A Pegasus Salute

Chapters

1: "Salute"
2: Rainbow Dash's Shrine to the Past
3: Getting to the Meat of the Problem
4: You Are What You Channel
5: Cast Off
6: The Abandoned Cloud
7: A Riot Act
8: ...I Work For A Living
9: My Little Nightmare
10: Loyalty
Epilogue: The Saluted Pegasus

1: "Salute"

Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi had dutifully kept the skies clear for a month, as agreed. While one could say there was a chain of responsibility and orders of a sort, deciding what the weather would be like was a collaborative process. Ponies on the ground reported soil conditions, decisions were made as to how much water was needed where and when, either clouds were scavenged locally - especially from over the ocean, or inland, over places like the Everfree Forest - or requests were made to Cloudsdale if heavy weather was needed, and the local pegasi put everything into place. Small variances were inevitable - infamously, one pegasi had objected to a parade celebrating what he felt deserved condemnation by literally raining on it - but the job got done.

But it turned out the ground was now a little too dry. So, Rainbow Dash was helping construct a squall, scheduled to wash over Ponyville that night when everyone was indoors and asleep. They did not want to take too much from the forest, so Rainbow Dash had to do it in steps: pull together one large cloud from a bunch of little ones, zip around it then over to the construction site so the cloud followed in her wake, then hang around for slower pegasi - though she could not blame them much: just about every pegasus was slower than her - to measure and let her know about how much more they needed.

She was waiting for the latest measurement when Twilight flew up to her. "Rainbow Dash, a word?" And then flew off, back to her library-home.

Rainbow Dash had heard Applejack complain about this. And if it was a sort of talking that even Applejack dreaded - well, Rainbow Dash was not about to let Applejack outdo her. She steeled her nerves for whatever the problem might be and followed Twilight.

Once inside the upper-story pegasus landing, Twilight closed the window behind them. "So, Rainbow Dash. I couldn't help but notice you had a certain reaction to my, err, 'court appearance' the other day."

It took Rainbow Dash a moment to remember there had even been a court the other day. Twilight was stingy with formalities. "What reaction are you talking about?" The pegasus could not help but notice they had wound up in Twilight's bedroom - which, really, was just another book room with a bed in one corner and another telescope on a landing near the top. Perhaps it was a bit messier here than downstairs, and not a single book here showed any sign of having been allowed to gather dust.

"Wellll..." Twilight was not sure how best to broach the topic, so she just walked up to Rainbow Dash's side. "This."

The moment Twilight's hoof gently touched the leading edge of Rainbow Dash's wing, Rainbow Dash's brain rerouted enough attention from visual sensory processing to tactile sensory processing that the pegasus was practically blinded for a few seconds. At least she felt herself begin blushing immediately. "T-Twilight, tha-at's s-sensitive..."

Twilight leaning into her field of view, smiling eyes suggesting mischief, was the first thing Rainbow Dash saw once she started processing sight again.

Rainbow Dash's wings unfurled of their own accord.

Twilight grinned, though she did not stop feeling Rainbow Dash's wing. "That. I've heard bits and pieces, but - is that what they call a 'wingboner'?"

Rainbow Dash blushed harder. "...yeah. You gave me a-"

"What is it," Twilight interrupted, "some kind of pegasus salute?"

The depths of Twilight's naivete continued to amaze Rainbow Dash. "You mean you don't know?"

Twilight shook her head.

Rainbow Dash tried to pull her wings in, but Twilight's continued gentle pressure kept them stiff. "Didn't the pegasus kids tell you when you were growing up back in Canterlot?"

"Nope!" Twilight felt closely, trying to find any differences in blood flow or tension to try to figure out this obviously medical condition that her friend seemed to be implying was common to most pegasi. "It was Canterlot: most of the children were unicorns. Besides, I didn't get out and play that much. Books were always so much more fun! Anyway, I saw you have this reaction to Pinkie dancing once. What exactly are you saluting?"

Dozens of possible responses presented themselves to Rainbow Dash's increasingly distracted mind. Fortunately, she had just enough to reject metaphor or simile that Twilight might misinterpret. Her friend honestly did not know what she was doing, so Rainbow Dash simply told her. "How much I want to clop you right now."

"What." That got Twilight to stop, if only because it got her to completely freeze.

"A wingboner is, err, w-well...it happens when you're attracted to a pony, you know?"

Twilight pulled her hoof back and stared at it. "So this feels like foreplay to you?"

Rainbow Dash managed a brief nod. "I told you it's sensitive."

Twilight blinked and looked again at Rainbow Dash in confusion, still holding her hoof upturned. "But...I wasn't touching you yesterday. I barely looked at you."

"I know." With the touch removed, Rainbow Dash was finally able to slowly begin refolding her wings. "But...well...you were being YOU, you know?"

Twilight's eyes widened a bit, as several unpleasant interpretations of her friend's words suggested themselves. "What do you me, 'me'?"

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Powerful. Princess of everything, Equestria and beyond."

Twilight's mouth opened a bit in horror, but then a better means of confirmation suggested itself. As if letting herself out of her flesh - letting the essence of her flood everything nearby, a field of power that might rival dragons if not confined by her bedroom's walls - she projected her will upon the world. In a mirror she saw she was now floating, with an aura around her and eyes blazing white. Her senses just sharpened, as if everything inside her field was more real; she felt she could count the feathers on Rainbow Dash's wings, and either caress them individually or pull them out one at a time, without much effort.

It took no effort at all to register Rainbow Dash's renewed wingboner, as upright as it could get, locking her wings in position and robbing her of any chance of practicing a pegasus's birthright: flight. But this was nothing compared to Rainbow Dash's expression...and distribution of warmth, Twilight noticed. Her friend was in heat, not the natural rhythm but induced as soon as Twilight had become like this.

Twilight considered. This was certainly one form of loyalty. And she herself certainly found the mare in front of her attractive. Experimentally, she put her mouth to Rainbow Dash's.

Rainbow Dash had but limited conscious awareness, her mind flooded with want and desire. To actually be kissed - she surrendered to incoming rapture, following Twilight's lead wherever she wished to go. Then, right then, was the moment she committed herself to being Twilight's lover.

Twilight, for her part, had anticipated one of two reactions, and got the disappointing one. Rainbow Dash worked around her kiss, accepting it quite willingly - but tentatively, unsure and not daring to push back, or to venture beyond what Twilight initiated.

Reluctantly, Twilight released the kiss. "NO." Immediately she regretted speaking: her voice, in that state, was an echoing and booming copy of Luna's. Even at this close range, it would not quite deafen Rainbow Dash, but it was the polar opposite of an indoor voice. She was grateful the library had no visitors at the moment.

Ending the kiss was not an action Rainbow Dash had expected. Nor, briefly, was it one she was able to comprehend. Surely they were still mid-kiss, even if she couldn't feel Twilight's tongue, even if her lover's - no, commander's - no, master's: Twilight was so much power it was Rainbow Dash's ecstasy to drown in it - scent no longer flooded her nose. Eventually, though, rational consciousness peeked through. "...no?"

Twilight inhaled, pulling her will back inside her body until her flesh was no longer merely a puppet and source of her true self, until she was just an alicorn again, then exhaled mere air. "No. That's not who I am. I'm sorry."

Rainbow Dash's jaw worked, but the only sound to emerge from her throat was an uncomprehending squeak.

Twilight looked down and to the side, shame making her unable to meet her friend's eyes. "You love my power. I guess I can understand that. If I were in your position I guess I might too? But..." She crossed her chest with one foreleg to loop it around her other, in a limited self-hug. "...would you still love me if I didn't have any of that?"

Finally Rainbow Dash found her voice. "What are you talking about? You'll never be...well...not a Princess!"

Twilight winced. "I can think of far too many ways I could lose that title, and get exiled from Equestria."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Well...okay, fine, political power comes and goes. But what about your magic?"

"I DID lose that a few times. Remember the poison joke? Or Discord, the first time? Those black crystals at the Crystal Empire nearly got me, too." Twilight tapped her hoof.

"Your smarts."

"There are WAYS, Rainbow Dash." Twilight blinked. "Although...that's a little scary to think about...okay, fine I am smart." Sighing, she continued, "But what if that was all I was? A clever little...no more than a pegasus, really. And that's assuming I never lose these wings I'm still getting used to."

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Twilight."

"No, Rainbow Dash." Twilight forced herself to look at her friend, allowing guilt to write itself all over her face. "I'm sorry. If you want to love me, you'll have to love the filly who loves to read and stargaze and..." She sighed. "...all sorts of normally solo activities, it's even driven Spike crazy sometimes. I'm sorry."

"Twilight!" Now Rainbow Dash had to close her eyes and look away. "Stop apologizing! It's...it's like talking to Fluttershy!" She choked back a sob.

"Sor-" Twilight caught herself. "Anyway. If you want me then you have to take ME. No power. An equal. And that's not who you want, is it?"

Rainbow Dash brought up her hooves to cover her ears, ducked, and began gently trembling. "Stop it. Stop it, Twilight!"

Twilight blinked. "Stop what? It's the truth."

"No it isn't!" Rainbow Dash sniffed. "No it isn't! You're a Princess! You ARE magic! You're the one who can save us all when we can't and...and I want to pay you back for that, but I can't if you keep denying yourself! Even if you admit you're an egghead!"

Twilight sighed. "...yeah. At least we agree on that." She bit her lip gently. "Umm. Would...would it help if you knew I'd fantasized about you?"

Rainbow Dash uncovered her ears, no longer shaking. "What?"

"You, Rainbow Dash. Don't tell anypony, but I think you're the most attractive of us. Your moves, your style, your courage..." Twilight smiled. "Even now, you're able to tell me what you feel, and I thank you for that."

"Yeah, well..." Rainbow Dash fished for something to fend off insecurity. "You know I'll tell anypony what I think of them. I'm just like that."

Twilight giggled. "You sure are. Umm...so...we're still friends, right?"

Rainbow Dash looked up at Twilight. "Of course we are."

"Good. Aaand, well..." Twilight rolled her eyes, smiling. "If I just happen to, say, get into super-mega-duper heat - I don't know how an alicorn's body cycles, but from what Luna's said there might be a possibility - I can come to you to, err, deal with it, no hard feelings or awkwardness afterward, right?"

Rainbow Dash blinked. "...yeah."

Twilight grinned. "And if I just happen to be able to schedule it...are you free next week?"

Rainbow Dash could not recall any firm appointments coming up. "Sure. What time?"

Twilight leered at Rainbow Dash. "I said 'super-mega-duper', right? Next week. You might want to get some rest first."

In the span of ten seconds, Rainbow Dash puzzled, realized, rationally calculated, pictured the result, and finally fainted.

Laughing on the inside, only chuckling on the outside, Twilight telekinetically lifted Rainbow Dash and floated the pegasus into bed. She scribbled a note, "Thank you for an amazing time," left it on the pillow next to Rainbow Dash, then flew out to try to finish Rainbow Dash's construction shift for her. She estimated her friend would wake up right about the time the squall was ready to go, and looked forward to being ambiguous about Rainbow Dash's reactions and questions until she was unable to keep a straight face.

And perhaps later she could use some stress relief.

2: Rainbow Dash's Shrine to the Past

In contrast to her friends' fancy, built-up homes, Rainbow Dash barely had an apartment. In theory the mayor had forbidden such developments in Ponyville, in an attempt to get ponies rooted and invested in their neighborhoods. But there was nothing forbidding one pony, whose house had been built up to contain a large family that had since grown up and moved out, from letting other ponies use the spare upper-story bedrooms that would otherwise have gone to waste, although the mayor kept an eye on even these arrangements. Still, it was ideal for a pegasus whose real home was the sky, and this was the case with Rainbow Dash. Sometimes a few nights would pass before she checked in to check her mail, and she had set up with the bank so part of her pay as weatherpony went straight to rent. Rainbow preferred to spend as little time as possible on lame stuff like paying bills.

Or housekeeping, for that matter. Any jealousy she might have had about Twilight Sparkle residing in a bookworm's fantasy, how the Carousel Boutique displayed Rarity's wholehearted mixture of business and living, or even Fluttershy's extreme devotion to her small friends resulting in her being on call every second she was home, vanished instantly the moment she saw one of them having to clean up a mess, do laundry, cook for themselves, or all the other minor tasks they seemed to accept as part of life. Not that Rainbow's lifestyle afforded her total freedom from such tasks, but sleeping on a cloud meant no sheets to change.

Still, she needed a place to keep her stuff. Mementos of past glory, a small dresser containing a few outfits for when she felt like dressing up, trophies she had collected, a cupboard with a modest food supply for when she did not want to go get something to eat, some plaques calling out minor achievements, a simple bed for when no good cloud was available, newspaper clippings about her various successes and lately her friends' as well which now covered one wall entirely and began spilling onto another...

Rainbow shook her head as she surveyed the wall of clippings. The sun had just recently set, so it was still a bit light outside but getting dark quickly, so she trotted over to the dresser and turned on the lamp sitting on it. "Dashie, Dashie, Dashie," she tsked to herself, "you've got to let go of the past, or it'll weigh you down and keep you from being more awesome."

"Introspection?" came a familiar voice from the window. "Sorry, I thought this was Rainbow Dash's room."

"Gck," Rainbow articulated, looking quite guilty as she hesitantly faced an amused Twilight Sparkle.

"Not that I'm disagreeing." Twilight hovered in through the open window. Glancing at the one-room apartment's lone door, specifically the dust on its handle, she wondered how long it had been since Rainbow used it. "I've still got things back in Canterlot that..." She blinked, spying one clipping titled, "Pegasus Saves Three Nests, Stops Riot With Selfless Act". "You were in the Oxfeather Riot? Wait, you ENDED the Oxfeather Riot? I didn't know that!"

Rainbow shrugged. "There's a lot of stuff you don't know about me. Yeah, I was there. I'm still not sure what those griffons were arguing about, but I figured they'd regret trampling those eggs, so I swooped in and got them out of the way. Apparently that was enough to get both sides talking again."

Twilight gaped for a moment. "Rainbow, by stopping the riot you saved thousands of their lives. That riot was only one of modern griffon society's most..." She blinked. "...and that really was just another day to you." She continued to read.

Rainbow looked over her friend admiringly. Even like this, without her power on display, Rainbow supposed she was still kind of cute. "S-so, umm...I wanna ask what brings you by, but first...err..."

Twilight continued reading. "Rainbow Dash you lived a hero's life before you even got to Ponyville," she rattled off absently. "I see why some of this might be difficult to let go of. Although a lot of it's kinda minor."

"Yeah, yeah. So anyway! Well...speaking of the past, I...well, you see..."

Twilight finally looked up. "Yes?"

"It's...kinda hard to explain. It's..." Rainbow shook her head. "I'll just say it. I can't remember much about last night."

"Whaaat?" Twilight leaned back a bit, holding a hoof to her chest, surprise on her face. "How much do you remember?" She struggled mightily to keep from so much as a snicker; fortunately for her, she succeeded.

"Well..."

"Go on, go on." Twilight lowered her hoof and smiled. "I suppose I wouldn't even blame you for complete amnesia."

Rainbow blinked. Was Twilight...leering at her?

Twilight had been looking forward to Rainbow trying to explain what happened. "So what do you remember?"

"Err." Rainbow's mind re-engaged itself. "Well. You wanted a word, so I followed you to your place. Your bedroom. And then we talked about how you being you gave me wingboners. And...w-we kissed, and it was awesome, but then..." She looked to the side, suddenly a bit sad. "...you said it wasn't right, that I didn't love you for you...but at least we're still friends." Shaking her head, she continued, "But then you asked if I could help you if you got super-mega-duper in heat, and...that's about as much as I can remember, until I woke up in your bed with that note. Thanks for finishing my shift, by the way."

"It was the least I could do." Twilight closed her eyes and brushed her mane with one hoof, imitating a move she had seen Rarity use. "If that's all you remember..."

"Twilight..." Rainbow looked down. "I, I'm sorry..."

"No, no, I'm not blaming you at all. But that brings me to why I'm here. Look at me."

Rainbow sniffed.

Twilight put a hoof under Rainbow's chin and pushed, until she once more made eye contact. "I said, look at me. There's something..." She inhaled. "...I need to ask you..." And exhaled. "...and s-soon. You're not busy tonight, right?"

Rainbow blinked back forming tears, wondering if Twilight was forgiving her so easily. "Nah, I had no plans. Why?"

"Because I..." Twilight's hoof dropped to the ground as she squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself. "...I-I..." She inhaled - then sharply exhaled, but only for a moment. Space around Twilight seemed to distort, but instead of filling the room like it had last time, she was keeping it confined to a small distance around her, stopping just short of Rainbow. Twilight's eyes snapped open to show twin star furies, lighting up the room as if the lamp had been replaced by the sun itself. "...NEED!" Her voice thundered in Rainbow's ears.

Rainbow's wings went up.

Twilight closed her eyes, inhaled through her nose to pull her power back within herself, shuddered, then opened normal eyes again and smiled. "It's not super-mega-duper, buuut if you're free tonight I could really use your company."

Rainbow's wings were up and her mouth was open and spots danced on her vision from where she had looked directly into the light but they soon cleared and her mind was sputtering attempting to reset after all its load breakers had been tripped at once.

Twilight giggled, her plan having worked perfectly. "I'll take that as a 'yes'." She stepped forward, preparing to kiss-

"Hiya!"

Twilight blinked. No way, Pinkie would not choose now to-

A boing sounded from outside the window, then Pinkie Pie's voice sounded again, "Is this a..." A pause, then another boing. "...bad time?"

Twilight looked out the window, just in time for Pinkie's next bounce to almost catch her under the chin. Quickly ducking back inside and telekinetically holding Pinkie in mid-air, she replied, "Yes."

"Oh!" Pinkie rested slightly, noting that this was certainly easier than having to jump repeatedly, falling all the way to the ground and bouncing all the way back to the third story window. "Well I just wanted to ask-ooh, ooh, neck tight, all four legs tensing, sooomepony really needs to be running away right now!"

Twilight smiled an unkind smile.

Pinkie returned a more sincere smile as the joy of realization washed over her. "Oh I see! You were putting the moves on old Dashie I can tell because her wings are all FLOOMF and she's still staring and this really was a bad time so I'm the pony who needs to be running aren't I?"

Twilight nodded, let Pinkie go, and closed the window.

Still smiling, Pinkie saluted the moment she hit the ground. "Rrroger! Commencing fleeing for my life!" Not that Twilight could hear Pinkie, but it was the principle of the thing. That was also why she screamed as she ran, though a bit joyful: she could not fake fear very well.

The interruption had given Rainbow enough time to recover, though her wings were still upright. The moment Twilight faced her again, she gave Twilight a leer identical to what Rainbow had received earlier, and began slowly advancing on her friend. "'Putting the moves on old Dashie', huh?"

Twilight blushed, not breaking eye contact. "Well...yeah? I said I want you tonight."

"So what happens..." Rainbow lowered her head, looking a bit like a predator stalking prey. "...if I put the moves on old Sparklie?"

Twilight's brain needed one moment to process that. In the second moment, her wings went up.

Later that night, Rainbow was quite grateful the house's owner had soundproofed the spare bedrooms.

3: Getting to the Meat of the Problem

The next morning, Twilight felt more at peace with the world than she had since setting hoof in Ponyville. Birds' morning songs, so often an annoyance that had woken her early, sounded sweet and cheerful today. When a certain orange filly on a scooter, wings wrapped in white and racing to not be late to school, rounded a corner out of the blue, Twilight hopped over and admired her energy instead of getting annoyed at the near-collision. Reaching the library and noting Spike was still asleep, she dabbled in the kitchen for several minutes and came out with a freshly-baked gem-filled donut, which she carried up to her faithful assistant and waved under his nose until he woke. Even Pinkie interrupting and dragging her off in the middle of making the day's checklist was positively tolerable.

The next several minutes, however, had worn on her cheer.

"Pinkie," Twilight sighed as the two of them passed through the leaves-and-apples arch that formed the main entrance to Sweet Apple Acres, "you don't have to keep apologizing."

Pinkie's usually-bubbly mane was a bit flat. "I know, I know, but...I didn't realize you and Rainbow were..."

"It's OKAY," Twilight reassured. "Rainbow told me she was glad, because it gave her the chance to get me back. And...well..." Blushing, Twilight looked off to the side. "...honestly, so am I."

"Oh!" Pinkie's mane refluffed into a shape reminiscent of cotton candy. "Then everything worked out!"

"Yeah." Twilight looked around the fields. "So what was so important you had to bring me out here?"

"Oh, right!" Smiling as if all worry had been banished from her heart just that quickly (which, so far as Twilight knew, was exactly how her friend operated), Pinkie continued, "Weeell, last night my right eye twitched. Just that. It was one of my first Pinkie Senses; it said I needed to teach someone important something about farming soon. I'm sure the mayor already knows everything she needs to, so I figured it must mean you!"

Twilight stopped, puzzling over Pinkie's words. "That's...awfully specific, Pinkie."

"Hel-looo, I grew up on a farm!" Pinkie grinned. "You'd be amazed how many ponies didn't even know WHY we farmed rocks! Sure, it was boring: just gather rocks all day, they didn't even need watering or planting."

Twilight looked at Pinkie. "Even I don't know why you'd farm rocks. And...wouldn't the field run out, if you just gathered all the rocks you could find?"

Pinkie giggled. "Nnnope! It wouldn't have been a good farm if we could just run out."

Twilight blinked. "You never ran out? But...that means...oh, I get it! You must have been at the top of some geological formation that kept forming and pushing up mineral aggregates."

Pinkie blinked back. "Huh?"

"So you'd never run out of rocks."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Oooh! Yeah, we've never run out of rocks!"

Twilight nodded. "And then you supplied sculptors and masons? You probably didn't have that wide a variety if the same geology produced all your rocks - I'm betting they were either all igneous or all sedimentary; am I right? Oh, did you farm any granite?"

Pinkie gave her an odd look. "...we farmed rocks. You'd have to ask Maud about all that."

Twilight caught herself, made a note to ask Pinkie's rockhound of a sister, then almost stumbled over her next thought. "Err...right. But, umm, is your farm on a mountain or a hill? Is the ground warm? I mean...well, I'm trying to figure out what would produce all those rocks. Your family's not living on top of a volcano, are they?"

Pinkie tried to picture it, then snickered. "Nah, they wouldn't live any place that exciting. The rocks come from the dragon! See, my super-really-great - when my folks tell the tale there's all these 'great's but I'm shortening it so it won't take as long - anyway, grandfather was kind to a dragon in his last few years. So with his last breaths, the dragon pointed to a field and said, 'Bury me there, and so long as your descendants work that land, my fire will give them rocks.' It was a spell, so part of the dragon would live on and on, but it was also a promise! Princess Luna thought it was pretty clever."

"Princess Luna? But we only just freed her from...wait, you mean before she became Nightmare Moon? Over a thousand years ago?" Twilight wondered at the historical records such a continuously inhabited place might have, then dismissed the thought. If Pinkie's distant ancestors were like her current family, quite possibly entire centuries would have passed where gathering rocks was the only notable activity. Another thread of thought silently amended her earlier bet: dragon fire would produce igneous rocks, which explained why the farmers viewed sedimentary rocks as worth collecting.

Pinkie nodded. "Yep! That's what inspired me to come up with Pinkie Promises! See, I figured if a dragon's promise could last that long, why not a pony's?"

Twilight blinked. "There's actual magic in them? You invented a spell that ANY pony can cast?!?"

"Well...oh, hi Applejack!" Pinkie waved as the orange farmpony came into view.

For just a moment, Twilight had a vision of Sweet Apple Acres as a rock farm. It fit disturbingly well, though the Apples were more cheerful on average than the Pies - but that was like saying that a forest was wetter on average than a desert.

"Heya," Applejack called. "Oh hey Twi! What's this 'endurance training' you've got Rainbow Dash up to?"

Pinkie and Twilight froze.

"She was jus' here," Applejack continued, "an' doubled her order of meat, sayin' she was gonna need the energy. You got her in a marathon or somethin'?"

Pinkie stifled some giggles.

Twilight grimaced. "She eats meat? Eww. I could've done without knowing that."

Applejack shrugged. "Makes sense for someone like her. Anyway, she seemed awful chipper about that trainin'."

Pinkie sunk to her knees, convulsing quietly with glee.

Applejack raised an eyebrow, thoughts flickering. "...not...that it's any of my business, but are you an' Rainbow...?"

Twilight tried to protest, but found herself just blushing and unable to meet Applejack's wondering stare.

Applejack blinked. "For SERIOUS? Twilight, did Rainbow take your virginity?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'm not a virgin!"

"Oh." Applejack smiled sheepishly. "Ah thought for sure that-"

"It counts if you, err, do it with yourself, right?" Twilight interrupted.

Pinkie's laughter escaped her suppression, and now she fought to not laugh hard enough to drown out the conversation.

Applejack stared for a moment, then shook her head. "Nope, don't count."

Twilight blinked. "Even if you create a temporary clone body so that you and you can do it like two mares?"

Applejack froze mid-head-shake and stared another moment. "Ah...suppose that would technically qualify..."

Pinkie was by now rolling on the ground, her laughter having transcended volume - and somewhat exhausted her air supply - to become silent again.

Twilight tried to give Pinkie the stinkeye, but was unable to keep a smile off her face. "Well I'm glad somepony's amused!"

"So, you an' Rainbow," Applejack wondered. "Opposites attract, ah guess."

Twilight made a show of stretching, leaning back while digging in her front hooves, then leaning forward to press her rear hooves into the ground, and finally spreading her wings briefly. "Not THAT opposite. She taught me a few things, and we had a wonderful evening. We're planning to see each other again tonight." Twilight's body reported a slight loss of stress from the stretching, the resulting endorphins prompting a blissful little sigh. "And maybe the night after that, if we're not too busy."

"Ah see." Applejack gave Pinkie an amused look. "And Rainbow's worried about keepin' up with ya. Didn' know you had such stamina, Twi."

"Well...I did, err, kiiinda tap my magic to keep going?" Twilight blushed again. "I didn't want to let Rainbow down. We stopped when she got exhausted, last night and again this morning."

Applejack looked at Twilight, suddenly worried. "You mean...y'all expect her t' keep up with th' magic reserves of somepony whose cutie mark is magic, who bonded wit' the Element of Magic, an' who if y'all need remindin' is an ALICORN now?!?"

Twilight blushed harder. Pinkie's silent laughter had begun to subside, but now renewed.

Applejack adjusted her hat. "'Endurance training' indeed. Twilight, promise me ya won't clop her t' death?"

Twilight blinked, taken aback. "Of course! I would never do that to one of my friends! Besides, then there wouldn't be a next night."

Pinkie was beginning to look a little blue, struggling to slip in breaths between her laughs.

Which prompted Twilight to realize how her priorities might have sounded, resulting in a smile that was an even mixture of amusement and discomfort. "Errm...for Pinkie's sake, can we change the subject please? Liiike...what do you mean, eating meat 'makes sense' for Rainbow? Why do you even have meat here?"

Applejack blinked. "'Cause this is a farm?"

Twilight's blank expression aptly conveyed her lack of comprehension.

"Ain'tcha ever heard the old sayin', 'Society's only three meals away from anarchy'?" Applejack asked, setting up her explanation.

"Well...yes?" Twilight looked around. "You've got apples and hay and all sorts of stuff to eat."

Applejack nodded. "And meat. Equestria ain't ONLY a pony society, y'know."

Twilight grimaced. "Well...err...yeah, I figured, but...couldn't you just import it or something?"

"Meat rots, jus' like most foods spoil." Applejack shrugged. "It's mah family's duty, as handed down by Princess Celestia herself when we founded this here farm, t' keep Ponyville fed, an' that includes all foods we care t' provide." Smiling, she added, "Heh, some days I wonder what'd we do if a bunch o' changelings moved into town - if'n they played nice enough t' not be run right out, that is."

Twilight winced.

Pinkie, now free of the giggles, breathed deep, savoring the sweet, sweet oxygen, sustainer of life and enabler of further smiles. "This must've been what my Pinkie Sense was telling me you needed to learn!"

Trying not to gag at the mental images her brain offered up, Twilight responded, "Yes, but...MEAT. WHY would any pony eat MEAT? It's gross! It's inefficient! And it was once trotting around like we do!"

"Well," Applejack drawled as if replying with a long-practiced answer, "y'all have never HAD it an' ya were raised not to think too highly of it, it's got a higher calorie count so it's more efficient if ya need energy fast, an'...well, yeah, but bein' eaten's its purpose in life."

Twilight had a safety net for emotional situations: look at things logically. So she did now, examining the farm to find evidence to support or deny Applejack's final assertion. "...you mean the pigs."

Applejack nodded. "Not that they're th' only ones, but yeah, the pigs in particular. They wouldn't exist if we weren't raisin' 'em for food. It's not like they suffer: when it's time, we make it quick an' painless. And before then - Celestia's truth: ya give 'em healthy an' happy lives an' ya get better meat afterward. Give 'em a life o' sufferin' an' misery an' ya get so little meat, ya might as well not've had 'em in the first place."

Twilight blinked, trying to sort that out. "'Celestia's truth'? You mean...is that just something she noticed, or did she work a spell into the land to make it so?"

Applejack shrugged. "Y'all tell me. That the kind o' thing she'd do?"

Twilight shook her head. "Even Celestia's magic isn't that powerful." She smiled as she slid away from a distressing topic and into the familiar comfort of a solving a puzzle with pure logic. "You'd need...well, to bend reality across at least all of Equestria, if not the whole world? And let's say at least a thousand years - or maybe permanent: there's not that much different at this scale. Anyway, for a pony to do all that you'd need to be an alicorn, with insane amounts of raw magic power on top of that. Maybe Celestia and Luna working together might have enough, but it'd leave them exhausted and they'd need to do it in steps. For just one pony, you'd need years of training and practice in the most powerful spells - the ones they keep locked up and guarded in the restricted part of Canterlot's library - and then something like your whole cutie mark boosting the Element of Ma...gic..." she finished with a squeak, freezing and staring into space.

Applejack and Pinkie glanced at each other, then Applejack waved a hoof in front of Twilight.

"I think," Twilight eventually said, her voice small, "that's the kind of thing she wants me to do."

Applejack blinked, then stood back and grinned. "Naw, really?"

Twilight absently nodded. "Yes, really. It explains why she...err, why are you smiling?"

Applejack smiled wider. "'Cause ya FINALLY figured it out! Took ya long enough."

"You..." Twilight blinked slowly, twice. "...knew? Did Celestia tell you?"

Applejack shook her head. "She didn' need t' tell me nothin'. It was flamin' obvious. Ah wasn' even sure y'all'd need to go alicorn t' do it, butcha have so that's a moot point now."

Twilight's eyes widened. "What do you think I am?"

Applejack put a hoof around Twilight's shoulder. "Mah friend. An' all Equestria's friend."

Twilight shrugged out of it and backed away, fear in her eyes.

"Wha...?" Applejack looked into Twilight's eyes but did not advance on her. "I say somethin' wrong, sugar?"

Twilight shook her head without breaking eye contact. "No," she whispered. "Everything you said was right. And that scares me. If...if I'm getting that powerful...I could sneeze and vaporize every pony in Ponyville, m-maybe Equestria with a few sneezes in a row."

"Oh! Oh! Or turn us into potted plants," Pinkie offered eagerly, bouncing slightly. "I think Fluttershy said she wanted to be a tree!"

Twilight just stared at Pinkie.

"Not. Helping." Applejack nudged Pinkie in the ribs with a knee.

"Aww," Pinkie pouted.

"I...I need some time to think about this." Twilight backpedaled a bit more. "I'll be back by dusk."

Applejack tilted her head. "Where ya goin'?"

"To beat up a mountain. I'll be safer if I exhaust myself." Twilight teleported away.

Pinkie looked at Applejack. "What'd the mountain do to her?"

4: You Are What You Channel

"So Twilight," Rainbow Dash asked as she sailed in through her apartment's window, "what did that mountain do to you?"

In Rainbow's opinion, the day had been positively epic. One of the other pegasi had nearly pulled her away from putting that morning's purchases away after noticing purple-white fireworks on the horizon. Telescopes were soon brought out - no one knew why, but Twilight Sparkle was smashing a mountain, piece by piece, with showy displays of magic. Observation equipment was soon brought out and quite a bit of the town's activity ground to a halt as ponies watched her wreck the giant rock. Twilight soon established a pattern: small experiments and tests, leading up to a few big bursts, then testing some variation. The mountain's snow had totally evaporated by the end of the first hour, with most of what little wildlife that lived on the mountain long since fled. Fluttershy lead an expedition to evacuate the rest, simply ignoring Applejack's objections and worries about safety, but she did warn the volunteers who went with her to stay below the mountain's tree line and out of Twilight's sight. Fortunately, Twilight was still working mainly above the tree line by the time they were done.

As the day progressed, Twilight's blasts grew larger and brighter, pounding the once-proud mountain into finer and finer dust. Or perhaps simply obliterating it: there was no sign of dust storms, avalanches, or other indications the rock had merely been chipped away. Applejack sold many lunches to ponies taking in the spectacle, and used the opportunity to let it be known that the cause was, "Certain words that she, Pinkie, an' ah exchanged this morning, an' no we ain't gonna tell ya what words. When she comes back she will want to speak to one o' her friends. Let her do so in peace an' privacy: we do NOT want her goin' off by accident in town today. She'll be safe come sunrise."

When sunset neared, Twilight ended the show with what might have been an annihilation beam. Whatever it was, it was easily a hundred times as wide as her own cross section, and scoured what remained of the mountain for twenty straight minutes until all that remained was a crater. Only then did she look back to town, and her audience instinctively knew the show was over. Only Rainbow did not immediately start packing up, so only Rainbow saw Twilight teleport away; fortunately, another pegasus saw her arrival and alerted Rainbow that Twilight was now falling toward the open window of Rainbow's apartment.

And so the cyan pegasus found her friend curled up in her bedsheets, shaking and panting.

"Twilight?" Enthusiasm quickly gave place to worry as Rainbow entered, then closed the window.

"It wouldn't, stop." Twilight's face was pointed in Rainbow's direction, but her eyes were wide and unseeing.

Slowly Rainbow stepped up to her bed and her friend. "What wouldn't?"

"The, the magic." A shudder passed through Twilight. "I tried to exhaust myself. M, my body can't...but I can still feel the power, Rainbow. I'm scared."

Rainbow blinked. "You're saying you're totally exhausted but your horn wants to keep going on?"

Twilight nodded mutely.

"Tch, that's probably just because you didn't have lunch." Rainbow turned toward her cupboard. "Here, let me fix you some-"

With no warning, Twilight launched from bed and glomped Rainbow from behind.

"Ooo...kaaay, we can do it this way." Rainbow smiled and adjusted Twilight's hold, placing her friend's legs around her chest. "Don't let go."

Twilight squeezed and sniffled.

Rainbow resumed her short trek toward food, balancing Twilight on her back like a heavy cape. "So Applejack said you freaked out after you two and Pinkie talked this morning. What were you talking about?"

"What...am I?" Twilight buried her head in Rainbow's mane.

"You're Twilight, duh!" Rainbow opened her cupboard and surveyed the options. Much of the stores were quick-prepared meals, and there was of course raw hay, but she instead reached toward one section she had not used since moving into this apartment, bringing out two cups and two tea packets, then set one packet in each cup. While she did not have a proper stove, she did have a self-heating kettle; after a quick check to make sure it still had water, she set it on one of her plaques - noting ruefully that she even cooked on her glories now - and tapped a switch on the kettle's bottom rim.

"Yes, but...no pony should have this much...too much..." Twilight squeezed again.

Rainbow reached up to stroke Twilight's mane. It was a bit of a stretch to reach from this angle, but the athletic pegasus kept herself limber for a number of reasons. "If there's anypony who can handle power, it's you, Twilight." With her other forehoof she extracted a strand of hay from her cupboard and held it near Twilight's mouth. "Here. Eat it all; having something in your belly will make you feel better."

Twilight could not argue with her friend's advice, and so began munching the hay.

Rainbow continued stroking Twilight's mane and sighed. "So let's see. You got scared when you talked to Miss Honesty. And Pinkie was there too - probably what she wanted to talk to you about last night? Heh, I hope you told her I forgave her for that, by the way. And whatever it was had you demolishing a mountain all day. It's sooomething about you having so much power. Just a guess, but Applejack told you what it means to be Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight continued to munch.

"So back at the library, we agreed on one thing it means to be you but you didn't want to admit a couple others. Let's talk about your magic, Twilight. Like it or hate it, bless or curse, it's what you have to deal with." Rainbow turned off the kettle the moment she saw telltale wisps of steam emerge from it, and poured into the waiting cups. She had thought she would inaugurate them here to have tea with Fluttershy, but Twilight needed this.

Twilight was almost done, having reached the head of the stalk.

"I've got speed and style. Sometimes it's even a problem for me. You've got power. You haven't hurt any of us with it yet...much." Rainbow dash winced where Twilight could not see, remembering all too clearly when Twilight's magic had created problems for Ponyville. "If you're worried you'll blow out a wall or something, Celestia said you've outgrown that."

Twilight choked.

"Yeah, yeah, she showed us her scrapbook from when you were young. You looked sooo cuuute apologizing to her for that first time you incinerated your bed in your sleep." Rainbow giggled.

Twilight coughed twice, forcing the bit of hay that had gone down the wrong pipe back into her mouth, then swallowed it.

Rainbow wished the had a mirror, as all she could see of Twilight right now was her forelegs. "You okay up there?"

"Yeah, I'm-" Twilight coughed once more. "I'm fine. Gah." She levitated one cup to her lips and sipped. "Mmmh, got a bit of a kick. Lemon tea?"

"Lemon spice tea," Rainbow corrected. "Fluttershy says it's a midpoint between her and me: not quite soft and mellow, not quite hard and fast."

"Was this meant for her? I'm sorry, I-"

Without even looking, Rainbow held a hoof up to block Twilight from levitating the cup away. "You need it, so it's for you. Besides, don't tell me you've never had tea with Fluttershy."

Twilight blinked. "Actually, I hadn't. I'll have to ask her."

Rainbow nodded, as much as she could without throwing off her friend. "You do that." She took the other tea and sipped, savoring the warmth and flavor, swishing it around her mouth a bit before gulping and feeling it go as far down as her throat could feel. "Ahh."

"Hmm. It really does calm you down." Twilight finally let go, sliding off to stand at Rainbow's side. "Sorry about that. And you're right, even just one stalk in here..." She patted her stomach. "I wasn't aware I was so hungry."

Rainbow finished off her tea and grinned. "Yeah, using a lot of energy will do that. The scale's probably different for you but not the basic rules. You're still a pony like the rest of us." She began rooting around in her cupboard again.

Twilight's eyes were on the floor. "It...really means a lot to hear you say that. Thank you."

Rainbow paused and looked at Twilight. "What, that your scale's way higher than ours?"

Twilight shook her head. "After that."

"That..." Rainbow blinked. "...you're still under the same rules?"

Twilight looked up. "That I'm still a pon-"

Rainbow grinned.

Twilight frowned. "Oooh! Sometimes you really get under my skin, you know that?"

Rainbow winked. "That IS what we planned." She resumed sorting through food.

Twilight blushed. "Aaanyway...actually, I am a bit afraid of burning the bed down. Or Ponyville. Back when I got my cutie mark was my first major accident. I told you, right?"

Rainbow nodded, examining a large white cup with a paper seal across its top. "Grew Spike through the roof, turned your parents into plants, chaos until Celestia came and put a stop to it. Didn't you say my first Sonic Rainboom caused it?"

"Yeah. It was this surge of power, and I didn't have full control over my most powerful magic for a while after that. Well..." Twilight looked to the side. "...lately my magic's been growing in power again, quickly. So far I've been able to control it, but...I'm afraid, Rainbow. Applejack helped me realize just how strong I've become already, and...I think Celestia plans for me to get stronger than her, in time. Maybe strong enough that I could one day hold her magic, in case she...falls."

"'Falls'?" Rainbow absently questioned, opening the large pack of dried noodle soup and pouring in what remained of the kettle's hot water. In theory it was enough soup for 3 to 4 servings, but between skipping lunch and dinner, the amount of magic Twilight had channeled that day, and Rainbow planning to snag a bit for herself, she deemed it a perfect solution for the situation.

"Like Luna did."

Rainbow nodded, resealing the soup cup. "Depressive crazy talk, check. Hold on, hold on, this takes a few minutes."

"Rainbow!" Twilight frowned. "This isn't just my hunger talking!"

"Sure it isn't." Rainbow set the container down so as to look at Twilight. "Listen to yourself. Celestia falling? Yeah, that'll happen in my lifetime. Sure you're getting stronger, and I don't doubt that's what Celestia wants, but - I dunno, maybe she wants another partner, like Cadance? Don't forget, you got her out of a thousand years of practically solo rule."

Twilight blinked.

Rainbow raised a hoof. "I know what you're thinking, and I'm going to cut it off right there, 'cause I've had the same line of thought. I was thinking, once I was a Wonderbolt life would be awesome, right? But what would that be like? I wouldn't be in training to measure up to them, I'd BE one of them. Sure, I'd still train to be the best that I could be, but then I wouldn't be coming up to anypony else's example. I'd be the example others want to be." Lowering her hoof and smiling, she continued, "So be the Princess that Celestia wants you to be. That I want you to be. That everypony wants you to be."

The thought churned against impossibilities. That much power? That much responsibility? Twilight looked out the window and replied quietly, "But...I don't know if I can, Rainbow Dash."

"Sure you can! Not right now, not today. You think I got this awesome in a day? You need to train too." Rainbow put a hoof on Twilight's cheek and nudged her face toward Rainbow. "But first you gotta eat." Her other hoof removed the soup container's seal, brought the large cup up to Twilight's mouth, and tilted until warm broth began trickling into her friend's mouth.

Twilight felt her mouth fill and let instinct take over, gulping the soup down - then again, then a third mouthful before Rainbow relented. She took in a deep breath to compensate for having been cut off from air unexpectedly; when she exhaled, she found worries and tension flowing out of her. "Thanks. I do feel better."

Rainbow smiled. "Told ya! Alright, ready? I'm gonna do the rest now, and snag a bit for myself too." Barely waiting for acknowledgement, she tipped the soup up again.

This time noodles and small bits - Twilight recognized carrot chips and peas, but not the small grey-brown flakes - floated into her mouth with the broth. Rainbow slid her muzzle next to Twilight's, opened wide, and tilted the container the rest of the way. A small drop of broth ran down Twilight's chin, but Twilight took more notice of some of the noodles now being in both their mouths. Rainbow slowly began working her way along the shared noodles, inching her lips toward Twilight's...

Realization of Rainbow's plan and embarrassment struck Twilight. She bit off the noodles and looked away, averting Rainbow's attempt at a kiss.

Rainbow frowned, slurping up her half of the severed noodles.

Twilight gulped and looked back, still facing away. "Sorry." She was keenly aware that her heartbeat had increased, not quite racing but definitely enough to make her feel warm.

Rainbow shook her head as she swallowed her portion. "Nah, it's okay. I guess that move is kinda cheesy."

"Kind of, yeah." Twilight took another breath, trying to calm her heart. "But thanks."

Rainbow smiled. "You can thank me for that by kissing me."

Twilight pictured it, and her heart beat slightly faster. "U-umm...and how do I thank you for believing in me?"

Rainbow leaned forward, nuzzled Twilight's mane, and gently traced a path up to Twilight's ear where she whispered, "By believing in yourself."

Twilight's wings unfurling of their own accord would be the last thing she remembered that night with total clarity.

5: Cast Off

Sleep slowly evaporated from Twilight's mind, like night's fog under the morning sun, as she took gentle nose breaths through Rainbow's mane. More than their actions, the pegasus's words echoed in her head.

Rainbow Dash believed in her. And wanted her to believe in herself. Even Celestia had never quite phrased it like that.

Although, what was there to believe in? That her magic power was growing at a rate that concerned her? That had been demonstrated quite thoroughly yesterday: even after the mountain was no more and her body was on the verge of collapse, she could feel vast amounts of power still waiting to be tapped. A battle against some theoretical equally powerful magic user would probably end with Twilight's heart seizing up if she did not get her body in condition to handle it, and even then she would not want to drag out the fight too long. Fortunately she knew a master of many things athletic, quite willing to indulge in extended sessions of..."endurance training", Rainbow had called it. Twilight smiled as she let herself breathe in lungfuls of Rainbow's scent, holding and savoring it before slowly sighing it out.

And her being a Princess? Logically, that was undeniably true. But what was she to do? She was no ruler. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance had that handled. She wished she could help more, but she was just Twilight Sparkle, nerd about all things magic. Sure, she had been learning about friendship lately, but...

Twilight's eyes snapped open as her waking fog popped away and her body suddenly felt cold, as a particularly unpleasant answer suggested itself. Celestia's lessons for her had been on a variety of topics: history, spells, stars - okay, Twilight admitted, she had kind of added that field of study herself. But ever since Twilight had been banish-MOVED to Ponyville, it was NOT a banishment she could return any time she just wanted to stay around her friends even if Celestia barely batted an eye about her faithful student suddenly no longer being there and Twilight had felt terribly homesick until her friends took care of that but no it was not a banishment even if Celestia had told her to stay and had arranged for her and Spike's things to be delivered to Ponyville but she had done nothing wrong so Celestia would never banish...

It was a debate Twilight had had with herself every few months. Recognizing it for the unsolvable loop it was, she shoved it aside and continued her previous line of thought. Ever since HER ARRIVAL IN Ponyville - there, no emotional baggage, she could agree with herself that that was perfectly accurate even if she disagreed about the possible context - Celestia's assignments had been about friendship. Making friends just in time to defeat Nightmare Moon and turn her back into Luna; perhaps the "oversight" with those tickets to the Grand Galloping Gala were to make sure she would stand up for her friends even against Celestia; she would have failed to save the Crystal Empire if her time in Ponyville had not taught her the difference between following orders literally and doing what was right; even fixing Starswirl's incomplete spell relied on her friendship with friends who had briefly lost themselves. Just a few days ago, she had judged and thereby rescued a pony that Celestia had put through similarly focused, if briefer, training.

Which was as far as her thoughts got before the door's handle rattling interrupted. Twilight had not thought to ask if Rainbow's landlord was alright with overnight visitors, and a back corner of her mind warned that paparazzi would swoon to get pictures of the newest Princess in bed with anyone, pony or otherwise. Just as the door started creaking, she teleported to the other side of the room, twisted mid-air to land on her feet, and looked intently at the newspaper clippings she wound up facing.

"Rainbow Dash! Rainbow Dash! Look, look!" Fortunately for Twilight, opening the door was neither landlord nor reporter, but a young orange purple-haired pegasus filly stretching her tiny wings.

"Huum?" Rainbow blinked awake, looking at the door. "Oh, Scootaloo!"

Scootaloo turned her head. "Are you still in bed this late?"

Twilight giggled. "Sorry. I kinda kept her up late with some endurance training." She wondered at how easily the lie came to her, though she supposed it kind of was not a lie.

Scootaloo almost jumped at the unexpected voice. "Oh! Hi, Twilight. I didn't see you there. What are you doing here?"

"I came by to see how she was doing, and you know how I am with reading." Twilight gestured to the clippings in front of her. "Did you know she stopped the Oxfeather Riot?"

"DO I?!?" Scootaloo grinned, but only for a moment. "Uh...what's the Oxfeather Riot?"

"Something that Rainbow Dash saved a whooole lot of griffons from," Twilight answered to give Rainbow a few more precious seconds to wake up, having been in her place far too many times. She figured this must be what Spike felt like when he delayed some early-morning visitor to give Twilight time to wake up.

Scootaloo blinked. "Oh. Well...they're not ponies, but that's cool too, I guess?"

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Very cool." She reminded herself that some ponies only learned to value ponies, and slights towards others who had not earned it were only because they did not know better. "So what are you doing here? School's off today; I thought you'd be hanging out with your friends."

"That's later. I just came from the doctor's office. Look, look!" Scootaloo slowly flapped her wings.

Twilight blinked. "Uh-huh?"

"I just got my casts off!" Scootaloo explained, posing to show off her wings. "C'mon, Twilight, you saw me just yesterd-oh!" She facehoofed and continued. "Right, right, I'm sorry I almost ran into you yesterday morning. The doctor got delayed, so the nurse said I should get to school and come back tomorrow morning, so I was in a hurry and you were really spacing out about something, though that dodge you pulled was almost as cool as Rainbow Dash's moves."

Twilight examined her memory, taking a few moments to remember the near-collision and realize it had been close. "Oh, is THAT what those things on your wings were? You were going so fast I didn't get a good look. I just thought you were trying to go as fast as Rainbow again."

"Psh." Scootaloo dismissed the thought with a single hoofwave. "Nopony's as fast as Rainbow Dash, Twilight!"

Not sure how much more time Rainbow needed, Twilight continued, "So how'd you hurt your wings?"

As it turned out, Rainbow needed no more time. She was suddenly upright, alert, and standing next to bed so fast Twilight almost thought Rainbow had just teleported. "Aheh. Err, Twilight, Scootaloo obviously wants some time with me. Can we catch up again tonight?"

Twilight shrugged. "Sure, I guess?" Something about Rainbow's behavior seemed odd to her.

Rainbow looked at her, looked at Scootaloo, then at Twilight again. "Err..."

Figuring Rainbow might be worried she would be jealous of a filly - and a loyal friend, to boot - Twilight shook her head. "It's fine, really! I, err, need some time to think about what you said last night, anyway." She opened the window and began stepping out. "I'll see you tonight."

As she fluttered away, she heard Scootaloo ask in what Twilight was certain the filly thought were hushed tones, "Is she going to blow up a mountain again, Rainbow Dash?"

Musing on the exchange of social lies soon put Twilight's mind back on its interrupted track: whether Celestia viewed her as "necessary". The mere thought of the word, and its connotations, brought chills to her despite the warm, sunny air. Friendship, being Celestia's faithful student, all the adoration that spilled from her heart at the thought of her mentor - that all of that might be mere tools that Celestia employed, that most of her life and what she lived for might be mere means to an end, was something Twilight fervently wished she could dismiss. But she had read in history, again and again, that Celestia had few limits when it came to ensuring the survival and prosperity of Equestria. A deeper worry sprang: had Celestia made her read that so Twilight would some day understand, and maybe forgive Celestia for using her so thoroughly?

Slightly more unsettling was her heart's answer: yes, she would forgive Celestia if it came to that. She should be angry, or upset. No pony should be so eager to be another's tool. And yet picturing herself as a wrench, wielded by Celestia dressed up as a mechanic while fixing Equestria like some chariot, put her heart at ease even as her mind struggled to convince her heart it should be wrong.

She needed a dose of honesty - and bravery, to ask something she quailed at the thought of asking herself. To merely acknowledge the subject was apparently uncomfortable for Celestia. For Twilight herself to push it...her mind spun off nightmare scenario after nightmare scenario about how that might damage her relationship with her prized mentor, or worse, how those words from Twilight's mouth (via Spike's writing on a letter, but Celestia would know whose words they were) might hurt Celestia. No, for this she needed help.

And so for the second morning in a row, she found herself heading for Sweet Apple Acres. Unaccompanied this time, and urging herself on lest her courage to even ask this favor dwindle, she flew straight for the farm. She considered teleporting, but her need was not quite that urgent, and as she flew something warned her against flashy displays. Twilight slowed her flight just a little to collect her senses - was this some sort of new danger warning? No, she did not feel particularly under threat. A lot of ponies, both on the ground and pegasi in the skies around her, were giving her odd looks. Turning her head to catch one passing pegasus's eye, she saw...fear? No, that was impossible, why would ponies fear her? Moments after Twilight achieved eye contact, the pegasus looked away and sped on, probably on some important errand.

Soon enough, Ponyville's houses ended and apple trees were underneath. It did not take long to see one tree shake and its apples fall off, so Twilight turned that way. Sure enough, Applejack was at the tree's base. Twilight landed outside bucking distance, keeping in mind Applejack's caution against "pulling a Rainbow", undoubtedly a reference to some prank gone wrong that Twilight did not care to hear the details of. She noticed that several of the trees had buckets arranged around their bases, signalling harvest time.

"Heya, Twi," Applejack called, inspecting the buckets around the tree she had just harvested. The tree's apples had all fallen in, save for one that Applejack picked off the ground and dropped in. "Sorry if I work while we talk, but it's applebucking time."

"No problem." Twilight thought through a few drafts of what to say, then realized she was wasting Applejack's time by not saying anything. "Umm...I was wondering if I could ask a favor, and then I need to see your sister."

Applejack stopped and gave her a look. "Somethin' 'bout how ya said the first makes me REALLY hope the second ain' related."

Twilight shook her head. "They're not. Could..." She gulped, not believing she was about to make this request. It was horrible, awful, beyond comprehension. And yet it was a possibility. "Could you ask Celestia if I'm...'necessary'?"

There. She had said it. Time seemed to stretch to infinity. Surely Applejack was slowly realizing just how cruel-

Applejack smiled. "No need." She walked onto the next tree, prompting Twilight to follow her. "Did that three days ago."

Twilight stumbled.

"Th' moment I saw Celestia's letter callin' Sanguine 'necessary'," Applejack continued, "ah figured ya might be too, jus' far more willin' an' eager. But she tol' me something t' tell you when ya asked. An' she said, 'when', not 'if': she knew you'd be askin' 'fore too long." Now in position on the second tree, Applejack kicked it with both rear hooves, sending its fruit perfectly into its buckets.

Not for the first time, Twilight found herself wondering about that historical account of one of Equestria's brief expansionary periods. It had stated that Celestia had started toppling small neighboring countries, setting them up to willingly merge into Equestria, because she had gotten bored, and only ceased once assimilating the gains proved to be enough of a distraction. Then she realized she was thinking that to distract herself from Applejack seeming to think it was okay.

Applejack looked Twilight in the eyes. "She said, if ya hadn't come here and done whatcha done, she an' ah wouldn' be havin' that conversation, or possibly any conversation. She didn' create th' dangers; she didn' even see all of 'em comin'. But she did know that, yes, you'd be 'necessary', an' she's pretty sure ya still are. An' fer what it's worth, Twi..." Applejack's stare intensified. "...so do ah. You're needed. That ain't a bad thing."

Twilight blinked. Her mind's worries as doubts came to a screeching halt, suddenly finding themselves without foundation, but the only external sign of this abrupt jumble was a blink.

Letting eye contact go so she could double-check the second tree, Applejack continued, "'Sides, ah figure you'd be doin' whatcha do anyway, so don't fret it. She also said t' treat it like a case o' 'Novipaw's self-consistency principle', whatever that is."

Twilight tilted her head, glad for something else to think about. "Did you saw Novipaw, as in the diamond dog physicist?"

Applejack nodded. "Ayup." Then stopped mid-nod. "Wait, they have physicists?"

"Well, yes?" Twilight shrugged. "They may be, err, 'traditional' in many ways, but some of their packs have adopted Equestrian science and regularly make ground-breaking - pardon the phrase - achievements in geological sciences and engineering. They're no slouch in related fields, but of course it all goes back to mining. Anyway..." Twilight closed her eyes for a moment. "Novipaw's self-consistency principle, in short, means that you can't change the past even with time travel. Anything you do already was part of history; in theory you could even be your own parent. I encountered it first hoof once, when I tried to go back in time and warn myself, only for that warning to set up the events I was warning myself about."

"Oh! So it'd be like if Celestia came back an' tol' herself how things shake out, so she's bound t' that path an' couldn't warn ya 'cause future her said that wasn't how it went?" Applejack surmised as she headed for another tree. "But if things go bad, she don' go back, an' that's her sign t' herself that maybe she needs t' try somethin' different? It's what ah'd do."

"Err...that's still sending information back through time to change things, Applejack. I don't think it works that way, and I don't think she'd go back in time if it would just bind her. Not that it matters: if I am necessary to her plans then I'm just that more determined to help see them through, even if she has a reason not to tell me what they are." Twilight smiled.

Applejack smiled back, getting into position. "Yeah, she said you'd say that too."

Twilight blushed. "I guess I can be a bit predictable. Umm. Speaking of time travel, thanks for already having had performed the favor that I was going to have asked by now."

Applejack gave her a flat look while bucking.

"...okay, maybe that was a bit long-winded. So! Where's Apple Bloom?"

Applejack pointed. "She went over that way to check somethin' out. She'll be back in a few minutes."

Twilight looked that way. "Alright. Hmm...mind if I buck a tree or two while I'm waiting? No magic this time: I just want to see if I can do it."

"Testin' your body's limits?" Applejack gave her a look. "What's gotten into you? A bit of Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight blushed and looked away.

Applejack winked. "Anyway, sure, knock yerself out."

"Thank you." Relieved that the teasing had been brief, but certain there would be more later, Twilight walked up to one tree in the direction Applejack had indicated. Twilight was surprised this one had not been bucked yet: she was no apple farmer, but the apples seemed a bit overripe, and buckets were in place. Turning away from it but looking over her shoulder to aim, she planted her front hooves and kicked backward with all her might.

"WAIT, TWILI-ooof!" A yellow filly with red mane, who had been hidden among the tree's leaves, dropped into one of the buckets flank-first.

"Apple Bloom?" Twilight turned around to see if the filly was injured. To her relief, Applejack's younger sister seemed fine: no bleeding or signs of anything broken.

"Oww." Apple Bloom stood up, rubbing where she landed. "Ah was tryin' t' see why those apples wouldn't fall. Didn' see ya come up 'til ya bucked."

Applejack ran up next to them, thinking along the same lines as Twilight. Once her concern was sated, she put one leg next to Apple Bloom and made a show of using it to measure her sister's length. "Hrm...sorry, Twilight, this one's too small."

Quickly guessing Applejack's game, Twilight joined in. "Aww, but I want a little sister that adorable!"

Applejack shook her head, smiling. "Rules are rules. Ah'm gonna 'ave t' keep her. Buck and release. 'Sides..." She ruffled her sister's mane. "...ah don't plan t' give her away 'til she gets married."

Apple Bloom looked up in mild irritation at the ruffling. "C'mon sis. Ah can swim jus' fine, an' you know it!"

Twilight blinked. "What does swimming have to do with getting married?"

Apple Bloom hopped out of the bucket. "'Mare reed'. Y'know, somethin' ya breathe through when yer jus' underwater. Ah didn' know they came in mare an' stallion types; what's the difference?"

Applejack blinked. "Uhh...ask whatcha came t' ask, Twilight, 'cause ah think explainin' marriage might take a while."

Twilight snapped out of trying to envision gender differences between reeds. "Oh, right. Apple Bloom, I was hoping you could tell me how Scootaloo's wings got injured."

"Ya didn' know?" Apple Bloom looked at Twilight, mildly surprised. "She tried t' scooter-pole-vault up ta Rainbow's house. She didn't quite make it, an' landed on her back."

Twilight winced. That picture came all too easily, given Twilight's knowledge of Scootaloo's penchant for high speed and low foresight.

"Rainbow was all devastated! I heard her say she was gonna move some place safer for Scootaloo." Apple Bloom shook her head. "Ah tried t' ask why she didn' just make a cloud-ladder, but ah don' think she heard me. Umm...Miss Twilight, actually I'm more worried about Rainbow than Scootaloo, an' Applejack says you've seen her a bunch lately. Is Rainbow gonna be okay?"

Twilight pictured the situation. "This was about a week ago, right? I heard Rainbow moved, but I never found out why. She didn't want to talk about it; I thought her house had been demolished." She looked at Apple Bloom. "I'm sure she'll be fine. Now that Scootaloo's okay maybe she'll even move back: no need to rent an apartment and have a house."

Apple Bloom smiled. "Ah hope so. Ah ain't Scootaloo, but Rainbow's place is so...well, her. Even if it don't have a pool."

Twilight blinked.

"Sooo ya an' her can go swimmin'?" Apple Bloom explained. "Big sis' says maybe you an' she'll get mare reeds, an' I heard Rainbow tell my sis you've got her doin' endurance trainin'. So y'all plan to go swimmin' with her as part of that, right?"

Twilight looked at Applejack and smiled. "Really?"

Applejack waved her forehooves defensively. "Ah was jus' speculatin'! Jus' some harmless speculatin', Twi, ah swear!"

Twilight grinned, holding back a snicker, and looked at Apple Bloom again. "We're not getting married any time soon. Also that's one word, 'married', which has nothing to do with swimming or reeds."

"Oh." Apple Bloom blinked. "Then what's 'married' mean?"

"Thaaat's something I should let Applejack explain." Twilight extended her wings. "I'm going to make sure Rainbow's home is still in one piece."

As Twilight flew up and away, she recalled Applejack once saying that having a friend to talk with and something fun to talk about made the bucking go faster. She wondered if this day might seem to go by in a blink for Apple Bloom, but drag on for Applejack, and just how many puns could be made from that about the theory of relativity.

Rainbow's house was not too far away. While it was a cloud house and thus technically mobile, Rainbow had kept it in a fixed location near the outskirts of town. So Twilight was still thinking of the list of puns when she landed on its front porch and abruptly found a sword pressed under her chin, its point just short of piercing her neck. An unfamiliar voice hissed, "You no Rainbow Tash. You leave now."

6: The Abandoned Cloud

Rainbow Dash's house was perhaps the least-constant structure in Ponyville that could still be called the same structure. Hewn from clouds and hooked together with rainbows in classic Cloudsdale architectural tradition, it could be and often was modified without much effort, whenever Rainbow Dash tired of the current layout. Twilight had seen it as a three-story tower, a two-story fort complete with crenelations, a miniature palace loosely ringed with columns, and in shapes resembling each of her friends' houses - though so far not yet anything like a tree - after Rainbow had been particularly impressed by one of them. When the latter happened, Twilight made sure not to mention to Rainbow that her inspiration was obvious: the pegasus had her own sense of style and cool, which Twilight would never wish to take away from her.

Aside from there always being a central structure, there were always waterfalls spilling over the edge - sometimes normal water, sometimes rainbows flowing like water. These seemed to be aesthetic, fading away before they hit the ground. Another constant was some kind of primary rainbow, curving from the top to the back - or maybe the back to the top: Twilight never had figured out which way it flowed. There was also a front patio, for visitors to land on in front of the main front door. Down on the ground was a mailbox, the only completely fixed part of the residence (a quick glance showed enough mail that Twilight could believe Rainbow had not been here in a week), but aside from that the house could have been one of Cloudsdale's outlying structures. Perhaps Rainbow held a candle for someday returning there, though Twilight knew that Rainbow had grown to like Ponyville more than she would admit. Still, the home and its frequent, competently done changes clearly marked Rainbow as a master weathercrafter.

But the guard was altogether new.

A young griffon, about the size of a schoolfoal but with hardened eyes none that young should have, tried to stare down the much bigger Twilight. Tattered green fabric scraps - little more than rags - of what might have been a uniform adorned the griffon, counterpointing an ash-and-storm grey body and white head. The wings seemed almost adult-sized, which Twilight marked up to a growth spurt: some pegasi grew full-sized wings early, though these seemed a bit large even for that. A sword as long as the griffon's torso extended from a tight, firm grip in one forepaw to under Twilight's chin. While she could not see the blade's point from this angle, the part of the sword she could see looked sharp enough, with not a trace of rust. It was a simple blade - no crossguard, no ornamentation that Twilight could see. She tried to gently nod down, only for the griffon to press the sword up; any further and she risked breaking her skin, so Twilight stopped.

Once upon a time, Celestia had had her read a royal guard training manual. Military matters did not catch her interest, except in an abstract way, but she read the whole thing because that was what Celestia had told her to do. Dimly, Twilight recalled one section on pegasus-specific tactics: hide in a low-lying cloud, wait for an enemy to draw near, then spring down - or up, if the enemy walked on clouds - with weapon in hand. This ambush was literally a textbook maneuver. She tried backing up, and just as that textbook had described, the griffon moved forward in time with her retreat, not letting her get out of threat range.

Fortunately, the textbook also listed a counter-tactic. Twilight leaped up and hovered away. Flight was a bit less stable and provided far more maneuvering options, so holding at swordpoint from in front was less practical in the air.

"You leave now," the griffon repeated, not pursuing her skyward, but still pointing the sword in her direction.

"I'm...looking for Rainbow Dash's home?" Twilight offered.

"This it," the griffon hissed. "You no her. You leave now."

"Bertha," came a voice from inside, "are you pretending to be a - oh, hello." An adult griffon - apparently Bertha's mother, given the similar coloration and slightly large wings - poked her head out the front door. "Ah, sorry, we're waiting for Rainbow Dash. We thought she lived here. Bertha, put that sword down right now!"

Bertha looked over her shoulder. "But she no Rainbow Tash!"

"Put the sword down NOW, before you hurt someone!"

Bertha sighed at her mother, gave Twilight another glare, then sheathed the sword through a metal loop attached to her rags.

"That's better. Now get inside." Bertha's mother watched her sulk back into the house and noisily stomp upstairs. Once Bertha was out of line of sight, her mother looked up at Twilight. "Sorry about that. She can get a...lit...tle..." Her jaw dropped.

Twilight blinked, then looked around. There was no one else around; Twilight landed to confirm where the griffon was looking, and indeed the griffon's eyes tracked her.

Bertha's mother cowered. There was no better word for it. Naked fear came from her eyes as she prostrated herself. "P-please, take me, do anything you want to me, I'll do anything! Just spare Bertha: she doesn't know any better!"

Twilight frowned, flapping her wings slowly in thought.

Bertha's mother clapped her claws over her eyes and trembled. "M-make it quick, please don't force her to watch me die in agony-"

Realization spawned annoyance. Twilight rolled her eyes and sighed. "Get up."

"Huh?"

"I said get up. And stop groveling!" Twilight caught herself yelling and choked back her annoyance, noting that an angry Princess was exactly what this griffon needed to not see right now.

Bertha's mother peeked between her claws. When she saw Twilight patiently waiting, she slowly got back to her feet and sat.

Twilight nodded. "Good. Now. Tell me your name."

"Beatrix Oxfeather. My family called me 'Trixie'."

Memories of a certain stage magician offered themselves, but Twilight brushed them aside: she was fairly certain that unicorn did not have a drop of griffon blood in her. "I'd recommend you stick with 'Beatrix' around here. Did you say 'Oxfeather', as in the Oxfeather Riot?"

Beatrix's face fell. "Even this far from home you've heard of us. My family name is cursed. I assure you, we're not the monsters they-"

"Your side," Twilight interrupted, glad for the opportunity to further distance the conversation from yet another bowing obsequiously to the Princess. She wondered how Celestia put up with it, beyond her occasional pranks.

Beatrix just blinked, her mind far more single-track than Twilight's. "Pardon?"

"I want to hear your side, please." Twilight smiled. "First-hoof information is more reliable, wouldn't you say? And if it's what your family is known for, I want to hear it. What was the riot about? What happened?"

"I...err..." Beatrix stared at Twilight in wonder. "Why would you want to know about such a thing?"

Twilight scooped up a tiny bit of cloud and examined it. "Unless I miss my guess, a certain mutual acquaintance played a major role." Letting it go, she turned her eyes to suddenly lock on to Beatrix's. "I want to hear the whole story. Please."

Beatrix's mouth worked for a second. "You mean Sah Rainbow Dash?"

Twilight did her best to hide her sudden alarm. "Sah" was a religious title used in foreign lands, to denote a revered figure who had demonstrated extreme virtue, in many ways the complete opposite of the Rainbow Dash that Twilight knew. She could feel the near-inevitable clash against high expectations and subsequent letdown; to head it off she would need to find out what Rainbow Dash was revered for. So Twilight nodded, slowly and deliberately, though a strand of hair curled up of its own accord. "She's one of my friends. Mind if we go inside? I wanted to check up on her house."

Beatrix took in Twilight's words as she backed through the front door. "...of course she'd be friends with the Princesses. Pardon my naivete for thinking it might be otherwise."

Twilight followed, keeping an eye out for Bertha. "Oh! Right, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm-"

"Princess Twilight Sparkle," Beatrix finished for her. "Assistant of Spike, the Savior of the Crystal Empire. We went there when it was freed, hoping it was more of Sah Rainbow Dash's work. It wasn't, but one of the ponies said she lived in Ponyville and knew Spike. You were, uh, mentioned in the ensuing...'discussion', I think you call it, but..."

Twilight grimaced. "Let me guess, they sang Spike's praises at the drop of a feather, and you sat through it because you thought there might be a nugget of info on something you cared about?"

Beatrix nodded. "I am still not certain how they came up with such lengthy lyrics on the spot, and their dance number seemed like it had been choreographed, just waiting for a pilgrim like me to ask, 'Who's Spike?'"

Twilight could not help but chuckle. "It may have been." She looked around the living room, finding it unkempt but not completely trashed. An unmade couch-bed lay in one corner, beneath a Wonderbolts poster, with a pair of Daring Do books and a few toys nearby. Rainbow's multi-hued electric guitar was propped up in a corner, underneath a sunburst banner similar to the carving in the main ceiling of Twilight's library - a less-stylized representation of Celestia's cutie mark, and Twilight had to admit she was slightly jealous that this one was more accurate. Stairs led up to the bedroom, over a closet in which Rainbow's few fancy clothes hung. Twilight heard a rustling from upstairs, and immediately identified it as a youngster - probably Bertha - flipping a book page; a moment's thought placed it as heavier stock, so probably one of Daring Do's earlier books. "You're a pilgrim?"

Beatrix closed the door behind Twilight, keeping her eyes on the alicorn the whole time. "Is that the right word? My daughter and I are on a pilgrimage to find Sah Rainbow Dash. Err...honest, we didn't make her house like this. Do you know what happened? It looks like some beast got inside. Is that why she has been away, recovering from the fight? We did not dare touch her possessions - err, except for the contents of the fridge: they were going to spoil and we got hungry waiting. And I have been using the books to teach Bertha to read, but I put them back afterward - that open one to the same page, so the Sah will find things as she left them."

Twilight smirked. This was exactly the state Rainbow usually kept her place in. "Close enough. If you view her as a Sah, well, you could say she's been doing penance for someone else's mistake. Help me clean up while you tell me about that Oxfeather Riot."

Beatrix just stared. "You...you're not going to execute me?"

Twilight faced away to hide her eyeroll, as she levitated a ball into the closet. "It'd be hard to introduce you to Rainbow Dash if you're dead." When no response came, she sighed. "Look. You're just trespassing, your daughter didn't know any better though I am going to ask she leave her sword here, and you said it yourself: this place needed cleaning up when you got here. So are you going to help or not?"

"B-by your command," Beatrix stammered, quickly getting to straightening out the couch-bed's blanket. "Where shall I begin, please your ma-" She stopped at a sudden warning glare from Twilight.

"Just call me 'Twilight'. A friend of Celestia's once told me, begin at the beginning," Twilight said, not so gravely as she remembered the words, "and go on till you come to the end: then stop."

"As you wish." Beatrix returned her attention to the blanket, inspecting every inch meticulously to make sure no wrinkle remained. "I'll tell you how she who would become Sah stopped a genocide."

7: A Riot Act

The Oxfeather Riot took place in Clawlogne, a griffon cultural center. It is laid out like many a pony city: while almost all griffons can fly, with all the tourists Clawlogne attracts, it is not uncommon to see ponies and many others who are confined to the ground, and the city council plans accordingly.

"Oh," Twilight interrupted, rapt and sitting attentively, "so it's like Canterlot? Lots of important buildings?"

Beatrix nodded as she began sweeping toys toward the closet. "I have never been to Canterlot, but 'lots of important buildings' is a good summary. Lots of normal buildings too, but even the cafes boast of their history. But Canterlot is on a mountain, while Clawlogne is closer to Ponyville's elevation. Anyway, the riot began with three things..."

The Oxfeathers, a long and proud line of griffons with larger-than-average wings. As with pegasi, griffons' magic was contained in their wings; the Oxfeather clan was known for being able to produce strong effects, and their lineage had been studied for generations.

Ludd Down, a square-jawed, sunken-eyed, fluffy-winged hero of the common griffon, who harbored innate suspicion towards anyone he viewed as "elites" attempting to lord over the rest. This included the Oxfeather clan, not because of their natural gifts, but because they taught their young to be superior.

And the brothers Flim and Flam, whose basic flavor of shenanigan would remain unchanged through the years. This time, they had acquired what they swore was a wing growth tonic. To their surprise, one of the Oxfeathers - Beatrix's older sister Alicia - volunteered to test it. When it failed to produce measurable results, they were run out of town.

Except it did produce results, though this would not be seen until later. Alicia had been pregnant at the time, and her daughter showed a slightly larger than usual wingspan by her third year. She had kept the elixir; testing revealed it was an alchemical mixture from Zebrica, the active ingredients of which were soon identified and refined. Other Oxfeathers, and family friends, were recruited to test the result. In the end, this resulted in three nests' worth of eggs, being taken care of-

"Wait, back up," Twilight interrupted again. "You just...tested on your children? Just like that?"

Beatrix shrugged. "At worst, it would do nothing, so there was no harm. Believe me, if this unnerves you, the things my ancestors tried would upset you far worse."

"W-well..." Twilight looked away for a moment to calm herself. "I can see the logic in it, I guess?" Inner harmony restored, she looked back at Beatrix. "But I know a lot of ponies who...well, they'd have strong opinions about something like that. I'm having a hard time imagining it was different for the griffons."

"It wasn't." Beatrix stared at the Celestia-mark banner for a short while, then finally looked back at Twilight. "You have to understand. If it worked, it would be a boon to all griffons. But yes, many were uneasy with it. Unlike them, you aren't zipping off to murder my child."

"WHAT?!?" Twilight's jaw dropped. "I read that Rainbow Dash saved some eggs, but I thought the article was just playing up...I mean...they weren't in harm's way by accident?"

"They were what the riot was about."

Ludd was at the forefront - literally - of the unease. He stirred up a crowd with a firey speech, then lead them toward the nursery where the three nests were kept. This crowd was angry, chanting slogans and holding signs as they marched down the street.

It was since proven that some in his mob were...how do you say it...agitators, placed to make the riot look bad. Some believe that most of the mob was made up of agents from all manner of powerful groups who wished to smear Ludd's name, unaware of one another. I am sure it was they who vandalized the shops they passed. Minor things - upsetting chairs, knocking over potted plants - just enough to threaten more. Fear, in a place like Clawlogne, can be far more effective than actual damage: broken things can be repaired, but scared-away tourists tell their friends and mean a permanent loss of business.

No one stopped them on their way. Business owners, visitors - everyone who saw this mob coming just ducked indoors and let them pass. Everyone but one pegasus, at an outdoor cafe table too close to the mob's path.

Afterward, Rainbow Dash would claim that she had been thinking about home and how much she missed her friend Fluttershy, and that is why she did not notice the mob coming until they tried to push her chair over with her in it. As surely you know, when Rainbow Dash is shoved she shoves right back. Witnesses saw this happen, and while no one knows exactly what was said, apparently she soon discovered what the mob's intent was.

There were ten of us, between the mothers and doctors, bracing to confront a mob that looked like hundreds, possibly a thousand. We had no hope and we knew it - but then she soared up from the mob, rushed in front of it, and stood blocking their path. I will never, ever forget what she said next.

"What's wrong with you?"

Her words stopped the mob in their tracks. Or maybe it was her pose. Looking back on it, we were scared and they knew it; our barricades were no deterrent. But one pegasus, alone and armed only with courage, was enough to defy their collective rage.

"What kind of monsters kill their own children?"

Ludd, at the front, attempted to argue, but his words were beneath her. He tried to step around her, but she sidestepped to block his way. Others in the lead attempted to get past, but she leaned to the side to bar them too, daring them to actually touch her: a line they were not willing to cross, though they may not have known what those behind them were doing. She had chosen a narrow point of the street to guard: on one side was a statue that flowed out of the building, on the other a tall shrub, such that only two or three griffons could pass side by side. Even this should have been too much to block, but she managed it. So intent was the mob on marching that none simply flew over her as she had flown over them. Those behind the front piled up, and after being stuck for a short while, began to disperse.

"It was a miracle. No one was hurt, because of the selfless heroism of a pony." Beatrix took a moment to close her eyes and wipe them with the flat of her claws. "Newsgriffons swarmed her afterward, capturing the story in detail. They caught up with a few of the protestors, who unanimously said that seeing a pegasus - not even one of our own - selflessly defending our eggs moved them to question their actions. Deliberations over what to do with she who had saved so many children took a month, by which time she had returned to Equestria. I don't know if she ever officially received word she had been nominated and confirmed as a Sah. So, I came here to tell her."

Twilight's mind worked in tandem with itself, as it often did. One part filed away the story for later review, linking it to the reformation of procedures and standards for testing magic on sentient subjects that it had spawned, which Equestria would later model (and which Twilight had chafed against at one point, which triggered just enough research to read that the Oxfeather Riot had caused them). Another part mused on Rainbow's likely reaction to her Sahhood. A third part spotted a fib at five paces: the distance between her and Beatrix. "Years later. With your kid."

Beatrix nodded. "I wanted her to see one of the lives she saved."

"And that's the only reason you're here."

Beatrix twinged, dropping the last of the toys she had been putting away.

Twilight smiled. "It doesn't matter. So long as you're not here to hurt her, sure, I'll introduce you." A fourth part of her mind played through scenarios, iterating through all the likely ways the meeting could go wrong and how to counter for them. By the time Beatrix had collected Bertha and the three of them were off to find Rainbow Dash, Twilight was confident that one of the scenarios would come true.

Twenty minutes later, her list discarded to the same mental graveyard she sent most disproven theories, Twilight mused that Applejack would have called such confidence, "tempting fate".

8: ...I Work For A Living

Rainbow Dash never ran from a challenge, so far as Twilight Sparkle had seen. Fights, athletic contests, grand acts of weathercraft - anything that most ponies might shrink from, Rainbow took on without hesitation (and sometimes without forethought, to the regret of her friends). And why would anypony run away from good news?

Rainbow had been gliding slowly next to Scootaloo, talking as they passed through town, Scootaloo rolling along on her scooter just fast enough that Rainbow's wings gave her all the lift she needed. When Twilight approached, flanked by the two griffons, Rainbow had glanced her way and waved. But then Twilight saw a flash of recognition on Rainbow's face; a few words too soft for Twilight to catch, and Rainbow and Scootaloo picked up the pace. Twilight gave the griffons a confused look, but they had already started running after, so Twilight followed.

Had it been an aerial chase, Rainbow would have gotten away, no question. Rainbow Dash held the air speed record for any living pegasus. But Scootaloo's wings were not yet big enough to let her fly, and apparently neither were Bertha's; neither Rainbow nor Beatrix were willing to abandon their younger companion, instead just flying above like motherly balloons and urging their respective companion to greater speed. Both of the youngsters had adopted the trick of extending their wings to improve balance at high land speeds. Even so, Bertha's legs were no match for Scootaloo's scooter's wheels on flat ground, and as the parties being chased, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were able to keep things to the open expanses of dirt and short grass that formed Ponyville's roads.

Of course, just outrunning in a straight line was not enough to shake pursuit. Twilight Sparkle thought she knew Ponyville after living in it for a few years, but Scootaloo and Rainbow Dash had lived there for longer. Time and again they rounded a corner and just seemed to vanish. Fortunately, the griffons did not tire - physically or emotionally - quickly. Unfortunately, Twilight did not have their endurance.

So it was that, about an hour later, when an exhausted and grumpy Twilight finally spied the two pegasi again coming out of Sugarcube Corner, she simply teleported in front of them. Or tried to; instead she found herself across town, having misjudged the amount of power to pour into the spell. Muttering a quick apology - she had popped into the middle of a meeting, judging by the circle of ponies giving her dirty looks - she applied her will to dial it back just a touch and tried again, this time finding herself next to the pegasi, for just a moment as they breezed by. There was no way she was going to catch them on hoof or on wing, so she leaned in the direction they had gone and began teleporting very short distances, staying in one place just long enough to get a word in.

"Rainbow." Her eyes barely had time to adjust before she popped out of reality and back in again. It was like trying to watch a movie where seven out of every eight frames were blacked out, and the effort made her eyes water. "Dash." Though she easily recognized Sugarcube Corner: a large pink building she knew well, even if she only saw a pink blur just now. "What." One more teleport, and it was a house-length further away. Twilight fixed her gaze on it to help measure her travel. "Is." Her effort was almost immediately thwarted, as the cyan smear that was Rainbow Dash began to round a corner. "Going." Sure enough, after the next teleport, Sugarcube Corner was out of sight behind another house. "On." Not that it mattered: the flying cyan blur and smaller, ground-bound orange blur stood out well enough. "Here?"

Another teleport, and they were not where she expected them to be. Her head snapped back the way she had come; Rainbow and Scootaloo had stopped for some reason. Her mind had already queued up three more teleports, and she could feel the magic within her forcing itself into the spell matricies at the merest thought of using them. She angled her teleports in a rough circle, finally coming to a stop next to them five teleports later - and having to clamp down on her magic hard to make it a full stop: part of her wanted to just keep skipping across reality. Twilight squeezed her eyes shut to regain balance; when she opened them again, vision had returned enough to recognize the two pegasi staring at her: Scootaloo with wide-open eyes, Rainbow with concern.

"That was cool! I didn't know you could do that." Scootaloo slowly dismounted her scooter. "Can you teach Sweetie Belle? You were just, blinking from place to place!"

"It's called 'chain teleportation', and a certain somepony swore it was impossible, even for an alicorn." Rainbow fluttered to a stop over Scootaloo, hindquarters hanging down. "You said four in a row was nearly enough to knock you out, and you'd never heard of anypony doing six except in legend."

"Well...yes?" Twilight did not bother to hide her confusion.

"Then how did you do thirteen just now?" Rainbow gestured in an arc, tracing Twilight's recent appearances. "And you're not even tired."

"I was. I'm feeling better now, though." Twilight vaguely recognized something off with that. Had she not been panting for breath mere minutes ago? Yet now she felt like going for a run, or another flight training session with Rainbow. Or maybe it was more like she had just been through one; for some reason she was feeling really good, almost like a high from endorphins resulting from a good workout. She brushed such thoughts aside in the face of the more immediate question. "Why do you keep running away?"

Rainbow frowned at the change of topic, but she knew how stubborn Twilight could be. She resolved to press Twilight about her magic later. "Because I recognize the mother: she's one of those Oxfeathers. I got tired of their holy this and sacred that. I came back to Equestria to get away from that."

Twilight had suspected as much, but tried to hide a smile of triumph. "She suggested it was because you missed Fluttershy."

"Yeah, well, th-that too. I did kinda owe her an apology." Rainbow knew almost no one bought her excuses on this sort of thing, but she had to try. Always doing things because you wanted to do them, rather than just because you had an obligation to somepony, even if that somepony happened to be your best friend - that was cool, was it not? "But what are THEY doing HERE?"

"They came to see you! You're their hero!" On a whim, Twilight began molding a nearby rock into the triple-pointed crown-hat she had once seen in a history book.

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow, then at Twilight. "She is?"

Twilight nodded. "She is. She saved the younger one's life."

"Whoa!" If it had been possible for Scootaloo's admiration for Rainbow to increase, it would have. As it was, she just looked up at Rainbow and called out, "Awesome!"

"Yeah, yeah, that part was awesome but what came after..." Rainbow looked to the side; sure enough, the conversation had given the griffons time to catch up and prostrate themselves in her direction. "Look. Twilight. To them, when you save a life you're owed double. 'Hero' isn't the right word for it."

Twilight levitated the hat to Rainbow's head. "I know, their word is 'Sah'. But it certainly sounded like..."

Rainbow batted the hat away. "Try 'master'. I saved their lives so they could live their lives, not give them to me."

Twilight's levitation spell winked out. The stone hat dropped to the ground and shattered.

"And they don't go away. Look." Rainbow turned toward the griffons. "Okay! Hi! You've seen me! Now your Sah commands you to return home and continue your lives!"

"We would, Sah," Beatrix replied, "but we can not. Our home and our family have been destroyed. We are all that remain."

Rainbow shrugged, facing Twilight again. "See? Any lame excuse to..." She blinked, then faced the griffons again. "Uhh...explain that, please?"

"Ludd returned and took revenge. My daughter and I were returning from a trip when our family chateau exploded. There were no survivors, and I knew we would be hunted. We humbly beg your protection, oh mighty Sah."

Half a minute passed in silence.

"Please, Sah," Beatrix begged.

"I...yiii..." Rainbow's mind tried to restart itself. "Umm. Your Sah...needs to consult with her trusted advisor. Scootaloo, could you show them around town?"

"Sure thing!" Getting in motion with a single kick, Scootaloo rode her scooter over to the griffons. "So you're fans of Rainbow Dash too?"

Before the griffons could answer, Rainbow found herself on a small cloud far above Ponyville, Twilight next to her. Or rather, half a foot above the cloud: just far enough to be unable to get her hooves in place or wings out before she belly-flopped onto it. "Oof. Warn a pony before you teleport them." She looked up, irritated - but only for a moment, before seeing Twilight's expression. "Are you okay?"

Twilight smiled, eyes closed, rolling her shoulders and hips as she levitated just above the cloud. "Mmmh~...oh!" Her eyes opened. "Did you say something?"

Rainbow looked at her for a moment, carefully considering the evidence as she pulled herself to a sitting position. "...yeah. Yeah I did. I think you need to lay off the magic for a bit."

"What? Why?" Twilight settled to the cloud, but felt a bit chilly this high up, so whipped up a simple thermal aura to keep her warm.

"Because it's making you act weird." Rainbow reached up to put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, but yanked it away on contact, smoke rising from where she had touched Twilight's aura. "Yow! You feel like you're burning up!"

"I feel just fine." Twilight shook her head: clearly, Rainbow was just being silly. She was quite certain there was no way a thermal aura could actually burn somepony; it was too weak of a spell. "So. You're hosting a pair of refugees, and-"

"Stop changing the subject!"

"This is the subject!" Twilight frowned. "But if you don't want my help, fine." She looked over the cloud's edge.

"Twilight..." Rainbow started to protest, but Twilight's expression signaled that something had caught her eye. Looking over the cloud's side herself, she saw a crowd gathering outside the library. "Huh. I wonder what's going on. They don't look too happy."

"I'll ask."

"Wai-"

In her impatience, Twilight had taken part of the surrounding air with her, transposing it with the air around where she arrived. The pressure difference caused a short breeze directed at her. One paniced thought crossed her mind, and she looked in the direction Rainbow Dash had been in; fortunately, she had only taken a few hairs from Rainbow's mane along. For a moment, she considered that she should be more cautious, then wondered why her heart seemed to be saying it was unimportant, and why Fluttershy was waving a hoof in front of her.

"Umm, Twilight?" Fluttershy, never the bravest of ponies, nervously looked into Twilight's dilated pupils.

Twilight blinked. Right, time to focus outside of her mind. She had arrived right in front of the crowd, many of which she recognized from the meeting she had interrupted earlier. Save for Fluttershy, they were all looking at her from a safe distance. "Yes?"

Fluttershy flinched away. "Oh, good, I was worried we were going to have to carry you or something. Umm. I, well, th-this is kind of hard to say, but..."

Twilight sighed. "You too? Look, I'm fine."

Fluttershy had heard that tone of voice before, far too often. Most of the time it came from animals unable to form words, but the basics were the same, and there was one solution for it. In a blink, Fluttershy switched from timid to assertive, leaning her face toward Twilight's. "You are not fine! You've been scaring a lot of the town lately. We'll ask Celestia for help, but you need to leave town until you're better."

"WHAT?!?" Deep in Twilight's brain, her fight-or-flight response kicked in. It was apparent to all present, from the sudden flaring of Twilight's aura from thin gentle purple to jagged bright white, not to mention how she dug in her rear hooves and aimed her horn at Fluttershy, that "fight" had won out.

Deciding to take the better part of valor, Fluttershy scrambled behind a nearby rock and peeked out. "Please?"

9: My Little Nightmare

Twilight froze. Fluttershy, scared? She had to find the attacker - oh, wait, that was...her. Impossible. Fluttershy could never be scared of her. Unless she threatened Fluttershy. But she wasn't, she had just reacted to-

No. No no nonononoNO this was WRONG she had to STOP!

The other ponies only saw Twilight give Fluttershy a strange look, stammer out a quiet, "Sorry," then run inside the library and slam the door shut behind her.

Despite the situation, Fluttershy very clearly heard Twilight crying. It could fairly be said that Fluttershy's ears were tuned to pick up on distress; indeed, one might say her very soul was like an antenna, picking up on misery in the world that she could banish with simple comfort. Unfortunately, she was fairly certain she had heard the door lock, and even if not, she was a symbol of what had upset Twilight. She knew Twilight bore her no ill will - she had seen enough ponies suddenly realize that they had been out of control to recognize the same look on Twilight, and this was not Twilight's first time but at least she snapped out of this one quickly - but for Fluttershy herself to offer comfort right now would be like hugging a vampire with garlic.

Some of the other ponies gathered looked like they had been having less kind thoughts, perhaps breaking down the door and confronting Twilight. Without even thinking, Fluttershy marched up to the door, lay in front of it, and gave the crowd a measured glance. They hesitated, then began backing off and dispersing, trusting Fluttershy to deal with the situation. Besides, with her in front of the door, the only way in was now barricaded.

For everyone except Rainbow Dash, that is. Having taken the much longer route of actually flying down from the cloud, she had a few moments of eye contact with Fluttershy from much further away than most earth ponies would conceive of social contact, once Fluttershy released the crowd from her gaze and looked up. For pegasi moving at speed, though, communication at range could be vital; their kind recorded a long history of nonverbal forms, including the invention of semaphore. Rainbow and Fluttershy had worked, played, and lived together that the art came naturally to them. Which is to say, Rainbow's grateful smile and Fluttershy's nod in response spoke in barely five seconds what most ponies would have taken minutes to convey. And then Rainbow banked abruptly, entering the library through the window, wondering yet again what the big deal was with doors.

Inside she found Twilight collapsed and bawling on the floor, as Spike looked on in bafflement. Rainbow landed next to Twilight, looked at Spike, and waved one wing toward the kitchen. Spike nervously stepped forward, but a frown, slight lean in his direction, and the barest shake of Rainbow's head got the message across; Spike's next steps were an about-face and leaving. Thus alone with Twilight, Rainbow dropped to the form and wing-hugged - gingerly, making as little actual contact with Twilight's aura as she could, ignoring the tiny lancets of pain whenever said contact occurred.

Twilight attempted to shrink away from it; unfortunately, she was trapped between Rainbow's wing, Rainbow's flank, and the floor. "D-don't touch me!"

"Shh. It's alright." Rainbow began running a hoof through Twilight's mane, smoothing it out, timing her strokes to stay just outside the aura that rippled like water just beneath the mane's surface. "I'm right here. I won't let you go."

"No! Please!" Twilight squirmed. "I, I can't control it! It wanted to HURT Fluttershy! I, I'd never..." She sniffed, then sniffed again, and her eyes shot open. "RAINBOW LET ME GO YOU'RE BURNING!"

Rainbow had noticed smoke rising from where she had contacted the aura. Apparently, Twilight had gotten a whiff of it. "Shh, it's alright."

"NO IT IS NOT ALRIGHT!" Wincing at an unmistakable hiss, whereupon she saw the shadow of Rainbow's wing jerk even though Rainbow's face somehow did not react, Twilight held perfectly still. "How...how bad have I hurt you already?"

Rainbow knew she was not going to be flying for the next hour, at least on that wing. Fortunately, she did not plan to. "It's nothing," she lied.

"Please, let me go," Twilight whimpered. "If I teleported right now I'd probably take your wing off."

"That's not going to happen," Rainbow reassured. "Besides, don't you have other ways to let your magic out?"

"Huh?" Twilight, tears rolling down both cheeks, looked at Rainbow. "...oh. Oh!" Almost as fast as she realized it, she put it into action: eyes flaring white, a subtle shift in the air rippling out from her, and her power now flooded the room. Her aura, now no longer the sole recipient of her magic, now no longer forcibly manifested; with a minor force of will, she dismissed it.

Rainbow immediately pressed her hug, ignoring her lightly seared flesh's protests at being pressed up against Twilight. "Yeah." For a moment Rainbow wondered why she was not aroused this time, but as soon as she put the question to herself she knew the answer: Twilight was not in control. This was just raw, barely constrained magical might, without the direction - or even discretion to use or not use it - that true power required. "Just like that. I've got you, and I'm not letting go until Celestia gets here."

Spike poked his head in. "Celestia's coming?"

Rainbow shot him a look. "Well yeah. You sent her a letter telling her Twilight's magic is out of control, right?"

Spike blinked. "It is? I mean, it's been a while since things were this bad, and Twilight wasn't as powerful back then, but-"

"SPIKE!" Twilight interrupted, the sheer volume abruptly pushing Rainbow's head away. For a moment Twilight feared she had broken Rainbow's neck, when she saw it bending at a more extreme angle than she believed possible, but then Rainbow faced her again smiling easily and all was okay.

Rainbow, for her part, decided not to elaborate out loud on the exact motions she had undergone just then to keep her spine and windpipe intact. A stressed out Twilight was a Twilight more likely to give in to whatever was getting her magic out of control. Saving Twilight from herself was enough reason for Rainbow to lay her life on the line - and she knew well that she was basically flying into a dragon's maw being close to Twilight in this state - but saving all of Ponyville appealed to her too.

Spike had been blown clear out of the room and into a scroll supply cabinet by the shout. "Right, writing and sending a letter now," came his voice, "as soon as I get out from under this pile."

Rainbow cuddled and nuzzled Twilight, rubbing and prodding Twilight's neck with both forehooves to massage the tension away. "So yeah. Don't worry. You'll beat this, you'll see, and I'm staying with you until you do."

Twilight tried to form words, but just as she was about to speak, she found Rainbow's mouth on her own - just a little peck, just long enough to derail her thoughts. She pulled her lips back and looked into Rainbow's eyes, seeing her own face reflected in the twin windows to the pegasus's soul. Realizing that normal speech at this range would blow Rainbow away from her - unacceptable! - she tried whispering. "Thank you." It still echoed, and she could see it blow across Rainbow, each word rippling her friend's sky-and-rainbow hued fur and feathers, but it did not push her friend away.

Rainbow nodded - just a bit, keeping eye contact with Twilight. At least, she hoped she was; the blazing white eyes made it impossible to tell exactly where Twilight was looking. "Don't try to talk. Just relax. Take it easy. Maybe...I don't know, do you think you can nap until Celestia's here? Or even...I dunno, how fast could you talk to Luna if you went to sleep?"

Despite the situation, Twilight could not help but relax under Rainbow's ministrations. She queried her body, which responded enthusiastically in favor of a nap, so she sank to the floor and let her eyelids droop shut. "Talkin' t' the prinzeses mebbe a good..." Twilight yawned, surprised at how tired she felt, barely noticing that she had pulled an entire bookcase of books off their shelves from halfway across the room but resolving to put them away later.

Rainbow yawned as well, the contagion of Twilight's yawn making her feel a bit tired too. "Yeah. Go see Luna. I'll watch over you."

Twilight had been to the moon once, and had studied it in detail via telescope many times. While it was not her home, a dusty, cratered moonscape with only the night sky above was easy to conjure, once she realized she was dreaming. For some reason she was running, looking - oh, right, she needed to meet a pony here. "LUNA! LUNA, WHERE ARE YOU?"

"I am here." The midnight blue alicorn blurred into existence in front of Twilight, as if materializing out of the living night itself. "My sister has just briefed me, and set me to watch in case you slept. Your magic no longer respects your control?"

Twilight heaved a sigh of relief. "Oh, Luna, it's terrible! I tried to copy your trick with your voice, but now I can't close it, and-"

"What trick with my voice?" Luna interrupted, not hiding her sudden worry.

Twilight blinked. "You know, where you put power into it so it echoes? I had to appear formal, like a princess. I wasn't quite sure how to copy Celestia but then I recalled how you did it. You just, open up your soul a bit, let your power out unfiltered, right?" Twilight gestured to the underside of the base of her horn. "With a little notch here, too small for anypony to see, to symbolize and seal it open. It was a little scary at first but it worked but now it won't shut and-"

Luna held up a hoof to stop Twilight's ramble, frowning. "That is a correct enough description. How did you come by this knowledge, and who else now knows it?"

Twilight blinked. "Huh? W-well...I just remembered how your voice felt, and when you were loud I'd felt your magic coming from right here," she gestured to the underside of the base of her horn again, "so I thought about it, and I figured it out, like any spell. I haven't told anypony. Why?"

Luna stared drills into Twilight's eyes. "You. Just. 'Figured it out'. Are you absolutely certain?"

Twilight sat down, eyes widening a bit. "Yes? I do that a lot. It's, well, part of my special talent."

Luna sat down as well. "I see. That makes sense." She broke eye contact, surveying the imaginary moonscape. "Know that you are the first in well over a thousand years to figure it out. As you are now experiencing, it is highly dangerous. You must tell NOPONY of this spell."

Twilight imagined Luna's banishment while Luna was under the effects of the spell, and winced at how much more difficult that must have made it for Celestia to banish Luna. "Alright. So just you, me, and Celest-"

"NOPONY!" Luna snapped back to staring into Twilight's eyes. "ESPECIALLY not mine sister, and I will tell you why. I discovered this spell out of desperation for power. I wanted more, needed more, to receive the adulation Tia reveled in. I opened myself up - and my greed, my loneliness, my...anxiety, you would term it - they answered and congealed. They formed what we now term the Nightmare, and proceeded to imprison me within my own mind. Tia could not tell, and had no choice but to banish me. They were still in control a thousand years later upon my return; it was only thanks to your efforts that I was finally freed. Your own aspect has likewise answered, but you do not yet yearn as desperately as I did, so it does not control you as thoroughly. In all those years mine sister has never been able to rediscover what I did, and for that I am grateful. Time and again, Equestria has been under dire threat, and there were many times when I fear dear Tia might have succumbed to temptation. Even now, she might attempt it in order to counter your power, if she but knew how. As she does not, she will make do with lesser measures - more difficult in the near term, but ones which will leave her alive and sane tomorrow."

Twilight worked her shoulders. She was starting to feel warm. Maybe Rainbow was cuddling her back in the waking world? "Not even Celestia? Surely she could contr-"

"Nightmare Celestia."

Twilight's mouth hung open mid-word.

Luna regarded Twilight with a cool expression. "That is something that neither Equestria, nor you and I personally, can afford to gamble upon. No, this secret must stay between you and me." She sighed. "Even now she races to your aid. Your assistant did not specify your location but we guessed Ponyville."

Twilight closed her mouth and nodded. "I'm in the library."

Luna smiled. "'Twould be safer for you to be well away from Ponyville, but a place where none will disturb you is good enough. Spike knows to stay away for his own safety, presumably, and I doubt anypony save mine sister will approach you in your current state."

Twilight returned the smile. "Yeah, it's just me and Rainbow. There were some ponies outside but-"

Luna's smile vanished.

Twilight blinked. "Is something wrong? Rainbow won't leave my side."

Luna began turning around. "My sincere apologies that I must do this," she hissed, "but you must leave her side posthaste."

"Why? She-" Twilight did not get in another word before Luna bucked her out of her own dream.

Fluttershy would never forget that scream.

Equal parts surprise, anguish, and sorrow, it represented many of the things she stood against. It was the sound of ultimate suffering, of grief and loss far greater than its maker had experienced before. Being the caretaker of many short-lived animals meant she had heard it more than once, as each new generation did not have the painful memories their ancestors had accumulated. Fluttershy wondered if the scream, boosted by magic, was audible in Canterlot; only the library's thick door saved her from hearing loss, as the source was but a few feet on the far side. And she knew the source: Twilight's voice was unmistakable, even if Fluttershy had never heard that tone from her before and hoped never to again.

She had been lightly dozing in front of the door, a living supplement to the barrier keeping those inside the library apart from those outside. Fluttershy supposed she had been guarding in both directions, though she thought she had heard a yawn or two from inside, which made her drowsy. She had been dreaming of Rarity - or was it Pinkie, or maybe Rarikie; the dream was indistinct - dressing her in a faux military uniform when the scream jolted her to full wakefulness. As soon as she collected her wits, she opened the door, then averted her eyes at the bright display within.

Slowly she looked back in as her eyes adjusted. What was presumably Twilight - an alicorn-shaped glow of pure power, not quite as bright as the sun but still not something to look at directly so Fluttershy used her peripheral vision - backed away from what looked like a coal-black earth pony with costume-like skeletal wings, no mane, and merely the nub of a tail. Only the cutie mark - singed to monochrome but still present - let Fluttershy identify Rainbow Dash.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy, or so Fluttershy suspected. It was difficult to make out details on the blazing white profile, but the subtle feeling of a commanding presence suddenly washed over Fluttershy, intense enough that every fiber of her being screamed that she needed to run away and hide.

"help...please..." Twilight's voice was simultaneously the loudest and softest that Fluttershy had ever heard.

Fluttershy internally stared down those fibers. Rainbow was hurt, and Twilight was begging as best she could. Of course Twilight could not pick up Rainbow like this; even telekinesis might be dangerous. So Fluttershy charged in, scooped up her burnt friend, and then got to flying away as fast as she could.

As she fled the library, the light winked out behind Fluttershy. She had hoped Twilight would teleport away, to somewhere near enough to find her but far enough away to keep Ponyville safe. She was just wondering where exactly Twilight had gone to, when a giant column of light erupted out of the Everfree Forest. Moments later, the shockwave of the column's formation sent Fluttershy spinning; she would have dropped Rainbow save for her death grip on her friend. Taking just a moment to note Twilight's new location, and to glance up - had something been in the sky when the column formed? She did not see anything but light there now - Fluttershy continued on to the nearest thing Ponyville had to a hospital.

10: Loyalty

Rainbow was too familiar with that white ceiling.

Ponyville was too small to have a proper hospital, but it did have a clinic. It had originally been a house much like most others in Ponyville, and was still easily mistaken for one at first glance: the only external sign was its all-white paint, and the sign hanging over its door: red-on-white staff with a snake twisted around it, a representation of the doctor's cutie mark, allegedly earned by squeezing the venom out from a badly poisoned pony. It was not far from the train station, so the most severely injured ponies could be ferried to Canterlot's hospitals after the clinic stabilized them for transport. Rainbow Dash was quite familiar with the clinic's layout, from what some ponies said was too many visits. All treatment areas and patient bedrooms were on the ground floor, so injured ponies could be carried in on stretchers without having to navigate stairs; this left the doctor's quarters and living area, along with tool and drug storage, crammed into the upper floor.

And the ceilings were a shade of white that Rainbow Dash found mildly oppressive, but instantly recognizable. Thus it was that, upon opening her eyes, she knew exactly where she was. Perhaps she had woken up like this too frequently.

This time, though, there was irritating synthetic whine, a monotone she could not quite place. She struggled to place it - didn't that machine beep? - and turned her head toward the sound. She recognized the box, but where it used to display a line broken by jagged ups and downs, now it just displayed a flat line. Figuring it must be broken, she pulled off the leads connecting it to her...

...or tried to. Her limbs refused to move. Glancing down at her body, she found her once-beautiful sky-blue coat was now charred black. Even her wings were void of feathers, and she no longer felt her mane on the back of her neck.

So she was a little crispy, and would not be flying any time soon. That did not matter. Twilight needed her.

She focused on getting her legs to move. At first it felt like she was sliding her legs into her legs, like her body was one big glove, but eventually they responded. Peeling off the sticky circles that attached wires from the machine to her skin, she tumbled out of bed, landing on her belly. Her body was stiff and unresponsive, but apparently the doctor had given her one of his potent anesthetics, for she felt no pain. While struggling to get upright, she noticed she had left ash on the bed where she had rested. Leaving a trail of ash would not do - she was no Rarity, but neither was she a total slob - so she shook herself to dislodge the char covering her, and to reacquaint herself with some of her muscles. That done, she managed a slow trot out of the room.

Across the hall was another bedroom, this one with many ponies inside. Rainbow stopped to try to peer through the crowd to see the patient; she could only glimpse a mane striped in pastel colors, but the stars twinkling in it identified Celestia well enough. For a moment she wondered why Celestia would be recovering here, and considered if maybe Celestia was just visiting the patient, but that mane was definitely in the bed and her being the patient would explain the crowd.

Aside from herself, only two other ponies were in the hall: Fluttershy, lying asleep across two chairs with one of the most miserable expressions Rainbow had ever seen, and Pinkie, gently stroking Fluttershy's mane. Pinkie must have heard Rainbow emerge, for she chose that moment to look up and grin at Rainbow. "I knew it," she whispered. "Everypony said I was in denial but I knew you wouldn't let Twilight down."

Rainbow had a hard time forming a response. But this was Pinkie Pie she was not-quite-speaking to; Rainbow chalked that up to Pinkie being Pinkie, though that did not feel like the entire truth.

Pinkie looked at Fluttershy and continued to whisper, "Fluttershy cried herself to sleep, you know. I...I didn't want them upset for nothing. I told them to have faith. They wouldn't believe me. But you'll show them, won't you?" She looked at Rainbow again. "Twilight's in the forest. Just go outside and you'll see. But...please, promise me. Once you've saved her, stick around. Fluttershy needs her longest bestest friend. We all need you. Whatever's driving you to Twilight, let it drive you to all of us. Pleeease, Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow realized what was off: Pinkie's smile was forced, a fake that looked just plain wrong on Pinkie now that Rainbow recognized it. In Pinkie's eyes Rainbow saw fear - of what, Rainbow had no idea, but whatever could shake Pinkie's eternal cheer had to be quite terrible. At an even further loss for words, Rainbow simply nodded.

"Thank you," Pinkie exhaled, and Rainbow could see some of the joy return to Pinkie's eyes. "Fluttershy needs to rest a bit more, and Applejack and Rarity are convincing the guards it was just an accident. I'll lead them to you when they're ready." She pointed to the front door. "Now go on, Twilight's waiting for you."

Still unsure what Pinkie was talking about, Rainbow headed out the door and looked toward the Everfree Forest. A bright column of light - white at its core, fading to Twilight-lavender at its sides - blazed straight up out of the woods as if it had always occupied that portion of the sky, going as far up as Rainbow cared to look, already as big across as a house and slowly growing.

Rainbow's mind snapped back to her last memory before waking up. Twilight had suddenly started glowing again, looking like she was about to explode. Rainbow tried hugging her with both wings and her whole body, hoping she could through sheer willpower contain the Twilight-explosion in close enough to a Twilight shape that Twilight would survive. It hurt like nothing Rainbow had ever experienced before; judging by her current condition, she had been burned alive and must have fainted from the pain. Rainbow grimaced: letting mere pain knock her out was something she might never live down.

Hugging Twilight must have worked, because Twilight was obviously still alive, and venting power through that column. It also marked her location, so Rainbow headed for the light.

Walking was lame.

Rainbow knew that intellectually, but rarely had a chance to become acquainted with just how lame it was. Anywhere she could walk she could fly, and often much faster unless she was holding back to keep pace with her friends. Even in confined places like tunnels and caves, so long as there was enough room to flap her wings, she could fly. Sometimes if she was in the middle of a lot of ponies she would walk, but in those cases it was about being part of a crowd, and speed really was not an issue. She still remembered a few incidents as a foal where she had tried to fly right up from sitting in a crowd, only for her wings to bump into the ponies next to her. There had been a few times where her wings had been clipped, or otherwise she was temporarily unable to fly, but they rarely lasted long.

Maybe Twilight could fix her wings, after she helped Twilight.

That thought drove her forward. Few ponies saw her as she trudged through town. For some reason, every single one of them looked at her with the same wide-eyed expression. None of them screamed, but at least two simply fainted. Rainbow knew she was awesome, but soon decided that ponies fainting just from gazing upon her awesomeness could be a problem. (Rainbow tried not to refer to her own qualities as "magnificence" ever since Trixie had ruined that word.)

At least it meant nopony tried to stop her from getting to Twilight.

She tried running, but it took willpower just to get her legs to walk correctly. At least it was some motion, but she wondered why she felt so stiff. It only mattered because it kept her from reaching Twilight faster, but Rainbow figured the time it would take to figure it out would exceed the time it would take her to reach Twilight by walking. So, she kept walking.

Walking was seriously lame, Rainbow decided as she finally reached the edge of the forest.

Finally, after far too long - over ten minutes, not that Rainbow kept track but she figured it was somewhere between ten and fifty - Rainbow came into sight of Twilight. Now things would get tricky.

What had once been a densely wooded area was now blasted clear. The light column expanded from a cone emanating from Twilight's horn; everything underneath it was down to short stumps or bare dirt. Twilight herself was a miserable lump of glowing alicorn, lying down and sobbing. Rainbow knew she would go blind if she looked too closely at the glow, and she could feel Twilight's power radiating like a force of nature. To approach beyond the edge of the clearing was, Rainbow suspected, to get ground into nothing.

But Twilight needed her.

Desperation sparked plan after plan. Rainbow was not even a unicorn; magic power was beyond her - aside from the magic of her wings, currently unusable. There were no convenient artifacts in sight. Twilight could not simply shut off her power: that was the whole problem in the first place. Her power completely filled the area, leaving no niches or cracks through which to tumble and dodge even if Rainbow's body had been up for acrobatics. And no other ponies were nearby...

"What in the HAY?!?"

...had been nearby, Rainbow corrected herself as she turned around and saw Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy approach, lead by Pinkie Pie.

"Rainbow Dash," Applejack continued, "that, uh, IS you, right?"

Rainbow tried to reply, but when she opened her mouth, no sound came out. So she just nodded.

"Hehe, tooold yooou," Pinkie giggled. "Rainbow Dash wouldn't even let THAT stop her."

Rarity gave Pinkie a flat look. "Much as I admire your faith in her, you do have to admit, this is a bit much."

Pinkie smiled and shook her head. "Nopity nope! Not for her it's not!"

Finally Rainbow found out why her voice was not working: no air was in her lungs. Had she forgotten to breathe since...she thought for a moment...since waking up at the clinic? Putting that thought aside, she inhaled and spoke. "Whaaat'sss the prooobleeem?" Rainbow frowned: her voice sounded a bit raspy, as if something was in her throat, but her reflexes were not prompting her to gag or cough. They, like her pain sense, were still silent.

Fluttershy hovered up to her and landed by her side, being careful not to look in Twilight's direction. "You, umm, kind of...died."

Rainbow blinked. "Ohhh." That would explain a few things. She patted her chest and found no heartbeat. Dying was cooler than fainting from pain, she supposed. She could live with that on her record.

Pinkie grinned. "Yeah! I knew you'd be back soon 'cause Twilight was still out here so it wasn't like it was time for your goodbye party! Now don't forget your promise!"

Rarity blinked. "Her...promise? Wait, did she promise you she'd survive and THAT was all it took? Twilight said something about how you'd invented a promise magic..."

"Nah." Pinkie hopped up next to Rainbow and kicked a leaf into the clearing, noting how quickly it burnt and withered to nothing. "Well, not before she died. When I saw her walk out of her room I made her promise she'd stick around for each of us. It wasn't quiiite a Pinkie Promise, but I'm not sure crossing a stopped heart still counts. Don't tell her she could still weasel out of it, alright?"

"The thought had not crossed my mind." Choosing not to comment that Pinkie had just told Rainbow herself, Rarity frowned at the leaf's sudden fate: her coat would be ruined in the blink of an eye were she to cross the threshold, though she supposed she would not survive to suffer the indignity of looking like Rainbow's current state for more than a minute or so. "So, Rainbow Dash, I assume you have a plan?"

"Naaap ooon iiit."

Applejack blinked. "Come again?"

Rainbow tuned her friends out, letting her mind drift. She could feel her connection to her body slipping, and knew instinctively that if she let go entirely there would be no coming back, that her soul would go wherever the souls of the dead pass on to. But so long as she had some connection, she could dream, and in her dreams...

"Well done," came Luna's voice. "Now Twilight, let me guide you through mend...you're not Twilight."

"No kidding I'm not the egghead." Rainbow's mental voice was as clear and unraspy as ever, not hobbled by details like having to actually speak.

"But...how? Did Twilight teach you this technique?"

"Ha! No, I figured it out on my own," Rainbow retorted. "I figured you could speak in daydreams if there was really a reason to. So here I am, half-asleep, half-awake. Think you can help me fix the mess Twilight's gotten herself into?"

Luna took a few seconds to reply. "I sense there is something else..."

"Okay, okay, I'm only half-alive too. Well, apparently not even half. Doesn't matter. You gonna help me or not?" Rainbow imagined herself shooting Luna an annoyed look.

"You would risk what existence you have left just to contact me in this manner?"

"Duh." Rainbow mentally shrugged.

"And there will be no talking you out of it. Very well, we have no time to debate. I shall aid you. Unfortunately I am required to remain in Canterlot while mine sister recuperates. Apparently Twilight was unaware of how fast Tia sped to her aid, and her signal accidentally hit Tia. Were it any other pony, they would be dead, but mine sister has many protections. I shall handle sunset today; Tia should wake and fully recover with the dawn tomorrow. But I can use this link to target spells. Give me a moment to prepare a shield for you."

Rainbow turned to face Twilight, still tuning out her friends' yammering. She did notice their voices raise in alarm as she began stepping toward Twilight, but at the same time her vision went dark blue - no, she was suddenly seeing through a blue aura: Luna's shield, which now took the brunt of Twilight's power. Rainbow experimentally stepped into the clearing and checked her body, which did not seem to be suddenly withering away, though the shield in front of her constantly flared and cracked and regrew.

"Hurry...brave pegasus...I can not long maintain..." Luna's voice carried her strain clearly.

Rainbow moved forward, as fast as her legs and the shield would allow. It took a full minute to cross the clearing and reach Twilight's side; by then, Rainbow had slunk low and was crawling to stay under the column of light.

"Good. Now...underneath her horn, where it meets the skull. You will find a notch. You need to seal it."

Rainbow looked close. The shield blocked out most of Twilight's glow, but it was all Rainbow could do just to make out the general location of Twilight's horn. "What kind of seal?"

"Symbolic. Anything will do, so long as Twilight's soul accepts it. Is there anything nearby that would work?"

Rainbow grinned. "Yeah. Yeah, I think I know just the thing. Can you make the shield skin-tight?"

"I can, but it will not last long." Luna molded the shield, contouring it along Rainbow's form. Sure enough, it began withering away faster than it regenerated. "Whatever you are planning, make it quick."

Wasting no time on words, Rainbow ducked her head forward, mind picturing Twilight's form and aligning it with what details she could distinguish through the glow, mouth homing in on the base of the horn.

Twilight's magic vanished in an instant, leaving just a purple alicorn.

"I can see from here. The beam has stopped. Rainbow Dash, is Twilight recovered?"

Rainbow looked at the alicorn in front of her, who was now saying something and then their friends ran up and were shouting words back but the part of Rainbow's mind that processed those words was busy dreaming though it sounded like they were discussing something urgent. "Yeah. Yeah, all's cool again."

Luna dismissed her shield. "Then wake and rejoin your friends."

Meaning and sense returned to Rainbow's mind as she followed Luna's command - or tried to. Now that Twilight was safe again, Rainbow did feel tired. Maybe a rest? No, she had promised Pinkie she would stick around. But just staying put was difficult; she could feel her body slipping away.

Twilight's horn glowed, just the normal glow of a normal spell, and she was saying something. Rainbow focused on her ears just in time to hear Twilight babble, "...only mostly dead, basically a ghost possessing her own body, but she's fading fast. I don't know why she's acting like she can't hear us, but I can restart her heart. Stand back, everypony."

Rainbow had been hit by lightning before. She knew the sensation. This was smaller but more precise, and then she felt her heart beating. And something in her throat - she coughed, clearing the ash in there. And then PAIN EVERYWHERE HER EVERYTHING HURT-

Rainbow was too familiar with that white ceiling.

Epilogue: The Saluted Pegasus

Rainbow Dash looked around the hospital room. The bed at her back was just as comfy, yet scentless and sterile-feeling, as she remembered, all white with an ochre comforter tucked over her. The beeping machine was beeping normally. A stand to the right side of her bed held a bag with some sort of clear fluid, which drained through a tube into her right foreleg. A window let in light - just after dawn, apparently - but she knew from experience that it was glued shut to prevent obstinate patients, like herself, from sneaking out. A shelf with medical instruments lined the wall furthest from the room's only door. Next to the door was a poster showing the major differences between unicorn, pegasus, and earth body, as viewed from inside the body. The door swung just a bit, as if somepony was sneaking in, but she could not see anypony pass through; perhaps it had been left ajar. So far, so normal.

Next she took in the not so normal things. On her left, Twilight slept on the stone tile floor next to the bed, under a blanket with a pattern of white cotton rabbit faces on yellow cloth, which Rainbow figured for one of Fluttershy's. Rainbow's body was still blackened, but did not hurt as much; she had played with fire enough to know her blue coat would return before long, and a couple weeks for her mane and tail to regrow to proper sleek-but-fluffiness. Her wings were another matter, now sporting feathers in cream yellow, lavender, orange, and white - likely from Fluttershy, Twilight, Scootaloo, and the two griffons. She was trying to figure out why they would donate feathers when a pair of small figures pounced up from behind the foot of her bed.

"GOOD MORNING RAINBOW-" two voices greeted her mid-jump.

On pure instinct, she bucked her blanket up, intercepting her assailants, then curled up at the head of the bed as the two landed a bit below the middle.

"-MMPH," they concluded, before proceeding to extricate themselves.

Scootaloo got free first, giggling as her head poked out of the blanket. "Did we getcha?"

Bertha, more practical, walked backward out of the folds. Her voice held no less mirth. "Did we get Rainbow Tash?"

Scootaloo frowned and shot Bertha a look. "We talked about that."

Bertha blinked, then worked her mouth. "Sorry. Raiiin booow...Dah, ash." She looked at Scootaloo, who nodded in approval, then Bertha continued, "Make my mowth feew aww funny."

Before Rainbow could reply, the door slammed fully open, showing an irate Beatrix. "Chil-DREN! Stop harassing the sacred hero who has saved us all once again."

"Aww," Scootaloo and Bertha pouted, but complied quickly when Beatrix walked up and raised her claws as if to drag them off herself.

Rainbow shot Beatrix a look while recovering her blanket and snuggling in under it. "Could you tone it down? I'm going to have to get my awesome back before I can..." She blinked. "Wait, all? I just patched up Twilight."

Beatrix inhaled, forming a reply...

"And I wish to know how you did it."

...which died on her beak at Celestia's annoyed tone. Slowly she turned around to see the alicorn filling the doorway.

Twilight, Rainbow noted, could project her presence with a spell, but Celestia was presence incarnate when she chose to be. Rainbow had never heard Celestia get truly angry, but Equestria's principal sovereign could project menace well enough that Rainbow had reason to be grateful her bladder was not particularly full. Averting her gaze, Rainbow saw the other four - Twilight having woken up during the commotion - were having the same reaction, judging by their expressions.

Celestia stepped fully into the room, eyes on Scootaloo and the griffons. "Give us some privacy, please."

Rainbow had to hand it to Scootaloo: the young one could really move when she wanted to. In seconds only Celestia, Twilight, and Rainbow remained in the room.

Celestia kicked the door closed, then whirled on Twilight. "Tell me you're not the Nightmare."

Twilight blinked. "I'm...not the Nightmare?"

Celestia exhaled, letting her tension go. "Thank goodness. I hoped I would never see that spell again. When Spike described it, I hoped he was wrong, but it was a perfect match. I am going to have words with my sister for teaching it to you, but you are never to tell anyone else how it works, not even me. Is that clear?"

"Actually," Twilight responded, "that's what Luna said. She didn't teach me; I figured it out."

Celestia froze, mouth open for a second.

Twilight blushed. "I really wanted to impress a pony...or two." She looked at Rainbow. "But it just kept getting easier to use, wanting to be used, until I couldn't stop it."

"I see." Celestia looked at Rainbow. "And how DID you stop it? I can believe Twilight reverse engineered one of my sister's most powerful spells, but your talents lie elsewhere."

"I know. Luna said I needed to seal it, so..." Rainbow waved a hoof. "I just kissed it and made it better."

Celestia mulled this over, then smiled at Twilight. "So her kisses mean that much to you now?"

Twilight suddenly appeared very interested in the floor, her blush having turned up two degrees.

Rainbow blinked. "Uh...I know my kisses are awesome, but...what's going on?"

Celestia allowed herself a grin, then looked at Rainbow again. "I'm afraid there aren't simple words for this, and that is partly my fault. I have discouraged research into this topic, for fear that others might discover Luna's Nightmare spell. But in short, you are important enough to Twilight that her soul accepted part of yours to fix itself. Think of it like using water to paint over a crack in ice, and now you're frozen together. You might find yourself thinking the same thing more often for a while. You will definitely be sharing dreams..." She half-smiled, half-glared. "...and nightmares. I strongly advise you not to abuse Twilight's trust, for your own sake as well as hers."

"You mean I'll know when she's in danger, so I can swoop in to save the day?" Rainbow grinned.

Celesta smiled approvingly. "That can happen. But she will be facing more powerful threats than you can handle. There will be times when swooping in would only add mourning to whatever challenge she faces."

Rainbow frowned, slid a bit further under the covers, and looked away in silence.

Celestia looked at Twilight, trying to make eye contact with the younger alicorn. It took three tries before Twilight noticed. Attention thus caught, Celestia quickly nodded toward Rainbow, but Twilight just blinked in confusion.

Still looking away from both of them, Rainbow spared Celestia from having to further prod Twilight to ask about it. "I know," the pegasus finally replied, "I'm just a candle to Twilight's bonfire. She's going to do all these awesome things, and...and get more awesome, and more and more. I just..." The hint of a sob crept into Rainbow's voice. "Twilight, I just want to be with you now, while we still have anything in common."

Twilight teleported to the other side of the bed, right where Rainbow was looking, only for Rainbow to point her face away. "Rainbow Dash. Look at me." Twilight waited a few seconds. "Look at me." A few more seconds, then she leaned to the side to put herself in Rainbow's field of view, and gently lay a hoof on Rainbow's chin to prevent Rainbow from looking away again. "I promise you, I'd never leave you behind like that if I can help it. Not now, not ever. Besides, I don't think that's going to happen. We won't always be able to help each other in everything, but you will always be important to me, Rainbow Dash, for the rest of our lives."

Rainbow's eyes widened just a touch. Her heart skipped a beat. Then she hugged Twilight with all her strength, burying her face in Twilight's mane.

"I'll leave you alone." Celestia walked to the door, but stopped one step short. The shadow of a disappointed frown graced her face. "AS WILL OTHER PONIES!" A sudden mad scrambling of hooffalls came from beyond the door. When Celestia opened it a few seconds later, the hallway was empty, with only a few fading dust clouds as evidence of how many had been listening in.

Celestia's order bought Rainbow and Twilight complete privacy until almost noon, when the doctor - a stern-looking snow-white unicorn with red mane and tail - finally finished the paperwork generated by treating a Princess, and decided Celestia would forgive her for intruding upon her other patient. At least Celestia's command had cleared out all the well-wishers and visitors, returning the clinic to blessed peace and quiet. She knocked on the door and peeked in, then cleared her throat at the display in front of her. "Hey! Hey! No spells in here."

"Er! Sorry!" Twilight grinned sheepishly, letting her horn's glow and the corresponding aura over Rainbow fade. "I was a bit out of practice with healing spells, so I figured..."

"Emergency use only," the doctor reminded. "If you overuse them your patients' bodies might get reliant on magical healing. And this is one of the worst places to have a spell malfunction. Or do I need to remind you about yesterday?"

"I'm fine! Seriously! My magic's not getting out on its own."

Sighing, the doctor walked up to her patient and examined. "Rainbow Dash, how are you feeling?"

Rainbow had laid on the covers to let Twilight work her magic, but now rolled off the bed into a standing position, looking at herself. Rather than black she was now dark blue, her fur having started to grow back in. "Good enough to go for a walk." She looked at her wings, which still sported the transplanted feathers. "Nooot quite up to flying yet. Why am I wearing my friends?"

"Your wings were burnt the worst," the doctor noted. "Whatever hurt you..." She glared at Twilight, who guiltily looked away. "...they must have been the closest to it. When you came back - and I have to say, I've never had a patient walk out of here clinically dead before - I could save most of you but your wings would have been a loss without transfusion. Your feathers wouldn't grow back without something to keep the follicles intact until your own feathers return. Your friends were very eager to donate to save your wings. I couldn't say no to any of them. I'd never done a feather transplant before but it wasn't hard, just tedious. Make sure to thank Rarity: she took your left wing while I fixed your right. I guess she found it similar to weaving a dress."

Rainbow flexed her wings. Her left did feel a little smoother and stronger than her right. "I'll do that. But why Rarity, not Twilight?"

Twilight felt the eyes on her - curiosity from Rainbow, accusation mixed with sympathy from the doctor - as if they were burning searchlights. "I...w-well, you see..." She inhaled, held it, then exhaled, but still did not feel calm enough to make eye contact. "I tried to keep my head straight so I could get you to care, but once you were here...a-and seeing what I'd done to Celestia...well..."

The doctor smiled. "I had Fluttershy and Applejack hold her down in the corner. Many ponies wanted her away from the Princess - err, the OTHER Princess, Celestia - but I figured she would be less likely to snap if she could see you. But I wasn't going to trust her with surgery in that state."

"I see." Rainbow grinned. "So did Applejack break out the rope and tie you up?"

"Rainbow Dash!" Smile went to glower on the doctor's face in a heartbeat. "That is not an appropriate-"

"She waits too long once you've calmed down," Rainbow continued, ignoring the doctor's outburst. "Remind me to show you how to slip her knots."

"Thanks, but I just used my magic." Twilight's courage finally restored, she ventured an inviting look at Rainbow. "But if you're offering to tie me up..."

"No way." Rainbow returned Twilight's expression in equal measure. "I like it when you move around."

The doctor facehoofed. "Not. In. My. Clinic. Rainbow, you are discharged. Twilight, PLEASE take her home. Now."

It was the limits of Rainbow's politeness and courtesy that she waited until they were outside the clinic, and the doctor had slammed the door behind them, before laughing. "Did you see the look on her face?"

"Well, it got you out of there. C'mon, doctor's orders, I'm taking you home." Twilight began trotting off.

"My apartment's the other way."

Twilight kept walking.

Rainbow fell into formation behind her. "You're going the wrong way."

Twilight smiled, not looking back, but listening carefully to Rainbow's pace and tone.

"No. Twilight. Please. I...I can't go back there." Rainbow kept walking despite her protests.

Twilight finally stopped. "Look. I know you want to protect Scootaloo. I know you're worried she'll get hurt again trying to get in to see you. But don't you think giving up your house is a little much?"

Rainbow looked at the ground. "I...I dunno. She was hurt bad, Twilight."

"And she's fully recovered now. I talked to her; she promised to use the ladders."

"What ladders?" Rainbow blinked.

"The waterfalls?" Twilight pantomimed a climbing motion. "The ones that evaporate so you can climb up them like clouds?"

"Oh. Oh, yeah! Aheh, of course that's what they're for!"

Twilight gave Rainbow a questioning look.

"Okay, okay, so I never really thought about why Cloudsdale has them. They just looked cool, so I added them to my place. The few times I've had my wings clipped, somepony put in stairs until I could fly again." Rainbow sighed. "Thanks, Twilight. I was starting to miss my house."

Twilight smiled as she resumed walking. "I had your things moved back from that apartment. Although there IS a second reason you might be reluctant. You've got house guests."

"Who...?" Rainbow's mind worked as she followed Twilight around a corner, then winced as she saw her house. "Aww, no, not those two!"

The house itself appeared as Rainbow had left it. The rainbows and waterfalls twinkled in the sunlight, radiant as always. What invited Rainbow's dismay was on the outskirts of the cloud, where a familiar mother-and-child griffon pair were sculpting a cloud statue in an unmistakable likeness of what Rainbow saw in the mirror every day, Bertha using the flat of her sword to smooth out a feather. Beatrix and Bertha paused as they spotted Rainbow approach, hopped down to the ground, and bowed.

Rainbow sighed as she approached. The statue was not bad, but even Rainbow's ego thought having a triple-sized version of herself on display was a bit vain. "Alright, you've seen me. Now can you please go home already?"

Sad eyes were a common sign of upset and pleading, but there were few true masters in Equestria, though many children dabbled in the art. It was said the highest masters were to be found among those few changelings who shunned their hives and integrated with pony society, mixing their emotional sensitivity with malleable appearance. Rainbow just thought of them as "Fluttershy Eyes": Rarity might employ them more often, but her accompanying theatrics dulled the effect. For a moment, Rainbow wondered if Fluttershy had taught the two griffons the expression they now turned in unison upon Rainbow.

"Oh, that's right, no home," Rainbow muttered. "I...look, you can't stay here, okay?"

The eyes continued their pleading stare, shining as if on the verge of tears and unblinking.

"Gaaah!" Rainbow looked away, shielding her face with a wing. "Twilight, DO SOMETHING!"

Twilight chuckled. "They owe you their lives. I can understand them wanting to live with their hero."

"Yeah, yeah." Rainbow peeked through her feathers briefly, saw the griffon eyes still staring at her, and looked away again. "And I owe you my life...oh, hey, that's right! You did bring me back! Umm, I offer you their life debts in payment of mine?"

"Well, normally we don't keep life debts like they do, but in this case I'll make an exception." Twilight stepped forward. "You heard her: your debt belongs to me now. I know you seek refuge. Do you swear, in front of a Princess..." She put her hoof on her chest. "...to live in harmony with the citizens of Equestria, by our laws and decrees?"

Beatrix blinked. "Just like that? You'll let us stay?"

Twilight nodded. "I was planning to. Do you swear?"

"Oh! Yes, yes of course, we swear!" Beatrix placed one foot over her heart and nodded to her daughter, who did the same.

"Then I, Princess Twilight Sparkle, do grant you leave to settle in Equestria." Twilight smiled. "In Cloudsdale."

"Thank you your high-" Beatrix blinked. "What?"

"If anygriffon is out to finish your clan, as you fear, you'll be much better protected there than in Ponyville. I know the weather factories could use strong wings like yours. Besides, that's where Rainbow Dash is from. If you really want to live where she did, you may find such a place there that isn't still owned."

"Nah," Rainbow countered. "Cloudsdale recycles places that aren't being used. Althooough there might still be that one apartment. Ask for Storm Builder. Tell him I sent you. He can hook you up with a place."

Beatrix sighed, eyes downcast. "If we must."

"Hey. HEY!" Rainbow marched forward, put her hoof under Beatrix's beak, and gently pushed up. "Chin up. Twilight's right: you'll like it better there than here."

"And besides," Twilight added, "Cloudsdale moves around. It's not like you'll never see your hero again. But if you want to live in her glory, she was there longer than she's been here." She pulled out a small bag and tossed it to Beatrix. "Here's enough bits for two train tickets. Ask for the Cloudsdale Express; that'll take you near wherever it is now. It should get you there within a day. Before you go, stop by the library and ask Spike to write you a letter of recommendation to the weather factories. Tell him I said it's okay."

Beatrix sighed again, but half-heartedly, unable to suppress a smile. "As you wish." She bowed again, Bertha following in perfect imitation. "I hope we will meet again, Princess, Sah." With that, she took off, accompanied by her daughter.

"That takes care of that." Twilight leaped up to the cloud, only flapping her wings once, then winced. "Err..." She dropped back to the ground. "Here. You climb up; I'll follow."

Rainbow had not noticed, watching the griffons depart. "Hmm? Oh, right, ladders." She walked to where a rainbow spilled over the cloud's side and nearly touched the ground, placed a hoof on the surface, and measured its solidity. "That was cool what you did for them. But you know what's even cooler?"

"What's that?" Twilight watched Rainbow begin to climb.

"She called you 'Princess' and you didn't even flinch." Once Rainbow was sure the rainbow fall would take her weight, she scrambled up to the cloud, then lay down on it and peeked back over the side, trying not to show that even that much effort had her breathing a bit harder. "If kissing you can fix so many problems, I should've started a long time ago."

Twilight looked up and shrugged. "It's what I am. I suppose I'd better get used to it. Just like you need to get used to what you are."

Rainbow blinked. "And what's that?"

Twilight grinned. "Mine." She jumped up in one powerful swoop, grabbed Rainbow as she passed, and winged her way through the front door, the wind of their passage closing the door behind them.