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.