//------------------------------//
// Dreams and Confusion 
// Story: All the Elements for Disaster 
// by Radicool223 
//------------------------------//

	Cobalt Spikes and Rainbow Dash accelerated through the light rain in a wild high-speed mock race.
“Hah!” Rainbow yelled, grinning in pure delight. “Think you can beat me?”
Cobalt laughed. “Try me! You remember that you called me ‘the only one who can keep up with you’?”
“Psh! You know that I only said that as a dare from Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow countered adding in a light giggle that let him know she was kidding.
Cobalt smiled and turned a little bit toward Rainbow and knocked into her from the side just enough to throw her off balance and angle her flight a little downward into the mud below.
She crashed into the mud and it splattered all over her, leaving her sitting there with a befuddled expression.
Cobalt stopped in midflight and laughed hysterically until he felt something slimy and wet slam into his back. He fell into the mud pit too.
“Dirty move.” He growled playfully as he realized Rainbow had pushed him in as revenge. She cannonballed next to him.
“No, you’re a dirty move!” Rainbow laughed, pushing a wave of mud on him. He closed his eyes as it covered him, and spat out what got in his mouth.
He and Dash started laughing and pushing mud on each other, generally having a good time and enjoying each other’s company.
Cobalt briefly wondered where they were exactly, as he didn’t recognize his surroundings, but that tended to happen when he was going really fast, and he dismissed it as general confusion.
Speaking of confusion, something weird was going on with him. Every time he saw Rainbow Dash, his heart started thumping to the point where if it was silent enough you could hear the individual beats. He became all light headed and smiley when she was mentioned, and he lost track of reality.
He was confused as why this was happening, and he made a mental note about asking Twilight for some explanation.
They stopped laughing and playing, still smiling though, and Cobalt’s brain went into overdrive automatically. He was noticing every detail, the cold of the rain, the flecks of muck caught in Dash’s mane and on her face, and the gradual way her pupils enlarged when she looked directly at him.
Even through the strands of multicolored hair and the smudges of mud on her face, it was still slightly obvious that her cheeks were slowly turning pink, and then moving on to a deep red color.
Cobalt’s heart started hammering and he felt himself leaning closer to her. She mimicked his motions, closing her eyes.
He closed his eyes and leaned closer. Their noses touched, and then…
“COBALT! BREAKFAST!” Twilight’s shout shattered his mind.
He woke up and fell out of the guest bed, tangled in the covers.
A dream.
It had been a dream.

ONE TITLE SEQUENCE LATER

Cobalt stirred some orange juice with a straw thoughtfully at the library’s kitchen table, reminiscing over his recent dreams. They’d been a little whack lately.
His subconscious must be deliberately trying to screw with his waking mind, because it seemed intent on making his dreams inconsistent and erratic.
He had had more of those weird dreams where he was floating in the black space with random splotches of color here and there and the voices. Always with the voices.
And then there was that sinking feeling that he didn’t belong in this colorful world of magic and light. Combine that with the hearing voices in his dreams, and you’d have a pretty good recipe for insanity. 
Maybe he was insane.
Does a madman know he’s mad?
If a tree falls in a forest, and no pony's around to hear it...
Cobalt shook his head. He’d had enough of philosophy. It screwed with his mind and turned his brain inside out.
Twilight must have noticed his strange behavior from across the table, unlike his and Rainbow Dash’s usual confident demeanor, and she tried asking about it. “What’s up Cobalt? You seem a bit… detached.”
“Huh?” Cobalt asked, looking up confusedly, his vision a little focused more toward the center than usual. His eyes snapped into focus and he exhaled heavily. “It’s nothing. I do have a few questions though at some things I’ve been feeling. I don’t think I’m sick, but I need some info.”
“Shoot.” Twilight said, putting her forelegs on the table and crossing them.
Cobalt squeezed his eyes shut and opened them slowly. “Okay. I’ve been feeling some whack stuff lately. I think it may be associated with Rainbow Dash.”
“Uh huh.” Twilight murmured, taking mental notes. “And how exactly do you feel?”
“Well, when I’m around her, I feel all warm and fuzzy, and my brain kicks into maximum overdrive, and when she’s mentioned, I feel all lightheaded and dizzy and lose track of everything. It’s just not like me.”
“Hmmm.” Twilight thought, coming over to his side and grinning inside as she put a foreleg around him. “I think I may have an inkling about what’s up, but you’d better ask Fluttershy. She’s good with people.”
“Cool, thanks!” Cobalt threw over his shoulder, having already taken off out the door.
Little did they know that a rainbow form had been watching from outside the window and now flew away. When she was watching, she couldn’t hear their conversation, but could definitely see it. And a little pocket of pure rage had opened up when she saw Twilight touch Cobalt.
“Why am I feeling like this?” she asked herself. “Twilight would never betray me like that, would she?” she dismissed it and decided to nap on a cloud a little bit away from Sweet Apple Acres. Being the napping champion of Equestria, she was asleep in a heartbeat.

A FEW MINUTES LATER

Rainbow tossed and turned, muttering, “No, no, don’t do it!” with her eyes squeezed shut like she was blocking out something terrible. Suddenly her eyes shot open with a gasp and she realized she was waking from a nightmare in a cold sweat. Her surprise melted into anger as she remembered whatever her dream had been about, and she narrowed her eyes and growled, “I’m gonna flay you Twilight Sparkle.” Before taking off in a confused, post-dream state.

OBLIGATORY TRANSITION THING

Fluttershy stood outside her house, humming a familiar bit of music that she couldn't name while putting some seed in a birdhouse.
A rainbow colored blur shot past her, blowing the wind one way, and then a blue blur shot by, stopping right next to her and blowing the wind the other way.
“Hi Fluttershy.” Cobalt said, turning toward her. Apparently he’d surprised her a little too much, as her pupils were enlarged and she was pouring the birdseed onto the ground.

ONE SHOCK RECOVERY LATER

“Hello Cobalt, what brings you here?” Fluttershy asked politely. “I mean, if you actually wanted to be here anyway.”
“Twilight sent me.” Cobalt replied. “She said that I should ask you about something.”

ONE RECAPITULATION LATER

“And then I flew off.” Cobalt finished.
Fluttershy set down the bag of birdseed. “Yes, I know exactly what’s wrong. Do you want to know?”
“Yes!” Cobalt exclaimed.
Fluttershy nodded. “Okay. This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but I believe you have a crush on Rainbow Dash.”
“Oh crap.” Cobalt breathed, falling on his haunches and resting his face on his hooves as he realized that she was probably right. “No. I can’t be.”
Fluttershy giggled. “Sure you can.”
Cobalt looked up at her, his green eyes having gotten huge. “No, you don’t understand. I have no memory. I feel like I don’t belong. What if I turn out to be some kind of killer?”
“That will never happen.” Fluttershy said, slightly assertively in trying to make him feel better, like she was talking to one of her animals. 
“Wh- what do I do now?” Cobalt asked, completely shedding his calm, collected, optimistic personality since he felt like a little kid lost in the woods. He didn’t know what to do or where to go from there, having been floored by this news.
“I think the best thing to do is to just wait for the two of you to become closer and then confess your feelings when you feel the time is right.” Fluttershy advised.
Cobalt nodded, feeling a bit better. “Okay, I will. Thanks Fluttershy.”
He flew off slower than usual in the direction of the library.

WITH TWILIGHT SPARKLE

“Aaand that just about does it for the book organization.” Twilight finished, magically sliding the last book in place. “I knew giving Spike the day off was a good idea.” She smiled, knowing the baby dragon was asleep upstairs and no matter what happened he wouldn’t get up until the next day.
She was just about to sit down for a rest when her door was busted open and nearly knocked off its hinges.
“I’m gonna KILL you, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash’s voice yelled from outside, sounding angrier than anypony ever thought possible.
Twilight blinked and immediately felt a solid punch connect square to her jaw, knocking her back against the shelves of books and knocking a few on top of her. She levitated them off her and launched them in retaliation at the enraged spectra colored mare trying to murder her.
Rainbow dodged all of them and shot at Twilight, pinning her against the wall with a hoof and drawing the other back for a fatal punch.
“Calm down Rainbow!” Twilight yelled, more angered than scared by Dash’s actions. “What did I do to make you so mad?”
“You kissed Cobalt right in front of me and everyone and then laughed about it!” tears began to flow from Rainbow’s eyes as she remembered the cold and alone feeling of the dream. “HOW COULD YOU?!”
Twilight’s mind reeled. This was more emotional than Dash had ever gotten ever. And over a dream no less!
“Rainbow, calm down! I didn’t actually do anything, it was just a nightmare!” she protested desperately.
“Yeah, well how can I be sure you won’t completely betray me in real life?” Rainbow growled, her anger still there, just dimmed down a bit, having let out most of her emotion about the dream.
She drew her hoof back a little farther.
“STOP!” a voice shouted from the door. The mares whirled around to see Cobalt standing in the doorframe. “What the hay is going on!”
“None of your business!” Rainbow told him.
“Cobalt go upstairs and wait for a few minutes.” Twilight told him, sounding a little more reasonable than Dash. “I can work this out.”
Cobalt still looked unsure about it all, but he did as he was told and trekked up the stairs and into the room where he slept.
“Rainbow, I think I’ve figured out what’s up.” Twilight reasoned. “Will you just let me talk to you?”
Dash sighed heavily, and let a few tears spill from her eyes in guilt for her actions. “Sure.” She muttered, letting Twilight go and slumping in a sitting position on the floor, her anger completely gone, and replaced by utter emotional defeat.
Twilight dusted herself off and rubbed her sore jaw. “Okay,” she began. “The think you’re feeling right now is called jealousy. It came about when in your dream I kissed Cobalt in front of you. And just for the record, I would never do that.”
“But–”
“Quiet.” Twilight interrupted. “It was just a dream. I have two things to read for you, and you will listen to them.” She levitated a copy of The Definitive Guide To Emotions off the shelf and flipped to a the J's.
“This is the definition of jealousy.” Twilight informed her. “Jealousy is a feeling of resentment toward a pony whom one thinks as a rival. Rainbow, do you think of me as a rival against you for Cobalt’s affection?”
“Well, sort of, but–”
“In that case, I have one more definition to read for you.” Twilight interrupted again, flipping toward a later page. “Love is a feeling that can take hold inside an individual when they feel a strong affection toward somepony else. It can often lead to jealousy (see page 53). Rainbow, I think as hard as it is to accept, especially for you, I really believe that you have feelings for Cobalt.”
Rainbow felt tears well up in her eyes and she started to sob into her hooves in remorse. “I’m so sorry!” she wailed. “You’re right! You’re so right! I-I’m such an idiot! I do have feelings for Cobalt, and I-I am jealous!” she looked up with huge teary eyes. “P-please forgive me.”
Twilight was taken aback at how easily Rainbow admitted her feelings, but she wasn’t in a place to judge. “I forgive you,” she said.

WITH COBALT UPSTAIRS

All Cobalt could really do was sit on the guest bed and try to guess what was going on. He heard a bit of quiet speech and then some remorseful sounding wailing, and then it got quiet.
A few seconds later, Rainbow Dash opened the door with red rimmed eyes. “You can come down now. It’s all good.” She said calmly. “I’ve got to go.” She shot out the door and away into the sky.
Cobalt slowly descended the stairs. “Umm, mind telling me about what just happened?” he asked Twilight when he got down the stairs, completely confused as the last he’d seen was the two mares fighting.
Twilight smiled a little. “Rainbow’ll tell you later. Right now I’ve got a letter to write.”
She summoned a piece of parchment and a quill and wrote a quick letter on it, attempting a magical teleportation spell rather than waking Spike to send it. It vanished in a purple flash.

AT PRINCESS CELESTIA’S PALACE

A letter appeared in a flash of purple light and started to fall right in front of Princess Celestia. She used her magic to catch it before it hit the ground, and then opened it up.
“Dear Princess Celestia,” She read. “Today I learned that no matter what you’re feeling, even if it tears you up inside, you should never let that get in the way of a friendship. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
Celestia smiled at her student’s progress in her assignment to learn about friendship.

ONE ENDING CREDITS LATER