Romp

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.”