The last thing she remembered was another failed trick, and when she finally regained consciousness, she found herself lying on something comfortable, most likely on the bed, wearing her blue sneakers and rainbow socks, but she couldn't help but feel that something was wrong. It pulsed as she opened her eyelids, but that feeling gave way to horror as she realized what was happening.
She struggled to move and found her hands tied to the bed frame, as were her legs. Oddly enough, she was in her room, a place where she should be safe. She didn't understand any of this. What was going on here? Who was behind it?
"Hello, Rainbow."
The calm voice made her immobile. She wanted to turn, but her constraints wouldn't let her. She recognized the voice and prayed to Celestia that her worst guesses would not come true. She wondered what this might be. The girl's face only reassured her that she was in trouble.
A dark pink braid, fastened with a dark elastic band, fell over her left shoulder. The crimson whites of her eyes gleamed suspiciously, and the narrow black pupils watched her surroundings closely. Her skin was heather-colored without the slightest flaws in the form of moles or scars, her forehead was adorned with the horn of a pale pink-tipped changeling, and her ears were delicately jagged. She had holes around her calves and forearms, her back was adorned with beautiful dragon wings, and kirin's purple armor was decorated with spikes of the same color; on the back she had a dragon tail with a purple tip similar to Smolder's, and she was dressed in a lavender jacket. With black studs, and light purple pants.
"You're probably wondering what happened and why you are tied," she began, before Dash could speak. "I decided to learn more about the Jewels of Harmony, and since one of them is Laughter, I decided to check if this feature is really so important for friendship. You will help me with this, are you glad? Think it's for the sake of science and further development of Equestria!" She moved closer to her, starting to take off her pale blue sneakers.
Rainbow quickly realized what was happening, she jerked violently, but the ropes didn't loosen at all, and she panicked slowly.
"Please, I'll do anything! Just don't tickle me!"
"It's too late, Dashie!" She said with a big smile, starting to stroke the girl's feet. Her movements were slow at first, from bottom to top. Rainbow did her best to endure it. She didn't want to give the torturer satisfaction.
"This is all you can do?"
Gleam stood up as she walked over to her prisoner, getting her mouth close to her ear, and she brushed a strand of her rainbow hair back with her hand, then whispered ominously.
"You didn't think I was going to start with the worst ticklish torture right away, did you? Oh no, this is just the beginning." The girl's hand touched her cheek, gently stroking it with her thumb. The feeling was nice, but Dash did not lose her vigilance, expecting it to turn into merciless tickles, but nothing of the kind happened. "As already mentioned, I need to study the Element of Laughter, and since Pinkie Pie was urgently called by the Cutie Map, only you were left to do." She walked back to the feet of defenseless Rainbow. "Don't you think I should take these socks off?"
Her pink eyes widened in fear. Not that! Just not her feet! She hated being touched so much, and Gleam was obviously trying to use it perfidiously. She jerked, but the ropes were very strong, effectively preventing even the slightest movement from her. She was starting to panic, every second dragged on like an hour, and Rainbow was sure she couldn't take it long, but she didn't know the real nightmare was yet to begin.
With a slow movement, the girl took off her sock, but not completely. She left it on the top of her foot so that it would slide off as soon as Rainbow moved her toes. With a soft smile, she ran her index finger from top to bottom. She didn't do it quickly to give Rainbow a taste of it what awaits her. She squeaked in surprise, but didn't laugh, much to Gleam's surprise, so she took a step further. She extended her claw and ran it lightly over her bare, light blue foot. Dash couldn't hold out anymore: she tried to throw herself again and tearing out, screaming with laughter, but this only made the pink-haired girl smile wider.
Her finger moved slowly, tracing various patterns across the rainbow-haired skin, but that was not the end; Glam was about to take something much worse. She held the right wing of the kicking girl with magic, then plucked six feathers out of it, fanning it in front of Rainbow's eyes.
"I had no idea your feet were so sensitive, my dear. I'm not surprised you don't want anyone to touch them. You're trying to be strong, and you actually become weak as soon as someone tickles you, right?" She asked, running a fingertip over her chin. "Look what I have here!" She pushed the fan of her own feathers up to her face. Rainbow swallowed in fear. "But I'm missing something here, Dashie! I already know! Tell me why I was so silly and didn't put the blindfold on you right away! You'd have an element of surprise!
Before she knew it, her eyes were obscured by black cloth. Darkness fell before her eyes. Suddenly she felt the soft tip of the feather move in a circular motion over her foot. Meanwhile, Gleam removed the other sock, making sure that she now had full access to the girl's feet. She held her fingers with magic so she couldn't move them, then, to Rainbow horror, began to run the sharp tip of the feather over the most sensitive areas on her body, in such a way as to make sure every inch on her feet was tickled.
"Enough! Enough already!" She spoke through a rainbow-haired laugh. Gleam ignored her cries, stating that she would only stop when Rainbow lowered herself to plead. It was too much for Dash: feathers danced mercilessly over her bare feet, and through the blindfold she couldn't even see what was happening. To her relief and surprise, the tickling suddenly stopped, but unfortunately not for long.
"Don't worry, I'm not finished tickling you yet. I have to leave you for a while, though." Gleam picked up another cloth with telekinesis, bringing it closer to the girl's mouth. "I don't want your laughter to lure someone here, so unfortunately I'm forced to do so. Hope you don't mind." She added, and seeing Rainbow starting to panic again, she stroked her hair. "I'm not going to hurt you, Dashie. I don't understand why you're panicking so much. They say you're so brave, you've won the Iron Pony title once. I know you enjoy being tickled. You think I have no idea about your visits to the Ponyville spa? You love when someone touches your feet, don't you?"
She tied the gag firmly around her mouth in case someone was here while she was away, because she couldn't let Rainbow talk about it.
She prepared the necessary items: two dust brooms under the armpits, a brush with thick bristles over the abdomen, and six feathers successively on the girl's body — two at the feet, one at the neck and three on the stomach. Made Rainbow unable to move any part of her body. She smiled broadly and left the room.
Standing on the cloud, she illuminated her corner with bright red magic, this time triggering an automatic spell. All the tools went into motion. There was a loud, muffled screech of a girl who was laughing to her limit. Satisfied, Gleam looked over her shoulder at her.
"I promise I'll be back later, Dashie. Have fun!" She said and then teleported to her home.
