A Life of Love

Chapters

Dares
Vertigo
Sinking
Paranoia

Dares

A Life of Love

Dares

“Mmm... dare,” Rainbow said after a moment's hesitation, her challenging smile illuminated by the dim light of the flickering lamp in front of her. Around the light source sat two other ponies, both of whom looked rather unimpressed.

“What a surprise,” Rarity muttered.

“What?”

“We've been playin' this for a while now, and you've done nothing but dares,” Applejack explained with the same bored expression Rarity wore.

Over the past couple hours, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Rarity been huddled together in the upper floor of Carousel Boutique. It wasn't Rainbow or Applejack's first choice for a sleepover, but compromises had to be made. In the end it was worth it; they had had a good evening together, the three of them rarely hanging out together outside of a group. It had originally been Rarity's idea, some kind of 'bonding exercise' since of all their friends she knew the least about Rainbow and Applejack. After some convincing, they had agreed to spend a night over at Rarity's house above her shop, albeit with some reservations.

The hesitation, however, turned out to be pointless; early on into the night they found they had more in common then they thought, and what wasn't shared between them were interesting topics of conversation. Hours of the night had been burned away as they chattered happily among other traditional slumber party things like s'mores and the obligatory pillow fight (though they had all agreed to skip makeovers; Rarity had to compromise too). Eventually they had settled down to a simple game of Truth or Dare.

Rainbow shrugged. “So what?”

“Dear, the game is about more than dares,” Rarity explained with a sigh, Applejack nodded her head in agreement.

“What? Would you rather have me spill some mushy truth like the two of you have been doing this entire time? No thanks; so not my style,” Rainbow said defensively, crossing her arms as Applejack rolled her eyes. Rarity, however, lit up as she got an idea.

“Rainbow, you're homosexual, correct?” Rarity asked slyly.

Rainbow gave her an odd look. “Yeah...” she answered slowly, scrutinizing the slight smirk Rarity wore, “Why?”

“Well then here's my dare; tomorrow morning I want you to ask one of the other girls out on a date,” Rarity stated proudly, eliciting a smirk from the orange pony next to her.

“W-what?” Rainbow stuttered, “W-why?”

“It's very simple; I've known you nearly four years now, and not once have I seen you with anypony, and beside; you seem convinced you're not gonna pick truth. So you either take the dare or answer a question.” Rarity explained simply, her self-satisfied smile ever present.

After a moment of debate, Rainbow shrugged. “Alright, fine. Who?”

Rarity's mouth dropped, “Y-you're sure you wouldn't rather take a question?”

“Yep, I'm sure. Now who should it be?” Rainbow responded with a smile of her own, having caught on to Rarity's ploy to get her to answer a question she wouldn't have wanted to answer. A single date with a close friend wasn't so bad, anyway.

“Pinkie,” Applejack grinned, ignoring Rarity’s shocked expression and leaning in close over the lantern “I want to see you survive a date with Pinkie Pie.”

“Applejack! You can't seriously be implying she ask one of our friends out in the name of a dare!” Rarity exclaimed, horrified.

“Why not? You're the one that dared her to do it,” Applejack retorted, confused at Rarity's sudden shift in opinion.

“I didn't think she'd actually do it!” Rarity hissed, eliciting a small chuckle from the pegasus.

“Rainbow Dash never backs down from a challenge; you should know that,” she laughed.

Rarity gaped at her, “you can't seriously be intending to do this to one of our friends, can you?”

“Why not? Who wouldn't want to get a piece of The Dash?” Rainbow asked proudly, puffing her chest out and motioning to herself with a hoof.

“But you'd be leading them on!” Rarity protested in a hoarse whisper, struggling to stop herself from outright shouting.

“Who said I'd do that? Who's to say it won't work out?” Rainbow asked, a little offended Rarity would even suggest she'd do such a thing, especially to one of her friends.

The alabaster unicorn was stunned. Shocked into silence. What had started as a simple way to make the game more interesting ended with... Rainbow getting a date? With one of their friends, no less. “Fine,” she sighed, “who's it gonna be?”

“Pinkie,” Applejack repeated, making Rainbow cringe.

“Yeah... not gonna happen. No offence to the mare, but... no.”

“Y’all have to do it or answer a question,” Applejack shot back with a victorious smile, assuming she'd won.

“Actually, my terms were one of our friends. Pinkie is one of our friends, yes, but not the only one. It's up to Rainbow which one,” Rarity corrected. She may not agree with the whole idea, but if Rainbow was going to do it the least she could do is make sure it was somepony she had a shot with.

Applejack muttered something about technicalities, but didn't argue the point. “Fine then, that really only leaves Fluttershy an' Twilight. And I doubt you'd wanna go out with Miss Books-a-lot. Unless we all have another friend in common?”

“Fluttershy's out of the question,” Rainbow snapped suddenly, drawing a questioning gaze from both Rarity and Applejack. “What?”

“Well you were pretty quick to rule her out,” Applejack trailed off suspiciously.

“Look, I caused Flutter's enough trouble back in school because of how I am. She's out of the question,” Rainbow stated with an air of finality. Nopony in the room questioned her.

“Well then, if nopony has any other suggestions, then I think our dear Twilight is going to get a visitor tomorrow morning,” Rarity said with a smile, before levelling a glare at Rainbow, “And if I hear that there's even the slightest possibility you're just leading her on for this stupid dare, mark my words Rainbow Dash; you will pay.”

With an audible gulp and a nervous chuckle, Rainbow said “I said I wouldn't so I won't. Besides, it's about time I get back into the whole dating thing; haven't had a marefriend since I moved to Ponyville.”

“Still woulda' liked to see you with Pinkie,” Applejack grumbled quietly.

“Well I guess that's the end of that game. It's about time we got some sleep anyway.”

-_-_-_-

Twilight groaned in frustration as yet another book was added to the ever-increasing pile of those that she'd read. By this point she'd gone through almost all the medical books she could find, but still she couldn't find a single illness that could explain her symptoms. Individually she could find causes for what ailed her, but together? Nothing seemed to match up, and it wasn't a constant thing either; only occasionally would her symptoms arise.

Things like her constantly flushing cheeks or her dry mouth could be easily explained by the most simple of viruses; like the common cold or even the flu, even though she had none of the other symptoms. But something like sudden increases in heart rate or finding it nearly impossible to speak? Nothing but the most serious of diseases could explain these things in a way that worked, and even then she showed none of the other signs.

She sighed as she looked out her window; it was well passed midnight by now. The moon was nearing the horizon, about to set and make way for the morning sun. She'd been at it all night. She leaned back from her desk, looking at the pitiful pile of books she had yet to search through. If the stack of books she had already read was the Eiffel Tower, then the books she needed to read was a cockroach. Foal's play compared to her usual reading sessions. Yet as she looked out the window to the starry sky beyond, she let lose a yawn. The likelihood that her answer would be in one of the books that remained was incredibly small, and she was getting tired; this was about to be the second all nighter this week, and it was only Wednesday! Or, it was about to be, as soon as the sun rose over the mountains.

Still, she was a mare on a mission, and neither the drooping of her eyelids nor the comfy bed calling to her could dissuade her from her task. In a magical glow she hoisted another book over to herself and flipped to the first page of actual writing. She got less than a paragraph in before her head flopped down on top of the paper, loud snores emanating from her slightly-open mouth as her body forced her to get the sleep it needed. No matter how hard her mind fought against it.

-_-_-_-

Rainbow frowned deeply as she knocked again. It wasn't like Twilight to be slow answering her door, and even if she was busy Spike was usually around to get it. It only made her more and more curious, and slightly concerned, as her third round of knocks drew nothing but more silence from the tree before her. Maybe Twilight wasn't home? No; that didn't make any sense. Twilight might be one to stick to strict schedules, but she always left her mornings open, especially this early, in case something came up and she needed to reschedule her day. So Rainbow knocked again, a bit harder this time.

To her surprise there was a response, only instead of an “I'm coming” or the door opening, there was a startled shriek and a thud from somewhere inside.

“Twilight?” Rainbow called, pressing her ear against the door as she waited for some sign the unicorn was still alive.

“Coming!” Came the muffled response from inside.

True to her word, Twilight was opening the door within seconds, peeking through a small crack at her early-morning visitor.

“Rainbow?” She asked blearily, blinking as her mind fought off the haze of sleep.

“Yeah, it's me. Were you asleep?” Rainbow asked, watching as Twilight opened the door fully. From the looks of it, she'd been sleeping on the floor; her coat was matted, her mane and tail in a state that would make Rarity run for the hills, and there was a clear patch of drool running from the corner of her lips down to her cheek.

“Umm...” Twilight trailed off, blushing in embarrassment as she remembered how she'd awoken. “Kinda...”

Rainbow raised a sceptical eyebrow. “You fell asleep studying again, didn't you?”

“Yeah...”

“Seriously? Do you, like, ever not study all night?” Rainbow asked with her signature cocky grin and a quiet chuckle.

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, but as she stood in her doorway, looking at Rainbow, it was as if she forgot how to breathe. Her mouth dried, her heart accelerated, and she felt her cheeks flush an even deeper shade of red - from far more then just embarrassment. “There it is again,” she mumbled under her breath, dragging her eyes away from the pegasus and to the ground in thought.

“What's that?” Rainbow asked, quirking her head to the side.

Twilight shook her head forcefully, bringing her attention back to the mare in her doorway. “Sorry, just trying to figure something out. Now, did you need something?”

“Yeah, actually, the entire reason I came by. Wanna get dinner with me some time?” Rainbow asked calmly, her confident smile withering slightly as Twilight looked at her curiously.

“Dinner? Sure, I guess, but... I'm sorry but... why?” For some reason Twilight was finding it difficult to look Rainbow in the eyes.

“What do you mean why... oh, right; you're Twilight,” Rainbow chuckled, covering her mouth with a hoof as Twilight continued giving her an odd stare. Though it looked like her attention was divided. “Look, what I meant to say was this: Would you like to go out on a date with me?”

“I would- wait, what?” Twilight asked, eyes wide as plates as she stared at the pegasus in her door. Her symptoms were stronger than ever; she needed to be documenting this.

“You know, a date,” Rainbow offered again, frowning. Did Twilight really not know what a date was? Sure she was a bit of a shut in and kind of anti-social, but surely she'd at least heard of dates, right?

Twilight rolled her eyes. “I know what it is, but why? I mean, isn't that something you're supposed to do with your special somepony?”

It was Rainbow's turn to roll her eyes. “You're not too good at this kind of thing are you?” She asked rhetorically, laughing as Twilight gave her an even odder look. “That's why I'm asking you; I want you to be my special somepony.”

Twilight was, for a few moments, honestly speechless. The symptoms she'd been suffering for the past two weeks were reaching levels she'd never before experienced, and it was becoming increasingly distracting as she tried to find both a cause and an answer. What was even stranger was a new symptom, one she hadn't experienced from her illness yet; joy. She couldn't deny it; what she felt, at that exact moment, was pure, unconstrained joy. She was... happy. She was truly happy, and because Rainbow Dash had asked her out on a date? She felt... she felt like she wanted to say yes, but yet how could she? She had no romantic interest in the cyan pegasus standing on her front step. No physical or emotional attraction beyond that of simple friendship. And yet... and yet she wanted so desperately to say yes. She felt as though she wanted to scream 'yes' to the heavens, do a dance or two, maybe even hug the pegasus before her.

Twilight opened her mouth, though she was far from ready to answer. She had no idea what she was going to say, and yet her body went all on its own. She felt her mouth form the words, heard them filter through the air and her own bones back to her ears. Listened as her brain subconsciously processed the waves into recognizable sound, turning the sounds into a language her simple conscious mind could understand. She knew exactly what she'd said, but she had no way to know why or how or even if it was what she truly thought. But she'd said it, and her answer was still ringing through her ears. She vaguely heard Rainbow Dash reply with “Awesome, I'll be back around 6, be ready for dinner” before jumping up into the air and taking off.

For an unknown amount of time later, Twilight simply stood numbly in her doorway, at a complete and total loss. Her answer still reverberated in her mind as she struggled to understand the thoughts and feelings racing through her mind. Eventually, she was snapped out of her daze by a slight pressure on her ribs.

“Wha?” Twilight asked, snapping her head around to see a very confused, and somewhat concerned, baby dragon poking at her side and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

“Twilight?” He asked, pausing briefly to yawn loudly, “What are you doing? When I came downstairs you were just standing here, and you didn't hear me when I called you.”

“I... I don't really know...” Twilight answered distractedly, walking back into her house as though in a trance, not really seeing anything she looked at. “But... I think I'm happy about it...”

“Happy about standing in front of an empty doorway?” Spike questioned, now clearly concerned for her mental well-being as he followed her back to the desk she'd awoken at.

“I... need to read a few more books.”

Vertigo

A Life of Love

Vertigo

Twilight sat, eyes wide and mouth agape, at her reading table, the very same one she'd awoken at early in the morning. Here eyes, frozen in shock, stared down at the most recent book that had been selected to explain her own feelings to her. What surprised her was not the fact that it gave her an answer; books had always given her the answers she needed. No, what truly shocked her was what the answer was, and how well it fit. It matched every symptom she had experience, right down to the fact that they were stronger around one particular pony. But what the words said, what she was struggling to fully comprehend, was something she had never expected from her books, nor from herself. The more she read, the more she was positive the book was right, and the more she wished she'd never found this book.

For, if what this book said was correct, she had a romantic interest in Rainbow Dash. It was either that, or she'd discovered a new illness that she had to study. As much as the latter would be nice, being published in world-renowned medical journals and the like, the former made much more sense. Especially after what she'd felt when the pegasus in question had asked her out earlier that morning.

Her mind was spinning as she tried to sort out how she felt. It felt almost like she was falling, tumbling through the air with no way of stopping or slowing down. With no ground below her and no sky above her. Nothing for miles upon miles but empty void. And she was trapped, falling eternally. She felt herself start to hyperventilate as she thought of the ramifications of this romantic interest. If it didn't work out it could destroy her friendship with Rainbow. It could cause a divide as they forced their friends to pick sides after a nasty breakup.

Faster and faster she fell, spinning round and round as blankness consumed her.

The elements would be useless, their bearers divided over something so seemingly silly. Equestria would be, essentially, defenceless if they were attacked. Discord could use it to his advantage and reclaim his throne. The changelings could launch another full-scale attack, this time they could make sure Shining and Cadence didn't stop them. Once they were out of the picture, the only defence Equestria would have would be the elements, sitting useless in the castle because they were still squabbling over who was right.

Falling, falling, falling, spinning faster and faster. The blackness was thicker than water, entering and filling her lungs as she struggled to breathe.

“Twilight?”

Then they'd all be forced into slavery under the Changeling Queen, farm animals for the love they thrived on. All the while she and Rainbow Dash would hate each other, and because of some foalish crush they'd have doomed Equestria.

Black was everything. She couldn't even see her own hoof in front of her face. Couldn't feel the wind rushing past her as she fell. Breathing faster and faster without getting any air. Faster, spinning, falling, breathing, black, falling, spinning, faster, faster, faster.

“TWILIGHT!”

Twilight shook her head forcefully, bringing herself out of the void she had been falling through. A brief feeling of dizziness washed over her as she struggled to focus on the purple-green blob in front of her. Slowly, she blinked her eyes into focus, recognizing her draconian assistant standing next to her, looking up with worry as she stumbled up onto her legs.

“Spike?” She asked, immediately regretting standing as a wave of nausea crashed down upon her body. “I'm... gonna go lay down,” she said slowly, forcing her shaking legs to take her up to her room. However, she stopped when she saw the daunting flight of stairs before her. After her leg gave another twitch she turned away from the stairs. “On the couch...”

“Twilight?” Spike called again, following the unicorn into the living room and watching with concern as she laid herself out on the couch. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, Spike,” Twilight sighed in response, closing her eyes as she once again tackled the problem in her head.

“You're starting to worry me, Twilight. What's going on?” Spike asked again, more forcefully this time as he walked up to the side of the couch and peered down at the mare lying across the cushions.

Twilight stayed silent, bringing her front hooves up and covering her eyes. “I can't go...” she trailed off has her stomach gave another nauseating twist. “But I want to...”

“Go where? Twilight?” Spike prodded her side with a claw, trying to get some form of answer out of the clearly troubled mare.

“It's nothing to worry yourself over, Spike. I just need to think about a few things.”

Spike opened his mouth to respond when a knocking came at the door. He was about to go answer it when Twilight snapper her eyes wide open, the hooves that had previously been covering them were quickly wrapped around Spike's scaled shoulders. “I'm sick. I don't care who it is; I'm sick and can't come to the door. Sudden onset of flue or something. I don't care; I'm sick!” Twilight pleaded, almost frantically, as Spike just watched with a concerned look on his face.

“Whatever you say,” he muttered, slipping out of Twilight's grip and walking out into the entry way and the front door.

She squeezed her eyes shut against the guilt as she heard the door open. Her breathing all but stopped as she heard Spike say “Oh hey, Rainbow Dash! What are you doing here?”

Her body froze, not even a single muscle moved for fear of the pegasus somehow hearing it and forcing her way in. If her couch were the same shade of purple as her fur she'd have blended in perfectly with the fabric. Not even her light, fast breathing moved her chest to a noticeable degree. And then came the words she never expected, and never wanted, to hear.

“She's pretending to be sick, isn't she?”

Twilight's breathing actually stopped.

After a long, drawn out silence, Spike finally replied in a hushed voice. “Yeah. I don't know what's wrong with her; ever since I found her this morning, just standing at the door, I've been worried. She hasn't pulled herself out of her books all day, and just now she looked like she was going to collapse. I'm really worried about her, Dash.” He didn't know he was talking just loud enough for Twilight to hear him.

“Traitor” Twilight thought bitterly. She heard Rainbow sigh heavily.

“I think I know what's wrong. You mind if I try talking to her? And... uh... in private, if you wouldn't mind? I think it'd be easier for her.”

“If you really think you can help, then go for it. I'll be cleaning up some of the old files in the basement if you need me. She's on the couch.”

Twilight heard the quiet sound of Spike walking across the hard wood floor of the library, followed by the basement door opening and closing. Shortly after she heard the front door close and the hooves of the last pony in Equestria she wanted to see coming closer. Maybe, just maybe, if she was still enough, if she pressed herself hard enough into the cushions, Rainbow wouldn't see her.

“It's not working; I can see you.” She heard the pegasus say, sounding almost as if she was right behind the arm of the sofa.

Still Twilight tried, clenching her eyes shut and pressing herself down, halting her breathing and wrapping her tail close around herself as she forced her back as hard as she could into the cushions.

“Try again.” Once again came the light, playful voice of the pegasus in the room. It was right above her now, bearing down, reading to tear her friendships apart at any moment. Twilight hesitantly opened her eyes, just a crack, to see where Rainbow was. Her eyes snapped open in surprise when she came face to smiling face with the mare in question, her head leaning out over the arm of the sofa.

“Boo,” Rainbow whispered.

“AHH!” Twilight shrieked, instinctively lighting her horn and teleporting herself across the room, and accidentally a few metres up in the air. The familiar sensation of falling once again captivated her mind, only this time she actually was falling.

“Gotcha!” Rainbow cheered as the feeling of falling suddenly halted in its tracks. Twilight opened her eyes to see Rainbow Dash, holding her a few feet from the ground. Twilight blushed heavily as Rainbow slowly lowered them both to the ground, letting the unicorn out of her arms and back onto the couch she'd tried to hide in. “Now, how about we sit down and talk about why you're hiding from me?”

Twilight fiddled with her hooves nervously. “I'm... uh... not; I really am sick... achoo?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Right. Twilight, what's up? You seemed perfectly happy to go out with me this morning. I get being nervous, but seriously?”

“I made a mistake this morning,” Twilight answered forcefully, silencing her own thoughts contrary to the statement, “I was surprised; that's all. And because of it I made a mistake.”

“And I suppose all the times in the last week that you've been tripping over your sentences around me never happened? Or all the times you tried to hide your obvious blush when we were alone together? Twilight, you're as easy to read as these books,” Rainbow explained with a sigh. In truth, she had noticed it, but hadn't thought anything of it. Not even when the dare had come up did she even consider this possibility, that Twilight had a crush on her. However now, seeing Twilight actively hiding and avoiding her, all the pieces fell into place perfectly, especially with her personality.

“How could you have known!? I've been trying to figure it out all week, and you say it was obvious!? If it was so obvious why didn't you tell me sooner!?” Twilight screeched, annoyance taking the place of fear or nerves as she glared harshly at the pegasus.

“Well I... wait, did you say you were trying to figure this out?” Rainbow asked incredulously as Twilight nodded slowly. “That's what you were studying last night, wasn't it?”

“Yeah... so?” Twilight asked defensively. Rainbow just broke out laughing hysterically.

“O-only you, egghead!” Rainbow laughed, clutching her sides as she fell over onto the floor. Twilight's harsh glare never once faltered.

Eventually, Rainbow regained control of her breathing, letting only the occasional chuckle slip through as she sat upright. “S-sorry,” she started, “But that's funny. Now that that's over with and the cat's out of the bag, shall we go?”

Twilight's glare finally fell as she once again regained her look of nervousness. “N-no.. we can't...”

Rainbow had to do a double take as Twilight once again denied her. “Wait, what? After all that? Why not?”

The unicorn fidgeted nervously on the couch as she started awkwardly. “Well... what if... what if we end up breaking up? We'll hate each other and we'll force the girls to pick sides and the elements won't work anymore and then Equestria will be enslaved by changelings!” As awkward as she started, she had no problems hastening her speech as her mind once again began to spiral into the worst possible outcome.

Rainbow Dash stared blankly at her, the pegasus's mind trying to connect them going on a date with being enslaved by Changelings. When the only answer she could come up with was that Twilight had somehow unlocked the secrets of how Pinkie Pie's mind worked, she giggled.

“What's so funny? Do you want to be a farm animal for a bunch of insects?” Twilight spat.

“Twilight, even if this doesn't work and we break up, it's not like it'll be messy or anything. Even if it were, I can't hate you. I can't even stay mad at you for long, and I know you're not one to hold a grudge. And besides all that, do you really think the girls would let us force them into picking sides?” Rainbow asked calmly, sitting down on the couch next to Twilight and placing a gentle hoof on her shoulder.

“I... suppose you're right,” Twilight relented after a moment of silence. Once she actually thought about it, she realized how crazy she must have sounded. She looked up with a smile. “Where are we going?”

“Well, I was thinking,” Rainbow started, but stopped herself. For the first time since she got there, she actually observed the mare next to her. More accurately, her dishevelled state. It was clear she hadn't showered in at least two days, her mane was a mess – no doubt from panicking – and her coat was matted. She had planned to take Twilight to some fancy restaurant that had opened recently in Town Square, but if she showed up with her date looking like, well, Twilight after a studying session, they'd be kicked out. Instead, she settled on something much simpler, something Twilight probably needed, too.

“Let's go out for some milkshakes. There's a great place just a few blocks away.”

“Milkshakes?” Twilight asked, quirking her head to the side. “Alright... as long as this place has coffee too; I haven't slept properly in a couple days...”

-_-_-_-

The date had gone about as well as anypony present had expected; awkward at the beginning before smoothing out to idle chatter. Though the local was a bit... odd to Twilight, she'd enjoyed herself, and discovered the amazing invention of Iced Latte's. How she didn't know about the milkshake-coffee treats sooner she had no idea, but she was sure she'd be going back for more.

Now, however, the date was at its end as she walked back to her library with Rainbow Dash next to her, idle smiles on both their faces as they walked through the pale glow of the half-full moon. The odd light spilled out from a house onto the street, but for the most part it was dark, and it was always quiet, nothing but the sound of their hooves on the cobble path in the still night air. Within seemingly seconds of seeing it in the distance they had arrived at the place where Twilight would part ways with her pegasus date.

They exchanged farewells at the door to the library and, in a brief moment of boldness, Twilight had reached up and kissed Rainbow on the cheek before blushing madly and running back inside, slamming the door behind her.

Rainbow Dash stood on the other side of the closed door, smiling idly as he remembered the feeling of the unicorn's lips against her cheek.

“For a dare,” she muttered, turning and taking off into the air. “That was pretty awesome...”

She waited until she was high into the night sky, far away from the library, before turning and looking at the tiny tree in the distance. “Aw who am I kidding? BEST DARE EVER!” she shouted excitedly, flying quickly back to her home.

Sinking

Paranoia

A Life of Love

Paranoia

It was a bright sunny day in the town of Ponyville, with the various citizen out and about doing whatever it is they wanted or needed to do. It was the kind of day that could go two ways; perfect, or disastrous. For Rainbow Dash, it was leaning towards the latter, much to her displeasure.

She'd woken up that morning like she had any other; grumbling angrily at her alarm clock before begrudgingly pulling herself out of bed and getting the weather schedule from Town Hall. Her day had started twisting down the less-favourable path when she'd met two ponies on the way to Town Hall. Two ponies she wasn't interested in talking to after the previous night. However, they seemed determined to talk to her, as they waved her down to the ground a block away from the weather work Rainbow was planning on using as an excuse to get away.

“Hey there, RD, how's it going?” Applejack asked, a sickeningly smug smirk spread across her face.

Rainbow grit her teeth. She knew the farmer was playing with her, but she wasn't about to give herself away. “Fine, just have some weather work that really kind of needs my attention.”

“Really dear?” Rarity spoke up, the same self-satisfied smile as Applejack splitting her lips. “I think there's something else that has your attention. Or should I say somepony...”

“Look,” Rainbow growled, “I let you two know where we were going for our date so you could confirm I followed through with the dare. You didn't have to sit through all of it. In fact, I specifically asked you to leave once you were sure it was a date. I certainly didn't ask you to follow me back to Twilight's house!”

“We had to be sure it was a date all the way through,” Applejack chuckled, “And I gotta say; I'm pretty convinced. If I didn't know better, I'd say you wanted to ask Twilight out.”

“I would be inclined to agree,” Rarity added. “Though I am surprised she was the one who kissed you. I think our dear Twilight is falling for you.”

Fighting down a blush at the memory and Applejack's observation, Rainbow said, “Well that's great and all, but I have work to do, so if you don't mind...”

“So when's the second date?” Rarity asked excitedly, completely ignoring Rainbow's obvious desire to leave. “You two looked so cute together last night. You'll have to tell me where you're going again!”

Rainbow audibly groaned, rubbing her forehead with a hoof. “The dare's complete; I don't need to tell you two anything else about anything.”

“Aw c'mon, RD; we won't do nothin', promise,” Applejack prompted eagerly. “It's fun seeing you act all girly.”

“Hey!” Rainbow barked, “I do not act girly!”

Applejack raised a suspicious eyebrow, but it was Rarity who said, “Did you see yourself last night? You looked like a love-drunk school filly. Mind you, Twilight wasn't much better...”

Rainbow fumed in silence, but ignored the comment as she jumped up into the air, flapping her wings steadily and hovering above her friends. “Whatever. I'm not letting you two sit in on anything else. I have work to do; I'll see you later.”

Before the pegasus could fly away, a light blue aura wrapped around her tail and held her still. “Not so fast,” Rarity commanded, giving a gentle pull on the prismatic tail in her grasp.

“What do you want?” Rainbow groaned, reaching back and yanking her tail with her teeth, pulling it from Rarity's hold, though she didn't fly away.

“Remember what I said; if you're just leading her on to compete the dare, I will make you regret it.”

“Yeah, yeah; I got it,” Rainbow muttered, brushing the threat aside. The idea of her doing such a thing wasn't even a possibility in her mind anymore. Before, when the dare had first been brought up, she'd entertained the idea, but after finding out Twilight had a crush on her, after last night... it just wasn't an option.

When Rarity's glare did not falter, Rainbow sigh, “Look, if it'll get you off my back... I'm gonna be going over there later today to set up a second date, if she's interested. Alright?”

The alabaster unicorn seemed to accept it, as her glare softened. “Very well, I'll let you get back to work. You two have a good time!” Rarity called, already walking away. Applejack stayed for a second, smiling mockingly.

“What?” Rainbow asked, deadpan.

“Nothin', just imagining you wearing a dress for a date... you really do act girly around her.” Applejack laughed loudly as Rainbow glared at her.

“I'm going to work,” Rainbow growled, shooting off to Town Hall before Applejack could make any more fun of her. They were wrong; they were both wrong; she wasn't girly, least of all around Twilight. No, she couldn't afford to be girly around Twilight; girly was weak, and Twilight didn't like weak... right?

-_-_-_-

Twilight groaned as the bright light of the morning sun woke her from sleep. The slumber she so desperately wanted to return to was sapped away by the yellow glow drifting in through her open window and directly onto her eyelids, still fighting to stay closed against the waking of her mind. Unfortunately, the light won out, aided by the delectable smell of something cooking filling Twilight's nostrils as she breathed slowly and peacefully.

As the combination of smells and light pulled her mind out of the depths of sleep, her nose twitched, sniffing the air to try and identify the scent.

Pancakes? She thought idly, opening her mouth to yawn. Her eyes remained shut.

Hay bacon maybe? She smacked her lips; the smell was strong enough for her to taste.

Waffles? Lavender eyelids fluttered open to reveal violet eyes as Twilight yawned again, pushing herself up from her bed, tossing the blanket off.

“Spike's up early,” she noted, before seeing the clock. It was well past ten in the morning. Her eyes opened wide as she shoved sleep from her mind, forcing herself to get up and out of bed. She'd slept in! What was she supposed to do? She'd put off enough of her duties to worry about her crush and her date; she couldn't put off even more for her to sleep in!

“Spike!” She yelled, rushing out of her bed and into her bathroom to preform her morning rituals.

“What?” She heard him call back as she hurriedly ran a brush through her mane while brushing her teeth.

“Get today's list! I'll be down in a second!” Twilight hollered, projecting her voice out the bathroom door and to the first floor of the library.

“But Twilight, we don't-”

“I know we don't have time, Spike,” she replied, pausing to rinse her mouth, “But we'll do as much as we can.”

Doing as much as she could as fast as she could, Twilight deemed she looked presentable enough to face the world after a couple minutes and rushed down the stairs. “Eat fast, Spike; we need to make up lost time,” she shouted, rushing over and sitting at the table. When she noticed the distinct lack of the food she'd smelled earlier, she looked up quizzically at the dragon standing by the kitchen. “Spike?”

“If you'd calm down for a second,” Spike grumbled, crossing his arms. “The only thing on today's list was studying your so-called 'illness',” he informed her, making air-quotes with his claws.

“What? That's not right; I didn't make new schedules to deal with my research...” Twilight trailed off as Spike handed her a small piece of paper. The impeccable horn writing was undeniably hers, and the way she named, labelled, and dated her lists told her what it was. And sure enough, there was only a single item on it; research unknown illness.

“You dedicated today to researching. You kept up with your chores just fine, and what you didn’t do did easily enough since you didn't need my help with the search. You're off today,” Spike explained, wandering back into the kitchen for a second before coming back out with a plate, stacked high with french toast. “So eat and relax.”

“My plan was wrong?” Twilight muttered in disbelief, examining the checklist closely, hoping for some kind of fine-print writing to appear and tell her where the full list was located. Unfortunately, no such text could be found on the small piece of paper.

“Guess so,” Spike shrugged, sitting down across from Twilight with his own version of breakfast; a large sapphire.

“B-but that means I have nothing planned for today...” Twilight audibly whimpered at the prospect of having absolutely nothing to do.

“Nope,” her assistant confirmed around a mouthful of crushed gemstone.

Twilight felt herself begin to hyperventilate for the second time in two days. She had nothing to do; her plans were wrong. She hadn't planned around finding out what it was so soon. She hadn't planned on Rainbow Dash asking her out. She hadn't planned on finding out her illness was a crush. How could she have been so blind? She always prided herself on her plans, and her ability to plan around every possible emergency. All of her plans held an escape should Discord revert to his evil ways or if the Changelings showed up again. Each and every checklist held the 'emergency' box if Celestia sent her an urgent letter requesting her presence. She'd planned around every possibility, except this one.

“Twilight, calm down,” Spike advised firmly, seeing her breathing quicken to an alarming rate. “It's going to be fine; just take the day to relax or something.”

“But how? I don't have relax on today's schedule! I have to follow the schedule!” Twilight countered frantically, running her eyes over her list repeatedly, scanning for anything she could spend the day doing.

“There's nothing to do on the schedule! What would you have done if you found out what it was before the end of the day?” Spike asked, noticing Twilight's breathing start to slow down as she forced herself to argue with him.

“I'd have studied it, found out more about it, found a treatment or a cure...” Twilight trailed off as an idea formed in her head. Her checklist said to study her illness, not discover it. “That's it!” She cheered.

“Uh, no offence, Twilight, but I don't think this is something you could, or even should, 'cure',” Spike noted cautiously.

“No! I mean I could research it! I can find out what I'm supposed to be doing! Now... what books should I read?”

-_-_-_-

Work had been long, hard, and tiresome. Of course a bright and sunny sky had to be scheduled for the same day a storm was rolling in from the Ever Free. Five solid hours of kicking clouds in strong winds and pounding rain right over the depths of the forest. Rainbow Dash was exhausted, but she still had one more thing to do that day. She had promised Rarity she'd do it, and if Rarity found out she didn't do it she'd likely wind up as her next mannequin. Rainbow shuddered at the thought of wearing dresses every day for the rest of Rarity's career as her new doll.

So she found herself flapping her tired, sore wings on her way to Twilight's library as the sun began its journey down behind the mountains of Canterlot. Her coat had dried in the warm sunny air as she flew, allowing her to bask in the true warmth of the day she'd missed. Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief for her strained muscles as she saw the library coming into focus in the distance, lowering herself down to the ground and trotting the rest of the way to the door.

Without a moment of hesitation she brought her hoof up and knocked against the wood. A moment of silence followed, and shortly after that came the ruffling of paper and the thudding of something being dropped on the floor – Rainbow guessed they were books – as somepony struggled to get to the front door. Suddenly it was flung open, revealing a distraught dragon and a disastrous library.

“Rainbow Dash!” Spike cried, grabbing her hoof and tugging her inside, “Thank Celestia you're here. Twilight's gone nuts again!”

Rainbow followed Spike into the library numbly, looking at the carnage that surrounded her. Books were strewn out across the floor, some in piles and others just lying around, open to some random page. Paper was covering absolute every surface possible; pinned to the walls, spread across desks and tables, some even resting on chairs. Ink stains covered most of the sheets, even some of the books had been covered in the black substance. Broken quills were scattered across the room as frequently as the empty ink wells; at least four on every desk or table, and a couple littered across the ground or the bookcases.

And in the heart of it all, reading from a book and taking notes with tears streaming down her cheeks, was Twilight Sparkle.

“Uh... Twi?” Rainbow called weakly, approaching hesitantly and struggling to climb over a pile of books between her and the unicorn. Her sore wings refused to open now that they'd been closed after her laborious work day.

Twilight's eyes grew wide while her pupils shrunk to the size in pin pricks. She snapped her head up to look fearfully at the newcomer into her home. “Get out!” She shrieked loudly. Her horn sparked to life, surrounding Rainbow in her magical grasp, as though she was going to throw the pegasus out manually. Instead the light sputtered out, her quill dropping to the table.

“Twilight?” Rainbow repeated, successfully conquering Mt. Book and coming even closer to the panicked lavender unicorn. “What's wrong?”

“Get away from me!” Twilight screamed, pushing herself back and sliding across the paper-covered floor until her back hit the wall. When she couldn't move back any further she brought her fore hooves up and shielded her face.

Deciding against trying to get closer, Rainbow sat back on her haunches at the desk Twilight had previously occupied, frowning in concern. “What's wrong, Twilight? What happened? What did I do?”

Twilight could only whimper in response. For a reason Rainbow couldn't quite put her hooves on, Twilight was scared to death – of her. Looking around for some kind of clue as to what happened, Rainbow's eyes fell on the papers Twilight had been writing on most recently. The writing was messy – barely legible – and the ink was smudged almost beyond recognition. But the words were printed large enough that Rainbow could still make out what they said.

Romance means death.

Clear, concise, and to the point. Somehow, in Twilight Sparkle’s mind, having a romantic relationship with somepony meant somepony was going to die. Rainbow regarded the message curiously, looking between it and the cowering mare oddly, before she noticed the most recent book Twilight had set her ravenous hunger for knowledge upon.

Flipping over to the front of the book, she read a title she vaguely recognized from a time when she was into such sappy romance novels. Before she'd come to Ponyville. Before she'd even met Fluttershy. Curiosity took over as she scanned around the other books littering the floor and desks. Sure enough, the ones she could see a title on were all romance novels, each with a common theme; one of the main characters dies at the end.

“Really?” Rainbow deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. Twilight scrunched herself into as tight of a ball as possible. “Twilight,” she sighed, taking a few steps closer and sitting down next to the unicorn, who was pressing herself as hard as she could into the back wall.

“I don't want to die... I don't want you to die...” Twilight sobbed, burring her face into her hooves.

“Alright, two things,” Rainbow started, wrapping a hooves around Twilight and pulling her closer, no matter how hard Twilight fought against it. Had Twilight been more focused, she'd have used magic to get away, but with her focus shattered and her emotions running high she couldn't even manage simple levitation anymore.

“Number one; these books are fiction; they're not real,” Rainbow said firmly, rubbing Twilight's opposite shoulder gently. “Number two; all these books were probably from the 'sad' section of the romance shelf. Not all the stories end like this.”

“W-what?” Twilight asked, pulling her head out of her hooves temporarily to look at the mare holding her.

“Not all romance stories end in death, Twi. In fact, most in real life don't, and I'm certain ours won't,” Rainbow assured gently.

“B-but... all... all the books...” Twilight trailed off, scanning around the room and looking at all the books she'd read. All of them, each and every one, had ended in death.

Rainbow sighed, motioning to the shelf she'd clearly gotten them from; half of it was devoid of any book. The half under the plaque that read 'sad'. “Twi, you only took the books from the sad side of the shelf. All the other ones end happily, I'm sure.”

Twilight, having calmed down enough to use her magic, brought one of the books from the other end of the shelf over, flipping it open and skimming the last chapter. A frown bloomed on her face as she closed the book. Hesitantly, she looked up at the pegasus holding, and asked, “I was being silly again, wasn't I?”

Rainbow held a hoof over her muzzle, chuckling quietly. “Kinda, yeah, but you wouldn't be Twilight if you weren't.”

Twilight started giggling along side Rainbow as she surveyed the damage to her library. The sun was setting behind the mountains, lighting the room in a brilliant orange. The light, coupled with the damage and splotches of black from spilled ink, made it look like there had been a fire inside the library. Giggling grew to full scale laughter as Twilight realized it. Rainbow followed suit a few short moments later, and the decimated library was filled with the laughter of two mares.

Eventually, their laughter died, and they sat in silence, appreciating the scene before them.

“So why did you come here in the first place?” Twilight asked, standing from the floor and beginning to clean the mess she'd left. Spike, having watched the entire thing from a safe distance, took the cue began cleaning as well.

“Actually it was to set up a second date sometime, but I think this will do well enough,” Rainbow said, pushing herself up as well and grabbing a broom from the closet.

“You don't have to help,” Twilight offered with a frown, “You shouldn't have to clean up my mess.”

Rainbow shook her head, setting her sights on the paper spread around the floor. “Nah, I want to help. Besides,” she added, tensing her still-sore wings against her sides, “I can't fly home anytime soon, so I may as well spend my time helping clean.”

“Why can't you fly?” Twilight asked concernedly, gathering the books that hadn't been stained in ink and setting them back in their proper places.

“Wings are pretty sore; I kinda over worked them today. Need to let 'em rest before I fly back home,” she explained disinterestedly, scraping a paper off the floor that was stuck on with dried ink.

Twilight's cheeks lit up red like the sunset when an idea crept into her mind, but she ignored her nerves when she saw the sun half way behind the horizon. “You could always spend the night here; it's almost dark and if you still can't fly...”

Rainbow felt her own cheeks grow a few shades brighter and the suggestion, but looked out the window to see why Twilight was offering. “Yeah, I think I'd like that... as long as you don't mind,” she added quickly.

“It's no problem at all; the guest bed is folded up in my closet. it won't take more than a minute to set you up,” Twilight assured with a smile

“Then I guess I'm spending the night.”

“Great, more breakfast for me to make,” Spike grumbled.

Twilight laughed as took another piece of paper into her magical grasp, noticing the recognizable writing on it. With a smile, she brought an inked quill forward and checked the box next to 'study unknown illness' before crumbling the paper and throwing it into her garbage.

Paranoia

Sinking

A Life of Love

Sinking

“This is awesome!” Rainbow cheered, launching into the air and doing a brief flip before landing on the polished wood floor beneath her.

Twilight looked up from her position on her lawn chair beside the excited pegasus, raising an eyebrow behind her large, dark sunglasses. “Were you expecting it to be anything else?”

“No... But still! I can't believe Celestia sent us on a cruise for our honeymoon!” Rainbow said, hopping from hoof to hoof energetically as she looked out across the top deck of the large ship. As a reward for saving the country more times than anypony truly knew, Celestia had arranged for them to go on a two week cruise right after their wedding. Today was the first official day; just an hour nefore they'd waved goodbye to their friends at the port and set out for the sparkling blue depths of the ocean. The ship's route was easy enough; following the coastline down to the more tropical parts of Equestria, close to the Zebra homelands, where it would be sunny and warm all day every day. The coastline was kept just out of sight of the naked eye, though, giving the impression of being out in the middle of nowhere; something many ponies on the ship appreciated.

“It is a surprise, isn't it?” Twilight asked, looking up at the clear blue sky with an amused smirk. “Especially with how she reacted when I told her about us. Remember that?”

Rainbow laughed, nodding her head. “Yeah... seriously though; we're going to be out here for two weeks, in the best room on the ship, perfect weather all day and night. It's gonna be awesome, Twi!”

Twilight simply smiled in response, extending her magic and reaching out into the saddlebags resting next to her chair. After a few moments of rummaging around she found what she was looking for and extracted a large, hard-cover book. Rainbow has no doubt about what it was when she realized she couldn't even pronounce the title, let alone understand it.

“Seriously? We're not only on a cruise ship, but also our honeymoon, and you want to read about... magical... thingies?” She asked, though not exactly that surprised as her wife simply shrugged.

“A honeymoon is for relaxing, and reading is relaxing for me. I brought a few books you like as well, if you're interested,” Twilight replied as she cracked open her book. “Oh, and it's advanced mathematical theories, not magic,” she corrected.

“Science, math and magic are all the same to me; you know that,” Rainbow scoffed, “But the point is that you are not going to be reading the entire time we're out here.”

“Well obviously not all the time,” Twilight said, rolling her eyes. “I do need to sleep and eat.”

Rainbow Dash grunted in annoyance, looking down at the book her unicorn partner was focused on. Hard cover, fairly new looking, fairly thick. Not a single wrinkled or discoloured page... Twilight could get a new one. In a quick motion she leaned down, snatching the book in her teeth, before flinging her head back and yanking it from Twilight's magical grasp.

“Rainbow!” Twilight shouted, snapping her head around to see the pegasus running across the deck towards the side of the ship, with her book in tow. “Don't you dare!” She screeched, jumping out of her chair and giving chase as fast as her legs would carry her.

It wasn't enough; Rainbow was more athletic and easily kept ahead of the unicorn. However, she took care not to get too far ahead, and kept her hooves on the floor, her wings held close to her sides.

“Do you hear me?” Twilight shouted, panting lightly as she remembered why she never won any of their races unless Rainbow specifically let her win for one reason or another. “I will make you pay for this!”

“What's that?” Rainbow called back around the book in her mouth, not even breathing heavily as she mocked the unicorn chasing her across the ship. She noticed a few of the other ponies on board giving them odd looks, but ignored it as she lead Twilight closer and closer to the edge, and the crystal clear waters far beneath the gargantuan ship.

“RAINBOW DASH!” Twilight screamed, the pegasus finally making use of her wings and jumping into the air, her rainbow tail waving tauntingly in front of Twilight's face. With a firm kick off of her hind hooves Twilight launched herself into the air, extending her hooves in an attempt to tackle the pegasus mid-air. When her hooves fell uselessly past the pegasus's own rear legs, just barely remaining out of her reach, she looked down in defeat to gauge her landing, just in time to see the edge railing of the ship pass by beneath her.

“RAINBOW!” Twilight screamed again, though this time in fear instead of anger as she felt gravity take over and start pulling her down to the water blow. Had she been thinking straight, she'd have teleported back to safety, but the concentration she needed was shattered by the suddenly very real possibility of falling into the ocean. She'd never given it much thought before, but the waves from this high up looked huge; giant hills of rolling water, engulfing anything and everything, and she was about to be their next victim. She scrunched her eye shut in fear.

Her hooves flailed uselessly in the air, searching for purchase where none could be found, as she started falling, faster and faster, towards the bright blue water below. Just as she was about to open her mouth and scream in the hope of somepony on the ship hearing and saving her, she felt the very familiar feeling of strong, well-muscled hooves wrapping around her and tensing, stopping her fall before it had even really started.

Twilight opened her eyes to the see her pegasus spouse grinning mischievously around the book still help in her jaw. The fear of falling was replaced by her previous anger, this time burning a little hotter after this particular little stunt. She glared harshly at the pegasus holding her in the air. With a flash of magic she teleported her book from Rainbow's mouth and back to the safety of her saddlebags.

With her mouth free, Rainbow said, “You didn't think I'd let you fall, did you?”

Twilight answered her question with a strangled, frustrated grunt. “Just get us back on the ship.”

“Aw come on; lighten' up,” Rainbow complained as she started flying them both towards the ship they'd jumped from, returning to many confused, and some worried, looks. Neither of them payed any attention.

“I'll get back at you for that, I hope you realize,” Twilight threatened darkly.

“I wouldn't have married you if you wouldn't,” Rainbow laughed, grinning at Twilight's clearly forced frown. Through the cracks in her angry facade Rainbow could see the smile trying to break free at the mention of them being married.

Twilight sighed heavily, her anger melting as a pleased smile grew on her face. “You know that won't work forever, right? Once I get used to it you'll have to find another way to get out of trouble,” she advised.

Rainbow shrugged. “I'm sure I'll manage. It's either that or stop annoying you.”

“Celestia forbid,” Twilight muttered.

“Aw, it wouldn't any fun if I stopped,” Rainbow said, flashing a cocky grin down at the mare in her arms.

“I'm not so sure,” Twilight replied. A second later and they were back on the ship as Rainbow lowered Twilight back onto the deck.

“C'mon egghead; no reading,” Dash commanded, changing the subject as she started walking back across the deck, “They have a pool up here, ya know...”

Twilight rolled her eyes, but followed anyway. “Why we have water on a ship in the middle of the ocean I will never understand,” she noted under her breath. If Rainbow heard her she didn't question it as she continued towards the top-deck pool.

-_-_-_-

Rainbow Dash was startled awake, shooting upright from her bed and flinging the blankets off her body. It wasn't hard to discover what had awoken her; it was either the howling wind outside her room, the near-constant cracks of thunder rolling through, or the loud, high-pitched alarm bell. At first she was confused, until she noticed the odd angle her room was at; tilted, with the far wall dipping down and her bed much higher. Panic alarms went of in her head as she realized what was happening.

She looked around frantically for the unicorn that was supposed to be sharing a bed with her. When Twilight was nowhere to be found in the room, true panic began to set in as she jumped out of bed, stumbling against the steep angle of the floor as she struggled to make her way to the door. As she approached she could hear frightened screaming from the rest of the ship as ponies all over the massive boat woke to find themselves in a very similar situation.

Shoving the other ponies from her mind, she pushed her way through the door. “Twilight?” She called over the sound of the alarm ringing through the hall. Much to her surprise the hallway was completely empty. Assuming most of the upper-class ponies had already been awoken and put on lifeboats, Rainbow made her way frantically up the steep incline of the floor. She burst through the door leading to the top deck, and found that her fears were, indeed, correct.

The ship was sinking.

Fast. The lower quarter of the ship was almost completely swallowed by the raging ocean beneath her.

“Twilight?” She called again, scanning the barren deck for any sign of the unicorn she was looking for. The screams from the deck below could be heard clearly now as Rainbow fought against the howling wind and pounding rain. The floor swayed back and forth and side to side under her hooves as waves and wind alike bombarded the ship. The sky was black with storm clouds, clouds that had formed in nature for the express purposes of sinking this boat, it seemed.

Lightning cracked and thunder roared, splitting the sky in two with each deadly bolt, arcing down and touch the surface of the water seemingly inches from the side of the ship.

“TWILIGHT!?” She screamed as loud as her lungs would allow, running across the deck to the side of the ship where ponies would be boarding the lifeboats still remaining. With no answer and still no sight of her wife, Rainbow leaned out over the edge of the vessel, scanning the crowd of ponies below for the distinct lavender hue. However, there wasn't a crowd of ponies desperate the get on lifeboats. There were neither ponies, nor lifeboats on the ship at all. She could still hear the screams, but could not find where they were coming from.

Had the boats already left? Was Twilight on one of them? Had she been abandoned?

No... no; Twilight wouldn't do that to her. They must have just been on the other side of the ship. With a firm nod of reassurance, Rainbow once again forced herself across the slanted deck to the other side of the ship. She could feel herself sinking, the boat being swallowed by the insatiable waters below. The angle grew greater and greater, passing 45 degrees as the front of the ship continued to rise, the lower part disappearing in calm and clear depths turned viscous and dark.

The screams were fading now, being drowned out by the pounding rain and defining wind. Not even the alarm, still going off inside the ship, could be heard above the raging storm.

Fear gripped her heart in its icy talons as she saw why the screams were fading; from her position, she could see lifeboats in the distance, sailing away from the ship. Panic once again set in as she raced to the other side of the ship faster than before. She might be able to fly, but she couldn't in this weather, nor could even she fly long enough to get to the coast, miles and miles away. Her only hope were the lifeboats sailing away from the ship. Lifeboats she hoped Twilight was on.

As she reached the other side of the ship and leaned over the railing her fears were once again confirmed; not a single pony or lifeboat remained. She was left, abandoned on a sinking ship. The wind blew her mane around wildly as she sat back on her haunches in defeat, tears streaming down her cheeks and being washed away by the rain as she watched the boats disappear into the distance. Flying in this weather would be a death sentence more so than sinking on the ship, and she had no desire to rush the end. She could only hope Twilight made it back to land safely.

“Rainbow?”

Rainbow snapped her head around, eyes wide and full of fear as she saw the last pony she wanted to see on this ship.

“T-twilight? What are you doing here!?” Rainbow ran over to her wife, who had just emerged from the hallway leading deeper into the ship.

“No time; we need to get on a lifeboat on the lower deck; there aren't any left up here,” Twilight advised, motioning for Rainbow to follow her. When the pegasus didn't move, she gave her a concerned look. “Rainbow?”

“They're all gone, Twi,” Rainbow admitted weakly, unable to meet the unicorn's eyes.

Twilight looked at her incredulously. “What? What do you mean they're all gone?”

Rainbow chocked up, tears streaming faster down her cheeks as she struggled to explain herself. “T-the boats... the lifeboats... they're all g-gone already...”

Twilight's jaw dropped in shock, fear dancing in her eye. “They can't be! We're still here!” She cried, running over to the side of the ship to confirm the information. Rainbow watched with saddened eyes as the unicorn got to the side of the ship, leaning over the edge and gasping as she saw the lack of boats.

“All of them,” Rainbow repeated as Twilight began running to the other side of the ship, refusing to believe they'd been left behind.

“They can't be...” Twilight trailed off, knowing it was true but still refusing to admit it as she neared the edge. Just as she was about to reach the railing a large wave hit the other side of the ship, making it heave to the side. The sudden change in angle caused Twilight to lose her footing but keep her momentum as she tumbled forward over the railing that was now much lower than her.

“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow screamed as Twilight disappeared over the edge of the ship. She could hear the unicorn screaming as she fell. Rainbow bolted as fast as she could over to the edge, looking over just in time to see her hit the water many stories down, instantly being swallowed by a wave. Without thinking Rainbow launched herself off the ship, streamlining her body as she rocketed towards the water.

“TWILIGHT!” She screamed again as the water came closer. The unicorn still hadn't resurfaced.

“TWILIGHT!” Rainbow screamed one final time, bolting upright in her bed. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the unfamiliar territory. She was back in her room, back in her bed, back on the ship. This time, the ship wasn't sinking. There was no screaming or alarm or storm. The floor wasn't even slanted. Only the gentle motions of the calm ocean could be felt in her room. She was covered in an icy sweat and her eyes were wet with tears. Her heart pounded in her chest and her was breathing erratic as she tried to come to terms with what had just happened.

A dream; that's all it had been. A nightmare, one of the worse she'd ever had, but it wasn't real.

“Rainbow? What's wrong?” Twilight asked tiredly, shifting in the bed beside the pegasus.

Twilight was still there, right next to her. The ship wasn't sinking. There was no storm. They hadn't been left behind. “Nothing, Twi,” Rainbow lied.

“That didn't sound like nothing,” Twilight said knowingly, forcing her mind to wake up as she saw the look on her wife's face. Fear was still evident in her eyes as she struggled to control her breathing. “What happened?”

Rainbow breathed deeply, finally in control of her own lungs as she laid back down in the bed. “Nothing, Twi. Just a dream, that's all.”

“Want to talk about it? It usually helps get back to sleep,” Twilight offered, rolling onto her side and facing Rainbow.

“Well...” Rainbow fidget nervously, a little embarrassed she'd had a nightmare, and was now supposed to talk about it. Not to mention a little sliver of fear still remained from it.

“Come on, Dash; you know you can talk to me. Besides, it'll help both of us get back to sleep faster,” Twilight prodded encouragingly.

Rainbow relented with a sigh, retelling the tail of her dream to her wife. All the while Twilight listened intently, a small frown on her face as Rainbow told her story.

“.. after that, I woke up,” she finished with a sigh, shaking lightly from the vivid memory.

Twilight nodded slowly. “Well I can assure you there won't be any storms like that where we're going, and even if there were they wouldn't leave until they'd made sure everypony was on a lifeboat,” she comforted with a smile.

“I know all that but... it just felt so real...” Rainbow trailed of, a shiver running down her spine.

Twilight frowned deeply, trying to think of a way to ease the pegasus's fear. When she thought of something, she draped her hoof across Rainbow chest, pulling herself closer and resting her head on the mare's cyan shoulder. “Did it feel as real as this?”

Rainbow blushed as she felt Twilight’s breath against her cheek. How Twilight still managed to get her to blush she would never understand. “No, this feels a lot more real.”

“Then this is what's real, not the dream. As long as this feels real, then you have nothing to worry about; I'm not going anywhere,” Twilight assured quietly, feeling a yawn trying to push out of her mouth.

“Thanks, Twi,” Rainbow said, lifting her own hooves and grabbing the on resting on her chest. She sat I silence for a few moments, before saying, “I think I'll be fine.”

“Good,” Twilight said happily, pausing to yawn. “Because we have two weeks on this ship and you do not need to be worrying about that the entire time.”

Rainbow rolled over onto her side, coming face to face with her bed mate. Leaning in, she kissed her lightly on the muzzle. “I won't. Good night, Twi. I love you.”

“Mm. Love you too Dashie,” Twilight groaned, already feeling sleep trying to take hold of her again.