A Starlit Rainbow

by eXtaticus

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Adventure
Length: 6190

A muti-part TwiDash shipfic with a hefty amount of action and romance.

As autumn sets in, Rainbow Dash realises that what she feels for Twilight Sparkle can't possibly be just "friendship" - and the coming darkness will test both mares to their absolute limit. On the horizon, a storm is brewing - and even the Princesses are powerless to stop it.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2013-01-04 00:53:45 UTC

Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

“In a refrigerator? Are you bucking KIDDING ME?”

Twilight collapsed and rolled around on the carpet in a fit of laughter, as her and Rainbow's weekly book meeting descended into a long-winded discussion on how much the final instalment of the long-running Daring Do series either sucked (in Rainbow's opinion) or wasn't “all that bad” (in Twilight's). Needless to say, their argument had soon descended into madness, and Rainbow's hyperbolic hatred of the book was one of the most hilarious displays of butthurt fangirlism that Twilight had seen in her lifetime. And being an unabashed and self-admitted bookworm, she'd seen more than a few.

“And aliens, Twilight! Aliens!” Rainbow Dash continued, standing on her hind legs, and making comically exaggerated arm and wing motions to illustrate her point. “Daring Do is all about ancient artefacts, trap-ridden temples and malicious monsters, both pony and otherwise – it's NOT about nuking fridges and finding dimensional portals!”

Twilight sat up on her haunches and rolled her eyes. “Daring Do is supposed to be light-hearted, madcap fun, and the Land of the Diamond Spine was just that; it was enjoyable, if a little mindless and ridiculous – but when has Daring ever NOT been mindless and ridiculous?” This earned a slight glare and a huff from the ever-indignant Rainbow, prompting Twilight to correct herself; “I mean, that's not to say that they aren't great fun to read; they are, and that's something that's always been a staple feature of the series...”

Rainbow let out a small smirk at that, and sighed. “Y'know Twi, you sound like a professional arts critic and I sound like a ranting mega-fan who's read one too many fanfics.” Twilight responded with a giggle.

“Correction, Rainbow; I AM a professional arts critic, and you ARE a ranting mega-fan who's read one too many fanfics.” She winked.

Rainbow smiled back, and without warning, crouched and pounced on the unprepared Twilight, who let out a surprised squeal and immediately toppled backwards under the force of Rainbow's glomp – as the cyan mare jammed her forehooves into Twilight's belly and began to tickle mercilessly.

“And... GAH! Probably some... HAHAHA... weird clopfics... too!”

At that, Rainbow pulled back, suddenly uncharacteristically bashful and sporting the beginnings of a slight blush;

“Twi... you promised never to talk about that...”

“Hey, it's okay; the way I see it, it's just one less secret between us – and at least you know what you like, right?”

The purple mare smiled and winked at her still-blushing pegasus friend, who wore a puzzled expression as she tried to piece together the implications of what Twilight had just said. Instead of bothering too much with pragmatics, she smiled back and spoke softly;

“Y'know, Twi... it's great to have someone as crazy as me to talk about all of this stuff with. If I'd have come out as a book-lover in flight camp I would have been totally ribbed for it, but you're... accepting. It's nice.”

Twilight blushed a little at this, and let her eyes remain focused on the pegasus for a few moments, still smiling warmly.

“Rainbow, I...”

She cleared her throat, suddenly slightly more attentive and aware – and mentally kicked herself for staring at Rainbow again. She'd been doing that all too often recently, especially seeing as Dash's visits to the library had become all the more frequent of late now that she'd expanded her range of reading.

Daring Do still remained the main point of their discussions, though.

“Yes, Twilight?”

Oh, god, I just looked at her flank. Why the hell did I just look at her flank?

“Twilight?” Rainbow questioned, now wearing a slightly more confused expression at her friend's apparent vacancy. She saw Twilight looking at something that appeared to be behind her, and quickly turned her head, attempting to find the object of the purple mare's attention.

Twilight had, by this point, long since zoned out and was having a small internal argument about whether or not she should be staring at Rainbow's flank. The pegasus' sudden movement snapped her out of her trance, and she stumbled with her words, unable to think of anything to say.

“Uh... I... um...”

“Are you okay, Twilight? You just kinda spaced for a moment there – I was starting to get a little worried-”

“I'm fine!” Twilight blurted suspiciously enthusiastically, cutting Rainbow off mid-sentence. After a small, awkward moment of neither party knowing quite what to say, the silence was broken by a convenient intrusion from Spike, who bursted through the door with enough speed to skid to a halt in front of the two ponies. Clearly exhausted from what was likely to have been a hurried dash home, (or the closest was to “running” that the slightly pudgy dragon could possibly muster) he reached up to wipe the sweat off his brow, and thrusted a large brown book into Twilight's forehooves.

“I just... *gasp*... picked this up from the... *pant*... Post Office and...”

Twilight scanned over the front cover of the book briefly; it was a large, old-looking tome, adorned with the image of a pair of pegasus wings. Despite obviously being of considerable age, it didn't look as though it'd seen all that much usage – and its bold, gold-encrusted title still shone in the sunlight.

“Pegasine Anatomy and Magical Theory, Twilight! One 'nearly-new' copy, fresh from the rarely-visited vaults of a Canterlot-based research repository – and I even managed to get it at a discounted price!”

Upon examining the tome closer, Twilight spotted that it was indeed in virtually mint condition, and

“Wow, Spike! This is incredible – I'm surprised you remembered that I'd ever said anything about this book in the first place; it's so obscure...”

“So,” Rainbow Dash interjected, “is anyone going to tell me what this book is all about, or-”

“Of course, Rainbow Dash – in fact, I need you for some of the experiments in this... Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” Twilight said gleefully, rubbing her hooves together and grinning madly.

Upon hearing the word “experiment”, Rainbow Dash visibly twitched, and began to back away slowly from Twilight, her mind starting to fill with horrifying images of needles, electrodes and dank cellars full of strange fluids and machinery – and she pictured Twilight in a blood-splattered lab-coat, steampunk goggles and a medical mask, laughing manically as she twirled a thick black moustache with a forehoof.

Don't be ridiculous, Dash thought; she probably only wants to measure my flight speed or something, (and besides, the moustached mad scientist is probably more Pinkie's style, if I'm honest) and hey, I wouldn't say no to having an excuse to hang out with her some more.

Wait, why did I just think that?

Noticing Rainbow's obvious discomfort, Twilight spoke once more; “Rainbow, don't worry; it'll probably only involve me measuring your flight speed or something, and besides, it gives us a great excuse to hang out some more...”

Wait, why did I just say that?

There was another brief lull in the conversation, and Rainbow though it best to break the tension and go kick a few clouds. Excusing herself, she flew out through an open window and rocketed into the skies – but instead of the usual feeling of adrenaline and elation that kicked in every time she took off, her thoughts were filled with confusion and frustration; there was an indescribable feeling of angst and aching deep in her chest, and her mind whirred and whirled over Twilight's words and her own thoughts:

“...  it's just one less secret between us...”

Rainbow replied with another memory; “...you're... accepting. It's nice.”

“... it gives us a great excuse to hang out some more...”

Dash pumped her wings harder, slicing through thick, white clouds as she ascended into the sky, lost inside the brightness of the sun and the noise of her own imagination – and she closed her eyes, wishing the world away as the horizons rolled endlessly beneath her hooves.

~ -

“You're sure?”

“... Certain.”

The alabaster alicorn sighed solemnly, turning to her sister with a grim, forlorn expression. She bowed her head slowly and closed her eyes, and though she remained completely still, her mane and tail continued to flow steadily in an intangible breeze. She drew a short breath, and began to speak again;

“If your premonition proves to be correct, Luna, then dark times lie ahead. I hope you're aware of that; if what she said was true, then we've no reason not to fear the worst.”

Luna lifted her head towards the clouds and stepped further out onto the balcony, gazing into the gleaming azure skies and inhaling the warm, late-summer air. An unusual wave of coldness swept over her suddenly, and she shivered slightly, tearing her vision away from the vast blue emptiness and landing her gaze on her sister. She replied;

“She seemed terrified, sister. That was the most awful thing; seeing Nightmare Moon genuinely scared. Nightmare Moon is a creature who manifested by leeching from the darkest corners of my imagination; she's almost literally a nightmare – and for something to scare her...”

“... Then it must be of such a true and pure evil that even a phantom as sickening as Nightmare Moon can't begin to comprehend the power of its darkness. She's scared, Luna, because she believes that she's close to a death from which she has no hope of escaping; if whatever this new power is has come to take Equestria, then it'll attack its leaders first – and if the host dies, then so does the parasite.”

Luna turned away from her sister for a moment, her eyes reflecting a regretful sadness that bore the scars of a millennia of nightmares. Her voice cracked momentarily as she spoke once more;

“I'm to die, then, according to her?”

“You know that we've been through too much for me to simply sit by and let that happen. You're still not at full power, Luna, so it's my duty to protect you until you are,” Celestia answered, walking slowly over to her sorrowful sister and placing a lily-white wing over the younger mare's shoulders. She whispered her next few words with soothing softness; “And they'll turn me into sunbeams and stardust before they even come close to touching you – I promise you that.”

Luna smiled at that, and her mood brightened instantly; ducking out of Celestia's wing, she jumped onto the balcony's barriers and fluttered her wings, admiring the rolling green expanse of the world beneath her. Carefully balancing atop the thin railing, she turned to her sister with a contented expression and relaxed slightly, and spread her wings to their full span for extra stability.

“Until we know for sure, Celestia, I believe that we should at least endeavor to enjoy the coming weeks, if only for the sake of our citizens; there's no point in being depressed over events that we've no guarantee will happen yet, and stressing over worst-case scenarios will – knowing our luck – only increase the likelihood of them occurring.”

Celestia chuckled at her sister's bravery, desperately attempting to expunge all worry from her own mind in order to give Luna hope;

“Of course, Luna; let's try to enjoy the Running of the Leaves, and I'll instruct the guards to keep quiet about being on high alert so as not to... distress any civilians.” She paused momentarily, weighing up her options, and decided on a plan of action; “In any case, you should probably start making your way over to Ponyville, seeing as the festival will start tomorrow-”

“Hold on,” Luna interrupted; “do you not think it's best that I stay here with you, so that we're better equipped to react if an emergency does occur?”

“Firstly, Luna, it's probably better for both of us not to be in the same place if, as the implications of Nightmare's actions would suggest, this new evil power will strike at the rulers first.”

Luna looked away uncomfortably for a moment, though decided that Celestia was probably logically correct on the matter. She continued;

“And secondly – if you don't mind me saying – you need a break.”

The smaller pony rolled her eyes and let out an aggravated huff.

“You're up all night every night and most of the day, and you've been working non-stop since you were sworn back into leadership last year. Even I have at least a small amount of time off, Luna, and the ponies of Ponyville haven't seen you in far too long.”

Luna remembered her own words earlier, and thought it best to give in at this point.

“If you must insist.”

“Workaholic.”

“Hypocrite!”

And with that, Luna settled for childishness, and stuck her tongue out at her sister, beginning to tip over the edge of the balcony as she gave a final mischievous wink and let herself freefall into an invisible current of wind. As her speed increased, she began to adjust the position of her wings and, with one almighty flap, almost instantly killed her downward motion and rocketed skyward. The force of her initial push began to wear off as gravity took hold once more, and she started to beat a slow, regular rhythm with her wings.

Luna glided gracefully in the limitless blue seas, rising and falling as she thumped her wings with immense force and precision – a slowly fading speck of glittering darkness sinking gradually into the infinite light of the afternoon sun. Celestia watched as the aphotic alicorn disappeared into the skyline, and her expression grew more troubled as she whispered to the wind;

“Godspeed, dear sister. I can only hope that we survive.”

~ -

Rainbow stood upon a white wisp of cloud, surveying the comfortingly peaceful view of Ponyville below. From this height, pedestrians looked like mere dots in amongst a sea of rooftops and alleyways; even the massive town hall was a mere doll's house compared to what it would have been on ground level, and the Everfree Forest appeared to be a mere stone's throw away from the marketplace. She marvelled in the incredible smallness of it all, silently pondering how such a seemingly tiny and insignificant town could house so many amazing experiences, ponies, memories...

I can even see Twilight's house from here.

“GAH!” Rainbow cried in frustration, flinging herself backwards onto the middle of the cloud. Her thoughts returned once again to the lavender librarian who simply refused to leave her to sleep in peace.

Her head span with ideas, desires, possibilities; what if she likes me? I mean, I know she likes me, but... would I really say no to our relationship advancing beyond that?

The troubled pegasus shut her eyes in an attempt to quell her imagination;

Books weren't the only reason that Rainbow had been coming back to the library so frequently, and she was painfully aware of that; there was something comforting about talking to Twilight. She understood; she understood Rainbow like no-one else ever could. With Twilight, there were no pretences; she didn't feel that she had to be anything but herself, because Twilight never expected anything more or less. The “cool” façade that nopony ever saw behind was almost completely wiped away; the fragility of the mare underneath that mask didn't matter, because with Twilight, she felt safe.

It wasn't as simple as just “friendship” any more.

But why? Why didn't she feel the same way with Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity or Pinkie? Did she deem them too judgemental to handle the pony she really was?

Of course not, Rainbow thought; I've just been wearing that mask for so long that I feel that I have to wear it in order to exist – and I'm afraid that if I take it off, my exposed self won't be able to satisfy the expectations of those who know me for what I've become. If anything, Twilight has helped me remove that mask.

The brashness, competitiveness, false bravado...

I had to learn a new personality to survive in flight camp. Expose no weakness; be strong. I didn't want to hurt any more. I had to find a way to deal with the bullies – they had a lot to work with; I looked unusual, I was abnormally skilled, came from a... difficult background...

Dash shook her head; that was the absolute last thing that she wanted to think about at a time like this.

I made myself “cool” – and it's turned me into an egotistical narcissist.

But is that the only reason that you act the way that you do? Did you not save Fluttershy from those bullies? How could that possibly have been a self-serving act?

It was only because I couldn't stand to watch another pony break as I did. I guess that's where this “loyalty” came in; friends were so hard to come by, such a rare privilege, that I couldn't risk losing them. The other four are no different; when I met them, I knew I'd found a place in which I could be accepted. But by that time, the mask had been on so long that I dared not take it off for fear of what I'd find underneath – and I certainly didn't want anypony else seeing that; they know and love me as the Rainbow Dash that I want everyone to see.

I'm Rainbow Dash! The most awesome flier in all of Equestria – future Wonderbolt, hero of my own time, 20% cooler!

I have to be strong. I mustn't give in. I mustn't cry.

A torrent of painful memories surged into Rainbow's mind as she lay there on the cloud. She let out a ratcheted breath, and allowed a solitary tear to streak down the side of her face before sitting up once more.

But maybe there is a way out; if I let Twilight help me, then I can finally break the cycle without damaging my friendships – but am I willing to risk the only friendship I have that allows me true freedom by trying to advance it?

How, when and where do I tell her?

What if she doesn't feel the same way?

Rainbow's head span with worry as she launched herself off the side of the cloud, beating her wings furiously in order to dispel the negativity that plagued her consciousness. Tomorrow, she would tell Twilight everything.

Tomorrow, everything would be fine.

A long, long night lay ahead.

Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Twilight Sparkle was extremely conflicted; having thought that she could restrain her emotions permanently and wanting nothing more than to keep her relationship with Rainbow Dash stable, platonic and unchanging, Twilight found her own brilliant mind completely saturated with thoughts of the cyan pegasus. And seeing as her capacity for thoughts was well above and beyond that of the average pony, there was a considerable amount of them.

And each was as filthy as the last.

“UGH, DAMN IT!” she swore aloud, venting her anger by sparking her horn so hard that the air crackled with static; after leaving Spike downstairs when Rainbow left, Twilight had locked herself away in her room, silently cursing her own inability to control herself. Defeated, she flopped to her bed with an exhausted huff, her mind still churning over all manner of questionable visions and unwanted desires.

Why did this have to happen now?

Twilight knew full well that at this stage, she couldn't just simply keep on ignoring it, subverting it and outright denying it; that point had passed long ago, in fact, yet she still persisted to deliberately avoid the obvious conclusion. Even attempting to overwhelm the problem with sheer logic wasn't working, either; what was mere logic and cold intellect against a strong and tangible mental and physical reaction to another pony, anyway?

Reasoning with your inner demons isn't something that you can actually do, Twilight, and you know that better than most, she thought; it just tends to get you into insane and ridiculous situations and then Princess Celestia will have to come over and reprimand you for your stupidity yet again.

A few hours of this circular conflict made Twilight certain of only one thing; that she didn't really know what she wanted at all. It was, after all, perfectly possible for her to be happy with Rainbow Dash – and she knew that if she relied solely on her most raw emotions, she might even be crazy enough to try it. This loss of control terrified her; it was as if her own subconscious and imagination were conspiring to betray her, and the fact that she could no longer keep her head focused on anything but what her formerly dormant libido clearly lusted after was beginning to become exceptionally distressing.

It's not just that, though, is it, Twilight?

I'm scared.

Of what?

Rejection; I don't know whether or not there's a deep reason behind the fact that gay marriage has never been officially recognised in Equestria – and the matter simply never came up in any of my discussions with the Princess, or in any discussions with my... Parents...

Canterlot is renowned as one of the single most homophobic cities in the entire country.

I've lived there all my life, and so have my parents – and so does Celestia.

Above any loss of control, Twilight feared that because of her sexuality, she might be cast out.

I'll be branded as a fillyfooler, and then they won't love me any more. And then all I'll have will be Rainbow Dash. I risk bringing shame to the Princess, to my family, my brother – and I'd certainly not be able to show my face in Canterlot ever again. It affects my friends, too; Rarity, for example, could never risk being seen with me in public for the implications that might have upon her relationships with her clients who are based in the city...

She choked back a few premature tears and buried her face into her pillow, now even more confused and lost than she was when Rainbow Dash was actually sitting next to her.

“Rainbow, if you knew what you can do to me...” she muttered aloud, her voice muffled by the soft pillow in front of her face.

“Stupid, sexy Rainbow Dash... Stupid, stupid Twilight!”

She bit into the pillow, grabbing it with her teeth and spinning round, rapidly flinging it into the air and blasting at it wildly with poorly aimed bolts of purple magic. It flopped to the floor fully in-tact with a thoroughly dissatisfying thud, as Twilight stared – in silence once more – at the point where it had impacted the ground.

I need her. I need her so much... more than anything. Is it not worth it? To experience something so great as love? If it's worth having, then surely it's worth fighting for?

She breathed softly, hanging her head and shutting her eyes.

Surely Rainbow Dash is worth fighting for?

But Twilight just couldn't bring herself to risk rejection; not from her parents, not from Celestia, not from her friends – and certainly not from Dash. What if she said no? What if one of Twilight's best friends was totally driven away from her by the mere thought that she might be attracted to her? What if their relationship simply just didn't work out?

Going back to the start after permanently screwing things up with Rainbow would be an absolute nightmare for both of them. I can't do that to myself, she thought; even though Dash would probably be able to deal with it, I'm just... not strong enough...

Twilight chided herself for her own cowardice, this time speaking aloud, ensuring that her mind was truly listening to itself before continuing;

“Snap out of it, Twilight; this line of thinking is self-destructive, and you know it; just... talk to her.”

And risk losing her forever?

“Shut up; I can cope, and our friendships have survived through worse.”

She shivered at an uncomfortable memory of the Discord incident.

I can't lose her like I almost did then.

“I won't lose her. I won't let that happen.”

But first, she had to talk to Rainbow – bare all and hope for the best.

Don't do this...

“I am in love with Rainbow Dash.”

You stupid mare.

“I AM IN LOVE WITH RAINBOW DASH!” she shouted, stomping a hoof and clearing her mind of all nagging doubts and negativity. With a new-found sense of determination and a firm resolve, she strode to the door, ripping it open with her magic, and looked outwards into the library. Tomorrow, she thought, trotting to the stairs; tomorrow, I will tell her.

*cough*

Twilight froze mid-step in surprise, her eyes darting from left to right, attempting to place the source of the alien noise – and as she closed her bedroom door behind her using her magic, she saw a certain purple dragon lurking in the shadows behind it, his facial expression a mirror image of Twilight's own look of shock horror.

Shit.

“Uh... hi, Twi!” Spike stammered clumsily, sneakily making a quick beeline for the stairs next to the purple unicorn; “Gottarunbye~!”

“SPIKE!” Twilight hollered, freezing him in a lavender glow of magic.

“Um... heh... *gulp* Yes... Twilight?” he replied with a forced, toothy grin.

“How much did you hear?” she snapped at him, making the dragon flinch and his grin turn to something of a grimace;

“I... Look, Twilight, I'm sorry, but you sort of shouted that last part-”

“You were spying on me!”, she interjected.

“I came to ask you if you wanted anything to eat!”

As Spike spoke, Twilight's look of aggression loosened, replaced with one of apology and embarrassment;

“You'd been in that room for hours, Twi; I was beginning to worry about you, that's all – and I wasn't exactly expecting... y'know...”

Twilight sighed dejectedly, bowing her head and releasing spike from her magical grasp. After a few seconds, he spoke again;

“So... is it true?”

“It what true?”

“Are you... in love with Rainbow Dash?”

She looked at him briefly, and giggled a little, a small smile returning to her face as she replied determinedly;

“Yes. Yes, I am.”

Spike stood on the stairs, looking up at his friend in stunned silence, fidgeting with his claws and occasionally glancing down at the floor in front of him.

“Spike, you have to promise me that you won't tell anypony until I'm ready to.”

“Twilight...” he trailed off, deliberately avoiding looking her in the eye.

“Please, Spike.”

“... Fine.”

“Tomorrow; I’ll tell her tomorrow. Maybe she’ll be at the Running of the Leaves celebration, or something...”

The small dragon relaxed somewhat, and stepped forward to hug his unicorn friend. He often worried about Twilight’s mental health; she had a habit of sending her own thoughts spiraling and tumbling down dark pits, and involuntarily keeping them there until somepony else intervened. That one time with the Want-It-Need-It spell was outright destructive and borderline criminal - and now that her deepest emotions were involving themselves in her decisions, there was a huge risk of something similar or worse happening in this instance. Spike winced a little at the thought; Celestia had told him in confidence a few months after that event that she was barely able to curb the fury of the politicians who wanted Twilight branded as a dangerous magic abuser - and that he knew that even more volatile emotions were at play here terrified him.

If only she knew, he thought; if only she knew how she makes others as worried as she is.

“I’m sorry, Spike, it’s just that I’ve never felt anything like this for another pony before... and I didn’t expect it to be with another mare, much less with Rainbow Dash...”

They broke their embrace and walked downstairs, noting that the sky was tinged with the burnt-orange sheen of fading sunlight. Twilight smirked; night was about to fall, and that meant that the time of her confession to Rainbow was drawing ever-closer;

Just one night; just one night remains.

And unbeknownst to both mare and dragon, a new player was about to enter the fray.

**THUD**

An almighty, thunderous crash came from the roof of the tree, and both Twilight and Spike froze; slowly, they turned and looked at eachother, and Twilight whispered; “What... was that?”

As if answering, an indigo trickle of powdery dust slithered into the library through an open window, pooling in the middle of the carpet.

“Twilight, do something!”

Readying her horn, Twilight took an aggressive stance against the sparkling mass of bluey-purple that occupied the middle of the carpet - and as it began to take form, a familiar ethereal wind began to whistle through the library and chill the air. In a sudden flash of explosive magic, the wind ceased immediately - and in the place of the creature that had intruded only a few seconds earlier was a rather unimpressed-looking alicorn.

Twilight promptly cut off the magic to her horn.

“P-Princess Luna! What are you doing he- I mean, uh... what a pleasant surprise!” she stuttered, stumbling over her words.

Luna smirked a little, and let out a light laugh; “Thank you, Twilight Sparkle - and as I’ve said before, you may call me Luna.”

“Yes... o-of course” came the surprised reply.

Spike was still standing agape, peeking out from behind Twilight at the princess who had literally just materialised in the middle of the living room.

Luna smiled and waved at him in a bid to quell the nervous atmosphere. It didn’t work.

“I’m here on strictly unofficial business”, she said, making sure to use the modern Equestrian that she’d tried to learn from her sister; “well, it’s actually not really business at all; more of a... vacation, of sorts.”

No reaction. She continued; “I... apologise for not telling you that I’d be coming, but Celestia almost forced me out of the castle earlier on today, and I decided to fly here myself...”

Twilight snapped out of her daze, regaining her composure, and replied; “Of course, it’s fine! We were just a little... surprised to see you, is all.”

Spiked chimed in too, now smiling; “Yeah, it’s not every day that a Princess lands on your roof!”

Although, he noted; it has happened before...

~ -

Darkness had fallen over Equestria. The cloudless night framed the stars as they twinkled like silver teardrops in the pitch-black sky, as a cool autumnal breeze whispered through the trees and streets. As the lights of the usually busy town faded and ponies began to fall asleep, a serene silence settled over Ponyville - and even the Princess of the Night herself had elected to follow her sister’s advice (for once) and take a nap in preparation for tomorrow’s festival. All was quiet, and all was peaceful.

One troubled pony, however, could not find any comfort in sleep:

“That’s really sweet of you, but can’t we just be friends?”

“It’s not going to work out; I think that we should stop seeing each other.”

“You disgust me! I hate you, and I never want to see you again!”

Please, stop... Twilight, don’t do this to me...

“You see? If you keep on hanging out with these losers, then you’ll eventually become one - just like I’d always said.”

No, Gilda, not you too.

“Well, if it is little miss washed-up failure herself; Rainbow Crash! How does it feel to be a complete reject?”

Shut up...

“Get the hell out of my house before I break your neck, you stupid little fillyfooler! Your father always hated you; he left because he saw this coming! Most people run a mile the second they clap eyes on your freakish, ugly mane - but I was foolish enough to stick around for the ride, and how do you repay me? By bringing another mare into my house and... Ugh! I don’t even want to disgrace myself by saying it; just get out! GET OUT!”

GET AWAY FROM ME!

Rainbow Dash swiped angrily at the ghostly apparitions that had surrounded her, each of them exploding into thick, black smoke that smothered her and choked the air. Voices, taunts, insults and memories rang through her mind, the screams of her own thoughts deafening her despite the shouting having long since ceased. She fell to the floor and tried to crawl away, but the smoke seemed to surround and envelop her, whipping viciously at the back of her throat and stifling her futile cries. Black tendrils erupted from the cloudy mass, binding her wings at squeezing her body until she was unable even to thrash around.

Help... help me...

She could only lie there, beaten and asphyxiated, the voices consuming her every thought as she cried silently into the darkness.

“CEASE!”

An alien voice bellowed into the black smoke, and in a sudden frenzy, the tendrils retracted and the thick smog dissipated almost instantly. Rainbow remained in a stunned, weeping mess on the cold, hard floor in front of the newcomer.

“It’s alright, Rainbow Dash. It was just a nightmare; you’re safe now.”

Rainbow began to scrape herself up off the floor slowly, still shivering with fear, and looked at her saviour;

“Wh... Princess Luna? What are you doing here?”

“You called for help.”

The cyan pegasus was somewhat puzzled at this; she was barely able to breathe a few moments ago, let alone call for help.

“No I di-”

A sudden realisation hit her.

She can read my thoughts?

“No, Rainbow, I can’t read your thoughts. I can, however, detect distress in dreams - and that’s a part of my duty as Princess of the Night.”

Rainbow gaped.

“Well... whatever you did, thank you. I thought that I was going to die back there...”

“I’m just doing my job - and to be honest, it was just a dream, and you were never in any real danger.”

A silence fell between them, as Rainbow Dash pawed at the ground awkwardly.

“So...” She trailed off.

“Twilight Sparkle.” Luna said, knowingly; “I’m at her library at the moment, actually. She obviously means a lot to you-”

“Please, Luna, you can’t tell her... Not yet.”

Luna smiled sympathetically and continued; “I wouldn’t do anything of the sort. I must say, though, she was acting a little... suspiciously.”

“Suspiciously?”

“Earlier on this evening, I mean. I don’t think that she’s having a nightmare right now, though it’s entirely possible that she’s still awake.”

Luna ruffled her wings, preparing to fly off into the night and back to her own dreams. She looked up at the distant moon and sighed contentedly. Confused, Rainbow cocked her head at the princess, who looked down at her and spoke; “I think that I’ve done enough here. I must depart, Rainbow Dash; there are other matters that need to be tended to before this night is over.”

And with that, she took off into the sky, leaving the pegasus puzzled as she watched from below. As Luna’s precise, graceful wing-beats took her closer to the moon, she began to dissolve into a sparkling, blue dust-like substance, and faded into the blackness as the wind carried her away. Slowly, the dream-world began to collapse; the moon and clouds fizzed and faded into nothingness, and the walls and floor of the fabricated reality started to fall away. Rainbow found herself being shifted by the invisible winds that reshaped the landscape, as they laid her down on the undulating, distorted surface of the ground beneath her.

She closed her eyes almost involuntarily, and when she reopened them, she was back in her bed; the reassuringly familiar sight of clouds and Wonderbolts posters comforted her somewhat, and she slid out of the now sweat-soaked covers. The first lights of dawn were beginning to seep through the curtains, and Rainbow knew that after a dream as wild as that one, returning to sleep was going to be an impossible task.

Walking over to the curtains and pulling them back, she observed the world outside her window; Ponyville was relatively empty, owing to the fact that it was still a ridiculously early hour of the morning. Although it was a beautiful sight, the sun’s near-blinding light struck Rainbow like a hammer to the snout, and she stumbled backwards, rubbing her eyes and cursing her lack of caution.

“Damn it...” she mumbled, deciding that it was perhaps best to stay well away from any kind of light source when she was still this tired.

“No offence, Celestia...” she stepped out of her bedroom and began to make her way to the kitchen to get something to eat; “... but the sun is way too bright.”

Finding the fridge mostly empty, she sighed, settling on a leftover can of cold coffee.

Today is the day.

Rainbow tugged at the seal with her teeth, the can giving a faint hiss as the pressure released.

And I still have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do about Twilight.

She downed the coffee in a single shot.