//------------------------------// // 14. Memories // Story: Cheated Dreams // by Kodeake //------------------------------// Cheated Dreams Chapter 14 Memories “So let me get this straight, you're going to be doing some weird magic thing to show me one of your memories?” Rainbow asked, scratching her head in confusion. “And that's somehow supposed to convince me that the Wonderbolts aren't a lost cause?” Twilight frowned deeply at the way she phrased it, but the pegasus was correct. “Essentially, yes. Though you won't just be watching the memory; you'll be in it. You will see and feel everything I did at that point in time. I think it'll help you realize how much of a chance you have at joining the Wonderbolts once we clear this up.” “If we clear this up,” Rainbow huffed, flipping onto her back as she laid across the cushions of the couch. Twilight sat on the floor beside her, a book hovering in her magic, held open to a specific page. “I think it'll at least help,” Twilight muttered under her breath, snapping the book shut and setting it down gently on a nearby table. “Alright, now you're sure you're okay with me doing this?” Rainbow craned her neck to the side, giving Twilight a deadpan expression. “I doubt it'll do anything, but you seem to think it'll help. Can you at least tell me what I'm going to be seeing?” Twilight shook her head adamantly. “Sorry, Rainbow, but it's a bit of a surprise. Just trust me on it, alright?” “Fine,” Rainbow sighed, “I trust you. Now hurry up and do it so I can go take my afternoon nap.” “Alright,” Twilight started, pushing Rainbow's pessimism to the back of her mind and shifting herself a little closer to the couch, “Make yourself comfortable and close your eyes,” she commanded, lighting her horn with a magical glow. Rainbow did as instructed, fidgeting gently on the couch and closing her eyes. In truth she held about as much hope in this spell as she did for ever again joining the Wonderbolts, but Twilight seemed dead set on it, and she at least owed Twilight this much after all the unicorn had done for her. She heard the energetic hum of magic growing louder as Twilight leaned her head down towards Rainbow's own, lightly touching her horn to the pegasus's forehead. The familiar feeling of Twilight's magic once again spread out across Rainbow's head, wrapping around her skull. Though unlike last time she felt it push deeper than her bone, past even her brain. She felt it slithering around, inside her very thoughts. Her mind's eye could see the light purple tentacles as they searched around her consciousness for something that wasn't there. When they determined what was supposed to be there, they started glowing a bit brighter, before suddenly flashing a bright white, blinding her internal sight. Rainbow opened her eyes. She wasn't in the library. Twilight wasn't beside her. Instead, she was a in a large, circular structure, made entirely of pearly white clouds. She'd lived in the city long enough to recognize Cloudsdale's cloudesium. All around her were her four closest friends, all of them looking in the same direction with the same eager looks on their faces. Rainbow tried to follow their gazes, but found herself unable to control where she looked. “Figures,” she thought, “I can only do what Twilight did. It's like a movie...” Slowly, Twilight's head turned, as did Rainbow's vision, and she saw what all her friends were staring at. It was the most unfamiliar sight she'd ever seen, but also the mos recognizable. It was her. Flying, gliding, looping through the sky. Below her was a table with various ponies, all of them in Wonderbolt uniforms of some form. She realized where this was; the Next Wonderbolt Competition. She felt a slight pang of anger mixed with sadness rise in her chest; of all the things Twilight had to show her, it had to be be this? The one moment in her life that she regretted above everything else? If it weren't for this stupid contest none of this would be happening. She could just live peacefully as Ponyville's Weather Captain, content with her job and her life and her friends. She'd never realize her dream, but she'd also never have it torn from her grip. She still couldn't decide which was worse. Still, Twilight wanted her to see this, and she owed Twilight more than she could ever truly repay the unicorn for, so she watched. The cyan pegasus in the sky had already performed a Rainboom, and was entering the second half of her stunts. As she watched, she realized what Twilight had meant; she could see what the unicorn had seen, yes, but she also felt what she'd felt. An overpower sense of awe and admiration enveloped her as the second Rainboom was performed. Awe and admiration and respect and more. All of them strong, almost to the point of being overpowering. And through it all, Rainbow watched and felt Twilight's memory of that day. The day she'd thought had ruined everything. She could see her necklace glinting in the bright sun as she flew around and around the Rainboom, making it spin with her faster and faster. She had to hand it to herself; she'd done an awesome job, enchanted necklace or not. A feeling of pride washed over her – though she couldn't tell if it was her own or Twilight's – as the Rainboom Galaxy was completed, spinning and curving and floating through the air with the brilliance of the sun itself in every colour of the rainbow. She felt and heard herself cheering as Twilight celebrated the amazing display of talent. Rainbow found herself fighting off an internal smile as well. She doubted anypony could do that, enchanted necklace or not. She could see and feel everything Twilight had, and she understood now why the unicorn had been so determined to help her. The feeling that she could feel burning within her chest – within Twilight's chest. It was one she recognized, one she herself had been feeling ever since she'd realized Twilight was not the one to enchant her necklace. And though she didn't know what it was, she knew Twilight felt it too. And she knew she liked it. The Rainboom Galaxy began dissipating as she watched herself land at the judges table, discussing something Twilight couldn't hear. Quickly after the Wonderbolt stood and made their exit from the stadium Twilight stood up along with the rest of her friends and rushed out into the stadium where she was waiting for them with a proud smile on her face. Then, as quickly as the memory had started, it ended. The world began dissolving away, dissipating into mere clouds of off-coloured particles and dispersing out into the black void surrounding the artificial construct of thought. Soon, everything was gone into the black, leaving her standing alone on an invisible floor surrounding by nothingness. Soon, even the black seemed to grow invisible, as she once again began to feel the couch beneath her and the air around her. Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, and was once again back in the library. Twilight was still sitting next to her, with a contemplative frown on her face. “Before you say anything,” Twilight started quickly, “I want you to know something.” Rainbow had many questions, though there was a sense of urgency in Twilight's voice that made her stop and ask, “What?” “I thought about it and... you did that before the enchantment was placed on the necklace,” she explained, bringing a look of surprise and doubt to Rainbow's features. The pegasus opened her mouth, but was once again cut off by Twilight. “Let me explain,” she stressed. Rainbow snapped her mouth shut. Twilight nodded approvingly, clearing her throat. “When you did that, you'd only had the necklace for a week, and the only ponies who knew about it would be me and the girls, who didn't really take notice until a couple days before the competition. I don't think whoever did this could have known about it before the contest, and I also don't think they'd have had a reason to enchant it until they found out you'd won.” Rainbow sat for a second, taking in what Twilight had said, before nodding slowly. “That... makes sense... wait. Wait wait wait, you're saying...” Rainbow trailed off, looking up at Twilight hopefully. The unicorn nodded encouragingly. “I did it without cheating?” “If I'm right, that was all talent; not a single enchantment,” Twilight assured, her smile splitting into a grin. “I didn't cheat!” Rainbow cheered, jumping up off the couch and into the air, her wings carrying her through a couple laps of the room. “I didn't cheat!” She yelled again, startling awake one napping dragon, who came down and stood at the top of the stairs curiously. “Er...” Spike watched for a few moments as Rainbow continued to do flips and spins through the room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. The air current she generated was knocking the lighter books from their shelves and scattering loose paper about the house. He sighed and went back to his nap with the sneaking suspicion he'd have some cleaning to do later in the day. “This is awesome!” Rainbow called, banking around and slamming right into the lavender unicorn, wrapping her in a bone-crushing hug. Her wings never stopped flapping. “Thank you, Twilight. I don't know where I'd be right now if you hadn't been here for me.” “Can't... breath...” Twilight wheezed, struggling to push herself out from Rainbow's death-grip. “Right, sorry,” Rainbow said, blushing in embarrassment as she pulled herself back and landed gently on the ground. “But this is awesome! I didn’t cheat; I can do it again! I can get back in the Wonderbolts!” Twilight smiled happily as Rainbow once again launched into the air, doing a loop in the air before landing proudly back in front of her, striking a confident pose. “Exactly!” Twilight exclaimed. “Heh, guess I was acting pretty silly, huh? Thinking I couldn't do it,” Rainbow admitted, scratching the back of her neck nervously. “I mean, this is me we're talking about; I shoulda' known better than that. Thanks for snapping me out of it, Twi.” “Not a problem, Rainbow. To be honest I was starting to worry if there even was a way to track down the caster, but I think I have an idea now,” Twilight explained, smiling as she walked back over to her desk, where the orb and her notes sat. “Oh?” Rainbow questioned curiously, following the unicorn. “I thought you just said you were going nowhere.” Twilight nodded, lifting the aura in her magic and inspecting it. “Well, I was trying to find a spell that used auraus to track down ponies, but since this kind of aura scanning is pretty new, there aren't any. I was thinking about it all wrong, and that memory spell started me thinking about it. There are spells we can use to locate ponies, but they generally need an object of immense personal value to the pony in question. They're called scrying spells. However, small bits of that pony's DNA can also be used; things like hair and saliva samples.” Rainbow nodded slowly. It made sense to her so far, but she wasn't quite sure how this related to the aura. “And this can help us how, exactly?” “Well, all DNA is the basic building block of life; as unique as an aura. The only difference is DNA is the physical building block, and aura is a magical one. Two very different things, but they share common purposes, and they may share common properties in relation to the scrying spell, with a couple modifications, of course,” Twilight was grinning as she finished her explanation. Rainbow had a barely-comprehending look on her face as she struggled to interpret what the unicorn had said. “Wait... you're saying you can find the unicorn?” Rainbow asked excitedly. Twilight nodded enthusiastically in reasponse. “Twilight Sparkle I could kiss you!” Rainbow cried, once again flying into the air, missing Twilight's heated blush and attempting to ignore her own. “So what are we waiting for? Cast the spell and let's go get them!” “Patience, Rainbow. I have to set a few things up first and make the appropriate modifications to the spell, which I'll have to test for accuracy first. All in all, I'd say I could have it ready by tomorrow afternoon,” Twilight said calmly, picking up one of her books and flipping it open. “Well, maybe tomorrow morning if I work through the night...” Rainbow stopped flying as soon as she heard Twilight's tone. “No; tomorrow afternoon is fine. You promised you wouldn't stay up all night anymore.” Twilight sighed, “I know. It's just... we're so close, I want this to be over already.” “I do to,” Rainbow said earnestly, “But you still need to take care of yourself. Anyway, I don't have to be anywhere today, so you need any help with the preparations?” Twilight perked up, “Yes, actually. I need a couple maps; one of Equestria, one of Ponyville, Cloudsdale, and Canterlot. Maybe Manehattan and Phillydelphia. Anywhere close by where the unicorn might be.” Rainbow did a quick salute, “You got it. Back in a flash.” With a cocky grin Rainbow opened the door and shot outside to find the maps.