The Dreams We Live
Lexical Writer
Chapter One
When Rainbow finished her weather patrol duties of clearing the dismal clouds that hung over Ponyville, she bolted to The Golden Oak Library, so she could go home and see Twilight, her inamorata. After landing in front of the library, she took a quick look around to see if Twilight was outside. Not in sight. Satisfied, she tried the latch and found the door unfastened. She entered and closed the door.
“Twilight, I’m home!” Rainbow said.
Ghostly silence filled the room; till a creak resonated under a nearby archway betwixt bookshelves. “Spike? Twilight? Who’s there?” Silence. Rainbow lowered herself and slunk closer to the source of the noise; and when her eyes met the mysterious entity, she charged playfully at it, making it flinch.
“Gotcha,” Rainbow said, grinning.
“Okay, you got me,” Twilight said, smiling.
Twilight motioned Rainbow to join her on the living room sofa; so they could talk about their eventful day.
“I’m pooped,” Rainbow said. “The day I had today was just stupid.”
“Sounds like somepony had a tiring day,” Twilight said.
“You have no idea, Twilight. Cloud Kicker kept sassing everypony around to work harder. Over half my squad left because of her. That left me with six times more work!”
“Well, at least you finished.”
“I suppose. But that still doesn’t give her the right to push us around like that,” Rainbow said, vexed. “Anyways, let's not talk about work, okay?”
“Okay,” Twilight said.
“So what are we gonna do tonight?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
“Huh? What do you mean by that? Actually, wait. Would you mind if you…you know?” Rainbow motioned her heading downwards.
“I thought you didn’t like it when other ponies—”
“I don’t,” Rainbow said. “But after a long day of weather patrol they get kinda sore.”
“Then of course I’ll do that for you,” Twilight said. “You should know by now that I’d do anything for you. Just lie down, and I’ll help you relax.”
Rainbow lay down. “You’re the best, you know that?”
Twilights took hold of Rainbow’s hindhooves and gently kneaded them; though it was difficult for her to just that, for Rainbow’s hooves were damp and odorous. With their unclean essence, an unspeakable quality chilled Twilight; but she kept rubbing them despite her revulsion.
Over twenty minutes must have passed before Rainbow’s sore joints and muscles slackened. Twilight saw that Rainbow didn’t need her hospitality anymore, so she freed the pegasus from her grasp.
“How are you feeling now, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, wincing.
“Much better,” Rainbow said.
“Happy to do it,” Twilight said, getting up. “Now, as I was saying, I have something very special planned for us tonight.”
Rainbow catapulted up, and had the ecstatic look of a filly who just attained her cutie mark. “Are you gonna dress up in that sexy lawyer outfit for me?”
“Whoa, settle down there tiger. And no, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“Let me go get it. Be right back.” Twilight left.
Fancying now that she was more relaxed, Rainbow rolled off the sofa to stretch out her joints; but the sudden veiling of the sunset by a cloud caused her to stumble, and she slowly felt her way up in the darkness. When the cloud unveiled the sun, Rainbow saw a shadow cast upon the room. In the archway stood Twilight, whose expression depicted nothing but a cheeky smile.
“Having troubles there?” Twilight asked as she moved closer to Rainbow.
“Nope, no problems here,” Rainbow said. “So what’s this special thing you have planned?”
“Right here.” Twilight pressed her lips against Rainbow’s.
All at once, after an infinity of awesome, blindly moving closer to the large windowpane from Twilight’s doing, they both felt their bodies touch a glassy surface. They must have reached the nearby windowpane, or at least some kind of object. Within moments, Twilight broke the lovely kiss; and then she stared at Rainbow, silhouetted by the luminous sunset.
“That’s your special plan? Did you forget that we do this all the time?”
“I know, Dash, but that wasn’t it.”
“But I thought you said—”
“Will you just let me do my thing?”
“Okay, okay, I’ll shut up,” Rainbow said.
“Rainbow, you and I have been together for a couple of years now. And we’ve been through a lot,” Twilight said, patting Rainbow’s cheek. “These past two years have been the best years of my life. You’ve shown me love and happiness. And I want more of those days with you, Rainbow Dash. So I have something I wish to ask you.”
Behind Twilight, a cubical box arose, and she showed it to Rainbow; and when she saw what it was, she shrieked in denial, for she knew now what Twilight was going to ask her.
Twilight forced the black lip open, quivering unknowingly as Rainbow did so at the inevitable question that was to come. Inside, wrapped in a worn, discoloured parchment, was a golden-sapphire ring on a necklace. On the ring, there was a glyphic message, and it read “Our love has just begun. Twilight Sparkle.” The parchment was voluminous, and held the wows with which Twilight desired to read aloud; yet she had to will herself not to read it until she got the authorized yes from Rainbow.
Twilight awkwardly knelt before her and said, “Rainbow Dash…will you take me to be your beloved wife?”
The question left Rainbow paralysed because this was something she did not expect; nor was it something that ever crossed her mind as a possibility. But Rainbow knew what she had to say, for she loved Twilight with every fibre of her being; and to be granted a chance to spend the rest of her days with Twilight was undeniable.
Rainbow flew up into the air and pumped both hooves enthusiastically; and within seconds she shot down and hugged Twilight and said, “Yes, Twilight. I will be your wife!”
Twilight put the gold engagement ring around Rainbow’s neck; and it was at that moment when their lips met again, and neither cared or thought about anything else other than what they were enduring. Pulling back, they held each others forehooves and smiled. Then Rainbow looked down at the ring; and being reassured by the evident sight that she would forever spend the rest of her days with Twilight, she hugged her.
“I love you, Rainbow,” Twilight said, patting her fiancé’s mane.
“I love you too, Twi,” Rainbow said.
Twilight withdrew herself from the hug and said, “I got some vows I want to read to you. Would you like me to read them?”
“If you want to, Twilight, sure.”
The parchment came out of its box, and Twilight unfolded it with her magic whilst she took Rainbow’s hooves in her own.
“I, Twilight, take you, Rainbow, to be my wife. I will love and sustain you from this day forward, in sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow; because no matter how great the sorrow, joy always follows. You’ve shown me that. I promise to be faithful to you, and I will have faith in you and us for as long as we both shall live.”
Half unconscious, Rainbow tried to kiss her love, but she staggered instead. Her mind, stunned and tranquilized by Twilight’s profound vows, had fantastic wonder which she had obtained within the last few minutes. She neither knew nor cared whether all this was insanity, dreaming, or magic; but she was determined to gaze upon the brilliance and gayety Twilight had.
But as Rainbow stood there, staring contently, she became conscious of a fearsome, fortuitous, and latent thought. And it suggested that she would wholly endure death before Twilight did, leaving her mistress behind to suffer from the memories of her past. She did not feel the need to mention this to Twilight, for death was not of Rainbow’s concern as she would live a happy and meaningful life with Twilight.
Shaking out of her trance, Rainbow said, “That was totally sweet. Nopony has ever said something like that to me.”
“You haven’t been married before, silly.”
“I will be soon, though.”
“We both will. We both will.”
An hour or two later, dusk fell, and the moon crept its way up to join the cosmos. Rainbow and Twilight were in their room, upstairs, making unforgettable love. They worked largely by pure ecstasy, since neither of them could leave one another alone nor stop their irrefutable libido; and although progress was slow at first, they quickly released their tension through sexual pleasure. Both felt heartened and satisfied with the results they produced for one another.
Twilight nestled up to Rainbow and placed a hoof on Rainbow’s sinewy chest, which made a pectoral twitch. “Have you been practicing without me, Rainbow?”
“What? No. Of course not. Don’t be crazy,” Rainbow said. “I’m just that good in bed.”
Twilight laughed. “You certainly are. But that’s not all you’re good at.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty good at everything, aren’t I?”
“That’s the Rainbow Dash I’ve gotten to know and love. Cocky yet sincere about her arrogance.”
Rainbow planted a kiss on Twilight’s forehead. “And you’re the savvy egghead that I’ve gotten to know and love. Say, how are we gonna break the news to our friends? About our engagement?”
“I was thinking about throwing a dinner party, that way we can tell everypony at once. What do you think?”
“I like it. Can we do it tomorrow?”
Twilight got up with the blanket covering her chest, and said, “But that’s too short of a notice. Nopony would possibly be able to make it tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Rainbow said.
“We’ll tell them, Rainbow Dash. I promise.”
“Pinkie Pie promise?”
“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”
“Okay,” Rainbow said.
“Okay,” Twilight said, lying back down.
“Is that our thing now or something?”
“Is what now our thing?”
“The okay thing.”
“If you want it to be, it certainly can. It’ll be our always.”
“Okay,” Rainbow said.
“Okay,” Twilight said.
They spent the rest of the early night in their brilliantly-moonlit bedroom, making endless love with each passing second; until sleep took over their fragile bodies, and they were unable to resist its brutal manifestation. As their eyes closed, they felt an increase in their desire not to surrender to sleep, but its power was too strong for them to withstand it. Their eyes closed, and they fell asleep.
II
Midnight must had passed since Rainbow Dash and Twilight had fallen asleep, for the sounds of wolves howled in the Everfree Forest, whose grotesque and gigantic trees twisted aloft, amongst other ghastly creatures that roamed freely in the night. Outside, near the outskirts of the library, there was an unexplained ululation, and it disrupted Rainbow from her tranquil slumber.
Having been woken up to the sound, Rainbow turned on the lantern and scoured the bedroom for the source of the sound. But as she did so, everything outside and inside the library became silent. She lay back down and glanced where Twilight once slept, no longer than a few hours ago. In her place was a folded parchment with Twilight’s handwriting.
In the dimly lit room, Rainbow picked up the note, unfolded it, and read it.
Rainbow, if you happen to wake up and read this, I’ve gone out to stargaze. I couldn’t resist going out to discover new constellations. I’ll be back soon. And everything will be okay. I promise, okay? Okay.
Love you always,
Twilight Sparkle.
“Okay,” Rainbow said to herself.
Whereupon saying okay, another, this time disjointed and louder, ululation resonated outside the library, and Rainbow knew that whatever made that scream was not of this world.
A torrent of horrendous thoughts plagued Rainbow. Where was Twilight? Was she okay? What kind of eldritch creature could make such a monstrous sound?
And as time grew deeper into the essence of the night, Rainbow slowly felt her body succumb once again to the paralysis of sleep, rendering her unable to move. And although Twilight was absent from her side, Rainbow knew that she would be back before dawn.
III
When the sun peeked its way up the horizon and shone its light upon the Equestrian land, and dawn came into fruition, Rainbow awoke once again; but this time with an insufferable disquiet. As her weary eyes swam into focus and her paralysis of sleep broke, she scrambled over to see if Twilight came back. She didn’t. The note Twilight wrote was still in her place.
Rainbow picked up the note and read it over and over again; waiting for the lines that read “I’ll be back soon. And everything will be okay. I promise, okay? Okay” to actually happen. But time still ran its course, for only Rainbow could delay whilst time would not. And when Rainbow’s mindset sank into reality that her mistress was not back, she flung out of bed and scouted the library, inside and outside, for any sign of Twilight; but, despite her best efforts, she found no evidence of her presence.
Frail, restless, and somewhat unkempt, Rainbow, standing amongst the maddening bookshelves in the lobby, turned languidly at the sound of a turning doorknob, hoping that it was Twilight behind the front door. When the door opened, every sense of hope, faith, and certainty withered in Rainbow; for it was not Twilight who stood in the doorway, but rather Spike.
When he closed the door, Rainbow charged at him, pinned him down, and said, “Spike! Have you seen Twilight anywhere? I can’t find her anywhere! I’m starting to get really worried.”
“No, I haven’t. I just came back from a sleepover at the CMC’s clubhouse,” he said, squirming. “Do you think you could let go of me?”
“Hehe, right. Sorry about that,” Rainbow said, releasing him.
Spike got up and brushed himself off. “That’s okay. So what’s going on? Why are you worried about Twilight?”
“She left in the middle of the night to look at stars or something, but she didn’t come back.”
“How do you know she left in the middle of the night? Maybe she went out in the early morning?”
“She left me note,” Rainbow said, sniffling. “We gotta go find her, Spike.”
“Rainbow, you’re overthinking this,” he said. “I mean, it’s Twilight we’re talking here. She’d never lie to you. And you know how busy she gets sometimes. Don’t worry about it. She’ll be back soon. She always is.”
“Maybe you’re right, Spike.” Rainbow hugged him. “I’m lucky to have you.”
“Aw, don’t sweat it,” he said. His eyes fixated on the ring that dangled from Rainbow’s necklace. “Whoa. Is that what I think it is?”
Rainbow pulled back. “What?”
“The ring on your neck.”
“Oh,” Rainbow said. “Yeah, it is. Twilight asked me to marry her last night. And I said yes.”
“That’s awesome.”
Two hours must have gone by, and Rainbow still had no word of Twilight’s whereabouts. She flew up to the lofty balcony and gazed at the ablaze sky, wishing that it would enkindle a spark of hope through its light and glory. But it did nothing; so Rainbow went back inside and perched aloft, looking down at the first floor, and saw Spike sweeping the place.
Thereafter, Spike coughed up a scroll and caught it in midair. Unrolling the scroll, his eyes read the writing of that of Princess Celestia, and his naïve mind refused to believe such a ludicrous claim; and yet he knew that Princess Celestia would never fabricate something, especially to her beloved subject Twilight Sparkle. Rainbow saw him holding the scroll, so she descended to see what it said.
“Spike? What’s that?” Rainbow asked, landing. “Does it have something to with Twilight?”
“It, um…” he said. “It has to do with her, yes.”
“So what does it say?”
“Nothing important, really.”
“Nothing important? Nonsense,” Rainbow said. “Spike, what does it say about Twilight?”
“She, uh…Just read it yourself,” Spike said as he gave Rainbow the scroll.
As she surveyed the handwritten scroll, something unknown preyed upon her. Fear, along with queer and belated grief, built up inside her whilst she read it. She dropped it from her grasp, and she refused to believe it. But it was the severe truth of it all: Twilight inexplicably went into shock due to a sudden illness, putting her in a coma.
Dark and tenuous, Rainbow collapsed into despair and started to cry; and when her salty tears escaped her eyes, Spike tried to comfort her, whilst he, too, was crying, and said, “Rainbow Dash, it’s gonna be okay. Twilight is one of the strongest ponies I know. She’ll get through this. And she’ll get through it with you by her side.”
“I wanna see her,” Rainbow said, stuttering. “I wanna see that she’s okay.”
“You go ahead. I’m going to let the others know what happened.”
IV
Landing in front of the hospital, Rainbow recalled the words that were written on the scroll, and they played scenarios that were deleterious and distressing. And yet the scenarios made actual sense; but Rainbow denied their harshness, for love made her blind to the realisms that they illustrate. And now, it would only be a matter of time before Rainbow saw how grim life could be, even when it would be unfair.
Rainbow approached the reception desk in the busy lobby, and she demanded the secretary to tell her the whereabouts of Twilight’s room.
“I’m not authorized to disclose such information,” the receptionist said.
“Why not?” Rainbow asked, vexed. “Just tell me where she is. I need to see her!”
“Sorry, I can’t do that unless you have permission from The Royal Guard.”
“Bullshit.”
“Excuse me, but I will not tolerate such language,” the receptionist said. “I will call security if I have to.”
“For what?”
“For making threats to an Equestrian Princess.”
Rainbow lunged the receptionist, pinned her down, and said, “Now wait just a minute, missy. I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m Twilight’s fiancé, and I demand to know where she is, right now!”
“And why should I believe you?”
“Why?” Rainbow showed the obstinate receptionist the ring Twilight had used to propose to her. “See this ring? It’s my engagement ring. Now tell me where she is!”
“I’m terribly sorry,” the receptionist said. “She’s in the B Wing, second floor. Her room number is 256.”
“Now, was that so hard?” Rainbow stormed her way up to the second floor.
On the second floor, there were doctors, dressed in white coats, popping in and out of patient’s rooms, whose interior features were nothing more than four dismal walls with artificial machines. Rainbow saw and heard the frantic scenes of death and despair as she passed the rooms with dying patients who had what looked like a loved one crying aloud.
Rainbow, in her utmost consternation, found Twilight's room, and quivered as she turned the doorknob, but gathered her mindset for a determined try. She sought not to pass through the door at first, but, within seconds, she opened the door and walked in.
Near her bedside was an impassive nurse attaching an IV tube to one of Twilight’s forelegs. Whereupon witnessing the haunting site, Rainbow took a seat by her dear friend’s bed and said, “I’m here, Twi. And I’m not going anywhere until you wake up.”
“You must be Rainbow Dash.”
“Ya think? What can you tell me about her?”
“Twilight was lucky ponies found her when they did. If they hadn’t, she would’ve died from shock.”
“Where was she?”
“She was outside in an open field, not too far from The Golden Oak Library.”
Whereupon hearing that sentence, darkness consumed Rainbow’s world. Those ululations that she had heard last night weren’t those of an evil, monstrous creature. Nor were they from the weirdness of the unknown. It was Twilight screaming for help.
“Oh my gosh! This is all my fault!”
“What do you mean?”
“I heard her screaming for help last night! But I didn’t do anything. I didn’t know it was her because her screams scared me. Oh my gosh, Twilight. I’m so sorry.” At this point, Rainbow sobbed into Twilight’s chest; and although she was enduring despair and guilt, the nurse continued to talk.
“Right, sorry about that. Anyways, we’ve stabilized Twilight’s condition.”
Rainbow sniffled. “But she’s gonna be okay, right? She’ll wake up, right?”
“I’m afraid she might not ever wake up again.”
“Are you saying Twilight is never coming back?”
“Precisely,” the nurse said.
“I don’t believe you,” Rainbow said. “My Twilight will be okay. Just you watch.”
“Miss, you have to understand that she is in a severe, comatose state. The chances of her waking up is bar none.”
“I won’t believe it. I’m in love with Twilight Sparkle. And you know what? I’m gonna stay here until she wakes up. So forget anything you have to say to me.”
“Be my guest. Her condition won’t change. Trust me. I’ve seen this quite a few times, and it never ends well.”
“Whatever,” Rainbow said.
“I’ll leave you be now.”
“Good.”
Night had taken its toll wanly, and the cosmos, with its eccentricities and mysteries, and the moon lessened with the intervention of dreary clouds. It was a queer phenomenon. It was a haunting night, with now and then a drizzle of rain; and the clouds became heavier and heavier, piling themselves beyond the Equestrian vista, invisible to the eye. The heavy rain waxed in downpour, and distant peals of thunder sounded from the far horizons; sheet lightning shimmered aloft, and the sky continued to grow darker through the progressing storm.
Rainbow did not move an inch since she took her seat next to Twilight. The nurses insisted that Rainbow go home to get some rest, but she refused and pleaded to stay by Twilight’s side for the night. Taking Twilight’s lifeless hoof in her own, Rainbow squeezed it, feeling a sense of satisfaction for being in physical contact with her loved one.
“Twi, I’m still here. I don’t know if you can here me, but I love you, damn it. And I can’t live without you. You have to get up,” Rainbow said. Tears escaped from her weary eyes, and the saliva in her mouth became thick from the voluminous emotion electrocuting her. “You promised everything would be okay. That, you would come back to me.”
Weeping into her chest, memories of her past with Twilight played in her mind. They were euphoric memories, the ones that Rainbow would never forget. But then thoughts of a life without Twilight swam into her mind. Before, Rainbow had been worried that she would wholly endure death before Twilight did, leaving her with the memories of the life she had with Rainbow. But now it was completely reversed.
“Please, Twilight, come back,” Rainbow said. “I’m sorry for not helping you when I heard you scream last night. I didn’t know what was out there! I was scared. And now I’m more scared tha—”
Twilight’s heart monitor started to alter its tone. It once had a continuous beeping sound with short breaks in between, but now the sound was a flat piercing ring. Twilight’s heart monitor had flat lined.
Looking at the linear line on the heart monitor, Rainbow howled aloud into Twilight’s chest.
“Twilight! No, no, no. Don’t leave me like this! Twilight!”
Immediately after yelling out Twilight’s dead name, she felt something touch her, but of what it was Rainbow did not know. A confused babel of voices sounded not too far when where Rainbow was.
“Rainbow Dash. Wake up,” Twilight said, shaking her.
Rainbow opened her eyes, and the sight was more frightful than that of the lugubrious hospital room. “Where am I?”
“Oh, good, you’re awake. You were yelling in your sleep. And you’re home, with me.”
Rainbow shook her head and tried to digest everything that was happening. “My sleep? What do you mean?”
“You must have been having a nightmare or something. You wouldn’t stop yelling.”
“I was dreaming?” Rainbow asked.
“Yes you were.”
Rainbow aggressively hugged Twilight with all her might. “Oh my gosh, Twilight! Never leave me again like that. Promise me, please!”
“What do you mean? I’d never leave you. Not after everything we’ve been through.”
Rainbow pulled back. “I had this dream where I woke up without you by my side. There was this note that you wrote, and it said that you went out to look at the stars or something. And then you went into shock in the middle of the night, and I came to see you in the hospital the next day, and then—”
“Rainbow, slow down,” Twilight said. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I didn’t leave your side. I didn’t go out to look at the stars. And I sure as hay didn’t go into shock.”
“You didn’t?” Rainbow asked.
“No. You just had a really bad dream. A scary one, I might add. It’s okay, now. I’m still here. And I always will be, okay?”
“I love you, Twilight.”
Twilight wrapped Rainbow in a lovely embrace with her wings. “I love you too, Rainbow.”
Whilst Twilight embosomed her love, Rainbow soon realized that the engagement ring was gone; and, with acute confusion, she asked, “Hey, Twi. Where’s the ring you gave me?”
Twilight withdrew from the hug and said, “What ring?”
