Mirage on the Horizon

by Hope

Ch. 5 Waiting for you to tell me,

When Eris reappeared inside of Rainbow's cloud home, she noticed first that Rainbow Dash was wearing glasses, and was sitting quietly in the corner, reading a book.

The cloud house had been made by Rainbow Dash herself, a two story building in the sky, anchored to the ground by a few tethers, far fancier than it needed to be. Columns lined the porch and flanked every doorway, and the roof of each room had ornate tile. It must have taken Rainbow ages to make, but such physical tasks she excelled at, not normally books.

But for a pony with several learning disabilities and a compulsive anger towards academic pursuits, she definitely seemed focused on the hardcover book she was reading as Eris walked closer.

Bending low to the ground, Eris read the cover.

"Why She Hurt You, healing from trauma in monogamous relationships," Eris read out loud before walking over to Rainbow's couch and sitting in it with a heavy whumph. "A bit on the nose, but… makes sense," Eris said.

"Hey Eris. I don't want to be fixed," Rainbow said in calm monotone as she turned a page. "I'm better like this."

Eris laid her head to the side to look at her friend, face fallen into an exhausted mix of concern and sorrow.

"Rainbow… you're not better, just because you can read complex books now."

Rainbow looked up at Eris, and carefully put a bookmark into the book before setting it aside.

"Thanks to my new perspective, I can make everyone around me happier than they were before. You did it once, why not me? Sometimes it's better to be changed."

Eris frowned and sat up a bit. "First Fluttershy. Now you. What do you mean I did it before? I don't remember everything I did back then. That wasn't me, Rainbow. That was some other Eris. Some other creature that looks like me but wasn't."

"If that was true, then you wouldn't be able to use the same Mind Modifier to fix your friends that you used to make Her," Rainbow said, crossing her arms. "Some amount of who you once were is still here, so if you try hard enough, I'm sure you can remember. But I don't want to be changed back."

"And… I don't want to change you by force," Eris admitted, feeling horribly tired. "I want you to enjoy being who you were meant to be. I want you to choose your old self."

They stared at each other for a moment, before Rainbow stood and walked over to the couch, sitting next to Eris.

"Maybe if you can remember what happened, you'll understand. I was reading a book this morning about guided meditation. We could give that a try instead of using magic," Rainbow offered.

"Guided meditation implies that you'll be guiding me," Eris said, staring at her hands. "And Mirage already got to you… so… how can I trust that you'll take care of me?"

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and sighed. "You'll have to trust I'm telling the truth. I won't hurt you."

Eris sat in silence for a while, debating her options. But she really couldn't see many. It was either using her magic which didn't seem to be doing herself any favors, or try to figure out what was going on.

"Okay," Eris said eventually. "Let's try it."

Rainbow guided Eris to lay down, before stopping.

“Eris… I know that you’re going to change me back some day,” she admitted, looking away bitterly. “I know that you’re going to… snap me, or convince me, or… You’re my closest friend. You’ll find a way. But when you do, please never ever ever tell my mother that I had this chance to be intelligent, and I lost it. Okay?”

Eris sat up a little, frowning.

“Rainbow… Why would I ever tell your mom anything? I’ve never even met her, but she clearly left her mark on you. I wouldn’t betray you like that. I…. If you were perfect, what use would you have for me after all?”

She reached out and took Rainbow's hoof, as the pegasus wiped some tears from her eyes.

“You’re my friend no matter what,” Rainbow sighed. “If I’m smart, or…. Not. I’m still going to be your friend.”

“But you’re a different you, now,” Eris pointed out, sitting up a bit more, looking into her eyes. “Why would you want to go running with me, now? You could just give me a book on how to run. Why would you spend so much time making your home so beautiful, if you just read a guide on building cloud homes and followed it?”

Rainbow nodded, looking away a little bit.

“Okay. Okay, let’s see if we can figure this out. Go ahead and lay down again.”

Eris did so, as Rainbow got up onto the coffee table so she could look down on Eris.

“Now, as you listen to the sound of my voice, I want you to pay attention to your breathing. In, slowly, and out, slowly. Each time you breathe out, relax part of your body. First your fingers and toes…. Then your tail. Breathe in…. And out. Listening to my voice, you will relax your wings, let them lay loose against the couch. Then as you breathe, keep relaxing your muscles, your body sinking into the couch, the feeling of calm working through you. You relax your arms, and finally your legs, before your neck goes limp and your body reaches a comfortable position, completely relaxed,” Rainbow intoned calmly, referring to a book she’d picked up from her coffee table titled ‘Therapy techniques for repressed memories.’

Eris twitched a little bit as she lay there, reaching a state of relaxation that she wasn't sure she'd ever experienced.

"Listening to the sound of my voice, I want you to make an image in your mind of yourself, as you are now, can you do that?"

"Yes," Eris whispered.

She was taller than most ponies by quite a bit, her rough white and black mane and tail tousled and not long enough to reach her shoulders. Had her mane always had a black streak? With so many reincarnations, it was hard to remember. Her head was almost equine but too long, with one snaggletooth and two horns. One horn that of a deer, one of an ibis or something similar.

Her limbs were each of a different species, one lions paw and one eagle talon. One goat hoof and one dragon's claw.

Then her tail, lizard-like except for the poof at the end.

"As you imagine yourself," Rainbow said, "put yourself into a scene from the past, from long long ago…"

Eris twitched, her heart suddenly racing as in her minds eye she was laying on the floor of a cabin, Mirage standing over her.

It was hauntingly beautiful in it's own way. The flames consuming the alicorn and swirling around her, charring what was left of the roof.

"Remember to breathe. You're safe, this is just a memory," Rainbow told her. "What are you imagining?"

"The day that Mirage was created," Eris whispered, remembering the look in Mirage's eyes.

They were so hauntingly keen, so sharp and focused on Eris.

"So it was during the day?"

Eris hesitated, looking through the memory at the sky above them. White clouds, blue sky.

"Yes," Eris said.

"Were either of you saying anything?"

Eris paused. Mirage's mouth was moving. She was saying something.

"She's… asking me… what? What I'm…. 'what are you doing'? I don't…"

"Breathe. So she's asking you what you're doing. Let's follow that," Rainbow said gently. "What do you remember yourself doing in that moment?"

Eris focused on herself in that memory, holding up a hand to defend herself, laying on the floor. Except… she wasn't defending herself with that raised hand. She had one finger pointed up, her thumb and middle finger…

"I was snapping my fingers," Eris said softly. "I was… using my magic."

"To do what?"

As Eris wound the memory back, it warped and flexed. Celestia hadn't been Mirage yet. She'd been herself, an ordinary alicorn, standing over her. Standing near her? Eris was laying on a bed and Celestia was at the door, saddlebags on her back.

"I don't love you anymore," Celestia was saying.

Numb. Eris felt numb and empty, nothing but spite for the world around her as she lazily looked to Celestia and raised her hand.

"I can fix that."

Eris gasped, coming out of the memory and almost opening her eyes.

"Breathe," Rainbow reminded her. "What do you remember?"

"I… that version of me… she tried to make Celestia love her. She… broke her. It's my fault that Mirage is who she is," Eris finally admitted, tears running down her cheeks.

"Okay. So at least… now we know what's wrong," Rainbow said calmly. "Now, I want you to take a few deep breaths. As you come back to the sound of my voice, and you let go of the urgency of that moment, stay relaxed as you slowly open your eyes."

As Eris opened her eyes, she saw Rainbow Dash being held in midair by shimmering golden magic, her expression as calm as it could be despite clearly being in pain.

The couch was in the middle of a vast desert, the sun hot overhead, and just behind Rainbow was Mirage, leering over the pegasus's shoulder. Of all things, Eris was once again wearing that skin tight silk white and gold dress.

"Hey Eris," Mirage purred, grinning. "Nice Dress."

Comments

[Casketbase77]

I’m getting the vibe that all of Eris’s affected friends are embodiments of the five stages of grief. Will have to keep an eye on them as I read further. If they are, Rainbow Dash is definitely acceptance.

Aha, the reveal of Eris's worst sin. We knew the what, but not the why. Also, this does add weight to the first fic’s flashback scene of Mirage killing Eris. Frankenstein undone by his scorned monster. I can almost imagine Mirage quoting Mary Shelley’s book verbatim:

“I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy one, I will indulge the other.”

Also, the symbolism of the dress is obvious: Mirage is forcing it onto Eris just like Eris forced the Mirage persona onto Celestia. It's too early to tell however, whether or not Mirage is doing this to prompt introspection on Eris’s part. Exactly how far gone our monster is remains to be seen.