Romp

Chapters

A Lame Revelation
An Awkward Start
A Decent First Run
A Necessary Rematch
A Feeble Mistake
A 'Let's Talk It to Death' Session
An Educated Test
A Haughty Redemption
A Humble Rainbow
A Curious Twilight
A Veritable Playground
A Pegasus' Magic
A Margin of Error
A Memory Once Buried
A Safe Place
A Cold Departure
A Terror Relived
A Shelter from the Storm
A Moment's Reprieve
A Long Night's Work
A Tale Retold
A Walk in the Woods
A Warning
A Jungle Escapade
A Projected Fear
A Decision
A Kaiju Friend
A Briefing
An Argument
An Angry Griffon
A Nightmare
A Final Battle
A Setting Sun
A Morning After
An Alicorn's Might
A Lecture

A Lame Revelation

Twilight sighed as she placed the last of a set of new books on the bottom-most shelves of her castle’s library. She was thankful Princess Celestia had forwarded some new reading material over the previous weeks, alleviating some of the boredom that came with a Cutie Map that seemed inherently unable to offer her a mission.

One of the biggest issues that came with not having regular duties, royal or otherwise, was having too much time to think. And that thought alone seemed almost laughable. How could anypony complain about having too much time to think? That’s ridiculous!

Or, so she initially believed. Against all preconceived notions, she had learned over the weeks that down-time did not always equate to productivity – not even for someone as productive as herself. Instead, much of her time was spent idly skimming through books read some half-dozen times already. And such a bland task left her all too often ruminating on subjects unrelated to the works she perused.

Subjects that were far darker than she cared to admit.

After shoving the final book in place with a grunt, Twilight stood to her full height and stretched her neck, closing her eyes as she soaked in the minor comfort. Peering across the vacant library, she considered what was next on her agenda. Cleaning? Organizing? Maybe she could go ahead and pick out one of the books she just finished sorting.

Yeah, the rest of the castle could wait. After all, given the weeks upon weeks of literally nothing to do every hour of every day of every single week, the place had stayed spotless. Empty. Boring. Dimly lit by—

“Twilight!”

Twilight jolted at the shout of a raspy voice echoing from the hall outside.

“C-coming!” Shaking her head clear of the rambling thoughts, she trotted out into the hall to find Rainbow Dash, shaking herself dry from what appeared to be a storm pouring outside from a nearby stained-glass window.

With a flick of her tail, Rainbow grinned, eyeing the puddle she was now standing in. “Sorry about that. Just got finished with weather duty and figured I’d come hang for a bit. You busy?”

Twilight shook her head as she lit her horn, drying the puddle into vapor. “Not at all. I’m not even sure I know what ‘busy’ means anymore.”

Rainbow tilted her head through the evaporating mist. “Whadya mean?”

Turning to trot back into the library, Twilight said, “It just seems like ever since the Cutie Map appeared, there’s been nothing to do around here. I mean, you and Pinkie got to visit Griffinstone, and now Rarity and Applejack are off to Manehattan.” She stopped within the threshold, looking back at Rainbow. “But what about me?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “What about Fluttershy?”

Twilight blinked. With a sheepish grin, she turned to a nearby chair. “Good point.”

Rainbow hovered over to an adjacent chair and plopped down, fluffing her wings dry. “Well hey, if you’re just bored or whatever, let’s figure out something to do! I mean, I’m done for the day, so…”

“Well…” Twilight’s ears folded back. “Much as I like rainy days, I really would like to go out somewhere and do something, especially since Spike’s asleep. It’d just be nice to get out of this castle for a bit.”

“Yeah, um…” Rainbow ran a hoof through the back of her damp mane. “Afraid this one’s gonna last a while. Ponyville needs a few days’ rain to get all the plants and stuff back into shape. We had to put it off for a bit when we ran low on rain clouds the other week.”

Twilight smirked at the pegasus. “The weather factory still recovering from last winter?”

“Eheh, uh, y-yeah.” Rainbow looked away with a smug expression. “Something like that.”

Twilight giggled before looking over the rest of the library. With another sigh, she slumped in her seat. “Honestly, I’m not sure what there is to do. There’s really not much here other than a bunch of books – and I know you’re not interested in those.”

Rainbow shrugged. “Sorry, I’m all read up on the latest Daring Do, too.”

Twilight nodded. Tapping a hoof to her chin, she mulled over the few options she could think of available to them that Rainbow might like.

Which didn’t take long. In all honesty, she really couldn’t think of anything.

There had only been a few times in the past where the two had spent time together alone. Aside from the occasional adventure or flight lesson, Twilight’s experience with Rainbow one-on-one was still rather limited. It was a thought that occurred to her as both surprising and sad in the moment. Where she found it easy to relate in one fashion or another with her other friends, Rainbow had always been the wild card – quite literally.

Twilight was never one to delve into the more exciting aspects of life like Rainbow. To her, the best place to exercise one’s desire for thrill was through imagination, namely books. It was a safe outlet, as well as a flexible one. Where real-life adventures like battling an Ursa Minor or taking on a tyrannical overlord crystal pony had a finite number of possible outcomes, a good story – and likewise, a good imagination – allows for countless ways to capture excitement. Not to mention nopony actually gets hurt.

“Well,” Rainbow spoke after a bit, “do you have any, like, cool spells or something you could use?”

Twilight tilted her head. “What do you mean?”

“I dunno,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “Maybe you know some kinda spell that’d be fun to use. You're the one who knows that sort of stuff. You tell me.”

“Hmm…” Furrowing her brow, Twilight racked her brain for anything related to magic that might appeal to Rainbow. Knowing the mare, it would have to be something engaging and competitive – that much she was certain of. And that meant it also had to be something they could both partake in at the same time. But what would she enjoy that Rainbow might as well?

Maybe something to do with storytelling? Rainbow certainly likes the Daring Do novels. Perhaps she could find a spell that would immerse them into a synthetic world? Those weren’t all that uncommon from what she understood.

On instinct, Twilight clambered off her seat and walked up to the wall of books surrounding the room. She remembered where she learned the spell that allowed her to jump into Moondancer's book. A rather silly trick that would be fun for maybe a minute, she figured there might be some more interesting spells by the same author.

As Twilight grabbed a smaller tome in her magic from one of the top shelves, Rainbow tilted her head. “Think of something?”

“Maybe.” Twilight levitated the tome with her back to the chair. Once comfortable, she opened the book for both of them to read. “This was one of my favorite spell-books as a filly. It's one of the few I had back then that allowed you to actually transform a living creature into something else.”

“Huh. Sounds kinda neat.” Rainbow narrowed her eyes at the finely crafted lines of arcane spells. “Looks like gibberish to me, though.”

“Well of course,” Twilight said with a giggle. “This book is written in middle-Equestrian, but it contains spells that work off the imaginations of ponies. You can do all sorts of amazing things with some of these spells, like become one with the ink of a book.”

Rainbow scrunched her muzzle. “Why would somepony want to do that?”

Twilight smirked, though she kept her focus on the book afloat. “It came in handy once.”

For the next minute, Twilight silently perused the book, looking for something that might be exciting enough for Rainbow, and entertaining enough for herself. She flipped to one page in particular and noticed the parchment seemed thicker than usual. Squinting a little with the effort, she finessed her magic along the edges of the page and found that two had stuck together. She carefully lay the pages flat, then leaned forward to examine the lines.

Her eyes widened when she realized that all her time as a filly, she had never once read this spell. “How did I miss this?” she whispered in awe.

“Hm?” Rainbow looked between Twilight and the book. “You mean, you've never seen this page before?”

“No… no, I haven't.” A tiny smile crept upon the alicorn's muzzle as she relished the influx of new information, blending with a touch of nostalgia.

But as she continued to read the spell, her smile faltered. The spell was, for all intents and purposes, designed to allow a pony to dive directly into the visual, audible, and haptic elements of a pony’s imagination. And strangely enough, that was exactly what she was looking for. “No way…”

Rainbow bit her lip, fidgeting her wings. “Well? C'mon! Is it any good?”

“Y-yes, I… I think we can use this.” Skimming a couple more lines, she collected her thoughts and looked at Rainbow. “Have you ever wanted to make your dreams come to life?”

Rainbow blinked. “You mean, kinda like when we helped Luna with the Tantibus?”

“Something like that, yes.” Twilight smiled with eager eyes. “This spell allows two ponies to dive into a sort of 'dream-like' realm shared between each other. While it's not exactly dream-related magic, it does allow the spellcaster and one other pony to immerse themselves into the world of either pony's imagination. No one can get hurt in the process, but the sensations you experience seem completely real while you're in their imagination.”

That seemed to catch Rainbow's attention. Her eyes widened with a smile of her own. “Whoa. You mean we could, like, make our own Daring Do adventures?!”

“Yes!” Twilight chirped with a bounce. “Imagine it! Anything we could think of, we could do as if it were really happening!” She glanced over at the floating tome and added, “While the spell doesn't last beyond a few minutes, it appears to be relatively easy to use.” She turned back to Rainbow with an arched eyebrow. “Sound like fun?”

Rainbow reared back in her seat and threw her hooves in the air. “Totally! Awesome-amazing Daring Do originals coming right up! Hah!”

With a firm thud, Twilight closed the tome and levitated it to a writing nook. Climbing off her seat, she said, “Alright, since this will be my first time casting this spell, it might be a bit rough at first. Plus, we need to choose who's going to lead the imagination first.”

“Ooh, let me go first,” Rainbow said as she stood up. “I seriously got all sorts of awesome ideas for a Daring Do and the Crystal Gauntlet spinoff.”

Twilight chuckled, lifting a hoof in protest. “Now hang on, who was it that introduced you to those novels in the first place?”

“Awh, c'mon,” Rainbow whined with a pout, “does that even matter?”

“Well, no.” Stifling a giggle with a hoof, she said, “Alright, look, I promise after a test-run, I’ll let you try out your idea. Fair enough?”

Rainbow scoffed, hanging her head in defeat. “Fine, whatever. So, what boring idea do you want to go with?”

Twilight huffed, turning to the center of the room. “I'm not that boring… well, maybe here recently, but that's not my fault!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow drawled as she cantered beside her. “I bet you're not even into anything cool other than Daring Do, are ya?”

“Of course I am! As a matter of fact, I… u-um…”

“See? That's, like, the only thing you ever mention. Cool as she is, there’s still other stuff that—”

Rainbow paused. Blinking, she watched as Twilight's ears drooped, her eyes averted with a strange, scared look to them.

“Twilight?” She took a step forward. “Hey. I'm sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your—”

“No.” Twilight lifted a hoof. “It's… actually not that at all.”

Rainbow tilted her head curiously.

For a moment, Twilight stood, mulling over a certain idea in her mind. It was something she had never expressed interest in to anypony other than herself. And even then, when she first discovered her desire, she had all but drowned the prospect under a mountain of intellectual pursuits out of both embarrassment and fear. It was the one and only thing she could think of that pulled at her primal instincts – sometimes at night, and always during intense bouts of boredom. It was also the one thing she never intended to reveal to others.

And yet, it might be just exciting enough for Rainbow.

Drawing a deep breath, Twilight lifted her head and looked at the mare. “What do you think of monsters?”

“Monsters?” Rainbow repeated, staring at Twilight with a confused expression.

“Yes, monsters. Or actually, a specific kind.”

“Uh… okay?” Rainbow smirked. “You mean timberwolves, ursas, wh–”

“Giants,” Twilight muttered, staring nervously into her friend’s magenta eyes.

Rainbow blinked. “You mean… giant ponies? Like, from old horror stories and stuff?”

“More or less.” Sighing, Twilight sat in the center of the library’s rug, facing Rainbow. “It's one of the few 'scary' things I guess you could say that I actually… you know… sort of…”

“Dig?” Rainbow said with a flat expression.

Twilight gulped. “Uh, y-yeah. I guess you could… yeah.” Clearing her throat, she continued. “Would you be interested in maybe… fighting against a giant pony, or…?”

“Well, when you put it in a lame way like that…” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “But no. That sounds… uh, cool I guess. I had no idea you were into anything like that.” With a shrug, she added, “Isn’t exactly what I would call scary, but it does sound like a challenge. And I'm always up for that.”

“Oh.” Twilight exhaled, releasing a bit of tension. “That's great! I mean, I was afraid the idea would seem silly, but—”

“Hey, look.” Rainbow walked up to Twilight and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “I know I get onto you about the egghead stuff all the time, but really? I think some of your ideas are pretty cool. I mean, you were the one who got me into Daring Do after all.”

Twilight giggled softly and smiled. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. That actually means a lot.”

“No sweat.” Dropping her hoof to the floor, Rainbow grinned. “So, let's kick some giant pony tail, then!”

“Oh, well, actually,” Twilight started nonchalantly, “I was kind of thinking one of us could play the giant pony, and the other could be the combatant!”

Rainbow's expression faltered. “Uh… er, w-wait. You mean… you want one of us to…?”

Hoofing at the rug beneath them with her eyes turned down, Twilight muttered, “Well, I was hoping maybe… I could play the big pony?”

Rainbow blinked.

Rainbow stared.

Then Rainbow cackled.

“Baaahahahaha!” The pegasus fell flat on her back against the rug, clutching at her stomach with her hooves. “Okay, I take it back, I take it back! That's gotta be the lamest thing I've ever heard! Twilight? Fight me?!” Rainbow continued in a fit of laughter before she added, “That’s the funniest thing you’ve ever said! I mean, giant pony or not, there’s no way you could ever—”

“I wouldn't talk down to me if I were you,” a voice suddenly boomed from all around.

Rainbow's raspy voice shattered in her throat. She watched Twilight's horn burn with a violet, violent glow, before the pegasus was enshrouded by her towering shadow.

An Awkward Start

Without warning, Rainbow Dash was engulfed in a blinding white light, paired with the whistle of magic all around her. She screwed her eyes shut and shielded them with a fetlock, gritting her teeth as she waited for the tumult to subside.

And within a few seconds, it did. Once the light faded from beyond Rainbow’s eyelids, she squinted over the brim of her hoof.

All the world was white. Not a blinding white, but an empty vastness of pure, clean white, from the ground to what she could only assume was the sky. She tapped the ground beneath her, eliciting the muffled sound of hoof against padding. Although the ground didn’t feel soft per se, it wasn’t hard either. It was a strange sensation, similar to how a cloud would feel under hoof, but not quite the same. Furrowing her brow, she looked around at the emptiness surrounding her, before turning completely around.

She blinked at the wall of lavender suddenly filling her vision.

“Wh-wha?” Craning her neck slowly upward, she followed the wall up to the base of a large, round… something. She motioned to take a step back, tilting her head all the way up.

She stopped mid-step, hoof frozen in the air, as her wide eyes met with Twilight’s far larger ones some several stories above her.

Twilight smirked as she looked down at the tiny pegasus. Craning her head lower, she said, “Still think it’s funny?”

Rainbow Dash winced at the volume of Twilight’s voice, vibrating the bones and tendons in her body as her blood chilled with fear. The sensation was wholly unfamiliar to her – Rainbow Dash wasn’t scared of anything! At least, not anything as simple as this. But as the muscles in her legs begged to give under the weight of terror, she decided it might be best to bail on the whole idea.

She wasn’t about to let on she was scared, of course. Not if she could help it.

Finishing her step back, she shouted, “Alright Twi, this is cool and all, but maybe this isn’t such a good idea.” She turned her back on the giant alicorn and began trotting forward—

Only to have a massive hoof slam down in front of her.

Rainbow Dash jolted from the tremendous thud, and most of all, the closeness at which the huge thing just landed. She clenched every muscle in her body to stifle the tremors welling beneath her coat. With a slight shudder, she looked up.

Twilight stood directly overhead – one hoof planted firmly in front of her – and craned her head down close. With a narrowed eye, she smirked once more. “What’s the matter, Rainbow?” she said with a soft voice, though the volume still reverberated through the pegasus’ ears. “Don’t tell me you’re scared of an egghead like me.”

Rainbow gulped. Knitting her brow, she looked Twilight straight on. “Wh-who said anything about being scared? I’m not scared!”

Twilight tilted her head with a cocked eyebrow. “Then why are you shaking?”

Somehow, Rainbow managed to tighten the tendons in her legs and wings even tighter, freezing the jitters that had managed to reveal themselves. “Hey, I’m not scared! I’m just, uh… having some issues with the spell! Yeah!” She ran a hoof through the back of her mane with a nervous chuckle and glanced away. “Well, looks like we better call this off. Wouldn’t want anypony to get hurt here, r-right?”

For a moment, Rainbow stood stock still beneath the mare, shallow breaths filling and escaping her lungs in rapid fashion. Then, Twilight exhaled, breathing warm air all across Rainbow’s body. She couldn’t help but shiver at the strange sensation, though she noticed out of her periphery Twilight’s hoof lifting up and away.

Taking a step back from Rainbow, Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry, Rainbow,” she spoke with barely a whisper. “I didn’t mean to drag you into something you’re uncomfortable with.”

Rainbow blinked, flicking her ears back at the far quieter voice. After a few seconds, she turned around to find Twilight a few hooves away, sitting with her back to her.

And more importantly, she was back to her normal size.

With a muted sigh, Rainbow let bleed the nervousness that had flooded her system. On tense hooves, she slowly cantered up beside Twilight. “I-it’s not that, I swear,” she said with a warbly voice. Gulping to calm her nerves, she continued. “I’m just having side-effects or something, that’s all!”

Twilight glanced over at the pegasus with a flat expression. “I know better than that. This spell is completely safe for all ponies ages four and up.”

Rainbow made a face. “There’s an age rating system for spells?”

“That’s not the point,” Twilight retorted with a roll of her eyes. Looking away, she said, “I just wanted us to do something new that we would both enjoy. I know you’re really into exciting, action-packed stuff, and much as I like the idea of doing something Daring Do-related, I just… wanted to try something unique.” She shivered slightly as she turned further away. With an even quieter voice, she mumbled, “I’ve never told anyone that I like this sort of thing either, so it’s just… a little embarrassing to have someone laugh at you, then try to shirk it off… y’know?”

Rainbow’s ears folded. With just a bit of hesitation, she cantered closer and gently placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Twi… I’m sorry.”

Twilight sniffled, her ears drooping as she glanced over at the hoof touching her.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass you. Honest.” Rainbow rubbed her hoof against the mare’s withers. “I had no idea this was that big a deal to you.”

Twilight slumped a little as she looked away again. “We don’t get to spend a lot of time together, just the two of us. And most of the times we have seem like they’re either boring for you, or scary for me. I just want to do something for once that’s fun for both of us. And…”

Rainbow tilted her head. “And?”

Twilight sniffled again. She looked back at Rainbow, her eyes welling slightly with tears. “I know this probably sounds strange, but… I look up to you, Rainbow. In a lot of ways.”

Rainbow blinked. Hard. “You do?”

“Mhmm,” Twilight hummed with a nod. “You’re one of the bravest ponies I know. The way you face villains, it’s like you’re having fun with it. And I…” She chuckled lightly. “I can do it, of course. But it’s still terrifying sometimes, especially when…” She gulped. “When it’s with someone big.”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “I don’t get it. What exactly does that have to do with any of this?”

Twilight closed her eyes, willing her tears away. After a moment, she turned around to face Rainbow. She rubbed a hoof across her eyes before looking at Rainbow with a nervous expression. “When I was younger, right around when I entered the first grade tier at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, I started having these… dreams.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow sat down. “What were they about?”

“About…” Twilight glanced away and muttered, “Well, giant ponies.” With a huff, she continued. “All I know is at first, they frightened me. A lot. But later, I had a dream that I was one.” Her expression softened as she stared out at the empty white surrounding them. “The feeling of having that much power… of being in control of everything around me… it was exciting. Thrilling. I loved the sensation… but the dreams were always so short. They never lasted as long as the scary ones, and it was because of those that creatures like Tirek are so…” She sighed, then chucked bitterly as she added, “Of course, I never told anypony about any of this, and I do my best to never let it show. I mean, it’s weird and doesn't make any sense, right?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Well, it’s different, that’s for sure.”

Twilight looked back at Rainbow, gesturing with her hooves. “See what I mean?” She exhaled as she looked at the ground between them. “I just figured… maybe I could actually try living that dream with someone. Do something I consider exciting with one of my best friends, and… maybe get over one of my fears at the same time.”

“I still don’t get it, though,” Rainbow said as she furrowed her brow. “Why would you tell me about something like this? I’m surprised you’re not more comfortable with someone like Rarity or Applejack.” She leaned down with a friendly smirk, meeting Twilight’s eyes. “I get the whole brave stuff and what-not. But it’s gotta take a lot of guts to admit something like this for the first time.” Her expression softened as she said, “So why me?”

Twilight looked into Rainbow’s eyes. Already, she could feel her tears beginning to return. She wasn’t about to reveal anything deeper at this juncture, so wiping a hoof across her eyes, she glanced away and muttered, “You’re a good friend, Rainbow. I trust you. Probably more than you know. So… I figured I would share this with you.”

And with that, Rainbow leaned back, sighing as she let sink in the realization of what her friend was sharing. What she thought to be a simple, friendly, albeit strange gesture on Twilight’s part had far more weight behind it than she originally realized. To think that Twilight was actually revealing a secret part of herself? Although the circumstances were odd at best, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know the mare. She had been close with Twilight for a long time now, and though she was right – they rarely spent time alone together – she had always held a lot of respect for her friend.

Well, okay, that was a bit of an understatement. But she wasn’t about to let on just how much she actually cared.

Shaking free her thoughts, Rainbow sat upright. One thing she still wasn’t sure about was whether or not Twilight could actually bring herself to follow through with this idea. What she was suggesting sounded almost like play-wrestling, if she had any inclination as to what Twilight wanted. And that only added to the strangeness of the whole thing, considering she hadn’t done that with anyone since she was a young filly.

Then again, there were those brawls she had with the colts back in flight school. Of course, that was on a completely different level. It’s one thing to fight because someone bullies you around. It’s quite another to force yourself to hurt someone you’re not even upset at. And knowing Twilight, she had probably never been in a fight of that kind in her life. Could she really bring herself to hurt a friend, even if it’s just in their imagination? Could Rainbow do the same?

Well, there was no way of knowing for sure until they gave it a shot, and she wasn’t about to try the ‘let’s talk it to death’ method that Twilight so dearly seemed to love. Besides, it was clear now just how much this meant to her. Weird or not, Rainbow wasn’t about to let down her friend. Especially not after she had shared something private like this.

Throwing together a makeshift plan in her mind, Rainbow drew a deep breath, then smiled her bravest smile. “Alright, listen up Princess.”

Twilight blinked, turning her head back toward the pegasus.

“First off, you’re right. I am brave. In fact, I’m probably the bravest pony you know.” She lifted her head proudly. “Secondly, you’re really confusing sometimes. How can you accuse me of being scared of something, then say all that junk about me being brave?”

Twilight tilted her head. “B-but I saw you shaki—”

“Look, what you saw was shock,” Rainbow retorted with a firm tone. “How would you feel if you were suddenly thrown into the great white nothing of magic-land and there was a giant pony standing over you?”

Twilight winced at that. “I actually do know how that feels.”

“Ugh.” Rainbow face-hoofed. “Just… look.” She stood to her hooves. “Nopony – and I mean nopony – gets away with calling me afraid. Not even if you call me brave and junk afterward.”

“Rainbow, you don’t have to—”

“Nuh uh.” Rainbow walked around Twilight’s side to meet her eyes. “I mean it. Now stand up.”

Twilight sniffled, clenching her eyes shut. “Rainbow, please. Let’s just forget this before—”

“I said, stand up.”

For a moment, Twilight merely remained sitting, her breathing racked by the slightest tremors. Eventually, she opened her moist eyes and slowly stood to her hooves, avoiding Rainbow’s gaze.

“Now look at me.”

Twilight’s ears flicked away at her friend’s words, though she obeyed.

Rainbow smirked. “Heh. Look at you, letting a tiny little pony like me push you around.”

“Wh… what?” Twilight blinked.

“So what, has the egghead given up already?” Rainbow closed the gap with a sneer, then jabbed a hoof into Twilight’s chest. “You might as well, anyway. It’s not like somepony as lame as you could ever take on someone as awesome as me.”

For a moment, Twilight stared in utter confusion. But when Rainbow returned a wink and a grin, her lips began to curl into a knowing smile.

Slowly, the alicorn’s horn began to glow. Within the span of a blink, Rainbow felt the warm, humid breath of somepony waft over her.

“Would you care to repeat that?” came Twilight’s booming voice from directly behind the pegasus.

A Decent First Run

Rainbow Dash’s wings flared on instinct as a chill shot from the base of her tail straight to the back of her skull.

The whole thing was frightening. She couldn’t deny that to herself.

It was strange as well. That also was true.

But…

There was something thrilling about it, too. The pure adrenaline pumping through her veins confirmed that much, and it was a sensation that made her feel very much alive. She was just thankful between her fight-or-flight instincts, pegasi were often known to choose the former.

Might as well make the best of it.

Mustering a confident grin, Rainbow glanced over her shoulder at the towering figure of Twilight. “Alright then. Let’s see if you’ve really got it in you.”

With a powerful flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash launched off the ground, splitting the white matter beneath her into several black cracks.

Twilight blinked. In an instant, Rainbow had blurred beyond her line of sight, leaving only the tiny crater behind. She stood fully upright, looking all around at the white expanse for any sign of the pegasus.

“Up high, egghead!”

Streaking down from overhead, Rainbow landed all four hooves squarely into the side of Twilight’s muzzle, knocking the giant mare off-balance. She hovered away from the lumbering figure, grinning to herself before she sped away once more.

“Nngh…” Twilight lifted a hoof to where she had been hit. The sting felt as real as the spellbook promised. She looked again for any sign of the cerulean pegasus.

“Try back here!” a tiny voice shouted from somewhere behind, just before she felt a powerful tug on her tail.

“OUCH! HEY!” Twilight stumbled back from the force, though she remained upright. Spinning her head around, she saw Rainbow tugging away at her thick, long tail with her mouth.

Narrowing her eyes, she gave the appendage a graceful flick to the side.

Rainbow’s body jerked violently with the motion, forcing the coarse tail hairs out from between her teeth as she was flung away from the mare. Spreading her wings to catch the air beneath her plumes, she stabilized out before her body could begin to free-fall.

“Mmph… nice one,” Rainbow muttered as she wiped a hoof across her sore muzzle. She spun around, expecting to see Twilight waiting for her.

“My turn,” Twilight’s voice roared as the colossal alicorn galloped straight for her.

Something between a squeak and a scream escaped Rainbow’s lungs as she fanned her wings outward, rolling away from the oncoming giant.

Twilight sped right past the pegasus, leaving the thunder of hoofsteps ringing in Rainbow’s ears. Gulping away her fraying nerves, Rainbow sped after the mare, skimming just above her back to stay out of eyeshot while she considered her next move.

It didn’t take long for Twilight to skid to a halt. Expecting the worst, she looked to the left and right for any sign of the pegasus about to hit her upside the muzzle again.

To her surprise, there was nopony around.

“Wait…” That’s when she remembered Rainbow’s strategy before. She tilted her head skyward – just in time to see a set of blue hooves plummeting for her muzzle.

“HAAH!” Rainbow yelled with the effort as she landed all four hooves squarely on Twilight’s nose, knocking a surprised grunt out of the mare’s mouth. Although the impact was clean, Twilight barely tipped forward. Not wanting to spend any longer than necessary within reach, Rainbow bucked off her muzzle, speeding straight upward once again—

Right before she was wrapped in something thick and warm.

“Wh-whoa!” Rainbow’s wings slammed shut against her sides as one of Twilight’s fetlocks wrapped around the pegasus. Regaining her balance, Twilight pulled Rainbow down in front of her muzzle.

“That was a good try,” Twilight spoke with her thunderous voice. “But it looks like I’ve already won.”

Although Rainbow’s body tried to convulse within Twilight’s grasp, she narrowed her eyes at the mare, focusing all her will into her next move. “Guess again.” Using her wings and legs to push outward with all her might, Rainbow managed to free some space between her and the fetlock, then chomped down hard on the edge of the hoof.

“OW!” Twilight flicked open her fetlock with a jerk, knocking Rainbow violently out of her grasp in the process.

Rainbow barely had time to process what was happening beyond the sudden pain shooting through her body before she realized she was tumbling to the ground. Flaring her wings, she skirted within a hair’s length over the flat white landscape and bounced off the same crater she left before.

Now it was clear just what Twilight meant before casting the spell. Flying as far and fast as she could away from the mare, she gritted her teeth, stomaching as best she could the severe, pulsating pain shooting throughout her body. This truly felt like the real thing, and she wondered whether or not that wasn’t a bad thing at the moment. When Twilight had released her, the sudden flick of her hoof had slammed so hard into her side that she could almost swear she had cracked a rib. Thankfully, her wings proved faithful for the moment.

There wasn’t any time to consider the point further though, as she heard the thunder of hoofsteps quickly approaching from behind.

Slamming her wings flat against the air in front of her, Rainbow pitched her body into a sharp climb. If she could get high enough, perhaps then she could figure out a way to—

“AAAGGHH!!” Rainbow screamed at the top of her lungs as something chomped down on the tip of her tail, yanking her mercilessly back toward the ground. Before she impacted, she was flung back in the air, before landing stomach-first on a long, wide strip of lavender coat.

“Oomph!” With a grimace, Rainbow clenched her eyes shut, struggling to stay conscious beyond the pain coursing through her body. Mustering what little energy she had left, she slowly stood to her hooves and squinted forward.

Two giant violet eyes stared cross-eyed directly down at her.

“Gah!” Rainbow looked around, noticing she was standing once more on the end of Twilight’s muzzle. She spread her wings – this time, with a noticeable amount of effort – then pushed off with her hooves and—

“Nope.”

Twilight grabbed Rainbow’s tail once again, dragging her back until she was dangling upside down. Rainbow seethed through the strain being placed on her tail, the weight of her entire body pulling on the multicolored thing, as she looked down – or rather up – at the enormous teeth currently binding her tail.

“Okay, okay, you win!” Rainbow screamed as she flailed her hooves. “Great job, Twi, you’re really scary! Now, could you please let me down and—”

Twilight arched an eyebrow as she looked in the general direction beneath her muzzle from where the tiny voice was coming from. She couldn’t quite make out what Rainbow was saying, but given the fight she was putting up, she guessed she must have been enjoying herself.

It was only now that it was beginning to settle in just how much she was enjoying herself, too. She didn’t want to let it end so quickly, though. Perhaps she should let Rainbow go so they could continue at it? Surely Rainbow would get better with time the more she learned how to adapt to the scenario.

But there was a part of her that wanted to do something else. It was unmistakably a finishing move, something which would require her ending the spell almost immediately afterward to prevent undue pain on Rainbow’s part. For a moment, she stood still, dangling the flailing form of her friend in her teeth. What would Rainbow think if she were to go through with it? Would it make things even weirder? She didn’t want to create anymore awkwardness than there already was.

No… no, she couldn’t think like that. Rainbow had granted her this opportunity, so no doubt she expected her to carry all the way through with it. For once, she wanted to do something that she enjoyed, something new and unique that thrilled her in a way that no academic endeavor could ever hope to do.

Twilight closed her eyes as she silently pondered the prospect. On a logical level, it seemed ludicrous that such an idea would even be considered enticing. It made little to no sense, and out of all the equine psychology works she had read, there was little in the way of concrete material that suggested why some ponies like the things they do. For this one particular concept, she could think of no rational reason as to why it made her so excited.

But against all logic and reason, she couldn’t deny it. There was one thing that enticed her beyond anything she had ever considered.

With an exhale, she committed to a decision. She could only hope Rainbow would be proud of her for following through.

Flicking her muzzle up, Twilight let go of Rainbow’s tail—

“Phew! Alright, let’s get the hay out of—”

—then reached forward to press her lips around Rainbow’s body, sucking her inside her mouth before wrapping the pony tight in her tongue. With a satisfied smile, she swallowed the tiny pegasus with an audible gulp, relishing in the sensation now travelling down her throat.

A Necessary Rematch

For the few seconds Rainbow Dash was engulfed in pitch black, surrounded by the wet, slimy lining of Twilight’s throat, all she could think of was the panic wracking her body. She was about to die. Every instinct within her told her she was about to die. So it came as welcome consolation that she could cling to one very real line of hope:

This was all in Twilight’s imagination, and at any moment, she should wake up from it.

Sure enough, as Rainbow closed her eyes, trying to block out the feeling of the saliva drenching her coat, the familiar whistle of magic filled the space around her. The world flashed once more to bright white, right before she collapsed.

“Oomph!” Rainbow landed muzzle-first against a rug. Opening her eyes, she took in the familiar sight of the castle library.

Sighing in relief, she rolled over onto her side, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath as the dull sound of rain somewhere outside calmed her nerves. Her heart continued to race in her chest, but everything else – the pain, the soreness, the disgusting yuckiness of Twilight swallowing her whole…

Rainbow blinked. She glanced over her side to find Twilight standing above her.

“Buh!” Stumbling to her hooves, Rainbow stepped away from the mare. “What the hay, Twi,” she yelled as she stared at the normal-sized alicorn. “You ate me? What’s up with that?!”

Twilight backed away, flicking her ears to the side. “I-I’m sorry, Rainbow! I didn’t want you to think I didn’t have it in me to fight, so I… just… ”

Rainbow stared at the mare, taking slow, deep breaths in hopes of calming her nerves. With a groan, she said, “I didn’t expect you to do something like that. Didn’t you hear me scre— I-I mean, shout at you before that?”

“Huh?” Twilight tilted her head. “I thought I heard you say something, but I just figured you were trying to taunt me.”

“You thought I…?” Rainbow blinked a couple times as her eyes drifted down in thought.

Well, maybe she doesn’t know I was scared after all.

For a few seconds, Rainbow stood silent, contemplating all that had just taken place. Now that the adrenaline was fading, there was one prominent thought that was beginning to well in her mind.

She lost.

She lost a fight to somepony.

She lost a fight to somepony like Twilight.

Rainbow couldn’t believe it. How in the world had she managed to let a friend like Twi manage to win at a fight of all things? Sure, the circumstances were a bit bizarre, and it’s not like she had had a proper brawl with a giant pony. But to lose to somepony like Twilight? No matter the circumstances, that was way too lame. She was stronger than this. Braver. There was no reason she should have lost to the mare.

And there was no way she would allow herself to lose again.

“…Rainbow Dash?” Twilight took a tentative step toward the silent pegasus, who continued to stare at the rug in thought. “Are you okay?”

With a raw chuckle, Rainbow tilted her head up. “Yeah. I will be at least, right after I kick your flank at a rematch.”

Twilight froze mid-step, eyes widening at her friend’s words. “Y-you… want a rematch?”

Rainbow nodded, closing the gap left between them. “I want a rematch. Right here. Right now.”

Pulling her head back a little, Twilight stammered, “You mean, you don’t find it too weird?”

“Look, I don’t care how strange or different this is,” Rainbow said as she lifted her head higher, looking down the end of her muzzle at Twilight. “That’s not the point. You like what you like, and I respect that. But I like what I like as well.” Leveling her muzzle with Twilight’s, she said, “And you do know what I like, right?”

Twilight blinked. Slowly, she nodded in understanding. “You like to win.”

“And I will win,” Rainbow finished, stepping back from the mare with a confident grin. “Now cast the spell. I’m so taking you down.”

Twilight stared blankly for a moment at her friend. Eventually, with a tired smile, she sighed, bringing her horn to a glow once more.

“We’ll see about that.”

__________

Rainbow shielded her eyes from the blinding light of the spell, though she noticed this time it didn’t last as long. Pulling away her foreleg, she took in the vast emptiness of the white world once more.

“Hey, um… Twi?” Rainbow pivoted around, steeling her nerves as she prepared to take in the sight. Sure enough, directly behind her stood Twilight, just as tall as she was before. This time though, she found the sight a little more tolerable. “So, like, can I ask what exactly this is?”

“Hm?” Twilight tilted her massive head. “What do you mean?”

“This,” Rainbow said, gesturing with her hooves to the barren landscape. “Can’t you think up something a little more interesting?”

Twilight glanced around. “Oh! Yeah, sorry. Since this spell is still new to me, I’ve been focusing most of my attention on—”

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” Rainbow shouted as loud as she could over Twilight’s voice. “Just throw something together, will ya?”

“Did you have anything in mind?” Twilight asked, softening her voice slightly.

Rainbow shrugged. “I dunno. Uh… maybe something like the Everfree Forest? Throw in a couple mountains or something?”

“Hm…” Twilight tapped a hoof to her chin, eliciting a soft thump that still managed to rattle Rainbow’s body. “Let me see.”

For the next few seconds, Twilight’s horn glowed a dull indigo as the world around them morphed into blurry shapes and colors. Rainbow hovered in front of the mare and watched the shapes take the form of something more familiar. Slowly, the outcrop of a dark forest similar to the Everfree began to take shape beneath them, beyond which the outline of a few mountains crested the horizon. With another flash of bright light, the sky transformed from the empty white before into an amber glow, illuminated by the projection of a sunset somewhere beyond the mountains.

“Heh. Now this is more like it.” Rainbow nodded in approval, then examined the landscape carefully in relevance to Twilight’s height. The trees beneath them stood to just within the height of her fetlocks, though from what she could tell, the mountains beyond would still easily dwarf her. Twilight had done well to add a few rolling hills here and there as well, and squinting off to one patch of forest in the distance, Rainbow could make out what appeared to be a river leading into a small lake.

After a while, Twilight’s horn faded, and with it came a long sigh. “Phew… didn’t expect that to be so hard.”

“Well hey, you did a great job,” Rainbow shouted. “Looks like the real thing to me!”

Twilight smiled, glancing away. “Th-thanks.” Gulping, she muttered, “You know Rainbow, we really don’t have to do this anymore. We can switch to one of your ideas if you—”

“Roundtwofight!” Rainbow shouted quickly as she slammed into Twilight’s muzzle with the force of a thrown punch.

“Ngh!” Twilight’s head swung away from the impact, leaving her jaw sore where the pegasus landed.

“I’ll call this one the Rainbow Jawbreaker!”

Flying around Twilight’s muzzle, Rainbow spun her body to aim her hooves beneath her jaw, bucking with all her might against the leading edge.

Twilight’s head snapped back, a pained grunt resonating through her chest as she clenched her mouth shut. Instinctively, she raised a hoof to her chin.

“WHOA!” Rainbow rolled to the right, barely dodging the massive hoof that lifted beyond her. “Heh, gotta watch out for that.”

As Rainbow banked around the giant alicorn, Twilight growled through the throbbing pain in her mouth. Already, she could feel the endorphins of her body – or, at least her imagination – flooding her system. She spun around, knocking over dozens of trees beneath her with the snap of bark beneath hooves. Her ears flicked out toward the sound before she looked down.

Twilight stared at the swath of destruction she had left in the forest beneath her. With merely a simple motion, she had managed to do the same amount of damage that only some of her strongest spells could ever hope to do.

Her heart began to beat harder in her chest. It was just like the dreams. It made no sense, but the sight of it all… the destruction. The power of her size.

A pleasant shiver cascaded down her spine.

With a devious grin, she lifted her head to the horizon, slamming a hoof down against the carpet of trees beneath her with a resounding crunch. Grinding her hoof against the earth, she closed her eyes and laughed, a haughty laugh uncharacteristic of the mare.

Some distance behind her, Rainbow’s ears flicked away from the sound. Something about Twilight’s laugh rekindled the fear she had only just managed to subdue. It wasn’t the kind of laugh you would expect to hear from somepony like her. In fact, it was eerily similar to the kind villains typically used in all the fights they previously had.

Rainbow shook her head. She was just letting the situation get to her. There was no way Twilight was evil. She was just enjoying herself, laughing at… the sound of crushed trees beneath her hoof.

“Okay, yeah, that’s definitely weird,” Rainbow mumbled to herself as she sped around Twilight’s posterior. “Let’s see if I can snap her out of it.”

Flapping her wings harder, Rainbow sped out and beyond Twilight’s left side. Once she gained enough distance, she banked right, pitching her body against the air above her as she began to speed toward Twilight’s barrel.

Twilight’s laugh subsided into an elated giggle as she lifted her hoof, examining the imprint made deep into the earth. She was just about to turn her head to look for Rainbow when— “Ungh!” Something slammed hard and deep between the ribs in her side, knocking her off balance.

“RrrrRAGH!” Rainbow Dash pushed against the soft, thick coat of Twilight’s barrel before bucking away into a hover. She watched Twilight stumble for a moment, before tripping on the edge of a hill below.

With an earsplitting crash, Twilight fell side-first into the forest below, leveling hundreds of trees before flattening the soft soil of the hill. Dirt and debris scattered across the landscape as a cloud of dust columned out from all around her body.

“Whoa…” Rainbow stared wide-eyed at the destruction her single blow to Twilight had caused. The alicorn lay flat against the forest, a swath of exposed earth left in her wake, as the amber sun cast a dull shadow across the world beyond the rising dust.

Blinking free the shock of the sight, Rainbow sped down toward her friend. “Twilight!” she called out, panic etched into her expression. “Twilight, are you alright?!”

Rainbow brought herself to a shaky hover over Twilight’s exposed side. Her head lay still against the ground, an outcrop of trees split or bent haphazardly along her muzzle from the impact of her landing. Rainbow could see her eye stirring beneath closed lids.

Suddenly, something familiarly warm and thick wrapped around her body. “Oh buck.”

Grabbing Rainbow out of the air with a fetlock, Twilight opened her closest eye and brought the pegasus to the ground.

“MMNGH!” Rainbow slammed into the soft earth, filling her mouth with dirt and splintered bark. She coughed up the debris as Twilight temporarily lifted her fetlock, only to bring her hoof squarely back down against her side.

Twilight slowly stood up, being careful to keep the tiny pony pinned beneath her hoof. She could barely make out the sound of Rainbow’s yelp as she shifted her weight upright. A rush unlike any she could remember coursed through her veins. Her heart pulsed strong and slow against her chest in tune with a pleasant throbbing between her thighs. She grinned wildly as she slowly pivoted her hoof against the coat hairs of the pegasus she stood over.

Several stories below, Rainbow wheezed and hacked for her life as the weight above her shifted off and on against her side. “Tw-Twilight, this… hurts! St-stop it, please!”

Twilight bent her head down, pivoting an ear toward the ground. “Sorry? I didn’t quite catch that, Rainbow.” She lifted her hoof slightly. “Can you repeat that?”

“Nngh… I s-said… this is t-too— OWWww…!”

Twilight rested the weight of her hoof against the pegasus once more, silencing the puny voice by merely resting the muscles in her foreleg.

So this was what it was like to experience true euphoria. Twilight had never felt such incredible happiness as she did now, and the strange physical stimulus that came from it only added to her excitement. A warm, wet sensation began to form from somewhere behind as she closed her eyes, lifting her head to the sky.

For now, she would allow herself this one moment to throw out all academic reasoning. Who needed it anyway when you could live to feel this good?

Drawing as deep a breath as she could, she opened her mouth, and shouted at the world.

Rainbow clenched every muscle in her body as the deafening sound echoed against the earth, the trees, even the mountains miles away. Her head span from the pain of the hoof pinned against her, and her ears rang from the monumental shout of her friend.

Finally, after several seconds of ensuing silence, Rainbow felt Twilight’s hoof lift up and away from her, revealing the glow of the sun illuminating the devastated world around her. Her eyes slowly fell closed as her muscles instinctively retracted.

Twilight had kept her eyes closed, soaking in the echo of her all-powerful voice, before she eventually turned her attention to the pegasus crumpled beneath her.

She blinked.

Rainbow lay beneath her against the ground, clutching herself with her forelegs in a fetal position as her body convulsed.

Suddenly, whatever pleasure Twilight had gained from the moment vanished, replaced by an overwhelming wave of nausea.

“Rainbow Dash!”

A Feeble Mistake

With a flash of her horn, Twilight brought the world to an end.

Well, her imagination’s world, at least.

Squinting through the sudden darkness of the castle library, she could make out the outline of Rainbow, collapsed once more on her side. Only this time, she wasn’t moving.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight rushed over to the pegasus’ side and knelt to check her breath and pulse. Seconds passed as she panted with fright, but slowly, she began to realize something. “Huh?” She lowered her head close to Rainbow’s muzzle. Her breathing was slow and melodic. The rhythm she felt in her chest was soft and calm, just as if she were…

“Asleep.” Twilight exhaled in relief, though she couldn’t relax yet. As far as she knew, the spell was supposed to be completely safe for use – no interaction in either pony’s imagination should cause any undue physical stress!

But she would have to look into that later. For the moment, she needed to stay close by Rainbow’s side to make sure her vitals didn’t fluctuate.

And so she did. For a few minutes, Twilight sat alert as she watched over her sleeping friend. Several times, she considered waking the mare, just to make sure she really was okay. But if her body had suffered some extreme amount of duress, this could be its way of recovering. Waking ponies after a traumatic experience wasn’t exactly the rule-of-hoof anyway.

Eventually, the storm outside began to roar louder, the rain cascading against the crystal structure with a dull resonance. She began to feel the fatigue of both spellcasting and a late-night beginning to sink in.

Once more, she looked over Rainbow. Her breathing and heart-rate both remained calm and stable. With that confirmed, she carefully wrapped the pegasus in her magic.

“Come on,” she murmured to the sleeping mare. “There’s better places to sleep than on the floor.”

Hefting Rainbow up and off the library’s rug, she stood to her hooves, leading the floating pegasus out of the library and down the hall.

__________

“Mmf… hm?”

Rainbow rubbed a hoof against her closed eyes. Somewhere beyond was a soft green light illuminating the space directly in front of her. More notable though was the warm fabric that covered her side, tucked in all around her.

With a stiff yawn, Rainbow rolled onto her back and squinted. Above her was the canopy of a four-poster bed, a familiar shade of violet draping over gold posts. She turned her head to the side, where she saw the storm pouring outside through a tinted window.

Rainbow recognized her surroundings as Twilight’s bedroom. What she couldn’t figure out though was how she got here, or why her head felt like it was about to split in two.

“Ugh.” She rubbed a hoof against her temple for a moment before rolling over the other direction. Twilight was nowhere to be seen, and the door leading to the hallway was closed. “Hmph. No use in calling for her.” With a grunt, she tossed the warm covers off and slowly rolled out of bed. Her mane, disheveled from a long night of sleep, hung limply across one of her shoulder as she walked to the door, poking her head outside.

“Hello?” Rainbow’s voice echoed against the vast crystalline hallway. “Twilight? Spike?” There was nopony in sight, and no one who answered.

With a sigh, Rainbow shuffled out of the room, touching a hoof tenderly to her head as she meandered down the long hall. It was a good thing that with both the Cutie Map and the recent redecoration event, she was familiar enough with which way to go.

The first place she thought to check was the library. Cantering down the long corridors, she caught whiffs of what smelled like pancakes baking somewhere in the distance. She thought for a moment to follow the scent, figuring Twilight might be having breakfast. But as she walked past the opening to the library, she stopped. Inside, Twilight sat hunched over her writing nook, a set of books either stacked or open surrounding her.

“Twi?” Rainbow cantered up to the mare. Kneeling down beside her, she touched a hoof to her shoulder and gave her a gentle nudge. “Hey, Twi. You alright?”

Twilight returned a single snore as her answer.

Rainbow stifled a giggle, then took to examining the mess around her. One book on the top of the rightmost stack seemed to dwarf many of the others. Peering over at the cover, she read off, “Diagnostics and Statistical Manual of Spells and Tomes.” She furrowed her brow. “More magic stuff?”

She took a moment to look around some more. A wastebasket sat nearest Twilight’s seat, filled with what appeared to be a few recently used tissues. She tilted her head as she glanced over at the book Twilight was currently using as a pillow.

“Huh. That’s the spell book she used last night.” A smirk tugged at the corner of her muzzle when she noticed a small bit of drool pooling at the end of her friend’s mouth. “Heh, better wake her up before she ruins it.”

Placing her hoof back on Twilight’s shoulder, she gave the mare a firmer shake. “Hey, sleepyhead. Wake up. Smells like Spike’s cooking, and I’m starving.”

Twilight shifted her head against the pages, crumpling them beneath her weight.

“Ugh, just—” Rainbow carefully lifted Twilight’s head off the book and slid it away. Glancing to her right, she pulled over a thinner book that was closed to rest underneath her. “There, drool all you want on this. You won’t mess it up at least.”

“Mmm,” Twilight hummed in her sleep as she obediently lay her head down on the hardcover of a book labeled ‘Common Misconceptions of Middle-Equestrian Spells.’

Rainbow blinked at that. Skimming the exposed covers of a few more books lying around, she realized all of them pertained to the research and dangers of spellcasting. She winced slightly as a flicker of lightning sparked outside, casting the dull green of the windows overhead across the library.

“Nngh… stupid headache,” she mumbled, rubbing a hoof once more against her head. In time, she realized there was another more prominent sound of someone walking down the hallway. She turned around to find Spike walking in with a plate stacked high with pancakes.

Spike walked a few paces, his head aimed at the floor in front of him to see where he was going. When he caught a glimpse of blue from his periphery, he stopped and looked up.

“Hey Spike,” Rainbow mumbled, shifting her hoof to rub against an eye.

“Oh. Uh, hi Rainbow.” Spike bent his head around the pancakes. “Did you fly out here in the middle of this storm?”

“Hm?” Rainbow stifled a yawn, shaking her head in response. “Far as I know, I’ve been here all night.”

“Really?”

“Pretty sure.” She glanced back at Twilight. “So what’s up with sleeping princess here?”

“Uh…” Spike shrugged as he continued toward the nook. “I dunno. When I woke up, I found her here. She does this every now and then when she finds something good to read, so I figured I’d just start making breakfast.”

“Gotcha,” Rainbow said with a nod, eyeing the glorious stack of flapjacks Spike sat beside Twilight’s head. Her stomach gave a low grumble of assent. “So, uh… I don’t suppose you have any—”

“Yeah yeah, I got ya covered,” Spike said, turning back for the hall. “I’ll bring you some in a minute.”

“Thanks Spike,” Rainbow said with a tired smile. “Oh, uh, do you have any idea when she’ll be awake?”

Spike glanced over his shoulder with a smirk. “Once she smells those, she’ll wake up.”

“Heh, alright then.” Rainbow watched Spike round the corner into the hallway before she turned to Twilight.

Sure enough, the mare began to shift once more, her nose flaring as it took in the aroma. “Mmh… y-you forgot… blue bear… ries… ngh…”

Rainbow bit her lip to choke back the giggle that nearly escaped. She watched as slowly but surely, Twilight blinked herself to waking. “Morning, Princess.”

“Mornin’, Rainbow…” Twilight smiled with a happy sigh and stared blankly at the pancakes for a moment. Then— “Rainbow?!”

Twilight jolted upright, backing her chair abruptly into Rainbow’s leg.

“Ouch! – hey, watch it!” Rainbow yanked her leg back as Twilight spun to face her.

“Huh?” Twilight blinked a few times, her glossy eyes slowly coming into focus. “Uh… oh! S-sorry!”

Rainbow smirked at the sleepy mare. “You’re fine. But what the hay are you doing sleeping out here?” Glancing back at the hallway, she added, “And how did I get in your bed?... or do I want to know?”

Twilight sighed with relief as she leaned against the table. “Oh thank goodness. I was so worried about you last night.”

Rainbow rubbed a hoof once more against her head. “Maybe that’s a better question. What happened anyway? Last thing I remember was… uh…” She squinted in thought. “Something about not being able to breathe.”

Twilight’s ears folded back. “You mean, you don’t remember what…?” She gulped, unsure of whether or not she could say it out loud.

“What you what?” Rainbow mumbled. “Or what did last… I mean, what did you – ugh!” She shook her head, only causing the headache to feel worse. “What happened?!”

“I… w-well…” Twilight stammered as she looked away, terrified of saying aloud anything that might—

“A round of pancakes for the Dash,” Spike called out as he strolled back into the library, carrying a fresh new stack of flapjacks piled on a plate.

“Ah, sweet!” Rainbow turned to grab the plate. “Thanks, Spike!”

“No problem.” Spike peered around the pegasus at Twilight. “Another late night?”

Twilight blinked at her assistant. “Huh?” She glanced over at the mess of books scattered around her table. “Oh, um, y-yeah. Yes, I wanted to look up some info on arcane spells at the last minute.” She threw together a sheepish grin for Spike. “Fell asleep like usual.”

“Figured,” Spike said with a nod. “Anyway, since we don’t really have anything planned today, can I hang out with the Crusaders? They’re over at Rarity’s for the day.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You want to go out in this storm?”

Spike arched a brow of his own. Throwing his arms out, he said, “Scales, remember? Rain doesn’t really bother me.”

“Oh. Right. Of course.” Twilight’s sheepish grin returned, a little more honest this time. “Sure. When are you heading out?”

“Right now, as a matter of fact,” Spike called back as he jogged for the hallway. “I’ll be back later this evening to make dinner!”

“Oh, a-alright! Have fun!” Twilight waved off Spike before dropping her hoof back down to her seat. She looked over to her side.

Rainbow had set her breakfast down on a small clearing on the table, presently nomming away at the freshly served goodness.

“So, um…” Twilight fidgeted with her hooves. “How are you feeling?”

“Mmph…” Rainbow swallowed the bit of food in her mouth and muttered, “Bad headache, but m’fine otherwise.” She took another hearty bite, seemingly more interested in the food than anything else – including getting an answer to her previous question.

For the moment, Twilight would take what she could get. Turning to her own plate of pancakes, her mouth instinctively began to drool.

Okay. Yeah. Food sounds good.

__________

With some nourishment and a little rest now in her system, Twilight leaned back in her chair with a sigh. Rainbow had just finished the last of her breakfast as well, choosing to rest her back against the front of the desk beside Twilight.

Rainbow hummed pleasantly as she stretched her neck with closed eyes. “Oh yeah. Best way to start the morning.”

Twilight nodded absently. Her mind had already picked up where it had left off before Spike walked in, although now in hindsight, she was less worried about what Rainbow would think and more concerned with what Rainbow could think. If she wasn’t able to remember a portion of last night’s events, then the information she discovered might very well prove true.

For now, she could only hope for the best, and ask the necessary questions.

Twilight cleared her throat hesitantly, then looked down at Rainbow. “So… about last night.”

“Oh yeah, that.” Rainbow squinted as she touched a hoof to her head. “Jeez, this stupid headache, I swear.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. “Does it get worse when you try to think about it?”

Rainbow tilted her head slightly, though she continued to rub the side. “Uh… maybe.” She winced. “Y-yeah, looks like it.”

“Alright… okay then,” Twilight murmured as she turned for her books. Flipping open the one she had last slept on, she skimmed the pages until she found a lavender bookmark highlighting one in particular. Squinting at the lines, her ears slowly began to droop.

Rainbow looked up at her. “So, like, what happened? The last thing I can remember for sure without feeling like I got rocks in my head was flying down to help you.”

Twilight’s ears perked up. Glancing down, she said, “So you remember the dream then?”

Rainbow blinked. “I thought you said it wasn’t a dream.”

“Er, r-right.” Twilight narrowed her eyes at the old tome from which she learned the spell. “Stupid nameless metamagic.”

“Eh?”

“Nothing.” She looked back at Rainbow. “Anyway. So you remember everything that happened in my imagination leading up to that point?”

Rainbow nodded, though with it came a grimace. “Yeah, pretty sure I do.” Smirking a little, she said, “I had just finished kicking your giant sparkle-flank.” Her expression faltered as she continued. “But when you didn’t get back up, I got scared something went wrong.” She gulped, turning her attention to an errant part of the library. “I know you said it would be safe and all, but the last thing I wanted to do was actually hurt you.” She looked back up with a small smile. “Guess I was the one who copped out this time, huh?”

Twilight blinked. As the final memories of the event resurfaced in perfect clarity – the sound of crushed trees, the feeling of pure elation, the sight of her broken friend beneath her – she bit her lip. Looking over once more at the mess of books, she eyed one particularly small one at the far end.

After Twilight stared blankly at the book for a while, Rainbow pivoted to lift her head above the edge of the desk, resting her chin on the wooden surface. “What’s up?”

With a shudder, Twilight closed her eyes for a moment, focusing on her breathing before attempting a reply. “Listen, Rainbow. There’s something I need to tell you.”

Rainbow cocked her head toward Twilight.

“I was wrong. The spell I used was, in fact, not guaranteed to be safe. I didn’t think to do any further research beforehoof since I’ve been using the same tome for years, but… as it turns out, some imagination-based spells that involve two or more ponies are susceptible to mental and physiological repercussions in real life if enough stress is experienced within the synthetic world.”

Rainbow’s face fell into a flat expression. “Rainbow speak, please.”

Twilight huffed. “In other words, I think you can’t remember part of last night because…”

Rainbow furrowed her brow slightly as she sat further upright. “What is it, Twi?”

Twilight gulped hard. “Rainbow, I…” She began to shiver, pulling her forelegs closer to her body as she avoided Rainbow’s gaze.

“Um… hey.” Rainbow placed a hoof gently on Twilight’s nearest. “Look. Whatever happened, you can tell me.” She chuckled and added, “You already shared one big secret with me last night, so why not another? Assuming you’re afraid to tell me whatever this is.”

Twilight glanced over.

Rainbow shrugged with a smile. “Besides, it’s not like you hurt me or anything, right?”

And with that, the blood in Twilight’s veins ran cold. Her mind and body suddenly begged her to run, to try to forget last night and play it all off as a bad dream.

But she was far too rational for that. She needed to face responsibility. And she needed to inform Rainbow what had happened.

Slowly, stiffly, Twilight shook her head. “No, Rainbow. I actually did.”

A 'Let's Talk It to Death' Session

“Oh yeah! Sorry – duh, heheh.” Rainbow stood up and ran a hoof through the back of her messy mane. “Yeah, I know we were play-fighting or, uh… whatever you wanna call it.” She scrunched her muzzle. “Please tell me there’s a cooler way of describing what we did.”

Unbeknownst to the mare, Twilight’s breath had caught in her throat. She briefly considered using the opportunity to segue into another subject – to just put it all behind them and carry on with the day.

No… I have to do this. I have to tell her.

Steeling her nerves as much as she could, Twilight choked out, “Rainbow, I don’t think you understand.”

“Hm?” Rainbow tilted her head, causing the back of her bed-mane to cascade in thick layers down her shoulder.

Twilight stared at the sight. Now was definitely not the time to be letting her mind drift. With a shake of her head, she blurted out, “I stepped on you last night, Rainbow! Hard! Really hard!”

Rainbow blinked. She added another blink for good measure. “Uuuuhhhh—”

“In the dream world! Er, my imagination! Whatever,” Twilight rambled on, gesturing wildly with her hooves from her seat. “When you flew down to check on me, I took the opportunity to grab you out of the air and… s-slam you against the ground.”

For a few seconds, Rainbow’s expression shifted between confusion and amusement, before finally settling on a smirk. “Huh! So you did have it in you! Sweet!”

“That’s not… ugh!” Twilight slammed a hoof across the table, dragging a yellow and black paperback to lift in front of her. “You see this? This describes verbatim the stuff we did last night – the same stuff that I enjoyed!”

Rainbow leaned forward and narrowed her eyes at the book. “Fetish for Dum—” A spit-take of a snicker escaped her mouth before she bit her lip, fighting to keep from bursting into full laughter. “Mmphmhm… y-you read a book on fetishes? You actually have stuff like that in the library?”

Twilight’s violet cheeks quickly burned to a blush. Glancing away, she said, “I had to, Rainbow! The more I thought about it, the more I realized this sounds like the stuff you’d hear ponies talk about in school!”

Rainbow didn’t even fight it anymore – with a cackle, she sputtered, “D-did ponies at Celestia’s school talk about giant ponies over lunch?!”

“No, not that specifically – I mean other st…!” Without even thinking, Twilight chucked the lithe paperback at Rainbow’s head, barely missing her. “Stop joking around! This is serious!”

Rainbow laughed for a while longer before she finally calmed down. Clutching her chest with a hoof, she said, “Oh… oh man, that’s great, haha!” Looking up at Twilight with moist eyes, she said, “I’m sorry, Twi. Really. You just have the best way of wording things sometimes.”

Twilight scowled at the pegasus, though her expression quickly fell into a more concerned one. “Rainbow, listen to me. I stayed up all night last night researching what happened after you passed out.”

“Hang on,” Rainbow said as she lifted a hoof. “You still haven’t filled me in on the whole… stepping on me part.” She furrowed her brow. With it came a twinge from her headache.

“Oh, right.” Looking down in thought, she said, “So, after I threw you to the ground, I stood up and pinned you down. And… I-I think I might have put too much weight on you or something, because… next thing I knew, you were…”

“Twi,” Rainbow droned. “C’mon. Seriously. Just spill it.”

Twilight drew a deep breath. “I was so caught up in the moment that… I ended up hurting you. Genuinely hurting you.”

“Okay?” Rainbow sat down beside her. “I’m so confused. So, because you stepped on me, something bad happened to… what, my memory?”

“Exactly,” Twilight said with a nod. “When the body is flooded with a substance called noradrenaline, typically during extreme moments of stress, the brain switches its focus to the situation at-hoof, blocking out all non-pertinent information—”

“Rainbow talk, please!”

“It means because I crushed you, you can’t remember what happened!” Twilight finished with a shout, closing her eyes and wrapping her forelegs around her chest.

Several seconds of painful silence passed as Twilight sat on her chair, swaying ever so slightly as she fought to keep from crying. With a strained voice, she said, “I didn’t mean to hurt you – I promise. I had no idea the spell would have such an effect.” Unable to hold back any longer, a single tear escaped one of her eyes, followed by a sniffle. “I’m so, so sorry, Rainbow Dash. I hate that we ever did this. I hate that I dragged you into this whole mess, and I—”

“Stop,” Rainbow interrupted with a firm tone.

Twilight winced at the word, clinging tighter to her body as she turned her head away.

After a moment, she heard hoofsteps approach her. “Twilight. It’s okay.”

Twilight hiccuped. She looked over at Rainbow.

“Really. It’s okay.” Rainbow sat closer, looking up at her with a soft smile. “I know you, Twi. You never would have done anything if you knew it could actually hurt me. That was the whole idea behind this, anyway – we were supposed to be able to go into this knowing nothing bad would happen in real life, right?”

“Mm… mhmm.” Twilight wiped the back of her hoof across her cheek. “But… the thing is, I still enjoyed it in the moment.” She glanced over Rainbow’s shoulder at a sprawled paperback. “I liked the feeling of… c-crushing you.”

Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “Okay… well, I’ll admit, that’s a little unusual.”

“See? That’s exactly what—”

“Hang on,” Rainbow continued, raising a hoof in protest again. “But would you have still done it if you knew it would actually hurt me?”

Twilight’s ears folded back. She considered the point for a moment. It was true – at the outset of it all, she was certain no negative effects would transition into real-life. It was one of the very few times she had chose to use a spell without contextual research, as it came from a tome she had used since she was a little filly. Because of that, they flew into the spell blind to the actual risks.

But she still couldn't deny the thrill she had of pinning Rainbow’s body beneath her hoof. Or the elation she felt to see and hear the destruction of her massive size. Or the pleasant tingling of Rainbow’s tiny body sliding down her throat—

“UGH!” Twilight jumped off her seat away from Rainbow, knocking the wastebasket over in the process. “None of that matters, Rainbow! None of it!”

Rainbow stood up and walked around the chair. “Twi, what are you—”

“Don’t you see?!” Twilight spun around with a look of desperation. “I like hurting you! I like destroying things!” Knocking a random book on the floor across the room, she shouted, “It’s a fetish, Rainbow! I’m into a bucking fetish!” She panted from her outburst, staring straight at her friend who stood only a few hooves away.

Rainbow stared back, deadpan. “So?”

“S… so?” Twilight chuckled bitterly. “You mean to tell me you think it’s alright?!”

“Um…” Rainbow cleared her throat. “Everypony has different things they like, Twi.” Although her mind wanted to rest on a certain thought, she smirked instead at a memory of an old friend. “Even griffons.”

Twilight tilted her head at that.

“But seriously,” Rainbow continued, walking up to Twilight. “We may not hang out one-on-one often, but I still know you Twilight. If you had any clue that you could actually hurt somepony – or… y’know, somepony that isn’t trying to steal your friends away, or turn a city into black crystal, or brain-wash an entire town – then I know you wouldn’t do it.” She glanced back at the book Twilight had tossed earlier. “Just how far did you read into that junk, anyway?”

Twilight peered around Rainbow’s side at the book in question, her breath still coming in short, rapid waves. “I-I don’t know. It was the last thing I picked up after researching the spell. All I know is everything I felt last night fit perfectly with some of the things listed in there.”

“Well,” Rainbow drawled as she looked back at the mare. “Congratulations. You’ve just discovered a whole new side to yourself.”

“But… wh-what…?!” Twilight squinted at the mare. “How can you say that so calmly? I thought you of all ponies would find it strange!”

“And I do!” Rainbow quickly replied. “It’s just not my thing, that’s all. The only reason I find it strange is ‘cause I can’t relate to it.” She ran a hoof across her muzzle with a groan. “All I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t be so upset over this.”

“But I hurt you, Rainbow—”

“Oh for pete’s sake, GET OVER IT!” Rainbow shouted at her friend, her voice echoing off the walls of the empty library.

Twilight stepped back at the sudden ferocity of her friend’s voice.

“You of all smart ponies should know better than to miss the point here,” Rainbow continued with a strong inflection. “First off, I’m more than familiar with post-trauma memory loss. I already know it’s not a big deal. It’s not like I got the nickname ‘Rainbow Crash’ in flight school just because it rhymed with Dash.”

Twilight’s eyes darted between Rainbow’s as she took another step back.

“Secondly, you didn’t know you were really going to hurt me!” Rainbow stepped forward again. “So what if you get off on romping around as a big-flank pony? That doesn’t change who you are in here,” she said as she jabbed a hoof against Twilight’s chest, causing the alicorn to fall to her haunches. “I know you, Twi. I know the kind of pony you are when it comes down to what matters the most.” She leaned her head forward, narrowing her eyes. “And I know for a fact that Twilight Sparkle would never mean to hurt one of her friends.”

Panting, shaking, Twilight stared into Rainbow’s intense gaze. Slowly, the pegasus sat down as well, allowing her expression to soften slightly.

“And by the way,” Rainbow said as she looked away, “I’m… sorry for yelling at you.”

With a whimper, Twilight muttered, “S-so… y-you don’t think I’m weird?”

“For liking that stuff?” Rainbow scoffed, returning her friend a smirk. “Like I said, it isn’t exactly my thing, so some of it does seem a bit strange. But trust me, if you knew some of the things I did about some of the ponies I’ve met… among other winged creatures,” she added with a wry grin, “then you’d know it’s not that big a deal.” She shrugged. “Least not to me, anyway.”

Twilight blinked once more, before sighing in relief. Just like that, the tension in her began to melt away, though in its place came the fatigue of a long night spent awake and far too much stress. Slumping in her spot, she said, “Thank you, Rainbow.”

Rainbow smiled. “Don’t worry about it.” Reaching a hoof out to her, she said, “Now c’mon. You look like you could use some real sleep.”

“Yeah… that actually sounds perfect.” Twilight grabbed hold of Rainbow’s hoof, pulling herself upright.

“Then let’s get you to bed.” Rainbow cantered alongside her friend as the two walked out into the hall, leaving behind a mess of books and two empty plates for a drake to most likely clean up later.

An Educated Test

Rainbow Dash sat at the writing nook of the castle library, resting her chin on an open paperback. The dull sound of the storm outside continued to echo through the tall, vacant room, the green tint of the windows overhead illuminating her surroundings with a calming light.

Several hours had passed since Rainbow sent Twilight to bed. She originally intended to fly back home for a while, even if just to stretch her wings some. Given how Twilight was feeling, she had planned to come back later that evening to check on her. But when she opened the doors to the world outside – which equated more to a wall of thick, unrelenting rain – she surrendered herself to what she could only assume would be an immensely boring day.

“Mmgh,” Rainbow growled against the book, squinting out at the empty room around her. For the first couple hours, she napped on one of the comfier chairs, hoping to alleviate some of her headache. Instead, she woke up to a dull throbbing in the back of her skull. She then spent the next unknown amount of time roaming around the castle, figuring out how to get to certain places she didn’t know about before.

Eventually, she ended up back in the library, back to the mess of books Twilight had scattered across her desk. Resigning herself to defeat, she took to browsing through some of the works, if not to simply engage herself by trying to figure out how to read middle-Equestrian. After a couple failed attempts, she turned her attention to the little book that got Twilight so worked up. Skimming through a few pages, she quickly confirmed what she had already believed: it was all far too technical. She could see why Twilight would have gotten herself so worked up over it, but…

She too was familiar with how scary it could be to face a new and strange part of yourself. And she too knew that you couldn’t learn to face it with just a book.

With a huff, Rainbow lifted her head and closed the book, setting it aside. She leaned back in the chair, stretching her forelegs behind her head as she closed her eyes.

She let her mind drift back to the events she could remember from Twilight’s imagination. With just a bit of effort, she remembered the moment she flew behind Twilight’s flank when she began to laugh that unnerving, haughty laugh. In hindsight, even in light of everything she had told Twilight just hours ago, she had to admit that the nature of what she witnessed last night, and the fear that came with it, was simply not something she could call ‘normal’ with a straight face.

There was something dark about her behavior. Something far more frightening than even the shock of witnessing a giant pony for the first time.

Still, she knew Twilight. She stood by what she told her earlier – that if she had known there was any real risk to somepony she cared about, she never would have gone through with it. Though Rainbow hated to admit it, she could only assume her fear stemmed from something else that hit closer to home.

I wonder… if I should tell her?

Rainbow crossed her hind legs in the chair as she leaned further back, flicking her tail from side to side. No matter how she spun the events from last night, there was one thing certain: Twilight was afraid. She was afraid of the new things she was discovering about herself. The fact that she had even allowed herself to get caught up in the moment was a good sign, as she knew only too well.

But she also knew how quickly progress can be lost when something unexpected happens.

“Uuuuugghh,” Rainbow groaned as she pivoted forward, bringing her forelegs down to the table with a thud. “I can’t believe I laughed at her for telling me about this… nngh!” She slid over a softer-looking book and face-planted into its cover.

If there was any one thing Rainbow knew she was, it was a hypocrite. All too often, both in her past and present, she found herself doing one thing or another to her friends that was the exact opposite of what she would ever want someone to do to her. And it wasn’t because she liked to hurt others’ feelings, she just genuinely found a lot of things silly. That’s just the way she was wired.

The same way that every other hidden part of her was.

Rainbow sighed – or at least as much as she could with her face against a book. Lifting her head with tired eyes, she slowly drew a breath—

Yeah… I think I’ll tell her.

—then exhaled, shoving herself away from the desk to canter into the hallway.

__________

Twilight stirred beneath her covers, clutching tight to the end of her comforter with her hooves. With a muffled whimper, she peeked open her eyes at the closed door of her bedroom.

She sighed as she nuzzled into her pillow. Although she was aware her sleeping pattern would now be thrown off, she was thankful to have a little more rest. She contemplated just lying there for the next few minutes, until a quiet tapping came from her door, pushing it slightly open. “Hey Twi. You awake?”

Twilight rubbed her eyes with a grunt. “Mhmm. Come in.”

Rainbow Dash stepped inside, smiling at her sleepy friend. “Good morning,” she murmured, walking over to the side of the bed. “Or good afternoon, I guess at this point.”

Twilight slowly blinked herself to waking. “H-how long did I sleep?”

“No clue,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “I’ve just kinda been sitting around doing whatever.”

Pushing one of her pillows up against the headboard, Twilight scooted to sit upright. “I’m surprised you haven’t gone home already.”

“Eh.” She suggested to a window with her head. “Little too wet out there for me.”

“Ah. Right.” Twilight smiled a second before letting loose a yawn. “Well, uh… how are you feeling now?”

Rainbow’s head continued to throb with a dull pain, but she wasn’t about to let on. Knowing Twilight, she would just get worked up again. “I’m alright. A little bored, I guess.”

“I bet. What exactly have you been doing, anyway?”

“Oh, uh…” Rainbow glanced away. “Not a lot. Took a nap earlier, then just kind of hung around.”

“I see.” Twilight’s ears folded a little as she rested her weight into the pillow behind her. “Listen, Rainbow. I just wanted to say that—”

“Don’t start this again, Twi,” Rainbow interrupted. “I already told you you don’t need to be sorry.”

“No.” Twilight shook her head. “I know that. I just… wanted to thank you.”

Rainbow’s ears flicked forward. “For what?”

“For everything last night. And today.” Resting her head against the top of the headboard, Twilight closed her eyes. “I’ve had dreams for years that I could never control, things that scared me… things that excited me. And I…” She gulped, then looked over at Rainbow. “I always wanted to try living the experience somehow. But I never looked into it, because…”

“You were too ashamed to face it,” Rainbow stated flatly.

Twilight blinked. “Y-yes, actually.” Bending forward a little, she said, “How did you know?”

Rainbow exhaled long and slow as she knelt down beside the bed, resting her forelegs on the edge of the comforter. “Well, I can tell you I didn’t learn it from a book.”

Twilight blushed a little, averting her gaze with a small grin.

“So, like…” Letting her eyes drift as well, Rainbow said, “Well, first off, I’m sorry for laughing at you last night when you told me about all this.”

“You mean when we were figuring out how to use the spell?”

Rainbow nodded. “I shouldn’t have made fun of you for telling me you wanted to play a giant pony.”

“Oh. Well, it’s alright.” Smirking a little, Twilight said, “Honestly, it does sound kinda silly when you’re the one hearing it.”

Rainbow giggled softly as she looked up at Twilight. “Yeah. But still. I didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything.”

“Rainbow, please.” Twilight smiled at the mare. “I know you too, and I know you don’t say or do things to intentionally hurt others.”

“Yeah, but… does that matter?”

Twilight tilted her head.

“I mean, like…” Rainbow shrugged. “Who cares if I mean to or not? The fact that I don’t think before I say stuff sometimes just… nngh.” She rubbed a hoof across her muzzle, looking away. “I hate that I don’t think things through sometimes.”

“Rainbow…” Reaching a hoof out to the pegasus, Twilight said, “It’s alright. Everypony makes mistakes.” Chuckling softly, she added, “I mean, take last night for example.”

“...?” Rainbow glanced back with an arched eyebrow.

“I never should have tried delving into that stuff,” Twilight continued with a sad smile. “If anypony here made a mistake, it was me for ever wanting to try it in the first place.”

Rainbow blinked at her. With a furrowed brow, she stood back up. “Wait. You think using that spell… was a mistake?”

“Well of course.” With a sigh, Twilight looked out toward one of her windows. “If I had just left it alone, if I hadn’t brought those strange dreams or desires out, then none of this would have happened. It was stupid.” She shook her head with a smirk. “Now I understand why some ponies say ignorance is bliss.”

With those words, Rainbow froze. She stared at her friend for a moment, her mouth working fruitlessly to form a response. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Twilight, believing she was in the wrong for… learning something? And of all things, learning something about herself?

Slowly, she began to shake her head. “What we did last night wasn’t stupid.”

Twilight glanced over. “Hm?”

Rainbow breathed a bitter chuckle. “Now, what you just said? Yeah. That’s stupid.”

Twilight blinked, eyes widening in shock.

“And by the way,” Rainbow continued, shooting a frown at Twilight. “If you really feel that way, then that must mean I’m pretty stupid too.”

“...I… wh-what?”

Climbing onto the top covers of the bed, Rainbow plopped down in front of her friend. “I want you to tell me something, in all honesty.”

Twilight merely continued to blink, her eyes darting confusedly between Rainbow’s. “U-um—”

“Can you or can you not change the spell so it, like, isn’t as dangerous or whatever?”

“What?” Twilight’s eyes widened further still. “You can’t be serious.”

“Just answer the question, Twi,” Rainbow insisted, her voice growing slightly in volume. “Can you make it safer?”

Twilight gulped, pulling her head away from Rainbow. “I-I mean, yes – technically, it isn’t that hard. All you have to do is—”

“Whatever.” Rainbow waved a hoof. “Don’t need the details. Just do what you need to change it, and let’s go.”

“No,” Twilight answered almost instantly, tossing her covers off as she made to get off the bed. “There’s no way we’re going to—”

“Twi, listen to me,” Rainbow said as she reached out to her. “Please. I promise, nothing bad will happen—”

“You don’t know that!” Twilight shouted as she clambered off the bed, heading for the door.

“I do know!” Rainbow shouted back, jumping off the bed with a flap of her wings to land in front of the door. “Trust me!” She locked eyes with Twilight. “Please.”

Twilight stopped, hoof halted mid-air as she looked at Rainbow. “I just… I can’t! I can’t do it again—”

“Oh, but you can. You already said you could.” Glancing back at the door, she said, “Do you need some of those books first, or—”

“That’s not what I mean, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight spat with a spiteful tone.

“I know that!” Rainbow retorted just as passionately. “Twilight, you said that you trusted me more than I probably know. And…” She glanced away with a scoff. “Though I still don’t really know why, if you want to prove that’s true, then you need to listen to me.” Her tone softening, she said, “I promise everything will be fine, if you’ll just give this one more shot.”

Twilight’s legs began to shake. “I-I can’t, Rainbow! After last night, I—”

“Just listen,” Rainbow said, touching a hoof gently to Twilight’s muzzle. “I can’t force you to do this, but I’m begging you.” She gulped, her eyes softening as she dropped her hoof. “For both of us.”

Twilight blinked, her ears flicking forward.

“Please… one more time,” Rainbow finished, her voice nearly a whisper.

With a shiver, Twilight slumped her shoulders. She closed her eyes, if only to avoid seeing Rainbow’s steadfast gaze.

Finally, after several bated seconds, Twilight’s horn began to glow. “I’m… going to modify the way our subconscious interacts with our physical bodies,” she muttered as the world around them began to blur. “From what I understand, this is how newer variants of similar spells were engineered. I think if I get it just right, I can also decrease the level of pain experienced.”

“No,” Rainbow said with a firm tone. “Fix the physiowhatever junk that screwed with my memory, but don’t change the pain stuff. And make sure you make the world just like it was before.”

Twilight looked at Rainbow, her eyes beginning to glow with the white resonance of magic. “But isn’t it too—”

“Just do it,” Rainbow spoke over her. “I’ll be fine.”

For a moment, Twilight hesitated. But the longer she looked into Rainbow’s eyes, the warm, reassuring smile she was now returning her, the more she understood.

Rainbow was showing her true loyalty.

Closing her eyes once more, her horn grew in intensity, thrusting the world into blinding white light.

__________

Moments later, Rainbow found herself nestled in the crux of a limb at the top of a tree. Her vantage point gave her a perfect view of the world around her.

The amber glow of a sunset cast broken bands of light through a canopy of clouds far off in the horizon. Snow-capped mountains crested the farthest stretches of the landscape to each side of the sun, beneath which stretched miles and miles of forest. In a couple spots, she caught the glimmer of rivers far off in the distance, one of which led into a small lake.

“Wow.” Rainbow nodded with a smile. “She’s really good at this.”

“Oh, um, thanks,” came a booming voice from above her.

“G-guh!” Rainbow’s wings flared out, though she stayed mounted on the limb. Pivoting to look around the trunk, she saw Twilight standing right behind her, still several stories above her even as she sat at the top of the tree.

Twilight grimaced, lifting a hoof away from the pegasus and the forest. “S-sorry. I didn’t mean to—”

“Nuh uh!” Rainbow waved a hoof up at her. “You’re fine!” She glanced over once more to take in the beautiful landscape.

Leaning against the trunk of the tree, she considered how to proceed next. Although she had originally intended to tell Twilight about her own secret, it appeared more crucial at the moment to help her face her own.

But now that she had managed to get her back here, what could she do?

She considered the tactics she had used thus far. When Twilight first considered bailing on the spell last night, she had used taunts to get her riled up. It was a strategy she tried on a whim, knowing Twilight hated it when she dragged out the egghead stuff too much. And just to make sure she knew she was serious, she had committed to throwing the first punches.

Of course, given how sensitive Twilight was at the moment, that probably wouldn’t work. If anything, it would probably make her even more fragile.

Well… what can I do then? What’ll get Twi riled up like last night?

She mulled the question over silently for several seconds. Eventually, an idea began to take shape. It seemed a bit raw, and it was probably harsher than the things she had done last night. But…

It might just work.

__________

Twilight stood rather awkwardly above the carpet of trees beneath her. Every shift of her weight, every twitch of her hooves, threatened to do untold damage to the synthetic world she had built.

“So, um…” She gulped, the sound of her swallow echoing softly across the earth beneath her. “Wh-what exactly are we supposed to—”

Her words suddenly caught in her throat as she felt a violent tug on the primaries of a wing.

“GUAAAAAHHHH!” Twilight screamed at the top of her lungs as somepony mercilessly ripped a feather clean off the bridge of her wing.

In a prismatic blur, Rainbow Dash sped off beyond the giant mare with a lavender plume nearly as big as her body clutched between her teeth, her ears pressed hard against her head to protect her from the shout.

It was a shot in the dark. A long one. But Rainbow knew that one of the things that will get a pegasus’ primal fighting instincts to a boil is if you manage to rip out one of their primaries. She wasn’t sure if the same applied for alicorns, but given the low, menacing growl now forming behind her, she assumed it must.

She grinned as much as possible with the feather in her mouth as she glanced back at Twilight.

Her expression instantly faltered. As Twilight spun to face her, wings spread high to the heavens, her eyes widened.

Twilight looked down at the tiny pegasus, her massive teeth gritting with a snarl as her violet eyes stared back, narrow and angry. The breadth of her wing’s size cast a dozen-mile long shadow across the landscape beneath her.

And all Rainbow could do was stare.

Suddenly, not realizing where she was going, one of Rainbow’s wings caught in the topmost branches of a taller tree. Yelping in pain, she instinctively pulled it against her side, only to begin free-falling to the forest below.

“Gaaaaah!” Smashing through the thicket of branches, Rainbow bounced hard off the trunk of a smaller pine, landing against limb after limb before finally falling to a bed of pinestraw below.

“Oomph!” Rainbow span, rolled, and tumbled – among other various means of rolypoly ambulation – before skidding to a halt at the edge of a riverbed. With a wheeze, she carefully stood to her hooves.

Looking over her body, she noticed a few limbs stuck in her injured wing. She flexed it carefully, shaking out some of the debris before recoiling it with a wince. She then fluffed her other wing freely, just a little sore from the fall, and noticed a few minor scrapes and scuffs along her coat.

That was when she heard the crash of a hoofstep and smashing trees very, very close by.

Rainbow’s legs locked up. Slowly, she turned her head to look behind her.

Twilight stood directly overhead, her nearest hoof having obliterated the patch of forest she just fell through.

“What in Tartarus did you do that for?!” Twilight shouted with a deafening roar, hanging her head low with a snarl as she stared Rainbow down.

Rainbow gulped the bile that had suddenly rose in her throat, her legs now racked with tremors. She couldn’t afford to back down now, though. Not just yet. If this was going to be worthwhile, she had to get Twilight to actually come at her.

Mustering a weak sneer, she shouted, “Oh yeah, heh. Sorry ‘bout that.” She studied the ground around her briefly, spotting the feather she had dropped during her fall sitting close to the river’s edge. Trotting over on shaky hooves, she picked the thing up and hefted it into the sunlight. “You looking for this?”

Twilight’s scowl fell into a frown as she lifted her head. “Rainbow, I know you’re trying to taunt me. But I’m sorry.” Her frown began to falter as her eyes drifted down to the crop of broken trees beneath her. “I… I just can’t do this—”

Rainbow had already sped off beside the mare, snatching yet another plume from Twilight’s wings with an audible rip.

“GRRRAAAAGGGHH!” Twilight’s wing flared on instinct, batting the pegasus away with a thud.

The force of Twilight’s impact knocked the wind right out of Rainbow’s lungs and the feather from her mouth, injuring her other wing. With thin, tear-filled eyes, she struggled to regain control of her flight path. Both wings now throbbed with immense pain, sensations like white-hot nails shooting through her ribcage. With each pound of the feathery appendages, she felt her consciousness slowly slipping away.

But gradually, she could feel the familiar rush of adrenaline beginning to pump through her system – a thrilling, comforting sensation she once held dear long ago.

Alright… here’s hoping Twilight fixed that spell.

Marshalling every ounce of willpower and focus left, Rainbow Dash banked hard to the side, pitching her body against the wind above her head to spin around toward Twilight.

As expected, the colossal alicorn was already rampaging toward her, eyes blind with rage as she kicked a swath of dirt and bark high into the air. The thunder of her hoofsteps, the snapping of trees far beneath them, rang loud in her ears.

Drawing a deep, deep breath of the cool evening air, Rainbow snarled at her friend, letting loose her best warcry.

Twilight, leveling her head with the oncoming pegasus, tore asunder the heavens with her own.

Each locked eyes with the other.

And Rainbow…

A Haughty Redemption

...Collapsed with a sickening thud.

“N-nn-NNGGHH!” Rainbow felt her body slam into the soft earth, her head snapping to the side with the force of Twilight’s stomp. After several seconds of simply trying to stay conscious, she stretched her neck out from the brim of the massive hoof to look up.

Twilight stared down, her violet eyes reflecting her cerulean muzzle, as she leered over her tiny frame. “You stupid little stain,” she spat down, venom laced in her tone. “Did you really think you could get away with that?”

As Rainbow struggled just to breathe under the weight of Twilight’s hoof, she briefly found it amusing just how sensitive she was to an old pegasi trick. “J-jeez,” she managed to sputter, “I didn’t think it’d work that well.”

Twilight knelt down with a snarl, crushing the trees beneath her belly as she kept Rainbow securely pinned under hoof. “Let’s see you try that again.” She shifted the weight of her hoof, grinding Rainbow against the dirt below.

“Mmmngh!!” Rainbow closed her eyes as her side shifted painfully against the gritty earth, before coming to a stop once again.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight said as she lowered her head near her hoof, her chest and neck knocking the few remaining trees standing to the ground. “Seems like you’re a little stuck at the moment.”

To her own surprise, Rainbow managed to roll her eyes with a breathy chuckle, amused at how corny Twilight could be even in a fit of rage.

If she knew pegasi instincts well – and assuming this would carry out the same way with an alicorn – Twilight would be winding down from her fury any moment now. If that were the case, then she needed to act fast.

Shifting onto her back, she grabbed the edge of Twilight’s hoof and looked up at the sneering mare. With a choke, she wheezed, “I-is that all you’ve got?” Swallowing down bile once more, she said, “Big bad pony can’t even f-finish the fight?”

Twilight tilted her head, a smirk forming across her muzzle. “I could crush you right here if I wanted. Snap every bone in your puny little body with just a step,” she said, emphasizing her point by leaning the weight of her foreleg further against Rainbow’s barrel.

Rainbow clenched her jaw shut, holding in what little oxygen she had left in her lungs as Twilight’s hoof threatened to force it all out. After a moment, she felt the weight ease up a little bit.

Gotta… finish this… before I conk out.

With a shaky breath, Rainbow peered back up once more at Twilight, returning her own smirk. “But I know you. Th-that’s not how you want to finish this, n-now is it?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the pegasus. Slowly, her smirk began to widen into a wicked grin.

With a flick of her hoof, she snatched Rainbow up in the crux of her fetlock and stood to her full height, feeling the crumbs of the forest cling to her coat a moment before falling to the earth far below. Slowly, she pulled Rainbow up to eye level.

Rainbow pushed against the edge of her hoof with a grunt, allowing herself some room to breathe. She hung her head a moment, struggling to catch her breath, before looking up at Twilight.

Twilight’s violet eyes stared at her, cold and menacing, as the amber sun reflected off her irises. The bangs of her two-tone mane, the width of a castle, glistened with brilliant hues of sapphire and rose. Just beyond her neck, the back of her mane billowed in a cool breeze, the thick locks taller than even the tallest buildings in Canterlot.

Rainbow’s breathing slowed as she soaked in the sight. This time, she wouldn’t allow herself to be scared. It had been a long time since she had faced even a remotely similar situation, and at the outset, she had no idea Twilight’s idea would beckon long-kept secrets of her own. But here she was, held tight in her friend’s grasp.

And for the first time in years, she allowed herself to submit.

__________

Twilight blinked. Suddenly, the rage within her began to bleed away, being quickly replaced with awe at the sight in front of her.

Rainbow Dash sat clenched in her grasp, her prismatic mane billowing in tiny strands out the side of her hoof as the sunset gave warmth to the various hues. With small, magenta eyes, the pegasus stared up at her. She could feel the slow rise and fall of her friend’s breathing against the coat of her fetlock.

Though her rage continued to subside, the sight held fast to one instinct within her – one deep, tempting desire she wished nothing more than to sate.

She brought Rainbow closer to her muzzle, her lips trembling in fear as her eyes began to well with tears.

With a smile, Rainbow gave the edge of her hoof a gentle squeeze. “Finish it.”

Twilight whimpered.

“Finish it now!” Rainbow shouted.

Screwing her eyes shut, Twilight tossed her head back and opened her mouth, the shadow of her massive form cascading across the landscape as she tossed the little pegasus inside. Clenching her jaw shut, she wrapped her tongue tightly around the coat hairs, the plumes of feathers, the fragile body of her friend.

And with only the slightest hesitation, she swallowed her whole.

__________

Rainbow Dash kept her eyes closed. The now-familiar sensation of saliva soaking her coat still came to her as disgusting, but that mattered little at the moment. There, in the dark chasm of Twilight’s throat, the one thing she focused on was not the anticipation of the spell breaking. It wasn’t the thought of trying to fight, or the desire to win, or the need to escape, either.

No. This time, she accepted her fate.

Her fate was in the hooves of her friend.

And that alone comforted the mare.

__________

With a flash of light, Twilight brought the spell to an end. Across from her, Rainbow swayed slightly, though she remained sitting upright.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight stood to her hooves. “Are you okay? Do you feel alright?”

Rainbow bobbed her head in answer, moaning a little as she rubbed her head. “Head feels a little funny, but… yeah.” She looked up with a proud grin. “You did great, Twi.”

Twilight exhaled in relief. “But, I don’t understand. Why did I get so angry at you?”

Rainbow tilted her head with a smirk. “Virgin wings, I assume?”

“Huh?” Twilight fanned her wings out, glancing between them with a perplexed look. “Wh-what do you mean by—”

Rainbow spread her own wings to reveal their plumes. “Of all ponies, I figured you’d know that pegasi – and I guess alicorns, too – have really sensitive primaries. Yank one of these babies out,” she said, suggesting to the larger feathers of her wings, “and the fight instinct kicks into high gear.” She chuckled as she added, “Worked every time in flight school.”

“So…” Twilight’s wings drooped for a moment before recoiling against her sides. “You did that just to make me…?”

“Yep,” Rainbow chirped with a nod. “Worked pretty well too, looks like.”

Twilight sighed, frowning at Rainbow. “If that’s the case, then I could’ve seriously hurt you again! Why would you—”

Rainbow wagged her head back and forth with an arched eyebrow and narrowed eyes. “Uuuhhh, no? Remember?” She booped Twilight on the noggin. “You changed the spell, right?”

Twilight blinked. “W-well, yes, but—”

“So this time, everything that happened in the imagidreamplacethingy was safe. Right?”

“Uh… I mean, as far as I know, yes.”

“So, the better question then is…” Rainbow’s lips curled into a smile as she leaned forward. “Did you have fun?”

Twilight leaned away from Rainbow, though she didn’t break eye contact. Stifling a blush, she muttered, “Um… y-yeah.” She smiled feebly. “I… kind of did.”

Rainbow closed her eyes, exhaling with a smile as she leaned back. “That’s what I was hoping for.” Standing to her hooves, she turned for the door of the bedroom. “C’mon. There’s something else I want to tell you.”

Twilight stood as well, tilting her head. “What’s that?”

Cracking the door open, Rainbow looked over her shoulder. “A little secret of my own.” With that, she turned for the hallway, trotting with the sound of hooves against crystal.

Twilight stood motionless for a moment, staring blankly as Rainbow disappeared deeper into the castle. All of the events of the past few minutes – of the past few hours, for that matter – tugged at the back of her mind, begging for a logical debriefing.

Shaking her head clear of the thoughts for now, she drew a breath, then followed her friend.

A Humble Rainbow

“Submission,” Rainbow said, sitting across from Twilight on a cushion in the corner of the library.

Twilight blinked.

Rainbow nodded.

Twilight blinked a couple more times.

Rainbow nodded slower.

Twilight tilted her head, flicked an ear, furrowed her brow, and twitched an eye. “Uuuuhhhh—”

“I’m into submission,” Rainbow repeated, a little firmer this time. “Or, that’s what they call it at least.”

“Submission?”

“Submission.”

“...So, what do you submit?”

Rainbow made a face. “Huh?”

“You said you’re into submission, right?”

“Yeah.”

“So, what do you submit?”

“Um… myself?”

“Yourself?”

“Yeah. Myself.” Rainbow fidgeted her hooves.

“...What do you submit to?”

“You mean who do I submit to?”

Twilight’s ears flicked back, her hooves clenching tight to the cushion beneath her. “What?”

“No. Who.”

“Y-yes, I understand, but… what?”

“No! Who!”

“Who?”

“Yes, who!”

“Hoo!”

“Guh!” Both Twilight and Rainbow jolted at the sound of a hoot overhead. When they realized it was just Owlowiscious observing from the top of a bookshelf, they exhaled.

Finally, Twilight said, “Okay, let me get this straight. You’re into something called ‘submission’—”

“Was into,” Rainbow corrected.

“Sorry.” Her eyes drifting down in thought, Twilight said, “And… if I’m getting this right, you submit yourself to someone? Kind of like… surrender?”

Rainbow winced. Glancing away, she mumbled, “I wouldn’t call it surrender so much as, uh… competitive withdrawal?” She winced harder. “No, that sounds even worse.”

“Well, alright, in any case,” Twilight continued, waving a hoof lazily, “when you were in flight camp, you and Gilda experimented with complimentary desires – she as the dominant, and I’m guessing you as the submissive – until an unforeseen event occurred a few months later?”

Rainbow blinked. “That… is totally not how I worded it.” She sagged her shoulders. “And when you put it like that, it sounds even weirder.”

“I’m still a little confused.” Shifting to a more comfortable position, Twilight said, “How does something like that work, exactly?”

With a groan, Rainbow sprawled out over her cushion and laid her head on a foreleg, looking away. “Look, I really don’t want to get into the details. At least… not yet. It’s really, really lame – I promise. But, uh… yeah. Th-that was a thing once.”

Twilight sat silent for a moment, processing the information. “Well, let me ask you this at least. Which do you prefer?”

Rainbow glanced over, arching an eyebrow.

With an uncertain look, Twilight said, “Do you prefer to win, or… to lose?”

A myriad of passionately offended expressions transitioned over Rainbow’s face, along with a few choked scoffs of disbelief, before settling on something bordering pitiful. “How can you ask that? I’m Rainbow Dash!”

Twilight quickly looked away. “Sorry! I knew I shouldn’t have worded it that way, I just—”

“Ugh.” Rainbow face-hoofed. “No, it’s alright. Just… look.” Drawing a breath, Rainbow then said, “It’s not as simple as that. Yes, I do still like to win. It’s my favorite thing to do… in normal circumstances.”

Twilight glanced back, ears pivoting forward. “Normal circumstances?”

“Uh, yeah. You know, like the Iron Pony competition, the Sisterhooves Social. Stuff like that.” She gulped. “But sometimes, in uh… different circumstances, I also used to like to… um…”

“Submit?” Twilight asked with all the innocence in the world.

With a bit of hesitation, Rainbow nodded. “Y-yeah. You got it.”

Twilight nodded before looking down in thought once more. “Okay. I’ll admit, I’m still a little lost since I don’t know the details, but I think I understand it conceptually.”

“Right. Well. Awesome. Heh.” Fidgeting her wings, Rainbow stood up, hoping to free some of the jitters forming in her legs. “But yeah, I just figured I’d share that with you since, y’know… you kinda did the same.”

“Mmm.” Looking up at her friend, Twilight said, “Can I ask you one more thing?”

“Uh, sure. Yeah. Go for it.” Rainbow offered a weak smile as she absently kneaded the pillow beneath her.

“How does it feel when I defeat you in the spell world?”

Rainbow froze for a second. Willing her nerves to remain calm, she slowly sat back down on her cushion. Avoiding Twilight’s gaze, she said, “It’s… well…” She sighed long and slow, releasing some of her tension. “Okay, I’ll be honest. At first, I hated it. Like, a lot.”

“Can I ask why, exactly?” Twilight said, her tone emphasizing the objectivity she was seeking.

Thankful her friend was being so open-minded, Rainbow answered with a little more confidence. “Well… it’s because it scared me.” Meeting Twilight’s eyes, she said, “I know I come across as being ‘brave’ whenever fighting villains and stuff, but… really, a lot of times, it’s because I’m scared. Not of them exactly, but… of losing to them.” She swallowed a lump forming in her throat. “That’s the real reason I’m so good at fights.” Rolling her shoulders, she said, “It’s kinda the same with competitions, too. I hate losing so much that I’m afraid of losing. So, of course, winning’s my big thing. When I win at something, I feel on top of the world, like nothing can challenge me. Like… nothing can scare me.”

Twilight leaned forward. “Then why in the world did you have me use the spell again? Twice, for that matter?”

“The first time, it was because I genuinely wanted a rematch.” Averting her gaze again, Rainbow added, “Seeing you as a giant was the first time in awhile that I felt afraid of somepony, rather than just losing. And… well, yeah. Kinda needed to fix that.” She cleared her throat. “But the second time was for you,” she said, looking back at Twilight with a guilty expression. “I mean, I guess you already know that, but—”

“Rainbow, you didn’t have to do that for me.” Shaking her head with a scoff, she then said, “You shouldn’t have done it at all, especially if that’s the way you felt!”

“Hang on, I didn’t finish.” Tensing her body in preparation for the next confession, Rainbow drew a deep breath, then said, “This last time was different. There were a few times I was scared of you, especially when I had you in that fit of rage. I was only able to stomach it because… I wanted to show you it was okay to do what you wanted. That everything would be alright in the en—”

“Like I said before, you didn’t have to—”

“Jeez,” Rainbow spoke over her, “you’re just as good at interrupting as I am, huh?”

Twilight blushed. “S-sorry. Continue.”

With a groan, Rainbow obliged. “So anyway, after you grabbed me that last time – and especially after I saw your anger disappear – I felt… okay.” Glancing away, she fought to keep a blush of her own from forming. “I, uh… I actually kind of… liked it, too.”

Twilight’s ears flicked sharply to each side as she leaned back on her cushion. “You mean, you liked me hurting you?”

“Well… okay, let me put it like this.” Gesturing with her hooves, Rainbow said, “So, there’s some ponies out there who like being hurt. I am not one of those ponies. But, like many pegasi, when I am hurt, I get really amped up for a good fight. There’s also this sort of rush that comes with it too, like no matter how big or bad the challenge is, I can win. Like I will win, guaranteed.

“But when you have a giant freakin’ pony crushing or eating you,” she continued, “that’s when you kinda have to say ‘Alright, yeah, I’m about to lose – game over,’ and just deal with it.” She raked a hoof nervously through the back of her mane. “When I was in flight school, another reason I hated losing was because of how worthless it made me feel. That’s also why I fought so hard to win at every competition, to beat everyone I ever had the chance to race with.”

She dropped her hoof and hung her head. “But then I met Gilda. And… well, let’s just say she helped me realize losing doesn’t always have to be bad. In fact, sometimes it can feel… pretty good. Don’t get me wrong, of course,” she added with stronger emphasis, meeting Twilight’s gaze, “I still love to win, and I still love a good competition. But…”

Falling silent for a moment, Rainbow slumped in her spot. “There’s a reason I gave up to you, Twi.”

Twilight tilted her head, ears trained on her friend.

Rubbing a hoof against a fetlock, Rainbow looked into Twilight’s eyes. “It’s because I trust you… more than you probably know.” Smirking a little, she added, “And losing to you? Well… that was the first time I’ve enjoyed losing in a long, long time.”

For several seconds, Twilight stared in awe, her jaw falling slack. “Rainbow Dash,” she eventually muttered, “I… never knew.”

Rainbow chuckled with a grin. “Well, that’s great! Means I’m doing a good job of being awesome.”

Twilight smiled for a moment, before returning to a contemplative look. “It’s so fascinating to me, learning about all this. There’s still so much I don’t understand – about the things I like, or you like. And of all the books I’ve read, I’ve never once stumbled across any objective material on matters like this.” With a bit of a smirk, she said, “I’ll admit that it’s not like I read up on fetishes before last night, but I’ve read enough works of psychology to know that the source of primal desires like these have never been identified. Some theorize it’s due to chemical imbalances. Others blame it on childhood factors.”

“And Rainbow Dash just assumes that’s how we are,” Rainbow said with her own smirk.

Twilight giggled. “Well, perhaps you’re right.” Frowning a little, she said, “But even if that’s true, does it really make what we like okay? I mean, I understand that you said you submitted because you trust me. But what makes that enjoyable to you?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t know. All I know is when I was originally friends with Gilda, and… y’know, with you now,” she said, glancing away for a second, “I just… I dunno. There’s something about letting go… letting someone I trust take over, that feels good.”

Twilight nodded, hanging her head in thought. “I wonder…”

Rainbow tilted her head. “What’s that?”

After considering some points silently for a moment, Twilight looked up. “I always knew from the ‘good’ dreams I had that I liked the feeling of power from being a giant. So… do you think that’s why I also liked… c-crushing you?”

“I dunno. Duh?” Rainbow shrugged with an arched eyebrow. “Seems kinda obvious to me.”

“Okay. I mean, yeah – I see where it connects to feeling powerful now, I guess.” Twilight nodded absently at her musing. “But I still don’t understand how I can like that sort of thing. The thought of doing something like that in real life makes me sick!”

Rainbow sighed. “I can’t help you there. I mean, even though I know I liked losing to you, I still don’t get why I liked it – especially considering how I feel about losing in general.” With a soft chuckle, she said, “But that might just be the way things are. And if you like eating ponies, crushing stuff, and whatever else, it might be the same sorta thing.”

“It’s not that simple, though,” Twilight said, her tone imploring. “I don’t like that stuff. I mean, I wouldn’t ever want any of that to happen to me, and I would never want to do it in real life! The only time I enjoy the thought is… in…”

“…Oh Celestia, I can’t believe I’m gonna say this,” Rainbow suddenly spoke.

Twilight blinked, cocking her head slightly.

With a roll of her eyes, Rainbow looked away and mumbled, “You only like it… in pretend.” She winced slightly, closing her eyes. “You like to pretend you’re a big bad pony who can do anything she wants.” Biting her lip, she glanced over, neck tense with the movement. “Right?”

For a moment, Twilight stared at her.

Then, with a choke, she collapsed to her side.

“Pffth-HAHAHAHA!” Flailing her hooves, Twilight laughed uncontrollably against her cushion.

Rainbow stood up, ears flicking back. “Alright, jeez, you don’t have to make a big deal out of it!” Turning around, she began to stomp off. “What, is this payback for me laughing at you last night?!”

“N-no Rainbow, wait!” Twilight fought hard to contain her giggles as she shifted to her haunches. “It’s not that, I promise! It’s just…”

Rainbow grumbled, looking back at the mare with a frown.

Sitting upright once more, Twilight wiped an eye with the back of her hoof. “Oh, Rainbow Dash…”

Rainbow blinked.

With a playful smile and soft, caring eyes, she said, “You just have the best way of wording things, sometimes.”

Grabbing a book blindly from the floor, Rainbow chunked the thing at Twilight’s head.

“GAH!” Twilight ducked, barely dodging the book.

“That’s for earlier, ya giant-loving egghead!”

A Curious Twilight

“I have a question,” Twilight said as she levitated some of the books off her desk.

“What’s that?” Rainbow asked, leaning back in the desk chair with her forelegs behind her head and eyes closed.

Walking with the hovering books to a wall of shelves, Twilight glanced back with a smirk. “Why did you bring me to the library to tell me all that?”

“Huh?” Rainbow peeked an eye open, pushing back slightly against the desk with her hind legs—

— in order to topple backward onto the floor.

“OWwww…!” Rainbow clutched her head, rolling the rest of the way out of the chair.

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight shouted, her magic momentarily faltering. “Are you alright?”

“Nngh… yeah.” Stumbling to her hooves, she mumbled, “Like I needed another headache.”

Twilight giggled under her breath, turning her attention back to the shelves. As she placed some of the books up, she said, “Spike will probably be back sometime soon. Are you planning to stay for dinner?”

“Uh, sure.” Rainbow smiled a little, lifting the chair back upright. “What’re you having?”

Twilight shrugged. “Not sure. I’ve been letting Spike decide recently. He really likes to cook, believe it or not.”

“Chyea, I believe it.” Looking around, Rainbow spotted the plates left from breakfast earlier. She grabbed one and set it atop the other, then balanced them on her back. “I’m gonna take the dishes to the kitchen real quick.”

Twilight’s ears flicked back toward her. “Oh?” She looked over her shoulder.

Rainbow was already trotting out into the hall. “Be right back!”

“A-alright.” Twilight stared for a moment, her head tilting slightly to the side. “Huh… it’s not like her to do stuff like that.” Turning back to the wall, she placed the last book on one of the top-most shelves, then looked up.

It was already late into the evening. The light of mana-crystals overhead had glowed to life an hour before, illuminating the large space with a soft light. Through the tinted windows above, she could see the flicker of lightning, paired with the sound of rain still pelting against the crystal outside.

She looked down over at a set of chairs after a moment, then walked over and sat down. Resting her back against the plush material, she breathed a sigh, letting the stress of the day melt from her body.

Well, that’s not quite what it was. Now that she was relaxing, she realized she had been tense throughout most of the day. And yet, she couldn’t really call the last few hours ‘stressful.’ Perhaps… enlightening? Interesting?

Upon further consideration, she guessed it could still be defined as stress – emotionally, at least. As much as Twilight liked to learn about new things, when it came to personal endeavors like the ones they had explored today, she always found herself far more tense than with more objective matters. Being hoofed a quantum physics quiz in school was nothing compared to the first time she faced having a crush on somepony.

Still, she couldn’t complain – not anymore, all things considered. Despite, in light of, and beyond all the events leading back to last night, Rainbow Dash had somehow managed to help her unveil hidden desires, live a secret dream of hers, face her fears regarding it, and… well, teach her that alicorns and pegasi share certain triggers.

But now that everything was said and done, how did she feel about it all? How did she feel about having the desires she held, and facing them the way they had?

Probably the worst part about the entire situation was how subjective it was. That was an inherent difficulty when it came to personal matters: so many of them were either heavily versed in, or entirely made up of, subjective factors. And while a pony can theorize all day long about this, that, and the other thing, at the end of the day, nopony can truly say beyond shadow of doubt that something ‘is’ or ‘is not’ the case with something subjective. For example: to hear somepony say they love you? No matter how well you know them, no matter the emotional connection you share or the trust you hold, there is always a degree of faith being placed in the idea that they’re telling the truth – or not telling the truth, depending on the case. Faith plays a part as well in assuming you know how they love you, what they feel, their motives and desires, etc.

And that was just one of several hypothetical scenarios Twilight could compare with her plight. Ultimately, there were several questions that may never obtain an objective answer, such as whether or not her desires were ‘okay.’

Twilight giggled at the thought. It was kind of silly, in a way. She was trying to obtain an objective answer for a moral question – a question which, by its very nature, was rooted in subjectivity. The only reason ponies as a community develop laws and adhere to them is out of common interest and beliefs related to morality. Most ponies don’t want to hurt or die, so laws against assault and murder were developed by governing parties. Likewise, bordering nations hold separate cultural ideals and beliefs, which influence the rules and legislations they develop. And yet, out of all the decisions made in the best interest of ponykind and creatures abroad, she could not think of one that wasn’t in some way or another shaped by subjectivity.

…Yeah. Rainbow’s right. I really am an egghead.

With a less pleasant sigh, Twilight rubbed a hoof against the side of her head. Where Rainbow said she hated not thinking things through sometimes, Twilight was guilty of the exact opposite: thinking things too far. And though that thought alone still seemed somewhat silly, she already knew – especially given the recent weeks of boredom – that there was an ironic truth to Rainbow’s taunts.

Rainbow Dash…

Twilight truly did admire the pegasus. If anything, in light of the new information she held about her friend’s courageous behavior, she found it even more admirable that despite the fear she often faced of losing, she could find the will to rise triumphant time and again.

Of course, she couldn’t go down that rabbit trail too far. In one sense, such behavior could be considered a coping mechanism – something somepony does in order to suppress stress and the like. But in another, it was certainly a demonstration of the raw strength and tenacity Rainbow has to face adversity, even when it stems from her own heart. She could see how some ponies might take Rainbow’s confession and run all sorts of directions with it, calling her shallow or childish for being afraid of something like losing. But Twilight knew her friend better than that. She knew the context surrounding the fact – the elements that made Rainbow Dash as a whole. And now, she knew just a bit more to help connect the dots.

Perhaps some might not agree. Perhaps once upon a time, she may have not agreed herself. But right here, right now, Twilight believed one thing.

Rainbow Dash was a very brave, very loyal, very wonderful friend.

Twilight breathed a soft chuckle. The thought was just another example of faith. And yet she wouldn’t trade her feelings for all the objectivity in the world.

… Buck it. I want to have fun.

__________

Rainbow Dash cantered down the hall toward the library. After a long night and day at the castle, she was beginning to feel the need to spread her wings – and soon. Although the world Twilight had developed in her imagination proved a nice outlet, she didn’t expect them to return there anytime soon.

Which was a bit sad, actually. She almost wished she could see if she could fully relive those old desires of…

Rainbow paused in the middle of the hall, her eyes drifting to the floor. Although it was true that the last time with Twilight went better – that she felt the same sort of pleasure she did several years ago – it was still a sore point. The last time she dabbled with her submissive side with Gilda, things had ended rather miserably. And the last thing she wanted to do was make things awkward with Twilight.

Or, at least, no more awkward than they might be already.

“Ugh,” Rainbow groaned as she continued trotting forward. “Just gotta forget about it.” Tilting her head up, she spotted the entrance to the library, a dim light glowing from within. With a bit of a smile, she rounded the corner and stepped inside—

“Hi, Rainbow.” Twilight stood in the center of the library’s rug. Her violet eyes met Rainbow’s, warm and inviting, as her tri-tone tail swished from side to side.

Rainbow blinked. Hard.

With a gentle smile, Twilight said, “I was wondering if you might like to go for another round?”

Rainbow blinked. Very hard.

“If you want to, that is.” Twilight hoofed at the ground nervously. “I mean, after everything that’s happened, I don’t know if you’d even be interested anymore.”

Furrowing her brow, Rainbow took a tentative step forward. “Y-you mean… you want to do it again?”

Twilight swallowed, slow and careful. With a nod, she hummed her assent.

It took several seconds for Rainbow to take the next step forward. “Are you sure?”

“I am. I’ve given up trying to figure it all out. For now, at least.” She averted her gaze. “Right now, I’m just… curious. I want to give it a real try this time. No taunts, no tactics on your part.” Lifting her head with confidence, she looked back at her and said, “If we’re to go this round, I’m not going to hold back.”

Staring at her friend, Rainbow tried desperately to process the words she was hearing as quickly as possible. Only seconds ago, she had figured Twilight might never want to face this again. Even after having a better experience the last time and the talk afterward, it wasn’t exactly clear how she felt about the matter. Apparently, she felt comfortable enough to explore it further.

And that was alright with her.

A cool shiver ran through Rainbow’s body, flowing from her core out to the ends of her wings and hooves. Instincts of two opposing forms collided within her, ready and raring to be fed. She grinned a wicked sort of thing.

And Twilight requited it in full.

“You do realize, Twilight,” Rainbow said, beginning to stalk around the alicorn on prone hooves, “that I’m not going to just give up willingly. If we’re doing it right, I’m not holding back either.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” Twilight replied, matching her friend’s posture as she crept in an opposing circle.

“And I promise, I will win this time,” Rainbow said, her magenta eyes locked onto violet.

Twilight tilted her head slightly, violet eyes fixed on magenta. “Are you so sure? You haven’t exactly been on a winning streak lately.”

Rainbow exhaled audibly. “Low blow, Twi. You really think you got it in you?”

With a glow of her horn, Twilight pivoted to face Rainbow head-on. “Let’s find out.”

Rainbow met her stance.

And the two friends faded into the light.

Beneath the waterfall that was Ponyville’s current storm, Spike strolled up the castle’s front steps. With a shove, he opened one side of the tall double-doors, stepped inside, and gave it a shove back.

The rush of wind from the doors sealing blew a waft of cool air over the dragon’s scales, spilling the beaded moisture to the crystal floor. He gave one of his legs a couple shakes, then started down the hall while whistling a tune.

As Spike walked the long corridor, he considered what was left in the kitchen’s pantry. Lately, he had been on a foreign food kick, mostly due to Twilight’s recent involvement in regional affairs. He felt pretty confident when it came to his Maretonian dishes, but not so much on Yakyakistan cuisine. Twilight of course had insisted that he needn’t bother with the stuff anymore, but he still liked to experiment on occasion.

Coming up on a fork in the hall, he considered whether or not to check on Twilight first, or just get to cooking. Remembering Rainbow Dash had been over earlier, he figured it would be best to at least see how many he’d be serving tonight.

Continuing straight for a while, he came to the opening for the library. “Hey Twilight,” he called out, banking around, “Is Rainbow Dash still—”

Spike stopped in the threshold. There, in the center of the library, sat Twilight and Rainbow, a muzzle-length away from each other, wrapped in a cool shade of indigo magic. Their heads hung slightly toward one another with eyes closed, each sporting a nearly imperceptible smile.

With a blink, Spike pivoted around. “Dinner for two, I guess.”

A Veritable Playground

Twilight stood to her full height, head lifted to the amber sky with eyes closed, breathing in the cool evening air. The glow of the low-setting sun provided just the right amount of warmth for her coat, only slightly subdued by the gentle rush of wind flowing over her.

With a slow exhale, she opened her eyes.

A field of forests, hills and rivers sprawled for miles beneath and beyond her vision, terminating at the footholds of white-capped mountains far in the distance. Standing in the middle of it all, she took in the world and all its beauty.

The world she stood proudly above.

A tingling sensation, chilling and thrilling all at once, spread through her body. The mere sight of the landscape brought an unexpected giggle to her breath as she shifted her hooves gently through the carpet of timber below. With but the slightest movement, she sent toppling over a half dozen trees against one-another, the sound of their snapping trunks echoing in her ears. She giggled further still as she beheld the destruction, the insignificance of their size in comparison to hers.

Once more, the world was hers. Wholly hers. And this time, she was determined to savor every moment spent in this perfect dream.

Her heart began to beat with vigor deep within her chest. There was so much she could do. So much to ravage. Save but the inanimate mountains cresting the horizon, nothing – no one – could rival her size, her power, her strength—

She blinked.

A tiny cerulean pegasus dropped down into her vision, its prismatic mane and tail billowing in the wind, as it brought itself to a hover in front of her nose with a grin.

It booped a tiny hoof on her snout—

“Tag. You’re it.”

—and sped off in a colorful blur.

Slanting her eyes with a grin of her own, Twilight crouched against the earth, then bucked a grove of trees to dust, galloping after her friend.

__________

Rainbow Dash snickered to herself, which was all but impossible to hear as she flew against the frigid air, ears folded flat against her head.

That of course didn’t prevent her from feeling the thunder of Twilight’s hoofsteps vibrate through her bones.

Alrighty. Same as before.

Flaring her wings, she pitched her body into a nose-dive, then slammed them back in place. Rocketing toward the trees below, she counted silently to herself, keeping one ear trained on the sound of smashing wood approaching.

And… now!

Rolling her body upside down, she bucked her hooves outward as hard as she could – making contact with something fuzzy and hard.

“NNGH!” Twilight groaned with the impact of Rainbow’s hooves against the bottom of her chin.

“Hah! Easy target,” Rainbow shouted as she sped off once more, circling around the giant mare.

Already, she could see Twilight out of her periphery beginning to pivot toward her. Tucking her head between her forelegs, she threw her weight head-over-hooves and gave her wings a powerful beat, twirling back upright as she barreled headlong toward Twilight’s chest. She span around once more at the last second, reared her hind legs against her sternum, then bucked with all the strength she had.

“Mmph!” Twilight’s lungs heaved with a choke as she threw a hoof to her chest. Expecting the reflexive move, Rainbow rolled out of the way just in time.

That would have to do for now. Diving toward the ground once more, Rainbow spread her wings out, catching an updraft just in time to give her lift above the canopy of trees. She didn’t waste time; already, she began to beat her wings hard, gaining speed as she put distance between her and—

“Not so fast.”

Suddenly, something yanked hard on Rainbow’s tail, breaking her momentum with nauseating force.

“GaaAAAHHH!” Rainbow flailed her hooves wildly as her body was dragged high into the air. Dangling upside down, she squinted with clenched teeth as she stomached the pain shooting through her flanks.

Twilight sneered at the little pony hanging from the crux of her fetlock. “Sorry, Rainbow,” she said, breathing hot, humid breath across the pegasus’ body. “You’re just not fast enough for me here.”

Though Rainbow felt the twinge of panic looming over her nerves, she returned the mare a cheeky grin, before bending over to bite hard into lavender hoof.

“OUCH!”

Twilight released her on reflex – this time without knocking her aside – allowing just enough time for Rainbow to catch the wind beneath her wings.

With each encounter, Rainbow Dash was learning how to compensate for Twilight’s size with her own. Much as she hated to admit it, the breadth of Twilight’s massive body made it all but impossible to outpace the mare. Though speed was her strongsuit, it simply wasn’t enough in this world to give her an edge. But quick as her friend had now become with her imbued height, she still held one advantage.

She was the most agile thing currently gracing the air.

Skimming over the coat of Twilight’s side, she pitched her body out and over the edge of a colossal wing, placing a short distance between herself and the appendage. She then spun around and sped straight into the plumes – smashing her hooves against a rib.

“Hnng!” Twilight wheezed loudly with the impact, side-stepping through the forest below.

Pushing herself out of the feathery cove, Rainbow brought herself to a hover and watched the giant mare trip against a small hill, collapsing with a thunderous peal.

Rainbow blinked at the sight. As the roar of the crash resonated in her ears, clouds of dirt and debris rising from Twilight’s fallen body, her skull began to pulse with a dull ache.

She shook her head. Flying a little higher, she skirted over the collapsed mare and looked down. Already, Twilight was beginning to prop her hooves flat against the ground, spilling the remains of a decimated forest from her coat hairs.

“N-not bad,” Twilight said, bringing her body slowly back upright. She flexed her wings, tossing leaves and branches free from their plumes, then looked up at Rainbow. “But you can’t win with brute force, let alone using the same moves.”

Rainbow ran a hoof across her chin. With anypony else, she would have taken the words as little more than a taunt. No doubt, Twilight was certainly boasting at the moment, but she probably did have a point.

That gave her the perfect reason to return a grin.

“You know,” Rainbow shouted down, crossing her forelegs, “you’re right. I probably can’t.” She beat her wings hard, blue feathers splayed before the amber sky in proud display as she hovered over the giant. “If I can’t beat you with strength, then I’ll beat you with the one thing you love most.”

Twilight tilted her head, narrowing her eyes.

“Magic.” Rainbow’s grin spread wide. “Or rather, pegasi magic.”

A Pegasus' Magic

Sewn deep within the genetic composition of every pegasus is the ability to craft and control weather. A form of inherent magic only found in the winged race of ponies, the hooves and wings of pegasi are capable of manipulating vaporous moisture – namely, atmospheric precipitation. While some pegasi have more innate finesse over clouds than others, each and every pegasus has, to some degree or another, the ability to influence one of the greatest forces of nature.

At least, that’s the way some of Rainbow’s old teachers had explained it.

To her, it was merely another way to demonstrate her awesomeness.

Flying far above the forests, rivers, and a giant lavender pony, Rainbow Dash sped around a few stray clouds, packing them together with merely a brush of hooves. Speeding off to another group, she repeated the motion, pushing the cloudstuff together into a tight lump.

Within the span of just a few seconds, she had done the same to several others, condensing together the thick clumps until they began to turn grey. Satisfied with the first step of her plan, Rainbow launched herself around the bands of clouds in a wide arc, bringing them close together to merge into one unified mass. After a moment, she cast a glance down at the mare below.

Twilight sat watching, waiting patiently with a content expression.

Rainbow furrowed her brow. As she continued compacting the greying cloudstuff, it occurred to her – a dumb realization she should’ve thought of earlier.

Twilight’s an alicorn. She has wings and a horn.

So why wasn’t she stopping her?

Something wasn’t right. Rainbow could feel it. Twilight was up to something, and given the current circumstances, it couldn’t be anything good.

Which made her all the more excited to see how things played out.

With a grin, she gave the now-solid cloud one last kick with her hooves, completing the second step. Next up was the most critical part of storm-crafting: disturbing the airmass.

Flying a short distance toward the horizon, she spun around the examine her progress. She nodded approvingly; within only a couple of minutes, she had managed to throw together a cloud that sat right above Twilight, nearly the same size as the alicorn. It was the perfect foundation to what would become something far more epic.

With a beat of her wings, Rainbow flew back toward the mass and began to spin around it in broken patterns. Slowly but surely, the cloud began to billow and rise – first from the center, then from its sides – straight toward the troposphere above. She could feel the static charge building in the air around her as her mane and tail whipped violently in the wind.

But even against the ever-decreasing temperature of her ascent with the cloud, her grin remained. It was the perfect combination of two pegasi instincts combining as one: of battle and weather. Never before had she built a storm specifically for the purpose of a fight. She knew the tales of Commander Hurricane and others, but never had she felt the rush that came with harmonizing the two instincts together.

Finally, cresting over the top of her finished product, Rainbow landed all four hooves gently into the damp matter. She tapped one against the surface. The beast of a cloud rumbled to life beneath her, polarizing the air. The ends of her mane and coat stood partially on end.

Oh yeah. This one’s a winner.

Pushing off the head of the storm, she flew over the leading edge and dove for the world far below. Once near the base, she pulled into a hover, skirting over to the side. She braced a foreleg against the cloud, hoof pressed firmly into the dark grey storm, and looked down with a smirk.

Twilight tilted her head with an arched eyebrow. “And what exactly do you plan to do with that?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” Lifting her hoof off the wall of the storm, she span around and reared her hind legs.

__________

Twilight watched as the pegasus kicked her tiny hooves against the massive cloud.

With a deep, low rumble, the storm shifted overhead. Light sheets of drizzle began to rain down upon her, spreading mist over her muzzle and mane. She squinted, waiting for the inevitable.

As expected, Rainbow had sped off once again, circling around the cloud to give the towering walls several well-aimed kicks. The storm groaned in protest, spiraling in a slow, menacing manner as the grey of the base grew darker still.

Only seconds passed before the drizzle turned into a downpour. Bands of lightning began to travel in lazy fashion across the bottom of the cloud, gaining in frequency and speed as Rainbow continued to disturb the storm.

Twilight took a step back, crunching under hoof several trees as she watched the pegasus high above suddenly dive into the top of the storm.

No… she isn’t.

Suddenly, the storm lurched toward her and the world below.

She is.

With a clap of thunder, Twilight was engulfed by the mammoth cloud.

Crouching low against the earth, Twilight squinted further as she stood against the swirling tempest now surrounding her. Sharp bands of freezing rain pelted against her coat from every direction, stinging her eyes. As the violent wind threatened to topple the giant, a single multicolor blur sped in front of her.

Twilight watched her friend shoot a triumphant grin her way, before plunging into the wall of the storm.

__________

Splitting through the thick layers of cloud matter, Rainbow dove out of the storm, her mane and tail trailing a line of dew into the evening sky.

Putting a couple miles between herself and the storm, she spun around and hovered. The cloud whirled atop the earth, tufts of grey cloudstuff ripping away at the base as the storm sheared itself against the trees and mare within.

She thought to smile once more at her accomplishment, but… something was still off. There was no reason she could think of why Twi wouldn’t have stopped her by this point. As far as she was aware, she was completely capable of using both her wings and magic in this world. So what was the deal? Why wasn’t she fighting back?

Rainbow groaned as she watched the spiraling storm with a frown. At this rate, Twilight was going to spoil the fun. It was already kind of hard to keep up the fight without having any real reason to fight in the first place. Delivering the first blows as a sign of commitment was fine the first couple rounds, but Twilight was the one who initiated this time. This was supposed to be for her enjoyment.

Had something happened to change her mind? It seemed like from the outset of this round, Twilight had freely taken her blows, returning little more than a grab of her tail and a single taunt. And from what she understood, Twilight was the one who wanted to take charge, not surrender. Had she taken what they talked about earlier the wrong way? Or maybe she just couldn’t get her head enough in the game?

“Ugh. This is taking too long.” With a flap of her wings, Rainbow began to speed toward the storm. But no sooner had she broke her hover than the storm suddenly swelled.

Rainbow stopped mid-air, blinking.

With a warbling roll of thunder, the storm shrank into itself. Then, with one last heave, the cloud-mass ruptured, a wall of steam and vapor spreading in every direction outward.

Rainbow lifted a foreleg to her eyes as sheets of dew wafted over her coat. When the sound of slow flapping wings met her ears, she looked forward.

Twilight’s massive form hovered over a leveled forest below, her wings thrashing against the air as she dispersed the remains of the storm.

“Cumulonimbus calvus,” Twilight began, her voice echoing softly across the land. “A type of storm cloud that normally sits beneath the tropopause, known as one of the most common forms of precipitation. Usually requires at least five pegasi to craft by hoof if not from the assembly line… I’m impressed.”

She dropped her hooves to the ground with a resounding thud.

Rainbow tilted her head.

With a glow of her horn, Twilight smirked.

“Now it’s my turn.”

A Margin of Error

“Nngh… huh?”

Rainbow felt the pressure of Twilight’s hoof ease off her body as her back settled into the soft embankment of the river. The giant mare continued to hold her in place, but the touch was far more gentle in nature.

Clutching onto the edge of Twilight’s hoof, Rainbow shifted into a more comfortable position. To her surprise, Twilight pulled her weight up further to help her move, before relaxing part of it back on her.

“Wh-what’s going on?” Rainbow muttered, furrowing her brow as she looked up at the giant.

Twilight, with a careful motion, leaned her head down with closed eyes, heaving a sigh. The front of her mane draped over her forehead in wet locks, soaked by the storm currently pouring overhead. A single, rather large drip fell from one of the strands onto Rainbow’s muzzle.

“Ppthtpth!” Rainbow shook her head and spat before wiping a hoof across her snout. “Do ya mind?”

Twilight opened her eyes with a tilt of her head, causing yet another drop to fall.

Rainbow scrunched her muzzle at the impact. “Hey!”

“Oh! Sorry!” Twilight stifled a giggle and shifted her body carefully, positioning her head a little farther over the tiny pegasus’ body.

“Mmf… so, like, what’s going on?” Rainbow asked. “I figure you’d, y’know… finish this up by now.”

Twilight winced at the words. “Um… well, yes. I wanted to. But…”

Rainbow groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re chickening out again.”

“No, it’s not that! Or, at least not exactly that. I was—”

“Seriously Twi, either go through with this, or let’s just—”

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke with a harsh tone, pressing a little firmer against the pegasus’ body.

That shut the mare up.

With a softer voice, Twilight said, “Just… hear me out.”

Rainbow huffed, crossing her forelegs against the edge of Twilight’s hoof with a pout.

“So… one thing I’ve learned from all of this is that although I enjoy doing… well, the stuff we’ve done here… I just can’t go through with any of it in good conscious.”

Rainbow frowned. “Listen, Twi. I know doing this sort of stuff for the first time can be kind of weird, but—”

“I know,” Twilight interrupted. “I understand everything you’ve said thus far.” She smiled a little. “And I thank you for being the wonderful friend you are… for helping me to explore this, because you believe it’s the right thing to do.”

Rainbow arched an eyebrow. Her expression turned uncertain.

“But I don’t feel the same way.”

__________

With a flash of her horn, Twilight brought herself back to normal size, though she still continued to stand over the pegasus.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow,” she spoke with clear exhaustion. “I guess… this just isn’t for me.”

Twilight closed her eyes once more, relishing in the familiarity of being her normal size again. Having bore the wild flux of emotions and awkwardness for the past twenty-four hours, she had at least garnered a bit of objective insight from it all. Not just that she was uncomfortable with playing the part of giant, but something that hinted at a possible reason as to why she enjoyed it with Rainbow.

And she was ready to share what it was.

Lifting her head slightly, she opened her mouth to speak and looked down at Rainbow – then immediately paused.

Rainbow Dash lay beneath her with her eyes wrenched shut and hooves balled up tight against her chest. A low growl emanated from her lungs, followed by a—

“GaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAaaaaAAAAAHHHH!!!!!”

Twilight leapt away from the mare’s scream, buffeting her jump with a flutter of wings – though she still fell on her rump.

“Just… guh… I-I can’t… UGH!” Flailing around on her back for a second, Rainbow then rolled onto her hooves and glared at Twilight. “Why? Why couldn’t you just go through with it?!”

Twilight’s eyes widened in shock. She took a step back. “I’m sorry! Like I said, I’m not comfortable with it! But that’s not—”

“Do you have ANY idea how FRUSTRATING it is to get SO CLOSE, and then… you just…!” Rainbow gnashed her teeth. “I can’t believe after all this, and… and you!” She pointed at hoof at Twilight. “You were the one who wanted to do this this time!”

“I know, I know – again, I’m sorry!” Twilight’s voice took on a warbling effect as she took yet another step back. “I-I didn’t expect this to upset you so much! If anything I figured you’d be—”

“Oh, don’t even think for a second you have any idea how I feel, Twi,” Rainbow barked back with an unnerving firmness.

Twilight blinked, lifting a limp hoof. “Wh… what are you—”

“This was stupid.” Rainbow stomped against the ground before turning away, flicking her wet tail to the side. “Maybe you were right. We never should have done this to begin with. It’s not like I w-want…” She gulped.

Twilight’s ears flicked forward. She dared a step forward. “It’s not like you want…?”

For a moment, Rainbow remained silent. The storm pouring over them flickered with the occasional burst of lightning, highlighting the mare’s debris-dappled mane matted against her neck. After a moment, she glanced back, her face etched with disgust. “Forget it. Just end the spell.”

“No… wait, Rainbow,” Twilight said, taking another step closer. “If there’s something I’ve done to make you—”

“End the spell,” she repeated, her tone and expression demanding no further argument.

The air caught in Twilight’s lungs. A sudden wave of nausea flooded her senses. With a gulp of her own, she brought her horn to light.

__________

Twilight grunted from the force of the spell’s end, nearly falling over from where she sat on the library’s rug. Rubbing a hoof against her head, she peered across the way.

All she saw was a blur of cerulean wings before Rainbow flew right over her.

“Gah!” Twilight fell over anyway.

Stumbling back to her hooves, she caught a glimpse of blue darting out into the hallway. “Rainbow Dash! Wait! Where are you—”

“Not now,” she heard the pegasus shout back against the crystalline walls.

Twilight’s jaw hung loose from yet another incomplete sentence. Clenching it shut, she galloped into the hall and after the mare. “Rainbow, I’m sorry! Please! I didn’t mean to do anything wrong!”

“NOT NOW,” Rainbow shouted once more. The pegasus was making a mad dash for the front doors of the castle. Even as she pursued, Twilight noticed out of her periphery and from the sound overhead that the storm was still raging outside. Surely Rainbow wasn’t thinking of—

“Wait!” Twilight shouted as Rainbow wrenched open one of the doors, letting in a gust of warm, humid air.

Rainbow glanced down at her, hovering close to the bands of rain pouring beyond. Her magenta eyes shimmered beneath a flash of lightning. She opened her mouth for a moment as if to say something, but then turned for the storm.

Twilight reached a hoof toward her. “You… you’re not going to…?”

She was. With a flap of her wings, Rainbow Dash dove into the storm.

Leaving behind her thoroughly confused friend.

A Memory Once Buried

Rainbow regretted her decision.

Not for any emotional reasons, but because the wind and rain were literally going to rip her wings off at any moment.

“Gaahh!” Rainbow spun against the tempestuous darkness, illuminated in waves by the lightning skirting around her body. Thunder boomed from every direction, which Rainbow tried to use to her advantage – it was simply too dark and chaotic to see where she was going.

She flicked her ears to each side. Sure enough, the clap of a nearby bolt rang off something tall and hollow – the castle, no doubt. Banking against a gust, she aimed her body for the source of the echo, pitching down toward what she could only hope was the front entrance. She struggled to close her wings for the dive, but upon doing so caught a violent updraft beneath her plumes, sending her body tumbling skyward.

A glint of green flashed in her periphery. On instinct, she wrapped her forelegs around her chest and tucked her head, pulling herself into as tight of a ball as possible.

“Oomph!” Rainbow slammed into one of the castle’s highest windows with a wet thump. For a second, she was astonished she didn’t break right through. She unfurled herself and blindly felt around the window’s frame, struggling to find the edge. Feeling a small protrusion, she grabbed hold of the thing and yanked it back.

A trip and a fall later, Rainbow Dash found herself tumbling inside, the window slamming itself back shut from another gust of wind.

“Grrh… oww.” Rainbow lay sprawled on her side against a hard, cold floor, clutching her head with her hooves. “Seriously, enough with the headaches.”

After resting for a moment, she stood and peered around the room. A set of wall-mounted manalights glowed dim beside a door, illuminating a small bed across the way with an end table and lamp. Behind her stood a rolling closet, and next to the window she came through was a mirror – currently toppled over and partially soaked.

Rainbow sighed as pleasantly as she could muster. Fate could not have provided her a better escape.

The pegasus had landed in one of the many guest rooms of the castle. Although she originally intended to fly back home, this was a perfect alternative. At least as far as she knew, neither Twilight nor Spike ever checked these rooms for any reason, given they were rarely used.

And the last thing she wanted right now was to see Twilight.

Rainbow took a moment to shake off the excess moisture from her wings, siphoning out her mane and tail with her hooves. Once finished, she noticed the puddle she left behind. With a groan, she trotted over to the closet and looked inside for a towel. Nothing.

Ignoring the puddle and knocked-over mirror, she walked over to the bed and prodded the covers a couple times, then climbed on top and sprawled out, shivering slightly against the cool surface.

All Rainbow wanted right now was to get away from things for a bit. Everything that had taken place over the past few hours was finally taking its toll, not to mention the most recent event. Grabbing a pillow from beside her head, she cradled it into her forelegs and curled up, closing her eyes.

She hated to leave Twilight behind like she did. She hated even more that she hadn’t explained herself. But she could only handle so much. Getting that close to the same feeling she had so long ago…

Just let it go, Dash. It’s all in the past.

Breathing one last longer sigh, Rainbow allowed fatigue to take hold, sending the pegasus slowly off to sleep.

__________

Another day.

Another awesome win for the Cloudsdale High hoofball team.

…Another stupid essay to write this week.

But, another day.

Alrighty. Feathers preened. Mane tousled. Covers back. Lights out.

All set.

I swear, she better hurry up and get here already.

…ah, sweet – the sound of talons. She’s the only griffon living down this hall, so it’s gotta be her.

Just play it cool, Dash. Everything’s set up and ready to go.

Gosh, I sure hope she hasn’t had a bad day. I… I really wouldn’t want her to walk in on me like this. It's not exactly the way we usually start, so I just—

Oh shoot – she’s opening the door! Play cool, play cool…!

“...Dash? You in here?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Um, why are the lights off?”

“Just… come over here. You’ll figure out why.”

Come on. Just set your saddlepack down and head this way. Please don’t make this difficult…

“...Alright.” Yes. That’s the stern tone I was hoping to hear.

Now, to scoot over a little – yeah, there we go. Any second now, she should—

“Mmph!” Perfect. Just like every time. I can’t say I like how your talons dig into the my forelegs when you pounce like that, but feeling your strength press against them… hearing your wings thrash as you take your place on top of me…

And those eyes. Those fierce amber eyes of yours.

To Tartarus with school and flight training, this is what life’s all about.

“You know, Dash, you’ve been wanting this a lot recently.” Your voice is harsh and low, that teasing thing you use against me every time.

“I know,” I whine in a whisper, just the way you like. “But… I need it.”

Through the dim light that’s still getting past the blackout curtains, you tilt your head. “Need?”

I nod, breathing a pathetic whimper. You know I need this.

For a moment, you grunt thoughtfully to yourself, pressing your forehead against mine. That freakin’ cold beak of yours startles me every time it touches my muzzle, but what gets me even more is how you lock your stare with mine. Right before you take command. Right before…

You blink.

You exhale against me, but it isn’t with passion.

I feel you hesitate.

…What’s wrong, Gilda?

My mouth opens to ask the question, but I hesitate too. I know how tricky this game is with you. One wrong word, one wrong move, and I’m left waiting until Celestia knows when for you to be in the mood again.

I’m careful. Maybe too much, even. I don’t want this to end before it begins. So I hold my breath.

…and yet, you continue to pause.

Finally, I stutter, “Wh-what’s wrong?”

Your breath catches for a moment. There’s no way to miss it; your chest stops against my own, and from the sound of it, your wings are sending all the wrong signals.

Then, they collapse.

You lift off my chest.

And you say it.

“Dash… I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore.”

Suddenly, the chill from your absence makes me feel a hell of a lot colder than I really am.

A Safe Place

Twilight stumbled into her bedroom, her head hung low and eyes downcast. Casting her magic blindly at an overhead light, she brought the room to complete darkness, interrupted only by the flicker of lightning from outside.

No amount of words at this point could accurately convey the way she felt – a thought that, perhaps another day, would seem silly. But right now, all she could contemplate was what she had done to make Rainbow run off like that, and more pressingly, the exhaustion now tugging at every faculty of her mind.

Twilight groaned as she trudged her way to the four-poster bed. She needed rest. Even after making up for lost sleep with her mid-day nap, the strain of casting the same spell several times over the past twenty-four hours had finally left an impact; she could feel it through the throbbing pulse beneath her horn. At this point, any attempt at a rational evaluation of recent events would fall victim to her slowed cognition. And it wasn’t as if she could go hunting for Rainbow in the middle of a storm – not that she even wanted to see her.

Twilight paused at the edge of the bed, watching her tinted windows flash from a distant bolt. Admittedly, this was one of the worst storms the weather team had crafted in a while. Even as skilled as Rainbow was in flight, she wondered if the pegasus would be alright on her own. Of course, if she went looking for her and actually found her, most likely things would only get worse.

Well, if she can build a storm on her own, she should be fine… I hope.

Forgoing magic in place of a hoof, the alicorn tossed the thick covers of her bed to one side and slid beneath them, pulling them up past her chest. She sank into the opulent sheets, warm and soothing to her tired body. Almost immediately, her mind began to succumb to the effects of fatigue.

Still, she found the energy to cast one last spell. Closing the curtains around her bed with an indigo spark, she nuzzled against her pillow and sighed, allowing exhaustion to do its work.

__________

…Perfect.

Late afternoon. Sun’s positioned just beyond the trees. Cool, but not cold, and the breeze blows through the autumn leaves rather than my coat.

I look around with contentment.

It’s taken long enough, but it is finished. With time, rigor, and dedication, the bookshelves now wind through the forest as if they were part of the natural growth. Each shelf is modestly adorned with works of all types. Tomes. Novels. Journals.

It’s perfect. Perhaps not in the technical sense, but… it’s perfect to me.

I stroll forward between the winding oaken shelves, the colors of the many books’ aged spines complementing the fall tones beautifully. Most ponies would think I’d prefer to have these shelves stocked to capacity, but this would be an inaccurate, albeit understandable, assumption. Much as I love to gain new material, I’m far more comfortable surrounding myself with familiarity. These works here represent the culmination of knowledge that has proven most useful in my journeys. Beyond the woods, there is where I learn.

But I dare not tread too far – not anymore. For though I expected all endeavors to prove a source of functional pleasure, I’ve learned such is not always the case.

I glance to my left. A cerulean book with a multicolored spine, rather thin and flimsy, yet more alluring than all the rest, sits at an angle against a couple of older works. I lift a hoof to reach for it, but hesitate. It was this work that bore a lesson learned too late, a lesson that harkened desires of old. Not directly of course, but by proximal influence. Were it not for context, I may never have read past the prologue.

I drop my hoof and turn my head. I walk past the book. Past the knowledge.

A dull thud echoes through the woods and shelves surrounding me.

…No matter. I press forward.

I try to close my mind – a painful action to attempt – and let my eyes drift back to the winding path ahead.

The thud sounds once more. Louder. Shaking the ground.

I draw a breath. Already, I know my fate.

Memory can be a damnable sort of thing.

Screwing my eyes shut, I dig my hooves into the ground, if only to brace for the inevitable. The thud sounds again, accented with shattered wood. I hear the branches overhead sway with unnatural force. I hold my breath.

And in an instant, the air is squeezed out of my lungs as a fetlock steals me away from my home.

I’m rushed high over the canopy of trees, I’m sure, given the lateral forces just felt. Warm breath cascades over my face, through my mane, across my withers. I hate this feeling. I hate this sensation.

I hate most of all that it scares me.

“Do you truly fear this so much?” the melodious voice speaks above barely a whisper, curious as ever.

I don’t respond aloud. Not that that’s ever stopped the thing.

I feel my body pivot against the coat hairs of the mare holding me. I dare not open my eyes. It’s hard enough to keep from shaking as it is.

“Why would you fear something you enjoy yourself so much?”

Shoe on the other hoof. I think that’s a saying somewhere, right?

“Surely you do not continue to speculate on the matter.”

Of course not. Speculation never defeated this before. A tactic neither productive nor calming. Besides… I know something now I didn’t before.

The mare exhales, blowing back my mane. “Rationale. A piece of what you believe to be a puzzle.”

Well, isn’t that how most information works? Each bit of knowledge can, in one way or another, be correlated to the cumulative whole. Life is a puzzle. And I have a new piece.

“…It makes no sense,” the voice speaks with sudden disappointment.

For a moment, I’m tempted to gaze out. But I know better. I know what happens when I embrace this.

“And yet, you know we will get nowhere until you do.”

…There is a modicum of truth to that.

Her grasp relaxes around me. Breathing becomes easier. Already, the fear begins to fade.

But I know better. I know.

So why do I choose to open my eyes?

As the light of the world fades into focus, I see not the forest around me, but the city beneath me.

Buildings. Thousands of them. Metalwork and concrete alike, built over the span of centuries. Equestrian modernity at its finest, bustling with the life of millions of ponies.

All beneath me.

Suddenly, a pleasing and queasy sort of feeling haunts me. Already, I can hear screams of terror resounding through the air. And I have yet to move so much as an inch.

Calmly, I peer down at a drove of ponies running frantically through the streets away from my hooves. Their movement is slow, or so it seems to my relative size. They barely flee outside my reach within the span of a minute.

And in that minute, I find myself at once fascinated and terrified. If I move – if I shift my weight in any given direction – all that can follow is chaos. The asphalt beneath my hooves crumbles even as I stand still.

The feeling tempts me. The screams, they call for me.

But I know better.

This, what I crave, is truly the last thing I want to crave.

I close my eyes against the warmth building within them.

I swallow through the lump in my throat.

And I step forward.

A Cold Departure

“No… no no no no!” I ramble on like an idiot as Gilda climbs off the bed.

She groans before her hind paws even make it to the floor. “Seriously Dash, don’t make this anymore awkward than it is.”

“B-but… wait, hang on!” I’m already starting to feel nauseous, but I sit up anyway, tossing the covers further away. “Are you just not feeling up to it right now? ‘Cause I can totally understand if you want to—”

“No, Dash,” she barks back, walking toward the light switch.

I flinch. “Please. Don’t. Not… n-not yet.”

She turns her head. Even in the darkness, I can see her glaring back at me.

In the little bit of time she’s not moving, I manage to crawl over to the end of the bed closer to her. “Gilda, what is it? Did I do something wrong?” I ask as if I’m clueless. Still, I have to hear her say it to know for sure.

She stares at me for a sec. Her eyes are angry – the bad kind of angry. Her beak trembles like she’s about to shout at me. But instead, she sighs, and all her anger seems to melt into… something worse.

“Dash…” She leans against the wall between the switch and door, her gaze now avoiding mine. “I’m sorry. Really, I am. I’m just not interested in this anymore.”

I gulp down the lunch that seems to be crawling back up my throat. “Wh-why? I mean, if it’s something I did, I can just—”

“It’s what you haven’t done,” she interrupts loudly, turning her full attention back to me. “You know damn well what I wanted from this all along.”

I knew it. I knew it was because of that…

With shaky legs, I prop myself upright on the edge of the bed. I struggle to figure out something to say – anything to say.

But she beats me to it. “It’s not like I can get off on this, let alone with someone who won’t even put up a fight anymore! The last few times, you’ve been giving in way too quickly. Hell, I don’t even know why you like doing this!” She frowns. “Like, who the buck plays a sub and won’t even have sex? Or fool around? Or… anything for that matter! All you want is the power play shit, and I can’t…” She groans, rubbing her eyes with the back of a talon. “I just don’t get you, Dash. I’ve played along for months now, hoping you’d change your mind.”

I wince, leaning back from her words. With a really weak whisper, I manage to say, “I’m sorry,” which just seems to make her angrier.

“Don’t,” she grunts back, lifting her talons to the door handle.

Before she can say or do anything else, I climb off the bed, my wide eyes locked with hers. “Gilda… please.”

Her expression turns curious, even though I can tell all she wants to do is leave.

I’ll take it. Gulping once more, I put on what little bit of a smile I can manage. Very carefully, I step toward her, swishing my tail from side to side, fluttering my wings lightly. “I… I’m ready.” I bite my bottom lip for a second, trying my best to keep it from trembling. “We can go the whole way… if you really want.”

Gilda’s eyes widen in shock. For a second at least. She glances at a space between the bed and the wall, then turns her attention back to the door.

She scoffs. “Sorry. It wouldn’t feel right for me to be your first, ‘specially if it’s not what you want.”

She opens the door, letting in the bright light from the dorm’s hall. “I’m going for a flight,” she says without looking back. “I’ll be back later.” And with a flick of her slender tail, the door closes on its own.

I stand in the dark, staring at the door.

My body trembles. There’s nothing I can do to stop it at this point.

My knees grow weak. I feel like I’m going to collapse.

And I hate it. I hate the sensation. I hate this feeling.

I hate being scared.

Without even thinking, I slam my hoof hard into the floor and scream. Just… scream.

And, heh… funny enough, I do the one thing I hate more than all of that.

I start to cry.

A Terror Relived

One step. One natural movement of my body. One flex of muscles and tendons that requires barely a conscious thought.

And the screams grow wild.

I lift my front-most hoof to see a crater left in the asphalt of the street below me. The ponies fleeing from my reach gallop faster, though barely.

I lean down, letting the front of my body fall between the buildings lining each side of the pavement. My shadow cascades over the herd of equines trying desperately to escape. An excited shiver travels down my sides as I fight back a grin, before opening my mouth and extending my tongue.

In a single motion, I lap up several of the insignificant little things. Already, I can feel them squirm uselessly against the soft muscle, which just thrills me all the more. What a wonderful sensation.

I relish the feeling as I stand back to my full height. I realize only a few seconds later my wings have spread on their own, casting a far larger shadow across the city proper. The sight only makes the moment all the more sweet.

My ears flick at the muffled screams of terrified ponies sounding from behind my closed lips. I can’t help it anymore; with a twitch, my mouth curves upward into a smile.

Tossing my head, I throw the ponies to the back of my throat and swallow. The wet sound is loud enough to echo against the buildings closest to me.

And though the screams of those now ingested have faded, the world seems to only grow louder with dread.

I giggle.

I giggle until the action warbles into a laugh.

I laugh loud, triumphant, to the world at my hooves.

Then, with a strain, I close my jaw, and set my sights on the next victims. My grin is here to stay.

Feeling a little feisty, I turn to one side and allow myself to plow through a row of skyscrapers, barely reaching the height of my chest. Their frameworks give way with ease as I merely stride forward. The collapsing mess reverberates with a cacophony of wailing, ponies falling helplessly to a doom that seems to transpire with such little climax.

I turn my nose up to the sight, casting a passive spell to move the ponies safely elsewhere. Their doom is not yet.

Instead, my eyes settle on a taller building across another street. Glancing down a moment, my hoof lingers in the air as I deliver mercy upon a few fleeing creatures below. Then, I step forward, allowing my weight to crack the pavement several blocks down the line.

Returning my attention forward, I stand to my full height in front of this one building, nearly as tall as I am – but not quite. I wrap my forelegs around the structure and pull myself forward, being careful to not shatter its fragile composition. Then, checking to make sure the street below is clear, I sit down, swishing my tail to sweep some carts out of the way.

The building in front of me resonates with terror. I can feel it against my limbs as the vibrations of their combined screams fill me with unparalleled joy. I lean my head forward, being careful not to press my horn against the many windows that make up the facade.

My eyes catch one particular mare in an apartment, cowering in awe just a few hooves away from her window.

I smirk. “Boo.”

The single word shatters hundreds of windows with raw sonic force. The pony I watch stumbles back from the bellow, before I shroud her and the apartment in total darkness.

Hugging myself tight against the building, I press my lips around her window and reach in with my tongue, grabbing hold of the powerless mare. She flails for a moment as I pull away, tossing her back into my throat with the usual motion. Her panic subsides almost instantaneously as she begins to travel slowly, gloriously, against the lining of my throat.

I close my eyes for a moment. This sensation never gets old to me.

Looking back at the structure I cradle within my grasp, I smirk once more, then crush the thing down the middle with a squeeze. Rubble and ponies spill all across my forelegs before slowly – from my perspective, at least – they fall to the earth below. Once more, I cast a spell, catching each of the little things to save them from peril.

Then, I glance to the side.

A large park rests just a few blocks down.

I grin wide.

With careful precision, I prance down the street, then through the buildings surrounding the park, being careful to save the victims with my magical hold. Within seconds, the park is effectively closed off from the rest of the world by toppled buildings, smoldering in ruin.

Once the task is complete, I turn my attention to the park and deposit the last group of ponies amongst several thousand more, gathered here with purpose to a fate they can only dream of escaping.

Already, several pegasi are thinking of fleeing the scene, their tiny wings giving them flight.

I stomp against a clearing at the edge of the park, smashing right through the top-layer of soil as the sound shockwaves across the land. The pegasi stumble and fall back to earth with just the one move.

Now that the scene is set, I step forward toward the field of ponies staring up at me. Many bow before me – perhaps out of formality, but more than likely to beg for mercy. Many spit and stammer words of appeal, but their voices barely reach my ears as a panicked noise. I stand too far above to clearly discern any of their statements, too far over their trembling figures to accurately determine their level of fear.

The best way – the only way – to gauge that feeling is through one simple, straight-forward means of observation.

Close the gap as much as possible.

Crouching low, I grasp a few ponies in a fetlock — when a bang from above startles me.

The echo, the sheer power of the sound rattles my bones. I drop the ponies out of shock and look up.

The sky ruptures with an explosion of every color known to ponykind.

And suddenly, I’m ready to throw up.

A Shelter from the Storm

Twilight jolted upright, clinging to the edge of her covers.

“Buh-wha… huh?” Panting for air, she pivoted her ears to each side, taking in the last remnants of a wave of thunder.

Twilight sighed, hanging her head as she scooted back against the headboard. “It was just the storm…” She rubbed her bleary eyes, then looked around.

The curtains to her four-poster remained closed, though the frequent flicker of lightning still shone clearly from the windows beyond. Considering the roar of the rain pelting against the crystal outside, it seemed the storm had increased in intensity within the span of… some amount of time.

Twilight nudged the covers off her barrel and crawled to the side of the bed, poking her head through a part in the curtains. A clock on the wall revealed it hadn’t been long since she fell asleep, but it was certainly getting late. She hoped Spike had returned by now from Rarity’s, and Rainbow Dash…

“Oh gosh, Rainbow Dash!” Kicking off the rest of the covers, Twilight dove out of bed, knocking over something hard on the floor. “Ouch! What…?” She reached her magic out for the manalights on the wall, bringing a dull illumination to the room.

She looked down next to the bed. A column of books lay scattered across the floor – reading material she normally kept close by for nights like this. She began to exhale in relief, until…

Her breath caught in her throat. She blinked at the sight. The books, once stacked neatly atop one-another, lay collapsed from merely her touch. Her closest hoof lifted away from the mess, and her eyes slowly drifted to the appendage.

Suddenly, she remembered the nausea welling in her sternum.

Taking a step back on shaky legs, she turned for the door, wrenching it open with telekinetic force before galloping into the hall.

__________

Rainbow Dash shifted against the covers, the rumble of the storm echoing through the hollow guestroom.

As the mare slowly began to wake, she noticed something wet pressing against her cheek. She rubbed her eyes, finding them sore and dry. Once she found the energy to take a peek at the world around her, she realized she was curled tightly around a pillow. It took a few seconds to gather the will to unfurl herself, but when she did, she felt a sharp chill cross over her stomach.

“Mmf… what the…?” Pushing herself upright, she stared with a drowsy gaze at the pillow. Half of it was drenched in sweat, and another portion soaked from where her head had been. She blinked.

Frowning, she grabbed the thing and chunked it across the room. The pillow crashed with little fanfare against the far wall, before falling softly to the floor.

The mare groaned long and hard before flipping onto her back, rubbing the bridge of her muzzle with a hoof. Her head swam from the dream that, unfortunately, she could still vividly recall. Just a few days ago, that memory had long since been forgotten, buried with a past she believed was completely irrelevant to her life in Ponyville. Apparently, that was no longer the case.

“Tch…” Refusing to let her imagination drift back to the dream, Rainbow rolled off the bed and trudged her way to the window. She noticed the knocked-over mirror along the way, lying next to the puddle of rainwater she dragged in earlier. She scowled at the sight, though she took the time at least to prop the mirror back up before walking over to the window.

She squinted through the tinted pane of glass. It looked as if it was the middle of the night, given she could barely see the town. The rain roared against the castle’s exterior far louder than it had earlier that day, and from what little she could see, the flow of the cloud cover overhead signaled a violent shift in the storm.

Rainbow sighed, fogging over a portion of the glass. After having that dream, all she wanted was to go for a flight. It was the one thing she could always count on to help calm her nerves – the very reason she originally left Twilight behind. And yet, here was this colossal storm her and the weather team put on for Ponyville because of a dumb cloud shortage earlier that month. There was no way she could safely fly around in the mess at this point, and it would be just as dangerous to try travelling past the storm to somewhere clear. Much as she hated to admit it, she knew she was stuck in the castle – and probably for a long while to come.

Rainbow shook her head and groaned again, rubbing her forehead. Perhaps the most frustrating thing about it all was the fact that she had run away from Twilight for no good reason. Rainbow wasn’t stupid – what happened between her and Gilda had nothing to do with what her and Twilight did. And yet, when Twilight bailed out at the end of the last spell, the same kind of feelings were dredged up. No doubt why she had the dream to begin with.

There was a good reason why she didn’t want to fill in Twilight on all the details beforehoof. It wasn’t just to keep from reliving that old memory. She knew that if she had shared her experience with Gilda, Twilight would never have continued with the spell – especially after the second attempt. And it just didn’t seem right to leave her with a bad experience after the first couple of attempts, knowing only too well how much that sort of thing could hurt.

Of course, that didn’t keep her from turning her back on Twilight in the end.

Mnnghgnngh, need to go apologize… nngh.

Flicking her ears back, Rainbow looked out the window again. She considered trying to go for a flight once more – even a short one.

A bolt of lightning made the decision for her.

“Guh!” Rainbow stumbled back, the coat hairs along the back of her neck standing on end as the ensuing thunder rattled the little bit of furniture in the room. She trotted briskly over to the door on the other side of the room. Glancing back a moment to shoot an angry frown at the storm, she opened the door and disappeared into the hall.

__________

The tall, empty corridor continued to resonate with the noise of the storm. Manalights overhead and along the walls provided a soft glow to the crystalline hall, flickering every so often with the rolling thunder.

Rainbow cantered beneath the lights toward the far end of the hall. She wasn’t sure exactly where she’d find Twilight, but if she remembered correctly, Spike was supposed to fix dinner at one point – so downstairs was a safe bet. Her stomach gave a growl at the pleasant though. Shaking her head with a smirk, she stepped up to a flight of stairs, preparing to walk down.

She paused. Her ears perked up. Something sounded from upstairs, and it wasn’t the storm.

Rainbow peered up through the dark stairwell. The next floor was Twilight’s private wing, separated from the rest of the castle. “Hmm…” Trotting up the spiral staircase, Rainbow’s ears flicked again at the odd sound. Once she crested the top of the stairs, she saw Twilight’s bedroom doors open at the far end of the hall, and a brighter light glowing from beneath the door of her bathroom half-way down.

She trotted forward, hearing the sound once more. Her head cocked slightly as she approached the door. She wasn’t exactly keen on listening in to Twi going to the bathroom, but something felt off.

A few seconds passed before Rainbow hesitantly cleared her throat. “Um… hey, Twi? You in there?”

Silence.

Rainbow’s ears fell back. “Eheh… uh, s-sorry. If you’re in there, I’ll be out here whenever you’re—”

Her statement was interrupted by a retching noise.

Rainbow’s eyes shot wide. “Twi? You alright?”

Somepony coughed behind the door, following with a whimper. No words.

Gulping, Rainbow stepped forward and lifted a hoof to knock on the door. “Yo, Twi. Is everything okay—”

Upon knocking, the door popped ajar, opening slightly to reveal Twilight hunched over a toilet, her mane slicked back with a trembling hoof as she looked over with wide, bloodshot eyes. “R-Rainbow?”

Rainbow’s extended hoof slowly fell to the floor, her own eyes widening further in shock. “Twilight? Are you…?” With a blink, she quickly turned away. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to! U-uh, here, lemme just—” She blindly felt around for the doorknob behind her.

“Rainbow Dash,” Twilight called out with a feeble whisper.

Rainbow paused. She looked back at the mare.

Upon a second more thorough glance, Rainbow noticed Twilight’s cheeks were matted with tears, still streaming from the corners of her darkened eyelids. The hoof that held her mane back dropped lifelessly to the edge of the toilet, allowing the disheveled mess of hair to fall across her forehead. Her wings clung tight to her sides, clearly being restrained with force as her body rocked with tremors.

“Wh… what’s wrong with me?” Twilight mumbled, her voice trembling. “What’s… wrong with—”

Rainbow rushed to her side, kneeling down beside the mare. “Whoa, hey, Twi! What’re you talking about? What happened?”

Twilight sniffled, turning her head away. Her body heaved with a sharp, wet inhale. Slowly, she lifted her two front hooves, staring at the things as if they might somehow hurt her.

Rainbow furrowed her brow and leaned to the side, trying to catch her attention. “Twilight?”

Twilight’s breath quickened. Her hooves dropped a few inches before she turned to meet Rainbow’s gaze with panic-filled eyes. “I… I’m scared…”

Rainbow tilted her head. “Of what?”

For a moment, Twilight shut her eyes, struggling to keep her breathing calm. Then, looking back at Rainbow once more, she gulped. “Of me. I’m s-scared of… mm…” Her voice broke with a strained sob.

Without hesitation, Rainbow pulled the alicorn into her embrace. Twilight fell limp against her chest and buried her head into her shoulder, letting her sobs flow in full force. “Hey, shh,” Rainbow cooed, running a hoof through the back of her friend’s mane. “It’s okay, Twi. Everything’s okay.”

Twilight shook her head, brushing her mane along Rainbow’s neck. “N-no it’s not. I’m not… it’s not okay. I never s-should have suggested that spell. I shouldn’t have tried…”

Rainbow’s throat seized at the words. Her hoof hesitated for a moment, before she let it fall to rub against Twilight’s withers. A shiver ran down her back, bringing with it a sensation of overwhelming guilt.

Suddenly, Twilight wrapped her forelegs around Rainbow. With a seemingly careful motion, she pulled herself tight against the mare as she buried her muzzle into prismatic mane, clinging for dear life.

“I’m a monster,” Twilight murmured, her voice small and wavering. “The things I like… the dreams… I went to take a nap after you left, and… I had another one. Wh-where I…” A tremor ran through her limbs. “I ate them, Rainbow… I ate…”

Rainbow stroked her hoof in small circles across her friend’s back. It took every ounce of her strength to not join the mare with tears of her own. Swallowing against the growing lump in her throat, she whispered, “I’m sorry…” She pulled back to meet Twilight’s gaze, only to find her eyes shut. On instinct, she lifted a hoof to wipe the tear-soaked coat of her friend’s cheek. “I’m so sorry.”

With a shudder, Twilight met the mare’s gaze. “It’s not your fault, though. For the longest time, I’ve had these dreams.” She sniffled, turning her head slightly away. “I just thought, m-maybe if… if I tried it once. In a setting where I could control things a little better… where I could be the giant. That was last night, I guess. The spell. Everything. It was just an attempt to do something I hoped you might find fun. That I might find fun… and perhaps make me less scared of it all.” A bitter chuckle escaped her lungs as her eyes drifted back to Rainbow’s. “So much for that, huh?”

Rainbow’s ears fell back. “But I pushed you to keep doing it, even after you wanted to stop. Heck, I was the one who made you feel uncomfortable to begin with, right? I mean, I made fun of you for wanting to do it in the first place!”

“And you were right,” Twilight said with a low, harsh tone. “Again, you were right, Rainbow. It was stupid. I was stupid.”

Rainbow’s eyes darted between her friend’s. “Twilight, you of all ponies are not stupid.”

Twilight scoffed. “You sure? Just look at me – an alicorn princess who fantasizes about… being a giant?” She turned her head away with a bitter smirk, eyes narrowing with spite. “Oh, hello there! My name is Twilight Sparkle, princess of friendship! I like reading, spending time with my friends, and eating ponies when I have the—”

A hoof pressed against her lips. Twilight’s eyes widened as her muzzle was forcibly guided back.

Rainbow frowned, her magenta eyes thin and full of anger. She shook her head slowly. “No.”

Twilight’s ears fell flat against her head as Rainbow pulled her hoof away.

“Don’t you ever… ever do that. For any reason.” Rainbow gulped. The brim of her eyes glistened. “It’s not worth it. I promise.”

Twilight stared at the pegasus. With a sway, she hung her head, and allowed her sobs to take charge once more.

Without so much as a word, Rainbow tenderly wrapped her limbs around her back, pulling the mare once more into the warm comfort of her embrace.

A Moment's Reprieve

“I’m sorry, Rainbow. Really. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

“Hey, it’s not your fault. Everything’s cool. Now c’mon…”

Rainbow wrapped a wing around Twilight’s back, pulling her close as they trotted slowly toward the bedroom. “I’m right here, ‘kay? There’s nothing to worry ‘bout so long as the Dash is around.” She put on a confident grin and glanced over at her friend.

Twilight returned the most pitiful look. Tear-stained cheeks highlighted the dark rims surrounding her violet eyes, the corners of which quivered along with the rest of her features. “Rainbow, I’m so, so sorry.”

Rainbow's grin disappeared with a muffled groan. “Why do you keep saying that, anyway?” she muttered, escorting her friend through the bedroom’s threshold. “You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“No, I mean… I’m sorry for dragging you into all this.” Twilight gulped. “That you had to see me like this.”

Rainbow paused before they reached the side of the bed. She looked at her with an arched eyebrow. “Why would you apologize for something like that?”

“I…” Twilight’s brow furrowed. Her gaze drifted to the bed, where the covers of her four-poster lay askew from earlier.

Rainbow followed her line of sight. “Oh yeah. Here.” With a gentle motion, she nudged Twilight forward with her wing.

Twilight hesitated at first, but she soon gave way to Rainbow’s guiding touch, climbing onto the exposed part of the mattress with weak, shaky hooves. She slumped against the headboard and hugged herself tight, her chest heaving with deep, thick breaths.

Rainbow’s ears fell limp at the ends as she sat down beside the bed. Never before had she seen Twilight so worked up over something like a bad dream. Sure, she may have been known to flip out over other things, like deadlines and delegations, but this was totally different. A dream wasn’t supposed to make somepony this upset. And although she had calmed down since she first discovered her in the bathroom, she was still clearly upset. It didn’t help either that out of all the awesome things Rainbow felt confident she could do, the one thing she felt lame at was being supportive. She wasn’t sure whether or not to try talking things out, or to just let her get some rest.

After a moment of awkward silence, Rainbow decided to give words another shot.

“Okay,” Rainbow mumbled, pulling the comforter closer to Twilight. She ran a hoof through the back of her rumpled mane, scrambling to think of something to say – anything that might help. As soon as the first thought popped into her head, she began to speak. “So, uh… you remember last winter when Tank was going to take his first hibernation?”

Twilight sniffled. “Wh-what about it?”

“Well, I was just thinking… that was the first time anypony besides my folks had ever seen me cry so much.” She gave a dry chuckle. “I mean, you know how I am about stuff like that. Gotta be the tough one no matter what. Go figure a tortoise of all things could turn me into such a crybaby.”

Twilight rubbed a fetlock across her eyes before looking over at Rainbow. “I don’t understand. What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well… I mean…” Rainbow grumbled, dragging a hoof across her muzzle. “Look. What I’m trying to say is, you shouldn’t feel bad for letting me see you like this.” She glanced up at Twilight, who stared back at her with a confused look. “Seriously, I get that it’s probably embarrassing or whatever. You know I understand how that feels. But…” She placed a hoof next to the mare. “I’m your friend, Twilight. And if you’re upset about something, the last thing you need to do is apologize for crying.” She shook her head, letting her gaze wander down to the covers. “If anything, I’m sorry for leaving you behind.”

“Wait… that’s right.” Twilight sat a little more upright. “You left the castle after that last spell. So, when did you come back?”

“I, uh… never really left, I guess. The storm was so strong, it blew me back toward the castle.” She gave Twilight a cheeky grin. “Might’ve crashed into one of your guest rooms downstairs.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Are you hurt?”

“Psh, no way,” Rainbow said, waving the statement off as she stood up. “I made that storm out there with my own hooves. No overgrown cloud’s gonna take me out that quick.”

Twilight looked over at one of the windows, pivoting her ears toward the sound of the rain. A tiny smile crept upon her muzzle. “Yeah. I can believe that.”

Rainbow breathed a muted sigh, allowing herself to smile a little as well. She looked over at the same window, where a flash of lightning shone through. “So… you gonna be alright?”

For a moment, Twilight remained silent, merely listening to the rain pour against the castle. “Yeah. It’s just… I’ve never gotten so upset over a dream before. There’s no logical reason whatsoever to get emotional over something like this, and yet…” She buried her face in her hooves with a long groan. “Uugghh. I don’t even know anymore. I’m just tired. Way too tired to think straight… but…”

Rainbow tilted her head. “But…?”

“I really don’t feel like having another dream like that,” Twilight murmured.

Rainbow’s ears flicked back, her shoulders drooping slightly as another wave of guilt washed over her. “Listen, Twi… I don’t know exactly what happened in your dream. I mean, I get the gist of it from what you said, but… none of this would’ve ever happened if I hadn’t kept pushing you to use the spell.”

Twilight lifted her head off her hooves to glare at the mare. “I already told you, this isn’t your fault.”

“I know, but… isn’t it, though?” Sitting back down, she said, “I get that you’ve had these dreams ‘n whatever over the years, but, like… they’ve never made you this upset before, have they?”

Twilight pursed her lips in thought. Slowly, she shook her head. “No. I mean, the nightmares have always scared me. But not dreams like this one.”

Rainbow nodded idly, then blinked. “That’s right. Weren’t you the giant pony in this dream you had?”

Twilight visibly grimaced. “Y-yes. But like I said before, these desires… it's not like I even want them.” Taking a moment to steel her nerves, she said, “One of the reasons why I ended the last spell was because I realized I couldn’t keep going without feeling guilty.” She frowned as she met Rainbow’s eyes. “I’m sorry if that upset you. Which I guess it did, since you left so suddenly.”

Although Rainbow’s ears were nearly flat against her head already, she still managed to pull them back further. Shrinking away from Twilight a little, she averted her gaze and murmured, “It wasn’t you, Twi. At least… not exactly.”

“What do you mean?”

Rainbow fidgeted with her hooves. After a moment, she said, “You know how I told you I’m afraid of losing, right?”

Twilight nodded, pivoting her ears toward the mare.

“Well…” Rainbow swallowed against a tightness in her throat and hung her head, just as a bright flash of lightning illuminated the room. “That’s not the only thing I’m afraid of.”

Twilight blinked – right as the ensuing thunder rolled through the room. She jolted at the sound, though she continued to stare at Rainbow with even more confusion.

As the manalights flickered overhead, a brown object reflected the light in Rainbow’s periphery. She glanced over at the object and found a set of books lying across the floor. Her eyes widened a little when she spotted a familiar looking hardback. “Hey…”

Twilight blinked a couple more times, then looked over at the books. “What is it?”

Picking up the hardback, Rainbow turned it over to examine the front cover. A smile tugged at one corner of her muzzle when she noticed the title. “Heh. When was the last time you read this?”

Twilight squinted at the book in her grasp. “‘Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone.’” She returned a weak smile of her own. “The last time I read that was before I introduced you to her. I brought it up a few nights ago intending to go through it again.”

Rainbow ran a hoof gently over the cover of the book, then looked over at Twilight. “Think you’d mind if I read it instead?”

“Well, sure. You can borrow it, but don't you have your own copy at… home?” Raising an eyebrow, Twilight watched Rainbow climb across the foot of the bed with the book in tow. “Rainbow Dash?”

Once Rainbow crawled over and settled against the headboard next to Twilight, she said, “So, back when I was a little filly… like, a really little filly – waayy before I was awesome – my mom used to read me stories before bed. Sometimes, I’d wake up from a bad dream in the middle of the night, and she’d come read me another. Always helped me fall back asleep.” Opening the book to the first page, she said, “I know it’s a really lame idea and all, but…” She looked over at Twilight with bleary magenta eyes. “It’s the middle of the night, there’s a huge storm outside, and we’ve got nothing better to do. Now’s, like, the perfect time to read some awesome Daring Do action. Don’t you think?”

Twilight afforded herself one last totally unnecessary blink. “Rainbow… are you…?”

“Mhmm,” Rainbow hummed with a nod. “I mean, if it’s cool with you, of course.”

Twilight stared at her for a moment longer, then said, “S-sure. Of course.”

Rainbow gave her a quick, tired grin, then turned her attention to the book. Placing a hoof beneath the first line, she cleared her throat. “Alrighty… So, ‘as Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky…’”

__________

If it were any other day, Twilight might have been surprised at Rainbow’s actions over the last few hours. Perhaps on any one of those days, she would have thought to say something about those actions – to question them, or otherwise respond with input of her own. But sitting next to the pegasus now, listening to her read one of her favorite stories while fatigue tingled all throughout her body, only one thought crossed her mind.

This is really nice.

For several minutes, Twilight listened with eyes closed while Rainbow read the story aloud. She played the scenes back in her imagination as she had always envisioned them, filling her mind with the adventurous tale and nothing more. Exhaustion had long since settled in, causing her to slump further against the headboard. She briefly considered scooting all the way under the sheets to lie down, but even that much movement seemed like a chore to her now.

In time, her head began to droop sideways, eventually coming to rest on something soft. She thought she heard Rainbow hesitate mid-way through a sentence, though it was too hard to tell for sure – her voice was already fading into imperceptible noise as sleep tugged at her consciousness. But the last thing she noticed for certain was something soft wrap around her back. Whatever it was felt warm and safe, and she couldn’t help but snuggle a little into its downy embrace.

With one last sigh, she nuzzled against whatever her head had found rest upon, then surrendered herself to sleep.

“Alrighty…” Spike wiped his claws along the edge of his apron, taking a step back to look over the finished product.

A wooden bowl sat at the center of a crystalline table, speckled with the remnants of lettuce, kale, and oats of varying import, among other ingredients. A cutting board sat to the bowl’s right, covered with bits of sliced tomatoes and celery stalks. At the end of the table sat two overstuffed pretzel-bun sandwiches, extending a little over each end of two small plates.

Spike gave an approving nod and pulled off his apron, wiping his brow with the clean inner lining. “There,” he said, tossing the apron to a corner of the kitchen. “Took a little longer than I thought, but these should make up for being late with dinner. Don’t you think?” He turned his attention to the other side of the room.

“Hoo,” came Owlowiscious’ answer from his perch atop a fridge.

Spike narrowed his eyes at the owl. “These are for Twilight and Rainbow Dash.” He rubbed his chin with a claw as he examined the creature for a moment. “Y’know, Twilight likes to think she can understand you, but I’m not so sure,” he said while picking up the cutting board, brushing its contents into a trash can with a knife. “All I hear is the same question over and over again.”

“Hoo?”

“Exactly.” For the next couple of minutes, Spike worked to clean up the mess, rinsing out the bowl and oiling the cutting board. With the task complete, he grabbed the two plates and faced the door to the hall. “Think you could lend a claw?”

Owlowiscious blinked one eye, then another, before diving off the fridge and over to the door to pull open with a talon.

“Thanks!” Spike strolled into the hallway with Owlowiscious in close tow. The two gave a visible shiver to the chilly air of the hall that washed over them. Huddling the plates closer to his chest, Spike said, “Jeez, how did it get so cold in here all of the sudden?”

Owlowiscious glanced over silently at a stained-glass window, beyond which the storm continued to batter down against the world outside.

“Weird. Anyway,” Spike continued, “thanks for helping me out with stuff like this. Remember when all those delegates first started showing up at the castle?” Spike shuddered. “I’ve never had to carry so much food at once! And it’s not like you can walk through most of the doors here in the castle.”

“Hoo,” Owlowiscious agreed.

“So, yeah. Thanks for all the help.” Spike smiled up at the owl. “I’m glad Twilight took you in as junior assistant.”

Owlowiscious glanced down with what might have been a beaky smirk.

A moment later, the two rounded a corner into the library and came to a halt, staring at the vacant room. “Huh… it’s late, but it shouldn’t be that late.”

“Hoo?”

“Well, last I checked, they were in here doing… something with a spell, I think.” He pursed his lips in thought. “Not really sure.” With a shrug, he continued down the hall. “Anyway, guess Dash went home. Twilight would’ve said something if she was heading out too, so she’s probably upstairs reading.”

After making the journey down the long corridor and up a few flight of stairs, Spike and Owlowiscious found Twilight’s hall dimly lit and even colder than downstairs. The lights along the wall burned with a weak glow beneath the occasional flash of lightning, and not a sound could be heard above the falling rain outside.

Spike hummed in thought as they continued down the hall. “She usually turns up the lights when she comes up here to study.” He noticed the light coming through the glass of Twilight’s bedroom doors was just as dim.

Setting one of the plates down next to the door, Spike glanced up at Owlowiscious. “Think she already went to bed?” The owl merely shrugged.

With a shrug of his own, Spike grabbed one of the handles and quietly unlatched the door. Pushing forward a little, he peeked his head inside. “Um… Twilight? Is everything alri…?” His voice trailed off as he and Owlowiscious stared with wide-eyes into the room.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash sat side by side against the bed’s headboard, the alicorn’s head resting on the pegasus’ shoulder, as the two snored away without a care in the world.

A Long Night's Work

Somewhere between the realm of sleep and waking, a midnight blue alicorn ambled down a starlit path. Slippered hooves clopped softly against an unseen path as sapphire eyes squinted forward, reading the lines of an aged scroll held afloat in a field of magic.

“Hmm…” The alicorn pursed her lips and lifted her head away from the scroll to examine her surroundings. Blurred nebulas of amethyst hues swelled and shrank across the sky, distant as the stars that filled their shapes. But with merely a spark of her horn, she brought the shifting heavens to a halt.

She turned her head to the side and focused her magic on the space beside her. Soon, two shimmering walls of white took form along both sides of the path. With a hushed flourish, a column of doors slid forward along the walls, speeding past and down the path at unfathomable speed – until another spark of her magic commanded them to stop. Once the doors fell into place, she glanced to each side, then hung her head and sighed.

For several hours now, Princess Luna had worked to calm the nightmares of her many subjects, namely those within the town of Ponyville. The extended storm which the weather team crafted for the small village had done quite a number on the dreams of its citizens – most of all the children who struggled to brave the frightening sounds of the storm, only to find their sleep haunted with terrifying creatures of imagination. It came as no small relief when she graced the last foal’s dream with her presence: a world filled with rampaging gum drops. Despite their malevolent nature, she couldn’t help but smile a little as she helped a red-mane filly defeat the evil gum-drop lords with an army of candy canes.

One by one, she visited the children of Ponyville, marking off each name on the scroll as she went along. Now that most of the foals had been covered, she turned her attention to a set of adults listed near the middle of her scroll.

“Let’s see… Missus Cake,” she read aloud, turning to the left. A peach and periwinkle door sat at the ready nearest her side. Sending the scroll off with a pop, she approached the door and reached for the knob.

She paused. Immediately to the right of the door sat two others, a lavender and cerulean pair. The Princess recognized them as the dream realms of Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, but what caught her attention was not their presence so much as their placement.

Luna furrowed her brow, stepping away from Mrs. Cake’s door over to the others. When she had first returned to her royal duties as Princess of the Night, she made it a point to organize each pony’s dream in a specific order. Given her system of organization, Twilight and Rainbow’s dreams were not supposed to be adjacent to one-another. Unless she deigned to shift the order of the doors herself, there should have been no means for these two to have come together. Not unless…

“…Is it possible?” Luna craned her head forward. Between the two doors, a series of glowing threads reached out between another – frayed, delicate things that swayed with an unfelt breeze, barely visible to even her trained eye.

It was not often that she came across evidence of such spell use these days. Only certain ponies were known to dabble in such arcane magic, and oftentimes only for very specific reasons. Which begged the question:

“Why would Twilight want to use this spell? And for that matter… with Rainbow Dash?”

Her whispered musings faded without answer. Narrowing her eyes, the Princess cast a spell of her own over each door, causing the threads of light to pull taut. She then stepped up to Twilight’s and drew a deep breath, lifting a hoof to the knob.

A Tale Retold

Crouched upon a pillar of ancient ruins, I peer down into the open temple grounds. He clutches the ancient treasure in his tail, smirking at the thing with glee while his feline minions sleep around his throne. I reach over and grab the vine beside me, being careful to wait until he lifts the statue in just the right spot. My ears flick forward as he begins to speak…

“With Daring Do out of the way, the world will suffer mightily at my hands.” He lifts the statue into the sunlight. “I… am… victorious! AAHAHAHAHAHAAAA—”

“I’ll take that!”

Clutching tight to the vine with a fetlock, I swing down and snatch the statue out of the palm of his tail.

“Wh-what?! NOOOOO!!!”

Soon as my hooves land on the far cliff, I toss the vine away and spin around to soak in his disappointed face. “Better luck next time, Ahuizotl!” Then, with a tip of my hat, I’m off into the sunset with my prize.

And so, with Ahuizotl defeated, and the Sapphire Statue secured, the world was safe and sound once again, thanks to me! Daring D—

“OOMPH!”

… nngh… wh… wh-what just happened?

Suddenly, I realize I’m sprawled out on the ground, my muzzle dug into the thick, wet grass beneath me. The edge of the jungle glistens with dew from the blurred edges of my periphery. My nose throbs with a dull pain, and as I shift my weight forward, it presses against something firm.

Slowly, groaning, I crane my head up and blink.

Ahuizotl stands over me with a triumphant sneer— and with good reason. He snakes his tail into view to hold the Sapphire Statue just out of my reach, reflecting the setting sun behind me. “Surely you did not think I would be defeated so easily?”

I grit through the pain welling in my muzzle and stand to my hooves, tilting my hat back with a muddy hoof. “How did you get up here so fast?”

Ahuizotl’s sneer falls into a frown as he lifts the statue higher. “You thought you could evade me and capture the relic for yourself, but you are sadly mistaken, Miss Do. And now, you shall meet your doom!”

I blink at the words. Something… feels off. Something aside from the fact that I’ve lost the statue. Again.

Okay, focus. I toss my hat aside and crouch low to the ground, preparing to leap for the statue. But when my eyes meet the topaz gemstone set in its base, I freeze.

Wisps of blue steam begin to flow from the stone’s edges, then out of the mouths of the two heads, slowly enveloping Ahuizotl in a shroud of magic. “Did you ever wonder,” he says as his body slowly lifts into the air, “how exactly I planned to go about taking over the world?”

I narrow my eyes at Ahuizotl, refusing to take part in his distracting dialogue. Rearing all my weight onto my haunches, I buck against the ground and leap for the statue. My hoof manages to graze the edge, but then I fall back on all fours, statueless and wincing. “Nngh… y-you won’t get away with this,” I manage to sputter, glaring at the beast.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure of that this time, Miss Do.” He and the statue turn to face me, just before the shroud of magic solidifies into a blue orb. “Allow me to show you my ultimate plan…”

I squint at the orb, folding my ears back. The magic seems to pull at everything around me – the grass, the trees, even the clouds afar. A whirlwind quickly forms around us, and I have to stumble back a few paces to keep from getting pulled in.

Then, the orb flashes white, and I’m nearly deafened by a bone-jarring bang from all around. I feel my body hurl in the air before skidding across the wet grass, only for the back of my head to slam against something hard.

“OUCH… urgh… what in the—” I hesitate at the sound of a far deeper thud in front of me. Stumbling to my hooves, I shake off the impact and pry open an eye to see…

…Oh Celestia, no…

Standing far, far above the jungle’s terminus, a giant Ahuizotl grins down at me. His voice booms across the land. “With this power, no one shall be able to defeat me!”

For once, I’m inclined to agree.

I attempt to take a step back, but find my legs incapable of making the move since they’re currently occupied with trembling uncontrollably.

Ahuizotl lifts a palm over me. What strength remaining in my limbs escapes me, and I collapse onto the ground. Instinctively, I throw my hooves over my head and close my eyes. I hear the rush of his hand through the air above me. Every muscle in my body tenses. Then…

…Nothing.

My ears flick up. The world around me is strangely silent. I weather the tremors running through my body for a moment, fighting with all my will to keep from completely breaking down. After what feels like minutes, I manage to lift a hoof away from my eyes to peek out at the world in front of me.

A pillar of soundless, dark blue magic pours down from the sky over Ahuizotl, covering the creature in a mystic aura that glistens before the setting sun. A moment later, the aura shrinks in on itself with the crackling of a strained spell. I stare in awe at the strange phenomenon – until my instincts tell me to take cover.

Wheeling around, I dive into a thicket of grass and cover my head once more. A white flash penetrates my closed eyes, followed with a shrill pop. Then… something warm blankets over me. I’m startled by the sensation at first, until I realize just how pleasant it feels.

With a bit of hesitation, I slide my hooves off my head and into the grass. I allow my ears to lift a little, just in time to hear a soothing voice murmur from behind.

“Greetings, Princess Twilight.”

A voice I’m ever so thankful to hear.

A Walk in the Woods

Twilight stood from the wet grass and turned to look behind her. “Princess Luna?”

“Indeed.” Luna greeted her with a warm smile, her mane and tail finishing off the remains of Ahuizotl. Streams of dark blue magic glistened beneath the amber horizon, slowly shrinking back to their owner to billow in the breeze. “How are you this evening?”

Twilight returned a frail smile. “Could be better.”

“So it would seem. I did not expect your dreams to be affected by the storm like the others.”

“My dreams?” Twilight blinked. Looking around, she noticed the warbled effect of her surroundings – signature of a pony’s dream – as well as the hat on her head and bandages wrapped around her wing. “Oh yeah. Heh.”

Luna raised an eyebrow. “Normally, I would have some insight as to the nature of somepony’s nightmare, but in this case…” She looked back at an impression of a pawprint left in the soil. “I feel a bit lost.”

Twilight sighed. Walking up beside the taller alicorn, she said, “I think I can help with that.”

“Oh?”

Twilight nodded. “To be honest, it’s more than likely due to something…” She gulped. “Or, some things that I’ve been involved with recently.”

Luna stood silent for a moment, watching as the sun of Twilight’s dream nestled on the horizon. “Would you care to explain?”

“R-right. Um…” Although Twilight expected the question, it didn’t prepare her to answer. It was already clear to her what had taken place: Rainbow Dash was reading Daring Do and the Sapphire Stone, which meant the story was the last conscious thought she had before drifting to sleep. And given the nature of what they had been doing for the past couple of days, not to mention all the thoughts and emotions surrounding those events, it made sense that her subconscious would formulate a mixture between her recent actions and that of the story Rainbow was reading. Not to mention yada yada blah blah and—

Just explain it out loud. You’re already explaining it to yourself.

Twilight took a moment to just breathe, exhaling slowly and hanging her head. “I’m sorry, Princess. It’s just… a bit embarrassing to admit.”

Luna tilted her head down to meet her gaze. “If you’re not comfortable with speaking on the matter, it is fine.” She placed a hoof on Twilight’s withers and smiled. “Just know that I am no stranger to the feeling myself.”

Twilight looked up at her. “How so?”

“Consider the recent event with the Tantibus.” Luna’s smile faded a little as she dropped her hoof to the ground. “I created the monster to punish myself for hurting others as Nightmare Moon. But when it escaped my own dream to haunt you and your friends, it was difficult enough to admit I created such a thing, let alone to watch each of you suffer because of it.” Her ears folded slightly, and she turned her head to the horizon. “Guilt may have been its strength, but I was equally embarrassed for ever having let such a thing come to pass.”

Twilight’s gaze shifted to the horizon as well, her brow furrowed in thought. Admittedly, there were few ‘embarrassing’ experiences so broad in scale as Princess Luna’s that Twilight could use as a basis of comparison. Casting a ‘want it, need it’ spell on a pony plush and having a town go crazy over it was one thing – embarrassing, no doubt. But the Tantibus was something completely different. Not to mention…

“…I can’t imagine how hard it must have been to face Celestia after we transformed you back from Nightmare Moon.”

Luna’s ears flicked to the side. “More than you may ever know.”

Twilight grimaced at that. To her relief, Luna returned another honest smile. “But knowing my sister still accepted me after all I had done… knowing that you, your friends – my friends – would accept me after all the Tantibus had done?” She gave a gentle nod. “That was more than enough to care for any lingering embarrassment.”

Twilight pursed her lips for a moment, then smirked up at the alicorn. “I’m assuming this is all to say, ‘Don’t feel bad, I’ve had it worse than you?’”

Luna reared her head away from the mare with a look of utter confusion. “Th-that’s not at all what I meant! Did I say the wrong…?” She blinked at the growing curl of Twilight’s lips. “Oh… Oh! That was a joke, yes?”

Twilight giggled. “Yes… er, I think so, anyway. Perhaps made in bad taste. I’m sorry.” She waved a hoof lazily and said, “Dreaming or not, I’m still very exhausted, so forgive me if I say anything out of the blue. Like how I enjoy eating ponies and being a giant.”

“It is no problem. Now, as for—“ Princess Luna blinked. “Um… c-could you repeat that last part again?”

Twilight sighed once more, though with it came a sad smile. “How about I just explain from the beginning?”

__________

Twilight and Luna trotted together along the edge of the jungle, kicking up the dew from the blades of grass beneath them. To their left, thick drops of water pattered to the ground from lush foliage overhead, while to their right, rolling hills made up the landscape for several miles before ending at the base of a distant mountain. Beside the mountain sat the last remaining bit of sun, its tip barely protruding over the jungle that formed along its base.

Princess Luna gazed across the landscape with a soft expression. “I must say, yours is one of the more scenic dreams I have recently encountered.”

Twilight smiled, ambling closer to walk around a fallen tree. “I’ve always had a big imagination.” She winced. “In more ways than one, I guess.”

Luna’s closest ear flicked toward the mare, though her gaze remained on the setting sun. Once the tip disappeared beyond the horizon, she turned her attention forward. “Whenever you’re ready to share, Twilight.”

Twilight nodded gently, biting her lip as she turned her head away. The two strode forward for a short while in silence, only broken by the brush of grass and occasional crunch of bark beneath their hooves. When the edge of the jungle began to thin, Twilight cleared her throat. “So… I wasn’t kidding when I said what I did earlier. About being a giant.”

Luna nodded. “How do you know it is something you like?”

“From dreams I’ve had over the years. When I was a filly, I started having these nightmares about… well, giant ponies. They always used scared me – still do a little whenever I happen to have one these days. But more recently, I’ve had other dreams. Ones where… I’m the giant.”

Luna hummed. “Would you be comfortable explaining what the nightmares are like?”

“They usually consist of giant ponies either destroying Canterlot or coming after me.” Lowering her voice, she said, “There are some exceptions to that, but… nothing worth mentioning.”

“Mmm. Well, simple or not, I can see how such a thing might be frightening.”

“Exactly. And I’ve had those nightmares for a long time. They don’t happen too often anymore, but when they do, I always feel a bit shaken afterward.”

As the sky slowly shifted from amber to shades of purple, the trees beside them began to thin further. The thick dew-laden fauna of the jungle’s edge transitioned to dry woodlands, covered in autumnal colors. Luna glanced over at the forest, then at the straw-littered path they were steadily approaching. “Is there any reason you could think why you have had these dreams?”

“None. And you know me well enough to know I’ve tried very hard to find a reason.”

“Hence why I asked you directly, rather than taking a longer route.” Luna looked over at Twilight with a playful smile.

Twilight returned a smirk, being careful to bend her head down to avoid a low-hanging branch. “After the first few nightmares, I gave up trying to figure them out for a while. I just ignored them the best that I could and focused on my studies.” She frowned as she said, “But as far as the dreams are concerned… to be honest, I think I’m more afraid of them than I am of the nightmares.”

“How so?”

“Well… it’s the nature of the dreams.” A familiar tightness began to form in Twilight’s throat, which she was quick to gulp through. “I, um… s-started having dreams of being a giant just within the last few years.”

Princess Luna hummed again and nodded to herself. “May I ask what it is you do when you are the giant?”

Twilight visibly wilted at the question. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, taking a moment to steel herself before continuing. “I… well… I destroy things… and, uh… e-eat ponies.”

“Hmm… I see,” Luna murmured.

“B-but don’t get me wrong,” Twilight quickly stammered, “it’s not that I like doing any of that! Or at least not in real life! I just…” A shiver traveled down her spine. “For whatever reason, I enjoy those things when I’m a giant in my dreams. I promise though, I would never—“

“Peace, Twilight.” Princess Luna stopped mid-trot, lifting a hoof for Twilight to do the same. “I now understand why you were hesitant to bring this up. But please do not think this changes my perception of who you are.”

“I… huh. Well, that’s familiar.” Twilight slumped her shoulders and looked up at Luna with tired eyes. “Alright then. Why shouldn’t it?”

“Well… perhaps I should rephrase.” Luna cast her gaze down the remaining path, now growing dim as night began to settle in. “In the years I’ve served as Princess of the Night, both before and after my time as Nightmare Moon, I have seen countless dreams whose origins stemmed from desires often unknown to the ponies having them.” She looked over at Twilight and said, “While some desires are indeed unhealthy, they don’t always define the nature of somepony’s heart.”

“That still doesn’t make sense!” Twilight protested with a flustered tone. “Aren’t ponies’ desires the very things that do make them who they are?”

Princess Luna blinked. “Twilight Sparkle. Surely you know there’s more to it than that.”

“Well… I mean…” Twilight huffed, stepping away from Luna and down the path. “Okay, I understand it’s not that cut and dry. There’s countless things that make each pony who they are, things like dreams only play a part in it, etcetera. I get that.” She approached a solid plank of wood that reached out of the ground to her left, angled toward a larger wooden enclosure that stood adjacent to the path. She placed a hoof on the plank and looked over her shoulder. “But wanting to destroy things and eat ponies is the sort of thing monsters do. Not ponies.”

Luna furrowed her brow. She opened her mouth to speak, but hesitated when she noticed the wooden object by which Twilight stood: a solid wall of unfinished oak two ponies tall, lined with shelves mounted at haphazard angles. The oaken shelves stretched a short distance down the path before branching into more rugged variants that wound deep into the forest.

Setting the sight aside for a moment, she turned her attention back to Twilight. “Have you determined why you like being a giant in your dreams?”

“I’m not sure. I know what I like to do as a giant, but not why. Although…” Stepping forward along the shelves, Twilight said, “I may have discovered a certain overarching element to the desires. It’s… still very confusing, all of it. But the one thing I’ve known all along that I like about the dreams is the feeling of power I get from them.” She chuckled bitterly under her breath. “Eating ponies? Destroying stuff? As much as I… nngh… love to do those things, there’s something else to it. Something more… thematic, I guess.”

Her eyes drifted to the shelves next to her. Several earthen-tone books lay askew across the staggered shelves to her left, with one exception. A single cerulean book, far thinner than the rest and bound with a faded multicolored spine, leaned upright against a set of older books that were in far worse shape. Eyeing the book, she said, “I’m not sure if it matters anymore, though. I’m afraid I’ve just made things worse thanks to the last couple of days.”

Princess Luna sidled closer to Twilight, taking notice of the book her gaze fell upon. When she recognized the color combination, she looked at Twilight with an arched eyebrow. “Might you be referring to a certain spell you’ve used recently?”

Twilight tensed at the words. She blinked at the book a couple of times before turning to look at Luna. “You know?”

“Indeed, I do.” Luna walked a short pace down the path, carefully examining the books that lined the other shelves – many which were weathered and aged beyond recognition. Some sat with split cloth-bound spines that seemed ready to lose their contents with nary a breeze, while others were so caked with moss that it was hard to believe any words could still be legible within. But when her eyes caught a slightly larger, cleaner tome, she stopped. “It would appear you’re well studied on the nature of the spell.”

Twilight stood still for a few moments, staring at the Princess with a lost look. Eventually, she pushed off the shelf and trotted over, spotting the book that sat closest to Luna. “You know what these books are?”

“I have a hunch. Consider it the wisdom of millennia.” She turned to face Twilight. “You have yet to answer my question, though.”

“Oh. R-right.” A nervous chuckle escaped Twilight’s lungs, and she ran a hoof through her mane. “I found this spell while skimming through a tome I’ve had since I was a foal. It was stuck between two pages, and I had never seen it before. When I read through it, I found I could use it to create a synthetic world much like a dream, where I could—“

“I understand how the spell works, Twilight,” Princess Luna interrupted with an unusually firm tone. “What I’m afraid you may not know is the potential danger of using that spell.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “You mean how events in the imagination can affect the body? Yeah, I um…” She gulped. “I found that out after doing some further research.”

Luna studied the mare for a moment, as if waiting for another response. When Twilight merely blinked at her, she said, “That is not the only threat the spell possesses.”

Twilight’s ears flicked back. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Shifting her gaze back to the tome, Luna said, “May I?”

Twilight looked at the book. She replied with a single nod and watched as Luna floated it closer. She flipped to the first page, then skimmed through several others. A full minute passed in silence before she reached the end of the book and flipped it shut. “Twilight, there is a certain element of this spell that is missing from your research.” She placed the book back on the shelf and turned to face the mare. “I need you to fill me in on all the details, and who you used this spell with.”

Twilight furrowed her brow, her expression mirroring the concern now clear in Luna’s. “Wait. What exactly is missing?”

“I will explain,” Luna said, lifting a hoof with a hint of a smile. “You need not worry – no harm has been done yet. But first, I need to understand how the spell was used, and make sure I know with whom it was used.”

Twilight grimaced at that. Casting a forlorn glance back at the cerulean book behind her, she mumbled, “I, uh… I guess I can do that.”

A Warning

Twilight ambled back to the shelf where the cerulean book lay. She lifted the book in her magic and pulled it close, gazing upon it sadly. “So… Rainbow Dash stopped in a couple of days ago after the weather team finished building the storm, just looking to hang out for a bit.” She flipped open the book and said, “Rainbow and I have never really been that close. We’re good friends, of course – element bearing and saving Equestria will certainly do that.” She frowned a little as she idly flipped through a few of the pages. “But we haven’t bonded much over the years, just one on one. I’ve had more opportunities with ponies like Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity… even Pinkie Pie. And sure, I’ve learned more about Rainbow over the years, like when she was preparing for the Wonderbolts exam and I discovered her attention to detail. But…”

She shook her head, placing the book back on its shelf. “When she came over, I figured maybe we could do something together that we’d both enjoy. The problem is, she tends to like things that are a bit more… intense, than I’m used to. Not to mention we were stuck in a castle at night in the middle of a storm. Not exactly a lot of things to do – that she’d enjoy, at least.”

Twilight stared at the book silently for a moment. She then expelled a long breath and turned around. “So she suggested I find a fun spell. I got out one of my old tomes, flipped through the pages, found a mystery spell, got excited at the idea of playing a giant pony and bonding with Rainbow, and…” She sighed. “Do I really have to get into the finer details, Princess?”

A few hooves away, standing at a break in the path where the shelves disappeared into the forest, Princess Luna looked at Twilight with a hint of a smirk. “Have you ever spoke with anypony else about your dreams?”

Twilight gulped. “No. Not before a couple of days ago.”

Luna nodded softly. “But you were comfortable sharing this part of you, for the first time ever, with Rainbow Dash?”

“I… y-yes. I, um… for the most part, I was.” Twilight gulped again for lack of a better response.

“Mmm… and yet,” Luna said, closing the gap between them, “you said you have not had the chance to bond much with Rainbow Dash over the years?”

“Listen, Princess,” Twilight said, averting her gaze, “I know it sounds odd. Even Rainbow Dash pointed out later that she was surprised I’d share something like this about me with her rather than one of our other friends. I just…” She groaned. “It’s hard to explain.”

Luna scrunched her muzzle. “Twilight Sparkle has difficulty explaining something?” A wry grin tugged at the edge of her mouth. “Then all those times my sister praised you must have been for naught.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow.

“That was a joke.” Luna’s ears flicked back. “Was it made in bad taste?”

“No! No, sorry, I’m just… ugh.” Twilight waved a hoof and took to pacing back and forth between the shelves. “So, yes, I trust all of my friends. And in other circumstances, I might have talked with someone like AJ, Rarity, maybe even Fluttershy about something like this.” She hesitated mid-pace. “But Rainbow’s the only pony I’d share the experience with. Maybe I could talk more easily with my other friends about it… aside from Pinkie. Knowing her, she probably already knows.” She smiled a little at the thought, affording herself a glance toward Luna. “But this is one of the few things I never planned to talk about. I had no intention of ever bringing this up to anyone, let alone somepony like Rainbow.”

Twilight stopped in her tracks and rubbed a hoof between her eyes, clenching them shut. “I just don’t know anymore, Princess. It’s been a long couple of days, there’s a terrible storm pouring in Ponyville right now, and Rainbow Dash just happened to show up when I just happened to be really bored and we found a spell that just happened to let me pretend to be a giant pony.” She looked at Luna, a twitch forming in the corner of one eye. “It makes sense, right?”

Luna shook her head and smiled. She trotted closer and said, “Well, reasons aside, I suppose you would like to know what is missing from your research.”

“Please? You have no idea how bad I feel for not doing the proper research up front.”

Luna giggled under her breath. “Everything is fine, Twilight. I apologize if I came across as cryptic earlier. I just needed to hear from you the nature of what had taken place.” Walking past Twilight, she added, “Besides, it would appear for all the research you did accomplish, this one fact would have eluded you anyway.”

Twilight looked over her shoulder. “So, what is it exactly?”

Luna glanced back with a lit horn. A doorway popped into place in front of the Princess, silhouetted by a bright white light. “Come. I will show you.”

__________

Princess Luna strode through the doorway into the world between dream and waking. When Twilight stepped in behind her, she pointed at a door adjacent to the one they had walked through.

“Hm?” Twilight looked over at the single cerulean door, glowing with a soft white brilliance. “Rainbow Dash’s dreams?”

“Yes,” Luna said, stepping between the door and her to point at the space between. “But this is what I want to show you.”

Twilight looked where Luna suggested. She stared blankly at the space between Rainbow’s door and her own for a moment, then stepped closer, kneeling down to squint at a flickering light. “Wait… what are these?”

“These,” Luna said, wrapping the dim strands of light that ran between the doors in her magic, “are the result of your spell use.”

A queasy feeling rose within Twilight. “Is…” She gulped. “Is this bad?”

“No. Not in this state.” Taking a moment to pull the threads taut again, Luna said, “It has been quite some time since I have seen magic like this, probably because the spells that create these threads have long since been out of regular use.”

Twilight continued to gawk at the strands, equal parts curious and concerned. “What exactly are they?”

“At the time such spells were in use, not much study was placed on what these were,” Luna said, motioning to the threads with her head before stepping over to Rainbow’s door. “There were few unicorns then who could access this realm, but the few who could determined this was the result of a specific kind of spell.”

“A specific kind?” Twilight knit her brow. “You mean spells that interact with a pony’s consciousness?”

“Not quite. Threads like these are not formed with just any spell of the sort.” Turning to face Twilight, she said, “To put it simply, these are the result of certain… intimate spell use.”

“Intimate?” Twilight blinked. “Uuhh… yeah. Definitely didn’t read anywhere about this being an intimate spell.”

“Indeed, you would have not, given that pony culture at the time this spell was created was quite different from what it is now.”

“So…” Twilight looked back at Luna. “What do these threads mean then?”

“It means that further spell use could cause yours and Rainbow’s dream realms to fuse. Permanently.”

Of all the times Twilight had blinked throughout the course of the past couple of days, this blink was by far her most profound. “What?!”

“Before Starswirl created the system of categorizing spells we use today, many spells were created of a more ambiguous nature. It is most likely the reason why you did not discover this during your research. At the time, matters pertaining to intimacy were rarely spoken aloud, let alone beyond closed doors. But that did not prevent some spell-crafters from creating magic of such nature.” Her gaze drifted in thought. “If I remember right, this particular spell was responsible for more than a few complaints amongst lovers who separated.”

Twilight blushed ever so slightly. “Yeah. I guess I could see how that might be, uh… inconvenient.”

Luna giggled. “That is most surely an understatement. In any case, there is nothing to worry about at this point.” She suggested to the threads with a hoof. “At their current state, these threads have yet to form a permanent bond. But using the spell any further could risk a fusion between yours and Rainbow’s dreams forever.”

“I see.” Twilight ran a hoof across her chin, examining the threads closely. After a moment, she said, “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever used a spell so blindly. I figured since it was in a tome I’d used for years, it was as safe as any of the other spells.” She winced a little as a certain memory crossed her mind. “I didn’t tell you this before, but… I accidentally hurt Rainbow Dash during one of the spells.”

Luna tilted her head. “What happened?”

“Well… let’s just say I got carried away and leave it at that. If that’s okay.”

For a few seconds, Luna stared at the mare, scrutinizing her statement silently before giving a response. “I trust your judgment. But hopefully that experience, as well as this new information, will help you to make the right decision.”

“You mean to not use the spell again?” Twilight scoffed. “I wasn’t planning on it anyway. After the last time, I seriously doubt I’ll ever want to play ‘giant pony’ again.” She frowned and said, “I’m just afraid after dabbling in all this, the nightmares are only going to get worse.”

As if in response to those very words, the silhouette around Rainbow Dash’s door flickered. The two looked over as the white light surrounding the door began to dim.

Luna furrowed her brow, stepping closer toward the door. “Perhaps your dreams are not the only ones affected by recent events.”

A Jungle Escapade

Spotty light fell on the two alicorns as they walked through the doorway and into a wall of humidity. Squinting through the haze, they noticed a thicket of trees surrounding the immediate area beyond the door, their lanky brown trunks spiraling up toward a canopy of dew-laden leaves. Both ponies flipped their ears flat to muffle the cacophony of chattering bugs surrounding them, broken only by the call of a macaw far in the distance. The stench of freshly upturned mud and dung wafted over the brush that covered the ground, forcing Twilight to scrunch her snout in protest.

“Good grief,” she mumbled against a fetlock, held close over her muzzle in a feeble attempt to block out the scent. “And I thought my dreams were vivid.”

To her right, Princess Luna stepped stoically into the mud, unfazed by either the smell or sights. “Rainbow Dash should be close by, though I sense she may be acting the part of another pony in this dream.”

“Yeah… more than likely.” Twilight flicked an ear at a pair of horseflies hovering a little too close for comfort. “Since this is a jungle, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s reliving the Daring Do story like I was.”

“Agreed.” And with that, Princess Luna trotted through a small break in the trees.

“Hey, hang on a sec!” Twilight called out. “I thought you were able to appear wherever you want in somepony’s dream. Can’t we go straight to where Rainbow Dash is?”

“It’s not always that easy,” Princess Luna said over her shoulder. “Some dreams are simple in nature and easy to navigate. Others are not.” She motioned forward with her head. “Let us try this way.”

Twilight watched the Princess trot ahead into a darker part of the jungle. Beating her tail against a swarm of gathering flies, she muttered, “At least my dreams don’t smell bad,” and galloped into the break.

__________

The two trudged through the mud and muck for several minutes without exchanging so much as a word – though that was mostly to keep from swallowing any bugs. Twilight struggled to use wing, hoof, ear and tail to keep the bugs at bay, while Princess Luna merely shielded herself with her ethereal mane. “You know, that seems kind of like cheating,” Twilight grumbled at one point. “When do Cadance and I get flowy manes?”

Princess Luna snickered under her breath. Not even a minute later, a hoof-sized mosquito hovered close to her ear. With a flick of her mane, she sent the little bugger on its way and pressed onward.

Twilight rolled her eyes and lit her horn, forming a thin shield around her body. “So, how much farther do we have to go?”

“Not far. Listen.” The Princess paused and flicked her ears forward, as did Twilight. Somewhere ahead of them, the sound of villainous laughter permeated the air.

Twilight trotted past the Princess and craned her head toward the noise. “That sounds an awful lot like Ahuizotl.” She glanced back at the Princess with a grin. “Hey, if we hurry, maybe we can see how Rainbow Dash defeats him! I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s into alternate endings.”

Princess Luna tilted her head. She watched as Twilight skipped ahead like a filly on a mission, then followed after her with a smirk through a copse of underbrush.

Soon, the two came upon a small clearing. A line of trees stood clustered together at the far end, but the canopy of limbs and leaves overhead opened enough to reveal the brim of an ancient stone wall. The two maneuvered their way through the brush that surrounded the trees and examined the limbs above them. “It’s too thick to fly straight through,” Twilight mused aloud. “We’ll need to use some of the branches to make our way up.”

“Agreed.” Princess Luna let the younger alicorn take lead. Leaping from one limb to another, they slowly made their way through the foliage. When they eventually crested the top, they leaped from the highest limb and onto the wall.

“Phew. That wasn’t so bad,” Twilight said, wiping the sweat and grime off her brow as she lifted her head. “I just hope Rainbow Dash is…?”

Twilight blinked at the sight splayed in front of her. Standing on top of the moss-covered wall, she was granted a perfect view of the lush green rainforest covering the land. Dense fog loomed over several portions of the jungle, glistening with amber hues beneath a bright orange sun that hugged the far horizon. Layers of thick puffy clouds floated lazily over the sun, streaking the horizon with vibrant reds and yellows. To each side of the sun, snow-capped mountains stretched far and high – much higher than any mountain Twilight had seen in real life – splitting the cloud layers with merely their presence.

The entire landscape was truly that of a dream. And it did a pretty good job of taking her breath away.

“This… this is incredible,” Twilight murmured, wide eyes soaking in the sight. “I’ve never had a dream this detailed!”

Princess Luna sidled next to the mare, watching as a flock of birds took to the sky from the trees beneath them. “Indeed, it is quite beautiful. The dreams of pegasi have always been some of my favorite. They have such a unique grasp of the intricate details of the world around them.”

“I never knew their dreams were so vivid.” Twilight grinned. “Well, I know what I’ll be studying the first chance I get.”

Princess Luna giggled. “Well, let us not forget the matter at hoof. We still need to find Rainbow Dash.”

“Of course.” Twilight watched the birds fly a few circles over the jungle to gather formation before turning her attention to the ground below. Off to one side of the jungle beneath them lay an open section of what appeared to be an abandoned temple, its ceiling having long since collapsed into fragments of weathered stone below. It didn’t look quite the same as the one Twilight envisioned with Ahuizotl in her dream, but it was similar enough to merit investigation. “Let’s try this way, Princess. I think I know where she might be.”

Princess Luna followed the mare in a short flight over the temple to another wall, touching down atop a stone that jutted partly out of its foundation. Beyond the wall lay yet another section of temple – this time with a familiar throne standing close to the right wall. And sitting in it was none other than Ahuizotl himself.

The dog-like creature lifted its tail into the sunlight, revealing a blue statue with two opposing heads. Twilight looked over at the top of a few trees that sat behind the wall nearest the throne – and just in time. A cerulean pegasus with a rainbow-mane, bandaged wing, and explorer’s hat dove out of the foliage on a vine, swinging down toward the statue. She reached out and snatched the treasure as she swung out and up toward an opposing cliff.

__________

“Better luck next time, Ahuizotl,” Rainbow Dash shouted down with a triumphant grin, holding the statue tight against her side with her one good wing.

Ahuizotl gawked at the mare from far below. He raised a fist to the heavens and shouted, “Noooo! Curse you Daring Dooooo!”

And with that, Rainbow bucked away from the edge of the cliff and galloped across a grassy field. The setting sun cast a warm glow over the pegasus’ sweaty coat, hooves kicking the dew off the wet grass into the air. She flicked her head back to brush away her matted bangs, enjoying the feel of the wind against her muzzle – humid as it was. Her eyes fluttered close for a moment as she soaked in the feeling for all it was worth.

And so, with Ahuizotl defeated, and the Sapphire Statue secure, the world was safe and sound once again – thanks to me! The one and only – the amazing, awesome, incredible, spectacular, stupendous, Daring D—

“OOMPH!”

Rainbow slammed hard into something, knocking the pony onto her back. Almost immediately she rolled onto her stomach, spitting up mud and gunk as she stumbled to her hooves. She glanced to her side, thankful to see the statue still secure beneath her good wing, then spun around with teeth bared, ready to face whoever dared to stand in her way.

When her eyes met the creature, she froze.

A female griffon stood before Rainbow, swinging its tail in a playful motion. It stepped forward and met her stunned gaze with strong amber eyes. “‘Sup, Dash.”

A Projected Fear

Twilight squinted from her spot atop the temple wall. “Is that… Gilda?”

Princess Luna glanced at Twilight, then down at the field where Rainbow and the griffon stood. “Someone you know?”

“Well, sort of. She was a friend of Rainbow’s many years ago until they had a falling out.” Twilight gripped her hooves against the edge of the wall and fidgeted her wings. “This could be bad, Princess. They recently made amends during a cutie map mission with Pinkie, but… there are some other things that could be an issue.”

“That must have been the malice I sensed building before we entered her dream,” Luna mused aloud before spreading her wings to take flight.

“Malice? What… whoa, hang on, Princess!” Twilight called out, lifting a hoof to stop Luna. “Don’t you think this is… I don’t know, an invasion of privacy? I mean, I do trust you – that’s why I followed you into her dream. But is it really alright to listen in on their conversation?”

“If somepony desires their dreams to be sheltered, I can sense the desire before entering their dream. Depending on who it is, or what the situation suggests, I may have to make my own judgment call on whether or not to heed that desire – such as was the case with some Ponyville residents during the Tantibus event.” Looking back down at the field, she said, “But in Rainbow’s case, I sense no such desire.”

“Oh. Alright then.” Twilight ran a hoof through the back of her mane. “Sorry. Guess I’m not quite up to speed on dream etiquette.”

“Understandable,” Luna said, turning her attention back to the field below. “Just so you know, neither Rainbow nor the projection of her friend will be aware of our presence – not unless I deign otherwise.”

Twilight nodded and watched the Princess take flight. Slumping her shoulders, she mumbled, “Doesn’t exactly make me feel better,” before leaping off the wall.

__________

Rainbow blinked at the griffon in front of her. Unbeknownst to her, the bandages around her wing began to unfurl, falling to the ground before dissipating into a fine powder. She went to tip her hat back with a hoof, but found it no longer there. Slicking back her sweaty bangs instead, she said, “Gilda? What are you doing here?”

Gilda narrowed her eyes at the pegasus, taking a step closer. “Oh y’know, just felt like checking in, see what you’re up to these days. Looks like you’re having a lot of fun without me.”

“I… well, uh…” Rainbow fluttered her wings against her sides. She felt as if something was missing and glanced back with an arched eyebrow. “I guess so?” She struggled to remember what just took place – something to do with a story she had read. When her mind instead chose to recall the last memory she had with Gilda, she looked back at the griffon. “So, uh… how’s spreading friendship and all that going over in Griffonstone?”

Gilda shrugged. “Scones’re selling well.” Stepping up to within an inch of Rainbow’s muzzle, she said, “Better question is, how have you been doing?”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “Me?” She sat on her haunches and rubbed her neck with a chuckle. “You know how it is. Making storms. Being awesome. The usual.”

“Mmm. Right.” Gilda stared at Rainbow for a moment longer, causing Rainbow to cock her head slightly. After a moment, Gilda sat down and sighed, hanging her head with closed eyes. “Listen, Dash. I wanted to apologize for what happened. Y’know, back in the day…”

Rainbow cocked her head the other way. “What happened back… oh.” Her ears drooped. “Yeah, uh… it’s alright. I mean, I’ve thought about it a little more since then. Or, uh… more recently, I guess.”

A short distance away, two alicorns landed in the field, invisible to both the pegasus and griffon. “You have?” Gilda said, looking up at Rainbow.

“Yeah,” Rainbow said with a shrug. “I can kinda see now why you got so upset back then.” Folding her ears further, she let her gaze drift, trying hard to fight back a grimace. “I mean, you wanted something I wasn’t cool with. So… yeah. Makes sense now why you bailed like that.”

“Well, hey,” Gilda said with a shrug of her own. “It’s old stuff now. I just wanted to say I’m sorry since you and your friend helped out with things back home.”

“Oh. Well, uh… thanks.” Rainbow smiled a little, though the tension was still clear in her features. “That’s pretty sweet of you.” She blanched the second the words rolled off her tongue. Standing up, she stammered, “I-I mean sweet as in cool sweet, not like – y’know, the other sweet. Heh.”

Gilda shook her head and returned the smile. As she stood up, she turned aside and looked out at the sunset. “Well, guess I better head back. Scones don't cook themselves, after all.”

“Right. Well, take it easy,” Rainbow said, turning around. “You should come visit again sometime soon, catch me up on things.”

“Or I could just take care of that now,” Gilda murmured from close behind Rainbow’s ears.

“Huh?” Rainbow blinked.

Suddenly, the grassy plain surrounding her changed to a set of four dark walls and a low ceiling. As she struggled to adjust to the dim light, barely making out the outline of posters and picture frames hanging from the walls, she realized she was lying back on something soft. “Wait. This is—mmph!“

She was cut off by a set of talons squeezing her mouth shut.

Digging deep into the coat of Rainbow’s muzzle, Gilda leered over the pony with slit amber eyes, glimmering beneath the amber light that streamed through the blinds beside them. Her hind paws dug into the sheets beneath them, pushing back the bed’s comforter until it fell onto the floor. She leaned down, pressing her chest against Rainbow’s as she bent her head close to one of her ears. “I bet you missed this, didn’t you?” she whispered.

Rainbow’s magenta eyes shot wide as the griffon lifted her by her muzzle and slammed the back of her head against the headboard. “C’mon, Dash,” Gilda drawled with a venomous tone. “Where’s that fighting spirit of yours? It’s no fun if you don’t play along too!”

“Mngh… mmnot...” Rainbow grasped Gilda’s arm in her fetlock and ripped the talons off her muzzle. “NNGH… Gilda! What are you doing?!”

Gilda leaned back with a thin smile. “Taking claim of what’s mine. What do you think?”

“The buck’s wrong with you,” Rainbow muttered, wiping a hoof across her wounded snout. “You really think I’d do this crap with you again?”

Gilda laughed. She lifted her head and glared down at the mare with a frightening grin and a matching glint to her eyes. “Since when did you ever turn me down? Huh? Weren’t you the one begging for this all the time back in the day?”

“Stop it, Gilda,” Rainbow barked back, thrusting her hoof against Gilda’s chest. “I’ve been over that for a long time now.”

“Oh really?” Gilda chuckled once more. “You sure you’re not still butthurt because of that one night?”

“I thought you just apologized for that! Jeez!” Pushing Gilda back, she said, “Besides, I’ve found something way better than anything we did.”

“Chyea, right. Lemme guess: some more softcore shit, yeah?” Gilda batted Rainbow’s hoof away and pressed the tips of her talons against the mare’s chest, causing her to yelp. “Face it, Dash. You might have been cool back in the day, but you always sucked in the sheets. Oh no, wait, I take that back – you didn’t suck at all! Sorry,” she said, rolling her talons against Rainbow’s chest. “Guess that’s something you were scared of doing too, huh?”

“Nngh… s-stop it, Gilda!” Rainbow sputtered. She went to grab Gilda’s arm, but the griffon batted her hoof away effortlessly with a wing. She squinted as the pressure of Gilda’s arm travelled up toward her throat. “What’s your deal, anyway? Why’re y-you doing this?”

Gilda smirked. “To make it clear just how much of a loser you really are.”

__________

Off in a corner of the dark room, two glowing silhouettes began to form. With a shrill pop, Twilight and Luna materialized, the former stumbling from the sudden jump.

“Eugh… that doesn’t feel anything like teleportation,” Twilight mumbled, rubbing a hoof against her forehead. She squinted through the dark of the room and said, “I don’t see how you can do this every ni—“

Krrt-BOOM!

“GAH!” Twilight reared back as something large and blue crashed into the wall beside her.

A heavy flap of wings broke the air to her left. She turned just in time to see Gilda pounce on top of the thing that slammed into the wall. When a raspy yelp escaped the object she now dug her talons into, Twilight gasped. “Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow lay sprawled beneath Gilda, her voice crackling in spits and sputters as two sets of talons clutched tight around her throat.

“You used to squirm every time I so much as touched you,” Gilda snarled at the mare. “And now you want to put on a brave act?” She lifted the pegasus up against the wall, pushing a strained choke out of her lungs. “Fine. Let’s see if I can’t rip right through that braveness of yours.”

Twilight’s wings flared out of her sides, her eyes wide with horror. She reached for the griffon on instinct — but found her hoof suddenly wrapped in a blue aura. She spun her head around. “LUNA! What are you—“

“Hold, Twilight,” Luna calmly replied.

Twilight blinked. She turned around.

Rainbow Dash wrapped her fetlocks around Gilda’s arm, scrunching her muzzle with the strain of shoving the stronger creature off. Throwing her weight into the wall behind her, she lifted her hind hooves off the ground with a shout. “RrrrrrRRRRAAAAUGH!”

A deep, hollow thump echoed through the room as Rainbow bucked Gilda hard in the sternum. The griffon flew back-first into the far wall with a shriek, busting her head through a picture frame before she collapsed against a nightstand, knocking a lamp and several books onto the floor. By the time she gained any semblance of bearing, Rainbow Dash had landed all four hooves around her.

“It’s over, Gilda,” Rainbow spat down at the griffon, her magenta eyes narrow with righteous anger. “It’s been over for years now.”

“Aw yeah… now this is more like it.” Gilda wiped the back of a talon across her beak and looked up at Rainbow. “So, you really think you found someone who could replace me?”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “Replace you? Get real.”

Gilda grinned. “See, I knew you couldn’t—“

“I found someone who can eat your sorry flank.”

Gilda blinked at that. Off to the side, Princess Luna looked over at Twilight. The younger alicorn stepped back a pace with a blush and grin.

Grabbing Gilda by the scruff of her chest, Rainbow pushed her against the side of the bed. “All the times we used to do… whatever you want to call what we did, you always wanted more. You wanted something I didn’t, and yet you always tried to force it.”

Gilda winced from the pressure of Rainbow’s hoof, “Wh-what’re you talking abou—”

“You know exactly what I’m talking about!” Rainbow yelled at the griffon, flicking her ears back. “You knew what you were getting into! You knew where I drew the line! And yet you still tried to push too far. In fact, you pushed too far all the time!” Leaning back, she said, “But now? Now I have someone I know would never do that. Someone I trust way more than I trusted you.”

Across the foot of the bed, Twilight blinked at the mare. “Is… she talking about…?”

Unaware of her friend’s presence, Rainbow pushed Gilda further against the mattress. “Honestly, I don’t know why I liked what I had with you. And… heh…” She smirked again, letting her gaze drift slightly. “I don’t even know why I like what I do now.” Turning to face the griffon again, she said, “But one thing’s certain: this pony will never turn her back on me.” Leaning closer with a grin, she added, “And I know for sure I’ll never turn my back on her.”

“Nngh…” Gilda gulped against Rainbow’s hoof. “Th-then why do you sound so worried?”

Rainbow blinked. “What’re you talking abou—”

A ball of talons slammed into the bottom of Rainbow’s jaw, launching the pegasus into a wooden dresser behind her.

Rainbow crashed through the double doors of the dresser, sending splintered wood across the floor. She wheezed as she braced her hooves against the base, struggling to stand back up. But when Gilda landed on top of her, she found her hooves pinned down.

“Celestia, you are so naive, Dash,” Gilda said, pressing her weight against the pegasus. “So what if you found someone else to play with? You really think they’re gonna put up with your half-assed fetish?” She leaned forward with a wry grin. “Let me guess. She’s already bailed on you once, huh?”

Rainbow coughed. “S-stop it, Gilda—”

Gilda grabbed Rainbow by the scruff of her chest and thrust her against the inside of the dresser. “Look, Dash. No matter how much you ‘trust’ this pony, no matter who it is, it doesn’t change the fact that you’re scared. You’re scared of the one thing that makes stuff like we had exciting in the first place.” She breathed a chuckle. “I mean, what kind of loser likes to be pushed around and pinned down just for the hell of it? Seriously? What do you even get out of this?”

“Says the griffon who started all this in the first place—“

“You know DAMN well how it went down,” Gilda shouted into Rainbow’s face, causing her to flinch. “That first time? That… argument we had after the one hoofball game? You know what happened when we got back to the dorm! You were the one who pushed me first! When I pushed back, you threw the first swing!”

“Yeah, ‘cause I was angry at you,” Rainbow growled back.

“Uh huh. Sure. But what happened after that?” Gilda cocked her head artfully to the side, arching her closest eyebrow. “What happened after I jumped you and pinned you to the bed?”

Rainbow clenched her eyes shut and turned her head away. “Just stop it already, I know what—“

“YOU got all flustered,” Gilda said with dramatic flair. “You stared up at me with that stupid look in your eyes, like a dog who found a new toy.”

Across the room, Twilight stared in wide-eyed confusion. “What in Equestria is she even talking about?”

Leaning closer to Rainbow, Gilda said, “It was just lucky for you that I knew what that look was. That I was the perfect friend for you to discover your weak side—“

“That’s enough!” Rainbow spat, wrapping her fetlocks around Gilda’s arm. “I was never into any of the crap you were to begin with!”

“Then what the buck were you into?!” Gilda spat back.

“I DON’T KNOW!” Rainbow screamed at the top of her lungs. “I don’t know! I have no idea! Just…” Tremors began to form in her sides as warmth built within her eyes. “I don’t know, Gilda,” she said with a wavering voice, refusing to meet Gilda’s gaze. “All I know is I liked how it felt when you did that. That’s all I know.” She stifled a sniffle by rubbing a hoof across her snout, now partially stained from the earlier scratches. “I know it’s lame. I know it’s lame, and I don’t know why I like it.” Daring a glance at Gilda, she said, “But I never liked it when you hurt me. The only reason I even agreed to half the stuff you did was because I could tell you wouldn’t play along if I said no.”

Gilda blinked. Rearing her head back with a frown, she said, “Then it was your fault for playing me along! You could have just said no! I was your friend! So why didn’t you—”

“I’m sorry, Gilda!” Rainbow yelled. “I’m sorry…” Slowly, she slumped against the back of the dresser. She met Gilda’s gaze in full and braced her hooves against her arm. “It was all so new to me. When all that crap first happened, I just knew I liked the rush from fighting with you. That part felt good. But…” She drew a breath and exhaled hard, turning her head away once more. “I learned over time that that wasn’t the part I liked most. What I liked most was when I lost to you, fair and square. Because we were so close then, I believed you would never really hurt me. Like, legit do something that would make have to… I dunno, go to the nurse or something. And I thought, ‘Well, she seems to know more about this stuff, so maybe I’ll figure it out over time.’”

She paused for a moment to think. “And you know… I did.” Lifting her head slightly, she said, “I learned that I liked losing to you… probably because we were so close.” Her ears flicked back at the thought. “But I also learned I didn’t like being hurt. Or being forced to do something I wasn’t comfortable with—”

“I never forced you to do anything, Dash,” Gilda corrected. “Not the way you’re suggesting.”

“Okay, fine,” Rainbow grumbled. “So… maybe I screwed up by not being honest about how I felt.” Narrowing her eyes, she said, “But would it really have made a difference? I mean, you were the one who tried to get me to deal with the one thing I said up front I wasn’t cool with.”

Gilda exhaled. “Yeah. The one thing that would’ve made it more fun.”

“See?” Rainbow scoffed. “That’s what I’m talking about. That right there. Just… oh for pete’s sake, would you let me go already?!”

“Tch. Fine,” Gilda muttered with a roll of her eyes, dropping the pegasus inside the dresser.

Rainbow plopped down on her rump. “Ouch!” She rubbed the side of her flank before clambering to her hooves. “Yeah. Definitely don’t miss this.”

__________

With the fight out of the way, Twilight was now free to voice her thoughts. “Wow. That was… confusing.”

Princess Luna nodded beside her. “Indeed.”

“...I don’t understand even half of what just happened.” Twilight shook her head and rubbed between her eyes. “I never knew their relationship used to be this complicated.”

“A more than fair assessment.” Placing a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, Luna said, “Nevertheless, this is why I had you wait. Sometimes, ponies are able to work out issues on their own within their dreams.”

Twilight nodded. “I understand that. I just didn’t expect her dream to be so violent.” She looked up at the Princess with folded ears. “Is Rainbow going to be alright?”

“I believe so.” She glanced over at the mare in question, who was currently surveying the damage done to the room. “Though it may be in our best interest to see the dream through to its end.”

“Right.” Twilight stepped around the Princess and trotted over to the damaged dresser. The level of detail to the splintered wood, the fragments spread across the dorm’s rug, even the broken glass and scattered books she observed on the other side of the room looked like the real things. It was almost hard to believe it wasn’t a dream, had it not been for the transition from the jungle to here – not to mention Gilda’s actions.

Still, perhaps the most surprising thing to Twilight were some of the things Rainbow said. In context, almost none of it made sense – she had little background on their prior relationship aside from what Rainbow had shared before, and jumping into the middle of a dream like this only connected dots in the vaguest of ways. But it seemed clear enough that Rainbow had referenced her in relation to… well, a fetish, apparently.

It made some sense. Rainbow had already mentioned she enjoyed losing to her. But part of it still didn’t add up, and that was mostly due to a lack of background. What exactly had Gilda done in the past with Rainbow? The dream itself didn’t seem to be a memory so much as a projection of Rainbow’s thoughts, which left her with little more than speculation as a tool for reason. The only thing certain was Gilda used to hurt her, and apparently it played some part in submission.

The thought was as much confusing as it was unnerving to Twilight. As far as she knew, part of her own pleasure came from hurting Rainbow as well – at least when she took the form of a giant. Although… that wasn’t quite true. Not entirely. In fact, the one thing she had planned to tell her before the end of the last spell involved a possible clue to what she truly liked about being a giant. Now, though, she had to wonder: what had Gilda done with Rainbow? And more to the point, what part of it was pleasurable to her?

There was another concern as well, something that Gilda hinted at but Rainbow refused to mention: she was afraid of something. Rainbow had already explained her fear of losing – a point which, when considered in the context of everything else, still came across as confusing – but she didn’t believe this was what Gilda had referenced. And if she recalled correctly, Rainbow mentioned just prior to reading Daring Do something else she was afraid of. While it was possible the two could be correlated, the thought didn’t sit quite right. There was something else to this, or so her gut told her. And at this point, there was very little she could do to make any sense of this with logic. So, might as well listen to the gut.

Breathing a sigh, Twilight looked over at an oblivious Rainbow, who bent down to grab the scattered books. After placing the books back on the nightstand and righting the lamp, Rainbow turned with limp ears to look across the room.

Gilda stood at the one window of the dorm room, parting the curtains with a talon. Somewhere beyond, the amber light of a sunset shone through, casting a warm glow over the griffon’s white and brown fur.

Clearing her throat, Rainbow walked up between Gilda and the foot of the bed, picking up the fallen comforter to toss back across the mattress. She bit her lip a moment, then said, “I’m sorry, Gilda. Really. You’re right… I could have told you how I felt back then. We were friends, after all.” Lowering her voice to almost a whisper, she said, “Honestly, I don’t think things through as much as I should. I’ve known that for a while now, but… I’ve really paid for it the past couple of days with another friend.”

Twilight’s ears perked up.

“Like I said,” Rainbow continued, “I still don’t get a lot of this junk. All I know is you helped me learn a little about myself, and now another friend is helping me learn even more… or, was helping. Not really sure where we stand now.”

After a moment, Gilda turned her head slightly toward Rainbow. “Let me just ask you one thing.”

Rainbow’s ears perked slightly. With a more positive tone, she said, “What’s that?”

Pulling her talon back to let the curtains close, Gilda looked at Rainbow. “Are you still scared?”

Rainbow’s eyes darted slowly between the griffon’s. Pulling back, she glanced away and mumbled, “Y-yeah. I, um…” She swallowed long and hard. “Yeah. I am.”

Gilda gave a single nod. She looked down at the pegasus with a warm smile.

Rainbow caught the look out of her periphery. Daring a glance back, she looked up at Gilda.

Just before she was pushed onto the bed.

Rainbow shouted as she was pinned down once more by the griffon. Reaching with her free talons, Gilda grabbed something from between the bed and the wall. “Maybe I didn’t force you to do anything back when we were close…” She tossed an object around her rear, eliciting a metallic click. “Doesn’t mean we can’t fix that now.”

Rainbow furrowed her brow at that. She opened her mouth to speak – only to have a shrill gasp escape her lungs. Her magenta eyes widened alarmingly as something hard and cold pressed firm against her thighs.

Gilda grabbed the pegasus by her mane and spun her onto her stomach. Rainbow tried to yell out, but her muzzle was pressed closed with the weight of the griffon on top of her. Crouching close against Rainbow, Gilda said, “Word of advice, you better relax some, or it’s just going to hurt worse.”

A Decision

Twilight had given the last two days much thought.

She had done everything she could to process everything that had happened since Rainbow came to visit.

She had even allowed herself moments to follow her emotions and throw logic to the side.

But nothing proved successful. Nothing had provided concrete answers to the questions swirling in her mind.

Everything was subjective. Everything remained shrouded in uncertainty.

Everything, that is, except for Rainbow’s dream.

The world around Twilight seemed to stall when Gilda thrust Rainbow against the bed. She stared transfixed at the griffon, who hastily strapped on a strangely shaped object around her flanks. It wasn’t that she didn’t know what it was, so much that she couldn’t believe her eyes. Beyond the scratching of talons against sheets, hooves beating against the bed, lungs wheezing under pressure, Twilight heard the familiar whistle of magic beside her, and out of her periphery she noticed an intense blue light burn from Luna’s horn.

But this was her doing. And she wasn’t about to let somepony else take responsibility.

__________

Princess Luna steadied herself and lifted her head, aiming her horn for the ceiling. A whirling blue aura lifted the alicorn off the ground, stirring the debris closest to her while bringing the rest of the dream to a crawl. She prepared to shatter the barrier between herself and Rainbow’s consciousness, to bring the dream to a sudden halt.

Something touched her shoulder. The light around her horn flickered. Hovering just off the ground, she turned to see Twilight reaching out to her, though her eyes remained fixed on the scene in front of them. “Let me step in,” she said, her voice steady.

Luna blinked at the younger alicorn. “Twilight, I do not believe—“

“The reason she’s having this dream is because of me.” She looked up at the Princess. “All of this, the fact she’s even thought about her past with Gilda recently, is because of me. But I think I know a way to fix this.” She lifted her head to meet Luna’s gaze squarely. “Connect our dreams like you did with the Tantibus. Please.”

Luna stared down at Twilight for a moment. “Even with my magic, I cannot prevent your dream realms from fusing further—”

“Then I’ll be quick,” Twilight replied without hesitation. Her expression demanded no further argument.

There was little time to deliberate. Luna gauged Twilight’s proposal as best she could in the moment, then closed her eyes, wrapping the aura tight around herself. “Very well. But you must hurry, for both your sakes.”

“I will.” Twilight watched the tip of the Princess’ horn burn white, before she disappeared in a flash of light.

__________

Rainbow Dash pushed as hard as she could against the mattress, but she simply wasn’t strong enough to throw off the griffon on top of her. Gilda placed her paws at either side of her flanks and pressed her hips against her own. A cold, blunt object graced the sensitive coat along her inner thighs. She clenched tight to the sheets with her hooves and wrenched her eyes closed. She tried to scream, to make any noise that might attract someone outside – anyone, anything to stop this from happening. But Gilda made sure she couldn’t so much as breathe without shifting her weight.

Once the cold sensation travelled to a far more sensitive area, Rainbow knew it was no use. She was powerless to stop Gilda, and her attempts to yell for help came across as merely a whimper against the sheets. Slowly, she felt the pressure begin to penetrate inside. Her muscles contracted reflexively in a feeble attempt to prevent the object from going any further – pressure for pressure, agonizing strain against the ice cold touch. When she felt its chill shove further inside, she prepared to surrender herself, to obey Gilda’s final warning, if only to ease the pain.

That was when a dull thud echoed through the room.

Rainbow’s ears flicked to the side. She noticed Gilda’s weight lift slightly.

Another thud rattled the picture frames remaining on the walls.

The cold pressure left Rainbow. She felt Gilda push upright. “...the buck is that?”

Once more, the thud reverberated against the walls – this time much louder. Both Rainbow and Gilda listened in still silence for the sound. Instead, a series of distant screams echoed outside.

Gilda grunted. Following a metallic click, Rainbow felt the griffon release her hold and slip off the end of the bed. Without hesitation, she scrambled across the mattress, filling her lungs with air once more. Propping her back against the headboard, she took a few deep breaths and looked across the end of the bed.

Gilda stood at the window, peering through the curtains. “Seriously, what’s that sound?” she muttered aloud, glancing left and right through the window. “I don’t see anything out—”

KRRT—BOOM.

Rainbow and Gilda blinked. They both looked up.

All was quiet at first, save the fading screams afar. Then, with a resounding crack, the ceiling of the dorm room peeled away, causing an overhead manalight to burst into sparks before disappearing with the entire roof.

Rainbow watched with wide eyes as a giant lavender mare bent over the opening, resting her hoof on top of the far wall with a crunch. She smiled down at Rainbow, then looked over at the griffon.

“Sorry, Gilda,” Twilight spoke with a booming voice. “You messed with the wrong pony tonight.”

A Kaiju Friend

The world trembled beneath Rainbow’s hooves as the giant standing over her launched off the remains of her dorm room, splitting the tile floor. She shielded her eyes against a spray of debris, instinctively bringing herself to a hover – and just in time.

What remained of her dorm room suddenly began to sink through the white cloud matter that made the foundation of not just her school, but Cloudsdale as a whole. She looked around at the city glowing beneath the setting sun. Several buildings collapsed from the shockwave of Twilight’s jump, white marble structures seeping through the clouds with no hope of recovery. Thankfully, everypony seemed to have survived the blast, as hundreds of pegasi hovered over the city with a myriad of shocked expressions, most of them turned toward the giant diving off the side of their city.

__________

“I thought you said eating ponies was bad!” Gilda screamed through the cold air as she freefell toward the world below Cloudsdale.

Directly above, with hooves the size of the tallest buildings in Equestria outstretched toward her, Twilight smirked. “I said ponies. Not griffons.”

Gilda shot the mare a frown. “Don’t play me for a fool, Twilight Sparkle. You know you’ll regret anything you do here.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. She suddenly noticed a dull throb in the back of her head. Scrunching her muzzle, she squinted at the griffon. That doesn’t sound like something Rainbow would say to me... so why would Gilda—

“Twilight,” a regal voice spoke from somewhere in the back of her mind.

Wait… Princess Luna?

“Indeed. Do not be afraid; I am merely speaking with you through your subconsciousness.”

Oh, okay. That makes sense.

“Twilight, there is a problem,” the Princess continued. “You may or may not have already noticed, but yours and Rainbow’s dream realms are beginning to blend as one. I cannot hold the spell for much longer before they fuse permanently.”

Huh… then that must be why Gilda is—

“Take this, loser!”

Twilight’s train of thought shattered as a set of talons slammed into the side of her muzzle, sending a sharp wave of pain through her jaw. She spun her head to the side expecting to see Gilda, but did a double-take when she realized how close the world was beneath her – as well as the town that lay directly below.

Twilight’s eyes shot wide. She fanned her wings out to their full width, filling her plumes with frigid air in an attempt to slow her fall. She stretched her hooves away from the town, from the crowd of ponies gathered in the cobblestone streets below, staring straight up. Their gazes locked onto hers, each one filled with mortal fright as her massive figure barreled straight toward them.

She met each pony’s gaze in what felt like a second. Screwing her eyes shut, she called upon a spell and lifted her head, burning the image of the little ponies before her eyelids.

The twinkling chime of magic briefly filled the air. Then, with an thunderous crash, Twilight’s hooves slammed into the soft earth. The explosion of her impact roared across the land around her, shifting the ground beneath her. Once the noise began to die, she slowly opened her eyes and looked down.

The first thing she noticed was the miles upon miles of leveled trees surrounding her, forests decimated by the simple shockwave of her landing. Thousands of birds had taken to the skies, fleeing like a black tide away from the destruction while a cloud of dirt and debris slowly rose over the timber. A shiver both thrilling and frightening ran down her spine at the sight before she mustered the will to look further down.

Within and around the massive craters her hooves had pummeled into the earth, she saw… nothing but dirt. There was no sign of the town.

She allowed a breath to escape her lungs. Glancing over at a large clearing, she filled the area with an indigo aura. A pop echoed across the land as the town, and its ponies, flashed into existence. Several of them glanced up at Twilight.

Twilight smiled and waved.

The little ponies smiled and waved back.

Phew… that was close.

“Indeed, ‘twas close.”

G-guh… okay, definitely not used to psychic messages like this.

“My apologies, Twilight. Nevertheless, I must insist that you expedite your mission. The spell can only last a few minutes before the fusion is complete.”

I understand, Princess. I’ll try to finish things up before—

“Up high, egghead!”

Twilight’s ears flicked at a raspy voice. She looked up.

Two sets of lion’s paws slammed between her eyes.

“NNGH!” Twilight clenched her eyes shut and reared her head back, though she was careful not to move her hooves what with the ponies nearby. Shaking her head clear of the impact, she spun around.

Gilda was flying directly for the sunset, away from the town.

“Alright… time to finish this,” Twilight growled, planting her hind hooves firm in the earth behind her. Glancing over at the town, she said, “I would recommend covering your ears for this one.”

The citizens quickly obliged.

Twilight crouched low to the ground and snapped her tail, spreading her wings to their full length. She looked behind her for only a moment to see the shadow of her wings cascade dozens of miles across the landscape, shrouding the entire town beside her in her body’s shade.

As much as the sight excited her, there was one thing that thrilled her even more.

Pitching her head toward the horizon, Twilight stretched her wings to the sky—

“For you, Rainbow Dash.”

—and slammed them down, bucking hard against the earth.

With the single flap of her wings, Twilight leapt over miles of landscape – far beyond the destruction of her impact, straight over homes and ponies scattered throughout the woods and fields beneath her. But her attention was not fixed on the world below, but on the griffon ahead.

When Twilight gave her wings another beat, Gilda glanced back.

Twilight grinned with a maw several dozen times the size of the griffon.

Gilda did not grin back.

Spinning around mid-flight, Gilda flared her wings, pressing them against the frigid air behind her. She locked her gaze with Twilight, whose eyes reflected the burning sun behind her. The alicorn opened her massive jaw, ready to devour the tiny griffon in one fell swoop.

“I thought this was murder, Princess Twilight!” Gilda shouted.

Twilight blinked. Within a mere yard of the griffon, she slammed her jaw shut and turned her head, tossing her hooves out in front of her.

Gilda hovered aside as the giant flew by her, watching her crash through the edge of a jungle. Twilight slid a full mile through the wet landscape, uprooting trees and bush alike against her lavender coat. The cacophony of snapping trunks and shattered bark heeded only when her body skidded to a halt, now motionless save the slow rise and fall of her barrel. Fine mist slowly rose over her limp figure, traipsing over the earthen stains along her sides.

Far above, Gilda scoffed at the sight. “And to think, for all the power you have, you can’t even take down a single griffon. You and Dash really must be the best of friends! The egghead and the loser – man, what a great pair!”

Spitting up a clump of trees and underbrush, Twilight stomped a hoof down in a section of standing jungle, bringing herself slowly upright to look at the tiny griffon.

“Think again, Princess.”

Gilda slammed against the uninjured side of Twilight’s muzzle, toppling her over once more.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage for once?” Gilda said, bringing herself to hover just above the fallen giant. “Do you really think you can fix things by trying to grasp hold of one arbitrary inference such as—”

“I’m really not in the mood to have a griffon be my conscious right now,” Twilight muttered, cracking open her closest eye.

Gilda crossed her arms and frowned. “You are such a pathetic excuse for a Princess, you know that? A book-loving mare with a fetish for running around as a giant. What, was Celestia just out of better choices? Surely somepony would have been better suited as Princess of Friendship. Or maybe it was just entertaining to assign someone who enjoys the thought of eating ponies?”

“Stop it,” Twilight growled. “She has no idea about any of this.”

Gilda arched an eyebrow, bending down to meet Twilight’s eye more squarely. “Yep. But who is it that normally shows up in your nightma—”

“I said stop!” Twilight spat. She rolled over and lifted her head, spilling the remains of the jungle off her sodden coat. “It doesn’t matter who it is. I now know why I like this, why I like being—”

“You know nothing, Twilight!” Gilda shouted down. “You think you know something, but all you’re doing is grasping at straws. Just because one idea stands out as a possible explanation doesn’t mean it explains anything! Do you really think all of this simply boils down to you wanting to be in charge? To be dominant? You didn’t even know what that meant until Rainbow Dash brought it up a few hours ago! So who are you to—”

“I’m not stupid, Gilda,” Twilight shouted back. “Rainbow Dash reminded me of that fact. If there’s any one thing I’m good at, it’s thinking on my hooves, and I know for fact that there’s truth to this.”

“Tch. Sure, okay. Because you like being in charge, you also like being a giant, right? Yeah, that makes sense; they’re totally synonymous after all—”

“Why are you doing this to me?” Twilight yelled with wide eyes, beginning to glisten with tears. “Why? What’s the point of reminding me over and over again what I am? What I like?”

“Because, Twilight Sparkle,” Gilda said, hovering closer to the mare. “You’re afraid. And until you either embrace or reject this part of yourself, you’re gonna do nothing but think it to death.” Once within reach, she tapped a talon against the tip of Twilight’s snout. “But I know you. For all the logic and reason and good-natured friendship-loving heart that you have, you want one thing right now more than anything else.”

Twilight shook her head slowly, her breaths coming in shallow pants. “No… no, you’re wrong.”

“Am I?” Gilda asked, peering up at her with tiny amber eyes. She ran her talon gently across the edge of Twilight’s nose. “Isn’t there something you want to do at this moment? Something you want every time a tiny little thing like me crosses your path?”

Twilight swallowed through the immense lump in her throat. “Just stop it, please,” she pleaded with a shaky voice.

“Mm-mm. Don’t think so.” Pushing away from the giant, Gilda hovered higher and said, “Because whether it’s now or later, here or in a dream of your own, you’ll eventually do what you want. You’ll cave to your desire and live the fantasy, because you know if you don’t, you’ll only want it more.” She grinned down at the giant. “Now c’mon. What’s the point of pushing it off any longer?”

“No… I won’t do it.”

“Come on, Twilight.”

“No! I won’t—”

“COME ON,” Gilda shouted down with her raspy voice, spreading her wings proudly before the setting sun. “Come get your prey!”

A Briefing

Three pegasi hovered together amidst the chaos of raining marble and feathers. “Listen,” one of them shouted, “I’m tellin’ ya, if we just move fluffy clouds over this way, we can rebuild it in no time!”

“But Fluffy Clouds is on vacation this week!” another argued. “We don’t even know where he went!”

“No, I meant fluffy clouds!”

“But there’s nothing but clear skies!” the third pointed out.

“Nuh uh. Clear Skies is my n—”

A pink mare floated between the three, riding a gondola beneath a giant purple pony blimp. “This is really old hat, fellas. Why don’t you try a different angle? Instead of comedy, maybe you could help the plot somehow!”

The three pegasi blinked as the mare passed them by, her aim fixed for the sunset shimmering in the distance. “Who was that pony?” one of them asked.

“I dunno,” another said, turning her gaze up. “But it looks like we’re about to get a sunshower.”

The third face-hoofed. “That’s my name, Open Skies!”

“No, look! I swear, it’s about to—”

“Guys!” a cerulean pegasus shouted, bringing herself to hover next to the group. “Have you seen a giant purple pony headed this way?”

“Hey Rainbow Dash,” Sunshower said. “You looking for the inflatable or the real thing?”

Rainbow blinked. “I… really don’t wanna know about the first. But yeah, where’s the real one?”

All three pointed toward a brown line swathed across the earth in the distance. “Just follow the path of destruction,” Open Skies said, “you can’t miss her.”

“Got it, thanks!” And with that, Rainbow Dash sped off for the horizon.

The three watched the pegasus for a moment, then looked between each other. A dull rumble sounded overhead before the soggy remains of Cloudsdale began to dispense its contents over them. “Yeah, this isn’t funny,” Sunshower said, slumping her shoulders.

__________

A myriad of emotions ran through Rainbow Dash’s adrenaline-fueled veins. To see her home of Cloudsdale be destroyed without warning brought about dread she hadn’t felt since Discord first appeared on the scene. But knowing its destruction was brought about by one of her friends? Terror and anger threatened to mix into a dangerous combination as she barreled through the frigid air over Equestria, beating her wings with purpose.

But nothing seemed to really add up. For one, even with the way she felt, the emotions weren’t that passionate. They were dulled, as if she couldn’t fully grasp hold of them. Not to mention there was the fact that Twilight was a giant. In the spell world, that was one thing – but in real life? For one, how was she able to do it? And two, why would she do it? Surely she didn’t know about Gilda beforehoof? She was thankful she appeared when she did, but now…

“Wait a sec,” Rainbow muttered against the wind whipping past her. “That was my old dorm room. And didn’t Twilight say—”

Rainbow Dash?

Rainbow blinked a couple of times at a voice calling from the back of her mind. “Uhh, did I just go crazy and nopony told me about it?”

Rainbow Dash!

“Yeah, alright, definitely hearing things now,” she said with a shaky voice. “Really ready for this to just be a bad dream.”

Well, I believe you’re in luck.

Rainbow’s eyes shot wide – just as a white flash zapped close to her side. She turned her head to gawk at the blue alicorn now flying beside her. “Princess Luna?!”

“Fear not, Rainbow Dash,” the Princess said, matching the pegasus’ speed with poise and grace. “This is, in fact, merely a bad dream. Focus your mind on the edges of your vision – what do you see?”

Rainbow tilted her head for a second, then did as the Princess told her, crossing her eyes in the process. “Uh… it’s all wavy and junk. Just like…” Her eyes snapped back in place with a grin. “Hey, it really is a dream!”

“And a particularly dangerous one, if I might add,” Luna said, emphasizing the point with a firm tone. She turned her attention to the row of collapsed trees in the distance and said, “We need to bring this dream to an end as quickly as possible.”

“We?” Rainbow said, casting a curious gaze toward Luna. “Why can’t you just end the dream?”

“To put it simply, there is a magical tether between yours and Twilight’s dream realms that is close to fusing permanently. I believe Twilight may be better suited at explaining why this came to pass, but we came to visit your dream due to a flux I sensed within your realm.”

Rainbow scrunched her muzzle. “Uh… okay?” She looked off in the horizon where a large mound lay beneath the sun. “This has something to do with that spell Twilight was using, huh?”

“Precisely.”

“That figures.” Rainbow thought back to the rest of her dream. She remembered the moments just before Twilight’s appearance and gulped. “Um… s-so, did you see everything? In my dream, that is?”

Luna cast her a forlorn glance. “I’m afraid so. I intended to bring the dream to a halt, as I normally do when a nightmare begins to form—”

“So why didn’t you?” Rainbow abruptly asked.

“Because, Twilight felt responsible for the events that transpired here, and set out to take care of things herself.”

“So she saw everything too?!” Rainbow groaned. “How could you let one of my best friends see something like that? I thought you were supposed to be the protector of dreams or something!”

Luna sighed and looked away. “I’ll admit the circumstances may have not been ideal, but I promise you,” she said, glancing over at her once more, “I brought her here for a reason.”

Rainbow met the Princess’ gaze, which made clear the sincerity in her words. “Ugh,” she grumbled, running a hoof across her face. “Just… fine. Whatever.” She peered out at the mound in the distance, now growing in size. “So what’s the deal with Twilight going all monster-pony on us?”

“To be honest,” Luna said, “I’m not certain myself, though I do have my suspicions. Unlike with some ponies, I’m not as familiar with either yours or Twilight’s recent dreams. Thus, I’m not able to decipher events like I can with others – although Twilight did fill me in on some details before we arrived.”

Rainbow tensed at that. Just how much had Twilight told the Princess? Did she mention any of the secrets she shared? Then again, that probably didn’t matter anymore considering what the Princess had already seen. “Okay,” she said after a moment, “so what’s going on here? Why can’t you end the dream?”

“It appears the fusion has progressed further than I anticipated. Mere moments after Twilight set out to take things into her own hooves, elements of your dream began to blend with hers – most of all through your griffon friend, Gilda.”

“So, like…” Rainbow shrugged. “What’s that got to do with you not being able to end the dream?”

“Because of the fusion and the state of Twilight’s heart, she has lost herself to her own fears – those of which are now embodied in Gilda.” The two banked around a lone cloud as Luna said, “Normally, I can bring a pony to conscious awareness by simply introducing myself to the dream. But in this case, Twilight already knew of my presence – and yet somehow, she still succumbed to the fears welling within her. Unless she is willing to cooperate and triumph over those fears, there’s nothing I can do.”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. “I don’t get it.” She gestured with her hooves back to the remains of Cloudsdale far behind them. “If she’s afraid of something, then why did she do all that giant pony nonsense?”

“For you, Rainbow Dash,” Luna said, looking her way. “She did it for you. When she bore witness to the events of your dream, she felt responsible. She believes it due to her influence that you had this nightmare, and she wanted to make things right.”

“I… wh…?” Rainbow stared blankly at Luna for a moment before letting her gaze drift to the mound once more, now the distinct shape of a giant pony.

It was all a little too much for Rainbow to process at once. Rather than answering anything, the Princess had just raised more questions – like, why would Twilight feel responsible? Her past with Gilda had nothing to do with her. It was true that if it hadn’t been for the recent spell stuff, she might have not thought back to those times. But Twilight didn’t know that, right? She hadn’t told her about the dream she had after crashing into the guest-room, so… had she somehow let on that it was because of her she had been thinking of her past with Gilda?

Well, okay – duh, of course she had. After all, she shared her past with Gilda because she wanted to show Twilight she could kind of relate. So it was obvious she had been thinking of Gilda because of what her and Twilight had been up to. But that didn’t mean she should have felt guilty for her having this dream. It was her own dumb mistakes that led to this, not because of anything Twilight did. Then again, knowing her, she had probably thought it to death until she felt responsible. That would be just like Twilight.

Twilight… that’s right.

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed. “Princess,” she called out against the wind. “Do you know what’s going on with Twilight?”

“Not entirely,” Luna said. “Soon after she fell from the city, I lost my connection with her conscious. All I know is Gilda has taken on elements of her fears and is currently battling with Twilight.”

Rainbow swallowed a lump in her throat. It didn’t take long for the familiar weight of guilt to sink into her gut. “I think I might know what she’s afraid of.”

“I hoped as much,” Luna said, turning her gaze to Rainbow. “Though I’m currently powerless to do anything about it.”

“Right,” Rainbow said with a nod. “So, give me the run-down. What exactly do I need to do here?”

An Argument

Twilight smashed the surrounding jungle with a fetlock. Slowly, she steadied herself upright, crushing trees and brush and ground alike under each of her hooves. The remains of the jungle poured off her sweat-laden body, brown and green fragments falling from the stained hairs of her lavender coat to the world far below. The giant alicorn grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes, squaring herself off with the puny griffon before her. Bringing herself to her full height, she lifted her head far over Gilda, keeping her gaze locked. Her massive chest rose and fell with the slow deep breaths she drew, filling her lungs with cool fall air, exhaling with the force of a gale.

She glared down the bridge of her muzzle and growled, “This isn’t over yet.”

Gilda merely crossed her arms and returned the mare’s glare. “Uh, yeah, no kidding. But what’re you gonna do about it? Hm?” Gesturing with her talons, she said, “For all this big display of yours, you seem to be all bark and no bite.”

Twilight exhaled hard, spewing mist and sod across the air over Gilda. She closed her mouth, if only to allow a smirk to curl up the very edge. “I believe I can fix that.”

Gilda had only enough time to blink before Twilight plunged forward, extending her maw over the tiny griffon. Twilight spared no time – already, she had wrapped Gilda within the sticky hold of her tongue, flexing it tight to subdue the lesser creature. She felt a faint twitch against the sensitive muscle, followed by the nearly inaudible squeak of Gilda’s lungs heaving against the pressure of her strength.

Now was her chance. In one fell swoop, she could end this fight and sate her desire. Her body had already picked up on her instincts; saliva filled the lining of her mouth, drenching the griffon she held securely in her grasp. She pulled her tongue tighter and tighter, feeling the rapid breaths of her prey rise and fall uselessly against its surface. Screwing her eyes shut, Twilight relished the sensation, tuning out every other sense.

The feeling of this frail body, helpless to break free of her grasp, stirred forth all the wants she had failed to suppress. She grinned to herself – a reflexive gesture, something she couldn’t prevent even if she wanted. In this moment, triumphing over this tiny little creature, every ounce of her being cheered with glee. Like strings pulled to their breaking point, her legs tensed on their own, muscles clenching for dear life. She lifted her head before the setting sun, soaking in its warmth, savoring the squirming life against her tongue, bending before the pressure rising within her, until—

“TWILIGHT! STOP!”

—she heard a raspy voice.

__________

Rainbow Dash pumped her wings against the frigid air, pushing her lithe form as fast as she could toward the towering form of her friend. “Twilight, don’t you dare swallow that griffon!”

Twilight froze where she stood over the decimated jungle, jaw clenched tight and legs even tighter. When she opened her eyes, Rainbow expected to see surprise. Instead, she received a glare that could surely wither even the mightiest pony. With teeth still borne, Twilight stared her down from stories overhead, anger and humiliation filling her eyes.

But Rainbow wasn’t about to back down. “Twilight, what are you doing?!” she shouted, flying higher to bring herself level with her head. “You know better than this! This isn’t what you really want!”

Twilight narrowed her eyes. “Yes it is,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

“No it isn’t!” Rainbow ran a hoof through her windswept mane, magenta eyes wide with panic. “You told me yourself this isn’t what you want – not here, not in real life, not anywhere!”

“It is what I want,” Twilight muttered, bending her head to a menacing pitch. “It’s all I want.”

Rainbow scoffed. “Wasn’t it you I found bent over a toilet puking her guts out ‘cause she thought she was a monster?”

“I am a monster, Rainbow,” Twilight growled, stomping her hoof against the earth for good measure. “Just look at me!”

“Yeah, look at you,” Rainbow Dash yelled, thrusting her hooves out toward the giant in front of her. “Big bad Twi, the giant Princess of Friendship, who did all this in the first place just to help me!” Slumping her shoulders, she said, “Princess Luna told me why you did this. And you’d call yourself a monster? You more than anypony else knows how big a lie that is.”

Twilight narrowed her eyes further, stepping toward Rainbow. She exhaled hard, blowing the pegasus back. “Then how do you explain this?” she muttered with a low, shaky tone. “How do you explain my desire?”

Rainbow blinked. In her periphery, she noticed Twilight’s legs trembling, and her eyes had just begun to well with tears. She crossed her forelegs and allowed herself a calming breath. Relaxing in her hover, she met Twilight’s gaze and said, “How do you explain mine?”

Twilight’s eyes widened slightly, but only for a moment. “It’s not the same,” she mumbled.

“No. No, it isn’t,” Rainbow said, shaking her head. “But neither of us can explain why we like what we do. That was one of the things we talked about, remember?” When Twilight chose to remain silent, she continued. “Hopefully you also remember everything else we talked about. Like the fact that you don’t really wanna do this sort of—”

“I already know that, Rainbow,” Twilight muttered, turning her head away from the pegasus.

“And you said yourself that even though you do like this sort of stuff, you don’t want to like it, remember?”

“So what?” Twilight said, meeting Rainbow’s gaze once more. “What’s it matter? It’s not like I can choose what I like—”

“But you can choose to do what you really want to—”

“And I want this!” Twilight yelled, breaking her mouth open. For a brief moment, Rainbow caught a glimpse of Gilda – drenched from head to paw in saliva – tumbling within the chasm of Twilight’s mouth, before she slammed her jaw shut again. Lifting her muzzle up, she began to swallow.

“Twilight, wait!” Rainbow shouted, waving her hooves in front of the giant. “Please, just listen to me!”

“NO,” Twilight growled, shaking the bones in Rainbow’s body with the sheer force of the word. “I’m done talking, Rainbow! This is what I want! It’s not like I’m hurting anypony by doing this!”

Rainbow furrowed her brow. She hovered for a moment before flying up to Twilight’s snout. Landing on the tip of her muzzle, she trotted a short pace between the giant’s two eyes. She picked one to glare at and said, “You really think that’s true?”

Twilight arched an eyebrow.

“You really think you’re not hurting anypony by doing this? Because, what – this is just a dream? That’s your reason, right?” Rainbow frowned. “You’re hurting yourself, Twi! If you go through with this, you know how bad it’s gonna make you feel afterward!”

Twilight furrowed her brow. With a simple scrunch of her muzzle, she knocked Rainbow onto her rump, then dipped her nose down and popped it back up, sending the tiny pegasus tumbling in the air.

“Nngh… dangit, Twi!” Spreading her wings, Rainbow slowed herself into a wobbly hover and glared down at her friend. “Don’t you get it? This is just a dream! Gilda’s just, like, turned into this bad part of your imagination or something! So why’re you doing this?”

That seemed to strike a chord with Twilight. The giant wilted at the words and cast her gaze far from Rainbow’s. “You don’t understand, Rainbow! I just… I have to…”

“Have to what?!” Rainbow shouted, swinging her hooves out. “Seriously! I’m right here! Everything’s fine now! You saved the day and got the bad guy! You don’t have to go through with this now – it’s all cool!”

Twilight folded her ears and crouched lower against the earth. “Just leave me alone, please! You don’t know what it feels like!”

“What what feels like?” Drifting closer to the mare, she said, “You’re not making any sense, Twi. I mean… not that this dream made sense anyway, but seriously.” She placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. “Gilda’s my responsibility. This dream is my responsibility. Everything you saw – everything that happened here was from my own imagination, not yours, alright? Just… please.”

Rubbing her hoof along Twilight’s coat, she said, “I know you, Twilight. We’ve already talked about this a whole bunch, so I know this isn’t what you want to do. Not deep down, at least. And besides, the nightmare’s done. You stopped Gilda, and everything’s cool now.” She paused and looked up. Twilight kept her head turned away, though she at least appeared to be listening.

“But now you’re about to turn this into a nightmare of your own,” she said, pulling away from Twilight. “You told me there was a difference between the ‘dreams’ and the ‘nightmares’ you had when we first talked about all this – that in the dreams, you’re the one who’s a giant. But after last night, seeing you upset because of one of those dreams… honestly, I think you’ve got it backward.”

A shiver traveled through Twilight’s sides, ruffling her tattered wings. Rainbow noticed this and chose to carefully hover around Twilight’s barrel.

“Correct me if I’m wrong,” Rainbow continued, “but didn’t you say you felt like a monster because you ate ponies in your dream? I know you wish you didn’t like that sort of thing. And, honestly… I really don’t know if there’s a way to change that. To make you stop liking something, or even to keep the dreams from happening.” Cruising around to Twilight’s other side, she said, “But right now, you’re in charge. You can decide what you’re going to do here – either swallow my old friend, or do something that you’ll be proud of later. Y’know… like spitting her out?”

By this point, Rainbow had come to hover in front of Twilight, who continued to hold her eyes shut. Shaking her head, Twilight mumbled, “But you don’t know how tempting it is… once I’ve started, I… I can’t just…”

Rainbow plopped down once more on Twilight’s snout. “Look at me, Twi.”

Twilight scrunched her eyes tighter. But after a moment, she peeked them open and looked down at the tiny pegasus.

“We’ve run this into the ground,” Rainbow said, looking up into the alicorn’s violet eyes. “You blame yourself for me thinking about Gilda, and I blame myself for pushing you too far. We both opened up this whole world of crazy whatever without knowing what we were getting into.” She took a step forward and lifted her head, meeting Twilight’s gaze as evenly as possible. “But you didn’t cry over a toilet for nothing. And I didn’t run off like a loser when you ended that spell for nothing, either.

“We’re scared of ourselves, Twi!” Rainbow shouted up. “We’re scared of the things we like, the ponies we are, and for me, the past I have. This whole dream with Gilda? This is because of stuff that went down between us a long time ago. I mean, none of the stuff you saw here actually happened, but a lot of junk did go down when we were living together.

“After you first brought up the giant pony stuff, I thought back to those times and remembered how scary it was discovering parts of myself I never knew existed. I also remembered how exciting it was… and like I mentioned, that was one of the reasons I wanted to help you discover this part of yourself.

“But I didn’t explain everything,” Rainbow said, breaking her gaze away from Twilight. “Like how I discovered there were things I didn’t like. I know I mentioned I wasn’t one of those ponies that likes to be hurt, but the reason I know that is because of some of the junk Gilda wanted to do. Some of the stuff I let her do.”

She looked back up and continued. “I don’t know exactly what you’re going through, Twi – and yeah, you’re right, I don’t know what it feels like, what’s going on in your head, any of that. I’m not you.” Patting a hoof against Twilight’s muzzle, she said, “But I still know you. In fact, I know you better than I ever have! In just two days, I’ve learned stuff about Twilight Sparkle I never knew. Like how she’s super awesome at making spell worlds and being a kick-flank brawler when she wants to be.”

A hint of a giggle escaped Twilight’s lungs.

“I also know how guilty doing this stuff makes you feel,” she said, giving her most honest smile. “And for what’s it’s worth – even though it isn’t the same, I know… I understand what it’s like to let yourself do something you’re not comfortable with.”

Twilight squinted down at her.

“Tell you what,” Rainbow said, turning to the side. “If you let the bird go, I’ll tell you everything. The whole cruddy deal that was me and Gilda’s flight-school fling.” Looking up at one of Twilight’s eyes, she said, “But you gotta do that much first. Give me back the griffon so we can get out of this dream. Besides, ain’t it kinda hard to talk with your mouth full?” she added with a chuckle.

For a moment, Twilight seemed to consider the proposition, letting the tension around her eyes relax. Then, she muttered, “Do you know what I’m scared of the most, Rainbow?”

Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow and shook her head.

Twilight drew a couple shallow breaths. “That when it comes to this… I can’t follow my own heart.” She lifted her head and closed her eyes, tensing the muscles in her throat.

Without hesitation, Rainbow bucked off the end of Twilight’s muzzle and sped away from the mare. “Alright then. Guess I’ll just have to follow it for you.”

An Angry Griffon

Twilight expected to swallow.

Instead, she received a roundhouse kick to the face.

The first thing she noticed was her head snap to the side from the impact, throwing her off balance. Then came the muffled sound of her body collapsing once again, barely audible through the ringing in her ears. She choked when her barrel slammed into the ground, forcing her to spit out the griffon.

Lying motionless on her side, her head felt as if it were spinning at an alarming rate. She attempted to peer out at the world, but found her vision blurred with blue and dotted with stars from the side she was hit. There wasn’t pain, so much as a distant throbbing in the back of her skull. Briefly, she found it incredible that Rainbow, as small as she was, could deliver such a powerful blow. But as the ringing in her ears began to fade, her thoughts did too.

And for a while, all was still and silent.

__________

Some time passed before Twilight felt the slow rise and fall of her chest, lungs drawing in deep breaths of cool air on nothing more than instinct. The smell of upturned dirt and freshly ground bark filled her nostrils, and the slimy sensation of mud clung to the edge of her muzzle. Very slowly, she rolled her weight to the side and propped a foreleg against the ground. The now familiar feeling of foliage falling from her coat was mildly discomforting – somewhere in the dimmed recesses of her mind, she knew that meant the dream was not over.

That bit of information acted as a spark to restart Twilight’s overwrought brain, which wanted to do anything but function beneath the pulsing ache in her head. Nevertheless, pushing herself upright with a groan, she did what she could to process what just happened.

First off, there was the matter of the dream…

“…Twilight…”

She had gone after Gilda in hopes of ending Rainbow’s nightmare…

“…Yo, Twi…”

But then Gilda started talking about—

“Hey Twilight! Wake up already!”

Nngh… Rainbow Dash?

Twilight gave her head a gentle shake and cracked open her eyes. At first, there was nothing but a world of bright white. Then she began to make out colors. There was brown and green, some amber along the top, and… a whole lot of blue.

“Twilight,” a raspy voice called from somewhere above.

Twilight rubbed a hoof against her eyes and took a moment to let the throbbing in her skull settle. When she was ready, she looked out at the world – and blinked rather hard at the sight in front of her.

Standing over the mare, hooves nestled deep within the scattered remains of the jungle, stood Rainbow Dash, smirking down at her from a thousand feet off the ground. “‘Sup.”

The breath in Twilight’s lungs caught. If it hadn’t been for her own relative size, her first instinct would have been to run. But instead…

“R-Rainbow Dash?” she sputtered, eyes wide with disbelief. “How did you…?”

“Do the giant thing?” Rainbow said, returning an obviously cocky smirk. “Luna told me this was basically both our dreams now, so I could do whatever the hay I wanted.” She took a step forward, crushing under hoof a lone tree that had briefly survived the destruction. “So when you decided to get all stubborn on me, I decided to make this my dream again.” She reached out to her with a muddy hoof, letting her smirk fall to a softer smile. “And help a friend.”

“But… what…” Twilight closed her eyes and shook her head again before looking back up at her. When Rainbow shot her a grin, she reached out and grabbed hold of her hoof.

“So,” Rainbow said, carefully pulling Twilight to her hooves. Once she was steady, she brushed a hoof against the mare’s withers, knocking a dozen or so trees off her shoulders. “I didn’t knock the egghead out of ya, did I?”

Twilight breathed a dry chuckle. “Uh, n-no. Sorry. I, uh… mmm…” Rubbing a hoof against her head, she said, “Just hurts pretty bad, that’s all.”

Rainbow’s smile quickly faded. “Yeah. Unfortunately, I don’t think that’s cause I hit you.”

“Mmnh… then what is it?”

“Well…” Rainbow looked over at the setting sun, which seemed to have no intentions of actually setting. “Does it feel like a pounding in the back of your head?”

Twilight nodded, wincing in the process.

“Which isn’t where I hit you, right?”

“Right,” she muttered, rubbing more intensely against her temple.

“Then it’s probably because of something Princess Luna told me. ‘Cause I feel it too.”

Twilight stopped mid-rub and widened her eyes at Rainbow. “The dream fusion?”

Rainbow, much to her dismay, gave a single nod. “Eeyup.”

Several questions popped into Twilight’s mind, but only one of them seemed pertinent. “Where’s Princess Luna?”

“About that.” Rubbing her neck, Rainbow said, “Thing is, you got so caught up with Gilda that she couldn’t talk to you, so she sent me after you instead. Said once you conquered your fears or whatever, she could end the dream.” She dropped her hoof into the mud and said, “But since you decided to nom on Gilda, that plan didn’t exactly work out. So I just, y’know, tried to take care of it myself.”

Twilight blinked a couple of times. “By punching me?”

“Well, you were about to swallow Gilda! I mean, I guess you could call it ‘swallowing your fears,’ but I don’t think that’s exactly what Princess Luna had in—”

“I know, I know,” Twilight said, dragging a hoof across her face. “I get it. Just… where is she now?”

“Well, I called for her after I knocked you out, but she hasn’t shown up.” Rainbow shrugged. “Seems like same with you, she either can’t talk to me, or finally decided to give up on this nutty dream altogether.”

Twilight sighed. “Alright then.” Out of habit, she began to deconstruct the information she had available to assess the situation. But one problem presented itself up front that prevented any logic or reason from working. “How in the world do we wake up?”

Rainbow’s eyes darted to the side. She cleared her throat and turned to face where she was looking. “Not sure, but… you might wanna ask a certain griffon that question.”

Twilight blinked. With a good bit of hesitation, she turned her head and followed her line of sight.

Off a short distance from the two, silhouetted against the amber sun, hovered a sticky, icky, dripping griffon – several times smaller than them, but with a scowl that quickly made her ill.

__________

“You know,” Gilda started with a low, haughty tone, “I think we’ve gone from silly, to stupid, to just plain bizarre in a matter of minutes.” She wiped a glob of saliva off one of her arms and shot her glare at Twilight. “And here I thought Rainbow Dash was the biggest loser around.”

Twilight and Rainbow Dash both gawked at the griffon. “How?” Twilight mumbled, cringing back from the sight. “How are you still here? You’re supposed to be a projection of our imaginations!”

Gilda sighed. “I don’t have a clue what you’re talking about.” She slicked the plumes along her head back into place and flung her talons free of drool. “But I do know I’m sick of this.”

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes, stepping in front of Twilight. “Sick of what, exactly?”

“You two!” Gilda shouted, meeting Rainbow’s gaze. “Neither of you can make up your minds! What you want or what you don’t want – like, c’mon! It can’t be that hard!”

Rainbow opened her mouth to argue the point, but hesitated when Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder. “Rainbow,” she murmured close to her ear, keeping a careful watch on Gilda, “there’s no point to this. Unless we can find Luna or a way out of this dream, arguing with her isn’t going to fix anything.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said, leaning a little closer, “but the Princess said she could only wake us up if you took care of your fears.”

“Well, then you probably should have told me that to begin with instead of knocking me out,” Twilight grumbled.

“Oh, right,” Rainbow grumbled back. “Says the pony who turned into a giant to fix my problems.”

“I was just trying to help!”

“And what d’you think I was trying to do?”

“Well it certainly didn’t—”

“WORDS!” Gilda screamed with flared wings and arms stretched out. “I’M SO SICK OF ALL THESE WORDS!” Hovering higher into the air, she shouted, “If you two can’t make up your minds, I’ll do it for you!”

Beyond the echo of Gilda’s angry words, the shrill whistle of magic pierced the air. The amber sun behind the griffon flickered orange, casting the landscape in a dark light before melting into the horizon. A red aura burned around Gilda’s silhouette, matching the blood-like hue the sky had swiftly turned. When the aura consumed her in a solid mass, a white spot formed at its center – then ruptured with a clap of thunder, forcing Twilight and Rainbow Dash to shield their eyes and flatten their ears.

When the light died down, leaving nothing but rolling thunder, the two dared a peek.

Two brown wings stretched before the scarlet horizon, a mile in span and blackened at the ends, mated to a griffon who stood equal in their height. Two sets of mammoth talons dug into the detritus of the jungle, snapping the husks of what vegetation remained, while two lion’s paws squared off into the mud. A black coronet with red woven lace hugged the griffon’s midriff, upon which was strapped a single brown whip and a matching muzzle. Crouching low, Gilda bent her head and narrowed her eyes, meeting the gaze of the two ponies that stood wide-eyed before her.

Twilight and Rainbow Dash shared a mutual gulp.

“So…” Rainbow Dash leaned in close to her friend. “Whose fears is she supposed to be, again?”

“GYAAH!”

And Gilda slammed into the two with a set of cottage-sized fists.

A Nightmare

Twilight and Rainbow Dash collapsed back-first to the ground, casting a cloud of debris into the air. The thunder of their crash resounded through the air with a hollow sound.

Rainbow coughed and wheezed through the grey dust looming over them. She rolled onto her side and propped herself up, rubbing her eyes with a fetlock. It was hard to see so much as a hoof in front of her, and the pulsing in her head didn’t help things at all. But through the dust, she could just make out a pony’s silhouette.

“Nngh… hey, Twi. You alright?” Rainbow’s voice echoed strangely hollow against her surroundings, not unlike their crash. She shook her head, figuring it had something to do with the blow they just received. When Twilight failed to answer, she reached a hoof through the cloud and called again. “Twilight? Is everything—”

The words caught in Rainbow’s throat when her hoof touched something trembling.

Rainbow squinted. Pushing herself upright, she took a step forward and fanned her wings to clear the dust. “Twilight?”

When Rainbow drew closer and the cloud began to disperse, she realized what it was she held: Twilight’s shoulder, shivering along with the rest of her body, as the mare looked over the landscape.

__________

Twilight sat on her haunches, hooves wrapped tight around her chest, eyes fixed forward, beholding the damage of their fall.

Two trenches lay dug through the earth some several hundreds yards in length, and no less than fifty in width. But it wasn’t the freshly upturned earth that caught her eye, so much as the shattered asphalt, split concrete, and scattered remains of buildings splayed beside each trench. Beyond the destruction lay a city miles in breadth, the only landscape visible to the ends of the horizon.

On instinct, Twilight surveyed the damage closer, eyes darting over the broken scene. To some relief, she noticed a few ponies who lay over the broken fragments of sidewalks begin to wake, their tiny bodies slowly rising with faint groans and sighs. Twilight allowed herself to draw a single ragged breath, if only to release an ounce of dread.

“Oh, I wouldn’t be comforted just yet, Princess,” a haughty voice called from afar.

Twilight blinked. She looked up in time to see the shadow of a massive bird cascade over the city, before Gilda crashed down at the end of her trench. The griffon spread her wings before the crimson horizon and met Twilight’s gaze with a smirk.

“Don’t think I’d let you miss out on the fun part,” Gilda said, stepping deliberately through the broken rebar and cement. “Crashing through a city unconscious? That wouldn’t do it justice. You need to be awake to enjoy the playground I made just for you.”

Twilight sat transfixed, unable to conjure so much as a word. Her ears flicked at the sound of muted screams, ponies who only just took notice of the giant griffon strolling through the city. Something reflexive told her to stand, to prepare for whatever came next.

That was when she noticed a growing pressure on her shoulder.

Twilight glanced to the side.

__________

Rainbow Dash squeezed Twilight’s shoulder, glaring at the griffon striding toward them. “Gilda. What is this? What are you doing?”

“Oh, haven’t you heard?” Gilda cocked her head to the side with a raised brow as she stepped through the glass facade of a downed skyscraper. “Twilight’s big into this whole ‘romping around as a giant’ thing. And since she seems to be having a hard time making up her mind whether she really likes it or not, I figured, what better way to help out than to give her what she wants most? You know…” Thrusting her talon over a battered sidewalk beside her, Gilda lifted a tiny mare in front of them. “Her favorite treats.”

Rainbow felt Twilight tense beneath her hoof. She glanced over and noticed the mortified look of her friend, who stammered, “N-no… this isn’t what I—”

“Oh yes. Yes it is.” Gilda closed the gap between them, dangling the now screaming mare closer to Twilight’s muzzle. “This? This is what you love the most. Don’t even try to deny it, especially after what you did to me.”

“That’s enough!” Rainbow shouted, stepping in front of Twilight and flaring her wings. “I don’t know what you are, what this is, or why any of this is happening – but you will not hurt my friend, or anypony else for that matter!” Stomping her hoof down, she added, “This is my dream, not yours!”

Gilda looked her over flatly, then slowly down at the hoof she stomped. “If that’s the case, you must like crushing little ponies too.”

“Huh?” Rainbow looked down.

Outstretched beyond the side of her hoof lay a stallion, screaming at the top of his lungs from the pressure of Rainbow’s massive weight.

“Gah!” Rainbow spluttered into the air on frantic wings. “What the…?” She looked around and noticed the tens, hundreds, maybe thousands of ponies gathered at every corner of the city – many screaming and fleeing, and still far too many frozen in place, staring.

Without thinking, Rainbow perched on top of a building behind Twilight, causing the thing to buckle under her weight. She sprang back up with a shout and hovered in place, glancing all around at the seemingly endless city that lay in every direction.

“What’s the matter, Rainbow?” Gilda called up. “This is your dream after all, right?”

Rainbow couldn’t comprehend it. Only moments ago, they were standing over the jungle where the dream had first started. How was it possible that they had appeared in a city? Unless…

“Ah, now you’re getting it.” Using the talons that held the flailing mare, Gilda tapped the side of her head. “Remember? This isn’t just your dream now. This is also Twilight’s. You and her, from what I gather, are going through some sort of magical thing that’s brought your dreams together.” Gesturing out to the landscape around them, she said, “And this city? Where do you think the inspiration came from?”

Rainbow blinked a few times in her unsteady hover before looking down at the pony beneath her.

__________

Twilight sat huddled against the broken building behind her, gaze still fixed on Gilda, whimpering and trembling at the sight. She pressed herself further back as if to shrink away from the griffon, only to cause the building behind her to further buckle, heralding a round of screams from within.

“Now… as I was saying.” Gilda held out the tiny mare directly in front of Twilight’s snout. She could smell the blend of perfume and sweat off the frightened pony. “You know this is what you like. You can say and do everything to deny it, but at this point, that'd be pretty stupid. You've already admitted to it.” With that, Gilda reached out and grabbed one of Twilight’s hooves, tilting it upright to place the mare on its soft padding. “Like you said: it’s just a dream.” Stepping back, Gilda said, “What harm’s there in having a little fun?”

Twilight stared wordlessly at the griffon for a moment, until the trembling hooves of the tiny mare in her grasp caught her attention. The mare had a long brown mane that clung to her neck with dirt and sweat. A cutie mark of a steaming cup of coffee sat visible on her flank through the matted debris that clung to her coat, but most notable of all were the teal eyes that stared up at her, filled with fright and streaming with tears.

And like every time before, something about the sight thrilled Twilight.

The sensation worked its way through her in a sickening fashion, causing the fear and guilt within her to double in weight. For a moment, she thought to place the mare down, going so far as to relax her hoof closer to the ground. Seeing the panic in this helpless mare did nothing to boost her desire. But no matter how hard she fought, she couldn’t help but consider the one thing she would so much prefer to do – the one thought that caused her mouth to water even now despite the nausea flooding her chest.

“Twilight!” a raspy voice called from above. “Don’t listen to her! We’ve already been over this – you know this isn’t what you want!”

“Oh shut up already, Dash,” Gilda shouted up. “You already tried that line earlier when she had me. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now.”

Rainbow growled. “Dangit, Twi, don’t do this. You know better. I know you do.”

Twilight’s throat seized at the sound of her friend’s words. Both Rainbow and Gilda were right in a way; there was a part of her, a big part, that wanted to put the mare down – to run as far away from all this as possible in hopes of forgetting her desire. But in the end, gazing upon the mare so small in her grasp, she knew she couldn’t deny its existence.

Once more, Twilight lifted the tiny mare close to her lips. The mare crouched against her hoof’s padding and trembled harder, covering her head with her hooves with ears folded flat. Gulping through the lump in her throat, Twilight brought the mare closer still, closed her eyes, and parted her lips.

CRASH

Twilight clenched her teeth. She quickly but carefully placed the mare down on a sidewalk beside her and stood up, bringing herself to a hover as quick as she could.

Once she was sure the mare had galloped off to safety, she redirected her attention toward the sound, and gasped.

__________

Rainbow tumbled head over hoof several times before slamming her hooves down against Gilda’s wings, pinning the griffon to the cracked pavement. A cloud of debris billowed between them as Gilda tried to swipe her talons across Rainbow’s muzzle, to no avail. Rainbow kept her head held out of reach and weight pressed down.

“Just what do you think you’re doing, Dash?” Gilda spat up, struggling to free her wings.

“What I should have done to begin with.” Rainbow lifted a clenched hoof overhead—

“Knocking you out.”

—and slammed it against the side of Gilda’s beak.

Gilda flipped into a column of buildings beside them, smashing through concrete and mortar with a horrendous crash.

Rainbow didn’t waste time. Stepping through the ruins without care, she reached into the cloud of debris and yanked Gilda into the crimson light. With a growl, she lifted the griffon high into the air on strained wings and barreled over, hurling her back to the city below.

Gilda collapsed back-first into the asphalt, pummeling a crater between the broken buildings. She could barely open her eyes before Rainbow pitched her shoulder into her chest, shoving a screech out of her lungs.

“This is what you get for bullying my friend!” Grabbing Gilda by the scruff of her chest, Rainbow pulled her upright and shouted, “For all the things you did to me here and when we were younger!”

Gilda wiped her arm across her beak, glaring back with a bruised eye. “So, what, you’re beating me up over something you’re afraid of? I’m not the one who made you scared in the first place.”

“You were the one who made me feel like crap just ‘cause I didn’t like the same things you did!”

“Horseshit. This dream was of your own making and you know it. I didn’t do a damn thing to make you feel uncomfortable back then—”

“Yes you did!” Rainbow slammed Gilda back into the ground. Keeping a tight grip on the griffon’s chest, she yelled, “You led me on! The only reason you did anything I liked was ‘cause you hoped I’d give in one day and let you go all the way!”

“And you knew that!” Gilda grabbed a tuft of Rainbow’s coat hairs beneath her neck, pulling her closer to shout, “You knew what I wanted! You used me to get what you wanted without returning the favor!”

Rolling her weight to the side, Gilda slammed Rainbow into the ground and pinned her hooves down. “Don’t you get it? You can blame me for shattering your little high-school dream, for making you afraid to give in. But you’re just as guilty for expecting me to feed your fantasy without getting a single thing in return.” Leaning close to Rainbow’s muzzle, Gilda said, “Face it, Dash. You were always afraid. You’ll always be afraid.” She reached to her side. “Especially after I’m through with you.”

Rainbow’s eyes darted down to where Gilda reached: the muzzle that sat mounted against her barrel. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“Let’s see who’s laughing in the end.” Using Rainbow’s fetlocks, Gilda spun the mare around and pinned her stomach-down against the shattered pavement. She attempted to pull the muzzle free from its clasp, but suddenly found her arm unable to move. “What the…?”

Gilda looked back at her outstretched talons, shrouded in violet magic.

Rainbow Dash noticed this as well. Pushing against Gilda’s weight, she craned her neck to see Twilight limping over, her horn flickering with a strained spell.

__________

Twilight stood on wobbly hooves, scuffed and scarred from the earlier fall, focusing all her attention on the restraining spell that kept Gilda at bay. The griffon snarled at her, fighting desperately to pull free from the magical hold. When she opened her mouth to speak, Twilight flicked her horn, wrapping another field tight around Gilda’s beak.

“No.” Twilight slowly shook her head. “No more.”

Although Gilda was clearly fuming, eyes bulging with anger and beak pulled taut, a hint of confusion graced her features as well. Far more so was the case with Rainbow, who continued to lie beneath the griffon; she stared out at Twilight with a raised brow, idly pushing one hoof against her captor’s chest.

Although Twilight found it difficult to so much as stand after the fall, let alone cast a spell, enough was enough. This dream and all its confounding variables had been drawn out too far. Ironically, there was one point she could relate with Gilda: she was sick of all the words. Sick of all the time and thought invested in this mess. All she wanted to do now was bring this ordeal to an end.

But first, she needed to confirm something.

Twilight stood still for a moment, silent and contemplative, merely breathing and maintaining the spell. The passing seconds seemed to only infuriate and confuse Gilda all the more, and Rainbow looked uncertain whether she should say something or not. In time, she opened her mouth to speak.

“Wait.” Twilight’s gaze shifted smoothly to Rainbow’s, and she lifted a hoof.

Rainbow blinked, furrowing her brow.

With a careful motion, Twilight set her hoof down, placing it over a piece of unbroken pavement. When she shifted her weight to step forward, the pavement cracked, tickling the padding of her hoof – just as she expected. But instead of trying to block out the sensation, or taking the time to relish it, she tried something else.

She merely let it be.

Lifting her other hoof, she finished the step, breaking the unsteady foundation of a sidewalk nearby. And so she continued like this, splitting and shattering the various surfaces beneath her, head straight and focused forward, until she closed the gap between her and her target.

Gilda’s wide eyes and narrow pupils darted between Twilight’s, who now stood within an arm’s length. Twilight placed a hoof against the griffon’s side—

“Get off.”

—and pushed her over.

Gilda toppled onto two smaller buildings, crushing them beneath the weight of her barrel. She tried to flare her wings and brace her talons, but found herself restrained by a spreading line of indigo magic, snaking over her like a sparkling rope.

Twilight gazed down at the griffon with resolute eyes and a knit brow. The most Gilda could accomplish was to writhe against the broken buildings upon which she lay, grunting and groaning behind her sealed beak. Once she was sure the spell was secure, Twilight shifted her attention.

Rainbow Dash lay beneath her, staring up with eyes wide and lips parted in shock. Chunks of pavement and cement silhouetted the pegasus’ prismatic mane, which lay splayed to one side and matted with debris. Rainbow motioned to roll over, until she realized the weight resting over her hadn’t vanished. She looked to each side.

Twilight held a hoof over each of her forelegs. Her weight prevented her from moving an inch.

Rainbow turned her attention back up, back to the violet eyes gazing down upon her. It was then she noticed something else, the starkest change between the creature who had only moments ago held her down: Twilight didn’t stare down with anger.

Rainbow blinked a few times. Twilight, who currently pinned her against the asphalt, gazed upon her curiously. The tension that had once marred her features seemed to have all but vanished.

Any other time, the silence and circumstances would have made the word ‘awkward’ the biggest understatement around – and Rainbow knew this, even in the moment. But there was something to Twilight’s gaze that held her attention. In a way, it was almost as if she was studying her.

Slowly, Rainbow relaxed beneath Twilight’s weight, letting the muscles in her legs and sides that she had kept contracted loose. The warmth that followed flowed through her veins like a calming wave. In the silence between them, she noticed a breeze blow through the air above them, tousling the back of Twilight’s mane. The breeze carried with it a soft sound that drowned out the struggles of a certain bird nearby.

Eventually, Twilight relaxed her gaze and shifted her weight, placing more against her forelegs. With careful precision, she knelt down and pulled her forelegs closer to her sides. Their snouts now a hoof away, Rainbow could feel Twilight’s slow breaths cascade over her muzzle, tinged with the strangely sweet smell of the mare’s sweat.

Rainbow couldn’t tear away from Twilight’s gaze. A jumble of words raced through her mind, natural instinct to say something and shatter the silence. But she couldn’t bring even one to her tongue. Her breath quickened, and her neck tensed. A new sensation began to flood her system, equal parts exciting and terrifying. She watched as Twilight leaned closer still.

Then, Twilight blinked. She paused within a hair’s length of her lips, before she slowly rose to her full height. She looked to the side.

Gilda continued to squirm uselessly against the magical restraints binding her limbs, eyes blind with anger.

Twilight, with relaxed poise, looked back down at Rainbow. Her voice was strong. Low. Strangely commanding. “Listen carefully, Rainbow.”

Rainbow blinked. Her ears spun forward.

“Gilda is right about one thing: this is now both our dreams.” Twilight drew a breath as she glanced around at their surroundings. “Without Princess Luna, I don’t know how we can get out of here. But I think I may know how we can gain control over it.”

Shifting her head against the asphalt, Rainbow gulped. She only then realized just how dry her throat had become. “S-so… what do we do?”

Twilight stood silent for a moment before kneeling over Rainbow, bringing her muzzle close to one ear to whisper her plan. As she did so, she cast her gaze once more on Gilda, harkening back to earlier in the dream while she continued to speak.

Suddenly, Gilda froze in her struggle. Her gaze shifted in nature. It was a subtle change, but Twilight still recognized the look: Gilda was jealous.

Twilight smirked behind Rainbow’s ear.

After whispering the instructions, Twilight stood upright once more, taking her hooves off Rainbow’s forelegs. “Do you understand?”

Rainbow nodded once. Shifting onto sore legs, she said, “Yeah. I think I get it.”

Twilight returned a nod. Once Rainbow was on her hooves, she took a stance beside her friend. They both cast their gaze upon Gilda as Twilight released the bindings around her.

“GrrUGH.” Gilda rubbed the side of her beak. “What’s the big idea? Think you’ve finally got everything figured out?”

“I never said that,” Twilight responded flatly. “I never thought it, either. Which means you’re losing touch with our subconscious.”

Gilda narrowed her eyes. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”

Instead of replying with words, Twilight glanced over at Rainbow. The two shared a nod.

Resting their weight against each other’s sides, the two bowed their heads and closed their eyes. Gilda stood wordless, blinking at the odd sight. When the breeze that blew between them died, Twilight and Rainbow spoke.

“‘As Daring Do trekked through the tropical jungle, the wet heat sapped her energy and slowed her every step. If only she could escape this oppressive atmosphere and fly up into the cool blue sky…’”

A Final Battle

Crimson light gave way to amber skies.

Hollow wind faded beneath the sound of chirping birds.

The sweltering heat of a tropical climate fell upon the back of two mares.

Two giant mares with the widest of grins.

__________

“Let’s go.”

Twilight and Rainbow rocketed through the air over the jungle, plunging toward a giant griffon.

Gilda had only a moment to form a stupefied face at her new surroundings before the pegasus and alicorn pummeled into her side. All three rolled through the jungle, flattening the thick, lush trees into little more than mulch. When they finally came to a halt, Rainbow Dash was the first to act.

Scrambling to her hooves, Rainbow grabbed a fallen Gilda by the scruff of her neck and leapt into the air with a flap of her wings. Gilda seethed against the mare’s tight grasp, but whatever chance she had to react vanished, as Rainbow barreled over to toss her higher in the air. “Your turn!”

Down below, Twilight stood up and cast her gaze to the sky, bringing her horn to a fierce glow. In the span of only a few seconds, the hazy tan of the sky was blotted out by a surging storm-mass, enveloping the flailing griffon far above. “Go!”

Rainbow Dash sped off for the storm, the wind of her wings beating down upon the trees below with the force of a gale. Once she squared off with the storm’s wall, she allowed instincts to carry her forward, skimming and kicking the cloud with nimble hooves.

When the cloud shuddered with the first roll of thunder, Twilight took to the air as well, leveling the few standing trees around her with the wind of her wings. Placing a short distance between herself and the cloud, she began to cast a spell like a glass shell around the storm.

“Not so fast,” an angry voice called from within.

Twilight and Rainbow backed away as Gilda beat the storm away with frantic wings, spreading dew across the sky. Gilda spun her head toward Twilight. The whistle of magic pierced the air.

Suddenly, Twilight found herself free-falling. Although her wings remained, they beat uselessly against her sides, catching no wind beneath their plumes. But worse still, directly below sat another change in the landscape – a small town, nearly identical to the one earlier in the dream, with a crowd of ponies staring petrified up at her.

The determination Twilight had struggled to conjure within the last few minutes threatened to shatter at the sight. What little organization she had gained in her mind began to unravel, until— “Rubber ponies!”

Twilight’s ears flicked to the sides. She looked out to the horizon where Rainbow hovered.

“Pretend they’re rubber ponies!” Rainbow shouted.

Twilight blinked. She focused again on the town below.

Two leviathan hooves smashed into the center of town, obliterating every building beneath and surrounding them. Timber and dirt scattered into the air, temporarily blinding Twilight. When the debris began to clear, she lifted a hoof and looked down.

A group of stretchy, rubbery ponies bounced all the way up to her muzzle. One pink one in particular procured a straw hat, placed it over her plush mane, and booped a tiny hoof on Twilight’s snout. “Arigatō, Twilight-chan!”

Twilight blinked. She watched as the tiny villagers hopped away into the sunset, casting thanks and good will to the giant alicorn on their way.

Shaking her head, Twilight redirected her attention skyward. Gilda hovered overhead with a look split between shock and rage. Just behind the griffon, Rainbow carefully crept her way closer.

Before Rainbow could reach out to grab her, Gilda slanted her eyes and grabbed the whip from her coronet, spinning around to lash around one of Rainbow’s hind legs.

“Wha– a– aaAAHH!” Rainbow smashed headlong into the ground. The whip around her leg tightened, and Gilda sped off to drag the mare through standing jungle.

A flash of brilliant light shone from beyond Rainbow’s eyelids, followed by a scream overhead. The whip around her leg suddenly loosened, just before she heard Gilda collapse over the jungle.

Rainbow jumped to her hooves and spat up the foliage that filled her mouth. Off to the side, Twilight shouted, “A rope, Rainbow! The whip’s your rope!”

Rainbow paused for only a moment before returning a nod. By the time she looked back at her hind leg, the whip had become her rope from before. “Neat.” Pulling the noose off her hoof, she grabbed a segment and began to spin the noose overhead. With a bit of awkward finesse, she launched her makeshift lasso at Gilda, who lay sprawled on her side just a mile away.

The noose hit its target: Gilda’s closest arm. Yanking on the rope with a shout, Rainbow flung Gilda in Twilight’s direction. “Let ‘er have it!”

Twilight had already brought her horn to light. Flying high enough to let Gilda pass beneath her, she shot a beam of magic squarely against the griffon’s back.

Gilda flopped onto open ground, forcing a voiceless scream out of her lungs. Before she could stand again, Twilight landed over her shoulders, straddling the griffon. She bent her head beside her own. “Where d’you think you’re going?”

An amber eye stared back at her, filled with rage.

“Jeez,” a raspy voice called nearby, “loosen up a little, will ya?”

Gilda strained her neck in time to see Rainbow flying into the side, with a balled hoof outstretched. In a blink, her head snapped to the side from a punch, though Twilight held her to the same plot of ground. Through a bleary eye, she could just make out Rainbow hovering to a landing in front of them. “Ready to finish this, Twi?”

“So ready.” With a single flap of wings, Twilight lifted off the griffon. Gilda tried to spin around and grab the mare, but Rainbow had already taken action, grabbing her by the arms to flip her onto her back. Using the rope from before, she quickly bound both the griffon’s talons and wings, then backed away.

Twilight was already working hard to gather new precipitation overhead. Once the clouds gathered close enough, Rainbow shot into the air and worked as fast as she could to compact and ready the new storm.

Gilda yelled and flailed on the ground below, staring up with slit eyes at the forming cloud overhead. It wasn’t long before the first roll of thunder sounded, followed soon by a far louder wave.

Giving the cloud one last kick against the side, Rainbow sped beyond the top, spun midair, then dove into the center of the storm. A short distance away, Twilight hovered, watching as the storm heaved and shuddered just as the one had before that fell on her – only this storm was headed straight for a griffon below. Blasts of lightning illuminated the jungle surrounding Gilda before the grey mass slammed over her body, drowning out her angry screams.

“Alright…” Twilight inhaled deeply, drawing a hoof to her chest. Expelling the breath and extending her hoof, she gazed out at the storm now grinding itself against the earth. Beside her, Rainbow Dash landed with a deep thud. “Let’s see if this works.”

Pressing their sides against each other and bowing their heads once more, Twilight and Rainbow closed their eyes. Calling upon the same spell as before, Twilight’s horn lit with focused magic, casting an indigo shell around the storm.

When Rainbow heard the familiar whistle of magic, she did as she was instructed to do: “Think small.” Just as they had done to rebuild the jungle by imagining the start of Daring Do’s novel together, it was Twilight’s hope that the same principle could be used in a number of ways – in this case, shrinking Gilda back to size. Rainbow wasn’t exactly sure how to ‘think small,’ but she wasn’t about to let something so simple break the progress they had made.

The two mares stood side-by-side, silently focusing their minds together. Slowly, the shell around the storm began to contract, packing the already dense storm even tighter on itself. Twilight felt the natural resistance of mass against the borders of her spell, but she had to remember: this was a dream. Anything was possible. All she needed to do was focus on one thing, and trust that Rainbow could do the same.

Trust me, Twi. I’ve got this.

Twilight shuddered. Her eyes flung open. “Rainbow Dash?”

Focus, egghead. Rainbow briefly glanced her way with a smirk. Let’s be awesome together.

Twilight stared at the mare blankly for a moment, until she felt the pressure of the spell rising. Closing her eyes once more, she realigned her thoughts, though she tested one other first. Rainbow Dash?

Yep. We’re totally mind-readers now.

Twilight exhaled. Her mind threatened to become a jumbled mess once again, logic demanding a reasonable explanation for why she could now hear Rainbow’s thoughts. But instead of letting panic dictate her actions, she listened to her friend.

Focus.

And so she did.

__________

Twilight and Rainbow’s storm whirled against the jungle, shearing off grey cloudstuff in between angry fits of lightning. The roar of thunder and destruction sounded across the land, forcing a number of birds to evacuate the area.

The magical shell surrounding the storm continued to shrink in size, piling and collapsing together the cloud matter atop itself. At the base of the shell, a number of slits acted as a vent, allowing tufts of cloud to spill out and spread over the jungle like a cascading fog. In time, the shell had shrunk to no larger than a couple trees tall, and the storm became little more than wet air encased in magic.

Beneath the setting sun, Twilight and Rainbow stood together with eyes shut, their slow breaths drawn and expelled in perfect harmony. When the last round of thunder echoed pitifully against the jungle, Twilight lifted her head and opened her eyes.

Rainbow Dash continued to stand still and wordless, entrenched so far into her focus that she didn’t even notice Twilight move. She continued to think small – small clouds, small critters, small cupcakes – in hopes of proving not only to Twilight, but to herself that for once, she could actually think something all the way through. Even if it was weird and redundant.

It wasn’t until she heard somepony clear their throat that she finally realized the absence of body heat next to her. She slowly opened her eyes, shielding them from the sun that sat in her periphery.

Twilight stood silhouetted off to one side of the sun a few paces away, trotting casually her way. Rainbow didn’t dare a calming breath until she was sure. “Did it work?”

Twilight didn’t answer. Instead, she continued forward.

Rainbow squinted at the mare. She couldn’t see her clearly enough before the sunlight, though she was sure at least that it was Twilight. Unless, she thought, Gilda had come up with a new trick.

Tensing her hooves, Rainbow shifted back and away. “Twilight. Did it work or not?”

Twilight remained silent, her gait steady.

Rainbow flexed her wings, preparing to fly.

And that was when a cloud meandered in the way of the sun, bringing to light the reason why Twilight was silent. Rainbow blinked the hardest she had yet.

Beneath Twilight’s clenched teeth hung a normal-sized Gilda, dangling by her tail. Rainbow stared blankly at the sight for a moment before her thoughts turned once more to Twilight. “What are you doing, Twi? I thought we’ve been over this enough already.” Letting her ears droop, she watched as Twilight finished closing the gap, a feeling of unease settling deep within her. “Please don’t tell me you’re going to go through with it after all that’s happened.”

Twilight came to a halt in front of Rainbow. She shook her head gently. With a slight grin tugging at the corner of her mouth, she locked her gaze with Rainbow’s.

Swallow your fears.

Rainbow blinked. She stared into the violet eyes of her friend, then down at the griffon in her grasp.

Her lips curled into a grin of her own.

Meeting Twilight’s gaze once more, she stepped forward.

You better not regret this, Twi.

Twilight leaned forward.

I won’t.

And the lips of two friends met.

Author's Note

A Setting Sun

This would go down in the books as one of the weirdest experiences Rainbow Dash had ever had.

...Well, okay, that was a lie. This was the weirdest experience she had ever had, hooves down.

But weird as it was, that wasn’t the biggest thought running through her mind. It wasn’t the strange sensation of the griffon slipping from Twilight’s tongue to hers, or the lump of bird she had to force down her throat either. It wasn’t anything about the experience itself. It was with whom she shared the experience with.

Rainbow Dash felt the tiny griffon travel against the lining of her throat before disappearing silently into the recesses of her stomach. Her lips continued to touch Twilight’s, the pressure both deep and soft, even after the job was done. Only when she felt the alicorn back away the slightest, their lips parting with a subtle peck, did she dare open her eyes.

To her surprise, Twilight stood with as much shock in her expression as she felt in her own. The two stared at each other wordlessly.

In Twilight’s mind, she thought she knew what she had done. She offered Rainbow to do the one thing she knew she couldn’t do in good conscious in hopes of bringing a sense of finality to it all – something she believed Rainbow would get a good kick out of given the irony, and especially given who it was dealing with. And she believed she accomplished as much, considering the grin Rainbow had just before they touched. What she hadn’t considered was the touch itself, or the fact that it would resemble a kiss.

At a logical level, the touch was nothing more than a means of exchange in order to complete a task, albeit a rather bizarre one. Though she could have simply hoofed Gilda over to Rainbow, this way just felt more natural. But ponies operate on far more than merely logic, and although the touch still may have meant nothing, possibilities existed. Subjectives ones. Ones that made her afraid.

Rainbow’s sentiments were similar. When she first stepped forward to take Gilda from Twilight’s mouth, there was no pressing-of-lips imagined beforehoof. What happened was as quick and natural as the flow with which they shared throughout the end of the battle, a mutual exchange they both agreed upon. Surely it meant nothing more than that.

But a strange sensation worked its way through her nerves. It was bittersweet and subtly nauseating all at once, a feeling not far removed from the one she had during her first private moments with Gilda so many years ago. The difference here though was the pony with whom the feelings were tied, a pony she had grown to trust beyond most others she knew. Far more than ever she trusted Gilda.

Rainbow blinked reflexively. Her instincts once more demanded she speak to break the silence, to steer her train of thought in a direction other than its own. In some remote part of her conscious, she wondered if Twilight could still hear her musings – a realization which soon flooded to the front and squeezed her nerves. She gripped the ground beneath her, digging the cups of her hooves into the soil, gaze still fixed with Twilight’s.

A breath expelled between each other.

Twilight swallowed against the dry knot that had long since formed in her throat. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Rainbow’s eyes darted between her friend’s. A raspy noise escaped her lungs as she rested her weight on an injured leg, bruised from the earlier fall. The noise was enough to break the ice in her mind. “S-so…”

“How was it?” Twilight said.

Rainbow managed a gulp of her own. “Which part?”

For a moment, it looked as if Twilight didn’t understand her meaning, her brow furrowing. Then, “Gilda. Was it…?”

Something sunk in Rainbow’s chest. The nausea gained a little more in force. “It… was different.”

Twilight nodded once. With a strained motion, she managed to break her gaze, if only briefly. “Do you regret it?”

“No,” Rainbow said. The word slipped off her tongue effortlessly. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was a bit surprised.

And then a strange realization occurred to her. Had Twilight acted on impulse? Was this the first time Twilight had done something on a whim, when Rainbow was the one stuck in thought? No… that wasn’t right. Given everything that had happened since her arrival at the castle, she wasn’t sure how many things were a result of over-thinking things, and not thinking enough.

Rainbow let her mind’s gears work on their own, skimming over the events of the past several hours – the things seen, the words exchanged, the secrets learned. It was then that she realized something: although Gilda was now out of the way, they were still stuck in the dream. At first, she couldn’t think of anything left to do, anything more that needed to be handled to end the dream as Luna explained.

Then, it clicked. The very first thing Twilight mentioned being afraid of.

Rainbow shook off her daze and met Twilight’s now curious gaze. A simple plan fell into place, though she wasn’t sure if it would work, or what Twilight would think. But after everything said and done thus far, there didn’t seem to be much left to lose.

__________

Twilight tilted her head, staring at Rainbow. The tension between them had blended with concern after Rainbow briefly fell silent. She opened her mouth to speak – and suddenly found it pressed once more against Rainbow’s.

Rainbow Dash pressed her lips firmly against Twilight’s with eyes closed and brow furrowed, pulling her close with a hoof by the withers. A squeak escaped Twilight’s lungs as she instinctively closed her own eyes, tensing within Rainbow’s grasp.

The jumbled thoughts swirling in Twilight’s mind now ran rampant. This was a kiss. This was undoubtedly a kiss. And Twilight had neither the time nor the stability of mind to consider the point for long, as Rainbow’s kiss suddenly grew fierce – the pegasus pushed hard against her lips, thrusting her onto her rump. The hoof that held her withers grew stronger, heavier, pulling her tight against Rainbow’s chest. Before long, Twilight had to crane her neck just to keep from toppling over.

A strange sensation struck Twilight, as if she were suddenly growing dizzy. The sounds around her, even her own thoughts, seemed to hesitate as the dizziness grew in intensity. For a moment, she felt as if she might pass out, until a loud thud and sigh broke the air around her. She then realized Rainbow had finally relented, leaving her neck sore and her lips sorer.

Twilight stood up and gasped for air, clutching a hoof to her neck. “Rai… Rainbow Dash! What did you just—”

“Open your eyes, Twi,” came an unusually loud, raspy voice from above.

Twilight froze. Slowly, she blinked at the world around her.

The first thing she noticed was the wild grass around her, blades flank-high – which, to her relative size, was now accurate. From where she stood, the grass, the shrubs, even the few standing trees remaining all now stood beside or above her, just as they normally would. She had returned to her normal height.

That wasn’t the case, however, for the giant blue pegasus standing directly in front of her.

Twilight’s pupils shrank. Her heart began to race. Filling nearly all of her vision was a single blue hoof, standing over several demolished trees just a few hooves away. From above, she could hear the labored breaths of a pony far larger than herself. A shudder traveled down her sides when she realized the breeze blowing through her mane was from the breath of that very pony.

“Twilight. Look at me.”

Twilight gulped long and hard, before slowly craning her neck back to stare up at the two massive ruby eyes looking down upon her.

Rainbow Dash stood several stories in height, her gaze locked with her own. What little strength remaining in Twilight’s limbs gave out, and she collapsed to her haunches. The beating in her chest was the only thing she could hear above the breaths of the giant standing over her.

Movement in her periphery caused her to jerk away with a yelp. Rainbow’s farthest hoof withdrew itself from a patch of standing jungle, then came to a rest in a plot of clear land, as Rainbow carefully stepped back. With a gentle motion, the giant knelt against the ground. When she was settled in, she breathed a slow sigh, and looked once more at Twilight.

“Let me be the thing you’re afraid of, so you don’t have to be afraid anymore.”

Twilight blinked. It took a few moments before she could steel her nerves enough to sputter a response. “Wh-what do you mean?”

Rainbow’s expression softened with a frown. She spoke with a light voice, barely above a whisper. “I remember what you said. You’re afraid of what you like to do as a giant, but you’re also afraid of giants themselves.” Folding her ears, she broke her gaze for a moment and said, “I don’t know if this will actually help or not, or if it’ll end this stupid dream. But…” She looked at Twilight. “If you’re ever scared you’re gonna have another bad dream, just think of me as the giant… because I would never hurt you.”

Twilight stared up at Rainbow with wide eyes. The honesty in her friend’s words shown in the trepidation of her expression, though Rainbow didn’t break her gaze. It struck Twilight then, to her surprise, that seeing Rainbow like this – as big as she was, and yet more sincere than half the times she could remember – there really was no reason to be afraid. Once again, Rainbow was demonstrating her loyalty in ways that Twilight would never have imagined.

Although her nerves still tried to get the better of her, the thought alone brought with it the exhaustion of a long day – or rather, a long dream. The soreness in Twilight’s body welled to the surface. Sagging her shoulders, she exhaled long and slow, releasing some of the tension. Then, with a smile, she looked up once more at Rainbow. “I’m tired.”

Rainbow broke a little smile of her own. “Me too.”

And for the first time since the start of the dream, the sun began to sink beneath the horizon.

Author's Note

Well, y'know, besides that time Gilda called forth a blood sky.

A Morning After

The crystal walls of Twilight’s castle shook beneath the rolling thunder. Although Spike was normally not affected by adverse weather, especially in the middle of the night, this storm in particular managed to stir him awake.

“Mmngh…” Spike rubbed the back of his claws against dry eyes and rolled over in his basket. “Not yet… too early…” Drawing the covers further over his side, he tried to ignore the noise and fall back asleep.

But the thunder was relentless. When one wave began to die down, another would follow in its wake, shaking anything even remotely loose in the castle. The clatter of crystal shards and chandeliers was more maddening than the thunder itself. Still, Spike wasn’t without his defenses: cursing the storm somewhere in the back of his drowsy mind, he reached for an extra pillow beside his basket, and promptly placed it against his exposed ear.

It didn’t help.

“Ugh.” Spike rolled over and groaned. The rattling was bad enough, but the persistent banging that came from the lower floor – that was just too much. If the noise didn’t stop soon, he would probably have to…

“...Wait.” Spike sat up, letting the pillow slide to the floor. “Is that…?”

Spike focused his attention on the noise, which presently had disappeared. Seconds passed before it returned, and sure enough, it was consistent. Deliberate. Coming from the first floor.

It took a moment for Spike to blink himself awake enough before he could consider climbing out of his basket. Once he did, he quickly regretted it; the chill that filled the room was far more intense than earlier. Now that he was up though, he might as well check, even though it seemed unlikely. “There’s no way somepony would be knocking on the door this late at night, especially in this storm.”

On frigid claws, Spike made his way down the hall, down the stairs, down another hall, and you get the idea. Once on the first floor, he noticed a clock on one of the walls read far later than he expected – nearly an hour past sunrise. He looked up through one of the nearby windows. The world was as black as night.

Furrowing his brow, Spike hurried his pace. The banging returned, clearly coming from the front doors of the foyer. Once there, he pulled one of the doors open, letting in a plume of freezing mist, as well as— “P-Princess Luna?!”

The dark blue alicorn hastily trotted inside, her starry mane and tail billowing sluggishly from the rainwater collected. Her sapphire eyes locked with Spike’s, frantic and concerned. “Twilight. Rainbow Dash. Where are they?”

Spike gawked at the alicorn before giving a reply. “I-I think they’re in her bedroom.” Shoving the door closed, he said, “What are you doing here, Princess? And in the middle of this storm, of all things?” He looked over his shoulder.

Luna had already disappeared.

__________

Princess Luna’s hoofsteps echoed against the crystalline walls, broken only by the bursts of thunder that shook the overhead fixtures. She was thankful she remembered where Twilight’s sleeping quarters were located, thanks to the sleepover they had not so long ago. She could only hope she was not too late; if it hadn’t been for her royal duties, namely setting the moon, she would have arrived far sooner. Although the situation was not life-threatening, losing a connection with a pony’s dream is never a good sign. Especially given the circumstances.

Racing down halls and up stairwells, she eventually made her way to the corridor that led to Twilight’s room. The doors were shut. Reaching out with her magic, she carefully cracked open one of the doors and slowed her gallop to a canter. Pushing it further open with a hoof, she peeked inside. “Twilight?”

In the dark, frigid recesses of the room, Princess Luna noticed a tangled mess of sheets lying haphazardly off the far side of the bed, an open book sitting on top. She stepped inside and squinted her eyes, until she noticed two sleeping mares huddled beneath a single comforter on the floor.

Princess Luna walked over to the bedside. Twilight and Rainbow Dash, illuminated only by the flickering lightning, lay shivering in each other’s embrace. From what she could sense, the two were safely in the realm of restful sleep; the residual magic of Twilight’s spell was too weak to induce a dream. She could only imagine how exhausted the two must have become to reach this point on their own, which only made it harder for her to wake them up.

Calling upon a spell of her own, Luna carefully coaxed Twilight and Rainbow out of slumber. Two simultaneous yawns greeted her before a set of bleary eyes looked her way.

Rainbow was the first to speak. “Wh… where…” She rubbed an eye and blinked. “Princess?”

“Luna?” Twilight murmured, lazily propping herself upright. “What are you…?”

“Take your time, my little ponies.” Princess Luna gave her warmest smile. “You’ve had a long night.”

__________

Twilight and Rainbow Dash sat across from each other at a small breakfast nook. To one side sat Princess Luna, taking a sip of some hot tea that Spike had brewed only moments ago. On the other sat an empty chair, which Spike would no doubt occupy soon as he finished preparing breakfast. Two tea cups and a pitcher sat in the center of the table, their porcelain rattling with the occasional thunder.

Neither Twilight nor Rainbow had touched their drinks. Last night’s affairs had left them both too exhausted and too weak to care about anything other than food – that, and whatever Princess Luna had to say. Twilight was the most nervous of the two about this particular point, worried that at any moment the Princess would begin a lecture against improper spell use. Rainbow on the other hoof was too groggy to really formulate any coherent thought, other than ‘hungry’ and ‘tired.’ One thing that did loom in the back of both their minds, however, was what impact the spell would have now that all was said and done.

Which was the very subject Luna chose to first address. “I noticed when I first arrived that you two were in deep sleep.” She took another sip of her tea, then set the cup on its saucer, casting her gaze on Twilight. “That much is a good sign.”

Twilight leaned forward to rest her forelegs on the table. A strong desire to lie down all the way swam over her, but she mustered enough energy to reply. “A good sign versus what, exactly?”

“Permanent, transient conscious fusion.”

Rainbow blinked tiredly from where she lay against the table, using a fetlock as a pillow. “Permatrannywhatnow?”

“Simply put, it is when two minds fuse together beyond the subconscious level,” the Princess said. “This includes everything from the words you think to yourself, to the images and memories you conjure, to the sounds, smells, and tastes you sense. At its worst, the effects can even transition into touch.”

“Hence the ‘conscious’ part, I assume,” Twilight said. She looked over at Rainbow. “Can you hear what I’m thinking right now?”

Rainbow, with a lazy shift of her head, glanced over at Twilight. “Blueberry pancakes.”

Twilight blinked, scrunching her muzzle. “Um… no, actually.”

“Drat.” Rainbow relaxed and closed her eyes. “S’what you were dreaming about yesterday.”

Luna and Twilight stared blankly at Rainbow for a moment. “Anyway,” Twilight continued, “do you know what damage was done?”

“Perhaps you can tell me,” Luna said, sitting back in her chair. “What happened after we last spoke in the dream? Provided you remember it.”

“I do.” Twilight rubbed between her eyes. “We do.”

For the next few minutes, Twilight gave a breakdown of the events, from soon after she dove off Cloudsdale until the dream’s end. Although Rainbow bordered on sleep the whole time, she never could fall all the way – the prospect of a hot breakfast was too enticing. Eventually, when she heard Twilight’s story trail off, she sat up and yawned, stretching her back.

“Did I miss anything?” Twilight asked.

“Hm?” Rainbow rubbed her eyes and looked at Twilight. “Uh, no.” Not that she had a clue. “You mentioned the mind-reading part, right?”

Twilight gasped. “I actually forgot about that!”

Rainbow managed a weak smirk.

“So,” Twilight said, turning to Luna, “not long before the dream’s end, when we were working to shrink Gilda, Rainbow and I shared a moment where we… well…” Her gaze drifted and she rubbed her neck. “It’s hard to explain. It was like we could talk to each other telepathically. But it was more than that… like we could sense each other’s thoughts and feelings. Kind of like what you mentioned about sharing the words we were thinking to ourselves.” She furrowed her brow. “Not clearly, of course. Everything was a bit obscure. I don’t know if that’s because we were in a dream, or what the reason was. But it definitely happened.”

Princess Luna nodded. She lifted her tea and took a sip, glancing over at Rainbow. “How long did this persist?”

Rainbow rubbed the side of her head. “Mmm… I don’t know. Not long.” Trying to remember that moment specifically brought about a pain in her skull that felt sickeningly similar to the one she felt in the dream. “Ugh. This dang headache’s back.”

Princess Luna’s eyes narrowed slightly. She sat back, placing her tea on the table. “Does it hurt specifically when recalling that moment?” Rainbow nodded.

“That was the same issue she had after the second time we used the spell,” Twilight said. “Although I thought that was because I hurt Rainbow in the spell-world.”

“More than likely, it was a combination of both that and the fact this spell in particular was being used.”

“Even though I made modifications to prevent the spell from affecting the body?”

Luna nodded. “Modifying a spell to suppress subconscious interaction with the physical body bears no impact on exposure effects.”

Twilight furrowed her brow. “So, my modifications prevent pain experienced in the spell-world from affecting our physical bodies, but it didn’t prevent the mental effects of using the spell.”

“Precisely.”

Twilight sighed. “Then where does that leave us in terms of the fusion?”

Princess Luna paused before answering. “Fusion begins the moment the spell is first put into use. The degree to which it matures is based on how often and for how long it is used, as well as the bond the two ponies involved share.”

Twilight and Rainbow blinked. They briefly glanced each other’s way.

“I don’t believe the fusion is complete,” Luna said, leaning forward between them with a hint of a smile. “If it were, you two would likely be going out of your minds – in the most literal sense.”

“Do you know what sort of effects will remain, if any?” Twilight asked.

“Not yet. I will need to do some dream studies with both you and Rainbow over the next couple of weeks.” Luna turned to Rainbow. “But from the sound of it, I don’t believe the damage will be severe enough to merit worry.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Hey, don’t look at me. I’m too tired to be worried about anything.”

Luna smiled, and Twilight managed a breathy chuckle.

With the details now out of the way, Twilight and Rainbow took time to enjoy their tea before they cooled. Soon, Spike was out serving a platter of pancakes and sugary toppings, though Luna chose to part ways before grabbing a bite. Twilight decided beforehoof that she would keep the details limited when explaining the matter to Spike – not only to prevent unnecessary concern, but the nature of what took place was mature enough in nature to merit glossing over some points. In the end, Twilight explained it off as a failed spell they were trying for fun that got them stuck in a dream.

After the three had their fill, Spike cleared the table and took to cleaning the kitchen, leaving Twilight and Rainbow alone for the first time since last night. Although exhaustion still loomed over their nerves, a hearty breakfast helped to lift their spirits, though that didn’t keep a tense silence from settling between the two.

Twilight wasn’t sure what to say. She wasn’t even sure if there was anything to say. Until Luna could perform her dream studies, there was nothing more to discuss. At least, as far as the dream and the spell were concerned. That of course didn’t take into account the events that occurred in the dream, let alone the pony with whom she shared them. Sitting silent in her seat, hooves neatly folded in her lap, she looked across the table at Rainbow.

Rainbow idly watched the storm pour out of a nearby window, fidgeting with her hooves. Her breaths came in slow waves, and her head felt fuzzy from the broken sleep. She felt Twilight looking her way, but she wasn’t sure what to say or do. The last few hours had left her somewhere between confused and numb; there were few times she could remember ever feeling so worn, and she wasn’t sure she could afford the energy to hash anything out further. Not to mention…

“What is it?” Twilight asked, her voice unusually light.

Rainbow’s closest ear flicked her way. She furrowed her brow at the window a moment before looking over. “I’m worried about this storm.”

Twilight blinked. For a second, Rainbow could have sworn she read disappointment in her expression, before she turned to look out the window as well. “It does seem unusually violent.”

Rainbow nodded. “I’m worried the weather over the Everfree’s messing with this storm we made. It happens sometimes when we set up a bigger storm like this, but usually I would hear from the weather team if anything was wrong.”

Twilight hummed. “Well, would they know to look for you here at the castle?”

Rainbow blinked. “Oh.” She gave a dry chuckle. “Good point.”

Drawing a longer breath, Twilight clambered off her seat and pushed the chair back under the table. “I guess you need to check in with them, then?”

“Yeah.” Rainbow hopped off her seat. “Betcha they’ve probably been trying to wake me up this whole time back home.” She made for the opening that led into the foyer, but hesitated when she reached the threshold. She looked back at Twilight.

The two locked gazes. Tired eyes scanned each other’s features, looking for something. Something neither of them could name.

Rainbow’s ears drooped. She didn’t know why, but something didn’t feel right. Leaving like this… it felt like something was missing.

Twilight felt her heart sink a little at the thought of Rainbow leaving. She knew she had to – she knew she had responsibilities elsewhere, especially considering the storm. Plus, she couldn’t think of any logical reason why the thought of Rainbow leaving would feel so… wrong. Like she had missed something. Like they had missed something.

After a moment, Rainbow cleared her throat and looked away. “Hey, um… Twi?”

“Yes?”

“I…” Rainbow furrowed her brow. “Um…”

Twilight’s ears flicked forward. She tilted her head ever so slightly.

Rubbing her neck, Rainbow looked at her and said, “Where do we go from here?”

Twilight drew a breath. The sinking feeling in her chest paused. “I figure at this point, you’re probably tired of talking everything out.”

Rainbow shook her head. “We’ve talked about a lot already, I know. But after the end of that last dream… after everything that’s happened since I came over…”

“We need closure,” Twilight said.

Rainbow exhaled. “Yeah. That.”

Twilight nodded. A sense of relief washed over her, and she smiled.

Rainbow smiled as well.

Author's Note

You have reached the ghostly remnants of a long-since abandoned and once-deleted fic... welcome, reader.

This story was but one chapter shy of bringing the journey to a close, and at one point, I had such a chapter posted. But as you can find in the comments, I was unhappy with the results. I not only wished to bring the story to an end by a given date, I also knew that had I not done so, there could potentially be no end - but not due simply to writer's block.

This story was special to me. This is the most personal creative work I have ever produced. Through writing its chapters, I explored my own interest with the fetish - interest which I had only discovered two years prior to this story's conception, and which I fought fervently to not pursue. I was scared when exposed to it, like Rainbow Dash. But I fawned over it, just as she did beneath Twilight's might. So when I typed the first words to this chapter, it came at a breaking point in my life, and I decided to go from resisting, to diving head-long into the fetish.

With time, I began to feel as if I might find closure and resolution with my relationship to the fetish. But do you see the language in that sentence? "Closure." "Resolution." I wanted to end my relationship. I knew I couldn't dispose of my interest, but I did want control, and I wanted to exercise that control to end the pursuit of the fetish.

It's been five years at the time of writing this since the story was initially published, and to this day, I have not gained that control - not to the full extent that I wished. And long before today as I write this, when I discovered that "closure" and "resolution" I wanted would likely not come for some time, if ever, I gave this story an ending which did not at all reflect where I was with the fetish. Had I done so, it would have shown, and had I been able to accept it could not and would not happen at that time, I believe I would have been happy with such an end.

So, reader, I have this much to say, all these years later:

To seek and gain control over one's decision-making on how to pursue or not pursue their desires is healthy. 'Course, that may be a "duh" statement - being in control of one's own self is healthy. But to seek and gain control over one's desires as a whole is not as cut and dry. Even though on the surface that wasn't what I was trying to do at the time, I believe there was a part of me which wished to put as much distance between myself and the fetish as to make it as close to not having the desires as possible. A fruitless pursuit, and certainly not a healthy one in this context.

So, if you found any healthy relatability to this story, and found the lack of an ending to be disappointing - well, for one, you're not alone. I still hate seeing this story unfinished.

But for another, if you too have a tumultuous relationship with your own fetish, I would ask that you consider the words I've written here. Perhaps you're already approaching it from a healthy angle - in which case, that's absolutely awesome, and I'm happy that is the case! But if upon introspection that you find that may not be true, then I hope this note finds you well, and can help you to regroup and move forward from a new angle.

Sadly, I have no tangible input to give - meaning I have no particular strategies or things you can do to offer. My journey has been nebulous at best and ambiguous at worst. But, if you move forward with a holistically honest approach - to know and embrace what it is you want and don't want, to gain control over your decision-making on the subject, and to make the corresponding decisions you desire - then you'll be on the right path.

I discovered that I thoroughly enjoy the fetish in a certain softcore, loving, non-harmful, intimate way (think 1v1 micro vs any variant of macro). But there are only select contexts in which I am comfortable pursuing it, and I don't always pursue it strictly within those contexts. I sometimes stray from the aforementioned way and into more hardcore variants - be it artwork, stories, role-play, etc - where I find what you might call a bit of fresh air at times, but moments which always leave me deeply and thoroughly upset. Not at myself these days, as I now know my own vulnerabilities. Rather, I'm disgusted because whatever variant of the fetish I pursued simply wasn't a kind from which I actually derived enjoyment. So why do I pursue them? Well, my desires with this fetish - and I'd assume others' desires with this and / or other fetishes as well - don't boil down to strictly neat, simple, easy-to-compartmentalize terms. Even though I find the most satisfaction out of that "certain softcore, loving, non-harmful, intimate" flavor of the fetish, I can still be aroused by more hardcore stuff, given it still checks off the right boxes (e.g. someone larger and stronger than myself, placing me out of control, possibly in danger, etc). But that leaves me unsatisfied, and since those more hardcore elements actually terrify me as well, I come out of it disgusted too. Liking stuff that also scares you is a very strange thing.

*blinks* So yeah, there are my musings on the subject. Will this story ever come to an end? It may come down to, "Will my story ever come to an end?" Or perhaps if I ever find the desire to write again, I could give this story a final chapter which reflects my continued journey. Who knows. Ultimately, at the time of writing this, I have no idea - and for that, I do genuinely apologize. From a writer's perspective, I want the end to this story for you as much as I want it for myself.

From the person who has played those cards closest to his heart through this story, I want to leave it where it is for now.

In the meantime, I do hope you've enjoyed, and I also hope that if any of this applies to you, that it is of help - or, at the very least, time not wasted. :twilightblush:

Take care, reader. I hope you have a good one. :twilightsmile:

An Alicorn's Might

Bringing her horn to light, Twilight turned her attention to the horizon. Curious, Rainbow followed her line of sight.

Some distance away beneath the setting sun, she could make out the shimmer of a lake, beginning to ripple with unnatural force. Suddenly, a spire of water shot into the air – a perfect replica of the conical form that normally took a hundred pegasi to form.

Rainbow’s ears flicked to the side. She heard the rush of water from somewhere closer. Looking around, she noticed several other similar spires rising from the rivers that ran the landscape. As they rose into the amber-lit sky, they coalesced into vaporous forms – at once white, then dissolving to grey.

“There is one thing you must understand, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight spoke with intense volume, redirecting her attention. “In this world, you have all the abilities you would in the real one. Your pegasus magic can create, transform, and destroy weather just as it could anywhere else.”

Rainbow furrowed her brow as she watched the sky turn pregnant with the dark of storm.

Forming the tiniest smirk across her muzzle, Twilight glanced down. “But it is not the same for me. Here, I can create, transform, destroy… everything.”

A clap of thunder echoed across the land. The grey clouds overhead merged into one massive form, blotting out the evening sky. Bands of lightning streaked across the underside, flashing with white-hot resonance.

The giant mare stepped toward the pegasus with a crunch of hooves against wood, lowering her head. “There is nothing I cannot do. Nothing to hold me back. Here, I rule over all.”

Her smirk grew into a sneer.

“Including you.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened as Twilight lifted a hoof directly overhead—

“Now bow.”

— and smashed the trees directly in front of her.

Yep. Okay. Time to go.

Turning away from the giant mare with a yelp, Rainbow pounded her wings against the air with newfound vigor.

__________

As the roar of thunder and hooves echoed all around, Rainbow Dash sped for the horizon. Every fibre of body demanded she put as much space between her and the predator as possible. But somewhere in the dimming recesses of her mind, she knew a straight escape was impossible.

On wings and a prayer, she dove toward the grove of trees below, just as she felt the thumping of hoofsteps quickly approach from behind. She looked for an opening, big or small – anything she could possibly fit through. Spotting a small part in the canopy of trees, she collapsed her wings, threading her lithe body between the branches.

With panic fuelling her flight, Rainbow wound through the thicket of trees, diving and turning wherever she saw an opening large enough to fit through. It was a last-ditch strategy, but she hoped that maybe, if she could get out of Twilight’s line of sight, she could change direction enough times to lose the mare. And the only two sources of cover she had available at this juncture were the clouds overhead – the same Twilight had created – and the forest – the very same Twilight was currently decimating from close behind.

Blasts of splintered wood shot across the flickering forest around her, bringing with it the snap of tree trunks and clap of thunder beyond. The blood in her veins pumped hot and fast; barely stifling a scream, she shot her body hard in one direction, veering off into a tightly packed group of timber.

She felt a rush of air billow over her flank, the scent of freshly ground pine filling her nostrils. Slipping through the woods in front of her, Rainbow pushed ever forward, not daring a moment to glance back at the destruction.

After several seconds, she noticed the sounds growing fainter. Slowing her momentum, she pitched up through a small break overhead, feeling the brush of pine needles cross over her sides as she came to a careful hover just over the forest.

Far in the distance, Twilight was skidding to a stop, uprooting a grove of oaks with the edge of her hooves. Rainbow had successfully eluded her, but not for long. Before she could even think to dive out of sight, Twilight spun her head in her direction.

Stumbling mid-air, Rainbow fell to one of the top branches of a pine, clutching onto the frail thing with all her strength.

Twilight narrowed her eyes.

Rainbow gulped.

With a flap of her wings, Twilight bounded from her plot of earth, covering the miles between them in one single jump.

Breathless, Rainbow watched as Twilight’s colossal body fell directly toward her. She screwed her eyes shut at the last moment as the alicorn’s hooves smashed into the forest all around with a deafening crash. The gust of wind that spread from the impact blew across Rainbow’s body, pelting her with the husks of trees and soil.

Clutching onto her branch with weak, shaking legs, Rainbow craned her neck up.

Twilight looked down at the tiny pegasus with only her eyes, her head held high and proud with a serious expression.

Out of her periphery, Rainbow noticed a wall of lavender flying her way.

Fanning her wings, Rainbow pushed herself off the branch – just as the tree it was bound to shattered from the brunt of Twilight’s hoof. Unable to recover from her jump in time, Rainbow tumbled over and thrust her forelegs in front of her muzzle, bracing for impact.

“MMPH-Nngghhgh…” Rainbow skidded across a small stretch of grass before coming to a halt at the edge of a shallow river. The coat of her legs stung from the impact, but with a wince and a groan, she rolled over onto her back—

“Gotcha.”

— as Twilight’s hoof landed over her body.

“Hnng…!” Rainbow’s lungs heaved from the dull impact. She slipped her hooves out from underneath the far larger one currently pinning her to the ground and grabbed hold of its edge.

Twilight smiled triumphantly over the pegasus as she knelt down, once more crushing a copse of trees beneath her stomach. For a moment, the giant mare simply stared down, her smile growing thoughtful as slowly, she began to pivot Rainbow’s body from side to side.

Gritting her teeth from the painful motion, Rainbow’s ears flicked forward at Twilight’s giggles.

“Hmm… what to do,” Twilight mused aloud, lowering her head closer to Rainbow. “What to do.”

Pivoting with a jerk to one side, Rainbow was brought face to face with the mare. Twilight exhaled softly, her warm breath billowing over Rainbow’s muzzle.

Although there was little she could think to do at this point, Rainbow wasn’t ready to give up. As the pain throbbing through her sides rekindled the fire of her spirit, she narrowed her eyes with a scowl—

“No.”

— and Twilight pressed harder against her body, extinguishing the flame in an instant.

__________

Twilight gave a single chuckle in response, watching the will in Rainbow’s eyes falter. But even as the exhilaration of the sight coursed through her, a nagging sensation pulled at the back of her mind. She shook her head, trying to clear the intruding thoughts.

No… not now. Not this time.

Lifting Rainbow in the crux of her fetlock, Twilight brought her up to eye level. The tiny pegasus choked in strained gasps as she adjusted her grip around her barrel with little discretion.

Again, the thoughts begged for her attention.

No! I won’t have this moment ruined. Not again.

Her smile faltered for a second, though she recovered quickly. Rainbow was currently grasping the end of her hoof, head hung slightly as she stared back with a frown. Twilight could feel the rapid pants of the pegasus within her hold, her chest flexing against the soft coat hairs of her fetlock.

The sight and sensations widened her grin. “It ends here, Rainbow.” Slanting her eyes, she said, “Any last words this time?”

She pulled Rainbow closer still, salivating at the thought of her next move. The pegasus in her grasp drew a deep, wavering breath.

__________

Rainbow’s head swam from the pressure of Twilight’s fetlock. Barely able to draw the single calming breath into her lungs, she huffed all the air out, no calmer than before.

Then, something wet landed on the tip of her muzzle. With a few blinks, she turned her attention to the dark sky overhead.

The storm Twilight had crafted was just beginning to dispense its contents. Light droplets fell against her mane and neck, bringing a coolness to her coat over the rush of warm blood pulsing within.

Slowly, her breathing calmed. She closed her eyes, flicking her ears outward. Ripples of low rolling thunder reverberated across the land as a gentle breeze blew through the remaining trees nearby, the sprinkling of raindrops against her coat adding a softness to the sounds. She relaxed her muscles, soaking in the pleasant tingling of releasing her tension.

With a quiet, steady sigh, she smiled.

“Y-yeah, actually…”

The giant mare holding her tight tilted her head, ears trained forward at her raspy voice.

Planting her hooves against Twilight’s own, she managed to slip a small part of her chest out, heaving much needed oxygen into her lungs. But only a moment passed before she gave one long exhale, then looked up at Twilight.

“Do whatever you want. I trust you.”

__________

Twilight blinked. Her grip loosened as the cerulean pegasus relaxed in her grasp, magenta eyes gazing back with open submission.

Only seconds ago, Twilight was set on her next move. Whether Rainbow admitted defeat or not, she was ready to satisfy the one desire that had swelled within her at the sight of the tiny pegasus in her hold. As tempting as the idea was of smashing the pony into the ground, she longed far more for the feel of its fragile body wrapped tight within the soft muscle of her tongue, the sensation of it travelling against the lining of her throat. That was what she wanted. She wanted to devour this insignificant little creature.

But now, with the loyal eyes of this ‘insignificant little creature’ staring up at her, the trust of her words confirmed in the surrender of her expression, she hesitated.

This ‘creature’ she wished to devour was more than an ‘it’.

‘It’ was a she.

She was Rainbow Dash.

And Rainbow Dash was her friend.

Against her ardent desires, the gears in her mind had already begun to turn. This instinct – this… craving, whatever it was – she never asked for this! Why in all of Equestria would she want to eat ponies? Why would she get so excited at the idea of crushing her friend, of anything smaller than her? These weren’t things she enjoyed in real life! So why here? Why did she want this now? Why had she been haunted by dreams of the very thing she embodied in this moment – a giant mare, clutching onto the helpless form of a far smaller one?

She knew what it felt like to be on the other end. She remembered vividly the nightmares she had growing up of this exact sort of thing. And yet, as she had grown older, they had given way for short glimpses of being the giant herself – of being the one in control of the world around her, secure in her dominance.

It made no sense. None of it made any sense at all. The desires – the baseless, illogical, malevolent desires… she wanted none of them. It was evil, all of it. She should be ashamed of herself for having ever given these thought so much as the time of day, let alone living them in a fantasy world. It was ludicrous. Asinine. It was—

“It’s okay,” a gentle voice spoke from her fetlock’s grasp.

Twilight jolted. She suddenly realized her breathing had become labored, the tendons in her sides trembling with ears folded back. Clenching her eyes shut for a moment, she heard her friend’s voice once more.

“I’m yours, Twilight.”

She shivered. Daring a peek at the pegasus in her grasp, she looked forward.

Rainbow rubbed a tiny hoof against her own, her eyes softer than ever she could remember. “I’m all yours.”

Twilight stared.

Slowly, wordlessly, her shivers began to subside.

No matter how she spun the current desires welling within her, she could not deny their existence, nor their fervor. But in that moment, a thought crossed her mind. Like a single cog merging with the rest of her mind’s gears, she realized something. It wasn’t a complete picture. It still didn’t make perfect sense. But it was clear – a simple fact that she could objectively observe. And most importantly…

It was what she wanted above all else.

With a slow exhale, Twilight closed her eyes once more, lowering Rainbow Dash down to the edge of the riverbed.

A Lecture

It was a shot in the dark. A long one. But Twilight knew this was her mess to clean up. If she had never involved Rainbow – if she had never opened that tome to the spell that allowed her to explore her desires – this never would have happened. Rainbow wouldn’t have unearthed her memories of Gilda, or the apparent pain they caused. It was because of her this nightmare ever came to be, by her own hooves that they were now haunted by their fears. But there was no sense in considering what was done, or what should have been done.

It was true, nearly every element explored over the past couple of days was shrouded in subjectivity. But it was presumptuous of her to think everything applied. There was still one element she discovered that could provide some degree of solace for herself, and perhaps for her friend. It was a gamble to say the least, considering all that had happened – a murky abstraction of a potential solution if studied for too long. But neither logic nor emotion had proven a solution on their own individually. Now was the time to try both, a hybridization of reason and impulse.

After all, the least she could do was give Rainbow a better dream.

__________

Twilight peered down through the busted ceiling of the dorm room, keeping her head held high as she looked down the end of her muzzle at Gilda.

To her surprise, Gilda didn’t seem very impressed. She looked up at her with wings flared, but her expression seemed cold, serious – as if she were used to such a sight. Twilight surmised it may have had something to do with the fact this was a dream, and that Gilda was merely a creation of Rainbow’s imagination. Whatever the case, Gilda began to fly out of the rubble and up toward her head.

“So,” Gilda said, rising to hover just beneath Twilight’s muzzle. “Let me guess.” She looked down at Rainbow with a wry smirk. “The replacement?”

Rainbow gawked at the sight of the giant alicorn standing over them, eyes wide and blinking. “Tw… Twilight?”

Gilda shook her head and grinned. “So, what, are you into hoof stuff or some weird shit now?” She looked back at Twilight with a raised eyebrow. “Oh, I get it! You like to crush ponies! That’s it, right? Big-flank princess likes little ponies under her hooves?”

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the tiny griffon in front of her snout. “I wouldn’t talk down to me if I were you.”

Far below, Rainbow’s ears flicked up at the words. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

“Hmph.” Gilda crossed her arms and frowned at the giant. “So, what d’you plan to do here? Sit on me?” She suggested to Rainbow below with a talon. “Or maybe you’d prefer to do that with your toy down there?”

Twilight exhaled hard, ruffling the plumes across Gilda’s head with humid breath. She flinched, but otherwise remained stoic.

“Gilda,” Twilight started, keeping her voice calm and steady, “I’ll be honest with you. Yes, there are certain things I like that I’m not proud of. Things I wish I didn’t like… things that are embarrassing to admit.” She leaned forward, forcing the griffon to shrink back. “But the last thing I should feel is shame. These desires I have? For whatever reason, they are a part of who I am. And yes, some of them are truly terrible – things that I would never do in real life. But they are my desires, for better or worse. I see no reason to be ashamed of who I am, and I certainly see no reason Rainbow should be ashamed of herself.”

Gilda raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Don’t tell me. You’re into eating ponies, aren’t ya? You do know that’s murder, right?”

Twilight bit the inside of her lip. She tried to keep the strength in her expression, but failed to hide her wince. “It’s… true. You are right.” She turned her gaze away. “And no, I don’t think it’s fine. Like I said, some of these desires are… really frightening to have.” She began to close her eyes and hang her head. But before she did, her eyes met with Rainbow’s below.

Rainbow stared up at her with a steadfast gaze, her ears trained forward and her eyes full of concern. Seeing that she was looking down at her, Rainbow gave her a small smile.

That gesture alone helped rekindle some of the strength in Twilight. Smiling softly in return, she lifted her head and returned her attention to Gilda. “But as much as I’ve enjoyed dreams of being a giant… of eating ponies and crushing things… I’ve learned one thing in the past two nights that I failed to discover on my own for years.”

Gilda tilted her head. “Oh really? And what’s that?”

Twilight smirked at the griffon. It wasn’t a bitter thing, or a threatening thing either. It was the kind of smirk somepony has when the dots finally connect.

Down below, Rainbow furrowed her brow – just as Twilight lifted a hoof overhead. She hunkered down as the massive thing hovered over her a moment, then smashed through the wall that stood to her right, sending debris all around. Rainbow shielded her face with a hoof, but continued to squint up at the mare.

Through the cloud of dust and debris, she could see Twilight now standing stories over her.

Lifting her head proudly, Twilight looked down once more at Gilda. “Even with all the dreams and nightmares I’ve had over the years, I’ve always enjoyed far more seeing my friends and the ponies around me happy and healthy. I derive so much more pleasure from the everyday events of my life than ever in my dreams.”

Gilda’s shoulders slumped mid-air. “Are you still giving me a lecture?”

“But,” Twilight spoke a little louder, causing Gilda to wince, “while I do enjoy my life as it is, it doesn’t keep me from having my dreams or desires. The difference is, they’re not things I would ever live out in real life. Not because I would get in trouble, or anything like that. No doubt Princess Celestia would banish me to Tartarus if she ever found out I was romping around as a giant.”

Rainbow snickered at that.

“No,” Twilight continued, unfazed by Gilda’s rolling eyes and groan. “It’s because of what my actions would mean to the ponies involved.” Twilight looked Gilda squarely in her tiny eyes. “I have never once enjoyed seeing others hurt. Not in any way. What I like about being a giant and eating ponies and crushing things isn’t the hurt I inflict on them. Honestly, when I have the dreams, I do all that I can to block out the thoughts. Instead, it’s something much simpler. Or, at least that’s what I’ve theorized at this—“

“Oh for the love of scones, will you just get to the point?!” Gilda shouted, throwing her arms out in front of Twilight.

Twilight squinted at the griffon. “The point is… like you – from what I’ve heard, at least – I think I like to dominate. Against every single logically observed factor that makes me who I am, everything that says I shouldn’t have even an inkling of interest in this sort of thing, I do in fact like the feeling of power and dominance I have as a giant. In fact, I love it. Passionately so. But I’ve always been conflicted with the pleasure I get from being a giant against the damage I do as such. I hate seeing others in pain far more than I like inflicting pain.”

She glanced down with a soft gaze at Rainbow and smiled. “It wasn’t until a certain friend of mine joined me on a ridiculous adventure that I started to learn what I really liked.” Looking back at Gilda, she said, “I still don’t have it all figured out, and frankly, I’m not sure I ever will. Why my conscious decided to manifest this desire in the form of being a giant still baffles me. But…”

Twilight stepped toward the griffon, crushing the wall directly across Rainbow under her hoof.

“I know what I like.”

She swung her long, heavy tail across the debris spread behind Rainbow.

“I like making my friends happy.”

She placed her rear hooves to each side of Rainbow, demolishing what little remained of the dorm room.

“I like being in charge.”

She crouched over Rainbow, causing the pegasus to crouch closer to the floor.

“And I love it when I can do both.”

Twilight squared off with the griffon and gripped the crumbling foundation of the school beneath her. “This ends here, Gilda! You may have hurt Rainbow Dash in the past, but I promise you’ll never get the chance again.”

Gilda, at some great distance, crossed her arms once more in front of Twilight. With a thin, devious smirk, she leered at the giantess in front of her.

“Alright then. Bring it.”