//------------------------------// // Wishes and Dreams // Story: Twilight Gives Way to Dawn // by Lawpony //------------------------------// How long had it been since she had slept in her own bed? She hadn't a clue. All she knew was that it made her so happy to sleep in her own bed. Rainbow Dash turned over to get in a better position. Why hadn't they destroyed my cloud house by now, seeing as how much the Queen hates me? she thought to herself. Just then, she realized that she had overslept. "No rest for the ones keeping Equestria out of total hopelessness," She groaned while getting out of bed. As she made her way downstairs, she noticed something off. "I didn't go to sleep in my own bed last night. I went to my barracks in the forest." Heart racing, she quickly thought of all of the things that could have happened, ending with her in her own bed. She opened her door and began to fly down to town, to see life as it had become during their imprisonment. To her surprise, as she got to town, life was as it used to be. Ponies were out selling products at their booths. Including a certain farm pony. "Applejack? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back at base?", Rainbow asked, confused. "Base? What're ya talkin' about? Ah'm s'posed to be here sellin' mah apples, just like every day," even more confused than her friend. "Ha ha Applejack, you got me. Now get back to base, and that's an order," Rainbow was beginning to get miffed. "Since when are you the boss of me?! "Since you enlisted into the Resistance to take down Tw-", she was cut off when Fluttershy walked up to Applejack and and gave her some bits for an apple. "Thank ya kindly Fluttershy," Applejack said. "No, thank you for having the best apples in all of Equestria," Fluttershy insisted. "Wait! Apples? What about Sweet Apple Acres? Didn't Twi-", Rainbow was cut off again. "What do ya mean what about mah farm? It's doin' just fine. Why wouldn't it be?" "Ugh! Fluttershy, you remember what happened to her farm, you tell-", Rainbow Dash paused in confusion, looked at Fluttershy, and her eyes grew wide with realization. "FLUTTERSHY?! When did you come back?! Why didn't you tell me?" "Um...I...uh...sorry?", Fluttershy squeeked from behind her mane. "I thought you left, never to return!", Rainbow blurted out with tear-filled eyes. "I've missed you so much!", she hugged Fluttershy as if she hadn't seen her in ages. Hadn't she? "Um...yes...I missed you too...Is a day too long not to see a friend?", Fluttershy was now extremely confused, as was Applejack. "Rainbow, what's goin' on? It's not like you to act as if you hadn't seen friends in years," Applejack questioned. "But that's just it, I haven't. The last time I saw you, Fluttershy, was five years ago. You left when Twi-", really, again? "Oh my...I don't remember leaving five years ago. In fact, we just had coffee last Tuesday. And not to mention casual hellos and goodbyes when we happen to bump into each other at the market this past week." "But you left when-" "Where's Fluttershy going?! Can I come?", Pinkie Pie had broken the laws of physics, again, and appeared out of Applejack's apple basket. "No Pinkie, Fluttershy isn't-", yet again, she was cut off, but this time under her own power. She delved into a deep thought for several seconds. "Pinkie?" "Yes Dashie?" "Would you mind sticking out a hoof please?" "Sure thing!", she stuck out her left fore-hoof. Rainbow Dash took it in her hooves, and began to examine it. She looked up at Pinkie with the straightest face she had ever used, and suddenly burst into tears and wrapped Pinkie in a hug. "Oh Pinkie! Why did you ever leave?!" "I don't know! I just had to!", Pinkie followed her friend's outburst. "You know I could have and would have helped you through it!" "I know! And I'm sorryheheee!" "Don't you ever leave again!" "I won't!", she immediately regained her composure. "Uh, Dashie?" "Yeah Pinkie", Rainbow sniffled. "Why are we crying?" Rainbow had the most confused face on at that moment. "What do you mean Pinkie? Don't you remember? You went all crazy when Tw-", Why bother?, she thought to herself as she was cut off again. "Has any pony seen Rarity or Twilight recently?", Applejack asked. "Yeah, they were back at the library practicing some new magic tricks," Fluttershy replied. "Well they should be on their way to the park soon, on account of us havin' a picnic today." "Oh yeah! I completely forgot about that!", Pinkie had gone back to her ecstatic self. "We'll finish this conversation later Rainbow. Ah need to get some things together fer the picnic," Applejack apologized. "Bwah? Huh? O...kay? See ya later," the situation was absolutely tormenting Rainbow Dash's mind. It was a nice day. The kind one takes all of their friends to a picnic on. The sun was on its best behavior, the clouds were hiding away from the group of happy friends, the grass seemed greener that day. Then, Twilight and Rarity arrived. "Sorry everypony, we were just finishing up our practice," Twilight explained to her friends. "Oh, it's no big deal," Fluttershy assured her friend. "Twilight!" Twilight turned to see her rainbow colored friend in an attack position, ready to lunge at her. "Um, yes Rainbow Dash?", Twilight was confused. "How dare you come here?! You evil pile of horseradish! How dare you do what you did to all of your friends and show your face like you didn't do anything?!" "I have no clue what you're talking about. Is there something I did wrong? Is work getting to you? I read that increased stress can lead to lashing out." "What? No, you....uh....what?", At that moment, she noticed that Twilight didn't have any wings. "What is confusing you Rainbow?", Twilight questioned. "What happened to your wings? You were an Alicorn princess last time I saw you." Twilight couldn't hold it in. "BAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!" Her friends followed suit. "What's so funny? You killed people, you ruined lives! You became, "Queen Red Dawn" and killed the princesses for power! How dare you laugh at me?!" "Woah! What was that last part? I didn't kill the princesses," Twilight retorted. "Oh yeah?! You must have sent "Diamond Death" over here to do it for you!", she spat the name at her friends, motioning to Rarity. "Wha, me? I can assure you, I haven't killed. Certaintly not the princesses!", Rarity defended. "That's it! I'm getting Celestia in on this," Twilight teleported Spike out of nowhere. Spike landed on the ground with a thud, holding a shower brush and a rubber ducky. "BWAH! What's up Twilight?!" "I need you to send this letter to the princess at once," she explained, holding up a letter she had just written. "Fine!", he took the letter and burped it away. "Can I go back to my shower now? Preferably without any mirror smashing into this time." "Of course Spike,"Twilight picked him up with her magic, and teleported him back to the library. In the distance, there was the sound of a collision with glass, and a high pitched dragon bellow. "Twilight! "He'll be fine," there was an awkward silence between the group. "It's the scales." At that moment, the Princess of the sun appeared out of nowhere. "I was summoned?" "Yes Princess, Rainbow Dash has verbally attacked me and Rarity. She said something about me being an evil "Queen RedDawn". I want to know what's wrong," Twilight requested. "Luna told me that Rainbow Dash had a nightmare last night, and that she couldn't do anything to help." "So...it was all a dream?", Rainbow Dash asked with tear filled eyes. "Yes. She does apologize though. She stayed in your dream all night, trying to help in any way she could." So, you didn't die? Equestria's still in one piece? All those innocents are OK?!" Yes, yes, and yes," Celestia confirmed with a warm smile. So...we're not sworn enemies?!", she looked at Twilight happily. "I suppose not," Twilight opened her arms for a hug. "Oh I'm so sorry! I thought it was all real!", Rainbow Dash jumped into her hooves. "Oh, it was," she whispered into her ear. And with that, Rainbow Dash was left in the black of space to think for a minute or two. She then heard words she wished she would never hear again. "Commander Dash..."