//------------------------------//
// Pegasus: Part 2 
// Story: Exiled unto Dawn 
// by ObCom 
//------------------------------//

Twilight wasn’t proud to admit it, but when she cast the spell on Rainbow Dash, that was the first time she second-guessed herself. She had done her fair share of spell slinging in the twisted corridors of Canterlot, but that was completely different. The people there were either hostile and refused to stand down or they were young servants like Spike, called in during a lesson to perform the respectable role of practice dummy. In those situations, Twilight performed anything from fireballs to ice walls with no emotion other than boredom showing on her face. Now that she was using a spell on someone she begrudgingly cared about, she caught a flicker of doubt in the back of her mind. 
She cast the dark thoughts aside. The book had been in great condition and the spell was written perfectly. Nothing could go wrong. Rainbow, for better or for worse, was in no danger. 
When the bright light from the staff was extinguished, Twilight heard metal falling to the floor. She blinked a few times, rubbed her eyes, and stared at what she had created. 
Panic. 
Twilight didn’t acknowledge her friend, who still carried that eager smile she had barged into the library with. She completely shut her mind in fear. What went wrong? She kept asking as her eyes scanned the text. Something went wrong, I’m a terrible person. This is badbadbadbadbadbad! 
“Twi? You’re making me nervous. Did something go wrong?” 
Twilight had to bite her tongue before she screamed yes. This gave her a few more seconds to see that the spell had been cast perfectly. Technically, it gave Rainbow the wings she desired, but there was no sign of the subject being changed so… drastically. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face her friend. 
Rainbow looked at her pleadingly. She had maintained her posture, head lowered, ready for a fight, but it was clear to Twilight that she only held that pose because she was scared to move. Her clothes, armor, and weapons lay strewn around her, a fact that Rainbow undoubtedly noticed if the blush was any indication. Twilight opened her mouth, closed it, and tried to speak again. “No, the spell was a success.”
“That wasn’t very convincing, Twi,” Rainbow deadpanned. 
“Well it was,” Twilight shot back defensively. “I just wasn’t expecting… this. I’ve never dealt with shape shifting before.” 
“Shape shifting?” Rainbow asked slowly. 
“I was trying to give you wings. What else could it be called?” 
“Enough stalling, Twi. Your eyes look like they’re going to pop. Just tell me what’s wrong. I can take it,” Rainbow said, lowering her tone and expecting the worst. 
The words that Twilight desperately wanted to yell, you’re a small, winged pony, died in her throat. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked to the back of the library. There, on the kitchen counter, was a handheld mirror that Rarity had given her as a gift, although Spike probably got the most use out of it. With that in hand, she walked back and presented the mirror to her equine companion. 
Rainbow eyed the mirror suspiciously. If Twilight learned anything about the fighter, it was that Rainbow didn’t like the way Rarity covered everything with gems. Or maybe Rainbow was just nervous to see what she had become, and for that, Twilight couldn’t blame her. Rainbow finally lowered her posture and reached for the mirror. 
When the hoof appeared in her vision, she jumped ten feet into the air. “Twilight, what happened to me?!” she yelled, pupils shrinking to pinpoints as she held the pair of forefeet in front of her. 
Twilight raised her hand defensively, the other still gripping the staff. “The spell was perfect, Rainbow, but no one wrote that you would change into a pony, let alone one with wings!” 
Rainbow’s head snapped up at the mention of wings. She looked over her shoulder and saw the two blue wings flapping on their own. She was flying. All fear vanished from her eyes in a second and she was happily zipping around the library, a faint rainbow trail being left in her wake. Her laughter could undoubtedly be heard outside, so Twilight locked the door with her magic, unable to tear her eyes from the spectacle. Rainbow landed with a loud thump, nearly fell over, and quickly righted herself, eyes shining with glee. “Twi, this is so awesome! I gotta try this outside!” 
“Oh no you don’t!” Twilight said. “Do you have any idea what sort of commotion you’ll cause? You’re not leaving this library until the spell wears off!” 
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Yeah, like that’s gonna happen,” she said and trotted to the door. She tried to get out by using her hooves, but she couldn’t get a grip on the handle. Frustrated, she gingerly opened her mouth and used her teeth to undo the lock and head out. Twilight was too fascinated by watching a pony use their mouth to open a door to interfere, and when she came to, Rainbow was already gone. “Rainbow Dash, you get back here this instant!” she yelled as she ran outside. She desperately scanned the sky for her friend, but all she saw was the rainbow trail. 

Flying. She was actually flying. Sure, Rainbow never expected that her childhood dream would someday come true but now that it had it was awesome! She felt the wind dance in her hair and play over her new, fur coated body. The wings flapped tirelessly, and Rainbow kept pushing them further. She wanted to go faster, faster, FASTER! Her eyes started to burn and she narrowed them into slits. Part of Twilight’s nagging stayed with her, specifically the fact that Rainbow only had a day with the wings. And if Twilight was concerned that people would see her, well, she would just go higher! 
Rainbow looked down on Ponyville, unable to contain her mirth. The sensation of flying was just too much, and she found herself laughing. She wished it would never end. Perhaps Twilight would be willing to cast the spell again, although that seemed unlikely unless the mage made her agree to some ironclad set of rules. Rainbow gagged at the thought. She liked the town’s new librarian as much as the next person, but something like flight couldn’t be dictated! It was meant to establish freedom! She looked around and, against her expectations, frowned. 
There was no one up there for her to share the experience with! Rainbow righted herself and tried to cross her forelegs. The position wasn’t comfortable and she let her hooves dangle towards the ground. She furrowed her brow and wondered who she could bring. Twilight would probably still be mad. Applejack would either be in the forest or at the library, which ran the risk of running into an irate mage. Fluttershy would probably go crazy if she saw a new animal friend. Rarity would complain about her hair and the speed. That only left… Rainbow sighed and began her descent. 

The first obstacle did not come in the form of a mob of citizens hell bent on purging the world of a flying, talking pony. Sure, there were stares and she had been besieged by three curious girls, but she only had to rear up to get them to go away. If they saw the bored look on her face, the girls would probably have stuck around. No, the hardship did not come from anything that she expected. She, Rainbow Dash, was stopped by a door. 
Pinkie was oddly chaotic on the best of days, but Rainbow knew the bard kept a tight schedule. That meant that she was inside Sugarcube Corner, the building with the offending doorknob, making some sort of delectable pastry. Rainbow raised her hoof again and fumbled with the door. Nothing. She did, however, manage to make some scraping sounds on the wood, so maybe someone had heard it. When no one came, she looked around, saw no one watching, and leaned in. She tentatively took the knob in her teeth, making sure not to let her tongue touch the metal, and twisted her neck. In the back of her mind, she realized she would have to do this with every door, including the one to her own house. 
The door finally opened and Rainbow smiled before trotting in. The sound of hooves on wood definitely drew the attention of Mr. Cake, one of the owners. 
“Whoa, there, get out!” he yelled, stepping out from behind the counter to stand in front of Dash. 
“What, why?” she asked. 
Mr. Cake took a startled step back, raising his lanky arms in front of him. He recovered surprisingly well. “Because this is a bakery and I’m not letting a pony in here! Now come on, get out!” his voice still carried a sense of authority, but Dash knew he was uneasy dealing with a talking, chromatic, winged pony. 
Dash ground her teeth and took a step back. After the ordeal with the door, she had expected a free ride. She could easily blow past Mr. Cake, but it didn’t seem like a good idea to antagonize her friend’s employer. If she worked for Mr. Cake, however. 
Once she was successfully corralled out of the building she had spent so much time getting into, Rainbow plopped down on the ground. So she couldn’t get to Pinkie. Was there anyone else who worked on their own? 
“Dashie?” 
Pinkie’s voice nearly made Dash jump into the sky. When her heart settled down, she looked at her friend. Pinkie was surprisingly bleak, a far cry from the girl’s love for colors. She wore a brown dress with a white apron. A white bandana kept her wild hair out of the way. She looked like she had dumped a bag of flour on herself.
Dash gave her a grin. “Want to go flying?” 
Pinkie’s blue eyes managed to grow larger. Without hesitation, she hopped onto Rainbow’s back and the two were off. 
Below, a guard reported hearing strange giggles coming out of nowhere and clouds of flour. He also swore that he saw a rainbow at night. When he told this to the captain, Big Mac rolled his straw to the other side of his mouth and told the guard to take the next day off. 

As Rainbow had thought, flying with Pinkie was much better than flying solo. The sun had descended too soon and it was getting harder to see, effectively ending their flight. She had dropped Pinkie off at Sugarcube Corner, where the bard had given her a warm hug and her sincerest thanks. Rainbow could feel the bruise forming from that hug. The day had been great, but now she was back to squaring off with her nemesis: the door. 
Rainbow held back a groan and leaned in. She bit the doorknob and twisted her neck at an uncomfortable angle, waiting for the door to open. When it did, she stepped in and kicked the door shut with her hind leg. 
The familiar sight of her home hardly registered with her as she walked to her kitchen. One thing did shine out to her, however. She paused and regarded one of her swords. “Oh no,” she groaned, “I left my gear at the library!” Rainbow considered breaking in, but if anything, Twilight would be waiting for her. She knew she couldn’t avoid the mage forever and she would have to go over there to apologize. The fact that she was sure Twilight wouldn’t return Rainbow’s gear on her own gave her more incentive. She resolved to go to the library as soon as she woke up. With that sorted out, her mind drifted to something else. 
Rainbow caressed her sword’s hilt with a hoof. It wasn’t one of her favorites, but she knew everything about the weapon. She tried curling her hoof around the handle, letting out a yelp when the blade slipped and fell to the ground. After a few more tries, Rainbow managed to cradle the sword, but there was no way she would be able to swing it effectively. She groaned and, driven by curiosity, gripped the sword with her teeth. It tasted terrible. She grimaced and spat the sword out. After putting it away, Rainbow yawned and looked at the kitchen again. 
All of the flying had really made her hungry, but it also made her tired. Another yawn came forth and she decided to eat later. She saw that her bedroom door was closed and collapsed on the spot. The floor wasn’t comfortable, but Rainbow was soon fast asleep and dreaming of flight. 

When Rainbow entered the library, she fully expected to be assaulted with containment spells and lectures. However, the only person around was Spike, and he was telling her to get out. She stared at him, bored and waiting for Twilight to appear. 
As if on cue, Twilight came out from the back of the library. The mage looked at Rainbow with a look of annoyance, but thankfully said nothing. Twilight walked over, her staff making a light thump on the floor with each step. Spike was still admonishing Rainbow, saying that he had just cleaned the floor and that ponies had no business in a library. 
“I’m sorry, Twi,” Rainbow said, her voice making Spike jump. 
“Rainbow Dash? What happened to you?” Spike asked, carefully poking her. 
“It’s a bit of a story,” she said with a smile. 
Twilight said, “You pressured me into casting a spell on you and took off.” Rainbow winced at the mage’s monotone voice. “But I shouldn’t be surprised that any of this happened,” she added with a sigh. 
Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “You’re not upset?” 
Twilight shrugged. “Why would I be? You wanted to fly and you didn’t hurt anyone.” 
“You sound upset,” Rainbow said, ignoring Spike playing with her wings. 
“I suppose I do. It doesn’t concern you. You have ten minutes of flight left, make it count.” 
Rainbow’s heart was already soaring. Only ten minutes? That wouldn’t be enough time to properly scour the sky. She looked at Spike, who was looking back with wide eyes, and smiled. With a toss of her head, she motioned for him to climb on, which he eagerly did. 
Unwilling to risk a crash landing outside, especially with someone on her back, Rainbow flew around the library. Thankfully, the ceiling was rather high and she had plenty of room to fly. Both of them giggled uncontrollably for nine minutes, but each pass caused Rainbow to look at Twilight, who was staring at them with the best poker face Rainbow had ever seen. When she saw Twilight raise a hand, Rainbow reluctantly descended, much to Spike’s displeasure. 
On the eleventh minute, Rainbow doubled over and bit down as her body started to glow. Spike yelped and jumped away as if she would explode, a fate that she would rather avoid. Actually, Rainbow had no idea what was going to happen. What if she would explode? Would Twilight have casted the spell on her if that’s what waited her at the end? Rainbow hated to admit it, but she was scared. No, not scared, she was nervous. That sounded better. 
Rainbow was too concerned with making herself sound good to herself to notice that the transformation had already taken place. She looked at Twilight’s back, the tips of her friend’s ears a bright red. Spike was nowhere to be seen. Rainbow felt her heart quicken and looked at her hands. “I’m normal again!” she yelled and ran to Twilight, scooping the mage up in a hug.
“Stop it, Rainbow!” Twilight squeaked as the fighter spun them around. “Rainbow, put me down! Rainbow, you are naked!” 

The seven of them met at the tavern that night. Twilight stared at the glass of water she had ordered, unwilling to become inebriated again. Watching Pinkie take a long swig made her stomach churn. Rainbow sat across from her, dressed in her black iron armor once again and happily eating some bread. Spike had managed to persuade Twilight to let him come, and was sitting next to Rarity and listening to her every word. Twilight took a sip of water and noticed the rose eyes staring at her from across the table. 
“Thanks again, Twi,” Rainbow said. 
Twilight waved a hand. “That’s the sixth time, Rainbow. You’re welcome.” 
Rainbow propped her head onto her hand and raised an eyebrow. “What happened?” 
There it was again. Twilight sighed and looked around. Pinkie had joined Rarity and Spike’s conversation while Applejack and Fluttershy were playing darts. They were as alone as they were going to get in a tavern. She leaned closer to Rainbow and lowered her voice. “Why do you keep asking me that?” 
Rainbow frowned. “Because I’m your friend?” she asked as if stating the most obvious of facts. 
“And what if I told you that everything is fine?” 
“Then I’d say that you’re lying. Just like the past five times.” Rainbow folded her arms and leaned back. “So since I’m your friend, you’re going to tell me what’s bothering you.” 
Twilight lowered her head and sighed. She opened her mouth to speak, but just then Applejack appeared. “I think Fluttershy’s done for tonight. Either of you wanna play?” she asked. 
Twilight gave Rainbow a look before saying, “I would love to.” She got out of her chair and followed Applejack to the dartboard. She felt terrible for stringing her friend along, but she hoped the fighter would let the issue drop. Twilight kept her focus on the game and the ranger, forcing herself to have a good time. A pair of rose eyes bored into her back for the rest of the night.