Starlight spoke, but Twilight couldn't place the words. They seemed to jumble together and hiss in her mind like static. She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to clear the weird sensation. Then, as it passed, she noticed the hand cupping her chin. “S-Star!” She let out a little gasp and blushed at the intimate touch.

“I just want one last kiss before we go back to pretending.” Star replied with a playful grin before leaning in and pressing her lips to Twilight’s.

Twilight squirmed in embarrassment, but quickly melted under the affection and wrapped her arms Star’s hips.

“Jeez, you two.” Spike complained from behind them, rolling his eyes. “If you two were going to get so sappy, you could have gotten me my own cabin.”

“Sorry Spike,” Star giggled, pulling back from the kiss to look at the dragon over Twilight’s shoulder. “I just get a little caught up in the moment. I don’t think you should be complaining too much. I know you would love to do these kinds of things with Rarity.”

Spike blushed nearly as deeply as Twilight. “O-of course, but not with a bunch of people standing around.” He mumbled.

“You shouldn't tease him, Star. He did promise to keep the two of us a secret.” Twilight cut in.

“Something you’re the one insisting on.” Star replied, gently ruffling Twilight’s hair.

Twilight pursed her lips, trying to think of some retort, but there was nothing she could say in response. She turned her gaze down with a little hint of guilt. Star’s expression was playful and teasing, but there was no way she wasn't hurting on the inside. How would Twilight feel if Star was the one insisting their relationship stay secret? It was like she wasn’t fully accepting her. “I’m sorry Star. I’ll tell everyone eventually. I just...haven’t figured out the right time.”

“Hey, it’s alright. I understand.” Star’s smile widened. “Just remember once you do, Pinkie will be able to throw you a new relationship party and a coming out party at the same time.” Star’s joke lightened Twilight’s spirits, but the issue still weighed on her.

She followed Star out of the cabin with a quick wave to Spike.”We’ll see you at dinner.” Twilight kept her right hand clutched in Star’s as they took the first few steps down the hall. Then, as they reached the door to the next train car, she reluctantly let go.

Inside the dining car, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity had already sat down for dinner Pinkie Pie was the first to notice them.

“Ah, there they are! See, I told you they hadn’t fallen off the train, silly.” Pinkie said, looking over at Fluttershy.

“You’re the one that said that,” Fluttershy mumbled back at Pinkie.

“Well, y’all gotta admit, it’s rare for Twilight to be late for things.” Applejack noted.

Star raised her hands up apologetically. “Sorry, everyone. It’s my fault. I ended up distracting Twilight with magic questions and lost track of time.”

“No need to be sorry. Wasn’t more’n a few minutes.” AJ said.

Twilight forced a little smile as Star shouldered the blame. A little white lie was fine under the circumstances, and clearly no one thought anything of the minor tardiness. She certainly didn’t want to tell them the truth, that she’d lost track of the time because she’d been distracted by how beautiful Star is. Even if the secret got out, she’d be mortified at everyone imagining her like a lovestruck schoolgirl.

Maybe that was a hint as to why she was embarrassed about telling everyone about the relationship. It was important for her to be reliable and dependable. The fate of Equestria had been on her shoulders quite a few times. Was she the same person who fought Tirek to a standstill when Star could make her knees weak with a smile? She had never felt so vulnerable before towards anyone. She’d never been...so in love. Even her brief infatuation with Flash was nothing like this. Could that really be the issue? Was she afraid of appearing weak in front of her friends who looked up to her?

She wasn’t sure if that was it, but it would take a lot of time to puzzle through her feelings. She couldn’t focus too much on them in the moment. She needed to stay attentive to her friends as dinner conversation started back up. Applejack was reviving things by talking about the trees changing from the window.

“I haven’t seen willow for a while now and it’s been a lot more oak and dogwood. Course come tomorrow it’ll be nothing but spruce and fir as far as the eye can see.”

Rarity nodded enthusiastically. “Oh yes, the variety of scenery has been simply wonderful. It’s been giving me a lot of ideas for a new line of clothes. Still, I’m most looking forward to the snowy mountaintops. They’re simply gorgeous in that primal natural way. It’s amazing how clean the Crystal Empire’s streets are when it snows as often as it does.”

Twilight brightened and cut in. “Actually, the Crystal heart protects the city from snow and keeps things warm. In fact, without its magic, the Crystal Empire would be totally lost to the Frozen North.”

“Ooh, so it does more than be sparkly and shiny.” Pinkie remarked.

“That’s really nice.” Fluttershy added, “The Crystalling will warm our hearts and the Crystal Heart warms the city.”

The conversation paused once more as the dining car door opened and Rainbow Dash wandered in.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie called out. “You made it!”

“Now RD’s someone I’d never be surprised at bein’ late.” Applejack noted with a grin.

“Yeah, sorry guys. I was taking a nap in my cabin and looks like I overslept.” Rainbow was wearing the same sports bra and small shorts she’d been wearing when Star and Twilight had gone to visit her. She often showed up to group events dressed like a race was about to start. Rainbow didn’t offer any further explanation than a shrug and sat down with everyone else.

“It’s no problem.” Starlight said. “We’re in no rush for dinner.”

Rainbow glanced over at Star like she was going to respond, but then her eyes darted off for something else to look at. Twilight noticed an odd expression come over Rainbow’s face for the briefest of moments.

Twilight worried Rainbow had made a connection based on her and Star sitting next to each other at the table, but that just seemed paranoid. She was getting obsessive.

The conversation began to pick back up, but Twilight fell into the background as she thought over her feelings. It couldn’t be as simple as looking weak in front of her friends. They’d all gone through so much together and become so close. She would trust to tell her friends anything...except this for some reason.

Twilight tried to play it out in her head, revealing her relationship to everyone, and a lump formed in her chest. There was this stressful barrier there, a subconscious fear that her friends would be outraged and angry with her. But that didn’t make any sense. Rarity had figured out about the relationship on her own and had been totally supportive. Rainbow wouldn't care about such a thing, really. Fluttershy would be happy with two friends becoming even closer, and Pinkie would just be happy for an excuse to throw more parties. Applejack was really the only one that might object, and that was just a vague worry based on how much value AJ put in traditions.

The more she thought about it, the more Twilight realized she was grasping at straws. She was looking for an excuse to keep things secret. She was the one that objected, on some level. She couldn’t put words to it, but somehow it felt like revealing things would be a betrayal.

Twilight glanced around the table at all her friends, happily chatting away as they waited for their food. The topic had shifted to the Equestria Games and Spike was recounting managing to save the day by melting the ice cloud. Twilight glanced over at Rainbow, expecting her to pipe in about the competition itself, but instead her friend was staying quiet. She realized Rainbow had something bothering her.

Rainbow was doing her best to look relaxed, and no one else had picked up on it, but the signs were clear when you looked for them. Rainbow panned her eyes around at everyone at the table periodically, but frequently her eyes would look down at her plate or off at the wall of the train car, as though lost in a thought. Her jaw was slightly clenched and there was a certain forced feel to her expression. Twilight may not have noticed these signs either, except they were so similar to how she expected she herself looked right now

Twilight’s worries about revealing her relationship temporarily faded as she puzzled over what might be troubling Rainbow Dash. Throughout dinner, she kept an eye on Rainbow to help study what might be the matter. Rainbow kept her eyes mostly on her plate as she ate and continued to just dip slightly into the conversation. Once she finished her meal, Rainbow excused herself right away. “Alright guys, I’m gonna get another flight in before sunset. See you all in the morning.” She quickly left the dining car without another word.

“Poor Rainbow. She probably feels cooped up being on the train for so long.” Fluttershy commented softly.

“Yeah.” Twilight said. “It’s enough for any of us to be a bit off.” She didn’t think that was the case, though.

The dinner with everyone else wound down and everyone eventually made their way back to their cabins. Twilight, Spike, and Star all walked together, waving goodbye to Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie whose rooms were on the way. Soon they reached their own cabin and waved goodbye to Applejack, whose cabin was in the next car over, near Rainbow’s. Twilight glanced out the door and saw the sun was almost completely set over the horizon. If she was going to help Rainbow, now would be her chance. “I’m going to check to make sure Rainbow is back from her flight.”

Star pursed her lips for a moment, but nodded. “Of course. I’ll see you when you get back here.”

Twilight smiled and gave Star a quick hug before heading further down the train. Soon she was alone in the hallway outside of Rainbow’s door. She gave the door a couple firm knocks, uinsure if Rainbow would be inside, but a moment later it slid open with Rainbow looking at her in confusion. “Twilight? What are you doing here?”

“I wanted to talk. May I come in?”

Rainbow shifted her eyes to the side, showing some reticence, but she backed away and let Twilight come inside. “What did you want to talk about?”

“About you, Rainbow. I could see at dinner that something’s weighing on you and I want to help.” Twilight sat down on one of the seats and looked empathetically towards her friend. “What’s wrong?”

Rainbow turned towards the window and looked out at the moonlit evening flowing by. “Nothing’s wrong….nothing real. Nothing anyone can help with.”

Twilight tilted her head, unsure what Rainbow meant. She stood up and took a step closer. “If there is something bothering you then it’s real for you. It doesn’t matter what it is, I want to be there for you.” She reached out and put a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder. “Just tell me what’s on your mind, no matter what it is.”

Rainbow turned and gave a weak smile at Twilight along with a tiny nod. “It….it’s crazy. It doesn’t mean anything, but at dinner tonight, whenever I looked at Starlight, I had this sense of anger and danger well up in me, like she was the old Star.” Her smile grew more pained. “Pretty crummy reaction from a friend right?”

Twilight felt her stomach drop. She was relieved there was nothing deeply wrong with Rainbow, but the fact there was a potential conflict with Star troubled her on a level it wouldn't have if it had been Applejack or someone else in the group. What could Star have done? She groped for something to say as she worked to hide the pit in her stomach. “Well...I’m sure if you and Starlight sit down and talk things over…”

“But that’s the problem!” Rainbow declared, pushing Twilight’s arm away. “There’s nothing to talk about. Starlight hasn’t done anything wrong. I don’t know why I felt mad at her at dinner. It didn’t make any sense. I don’t feel that when I think about her right now either. It was only when I saw her in person. You really think it’ll help if I go up to her to chat? ‘Hey Star, I’m really angry at you and have no idea why.”

Twilight looked at the floor. “I suppose not.” Part of her was happy to agree. She didn’t want to force Starlight into a tense conversation unnecessarily. Her own reaction surprised her. Would she be so hesitant about a talk if if Rainbow had an issue with someone other than Star? In that moment, she realized exactly why she didn’t want to tell anyone about her relationship.

She couldn’t linger on that though. Rainbow’s issues had to come first. She couldn’t allow herself to treat this friendship problem any differently just because Star was involved, either. She looked back up a Rainbow with a more determined expression. “There has to be some explanation, even if it’s irrational. Can you think of anything Star has done that might have made you mad? Even an offhand comment you felt offended by?”

Rainbow scrunched her face as she thought over the question. “I’m drawing a total blank. She’s been friendly and totally fine all the times I’ve seen her.” Rainbow paced to the other side of the cabin near the door and let out a deep sigh. “I feel like I’ve gone crazy.”

“You aren't crazy, Rainbow. You don’t get mad at someone for no reason...unless.” If Rainbow was enchanted in some way, it could explain things. Twilight closed her eyes and began to scan for any magic in the cabin. A violet glow emenated from things as she examined them. She quickly checked over Rainbow’s luggage and seating, and finally looked carefully for any evidence of magic coming from Rainbow herself. Absolutely nothing came up. “No, you haven’t been affected by magic.”

“Well, glad we’ve removed that possibility.” Rainbow replied glumly.

“There could be potions or other things I can’t detect that could cause a reaction, but those are pretty unlikely. My best guess is you have some kind of subconscious association, something that your mind can’t put into words that made you feel like that towards Star. It doesn’t necessarily mean Starlight did anything wrong, it could be she inadvertently reminded you of a bad memory or a hundred other things.”

“Great. How am I supposed to figure it out if my brain won’t tell me?”

Twilight furrowed her brow. “I'm not sure. I haven’t read as much on psychology as I’d like.” Though, there was a recent set of texts she’d read that addressed the subconscious quite a bit. But was it worth suggesting? Twilight resolved that even if it was a low chance, it was worth bringing it up. “There might be one way.”

“You know a spell that could help?” Rainbow asked with a look of hope.

“It’s more a technique than a spell. It’s a way to directly communicate with the subconscious mind. It’s called hypnosis.” Under the circumstances, Twilight decided to leave out the detail that she’d learned about it from some books that belonged to Starlight. Star had shown the two old books to her a few days back, knowing that Twilight was always interested in more knowledge. She’d since started diving into them when she had the time. It was a fascinating and completely new subject. She had only managed to read halfway into the first of the two Hypnotica Principala, though, due to all the preparations for the Crystalling and Starlight’s first friendship lesson. As a result, she hadn’t talked about any of her reading with Star yet.

“Hypnosis...” Rainbow recited the word, trying to divine some meaning from it. She gave a quick nod and stood directly in front of Twilight as though waiting for a spell to be cast on her. “Well, if it might help, I’m willing to try it out. What do we do?”

Twilight paused, suddenly feeling put on the spot. “W-well, it basically works where I’d have you relax and listen to me talk. I’ve never actually tried it before. I’ve only been reading about it.”

Rainbow gave Twilight an incredulous look. “Twilight, you’re basically the princess of books. If you read how to do it, then you can do it. And at this point I’m willing to try anything. I don’t want to randomly hate my friends.”

Twilight felt a boost of confidence from Rainbow's encouragement, but she was still nervous. If this were a new spell, she wouldn’t have any issues. Magic spells could be learned by memorization and replication. The Hypnotica Principala was more like a science textbook, going into long discussions of the subconscious mind and how it interacts with the rest of the personality with little direct instruction on how to apply the knowledge. There were some example scripts, however, offered as guidelines for how to achieve certain effects. They was the closest thing to a spell in the books. Twilight remembered the visual relaxation script from the chapter on inductions, and it was a good starting point. “Alright. Just sit down and we’ll give it a try.”

Rainbow and Twilight sat across from each other and Twilight raised her index finger up in the air. “Alright. Umm, so what you want to do is focus on my finger. Keep your eyes locked here as you listen to my voice.” Rainbow nodded and focused her eyes as Twilight continued. Twilight started to trail her finger back and forth in a straight line through the air. “As you focus on my finger and my words, you can feel as your breathing begins to slow. So nice as you keep that focus here and breathe in...and out.”

Rainbow complied, letting out a soft sigh, getting a bit comfier. Twilight smiled, feeling that things were going well so far. “As you focus here you can feel how all the tension in your body begins to drain away. You focus more and more with every breath. Eyes on my finger as you feel yourself beginning to let go.”

Rainbow blinked a couple times as her eyes continued to follow Twilight’s finger and breathe. “Now you’ll feel as your eyes becoming heavy and languid, along with the rest of your body. You can feel how the more you relax, the less you want to move your body. You can feel how it’s like you’re too heavy to move, pressed against your seat.

As Twilight continued, Rainbow’s lips pursed together. Then her eyes stopped following Twilight’s finger and looked directly at the princess. “I’m sorry, I just can’t keep focused while you drone on like that. I don’t feel that heaviness you were talking about either. I don’t think it’s working.”

Twilight sighed and put her finger down. “You don’t need to be sorry. I guess I still don’t have this figured out.” It was no surprise things didn’t work. The book emphasized that every person reacted a bit differently to hypnosis. The scripts weren’t actually meant to be used as rote recitations, but just as examples that could be applied.

So why was she falling back on the examples? She knew Rainbow very well. She should be able to think up an effective approach based on that knowledge. “One second, let me think if there’s a better way.”

Twilight thought over Rainbow carefully. She was a stubborn learner. The script she’d used was almost like a lecture. It was obvious Rainbow would get bored and anxious if she didn’t feel exactly what was suggested. If the visual induction was no good, should she go with a different approach? A kinesthetic induction would make sense, but may still be suboptimal. Rainbow was definitely a visual learner, her learning process was just totally focused on flying. That was how they’d taught Rainbow the history of the Wonderbolts. Why not use the same approach to help her fall into trance?

Twilight decided the approach was worth trying. “Okay, I have an idea for something that may work better. Stand up and face the door.”

Rainbow followed Twilight’s instruction, then stood right behind her. “Good, now extend your wings out like you’re about to take off, but instead, flap them gently, just enough to get you an inch off the ground.”

Rainbow looked back, unsure. “Aren’t I supposed to focus on something and listen to you?”

“Yes, but we’re going to take it from a different angle. Trust me.” Rainbow nodded and slowly flexed her wings. The air in the cabin swirled gently and Rainbow lifted the slightest bit. “Good, now keep up that pace to keep floating and focus on the cabin door. I’m going to use a little illusion magic.”

Twilight’s horn shimmered to life and on the door, an image began to form of the top of a forest canopy below and a blue sky above, as thought the two of them were flying over the trees. The image began to shift to give a sense of motion.

“Oh cool.” Rainbow exclaimed. “It looks just like the view outside.”

“That’s good, Rainbow. Keep your eyes on the image while you continue gently flapping. Just picture yourself actually out there, flying around. Think of what it feels like when you fly, the sensation of wind on your body, the sense of being open and free.” Twilight kept close control of the magic image, making the treetops roll past Rainbow’s field of view. Then she carefully laced a word into the trees, making a set of dense leaves that spelled out *RELAX*

Rainbow’s shoulders gave a tiny shrug and seemed a bit looser than before, but she didn’t offer any further comment. “Just watch and picture yourself really flying. Totally free, unrestrained, travelling wherever you want.” Twilight laced more words into the image. *LISTEN* *CALM* *FOCUS*

Twilight moved as close as she could without interfering with Rainbow’s wings and began to whisper, “Flying free as you focus on my voice and relax.”

“Mmmnn.” Rainbow let out a little sigh and her head drooped a bit. Her flapping was slow and steady, keeping her just barely off the ground. Twilight reached out and placed her hands on Rainbow’s hips to help keep her steady. This approach already seemed to be more effective.

“Very good, Rainbow…” Twilight paused for a second, realizing she wasn’t sure where she wanted to go from here. She couldn't leave Rainbow with a bunch of dead air while she puzzled out what to say. She quickly thought of some words to repeat that would act as filler and keep Rainbow engaged. “You’re doing so well, flying free as you relax more and more. So nice as you fly over the trees...feeling so real, so true. You can picture yourself actually outside, flying with the blue sky above and forest below.”

Twilight kept up the patter, just making sure Rainbow didn’t get bored and kept focused on the previous suggestions while she decided what to do next. Deepening could take many forms just like inductions, but generally reinforcing a similar theme was most important. She decided a focus phrase that was themed after the flying would work best.

“Now Rainbow, whenever I say ‘fly high,’ I want you to respond, ‘higher is deeper.’ And when you say that, you will feel how your mind sinks deeper, becomes more focused on my voice, becomes more focused on flying. Let’s try it out. Fly high.”

“Higher is deeper.” Rainbow replied softly, sounding more serene. Twilight laced more words into the image. *DEEP* *LISTEN* *SINK* *DOWN*

“Fly high.”

“Higher is deeper.”

Twilight kept the chant going and noticed that each time, Rainbow’s response became a bit softer and far away. Her wings began to slow down as well. It was working. She was falling in trance!

Rainbow’s wings soon drooped and her imitation of flying was reduced to a light sway back and forth on her feet. Twilight wrapped her arms around Rainbow’s tummy and marvelled at the sensation. She felt a strange fascination as she held Rainbow close. Rainbow was usually guarded about her feelings, but now was completely open to Twilight. There was a deep intimacy in that fact that Twilight had never experienced before, and felt alarmingly seductive.

Twilight was tempted to draw things out further as she puzzled over the strange thrill she was experiencing, but she was less confident about how to proceed from here. This was all just an initial test. She would need to read more to be sure of the right course. Besides, Starlight would start to wonder if she lingered too long with Rainbow.

“Very good, Rainbow. Now I’m going to give you a special phrase that will let you sink back into this warm state. Whenever you hear me say the phrase, mind in the clouds, you’ll drift into this same deep relaxed sensation , flying higher and deeper just like this. So focused on my words. Isn’t that right?”

“Uh huh.” Rainbow replied with a subtle nod of her head.

“Good, now I’m going to count to three and you’ll feel as your mind rises back up, feeling so wonderful, and on three you will fully awaken. One...rising up nice and slow….two….so good,” Twilight dispelled the image on the cabin door and took one step back to end her embrace, “Three, wake up, all the way.”

Rainbow’s wings tucked back in and straightened herself up. She paused a moment, fully coming to and then raised her arms in the air and stretched out her back before turning around. “Hey Twilight. That was...really cool! I haven’t felt this chill in a while. And when you kept saying to fly high I just replied back without even thinking about it. That’s weird, now that I think about it. So I guess it worked?”

“It did.” Twilight replied with a little swell of pride. “But this was just the first step. I don’t know what is causing your reaction to Starlight yet. After a couple more sessions we’ll be able to figure it out.”

“Well that puts me in a better spot than I was.” Rainbow said with a grin. She reached in and gave Twilight a hug. “Thanks for helping me out with this.”

Twilight blushed as she hugged Rainbow back, remembering the feeling of embracing her while she was under. It felt wonderful knowing that she was someone Rainbow could turn to. “You’re welcome Rainbow. I’m always glad when I can help a friend. We’ll figure this out together.”

After saying her goodbyes, Twilight returned back to her cabin and discovered that only Starlight was inside.

Star glanced over to Twilight with a little smile. “Welcome back.”

“Thanks. Where’s Spike?”

“He’s out.” Star gave Twilight a wink. “I convinced him to go back to the dining car and try out the dessert tray. So it’ll just be you and me for now.”

Twilight’s heart fluttered. She really was like a love drunk schoolgirl. She blushed at the silent admission, but didn’t hesitate to sit next to Star and lean into her shoulder. Star wrapped her arm around Twilight’s shoulders and the princess let out a deep contented sigh. She stared happily at Starlight, melting in the embrace.

“So, how was Rainbow Dash?” Star asked.

Twilight debated whether to mention that she had been helping Rainbow with something, but she needed to keep the details confident so there seemed little point in bringing it up. “She’s good. The fly outside helped her out a lot. By the way, I realized why I’ve been so reluctant to tell people about us.”

“Oh?” Star looked curiously. “Why is that.”

“I was thinking about it a bit during dinner. It feels like once everyone knows that we’re dating, that things will change in a way that can never be undone. And that’s true. I mean, you’re the first person I’ve ever...fallen for like this.” Twilight blushed slightly. “My friends have always been the most important people in my life. They’ve always been my top priority and I’ve always striven to be there for them. But now I have you. In some ways you’re even more important. Telling my friends about you also means they aren’t always going to be my top priority anymore. I’m scared that when I admit that I’ve let you into my heart, that it means there is less room for them.”

Twilight sighed and leaned harder against Star. “But I know that isn’t true. I don’t love my friends any less, I’ve just filled in a part of my heart that was empty before. There might come a time when helping a friend and helping you come into conflict, but that isn’t a new problem. Friendship is all about respecting each other’s needs and priorities. The answer is to find balance and the best way to do that is to be open and honest with each other. So, I’ve decided that after the Crystalling, we should invite everyone over to the castle and I’ll tell everyone that we’re a couple.”

Star smiled and ran a hand through Twilight’s hair. “That’s wonderful. I’m glad you feel ready to get it all in the open.
And trust me, everyone will be happy for you. For us.”

“I think so too.” Twilight grinned and leaned in, giving Star a soft kiss. “I love you, Starlight.”

Star paused for a brief moment, then nodded. “And I love you too, Twilight. This is really nice. I suppose it isn’t so bad to leave you like this for a bit longer.” Star wrapped both arms around Twilight and pulled the princess into her lap.

Twilight thought Star’s words were a bit odd but shrugged it off, happy to melt away in Star’s love.

Author's Note

Aaaaargghhhghg.

Sorry for the *checks notes* eight months of no updates. Life has been highly distracting as of late, but I'm working to piece myself back together. Hopefully this chapter will be a good hint at things to come in the future.