Romp

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!”