//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Rainbooms of the Forgotten Mind // by Prof Yana //------------------------------// Rainbow Dash stared with wide eyes at the pony standing in the cave entrance high above Canterlot before darting over to her. “Twilight!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, tackling her to the ground in a hug. After a moment’s embrace, Rainbow stood up and extended a hoof to help Twilight as well. Twilight stared at it for a moment, then grasped it, and Rainbow pulled her to her hooves. “You know, I was worried about you. What the heck were you doing up here anyway?” Twilight stared blankly at her. “Uh... Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. It’s me. It’s Rainbow Dash.” Twilight seemed to hesitate before responding. “Oh, uh... Yeah.” Twilight looked past Rainbow. “And... Spike.” Spike had been standing awkwardly a few feet away. He grinned at Twilight seeing him and ran towards her, his eyes watering up the whole way. “Twilight!” He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed tightly. She merely stared down at him, and then awkwardly hugged him back. Rainbow Dash let them hug for a moment, but she couldn’t help but notice that Twilight seemed spaced out. “Hey, Twilight, are you okay? You seem... I don’t know... out of it.” Twilight detached Spike and levitated him away. “No, I’m fine... I think I’m just a little tired.” Rainbow Dash smiled at her. “Trust me, I feel ya. You wanna stay in Canterlot for the night? Or do you just wanna catch a late train home?” Twilight looked out over the bright city lights for a few seconds, taking in the spectacle of the city as the shops began to close for the night and the dots of light from the warm homes of many ponies began to go out, signaling the end of another beautiful late autumn day. She sighed. “Well, I guess we should head... home,” said Twilight. “Everypony else would get worried.” “Yeah... Let’s head down to the train station. Maybe you can tell me what happened on the way back.” They walked in relative silence back down the tall mountain, and even as they walked through the city streets, Twilight remained quiet. She gazed uneasily around at all of the buildings that made up her hometown as if she had never seen them before. Finally, they arrived at the train station, and not a moment too soon, for the train was about to leave. The trio quickly paid for their tickets and hurried on board. Greeted by the welcoming warmth of the interior, they soon found an empty cabin. They settled down with Spike on one seat and Rainbow Dash and Twilight next to each other, across from him. As Rainbow sank back into the comfy seat, she yawned. Her eyes suddenly felt heavy. “What were you doing up there, Twilight?” asked Spike. “Oh... Uh...” said Twilight in a tone of uncertainty. She looked around nervously. Rainbow Dash yawned again. “Look, Spike, I know you want to know what happened, and so do I, but I think it can wait until morning. It’s been a long day, after all. Right, Twilight?” “...Yeah.” Rainbow Dash looked at Twilight and saw a hint of fright in her eyes. “Hey, you don’t have to worry about what happened ever again. Besides, if this happens again, you know I’ll find you. Always,” Rainbow Dash said softly. But the fear in Twilight’s eyes didn’t go away, although it did ease a little. She sighed and turned away to look out the window. Rainbow Dash looked across the cabin and found Spike curled up and asleep. Her eyes began to droop again, and she let out a large yawn. Rainbow closed her eyes and let the soothing sound and feeling of the train rolling through Equestria lull her into a deep sleep. Twilight awoke with a start, the memories of other-Twilight easing their way back into her mind. A deep darkness had enveloped the room in her sleep. She blinked. Once. Twice. Still, a darkness covered the room. “Okay, okay... A spell that stole all of my memories of it just hijacked my body, and now I’m trapped inside my mind... Inside my mind?!” Twilight frantically turned her head this way and that, but the blackness remained. “First things first, light,” she said. A simple spell later, the torches were relit. Glancing around, she found that the cave still had its one mirror and a door. The other door leading back through the cave seemed to have been locked as well. “Maybe if I can get back out into the forest, I can get out of here. Although, this cave seemed to be her base of operations...” Still, Twilight tried again to open the door. But, once again, nothing worked. “Okay, that didn’t work... I’ll just have to see what I can do from here,” Twilight said, looking around. In the dimly lit cave, there didn’t seem to be anything of use. As with the exit door, the side door heldfast as well; the mirror seemed to just be an ordinary mirror. But other-Twilight walked straight out of it, so maybe there is something peculiar about it... thought Twilight. A glow of her horn later, she was scanning it for any sort of enchantment. When no results surfaced, Twilight gave an exasperated sigh and leaned back against the mirror. Twilight’s stomach lurched as she fell back into nothingness. Twilight found herself on a train with Spike sitting across from her. “...Yeah,” she found herself saying. She tried to scream out, to yell out, anything. But nothing happened. Twilight settled back into the seat, once again not of her volition. Rainbow Dash seemed to be sitting next to her. Rainbow turned and looked at Twilight, worry in her eyes. “Hey, you don’t have to worry about what happened ever again,” said Rainbow. “Besides, if this happens again, you know I’ll find you. Always.” It was clear now that Twilight was looking through other-Twilight’s eyes. Through her own body’s eyes... other-Twilight sighed and turned to look out the window. Unbeknownst to Rainbow Dash, she smiled wickedly. “I see you found the mirror,” Twilight heard in her mind. She figured it must have been other-Twilight. “Of course, I wouldn’t expect less from Princess Celestia’s own personal protege,” mocked other-Twilight. “H-hey!” “Hey, what? You know, since I’m in control now, I might have a little fun." Twilight saw other-Twilight give a playful smile through the reflection in the window. “Like what kind of fun?” “Well, Rainbow Dash did come all the way out to Canterlot to save you...” “R-Rainbow Dash?” If Twilight could control her body, she would have felt a slight red tint come across her face. “Well, your mind is really quite boring, so I spent most of my time looking through your eyes—which, I might add, is also boring. The only thing that I actually liked were your interactions with Rainbow Dash. And now that I have control, and Rainbow Dash is here...” “Y-you wouldn’t!” Not that. Not with Rainbow Dash. “Oh, I would! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go. This pathetic little body of yours is already tired.” “No, wai—” Too late, Twilight was thrown out of the mirror, where she landed roughly on the hard floor. She groaned as she attempted to stand, only to stumble and fall against the wall, where she was met with a dull pain in her shoulder. Twilight rubbed it sorely. Suddenly, a small stream of white light passed through the entrance to the cave. It made its way across the room, towards the second door. Twilight could hear voices emanating from it. Voices of her friends, of Rainbow Dash’s bullies, and of Rainbow Dash herself. The voices vanished as the smoky stream went right through the second door. Twilight curiously made her way to the door. She put her ear up against it and listened hard, but to no avail. She still couldn’t hear them. Twilight’s body tensed up as feelings of the pleasant warmth of her library, followed by the biting cold of Cloudsdale came over her body. She looked down to find another white stream floating through her. Twilight quickly backed away from the door and out of their path. “Okay, so these are voices I’ve recently heard and feelings I’ve recently felt. Memories. That must be what they are. Short-term memories being converted to long-term memories...” As another one passed by, Twilight tried to grab hold of it with her magic, but nothing happened. it kept floating onwards to the second door. “And based on my experiences earlier with that door, I can only guess that it holds long-term memories. Hmm... Maybe if I can somehow get into that door, I can get my stolen memories back and learn about the spell more...” Twilight took a deep breath, calming herself, steadying herself. She was going to get that door open, whether it wanted to or not. She crouched down and closed her eyes. Twilight soon found the familiar sense of power, of infinite possibilities rising up to her horn. With every ounce of her being, she focused on one thing, and one thing only. Getting that door open. All of her previous attempts had failed, but she was determined this one wouldn’t. Beads of sweat started to form on Twilight’s forehead as she gathered all of the arcane energy she could get into her horn. She grunted as the sweat dripped down her face. Finally, she unleashed the gathered energy upon the door. Nothing happened. “Ugh!” Twilight yelled, stamping the ground in frustration. “I just want that stupid door to open!” Click. The door unlocked. “What?” She carefully went to investigate the door. Twilight cautiously tapped a hoof on the door. A clanging noise reverberated throughout the cave. Other than that, nothing unusual happened. “Hm... Maybe this is like a lucid dream. Maybe I can control things with my mind...” Twilight turned to face the wall and closed her eyes, concentrating on a soft bed. And lo and behold, one appeared. “Ha! It worked!” The white sheets looked ever so comfortable in comparison to the rest of the cave... “No. No, I have to get out of here and stop my spell.” Twilight turned back to the now unlocked door, which still had a constant stream of memories floating into it. She walked up to it, her heart beating feverishly against her chest. Twilight reached out her hoof to the door, and noticed that it was shaking. She closed her eyes, her breath held. And then Twilight swung open the door. She stood still, expecting something, anything to happen. Nothing did. Twilight opened her eyes to see what was wrong. What she found was a blinding white light encasing her. She fell over as the light overwhelmed her. Rainbow Dash blearily opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings. A pale light shone through the window. “Wh-where am I?” she mumbled, shifting a little and getting more comfortable on the soft pillow she was leaning on. “On a train, in a train station,” replied Twilight. Rainbow looked around and found that the soft pillow was actually Twilight’s shoulder. She quickly sat up, her face flushing a tiny bit. “The Ponyville train station, in fact. Come on, we need to go. Spike already went ahead to get a bed ready for you. You’re in no condition to fly back to your house tonight.” “How did he go ahead? Didn’t we just get here?” Rainbow was sure he had fallen asleep soon after they got on. “Simple. I teleported him back.” Rainbow Dash’s weary mind took a moment to process that. “...Teleported him...? Wait, teleported him?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You always said it was too dangerous to teleport other ponies long distances alone.” Twilight hesitated for a moment, before replying. “Oh, I was just, uh... feeling extra confident tonight?” “...Okay. I’m too tired to argue right now,” Dash replied, yawning. “Tomorrow you’ll tell me what happened, right?” “...Right.” They heard the conductor open the carriage next to them, then shut it. They stood up just as he opened theirs. “Come on, we gotta schedule to keep here,” he said, gruffly. The pair walked back through the car and out into the chilly night air. Rainbow noticed Twilight shiver as they walked through the station. They continued to walk through the cold on their way to the library. Twilight’s teeth chattered for a moment. You know what? Twilight’s been through a lot today. She doesn’t need to be cold. “H-hey. Come here.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You’re cold, right? Come here,” Rainbow Dash said, lifting a wing. “Thanks,” said Twilight, snuggling up nice and close to Dash, who wrapped her wing around Twilight. They walked in silence in the clear night, the moon shining down upon them. Other ponies were likely in their house, under a nice warm blanket or in front of a roaring fire, but Rainbow wouldn’t have given this moment up for the world. She blinked as she realized this fact. It wasn’t just because Twilight was a friend, Rainbow couldn’t have felt this with any other pony. It was special because it was with Twilight. Rainbow Dash smiled. They were soon approaching the library, Twilight still snuggled next to Dash. Smoke rose out of the chimney, and through the window flickered an orange light. As they neared the door, Twilight opened it with her magic. The moment they walked in, Rainbow Dash was enveloped in the warmth of the fire. They continued on into the living room, where the fire was burning brightly. Spike sat by it, snoring gently. Twilight silently shushed her and they continued on up the stairs and into Twilight’s room. Once the door was shut, Twilight said, “Okay, you can talk now. It’s pretty soundproof up here.” Rainbow Dash suddenly realized her wing was still wrapped around Twilight, and she quickly retracted it and stepped away a little. “Heh, sorry about that. I didn’t realize.” Twilight smiled. “It’s okay. You were nice and warm.” Rainbow’s face flushed. “U-Uh... Yeah, thanks. I... Thanks...” Why am I blushing? I was just keeping her warm is all. Twilight giggled and poked Dash on the nose. “All right, we should probably both get some sleep. The guest bedroom is down the hall on the right, and I assume you know where the bathroom is.” “Oh... Yeah, I guess I’ll head down there now...” Rainbow Dash made for the door, but was stopped by Twilight’s voice. “Rainbow Dash?” “Y-Yeah?” asked Dash, turning around. “Thanks for rescuing me.” “No problem.” Rainbow Dash smiled and walked out and down the hall. Once behind the closed door of the guest room, she sighed and fell against it. What am I feeling about Twilight?