Vertigo: The RainbowDust Group Collab

Lightning Dust eased back into her chair and watched the show up on the stage. As she settled into her seat, Rainbow nudged her shoulder. "What do you think the show's about?"

Lightning put a hoof to her chin. "Well..." She pointed to one silhouette that was prancing around the large, paper screen. "That silhouette is friends with another silhouette." She directed Dash's gaze to another shadow. "But, it turns out that they both want the same job, right?"

"What's the job?"

"A part in the Equestrian Air Force. But, the first one messes up bad, and almost hurts the people she cares about." Lightning gestured to the bottom of the stage, where the first puppet now lay, casting a large shadow onto the board behind it. "Now, the silhouette isn't doing so hot, right? She, uh..." Lightning cleared her throat. "She turns to a few unsavory things to ease her pain."

Rainbow met Dust's eyes. "Unsavory things?"

Lightning's gaze fell. "Drugs. Alcohol. Gambling. Sex." She wiped a small tear away from her eye. "Things that only pushed the problem away, instead of facing it." She took a few small, quick breaths. "Things that didn't help with the guilt."

Rainbow slowly turned her head away from dust, and the dumbfounded expression on her face threatened to freeze into it if it didn't go away.

The puppet on the stage suddenly looked up, as if trying to catch a glimpse of some gleaming, heaven-sent light. "But, you know what she did? She dumped her booze and threw away her syringes. She decided she needed to face the problem and apologize."

Lightning turned to Dash, whose lip was quivering.

"I'm sorry."

Rainbow cradled Dust's head in her arms and pulled her into a sudden kiss. When their lips parted, Rainbow looked back into Lightning's dilated eyes.

"I forgive you."