Chapter 02 – Waking Dreams
Fragments of Memories
By Starwin
Chapter 02 – Waking Dreams
Twilight Dash couldn’t help but smile at the sight of the ponies before them. All of their friends had come to spend the day at the library. They all had busy lives, so Twilight Dash looked forward to every moment the group could spend together. Today would be filled with fun and excitement along with activities that would help take their thoughts off the current situation.
Except, why had their friends brought somepony new?
The unfamiliar yellow pony gave them a strange shy sort of smile. At the same time she also tried to hide behind her long pink mane. An odd sensation flitted through their thoughts. For a moment, just a moment, they could almost remember the pony. There was a strong sense that they had met her before, like they knew her. A name balanced on the tip of their tongue but they couldn’t get it out.
The moment passed and the feeling faded. It was a stranger that stood before them once more. And yet… “stranger” was the wrong word for her. If only their friend Fluttershy had come along, maybe she knew this new shy pegasus.
“Today is going to be super-duper-looper fun!” exclaimed Pinkie, interrupting their thoughts. She threw her front hooves into the air. “First, we’re going to have a –
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- bye TD! See you tomorrow!” Pinkie’s hoof waved goodbye before she stepped through the open door and out of the library. The happy chatter of four ponies was abruptly cut off as the door swung shut with a soft click.
Their friends were gone. Twilight Dash stopped waving their hoof as confusion spread across their face.
“What… what just happened?” asked Twilight Dash, lowering their hoof back to the ground. There was a loud buzzing in their brain along with distorted images, muted sounds and mixed-up words. They looked down at Spike.
“What?” asked Spike with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Why did our friends just suddenly leave!” cried Twilight Dash, feeling a little hurt and confused. “They only just got here! We didn’t even do…” “Anything…” Their words trailed off as a rapid flash of moments tumbled before their eyes.
They were sitting and talking… They were eating some kind of cake made by… Now there was a game in front of them, no, two games, blurred together with mismatched pieces moving in different directions. Somepony was laughing, another cheering. Now there was pie… and… and … their friends were leaving…
The memories twisted and bent into incomprehensible nonsense. The more they tried to remember, the more the events became jumbled up into gibberish. Each moment slipped away, becoming unrecognizable, impossible to ever see again. Faster and faster the minutes of the morning vanished from their mind. They had to stop thinking before the whole day was gone!
Twilight Dash shut their eyes. Their head was spinning. They forced themself to think about nothing, to let their mind go completely blank. The task was easier than expected. They became still and silent.
At last the images stopped. They were alone in their head. Only the faint murmur of another pony whispered in their thoughts. All they heard was the soft sound of their uneven breathing in their ears.
“Uh, TD, it’s been hours since they got here,” said Spike, his voice drawing them back out of their own head. The merged pony opened their eyes once more to find the baby dragon looking at them with a confused expression on his face. “I guess Pinkie was right, having fun really does make time fly by.”
“TD?” asked Twilight Dash, before working it out in their head. “When did you start calling us that?”
“You suggested it, don’t you remember?” asked Spike looking slightly worried. “During the party?”
“Ye… yeah,” said Twilight Dash trying to play the moment off as if it were no-big-deal. “Of course…” They gave Spike a weak smile. “What a great, uh, nickname…”
“Are you feeling okay TD?” asked Spike, looking them over. “Maybe I should go get Doctor Cross. He did say I should let him know if there was something wrong.”
“No, no,” said Twilight Dash trying to sound casual but failing. “We’re fine. I just…” “We mean, we just…” “Need some rest, that’s all.”
“Well, okay,” said Spike, not looking convinced, but not seeming to want to press the point. “I’ll go get dinner started. Why don’t you sit down TD?” They gave him a nod and Spike helped them over to one of the reading couches in the corner of the room.
Once Spike made sure they were comfortable, he hurried off to the kitchen.
“We don’t remember, do we?” asked Twilight Dash the moment the kitchen door closed behind Spike. “One second Pinkie Pie was talking about all the fun things we were going to do today and then our friends were walking out the front door.” “Maybe the party just wasn’t that fun?” “Are you kidding? Since when has… has… what’s-her-name ever thrown a party that wasn’t fun!”
There was a clatter from the kitchen and they went silent. A moment later Spike called out that he was okay and that Twilight’s favorite bowl definitely wasn’t broken.
“What is her name anyhow?” asked the mixed-up pony after a moment. “Who?” “The party one!” “Oh. Party-something, wasn’t it? Don’t we know her from some place?” “Of course, she’s our friend!” “What, no way, we just met her today. That’s why we were having a party.” “I thought the party was for that new pony, the yellow one…” “Yeah… I think we know her from some place…” “Maybe Pinkie Pie would know who that pony was?” “Maybe… why didn’t Pinkie come over today?”
Their thoughts trailed off and once again they tried to remember the events of today. They found some of them to be more whole than others. Waking up seemed to all be there. Even some of that morning’s dream – the one with the shadow pony standing in the Sun – was there. They could also recall stumbling around their room and crashing into things, although they wished they had forgotten that. Breakfast, that was there too. Then Applejack and Rarity arriving to spend the day with them…
Except, there had been two more ponies. Two new ponies that Twilight Dash had never met before. A yellow pegasus, whose name they apparently hadn’t gotten during the party, or at least they couldn’t remember having been told. And the pink one, that had organized the party. What had her name been? Had she even mentioned it to them?
“Dinner is served!” announced Spike, appearing with a tray. Twilight Dash gave a little jump, but settled back down when they saw Spike. “I figured it might be easier for us to have dinner in here tonight,” said Spike, setting the tray down in front of them.
There was something odd about the expression on his face, almost like he was trying to hide something. Maybe it was their odd behavior making him uncomfortable. Or perhaps they had said something at the party to offend him. If only they could remember.
The smell of dinner drew their attention away from their current problems. The scent of fresh carrots and crisp lettuce wafted up to their nose. Twilight Dash reflexively licked their lips. They dug in, savoring every bite.
Many things about their new existence together might be unpleasant or not work the way they wanted, but there was at least one benefit they had found so far. When they ate something they both really, really, liked, it tasted amazing. Carrots just happened to be one of those things that both Twilight and Rainbow had very much enjoyed.
“Better?” asked Spike as they finished the last bites of dinner. They nodded slightly. “Do you want to talk about it?” They made to respond, but Spike continued before they could. “I know it might not be something you want to talk about, but you should, you can’t keep it inside TD.” They closed their mouth. Spike knew them too well, or at least the part that had been Twilight. “Also… I might have broken your favorite bowl.”
“It’s… it’s okay, Spike,” said Twilight Dash, unable to help but smile a little. With all the stress in their life at that moment, a bowl was the last thing on their mind. Although they did feel a little sad, they were going to miss that bowl. “Do you remember the party today?” Spike nodded.
“Of course, it was tons of fun…” answered Spike. Then he looked suddenly concerned. “Did something happen at the party?” They shook their head.
“No… not exactly,” replied Twilight Dash. For a moment they toyed with a lie, to tell Spike that it had been great, the most fun in days. But no, they didn’t want to lie to him. Not about this. “We… we don’t remember it.” Spike didn’t seem to know what to say. “The more we try to think about it, the more it slips away.” “And it’s not just the party. It’s other things too. Names and ponies and places…” They looked away. “We thought everything was supposed to be better now…”
“Princess Celestia said you had accepted how you are,” said Spike. “But that you still need to accept who you are… whatever that means.”
“But we have!” protested Twilight Dash. “We are Twilight Dash! We are two ponies merged together!” “Yeah! What else do we need to do? Why couldn’t Celestia just tell us!”
“I… I don’t know,” said Spike, putting up his arms in a gesture of surrender. “She always talks like that.”
“Look at us!” continued Twilight Dash, rapidly becoming more upset. “We can hardly even walk anymore!” “Let alone fly…” “Now isn’t the time!” “It’s never the time! If we want to really accept this than we have to embrace all of it, not just part of it!” They sat up suddenly and spread their wings. “We were made to fly and we haven’t even tried!” “Fine! Fine we’ll try!” shouted Twilight Dash.
The room went silent as the echo of their last words faded. Spike looked at them with a shocked expression. Twilight Dash glanced at him before turning slightly red at their outburst. They shrunk back down into the couch and lowered their voice so that Spike could hardly hear it.
“Seriously?” asked Twilight Dash to themself. “… Yes…” they answered after a long pause. “You’re right… we’re right. We… I mean ‘I’… have been trying to do this my way for the last three days and look at us, we just keep getting worse… Tomorrow, we’re going to fly. Or at least try.”
After taking the dishes back to the kitchen Spike helped them back up to their room. The stairs didn’t prove as tricky as they had on previous days, or even as bad as that morning. In fact, everything seemed a little easier. They were even able to brush their teeth without relying too much on Spike, although he had to take over right at the end.
Even walking felt easier. It was hard to explain. They certainly couldn’t do it on their own. Each leg that Spike touched was the one they thought they would need to move next. The connection they seemed to be lacking felt so close, like it was almost in reach.
They trotted slowly through the lower half of their room. The cloud bed was still hovering up near the ceiling, like some escaped party balloon – the buzzing suddenly returned and thoughts tumbled through their head. The face of a pink pony they could almost remember danced before their eyes. What had her name been. They were sure they knew it.
“TD, are you okay?” asked Spike when he tapped one of their legs and they didn’t move. The face swam away and the name dissolved. Everything about the pony vanished.
“Hummm? What? Yes,” said Twilight Dash a little distracted. “We think we are…”
“Now where did that bed get to?” asked Spike. He glanced around searching for the floating mattress in the small space. They looked up at the out of reach cloud bed. If only they could fly now! Perhaps a regular bed would have to do for tonight, or at least until their cloud decided to come down.
They turned their attention to the bed that they had yet to sleep in since taking this new shape. It had been moved from the upper part of the loft to the lower section, meant now as a guest bed. They took a step towards the old bed and stumbled, falling forward.
“No,” said Twilight Dash to herself. “We are not sleeping in that! We agreed on this house, but a cloud bed!” Spike helped them back to their hooves, looking slightly concerned. The feeling they couldn’t place suddenly returned. Everything felt not as right as it had a moment ago. “How are we going to get to it?”
“I can just get the bed down for you if you like,” suggested Spike. Twilight Dash turned to stare at him in surprise.
“What? How?” demanded Twilight Dash. Had Spike suddenly learned magic or could he somehow fly? How much time had they really missed?
However, the answer was much simpler. From a low shelf on the wall, Spike picked up a length of rope. He swung it overhead, spinning out a lasso above him as he twirled the rope in his claw. Then, with a flick of his wrist he sent the loop flying high, up towards the ceiling. The rope snagged around the cloud. Spike gave a quick tug and the cloud floated down to land neatly beside Twilight Dash.
“Spike,” said Twilight Dash softly. “How did you do that?” “That was totally awesome!”
“Oh, well,” said Spike blushing slightly. “Applejack showed me. It’s how I’ve been getting the cloud down for you these past few days. Do you really not remember?” They shook their head. “I guess we can talk about it later, when you’re ready.”
“Okay,” said Twilight Dash a little despondently. They made to climb into bed, but Spike hurried forward and helped them.
They snuggled down in the soft, fluffy, cloud. Twilight Dash had to admit to herself that clouds were much more comfortable than hay stuffed mattresses.
Spike undid the lasso before giving the bed a light tap with his foot. The cloud floated softly along the ground before starting to rise. It stopped midway up lingering in a spot that wasn’t too warm or too cold.
“Goodnight Dash,” yawned Twilight Dash. “Night Twilight.” They answered. There was a long pause before they spoke again. “Do we really want to try and fly tomorrow?” Another long pause. Then the same voice answered. “Yes.”
Excitement flitted through them, making their body tingle with anticipation.
“You’ll see,” continued Twilight Dash, still talking to herself. “Tomorrow is going to be awesome!” They didn’t answer, but chose to nod instead. “Alright, let’s get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow.” “Yeah, sleep,” they mumbled to themself.
They let their eyes close while thoughts still tumbled in their head. Books and flying and clouds and… then nothing. The stream of thoughts echoed into complete silence and Twilight found herself alone inside their head. Dash wasn’t gone, she was simply asleep and Twilight was still very much aware of her presence.
Twilight let out a sigh. It was very stressful to continually be in somepony else’s head. Or was it them in her head? She didn’t really know anymore. It was so strange to hear foreign thoughts like they were her own. Not only that but it was also becoming harder to sort out what belonged to whom.
But when Dash was asleep, there was just Twilight. When she listened all she heard were her own thoughts, like she was the only one there. Even if that wasn’t really true and she was just pretending to be alone.
She did have to be quiet though. Not in voice but in thought. It was kind of like whispering with another pony sleeping next to her, which was indeed the case. She might not be able to hear Dash thinking in their mind, but her presence was still prominent.
Twilight tried very gently to move their body on her own but found it resistant to the effort. It almost felt like she was paralyzed. Yet, she knew that if she tried hard enough, the body would move and most likely wake Dash in the process.
Shared movement was strange to say the least. When they had come to terms with themself the way they were now, walking has seemed so easy. But unlike everything Twilight had ever practiced in her life, the opposite seemed to be true here. The more they tried to do things together, the worse they became at it.
Twilight was unsure how well flying would go tomorrow. She couldn’t see anyway that it wouldn’t end in disaster. Why had she agreed to try?
It was so strange. Now that Dash was absent, something that had seemed so clear, so right, felt almost wrong. It was as if she had been coerced. She felt like they had made the decision in a dream, where her thoughts worked differently.
However Dash wanted it, needed it, so badly that Twilight did too. They weren’t two separate ponies anymore, they were one combined mess. And Dash’s desires were becoming Twilight’s as well.
Awake, they were Twilight Dash and their thoughts were Twilight Dash. But asleep, or at least with one of them asleep, Twilight found her thoughts to be much different. If only she could study this somehow, understand…
Their body shifted restlessly and Twilight had to quiet her musings. She had been ‘thinking’ too loudly. It was a strange notion to know that her thoughts could be loud enough to wake another part of their shared mind.
For a moment, just a moment, Twilight’s focus strayed towards Dash and half blurred dreams spun in hazy shadows around the edges of Twilight’s thoughts. Disjointed sensations flitted through Twilight’s mind as she felt consciousness reawaken inside her. It was once more them, instead of just her, as Dash briefly stirred awake.
Then silence returned and the images of dancing dreams replaced the unfocused thoughts. Twilight could feel Dash fade away back into the whirling images of her dream. She thought it might have something to do with flying, although it was hard to tell.
They might be fused together in body and mind, but there were still two of them. Unless Twilight really focused, really tried, she couldn’t hear Dash’s thoughts, nor could Dash hear hers. The most Twilight ever saw was an echo of ideas. It was difficult to explain, even to herself, and even more difficult to make heads or tails of.
Talking was the best way to communicate, even if it was cumbersome and awkward. While their friends understood, they were unsure how everypony else would view them. What would other ponies think if they walked, or at least stumbled, down the street mumbling to themself.
Dreams were slightly different. The boundaries of dreams felt less defined than their waking thoughts. If Twilight tried to ‘look’ right at Dash’s dream it would twist away, like it didn’t want to be seen. But, if she wasn’t looking for it, if she was just there, then sometimes she would slip inside and see the other pony’s dreams. Something Twilight was not fond of.
Twilight struggled to stay awake. She could feel sleep threatening to pull her under. She didn’t want to lose the sensation of being almost like she used to be. It was too tantalizing for her to pass up.
She had to hold out just a few minutes more. Sure she couldn’t do the things she really liked to do – such as read or study – but it was nice to just listen and hear only her own thoughts.
In the quiet of their room her mind started to wander. Resisting sleep became more difficult. Images of Dash’s dream were more prominent in her mind. Twilight tried to pull herself back, to wake herself up! She wasn’t ready for sleep yet!
Awake! She wanted to stay…
The darkness before her eyes melted away into bright colors. Twilight forgot about her efforts to keep herself in reality. In fact, she forgot she was even asleep. Yet, there was still a small part of her that knew this was a dream, that she was observing in somepony else’s mind. Even her dreams couldn’t be normal anymore.
It took Twilight a few moments to realize where she was. It was a place she had only been once before. And yet, it was so strangely familiar. It was as if she had spent her life here, grown up here.
The endless white clouds of Cloudsdale spread out around her. She was at Nimbus Field, an open public area where young fillies often came to play before they could fly. She remembered coming here many times when she was younger and trying to fly before she was ready.
“No flying,” called a voice directed at her. It was a middle aged pegasus who was glaring at her from across the way. She was tapping a sign that read ‘No Fly Zone’. Twilight felt oddly frustrated. She was the best flyer in all of Equestria! Not some foal that…
Yet, no sooner had Twilight thought that then she became acutely aware that she was indeed a young filly. For a moment she could see herself from outside her body. She had shrunk down, changed back to the way she used to look when she was younger: Lavender fur with a wild mane of rainbow hair.
Twilight shook her head. No. This wasn’t right. This wasn’t how it had been. She had never been here. She had never looked like this. These weren’t her memories.
Canterlot, she had grown up in Canterlot!
The clouds around her shook and no pony except herself seemed to notice. The white rolling tuffs parted and from beneath them a structure of stone rumbled up from the clouds, rising tall into the air. The building was enormous, with many sets of sloping stone steps and a dozen tall columns lined up along its front.
It was the Canterlot Public Library, a place that Twilight had spent countless hours. That was where she belonged. She took a step towards it.
“What did I just say!” scolded the older mare, tapping the sign.
“But I wasn’t…” protested Twilight.
“She’s not even a pegasus!” cried a nearby filly.
Twilight suddenly realized that was true. In horror she looked down to see her hooves suddenly pass through the clouds below. Twilight began to fall.
The world tumbled away above her. The ground rushed up below her.
“I wasn’t here! I wasn’t here,” chanted Twilight to herself. “I wasn’t…” She suddenly stopped falling and found herself sitting at one of the many desks in the Canterlot Public Library.
The clouds were gone, the other pegasus were gone, and the older mare had been replaced by the kindly librarian. This was more like it. This was where she really belonged.
Twilight smiled as she looked around at the familiar sights. She was at her favorite desk. It was made just for one reader and placed in the back of the library. The location was also secluded, surrounded on all sides, except the front, by books
She missed this place, its smell, its quiet. It had been too long since she had come to read here.
Her eyes moved down to find an old book in front of her. The title had worn away with age leaving only a brown faded cover. With a hoof, she opened the book, eager to read its contents.
However her smile faded as she saw the first page. There was only one word upon it, in thick bold font. It was a word she didn’t want to read. Something she didn’t want to think about.
Quickly, Twilight flipped the page. But the next page had the same single word. This time the letters were darker, more menacing. Again she flipped the page, again, and again, and again.
Yet she could not escape the word. It was on every page, bigger and bigger and bigger until even the book could not contain the word anymore.
In desperation, Twilight slammed the book closed. The chair toppled backwards and Twilight fell with it, making a horrendous crash. Sounds of shushing came from all around her and Twilight turned bright red in embarrassment.
However, before she could apologize one of the bookcases across the library exploded. Books were sent flying in all directions as pages rained down out of the air. A light blue filly with a dark purple mane, highlighted with pink, charged across the library, dragging what seemed to be clouds in her wake.
“I said no flying!” shouted the older mare, chancing after the filly. “Your parents are going to hear about this ------ Dash!”
A loud buzzing filled Twilights thoughts as the mare shouted out the filly’s name.
The clouds the filly had brought into the library were spreading through it, turning tables and chairs and bookshelf into clouds. Even ponies didn’t seem to be safe from the touch. As the clouds rolled over them, they changed from unicorns to pegasus. Their attention turned from books, to the galloping filly.
Suddenly, the floor beneath Twilight’s hooves fell away and she found herself falling yet again. Except this time she wasn’t alone. The blue filly called Dash was falling right along side her. The older mare that had been chasing her was looking down at them from above, terror upon her face.
Then something was swooping through the air and Twilight felt herself being caught. She looked up to see her rescuer only to find the face of her father. Or rather, fathers. The pony who had caught her and Dash was half Twilight’s dad and half Dash’s. His face was a strange mixture of the two, the features blended together in an overlapping manner that made it look as if they had been meshed together.
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Poor Twilit Dash... I hope they figure out a way to help their memory problems.
Hmm. So they DO remember everything, but because there's conflict between the two halfs of themselves, Twilight and Dash, they cannot associate their memories properly. I suppose each side is trying to understand something with essentially only half the "data" there.
When they're working together on an unconscious level, it's not a plural "we" but a singular "I", and that's why it's so much easier. But when the two halves are in conflict, everything falls apart.
Twilight and Dash both don't get it. It's not "Twilight and Dash" it's "Twilight Dash". A singular individual. They need to harmonize and be together, not be two separate halves just trying to make it work.
I am really enjoying this, I struggle to find any errors and that makes me very happy.
I look forward to seeing where this goes.
3770937 Ah, but that brings up a problem. One that I think was asked before in the last story by Luna I think. Would they be a brand new pony, with no old memories and such? Or will it have Twilight and Dash's memories, but neither their personalities or anything that makes them... well them.
From the look of it, it's more the second one. They are losing memories as they merge and become more single minded. Rainbow and Twilight both forgot Pinkie, not just one. Yet during the party, when they were 'single minded' the must not have forgotten as it was never brought up.
I think both Minds are creating a third that is a combination of them both. their memories and thoughts are going towards it. However, because of that, the parts that are Twilight Sparkle, and Rainbow Dash, are fading away as the new mind that is both of them combine is growing stronger. That is my theory anyways.
3771308
The thing is, as I read it at least, they're NOT forgetting their memories. They remember Fluttershy, and they remember Pinkie Pie. They remember both of them after all and wonder why they're not there, and who the yellow and pink ponies are.
So they can remember them but they cannot associate those memories with the actual individuals. It's like they have all the actual memories but they cannot connect it with the other relevant information.
The entire set of events really makes me think very strongly of Dissociative disorders. I see things that could be signs of Dissociative Identity Disorder (kinda obvious), Depersonalization Disorder, and possibly Psychogenic Amnesia.
Edit: And I'm very curious what Discord's connection to all this is.
Oh dear, this story is making me think about what would happen if my mind merged with someone, and it's only scaring me
3771379 Ah, but why couldn't they associate the memories? Because it is being given to the combined mind! The party with off without any trouble, spike even said they told them to call her TD. But Twilight and Rainbow don't remember, because it wasn't them in control, it was the other one! Also they are forgetting quickly, take this paragraph for example:
Either there is a third mind taking control, it's taking both of their memories and minds to make it and the Twilight and Dash parts will fade.
Or they are actually combining into one slowly, and the memories are fading because the new mind they are making doesn't know that stuff. Creating a brand new pony with no memories, slowly forgetting the old.
3771413
I do think they're moving towards being a singular mind, but it's not some third identity. And I think it's the conflict between the two halves (Twilight and Dash) that is causing the issues. When they did work together without consciously trying to, their coordination and such improved. If they're working together that doesn't suggest a third identity butting in because that would just degrade what little coordination they have even further. Also when they're actively trying to make "two sides working as one" work is when they're at their clumsiest rather than just letting it happen. And when disagreements happen that's when they got even less coordinated than before.
And I don't consider that forgetting, I consider that another sign of the conflict within. Because last chapter they couldn't remember Fluttershy's name at all, but this chapter they recalled her name just fine.
So I think they are slowly combining, and until the conflict between the two sides stops the memory issues will continue. I do not think it's a third identity coming forth and won't believe so until we're shown otherwise.
And if they lose all their memories, they are not Twilight Sparkle, they are not Rainbow Dash, they are not Twilight, they are not Dash, and finally they will not be Twilight Dash. They would be a blank slate. Our memories are what define us and if we don't have those, we are nothing.
The spell was supposed to fuse them together and take the best of both. I refuse to believe that memories would be discarded in the process, ESPECIALLY when in the last story the part of Rainbow Dash that was given to Twilight WAS her memories embodied in the little filly Rainbow.
So until we see proof otherwise, we'll have to agree to disagree.
3771534 But also remember, the spell was only used once before if I remember right, and that it failed. Twilight and Dash succeeded, with it before failed, so no one knows what will happen now. They don't know the long term effects of it being a success.
I agree that when they are working together instinctively there are no problems, and when they work separately they create problems and can't work the body right. But even when they are working together, like we see at the end, both sides notice it.
But what about at the party? It must have been them both being 100% together in one mind, instead of 2 separate ones. Yet they don't remember it, it's all gibberish. It's not Rainbow's mind, and it's not Twilight's mind. It's a third. Rather that is actually a third one, or just the Rainbow and Twilight molding into one, it's still a new mind.
As you said, our memories make us who we are. Twilight has her memories, Rainbow has her memories, but what about when the two are merged like in the party? the pony in control would have BOTH memories, so which events from those memories effect it, and how? Will the new 'TD' pony be smart as Twilight, but lazy and cocky like RD?
3771534 3771666
It's Twi and Dash's minds melding together and taking the memories 100% in but when the party ends their minds separate and each take like 50% of the memories with them... So Twilight remembers some parts of the party and Dash remembers some parts of the party but now separately. When they try to recall the party they get into conflict because the other half doesn't remember the events the other half does so they disregard that as gibberish and things that did not happen thus they forget and/or mix events up confusing themselves.
Lets think about Fluttershy for example together they both know the yellow pegasus = Fluttershy but when their minds are separate they can't place that the pegasus was Fluttershy. Again We could say Twilight holds Fluttershy's name in her memory and Dash now holds her looks in her memory. Together they are fine but separate it is a new yellow pegasus because now Twilight doesn't remember what Fluttershy looks like and now Dash doesn't remember what that yellow pegasus' name is and thus thinks it is a new shy yellow pegasus... they aren't just sharing memories they are swapping aspects of these memories.
Combined, I think.
The gibberish section took me aback for a moment, but once I continued reading past it, I quickly figured out what you were doing, so's all good. I think gibberish was a better call than just a lengthy blank space.
Also, I'm going to make two guesses here: either the issue is that two ponies can't coexist in one mind, OR TD isn't as unified as she...they...think they are, and the turmoil is continuing to cause problems, like before in the previous fanfic, only more subtly.
im really rooting for them to be able to pull together or find a fix.
3772964
Well, the last story had the conflicts being life or death. Disregarding the story's back cover (what the heck is that section that describes what a story's about called?), this seems to be headed to a much more daily-life tribulations deal. Which is kinda awesome.
It seems to me that during the party TD was mentally relaxed enough to kinda operate as just one pony, but as soon as the party ended Twilight and Dash became more self-conscious again and that split not only their personalities but their memories as well. During the party their memories encoded as if they were one brain, but after the party when they split up more they had trouble connecting everything together again.
...which is really awesome. Veil of Thoughts and now Fragments of Memories really has some crazy original and creative conflicts and stuff. Thanks for another chapter!
Veil of Thoughts was one of the most beautiful and existentially poignant stories I've yet read. Here's hoping that Fragments of Memories can not only build upon that, but truly magnify the feelings of lose, acceptance, and self realization that I felt after finishing the first story
Solid chapter. One of the things I loved about VoT was the way you mirrored the psychology of the characters in the very writing itself, sometimes to the point of stream of consciousness, and you continue that here really well. And the gibberish section actually felt like a punch in the gut, which is a compliment. It's fascinating seeing them trying to accommodate each other in their mind(s), and I look forward to seeing the progression of it, tending, as I suspect it will, towards a gradual harmonization.
The only complaint (not really a complaint, necessarily, but whatever) about the chapter is that the ending was awfully abrupt. I got to it and was like, "Oh... okay..."
I also got a kick out of your author's note (not least of all because of the parentheses [being quite fond of them myself (sometimes to the chagrin of others)]).
3770937, 3771881, 3771308
I kinda wish someone else was writing this story so I could join, but it was still awesome to read! Obviously can't say much without spoilers.
3772267
Fixed, thank you.
3773344
It is an interesting challenge to keep all the "we, I, they, them" going without it getting super repetitive.
3773794
Yeah, I hope so too. Its a lot to live up too.
How the hell are you keeping who's who straight in this?
Also, I actually liked the length of the gibberish part. Made us wonder just how long it was supposed to be.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Scent.
Not much to say, except that it's awesome and keep at it!
I liked it. Seemed to convey a confusing mess pretty well. And, particularly since it was past tense, it worked very well as a "what TwiDash remembers of the party."
Is it bad that I find much of this story very relatable?
3774966
I don't know, if I can do it for me, I'm sure the author can do it for them.
3774476
3773302
You know, now that you mention it, I'll bet that's what's happening right there.
I think it would of been better to write a story then rearrange the words or change names and verbs to something random but it worked it's just that I spent to much time trying to make scene out of nonsense.
On another note how long before we (or I) can get our (or my) discord fix.
3774980
Corrected, thank you. I thought there was something funny there but I just couldn't see it
3775763
Actually, I did write out the party sequence, its around 3ish pages in length. The idea of not including it is to give the reader a similar (obviously it cannot be the same) sensation that Twilight Dash is experiencing. Having the actual party in the story and then having TD not able to remember it significantly diminishes the impact, because the reader remembers it.
Also, the gibberish was meant to catch you off guard. I was wondering how many comments I was going to get with "hey! a part of your story is messed up" but oddly, not a one.
As to Discord being in the story, I think you misunderstand. His tag is only because he's in the cover image! He isn't in the story at all!
No, I'm joking of course (
). He shows up soonish, I wont say when exactly.
3776038
What!
AHHHH!
Wow! Hard life. I like the chapter!
Interesting chapter. The garbled text was a bit excessive and should have been halved at least. Also at one point mispelled quiet as quite. Common error.
I agree with toning down the anger. Otherwise it would resemble stroke symptoms.
3776038
I hope we get to see those 3 pages sometime... but that's mostly because I want more of your story. MOAR!
3777541
Corrected thank you (I thought I got them all but I guess one slipped past).
The gibberish is three paragraphs in length to imply an all day, fairly involved event. A single paragraph didn't feel like it would get the idea across. Where as three paragraphs imply a beginning, middle and end (although I just noticed the formatting here is a bit awkward vs my original document). The feedback is still very welcome.
It is odd (I guess), but I found a lot of the dialogue (from Twilight Dash) throughout the whole story to be mostly angry in tone. I'm not sure what led me that way (sometimes the characters just kinda take over and do whatever they want) but I've reworked a lot of it. Twilight and Dash are many things, but angry all the time is not one of them. I suppose its just easy to slip into being mad at their situation.
3778267
It is unlikely the 'party' sequence will ever be included in this story. It exists simply as a reference for me to help keep stuff consistent if I have to make callbacks to it later on. There is more coming, in fact, after I finish editing this comment I'm going right back into editing on the next chapter.
Oh boy. Now two separate fics I'm reading star a TD. That's gonna lead to quite a bit of confusion, no doubt.
On a more positive note, that gibberish was genius. I immediately got what happened, and it showed me that TD's memories aren't, as I had assumed from chapter 1, being erased, but scrambled. I think it got the point across much better than that blank page idea.
3782479
There is another fic out there with TD? Do you mean the character or the ship? If its the first I'd be interested in taking a look.
I'm still trying to figure out what caused this imbalance obviously the end of the last story was to perfect they could never mesh that well that fast but they appear to be pulling apart again. Also why hasn't either of their families visited yet, unless they have and Twilight Dash has just forgotten. Looking forward to the next update.
3783323 Bronywriter's No, I Am NOT A Brony, GET ME OUTTA EQUESTRIA!!! and it's various sequels have a TD as the main character, though he's neither Twilight Dash nor twidash.
Gotta love this story xD
This story and the last one was amazing thus far... I await the next chapter. Thus far its amazing and keeps me drawn into its words. Though it seams things are only going to get even more complacated from here on out for them. It will be intersting to see how this plays out... Its both intersting and sad at the same time...
We shall not pass for the books nor will we the sky for intertwined our fates become unclear.
First off, as I'm late to getting around to comment, obligatory; Yay, sequel!
Then, this delve into how Twilight Dash are living now, and how it seems to continue to escalate with problems and fragmets, call me hooked, again. Really looking forward to where you are going with this.
Also, this-
-was pretty darn depressing to read.
Though you showed later that there's still hope for them living together, as one, in peace, or whatever to call it. But still.
About the gibberish - I think it served it's intended purpose, as well as -*-*- in the dream-part.
If you decide on changing the gibberish, you could replace it with some rows of ellipses [...] (ellipsi? ellipsises?), and maybe achieve almost the same effect.
Oh well, as said, looking forward to see where you'll go with this.
Have a like and fave!
M
In an abstract way, I can understand what Twilight's going through. That said, everything would become easier for her if she stopped yearning for her individuality. She's one of two now. Dash, based on what we've seen, has been more or less paitient with the situation, but she needs to fly. It's an integral part of her very being. Just like magic is for Twilight, hence her emptyness at the element's absence. Of course, if all this was just given to them on a silver platter, we wouldn't have much of a story. That, and they'd miss out on a valuable learning experience.
Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
i've said it once and ill say it again get td's memory fixed and she could be a force to be reacond with
I liked the gibberish part. It felt like the whole experience was sped up and jumbled up together.
Is there supposed to be any hope of extracting sense from the gibberish part? I found a couple of names, but I gave up on trying to make a complete set. (I don't mind looking for it, sounds like fun, but I've no intention of going on a WGC over this.)
This sounds isomorphic to the problem(s) they're having integrating. (The word that first came to mind was "identical", but that's not quite right in that phrasing.) I'm somewhat expecting this to end with an OC with the strangest origin story ever.
3770937
That's probably true, but when they're "we"-ing, "I" refers only to one of them. Thus, mass confusion.
3773302
Around here (that is, Fimfiction), it's traditionally called the "description". I know what you mean by "back cover", though. "Summary" is kinda close, but it's not in the least right, in part because I'd kinda expect a summary to contain spoilers but I'd get mad if a back cover contained major ones.
3776038
I think anyone going into this story with something resembling an idea of what they're getting into is going to know they're going to be taken off-guard, and looking for that. Maybe even looking forward to it. If that makes any sense.
(Especially if they originally read VoT.)
Pretty sure you mean "chasing"?
-----------------------
wink, wink
3771666 3771534 3775161
Ooh ooh! Headcanon burst! Keep up with me now.
The fusion spell has only been used once before... that we know of. What if there's more we haven't been told about?
To whit: Twilight Dash has both wings and a horn. What other ponies do we know who fit that description? And it's not just that. You know how, in the show, Twilight's purple with a purple outline, Dash is blue with a blue outline, Rarity is white with an off-white outline, et cetera? You know how Twilight Dash is drawn purple with a blue outline? Ever notice how Celestia is more or less white, with a pinkish outline?
Mind you, this does leave us with other problems. Did Celestia and Luna come from something like that or not? If so, why are they leaving Twilight Dash in such a lurch like this? At the very least, they could have warned Spike and the other friends: "Hey. Here are some behaviors and such to watch out for. Try to keep her off-balance and relaxed for several days until she integrates better."
Unless they're the only surviving member of such a fusion, in which case <brain bleach>
[/WMG]
3778921
Maybe the 'party scene' can be released afterwards, as like DVD bonus content?
You mention the formatting is weird. Is that because of the word spacing? 'Cause if so, you might be able to fix it with a generous dash (
) of soft hyphens or similar advanced unicode trickery. (Based on reading wikipedia, I'd say either soft hyphens or zero-width spaces, depending on whether you want it to look hyphenated or like word breaks.)
That dream was like a bad acid trip...
5244382 Dreams tend to be bad acid trips.
A pony with wings and a horn called TD? Hmm