Burning Dreams

Twilight flinched, but Spitfire paid little attention to her. Instead, she walked directly towards Rainbow's bed, her movement mechanic, her face devoid of any expression that would indicate even the faintest care for the bed-ridden pony.

She cleared her throat. "Lieutenant Rainbow Dash. You violated your contract on multiple counts, and the team and I feel that it's best to terminate it and relieve you of your duty, effective immediately."

Dash's eyes darted between Twilight and Spitfire in a fruitless attempt to comprehend what just happened.

"Out," Twilight said in a low, commanding voice.

Spitfire ignored it. Instead, she took another step towards Dash's bed. "Do you know what that means? Or do you need somepony to explain it to you?"

"I said out, Commander," Twilight repeated in the same low voice. "Or do I need throw you out for ignoring a royal directive?"

Spitfire turned to Twilight. A barely visible but smug smile adorned Spitfire's lips. "Princess Sparkle, I guess you haven't been informed, but this is between the Wonderbolts and the former Lieutenant. I would appreciate if you stay out of it, since even Princess Celestia leaves the management of the entire Wonderbolts to us."

Twilight took a step forward. "Does that include assaulting your own members?"

Spitfire laughed softly. "Is that what she told you? Wow. If I knew that she'd go that far, I would had not even considered letting her into the Academy, let alone allowing her to become one of us."

"So what you're telling me is that she's lying."

"I don't know what to tell you, Your Highness," Spitfire replied. "I had no option but to kick her out of our team, which is a shame, because she really is a talented flier.

"She came dead drunk to practice, hit on me and Soarin, and disappeared shortly after. What she did afterwards is anypony's guess. That's not something I'd call an assault, Princess. If anything, we should be charging her with harassment."

"Out," Twilight repeated in a still calm, yet threatening tone.

"Right, I'll make sure Princess Celestia hears about this. Good day, Princess." Spitfire adjusted her glasses and left the room.

Twilight stood still as she tried to figure out what just happened. At this point, she half-expected her alarm clock to go off, letting her know that this was just one of those strange dreams where she ended up having a deep and meaningful conversation with a sandwich.

Instead of a familiar alarm, Twilight was startled by the voice of her mare.

"Twilight… I don't feel so hot," Dash muttered.

Twilight snapped out of her reverie. Then, in a split second, teleported herself and an empty bucket in front of Dash. It didn't take more than a few seconds before a retching sound echoed across the room.

When Dash managed to calm down, Twilight sighed and ruffled Dash's mane, allowing her exhaustion get the better of her, letting her memory lead her back to the dreamland.

~*~*~

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, I presume," Dash said softly in a deep, mocking bow, enough for her muzzle to touch the ground.

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight replied in a deadpan voice, recognizing the mocking gesture of her friend. "Why are you here in the middle of the night?"

"Isn't that the best time for flying lessons?"

"Rainbow, it's four in the morning. What do you think?"

"Um… yes?"

Twilight groaned. "Why are you even up at this hour?"

"Night shift. I finished not even an hour ago... And, well... had too much coffee, and now I can't sleep, so I thought..."

"I don't know what to tell you, Rainbow Dash, but it's pitch-black outside. How in the world would you expect me to—"

"Not right now, dummy," Dash tapped lightly on Twilight's head. "Even I don't fly around when I can't see anything in front of me… Well… At least not most of the time…"

Twilight sighed. "And yet you kicked me out of the bed at four in the morning…"

"Well, yeah. I wanted to get you out for a practice before you start scheduling your schedules to schedule—" Dash blinked and facehooved. "See what you've done? Now you even got me doing it."

Twilight laughed wholeheartedly and stepped back inside of the library, gesturing her friend to join her in the warm and welcoming room. "More coffee?"

Dash yawned and nodded. "Just a little bit."

Dash looked around the reading area and spotted numerous opened, flight-related books. She got the impression that she was back in flight school in a class she literally completed with flying colors. She chuckled. "Hey, Twilight?"

"Yes?"

"You actually read these?"

"I am still trying to understand what am I doing wrong…" Twilight shrugged and offered a mug of steaming-hot coffee to Dash. "See this?" Twilight pointed to a picture of a folding wing. "I have no idea how to do this..."

Dash laughed. "This is what is bugging you?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes." She sighed. "And I just can't wrap my head around it." She opened her wing and tried to fold it as the picture displayed which resulted in her grimacing and complaining about painful stings.

"Twi, stop!"

Twilight abruptly stopped, her full attention focused on her friend. "Wh-what?"

"You're going to break your wing if you continue doing that." Dash took a step forward and extended her hoof to massage Twilight's aching wing, a gesture that was happily received. "Makes me wonder what else you're doing wrong…"

"Well, I've read in the first book—"

Dash shook her head.

"What?"

"I can teach you how to fly in three easy lessons," Dash said in a deep voice, attempting to imitate Iron Will.

Twilight laughed.

"Lesson one: Forget about the books."

"Wait, what?"

"Lesson two: Spread your wings as much as you can."

Twilight tilted her head, puzzled. "I really don't see the point of me—"

"Lesson three: Go out and practice."

"Practice what, Rainbow Dash? You haven't showed me anything so far."

Dash smiled, her voice returning to normal. "You'll see." She opened the front door of the library, allowing a gust of cold wind to rush in and gestured for Twilight to join her. "Coming or not?"

"Where are we going in the middle of the night?"

"It's not the middle of the night anymore, Egghead. Princess Celestia should raise her sun any moment now. I'll show you where I practice some of my newest stuff. Don't worry, Your Highness. You'll like it."

~*~*~

Twilight shivered. The cold wind from her dream was now replaced by the warmth of the hospital room and the familiar softness of her mare's mane.

She yawned softly, figuring she dozed off for a couple minutes, but a quick glance around the now dim room proved her wrong. She figured she must have slept for a few hours to compensate for the lack of sleep and exhaustion she had struggled with the previous day. She wanted to close her eyes again, but the muttering only inches away prevented her from doing so.

"Dash?"

Still sleeping, Dash gave no indication that she heard Twilight's voice. Instead of slowly opening her eyes, she shifted her front hooves, her muttering gaining clarity.

"P-please don't do this," she muttered, her voice now clear enough for Twilight to understand.

Twilight realized that Dash was dreaming, or, rather, having a nightmare about what happened.

She couldn't stand there and do nothing. She already felt horrible enough that she couldn't prevent what happened to her mare in the first place, and she was determined not to make her relive it again.

As Dash muttered and shifted in her sleep yet again, Twilight nudged Dash's front hoof.

It was one of the worst mistakes Twilight ever made.

"Don't touch me!" Dash yelled and swung her hoof with the all force she could muster, aiming at Spitfire in her half-sleep.

This time, her hoof connected with the target.

The wrong target.

A split second later, Twilight yelped, took a few steps back, and put a hoof on her muzzle to dim the pain from the impact. Her head was spinning like mad, and she felt like something was quickly gnawing away her consciousness, making it harder and harder to stay on her hooves, until the point that she had no other choice than to give in.

The cold floor felt welcoming for her; it was just the right counter to the overwhelming heat radiating from her muzzle.

Just before she slipped away, she could hear Dash yell her name, shortly followed by one of the Royal Guards barging in and shouting back something she could not understand anymore. Her world dissolved into nothingness.

~*~*~

"So, what do you think?" Dash asked as the couple observed the play of light in the distance, the ascending sun's rays illuminating the crimson skies, pushing the last shadows of Luna's night away.

Twilight observed the phenomena closely, scratching her mane and tapping her chin. She hummed for a few seconds before she said, "Wavelengths."

Dash tilted her head. "Huh?"

"The wavelengths of the light reflected from molecules of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, combined with the time that the light takes to get to here, ends up with a different color than we're used to in the middle of the day. Of course, it also depends on the saturation thereof and—"

"Hello? Equestria to Princess Egghead?"

"Wh-what? I thought you wanted to know how—"

Dash laughed. "Don't you ever get tired of being an egghead?"

"Don’t you ever get tired of reading and writing about Daring Do?" Twilight countered with a smile.

Taken aback by the response, Dash deflected, "But Daring Do is awesome, brave, and—"

"And fascinating? Exciting? Both?"

"Well, yeah, but—"

Twilight snickered. "Why do you think mine is somehow different?"

"But your science books are—"

"Just as exciting for me as Daring Do is for you."

"But I—" Dash sighed and realized that there was no point in continuing this discussion.

A long pause echoed between the pair before one of them broke the awkward silence.

"Rainbow? What are we doing here at the crack of dawn?"

Dash jumped up, taking her battle stance with a determined and smug smile on her face. "Practice!"

"Rainbow… Remember what happened last time?"

"Relax, Twi. I got this."

"Rainbow Dash…"

"Oh, come on, Twilight. I promised you that I won't do anything… stupid this time around."

Twilight nodded. "Very well… Where are we going, anyways?"

Dash pointed in the direction of a cloud far away. "See that?"

Twilight nodded again.

"I'll fly you up there, and we'll glide to the ground…"

"Are you crazy? I have no idea how to fly yet!"

"I won't let go this time, Twi, don't worry. Well… Unless you want me to." Dash laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I won't."

"Fine, but don't expect me to carry you around all the time, Princess."

Twilight cracked a smug smile. "Well, as your Princess, I just might," she replied in a teasing tone.

Both ponies burst into a fit of laughter which lasted a good minute before it subsided.

The two smiled at each other as Dash extended her wings fully, hopped into the air, and started hovering only inches above Twilight. "Ready?"

Twilight nodded sheepishly. "J-just don't let go."

Dash grabbed Twilight by her chest and lifted her in the air. "Here we go!"

~*~*~

Twilight shifted in bed, her body covered with a thick, warm blanket. She slowly opened her eyes, the sparse blobs of multi-colored goo slowly turning into colorful ponies and various objects across the room.

She recognized a small hospital room, quite similar to the one where Dash was staying. It was a little more nicely decorated than Dash's room, but it was still a hospital room.

As she decided to move, she was greeted with one of the worst headaches she ever encountered, accompanied with an aching muzzle.

"Ow," she grunted softly.

A nearby nurse rushed to her aid. "Princess Twilight! I'm Nurse Bright Heart. Are you alright? You shouldn't be rubbing your muzzle. It may cause further irritation."

Twilight groaned and turned towards the overly enthusiastic nurse. "Excuse me for asking, but can I visit Rainbow Dash?"

The nurse shook her head.

"Why not?"

"She has been detained in her wing by a member of the Royal Guard for an attack on royalty."

Twilight sighed. "Yeah. Me."

"Luckily, she was subdued fast. Ponies like that deserve to be—"

"It… wasn't on purpose," Twilight replied, her head jerking back as an alcohol-drenched pad of gauze touched her muzzle. "Ow!"

"I never heard that excuse before," the nurse said in a sarcastic tone. "I had quite a few injuries like this in my time here." She paused for a moment, focusing on the gauze, before pressing it against Twilight’s injury and making her cringe again. "You have nothing to worry about in here, Princess. You're safe."

As the nurse moved to poke Twilight's muzzle with the gauze a third time, Twilight backed up to prevent contact with the irritating object. "I'm fine."

"But—"

"I would just like to visit my mare."

Bright Heart's mind went numb, her hoof subconsciously covering her mouth in embarrassment. "She is… your… Oh, dear. I-I'm so sorry. I didn't… mean to… I mean— I—"

Twilight sighed. "She had a nightmare, and I guess I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She wouldn't do that to me or any of our friends in a milion years."

"Oh, I'm…. so sorry I misjudged her. I thought that—"

"She isn't like that," Twilight said with a brief but painful smirk. "It's funny. Equestria knows her mostly as a really arrogant pony, but in private, she's nothing like that. She's one of the kindest ponies I've ever met. But, whatever you do, you really don't want to get into a fight with her about Daring Do. It won't end well. Trust me on this one."

Bright Heart chuckled and gently pressed an alcohol-drenched gauze to Twilight's muzzle, but Twilight didn't jerk back this time.

"We're done, Princess—"

"Just Twilight. I'll probably never get used to friends calling me Princess," Twilight replied with a smile.

~*~*~

Rainbow Dash was lying in her bed, staring at the ceiling, seemingly unable to sleep. The image of what she had done didn't leave her in peace.

Her own hooves did something unimaginable, something that she couldn't do, even in her worst nightmares. Something that she wouldn't be able to forgive herself for, and was sure Twilight wouldn’t be able to forgive either.

Dash couldn't get over the fact that her own hoof had injured the one mare she loved and cared for most. She was certain that it wasn't her fault yet, it was she who caused it.

She felt sick just thinking about it.

Years spent building their friendship and trust, a year of celebration of pushing their relationship further... All of that was now shattered, destroyed in nothing more than a blink of the eye.

She was devastated. One more thing that the pony she looked up to all these years took away from her: the trust of her mare.

Her hooves clenched the pillow as she whispered, "I'm sorry, Twilight."

~*~*~

A soft and warm whisper, combined with a gentle nudge, roused Dash from a light and troublesome sleep. "Dash?"

"Tw-Twilight?"

"I'm here, Dash," Twilight whispered back. "I'm here." Her hoof touched Dash's cheek. She was surprised by the moisture on it. Dash has been crying, she thought.

Twilight paused for a moment, her eyes gazing deeply into into her mare's. "It's not your fault, Dash," she said as she sat beside Dash's bed. "But..."

"But what? It was my hoof, Twilight. Nopony else's."

"Dash, please stop," Twilight said, ruffling her mare's mane, and taking a deep breath. "Dash, I want you to talk to Dr. Black Hoof. He's a longtime friend, and he'll be more than willing to help you."

"But the doctors here are—"

"He's a psychologist, Dash."

Dash's heart sank, and her ears drooped. "You don't trust me anymore, do you?" she asked with a waver in her voice. "I didn't want to do what I did. I just—"

Twilight tilted her head. "Huh? Of course I trust you, Dash. Why would you even—"

"No, you don't!"

"What?"

"I heard you talking to one of the doctors about my results. You laughed when they couldn't find anything other than signs of rough sex, so you thought that I was screwing around while I was away."

"Dash, calm down. You're not thinking rationally. Your mind is mixing two events. I didn't—"

"Don't bother, Twilight."

Twilight wanted to object to Dash, prove her she's wrong, but instead, she opted for a retreat. She couldn't and didn't want to imagine what Dash was going through. She kissed Dash on the forehead, in high hopes that Dash would come around the next morning.

Dash jerked back. "Twilight, don't. Just… don't."

Twilight said nothing but emitted an inaudible sigh. She knew that the rest of the night wouldn’t be kind to either of them, and with a heavy heart, she bid Dash goodnight.

~*~*~

Unlike the last attempt, Twilight was focusing on the task at hoof. Dash had kept her promise and didn't even think of letting Twilight go. The warmth of Dash's hooves filled Twilight with the courage and confidence to continue her descent on her own.

"Rainbow?"

"Yeah?"

"Let go."

Dash smiled and whispered against the wind, "Told you so." She slowly released her grip around her friend.

Twilight couldn't help but grin like a madpony in the ecstasy of her first unrestricted flight. Unlike with the last flight she shared with Rainbow, she was confident she would be able to reach the destination without any mishaps or panic attacks caused by a speed that would terrify many daredevils.

She relaxed and focused. The ground was waiting for her. I can do this. It's nothing special. It's just basic aero- and thermodynamics. Nothing to—

Twilight's eyes suddenly shot open. A rush of panic enveloped her. The simple instructions vanished in a beat of heart. She yelled, "Rainbow, h—"

Before Twilight could finish her sentence, she was again secure in a set of sky-blue hooves, their destination now changing to a nearby cloud. Without much of a thought, Rainbow set Twilight down.

"You okay?" Dash asked in a worried tone, quickly scanning over Twilight's wings.

In a response, Twilight shivered.

"Um... Is that a 'no'?"

"Yes. I mean, no. I mean... thank you."

Dash shrugged. "No biggie. So... how was it?" She perked her ears and listened closely.

"I... panicked," Twilight replied in a meek voice, as if she expected punishment. "Sorry."

Dash scratched her mane. "I don't think 'panicked' would cover it."

"Huh?"

"Twilight, you acted worse than when I've dropped you."

Twilight's ears flattened as she looked down.. "S-sorry. It was... Sorry."

Dash laughed. "Why do you think I've brought you here?"

"What?"

Dash smiled. "I spend a lot of time here, trying to figure out new things. Sometimes they don't work as I was hoping. Other times they do." She paused for a moment, hanging her head. "I don't want anypony to see me as a failure, so I spend a lot of time here, alone, practicing."

Twilight giggled.

"What?"

"I am terrified of that as well. I don't want to fail anypony, especially my friends or Princess Celestia. I don't know what I would do if I—"

Dash smiled. "I guess we're more alike than we thought, are we?" She wrapped her wing around Twilight, pausing for a brief moment before continuing, "So? Wanna go again?"

Twilight nodded. "Just give me a moment?" She closed her eyes and let the warmth of her friend soak into her body. The lack of sleep chipped away at her attention.

~*~*~

"Princess Sparkle?" one of the Royal Guards said, rousing Twilight from her reverie.

"Y-yes?" Twilight replied, confused. "What is it, Officer… um..."

"Golden Wing, ma'am. It's... It's about Miss Dash..."

Twilight's attention now focused fully on the guard as her mind switched into panic mode. "Dash? Wh-what's wrong? Is everything okay? What happened? Is she—"

"That's just it, Princess. We don't know."

Twilight tilted her head. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Officer."

"She disappeared. We can't find her anywhere. We checked the entire hospital, and the only thing that we found is this," Golden Wing said as he passed her a crumpled leaflet.

Twilight's heart sunk as she saw the scribbled paper. There was no doubt in her mind that the hasty, ugly writing belonged to her mare. She felt her mind get stuck in an endless loop, her eyes scanning the five scribbled words over and over again.

Don't look for me. —Rainbow Dash.

"Princess?"

Twilight looked at Golden Wing, and, a moment later, disappeared in a flash of magic.