Cloudsdale: Metropolis

by Anonymous XXX

Regression

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

“Close your eyes and begin to relax. Take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Concentrate on your breathing. With each breath, you become more relaxed.”

Twilight Sparkle’s calming voice melded with the clock’s ticking.

“Imagine a brilliant, white light above you. Focus in on this light as it flows through your body. Allow yourself to drift off as you fall deeper and deeper into a more relaxed state of mind.”

Time seemed to slow as a tunnel of purest light surrounded Rainbow Dash, filling her body and infusing her with a sense of complete tranquility.

“Now, as I count back from ten to one, you will feel more peaceful and calm.”

Tick. Tock.

“Ten… Nine… Eight…”

The ticking of the clock echoed in Rainbow Dash’s ears.

“Seven… Six… You will enter a safe place where nothing can harm you.”

Twilight’s voice began to slowly fade away into the light.

“Five… Four… Three… Two…”

The ticking clock echoed until the individual ticks were nearly indistinguishable. Dash could scarcely hear her friend as she gave her one last instruction.

“If at any time you need to come back, all you must do is open your eyes. One.”

Rainbow Dash felt her mind detach from her body and pass through the tunnel of shining, white light. The light acted as an impenetrable barrier, protecting her from all the pain and fear brought on by her nightmares. Her tired body left behind, Dash felt wide awake, but quite content to conserve her energy and drift towards wherever this light would take her. It was like entering into a wonderful, vibrant dream that she would awake from without forgetting a single detail in the haze of wakefulness.

It was much too soon when Dash caught sight of the end of the tunnel. She was loath to leave this glorious peace behind, but her resent was not enough to take away the smile of pure contentment she would’ve worn if her mind and body were reunited.

The affects of the light lingered long after Rainbow Dash had left the tunnel. Her mind free from worry, she let her body do as it pleased as she considered the experience.

Wow, I feel great! Dash thought to herself. That hypno-therapy is awesome stuff! I gotta tell Twilight!

But where was Twilight? Rainbow Dash couldn’t see the lavender unicorn anywhere. In fact, Dash wasn’t even in the library anymore. The inner sanctum of the tree had disappeared, to be replaced with a puffy, white bedroom. A cloudstuff bed, wide enough for two pegasi to sleep in with wings fully spread, took up the vast majority of the room, leaving just enough space to walk around the foot to the other side. Both sides of the bed were complimented by matching cloudstuff end tables. A large mirror with an ornate trim hung on the wall at the foot of the bed.

Dash didn’t recognize the room at all. Her sense of peace was fading in the haze of confusion. She had no idea how or why she was here. In fact, she wasn’t even sure where “here” was. Cloudsdale was the only cloud city she knew of, and the view outside the window eliminated that possibility. It wasn’t until she tried to get a closer look at the scenery that she realized she was not in control of her own body. Instead of following her brain’s instructions and rushing to the window, Dash’s body lowered its head and slowly paced back and forth at the foot of the bed.

Her mind instantly filled with terror. Even in her nightmares, she could always bend her body to her will. What was wrong with her? Had she died? Maybe that’s what the light was. Or was this some new, more horrifying nightmare, brought on by the hypno-therapy?

After several minutes of pacing, Rainbow Dash began to calm down. If this were truly a nightmare, something terrible would have surely happened by now. And didn’t dying typically involve some type of judgment and sentencing? Perhaps this was merely her mind sorting through the underlying issues behind her nightmares, creating a confused reality based on its endeavors. Yes, that was much more likely. Dash decided to sit back and relax as her subconscious took its course.

Rainbow Dash felt her body come to a halt. She was relieved when her head lifted; after staring down vacantly at the cloudstuff flooring for quite some time, even the sight of a cloudstuff wall was a welcome change. She realized that she was standing in the middle of her path. If memory served correctly, Dash was standing right in front of the mirror. She knew that she would recognize her reflection in the polished glass, and she relished the opportunity to see a familiar face in this unknown world, even if it was her own.

But the mirror did not show her what she expected. Instead of her beautiful cyan coat and the red, orange, and yellow of her tousled mane, Rainbow Dash found herself staring deep into the mournful gaze of a pair of deep, hazel eyes that perfectly complemented their forest green body. Just above the eyes grew a long, flowing, and shockingly scarlet mane, with twin streaks of green running through its entire length. Dash could just make out the mare’s cutie mark, a white wing that had been blurred, as if it was constantly in motion.

Rainbow Dash was so fully focused on taking in the strange pegasus’ appearance that, when the only plausible reality set in, it hit her like a ton of cloudstuff.

She was the pony in the mirror! Everything Dash could see, she saw through the mare’s eyes. All her involuntary motions were the actions of the forest green pegasus. Her mind was merely spectating on the life of this sad-looking pony. Smug in her newfound knowledge, Dash mentally settled in to watch.

Rainbow Dash felt herself pick up a pencil in her mouth and lower her head to a scroll lying flat on a cloudstuff dresser beneath the mirror. She began scrawling words across the scroll, and Dash followed along, reading the words she wrote without her mind’s consent or knowledge.

Mr. Hoofton,

I am writing this letter to you in hopes of expressing to you what I have somehow failed to express in spoken word. I must make this as clear as I can. You and I are not a couple. I do not love you; I am in love with your brother. Surely you know this, which leads me to believe that you care not for what I want, but only for your own selfish, deluded desires. It pains me to have to do this, but I simply cannot tolerate your behavior any longer. From now until you decide to change, I wish to have nothing to do with you. It is a pity, as I would have relished your friendship, but your actions are simply unforgivable.

Goodbye, Mr. Hoofton.

Victoria Wing

Rainbow Dash felt a single tear roll down her face. Now that she had relaxed, she could feel traces of Victoria’s emotions flowing through her own mind. A numbing misery slowly invaded her mind, wiping out all hope in the face of a lost friendship. Dash had no idea how the green pegasus managed to hold back her tears; she had never felt such sadness as the feelings that now flooded her soul.

Victoria once again looked into the mirror. Gazing into her hazel eyes, Rainbow Dash thought she saw the faintest hint of pleading. Her heart felt as though it was tearing; she had no idea how she could possibly help the miserable-looking pony.

Dash felt her mind begin to separate from Victoria. An ever-growing tunnel of blinding, white light surrounded her vision as she slipped further and further from the pegasus’ body.

“No! Come back!” shouted Dash in her mind. “I want to help you!”

But it was too late. The world of the forest green pegasus disappeared as Rainbow Dash glided through the shining tunnel back to her real body. The peace that she felt last time was gone. She couldn’t feel at ease knowing that there was a pony out there who needed her.

Dash could see Twilight’s library through her own body’s eyes as she approached the end of the tunnel. The light began to disappear, replaced with countless books, located both on their bookshelves and scattered over the floor. Twilight was nowhere to be seen, but the mess of books piled on the hardwood betrayed the fact that she had been studying.

As soon as Rainbow Dash reentered her familiar body, she attempted to locate her hypno-therapist. The unicorn wasn’t in the library, nor was she in the kitchen. Dash checked upstairs, but found only Spike, asleep in his little bed, tired after a long night of helping Twilight with her studies. She must have gone out for some air, and Dash, strangely enough, didn’t feel like flying around to look for her. Instead, she fixed herself a delectable daffodil sandwich in the kitchen and settled down to wait for Twilight’s return.

Comments

[demonoid47]

oooh! the plot thickins

[NimbleBolt]

hmmmm I wonder what will happen next guess I'll have to wait for the next chapter hope it won't take to long to write

[Anonymous XXX]

50405 it shouldnt take as long. im not closing every night this week
50391 you think THIS is plot-thickening?? wait til it REALLY gets going!

oh, and random note- I meant to name her Victory Wing, but i accidentally wrote Victoria for the next few paragraphs, so i was just like, ehh lets roll with it.

[bradhadair12]

I'm intrigued... keep this one going.

It's quite intriguing! Can't wait for the next part!

[SweetieStar]

niceI like it

[PartyponyXD]

The chapter is called regression but there is no regression in this story, I'm confused.