as she does, she just gives me this look. That’s the same face of scorn I get from Cloud Kicker. What’d I do to twist her tail? She turns back around and goes back to bucking the wall. “Oh c’mon! You’re the only other pony in here! Can you at least tell me where I can get out?” It’s so weird hearing my voice answer me back. “Just click your heels three times and say ‘There’s no place like home,’ and then the good witch will whisk you out of here.” Alien references, very unfair. “Ha, that’s a good one, hilarious. But seriously, how do I get out?” My double stops bucking and faces me again. “Why should I help you?” “Uh...because we’re the same pony? It’d be a good idea?” “Funny, I thought I was ‘trash’ for Twilight to take to the curb.” Ooh…I didn’t think that would come back to bite me in the plot. “You heard that, huh?” “Rainbow, I’ve heard everything, I’ve seen everything, and I’ve almost felt everything. Especially those aspirin you popped; made me feel loopy for a good six hours. At least I got to watch the show with you. Nice to see that’s how I wound up on Earth.” Did that mean she’s what stopped the pain when I yelled this morning? “What about the second one? You feel that one too?” “Not really. After the first, I was ready for it. I heard the whole conversation. Nice to know I was getting through though, I’ve been bucking for two weeks trying to get past this freaking barrier. And after that comment, I put in some extra oomph and boom! You show up.” “Speaking of that, what is this place?” “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s our mind. That’s the only reason I can think of for why you’ve been seeing my memories and I’m stuck in this stupid bubble. I know she’s our friend and all, but Twilight could have done something a bit less drastic than this.” “Well at least she’s not the reason my body shut down.” “Yeah, you’re right, that was all you.” “Come again?” What the hay is she talking about? “This isn’t the first time we’ve met, Rainbow. Two weeks ago we were introduced to each other. And I have to say, you did not like the idea of sharing ‘your’ brain. Now that was an interesting fight; I didn’t know I could actually shriek at that pitch.” “Is this going anywhere?” “Hopefully. How about you shut up a second and let me talk?” “My, aren’t we moody?” “If you had been called a ‘clone’ and ‘freak’ or, my personal favorite, ‘unnecessary,’ you’d be cranky, too.” “Did I really say that?” “Let’s just say we we’re both having a bad day. You just woke up from napping for who knows how long, and I had just left home. I called you plenty of colorful names too.” “Uh-huh…like what?” “Trust me; both of us would rather not hear it again. All you have to know is that we didn’t exactly hit it off. So Twilight decided to send me to time out, even though I wasn’t the one who started it. What a good friend.” “Hey! Don’t talk bad about Twi! She’s been working real hard to fix this problem.” “I am not a problem, okay!? I am perfectly cooperative. You’re the one who didn’t want me.” “And why should I? From the looks of this dump I’d say Twilight would do me a favor if she got rid of it.” “And now we’re back to that. And here I thought you were better than this. You certainly seemed like it on the show.” “I’m sorry…‘show?’” This was getting more confusing by the second. She sat down on her haunches and got comfortable; apparently we were going to be here awhile. “Yeah, ‘show.’ On earth, we’re in a little girls’ TV show. But that doesn’t stop a whole lot of adults, both the women and the men from liking it. So you can only imagine how hard I took the news when I finally found out. It’s sort of hard to have any pride in yourself when you’re supposed to be a doll.” “You’re doing a wonderful job of convincing me that this was all a positive experience.” “When I really take a long and hard look back on it, it wasn’t. Let’s see…I was all alone, nobody-“ “Nopony” I interjected. “Right, no-‘pony’ was there to teach me what to eat or how to fly, I had to keep a low profile all of my life, and I only had one real friend. All in all, I’d say it would definitely have been a horrible experience. Except…” She looked down as a sad expression spread across her face. “Except...what?” I asked. “Except I got the best dad in the world to raise me. That’s the only thing that made it all worth it. With him I was able to live there, away from all my friends and family, no flightcamp or wonderbolts, no place where I could really fit, and yet he made me feel…normal.” She gave a heavy sigh and got back up on her hooves. “But, that’s over now. This was my choice and we knew…I knew it was the right one.” Then she looked me straight in the eye. “But after Twi brought you back out of…wherever it was that you were stuck, and we had our fight, I’m not so sure I made the right call anymore.” “What do you mean? Of course it was right! You belonged back home!” “Ah, but that’s the thing. I left my home to come back here. Earth is where I was home. Ponyville is all you. So if I belong ‘back home,’ why am I here? Answer me that.” “Oh come on, that’s not fair.” “Fair?” Now she was getting tense. “I was stuck all alone in a place that Celestia herself had written off, I had to grow up all by myself with only a human dad to raise me-puberty was a real joy, let me tell you-and, after I had finally gotten settled in, my ‘friends’ come out of the blue and take me away from everything I had known. And to top it off, after I decided to come back, everything that I was before, through no obvious fault of my own, didn’t want to accept what I had become. So tell me, Rainbow, is that fair?” I was thinking of a million things to say back, but not a single line made it to my mouth. She gave a heavy sigh and rubbed her head. “I’m sorry; I know that’s not your fault. Heh, I can only imagine what it must have been like for you in here. I’ve only been in here for two weeks and it’s been torture; I bet fifteen years was agony for you. You must have gone crazy being all alone in here. At least I had my dad.” She turned and started to walk away from me, facing towards the center of the city. “I wasn’t kidding before. All you have to do is just think ‘exit’ and you should wake up. Tell the girls ‘Dashie’ said hi.” That was it. That was the answer I had been looking for…but now I didn’t want to go. Did I really say those things to her? What was my deal? “Dashie” seemed like an okay mare, why wouldn’t I have wanted her to be a part of me? And why couldn’t I feel anything looking at this place? She may be all my memories of here, but I should be feeling something right now, regardless of her separation. In any case, it was too late now, my mind was made up. “Hey, uh…Dashie?!” She turned her head towards me. “If I can just think my way out of here, then I can think my way into there, right?” A look of surprise spread across her face as she turned back towards me. “Um, yeah, I guess that could work.” Alright, now I just have to figure out the best way to do it. I pictured in my mind my hoof going through the wall of the bubble. To my surprise it actually gave and I was able to push all the way through. Soon I joined my double in the middle of the road. We just stared for a few minutes before she finally broke the silence. “So…what now?” “Hmm…I want you to show me it.” Now she looked even more confused. “Show you what?” “Show me your life here. I’ve been having dreams about this place for two weeks. I want to see if I can jog my memory.” “Technically it’s already been jogged, but hey, let’s fly!” Soon we were soaring above the city and taking in the scenery. At this altitude, I noticed the city was a lot bigger than what I had seen on the outside. It stretched farther than what I could have thought possible. I began to wonder if we could have gone anywhere on Earth before we stopped at our first destination. “Alright, you see this alley?” She pointed her hoof. “This is where Dad found me. And that-” now she pointed to a house a few blocks away, “-is where I lived for the first nine years of my life. Want to see it?” I gave a nod and we flew down to the house. It was just like the rest of the buildings in town: old and ragged. Fortunately, the inside looked better than the outside. “Ah, just how I remember it! I wonder if the TV will work…” She pressed the “On” button and it sprang to life; this weird talking sponge was on the screen. “Ha! Spongebob! Man, I haven’t watched that for awhile.” “Hey Dashie? You’ve been back here already, right?” It seemed odd that she didn’t even know if the TV would work if this was her home. “Uh, yes, right…want to see my old room?” “Sure” Soon I was trotting right behind her as we went down the hallway to her bedroom. It was an interesting sight to see. Tacked on drawings and posters of various athletes covered up where the wall paper was peeling. Numerous dolls that looked like little (“humans” I think she said?) were strewn across the floor along with some little toy…vehicles, I think? I saw plenty of them outside and on some of her posters but we don’t have anything like them in Equestria. I moved on from the toys on the floor to the bed in the corner. The bed was small and simple, but when I pressed my hoof into the mattress it felt rather soft. And on her nightstand was a little picture frame with a photo of what looked like one of her birthdays. It was cool seeing all this stuff, but it felt like something was missing. If these where my memories, why didn’t I feel any connection to them? Maybe something I knew was a big deal would get through. “Hey Dashie?” “Yeah?” “Tell me, how did you get your cutie mark? I mean, without flight camp I don’t see how you could have ever reached that point.” “Ah! Follow me!” We were heading out the door when she suddenly stopped and said “Wait!” She opened the coat closet and brought out this smelly little dog costume. “Phew, yep! Still smells funny.” With dog costume in hoof, we took to the sky. Soon we were in standing in the middle of a small park. “Alright, here is where I learned to fly! And you see this?” She dropped the costume on the ground. “I had to wear this stupid thing until I could finally get myself off the ground and into the air. I definitely don’t miss it, let me tell you.” She continued to give me the tour. “You see that tree? Right next to the sandbox? I jumped off that tree five hundred and sixty-two times over the course of a year before I could make it to fifty feet. Then it took me another year before I was able to do the Sonic Rainboom. Now that was a day to remember.” This time I could almost see the young filly clambering up the tree, all excited to fly. And I’m sure I could feel the shock wave from the Rainboom. Then I imagined just how far from ear to ear her smile must have spread when she saw that rainbow bursting out of her mane behind her. But that was coming from my own experience, not the one in this park. I should have felt something here! If anything could get these memories to click, it would have been this. Maybe I’m looking for the wrong ones? “What other places are there?” “We still haven’t gone to my second house. That was way better than all of this here. Wide open fields, nice big forest, and a much nicer spread.” “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Despite my apparent enthusiasm, I was growing more concerned. None of this was making any sense. If she’s supposed to be me fifteen years later, I should be feeling something, right? Something should have been clicking. Some sense of nostalgia at least. It took a good twenty minutes to get to the second house; it’s on a property that’s at least a hundred miles away from the city. And boy it’s big! It’s almost as huge as Sweet Apple Acres. “Now you see that field there?” she yelled over the wind, “My dad would give me thirty bucks-“ “Bucks? He kicked you? Why?” That didn’t sound like “father of the year” to me. “Oh, right, forgot about that. I meant ‘dollars,’ we use those instead of bits. He gave me thirty every two weeks for mowing it. Then I got fifty every time I’d plow the driveway during the winter. Now that was always a pain.” “Sounds like hard work!” I yelled back. “Eh, it’s a living.” She replied with a smile. We landed in front of the house. It definitely was larger and in much better condition than its predecessor. It looked like a log cabin, but upon closer inspection I could see the brick underneath. “How the hay did you afford this?” “Once in a blue moon, Dad would try his luck at the local casino. Usually he would only make a gain of fifty dollars or so, but one night he just came through the door with the biggest grin on his face. ‘Dashie!’ he yells, ‘I won the jackpot! We can get a better house!’ And after that, we soon moved out here. I remember flying ahead and waiting on the porch for Dad to show up with the moving truck.” “Can we go inside?” “Actually,” she seemed to be hesitant, “I’d prefer to take a walk through the woods.” “A walk?” Were we really the same mare? “They’re not as boring as you think.” I was soon trotting next to Dashie on the beaten-down trail. Obviously, our definitions of boring were as different as night and day. The whole time she just pointed out the numerous features in the backdrop: patches of wildflowers, a pond or two, several bird nests, all that foresty stuff. I didn’t see how she could actually find this entertaining. I thought I would fall asleep from her constant droning until this huge tree came into view. Now I’ve been around trees, but I’ve never seen one like that! Forget napping, I could build a house in that tree! I interrupted Dashie from her description of this old log she found and drew her attention to the tree. She just ignored me and kept right on walking. Fine, if she doesn’t want to stop and take a look at it, then I will. I fly up and settle in. This tree has to be the best tree I have ever been in. I can lie down and never worry about rolling off, and the canopy is so thick I doubt any rain would touch me. “Hey!” I hear Dashie calling up to me. “What’re you doing up there? I still haven’t shown you the big clump of tree fungus. Don’t you want to see that?” “No, not really. Hey, here’s an idea: why don’t we just hang out in this tree?!” Now she seemed anxious. “Aw c’mon, Rainbow; don’t you want to finish the trail?” “Don’t you think talking about every single log and twig that comes our way is boring? Really, did being on Earth mess up your brain?” “No! My brain is perfectly fine.” “Then why don’t you want to hang out in this beautiful tree?” “Because,” now she had the moody look again, “Because I already have. A long time ago.” “Then why not come up and join me?” “I can’t.” She hung her head. “Why not?” “Because it brings back memories.” My head perked up at this, “Bad memories?” “No…” she then turned towards the tree, I could see this faraway look in her eyes, “…one of the best I have.” Before I could ask her more, she started to reminisce. “It was rainy and I was covered in crap. I felt like crap too. Three days prior, I had learned I came from the TV show and I confronted my Dad about it. I spent a good two hours blasting him before I finally ran to my room and bolted out the window. Then I spent the next three days roughing it out here. In that time, I realized what an ass I had been. But I didn’t think my Dad would want me back, as silly as that seems. I was up in that tree waiting out a storm when I heard him walk up and sit down underneath me. And you know what I heard him say? ‘I’m sorry.” Here was my dad just looking out for his little girl and he thought it was all his fault.” “It wasn’t?” I interrupted. She shot me such a look, “Of course not! He just wanted to make sure I wouldn’t do anything drastic, but I did. Anyways, I came down, we made up and everything after that was absolutely wonderful. I wish I could go back to that day, nestled in his arms again, just one more time…” She stood there for a good five minutes before she snapped out of it. “Anyway, it’s just a tree. Let’s go back to the house.” Her smile did not return for the rest of the walk. After a half hour, we had finished the trek. Even though there wasn’t too much light, I could tell the sun was setting outside the bubble. It didn’t take long for us to reach the house. “Shall we go in?” Now she was really anxious, “Nah, you go ahead. I lived here for six years; I’ve seen all of it already.” “C’mon, what’s your deal? Why don’t you want to go inside?” “I just prefer the breeze out here.” “I’m sure there are fans inside, now c’mon you big chicken.” “I am not chicken!” “Then you first.” She gave a scowl as I gave a smirk, but soon the anger was replaced with this look of dread as she opened the front door. I was right behind her as we walked in. The kitchen was on our left and the living room was on our right. Unlike when we saw the last house, she didn’t seem as talkative this time around. I bumped into her as she stopped in front of the living room. “Hey, what gives?!” She didn’t respond. She just stayed anchored in that one spot. “Hello? Dashie?” I waved a hoof in front of her face, still nothing. I started making all kinds of faces at her before her right hoof collided with my stomach. “I’m awake, you know.” “Could have fooled me…ow.” She walked towards the middle of the room as I picked myself off the ground. She sat down on the couch as I picked myself up off the carpet. “We watched NASCAR in this room. I remember all those Sunday afternoons cheering on the cars on the other side of the screen. And then there where all the times we played co-op; ha, all those noobs.” She had the faraway look in her eyes again, a smile on her face. “This is where I hung out after mowing the lawn. This is the room-” now the smile slowly disappeared as she continued, “Where I learned who I really was and where I came from. And,” now she hung her head, her voice was now a whisper “this is where I said goodbye.” She slowly buried her face in her hooves. I was at a loss for words. I didn’t know what to do here; I’m not always the best in situations like this. I thought about what I would want somepony to do if I was like this, but then again, Dashie wasn’t exactly me. But looking at her, sitting like that with her head in her hooves, I figured it wouldn’t hurt just to sit next to her. She didn’t acknowledge me as I sat down beside her. I hesitantly put a hoof on her shoulder and said “It’s okay.” “Yeah,” she brought her head out of her hooves; I could see a tear in her eye, “Yeah, everything’s good.” As if. “Yeah…we may not be the same, but I know when I’m upset and I can easily tell something is eating you. So c’mon, tell me what’s going on.” “Nothing,” She wiped her eyes, “I’m fine.” “Then why didn’t you want to sit in the tree? Why didn’t you want to come in the house? And why…” I grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards me, “…can’t you give yourself a straight answer?” “Because,” she pushed my hooves off, “there’s nothing to say. I said goodbye and that’s that.” “So after fifteen years of spending time with your dad who loved and cared for you, you’re completely fine with saying goodbye?” “Yeah, I’m fine.” She was getting tense, but I didn’t care. I was going to get a straight answer from her. “Really? How much time did you have? An hour or two? And you were completely okay with that?” “Yes.” now I could sense the aggression in her tone “I’m fine. And what do you care?” “Because! We’re the same pony, Dashie! It took me months getting used to the idea of leaving home and I still visit my parents every other week to check in. And yet you’re completely fine with leaving your dad forever in just a few hours? I just don’t believe it. That doesn’t make any sense.” She stood up and yelled at me, “We are not the same! We will never be the same! Just suck me in and get this over with already.” Now I stood up and yelled at her. “Is that what Rainbow Dash would say?! Would she give up that easily?! Who do you think you are?!” “I’m freaking Rainbow Dash and I’m perfectly fine! What do you want me to say, that I miss my Pops? That I just can’t bear to live without him?” her anger slowly faded as tears started to slowly roll down her face, “That I wish I had more time with him? That if I could go back, I would?” and now she stopped holding back. “That I’m absolutely miserable without him?” She plopped back down onto the couch as the tears freely fell from her eyes. Even though we had our differences, she reacted the way I knew she would. I know that’s how I would take it if I were in her place. And that’s what bugged me: I was in her place. She was me, why wasn’t I feeling anything? I still felt no connection at all to this place. I lived here for six years, and yet I couldn’t tell you were the bathroom was. It just didn’t make any sense. As I continued to ponder, Dashie just sat there with her head in her hooves, her cries muffled, but audible. I finally snapped myself out of my thoughts and attended to her. “Are you happy now?” she said bitterly, sniffling all the while. “Is that what you were looking for?” I wouldn’t say happy, but at least I got my straight answer. “That’s all I wanted to hear.” I put a hoof on her shoulder as the tears continued to fall. “Well a fat lot of good it does.” “Tell me why you spent the last two weeks bucking that wall instead of hanging out here.” “I…I was scared, okay! Forget that, I was terrified!” “Why?” “Like you said, I only had a few hours to say goodbye. I thought that if I went back to what I had on Earth, what I left behind, then I wouldn’t be able to move forward, you know? That I couldn’t live with coming back to Equestria.” “And why did you have to come back?” She wiped her nose with her hoof. “Because I’m one of the elements, right? I have to be in Equestria in case something happens.” “And?” “And, and I wasn’t supposed to be there. I didn’t belong there with all those people. I needed to come home to where my…my real family and friends were!” she broke out into a sob and fell into one of the throw pillows on the couch. I could hear her muffled voice through the pillow. “Why did I just leave him there?!” Now I was in over my head. It’s been a long time since I got this upset, but when I did it would take forever to get me to calm down, no matter who spoke to me. And even then, I don’t think it was over anything as heavy as this. “Hey! Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay.” “No, I’m not! I’m hung up on this and I need-I need-I need to keep going.” She said between gasps. “Why? Why do you have to leave it behind?” “Because,” she came up for air and wiped her nose again, wiping the excess snot on the couch before laying her head on the pillow. “I know that if I keep thinking about it, I…I’ll want to go back.” I tried to give her my best smile, “And what’s wrong with that? Why can’t you just pop back?” “You don’t get it. He’s going-he’s going faster than I am, and I-I-I don’t know if he’ll be there when I get back. And if I come back to a…to a tombstone, how will I ever-ever pull myself together?” “What?” Was she actually serious? I’m sure Celestia could find a way to slow it down. Was it really that permanent? “I’m a part-a part of you, Rainbow. If you aren’t working right, then ev-ev-everyone you love would be screwed. I just-I just can’t let that happen. Even…” although her gasps were still sporadic and the tears were still coming full force, she seemed to be regaining some control, “Even if I have to leave my dad behind. I-I know that he knows that would happen, and I know he’s p-p-proud of me and he can take-take care of himself. So-so I just have to-have to get past this and get my act together.” She buried her face back into the pillow as she continued to try and regain control of herself. Now I knew for sure that whatever disagreements I had the first time we met were because I was absolutely out of my mind. In just a few hours she made a choice like this? I’ve only had to do that like three times in my life, and every time I had at least a week to think it over. But here she was trying to push past it all so Ponyville, no, Equestria, could get Rainbow Dash back. That’s too much to ask of one pony, especially with only a few hours for her to decide. I doubt I could be brave to that extent. And that’s when it hit me: I wasn’t that brave, but she was. That’s when it finally started clicking and making sense. She wasn’t just a bunch of extra memories; she was a completely different Rainbow Dash. I couldn’t just absorb her like she kept saying: she was a whole other pony. I wasn’t going to remember any of these memories because they weren’t mine to remember. Likewise, she couldn’t remember my life because she wasn’t me; she was never me. And that’s when I realized I had to get her out. It didn’t matter that I was fine with her now; she obviously wasn’t going into this for the right reasons. I didn’t matter if it was because of her sense of loyalty or because it was the “right” thing to do, it wasn’t good enough for her to do it because she had too; it had to be because she was ready to. And unless she has my memories, she’d never really adjust to life on this side. She needed more time. “Hey. Hey!” She pulled her head out of the pillow, “You loved your Dad right? With all your heart?” “Yeah. But-but I-” “No! No buts! He was-is your dad and you should have had more time!” She finally seemed to get a grip on herself with this being said. “Huh? Wha-what are you saying?” “I was wrong the first time around. I thought you were just a set of memories I didn’t need. But you’re not; you’re a whole other life I had. I know you were being the better mare and sucking it up for the greater good, but that doesn’t change the fact you left home with only a few hours notice.” She wiped her eyes and sat up on the couch, she still gave a gasp or two. “Dashie, I’m ready for you now; I just needed to understand you weren’t a set of memories, but a whole different me. And that’s why I have to get you out.” “What…what do you mean?” she was returning to her natural breathing pattern. “You may want to do this, but I can see you’re not ready for it. You’re still back on Earth. You need more time, Dashie. And I’m going to give you it.” I closed my eyes and started thinking about leaving. I pictured a great big door, opening wide and sucking me out back into reality. I heard an explosion in front of me and a gust of wind blew through my mane. “What are you doing!?” “Getting myself out of here and back to the real world!” I pulled Dashie off the couch and started pushing her towards the portal in front of the living room doorway. “Wait! Wait! What will this accomplish? Why don’t you just suck me in and we’ll head out that way?!” she yelled over the wind coming out of the portal. “It won’t work! I can’t just suck you up, you’re a completely different me! There’s no room for me to suck you into! You have to go out there and get yourself ready! Otherwise the fuse isn’t going to work; it’d be impossible if we tried right now!” I continued to push as she continued to drag her hooves. “But-But I’m not ready for out there! It’s not what I’m used to!” “And that’s why I’m doing this! How can you be Rainbow Dash if you can’t live her life!?” We were just a few feet away now, but she turned around and pushed back. “Why are you doing this?! Why can’t we just fuse and everything will go back to normal?!” “Because it’s not normal for you anymore!” I think she finally understood now. “If you’re going to do this, you have to be absolutely ready for it! And I know you didn’t have nearly enough time to think! So go out there, deal with it and take all the time you need! I’m in no rush! Now go!” I spun her around and gave a great big push, sending her reeling backwards. She grabbed the edges of the portal, struggling to keep herself from being pulled in. “Are you sure?!” A large smile spread across my face. “You’re not just another set of memories, Dashie! You’re just as much Rainbow Dash as I am! So take as long as you need and do whatever it takes until you’re ready to really be the awesome mare I know we are, okay!?” “Okay…Hey Rainbow?!” “Yeah?!” “Thank you.” And with that, she let go and was sucked into the portal. After a few seconds, the portal shut with a whoosh. And now I was all by myself. It didn’t take long for me to get bored. Since it was there, I decided to turn the TV on. The picture was black, but I could hear a heart monitor beeping through the speakers. I guessed this was what Dashie was seeing now. I dropped down onto the couch and got comfortable. I wish I had some popcorn.