Newbie Dash (Alternative)

Spike refused to leave his room to join them for dinner, so Twilight just left him a tray by the door. He was obviously still upset with the girls, and she would respect his wishes for some privacy, although she told him again that she is sorry for hurting him like this, and that she never meant to hurt him this way.

“Spike still mad?” Rainbow asks guiltily.

“He’ll come around.. He’s just upset right now, not that I blame him…”

“It’s not your fault that we’re both obsessive, perfectionistic nutjobs.” Dash jokes, more or less just trying to deflect attention away from the dinner plates in front of them.
Twilight playfully rolls her eyes at her.
Dash continues. “Besides.. I think we both had an eye-opening moment, how our thoughtless actions are hurting others.”

Twilight sighs. “I couldn’t agree more…”

The air still felt thick with tension, and none of the castle’s occupants really had any appetite.

Rainbow never finished her shake from earlier, and for once, it seemed that Twilight was struggling to eat just like her, only that Twilight’s thoughts revolve around guilt and going through what-if’s, and Rainbow’s are about many concerns regarding how unbelievably much she’s already eaten, her own shape, and her skills, (and she’s quite frankly sick of food after today).

Twilight finds herself unable to so much as think about falling asleep. She had too much on her mind, too many what-if’s, and a lack of a certain dragon by her side to calm her worries, means that she couldn’t even focus on reading something to distract herself.

Before she knew it, it was already past 3am, and she startles half to death when there’s a sudden THONK! down the hall. When she runs out to check with a candle, she discovers Rainbow lying on the floor, a painting next to her, having been knocked down from the crystal walls.

“You alright?” Twilight asks, levitating the painting back on its spot.

Dash rubs her head, sitting up. “Ugh. Note to self: don’t fly in the castle at night.”

“Didn’t pegasi see pretty well in the dark?” Twilight asks. She’d read about that in the Science of Pegasi Magic books.

“They do, if they can keep their eyes open for more than a few seconds.” Rainbow complains. “And besides that: the walls reflect light, so it’s like looking directly into the sun for me.” As if to prove her point, she’s shielding her squinting eyes with a foreleg, from the crystal walls.

Twilight blinks. “Really?” She asks in disbelief, but is quick to blow out the flame of her candle.

“Really.” Dash confirms, and when it was finally darker, the only light source now coming from Twilight’s magical aura, opened her eyes fully. “Thanks.”

“So, let me guess… You’re up because the hunger is back?” Twilight asks nonjudgmentally.

“And you because you can’t stop thinking.” Rainbow says knowingly, neither denying nor confirming what Twilight concluded.

There’s a silent pause, before both ponies say in near perfect unison:
“You caught me.”

They burst into fits of giggles, despite the heaviness of their situations, in the dark of night.

“Want me to come with you?” Twilight asks.

“Nah.. I think I still know the way.” Dash jokes, as if finding the right directions was their biggest problem.

As she passes the alicorn, Twilight halts her with a hoof touching her side. “Come get me, if you need me. I’ll be here.” She tells her in a gentle no-nonsense manner, seeing right through the facade. It was as if she could feel Dash’s rising anxiety vibrating through the air. As if it was turning into its own, graspable entity.

For a moment, she wants to tell Rainbow that she’ll just join her, even if she doesn’t want company, but the pegasus beat her to it.

“I will.” She says, genuinely. “Try to get some sleep.” She tells the alicorn before disappearing down the hall, into the kitchen.

Twilight sighs softly, but figures that she would just go back into her study, like she said where she would be, but she had no hopes for concentrating on anything, much less sleep.

The cyan pegasus is annoyed at the fact that she couldn’t even sleep, all because she felt so hungry that it was downright painful now.

Neither of them had eaten much at dinner, although Rainbow had willingly eaten a final snack before bed, hoping in vain that it would allow her to go a few hours without starving.

How odd, the way she’d not felt hungry when she had been actively starving herself, and now that she’s eating regularly, she truly feels like she will starve. The hunger wasn’t just in her stomach and mind, it was in her cells.
Desperate, unrelenting, and insatiable.

To Rainbow Dash, it felt downright torturous.

She was feeling the full effects, now. Horrible dizziness, and not just when she’s getting up. She was getting a headache (before she bumped into the wall) and near constantly seeing black spots. She feels weak and lightheaded and her stomach hurts so bad she can barely stand up straight.

She tried to stick with pre-packed meals, which were prepared according to her meal plans and should fill her up nicely… in theory, anyways.
Twilight created them through careful calculations and diagrams that Rainbow couldn’t make heads or tails of, and when she grabs a third container because she still felt like she hadn’t eaten a single crumb for weeks, even after an hour of near constant eating, she mentally tells herself to stop, please stop, this is way too much, please just stop, stop, STOP..!

Unfortunately, no amount of begging could stop it from happening. She was at complete mercy of her starved body taking full control. It was fighting back in the only way it could, which unfortunately came at the expense of her sanity.

She is so indescribably disgusted with herself that she just wants to scream and lock herself in an empty, food-less room for the rest of her life, because food has ruined everything for her.

She completely breaks down when a particular thought crosses her mind, which quickly turns into a mental breakdown.

You’ll never fit into your suit today. Just look at how much you ate! And long before it’s even time for breakfast, at that! So much for ‘getting back into shape'! The Wonderbolts should just kick you out already, before you embarrass yourself and drag their name through the mud-!

Twilight remains on high alert, subconsciously listening to the sounds coming from the kitchen, counting the pauses between cupboards and fridge door opening. But most importantly, she was listening for any signs of distress.

The alicorn has long since managed to dissect and digest the worries and what-if’s regarding her own self, and she’s making peace with, and accepting, that yes, she had messed up, but she had also improved a lot over the years.

Her ears pick up a noise, sounding suspiciously like a muffled sob. She climbs to her feet, waiting for another noise to confirm her suspicions, and wastes no time rushing to the kitchen when she hears a panicked breathing that’s picking up speed.

She is minutely shocked at all the empty containers, but those are not her main concern right now.

Rainbow has backed away from what’s left of her last portion, pressing herself against the wall in a futile attempt to put more distance between herself and the food. When she sees Twilight coming to her, she just completely breaks down, dissolving into heart wrenching sobs in-between gasping breaths.

“It’s alright.” Twilight promises her, keeping her distance as not to make her feel trapped and suffocating. “You haven’t done anything wrong. This is just a temporary, normal part of getting better.” She says the facts in a soothing voice.

Her breathing slows down enough for Rainbow to say something, voice all hoarse and scratchy. “I want it to stop. *gasp* I want all of this to *gasp* go *gasp* away.”

“It will stop. Just.. please, hang in there. I promise it will stop.” Twilight repeats, and finally takes a few steps closer to her distraught friend.

If it weren’t for the fact that she has to train with the Wonderbolts, Rainbow would gladly ask Twilight to make her sleep through the worst of it.

But
A) it wouldn’t actually solve anything, unless she was fed through a feeding tube while she sleeps, which is absolutely unthinkable

And
B) she can’t have Spitfire and the other Wonderbolts know what’s really afflicting her, because they are sure to kick her out if they knew.

Now more than ever, she feels the impossible need to prove her worth to the team. And for that to be even remotely possible, she needs a plan.

And she has an idea. An idea that would undoubtedly impress every pony involved.
But an idea that is not only sure to fail in her current state and weakened wing-power, but could also lead to her severely injuring herself, but she feels the need to at least try… The very thing that makes her special and unique:

The Sonic Rainboom.