Romp

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.”