Twilight Sparkle opens her mouth as she stares at Rainbow Dash. She asks, with more bite than she initially intended, “What do you mean, exactly, by ‘no’?” She barrels ahead anyway, no apologetic smiles or conciliatory backing up a step, instead a harsh glare.
Rainbow briefly glances up at Twilight. She deliberately shakes her head, speaking slowly and emphasizing every syllable. “I mean. No. You can’t do whatever freaky magic thing you want to me. I don’t allow it.” Her body trembles as she goes back to the torticopter, casting her gaze away from Twilight. Her shaky hoof stays forced against the floor, not coming up to wipe the wetness from her eyes.
Twilight sits in silence for a few seconds, her breath catching in her throat to keep it from exploding out. “Don’t you understand what this means to me? Rainbow, I need to figure this out! It could be extremely important!”
Rainbow blithely shrugs.
Twilight quells her rage, her voice changing tack to a soft plea. “I’m afraid something is wrong with me, Rainbow Dash! And not just with me, potentially with all of us. Applejack and Rarity were working with me when it first happened, and they saved me. What if that had happened when they weren’t around? If I had gotten a taste of Honesty from somepony else, and then lost my mind? I need you to help me figure it out! Please, won’t you help?”
Rainbow Dash looks Twilight up and down. “You don’t look like you’re in that much danger of losing it.” Rainbow picks up the torticopter, positioning it between her wings. She stands up, looking to the exit. Twilight stands in her way. Rainbow sighs. “Are you sure that’s it, Twilight Sparkle? That you need my help? Because this isn’t something I want to do. Or that I’m going to do.”
“I think it is. I need your help.” Twilight backs up slightly, getting out of Rainbow’s way. “Maybe I could find another Loyalty specialist, and try with them.” She leans her head forward to focus on Rainbow’s eyes. “But I believe, deep down, that I need you, because you, just like me, are an Element of Harmony. I don’t feel that same pull, that same gravity towards anypony else that I feel with you. Well, aside from the other Elements, but I don’t feel the same thing for them that I feel for you. Not any more. Not after what happened between us.”
Rainbow blankly looks at Twilight. “Cool. I guess.”
Twilight motions to the other four members of the herd. “They were willing to help me figure out what is going on. They’re doing fine. They’re safe, in no danger.”
“Yeah,” Rainbow spits out. “They’re doing fine. Just peachy.” She turns her head, no longer able to meet Twilight’s gaze.
“Do you not trust me?” Twilight earnestly asks, pushing forward. She frowns at Rainbow’s huff and continued lack of eye contact, gritting her teeth as the pegasus barely shakes her head. “Then I don’t see the problem!”
“It’s not that,” Rainbow grunts out. “I trust you. I just… I don’t want this. I don’t want to do this. I don’t think I should need to defend my decision.”
“Would it help if I explained what I’m doing?” Twilight implores. At Rainbow’s slight shrug she continues, “Well, I’d just be drawing out a little of your excess thaumic energy. That’s the magic in each of us, and I would specifically be going for your Loyalty. Well, really, you’d be channeling your Loyalty. All you would need to do is imagine that you’re flying really fast, and about to do a hard turn. But instead of doing it, you’d just be thinking it. That would hopefully release some of your Loyalty, and I would be able to taste the excess that you’re putting out. You have lots to spare, you probably wouldn’t even miss it. Rarity didn’t, as far as we could tell.”
Rainbow Dash stares at Twilight for a few seconds before she finally says, “Are you sure, Twilight? This doesn’t sound safe.”
Twilight sneers, “What happened to your loyalty, Rainbow?”
Rainbow’s eyes narrow. She practically spits out, “Playing the guilt card a little hard there, Twilight.” She intentionally walks past Twilight, bumping into the unicorn and shoving her back. “My answer is still no.” Rainbow walks out of the room, leaving Twilight gaping and the other four mares to exchange worried looks.
Twilight’s face falls as she chases after Rainbow Dash. “I’m sorry, Rainbow. That came out wrong. I don’t… I don’t know what comes over me sometimes.”
Rainbow continues walking out of the library, her breathing getting harder and more labored.
Twilight sighs at the long pause. “I just… You don’t know what it’s like! I have this deep desire, in the bottom of my soul, something I desperately want. I feel like I’d do anything for it.” She sniffs. “I’m afraid I would do anything for it.” She stops again, waiting for a response that doesn’t come. “I’m sorry. If it means that much to you, I won’t ask you again.”
Rainbow sniffs, unable to meet Twilight’s gaze.
“I didn’t mean to press that hard.” Twilight smiles to herself, looking around the library, especially the windows and front door. “In fact, I half expected you to just fly off, avoid the situation entirely, after I chased after you.”
That brings a smile to Rainbow’s face. “Yeah, I probably would have. But I’ve hung out with Pinkie Pie too long to think that’s a possibility. Mare’s crazy.” Rainbow shakes her head. “It’s just…” Rainbow starts, trailing off. She sighs, looking down at her hooves. “I didn’t want to leave, just like that, because I need you.”
“And I need you too, Rainbow,” Twilight says, her smile growing larger. “Are you feeling up for it now?”
“What? No.” Rainbow shrugs the torticopter off her back, holding it out with her hooves while her wings beat, keeping her upright. “I need you to cast your come-to-life thing spell on this, like you did with Pinkie Pie’s helicopter cycle thingy. Pinkie Pie helped me design and build it. It’s for Tank, so he can fly around with me.”
“Oh.” Twilight glances down at the metal contraption. She looks back up at Rainbow. “I don’t suppose you would consider a trade? I can this spell for you, and refresh it whenever you need, and you’ll channel your Loyalty for me?”
Rainbow sighs, her hooves dropping down and leaving the torticopter on the ground. “Sorry.” A tear forms in her eye. “Much as I might want to fly around with Tank, it’s not worth it. Sorry.” A hoof comes up to wipe the tear away, Rainbow turning to hide her face. “I just hope he understands.”
“But, help me understand,” Twilight implores. “Why is this such an issue? It’s not like it will affect you that much!”
Rainbow Dash chuckles, her eyes staring off into the distance.
“There is something you can do to help. Wouldn’t you at least consider it?” Twilight pauses for a moment, trying to get a read on the pegasus. “I know I just said I wouldn’t ask, but this is something that only you can give, Rainbow.”
Rainbow Dash laughs out loud, turning to look Twilight in the eyes. “Do you know who else asked me that question, Twilight?”
Twilight shakes her head.
“Sunset Shimmer. Name ring any bells?”
Twilight’s eyes widen. “Princess Celestia’s student? But, she disappeared years ago.”
“Yeah.” A wistful look appears in Rainbow’s eyes as she stares off into the distance. “She thought that she could use some magic to help Scootaloo. She just needed me to help out. Give a little bit of myself so that Scoots would have a better life.”
“Rainbow,” Twilight begins, her voice shaking. “I-”
“And do you know what happened?” Rainbow asks, glancing over to see Twilight shaking her head, the unicorn sitting back a little. “It worked. Scootaloo got a little bit stronger. She could comfortably sleep on clouds. She could sort of kinda glide. And we’ve been working on it, and she’s improving.” Rainbow stops, blankly staring ahead. “She’s improving.”
“Well, that doesn’t sound that bad,” Twilight softly says.
Rainbow Dash gives a single, sharp laugh. “You think so?”
Twilight hesitates. “Um. Yes?”
Rainbow Dash shakes her head. “You didn’t ask what it cost.”
“Oh.” Twilight pauses for a second. “What did it cost?”
Rainbow turns to look Twilight in the eye. “It wasn’t supposed to cost much of anything. ‘Just a little magic, you have lots to spare.’ That's what she promised me. But, it didn't quite work out like that, did it?" Rainbow shakes her head. "You aren’t the only one, Twilight, who has had to look at something you wanted, desperately desired with all of your heart, and watched it slip away from your hooves. Well, Twilight, I learned my lesson. Sometimes, you just have to deal with the consequences, and not choose the easy way out.”
Twilight grits her teeth as her rage threatens to resurface. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” she manages to say without snapping.
“I lost everything, Twilight. All of my magic.” Rainbow takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself. “I was in a coma for three days. They had to use machines to keep me alive! When I came to, I was weaker than a foal. Sure, it came back, slowly, over the next four years. But it still ruined everything.”
Twilight’s eyes widen, trying to imagine herself without any magic and mostly failing.
“But that wasn’t it. I was supposed to be a Wonderbolt. I had Scootaloo, I was keeping up with my training, about to reapply. And bam. Gone. Talk about taking the wind out from your wings.” Rainbow shakes her head.
“That’s horrible,” Twilight says, moving next to Rainbow to nuzzle her cheek. Her horn lights, a raspberry aura surrounding the torticopter that quickly fades. “I’m sorry that happened, Rainbow. I truly am.”
Rainbow nods. “I mean, it sucked, not being able to fly. I’ve asked myself, again and again, if it was worth it. If losing that dream meant that Scootaloo got to have one of her own.” Rainbow smiles as her mind evokes images of her filly practicing. Some days, she can even imagine her actually flying. “And I would. It was worth the cost.” Her face turns hard. “And you better not call my loyalty into question again.”
Twilight repentantly nods. “I’m sorry. I was trying to provoke you, and I shouldn’t have.”
Rainbow smiles, nuzzling Twilight. “I get it. Rain out of the waterspout. But, I’m not going to risk something happening to me again. I love you, and I’m loyal to you, and I want you to get past this, or over me, or whatever you call it, but it’s going to have to be without directly absorbing it from me. Okay? I'm sure you'll be able to figure a way to get through this, those desires.”
“Okay,” Twilight says, softly nuzzling Rainbow again. She can feel the Loyalty inside the mare, tantalizingly close, but she wouldn’t. There has to be another way. “So, want to go practice one of your routines?” Twilight smirks. “Maybe I’ll be able to absorb a bit from that.”
Rainbow Dash nods. “Heh. I guess, we can hope that works. But I’m pretty tight, I don’t slop a lot of excess thaums when I’m turning or accelerating or whatever.” Her face lights up, “Hey! I could show you the routine I’m working on! The Best Young Flier competition is happening fairly soon, and maybe one of them is awesome enough for you to get better! You said something similar happened with Pinkie Pie, right?”
“Hey, that just might work!” Twilight exclaims happily. She glances back, the other four mares having exited the basement as well and beaming at them.