Romp

“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.”